No Ocean Too Wide by Carrie Turansky is a very interesting book. I requested to read and review this book through Netgalley.com. I give it 4 stars out of 5. The reason I only give it 4 stars is I felt it could have ended better, even though it is the first book in a new series. Another reason for a missing star is that at times it got too rambling and things were repeated especially towards the end of the book.
Overall, I did enjoy the book. It is a Christan, historical fiction book. It is not a preachy book, but it does show people using their beliefs in a nice way. I was drawn to this book as my great grandfather was put in an orphanage in England by his father in the late 1800s after the death of his mother.
This book looks at how orphanages worked in the late 1800s until the early 1900s. It is not a preachy kind of book and it is not condemning nor praising how the system worked.
The main characters were fairly well developed and believable. The story was also believable. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
Even though this was an advanced reader copy, the editing was very well done. I appreciate that in a book.
I would recommend this book to my friends.
Saturday, April 27, 2019
Summer by the Tides by Denise Hunter
I asked to read and review this book through Netgalley.com and Thomas Nelson publishing. I liked the book and give it 4 out of 5 stars.
I give it 4 and not 5 stars because the storyline is not very different and that the characters were fairly well developed but not great. The characters were believable though, which helped. The editing was pretty good but it's hard to tell with an advanced reader copy how it will end up.
I have not read books by Denise Hunter before but I will probably read more. The storyline was a typical boy-next-door romance and that part was pretty average. The family dynamics was a bit unique and kept my interest. This is a Christian book and you could see the faith of the main character, Maddy, growing throughout the story. The story was not a heavy read and I read the book in a fairly short amount of time. It would be a good book for a vacation or a day at the beach or such.
I give it 4 and not 5 stars because the storyline is not very different and that the characters were fairly well developed but not great. The characters were believable though, which helped. The editing was pretty good but it's hard to tell with an advanced reader copy how it will end up.
I have not read books by Denise Hunter before but I will probably read more. The storyline was a typical boy-next-door romance and that part was pretty average. The family dynamics was a bit unique and kept my interest. This is a Christian book and you could see the faith of the main character, Maddy, growing throughout the story. The story was not a heavy read and I read the book in a fairly short amount of time. It would be a good book for a vacation or a day at the beach or such.
Monday, April 22, 2019
Wooing Cadie McCaffery
I received this book through LibraryThing Early Reviewers. I was very pleased to read and review this book. I usually read historical fiction and this was a nice change for me. The book is a light-hearted Christian romance. It is not preachy at all, in fact, the main characters show human weakness in the book and how they deal with sin is discussed but not preachy. It shows you can/do sin and God forgives.
The book was written going back and forth between Cadie and Will. Sometimes Cadie was speaking and sometimes it was about Will. This did not distract me from the story. It flowed well and the characters were well written and defined. The secondary characters were also believable.
Sometimes the story was almost funny, but sometimes you felt bad for them also. But mostly, it was light-hearted.
Since I had an advanced reader copy, I will only say I hope they do another editing before they send it to press. It's not terrible, but there were a few errors that need to be corrected. Overall, I give this 5 stars out of 5.
The book was written going back and forth between Cadie and Will. Sometimes Cadie was speaking and sometimes it was about Will. This did not distract me from the story. It flowed well and the characters were well written and defined. The secondary characters were also believable.
Sometimes the story was almost funny, but sometimes you felt bad for them also. But mostly, it was light-hearted.
Since I had an advanced reader copy, I will only say I hope they do another editing before they send it to press. It's not terrible, but there were a few errors that need to be corrected. Overall, I give this 5 stars out of 5.
Friday, April 12, 2019
Surrender The Sea by MaryLu Tyndall
Surrender The Sea by MaryLu Tyndall is the book I received in the Bookfun.org February giveaway. I was very thankful to receive this book and really enjoyed reading it. It is a Christian book, but not preachy. It shows the importance of having faith.
The book was well written and the main characters were well developed and easy to understand. The book kept me interested throughout. It was a little bit of adventure, a little romance and a whole lot exciting. But, the one thing I did not like was the ending. I will not spoil the book, but I will say I felt it did not do a good job of wrapping things up.
As far as the readability/editing is concerned, it was a good job but left a little to be desired. It was not perfect but did not detract much from my enjoyment of the book.
I would rate this book a 4 out of 5. I didn't give it a 5 because of the combination of imperfect editing and not wrapping up the full story. I would recommend this book to my friends.
The book was well written and the main characters were well developed and easy to understand. The book kept me interested throughout. It was a little bit of adventure, a little romance and a whole lot exciting. But, the one thing I did not like was the ending. I will not spoil the book, but I will say I felt it did not do a good job of wrapping things up.
As far as the readability/editing is concerned, it was a good job but left a little to be desired. It was not perfect but did not detract much from my enjoyment of the book.
I would rate this book a 4 out of 5. I didn't give it a 5 because of the combination of imperfect editing and not wrapping up the full story. I would recommend this book to my friends.
Monday, April 8, 2019
The Artful Match by Jennifer Delamere
The Artful Match by Jennifer Delamere, from Bethany House Publishing, is a book I requested through NetGalley to read and review. The book was an advanced reader's copy and because of this I will not deduct for poor editing but I will mention that the editing in the book I read was in need of better editing.
The book is the third in a series and I read one book previously. Reading the previous book was not necessary to understand this book. In fact, at first, I thought I was re-reading a book, but that was very short lived. I enjoyed the previous book and I enjoyed this one just as much. It is a historical fiction set in England in the late 1800s. It is also a Christian book, clean and not offensive, but not pushy.
The characters are well developed and mostly believable. The story flowed well. The ending tied up the three books well. The story was somewhat believable but since it is fiction and a fun book to read not totally believable.
I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more books by Jennifer Delamere. I would recommend this book to my friends. I give it 5 out of 5 stars. I did receive a free, advanced reader's copy and the review was not required and is my own opinion. I do not give a synopsis of the book as you can find that when you purchase the book, I just give you my opinion and state if I would recommend it or not.
The book is the third in a series and I read one book previously. Reading the previous book was not necessary to understand this book. In fact, at first, I thought I was re-reading a book, but that was very short lived. I enjoyed the previous book and I enjoyed this one just as much. It is a historical fiction set in England in the late 1800s. It is also a Christian book, clean and not offensive, but not pushy.
The characters are well developed and mostly believable. The story flowed well. The ending tied up the three books well. The story was somewhat believable but since it is fiction and a fun book to read not totally believable.
I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more books by Jennifer Delamere. I would recommend this book to my friends. I give it 5 out of 5 stars. I did receive a free, advanced reader's copy and the review was not required and is my own opinion. I do not give a synopsis of the book as you can find that when you purchase the book, I just give you my opinion and state if I would recommend it or not.
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
The Bride of Ivy Green by Julie Klassen
The Bride of Ivy Green by Julie Klassen is a book I requested from Bethany House Publishers, through Netgalley, to read and review. I chose to do this and this opinion is my own. I give this 4 stars out of 5.
I enjoyed all the previous books I've read written by Julie Klassen and this is the same. The book was an enjoyable trip back in time. The reason I gave it 4 out of 5 stars instead of 5 stars is two-fold. The first reason is a great deal my preferences in that I do not like the many references to previous books in the series. I knew this was the 3rd book in the series but didn't know how much more enjoyable this would have been if I'd read the previous books. Many authors write series and each book is its own story but this book wasn't exactly like that. It could have been and did get better as the story progressed but still too dependant on previous books. The second reason is that it was in need of more editing. It wasn't horrible but there were a handful of times that the error was, to me, quite obvious and distracting.
Overall, this was well written and the story flowed very well. The characters were very well developed and it felt like you had a good grasp on their personalities and if you would or would not like them in real life. This is a Christian book but not pushy or preachy. It is more dependant on the characters showing how they try to depend on God. If you like a good, clean, historical fiction you will enjoy this book. I would recommend it to my friends.
I enjoyed all the previous books I've read written by Julie Klassen and this is the same. The book was an enjoyable trip back in time. The reason I gave it 4 out of 5 stars instead of 5 stars is two-fold. The first reason is a great deal my preferences in that I do not like the many references to previous books in the series. I knew this was the 3rd book in the series but didn't know how much more enjoyable this would have been if I'd read the previous books. Many authors write series and each book is its own story but this book wasn't exactly like that. It could have been and did get better as the story progressed but still too dependant on previous books. The second reason is that it was in need of more editing. It wasn't horrible but there were a handful of times that the error was, to me, quite obvious and distracting.
Overall, this was well written and the story flowed very well. The characters were very well developed and it felt like you had a good grasp on their personalities and if you would or would not like them in real life. This is a Christian book but not pushy or preachy. It is more dependant on the characters showing how they try to depend on God. If you like a good, clean, historical fiction you will enjoy this book. I would recommend it to my friends.
Monday, March 18, 2019
Ladies of Intrigue by Michelle Griep
Barbour Books through NetGalley allowed me to read and review this ebook, a compilation of the novellas. The opinions are my own and not required. The book is Ladies of Intrigue by Michelle Griep.
I do not give a synopsis of a book in my reviews, you can read that in a lot of other places. I do give my honest opinion. In my opinion, this is a 3-star book. the reasons are below.
The main reason I give only 3 stars is that the first novella was very disorienting. I felt like I was plopped into the middle of a book, that the beginning and ending were missing. There was no reason given why the heroin's father had moved to the location of the story. The ending wasn't done well either, it just stopped. The other two novellas were better in explaining things, the stories seemed more complete.
This is a Christian book and that was very well done. It is not pushy but does show how a Christian lives. The characters were well developed also for a novella. Other than the first story, the plot flowed well also. The editing was fairly well done as well.
I do not give a synopsis of a book in my reviews, you can read that in a lot of other places. I do give my honest opinion. In my opinion, this is a 3-star book. the reasons are below.
The main reason I give only 3 stars is that the first novella was very disorienting. I felt like I was plopped into the middle of a book, that the beginning and ending were missing. There was no reason given why the heroin's father had moved to the location of the story. The ending wasn't done well either, it just stopped. The other two novellas were better in explaining things, the stories seemed more complete.
This is a Christian book and that was very well done. It is not pushy but does show how a Christian lives. The characters were well developed also for a novella. Other than the first story, the plot flowed well also. The editing was fairly well done as well.
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