A Tree, A Book, and A Breeze

Anomaly Krista McGee Thomas Nelson Thalli is different than others in The State. She feels things. She asks questions. And in the State, this is not tolerated. The Ten scientists who survived the nuclear war that destroyed the world above believe that emotion was at the core of what went wrong-and they have genetically removed it from the citizens they have since created. Thalli has kept her malformation secret from those who have monitored her for most of her life, but when she receives an ancient piece of music to record as her community's assigned musician, she can no longer keep her emotions secreted away. I’m going to be honest: the only reason that I got this book was because Booksneeze implemented a new program where if a blogger doesn’t request a new book to review within 90 days of her last review, her account is put on hold. As I did NOT want that to happen to me, I picked out a book and fully admit that I had no interest in it…and the fact that my expect...

A Most Peculiar Circumstance Jen Turano Bethany House So I had a feeling this book might annoy me a bit when I learned it was about a suffragette (I certainly have nothing against women voting! But the suffragette movement kind of opened a can of worms in regards to women’s rights, and brought on a lot of feministic influences that I don’t like at all) however, I had quite enjoyed Jen Turano’s novella that I had read a while back, and since I wasn’t able to get my hands on her first novel, A Change of Fortune , I decided A Most Peculiar Circumstance would just have to do. Again, I have mixed feelings. This book really did have some humorous, funny parts, and though it was romance, it wasn’t all physical, mushy, lots-of-kissing type of stuff, which I appreciated. However –yes, a however- I’m tired of stories about modern-minded women bucking traditional women’s roles and making the old-fashioned men look…oppressive. Though it’s true that this book’s hero was “old-fashio...

Moonlight Masquerade Ruth Axtell Revell I have mixed feelings about Moonlight Masquerade : It’s not as though there was anything wrong with the book, and I mean, after all, it did take place in Regency England, which is always a bonus. But nothing really made the book stand out to me as being spectacular. The thing is, I feel like the book should have been exciting, with foreign intrigue and highwaymen and, of course, a masquerade (which always seemed fun and mysterious to me) but I never felt like I really got into the story, even if the main idea of the plot (a spy posing as a butler to gain access to a wealthy woman's home...who ends up falling in love with her) sounded interesting to me. Some parts of the novel were better than others, and I personally liked the last half of the book better than the first half. There were times I felt the book was a little over-dramatic or clichéd; however, I’m sure that many fans of historical fiction will really enjoy this. I...

Stealing the Preacher Karen Witemeyer Bethany House I'm no fan of westerns, but I am fond of Karen Witmeyer's books...she always throws something into her novels that get me interested, no matter the fact the books take place out west. Whether it's a rancher who also happens to be British, a heroine who's a librarian, or a plot inspired by Seven Brides for Seven Brother s, she has a habit of lassoing me right in there. So despite the fact I wasn't a fan of the cover of the book- as Maria mentioned, it seemed a little cheesy (and the side cover of the book makes NO aesthetic sense to me at all) I was eager to read it. On his way to interview for a position at a church in the Piney Woods of Texas, Crockett Archer can scarcely believe it when he's forced off the train by a retired outlaw and presented to the man's daughter as the minister she requested for her birthday. Worried this unfortunate detour will ruin his chances of finally serving a cong...

Summerset Abbey TJ Brown Simon and Schuster I don't normally read secular adult fiction, but I had seen this book on the internet, and when it caught my eye on the bookshelf of our library, I subjected it to my "judge of appropriateness" test (which includes a quick prayer and then flipping through the book to see if anything unacceptable catches my eye) and since it passed, I decided to check it out. This book was...okay. I had the feeling whilst I was reading that it was written specifically geared toward a certain market: the "fans of Downton Abbey" market. (Although it was actually cleaner than the miniseries itself). It wasn't that I hated the book, but sometimes the characters' actions and ideas just didn't make sense to me- maybe because personality-wise I was so different from them. I think a 6 on my scale rating is about perfect- it's a passable novel, but it could have been better. The ending seemed abrupt and was a compl...

This post was inspired by Rissi's cover candy posts ...and the covers of a a few great-looking books I stumbled upon by accident. What do you think of these new/upcoming titles? (Note: I don't necessarily recommend -or plan on reading- all of these books. I'm just focusing on the covers...for the most part) Love Comes Calling by Siri Mitchell. A new Siri Mitchell book! Yay! Though her last novel didn't live up to my expectations, I'm looking forward to this one. I don't like the cover of this one much as Unrivaled , but I like the Art Deco feel. I have a feeling this one's going to end up on my bookshelf :) ShadowHeart by Anne Elisabeth Stengl I still haven't gotten through all the books in this series, I really am looking forward to this book. It's defnitely my favorite cover of the Tales of Goldstone Wood series. The Captive Maiden by Melanie Dickerson I was SO happy when I saw this cover! It's beautiful and matches M...

Dragon Slippers Jessica Day George Bloomsbury I read Jessica Day George’s Princess of the Midnight Ball a couple years ago and enjoyed it, but I didn’t pay much attention to the Dragon Slippers books because the covers didn’t catch my eye. But I saw it at the library the other day and decided to pick it up…and by the time I was halfway through I was wondering WHY ON EARTH I didn’t pick up the sequels while I was at it! I really loved Dragon Slippers . It was fantasy with the feel of a fairy tale, and I really did fall in love with it. It had an interesting plot, some truly funny bits (the dragon who collects dogs really cracked me up) and some likable (and hateable!) characters. Overall, if you like fantasy and fairy tales, I would highly recommend this book. Aside from a little magical content, there really wasn’t much that was objectionable in here, so that was nice, too. :) Objectionable content: Creel is given a pair of magical slippers; she and other cha...

Grace's Pictures Cindy Thomson Tyndale Book Description Grace McCaffery hopes that the bustling streets of New York hold all the promise that the lush hills of Ireland did not. As her efforts to earn enough money to bring her mother to America fail, she wonders if her new Brownie camera could be the answer. But a casual stroll through a beautiful New York City park turns into a hostile run-in with local gangsters, who are convinced her camera holds the first and only photos of their elusive leader. A policeman with a personal commitment to help those less fortunate finds Grace attractive and longs to help her, but Grace believes such men cannot be trusted. Spread thin between her quest to rescue her mother, do well in a new nanny job, and avoid the gang intent on intimidating her, Grace must put her faith in unlikely sources to learn the true meaning of courage and forgiveness. My Review I had mixed feelings about this book. It did hold my interest, but a lot of th...

Edenbrooke Julianne Donaldson Shadow  Mountain Marianne Daventry will do anything to escape the boredom of Bath and the amorous attentions of an unwanted suitor. So when an invitation arrives from her twin sister, Cecily, to join her at a sprawling country estate, she jumps at the chance. Thinking she’ll be able to relax and enjoy her beloved English countryside while her sister snags the handsome heir of Edenbrooke, Marianne finds that even the best laid plans can go awry... I don’t normally read "secular" romances (okay, I’ve never read a modern secular romance) but after seeing this book recommended on Hannah’s blog , I decided to check it out. I’m really glad I did! The subtitle of this book is “A Proper Romance” and that’s exactly what it is. Proper . Which, translated to the modern tongue, means clean . I normally don’t read just strict romances- this is one of the few books I read where the romance aspect was really the entire plot. That might ha...

June Bug Chris Fabry Tyndale June Bug believed everything her daddy told her. That is, until she walked into Walmart and saw her face on a list of missing children. The discovery begins a quest for the truth about her father, the mother he rarely speaks about, and ultimately herself. A modern interpretation of   Les Miserables , the story follows a dilapidated RV rambling cross-country with June Bug and her father, a man running from a haunted past. Forces beyond their control draw them back to Dogwood, West Virginia, down a winding path that will change their lives forever. I’ve never read anything by Chris Fabry before (well, unless you count his work in the Kids’ Left Behind Books) and to tell the truth, I wasn’t really planning to- until I found this book and realized that it was a modern-day retelling of Les Misérables . I love, love, love that book, so even if I was a little nervous about reading a “modern day” version, I was willing to give it a try. ...

The Quarryman’s Bride Tracie Peterson Bethany House   Emmalyne Knox has always loved Tavin MacLachlan. But when tragedy strikes her family, Emmalyne's father declares she can no longer marry. Despite Tavin's pleas to defy the decision, Emmalyne refuses. In her act of obedience, she gives up the future she'd always dreamed of. When Emmalyne's father returns to the quarry business years later, Tavin and Emmalyne meet again. And though circumstances have changed in both of their lives, they cannot deny the feelings that still exist. Can Emmalyne find a way to heal the decade-long wound that has fractured the two families...and change the hearts of those who stand in the way of true love? As I read the first book in this series a few months ago, when I saw this novel available at the library, I decided to try it, although the book description didn’t sound really very interesting to me. However, I was pleasantly surprised. Though I admit that it did drag qui...

The Duchess and the Dragon Jamie Carie B&H As Duke of Northumberland, Drake Weston is accustomed to a life of royalty---until a tragic mistake forces him to flee England by ship. Across the sea, humble Pennsylvania Quaker Serena ministers to sick travelers---and never expects to fall in love with one of her patients! Can these two unlikely soulmates find happiness?  I really wanted to like this book, but…I just couldn’t. I mentioned in my review of Love’s First Light that the main characters’ relationship advanced to the physical way to quickly, and the same happened here, although for whatever reason this book annoyed/offended me even more than the previous one- to tell the truth, I barely finished The Duchess and the Dragon , and I skimmed several parts of it, because I just could not read most of it. What bothered me was how the characters talked like Christians, but then didn’t act like ones in regard to romance ( and the heroine married the hero befo...

Love's First Light Jamie Carie B&H Christophé, the Count of St. Laurent, has lost his entire family to the blood-soaked French Revolution and must flee to an ancient castle along the southern border of France to survive. But the medieval city of Carcassonne proves more than a hiding place. Here Christophé meets the beautiful widow Scarlett, a complex and lionhearted woman suddenly taken by the undercover aristocrat’s passion for astronomy and its influence upon his faith. Although their acquaintance begins brightly enough, when the Count learns that Scarlett is related to the man who murdered his family, he turns from love and chooses revenge. Heaven only knows what it might take for Christophé to love again, to love his enemy, and to love unconditionally. There are not a lot of Christian fiction novels set during the French Revolution (something I plan on remedying myself sometime) so when I saw this one I decided to check it out. I felt really torn about this b...