Harlequin Books for the Holidays Review...

ABCD Diaries

2010 Holiday Gift Guide:

Women

Harlequin has always been a leader in books geared to a female audience and this holiday season 2 books really stood out to us. Both of these books would be perfect for the women in your life, whether mother, sister or friend.



The first book we reviewed is Queen of Your Own Life, by Kathy Kinney and Cindy Ratzlaff:

Queen of Your Own Life: The Grown-Up Woman's Guide to Claiming Happiness and Getting the Life You Deserve

Product Details
Hardcover: 168 pages
Publisher: Harlequin (March 30, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0373892152

Synopsis:
"Discover the Seven Best Gifts You Can Give Yourself-
Queen of Your Own Life is a philosophy, a decision and an invitation to happiness for women who have made the tough but rewarding journey to the midpoint in their lives. Kathy Kinney (best known as Mimi on The Drew Carey Show) and Cindy Ratzlaff (marketing genius behind the launch of The South Beach Diet) have been best friends for more than thirty years, and have helped each other navigate the ups and downs of their lives with humor and grace.
In this entertaining and inspiring book, they share the tried-and-true techniques they call "the seven best gifts a woman can give herself." They reveal how they learned to value themselves just the way they are—women in full bloom, sensual, vibrant, wise and more beautiful than ever—and they'll show you how you can, too.
With these seven gifts you'll discover how to:
• Claim your beauty and feel your power
• Clean your mental closet and find your queen voice
• Admire yourself for who you've become
• Build deep, fulfilling friendships with other women
• Establish firm boundaries that will strengthen all your relationships
• Learn the simple trick to finally being happy
• Place the crown firmly on your head
With humor, comfort and inspiration, Queen of Your Own Life offers easy step-by-step actions to blast away at the societal tall tale that young is beautiful and old is just old. If you've been feeling that the best part of your life may be behind you, then this book will prove to you just how untrue that is, and that the door to being happy is not only never closed, but just waiting for you to fling it open. Remember, you don't have to be twenty to have your whole life ahead of you. Now is the time to become Queen of Your Own Life!"

What we thought: This book would be a great gift for any women who has reached "that time" of their life and needs a little direction on how to reclaim her identity and become her authentic self. The authors present this uplifting and powerful message with humor and positivity. They dismiss all the old stereotypes and lay out an easy-to-follow plan to lead each women down the path to a happier, more fulfilling life. ABCD Diaries gives The Queen of Your Life an A+!

The second Harlequin book we reviewed was A Homemade Christmas, by Tina Barseghian:
A Homemade Christmas: Creative Ideas for an Earth-Friendly, Frugal, Festive Holiday

Synopsis:
"Making something with your own hands—whether it's a plate of just-baked cookies, a handcrafted stocking, a homemade wreath, or a hand-folded origami ornament—is a great way to connect with the true meaning of Christmas.
From holiday decorating to gift giving, A Homemade Christmas is chock-full of projects, recipes, tips, and helpful hints that are guaranteed to add a homemade touch to your holiday season. Open this charming volume to any page and discover a wealth of practical and easy-to-accomplish ideas for a homemade holiday:
• create personal, distinctive holiday greetings
• deck the halls with festive, handmade trimmings
• cook simple but memorable homemade dishes
• make unique, handcrafted gifts
• share the joy of the season with friends and family
Packed with inspiration and how-tos for ideas that are family-friendly and eco-conscious, festive and meaningful, A Homemade Christmas will put homemade back into your holidays!"

Product Details
Paperback: 128 pages
Publisher: Harlequin; Original edition (September 1, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0373892225

What we thought: This book is full of great ideas on how to make frugality fun for the holidays all while saving you money, making handmade gifts that will be treasured, creating a festive atmoshpere in your home and allowing you to spend cherished time making memories with your family. The ideas range in difficulty, but there is nothing too crazy as far as skill level...most can be done with your little ones! These ideas are all Earth-friendly and the results are pretty awesome. We have several of these ideas planned for our holiday celebrations:) ABCD Diaries gives A Homemade Christmas an A+!!

Buy It: Find these great Harlequin books at your favorite book store or online book dealer.

Disclosure: ABCD Diaries was given a a copy of each of these books for review purposes only. We were in no other way compensated. The opinions expressed in this post are ours and ours alone.