Silenced

When I first got this book, I was intrigued. I started reading it and the first sentence got me hooked. However, I started the second chapter......looked at the spine of the book, and didn't realize it was the fourth book of a series....

The only downfall to being a book blogger, is the company's don't always tell you that a book is part of a series...or silly human error on my part that I didn't bother to read more in to it before I started reading it.

But...I kept on hoping that I would understand. And honestly...the book did a good job of doing that for me. I may not have known who all the characters were at first, but like meeting new people, you eventually get to know them.

Now I'm almost tempted to go back and read the other books to learn more about everyone...from the beginning.

Andi Unexpected

This was a cute book. Very short read for me. I was able to read this in one night.

I know I'm an adult, and this is a children's novel, but sometimes, you just have to let the brain rest. And this was just what I needed.

Andi and her sister Bethany move in with their aunt. Andi (or Andora as we find out) is named after someone in her family. While living with her aunt, her new friend, Collin, and her spend time together cleaning out her aunt's attic to make room for Andi's new room up there. They end up going on an adventure after finding an old box. What's in it? Why is her name on it?

I would recommend this to anyone looking for a new book for their child to read. It's a wonderful little tale. One that I could even see being made into a movie.

Doon

Scootish Moors, fancy dresses, medieval like town, fantasy, tales, mystery.

A boy in a kilt.

Everything your heart could want in a fantasy-like setting....

I'm a sucker for Young Adult collections...however, I'm starting to realize my obsession has gotten a little crazy and it's taken over my reading time a little too much. But I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with this one.

While I thought that the book was going to be based solely on Veronica, Makenna's best friend, I was glad to see that it wasn't just about her. The book is broken up in to chapters for each girl and I had to remind myself that the POV was from one of the two girls.

Makenna inherits her Aunt Gracie's estate in Scotland and she takes Veronica with her. Veronica, on the other hand, has been seeing a mysterious boy in a kilt, and thinks she's gone mad. ENTER: a trip to Scotland with Makenna to see her Aunt's house. They find Gracie's journal about stories that Makenna had grown up listening to and it all goes on from there.

I don't want to say too much considering it will give stuff away. I think this would be a great movie (MUCH BETTER THAN TWILIGHT!!!!!) I think it's kind of funny that it's labeled as "Christian" young adult, only due to some minor language and some more intimate relationship settings. Other than that, I can totally see the two girls talking. The use of "teen" language is heavy through the book and you can feel the teenage atmostphere. Which is fine for me, because teenagers are an interesting species. :)

Now...of to find me MY boy in a kilt....(my boyfriend is of Scottish/Irish ancestry, and he's HOT in a kilt!!)

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com®  book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255  : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Once Upon a Prince...

I love fairy tales. I'm a Disney geek through and through and always have dreamed about meeting my Prince Charming. I think most girls have that dream of waltzing around in a big poofy gown in the arms of their beloved and gazing longingly into his eyes.

I also love movies like The Prince and Me and The Princess Diaries. Oh to be a small town girl and be whisked away by a prince or be told that you are the princess of a country. Now, I'm not saying that I want to run a country...I can barely keep my own household afloat!

I'm also a sucker for romance novels. C'mon...you can't tell me after a long day of stress you wouldn't want to curl up with a book with a cheesy romantic aire and just lose yourself in the world of royalty, love, and romance. I know I do. Maybe that's what helps keep me "sane". Not sure, but I will choose to believe it for the moment.

"Once Upon a Prince" had a lot of the same similar ideas as the movie the Prince and Me: Royalty travels to foreign country, falls for a common girl, hides who he is, problems arise, becomes King, and so forth. The story was also fairly predictable throughout. But that didn't bother me at all. After reading books where you are trying to figure out the end, or remembering 500 characters and the storyline is so complex you need a Cliffs Notes and diagram to figure it out, it's nice to have an easy predictable read. I think the characters were easily distinguishable, relatable, and easy to understand. Even though I knew what was going to happen at the end, I still teared up. I guess I felt like I was Susanna, and was waiting for love to come along.

This is also a great story to show that you do not have control of your own life. You may have a "plan" as Susanna did, and like the beginnign shows, she was more in lvoe with the plan than the man she thought she loved for 12 years. Susanna had to let go and give plan over to God. And He obviously had more in store for her than she could have ever dreamed...far more grand, more full of love and passion than she probably ever let her heart desire.

I would recommend this book to those that love romance, predictable or non, those looking for love, those searching for a reason for their life. God's got it.


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com® book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Wishing on Willows

When I first read the description of this book, it sounded familiar to me. I couldn't place why though. After I started reading the first chapter, I was like, "Wait a minute....Robin sounds familiar....." And sure enough; I was right. 

Wishing on Willows by Katie Ganshert was a nice little step back into Peaks with some familiar faces. I enjoyed reading Wildflowers from Winter, which was the prequel to this book. I sometimes have a hard time with series books, because I don't feel like they can live up to the first book (I've read some series recently that felt like they bombed compared to the original). However, Katie's style of writing had me drawn in once again and I felt like I got to know the characters more and meet some new characters. 

I can't wait to see where Katie takes us next. This is a good, easy, leisure read. Good, clean romance. 

Bread & Wine

When a small group from my church decided they wanted to read this for this month, and create some of the recipes from the book, I was really happy that when I saw that Thomas Nelson was having this books a BookSneeze selection. I was giddy with excitement as I got my package in the mail.

When I was flipping through it, though, it wasn't what I expected it to be. 

"My prayer is that you'll read these pages first curled up on your couch or in bed or in the bathtub, and then after that you'll bring it to the kitchen with you, turning corners of pages, breaking the spine, spilling red wine on it and splashing vinegar across the pages, that it will become battered and stained as you cook and chop and play, music loud and kitchen messy" Shauna writes on the back cover of the book. Even though in the book she says this is not a cook book, it is more of an collection of stories of her life. 

I was hoping for more recipes that are in here. This is not a book that I would bring into the kitchen with me. Some other people might, but that is not for me. My cookbooks are loaded with leftover food, stuck and curled pages. This book would never make it in my kitchen. 

I did find the book pleasing to read, and I will (try) to make some of the recipes in the book. And it will be interesting to hear what the ladies in the small group at church thought about the book too.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com®  book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255  : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Letters to Katie

It's been some time since I've read an Amish inspired book. I think it probably was one of Beverly Lewis' ones. When I read the description for "Letters to Katie" it sounded interesting and I decided to give it a go. This is a sweet story centered around Katie. It took some time to get in to where the "letters" were going to be part of the story, but when it was finally revealed, it made sense. I quickly fell in love with the characters. This is an easy, quick read and I enjoyed it. If you are looking for a wholesome love story, this is a good choice.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com®  book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255  : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

New Blog

Well, well, well....

I have decided to bring over my book reviews to Blogger. Hmm....me thinks that Google has found itself a new little minion. :)

The purpose of this blog, it to give honest reviews of books that I have received for free in return for the honest reviews after I had read them. I've done book blogging for a few years now and I have come across some AMAZING reads!

I just got the following book today (I ordered it on the 13th from BookSneeze and it came today!) and I've SOOOO been waiting to read this! I love his stuff.

So, look for a new review of this bad boy in the next couple weeks. Along with a few other goodies!

Cheerio for now!

~Mindy