Book Review: When Strivings Cease

 

When Strivings Cease

Replacing the Gospel of Self-Improvement with the Gospel of Life-Transforming Grace

by Ruth Chou Simons

Pub Date 12 Oct 2021 | 

 Nelson Books,  Thomas Nelson

 Christian  |  Religion & Spirituality

I am reviewing a copy of When Strivings Cease through Nelson Books and NetGalley:

Written in the midst of the 2020 Pandemic, when most of the world was on lockdown, When Strivings Ceases is a book that I believe will resonate, and help many.  

In this age of hustling, and image forward opportunities, we are more anxious than ever.   Despite seeing social media feeds that dominate social media feeds, approval and worth often seem assigned to what we do rather than who we are. And we end up constantly feeling like we’re behind, lacking, and failing—at home, at work, with friends, with God.

Ruth Chou Simons knows something about feeling measured by achievement, performance, and the approval of others. As a Taiwanese immigrant growing up between two cultures, Ruth was always on a mission to prove her worth, until she came to truly understand the one thing that changes everything: the extravagant, undeserved gift of grace from a merciful God.  

In When Strivings Cease , Ruth guides the reader on a journey to find freedom from the never-ending quest for self-improvement. She shows you how to confront the ways you look to superficial means of acceptance and belonging, it will show the readers how to realize that self help isn’t the answer, and to find relief in that because you can’t be so amazing that you won’t need grace;stop seeing God as someone to perform for and start finding delight in responding to his welcome.  The readers will come to realize that relying on your own your own abilities, and your own savvy, and instead understanding the freedom Jesus purchased for you.

This book includes personal insights practical applications, and touches of original artwork by Ruth, this transformational book helps you see the beautiful truth that God’s favor is the only currency you need because in Christ you are enough.

I give When Strivings Cease five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Undercurrent of Secrets

 

Undercurrent of Secrets

by Rachel Scott McDaniel

Pub Date 01 Sep 2021 

 Barbour Publishing , Inc.,  Barbour Fiction

 Christian  |  Historical Fiction  |  Romance

I am reviewing a copy of Undercurrent of Secrets through Barbour Publishing Inc, Barbour fiction and NetGalley:

Devyn Asbury takes pride in seeing others’ dreams come true as wedding coordinator for the 100-year-old steamboat The Belle of Louisville.  Her own engagement sunk like a diamond ring to the bottom;  of the Ohio River but that hasn’t stopped her. When the Belle becomes a finalist in the Timeless Wedding Venue contest, Devyn endeavors to secure the prestigious title with hopes to reclaim some of her professional dreams.  But what she  didn’t plan for was Chase Jones, showing up with a mysterious photos from the 1920’s.

A century before Devyn Ashbury was a wedding coordinator on The Belle of Louisville, Hattie Louis is as untamable as the rivers that raised her.  As the adopted daughter of a steamboat captain, her duties range from the entertainment to cook.  When strange incidents occur aboard the boat, Hattie’s determined to discover the truth. Even if that means getting under First Mate Jack Marshall’s handsome skin.

I give Undercurrent of Secrets five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: No Journey Too Far

 

No Journey Too Far

A Novel

by Carrie Turansky

 Pub Date 08 Jun 2021 | Archive Date 31 Oct 2021

 WaterBrook & Multnomah,  Multnomah

 Christian

I am reviewing a copy of No Journey Too Far through WaterBrook & Multnomah, Multnomah and NetGalley:

Grace McAlister set sail for Canada in 1909,  as one of the thousands of British Home Children taken from their families and their homeland.   Despite the fact that she was fortunate enough to be adopted by wealthy parents, the secrets of her past are kept hidden for ten years until someone from her long-buried childhood arrives on her doorstep. With this new connection to her birth family, will she be brave enough to leave her sheltered life in Toronto and uncover the truth?

Garth McAllister left Canada to serve in World War I, after enduring hardship as an indentured British Home Child.   His sweetheart, Emma Lafferty, promised to wait for his return, but after three long years apart, her letters suddenly stopped.  When Garth comes home from the war to unexpected news he is determined to return to Canada once more on a daunting mission to find the two women he refuses to abandon—his long-lost sister and his mysteriously missing sweetheart.

I give No Journey Too Far five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Murder at Mallowan Hall

 

Murder at Mallowan Hall

by Colleen Cambridge

Pub Date 26 Oct 2021 

 Kensington Books,  Kensington

 Historical Fiction  |  Mystery & Thrillers 

I am reviewing a copy of Murder at Mallowan Hall through Kensington Books and NetGalley:

This is the first book in an exciting new historical mystery series set in the home of Agatha Christie!

Mallowan Hall is tucked away among Devon's rolling green hills, and provides the best of English tradition with the modern conveniences of 1930.   Phyllida bright is a housekeeper who is as efficient as she is personable.   She runs the large household with an iron fist in her very elegant glove. In one respect, however, Mallowan Hall stands far apart from other picturesque country houses...

Mallowan Hall is the home to archeologist Max Mallowan and his famous wife, Agatha Christie. Phyllida is both loyal to and protective of the crime writer, who is as much friend as employer.   Phyllida an aficionado of detective fiction, she has yet  to find a gentleman in real life half as fascinating as Mrs. Agatha's Belgian hero, Hercule Poirot. But though accustomed to murder and its methods as frequent topics of conversation, Phyllida is unprepared for the sight of a very real, very dead body on the library floor...

Phyllida who was a former army nurse, reacts with practical common sense--and a great deal of curiosity. It soon becomes clear that the victim arrived at Mallowan Hall under false pretenses during a weekend party. Now, Phyllida not only has a houseful of demanding guests on her hands--along with a distracted, anxious staff but hordes of reporters camping outside. When another dead body is discovered this time, one of her housemaids--Phyllida decides to follow in M. Poirot's footsteps to determine which of the Mallowans' guests is the killer.  

Phyllida is able to assemble the clues With help from the village's handsome physician, Dr. Bhatt, Mr. Dobble, the butler, along with other household staff.  She is all to aware though that the killer is more than  likely still at hand, and is likely poised to Strike again.

I give Murder at Mallowan Hall five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Learning In Public

 

Learning in Public

Lessons for a Racially Divided America from My Daughter's School

by Courtney E. Martin

Pub Date 03 Aug 2021 |

 Little, Brown and Company 

 Biographies & Memoirs  |  Nonfiction (Adult)  |  Parenting & Families 

I am reviewing a copy of Learning In Public through Little Brown Company and NetGalley:

From the time the author Courtney, E Martin strapped her daughter, Maya, to her chest for long walks, she was curious about Emerson Elementary, a public school down the street from her Oakland home.   Courtney learned  that white families in their gentrifying neighborhood largely avoided Emerson Elementary a a public school down the street from her Oakland home where the majority of the school was Black and the the school was poorly related.  When Courtney asked why a journey of a thousand moral miles began.

Learning in Public is the story, not just Courtney’s journey, but a whole country’s.   Many of us have been newly awakened by the social injustices in society but unsure of how to go beyond hashtags and yard signs to be a part of transforming the country.    Courtney discovers that her public school, the foundation of our fragile democracy, is a powerful place to dig deeper. 

In this book Courtney examines her own fears, assumptions, and conversations with other moms and dads as they navigate school choice. A vivid portrait of integration’s virtues and complexities, and yes, the palpable joy of trying to live differently in a country re-making itself.

I give Learning in Public four out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: You’d Be Home Now

 

You'd Be Home Now

by Kathleen Glasgow

Pub Date 28 Sep 2021 

 Random House Children's,  Delacorte Press

 Teens & YA 

  I am reviewing a copy of You’d Be Home Now through Random House Chidren’s, Delacorte Press and NetGalley:

Emmy is the good kid, she’s not strong-willed like her beautiful older sister Maddie and not difficult like her brother Joey.     She doesn’t take up much space.  After her brother Joey returns home from rehab, her parents want her to act as his guardian, all the while keeping her grades up after the tragic events of the Summer.

There is only one person who makes her feel as if she is visible that is her secret lover Gage, but no one can find out about that. How long can Emmy keep up her careful balancing act before it topples?

I give You’d Be Home Now five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Besties Work It Out

 

Besties: Work It Out

by Kayla Miller; Jeffrey Canino

Pub Date 19 Oct 2021 | Archive Date 19 Nov 2021

 Clarion Books (formerly HMH Children's Books),  Etch/Clarion Books

 Children's Fiction

I am reviewing a copy of Besties: Work It out through Clarion Books, Etch/Clarion Books and NetGalley:

Besties Work it Out is A fun and fresh graphic-novel series spin-off of the New York Times best-selling Click books, these books feature aspiring entrepreneurs Beth and Chanda! When the girls land a lucrative dogsitting gig, they're sure that fame, fortune, and popularity can't be far behind, but nothing can prepare them for the mishap that throws their business plan—and friendship—into chaos!

In this book you will meet Beth and Chanda, two stylish best friends on their way to building their fashion empire! An unexpected business opportunity presents itself when the girls are asked to dogsit at Ms. Langford's luxurious house while she’s away, but it quickly turns into a disaster after an accident leaves one of Ms. Langford’s prized possessions in pieces!    In order to replace the broken lamp Beth and Chanda have to take on as many odd jobs as they can in order to afford a replacement. Car washing, book sales, interior decorating—you name it, Beth and Chanda are there! Will they be able to patch up their mistake in time?

I give Besties: Work It Out five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Robert Rules of Writing

 

Robert's Rules of Writing, Second Edition

111 Unconventional Lessons That Every Writer Needs to Know

by Robert Masello

Pub Date 21 Sep 2021 |

 Skyhorse Publishing,  Allworth

 Nonfiction (Adult) 

I am reviewing a copy of Robert Rules of Writing, Second Edition through Seahorse Publishing, Allworth and NetGalley:

Despite the fact that there’s no shortage of books on writing, Robert’s Rules of Writing: 111 Unconventional Lessons Every Writer Needs to Know is quite unique.  Robert Masello draws on his many years of experience as an award-winning journalist, TV writer, and the author of over twenty books published by mainstream houses and translated, to date, into nineteen languages, Robert Masello addresses all the issues that confront, and all the problems that beset, writers of all stripes.

In this book Robert Masello reminds the author that weather you are working on a a novel or a script, a memoir or a blog, an epic poem or a newspaper piece, you’re going to have to find the best way to express yourself clearly, persuasively, and you will need to entertain your readers.    In order to do this you will have to find your own personal voice, which is actually a lot harder than it sounds.  And you will need to use that unique voice to bring to life your story, your thoughts, and your opinions, to the many readers out there that you’re eager to reach; with complete candor and welcome irreverence, Robert’s Rules of Writing offers the inside knowledge that will help you do just that.   As provocative as they are amusing, these rules are purposely designed to challenge the old axioms and get you thinking afresh about your work.

This book includes over a hundred but pithy takes, in which Masello guides you over hurdles, around obstacles, and through the seemingly insurmountable barriers to completion and ultimately publication of your writing.  This book is lively, thought provoking as well as funny.

I give Robert Rules of Writing five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Translation of the Seventy

 

Translation of the Seventy

History, Reception, and Contemporary Use of the Septuagint

by Edmon L. Gallagher

Pub Date 01 Aug 2021 |

 Abilene Christian University Press & Leafwood Publishers,  Abilene Christian University Press

 Christian  |  History  |  Religion & Spirituality 

I am reviewing a copy of Translation of the Seventy through Abilene Christian University Press & Leafwood Publishers,and NetGalley:

The story goes a few centuries before the birth of Jesus, seventy Jewish sages produced a Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures at the request of an Egyptian king.   While some believed that this translation was inspired by Scripture even more significantly, the authors of what would later be called the New Testament relied on this translation as they quoted Scripture.   In the centuries that followed many Christians argued that God had provided the Septuagint as the church’s Old Testament.   But what about the many differences between the Septuagint and the Hebrew Bible?    And what about the extra books of the Septuagint the so-called Apocrypha or deuterocanonical literature?

Translation of the Seventy is written with students in mind and the book has a primary focus on the role of the Septuagint in early Christianity.   This fresh analysis of the New Testament’s use of the Septuagint and the complex reception of this translation in the first four centuries of Christian history will lead scholars, students, and general readers to a renewed appreciation for this first biblical translation.

I give Translation of the Seventy five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: The Loft Generation

 

The Loft Generation

From the de Koonings to Twombly: Portraits and Sketches, 1942-2011

by Edith Schloss

Pub Date 16 Nov 2021 | 

 Farrar, Straus and Giroux 

 Biographies & Memoirs 

I am reviewing a copy of The Loft Generation through Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley:

Edith Schloss could not decide if she was a painter who wrote, or a writer she painted.  She was an accomplished writer who wrote many art reviews and memoirs about different people and events throughout her life.  She also had at least one unpublished novel.  When she passed away she left many manuscripts in various stages of completion.  The Loft Generation was an early draft.

In The Loft Generation: From the de Koonings to Twombly is a firsthand account by an artist at the center of a landmark era in American art. Edith Schloss writes about the artists, poets, and musicians who were part of the postwar art movements as well as about her life as an artist in America and Later in Italy, where she continued to paint and write until her death in 2011.

Edith Schloss was born in Germany, and moved to New York City during World War II.   She soon She became part of a thriving community of artists and intellectuals, from Elaine and Willem de Kooning and Larry Rivers to John Cage and Frank O’Hara.   She would marry the photographer and filmmaker Rudy Burckhardt. She was both a working artist and an incisive art critic, and was a candid and gimlet-eyed observer of the close-knit community that was redefining American art.  

I give the Loft Generation five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Murder Book

 

Murder Book

A Graphic Memoir of a True Crime Obsession

by Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell

Pub Date 09 Nov 2021 |

 Andrews McMeel Publishing 

 Comics, Graphic Novels, Manga 

I am reviewing a copy of Murder Book: A Graphic Memoir of a True Crime Obsession through Andrew McMeel Publishing and NetGalley:

Murder Book A Graphic Memoir of a True Crime Obsession is a humorous investigation into the author's obsession with true crime, the murders that have most captivated her throughout her life, and a love letter to her fellow true-crime fanatics.

Why do so many find it fun to read about death and dismemberment? In Murder Book, lifelong true-crime obsessive and New Yorker cartoonist Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell tries to puzzle out the answer.  

Let me start off with the things I loved about this unconventional graphic exploration exploration of a lifetime of Ann Rule super-fandom, amateur armchair sleuthing, and a deep dive into the high-profile murders that have fascinated the author for decades, first of all the humor was great as were the graphics, and as a true crime aficionado myself I found the book relatable in many cases.  

Now to get on to the thing I did not like about the book, that was the political undertones in the book, there is good and bad in everything political leaning, so signaling one out I don’t feel is the place for a true crime graphic novel.

I give Murder Book four out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: A Body by the Lighthouse

 

A Body by the Lighthouse

The Kitt Hartley Yorkshire Mysteries Book 6

by Helen Cox

Pub Date 30 Sep 2021 

 Quercus Books,  Quercus

 Mystery & Thrillers 

I am reviewing a copy of A Body by the Lighthouse through Quercus Books and NetGalley:

Kitt Hartley a private investigator along with her twin sister Rebecca are preparing for a holiday in Scotland when cruise ship entertainer Errol Jackson appears at the door.    Errol comes to break the news that that Bryce Griffin, a former smuggler and an old friend of Kitt's, has been murdered: his body found washed up by a lighthouse, bearing a gunshot wound.

Kitt is able to persuade Rebecca to cancel their trip and, together with Kitt's assistant Grace Edwards and best friend Evie Bowes, books onto the next cruise to Norway to help with the ongoing murder investigation.

While aboard the cruise ship Kitt, Grace and Rebecca encounter burlesque dancers, casino dealers, drag queens and a talking parrot named Skittles - seemingly the only witness to Bryce's death. But what dark secrets are lurking below deck? Can Kitt catch the killer before it's too late?

I give A Body by the Lighthouse Five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!