Saturday, April 30, 2016

A Worthy Heart (Courage to Dream, #2)

A Worthy Heart was one book that was so much better than I had expected it to be. Okay, maybe that sounds incredibly cynical of me, but I'll be the first to admit that I pick books based on their covers. I know, it's a terrible practice, but I'm attracted to pretty/interesting covers. I try not to let my eyes decide whether to give a book a shot...but it happens anyway. Anyway, I'm getting off-topic.

I really did like the cover of the book, which led me to give it a shot. However, I was initially a little hesitant for some unknown reason. I think I was just expecting it to be very similar to many of the other books that I have already read (you know how sometimes they all start sounding the same?). Despite this, the book was quite original and very well written. I loved the tension in the book between characters, and the very real insecurities and emotions going on between the main characters. I also liked the risks the author took in what happened to my favorite character (I won't spoil it by going into details). Honestly, some authors are just scared to put the favorite character on the line, but this wasn't the case with this one. Which only made me love it more.

Overall, it was a fantastic story with very real characters and circumstances. Definitely recommended! 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.

Letters to My Daughters: The Art of Being a Wife

This is by far the best relationship book I've read since I picked up Praying For Your Future Husband by Tricia Goyer & Robin Gunn way back in 2011. Rainey set up the book as a series of answers to a series of letters from and to her daughters, and framed them in a way that applies to all women and relationships across the board. While the advice which Rainey gives is directed toward married women, I found tons of application for myself in my close-and-serious-but-not-yet-engaged relationship.

What I liked most about this book, outside of the awesome, godly advice regarding marital relationships, was that Rainey compared marriage to many different visual/physical concepts. For example, she compared it to a masterpiece of art, to a dance, and to a garden. In each of these chapters themed around one concept, she drew out truths from things like dancing and showed how it applied to marriage. For me, a very visual and hands on learner, it was very helpful to have these tangible examples to understand more conceptual ideas in marriage. 

This is a book I will definitely read more than once, and will keep for my own collection of helpful books. I would definitely recommend it to both married women and women in serious relationships. 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.