Month: January 2014

I haven’t done a Feature Friday in a while, and I was thinking and thinking, who can I highlight? Robert Whitlow! He is an amazingly gifted writer. He writes southern legal thrillers that somehow let you know that this man is a lawyer, a southerner, and he has an intense relationship with God. Though his novels often have a light dusting of romance, romance is low on the scale of importance in his books. And yet, he can’t write a novel without me purchasing it. So if you haven’t read any of his books, here are some of my favorites! Check them out:

   You really can’t go wrong with any of his books. They will entertain you with a mystery and make you want to have a closer relationship with God. Happy Reading!

About

Allie Kirkland has always heard the call of her father’s unfinished destiny. When she’s offered a production assistant’s job on a docudrama filming in the hills near Moses Lake, Texas, the dream of following in her director-father’s footsteps suddenly seems within reach. The reenactment of the legendary frontier settlement of Wildwood is a first step into the film industry. A summer on set in the wilderness is a small price to pay for a dream. 

But in 1861, the real Wildwood held dangerous realities. Town founder Harland Delavan held helpless residents, including young Irish schoolteacher Bonnie Rose, in an iron grip. Mysterious disappearances led to myths and legends still retold in the region’s folk songs. Eventually, the entire site was found abandoned.
 
When filming begins, strange connections surface between Allie and the teacher who disappeared over a century ago, and everyone in Wildwood–including Blake Fulton, Allie’s handsome neighbor on the film set–seems to be hiding secrets. Allie doesn’t know whom she can trust. If she can’t find the answers in time, history may repeat itself…with the most unthinkable results.

Review

I will admit that when I first read what Wildwood Creek was about, I thought, this could either be good or very scary. Well, I can assure you that you won’t be scared though there will be great suspense. And I thought that the book was very good, if a bit ambitious.

What I liked about the book:

The suspense was amazing. The novel flips between two povs: Allie and Bonnie Rose. And yet, the suspense does not let up, no matter whose voice is telling the story.

 I really enjoyed the way the mystery of Bonnie Rose is slowly unraveled through Allie’s eyes. I even liked the way the narrative bounced between both women. I thought that was really nicely done.

I became totally invested in Bonnie Rose’s story. I don’t know how Ms. Wingate did it, but I was on the edge of my seat completely worried for her and hoping everything would turn out alright.

If you’ve read any of the other books in this series, than you’ve been to Moose Creek before, but this was such a unique angle of it and so clever. It was also very nice to see Mallory again.

Spiritually, the book deals with the notion of not really knowing what you believe until you’re in a tough situation. And it is not until you reach this point that you can really grow.

What I didn’t like:

I felt like Allie and Bonnie Rose’s stories almost should have been separate books. They both had a lot going on, and I wanted to know more. To a certain degree, I felt that Bonnie Rose was shortchanged in the romance department and Allie was shortchanged in the mystery department (the ending completely surprised me).

Also, I think I am still confused about what happened in 1861 in Wildwood Creek. I was trying to explain it to someone and I got lost in my own explanation.

Overall, a really great suspenseful read. What happened to Bonnie Rose? Well, you have to read it to find out.

Romantic Scale: 7

**I received this novel from Netgalley. My opinion was not affected in any way.**

About

Molly Zook’s always liked being in control, so she’s struggling with her mother’s wish that, to save the family farm, she marry Mervin Mosier. Especially after Molly meets Leon Fisher. He’s from Montana but is now training horses at a nearby ranch. He’s tall and muscular and confident–Molly has never met anyone like him and she’s sure he feels the same about her.

Determined to let nothing get between them, Molly tries to coax Mervin into falling back in love with Molly’s best friend, Hannah. A weekend camping trip in the Poconos could be just the place…but things quickly go awry, and it seems Leon and Hannah might be falling for each other instead! Will Molly keep struggling to control everyone and everything around her? Or will she learn to let God handle the twists and turns of her life?

Review

When I saw that Leslie Gould had another book out, I had to get it. Though I am generally not an Amish fan, Ms. Gould manages to write her characters in such a way that her Amish people don’t appear to be….ahem….strange. They come across as real people who just happen to live an Amish lifestyle. And, Ms. Gould manages to combine Shakespeare with the Amish, which always present an interesting twist. Minding Molly is based on A Midsummer Night’s Dream which is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays. However, this novel somehow didn’t manage to do it for me. Here is what I noticed:

Molly is an amazing heroine. Ms. Gould manages to write ladies who are totally relatable; women who have flaws, but you still get them anyway. Molly is no different and I loved being in her mind. The novel did manage to give you that Midsummer Night’s Dream-feel to it, though I think it lacked the humor that the the comedy intended.

But, we are told Molly is a people person and that she is controlling. Based off of this book, Molly is not a people person. She had a hard time getting along with others and frankly, I never saw her as controlling. She was very much into the details, but I didn’t see anyone else trying to help Molly when she was getting things done. I just saw other people being lazy (Maybe I have Molly’s Type A personality…maybe I don’t). 🙂

Molly meets Leon and almost immediately they fall in love. I’m not such a huge fan of insta-love and I found myself even less invested in their relationship when after only two meetings they were having problems with where they should live when they got married. Don’t get me wrong, it was completely something to consider. But even though I adored Leon, I failed to see why Molly did so intensely.

Hannah, Molly’s best friend was so annoying. I could not see why they were best friends. She was not someone who even remotely looked out for Molly. It was all about her from day one.

Beatrice, the mean sister, who constantly criticized Molly, completely failed to see her own flaws. 

Poor Molly, I just felt like she worked so hard and got very few breaks. 

Spiritually, Molly learns to be less controlling and learns to trust God more with everything that goes around her. 

Overall, though nicely written, this book wasn’t my favorite and left me more than a bit confused.

Romantic Scale: 6.5

**I received this novel from Netgalley. My opinion was not affected in anyway.**

I don’t know about you, but once again I find myself stuck in the polar vortex that is this winter. That means that I leave the house rarely and I spend a lot of time looking for books. I found myself a bit surprised by some of the books coming out in the next couple of months, so I decided to list some just so you don’t miss them as well. Here goes:

What are you looking forward to reading in the next couple of Months?

About

Review

I really enjoy historical romance fiction and sometimes you just want an uncomplicated book about the old days (though as we know, things were very complicated in the olden days). And this book delivers that.

What I liked about it: The novel is told mostly from Katherine and Micah’s viewpoints. I really felt like I got to know both of them really well. I understood why they made the decisions they made and why they reacted the way that they did. I found them both very fascinating and I found myself invested in their romance. 

The children: Amanda, Lucy, and Zach. They are not just extras thrown in to look cute and make mom and dad fall in love. They add an extra tension to the novel and they have their own longings and desires that they want to come true. 

Katherine’s mom, who manages to come across as real in both her meanness and her brokenness. 

Spiritually, I like how though Micah has run away from God. God has not run away from Him and how he is able to see God through His people. I also liked how Katherine had to balance honoring her mother and dealing with her mother’s rudeness (though I do think it wouldn’t have been wrong if she confronted her a time or two).

What I didn’t like:

It took Katherine and Micah a minute to start their romance, and when they did, it happened fairly quickly. They spent a portion of the novel misunderstanding each other and frankly, dealing with their own personal problems. I had hoped the romance would start a bit sooner.

Otherwise, I got exactly what I wanted. A sweet romance that was God-uplifting!

Romantic scale: 7.8