"Mother, Can You Not?" by Kate Siegel

My mother and I have an incredibly close relationship, in which we drive each other crazy, embarrass each other, but also love one another unconditionally.  My mom is the single coolest, strongest, funniest person I have ever met, and that is why I chose to read Mother, Can You Not.  

In Mother, Can You Not, Siegel shares various stories from her childhood and adulthood about the strange things her mother has done to her, to herself, and in general. A witty collection of memories will make the reader smile, blush, and just plain cover your face in embarrassment for Kate. There were many times while I read this book that I thanked the good Lord that mother never has tried to pull anything that Siegel's mother has. 

Siegel paints a picture of a woman who is un-apologetically herself, who likes to give hugs, and doesn't gloss over things just because they hard to talk about, and the woman is her mother. 

I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was funny and well written. Though I had never heard of Siegel's Instagram page "Crazy Jewish Mom", it was easy for me to jump into the whole story. A couple of warnings however is that there is language, and the dialogue between the mother and daughter has quite a bit of sexual content. I didn't care for that part, but the rest of the book was good.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion by Blogging for Books.

Stefne Miller and Major Excitement

Hey y'all! A few days ago, I signed up to win Salvaged, which is a really awesome book by Stefne Miller. I didn't know if I was going to win, but I had a pretty darn good feeling about it. Last night, I found an email in my inbox saying that I won! I was literally screaming and hooting. Can you tell that I wasn't excited? 

 Salvaged is about Attie Reed, who at the young age of sixteen lost her mother and best friend, Melody in a tragic car accident, and nearly lost her own life. The summer she turns seventeen, she moves to Guthrie, Oklahoma to spend the summer with the Bennet family-- Melody's family. Although she has physically recovered, she has a long way to go to recover from her emotional scars. With a little help from the Bennet's, Riley (Melody's brother), and Jesus, she can finally forgive.

Now here's the ultra-super-duper-fantastically-neat thing. I read all three of Stefne's books through my library. When I emailed her telling her I read them through the library, she offered to not only send me Salvaged, but Rise and Collision, too. I was blown by her generosity.

I love Stefne's writing style. It's relaxed, yet poetic at the same time. She shares authentic characters, with real, believable problems. Filled with humor, heartbreak, and romance, they are the ultimate chick read.

All right, I will discontinue by gush-fest. I hope you all have a great day!

Hairstyled by Amy Thoumieux

As a girly girl, I thought Hairstyled was a really fantastic book! Filled with colorful pictures and easy to understand instructions, this book is a dream for girls like me who are a little, shall we say, beauty challenged.

Divided into sections such as buns, braids, headbands, and varying lengths and thicknesses of hair, Hairstyled has an assortment of styles for an assortment of personalities, as well as an assortment of women. Because I have very thick hair, it would probably be easier for me to pull off a lot of these 'do's than someone with really thin hair,  but I found that there were many options that thin haired and really curly haired women could pull off with ease.

From its uncomplicated layout to its colorful pictures to its fabulous coiffes to its fun tips, Hairstyled is my hair brush's new best friend.

Blogging for Books sent me a free copy of Hairstyled by Amy Thoumieux in exchange for my honest opinion.

Happy Easter!

Hey y'all! Just wanted to give a quick shout out to everyone and wish you all a very blessed and safe Easter. I hope that you have a great time with your families where ever you may be, and take joy that the Savior of the Universe has risen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dressed for Death by Juliana Deering

A few years ago, my mother and I got hooked on the Drew Farthering Series. The intrigue, the fun, the mystery, the romance, was absolutely wonderful, and they were easy reads.

Dressed for Death is the fourth in the series.

Drew and Madeline attend a Regency Era themed party for a week. Whilst there, they meet up with Drew's old friend, Talbot Cummins and his bride-to-be Alice Henley. Things are just a little off from the get-go, and Alice promptly dies of an apparent cocaine overdose.

Soon, Drew discovers that a man who he has trusted and admired for years has been selling cocaine on the sly, and he realizes that things aren't always what they appear to be.

As I have said before, I loved this series. However, this one just didn't do it for me. I kind of felt that Ms. Deering was starving in a way, and it showed throughout the weak plot. A few things that I felt were not the best in the story was 1. Drew was very..... melancholy, for lack of a better word. There wasn't any joy or fun like there had been in the previous novels. He was constantly down-in-the-dumps, and sometimes just plain depressed. He seemed to blame himself for everything. 2. the endless Jane Austen references! I know that many people could watch Pride and Prejudice over and over, but I just can't handle the movies or books. 3. The lack of clues. Through the most of the book, there seemed to be meaningless conversations or murders. The only significant clues came at nearly the end.

I wish that I could have loved this installment of Drew Farthering, but it just didn't do it for me.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion by Bethany House Publishers.

Hello, My Friends! And How Are You?

Hey, its me! Dolly, the sporadic blogger. Yes, I'm sorry that I have failed to post anything interesting in quite some time. I will now be a recluse and lock myself in my room, and totally beat myself up for being a blogging failure.

I have spent the last couple of days attempting to come up with something even remotely interesting to type for you all, and I am quite pleased to announce that I have come up with absolutely nothing. At least nothing you would want to read about. I could go on for absolute hours yakking about corgis or Audrey Hepburn, but I figure that is mostly just me who's nuts about that stuff.... BUT DO YOU LIKE CORGIS?!?!?!

Oh, I got it! My new favorite book of the Bible is Ecclesiastes. Much like Proverbs in the thought that wisdom trumps all, is it chocked full of interesting little phrases like:

 "Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don't have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless-- like chasing wind." 

Ecc. 6:9 

I have really come to love Ecclesiastes because I enjoy hearing what Solomon has to say. He also uses the metaphor "like chasing wind" a lot in his books. Interested/ fun factoid. Anywho, I must be running along now so I can starting working on my algebra. :)

Have a fantastical day today, and whatever you do, DON'T CHASE WIND!

"The Conservatarian Manifesto" by Charles C.W. Cooke

The Conservatarian Manifesto is one of those books you read in one hand with a highlighter in the other. Chocked full of knowledge, common sense, and wisdom, Cooke tells the story of conservatives and liberals, and the fight for each others agendas. 

As a future student of political science, I was really excited to read this book. It proved to be enlightening and powerful. Using history, quotations, and research to back up his points, Cooke's argument is rock solid.

I recommend this to people on both sides of the political fence because its validity is something to be shared with all.

I was sent this book in exchange for my honest opinion by Blogging for Books.