Counted with the Stars

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Counted with the Stars. Most Biblical fiction is very dark, like the authors are highlighting the horrors instead of the hope. That is not the case with Connilyn Cossette’s “Counted with the Stars”. If you are looking for a realistic historical fiction with the message of hope we seek in Christian fiction then you’ll find it in this book!

Counted with the Stars takes place in the timeline of Exodus, telling the story of young Egyptian woman sold into slavery after all her father’s ships are destroyed at sea. To save her mother and her disabled brother from the same fate she has to work for a mistress who is cruel and wishes for nothing more then to see Kiya fail.

I did not expect to feel such a close connection to Kiya. Her character is so real, that you want to do nothing but cheer her on, tell her it’s going to be okay.

Another problem that Kiya faced, and one I think we can all relate to, is finding where you belong. As a merchant’s daughter turned slave Kiya was ostracized not only from the high ranking society, even the commoners and slaves would have nothing to do with her. Being in such a state is hard for anyone and one I could relate to.

This book also always had the same constant message; God is the way.

Many of the fiction books that take place in biblical times seem to lose this somewhere along the way, and even if it’s brought back in the end it still feels like it was put there to keep it in the “Christian” section. Counted among the stars did not have this problem at all and kept tied in with events of Exodus and how they might be viewed by the Egyptians.

If you are looking for a book for your christian book group this is the one. If you’re looking for a great historical fiction book with realistic settings and characters this is the book for you. If you are looking for a book filled with the message of God’s love and how the Old Testament illustrates that then Counted with the Stars is the book you have been looking for!

I cannot give this book enough praise, and I hope you readers will pick up a copy.

Well that’s all for now folks. Until next time I hope you have a blessed day!

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review, which I have given

A girl with a Golden Braid

Melanie Dickerson once again brings us a novel that will bring you back to a time knights, dukes, and the true love God has for all His children.

The story of Repunzel has grown in popularity in the last few years (Such as Disney's retelling Tangled, and Alex Flinn's retelling Towering) I think this is because in some way everyone feels trapped in their lives, weather is is emotionally or physically. 

In this story though Repunzel is the outcast due to the efforts of her mother, Gothel. She has tried to instill into Repunzel that all men are cruel and only interested her beauty, then they would leave her as used goods. It was saddening in a way to see Gothel in this light, with a pain so obvious it was in almost her every move. I wonder where Melanie gets these ideas for her characters, and how she is able to give her latest villain a depth of pain that can be felt across the pages.

Another thing I loved was how each character was relatable in some way. Sir Gerek's plans were to marry into wealth, finding a girl with land and a suitable dowery. Repunzel did not fit his criteria. How often do God's plans do not aline with our own? We like to think we know what is best, but every time God has something even better planned. It makes me think of this verse.

"There are many plans in a man’s heart,

Nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand." Proverbs 19:21 NKJV

Having Repunzel be an outsider among the places she lived gave me a bond to her, and I think to many others. I always felt like I was on the outside looking in, and to remove the ache from my heart I wanted to learn all that I could. And this is what Repunzel did. At the time her greatest wish was to learn to read. Back in this day and age the only women to really learn to read were the children of the wealthy, so finding a teacher that is not a man would not be easy. Aaahh the humorous turns these story takes, for none other then the grumpy Sir Gerek (who saved Repunzel, who then later down the road saved him) would be her reluctant teacher.

This book also coincides with the events of The Princess Spy, and continues onward after those events. So if you want to read this one I suggest reading the previous one, though you don't have to. Also an interesting note is that it seems Melanie Dickerson has moved over to Tomas Nelson publishings instead of Zondervan, anyone have any thoughts on this?

Anyways, back to the book review. Secrets and wicked plots abound in this book, finding ways to make a more interesting plot and helping our beloved characters to trust in God's sovereign hand. There was a time in the book I feared the worst, but I won't tell you what happened, good or bad. This is too good of a book to spoil. If you haven't picked up any of Melanie Dickerson's books I suggest doing so now! If you want to know where to start in this book series you can check out my review for The Princess Spy on my blog.

Well folks that is all I have for today, I hope you have a blessed day and tune in for my next review.

I received this book from the publishers for free in exchange for an honest review, which I have given.

who said Chivalry is dead?

Taking place shortly after the events of Dina  L. Sleiman’s previous book Dauntless we meet young Gwendolyn a woman setting her heart out on being a knight, and proving she is more then just another helpless female.

I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect from Chivalrous since I have not read Dauntless, and in truth I thought it might be another somewhat unrealistic book where a girl becomes a knight and all her dreams come true. I won’t spoil things for you, but Chivalrous is so much better then that.

Gwendolyn has to battle more then just the constant reminder that for her time skills such as fighting and horseback riding are deemed unladylike and would bring shame to a family if that girl is ever caught. Her father, a cruel and unjust man, would see her married to a man who could break her very spirit.

I found that Gwendolyn is a very relatable character for any girl. In this day and age marriage is almost always looked on unfavorable and isn’t really encouraged anymore, to the point that girls get the wrong impression about marriage. Instead of seeing it for the beautiful commitment to one another under the power of God they see it as a ball and chain, or sometimes a prison depending on the examples of marriage that have been shown to them. This was the view Gwendolyn had of marriage and vowed never to go into marriage, no matter the costs.

Gwendolyn also had another relatable thing to just about anyone; the desire to be loved for who you are, not for what people want you to be. I struggle with this too, and seeing a character have to deal with the same things I have to in a setting where myth and knights was even more amazing.

This book is not only about Gwendolyn though, there are so many supporting characters I have come to know and love, to watch them grow and make their choices was amazing. Another amazing thing to watch was the change in Gwendolyn. Some think the changes made by God are wrong, that it makes you someone too different then who you want to be, but this book showed that the changes that God makes to make you a new person are not so drastic, and that He is making you the person you were always meant to be, the better person you could not be with sin controlling your life.

I would recommend this book to EVERYONE, and I want to read Dauntless even more now. I hope that Dina will make more books, if she continues with this series or not I will look forward to any work by her.

Well until next time folks, Kaitlyn W. signing out. I hope you have a blessed day.

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review, which I have given

I'm not so sure....

Okay, I heard from a few people how much they enjoyed the NIV translation of the bible; it was enough to make me curious. So I chose the NIV bible for teen girls by Zondervan. I wasn’t sure what to expect.

 As I said before I really was not sure what to expect from this translation, but others who had reviewed this particular Bible seemed to really enjoy it and liked the devotionals inside. I did too, and not just for teens, woman, but some I recommended that parents should read to their children, boy or girl, it will be really helpful.

The NIV Teen girls Bible introduces each book kinda like a few study bible I have seen before, telling about what time the book took place, listing who is in the book, and what verses you might recognize, along with explaining what it is about. This is really helpful to teens that wonder what’s the point in reading this part of the bible, giving just a small explanation to encourage them to go on.

Now here is where I have a little trouble with this Bible. While comparing some verses to see how it sounded against my NLT version I found that a few verses sounded really off, making them confusing to the reader. Such as Mark 3:24-27. I will give you an example of what I mean be putting the NIV and the NLT versions of this verse on here

“A kingdom divided by civil war will collapse. Similarly, a family splintered by feuding will fall apart. And if Satan is divided and fights against himself, how can he stand? He would never survive. Let me illustrate this further. Who is powerful enough to enter the house of a strong man like Satan and plunder his goods? Only someone even stronger—someone who could tie him up and then plunder his house.” Mark 3:24-27 NLT

“If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house.” Mark 3:24-27 NIV

Maybe I am being a little too nit picky, but this was one of the verses that just really bugged me when I was reading it. And there were others verses in this version that made it sound like if you repented of your sins and was baptized then you were saved, which we all know isn’t right. This happened a few times throughout this Bible. It’s like pieces of a puzzle were obviously missing, and when you’re a teen you need a clearer picture of what the Bible is trying to teach you.

I am not saying this translation is all bad, but it is not a version I would go for to read on a daily bases. In the end it is up to you, but when getting a Bible for your child or a teenager in your life read it for yourself before you buy it.

I guess that is it for now folks, Kaitlyn W. signing out.

Until next time folks I hope you have a blessed day

I received this Bible in exchange for an honest review, which I have given

We're going on a Trial Run

Time is almost in the eye of the beholder, and for everyone all over the earth it means something a little different. In Trial Run we get a new look at time and what it could mean for so many.

This isn't my normal choice for a book, but trust me if you had read the description for it you'd find yourself hard pressed not to pick it.

Two teams are after the same thing, controlling out of body experience and defying time itself, but for two very different reasons. Reese, a member of U.S. government wants her program to succeed to gain secrets and power. Gabriella and her team wish to find truth about out of body experiences and what it could mean for man kind to control them.

I wasn’t exactly sure what to make of this book, it honestly seemed too much like a book for science geeks then for a romantic like myself, but I was happily surprised to find out I was very much wrong.

Love is not excluded from this book of action and mystery. Gabriella has someone pinning for her, wishing to show her a love she has never known, but things get complicated from the very start and for the poor guy is seems almost hopeless, but he still doesn’t give up on her. Trent, our grad student thrown into the maelstrom of our story is brought together with a young woman named Shane, and though she is weary of his intentions they become business partners and find a more then just mutual friendship is growing between them.

Reese Clawson is not your typical fictional villain. Most are cold and give no regard to human life whatsoever. Reese is different. Thomas Locke has created a character I am unsure what to do with. She is still the bad guy, and what she is doing is wrong, but I see these glimpses of humanity in her and I have to wonder what Tomas has planned for her. It is so very hard to say, but even if the rest of the book had not held my interest I would have kept reading just to see what happened to Reese and her team.

Luckily for all you readers out there the book in its entirety was amazing. I did wonder where the Christianity was in this book, but the pieces fell into place (sort of) near the end of the book, and I am hoping book 2 will reveal more to us readers.

If you enjoy a well balance between Romance, action, and mystery then I suggest picking up Trial run and buckling yourself in for one wild ride.

Until next time folks I hope you have a blessed day!

I received this book an exchange for an honest review, which I have given

Finding a heart's Home

We have finally reached the last book in this series of six novellas, and what a good finish it was. Colleen Coble has given us another historical series that will surely be put into our collection of books.

Okay, if you guys are reading this review then you must have read the others that came before it, so you know what’s going on with Emmie and Isaac. I was so excited to see what happened after how book five left off, it looked like things were going to turn out alright for our two main characters...then Jessica tries to stick her nose in it.

If you have read any of the previous books you all know who I am talking about and are probably groaning “Oh no” right about now.

Jessica has been a thorn in our side from book two, but Emmie made a point about the young woman I think we don’t see often enough. She said that Jessica must have gone through a pain in her past that shaped her into the woman she is now. That is the case most of the time, and now I am wishing Colleen Coble might make a book about Jessica so we can get to know the real woman and see if she has a redemption story. Kinda like how I want a third book to the “Under Texas stars” Series about Lucy’s cousin.

Anyways, back to the book review now. In the previous two books Colleen Coble had kept a good pace, and did not rush the story along like in the first set of three books. Sadly that changed in this one. Too much was happening too fast, points were made, but they were never seen through.

*SPOILER ALERT*

Such as Emmie promised to tell Isaac about their marriage, and made several attempts and promised to talk about it later, but it never happen. Not even in the epilogue was it mentioned!

*END OF SPOILER*

In the end this was a really good book and a great ending to a series. Though a little rushed at some points it will a set of books worth putting in your Colleen Coble Collection

Until next time folks I hope you have a blessed day!

I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review, which I have given