My Stubborn Heart by Becky Wade is a very fresh novel. It is a Christian romance novel, but unlike any I have read before. The author kept the emotions, actions, and thoughts real. For example, the main character, Kate, complains about her breast size, Kate and Matt have an argument, and one sentence was, "He kissed her and kissed her and kissed her and she kissed him back, until she was forced to come up for air." I have read too many Christian romance novels where things like that aren't mentioned. However, how many of us Christian women didn't have body image issues especially when dating? Or you didn't kiss your boyfriend passionately?
The characters were well-developed and the story flowed well, which made it hard to put down. Although I had nothing in common with the main character except our ages, I really liked Kate. She was spunky and although we had nothing in common, I felt like we could be friends!
The book had a couple of enjoyable storylines and lots of humor. There was a wide range of emotions in the book, especially as Matt's past was incredibly sad.
One complaint is that I don't know if the author thought out the whole restoring the house storyline completely through. If I was renovating a house, I don't know that I would have painted all of the walls before having the floors sanded and refinished (too much dust being kicked up on freshly painted walls).
Additionally, I don't feel that the end of the book was as strong as the rest of the book. I wasn't disappointed, though. Perhaps it is that it ended abruptly. I felt the author could have built up the last chapter more.
All in all, I really enjoyed this book, and look forward to reading more books by Becky Wade.
I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher, in exchange for my honest opinion and review.
Showing posts with label bethany house. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bethany house. Show all posts
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Book Review - Pattern of Wounds
Pattern of Wounds is a murder mystery novel featuring Roland March as the cantankerous, focused, tough guy homicide detective. Pattern of Wounds was written by J. Mark Bertrand. The novel follows March as he tries to solve a murder of a young woman, figure out if the crime is one of a serial killer, deal with his own past, and face an unraveling conviction.
I thought the novel moved slowly through the first half. Perhaps I am too used to crimes being solved in the 1 hour time frame on Law and Order: SVU! Halfway through though, my attention was grabbed and I couldn't put the book down. This was the first book in the Roland March series that I read, and although it is not necessary to read the first book in the series, it is probably helpful to. At some points I did feel a little lost because I didn't know the complete back story for the other story lines that were included in Pattern of Wounds. And speaking of other story lines, I felt there were too many in the book! And looking back, those were the parts in the novel that I seemed to drag through. Those parts were probably super important for those who have read the first Roland March book in the series and wanted closure. However, I would have been content just reading the parts relating to the main crime-the murder of the woman, with perhaps one side story thrown in.
If given the opportunity, I would pick up the first book in the Roland March series. If the series continues I would probably pick up those books as well.
**I was provided a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.**
I thought the novel moved slowly through the first half. Perhaps I am too used to crimes being solved in the 1 hour time frame on Law and Order: SVU! Halfway through though, my attention was grabbed and I couldn't put the book down. This was the first book in the Roland March series that I read, and although it is not necessary to read the first book in the series, it is probably helpful to. At some points I did feel a little lost because I didn't know the complete back story for the other story lines that were included in Pattern of Wounds. And speaking of other story lines, I felt there were too many in the book! And looking back, those were the parts in the novel that I seemed to drag through. Those parts were probably super important for those who have read the first Roland March book in the series and wanted closure. However, I would have been content just reading the parts relating to the main crime-the murder of the woman, with perhaps one side story thrown in.
If given the opportunity, I would pick up the first book in the Roland March series. If the series continues I would probably pick up those books as well.
**I was provided a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.**
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Book Review-Promises to Keep
Promises to Keep, written by Ann Tatlock, is a story about a preteen girl, Roz, and her life after moving to a new town. Once in the town of fictional Mills River, IL, her family discovers they have a new house guest, Tillie, a rather eccentric, but wise 70 year old woman, who also, in my opinion, happens to be the best thing the family encounters.
I enjoyed the book, however, I felt like it was a slow read up until half way through. The book has 47 chapters, but is 345 pages long, so you can see that the chapters are short. This I viewed as a disadvantage because I would read only one chapter at a time, and be OK with that. I didn't feel like there was enough of a pull to make me read the next chapter in the same sitting. However, it could be an advantage for someone who doesn't have a lot of time on their hands and wants a book that they can read a chapter in five minutes. If you have the patience to make it through the first half, the second half is well worth it. I flew through the final chapters on the book. Although it was rather predictable, there was still the desire to see what would happen, and yes, some surprises!
The characters in the novel are complex, yet likable (well, at least most of them!) Ms. Tatlock did a wonderful job of developing the characters, and the different stories they all told in one novel.
Although the story is a drama, there is some humor and light-hearted moments as well, which is appreciated and frankly, needed, because the topics in the book are rather deep and complex.
All in all, my review of the book is average. There are elements I liked (the characters), but others I could do without (disliked the short chapters!) I may read more of Ms. Tatlock's work in the future if her books come across my path, but I won't go out of my way to.
**I was provided a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.**
I enjoyed the book, however, I felt like it was a slow read up until half way through. The book has 47 chapters, but is 345 pages long, so you can see that the chapters are short. This I viewed as a disadvantage because I would read only one chapter at a time, and be OK with that. I didn't feel like there was enough of a pull to make me read the next chapter in the same sitting. However, it could be an advantage for someone who doesn't have a lot of time on their hands and wants a book that they can read a chapter in five minutes. If you have the patience to make it through the first half, the second half is well worth it. I flew through the final chapters on the book. Although it was rather predictable, there was still the desire to see what would happen, and yes, some surprises!
The characters in the novel are complex, yet likable (well, at least most of them!) Ms. Tatlock did a wonderful job of developing the characters, and the different stories they all told in one novel.
Although the story is a drama, there is some humor and light-hearted moments as well, which is appreciated and frankly, needed, because the topics in the book are rather deep and complex.
All in all, my review of the book is average. There are elements I liked (the characters), but others I could do without (disliked the short chapters!) I may read more of Ms. Tatlock's work in the future if her books come across my path, but I won't go out of my way to.
**I was provided a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.**
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)