Category: Book Review

Book Review · Books

The Lioness Of Leiden by Robert Loewen

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Step back in time to the 40’s in the Netherlands when World War II is in full swing. A young woman named Hetty didn’t want to merely stay on the sidelines. She wanted to help out the resistance in her county, but not all of her assignments are tame. This historical fiction novel takes you on a journey with Hetty on her different assignments and the assortment of characters that she meets along the way.

I found this novel to be slow going at first. Maybe I’m too old fashioned, but it seemed out of character for Hetty to have an assortment of lovers while her boyfriend could possibly be out there still alive. I get we all have needs. Another thing that stood out to me was something an eight year old character said that to me would be more along the lines of something an older teen might say, but not an eight year old. Over all the book does get better the further you get into the story.

I received a complimentary ARC copy of The Lioness of Leiden by Robert Loewen from Greenleaf Book Group, care of Smith Publicity in exchange for my honest feedback. The views expressed are my own and my own choice.

Book Review · Books

So Close by Sylvia Day

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Kane is a devilishly handsome man who has become a shell of who he once was after his wife, Lily comes up lost at sea when she decides to go out and sail her boat. He has numbed his grief by the occasional one nighters, but they just aren’t her. To comfort himself, Kane has paintings of her in his snazzy penthouse. In his bedroom there is one specially placed so that he can gaze on her when he goes to sleep and when he wakes up. His home is a mausoleum of sorts dedicated to her.

One day as he’s stuck in NY traffic he spies a woman who looks like the spitting image of Lily. He can’t help himself. Kane yells out her name and the woman in question turns to him in recognition and runs to get away from him. In the process of trying to get away from Kane, she gets hit by a car. In order to protect this possible Lily Kane has guards stand to keep an eye on who comes and goes to see who he hopes is his long lost wife.

When Lily recoups from her coma she insists that she is his Lily. Will Kane and Lily be able to rebuild their marriage and relationship? Where has she been since she was presumed dead? Not everyone in Kane’s life is thrilled his wife has come back from the dead.

This thriller is intense. If you enjoy psychological thrillers you just might enjoy this story. This is my first book I’ve read by Sylvia Day and I’m pleasantly surprised with her skill of storytelling. If you are a fan of Sarah Pinborough, then I think you will become a new fan. This novel had me hooked from the start.

I received a complimentary ARC copy of So Close by Sylvia Day from Ronin House, care of Smith Publicity for my honest feedback. The views expressed are my own and my choice.

Book Review · Books

The Answer To Anxiety by Joyce Meyer

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Anxiety is something we all face either in tiny increments or large portions that paralyze us in abject fear. One person who has dealt with this affliction throughout her life is Joyce Meyer. In The Answer To Anxiety, Joyce walks the reader through what can aid us in dealing with our anxiety. Joyce provides 5 keys to help us not be anxious: 1. Don’t be anxious. 2. Prayer 3. Thankfulness 4. Enjoy peace

Joyce walks through each key, how we can apply them to our life and what the Bible says about each one. I know I am not supposed to be anxious, but I also think we can start to make it our default setting. I know for me I think I tend to pray more than I do be thankful. As for trying to have peace with myself and others, that key can be challenging at times.

I found this book to be helpful. I know that I can get so wrapped up in whatever I’m anxious about I forget about all that I have and all that is going right in my life. If I work on shifting my focus to thankfulness then I’m turning it from it being about me through worrying to it being about Him, who has given me everything I have.

If you are looking for a short book on anxiety you might find this book helpful even if you aren’t a believer, though being a believer does make a difference. Disclaimer: myself or Joyce Meyers are not doctors, psychologists or therapists.

I received my complimentary copy of The Answer To Anxiety by Joyce Meyer from FaithWords, in exchange for my honest feedback. The views expressed are mine and my own choice to provide.

Book Review · Books

The Love You Save by Goldie Taylor

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Life in East Saint Louis in the 70’s and early 80’s was rough for Goldie. One day at just 11 years old she is violated by an older neighborhood boy. Instead of her mom wanting to help Goldie get through such a traumatic event, she pawns her off on her Aunt Gerald after getting Goldie cleaned up herself. Life at her aunt’s isn’t much of an improvement from living with her mom. Along with a host of cousins, Goldie tries as best she can to adjust to living with her relatives. She always hopes in the back of her mind that her mother will one day swoop back into her life and bring her back home.

In school it is discovered that Goldie is gifted. When she gets placed in the gifted class she excels in memorizing poetry and works on writing her own pieces. Her talent is all thanks to her teaching herself to read at age 3. Books were and are her solace.

This book had me throughout reminding myself that I was reading a memoir and not historical fiction. Goldie’s life story is one of tough love, forgiveness, resilience, hope and love. If you are looking for a book on what inner city life is like then I recommend this upcoming memoir.

I didn’t expect to care about all the real life characters in this book. They weren’t all likable, but by the end I felt like I had been to one of Goldie’s family BBQ’s. Even though there was chaos at times there was in fact unspoken love given in the moments you weren’t always expecting it.

I received a complimentary advanced copy of The Love You Save by Goldie Taylor from Hanover Square Press, care of TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest feedback. Views expressed are strictly my own.

Book Review · Books

Day By Day: A Guided Journal by Jess Conte

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A new year means you just might be hunting for a new journal. Some journals offer plain blank pages to write whatever you want, but this upcoming journal by Jess Conte offers something better. She provides a wide range of different writing prompts from writing about your childhood, to filling out a never have I ever page, to narrowing down which foods you can’t stand, etc. Sprinkled throughout this journal Jess also offers both heart and health check in pages to gauge how you might be holding up on a particular day.

This journal I feel gives a wide range of different writing prompts. Some were fairly traditional and others were a nice surprise. The one thing that was missing, in my opinion, is more Christian faith content. Jess does have micro spots of a sentence here or there, but there are no Bible verses, prayers, etc. Maybe this journal is more for a general audience rather than a faith based one. Either audience I think would appreciate this journal. I believe Jess captures a writer’s full portrait so to speak with covering so many different topics within this journal.

I received my complimentary copy of Day By Day: A Guided Journal by Jess Conte from EllieClaire.com, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc to provide my honest feedback. Thoughts expressed are my own and of my own choice. Keep an eye out for this pretty soon to be released journal.

Book Review · Books

The 50/50 Friendship Flow by Shari Leid

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Shari went on a year long journey of asking 50 of her friends to meet her for a friendship date so that she could share with them how they’ve impacted, inspired and changed her life. Each chapter is of each friend she met with whether it was for bunch, lunch, dinner or drinks. Most of the chapters showcase a picture of that particular friend at the beginning of the chapter. One theme I noticed is that each of Shari’s friends glow through their photos.

This idea intrigues me. It’s a neat way to show your friends how much they mean to you and how they have impacted your life. How often do we truly take the time to express how much a friendship means to us?

Do you have 50, 25, 15, 10, or 5 friends that you would ask to do this flow challenge with? I know for me personally I have a fairly decent number of friends. Who would you pick?

For 2023 I want to do this friendship flow challenge. All I have to do is choose how many friends I want to include and start scheduling my virtual friendship dates.

I received my complimentary copy of The 50/50 Friendship Flow by Shari Leid from Capucia, LLC, care of Pacific And Court in exchange for my honest review. Views expressed are my own and of my own will. This book would make a wonderful gift to give a Bestie, a sibling, a parent or family member. Let’s keep the friendship flow going.

Book Review · Books

Missing by Cornelia Spelman

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Memoirs are my favorite. They are a sneak peek into someone’s life. Missing is a short memoir of the author, Cornelia’s journey to understand her family’s dynamics, both her mother and father’s lives, as well as her eldest brother’s.

Family dynamics can be and get messy. Cornelia decides to investigate further after her elderly mother has passed, of her past claim that her son had attempted to do her in. Was it paranoia talking or was there some truth? Through researching her mother’s health history Cornelia starts to unearth more about her mother and her mother’s life.

There’s something that draws me to the Great Depression era. The author graciously included family photos and documents throughout her memoir. Getting to see old pictures of her parents lounging in their classic chairs felt like I got to step back in time for just a moment; to get to join them in their living room to curl up and read along side them. The photo exhibits warmth and coziness which is something in today’s society I believe is a lost art form.

This memoir made think of how much we truly don’t know our parents or extended family. Not everyone feels comfortable talking about their childhood or young adult years. Sometimes life is too painful. How many of us can say we know what our parent’s favorite color was as a child or what they wanted to be when they grew up? I know I sure don’t know either of those answers personally and that is sad. Our family history is aging moment by moment and if we don’t listen to those old stories and jot them down or record them then all that history goes to the grave.

I received a complimentary digital copy of Missing by Cornelia Spelman from Laura Marie PR in exchange for my honest feedback. All views expressed are my own and of my own choice. If you enjoy memoirs and family histories I think you will thoughtfully enjoy this book.

Book Review · Books

Lessons From A Book Blogger

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I’m almost at my 6 year book blogging anniversary. This year I have slacked BIG time. Having only read 11 books so far is disgraceful for me. By now I’m at least past 50 read, but this year I’ve been in a super reading funk.

This funk has taught me some things: Don’t over splurge requesting on Net Galley! I’m loosing my love of reading. I’m over my YA phase. I’ve stopped caring.

I decided to get rid of my NetGalley account. I’ve been reviewing with them over 5 years. They are wonderful. It’s not them. It’s me. I over did my requests. They do warn you to not over request. It was too easy to go on a request binge like a gambling addict. Maybe the next request will get approved. It was an addiction and compulsion. When I began to not want to read that was a major red flag to me. I want to love reading again.

Will I still review? Sure. Just not through NetGalley. Do I recommend going through them? Yes. Just don’t go down my road of binging.

I’m determined to love reading again.

Book Review · Books

Red Lip Theology

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The title sucked me in and the contents through me out of my comfort zone like a touch down in a football game. This book dropped me headlong into what it’s like to be a black woman in the black church. I’m as much of a white girl as you can get, so this was a cultural journey I got to experience through the eyes of Candice.

The author was raised by her single mom. Though they didn’t always see eye to eye they still loved each other throughout their disagreements and tears. When suddenly Candice’s mom passes she discovers just how toxic the church can be when she was needing her church family the most.

This book is Candice’s faith journey, her experience of the being raised in the black church and how it shaped her. Not only does Candice share about how she’s come into her own faith, but how stepping outside the spiritual system she was raised in has helped her grow in ways she wasn’t expecting.

I’ll be honest. I facilitated between agreeing one moment and the next trying to not be horrified. I have had my own outside of the box journey and dipped my toe in areas of spirituality that I’ve skedaddled from in abject fear and repentance. We won’t know otherwise unless we explore. It’s not easy to decide to journey to what can be viewed as the wrong side of the spiritual tracks.

I received my complimentary digital copy of Red Lip Theology by Candice Marie Benbow from Convergent Books, care of NetGalley. The views shared are mine and fully my choice. If you are looking for a book on faith that will challenge your old school ways then I recommend checking out this upcoming 2022 title. I think I’m still mentally processing all I’ve read. Thank you for being bold when others would rather you be silent. Thank you Candice.

Book Review · Books

Carry The Dog

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Some books burrow a place into your soul. Carry The Dog has done just that. The last page has been read and my brain is reeling from this novel. This novel is NOT for kids or teens. If you are sensitive to dark topics then you may want to proceed with caution. It’s dark. Pitch black, can’t see ANYTHING in front of your face. The only thing you can do is listen to the main character, Bea’s thoughts.

How do you survive a childhood overshadowed by a famous mother? To have a parent whose loved and hated by society for producing what she considers art? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but what if that perspective is twisted and marred?

Bea is on the cusp of the big 60 and her childhood that she thought was ‘normal’ keeps throwing her flashbacks. She’s trying to survive. One cig and drink at a time. Thankfully she has her younger sister, of sorts, Echo to keep her grounded.

When Bea’s ex tries to worm her into agreeing to allow someone to do a documentary on her mom she’s confronted with a past she’s trying forget. How does one process trauma? She thought ignoring it would make it disappear, but when Bea tries to confront her aging father, she realizes sometimes you’ve just got to dive into the pig sty and face crap head-on.

This novel tackles the intricacies of family on a whole different level. What is a family? Can a fractured one be pieced back together? Is it possible to pick up the shards of a disassociated self and make her whole again? How does our own perception morph between childhood and adulthood?

I received a complimentary physical and digital copy of Carry The Dog by Stephanie Gangi care of Algonquin Books and NetGalley. The views are mine and of my own volition. Thank you Stephanie, Algonquin Books and NetGalley. This novel is Gone Girl level on the psychological front. I almost couldn’t stomach it, but I’m glad I did.