Cinders and Sapphires by Leila Rasheed

I was able to get a sneak peek of "Cinders and Sapphires" by Leila Rasheed which is suppose to be a young adult book. The story is about young Rose who rises to the position of ladies maid to the beautiful, accomplished Ada. Rose wonders what life would be like being rich and accomplished like Ada. Young Ada has struggles of her own with scandal following her family and not being able to marry her true love.

This book is product of the Downtown Abbey craze and it really is not horribly original from the sneak peak that I read. From the get go I could pretty much figure out what was going to happen and I would not recommend this book to the young people I know.

Waiting for a view by Debby Mayne

This book was a cute,easy read. It is about Sherry Butler who is a 30 something year old who is stuck in a rut, she is content with her life the way it is and it is not until her dear friend Naomi decided to play matchmaker that she realizes she might be ready to love again.

This was quirky, quick read. I thought the characters were not horribly well developed and that it did not draw you in as well as some books. Still it was a decent, quick read and I might be willing to give another Debby Mayne's books a try.

Lily's Plight by Sally Laity and Dianne Crawford

I was looking forward to a good easy read in this Christian Historical Fiction, but was sadly disappointed in this book. I made it through the first chapter or two before throwing it aside in disgust and skimming to the end. Sadly, this book was as predictable and horrible as I thought it was going to be. The fact that it is "Christian fiction" is slightly disturbing  to me since the premise of the book is a young women coveting another women's husband.

So the story is about Lily who is an indentured servant to John and Susan, taking care of their children while John is away fighting during the French and Indian war and Susan is too ill to take care of the kids. When John comes back Lily likes him and has a hard time hiding it and John notices her too. Do you see something wrong with this picture? Am I the only one who sees a problem with coveting and lusting after someone Else's husband? And don't write about what a wonderful husband John is if he is making eyes at the servant while his wife is still alive.
Ugh,this book thoroughly disgusted me  and I would not recommend it to anyone. Basically it is a secular book with some Christianity thrown in but it does not make the theme of the book any better as they don't really address how wrong it was that Lily is coveting a married man and she gets what she wants in the end.

If you are looking for a quality Christian book then stay away from this one! There are much better Christian books out there that actually have more going on and are not complete twaddle.

Invisible by Ginny Yttrup

In my opinion a good book  is one that causes you to think long after you are finished with it  and engages you wholly in the story. It is  able to draw you in and yet also gives you things that you can apply to your own life. Rarely is such a book written and it takes a exceptional story teller to be able to do it and yet I strongly feel that "Invisible" by Ginny Yttrup is such a book.


"Invisible" by Ginny Yttrup is a masterly woven work of art that tells the very engaging, entertaining and thought provoking  story of 4 very real characters all from their points of view. They are all so wonderful real and flawed and I think most people will see some of themselves  in one of the characters whether it is Miles who lost his wife to cancer and is opening himself to loving again, Ellyn who has allowed her poor self image and hurts of the past hold her back,  successful Sabine who has let heartbreak drive her from her family and seek solitude or young Twila who has to overcome an eating disorder and realize what triggered it.

As I said before I highly recommend this book,it is wonderful, realistic and thought provoking. As a women who struggles with body image and knowing that many women do struggle with it as well, this book really spoke to me and made me understand that we truly are made in God's image and are beautiful the way we are. And whether we are struggling with an eating disorder or with being overweight that God longs to see us as He sees us, which is beautiful beyond compare.

All Things New by Lynn Austin

I read this delightful book by the Christian author Lynn Austin. It was a very well written,thought provoking book.

 

The book follows the lives of Lizzy a young slave women who is fearful for the future of her family  following the Civil War, she longs for freedom but wants a better life for her children, but will the be safe from the Southern men who are bitter from the war?

Eugenia Weatherly lost her husband and oldest son in the war and is left with nothing but a run down plantation with no slaves to help run it and a son who is bitter from the past. Will Eugenia be able to forget the past and embrace the future?

Josephine Weatherly is nothing like her Mother, Eugenia, and is tired of the bitterness that the war has left in every-ones lives . As she learns more about the people she once thought of as merely slaves she realizes that maybe her anger towards God over them losing the war is ill placed.

This was a wonderful,well written book and I really enjoyed it. I highly recommend it.

The Walnut Tree by Charles Todd

I just finished this delightful book by the Mother/Son writing team Charles Todd and really enjoyed it. I am a huge fan of the Bess Crawford and Inspector Ian Rutledge by them and was delighted to read this wonderful stand alone novel.

Lady Elseph Douglas is use to the finer things in life, thanks to being born a daughter of an Earl, but it isn't until the outbreak of World War 1 when she finds her true calling as a Nurse. But what will her Cousin do when he finds out she is doing nursing? And what will Lady Elseph do with her growing feelings for young Scotsman when she is promised to another?

Although this book is not a mystery like Charles Todd's other books,I found myself enjoying this book as it was rich in historical detail and had a sweet love story.
Even though Charles Todd are not Christian writers there is no objectionable content in this book nor in any of the other books I have read by them which is partly why they are one of my favorite mystery writers.

All in all this was a great read and I highly recommend it.

The Next Target

I recently read "The Next Target" by Nikki Arana. Let me start off by saying that this is one of best Christian books that I have read in a long time! I really felt like the author Nikki Arana really did a fabulous job of plenty Christianity,suspense and real life situations into the book.
The book is about Austia who is  witnessing to the Muslims in her community despite the danger it put her in.When one of the young Muslim girls she brings to Christianity is killed because of her conversion it is only a matter of time before her conversion is traced to Austia.
This gave a realistic portrayal of a women who is trying to witness to the Muslims and the danger that is involved,but it is also a story about trusting God no matter what.

I really,really enjoyed this book and liked the fact that it had a lot more involved than just a love story (which the love story is there but it is a very minor part of the book). I really felt like Nikki Arana did a great job at helping you see the Muslims through God's eyes and realize the sacrifice they make when they convert to Christianity.