A Hope Undaunted

A Hope Undaunted by Julie Lessman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I love romances. I love Christian themed books. I love history. Combine them all and what do you have? A Hope Undaunted!

A Hope Undaunted is set in the late 1920's when women were gaining more independence and striving for more than marrying young and being a stay-at-home mom. Women were become loose and wanting jobs usually reserved for men. Katie O'Conner was one of those women. At 18 years old she had her sights set on Jack Worthington; handsome, rich and eating out of her hand. Katie also was set to start law school once summer was over hoping to fight for more women rights and become a congresswoman.

However Katie and her spoiled brat ways pushed her fathers buttons one too many times and was banned from seeing Jack and was forced to work at an orphanage with her childhood nemesis, Cluny "Luke" McGee. Working for Luke was the worst punishment Katie could imagine until she realizes there is a strong attraction between them. But Katie isn't willing to accept these feelings because it doesn't fit her plan in life. Can she fight her new found feelings for Luke and keep working towards her goal of marrying Jack and law school? Is she willing to settle marrying a man she doesn't love but can provide her with a comfortable life? Or is she willing to give it up and follow her heart? It's not as easy as that and Katie and Luke go through many struggles and hardships through the book that keep bringing them together but also pulling them apart.

Katie has three sisters and two brothers who are side stories in this book. We learn of their faith and struggles in life and how God and trust in each other can get them through anything. Each side story is brilliant and their willingness to give their lives to God and His word is powerful and amazing. I did struggle a bit with the submissiveness of the wives but ultimately it was the times and I recognized that's how it was.

A great book and I look forward to reading the second in this series.


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Telling Yourself the Truth....

Telling Yourself the Truth by William Backus

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Here and there it helped, not every chapter pertained to the issues I have/had, but it is helpful somewhat. Sometimes you need a book that says, "pull your head out of your bum" in a nice gentle manner and that's what this book does. A lot of it, to me, was obvious advice but nevertheless I still enjoyed reading it. Each chapter can stand alone so it's not a problem to pick and choose.


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The Winter Sea

The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Clearly this book belongs in the romance and historical fiction shelves. I am sure that all of the historical references are true but I wouldn't know as I'm no expert in British and French history. I love this book because the author wraps such a beautiful love story in real history and I learned so much.

The great twist with this book is that it is set in both modern and historic times. It's about an author, Carrie, who rents a cottage in Scotland near a castle where she wants to set the story of her latest novel. Soon she realizes that there are voices speaking to her. Not just in an imagination way, but voices of real figures from history. She thought she had randomly picked names but the more she writes, the more she discovers that what she was writing is fact without having searched for the subject matter. And even more odd, it's her own ancestor. Could she somehow be connected to the main character, Sophia Patterson, by more than just lineage?

Meanwhile, Carrie is involved in her own modern day love story with the son of her landlord. It seems that they are connected as deeply as the characters of her story. It's like two loves stories in one!

A great read and a fantastic learning experience.

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He Loves Lucy

He Loves Lucy by Susan Donovan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a fun read, a mood lifter for sure. When I realized it was a book about weight I almost put it down but am really glad I didn't. The woman had no pity on herself, she was confident and I really liked that about her. She had a goal and she wanted to succeed, even if her heart was in it way more than she had expected. I flew through this book, it was really, really good!

I will absolutely be reading more from this author. She's hilarious with a great feel for real human emotion.

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These Is My Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901

These Is My Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901 by Nancy E. Turner

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I absolutely loved this book. Sarah Agnes Prine is a hard working young lady who you can't help but just fall in love with through her twenty years in this book/diary. There are some very uplifting and some very hard times. While this book is fiction, it's very realistic. This is definitely one of my favorite books ever! I'm going through a rough time right now but knowing I could sit down and read this book anytime was a great thing.

Maybe more review later...

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Maid for the Billionaire

Maid for the Billionaire by Ruth Cardello

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It started off well. An angry billionaire heads home to Boston to deal with the death of the father he hated. He enters his Brownstone that he never goes to and sees the maid. Though she is not really the maid, she is filling in for her sister who is sick. The angry billionaire lusts after the stand-in maid and the maid says, "ew creep, get off me" but secretly she is seriously attracted to him.

Angry billionaire offers to pay her to stay with him she says, "ew creep, no". He finds her anyway and asks her to come to China to comfort him while he signs off on the biggest contract of his life. Stand-in maid says, "okay". He realizes that she is good for him but won't admit that's it's not just physically. She knows she'll get hurt but can't help the feelings she has.

Once the deal is signed in China, with stand-in maid's help, things go downhill, in my opinion, from there.

It wrapped up too neatly and everyone was happy and it just was not good towards the end. Because I liked the premise of the story, I will give it a three. Could have been a four if the ending hadn't been swathed in so much pretty pink ribbons, unicorns and sparkles.

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Gentle Warrior

Gentle Warrior by Julie Garwood

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I know when I'm in a reading slump, I can always turn to aJulie Garwood book. They are all the same beat of plots, climaxes, heros, heroines and villains. Even though I know what to expect, I still enjoy them. Now I can't read her one after another but spaced apart they are certainly an easy, enjoyable, quick read.

This book had me giggling more than her others, especially the last paragraph.

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The Side of the Grave (Night Huntress #5)

This Side of the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

I tried, I really tried but could not get through this book! I loved the Night Huntress Series so of course I'm disappointed. I guess without the heat of Cat and Bones it just doesn't do it for me anymore. I guess as we get older and read more books we move on from certain genres to others. Apparently I've grown out of like with this series.

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