Upgrades and Expansions

I am excited that I am in the process of expanding my review options!  I had previously just been reviewing for Thomas Nelson and Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers directly.  I recently received several approvals for reviews from Zondervan via Edelweiss, and just today got approval for 2 books through NetGalley.  This brings me to five  books that I currently have in my "to be read and reviewed" list.  Guess I won't be watching TV for awhile!  I am also awaiting a decision from Tyndale to see if I've been accepted as a reviewer for them.

In other expansion news, I just created a Twitter account for book stuff; I would love it if you could follow me!  We can talk book stuff, you can give me recommendations, we can complain about movies that don't follow the book, whatever strikes us as interesting!

Thanks so much for reading along with me!

The Guest Book - by Marybeth Whalen

In The Guest Book by Marybeth Whalen, Macy Dillon has had some family issues in her life.  Her father died 10 years ago, but her mother still celebrates his birthday, and still has a "shrine" dedicateed to him in her house.  They talk about him to Macy's daughter, Emma, whose father has been out of the picture since she was born.  Until recently, when everything begins to change.  The pictures in the shrine start coming down, and Emma's father, Chase, starts coming around.  Then, Macy's mother, Brenda, announces that she would like to take the whole family on vacation at the beach house they haven't been to since the year after her husband died.  The beach house with the guest book where Macy carried on a pictorial correspondence with an anonymous "artist" boy every year.  A boy she never met, but could never stop thinking about.  Will this trip finally solve the mystery of his identity?  Will Macy find both the answer and love in the same place?

I liked the plot idea of this book; 5-year-old Macy was too young to write an entry in the guest book, so her father encouraged her to draw a picture instead.  She never dreamed that someone would respond to it.  The idea of budding artists teaching each other about themselves through nothing but drawings, and developing a friendship through them was such a fun, intriguing concept that fit in perfectly with the setting of a beach and once-a-year vacations.

However, I did not find Macy to be a particularly likable character.  She can't kick her ex out of her life, even though she knows she doesn't want to be with him.  This hesitation is partly because of her obligation to keep him in their daughter's life, but others around her fear that he's her fall-back plan, which he does seem to be.  Then, when she is strong enough to leave him behind and go on vacation, she finds not one interesting man to date, but three.  She says that she wants only to find out who "the artist" is, but she can't bring herself to ask the question immediately.  Instead, she strings each of them on, until she does get up the nerve to ask and decides to walk away from anyone who isn't the one she's looking for.

I don't want to spoil the ending, and it is hard to give an honest opinion of how I felt about it without doing so, but I will say that the way the book turned out was dissatisfying for me.

There were good moments along the way that made this book better than I may have made it sound above.  Macy does discover that God is the true Artist, and that she shouldn't waste the talents He has given her.  Although the ending belied her discovery, she does recognize that "whoever the artist was suddenly didn't matter so much anymore.  She wasn't sure she was ever supposed to find him.  And that was okay.  She'd found Someone much better instead.  Someone she could count on no matter what."  Between her reconnection to God, and the healing she found in her relationship with her brother, the book added some depth to what could have been a shallow story.  The mystery of the artist's identity certainly kept me up too late, trying to reach the conclusion, and a book that keeps me intrigued is one I don't regret reading.

So, I give this book 3 stars.  I wish that Macy had followed through on her discoveries, and had been or become somewhat stronger than the book left her, and I didn't like the conclusion of who she ended up with, but those are both personal preference issues that didn't really affect the quality of the book.

The author has a blog HERE, and she's even running a contest based on this book - you could win a copy or a trip to North Carolina!

I received a copy of this e-book for free from Zondervan, via Edelweiss, in exchange for my honest review.

Harriet Beamer Takes the Bus - by Joyce Magnin

Harriet Beamer Takes the Bus, by Joyce Magnin, tells the story of Harriet Beamer, a woman who is known for making random bets, collecting salt and pepper shakers, and baking cookies.  Not a woman known for taking risks and setting off on adventures.  Until, one of those random bets sees her giving up her house and moving across the country to live with her son and daughter-in-law.  Rather than do it the quick and easy way, Harriet decides to take the opportunity to do something she has never done.  She sets off on her trip, not by plane, but by public transportation, vowing to use as many local forms of transportation that she can, and collecting as many salt and pepper shakers as she can to add to her collection.

I wanted to like this book.  I loved the idea of Harriet's adventure, and I loved the picture of her in her bright red sneakers.  However, the story itself just didn't ring true, and was not well-written.  There was no real mention of Harriet having money, yet she never balked at expenditures like buying a brand new Droid phone, or buying clothing in a train station, or staying at a Ritz-Carlton hotel.  Eventually, she told a pair of strangers that she was a "wealthy widow," which also seemed odd - would a 72-year old advertise to people she doesn't know that she is rich?  Of course, it was just fodder for the storyline for those same strangers to try to rob her.

Details in a book are important to me.  Not that I like long descriptions of things, but I do like consistency in the details.  So it bothers me when a character takes note of seatmate's "Hershey bar-colored eyes," and then turns to said seatmate and tells her that she has the "bluest, sweetest, eyes" she's ever seen.  I don't know about you, but where I come from (only 30 minutes from the actual aforementioned Hershey), their chocolate bars don't tend to be blue.  There are several other instances of text that escaped an editor's notice, or perhaps suffered from a re-write that didn't get checked - saying "good afternoon," when it's after midnight, or talking about the time differences across the country incorrectly.

Although the story really is a cute one, the inconsistent details and the pacing of the travel really detracted from the enjoyment of the book.  It looks like it is book one in a series, and I have to say that I probably won't be watching for book number two.

I received a digital version of this book for free from Zondervan in exchange for my honest review.

Where Lilacs Still Bloom - by Jane Kirkpatrick

Where Lilacs Still Bloom, by Jane Kirkpatrick, is based on the true story of Hulda Klager, a German immigrant with a passion and God-given talent for hybridizing lilacs to form new varieties.  Although her father doubted that a husband would support such a departure from the expected role of a housewife, Frank Klager and Hulda's entire family lent not only their support, but their physical labor to assist Hulda in her dream.  While Hulda's life was not easy, facing regular flooding that threatened to destroy what she had invested so much of her life into, and outliving her family members, she took joy in the flowers and the skills God had given her and strove to use those talents and beauty to enrich the lives of everyone she came in contact with.  Her generosity with her time, her talent, and her treasure touched thousands of lives, and in time, came back to her full-circle as others returned the love she had so generously dispensed.

I have read several of Jane Kirkpatrick's novels, and I have enjoyed them all.  This one was no exception, although it did take me several tries to get invested in the story.  The book employs several different viewpoints to complete the story, and I had trouble keeping them straight until I had read enough to become invested in the individual characters.  Especially, because it isn't until late in the book that the stories begin to weave together.  Having read the Author's Notes at the end of the book, I understand the purpose for including these additional fictional characters to enhance Hulda Klager's story, but it did take longer for me to understand where the story was going with them added in so early on in the book.

Once I got past the initial confusion, however, I really came to love Hulda.  She was so driven and had so much passion for her flowers, yet was self-aware enough to see that her family needed her too.  So many of us struggle with the balance of family versus work or hobbies, and Hulda recognized that her priorities may not have always been straight, and she worried that she was neglecting her family for the sake of her flowers.  Yet, that very family worked hard to ensure that she could continue her work: weeding, planting, taking over house chores, rescuing the flowers from the floods,  encouraging her to continue to stretch and grow, and celebrating her successes with her.

The love story of Frank and Hulda was so sweet.  Hulda's father had told her not to share her passion with her husband, because he felt Frank would discourage her.  Frank was honest in that he didn't want the flowers to take her away from him, yet did everything he could to aid her work.  The simple things he did for her, (with no spoilers, for it was mostly the surprise of them that made them so sweet), demonstrated a pure, sweet love for his wife, and the partnership was a subtle yet enriching focus point for the story.

There is a lot of sadness in this book, and knowing that it's a true story makes it that much sadder.  If you are a reader who doesn't like to cry with a story, then you probably don't want to try this one.  But, even with the sadness, life goes on, and Hulda finds a way to continue living, and continues to find people and work worth living for.

I give this book 4 stars; once I got into the story, I couldn't stop thinking about it.  I am certainly  not a horticulturist, yet I found the story engaging.

You can read an excerpt from Chapter 1 HERE.
Find out more about the author HERE.

Please consider rating my review; you could win a free copy of the book!



I received this book for free from Waterbrook Multnomah as part of their Blogging for Books program in exchange for my honest review.

Plan B - by Pete Wilson

The subtitle of Pete Wilson's book, Plan B, is "What do you do when God doesn't show up the way you thought that he would?"  Throughout the book, Wilson thoroughly examines dozens of situations, both Biblical and of modern-day people, to see what a Plan B looks like, and how we should handle it.  From Joseph's trip to Egypt in slavery, to David's flight from Saul after being anointed as the next king, from stories of infertility to death of children, failing marriages and lost jobs, Plan B discusses disappointment, grief, hope, and faith in the face of lost dreams.  Pete Wilson acknowledges that he cannot give us answers, but he can point us to the cross and the One who is there for us through every step of His plan for us.

Bear with me, I have a lot to say about this book.  I am not sure why it took me so long to get around to reading it, but I certainly wish I had read it sooner.  Plan B is the most down-to-earth Christian living book I have read in a very long time.  Pete Wilson is a humble, self-aware author who takes himself very lightly, but never treats his readers' or his subjects' pain casually.  An author who admits he is in need of the same answers he seeks to write about is one the reader can trust to dig deep and give truthful guidance.  This book does just that.  As Wilson walks through each example, he stops to examine it at every step, but he never leaves a story hanging just to make a single point that might not hold true to the rest of the story.  Every story he starts, he works through fully, giving his points and conclusions more credence than simple bits and pieces linked to each individual idea.  Both his Biblical examples, and his real-life people follow this system, and while I was sometimes on edge waiting to see how a story would turn out, I could trust that he would come back to it and finish it for me.

I have a long list of quotes from this book that resonated with me; I hate to give them without context, but maybe it will give you a taste of his writing and style.

"We must decide if we are going to put our faith in what God does or in who God is." (Emphasis mine)  The idea that even if our life circumstance is our Plan B, we should be able to trust that God has not messed up, and that he is there for us regardless of our circumstances.

Wilson also talks a lot about waiting on God.
"The question isn't 'Can you trust God?' but 'Can you wait?"
"...waiting may be the most important something you can and need to do.
What you're doing is allowing your hope to grow up.  And if you can't be still and wait and hope, even when you have no reason to hope, you can't become the person God created when he thought you into existence."  Waiting is an important part of our Plan Bs; waiting to see how it turns out, waiting to see why we even had to go through a Plan B, waiting to see just what God is doing.

In addition to the myriad of quotes from Wilson that strike a chord, he quotes several other authors and pastors with aplomb.  He uses them with enough frequency to lend weight to his own ideas, but he does not overdo it to the point of feeling that he is just rehashing other people's thoughts.

While the topic of Plan B is a difficult one, the book itself is an easy, yet thought-provoking read.  I give it 5 stars for depth of topic, ease of reading, and real-life practicality.  I would definitely recommend it to anyone struggling with how their life is going versus how they thought it would.  And, really, isn't that most, if not all, of us?

I received a copy of this book for free as part of Thomas Nelson's BookSneeze program for bloggers.  I was not required to provide a positive review.

Wildflowers from Winter - by Katie Ganshert

Bethany Quinn has worked hard to leave her small town behind, not just the location, but her family, her friends, and the girl who she was when she lived there.  Yet, when her mother calls to tell her that her best friend from childhood is going through a tragedy and her grandfather has had a heart attack, Bethany finds herself back in the town she managed to escape.  Trying to keep her new persona of a professional architect from the big city of Chicago, she finds it difficult to handle the challenges being thrown her way, and she struggles with letting go of her independence to let either people, or God, into her life.

Although Bethany is the main character of Wildflowers from Winter, the author does a good job of developing the other characters well. The story shifts points of view from Bethany, to her friend Robin, and to Evan, the man who has been living with her grandfather and taking care of his farm for the past five years.  I felt that the characters of Bethany and Evan were especially well-developed, with the reader slowly learning all of the pertinent facts from their respective pasts.  Not so slowly as to be frustrating, but at an expected pace, in line with the story.  The only character-development I would have liked to have seen more from was Bethany's brother David.  She references him frequently, but he never makes an actual appearance in the story, and we learn very little about him.

Bethany's struggles felt very real, especially her struggle with God and how she felt that the people in her life who had turned to God had let her down.  It takes patience from those around her to demonstrate that not all those who call themselves Christians will hurt her and judge her.  And it takes some lessons in trust for Bethany to learn that being vulnerable to God in her life will make her stronger.

I also enjoyed the love story plot in this book.  It was not unexpected, but it did feel secondary to the plot, which made me enjoy it more.  Connecting the two characters was not the point of the book, nor did the author use it as the solution to Bethany's (or Evan's) problems.

Overall, I enjoyed this book.  I felt invested in the characters enough to hope that there might be a sequel someday (?).  I would really like to follow them further, maybe to see how Robin's cafe turns out, or see what happens to David in Afghanistan, or see Bethany and Evan work the farm together.

I give the book 4 stars.
Try the first chapter HERE to see if you like it!
The author has a blog HERE (and she's doing a giveaway right now - of another good book!)
Let me know if you read this book - I would love to talk about it!

Please take a minute to rank my review - you could WIN a copy of this good book!


I received a copy of this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah as part of their Blogging for Books program, in exchange for my honest review.

Finding Our Way Home - by Charlene Baumbich

In Finding Our Way Home, Sasha and Evelyn are, perhaps, the most mismatched pair of women you could hope to find. Sasha is a former ballerina, recovering from a career-ending injury, and Evelyn is a strong, independent, entrepreneurial teenager with self-described large, clumsy feet. Evelyn's decision to defer college and run her own odd job service leads her to Sasha who requires in-home care while she convalesces. The two of them start out at odds, but eventually are able to recognize the strength in each other and encourage each other as friends to reach for bigger dreams.

While this book was a bit cheesier than those I normally read, I did enjoy the characters. Sasha's recovery, which was not only physical, but also emotional and spiritual, was relatable, and Evelyn's quirky life was humorous, but also peppered with enough difficulty to make her seem real as well. Her trademark prayer of simply, "Grace," became a central theme to recoveries on the part of both main characters, as well as their very relationship. Grace covers all. Amen? Amen.

The characters' love stories are secondary to their relationship with each other and God, but serve to demonstrate an accurate contrast of youthful hurried love versus true love that has developed over time. While mistakes have been made in both, the love built on a relationship, with God as the center, is able to withstand the trial and come out stronger on the other side.

I give this book 3 stars. I don't think I would have picked it up to read if it hadn't been a review choice, and I can't think of many friends I would directly recommend it to. It's a light read, and a fast read, but not a deep read, nor one that "sticks" with me.

If you would like to read an excerpt from the first chapter, you can read it HERE.

You can find out more about the author, Charlene Ann Baumbich, HERE.

Please consider ranking my review here:

I received a free copy of this book as part of Waterbrook Multnomah's Blogging for Books program. I was not required to post a favorable review.