Merlin’s Shawdow by Robert Treskillard

Posted on December 19, 2013 by tessbissell

I love the tale of King Arthur and Guinevere and of course Merlin. The two fictional men I am obsessed with reading about would be Robin Hood and then King Arthur. So when I saw the description of the book I knew I had to sign up and snag a copy. I am so glad I did. This book is so full of adventure, mystery, betrayal, sorcery, love, and a timeless tale of Merlin. When Merlin and the gang are on the boat and they got seasick I can totally relate. I am the worst person to take on long car rides or on boats or on anything that moves Ha. I get sick very easily by motion. Anyways when the people were starting to feel sick I think it was a part that everyone could probably relate to from sometime in their life. I hope each of you that read this book loved it and I hope that if you haven’t bought a copy that you would because it is worth it. The first chapter was hard to get into but after that it takes off and leaves you in a state of constantly wanting more. More of the characters and more of the story.

In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

If you would like to purchase the book, and let me tell you, you do, You can do so here

Or if you want to visit the authors website you can do so here

And his website is right here

http://www.oerkenleaves.blogspot.com
http://rbclibrary.wordpress.com
http://jeffchapmanwriter.blogspot.com
http://paulinecreeden.com
http://projectinga.blogspot.com
http://vicsmediaroom.wordpress.com
http://realmofhearts.blogspot.com
http://fantasythyme.blogspot.com
http://www.spoiledfortheordinary.blogspot.com
http://carolkeen.blogspot.com
http://www.jlmbewe.com/index.php/blog
http://thewonderingsofoneperson.wordpress.com

About

http://www.bloomingwithbooks.blogspot.com
http://rebeccaluellamiller.wordpress.com/
http://www.bookwomanjoan.blogspot.com
http://linalamont.blogspot.com
http://asimplelifereally.blogspot.com
http://www.christsbridge.blogspot.com
http://dadscancooktoo.com
http://www.chawnaschroeder.blogspot.com
http://familyreads.blogspot.com
http://www.jojosutiscorner.wordpress.com
http://www.epictales.org/blog/robertblog.php

http://stevetrower.com/blog
http://www.shanewerlinger.com/
http://christian-fantasy-book-reviews.com/blog
http://booksreviewedbydeb.blogspot.com

The Shawdow Lamp by Stephen Lawhead

Posted on November 14, 2013 by tessbissell

I loved this book! I am so glad that he continued with another book because it explained more, which was great because it became confusing at times. I was so sad to hear about Arthur’s death,(I’m not sure if it happened in the beginning of this book or the end of the last one, I can’t remember.) I loved how Tony went after Cassandra when she went missing. My parents have always told us kids that if something ever happened to us that they would never stop looking. And Cassandra’s adventurous spirit was so refreshing. Will Kit and Cassandra be a thing? I sure hope so. They seem like they could fall in love, or are already in the process. When Xian-Li and Benedict went to Egypt and explored, it just made me want to go there and see everything. I would definitely recommend the book and series to anyone.

In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

If you would like to buy this book, you can do so here

Or if you would like to visit Stephen Lawhead’s website you can do so here

Here are the participants from this tour

Julie Bihn

Thomas Clayton Booher

Thomas Fletcher Booher

Meagan @ Blooming with Books

Rebecca LuElla Miller

Martyr’s Fire by Sigmund Brouwer

Posted on October 17, 2013 by tessbissell

This is such a great book. Ahhhh I can not tell you how much I love it. I didn’t do the reviews for book one and two but my sister let me borrow them and I read book one in a few days then started book two, but had to read book three so I skipped book two. This book is amazing because it sort of reminds me of King Arthur (not sure if that’s what the book is supposed to be going for or not.) But then Robin Hood comes into the book. WHAT!?!?!?! Two fictional people I am obsessed with are Robin Hood and King Arthur and maybe Guinevere. I just love her name. This book doesn’t explain really who the Immortals are, but they do mention the Druids (Another King Arthur thing). I really hope he makes a fourth book because this had me on edge. I loved it. Isabelle and Katherine have me wondering what will happen to them. And Hawkwood, is he really a good guy? And did he really die? I GOTTA KNOW!! I hope you read this book also because it will blow your mind(s).

Hope you guys enjoyed this. God bless

If you would like to buy the book you can do so here

Or if you would like to go to the authors website you can go here

So thankful for the people at CSFF Blog Tour. In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Also check out other people who have posted about this book on their websites below.

http://rbclibrary.wordpress.com/

http://tweezlereads.blogspot.com

http://myrdan.com

http://projectinga.blogspot.com\

http://vicsmediaroom.wordpress.com

http://www.thehahnhuntinglodge.com

http://jessebecky.wordpress.com

http://www.spoiledfortheordinary.blogspot.com

http://carolkeen.blogspot.com

http://krystinekercher.com

http://rebekahloper.wordpress.com

http://www.jlmbewe.com

http://thewonderingsofoneperson.wordpress.com

http://www.shannonmcdermott.com

http://www.bloomingwithbooks.blogspot.com

http://rebeccaluellamiller.wordpress.com/

http://www.christsbridge.blogspot.com

http://dadscancooktoo.com

http://www.jojosutiscorner.wordpress.com

http://stevetrower.com/blog

http://christian-fantasy-book-reviews.com
http://booksreviewedbydeb.blogspot.com

http://finishedthebook.blogspot.com

The Spirit Well by Stephen R. Lawhead

Posted on October 25, 2012 by tessbissell

Wow yesterday was a super crazy day and I apologize for not posting. I’ve had so many things going on lately and yesterday just zipped past me and then at 2 am I realized I hadn’t posted yet, so I know this is late and I’m sorry but I will still blog about this incredible book.

The Spirit Well is such an incredible book. Stephen Lawhead has out done himself again. I have loved reading his books, especially the series about Robin Hood. I love anything to do with Robin Hood and his books were just awesome!!! The Spirit Well is the 3rd book in this series and if this is the first one you are reading out of the series you should so get the two books before it and read it ASAP!!!
This book has so many twists and turns that you just have to keep reading and you never want to put it down. I think that right there is what makes a great book and author.

I also love the fact that they have a character named Tess. I’m pretty biased on that name :p

One of the parts I loved was when Anen said that,” There is room for all to be worshiped. There is room in Egypt for everyone, and each is free to follow the decrees of his own heart.”
The priest smiled sadly. “But it is not so with these people. Their god El makes many demands, and on of these is that there must be no other gods worshiped by those who call on His name.

America has become a place that you can worship any god you want. Not many people realize that there is only the One True God that you should worship because they have been fed the lie that you can serve any god you want. This should not be! Our country was founded on Godly principals, not gods.

One of the quotes I love out of this book is from the characater Schecter. “Prayer is our greatest and most salutary weapon in the eternal battle. No less than gravity, prayer is one of the elemental forces that moves the world. We underestimate it at our peril.” Prayer is how we communicate with our Lord. If we do not pray that how will we talk with Him? If you are only doing it on Sundays that is not much of a relationship. Prayer is something you can do aloud or quietly. If you had a best friend and the only time you talked to them was once a week you would not be able to get much out of that friendship. The Lord wants to daily talk with you and have a relationship with you, not only a friendship.

Another quote I love is when Tess said to Cass, ” Anyone who tells you he knows the mind of God is selling something.” No one knows the mind of God which is so great because He knows so much more than us and if we did know everything He knew then what would be the point of faith? I have faith that God has the answers to my questions and if He wants to tell me the answers that would be awesome but if not then I will try and be content with what I do know. Like it says in Deuteronomy 29:29 “The LORD our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions.” And also in Proverbs 25:2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.

Go out and buy this book pronto!!! Its a great read.

In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

If you would like to buy this book, (You really should :D) you can do so here

If you would like to visit Stephen’s website you can do so here

Or if you would just like to get updates on him through facebook you can click here and do so.

Participants’ links

http://tdtwr.wordpress.com

http://thewriterssword.blogspot.com
http://www.spoiledfortheordinary.blogspot.com
http://carolkeen.blogspot.com
http://emileightherebuilder.blogspot.com
http://blackanddarknight.wordpress.com
http://www.shannonmcdermott.com
http://www.bloomingwithbooks.blogspot.com>
http://rebeccaluellamiller.wordpress.com/
http://annamittower.blogspot.com
http://www.bookwomanjoan.blogspot.com
http://blogginoutloud.blogspot.com
http://dadscancooktoo.com
http://www.chawnaschroeder.blogspot.com
http://www.rachelstarrthomson.com/inklings
http://www.epictales.org/blog/robertblog.php
http://christiansf.blogspot.com
http://www.fantasyandfaith.com
http://www.shanewerlinger.com
http://christian-fantasy-book-reviews.com/blog

The Realms Thereunder by Ross Lawhead

Posted on February 23, 2012 by tessbissell

When I read the back of this book I thought it looked like something I would want to read. I read the first chapter and didn’t think I liked it that much, and then the farther I went into it, the more it grew on me. I loved how Daniel and Freya met the Knights,( I imagined those guys to look like vikings with broad shoulders and really long beards.) When they described the thing that Daniel killed, it had me a little creeped out because my imagination went wild trying to think of something like that. One of my favorite quotes from the book is when Swiogar and Ecgbryt were asking them questions about what was happening in the world these days and Freya said “Not really, but were things any better in their time?” Swiogar replys, “Not really. But that only serves to prove what none from my time wanted to admit to themselves-that men and women of any type , of any nation, of any advantage, at any time, will always war with, steal from, and take advantage of each other no matter what is done to try to help them improve their lives.No matter what the advantages-education, riches, comfort-men will still tend towards evil.” That is still true today. Men have almost anything they could want at their fingertips and still we tend to fight over the smallest and stupidest things.

I loved reading this book, and Ross Lawhead, just like his father, is a fantastic writer and I am so glad I was able to read this book.

If you would like to buy this book you can do so here.

Or if you would like to visit Ross’ blog you can do so here

In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

http://ofbattlesdragonsandswordsofadamant.blogspot.com

http://www.AdventuresInFiction.blogspot.com

http://rbclibrary.wordpress.com

http://www.hiddenvalleysimplicity.com”>

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http://csffblogtour.com/

http://tweezlereads.blogspot.com

http://home.earthlink.net/~wyverns

http://projectinga.blogspot.com

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http://going-greene.blogspot.com

http://www.thehahnhuntinglodge.com

http://realmofhearts.blogspot.com

http://www.brucehennigan.com

http://fantasythyme.blogspot.com

http://www.christopherhopper.com

http://www.spoiledfortheordinary.blogspot.com

http://carolkeen.blogspot.com

http://krystisbooks.blogspot.com

http://blackanddarknight.wordpress.com

http://mharvireads.blogspot.com

http://www.shannonmcdermott.com

http://rebeccaluellamiller.wordpress.com/

http://thebookfae.wordpress.com

http://www.questwriter.blogspot.com

http://linalamont.blogspot.com

http://www.leastread.blogspot.com

http://dragonbloggin.blogspot.com

http://www.bookwomanjoan.blogspot.com

http://justanotherbookbag.blogspot.com

http://www.sarahsawyer.com/blog

http://reviewsfromtheheart.blogspot.com

http://www.mindsinger.com

http://www.rachelstarrthomson.com/inklings

http://christiansf.blogspot.com

http://frederation.wordpress.com

http://www.fantasyandfaith.com

http://www.shanewerlinger.com

http://www.theravenquill.blogspot.com

http://finishedthebook.blogspot.com

The Bone House by Stephen R. Lawhead

Posted on October 27, 2011 by tessbissell

First of all I would like to say that I loved this book. It was really interesting because I hadn’t read the first book all the way through so I tried to guess what happened in that one :p I loved all of the characters, except maybe Douglas 😉 He seemed pretty evil. In the first part of the book it seemed like he introduced a new character in each chapter which seemed a bit jumpy, but it was a lot of fun. The way S R L brought out things about the “Creator,” was really cool. It doesn’t make sense if we do not have a Creator to guide us. A lot of people don’t believe that there is a Creator but I disagree with that. I can’t see the wind but I can see the effects of the wind. I can’t see the Lord but I sure can see the effects He has. He answers prayers and works miracles in my life that are incredible. I hope that if you read this book that you enjoyed it as much as I did. It really was a great read and I recommend it to anyone who asks about it.

Hope you enjoyed this =D

Love Tess Victoria

In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

If you would like to buy the Bone House, and I suggest you do 😉 You can do so here

Or if you would like to visit Stephen R. Lawhead’s website you can do so here

a href=”http://noahsreads.blogspot.com/”> Noah Arsenault</a>
<a href=”http://www.oerkenleaves.blogspot.com/”> Thomas Clayton Booher</a>
<a href=”http://rbclibrary.wordpress.com/”> Beckie Burnham
<a href=”http://morganlbusse.wordpress.com“> Morgan L. Busse</a>
<a href=”http://csffblogtour.com/“> CSFF Blog Tour
<a href=”http://jeffchapmanwriter.blogspot.com/“> Jeff Chapman</a>
<a href=”http://carolcollett.wordpress.com/”> Carol Bruce Collett
<a href=”http://www.kcreviews.blogspot.com“> Karri Compton
<a href=”http://www.scificatholic.com/”> D. G. D. Davidson</a>
<a href=”http://tweezlereads.blogspot.com/”> Theresa Dunlap</a>
<a href=”http://projectinga.blogspot.com/”> April Erwin</a>
<a href=“http://vicsmediaroom.wordpress.com/”> Victor Gentile</a>
<a href=“http://going-greene.blogspot.com/”>Tori Greene</a>
<a href=”http://realmofhearts.blogspot.com/”> Ryan Heart</a>
<a href=”http://www.brucehennigan.com/“> Bruce Hennigan</a>
<a href=”http://fantasythyme.blogspot.com”> Timothy Hicks</a>
<a href=“http://www.christopherhopper.com/blog/”> Christopher Hopper</a>
<a href=”http://thequietpen.wordpress.com/“> Janeen Ippolito
<a href=”http://thewriterssword.blogspot.com/”> Becca Johnson</a>
<a href=”http://www.spoiledfortheordinary.blogspot.com/”> Jason Joyner</a>
<a href=”ttp://www.molcotw.blogspot.com/h”> Julie</a>
<a href=”http://carolkeen.blogspot.com/”> Carol Keen</a>
<a href=”http://krystisbooks.blogspot.com/”> Krystine Kercher
<a href=”http://mharvireads.blogspot.com/”> Marzabeth</a>
<a href=”http://www.katie-mccurdy.blogspot.com/“> Katie McCurdy</a>

http://www.shannonmcdermott.com/
<a href=”http://rebeccaluellamiller.wordpress.com/“> Rebecca LuElla Miller
<a href=”http://www.bookwomanjoan.blogspot.com/”> Joan Nienhuis</a>
<a href=“http://www.chawnaschroeder.blogspot.com/”> Chawna Schroeder
<a href=”http://reviewsfromtheheart.blogspot.com/”> Kathleen Smith</a>
<a href=”http://www.mindsinger.com/”> Donna Swanson</a>
<a href=”http://www.rachelstarrthomson.com/inklings/”> Rachel Starr Thomson</a>
<a href=”http://www.epictales.org/blog/robertblog.php”> Robert Treskillard</a>
<a href=”http://christiansf.blogspot.com/“> Steve Trower</a>
<a href=”http://frederation.wordpress.com”> Fred Warren</a>
<a href=”“>http://christian-fantasy-book-reviews.com/blog/”> Phyllis Wheeler</a>

http://www.theravenquill.blogspot.com/

finishedthebook.blogspot.com/

Fried Chicken

Posted on October 15, 2011 by tessbissell

I have never made Fried Chicken before now. I usually just go to KFC down the block and pick up a bucket. It’s so much easier, let me tell ya. First you have to mix a bunch of dry ingredients together for the flour texture. It’s not so hard really. Then you make buttermilk, or if you have store-bought buttermilk that works just as well. I did not have the store-bought stuff so I just made some by adding a tablespoon of vinegar to a cup of milk. It is as easy as that. You throw the chicken into the buttermilk and you’re suppose to let it sit overnight in the fridge but I didn’t and it worked out alright. After I took the chicken out I drenched it in the flour mixture and put it in a pan that had about an inch and a half of hot oil and let it cook until you can’t see blood coming out, or for me until it’s almost burnt. Then take them out of the pan of oil and put them onto a cookie sheet and stick them in the oven at around 350 and bake until you can cut into them with a knife and see no red. Again I cooked them until they were almost burnt because my Dad, younger sister and I have this thing against red meat. We don’t think its wrong in a way that you’ll go to Hell for eating it, we just can not eat it because we gag every time we see that were about to eat a live animal.lol. The meal turned out really well, the food was a bit over cooked but man it tasted much better than KFC. It was a bit more greasy yes, but it was good. Word to everyone else though, if you think you need more oil, you can use butter, but do not use lard because it leaves a funny taste once it has sat in the fridge for a few days.

Hope you enjoyed this adventure.

Love Tess V B

Marmalade Muffins

Posted on September 28, 2011 by tessbissell

First of all grease 24 muffin tins.

I made these a while back but I thought I would post about them anyways. I took two oranges, or more (I can’t really remember :p ) and grate them. I found a really easy way to do this though and I’ll share the tip with you. I took the oranges and instead of using a grater I took a potato peeler and peeled them then put the peel in my Magic Bullet, or you could use your blender and just stick the peel into it and hit the blend button. I set that aside and began to cream the butter and sugar into a bowl, which works a lot better if your butter is softened, but if its not just throw it in a bowl and heat it up in the microwave for 20 seconds at a time. Crack 2 eggs into the cream and sugar and mix it up. Sift some flour and add it to the bowl and stir as few strokes as possible so you don’t get tough muffins. But tough cookies if ya don’t listen 😉 Combine some buttermilk and baking soda in a cup and add that to the muffin batter and combine. Add the orange zest, but don’t over mix. Fill the muffin tins two-thirds full with the batter. Bake that in an oven that’s heated up to 375 F for about 10-15 minutes until light brown. While those are in the oven make the glaze. Use the two oranges that you zested earlier and juice them. Add the juice to brown sugar and mix with a fork. Once the muffins come out of the oven put the glaze on with a spoon. You can go ahead and lick up the extra glaze if you want to. To me these muffins tasted like honey, which I don’t care for at all,but these tasted incredible. I would recommend these to anyone because they are so stinkin’ good.

Hope ya enjoyed reading this =D

God Bless

Love Tess

The Monster of the Hollow by Andrew Peterson

Posted on September 19, 2011 by tessbissell

I read the first two books of the Wingfeather series and absolutely loved them. Andrew Peterson is an incredible writer and sing/songwriter. I was able to meet him a few years back at a concert here in Oregon and he seemed like a very friendly guy. When I heard that he was writing a book I had to read it. So I started with the first book of his and couldn’t wait for the second one to come out. Then he came out with a third one and is writing a fourth. I am just so excited about it. I have 3 brothers and 2 sisters and the three kids reminded me of my closest brother and younger sister. Reading about their adventures really made me think of my brother and sister and the fun times we’ve had before. It was a very cute book and I would recommend it to anyone who asked me. I love love loved it.

If you would like to buy The Monster of the Hollow by Andrew Peterson you can do so here

Or if you would like to learn more about the Wingfeathers you can do so here

And if you would like to read about Andrew Peterson you can do so here

In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

http://ofbattlesdragonsandswordsofadamant.blogspot.com/“> Gillian Adams</a>
https://tessbissell.wordpress.com/“> Red Bissell</a>

http://quiverfullfamily.com/“> Jennifer Bogart </a>

http://www.oerkenleaves.blogspot.com/“> Thomas Clayton Booher</a>

http://rbclibrary.wordpress.com/“> Beckie Burnham</a>

http://csffblogtour.com/“> CSFF Blog Tour</a>

http://www.scificatholic.com/“> D. G. D. Davidson</a>
http://in–and–out.blogspot.com/”> Cynthia Dyer</a>

http://www.amberfrench.blogspot.com/“> Amber French</a>

http://www.thehahnhuntinglodge.com/“> Nikole Hahn</a>

http://realmofhearts.blogspot.com/“> Ryan Heart</a>

http://fantasythyme.blogspot.com“> Timothy Hicks</a>

http://www.spoiledfortheordinary.blogspot.com/“> Jason Joyner</a>

http://www.molcotw.blogspot.com/“> Julie</a>

http://carolkeen.blogspot.com/“> Carol Keen</a>

http://www.shannonmcdermott.com/?page_id=189“> Shannon McDermott</a>
http://rebeccaluellamiller.wordpress.com/“> Rebecca LuElla Miller</a>

http://thebookfae.wordpress.com“> Mirriam Neal</a>

http://www.questwriter.blogspot.com/“> Eve Nielsen</a>

http://www.bookwomanjoan.blogspot.com/“> Joan Nienhuis</a>
http://dragonbloggin.blogspot.com/“> Donita K. Paul</a>

http://www.sarahsawyer.com/blog“> Sarah Sawyer</a>
http://www.chawnaschroeder.blogspot.com/“> Chawna Schroeder</a>

http://www.bluerosesheart.blogspot.com/“> Tammy Shelnut</a>
http://reviewsfromtheheart.blogspot.com/“> Kathleen Smith</a>
http://www.mindsinger.com/“> Donna Swanson</a>
http://www.rachelstarrthomson.com/inklings/“> Rachel Starr Thomson</a>
http://www.epictales.org/blog/robertblog.php“> Robert Treskillard</a>
http://frederation.wordpress.com“> Fred Warren</a>

http://christian-fantasy-book-reviews.com/blog/“> Phyllis Wheeler</a>

http://www.theravenquill.blogspot.com/“> Nicole White</a>

http://finishedthebook.blogspot.com/ l”> Rachel Wyant</a>

Darkness Follows by Mike Dellosso

Posted on June 23, 2011 by tessbissell

Mike Dellosso is one interesting writer. I did not like that every chapter seemed to add a new character and the story seemed to go in fifty different ways. The cover was pretty cool though, it was very interesting. Tommy was a bit scary to read about, and the things he did to his animals was very sad. Poor kid, he was pretty messed up in the head. The ending was pretty good, how they finally got back together. If you like creepy/scary books I would definitely recommend this book, if you don’t then I strongly advise you not to pick this book up.

In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

If you would like to buy this book you can do so here
Or if you would like to visit the Authors website you can do so here

Tessbissell's Blog

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Merlin’s Shawdow by Robert Treskillard

The Shawdow Lamp by Stephen Lawhead

Martyr’s Fire by Sigmund Brouwer

The Spirit Well by Stephen R. Lawhead

The Realms Thereunder by Ross Lawhead

The Bone House by Stephen R. Lawhead

Fried Chicken

Marmalade Muffins

The Monster of the Hollow by Andrew Peterson

Darkness Follows by Mike Dellosso