Bout of Books 13 Wrap Up!

I managed to finish four books during the read-a-thon and read half of a fifth! I'm thrilled with what I was able to accomplish especially since it was a pretty busy week for me! 

The books I read were: 

Revelation by Jennifer Hartz

No Place to Hide by Lynette Eason

The Ocean at The End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Buried Secrets by Irene Hannon

Critical Pursuit by Janice Cantore (Read the first 50%)

Bout of Books 13 Update and Day 5 Challenge!

Update! I have read/finished three books so far during this read-a-thon: Revelation by Jennifer Hartz, No Place To Hide by Lynette Eason and The Ocean At The End of The Lane by Neil Gaiman. And I hope to read one more from start to finish before the end of the read-a-thon but we'll see!

Cover Color Challenge

Pick a color(s). I chose Green!

Find four books with covers almost completely in that color/those colors (they need to be at least 2/3 similar - basically they need to match or be the same color - i.e. all green's, all yellow's, etc.)

Bout of Books 13 Day 4 Challenge!

Modern to Classic challenge!

THE CHALLENGE Share one book that you believe will be considered a classic in 100 years time. Simple? I do have a few caveats, the book must have been published in or after 2005 and you need to provide two reasons for why this book will be a classic.

My pick is The Future Savior Series by Jennifer Hartz! This is one of my all time favorite series and I think it will be considered a classic one hundred years from now because it is timeless. And this series truly has it all. Romance. Action/Adventure. Time travel. A Magical land called Meric that is very similar to Narnia. Mystery. Suspense. Biblical allegories and parallels. Characters that become your best friends. A good versus evil battle. And so much more! 

Review: A Love Like Ours by Becky Wade

4 Stars!

I love this series! I had been looking forward to reading Jake Porter's story ever since I first met him in book one, Undeniably Yours! My heart broke for all that Jake had been through, as well as everything that Lyndie and her family were going through. As a lifelong horsewoman I was absolutely thrilled when I found out that Silver Leaf would play such a large role in this story, I was not disappointed! Silver Leaf and Lyndie's relationship reminded me so much of my relationship with my horse Ogen, who is also very princely and to quote Becky Wade "Acts like he has more royal blood in his veins than Prince William himself!" 

I will admit that I don't usually go for the wounded heroes but, I did find myself falling for Jake many times throughout the novel! I loved Lyndie's character, especially her humorous and upbeat attitude toward life, there were definitely moments where I know that I would not have been able to hold it together as well as she did if I was in the same situation. And I loved the creativity of her children's books, I found myself wishing they were real so that I could read some of them! I loved getting to catch up with the whole Porter family again in this book. Becky writes this family so wonderfully that I always literally feel like I have stepped through the pages and am a part of this amazing family, tagging along like a fifth sibling as they go through their day! I loved this book and I highly recommend it as well as the first two in the series to anyone and everyone! I can't wait for Dru's book, really looking forward to getting inside her head and seeing what makes her tick! 

I received a copy of this book from the author to help promote it. 

Bout of Books 13 Day One Challenge

1. How do you organize your shelves? I don't have shelves, my books are stored in boxes and there is no organization whatsoever!

2. What is one of your favorite book that’s not in one of your favorite genres? A Season for Tending by Cindy Woodsmall, I'm not generally a fan of Amish fiction but I loved this book!

3. What is the last 5 star book you read? Revelation by Jennifer Hartz

4. What book are you most excited to read during the read-a-thon? No Place to Hide by Lynette Eason

5. What book do you recommend the most? The River of Time Series by Lisa T. Bergren and The Patrick Bowers Files by Steven James

Bout of Books 13 Sign Up!

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 11th and runs through Sunday, May 17th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 13 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

I'm finally signing up officially, not sure how much I will get read this week so I'm not really setting any goals but I look forward to participating again! I will post the challenge from yesterday (Monday) sometime later today! :)

Review: Revelation by Jennifer Hartz

5 Stars!!!

This conclusion to one of my all time favorite series thrilled me, brought tears to my eyes and left me grinning like an idiot! I will try to make this review the best that I can but I am honestly having trouble finding words to describe how much I love this book and series! I had put off reading Revelation for nearly two years after it released because I did not want to say goodbye to all my dear friends in Meric! But Revelation was better than I ever dreamed it would be, the war was finally waged, every mystery was finally solved, and Charis' crypticness was FINALLY explained!!! Reading this book felt like coming home! I don't really know what else to say except, take everything I said in my reviews of the four previous books and multiply it times a hundred--make that a thousand--and it might come close to describing the sheer amazingness of Revelation!!! If you enjoy Christian fantasy fiction you NEED to read book one of The Future Savior series: Conception and then you will understand what I mean when I say these books are incredible! There is no doubt in my mind that Jennifer Hartz' Future Savior series will join the ranks of The Chronicles Of Narnia and The Lord Of The Rings as classics of the fantasy genre, I know I will never get tired of re-reading them! I will also say that I was incredibly honored, very surprised, and my heart was deeply touched at the sight of my name on the acknowledgments page of this book!  I want to thank Jennifer Hartz for bringing me hours of happiness by allowing me the privilege of experiencing such an incredible journey through the magical land Meric! 

I've said this before and I'll say it again! 

I am a resident of Meric! Are You?

Review: Chance of Loving You by Terri Blackstock, Candace Calvert and Susan May Warren

5 Stars!

This is an excellent novella collection by three beloved, acclaimed, best selling romance authors! I really loved this collection as a whole, it was a great read which I highly recommend. 

For Love of Money by Terri Blackstock

This was the second story of Ms. Blackstock's that I've read, and I really enjoyed it though I do think it was my least favorite of the three novellas in this collection. This novella begs the question we all have probably wondered about at times, if we won the lottery what would happen? Would the money change us? What would be most important to us? I loved the conclusions that Julie and Blake came to. I also really liked Julie's modest clothing line, I totally wanted to buy some of the clothes she designed.

The Recipe by Candace Calvert

I loved this novella! It was really good. Each of these novellas has a recipe at the end of it and I love that the recipe at the end of this one plays a large role in the story! This story contained all the aspects I love in a story! This was the first story by Candace Calvert that I've read and it will not be the last, I loved the author's writing style. I have three of her books on my Kindle that I am very much looking forward to reading!

Hook, Line and Sinker by Susan May Warren

I've read and loved several of this author's books and this one was no exception! I really liked the characters and the fishing contest was a really unique storyline, I especially loved how seamlessly it tied in perfectly with the spiritual message of the story! This one is tied with The Recipe for my favorite novella of the collection! 

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Tyndale Publishing in exchange for my honest review. Which I have done, the above is my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are one hundred percent my own.

This is an antgology by three best selling romance authors

Terri Blackstock http://mediacenter.tyndale.com/2_authors/author_bio.aspx?authorID=59

Candace Calvert http://mediacenter.tyndale.com/2_authors/author_bio.aspx?authorID=1166

Susan May Warren http://mediacenter.tyndale.com/2_authors/author_bio.aspx?authorID=705

Review: The Art of Losing Yourself by Katie Ganshert

5 Stars!

This new release by one of my all time favorite authors was one of my most anticipated reads of 2015. Having read all of Katie's previous books, I knew this one was bound to be incredible, and it did not disappoint. Once again I was spellbound by Katie's amazing ability to make me feel for and relate to all of her characters, even ones that I have seemingly nothing in common with! Is it possible to feel a deep kinship with your sisters and brothers in Christ, even if they are fictional characters? The answer is yes, it is. And that is exactly what Katie Ganshert. Carmen, Ben and Gracie were all excellent main characters (I can't choose a favorite!) and I found myself rooting for them right from the get-go, I also loved Eli, he was so sweet it made me melt numerous times. The premise of restoring a rundown motel to its former glory was incredibly unique and very intriguing, I especially loved all the memories that Carmen flashed back to from her and Ben's relationship that had taken place there at The Treasure Chest motel! This was such a great story, I can't stress that enough! I loved this book, which is clear seeing as how I read it from cover to cover in two days! My only complaint is that I felt that the very ending seemed a tad bit abrupt, I would have really liked an epilogue, but I have my fingers crossed that maybe these characters will make an appearance in Katie Ganshert's future works! This author's books always challenge me in my own relationship with Christ, sometimes they make me examine things about myself that I would rather not look too closely at, but they always, always leave me inspired, refreshed and with a renewed depth in my own relationship with God! 

I would like to thank Katie Ganshert from the bottom if my heart for writing such amazing books! And I can't wait to see what she has up her sleeve for us next! 

I received a free copy of this books from the publisher through their Blogging for Books program in exchange for honest review. Which I have done, the above is my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are one hundred percent my own.

Monthly Reflections #23

My goal for April was to read 5 books and I am SO happy that I was able to exceed that!

1. Until I Found You by Victoria Bylin

2. Blur by Steven James

3. Retribution by Lynette Eason

4. The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks

5. Smitten by Colleen Coble, Kristin Billerbeck, Diann Hunt and Denise Hunter

6. Arctic Drift by Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler

7. A Love Like Ours by Becky Wade

Until I Found You, Blur, and Retribution were my favorite reads of April

For May my goal is to (Hopefully!) read ten books!