Review: The Lean by Kelly Freston

The Lean

A Revolutionary (and Simple) 30 Day Plan for Healthy, Lasting Weight Loss

Kathy Freston
Genre: Non Fiction/Health & Fitness

Published: March 27, 2012

Publisher: Weinstein Books

ISBN: 1602861730 

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Description:

If you’ve ever dieted, you’ve undoubtedly worked very hard to achieve results--only to experience the disappointment of having the pounds creep back on. But now wellness expert Kathy Freston lets readers in on her secret: losing weight doesn’t have to be difficult, and it can last. With this book she shares the powerful concept of The Lean--a radically effective approach to positive change--with a practical 30-day plan to transform your health and jump-start weight loss in the most gentle, easy, and automatic way possible.“Leaning in” is about setting an intention for what you want, weight- and health-wise, and then nudging yourself ever so gently in that direction, even if getting there seems impossible. It’s about choosing to eat foods that are delicious, filling, and supportive of your goals.
Each day of the scientifically based, vegan-friendly Lean plan, Kathy shows how to make and commit to small diet and lifestyle changes that, over time, yield unexpectedly significant results--something as simple as swapping in nondairy milk for cow’s milk, eating an apple a day, or having an afternoon power shake. These changes propel you almost effortlessly into a forward momentum of ever more healthy choices, and work together to bolster your progress. There are only two rules:
1. All you need is the willingness to take just one step.
2. As you add the healthier foods to your diet, eat the new foods first.
By gradually adding in these nutrient-dense and fiber-rich foods, you’ll crowd out the problem foods, feel fuller for longer, and simply stop feeling cravings. On Kathy’s Lean plan, readers can experience sustained, healthy, and permanent weight loss of 1-3 pounds per week--plus increased energy, improved digestion, clearer skin, and renewed purpose. Complete with exercises, recipes, and powerful testimonials,The Lean offers not only a truly leaner frame, but also the little push we all need to get on the path to lasting change.

Review:

Rating:

The Lean by Kelly Freston is a book that follows a simple 30 day plan to change your eating habits so that you can live healthier.

The book was really easy to follow, and the steps truly were simple.

I thought that a lot of the steps that were included were very true, and things that people should be doing all of the time.

I especially liked how this books was more of a baby steps kind of book. You can take the diet plan one step at a time thanks to the day by day schedule. I think that that's one of the reasons that this is so appealing. You can ease yourself into the vegan lifestyle without taking the giant leap.

Even if you aren't wanting to become a vegan, then you can still benefit from this book.

It is full of great steps to help change your body for the better, even if it's as simple as eating an apple.

I think this is a great book for anyone who is looking to eat healthier, or is just looking for some great reading material on nutrition and foods. I definitely enjoyed it, even though I have no intention of giving up my carnivorous ways.

:)

If you're curious about the 30 steps and what they mean, I would highly advise you to check out Kelly's page of badges.

These are great to share on FB, Twitter, etc. to drum up support from your family and friends, especially while going through the 30 day plan.

:D

*The Book Blogging Beauties  received a copy of this book from Weinstein Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are that of the reviewer. We were not compensated for this review.

Review: Tricks by Ellen Hopkins

Tricks

Ellen Hopkins
Genre: Non Fiction/Addiction

Expected Publication: December 6, 2011

Publisher:  Margaret K. McElderry Books

ISBN: 1416950079

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Description:

Five teenagers from different parts of the country. Three girls. Two guys. Four straight. One gay. Some rich. Some poor. Some from great families. Some with no one at all. All living their lives as best they can, but all searching...for freedom, safety, community, family, love. What they don't expect, though, is all that can happen when those powerful little words "I love you" are said for all the wrong reasons.

Five moving stories remain separate at first, then interweave to tell a larger, powerful story -- a story about making choices, taking leaps of faith, falling down, and growing up. A story about kids figuring out what sex and love are all about, at all costs, while asking themselves, "Can I ever feel okay about myself?"

Review:

Rating:

Ellen Hopkins is by far one of my favorite authors out there, her books are so truly unique and I’m addicted to her books. ‘Tricks’ was the one that I read most recently and I have to say it may be my favorite one so far. ‘Tricks’ touched on such a deeply disturbing issue that affects teens all over the world, teens that comes from all different kinds of backgrounds and you don’t really realize it affects them but it does. Teenage prostitution happens every day all around the world and ‘Tricks’ touches on this subject in every way possible. 

It takes six different teenagers from very different worlds and shows how every event or tragedies in their lives lead them down the dangerous and slippery slope of prostitution. Ellen’s books are so amazing they share real life drama and sad stories you wouldn’t want to face but many families have. 

I love the way she writes it is so unique and it makes her books stand out against the rest. ‘Tricks’ was such a captivating story with so many twists and turns that it will keep you on the edge of your seat , anxious to turn the page until the very end. I promise you will not be able to put this book down, it will pull you in and not let go. Excellent work by Ellen Hopkins yet again and I cannot wait for another book from her.

I give it five stars!

*Chasity bought this book, and loved it! All opinions are that of the reviewer. We were not compensated for this review.

Review: Awakening by Stovall Weems

Awakening:

A New Approach to Faith, Fasting, and Spiritual Freedom

Stovall Weems
Genre: Religious/Non Fiction

Published: December 4, 2010

Publisher: The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group

ISBN: 0307459535

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Description:

Would you describe your walk with God as fresh and exciting?  Would you describe your spiritual life as vibrant and passionate?  If not, would you like these attributes to be the norm in your everyday relationship with God? 
 
Are you ready to experience an awakening?
 
Awakening helps you stir up your slumbering soul.  You’ll discover how to break out of your season of dryness or get off to a great start either in the New Year or the next season in life. Take your faith-walk from a “going through the motions” or “have to” mindset to the stimulating, fresh “want to” experience of enjoying God’s presence—24/7. 
 
Weems encourages you to surrender fully, to discover the right kind of fuel for the journey, and to learn a new way to pray and fast. This lifestyle is not based on rules or religion, but on a deep, satisfying, motivating relationship with God.
 
Included in Awakening is a 21-Day Plan that will guide you through the principles that ensure a lasting, fresh relationship with God—even in a world where everything quickly becomes stale.  
 
“It’s time to wake up and put an end to spiritual sluggishness! I promise this year will be the best of your life if it is your best year spiritually.” – Stovall Weems

Review:

Rating:

Awakening, A New Approach to Faith, Fasting, and Spiritual Freedom written by Stovall Weems makes the claim that it is a 21 day plan to revolutionize your relationship with God.  This book is a step-by-step plan to change how you feel about God.  He writes that every believer should be a passionate Christian that every person who seeks God with his whole heart will find Him in a new way.  The book begins with several chapters about how God wants to be available to us and how we can grow closer to Him through prayer, Bible study and fasting.  Personal anecdotes about the author's journey to a deeper, more fulfilling relationship with God are scattered throughout the book.  These stories make the quest that the author embarked upon to find a true relationship with a loving God even more meaningful.  Pastor Weems spends a great deal of time teaching the reader about fasting and the benefits to both our bodies and our spirits.

The second half of the book is a 21 day devotional that guides the reader through a meaningful fast that is specifically tailored to the lifestyle and health concerns of each participant.  The devotions each contain commentary, a Bible reading plan, a prayer focus, and an optional book reading plan.  Quotes from notable people throughout the devotions add to the depth of the plan.

Awakening was an eye opening read and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to grow closer to God and learn more about himself in the process.

*The Book Blogging Beauties  received a copy of this book from Waterbrook Multnomah Blogging For Books Program in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are that of the reviewer. We were not compensated for this review.

Review: My Big Bottom Blessing by Teasi Cannon

My Big Bottom Blessing

How Hating My Body Led to Loving My Life

Teasi Cannon
Genre: Non Fiction/Religious

Published: May 8, 2012

Publisher: Worthy Publishing

ISBN: 1617950769

Description:

The media feeds us distorted images of beauty and what an "ideal woman" should look like. Weight loss is nearly a $55 billion a year business. Ninety percent of high school girls diet regularly, even though only 10 to 15 percent would be considered truly overweight. In My Big Bottom Blessing, author Teasi Cannon speaks from personal experience, offering a way out of distorted body images and the pain of self-rejection. She says, "My obsession with fat and failure robbed me of a lot of the good in my life. God's definition of beauty has far more to do with what's going on inside of us than what's skin deep. I have been miraculously set free from the lie that being thin equals being beautiful."

My Big Bottom Blessing offers us Teasi's story—and real-life solutions for the millions of young women who struggle with poor self-esteem and feelings of inadequacy and rejection. She shows that God loves the whole person unconditionally and that whatever it is that you despise most about yourself (it doesn’t have to be weight) can become the catalyst for serious life change. From a search for self-acceptance to finding true love and contentment just as we are, Teasi proves that emotional pain can be healed and confidence found in knowing that authentic beauty comes in all shapes and sizes.

My Big Bottom Blessing is a joyful, compassionate, and wise guide from someone who knows the power of exchanging the way we look with a new way of seeing.

Review:

Rating:

This book by Teasi Cannon is more than a book about overcoming self image issues, its about truly becoming a daughter of The King.

I absolutely love the way that this book is written. Not preachy, not impersonal, like your typical self help book. It was like sitting down and talking with a friend most of the time ( you know, those friends who give it to ya straight). I think this was a great way to write it because a lot of people can relate and be engaged. If this book was more preachy, then I think that I would have skimmed right through this book without skipping a beat, but the writing style pulled me in instead. 

I also love how real this book is. In the book the author talks about hearing the voices of  "trainer" and other internal voices. I think that we've all had those thoughts or "voices" at some time or another. Its something that we all deal with, but we hardly ever talk about. 

I think that the authors transperancy with her life, and her willingness to talk about different womens issues, and issues with people in general, really made this book for me. There are a lot of truths to be found in this book, for sure.

I also loved how she didnt just talk about her life, etc. She backed everything she was saying with scripture, so you could actually see that the Bible lines up with what she's saying.

The only thing that slightly annoyed me with this book, was the little workbook like pages at the end of chapters. Honestly, I thought that you made the connections to your own life as she was telling the stories just fine without the workbook pages. It seemed like that was trying a bit too hard. But that is literally my only qualm with this book.

It was great! I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to know more about truly becoming a daughter of God, or someone who has self esteem or body image issues, but I would also recommend it to just about any christian woman out there. There are a lot of truths to be found in this book, whether you are having self esteem issues or not.

Stay Tuned for a chance to win your own copy of this book!

:D

In the meantime, enjoy this First Chapter Preview of My Big Bottom Blessing!!

*The Book Blogging Beauties received a copy of this book from Worthy Publishing in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are that of the reviewer. We were not compensated for this review.

Review: My Week With Marilyn by Colin Clark

My Week With Marilyn

Colin Clark
Genre: Non Fiction

Published: October 1, 2011

Publisher: DeCapo Press

ISBN: 978-1-60286-149-7

Description:

Imagine sneaking away to spend seven days with the most famous woman in the world… 

In 1956, fresh from Oxford University, twenty-three-year-old Colin Clark began work as a lowly assistant on the set of The Prince and the Showgirl, the film that united Sir Laurence Olivier with Marilyn Monroe. The blonde bombshell and the legendary actor were ill suited from the start. Monroe, on honeymoon with her new husband, the celebrated playwright Arthur Miller, was insecure, often late, and heavily medicated on pills. Olivier, obsessively punctual, had no patience for Monroe and the production became chaotic. Clark recorded it all in two unforgettable diaries—the first a charming fly-on-the- wall account of life as a gofer on the set; the other a heartfelt, intimate, and astonishing remembrance of the week Clark spent escorting Monroe around England, earning the trust and affection of one of the most desirable women in the world. Published together here for the first time, the books are the basis for the upcoming major motion picture My Week with Marilyn starring Michelle Williams, Judi Dench, and Kenneth Branagh. 

England was abuzz when Monroe arrived to shoot The Prince and the Showgirl. She hoped working with the legendary Olivier would give her acting further credibility, while he hoped the film would give his career a boost at the box office and some Hollywood glamour. But Monroe, feeling abandoned when Miller left the country for Paris, became difficult on the set. Clark was perceptive in his assessment of what seemed to be going wrong in Monroe’s life: too many hangers-on, intense insecurity, and too many pills. Olivier, meanwhile, was impatient and condescending toward her. At a certain point, feeling isolated and overwhelmed, Monroe turned her attention to Clark, who gave her comfort and solace. Before long, she escaped the set and a remarkable true adventure took place. Monroe and Clark spent an innocent week together in the English countryside and Clark became her confidant and ally. And, like any man would be expected to, he fell a bit in love. Clark understood how best to handle Monroe and became Olivier’s only hope of getting the film finished. Before long, young Colin was in over his head, and his heart may well have been broken by the world’s biggest movie star. 

A beguiling memoir that reads like a fable, My Week with Marilyn is above all a love letter to one of our most enduring icons.

Review:

Rating:

When I first seen the preview for this movie, I was immediately hooked. Being that I am a huge Marilyn Monroe fan I knew that I just had to see it. However when I found out that it was taken from a book, as most amazing movies are. At least in my opinion they are. I then knew I had to read the book and the book became much more important to me than the movie did and to this day I am writing this having just finished the book and still have not seen the movie. I do have the movie sitting on my dresser right next to me but I am the kind of woman that believes the books are so much better and I must read them before even beginning to watch the movie. 

Now with that being said, ‘My Week with Marilyn’ is a book showcasing Colin Clark’s story of his week with Marilyn which he titled, “My Week with Marilyn” in its other releases as well as his own personal diary entries which were titled, “The Prince and the Showgirl”, those were written while he worked as a 3rd Assistant Director on the film, starring Marilyn Monroe and Sir Laurence Oliver. This was the first time both forms had been put together as a book; they had both previously been released separately. 

I was very excited to start this book; I couldn’t even begin to imagine what it would hold in it, I mean imagine actually getting to spend a week with Marilyn Monroe! This book had to be good! The first part of the book, which is ‘My Week with Marilyn’, is extremely intriguing. You get to see everyone who was a part of that movie and what their role is. You see from Colin’s point of view what his take is on everyone including everyone in Marilyn’s party, which includes herself. At this point in time she was married to playwright Arthur Miller. This book did not portray Arthur as a very kind fellow, more of an egotistical self-centered jerk. Colin felt sorry for Marilyn in most of the book; he stated numerous times that the people surrounding her were so terrible for her and this I completely agree with and I believe they were a great contribute to her demise. 
The Strasbergs, Milton Greene, and Hedda were the people that were her team. Lee and Paula Strasberg were her acting coaches on this film although Paula was the only one present; Lee was always contacted by phone when big problems arose. Milton Greene was her partner in Marilyn Monroe Productions and the man who got her out of her wretched contract with 20th Century Fox; he was in charge of getting her to the studio each day, which proved to be a great burden considering she was always late. Hedda was a secretary and really no help at all considering she was drunk most of the time. 
Colin worked for Sir Laurence Oliver but somehow got twisted up into Marilyn’s life. He said she was just so hypnotizing no one could stay away from her. He feared for her well-being during the filming, because Milton’s way of helping her cope was to continuously feed her pills she did not need. In the end the film turned out to be torture for everyone. 

I really enjoyed reading the first half of this book, the way he told his story of his week with her was wonderful, even though I do believe it was only a few days that they interacted and not a full week. However once I got halfway through the diary entries I lost a lot of interest, it seemed he was writing the same thing over and over again. Marilyn was late and seemed confused, Sir Laurence Oliver was getting more and more upset and didn’t know what to do about it. That was the general idea of every diary entry. Don’t get me wrong I did enjoy a lot of the diary entries but it was hard to read through all of them, with the same repetition it had.

It also doesn’t tell you much about Marilyn that you probably don’t already know, so if you are looking for a story of her life this isn’t it, this is a story of the filming of ‘The Prince and the Showgirl’.

Overall it was a wonderful book and a wonderful insight into the filming of ‘The Prince and the Showgirl’ which was intriguing. It is a nice piece to read and have if you are a Marilyn fan, I must say.
I give it four hearts.

*Chasity  received a copy of this book from DeCapo Press in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are that of the reviewer. We were not compensated for this review.

Review: MOMumental by Jennifer Grant

MOMumental

Jennifer Grant
Genre: Non Fiction/Parenting

Published: May 8, 2012

Publisher: Worthy Publishing

ISBN: 9781617950

Description:

One mom’s humorous and candid memoir shows would-be supermoms how to create a realistically balanced family life without losing their minds.

Review:

Rating:

 This is a wonderful memoir of family life in all of its (sometimes) messy glory. It's definitely not your normal book about raising a child! It's not about being the perfect parent, its about being a REAL mom. I think that's whats so appealing about this book. The author uses her real experiences(and that of friends etc.) of being a parent, the good, bad, and the ugly. The stories that she uses to illustrate are pretty dog gone funny, and I think most parents have a story or two that's pretty similar from their journey through parenthood.

;)

Even though I'm not a Mom myself, I really liked this book. The heartfelt stories, and the realness of the author, made this a fun, interesting, and educational read.

If you are a mom (or about to be), I would definitely recommend that you pick up this read. 

I'm sure you won't regret it!

And hey, you may even get the chance to win a copy soon....

:D

In the meantime, enjoy this First Chapter Preview of MOMumental!!

*The Book Blogging Beauties received a copy of this book from Worthy Publishing in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are that of the reviewer. We were not compensated for this review.

Review: Weeknights With Giada by Giada De Laurentiis

Weeknights With Giada

Giada De Laurentiis
Genre: Non Fiction/Cooking

Published: March 27, 2012

Publisher: Crown Publishing Group

ISBN: 030745102X

Description:

Giada De Laurentiis is one of America’s most-loved culinary stars, adored for her Food Network hit shows and her New York Times bestselling cookbooks alike, both of which feature her fresh, flavorful Italian recipes. For the first time, Giada tackles weeknight cooking, sharing her favorite tips and go-to dishes—all in her vibrant signature style—to get a delicious meal on the table in a flash. 
 
After a full day, Giada, like most parents, wants nothing more than to sit down for a home-cooked dinner with her husband, Todd, and their daughter, Jade. Weeknights with Giada rises to the challenge, delivering soups, sandwiches, pizzas, pastas, and meat and fish dishes that come together quickly as stand-alone main courses—most in half an hour or less: Rustic Vegetable and Polenta Soup, a hearty soul-warming one-pot dish, cooks in under twenty minutes; Lemony White Bean, Tuna, and Arugula Salad is a great meal that’s quickly assembled from pantry and fridge essentials; Spicy Linguini with Clams and Mussels is a fifteen-minute-or-less spectacular pasta; and you can’t beat Grilled Sirloin Steaks with Pepper and Caper Salsa, which are also ready in just fifteen minutes. From inventive breakfast-for-dinner dishes and meatless Monday vegetarian recipes—both weekly traditions in Giada’s house—to picnic sandwiches and hearty salad recipes for reinventing leftovers,Weeknights with Giada reveals every secret in her repertoire. Even the desserts are quick to mix and bake, should a craving—or a last-minute school bake sale—strike.
 
Here is Giada at her most inventive—and at her most laid-back. Flavor, freshness, and fun take center stage while cooking times, pots dirtied, and stress are kept to a minimum. With gorgeous color photographs and intimate home snapshots of Giada and her family, Weeknights with Giada is a welcome handbook of fantastic recipes and surefire Monday-to-Friday strategies for every home cook.

Review:

Rating:

I really liked this book because, not only was it a cookbook, it was a story. The whole book had a story behind it. Each recipe had a story that went a long with it, and I liked that because it was so different from a normal cookbook. It showed that she really wanted to say something with her recipe's, rather than just compiling together a bunch of recipe's in a book.

I also liked the fact that there was so many pictures in the cookbook. It's nice to have a lot of photo's so that you can see the final outcome, and decide whether you even want to try the recipe out or not, rather than just going with it. I see a lot of cookbooks that won't have very many pictures in it at all, but this one was different. There was a photo of just about every dish in her book. 

Since I like to go above and beyond in my reviews of cookbooks, I actually made one of the dishes in her book!

I made the Whole Grain Linguine with Basil, Bacon, and Shrimp

I really wasn't a fan of this because of all of the bacon grease that was used. I think I would have loved it if it has a lot less bacon grease, but don't let that deter you from this book! There are a lot of other recipe's that are sure to please your taste buds!

I would recommend this cookbook to anyone who is a fan of Giada's show on The Food Network, or anyone who wants to know more about her, and have fun making delicious recipe's at the same time!

*The Book Blogging Beauties received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are that of the reviewer. We were not compensated for this review.

Book Review: SASS Yourself Slim by Cynthia Sass

SASS Yourself Slim: Conquer Cravings, Drop Pounds, and Lose Inches

Cynthia Sass
Genre: Self Help/Fitness

Published: March 20, 2012

Publisher: Harper Collins

ISBN: 006197465X

Description:

S.A.S.S. Yourself Slim is a 30-day plan in two parts. Part one is a 5-Day Fast Forward option that jump starts your results. It calls for four simple meals a day, made from just five foods: spinach, almonds, raspberries, eggs, and yogurt (or vegan-friendly alternatives). Cynthia selected these foods because each is filling, rich in detoxifying and health-protecting nutrients, and has been scientifically shown to specifically support weight loss. Using these five superior foods in various combinations daily for five days gives your body, mind, and taste buds a fresh start and will help you shed up to eight pounds quickly. 

Part two is a 25-day plan (30 days if you forego the Fast Forward option) which also calls for four meals a day, but now draws from a broad but specific array of food choices. And with this part of the plan, you can easily drop a size in just one month. The Core is based on cutting edge research and three key rules that work in synergy to provide real and lasting results:

• Rule #1: Eat Like Clockwork. Meal timing is important — you must eat breakfast within an hour of waking up and space the remaining meals evenly throughout the day, no sooner than three and no more than five hours apart, in order to regulate blood sugar and insulin levels and hunger hormones; reset and rev up metabolism; and keep feeling energized.  
  
  

• Rule #2: Think 5 Pieces 4 Times a Day. Each meal in theS.A.S.S. Yourself Slim plan is constructed as a unique “puzzle” made from five pieces: produce, a whole grain, lean protein, plant-based fat, and specific seasonings — or, as Cynthia refers to them, SASS (more about that below). Following the plan is as easy as knowing what the five pieces of the puzzle are and how much of each one to include at every meal. This becomes second nature within thefirst week. This simple approach allows you to consistently S.A.S.S. yourself whether you’re at home, at a restaurant, or on vacation. It’s as easy as choosing from Cynthia’s 100 delicious recipes or using the DIY chapter to build your own ‘5 piece puzzle’ meals. 
  
  

• Rule #3: Make Flavor Your Focus. S.A.S.S. — the fifth piece of the puzzle (above) — stands for Slimming and Satiating Seasonings: vinegar, citrus juice or zest, hot peppers, tea, and herbs and spices. These five additions not only add flavor to the meals without excess calories or sodium, they are scientifically proven to maximize your body’s fat-burning furnace and are rich in antioxidants, which have been linked to lower body-fat levels, even without dieting.
  
  

The book also includes chapters on emotional eating, falling in love with walking, and an entire chapter devoted to the health and weight loss benefits of the daily dark chocolate escape. On this plan you can shed pounds while enjoying satisfying recipes, such as Berry Almond French Toast, a Smoked Gouda and Grilled Onion Salad, Ginger Pear Smoothie, and Shrimp Creole. Vegetarians, vegans, and those following a gluten free diet can also follow this plan to achieve sustainable weight loss success. 

S.A.S.S. Yourself Slim teaches you how to get your body back, and refocus your attention and energy where they should be — on living and enjoying your life.

Review:

Rating:

 I really loved this book! Its not only filled with how to do Sass's 30 day plan, but also contains tons of tips on nutrition in general. I think that was my favorite part about this book. I also really loved how the book didn't just say "eat this" or "don't eat that" but it actually explained pretty in depth on why you shouldn't eat certain things, or why certain things are not included in the diet.
I also liked how you can vary the diet from person to person, that makes it much more open for anyone to try.


The only thing I didn't quite like are the testimonies from people through the book. It annoys me a lot when there are testimonies like "I went from a size 2 to a size 0!". I mean, I get that they're all excited, and they did loose weight, but personally, I'm more inspired and more likely to try a diet if the amount of weight lost is larger. I probably would have picked better testimonies in general, but I did like the fact that there were testimonies to begin with.


I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is trying to shed a few pounds, or is just more curious about nutrition, and eating healthier!

*The Book Blogging Beauties received a copy of this book from the One2One Network in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are that of the reviewer. We were not compensated for this review.

Saving Mary: The Possession

Saving Mary: The Possession

Deidre Havrelock 
Genre: Paranormal

Expected Publication: March 30, 2012

Publisher: Etcetera Press

ASIN: B007QG7P3G

Description:

If you’re a fan of supernatural fiction then you will be captivated by this true story about a spiritually sensitive girl and the path that led to her possession. Part one of a two-part series, Saving Mary is the story of a modern-day Mary Magdalene—the woman from whom Jesus cast out seven demons. 

Deidre Daily is drawn to anything seemingly spiritual, desperately seeking a spiritual existence. But inside this vibrant girl hides a terrified child who sincerely believes she has married the devil. Through a series of spiritual encounters her fear turns into reality, and she ends up possessed.

Deidre’s fascinating memoir relays her story from childhood to adolescence: invisible eyes leering at her from the corner of her bedroom, horrible nightmares tormenting her, and her desperate attempt to find God—only to end up possessed. It is a candid account of possession from a first-person perspective. This dark memoir brings to light an intricate world of deceitful spirits hell-bent on manipulating and damaging an innocent girl’s life, not only through her dreams, but also through seemingly every-day encounters.

Travel with Deidre into the mysterious world of spirits, ghosts and demons. Awaken yourself to a world that isn’t supposed to exist; a world that’s as intriguing as it is sinister. And then emerge as a new person—invigorated, aware and intent on living in the light. Saving Mary; Not just another story about a girl and her exorcist.

Watch for book two, Saving Mary: The Deliverance

Review:

Rating:

 ‘Saving Mary: The Possession’ is a thrilling, rather emotional and sometimes scary journey. Deidre clearly had bigger problems to worry about than fitting in with people at school. I have honestly never read a book like this one before and I found it rather interesting and to be honest a bit scary and unnerving. I mean, this is the story of a girl who has entities following her. She is torn between good and evil, literally. She is not sure if the entities that are with her constantly and play such a big role in her life are good or evil, or what that makes her, considering they are with her. So after a while she begins to feel lost. She seeks help from a few different experts but those all end with epic failures. 

I have a major respect for this author because to share all of this in a memoir and sharing it with the world. Seeing as how she has been through this I’m sure others have or currently are. That is always a great benefit of sharing stories like this, it may help others. 

This book did keep me intrigued all the way through however I was expecting something really big to happen and to me there wasn’t really a climax. Other than that it was a good read. It was a story where you felt for Deidre, I wanted to help her. It was also rather chilling to read about all the crazy scary things that have happened to her. I’m rather interested to see what the sequel holds. I give ‘Saving Mary: The Possession’ three stars.

*Chasity received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are that of the reviewer. We are dedicated to providing our HONEST opinion about books etc. We were not compensated for this review.