The Inner Camino by Sara Hollwey and Jill Brierley

The Inner Camino by Sara Hollwey and Jill Brierley is an excellent resource for someone who is looking to make a change in their life. If you are struggling to find out what you are meant to do, this may be the guide for you to take you on a journey to discover it.

Book Description

“Are you looking to make real and lasting change in your life? The Inner Camino offers a reliable method to support such change effortlessly, even when we feel imprisoned in situations that appear intransigent or hopeless. With easy to follow maps and a compass to re-orientate the reader in the direction of their true purpose in life the Inner Camino guides the reader on an inner pilgrimage. Along the path the reader learns to dream into hitherto undreamt visions for our world and ourselves. This guidebook is practical, unsentimental and packed with immediately applicable insights towards clearly identified and easily accessible goals. The Inner Camino takes the reader on a heroic journey of awakening within. It initiates an extraordinary expedition, both deep into our own psychology, and to the heights of our numinous potential, our mystical capacities. Between these two differing terrains, the Inner Camino follows the way-marks through our most creative source of wisdom, our Intuitive Consciousness.” – The Inner Camino

My Thoughts

The Inner Camino takes you on a journey of your intuitive consciousness helping you to see what it is that you truly want to do and are meant to do. It can awaken or re-ignite passions you never knew you had, or perhaps forgot you had. Only read it if you are serious about finding this for yourself.

This is a practical guidebook with easy resources to help guide you along your path to figuring out your purpose and reach your goals. It isn’t going to lead you on the wrong path because you know what you are meant to do deep down, but sometimes we are too afraid of it and push it really far down, and it takes a bit of a push (like with this book) to discover it again. I especially liked the section on “Chatter or Guidance” because sometimes that inner dialogue we have within ourselves isn’t always so positive, but this section helped me to push aside those negative thoughts and focus on the actual guidance.

Overall, I think that this is an excellent guide for anyone that wants to go on the path of awakening. I highly recommend it.

* Thank you to the publisher of The Inner Camino, Findhorn Press, for providing me with a copy of this book for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Animal Stars by Robin Ganzert and Allen & Linda Anderson

Animal Stars by Robin Ganzert and Allen & Linda Anderson gives us an inside look at the lives of famous animal actors. Learn what they do to get motivated to “work”, what they do off-camera, training tips, and much more!

Book Description

“When cameras roll and directors call, “Action,” some of the most dependable, funniest, and most enthusiastic actors stand poised on four legs, with ears alert. From Joey in War Horse to the wolves in Game of Thrones, what we see on screen is the result of meticulous preparation and professional teamwork. The eye-popping, heartwarming stories in these pages reveal the trainers, actors, directors, and, of course, dogs, cats, horses, penguins, deer, and other animals in all their behind-the-scenes glory. You’ll discover that some animal actors have diva tendencies and others have rags-to-riches backstories. American Humane Association certified animal safety representatives work carefully to ensure that no animals are harmed, as they have been doing for decades.

Animal stars have done it all — convinced us to eat more tacos, broken our hearts in war dramas, inspired us with enduring love and loyalty, kept us at the edge of our seats as they snarled in the shadows, mirrored human antics to make us roar with laughter, and, like Uggie (from The Artist), stolen the show on the red carpet. Who besides a monkey named Crystal could impress a brilliant comedian like Robin Williams in Night at the Museum? And animal stars will work for food, including only KFC original recipe for Casey the bear — no other fried chicken will do! 

These charming and sometimes hilarious stories will give you a new appreciation for the skill and patience it takes to teach nonhuman actors to perform on camera. Training tips from the pros and personal recollections of celebrities such as Julia Roberts, Hailee Steinfeld, and Steven Spielberg make this insider’s look at the lives and work of these incomparable stars as irresistible as the animals themselves.

A portion of the publisher’s proceeds from this book will aid American Humane Association.” – Animal Stars

My Thoughts

Animal Stars is the perfect book for animal lovers who also enjoy movies and TV shows which feature them. Find out what their lives are like off the screen, get tips from the pros on training them, and much more!

My favorite sections of the book included reading about the wolves Thunder, Harley, Shadow, and Cody (who appear in True Blood, Game of Thrones, The Vampire Diaries, and Teen Wolf) – only some of my favorite TV series right there! I also quite liked the section on famous cats (like Hermione Granger’s cat Crookshanks in the Harry Potter series) and Mr. Jinx in Meet the Fockers. I learned a few tips on training cats, too, but mine will never be nearly as trained as these famous felines.

I really enjoyed reading about all of the animal stars in this book. It is truly the purrfect book for an animal lover. I highly recommend it.

* Thank you to the publisher of Animal Stars, New World Library, for providing me with a copy of this book for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Christmas Spirit Essential Oil Blend

Christmas Spirit is a sweet, spicy blend of orange, cinnamon, and spruce essential oils that taps into the happiness, joy, and security associated with the holiday season. With Christmas Spirit on hand, simply open a bottle and start diffusing!

How to Use:
For aromatic use. Diffuse or sprinkle on logs in the fireplace, on Christmas trees, on cedar chips, pinecones, or on potpourri. Use all year round for feelings of the Christmas Spirit.

*Possible skin sensitivity. If pregnant or under a doctor’s care, contact your physician. Dilute before using on sensitive areas such as the face, neck, genital area, etc. Keep out of the reach of children. Avoid using on infants and very small children. 

For more info on Young Living and essential oils, check out my group's website at: www.essentialdreamers.com

Someone Else’s Love Story by Joshilyn Jackson

Someone Else’s Love Story by Joshilyn Jackson is a witty tale about love, loss, and the amazing aspects of life in-between.

Book Description

“Someone Else's Love Story is beloved and highly acclaimed New York Times bestselling author Joshilyn Jackson's funny, charming, and poignant novel about science and miracles, secrets and truths, faith and forgiveness; about falling in love, and learning that things aren't always what they seem—or what we hope they will be.

Shandi Pierce is juggling finishing college, raising her delightful three-year-old genius son Nathan, aka Natty Bumppo, and keeping the peace between her eternally warring, long-divorced parents. She's got enough complications without getting caught in the middle of a stick-up and falling in love with William Ashe, who willingly steps between the robber and her son.

Shandi doesn't know that her blond god Thor has his own complications. When he looked down the barrel of that gun he believed it was destiny: It's been one year to the day since a tragic act of physics shattered his world. But William doesn't define destiny the way others do. A brilliant geneticist who believes in facts and numbers, destiny to him is about choice. Now, he and Shandi are about to meet their so-called destinies head on, making choices that will reveal unexpected truths about love, life, and the world they think they know.” – Someone Else’s Love Story

My Thoughts

Someone Else’s Love Story is a novel that drew me in right away. It is as the title says, someone else’s love story – and I can’t write too much about that without giving the plot away (which I will not do). Seriously, it is a brilliantly written novel that is worth a read!

The author writes this story from two very different perspectives. Shandi is my favorite, she is funny, smart, a bit if a smart ass, and an extremely likeable character. Will is more logical and matter of fact. I like the yin and yang to this. The story also primarily takes place in the present, but it has flashes of certain events that took place in the past. Nothing too often to take the story out of their current reality, so it was done quite well.

I really enjoyed reading this novel because it was written in a different way than most books out there. It is a distinct style that the author perfected with this book, and the characters truly help to give it a life that will capture you in their world for the time you are reading it. I definitely recommend it.

* Thank you to the publisher of Someone Else’s Love Story, William Morrow, for providing me with a copy of this book for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Love Cycles by Linda Carroll

Love Cycles by Linda Carroll helps us to understand the different love cycles that we all go through with those we love. This is helpful for everyone to understand who is in a relationship or wants to be in one.

Book Description

“In Love Cycles, veteran couples therapist Linda Carroll presents a groundbreaking model of the five natural stages of romantic relationships — the Merge, Doubt and Denial, Disillusionment, Decision, and Wholehearted Love — and a guide for navigating through them toward lasting love. Love Cycles helps readers understand where they are in the cycle of their relationship and provides a clear strategy for how to stay happy and committed, even in difficult times.” – Love Cycles

My Thoughts

Love Cycles is a book that is great for anyone who wants to make their love genuinely last. The author understands the challenges that couples have in their relationship and how each stage or cycle they are in can make a relationship stronger.

The “Merge” cycle is where it all starts, this is similar to what I would have called the “honeymoon” phase. What comes next is not so fun though, it is the “Doubt and Denial” cycle which is where a lot of people give up on their relationship. This doesn’t have to happen though, and can actually make the relationship stronger – if you know how to handle it. Same goes for the “Disillusionment” phase. The “Decision” phase is where people decide what the future holds for the relationship (if it has lasted this long). From there is where the goal is – the “Wholehearted Loving” cycle.

Overall, I think this is a very insightful book about how to become our best self in a relationship to have a truly fulfilling and loving relationship with another. I highly recommend it.

* Thank you to the publisher of Love Cycles, New World Library, for providing me with a copy of this book for review. All opinions expressed are my own.