Tuesday, July 7, 2020

Re-boot, re-take, do-over - It's just back and it's just ... yep, Sparkly and Joyful!

Ok, Take ten thousand,seventy eight! New plans galore!! I'm Sharon Galligar Chance, and for many years I blogged at Sharon's Garden of Book Reviews. But due to some complicated computer issues that blog, sadly, is no more. So I felt it was time for an overhaul, and thus Sparkles For Your Soul was born! (my thanks to my good friend, Bonnie Doyle, for coming up with the title!) On this new re-boot of a blog I will be sharing book reviews, of course, but I will also be sharing product reviews, some personal insights, crafts I'm dabbling in and even an occasional devotion. Basically, anything that brings a smile to my face, and hopefully to yours as well! It's a little bit shaky right now, but I'll get my sea-legs (or blog-legs) back under me and we'll be off to the races! So spread the word that Sharon is back (again!) and is sparkling with joy anticipation for this new venture! Everyone, be safe, be well, be kind, and remember to spread a little sparkle wherever you go! Much Love!!!!

Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Hello and Welcome to Sparkles For Your Soul!!




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Hello and welcome!

Ok, Take Two! New Year, new routines, new plans galore!! 

I'm Sharon Galligar Chance, and for many years I blogged at Sharon's Garden of Book Reviews. But due to some complicated computer issues that blog, sadly, is no more.

So I felt it was time for an overhaul, and thus Sparkles For Your Soul was born! (my thanks to my good friend, Bonnie Doyle, for coming up with the title!)

On this brand new blog I will be sharing book reviews, of course, but I will also be sharing product reviews, some personal insights, and even an occasional devotion.  Basically, anything that brings a smile to my face, and hopefully to yours as well!

So spread the word that Sharon is back and is sparkling with joy anticipation for this new venture!

Everyone, have a happy and safe New Years and remember to spread a little sparkle wherever you go! 

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Thursday, February 8, 2018

The Zebedee Boy by Chris Colverson - Book Review




About The Book:

"The Zebedee Boy" is a fictional memoir of 'the beloved disciple." John Zebedee, fisherman of Galilee and follower of Jesus of Nazareth, writes 12 years after the crucifixion, preserving his memories for the early Church. In his collection of personal anecdotes and character portraits, he sets out to explain what the new word 'Christian" means.

Recalling the time when he was the youngest of the Twelve and known simply as 'the Zebedee Boy," John draws on his intimacy with Jesus to paint a living picture of him and speaks authoritatively of his relationships with Mary, the Baptist, Peter, Judas Iscariot and Mary Magdalene. Here, too, are definitive explanations for the fateful decisions made by high priest Caiaphas, Herod Antipas and Pontius Pilate.

From the Baptism of Jesus to the Day of Pentecost, the Evangelist reveals his understanding of the spiritual events that are the basis of Christian belief and practice, leading to the inevitable conclusion that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and Savior of mankind. On every page John takes us to the heart of his faith. His testimony, a celebration of the Christian concept of Love, will have a cross-denominational and inter-faith appeal.




My Thoughts:

I was looking for an informative and pleasurable book to read about the life of the biblical disciple John, and when I found Chris Colverson's "The Zebedee Boy," I found it filled both requirements extremely well.

Written in first person, this book follows the life of the Beloved disciple of Jesus, and John gives a "first hand account" of all the events, miracles, and tragedies that revolved around Jesus and his group of devoted followers. While fictionalized, the story draws the reader into the midst of the holy atmosphere, and you truly feel that you are also witness to the life of our Savior.

I highly recommend this book as a perfect read for the upcoming Holy Season. Our church is currently studying the Book of John, and I found this book helped to explain a lot of the circumstances at the time.



About The Author:

Chris Colverson writes in the Christian tradition. She gained her degree and her postgraduate Certificate in Education (English/Religious Education/Drama) from Southampton University. After 20 years of teaching English and literacy, she trained as a Surrey Healer. Chris and her husband Ron live in London with their two sons.



I purchased this e-book for my personal library. I was not compensated for my opinions.




Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Book Review - Hill Country Reunion by Myra Johnson




I'm not too proud to say that I love a good romance novel!  Particularly the "sweet romances," the one that don't have a lot of s*x in them! And I adore the Love Inspired line from Harlequin.

Did I mention I really, really like romances set in Texas?  Oh heavens yes!!!

So I was drawn to the title of Myra Johnson's latest novel, "Hill Country Reunion." But it was the story itself that really drew me in and captured my lil' ol' Texas heart.  This tale is fast paced, full of twists and turn, and lots of sweet romance and rekindled love.  I loved it!


Here's a little more about the book:

His Texas Sweetheart
Veterinarian Tripp Willoughby returns to his hometown of Juniper Bluff knowing he has no right to ask for forgiveness. He thought keeping his Crohn’s disease a secret was the right thing to do—but he ended up breaking his college girlfriend’s heart.

Now Diana Matthews has a new life running a cafe and working with animals. Reluctantly, she accepts his help with her pet therapy program. And as the furry animals bring them together, Tripp remembers how things used to be with Diana—and is convinced he must find a way to reveal the truth and win her back.


About The Author:




Myra Johnson's roots go deep into Texas soil, but she and her husband now enjoy the milder weather of the Carolinas. However, they still miss Texas's springtime bluebonnets and may never get used to the pulled pork Southerners call "barbecue"!

An award-winning author, Myra writes both historical and contemporary romantic fiction. Her historical romance WHEN THE CLOUDS ROLL BY won the 2014 Christian Retailing's Best Award for historical fiction. She is also writing for Love Inspired and previously published six novels with Heartsong Presents. AUTUMN RAINS (2009) won the 2005 RWA Golden Heart for Best Inspirational Romance Manuscript and was named a 2010 ACFW Carol Award finalist.

Married since 1972, the Johnsons have two beautiful daughters, two terrific sons-in-law, and seven amazing grandchildren. The Johnsons share their home with two lovable (and very spoiled) rescue dogs.                

Check out her website at www.myrajohnson.com for more info on her books and appearances.




 I purchased this book for my personal collection. I was not compensated for my opinion.

Monday, January 29, 2018

A list of 100 books recommended to read in a lifetime - and how many I have read!





I like to read various blogs on Monday mornings - to see what other bloggers are buzzing about, and one of my favorites is my dear friend Sheila's blog, Book Journey: Continuing Adventures of a True Bookaholic (www.bookjourney.net), and she had a great post about the new Amazon list of 100 Books To Read In A Lifetime and I thought it would be interesting to see how many I had read!

I was surprised that I had only read 32 of the 100 books listed.  Looks like I've got some reading to do!

I was also surprised to find no inspirational, religious or spiritual books included - I would have added The Bible, Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers, A Case for Christ, 5 Love Languages, - I could go on, and as a matter of fact, I think I will compose a list - be on the watch for that post soon!


Thanks to Perfectly Tolerable for making this into a meme.




I have marked the ones I have read.
Which have you read?  Which books would you add to this list as must reads in a lifetime?

TitleAuthorRead?
1984George Orwell
A Brief History of TimeStephen Hawking
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering GeniusDave Eggers
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy SoldierIshmael Beah 
The Bad BeginningLemony Snicket
A Wrinkle in TimeMadeleine L’Engle
Selected Stories, 1968-1994Alice Munro
Alice’s Adventures in WonderlandLewis CarrollYes
All the President’s MenBob Woodward
Angela’s Ashes: A MemoirFrank McCourt Yes
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.Judy Blume Yes
Bel CantoAnn Patchett 
BelovedToni Morrison Yes
Born to RunChristopher McDougall 
Breath, Eyes, MemoryEdwidge DanticatYes
Catch-22Joseph Heller
Charlie and the Chocolate FactoryRoald DahlYes
Charlotte’s WebE. B WhiteYes
Cutting for StoneAbraham Verghese 
Daring GreatlyBrené Brown
Diary of a Wimpy KidJeff Kinney
DuneFrank Herbert
Fahrenheit 451Ray Bradbury
Fear and Loathing in Las VegasHunter S. Thompson
Gone GirlGillian FlynnYes
Goodnight MoonMargaret Wise Brow Yes
Great ExpectationsCharles Dickens
Guns, Germs, and SteelJared Diamond Ph.D.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s StoneJ.K. RowlingYes
In Cold BloodTruman Capote Yes
Interpreter of MaladiesJhumpa Lahiri
Invisible ManRalph Ellison
Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on EarthChris Ware
Kitchen ConfidentialAnthony Bourdain 
Life After LifeKate Atkinson
Little House on the PrairieLaura Ingalls Wilder Yes
LolitaVladimir Nabokov Yes
Love in the Time of CholeraGabriel Garcia Marquez
Love MedicineLouise Erdrich
Man’s Search for MeaningViktor E. Frankl
Me Talk Pretty One DayDavid Sedaris 
MiddlesexJeffrey Eugenides
Midnight’s ChildrenSalman Rushdie
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair GameMichael Lewis
Of Human BondageW. Somerset Maugham
On the RoadJack Kerouac
Out of AfricaIsak Dinesen
Persepolis: The Story of a ChildhoodMarjane Satrapi
Portnoy’s ComplaintPhilip Roth
Pride and PrejudiceJane Austen Yes
Silent SpringRachel Carson
Slaughterhouse-FiveKurt Vonnegut
Team of RivalsDoris Kearns Goodwin
The Age of InnocenceEdith Wharton
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & ClayMichael Chabon
The Autobiography of Malcolm XMalcolm X
The Book ThiefMarkus Zusak
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar WaoJunot Díaz
The Catcher in the RyeJ. D. Salinger
The Color of WaterJames McBrideYes
The CorrectionsJonathan Franzen
The Devil in the White CityErik Larson 
The Diary of a Young GirlAnne FrankYes
The Fault in Our StarsJohn GreenYes
The GiverLois Lowry 
The Golden CompassPhilip Pullman
The Great GatsbyF. Scott FitzgeraldYes
The Handmaid’s TaleMargaret Atwood
The House at Pooh CornerA. MilneYes
The Hunger GamesSuzanne CollinsYes
The Immortal Life of Henrietta LacksRebecca Skloot Yes
The Liars’ ClubMary Karr
The Lightning ThiefRick Riordan 
The Little PrinceHoughton MifflinYes
The Long GoodbyeRaymond Chandler
The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11Lawrence Wright
The Lord of the RingsJ.R.R. TolkienYes
The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A HatOliver Sacks
The Omnivore’s DilemmaMichael Pollan
The Phantom TollboothNorton Juster
The Poisonwood BibleBarbara KingsolverYes
The Power BrokerRobert A. Caro
The Right StuffTom WolfeYes
The RoadCormac McCarthy
The Secret HistoryDonna Tartt
The ShiningStephen King 
The StrangerAlbert Camus
The Sun Also RisesErnest Hemingway
The Things They CarriedTim O’Brien
The Very Hungry CaterpillarEric CarleYes
The Wind in the WillowsKenneth Grahame
The Wind-Up Bird ChronicleHaruki Murakami
The World According to GarpJohn IrvingYes
The Year of Magical ThinkingJoan DidionYes
Things Fall ApartChinua Achebe
To Kill a MockingbirdHarper LeeYes
UnbrokenLaura Hillenbrand
Valley of the DollsJacqueline SusannYes
Where the Sidewalk EndsShel SilversteinYes
Where the Wild Things AreMaurice Sendak        Yes

Thursday, January 11, 2018

Angels' Share: A Novel by James Markert - Book Review



The Angels' Share


About The Book:

Some believed he was the second coming of Christ.

William wasn’t so sure.

But when that drifter was buried next to the family distillery, everything changed.

Now that Prohibition has ended, what the townspeople of Twisted Tree, Kentucky, need most is the revival of the Old Sam Bourbon distillery. But William McFee knows it’ll take a miracle to convince his father, Barley, to once more fill his family’s aging house with barrels full of bourbon.

When a drifter recently buried near the distillery begins to draw crowds of pilgrims, the McFees are dubious. Yet miracles seem to come to those who once interacted with the deceased and to those now praying at his grave. As people descend on the town to visit the “Potter’s Field Christ,” William seeks to find the connection between the tragic death of his younger brother and the mysterious drifter.

But as news spreads about the miracles at the potter’s field, the publicity threatens to bring the depth of Barley’s secret past to light and put the entire McFee family in jeopardy.

The Angels’ Share is a story of fathers and sons, of young romance, of revenge and redemption, and of the mystery of miracles.

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My Thoughts:

Author James Markert's captivating novel, "Angels' Share," grabbed my attention in the bookstore first with it's appealing cover (I like a good looking book cover!). The description too was fascinating, and I'm so glad that I went ahead and picked it up to read.

This story, set just after Prohibition was lifted, pulls you into the lives of the McFee family of Twisted Tree, Kentucky, Once prominent maker of one of the best bourbons around, the family had fallen on hard times with the closure of the distillery and the tragic loss of their youngest son. So it is understandable that the strange occurences after the burial of a man who claimed to have special power related to Jesus himself would affect the McFee's all in different ways.

Head of the family, Barley McFee, is especially troubled and finds a renewal of faith and forgiveness as he and his son William seek to fnd the answers to the question on everyone's mind - was Asher Keating, the deceased homeless man, possibly the second coming of Jesus?

I really enjoyed this book. Markert does a fine job of describing both the post-Prohibition era as well as the absolute bare-bones production of whiskey. I also admired how Markert wove in a thread of faith that continued throughout the story.  While not your typical faith-based novel, I found "Angels' Share" to be a hidden treasure of a novel. I can't wait to read more from this author very soon!

See the source image

About The Author:

James Markert

James Markert lives with his wife and two children in Louisville, Kentucky. He has a history degree from the University of Louisville and won an IPPY Award for The Requiem Rose, which was later published as A White Wind Blew, a story of redemption in a 1929 tuberculosis sanatorium, where a faith-tested doctor uses music therapy to heal the patients. James is also a USPTA tennis pro, and has coached dozens of kids who’ve gone on to play college tennis in top conferences like the Big 10, the Big East, and the ACC. Learn more at jamesmarkert.com, Facebook: James Markert, Twitter: @JamesMarkert.

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I purchased this book for my personal library. I was not compensated for my opinion.

Monday, January 8, 2018

Life & Spice: A Novel by Myers & Reed - Book Review



I am so delighted to share my thoughts about the new novel, "Life and Spice: Vita e Spezie," by Helen Myers and Gail Reed.

Life & Spice: Vita e Spezie

About The Book:

Ghosts from the past, and the relentless momentum of time...

On September 8, 1900, a hurricane unlike any previously recorded hit Galveston, Texas. To this day, an exact death toll cannot be confirmed, but the harrowing storm continues to be known as one of the worst human and geographic tragedies in America's young history.  

In the midst of all the destruction, faith saved a fisherman from a vicious sea. Over a century later in the very same post office-turned-restaurant where the impossible occurred, his story lives on.

The restaurant is now an historical site preserving the mail slot that accepted his letter to God when he thought he would never see his beloved family again. Called Vita e Spezie tourists from everywhere come to see where the miracle took place-and sometimes post their own letters of desperation, loneliness, and need.  

The Italian family operating the third-generation establishment is dealing with their own crises. Health issues, past mistakes, and daily stress are wearing them down, and there are signs the business won't be around for another generation. 

Then the arrival of a gifted pastry chef-and hours later-a son thought lost, changes everything. Suddenly, the family that believes they took on a burden too great when they promised to honor the past, discovers their future is a gift from the past. And from it flows an ultimate truth... 

Perhaps there are no accidents.


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My Thoughts:

Helen Myers and Gail Reed have presented the reading world with a true literary gem with their latest book, "Life And Spice."

Set in Galveston, Texas, this intriguing tale takes readers into the behind-the-scenes workings of a popular restaurant and the chefs and employees who keep things running. Not only does the reader get a front row glimpse of the action in the kitchen, but they are also privy to the interaction between the boss and his employees, the long-lost prodigal son's return, and the arrival of a lively but mysterious pastry prodigy who will bring a great deal of love and light into the family-owned business.

Intertwined throughout the story is the legend of the letters to God that appear at the restaurant through a special mail slot; letters that often lead to miracles that leave both employees and customers amazed.

Myers and Reed have created a charming reading experience for fans of stories with a healthy heaping of romance, a dash of mystery and just the right amount of history that, mixed together. cooks up a delicious novel that will linger on the reader's taste-buds for a long, long time.


 See the source image

About The Author:

Helen R. Myers


Helen R. Myers knew she wanted to become a writer since becoming a failed poet at the ripe age of seven when her politically-incorrect poem wasn’t chosen to be displayed in the hallway outside of her second-grade class for Parents’-Teacher Night. Selling her first book in 1986, she’s published forty-five romances, seven suspense novels, and two mainstream novels that have sold in twenty-eight countries and have been translated into twenty-five languages. A USA Today bestselling author, she’s been nominated for, and won, several awards, including a Golden Medallion/Rita Award from Romance Writers of America for NAVARRONE.

Born in New Jersey, she has called Texas home for over four decades. She and husband Robert spent most of their thirty-one years of marriage on Crooked Pine Ranch in the East Texas Piney Woods, until his sudden death in 2006. A long-time dog rescuer, she is currently “Mom” to cow-dog mix Roxie, black-and-tan hound Penny, and red heeler Brody. She and writing partner and long-time friend Gail Reed are currently collaborating on their third novel.






Mary Gail Reed is a native Texan who has had a lifelong passion for writing. She and her veterinarian husband of thirty-eight years raised four children in the Northeast region of the state. After the youngest graduated from high school, she traveled extensively through her work for USDA and as an auditor for a Fortune 500 company.

In 2011, Gail faced a devastating loss when her husband, Mike, died unexpectedly and it was her unwavering faith that brought her through that difficult time. She continued to hone her craft as a writer and had stories published in college library collections, as well as articles in a regional newspaper.

In 2015, Gail collaborated with Helen Myers and June Foster to write the highly-praised novel, A FLOCK OF SPARROWS. She currently lives in the same community, surrounded by the love of her family, good friends, and Max, a rescued Labrador retriever.



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Life and Spice is available at Amazon.com and at BarnesandNoble.com

My thanks to the authors for providing me with the review copy. I was not compensated for my opinion.