It's A Love Story Book Review

Title: It's A Love Story


Author: Lincee Ray

Genre: Christian, Nonfiction, Memoir, Humor, Sequel

Plot: If Hollywood is any reliable indicator, we all love a good love story. If there is rain, a tall dark handsome hero and chocolate thrown in, all the better! We could spend our whole lives surrounded by things we love, enjoying the people we love and doing the activities we love.

So why don't we? We enjoy those things for a reason and they make us happier than other things. Why not own up to the factor that we are addicted to Cadbury eggs and can only watch The Bachelor in our fuzzy socks? Those things that we love make us who we are and ultimately, the ability to love these things comes from the One who loved us so much that He gave the ultimate sacrifice. Trying to fill that void inside with cookies and concert tickets is a temporary band-aid for the true love we are all looking for. But until we get that unconditional love, we can at least enjoy those other void-fillers.

Likes/Dislikes: I enjoyed I Hate Green Beans quite a lot more than I expected to so I got very excited to see a second book by Ray. This book doesn't go on about The Bachelor in fine detail; instead, it covers lots of things that Ray loves. Concerts on summer nights, fishing with her niece, watching humanity come together after a horrific hurricane and the simple joy of a classic Disney princess movie. All of these little pieces make up Lincee Ray and prompt us to examine the little pieces that make us up. We might be over the moon for brownies or enjoy walks by the beach with amazing sunsets in the background. We were designed with the ability to love because our God loves us and wants us to be able to love. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to more by Lincee Ray.

Rating: PG-14 and up, mainly for reading level

Date Reviewed: May 7th, 2019

I received a copy of this book courtesy of Revel Bloggers for my honest opinion. I wasn't required to write a positive review and the opinions in the above review are my own.

How To Raise A Reader Book Review

Title: How To Raise A Reader


Author: Pamela Paul and Maria Russo

Genre: Nonfiction, Parenting, Reading, How-To, Book Lists

Plot: Raising a kid who loves to read is a lot of work and requires years of consistent and age-appropriate effort. But it is not as daunting a task as it sounds. Authors Pamela Paul and Maria Russo draw on their own experiences raising their children to be readers and break this goal down into manageable steps and achievable mini-goals, complete with handy book lists to get the ball rolling.

From babyhood and the exciting toddler years (where, yes, you have to do the bulk of the reading) to the early readers and then middle grade independent readers who devour everything in sight and binge on their favorite series and then finally the teenage years where they are off in worlds of their own and only require the smallest parental guidance in their reading adventures. This book covers all four age groups and has several additional lists in the back for further reading.

Likes/Dislikes: This was a delightful little book to read and I definitely found the beginning chapters on toddlers and babies very inspiring and encouraging. I read the early reader and middle grade sections a bit disinterestedly as I am not in that category yet with my budding readers. I found the teen chapter to be a bit amusing considering that I would not have welcomed any parental interference in my reading choices as a teen. Thankfully, the advice for that section was to be very hands-off with the teenagers.

I didn't really like that graphic novels were so strongly recommended. I can see the appeal for younger readers like mine but after that, I want them to read more words and less pictures. I also found it amusing that internet use is encouraged to go hand-in-hand with the reading experience. I use the internet to read book reviews and find new books all the time.

Rating: PG 15 and up (geared more toward parents)

Date Review Written: April 27th, 2019

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

The Minimalist Kitchen Book Review

Title: The Minimalist Kitchen


Author: Melissa Coleman

Genre: Nonfiction, Cookbook, Organizing, Lifestyle,

Plot: Minimalism is all the rage right now but how do you minimize the kitchen and yet keep it functional in a way that suits your family's needs? A kitchen is arguably the most important part of the house and it is certainly the busiest part of many houses. Keeping it streamlined, efficient and functional is a daunting and challenging task. Throw in minimalism and the game is up. Or is it?

Author Melissa Coleman uses her own kitchen and experience with minimalism to show us how to have a functional and minimal kitchen arrangement. The best part is that this particular room's level of minimalism can be tailored to your own specific needs. If you have both a blender and a food processor but only use one, the obvious solution is to donate the unused item and make yourself a smoothie with the other one. But if you have twenty forks and use every single one of them, it might be more productive to sort the collection of spoons instead.

Likes/Dislikes: This is a surprisingly large book but in a nice size. Coleman gives simple tips and advice for streamlining the kitchen items and even provides sample grocery lists for an organized shopping, storage and cooking experience that will free up mental space, shelf space and cooking time. If you always know how much of something you have and need for every recipe, you won't buy multiples or store more than you will consume. The rest of the book is filled with delicious recipes that range from Overnight Oatmeal to Kitchen-Sink Lentil Bowls and Roasted Vegetable Sandwiches. The Immunity Smoothie recipe looks especially enticing. This is definitely the type of book I would want to buy and then study with a highlighter and sticky tabs to mark all the recipes I want to make.

Rating: G-all ages, geared toward adults (cause what kid wants to minimize the kitchen?)

Date Review Written: April 12th, 2019

I received a copy of this book courtesy of Netgalley, lost that digital copy and found it at my local library. I wasn't required to write a positive review and the opinions expressed in the above review are my own.

The Warrior Maiden Book Review

Title: The Warrior Maiden

Author: Melanie Dickerson

Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Fairy Tale Retelling, Christian, Romance, Action/Adventure, Series

Plot: Mulan is 18 years old and resigned to the fact that she will have to marry someday to take care of her mother. But Mulan has big dreams to see the world and do more with her life than just cooking, cleaning and having babies. She wants a different existence than that of her long-suffering mother. So when the opportunity arises out of unfortunate circumstances, Mulan doesn't miss a beat and takes it. But will her risk be worth it or would it have been better to marry the butcher's son instead?

Wolfgang is the son of a duke but on the battlefield he is just a 20 year old boy trying to prove himself just like all the other soldiers. Like the short archer who nearly bested him in the competition, Wolfgang has his secrets and holds them close. But when he accidentally discover's Mulan's secret, will he be able to add it to his list of secrets or will everything collapse around him?

Likes/Dislikes: This is the 9th book in a series with an established world and characters peppered from previous books. That being said, this book reads like it is a stand-alone so we shouldn't get too lost. Unfortunately, this book was not at all what I was hoping to read. I adore the story of Mulan and really wanted a cool retelling where the character is just as butch, tough and feminine as the original. This version of Mulan is frustrating. She is the stereotypical unusual beauty who doesn't fit in with her little village and is clumsy. She overthinks the littlest things. Furthermore, the story itself was frustrating. They all meet up for some random competitions and then immediately go out to battle followed by another battle and then another one in such rapid succession that there is hardly any breathing room. In that span of that week, Mulan crushes hard on the only handsome dude around and her secret gets discovered by him.

Needless to say, this was not the right book for me to enjoy from all of these minor but annoying plot decisions and I did not finish the story.

Rating: PG-15 and up, mainly for reading level (nothing graphic)

Date Review Written: April 27th, 2019

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

How To Be A Happier Parent Book Review

Title: How To Be A Happier Parent


Author: K. J. Dell`Antonia

Genre: Nonfiction, Parenting, How-To, Toddlers, Teens,

Plot: Parenting is hard. It is a thankless job with a life-or-death element to it which keeps things interesting and is riddled with moments of bliss, fury, sorrow and disgusting mystery substances. Many parents cope till the college years by diving into a hobby, taking up recreational drinking or just waiting till that next kid-free vacation. But what if there was a way to be a happier parent that didn't involve smuggled chocolate, expensive counseling or even a whole lot of effort on our part?

Enter K. J. Dell'Antonia's amazing book, How To Be A Happier Parent. Drawing from years of experience writing parenting articles, interviews with over a thousand parents, loads of research and data, and her own experience parenting four rowdy kids in New England, Dell'Antonia targets ten problem spots in the family and gives grounded advice and tips for how to deal with these areas, make them more efficient and less of a struggle and thus, make you a happier parent.

Happiness is in reach for parents everywhere now. You just need a quick solo trip to the bookstore, a library or one day shipping to unlock the mysteries.

Likes/Dislikes: I loved this book! The cover was gorgeous, the writing style was very even paced without getting bogged by random facts or droning on and on about something useless, and the solutions for each problem area are real and actually something I can implement in my family. I especially enjoyed the chapters on chores, discipline and siblings. I have three girls and they are already driving me crazy with their sibling disputes. This book reassured me that these disputes are natural and (mostly) harmless. My kids are still at the age where they need to be constantly monitored but I'm looking forward to letting them handle their own arguments in the future. This book, while geared toward parents of older children and teens more than toddlers, gave me permission to parent the way I've been parenting and to "do me," as Dell'Antonia instructed.  Every parent needs to own and read this book!

Rating: PG-16 and up, mainly for reading level and content (it's a parenting book for parents)

Date Review Written: April 6th, 2019

August by Niki Giovanni

Apples fall   peaches harvested

One kind of pear is pickled

Blackberries turn your fingers blue

Some cucumbers get pickled

Biscuits bake or they are fried

Grits are cooked real slow

Green tomatoes in bacon fat

Then it's time to go

From Grandmother's country home

Back up to the city

I'd rather stay in the barefoot South

where everything is pretty

~ Love Poems by Niki Giovanni