The Everyday Psalmist

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Book Summary:  “If there’s anything we can learn from the many writers of the Psalms,” explains Leslie Calhoun, associate editor of Ink & Willow, “it’s that talking to God doesn’t have to be hard. Prayer can be raw, honest, and messy, and it doesn’t require fancy words or insider language to be meaningful and restorative on a deep soul level.”

 

The twenty-one devotions are divided into three sections—Life Is Beautiful, Life Is Hard, and God’s Got This—that each focus on different aspects of the spiritual journey with the accompanying appropriate Psalms. In addition to the guided prompts, each devotion also ends with a “Getting Real” section that invites readers to jot down what is beautiful about the day, what is hard, and where they need to see God most. 

This beautiful journal lays out simple, inviting prompts for readers who are longing to deepen their relationship with God through prayer but who might be struggling to find the words to accurately express how they’re feeling. Using the prayer language of the psalms as a starting point, The Everyday Psalmist provides an interactive, creative space for Christians to explore writing their own psalms and prayers as part of their daily spiritual practice while learning more about the biblical psalms—what they are, the different types, the origin, and how they are arranged. With quotes and reflections, this journal acts as writer’s guide that encourages reflection and, in the words of Eugene Peterson, helps get “everything out in the open before God.” 

With undated pages, an approachable layout, and calming images of nature, The Everyday Psalmist awakens gratitude and honesty, and most importantly, will enrichen spiritual lives in a personal, transformative way. 

One (or more) Sentence Summary:  The Everyday Psalmist is a beautiful book that encourages you to connect with God through thoughtful prayer. I really liked the thought-provoking prompts.  I read the section and questions and would think them over for a few days before journaling. I found I needed more time to really think about the prompts and what they meant to me.  I found writing a psalm very difficult, but I believe it is because I have never done so and felt it had to be one certain way. The guide will walk you through how to write one. 

The photos and saying thoughts in the journal are so beautiful.  There are several I would like to frame, however, that would mean tearing my journal apart....which I could never do. My favorite part of the journal (and easiest for me) was the "Getting Real" sections. Three questions are asked:

•     What's beautiful today?
•     What's hard right now?
•     Where do you need God most?

Even after completing The Everyday Psalmist, I can still answer those 3 questions in a daily journal.

The Everyday Psalmist would make a wonderful gift, but make sure you pick up a copy for yourself!

Ink & Willow products infuse contemplation and inspiration into the regular spiritual practice of creative-minded Christians, wherever they are in their faith journey. Each thoughtfully curated gift product is based in biblical truth and sparks a reminder of how God reveals beauty in the midst of our ordinary.

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It All Started With You

  ~ I received no compensation and opinions are 100% my own or my family. ~

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Book Summary:  I always thought I was going to be a girl who did something. I was going to run my own business and find fame and fortune! Fall in love…

But here I am. Still waiting for it all to happen, sitting on the floor, surrounded by lilies and roses, trying to do my best friend’s wedding flowers because – in her words – ‘how hard can it be, Frankie?’. The answer is actually ‘very hard’ but it’s not the only thing that’s tough right now. My boyfriend won’t commit, I barely have a job, and once again I have the hangover from hell…

What I don’t know is that life’s about to throw me a curveball a new friend I will make with a beautiful, sad-eyed little boy who is so very tragically ill. I still don’t know about that heartbreak.

Even so, in this moment, I know that it’s time for some changes. Maybe it’s time to make my dreams come true? To try to become a marathon-running, healthy-living, wildly-in-love florist-to-the-stars!

Because I’m beginning to realise that you only get one chance at life. I don’t yet how you change everything, all at once, but what I do know is it all starts with me…

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Thoughts: I wasn't sure the direction It All Started With You was going to take based on the first few chapters. Once you get passed the out-of-control Frankie and get into the story, it is hard to put it down.  Her best friend, a powerhouse lawyer, loans her starter funds to purchase a flower shop.  As she learns how to run a business she develops amazing friends, grows into a fabulous person, and falls in love.  I loved the characters and together they made the story. 

My great-grandfather started a flower shop/greenhouse and it was passed down to my grandfather and later to my mother. I loved the magical part of the flowers in the story and how certain flowers impact the outcome of an event. 

Great read and I look forward to more books by Debbie Howells.

Debbie Howells’s first novel, a psychological thriller, The Bones of You, was a Sunday Times bestseller for Macmillan. Four more bestsellers followed, including most recently The Vow, published by Avon. Fulfilling her dream of writing women’s fiction, she has found a home with Boldwood and her first title with them, The Life You Left Behind was published in February 2022.

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The Millionaire's Wife

 ~ I received no compensation and opinions are 100% my own or my family. ~

Synopsis (from Amazon):  When Anna Blackwell opens an email from an unknown sender, the shocking image attached shatters her perfect world. A woman has been killed. And Anna knows who did it. The past is catching up with her.

Is it her turn next?

To protect herself and her husband Will, she must tell him the terrible truth about her first love. But as the secrets of her life unravel, Anna begins to realise that she is not the only one who has been living a lie.

Anna doesn’t know who to turn to: her best friend, her parents, her husband. But she knows that her ex-lover is dangerous and she must stop him, before it’s too late…

One (or more) Sentence Summary: The Millionaire's Wife is a book I couldn't put down.  There are so many plot twists that they kept me turning the next page and reading the next chapter.  It was too hard to put down. 

Anna receives a photo on the day she is planning a party for her husband's birthday. Her past comes flooding back and she must figure out how to not have it ruin her life.

I really like her book The Secret Mother and can't wait to read more of her work.

Shalini Boland lives in Dorset, England, with her husband and two noisy boys. Before kids, she was signed to Universal Music Publishing as a singer/songwriter, but now she spends her days writing suspense thrillers and dark adventures.

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Golden Girls

  ~ I received no compensation and opinions are 100% my own or my family. ~

Synopsis (from Amazon):  On a perfect June day, Vivian Howe, author of thirteen beach novels and mother of three nearly grown children, is killed in a hit-and-run car accident while jogging near her home on Nantucket. She ascends to the Beyond where she's assigned to a Person named Martha, who allows Vivi to watch what happens below for one last summer. Vivi also is granted three “nudges” to change the outcome of events on earth, and with her daughter Willa on her third miscarriage, Carson partying until all hours, and Leo currently “off again” with his high-maintenance girlfriend, she’ll have to think carefully where to use them.

From the Beyond, Vivi watches “The Chief” Ed Kapenash investigate her death, but her greatest worry is her final book, which contains a secret from her own youth that could be disastrous for her reputation. But when hidden truths come to light, Vivi’s family will have to sort out their past and present mistakes—with or without a nudge of help from above—while Vivi finally lets them grow without her.

With all of Elin’s trademark beach scenes, mouth-watering meals, and picture-perfect homes, plus a heartfelt message—the people we lose never really leave us—Golden Girl is a beach book unlike any other.

One (or more) Sentence Summary:  Another great novel by Elin Hilderbrand.  Golden Girls has a different twist than her other novels and started out Vivi (successful author) with a hit and run. Vivi nudges her loved ones along the way to investigate her death. Very good storyline with good characters. Definitely a different type of book from Erin - well worth the read!

Elin Hilderbrand is the proud mother of three, a dedicated Peloton rider, an aspiring book influencer, and an enthusiastic at-home cook (follow her on Instagram @elinhilderbrand to watch her Cringe Cooking Show). She is also a grateful seven-year breast cancer survivor. Golden Girl is her 27th novel. 

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The Newcomer

  ~ I received no compensation and opinions are 100% my own or my family. ~

Synopsis (from Amazon):  In trouble and on the run....

After she discovers her sister Tanya dead on the floor of her fashionable New York City townhouse, Letty Carnahan is certain she knows who did it: Tanya’s ex; sleazy real estate entrepreneur Evan Wingfield. Even in the grip of grief and panic Letty heeds her late sister’s warnings: “If anything bad happens to me - it’s Evan. Promise me you’ll take Maya and run. Promise me.” So Letty grabs her sister’s Mercedes and hits the road....

With a trunkful of emotional baggage...

and her wailing four-year-old niece Maya. Letty is determined to out-run Evan and the law, but run to where? Tanya, a woman with a past shrouded in secrets, left behind a “go-bag” of cash and a big honking diamond ring - but only one clue: a faded magazine story about a sleepy mom-and-pop motel in a Florida beach town with the improbable name of Treasure Island. She sheds her old life and checks into an uncertain future at The Murmuring Surf Motel.

The No Vacancy sign is flashing and the sharks are circling....

And that’s the good news. Because The Surf, as the regulars call it, is the winter home of a close-knit flock of retirees and snowbirds who regard this odd-duck newcomer with suspicion and down-right hostility. As Letty settles into the motel’s former storage room, she tries to heal Maya’s heartache and unravel the key to her sister’s shady past, all while dodging the attention of the owner’s dangerously attractive son Joe, who just happens to be a local police detective. Can Letty find romance as well as a room at the inn - or will Joe betray her secrets and put her behind bars? With danger closing in, it’s a race to find the truth and right the wrongs of the past.

One (or more) Sentence Summary:  The Newcomer is a book full of quirky but fun (mostly - not the bad guy) characters that make you want to keep reading.  Perfect book for the beach or pool, but you can enjoy any time you need to escape! Thrilling with some romance baked in as well. Like all Mary Kay Andrews books I have read....really enjoyable!

Mary Kay Andrews is The New York Times bestselling author of The Beach House Cookbook and more than twenty novels, including The Weekenders, Ladies' Night, Spring Fever, Summer Rental, The Fixer Upper, Deep Dish, Blue Christmas, Savannah Breeze, Hissy Fit, Little Bitty Lies, and Savannah Blues. A former journalist for The Atlanta Journal Constitution, she lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

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The Last Chance Library

  ~ I received no compensation and opinions are 100% my own or my family. ~

Synopsis (from Amazon):  June Jones emerges from her shell to fight for her beloved local library, and through the efforts and support of an eclectic group of library patrons, she discovers life-changing friendships along the way.
 
Lonely librarian June Jones has never left the sleepy English village where she grew up. Shy and reclusive, the thirty-year-old would rather spend her time buried in books than venture out into the world. But when her library is threatened with closure, June is forced to emerge from behind the shelves to save the heart of her community and the place that holds the dearest memories of her mother.

Joining a band of eccentric yet dedicated locals in a campaign to keep the library, June opens herself up to other people for the first time since her mother died. It just so happens that her old school friend Alex Chen is back in town and willing to lend a helping hand. The kindhearted lawyer's feelings for her are obvious to everyone but June, who won't believe that anyone could ever care for her in that way.

To save the place and the books that mean so much to her, June must finally make some changes to her life. For once, she's determined not to go down without a fight. And maybe, in fighting for her cherished library, June can save herself, too.

One (or more) Sentence Summary:  What a delightful read! You can't help but fall in love and cheer on June Jones.  The library is more than a work place for June. Her mother was the head librarian and has since passed away. The Chalcot Library is all June knows and where she feels "at home". When the threat arises to close the library, June must come out of her shell and fight with everything she has and cross that line of feeling of her comfort zone.

Loved the characters, quick read, leaves you with a really good feeling. I can't wait to read Freya's next novel. 

Freya Sampson works in television as a creator and Executive Producer. Her credits include two documentary series for the BBC about the British Royal Family, and a number of factual and entertainment series. She studied History at Cambridge University and in 2018 was shortlisted for the Exeter Novel Prize. She lives in London with her husband, two young children and an antisocial cat. The Last Chance Library is her debut novel.

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The Good Sister

  ~ I received no compensation and opinions are 100% my own or my family. ~

Synopsis (from Amazon):  Sally Hepworth, the author of The Mother-In-Law delivers a knock-out of a novel about the lies that bind two sisters in The Good Sister.

There's only been one time that Rose couldn't stop me from doing the wrong thing and that was a mistake that will haunt me for the rest of my life.

Fern Castle works in her local library. She has dinner with her twin sister Rose three nights a week. And she avoids crowds, bright lights and loud noises as much as possible. Fern has a carefully structured life and disrupting her routine can be...dangerous.

When Rose discovers that she cannot get pregnant, Fern sees her chance to pay her sister back for everything Rose has done for her. Fern can have a baby for Rose. She just needs to find a father. Simple.

Fern's mission will shake the foundations of the life she has carefully built for herself and stir up dark secrets from the past, in this quirky, rich and shocking story of what families keep hidden.

One (or more) Sentence Summary: What a great book that will have you on the edge of your seat. The Good Sister is told by alternating chapters between Rose and Fern (twins) in a diary type of format. Some entries reflect back on their childhood, which help set the stage for the story. Filled with lots of family dynamics and twist and turns you won't be able to put this book down.  

Really enjoyed Sally Hepworth's other novels The Family Next Door, The Mother's Promise and The Mother-in-Law.

Sally Hepworth has lived around the world, spending extended periods in Singapore, the United Kingdom and Canada. She is the author of The Secrets of Midwives, The Things We Keep, The Mother's Promise, The Family Next Door and The Mother-in-Law. Sally now lives in Melbourne with her husband, three children, and one adorable dog.

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The Wedding Ringer

   ~ I received no compensation and opinions are 100% my own or my family. ~

Synopsis (from Amazon):  A woman who wants nothing to do with love or friendship finds both in the unlikeliest ways in this hilarious and heartwarming debut by Kerry Rea.

Once upon a time, Willa Callister was a successful blogger with a good credit score, actual hobbies, and legs that she shaved more than once a month. But after finding her fiancé in bed with her best friend, she now spends her days performing at children's birthday parties in a ball gown that makes her look like a walking bottle of Pepto Bismol. Willa dreams of starting fresh, where no one knows who she used to be, but first she needs to save up enough money to make it happen. 

Maisie Mitchell needs something too: another bridesmaid for her wedding. After a chance encounter at a coffee shop, Maisie offers to pay Willa to be in her bridal party. Willa wants nothing to do with weddings—or Maisie—but the money will give her the freedom to start the new life she so badly desires. 

Willa's bridesmaid duties thrust her into Maisie's high-energy world and into the path of hotshot doctor Liam Rafferty. But as Willa and Maisie form a real friendship, and Liam's annoyingly irresistible smile makes her reconsider her mantra that all men are trash, Willa's exit strategy becomes way more complicated. And when a secret from Maisie's past threatens to derail the wedding, Willa must consider whether friendship—and romance—are worth sticking around for.

One (or more) Sentence Summary: A really cute and different twist on becoming a bridesmaid and falling for the groomsman. Willa is a great character that will have you laughing along the way, but you also feel sorry for her and what her life has become. In walks Willa and you can't help but want to help her and her fake friendship. 

Very fast read with characters that I really liked. Enjoyable - perfect book for anytime of the year, but especially in June during all the June weddings!

On a side note, I seem to be reading a lot of Ohio authors, which is purely by accident (I live in Ohio too). I would love to read other book by Kerry Rea as this is her first novel - would love to come to a book signing in Columbus (just a skip away). 

Kerry Rea is a 2017 and 2019 #Pitchwars mentee. Her work has appeared in Seventeen Magazine. She lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband and four dogs. The Wedding Ringer is her debut novel.

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The Bounty - Review

 ~ I received no compensation and opinions are 100% my own or my family. ~

Synopsis (from Amazon):  FBI agent Kate O’Hare and charming criminal Nick Fox race against time to uncover a buried train filled with Nazi gold in this thrilling adventure from #1 New York Times bestselling author Janet Evanovich and Steve Hamilton.

Type A special agent Kate O’Hare and international criminal Nick Fox have brought down some of the biggest bad guys out there. But now they face their most dangerous foe yet—a vast, shadowy international organization known only as the Brotherhood.

Directly descended from the Vatican Bank priests who served Hitler during World War II, the Brotherhood is on a frantic search for a lost train loaded with $30 billion in Nazi gold, untouched for over seventy-five years somewhere in the mountains of Eastern Europe.

Kate and Nick know that there is only one man who can find the fortune and bring down the Brotherhood—the same man who taught Nick everything he knows—his father, Quentin. As the stakes get higher, they must also rely on Kate’s own father, Jake, who shares his daughter’s grit and stubbornness. 

From a remote monastery in the Swiss Alps to the lawless desert of the Western Sahara, Kate, Nick, and the two men who made them who they are today must crisscross the world in a desperate scramble to stop their deadliest foe in the biggest adventure of their lives.

One (or more) Sentence Summary:  I am a huge Janet Evanovich fan and love her Stephanie Plum series. I did not know that The Bounty is the 7th book in the series and would like to go back and start with book 1, even though you don't have to and it is truly a stand alone book. 

The Bounty is filed with a lot of excitement, twist and turns, great characters and end that is left open (will there be a book 8)? This is a fast past read that will be hard to put down - its an adrenaline rush in a book.

Over the last twenty-five years, #1 New York Times bestselling author Janet Evanovich has written a staggering twenty-eight novels in the Stephanie Plum series. In addition to the Plum novels, Janet has coauthored the New York Times bestselling Fox and O’Hare series, the Knight and Moon series, the Lizzy and Diesel series, the Alexandra Barnaby novels, and the graphic novel, Troublemaker (with her daughter, Alex Evanovich).

Steve Hamilton is the two-time Edgar Award–winning and New York Times bestselling author of the Alex McKnight crime series, the Nick Mason series, and The Lock Artist. He has either won or been nominated for the Shamus Award, Barry Award, Anthony Award, Dashiell Hammett Prize, American Library Association Alex Award, CWA Gold Dagger, and the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger. 

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Coming Home to Seashell Harbor

   ~ I received no compensation and opinions are 100% my own or my family. ~

Synopsis (from Amazon):  An emotional novel about first love, second chances, and what it means to follow your heart from this award-winning author who "writes with humor and heart" (Jill Shalvis, New York Times bestselling author).

Hadley Wells swapped her dreams of saving the planet for the glamour of Hollywood. But when a very public breakup reveals cracks in her not-so-perfect life, she returns to her hometown to reassess what it is she truly wants. Unfortunately, Seashell Harbor has some trouble of its own—including the first man to ever break her heart.

A serious injury forced footballer Tony Cammareri into early retirement—now he’s determined to reboot his life with a splashy new restaurant venture. He knows better than to expect a happy reunion with Hadley, but he’s determined to make up for the way things ended between them. Yet when Tony and Hadley end up vying for control of the town’s future, they find themselves once again on opposing sides.

As their rivalry intensifies, they must decide what’s worth fighting for—and what it truly means to be happy.

One (or more) Sentence Summary: This was the first book by Miranda Liasson that I have read and really enjoyed her story telling and writing style. So much so I immediately listened to Then There Was You, which oddly takes place in Angel Falls, Ohio and I just finished reading Dark Truths that takes place in Angel Falls, New Mexico.

Coming Home to Seashell Harbor is a great book filled with characters you just can't help but like. I want Seashell Harbor to be a real place and go join that community. It sounds perfect. The story really centers around Hadley coming home for the summer after being publicly humiliated by her superstar boyfriend. Upon arriving home, her dear sweet grandmother is in the hospital due to a fall and she must take over her grandmothers dying business of caring for dogs. To make matters worst, her old boyfriend is the beloved hero of the town and is back home due to a career ending knee injury. He is waiting to buy Hadley's grandmother's business and turn it into a restaurant. 

Boy do sparks fly while they both come up with a business plan to win the building. As they rediscover just how good they can be together, things fall into place. I can't wait for book two come out. I am hoping for a book three since there is a trio of friends that I think each has a story to tell. I can't wait to read even more Miranda Liaison novels.

Miranda Liasson is a bestselling author who writes about the important relationships in women’s lives as well as the self-discovery and wisdom gained along the way. Her heartwarming and humorous romances have won numerous accolades and have been praised by Entertainment Weekly for the way she deals with “so much of what makes life hard . . . without ever losing the warmth and heart that characterize her writing.” She believes that we can handle whatever life throws at us just a little bit better with a laugh.

A proud native of northeast Ohio, she and her husband live in a neighborhood of old homes that serves as inspiration for her books. She is very proud of her three young adult children. And though every day she thinks about getting a dog, she fears a writer’s life may bore the poor animal to tears. When she’s not writing or enjoying books herself, she can be found biking along the old Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath trails in the beautiful Ohio MetroParks.

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