Ramblings

  My Top Ten Favorite Books of 2013

1. Gunpowder Tea      

2. Undeniably Yours     

3. Barefoot Summer  

4. Gone with the Wind 

5.  The Miner's Lady     

6. Elusive Hope      

7. Glittering Promises     

8. It Happened at the Fair      

9. Jasmine     

10. Stealing the Preacher     

"Sabrina's Man"

     "Sabrina's Man" is written by Gilbert Morris and published by Barbour Publishing.  It was published on December 1, 2013.  This is the second book in the "Western Justice" series; the first is "Rosa's Land" and the third, expected release in June 2014, and is "Raina's Choice." 

     "Sabrina's Man" is set during the Civil War, which drew me because I had just finished "Gone with the Wind".  In hindsight, I should not have expected this to be anything near that classic, but with "Gone with the Wind" fresh it my mind, it made it hard not to compare.   The main characters take past over half of the book to be introduced to each other, which made me do a triple-check to make sure that I even had the right book downloaded! This book struck me as childishly written; perhaps it is this author's first book, but the dialogue, characters, and pace of the plot all seemed much less than professional to me.  Everything seemed so rushed in the beginning, yet the book took a long time to come together.

     Thank you to Net Galley and Barbour publishing for providing me with a copy of this book to read and review.  I was not required to post a positive review.  All opinions are my own.

"Country Faith"

     "Country Faith" is a collection of stories, hope, faith, and God's love from today's leading country artists.  All fifty-six selections were compiled by Deborah Evans Price and published by Zondervan.  This is pretty much set up in a devotional type format, with a few short paragraphs per singer.  Each singer has their picture, their favorite Bible verse or passage, and what that verse or passage means to them.  I found this particularly uplifting to see the hope and faith in so many of their lives.  This makes a wonderful present for any country music lover, and is very inspirational.  I thoroughly enjoyed it, and while I received a free copy in exchange for my review, I may go and buy several more; it’s just that good.  In addition, one percent of the proceeds from this book go to benefit the "Sophia's Heart Foundation".  This book contains insight from Miranda Lambert, Brad Paisley, Alan Jackson, Florida Georgia Line, Charlie Daniels, and many, many more, as well as a few of my personal favorites: Lauren Alaina, Carrie Underwood, Scotty McCreery, and Hunter Hayes.  Also, printed in the back of this book is the Gospel of Mark.  All of the Scripture is taken from the New International version, unless otherwise noted.  There is a foreword by Josh Turner, as well as a passage from him.

     Thank you so very much to Book Sneeze and Zondervan for providing me with a copy of this book to read and review.  All of my opinions are my own, and they were not required to be positive.

"Pirates on the Farm"

     "Pirates on the Farm" is written by Denette Fretz, illustrated by Gene Barretta, and published by Zonderkidz.  It was published on August 24, 2013, and is intended for children ages 4-8.  It is in "The Next Door Series".

     This is a very cute story about a proper southern family of farmers.  They have new next door neighbors, a shipful of swaggering pirates who traded life on the high seas for farming, even though they have no expertise in the lifestyle.  The story is told from a first-person viewpoint of the oldest child, a daughter, in the southern family.  She has a little brother named Joey who is very enthusiastic about the new neighbors.  The daughter herself does not quite know what to think of them; we read as she tells about her mother, father, and younger brother's reactions to the new farmers, as well as the effect on the town.  Most of the people view the pirates negatively at first, but it all wraps up in a neat and tidy, if not easy to miss, package on loving thy neighbor.  I say "easy to miss" because the story's main resolution is in the pictures, and not actual words. 

     Personally, I found the dialogue and pirates charming, however, I have read several books on pirates.  For four to eight year olds, they would not understand many of the words, terms, or irony, of the story.  At the back of the book, there is a glossary of pirate lingo, simplified into....worse pirate lingo.  This is not a good book for children because of the lack of comprehension they will most likely have.  However, if you're an adult, you'll find this book amusing, if you really want to resort to buying a children's book to amuse yourself.

     Thank you to BookSneeze, as well as Zonderkidz, for providing me with a copy of this book to read and review.  I was not required to write a positive review. 

"City on Fire"

     "City on Fire" is a novel written by Tracy L. Higley and recently republished by Thomas Nelson.

     This novel is set in the ancient city of Pompeii in the time leading up to the eruption. It was certainly an interesting read and a fresh perspective on the ancient world, Christianity, gladiators, slaves, and politics of the time. At the end of the book is a fascinating historical note on Mount Vesuvius and a reading group guide.

     Ariella, a runaway Jewish slave, becomes a gladiator in the arena.  When she is transferred to Cato, a wealthy politician's house, he acts oddly around her.

     Cato can't afford to take notice of the new slave in his house as he prepares for the next election.  However, when their lives are thrust together to save their loved ones, will discover more about each other?

     Personally, I found this book to be slow-moving and hard to get into.  It has a historically interesting setting, what seem like would be strong characters, and a predictable plot, even though it is outrageously hard to imagine.

      I received this book complimentary from Thomas Nelson's Book Sneeze program in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own. I was not required to provide a positive review.