Review of 'Keepers of the Covenant' by Lynn Austin

Thank you to Bethany House for my copy in exchange for my honest review -

When I was younger I could never fully understand The Old Testament - besides the stories you hear in church. I got the main points, but it was near impossible for me to see them as more than stories - that they were actually real people and real situations - except for a few people such as: Noah, Moses, Adam and Eve, Rebekah and Isaac, Esther for examples. I believe it was because there were SO many names and SO much happening it was hard to keep it all straight. Because of this, I would get bogged down and eventually give up with The Old Testament preferring the New Testament.

As I got older (mostly because of being homeschooled for high school), I found myself reading more about Saul, Jonathan, Samuel, Samson - but even still the prophets, the other people mentioned (such as Nehemiah) were stories. I understood on a different level that they were indeed real people and real situations, but it was so strange to me to think of God as a "fire and brimstone" God (He is so so much more than just that though!) - which is odd because I had no issues seeing him that way when it came to Moses and the Egyptians. Not only that, but I found all those stories to be (God forgive me for this) rather boring and dull.

Just in the last three years or so, I have actually gone out of my way to read through the whole Bible (pretty sure I have done so, but by jumping around) in order - still working on that because I get bogged down with all the old laws and all the names. However, I have found I want to learn more about all the stuff I couldn't care less about when I was little. I suppose that means I am growing as a Christian.

Anyway, I found over the years that if I watch a show or read a fictional book about the Biblical stories and then read them in the actual Bible I understood and cared more. So, when I discovered that Lynn Austin was writing a series about The Old Testament, I was very excited and couldn't wait to read it. Now, I haven't read the first one in the series, but I have read this one.

Good news to people who just pick it up - it CAN be read by itself. The characters are very alive and very real - which is a great thing! Each time I read a few chapters I couldn't help saying how much Ezra (in the book) reminded me of my father. The further I got the more Devorah reminded me of my mother - so it was rather entertaining to me what happened in the book. I was able to guess one thing that happened much later in the book and while it surprised me that I was correct, I wasn't overly surprised (I do that a lot).

The book is very well written and you can tell a lot of time and research went into it. If this is the way Lynn's other books are, I will have to check it out because I have greatly enjoyed this one. I give it 5 stars out of 5! :D

P.s. It has helped me put real personalities and "faces" to the Biblical people, so thank you Lynn!

Review of 'Hit' by Lorie Ann Grover

Hit is a powerful book and the fact that it is based on a true story makes the impact even stronger.

When I first started reading it, I was honestly torn and almost put it down because I can't stand books written in the present tense vs. the past. It is something that bugs me to no end because I don't seem to get into them as much when they are written like that. However, I am very glad I kept reading despite that because this was one of those rare books that really did manage to grab me and keep me reading until the end despite the rather annoying present tense.

Haddings was my favorite character. The torment and pain he went through was so real you could feel it. Second favorite was Sarah's father - he truly meant well and you could see that. Sarah was okay, but I never grew "attached" to her.

The cover is so simple, but very gorgeous and fits the story nicely.

The way this was written was so real and intense, you could almost feel like you were part of that family. I was all around very impressed.

4 stars out of 5!

Review of 'A Bride in Store' by Melissa Jagears

Thank you to Bethany House for my copy in exchange for my honest review.

First of all, I want to say this is not my typical type of book that I prefer to read. However, the description sounded interesting and so I decided to give it a chance. When I put in my request to review it, I did not realize it was the second one in the series - however, I found I could easily read it without struggling, so it is a good stand alone book as well.

The cover is lovely and fits the description of the characters nearly perfectly. I am a cover lover, so I always look at it to see if I can see where it fits into the story.

Now here comes the difficult part of my review. I don't know if it is because I am a writer or if it is because I read a lot or if it was just predictable (I hope not!) - but I knew where it was going on the first page. It could very well be because it was what I would have done if it was my characters put into a situation and story like that, but again I can't say for sure if that is how I just knew what would happen.

I wanted to enjoy this book and I did in some ways, but the characters were kind of dull to me except for Irena - I really liked her! (though I do have a big soft spot for people fighting against their feelings for others). Overall, the storyline was great, but again I knew what would happen for the most part (there were a few surprises despite that).

I didn't dislike the book, but I definitely didn't love it. In fact, I am passing it on to someone who may enjoy it more than me. It could very well be that it is not my genre - I don't know. A solid 3 stars out of 5.

Review of 'In the Field of Grace' by Tessa Afshar

As an avid reader for many years of quite a few different genres, I have to honestly say I never in a million generations thought I would discover a book so amazing it would become my favorite. Well, I was proven wrong and before I turned thirty.

In the Field of Grace by Tessa Afshar is hands down my favorite book. I have never read anything so powerful, so breath-taking before (apart from the Bible that is). It truly is a work of art and clearly was inspired by God. There is no doubt in my mind that I am going to buy Tessa's other books and if they are anything like this one - I may have discovered my favorite author.

Now I normally rate books 1-5 stars (five being the highest), but this one deserves ten stars! In short, I LOVE this book and will gladly recommend it to many, many people - my sister being the first.

Review of 'Murder at the Mikado' by Julianna Deering

Thank you to Bethany House for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Murder at the Mikado is book number 3 in the Drew Farthering Mystery series and is just as good as the others! I am never let down by Julianna's writing - though this time I sort of figured out who was killing people where as the other two I was stumped completely. Perhaps with the next one (as long as she continues the series) I will be able to finally be correct on all fronts.

This cover is my favorite out of the series so far and I think it fits the storyline perfectly. The characters still haven't changed - which is a good thing in my opinion because that means Julianna knows her characters well. There were two things that bugged me about the characters, one is Madeline's mood swings. While warranted at the beginning I grew rather tiresome of the constant up and down, happy and sad, angry and not angry - it got to the point that I was starting to dislike her! Thankfully Julianna set her back on the path and she once again became the Madeline I grew to like a lot in the other two books.

The other thing was Nick and Aunt Ruth. There was simply not enough of them in this one! They are easily my favorite characters and I was rather upset to note they didn't appear enough. I hope as the series continues they will make more frequent visits to the pages.

Peter - I adored! Julianna did so wonderful capturing the spirit of a young boy and it made not only me smile, but my sister as well (even my mother who overheard me reading it out loud to my sister). His attachment to Mr. Chambers was super adorable. Mr. Landis - I really liked the way he talked about Peter and seemed to really care for him. Mrs. Landis - For her role in the book and her character, she was very well written though I can understand why they were rather taken back when she came around.

The plot was fast-paced and intriguing with just the right touch of humor, mystery, drama, and romance. I really can not say anything real bad about this series because Julianna is an excellent writer! 4 1/2 stars out of 5 only due to Madeline's mood swings growing a bit tiresome.

By the way, I would love to see Aunt Ruth fall in love with someone - just saying for a possible future plot?

Review of 'Stuck Together' by Mary Connealy

Thank you to Bethany House for my review copy in exchange for my honest review. I do want to apologize for my review being a bit late - I was gone for nearly two weeks due to my grandfather's unexpected death and the book had arrived while I was gone.


I have always wanted to read a book by Mary Connealy, but for some reason any time I went shopping for books - whether online or in a store - I never picked them up. I can't say why I didn't, but it just seemed to slip my mind that she was an author I really wanted to read.

The cover is amazing - which is strange to be because I am normally not a fan of the split photo like it is, but there is just something about this one I really like. Perhaps it is that the guy is handsome (though I doubt it is only because of that) or perhaps the lady looks quite mischievous - whatever it is, this cover makes me happy.

Now I won't lie - I chose this book to review because I knew from the back cover text I would love it and I have to say I was not disappointed. Well, not totally. Part of me loved it and was entertained, but then part of me liked it yet was somewhat bored. I know - confusing, right?

Well, let me explain (be warned - potential spoilers ahead!)

The part I didn't really care for was about finding out who was causing the trouble with Luke. To me this was boring and I think why this was boring is because Vince didn't seem to show enough passion like he did with the rest of the situations that rose. Now I get it, he didn't want to be sheriff in the first place, but the fact that he agreed to be it and the fact that he swore in - well, to me that means you need to show a bit of passion for your "job".

I know he had a lot of crazy stuff dumped on his shoulders and that would cause anyone to lose focus in different parts that aren't as important, but if those were really his best friends that had been with him through everything - I would think he would be more apt to help them.

Anyway, that is basically the only part I didn't care for.

Now, onto the rest of the story -

I knew his father was going to do that as soon as he arrived - he just seemed like a snake. While I was not expecting the whole Tina's brother thing, it didn't really surprise me - in fact, if that had not have happened I would have been disappointed. Virginia Belle was a very well crafted character, but I do wish that Melissa didn't just seem to drop her like a hat after meeting... (well, you will figure it out... or find out. lol, I don't like giving spoilers.)

Vince is a great character - full of lots of charm and sarcastic wit - but I won't lie, his always being so concerned with turning out like his dad just annoyed me. Just because your parents are one way does not automatically mean you will turn out to be like them. I adored the way he spoke about Tina - both in good ways and in bad - you could see how much he cared.

Tina is perfect! I might be weird, but I like characters - especially main female characters - who are full of spunk and when I talk about spunk, I mean how Tina is. She is sassy, independent in a way, sarcastic, and strong. Her chemistry with Vince is off the charts and I swear I was going to quit reading if he didn't do exactly what he did early on. (again, I try not to spoil.)

Glynna was a good secondary character and I really loved the way she and Dare wanted to protect each other so much. I do wish I had gotten to know Ruthy a bit more because she seemed like she had a lot of spirit. All around the characters were well crafted, but my favorite easily was Tina.

So, I give this book a solid four stars simply because I didn't care much about the story unless it was about Tina and Vince's relationship. (Come on, that isn't much of a spoiler... right? Oh, well. If it is you can't say I didn't warn you!)

Review of 'Whispered Stories' by Brittany Jean

Brittany Jean has a lovely voice that sort of reminded me of Hayley Westenra only not as operatic. I really love the title because it is exactly what the CD is about - whispered stories. I really liked the photos included in the lyric booklet - the photo on the back of it was definitely my favorite photo of Brittany.

One of the songs I really liked was 'The Ballad of Wall' and even my mom who heard her music from downstairs thought it sounded really nice. Not overfly "folksy" and just all around a very nice CD.

The only drawback is that the music is soft and her voice is soft so if you are tired or driving - I don't recommend listening to it. However, if you have trouble sleeping or just have had a stressful day then I think this would be a wonderful choice to listen to in order to calm down or relax.

Brittany has a beautiful voice and is quite talented. Definitely a great CD! :)

Four and 1/2 stars out of five - simply because I wish there was one or two fast paced songs.

Review of 'Five Glass Slippers'

I had the chance to read an early copy of 'Five Glass Slippers' and was quite pleasantly surprised at how the five authors were able to take the traditional story of Cinderella and transform it into five very different stories!

Now, I won't lie - I love me some Cinderella stories in the classic sense, so when I heard they were taking the story and twisting it to make new types of plots I wasn't too sure about it. However, all around I am very impressed with each authors take on the storyline!

However, I am going to do a small review for each of the stories and exactly what I think of it. There are a few spoilers so if you don't want to read them, please quit reading now.





SPOILERS AHEAD!!!! 




What Eyes Can See:

The way it was written was great and the characters come across as very real. I do wish I knew more about Alfie and why she fell so in love with him because it seemed to come a bit from left field. Somehow I knew what was going to happen as far as the Prince was concerned before I even began reading, however this didn't pull away from my enjoyment of the story.

My biggest issue with it was the ending and how it just stopped. There was no kiss, no 'yes!' to his proposal, no anything other than just a cutoff ending. It was a wonderful ending don't get me wrong, but I wish it seemed more complete.



Broken Glass:

The characters were amazing! I truly felt like I grew to know them even though it was a 'short story'. The author wrote an amazing story all around, however I won't lie a few things did bug me.

There were too many uses of the characters' names. As a writer, you don't have to always say - 'David said this' (no, there is no David in the story - it is just used as an example) or 'Hannah laughed sarcastically while answering him' (again another example). You can use he or she or they. Now if there is a lot of characters talking in a scene, this is okay to do - using the characters' names - but if it the same two characters talking to each other, there is no reason to use their names over and over again.

Another issue I had was that it was rather predictable with who fell for who and when, however, predictable is not always bad as long as you do the story correctly and this author did! The characters were easily my favorite in this story out of all five.

Also, I LOVED the way she tied Beauty and the Beast into the ending - AWESOME! Wish I could read her take on B&B.

THE WINDY SIDE OF CARE:

This story was very well written with a wonderful use of vocabulary, but it was strange - I just couldn't get into it. The romance felt too rushed, and Pigeon is a very weird nickname. It had quite a cute ending though. Also, the characters were fairly well crafted.

A CINDER'S TALE:

First reaction - oh, it is time to tune out. (sorry, I am just not a big sy-fy fan!) However, I did grow to like it in a weird way and for that I have to blame the adorable characters! I didn't really care for the main character, but Jaq and Gus and Bruno were wonderful and very funny! Marriane is super adorable also and the clones were hysterical (like I really really liked them!)

Out of all the stories, this is my favorite line - “I have a very trustworthy face; people tell me things.” It reminded me of my sister. This story had an adorable ending also! While not exactly my type of story, the characters are simply charming. If you are a sy-fy fan and a cinderella fan, you will LOVE this story!

THE MOON MASTER'S BALL:

For the first few chapters, I was pretty bored (sorry, but it is true!) - it is not that it was not a good story or well written because it was both, BUT it was missing something to make it hook me. Rather lackluster. A really good thing is that I was NOT able to figure this story out unlike some of the others. It finally caught my attention around chapter six.

Mrs. Gregson was easily my favorite character from this story because she has spunk and spunk is a good thing in a character (at least in my opinion).

I loved the way she made the slippers sound so very lovely instead of 'glass slippers'. Tilly's character irritated me! She was scared more times than not and then when she wasn't scared she was rude! Granted the ending made her learn not to be so rude, but still... she bugged me (sorry, I am not trying to be too harsh.)

The story was good and most people will really like it - I guess it was just not for me. Sorry!

All in all, I really enjoyed this book collection and thought they each did a great job in their own unique way. I give it a solid four stars out of five because while I really liked it, I didn't love it.

Review of 'Silenced' by Dani Pettrey

Thank you to Bethany House for my copy in exchange for my honest review.

A few months ago, I got the chance to get a free copy of Stranded (the third book in the Alaskan Courage series) by Dani and fell in love with her style of writing as well as the characters - so when I saw they had copies of Silenced I knew right away I was going to get my request in as soon as possible to be able to review it. Thankfully I was one of the people who got that chance. :)

I first met Kayden and Jake's characters in Stranded (because I haven't gotten the opportunity to read the first two in the series, but I plan to!) and couldn't wait to discover what their storyline would be. Kayden reminded me a lot of myself in that book and even more in Silenced. (In fact, I took the Bethany House quiz about the main characters and it said I would be Kayden which I knew I would get her before I even took it.)

Crime, suspense, just a hint of romance, genuine and funny characters - Silenced has it all! I was just as impressed and obsessed with this one as I was with the third book and more than happy to add it to my growing collection of Dani Pettrey books.

My only complaint is that I had figured out who was doing everything before I even picked up the book! *sigh* I was hoping it would turn out to be someone I never would have expected, but it turned out to be exactly who I thought it was the whole time. However, despite that it was a wonderful book and it didn't bother me all that much that I was correct in my guess before I even began reading because Dani is just that great of a writer.

I am very excited for the next one in the series especially if it is about Kirra and Reef (love their relationship already and can see some of myself in Kirra as well. Interesting.).

The cover is gorgeous - whoever the model is she is absolutely beautiful. The Alaskan scenery is breath-taking as well. Perhaps one day I will get to see it in person.

All in all another wonderful book! I give it 4 1/2 stars though out of 5 simply because I was let down by being able to figure out the killer before I even picked it up.

Review of 'Death by the Book' by Julianna Deering

Thank you to Bethany House for my review copy!

I enjoyed the first book by Julianna so much that when I saw Bethany House had some advanced copies of the next one to read and review I knew without a doubt I wanted to review this one. I was super happy to have gotten my request in to review it and couldn't wait to get it into my possession.

Julianna did not let me down once! This book was even better than the last one and I couldn't stop my laughter and enjoyment. My first theory was so crazy I thought it had to be wrong, so I moved onto my second theory which was shot down within pages as that person turned up dead! I couldn't believe it! I really thought it had to have been that character.

However, as I read and pondered the mystery slowly unraveling within the plot the more I thought perhaps - just perhaps - my first theory would prove correct. In fact, things were looking like maybe I had actually figured it out, but then my hopes were dashed as that theory proved wrong!

Julianna is really good at making the last person you suspect be the killer! She did it in the first book and in this one as well! While I love the fact I couldn't figure it out (again!) I am also frustrated! I am normally really excellent at figuring murder mysteries out and mysteries in general - Julianna has stumped me each time.

The characters are lovely and the romance between Drew and Madeline is so sweetly perfect! I adore Nick - he makes me laugh almost all the time. Aunt Ruth entertained me to no end - I really did love her character and her addition to the storyline.

I hope Julianna doesn't stop this series anytime soon because it is quickly becoming one of my very favorites! Bethany House - if you carry another book of hers for review, you can bet as long as I can I shall request to review it! I LOVE her books!!

5 stars easily!

Review of ‘Until That Distant Day’ by Jill Stengl

Until That Distant Day is a very dramatic story. It goes from one extreme to the next and brings you on a true ride through Paris. Jill is a true story-teller and almost right away I was drawn into the story.

However, I was almost as quickly taken out of the story by all the French words and large uncommon English words. I studied very little French when I was in school, so I could fairly well piece together what was being said despite not fully knowing what each word or phrase meant in English.

I got to read this story as a file on the computer and so I didn’t know Jill had included a French glossary until after I had stumbled my way through and around the words I did not know. If I had the physical book in hand, I think it would have been a better help because then I could reference the glossary in the back.

Truth be told, I am not sure how many people will actually read the whole story because of all the French and the big English words. People who read a lot probably will have no issue reading this, however, I think some who don’t read as often or have a great education may have a fairly difficult time.

It is not that the story is not good because it is! – but it is rather exhausting trying to figure out what the French means or what the uncommon English words mean.

The characters are well described, the story has the strength to tug at your heart. My favorite characters are easily Leonie and Etienne (hopefully I spell his name correctly). I didn’t really care for Pascoe – in fact, there were moments when he flipped personalities so much it made my head spin.

There were moments I cried, a few moments I chuckled – but overall, I never fully got into the book the way I like to. In fact, if I am honest, I skimmed over the last hundred pages or so.

In short, it is a very well written novel with lots of dramatic twists and turns, the characters are well thought out and well written, but I found it to be simply a story and not a captivating work of art.

I give it a 3 ½ out of 5 and hope others find it to be more captivating than I did. However, Jill does have a talent for writing and I think she should continue to develop it.

Review of 'Caught in the Middle' by Regina Jennings

Thank you to Bethany House for my review copy.

The cover of this book makes me laugh - mostly because it reminds me of myself - and it actually describes the plot very well.

My favorite character is easily Nicholas Lovelace (though I find that a strange last name... not that I have room to talk since I am a writer myself and come up with some odd ones also.). I love how he pursues Anne despite her determination to push him away. Too many guys nowadays are scared to be the one who pursues the woman. The pursuit of a woman is not following her around and asking her out for years on end when she has told you repeatedly she is not interested. It is a fine line and Nicholas walks it well.

There is a lot of stuff happening within the first five or six chapters, it was kind of overwhelming. In fact, I almost wasn't sure if I would finish it because it was kind of boring and far too much involved at first. I am glad I pushed through though and finished the book because I genuinely love the characters.

All the background stuff about the bridge and the judge I skimmed over. I was more interested in the characters, how Anne and Nicholas interacted, how Anne fell in love with Sammy. My heart broke a little for Anne towards the end though I will not say as to why because I hate spoilers. However, the ending was beautiful.

Now since I was a bit bored I normally would give it a three or a four, but the relationship between the characters and the ending caused it to be boosted back to a five! Wonderful book!

Five out of Five stars! :)

Review of 'Destination Unknown' by Amy Clipston

Destination Unknown is a perfect book for those going through an 'identity crisis' because it is about a girl who goes through one and how God, friends, and family can all help you with it if you are willing to reach out to them.

Whitney and Taylor were good characters all around, but my favorite character was easily Emily. I adored all the talk about books though. (hello, book obsessed!)

There was only one problem I had with the story. All through out the book it was very real with the situations the characters were put in, the drama that developed, the relationships as they changed. However, the end was tied up like a neat little package.

I am all for happy endings, but this was just too perfect. It made all the real stuff seem pointless to have it end perfectly. Nothing in life is ever that perfect. I don't know I guess I was just expecting something different with how it ended.

Anyway, I enjoyed it a lot and give it a solid 3 1/2 stars. If the ending hadn't been so neatly tied together it would have gotten a higher rating from me. Teens will definitely like this book though.

Review of 'Minding Molly' by Leslie Gould

I got a copy of this book from Bethany House in exchange for my honest review.


Minding Molly was the first book I have ever read from Leslie Gould (though I own the other two - just haven't read them yet, but definitely am going to!) and it was the first Amish book I have read because of this I had a little bit of a tough time adjusting to Mamm for Mom and Dat for Dad as well as Denki for Thank you, but I adjusted fairly quickly.

The characters are quite captivating and I enjoyed almost all of them. Beatrice irritated me a little with her constantly complaining about Molly and Hannah was rather annoying due to her being so rude to her best friend - Molly. Maybe it is because Molly was the main character, but I felt bad for her being clearly misunderstood.

I mean, her dad had recently died and they were all acting like she was a terrible person because she was trying to stay strong for her family and keep the farm going. Yes, she was a bit too bossy and yes, she could have lightened up - but the other characters (in particular Hannah as her best friend) should have understood her whole life had been thrown into a complete tailspin and she was trying to stay above water.

Like I said, maybe I relate to Molly somewhat and that is why I got irritated with her friends and family.

Anyway, I really liked the way Leon and Molly interacted and the way Leon was from Montana. He seemed like a very good character though I wish there was a bit more of him in the book because it would have been good to see more of what caused Molly to fall so hard for him so quickly.

Overall, it was a cute story and I enjoyed it - but her friends and family really could have understood what was going on a bit better than they did. Perhaps that is a way different people respond to situations like that - I don't know.

I give it a solid four stars.