In episode 9, we review Thr3e, a Christian thriller by Ted Dekker.
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Book Review Podcast Episode 9
Book Review Podcast Episode 8
In episode 8, we review The Oath, a Christian suspense allegory by Frank Peretti.
Also available on Spotify:
February in Review
I read 12 books last month, pretty close to my recent monthly average. The page count was lower than average, though, due to a lot of shorter books last months. That doesn’t surprise me, because I definitely felt like I wasn’t reading as much throughout last month, for no particular reason I can pinpoint.
Here are the books I read in February:
Storm Warning by Linda Sue Park (4 / 5)
Midnight on the Scottish Shore by Sarah Sundin (5 / 5)
Do the Bright Thing by Bill Myers (4 / 5)
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (3 / 5)
Storm Warning by Elizabeth Goddard (2.5 / 5)
Al Capone Does My Homework by Gennifer Choldenko (5 / 5)
Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls by Ann M. Martin (4 / 5)
Christy by Catherine Marshall (5 / 5)
Bittersweet Rendezvous in New England by Diane Green (2 / 5)
Hounded by David Rosenfelt (5 / 5)
Trust No One by Linda Sue Park (4 / 5)
Reclaiming Quiet by Sarah Clarkson (2 / 5)
This list includes 4 ARCs and 2 re-reads. My favorite book from February was Midnight on the Scottish Shore. I started 0 series, continued 6 series, and finished 0 series. My ever-changing short list of to-be-reads, as well as a flag for the book I’m currently reading and an ongoing list of those I’ve read and posted about can be found here.
I’m also keeping my Goodreads page updated with a more extensive list of to-be-reads. Despite my almost too-long TBR list, I’m always looking for more to add. Feel free to offer suggestions of your favorites or just recent reads you enjoyed.
Book Review: Bittersweet Rendezvous in New England
Bittersweet Rendezvous in New England
by Diane Green
My rating: 2 / 5
Genre: Christian historical fiction
When Becky Chalmers and her new fiancé learn about a connection between their families they didn’t know existed, she reconsiders her relationship with the man. In the wake of this decision, Becky’s brother offers to take her to Boston to hopefully allow her to re-connect with man from her past, whom she’d very nearly married once upon a time.
This short read is, unfortunately, a little confusing and not quite what I had anticipated from the synopsis. The story is mostly about Becky’s various relationships during her life, past and present, including friends who have or have had crushes on her. Even though one of these men has a distinctly separate POV (and actually starts off the entire book), he’s no bigger of a character than the other man in Becky’s life at the start of this book. It all makes for some odd pacing and plot choices. There are some other questionable things that happen in the text, and I was left scratching my head a few times.
When I read a self-published book, it is my intention not to let things that a professional editor would help with affect my view too much. I’m not saying that there is no burden of responsibility here, but it’s harder for self-published authors. So while it did not affect my rating, I will at least mention that there are several mistakes throughout the text; for example, there are quite a few missing opening or ending quotation marks. It can detract from the book for some, so let that be a warning. Overall, I think this book could benefit from an editor, both in style and substance. However, taken in the right context, this could be a book that others would enjoy. For example, it appeared to be a romance from the synopsis I was originally sent, but I wouldn’t call it that. It’s more contemplative of Becky’s life and the choices she has before her. If you’re interested in the book, please don’t let my lower rating keep you from giving it a try.
I received a copy of this book for free from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Find out more about Bittersweet Rendezvous in New England
If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!
Book Review: Reclaiming Quiet
Reclaiming Quiet: Cultivating a Life of Holy Attention
by Sarah Clarkson
My rating: 2 / 5
Genre: Christian non-fiction
Ostensibly, this book is about turning our attention from the world—news, social media, etc.—and quieting our minds to focus more on God. I personally did not find it very insightful in that respect, though, for a few reasons. One is that I think Clarkson and I have a slightly different definition of the word “quiet,” as I found that what she talked about was more a focus on God, even in busy, chaotic times (for example, she has 4 young children, so she’s in a season of life where she doesn’t always have the ability to make or find quiet time in her day). She did, however, talk a lot about not letting her phone take so much of her time and focus. It seems like this is one of her biggest issues in her current life, whereas it is not really what distracts me from taking time to focus on God. It bothered me when she’d mention that she will sometimes only have time to read one verse out of the Bible before getting on with her day, but she seems to make reading poetry or other books a priority. That seems pretty backwards to me, and it’s also a segue to another issue I had with this book—very little scripture is referenced, but a whole lot of other authors are mentioned and quoted. If Clarkson hasn’t found the quiet (i.e. focus) she is looking for, maybe it’s because she’s looking in the wrong places.
I also struggled a lot with Clarkson’s style of writing. It’s often poetic or deep/complex, making it fairly inaccessible to someone like me and thus very difficult to follow. The book is also far more about the author’s personal journey than about giving actionable ideas for the topic at hand. Most chapters started with a page or two of some time in her life when she was really struggling to connect with God or to be content with her life. I usually skimmed those pages to get to the “epiphany moment” that would turn her thinking around, often instigated by reading a poem, book, etc., in the hopes of gleaning something helpful for my own life. I’m not sure that really ever happened, and part of it was due to not fully understanding what she was saying.
I am certain that some of this comes down to the author’s life and background being vastly different from mine. She’s educated in theology and a heavy reader of classics and theological books. She’s from America but lives in England, and her husband is a vicar in an Anglican church. I am quite plain and uneducated by comparison and have been an Evangelical Christian all my life. The traditions and sacraments are a bit lost on me, and I really can’t say I have ever connected much with prayers written by someone else. In the end, then, I think it’s safe to say I was the complete wrong audience for this book. You might be the right audience, though, especially if you can appreciate the following sentence, taken from one of the prayers that the author includes at the end of each chapter of the book: “Help us to nourish our inmost selves, to keep airy and clean that room where our dreams dwell and our hope waits and the doors to all creation are in our grasp. Help us to trust the great stories, to live the great songs, to fight the dragons and keep the feasts, through Christ, the Great Knight of heaven of our yearning hearts, Amen.“
I received a free review copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest unedited feedback.
Find out more about Reclaiming Quiet
If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!
Book Review: Hounded
Hounded
Andy Carpenter #12
by David Rosenfelt
read by Grover Gardner
My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Mystery
When one of Andy Carpenter’s few actual friends, police lieutenant Pete Stanton, is charged with murder, it’s no question whether or not Andy will defend him. At the same time, Andy and his live-in girlfriend Laurie take in the 8-year-old son of the man Pete is accused of killing, so he doesn’t end up in the system. Murder suspects Andy can handle, but a child is a whole other story.
I really enjoyed this book all the way through. I don’t know if it was just the mood I was in while listening this time, but I actually chuckled out loud while listening to it at least 3 times—I always find this series funny, but this book seemed even more so. I said in my review of the book literally before this one that I would be okay with smaller conspiracies in these books sometimes, since it seemed like they’d gotten pretty bloated in the last several installments I’d read. And then this book gave me just that. The addition of Ricky, the murdered man’s son, added a new dimension to the formula that I appreciated. Andy took some major steps in his life in this book, which I knew would happen, because I’ve read some of the later books in the series, and it was nice to see them finally happen. Overall, this was a solid addition to the series, and I recommend the book (especially the audio) for fans of mystery, crime fiction, and courtroom dramas.
Find out more about Hounded
If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!
Book Review: Trust No One
Trust No One
The 39 Clues: Cahills vs. Vespers #5
by Linda Sue Park
My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Middle grade mystery, adventure
Spoiler notice: The following review may contain some spoilers for the previous books in the series, starting with The Maze of Bones.
Amy and Dan Cahill continue to jump through hoops for their enemy, Vesper One, trying to save the lives of their abducted friends and family members. Meanwhile, the in the Cahills’ inner circle will be exposed.
I kinda don’t know where to begin with this review. The story really ramps up in this penultimate book, and yet at the same time, it’s still stagnant in some ways. The fact that my synopses for these books basically always have some version of “Amy and Dan continue doing Vesper One’s bidding to try to save the lives of their hostage loved ones…” means that there’s not a whole lot of variation in the plots. And what they’re doing for the Vespers is always stealing something that’s priceless or super heavily guarded or just missing from history. I will say, though, the historical treasure involved in this book was really interesting. I was curious enough to look it up online and learn more about it.
I mentioned before that this series is a bit darker than the original, and that is especially true when you consider the body count to this point. Not that no one died in the original series, but here it seems like a Cahill or Cahill ally dies every book. I’m not a huge fan of that, especially considering who some of the characters are that are dying, some that I really like. Some of the danger elements in this book seem a little forced and unnecessary, which is the main reason for my lower star rating. There are some explanations given in this book as well as some questions left open still for the final in the series. I have my own theories as well, including a counter theory to one made by Dan near the end of this book. Then the book ends on a major cliffhanger, and I have high hopes for the last book (while also being trepidatious, since it’s written by an author brand new to this series and has quite a few loose ends to tie up).
Find out more about Trust No One
If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!
Book Review: Christy
Christy
by Catherine Marshall
Read by Kellie Martin
My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Classic historical fiction
The story of the young, naïve woman who moved to a small town in the Appalachian hills to be a school teacher is one I remember a tiny bit of from watching at least a little of the show when I was younger. Reading it for the first time now, I was drawn pretty quickly into the book, immersed due to the setting, the characters, and Christy’s passion to help. I felt for her as she was up against not just the superstitions and ignorance of the locals but even the resistance of the man who runs the mission she’s part of. I really liked her openness to other viewpoints and how hungry she was to understand God and make Him more personal in her own life.
Though this book is billed as Christian, and it certainly is a heavy element, I’m concerned about some of the theology presented in the book. I don’t think the author was trying to push any kind of religious agenda forward, more like she was simply showing her character’s view of the world. Which means that other characters’ view of the world are also shown, including the pastor who runs the mission where Christy lives, who believes that the Bible can’t be taken as complete truth. It’s because this is not contradicted at any point in the book that I wouldn’t feel comfortable labeling it as Christian fiction. On the other hand, some of Christy’s conversations with ex-Quaker Miss Alice were very interesting to me.
A little past halfway through the book, I decided to switch to the audiobook. One reason for this was due to the length of the book and the fact that I was struggling to have as much time to read at the time. I didn’t want to be reading it for weeks. What clinched it was when I saw that the book was narrated by Kellie Martin (who played Christy in the same-name television show in the 90s). Though she wasn’t as great as a narrator as I hoped, I still enjoyed the book as a whole. It’s full of emotion and heart, triumph and tragedy, and even a little romance. I recommend this book for all who enjoy historical fiction set in America from around this time period (early 1900s).
Find out more about Christy
If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!
Book Review Podcast Episode 7
In episode 7, we review Newbery Award Winner Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko.
Also available on Spotify:
Book Review: Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls
Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls
The Baby-Sitters Club #2
by Ann M. Martin
My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Children’s classic
For complete transparency, I’ll say up front that I read a lot of this series when I was a kid/pre-teen. And at the time, my name was the same as the founder of the BSC (with the first name spelled slightly different). Nostalgia will hugely affect my reviews for this series, and I have no plans to try to be objective.
Claudia’s interactions with her sister and grandmother were my favorite parts of this story. I also liked that, though they were irrationally scared, the babysitters came up with protocols to address the potential of someone breaking into the house. They kept telling each other/themselves that they probably didn’t need to be worried about a thief who hadn’t harmed anyone, but at the age of 12, I can easily understand that fear would take over when they’re alone with little kids at night. In fact, I’m sure younger children reading this might be a bit freaked out by some of the night scenes in this book. Though I guessed the outcome of the phantom storyline (not sure if it was a pure guess or something I remembered from reading this when I was young), I’m sure most kids wouldn’t. However, I don’t particularly care for that outcome nor how Kristy responds to it.
Whether or not this book will translate well to kids and pre-teens now, I couldn’t say. I wish I had thought to start reading this series to/with my daughter when she was around 8-10, because I think she would have enjoyed it, and we could have discussed the good and the bad of the books.
Find out more about Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls
If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!
A Journey of Words 