Voice of the Ancient by Connilyn Cossette

                             

Voice of the Ancient - Connilyn Cossette - 4 Stars - A beautiful coming of age story for Avidan and Keziah set during the crowning of King Saul!

What a great start to The King's Men series! I am so excited to see what Connilyn does next! The way she weaves in fictional characters set during biblical times and events is always amazing! 

This follows both Avidan and Keziah at the start of the newly crowned King Saul's reign in 1042 BC. Avidan and his 3 cousins are the primary focus of the series - they have a brotherhood that is as strong as can be. In this books, we follow Avidan and his search to find one of his cousin's that goes missing in their battle together. He goes on a search alone to find him, but runs into Keziah, the daughter of a powerful clan chief in Manasseh who is on the run from a forced marriage to a terrible man. Avidan and Keziah begin their journey together and her true origins start to be revealed along the journey. They start to form feelings and a bond for one another in their travels. As those out for Keziah continue to get closer to her and Avidan continues searching for his missing cousin, they realize just what is important to them and the true protection of Yahweh.

This books took me on quite the journey - we see so much going on in Israel as they crown their first king and then seeing our young characters off in war, arranged unwanted marriages, leaving loved ones -- all at the young age of 17. It shows how strong they were during such a time to be alive. Avidan and his cousins were starting to see the true meaning of becoming a man during their time by going off to war and Keziah was learning so much of her true family origins and having to make hard decisions at such a young age. We see some of the Israelites who worshiped idols and pagan traditions and some learning the truth of Yahweh along the way. 

While the romance was a bit young and fast for me, it definitely makes sense for the biblical time and I really like the way Avidan and Keziah would do anything to protect one another. The swimming scene was one of my favorites between them. Also, I loved Keziah's horse, my heart! Overall, this was such an engaging storyline that kept me on my toes and I am so excited to continue in this stunning generational series!

Thank you to Bethany House and Baker Publishing for a copy to honestly read and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5573546245
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3E7j6O6
Baker Book House: https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/492067

YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NP6NLPxY6po

Cloak of Scarlet by Melanie Dickerson

 

Cloak of Scarlet - Melanie Dickerson - 3.5 rounded up to 4 Stars - Little Red Riding Hood Retelling (Book #5 in The Dericott Tales but can be read as a Standalone.)

I always enjoy my time reading these YA medieval fairytale retellings in this series. This one was a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. They have enough of the basics of the retelling to be a retelling but also enough of a twist to be their own stories - I always like that. They are always lighthearted and just what I need for the time. 

Set in the late 1300s in England, we follow Violet, who was adopted and loves to visit her grandmother in her red cloak. Violet's grandmother is robbed by the villain, Baron Dunham. Violet finds herself in the middle of an action packed story and will do anything to stop the Baron from mistreating her people and stealing from them. We see Sir Merek come in, who is a knight of the Baron, but when he meets Violet, he discovers what the Baron has been doing and just how evil he really is. Sir Merek and Violet work together to stop him, while getting to know one another along the way.

This was a lot of fun and I really liked our characters and the faith content sprinkled throughout was really nice to see. I don't think I truly connected with Violet and Sir Merek like I have some of the other characters throughout this series, but I thought they were good in this story. The family drama in this one was a nice twist.

Excited to see what comes next in this series! Thank you to the publisher for sending a complimentary copy to honestly read and review. All opinions are my own.

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5770740062
Baker Book House:  https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/517203

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3P4myQ8

YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NP6NLPxY6po

Summer in the Spotlight by Liz Johnson

 

Summer in the Spotlight - Liz Johnson - 4 Stars - A Cute, Clean, Christian Contemporary Romance (Book #3 in the Prince Edward Island Shores Series)

A cute summer romance between Levi and Kelsey, with a little bit of family drama and a goal to restore the local theater that gets damaged as an aftermath of the hurricane that Levi rescues Kelsey in! I really enjoyed this one. My favorite parts were the beginning with Levi rescuing Kelsey from the hurricane aftermath and them all working together to save and rebuild the theater. Levi is rough around the edges and doesn't talk much, but he really grows in this story. Kelsey experienced some good growth as well - specifically surrounding hospitals and her fear of seeing blood. It was just a super cute, clean, small town romance that I enjoyed. While I wish we had more faith in this book, it was overall very sweet and cute.

I think anyone who loves the setting of Prince Edward Island would also really enjoy this. We got to see all the Ross brothers, their significant others and Mama Potts again - that was great. Levi and Kelsey had known each other for a long time but only recently started being close friends as the hurricane they experienced forced them together. I love the small town vibe here with all of our characters together (Eli, Levi, Oliver).

Kelsey was such a great character for me, she really had this drive that she was never going to give up on what she believed in - the theater, her job, her community - everything was so important to her.

I was a bit frustrated with the added character of the weatherman, he was a bit frustrating with what he was doing - he had no loyalty to anyone there - but it made sense for the story line in the end. My need for a happy ending across all sides also made me wish for more of resolution with their father too, but I understand that what happens is actually pretty realistic in many families - no matter how sad it can be and sometimes you have to move on and protect your family at all costs.

Overall, this series has been fun to read and I recommend to anyone who likes a cute, clean romance series that features brothers in each different book. Someone who has a love for theater will really enjoy this story as well! Thank you to Revell and Baker Publishing for providing a copy to honestly read and review.

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5762428274
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3QvVt9w
Baker Book House: https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/492089
YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NP6NLPxY6po

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth

The Good Sister - Sally Hepworth - 5 Stars - AMAZING!

WOW. 5 STARS. What an AMAZING secular psychological thriller! I would say it leans more on the family drama / suspense side - which I LOVED. Sally Hepworth new fav?! YES. I am so glad I read this with my friends as it really enhanced the reading experience. We did NOT see what happened in the end and that was awesome. THIS is how you do a psychological thriller! Love to see it!

This book will keep you on your toes and keep you guessing all the way through. This follows 2 twin sisters, Fern and Rose. Rose has taken care of Fern her entire life, as Fern is neurodivergent and has sensory problems. My son is Autistic and I have ADHD, so many of her struggles reminded me of being on the spectrum with some of his issues and ADHD with some of mine, but she has never been formally diagnosed. Rose is unable to get pregnant and Fern sees this as an opportunity to help her sister after everything she has done for her. So she secretly sets out to find a father and things go on from here as she meets "Wally" but never expects to fall in love with him. We see secrets of the past between the sisters start to unfold and what you find is what you NEVER expected! HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS!

I loved Fern's character. She is probably one of the BEST book characters of all time for me. I loved the representation of her being neurodivergent and just how real she was. Her and Wally were PRECIOUS. LOVED THEM SO MUCH. The family drama in this was the BEST. 

If you want to see ALL of my thoughts as I read this book ---- check out my reading vlog, there are timestamps to skip to where I talk about this book towards the end. AMAZING. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUJ4ok4W8vo&t=

Content warning: This book does have some language but not much - it made sense in the secular story. There are also journal entries that depict some hard topics such as family abuse and child sexual abuse but very easy to skip those and not too detailed. Wanted to mention though as a trigger warning.

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5589632140
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3OQIpKC

YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NP6NLPxY6po

The Choices She Made by Felicia Ferguson

The Choices She Made - Felicia Ferguson - 4 Stars - An emotional, faith filled read with tough topics but important to read!

This book really surprised me. Wow. I cried while reading in several places as it does deal with some difficult subjects but it is filled with biblical truths and scriptures. God did not give us a spirit of fear. He has a plan for us. The Lord works everything out for our good. Loved how much faith was in this story and how impactful it was for me. 

This book follows Madeline in 1997 and 2011. In 1997, we follow her story of how she was sexually assaulted by the son (John David) of a wealthy rancher at the age of 17 and becomes pregnant. She never reports it during this time as she is afraid of the damage it will do for her family financially due to the circumstances of the attacker's family and connections to her family. 

Her mother passed away many years ago so it's just her and her Dad. When her Dad finds out about what happened, we see him wrestle with what to do but she begs him not to say or do anything about it - as they fear no one would believe them. 

We see her journey in 1997 as she wrestles with how to handle the situation and what to tell others leading up to her daughter's birth. We cut to the timeline in 2011 many years later when her and her daughter, Georgia, go to visit her father and they hear of John David being on trial for other sexual assaults. After all this time, will Madeline tell the truth and help put John David away for good? 

Overall I really enjoyed this story. Madeline has a strong faith in the Lord and that was a beautiful thing to see. You can tell how her faith really strengthened her in her horrible experience. Madeline gave up everything in her life just so her daughter could have a good life. I loved her character and her relationship with her father was beautiful. I did prefer the 2011 timeline over the 1997 timeline, but did tear up several times in the old timeline. Overall, a story all about overcoming hardships and making hard decisions but having the Lord with you the entire time. Glad I read it as it really tugged at my heart strings. Thank you to the Author for a copy to honestly read and review, all opinions are my own.

Content warning: This does deal with heavier topics of sexual assault, discussions of abortion and a court case against her attacker.

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5751353681
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3sadPmt
YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NP6NLPxY6po

Friendshipped by Savannah Scott

 

Friendshipped - 3.5 Stars - Getting Shipped Book #1 - A fun friends to lovers clean rom-com story.

My first in my rom-com clean romance journey and I have so many thoughts! I really enjoyed SOOOO much from this book such as the amazing humor, characters, friend group, town etc. And I can't wait to read more in this series as I think Savannah Scott is an AWESOME author. But in reading this, and starting my clean romance rom-com journey, I think I will find what tropes I enjoy vs the ones I don't. I am wondering if I am just not a friends-to-lovers trope person - either way - I rated this 3.5 stars. Which means, there is a lot about the story I enjoyed but a few things that were not my favorite. See more below! Either way, I think a LOT of ya'll will enjoy these books and I am excited to read the next one!

This story follows Trevor and Lexi who work together, live in the same duplex as neighbors and have been friends since they were young. They each like each other but don't think the other likes them in that way so they keep it secret from one another. Which means no one communicates about their feelings and I think since that is common in a friends to lovers story, I may not be the right person for this book since I don't love that aspect. While the humor of the situations the characters were in made me laugh soooo much and I love how clean this story was, I was just wanting them to get together sooner and talk about their feelings. There are also dates they go on with other people in the story (more Lexi, as Trevor just went on a small meet up with an ex-GF he had but he wouldn't call it a date). Lexi has a dating app that her friends made her so she tries out a few dates here and there but nothing compares to her best friend Trevor. I didn't love the dating parts but I DIED laughing at Trevor out in the bushes at 10:30p.m. after her first one LOL.

Even though I reaaaaallllly wanted them to get together sooner and talk out their feelings, Trevor and Lexi had the best chemistry together and I like the end. Loved the small town vibes too. Can't wait to read the next one!

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5733587500
Amazon:  https://amzn.to/3Om8AY9
YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NP6NLPxY6po

The Masterpiece by Francine Rivers

 

The Masterpiece - Francine Rivers - 5 Stars - A beautiful, emotional, real story of 2 characters who experience true healing through Jesus.

WOW, Francine never disappoints ya'll. I knew this would be 5 stars but didn't realize just how beautiful it would be. This story will continue to stick with me for a long time. I annotated my book copy with so many beautiful quotes. This book deals with themes of brokenness, redemption and the healing power of Jesus' love for us. He never stops pursuing us and we see that firsthand in this book. This book will tug at your heart strings as we read all about the lives of Grace Moore and Roman Velasco. Each have their own traumatic past they have been through. Grace is a believer in Jesus but Roman is not. We see how the Lord truly pursues Roman throughout the story and how Grace is the one to lead him to Him.

In this story we see Grace go to work as Roman's assistant - he is a very rich artist and Grace is struggling to provide for her son as a single mother. This job is everything Grace needs but as she gets to know Roman, feelings start to form and we see their relationship grow as friends to more. In addition to romance, this book explored forgiveness, redemption and our characters search for purpose in this world. The integration of faith in this is interweaved so beautifully. Both of our characters are burdened by their past mistakes but we see such an amazing journey to Jesus' forgiveness for them both here. I loved how the characters put JESUS first in this book. It was refreshing to see!

If you are looking for a story that will touch your heart and soul, this is it!

Trigger warnings for: loss of parents, drugs, alcohol drinking, gang member mentions, domestic violence. 

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5729670271
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3DIEedB

Baker Book House: https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/147749

YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NP6NLPxY6po