Sunday 28 December 2014

Review: Knitting in the Nordic Tradition by Vibeke Lind

Before I took a closer look at Knitting in the Nordic Tradition, I thought that I was going to be checking out a book that would offer patterns on how to knit Nordic styled items, but the book was more than that.  The author offered a bit of a historical look into Nordic knitting traditions, and included photographs of samples of knitted items that were discussed.  According to the introduction written by Vibeke Lind, the author of Knitting in the Nordic Tradition, the purpose of the book is, "not to give the reader the patterns themselves, but rather to suggest how one can use the models, changing them according to the individual needs and the dictates of fashion...they should be an inspiration to independent judgement of old ideas."

Indeed, examples of Icelandic sweaters, Norwegian louse coats, Norwegian mittens, fulled sweaters from the Faroe Islands are presented in the book.  Patterns and charts are offered for some of the items that appear, but they come across as general recipes for creating the knitted items, instead of detailed patterns that will allow the reader to recreate those items exactly as they appear in the book.  If knitters are looking for those aforementioned detailed patterns such as the ones that appear in many contemporary knitting magazines and many other knitting books, they will not find them in Knitting in the Nordic Tradition.  Vibeke does provide schematics for creating items with diagrams that include measurements, and the charts for some folk motifs, such as the prehistoric Sunwheel symbol (which might not be comfortable for some), Selbu Star, Sheep's Path, and Sea-Wave, are provided, but it is left to the reader to decide how these motifs will appear on any of these knitted items.  Generally a lot of decision making in the construction of many of these items is left to the discretion of the knitter.  For example, knitters will need to select  their own yarn, decide on how many stitches to cast on, and determine how many rows to knit to get to an appropriate length for the item.  The gain is that they will get finished items that are very specifically customized for their own purposes. 

The book does cover the basics of knitting; the author runs through a quick discussion about wool, the knit and purl stitches, charts, colourwork, openwork, casting on, casting off, steeking, care of knits, and fulling.  Besides Icelandic sweaters, louse coats, and mittens, the book also discusses the construction of hats (referred to as caps in the text), socks (referred to as stockings), and shawls.  In addition to the black and white historical photos, there are colour photographs of knitted items that were contemporary to the early 1980s.

Knitting in the Nordic Tradition was originally published in 1981 under the title, Strik med Nordisk Tradition, by Vibeke Lind and Host & Sons Forlag.  It was translated from Danish into English by Annette Allen Jensen and this version was published by Lark Books in 1984, and then by Sterling Publishing Co. Inc., in 1998.  The version that I looked at was published by Dover Publications in arrangement with Sterling Publishing and was released in 2014.  The reason why I just wrote about the history of the publication of this book, is because it is a re-release of the English translation, and is not an updated edition, as hinted before by the mention of the photos from the 1980s. 

Also, although the translation into English from Danish was quite well done, I found that some vocabulary didn't match what is commonly used in English speaking circles.  For instance, in the section about casting on, the casting on method that is called, "One Needle Casting On," is actually commonly known as the Longtail Cast-On, and the method called, "School Casting On," is known as the Knit Cast-On.*  In the casting off section, the method called, "Knit Casting Off," is what we would call the Three Needle Bind-Off. 

Despite these things, I found that Knitting in the Nordic Tradition to be an educational book to read.  Until I saw the diagram of a series of regular straight needles with knobs at the end (not double pointed needles or dpns) being used to hold a large number of stitches, I had never considered that as a possible alternative to using a long circular needle to knit an afghan.   Also, it was rather thought provoking to consider knitting from a sewing pattern, a suggestion that the author makes, although the reader is cautioned to knit short of the seamline because of the knit work's elasticity.  However, the big challenge presented by this book is the encouragement to step out and try one of the pattern recipes and customize a Nordic knit into something that fits the wearer today.  Athough Knitting in the Nordic Tradition contains information that would be interesting for a beginning knitter to study and learn, the material would likely be more likely to be tried out and utilized by a knitter at the intermediate level or higher. 


Disclaimer:  I was given an e-copy of Knitting in the Nordic Tradition from Net Galley in exchange for a review.  All opinions stated in this review are mine.

*Edited on March 19, 2020 - Originally, I wrote that the "School Casting On Method," was what is commonly known as the "Cable Cast On," but I just learned today that what I've been calling the "Cable Cast On" is actually the "Knit Cast On."  Wow.  All those knitting projects in which I didn't actually use the cable casting on method....  :)

Tuesday 16 December 2014

Review: Her Montana Cowboy by Valerie Hansen

A few years ago, Harlequin's Love Inspired line started running multi-month continuities.  For its regular line, the continuity would run from July to December, and for the Love Inspired Suspense line, the continuity would run from January to June.  There is usually one book that is published each month for the continuity, resulting in six episodes.  A mystery is also spread out throughout the books, which is resolved in the final installment.  In the meantime, a person following the continuity will read about the romances of six different couples, where each couple is featured in their own book/episode.  The most recent offering for the regular line is titled "Big Sky Centennial," which is based on the hundredth year celebrations of Jasper Gulch, Montana.  

Harlequin offered a sneak peek into the series by offering a free novella for Kindle, titled, "Montana Reunion," which is also written by Valerie Hansen, the author of the first book in the Big Sky Centennial continuity.  It has been on Amazon since July, and is likely a marketing tool for attracting attention for the series.  I am wondering if its status will change by the end of the year, because this is the last month for the continuity.

When I first saw the Kindle offering, I thought that Harlequin was actually offering the first book of the series online, so when I was at Walmart in August checking out the Love Inspired titles, I was puzzled about the cover for, "Her Montana Cowboy," which was July's offering.   I knew that there were two people on the cover for, "Montana Reunion," but there was only one extremely handsome cowboy on the book that I was staring at in the store.  After checking on Wifi, I realized that they were two entirely separate books, both written by Valerie Hansen.  Walmart had just brought back its marketing tool of buying three Harlequin books for $15, versus $6.75 for one (yes, we have higher prices in Canada), and besides having "Her Montana Cowboy," on the shelf, there was also August's "Her Montana Sweetheart," (the second installment) by Ruth Logan Herne available.  That was the moment when I decided that I would swallow the bait and start buying the books for the continuity.   That impulsive decision to buy three books at once was helped along by the fact that I was going to be stranded on a campground with no transportation for the following six days.   The funny thing is that I actually read the third book which was unrelated to the series while I was stuck on the campground, and did not get around reading any of the Big Sky books until much later.  In fact, I just finished reading, "Her Montana Cowboy," a few days ago. 

The handsome cowboy on the cover of "Her Montana Cowboy," is Ryan Travers, a rodeo star who breezing through the circuit as it passes through Jasper Gulch just in time for the start of Big Sky's Centennial.  He connects with Julie Shaw, a sheep farmer in the middle of cattle country.  Her business is growing, but it is still rather small; she relies on the good graces that are extended towards her by her influential father, Jackson Shaw, a ranch owner who also happens to be the mayor of Jasper Gulch.  Daddy wants to see all his children married and settled nearby; he has been trying to match Julie up with a well-to-do banker who doesn't spark her interest.  Mayor Shaw is less than impressed with the itinerant cowboy who doesn't have any roots to speak of.  Even Julie has her qualms about Ryan; although she recognizes the attraction between them, Ryan has turned away from God due to a crisis in his past, and she knows that she cannot go forward in a relationship with him when he doesn't hold much stock in believing in God.  However, the light that Julie brings into Ryan's life is so attractive.  The two of them can't seem to keep away from each other, even though Ryan has every intention to just keep things light and friendly so that there will be no hard feelings when he is ready to leave Jasper Gulch in a matter of weeks.  Will Ryan come back to God, and if he does, will he and Julie be able to make a relationship work, even though he is a travelling rodeo star?

In general, I find the Love Inspired books to be fairly light reads; I can finish them in about two hours, and they don't often inspire a lot of deep thought, but I wanted to comment about this particular book, because I found it to be a little bit different than the other books that I have read that were written by Valerie Hansen.  Most of the time, even though her Love Inspired titles are written with Christian characters, I have found her stories, to be just exactly that:  romances with Christian characters whose conflicts are centered on whether the couple in question will get together or not.  That is what I found happened in, "Montana Reunion."  However, in "Her Montana Cowboy," I was a bit more engaged in the faith conflicts that the characters experienced.  Maybe this is just because of the nature of this particular plot.  In this case, a serious believer realizes that she cannot be yoked to an unbeliever/backslider even though she is sliding into a relationship with him, and the backslider realizes that God is real and truly cares about him, and is not as distant as he thinks.

I liked the difference that I found in this particular novel as compared to what had happened in an earlier novel of Ms. Hansen's titled, "The Hamilton Heir."  In that novel, the hero is also a backslider, but his faith status is still unresolved and remains static by the end of novel.  The couple gets together and even discusses marriage, but we don't know for certain if he has come back to God, or if he is just starting to believe.  However, that novel was released over seven years ago, and in general, I've noticed changes in the content of what appears in the Love Inspired books since then.  There seems to be more of a trend towards an active practice of Christianity in the characters lives, as opposed to a cultural one, in which the tenets of the Christian faith might not necessarily be translated into active practice in the characters.  This is an improvement that I've appreciated over the years of reading from the Love Inspired lines. 

I'll close off by mentioning that the mystery that appears in the Big Sky Centennial series involves a missing time capsule that was supposed to have been opened at the town's big celebration at the start of the summer.  I'm guessing that the rest of the series will build upon this mystery about why the time capsule was stolen and by whom. 

July   Montana Reunion (prequel)
           Her Montana Cowboy  (1)
Aug.   His Montana Sweetheart (2)
Sept.  Her Montana Twins (3)
Oct.    His Montana Bride (4)
Nov.   His Montana Homecoming (5)
Dec.   Her Montana Christmas (6)


Thursday 27 November 2014

Review: Right Color, Wrong Culture: A Leadership Fable by Bryan Loritts

Right Color, Wrong Culture:  A Leadership Fable, by Bryan Loritts is a bit of an unusual book.  It is published by Moody, and its topic is about how to select church staff for multiethnic ministry.  However, instead of presenting his material in an expository manner, Mr. Loritts has written the book in a narrative style, and it reads like a novella.  The approach works, because it allows the reader to hear and view the thoughts and concerns of all the important characters that appear in this fable.  It also allows the reader to learn about what Mr. Loritts has to say about multiethnic ministry at the same time as the characters in the story. 

The story is about Peter Williams, a consultant for a firm that seeks to develop multiethnic ministry in churches.  He is recruited by a former mentor, Gary, who wishes to change the status quo at the church that he is presently working at.  Gary Kirkland, a senior pastor, wishes to stop the migration of Poplar Bible Church and its Christian Academy from leaving the neighbourhood which is becoming less white, and more African-American in its makeup.  Poplar Bible Church is primarily a white church and its leadership wishes to move to where their "constituency" is.  Gary wishes to remain in the present neighbourhood and develop a multiethnic congregation, but he will need an African-American pastor who will be able to connect with the African-American community surrounding the church. 

As the story unfolds, Peter advises the selection committee on how to recognize the best candidate who will meet the church's need.  He explains that, "within every ethnicity exists at least three cultures," which he simply labels as C1, C2, and C3.  The C1 group is made up of people who have assimilated into another ethnic group or culture.  The C3 group is made up of people who refuse to adjust or assimilate within other ethnic groups or cultures.  The C2 group is made up of people who are "culturally flexible and adaptable without becoming ethnically ambiguous or hostile."  As the selection board interviews each successive candidate who are all African-American, Peter tries to point out how the committee may recognize clues as to which culture the candidate belongs to.  The committee realizes that they will need to hire someone who belongs to the C2 group and that it would be in their best interest to do so if they wish for this endeavor to be a success.  By the time Peter is done with them, they recognize that they need someone who has experience in crossing cultures which would be reflected in the candidate's schooling, work, and friendships, etc. 

I won't tell you who ended up being the person that they hired for the job, but let me tell you that it surprised me, and it also surprised the selection committee. 

I have summarized the three cultures, but this doesn't do justice to the explanations of what exactly these three cultures are.  In fact, it was a bit eye opening to realize that at times, I can be quite a C1 person, and in some other contexts, I could be quite the C3 type.  This book definitely challenges me to become a C2 type of person.   

I appreciated the biblical exposition that was provided within the context of the fable.   Mr. Loritts draws from the life of Jesus and the training that He gave to His disciples while He was still on the earth.  He also discusses the experiences of the disciple, Peter, and how Jesus used him to open up the Gospel to the Gentiles.  He also presents the life of Paul, the man who tried to become all things to all people so that by all possible means he could draw others to Christ (1 Cor. 9:22).

Mr. Loritts included statistics from recent sociological studies that reveal that in the United States, there are more than three hundred thousand places of worship, not just including Christianity, but of every faith, such as Muslim, Mormon, Buddhist, etc.  Out of these, only 7.5 %  is multiethnic.  However, within the Christian church, the number falls down to 2.5 %.  Since I am Canadian, I wonder how similar the statistics would be for Canada.  I wonder what the statistics would look worldwide, in different countries, particularly those that are home to people of numerous ethnic backgrounds. 

I definitely recommend reading this book, even if you are not involved in searching for pastoral candidates for a ministry.  The ideas that Mr. Loritts presents are challenging my worldview of what the church of Christ could look like, and I think that what he is saying is true.  Canadians love to use the word, "multicultural," and the city that I live in is home to people of many different ethnic backgrounds.  The world is now at our doorstep, and the mission field is now here in our own homeland.  If we do not open our doors to the people who are already here, there is the danger that the church in North America could miss the opportunity that is just staring at us in our faces.




 


Tuesday 25 November 2014

Review: The Healer's Touch by Lori Copeland

The Healer's Touch, by Lori Copeland, is a western historical romance involving Lyric Bolton, the aforementioned healer in the title of the book, and Ian Cawley, a U.S. Marshal who becomes a wounded amnesiac after his horse crashes into a barn on the Bolton farm while he is trying to apprehend a criminal.  Ian has no identification on his person since he lost his wallet during an earlier scuffle in pursuing his quarry.  Unfortunately for him, Lyric and her sister, Lark, suspect that he is a criminal himself, belonging to the Younger Gang and are determined to turn him over to their local sheriff in order to claim the reward for capturing a Younger. Because of the abysmal weather conditions, the sisters must ironically shelter and care for Ian, whom Lyric has renamed as Joseph, until the sheriff can make it to their farm in order arrest Ian and hang him for his supposed crimes.  As Lyric and Ian spend more time together while she tends to his wounds, they fall in love.  Will Ian regain his memory before he faces the hangman's noose?

Ian is a likeable character. I had to smirk at his thoughts as his body meets up with the barn:   "I'm going to sell that miserable horse if it's the last thing I do." I don't mean to be laughing at the injuries that he is about to suffer, but I thought that it was a humourous thing that he was thinking of instead.  If I were him, I would have probably been fearful that I was going to be taking my last breath instead and my thoughts would have reflected that.  Anyways, throughout the story, his thoughts, words, and actions reveal that he is a believing man who is more likely to be a good citizen rather than a hardened criminal.

Lyric is a young woman who had to assume adult responsibilities too early in her youth.  She doesn't recall any knowledge of her father, and had to care for  both her mother and sister since she was about seven years old.  On top of that, because her mother's illness is of the mental kind, the family has been treated as social pariahs.  Now that Mrs. Bolton's health is starting to fail, Lyric is waiting for their mother to pass on, and then the two sisters will leave the area and move away to a new place.  Lyric hopes to  make a new start where they will be accepted instead of shunned.

There is also another significant character in the novel, and that is the Spooklight, which, according to Lori Copeland, is based upon a real phenomenon in Missouri.  I haven't done a lot of research into the Spooklight, so I don't want to comment much about the real phenomenon beyond the idea that this seems to touch on a sort of supernatural spiritism that gives me the creeps and heebee jeebies.  In the book, many of the characters feel in a similar way, and this Spooklight, which seems to act as an impish and mischievious will o'wisp, appears quite frequently near the Bolton Farm.  This has added more social stigma to the sisters who are already shouldering public ostracization in response to their mother's mental health.  The Spooklight plays an important part in bringing Lyric and Ian together, because it is the thing that frightens Ian's horse into its mad dash into the barn door.  Ms. Copeland doesn't directly confirm what the Spooklight is in this story, but she strongly hints that it could be an angel for this book.  Regardless of what it actually is, it seems to be a sentient being in the novel, frightening some, acting as a nuisance to others, and giving comfort to one of the major characters.  Because it hasn't been overtly identified as an angel of God, I must confess that the character of the Spooklight is not a comfortable idea for me.

If you are interested in a western historical romance with a touch of the supernatural in it, this might be a book to look into.

Disclaimer:  I was provided with an e-copy of The Healer's Touch from Netgalley in exchange for a review.    All opinions stated in this review are mine.



Wednesday 5 November 2014

Review: The Forfeit by Py Russell-Heath

The Forfeit, by Py Russell-Heath, is a regency that I found off the freebie list at Amazon.  Yes, I'm still in my freebie hunt mode. Plus, on top of that, it was a regency.  I just couldn't resist.  I also loved the fact that on her author page, Ms. Russell-Heath posted a photo of herself decked out in regency garb.  I want my own gown now.  Actually, now that I think of it, if I could get the special man in my life into a frock coat, I think that I'd be pretty estatic, but I'm digressing from the purpose of this blog entry, which is to discuss The Forfeit.

The hero in this story is a stuffy earl, Lord Edmund Spanton, the Earl of Merton, who forgets himself when he crashes into the heroine, the Honorable Miss Regina Carbury, on a staircase at The Withered Rose Inn.  Both are not in their finest frames of mind; Regina is furious with getting knocked over and proceeds to verbally flay Edmund with her words, while Edmund, who is en route to London after an aggravating visit with his sister, responds with boorish behaviour in the face of what he perceives as an attack by still yet another criticizing female.  When Regina tries to pass by him, he refuses to budge unless she pays him a forfeit, which is, of course, a kiss.  Regina leans over to kiss him on the cheek, but sneaky man that he is, Edmund places his lips in the way, and "...her face reflected the surprise that he felt."  I thought that this line was rather Austen-like...it reminded me of the verbal spat between Darcy and Elizabeth when discussing Wickham, or of the meeting between Elizabeth and Darcy at Pemberley, or even when E and D reconciled their differences on their walk to Oakham Mount.   

At this point in the story, neither person knows the identity of the other, and leaves the inn with a bit of shame over their own behaviour, relieved that they will likely not ever see each other again.  That is the case, until they meet at a ball in London when they find out that Edmund is a dear friend of Regina's aunt and uncle with whom she is staying.  Awkwardness abounds.  Edmund is taken so much by surprise that he ends up giving Regina the cut direct unintentionally, which creates a problem for him in his relationship with Regina's aunt and uncle.  He tries to rectify this error by taking Regina out riding the next day, and Regina and he apologize to each other for their abominable behaviour.  However, Edmund becomes stiff and remote by the end of this outing when he realizes that too much attention has been drawn towards Regina and himself that he fears that talk would circulate about a relationship between them.  Regina, realizing that Edmund is not interested in having society gossip about them being together, regrets her behaviour, but stands firm in her resolve to not presume on the earl's acquaintance.  However, she does admit that he is an attractive man.

Regina is in London to find a husband so that she will not inconvenience her brother or his future wife.  Edmund is also on the marriage hunt, trying to look for a wife who will meet the Three B's:  breeding, bearing, and behaviour.  However, neither is on each other's list initially, until it becomes apparent that no other candidate will do except for the person who each had met at The Withered Rose Inn.

I found this novel to be populated with nice people.  It was rather refreshing.  There wasn't much by the way of catty or mean behaviour by many of the characters in this novel, with a few exceptions: Mrs. Tifton, a social climber, Lady Bremond, the diamond of first water who is the frontrunner for the position of being Edmund's countess, and Lord Linley, a marquis who makes some rather unwelcome advances towards Regina.  Other than that, many of the characters appeared to be self sacrificing, willing to do the right and honorable thing, and in some cases, even at the expense of their own personal happiness.  However, Regina was the one who was the one who exemplified this type of behaviour the most in this story.

The Forfeit had its funny moments too. For starters, there were Regina's responses to all the marriage offers that started coming her way once the three top contenders for her hand were refused.  I also found it a bit funny when Edmund's good friend, Lord Matthew Warton, Viscount Neal, decided to throw in his hat and propose to Regina to stir up Edmund's jealousy. Ah, dear Matthew...such a cheeky fellow.

Another funny moment was when Regina realized that the house party that she was attending would have seven unmarried men, most of whom were earls, one of whom might try to offer for her if only to see if he might succeed where a viscount could not.  Why is the girl panicking?  Really, I don't think that I would have if I were in her shoes. 

Finally, there was the time when Edmund persuaded Regina to read through his updated list of requirements for the Countess of Merton.  Edmund was trying to argue that she had the appropriate breeding and bearing, but I had to laugh at the history of how Regina's forefather gained his title. I also found it humourous that he said to overlook the behaviour section.       

I did fear that the novel was going to drag on a bit after Regina's refusal of her second suitor.  The first two refusals took a bit of time in the plot, but the third and subsequent refusals were dealt with quite quickly and the pace picked up.  I did want to rattle Edmund's shoulders for not realizing his feelings for Regina.

The novel was clean, witty at points, and enjoyable to read.  I wanted to find out how it ended. From Ms. Russell-Heath's author page, it appears that she may have another couple of novels in the works.  I hope that Matthew Warton's story will be one of those.








Wednesday 15 October 2014

Review: Trading Secrets by Melody Carlson

This review is filled with spoilers in a fairly detailed summary and in my reflections upon reading the novel.
 

Trading Secrets, a young adult novel by Melody Carlson, is the story about Micah Knight, a seventeen year old, and Zach Miller, who have been penpals since they were both eleven.  Zach is Amish, while Micah has grown up in a modern, contemporary "English" (non-Amish) community.  However, the penpals have shared many things with each other over many letters, and Micah is grateful for Zach's friendship especially with the latter helping the former in matters of faith and through some dark times, especially when Micah's mother died. 

However, with spring break approaching, Zach writes and asks if he could visit and stay with Micah's family.  This presents a huge problem for Micah, because Zach has been completely unaware throughout their correspondence that Micah is actually a girl.  The book presents a plausible reason for this; our protagonists became penpals through a letter writing exchange between an Amish class and English class; however, Zach's teacher removed the photographs that had been attached to the letters from the English class.  With Micah's unusual name, it was not surprising that Zach assumed that Micah was a boy.  For all these years, Micah has not corrected him from that assumption, because of her fear that he would stop corresponding with her.

Micah wins a bit of a reprieve when Zach writes again, and informs her that his father requires his help to work on the family farm.  Since he cannot visit her, would she like to visit him on the farm and help him with the spring planting instead?

At this point in the novel, I could hear myself telling Micah to just not do it, but our intrepid teenage girl does!  She also visits Zach's family disguised as a boy, but that subterfuge does not last for very long.  On the very first day of the visit, after Zach's father conducts a devotional on the importance of honesty from the book of Proverbs, Micah reveals herself to be a girl, stating that she did so in order to meet Zach, because it was something that she had wanted to do for such a long time.  Zach does not handle this revelation very well; he is furious with Micah and tells her to leave. 

After revealing her secret, Micah tries to hop on the bus to return home, but due to circumstances, is not able to leave immediately, and is persuaded by one of Zach's sisters to stay with the Miller family until she can find her way home.

The rest of Micah's stay is like the reverse of watching "Amish in the City," the reality television show that depicts Amish youth experiencing rumspringa in an urban setting.   In Micah's case, she is now immersed in the Amish lifestyle.  Unfortunately, she does not find a friend with Mrs. Miller, Zach's mother, and is made to feel inadequate by Rachel Yoder, an Amish girl who hopes to catch Zach's eye.  Since Micah does not feel welcome in the Miller's house, she goes to help Zach and his father outside with the farm work.  As the days pass, she is able to mend bridges with Zach and eventually wins over Zach's father's respect for her willingness to do hard work.  Micah also learns that Zach's heart is not in working on the family farm; he loves working with and caring for animals instead.  Zach is also struggling with his family's expectations for him; they expect him to help with the farm and also to marry Rachel, but he doesn't have the desire to do either of these things.

Micah is finally able to leave Zach's community when her father, a pilot, comes by in his plane to take her home.  However, Zach also leaves with them, but realizes after a few days in the English world, that it would be difficult for an Amish person to survive there with limited skills and education.  However, during this time, he meets Micah's Uncle Brad, a veterinarian.  He returns home to his family for a season, but eventually returns to the English world, with the help of Micah's uncle, so that he can pursue his dream of becoming a vet.

Here's where I confess that I read this novel from the perspective of a mother who worries a bit about her children's safety especially if they would be staying overnight for a week at some stranger's place.  I probably wouldn't have allowed Micah to go alone on such a trip without having some previous personal contact with the family that she would stay with or without knowing that this family was screened in some sort of official capacity by an authority that I could trust.  But of course, in this story, Micah does not have a mother, and Micah's father seems to be a lot more relaxed about the whole matter with Micah visiting Zach than I would have personally felt comfortable with, even though Micah is 17 and already in her senior year of high school.  

I was also cringing at how Micah ended up stranded in Zach's community for the week, as she first missed the bus because she arrived too late for a return trip on that first day, and also when she ran out of funds later on and could not purchase the bus fare home.  She needed to wait until her father could fly out to pick her up, which took several days.  This is a bit foreign to my own experience of growing up. If I were Micah, at that age, my parents would have made sure that there were already contingency plans in place either to wire money or to retrieve me as quickly as possible should the need arise.  They would have definitely been more accessible for emergency contact than how Mr. Knight appeared in this story.

Having said that, I did think that it was still completely plausible for the plot to unfold as it did in Trading Secrets.  I could see and imagine a gutsy 17 year old acting as Micah did to fulfil her desire in meeting a boy that she had a crush on.  Micah's voice and thoughts sounded youthful, immature and impulsive enough to go ahead and carry out her plans even though the decision making and execution of those plans were a bit questionable. She is mature enough to realize that she is not in love with Zach, and I would say that this novel didn't really seem like much of a romance, even though Zach is pursued by Rachel.  Instead, the focus on the plot turns to the choices that Zach needs to make; will he remain with his Amish community or will he attempt to pursue his own dreams for a different future than the one his family expects for him to have?    

The novel ends with Micah and Zach remaining friends, but I wonder if Ms. Carlson will write a sequel if she hasn't already.  I  would love to find out what happens to Micah and Zach.  Micah seems to have a romantic attraction to Zach that she may not be quite ready to acknowledge, but Zach seems rather clueless to the interest of the females surrounding him.

I enjoyed reading this novel, and would probably consider reading more of Melody Carlson's work.

Disclaimer:  I received a copy of Trading Secrets from NetGalley in exchange for a review.  All opinions stated in this review are mine.


   


 

Wednesday 1 October 2014

Adventures in Wattpad Land

Uh...yes, I fell off the face of the planet for a month.

Where was I?  I was spending time on Wattpad.  I first learned about Wattpad through a newspaper article that appeared in a local paper about two years ago.  It is a free fiction writing site that seems to be mainly populated by teenaged female writers who write a lot of werewolf and vampire stories.  There are also other categories, such as historical, romance, fantasy, horror, fanfiction (lots of One Direction fanfic to be found here), short story, spiritual, science fiction, humor, mystery/thriller, adventure, teen fiction, poetry, and action.

Wattpad has also been fortunate to attach some major names to it.  Margaret Atwood was a collaborator with Wattpad in holding a poetry contest called the "Attys," in 2012.  Harlequin held a contest last year on Wattpad, titled, "So You Think You Can Write," in which several winners had their finished work published by Harlequin.  When Wattpad opened up its chick lit category in 2013, they were able to get Mariam Keyes on board.

Needless to say, Wattpad is filled with a lot of amateur writing, and it shows in a lot of the work that is posted on this site.  However, I have been surprised at some of the maturity in the writing of some of the youths who have posted on the site.  Unfortunately, you have to do a lot of digging to find some of those gems.  It also appears that many of the authors/authoresses post as they write, so depending on when they get around to writing, there could be daily/weekly/monthly/sporadic updates.  There are many stories that get started, and then abandoned. 

As I mentioned before, Wattpad Land seems to be populated by werewolves, vampires, and other dark creatures.  However, the ones who are writing these stories are often young adults who will also read regular teen fiction.  There are many crossover stories that fit under multiple categories.  A story may be categorized under the headings of werewolf/vampire/teen/fanfiction because the plot may include a vampiric One Direction singer who falls in love with a teenage werewolf. (I just made that one up, but wouldn't be surprised it there really was a story on Wattpad with that exact plot.)  There is also fiction there written along the lines of the television show, "Supernatural," based on the two hunters, Sam and Dean Winchester, portrayed by Jared Padelecki and Jensen Ackles respectively.

What does it say to you when there is such a huge fascination with the occult and supernatural combined with teen angst?  To me, this reflects a vacuum, dare I say...a spiritual vacuum.

This leads to what I really wanted to write about in this blog entry:  if you are a Christian writer/author, or an aspiring Christian writer, please consider posting something on Wattpad.  You don't have to crack into the supernatural world of werewolves and vampires (although I did run across one writer who attempted to write about Christian vampires).  You don't even need to label it under the "spiritual" category either if you are not led to do so.

It's just that it would be nice to have something available on Wattpad to read in which people actually make decisions based on having one's identity firmly grounded in Christ.  There have been so many stories posted on Wattpad, but very few that would qualify as Christian fiction.

There are some problems with posting on Wattpad.  One of these is plagiarism.  I've seen some previously published print titles uploaded onto the site.  When the "Powers That Be" that operate Wattpad found out, they promptly removed those books.  Some users have stolen stories and posted them on other boards other than Wattpad. One of the winners of the "So You Think You Can Write," contest ended up removing most of her stories from Wattpad because of this.    

There are writers who have been published in print who are offering some of their older stories to get more exposure especially for their current work.  One who is currently doing so at the time of this blog post is Scott Westerfeld.  His novel, "Uglies," has been posted in weekly installments in the past few weeks.  I don't think that he has finished posting, "Uglies," in its entirety yet, so there may be still a few more weeks to go before it is completely up on the boards at Wattpad.  However, I don't know if he will leave the story up there permanently; stories can be removed from Wattpad, as I have previously mentioned.  I wonder if posting "Uglies," on Wattpad has helped his sales for "Afterworlds," his latest release.  He is certainly posting, "Uglies," where his target market is. 

I've seen some writers try to get published after posting their stories on Wattpad.  I actually recognized some of these titles offered on NetGalley and in the Kindle Store on Amazon.

The lovely readers on Wattpad have often left comments on stories that are posted; you might consider what the value of such feedback might be to the aspiring writer.

So, Christian writer, please consider posting on Wattpad, perhaps some drabbles, or chapter samples that you could use to direct your audience to where they can find your work.  I hope to read your work on Wattpad.


Sunday 31 August 2014

What I've been reading lately...my foray into Amazon's Kindle Store

It's been a while since I posted here, but I have been reading a lot.  I'm still in my "free books from Amazon" phase and have been going through a lot of self published books.  Occasionally, there will be books offered that have gone through an established publishing house and will have a print version available, in addition to a Kindle version.  Generally, I feel that these books have been through a more stringent editing process than the self published ones.  Because of this, I find that they are a bit easier to read, and with less grammatical and punctuation errors.  Sometimes not all the errors are caught; I've found that some print books still have mistakes in them.  

I've also found it a curious thing to look at the descriptive blurbs/headings/reviews that are provided on Amazon for these books.  I usually look at the listings under historical and inspirational romance, but sometimes the offerings are rather bizarre, and I wonder how certain titles get listed in a particular category.  For instance, for the past couple of weeks, there has been a "shifter" (werewolf) romance offered under the inspirational category.  I can't explain that one, and I haven't read that particular book to discern a possible reason why it ended up in this category.  However, I have learned that "inspirational" may incorporate a very broad definition of spirituality that does not necessarily limit itself to Christianity or even of any other religion.

I have also observed that what is perceived to be "clean" and "sweet" romances sometimes ends up in the inspirational section, even if there is no form of spirituality mentioned in the book. However, there also seems to be broad definitions of what "clean" and "sweet" may mean.  In some books, it means that there is no mention of sex at all and at the most, only chaste kisses are present.  In others, this definition may include some risque behaviour, ranging from naughty talk, all the way to heavy petting, but no actual sexual intercourse.  For other books, it may mean that there is sexual intercourse, but it is not graphically described.

I have wondered how authors who write Christian romances tackle the issue of sex, and sometimes, on author's websites, they may blog about their writing processes on how they tackle the subject.  I think that some publishing companies may provide guidelines on what is acceptable for them.  I recall looking at Harlequin's Love Inspired guidelines for submissions a few years ago, and they set parameters of what they considered appropriate for that line.

Anyways, a couple of weeks ago, I found two free stories in the Kindle store in the historical category.  When I read the first one (a prequel to the second story), I admired the hero because he pulled a Joseph; the heroine was tempting him and he took off because he didn't want to cross that line.  The hero also prayed, not a lot, but he did about his feelings for the heroine and asked for guidance as to what he should do about them.  There was a little bit of risque activity...I think that at one point, they were a little bit too close physically to each other, and once, the hero got caught in his birthday suit because he was trying to bathe. At the end of the story, he makes a heartfelt declaration to his bride about wanting to enter into marriage with her, but also with the Lord as a partner in their relationship.  He made this speech while presenting her with an object that represented this union of the three of them.  When I considered the theology, I thought that this book could be classified under the edgy Christian romance category.

Then I read the sequel.  It was funny.  I liked the characters.  The author also wove together quite a complicated story that had several threads with the primary one being resolved by the end of the book, and the other to be resolved in a future sequel.  It drew me in.  But, in the story, the heroine found herself in an impossible situation, and in spite of her faith in God, threw herself at a rake and slept with him.  True, she didn't have a lot of descriptive prayers mentioned in the book, and she didn't seem to really turn to Him for help, so maybe her faith was actually borderline nominal, or at best, not very deep.  The sex scene was also descriptive.  Usually, I skip these parts if I run across them, but because I had actually considered writing a full review for this book, I went back and read it in full.  I'm not going to compare it or rank it on a hot/purple prose scale; I'm just mentioning that it's there, for about 2-3 pages.

So I found myself a little shocked when the conclusion of the romance ended with the hero (the rake) giving the heroine that same object that his ancestor had given to his bride, and he also ran through a similar speech about what that object represented.  What surprised me was that this is probably the first time that I've read something that seemed to have appropriate Christian theology (albeit at the very end of the book), but with a gratuitous descriptive sex scene stuck in the middle.  I don't think that it really needed to be there.  What also felt weird about it was that in the aftermath of the physical intimacy, there was not much conflict in the heroine's conscience between herself and God.  The book was a typical regency; it was light, funny, rompy, etc..  When the hero and heroine finally got around to discussing the appropriateness of their actions, it got glossed over very quickly; they admitted that what they did was inappropriate for about two sentences, and that was that.  There wasn't any confession to make things right between them and the Lord.  So, it was sort of weird to think about.  The book was not openly a Christian romance, but it seemed to have appropriate theological undertones; however, the descriptive sex scene would likely make it uncomfortable for a certain audience to read.    

I've read another free Kindle book in which a vicar's daughter gets into a raging affair with the male protagonist, but when you consider the rest of the book as a whole, being a vicar's daughter was a convenient plot device to present the female protagonist as a principled caring person, but in reality, her religious beliefs really didn't define who she was.  However, the novel that I described in the previous paragraph felt different.  It felt like it could have been something more.  Francine Rivers or Julie Lessman are authors who I think have been able to balance romance and passion effectively, although some might still consider their material a bit racy. 

Anyways, I couldn't make up my mind for the past two weeks about whether I would write a complete formal review for those two books, but I wanted to write about what I felt was bizarre about it.  Maybe now I can move on and actually write about something with an actual title attached to it.   

       

Monday 4 August 2014

Review: Crochet Workshop by James Walters

Crochet Workshop by James Walters is a technique reference book that has been republished by Dover.  The original edition was published in 1979 by Sidgwick and Jackson Ltd.  The Dover edition is essentially the same book.  The photographs are likely the same ones that appeared in the original edition, and are therefore dated.   However, the information provided in this book can still be handy for today's crocheter. 

From the introduction alone, one gets the sense that the author is a bit of a free spirit.  Indeed, one of the first photographs shown in the book has him modeling what appears to be crocheted long underwear.  The photograph that I saw was in black and white, but I would guess that the real item was probably quite a colourful outfit. 

The book includes the following:  basic techniques and stitches, understanding how to read patterns, additional crochet techniques that touch on variation of the basic stitches, shaping, adding decorations, introductions to woven crochet, Tunisian crochet, and hairpin crochet, choosing yarns, making up, finishing and after care.  The appendices include a list of terminology (British and American), list of equipment, tables describing hook sizes, terms, abbreviations, and symbols, and  metric/Imperial conversions.  The main text in the book uses British terminology, but as I mentioned above, American equivalents are listed in a chart in one of the appendices.

There are no formal patterns provided to create any particular item, but there are quite descriptive instructions with accompanying diagrams and photographs on how to make various stitches and stitch patterns.  The text is useful in helping a beginner to learn and master the basics of crochet, but it also seems to encourage users to go beyond following patterns in an exact manner, and start to delve into learning how to modify and adapt patterns, and perhaps eventually improvise and create spontaneous designs.  The book is also written in such a folksy, down to earth style that it seems as if the author is conversing informally with the reader. 

In my opinion, this book would make a good addition as a technique reference book in a crocheter's library. 

Disclaimer:  I was given an e-copy of the Crochet Workshop by NetGalley in exchange for a review.  All opinions stated in this review are my own.




Sunday 27 July 2014

Review: Sealed With a Kiss: Inspy Kisses Collection #2 by various authors (Tronstad, Daley, Tang, Williams)

Sealed With a Kiss:  Inspy Kisses Collection #2 is an anthology which has an author line up of Janet Tronstad, Margaret Daley, Camy Tang, and Lacy Williams.  This collection of romantic novellas is released by Aspendawn Books, with one historical western, two contemporary suspense stories, and one contemporary story.

1)  Mail Order Sunshine Bride by Janet Tronstad
This historical western is set in Miles City, Montana Territory, in 1886.  Eleanor (Nellie) O'Reilly has come by rail with her four year old son, Danny, in tow.  Widowed at the age of 24, she seeks a fresh start as a mail order bride.  Instead of meeting her future husband at the station, she is welcomed to Miles City by the local sheriff, Patrick MacDonald.  Because Patrick doesn't immediately reveal why he's there to meet her at the station, Nellie guesses that Elias, her intended has died, but Patrick reassures her that Elias is very much alive, however, the sheriff needs to escort her and her son to the jail.  By the end of the first chapter, we find out that Patrick didn't really want to take up this duty, but did so to handle the quarrel between Elias and a mountain man, Sawtooth Jim.  Elias gambled away Nellie to Sawtooth Jim in a poker game.

Nellie no longer wishes to marry Elias, but wants to repay the train fare which is an astronomical sum to reimburse.  Patrick, upon meeting Nellie and spending time with her, feels protective towards his two new charges, and would be willing to give up money for his own dream of owning cattle for his ranch so that she would be free of her debt.  However, Nellie will not take any charity, not even from Mrs. Lilly, a former soiled dove who gives Nellie an idea on how to repay Elias through respectable means.  Even if Nellie frees herself from Elias, would Patrick be able to win Nellie's heart? She's dead set against a man who uses a gun, but Patrick is the sheriff and a gun is vital and necessary equipment for his line of work.

I enjoyed the dry humour in this novella and I liked Nellie and Patrick.  You get an inkling that Nellie is attracted to Patrick from the first time she sees him; she perceives him to be dangerous and forceful, and is quite unsettled by him.  Elias is sufficiently weasel-like, and Sawtooth Jim, from what little we see of him, is quite a character.   I haven't always been able to get into Janet Tronstad's work in the past, but I found Mail Order Sunshine Bride to be an enjoyable story to read.

2)  Deadly Intent by Margaret Daley
This contemporary romantic suspense novella reunites Sarah Osborn, a Texas Ranger, and Ian O'Leary, a former FBI agent who has returned home to continue running the family ranch after his father had passed on.  Sarah is investigating a series of cattle rustling and is assigned to check out the theft of Ian's prize stallion to see if this has any connection to her case.  Interacting with Ian is awkward for Sarah because of their past; they had been sweethearts while in their teens, but Ian broke up with Sarah rather suddenly.  Fifteen years previously, Ian left Sarah to avenge a friend who had died in a terrorist attack, and threw away a future with Sarah in order to pursue terrorists through his work with the FBI.

As Sarah's investigation progresses, more threats against Ian and his ranch occur.  These seem to indicate that the culprit(s) may not necessarily be the cattle rustlers that Sarah is trying to arrest.  As danger and threats increase against Ian and Sarah, it becomes apparent that they need to investigate all the possible enemies that Ian has made as an FBI agent.  They begin to fall in love with each other again as they face the challenges that unfold in the mystery of who is threatening Ian. 

I thought that Margaret Daley had the story plotted out well.  There was a flashback that was described in Chapter 1 that gave a hint of foreshadowing where the story was going to go.  Things are revealed quite logically and I thought that all the facets and threads of the story were tied together quite nicely by the time the novella reached its conclusion.

3)  Unshakable Pursuit by Camy Tang
The title really matches up with the story.  There was definitely a lot of pursuing in this novella.  The protagonists are Dr. Geoffrey Whelan, whose faith in God has been shaken from his time serving in medical missions aid in Japan after the tsunami, and Nurse Maylin Kinley, who has been hurt emotionally by her family and her ex-boyfriend.  They are warned to run for their lives by a mysterious woman who promptly disappears after she visits them at the medical clinic they both work at.  Shortly after, Geoff and Maylin are threatened by two Asian hitmen who try to abduct them.  Our intrepid twosome have no idea who is pursuing them or the reason why they are being hunted down.  Their only clue is video footage from the clinic's cameras that reveal some hints about the woman's identity. 

There is a rather frantic pace to the story.  While Geoff and Maylin need to take precautions to keep the hitmen from pursuing them, they themselves are also in pursuit of their mysterious angel of mercy who has also gone into hiding because she also fears being hunted down by the same people looking for Geoff and Maylin.  The reader finds out information at the same time our hero and heroine do, and there are a lot of suspenseful moments and situations thrown their way in such a small window of time.  The relationship between our protagonists develop quite quickly too under such intense pressure.   Geoff is forced to examine where his relationship with God has gone and is challenged to simply trust Him to keep him and Maylin safe.  Maylin realizes that she had been disappointed in the past by people who claimed to be Christians, but finds herself drawn to the love for God that Geoff and his family demonstrate in their lives. 

There were moments when the pace and situations of this story had my head spinning over what was happening to our protagonists.  However, I liked that this story touched on the struggles that these characters were having in their faith and how they overcome these challenges in this story.  I liked Necessary Proof  better, another novella written by Camy Tang that appears in First Kisses: Inspy Kisses Collection #1 (reviewed previously on February 27th, 2014), but Unshakable Pursuit was still pretty good.

4)  With Love, Cowboy by Lacy Williams
Ryan Michaels has loved Ashley Reynolds since they were teens.  She has returned home to Redbud Trails, Oklahoma, after being discharged from serving as a marine because of injuries which resulted in her arm being amputated.  She has struggled with her identity for years; after graduating from high school, she discovered that she had been adopted and questioned who she was.  Now with the loss of her arm, she is no longer military and needs to find herself again and figure out what to do with her future.  She's just not certain that she wants to find out those things with Ryan.

Ryan has his work cut out for him.   Ashley has no idea of all the things that he has done to help her parents while she was serving in the military.  He had assumed the position of store manager in order to help keep her parents' business afloat since Ashley's dad developed Alzheimer's.  He cooks meals for her parents' twice a week using the excuse that he needs someone to test his recipes.  He helps her mother in her recovery from a heart attack by transporting her to medical appointments, etc.. He had been writing letters to her since she started with the marines, informing her of all that he had done, but she did not read any of his letters.  As a result, she is under the impression that he is an irresponsible flake and college drop out who is still in a dead end job that he had started when he was in high school. 

In spite of all the good that Ryan has done, Ashley is still suspicious of him, especially when she finds out that he had been the lessee of her parents' farmland and notices that he had been altering information on timecards.  Has Ryan been taking advantage of her parents?  Will she ever read his letters to find out what kind of man he is?  Will she ever accept his love for her and love him in return?

With Love, Cowboy was a nice story.  Ryan is a sweetheart.  How could Ashley not accept Ryan?  On the other hand, Ryan might be trying a little bit too hard to win Ashley's affection and Ashley is a gal who is still a bit mixed up.  I almost wanted to throttle her for not seeing what a great guy Ryan is.  I still enjoyed reading it, though.


Disclaimer:  I was provided with a free e-copy of Sealed With a Kiss from NetGalley in exchange for a review.  All opinions stated in this review are mine.

 

Monday 30 June 2014

Review: Remember Love by Jessica Nelson

A few weeks ago, I inherited someone's cast off Android and he kindly installed a Kindle app on it.  Since then, I've gone a bit gung-ho in seeking free novels on Amazon to read.  Today, on the freebie list, I found, Remember Love, by Jessica Nelson which is part of the series, The Women of Manatee Bay.

The key verse that this novel revolves around is Isaiah 42:3, which says, "A bruised reed shall He not break, and the smoking flax shall He not quench:  He shall bring forth judgment to truth."

Katrina (Kitty) Ross and Alec Monroe have a long history together.  They had been childhood sweethearts, but Kitty stood Alec up at the altar on their wedding day, and Alec left town.  They are reunited ten years later when he roars back to Manatee Bay on his motorcycle.  The former wild boy is now a successful businessman and has returned to open a new business in his hometown, but is also hoping to sniff out information about Kitty.  When he finds out that she is one of the lessees in the building that he is buying, his interest in her picks up again, until he finds out that she had withheld knowledge of the existence of their now deceased son from him.  This has wounded him greatly because Kitty knew that if he had known about their son, he would not have abandoned them.  He had been abandoned by his own father as a child and would not have subjected his own child to the same fate.

Alec vacillates from wanting revenge against Kitty for hurting him in this way, to wanting her to be his wife.  He is also wanting to show the townspeople who had rejected him in the past that he has made something success out of himself.  Kitty, on the other hand, is the obvious bruised reed in this story. She has faced rejection and abandonment all of her life, from a father who walked out on her and her mother, from her mother who was not very loving towards Kitty, and from the deaths of her mother and her son, Joe, in a car accident. Kitty, who had become a Christian shortly after Joe was born, has been struggling with her faith since the deaths of Joe and her mother. Alec has become a believer during the past year, but he's still grappling with desires for vengeance.

Both of them can see that the other has changed greatly since they were youths, and are attracted to what each other has now become.   However, Kitty still has difficulty in trusting Alec, because he won't say aloud whether he loves her or forgives her of what she had done.  Alec is more of a man of action than of words; he doesn't know how to scale the walls around Kitty's heart. There comes a point in the story when the tables are turned; Kitty needs to forgive Alec for withholding information from her if there is any hope of reconciliation between the two of them. 

Much of this novel touches on the issue of forgiveness and the healing that can come when it is given.  There were a lot of people that needed to give forgiveness and a lot of people who needed to receive it in this story.  There was one point in the story that felt a little abrupt, and it was the revelation of the details surrounding the car accident that led to the deaths of Kitty's mother and Joe.  There was a little bit of foreshadowing of this, but I think that I would have liked a couple more hints because it did feel abrupt and sudden to me. However, once that portion of the plot was revealed, it led to quite an important development in the life of a minor character who had been kept hidden until this point, and also to Kitty, because it caused her to realize that it was possible for her to believe that Alec might be able to forgive her. I thought that this part was nicely done.  

I loved the line in which Alec thought that the Lord said to him, "I've made all things new, Son." Just reading that is like breathing in hope.  Alec really needed it at that point too. 

This was a good story. I hope to read more of the Women of Manatee Bay. 
      


Sunday 29 June 2014

Review: Bad Kitty Meets the Baby by Nick Bruel

Today, I was at a relative's home and was ambushed by a small child who said that I had to read, "Bad Kitty Meets the Baby," by Nick Bruel. It is a children's book and is classified as a easy chapter book but it includes illustrations on practically every page.  The book is published by Roaring Brook Press and the edition that I happened to lay my hands on was a Square Fish edition.  My little relative was correct; the book is hilarious.

The story begins with, "In the beginning, there was Kitty."  Yes, I noticed the similarity to the Genesis narrative, but it set quite a funny tone for the book, because the next event to happen to Kitty is the appearance of Puppy into her life.  This leads to traumatic times for our dear little Kitty until she gets used to him.  Then one day, the pet owners go away for a few days, leaving Kitty and Puppy in the care of Uncle Murray.  By the time the owners return, Uncle Murray is a frazzled mess, and the pets are now confronted with what Kitty thinks is the new dog because it drools and reminds her too much of Puppy.  The neighbourhood kitties think that the newcomer is just another kitty. However, what the owners have actually done is that they have adopted a baby into the family.

Because the cats think that the baby is actually a kitty herself, they invite New Kitty to participate in the Pussycat Olympics which consists of events such as the STARE-AT-YOURSELF-IN-A-MIRROR-UNTIL-YOU-GET-BORED and WHO-CAN-CREATE-THE-BIGGEST-STINK competitions. Who will win the Pussycat Olympics?  Will Kitty and New Kitty get over their adversarial roles and become friends?    

As I mentioned before, the book is quite funny.  I laughed at how Uncle Murray's pet sitting week turned out.  Here's a hint: it involves the pets, a tree, a fridge and several calls to the fire department.  Interspersed throughout the book, we can also read Uncle Murray's Fun Facts about how to deal with a cat stuck in a tree.  Near the end of the book is a short appendix of some cat tricks (how to get a cat to come/sit/shake paws/sit up/beg).  An interview with the author and a brief preview of another book in the series, "Bad Kitty for President," are also included. 

This book could probably be placed in the humour section of a bookstore, but that's just my opinion.  I finished this in less than an hour, with interruptions from the little book critic who pointed out some parts of the story that she found funny.  I appreciated the wit that I found in the writing style and must say that I'm now interested in reading the rest of the books in this series even though I'm no longer six or seven years old. 

Saturday 21 June 2014

Review: Never Like This (Revealing Book 2) by Rena Manse

Strong, wealthy, handsome, alpha male with a bad boy past?  Check.

Smart, intelligent, good humoured heroine who has several dark secrets of her own?  Check.

Christian romance?  Check.

Some hot kisses that left me fanning myself?  (Looks around furtively.)  Check.

Never Like This, by Rena Manse is an interracial Christian romance. It is the second book in the Revealing Series, but can be read as a stand alone book. 

Kavin Reigns is the 34 year old Chief Operations Officer of his family's cosmetic and fashion corporation, Revealing, which is primarily situated in America.  He's near the end of negotiations for a takeover of a smaller company in France when the representatives of the other company wish to renegotiate the terms. Kavin meets Sherri Harbor when he asks for her to join the team that arranged the takeover deal because she previously worked as a lawyer in France for five years before joining Revealing to work in its Foreign Relations Department.

They are instantly attracted to each other, but try to mask their interest from each other and from the rest of the world because of the differences in their positions in the company. Unaware of what the other is thinking, they both know that a romantic relationship between a boss and subordinate could potentially be disastrous for their work environment.  Kavin also wants to avoid being accused of sexual harassment.  Sherri views herself as damaged goods because of her past relationships.  However, the takeover deal requires that they work closely with each other, and they eventually reveal their interest to each other.  

There was an incident that happened earlier on in the novel in which Sherri was trapped in an elevator in Kavin's apartment building while she was on her way to deliver paper work to him.  It was used to build the romantic tension between the two of them, but I did get a moment of thinking that it was a bit too contrived and convenient for Kavin to be the shirtless knight in armour that rescues Sherri at that point (he had been exercising in his private gym).  However, if such a thing could happen in real life, one might think and consider that in the background, God could be orchestrating their meetings, contrived as it may appear in the novel. 

As for the interracial aspect of the story, I liked that it seemed to be more important to Kavin that Sherri was a believer. Besides worrying about being accused of sexual harassment, at some point in the story, he wonders if Sherri would ever consider dating a white man and he fears that she would reject him because he's not black.  As for Sherri, it appears that she has always pictured a black man as her Prince Charming, until she meets Kavin. As soon as they learn that their attraction is mutual, they are both open to exploring the possibility of a relationship.  However, as it grows, it seems to be that Kavin is the one who does more of the pursuing and is more open to revealing his secrets in order to win Sherri, than she is to him.  Her reluctance to be transparent with Kavin has less to do with race, and more to do with her woundedness in other areas of her life.

The novel is clean; however, the characters do share a few fervent kisses. Well, maybe they were quite passionate than just simply fervent. 

The characters take their time getting to know each other.  I've read some other reviews in which there were complaints about the length of time it took for the characters to get together, and perhaps the author could have trimmed a bit from the story to tighten it up, but I thought that it was okay.  Also, there are quite a few spelling errors, but I found the couple featured in this story to be extremely likeable.  I enjoyed this book.

Tuesday 10 June 2014

Review: Persy and the Prince by Jane Myers Perrine

Persy and the Prince, by Jane Myers Perrine is being republished by Beyond the Page Publishing.  This novel was originally published by Avalon in 2003. I became interested in reading this because I enjoyed Ms. Perrine's regency, The Mad Herringtons, which was a delightful read. 

When Persy Marsh first meets Jordan Prince, a manager of a chain of upscale hotels, she is acting as a hotel's dog walker at their workplace, trying to prevent a dog from piddling onto Jordan's shoes.  He requests to see her in his office, officially to give her a piece of his mind, but he is so physically attracted to her that he asks her out on a date with dishonourable intentions.  Jordan starts moving too fast, and Persy puts the brakes on.  She admits to Jordan that she is also deeply attracted to him and that she also behaved a bit inappropriately, but didn't mean to carry on as far as she did.

They agree that they shouldn't see each other again, however, in the following days, they can't seem to keep away from each other at the hotel.  Persy seems to wear a few different hats at the hotel and assumes several different jobs there, so they frequently run into each other while she is acting as the housekeeping maid, waitress/server, lifeguard, and casino dealer.  For people who have decided to stay away from each other, they end up kissing each other a fair bit too.

Persy's name comes up in a letter requesting a meeting with the hotel administration about improving safety conditions for hotel employees between the building and the neighbourhood where they live.  This prompts Jordan to discover who and what Persy is: a caring neighbourhood organizer/reformer, educated at Stanford, who has a background in law, and who left the privileged society that Jordan is also a part of.  Persy intrigues and infuriates Jordan at the same time because of the attraction between them, and because she won't defer to his position in society or at the hotel.

As for Persy, she finds her attraction to Jordan to be problematic; she is afraid that he will tempt her to leave the life that she has built for herself since she left her privileged background.  However, her previous life had been a source of unhappiness for her and she loathes the idea of returning to it.

When Persy is attacked on the pathway between the hotel and the section of town where many of the employees live, Jordan begins to spend quality time with her and starts to change, becoming less of a pompous jerk and becoming more conscious of the welfare of his employees.  Eventually, he realizes that he has fallen in love with Persy and desires a life with her, but she is not convinced that he can really love the person that she is now and not want to change her back into the type of person that she was before she got involved with the community that she lives with now.    

Parts of this novel were quite funny.  Persy is a bit of a smart mouth who ends up talking circles around Jordan.  I loved the bit where she was frustrated at her cleaning supply cart which she had christened, "Jordan."  Guess who was standing nearby when she cursed it by name? 

As for sex, there isn't any.  For a believing reader, that may come as a relief, but this is a secular type of novel.  Jordan enters into a relationship with Persy hoping that once he has her body, that he will get her out of his system.  He mentions to her several times that he wants to spend the night with her.  One thing that I had appreciated about him was that he let Persy go in that first date when she refused to go all the way with him.  Although he grows more marriage minded as the plot unfolds, he lets her know repeatedly that he's interested in her sexually, and she has to say no to him a few times.  It isn't mentioned overtly that Persy is a Christian, other than a mention of her Calvinist background.  In the story, as Persy realizes that she needs to make a decision about where she is going to go in her relationship with Jordan, it is implied that this decision will also involve a choice for her to become physically intimate with Jordan.

The book ends quite abruptly.  When I reached the end, I asked myself, "That's it?"  I would like to have known a little more about what happens to Persy and Jordan after the final scene.  They confess their love for each other, but we are left hanging about what will actually happen.  Will they get engaged and married?  We don't actually find out for certain.

I found Persy and the Prince to be just okay.  It's fairly clean, and there were a couple of thought provoking ideas through the challenges that Persy had to face, about waiting to have sex, and about needing to stop trying to please everyone else, and learning to do what is best for one's self.  It was a fairly light read that can be finished in a couple of hours. 


Disclaimer:  I received an e-copy of Persy and the Prince from NetGalley in exchange for a review.  All opinions stated in this review are mine.




 

Monday 26 May 2014

Review: The Mad Herringtons by Jane Myers Perrine

The Mad Herringtons, by Jane Myers Perrine, is a regency romance.  It is published electronically by Beyond the Page Publishing.  I think that it had been previously published in 2002 by Avalon, which had been bought out by Amazon.  Anyways, at the present time, Beyond the Page is selling the Kindle version for about $2.99 US on Amazon.  For the most part, I found the novel to be breezy, funny, and enjoyable to read.  One might describe this as a fun regency romp.  Certainly, it has the feel of chick lit done in regency style. 

Aphrodite Herrington is the sensible and responsible daughter, born into a family whose members all exhibit passionate natures.  They are collectively known to the ton as the Mad Herringtons and include Aphrodite's parents and 12 other siblings.  Her parents have no problem making rather public displays of affection and procreating at such a fast rate and continually increasing their brood (indeed, in this story, there is another on the way). Her sister, Terpsichore, who dresses quite provocatively for regency standards, has established her own townhouse without a chaperone, with their parents' approval.  Her oldest brother, Aeolus, is in Congo, Africa, searching for the source of the Nile based upon his own opinion.  Her younger sister, Athena, is an accomplished flirt, enjoying the company of eligible and ineligible males, particularly in kissing them without thought or concern for her reputation.

Aphrodite is different; she wishes to conduct her life with propriety, without any hint of scandal.  She also desires to be married, but to a husband who is sober, sensible and not prone to frivolity and passion.  She finds herself betrothed to Frederick Horne, who exhibits a similar personality and compatible interests to her own.  However, Frederick's mother is not convinced of Aphrodite's suitability, and so arrangements are made for a house party at Frederick's estate so that Aphrodite has the opportunity to get acquainted with her future mother-in-law.

Included in the house party are Aphrodite's sisters, Terpsichore and Athena, and another brother, Asklepios, who appears at the party under an alias in a scheme to temporarily escape being caught by a magistrate who is looking for the culprit who dug up his daughter's dead dog.  Frederick's cousin, Viscount Thomas Warwick, heir to the Earl of Wharton, is also present to represent his branch of his family.  At least, that's what he is telling himself and others.

Warwick decides that Aphrodite really needs to know what she is getting into if she marries Frederick; she will gain the atrocious Mrs. Horne as her mother-in-law, which would be a fate worse than death.  Really, he's not helping Aphrodite because he can't forget the kiss that he stole from her two years previously, a kiss that he can't get out of his memory. 

We also find out that even though Aphrodite says that she wants the predictable and dependable Frederick, it is the rogish Warwick who catches her eye, but she will not let her heart open to him because she doesn't trust that he would offer marriage to her because of his past dealings with her.

Thrown into the mix is the re-entrance of former suitor of Terpsichore's, Athena's indiscriminate flirting towards the male species, and preparations for a performance of a Midsummer's Night Dream.  Will Aphrodite be able to keep all her siblings from social ruin?  Will she be able to resist Warwick and keep her intentions to marry Frederick?

The novel has a touch of naughtiness in it, but this is expressed by characters other than Aphrodite, who is in all things proper and controlled. For instance, Athena makes reference to to Warwick looking at Aphrodite by saying, "When you weren't aware, he looked at your bosom.  You have a lovely bosom.  I've seen many men notice that," (typical talk from a flighty man-crazy teenager). Terpsichore also makes a couple of outrageous comments about how it would be worth it to be compromised by Warwick should the occasion arise.  Her character appears to live to shock others with her outrageous talk and dress.  However, there isn't really any actual descriptions of sex in this book, other than the implication of something that is to happen between a couple of minor married characters.  By some standards, this novel would probably be considered sweet and clean, but it certainly doesn't match what you would find in a Harlequin Love Inspired novel. 

There was one point in the story where I was a bit confused.  In chapter 1, Aphrodite turns away from the Viscount Warwick, but he is referred to as a Marquis.  At least, I think that the use of the word referred to Warwick, because otherwise, she is turning away from her father, who is known to be a Marquis.  However, she is not dancing with her father; instead, she is dancing with Warwick.The other thing that I found confusing what that Terpsichore had her own townhouse, which I think would be unheard of for a single unmarried woman who would be considered under the protection of her living parents.  However, it is explained in the story that the Marquis and Marchioness had encouraged the whims of their children and permitted Terpsichore to have her own establishment.

I'm not an expert on regencies, but I had a lot of fun reading this, so if there were major historical inaccuracies, I didn't notice them and I don't think that I would have really minded.  This was an enjoyable book.  I wish that there was more to read about the Mad Herringtons.  Maybe Ms. Myers Perrine will write more about this delightful family; after all, there are ten (eleven!) other members that we haven't met yet!

Disclaimer:  A free e-copy of The Mad Herringtons was provided by Net Galley in exchange for a review.  All opinions stated in this review are mine. 






Sunday 11 May 2014

Vogue Knitting Crochet 2014 Issue

I didn't mean for this blog to become focused on crafting, but I just received a copy of the latest Vogue Knitting Crochet (2014). I'm absolute newbie when it comes to crochet. As I mentioned in a previous post, when it comes to crocheting, my tension is rather limp and loose, so I don't think that I have much hope of actually being able to crochet some of the samples that are included in this magazine.

The crochet issue follows a similar format to Vogue Knitting's knitting issues:  there are a "hot picks" page filled with trendy knit/crochet accessories, a featured yarn page, news from the crochet world, a special section titled, "World," in which the crochet arts from various parts of the world are featured, a featured local yarn store (LYS), and a book review section.  There are also a couple articles, including one on scallops and swags (edgings), another on shaping, and one on Ashley Blalock's Keeping Up Appearances art installation.

Next is the photograph section which features the designs.  The pattern instructions follow after.  This magazine includes about 29 patterns.  I want to make the Mock Hairpin Wrap, the Tank Dress that is also featured on the cover, a Missoni-Inspired Shift Dress, and a Double Ladder Wrap.  There is, of course, a granny square throw design by Kaffe Fassett, but it really looks good.

On the last page are charts for conversion between US/UK/Aus terminology, standard yarn weights, and crochet hook sizes.  Also included are a short glossary and an abbreviations table. On another page is a key for the crochet symbols used for all the charts included in the magazine.

On glancing through the magazine's rating system for difficulty, I would say that most of the patterns are at an intermediate and experienced/advanced level and recommend lace or superfine yarn for materials. There are a few that use heavier weights, such as the Kaffe Fassett throw.  One pattern has a series of photographs provided showing various stages of progress in the construction of the item and close-ups to see the detail.  Unfortunately, it is only for one item.

Vogue Knitting usually has a 360 degree gallery on their website (www.vogueknitting.com) in which you can see the designs on a model who turns around in a circle.  This feature is supposedly provided for this Crochet issue too, but I haven't previewed it for myself yet. 

Unlike some other crochet magazines, there are no diagrams provided demonstrating how to crochet and make various crochet stitches.  I don't believe that this is a magazine for beginners, but it is certainly filled with a lot of eye candy demonstrating what could be possibly done with crochet. 

As for the patterns themselves, they appear to be detailed enough, and there are diagrams, specs, and charts provided.  Vogue Knitting also provides errata for their patterns on their website if there are errors.

I like this magazine.  It may actually inspire me to crochet something.

Tuesday 22 April 2014

Review: The Husband Campaign by Regina Scott

The Husband Campaign, by Regina Scott, was released by Harlequin's Love Inspired Historical line.  It is the third and final book of the Master Matchmakers series which is set in Regency England.  The idea linking together the books in this trilogy is that the servants of several neighbouring noble houses are conspiring to find romantic matches for their aristocratic masters. In spite of this book being the final part of a trilogy, it can be read as a stand alone novel.  

In The Husband Campaign, the aristocrats in question are John, Lord Hascot, and Lady Amelia, daughter of the Marquess of Wesworth.  They find themselves coerced into a marriage of convenience to prevent scandal after John finds Lady Amelia taking shelter in an abandoned stable on his property. Neither wishes to marry each other as they are virtually strangers; Amelia wishes to marry for love, while John had previously been burned in love when the woman whom he loved married his brother instead.  John is finished with society now, preferring the company of his horses, even refusing to sell them if he perceives that the prospective client would make a poor master to his animals.

Two of the servants who have supporting roles in this story are Marcus Fletcher, John's veterinarian, who assists him in running his horse breeding farm, and Dorcas Turner, the lady's maid that John hires to wait on Amelia.  Turner ends up being an advocate for Amelia, helping Amelia's efforts to establish herself as the lady of the house, and in Amelia's campaign to win her husband's love when Amelia realizes that she wants more than what she and John initially agreed to when they first entered into marriage.  Fletcher tries to help John realize that Amelia should be more precious to him than the horses that he owns.

Things are moving swimmingly along, until John's ex-love, now a widow, enters their lives. Also complicating the situation is the arrival of Amelia's father, a man who has never shown affection or approval towards Amelia.  He is especially concerned about John's refusal to sell his horses to certain members of society, and threatens to take Amelia away if John does not meet the Marquess' expectations of providing for Amelia's social standing and protecting her reputation from scandal.  Will Amelia and John be able to make their marriage succeed in the face of these obstacles?

I enjoyed reading this story.  For a man who is uncomfortable with  talking to women, John can be quite effective in getting his point across, especially by the end of book.  He reminded me a little of Fitzwilliam Darcy, with his standoffish behaviour towards others, preference for the country, and also from the wording in a letter to Amelia.  You'll know what I mean when you run across it in the book.


I also enjoyed how the lead characters acknowledged the Lord in this book, through their foxhole prayers. There were also a few concluding paragraphs giving us news about the two other couples from the other two books of the trilogy.  I only wish that we could have heard about the story of how the Duke of Bellington (an extremely minor character who we never actually meet throughout the series) meets his bride, but perhaps that story might turn up in one of Ms. Scott's future stories. This was a nice end to the Master Matchmakers.      





 








Sunday 20 April 2014

Review: The Crochet Workbook by Sylvia Cosh and James Walters

I've not been posting on the blog for a few weeks, but I have been reading a couple of Love Inspired Historicals (regencies...I love them). I'm also working on the third installment of Lisa Tawn Bergren's Grand Tour series, "Glittering Promises." For some reason, it is taking me a while to get through this, but it is pretty good so far.

Anyways, besides reading hystericals (whoops...I mean historicals!), I enjoy knitting. Even though I'm not really into crocheting, "The Crochet Workbook" was posted on the "Read Now" list at NetGalley, and I couldn't resist taking a look at this. The book was written by Sylvia Cosh and James Walters, and was originally published in 1989 by Dover Publications.

Now, as I mentioned before, I'm not a crocheter. In fact, my tension while attempting to crochet is best described as...limp and loose. But the introduction says that the book is, "intended for...existing crocheters who are looking for a new dimension to their work, and also for people who may never have picked up a crochet hook before." This is because this book is about freeform crochet, which is essentially spontaneous crocheting without a pattern. Unfortunately, I am both unexperienced in blogging and crocheting, so even though I've seen samples of freeform crochet, I don't have a sample photo to upload into this blog entry. I also don't mean to burn the crocheting community, but I had always thought about crochet as boring granny square blankets and some really horrid looking vests that I had the misfortune to lay eyes upon. However, there have been some freeform crochet creations that can only be described as works of art.

The Crochet Workbook is truly just only a workbook. It does describe various crocheting techniques with accompanying diagrams and photos of sample items but does not include individual patterns that one could duplicate. This is not too much of a surprise when one considers that the book is trying to encourage spontanaeity in the practice of freeforming. It does describe in general how to generate various shapes, but again, there is no set recipe/plan/pattern for reproducing any pictures of crocheted items in the book. There is more detail provided for a few projects including a cape and coat, but in general, the book is more about guidelines to use when doing freeform crochet. There is a chapter about drawing creative inspiration for freeform crochet. The teacher in me was tickled pink to see the mindmap/concept map included in the book.

If someone is interested in freeform crochet but would like to be handheld more through the process with suggested projects that do follow conventional structured patterns, then one might consider looking at Jonelle Raffino's and Prudence Mapstone's, Freeform Style: Blend Knit and Crochet to Craft Fiber Art, by North Light Books. However, The Crochet Workbook has its appeal, especially since it does try to encourage its readers to strike out on their own with freeform crochet. I would definitely consider adding this publication to my library as a technique book.

Other comments regarding this particular galley: I previewed an e-book, and it became apparent that this book was scanned as it was riddled with spelling errors likely due to optical character recognition not picking up the correct letters. I also read this e-galley on my computer's Sony reader library program, so my magnification options were rather limited. After a certain magnification (medium), the photos disappeared. I could see the text and photos in their entirety only under the small magnification setting, but I couldn't read the text because it was so small. I needed to switch between settings to be able to see the diagrams and photos and read the accompanying text. I prefer hard copy books for my crafting library, though, especially for a technique/methods book, so I'd probably opt to buy a hard copy of this as opposed to an e-copy.

Disclaimer: An e-copy of "The Crochet Workbook" was provided by NetGalley in exchange for a review. All opinions stated in this blog entry are mine.

Wednesday 12 March 2014

Review: Grave Consequences by Lisa T. Bergren

"Grave Consequences," written by Lisa T. Bergren, and published by David C. Cook, is the second part of a trilogy which started with "Glamorous Illusions" and ends with "Glittering Promises."  Our heroine, Cora Diehl Kensington, is the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy man who plucks her from a life of obscurity in rural Montana and whisks away on a European Grand Tour with his legitimate children.  Cora's half siblings, Felix, Vivian, and Lillian, are also traveling with Vivian's beau, Andrew Morgan, and his brother, Hugh.  Their tour is being overseen by Stuart McCabe, and his nephew, Will. 

"Grave Consequences" picks up where "Glamorous Illusions" left off; the group is rallying from an escape from kidnappers while they were in Paris and resuming their tour.  Cora's half siblings are now beginning to warm up to her and accept her as one of their own.  The group is planning to rendezvous with Mr. Kensington and Mr. Morgan in Vienna where they will decide whether to continue the tour in its entirety or cancel the rest of it.  The McCabes, really need the money that they will make from this trip; however, the kidnappers have not been apprehended yet, and the safety of their charges is a concern that cannot be ignored. 

Besides being worried about future attempts at being kidnapped, Cora has a choice between two love interests: Will, a young man who has dreams of finishing his architectural studies but who is helping his Uncle Stuart keep the financially burdened family business afloat, and Pierre, Lord de Richelieu, a wealthy suitor who the travelers met in the first novel, whose home was the site where they were attacked by the kidnappers.  Throughout much of this novel, Cora believes that her heart's choice is Will, but they cannot be open about their romantic feelings with the others.  It would anger Cora's father, who may decide to cancel the tour, refuse to pay the McCabes, and spread bad publicity for their tour company if they cannot protect young ladies under their care from unsuitable attachments.  Pierre is aware that Cora cares for Will, but he still pursues her and is able to get approval for his suit from Cora's father.

Cora also must come to terms with her new position in society.  She believes that after the tour is finished, she will return to her mother and adoptive father and resume her plans to become a teacher.  Her traveling companions, including Will, know that Mr. Kensington has bigger plans for Cora.  The tour has been serving a purpose in immersing Cora into the lifestyle of the wealthy and in helping Cora and her half siblings bond with each other.  She is aware that if she accepts her place as a Kensington, she will struggle under the control of her birth father, and his expectations for her life, just as her siblings are wrestling under his control and scrutiny. 

The novel is written in two points of view:  Cora's and Will's.  Cora's point of view is presented in first person, while Will's is written in third person.  I found this to be a little strange, but got used to it.  Also, giving Will a point of view was a big hint as to who the main love interest truly was.

I have not read "Glamorous Illusions," yet, but there was enough background information provided in the story that I was able to follow the plot without too much confusion.  However, there were many characters mentioned in the story, and I ended up writing down most of their names just to keep track of who each person was.

It was interesting to tag along on the Grand Tour, reading the descriptions and little history lessons that Will gave to the tour group.  I think that I would like to visit the Chateau of Queribus and see the ruins for myself.  I thought that the question posed by one of the characters while they were touring this location reflected one of the book's themes quite well:  "How many men and women found themselves here because it truly was their holy calling, and how many came because everyone around them told them it was their holy calling?"  Cora faces this dilemma as she tries to figure out what God's will is for her where Will and Pierre are concerned, and where her future lies as a "Diehl" or as a Kensington.  She needs to discern God's voice amongst all the other voices in her life, including those of her siblings, her traveling companions, Pierre, Will, and her birth father. 

Since this was the second installment of a trilogy, there are parts of the story that are incomplete.  The romantic storyline has not been resolved yet; Will and Pierre are both still contenders for Cora's heart.  The tour appears to continue beyond this novel.   The origins of the kidnapping plot are revealed, and the main culprits have been apprehended by the end, but not all of them have been caught, so perhaps the travelers are not out of danger from this threat yet.  I'm looking forward to reading the next part, "Glittering Promises."

Disclaimer:  A copy of "Grave Consequences" was given by NetGalley in exchange for a review.  All opinions stated in this review are mine.