An Hour Unspent by Roseanna M. White (Book Review)

About the book:

 Once London’s top thief, Barclay Pearce has turned his back on his life of crime and now uses his skills for a nation at war. But not until he rescues a clockmaker’s daughter from a mugging does he begin to wonder what his future might hold.

Evelina Manning has constantly fought for independence but she certainly never meant for it to inspire her fiancé to end the engagement and enlist in the army. When the intriguing man who saved her returns to the Manning residence to study clockwork repair with her father, she can’t help being interested. But she soon learns that nothing with Barclay Pearce is as simple as it seems.

As 1915 England plunges ever deeper into war, the work of an ingenious clockmaker may give England an unbeatable military edge—and Germany realizes it as well. Evelina’s father soon finds his whole family in danger—and it may just take a reformed thief to steal the time they need to escape it.


My thoughts: 5/5 stars.

This book was so very good!!

 I loved the easy bond Barclay and Evelina had from the beginning. Their friendship was beautiful and inspiring.

  The story was interesting. The host of characters enjoyable and entertaining.

  It took me a bit to get into the story, I felt the beginning was a bit slow, but after that I was HOOKED. I stayed up way too late finishing the book, though my body regrets that, my heart doesn't.

 Let's chat about Barclay Pearce for a moment, shall we?
 Though he was a known thief, Barclay is a sweet, kind, caring, gentleman.
 I'd heard a lot of swoon worthy accounts of him and I'm glad to say I was not disappointed.
  He'll do absolutely everything he can for those in need, he's compassionate. Loves deeply, and hurts deeply. But that doesn't mean he's without his flaws. There were a lot of times he bugged me! But I always came back to him. 😍

 Evelina Manning.
 Lina... is a character.  Very feisty. She's insecure yet independent, a strong and bull headed woman.
 Evelina probably bugged me the most. That's not to say I didn't like her, because I did. For the most part. Just the way she dragged poor Barclay's heart through the mud 🙄

Can we just talk about the beautiful bonds among Barclay's family? Blood doesn't matter to them, love does. And that's what all of these people share. A deep, eternal love. Barclay is an amazing brother. As the oldest he's the protector, but he doesn't limit his protectiveness to his siblings alone, he also cares deeply and will do anything to protect the people he knows.

      “But family isn’t blood— you know that. It should be, but it isn’t, not always. Family is choice. Love. Wearing a blighted tie when you’d rather be in an apron, and then walking down the aisle of a fancy church when you belong in the kitchen.”

 Faith, family and time are the three huge themes in this book.

    ""Mr. Manning . . . a man has only so much time upon this earth. It seems to me that if you spend it all regretting what you haven’t accomplished , you’ve only managed to waste what hours you have, which you ought to be spending with the people who make them count."


 Honestly y'all, I'm scrambling for words. I usually keep notes as I go through the book so I know what to write for a review, but I was so into reading that I only took a few for the first half of the book. 🙈
    I can tell you that I wasn't sure how things were going to end up. That my heart was racing through a lot of scenes. That I love these characters and I thought I was ready for this story to be over, but I'm not.
 I'm gonna miss reading this story. I know that there are more in this series, but I don't think it will ever be the same.

 I looked around for the best deals I could find and CBD and Thrift Books had them!
 I also found that it is free on Kindle Unlimited!

Thanks so much to Bethany House Chosen Readers for a free copy of this book!

**As always, I was in no obligated to leave a positive review, all thoughts and expressions are purely my own. **

~Rebekah 💖

As My Mind Unwinds by Jennifer Ervig. (Book Review)

About the book:


This is a simple compilation of different articles or blogs I’ve written so far at JensMindUnwinds@tumblr, during my time as a ghost blogger, and elsewhere...all in devotional format. It’s a good way for me to dip my toes into the authoring a book world and simultaneously develop my coaching skills by the questions I pose throughout. 

When answering the questions, please use a journal and really take some time. Pray, reflect, fight with God, scribble and repeat.

 My thoughts: 5/5 stars

  This is not your typical devotional, but it it were written in any other way, it wouldn't be right.

 As we take a peak into the heart and mind of Jennifer Ervig, you can't help but relate to the thoughts, feelings, and stories she writes.

 I feel like I really benefited from this book!
 Sometimes the extra work was tedious but very worth it! The hard questions SOMEBODY has to ask really make you dig deeper and look into your heart and soul.

   You know how in devotionals, often times the author will address a relatable problem and you'll get all excited, ready to remedy that thing in your life you just haven't found the answers to until now? And then they don't ACTUALLY give you the solution? Well that's not Jen.
 I loved that she didn't just tell us about a problem, she also gave the solution and tips to help us when we're struggling with that problem.
 She didn't say, "Christ died for you. Accept the Faith and live like you should."
 (This is a poor example, I know.)
   Instead she said, "Jesus loves you. He died for you because of that love. He wants you to have an amazing life and be happy, but not with what the world says will make you happy.
"Jesus wants you to live like Him because that's what is BEST for you and you'll most benefit from that way of life, with the reward of eternal, perfect life with Him"  She then would go on to explain on how to live prosperously and fully in glory to Him.


  I actually really love this book. You can feel Jen's fire for Christ through the pages!
She writes with humor, boldness, passion and beautiful honesty.
That's the kind of books I want to see more of in this fallen world!

 Jen is an inspiring, motivational, beautiful, strong, vulnerable, woman of God. I was blessed by her and I hope you will be too.

 "Broken things should be treated as if they're broken... with gentleness and the goal of restoration." - Jen Ervig.


About the author: Jen Ervig 

Jen's FaceBook blurb proclaims, "Strong independent black 
woman who don't need no man. Actually, Norwegian and I need 
Mike and Ike(s)." Nothing could be more true. 

 Currently working as the Connections Pastor at The Grove Church in Marysville, Wa, Jen strives to bring people closer to 
Jesus while encouraging them to not take themselves too seriously. She’s worked as a ghost blogger for an SEO company for 
many years and has been a credentialed minister for 7 years. 
She also recently acquired her Assemblies of God Coaching Credential. Her writing has appeared in Angela Craig’s book, 
“Under One Umbrella”, as well as Reflections for Pursuit 
Church Live and Her Voice Blog at NWMN.

Jen has been married for 15 years and has two boys, aged 13 and 
10. She considers her family her favorite Missions Team to work with and her favorite Missions field? Disneyland. Hey, someone's 
gotta be a ray of the hope of Jesus in that 90 minute line.


I hope you choose to pick up a copy of As My Mind Unwinds. And with such a great deal, why wouldn't you? :)

Blessings 💖
~Rebekah ❤️

The Cost of Betrayel Dee Henderson, Dani Pettrey, Lynette Eason. (Book Review)

About the book:

 In Dee Henderson's novella "Betrayal," Janelle Roberts is freed--thanks to people she doesn't know--after serving six years of a twenty-year sentence for a murder she did not commit. But a murderer is still at large, and Janelle needs to be somewhere safe with someone she can trust. She may not survive another betrayal.

In Dani Pettrey's "Deadly Isle," Tennyson Kent is trapped on the isolated island of her childhood by a storm surge, and she is shocked when the typically idyllic community turns into the hunting grounds of a murderer. Cut off from any help from the mainland, will she and first love Callen Frost be able to identify and stop a killer bent on betrayal before they become the next victims?

In Lynette Eason's "Code of Ethics," trauma surgeon Ruthie St. John saves the life of Detective Isaac Martinez. After a betrayal leads to him getting shot and then attacked while in recovery, Isaac is now a key witness determined to testify. But someone is intent on silencing him--and those around him--forever. Together, Ruthie and Isaac go on the run, desperate to escape the killers hunting him.

 My thoughts on Betrayed by Dee Henderson: 1/5 stars. 

The story started out a little oddly.  I would have liked more of an introduction but we started right off in the middle of two people's lives. Paul and Ann are interesting characters, Ann is especially quirky, but fun. 
 I noticed what I always notice when reading Dee's books-- things got a bit too technical  Too much shop talk, not enough character interaction. 
 I was a little confused because we weren't given much of a back story for Paul and Ann.  I felt like I was missing a lot, which I guess you could credit that to me reading another book in the middle of a series.  But other than that I think there was some unneeded information, and sone missing information. 

   I longed for more romance and mystery.  This book was definitely lacking that. 

 The first few chapters are really boring but it did get better towards the end. Just not by a lot. 
 The characters were cringey and unnatural. There was no relatability or flow to them. 

 There was WAY too much telling and talking instead of showing and action. 

 I was also very confused by the jump in scenes. 
 In one scene the characters would be getting ready for bed and then without skipping a beat they'd be eating breakfast! Like what? 

 I did like the scenes between Paul and Janelle more. I liked Greg, though he seemed to like to hear himself talk. 
 It was mentioned he had a rough past, I love that he accepted it and moved forward  He's a very kind and funny, generous guy. 

But overall this was a very stiff and boring read. I did not like the ending at all. And I hate to say it, but I wouldn't recommend this story. 

My thoughts on Deadly Isle by Dani Pettrey: 4.5/5 stars. 

I enjoyed this story, though I wish we were included in more of the back story of the characters. 
 I didn't like the jumps of POVs, but it was still very enjoyable. 

 I liked Callan and Teni a lot. 
 They were friends turned to lovers. Callan made a huge mistake and their relationship came to stop. However, their love did not. 

 Among the gripping pages of pain and mystery, can the people they are now forgive the people they were then and give it another go? 

 Love, loss, and faith are the three themes of this book. 
The suspense will have your heart racing, and the romance will have you sighing with delight. 


My thoughts on Code of Ethics by Lynette Eason: 4.5/5 stars

 This story was really good! I liked the characters a lot and the relationships were great. 

 There was mystery, suspense, and I'd say a good, low amount of romance.  Definitely not overpowering or underwhelming. (Wait, is that a word?) 

  I found out a little too late that this was the third in a series. (You've seriously got to start checking Rebekah!!)  But it was still very enjoyable  You didn't feel like you were missing anything, more like you just wanted to know the other stories. 

  I really liked Isaac and Ruthie, though they were perfect strangers so I'm not sure why they trusted each other so easily. 
 There were a few things like that that didn't connect but other than that it was fine. 

It was fast paced and intriguing, I think my favorite story from the trio. 
 I ran into the problem I always do with novellas-- I wished it were longer! 


As always, I looked around for the best deal and that was on CBD! 

 Thanks so much to Bethany House for a free copy of this book! 
**all thoughts and opinions expressed are purely my own, I was in no way obligated to leave a positive review. **

 ~Rebekah 💖

When Life Doesn't Match Your Dreams, Jill Eileen Smith. (Book Review)

About the book:
 Life is full of twists and turns. Relationships falter, careers fizzle, health fades. We may be faced with choices we never wanted to make or have situations pushed upon us we'd never expected. Yet, in all of it, God is at our side--even when He feels far away.

Drawing on her extensive research into women of the Old Testament, novelist Jill Eileen Smith turns her pen to the lessons in trusting God that we can learn today from women like

- Eve
- Noah's wife
- Sarai
- Hagar
- Lot's wife
- Rebekah
- Rachel
- and more

Readers will learn from what these ancient women did right--and even what they did wrong--when faced with dashed expectations and deferred dreams. And they'll come away with the confidence that ours is a faithful God who loves us and is forming us through our trials into the women He longs for us to be.

My thoughts: 4.5/ 5 stars. 

I knew immediately I'd like this book after just the first page. 

  Told partly in each woman's point of view, it was a joy to get to know them better. There was something about Jill's writing ability that made these women and their lives so much more real. I definitely shed a few tears and smiled largely with them. 

 As we go through the stories of these twelve women,  we imagine how their lives would have be different if they'd not made the choices they did, if they'd not made the mistakes they had. How different would their lives be? How different would ours be? 

  While I didn't always agree with everything Jill wrote, she did bring up some very interesting ideas and points. 

 Some things dragged on a bit but still a very enjoyable book. And it was great for the author's first nonfiction book! 

 

 The author regaled us with relative stories and lessons and trusting God with the outcome of every situation we're in. 

 

 My favorite story in this book would have to be Lot's wife, whom we call Melah. I related to the story and feelings Jill imagined for her and I related to the stories Jill told of her own life,and how she relates to the woman who couldn't help but look back.

 

 The book made me stop and say, "It's not just me?" and realize that I'm really not alone.

Did you ever read a book that gave you a new passion for living? For having a relationship with Christ? This book was that book for me.

(page 55, Sarai) 

 Christians are messy too. Because the truth is, we're all broken people with pasts we can't erase and sometimes can't forgive. When we choose not to forgive, however, we set ourselves up for a life of bitterness and merciless judgment of others. We lose all ability to live the grace we were given when we first believed 

 

 With God there is hope. God, who can calm the stormy seas, is also very capable of calming our turbulent emotions and healing our hurting pasts--if we'll ask Him.  (Page 121, Rachel.)

 Purchase links for Purchase link on Amazon.

CBD

Thrift Books

Book Depository.

  Thank you so much to Revell for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

 *All thoughts and opinions expressed are purely my own, I was not required to leave a good review. *

~Rebekah 💞