I'm Going on an Adventure: August 2018

Cover Reveal

Jill Williamson's Mission League Series- Cover Reveal!

Friday, August 31, 2018

1 Comments

Historical

A Rumored Fortune by Joanna Davidson Politano

Monday, August 20, 2018

2 Comments

Historical

Biblical Adventure and Redemption: Thief of Corinth by Tessa Afshar

Thursday, August 16, 2018

Genre: Historical Fiction

Rating: ♥♥♥♥ Four and a half out of five hearts = excellent

About:

Ariadne has never known her mother's love and approval. It seems as though all she can do is gain her mother and grandfather's displeasure, and so when they try to pledge her hand to an abusive suitor, it is no hardship to leave them and escape to Corinth, the city of her father's residence.

It is only when she is here that Ariadne learns the secret that tore her family apart and sent her father to Corinth- he is the infamous Gentleman Thief of the city, who steals from rich citizens. Not long after, she finds herself mixed up in his escapades, and discovers that her amazing athletic ability greatly aides her and her father in their exploits.

However, it is the arrival of the apostle Paul that really shakes their household, and challenges what they've always believed. Could there be such a thing as a loving God who forgives all and only requires your obedience and love? After all Ariadne has known since childhood about the fragility of a parent's approval, how can she accept this new and life-changing teaching?

My Review:

Biblical fiction is a new genre for me, but I found that I liked the break from what I normally read. Tessa Afshar takes you on a journey into Ariadne's life and soon you're rooting for her to succeed- to help her father in their adventurous exploits (loved all their tumbles and escapes!), sort through relationship struggles and stay out of trouble.

What first intrigued me about the book was the cover. Caught in the midst of what looks like a rooftop escape, it captured my interest and really does look awesome. It fit the theme and content of the book really well.

The story is set in first-person, which, for once, was fine with me. I enjoyed learning about Corinth and Aridne's adventures from that point of view. She was an interesting character to dive into- from her love of running and her special ability with athletics, to her struggles with finding acceptance. The same goes for the other characters as well- their words and actions were realistic and engrossing and accurately historical, while also being relatable.

Paul's arrival in Corinth was fairly realistic, in light of what I know about him from the Bible. Not exactly as I imagine him, but all, I think, pulled from what you read about him in the New Testament. I will say he was a bit more mentor than anything else, so sometimes he did not feel like a real person, but it's always hard to put a real historical figure in a book and portray them properly.

I'd say the book was just about perfect- the only problems I'd mention are the one about Paul I spoke of earlier and also the fact that it seemed to get a little slower and less interesting as I got into the second half of the book.

Mrs. Afshar has led me on a culture-accurate journey through Bible times that I'm glad I got to be a part of. Thief of Corinth put a nice background for the Corinthians that I formerly knew hardly anything about and gave me a bit of insight into their world.

Picture via Pinterest

Note: I got this book from Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

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Historical

Western Romance: More than Meets the Eye by Karen Witemeyer

Sunday, August 05, 2018

Genre: Historical Romance

Book one in the Patchwork Family series

Rating: ♥♥♥♥ Four out of five hearts

Description:

Born an anomaly- one eye blue, the other brown- who would ever want Evangeline Hamilton? So whenever she's thrown together with two other unwanted fellow orphans, they become the kind of family they've been looking for.

It's years later, and Logan Fowler is on the path for justice. He's determined to make Zacharias Hamilton, the man who ruined his family's life, pay.... he's just not expecting the man to have such an irresistible younger sister. Her mismatched eyes put her apart from the crowd, it's true, but it's her unquenchable spirit and joy for life that really draw him in. How can he extract his version of justice without hurting her as well?

My Review:

No joke, I've been looking forward this book's release for months. Karen Witemeyer's novels never fail to make me smile, take me on an adventure and sigh with happiness at the end.

Evie Hamilton is an inspiring and unique character. I loved her energy, her zest for life, and the special connection she had with her adopted brothers. I love the idea of a patchwork family, and although Evie and her 'hero' brothers are far from perfect and aren't the best of families at times, their connection and love for each other makes up for it and holds them together. Logan is, basically, an intruder to all of that and I didn't like him too much at the beginning. His less-than-honorable motives near the start of the story made it hard for me to like him throughout the rest of it, actually. Evie and her brothers' prologue was perfection, and I think I could have related to Logan much more had he also had a prologue, showing a younger version of him and why things in his life affected him so.

Via Pinterest

The story in and of itself didn't pull me in so much, either. It felt more cliche and contrived than I'm used to seeing with the author. I absolutely loved the idea of the book- patchwork family, mismatched eyes, protective older brothers and mischievous younger sister.... and then what happens when said younger sister falls in love? Older brothers get even more protective, of course. I love stories like that, and I still loved those elements in the story and found parts of it endearing, but I couldn't enjoy the plot or adventure quite as much when it just kind of felt like it had been done before. I wasn't feeling the danger, the suspense- the stakes didn't feel very high.

This isn't going to stop me from eagerly anticipating the next book in the series (will it be about Zach? I'm hoping...)- I'm always going to love and look forward to the release of Karen Witemeyer's novels. I just wish the pace and plot had had a little something extra in it.

Note: I got this book from Bethany House in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.