Ramblings

Hey everyone, long time no see! I just realized that I never mentioned to you all that I moved my blog from this website to here.  Please forgive my lack of updates and do go check out the new blog site!

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A Book Lovers Thoughts

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    Just a Kiss is the third book in the Summer Harbor series, written by Denise Hunter and published by Thomas Nelson.  I have really enjoyed this series, and am sad to see it end.  I was hoping that this would be the best book of the series, but for some reason, something felt off about it to me.  The story seemed to be researched with regard to Riley's injury, but, well, I don't know. Riley's character didn't seem as realistic as he did in book one.

     Paige Warren has always had a thing for the Callahan boys.  First she was best friends with Riley through tough personal problems of her own, then she dated the eldest, Beau, which made Riley crazy, then after Riley enlists to get away from seeing Beau and Paige together and returns, she's caring for Riley.

     Riley Callahan has always loved Paige, and it was torturous to watch her with his brother.  Thus, he enlisted into the Marines--only to have the couple break up around his going-away party.  Now back from deployment with one less leg than he left with, Riley has mixed feelings about seeing Paige again.  On one hand, he is excited to be reunited with her after all their Skype chats, but on the other hand, he doesn't feel worthy to be with her because of his survivor's guilt, PTSD, and one leg.

     I wish that I could pin down what felt "off" in this book.  Maybe it was the fact that Riley had to stay at Paige's house during his recovery.  Or that Riley didn't seem as realistic of a PTSD victim as did Jake Porter in Becky Wade's A Love Like Ours.  Maybe it was how Paige and Riley fought over stupid things and had poor communication even though they were supposed to have this great, long-lasted friendship.  Friends have to know how to communicate.  Maybe it was also that the climax seemed weak, and the romance not as strong as in the first two books.

     Really though, I did enjoy this book--I read it over one weekend.  I would still recommend reading it, especially after reading the other two in the series, although it does work as a standalone.  It was a sweet story, and I hope I didn't dissuade anyone from reading this, as it is still worth reading.  I only wanted to explain why it was four instead of five stars for me.

     Thank you so much to Thomas Nelson 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.

    She Walks in Power is the first book in a new medieval romance series called "Protectors of the Spear" by MaryLu Tyndall.  I have been eagerly awaiting this new release and I am so pleased that it is finally here! Fans of Tyndall may worry that this isn't a pirate book like most of her others, but I can assure you that it is still phenomenal.  Also, there seems to be quite the trend recently with young adult red-headed heroines in the Christian fiction market.  Authors including Jody Hedlund, Melanie Dickerson, and now MaryLu Tyndall have all recently released novels with this in common, but again, I can assure you that this book is still worth the read; it stands out among the rest and is in fact my favorite of the three.

     The novel centers around a girl of noble birth who is hiding out in the woods since an assassination plot on her life almost a decade before the book begins.  She is a follower of Christ and has been gifted with a spirit of discernment, which may be disconcerting for some readers, but I believe in it and loved to see it interwoven into current fiction.  Anyway, this girl, Alexa, was entrusted by her mother with the spearhead that pierced Christ's body to ensure he was dead on the cross.  This has been passed down through the ages in the story, and is now protected by Alexa.  Alexa is also a Robin Hood type figure, who hunts in the forest where she lives for food for nearby villagers.  She also tries to keep crime low and morale high.

     Ronar is a local knight who happens to be traipsing through Alexa's forest one day.  Naturally, she attacks him, and naturally, he fights back and tries to catch her before realizing that she is a woman.  This catches both of them off guard: Ronar isn't used to being ambushed, and Alexa's not used to being caught.  The story that ensues from this meeting follows the two as they try to follow God, defeat evil, and per the series title, protect the spear.

     I have been a fan of MaryLu's writing for many years now, and I must say that this is one of her best books yet.  I loved, loved, loved the spiritual aspects woven in, the characters were so fun to read about, and the plot was very unique.  The only thing that I could complain about was that the story's narration jumped to and fro from four or five different characters--some of which weren't even main characters.  It was very confusing and frustrating, but not enough to dissuade someone from reading the book over.

     Thank you so much to the author for providing me with a electronic copy of this book to read and review.  All opinions are my own and were not required to be positive.

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention/review it on my blog. I was not required to give a positive review, only my honest opinion - which I've done. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own and I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.*

     Uninvited is the latest release by Lysa Terkeurst.  I've really enjoyed her past releases and have found them to be very relatable.  This was no different. 

     Uninvited discusses the power of rejection.  With real-life anecdotes from the author and applicable Scripture verses, this book really touched me.  I think everyone has dealt with rejection in one form or another; I know I have.  Uninvited not only provided ways to deal with past rejection, but also helped to prepare for similar pains in the future.  This is a book that you will want to buy in paperback so that you can properly highlight it and write notes in the margin.  I would highly recommend this to all women, especially those who are teens or above.  It's a message that will appeal to many generations.  In addition, I have heard that all of the profits of this book are going to charity.  Also, I just really love the cover. :) 

     Thank you so much to Thomas Nelson publishers and their Book Look bloggers program, as well as Net Galley, 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. 

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention/review it on my blog. I was not required to give a positive review, only my honest opinion - which I've done. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own and I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.* 

    A Heart Most Certain by Melissa Jagears is in the Teaville Moral Society series and is published by Bethany House.  I've enjoyed previous books by this author because of her sense of humor, so I was looking forward to this book.

     I have mixed reactions to this book.  For one, the hero greatly challenged and encouraged the heroine in her faith and acts of service, which is something that I personally think makes a hero attractive.  However, I've read other books with similar plots--two people unfriendly towards each other, need to help each other out for common and mutual benefit, fall in love--but with those other books, the dialogue between the hero and heroine was much more witty and fun to read.  Thus, the hero of this book seemed more dull and empty.  So on one hand, he sharpened and refined the heroine's strengths, but on the other hand, he wasn't very interesting--and I personally believe that he had the potential to be both.  

     I still flew through reading this book, but it was slightly tedious in parts because there was no dialogue that kept me entertained while still promoting the message.  All in all, I think that this book did have a good message and was thought provoking, and I would recommend it.

     Thank you so much to Net Galley and Bethany House publishers 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.