There's a Green Plastic Monkey in My Purse Book Review

Title: There's a Green Plastic Monkey in My Purse

Author: Jessica Clemence

Genre: Christian, Nonfiction, Motherhood, Humor, Parenting

Plot: Written with a purpose in mind and wrapped in a cozy sense of humor {see title for proof}, this book features a fun quiz, interesting interviews of other moms {oh the joys of being friends with a writer!} and scripture to help you along this difficult journey known as motherhood. Each chapter focuses on a different character trait we as mothers are or should be striving to show in our lives, modeling the good behavior we want our kids to display.

With humorous personal accounts to balance the often hard to swallow truths and lessons, this book is ideal for any mother. And can be read with a toddler attempting to distract you; believe me, I tried it.

Likes/Dislikes: While I didn't enjoy every aspect of this book {the medical chapter hit rather close to home}, I did enjoy the organizing chapter a lot and the overall tone of comfort and seeking God in the big and little things was soothing to me and helpful.

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

Date Review Written: April 29th, 2016

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

A Mini Chocolate Review

Lindt chocolate is a household name for chocolates. I've tried several of their truffles and enjoyed them, especially the dark chocolate ones. So imagine my delight when I received some yummy Lindt chocolates for my birthday from a dear friend. Right there and then we sampled some sweet Strawberry Cheesecake bar. Decadent milk chocolate forms a firm shell around soft sweet strawberry filling that surprisingly tastes a lot like strawberry cheesecake. The texture is fairly close and while it's sweet, it isn't overpoweringly so. I was able to break the bar into smaller bite-sized bits and share them - the baby particularly loved that. The ingredient list is a moderate length with a few items that make me wonder if I should look them up on Google to find out what exactly they are, but I kinda don't want to in case they're something nasty. That would really ruin the charm of the chocolate for me. There were only twenty grams of sugar which was surprising because it tasted like it should be a bigger number of grams. I found the cute designs on the chocolate adorable and the packaging was hilarious. All flirty and inviting. If only it had been dark chocolate.

I'd say a yummy eight out of ten stars is in order for this bar.

I also received two sticks of Lindt chocolates, both milk. One is a yummy-looking Cookies 'n Cream flavor that I plan to share with my husband since that is his favorite blend of chocolates. The second was Caramel Brownie. With such a delicious name, you picture a yummy {preferably dark} chocolate bar with a truffle and caramel filling that melts in your mouth and makes everything so much better. Instead you get a thicker bit of milk chocolate with a dab of caramel in the middle. It was very disappointing. Tasty and easy to share, but disappointing.

So I'll round up and say five stars out of ten.

Tarzan of the Apes Book Review

Title: Tarzan of the Apes

Author: Edgar Rice Burroughs

Genre: Classic, Action/Adventure, Fiction

Plot: Shipwrecked on the coast of Africa, a lord and his young wife must survive somehow in the wildness they landed in, but it's a struggle and when the birth of their son leaves his wife weak, the shipwrecked lord wonders how they'll survive.

The decision is taken out of his hands by a group of gorillas who take in the now orphaned child and raise him as one of their own. Living in the jungle his whole life, Tarzan grows strong and teaches himself to survive, as well as to read when he discovers the abandoned cabin he was born in. But when English explorers come snooping around his wild kingdom, Tarzan finds himself exposed to a whole new world filled with such fascinating creatures as the lovely Jane.

Likes/Dislikes: This book was a riot of adventure and packed with such clear beautiful and detailed descriptions. I felt like I was there in the jungle with Tarzan and all his friends. The surprising part was how much more there was to the story than what Disney would have you know. I loved it and will read it over and over again. Tarzan did run around naked for quite a lot in the book and there were several deaths with lots of adventure, but I don't remember how violent they were.

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

Date Review Written: November 5th, 2015

Whispers in the Reading Room Book Review

Title: Whispers in the Reading Room

Author: Shelley Gray

Genre: Christian, Historical Fiction, Romance

Plot: Working as a librarian is Lydia Bancroft's ideal job; she's surrounded by all her beloved books and can spend hours talking about books. But secretly, one of the perks of her job doesn't really involve books at all. It involves the mysterious gentleman who comes in regularly, sits in his usual chair, reads for an hour or two and then leaves again, all without ever speaking to anyone. And he doesn't have a library card so Lydia can't even put a name to such a handsome face. Still, she knows exactly what he likes to read.

And then one day all that changes when the mysterious man comes to her rescue in the lobby of the Hartman Hotel, revealing that he is the intriguing and wealthy Sebastian Marks. While Lydia may now have a name to the face, the accompanying reputation is unexpected and even more of a jolt is the fact that Sebastian owns an infamous saloon and gambling club. At odds over this new information, Lydia visits the club and lands in the middle of a murder investigation which not only threatens her life but Sebastian's as well and any chance at a happy future together.

Likes/Dislikes: In all honesty, I haven't entirely finished this book yet. That's a side-effect of an energetic toddler that I wasn't anticipating. That being said, the book so far flows well and the writing style is intriguing. The characters are interesting though hint at possibly getting annoying from too much exposure but we'll see how it all wraps up in the end. I'll update you with my conclusions when I finish the book.

Rating: Unavailable.

Date Review Written: April 1st, 2016

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

Northanger Abbey Read Along!

While I haven't been around much in the blogging world for a couple months now {we've been a bit busy dealing with our two year old suddenly having juvenile arthritis and a second pregnancy on top of all the usual stuff}, I do pop in occasionally and today I stumbled across this lovely little gem that should be a delight to participate in, so I'm sharing it with you all.

Head over to Seasons of Humility for the whole scoop on her Northanger Abbey Read Along!

A Court of Thorns and Roses Book Review

Title: A Court of Thorns and Roses

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Genre: Fairy Tale Retelling, Drama, Action/Adventure, Dark

Plot: Nineteen year old Feyre has suffered a lot in her relatively short life - she's lost her icy mother, endured verbal abuse form her elder sisters, suffered neglect from her crippled father, saw their fortune destoryed and had to learn to hunt to survive. But Feyre has no idea what's in store for her when she's out stalking a deer in the snowy woods and spots a massive wolf on the hunt. Killing the wolf was easy, selling the pelt brought in some much needed funds but the consequences for her decision are astonishing. A terrifying beast breaks into the tiny cabin and demands blood payment - a life for a life - and takes Feyre away from everything she's known to live out the rest of her days across the mysterious wall where the vicious Fairies of old dwell.

Finding out that the other side of the wall isn't what she expects does little {at first} to dampen Feyre's desire to flee and return to her ungrateful family. But slowly, the lord of the manor begins to chip away at her armor and Feyre finds herself growing content with her new world. Until the gathering darkness presses in too close and she is sent away back to her family, to her side of the wall and relative safety. But she can't forget the things she saw and the person she's becoming, let alone the man she's fallen in love with and she can't abandon him to his fate.

Likes/Dislikes: My local library does a wonderful little Blind Date with a Book for Valentine's Day and after going through three "dates," the librarian recommended this one. I love Beauty and the Beast, so I was intrigued. It started out interesting with a bit of potential for a unique story. Then it got a little wobbly in the middle before taking a nosedive off a cliff into a very dark and disturbing churning sea. The last quarter to a third of the book reeked of darkness and pure evil; the villainous witch is a very good example of why fairies are often better known as bloodthirsty demons and should be avoided at all costs. Even the ridiculous "redeemed" character of Raysand or whatever his name is, is a horrible character. There are recounting of horrible gory torture sessions that lasted for days and weeks - including the vicious death of an innocent character through Feyre's own fault. There are bloody battles {including memories of a horrible war five hundred years ago}, family members brutally killing other family members, Feyre gets drunk multiple times {once willingly and the rest forcibly}, while held prisoner by the bad guys she is forced to wear a horribly skimpy outfit and dance for their pleasure, there are two uncomfortable sex scenes and Feyre is almost raped twice - I'm surprised not more times by all these terrible characters. As if all this darkness wasn't bad enough, Feyre was a stupid character; she spends all her time whining then does a one-eighty and its all good for awhile. One of her problems is that the author can't write a main character made of ice, just mushy gross mud that thinks it's special. This was a horrible book and I don't recommend it to anyone.

Rating: PG-18 and up for graphic content. Not recommended at all.

Date Review Written: February 9th, 2016