Love at Lakewood Med Book Blast and Giveaway

About the Book

Genre:  Adult, New Adult,Conetemporary, Romance
Publisher: Cedar Fort
Publication date: March 13, 2018
Savannah Drake would be thrilled about starting her final year of medical school if it weren’t for one thing: she has to spend a month working in the emergency room with cold, aloof Dr. Wesley Kent as her mentor. When her first day in the ER proves to be a humiliating disaster, Savannah is ready to swear off emergency medicine forever. Gradually, though, she finds that the unpredictable, emotional experience of caring for patients in the emergency room is affecting her far differently than she expected – and Dr. Kent turns out to be anything but the arrogant attending physician that she assumed him to be. But just when Savannah finally admits to herself that she is falling for Dr. Kent, she learns that things at the hospital are not all what they seem. Faced with a seemingly impossible choice, Savannah must decide between her future career and everything that she has come to care so much about.

GOODREADS | AMAZON

About the Author

TJ Amberson hails from the Pacific Northwest, where she lives with her husband and nutty cocker spaniel. Her most recent novels include The Kingdom Of Nereth, Fusion, and Love at Lakewood Med. When she’s not writing, TJ can probably be found enjoying a hot chocolate, pretending to know how to garden, playing the piano, or surfing the Internet for cheap plane tickets.

GOODREADS | FACEBOOK | WEBSITE 

Snippet #1

Danielle uses her fork to stab another strawberry out of her fruit salad. “Come on, you can’t tell me that working with someone as good looking as Doctor Kent isn’t going to help you enjoy this rotation a little bit.”

   “Are you kidding?” I exclaim. “You saw how he was at the orientation meeting yesterday. He’s completely devoid of personality.”

   “Devoid of personality or not, Doctor Kent is handsome.” Danielle gives me a wry smile. “At least your view at work will be nice.”

Snippet #2

Footsteps approach fast. An instant later, the drunk guy is ripped off of me by a person who is wearing dark scrubs. I collapse to the floor, shaking from adrenaline. Havoc continues directly above where I’m cowering. I crawl away from the stretcher and stagger to my feet. Turning around, I am met by the sight of Doctor Kent pinning the drunk guy down on the stretcher.

Snippet #3

 “The patient thinks she’s a hiccup,” I announce.

   Doctor Kent scratches his chin. “She has hiccups?”

   “No. She believes that she is a hiccup, and she states that she has been a hiccup for a long time. Oh, and she would like to go home.”

   He arches an eyebrow. “I see. Does she have any signs and symptoms of someone who is a hiccup?”

   I’m hit with a pulse of alarm. Doctor Kent isn’t kidding. Did I miss a class about patients being hiccups? Or is there a different meaning of ‘hiccup’ that I’m not thinking of? How—

   “I’m only messing with you.” Doctor Kent gets to his feet.

   “What?” I’m not sure whether to laugh or kill him. “You . . . you were . . .”

   “I’ll go give her my blessing so she can go home.”

   Doctor Kent heads off to Room Seven. I gaze after him. I have to admit that what he did was kind of funny. Actually, it was really funny.

Snippet #4

Next to me, Doctor Kent remains all business. He moves to my right side and carefully lifts me to a sitting position. The next thing I know, he has slung my arm over his shoulder, picked me up, and begun to carry me. At first, I’m too shell-shocked to do anything. But as I get rocked by the steady motion of his steps, weariness overcomes me, and I drop my aching head against his chest.

Giveaway

Enter the giveaway HERE.

Giveaway is subject to policies HERE.

Tour Schedule

July 26-
Cafinated Reads
CherylBBookBlog
Wishful Endings
Paulette’s Papers
July 27-
Singing Librarian Books
Heidi Reads…
Why Not Because I Said So
July 28-
Life Is What It’s Called
Reading, Wri
ting & Stitch-Metic
​Blooming with Books

The Secret of Haversham House Blog Tour, Review and Giveaway

About the Book

 

Genre:  Christian, Fiction, Historical, Regency, Romance

Publisher: Cedar Fort
Publication date: June 12, 2018
Francesca Haversham is eighteen years old and about to step into a glittering future – all she has to do is secure her wealth with an advantageous marriage. Then she learns the truth:her entire identity is a lie. Now Francesca faces a horrible choice. Will she give up all she knows or continue to lie about her past and risk everything, including her heart?

GOODREADS | AMAZON

About the Author

Julie Matern is a resident of Utah. She attended the University of Exeter in Exeter, England, and graduated with a double major in French and Education. She was born and raised in England, moving to America after her marriage and is the mother of six children. She has served in the PTA for over 20 years, taught tap dance, and enjoys amateur photography. She is the author of ‘British War Children’ ( for which she received a “Recommended Read” award from the League of Utah Writers) and ‘British War Children 2: An Enemy Among Us’.
Hometown: Highland, UT

FACEBOOK | TWITTER | WEBSITE

Snippet

Francesca stopped breathing as Mr. Ashbourne gently took her gloved hand in his and expertly spun her around the room, leaving her former partner spluttering at the lack of manners, in the center of the dance floor. She became dizzy at the realization that Mr. Ashbourne was actually dancing with her. After several turns, he lowered his head and whispered into her ear, his nose tickling her skin and sending a thrill up her spine, causing a delicious sensation in her midriff. “Are you unwell?” he asked. “You look faint.” She recovered herself and observed that he had a playful smile on his lips, fully aware of the power his presence had on young ladies. Not wanting to appear as inexperienced as she really was, she blurted out, “Oh no, you merely surprised me, that is all.” “Then I shall take pleasure in surprising you whenever I can as it only serves to heighten your beauty!” Francesca’s cheeks burned under his scrutiny and she bent her neck to avoid his piercing gaze and gather her confused thoughts.

Review

The Secret of Haversham was an interesting and a worthwhile read. It's a book that I will definitely reread again in the future and I look forward to reading more books by this author. The writing style of the author reminded me of classical 19th century writers that wrote fictional short stories and novels of Americans visiting and touring Europe. I am not sure if that was the writing style the author was going for, but it seemed to have an older quality to it. The story was driven more by actions and secrets then the characters dialogue or development. The story was in constant motion and with each chapter I felt like I was peeling away layer after layer. I highly suggest checking out this book and reading it. To learn more, click here.

Author Interview

Life Is What It's Called - What's your inspiration for this book?

Julie Matern - Social class. It is still alive and well in England but not to the extent it was in this period. One day I wondered what would happen to a person who discovered that they were actually from a much lower class. Would it change the way friends and family treated them? I decided it would and thus a main character with a secret past was born.

Life Is What It's Called -What do you hope the readers get out of the book?

Julie Matern - I hope they are transported back in time and escape into this glittering world of privilege. I also hope they root for Francesca and Phillip and that other characters evoke strong negative emotions in them. If they come to examine their own prejudices that would be icing on the cake.

Life Is What It's Called - Who/What was your inspiration behind the characters?

Julie Matern - Francesca and Annabelle are such good girls - young and naive, just as they should be after their sheltered upbringings. I needed some villains to contrast with them and we all love to hate diabolical literary characters. Matt Bomer (White Collar) was my inspiration for Langley, physically. He is so classically handsome and pleasant to look at and that was what I needed Langley to be. As for his character, Langley is a  combination of many selfish and narcissistic traits all rolled into one individual.

My inspiration for Lady Augusta was Lady Catherine DeBourgh. She is so haughty but I needed Augusta to be conniving and malicious as well. I would love to see these two characters meet at a soiree!

As for Phillip, physically I used James Norton (Grantchester and Death Comes to Pemberley) as my inspiration but he is very like my husband in his personality.

Giveaway

Enter the giveaway HERE.

Giveaway is subject to policies HERE.

Tour Schedule

Tour Landing Page

July 23-The Power of Words | Paulette’s Papers
July 24-Life is What It’s Called | Encouraging Words From the Tea Queen | Blooming with Books
July 25-Pause for Tales | Reading Is My SuperPower | Singing Librarian Books
July 26-Heidi Reads… | Bookworm Lisa | Why Not? Because I Said So!
July 27-Remembrancy | Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic 
July 28-Edits and Reviews by Leslie | Jorie Loves A Story​

Please note that I received a free copy of this book to facilitate this review. The giveaway prize and selection of the winner is handled by Singing Librarian. Please note that there are also Amazon Affiliate links on this post. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualified purchases that help in running this blog.

Color Game to Play with Lehi, Lehi, What Do You See?

My kids (ages 2 and 4) love playing games and reading. They really enjoy it when we combine the two. We read Lehi, Lehi, What Do You See? and played a color game.

Each time we read about the color or object that a prophet saw I asked them to go and find an object around the house that was the same color.  My kids loved hunting around the house looking for colored objects or toys. It was easy for my 4 year old and a little tricky for my 2 year old. They asked to play the game again and again.

You could also adjust the game to make it harder for kids by associating a number with the color objects to find i.e. find two red things, three yellow things, etc.

To make the game easier for kids, you can gather colored objects or toys and set them next to you as you read the book and have the kids point to the object that matches the color that you're reading.

Playing the game while reading the book will help kids learn their colors and have some fun. This is a great activity for toddlers and preschoolers.

To learn more about, Lehi, Lehi, What Do You See?, click here.

Please note that there are Amazon Affiliate links on this post. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualified purchases that help in running this blog.

Kroger Friday Freebie

Today only you can download a coupon for 1 FREE Airheads Bites, Airheads Soft Bites or Airheads Xtremes Sourfuls (6 oz.) (you must have an online account and store card registered). The coupon is good at Kroger and Kroger Affiliates (Smith's, Fred Meyer, City Market, Dillon, Fry's, Kinger Sooper, etc) and must be redeemed by August 5, 2018. Click here for more details.

A Tangled Ruse Review

For her protection, Lady Rachel is sent into hiding on her uncle's estate in Rockcliffe, Scotland. As she struggles to forget the haunting memories of abduction and attempted kidnapping, she discovers even more danger for herself and England.

Luke Beckett, the Marquess of Downshire, stumbles upon Lady Rachel and begins a peculiar friendship with her without the constraints of his title or wealth and starts to fall in love. When the truth of his identity is revealed, will Lady Rachel trust him enough to keep each other safe from the looming dangers?

A Tangled Ruse is the fourth book in The Beckett Files series by Laura Beers. Since the novels build off of each other, I would suggest starting with Laura Beers' first book of the series, Saving Shadow and then continuing on to A Peculiar Courtship, To Love a Spy and A Tangled Ruse. I enjoyed reading, A Tangled Ruse. It was a fun, action romance and continuation of the series. Lady Rachel was an interesting and relatable character - wanting adventure, lover of books, and independent. Luke Beckett's character reminded me of "the beast" in the fairytale, Beauty and the Beast. He was grumpy, isolated and self-centered until Lady Rachel begins to chip at his interior and icy heart. The romance between the two characters was fun, intriguing and charming.  A fun read for the summer! To learn more about A Tangled Ruse, by clicking here.

Please note that I received a free copy of this book to facilitate this review. Please note that there are also Amazon Affiliate links on this post. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualified purchases that help in running this blog.

Kroger Friday Freebie

Today only you can download a coupon for 1 FREE Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Caramel 2-Square Pack (1.06 oz.)(you must have an online account and store card registered). The coupon is good at Kroger and Kroger Affiliates (Smith's, Fred Meyer, City Market, Dillon, Fry's, Kinger Sooper, etc) and must be redeemed by July 29, 2018. Click here for more details.

Pretty Much Perfect Blog Tour, Review and Giveaway

Recently returned missionary, Camille Weston, is sensible and has plans for her future. She would never do anything risky like picking up a stranger off the side of the road and yet, she does. Her decision ends up impacting her life and turning her world upside down as she discovers an attraction to this stranger. The stranger ends up being William "Liam" Jones a lead singer in a popular band and his lifestyle is not compatible with her plans and goals for her future. Will she be able to find a solution to what her heart wants?

Pretty Much Perfect was a fun read especially for the summer. I read it pretty quickly (within a day). I kept reading to find out what would happen next. Camille's indecisive feelings made the character seem realistic. Liam was a fun and interesting character. The beginning was probably my favorite part of the book when the two main characters met for the first time. The title felt like it fit with the story, in that, it was pretty much a perfect, fun romance. To learn more about Pretty Much Perfect, click here.

Schedule:

*July 9^th: http://thoroughlyhere.blogspot.com/, http://mybookaday.com/, http://ldswritermom.blogspot.com/

*July 10^th: https://www.wishfulendings.com/, http://www.iamareader.com/

*July 11^th: http://fireandicereads.com/, http://empowermoms.net/

*July 12^th: https://brightlystreet.com/category/book-reviews/, https://www.rockinbookreviews.com/, http://katiescleanbookcollection.blogspot.com/, http://lisaisabookworm.blogspot.com/, https://ldsandlovinit.blogspot.com/, https://www.singinglibrarianbooks.com/adults, http://booksaresanity.blogspot.com/

*July 13^th: http://lifeiswhatitscalled.blogspot.com/, http://brooklynberrydesigns.com/category/book-shelf/, http://literarytimeout.blogspot.com/

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Please note that I received a free copy of this book to facilitate this review. The giveaway prize and selection of the winner is handled by the sponsor. Please note that there are also Amazon Affiliate links on this post. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualified purchases that help in running this blog.

Reader Appreciation Giveaway

I am giving away a $10 Deseret Book Gift Card. Only one winner will be chosen. The giveaway on this blog post will run through rafflecopter until July 17, 2018 at 12 am. The giveaway is open to US residents only and 18+. The winner will be notified via email and will have 24 hours to respond.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Kroger Friday Freebie

Today only you can download a coupon for ONE (1) FREE Swedish Fish or Sour Patch Kids Soft & Chewy Candy (7.2-8 oz. bag) (you must have an online account and store card registered). The coupon is good at Kroger and Kroger Affiliates (Smith's, Fred Meyer, City Market, Dillon, Fry's, Kinger Sooper, etc) and must be redeemed by July 22, 2018. Click here for more details.

The Price of Jade Blog Tour, Review and Giveaway

Matt Miller served his mission in Guatemala and now it's a vital part of his job, importing jade. He dreams of sharing his experience with Guatemala with his wife, Cathy, and daughter, Melissa. What the Millers planned as a dream vacation quickly spirals out of controls at they face the disappearance of the daughter. The search for the daughter becomes more frantic when a mysterious note arrives and they are thrust into a world of greed and deceit.

The Price of Jade is a thrilling suspense story as the Millers work to uncover the truth behind their daughter's disappearance and work with unexpected allies to find her. The suspense and drama held my interest and with each page I read I wanted to uncover more of the story. I was a little puzzled that with so many LDS characters facing so many life-periling dilemmas that they didn't seem to pray a lot. The only one I remember finally praying about the situation was Cathy. Cathy prayed, read her scriptures and looked for inspiration. If I was in the characters' situation I would probably be praying frantically, desperately to the Lord for help. Other than that, the characters' situations were compelling. I liked that there was different reactions, different methods of working to solve the problem and the action in the story. I also liked that there were so many characters working together to solve the problem. It was an interesting read and fun. To find out more about The Price of Jade, click here.

To look for more reviews on The Price of Jade, check out the other stops on the blog tour:

*July 2^nd: http://mybookaday.com/blog/

*July 3^rd: http://lisaisabookworm.blogspot.com/, http://whynotbecauseisaidso.blogspot.com/, https://www.rockinbookreviews.com/, http://empowermoms.net/

*July 4^th: http://lifeiswhatitscalled.blogspot.com/

*July 5^th: https://ldsandlovinit.blogspot.com/, http://booksaresanity.blogspot.com/, http://literarytimeout.blogspot.com/

*July 6^tH: http://brooklynberrydesigns.com/


a Rafflecopter giveaway


Please note that I received a free copy of this book to provide this review, however, this does not effect my opinion. Please note that there is also Amazon Affiliate links on this post. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualified purchases that help in running this blog.

Grocery Learning Time

My kids (ages 2 and 4) enjoy doing a "learning time" or home-school preschool activities. We did a learning time where we did activities related to groceries. Here are some of the activities that we did:

•  Grocery Shopping Long Path Game: Based off of the Grocery Shopping Math Suitcase Activity in More Than Counting, I created the long path version of the grocery game. My kids worked on their counting skills, relating 1:1 with numbers and taking turns. We ended up playing this game four times in one day! My kids loved it so much. We will probably use this game again and again. The games in More Than Counting make math fun, enjoyable and interesting.
  
  
• Grocery Patterns: I created a simple worksheet where we worked on figuring out what goes next in a grocery themed pattern.
  
  
  
• G is for Groceries Coloring Sheet: I created a simple coloring sheet in Word with the letter G and clip art with a grocery bag. We talked about how groceries started with "G" and the sound that "G" makes. For my four year old, we worked on practicing coloring in the lines.
  
  
• Grocery Sorting: I put all of my kids' play food in a basket and we took turns sorting the food by color. Most of our play food is a mix from the dollar store and Melissa & Doug. We made predictions as we sorted as to which color would have the most food and which would have the least. After we sorted everything by color, we checked to see if our predictions were right. My kids enjoyed interacting with their toys in a new way.

Our "learning times" are usually short and fun. My kids enjoy learning and will ask often to do learning time. Since my kids are young, I want learning to be enjoyable and something that they will want to do again and again.

What ways do you encourage learning in your home?

Please note that there is also Amazon Affiliate links on this post. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualified purchases that help in running this blog.

July Giveaways (low to moderate entry)

I like entering low to moderate entry giveaways and I share each month some of the blog or social media giveaways I've entered, thought someone else might be interested in entering or that have been submitted to me through bloggers. Check back often throughout the month to see if I have posted more giveaways. If you are hosting a family-friendly giveaway on your blog and would like to see it listed here, please contact me (via email). If you have a won a giveaway that I posted, please leave a comment and share that you won.

Bushel of MD Crabs (ends July 4, 2018)
$100 Escapada Living Gift Card (ends July 4, 2018)
Peter Pan Digital Movie (ends July 4, 2018)
The Great Alone Prize Pack (ends July 9, 2018)
$100 Nordstrom Gift Card (ends July 12, 2018)
BP Cardigan (ends July 12, 2018)
$200 Nordstrom Gift Card (ends July 12, 2018)
$500 Nordstrom Gift Card (ends July 14, 2018)
Birthday Giveaway (ends July 14, 2018)
$500 Nordstom Gift Card (ends July 15, 2018) 
$400 Nordstrom Gift Card (ends July 15, 2018)
$50 Promo Code for StickerYou.com (ends July 15, 2018)
$10 Deseret Book Gift Card (ends July 17, 2018)
$250 Nordstrom Gift Card (ends July 17, 2018)
$100 Nordstrom Gift Card (ends July 17, 2018)
$100 Nordstrom Gift Card (ends July 19, 2018) 
$300 Nordstrom Gift Card (ends July 19, 2018) 
$250 Nordstrom Gift Card (ends July 20, 2018)
$100 Nordstrom Gift Card (ends July 22, 2018)
$75 Nordstrom Gift Card (ends July 26, 2018)
Pair of Wit and Wisdom Shorts (ends July 27, 2018)
$50 Whole Foods Gift Card and Starkey Water (ends July 27, 2018) 
$50 Deseret Book Gift Card (ends July 29, 2018)
$50 Disney Gift Card (ends July 30, 2018)