Five Quick Reviews #1

I read quite a bit and tend to get behind in posting reviews.  This year, I will be posting "quick reviews" for books that I have read and want to share with you.  I hope you find something you want to check out as well.  

Refining Felicity by Marion Chesney (The School for Manners #1)

Review

Source: Purchased

I read this series several times in high school and college. I remember thinking that the protagonists were spunky and brave and the two spinster aunts were adorable and funny. That still holds true after picking this book up last summer. I look forward to re-reading through the series this year.

I gave this book: ★★★★★

The Practice Proposal by Tracy March

Review

Source: Purchased

I read this over the summer as well - it was a great summer read since the hero is a baseball player and for me, baseball is synonymous with summer.  It was a little kitchy with the "fake" proposal bit but it was pretty tame for a romance novel and the characters were definitely likable. 

I gave this book: ★★★★★

Forever Dreams by Leeanna Morgan (Montana Brides #1)

Review

Source: Purchased

I read this in early November and rated it without making any notes; I don't remember a lot about this book to be honest.  I gave it two stars which means it  was okay -- I didn't hate it but I didn't really like it either.  I seem to recall being really annoyed by Gracie.  It gets pretty decent reviews on Goodreads so it must not have been for me.  In the plus column, there were some pretty significant plot twists in this story that I feel like were going to be delved into further in future stories in the series.

I gave this book: ★★

Lovestruck in London by Rachel Schurig

Review

Source: Purchased -- It is still free for Kindle over at Amazon.

I super enjoyed this story. I read it in late fall and while I may not recall all the details in the story, I remember that I really wanted to know what happened next.  Romance is pretty formulaic and so while I enjoy them, I don't always feel pulled into the story.  Schurig was a new author to me and I really liked the characters that she created and for "new adults" I didn't find myself rolling my eyes at all.  Months later, I saw the title in my review pile and good vibes came back.

I gave this book: ★★★★★

Until I Found You by Victoria Bylin

Review

Source: Purchased

This is one of the best Christian romances I've read.  And one of the most satisfying.  Nick was completely likable; his strength and his growth touching and genuine.  Kate is also real and while she isn't perfect, she's not a weak whiner.  While they both have doubts about a relationship between them, it wasn't all angsty; instead it focused on who they were, who they wanted to be and how to mesh that with who they were actually becoming.  I will definitely read more by this author in the future.

I gave this book: ★★★★

That's it for today.  Have you read any of these books or these authors?  Leave a comment and let me know what you think!

Top 10 Recommendations - Bout of Book 12.0

Trees of Reverie is hosting today's challenge. 

The Challenge: You’ve just started to work at a bookstore (or library) - what are your top ten go-to book recommendations?

I'm pretending that I work in a bookstore, perhaps one called The Shop Around the Corner.  I've been asked to put together a collection of 10 books for my customer to take to a literary baby shower.  Here are ten books I'd recommend to start off any child's library.

1. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown simple, repetitive text, gorgeous illustrations that invite children to "read" the pictures.

2. Room for a Little One: A Christmas Tale by Martin Waddell sweet story set around the birth of Jesus

3. Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson encourages imagination

4. The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds encourages art and believing in oneself youTube video reading

5. Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems silly and fun

6. It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw encourages spatial thinking

7. Press Here by Herve Tullet interactive, works for readers of ALL ages

8. Mix It Up! by Herve Tullet interactive, science

9. How to Catch a Star by Oliver Jeffers darling illustrations, sweet story

 10. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. Classic book, great for alphabet awareness

This was a super fun challenge Sarah!  Thanks for hosting!!  Be sure to swing over to her blog, Trees of Reverie and see other readers takes on her challenge.

Bout of Books 12.0 Updates

Progress

Monday, January 5, 2015:
Completed: 1 book
Books Read: 2 - Summer of My German Soldier and The Red Scarf
Pages Read: 140
Challenges: Bookshelf Scavenger Hunt
Total Books Completed: 1
Total Pages Read: 140

  

Tuesday, January 6, 2015:

Completed: 1 book

Books Read: 2 - The Red Scarf and The Magician's Nephew

Pages Read: 142

Challenges: Top Ten Recommendations

Total Books Completed: 2

Total Pages Read: 282

Wednesday, January 7, 2015:
Completed: 0
Books Read:  The Red Scarf
Pages Read: 80
Challenges:
Total Books Completed: 2
Total Pages Read: 362

Thursday, January 8, 2015:
Completed: 0
Books Read: The Red Scarf
Pages Read: 167
Challenges:
Total Books Completed: 1
Total Pages Read: 529

Friday, January 9, 2015:
Completed:
Books Read: The Red Scarf
Pages Read: 66
Challenges:
Total Books Completed: 1
Total Pages Read: 595

Saturday, January 10, 2015:
Completed: 1 book
Books Read: The Red Scarf and Number the Stars
Pages Read: 149
Challenges:
Total Books Completed: 3
Total Pages Read: 744

Sunday, January 11, 2015:
Completed: 1 book
Books Read:  Number the Stars
Pages Read: 62
Challenges:
Total Books Completed: 4
Total Pages Read: 806

Final Thoughts:
As I thought when the week started, I was very busy and so didn't have as much time to read as I would've liked.  While I may not have read as many pages or finished as any books as other participants, I am happy with what my outcomes.  This was another fun round of Bout of Books and I look forward to BoB 13.0!  Thanks for stopping by!

Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene, A Review

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Book Description

A 1973 National Book Award Finalist, an ALA Notable Book, a New York Times Outstanding Book of the Year. When German prisoners of war are brought to her Arkansas town during World War II, twelve-year-old Patty, a Jewish girl, befriends one of them and must deal with the consequences of that friendship.

Review

I read this book several times when I was growing up.  It is one of the few books that I clearly remember reading as a young girl.  I picked it up as an adult not sure what my response would be.  Certainly I had a connection to it when I was younger and having finished it today I can say that the connection remains.  My heart aches for Patty and there were several times when tears welled up in my eyes.  This book is set during World War Two and explores the themes of racism (not just black/white but also American/German), patriotism, family, and abuse.  As a teacher, I believe in the power of pairing literature with historical events and this book would work so well in the classroom.  I remember being surprised to learn that there had been POWs on American soil during the war and even more surprised to learn about Japanese Internment camps - two facts that are never mentioned in history textbooks (some high school texts may now reference internment camps).  

That being said, the age difference in this book was shocking to me as an adult.  I don't recall thinking anything about it when I was a child.  Patty is twelve and Anton is certainly older. His age isn't specified but at least he is 18 probably older but no more than 20.  As an adult, that's a really big age gap and seems weird. So that would need to be acknowledged as would the use of slang language that is no longer considered to be appropriate.

I remember why I thought this was such a great book growing up and think that it should be more widely read.

I gave this book: ★★★★★

★ = I did not like it     ★★ = It was okay     ★★★ = I liked it    

★★★★ = I really liked it     ★★★★★ = I loved it

Bookshelf Scavenger Hunt - Bout of Books 12.0

Caught Read Handed is hosting a 

Bookshelf Scavenger Hunt today! 

I'm playing along with my Goodreads bookshelves.

1. Find an author with the same initials as you
The Year of Living Famously by Laura Caldwell.  My initials, just reversed
2. Find a book with the color yellow on it
The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan
3. Find an author’s name with the letter “S” in it
100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson 
4. Find a book with a female protagonist
Driving Lessons by Zoe Fishman
5. Find the longest book you own
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
6. Find a book with a map in it or on it
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
7. Find a book with a face on it (photograph or illustrated)
Parallel by Lauren Miller

Bonus: Find something on your shelf that isn’t a book.

Bout of Books 12.0

It is time for the January Bout of Books 12.0 read-a-thon.  This week corresponds to school being back in session and my son's birthday at the end of the week so I don't have as much time to dedicate to reading as I normally would.  Last year I know I didn't get close to my goals at all so the new "no goals" version debuting this week is pretty awesome.  Of course, you can set goals if you want but I'm just going to read and attempt to play along in some of the challenges this week.  Be sure to sign up so that you have a chance to win the grand prize!

I have a few books from the library that I need to finish up so those are the books that I am listing here. Again, I don't think I'll be able to get through all of these, but these are the books I'll be picking from.  Even though there are no goals and I've not set goals - rigorous or easy - I'm still going to track my progress at the end of this post.

  Summer of My German Soldier by Better Greene

(Finished. See my review here

Top Reads in 2014

I wanted to share the books that were my top reads from this past year.  I knew that I read - a lot - but I am shocked by my book count.  This is the first year that I have kept track of the books I read; I don't feel like I read more or less this year than in the past so it is a pretty accurate look at how much I read.  You can check out the books I read in 2014 here on Goodreads.  Of the 200+ books I read, 30 are picture books or early reader books, which skews the count since they are such fast books to read.  I didn't include the Percy Jackson books in that count; while they are technically juvenile fiction, they are lengthy and advanced reads.

I also have a Goodreads shelf that lists my "best of" books from 2014.  I would add books to this shelf after I read them when I really, really enjoyed them for the purpose of helping to create this list.
I am only going to share the top picks from the shelf because I can't list 50+ books here.  Check it out if you have a moment as I do recommend any of the books on that list as really great reads.  The books I'm sharing here are in no particular order.  I'm not very good at picking just one favorite; that being said, my favorite book from 2014 is The Art of Arranging Flowers

      

1. The House We Grew Up In

2. If I Stay/Where She Went dualogy

3. Driving Lessons

      

4. You Don't Know Me

5. All Soul's Trilogy:  A Discovery of Witches/Shadow of Night/The Book of Life

      

6. The Art of Arranging Flowers

7. Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus series

8. Better Off Friends

    

9. The Paris Apartment

10. Alphabet Weekends

11. The Ninja Librarians

And a few of the best Picture Books I read in 2014:

      

1. The Pigeon Needs a Bath

2. Moo

3. The Most Magnificent Thing

                           

4. Flotsam

5. The Man with the Violin

An October Bride by Katie Ganshert, A Review ★★★★★

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Book Description

Happily ever after guaranteed.
She wants to make her father's dream come true. She doesn't realize her own dream has been in front of her the whole time.
Emma Tate isn't a risk taker, so everyone in her small Midwest town is surprised when she suddenly becomes engaged to lifelong friend Jake Sawyer. No one but Jake and Emma know the true reason they're getting married---so Emma's dying father can walk her down the aisle.
While Jake and Emma plan an autumn wedding together, it becomes clear that their agreement has a few complications---the biggest being their true feelings for each other.
In this novella by award-winning author Katie Ganshert, a young woman must reconcile her dying father's dreams with her own dreams for love and for her future.

Review

Source:  Purchased.  Here is my honest review.

I can't name any other books Ganshert has written off the top of my head but I do know that I recognize her name and know that she writes books I really enjoy. An October Bride was beautifully written. I always enjoy books that are wrapped around the idea of a marriage of convenience or best friends falling in love. This book combines both into one sweet story. I'm not sure, but for some reason I feel like this series is actually novellas.....if so, this one is very satisfying. I felt the characters were developed well and the story progressed smoothly and all the details were there. I have not read all of the books in the series (at the time of this writing) but do feel like this is one of the best books that I have read from the series.

I gave this book: ★★★★★

★ = I did not like it     ★★ = It was okay     ★★★ = I liked it    

★★★★ = I really liked it     ★★★★★ = I loved it

A Groom for Christmas by Cara Marsi, A Review

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A Groom for Christmas by Cara Marsi

I was provided an eARC copy of this book by the publisher. Here is my honest review.

I always enjoy reading a romance set during the Christmas holidays. I also always enjoy stories that involve marriages (or engagements) of convenience. Marsi combines both of these elements into a sweet and enjoyable story. This is definitely what I consider to be a formulaic romance. The heroine Graceann is sweet and likeable. Jake is the perfect romance hero: good-looking and confident. I also enjoyed the sense of family and commitment from Graceann and her entire family. 

I do wish there had been a little more development into both Graceann and Jake. I feel like there is more to them and wish that there had been more time given to show their inner character. For example, Graceann repeatedly points out how "tough" she is and capable of taking care of herself. While she can certainly support herself, Jake repeatedly tells her how sweet she is. I felt like she was more guarded of her heart and falling love than tough and not needing a man. I don't want to spoil the ending for you .... I know there is usually debate about the groveling that the hero must do and Jake comes through in such a great way at the end. Being a formulaic romance, the happy ever after is guaranteed, but I did not predict it playing out as it did. Marsi definitely threw in a twist! It was so satisfying in fact that I wasn't quickly turning the page for an epilogue (although there is one).

Two of Graceann's friends, Kate and Zach are mentioned very briefly in the book (her family actually are the main secondary characters) and Marsi almost (fingers-crossed) sets up that there may be a story between these two in the Epilogue. I would certainly look forward to reading that book. 

I would recommend this book to those who enjoy sweet, quick-to-read romances, especially those stories set during the magic of the Christmas season.

I gave this book: ★★★

★ = I did not like it     ★★ = It was okay     ★★★ = I liked it     ★★★★ = I really liked it     ★★★★★ = I loved it