Reading, Writing & Pondering

  I found myself back in Sheet Cake, Texas as I listened to the audiobook of The Bluff by Emma St. Clair. James is the typical grumpy boss character. . .I really didn't like him too much at first, but. . . I was surprised at how much I warmed up to this guy by the middle of the book.  Winnie sets out to be a good employee, even though she is temporary, for James Graham as he gets ready to open Dark Horse Brewery in Sheet Cake. I truly enjoyed getting to know both of these layered characters. There was definitely more than meets the eye to both of them. I was pulling for them more and more as the book went on. I also like the other characters in Sheet Cake. It was nice to catch up with all the characters from the first book. The narration in the audio book was well done and I found myself looking forward to listening whenever I could. Now, I am definitely looking forward to moving on to the next book as this one ends, so I can see how everything unfolds between Chevy and Val. ...

I am a white middle-aged woman. I don't have a brown son. HOWEVER, I have friends with brown children and I want to support them and all the brown people My Brown Boy is well-written. I also love the gorgeous full-color illustrations. This book shows how brown boys can be whoever they want to be. The author's brown son was followed by a policeman at a young teen even though he did nothing. I don't know what it is to be profiled based on my skin color but my heart goes out to this child. Also, I have son that is neurodivergent. He does things his own way and his skills unique to him. I like how the author shares how her son is unique with his own skill set. I also appreciate how she shares that he sometimes gets scared. I think this book does a good job of sharing how we sometimes judge by skin color when we need to look at everyone's heart.   I received a copy of this book from the publisher through the Amazon Vine Program. All opinions are my own.

  I have followed Jessica Turner for several years so I wanted to read her story in I Thought It Would Be Better Than This .  Jessica tells her story of her 16-year marriage that ended when her husband came out as gay in 2020. This book is full of heart and hope for anyone who is in that situation. That isn't me. However, I did find a lot of helpful information in this book anyway. I would also add that I have a relative that came out as gay so I could relate to that issue in some other ways than as a spouse.  I especially like how Jessica goes through all of the areas of her life that were affected and changed as a result of going through this experience. It touched her life in many ways. I can understand that too. She shares how she had to grieve her marriage and learn to forgive others and herself. She shares how she held on to friendships and made new friendships. She shares how she learned to take care of herself on her own through exercise, eating healthy alone, mak...

  I Do Today by Chelsea Smith is a 52-week marriage guide. This book is full of practical information that I think would most certainly be helpful for those who are newly married. But as someone who has been married for several years, I also see found information in the book for refreshing our own marriage with practical helps. This book has ideas on dating your spouse, fighting fair, dealing with digital devices, making time to play together, spicing up your sex life, the benifit of serving others and a while lot more. Each chapter of I Do Today starts with 2 or 3 pages of information on that chapter’s topic, followed by a Think About it section for yourself, then a Talk About It section to use  as a couple, and it ends with some action to do related to the chapter’s topic. I think this will be a great book to go through this year for my husband and I. I Do Today would also make a good wedding or shower gift for a newly married couple . There is talk of God an...

  One of the new genre's that I tried last year was magical realism. I found I enjoyed it quite a bit. The Time Hop Coffee Shop by Phaedra Patrick is my latest read in this genre. Greta Perks and her husband, Jim, along with their daughter, Lottie, were stars for about a decade in Maple Gold coffee commercials. When the company replaced them with another family, they all felt lost and their family changed. In fact, Jim and Greta decided to separate for awhile and figure out how to go on--either together or separate. Greta also had the passing of her mother to grieve, along with her job loss. Now she doesn't feel like she fits in anywhere. Jim has a different set of struggles. Lottie is now a teenager and trying to figure life out from that angle. Then, Greta stumbles on a mysterious coffee shop that serves up magical brews. When Greta drinks the brew she wakes up in the town of Mapleville from the Maple Gold commercials. When she is there, life feels perfect. Her body is perfe...

  An Amish Widow's Hope by Pamela Desmond Wright is an inspiring story that kept my interest from beginning to end.  As the book begins, Widow Isla Stohl had her home broken into and her savings robbed. Sheriff Evan Miller, who was once Isla's beau, is on the case and determined to find the culprit. After his sister was killed in a car and buggy crash, Evan walked away from the Amish in his pain and became a law enforcement officer as a younger man. However, as he searches for Isla's robber, he gets shot in the process. Then he is put on leave while the shooting is in review, which leaves him with a lot of time to think. Will he make some changes in his life? I enjoyed An Amish Widow's Hope. I thought the story was well-written. There are themes of mercy and redemption through the story. It is also a story with relationship issues, romance, and mystery mixed with the Amish faith and simple values.   I received a copy of this book from the author/publisher. All opin...

  On Living Stone by Heather Kaufman is the third book in the Women of the Way series. This book is Salome's story--and so much more based on the New Testament.  Salome grows up feeling lonely. Her eyes are an unusual color and her mother passed away when she was young. She has her father and he does encourage her, but she is still lonely and made fun of as she grows up by the Sea of Galilee. She is known as a wild girl with a quick tongue. As she gets grows up, she worries she will never marry. Then, she does and God blesses her with two sons--James and John. When her sons are grown, James and John answer a call to follow Jesus of Nazereth. Salome isn't sure what to think of their path and the man who is leading them. Will she and her family all become followers? On Living Stone certainly details some of the challenges of living during the time of Jesus. Based on the Bible, the author uses her imagination to bring New Testament history to life.  I found this story to b...

  Do you like having a special devotional for Advent? My devotional this year was The Spirit of Christmas by Cynthia Ruchti. Unfortunately, I did not receive this book until a few days after Advent started so I was behind from the beginning. I still enjoyed the book but I struggled to keep up with a busy month. I think I would like to start over and read the book better from start to finish. The Spirit of Christmas includes 25 readings--one for each day of the Advent season. Of course, the book could be read any time of the year but the focus is on the Christmas season and the birth of Christ. As you would expect, every day starts with a Scripture verse. Each day's reading is 3 or 4 pages long, followed by a section called Pondering, which includes questions to think about related to the day's reading. Then the reading concludes with a prayer.  The Spirit of Christmas book is a small size so it is a good size to take along and read on the go. Or it easily fits on your nights...

  Abiding Wisdom by Ryan Whitaker Smith and Dan Wilt is a beautiful little book that has lovely black and white illustrations amidst 75 prayers based on the book of Proverbs. Proverbs is one of my favorite Bible books. I am a practical person so I have always loved the practical advice and wisdom from the book of Proverbs. This book makes beautiful prayers from verses in this book. The prayers cover a variety of topics. A Teachable Spirit, A Gentle Answer, Pride's Cup, Who is My Neighbor? and Your Justice are just a few of the titles.  Abiding Wisdom is a book that you could use a variety of ways. You could read a prayer a day in order. You could pray the prayers on the topics that you believe you need to pray about in random order.  Each prayer also has the verses the prayer was based on listed under the prayer. I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions within this review are my own. 

  I have to be honest, I am not fond of winter or cold places so reading a book set in Alaska wouldn't be my first choice--EXCEPT it is written by Susan May Warren. I will pretty much read anything she writes. Track of Courage is the start of a new Call of the Wild series and is set mainly in Alaska.  Keely William is a pop singer who came to Alaska to search for her biological mother. When she sees her, she chickens out on telling her who she is. . .and gets on a plane to go home.  However, things don't go as planned when the plane is hijacked and crashes.  Dawson Mulligan is an ex-cop who had a bad knee injury and has some PTSD after a rescue that went wrong. He decides to fly home to Copper Mountain to recuperate and figure out his next move. On the way home, they spot the downed plane. His dog, Caspian, then runs off on a trail of a survivor.  When Dawson catches up to Keely, they both may have found more than they bargained for. Can Dawson get her out of t...

    The Charmed Library by Jennifer Moorman has been a treat for me to read. I was excited to receive an arc.  Stella Parker is an Assistant Librarian in the small town in the South where she grew up. She still carries sadness from her father's death and her mother leaving the family early in her life. She also had a recent break up. She loves working with books as she is a word person. Words appear to Stella and give her insights into other people. Stella stumbles into another magical element when she is in the library after hours. She learns that some of the fictional characters she remembers have come to life. She especially enjoys meeting Jack Mathis who is Stella's first book crush and a fictional hero from a World War 2 novel.  I enjoyed this trip into a small town library adventure with Stella. I haven't read a lot of magical realism so for me this was a treat. I liked the reference to some of my favorite book characters. I enjoyed seeing Stella grow and chang...

  Mists over the Channel Islands by Sarah Sundin is her latest World War 2 historical novel. I always enjoy Sarah's books as she shares interesting aspects of World War 2 within her story. I enjoy the story itself but I also learn some history I previously didn't know. In 1944, the Germans invaded the British Channel Islands. I didn't know where these islands were but the author has a map in the front of the novel to help readers understand their location. Within this aspect of the story, Dr. Ivy Picot is working hard to keep her family's medical practice afloat amidst the challenges and changes from the war.  Meanwhile, Dutch engineer Gerrit van der Zee goes to the Channel Islands as part of the resistance along with his friend Bernard. Together they pretend to work for the Germans while smuggling information back to the allies. Before long they meet Ivy's brother, Charlie, who joins them in their work, unbeknownst to Ivy. Gerrit and Ivy meet but Ivy believes Gerr...

    As You Ice It by Emma St. Clair is part of the Appies hockey series but reads as a stand-alone. I listened to the audiobook version of this book and thoroughly enjoyed it. This is my first book in the series and I want to go back and read more of the series. Naomi is a single mom to 10-year-old Liam. For that reason, when she meets Camden Cole at Oakley Island she doesn't want to get too involved as she believes he is just a tourist passing through. She tries to be a good mom to Liam and wants a stable home life for him. For that reason, they cut ties at the end of the summer.  Then Naomi's job relocates her--to the town of Harvest Hallow--where Camden plays hockey. As the book starts out, Liam also signs himself up to play hockey behind Naomi's back. As Liam learns the hockey sport, he also works with Camden. Soon Naomi and Camden meet again. Camden hasn't been able to get Naomi out of his mind. Naomi had similar struggles. Are they both ready to quit running? I e...