Book Review: Love is a Battlefield

7 Days of Romance

Kristy is a park ranger at Shiloh Monument National Park in Tennessee and was just left at the altar in front of all her friends and family. To make it worse, she already put in her notice to leave her beloved position at the park after the wedding. Her boss has already filled her position with a new ranger from out-of-state and Kristy is forced to accept a seasonal position. The new guy even gets her yellow office. Kristy tries hard not to like him, but it's hard to resist his charm...

Love is a Battlefield was a cute novel that had a bit of mystery thrown in. I do wish the mystery was better developed and maybe lasted throughout the whole book, rather than being solved in the middle. The mystery was really kind of what kept me turning the pages. So once it was solved I didn't really have much reason to keep reading. 

The book was still decent and the romance was cute. There was some drama as well and I liked how the main characters of books two and three were introduced in this book. I look forward to reading their stories as well. I am giving Love is a Battlefield 3 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: Sushi For One?

I won this book from a giveaway on the author's blog. Yay! I think I won it over the summer and I've finally got around to reading it. I have so many book in my to-read pile, but this one got a good boost thanks to the praise of my friend Kim, who raved about how great this series is. Kim and I are both members of a Christian reading group on Goodreads, called Christian Fiction Devourers, and she and I were discussing how Christian Fiction often is so predictable. The books always seem to be the same themes and types of characters. Most Christian readers are familiar with the Wild West and prairie themes. Poor white woman who has just experienced some mildly traumatic event, must rely on her faith to propel her through life on the vast and lonely prairie where she subsequently falls in love with a kind man (and with a little bit of money to boot!) whom she probably has, for most of the book, disliked. 

Camy Tang is definitely a breath of fresh air. The first thing that drew me to this book was that the main character is Asian and not white. That is beyond unique in Christian book. Another thing that drew me towards this book is that after telling Kim how I often feel like Christian books "dumb me down" and how I feel like I'm reading a few "grade-levels" below my actual reading level, she raved about how Camy's writing does not give her that feeling at all.  She was certainly correct, Camy Tang's writing is smart, sassy, witty, and really humorous. The main character, Lex, is always finding herself in embarrassing situations. The character was reminiscent to me of Janet Evanovich's popular, accident-prone character, Stephanie Plum (whom I adore). However Lex was totally her own person, not like a borrowed, Christian version of Stephanie. 

Honestly, Lex wasn't always likable. I did like her, but she wasn't perfect and sweet all the time, which was a good thing. She was stubborn and frustrating and she herself was frustrated with how life was going. Her grandma, who is like Cruella Deville, is going to stop funding Lex's girl's volleyball team. The team is everything to Lex, she coaches the girls just as her mom did before her death. Grandma will pull funding if Lex doesn't find a boyfriend by the time of Lex's cousin's wedding, which is something like a mere 2 months away. Lex then goes on a man-hunt (literally) looking for someone to pose as her boyfriend, all the while various family members try to set her up with a myriad of total losers. None of which fit her "Ephesians List". On the top of the list is that her boyfriend has to be a Christian, which Lex soon finds doesn't immediately make a man desirable...

I certainly enjoyed this book and I'm looking forward to eventually getting around to reading the rest in the series. I think I already own one on my Kindle, but it's the third or fourth book. I am giving Sushi For One? 4 out of 5 stars. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun read that occasionally touches on serious subjects.

Entry: A Number Written in Letters

Book Review: Twice Loved

Christmas Reading

Twice Loved is a short Christmas novella set right after the end of World War II. I really loved this book and I almost wish it were longer or a full-length novel. I've never read anything from the author before, since she predominately writes Amish novels and I'm not such a fan of those.

The main character, Audrey, is a struggling single mom widowed when her husband was killed in Pearl Harbor. She receives her two weeks notice from her job and begins to seek a new one. That's when she sees an ad in the newspaper for a position available at a used toy store called Twice Loved. The owner, Dan, is also a widower who runs a photography studio in the back of Twice Loved. Twice Loved was his late wife's business.

Audrey eagerly accepts the position and everything begins to work out wonderfully. She gets along great with her handsome new boss and together they restore each other's lost Christmas cheer. There's a little bit of drama when another woman attempts to pursue Dan, but that is quickly resolved. This novel was really cute, sometimes overly sentimental, but still a romantic (and short!) Christmas read. I am giving Twice Loved 4 out of 5 stars.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: A Family For Christmas

Christmas Reading

I know most readers frown upon Harlequin, but I really like these books as of late. I have many of them that I really need to get around to reading. I've enjoyed all that I've read so far. I find that I especially like the two that I've read that are set in the American West, mainly Texas. There's something about Texas that makes it a great setting for books, it's certainly a preferred setting for Christian authors.

A Family For Christmas begins when Eve Pickering travels by train to Tyler, Texas where she is to take up a position in a milliner's shop. During the train ride a young boy, whom Eve has befriended, is found to be a stowaway. When he is kicked off the train at a stop in Turnabout, Texas Eve doesn't have the heart to see the boy stranded alone in a strange town. She gives up her seat- and possibly her job offer at the milliner's shop- and gets off the train to watch over the young boy. A witness to her kindness, Chance Dawson, invites Eve and the boy to stay in his home until they find a new home for him. 

This book was cute, cozy, and homey. While it was wholesome, it was never preachy. I liked both the main characters, Eve and Chance, and I enjoyed reading about the town of Turnabout. I would now to like to read the previous two books in the series. As Harlequin is famous for doing, the author has taken a small town and made a series out of the lives of the people who reside there. What I love about this, is you don't typically need to read the books in order. Past characters may make appearances in new books, but their stories aren't important to the stories of the new books, at all. 

I enjoyed this light-hearted romance and I'm giving A Family For Christmas 4 out of 5 stars.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: My Name Used To Be Muhammad

My Named Used To Be Muhammad is the true story of a man who converted from Islam to Christianity. What struck my interest and made me want to read this book was the Christian sect he converted to is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which I'm a member of. Also, this is the first book I've came across written about someone converting from Islam to Christianity. I do own a book that's the opposite, about women who've converted from Christianity to Islam, though I haven't read it yet.

The book starts off in Tito's (formerly Muhammad) homeland of Nigeria. Tito was raised in a very strict and devout Muslim community, where his father was a church elder and respected member and businessman in the community. His father pressured him since he was a child, as young as five-years-old, to become a member of the Muslim clergy. His father's dream took him to an Islamic school in Syria, that became a sort of nightmare for Tito, but gave him his first exposure to both Christianity and fundamentalist Islam. After he was kicked out of the school, he returned to Nigeria much to the dismay of his father and was later sent off to an Islamic University in Cairo, Egypt. This is where the story of Tito's conversion really begins.

Despite Islams strict rules against alcohol, Tito gets involved in Cairo's club scene. He found himself drinking heavily and partying almost daily, all while studying to become a religious leader. One day he catches up with a friend that he used to party with, but hadn't seen in a while. He learns that this friend is no longer drinking or smoking cigarettes. At first, Tito is confused and in disbelief. He then learns that his friend has joined a Christian church by the name of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Like Islam, LDS doesn't approve of drinking alcohol, but they also disapprove of cigarettes which Islam doesn't have any regulation against. Tito's friend invites him to come to a church service with him, from then on Tito is hooked.

At the same time, Tito is writing his thesis paper to receive his PH.D in Islamic Studies from one of the top Islamic Universities in the world. During his research for his paper he begins questioning Islam. He has learned through a series of events in his past to never outwardly question Islam and the teachings of it's prophet so he begins to keep his own notes on the subject. Reading banned books that question the Prophet Muhammad, one subject that seems to be a turning point in his loss of faith seems to be that the Prophet took a Christian wife. He says, "The realization that the prophet of Islam had taken a Christian servant as a polygamous wife didn't sit well with me. I could not come to grips with the idea that a prophet with so many wives needed yet another wife, especially a beautiful young Christian, added to his harem."

Ooookayyy. Tito still resides in Africa and being that he was in prison for 15 years he has had a fairly sheltered life. So maybe he hasn't been exposed to the fact that Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith WAS ALSO A POLYGAMOUS. Can someone get this guy the internet? And newsflash, Joseph Smith had more wives than Muhammad who weighs in at somewhere between 11 to 13 wives. Joseph Smith allegedly had 27 wives, plus Emma. Some reports are much higher than that though and that number is nothing in comparison to LDS's second prophet Brigham Young who had upwards of 50-something wives, according to most sources. Muhammad now seems like a pretty chaste and humble guy in comparison.  

I'm not trying to sound ignorant or blasphemous- maybe Tito does have the internet- but also maybe the polygamous past of The Church has just conveniently never came up in conversation during his conversion process or subsequent church conversations. I just sort of feel like someone like his editor or co-author could have just sort of mentioned that to him when he wrote/they read that part. I feel like maybe the guy was a little misled. I'm not sure how the church is conducted in Ghana or Egypt, but here in the US the missionaries and I had a jolly good time talking about church history and while they seemed a bit shy and embarrassed about polygamy they had a great message about how prophets are people who make mistakes, too.

Anyhow, so Tito is thrown in jail after he accidentally turns in the notebook with his notes questioning the prophet instead of the notebook with his official Islam-approved thesis paper. This sort of shocked me because I had kind of thought Egypt was a more open-minded place than that. However, I guess there's still a lot of religious tension even though Egypt does have a decent-sized Christian population (about 5-20% of it's people). The biggest problem seemed to be not that he was a Christian, rather a Christian convert. His life gets pretty scary and out-of-control after that. 

The time Tito spends in prison was horrifying to read about. His story was also incredibly inspiring. It makes me so happy to both live in a country where I can worship how and who I want without persecution and be a member of a Church that believes in and supports religious freedom. In the Mormon Church, the 11th Article of Faith states, "We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may." 

My Name Used To Be Muhammad was a supremely inspirational memoir. However, at times I did find myself frustrated and annoyed with the author and not to mention depressed. I'm giving this book 3 out of 5 stars. 

Book Review: Pennsylvania Patchwork

By Kate Lloyd

This is the first Amish book I've read and let me tell you, this did not make a good first impression. In hindsight, maybe I should have started with some of the more popular authors and series in the genre. Oh look, it's my best friend regret. Back by popular demand. Not. It doesn't help that I don't even like Amish people. They call themselves plain for a reason folks and fictionalized books about their people don't do much to spruce up their lives either. This book was plain, it was boring, it was dull. The most exciting thing that happened was one of the main characters- and I don't even know which because they both seemed like they were the same person with a different name- received a slutty looking doll in the mail or some hookerish satin fabric from Vietnam or something or both. I don't know. It was so stupid. 

I read up to the 50% mark and I had to quit. I'm not a quitter. I may quit one or two books a year. It has to be bad. This was bad. If it wasn't an eBook I'd just throw it in the dumpster. I wouldn't even give it away. No one deserves a crappy book like this. There were so many freaking things going on. It was like Amish Jerry Springer, but less trashy. I'm just going to have to list the things that I can recall:

-There's a mother and daughter who just moved to Amishland from Seattle. They owned a store in Seattle selling fake Amish goods, mostly made in China. The mother grew up Amish, but left for a man I think. But, maybe he was Amish too. He's dead now... or is he?

-The mother is now engaged to a younger man?

-The younger man has a brother which the daughter is engaged to?

-The brother of the younger man which the daughter is engaged too has an English woman whom he slept with... or was maybe married too or in a relationship of some sort with. Maybe they were just friends with benefits :::shrug:::. So, they have a secret son together. He's a real nice guy and denies that he's the father. So, they go on Maury for a paternity test.

-I'm just kidding they didn't go on Maury. At least not in the first half of the book. I'm not sure what happens in the last half and I don't want to know.

-While all this is happening (mind you, we're still in the first half of the book) either the mother or daughter starts receiving mysterious mail from Florida regarding the dead father/husband.

-There's some sort of mystery about did the father/husband really die. A doll and some fabric that's supposed to be from Vietnam and a gift from the dead father/husband arrives.

-The mother and grandmother get into a physical altercation that actually lands the grandma in the hospital.

-A man who isn't all the way Amish starts flirting with the daughter. She likes him, but she has that darn fiance who may be an English woman's baby daddy.

-Another man shows up and goes on a road trip with the kinda Amish man. I can't remember why they go on a road trip, but I think it's too Ohio.

All these things above are happening as each chapter flip-flops between the mother and daughter's perspectives. The mother is childish and immature, so I kept getting really confused about which one I was currently reading about. This book was like overload for me, but it was amazingly DULL at the same time. 

1 out of 5 stars.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book courtesy of David C. Cook in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: The Gladiator

By Carla Capshaw

"You're in love with a Christian, but you've killed her kind. Now you're laboring with the question of how to win her affection without having to admit your guilt or share her faith."

First, let me say that at my job I sometimes do work for the Harlequin Reader Service. The company I work for is contracted through Harlequin. This is only the second Harlequin book I've read, usually I'm somewhat apprehensive about picking them up. I do fear they'll be cheesy, but I've been wanting to read more of the Harlequin books I have around, because I did enjoy the first one I read and second because I like to sound educated about the products I work with. 

Judging from the two I've read, yes they can be sort of cheesy at times, but I think that's a trait found throughout Christian romances. Love Inspired is Harlequin's line of Christian romances. I did find The Gladiator to probably be one of the more unique titles. I heard great things about this one, so I found it on PaperBackSwap and now here I am writing a review of it. 

The story starts off with the female lead, Pelonia, on her way to Rome for her cousin Tiberia's wedding. Things don't go as planned and she ends up captured and sold into slavery in the home and gladiatorial training school of Caros Viriathos. Pelonia is a Christian and at this point in history being Christian within the Roman Empire meant death. Many times Christians were executed in the arena with thousands of spectators cheering for their deaths. Caros, a former gladiator, finds himself drawn to the beautiful Pelonia's spirit. There's something different about her and he soon learns it's her faith. Pelonia and Caros share a mutual attraction, but Pelonia won't share her life with someone who doesn't share her faith.

I did enjoy this book, however I found it a bit boring at times. I really can't pinpoint what it was that was boring, but I'd find my mind wandering while reading it. That might say more about my own attention span rather than the actual story. Ancient Rome is not a point in history that particularly intrigues me, but I've only read a few books set during this time period and culture, so it was a unique setting to me personally. The closest I've probably read to this setting is Theodora: Actress, Emperess, Whore. At times while reading The Gladiator I was also reminded of the Starz show Spartacus. I felt the author really did a great job at portraying the grittiness of that empire and how twisted the lifestyles and dirty the society was, while still keeping the book clean and within Christian standards.

I personally, wouldn't have minded having an x-rated copy of this book. Maybe Harlequin has something similar in one of their more "adult" lines. Gladiator + slave = yes please. Slaves during these times were often used for more than just cleaning *ahem*. The only thing that would ruin it is that I wasn't a big fan of Caros. He is supposedly pretty hot, but his personality ruined it for me. He was sort of soft to me. Maybe because I did want to see a more rough and dominating male as the love interest. But then, I had to remind myself, "settle down this is a Christian romance..."

Anyhow, I'm giving The Gladiator 3 out of 5 stars. I think if you're new to Love Inspired Romances this would probably be a good place to start. From what I can tell on Goodreads it's probably one of the most popular in that entire line of romances.

Book Review & Giveaway: The Reason

As I was reading this book I kept thinking "how am I going to describe this to my blog followers?" Honestly, I'm still not sure. There's so many things that happen that I want to tell you about, but I can't because I don't want to spoil it. There's lots of surprises and little twists throughout the book so I'm going to give you a basic breakdown of the characters as they are in the beginning and sort of give a description of the book through describing them.

Brooke and Alex- Brooke is a hardworking single mom, her son Alex hasn't been feeling well and Brooke just knows there's something wrong. Brooke and Alex live with Pastor Jim and his wife, Shirley.

Pastor Jim- Blind pastor of a small congregation of only about twenty.

Charlie- Pastor Jim's adult son, due to a complication at birth he has never spoke. Best friend of 5-year-old Alex.

Carla- Brooke's best friend trying to overcome her addiction to alcohol. Carla is haunted by her past.

Macey Lewis- A pediatric oncologist at the local hospital. She is one of the best and devoted to her job.

Kaitlyn- A nurse at the hospital and good friend of Macey.

Zach Norman- Conceited doctor at the hospital, ex-boyfriend of Kaitlyn, and friend of Macey.

Kenneth- A mysterious new carpenter in town, strange things often seen as miracles seem to happen around him.

What I really liked about this book is that this book focuses on multiple characters rather than just one. There's really no main character. However, where in some books having so many characters at the forefront of the story may seem confusing (at least to me, you guys know I'm easily confused) the author did a great job at highlighting the stories of each character, making them all seem like individuals (rather than variations of each other), and weaving their lives together nicely. The story line was very clear and well-written.

I really liked the mystery element surrounding the character of Kenneth, the carpenter. Who is Kenneth? I think it's obvious right off the bat that Kenneth is some divine force. In the author interview in the back of the book when asked, "Who is Kenneth?" William Sirls answered, "Kenneth is an instrument of God's glory. I've heard readers call him an angel, a prophet, Jesus, and even God himself. One of them is correct." Honestly, I never thought he was anything but Jesus until I read the interview. I can now see him in the role of all the others, but since his occupation was in the field of carpentry my mind went straight to Jesus. Whoever he is, the scenes with him truly are special. 

The motto throughout this book is "only believe". Those two words pop up everywhere and Kenneth is constantly telling characters to "only believe" right up until the big miracle at the end. There's lots of miracles in this book, but the end is amazing. I just love how everything is wrapped up so nicely. The author seemed to not leave any detail out that I can think of. Even a minor character is caught up with in the end and I'm curious to know if we will see this story continued through him. William Sirls storytelling is both simple and intricate all at the same time. His storytelling is very thorough without being overwhelming, wordy, or burdensome. 

I can honestly say that the only downfall to this book is that it was hard to read at times for me personally. As a mother of a five-year-old little boy, the last quarter of the book pertaining to Alex was extremely difficult emotionally. This is the first book I've read in a long time that was a true tearjerker. Often when I'm reading a book I think, "oh, that's sad" but in this book I felt sad. There's a lot of emotional ups and downs in the book. Both amazing things and upsetting things happen. I love that the characters are so human in dealing with these things.

To wrap it up- because I can't talk anymore without giving all the wonderful surprises found in this book away, I am giving this book 4 out of 5 stars. As someone who usually sticks to cheery Christian romances, I wasn't sure how much I'd like this book. It's not a romance, but I found that a bit of a relief. At times it was a struggle because some of the content is heavy, but it was very true-to-life and I feel like sad and/or challenging books really help me grow. When I think back, some of my all-time favorite books were emotionally heavy. We The Living by Ayn Rand, She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb, White Oleander by Janet Fitch, The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, and The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath- just to name a few. 

You know, it's really almost like Heavenly Father is placing these books in my life for a reason. This is the second book that by sheer luck I've been asked to read for review that I wouldn't have picked up on my own. The first was Daughter of Jerusalem by Joan Wolf and now this one. I'm really fortunate to have had the random opportunities to read these books. I hope that others will be as blessed by these stories as me.

Giveaway

I have five SIGNED(!!) paperback copies of The Reason to give away. What makes this giveaway so special is that the books will actually be sent to you directly from the author and of course, he's so kindly offered to sign them. Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below and the winner will be randomly selected. US addresses only, please.

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Book Review: Talon: Combat Tracking Team

When Aspen Courtland's twin brother, Austin, is declared MIA while serving in Afghanistan she doesn't believe her brother is MIA or "presumed dead". With the aid of his tracking dog, Talon, and a slew of his combat buddies and other military personnel she travels to Djibouti to determine what has happened to him. There's so much going on in this book, but that is basically the driving force behind the story line. 

This book was really overwhelming. It was non-stop action and not in a good way. It never settled down or had moment in between the action where the reader is able to get to know the characters. I was so confused the whole time while reading this book. One problem was that I couldn't keep track of all the characters. Half way through the book I discovered that what I thought was two separate (minor) characters were actually one character. This is because every character has several names they go by. First name, last name, and nick name. Some even have alternate identities added to the mix. I admit, I didn't read the first book. However, I don't think that was why I couldn't keep up. The first book in the series, Trinity, appears to focus on a character only mentioned a few times in this book and this story is totally separate from that one.

I also felt like the characters were all either very distinct stereotypes or were all placed in the book to serve one very definite purpose and those characters had no interactions outside of whatever served their purpose. For that reason, many of the characters came off as very one-dimensional to me. It was also very dark and violent. This is the first book I've read where the overall subject matter involved the military, so that's probably typical for this sort of book, but it wasn't really for me. Especially, for a Christian book the overall outlook of this book was rather grim. Which brings me to another point- this book didn't incorporate the religious aspect very much.

Spoiler-Alert:

 I also had no idea who was the bad guy. First we're hoping to find/save Austin, then he is running away from those trying to save him/shooting at people including his own sister (I think- like I said I was confused, but this is how the story appeared to me), then Austin is sort of helping his sister when she's in a dangerous position, then he's hiding from her again and maybe helping smuggle "yellowcake" or something??? Then, suddenly he's helping find Aspen and he's the good guy again and despite being declared "dead" by the government and having a top-secret job and new identity he's back in Texas chilling with his friends and family?? Honestly, I couldn't understand why Aspen still wanted her brother in her life. He has issues.

/End Spoiler-Alert

At the end the story doesn't really seem to explain much. I didn't understand how all these military-types were (1) able to go on whatever mission they chose (for example, help Aspen find her brother) and (2) travel to Texas at the end to hang out together or just stop working for the military (the author never specifies what they all are doing in Texas). I guess I don't have a full-understanding of how the military works, but not much about that was really explained. I was left with a lot of questions. 

I am giving Talon 2 out of 5 stars because it was not a very enjoyable reading experience for me. I'm unsure if I'll read the first or third book, though I have a feeling they might be a better.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley and Barbour Publishing, Inc. in exchange for an honest review.

Blog Tour: Daughter of Jerusalem

First let me just say, wow. I can't even gather my thoughts in a coherent manner to write the beautiful review I want to give this book. I'd first just like to say thank you so much to Worthy Publishing and Joan Wolf for providing me with a free copy of this book to read and for allowing me the honor of participating in the Daughter of Jerusalem blog tour. I'm not trying to suck up (lol), but this book has truly been such a blessing in my life. When I was first asked to participate in the blog tour- this is my first one- I thought "wow, this will really be awkward if I don't like the book!". Thankfully, that wasn't a problem at all. Not only did I like the book, but I LOVED the book.

Daughter of Jerusalem is the story of Mary Magdalene, who is probably one the top five most famous women from the Bible. I'm thinking maybe Eve and the other Mary are the top two. So anyways, the book begins during Mary's childhood as she is being brought to live in the home of her Aunt Leah, who resides with Lord Benjamin- a wealthy man in the city of Magdala. At the home of Lord Benjamin, Mary and Lord Benjamin's son, Daniel, fall in love. They eventually earn the blessings of Lord Benjamin to marry. However, Lord Benjamin is a ssssssss-snake and has other plans for Mary. Thanks to her beauty he can receive a large bride price for her and that's what he does. She is forced to marry a man who she doesn't know, nor is in love with. From there, she enters into an affair which her new husband agrees to for business reasons. Mary is definitely ashamed of herself and doesn't know how her sins could ever be forgiven. Which brings us to Jesus. 

Let me just stop there to say, the book was GREAT before Jesus arrives on the scene. But, when Jesus arrives it's like this beautiful moment and I just couldn't put the book down from there. I mean, OH MY GOODNESS. It was awesome. Words don't even describe how much I loved this part of the book. Literally, I don't even know how to describe it in fancy-blog-review-ways. It's just like, hearing a first person account- even if it was fictionalized- of Jesus as he walked on the earth and among regular people, like you and I... it was such a gift. Reading Mary's experiences and life as a follower of the true Messiah was an inspiring and truly uplifting experience for me.

I don't know how historically or Biblically accurate the book is. I am far from a Biblical scholar, but I know Mary is often portrayed and said to be a prostitute. In this book she is not, she is a woman who has sinned- yes- but not a hooker. I really loved that. I think it's safe to assume that because of the time the Bible was written in, like Eve before her, Mary M. probably got a bad rap just because she was a woman. But, again I'm not scholar in this area. 

Whether accurate or not, this book is truly beautiful and I must say that I just love that it's told in a first person narrative. I didn't know if I'd like this book because I've only had so-so experiences with Biblical Fiction in the past, but thanks to this book I'll be hungrily devouring more from this author and genre. This book gets 5 out of 5 stars!

I was provided with a free copy of this book courtesy of Worthy Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

Giveaway

Worthy Publishing has so very kindly provided me with two additional copies to share with two very fortunate winners. I pray that whoever wins will be blessed and inspired by this book as I was. Please enter using the form below. 

Note: I can only ship to addresses within the US.

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Book Review: Once Upon A Prince

Once Upon a Prince is the first in a new series by Rachel Hauck called The Royal Wedding Series. This book tells the stories of Susanna Truitt from Georgia and Prince Nathaniel who lives in the fictional country of Brighton. The Prince is on vacation in St. Simons Island, Georgia when he and Susanna accidentally meet and become interested in each other. Both of their lives are very complicated and neither are willing- at first- to act on their feelings for each other. This is mostly due to the fact that it's actually against the law for a Brightonian king to marry a foreigner.

This book was very cute. Sometimes a little too cute, but it's forgiven. Any book where a woman literally meets Prince Charming is going to be a bit more cutesy than other romances. I did feel the author did a good job at keeping the story as believable as possible. The characters were also very likable. I loved that this book had a great message about not losing faith in God's Plan for you. No matter how many challenges came her way, Susanna always trusted in The Lord and relied on Him for the answers and to pull her out of the darkness. I also loved that Susanna and Nate prayed together twice during the book. I have never seen that in a Christian romance before, which now that I think of it is odd.

This book was full of great Christian inspiration, but I wanted to share a few excerpts that really touched me:

"Nate, don't you ever consider who you are and why God called you? Susanna turned to him, sitting cross-legged, touching knees to knees. "I used to climb out of my bedroom window, sit on the roof and state at the stars, thinking, 'I'm Susanna Truitt, born on St. Simons, for some purpose. I'm not an accident.'"

That quote is amazing. A great reminder. No one is an accident. We're all here for a purpose, known only to God for now.

Nate: "Let them do their worse. We did nothing wrong."

Susana: "But we gave the appearance of wrong. The people depend on you to do what's right. To put aside your own desires and will. That's just for everyday situations. But you have a political entanglement that requires you do what's right for millions of people. If you've lost their trust, you've lost them. You've lost your ability to influence. So yeah, we did do something wrong.

I love this one. It's a great allegory for how Christians have to remember that we are representatives for Christ and for other Christians around the world. People are waiting for us to do something wrong and we have a responsibility to always uphold Christian morals and values. Just like Susanna says to Nate in regards to the citizens of his country, "If you've lost their trust, you've lost them. You've lost your ability to influence." As a Christian how can we influence those who aren't Christian if we're not doing what's right?

So, those are two parts of the book that really resonated with me. I'm giving Once Upon a Prince 3 out of 5 stars. Even though I did like it and obviously loved the messages found in it's pages... there were a few thing that hold me back from giving it that extra star:

1.) I did not make an emotional connection to any of the characters. I liked the characters, yes. But, I didn't feel for them or care for them like in books that I give 4 or 5 stars or to.

2.) I feel like the book should have been a bit more tense. There was a lot of political drama, but I don't feel like the proper amount of tension and stress was reflected in the book. I understand it's a Christian fiction, so it is lighter reading, but a bit more tension would have served the book well and made it a bit more of a page-turner. 

3.) As said above, for some reason it wasn't a page-turner for me. I would put it down and not really think about it. I'm not sure why this was, because the author is very talented and this was a nice romance. But, for some reason it just didn't grab me.

This book was still an enjoyable book and I do recommend it for anyone who is looking for a cute, light read. This would be great summer reading. A nice book to read on the beach or at the pool.

I received a Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book courtesy of NetGalley and Zondervan Publishers in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Taylor's Gift

Taylor's Gift is the story of the Storch family and most importantly their teenage daughter, Taylor. During a family trip taken spring break, Taylor passed away in a devastating skiing accident. Her parents were asked if they would like to donate Taylor's organs and their incredible decision has led them to a calling of promoting organ donation, which brought about his heart-wrenching memoir.

As a mother this book was very hard to read. Taylor's mother, Tara, especially was consumed by grief to the point where days would pass without her even realizing it. I think I would be much the same as her. Taylor's father, Todd, while still grief-stricken sprung into action creating a website, a foundation, a memorial garden, and doing interviews all to promote "Taylor's Gift" of organ donation. The Storch's relied on their faith and support of friends and family to get through their darkest hours and were truly inspiring. The beautiful outcome of such a horrific event is that Todd and Tara were actually able to meet some of the amazing people who received Taylor's organs and see how incredibly their lives were changed thanks to her gift.

I am giving this book 4 out of 5 stars. It was difficult and very sad to read at times, but the strength of the family and Todd and Tara's sheer honesty about their grief and darkest hours really keep the reader interested. If you aren't already an organ donor this book will definitely inspire you to register. This book made me proud to say I am already registered as an organ donor. Another thing this book inspires is an amazing belief in God. The Storch's and their "of course" moments were breathtaking. The "of course" moments were basically crazy coincidences that would have to have been orchestrated by a greater power. This book will definitely strengthen your faith in God.

To learn more about Taylor and organ donation please visit Taylor's Gift.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book courtesy of NetGalley and Baker Publishing Group (Revell) in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Moonlight Masquerade

Moonlight Masquerade is a regency romance set in 1813 England. The story follows Lady Wexham a spy for France and her butler, Rees Phillips, who was placed in her household unbeknownst to her by The Home Office to keep an eye on her and determine whether or not she is a spy. 

First of all, I am so happy to be done with this book. It took me about a week to finish it. The book is only 352 pages and I've finished books with this exact amount of pages in 2-3 days. This book got me so behind on my reading. I can't say it's entirely the book's fault, I didn't have the discipline to push through a mediocre book. So, obviously I wasn't a big fan of this one.

The book never held my attention, ever. I could read a few pages and I'd think I'd gotten really far and I'd check and only 2% of the book had passed. I couldn't believe that it progressed so slowly, it definitely became a chore to read. Maybe this was because I felt like the author always kept the reader at a far distance from the characters instead of bringing the reader into the character's hearts, souls, and minds. Even when one of the main characters got shot, I still did not care. I never got emotionally caught up in their story. Even the parts of the book that should have been exciting, never were. I really can't even pinpoint why this book never got intriguing, because with the storyline that it has, it definitely had potential to be a much better book.

Maybe I also didn't enjoy it because I never understood the politics in the book. Maybe I'm just very ignorant about British and French history. This is the reason I do read though, to learn while being entertained. But, even by the end of the book I still couldn't figure out if Lady Wexham was for or against what the British wanted. Were Rees and Celine spying for the same cause, but for different countries? Don't ask me, I have no idea! Was Celine the bad guy or not? Who knows! I wish the author would have found a better way to weave a bit of political history of those two countries and the war they were fighting at the time, because I was always confused. Maybe I should have done some research on Wikipedia prior to reading this book.

The author would also use terms that I wasn't familiar with and unlike how most authors will use a word that might be considered jargon or a colloquialism, and then explain it through context so the readers knows what the author is talking about... this author did not do that. She would use the word or phrase and just assume that everyone is such a history buff regarding the time period that they'd already know what she was talking about. Many of the words she used I'd try looking up in the Kindle dictionary and there'd be no entry for them. Here's an example of a sentence found 59% into the book (I do not have page numbers for the ARC): 

"Digging into her reticule, she extracted her bottle of Hungary water."

Hungary water? Is that like special bottled water found only in Hungary? The author never explains, just assumes the reader is familiar with this water. Things like this pop up several times throughout the book. Again, maybe I'm just a big dummy, but I don't think so.

I am giving Moonlight Masquerade 2 out of 5 stars. I think that with a better writing style this book could have been much better. It was not terrible, but it's certainly not a book I'm going to miss.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book courtesy of NetGalley and Revell in exchange for a honest review.

Book Review: When The Heart Heals

When The Heart Heals is the second book in the Sisters at Heart series which is set in Noble Springs, Missouri. This installment follows Rosemary, who was a nurse during the Civil War. Rosemary is considered an outcast because of her duties during the war, but to support herself she decides to seek employment as a nurse in the office of the new doctor in town, Dr. Elijah Stewart. Dr. Stewart hires her and they inevitably fall in love. However, they do get off to a very rocky start. To add to the tension, Rosemary, who lives alone, has someone harassing her anonymously and occasionally trying to kill her beloved dog, Bodie. No fun at all!

I must admit that I had trouble getting into this book. At first, the writing just seemed very basic and superficial- a bit elementary. However, the story was actually interesting and plenty of things happen to move the story along nicely. As the book went on, the author seemed to get into her groove and the writing flowed better and didn't seem as forced. It did take me almost half the book to become somewhat emotionally invested in the characters, though. I can't really pinpoint why. Rosemary reminded me a lot of Jane Eyre, a character I love. Their personalities were similar. Independent, strong, determined, and neither would take crap from a man- even one they love. 

Image from the 2006 movie version of Jane Eyre.

I did end-up enjoying this book and I got involved with the mystery of who is harassing Rosemary. The author did a good job of keeping the reader guessing, however there really wasn't many clues to go by. I suspected everyone from the sheriff to her own sister-in-law! The lack of clues did help the reader feel Rosemary's frustration and fear at not knowing who was trying to scare her. The book almost felt part Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense novel. 

I also enjoyed the theme of forgiveness in this book. Throughout the book, Rosemary is reminded of Matthew 6:15, "But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses". There's a lot of forgiving going on. Rosemary has many people to forgive including her parents, the sheriff, and her fiance. The minor characters in this book also have forgiving to do, including the preacher's wife who needs to forgive her son.

I am giving When The Heart Heals 3 out of 5 stars. It was an easy-read which included romance, drama, mystery, and history. Prior to reading this, I did not realize it was part of a series. I had no difficulty reading this book and understanding what was happening as the last book's focus was on a different character. I do plan on reading the first in the series and any that come after.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book courtesy of NetGalley and Baker Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: The Heiress of Winterwood

When Amelia Barrett's best friend dies shortly after giving birth, Amelia pledges to never leave the baby and to always be there for her. Complications arise when Amelia's mercurial fiance, Edward, tells her after they are married the baby has to go. With the return of the baby's father, Graham, a sea captain in the British Navy, Amelia devises a plan to keep the baby. All she has to do is convince Graham to marry her and ditch Edward. However, Graham isn't so eager to marry again and Edward isn't willing to let her go. Soon Lucy and her nurse disappear and it's up to Graham and Amelia to find them before it's too late.

The Heiress of Winterwood is a fast-paced and dramatic Christian Romance set during England's Regency period. Fans of Downton Abbey are sure to enjoy this novel. The book has a little bit of everything; romance, mystery, action, and heart-pounding drama all set among the moors of Northern England. I enjoyed this book and read it rather quickly. I'm typically somewhat of a slow-reader, but when I first began this book when I finally "came up for air" I was 30% done with the book in seemingly very little time. I was totally engulfed in the story of Winterwood. 

The only time I felt I lost connection with the book and it's characters was after they set off for Liverpool towards the end of the book. Maybe it was just my anxiety to see the kidnapping resolved (this is not a spoiler as it's part of the books description), but it felt like it began to drag a bit for me. Again, it could have just been my need for a resolution and preferably quickly. I did feel stress waiting for the baby to be kidnapped and at times it felt heavy and ominous knowing it would happen. This is probably because my own daughter, Trista, is Lucy's age. So, I hate to think of even fictional babies having something bad happen to them and I could so sympathize with Amelia's feelings after this happens. At times her brash actions only added to my anxiety as it didn't seem she really thought her actions through. But as a mother, I can understand and I was able to forgive her for those things that would have otherwise annoyed me.

 I look forward to reading more in this series and I do wish there was more information available about what the next book in the series will be like. Will it continue Amelia and Graham's story as they become a family at Winterwood? Or will it be like many Christian series and begin a whole new story with new characters? I do hope that it continues the story that's already been started because there's many things I'd like to know. Does Graham retire from the navy to actively partake in his new role as father, husband, and master of Winterwood? Does William resolve his debts? What becomes of Helena and the thing that would be a spoiler if I said it? 

Sarah E. Ladd did a great job with this book and I am giving The Heiress of Winterwood 4 out of 5 stars. Definitely add this one to you TBR piles if you haven't already.

 Happy reading, bookworms!

I received an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book courtesy of NetGalley and Thomas Nelson in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Calico Brides

Calico Brides is a collection of four novellas featuring women of the Ladies Sewing Circle in historic Calico, Kansas. Each novella focuses on a certain member of the the sewing circle. The four women are Ruth, Birdie, Gladys, and Annie. Each member decides to take on a certain missionary project in the town of Calico. Ruth decides to help a family of orphans, Annie knits clothing for soldiers at the nearby fort, Birdie helps women from the saloon get their lives in order, and Gladys helps a crotchety recluse. Each woman's endeavor inevitably leads to love.

I really enjoyed these stories and I am giving Calico Brides 4 out of 5 stars. Each woman's story was very touching and their missionary projects were extremely inspirational. The entire book was filled with Christian wisdom and love, which I enjoyed. This book actually had more "Christianity" in it than most Christian books I've read, but it never came across off as preachy. Each young woman was so godly while still being human. I especially enjoyed the story of Birdie, a former prostitute. I loved how her story portrayed God's Love for us as sinners and how he's so willing to forgive us. She really was the epitome of the "born again" message. 

According to the Romancing America blog, this book will be the last in the series. Unless I misunderstood, I'm just assuming from the date listed on the blog. It says as of May 2013 Barbour Publishing will shift their focus to "3-in-1 collections of stories that had previously been published as single Heartsong Presents books." I'm not entirely sure what that means as I am only vaguely familiar with Heartsong and have never actually read any. Even though I've only read two books so far in the Romancing America series, I'll be sad to see no new books coming out. Goodreads lists 55 books in the series so there is always plenty more of reading I can do in the series, of course!

I received an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book courtesy of Netgalley and Barbour Publishing, Inc. in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Trouble in Store

Trouble in Store is the story of Melanie who is an Ohio governess with a very tricky child under her care. After an accident which she is blamed for, she is fired from her job with seemingly no where to go. She then remembers a letter from her deceased cousin which compels her to move to Arizona with the intent of claiming her cousin's belongings and hopefully being invited to live and work at the store he co-owned. Once she arrives there she finds her cousin's partner's nephew is actually in charge of the store now and he's not very willing to share the store with her, nor is he very inviting of her presence at all- but thankfully he tolerates her. During her time at the store she and the nephew, Caleb, get involved in a murder mystery which separates them from the rest of the town and brings them both closer together.

I didn't really know what I would think of this story. Before reading it, I didn't even realize that it was part mystery. I love mysteries, even though the mystery in this book was more of a side-story at first, by the end it does become the main focus of the storyline. I found the mystery intriguing enough and I suspected almost everyone in the small town of Cedar Ridge at one point or the other. The book also proved to have some tense action-packed moments as well.

The romance flowed nicely. I made a comment on my Goodreads profile that I wasn't sure how the author would steer the reader into Caleb's favor as the romantic interest. He was not very likable for the first half of the book. The romance flowed so slowly that it made it more believable when they did eventually fall in love. It never felt cheesy or forced. Don't be afraid that the book might be boring because I said the romance flows slowly- because it's not boring. There's another very likable love interest, Will. At times, I really thought the author might go with Will as Melanie's main man even though it would go against tradition. What I mean by that is, Caleb was a main character and in romances the two main characters always overcome their differences and come together. Will was just a side character. He was so likable though, I almost wish Melanie would have chosen him. I also liked how even though there were two good possibilities for Melanie's romantic interest it never came to a love triangle or anything like that. Love triangles are so cliche and I'm glad the author was unique enough not to let it come to that.

I also enjoyed the humor in this book. The story could have gotten quite tense and stressful but humor really kept this story in a lighter ambiance. I also really enjoyed the setting of Arizona and sort of getting a sneak peek into its history. I haven't done very much traveling, but I have been to Arizona a few times and it's a state I absolutely adore. I've traveled to nearly all ends of the state and northern Arizona is a setting I haven't found in many books. 

All in all, I am giving Trouble in Store 4 out of 5 stars and I can say I am very glad that I read it. I enjoyed how it encompassed a few different genres without getting confusing or messy. I would describe this book as a historical fiction set in the wild west with a dash of romance and mystery and a morsel of action. 

I received an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book courtesy of NetGalley and Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Hill Country Cattleman

Hill Country Cattleman is my first Harlequin book. In the big scope of things, just recently did I start reading romances. I stayed away from Harlequin for the most part because I feared they'd be really cheesy. I didn't find that was totally the case though.

Hill Country Cattleman is about Violet Brookfield, who travels from England to Texas to avoid a scandal overseas after she became romantically involved with a playboy Earl. To save her good name, her brother Edward,  packs her up and ships her off for Texas to stay with her other brother Nick and his wife Milly. While in Texas, Violet is determined to make the most of it by doing research for the western novel she is writing. While there she meets a sweet and good-looking cowboy named Raleigh. Raleigh is enough to make her forget all about the Earl she left behind in England.

This book was actually really good, it was sweet and had some action to it. The villain in this book would probably be in my top ten most annoying villains of all time. He was so nasty. I hated him. After the romance came in it did get a bit cheesy. Raleigh called Violet "sweetheart" so much that I felt nauseous. Every single thing he said to her seemed like it either began or ended with "sweetheart". It was a little much. It's just small details like that that can take a book from romantic to cheesy real quick. Despite that, the book was still good and I give my first Harlequin Love Inspired Historical 4 out of 5 stars.

This book is actually the sixth in a series called Brides of Simpson Creek. However, I feel I was able to read this book without any problems due to not reading the first five. Each book has different characters, but the books focus on the town of Simpson Creek and a group of women called the Spinsters Club. In each book I guess each spinster finds love. I would really like to go back and read the first five now and find out in depth about the lives of the various couples that were mentioned in this book.

Giveaway: Once Upon A Prince

Goodreads Description: Once Upon a Prince, the first novel in the Royal Wedding series by bestselling author Rachel Hauck, treats you to a modern-day fairy tale.

Susanna Truitt never dreamed of a great romance or being treated like a princess---just to marry the man she has loved for twelve years. But life isn’t going according to plan. When her high-school-sweetheart-turned-Marine-officer breaks up instead of proposing, Susanna scrambles to rebuild her life.

The last thing Prince Nathaniel expects to find on his American holiday to St. Simon’s Island is the queen of his heart. A prince has duties, and his family’s tense political situation has chosen his bride for him. When Prince Nathaniel comes to Susanna’s aid under the fabled Lover’s Oak, he is blindsided by love.

Their lives are worlds apart. He’s a royal prince. She’s a ordinary girl. But everything changes when Susanna receives an invitation to Nathaniel’s coronation.

I haven't read this one yet, but I have an ARC to review on my blog. I was thinking of waiting until I'm done reading it and kinda doing a giveaway and review in one post. But, I don't want to wait. I'm not entirely sure when I'll be reading my copy it and I'd rather do it while the book is still pretty new. It was released May 7th.

The giveaway will run until June 1, 2013. I can only ship to US and APO addresses. I'm sorry, bookworms visiting from other countries :(

Good luck, bookworms!

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Book Review: Grave Consequences

Grave Consequences is the second book in Lisa Tawn Bergren's Grand Tour series. It's no secret that I loved the first book, Glamorous Illusions and it now sits prettily on my Goodreads Favorites Shelf. I enjoyed this book just as much as the first and I am giving it 5 out of 5 stars. I'm not even being generous or giving it a pity star, I really loved it!

There is just something about Lisa Tawn Bergren's writing that really makes me feel as if I am on The Grand Tour right along with the main characters. After reading this book I really feel like I have been to France, Switzerland, Austria, and Italy. I mentioned in my review of Glamorous Illusions that I'm not even interested in France, yet the way she describes it and writes about it, it actually makes me really enjoy it! Italy is another country I have very little-to-no interest in whatsoever. I think it's just the cliche. But, the author really brings you above that stereotypical atmosphere that seems to come along with fictional accounts of those two countries. So kudos to her.

The story in this one is just as thrilling as in the last. The Kensingtons and Morgans are still fleeing from kidnappers while trying to have a jolly-good-time on their vacation. Besides the kidnappers, there's at least two other exciting events- both almost near-death experiences for Cora. She really is accident prone. We also get to see the forbidden romance between Cora and Will blossom a bit, but not without plenty of complications along the way. Speaking of Will, look at the guy on the cover. That is not Will. I mean, I guess it is Will... but that guy is like husky. Will is supposed be toned and buff. This dude looks like Tim Taylor's Home Improvement sidekick, Al. And was Cora photoshopped in? Why does she appear to be floating above Will? I guess she's behind him, but it doesn't look right. There's a lot going on in that cover, it's too busy. It really looks more like a cover fitting for a werewolf or vampire novel.

Anyways, I also enjoying learning more about Cora's siblings and their friends. Especially, seeing Hugh be more polite and charming. He has his special little heroic moment that is almost swoon-worthy and I'd love to see more of him in the next book. I'm really enjoying seeing the relationships between the characters and the dynamics of their relationships grow. This is also a book with a love triangle that seems plausible and relevant. 

If you liked Glamorous Illusions you will certainly enjoy the second in the series, Grave Consequences. I cannot wait for the third, Glittering Promises to be released on October 1st!

This cover is nice, right? Cora has finally got a new dress on, pretty Italian scenery in the background, Will's suit matches Cora's hat. I'm a cover girl. I like reading pretty books.

I received this book as an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) courtesy of Netgalley and David C. Cook in exchange for an honest review.