Reading, Writing & Pondering

    I have really enjoyed The Cape Cod Creamery series and could not wait for this third book in the series to release. It did not disappoint. I enjoyed Love On a Whim by Suzanne Woods Fisher so much that I read it in one day! Brynn Haywood is normally predictable and quite stable. Then one day she made an impulsive decision to marry a man she hardly knows. The next day she is mortified and flees to Cape Cod to see her best friend, Dawn. Once there, Brynn puts her decision on the back burner and fits right in with the rest of the town and Dawn's family as they work together to help Lincoln's daughter to get married. Dawn's Mom, Marnie, and Lincoln are good friends--and maybe a little more. Lincoln has also helped out many people in town so they want to help him out. Readers also get an update of Dawn and Kevin from the first book and Callie and Bruno from the second book. However, the author writes this book so that it could also stand alone--Still, I would encourage you t...

Are you a fan of Charlie Peacock? Honestly, I know he is a Christian music artist and imagine he has many fans but that is not why I picked up this book. I liked Why Everything That Doesn't Matter, Matters so Much: The Way of Love in a World of Hurt by Charlie Peacock and Andi Ashworth because it offers a lot of food for thought.  Don't let the long title of this book intimidate you, Why Everything that Doesn't matter Matters so Much is full of down-to-earth stories and encouragement for living in our world today. I enjoy cooking but I didn't do a lot of cooking growing up so right off the bat, I could relate to the first letter, Why Bother Learning to Cook? I also appreciate this couple, who has been married many years, sharing their stories and their heart on paper. They don't call them essays, the authors call them letters to their readers, but I do think they are like thought-provoking essays. This is a good book to read a chapter, spend some time thinking abo...

  God Came Near to Me by Kristen Wetherell is a nicely made board book that measures roughly 7 inches square and is 22 pages long. It is aimed at children ages two to four, but that can vary by the child. God Came Near teaches little ones the key pieces of the Gospel through rhyming verse. I loved the lyrical quality of the words in this little book and it is fun to read out loud. I also thought the illustrations were nicely complementary. It is a nice book for Christian parents who want to teach their young children the basics to build on. Then the last page has a fun lift the flap piece for kids to use. At the back of the book, there is also a message to parents talking about how to use the book and apply the message along with the book so children learn and grow to better understand it. I received a copy of this book from the publisher through the Amazon Vine program. All opinions within this review are my own.

  God Rescues Me by Kristen Wetherell is the gospel message for little ones. It has some rhyming verse to explain the gospel. It still uses large words and concepts like sin and forgiveness. I think the wording is a bit big for children under the ages of four. There is also some redundancy in this book to be sure the message gets across. I would say it is more for the four to six year-old age range but that is just my opinion. It does have a neat lift-the-flap with a mirror on the last page that is kind of neat. This is definitely a book for Christian families to use. Physcially, God Rescues Me measures about seven inches square. It is 22 pages long with soft, pretty illustrations by Grace Habib that I like. I received a copy of this book from the publisher through the Amazon Vine program. All opinions within this review are my own.

  When I was young, I used to help my Grandma gather eggs on the farm where they lived. Grandma's egg money used to help her buy things she wanted and needed too. While I have never had chickens of my own, those fond memories led me to read Therapy Chickens by Tedra Hamel Therapy Chickens: Let the Wisdom of the Flock Bring you Joy is a beautifully colorful and interesting six-inch square book. I love the beautiful chicken art pictures throughout the book that the author made. I love the gorgeous cover that is colorful and has texture. I also enjoyed reading about the author's flock of chickens. In Therapy Chickens, the book is divided into seasons, followed by a biography of each chicken in the author's flock. Hamel Shares a lot of interesting information about living with chickens--and their eggs. She also shares how the chickens change throughout the year with the seasons. At the same time, she relates the chickens to how people could better live their lives too. It is ju...

  Mama's Sleeping Scarf is a beautifully written and illustrated children's book. I was impressed with both the story and the bright illustrations. Mama's Sleeping Scarf is aimed at children ages 3 to 7. It measures about 10 by 111/2 inches in size. It is 32 pages long and is a nicely dust-jacketed children's picture book. Mama's Sleeping Scarf tells the story of a young girl with her mama's scarf that she wears at night to keep her hair soft. The young girl takes the scarf and magically plays with it all day while her mother is at work. This book shares her adventures with the special scarf.  This is a beautiful story. I like that it is about an African-American family. I love how the mother is going off to work and the rest of the family cares for the young girl. And the young girl has a lovely imagination with the scarf. I think it is inspiring for young minds. The illustrations are bright and beautiful. It is a nice bedtime book to read aloud. I received a c...

  Just In Case You Ever Feel Alone by Max Lucado is another heart-touching children book by this caring pastor author. This book is beautifully illustrated by Eve Tharlet with warm and soft images that look comforting alongside comforting words. I love the sweet and kind words throughout this mostly-rhyming book. I like that this book talks about families caring for each other but doesn't explicitly say that you are born into that family. Rather, this book leaves the definition a bit loose so those who are adopted or in a different type of family may also feel love around them and not feel alone. The book also emphasizes that God unconditionally loves us and He is always with us too, so we need never feel alone. It is a lovely book and the words and the pictures work well together.  Just In Case You Ever Feel Alone is aimed at children ages three to seven. It is 32 pages long and measures about 8 1/2 by 11 inches in size. It has a dust jacket too. It would make a wonderful gif...

  Ginny Master has spent a lot of years working in the hospitality industry and currently manages a popular hotel in Seattle. Lately, her boss has been more demanding, and the work has been getting to her. She has started to dream about new positions in other places that would be less stressful. Jacqueline Potter manages her grandfather's fishing lodge in Idaho because she couldn't get another job after college with a hospitality degree. She doesn't like fishing, and she dreams of being somewhere where her more sophisticated tastes can be appreciated. She is young and not very mature. Both ladies discover that the y can swap jobs through an online website, which the y do for sixty days. But will just changing the ir scenery make each of the women happy? I enjoyed Melody Carlson's latest novel, Just for the Summer . The idea of switching jobs is one that I have not read before, so I found the book intriguing. I especially enjoyed Ginny's story-line. I ...

Never Fall Again by Lynn H. Blackburn is the first book in her new Gossamer Falls series. Landry Hutton has spent three years rebuilding her life with her young daughter in Gossamer Falls after her abusive husband passed away. She is known for beautiful pottery and has made a good life for herself and her daughter, Eliza. Landry's good friend Bronwyn gave her a job and helped her move to the area to start over. Callum Shaw is a former marine who moved back home to Gossamer Falls and is a respected home builder in the area. Landry hires Callum to build a home for her and Eliza on some land that Bronwyn sold Landry. Not long afterwords, Landry's pottery is destroyed in a suspicious fire. A handwritten note indicates that Landry and Eliza seem to be in danger--but from whom? And why? I enjoyed Never Fall Again . However, at first I did have a little trouble keeping all of the characters straight. This book features a lot of family members from two different families that were feu...

  Charlotte Carter is ready for summer. She has been happily living in her hometown and teaching music for the past year. After her failed engagement, her mother's cancer journey and some other family challenges, Charlotte is ready for summer break. Zach Bryant is back in his hometown for his brother's wedding. His last job didn't work out and he is looking for a new one. The wedding rehearsal dinner for Zach's brother's is held at a nearby cake shop. Charlotte's sister, Sophia, sends Charlotte to the cake shop on an important errand unbeknownst to her that this is where the rehearsal dinner is being held. Charlotte and Zach run in to each other and that is when the fun begins. I especially love d this part and all of the zany events with the wedding and reception. The biggest thing to come out of that day is that Zach and Charlotte agreed to tandem bike a lot of miles to help save Charlotte's music department job and help her parents financia...