Need You Now

Title: Need You Now
Author: Beth Wiseman
Labels: Fiction | Christian | General
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Publication Date: April 20, 2012
Recommended To: Women, Adults, YA
Contains: Tis clean.

Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository | Kindle
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Blurb From Goodreads: When big-city life threatens the safety of one of their children, Brad and Darlene Henderson move with their three teenagers from Houston to the tiny town of Round Top, Texas. Adjusting to small-town life is difficult for the kids, especially fifteen-year-old Grace who is coping in a dangerous way. Married life hasn't always been bliss, but their strong faith has carried Brad and Darlene through the difficult times. When Darlene takes a job outside the home for the first time in their marriage, the domestic tension rises. While working with special needs children at her new job, the widowed father of one of the students starts paying more attention to Darlene than is appropriate. Problem is, she feels like someone is listening to her for the first time in a long time. If Darlene ever needed God . . . it's now. Experience a family's triumph over lies, betrayal, and loss while still clinging to the One who matters most.
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This is such an incredibly emotionally charged book. I'm not sure that it's a "break down and cry" kinda emotional, but it was emotional nonetheless. I thought Need You Now was a very realistic, relate-able book for any reader.

Need You Now centers around the individual lives of a family who moves into a small town. In the attempt to adjust to their new lives, the kids fall into touchy situations and in some cases, dangerous predicaments. Darlene and Brad have their own problems as the move puts new pressure on their marriage, causing them both the handle the tension in different ways. It was really interesting to watch how the family changed and interacted with each other while each had their own problems that affected the others. In the end, each needed to press toward God in order to work through the present issues.

This is a book I think anyone could enjoy and to relate in some way. Recommended!  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.

Redeeming Love

Title: Redeeming Love
Author: Francine Rivers
Labels: Fiction | General | Romance
Publisher: Waterbrook Multnomah
Publication Date: May 9, 2005
Recommended To: Adults
Contains: Mature topics

Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository | Kindle
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Blurb From Goodreads: California's gold country, 1850. A time when men sold their souls for a bag of gold and women sold their bodies for a place to sleep. Angel expects nothing from men but betrayal. Sold into prostitution as a child she survives by keeping her hatred alive. And what she hates most are the men who use her, leaving her empty and dead inside.
          Then she meets Michael Hosea. A man who seeks his Father's heart in everything, Michael obeys God's call to marry Angel and to love her unconditionally. Slowly, day by day, he defies Angel's every bitter expectation, until despite her resistance, her frozen heart begins to thaw. But with her unexpected softening come overwhelming feelings of unworthiness and fear. And so Angel runs. Back to the darkness, away from her husband's pursuing love, terrified of the truth she no longer can deny: Her final healing must come from the One who loves her even more than Michael does...the One who will never let her go.
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This book was really deep and emotional, but I loved it. Redeeming Love is a retelling of the Biblical account of Hosea and Gomer. For those of you who may not be familiar with this account, Hosea was a Biblical prophet who, by the instruction of God, marries a prostitute. God's purpose in this marriage was to show a picture of the relationship between Himself and Israel.

Coming into this book, I was already well aware of the Biblical account of this particular couple, so I was very interested in seeing where Rivers would go with it. She ended up going above and beyond my expectations. I wasn't expecting the way in which these two unlikely characters ended up together, but it fit the story well. While some details differed from the Biblical account, the changed details worked well for the story and the overall plot followed the main point.

I thought this book was fantastic. It showed the struggles on both sides, and dug deep into the emotional spectrum of it. I was glad it showed those struggles without crossing any lines between appropriate and inappropriate. I would highly recommend this book to adults--adults because it does touch on mature topics. 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.

NOTE: I read the revised Christian version, which has had all explicit scenes/language taken out of it. I have heard that the original copy is rather explicit. Depending on how you feel about such things, you may want to take that into consideration.

Bourne (River of Time, #3.1)

Title: Bourne
Author: Lisa T. Bergren
Labels: Fiction | YA | General
Publisher: Independently published
Publication Date: February 26, 2012
Contains: Awkward turtle borderline scene.
Buy It: Amazon

My Rating: ★★ ☆☆  (It was okay I guess...)
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Blurb From Goodreads: BOURNE, a novella (1/3 the length of a normal novel), picks up right where TORRENT left off...Find out what has happened to men returning from the battle, gravely wounded, to the Betarrinis, fighting for the men they love, and just who is hunting them next...
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         So, I wasn't crazy about this installment of The River of Time series. Bourne picks right up where Torrent left off, directly after the ending battle of the latter book. Unlike the first three books of this series, the point of view switches between Gabi and Lia....which is basically the only thing that saved it for me. In all honesty, I'm kinda getting sick of Gabi. When the series first started I really liked her; she felt real and relatable. Now I just wanna smack her upside the head.

          I guess I feel like all Gabi does now is get herself into trouble and drool over her now husband. And if she says "my man" again, I'm going to throw something against the wall (since this was an ebook, I can't really do that without hurting my Itouch....) And all she does is think about him....like lives, breaths, and drools Marcello. Her whole relationship is starting to get shallow. I get that originally she was all gooey, but now that she's married, it's time to grow up and get a life. I'm not saying that married life is boring or unromantic or anything, but I also don't think people are obsessing over each other at that point...it's time to get a grip.

          Now that I've voiced my displeasure with Gabi, let's talk Lia. I actually really like Lia, not to mention Luca (who was my favorite from the start). I feel like both of these characters have really grown up and matured through the first three books, and now, after much waiting, begin to move closer in their relationship. And even in getting closer, neither of them are really drooling or obsessive like Gabi. Even though Luca is always overly dramatic about his love for Lia, he still feels real to me because it's part of his personality. He was already dramatic and funny before Lia and Gabi showed up on the scene. Lia and Luca's relationship just slid together like just as it ought to have. So basically, the parts of this book written in Lia's point of view saved this novella from being a total flop for me.

          Besides Gabi, I have one other complaint. I have for the longest time loved Bergren's books because they're clean. But I'm starting to question whether she's going to cross the line.... Because right now, in this book, in my opinion, she's bordering the dangerous line of going to far. I get that the era this is written in could be pretty crude, but this is fiction. You don't have to follow exactly the way it went - especially when you decide to stick time travel in there. There were a handful of scenes in this book I thought was bordering on inappropriate, most of which I thought were completely unnecessary. If more details go into such scenes and said scenes keep coming up more frequently, Bergren just might lose my respect for her as an author.

          As for whether or not I'll read any future books in this series....we'll see. If there are future books written in Lia's point of view, I'll probably read them. If they're in Gabi's point of view, probably not.

          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.

Torrent (River of Time, #3) [Review]

Title: Torrent
Author: Lisa T. Bergren
Labels: Fiction | YA | General
Publisher: David C. Cook
Publication Date: September 1, 2011
Contains: Romance...slight implications...
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository | The Publisher

My Rating: ★★★★ (I liked it a lot)
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Blurb: When Gabi and Lia finally learn to surf the river of time, they realize they must make hard choices about life and love in the third and final book in the River of Time series.   
          Gabi and Lia Betarrini have learned to control their time travel, and they return from medieval Italy to save their father from his tragic death in modern times.   But love calls across the centuries, and the girls are determined to return forever—even though they know the Black Plague is advancing across Europe, claiming the lives of one-third of the population. In the suspenseful conclusion of the River of Time series, every decision is about life…and death. [Taken from Goodreads]
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          So this volume of The River of Time Series was....interesting. The plot again picks up right where Cascade left off, just as Cascade picked right off where Waterfall left off. Combine them and they're pretty much one long continuous story with no gabs of time between. I really like the way the plot went in this one -- I mean, I liked the plot in the first two, but this one was...I don't know, different somehow. I especially like the little sidetracked fling between Greco and Gabriella...it was interesting to see how it went. Alright, fine. I'll be honest.....I was rooting for Greco >:)

          It was really nice that the main characters were so well developed - as they ought to be after two previous books! But because they were so developed everything felt a lot more real, a lot more relatable. One the flip side, I was kinda disappointed with some of the side characters. Namely, Mom and Dad Betarrini. Again, I had the same disappointment as I had with Cascade: there just wasn't enough scenes involving Mom and Dad. There weren't enough opportunities for their characters to develop, to grow. I would have at least liked to have seen some better development from Mom, since she is now a returning character. As far as development, is was like on one side there was the well developed characters: Gabi, Lia, Marcello, Luca, Greco, and then on the other side consisting of under-developed characters....everybody else. 

          I guess it might not seem like such a big deal to most readers, but for me, it made me feel disconnecting from those underdeveloped characters. For example, near the end one of the characters was injured -- a character that should have been a bit higher on the development scale because he/she was fairly important -- and instead of it getting some sort of decent reaction out of me, I was kinda like...."Oh....okay...." See what I'm saying? I care less about underdeveloped characters because I don't feel connected to them in any way. That particular scene was supposed to get a better reaction out of me, supposed to connect some dots between two characters, but instead, I didn't really care.

          Another problem I had with underdeveloped characters was Gabi's dad. I felt like Gabi kept telling us how overly protective he was, but I never actually saw it for myself. Like, nothing he ever said or did made me feel like he was over protective. It was all tell and no show. And the telling didn't even match up with his actions - or rather, the lack thereof. Which isn't really good, considering a rather important chunk of plot revolved around Gabi's parent's over protection toward Lia and her.

          As far as the romance went....well, I felt like there was definitely less "my man" and ooey gooey love-sick-teenager-ish-ness. Whoohoo! :P Sorry, I'm not a sappy romance kinda girl. However, there was a scene or two at the end that I felt was kinda....um, awkward. Like, the characters never stepped over the line of inappropriateness, but near the end there were a few implications. Nothing said outright, but you could kinda infer what was going on in the character's heads, and it was kinda....awkward. Or at least for me it felt that way. Granted, there was a wedding the next day, but still. In my opinion, keep your pre-wedding thoughts to yourself :P.
          Overall I thought that this was a great edition to The River of Times Series.

Cascade (River of Time, #2) [Review]

Title: Cascade
Author: Lisa T. Bergren
Labels: Fiction | YA | General
Publisher: David C. Cook
Publication Date: June 1, 2011
Contains: N/A
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository | The Publisher

My Rating: ★★★★☆ (I liked it)
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Blurb: Mom touched my underdress—a gown made six hundred years before—and her eyes widened as she rubbed the raw silk between thumb and forefinger. She turned and touched Lia’s gown. “Where did you get these clothes?”
          Gabi knows she’s left her heart in the fourteenth century and she persuades Lia to help her to return, even though they know doing so will risk their very lives. When they arrive, weeks have passed and all of Siena longs to celebrate the heroines who turned the tide in the battle against Florence—while the Florentines will go to great lengths to see them dead.
          But Marcello patiently awaits, and Gabi must decide if she’s willing to leave her family behind for good in order to give her heart to him forever. [Taken from Goodreads]
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Note: This is going to be a short review, because I finished the book like 3-4 weeks ago, but since I was taking an intensive college course at the time, I didn't have the time to write the review. Hence it will not be as in depth as I would have liked.

          Gabi, Gabi, Gabi, Gabi. She always manages to get right into the heart of battle, no? So Cascade picks up right where Waterfall left off...quite literally. Like, a lot of sequels will have at least a short time span between the two, whereas this one picks up literally minutes after the first book ends. Which is fine. I just thought that was interesting.

          It was cool that on the second trip back to medieval Italy Gabi and Lia got to bring their mom with them...but then I was kinda disappointed that their mom didn't have a stronger role in the story. I don't know, maybe it's just me, but I kinda felt like their mother got left on the sidelines once the arrived, and Gabi and Marcello picked right back up and stole the spotlight for the rest of the book. I mean, I get that the book is basically their story. But I guess I would have liked to have seen Gabi and Lia associate more with their mother, instead of the mother being there just for the ride.

          To me it felt like there was a lot more action in this volume of The River of Time Series, which was great. That meant there was less time for Gabi and Marcello to be all ooey gooey, and be more like legit medieval warriors than lovesick teenagers. Maybe that was a little harsh. But it was starting to get to me how they were always so...sappy? (for lack of a better word)...over each other. Less kissing, more fighting! :P

          To make up for my distaste of overly gooey romances, a new character was introduced to the mix -- Lord Greco. Now him, I liked. He might be a new fav. character for me....along with Luca. Because Luca, he's cool.

          Sadly, I wasn't crazy about the ending. I'm not going to say what happens at the end, because that would ruin it. But it wasn't as great as I was hoping it would be. I kinda felt like the last event was just slapped onto the end. Other than that I thought the book was really good.

Waterfall by Lisa T. Bergren [Review]

Title: Waterfall
Author: Lisa T. Bergren
Labels : Fiction / General / YA
Publisher: David C. Cook
Contains: N/A
Buy It: Amazon

My Rating: ★★★★★

Blurb: Most American teenagers want a vacation in Italy, but the Bantarrini sisters have spent every summer of their lives with their parents, famed Etruscian scholars, among the romantic hills. Stuck among the rubble of medieval castles in rural Tuscany on yet another hot, dusty archeological site, Gabi and Lia are bored out of their minds...until Gabi places her hand atop a handprint in an ancient tomb and finds herself in fourteenth-century Italy. And worse yet, in the middle of a fierce battle between knights of two opposing forces.
          And thus does she come to be rescued by the knight-prince Marcus Falassi, who takes her back to his father's castle--a castle Gabi has seen in ruins in another life. Suddenly Gabi's summer in Italy is much, much more interesting. But what do you do when your knight in shining armor lives, literally, in different world?

          I'm always hesitant to buy books, especially online where I can't really flip through or read a couple random pages in the middle to decide whether it's worth getting or not. I hate spending money without knowing for sure and certain I'll like what I'm getting. With that in mind, I took a bit of a "risk" when I bought this book, from Amazon, not really knowing what I was getting into, despite the fact I had read another of Bergren's book, Mercy Come Morning, and liked it. So you can probably imagine my hesitation.

          Not anymore. Since it's arrival, Waterfall has jumped to one of my favorite books, if not the favorite. Okay sure, I'm a sucker for romance - not the sappy sort, mind you. But mix in American teenagers stuck centuries before their own time (oh the wonders of time travel), Italian sword-wielding guys, and all manner of medieval stakes including life or death situations? What's not to love?

          I loved Gabriella's narration voice. Even stuck living with lords and knights, she maintained the voice (at least, in her actions and head; she did manage to learn to talk in a fairly decent medieval like way...most the time) of a seventeen-year old girl, with the same interests and thought process.

          The plot was amazing, filled with adventures around every corner. The conflict in Gabi over what she wants to do - steal the super amazing guy from his betrothed...who he doesn't even love...- and what she needs to do - save her sister, get home, not mess everything up for everyone else on her way out - was realistic and relatable.

          Well, I've said it once already, and I'm going to say it again. Best. Book. Ever. It's safe to say it's my favorite. I'll be buying the next book in the trilogy, Cascade, as soon as my cash supply allows. This book highly recommended!!