The Seamstress

By: Sara Tuvel Bernstein
4 of 5 stars

	This book was fantastic! A great story told in a fabulous way! I love how Sara tells her story. She is such a powerful person with so much optimism it is contagious! If you liked The Hiding Place or Unbroken you would probably like this book.  The book is clean. No swearing or sexual references. I would highly recommend this book!

Her Mother's Hope

By: Francine Rivers
4 out of 5 stars

Oh how I loved this book! It was such a well written book. I read some reviews that complained about the authors inability to expand on major events in history and instead goes into details about the characters lives. I have to say I like the approach. I can read millions of books written on WWI or WWII. I can read all about the hardships the Japanese Americans experienced in other books. I liked how the author didn't get distracted and stayed focus on the main characters' lives and hardships. 

I am in love with Hildie, Marta, Bernie, Trip and all the other characters! They feel like real people with real lives. I have to keep reminding myself they aren't real.

I love the Christian references throughout the book. I don't think the author goes overboard, but makes it very clear how much religion is a part of this family's life.  

I could relate to so many parts of the story. Marta in particular reminds me of my own mother.  

I am only giving this four stars because I didn't like how it left me hanging. I know there is a sequel, but I don't like it when there is so much left unsaid at the end of a book.  

Clean read! Highly recommended!

Reversible Errors

By: Scott Turow
2 out of 5 stars

This book started off really exciting and then the middle was really slow and I almost just stopped reading it. By the end it picked up again and I had already made a pretty big investment by getting so far, so I just finished it.

This book has some fun little twists and turns in the middle, but it doesn't make up for the long drawn out parts. One thing that bugged me was the "good guys" in the book had dark secrets and the "bad guys" found God and wanted to repent. It was a little backwards. I get that we all have our problems, but the characters in this book were hard to like.

This book also had sex scenes and swearing. Not much of a fan.

Becoming Lady Lockwood

By: Jennifer Moore

I was hesitant about reading this book and am happy to say I liked it way more than anticipated. 

This book was a like a breath of fresh air after reading a couple of murder/mystery books. 

I am finding I like these proper romance books more than I used to. 

The end of the book felt a little rushed and I would have liked more from Admiral Beckett. The author did a really good job making him seem so mean from Amelia's point of view. I would have liked to see more from him. 

The author did a great job making the reader fall in love with William. I wanted to marry him too! 

This was a fun quick and easy read. I am impressed with Moore's debut novel. I would recommend this book and I hope the author writes another novel. I think she has talent!

Hard Stop

By: Chris Knopf

I had a hard time getting into this book ad it is most likely because I haven't read the first three books in the series. I have a horrible habit of starting series of books in the middle. I need to stop that!

Sam is one of my favorite characters. I really liked the depth of his character. He is probably one of my favorite characters of all time. 

I also liked the story. It was a little slow at times, but overall an entertaining and well written story.

I can only give this book 3 stars because of the vulgarity. The fowl language was excessive and annoying. Just when I thought the curse words were coming to an end there would be another long string of them. It was almost enough to make me stop reading this book completely.

The ending also was a little anticlimactic. I felt like there were some thing the author left hanging. I would like to give the author the benefit of the doubt and assume he continues the story in the sequel. 

I can't highly recommend this book. Lots of swearing. No sex.

We Die Alone: A WWII Epic of Escape and Endurance

by David Howarth, Stephen E. Ambrose

This book can be summed up in one word: AMAZING!

This a story of survival and determination. I loved it! 

It is unreal that a man could have survived all that he does. I knew he survived when I started the book and yet I was still on the edge of my seat the entire time! If the introduction didn't explain that Jan lived to tell his story I probably would have never put this book down!

This is probably going in my top ten favorite books of all time!

Highly recommend this book! Clean!

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

by Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows

I listened to this book, which I thought was a nice to help the reader keep track of all the different characters.  

I honestly didn't like this book until about 3/4 of the way through. I kept thinking, "how can anyone give this book 5 stars when it is so boring!" I hated the telegrams. I thought the longer letters were better and didn't chop up the story so much.

In the end, I really liked the book and I am very glad I read it. I would recommend reading this book, but maybe not as an audible. It went a little too slow for me.  

Very clean, no swearing and no sex scenes.

The Twelve Tribes of Hattie

By: Ayana Mathis
This book was on display at the library and I decided to pick it up.  This is a very rare occurrence so I must have been really intrigued by the book summary.  I usually only pick up books by recommendations.

I am glad I did. This is a very interesting story told from a different point of view. I like it when authors do a little something different. This was one of those cases. 

The story of Hattie is told from each of her children's points of view. It was a little hard to keep track of how much time was passing between the stories of each child, but otherwise a very different way of telling the story of a mother.

This book will make you laugh and cry. You will hold on the the edge of the book waiting for more.

There are some sexual references. A little swearing particularly from one son's part of the story. Otherwise clean. Highly recommend.

The Miracle of Forgiveness

By: Spencer W. Kimball
4 out of 5 stars

I wanted to read this book for a long time. I finally read it. It took me almost six months to read because I really wanted to study it and learn more about the Miracle of Forgiveness. 

The book gets a lot of rap for being a harsh call to repentance, but I didn't find it harsh. I can see how if you are guilty of sin and need to repent you may find President Kimball's words harsh. However, I don't think he means to offend anyone. He repeatedly reminds people anyone can repent and come back to Christ. There is no need to ever feel completely lost or abandon. 

I really liked the part when he explains that if we are truly repentant of our sins we will want to devout our lives to Christ. We will not be burdened by callings or requirements that at times may seem mundane. I have found a new found desire to prioritize the Gospel and to stay focussed on the important things in this life.

Great read. Highly recommended!

Edenbrooke

By: Julianne Donaldson
3 out of 5 stars
This genre is not my favorite. I am not a lover of romance novels. A friend recommended this book to me for a fun quick read. It was a quick read, but it wasn't fun at first.

It took me a while to get into the book. I almost didn't finish it, but I plowed through and it got better. 

I agree Marianne is annoying at times, but on the other hand I think she acts like a pretty typical teenager. I actually found Philip to be more annoying. I don't know any man who ever acts like he did. It about made me gag. Maybe that is why I don't enjoy these types of novels. 

Clean read!

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

By: C.S. Lewis
4 out of 5 stars

I read this to my 6 year old boy this summer because I thought he would like it. He didn't care for it much. He wanted to finish it, but when we read the last chapter I asked if we should get the next one and he said, "no thank you. It wasn't that good." I was totally bummed! Now I am going to have to finish the series by myself.

I liked the story and adventure. Considering this book mostly appeals to children I didn't think I would like it as much as I did. There were parts I found a little drawn out, but for the most part I really liked it. The characters were a little hard to keep track of for my six year old. He might like it better at age 7 or 8.

No sex and no swearing.

The Innocent

By: David Baldacci

I loved this book!

I loved the strong character of Will. He is such a strong willed character. I am so excited to read the rest of his series.

My other favorite character was one of the females. Oh, and I won't spoil the big twist, but WOW! I loved it. I couldn't put this book down. 

I highly recommend this book. I couldn't put this down! A little sexual innuendo, but not explicit details. A little swearing, but it was very minimal.

Truth Stained Lies By: Terri Blackstock

"Truth Stained Lies (Moonlighters, #1)
Terri Blackstock
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is my first book by this author.  I thought it was a well thought out novel.  I really liked the story of betrayal and the search for justice.  The author did a good job moving the story along and keeping the reader intrigued.  There were some side facts and comments that seemed somewhat irrelevant, but overall a delightful read.
I really liked how the author closed up the story at the end.  I didn't feel like I was left hanging.  Everything got summed up nicely.
Clean book.  I would recommend this book.

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The Midwife of Hope River

By: Patricia Harman 
This book was amazing! I couldn't put this book down. Before I go any further though I would like to say the book is a little graphic. My husband would get sick just by reading lines over my shoulder. He doesn't do well with descriptive birth stories. If you are a nurse or don't mind descriptive details of child birth this book is for you!

With that being said I think that is why I liked this book so much. It was descriptive. I could tell the author had experience with child birth because the details were so profound and realistic. I could relate to almost all of the mother's because I am a mother and I have experienced child birth. 

I cried when the mothers lost their babies and I laughed when they would yell or do funny things during delivery. 

I loved the side story and the story of how Patience became such a strong and independent woman. 

I would recommend this story if you don't mind a little "blood and guts," but like I said before it isn't violent. Just graphic. No swearing and no sex scenes.

The Hit

The Hit
By: David Baldacci

Oh, how I love Baldacci! I didn't realize this was the second Will Robie series until I was already more than half way through. It didn't ruin the story. Still loved it! I think Baldacci is such an amazing author. 

I loved Robie and his determination. I also loved the small love triangle between Robie and Vance. 

I usually love Orla Cassidy as a female reader, but this time I didn't like the way she did Julie. It was too whiny for me. It is the only reason I am giving this book four stars. I am going to go back and read the The Innocent instead of listening to it, just so I don't get too much whiny voice. 

No sex and no swearing. (maybe one or two words, but no more than that) Highly recommend this book!

Soy Sauce for Beginners

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17346827-soy-sauce-for-beginners" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Soy Sauce for Beginners" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1363657440m/17346827.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17346827-soy-sauce-for-beginners">Soy Sauce for Beginners</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7108479.Kirstin_Chen">Kirstin Chen</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/947476518">3 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
If I picked one word to describe this book it would be slow.  I felt like there was a lot of side notes to this story that distracted from the main story.  The book did pick up a little bit about half way through, but this book is not a nail biter.  <br><br>I often read in the evenings after my kids are in bed.  When a book has a grip on me I will find other time during the day to read.  Not the case at all of the this book. <br><br>Gretchen is a good character and is forced to make some tough decisions throughout the book.  Some times I would forget that Gretchen was in her 30's and think she was 16 based on her attitude.<br><br>There were quite a few grammatical errors on the ebook.  Sentences that didn't make sense at all.  That really bugs me.  I have heard ebooks are not the final edited copy, which is good for the authors sake.  Otherwise she needs to fire her editor.<br><br>Clean book.  No swearing and one sex reference, but no explicit details.
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Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/831635.Healthy_Sleep_Habits_Happy_Child" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1380493934m/831635.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/831635.Healthy_Sleep_Habits_Happy_Child">Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/157450.Marc_Weissbluth">Marc Weissbluth</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/944458838">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
This book has saved my sanity!  I wish I would have read this book months ago.  Check that...Years ago when my first child was born.<br><br>It is a great book for a parent who has bad sleeping child.  I was desperate for my one year old daughter to sleep. She had never been a great sleeper, which is why I should have picked up the book before I did, but I always thought she would grow out of it.  When her sleep patterns got worse not better and I was at my wits end I read this book.  I checked it out of the library and read almost 100 pages the first day.  I was able to begin implementing the strategies right away. It took a few days to see results, but within three days I was beginning to see a side of my child I never had seen before.  She was so much happier and more interactive. <br><br>The book is somewhat repetitive, meaning the author repeats the advice multiple times, but I am ok with that.  It drove home the main points.  I have referenced the book now for myself and for my older child to promote healthy sleep.   I also found the advice for some of the older children a little hard to believe would work.  I am hoping that by the time my children are adolescents they will have good sleep habits and I won't have to test his ideas.<br><br>It has been about a month and our whole family is so much happier!  We are all getting the sleep we need.  I would highly recommend this book for any parent with a child who doesn't sleep well.
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Fever

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15802983-fever" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Fever" border="0" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1354743336m/15802983.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15802983-fever">Fever</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2776754.Mary_Beth_Keane">Mary Beth Keane</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/922495126">3 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
This story was a little odd, for lack of a better word.  The story had an interesting flow and I felt the author got a little side tracked sometimes.  I loved the character of Mary Mallon.  She was a strong woman who had courage coursing through her blood.   <br>Here is a spoiler:  I was so bummed she fell in love with a dork like Alfred.  I was so glad she dumped him after 20 years of being a lazy bum, and then she goes and gets back together.  Lame!  It was so disappointing to me.  I am probably a horrible person, but I was glad Alfred went through all the miserable stuff he did.  He was a scum bag.She had such courage to fight off all the doctors and fight against her order to never cook again.  I was so proud of her.  Cheering the whole way! <br>The story got a little slow in the middle.  I remember looking at my reader seeing 60% or so and thinking the book is about to wrap up.  I almost felt like it was two stories.  The story before the Island and the story after the island.  I liked the story after the island better. <br>I enjoyed the book overall.  Clean language and only small sexual references.
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Blood Money

Blood Money by James Grippando
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was one of my favorite Swyteck novels.  I was glued to this novel from the get go!

I sometimes get a little bored with "court and lawyer" books, but this one was well written.  I liked the lies and deceptions created between the characters.  It made the book more intense just knowing that someone was lying.

No sex and no swearing.


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The Kitchen House

The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a great read!  I loved the audible version because you got an enhanced perspective of the Lavinia and Belle.

I loved the story.  I thought it was very interesting and kept me interested the whole time.  It was a little predictable and if I can predict the outcome of a book then it is pretty predictable.  I am usually horrible at guessing what is going to happen.

However, the predictability didn't ruin the story for me.  There were some great twists and turns at the end.  It kept me reading right up to the end.  This was one of those books that I didn't want to ever end.

Some reference to sexual abuse and sexual activity in general, but not graphic.  No swearing.  Highly recommend this book.


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