Like a Flower in Bloom - A Book Review

Charlotte Withersby has been assisting her botanist father her entire life.  She loves plants and flowers and has little desire for anything else.  She is twenty-two years old and her uncle, The Admiral, decides that she must marry to fulfill her proper roll as a woman - to be a wife and a mother.

Charlotte's father depends on her for everything so Charlotte is certain that he will disregard her uncle's advice and keep things as they are, but when Edward Trimble shows up and is hired by Charlotte's father to replace her as his assistant, Charlotte knows she is going to have to come up with a plan and quick.  She decides that she will pretend to have an interest in marriage and in turn her father will be worried of her marrying the wrong man and change his mind and put an end to the ridiculous plan.  Charlotte soon finds that she is in over her head.  She soon has more suitors than she knows what to do with and the one man that recognizes her intelligence as a botanist is Edward.

I really struggled with this book and was so glad to finally get to the end.  One problem I had is that I really am not fond of books written in the first person narrative.  It's my personal preference, but I just don't like stories written from that point of view.  On top of that I felt the story lacked luster.  In fact it just about bored me to tears.  I love flower and plants, but the details of plants in this book were too much for me.  I also felt like the author's attempt at being funny came across as corny.  

The cover is absolutely beautiful and I really wanted to like this book.  I tried to get past my dislike of the first person narrative, but by chapter nine I new for certain that the book was not going to turn around for me.  I plunged forward and was never more happy to see the end of a book.

***This book was provided to me by Bethany House Publishing in exchange for my honest review.

The Beekeeper's Son - A Book Review

It has been two years since Abigail Lantz's  husband died and she decides it is time to move on.  She moves her family to Bee County, Texas to live with her brother and to be near a childhood beau in hopes of a new beginning.  Her daughter Deborah is less than thrilled.  She misses their home in Tennessee, her friends and her beau.  As soon as her mother and younger siblings are settled she is determined to head back home, all she is waiting on is a letter from Aaron.  She soon discovers that the plans she thought she had in Tennessee have fallen through and now she is stuck in Texas and is trying to discover what God's plan is for her life.

Phineas King is a man covered in scars from a horrific accident that also killed his mother when he was eight years old.  He has grown accustomed to the looks of shock and pity from everyone he meets.  He chooses to keep to himself whenever possible and focuses his time on the bees that his family raises.  He is bitter and doesn't think that anyone will ever love him or even want to look at him.  When Deborah meets Phineas her first reaction is shock, but she looks past his scars and sees the man inside.  She tries her best to try to get to know him, but Phineas is intent on pushing her away.  Can they both put aside their disappointments and past hurts to find the joy that God has in store for their future?

I really loved this book!  The author Kelly Irvin has a great writing style that pulled me right into the story!  My heart broke for Phineas at the pain he has felt in his lifetime.  I enjoyed Deborah's boldness and spirited personality.  The story of Phineas and Deborah was great, but I also enjoyed the other character's and their stories.  I would love to read more about Abigail and the new life she is beginning and I hope the author decides to write another book and expand more on her!

***This book was provided to me through the booklook bloggers program in exchange for my review.

The Pizza Bible - A Book Review

I am a lover of pizza.  So, besides pizza, what does a pizza lover need?  Well, a Pizza Bible of course.  Well at least that's what I thought I needed.  Turns out I was wrong.  Although I enjoyed reading The Pizza Bible, it really hasn't enhanced my life much.

I'm just an average girl who likes pizza on Friday nights.  For an average person like me, this book is way over rated.  It is better suited for the dedicated cook or someone who is super serious about making pizza's.  The author Tony Gemignana is an 11-time World Pizza Champ and he takes pizza making VERY serious.  He has a motto "respect the craft" and in The Pizza Bible he shares his secrets of "the craft".  The thing for me is that it is just too complicated.  Out of all the recipes in the book, there were none that I had everything on hand for.  For the pizza crust he uses specialty flours that you have to order online, yeah not that all-purpose flour that we all use, and it actually takes three days to make.  Yikes!  There are a lot of times that I don't know I want pizza three days in advance!  On top of that there is a Gearing Up section that lists the things you need before starting and there were several items that I don't own.  I'm not looking to spend a lot of money just so I can make great pizzas.  According to my family, my homemade pizza's are pretty great anyway.

Another thing that disappointed me was the quality of the book.  At first glance it looks like a nice sturdy book, but after looking through it a couple times the spine is already tearing away from the hardcover.   According to other reviews I have read this is a common problem with the book.  Also, there is an insert in the beginning of the book of corrections.  Apparently there are several mistakes within the book and their way to correct this is by including an insert that I overlooked at first.

What I did enjoy about the book was the style.  Tony has a great way with words that made the reading sections of the book very entertaining to me.  He included some pizza facts and history that I though was very interesting and in true Bible form he included The Ten Commandments of Pizza.  The pictures were great and look delicious!  I would love to try one of the pizza's in the cookbook, but not enough to go out and spend a bunch of money, time and energy!

***This book was provided to me through the Blogging for Books program in exchange for my honest review.

The New American Herbal - A Book Review

I have always been fascinated by herbs.  I love to grow them, I use them both for cooking and medicinal purposes and I have a lot of books on the subject.  Although I have been studying herbs for several years I know I still have so much to learn on the subject.  I was so excited to receive The New American Herbal book.  This book is so jammed pack with information!  The pictures inside are absolutely gorgeous!  I seriously, just spent some time flipping through the book and enjoying the beautiful pictures.  

The book covers everything from herb basics, herbal preparations, garden projects, kitchen projects, specialty herbs and so much more.  There is an Herbs A to Z section that fills the majority of the book.  This section is a comprehensive guide that covers each herb beginning with Agrimony and ending with Yarrow.  The pages are indexed on the side which makes it easy to flip through and find the letter and herb you are looking for which comes in handy for quick references.  Each herb is described with plenty of information and pictures to give you apt knowledge on the individual herbs.

This book is going on my shelf of favorites and I know it is something that I will be referring to for years to come.  I can't wait to try some of the recipes that I found inside!  If you are a beginning herbalist or have been at it for years this book will be a beneficial addition to your library!  

***This book was provided to me by blogging for books in exchange for my honest review.

Price of Privilege - A Book Review

I love when an Author writes a series of books and you really get to know the characters and get to read one continuing story throughout several novels.  What I don't like however, is when I make the mistake of getting a later book in the series and not realizing I'm reading the third book until after I start.  Grrr!  I have read several series that the author does such a good job at reintroducing characters and plots that it does not matter if you haven't read the previous books, but lately it seems like the later books in the series are continuing a story that I am clueless about and the author doesn't take the time to introduce new readers to the characters.

If you haven't guessed yet, this is what happened to me with the Price of Privilege.  Do to my own mistake, I requested a book to review that was book three in a series and did not realize it until after I started the book.  I was completely overwhelmed with all the different characters presented in Price of Privilege and I had no idea who was who and what was being talked about.  It took me a while to get passed this, but throughout the book I continued to feel like I was missing important information and trying to piece it all together was difficult.

What I did like was the author's writing style.  It was different than anything I have read lately.  The author, Jessica Dotta reminded me of an old soul.  Her writing reflects that of Jane Austen and seemed very elegant to me.  I liked the regal feeling to it and even though I had trouble getting into the story because of the above mentioned, I would definitely read more of Jessica Dotta's books.  A matter of fact this book sparked my interest enough to go back to the beginning and start with book one to see what I was missing out on.

I would recommend this book as long as you start from the beginning of the series!  The first book is Born of Persuasion and the second book is Mark of Distinction.

If you would like to learn more about the author and her books she has a website and you can get to it by clicking HERE.

Description from the back of Price of Privilege:

Having finally discovered the truth of her birthright, Julia Elliston is determined to outwit Chance Macy at his own game. Holding a secret he’d kill to keep, however, is proving more difficult than she imagined.

Just when Julia thinks she’s managed to untangle herself from Macy’s clutches, he changes tactics with a risky ploy. As the scandal of the century breaks loose, drawing rooms all over London whisper what so far newspapers have not dared to print: Macy’s lost bride is none other than Lord Pierson’s daughter—and one of the most controversial cases of marital law ever seen comes before Victorian courts.

Though Julia knows Macy’s version of events is another masterful manipulation, public opinion is swaying in his favor. Caught in a web of deceit and lies, armed only with a fledgling faith, Julia must face her fiercest trial yet.


***This book was provided to me by Tyndale Publishing in exchange for my honest review.

Hope Crossing - A Book Review

When it comes to Amish fiction Cindy Woodsmall is one of my favorite authors.  Her style of writing is so enjoyable.  Her books are what I consider "easy reads".  They are the kind that I love to curl up with for an afternoon of reading with a blanket and a cup of hot chocolate.

Hope Crossing is the complete Ada's House Trilogy and includes all three books in the series.  The three books included are The Hope of Refuge, The Bridge of Peace and The Harvest of Grace.  I cannot pick a favorite book out of the three because they are all so good.  All the character's are easy to connect with and if you are anything like me you won't even want to take a break between books, you'll just keep on reading!

The first book, The Hope of Refuge is about Ephraim and Clara.  Clara has lived a hard life, after her mother died and her father abandoned her she grew up in Foster homes.  Now she has a little girl named Lori and they are running from a stalker who has been tormenting Clara for years.  Clara ends up in Amish country after finding a clue from her mother in a diary.  Ephraim comes to Clara's aide which gets him shunned in his community.  Clara and Ephraim are both surprised when the realize this is not the first time they have met.

The second book, The Bridge of Peace continues on with the same characters but now the main characters are Lena and Grey.  Lena is a school teacher and at 27 years old she is sure that she is to live her life alone.  With a huge birthmark on her face she knows that her looks turn everyone away.  She is happy with her life as a teacher, but now her job is being threatened and Grey is the only person who will stand up for her.  Grey is dealing with some personal tragedies of his own and only wants friendship from Lena.  Lena on the other hand is quickly developing deeper feelings for Grey.

The third book, The Harvest of Grace concludes the stories that we have been reading in a very satisfying way.  It completes the stories of the previous books, but also focus on Sylvia and Aaron who both have different goals in life and their struggle of trying to come together.  I read this book several years and it was actually the first book I read by Cindy Woodsmall and I have been reading her books ever since.

If you have not had the pleasure of reading this series yet, Hope Crossing is a good place to start since it has all three books combined in one book for one low price!

***This book was provided to me by bloggingforbooks.com in exchange for my honest review.

The Bracelet - A Book Review

The thing that drew me to The Bracelet by Dorothy Love was the mystery and I have to admit that it was the "mystery" that kept me intrigued, but that is about all.

The book starts off with a young distraught woman thinking about ending her own life, but she changes her mind...too late or so we wonder.  The death was believed to be accidental, but through some events it leaves the reader wondering if it was actually a murder?  Next, we fast forward to 1858.  It is a just a couple years before the Civil War.  I normally love books written from this time period, but I did not connect with the time period in this book.  There was something about it that just didn't seem true to that time period for me.

I also did not connect well with the characters.  The main character Celia has just gotten engaged to Sutton her childhood sweetheart.  At the same time a reporter starts poking around trying to uncover the mystery of the tragedies that took place when Celia was a child.  Celia begins to realize that there are some deep family secrets and she decides if she wants to know the truth she will have to discover it for herself.  As she begins to search out the truth she starts getting threats.  One inparticular is a Bracelet that has a secret message, a threat, within the stones.  Instead of backing down this makes Celia all the more determined to find out the truth of her family and who is sending her the messages.

I found no chemistry between Celia and Sutton.  I have to say I didn't even like Sutton's character so it was hard for me to want Celia to marry him.  There is also Ivy, who is just annoying to me.  Her character just seems stupid and I didn't connect well with her either.  All the "fluff" surrounding the mystery really just bored me.  I wanted to read about the mystery and find out the truth of the tragedies.  All the rest just bored me.

***This book was provide
d to me through booklookbloggers.com in exchange for my honest review.

Love Unexpected - A Book Review

Love Unexpected by Jody Hedlund is a great historical fiction book.  I knew I would love this book because I love all of Jody Hedlund's books.  The way she writes is more like painting a picture, it's like watching a story unfold right before your very eyes.  I love the way she includes factual historical events and this is one author who really does her homework.  For example, at the end of Love Unexpected there is an "Author's Note" where she shares about the research she did and how the book ties in with real historical events, which things were true and which were just based on a true event.  Some of the character's are based on real people from the past and she shares who those people where and how they inspired her.  For someone like me, who loves history this is just awesome!

Another thing I love about this book (and all her books) are how rich they are in faith.  This story shows how the mistakes we have made in the past can still affect our future even after we give our hearts to God.  I once heard a preacher say that even after you get saved you sometimes "reap what you sow".   Although God forgives us sometimes we suffer the repercussions of our mistakes after God has saved us.  I have experienced this in my own life, but through the grace of God, he not only forgave me of my sins, he turned those bad things into blessings!  Isn't God great like that?!

There was also a message of forgiveness and showing the same mercy to others that God has shown to you.  Sometimes this is a hard thing to do, but we have to remember that we were once a sinner just like them and we need to share the love of God so they can see God shining through you.

I loved the characters in Love Unexpected.  Emma is a young girl traveling with her brother when their ship is attacked by pirates.  Her and her brother are rescued by lighthouse keeper Patrick.  All Emma has ever wanted was a home of her own.  She has all but given up on that dream.  No man ever came calling and she doesn't think anyone would think her attractive.  Patrick has just buried his wife and is left to run the lighthouse and take care of his two year old son on his own.  It seems that Emma is the answer to his problem and after a quick wedding Emma finally has the home she has always wanted.  Now that she is married she is starting to realize that she knows nothing about being a mother and the man she married seems to have many secrets.  There are even rumors around town that he is a dangerous man.  When Emma discovers Patrick's secrets will she be able to stay with him?

There is a novella prequel to this book called Out of the Storm.  If you don't read it first it will not take away from the book, but it would help you connect with a certain part of the story, plus it is really good too.  Love Unexpected is book one in the Beacons of Hope series and I can't wait till the next book comes out!

If you have not read any of Jody Hedlund books, you are missing out, but it's not too late!  You can start with this series!

***This book was provided to me by Bethany House Publishers in exchange for my honest review.

The Bachelor - A Book Review

I get  so aggravated at myself when I request a book to review only to find out it is the second in a series and I have yet to read the first.  I really need to pay more attention to this!  Sometimes this is not a problem, but more often then not it is better to read a series in order.  So, with that being said, that is what happened to me with The Bachelor.

The Bachelor by Stephanie Reed is book two in the Plain City Peace Series.  As I mentioned, I did not read the first book in the series and I feel like this really took away from the book for me.  I felt lost and unconnected to the characters, especially at first.  It seemed as if I was missing the first part of the story and I guess I was, I think this book picked up right where the first one left off.  The end of The Bachelor is a bit of a cliff hanger so I am sure that book three is going to pick off where this one ends as well.  Even though I started with the second book it did peak my interest enough to make me want to go back and read The Bargain, which is the first book.  I think I'll wait till the third book comes out though. The Bride is not to be released until 2016 so I will wait till closer to that time and read book one for the first time and then book two again to refresh my memory.

There were several things about The Bachelor that I liked.  It was different than a lot of the Amish fiction stories I have read in the past.  It is set in the 70's and I have read very few books from that time period and I really enjoyed that.  I also liked that it gave a more realistic view of Amish life and their beliefs.  I would definitely recommend reading it, but be sure to grab The Bargain first and start from the beginning!

More about The Bachelor:

Betsie Troyer is back home in her Amish community after her parents have left for the English world.  Her parents have been shunned by the community and Betsie is now caring for her siblings.  Betsie is happy with her life and feels like she is getting everything "back on track".  Her and  Charley Yoder have made promises to each other and she is looking forward to a future with him, but when her English neighbor asks Betsie to care for his 12 year old daughter Sheila, Betsie's life gets turned upside down once again.  Between trying to keep peace with Charley, taking care of a 12 year old, and her friendship with Sheila's brother..the draft dodging, hippy Englisher named Michael, Betsie begins to question what God's plan is for her life.  Will God make the choice clear?

More about the Author:

Stephanie Reed lives on the outskirts of Plain City, Ohio, the site of a once-thriving Amish community.  She gleans ideas for her novels from signs glimpsed along the byways of Ohio.  To check out her other books and learn more about her you can go to her website HERE.

***This book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Pray the Scriptures When Life Hurts - A Book Review

I have some mixed feelings about the book Pray the Scriptures When Life Hurts by Kevin Johnson.  I was first drawn to this book because of the title.  As a christian  it is important that we know God's word and it is good to use it in our prayer life.  The Bible is full of God's promises and His word can give us encouragement during the hurting times of our life.  I was hoping that the book would give me some guidance and encouragement in "praying the Scriptures".  On the second page of the first chapter the author uses the phrase "cut the crap".  Now I know what I am getting ready to say will get me viewed as a goody-two-shoes by some, but when I read that phrase I was instantly disappointed and frankly disgusted with the author of the book.   In my opinion, those words do not belong in a book entitled Pray the Scriptures.  This is a devotional book and I expect to see uplifting and godly words, not words that I hear out in the world every day.

I thought the book would be an encouragement, but instead I feel that it can discourage more than encourage.  Each chapter of the book focuses on a different emotion.  A few examples are loneliness, resentment, frustration, surrender, hope...In the beginning of each chapter the author shares some thoughts and then there is a section with a Bible verse followed by questions/journal prompts and a space for you to write your answers.  I did really like this set up.  I like a devotional that you can write in and that asks thought provoking questions that encourage you to examine your heart with the purpose of drawing you closer to the Lord.  But it seemed like a lot of the journal prompts/questions were focusing more on what you are going through and how bad it is rather than how great God is and how He will see you through anything that life throws your way.

It is my opinion that if you are in a hurting place in your life, a place of sickness, or heartache, maybe grief...whatever the trial, YOU can pray the scriptures.  Get your Bible out, read God's promises.  Be encouraged!  My all time favorite chapter in the Bible is Psalms 91 and it has encouraged me through many trials.  Here are just a FEW other scriptures that I believe are a good start to help "pray the scriptures".

Psalm 9:9-10
James 4:7
Psalm 50:15
Psalm 34:7
Isaiah 41:10
Exodus 14:14
Joshua 1:9
Deuteronomy 31:8

***This book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.