Friday, July 29, 2011

LDS Bookstore Convention, yay!


Hey, everyone!  Rather than a book review, today I decided to tell you what is going on in our neck of the woods.  My mom (the Queen Bee) and I are busily preparing to go to LDS Bookstore Convention.

Have you ever heard of it?  It is a great opportunity for us to go and connect with LDS vendors and authors.  Also, we get to learn many great things about how to improve our business.

What does the customer want?  What new is coming out?  How can we ourselves be better people and grow closer to our Savior?

These are just a few of the wonderful topics we discuss at Convention.

I am very excited for a fun and satisfying week with my mom in the great Salt Lake City, Utah area.

What did you think of this post?  Would you like more personal posts like this one?

Thanks everyone for following!

Sincerely,
Celeste Estes, daughter of the Queen Bee

Monday, July 25, 2011

Can fog describe more than the weather?

Foggy with a Chance of Murder
by G.G. Vandagriff

Category – LDS suspense with a twist of romance

In this book, Chloe, a young suspense author, buries herself deep in her work in order to avoid love.  However, when tragedy brings her and a “jack” mormon together, sparks begin to fly.  It is then that her past love re-enters the picture, bringing fog for Chloe in more ways than one. To make it worse, someone is out to kill her new love.

G.G. Vandagriff is quickly joining the field of fine LDS suspense novelists.  I have enjoyed her use of combining good values and nail biting suspense.  Maybe not quite as thrilling and suspenseful as books by Clair Poulsen, but definitely worth the read.

Book Review by Vickie Ricks, The Queen Bee



WHO ELSE IS REVIEWING IT???

Goodreads.com at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10275748-foggy-with-a-chance-of-murder says:

• A classic whodunit with a unique LDS twist
• Readers of G. G.'s previous mysteries will enjoy this latest offering from a Whitney Award-winner
• The author was recently featured in "Literary Worlds," a Special Collections exhibit at BYU's Harold B. Lee Library
• Online reading guide available for book clubs


Scroll down on the Goodreads.com page to see who else is commenting on and reviewing this book.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

One Guy, Three Girls...the Ultimate Laundry Bet


Luck of the Draw
by Rachael Renee Anderson

Category – LDS romance (but not too sappy)

 The typical story of relationships on the college level, but this one goes seriously wrong. A bet among roommates puts a young man on the road to finding true love but when the girl he falls for finds out about the bet, for her, all bets are off.

This is a fast paced, fun and humorous story, kind of predictable but with a few twists to keep it interesting. Geared for the young adult market, but I thoroughly enjoyed it as well. This book will make any hot summer day go more quickly.

Book Review by Vickie Ricks, The Queen Bee


WHO ELSE IS BLOGGING ABOUT IT?


Excerpt from Luck of the Draw:

     "This is the end of our date,” he said. “And you just told me that you won’t go out with me, at least not any time in the next eight years, so this is pretty much my only opportunity.”

     “Opportunity?” Dani raised her eyebrows. “For what, exactly?”

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Blackberry Crumble by Josi S. Kilpak

Blackberry Crumble has Sadie Hoffmiller on a new adventure with a murder to solve.  For the first time, she is approached as if she were a real private investigator and enlisted to solve the mystery.  Like usual she finds herself in a mess but still manages to come out on top; again, her “boyfriend” is around to add a little romance to the mystery.

I love the Culinary Mystery Series and Josi Kilpack.  In this series, Josi invents delicious recipes and finds great ways to incorporate them into her books.  I tried a couple of the recipes, Lemon Tart and English Trifle, and served them at a book signing held for Josi Kilpak.  They turned out pretty good if I do say so myself!

These books are easy reads and fun, with a good mix of suspense and romance.  Pumpkin Roll will be coming out soon.  I am sooo looking forward to it!

Blackberry Crumble is the fifth book in the Culinary Mystery Series.  Although most characters remain the same, these books can be read as standalones.

Here is a link to Josi's blog and her post about Blackberry Crumble:



Book Review by Vickie Ricks

CTR's Ring by Melissa Ann Aylstock



CTR's Ring caught my attention right from the start.  I was so curious to know what the main character, Cameron T. Richards, would do next.  He had found a CTR ring and had kept it, thinking it was meant to represent the initials in his name.  He had no idea it belonged to "Mormons".

When he finds out it is a Mormon ring and that his new-found relatives are all Mormons, he suddenly finds himself wondering if there is a true church.  Will it be the one his new co-worker invited him to or some other?

Filled with romance, love for family, and a deep spirituality, this story really impressed me and stopped me in my tracks.  I sincerely wanted to know what would happen in the life of Cameron T. Richards.

My only concerns were that the editing wasn't perfect and that the story was a bit unreal at the end.  Otherwise, I loved it!  I would recommend this book to teens and adults.

Book Review by Celeste L. Estes

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Return to Mormonville: Worlds Apart by Jeff Call

Jeff Call has done it again!  I loved Mormonville, and now I really loved Return to Mormonville.

In this book, the main character, Luke Manning, finds himself in an unforgettable and almost tramatizing adventure in another country.  Why does he travel to this far off place and get himself into trouble?  Well, because he's a reporter.  He has been a baptized member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints now for over two years and has lost his niche in the journalism world.  Until now.

I would really recommend this book to anybody, even if you haven't read the first book in the series.  There are enough references to Luke's past (what happens in book 1) for anyone to piece together.  This story is so exciting and fun!  Then, after you've finished it and the adventure is over, you realize how much you have learned.  It is great.  I give this book 4.5 stars.


Book Review by Celeste L. Estes