Book Review: The Peter Potential

The Peter Potential: Discover the Life You Were Meant to Live
The Peter Potential: Discover the Life You Were Meant to Live by Emily Freeman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love this beautiful little devotion book! Focusing on the life of Peter and his most defining moments with Christ, this book paints an inspiring picture of what is possible in our Christian lives when we accept an invitation from the Lord.
Christ invited Peter to launch out into the deep and trust Him for the resulting fishing success. Christ invited Peter to walk on water, to feed 5,000 hungry people by giving the little he had, and to pray all night in the garden.
This book shows how God is always inviting us to a deeper relationship with Him, to realize our full potential in Him, and encourages and inspires the reader to accept those invitations from God.

The illustrations, photos, and layout of the book are delightful, and really make an impact as you read. This would make a perfect little gift book for anyone in any place in their Christian walk!

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Trilogy Review: So Close To You by Rachel Carter

This is my review of the entire “So Close To You” trilogy by Rachel Carter. These books are a YA time travel story with adventure, intrigue, secret government conspiracies, romance, and of course time travel!  I gave them all 4 out of 5 stars. So much love!

So Close To You by Rachel Carter

Lydia Bentley has heard stories about the Montauk Project all her life: stories about the strange things that took place at the abandoned military base near her home and people who’ve disappeared over the years.
Alongside a darkly mysterious boy she is wary to trust, she discovers that all the stories she’s heard about the Montauk Project are true, and that she’s in the middle of one of the most dangerous experiments in history.
-Goodreads Description

 

So Close to You
So Close to You by Rachel Carter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really loved this book! I was hooked from the first page, and the suspense pulled me in. I love time-travel stories, and this one is fantastic.
Lydia is a great character, full of curiosity and spunk, but also Continue reading

Series Review: Tiger’s Curse Saga by Colleen Houck

This is a series review of the entire Tiger’s Curse Saga by Colleen Houck!  I loved these books!

“The last thing Kelsey Hayes thought she’d be doing this summer was trying to break a 300-year-old Indian curse. With a mysterious white tiger named Ren. Halfway around the world. But that’s exactly what happened. Face-to-face with dark forces, spellbinding magic, and mystical worlds where nothing is what it seems, Kelsey risks everything to piece together an ancient prophecy that could break the curse forever. Tiger’s Curse is an epic fantasy-romance that will leave you breathless and yearning for more.”  -GoodReads Description

Tiger's Curse Tiger’s Curse by Colleen Houck My rating: 4 of 5 stars I loved loved this book! The magic and mystery, the adventure and mystical Indian setting, the sweet romance and puzzling myths… all these drew me in and made me forget that I was reading a book! I loved all the characters; the delicious Ren, and sweet Kelsey, the enigmatic Kishan, and grandfatherly Mr. Kadam. The romance between Ren and Kelsey is sweet and Continue reading

Review: Gathering Blue

Gathering Blue
Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“In her strongest work to date, Lois Lowry once again creates a mysterious but plausible future world. It is a society ruled by savagery and deceit that shuns and discards the weak. Left orphaned and physically flawed, young Kira faces a frightening, uncertain future. Blessed with an almost magical talent that keeps her alive, she struggles with ever broadening responsibilities in her quest for truth, discovering things that will change her life forever.” -GoodReads

 

I loved this book almost as much as the Giver! I’m falling in love with Lowry’s books one by one! Kira’s connection to her embroidery art is touching and mysterious. It really sparked my interest from the beginning. I loved seeing her growing into her art, and discovering what it means to be an artist. The responsibility of art can be a heavy burden or a joy, and Kira has to make decisions, hard choices, about how to Continue reading

Review: Petronella Saves Nearly Everyone: The Entomological Tales of Augustus T. Percival

Petronella Saves Nearly Everyone: The Entomological Tales of Augustus T. Percival
Petronella Saves Nearly Everyone: The Entomological Tales of Augustus T. Percival by Dene Low
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

You would think Petronella’s sixteenth birthday would be cause for celebration. After all, fashionable friends are arriving at her country estate near London, teas are being served, and her coming out party promises to be a resplendent affair. Everything is falling nicely into place, until, suddenly—it isn’t. For Petronella discovers that her guardian, Uncle Augustus T. Percival, has developed a most unVictorian compulsion: He must eat bugs. Worse still, because he is her guardian, Uncle Augustus is to attend her soiree and his current state will most definitely be an embarrassment.
During the festivities, when Petronella would much rather be sharing pleasantries with handsome Lord James Sinclair (swoon), important guests are disappearing, kidnapping notes are appearing, many of the clues are insects, and Uncle Augustus is surreptitiously devouring evidence. It’s more than one sixteen-year-old girl should have to deal with. But, truth be told, there is far more yet to come . . . -GoodReads

 

I love it! I read this book all in one sitting, and was perfectly delighted with every chapter. The absurd plot and witty banter are just perfection! There are so many imaginative details in this book that all come together for a truly interesting plot. The writing is so dignified and humorous; it’s like this sugary froth of words. Continue reading

Review: The House of the Seven Gables

The House of the Seven Gables
The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

“Greedy Colonel Pyncheon builds his mansion on ill-gotten ground, setting the stage for generations of suffering. Years later, a country cousin, Phoebe,  attempts to reverse the tide of misfortunes surrounding the house, and tries to help the old hermit Hepzibah and her half-mad brother, Clifford, before they fall into their own decay.”

 

This ought not to be a book. It ought to be a short story. There is so much unnecessary description and long philosophizing passages. I skipped entire chapters of nonsense and silly imaginings that had nothing whatever to do with the plot. There is very little dialogue at all. I estimate that about 3% of this book is dialogue. Not nearly enough dialogue.

I found most of the book to be gloomy, but not too creepy until Continue reading

Review: Henry VI, Part 1

Henry VI, Part 1
Henry VI, Part 1 by William Shakespeare
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“Tis much when sceptres are in children’s hands; but more when envy breeds unkind division: there comes the ruin, there begins confusion.”

That quote sums up most of the plot! Henry VI is too young to rule on his own, and his advisers and lords ruin everything by bickering and fighting amongst themselves, leaving England’s armies vulnerable to the French. Continue reading

Review: Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is a thrilling and exhilarating story of Israel and Rome in the time of Christ. Betrayal, love, suspense, revenge, friendship, disaster, salvation, murder, war, spies, and of course, the famous chariot race- this book has everything! Continue reading