Book Review: The Great Divorce

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The Great Divorce The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The timeless novel about a bus ride from hell to heaven… In The Great Divorce C. S. Lewis again employs his formidable talent for fable and allegory. The writer finds himself in Hell boarding a bus bound for Heaven. The amazing opportunity is that anyone who wants to stay in Heaven, can. This is the starting point for an extraordinary meditation upon good and evil, grace and judgment. Lewis’s revolutionary idea is that the gates of Hell are locked from the inside. In Lewis’s own words, “If we insist on keeping Hell (or even earth) we shall not see Heaven; if we accept Heaven we shall not be able to retain even the smallest and most intimate souvenirs of Hell.”- GoodReads

Oh my goodness, I’m in shock! I feel like I have been hit with a ton of spiritual bricks; not an uncommon feeling after reading any of Lewis’ books. How wonderful! The best part is that no matter what the subject or plot, Lewis always turns the focus back to Christ. Continue reading →

Review: A Lady at Willowgrove Hall

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A Lady at Willowgrove Hall
A Lady at Willowgrove Hall by Sarah E. Ladd
Willowgrove Hall is full of secrets, but soon everything hidden is brought to light.

Cecily Faire has a secret—and she intends to keep it. But when she arrives at Willowgrove Hall to serve as a lady’s companion, she comes face-to-face with the only person who knows the truth about her past.

As the steward of Willowgrove Hall, Nathaniel Stanton is dedicated to serving those around him. Nothing escapes his notice—including the beautiful new lady’s companion. He is certain the lovely Miss Faire is hiding something, and he determines to uncover it. But Nathaniel has a secret of his own: he is the illegitimate son of Willowgrove’s former master. Falling in love was not part of his plans . . . until he meets Cecily Faire.

When Willowgrove’s mistress dies, everything changes. Fear of exposure forces Cecily to leave under the cover of darkness, embarking on a journey to finally find her long-lost sister. When the will is read, Nathaniel’s inheritance makes him question his future plans. Cecily and Nathaniel are forced to make decisions that will change the course of their lives. Is their love strong enough to survive?
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I liked this book fairly well. The characters are well-rounded, memorable, and interesting, and since I am a character-driven reader that is important to me. Each character has their own voice in the story. There’s also a depth of background to each character that is like a wonderful discovery, finding out about their past as the story progresses! Continue reading →

Best and Worst of 2014 + Reading Resolutions of 2015

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The 10 Best and 10 Worst Books that I read in 2014, and my Reading Resolutions for all the reading I’m going to do in 2015!
Girl in Fairyland Series Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mN-Vp6NCLs8
The Door Within Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1ZkIGtm-Us
The Magic Mountain Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGmmrXq1cNM

Book Review: Called to Write, Chosen to Publish

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Called to Write, Chosen to Publish
Called to Write, Chosen to Publish by Rachael K. Hartman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is inspirational and helpful to any writer! The author gives encouragement from their own personal experiences with writing and from Scripture. Each chapter starts with a Scripture verse that has to do with writing in some way, and at the back of the book there is an index of Bible verses that are paraphrased to apply to writing and publishing.

Several chapters focus on writing as a healing exercise and a way to work through your own grief and move past painful experiences. Other chapters talk about worshiping and glorifying God through writing. There’s even a chapter about writing music, which I was happy to see since I’m a pianist!

The author made me think about aspects of writing that I had not truly considered before; like writing with truthfulness even if I’m writing fiction, and writing with grace. I need to learn to trust myself and my writing instincts, and not be such a perfectionist.

This little book really inspired me to write more, to write for God, and to write with abandon and freedom!

View all my reviews