Mailbox Monday / In My Mailbox

Many thanks to Marcia at The Printed Page and Kristi at The Story Siren for hosting Mailbox Monday and In My Mailbox every week!

It is so much fun to see what everyone is getting in the mail.

Thanks for taking the time to visit ~ I just love hearing from you! Please let me know if you have read any of these books - I'd love to hear how you liked them!! :)

Here are the books that came into my house last week:

A Life Well Read - My Personal Journey Through Books by D & D Creations ~ Reference Material ~ Review copy received courtesy of D & D Creations / www.alifeunplugged.com

Finally, a truly NEW product for book lovers! Combining the intimacy of a diary and the organization of a Rolodex, A Life Well Read-My Personal Journey Through Books is ideal for readers who want to create a personalized record of their book content - wherever and whenever they can find a moment to pursue their passion for reading.

The set contains fifty preprinted book cards to keep track of notes, quotes, and impressions of each title read (or to be read), with space to record the lending history, and, if applicable, book-club information (meeting date, who recommended it, etc.). File the book cards behind dividers such as my books, books on loan, books I want, or use the blank dividers to create your own sections. Simplify gift-giving with the three Give the Gift of Books cards, which offer space to jot down people to whom you d like to give specific titles. You ll even find sheets of fiftysix colorful bookplate stickers, as well as twenty-four lovely gift labels. Along with a handsome ballpoint pen, everything comes neatly encased in a sturdy book-shaped box with a pretty floral pattern, which fits right on the bookshelf. It s the perfect gift for book lover who has everything!

A Widow's Hope (The Miller Family Series) by Mary Ellis ~ Fiction / Romance ~ Courtesy of the author for review

From Amazon: A bright new voice shares a tender love story set in the rolling green fields of Ohio Amish country.

After the death of her husband, Hannah Brown is determined to make a new life with her sister’s family. But when she sells her farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and moves with her sheep to Ohio, the wool unexpectedly starts to fly. Her deacon brother–in–law finds just about everything about Hannah vexing. When his widower brother shows interest in the young and beautiful widow, the deacon turns to prayer for guidance.

Hannah thought she could never love again, until she meets the strong, gentle farmer. Unfortunately, Seth Miller’s only interest is in Hannah’s sheep. He is content in his bachelor state and slow to recognize his daughter’s need for a new mother. Yet God offers Seth the perfect solution to their problems if he could only open his heart again...and love.

A Christmas Carol Special Edition: The Charles Dickens Classic with Christian Insights and Discussion Questions for Groups and Families by Stephen Skelton ~ Religion / Holidays / Christmas Advent ~ Received courtesty of FSB Associates for an upcoming review

Since its publication in 1843, the tale of a miserly old man and the ghosts who visit him has been bringing the true spirit of Christmas into hearts and homes. Whether you’ve read the story a thousand times or have only seen the movie, A Christmas Carol Special Edition will enrich your enjoyment of this holiday favorite with:

- The complete text of the Charles Dickens classic.
- Annotations offering interesting insight into the story’s biblical allusions, the author’s faith, and compelling Christian themes throughout.
- Discussion questions designed to engage and promote dialogue among readers of all ages on such subjects as regret, repentance, and redemption.
- A list of related resources to enhance your study.

Enjoy A Christmas Carol Special Edition in your home, study group, book group, or Advent celebration and learn how to say with Scrooge:
“I will honour Christmas in my heart,
and try to keep it all the year.”

The Christmas Dog by Melody Carlson ~ Fiction / Contemporary ~ Received courtesy of the publisher for review/tour the week of Nov 30th - Dec 4th

From Amazon: Betty Kowalski isn't looking forward to the holidays. She just can't seem to find Christmas in her heart. There's church, of course. But who can she bake for these days? And who would care whether or not she pulled out the Christmas decorations? Her new neighbor just adds to the problem. He's doing home improvements that don't appear to be improving much of anything. These days when Betty looks out the window, she sees a beat-up truck, a pile of junk, lots of blue tarps, and--horror of horrors--an old pink toilet. But when a mangy dog appears at her doorstep, the stage is set for Betty to learn a very important lesson about what Christmas is all about. This contemporary Christmas story is a timely yet gentle reminder that God can work miracles through something as seemingly insignificant as a little brown dog.

The Christmas Glass: A Novel by Marcia Alborghetti ~ Fiction ~ Received courtesy of the publisher for an upcoming CFBA tour Dec 2nd-4th

From CFBA email: In the tradition of The Christmas Shoes and A Christmas on Jane Street, the heartwarming story of The Christmas Glass shows how, today as always, the Christmas miracle works its wonders in the human heart.

In the early days of World War II in Italy, Anna, a young widow who runs a small orphanage, carefully wraps her most cherished possessions -- a dozen hand-blown, German-made, Christmas ornaments, handed down by her mother -- and sends them to a cousin she hasn't seen in years. Anna is distressed to part with her only tangible reminder of her mother, but she worries that the ornaments will be lost or destroyed in the war, especially now that her orphanage has begun to secretly shelter Jewish children. Anna's young cousin Filomena is married with two-year-old twins when she receives the box of precious Christmas glass. After the war, Filomena emigrates to America, where the precious ornaments are passed down through the generations. After more than forty years, twelve people come to possess a piece of Christmas glass, some intimately connected by family bonds, some connected only through the history of the ornaments. As Christmas Day approaches, readers join each character in a journey of laughter and tears, fractures and healings, as Filomena, now an eighty-four-year-old great-grandmother, brings them all to what will be either a wondrous reunion or a disaster that may shatter them all like the precious glass they cherish.

The Christmas Lamp: A Novella by Lori Copeland ~ Fiction / Christian / General ~ Received courtesy of the publisher for an upcoming CFBA tour Dec 9th - 11th

Christmas trees, twinkling lights, skating in the park, and holiday displays are the hallmark elements for celebrating Jesus birth for the sentimental residents of Nativity, Missouri. Will fiscal responsibility replace Christmas their traditions when times are tough?

Though their priorities and methods clash, Roni Elliot and Jake Brisco want the same thing, for the town to prosper. As the two get to know each other better, each begins to gain a new perspective on what the real wealth of Nativity and the season might be.

Dinosaurs for Kids by Ken Ham ~ Nature / Dinosaurs & Prehistoric creatures / Juvenile Nonfiction / General ~ Received courtesy of the publisher for an upcoming First WildCard tour Jan. 8th

Peek inside a dinosaur egg, discover what dinosaurs really ate, and learn how dinosaur tracks are made - all in this awesomely-illustrated book!

Dinosaurs for Kids shares the unique world of dinosaurs and their true history like never before as you:
- meet the most unusual creatures to ever walk the earth, stalk the seas, or soar across the sky!
- discover how dinosaur bonebeds are made, and other kinds of fossils beyond just bones!
- learn the truth behind museum exhibits and flawed evolutionary timelines!

Within these pages kids will uncover the facts about dinosaur history from the Creation to recent discoveries. Let Ken Ham take you on a journey through time to explore these awesome wonders of God's design. From where dinosaurs lived to what scientists assume they know about these great creatures, dinosaurs have never been this exciting, revealing, and simply amazing!

Fallen: They Are Among Us...ARC by Lauren Kate ~ Fiction ~ Received courtesy of the publisher for review (Shelf Awareness)

From Amazon: There's something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price's attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He's the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.

Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce--and goes out of his way to make that very clear--she can't let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her.

Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, Fallen is a page turning thriller and the ultimate love story.

Farther Than I Meant to Go, Longer Than I Meant to Stay by Tiffany L. Warren ~ Fiction ~ Received courtesy of the publisher for review

From Amazon: As President of Grace Savings and Loans, Charmayne Ellis is an established, polished professional. Although she has reached great success, her ridiculing mother and wise cracking younger sister won't let her forget that she is a 36-year-old, overweight, unmarried woman.

In an attempt to help, Charmayne's best friend, Lynette, is obsessed with setting her up on a series of pity-driven blind dates. When a drop-dead gorgeous man, Travis Moon, shows interest, Charmayne's caution light blinks like crazy. But out of loneliness and pressure from her family Charmayne ignores her gut feeling and gets married.

Yet instead of marital bliss, Charmayne begins to discover new things about her husband that force her to question her marriage and her faith in God.

The Handy Answer Book for Kids (and Parents) by Gina Misiroglu ~ Non-Fiction / Parenting and Family / Children's ~ Received courtesy of the publisher and Lisa of Online Publicist for review

From Amazon: As a launching pad for inquisitive young minds and a life raft for parents at wits end, this collection addresses a critical part of being a kid: asking questions. A wide variety of questions are answered, such as Is there life on Mars? Do rivers ever dry up? Why are there wars? Is there such a thing as a funny bone? What is DNA? Having this nearby will equip every parent for those difficult, absurd, or sometimes funny questions from their kids.

Lady Vernon and Her Daughter: A Novel of Jane Austen's Lady Susan by Jane Rubino and Caitlen Rubino-Bradway ~ Fiction / Historical ~ Won from Amy of Passages to the Past

Jane Austen's novella Lady Susan was written during the same period as another novella called Elinor and Marianne–which was later revised and expanded to become Sense and Sensibility. Unfortunately for readers, Lady Susan did not enjoy the same treatment by its author and was left abandoned and forgotten by all but the most diligent Austen scholars. Until now.

In Lady Vernon and Her Daughter, Jane Rubino and Caitlen Rubino-Bradway have taken Austen's original novella and transformed it into a vivid and richly developed novel of love lost and found–and the complex relationships between women, men, and money in Regency England.

Lady Vernon and her daughter, Frederica, are left penniless and without a home after the death of Sir Frederick Vernon, Susan's husband. Frederick' s brother and heir, Charles Vernon, like so many others of his time, has forgotten his promises to look after the women, and despite their fervent hopes to the contrary, does nothing to financially support Lady Vernon and Frederica.

When the ladies, left without another option, bravely arrive at Charles's home to confront him about his treatment of his family, they are faced with Charles's indifference, his wife Catherine's distrustful animosity, and a flood of rumors that threaten to undo them all. Will Lady Vernon and Frederica find love and happiness–and financial security– or will their hopes be dashed with their lost fortune?

With wit and warmth reminiscent of Austen's greatest works, Lady Vernon and Her Daughter brings to vivid life a time and place where a woman's security is at the mercy of an entail, where love is hindered by misunderstanding, where marriage can never be entirely isolated from money, yet where romance somehow carries the day.

Love Finds You in Lonesome Prairie, Montana by Tricia Goyer and Ocieanna Fleiss ~ Fiction / General / Romance ~ Received courtesy of the publisher for an upcoming tour with First WildCard (tour was postponed, no date set)

Amazon: Julia Cavanaugh has never left New York City. But in 1890, the young woman must head west to ensure that the orphans under her care are settled into good families. After her final stop in Montana, she plans to head straight back east. But upon arriving in the remote town of Lonesome Prairie, Julia learns to her horror that she is also supposed to be deliveredinto the hands of an uncouth miner who carries a bill of purchase for his new bride. She turns to a respected circuit preacher to protect her from a forced marriage but with no return fare and few friends, Julias options are bleak. What is Gods plan for her in the middle of the vast Montana prairie?

One Simple Act: Discovering the Power of Generosity by Debbie Macomber ~ Non-Fiction / Religion / Christian Life / Inspirational ~ Received courtesy of the publisher for an upcoming WildCard Tour on Dec. 2nd

What if you, personally, could make the world a better place...by tomorrow?
Debbie Macomber knows the secret to doing exactly that! In a world that seems too often stingy and grudging, she has witnessed how one simple act of generosity can yield unforeseen miracles.

You are about to discover, through true stories, what happens when we commit intentional acts of generosity. Lives are changed in ways we never envisioned. Come with Debbie late one evening through the checkout line at the grocery store. Visit a midwestern train station. Discover the link between a submarine, a few bread crumbs, and some minnows. Visit ancient Galilee as a young boy volunteers his fishes and loaves to Jesus only to see his meager gift multiplied many times over to feed five thousand. Listen in on a touching phone call with an elderly widow. You will stand amazed at what God accomplishes when we make ourselves available through simple acts of generosity.

This blend of true stories and motivating messages will delight and surprise you as you discover how giving the gifts of time, encouragement, hope, laughter, prayer, hospitality, service, and even forgiveness can have lasting, life-changing impact, not only on the recipient of such gifts but on the giver as well.

Debbie Macomber, through the power of story, invites us to live with open hands, offering who we are and what we have to God, to use in the lives of others. When we do so, lives--including our own--are changed in ways we couldn't have imagined. All it takes is one simple act.

Unfinished Gift, The: A Novel by Dan Walsh ~ Fiction / Christmas ~ Received courtesy of the publisher for review/tour the week of Nov 30th - Dec 4th

Amazon: Patrick Collins is seven years old, and on his Christmas list are only three items. He wants the army to find his father. He wants to leave his grandfather's house. And, for reasons even he doesn't understand, he wants the soldier that's tucked away in his grandfather's attic. Set at Christmastime in 1943, The Unfinished Gift tells in an engaging, simple style the story of a family, and reminds us of the surprising things that affect powerful change in our hearts--like a young boy's prayers, a shoebox full of love letters, and even an old wooden soldier, long forgotten. This nostalgic story of forgiveness will engage readers everywhere.

What was in your mailbox last week??

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