Dark Rising by Monica McGurk Book Review and Giveaway #sponsored
in #DarkHopeBook, books, Dark Rising, Monica McGurk, YA, YA books, by Tera Kinsman, Thursday, August 06, 2015
By Tera Kinsman
Hi, everybody! It’s YA book review time again. This week,
I’m reviewing Dark Rising, the second
book in Monica McGurk’s Archangel Prophecies series. (To read my review of the
first book, Dark Hope, on the blog,
click here.) As a thank-you, I received compensation, and two free copies of
the book (one to keep and one to give away), but all opinions are my own. Shoutout to Monica McGurk for giving me the opportunity to read and share her work!
Book summary from
publisher:
Can one person upend a prophecy as old as time?
Hope Carmichael is on the run. The only question is, from
whom? The mark on her neck has branded her as part of an ancient
prophecy, the Bearer of the Key. But the Fallen Angels have misunderstood and
think Hope is their long-awaited way to regain Heaven by force. Now Hope is
chasing down the artifact that could open Heaven’s Gates, while seeking to
destroy it before the Fallen catch up with her. Will the Triad crime ring track
Hope and exact their punishment before she gets the chance? Is the ragtag band
of angels surrounding her now there to protect her, or imprison her? And will
Michael, the Archangel sworn to defend Heaven at all costs, be forced to deny
his love for Hope and take her life, instead, so the artifact won’t fall into enemy
hands?
The epic narrative introduced in Dark Hope continues in Dark
Rising as Hope crisscrosses some of the most ancient sites in Europe and
plumbs the depths of history in search of the truth about the Key, herself, and
love. Exploring themes of identity, fate, jealousy, trust, and forgiveness, Dark Rising’s mythological scope and
moral urgency deepen as we come to understand the choices and consequences
faced by a young woman determined to follow her heart and chart her own
destiny.
My Summary and Thoughts:
Sometimes, the second book in a trilogy is sort of…boring?
Certain Second Books That Will Remain Nameless have fallen desperately short of
the first and sometimes even the third books in their series, leaving me
flipping through pages, skimming the words and waiting for an exciting part.
But Dark Rising didn’t do that.
Instead, it built on the plot in Dark
Hope, and added more tension and interesting plot twists that I genuinely
didn’t see coming. The stakes were dramatically raised for Michael and Hope, as
they stumble through Europe, searching for the Key, often with only the
slightest clues to help them. Their
circumstances grow darker, but they grow closer. As they learn new, unexpected,
and tragic truths about the Prophecy and themselves, Hope decides perhaps she
was wrong to distance herself from Michael. But she realizes too late that she
may have taken her faith from the one person she could trust, and put it in
those she never could.
Mona and Don, her parents, also grow more desperate. New
leads about Hope’s disappearance are not appearing often. Though Mona and Don
are driven together by their shared love and grief, they are just as often
pushed apart by their differing opinions on Hope’s disappearance. Mona still
holds on to the logical explanation that Hope was taken by the human
traffickers that lurk in high numbers in Atlanta, while Don insists that Hope
is part of a higher plan, set apart to fulfill an amazing destiny given to her
by God.
By the end of the book, Hope feels even more alone than she
did at the end of Dark Hope. Both her
and Mona have experienced terrible loss and sadness. Their world, and the
outside world around them, has dissolved into sadness and chaos. But neither
have lost hope that the happiness – and perhaps the people – they have lost
will return to them.
The book ends on kind of a sad note and cliffhanger, but the
sneak peek of the third book, Dark Before
Dawn (coming out in 2016), gave me hope (I feel like that’s a pun every
time I write it…) for Michael, Hope, and her family.
As with Dark Hope,
a portion of the proceeds from the sale of these books will be donated to
organizations that help fight human trafficking, especially sexual trafficking
of minors.
Giveaway time! Because free stuff is the best stuff. Below, you can enter to win a copy of Dark Rising.
Terms: No purchase is necessary to enter using the Rafflecopter form below. Open to U.S. residents sixteen (16) years old or older. My WAHM Plan is responsible for prize fulfillment. The prize will be one (1) paperback copy of Dark Rising by Monica McGurk. Winners will be notified by email used on entry form and have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen. This giveaway is not associated with nor endorsed by Facebook, Twitter, or any other social channel.
Comments! In the Archangel Prophecies books, Hope Carmichael
is in love with an Archangel. So, what non-human would you be willing to date?
Alien, angel, vampire, werewolf? Maybe those trolls, amirite, ladies? Or are
you a humans-only sort of person? Let me know in the comments below!
Let your creativity flow with reusable dry erase boards and note pads
in back to school, creativity, home office, notepads, recyclable, reusable, wahm, whiteboard, by Linda A Kinsman, Tuesday, August 04, 2015
Never would I promote writing on walls, or worse to me,
writing notes in books; but now that I’ve had the opportunity to test out the
Slickyboard and Slickynotes free of charge for Shoplet.com, that is exactly
what I’m promoting.
Creativity is about flow and imagination and with these two
new products I’m going to talk about today, dry erase boards and note pads, you
can let your creativity flow!
I received the Slickyboard Beginners kit which included:
- 10 30X25 inch Whiteboard sheets
- 1 slickynotes pad in large (Green)
- 1 slickynotes pad in medium (purple)
About Slickynotes
Whiteboards and slickynote pads:
The electrostatically charged, adhesive free dry erase sheets
allow you to stick these to the walls and set your ideas free! Now you can whiteboard anywhere you want! You just stick the whiteboard sheet on the
wall and it stays put while you work.
Stickyboards can be used on any smooth,
dry indoor surface. Another great feature
of these products is they are reusable. Just wipe off the dry erase marker on
the whiteboard, or erase the pencil off the slickynotes and you're good to go.
Slickynotes products are made of recyclable polypropylene making them a number 5 recyclable and earth friendly.
Whiteboard Uses:
My kids have drawn on these, played hang-man, designed
clothing sets and more all with a dry erase marker, the slickynotes whiteboard and
their imagination.
These boards could even be helpful in my home office, where
I can use one to jot down creative blog posts, alert my husband to urgent
business matters etc.
The only drawback I’ve seen with the whiteboards is glare.
If you are going to be using them for presentation purposes in a business
environment, you’ll have to account for lighting. Even with my lights off and
just one window with blinds partially open, I got quite a bit of glare as shown in the photo above.
Slickynote Uses:
I found a perfect use for the slickynotes with while going
through a new cookbook! I just plop the slickynotes on a page, jot down my
motes and start a shopping list right there.
These would be perfect for studying when the kids head back
to school to jot down notes, brainstorm ideas for class projects, even doodling
and sketching is okay with these fun, reusable notes.
Learn More:
I invite you to learn more about the Slickynotes Beginner
Kit here. I think you’ll like letting your creativity
flow with these innovative products!
Please share in comments:
If you had a few Slickynotes dry erase whiteboards and note pads, where
would you put them in your home and what would create with them?
Disclosure:
My thanks to Shoplet.com on behalf of Slickynotes for providing a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post. I received no monetary compensation. I’m disclosing this in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”
The dog days of summer are upon us and nothing beats a cool sweet treat to beat the summer heat. I was happy to learn that one of our all-time favorite snacks- Yoplait Original Yogurts now has 25% less sugar, so I whipped up these Tropical Yogurt Parfaits for a sweet summer snack and wanted to share the recipe with you.
I try to keep Yoplait yogurts on hand for my family to eat for breakfasts or snacks. We all love their taste and I love that Yoplait doesn’t use high-fructose corn syrup, or milk from cows treated with rBST; and now that Yoplait’s have 25% less sugar, I feel even better about letting them eat a yogurt when they want. You can go to Yoplait and learn more about the flavors available, see recipes and read the nutrition facts.
I was excited to try the new Yoplait Original French Vanilla to see if there was any taste difference. I’m happy to share that I couldn’t tell the difference at all! That’s due to the tireless work Yoplait put in to this new formula.
They tried over a hundred recipe variations before getting a yogurt that had less sugar without sacrificing any of the taste. Speaking of recipes, here is a super simple, 3 ingredient recipe for Tropical Yogurt Parfaits.
I bought all my ingredients at Publix. If you shop at Publix too, be sure to visit readysetsave.com first where you can print out a coupon, or upload one right to your loyalty card.
Tropical Yogurt Parfaits Recipe:
Ingredients: (for 2 servings):
- 2 Yoplait Original 25% less sugar French Vanilla Yogurts
- 1 cup Pineapple tidbits in fruit juice
- 4 Tablespoons Sweetened Coconut shreds
Directions:
- Gather ingredients. For quicker assembly of Parfaits, open yogurts, pour Pineapple in serving bowl and open coconut. I used 2 small mason jars for serving my parfaits, but you can use small juice glasses too.
- In jar, place a large tablespoon of Pineapple with as little juice as possible in bottom of jar.
- Next, add about half of the French Vanilla Yogurt container.
- Add a tablespoon of Coconut if desired.
- Repeat all steps until jars are filled, topping with a small amount of coconut.
Chill before serving and enjoy this cool #sweetsummersnack.
Win It:
Want to try the new Yoplait less sugar Yogurts for free? Here’s your chance! Thanks to our sponsors, Yoplait and Publix, one lucky reader will win a $15.00 cash PayPal transfer.
Terms:
No purchase is necessary to enter using the Rafflecopter from below. My WAHM Plan is responsible for prize fulfillment. Winners will be notified by email used on entry form and have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen. This giveaway is not associated with nor endorsed by Facebook, Twitter, or any other social channel.
Good luck!
Can you believe it’s the end of July already? Yikes! It is crazy hot and humid here in the south and back to school is looming large, so I really need to keep a healthy snack option for busy summer days on hand while I run errands with my girls. Thankfully, I’ve discovered the benefits of keeping a high protein snack bar in my purse at all times, so I was thrilled to work with Balance bare Bars and Walmart for today’s post.
My thanks to Balance bare Bars and Walmart for sponsoring today’s conversation. I did receive a gift card to thank me for my time, however all opinions and love of healthy snacks are my own.
Finding the Balance bare Bars at Walmart was easy. They are right over by the vitamin section, which I walk past often on most shopping trips.
About Balance Bare Bars:
Balance Bars delicious bare bars, a nutritious, wholesome snack made with real nuts & fruit. Each bar is only 160 calories, non-GMO, gluten-free, soy-free and vegetarian and comes in tasty flavors like Sea Salt Caramel and Mixed Berry Nut which is also dairy-free and vegan.
I picked up several Sea Salt Caramel and Mixed berry nut Balance bare bars and couldn’t wait to try them. While I really liked the Sea Salt Caramel bars, the Mixed berry nut was my favorite! This bar is full of yummy good fruit and nuts with just the right amount of sweetness. I ate this bar on the go the next day and was able to finish all my errands happy, not hangry!
Doesn’t it look good?
Walmart is offering an exclusive Balance Bare bar value pack! The 4+1 value pack includes an extra bar and a dollar off coupon inside each box as well making these bars and affordable healthy snack option for you and your family!
As I power through my busy summer days, having a healthy snack on hand is just one of the ways I stay active. I also make sure we have lots of water with us on every single errand we take. I freeze water bottles at night, then fill them and put in a small cooler to go with us.
If you need some workout inspiration, I invite you to visit Gabby Reece’s site. She’s partnered with Balance Bare bars and created a quick and easy workout.
Win it!
Thanks to the generosity of today’s post sponsors Balance Bars and Walmart, one lucky reader will receive a $15 Walmart gift card and a variety of Balance bare bars.
Terms:
No purchase is necessary to enter using the Rafflecopter from below. My WAHM Plan is not responsible for prize fulfillment. Winners will be notified by email used on entry form and have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen. This giveaway is not associated with nor endorsed by Facebook, Twitter, or any other social channel.
Good Luck!
Wordless Wednesday: summer flowers in bloom
in flowers, gardening, pots, summer, wordless wednesday, by Linda A Kinsman, Wednesday, July 29, 2015
The summer heat has taken its toll on some of my flowerbeds and containers, but these faithful plants bloom for me season after season.
Please share in comments: What's blooming in your garden this hot July?
Please share in comments: What's blooming in your garden this hot July?