Spirit of the Season by Fern Michaels - Book Review

Spirit of the Season is a Holiday Romance book by Fern Michaels, best-selling author of The Sisterhood Series and The Men of the Sisterhood books. 

Synopsis

Spirit of the Season - A Holiday Romance Story

Joy Preston grew up in a small town in North Carolina where her grandparents and mother ran a successful Bed and Breakfast called Heart and Soul. In her teens, Joy falls in love with Colorado on a family vacation. Subsequently, she decides to go to collage out there where she majors in Business and Marketing.  While thinking of starting her own company, her marketing professor tells her class that when designing a product the simplest ideas were almost always the most successful. Joy comes up with the idea for a Nail Polish Company and calls it Simply Joy. 

When the story begins it is seven years later and Joy is CEO of her own successful company, which she runs with the help of her two best friends. Their small office is located in Denver, with the product produced in a lab in New York. While working late one night, she gets a call from Izzy, who has worked for her grandmother at the B&B for many years. The news is not good; her grandmother has died of a heart attack.

It is almost Thanksgiving as Joy returns to North Carolina to help her mother & Izzy make arrangements for keeping the B&B running, as it is filled to capacity for the upcoming holidays. This is partly due to the fact that Heart and Soul has a special charm, especially at holiday time, because of how it is always elaborately decorated for the season, with themed guest rooms and dazzling lawn displays. And rumor has it that, during the holidays, guests can be reunited with the spirit of a loved one who has passed on.  

After a private memorial for her grandmother, Joy and her mother meet with estate attorney Will Drake, Joy is shocked to learn that her grandmother's will stipulates that Joy is to take over Heart and Soul and live at the B&B as owner and operator for six months.  Otherwise, the B&B will become the legal property of the state of North Carolina. 

Joy is quite upset and cannot understand why her grandmother would add such a thing to her will.  Though she misses her Nana dearly, Joy has her own company to run and loves living in a big city. She also thoroughly enjoys Colorado's winter sports. She has always been sure she would never live in a small town again where everyone knows everything you do. 

But it IS the holiday season and the B&B is fully booked and decorated, ready to participate in the Parade of Homes competition and gingerbread house contest.  So, since her company can be run from anywhere, Joy decides to stay for the six months to honor her grandmother's wishes.

Add together the Spirit of the Season, handsome attorney Will Drake, and perhaps a little ghostly matchmaking from Joy's beloved Nana, and we have a delightful holiday romance novel. 

Summary

Christmas is a time for remembering loved ones past and present. In this new novel by  New York Times  bestselling author Fern Michaels, the holidays are also the time to discover a future that, like the perfect gift, is as satisfying as it is surprising . . .

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Spirit of the Season Book Review by (c) Wednesday Elf 

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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A Summer Romance Hallmark Movie Reviewed

I can always depend on Hallmark to provide wholesome entertainment!

Hallmark movies have been called "cookie cutter", "unrealistic" and "predictable".  Okay, that may well be true, but who cares.  I love Hallmark movies!  

Hallmark movies are what I call easy watching, like easy listening music.  Not especially profound or deep, but they leave me feeling happy and relaxed.  For me, that is most important when watching movies.  I don't personally need depressing or upsetting, or even realistic all of the time.  But, I'll take "happy" anytime!

I happened upon "A Summer Romance" recently, starring Erin Krakow, who I think is adorable.  It did take me a few minutes to adjust to her character in this movie.  After all, I see her as Elizabeth in "When Calls the Heart" which is an awesome Hallmark series.  She also stars in a Christmas movie I previous reviewed, Finding Father Christmas.  She does an excellent job of acting in all of these movies and has quickly become my favorite Hallmark actress.  Krakow is not exclusively "Hallmark".  They just happen to be where I have seen her most often.

"A Summer Romance" is another sweet romantic movie that ends exactly the way we all hope it will.  Still, it's fun to watch, especially when they take a boy out of the city and introduce him to an unpretentious country girl.  

Plot of the Hallmark movie, A Summer Romance

 A Summer RomanceCheck PriceSamantha Walker is now the sole owner of the Montana ranch that has been in her family for generations.  Unfortunately, a large ranch is expensive to maintain.  Repairs have required Sam to take a bank loan, which she is several months behind on with payments.  That leaves her ranch vulnerable to vultures who desire to build a country club on her land.

Richard Belmont (Ryan Paevey) has already developed a plan to acquire a certain ranch in Bighorn, Montana.  He is certain he can persuade the owner to sell.  What he doesn't realize is that the owner has plans of her own to make her ranch profitable.  

Sam is weighing all of her options, which is why she agrees to meet Belmont and consider his offer.  But, the ranch has been in her family for generations and it is home.  When Richard arrives in Bighorn without reservations for a room, Sam ends up inviting him to stay in the guesthouse on the ranch.  

As Richard spends time with Sam and the residents of the ranch, they all actually become friends.  That is not the best alliance for the man, and the company, who plans to buy the ranch home out from under the owner, now friend.  

Richard only thinks he is completely in charge of the deal.  Sam only thinks she is making the decision.  And, yes, you will have to watch the movie if you want to see what happens.

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Currently, "A Summer Romance" can be purchased on DVD linked above, but is available on Amazon with a subscription to the Hallmark Channel.  

  

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A Summer Romance - Hallmark Movie Review Written by:

 

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Review of Spring Photography

Lilacs in the Springtime

Spring is such a wonderful time for photography.  Flowers are blooming everywhere including my own backyard.  I love to go for walks in the neighborhood each day and see what new flowers and flowering trees and bushes are blooming on that day.  In the area of the country I live ,  midwest USA, the beauty begins to unfold in mid March.  From that time and for the next 2-3 months there are new delights to find each day!  On this page I will share with you, through my photography,  some of my favorite springtime flowers.

Early Bloomers

Tulips are one of my favorite early spring flowers.  There are different types of tulips that will start blooming in our area throughout April and May.  The photographs taken below were captured during the first week of April.

This next photo was taken in late April.  This tulip is fully opened and still beautiful.

Zazzle Cards from my Tulip Photos

I love creating cards to send to friends and family from my photographs.  Here are a couple I made on Zazzle.

Tulips and Scripture Card
by mbgphoto

Yellow Tulip
by mbgphoto

 

Flowering Trees and Bushes

In the springtime flowering bushes and trees are a wonderful sight to behold.  I particularly like the Lilac bush as seen in the photo at the beginning of this article.  In addition to being beautiful they have a very fragrant smell and I love cutting some off my lilac bush and bringing them in to my house. They make the whole house smell good.

The red bud tree is another beauty of springtime.  In the spring you can see them all over the hillsides in our part of the country.  Here is a photo of one that I took at a park near our home.

One of my favorite trees is the dogwood tree.  They can be found in both pink and white flowers.  Here is a photo of each.

Later Spring Flowers

Once spring is well under way, in late April or May, the Iris's start to bloom.  They are such beautiful and stately flowers.  I love to photograph them.  This first  photo is an Iris from my friend's garden.

I really like the two toned colors.  Here is another two toned Iris, this one was taken on a walk I took at the Missouri Extension garden.

A solid white Iris can be quite striking.  Here is one taken at Missouri Extension garden.

Wildflowers in the Spring

Spring is a wonderful time for wild flowers.  You can see many of these native plants along the sides of roads, in parks and in some peoples gardens.  Here are a few that I found beautiful.

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Conair Home Haircut Kit

With salons and barbershops across the country mostly closed, it seems that long hair of the '70s may be coming back in style.

What a great time to review my Conair Home Haircut Kit. Conair is an easy to use clipper for all of your home grooming needs.

Most guys I know get their haircut on a regular basis like once every two weeks or once a month.

I'm one of those guys that always wait until my hair is so long that I can't stand it. I don't know why because the salon that cuts my hair is only two blocks from where I live.

I find, the older I get the less hair that I have. Although in my younger days I had sideburns that would have made Elvis jealous.

My hair grows faster on the sides than on top. So, for in-between hair appointments, I bought this Conair 10 piece haircutting system. I have had this for several years now and it still works like new.

This makes it so easy to trim the sides and around my ears to keep me looking neat and respectable until my next appointment.

Conair Home Haircut Kit Includes:

• The Barber Clipper to Cut.
• Four guide combs, 1/8", 1/4", 3/8", 1/2" for detailing.
• Cleaning brush and oil to keep it clean.
• Barber Comb
• Blade Guard
• Styling Clip, this is something that I never need.

Here are some tips and tricks if you're new to cutting your own hair or someone in the family. It's one thing to hack up your hair, but, if you hack up one the kid's hair you may be in big trouble.

Always start with the largest comb. Start cutting from the bottom of the side around the ears and work your way to the top. Don't cut the top of your hair yet. Once you get a little confidence you can move to the shorter combs.

For the top, use the comb to lift the hair. Cutover the top of the comb, starting from the front to the back to blend the hair to the sides.

The kit also includes a full set of instructions for cutting hair. If you're new to this, don't worry with a little bit of practice you'll be cutting hair like a pro just like me.

Conair 10-piece Simple Cut Haircut Kit, Home Hair Cutting KitCheck the Price

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Before We Were Yours Book Review

A Book That Will Touch Your Heart

After having just finished the book Before We Were Yours, I would like to review it for you today. It isn't a book that I would have chosen for myself, to be honest. My youngest daughter gave it to me for Mother's Day this year. It turns out she made a very good choice for her mamma to read. The novel by Lisa Wingate falls into the historical fiction genre which is a genre that I read often but it also falls under Sisters Fiction (I didn't even know that was a thing!) and Mothers and Children fiction (another new genre to me). Anyway, it turned out to be one of those books that I found difficult to put down. Let me tell you about it.

This made me think of Rill and Fern in Before We Were Yours
image courtesy of pixabay.com

It took me a little while to get used to going back and forth in time as I read the first few chapters but after a short period of time, I rather liked the way the author was making the story unfold.

Before We Were Yours Synopsis

Although, the story line in this novel is fictional, it is based on historical records of a time in the not so distant past where children from very poor families were literally stolen from their parents to be adopted out to families with money and power. Spoiler alert: what these kids go through is gonna tug at your heart. 

Lisa Wingate weaves us through decades of time while telling the story of a family of River Gypsies or Shanty-boat people on the Mississippi River near Memphis, Tennessee. As you turn the pages, you learn about two families that are two generations apart. You see the power of the strings that hold a family together or rip them apart.  Will there be consequences from secrets kept and secrets shared?

Personally, I loved the honest way that the author wrote about the struggles that most multi-generational families have when faced with having to place a loved one in a facility to be cared for. She portrayed the heartache of a family member no longer being able to live in their own home. Those awful moments when someone you love no longer recognizes who you are. This wasn't the main plot of the novel but was interspersed very well as the story progresses through a span of about 80 years. 

This is a story that probably will break your heart, but by the end, I think it will mend your heart, too.  

Every Family Can Relate

I think one of the remarkable things I took away from this novel was that just about everyone will relate to this story about family. I kept thinking about my paternal grandmother while I read. Granny was a strong soul who went through a similar childhood as the Foss children did. She came from a poor family with several children. Her mother died in childbirth when she was about 8. It was decided that her father wasn't fit to raise the children. The younger ones were adopted out quickly but Granny and her sister Cora were deemed too old. They were sent to an orphanage. Those two sisters spent years trying to get back to their family. They actually escaped from 4 orphanages together. She and Cora stayed close and they were able to re-unite with their siblings when they were adults and even took care of their elderly father in his last years. 

Another connection to my own family was that Granny suffered from Alzheimer's. Having to put someone you love in a care facility for their own safety isn't an easy one for any family. It broke my heart that she didn't recognize me at all but it hurt even more to see my Dad's face when she didn't know him. The author writes about this in a sympathetic and poignant way. 

I highly recommend this book! I think it will resonate with many. Whether we are a mother, father, daughter, son, sister, or brother; I think parts of the story will seem like a bit of our own.

Click Here to See the Book, Before We Were Yours