What Are You Reading? PLUS Life Updates!

What Are You Reading?

So we're officially heading into Winter and the Christmas season!! Anybody else excited? But of course Thanksgiving is tomorrow and this year and for years to come Thanksgiving has even more meaning for me. It was earlier this year when I discovered I am a descendant of several who came to America on the Mayflower. Including but not limited to: Francis Cooke, Captain Myles Standish, John Alden and a few more. That means my ancestors would have taken part in the first Thanksgiving in America. That was an incredible find this year along with many others. So since we're almost to the Winter season I wanted to ask, What are you reading right now?

Currently I'm reading the stories below.

Life Updates

We have MOVED!! Although we're still living out boxes. I've put up my bookshelves and have barely made a dent in filling them back up again. Organizing your shelves takes so much time when you own a ton of books.

Today it SNOWED!!!  It's a very white Thanksgiving!!

REVIEW: The Sword and the Song by C.E. Laureano

About the Book

The shadow of war. A clash of brothers. A terrible sacrifice. In the face of powerful darkness, who will prevail?

The island of Seare is at war. The Red Druid is gathering strength and power to stand against Conor, Eoghan, and the brotherhood. But there is strife within the brotherhood as well. Eoghan still refuses to claim his rightful rule, and the resulting conflict creates an uncomfortable distance between him and Conor. When Conor leaves to find the key to defeating the Red Druid, Eoghan and Aine worry he will succumb to the danger. They set out on their own mission to defeat the Red Druid through Aine’s magical gifts.

But nothing―and no one―is as it seems.

My Review

Rating: 5 stars.

The Sword and the Song by C.E. Laureano is the third and final book in The Song of Seare trilogy. And it's the best and most action-packed in the series. This series is very popular among Christian readers and that's not a suprise.The Song of Seare series gives you everything you want in a Fantasy series except no graphic violence, foul language, and graphic sex. 

REVIEW: Girl in the Song by Chrissy Cymbala Toledo

About the Book

A fascinating true storyChrissy grew up surrounded by the beauty of love and the ugliness of pain. The daughter of a pastor whose church was located in a rough-and-tumble area of Brooklyn, she witnessed the ravaging effects of the streets on the lives of the most desperate--drug addicts, derelicts, and other destitute people. Yet her own home was a haven of warmth, filled with affection and love.Then something happened that tore her away from it. With the flip of a switch, Chrissy fell deeper and deeper into deception where haunting images and songs pointed to one thing--perfection. Longing to be the girl in the song, she became entangled in an obsessive relationship. Before long, secret after secret led her down the path to becoming someone she didn't even recognize. Locked in to an impossible life, Chrissy found release from a surprising direction."Girl in the Song" tells the gripping, true story of a young woman whose choices led her to despair and incredible triumph. More than the story of one lost girl, Chrissy's experience points to the power of hope to lead us away from destructive relationships and into a life that just might end happily ever after.

My Review

Rating: 4.5 stars

Read Girl in the Song in just a few short hours. It's short and to the point and without sugar coating. Uplifting and inspiring.

REVIEW: Luther and Katharina by Jody Hedlund

About the Book

Katharina von Bora has seen nothing but the inside of cloister walls since she was five. In a daring escape, Katharina finds refuge with Martin Luther and seeks his help to pair her with the noble, wealthy husband she desires.

As class tensions and religious conflicts escalate toward the brink of war, Martin Luther believes that each day could be his last and determines he will never take a wife.
As the horrors of the bloody Peasant War break out around them, the proud Katharina and headstrong Martin Luther fight their own battle for true love, in one of the greatest love stories of history.

My Review

Luther and Katharina is yet another hit for Jody Hedlund. Luther and Katharina tells the love story of Martine Luther and his wife Katharina Von Bora. When they first meet Luther is still a monk and she a nun. Not long after Luther leaves the Catholic Church because of certain practices being done that were not biblical. Luther writes and nails the 95 Theses to door of the church, he has to hide for a time and eventually finds himself in front of the King and Cardinal. They ask hime to recant everything he has said and done. Luther refuses. I loved reading a fictional tale about Luther and his wife. It was a tale I had yet to read and it was very enjoyable.

REVIEW: Wicked Women of the Bible by Ann Spangler

About the Book

What can Jezebel, the Bible s wickedest queen, reveal about God s holiness and power and even about his sense of humor? What about the Woman at the Well the one with five husbands and a live-in lover? And what of the prostitute whose tears bathe the feet of Jesus in front of people who despise her?

There are also wicked good women like Deborah, Ruth, Hannah, Abigail, Esther, Mary, and more. What do their lives tell us about God s invincible love and his determined plan to save us?

In Wicked Women of the Bible Ann Spangler tells the stories of twenty wicked and wicked good women in greater detail. At the end of each story, Ann provides a brief section including additional historical and cultural background as well as a brief Bible study in order to enhance the book s appeal to both individuals and groups.

The stories of these women of the Bible reveal a God who is not above it all but who stoops down to meet us where we are in order to extend his love and mercy.

My Review

Rating: 4 stars

Wicked Women of the Bible by Ann Spangler is a book taking a studious but approachable look at 20 women of the Bible. Some of them wicked evil and others wicked good. Women such as Jezebel, Deborah, Ruth, Abigail, and Esther. Not only are each woman talked about in greater detail than ever, also at the end of each portion the author gives us extra historical and cultural background of each woman. This book was engaging as it was informative.