What a great morning! I got up this morning and found I had won Wanda Brunstettler's "Goodbye to Yesterday" from a facebook page I'm a member of, and then got the email from The Book Club Network that they had announced their December book winners. I won "All Things New" from Lynn Austin from there!! Top it off with 2 new followers on my blog and I'm having a great day! :-) Don't forget to go to my sister's blog http://cabinfeverreading.blogspot.com/ and sign up with the rafflecopter for her giveaway. Just over 3 days left. I'll be doing a giveaway here around the first of the year, so stop back by!
Happy Reading!!
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Friday, December 28, 2012
"Wildflowers From Winter" by Katie Ganshert
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Wildflowers from Winter began with so much potential. Unfortunately, it didn't live up to it. Bethany was emotionally scarred by past experiences, but she is portrayed as a selfish jerk. Ms. Ganshert tries to soften this by explaining away her actions as Bethany trying to protect herself from more hurt, but I was just left disliking her throughout most of the book. Religion (re: church) is pretty much slammed throughout most of the book with emphasis on a personal relationship with God, but even that is severely watered down. Yes, a personal relationship with God is very important, but that doesn't mean church is not. This "personal relationship" seems to be not much more than admitting He's there, praying when you need something, and thanking Him if things turn out like you wanted. Salvation was not mentioned a single time. I felt like this was another book trying to straddle "Christian" and secular fiction and failing miserably.
I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
http://katieganshert.com/
http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalo...
"Wedded to War" by Jocelyn Green
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Jocelyn Green has written a wonderful book in her new "Heroines Behind the Lines" Civil War book series. This is a work of fiction, but is heavily based in fact. It was a fascinating read on the trials and horrors of the time. Charlotte wants to be more than just an empty-headed, pretty woman on some man's arm. Her greatest desire is to have her life count for something. She fights with everything she has against overwhelming obstacles to be able to work as a nurse during the civil war. She endures incomprehensible circumstances to be able to do that work. She can be overly strong and opinionated, but as the book progresses, you start to see some growth. I very much appreciated when Alice (her sister) calls her on her attitude towards men in authority, though I wish she had not let Charlotte get away with a couple of her nastier comments.
This is a hard review to write without giving spoilers. The author wrote a very gritty, realistic book, but there were times when it felt she was pushing a little too hard--going for shock factor. I also had a hard time with the fact that Charlotte stands there while her fiance verbally attacks, with no discernable reason (at least to Charlotte at the time) Ruby, the woman she has taken under her wing and she doesn't really do anything. This from the girl that stands up to everyone--sometimes to her detriment. Ruby's story is woven throughout the book adding even more depth to the story.
I love a book that makes me root for the characters, and this one certainly did. The added bonus is the "History Behind the Story" at the end that gives a short sketch of the characters that were taken from history, and the bibliography to help anyone who would like to read more on the subjects in the book. Very well done book. I look forward to reading the sequels as they come out!
I received a copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
"The True Account of Adam and Eve" by Ken Ham
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I was so excited to get this book to review from New Leaf Publishing!! It's hard to find Biblically accurate Bible stories any more. Ken Ham went above and beyond in this book. I love the fact that he not only gives an in-depth account of Adam and Eve, but he even goes so far as to refute common arguments kids might hear against creation. I only gave it 4 stars for two reasons. One, I hate that they don't use the King James Bible. I know many might disagree with me, but it just strikes a bad chord with me when I read books using other "versions". Secondly, it can be a tad wordy at times, which can definitely put off some kids. My 10-year-old loved it, the 11-year-old liked it, but my 13-year old thought it was boring. They all agreed that the picture of Adam being formed from the ground was just plain creepy. It is a beautiful book, though, that I would recommend to others.
I was sent this book by New Leaf Publishing for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Book Giveaway!!
Happy Reading!!
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
"Would You... Read Me To Sleep?" by George E. Edenfield
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
I was so excited to get this book to review!! "Would You...Read Me to Sleep" is a sweet story I'd be happy to read to my kids over and over. I love how the book begins with the little girl asking her daddy to read her to sleep, and ends with the daddy asking the grown-up daughter to read him to "sleep". It was very precious and touchingly written for the most part.
There are some issues with the book, though. One is that the little girl in the beginning is young enough to have a "bah-bah" and calls her daddy "Dah-Dah", but then goes on to speak in grown up sentences. The worst one was "Dah-Dah, if you could have anything you wanted, what would it be?". That's quite a sentence for one so young! I realize some very young children have advanced vocabulary, but if her vocabulary was that advanced, she would be saying "Daddy" and "bottle" as well. There are many "advanced" words in the book that younger children (which seems would be the target age) would have trouble understanding.
This looks like it's supposed to be a book for kids giving them the gospel, but it is very unclear. The book talks about seeking and finding the seven golden keys to unlock The Great Treasure of Golden Destiny, and it seems those gold keys are the words "Well done, thou good and faithful servant", but there is nothing telling you how to get there! It talks about the different Bible stories, though it calls the Bible a storybook--another small issue, but it never actually tells the child how to get saved.
I gave this book two stars due to the sweet storyline, and just the beauty of the book.
I was provided this complimentary copy to read and review from Golden Garden Publishing through BookCrash.com. All statements are my own, personal opinions.
View all my reviews
Thursday, December 20, 2012
"Unexpected Christmas Hero" by Kathi Macias
Unexpected Christmas Hero by Kathi MaciasMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Josie Meyers thinks she is living the American dream when she marries a nice, handsome man with a promising future. The dream quickly becomes a nightmare when Josie becomes a widow and must deal with the fallout of her husband's decisions. She soon finds that she and her two small children are forced to live on the streets and in homeless shelters. While the scenes surrounding Josie are dominated by Christmas decorations and carols, Josie finds herself struggling with the demands of caring for her two small children. She is forced to lean on the kindness and generosity of others. What she doesn't know is that the influence of one homeless man in particular is about to change the course of her life and lead her home to the One who waits for her. He becomes her unexpected Christmas hero.
Ms. Macias deals with the touchy subject of homelessness. Josie Meyers is a loving mother that is now on the streets due to circumstances out of her control. You feel her pain as she tries to keep her children safe, fed and warm while she deals with her anger at God that they are in this situation. God works gently on her heart as He places people again and again in her life that care for her and show her His love, drawing her heart back to Him. All culminating in a life-changing, Unexpected Christmas Gift. A very sweet story, but at times the writing seemed a little odd--a little forced. It seems that as soon as one good thing happens, it just snowballs and things pretty much work out from there on, and that just felt a little unrealistic and contrived. I ended up dropping the review from 4 stars to 3 due to this.
I won this book from FaithDeployed.com and agreed to give my honest opinion of it.
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