Sisterchicks Do The Hula

 

About The Book:  Some dreams take a while before they come true. Best friends Hope and Laurie never made it to Hawaii during their college years. But when they're about to turn forty, the islands still beckon, and off they go - with an unexpected stowaway on board (Hope happens to be seven months pregnant). A little pineapple, a little sunshine, and a surprising little surfing lesson give these two sisterchicks all their crazy hearts could hope for - and more - as they enter the next season of their lives with a splash and with a beautiful vision of what God has dreamed up for them.Wherever there’s chocolate, there’s sure to be a sisterchick celebrating, and this trip to Hawaii is no exception. Best friends Hope and Laurie are on an audacious mission to commemorate their fortieth birthdays in style. Surfing and sailing, sushi and snorkeling—these two macadamia nuts from the mainland sample it all, unhindered by a surprise little stowaway.  

 

Definition of Sisterchick: Sisterchick n.: a friend who shares the deepest wonders of your heart, loves you like a sister, and provides a reality check when you’re being a brat.  

 

Story Behind the Book:  We lived in Hawai’i when our son was in elementary school and have returned many times for visits. I have a deep and abiding love for all that is Hawaiian so of course the islands were my location of choice for this second Sisterchick novel. The art of hula is an intricate form of storytelling has gone through many changes over the years. Every woman’s life has a story. Every woman goes through many changes over the years. But not every woman has yet learned to "hula". This book will encourage her to "hula" through life as she learns to live out her story with the unforced rhythm of grace.

 

About The Author:  Robin Jones Gunn is the best selling Christian author of over 82 books including several series aimed at teen girls as well as Christian fiction for older women and a few non-fiction books. Her books have sold over 4.5 million copies worldwide.

 

My Thoughts On The Book:  This book could have been about me and my best friend.  I found it to be an easy read that was just a simple feel good story.  I enjoyed their trip to Hawaii and felt as if the perfectness of their trip mimiced my own when I took my best friend/sisterchicks for her fiftieth birthday As an amatuer photographer I was envisioning all the pictures they made and went to find my own album so I could see how I saw the island.  I really enjoyed the interesting historical tidbits the The author added . It made me want to visit Hawaii again.  This is an easy read that allows the reader just enjoy reading a book for the sake of reading.  If you have ever been a part of a sisterchick group, then you will understand what this book is all about. 

Statement of Disclosure: I received this book to review from Waterbrook Multnomah as part of their Blogging for Books review program in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to give a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Thanks guys for allowing me to review this book. 

Aloha Rose: From the Quilts of Love Series

 

About the book: When Laney Carrigan's adoptive parents encourage her as an adult to seek out her birth family, her only clue is the Lokelani quilt in which she was found wrapped as an infant. Centering her search on the Big Island, she battles fears of rejection from a family that abandoned her once before while her faith struggles to embrace God's love.Along the path to her true heritage, she meets Hawaiian cowboy/helicopter pilot, Kai Barnes. Kai is determined to protect the people he's come to regard as family against a woman he suspects of being nothing more than a gold-digger, but he finds himself drawn to Laney in spite of his reservations. He's spent his entire life seeking forgiveness from past mistakes and longs for a second chance at happiness. Laney's painstaking journey to find restoration and a place to belong among the breathtaking allure of the Big Island will lead her closer to her past and maybe even something more.
Purchase a copy: http://ow.ly/qKmVW

Meet the author: Lisa Carter has been published in MomSense and Christian Parenting Today. Lisa is currently teaching music at a preschool and enjoying the enthusiasm and joy for life for which preschoolers are famous. She and David have two beautiful daughters.  Find out more at: http://www.quiltsoflovebooks.com

My Thoughts About The Book:  I loved the characters in this book.  My most favorite were Kai and Laney. Both of them had dark childhood issues and I found myself hoping the two would find peace with their pasts and learn to accept love. Carter is a master with character development and I found I was hooked from the very first chapter. This book is more than a love story, it is a story of hope, love, and finding keys to the past. 

Disclaimer:  I received a complimentary copy of this book from Litfuse Publishing Group  in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to give a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Daughters of Fire

About the Book:  Daughters of Fire is a gripping adventure of romance, intrigue, myth and murder set amid the cultural tensions of contemporary Hawaii. A visiting astronomer falls in love with a Hawaiian anthropologist who guides him into a Polynesian world of volcanoes, gods and revered ancestors. The lovers get caught up in murder and intrigue as developers and politicians try to conceal that a long-dormant volcano is rumbling back to life above the hotel-laden Kona coast. The anthropologist joins forces with an aging seer and a young activist, and these three Hawaiian women summon their deepest traditions to confront the latest, most extravagant resort as the eruption and the murder expose deep rifts in paradise. More than a decade in its research and writing, Tom Peek's mystical and provocative debut novel picks up Hawaii's story where James Michener left off. Daughters of Fire illuminates how the islands' transformation into a tourist mecca and developers gold mine sparked a Native Hawaiian movement to reclaim their culture, protect sacred land, and step into the future with wisdom and aloha.

About the Author:  Tom Peek lived his early life on the Upper Mississippi on a backwaters island of Minnesota.  After hitchhiking by boat through the South Seas, he settled on the island of Hawaii, where he’s lived for two decades.  There, he has been a mountain and astronomy guide on Mauna Kea and an eruption ranger, firefighter, and exhibit writer on Kilauea, working closely with Hawaiian elders and cultural practitioners on both volcanoes.  He lives with his wife, Catherine Robbins, in a rainforest cottage near Kilauea’s erupting summit.

About the Illustrator:  John D. Dawson was raised in San Diego and now lives on the Big Island of Hawaii.  From the age of three, he know that art was his calling.  He graduated from the Art Center School, Los Angeles, now the Art Center College of Art and Design.   Over the last twelve years he has illustrated US Postal Service stamps for its Nature in America series.  He’s also done commissions for the National Park Service, United Nations, National Wildlife Federation, National Geographic Society, and Audubon Society.

About the Cover Artist:  Herb Kawainui Kane, celebrated Hawaiian artist, historian, and author, cofounded the Polynesian Voyaging Society and designed the Hokulea voyaging canoe, contributing profoundly to the Hawaiian Renaissance movement.  A graduate of the Art Institute of Chicago, Kane depicted Hawaiian historical scenes realistically, but when painting spiritual or mythological aspects of the culture-as in Pele, Goddess of Volanoes, the cover image of this book-his art was expressionistic, with bold brushwork and vivid colors. 

My Thoughts About the Book:  I enjoy a good storyteller and the act of storytelling.  I come from a long line of storytellers.  Native stories are some of my favorites.  And after visiting the islands discovered that  Hawaiian storytelling differs only in character and location only.  There is a vast wealth of local oral traditions that still exist in the islands. Everywhere I went while exploring the magic of the islands there was always a story to be found.  Most of the stories I heard and read while there seemed to  incorporate themes of gods, legends, lovers, dance, arts, poetry and the connection to Earth, Sea, Sky, Spirits, and Aumakua (spirit guides in animal-kinolau-form).Tom Peek is a master of the art of storytelling in "Daughters of Fire."   Tom Peek leads the reader in a page turning journey through Hawaii-nei in the protagonist's attempts to restore balance in her newly imbalanced world. ... events and subjects reflect both a ripe imagination and 2 degrees off kilter from reality in part of Hawaii nei - (today). What could happen if the West Side of the Big Island was covered in Lava all in the course of one evening?   I found myself wondering could this really happen? The book draws the reader in, engrossing us with the adventures of the characters.  No matter if you are familiar with Hawaii as a visitor, as a native, or only through chance acquaintance from the media, you  will enjoy this wonderful story and take away a different experience.  This book was well- crafted and would make a lovely gift for a special friend or loved one.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Net Galley and Koa Books. I was not required to write a positive review. All they asked for was an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

H is for Hawaii

H is for Hawaii

My adventure continues with the letter H.  H is for Hawaii.  I won a trip to Hawaii back in 2006.  It was the year my BFF Mary was going to turn 50 and I decided to take her with me.  I talked it over with her husband, Bill and he added a trip from Oahu to see Killaua.  What a blast.  We actually flew by Killaua and got to see the steam and lava from the eruption.  We had lunch at the Volcano House in Killaua National Park, went to the Scietific Center and saw some geysers (G was my letter for yesterday). 

Back on Oahu we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center for a luau, took a bus tour to the North Shore and the beach where I was terribly disappointed.  I expected the Pipeline...I got mirror glass flat beach.  It seems the Pipelines 40 foot waves are only in the winter.  I would have to return. 

We shopped at Hilo Hatties, visited the Dole Pineapple Plantation and I ate so much pineapple that my mouth had a zillion blisters in it the next morning. 

We saw Diamond Back up close and the lighthouse, we stopped where From Here to Eternities famous beach scene was shot, we saw where Lost was shot, saw Rainbow falls, and finished off with a somber trip to the USS Arizona Memorial. 

I stood on the walkway and cried.  If you want to see a beautiful place then visit Hawaii...add it to your bucket list.  It is worth your time.  See you tomorrow with my letter I adventure word.  I hope you have been enjoying my Adventure A-Z April Challenge as much as I have writing it.  Have a Great Monday!