March TBR

This month I am participating in the March Mystery Madness (through the whole month) and the Re-readathon hosted by Merphy Napier (10^th -17^th). I actually intend to focus on these two genres/ areas, not without any others, but predominantly these.

March Mystery Madness:

1.      Old – The Innocence of Father Brown by G K Chesterton (own- Christian Fiction)

2.      New – Body in the Bookstore by Emma Lee (own)

3.      Borrowed – The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins (Classic)

4.      Blue – Death Comes to Town by K J Emrick (own)

Re-readathon:

1.      A second chance – Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope (Classic- own)

2.      Old favorite – Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens (Classic - own)

3.      Underrated – Mansfield Park by Jane Austen (Classic - own)

Christian Non-fiction:

The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence (own)

Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Places to Visit

This is my list of places mentioned or visited (either in modern or historical times) in books that I would like to go to. I decided to include both fictional and real places because there are some fantastical places that I would love to go to if they were real. The real places I am not going super specific (meaning mentioning the country versus city) because there are many cities in those countries I would love to see.

1.      England – from Persuasion by Jane Austen (I have been to London and Brighton, but would love to go back to those cities as well as see many more)

2.      France – from The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orkzy

3.      Ireland – from A Light in the Window by Jan Karon (Like England I have been once before, but there is still so much I want to see)

4.      Scotland – from Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (I have been once in high school, but that was a long time ago)

5.      Italy – from Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens

6.      Israel – from Daniel Deronda by George Eliot

7.      Egypt – from Where We Belong by Lynn Austen

8.      Mars – from Out of the Silent Planet by C S Lewis

9.      Narnia – from “Chronicles of Narnia” by C S Lewis (I would specifically like to go during The Horse and His Boy)

10.   Nevermoor – from Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend

Once Upon a Prince Review

Once Upon a Prince by Rachel Hauck is a Christion Contemporary novel. Susanna Truitt is in no way a romantic with her life all planned out, until her high-school sweetheart boyfriend of 12 years breaks up with her. Now she is just trying to get her life back together again. Prince Nathaniel is on a last vacation before he is expected to soon take the throne in the midst of a tense political situation and is struggling with insecurities and doubts. When these two collide, their lives get tangled in life changing ways.

I loved this book and gave it 5 out of 5 books. This was such a fun and entertaining story. It was everything I wanted from a modern Christian Cinderella story. There was insta-love (which I am not always that fond of), but it worked for me here. The pacing was very strong and steady, and the story flew by. I liked the writing style; it was smooth and easy to read.

The characters were fascinating to follow. I liked watching them learn and grow. Their faith was fairly realistic and, if not, at least felt genuine. It was especially nice to see their faith grow and change them through the story. There were some nice lessons learned that we can apply to our own lives (I always appreciate practical application that can be gathered from a story). I also really liked that there was practically no sexual content but still had all the romantic feels one wants from a romance.

This book was exactly what I was hoping for and I am thrilled to continue with the series.

Anxious For Nothing Review

Anxious for Nothing by John MacArthur is a Christian non-fiction book on the topic of dealing with Anxiety.

I loved this book and gave it 5 out of 5 stars. As I have come to know with MacArthur’s books, it is very well written, researched and heavily thought out. He is clear and easy to understand as well as thorough in content. I found this book to be very convicting and helpful. God has really spoken to me through this work and I know it is one I will reread and reference for years to come. There isn’t really much more that I can say about this book except that I think every Christian should read it.

Gregor and the Code of Claw Review

Gregor and the Code of Claw by Suzanne Collins is the fifth and last book in her middle grade fantasy Underland Chronicles. It picks up pretty much where we left off, and any more information may be too spoilery. 

I gave this book 4.5 out of 5 stars. I really enjoyed this book. Just like with the others it was thrilling and gripping and I flew through it. This last adventure took us through a whirlwind of emotions. I was constantly wondering what would happen next and how things would work out in the end.

The characters were of course amazing. They were still growing, learning, changing and being themselves. The best thing about them is how real they feel and how attached I have become to them over the course of the series. Of course, not all of them make it to the end, and none are left without scars (well maybe Boots), but it all felt very fitting and realistic.

My only problem was with the end itself, specifically that I felt it was left too open. I have far too many questions left unanswered and they are things I really want to know as I have become so invested in Gregor. It would have been better (in my opinion) if there had been an epilogue to give us at least a glimpse into some of the decisions Gregor made and what becomes of him.

Even so, I have loved reading this series. This is definitely a new favorite for me and one I may come back to re-experience.  

Top Ten Tuesday: Underrated Favorites

Today I am sharing my favorite books that are less known or underrated (with less than 2000 ratings on Goodreads). 

1.      Prevailing Prayer by Dwight L Moody (Christian Non-fiction)

2.      Praying the Bible by Donald Whitney (Christian Non-fiction)

3.      Growing in Gratitude by Mary K Mohler (Christian Non-fiction)

4.      The Hidden Arrow of Maether by Aiden Beaverson (Christian Fiction)

5.      To My Husband and Other Poems by Anne Bradstreet

6.      Poems by C S Lewis

7.      Bronte Sisters: The Complete Poetry by Charlotte, Anne & Emily Bronte

8.      Cyrano by Geraldine McCaughrean (Classic Retelling)

9.      In the Garden of Gold & Stone by Ryan Muree (Young Adult Fairytale Retelling)

10.   No Man Can Tame by Miranda Honfleur (Young Adult Fantasy)

Where We Belong Review

Where We Belong by Lynn Austen is a Christian historical fiction set in 1900s Chicago. We follow 2 sisters and their journey to find and follow God’s will for their lives.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. I really enjoyed this book. The characters were wonderful and fun and interesting. I loved how they set their eyes on God even when it went counter to their culture and times. I am not always a big fan of shifting points of view, but it didn’t bug me so much here (except when we switched to two of the minor characters). I understand why Austen used the four perspectives she did, but it felt like a blunt shift at times and other times felt like I had just adjusted to the new narrator when we switch again. Even with that, I still really liked to follow these characters and to see their stories.

The plot was fascinating and kept me interested and invested the whole way through. I actually would have preferred it to go on a bit further; the ending felt a bit abrupt to me. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that there are slightly biographical aspects to this story for two real sisters of that time, and it makes me like the book even more.

The writing style was smooth and clean and a pleasure to read, just what I would expect from Austen. Overall, a great and fun read.

Surprised by Joy Review

Surprised by Joy by C S Lewis is an autobiographical account of his journey to faith.

I really liked this book. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. The writing style was wonderful to read. I especially enjoyed this first-person perspective on his past and what events he felt were the most important and life changing. As with his other non-fiction, it was a slower read due to the literary quality of the writing, but that in no way diminished my pleasure in reading it.

Reading this book has both rekindled my desire to read more by Lewis and to look for a good biography of his whole life.

Gregor and the Marks of Secret Review

Gregor and the Marks of Secret by Suzanne Collins is the fourth book in her middle grade fantasy Underland Chronicles. It continues the story of Gregor as he and some of his Underland friends get a secret call for help from the mice and set off to find out what is wrong. Thus, begins a journey they could not have expected.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. As I have come to expect from this series, I was hooked from the very beginning. The story was intriguing and heavy on the mystery aspect, which I actually quite enjoyed. Unique to this plot (in the series), it was not driven by a prophecy. Here we see plot driven strictly by the events taking place.  It was fascinating to see what effect that had on the mentality of the characters toward what they were going through.

Speaking of the characters, they were as wonderful, complex and changing as with each book. I love seeing how they are growing. These characters are so well developed. It also makes me curious about where they will be when this is all over, especially with all the extreme things they are experiencing.

One thing I loved about this book is the really deep topics it has us thinking about (from the very beginning of the book), like violence vs. pacifism and dealing with loss and grief and betrayal. I really liked how we faced these things in the previous books, but now we are taking a closer look at them and thinking deeply on them.

Overall, this book was heartbreaking and wonderful. I am so looking forward to, and also dreading a little bit, the last book.

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Couples

Choosing my favorite book couples was much harder than I thought it would be. Some of these authors I love almost every couple they do in their novels; so, I decide to choose my favorite from their works. However, many couples from Gaskell, Wick & Meyer, as well as all the couples from Austen & Dickerson, are wonderful and I would highly recommend them.

1.      Anne & Frederick (Persuasion – Jane Austen)

2.      Margaret & John (North & South – Elizabeth Gaskell)

3.      Jo & Frederick (Little Women – Louisa May Alcott)

4.      Hadassah & Marcus (Mark of the Lion series – Francine Rivers)

5.      Sunny & Brandon (Hawk and the Jewel – Lori Wick)

6.      Annabeth & Ranulf (The Merchant’s Daughter – Melanie Dickerson)

7.      Gaenor & Christian (The Redeeming - Tamara Leigh)

8.      Scarlet & Wolf (Scarlet – Marissa Meyer)

9.      Paula & Stoyan (Cybele’s Secret – Juliet Marillier)

10.   Rose & Galen (Princess of the Midnight Ball – Jessica Day George)

Mandie and the Trunk's Secret Review

Mandie and the Trunk’s Secret by Lois Gladys Leppard is the fifth book in the Christian children Mandie Mysteries series. It follows Mandie as she seeks to uncover what is in the trunk they found in the school attic and solve the mystery the contents reveal.

This book gets 3.5 out of 5 stars. It is another interesting mystery. I quite enjoyed watching the girls in all their antics. This plot was one of my favorites and I had a lot of fun following the twists and turns. The characters continue to grow and learn and I appreciate being able to walk alongside them as they do.

I don’t know that it needs to be said, but the spiritual content is strong. Leppard seems to have the common focus on prayer (which I really like) in all the books and then looks at other specific issues in each book. The lessons we learn in this one are important and are good reminders for people of all ages.

Overall this book is cute and fun. The only real down side is that after reading five of these books (closely together) I have come to recognize a lack of higher quality writing. Leppard often writes more in a “telling” style vs. a “showing” style. It isn’t such a noticeable thing when just reading quickly through one book, but stay with her for an extended time and it becomes more noticeable. Perhaps her writing style improves with the series, I certainly hope so.

In His Image Review

In His Image by Jen Wilkin is a Christian non-fiction book on the topic of knowing God’s will for our lives.

I gave this book 4.5 out of 5 stars. This is a wonderful and powerful book. The content is very well researched and beautifully presented. I found it inspirational and had many moments of increased clarity on the sub-categories, not to mention finding it convicting (in a positive way). The quotes at the beginning of each chapter were very well chosen and worked to pull me into that sub-topic. I also found the question section and recommended prayer at the end of each chapter a lovely add-in to go deeper. Wilkin is a wonderful writer and her writing style is so smooth and easy to follow. I love how she takes these big topics and talks about them in such a way that anyone can understand them and perhaps see them clearly for the first time.

My only qualm, if you could call it that, is that the end questions and especially prayer were not really applicable for me at the time of reading it because I felt it would be too much to do that after each section all in the same week. The content is quite heavy and would be best applied (at least for me) over a length of time. I would love to reread this book over an extended period of time, to slowly dig into each chapter with focused prayer and work on that part of my spiritual walk.

That put aside, I loved this book and will most definitely come back to it (hopefully in the way I described above).

Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods Review

Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods by Suzanne Collins is the third book in her middle grade fantasy Underland Chronicles. It follows Gregor as he is again called upon by those below to fulfill the “Prophecy of Blood”. He and Boots must return to help find the cure for a plague that is affecting all the warm-blooded creatures of the Underland. But will his mother let him go, and how can they help?

This book was a 4.5 out of 5 stars. This series just keeps getting better. Again, I was hooked from the very beginning and just flew through the story. Collins was very clever in finding a way to get Gregor and Boots back down to the Underland for a third time. This book was so heartbreaking and powerful and thought provoking. Every twist and turn kept me on the edge of my seat and craving more. And beyond that, the topics being presented are hard hitting and getting deeper with each book.

Even though Gregor is only about a year older by the end of this book to when he started at the beginning of the first book, he has really grown. It is so wonderful to see and feel a part of that change. In fact, all the characters are fascinating and intriguing and growing. These characters inspire all kinds of emotions, from affection to anger to hurt to utter shock. This has been a fantastic ride. 

Overall, this book was simply marvelous, and I am aching to see what will happen next.

Top Ten Tuesday: On the Fence Books

This was supposed to be for upcoming releases, but since I’m not up to date on what books are coming out, instead I am focusing on backlist books. These are the books that I might want to read but am not sure if I really want to or should. They currently are on my TBR, but I am uncertain if I will ever put in the effort to read them or if I should just drop them off the list altogether.

1.      Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (Classic) – I hear wonderful things about this book and how much people love it, but I also know that it is a revenge story where none of the main characters are likeable.

2.      Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier (Classic) – Again, I hear wonderful things about this book and it being a sort of break through into the realm of domestic thrillers. But I just don’t know if I will like it or not.

3.      The Island of Doctor Moreau by H G Wells (Classic) – I have always been intrigued by the concept for this story. I am just worried that it will disappoint me, especially with some of the negative reviews I have heard about it.

4.      Paradise Lost by John Milton (Christian Classic) – I know this is a well-respected Christian classic, but I have been slightly avoiding it without really knowing why. My constant question when thinking about this book is: should I just give it a try?

5.      Real Christianity by William Wilberforce (Christian Classic) – I love Wilberforce’s life and story, but I have seen his writing and it intimidates me a bit. I don’t want to be completely overwhelmed and lost in the attempt to read it.

6.      The Yada Yada Prayer Group by Neta Jackson (Christian Contemporary) – I like the idea of this book and especially what looks like a big focus on prayer, but I have never read anything by this author and I am not sure how it will go.

7.      The Greatest Gift by Ann Voskamp (Christian Non-fiction) – I think there could be some great content in here, but I had a really hard time with her writing style in One Thousand Gifts and don’t really want to repeat that.

8.      The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (Young Adult Historical Fiction) – This book intrigues me and I think I may like it, but at the same time I think it may be quite dark. I just don’t know if it will be worth the hype or worth the time.

9.      Throne of Glass (series) by Sarah J Maas (Young Adult Fantasy) – Again the concept of the series sounds interesting and like something I might read, but I have heard some not so good things about some of the sexual content of her writing in general and don’t know if I want to see for myself how bad it is in this series.

10.   Circe by Madeline Miller (Myth retelling) – I have heard wonderful things about this book and generally do like Greek myth retellings. However, I just can’t seem to find the will to pick it up, perhaps partly due to fear it will not live up to the hype.

Mandie and the Forbidden Attic Review

Mandie and the Forbidden Attic by Lois Gladys Leppard is the fourth book in the Christian children Mandie Mysteries series. It follows Mandie as she heads off to a ladies boarding school in Asheville. Together with her new friend she will set out to discover what is making the strange noises they keep hearing from the attic.

I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars. It was another cute story. The mystery part of the story gave me the same feelings as Jane Eyre. The plot was predictable, but still fun to read. The new characters were interesting, some really enjoyable and others we like to dislike. I also appreciated how Leppard was able to work in old familiar characters as well.

Again the spiritual content was strong. It is important to look at what the Bible says and how to apply that to our lives, so I really liked that she showed Mandie trying to do just that. But I didn’t necessarily agree with all she had to say. I believe it is important to inform the right authority when someone is knowingly doing wrong, especially when that authority asks you directly about it. Honestly answering those questions, even if it gets that person in trouble, is not wrong or mean or sinful unless we do it with the intent to hurt and pleasure in that person’s suffering.

Aside from that, there were some good messages and lessons. It was also nice that there wasn’t really any romance in this one. I love to see friendships as the focus. It was also nice to have a look at some of the building family relationships (as Mandie has only recently met these people after all).

Overall it is a nice enough book. Quick and easy and fun to read.

January Overview

I had a really good reading month. It makes me so happy that the year has started off so well and I hope that this trend continues. The books with a review already up have a * and the books with an > have one coming. 

Christian Non-fiction:

In His Image by Jen Wilkin (own)>

Surprised by Joy by C S Lewis (own)>

Anxious For Nothing by John MacArthur Jr (own)>

Christian Fiction:

Come Spring by Tim LaHaye & Gregory S Dinallo (this one is a bit of a stretch on the theme as I have only read something by Tim LaHaye, but I am going with it)>

Classics:

Shirley by Charlotte Bronte (own)>

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carol (reread)

Fantasy:

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine (reread)>

Renegades by Marissa Meyer>

Poetry:

Bronte Sisters: Complete Poetry by Charlotte, Anne & Emily Bronte (own)

Non-themed:

The Golden Thread by Darlene Zschech*

Picture Books:

Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox & Helen Oxenbury

Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown & Clement Hurd

Peep Leap by Elizabeth Verdick & John Bendall-Brunello

Sleep, Big Bear, Sleep! By Maureen Wright & Will Hillenbrand