The Happiness Dare Book Review

Title: The Happiness Dare

Author: Jennifer Dukes Lee

Genre: Christian, Nonfiction, Self-Help, Happiness
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Plot: In a harsh world of cynicism, the hard and surprising truth is that God wants you to be happy. With bills piling up, medical issues and children screaming at you all day, this can be a very tricky idea to wrap your mind around but with a dose of humor, Lee helps you unlock the secret to happiness and gives you the tools to control your own personal happiness level.

In the book, you'll discover that genetics play a role in your happiness along with life circumstances {but not as much as you think} and your own thoughts. By changing the way you look at life and think about your circumstances and your day to day existence, you can reprogram your brain to be happier. And you'll get to learn a little something about yourself too by taking the quiz to learn what your happiness type is. So jump in today and let's be happy together!

Likes/Dislikes: I really liked the cover and was intrigued to learn how I could be happier. I don't usually read these kinds of books, especially when I'm working through unhappy issues. The first part of the book I just skimmed because it came across as a self-pep talk and was completely boring {of course, that could also have been sleep deprivation thanks to the new baby}, it was also very repetitive but the second and third parts were really intriguing, I liked reading about the happiness types and how to reprogram my brain with just five minutes a day. A lot of it sounded easy to do, especially since I try to do it anyways. I told my husband and mom they should read this book, and shared about it on Facebook so it must be a hit.

Rating: PG-15 and up, mainly for reading level and content {teens don't usually have problems being happy but ya never know. There's nothing graphic or bad in it so anyone can read this book}. Highly recommended.

Rating: Date Review Written: August 3rd, 2016

I received this book free from the publishers in exchange for my honest opinion. The opinions expressed in the above review are my own and I wasn't required to write a positive review.

A Beauty Refined Book Review

Title: A Beauty Refined

Author: Tracie Peterson

Genre: Christian, Historical Fiction, Drama, Romance,

Plot: Phoebe Von Bergen is finally seeing more of the world when she accompanies her father on his sapphire hunting trip to America. They see all the major East Coast cities before making their way to a secluded resort in Montana near the sapphire mines. Little does she know, however, that her life is about to drastically change. First she meets handsome Ian Harper, a lapidary very skillful in refining raw sapphires into dazzling gems, and the cheerfully adorable Kenny. These new friends help while away the hours for Phoebe while her father is off at the mines. And then, with a twist of fate, she discovers the truth of her mother's death years ago. A moment in time that left Phoebe heartbroken.

On the road to healing, trouble waits around the corner. Ian knows her secret and thinks he knows how to save her from her life circumstances but it will take skills, trust and faith in God to see his plan to the end. But is the risk worth it?

Likes/Dislikes: This was a beautiful story. It wasn't overly ambitious, was just the right length with a lovely setting, detailed characters and an easy to follow plot that held my interest. I loved it, especially the bits about sapphires and how smoothly the faith element was blended into the story. That's hard for Christian authors to do sometimes. I liked Phoebe and I usually don't like the main female leads. Ian was a little odd at first but he's the kind of character that grows on you.

Rating: PG-15 and up, mainly for content {past accounts of abuse and miscarriages, a main character is viciously beaten, bad guys are shot, etc. nothing overly graphic}.

Date Review Written: July 23rd, 2016

I received this book free from the publishers in exchange for my honest opinion. I wasn't required to write a positive review and the opinions expressed in the above review are my own.

Little Men Book Review

Title: Little Men

Author: Louisa May Alcott

Genre: Classic, Fiction, Boys, Adventure, Family, Sequel, Christian

Plot: Jo March, the reckless headstrong writer from Little Women returns as a married woman with two babies of her own and a whole school full of boys to take care of. She and her professor husband take in boarders {some rich to pay the bills, some orphaned and in need of care, love and a safe environment to grow up in}. In addition to their charges and their own children, the couple also has the professor's teenage nephews and Meg's adorable twins, Daisy and Demi. The new kid on the block, Nat, discovers the workings of the school {whose nice, whose not, etc.} and makes a friend in Tommy and Daisy whom he rather develops a crush on. But soon he's not the only newbie; a wild girl named Nan and an even wilder boy named Dan soon arrive to help turn the school topsy-turvy in this delightful classic story.

Likes/Dislikes: I loved having a sequel featuring the March girls all grown up with husbands and babies and households to manage. The boys were a rambunctious lot, Nat and Dan being my favorites. Daisy was such a sweet little girl. I read this book out loud to my siblings {one of the few we actually finished} and their favorite scene was when Nan and little Teddy are lost in the woods and panic when Nan thinks a harmless cow is a big scary bear. For some reason, my brothers loved that.

Rating: G- all ages. Highly recommended.

Date Review Written: November 9th, 2015.

The Woman Who Would Be King Book Review

Title: The Woman Who Would Be King

Author: Kara Cooney

Genre: Biography, Historical, Egypt,

Plot: Hatshepsut has intrigued people for decades and probably will for decades more as researchers work to uncover the veiled mysteries of the past. This great woman of the ancient times rose to power and ruled the greatest kingdom on earth, wielding the might of an empire for years and defying the ancient world's views on women with one great swoop. But she wasn't the first Egyptian daughter to do this and so much of her story will never come to light, lost to the shadows of time and speculation. Such a shame. If time travel existed, the wonders of the past would be available to dazzle us with just how spectacular and horrifying they really were.

Till such a time as time travel comes into existence, we have talented authors and brilliant researchers who attempt to step into the void of the past and peel back, inch by inch, the layers shielding this great historical figures and reveal them more fully to us. And while we may never know what their daily lives were truly like, we can at least know more about the moments that made them great.

Likes/Dislikes: Hatshepsut is one of those Egyptian figures that hovers at the edges of my personal scope of interest, ranking above Cleopatra {whom I have very little interest in studying at all} and below Nefertiti {whom I'm always interested in studying}. The fact that a woman rose to rule Egypt will always intrigue every woman in the modern times, but what I really want to know is lost to the vastness of time. What was she really like? What did she think of all the events that put her on the throne? What was her education like? What made her strong enough to take the reins of an empire? And more importantly, who was the ruling queen before her who dared to ascend the throne? We know for a historical fact that Hatshepsut wasn’t the first or the last woman to rule Egypt, just the most famous. So who was the first and what was her story? And while this book attempts to paint more of Hatshepsut's picture, it does nothing for the former queen to set the trend and little for the daily life of the heroine. Still, an excellent attempt and wonderfully written, which is hard to do with a biography of an ancient person.

Rating: PG-15 and up, mainly for reading level and some frank talk about intimate historical situations. Anyone who's studied Egypt knows just how open they were about everything.

Date Review Written: June 21st, 2016.

I received a free copy of this book courtesy of Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review. I wasn’t required to write a positive review and the opinions expressed in the above review are my own.

A Worthy Heart Book Review

Title: A Worthy Heart

Author: Susan Anne Mason

Genre: Christian, Historical Fiction, Romance, Sequel,

Plot: Coming to America has been a dream of Maggie Montgomery's for so long and now it's finally happening. She and her brother have just landed in New York, intent on visiting their older brother Rylan and his lovely wife. Seeing more of the world than just her little corner of Ireland gives Maggie a burst of fresh air and being away from the increasingly unwanted attentions of her suitor back home is an added bonus. But what neither brother knows is that Maggie intends to stay in America permanently.

Meanwhile, Rylan's no good brother in law Adam O'Leary has just been released from prison. Shrunken and dirt poor, Adam slinks back to his old family home to swallow his pride and ask for a job, knowing that his family will never see him the same way again. But keeping his head down proves to be a challenge when he meets the curious Maggie. Warned to stay away from Adam, Maggie finds herself intrigued by the mysterious man and wants to know more about him.

Despite the family's efforts, a bond is formed between the two that now must stand the test of the past and the pull of the future.

Likes/Dislikes: The description of this novel sounded so intriguing and exciting that I was eager to delve into the pages of what was sure to be an epic story. And while Maggie and Adam's individual story lines are intriguing and exciting, I didn't realize this was a sequel. Everyone else's stories are mysteries to me and therefore rather boring in the overall scope of the book for me. Because of this and the flipping between the main characters and these established secondary character's viewpoints, it's a bit hard to pick up the book and resume reading after a week or so. Toddlers can make reading for pleasure so hard sometimes. I haven't yet finished this book but I intend to because I want to find out more about Maggie and Adam's relationship and how it all comes into play. It'll just take me awhile to get there.

Rating: N/A, though clean so far with hints of a bad past.

Date Review Written: June 21st, 2016

I received a free copy of this book courtesy of the publishers in exchange for an honest review. I wasn't required to write a positive review and the opinions expressed in the above review are my own.

Fading Starlight Book Review

Title: Fading Starlight

Author: Kathryn Cushman

Genre: Christian, Contemporary Fiction, Friendships, Mystery/Intrigue, Hollywood Fashion,

Plot: Lauren Summers is an up and rising fashion designer with all her hard work finally paying off in the form of a lovely gown being worn by a teenage star on the red carpet. With her future in fashion glittering and sparkling in the camera flashes, Lauren couldn't be happier, until a suspicious wardrobe malfunction sends her career plummeting and Lauren scrambling out of the spotlight as fast as she can.

An old professor friend comes to her rescue with a job and a place to stay in a secluded neighborhood with strict rules. The perfect hide out, or so Lauren thought. But when a reporter comes snooping around, Lauren's fight or flight instinct kicks in - only to turn to intrigue when she learns that the reporter isn't after her. She's after the mysterious Charlotte Montgomery, the reclusive old woman who rules the neighborhood with a firm hand.

With her dreams in tatters, Lauren is grasping at straws and poking into her neighbor's secrets seems like a good straw to grasp.

Likes/Dislikes: I was intrigued to read this book by the lovely cover and the description which made it sound like a historical fiction set around the turn of the century with a dashing hero reporter to come rescue the floundering fashion designer. I was somewhat disappointed to get the book and learn that the story is modern and the reporter is just a nosy woman looking to expose hidden secrets. While still interesting, it wasn't exactly the story I wanted to read. Hence why I haven't finished it yet. But I'll keep poking away at it because the descriptions of Lauren's new house and remodeling sound nice. The writing style is quite nice and smooth. Very easy to read and follow along.

Rating: N/A, though very clean so far.

Date Review Written: June 21, 2016

I received a free copy of this book courtesy of the publishers. I wasn't required to write a positive review and the opinions expressed in the above review are my own.