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.
Sunday, 31 August 2014
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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