In Good Company - Jen Turano

In Good Company – Jen Turano

            Oh my goodness!  What a fun read! 

            Millie is a nanny who has a hard time keeping a job.

            Everett is a gentleman who has some lessons to learn.

This book is full of many of the things I like in a book…..

-       Confident but not haughty leading lady.

-       Humor, humor and more humor.

-       There are children in the book.  There is a horrible – just nasty – female friend.

-       Priorities are put in place, which was especially hard for people of that time period.

-       Friends who are truly friends, and ones who are NOT!

-       Newport – just a beautiful place.

-       Funny animals

-       Mystery

-       LOVE!

One of the passages that stood out to me was, “You’ve been surrounded solely by like-minded individuals – and that has not given you a proper perspective of life.”  Hmmmm…..I think that could apply to anyone.  Do you know people who are different than you are?

GREAT READ!  FIVE STARS!

The Friends of Jesus - Karen Kingsbury

The Friends of Jesus - Karen Kingsbury

            The Friends of Jesus is a storybook mixed with a bible study.  Kingsbury takes many of the people who knew Jesus personally and tells their story.  Now, she is reading into many of their thoughts and actions, but I do think the road she takes is probably very accurate. 

            To be exact 6 Friends of Jesus are covered in this book.  Simon would have never encountered the TRUTH if he hadn’t had leprosy.  He would have probably continued on living his well-meaning judgmental life.  Things Kingsbury adds to his story is how it felt (and smelled) to have leprosy, how it felt to have his wife married to another in less than a year, and how it felt to be rejected by people who held him in high esteem before the leprosy.

            Kingsbury weaves the stories of 5 more of Jesus’s friends.

            A GREAT read!  Well written – of course – duh – it is Karen Kingsbury!  Even the cover art is beautiful!

To Capture Her Heart - Rebecca DeMarino

To Capture Her Heart – Rebecca DeMarino

           

            I love books!  Well, I love most books!  And I really really hate it when I don’t like a book.  I am picky about writing style.  I like lots of emotion and imagery.  I like to know exactly what the character is thinking and feeling. 

            I was excited to get the chance to read To Capture Her Heart.  If we are being honest my excitement had vanished by the end of the second chapter.  I can’t really pin point why except that truly something about it didn’t grab me and suck me in like many books.  Like my above paragraph(s) the sentence structure didn’t vary much, and that bothered me for some unknown reason. 

            Maybe, it is me!  I just can’t finish the book….and I am really sorry!  Try it!  As I said, it could just be me!  I do LOVE the cover art!

A Worthy Pursuit - Karen Witemeyer

A Worthy Pursuit – Karen Witemeyer

            Charlotte has some trust issues.  She learned not to trust.  However, she knows how to love – her students.  Unfortunately, the students are technically her children. 

Stone has never really had a family, so he has some relationship issues.  He doesn’t know if he is relationship worthy.  He is a bounty hunter – retriever – so he really isn’t in one place too often.

Maybe Stone comes after Charlotte – or something in Charlotte’s possession.

Read it and see what happens.

These are a few of the things that stood out to me in this book:

1.                    When Charlotte and Stone were facing a difficult situation.  “He never promised us a life without hardship.  In face, I seem to recollect several places in Scripture where He promises that we will face such things.  But even in that, he vows to be by out side through it all, to give us the strength to endure whatever comes.”  This is a truth I think many choose not to believe.  No one wants to face hard times, but…..

2.                    Charlotte is faithful to her old – slightly odd – friends.

3.                    I wish one of the children would have just been a kid – with no extraordinary talent. 

This was truly a fun read!

Hope Harbor - Irene Hannon

Hope Harbor – Irene Hannon

WOW!  What a great book!   Hope Harbor was refreshing to read even though difficult topics were in the book.   I don’t want to reveal too much, but here are some things I loved:

1.                     Oregon is a state on my bucket list.  I loved reading about the climate and surroundings of this ideal little beach town.

2.                     Michael, Tracey and Anna are all fighting personal battles.  They are dealing with hard issues.  Issues that don’t have an easy fix.

3.                     Forgiveness and risk, truth and lies, seclusion and vulnerability are all issues I deal with on a personal basis, and it was good to see these issues worked on in this book.

4.                     I love how Charley, a minor character, just listened to the prompting of the Lord….and followed through with those promptings.   That is an area I’m always trying to improve on!

5.                     “It was always much easier to clean up messes when they were fresh.”  Loved this analogy!

6.                     I loved how one simple act really changed the whole book.  Had Anna not listened to Charley, what would have happened?

7.                     “Walking into the unknown was always difficult, no matter your age…or circumstances.”  TRUTH!  The “unknown” is WAY out of my comfort zone!  WAY OUT!

8.                     This story is filled with people being stretched way out of their comfort zones!  I realize this is a work of fiction, but Hannon weaves biblical truth throughout this book.

9.                     BUY it!  Read it!