Monday, October 31, 2011

A Suitor for Jenny

Hello Dear Readers.  I hope that everyone had a great Sunday.  We as a family always try and do a movie night with the kids on Sunday.  I make it a point to not cook at all that day, so we make popcorn for dinner and spread out a big blanket to watch a movie.  Very fun, and I hope my kids can remember fun traditions like that.  Yesterday I also had a chance to finish a fun book by Margaret Brownley.  Her book was called A Suitor for Jenny.  At first I must admit I judged the book by it's cover and I almost didn't pick it up.  I am very relieved that I didn't do this, the book handles such questions as; does God care about my life, can he really forgive everything, and how do you have a relationship with Him?  Among those questions was a thoroughly enjoyable story that brought the characters to life for me.

The book opens up to a grumpy old man watching as a stagecoach enters into a small Texas town of 1881.  What he foresees is trouble when three very beautiful young ladies step off of the coach.  Jenny (our main character and the oldest of the three sisters) only wants the best for her sisters and the best for her sisters is finding husbands for them that are financially stable.  In this irresistible story you are able to climb in the book and live with these characters.  You'll soon grow to love them and truly see where they're coming from.  I hope you pick up this book and read more about Jenny and her love for her sisters.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

A Great Catch

Hello Readers, Now usually it takes me at least two nap times to finish a book, but sorry to say, this one did not hold my interest and I skipped to the end to see what happened. A Great Catch is the second book written by Lorna Seilstad. Her first book was ok, but since she's a fairly new author I wanted to give her a chance. This book was better then the first, but it seemed to tary on things that didn't interest me that much. Thus why I skipped to the end.

A Great Catch is set in the early 1900's, when women's rights were restricted and the cry for more choices such as the right to vote was beginning to stir in the women. This book had a great plot, but it seemed to have too many eggs in the basket (if you know what I mean). Emily Graham is a forward thinking woman of twenty-two. Who wants to see the right for women to vote and is willing to sacrifice anything. With a couple of aunts who want to see her married and a brother who seems to pester her it would seem to be the ingredients for a fun lighthearted book. Unfortunately, there was just too much going on and I would have liked the author to stick to one or two things. But as Lavar says in Reading Rainbow "Don't take my word on it". Have fun reading!

Friday, October 28, 2011

A PJ Sugar Novel

Well this week the flu has run it's course through the whole entire family. So we have been housebound watching movie after movie. My husband (who is amazing) let me get out of the house to go to the library one evening. Now you might be thinking the library! That's not very fun, but truthfully it's a great place, and it's free. Let me tell you dear readers how very rare it is for me to go to the library by myself. Usually it is with all three kids in tow and I have precisely fifteen minutes to search for books before someone starts crying or pulling books off the shelf. Needless to say you can't do the library justice with children in tow :-)

With my trip to the Library I was able to pick up four books, so be prepared to be inundated by my posts. The first book I read was a book by Susan May Warren. If you don't know much about her she writes books set in todays time and there is always a little bit of mystery in them. License for Trouble is book three of a series called A PJ Sugar Novel. These books take you on PJ Sugar's journey. She is an adopted daughter who was considered the black sheep of the family and she is trying to fit herself back in to a small town and family after being gone for ten years.

Now that I've given you a bit of some background I'll let you know what I thought about License for Trouble. I'll admit I liked it, but there were some things that kind of drove me nuts. For one, there was a love triangle in the book. I'm not a big fan of those because truthfully it doesn't make sense. I'm sure there are plenty of people that can relate to loving two people at the same time, but for me that has never happened to me. Also if you haven't read the first two books you will kindof be left in the dark with a lot of things. There is a great mystery and I always love a rock em' sock em' mystery and this book has it. PJ the main character is essentially a broken woman who needs to find herself in a world that remembers her past and labels her for it. It's a great book about remembering we are new in Christ, and I loved that that message was brought home in such an intricate way. So if you love a good mystery and can handle a love triangle I recommend this book to you. Enjoy reading!

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Snow Day and the First Book

  Last night while I was feeding Liv (my four month old)  I had this great idea to write about Christian books I've been reading.  I'm kind of a voracious reader and I always wanted to let the world know which books I liked, disliked, or I thought were so so.  So here is my first book and by far one of my favorite authors wrote it.  The Colonel's Lady was written by Laura Frantz.  This book is set in beautiful Kentucky of 1779.  Roxanna Rowan has decided to travel to where her Father is stationed after the recent death of her mother.  The book starts off with her a couple of days away from entering the fort.  With a Colonel struggling with his own battles Roxanna walks in to a very complex situation.  I don't want to give anything else away, but allow me to say that this book was full of surprises.

 I absolutely loved how seamlessly the book was written.  Laura Frantz did a great job.  The story line was believable, and the characters were made alive in my mind.  I also like that faith and growth in Jesus Christ was effortlessly included.  Sometimes when I read books the message of Christ is almost thrown in there as an after thought and this book is not one of them.  The daily struggles of life and how Roxanna clung to God was encouraging to me, and I learned a lesson about forgiveness as well.  So my dear readers please pick up the book Colonel's Lady you will not be disappointed, and if you have the time read Laura Frantz's other books too.