Books 45-49 The Dicarlo Bride Series Books 2-6

 

In one week I read all 5 of these books!  Yes, that's a lot of reading, but I did it in little bits here and there as I got lots of other things done around the house, so it only sounds bad.  Why did I read all 5 in one week...because they were good!  These 5 books finish off the story started in book one about the DiCarlo sisters.  Not all of them go by the same last name as they didn't even realize until the start of book one that they were sisters.  They discovered this family secret when their father George DiCarlo passed away. At the reading of his will they discover that they each have sisters they know nothing about and, to make matters worse if they want any part of the rather large inheritance they must give up their current job and help get their late father's newest resort up and running. Each has a specialty that they can bring to this newest project, but it does mean sacrificing what they have been doing for years. The alternative though is to lose the inheritance and have the money they would have earned given to a charity that they could not possibly support on their own.

In book one the main focus is on the oldest, Cami and how she is taking the news and on her budding relationship with Vince the grounds keeper, and local landscape architect.  In that book you soon discover that not only did George orchestrate their vocations he also made attempts to orchestrate their love lives by talking to several men that he thought would be perfect for his daughters.

In these other books each of the sisters are highlighted.  You are taken on a journey of them learning to trust each other, and open up about things from their past.  They of course all end up falling in love, and since the title of the series is the DiCarlo Brides, in can be determined that they all end up getting married too, or at least engaged.  On top of the romantic element that is present in each of the books there are also lots of twists, turns and complications.  Mysterious events are taking place and usually it's not who you think would be the people behind it that are causing these events to happen.

All of the books were well written. I especially appreciated that, while being romance novels, they were not filled with explicit content.  I look forward to reading more by Heather Tullis in the future.

I'd give this series 5 stars!

 

Books 43 and 44: Crossed and Reached

Book 2 in the Matched Series by Ally Condie. This was probably my favorite of the 3 books in this series.  In this book Cassia is in search of Ky who has been taken away from Society. In the process she begins to discover the truth about society and about herself and Ky as well as who Xander, her match really is as well.  The fast pace of them searching for each other in the Outer Provinces and the situation that is effecting society caused the book to be one that was hard to put down. 

I'd give this book 5 stars.

The final book in the series This was probably my least favorite of the series.  The book seemed to drag on with Xander searching for a cure and trying to help people fighting the plague, and Cassia trying to figure out who she could trust.  As the book moved on I could almost predict what was going to happen, and it did happen in almost that exact way.  I love character development so I would have really enjoyed the book more if after the story itself ended there had been a 5 or 10 years later chapter or two really wrapping up the lives of the characters.

Overall, when compared to Hunger Games and Divergent in terms of acceptability for teens this one wins out.  The story was intriguing, and for the most part the characters were well developed and their was a good deal of suspense involved.  The main reason it wins out is that there was implied violence, but the actual violence was not written out for you to read.  It also did not contain suggested sexual activity as the Divergent series did. 

I'd give this book 3 stars, but the series itself 5 stars.

Book 42: The & Day Prayer Warrior Experience

I try to read some books that will grow my faith every month on top of the fictional books I read.  Although I do try to stick with Christian Fiction as much as I can due to the fact that other books often have themes that even as an adult I don't need to fill my mind with.

This book was a short but powerful devotion that I read last week.  It breaks down the verses in Ephesians 6 where Paul talks about putting on the whole armor of God.  It goes through each item and describes why a Roman soldier would have worn that piece of clothing, and spiritually why we should as well.  Spiritual warfare is real.  The devil doesn't want us to be effective as Christians, he wants to render us useless.  To quote the book "God doesn't want us carrying anything that is unnecessary because it will weigh us down and hinder what He has called us to do". He wants us to be prepared for battle, and He knows it will come.  How we prepare is by being in His Word and spending time talking to Him through prayer.  These two steps will help to guard our hearts and our minds and keep us focused on the important things in our lives. 

Life won't always be easy, but if we spend time dressing as a soldier would for battle, daily then we will be ready when battle comes.

Great devotional book! 5 stars!

Book 41: Matched

by Ally Condie

Yes, once again I find myself with a teen who wants to read a book that is currently popular and I know nothing really about it. I went to one of my sources who is an avid reader and currently a collage student and she told me she was 3/4 of the way through it and was not discovering any inappropriate content.  Wish I didn't have to ask around to see if books for teens are overly sexual, but in today's society you have to work to keep kids minds pure. Having found all 3 of the books in the series for a total of $9 I decided to go ahead and read the book myself.

This book follows the theme of so many of the books our teens are reading these days, the idea of society controlling civilization. That part is a bit scary, in terms of why are so many authors writing the same theme over and over again and why as society are we scrambling to read those same theme of books over and over again.  In many ways you could pick up this book and not be sure whether you were reading the Hunger Games, or Divergent, aside from the characters names and in this case, at least through book 1, a lack of violence that the other books all contained.

In this book Cassia is going through her life as directed by society. On her 17th birthday she attends her Match ceremony where she is shown the person who she will marry when she turns 21. The problem is, she knows him.  That in itself is very rare.  On top of it, there is another problem with the microcard she is given to view details about him.  This problem launches her into meetings with the person she begins to call Her Official. An officer who is there to make sure she follows a certain path, the path of society.  This event and the death of her Grandfather is causing Cassia to being to wonder.  Wonder is what her Grandfather says even her late Grandmother would have wanted her to do.  Wonder, is this life right, is there more out there. 

As the book continues Cassia begins the journey of trying to figure that out with help from someone she never gave much thought to before.  Ky is that person, he's an outsider in many ways, but now Cassia is realizing that he has been there all along.  Will they discover truth, and be willing to take the chances needed to realize what is really going on in the world they live in.

Too much can be given away in a book review or on a cover of the book.  I don't wan to do that here, so you'll just need to read it yourself. I've moved on to book 2, and hope to finish the series before giving a final ok to my 12 year old to read the books, but so far I feel she could read book 1 for sure.

I'd give the book 5 stars.  So far it's a great series and less violent than Hunger Games or Divergent, even with the similar content.

Book 40: Four

Seems fitting that the book Four would be reviewed with the number 4 in the number of books I've read this year. (ok, fitting to me and I'm the one writing so, that's how it works!)

by Veronica Roth is a look into the life of one of the main characters in her Divergent Series named Four.  One of many advantages of having teens these days in the need to read what they are reading in order to see what is going into their brains.  I do check some book review sites, asking some older teens that I feel have godly values and do some basic research before I start reading the books as a final check, but with a 14 year old and a 12 year old I'm finding it vital to know what is being read.  This series was introduced to my older child as a read aloud in a class at school. Next thing I know he wanted to read the series.  The series, as I reviewed in earlier blogs is good overall, there is definitely  a theme of physical attraction running through the book, but I'm thankful that the author stopped and did not go into details as to what may or may not be happening. With the movie that came out, and so many teens talking about the series and movie I quickly read all of the books to make sure I'd allow the kids to see the movie even. Incidentally, it comes out today on DVD and most likely we will be at Target at some point today to get our copy.

Anyway, this book is stories of life before the first book picks up.  I'm always fascinated by people, and in this book it was like looking into the background of a person and getting a better understanding of who they are. The stories were short and I was able to read the whole book in about a 3 hour time span on a road trip.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed the Divergent series.  It needs to be read at the end of the series though as otherwise it gives some information a way that would spoil some of the mystery in the actual books.

I'd give this book five stars.

Book 39: From Groucy to Great

Finding Joy in the Journey of Motherhood by Ruth Schwenk with The Better Mom contributor Team www.thebettermom.com

Am I a Grouchy Mom?  All the time? Some of the time?  Truth be told I can certainly be grouchy and I definitely have triggers that set me off.  When my kids were younger I wish I could say I wasn't grouchy a lot of the time, but I know that would be false.  I think I lived in a world of "this isn't how things are suppose to be" all the time. I was so caught up in my ideals not being met that I got grumpy, and certainly took it out on those around me.  I still have days where that happens, where the to do list doesn't get done, and my focus for the day isn't met and then I get grouchy for sure. Hopefully, my kids and husband would agree that those days aren't near as often as they used to be. 

This book helps explore, from the views of multiple women, the triggers that set us off and how to respond when they are set off.  The book had some great tips, tips that I wish I had heard or read as a younger, newer Mom.  The tip that really hit me the hardest was at the end of the book. The chapter called Surrender, stop trying and start resting. What I got out of this chapter was the idea that as a Mom there are things that I must do, extra laundry, stay up with sick kids, deal with social media and teenagers, and the list could go on and on.  The thing is, that is my job.  I can fuss and complain and get grouchy because I have to do ALL those things, or I can surrender and realize that some of those things I won't like as much as others, but I wanted to be a Mom.  I wanted to have kids to love and care for, and those things go along with the job.  When I surrender to the fact that some of the things just have to be done, I can do them without being so grumpy about them.  I can take them in stride of what the job is and not be so shocked when they come up and need to be done.  I can keep my focus on the fact that God allowed me to be a Mom and that by His grace alone I can do the best job I can raising my kids.

I would highly recommend this book for anyone in any stage of motherhood.  You will either get something out of it, or most likely know someone who would and can pass it on. Five stars for sure!

Book 38: A Perfect Fit

This book by Heather Tullis is about a family known for their five-star hotels.  This story, in the 6 book series, is mainly about Cami.  She has enjoyed heading up guest services in her hotel in Chicago, but her father has other plans for her.  Upon his death she discovers that she has 4 half sisters that she and her sister have known nothing about.  Now in order to be a part of her father's will they must live together and launch the newest resort.  In the process she meets Vince, the good looking gardener that Cami knows her father would never approve of.  With her father controlling so much of her life from the grave she is torn on whether or not to take a chance on something she can't imagine he would like. 
The books characters came to life on every page.  The book was so good, that despite the fact that I try to only read the free books I can download on my Kindle I did purchase the remaining 5 books in the series. Luckily for only $3 each!

Great read, looking forward to the rest of the series. I'd give this book 5 stars.

Book 37: Redemtion Song

 By Melodie Murray

Ethan Carter is a 17 year old pop star sensation, living the dream, and yet missing out on what the dream really is.  When he makes a decision that almost wrecks his life his mother ships him off to Alabama to rethink who he is and where he is going.  In Alabama he is forced to live with his Grandmother, who he loves dearly, and her new "grandchildren", a 10 year old boy named Ben and a 17 year old girl named Alaina. He is rude and uncaring when he first meets them, but then begins to learn what family is really all about.  In the process he also begins to learn who he really is and who he wants to be.

The book had a lot of really emotional content and needed several Kleenexes to get through it. A great story about finding redemption in a place you wouldn't expect to find it in.

I'd give this book 5 stars.

Book 36: Deep Green

Deep Green Color me Jealous (True Colors Book 2) by Melody Carlson

I downloaded this book for free and thought that it might be a good book, at least at some point, for my daughter to read. I'm not sure I'd recommend it yet as it deals with some dating issues that I don't feel at 12 she needs to be reading about yet, but I will be holding on to it for the future.

In this book Jordan is struggling with friendships and boyfriends and figuring out who are true friends and who are just trying to stay friends with you to get close to other people. She's realizing that lots of teens like to play games and how jealousy can take over your life and cause lots of problems along the way.  She also discovers that true friends are sometimes the ones that you push away from as you think you want to head a direction in your life. Yet they are also the ones that are still waiting when you realize you are headed down the wrong path.

This would be a great book to read and discuss with a teenage girl as they enter into the high school years.  Full of topics that need to be discussed, and yet done in a way that they aren't reading about things in depth.

I'd give the book 4 stars.

Book 35: Discovering Hope

Discovering Hope by Chautona Havig is my 35th book this year. I've read multiple books by this author now, and have found that I enjoy her writing style. She allows the characters to be real people, filled with struggles and dreams and wanting what is best for their friends and family.  In this book Hope, is collage student who is trying to come to terms with various life events that have happened to her.  In the process she meets Jay.  Jay has also gone through a traumatic event in his life and is also learning to live with the pieces that he has been left with.  They begin to build a friendship where he suddenly discovers that in the process of getting to know Hope he is also discovering what hope really is about.

This book was a great anytime read.  Filled with real life concepts and showing how people learn to deal with the events that occur in their lives.

I'd give this book 5 stars!