The weather is getting warmer, so why not take a new book outside and get reading!
Below are four books I have recently received for review. They are all different, for whatever mood your in. They include a stirring novel, a new (to the US) diet book, an inspirational coloring book and a natural home-made beauty book:
LILAC GIRLS By Martha Hall Kelly — ($10.41 New Paperback, $14.14 Hardcover, $12.99 Kindle on Amazon) New York socialite Caroline Ferriday has her hands full with her post at the French consulate and a new love on the horizon. But Caroline’s world is forever changed when Hitler’s army invades Poland in September 1939—and then sets its sights on France.
An ocean away from Caroline, Kasia Kuzmerick, a Polish teenager, senses her carefree youth disappearing as she is drawn deeper into her role as courier for the underground resistance movement. In a tense atmosphere of watchful eyes and suspecting neighbors, one false move can have dire consequences.
For the ambitious young German doctor, Herta Oberheuser, an ad for a government medical position seems her ticket out of a desolate life. Once hired, though, she finds herself trapped in a male-dominated realm of Nazi secrets and power.
The lives of these three women are set on a collision course when the unthinkable happens and Kasia is sent to Ravensbrück, the notorious Nazi concentration camp for women. Their stories cross continents—from New York to Paris, Germany, and Poland—as Caroline and Kasia strive to bring justice to those whom history has forgotten.
In Lilac Girls, Martha Hall Kelly has crafted a remarkable novel of unsung women and their quest for love, freedom, and second chances. It is a story that will keep readers bonded with the characters, searching for the truth, until the final pages.
Purchase on Amazon and at book stores
The SirtFood Diet by Aidan Goggins and Glen Matten — ($15.84 Hardcover and $13.99 Kindle on Amazon) — This is the original, official international diet bestseller used by celebrities such as Adele, heavyweight champion David Haye, and Pippa Middleton. The science-based program will help you lose seven pounds in seven days while experiencing lasting energy and enjoying the foods you love including chocolate, red wine, strawberries, and more.
Over the past few years, fasting has become a popular diet option. Studies show that fasting—whether through moderate calorie restriction every day or the more severe but less frequent intermittent fasting—can help people lose about thirteen to fourteen pounds in six months and reduce their risk of developing disease.
When we fast, our body’s energy stores activate what is known as sirtuins, or the “skinny gene,” and many positive changes ensue. Fat storage is switched off, and our body stops its normal growth processes and goes into “survival” mode. Fat burning is stimulated and the genes involved in the repair and rejuvenation of our cells are turned on—which all results to weight loss and improved resistance to disease. But if not done correctly, fasting can lead to hunger, irritability, fatigue, and loss of muscle.
Enter Sirtfoods: a newly discovered group of foods that is revolutionizing healthy eating. Ranging from chocolate and red wine to garlic and walnuts, sirtfoods are particularly rich in special nutrients that help us activate the same skinny genes in our bodies that fasting triggers. Nutritionists Aidan Goggins and Glen Matten have created The Sirtfood Diet to help you effectively lose weight and improve your resistance to disease, while still giving you incredible energy and glowing health.
Purchase on Amazon and at book stores
Tingle Boots Coloring Book (Suzy Toronto Coloring) — ($7.40 USD) — If a new pair of boots makes your heart tingle and your spirit soar, dont miss this wild and wacky coloring book from bestselling artist Suzy Toronto. Her fun and distinctive illustrations will inspire you to be brave, be strong, and live a life worth coloring! Suzy’s uplifting words and delightfully zany characters encourage you to chase your dreams in the cutest pair of boots you own. Suzys rockin illustrations are perfect for coloring with markers, gel pens, crayons, colored pencils, or watercolors. Tingle Boots Coloring Book includes handy guides to coloring techniques like patterning, combinations, and shading. Guided Coloring Pages make coloring easy for beginners, with beautifully colored examples and ready-to-use color palettes. Each design is printed on one side only of archival-grade, acid-free, 200-year paper. Perforated pages detach easily for gifting or display. This book has earned the DO Magazine Artist Fair Trade Seal of Approval.
Purchase on Amazon.com
The Aromatherapy Beauty Guide by Danielle Sade ($16.34 USD on Amazon) — This comprehensive book provides a wealth of evidence-based information that provides a sensible and sound approach when it comes to creating your own natural product formulas. With clear and easy-to-follow directions, you’ll be able to create your own signature products that will complement a natural lifestyle as well as meeting your individual skincare needs.
The Aromatherapy Beauty Guide is broken down into easy-to-digest sections:
The Foundation
Includes information on everything from anatomy of the skin, the all important mind-body connection, the nature of skin types from dry and sensitive skin to combination and aging skin as well the art of skin care and creating your personal skin care apothecary — all without chemicals and preservatives — just the tried and true chemistry of essential oils.
The Ingredients for Great Skin Care
Information on all the raw ingredients you’ll need to get started (clays, flours and grains) as well as comprehensive information on the important role of carrier oils. Danielle discusses the essential properties of 16 carrier oils like Coconut Oil, Jojoba, and Marula Oil. Plant butters such as Shea butter as well as herbal infusions are also featured for their healing and therapeutic properties.
Essential Oils
35 essential oils are featured from Bergamot and Carrot Seed to Roman Chamomile. Discover all you need to know about essential oils including the biosynthesis of essential oils, the genus and varieties as well as a directory of the oils best suited to your personal care and needs.
Creating Your Own Personal Care Products
Over one hundred (100) formulations with easy-to-follow instructions on creating products for the face, body, bath, pregnancy and breastfeeding and personal care products for men.
Available on Amazon.com