FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book. These are my honest thoughts.
I loved the mother/daughter spy angle. That was incredibly FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book. These are my honest thoughts.
I loved the mother/daughter spy angle. That was incredibly fun and the reason why I selected this book to read. Another thing I ended up enjoying was that each woman had to find their way in a new city with a new circle of acquaintances. New jobs, friends, opportunities… they faced them all and learned a lot.
The patriotism in the leads was superb. In an era when patriotism is scoffed at (early 2020s), it’s refreshing to see a book that shows it in a good light, where it was the main proponent to the plot, that it was not looked down upon but looked up to and aimed for. I loved to see the stand against violence-inducing propaganda. And it was fantastic to witness leading ladies who stumbled into Nazi circles—and daring to do something to combat the anti-American rhetoric!
A drawback for me was that history was adjusted to cater to the story rather than the other way around. Another one was the excessive and very unnecessary negative content (listed below).
This story was exactly what I needed. It was so beautiful and charming, a truly delightful coming-of-age tale. It held grief and hope and a friends-fiThis story was exactly what I needed. It was so beautiful and charming, a truly delightful coming-of-age tale. It held grief and hope and a friends-first romance, which was so refreshing and well written. I liked the search for the truth of one’s past as well as the search for peace. It even had some heartbreaking plot twists that engaged my emotions perfectly.
Content: teen smoking mentioned, drunk driver ...more
What a ride! This book was tense and held high stakes as well as twists galore that kept me guessing until the very end. I loved the shocking climax aWhat a ride! This book was tense and held high stakes as well as twists galore that kept me guessing until the very end. I loved the shocking climax and the final scene. There was such a fantastic use of secrets in this story that it felt like an old whodunit rather than a suspense/thriller at times. I loved that! The search dog was used the perfect amount: more than once but not so much that the searches took over the plot. Great touch! The characters were well developed and had good motivations throughout. The second-chance romance was superb and had the right touch of regret and anger before shifting into reliance because of desperation, friendship, and eventually romance. Lacey and Creed were wonderful and realistic. Their problems were vivid and urgent throughout, and it was easy to root for them or fear for them, by turn, because they were such lovable folks. The dog was special and well included.
This is a book five, so I recommend reading the books in order. In the early chapters, it was hard to keep track of the various couples mentioned because I hadn’t experienced their romances yet. So coming into the series cold-turkey at book five was not a smart idea; it left me a bit lost, though Mrs. Eason did a fantastic job of giving identifying markers as to their relationships to the leads of the current story.
This pair of short stories is a beautiful addition to the Taerna universe. It was really fun seeing the Ellith siblings in their youth—and meeting theThis pair of short stories is a beautiful addition to the Taerna universe. It was really fun seeing the Ellith siblings in their youth—and meeting their mom! How sweet!...more
What a tragic story! My heart broke right along with Amelia’s as her family broke apart. It was interesting to see this story unfold during tumultuousWhat a tragic story! My heart broke right along with Amelia’s as her family broke apart. It was interesting to see this story unfold during tumultuous times. I adored the budding romance, but I felt that thread was wasted for what the epilogue did to it. That truly wrecked me for a few days as I cycled through the emotions of being completely let down by the outcome of that thread. That is what held this book back from being five stars for me. Other than that epilogue, the story was well written.
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book. These are my honest thoughts.
I saw this book on NetGalley and thought it looked like a cFTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book. These are my honest thoughts.
I saw this book on NetGalley and thought it looked like a cute, easy read that I could breeze through over a weekend. It’s not unusual for me to read a “clutter fix” book every now and then, as organization is a neat thing, something my detail-oriented brain loves, and something I enjoy seeing other people’s tips about to compare with my own ideas.
There were some pretty good tips in this book. I really appreciated the way the author broke down the decluttering into easy-to-follow steps. I can see how that would be really helpful, especially for those who, like me, get easily overwhelmed by rooms full of stuff.
While I did breeze through this book, the vast majority of it was not helpful for me personally. It was not an enjoyable book for me either.
The introduction was super lengthy. Each new paragraph seemed to get more and more cringe-worthy as the caveats and lawsuit-avoiding disclaimers piled up. These were so off-putting that I nearly didn’t read the rest of the book.
“I think we’ve all forgotten that we don’t have to agree 100% with everything someone says in order to glean some good knowledge from them…” Actually, no. We have not ALL forgotten we don’t have to agree with everything everybody says in order to get at least one good thing from a book or conversation. Personally, I’ve been using discernment, as advised in the Bible, pretty well for the last couple of decades, so this “generalization” did not apply to me; therefore, its claim was inaccurate.
“That doesn’t mean I agree with or endorse everything they have ever said or will say…” This was one of the most egregious lawsuit-avoiding disclaimers.
“I think we’ve collectively gotten a little lazy in our homes over the last several years, and our expectations are definitely a little skewed.” So everyone on the planet is lazy and has skewed expectations? That seems like wild hyperbole to me. Some of us are hardworking citizens who have solid, Bible-based expectations.
“I am not judging you…” A couple of the previous snippets and many of the “tips” included wording that felt “judgy” to me. We’ve “all” forgotten… we’ve “collectively” gotten lazy… our expectations are “definitely” skewed…
“As Christians and plain old humans who need the earth to thrive, we need to take care of it the best we possibly can. [Recycling is] just good stewardship.” So, judgment isn’t applied, but if we don’t or can’t recycle for whatever reason (such as living in a town that no longer offers recycling locations for its citizens), we are bad Christians and bad humans? That doesn’t sound like a non-judging sort of comment to me. I personally do my best to reuse items or pass them on to others who can use them when I no longer need them before I consider placing something in the garbage, but for those who don’t or can’t for some reason, I don’t think it’s right to judge them as bad Christians or bad humans just because their situation doesn’t permit them to recycle or reuse. For all we know, that very human could be currently leading lost souls to Jesus, and that task is, by far, more important than finding a recycle bin.
The insistence that certain things (such as bills and paper menus) must be tossed out because “they can be found online these days” was annoying and too bossy for my taste. This instruction did not take into account that online banking is not 100% secure. In fact, I have acquaintances whose accounts at well-recognized banks have been hacked and drained because they did frequent online banking. About the menus, some people, like myself, prefer perusing a physical menu over adding more screen time to our already screen-inundated lives. One of my jobs over the past decade has been editing books, which naturally requires hours upon hours of computer time each week. The last thing I want to do when thinking about dinner is get on my computer or phone to look up a menu. It’s so much easier to pull out a paper menu to give my eyes and brain a break from screens for a few minutes.
The tone throughout this book took turns being bossy as well as patronizing. Neither helped me have a positive outlook on this book’s content. One major way in which the tone was bossy was the insistence that we ought to get rid of multiples of items because “it’s very unlikely you will ever need both.” Actually, sometimes one does need more than one copy of something. In fact, there’s an example right in the book. In one chapter, snow shovels were used as an example of what to pare down to only one, and there was no option given to keep an extra snow shovel. However, in a later chapter, the author said she herself has three snow shovels because her kids help out with that chore. That double-standard rubbed me the wrong way and also proved that sometimes multiples come in handy.
An example of the patronizing-type comments was this: “That spaghetti sauce is not coming out, sweetie!” No matter that there was a use of an “endearment,” this comment within the context came out as patronizing rather than encouraging. In my experience, sometimes spaghetti sauce does come out. “Plastic storage containers” are made a lot better now than the ones I used in the 1990s, and a little soaking with a squirt of dish soap goes a long way.
Speaking of water, it seemed like there was lots of wasted water mentioned in this book, especially where it came to rinsing off dishes prior to putting them into a dishwasher. That sounded like it would use at least double the water that washing dishes by hand would. This seemed to be in contradiction to the earlier claim about stewardship.
If you read the section about measuring kitchen drawers for dividers and small containers, in which it was said to “measure the drawer carefully and go get them,” please remember to measure ALL the drawers in the kitchen before you go to the store instead of taking a trip to the store after every single drawer. It felt like a case for Amelia Bedelia, because she definitely would have spent hundreds of dollars in gas to take twenty-plus trips across town (or, in my case, into a larger town at least thirty minutes away) to purchase those things for each drawer separately.
It was mentioned to get rid of “flash drives (Be sure to transfer anything useful to the cloud first.)” Similar to online banking, the cloud is hackable. I personally prefer flash drives, terabyte towers, and external hard drives for digital backups, because they are more secure and less likely to be hacked, as they are not internet-based, and they don’t take up much room in a home office or other discreet location within the home. I have found it gives me more peace of mind in my editing and writing work to have those digital backups in-house rather than in a “cloud” online, where any number of computer geniuses could easily steal, delete, edit, or otherwise compromise the documents belonging to my clients or myself.
Later on, there was concern about “identity theft” via “rewards cards or old bank or credit cards,” instructing us to “make sure they’re well destroyed” before we dispose of them. Yet, there hadn’t seemed to be concern about identity theft with online banking (which is hackable, which means one’s money and identifying information, such as birthdate and social security number, could be stolen).
The breakdowns and tips were repetitive. The same sections of the house were gone over 2-3 times, in detail each time. Therefore, it was easy to skim and lose focus in the book. This made me wonder if the book wouldn’t have been better with half the pages and only going through each room’s process one time.
I liked how the author mentioned working the “zones” of a room while getting rid of the clutter. That was a fantastic tip, because it’s easy to get overwhelmed by an entire room, but working in zones helps keep that overwhelmed feeling to a minimum. I also liked that there were worksheets and checklists. Those could be incredibly helpful for keeping a person on task until the job is done and everything on the lists are checked off. One thing that was fun was that the author included anecdotes from her own family’s usage of the decluttering method she was explaining in this book. It was helpful to see how the method could work for the entire family.
I wish I could have enjoyed this book more. The book blurb had sounded like the book would be right up my organizational alley.
This was a pretty funny account of what it’s like to get old. Leave it to Dr. Seuss to bring his trademark humor to doctor visits and aging. The illusThis was a pretty funny account of what it’s like to get old. Leave it to Dr. Seuss to bring his trademark humor to doctor visits and aging. The illustrations were just as quirky as ever.
Note: There was one moment in which “ogler” doctors were analyzing an undressed man. The illustrations did not show any nudity, but it was an awkward moment. ...more
This book was encouraging. I enjoyed reading the memoir of Dara Torres, who I had watched with my mom during Dara’s final Summer Olympics. In this booThis book was encouraging. I enjoyed reading the memoir of Dara Torres, who I had watched with my mom during Dara’s final Summer Olympics. In this book, I found the behind-the-scenes look heartbreaking and inspirational at the same time. I admired her work ethic and the fact that she kept dreaming big despite the critics scoffing at her age.
The thing I found the most powerful in this entire book was the fact that Dara’s dad supported her in her swimming dreams even though he did not fully understand her swimming as a career. That sort of support is rare in today’s world, from what I’ve seen. That sort of support is the type I strive to give, to support someone fully despite my not fully comprehending the reasons why the dream is important to the person.
The major thing I was disappointed about in this book was that the author scoffed at those who “talk[ed] to God.” On top of that, the author also trusted a psychic/medium with the trajectory of her life. That made me wonder how much more amazing her career could have been had she trusted God rather than a person dealing in dark “arts” for guidance in her life.
“Do not turn to mediums or consult spiritists, or you will be defiled by them; I am Yahweh your God.” Leviticus 19:31 HCSB
Adorable reunion story. It was lovely to see the second chance unfold, even though it was heartrending at times too. IAlways in My Heart by Mary Ellis
Adorable reunion story. It was lovely to see the second chance unfold, even though it was heartrending at times too. I love a good reunion with a long-lost child!
Content: breastfeeding, rape
Always His Provision by Ruth Reid
How fun that the Bowmans from the previous story made an appearance! I loved the heartache and the journey toward healing so beautifully highlighted in this novella. The conflict with the neighbor was fantastic.
Content: miscarriages mentioned
Always Beautiful by Beth Wiseman
The author handled well the theme of being self-conscious about one’s weight. I really enjoyed Becky’s journey and wanted so much to hug her! If only she could have seen the beauty of her size.
Another delightful and engaging story in the Daughters of Blessing series. It was really fascinating to see how the deafness and sign language were soAnother delightful and engaging story in the Daughters of Blessing series. It was really fascinating to see how the deafness and sign language were so beautifully highlighted in this novel. Grace’s emotions, particularly the hurt she experienced, were exquisitely expressed and tugged my heartstrings. It was good to see Jonathan honored his parents’ wishes even as he stood up for himself as well. He found a really great balance in this. Wonderful example!
Such an intriguing biography! I loved the circus when I was little, and this book brought back so many happy memories for me. It would have been amaziSuch an intriguing biography! I loved the circus when I was little, and this book brought back so many happy memories for me. It would have been amazing to be in the audience for one of Lavinia Warren’s shows. It was really fun learning about her life from childhood to adulthood and all the way to her death. There were adventures, mishaps, romance, and humor spread throughout the journey, and I’m glad Mrs. Raum brought each aspect out to shine in the spotlight, highlighting a neat historical figure in American history. This author has the knack for making learning history fun!
I wept in the final chapters. Oh, the heartache Lavinia must have experienced! I felt it right along with her all these generations later by way of this book. Oh, my heart!
This book is a must-read for those who love circus history.
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book. These are my honest thoughts.
Precious, classic artwork. Beautiful poetry with the story FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book. These are my honest thoughts.
Precious, classic artwork. Beautiful poetry with the story of Jesus Christ and the hope He provides. I love that this book could be one of the first tools parents could use to convey the love of God to their children. The inclusion of Bible verses to support the poetry’s content was superb. This little book swept me back to my childhood. My favorite and most-used Bible is still the pink Precious Moments New King James that my parents gave me when I was a little girl. The artwork in this little book about angels is consistent with the illustrations in that Bible. Seamless even with decades gone by! ...more
Charming story! It was sweet to see how a group of friends could bond over matchmaking for one another. I especially enjoyed Rebecca’s dream of openinCharming story! It was sweet to see how a group of friends could bond over matchmaking for one another. I especially enjoyed Rebecca’s dream of opening an ice cream and soda shop. This story featured faith, family, romance, and hope for the future—all themes I enjoy reading about.
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