Bethany House Publishing Review #2 Against the Tide

I have received yet another free copy of a breathtaking and suspenseful novel from Bethany House Publishing. 

Against the Tide by Elizabeth Camden had a somewhat slow start. However, in taking the time to describe the main character's history and personality the author created a very sympathetic character whom you want to succeed against any odds. Lydia grows up to be a very hard working and moral filled woman who has put her whole life into building a secure livelihood and creating a safe haven in a home for herself. Any young woman trying to carve out a niche for herself in this world would root for Miss Lydia Pallas as she becomes entrenched in the world of opium deals and kidnapping scandals. She puts herself in grave danger to go to war against against the valueless underworld of the black market of early 20th century Boston.

The love interest, a mysterious man nicknamed "Bane" must also overcome his own demons in his history with this world underground drug deals. Through a budding relation with Miss Lydia Pallas he learns he can find forgiveness for his sins and also earn the right to love.

 This was a very compelling albeit slow starting novel. Once I got into the story and learned about the characters I did not want to put the book down until I finished the last page.

Bethany House Review - Unending Devotion

This is my first official review for Bethany House Publishing. They sent me my free copy of Unending Devotion and I have put my review on here. My reviews can also be found on Amazon. 

Unending Devotion by Jody Hedlund is the story of a young girl acting as the apprentice to an elderly photographer who travels throughout the lumber camps of 1880s Michigan. She is looking for her estranged sister who ran off to a depraved life of saloon girls and gambling in the northern backwoods. This book is a fictional portrayal of true life events of the hundreds of girls that were lured and trapped into prostitution and the good people who fought to save their lives.

From the very beginning I could not put the book down the main character, Lily was a very sympathetic picture that the reader just has to root for. The picture the author painted of the poor pathetic girls Lily risks her life to save draws sympathy from any reader. In addition, the modest love story added just the right amount of romance to not detract from the moral undertone of the story. I definitely recommend this book for anyone looking for an enthralling historical fiction novel.

You can also watch the book trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OssvMSaSeQ4&list=UUOTCh77FT1ZAyg-Mrj97HWw&index=1&feature=plcp

A New Start

So, I've made some changes to my blog, even the title which I am much happier with!

In my last post I had started reading the Maze Runner by James Dashner. I finished it in just a couple days. It is a young adult fiction book but kept reading until 3 in the morning! It is about a boy in post-apocalyptic Earth who is sent into the middle of maze with other young boys to figure out the way out and back to civilization. Or back to what they hope is civilization waiting on the other side.

I have also finished reading A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire. It is the third book in the Wicked series, the book the Broadways musical is based off of the story of the Wicked Witch of the West. This book chronicles the life of the cowardly Lion and his trials. Is he truly cowardly or simply the victim of life's certain ups and downs that we all must see ourselves through? Maguire has continued his spellbinding view of the land of OZ and has once again turned that classic upside down.

In addition, I have also begun reading Unending Devotion by Jody Hedlund. I received this book from Bethany House Publishing to read and write up a review for. It's an old fashioned love story and I can't wait to get into what promises to be a great story.

Next Batch

I'll take a couple minutes now to catch up on my past month of reading. Working doubles constantly has pretty much kept my reading to a minimum. I finished reading Big Fish by Daniel Wallace which also happens to be one of my favorite movies. Truth? It was one of those rare cases where the movie is actually better than the book. It was an extremely disjointed story with very little linking between tales.

Better was The Divide by Nicholas Evans. This was a suspenseful murder mystery that follows the story of a girl in her twenties from an upper class family as she begins to explore the world of environmentalism and begins the decent into eco-terrorism. This book explores family relationships and what traumatic events can do to even the best people and ruin the closest relationships. It is also a story of repairing bonds and coming full circle in one's life. Once, I got into this book I could hardly out it down.

Currently I am reading Death Comes to Pemberly by P.D. James, a spin off sequel to Pride and Prejudice. for my local library's book club. As an avid Jane Austin fan I am thoroughly amused by the rewrite. However, I will say that the writer;s attempt at Austen's writing style and use of the English language was somewhat of a fail. It is quite a bit easier to follow for the modern reader than Austen's writing style though. For those who have not read the original this book does skim over important details of the characters' repertoires to give the reader somewhat of a background.

Well, that's all I've got for now, plus that stack of books from the library. Happy Reading!

How far will you go for your own Happyness?

 

Last winter I joined my local library's book club. Sometimes we all read the same book but some months we just pick a topic or genre and we each get to share a different book. This month the genre was biographies. I chose to read The Pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardner. It is now a major motion picture from 2006 starring Will Smith. The book starts off by describing Chris's childhood growing up in the 'hood of Milwaukee, WI one of the country's most segregated cities. It takes the reader through his struggles of growing up without a father and the cruel behavior by an ever present alcoholic stepfather. Chris finally makes his way into the military where he ends up station at a VA medical facility in San Francisco. In this bright California city Chris ultimately decided his life path is pointing toward the stock market and Wall Street, a high aspiration who has found himself homeless, on the street and with a young toddler son to raise as a single dad. The Pursuit of Happyness asks the question, "How far will you strive and how hard will you work to get those final results you know you can achieve?"

Not only did this book keep me wanting to read more and find out how Chris Gardner went from a homeless single dad to the owner of a multimillion dollar corporation, it also answered that mysterious question that the movie never even alluded to. Why is Happyness misspelled?

Just Wanted to Share my Favorite Blog!

Woah! Major Catch Up!

Wow! It has been a long time since I've written on here. But I think I've finally gotten a hold on this whole logging network and linking up with others so I'm going to give it a try. Here is an update of the majority of the books I've read in the past year:

Handle With Care - Jodi Picoult
Cinncinnatus: The Secret Plot to Save America - Rusty McClure
The Sweet Potato Queens - Jill Connor Browne
Stalemate - Iris Johanson
Bungalow 2 - Dannielle Steele
The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Clockwork Angel - Cassandra Clare
The Host - Stephanie Meyer ( I know I was reading this 2 years ago but I couldn't get into it so I gave it another shot and it's actually quite thrilling)
The Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins (OH my mind! Obsessed!)
The Girls Of Murder City - Douglas Perry
Behind the Scenes of the Museum - Kate Atkinson
When Madeline was Young - Jane Hamilton
There's No Place Like Here - Cecilia Ahern
A Salty Piece of Land - Jimmy Buffet
Starlake Saloon and Housekeeping Cottages - Sarah Rath
Forever - Maggie Steifvater
Dakota - Martha Grimes
Sisterhood Everlasting - Anne Brashares

I'm sure there have been a ton more but I can' think of them off the top of my head. Currently I am reading a historical fantasy book entitled Ysabel. by Guy Gavriel Kay. It is possibly one of the most thought provoking books. You need to really be committed to understanding the plot of this story and allow time to wrap your mind around how a story happening in today's world can be so interlocked with the history of twenty five hundred years ago. The whole story is seen through a teenage boy's eyes as he tries to make sense, not only of adolescent but this unbelievable bit of modern history he has stumbled into. I can barely put it down long enough to type up this entry.