Novella Review: A February Bride by Betsy St. Amant

Title: A February Bride

Series: A Year of Weddings (Novella 3)

Author: Betsy St. Amant

Publish Date: January 28, 2014

Genre: Clean Adult Romance Novella

Why I Read this Book: I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influenced my review of this novella.

 

 

 

 

 

About the Book (from Goodreads):  

Happily ever after guaranteed. Allie left the love of her life at the altar—to save him from a lifetime of heartbreak. When a Valentine’s Day wedding brings them back together, she struggles against her family’s destructive history. Can Allie ever realize that a marriage is so much more than a wedding dress? History repeats itself when Allie Andrews escapes the church on her wedding day—in the same dress passed down for generations and worn by all the women in her family—women with a long history of failed marriages. Allie loves Marcus, but fears she’s destined to repeat her family’s mistakes. She can’t bear to hurt Marcus worse. Marcus Hall never stopped loving Allie and can only think of one reason she left him at the altar—him. When the two are thrown together for his sister’s Valentine’s Day wedding, he discovers the truth and realizes their story might be far from over. Can Allie shuck expectation and discover who she is as a bride and in the Bride of Christ? And if she ever walks down the aisle, what dress will she wear?

Review

A February Bride is one of those pretty much perfect clean romances that I am always looking for. The main character is flawed; she has a fear of commitment because all of the women in her family have been divorced and re-married several times and she is afraid the same will happen to her.  Although this novella is predictable, the writing style makes the journey exciting nonetheless. I read this novella in one day (practically one sitting).

I would recomend this novella to anyone looking for a clean romance story. You do not have to read the first two novella's in the series for this third installment to make sense.

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age: Any

Overall Rating: 5/5

Novella Review: A January Bride by Deborah Raney

Title: A January Bride

Series: A Year of Weddings Novella

Authors: Deborah Raney

Publish Date: December 24, 2013

Genre: Clean Adult Romance Novellas

Why I Read this Book: I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influenced my review of this novella.

 

 

 

 

 

About the Book (from Goodreads):  

Who can work in a house that's overrun by contractors and carpenters? Not Madeleine Houser, a successful novelist who gladly accepts the help of her octogenarian friend, Ginny, to arrange for a temporary office in the charming bed and breakfast owned by Ginny's friend, Arthur. Maddie’s never met the innkeeper––but a friendship grows between them as Maddie and Arthur leave messages for each other each day. To Maddie’s alternate delight and chagrin, she seems to be falling for the inn’s owner––a man who's likely many years her senior––and who she’s never even met.

Review

This novella series has one thing in common: all of the books are incredibly interesting. This romance story started slow, but quickly progressed and I was excited to find out what would happen by the end of the novella. The romance story was cute, sweet, and clean.  I would recommend these novellas to anyone looking for a good romance story.  Each of these novellas can be read as stand-alones or as a series.

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age: Any

Overall Rating: 5/5

Children's Book Review Tuesdays: The Most Magnificent Thing

Title: The Most Magnificent Thing

Author: Ashley Spires

Publish Date: April 1, 2014

Genre: Children's Picture Books

Why I Read this Book: I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influenced my review of this novella.

 

 

 

 

 

About the Book (from Goodreads):  

Award-winning author and illustrator Ashley Spires has created a charming picture book about an unnamed girl and her very best friend, who happens to be a dog. The girl has a wonderful idea. "She is going to make the most MAGNIFICENT thing! She knows just how it will look. She knows just how it will work. All she has to do is make it, and she makes things all the time. Easy-peasy!" But making her magnificent thing is anything but easy, and the girl tries and fails, repeatedly. Eventually, the girl gets really, really mad. She is so mad, in fact, that she quits. But after her dog convinces her to take a walk, she comes back to her project with renewed enthusiasm and manages to get it just right. For the early grades' exploration of character education, this funny book offers a perfect example of the rewards of perseverance and creativity. The girl's frustration and anger are vividly depicted in the detailed art, and the story offers good options for dealing honestly with these feelings, while at the same time reassuring children that it's okay to make mistakes. The clever use of verbs in groups of threes is both fun and functional, offering opportunities for wonderful vocabulary enrichment. The girl doesn't just "make" her magnificent thing -- she "tinkers and hammers and measures," she "smoothes and wrenches and fiddles," she "twists and tweaks and fastens." These precise action words are likely to fire up the imaginations of youngsters eager to create their own inventions and is a great tie-in to learning about Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

Review

The main character in The Most Magnificent Thing seeks to make something amazing. She has an idea in her head, but she cannot get it to work in real life. She gets frustrated and mad, but then walks around with her dog and cools down. After she cools down, she realizes that all her past failed attempts were really great at somethings and bad at others. She combines all of the good things from her past attempts and makes something magnificent.

I believe that this picture book is great for young readers. It teaches them not to get frustrated when things do not work out as planned and that failures are ways to learn from your mistakes. I would recommend this book to any young reader.

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age: young readers (children)

Overall Rating: 4/5

Spoiler-Free Book Discussion: The Choosing by Rachelle Dekker

Last week, I got together (via Google Hangout) with Kate Danielle from Creative House Blog and we discussed Rachelle Dekker's debut novel, The Choosing. I reviewed this book last week on my blog. You can check out that review here. Here is the video of our discussion:

Novella Review: A December Bride by Denise Hunter

Title: A December Bride

Series: A Year of Weddings Novella (#1)

Author: Denise Hunter

Publish Date: November 26, 2013

Genre: Clean Adult Romance Novella

Why I Read this Book: I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influenced my review.

 

About Book 1 (from Goodreads):  

What started as a whim turned into an accidental - and very public - engagement. Can Layla and Seth keep up the facade in Chapel Springs this holiday season - for the sake of her career . . . and his heart?

Under normal circumstances, Seth Murphy, the best friend of Layla O'Reilly's ex-fiance would be the last person she'd marry. But the news of their upcoming (and phony) nuptials convinces a big client that Layla may be high-society enough to work for his agency, a coup that would put her fledgling home-staging business on the map. Seth has secretly loved Layla for years, even when she was dating his best friend. Maybe she'll never forgive him for the way he hurt her back then, but he has to try. And Layla is willing to keep up their engagement farce until she's landed her client. For Layla, it's the chance to save her career. But for Seth, it's his last chance to win her heart. 

Review

A December Bride is such a sweet romance story. A fake engagement turns into... well you will have to see when you read the novella.

This novella series is a collection of clean adult romance novellas, which are each written by a different author. I love these types of novella series. I read this novella for the first time during the October 2014 Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon.  I was busy at the time and did not get to review the novella. I re-read this novella recently.

An interesting aspect to the novella is that previous events that influence the current story are slowly revealed throughout the novella.  So at first you do not know much about the previous relationships of the characters and this lead me to want to read more of the story.

This clean adult romance is perfect for anyone.

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age: Any

Overall Rating: 5/5

Participation Announcement: Booking Through Summer Reading Challenge

I am happy to announce that I will be participating in the Booking Through Summer Reading Challenge which is hosted by kimberlyfaye reads and BookNerd Betsy. This challenge is reminiscent of the Book It Reading Challenges that school age kids would participate in over the summer. 

This challenge takes place from Memorial Day to Labor Day and you can enter daily to read prizes by linking up reviews that you have written (either at Goodreads, a major retailer's website, or on your blog) of books that you have read throughout the summer. In addition to these prizes, there will also be weekly challenge hosts that will give away prizes associated with there challenge. How cool is that? You get to do what you love and sign up for a chance to win prizes!

You can find more information about the reading challenge here and here at the hosts' blogs. You can also sign up to participate in this challenge. I know you want to :)

Are you participating in this reading challenge? What books are you most likely reading this summer? Leave your thoughts in the comments or tweet me at @blog_gal

Book Review: I Still Believe by Jeremy Camp

Title: I Still Believe

Authors: Jeremy Camp

Publish Date: September 5, 2011

Genre: Christian Nonfiction, Inspirational, Autobiography

Why I Read this Book: Jeremy Camp is one of my favorite Christian contemporary singers. I enjoy the lyrics in his songs. My husband had previously read this book and begged me to read it. I began this book during Dewey's 24 Hour readathon.

 

 

About the Book (from Goodreads):  

A leading artist on the contemporary Christian scene, Jeremy Camp has gained a sizable fan following. I Still Believe follows Jeremy's life from growing up in Indiana and his struggles as a teen, to his love for his first wife Melissa and her untimely passing, to his growing music ministry and re-found hope and love in his wife Adrienne. "We have choices when life hits us with tragedy or despair, crisis or loss. That's the message of Jeremy Camp's books, and it's the reason you will find hope and healing by journeying through the pages of this story."

Bestselling author Karen Kingsbury, from the Foreword

Review

This book was so inspirational. Jeremy Camp has went through a lot of tribulation, but has survived by knowing that God is loving. For those who do not know, Jeremy Camp's first wife, Melissa, died from cancer very shortly after they got married. This book shows how his parents became Christians and his struggles during his teenage years, how he grew in his faith due to his first wife's passing, and how he came to love his second wife, Adrienne.

For me, this book encouraged me that God is always with you even when you are suffering, everything happens for a reason (God's plan), and that God always wants the best for us. This is a must read!

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age: 12+ for very real emotions

Overall Rating: 5/5

Release Day Review: The Choosing by Rachelle Dekker

Title: The Choosing

Series: Seer (Book 1)

Authors: Deborah Raney

Publish Date: May 19, 2015

Genre: Christian Dystopian

Why I Read this Book: I received this book from the publisher (Tyndale House) in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influenced my review.

 

About the Book (from Goodreads):  

“Not to be Chosen would yield a cruel fate of my own making.”

Like all citizens since the Ruining, Carrington Hale knows the importance of this day. But she never expected the moment she’d spent a lifetime preparing for—her Choosing ceremony—would end in disaster. Ripped from her family, she’ll spend her days serving as a Lint, the lowest level of society. She knows it’s her duty to follow the true way of the Authority. 

But as Carrington begins this nightmare, rumors of rebellion rattle her beliefs. The whispers contradict everything she’s been told; yet they resonate deep within. 

Then Carrington is offered an unprecedented chance at the life she’s always dreamed of, but she can’t shake the feeling that it may be an illusion. With a killer targeting Lints and corruption threatening the highest levels of the Authority, Carrington must uncover the truth before it destroys her.

About the Book from the Author:

Review

This book was nothing like I expected. I have read several of her Father's books (Ted Dekker) and I have loved them, but Rachelle Dekker brings something new to the table. I have wished for a long time to find a Christian Dystopian novel and was excited to see this book available for review from Tyndale House.

I expected the typical Dystopian novel, but this book brought so much more. There is an underlying message of worth and where your worth comes from. The underlying Christian themes reminded my of God's love for all of His children. It made me feel whole and wanted by a loving God.

In many Dystopian novels, you are left with a feeling of loss and sadness. Many dystopian novels do not have a happy ending, but instead leave you feeling depressed. The Choosing is different.  Although there are dark themes throughout the book, the overall feeling is happiness and hope.

The Choosing is an action packed novel set in a world where a woman's worth comes from being chosen to be a wife. Carrington, the main female character, is shown that there may be more to life than just being chosen and that there may be another way to evaluate her worth.

Although The Choosing was somewhat predictable, the underlying message of the novel and the story in general was exciting, fast-paced, and incredibly enjoyable.

I would recommend this to anyone looking for a different kind of Dystopian novel, one filled with hope without lacking any of the action that we Dystopian lovers enjoy.

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age: 13+ for dark themes

Overall Rating: 5/5

Bout of Books Wrap-Up

Last week was Bout of Books 13. Bout of Books is a week long, low pressure readathon.  Here is the official blurb about the readathon:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 11th and runs through Sunday, May 17th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 13 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

This post is my wrap-up post so I will be talking about all I accomplished during the read-a-thon and my thoughts.

I was able to complete 2 challenges from last week, Character Face-Off and Book Haiku. I also finished reading two books that I began before the readathon, A January Bride and Pool of Echoes.  I have already reviewed Pool of Echoes and my review can be found here. I enjoyed A January Bride (5/5 stars) and I have my review for this book scheduled for May 27. 

I also started and completed The Invention of Hugo Cabret. I will also review this book soon on my blog.

Finally, I started Choosen by Rachelle Dekker and I am loving this book! This book will be released tomorrow. I will have a review up for this book before the end of the month.

I loved all of the books that I read during the readathon and I enjoyed the challenges that I was able to participate in. I cannot wait for the next Bout of Books.

Graphic Novel Review: The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg

Title: The Plain Janes

Series: Janes (# 1)

Authors: Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg

Publish Date: May 2, 2007

Genre: Graphic Novel

Why I Read this Book: I read this book during Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon. I found this graphic novel at my local library.

 

About Book 1 (from Goodreads):  

Noted young adult novelist Cecil Castellucci and artist Jim Rugg launch Minx with the Plain Janes, a story about four girls named Jane. When transfer student Jane is forced to move from the confines of Metro City to Suburbia, she thinks her life is over. But there is the lunch room at the reject table she finds her tribe: three other girls named Jane. Main Jane encourages them to form a secret art gang and paint the town P.L.A.I.N. - People Loving Art In Neighborhoods. But can art attacks really save the hell that is high school?

Review

This was not my favorite graphic novel. On the positive note, I loved the illustrations and the overall concept. This graphic novel started out with a lot of potential, but I thought that it fell flat. There was no resolution to the plot at the end of the first graphic novel in this series. I did not enjoy the ending of it at all. I was enjoying the side plot in which the main character was in the city when there was a terrorist attack and a man that was near her when the attack took place went into a coma, but I did not enjoy the resolution of this plot line.

I do plan to continue the series in the hopes that the plot line will be more resolved.

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age: any

Overall Rating: 3/5

Mac Product Review: Intego Mac Premium Bundle Review

Today, I am reviewing something a little different. I am reviewing a Intego's Mac Premium Bundle. You can purchase this product here. This bundle includes everything that you would need to protect your Mac and keep it running optimally. The products in this package include: 

• Virus Barrier X8
• Net Barrier X8
• Mac Washing Machine
• Family Protector
• Personal Backup

First, I will go through my overall thoughts of the package and then I will review each of these products separately, listing my likes and dislikes of each. I used these products on my Mac mini that I purchased about two months ago. Here are the specs for my Mac mini:

• OS X Yosemite
• Processor: 2,6 GHz Intel Core i5
• Memory: 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
• Graphics: Intel Iris

*DISCLAIMER*: I was given Intego's Mac Premium Bundle in exchange for an honest review from tomoson.com. This in no way influenced my review of the product.

Overall Thoughts

My favorite thing about the bundle as a whole is the clean, user-friendly interface. All of the programs are dowloaded into a single folder on your Mac for easy access (see image on left). 

The programs are user friendly, with tips overlaid with the interface so that first time users immediately know how to use the programs (see image on left). If at any time you do not remember how to get to a certain aspect of the program, all you have to do to bring up the tips is tap the "i" icon located on the top right of the image that is shown to the left.

Virus Barrier X8

Virus Barrier X8 protects your computer against both Mac and PC viruses.  This prevents your Mac computer being a carrier to viruses that may infect your PC.  You can schedule the program to do scans at the same time every day or week.  The program can also be used to manually scan your computer. The program is very user friendly and has a nice interface (see above). The tips screen was helpful (see below).

The quick scan on Virus Barrier only took about 10 minutes for the first time on my Mac. The full scan took a bit longer (about an hour). Neither scan found anything on my Mac, but my Mac is fairly new. I had not used a virus scanner on my Mac prior to using Virus Barrier. I would give this program a 4/5 stars, tentatively since I have found no viruses so far.

Net Barrier X8

Net Barrier acts as a firewall, allowing or blocking incoming/outgoing internet and local connections. This programs asks for approval when certain apps or programs on your computer are trying to access the internet.

Net Barrier also allows you to view the apps that are using the internet.

I did not use this program too much.

Mac Washing Machine

Mac Washing Machine cleans up your Mac's unused files to increase speed and performance. It has three integrated programs: reclaim, duplicate, and organize.

Reclaim scans for files that you do not use in order to increase disk space and speed up your Mac's performance (see image above). Reclaim can remove caches, downloads, languages, logs and trash.  After reclaim scans your computer, you can choose which files to keep and which files to delete with a simple drop-down menu.

Duplicates searches your computer for duplicate files (such as documents, pictures, and music). After searching, you can choose which files you want to keep and which you want to delete (see above). For each duplicated file, Washing Machine shows you images so you can make sure the files are really duplicates before you delete them.

Organize has to be the coolest part of Washing Machine. Are you the type of person whose desktop is really messy and it is difficult to find the files and folders you need? If so, this program is for you. Organize scans your desktop and allows you to seamlessly sort all of the files. It analyzes the folders to determine if it should be moved to documents, pictures, or another folder. 

It also allows you to organize the Dock on your Mac. It will search for your most commonly used Applications and least commonly used Applications and suggest Apps that should be added or removed from your Dock. Finally, Organize can organize your files into "Smart Folders".

I really enjoyed Washing Machine. Washing Machine cleaned my computer of all the "junk" I had and to delete duplicate files (I had several). I also used it to clean up my desktop and to rearrange my Dock.  I would give this program a 5/5 stars.

Family Protector

Family Protector protects from inappropriate web content. You can block specific users on you Mac from visiting sites with selected categories (alcohol, gambling, ect.) or sites with key words that you can add. You can also block certain websites. 

Other advantages of Family Protector is that you can make the internet only available during certain time periods for certain users (see below) or block certain applications from using the internet.  This program would be great in households with young children and teenagers. Although I do recommend parental guidance while children are using the internet.

If you or someone else attempts to access a site that has been blocked by Family Protector, you get this message:

This program does work well and I did not find any problems with it.  It is easy to use and understand. I would give this program 5/5 stars. When I have children, I could see myself using this or a similar program.

Personal Backup

I did not use the personal backup program. Here is the explanation of the program from the website:

Intego Personal Backup makes copies of your files for quick and easy recovery in case of theft, data corruption, or natural disasters. Run manual backups or create an automated schedule that backs up your information for you. Whether you want control of your backups or prefer to set it and forget it, Intego Personal Backup’s got you covered.

I cannot rate this program because I did not use it. I generally manually backup files to a flash drive or to a cloud.

Summary

Overall, I would give this bundle a 4.5/5 stars. The interface was simple, easy to use, and visually pleasing. The help screens were easy to understand and greatly assisted me when I was first learning the programs. I may do another review after I have used this bundle for a longer period of time to see if my views have changed.

Do you use this program or similar programs on your Mac? If so, what are your thoughts on them? Please leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Bout of Books 13 Day 3 Challenge: Book Haiku

Today's Bout of Books Challenge is hosted by Kristina Horner and can be found here. For today's challenge, you need to right a haiku about the book that you are currently reading.

I am currently reading Choosing by Rachelle Dekker. This is a Christian Dystopian novel written by Ted Dekker's daughter.

Here is my haiku:

Carrington. Not chosen.
Lowest rank of society.
Now she is worthless.

To understand my haiku, you must understand a little about the storyline. Carrington is in a society where females train their whole lives to be chosen for marriage. This is not what happens for Carrington. She is not chosen by anyone and instead she must be a lint, the lowest member of society, and she must never marry. Even though she tested high and there was almost no way she would not be chosen, she was not chosen and now she feels worthless.

Even though I have only read approximately 30 pages of this 500 page book, I am in love with it so far. Rachelle Dekker's writing is truly amazing and engaging.

Book Review: Pool of Echoes

Title: Pool of Echoes

Author: David G. Allen

Publish Date: October 19, 2014

Genre: Adult Christian Suspense Thriller

Why I Read this Book: I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influenced my review.

 

 

 

 

About the Book (from Goodreads):  

In this Inspirational Thriller, Nothing Is Certain But The Truth 
Jordan Mitchfield is heir to a media empire worth billions. He also sees and hears things that aren’t there. 
Then someone close puts him in an insane asylum against his will. 
When it looks like there is no way out but to take his own life, he is stopped. Is it a vision? Is what he’s seeing actually real? Is it even part of this dimension? 
Whatever it is, it opens his cell door and throws him into a dangerous time-travel adventure through his memories. 
As he goes deeper into the Pool of Echoes, he is forced to confront everything he has ever known, reconstruct his own mental health, and play a role in something much larger than himself. 
Fans of Contemporary Science fiction, Action, Espionage, Christian fiction, and Fantasy with a Psychological edge will dive through each exciting moment. 
If you or anyone you know has ever questioned their own self worth, get on board this life-changing thrill-ride. You will never be the same.

Review

When I received this book for review, the author informed me that the book was an inspirational thriller and that he was inspired by Ted Dekker. I love Ted Dekker's fantasy/scifi novels (The Circle Trilogy and the Lost Books series) and I enjoyed the books that I have read from him that are thriller novels. Before I read Pool of Echoes, I had certain expectations knowing that the author was inspired by Ted Dekker.

Ted Dekker's novels often make you wonder "What in the world is going on?" and you usually don't fully understand the novel until you are finished with the series.  It is always a crazy ride. This is also true of Pools of Echoes.


Pools of Echoes stars a main character who is in the mental ward. The whole book I was asking myself "Is any of this really happening in the 'real world' or is it all just a figment of the main characters imagination?". I was expecting crazy twists in the plot and everything that seemed to be real to not be real. This excitement and curiosity made this novel incredibly interesting.

The ending was surprising and interesting.  I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a good, clean thriller novel.

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age: 12+ for intense action scenes and some foul language

Overall Rating: 3.5/5