A Gilded Lady by Elizabeth Camden - A Bethany House review

Caroline Delacroix is a princess of Washington society. She knows all the right people and understands the ins and outs of social calls, elegant dinners, and how to not offend society matrons. Her skills are about to be put to the ultimate test as the personal secretary to Mrs. Ida McKinley, the reclusive wife of President William McKinley. It is the end of July, 1900, and King Umberto of Italy has just been assassinated. Caroline must help the First Lady navigate the correct protocols while paying her respects to the Italian Ambassador’s wife. Thankfully Caroline knows Italian, and puts an appropriate, if not 100% truthful, spin on the First Lady’s words.

Nathaniel Trask has been working for the US Treasury Department tracking down counterfeiters and solving other crimes. Under his supervisor, John Wilkie head of the Secret Service, Nathaniel has just wrapped up an investigation in Boston when the news of King Umberto’s assassination hits. Against his wishes, Trask is assigned to the White House, in hopes that an actual plan for the President’s safety can be developed before similar threats arise in the US.

Fans of Elizabeth Camden’s The Spice King will enjoy returning to the Delacroix family and the mystery that surrounds them in A Gilded Lady. Caroline is a free-spirited lady who wants to DO something more than just choose a husband and settle down. Her twin, Luke, is languishing in a Cuban prison, charged with treason. Caroline knows that something just is not right about Luke's arrest, but cannot figure out how to help her brother. Their older brother Gray is balancing the day to day operations of the family’s  spice import business with a need to free Luke from prison.

As Nathaniel and Caroline are forced to work together, sparks fly - but not always the romantic kind. Caroline looks for the fun in life, and admits to having a few bad habits. Nathaniel is straight laced, focused, and does not have time for nonsense like flowers and tea parties. In order for each of them to do their jobs well, they have to learn to work through their own pasts, and accept help from each other. Caroline must learn to appreciate the hard work of others, even if it feels like a wet blanket on the plans she is making to help Mrs. McKinley entertain Washington Society. The lessons Nathaniel has to learn are even harder: forgiveness, trust, and hope.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading A Gilded Lady. Since The Spice King was one of my favorite books from 2019, I had been eagerly awaiting book 2 in Camden’s Hope and Glory series. A Gilded Lady is thought-provoking, interesting, and filled with plot twists. Definitely a great book. Along the way I found myself searching the web to learn more about President and Mrs. McKinley, their transcontinental tour, and American life in 1901.

If you are a fan of Lynn Austin, Jennifer Delamere, Tamera Alexander or Jocelyn Green you will enjoy meeting the characters of Elizabeth Camden’s books. Their real-ness, faults, and small victories will both challenge and encourage you, while the well written storyline will keep you entertained. Just don’t start this book in the evening - you’ll have trouble putting it down and heading off to sleep!

I received an advance reader copy of A Gilded Lady from Bethany House Publishers. No other compensation was provided. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC regulations. All opinions are my own.

Magic Stix Washable Markers ~ a Review

How often in your children's lives have you gotten out the markers for them to color... only to find out someone did not put the cap back on last week? If your answer is "not many" then your children might still be little. :) 
This very scenario has happened many times in our 15 years of homeschooling, so I was interested when The Pencil Grip, Inc. contacted us and asked if we wanted to try out their new washable markers - Magic Stix - the ones with a seven day no-dry-out guarantee. Of course I said "yes!"

You see, moms want to have it all together every day, but that just is not always our reality. Some days we just plop the kids down at the table with a big pile of paper and the magic markers and let them have a go... while we go fold the laundry, clean the sink, or eat lunch. That is life. The problem is, most magic markers are not designed for real life, and the things your children - especially the preschoolers - will dish out!

I, like many moms, was thankful for the advent of washable markers. More fun, less tragic laundry, less times through the  bath for the kids. Unfortunately, some of those washable markers did not color well, and the ones that did were high in price. While I am not opposed to paying more for a quality item, I want to make sure it is a good value. Today I am here to let you know these new Magic Stix washable markers are a great value!

First off, these Magic Stix come in a study plastic case. Great for carrying around the house, or adding to your go-to bag of kid friendly supplies for a day out and about - or a trip to the Doctor's office.

Secondly, these markers are designed to be used by children: they are washable, odorless, and non-toxic. AND they come with a vented safety cap. If you wonder why that is important, think about how many three year olds you know love putting stuff in their mouths - even when you are watching! Ugh! It is a good thing God made Arlene so cute, or she would have never had any fun as a kid - LOL! 

Thirdly, the colors are bold, and the marker nibs are sturdy. They probably won't stand up forever to an all-out assault by an angry five year old, but they do retain their shape well. Arlene (now 17) tried them out for a quick sketch as soon as they arrived. She pronounced them good. I've used them several times since then, including using them in an adult coloring book with fairly small designs. I was pleasantly surprised to find them well-suited for many purposes.

Since these Magic Stix can work for adults, teens, and small children, they would make an ideal choice for a family to purchase. The entire clan can sit down and color together, all from the same set. No worrying about if the preschooler gets the markers, or drops them on the floor...or colors on the table - you get my drift right?

We put our Magic Stix to the test ourselves, you can see in the picture above that they still worked well on day six. I was not sure which day I was going to post this review, so at the end of day six I put the cap back on. Guess what? On day eight (this afternoon), I opened the marker back up and it worked as well as it did on day 1. That is great news to a mom who has lost several markers over the years because of caps not getting put back on correctly! If you are thinking about getting a set for your family's (please sit quietly at church) bag, remember, Sunday happens every seven days, and these can survive the wait. :)

I also want to mention that the safety caps have some texture molded in, making it easy to grasp the caps to remove them. But not so much texture as to make them uncomfortable to hold.

So how about your family? Would you like to get a set of Magic Stix for some  coloring fun? Want to get a young someone an art supply gift that won't leave mom and dad dreading creative time? Magic Stix come in both 12 and 24 pack options. They are available on Amazon and directly from The Pencil Grip, Inc.'s website.

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We received free product from The Pencil Grip, Inc. in exchange for an honest review. We were not required to write a positive review, nor were we compensated in any other way. All opinions are our own. We are disclosing this in accordance with FTC regulations.

Books With Bean ~ Pride and Prejudice

Books, books, books, there are so many out there these days and books as a whole are amazing. Why you may ask? Well because in this world of new and modern and science there is still a lot of power in the written word good bad or otherwise.

Now I know the point of my mom’s blog is to encourage others and give a little helpful advice so I thought I would do some book reviews. Yes I know we do a lot of reviews but not like the others, these are just books that I like that I wanted to share about because they were fun. 

My mom gets this question a lot and I know others do too: 

Does anyone know what are good books for my kid to read? They are (insert age) and in (insert grade), but their reading level is (insert level much higher then their grade) and I can’t seem to find anything that is good and clean that they haven't already read.

Well as someone who has been reading for a long time and loves books and words I thought I would help all you moms (and others) by sharing books that I have read that I liked. My hope that this will help you find at least one book that you (or your kid) will like. 

So welcome to Books with Bean (it is a family nickname don’t ask)

So how am I picking the books to share? Well there are a lot I have read that I like so I am going to start at the top shelf of my personal book collection and go from there once we are done with that I will move on to books I have borrowed from friends and the Library. My collection is arranged in alphabetical order by author last name however not all my books fit on this shelf so if I find one around my room that I like I might post it next even if we are past that section of the alphabet or not quite to it yet. (or I might get a new book from somewhere while I am doing theses reviews and so put it in out of order).

A note on my collection is that I have been collecting books since I was little so while I won’t be doing any picture book reviews there will be books in here from elementary age on up. 

Also these books will be everything from old classics to more modern books that have come out within the past few years. I have read many books not all of which I liked. These will only be positive reviews of the good ones. If your kid looks at a new book and your not sure about it feel free to comment on a post and ask me if I have read it. If I haven’t written about it I either did not like it (for language, scenes, or maybe some there reason like it simply wasn’t my style) or I simply haven’t gotten to it yet. If I did not like it because of one of the aforementioned subjects I will let you know my reasons for not posting a review of it in reply to your question.

Some things I will include in my reviews. Author Name, Date published, what I liked about the book, etc.

I will be noting what I thought about the amounts of Language, romance, and violence. Because while I have always considered my mother in the middle of the scale between really strict to really not caring what I read about, I know others are a little more cautious about what they let their kids read. 

Also with fantasy books I will be noting how Magic is used and dealt with in the book as I know this is also something a lot of parents are cautious about.

I will also be including what age I think is good for the reader to be before they read it. Of course this is a general thing as I know some kids are more mature and it is up to the parent to decide when their kids is ready to read certain things, however I will always include why I think the age I put is appropriate for the book.

Anyway I think that is long enough for an introduction so I will stop with this introduction now and get on to the first book.

Pride and Prejudice

Author: Jane Austen   Published: 1813   Genre: Romance

It is a truth universally acknowledged that this is a good book and it is one a lot of people know (that paired with the fact that is the first one on my shelf) so I thought I would start with it. 

Summery & What I liked about it: (This is probably going to sound like many other reviews you have heard about it but I am writing it anyway) There is something so ageless about this book, the way it deals with human emotion and thoughts is so unique and amazing that I don’t think it will ever be unpopular. Most of you probably know the plot line so I won’t bother to summarize it here for you. 

I loved the style of the writing, there is something about old books written when they take place that makes them special and somehow more entertaining then almost any historical fiction written that is set during that time. I have read several regency historical fiction books but as good as they were, none of them (despite similar plot lines) will ever beat Jane. 

Lizzy and her look on human life is interesting and it shows us timeless concepts that people are still trying to learn today. The wording is amazing and so is the world that it is set in. Ok so I guess this isn't really telling you much about the book itself but this is my first time so this going to be a bit less cohesive then my later ones.

Language: Um… I cant think of any right now.

Romance: Well being a romance book what can you expect except people falling in love. Yet despite that being on of the main themes I found it very clean, after all Miss Austen was keeping within what was appropriate to speak of at the time so this romance book (as opposed to a lot of the cheep romance books written today) is fairly clean. There is however the part with Mr. Wickham and Lydia. It is an interesting lesson and way that she writes about it is not too reveling in details and they do end up married. However it is not something that I would consider appropriate for younger children.

Violence: None that I can think of as I write this.

Recommended Age: I would say because of the wording and because of the more complex themes, as well as the part with Lydia and Wickham I would say 14+ for age. 

It is not that I think the wording itself to hard to understand for an avid younger reader, but I know as a girl who would watch the 2005 movie avidly with her mother whenever she got it from the library from a young age that there is a difference between complex, and more more formal old fashion wording and mature themes. My mother has had a copy of the book for as long as I can remember, but while I loved the movie I will admit that most it went over my head as a child. I will also admit that while I waited to be old enough for mom to let me read it, I tried, but as advanced of a reader as I was I just couldn't understand it. So for all these reasons I give it the 14+ for age.

Courageous Love ~ A Book Review

The review was originally written for The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine in May of this year. To read the original, click here.

Courageous Love is the final episode of the Andrea Carter books. While it is the fourth book in the Circle C Milestones series, Susan K. Marlow has written about Andrea’s life since she was just six years old, and first nicknamed Andi, in the first book of the Circle C Beginnings series set in 1874 California. 

In Courageous Love, Andi is nearing her 17th birthday and has finally convinced her mother and older brothers to allow her to learn some trick riding from Riley Prescott, one of the Circle C Ranch’s hands. Andi and Riley have been friends for many years, as Riley’s uncle Sid has been the ranch foreman for as long as anyone cares to remember. After graduating school, Andi’s family has finally allowed her to work full time on the ranch, which has always been her dream.

Trouble starts at the Circle C as Riley and Andi find a cut barbed-wire fence. The fence is supposed to surround Andi’s brother Mitch’s black Angus heifer calves. Then more trouble appears that evening at her brother Chad’s engagement party at the Fresno House hotel in town. One thing is certain, the Carter family will not go down without a fight! Andi’s older brothers, including Justin, a lawyer who now lives in town, work to plan protection for the ranch, the livestock, and their families.

Each chapter in this 186 page paperback book begins with a thought, supposedly copied from Andi’s diary. Although this is a fictional story, Mrs. Marlow has done an excellent job of researching the everyday lives of people near Fresno, CA in the mid-1880’s, and including such exquisite details, that the characters and the places seem quite real. We have found this to be true of all of the Andrea Carter books, of which we have read quite a few. At one point in a previous book, my daughter commented “Mom, you know Mrs. Marlow is a good author when you find yourself cheering with, or crying alongside, the characters during the plot twists and turns.” I whole-heartedly agree!

After yet another attack on the Circle C Ranch, this one burning down their barn, the Carter family decides no one should be left alone. Because Justin needs to travel out of town for a court case, Andi is asked to stay in town with his wife Lucy and their small son Sammy. Lucy is suffering from morning sickness, and Andi’s family thinks it will be easier for Andi to recover the rest of her strength from the smoke she inhaled during the barn fire if she stays in town, instead of chomping at the bit to get back to ranch chores. Little do they know that the Mexican outlaw Procopio, that the Carter family helped identify and send to prison several years before, has escaped and is plotting his revenge on the family.

Andi, Lucy, and Sammy are kidnapped from town. Riley had been sent to town to check on them, but Procopio’s outlaws jump him, beat him, and then leave him for dead in Justin and Lucy’s shed. Then the outlaws fake the deaths of Lucy and Andi to throw any search party off their trail.

Will Riley recover soon enough to find them before the trail goes cold? Will Andi be brave and trust God to tell her what to do and when to do it to protect Lucy and Sammy? Will Procopio ever be brought to justice? Find the answers to these and many more plot twists when you read Courageous Love for yourself!

Both Arlene, aged 16, and I enjoyed this action-filled adventure novel immensely. Besides being an excellent author, Mrs. Marlow loves to interact with her readers of all ages. She has a Facebook fan page, an annual writing contest, and she blogs about life on the Circle C Ranch regularly, as Andi of course! Mrs. Marlow, a former homeschool mom herself, understands the value of enrichment studies to go alongside a good book. She has both free learning activities and in-depth enrichment guides or lap books available for each of her Andrea Carter books for all ages groups from six on up. 

Courageous Love is written for ages 12 and up, but would probably be best enjoyed by ages 14 and up. If you have a daughter age 12 or above that loves horses, consider getting her all four books in the Circle C Milestones series so she can grow up with Andi! Since she already had the first book, I purchased books two and three of the Circle C Milestones series for Arlene last year. She was so excited for this final installment to be released and to read the conclusion of Andi’s story. We highly recommend Susan’s books to others - often!

More information about all of Susan K. Marlow’s Andrea Carter books, and the companion activities and guides can be found on her website: www.susankmarlow.com

Wondering how much Arlene likes Susan's books? Here is a picture of her helping Mrs. Marlow at her booth at our state homeschool convention this spring. She bagged orders, stocked the displays, and talked to lots of little girls about horses. :)

Rosa of Linden Castle ~ A book review

This was originally written as a review for The Old Schoolhouse® magazine back in March of this year. To read the original post, click here.

Rosa of Linden Castle, originally written by Christoph von Schmid in 1845, and re-printed by Lamplighter Publishing beginning in 2000 is recommended for ages 9-14. This tale follows Rosa beginning with her early years, growing up in Linden Castle with her Father, the brave knight Edelbert, and her virtuous and humble mother Matilda. The story continues until Rosa is about 15 years old. It uses both the difficulties she incurs, and the blessings she receives, to teach the character traits of sacrificial love, obedience, and enduring trials.

The story starts during Rosa’s young life, when her father is often away fighting alongside the Duke of Swabia, and her upbringing and training are the chief responsibility of her mother. Matilda sets Rosa a good example of being industrious and kind to the poor and needy. Rosa learns to love and obey both her parents and her Savior.

Tragedy strikes when Rosa is about 14 as her mother takes ill and quickly dies. Her father rushes home from battle in time that the family has one last parting scene where Matilda reminds them both to love one another, and remember their Savior. Not too many months later, Edelbert’s arm is severely injured in battle, and he returns to Linden Castle to recuperate. Before he is fully healed, his fighting men are recalled to battle, even thought Edelbert cannot yet join them, and Linden castle is left with meager protection. In swoops Kunerick, the self-centered knight of neighboring Forest castle. He storms Linden castle, imprisons Edelbert for his perceived past wrongs against Kunerick, and overtakes those left behind in order to claim Linden castle as his own. Rosa runs out of the castle gate pleading with Kunerick for her father and too late realizes she is locked out of the castle and any help she might find from their faithful servants. With no other options to pursue she remembers her father’s admonition to seek out his faithful friend, Burkhard the collier.

After a long trek to locate their hidden valley, Rosa is welcomed into the family of Burkhard, his wife, and daughter. As she adapts to life in their humble home, concern for hr father’s well-being is always foremost in her mind. Rosa devises a plan to try and gain employment at Kunerick’s Forest castle to learn of her father’s fate. Burkhard’s family helps her fashion a disguise, and his daughter accompanies Rosa most of the way on the long trek to try to gain employment. As Rosa’s friend waits in the edge of the forest, Rosa manages to gain employment as the servant of the Steward’s ill-tempered wife. 

Will Rosa be able to shoulder the great responsibilities and hard toil her new position requires? Will her humble service win over her ill-tempered Mistress? Can Rosa keep her identity a secret and learn of her Father’s fate? Can the Savior who softened Rosa’s heart overcome the hardness of Kunerick’s heart? All of these questions and more are answered as the reader continues along Rosa’s journey. Rosa of Linden Castle would make an excellent read-aloud for family time, or a solid choice for those 12 and up to read independently. Because of the time when the work was originally published, readers may want to have a dictionary, or dictionary app, handy to look up unfamiliar terms. An example is Burkhard the Collier. in the 1800’s, a collier was someone who carried, manufactured, or sold coal. Today the definition of collier is a coal miner.

Although this book at first may appear long for the recommended ages of 9-14 at 253 pages, the story keeps a brisk pace, making it a satisfying read. At approximately 5x7”, this hardback book with imprinted cover can take its place alongside other quality literature for children on your shelf, or be easily tucked in a purse or backpack for reading on the go. It currently retails from Lamplighter Publishing for $20. Older teens who read Rosa of Linden Castle may find the character of Rosa a bit too goody-two-shoes, and yet, she is held up as an ideal of how we should learn, be chastened, and grow in our following of the Savior. Perhaps it was common at the time the book was first written, but I found it a bit unusual that the words Jesus or Christ are never mentioned, only God and Savior. It does, however, keep to Lamplighter’s goal of promoting a Christian Worldview.

Overall, both Arlene, aged 16, and I enjoyed reading Rosa of Linden Castle. It will take a space on our shelf alongside other Lamplighter titles we have purchased in the past. This book is a solid read for the recommended age group of 9-14. If you have children older than 14, I would suggest you look at the Lamplighter books recommended for ages 12-99, as they would probably be a better fit for independent reading. They have a plethora of titles to choose from with the superb presentation of old-fashioned covers, quality binding and stories with solid morals and interesting plots.

FTC Disclosure: I was provided a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review, I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are mine, or those of my family.

Classroom Friendly Pencil Sharpener ~ Review

Have you ever gotten frustrated because it seems like every pencil in your house is dull when you need it? Or maybe you are constantly trying new pencil sharpeners and just cannot find the right one. If either of these apply to you, I am happy to say we have found the solution! Arlene and I received a Midnight Black pencil sharpener from Classroom Friendly Supplies to review and we are quite impressed! These quality pencil sharpeners are available in seven colors and are made to stand up to the rigors of everyday classroom use. They are a great option for homeschoolers as well!

After using this pencil sharpener for the past month, I understand why so many classroom teachers love them. They make a consistent, sharp point every time. The noise is less than an old-fashioned metal pencil sharpener, like those I used in school so long ago, but the point produced is better and more consistent than most modern electric pencil sharpeners available today. 

How does this pencil sharpener from Classroom Friendly Supplies work so well? The design is the key. Instead of the student continually cranking the handle over and over and wondering if the pencil is ready yet, on these innovative sharpeners, the face plate comes forward and grips the pencil, moving it the correct amount for a perfect point each time it is used.

Our pencil sharpener arrived, securely packed, and Arlene was ready to try it out. Since Arlene loves to draw, she is quite particular about her pencils. She likes a sharp point, but does not like traditional pencil sharpeners because they either eat too much of her pencil, or the lead breaks off and gets stuck in the blades. This pencil sharpener is different because it has one rotating blade, and the stationary pencil holder so the end is less likely to break off. If the lead does break, a simple twist on the gear arm removes the blade so you can clean it out. There is a helpful YouTube video that shows the process. You can watch it on their website, or directly on YouTube.

As you can see in the pictures above, the shavings are collected in a clear drawer that can be easily removed and dumped whenever needed. The pencil sharpener can either be held in the student's other hand, or it can be fastened to a desktop or table with the enclosed clamp. We used it most often with the clamp attaching it to the side of a small table. Classroom Friendly Supplies also offers a permanent sharpener mount that can be used to attach the pencil sharpener to a teacher's desk or classroom table so you always know where it is. I think this would be an ideal solution for classroom use, since because of the drawer design, it cannot be mounted on the wall.

This really is a simple to use, consistent pencil sharpener. Squeeze the little black tabs on top to pull out the faceplate and insert your pencil. Crank the handle until the faceplate pulls your pencil in to sharpen it to a point, then squeeze the little tabs (they look like ears to me) again to remove your pencil. Empty the drawer as needed, and learn to love pencils again! Arlene (age 16) was so impressed by how well it worked that she went through our box of 50 colored pencils and sharpened every single one of them! 

The Classroom Friendly Supplies pencil sharpeners retail for $24.99 for a single sharpener, which includes free shipping. These solid metal sharpeners are worth every penny! If you are purchasing for a classroom, there is a significant discount (30%) if you purchase three of the same color at a time. 

Classroom Friendly Sharpeners also offer a super-bonus discount of 45% to schools (and PTOs) if they purchase 36 sharpeners at a time. If you are looking for a good use of your supply funds, why not ask your PTO or your school principal to purchase these for the entire building? For the super discount, all 36 must be of the same color, but they can be any of the seven color choices. You could have pencil sharpeners that match your school mascot!

Overall we both give this pencil sharpener from Classroom Friendly Supplies an A+ for quality, consistency, and value!

To learn more about these great pencil sharpeners, visit Classroom Friendly Supplies on their Facebook page!

Visit them on Pinterest for some great ideas and giveaways!

They are brand new to Google + so stop by and be one of their original followers!

Make sure you stop back by Home Sweet Life often as we will be hosting a Classroom Friendly Supplies pencil sharpener giveaway later this month!

Disclosure: we received a free pencil sharpener from Classroom Friendly Supplies in exchange for an honest review. We were not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC regulations.