Nickels

Nickels by Karen Baney
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I appreciated the story being Christian based... how someone can change from their past & show that their lives are changed.

I really loved the character of Kyle. Know a lot of women would want to have him in real life. & while Niki had horrible tragedies in her life, I was glad to see her find some happiness.

I did enjoy the book, but will say, it seemed way too long for me. Sort of dragging the story out & had parts that I felt like I just kept reading over & over. (water games in the pool - kissing the forehead) maybe it was just because it felt so long that I noticed these same sentiments over & over repeatedly.

I did appreciate the Christian love story... that Kyle & his sister were 'normal' Christians - not over the top, crazy, 'preachy' people - but loved Nickles through the years - leading her to Christ...

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Sun Zebra

The Sun Zebra by Rolando Garcia
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Short stories written by a father about his life & 'adventures' with his daughter. There are just a few stories, but you'll wish there were more. Each story was so well written - making me laugh & tear up in the same story. Cute stories of Nell & deep lessons for the adults to learn ...


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See Through

See Through by Catherine Kirby
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I started reading it, thinking it was a good idea. What would it be like to be invisible..

but it was just weird

Take out the "English/British" terms, I couldnt understand it. A family that allowed the mom to the oldest daughter to 'hang out' with them, but not tell the now teenager daughter its her mom? And then a phantom pregnancy - & then the invisible stuff because you have a 'colour' as the last name?

I couldnt take anymore.

Made it to the 5th chapter & just said "I give up"

It may have had a fantastic ending that wrapped it all up - but I couldnt get there.

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Erasing Hell

Erasing Hell: What God Said about Eternity, and the Things We've Made Up by Francis Chan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

While I am a Christian & do believe in Hell, I wanted to see Francis Chan take on it.
And while I agreed with the scripture he gave & explanations of it, I was really taken back by the chapter that talked about what do Christians do now. Particuarly about the verse where Jesus says, "I never knew you"... the way he said that the greedy, the teachers, of the Word will be going to Hell. It made no mention of Christ's blood covering our sins... it just stresed the point of BELIEVERS going to Hell... which I do not agree with. I think those going to Hell are not true believers... what is Christ Blood for then? ...
In the end, this book didnt tell me anything more then I already knew, but I felt, wanted to scare people into being a 'perfect' person, which we know we cant be...

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Chasing Rainbows

Source: goodreads.com via Rebecca on Pinterest

Chasing Rainbows

Kathleen Long

What's that saying about the devil you know? For Bernie, it's the devil she never expected that changes everything.

Her father's sudden death leaves a gaping void in her life and is one in a series of events that rock her world. Her husband leaves for another woman, and her best friend announces an unplanned pregnancy at the age of forty-one. Bernie's behavior goes from acting out to out-of-hand, and she finds herself in trouble at home, out of work and banned from the mall after a confrontation at the cosmetic counter.

When her mother discovers her father's book of cryptograms, Bernie realizes his encoded lessons in living might be exactly what she needs to survive. From dealing with her family's grief and bonding with her best friend's thirteen-year-old daughter, to dieting, dating and mindless almost-sex with the landscaper, Bernie discovers what her father always knew.

In life, you either choose to sing a rainbow, or you don't.

For Bernie, the singing is about to begin.

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I got this book for free on Kindle & the reviews were kinda sketchy... some didnt like it, some did, but nothing overwhelming.

I still gave it a try & so glad I did.

I really enjoyed this book.  Even in the sadness of the circumstances for our character, Bernie.  Her husband cheated on her... their baby died after a few days of birth... she lost her dad & the family was struggling with life after his passing.  Some dark stuff.

But this book was FUNNY

Maybe not so funny to others, but so much that Bernie said & did, I can totally see me reacting the same way... I think that's why I loved it.  I could totally be Bernie.

From her 'freak out' moments in the mall, to her funny reactions to her friend, to her befriending her best friends teenage daughter & being there for her... yep, I could be her.

But loved how Bernie found herself through the book... with the help of her friends & family, & even her little dog :)  Finding herself with the help of her dad who left behind these messages for her to figure out. 

I think the end was predictable, (as most storeis are) - but I enjoyed getting to the end of the story. 

My Rating:  4 skeins
(This book does contain some language)

Lament

Source: goodreads.com via Rebecca on Pinterest

Sixteen-year-old Deirdre Monaghan is a painfully shy but prodigiously gifted musician. She's about to find out she's also a cloverhand—one who can see faeries. Deirdre finds herself infatuated with a mysterious boy who enters her ordinary suburban life, seemingly out of thin air. Trouble is, the enigmatic and gorgeous Luke turns out to be a gallowglass—a soulless faerie assassin. An equally hunky—and equally dangerous—dark faerie soldier named Aodhan is also stalking Deirdre. Sworn enemies, Luke and Aodhan each have a deadly assignment from the Faerie Queen. Namely, kill Deirdre before her music captures the attention of the Fae and threatens the Queen's sovereignty. Caught in the crossfire with Deirdre is James, her wisecracking but loyal best friend. Deirdre had been wishing her life weren't so dull, but getting trapped in the middle of a centuries-old faerie war isn't exactly what she had in mind . . .

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So I got this again for a Daily Deal on Kindle... been ready a lot of sci-fi lately & thought I'd give this a go...

It had a story that held my attention, but it was weird & had spots that made no sense... & had spots that made it REALLy seem like a young adult book.  Some of the language, some of the dialogue... a little dumbed down

but then I felt dumb, because I didnt even know what was going on in parts.

Fairies, a queen that you dont really know much about till the last chapter, a friendship with James that could have been looked into more, a weird aunt that you dont ever know what happened to her, a grandma that had more of a story that you didnt really get into...

just weird stuff

& the end?  I'm not even sure what happened...

So this was just a disappointment.

Dont want to say I hated it because I kept reading, wanting to know what was going on... just didnt live up to expectations of what it COULD have been

My rating:  2 skeins

Heaven is for Real

Source: goodreads.com via Rebecca on Pinterest

Book:  Heaven is for Real
Author:  Todd Burpo

This is the true story of Colton Burpo, the four-year old son of a small-town Nebraska pastor who during emergency surgery slips from consciousness and enters heaven.

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I've heard so much about the book.  It was marked down on Kindle so I thought I'd give it a go.

The bad part of it?  Most of the book, I've already heard.  I've seen a lot of interviews with this child & all the stories were recapped for the most part.  So it wasnt anything shocking or new... that was disappointing.

It was nice to think this was all true though.  ... I'm a little skeptical. My grandson is 4 & I'm not sure he could be as "articulate" as this young man... I dont know ANY 3 or 4 yr olds that are.  That makes me leery... especially he being a pastor's child?  It would be easy for him to pick up on some cues that he hears his parents say...

I WANT to believe everything he said was true though

So I just enjoyed the read - whether I believe its all 'true' or not... its still encouraging.

The part where the little girl who died who was an artist & drew Jesus - that part really struck me though... I've seen the picture of Jesus that the little girl drew everywhere but didnt realize THAT was the picture she drew... that was the most believable part to me.

My favorite part of the book?  When the man from the church was getting ready to pass away & this little boy went back & told him "The first person you'll see is Jesus"... that just gave me chills & made me cry... that's exactly what I WANT to happen when I die...

This is a quick easy read... so whether you believe it or not, its worth picking up.

My Rating:  4 skeins