The Homesick Texan's Family Table by Lisa Fain

 I love to cook. However, at the same time, I'm very picky about the recipes that I'll use when I'm cooking. I love comfort food as much as the next person, but when I make it I want to be sure that it's something that my family is going to love. One way to be sure of that is to make sure that someone else's family loves it as well. 'The Homesick Texan's Family Table' by Lisa Fain does just that. The recipes in this cookbook do just that. They pull you in and make you say to yourself, 'This is something that my family will adore'. I haven't actually gotten to try any of the recipes yet (I'm making Jalapeño Pesto-Stuffed Pork Roast tomorrow night, pg. 155), but I've got almost every page of the book marked.
     Lisa Fain does a wonderful job of taking you into her family as she's telling you about the recipes. Each chapter starts out with wonderful stories about her own family and her recipes. She makes you feel like you are part of her family and for someone like me that's the best part of a cookbook. No one wants to make something that you don't feel like your family will eat. Ms. Fain takes you into her world, it feels like you are in her kitchen with her helping her make each recipe.
     This cookbook is topnotch and should be on the bookshelf of anyone that loves to cook, especially someone who loves to cook comfort food that they know their whole family will enjoy. After the pork roast the next recipe I'm going to try is Stacked Jalapeño-Cheese Enchiladas (pg. 194). What are you excited to try?

I received this book for free from the publisher’s Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.

Dragonspell by Donita K. Paul is a wonderful fantasy novel that begins with a young girl who grows in a woman and finds out what her destiny is. Dragonspell is an uplifting novel that will keep you interested and wanting more. The best part is that you can see and feel the Christian themes that are so beautifully put in the writings. Dragonspell is a novel that will last the test of time and will become a favorite of many people.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review

Review of You Were Born For This by Bruce Wilkinson

This was an exceptional book and I am so glad that I read it. Wilkinson shows us in this books ways that we can become partners with God so that we are able to enjoy the everyday little miracles that are thrown our way. Not only does this book talk about everyday miracles that you can experience with knowing God, it also helps you understand new ways of becoming closer to God. This book also shows you how to be yourself and that the plan for your life was created by God the same day that God created you. A wonderful read for anyone who needs to be enlightened.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review

Review of 31 Days of Power by Ruth Myers

Ruth Myers has done it again. 31 Days of Power was a wonderfully exceptional book. It was filled with insightful information that makes the reader feel empowered and closer to God. The book was set up into daily devotionals, each with its own scriptures and words of wisdom. Myers talks about spiritual warfare and wearing God's armor and standing up to your demons through each daily devotional. The words that Myers has written have come from God himself and really begin to speak to you each day. Each day that you continue to read the book you gain power and strength from God and become a better, stronger person.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review

Review of 31 Days of Drawing Near to God by Ruth Myers

What more can I say but excellent, excellent, excellent. I loved reading ever moment of this book. This is a wonderful book that shows you ways that you can be closer to God and feel peaceful while doing it. This is an encouraging book that allows up to be closer with our God and brings Him even closer to us. The chapters are divied into 31 chapters, one for each day of the month, and are short enough so that even a busy person can read them, but are long and complex enough to help you on your spiritual journey with God. Each chapter contains a daily prayer and scriptures that help you delve deeper into your own soul and into your relationship with God. Ruth Myers delves into most people's problem about wondering if God really does love us, she shows you that God really does love you unconditionally no matter what. This book is wonderful and I completely recommend it for anyone who wants a more intimate relationship with God.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Deadly Ties: A Wonderful Read

Deadly Ties by Vicki Hinze is a wonderful read. It is suspenseful and keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time that you are reading it. This book will keep you reading and each person that reads it will identify with the characters at some point. Parts of the book are very uplifting and others downright make you think. The characters in the book develop nicely and you aren't left wondering if something was missed. This is one of the books where the characters you like you love and the ones that you don't you can't stand. The villains in this book are certainly that way; by the end of the story you absolutely cannot stand them. In a lot of suspenseful novels, the villains are too fictional to be believable but not in Deadly Ties. Overall, a wonderful and exceptional read.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review

Review of Soulprint by Mark Batterson

This was an absolutely wonderful book. I was not able to put it down, which in my opinion means that it is worth reading. This book helps you answer the question that everyone wants to know, "Who am I?". Mark Batterson's writing is inspiring and moving, he really makes you think as you're reading. Soulprint is a book for those people who need to go on a journey into finding out who they are and Batterson helps with that journey. Each chapter in Soulprint helps you to define who you are and who you are to become through God's plan for your life. Mark Batterson takes you on a journey providing you with verses from the Bible and from the story of King David as well as examples from his own life. Though the two cannot be compared because they are so different, I enjoyed Soulprint as much as I did Chazown by Craig Groeschel. This is definitely a book worth reading.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.