Birthstone Claddagh Ring - RE:View

 

What is your heritage? I'm talking about that as well as this amazing ring I received from The Irish Jewelry Company for review in todays post. 

Summer's List by Anita Higman | RE:View

Life isn't going the way Summer Snow had hoped it would. When faced with another disappointment in love and struggles at the children's bookstore she runs, Summer may just have a chance to change the course of her life when presented with a list lovingly composed by her granny.

Along for the ride, Martin Langtree not only gets the opportunity to go on an adventure, but rekindles a long-lost friendship. But could it become more than that?

I had high hopes for Summer's List by Anita Higman. I've enjoyed several of her novels in the past and the premise of this one sounded intriguing. A list to inspire adventure? Yes! A longtime friendship reunited? Yes! Unfortunately though, I was sadly disappointed.

Summer is mostly a loveable character and her relationship with Granny is sweet, but I felt as if the execution of this whole story was just slightly...off.

First, the dialogue throughout the whole book is much too formal. I understand it coming from Martin (an intelligent, geeky guy) but that trickled over into the other characters and created confusion for me. I also missed the sense of feeling and emotion that makes characters (and their relationships) jump off the page. It's the kind of depth that is imbued into a scene by details, descriptions, and thoughts. The chemistry was also mostly lacking between Summer and Martin, but when it was there it was fast, intense, and slightly out of the blue. It was also difficult to connect with the story because the reader was not accurately "dropped" into a characters head. Summer and Martin blurred on the page.

There were some great parts and creative ideas that I did enjoy, but overall I wasn't invested in the story even though I desperately wanted to be. Sad to say, I can't really recommend this, but I know others have read it and enjoyed it.

Rating: 2.8*
(I'm rounding up to 3* for Goodreads, Amazon, etc.)
Purchase: Summer's List

Book Description
(from Anita's website)

A dying wish alters the course of a young woman's life.

Life hadn't been easy for Summer Snow. In acts of selflessness-caring for her ailing parents and running her grandmother's bookstore-she had forfeited her youth and dreams for the needs of others. And the only tries she had at love... didn't turn out. She had the bookstore, she had her beloved granny, but she was missing something-or someone.

Opportunity strikes when Granny sends Summer on an unexpected adventure with one Martin Langtree, a kind but gangly young man from Summer's past. A childhood friendship is rekindled, a romance is sparked, and mysteries are solved in one magical Texas summer. Will Summer strike out on love again, or will things finally go her way?

With lovable characters and surprising twists, Summer's List is a simple delight.

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I received a free copy of this book for review purposes, but was under no obligation to read the book or post a review. I do so under my own motivation and the opinions I have expressed in this review are honest and entirely my own.

How To Catch A Prince by Rachel Hauck | RE:View

With a hint of the divine woven in, How to Catch a Prince will have you dreaming of fairy tales and miracles. 

 Stubborn, determined, and on the mend from heart-break, heiress Corina Del Rey is about to take the journey of a life time. Resurfacing after five and a half years weighted down by grief, Corina finds herself facing a secrete from her past that she hasn't quite escaped.

Prince Stephen, brother of King Nathaniel (from Once Upon A Prince) loves rugby more than anything else, though it's become more of an obsession and distraction after coming back from the war. When his past refuses to say in the past, Stephen finds himself facing more than just memories.

Arriving on the royal coattales of Princess Ever After, I was more than ready for this third installment of The Royal Wedding Series. I really enjoyed Corina and Prince Stephen's unique story and loved the dynamics of their interaction together. Stephen's character was the perfect compliment to Corina's determined personality and their spark was undeniable. Of course, I also loved the details of Brighton, Rachel's superb descriptive language, and the openness of the characters true feelings. In some books I find that too often an argument or feeling isn't expressed to a logical conclusion or even to a certain depth, that was not the case with How to Catch a Prince. I found myself in the trenches of their emotions--but not in an overwhelming way.

This is a must read from me! And hey, while you're at it, make sure to grab the other two books in The Royal Wedding Series. You will quickly find yourself lost in a fairy tale world that's not too far from ours.

Rating:5*
Purchase:  How to Catch a Prince (Royal Wedding Series Book 3)

Book Description
(from Rachel's website)

Behind him, beside him, before him, the synchronized cathedral bells began to ring out.

One, two, three . . .

Then she said it first. The words his heart burst to share. “I love you, Stephen..”

She caught her prince once. Can she catch him again?

American heiress Corina Del Rey’s life was devastated by war. Every thing she loved was lost. But after five years of grief, she’s shed her grave clothes and started over in the sunshine along the Florida coast.

But some things are not so easily forgotten. When a secret from her past confronts her face to face, she realizes she must follow her heart. Even if it cost her everything.

Prince Stephen of Brighton Kingdom is a former Royal Air Command lieutenant turned star rugby player, trying to make sense of his life after the devastation of war.

When his brother, King Nathaniel, discovers Stephen’s pre-war secret, he must deal with an aspect of his life he longed to forget. But how can he do so without exposing the truth and breaching national security?

Yet, true love has a destiny all it’s own. As the cathedral bells peal through Cathedral City, Corina and Stephen must chose to answer the call of love on their hearts.

Or let it be lost forever?

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I received a free copy of this book for review purposes, but was under no obligation to read the book or post a review. I do so under my own motivation and the opinions I have expressed in this review are honest and entirely my own.

Simplify:Ten Practices to Unclutter Your Soul by Bill Hybels | RE:View

I was drawn to the title of this book. Simplify. Can't we all use some simplification in our lives? I know I can!

Bill approached the idea of "practices to unclutter your soul" with a light and intuitive perspective that I found refreshing. He used real life examples drawing from his own life and ministry as well as the lives of others he's interacted with. I also enjoyed how he included specific action points at the end of each chapter. For those willing to dig in deeper, he has provided a lot of great questions and activities to further growth.

The only thing that knocked it down from a solid 4 stars for me was that it really took me a long time to get through due to some lengthy, semi-surface level things. The overall approach Bill takes is great, but I found some parts dragging. There was definitely scripture incorporated, but I would have liked to see more exposition and drawing from Jesus' ministry to today. That may just be a personal preference thing for me when reviewing faith/theology based books.

I'd still definitely recommend it to any one interesting in decluttering their life. For those willing to take stock and be very practical about approaching simplification, they will find Simplify. a great resource and starting point.

Rating: 3.8*
Purchase: Simplify: Ten Practices to Unclutter Your Soul

Book Description
(from Amazon)

Exhausted. Overwhelmed. Overscheduled. Sound familiar? Today’s velocity of life can consume and control us . . . until our breakneck pace begins to feel normal and expected. That’s where the danger lies: When we spend our lives doing things that keep us busy but don’t really matter, we sacrifice the things that do.

What if your life could be different? What if you could be certain you were living the life God called you to live—and building a legacy for those you love? If you crave a simpler life anchored by the priorities that matter most, roll up your sleeves: Simplified living requires more than just cleaning out your closets or reorganizing your desk drawer. It requires uncluttering your soul. By eradicating the stuff that leaves your spirit drained, you can stop doing what doesn’t matter—and start doing what does.

In Simplify, bestselling author Bill Hybels identifies the core issues that lure us into frenetic living—and offers searingly practical steps for sweeping the clutter from our souls.

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I received a free copy of this book for review purposes, but was under no obligation to read the book or post a review. I do so under my own motivation and the opinions I have expressed in this review are honest and entirely my own.

Trapped by Irene Hannon | RE:View

Laura Griffith faces a nightmare when she comes home to find out that her younger sister Dracy is gone. Entrusted to her care, Laura has found living with her sixteen-year-old sister wasn't as easy as she'd first assumed. The tension between them is nothing like the anxiety she faces knowing that her little sister is without protection during a snowstorm in February.

Laura turns to the handsome former ATF agent James "Dev" Deviln for assistance. The private investigation company he works for (introduced in Vanished which is the first book of the Private Justice series) provides the resources to find Darcy. Without a trail to follow, things begin to look dismal and Laura starts to wonder if they'll ever find her sister.

Questions arise as clues lead them down many different avenues without solid proof. With every day that passes, the possibility that Darcy will remain safe diminishes. Dev isn't optimistic about the outcome, but he's discovered is more invested in this case than he could have ever imagined.

I enjoyed this novel, though it did take until over half was done before I was "hooked". It was a slow path to begin and I really had to stick with it until things fired up toward the end. The ending was great and I was definitely satisfied, but I wish there could have been more action and a tid-bit more romance in the first half of the novel.

**Slight spoilers**

And, while we're on the subject of romance, due to the nature of the situation with a missing sister, I understand the difficulty in drawing the two main charters together. Laura's sister is missing, she can't just fall head over heels in love with the handsome James Devlin. Yet, there wasn't a lot of depth to them together. This felt like more of a psychological thriller that ended like a Christian Romantic Suspense novel. I'm not saying that's bad, just something to look out for!

All of that said, I'd still recommend this book. I'd say the ending mostly justifies the slower start and it will definitely keep you guessing!

Purchase Trapped (Private Justice Book #2) HERE and Vanished (Private Justice Book #1) HERE  

Book Description:
(Description used from Irene's website)

When librarian Laura Griffth’s sixteen-year-old sister disappears on a frigid February day, leaving only a brief note behind, Laura resolves to do whatever it takes to track down the runaway teen. That includes recruiting ATF agent turned PI James “Dev” Devlin to help—but the deeper he digs, the more he begins to suspect that something sinister is at work in the girl’s disappearance. And the closer he gets to uncovering the truth, the clearer it becomes that the situation isn’t just dangerous—it’s deadly.

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I received a free copy of this book for review purposes, but was under no obligation to read the book or post a review. I do so under my own motivation and the opinions I have expressed in this review are honest and entirely my own.

RE:View | Beyond the Valley by Rita Gerlach

Time for a little review for the day. I just finished this delightful novel a few days ago and would love to share a bit about it. You will definitely want to get a copy for yourself (click here) and make sure to check out the rest of the books in The Daughters of the Potomac Series.

About Rita....
(taken from her Amazon page)

Rita Gerlach lives with her husband and two sons in a historical town nestled along the Catoctin Mountains, amid Civil War battlefields and Revolutionary War outposts in central Maryland. She was born in Washington D.C. and grew up in a large family in the Maryland suburbs.

"Romantic historical fiction that has an inspirational bent, is one way people can escape the cares of life and be transported back to a time of raw courage and ideal love," she says. "The goal of my writing is to give readers a respite from a stressful world..."

In many of her stories, she writes about the struggles endured by early colonists, with a sprinkling of both American and English history. Her genre - Inspirational Historical Romance / Drama.

Visit Rita's website at http://ritagerlach.blogspot.com/

Her Blog 'Inspire' http://inspire-writer.blogspot.com/

Beyond the Valley

Beyond the Valley is the third book in The Daughters of the Potomac Series by Rita Gerlach. I'll be honest and say I wasn't sure what to expect - not because of the book itself, but because it was Book 3 and I hadn't read any of the previous books. Maybe to you this isn't a big deal, but growing up with my mom as my "book mentor" it is next to sin to read books out of order in a series ;)

I forged ahead though (sorry mom), and was so glad I did! Rita made the transition for a 'new' reader like me easy. The intro wasn't filled with a lot of backstory to wade through and immediately I was drawn into the life of Sarah.

(Side note: as of right now I still haven't read the other two books so I cannot vouch for this books tie to the rest.)

For Sarah Carr, a strong and spirited woman, life is more than difficult. With the death of her husband, she is left alone in the world with barely any connections and forced to turn to her husband's family for help. Unfortunately, their help is nothing more than selling her into a life of servitude.

Faced with the humiliation of being auctioned as a slave and the ever present loneliness that comes from being thousands of miles away from everything you've ever know, Sarah rests on her faith in God and hope for new love despite the harshest of trails.

Much of Sarah's journey is wrought with hardship, but I appreciated the way in which Rita crafted her character, ever-hopeful and reliant on the Lord for the majority of the book. There were several twists and turns that I never would have seen coming (something I really admire in a good book) and I was very satisfied by the ending.

This is a must-read if you enjoy historical romance - or a well crafted story for that matter! The descriptions are fascinating and the action, romance, and plot are delightful.

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I received a free copy of this book for review purposes, but was under no obligation to read the book or post a review. I do so under my own motivation and the opinions I have expressed in this review are honest and entirely my own.