Book Review-Winning the Gentleman

Winning the Gentleman is a regency romance novel written by Kristi Ann Hunter. It is book two in the Hearts on the Heath series, but it is not necessary to have read book one in order to enjoy this one.

Summary: Stable manager Aaron Whitworth is desperate. His boss has challenged another horse owner to a race, but Aaron doesn’t have a jockey. He needs to find one NOW. But a case of mistaken identity leads him to hire Sophia Fitzroy-a woman.

Will his reputation survive having a woman jockey, or should he cut his losses and decline to race leaving his boss’ honor in shambles? He’s stuck, and he doesn’t know what to do.

Sophia Fitzroy knows she essentially tricked Aaron into hiring her, but she knows horses, and knows she can race. Well, she has never raced before, but she’s desperate for a new life for herself and her injured brother, and is determined to prove she can do it. But is it worth the jeers and abuse she suffers at the hands of the other horse owners? Only time will tell……

My Thoughts: I liked the premise of this book quite a lot. There was a very unique angle to the story with Sophia and her brother, and all they had been through. You could really understand why Sophia felt the need to go for the desperate gamble of horse racing to find a better life for themselves.

What I didn’t care for in the story, was the constant reference to Aaron’s parentage. I get that he was an illegitimate son, but it kept coming up ad nauseum. In my opinion, it just took up too much room in the story. And, if Aaron was really that messed up by his legitimacy, there is no way he would have been able to fall in love with someone and have it work out because of his major insecurities. So, that just fell flat for me too.

It was a little sad, because I usually really enjoy this author’s books-she’s one of my favorites. But this book just didn’t quite hit the mark for me because of all the focus on the one topic. I just wanted to enjoy the other parts of the story!

I do thank Bethany House for providing me with a free digital copy of this book in exchange for my review. Thank you.

Pinterest Thursday-GF/DF Chocolate Muffins

pin and picture found here

This recipe was my attempt at a new dairy-free/gluten-free muffin for The Boy. He LOVES chocolate, so this seemed the perfect fit.

This is such a super simple recipe-everything just went straight into the food processor, and it’s a great way to use up leftover bananas too.

I don’t eat chocolate things like cakes or muffins and such, so I had to rely solely on my taste testers for this one.

One said too much banana flavor, and everyone agreed they were too chocolatey. Is that even a thing???

Anyway, they liked them, but I don’t know that I will make them on a regular basis.

If I did make them again, I would probably omit the chocolate chips so they would have less chocolate flavor maybe? I don’t know.

My Notes: I used olive oil for my oil, my homemade gluten-free flour mix for the flour, and forgot the vanilla by accident. 🙂

Wednesday Words

pin found here

Review-The Bible Memory App

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

We recently received the opportunity to try out The Bible Memory App – Bible Memory PRO from BibleMemory.com. This product provides the user with several ways to memorize Scripture by tapping into kinesthetic, visual, and auditory memory systems which provide users the ability to retain verses for the long-term.

The Bible Memory App is a one-time download and can be used on your mobile device and by accessing the BibleMemory.com website. Data does sync between mobile devices and the website, so users can switch back and forth without losing their progress.

Bible Memory PRO is extremely easy to set-up. There are helpful start-up videos, very little account information is required, and within minutes I had an account and several verses entered that I wanted to memorize.

To enter verses to memorize, I simply clicked on the plus symbol at the top of my page of verses, clicked on new verse, and typed in the chapter and verse, as well as the version of the Bible I wanted to use. From this same spot, you can also create collections of verses you want to memorize, as well as search verses by topic. For example, if I wanted to look up verses on hope, I would simply type that into the search field, and it would pull up verses pertaining to that topic. There is even a list of the top 100 verses if you need some ideas of where to start.

Another great feature, is that you can choose a version of the Bible to read through the app. As you read, if you find a verse you want to memorize, you can choose that verse to be added to your verses in the app.

All of these features make it very easy to find verses to memorize.

Bible Memory PRO is also very easy to customize as far as how you want to memorize your verses. In the account settings under preferences, you can choose how often you want to review verses and what you want to type as you practice. It can even highlight any previously missed sections, so you can see your progress.

If you are the competitive type, you can see your ranking against other members in number of verses memorized. If you want some company, you can create or join a group and work together to memorize specific verses. You can also earn badges for completing certain steps within the program- a feature that can be especially appealing to kids.

Overall, I found this app easy to use and a great way to memorize Scripture in a fun and engaging way. I only used the app on my Chromebook, and I really loved that option as I rarely use my phone. I also liked getting reminders to review my verses, because it kept me working towards my memorization goals.

The only thing I didn’t like was that each user has to have their own email account, and my younger kids don’t have email yet.

Otherwise, this app is well thought out, customizable, and keeps Bible memory interesting. It is also a very affordable product, which is nice.

I would recommend Bible Memory PRO to anyone who would like to incorporate Scripture memory into their daily lives in a gentle way that produces tangible progress in Bible memorization.

Ready to learn more about how The Bible Memory App – Bible Memory PRO can work for your family?

Check out the Homeschool Review Crew blog to read more reviews from our team!

Card Monday-Ocean Yay Birthday

Today’s card is another birthday card-I told you I have a lot to make! 🙂

Supplies: Stamps, Stencil, and Dies: MFT; Markers: Spectrum Noir; Inks: Tim Holtz

I really like how this one turned out!

I am entering this card into the following challenges:

Addicted to Stamps and More challenge #423:

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #176: