Introducing FREDDY!

We have exciting news here at Reading with Teddy G!  My son, known here now as Freddy, is joining the blog!  As Teddy, I will continue to review mainly Christian Fiction, but Freddy will add a fresh voice and a new genre - Middle-Grade Fiction.  Freddy is 11 years old, and currently in 5th grade.  He has been a voracious reader since he could read for himself.  His first chapter book was The One and Only Ivan, and he hasn't slowed down since.

Some of his favorite books have included Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, and The Bone series, although he has been known to read all over the middle-grade genre.  He is hoping to read and review a book a month, but he is sure to be reading much more than that.

We hope that you enjoy the addition of Freddy and Middle-Grade book reviews to the blog!

Glory Road - Lauren K. Denton

Jessie is content, if not happy, running her flower shop with her mom and daughter in her hometown.  Then, an old flame returns to town, a handsome wealthy man starts showing her attention, and her mom begins acting strangely.  What decisions does Jessie need to make, and how will they affect her small family's future?

This was such a lovely book.  While there was no great plot to rush the reader to the end, the slow moving glimpse of daily life for this little, unorthodox, family of three was heart warming.  None of the characters were made out to be perfect, and there were certainly challenges they needed to overcome, but none of it felt contrived.  Instead, it just felt like real live.  Even when Jessie needed to choose between the two men who were interested in her, neither man was the clear choice, and the book could have ended just as happily for her if she'd made a different choice.  But choosing life and to live it, rather than to hide oneself away, was the clear theme of this book.  Whether you're almost 70 and had a happy marriage, whether you're nearing 40 and have been badly burned by love in the past, or whether you're 14 and getting your first taste of a crush as well as deciding which voice inside of you you're going to follow, these three generations of women demonstrate that being  yourself and loving your family go a long way towards a happy life.

I give this book 4 stars.  I enjoy seeing characters thrive in unusual circumstances, and I enjoyed watching this family set boundaries and cross them and love each other along the way.

You can find Glory Road HERE.
You can find the author's page HERE.

I received a digital copy of this book, via NetGalley, from the publisher, in exchange for my honest review.

The Printed Letter Bookshop - Katherine Reay

Three women, whose lives are intertwined by the death of another. Upon Maddie's passing, her estranged niece Madeline inherits her aunt's bookshop, and along with it, her two employees Janet and Claire. Janet, not known for being warm and fuzzy, and Claire, competent in the Bookshop but accused by Janet as being a bystander in her own life, yet somehow the women find ways to bond and heal through the legacy of the woman who brought them together.

There were so many layers to this book, that I hardly know where to start. First of all, I love the setting of a small town bookstore where the owner knows her customers well enough to recommend books to each person, and the town's love and loyalty to Maddie continue after her death. I love Janet's prickly personality and her journey to realizing what's missing in her life. Claire's family struggles and search for where she lost herself is completely relatable. Madeline goes through her own changes as she realizes that her relationship with her aunt could have been very different. I love all of the supporting characters and how they strengthen the main characters’ stories. Between the three women's individual journeys and their evolving friendships and external relationships, this book was deep and rich, and I waffled between wanting to speed through to discover everything about it, and wanting to slow down and savor it. I especially enjoyed the references to so many books within the context of not just recommendations to customers, but also Maddie's individualized book lists in her letters to the three women that played such a part in their growth. I give this book 5 stars. I have enjoyed all of Katherine Reay's books that I've read, but this one stands out for me. You can find The Printed Letter Bookshop HERE. You can find the author HERE. I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Verity - Lisa T. Bergren

Verity is the second installment in The Sugar Baron's Daughters series, and continues the story of the Banning sisters, with the focus on the titular daughter, Verity.  As independent and stubborn as her older sister, Keturah, Verity longs to do her own thing and works to create her own business on the island.  Working to establish trade with the Colonies, Verity will need to decide where her allegiances lay, both those of her country, and those of her heart.

I think I enjoyed this segment of the Banning sisters' story even more than Keturah.  While I enjoyed the unique setting and introduction to the West Indies sugar cane plantations, I was glad that Verity's story brought the variety of the American Revolution.  The story of trying to export goods between the islands and the colonies, and the impact the blockade had not just on the characters' lives, but how it shaped their convictions and roles in the rebellion was well written. I especially appreciated how well the author demonstrated the pull between what felt right and where their loyalty threatened to pull them.  I'm sure that was not as easy as many books make it seem, and I felt the division here. 

I give this book 4 stars.  I'm interested to see where Selah's story takes this family, and I can only hope it's not too much to ask that Angus Shubert gets what's coming to him in the third book.  I definitely recommend reading these books in order!

You can find Verity HERE.
You can find the author's page HERE.

I received a digital copy of this book, via NetGalley, from the publisher, in exchange for my honest review.

A Rumored Fortune - Joanna Davidson Politano

Tressa Harlowe has returned to her home, Trevalyan Castle, upon her father's summons.  Only, it wasn't her father who summoned her; he is believed to be dead, and his wife and daughter must take over the castle and vineyards.  However, the only money to run their lands and pay their workers with is that of the mysterious fortune that Tressa's father was believed to have hidden to keep it safe from greedy family members and fortune hunters - many of whom have now turned up at her door to seek.  Tressa's relationship with her father was mostly one-sided, with her following him around and taking in the vineyard's beauty and his teaching, yet with him keeping his emotional distance and refusing to give her any hints as to where he might have hidden the family fortune.  With time running out to pay those who are demanding their wages, can Tressa trust anyone to help her piece together the scant clues her memories and the house might hold?  What of Donegan Vance, the mysterious field manager who showed up claiming he'd been hired by her father?  Does he have ulterior motives? Is he as honest as he seems to be?

John 15:5 (NIV)

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

What a delightful surprise this book was!  How could you not love Tressa, with her wounded little-girl heart, and her penchant for running barefoot across the vineyards?  My heart ached for her as those around her not only literally betrayed her, but also wanted her to betray the very essence that God gave her - her loyalty, her colorfulness, and her desire to be loved.  Yet in those betrayals, she was pruned back to the only Vine which could sustain her, and in Him she found abundance.

This was probably the best Christian fiction mystery I have read in a long time; it was well done with enough twists to keep you guessing, yet everything lined up logically in the end.  You could see how the actions of those around her would leave Tressa not knowing whom she could trust.  With all of the pointing fingers and greedy grasping hands, it's no wonder she misplaced her trust now and then.  Once she realized there was only One whom she could trust, her true path became much clearer.

I give this book 5 stars.  This was my first book by this author, but it most certainly won't be my last!  I am already looking forward to the book that was teased at the end of this one.  I only wish that I could hear more of how Tressa's life turns out from here!

You can find A Rumored Fortune HERE and HERE (This e-book version is currently only 79 cents! Check price before buying, as Amazon prices fluctuate frequently).
You can find the author's site HERE.

I received a digital copy of this book, via NetGalley, from the publisher, in exchange for my honest review.

The White City - Grace Hitchcock

Winnifred Wylde is the daughter of an Inspector, and is known for seeing a crime around every corner.  However, when she thinks she sees a woman being taken during the Chicago World Fair, her father assigns a bodyguard, Jude Thorpe, and eventually allows her to go undercover to see what she can find out.

I have read many books centered around the Chicago World's Fair; knowing that this one was based on actual events gave it a very different feel.  I really appreciated the author's notes at the end, straightening out what was fact versus what she added to the story.  The slightly unsettling thing was that this book made it so easy to get wrapped up in Winnie's story and dilemma over Jude, that it was easy to lose sight of the fact that it was based on a real serial killer.  While the suspicious character was always depicted as shady, the depth of his evil nature didn't really come through until everything wrapped up in the end.  It certainly would have made it a more disturbing book to go more in depth along the way, but I think I would have liked some more hints or clues as to what he was really up to.

I'm not sure how much the police were looking into the case at the time, but maybe more of a tie in with a real investigation into the disappearances, laid against Winnie's amateur (and dangerous!) sleuthing could have given it more of a suspense and danger tone, rather than a romance book that happened to have a murder in it.

I did really enjoy Winnie's and Danielle's love of books, and Danielle's habit of taking Winnie's books to read herself.  I loved Winnie's few interactions with the bookstore owner, and that's the sort of relationship/character development I'd love to see more of.

I give this book 3.5 stars; I felt like it straddled the line of a romantic/fictitious suspense vs. a real-crime book.  Had it landed squarely on either side of the line, I think it would have fared better. (No pun intended).  I have already downloaded the next in the series, and I am looking forward (maybe with one eye closed!) to the continuation of the series.

You can find The White City HERE.
You can find the author's site HERE.

I received a digital copy of this book, via NetGalley, from the publishers, in exchange for my honest review.

A Desperate Hope - Elizabeth Camden

In this third installment of the Empire State Series, Eloise Drake is tasked with assigning worth to all of the buildings and properties in the town of Duval Springs.  The town that she used to watch from afar, from the home of her guardian; the town whose current mayor, Alex Duval, was the recipient of more than her heart when she was only 16.  Alex, as mayor and descendant of the town's founding family, is desperately trying to keep his town, his family, and his family's legacy from being wiped off the map to make room to provide water for the people of New York.  Can Eloise follow her mathematical brain and keep her heart out of this job? What choices does Alex have to help provide for those who depend on him and look to him for leadership?

I was excited to read this continuation of the series; I enjoyed the character of Rosalind Werner in A Daring Venture, and I felt myself grow angry on behalf of the town that was going to be wiped out for the needs of the big city.  The solution that the town came up with was creative and risky, and I loved watching the town and the state workers come together to put it in action.  Eloise's character held so much promise.  As one of only six female CPAs in the state of New  York, her drive and love of math and logic appealed to me, and I was interested to see how that played out when she came back into the life of her childhood love. However, I found her changes of heart to be fickle, as she was courting one man while intending to return to a life that didn't include him. While I can understand her being unsure of what she really wanted, versus what appeared best for her, it seemed out of character to be misleading someone who cared for her. 

I also struggled to fit the pieces of the saboteur mystery into the story; when the culprit was named and the reason discovered, I felt like I'd missed something along the way.  It left that plot line feeling disjointed, and was a strange way to wrap up a story that was compelling enough to stand on its own - that of the town coming together to find a way to hope in the face of impending disaster.

I give this book 3 stars; I love Elizabeth Camden's intelligent, ground-breaking, female characters, but I didn't enjoy that, in this case, Eloise's brain became a bit secondary to her love interests.  I was fascinated by the idea of the reservoir displacing a town, though, and I wish a bit more of the true story would have woven its way into the novel.

You can find A Desperate Hope HERE.
You can find the author's website HERE.

I received a digital copy of this book, via NetGalley, from the publisher, in exchange for my honest review.