Mr Miracle - Debbie Macomber

Title :  Mr Miracle

Author : Debbie Macomber

Publisher :  Ballatine Books

Genre :  Christmas Romance

ISBN :  978-0-553-39115-2

Format :  Hardback - 272 pages 

Source :  Borrowed from library

BOOK SYNOPSIS :

"NEW YORK TIMES" BESTSELLER Beloved author Debbie Macomber celebrates the most wonderful time of the year in this heartwarming Christmas novel of romance, hope, and the comforts of home

Harry Mills is a guardian angel on a mission: help twenty-four-year-old Addie Folsom get her life back on track--and, if the right moment strikes, help her find love. Posing as a teacher at a local college in Tacoma, Washington, Harry is up to the task, but not even he can predict the surprises that lay in store. 

After trying to make it on her own, Addie has returned home to Tacoma for the holidays, but this time she plans to stay for good, enrolling in the local community college to earn her degree. What she "doesn't" plan to do is run into Erich Simmons. 

Addie and her next-door neighbor, Erich, are like night and day. Growing up, he was popular and outgoing while she was rebellious and headstrong, and he never missed an opportunity to tease her. Now she intends to avoid him entirely, yet when they're suddenly forced to spend Christmas together, Addie braces for trouble. 

Perhaps it's the spirit of the season or the magic of mistletoe, but Addie and Erich soon find they have more in common than they thought--and that two people who seem so wrong for each other may actually be just right. With a little prompting from a certain angelic teacher, the two are in for a holiday miracle they'll never forget.

MY THOUGHTS :

I always enjoy reading Debbie's books that feature angels at work in peoples every day lives when they always seem to need it the most.

This was another feel good read that is especially good to read at Christmas time being that it is Christmas themed.  Harry Miles has his first placement on earth to be a guardian angel to Addie Folsom.  We read about the adjustments that Harry has to make living life as a human and the emotions and everyday happenings that humans encounter.  He also has to work out how he can best set to work making magic happen for Addie to be able to believe in herself and realise her full potential and to also help out the people that surround her.

All in all this was a quick and easy read that you should pick up and enjoy when you in the mood for a feel good story that you know is sure to have a happy ending.

This book has also been made into a movie for the Hallmark Channel.

Where to find author and purchase book:

Author Website, Facebook, Pinterest, Where To Purchase 

Challenges : Readers To The Rescue Library Challenge 2015, 2015 Snagged @ The Library Challenge, I Love Library Books Reading Challenge 2015

Library Reading Challenges 2015

We are regulars visiting our local libraries each week to pick up reserves and browse the library shelves looking for new and interesting books to read and dvds to watch.  Browsing some book blogs I have come across several library book reading challenges which I have signed up to participate in this year.  Being that we are library lovers and I am always maxing out our library cards I am signing up for the maximum book limit of each challenge.

The library challenges I am signing up for are as follows:

Hosted by:  Sheila at Book Journey

And of course.. there are fun levels of commitment:

 1-5 check outs in 2015 – NOVICE

6-11 check outs in 2015 – ROOKIE

12- 16 check outs in 2015 – INTERMEDIATE

17 – 22 check outs in 2015 – SEASONED 

23 – 27 check outs in 2015 – EXPERIENCED

28 + check outs in 2015 – GOING PRO!

Check outs count for anything bookish – books, audio, even e-reader book check outs (yes, libraries have these now!).  Go… meet your library again and fall in love.  :)

For this challenge I am signing up for the Going Pro! level.

Hosted By : The Book Nympho and The Geeky Blogger's Book Blog

Reading Challenge Details:

• Runs January 1, 2015 – December 31, 2015. You can join any time.

• The goal is to read at least twelve (12) books from the library. Twelve should be easy, that’s one a month. While twelve is the minimum, there is no maximum limit. See the different levels below and pick the one that works best for you.

• Any format will work for this challenge (print, ebook or audio) as long as you checked it out from the library it counts.

• Books can be any genre (fiction, nonfiction, romance, fantasy, mystery, thriller, horror, etc.).

• Crossovers from other reading challenges are allowed, including re-reads. The goal is to support your local library and save money.

• To join this challenge, grab the 2015 Snagged @ The Library Reading Challenge button and post this reading challenge on your blog to track your progress. Please include a link back to this sign-up post so others can join the reading challenge too. You do not have to be a book blogger to participate; you can track your progress on Goodreads (so as long as you have a dedicated shelf and Felicia has created a Goodreads group), Shelfari (I’ve created a Shelfari group. You can join and post your progress within the group), or BookLikes, etc., for the 2015 Snagged @ The Library Reading Challenge. The point of linking up is to have a place where people can see what you’re reading.

Levels:

1. Dewey Decimal: read 12 books
2. Thrifty Reader: read 24 books
3. Overdrive Junkie: read 36 books
4. Stalking the Bookstacks: read 50+ books

For this challenge I am signing up for level 4 Stalking The Bookstacks:  read 50+ books

Hosted by :  Book Dragon's Lair

Our love of reading can be expensive! Not only are we purchasing books but some of us also need space to keep them. I had so much fun with this challenge last year. Let's do it again!

There are a number of levels, for those who don't have a library card yet to those that live there. Enjoy!

 Requirements:

• choose a level - you may move up as needed, just not down.
• read books you checked out of the library
• books may overlap with other challenges
• any format allowed (print, ebook, audio)
• reviews are not necessary but a list of books read is. (post with review linky is coming in January) click here
• a blog is not necessary, just comment that you want to join in or link up another way

Levels:

• board book - 3
• picture book - 6
• early reader - 9
• chapter book - 12
• middle grades - 18
• Young adult - 24
• adult - 36
• just insert IV - 50 

For this challenge the level I am signing up for is just insert IV - 50

Book Blogger Recommendation Challenge 2015

Hosted By : Geeky Zoo Girl

The rules are crazy simple:

1. The challenge runs from January 1st 2014 to December 31st 2015
2. There are five levels to choose from. You can increase your goal as many times as you want, or (because we all know real life happens!) you can decrease your goal once at any point throughout the year.
3. You don’t have to commit in advance to your choices, though of course you can plan them if you want to.

The Full List of Books can be found here!
Thanks to Sarah there’s also a goodreads list of the top 105 here!

Is there a giveaway?

There will definitely be a giveaway at the end of the year.  I haven’t figured out the details of that yet but I’ll let you know!

The Levels

Bronze – 3 books
Silver – 5 books
Gold – 10 books
Platinum – 25 books
Diamond – 50 books +

Sign me up!

This sounds like an interesting challenge to participate in.  As I have been seeing books from this list regularly being recommended by other book bloggers I am going to sign up for Gold - 10 books.

2013 EBook Challenge

The 2013 Ebook Challenge. Encouraging readers to expand past just physical books to embrace ebooks in all forms, whether on Kindle, Kobo, computer, or any other reader.

Challenge Guidelines:

1. This challenge will run from Jan 1, 2013 – Dec 31, 2013.
2. Anyone can join, you don’t need to be a blogger. If you don’t have a blog, feel free to sign-up in the comments. You can post reviews to any book site (i.e. Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, Goodreads, etc).
3. Any genre or length of book counts, as long as it is in ebook format.
4. You can plan your books in advance or as you read them.
5. When you sign up in the linky, put the direct link to your post about joining the E-Book Reading Challenge.
6. You can move up levels, but no moving down.
7. Sign-ups will be open until Dec 15, 2013, so feel free to join at any time throughout the year.

Levels:

1. Floppy disk – 5 ebooks
2. CD – 10 ebooks
3. DVD – 25 ebooks
4. Memory stick – 50 ebooks
5. Hard drive – 75 ebooks
6. Server – 100 ebooks
7. Human brain – 150 ebooks

At the beginning of each month there will be a roundup post for you to add your reviews for that month. The linky will remain open for the remainder of the year, so if you forget, feel free go back and add them when you remember.

There will be a giveaway at the end of the year for eveyone who achieves their goal level (or higher). If you are an author or publisher and want to contribute to the prize, please contact me.

I got gifted a Kindle at the end of September last year and have been quickly filling it with all the freebie ebooks I find online at sites like the Kindle free 100 books of the day.  This challenge will be ideal to encorage me to get some of the ebooks read instead of just collecting them.

I challenge myself to : 

DVD – 25 ebooks

Would you like to participate.  If so this challenge is being hosted by Workaday Reads and you can sign up here.

Know Me Better - 12 Janurary 2013

"Know Me Better"

Each week I will pick 5 questions off of my author interview list to answers.

I invite you to share your answers to these questions as well.  You can share them as a comment on this post or share them on your own blog and link up to this post.

This Week's Questions:

Where is your favorite spot to read?
Are you a fast or slow reader? (you can test your reading speed here)
Fanfition - Love it or Hate it? Have your ever read/written it?
Summer or Winter?
Truth or Dare?

Know Me Better is a weekly meme hosted by I Am A Reader - Not A Writer.  To participate you can sign up here.

Where is your favourite spot to read?

I like to curl up with a good book on a chair in my lounge with the sun streaming in the window behind me during the day and with my reading lamp to see when it get darks at night time.

Are you a fast or slow reader? 

You read 479 words per minute.

That makes you 92% faster than the national average.

I think how fast you read often depends on what you are reading, the font size etc. I know they say that your reading speed can vary between reading on an e-reader to a paperback book.  I find that I can read a large sized print book alot quicker than I can the same small paper back book with small print.

Fanfiction - Love it or Hate it?  Have you ever read/written it?

I don't think I have every actually read a fanfiction and know much about them.  I have never attempted to write one.

Summer or Winter?

Much as the summers are really hot and the added humidity can be quite unbearable at times I prefer the summer over winter.  I find it can be alot harder to try and get warm and stay warm in the winter time if you are cold especially if your house doesn't have any type of heating.  With winter often comes lots of rainy and windy days which are great if you can be snug and warm inside and can curl up with a good book to read but not so great when you have to be out and about in the wet weather doing things like school drop off and pick ups.

Truth or Dare?

Truth.  Not really a dare and risk taking type of person so rather choose truth and not risk what I might be dared with.I think how fast you read often depends on what you are reading, the font size etc. I know they say that your reading speed can vary between reading on an e-reader to a paperback book.  I find that I can read a large sized print book alot quicker than I can the same small paper back book with small print.

Fanfiction - Love it or Hate it?  Have you ever read/written it?

I don't think I have every actually read a fanfiction and know much about them.  I have never attempted to write one.

Summer or Winter?

Much as the summers are really hot and the added humidity can be quite unbearable at times I prefer the summer over winter.  I find it can be alot harder to try and get warm and stay warm in the winter time if you are cold especially if your house doesn't have any type of heating.  With winter often comes lots of rainy and windy days which are great if you can be snug and warm inside and can curl up with a good book to read but not so great when you have to be out and about in the wet weather doing things like school drop off and pick ups.

Truth or Dare?

Truth.  Not really a dare and risk taking type of person so rather choose truth and not risk what I might be dared with.

2013 Amish Fiction Challenge

2013 Amish Fiction Challenge 

This challenge will begin on January 1st, 2013 and end December 31, 2013.    On January 1, 2014 I'll choose three lucky participants who will receive a special selection of Amish items from here in Ohio's Amish country.  This may include a new Amish novel,  cookbook, a jar of jam/jelly, and/or whatever else I may find on my various trips to Amish country!

Here are the challenge details: 

 1. This challenge will begin on January 1st, 2013 and end December 31, 2013. 

 2. Books for this challenge can be from any genre and may include print books as well as e-books and audio books.

Choose a Level:

• Inspired     6 books
• Smitten    12 books
• Devoted   24 books

 3. This challenge can cross-over to your other reading challenges.

 4. You do not need a blog to participate! If you are not a blogger, you can post your reviews at Goodreads, Shelfari, or LibraryThing and link them up on the monthly review posts or leave a comment with a link to your review.

 5. I will create a new post each month with a link-up for your reviews.

 6. To sign-up use the link below. If you are a blogger, create a sign-up post and link back to this post. If you don't have a blog you can just leave a comment for this post saying that you are joining.

Join the 2013 Amish Fiction Challenge!  The Amish Fiction Challenge is being hosted by Amish Fiction Reviews.  Be sure to sign up here.

I always enjoy reading Amish books so was excited to see this Amish Fiction Challenge and be able to sign up.

I will sign up for :

Smitten    12 books

I will see how I go and how many Amish books I am able to find and may have to increase this to Devoted as the year goes by.

Sew Deadly - Elizabeth Lynn Casey

SEW DEADLY - ELIZABETH LYNN CASEY

Title & Author :  Sew Deadly - Elizabeth Lynn Casey

Publisher :  Center Point Publishing

Genre :  Cozy Mystery

Series :  Southern Sewing Circle - Book 1

ISBN :  978-1-60285-597-7

Format :  Hardcover - Large Print - 351 pages

Source :  Library

BACK COVER SYNOPSIS :

The rules of South Carolina’s Sweet Briar Ladies Society Sewing Circle are hard and fast, and the new Yankee librarian, Tori Sinclair, has a lot of catching up to do.  She’ll also need a Northern-to-Southern dictionary -- and a way to clear her name of murder.

Ever since she moved to Sweet Briar, South Caroline, librarian Tori Sinclair has been the talk of the tiny town.  But she’s been so busy at work, winning over the sewing circle and trying to forget her cheating ex that she hasn’t even had time to baste together a pillow, let alone mind local gossip.  Then she finds the hometown sweetheart dead at her back door...

Everyone believes that police investigator, who’s just fixin’ to link Tori to the murder in a love triangle gone bad.  To clear her name, Tori will have to rely on her new sewing sisters and stitch together the truth -- or be darned.

The appealing women and Southern charm of the Sweet Briar Ladies Society Sewing Circle are sure to win the hearts of cozy mystery lovers.

MY THOUGHTS :

I hadn’t read a cosy mystery in a while and when I happened to come across this book it sounded intriguing so I thought I would check it out.

I always enjoy a story line that involves crafts like sewing, knitting, quilting, scrapbooking etc and as this book is themed around the Southern Sewing Circle ladies I thought it would make for a great read and I wasn’t disappointed.

Tori was the newcomer to Sweet Briar as she has just been appointed the towns new librarian.  She was looking forward to a new start but she had no idea just how challenging that was going to prove to be.  Moving to a new town where everyone has links to the town and have virtually lived there all their lives makes it harder for Tori to try and fit in and try and learn the ways of Sweet Briar.  She also didn’t realize that her new position of the town librarian meant that she had replaced one of the towns ladies and a member of the Southern Sewing Circle ladies that was none too happy about having her job taken away from her and appears to be quite bitter towards Tori.

As if Tori hasn’t got enough of a hard time trying her best to fit into her new job and life in Sweet Briar she then finds herself involved in a murder when she finds the towns beloved sweet heart dead outside the back of the library.  Being the newcomer and nothing quite as dramatic as a murder ever having happened at Sweet Briar, Tori is quickly considered to be the police investigators number one suspect.

Can Tori manage to solve who the murdereer is and also become a member of the Southern Sewing Circle ladies.  To find out the answers you will have to read the book.

Although this was a most enjoyable read if you are used to your typical solve the mystery at the end of the book with finding out who did it and what the motives where etc.. you might be somewhat disappointed at the end of this book that it doesn’t happen in that traditional way.  You do of course get to find out who did it but not what really what the motive for doing so was.

To find out more about Elizabeth Lynn Casey and her Southern Sewing Circle book series you can check them out her website....

http://elizabethlynncasey.com/blog/books/

and join her facebook page...

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Elizabeth-Lynn-Casey/286853572181?ref=ts&fref=ts

I have book two Death Threads in the series waiting in line to be read next so will have a review for that coming up next.