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My Review:

 Joanna Politano's books have a special place on my bookshelf. Her style is unique and unmatched, and never fails to draw me in. There's an element of mystery and intrigue in each story, which is why I was so excited to see that The Lost Melody was releasing in October, just when I'm in the mood for something complex (and just a tad creepy).

Politano's words are lyrical and meaningful, and if I had a highlighter I'd probably have underlined most of the novel. Vivienne is such a great character, and I felt as if I journeyed and changed with her as her circumstances and perspective changed. However, that was also kind of a bad thing, as for the first half of the book I felt as trapped as Vivienne in the dark, old asylum. I struggled to get into the story, but after the first half it got better and I was able to appreciate and enjoy the book. 

While this book was not my favorite of Politano's, it was definitely not a disappointment and left a lot of light and beauty behind in its wake. 

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My Review: 

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♥♥♥♥ = Four out of five hearts

Review:

Luke Davenport is the last of the Horsemen to have his story featured, and he is paired with the supposedly plain, bookish spinster, Damaris Baxter. It's easy to relate to Damaris. She's quiet, demure, and doesn't consider herself to be very pretty, which I certainly struggle with feeling from time to time. Luke, however, doesn't see her that way, but instead sees what most people don't- the unique, beautiful woman she really is. Quiet people tend to be overlooked, so I love that discerning Luke sees her, actually sees who she is, as soon as he meets her. 

The story itself has a good bit of action, as you would expect from a Horsemen novel, and the best part involved one or two (or more ;) ) of our favorite ex-calvary men. At some points  the story did feel a bit typical of the romantic western genre, but overall it was a charming book with a definite dash of danger and mystery. 

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Review:

The star of the show is our main character, Mel. Full of self-deprecating humor and a unique outlook on life, it's not hard to like her. I appreciated how, while this is a book about an eating disorder and that fills up 90% of the pages, anorexia wasn't all to Mel's story. We get to know her as fully as any other character in any other book and her journey took her on different directions that didn't always have to do with her disorder. 

 Readers who have struggled with eating disorders or body image may find this book hard to read at times. It brought me very fully into Mel's head, which wasn't always a good thing for me as I have struggled with some of the same things Mel did. It also helped me, though, especially towards the end of the book when she was finding healing. 

Props to the cover designer- I loved how cheerful and colorful the cover was, even while the inside subject matter dealt with a difficult topic. 

I thought the hiking parts were a bit lacking in reality, but otherwise this is a pretty good book that deals with a difficult topic. I hope this leads more Christian authors to deal with subjects like this one. 

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My Review: 

 I got this book not realizing that it was a daily devotional, which aren't my favorite as usually I feel they tend to only cover the surface, and don't get very deep. Unfortunately, Your Time is Now has the same depth as I feel the other devotionals do.  While it has a great message inside, I personally didn't feel very impacted by the brevity of the passages.

Also, another false assumption I had was that this book was geared towards teens and young adults, mainly based off of the back cover copy. From the book description- "How does God want to use you? Not your parents. Not your pastor. Not your friend with all the social media followers." Then while reading, the book would reference to "your spouse and kids" and other things that made me realize this was an all-ages devo. I don't know, maybe this was just a mistake I'd make. 

I will say that guys might enjoy the book more than I, a twenty-something girl, did. The author, Jonathan Evans, is a former NFL fullback and currently serves as a chaplain to a football team. Football references make their way into the pages, and football fans who have followed Mr. Evans' career may be able to relate to his words more than I was able to. 

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My Review:

So many people, myself included, fall into the "perfection" trap, many times without even realizing it. Mikala Albertson suggests that there is a better way, one where we realize that we are all imperfect, struggling human beings living this beautifully ordinary life together. 

This book is perfect for today, where the internet constantly shows us how "wrong" we are living our lives. The author hasn't had an easy life- her husband was a drug addict for many years- which makes her emotional story relatable, and the idea that life wasn't meant to be perfect, all the more powerful. 

I just loved the graceful way Mikala wrote her story. Many of the passages were lyrical and so beautifully worded, and the inviting tone that she used made her feel like a friend offering a hug. 

I'm so glad I picked up this book, and I know many other women are going to be impacted by Mikala's words. 

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 ❤❤❤❤❤= Loved it 

My Review:

The illustrations are what sold me on this book. I would have loved the cute bunnies, lambs and other animals as a kid, and honestly, as an adult I'm enjoying them nearly just as much now. Sometimes artists tend to simplify kid's book illustrations (something I've disliked since I was little) but these are detailed and perfectly whimsical. Amy Kavelaris's artwork is beautiful! 

Instead of a story, the book features a blessing, with promises for the child from scripture and various scripture references to find hidden in the illustrations. "Good Morning, Little One" would make a meaningful gift, particularly for a baby shower or first birthday, and there's a handy section where the giver can inscribe who it's to, from, and the date. 

A cute addition for a child's bookshelf! 

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When Kendra Brennan moves into her grandfather's old cabin on Hidden Lake, she has a problem and a plan. The problem? An inflammatory letter from A Very Disappointed Reader that's keeping her from writing her next novel as long as its claims go unanswered. The plan? To confront Tyler, her childhood best friend's brother--and the man who inspired the antagonist in her first book--in order to prove to herself that she told the truth as all good novelists should.

What she discovers as she delves into the murky past is not what she expected. Facing Tyler isn't easy, but facing the truth of her failed friendship with his sister, Cami, may be the hardest thing she's ever had to do.

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Review:

 I have mixed feelings about this book. Erin Bartels never fails to dive deep into tricky subjects that many books avoid, and she does so with finesse. I admire her for this, as I think we need more books that authentically explore the hard topics. However, I wasn't a big fan of this story in particular. 

While the story has an intriguing start, I began to lose interest as things went on. Things began to pick up a little towards the middle, but I still had a hard time keeping focused on what was going on in the story. The content also went a little farther than I was used to -a sex scene, unwanted by the MC, and not described in detail, but startling in a book on the Christian market. It was also a little surprising since the book's back cover copy was vague, and for a long time I had no idea what the book was really about. 

 I understand that the author went through a similar situation so I don't want to be unfeeling as to how the story played out, however I wish there had been more hope in the story. I understand that life doesn't always work that way, but I left it feeling a bit depressed.

The writing and cover? A+. The story itself is one that I'm more conflicted about. 

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