Free AudioBooks and EBooks!

What does a 30 day FREE membership get you? 

1,500 free ebooks

500 audiobooks

All on your smartphone!

I am a book fanatic. (I don't just write books, I avidly ready them too.) I listen to or read a new book almost every 3 days. But it can be very hard to find LDS ebooks at a reasonable price! Drives me crazy! So it is a great gift that I can FINALLY access the Deseret Book catalog, and listen to them on my phone. 

Deseret Book has launched it's new ebook and audiobook service called Bookshelf Plus. And for a monthly fee of $9.99, or an annual membership of $99/yr, you get access to thousands of books.

Fun fact- The subscription/membership (service) is called Bookshelf Plus - that's the membership/subscription service that allows you to read or listen to UNLIMITED ebooks and audiobooks.

The actual app you download (from the Google Play store or the Apple iTunes store) to your phone is called the Deseret Bookshelf. You can use Bookshelf without a Plus membership. You will just be limited to a small amount of free materials. You can still use the app to buy ebooks/audiobooks at regular price.

To clarify- you pay for a membership with Plus, and you get access to THOUSANDS of free books. Without a membership, pay regular price to buy ebooks. 

When you download the app, it comes with links/icons for official Church materials (Gospel Doctrine lesson book, Teachings of the Prophets, etc) right on the front. It even has links to the most recent General Conference talks right there the minute you download the app. That's links to both the audio and e-book version, which is really convenient.

There are even links to classic church talks, and to free literary classics (I immediately downloaded Les Mis and Large Catechism (by Martin Luther)).

You can see from my phone screenshots below how easy it is to download a book. You see it in the "discover" tab, click on it, then click download and open, and voila, it downloads. That fast and easy. And because you have your annual membership, you don't have to pay for it!

Don't forget the 30 day free trial membership if you aren't sure you want to commit yet! But you will want to commit, trust me. It's great!

Let's say you wanted to buy my first published book, "Beyond Perfection." If you check it out on Amazon, the Kindle version is $14.99 (of which yours truly gets something like 50 cents if you buy it.) (Seriously, moms, don't let your babies grow up to be authors.) 

On Deseret Book, you only have to pay $9.99.  But if you have a Bookshelf Plus membership and the Deseret Bookshelf app, YOU GET IT FOR FREE!

If you are a regular consumer of Mormon books, LDS Church materials, clean e-books, and uplifting audiobooks, you are going to love this new offering from Deseret Book. 

RECAP-

DESERET BOOK BOOKSHELF PLUS MEMBERSHIP

30 DAY FREE TRIAL!!

THOUSANDS of free e-books! THOUSANDS!!

Tons of audiobooks that you can't get anywhere else!

After your 30 day free trial, it's either $9.99/mo, OR $99/yr. 

And you can get it all on your smartphone. 

Affiliate Blogger Disclaimer- I did not get paid to write this post. I am a beta user and blogger of the product. If you use my links to purchase the Deseret Book Bookshelf Plus membership, I receive a commission. But it no way, shape, or form, effects the cost of your membership or purchases for me to receive the commission. 

Book Review-- All the Finer Things by Stephanie Worlton

Dashing strangers, cute dogs, lovable babies, and horrid ex-husbands make up the basics of All the Finer Things by Stephanie Connelley Worlton.  What could have been a silly and predictable romance novel, is instead an enjoyable and thoughtful read.

All the Finer Things is the story of Megan, a young bride married to a wealthy surgeon. She has all the material possessions her heart could want and a darling baby boy. But as the story opens we discover that her abusive husband will stop at nothing short of breaking his spirited bride into a subservient trophy wife.

She endures one last beating at his hands, takes their baby, and leaves him. She drives away from the privileged life she knew and finds herself in a small ranching town miles from the big city. That’s where she meets Ammon, the rugged and handsome Scoutmaster next door. His lovable but troublesome dog does his best to make sure Meg and Ammon have plenty of chances to get to know each other better.

Worlton’s book could almost fall into the “sweet dog romance” genre, but thankfully (at least in my opinion) doesn’t. The “sweet dog romance” tends to be frilly fluff without much substance or adventure to the story. The story digs deeper and has too many interesting storylines to be shelved away under that simplistic category.

It’s not a straight-up romance novel, where you know from the very introduction of the characters who will fall in love, and who will get their come-uppance. In some respects it could be exactly that. But this is also the story of an abused woman who takes control of her life, and instead of expecting others to fix her problems, makes her own solutions. She works hard and does what it takes to take care of herself and her baby.

The almost predictable romance is harangued by the obvious and simple fact that Meg is married. She may be married to an abusive jerk, and deserving of the love and affection of a good man, but that doesn’t make her any less married. It’s not a predictable romance when the story features a good Mormon man and a married woman, but it’s still a satisfying romance.  

Stephanie Connelley Worlton lives in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains where she enjoys frequent opportunities to observe nature and feed her creative spirit. She has been blessed to be a stay at home mom to her four children, many of whom share her artistic tendencies.

All the Finer Things is available as an e-book and paperback from Amazon.

eShakti for All!

Have I talked enough about eShakti to convince you all to buy their awesome dresses yet?
Because I freaking love eShakti! And I think you all need to try them and figure out why.


Here is what the Little Navy Sheath Dress looks like on their site -

 

And here is what it looks like on me- 

Not only did the color change (and I added a belt), but you might also notice it suddenly has sleeves, and is a little bit longer.

This is the magic of eShakti. YOU CAN CUSTOMIZE EVERYTHING (for just $7.50)!!!
You can add sleeves, change the neckline and/or the length of the dress, plus add or remove pockets, to make the dress suit you.

But that's not all folks!

You can also have the dress custom FIT to you!
Instead of picking size 2, 10, or 18, etc., you have the option of putting in your exact measurements, and having the dress custom fit precisely to you.

I have always had a difficult time finding dresses that fit me. I am short, but with long legs, and a very curvy torso. Finding dresses and skirts that reach my knee is a total joke. Finding dresses or shirts that fit me through the bust, and with my narrow shoulders? Never happened. All of my dresses are either too big in the shoulders, or the waist hits in the wrong place, etc. I usually just compromise with empire waist, or no-waist wrap dresses, and make do.

When I put my measurements in to eShakti I discovered my waist was a size 8, my shoulders a size 10, my bust a size 18, and my hips are size 12. No wonder nothing ever fits!

Which is why I LOVE my eShakti dresses that not only fit me, but actually hit at my real waist and hips as well. The measurements even take into account the distance between waist and hips, so the waist of my dresses actually are on my waist, and not around my hips (like what happens with most of my dresses).

Now, keeping in mind that I am a) not a model, b) not thin, c) not a photographer, d) not very good with any sort of photo editing service, I now share with you what I look like in my eShakti dresses, compared to my other regular clothes. (Also, I could really use a haircut.)

This is the "Ponte Knit Sheath Dress."  This is the same as my red dress above, but I chose a different neckline and slightly different sleeves.

And here is what I look like in a regular sheath dress that isn't custom fit to me.

Okay, so the picture isn't as bad as I want you to see. I'm really not photogenic so the good and bad are all just mediocre bad! Anyway, in this second dress, the black one, it's too curvy, with fat rolls. I look much thinner, and have a much better silhouette in the eShakti dress.

This next dress is the eShakti "Virginia" dress ($74.95). I LOVE this dress. I have never been able to wear a dress with a full or pleated skirt before, because the waist is usually around my hips, and therefore too wide, and really just looks BAD. I still have unfortunately wide hips, but it helps a lot to have the waist fit just right to make it look much more flattering than the alternative.

And here's the closest thing I have to a similar cut dress-

I like how the eShakti dress has a less revealing neckline, but is still a slimming v-neck (important to us full-figured girls). You can see in the second dress that the waist is right around my hips, making me look considerably wider than necessary.

And this last dress is the eShakti Havana dress. I bought this one for my 20th high school reunion. It got tons of compliments. It's just the right combination of modest/not too revealing, and party/sexy. I LOVE this dress. (I just wish I had a better picture in it.)

I don't have anything to compare this dress to because I've never dared to wear anything like it before. It definitely shows off my curves! (A lot!)

Here's a few more details to know- these dresses are VERY comfortable. As in, I'm still sitting here in the Havana dress right now because it's probably the most comfortable dress I own. I love it.

Did I mention it has pockets? And a side-zip?

And they are not dry-clean only. You can wash these at home and hang dry them.

I love them.

So why am I telling you all of this?

Because eShakti is having a 2 for 1 sale.

And they have free shipping.

So in 10 days from now you could own 3 custom-fit, gorgeous dresses, for less than $150. And you know you want that. You want it a lot.

Full disclaimer- I like eShakti enough that I am excited that I just got accepted to be an affiliate marketer for them. (But I've been talking them up long before I even applied to be an affiliate for them.)

So go get yourself some awesome dresses for the holidays. YOU KNOW YOU WANT ONE!!!

I know that I want this one- (I just added it to my Amazon Wish List.)
Retro Plaid Shirtdress- $129.  (I would change the sleeves to elbow length, take the "remove embellishment" option, and make it knee length. And of course have it custom fit to me. That would only be an extra $7.50. Oh and every time you buy from them they send you coupons for your next order, so I'll be taking at least $25 off the price to start with.)

Product Review- AVIA iTone Toning Shoe

I've been dealing with a LOT of back pain recently. So bad so that I've spent nearly $200 at the chiropractor's in the last 2 weeks. We're talking, staying flat on my back, on the floor, popping Lortab, and icing like crazy, kind of back pain. And all for no apparent reason. There was no accident or incident that caused it.
After talking with my chiro this week he suggested I try better shoes, possibly the kind that are designed to take the pressure off of the lower back. I'm unemployed, out of unemployment coverage, and totally broke. So the idea of spending $100 on tennis shoes (especially when I rarely wear them) didn't appeal to me.
But then yesterday I just happened to be passing a shoe store with a sale going on. So I pulled in and checked out the 5 different lines of "toning" shoes they carry. Reebok, Skechers, Easy Spirit, and some other brands all have the new toning shoes. The Avias were brand new, and therefore a little bit cheaper. So I tried them on, and all of the other brands, and found no difference between the brands. But more importantly, the shoes were incredibly comfortable.
They are a little bit heavy - 2 lbs! And they are shaped quite differently from your average running shoe. But as for relieving the pressure on my lower back? Worked PERFECTLY. In fact, I bought socks there in the store just so I could wear the shoes out of the store!
If you are not yet familiar with "toning" shoes, the concept is that these differently shaped soles force the user to walk/run/stand in a slightly different manner than before. This uses different muscles, and therefore tones your muscles in new ways. Some brands promise that their shoe will tone your buttocks and give you shapelier legs. Does it? Possibly.
Just 2 days into wearing them and I can tell you that my legs were tired. The shoes do most definitely work different muscles than I am used to. They were a tiny bit awkward at first, but I got over that quickly. And just 2 days into wearing them, I have NO lower back pain. (Thanks also in large part to some serious efforts by the chiro as well.)
As a result, I'm rather in love with my shoes, and will go out of my way to wear tennis shoes now.
Oh and bonus- I had been prepared to pay the $79 on the box. I was thrilled at the check out when I discovered there was a back to school sale going on, and I got $20 off. You however, can buy them even cheaper using my lovely little widget right here-