Play to Live ~ Spotlight with Giveaway

Book Details:
Book Title: Play to Live:  Life Skills and Joy Through the Natural Talent to Play by Brian VanDongen
Category:  Self help / Inner Child; creativity, 119 pages
Genre:  Adult Non-Fiction (18+)
Publisher:  BVDPlays
Release date:  April 30, 2019
Tour dates: June 17 to July 5, 2019
Content Rating: G





Book Description:

Play To Live: Life Skills and Joy Through The Natural Talent To Play by author Brian VanDongen takes you back to your childhood to remind you about what being a child is all about. Playing! We all have those fond childhood memories of growing up playing with our friends in social settings. Developing social skills and learning how to handle friendships and relationships.

What we didn't realize at the time was that those skills we learned for the building blocks which lay the foundation for the rest of our lives. What are our children learning right now? How are they playing now and what part are we playing in how our children interact with the world around them.

For many children, their idea of play and playing now consists of talking to friends online and playing with electronic devices, staying safe indoors, and not venturing further than their own small safe world which we have created.

Inside Play To Live you'll discover:

• Understanding what it means to play.
• Where play has gone and what has changed?
• How playing inside the box promotes the simplicity of play.
• Why risky play is not the same as dangerous play. Are we too overprotective?
• That climbing up the slide is just as important as sliding down.
• Getting muddy outside and rediscovering nature is imperative.
• That play is serious business and so much more.

Inside Play To Live: Life Skills and Joy Through The Natural Talent To Play you'll read about case studies and reports followed by tips, tricks, and information to help you. If you would like to rediscover what it means to play, then grab a copy of Play To Live right now!

Buy the Book:
Amazon.com
Apple books
Add to Goodreads
​​

Meet the author:
​Brian is a life-long "parks and rec kid." Now, he is a parks and recreation professional.

Brian has created, designed, and implemented transformational recreational programming for thousands of residents. ​ Through his work as a park and recreation professional, Brian helps people play and find their natural talent to play.

He believes everyone has that talent, but it is sometimes hard to find, or even suppressed in today's society. ​ Fortunately, play at its most basic level is easy, fun, healthy, and desirable. That playful talent just needs to be unleashed.

Brian has helped thousands of people find their natural talent to play and become happier and healthier people through the power of play.

Connect with the author:   Website   Facebook   Twitter   Instagram

BOOK SPOTLIGHT TOUR SCHEDULE:

June 17 - Rockin' Book Reviews
June 18 - Library of Clean Reads
June 19 - It’s All About the Book
June 20 - #redhead.with.book
June 21 - Book Corner News and Reviews
June 24 - The Irresponsible Reader
June 25 - Blooming with Books
June 26 - Locks, Hooks and Books
June 27 - The Autistic Gamer
June 28 - Olio by Marilyn
July 1     - B for Bookreview
July 2     - StoreyBook Reviews
July 3     - Mystery Suspense Reviews
July 4     - Literary Flits
July 5     - Bookworm for Kids


ENTER THE GIVEAWAY!
Ends July 13, 2019

​Win a signed copy of

Play to Live: Life Skills and Joy Through the Natural Talent to Play

(1 winner / open to USA only)

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A Reluctant Bride ~ Review

A Reluctant Bride
The Bride Ships #1
By Jody Hedlund

Mercy Wilkins is leaving the life she has always known because of a promise she made to her sister Patience. With no jobs available short of selling her body Mercy has no choice but to sail to British Columbia with the group of women being sent by the Columbia Mission Society. With the prospect of a respectable paying job at the end of her journey, Mercy is torn leaving behind Patience and the new life awaiting her. Unlike the other young women, Mercy isn't anticipating marriage to one of the men awaiting the civilizing influences of the women. Rather Mercy has no plans to ever marry as it brings nothing but heartbreak and more hungry mouths that can't be feed.

Joseph Colville is the younger son - he was never expected to inherit the family title or the estate. He turned his attention rather to medicine and to the aiding of those in need. But following the loss of his family and his unexpected inheritance Joseph finds himself running away to sea to escape the pain. But escaping is nigh on impossible when the pain lives within him. But Joseph is determined to be the best ship's surgeon he can be. But when the need arises he is pleased to accept Mercy's assistance in caring for the passengers onboard. As Joseph and Mercy continue working together they both begin to admire each other but the differences in their stations in life make any future together impossible. And Mercy for one knows her place she's had it pointed out to her more than once.

More than anything Mercy dreams of freedom - freedom to pursue the life she's dreamed of one that allows her to make her own way and not be under the control of another. But will she be given the chance to find employment or will this ship that promises a new life only end in marriage to one of the hundred's of single men waiting on Vancouver Island?

This is the first book in Jody Hedlund's new series The Bride Ships and those who love her artistic renderings of history to text will love with this book and the promise of what is to come. The premise behind the Bride Ships was to ship out London's excess of marriageable young women who were of upright morals to British colonies and help bring civilization to the poor single men who found themselves at the mercies of the low morals of the "local" people (yeah, right). But travel by ship was not the easiest of passages, especially when sailing from England to British Columbia, nor was it particularly fast.

I like how Mercy comes to truly know herself through this journey. The most important lesson she needs to learn is to see herself through eyes other than her own. She needs to see herself through the eyes of the Father who created her and found her worthy of His love just because. I also like how Joseph grew as a person - he thought himself beyond the prejudices of class and station but as he worked on the Tynemouth he learned that some of his notions about people weren't what he thought.

This is yet another work by Jody Hedlund that I highly recommend to fans of historical fiction. I truly believe that readers who devour the orphan train/orphan ship books will find this book to be of a similar vein and well worth their time to read. This would also be a good choice for a book club selection.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book by the publisher with no expectations - all thoughts expressed are my own honest opinion.


About the Book:

A New Life Awaits Her across the Horizon

Living in London's poorest slum, Mercy Wilkins harbors little hope for a better life. So when she's offered the opportunity to join a bride ship sailing to British Columbia, she agrees. The journey abroad is her only prospect to escape a bleak future--both for herself and to help her sister, who's suffering in a workhouse. 

Wealthy and titled Joseph Colville leaves everything behind and takes to the sea to escape the pain of losing his family. As the ship's surgeon, he's in charge of the passengers' welfare aboard the Tynemouth, including sixty brides-to-be. He has no immediate intention of settling down, but when Mercy becomes his assistant, the two must fight against a forbidden love.

With hundreds of single men congregating along the shore of Vancouver Island, eager to claim a bride from the Tynemouth, will Mercy and Joseph miss their chance at true love, or will they overcome the obstacles that threaten to keep them apart?

All Manner of Things ~ Review

All Manner of Things
By Susie Finkbeiner

All Manner of Things is both moving and heartbreaking. Annie Jacobson's family calls Fort Colson, Michigan home but their home has changed over the years following their father's departure from their lives. The horrors of war he experienced in Korea left their mark and he removed himself from their lives. The years that followed found Annie's mother working to support her three children - Mike, Annie, and Joel.

Fast forward 12 years and Mike is about to leave for Vietnam - the one thing Gloria Jacobson never wanted for her sons is about to happen. And considering the changes that happened to her husband Frank her fears are valid. War changes people - the things they saw, heard and did wounded their souls and she feared just what it would do to Mike.

With the war taking center-stage in their lives that should be enough for any family, community or nation but that was just one of the concerns that was gripping the headlines. Civil rights were being demanded and riots were occurring as sentiments reached new highs and boiled over. And then there were the normal and not so normal concerns that affect all lives. But when a personal tragedy brings Frank Jacobson back to Fort Colson and into his family's lives will that have a positive impact or will it be just another ember to stoke these tumultuous times?

These are just some of the things Annie finds herself dealing with as she works through her world as she officially enters into the sometimes overrated world of adulthood. I think the following quote from page 279 sums up the book quite well:

Anyway, Annie my dear. When you become afraid or worried or even

just tired, think of our friend Julian's words.

'All manner of things shall be well.'"

These words of wisdom would serve us all well to remember as we live our own lives. 

I really enjoyed this book though I will admit that I may have shed a tear or two a few times. This is a story of family, a story of friendship, a story of first love, a story of loss. Susie Finkbeiner brings to life people that one could have known or been related to. She brings a personal reality to history - giving it a face that one can empathize with. I highly recommend this book as one to add to your summer to-be-read list and can see this being a book worth reading more than once.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book by the publisher with no expectations. All thoughts expressed are my honest opinions.

About the Book:

After Annie Jacobson's brother Mike enlists as a medic in the Army in 1967, he mails her the address of their long-estranged father. If anything should happen to him in Vietnam, Mike says, Annie must let their father know. 

In Mike's absence, their father returns to face tragedy at home, adding an extra measure of complication to an already tense time. Letter by letter, the Jacobsons must find a way to pull together as a family, regardless of past hurts. In the tumult of this time, Annie and her family will grapple with the tension of holding both hope and grief in the same hand, even as they learn to turn to the One who binds the wounds of the brokenhearted.

Summer by the Tides ~ Review

Summer by the Tides
By Denise Hunter

Maddy Monroe's life couldn't get much worse - everything has just gone kaput - her job, her boyfriend, and now her grandmother is missing. And the fact that her life was falling down around so that she didn't answer her phone or text messages means that both of her sisters are now on their way to Sea Haven, North Carolina, too.

The last summer that the family spent together at Sea Haven, is one that Maddy would rather forget after all it was the summer that shattered their family. And no matter how much she's tried to be the peacemaker between her sisters the betrayal of that summer has driven a wedge between Nora and Emma that seems an impossible divide.

With their grandmother missing could this be the chance to heal old wounds and find healing? Or will the bitterness further divide them? And the helpful neighbor who let them all know that they were needed Maddy just doesn't trust him with his surfer beach-bum looks. But could she be misjudging Connor Murphy? Maddy doesn't think so.

But as the summer continues and three sisters work on getting their grandmother's house cleaned and touched-up old memories are revealed and long-held family secrets unearthed. Sometimes there are two sides to every story and the side not known, changes everything we thought we knew. And when your heart has been broken and your trust trampled can you ever love again? Is it ever too late to forgive? Maddy certainly hopes not.

This is a story of family and the bonds that tie us together. Just how strong are they before they break completely and can the fraying edges be woven together again? This book is set in the present with flashbacks to 20 years ago as that fateful summer that changed everything is slowly revealed.  This makes for an excellent summer read that is easy to follow. Looking for a potential book club selection - here's your next title. Just like a gentle read for a before bed chapter or two - enjoy!

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book by the publisher through TLC Book Tours with no expectations but that I offer my honest opinion - all thoughts expressed are my own.


About the Book:

From the bestselling author of The Convenient Groom (now a beloved Hallmark Original movie) comes a heartfelt story of family secrets, forgiveness, and unexpected romance.

Following a painful betrayal, Maddy Monroe’s love life is a wreck, and her restaurant career is in shambles. When her grandmother goes missing, she and her estranged sisters converge at the family beach house in Sea Haven, North Carolina. Being with uptight Nora and free-spirited Emma at the place where their family broke apart is a struggle, and undercurrents of jealousy and resentment threaten to pull the sisters under. In the midst of the storm, sparks begin to fly between Maddy and Gram’s maddening neighbor, Connor Murphy.

As the sisters pack up the family belongings, memories of idyllic, slow-paced summers are resurrected. But long-buried secrets also come to light as Maddy discovers that all was not as it appeared that last summer in Sea Haven—nor today in the seemingly perfect lives of her sisters.

As family tensions rise and Connor causes tumult in Maddy’s heart, the sisters must find a way to accept each other for the women they’ve become before the bitterness of the past destroys their hope for a future.

Purchase Links

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes and Noble

Connect with Denise

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Instagram tour:

Monday, June 3rd: @read.write.coffee

Tuesday, June 4th: @beritaudiokilledthebookmark

Wednesday, June 5th: @_ebl_inc_

Thursday, June 6th: @my_book_journey

Friday, June 7th: @nsiabblog

Friday, June 7th: @sarahs_reads

Saturday, June 8th: @thecaffeinated_bibliophile

Sunday, June 9th: @sarahandherbookshelves

 

Review tour:

Monday, June 10th: @angelareadsbooks

Tuesday, June 11th: Lori’s Reading Corner – spotlight or guest post

Tuesday, June 11th: Amy’s Book-et List

Wednesday, June 12th: Jathan and Heather

Thursday, June 13th: A Chick Who Reads

Friday, June 14th: View from the Birdhouse

Monday, June 17th: @simplykelina

Tuesday, June 18th: Reading Reality

Wednesday, June 19th: Empowermoms

Thursday, June 20th: I Wish I Lived in a Library

Friday, June 21st: Blooming with Books

Monday, June 24th: Mel’s Shelves

Tuesday, June 25th: Christian Bookshelf Reviews

Wednesday, June 26th: Midwest Ladies Who Lit and @mwladieswholit

Thursday, June 27th: Running Through the Storms

Friday, June 28th: From the TBR Pile

Monday, July 1st: Back Porchervations

Tuesday, July 2nd: Moonlight Rendezvous and @moonlight_rendezvous

Wednesday, July 3rd: Books and Spoons

Friday, July 5th: Kritter’s Ramblings

Monday, July 8th: Run Wright

Tuesday, July 9th: Girl Who Reads

Wednesday, July 10th: What is That Book About

A Reluctant Belle ~ Review

A Reluctant Belle
The Daughtrey House #2
By Beth Wise

Joelle Daughtry wants to bring education to those recently freed from the bonds of slavery - there is just one problem most of Tupelo, Mississippi, doesn't agree with her. In fact, she's considered by some to be the oddest of the Daughtrey girls. In the opinion of most Joelle thinks too much and has none of the necessary skills that a proper young lady should have with her head always deep in some book only appropriate for the facilities of the male brain. Her looks are her only redeeming quality though she seldom does much to properly display them.

With her sisters, Selah and Aurora, Joelle has begun to turn their family home into a resort. And she offers classes to their former slaves - after all if they can read and understand they will make decisions based on their own knowledge and not taken advantage of. Now if only women could get the vote... And Joelle is determined to influence those in Tupelo to her way of thinking with pieces that she secretly writes for the local newspaper. If her secret is ever discovered it could be disastrous not only for her but Daughtry House. And if the Klan finds out it could bring danger to all whom Joelle holds dear.

Schuyler Beaumont has become a partner in Daughtry House providing the funds the sisters needed to finance this restoration. To his way of thinking the Daughtry sisters are as close to his family as if they were family. And his ongoing war of words with Joelle is the highlight of any interaction with her, at least it was before he discovered that his heart had taken a fancy to her unique ways. But with her promise given to another, he knows that his friendship with her at its end - if only he didn't think she had made a mistake.

When a bullet ends his father's life Schuyler knows that if the truth about what happened is to be known he'll need to act. With racial tensions high and the Klan aggravating the locals discovering the truth just might cost him everything. But how far is he willing to go for the truth and justice?

This is a historical fiction piece that is set during the turbulent years of Reconstruction in the Post Civil War South. People are hurting on both sides and anger is simmering just below the surface being feed by fear and rhetoric. And those hiding in the shadows are more than willing to threaten all who stand in the way of their plans and no cost is too great to restore the South to its former glory.

This is a well-written book that doesn't shy away from presenting the harsh realities of what the post-war South was like. The characters are complex and well-developed - even some of the less-likable ones can elicit sympathy (briefly).  Able to be read as a standalone but better with the background of the first book.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations. All thoughts expressed are my own.


About the Book:

Joelle Daughtry has a secret.

By day, the impoverished Southern belle has been helping her sisters in their quest to turn the run-down family plantation into a resort hotel after the close of the Civil War. But by night and under a male pseudonym, she has been penning articles for the local paper in support of constructing a school for former slaves. With the Mississippi arm of the Ku Klux Klan gaining power and prestige, Joelle knows she is playing a dangerous game.

Loyalties shift when Schuyler Beaumont, childhood enemy and current investor in the Daughtry House renovation, takes over his assassinated father's candidacy for state office. Joelle finds that in order to protect her family and her home, she and Schuyler will have to put aside their longstanding personal conflict and develop a united public front. The trouble is, what do you do when animosity becomes respect--and even love--if you're already engaged to someone else?

By Hook or By Rook ~ Cover Reveal with Giveaway

About the Book

Series: The London League
Genre:  Adult, Historical, Regency, Romance
Publisher: Phase Publishing
Publication date: July 1, 2019

​The most dangerous journeys…
Jeremy Pratt is a spy for the Crown, and one of the best. He has been in more dangerous situations than he can admit and has always come out unscathed. But escorting his colleague’s cousin home to her family, even in disguise, just might be beyond his skills and the temptation beyond his ability to withstand.

…May be ones of the heart…
Helen Dalton is convinced there is more to this man escorting her than meets the eye, and something familiar about him, as well. There is only one man in the world who looks at her so intensely, banters with her so easily, and makes her blush so furiously. And when he manages a daring and heroic rescue, she wonders if she ever knew him at all.

About the Author

Rebecca Connolly writes romances, both period and contemporary, because she absolutely loves a good love story. She has been creating stories since childhood, and there are home videos to prove it! She started writing them down in elementary school and has never looked back. She currently lives in the Midwest, spends every spare moment away from her day job absorbed in her writing, and is a hot cocoa addict.

​GOODREADS | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | BOOKBUB | 

WEBSITE | NEWSLETTER | AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE 

Cover Reveal

Giveaway

(1) winner will recieve a print copy of By Hook or by Rook 

(US mailing addresses only).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Enter the giveaway HERE.
​Giveaway ends June 24 at 11:59pm MT.
​
Giveaway is subject to policies HERE.

Blog Stops

Follow along at SLB Tours for a full list of stops!

Whose Waves These Are ~ Review

Whose Waves These Are
By Amanda Dykes

Whose Waves These Are is a story that is split between times as the reader is introduced to the Bliss family and the complexities of their relationship with each other. Bob and Roy were twins who called Ansel-by-the-Sea, Maine, home - they were as close as two brothers could be until the war drew them apart forever. In the wake of this sorrow, Bob has to come to terms with the grief he feels. But how do you honor the life of someone so dear to you? Bob writes a poem that expresses all that he feels and finds that it touches the hearts around him much like a stone tossed into a pond with ripples that went farther than he had imagined possible.

Nearly 60 years have passed when Ann Bliss receives word that a return to Ansel and the home she knew for a few short months is needed. Worried about what has happened to her Uncle Bob whom she has always lovingly called GrandBob Ann is about to once again become Bob's Annie. 

But while Annie waits to see if her uncle recovers she stumbles over something that has her wondering about her uncle and just why he has boxes of rocks hidden away in his house. There is a mystery here and she is determined to learn the truth behind it. But how do you learn about a past that you should be all rights be aware of? Annie is going to put her skills to the test to uncover the past of her own family a past that has been marred by pain, grief, and misunderstanding. But to overcome her own misgivings about her abilities she'll need the help of those who not only call Ansel home but have best known GrandBob over the years.

This is a lovely read that takes the reader on a journey that goes from 1944 to 2002. The story mainly takes place in Maine and slowly reveals story by story the lives of the Bliss family. I think the first line of the book sets the stage for what is to come - "Every wave in that big old sea is a story." And as these waves break the stories unfold around those who are willing and able to hear the breaking.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book by the publisher with no expectation but that I offer my honest opinion - all thoughts expressed are my own.


About the Book:
In the wake of WWII, a grieving fisherman submits a poem to a local newspaper asking readers to send rocks in honor of loved ones to create something life-giving—but the building halts when tragedy strikes. Decades later, Annie returns to the coastal Maine town where stone ruins spark her curiosity and her search for answers faces a battle against time... 

 Free e-Novella
Up From the Sea, a free ebook novella, set in 1920s-era Maine. 


Deep in a New England forest, an ancient tree stands at the center of a tale passed down through generations. So much so, that the residents of Ansel-by-the-Sea, Maine, no longer know what is truth and what is fable. A woman fleeing in the night, rumors of treason, revolution, retribution . . .


When Savannah Mae Thorpe, born and raised near the golden sands of the South, arrives with a version of the story unlike any heard before, she finds herself the unlikely leader of an expedition into the woods to discover the truth. With help from local lumberjack Alastair Bliss, who holds a shadowed past of his own, her search to discover the truth of the Atonement Tree may have unexpected ramifications on her life—and the lives of those around her.

A tale of origins, this novella is a complete story but also tells of the legacy inherited by Robert Bliss, the fisherman-poet hero of the full-length novel, Whose Waves These Are.

Up from the Sea by Amanda Dykes