SINNERS LIKE ME - ERIC CHURCH

To think only a few weeks ago, I'd never even heard of, Eric Church. I happened across one of his videos on Youtube, and decided to check it out. Liked what I heard, and watched a few more. The next day I purchased the CD.

I was hoping to like at least half the CD, but every song is great. Great beat, AMAZING words, and a wonderful soothing voice.

The next time I go to the store, I plan on picking up his other CD. Can't get enought.

THE BACK-UP PLAN

I had wanted to see THE BACK UP PLAN when it came out in the theaters but never made it. When I discovered my library had it, I quickly put it on reserve. The movie wasn't quite what I was expecting, though it was a cute. Great idea, I just wished they would have played out the initial meeting/romance more before jumping into being a couple faced with becoming parents. A little too unbelievable for me. They had some great ideas they could have expounded on but didn't. It all seemed a little too rushed to me. But regardless, it was a cute movie with great acting.

THE RANCHER'S REUNION

Wow, wow and WOW! Right from the very first page I was captivated. But it didn’t stop there with one great line after another. I was so blown away by the amazing writing, I had to write the author and let her know that though I was only on page twenty, I couldn’t put it down.

This was the first book I read by Tina Radcliffe, and it certainly won’t be the last. Really, what amazing writing, wonderful characters and a fantastic storyline. There wasn’t one thing I could find wrong between the covers.

THE RANCHER’S REUNION was one of those books you can’t put down and NEVER want to end. You are sure to fall in love with the characters as you venture with them through the pages.

KAYDIE

After receiving KAYDIE, I discovered it was book two in the Montanan Skies series. When I realized book one, MACKENZIE, was about her search for her sister KAYDIE, I knew I had to quickly purchase it so I could read it first (See my review on for MACKENZIE).

KAYDIE is a sweet romance set in the Montana Territory in the late 1800’s. Penny Zeller has some great lines, my favorite being the one about a servant. Very unique. I smiled as I reread it over several times. The characters had well thought-out past that will take you on a journey of hope, and forgiveness as they slowly learn to trust in the Lord and allow themselves to love, again.

KAYDIE, as well as MACKENZIE, have well planned storylines. Ones that will have you turning the pages, wanting to know what will happen, next.

8 SECONDS

I picked this movie up because I’ve loved Luke Perry since 90210, as well as my fascination with cowboys. Not one for watching much TV, I finally got a chance to watch it, and by then I’d forgotten it was based on a true story and how it would end.

8 SECONDS is a good movie, well acted and played out with a story behind the story, one that needed to be told. To get a glimpse into the rodeo world was fascinating, as well as the life of Lane Frost.

What an amazing journey, though so profoundly sad.

FOUND IN TRANSLATIONS

FOUND IN TRANSLATIONS is a story of one girl's journey from being a selfish, self-centered young woman to finding meaning and purpose through a mission trip. She's forced to look beyond her own needs. Before her trip even begins, nothing goes as planned. Kim learns quickly that being inflexible isn't going to cut it. She must adapt, and quickly, to the changes she has no control over. She learns a swift lesson in, our plans are not always what God has planned, and for good reason. The importance of listening to God's whispers and following them out, even when we can't see past our own plans. Mission trips can do that to a person.

LETTERS TO JULIET

Even though I didn't feel the character of Charlie was well acted - a little stiff - I LOVED the movie. What a great story. The character Sophie, on the other hand was well acted. The story was plotted out well, keeping you on your toes. Though the ending is what really did it for me. There's nothing like an amazing ending, and LETTERS TO JULIET did it well.

THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR and MOONLIGHT AND MISTLETOE

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year-

This movie sounded great, something I'd really like. And though the plot was good, the acting of the heroine ruined it for me. Not sure if it was the actress or just the way she performed her part. Either way, I was not impressed with her acting and it totally took away from the story. I got what her character was suppose represent but it was almost like she was a spoiled, snotty brat...with a smile on her face and in her voice. It just didn't it. It seemed forced and unnatural.

On the other hand, the actor that played the hero was great. I liked his character and felt his acting was done well. Smooth, natural, a character you can fall in love with. Which is really too bad that one character/actress had to ruin it for the entire movie.

Good thing I'd purchased this movie in a two pack, along with "Moonlight & Mistletoe" Now that's a movie I could watch over and over.


Moonlight & Mistletoe-

Moonlight & Mistletoe on the other hand was a wonderful movie. Great acting. Great storyline. It was a cute story done well that will warm your heart and having you smiling. The romance was subtle and of so sweet.

THE COWBOY'S FAMILY

The more I read Brenda Minton's writing, the more I love it. Just when I thought her stories couldn't get any better, then comes along another. THE COWBOY'S FAMILY was amazing. The writing. The characters. The plot. Not only does she have the amazing ability to write a remarkable story, she has the ability to deliver marvelous lines.

There are books that read fast. And books that don't read well. And then there are books that read slow but not because they can't hold your attention but because they are so wonderfully written you want to savor every word, and every minute inside the pages with the characters. That is what Brenda's writing is to me.

As an aspiring writer, I marvel at her writing. I often shake my head as I reread a line several time, it's so brilliant. She has a way of delivering amazing lines, and adding faith that's so natural, never forced or awaked. I hope to one day deliver such amazing words. You can bet I'll be searching the bookshelves for the next Brenda Minton book.

Yee Haw! Love them cowboys!

SECRETS UNDER THE MIDNIGHT SUN

Secrets Under the Midnight Sun is a wonderful story for young readers, ages eight to twelve. Freddie gives you a subtle glimpse into one’s life of abuse and the devastating effects. Elisa touches on how secrets can destroy families and those that are keeping them. An elementary or middle school student could read this story without feeling they were reading something beyond them, yet comprehend on a safe level what Freddie is going through.

For those that have not experienced what Freddie has, they can get the idea in a nonthreatening way. For those that know of someone going through what Freddie went through, they can gain some understanding and compassion. Maybe even talk them into revealing their secret to a trusted adult. For those that are going through what Freddie went through, it can be the light at the end of the tunnel, letting them know they are not alone. That in spite of the consequences, some secrets should never be kept.

I felt for Freddie and what she was going through and I loved her spirit and courage. I loved how she looked to God, though I was saddened by her mother’s denial and how she handled the situation to a degree. I felt for her sisters and brother, and yes, even for her father who will have to answer to God one day, and for all he missed out on and lost. Those that abuse, often have been abused themselves.

Elise took a sad situation and could have made Freddie angry, turn from God and head down a path of destruction. Instead, she had her turn to God and trust Him enough that she finally saw things as they really were. In spite of it all, I saw an amazing future for Freddie, and that’s the message of hope I believe Elise will conveyed to her young readers.

I’d love to see a book like this as required reading for younger students. To think of the lives that could be changed in hearing Freddie’s story. This is what we need that reveal the things no one ever dares talk about so people can find help and heal and possibly put an end to the horrible cycles of abuse.

A BOYFRIEND FOR CHRISTMAS

What a wonderful story. Great acting. Great storyline. One you'll want to watch again and again. What a cute idea played out perfectly. A touch of love. A touch of a fairytale. A touch of humor. This heartwarming story has it all with just the right dose of everything you need for a good romance.

MONTANA HEARTS

Being the cowboy lover I am, when I spotted this book on the shelf at the store I couldn't resist. Never having read a book by Charlotte Carter before, I was taking a chance but after reading the synopsis I was hooked.

Montana Hearts was well written with a wonderful storyline and characters you're sure to love. A very sweet story, played out at just the right pace. I especially loved the ending. Though you could imagine how it would end, the author threw in a few twists with a unique ending. Very cute. I loved it.

GOD'S PROMISES FOR MOTHERS

I wasn’t too thrilled with this devotional. I’m more into contemporary writing then straight out of the Old King James Bible, version. So, if you like that type of writing, then it’d be a good choice for you but if you’re like me, then no. I enjoy a devotional like Joyce Meyer’s would write.

COWBOYS AND ANGELS

After running across this movie on Amazon, being the cowboy lover I am, I just had to have it. The acting was good, and the overall movie was good. The underline message was good as well but I felt it was a little too subtle. A little disjoined, a little confusing. It felt like there was something missing to the connection between the Angel,the cowboy and the other woman.

In the end they kind of threw you for a loop, not leaving you with an “ah, ha” moment but confusion. I mean I got it but it was rather blunt, not carried out very well. I felt they should have played it out a little better to get across the point they’d been trying to convey that hadn’t been clear up until that point. At any rate, it was a good movie, just not great due to the way it was played out in the end.

LAST CHANCE CAFE

I rarely watched TV and only recently discovered I had Lifetime with my new cable provider along with being able to tape shows. When I discovered by chance that a movie was on earlier, LAST CHANCE CAFÉ and that I'd missed it, I was mortified. I simply couldn't wait another month until it was to be on again. I just had to order it online (eventhough I had to order it from Lifetime), knowing it would be a movie I'd watch over and over, again.

I'm a HUGE Linda Lael Miller fan, and have read many of her books, fifteen or more. One of them being LAST CHANCE CAFÉ, which I loved. Oh, what a great day it was to discover one of her books has been made into a movie. I would love to see all of them become a movie...well, almost all of them.

Just as I loved the book, the movie was good as well. Loved the storyline. The acting was good though I wouldn't say great. There were some really great scenes, so true to Linda's writing.

THANKSGIVING GROOM

When I pick up a book with the name BRENDA MINTON on it, I know I’m in for a treat. Just as I’ve come to love about Brenda’s books, the characters and the story that unfolds in THANKSGIVNG GROOM had me turning the pages, wanting to know what happens next. What great characters!

I have to admit that the cover of a book speaks volumes to me, being a visual person and all. I also have to admit that I wasn’t too enthused with this particular cover. Funny how things have a way of taking you by surprise, though. I knew the exact moment in the book that the cover was created for and it was so perfect it changed my whole view of it. It was a very profound moment for it had become alive.

I loved Tuckers, as well as Penelope’s story. Brenda has an amazing way of portraying stubborn, hardheaded characters, yet you can’t help but fall in love with them. She also has a way with delivering some really great lines that leave you in awe of her writing.

I must say the ending really did it for me. The way it all came together, and what Tucker did (Sorry, you’ll have to read it to find out.) stirred up many emotions. Very touching.

Can’t wait for her next book.

EAT PRAY LOVE

I guess there is a spoiler in my review but I don’t really know any way around it to get across what I’d like to convey. Sorry about that. I usually don’t put them in my reviews.

Every since I saw the cardboard standup at the movie theater, I wanted to see EAT PRAY LOVE. I didn’t make to the theater when it was out and waited patiently in hopes that my local library would get it in. And they did. I waited three weeks on a waiting list and when I got the call it was my turn, I went in to pick it up immediately and planned to watch it that night.

I must say I was a bit disappointed in this movie. I was really expecting something profound. Yet as often as the case, I heard the book was really good by a few people. Still, having watched the movie I can’t say I’m eager to read it. A positive note, the acting was good.

I for one am a deeply committed person, so right off the bat the main character leaving her husband the way she did, didn’t sit well with me. As the story unfolded, I kept waiting for something, something that never happened.

The flashbacks of her husband put in my mind she’d come to her senses and discover she really did love him, and needed to give her marriage the work, commitment and chance every marriage deserves. It bothered me greatly that it never materialized.

I totally get that people often make the wrong decision, and that one needs to discover who they are, their purpose in life and all that. In EAT PRAY LOVE, honestly, the only connection to the title I came away with is EAT. She did indulge in eating. As far as PRAY, I was thrown for a loop on the whole praying thing. As a Christian, did I miss something? Or was the PRAY part, praying to a picture of a woman. That was a little disturbing to me to say the least. As far as LOVE, well yeah, she quickly went from one guy to another with a hint of LOVE. Is it me or did she basically jump into another relationship like she confessed she had from the marriage she’d just ran away from?

So in the end I was sorely disappointed in this movie. I felt the title was misleading, leading you down a path far from what the title suggested.

Maybe a better title would be EAT MEDITATE AND HAVE A FLING.

THE MAN I WANT TO BE - CHRIS YOUNG

Okay, so I’ll admit it. There are times I purpose a CD for one song in hopes that I’ll like enough of the others on it to make it worth my wild. Once I receive the CD, I’m often so enamored with that one particular song that I can’t stop listening to it, thus never getting to the others on the album…or I only listen once through, not really absorbing each one for it’s uniqueness. There are those times when a song hits you right away and you fall quickly in love with it and other times where it takes hearing it a few times before you become hooked.

Mind you, this does not happen all the time but with this particular album, it did. So I specifically purchased it for GETTING YOU HOME. Months later I have the radio on in my car, something I rarely do (always listen to CD’s), and an amazing song comes on, VOICES. It didn’t take long to recognize the amazing, soothing, deep rich voice of Chris Young. Immediately it hit me that I may very well have that song.

When I got home I punched in CHRIS YOUNG on Amazon, and just as I thought, he only has two CD’s out and I have them both! What a great surprise that was. Since then, I’ve listen to the entire album over and over, loving ALL of it.

Funny how things work out sometimes.

YULETIDE COWBOY

YULETIDE COWBOY is a very charming story. How could one not fall in love with such a sweet and caring man such as Chance Turner? I liked the storyline for Lynn as well as Chance. Woman fleeing abusive situations is a great topic to bring to light. I was also intrigued by the whole rodeo preacher. Something I had never thought about, yet thoroughly enjoyed getting a glimpse into. As always, Debra Clopton has a way of drawing you into her stories and having you fall in love with her characters.

ABBIE ANN

Once again Sharlene MacLaren has swept me away in ABBIE ANN. A large novel at 500 pages, reads smoothly, taking you on an amazing journey that you never want to end. What wonderful characters! I thought the first two in the series HANNAH GRACE and MAGGIE ROSE, had amazing characters with remarkable stories. I shouldn’t have doubted for a minute that I would love Abbie Ann and Noah any less or their stories.

Besides Sharelene’s wonderful writing and storytelling, she has an astonishing way of weaving in layer upon layer of drama and twists. She delivered wonderful lines that had me laughing, as well as heartwarming moments that made my eyes well up with tears. And all done so smoothly and naturally that you forget you’re reading fiction.

I was totally amazed at the details to boat building throughout the story. I’d have to guess a lot of research went into ABBIE ANN. Just one of the things I love so much about Sharlene’s writing is the depth and growth of each characters story.

I can’t wait to receive the next book of Sharlene’s I recently ordered, LONG JOURNEY HOME. Hurry up, Amazon!

CATCH AND RELEASE

Love this movie. What a great story, with great acting. I caught a glimpse of this movie on a Youtube put together video of several scenes from different movies. I was intrigued and with a little investigation, discovered my library had a copy. I went the next day to borrow it. Once I started it, I soon realized I had watched it some time ago, yet couldn't get myself to turn it off. It's one of those movies you can watch more than once. I just may watch it again, one day.

MAGGIE ROSE

Once again I’m am blow away by Sharlene MacLaren’s amazing writing. I loved HANNAH GRACE, so when I’d finished, it had me wanting for the next in the series, MAGGIE ROSE. I was certainly blessed when I’d won a copy of HANNAH GRACE on Sharlene’s website. I had yet to read her work and now can’t seem to get enough of it.

MAGGIE ROSE was an amazing story, incredibly written. Loved the plot. Love the Characters. Luke’s Spiritual journey, and life lessons he encountered. Very powerful, moving, and thought provoking. Maggie and Luke weren’t the only ones with tears in their eyes as this wonderful story came to an end. Brilliantly done, I must say.

Now on to the third and final book in this remarkable series, ABBIE ANN. Can’t wait to see where Sharlene takes ABBIE ANN...and me, in what is sure to be another great novel.

REMEMBER ME

Well I must say I am in love with Rob Pattinson all over again. I loved him in Twilight, and I loved him in REMEMBER ME. Wow, what an amazing movie. Great story! Great acting. For whatever reason I had not remembered what the ending was about. That came as a total shock. Here I was going along loving this story, totally engrossed in it, and yet had no idea where it was heading. The idea was never a thought or a possibility. It was as if I was given two stories in one. It made me want to go back and watch it again with new eyes. But then again, I don’t know if I could handle it, knowing what happened in the end.

Very powerful and moving.

Definitely a movie to REMEMBER.

THE WRITER'S JOURNEY

THE WRITER’S JOURNEY is quite a monstrous book in size as well as the information it contains. I must admit it took me some time to get through it. Although I don’t regret reading it I must say in many ways it was way beyond my comprehension. So much information that I had a hard time deciphering it all. The examples were extensive which had its advantages as well as its disadvantages.

I would have to say what I took away from this book is the sense that characters are quite complex, thus are humans. I now have a different perspective on the structure of a novel, and even more so the importance of it. This book also put to words the feelings an amazing movie or book can provoke. Why, how, and the importance of it.

At one of my writing meetings, we watched the concepts of this book being taught by the authors on DVD. Though I was only able to watch the first half, I must say it was easier to comprehend then the book. I would highly recommend the DVD’s verses the book.

BIG TIME RUSH

When my girls first started watching BIG TIME RUSH it didn’t take long for their songs to seep into my soul. They were catchy, uplifting with great vocals. There CD wasn’t out yet with no indication of when it would be but we just had to get a hold of their songs. So we purchased several off of itunes to tie us over. But once we discovered the CD would be released, we signed up right away for it.

What a great CD. Something the whole family can enjoy. Who would have thought that only a few weeks later we’d get to meet them!

Check out my other blog post to hear about our experience meeting BIG TIME RUSH.
http://kymmcnabney.blogspot.com/