Tuesday, March 27, 2012

The Wedding Dress

Title: The Wedding Dress
Author: Rachel Hauck
Labels: Fiction | Christian | Romance
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Publication Date: April 3, 2012
Reading Range: Adult
Contains: Light...sensuality, I guess you might call it?
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository | The Publisher

My Rating: 
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Blurb From Goodreads: One dress. Four women. An amazing destiny.
          Charlotte Malone is getting married. Yet all is not settled in the heart of Birmingham's chic bridal boutique owner. Charlotte can dress any bride to perfection-except herself. When she discovers a vintage mint-condition wedding gown in a battered old trunk, Charlotte embarks on a passionate journey to discover the women who wore the gown before her.
          Emily in 1912. Mary in 1939. And Hillary in 1968. Each woman teaches Charlotte something about love in her own unique way. Woven within the threads of the beautiful hundred-year-old gown is the truth about Charlotte's heritage, the power of faith, and the beauty of finding true love.
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         This book kinda reminded me of the TV show Cold Case, in a way. Mainly because half of the book is set in present time, and the other half in several different times spanning approximately 100 years. A couple chapters were in present time, with Charlotte searching for the dress owner, and then the next chapters would flash back to Emily's time. It was interesting. Definitely a style I like.

          I thought the characterization in this book was good, especially Emily's. Emily was definitely my favorite character--her personality, beliefs, and general being was just really full. Plus I love characters from the past. Anyway. Charlotte finds this dress and becomes determined to find out who its original owner is. In the meantime, she and her fiance end up in a position where "fiance Tim" becomes "friend Tim". While I felt bad for both Charlotte and Tim over the ordeal, I admired she did her best to stay relatively friendly, instead of slugging him....not sure I would have been able to do the same.

          Overall I liked this book. It is in the adult reading range, as a few minor topics come up of adult range--such as some slightly heated kissing scenes... The ending was good, although I was slightly disappointed it didn't turn out the other way (which I won't give details on, lest I spoil it). I think it would have felt a tiny bit more realistic. But still, it was a nice ending. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for this review. These opinions are my own; I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated for this review.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Blue Flame (Perfect Fire Trilogy, #1)

Title: Blue Flame
Author: K.M. Grant
Labels: Historical | Romance | Juvenile Fiction
Publisher: Walker & Company
Publication Date: August 4, 2009
Contains: Clean as a whistle.
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository | The Publisher

My Rating: (Alright, considering the age range)
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Blurb From Goodreads: Many years have passed since the Occitanian knights killed Richard the Lionheart in a courageous battle to keep the Blue Flame--sparked at the moment of Christ’s death--from falling into the wrong hands. Now it is in danger once again, as enemies from the north draw near. In the midst of this looming battle, lifelong friends Raimon, son of a Cathar weaver, and Yolanda, daughter of a Catholic Count, are falling in love. But a new religious crusade is about to begin, setting boy against girl, family against family, neighbor against neighbor, south against north. Though many seek to possess the Blue Flame, only one person is destined to wield its power to save the people and the sovereignty of the Occitan.
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         So basically, I didn't realize that this fell into the juvenile fiction genre until after it was sitting on my shelf to be read. *fail* Needless to say, due to this fact, it didn't particularly thrill or engage me in anyway. Which is alright, because I'm not in the juvenile age range, so that's kinda to be expected. Anyway. The plot of Blue Flame centers around two young teens--14ish year olds--in medieval Occitan, which is located in some part of the world I couldn't quite gather and I don't think was specifically told. South of France, I think?

          These two teens, Raimon and Yolanda, like each other...or, love each other as they said at times...but their "small town" life is totally interrupted by the arrival of the Blue Flame, whose significance I still don't really get. I got the part where it was supposedly lit at Christ's death--and that I got from the back cover--and therefore it is understandable that the religious people went bonkers over trying to claim it. What I didn't get was the real, true blue point of it was. Raimon seemed to get it wasn't what the religious nuts thought it was, but I had a hard time figuring out what it did mean then.

          Short review made shorter: it was alright considering the age range it is aimed at. While I personally didn't have a whole lot of interest in it I think young teens/tweens might like it, if they're into historical or slightly mythical stories. I bought this book, and therefore was not required nor asked to write a review, nor a positive one at that. I was not compensated for this review.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Entwined

Title: Entwined
Author: Heather Dixon
Labels: Fantasy | YA | Romance
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Publication Date: March 29, 2011
Contains: Some mild violence, not much to speak of.
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository | The Publisher

My Rating: ★ (Fantastic!)
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Blurb From Goodreads: Confined to their dreary castle while mourning their mother's death, Princess Azalea and her 11 sisters join The Keeper, who is trapped in a magic passageway, in a nightly dance that soon becomes nightmarish.
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          If I had to describe this book in one word, I would probably go with Enchanting. Yeah, I know, that sounds corny. But it describes a little bit of how I felt as I read it. Enchanted. Azalea, the first born of twelve princesses, discovers a magic passageway leading to a [something that I'm not going to say because the way it was described was too epic for me to try to convey without spoiling it]. Her sisters follower her and the twelve of them meet The Keeper, who is at first is fantastic in their eyes. Keeper allows the girls to come every night to dance in his [something I'm not going to say...], but as the story progresses Azalea discovers their host is not all he's cracked up to be.

          To put it short, I really, really liked this book. A lot. I felt drawn in and engaged, if only in watching the tale unfold. Dixon is fantastic at description, and on more than one occasion I felt totally lost in the story, totally fascinated by the scenes flashing in my head as I read. This one had me flipping pages. Quickly. And staying up way to late just to read "one more chapter." And again the next day. I basically had to finish it before I could do anything productive whatsoever.

          I really didn't have any complaints, so I'm going to end this review here before I go off spoiling the story for the rest of you who haven't read it yet. I was not required nor asked to write a review, nor a positive one at that. I was not compensated for this review.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Not This Time (Crossroads Crisis Center, #3)

Title: Not This Time
Author: Vicki Hinze
Labels: Fiction | Suspense
Publisher: Waterbrook Multnomah
Publication Date: February 21, 2012
Contains: Some violence.
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository | The Publisher

My Rating: (Fantastic!)
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Blurb From Goodreads: Sara and Beth have built a multi-million dollar business together, but their once solid friendship is now strained. Beth is leery of Sara’s husband, and when he is kidnapped, authorities consider Beth their prime suspect. 
          Then, their small town of Seagrove Village is rocked by an act of terrorism, and Beth doesn’t know who to trust. Someone she knows is linked to the attack, but who? Is there a connection to Crossroads Crisis Center? In the midst of the confusion and fear, Beth finds herself attracted to a man from her past. She knows she shouldn’t fall in love with him, but she can’t resist or even explain their bond. As her world unravels around her, she wonders, is it possible to be beyond redemption?
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          This is a ridiculously crazy good book. Just sayin'. Beth is the center character, the co-owner of a multi-million dollar business, along with Sara, her best friend. Ironically, this book isn't labeled as a romance, but that's the part I liked the best. I can't help that I'm a hopeless romantic. Anyway, Beth is a girl who's managed to harden herself against men after having her heart broken by a complete jerk. While she really likes Joe, her past relationship keeps getting in the way.

          Alright, on to the real point of the book. So how would you like to be living in this awesome little village...with a terrorist group knocking on your door? This terrorist group, NINA, has some big plans for this village, and it doesn't take long for Beth to figure out she has to be careful who she trusts. The farther on the plot goes, the more suspenseful it becomes. This is a page turner!

          Yeah, so this book is too good to write a humongous review on, especially without giving anything away. All I can say is it kept me guessing--without ever losing my interestI received a free copy of this book from the publisher for this review. Recommended! These opinions are my own; I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated for this review. 

Tomorrow Is Today (Tempest, #0.5)

Title: Tomorrow Is Today
Author: Julie Cross
Labels: Fiction | YA
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication Date: December 6, 2011
Contains: Profanity | Sexually Inappropriate Content.
Buy It: Amazon

My Rating:  (Wasn't thrilled, to say the least)
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Blurb From Goodreads: The year is 2009. Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, throws lots of parties, is interested in a girl he can’t have, and oh yeah, he can travel back through time.But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.
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          Yeah, I really hate writing negative reviews, but I really wasn't thrilled with this ebook. Tomorrow is Today is a prequel to the book Tempest, which I have never read, and after reading this bonus short story, I never will. Which is a shame, because I actually thought the concept of the time travel--especially with no consequences--was an interesting idea. It was cool that Jackson could go back in time, do whatever, and return to the present without messing up anything.

          What ruined this book for me was the things I consider to be inappropriate. The profanity was frequent, crazy parties and beer were made out to be a-okay (which they're not). I finally stopped reading everything that was including in this bonus--the first four chapters of tempest--when a sex scene appeared. Not. Cool. The concept of time travel was cool, but the story far to filled with junk to be worth the read. I cannot and will not recommend this.

          I bought this book, and therefore was not required nor asked to write a review, nor a positive one at that. I was not compensated for this review.