New Blog

I know I have posted this before, but I am FINALLY actually on a new blog that works! So we are moving! Although my whole blogging plan is undergoing some changes and the new blog will be a good bit different from what you are used to seeing here, it's still me! So you should totally check it out here.
And you should be sure to look at today's post, which is my review as part of the blog tour for Lauren K. Denton's Glory Road. There's even a giveaway, so hop on over and enter to win!

High Five for Friday

Happy Friday! I can’t believe it’s finally February! I feel like January just went on and on and on. But, now it’s finally February, and I’m so excited because I have so many great things to look forward to over the next few weeks. But first, I’m going to take the time to share about the great things that have happened this past week, because I do still need to be thankful for the other great parts of my life too. Besides, I’ve missed doing these High Five for Friday posts. They’re always so fun! So here’s five great things in my life right now!

 

1. Where Hope Begins by Catherine West. Oh my goodness, I cannot even tell you how much I loved this book. I just finished it this past Tuesday, and I am still thinking about it. I’ve gotten into audiobooks recently, because my life is just so crazy busy and I never have time to read—unless it’s textbooks (groan)—but I’m constantly driving or walking the dog, or other things like that, so I’ve really started to enjoy having an audiobook to listen to during those times. The funny thing is, when you listen to books like Where Hope Begins, sometimes you end up sitting at a red light crying your eyes out while the people in the car next to you look at you like you’re a crazy person. But it was worth it. This book really touched my heart—just like all of Catherine’s books do—and I can’t wait to tell you more about it. But, I’m still woefully behind on my reviewing, so that might be awhile
And now I’ve moved on to listening to Lizzy and Jane by Katherine Reay, and I am loving this one too. Lizzy is a chef, and listening to her story has made me so inspired in the kitchen lately. I made pasta last night and it was delicious, but I still feel like there will be more cooking in my future as I continue to listen to this book.

2. Quiet devotional times. I know that this isn’t specific to this week, and it doesn’t really seem like something major or especially exciting, but I have been loving the devotional book I have been using, and taking even just a few minutes for a quiet time each morning just gives me such a relaxed, peaceful, God-filled start to my day that I really love having. My sister gave me Write the Word: Cultivate Renewal by Lara Casey, and I have been really enjoying the simplicity of this devotional. There’s a spot at the top of each page to write something I’m thankful for, which helps me to always be in a more thankful mood, and then there’s a scripture reference to look up and write out on the front of the page, with space on the back for reflections, a prayer, or anything else that is on my mind at the time. I have never had a devotional like this one before, but I think it is just the perfect thing for my busy mornings and where I am at in my walk with God.

 

3. Nights with the family (mine or my boyfriends). This past week, I have spent two nights playing games with family—one with my family and one with my boyfriends—and I have really enjoyed taking the time to just sit down and do something fun together. My family always ends up arguing, but then someone will make a stupid joke and we’ll all end up in stitches, completely forgetting about whatever we were arguing about minutes before. It always makes for a very interesting, enjoyable time.
Bryce (my boyfriend) has a little bit of a different atmosphere at his house, but I love being there just the same. He has 9 siblings, so there is almost always someone to play with, and his littlest sisters (ages 7 &9) absolutely love when we play games with them, so we spent quite a while playing Spot It with them this past week.

4. My book boxes!!! I know, this technically isn’t just this week either, as I started these early last month, but I am just so excited to finally get them really up and running. Since school started not long after I first shared my boxes—and my classes immediately started with a TON of homework—I haven’t had the time to really build them up and promote them, but I am going to start really putting them out there soon. I want to make them something that people will really enjoy, boxes that are full of great goodies and wonderful books and something that my subscribers will look forward to every month. So, that is the goal!

5. Game Night!! My boyfriend and I are a part of a fantastic small group that meets every Friday night, and I am just so thankful for that group. I have wonderful friends from that group that I meet with all the time for tea and conversation, and my boyfriend has friends too and is soon to become a leader of the group, so I feel like we are thriving there. Anyway, we’re having a game night tonight and I am so looking forward to it! Almost every one of the regular attenders is bringing a friend, so I know we are going to have quite a large group, which is going to make for a lot of fun and a lot of laughs. That sounds like the most perfect way to spend a Friday night.

I hope your week has been just as fantastic! And that you have the best Friday and a FANTASTIC weekend!
Thanks for stopping by!
Mackenzie Carol



High Five for Friday is a weekly linkup hosted by tons of bloggers, I’m linking up at Della Devoted.

My Bookshelf: Flights of Fancy by Jen Turano

Miss Isadora Delafield may be an heiress, but her life is far from carefree. When her mother begins pressuring her to marry an elderly and uncouth duke, she escapes from the high-society world she’s always known and finds herself an unlikely candidate for a housekeeper position in rural Pennsylvania.
Mr. Ian MacKenzie is known for his savvy business sense and has built his reputation and fortune completely through traditional hard work. But when his adopted parents are in need of a new housekeeper and Isadora is thrown into his path, he’s unexpectedly charmed by her unconventional manner.
Neither Isadora nor Ian expected to find the other so intriguing but when a chain of mysterious incidents on the farm point to a larger threat, they’ll have to set aside everything they thought they wanted for a chance at happily-ever-after.

Blog Relaunch!

The rest of my new journey is finally here! As I stated in one of my earlier posts, I have just gotten my own website where I will be selling my very own subscription book boxes, but the blog aspect of my website was still in the works. However, I finally have everything put together, so as of today I am relaunching my blog on my new website!
I will still have this blog open and will often link some of the posts here to my posts on my new blog, so feel free to still explore here whenever you wish! But for now, check out this post on my new blog!

EDIT

Unfortunately, this relaunch has been postponed just a bit. I have had SO many issues with this new website! Therefore, I am having to find another host for my blog that will make this transition easier. But keep your eyes out for the real relaunch soon!

Featured Releases—February

Happy almost February! And, happy blog relaunch day for me! This is my very first ever blog post on the new blog, and I am so excited to be sharing this new journey with you! I felt like it would be fitting for my first ever post to be something that I’ve brought with me from the old blog, so today I’m writing all about my featured releases for February! I’ve written must-have releases posts for years, and then that morphed into these featured releases posts less than a year ago, and that’s something I cannot imagine not continuing as I relaunch. I love doing the research, finding which authors are releasing what new books when, and I absolutely love sharing what I’ve found with you, my lovely readers. So, here are the fantastic-sounding new novels I’ve found for the month of February!

My Bookshelf: A Stranger at Fellsworth by Sarah E. Ladd

Could losing everything be the best thing to happen to Annabelle Thorley?

In the fallout of her deceased father’s financial ruin, Annabelle’s prospects are looking bleak. Her fiancé has called of their betrothal, and now she remains at the mercy of her controlling and often cruel brother. Annabelle soon faces the fact that her only hope for a better life is to do the unthinkable and run away to Fellsworth, where her estranged uncle serves as the school’s superintendent. Upon arrival, Annabelle learns that she must shed her life of high society and work for her wages for the first time in her life.

Owen Locke is unswerving in his commitments. As a widower and father, he is fiercely protective of his only daughter. As an industrious gamekeeper, he is intent on keeping poachers at by even though his ambition has always been to purchase land he can call his own. When a chance encounter introduces him to Annabelle Thorley, his steady life is shaken. For the first time since his wife’s death, Owen begins to consider a second chance at love.

As Owen and Annabelle grow closer, ominous forces threaten the peace they thought they’d found. Poachers, mysterious strangers, and murderers converge at Fellsworth, forcing Annabelle and Owen to a test of fortitude and bravery to stop the shadow of the past from ruining their hopes for the future.

Featured Releases—January

Happy January! I know this is a little delayed; I normally post my Featured Releases posts at the end of the previous month, and here we are already over a week into January. However, I’ve been so busy working on my new website, and I wanted to try to wait and share this after the blog relaunch, so that is the reason for the delay. But, I’m sharing about these new books now, so get excited! Besides, the good thing about the delay is that some of these books have already released so you can go out and get them now!