Murder at the Mikado is not my typical genre….but for some reason it grabbed my interest when I read the synopsis.  I was only a few chapters in when I added the other books in the series to my Amazon wish list!

Julianna Deering writes in a style much reminiscent of Agatha Christie.  I loved the style and the language.  The mystery is gripping and draws the reader in.  At various parts, I didn’t want to stop reading because I was so curious about what would happen next.

A few chapters seemed slow but the story always picked back up again.

I definitely enjoyed this book.  It is an easy read, but very engaging.  I will definitely be interested in reading other Drew Farthering mysteries!

Note: I received this book for free from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for this review.

Microsoft Office

Didn’t get a ton of reading done the past couple months, but at least I got a few books read! 🙂

Nonfiction:

Creative Correction by Lisa Whelchel

Spoken For by Robin Jones Gunn and Alyssa Joy Bethke (review posted here)

When the Darkness Will Not Lift by John Piper

Fiction:

Persecuted: I Will Not Be Silent by Robin Parrish (review posted here)

Wow.  I was a little unsure what to expect, but I am so glad that I ended up reading Spoken For by Robin Jones Gunn and Alyssa Joy Bethke.

This book is all about the incredible love that God has for you.  For me.  There are eleven chapters all talking about various ways in which God loves.  Just check out the table of contents:

1. An Epic Love Story – Yours
2. You Are Wanted
3. You Are Pursued
4. You Are Loved
5. You Have Been Called
6. You Are of Great Value
7. You Are a Peculiar Treasure
8. You Are Set Free
9. You Are Covered
10. You Are Promised
11. You Are Spoken For

In the world of the evangelical church, I believe that God’s love is far too often downplayed.  I have seen people cringe at some of the terms above, as they feel it becomes a “touchy feely” religion or reduces God to a man-made love story.  Interestingly enough, the Bible uses terms like “bridegroom” and “bride.”  It talks about God’s delight for us and how He rejoices over us as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride.  That is some serious passionate love.

I needed the truth written in this book.  It has helped to heal my soul.  It has reminded me of who I am in Christ and that I am indeed valuable.  I am precious.  I am beloved.

“This is your chance to respond with blissful abandon to his goodness.  Start living like a woman who fully embraces who she is and whose she is.  Begin to see yourself as a confident bride.  No wavering.  No doubting.  Remember, the Bridegroom calls you his beloved.  Let yourself be loved by him now and know that the best is yet to come.”  -pg 171

If you have ever doubted God’s love for you or if you just need a refresher….I recommend this book!

Read the first chapter here.

Note: I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review.

-Bonnie

“The most popular evangelist of his day, John Luther simply wants to share the Gospel and enjoy a quiet life with his family.  He never asked to be at the center of a political controversy, but an ill wind has been blowing through the halls of Congress, and supporters of a new religious-equality bill see Luther’s endorsement as critical.” – Persecuted, by Robin Parrish

Overall, I was less than impressed with this book.  It wasn’t necessarily bad, but it wasn’t necessarily good either.  Apparently based on a movie, Persecuted follows the tale of a man on the run as he is being targeted for his faith.  Perhaps I am just naive, but I thought the plot seemed too far-fetched.  Religious freedom is definitely been encroached upon more and more, but this plot seemed almost too simplistic to be believable.

There is little character development and even the subplot with some of the agents on the case seems cliched.

It did give me cause to stop and think, though.  What would I do if faced with that situation? Would I run?  Would I stay and tell the truth, hoping there would due process of law?  It is sobering to think about, and I will admit it made me wonder about the scandals and cover-ups that do happen today.

I also enjoyed some of the back story.  Typically I do not appreciate flashbacks in novels, but in this book they fit well.  The story of how John and his father, a Catholic priest, did not detract from the overall story.

Note: I received this book for free from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for this review.

-Bonnie

When I first read the description for A Broken Kind of Beautiful by Katie Ganshert, I was somewhat skeptical.  A model in the fashion industry?  Not my typical type of book.  But the last few sentences on the back cover made me decide to try it.  “It seems that everyone Ivy comes across in Greenbrier challenges what she has come to believe about beauty and worth.  Is it possible that God sees her – a woman stained and broken by the world – yet wants her still?”

For modern fiction, I appreciated the author’s writing style.  She isn’t wordy, but she also doesn’t make you feel like you are just listening to someone talk.

I had a chance to participate in a live Q&A with the author and I love how she said the story came about.  She saw that society is pressuring girls and women so much in the area of beauty and she knew that God was prompting her to write about that.  There are some mentions of substance abuse and it is clear that Ivy had a sexual past, but no details are given and it was far from graphic.  The best parts of the book were the scenes where Ivy is learning how God is pursuing her and loves her.

The theme verse of the book I did find to be taken out of context.  This was troubling.  But there were many other amazing scenes that spoke to my heart so much.  Not only did the author talk about Ivy coming to faith, but she wrote a character named Davis, who learns to deal with guilt after being a Christian for years.

There was one other portion of the book that was troubling to me. As that part of my review contains a spoiler, I will write it below.

Overall, I did really enjoy the book.  I was very blessed by it and was so touched by the depth of some of the characters.  Katie Ganshert wrote believable characters who go through various struggles and life experiences that I believe many Christians can identify with.

Read chapter one here!

Spoiler alert!  Davis, a man who finds God prompting him to befriend Ivy, finds himself in love with her.  I really loved how their whole friendship and love came about.  It was very special.  There were also a few scenes where Davis knew he was being physically attracted to her, but he also knew that God was first calling him to simply speak His love to her.  My concern came at the very end, when Davis kissed Ivy.  The readers know that Ivy has already become a Christian, but Davis does not.  As the Bible is clear that believers should not be unequally yoked, I believe that would be an important conversation to have before kissing someone.

Note: I received this book for free from Blogging for Books in exchange for this review.

-Bonnie

I loooove books.  Any time I have extra money, a book is at the top of my list of things to buy.  There are dozens of books on my wish list.   There are over 300 books on my shelves.  There’s nothing quite like the cozy feeling that comes over me when I walk into our room and see all my books on our shelves.

My left shelf is my fiction area.  Top shelf is modern fiction, second shelf is classics (mostly Dickens, but a few other authors are mixed in), third and fourth shelves are my young adult/children section.  Fifth shelf on the bottom right begins my nonfiction section and contains my pregnancy books.

My right shelf contains the rest of my nonfiction books.  Top shelf has Bible books, such as commentaries and books on hermeneutics.  Second shelf is various Christian living books.  Third shelf is my marriage section.  The beginning of my fourth shelf is my parenting section, and the rest of that shelf is my biography section.

Do you have a personal library?  How many books do you have and how do you organize them?

-Bonnie

Fiction:

• And the Shofar Blew by Francine Rivers
• An Elegant Solution by Paul Robertson (review posted here)

Nonfiction:

• Christian Modesty and the Public Undressing of America by Jeff Pollard
• Facing Terror by Carrie McDonnall
• Miss Brenda and the Loveladies by Brenda Spahn (review posted here)
• Praying for Boys: Asking God for the Things they Need Most by Brooke McGlothlin (review posted here)
• Women Living Well by Courtney Joseph

-Bonnie

Miss Brenda and the Loveladies, written by Brenda Spahn and Irene Zutell, I found to be both good and bad.  This true story chronicles a woman’s adventure in starting a “whole-way” house for women recently released from prison.  The concept was to give them everything they needed…clothes, food, a nice home, a job, friendship….to make it after being released.

Brenda Spahn certainly had a lot of guts.  She shares honestly about some of the difficulties and struggles she went through.  But over and over, she highlights how these women were precious people.  I love how she did not believe the ever popular “once an addict, always an addict.”  They didn’t need AA to remind them they were still addicts who were a certain number of days clean.  They were new people.

There are some sections that would probably not be appropriate for younger readers, such as the accounts of abuse, both substance and sexual, asterisked language, and some of the unwise choices some of the women made.

While I loved her heart for this amazing and much-needed ministry, I was troubled by several aspects of the book.  I was shocked when on the very first page she takes the Lord’s name in vain.  This occurred several more times.  In other sections, she used other language of various levels of offense.

There were also several things that were troubling theologically.  a) There was mention of a woman becoming ordained.  b) Brenda was pursuing this ministry against her husband’s wishes and lived away from him against his wishes for quite some time.  c) There were several mentions of how these women didn’t have a chance for a successful, crime free life because of their terrible pasts of abuse.  d) The mention of divorce, not God, being the answer to some problems.  e) Perhaps the biggest of all…there is no discussion of true salvation.  Brenda explains that prayer, not salvation, will bring them into a real relationship with God.  She encourages the ladies to be baptized without any discussion or mention (in the book at least) of sin or Jesus’ death and resurrection.  I understand that authors must pick and choose details to include due to time and space, but some of these details are rather important.  Further details might reconcile these concerns, but without knowing those details, my concerns remain.

Bottom line: I was super encouraged by Brenda’s heart for those who are so often overlooked, but I was very troubled by much of her life and methods.

Note: I received this book for free from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for this review.

-Bonnie

Well….I have a grand total of two completed books from October-December.  Several partially or mostly completed, though!  🙂

Art of the Neighoring, The by Jay Pathak & Dave Runyon

Jesus > Religion: Why He is So Much Better than Trying Harder, Doing More, and Being Good Enough by Jefferson Bethke

-Bonnie