Ramblings

    The Beautiful Pretender by Melanie Dickerson is the second book in the "Medieval Fairy Tale" series, the first of which was The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest.  I really enjoyed the first book in this series, and I liked this one as well.  The main characters from the first book carried over into this book, but The Beautiful Pretender works as a stand-alone (although there were some funny moments that wouldn't be funny to those who weren't familiar with the original characters).  I've read several reviews saying that this is a "Beauty and the Beast" spinoff, and while I did sort of see that, I thought it was more of a "Princess and the Pea" spinoff.

     When the Margrave of Thornbeck inherits his title from his brother, he has to find himself a bride, and quickly.  He sends out an invitation to noblewomen nearby to come and stay at his place so he can get to know them and pick a bride.

     Avelina is Lady Dorothea's lady's maid.  When Lady Dorothea receives an invitation to stay at Thornbeck Castle, she realizes that she's already in love with one of her father's knights, and runs away to elope the night before she's scheduled to leave.  Lady Dorothea's father summons Avelina and commands that she go in her lady's place and receive provision for her family or be left destitute forever, Avelina is forced to go along with the deception.  All she has to do is not let the Margrave fall in love with her and say whatever she thinks her lady would've said.  Seems simple enough.

     I really enjoyed this book! The characters had great dialogue with each other and the elements of suspense did not seem overdone (although they were close).  This series is great for teen and tween-age girls who like historical fiction and twists on fairytales.  I know my younger sisters love these stories, and I do as well.

     Thank you so much to Harpercollins/Thomas Nelson publishers for providing me with a copy of this book to read and review.  All opinions are my own and were not required to be positive, nor was I compensated in any way aside from receiving the book itself.

    Unashamed by Christine Caine caught my eye as soon as I saw it in a newsletter I received from the publisher.  I have listened to several of Ms. Caine's messages online, and I have consistently been blessed, encouraged, strengthened, and challenged in each of them.  Thus, when I saw that she was coming out with a new book, I was excited.  Then I saw the title, and I knew I had to read it.  Receiving forgiveness and freedom from God has been a huge theme in my life over the past half decade, and I am slowly but steadily shaking off things that hinder me in my walk with Christ.  Even more so than that, I am learning that as hard as it is to do so, talking about things that I am ashamed to have done, thought, or said really helps me to heal from them and become victorious over them.  Our battle is a spiritual one, and our enemy wants to keep us from walking in our victory by shaming us about our past.  Christ has already conquered both our past and our future, and if you or someone you know is looking for a resource to help them become overcomers, then this is the book for you.  Christine Caine is straightforward and passionate about helping others grow in their faith.  It's not an easy life, but it sure is a rewarding one.  

     Thank you so much to Zondervan and the Book Look Bloggers program for providing me with a copy of this book to read and review.  All opinions are my own and were not required to be positive, nor were they affected by anything other than the book itself.  I was not compensated in any way other than receiving a copy of the book.

    Remember to Forget by Ashley Royer is published by Thomas Nelson.  As a reviewer, being the same age as the author, I say kudos to her and her success.  While I could tell that she wasn't as "polished", if you will, as professional writers, I thought that she did a good job, and many teenage girls will enjoy this story.  This was originally written as a fan fiction for a band called 5 Seconds of Summer (which I will admit that I'm not familiar with their songs, but was still able to enjoy the story).

     Levi recently lost his girlfriend and is not only grieving, but is suffering emotionally and mentally.  His mom sends him from his Australian home to his dad's house in Maine.  It is there that he begins to heal as he meets a girl who reminds him of the one whom he lost.

     Delilah's curiosity is piqued by the new boy in town, but is put off by his rude ways (as was I).  As she slowly gets to know him, she begins to feel sympathy for him and a desire to get to know him better.

     As a young adult novel, I thought this was fairly good.  I read it while recovering in bed from a surgery, so it's not like I had much better to do, otherwise I may have lost interest earlier.  I did think it was a sweet story and it helped to pass the time.  I found a handful of typos, but I believe I received an advanced copy, so they may have been changed by the time a copy is purchased.

     Thank you so much to Thomas Nelson and their Book Look bloggers program for providing me with a copy of this book to read and review.  All opinions are my own and were not required to be positive.

     A Spy's Devotion by Melanie Dickerson is the first regency romance book by this author, as she usually does fairytale retellings.  I've read many, many reviews saying that Melanie Dickerson makes the transition well from fairytale to regency, but I personally have to disagree.  The majority of the book seemed to just be ball this, fancy dress that.  It was stereotypical to me, and not very romantic.  The pace seemed slow and the time period and spy-intrigue part of the plot seemed too unoriginal.  

     Julia Grey is your average girl in England: if she doesn't marry, and soon, she'll be resigned to the place of a governess.  Penniless.  She's getting older, after all, and lives with her aunt, uncle, and cousin.  She also unfortunately has a crush on the same guy that her cousin does, and discovers a dangerous plot against the crown.

     Nicolas Langdon is a spy for the crown, and has to enlist Julia's help when she becomes tangled up in the plot.  Can he keep himself from getting tangled up in a relationship with her meanwhile?

     As stated previously, I just didn't care for this book.  I think Ms. Dickerson has done better in the past (The Golden Braid excluded) with fairytale retellings.  I do enjoy Regency time-period stories, so I think it's really just that this one seemed so predictable (numerous balls, spying from a nearby closet, tip-toeing, etc.) that it just didn't keep my attention.  I never really connected to the characters either.  I do still plan to continue to read more by this author, I just would not recommend this book to fans of her previous works.

     Thank you to Waterfall Press and Net Galley for providing me with an electronic copy of this book to read and review.  All opinions are my own and were not required to be positive.

    A Daring Sacrifice by Jody Hedlund is the second book in the "An Uncertain Choice" series, but it works as a stand-alone.  The series follows the adventures of the Duke's three best knights, first introduced in An Uncertain Choice, and this book specially follows Collin Goodrich.

     Julianna Wessex has noble blood in her veins, but was forced out of her home by her evil uncle when she was a child and her father was killed in an uprising against said uncle.  She now hides in the forest and in a Robin Hood type of way, she provides for the poor whom her father was trying to help before his passing.  Anyone who's looking in from the outside would never guess that underneath her forest garb is a feisty redhead who will fight her justice.

     Collin Goodrich is a nobleman who knew Julianna when they were kids, and when she swoops down out of a tree and robs him, he's amused when he discovers his "attacker" is a girl.  He tracks her and when he discovers that she's one and the same with the girl of his childhood who was rumored to have died alongside her father, he is shocked.  He feels very protective of her, and wants to help her in any way that he can.  But will her pride stay in the way?

     I really liked this book!! I thought it was better than the first one, which can be unusual in sequels.  I did think that the romance went a little too quickly, but this was addressed in the discussion questions.  Which, by the way, this book had excellent discussion questions for teen girls and would be fantastic for a book club.  They were thought-provoking and pulled out issues in the story that I don't typically find in the discussion questions sections.

     Thank you so much to Zondervan and BookLook bloggers for providing me with a copy to read and review.  All opinions are my own and were not required to be positive.