Monthly Reflections #15

For August my goals were to read 8 books, and I am thrilled that I was actually able to read 11 books! Yes, some of these are pretty short but they are books and I read them, so as far as I'm concerned they still count! :)

The books I read were:

1. An April Bride by Lenora Worth

2. Evergreen by Susan May Warren

3. Blue Moon Promise by Colleen Coble

4. Nowhere To Turn by Lynette Eason

5. Allegiant by Veronica Roth

6. Fairy Slippers by Amber Stokes

7. The Foreboding by Travis Thrasher

8. Necessary Proof by Camy Tang

9. What Your Heart Needs For The Hard Days by Holley Gerth

10. Love's Reckoning by Laura Frantz 

11. Circle of Spies by Roseanna M. White

My favorite read this month: Love's Reckoning, Nowhere To Turn, Circle of Spies, and Blue Moon Promise are all tied for my favorite read of the month, they were all awesome! 

My goal for September (Eeek, I can't believe it's September already!) is to read 9 books!

Bout of Books 11 Wrap Up!

I managed to slightly exceed my goal, I read four books from start to finish even though several of the books were pretty short I'm still really thrilled with what I was able to accomplish! I was also able to reach my goal of participating in all the challenges, they were all SO much fun!

The books I read:

1. Fairy Slippers by Amber Stokes (25 pages)

2. The Foreboding by Travis Thrasher (25 pages)

3. Necessary Proof by Camy Tang (75 pages)

4. What Your Heart Needs For The Hard Days by Holley Gerth (240 pages)

I also read:

5. Circle of Spies by Roseanna M. White (I read the first 191 pages!)

6. Love's Reckoning by Laura Frantz (I read the first 151 pages)

Total pages read: 707!

Bout of Books 11: Day Six Update and Day Seven Challenge!

Day Six Update: I had another really good day of reading today, I read the final 160 pages of What Your Heart Needs For The Hard Days by Holley Gerth. And I read the first 15 pages of Love's Reckoning by Laura Frantz.

5 Books Challenge hosted by Falling Down The Book Hole

"It is 11:00 PM on a Sunday night. You are laying in bed thinking about all of the things you must do the next day. Tasks of the coming days consume your thoughts and while your mind is somewhere else you are caught off guard by a flash in the sky that is followed by a large wailing screech that pierces the air and shatters your bedroom window. Slowly you move to the window and what you see catches your breathe and causes you to stumble back a few steps. The aliens (at least you think they are aliens) have began to enter the city and destroy everything that is in their path. Through the window your view is consumed with destruction, screaming people and large flames that are dancing across the city at a fast pace. You notice that the creatures are heading in your direction and you realize you probably have about fifteen minutes before they reach your home. That means you have only about ten minutes to gather your belongings and escape before you are caught in the attack from the aliens invading the city."

"Given the short amount of time you are only able to take 5 books with you. What books would you pick to take with you as you escape and prepare for the end of the world. Would you choose books that would help you survive in the post-apocalyptic world ,books for pleasure that would make you happy and take you to a fantasy reality or books that you can’t live without?"

My Books:

Remnants: Season of Wonder by Lisa T. Bergren-This is a dystopian with a strong female main character and a foundation of hope that would help me to have courage.

The Icing On The Cake by Janice Thompson-I haven't read this book yet, but all of this author's books are absolutely hilarious and I'm sure I could definitely use some laughs!

The Bible-The only true survival guide.

The Doctor's Lady by Jody Hedlund-This book is based on a true story about missionaries struggling to survive while traveling the Oregon trail, so it is another one that would definitely inspire me to be brave!

The River of Time Chronicles by Lisa T. Bergren-So this is technically cheating because it's a 3-in-1 but I couldn't live without at least the first three books in my all time favorite series!

Bout of Books 11: Day Five Update and Day Six Challenge!

Day Five Update: I had a really good day of reading today! I read a novella (75 pages), called Necessary Proof by Camy Tang which I absolutely loved by the way! And I also managed to read the first 80 pages of my current non-fiction review read, What Your Heart Needs For The Hard Days by Holley Gerth, which is amazing and is speaking volumes of truth that I need to be reminded of to my heart so far! My goals for the rest of the read-a-thon are to finish my non-fiction book and hopefully read at least 100 pages of Love's Reckoning by Laura Frantz

Spell It Out Challenge hosted by Kimberly Faye Reads

I decided to spell out my first name!

C-Catch A Falling Star by Beth Vogt

A-Almost Heaven by Jillian Hart

I-Insurgent by Veronica Roth

T-Take A Picture by Lena Goldfinch

L-Love's Reckoning by Laura Frantz

Y-Yesterday by Amanda Tru

N-A Noble Groom by Jody Hedlund

Bout of Books 11: Day Four Update and Day Five Challenges!

Day Four Update! I was really pleased that I was able to achieve my goal of finishing the first half of Circle of Spies today! I read 82 pages. Didn't get a chance to read the novella I had planned on reading but hoping to get to it on Friday!

Recreate a Book Cover Challenge hosted by Spines and Covers

This is actually a book cover recreation I did a while ago, which I decided to use for this challenge. It is a recreation of the cover of Meant To Be Mine by Becky Wade, the photo is of me and my horse Ogen!

The Real Cover...

My Recreation...

Book Chain Challenge hosted by Christian Bookshelf Reviews

So I was having a difficult time with this challenge, all the books I kept coming up with would only make a chain of two or three books not four so I know this chain isn't the best but it's the only one I could come up with today. 

A Moment In Time by Tracie Peterson

A Time To Love by Katie McCurdy

Love Finds A Home by Janette Oke

A Home For My Heart by Anne Mateer

Bout of Books 11: Day Three Update and Day Four Challenge!

Day Three Update: I was really pleased with the amount I was able to read today. I read another 45 pages of Circle of Spies which brought me over the one hundred page mark. And I was also able to read two short stories that were about 25 pages each, they were Fairy Slippers by Amber Stokes (Which I absolutely loved!) and The Foreboding by Travis Thrasher.

By the end of the day on Thursday I'm hoping to reach the halfway point of Circle Of Spies, and read a novella called Necessary Proof by Camy Tang.

Like This, Try This Challenge hosted by Writing My Own Fairytale

"You must recommend a book based on another book, movie, tv show, etc similar to this: “If you liked _____, you should try _____ because _____.”

If you liked this...

Anomaly by Krista McGee 

You should try this...

Remnants: Season of Wonder by Lisa T. Bergren

Because... These are both amazing YA dystopian novels! They both have strong spunky female main characters. And a delightful cast of secondary characters. While the dystopian world building is different in each, the plot lines are similar in that in both there are teens that were created to help save the world. 

There is also a huge foundation of faith and hope which both of these books are built on, which is something a number of dystopians don't really have.

Bout of Books 11: Day Two Update and Day Three Challenge!

Day Two Update: I was able to read slightly more today, another 35 pages of Circle of Spies by Roseanna M. White, I'm now on page 66. Planning to read a couple novellas tomorrow.

Create a Sentence Challenge hosted by Book Reviews from a Christian Gal

"For this challenge, I want you to pick some awesome books out and make a sentence with the first two words from each of your books."

Okay here is my attempt, I'm really bad at this sort of thing but at least I gave it a try! My sentence ended up sounding a bit like a death threat that I could totally picture a character in a suspense/mystery novel getting sent. But anyway here it is.

Come on, wake up, U.S. Marshall Laurie Burke, death unfolds in fifteen minutes.

The Books:

The Lady of Bolton Hill by Elizabeth Camden 

Too Close To Home by Lynette Eason

Undercover Marriage by Terri Reed 

Mistaken by Karen Barnett

Shadows of the Past by Patricia Bradley

Anomaly by Krista McGee 

Bout of Books 11: Day One Update and Day Two Challenges!

One True Pairing hosted by Infinite Ink

I've never really thought about this before so I had a bit of a hard time coming up with a couple, but finally I chose Piper McKenna and Landon Grainger from Shattered by Dani Pettrey. Piper and Landon have known each other since they were kids. Piper is carefree, bubbly, innocent, sweet, faithful, and gentle. And Landon is very much the strong brooding silent type, he is intensely protective of Piper and he gets very upset with her when he feels that she puts herself in danger due to her innocent view of people and the world. Landon tends to see Piper as fragile and delicate, while she sees him as a bit of a cranky stick-in-the-mud. But what Landon doesn't see is that he helps to inspire a deep strength  in Piper. As she helps to soften his hard edges and teaches him to relax and be slightly more impulsive. 

It takes quite a long time for these two to admit that they love each other, but once they do their story is truly amazing!

Book Spine Poetry hosted by. My Little Pocketbooks 

This isn't my best attempt at a poem but here goes!

When you feel Trapped, No One To Trust, Nowhere To Turn.

Don't Look Back.

Full Steam Ahead.

Watch for A Light In The Wilderness

And There You'll Find Me

Bout of Books Day One Challenges!

Book Scavenger Hunt hosted by The Book Monsters

1. A Book that begins with “B”  (for Bout of Books!) 

2. A book that has been made into a movie/tv show: 

3. A series you love: (Photo is the property of Bergren Creative group)

4. An anthology of poems or short stories: 

5. A book on your TBR shelf, or your full TBR shelves: 

Playlist Challenge hosted by Lulo Fangirl

I chose to create a playlist for the favorite series of mine in the above challenge... The River Of Time Series by Lisa T. Bergren

1. Thrive by Casting Crowns

2. Your Love Is Like A River by Third Day

3. Waterfall by Chris Tomlin

4. Your Grace Finds Me by Matt Redman

5. Everything I Do (I Do It For You) by Bryan Adams

6. Glory of Love by Peter Cetera

7. For You by Keith Urban

Review: Evergreen by Susan May Warren

5 Stars!!!

I am totally addicted to the Christiansen family series! I just love them so much, and this brand new novella is an excellent addition to the series! It was awesome to get to know John and Ingrid, the parents of this amazing family, a little bit better! One of the most amazing things about this book is that even though it's so short, it packs a huge punch in the spiritual message department! There was a really cool supporting character in this story and it was awesome to see how he fit into John and Ingrid's lives! 

If a book has Susan May Warren's name on the cover, I know I will laugh, smile, experience heartbreak, and have all the pieces sewn together again by the marvelous, inspiring, and incredibly romantic ending! And Evergreen most definitely did not disappoint! I highly recommend this book as well as the entire Christiansen family series!

I was honored to receive a review copy of this amazing book from Tyndale House publishers in exchange for my honest review! 

Bout of Books 11 Goals!

My goals are to read 3 books from start to finish during the read-a-thon. And to hopefully participate in all the challenges!

Here is the list of books I will most likely be reading (Subject to change!)

1. Circle of Spies by Roseanna M. White

2. The King by Steven James

3. Love's Reckoning by Laura Frantz

4. Nowhere To Turn by Lynette Eason

5. Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Monthly Reflections #14

My goal for July was to read 7 books, I knew it was going to be a busy month so I set that knowing if I would be able to reach it or not. But I am absolutely thrilled that I was able to surpass my goal, I read 9 books!

The books I read:

1. Mistaken by Karen Barnett

2. Operation Zulu Redemption: Overkill-The Beginning by Ronie Kendig

3. Firewall by Diann Mills

4. When I Fall In Love by Susan May Warren

5. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt (Re-Read)

6. Appalachian Serenade by Sarah Loudin Thomas

7. Finding God in the Land of Narnia by Kurt Bruner and Jim Ware

8. Anomaly by Krista McGee

9. Opening Moves by Steven James


Mistaken, When I Fall in Love, Anomaly, and Opening Moves are all tied for my favorite read of July!


For august my goal is to read at least 8 books!