I loved reading Brownie Crumbs and Other Life Morsels
924820
I loved reading Brownie Crumbs and Other Life Morsels!  It is an inspiring true story of God's grace and His redemption of all circumstances for His glory.  I laughed.  I cried,  I was encouraged.  Christy Cabe does an excellent job of telling her story with each "morsel" and I know you will enjoy hearing from her and you just might want to eat a brownie.
2124143
I loved the characters and the poignancy of their lives and how they interconnected. I also really liked the recipes and stories about how certain recipes were important to them.
2562030
OMGosh!! This is so awesome and fun and laugh out loud funny and I have not even seen this book in person!! I love the concept, that it is done with so much humor and that the recipes seem yummy enough to want to make and keep for yourself ( who wants to give away great brownies anyway to someone that you can't stand...ok, in the spirit of the book, maybe give them...a sampling :) ). Seeing this book has made my day and I am going to start thinking like this from now on when baking!! Thank you for the laughs, the recipe that I read looks scrumptious and the idea of sweet revenge!! Will have to totally track down a copy and read the rest of this recipe book, and then I will have to share it with my true friends.
2726020
I read it in less than 24 hours. The blending of recipes and the telling of stories makes me reminisce about my own journey and the recipes that accompanied that time.  My hummus recipe discovered while in Washington (where rotel tomatoes could not be found at the Safeway) and every good southerner has to serve dip! To South African curry made while living in Atlanta. It was well received in my community, while Pad Thai (called peanut butter spaghetti by the many naysayers) was a dismal failure. I recently reconnected with an old friend via Facebook and remembered her mother's brownie recipe. She sent it to me and I have made it several times reminding me of my new friends in sobriety at the time. I celebrated 31 years of sobriety at an AA meeting last night. Beyond grateful!
2594667
If I could give these stories about parenthood 4.5 stars I would. I have had chicken soup books that made me feel very close to heaven and have made me shed many many tears. Some of these are more like stories you might find in Reader's Digest, for example, only a little longer and more detailed. Some made me smile and chuckle. A couple brought tears to my eyes or actually made me cry. Many were uplifting. Some involved children with special needs or disabilities. I loved the one about the teenager who decided to give up basketball even though he was a star player. There are many lessons here--spending time with our children, listening to our children, allowing our children to grieve, letting our children make their own decisions at the appropriate times (like the young basketball player). A very enjoyable book.
710171
I savored this book and each insanely relatable experience. I was laughing and snorting while nodding my head at the horrifically hysterical reality of bringing home the bacon. Jen Mann has captured in her own life the bizarre working world, crazed co-workers, and family businesses. All while still poking me right in the heart with random sweet moments filtered through the straight forward bluntness that I so enjoy. This made me want to read your blog Jen. I hate blogs. They make me angry.
Dont judge me. Just read the book. Youll thank me.
4818590
Originally Posted on the blog: What A Nerd Girl Says

I absolutely ADORE Vivi Barnes. I was lucky enough to get an ARC of her debut novel, Olivia Twisted, which I thought was fresh and fun, and super addicting. You can actually read my review for that here. Naturally when I saw that Vivi was releasing a new book and that it was available on NetGalley, I immediately wanted it and was very excited when I got it!

Ive worked at two grocery stores in my life, and so I immediately was totally in love with this book. This is the horrors and hilarity of working in retail, and I couldn't stop laughing. The coupon lady, and the messes all over the place, and cleaning up vomit or poop or whatever because a customer left it behind, employee drama, all of that is so familiar, especially since this was my first job ever when I was 18 years old, right around my high school graduation. It all felt so familiar and fun. It made me remember my first job both fondly and gratitude that Im not still there. But Vivi gets the whole thing completely right and its just plain fun.

I also super enjoyed it because of the fun between Lex and Noah. My ex boyfriend (of 6.5 years) and I met when we both worked at Albertsons, my first job, so that was also fun as well. We had a good parting of ways, so it was fun to remember our relationship fondly while also remembering how it felt to fall in love over a cash register, basically. Haha. It was very very familiar to me so I immediately connected to that story.

But you guys don't just want to hear the personal connections I had to the story! You want to know if YOU should read it. And the answer to that is: definitely! Its SO fun. SO SO fun. I laughed so much while reading this, and even if youve never worked in this particular situation, if youve ever worked with people, period, you know exactly what this is like and its just hilarious. It feels familiar, and it makes you think of every crappy job youve ever had. The antics of the store, the customers, the zany employees that Lex works with and also the awesome ones as well, the work crush that you inevitably always haveit was all fantastic to read, and just super fun.

But what I really loved about this book was the relationship between the characters. Lex and her relationship with her parents and sister, and especially her grandmother. That was incredible, especially since Lexs grandmother is sick and you have to watch that through her eyes and its incredibly difficult. Watching Lex struggle to bond with her mother, because they have such different interests. Its great to see the relationship build between Lex and Noah, especially learning all the stuff that Noah goes through in his own personal life. And I especially love the relationships that Lex builds with her fellow coworkers whether they're a little odd or a bit older than her, its just beautiful. Thats what makes it such a strong book: the relationships, and the real human quality that the book has!
2449916
This is the second book from Deanna Davis that has inspired me to look at life and all of its ups, downs, hopes and dreams in a completely new way.  I love the conversational style and humor in Deanna's writing.  It makes me feel like I am listening to the entertaining stories and good advice from an old friend.  I really did all the title implies as I read in the book: laugh, cry and eat pie (okay, I chose cake, but same thing). I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to have a better perspective of their own take on life.
3408285
I loved the humor in this book, but after losing someone I love very much this year, I appreciate JC Davis honest and real look at grief and how different grieving can be from person to person. Delaney is a great character and I loved her, but I appreciate the fact that her parents loss changed them both. This YA book has something for moms/dads and kids. Plus, its funny too!
3042322
This is a delightful and humorous book.  I am now an empty nester, but I was a basket case during my first-born's senior year.  This book shows me that these feelings are universal for moms, because letting go is so hard!  I could relate to so much in Toni's experience, especially trying to savor each event of my sons' senior years, while at the same time trying to re-discover my own interests so I could fill the extra time once they were gone.  I also enjoyed the culinary parts of the book.  I can relate to her descriptions of her rural Pennsylvania mother and aunts, whose ways of canning and cooking, like those of my own mother and aunts, were once survival but are now trendy.  The recipes sound decadent and delicious.  Toni is very forgiving of both herself and her fellow moms.  We should all be that way ,and stop beating each other up!  I would recommend the book to all moms, both those approaching the good bye years or those who have survived them.
999346
I read this in one sitting, couldn't stop, and I don't usually consider a collection of interviews to be a page turner. These stories, however, were so warm and lively, insightful and engaging. Cultural differences that bring laughter, but are also not always easy to overcome. While I'm not in a relationship with an alien myself, having lived in different countries over past years, I could relate. The very first story, with an advice to see how your relationship will function in another culture,  reminded me of one of my own past relationships. I was a young student in another country and thought I found a love of my life in a guy who was local. Few months of infatuation later, we visited my hometown together and suddenly I saw him in a very different light. The relationship didn't last much longer after that. The biggest deal breaker was a mismatch in our sense of humor.
Unlike that story from my past, stories in Loving an alien do show how love (and humor!) conquer all. And if love and humor are not enough, there is always food. There is a great collection of recipes accompanying the stories, and I cannot wait to try them out.
2498780
I love this book.  I enjoyed reading the stories about Pauley and her friends, plus the recipes sound wonderful.  Can't wait to start baking some of these goodies.
2599765
This was a good read for me because it allowed me the opportunity to read three different authors that I had never read before, I really enjoyed all three stories and it made me want to curl up with some hot chocolate and gear up for Christmas. I always love reading about the Amish life in fiction because it allows me to understand a little bit of what it is like to be Amish. It is so fascinating to me how they live. l also want to try out the recipes in the back of the book. I would have to say of the three stories, that I really enjoyed An Unexpected Joy the most. It was such a cute and funny read because of "Gabby Abby". I was given this book for my honest review by the Thomas Nelson Fiction Guild.
3279324
Super cute read!  I enjoyed the quirkiness of the characters and the secrets they held.  Ill never be able to look at a Boston creme donut the same again, without laughing!!!!  This book made me laugh, cry and feel like I was part of the gang.  I really enjoyed it.
4788409
Gwen and Kyle were best buddies in college, and while each thought the other could be something more, neither acted on that impulse. Kyle joined the Army Rangers and Gwen moved to Phoenix, and their college friendship turned into the stuff of fond memories. Then life throws them back together, each carrying invisible - and some very visible - scars. Gwen's trying to build a life for herself and her daughter, and Kyle's trying to reclaim all that he lost when he ended up on the wrong side of an IED. Their journey from rekindled friendship to something more is one of struggle,and hope, and love.

Ms. Karns is an elegant writer, and she does a very nice job with this story. I loved the lively bits - Gwen in her bakery and Kyle coaching his college basketball team - because they brought real-life dimension to the characters. My biggest complaint was that the descriptions of the baked goods sounded so yummy I wanted a cookie when I took breaks from reading. If you like warm-hearted stories about characters who are willing to overcome a lot in order to be together, then you'll like Bad Traveler.

I was given a copy of this book by the author in return for an honest review.
3536354
Crib notes is such a fun book!! I'm more of a serious personality and while I was skimming through at the ridiculous tidbits and articles I couldn't help bug laugh and share sections with others.  Its really a fun experience learning useless facts about baby related things when you have a bun in the oven or little kids around.  Ive had it for three years and I still pick it up and enjoy it!
77132
I am a HUGE fan of Maci's story, because it's very relatable for me (pregnant at 16, my son was born in June of 2008) I loved reading what was inside her head throughout different times and felt that we have a lot of the same or similar feelings about things. I look forward to hopefully another book. :)