Archive for Reviews

Placebo

Placebo by Steven James was not your normal book from Revell Books. Placebo is a mystery thriller. Steven Banks has also written The Patrick Bowers Thriller Series which is I heard about for the first time when I opened the cover of Placebo to start reading. After reading Placebo I have to say that I am intrigued enough to look into The Patrick Bowers Thriller Series to see what they are all about.

Placebo is basically about a conspiracy that Jevin Banks stumbles across while investigating a neurological research program. The more questions he asks the deeper he finds himself entangled in a conspiracy involving the government and one of the largest pharmaceutical companies. He encounters an assassin who nearly kills him, his assistant and a doctor they were talking to about the research program.

I liked this book because it kept me riveted to the pages from about midway through to the end. The first part of the book took me a little while to get into but I was glad it picked up. I also liked that there is no bad language, I wasn’t sure how it was going to be when I began the book.

What I didn’t like about the book is it didn’t seem overtly Christian, don’t get me wrong there’s nothing wrong with some non-Christian books or not mentioning God every other page, but this one seemed to describe certain characters and situations in a totally non-Christian way. For example, as a woman, I don’t care how seductive a woman looks, do you see what I mean? And I realize the characters are not Christians, but I don’t find that kind of stuff necessary. It’s fluff. I was more interested in getting to the bottom of Jevin’s investigation and the results of the conspiracy, not the leggy or voluptuous secretary. However, I guess those descriptions did generate some strong feelings about certain characters and that means the author did his job in drawing me into the “Placebo world” and all involved.

No matter the kind of book I read, I enjoy a good, clean, entertaining…or in this case thrilling…story line and because Placebo meets those criteria I feel I can still give it a thumbs up.

“Available November 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.


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A Promise of Love

I love children (obviously) but I don’t think my love for them would make me want to jump to their aid and marry a man I did not know and who also happened to be their father. Marriage is a life long commitment. But Ingrid did just that in A Promise to Love by Serena B. Miller. It is a heart-warming story of how a kind, loving young girl offers to marry a man named Joshua Hunter, whom she only met once. She does it for the sake of his children, and her initial attraction to him after he saved her from a difficult situation.

Ingrid and her family lived and worked on a farm, so of course I loved the farming aspect of the book because of my own interest.

I bawled like a baby at Ingrid’s child-like ways, like at the dance on page 219 and when she received her gifts. In many ways she’s unassuming, yet she was definitely working hard to capture Joshua’s attention and love. It was very easy to feel Ingrid’s emotions of pain, rejection and anger as Joshua sorted through his own issues. It was heart-wrenching at times to read the beginning account of their marriage.

I loved this story and the grit Ingrid showed and the intertwining of I Corinthians 13. This story is based on the author’s grandmother’s life, which makes is that much more compelling knowing the details are based on real events.

It was interesting how Serena interwove how prevalent abortion was in the 1800’s. So often life for wives and mothers during that time period is painted at “rosey” and hunky-dory. Women were very hard working and the struggles they faced were anything but rosey. A Promise of Love shows the struggle of one woman who had dealt with many losses in her family, which led to emotional disconnect with other people in her life. And it showed the character and strength of yet a completely different woman. It was a striking contrast to how women are usually portrayed in that time period.

A Promise of Love was a refreshing read for me and gets two thumbs up, as it is probably going to be read again and again.


“Available October 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.


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Twice Promised

The old west has always intrigued me with the pioneers traveling in wagons, leaving comfortable lives for the unknown, the mining towns and even mail-order brides. I don’t think I could have ever been a mail-order bride but I do like to read about them.

Twice Promised is a novel written by Maggie Brendan. It is about two mail order brides who travel to Central City, Colorado to meet their future husbands. They realize upon arriving they are there to meet the same man, Jess Gifford. Unbeknownst to Jess, his dear brother, Zach, corresponded with the two lovely ladies to give him a choice of wives.

The story line kept my attention only because I was interested in finding out who was going to end up with who. Other than that I’ve read far too many novels like this and quite frankly the only new thing was the chaotic unraveling of which mail order bride was going to marry Jess. I hate sounding like a broken record but the information was the same old same old.

I’ve said before that I am a bit of a prude so when the story featured the brides kissing another man other than their intended behind their intended’s backs I couldn’t help but wonder if that would really happen in the old west. I know it can happen, and even to Christians, but I think it’s rare not the norm.

I also think Maggie made the men seem weak, but that’s just my opinion.

What I loved About Twice Promised

I loved the character Granny but her meddlesome ways created some huge problems!

I loved the bear and outhouse scene. ;)

I loved Greta and Cora’s characters, strong, god-fearing women.

Overall, I liked Twice Promise but it’s not likely to be a book I pick up and read again.

“Available October 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.


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Party Time with The Amazing Spider-Man! #SpiderManWMT #Cbias

Ever since our first post about The Amazing Spider-Man our children have been eagerly anticipating hosting our party and watching The Amazing Spider-Man movie, which is due to be released on DVD on November 9th. It took us four different extended invitations before we found some guests available and interested in coming to a Spider-Man themed pizza party and each time our children asked, “Is so and so coming over?” so they were pretty excited when we got the yes.

We went party shopping at Walmart and bought fruit – we made carmel apples – veggies, Spider-Man themed party supplies and Marketside pizza. Walmart will be releasing Amazing Spider-Man themed Augmented Reality triggers that will be included on the pizza box & display pallet, triggering special Amazing Spider-Man experiences on the iPhone, iPad or Android in-store, especially for shoppers.

I found that playing hostess with people outside our household didn’t give me or my daughters the same freedom or time in snapping photos of everything and anything due to taking care of my guests. I tried though.

We ate first before going down to our basement to watch the movie.

The Amazing Spider-Man Movie


All the younger children waiting for the rest of the adults to watch the movie. Sorry about the dark photo.


The adults were upstairs talking and enjoying quiet conversation while the children were downstairs waiting. We interrupted them to get a group picture.

If you read my previous post, you know that we took advantage of the pre-order opportunity to get a digital download of Spider-man on DVD or Blu-Ray on Vudu.com. I also set up an UltraViolet™ (UV) account, which “is a new movie industry standard that allows you to securely store your digital movie collection in the cloud.” We really like online streaming technology.

The Amazing Spider-Man is rated PG-13, unfortunately for families with young children. I wish I had watched it in advance. I naively thought “Spider-Man…what could possibly be wrong with it” and neglected to read the rating, I should have known better. There were a couple of scenes I quickly had to cover up. A brief glimpse of one scene made our 10 year old son say, “That scene on the subway was unnecessary.” And guess what? He’s right.

The movie wasn’t bad, if you haven’t seen it yet, but a lot of the story line was changed if you are use to another version. Even the children noticed since they’ve watched the animated version. We tend to not like new changes.

After watching the movie we gave our younger guests The Amazing Spider-Man goodie bags and they left for home since it was getting late. We thoroughly enjoyed entertaining and look forward to the next time.


Friends talking

For additional information about The Amazing Spider-Man upcoming DVD release, check out Twitter (use hashtag #SpiderManWMT) or Facebook.

“I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment #CBias #SocialFabric” (Feel free to add any additional wording you would like such as “all opinions are my own”)


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Roads by Chris Mann #Roads

I had the opportunity to listen to Chris Mann’s Roads album today. I have seen his name around but cannot say for certain I remember hearing his voice or music before. My oldest daughter and I were having a discussion on what kind of music it was and we couldn’t decide. I finally just looked at the digital download site to see how it was categorized. We were kind of surprised it is considered Pop, but I guess many of the songs are Pop so it makes sense. I just looked online again to see it also categorized as Opera, adult contemporary, pop, operatic pop. To us it was different. Different in a good way.

About Chris Mann

Chris was on the second season of the show, “The Voice”. A show I have yet to watch, as you all know we are X-Factor fans. He was on Christina Aguilera’s team and she told him, “I feel the heavens open up when you sing.” From all reports apparently the whole country agreed, for when the series ended, not one but two of Chris’ songs were on iTunes Top 10 Pop Singles Chart. His album Roads was produced by Produced by Keith Thomas (Amy Grant, Vanessa Williams). Those are big names, eh?

Roads Review

Just to be clear to all of our Christian readers, this album is not a faith or spiritual album. That’s not to say the music and lyrics are not uplifting because they are. I found it very relaxing. I really like the richness of Chris’ voice and I love the song Roads. My daughter, who was up late with me, really liked it too. She’s a music connoisseur like her father. They both like a wide range of music. Music is very important to our family, but especially to these two peas in a pod.

If any of you are music lovers and are looking for something new to entertain and tantalize your ears, then please go to iTunes (http://bit.ly/SgkwJb) and/or Amazon.com (http://amzn.to/XQpJc8) to listen to samples of Chris’ music. His voice and his album get two thumbs up from us!

Roads by Chris Mann was just released in full this week.

This is a review post from One2One Network. I was provided with a copy of the album and I am eligible for a prize drawing. All opinions stated are my own.


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Xlear SparX Review

I had never heard of Xlear SparkX until we sampled it last week. Xlear Sparkx is a natural candy sweetened with xylitol, which is a plant-based sweetener that even dentists approve and recommend. Apparently xylitol has been proven to improve dental health and even strengthen tooth enamel – the first I’ve heard of that and definitely a plus if it rings true. Xylitol does have some controversy surrounding it and I believe it’s simply because of the sources providing it so a word of caution to determine the source of the xylitol before buying a product. Since Xlear SparkX has plant based xylitol it’s pretty probably safe in moderation like all other sweeteners.

Quick Tips About Xlear SparX

• Xylitol is not suppose to interfere with the body’s blood sugar levels or insulin production, making it safe for kids and adults on a sugar-controlled diet.
• Xlear SparX Candy free of artificial colors and flavors and is available in Berry, Citrus, and Fruit varieties.
• Xlear SparX Candy retails for $1.49 for one tube.

About Xlear Inc.

Xlear, Inc. has a number of natural products on the market besides Xlear SparX candy, like the following:

1. Xlear® Nasal Spray a patented saline and xylitol solution
2. Spry Dental Defense System® brand – a line of dental products
3. XyloSweet® – Raw xylitol crystals used as a sugar substitute


Xlear SparX Review

We all liked the taste and texture of Xlear SparX candy. We preferred the taste of the Citrus flavor over the Fruit flavor. The Fruit Flavor did not taste as sweet or as good. There was something different about it but we couldn’t pin point it.

I’d definitely recommend Xlear SparX to family, friends and all of you looking for a natural candy free of artifical flavors and colors. My children really enjoyed this candy. I think $1.49 is a little on the pricey side but for a treat and a healthier alternative I am usually willing to pay more. I’d say we will be purchasing this candy again in the future.

I didn’t thoroughly research all the ingredients but they look ok.

You can find Xlear SparX on Facebook too.

I received this product for free from the sponsor of the Moms MeetSM program, May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer, Xlear, Inc. As a Moms MeetSM blogger, I agreed to use this product and post my opinion on my blog. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of May Media Group LLC or the manufacturer of the product.


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Courageous Teens Review

Once again I turned to my daughter Peanut to read and review a book for me. This next one is called Courageous Teens written by Michael Catt and Amy Parker. It is a book spin of the movie Courageous but as the title indicates it’s especially for teens. By the sounds of Peanut’s review she was pretty impressed. So read on…

Courageous Teens Review

I loved Courageous Teens. It really convicted me not to want to be happy being an average Christian or a second best Christian. It motivated me to want to be the best Christian I can be. It was really encouraging.

I liked the fact that the book had questions at the end of each chapter. The questions challenged me to want to try to be a better Christian or better person and to trust God more.

I will definitely read this book over and over again. It was an awesome book.

Two thumbs up for me!

Theresa here, I think this sounds like a great gift idea for a teen in your life who needs enouragement in their faith walk.

on behalf of Peanut.

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.


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Dollar General Premium Diapers

Every parent knows there’s one baby product they cannot live without and that’s diapers. Whether it’s cloth or disposable it is a necessity in a home with a baby or young child. We have been both cloth and disposable diaper users, but with our last child we used mostly disposable.

Recently we had the opportunity to try Dollar General Premium Diapers.
Dollar General Premium Diapers come in sizes from newborn all the way up to size 6. We received a package of Dollar General Baby Diapers Convenience Package- Size 4 – 20ct which retails for $4.50 each and $18.00 for a 4-unit case. There are other packages in different sizes available as well.

Dollar General Premium Diapers Review

The design of these diapers is cute and even includes the diaper size on the diaper, making it easier to tell sizes apart if you have multiple children in diapers. Dollar General Premium diapers are functional. We didn’t notice any leaking nor did we have any issues with Junior breaking out into a rash. The sizing seemed to be right on as Junior’s fit him perfectly.

We did not really have any negative issues with Dollar General Premium Diapers. They accomplished their purpose each day we used them. ;) Great value and price. I’d say they function the same as any brand name diaper, except they are cheaper.

Two thumbs up from us!
Feel free to connect with Dollar General on Twitter
and on Facebook.

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.


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Carpet One Review and Giveaway

When we went to Brandcation Blog Cabin we received swag (products from companies sponsoring the event or bloggers). Amy from Grinning Cheek to Cheek was sponsored by Carpet One. We all received a mat. There was a choice of pet paws and a fall mat, since I don’t have a fall mat I chose that one, though my kids would have loved the pet paws! Mommy rules! ;) I think there were even two 5×7 mats given away – they were nice too!

Carpet One Review and Giveaway

Carpet One mats are water and stain-resistant, machine-washable and made in the USA. We have already washed our mat once – didn’t want to take a photo of a dirty mat even though the browns hide the dirt really well. Another reason I chose this mat. The pet paws had a light color for the paws which I figured would show the dirt more. With ten people in our home we track a lot of dirt in even though I have mats at every entrance and the children are required to take off their shoes and wash their feet if they go barefoot. The mat washed up nicely and did not fall apart. I’ve had that happen before, probably on mats that weren’t machine washable though as they frayed and the back disintegrated. :(

I actually put our mat in front of our kitchen sink. It’s soft under the feet and give extra support while standing doing dishes. It looks nice too. We really like it there.

Overall we are very pleased with our first experience with a Carpet One product.

About Carpet One:

Carpet One Floor & Home has more than 1,000 independently owned and operated stores in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Carpet One Floor & Home carries carpet, wood, laminate, ceramic, vinyl, and area rugs, including exclusive brands like Bigelow and Lees.


Carpet One Giveaway

Now for the giveaway!

Please make your entries via the Rafflecopter below to win one of these Autumn mats supporting Breast Cancer Awareness month, which was this past month.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.


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A Farmer’s Daughter

I love to bake and cook even though I don’t do much of it anymore now that I work nearly full-time – that’s what happens when you have a large family and teen girls. And in our family the boys are even learning to cook. I just put them on lunch duty for the winter. They are doing well….we just have to work on clean up! I have lots of recipe books but tend to use a recipe book my mom used and one that a dear friend wrote out for me as a shower gift. My girls love trying new recipes so I thought they would appreciate a new cookbook A Farmer’s Daughter by Dawn Stoltzfus is a book of yummy recipes from a Mennonite Kitchen.

Peanut and I chose to try French Puff Cinnamon Muffins for the purpose of this review.

They have been our breakfast for the past couple of mornings and are a yummy, albeit sugary treat. Peanut says this recipe doubles well. That’s always a requirement for a good recipe in our house as most normal recipes are too small for our family and we have to double it, sometimes tripling if we want leftovers.

French Puff Cinnamon Muffins

These melt in your mouth. They’re like donuts – without being fried. And so simple to make! Yeah!

1/2 cup white or raw sugar
1/4 cup salted butter, softened
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. baking powder
1 cup flour

Cinnamon mixture:

1/4 cup salted butter
1/2 cup white or raw sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 24 mini muffins cups. Mix sugar, butter, and cinnamon in a bowl. Stir in milk, and then mix in baking powder and flour until combined. Do not overmix. Fill prepared mini muffin cups about half full and bake until lightly golden, 18-20 minutes.

While muffins are baking, prepare the cinnamon mixture by melting butter. In a separate bowl, mix together sugar and cinnamon. When muffins are done, let cool slightly and remove from their cups, then dip each muffin completely in melted butter and roll in sugar-cinnamon mixture. Yields 18-20 mini muffins. Serve warm!

Many recipes include a little note at the bottom from Dawn, like this one:

And Another Thing…And Another Thing…The key is to put these in a mini muffin pan. They are such a fun food and when you bake them in a mini muffin pan you can eat more without feeling guilty.

A Farmer’s Daughter Review

We really liked this recipe. It was super easy to make. We didn’t make them in a mini muffin pan but they still turned out yummy. I like how Dawn includes a note at the bottom of many recipes like the one above.

We are looking forward to trying more recipes from A Farmer’s Daughter, many of which seem like spin offs of the ones we already make, like the hot cocoa recipe, even the French Cinnamon Puff recipe is very similar to a plain muffin we make with strudel topping.

All the recipes seem very straight forward requiring regular ingredients that most American families would have on hand at any given time.

One thing missing from this recipe book is photos, though I realize that many cookbooks do not include photos, I think it is nice when they do.

Two thumbs up from us!

“Available October 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.


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