Although my life is busy right now, I know in all likelihood it will just get busier. Therefore, it seems like a rather logical WHY I CHOOSE THIS BOOK
Although my life is busy right now, I know in all likelihood it will just get busier. Therefore, it seems like a rather logical idea to read marriage books now, even though I'm not married. (And that's a disclaimer, folks: I'm not married, nor am I in a relationship, hence all my thoughts about this book come from the perspective of a single person.) Plus, I've always found relationship (of any kind) oriented books to be really interesting because I like the psychology aspect of why people do what they do, etc... Last of all, I've come to the realization that I've not spent a lot of time learning about money, budgeting, and everything that entails, so I've been working on learning about it.
WHAT I THOUGHT ABOUT THIS BOOK
Just reading the table of contents is enough to give you a boatload of things to think about. Key Two is about Grasping the Biblical Definition of Prosperity, Key Four is about Living By God's Philosophy of Money, Key Five is about Understanding and Respecting Your Spouses Personality, and the list goes on.
Even as a single person I've heard over and over again from people, books, and media, how much contention money can cause in a marriage. People are raised with their own "culture" regarding money and finances and often times they don't realize how truly different their ideas can be compared to their spouses.
This book is written by a husband and wife team who know firsthand about the trouble money can cause in a marriage. The first twenty years of their marriage were filled with strife, misunderstandings, and miscommunications when it came to the arena of finances. Through the pages of Money Problems, Marriage Solutions, we get to explore the seven keys they discovered to help them overcome their problems and align their hearts - and finances - so they could work together as a team.
Reading this book was a breeze. Although I (obviously) am not in a position to work through money issues with my spouse, I still found the advice and examples they gave to be very interesting and logical. I liked how they talked about the heart of the matter (which is making sure that your lives are in sync with each other and where God has you), instead of just giving material tips of how to work things out.
CONCLUSION
This is one of the books that I want to keep around so I can re-read it when I'm married because it seems like it will be very helpful in a relationship.
Rating
I’m giving Money Problems, Marriage Solutions 4 out of 5 stars.
((This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for me reviewing it, all thoughts and opinions are my own.))...more
I've read books by Arlene Pellicane before and really liked what she had to say, plus her writing style is easy to read. Miss ArWhy I Choose This Book
I've read books by Arlene Pellicane before and really liked what she had to say, plus her writing style is easy to read. Miss Arlene talks a lot about children and technology and I find that subject fascinating. Plus, Gary Chapman wrote the forward and I really like his work. ((And, as always, here is my disclaimer: I'm not married and don't have kids, therefore I'm reviewing this book from that perspective.))
What I Thought About This Book
This book was so good and so fast and easy to read. Most of the time it takes me longer to read nonfiction than fiction, but I blew through this book in two sittings and barely wanted to put it down. Miss Arlene uses a combination of examples from her own life, situations she's seen, Bible verses, and statistics to write a compelling book that gives parents eight strategies for raising kids who love God.
As a non-parent, I always find it intriguing to see the thought process as to why parents do what they do. The psychological side of parenting is something that I've always found interesting and Miss Arlene does a really good job of explaining things in a very easy to understand way.
Her strategies are very practical and have solid reasoning behind them and statistics to back up what she has to say. The chapter titles include "Amusement Is Not the Highest Priority", "Launching Adults, Not Babying Children", and "Good Food Served on the Table." Each chapter was encouraging, entertaining, thought-provoking, and included ideas about how to incorporate the strategy into everyday life.
Conclusion
This is one of my favorite parenting books I've read yet, and one that I hope to re-read after I have children. It's short and therefore not overwhelming to pick up, plus it's so full of good information.
Rating
I'm giving Parents Rising 5 out of 5 stars and recommend it as highly as a non-parent can get away with recommending a book without being annoying. ;)
((This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for me reviewing it, all thoughts and opinions are my own.))...more
Ohh! I hadn't realized this book was up on here yet. :) I'll have to review it before long. It's a great book and I really liked it!Ohh! I hadn't realized this book was up on here yet. :) I'll have to review it before long. It's a great book and I really liked it!...more
This book is so stinkin' cute! Guys, at the beginning of each chapter there's a little snippet of another story and as the book progresses you get to This book is so stinkin' cute! Guys, at the beginning of each chapter there's a little snippet of another story and as the book progresses you get to see how those two stories intertwine. It's such a cool idea and totally made the book so much better. Also. People. At the beginning of each chapter they have the last line in the chapter. I don't know how to explain it better than that, but it was pretty much my favorite thing about the book and was SO COOL.
The story itself was cute and made me smile a lot. I've read books with characters like this that are set in the 1800s and they always annoyed me SO MUCH. You know the older ladies with crazy antics that so don't fit the time period? Well, apparently I do like those kinds of characters in contemporary books. Who would have known?
Most of the story was lighthearted and amusing, but it did touch on some deeper subjects and did a good job of balancing the two. And the characters were rather adorable. ...more
This is one of those books that is an anomaly to me because I didn't particularly like the storyline or the characters, and the beginning was slow andThis is one of those books that is an anomaly to me because I didn't particularly like the storyline or the characters, and the beginning was slow and I had to force myself to keep going. Yet by the end? I didn't want to put the book down and I ordered the next book in the series the next day.
That is because I find the setting and time period to be truly compelling and very well written. When I read the first book in the series (where I really did like the characters and plot), I also had the same feelings toward the setting and time period and hurried out to the library where I loaded up on nonfiction books so I could study it more.
The author does a great job of bringing that world to life and making me realize how much I don't know and how much I want to know. It's a talent that I highly applaud.
One last note: The ending was pretty bad. I wish that it had just been from one perspective, because it was from two perspectives, and one of them was a wee bit gruesome. ...more
The story itself was totally amazing - like it kept me up reading until it was finished. It was sweet and probably contains my favorite trope. The reaThe story itself was totally amazing - like it kept me up reading until it was finished. It was sweet and probably contains my favorite trope. The reason I gave it just three stars is because it has some content that I didn't like, (such as a rumor about an old palace being haunted etc...), but overall those things were brief. I would like to read more books by the same author in the future. ...more
This book was pretty much perfect. I hardly ever am happy with endings of books, and endings of trilogies are even harder to impress me, but this one?This book was pretty much perfect. I hardly ever am happy with endings of books, and endings of trilogies are even harder to impress me, but this one? Yo, folks. I pretty much want to read the first book again right now. So amazing. I've been recommending the series to all my friends. ...more
I read this book months ago and kinda forgot about it then. I know that although I enjoyed parts of it, there was a big "gap" in the story for me. SomI read this book months ago and kinda forgot about it then. I know that although I enjoyed parts of it, there was a big "gap" in the story for me. Something that was foreshadowed over and over and over again wasn't actually a thing. That kinda ruined the book for me, but I am still thinking of possibly reading the first book in the series some day. ...more
This book is not the kind I generally ever read, but I enjoyed it so much I read it twice. It deals with some pretty serious stuff and does a good jobThis book is not the kind I generally ever read, but I enjoyed it so much I read it twice. It deals with some pretty serious stuff and does a good job of it. The one slight problem I have is that the romance is weird to me. Like, it just felt off. I can't go into more without spoilers, but there was nothing wrong with it, I just didn't like it. Overall though, I really like this book and will probably read it again in a few years. ...more
After I started reading this book I realized I'd read it before. I couldn't remember much of what happened, and it kept my interest all of the way thrAfter I started reading this book I realized I'd read it before. I couldn't remember much of what happened, and it kept my interest all of the way through. The ending was a bit jumbled though, and that kind of messed up the desire I had to keep reading the series. ...more
I just thought y'all should get that public service announcement. And (Skip down to read my official review)
Y'all! MISS STEPHANIE'S BOOK IS AMAZING!
I just thought y'all should get that public service announcement. And you should probably go pre-order it, too. I pre-ordered it. And then I was blown away by also being chosen to review an ARC copy.
This book, folks, tells a much-needed story and one pretty much everyone should be familiar with. So, you should probably just add it to your "Highly Anticipated for 2019" list and then block off a few days to read it when it comes out.
It's amazing. And drags you straight into the fray of what was going on kinda "behind the scenes" in America during WW2. And also has fantastic writing. I'll post a full review eventually.
* * * *
Within These Lines is about Evalina, an Italian-American, and Taichi, the son of Japanese immigrants. Life as they know it is disrupted when America enters WW2 and anti-Japanese feelings sweep across the country. Taichi and his family are forced to move to a Japanese-American internment camp where life is anything but a bed of roses. (Okay, maybe it’s a bed of roses, just the thorns part.)
This book is fantastically well-researched and superbly written as the author tackles the often untalked about subject of what America did with Japanese during the war. I remember the first time I was introduced to the subject of American internment camps I was horrified. This book does an amazing job of making the camps and situation come to life and wraps you up in the story until you feel like you’re right there in the drafty, crowded shacks with Taichi. Although it’s a very sad and unfair part of our country’s history, I think it’s important that we don’t bury and forget it, because history has a tendency to repeat itself.
This book is real and gritty and sad without being hopeless – the author somehow hit a great balance with making the book exceedingly real while still being interesting and giving the readers the hope that better things are in store.
The characters are well-crafted and even though I didn’t like the way the handled certain things, they stayed very consistent to their character/personality. It was interesting to see how different cultures handled the various issues and troubles they faced. The author did an amazing job at creating a truly American/Japanese character in Taichi, vs. simply slapping a Japanese name onto an American character. ...more
The concept of the book really grasped my attention. Other than that, I don't quite remember why I chose this book because I goWHY I CHOOSE THIS BOOK:
The concept of the book really grasped my attention. Other than that, I don't quite remember why I chose this book because I got it a while ago. I didn't read it for about a year because I thought it was going to be really heavy and I wasn't in the mood for that type of book. But then I read it and...
WHAT I THOUGHT OF THIS BOOK:
Folks! I could barely put this book down. It was so good and grabbed my interest from the first page. Most of the time I skim read books - at least to a point - but I had to read every word of this book to get the full story. I read it over the period of two and a half days and want to read more by the same author.
The book was divided into three parts, so I'll give a brief overview of each of the parts:
The World Before Christianity This is probably the segment that I found most interesting. It talked a lot about what the world looked like before Jesus' time, and how we often see the world back then through the eyes of how our world is today. Mr. Johnston then spent several chapters breaking it down subject by subject and showing the worldview was quite different back then. I really like history, so this part of the book was right up my alley.
The World Without Christianity This section discussed some of the big influencers of philosophical thoughts from the nineteenth century - men like Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, and Sigmund Freud. There were several other men named also, and we got a brief overview of each of their lives, as well as what they thought/taught and what impact their teachings then had on the world.
This part was also highly interesting to me and made me want to read more books like it. I had to keep my phone next to me so I could look up what was being said from time to time because there were a lot of concepts I wasn't familiar with.
The main point of this segment was pointing out what happens when men try to take God out of the picture, and what a disaster that turns into. (Examples: WW2 and Communism.)
The World With Christianity The last section opens with a bunch of stats and that was really intriguing to me. (In fact, I promptly found a few people who I could share some of them with because it's so interesting.) Overall though, the last few chapters of the book found my attention lagging a bit. I'm not sure if it's because it covered more information that I knew already, or if I was simply ready to move on, but it was the last few chapters that brought the book from a five star read to a four star read for me. I still learned a lot from the last segment though.
Conclusion:
There were several things I didn't agree with, plus a few things that left me confused. For instance: Mr. Johnston clearly sees how Darwin's teachings negatively affected the world, and yet Mr. Johnston seems to believe that evolution is true instead of a literal interpretation of Genesis. At times there were also concluding statements that were made that sounded reasonable, but I'm not sure if they were entirely accurate. One warning: This book does deal with some harsh realities of the world, as well as talking about some pretty bad beliefs some people hold, so I don't recommend it to anyone under the age of 15.
RATING:
This book was just a millimeter away from five stars. So Good! And yet, in the end, I'm giving it four out of five stars. I received this book from the publisher in exchange for reviewing it on my blog and I'm so thankful for the opportunity! ...more
I have a family member with special needs and so the subject is one I find interesting. Also, the back cover blurb sounded pretWHY I CHOOSE THIS BOOK:
I have a family member with special needs and so the subject is one I find interesting. Also, the back cover blurb sounded pretty uplifting and interesting.
What I Thought about This Book
There were so many positives about this book - it takes you through an honest, but hope-filled look about what it's like to have a special needs person enter your family. It talks about various things you have to work through, learning how to keep going, and also has a couple of chapters filled with very practical, everyday advice.
Several things I found particularly interesting/liked a lot were: - Decision fatigue. Miss Sandra talks about how it can be so difficult taking care of special needs children during harder times in life (such as when facing medical issues), and that making even small decisions can be tiring. She then goes on to give tips on how your life/home can become more organized so you don't feel as overwhelmed. -How she dug into God's word. When Miss Sandra's son was diagnosed with Autism she really had to figure out what the Bible really said and what she had just believed because of her own experiences. -How her family's lives were changed when they found out James had Autism. The family became very involved with the special needs community around where they lived and even moved to be more involved with the special needs community. The experiences she shared in the book as a result of James having Autism were neat. -How huge of a blessing children with special needs are. I think people sometimes don't have a clue how special it can actually be to have a person in your life that lives on a whole different "level" of life than most people.
There were a few things I didn't fully agree with. The main issue I had was that the subject of why there is suffering, etc... in the world in the first place never came up. Miss Sandra talks about how she had to work through why a loving God would allow bad things to happen (not her wording), but never bought up the fact that suffering is a result of sin being in the world. That is not to say that our sin causes children to be born with special needs, because that's not what I mean at all - simply that sin in the first place is what brought suffering into the world.
CONCLUSION:
The book was a quick, easy read. I finished it in one day with no problem.
RATING:
I'm giving Unexpected Blessings four out of five stars, and recommend it to people with a special needs family member, or those who wish to better understand the special needs people/families in their lives.
This book was given to me from the publishers in exchange for me reviewing it on my blog. ...more
The more studying I do, the more I realize how important my thoughts and emotions are. This seemed like a great book to read toWHY I CHOOSE THIS BOOK:
The more studying I do, the more I realize how important my thoughts and emotions are. This seemed like a great book to read to get a better grasp on the subject.
WHAT I THOUGHT OF THIS BOOK:
I have mixed feelings about this book because there was a ton I liked a lot, but then some stuff that annoyed me a bit, so I thought I'd do a Pros and Cons list.
Pros: -This book is full of really good information that I think a lot of people really need to implement into their lives -The author uses examples from his own life which makes it feel authentic and relatable -For the most part he has what seems like a balanced view with the things he says -He backs up his claims with the Bible, which is something I really look for in Christian nonfiction -The points he makes are really solid and (for the most part) are statements I can get fully behind and support
Cons: -The first half of the book felt redundant. I'm not sure if that's because I already knew a lot of the information or if he really did say basically the same thing over and over again in slightly different ways -There were several interpretations from the Bible that he made that I didn't fully agree with -He was more adamant about various other things than I feel like is supported in scripture, and while I think most people do that (me included) it rubbed me the wrong way
CONCLUSION:
After I got through the first (redundant) part of the book I found it to be interesting, thought-provoking, note-taking-worthy, and to be full of information that I'm now taking steps to implement in my life.
Also, cool note: The author describes a "mysterious illness" throughout the first part of the book and I kept being like "Oh yeah, he has Lyme disease." And, yup. That's what it was.
RATING:
I'm giving Winning the Battle for Your Mind, Will and Emotions 4 out of 5 Stars and recommend it to people who want to grow closer to God and realize that what we say and think really does make a difference.
Yo folks, I got this book free so I could write this review. But yeah, all thoughts and such are my own. ;) ...more
During the last few years I've read a lot of parenting books. I thought perhaps it was time for me to read some marriage ones, WHY I CHOOSE THIS BOOK:
During the last few years I've read a lot of parenting books. I thought perhaps it was time for me to read some marriage ones, too. ;) Disclaimer, folks: I'm not married, nor have I ever been, so I'm not exactly the target audience for this book. I just enjoy learning and growing and figured this book could help with that.
Besides, on a somewhat shallow note, I really like the cover. It's crisp, clean, welcoming, cozy, and looks pretty much like an Instagram photo.
WHAT I THOUGHT OF THIS BOOK:
This book was a breeze to read through because it's full of challenges that you're supposed to work on as you go along, and then has a lot of lines for the reader to fill out how the challenges went, what they worked on, etc... Since I'm single I obviously didn't do the challenges so instead of reading the book over a six week period, I read it in one week.
If you were to ask me to describe the book in one word it would be Pratical. The book is full of good ideas, challenges, suggestions, and examples that all kept with the theme of being very practical and things that pretty much any wife would be able to do. It's written for a large range of wives - those with everything under control, those who have lots of attention-grabbing little kids, and those who feel like their marriage is about to fall apart.
The author continually goes back to the Bible to back up what she has to say, and that was a big winner for me. She gives great ideas of things to pray for your husband, verses to memorize that will help you be a better wife, and how to find strength from God during hard times. She also shares candidly (although not in detail) how her marriage hasn't always been a bed of roses, and how she's had to grow as a wife. That made her seem very relatable and lent credence to her words.
The main thing that I thought was a little bit weird was that there were hashtags for each of the challenges. (Like, you make his favorite meal then if you want to post online you could with a specific hashtag, etc...) I understand that this is because the author has a whole online community for wives, so I guess it is nice for them to be able to look up the hashtags and get ideas. It just seems strange to me. ;)
CONCLUSION:
This book was written for wives, so there's obviously wife-ish things in it, but nothing too detailed.
Overall it was very encouraging, uplifting, and as I said, practical.
RATING:
I’m giving Bless Your Husband 4 out of 5 stars and am thankful for the publishers for sending me it for free. (Well, so I could write the review, but you know....) ...more
The plot twists were what kept me reading - seriously, I had no clue what to expect moment to moment. It never hapWhat do I even say about this book?
The plot twists were what kept me reading - seriously, I had no clue what to expect moment to moment. It never happened like I thought it would. (Well, hardly ever, anyway.)
But then the narrative itself? Guys, it skipped. We'd see one scene here, and then next thing we heard it would be eight months later and we'd have a paragraph of dialog where we'd catch up on what was going on. That, my friends, is what creates a low rating for me. I'm sure there are some people who delight in that kind of storytelling, but my brain couldn't handle it. ...more
This book! The title makes so much sense when you get into the story - very fitting. It's split time period and so, therefore, I wasn't sure if I was This book! The title makes so much sense when you get into the story - very fitting. It's split time period and so, therefore, I wasn't sure if I was going to like it, because sometimes that ruins the book for me, but this time? It was written so, so well! I can't tell you how much I liked this book. It was sad, so sad, but not in a depressing type of way.
There was never a time that was easy to put the book down. I wanted to keep reading, reading, reading and figure out what would happen next. The plot twists blew me away, and "meeting" someone who I've read a ton about in nonfiction books was a total winner.
The author did a fantastic job of world building. In fact, she did such a good job that I found myself feeling weary just like the people in the book.The author did a fantastic job of world building. In fact, she did such a good job that I found myself feeling weary just like the people in the book. That's probably the reason I didn't continue on with the series (not that I won't maybe one day). The book isn't boring - not by any means. It's just tiring to read because the life they have to live in Africa is so hard.
There's a lot of stuff going on in this book about the mines and who inherits what and marriages of convenience and selfish humans and all that. It's really well written and I learned a lot about the world at that time. ...more
This book was really intriguing! It was not at all what I expected (I went into it blind and am thankful for that because I probably wouldn't have reaThis book was really intriguing! It was not at all what I expected (I went into it blind and am thankful for that because I probably wouldn't have read it if I had read the back cover first) - it was probably better.
The one thing that takes this book down to three stars (because I really wanted to give it four) was that there were a whole bunch of names in the book. Names all over the place that made it really confusing to read and made me always wondering what exactly was happening and if all these people we were hearing about were actually important to the story. I'm still not sure if they were all important because it was hard to follow. Other than that? YES! This book was a winner. ...more
World War Two, Spies, and a bunch of cool history and mystery and excitement all rolled into one. I finished this book really fast and wanted to read World War Two, Spies, and a bunch of cool history and mystery and excitement all rolled into one. I finished this book really fast and wanted to read the next one as soon as possible. Four solid stars!...more
I got this book for review and it took me a long time to read it because I had to read the first book over again. But I read it and I liked it and I'lI got this book for review and it took me a long time to read it because I had to read the first book over again. But I read it and I liked it and I'll review it soon! ...more
I can't imagine ever not wanting to read Miss Connilyn's books. Seriously. Her worldbuilding is so utterly fantastic it makes Why I Choose This Book:
I can't imagine ever not wanting to read Miss Connilyn's books. Seriously. Her worldbuilding is so utterly fantastic it makes the world dance into my brain and captivate me. Her characters are complete and real. Her plots nearly always have twists I hadn't expected. Her writing is lyrical and magical, weaving the story in a way that makes me long to always have a supply of her new books on hand.
What I Thought of This Book:
Growing up with the Bible I obviously knew what the Cities of Refuge were. But did I ever think about them? Sit down and ponder them? Research them? No. Somehow that crazy bit of history just flew past my brain and never captivated my imagination until I began this series by Miss Connilyn.
Like with the rest of her books Miss Connilyn took an account from the Bible, researched it, imagined it, wrote about it, and brought it totally to life in the pages of her book. Now when I read the Old Testament I feel more depth - the people feel more alive to me and in a way I can almost relate to them better. This, my friends, is what good Biblical fiction does. It doesn't disagree with the Bible, instead, it just adds details that could have happened, and with those details the world from that era bursts into colors and sights and sounds and smells. It's rather glorious.
Technically this book can be read as a standalone. It gives enough information from the previous book that you can gather what's going on. But really, I really recommend reading A Light On The Hill first, because after reading this book you'll want to read that book, and this book kinda spoils the first one.
As for the plot itself, this was the first time when I really felt like I could guess what was going to happen and for the most part, I was right. With Miss Connilyn's books, there are generally fairly big plot twists for me, but this time that didn't happen. I'm not sure if it's because the plot twists were less hidden or because I'm used to her writing style by now, but in any case, not being surprised really didn't take away from the book so that's cool.
The characters didn't resonate with me this time like they sometimes do, but I still liked them and enjoyed learning along with them. My favorite part was getting to see everything from Sofea's perspective. Her thoughts and the way she described the world around her made me want to hug the book and read it over and over again. It was nothing short of lyrical and whimsical. So well done.
Conclusion:
There's some violence in the book although it doesn't go into extreme detail. There's mention of evil pagan practices, a destroyed village, people wanting to get revenge, and then some deaths that go along with living in a City of Refuge. I thought that it was written in a mild enough manner that it's suitable for ages 15+ (although I guess that depends a lot on the person).
As for romance there was kissing much earlier in the book than I was expecting, but overall it wasn't bad and I don't recall having to skim-read much like I generally do when books get overly romantic. ;)
Rating:
I'm giving Shelter of the Most High 4 out of 5 stars and recommend it to anyone who likes Biblical fiction or wants to give the genre a try.
I'm so thankful for Miss Connilyn for giving me a book in exchange for reviewing it. She rocks, y'all. ...more
I was in the mood to read something that was incredibly goofy and would make me roll my eyes more times than a Hallmark movie. This book was just the I was in the mood to read something that was incredibly goofy and would make me roll my eyes more times than a Hallmark movie. This book was just the ticket. Light-hearted, funny, goofy beyond belief, and just enough real stuff thrown in to keep me reading.
Don't let me do the author a disservice by making you not want to read this book from my review. I know there are plenty of people who really like this kind of book and I'm generally not one of them, so totally not the target audience. If you like really light-hearted books with really unrealistic plotlines (and I say that with all respect) then you should totally check it out. ...more
Yo. Folks. This book was interesting and I liked the plot and the mystery kept me reading. But I really don't like it when a character is being manipuYo. Folks. This book was interesting and I liked the plot and the mystery kept me reading. But I really don't like it when a character is being manipulated. And yeah, it wasn't horrible, but it kept me from really enjoying the book a lot because I wanted to yell at her and be like "Don't you see what's going on!?!?" And she did, to a point, but it still bothered me.
Still, this book was a nice second book in the series. ...more
**spoiler alert** CAN I JUST GET A YES AND AMEN?!?
Folks. This book made me want to dance and sing and give the author a high five. Because guess what**spoiler alert** CAN I JUST GET A YES AND AMEN?!?
Folks. This book made me want to dance and sing and give the author a high five. Because guess what? The main character wasn't beautiful. And do you know what? There was a male character who was actually smart enough to like her anyway. Say what?!? What in the world is going on with the world of fiction? Teaching girls that they can have a guy like them even if they aren't the best looking girl on the block? Goodness. Authors these days, what are they even thinking? ;)
And, one of the best parts about the book was the guy actually had a hard time realizing what was going on because he did like a girl because of how she looked but then realized she was a spoiled brat.
Overall I liked the book for other reasons too: The plot was interesting, the characters diverse, the writing lovely... All in all it was really just a fantastic book and I can NOT wait to read more from the author. =) (And I never put smiley faces on my reviews. This book was pretty much just the best.) ...more
**spoiler alert** I would say my whole review might have spoilers in it, but then again, the back cover pretty much tells the entire story itself, so.**spoiler alert** I would say my whole review might have spoilers in it, but then again, the back cover pretty much tells the entire story itself, so....
I read this book without reading the back cover, and then afterward went back and read the back cover and had to laugh because pretty much the entire story (except for a little twist at the end) is told to everyone - right up front. #HelpUsAll It made me really thankful I hadn't spoiled the book for myself by reading the back cover.
I enjoyed the characters and I could see why they did what they did, but I was also fairly bothered by how many people in the story fell in love with someone when they were engaged to someone else. I mean, I know they married for convenience back then, but really? It made me feel like engagements were quite cheap and that was sad.
This book wasn't one of my favorites, although besides what's mentioned above I didn't have many issues with it. ...more