Ella Enchanted Review

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine is a middle grade fantasy Cinderella retelling. It is about a girl named Ella who was cursed at her birth with the “gift of obedience”, meaning she must obey any command given to her (intentionally or not).



This was a reread for me and I gave it 5 out of 5 stars. I love this book. It is a fantastic and creative Cinderella retelling. It is easy to read and has good pacing. My only complaint about the style of writing is that it would help the reading go smoother if all thoughts were distinguished by some element (like in italics, etc.). Sometimes I would stop and go “oh, that was a thought, okay”, and then continue on. However, the details of this story are lovely. It is clear that a great deal of time, thought and effort went into the world building. It felt like this world came to life as I was reading.

I love the characters in this book. They are very well developed, interesting, and inspire strong emotions (of like, dislike, anger, affection, etc.). My only issue, that I noticed for the first time in this reread, is that Ella and Char are so young. It took me a bit by surprise to realize that she is only 16 at the end of the book. To me they felt a bit older (in behavior and thought), especially by the end of the story.

This book is by no means perfect and I have noticed more issues with it in going back to reread it after so many years, but the nostalgia and love are still there. It is a wonderful read and I hope that one day I can share it with my daughters.

Wedding Season Review

Wedding Season is a combination of two Christian historical fiction novellas. I have reviewed each individually below.

Much Ado About Nuptials by Deborah Hale is a Christian Historical romance novella about governess Rebecca Beaton. When Viscount Sebastian Benedict’s brother announces his engagement, he determines to enlist Rebecca’s assistance in convincing them to cancel it. 


I gave this story 3.5 out of 5 stars. It is a heartwarming tale of forgiveness and love. The characters were interesting, but there wasn’t enough time to get to know them nearly as well as I would have liked. That isn’t to say they are flat characters or that there isn’t any character development (because that is not true), but it just didn’t have time to do them justice.

I also appreciated the plot set up and development for such a short piece. Again, I think it could have benefitted from being expanded to a full novel, but I am at least satisfied with it here. Furthermore, I was so engaged in the story that I couldn’t put it down.



The Gentleman Takes a Bride by Louise M Gouge is a Christian historical romance novella about Elizabeth, a young girl determined to marry a peer, and Mr. Lindsey, the young man who recently came to their neighborhood on sad business.



I gave this story 2.5 stars. This one just didn’t impress me. I found it slow and less interesting. Neither the characters nor the plot grabbed my interest or were able to hold it. The story was predictable, which is not always a bad thing given the romance genre, but I was unimpressed here. The faith element is nice until the end when it became overly preachy.



Overall, this was not the best novella duo that I have read. I am inclined to read more works by Hale, but not by Gouge.

The Story Girl Review

The Story Girl by L M Montgomery follows two brothers, Bev and Felix, as they come to Carlisle, Prince Edward Island for the first time to visit their extended family. There they meet “the story girl” and have many adventures.



I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars. This book is really a collection of interconnected short stories with no overarching plot driving the book, very episodical. It is character focused and driven. I found the stories cute, sweet, and funny but without the bigger arc I never felt really pulled into the story. I am finding this trend in classics is not one I particularly like (other examples of this are Little Men by Louisa May Alcott and Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell).

The characters were quaint and interesting, but lacking in depth. For some reason I never felt invested in them or any sort of connection to them; and since they were the focus of the book, this made it feel a bit like a chore to read.

The little “stories” that the story girl shares are nice. There was a good balance of scary, sad, funny, and heart-warming tales. I liked some and not so much others.

I was glad for the faith content. It was especially interesting coming from a child’s perspective and I think would be a great way to introduce interesting and beneficial conversations with children when read aloud together.

Overall I am a bit disappointed. I wanted to really like this book. It isn’t a bad book by any means, it just didn’t do anything for me. Perhaps it would work better for the intended audience (children), but as an adult it just didn’t. That being said, I do think I will read the sequel because it may turn out to be a book I love and be worth getting the context of this book to reach.

How to Catch a Prince Review

How to Catch a Prince by Rachel Hauck is the third book in her Royal Wedding Christian contemporary fiction series. We follow Prince Stephen of Brighton, a star rugby player and ex-military man trying to forget the deaths of his buddies in Afghanistan and Corina Del Ray an American heiress trying to keep her family from completely falling apart over the death of her military twin brother. When it turns out their secret marriage is discovered by his king brother and not just that but discovered to still be valid, he must find Corina again and try to resolve things permanently.

I am sad to say I gave this book 2 out of 5 stars. As this series has progressed, each book has gotten a bit more “mystical” with sorts of supernatural events taking place. I don’t mind there being miracles or a bit of the supernatural element sometimes, but this series really didn’t need it. The first book had none and was my favorite. 

As for the characters, I really liked Corina. She was sweet, kind and smart. I felt for her pain and suffering and struggle, and it made me so mad the way she was treated by Stephen. Which leads me into: I really really disliked him. He was so unbearable selfish and gave no consideration to Corina and what she went through (either with her loss of her brother or caused by him). He is a jerk to her and plays the hot/cold behaviour with her. Now I do understand that PTSD and survivors guilt can be really bad, but his behaviour is just way over the line and eliminates any sympathy I may have felt for him. Because of this I felt her love (or at the very least her trust) of him was completely undeserved. He should have had to fight for her in the end to prove himself worthy of her love and trust and prove that he was truly changed.

Another thing that really bothered me about this book is that the author has the characters talking about annulling their marriage, but in reality they don’t qualify for an annulment (a “mistake” doesn’t legally qualify) so really they are talking about divorce. I can accept that non-Christian literature may use this as a base for a romantic story, but not in Christian fiction. It just sits with me wrong, especially as she is clearly trying to make it okay by labelling it (incorrectly) an “annulment”. This is not romantic or in any way comfortable to read. 

Furthermore, I am finding that the older I get the less I like the “second chance” romance. With so many hurt feelings, betrayals, etc. that come with this trope I just don’t know if I find them believable. Not that I don’t believe in forgiveness or second chances (I do), but in the ways they are portrayed in stories like this, I don’t know. There is a vast difference between forgiveness and throwing oneself back into a situation that had devastating personal consequences the first time round without any evidence that this time will be different.

Finally the last negative I want to talk about is the point of view we are coming from. I like it when we switch back and forth between the romantic leads, and this book does do that, but it also includes the random inclusion of a third point of view of Gigi (Corina’s boss). This is merely a pet peeve of mine. It pulls me out of the romantic story. But this time it especially irritated me because she was a horrible person and I really disliked being in her head. 

The only thing I really liked about the book was how we look at grief and loss from multiple perspectives (parents, siblings, spouses’, friends, etc.) and over an extended period of time. I felt Hauck handled this topic well. And how she dealt with her topic of grief is why this book didn’t get one star from me.

Overall I am terribly disappointed. I loved the first book in the series and really liked the second, so what a let down here. To be honest, I don’t know that I am willing to even try the last book in the series, especially as it also sounds like it is also a second chance romance.

Jo's Boys Review

Jo’s Boys and How They Turned Out is the third and last book in the Little Women series. It follows the children from Little Men as they grow up and become adults.



I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars. I really liked this sequel. It goes back to the same feel we got in LW/ GW with the familiar and comforting writing style. What makes the difference, I think, is that there is a feeling that the story is going somewhere; that it is not just a collection of short stories. I find this format far more enjoyable to read.

The characters were delightful to follow. I really liked their coming of age stories, what they went through and where they ended up. It is nice to have the context of Little Men but seeing them here helped me to feel the connection and investment that I didn’t get from that book.
Overall, it was worth slogging a bit through Little Men to reach this gem of a book.

Belle Review

Belle: An Amish Retelling by Sarah Price is a Christian fiction retelling of Beauty and the Beast. It follows young Annabelle when her family is forced by circumstance to sell their farm. She is given the opportunity to save their home if she is willing to marry the reclusive, temperamental, and fire scarred Adam Herschberger.



I gave this book 2.5 out of 5 stars. It was meh. I love retellings, but for the first half of the book it felt too forced (trying to be exact with the original). However, there are many aspects to the original story that just aren’t realistic to fit into the Amish culture and plain out wouldn’t have happened. The concept for this book was very interesting, I just don’t think it was very well done.

The characters were not realistic. Not only did I feel they would not get away with certain behaviors within their community (without reprimands and consequences from the Bishops), but the main relationship did not work for me. To me, she fell in love far before she should have, or a real person would have. Overall their feelings and choices baffled me often (and not just the main characters).

There were some good messages in here and I liked the use of faith in the story, especially in dealing with hard circumstances. But I feel it could have been done a bit more (like showing a deeper dependence on prayer and more time spent in the Bible to help Belle deal with her situation).

Overall this book didn’t really do anything for me. I didn’t hate it, but it was a bit of a disappointment and fell flat.

Little Men Review

Little Men by Louisa May Alcott is the sequel to Little Women and Good Wives. We follow the boys at Jo & Professor Bhaer’s school at Plumfield. 

I gave this book 3.5 out of 5 stars. I love Alcott’s writing style. It is warm, charming and engaging. Her characters are interesting, funny, sweet, varied and realistic. Reading this is like stepping back in time and experiencing life with people of a different age in the best possible way. The faith element and life lessons are still so beautiful and helpful to read.

This book isn’t as well done as it’s predecessors and I think it has to do with how many children we are trying to follow. In LW & GW we stick to 4 main characters, but here we are following anywhere from 7-15 kids and that leaves very little time to really get to know each one or feel invested in their individual stories. Furthermore, I would have liked to see some of the old familiar characters for an update on their lives, but we don’t get that. It probably didn't help that there is no overarching plot to the book. I found, with no particular destination for the story, it rambled.
Overall, it was an interesting read, if slow and less gripping.

Warrior Maiden Review

The Warrior Maiden by Melanie Dickerson is the eighth book in her Christian historical fairytale retelling Hagenhiem series. This book is a retelling of the Legend of Mulan. 

I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars. It was a quick and interesting read. The writing style is strong and engaging, just as I have come to expect from Dickerson. The characters are well developed, and I enjoyed getting to know them. I still enjoy how she builds the historic setting and weaves her tale into it. I just wish we had seen some of the previous characters and heard a bit of where they are at this point.

Generally, I love retellings, but this one didn’t really do anything for me. It felt too forced, specifically to fit in with the rest of the series. I feel that the story of Mulan is too rooted in its Asian setting to try and move it into another one. Furthermore, I have read a really strong Mulan retelling and this one just wasn’t anywhere near as good.

Overall, I am glad that I read this book, but it just didn’t work for me.

January Overview

Poetry:

Great Poems by American Women edited by Susan Rattiner



Classics:

Little Men by Louisa May Alcott

Jo’s Boys by Louisa May Alcott



Christian Non-fiction:

The Life Giving Table by Sally Clarkson

The Get Yourself Organized Project by Kathi Lipp

Emptied by Wynter & Jonathan Pitt



General Non-fiction:

The Life Changing Magic of Tidying up by Marie Kondo

Decluttering at the Speed of Life by Dana K White



Christian Fiction:

The Wedding Season by Deborah Hale & Louise Gouge (historical)

The Wife Campaign by Regina Scott (historical)

The Husband Campaign by Regina Scott (historical)



General Fiction:

Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire (young adult fantasy)

In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire (young adult fantasy)

Supernova by Marissa Meyer (young adult fantasy)

Dreamer’s Pool by Juliet Marillier (adult fantasy)

Fellowship of the Ring by J R R Tolkien (adult fantasy)

How to Date Your Dragon by Molly Harper (adult paranormal)

House Rules by Chloe Chloe Neill (adult paranormal)

How to Run with a Naked Werewolf by Molly Harper (adult paranormal)

Scandal in Spring by Lisa Kleypas (adult historical)

A Diamond for a Duke by Collette Cameron (adult historical)