Books

When Twilight Breaks // Book Review

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When Twilight Breaks by Sarah Sundin

? ? ? – –

three out of five hearts

Genre keywords: historical fiction, light romance novel, WW2

 

GoodReads Summary:

Munich, 1938. Evelyn Brand is an American foreign correspondent as determined to prove her worth in a male-dominated profession as she is to expose the growing tyranny in Nazi Germany. To do so, she must walk a thin line. If she offends the government, she could be expelled from the country–or worse. If she fails to truthfully report on major stories, she’ll never be able to give a voice to the oppressed–and wake up the folks back home. In another part of the city, American graduate student Peter Lang is working on his PhD in German. Disillusioned with the chaos in the world due to the Great Depression, he is impressed with the prosperity and order of German society. But when the brutality of the regime hits close, he discovers a far better way to use his contacts within the Nazi party–to feed information to the shrewd reporter he can’t get off his mind. This electric standalone novel from fan-favorite Sarah Sundin puts you right at the intersection of pulse-pounding suspense and heart-stopping romance.

 

My Thoughts:

I found When Twilight Breaks to be a pleasant light read, loosely about the start of WW2 in Germany and centering around a journalist and a teacher. I find myself particularly aware of the hurt and sensitive topics that can come from books centered around WW2, so I was pleased to find this book realistic yet still balanced in developing plot and storyline without delving too far into the terror that can be linked to stories about WW2. This book had frequent dialogue and was overall a quick read with its quickly moving plot.

Pros: Excellent historical fiction, this book stays true to the time period without feeling like a textbook. This is a sweet light-hearted read and involves characters with upstanding morals. If you enjoy historical fiction and a light romance, this is an excellent book with a great balance between the two. Despite a heavier setting, Sundin writes a more uplifting plot with plenty of action.

Cons: The only areas I found to not align with what I expected of this novel had to do with character development. I sometimes felt like Evelyn changed her mind within two pages or with only a tiny bit of conversation with Peter. I completely understand that as a personality trait, but it broke up the plot a bit at times and made her a slightly more difficult character to relate to. Additionally, certain events or circumstances/memories dealt with sadder or more difficult subject matter and Evelyn and Peter both responded very lightly or were able to resolve things very quickly. This matches with the book generally being a lighter story and glancing over serious issues, but it can leave the reader feeling a little disconnected at times.

I received a free copy of When Twilight Breaks from Revell in exchange for a 100% honest review.

xx

Network of Deceit // Book Review

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Network of Deceit by Tom Threadgill

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

five out of five hearts

Genre keywords: crime, murder mystery, light thriller

 

GoodReads Summary:

Amara Alvarez’s first case as a homicide detective drags her into the murky world of computer hackers. When she finds herself under attack by cybercriminals, she has no choice but to use unconventional methods to expose the truth and find a killer.

 

My Thoughts:

This is the second book, however the reader does not need to have read the first to understand this story – I hadn’t read the first book. First impressions with this book were not anything particularly note-worthy, while I didn’t dislike the cover, I wasn’t immediately intrigued or informed of anything by the cover/title/first chapter being printed on the same the page opposite the copyright information. Of course, I mention this just because first impressions and physical appearance of books is a key factor for me when I just browse in the library, so I find it worth reviewing. 😉 However, within the first several chapters, I knew I’d read the book within just a few days. Network of Deceit is a surprisingly pleasant wearer-of-many-hats book! I found it to contain witty humor between main character detectives Amara and Starsky, to have more serious and personal topics with Amara’s family, but to all the while maintain a lively murder mystery that was excellently executed. I found it very gripping to read as I wanted to know the next intricate details of the murder case, but also to ease a tension that I have with books – I knew I never needed to worry that the book would descend into any explicit content or gruesome language. I think Threadgill has found an excellent way of writing in the crime genre, not bringing readers down into terrible crimes of the world, but not sacrificing on the quality, action, and suspense of a good mystery.

Pros: Everything. Read it. If you enjoy crime novels, this is light in violence but maintains the behind the scenes work of detectives and gathering evidence. If you don’t usually read crime novels, this is a great book for trying out the genre as there is suspense and a quick plot with a safety net of humor and subplots beyond Amara’s case.

Cons: I wish the title or book cover had been more telling. However, in terms of the actual story, I was caught off guard by how much  I enjoyed it and look forward to reading the next book!

I received a free copy of Network of Deceit from Revell in exchange for a 100% honest review.

xx

College

by  on  in Books, Camera, Life, Me, Myself, and I, my opinion, Story • 0 Comments

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Another lovely photo from my mind’s second home: France. (A personal library of old books stored throughout a chateau – how could I not fall in love?)

College.

Student-athlete.

Biochemistry major.

Living away from home.

Wow.

Honestly, I usually still think I’m 17 when people ask me my age. It’s hard to comprehend the fact that I’m in college, that I have already had to deal with a lot of things I never had to before college, that I’m actually not even going to be a teenager next year, and that, at some point relatively soon, it’s going to be expected of me to be fully independent. Some people my age have already been married for a year and may even have a kid. Some people my age are already living on their own or traveled to a different country for school. That is just crazy to me – how can my preference of being home and my dislike of large social settings compare with that?

I used to look at college students and think that they had their lives together. Even if they weren’t doing well in school or something, I figured they must have a backup plan, that they were always calm about what they would do. Since starting college, I’ve realized that no one has it together, even the people who are like what I described above. Even those people are worried their backup plans won’t work – no one can be sure. Oftentimes, the future seems terrifying because I’ve realized that I’m never going to feel like I’m invincible in the path my life takes. And it’s true, I won’t ever be invincible in what I do.

But, honestly? I still find peace. I really only have that peace because of knowing the Lord. I do not have to worry about the risk of failing in something. I don’t even have to worry that I will let someone down because the Lord has got me. If life plans have to change, it’s not because I’m not good enough, it’s not because I don’t have value, it’s because I’m needed somewhere else. I will be a thousand times more useful in a place He has picked out for me than in a place that I am trying to make work for me. There is no comparison between any one life and another: all have a need for Him and all will better glorify Him while following what He chose for them. He has His plan and all I have to do is try my best to follow Him and every smooth path or rocky cliff will be used for His glory.

 

Random odd things accomplished thanks to college:

  • had my number requested by a fourth grade boy touring campus
  • successfully sneaked out of a park I got locked into with a friend
  • applied for a job as a snake handler (the snake left campus, but not to worry, I have two other jobs instead)
  • went to Georgia (for swim nationals but I was delirious with a fever)
  • dyed my hair with temporary dye for the first time for a day (blue, and then dyed it again for a day a purple/red color)
  • experienced a demonstration of stunt driving skills
  • made a turkey hat with kindergarteners
  • drank 3-5 cups of tea every day for a whole week (sick before finals week this last semester)

 

All in all, it’s definitely been an experience.

xx

Your Sacred Yes // Book Review

by  on  in Bethany House Review, Books, Jesus • 0 Comments

Hello everyone!

Here is July’s book review:

23583854[1]Your Sacred Yes by Susie Larson

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ –

four out of five hearts
(picture from GoodReads)

GoodReads Summary:

Popular Author & Speaker Equips Women to Live Focused and Free
Women today are stretched thin, worn weary, and tired of living hurried lives. And nothing drains us more than signing up for things God never asked us to do, even if they are well-intentioned. Yet, all too often that’s exactly where we lose our way.
In “Your Sacred Yes,” Susie Larson shares personal stories and biblical insights to help you:
– Learn how–and when–to say “no” without guilt or shame
– Say “yes” to “life-giving,” not life-draining, activities
– Find joy and abundance, fulfillment and freedom, each day
When we can’t, or won’t, say “no,” we become captive to our commitments instead of free to respond to God’s invitations. Here is your chance to say no to others’ obligations and yes to the One who will rejuvenate your weary soul. Will you say “yes”?

 

My Review:

Pros:

I really liked this book, it was telling me something important, but the whole book was encouraging. Even though the book was telling me I might be spinning my wheels and wasting energy on something I didn’t need to be doing – it just pushed me to figure out why I’m doing what I’m doing and if I should be doing those things. I never felt like Ms. Larson was criticizing me for getting into that situation or for doing something I’m not called to do. That’s a really critical point for me, because self-help books don’t work well for me if they are only negative.

This book has a lot of scripture, proving points Ms. Larson makes, as well as quotes from different people and even stories from her own life. Oh my goodness, and that bonus chapter! It includes spiritual and physical challenges, I encourage all readers to consider doing the challenge because it’s a great why to move forward and change your life based on what you’ve read. This book was fantastic, giving great suggestions on how to change your life and reasons why you should.

As believers we know we are not saved by our acts, but sometimes we end up doing so much extra work that we can’t stop and rest in Him. Ms. Larson was the first author I’ve come across who really explained and assured me of the importance of resting in Him. I knew it was important, but I guess I kind of thought that God would just be pleased that I wasn’t being lazy. I realized through this book that He wants me to have the time to come to Him and not just pass out at 11 every night. Your Sacred Yes had a message saying to me that life is short and so we should make sure that we’re sure that we’re doing the work He calls us to do.

Cons:

I have none!

Overview:

I cannot wait to go back and dissect this book to pieces! I would suggest this to anyone, but especially those who reply, “Oh, I don’t have enough time to read a book right now…” 🙂

I received a free copy of Your Sacred Yes from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for a 100% honest review.

 

xx

Hearts Made Whole // Book Review

by  on  in Bethany House Review, Books • 0 Comments

Hello there, everyone!

I’m sorry for the lack in posting. I was going to post much earlier, because I had some great news, but something happened and my life got kind of crazy for a bit. I will share more about that after this. So, anyways, I read another book for review today, this one is called Hearts Made Whole. Hope you’ve been enjoying the fiction lately. 😉 Friend me on GoodReads, if you haven’t already because I’m reading a crazy amount right now – finishing books all the time.

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Hearts Made Whole by Jody Hedlund

♥ ♥ ♥ – –

(three out of five hearts)

GoodReads’ summary:

After her father’s death, Caroline Taylor has grown confident running the Windmill Point Lighthouse. But in 1865 Michigan, women aren’t supposed to have such roles, so it’s only a matter of time before the lighthouse inspector appoints a new keeper–even though Caroline has nowhere else to go and no other job available to her.

Ryan Chambers is a Civil War veteran still haunted by the horrors of battle. He’s been given the post as lighthouse keeper, and the isolation where he can drown in drink and hide from his past is appealing. He’s not expecting the current keeper to be a feisty and beautiful woman who’s none-too-pleased to be giving up her position. They both quickly realize he’s in no shape to run the lighthouse, but Ryan’s unwilling to let anyone close, ravaged by memories and guilt. Caroline’s drawn to this wounded soul, but with both of them relying on that single position, can they look past their loss to a future filled with hope…and possibly love?

Characters:

I really liked Caroline’s personality. She seemed really down to earth and realistic. I love how she argued for her job and tried to keep the lighthouse together even when it technically wasn’t her job anymore. I would say the only thing about her that I didn’t care for was her easy fall into love with Ryan. They acted too close too soon. They barely knew each other, but they acted as if they had known each other for forever. I would also say that their first kiss was wayy out of personality for both Ryan and Caroline.

For Ryan, I found him to be a pleasing character, but not all that interesting. He didn’t capture my attention the way he captured Caroline’s heart. His friendliness with the twins was cute though. I was unhappy with the lack of thought put into marriage by Caroline and Ryan though! Their relationship went really far and at that point they were surprised and seemingly put off by the thought of marriage. About Ryan in general though, he was sweet, but I wish his drinking/drug problem had been wrapped up a little better.

Plot:

I have to mention Tessa, even though technically she should fall under the characters topic. She was horrible! Supposedly she got along with Caroline sometimes, but every scene with her in it inside the book was just her fighting with Caroline. I wish she had had a few scenes with her in a good and agreeable mood towards Caroline.

The plot all in all was really good! I loved all the intense scenes because they were gripping, but never too scary. The writing style in this book is great, it lends itself towards a quick-read but keeps you interested the whole time.

Overall:

I liked it, I found a few reactions/scenes a bit cliché, but so many others were unique as well. A few things made the characters seem inconsistent, but I liked all of them except the bad guys (and perhaps Tessa). I would suggest this book to anyone who likes clean, Christian romances or mild intense action. The funny thing is though, even though this book is classified as Historical Fiction, I wouldn’t recommend it for that just because not a large amount of history was mentioned. All the same, as long as the reader wasn’t set on getting a lot of history, I would suggest it anyways.

I received a copy of this book from Bethany House in exchange for an honest review.

xx

Quote // From the Start

by  on  in Books, Quote • 0 Comments

Hello all!

First of all, I’m going to explain the last few weeks very shortly! This weekend is going to be busy so I may not get the chance to post, but I will explain my accidental blogging spring break that just happened to occur on my school spring break. Today, I wanted to assure you I’m alive and share a favorite quote (or two, or three) from the book From the Start. You may have read my review, (I posted it just before this post) but if not – it’s just a cute story about an ex-football star named Colton, and a struggling writer named Kate, who happen to meet. They meet at hard times for both of them, both are trying to restart their lives, but something draws them together. The two of them find that they will have to choose between their original plans for their futures or each other. On to the quotes…

Colton brushed past Kate, reached for the drink, and handed Megan a ten. “Keep the change.” He turned back to Kate.

“Trying to buy her off?”

“What are the chances she spit in this?”

 

“Kate, this is where I’m going to need you to remember I’m your sister and you love me.” Suspicion plunked in.

 

“I’m serious. You can write them off if you want, be your own harshest critic. But they’re pieces of you. They’re something you created, and that gives them value.” He dipped his head toward her. “Plus, from what I hear, they’re pretty great stories.”

“They’re love stories, Colton.”

“I like love. Most people I know kinda do.”

 

Hope you enjoyed those! Those are all direct quotes from the book From the Start by Melissa Tagg, I do not own any of it nor did I change it in any way. Enjoy your day!

xx

From the Start: Book Review

by  on  in Bethany House Review, Books, my opinion • 0 Comments

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From the Start by Melissa Tagg

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ –

(four out of five hearts)

 

Synopsis: (from GoodReads)

Kate Walker used to believe in true love and happily ever after. While her own love life may have left her brokenhearted, it hasn’t kept her from churning out made-for-TV romance movie screenplays…until a major career slump and a longing to do something meaningful send her running back to her hometown of Maple Valley.

Permanently sidelined by an injury, former NFL quarterback Colton Greene is temporarily hiding out in a friend’s hometown to avoid the media and the reminders of all he’s lost. Maple Valley seems like the perfect place to learn how to adjust to normal life. The only trouble is he’s never really done normal before.

While Kate plays things safe and Colton is all about big risks and grand gestures, they both get what it’s like to desperately need direction in life. An unexpected project gives them both a chance to jumpstart their new lives, but old wounds and new dreams are hard to ignore. Starting over wasn’t part of the plan, but could it be the best thing that’s ever happened to them?

 

My thoughts:

Being honest, at first I was unimpressed with From the Start. I was excited to read it, but once I started it, the characters were too typical, I could predict scenes, and the characters’ reactions. I felt that Kate was a bit cliché, because she had been hurt but was obviously going to fall for the ex-football star who was also struggling. As I kept reading the book though, the characters all became deeper and a little more complex too. I was happy with the ending too, which is sometimes the hardest part to please me. Going into details…

 

Characters:

I liked Kate once I felt like I knew her better, she was a little quirky, but very funny and dedicated to her family. I think she was a little shallow in certain scenes, but I think her character was supposed to grow a lot during the time the book covered. Colton was funny, the humor between the two of them was great. Colton struggled with his past and present situation, but he was not so involved that he chapters weren’t interesting. I think he really owed Kate an apology at the end of the book, but I don’t want to give anything away. Surprisingly, my next favorite character is Megan, she was kind of sassy and closed, but I like that she opened up a little. (I do wish that everything regarding her hadn’t been so mature, but it was okay.)

 

Plot:

I liked the romance between Colton and Kate, they were in denial a lot of the time, but they cracked me up. One thing though – the rest of the book’s plot was sort of just about one bad thing happening after another. I felt like the disasters were just piling up.

 

Writing:

I loved the way the book was written. It was told from the point of view of both Colton and Kate, but it was almost in third person so I never felt like I needed to know what the other character was feeling. The book was an easy read and the plot moves quickly, there are almost no down moments.

 

I received a copy of From the Start from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest review.

xx