These is My Words by Nancy E. Turner

 Posted by  Book Reviews, Hillary's Reviews
Apr 072010
 

Hello Friends- It’s me Hillary-

This week, I finally read a book that was loaned to me way too long ago to mention (sorry Jessica!!!). I read “These is My Words”, by Nancy E. Turner. This is one of those rare cases where I did actually judge the book by the cover, and the inside cover, and was still in no hurry. So, when I finally looked at this book, looking back at me, and the guilt of having it for so long, I picked it up. It took about 20 pages or so before I was glued, but once I was glued, I was glued. This book is fantastic!

The story is inspired by real family events, introducing us to an amazing person who is Sarah Prine. The novel takes place between 1881 through 1901 starting in Oregon and finishes off in New Mexico.

The novel is unique because it is written in the format of a journal. However, for the most part, it doesn’t read much like a journal. The story tells of Sarah’s family chosing to move from the Oregon area to New Mexico via wagons, foot and horseback. Sarah is the only girl of 5 children, having had one sister die not long after birth. The trail starts out with excitment and fun, however as time passes, we soon read of the heartache from family being killed by attacking Indians, attacking illness and the pain of men with bad intentions. When they reach one of the forts, they are further accompanied by a troup from the army that helps to protect and guide them the remainder of the trek. Though there is much pain, there is also much hope, as Sarah’s dear friend marries her brother, and Sarah begins feelings of innocent, young love.

When they reach their destination, life does not suddenly become easy, as they are still in Indian territory, still have criminals that wander from home to home, seeking innocence, and there is still the pang of death.

As all of this is going on, we learn that Sarah Prine is no ordinary woman. She is fiercly independent, strong, caring and overall an amazing woman. The book is not without humor, as in one instance, she is headed to the new bank to deposit money she has earned on her own.

“I went to one of the [teller] windows and introduced myself, and after I told the man what I wanted to do, he had the gall to sniff in my face and tell me to let my husband handle my money and not trouble myself with the confusion of it all.”

“Oh, I said, how confusing is it? If it makes you confused I surely don’t want this bank holding my five hundred dollars. Well, he perked right up and said, five hundred dollars? Mrs. Elliot, I believe we can be of service to you after all…

we offer one point nine percent interest, annually, he said.”

“I stood up. Well, I told him, I can turn this around in supplies and stock and see about twenty-five percent on cattle as long as there is no drought, and a hundred and fifty percent on soap, more if there is a drought. It’s a little at a time, but it comes right in steady as a clock. In case that’s confusing to you, Mister, it’s called profit.” and up she left. Gotta love gumption!

And seriously how often do we, as “modern” women feel this same way:

“All day long I was at wit’s end alone with these children, and just barely heated up some scraps of beef from yesterday…to make a stew, when here comes Jack (her hubby) and some other soilder I don’t even know as company for dinner, and on top of that asked me to cut his hair and draw him a bath as he was too tired to haul the water.” (the soldier took one look at her and politely excused himself) “When he left, I turned to Jack Elliot and said “If you are too tired to haul water, you are too tired to bathe in it, and I am fit to be tied. Your supper is on the stove…and April has lost the scissors under the house through a crack in the floor so there will be no haircut tonight. If that don’t please you, then I will put on a uniform and ride out of here tomorrow morning and chase around the countryside and you can wear this apron and tend these crying chidren and this drafty house from dark to dark and then tell me you think I should haul you a bath.”

My kind of woman.

There is definite cause that this book has won awards. I would recommend it even for the reader who does not enjoy a pioneer story as it has less to do with the pioneers and more to do with just Sarah. I highly recommend it!

ftc fyi- borrowed for a looonnng time- but gave it back yesterday.

Counting the Cost by Liz Adair

 Posted by  Book Reviews, Hillary's Reviews
Apr 072010
 


Howdy friends- It’s me Hillary-

Another serious book to tell you about today. A bit unusual for me to do :)

I read “Counting the Cost” by Liz Adair. If her name rings a bell, it is because she has written a few other books including, “The Spider Latham Mystery” series, which we reviewed in our debut year of podcasts.

Liz’s dedication page gives a little bit of insight of where the story idea comes from, which looks like it is based on a true story. The story tells of Heck, a hard-working, salt-of-the-Earth cowboy, who meets and falls in love with the then married, East coast socialite, Ruth Reynolds.

The story starts off really quite slow. In areas that I found interesting, they were down played such as when Heck was struck by lightening. Though Heck’s brother gets that moment to tell his brother how much he loves him, it really isn’t that pivotal to the story. So I say either leave it out, or make it more interesting. What was expounded upon was the daily duties of a cowhand, which quite honestly was a bit boring. I did see how there was value in doing it- as it showed the love Heck had for the country, his life style, and his overall character, but it could have been shortened a bit.

The real crux of the story is about the trouble caused by Ruth leaving her husband for Heck. She is still legally married when she is assaulted by her husband, and Heck literally whisks her away. Remembering that this is the 20’s, beating your wife, though frowned upon, wasn’t prosecuted, or even in some cases cause of divorce. Heck saw it differently and the two left together for a new life. Once she was free from her husband, the two were married. But that is not the end of the story.

Though I really enjoyed watching the two of them really get to know each other, I was saddened by how important it was to Heck to obstain from consumating the relationship before they were legally married, only to let it go so easily. He didn’t even really try to refrain. Others I have spoken with are also disappointed with this. Though there is no detail of the act, it is still disappointing when Heck hardly hesitates. I still had moments of frustration in what I would consider pivotal points down played in the book, *SPOILER ALERT* when he finds out she is barren. Though there is clearly love between the two, it is really hard to watch such huge barriers in communication. I also had some frustration with how much I liked Ruth at the beginning and by the end, I really didn’t like her much.

The book ends very strange for me. Not that I need everything tied neatly up and everyone happy, but it felt like it just ended abruptly, with no apparent reason for the ending. Just loose ends…

As a whole, I would say the book is thought provoking, and unique, however I was just not terribly fond of it. Shanda put it perfectly when she told me “It’s the kind of book you pick up when you’re visiting someone on a farm, who doesn’t own a t.v., so you start purusing the book shelf and you come across it.” Me personally, I would say read it if you like a non-traditional, non-conforming romance, then give it a read. Otherwise, it may not be your “cup of tea.”

ps- Shanda did have a different opinion of this book. You can find her review on this blog.

Until next week-

HIllary

FTC_FYI – purchased

I’ll Know You By Heart by Kimberly Job

 Posted by  Book Reviews, Hillary's Reviews
Mar 312010
 


Hello dear friends- Hillary here-

Today my post may have more serious overtures as I read a more seriously overtured book this week:) If you haven’t read “I’ll know you by Heart”, you really should take some time out and read it.

I was fortunate enough to be at the Valor Publishing debut a few weeks ago, and was able to meet and chat a bit with Kimberly Job, the author (you can soon, if not already, listen to our podcast interviews with the authors there). At any rate, I spoke with Kimberly and I opted to buy her book because a) I like romances and b) I hadn’t read anything from her and was curious about the book.

If you have ever read anything by Tristi Pinkston, you will recognize her hand in editing this book because it begins with an INTENSE and dramatic gut-wrenching first chapter and doesn’t really slow down. Kimberly took a very tender, terrible subject- one that I think instills anger, frustration and maybe even a bit of fear in every woman- that being the subject of abuse. Though I’ve never being the victim of any type of abuse, physical or verbal,I was so drawn in to Stephanie, the main character, that I felt like I was her, experiencing that type of violence first hand and whenever I put the book down (which wasn’t often) I had to basically put myself back in reality and remember that my husband isn’t an abuser.

The story tells of Stephanie, a 40 something semi-overweight housewife, married to Mark, a physically abusive (when it suits him, which is frequent) husband. After she endures a particularly violent beating that her oldest son, Tyson unfortunatley becomes a part of, Stephanie decides late into the night to pack up her 3 children and leave him. What follows is a tale of pain, anger, growth and love. The love in this book tales of the loss of love, almost a mourning, and the newness of a new love and what it is supposed to feel like.

The love story I liked because it felt very realistic. She wasn’t this perfect woman. She was insecure, scared and dependant upon others to help her. With the help of her extended family, the church and Heavenly Father, she was able to slowly get over her husband, and make room for love worthy of her. The only part that didn’t feel totally authentic to me was how she felt her heart had known Jared (the new interest) all along. I guess that seemed a bit fairy tale to me, but then again, a little fairy tale never hurt anyone either, and it wasn’t constantly mentioned or over done, so overall, not a bad thing.

I would have to say that I made a good purchase. The story is unique and authentic. It has a way of drawing you in and making you forget that it is a story. Though it is her freshman novel, I would say that Kimberly does a fabulous job!

FTC-FYI- purchased

Santa Maybe by Aubrey Mace

 Posted by  Book Reviews, Hillary's Reviews
Mar 242010
 

Hello friends!

Hillary here-

For this week, I’ll be chatting about “Santa Maybe”, Aubrey Mace’s newest release. Again, because of lame library due dates, I had to return it, so, humor me a bit here.

Well, this book was nothing at all what I was expecting. Aubrey tells a story of a single, I think over 30 year old woman, who has had her heart broken many times and basically resigns herself to spinsterhood. Abbie is a baker and owns a cute little bakery in the city which she lives. Her family is very supportive if not a bit nosy, but not in the annoying, I-can’t-stand-your-mom-in-law kind of way, just in the I-care-a-lot-about-you-so-I’m-checking-up-on-you way.

So, it’s Christmas time, and Abbie’s sister, Grace, convinces Abbie, (albeit Abbie does not tell her until after the fact) to write to Santa and ask for a husband. Sure enough, Christmas morning, she has a man in her living room in his jammies, ready to chat it up with her.

Overall, I thought the book was light-hearted, unexpected, and an overall fun read. Abbie is a very likeable main character who you can’t help rooting for, and Ben is an adorable, quick-witted man who I would totally have a crush on if he was real. Lucky for me, he already shares alot of Ben’s qualities. So as far as characters go, they are well done and real. Very engaging.

Now for the story itself- I like it. The only complaint I have is just how quick Abbie was to accept Ben’s answer of where he came from. She had a problem with the lie, but no issue with the “real” reason of where he came from. I too have really big problems with lies, and normally my reaction would be similar to Abbie’s, but HELLO- THE NORTH POLE, threw a little bit of a kink in there for me. I did have to remind myself, that this is a book and therefore, anything the author throws in there is fine, because after all, it’s her book. It just came out of nowhere. I guess I needed evidence of a little more magic in there to make the little surprise Ben gives her a little more believeable.

So for me, I would totally read it again. The characters were adorable, and the storyline very good. For a romance, not a “maybe” but a great choice. (C’mon, you know that was funny- well, almost…)

ta-ta for now my online friends! Until next week!
Hillary
ftc-fyi- library

Murder By the Book by Betsy Brannon Green

 Posted by  Book Reviews, Hillary's Reviews
Mar 102010
 

Hello my dear Wednesday readers!

Today, we learn about Betsy Brannon Green’s newest, “Murder by the book”. I have to do this review via my memory because I had to return the book to the library. Darn library.

Anyway- This book like most, maybe all (have to ponder that one) takes place in the South. Though not in Haggerty like her other books, it’s next to Haggerty, so there are some familiar faces in this book. You may remember Mark and Kate (from Hearts in Hiding plus the Haggarty series) and of course the reputable Miss Eugeniam who of course had to stick her nose in this one as well.

The premise is that the local self-created librarian, Kennedy Killingsworth, smells fowl play when a first time patron suddenly comes up dead. The police immediately suspect suicide, but Kennedy refuses to accept that as the answer when things just don’t add up.

I liked the way this was written with very likeable characters, in particular Kennedy, her family and her love interest, whom I shall leave blank to keep it surprise. Anyway, Kennedy, who I was so proud of myself when I realized she, her sisters Madison and Reagan were named after US presidents. Betsy tells you about half way through the book, so I was a bit bummed, ’cause I thought I was smart. That’s okay though. At any rate, Kennedy is adorable. She has the beauty that you want for your main character, but none of those annoying “everyone is in love with me” attitudes you see in some books these days. The irony is that she has four or so love interests, and they each adore her. Maybe it’s the self depricating, or something, but I didn’t feel like she was so beautiful that the world could not function without her. Very likeable. I love how she put up with and delt with her ex-husband, who was both entertaining and annoying.

The remaining characters were also well written. Betsy has a gift for making you feel like you know these people. Even if she hadn’t written about some of them already, you still feel abit attached. It would be important to note that there are a lot of characters is the book, but I never had to flip back in the book to remember who was who. Betsy keeps them active in the storyline and because of that, you don’t suspect the murderer until it is too late.

The story line was smart and fun and creative. I could totally see something like this happening in both a small town and a big city.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to read! Well done Betsy!

until next week!

ftc-fyi- library

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

 Posted by  Book Reviews, Hillary's Reviews
Feb 242010
 

Hello dear ones-
It’s your favorite Wednesday blogger here. Today, we’ll chat a bit about “Catching Fire” by Suzanne Collins, book two of “The Hunger Games” series.
After our last podcast (this past Friday), we had a bit of a discussion of “Catching Fire” and what we thought of it. I had just finished it, so we had some stuff to say about it:
Here’s what Shanda said:
“I think Peeta is hotter in the second book”
Sheila:
“Katniss’s hair is boring in the second”
Hillary:
“Literarily speaking I would say that Suzanne achieved the climax of the series (so far) in book one and book two takes an unreasonable amount of time for it to reach interest for the reader”
Okay. So it didn’t really go that way at all.
So what really happened was more like this:
Shanda:
“I liked book two even more than book one”
to which Sheila and I stared at her for a second and said, “really?”
Shanda, you’ll have to post here what it is you liked more about book two more than one, because quite frankly I didn’t go to bed until 4am, so I don’t have a clear recollection of that night.
Sheila and I both agreed that book two started out really slow, and seemed really predictable. Now, remember slow is not always bad, it’s just slow. Predictable is bad, which is why I actually did put it down for about two weeks until my husband finished it and said,
“Cinna has really cute costumes in this book, I think you’ll like it.”
Okay. That’s not what he said. He said, “I think you should finish it. It has a totally surprising ending.” I said ” well, okay.” He wanted me to add that there are little details that if you catch give you clues as what’s to come, but frankly sometimes I am a bit too impatient for little details.
And about two hours later, I had the book finished. I stopped at chapter 14, ironically about the time when it really picks up, and as my hubby was grumpily doing our taxes, I was done.
I actually am not going to say much more about “Catching Fire” because I think it would give too much away, I will just say this. If you really, really really liked book one, be patient and don’t give up on book two because there are some HUGE surprises and it REALLY makes book three look appealing and I can’t wait for it!
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