The Lightkeeper's Ball

I have a horrible habit - I almost always read the last few pages of a book after I've read the first third of a book or so. Usually that way, I find out who the villain is, and look for clues through the rest of the book that hints at the eventual unmasking of the villain. However, in the case of The Lightkeeper's Ball, by Colleen Coble, reading the last three pages still left me with a surprise in store. I won't say what it is, but it was great to be surprised by an ending!

The story revolves around Olivia, whose sister mysteriously dies in the first chapter. She journeys west to San Francisco to find out the real story, find out if anyone killed her sister, and find out more about her enigmatic fiance, whom Olivia is leery of. While on the way to San Francisco, Olivia is attacked, thrown overboard, and left to drown. The person who saves her is an unlikely hero: her sister ex-fiance! The rest of the story revolves around finding out how her sister died, her ex-fiance's secrets, and finding out who is trying to kill Olivia.

I enjoyed this book immensely - I've always been a big Colleen Coble fan, and this one did not disappoint. I know it's part of a series, but it worked well as a stand-alone book. It takes a while for it to get going, but once you're in, you're hooked.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Max on Life

I expected Max on Life to be a certain kind of book. I expected there to be questions I had heard before, followed by the typical answers that most Christians will tell people who have these questions. Instead, I found it to be a thought-provoking, gut-wrenchingly honest look at life in the 21st century.

Few of the questions found in the book are easy questions. The questions range from questions about Jesus, marriage, and the afterlife, to genuine worries of people. Parents worried about their children, about their jobs, how they will provide for their families - not much is held back. And for each question, Lucado has a Biblical answer, with his own thoughts interspersed. I appreciated the way he handled sensitive topics, yet also was unafraid to call people out on their own faults (such as when he told the couple who are in debt because they always buy new gadgets to simple STOP BUYING THINGS).

While this book is not one that you'll sit down and read for a story effect, I have a hunch that it will be useful as a reference book for me. I recommend it, especially if you're a Max Lucado fan. This one's a winner.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Seek Me With All Your Heart, by Beth Wiseman

Seek My With All Your Heart, by Beth Wiseman, was my first foray into the world of Amish Christian fiction. I've been resisting the trend for years now, but when I saw that this book is based in my home state of Colorado, I jumped at the opportunity to review it.

Unfortunately, I learned that, while this book was intriguing, Amish Christian fiction just isn't my favorite genre. I have no problem with the storyline itself, but it wasn't captivating enough to hold my attention for more than a few minutes at a time. The story revolves around Emily and David, who both have broken pasts that they are trying to but behind them. Emily is terrified of David when they first meet, but they soon form a tenuous friendship. Then, the attraction grows.

This book wasn't bad by any standard - it just wasn't for me. The relationship between Emily and David is nice, and I expect that fans of this genre will love this story. Also, I understand that there is a series of books on David's family/their backstory, and so it may also have been less than enthralling for me because I have not read those books. If you are a fan of Amish Christian fiction, I think you will really like this book. However, if you are looking for a first book to read in that genre, I would not suggest Seek Me With All Your Heart.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

A Billion Reasons Why, by Kristin Billerbeck

"A Billion Reasons Why" is the old story of love lost, and love found again. Katie McKenna is in her late twenties, and has spent the last eight years of her life with one goal in mind: to get over the man (and the humiliation) that she left in New Orleans. She has a good life now: a fiance who is devoted to her, and a job that she's passionate about. But, she no longer recognizes herself. Then out of nowhere, Luc DeForges bursts back into her life, disrupting her everyday routine, and attempts to sweep her off her feet, all over again.

This book was written for my demographic: young twenty-somethings who watch television and old movies, wishing for a love like we see on the screen. References to Top Hat, Fred Astaire, and even Glee abound. Katie and Luc are wonderful characters, if a bit one-dimensional at times. Katie especially seems to be more realistic than many romantic heroines, as she continually wrestles with morality and questions her choices. She's a very relatable character.

The other main and secondary characters are relatable as well, but have more of a stock character feeling. Anyone who reads Christian fiction will see the ending coming from a mile away, but it's still an enjoyable read. Additionally, the city of New Orleans functions almost as a character itself, and the vibrance of the city seems to jump off the page at times.

I really liked the book. However, there were a few times when editing seemed to be an issue. There would be large chunks of dialogue, and few references as to who was doing the talking. Or, a character would enter the room, but would be glanced over, and you are confused as to where/when the character entered. With those minor changes, I think this could have been a truly great book.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Then Sings My Soul, by Robert Morgan

I have always loved hymns. At the ripe old age of 24, they stir my heart like few contemporary worship songs can. There's something very special about singing words that generations before me have sung, somehow knitting us all together through song. So, when I saw this book on BookSneeze, I was very excited to read it.

I curled up with this book, and promptly got nearly every song stuck in my head. The book is set up very simply - the hymn on the left page, and a one-page story/synopsis on the right page corresponding to it. For the most part, this setup works beautifully. It helps the reader to see where original lines have been changed (would "Angels We Have Heard On High" have been as popular if they had kept it "Harken All, What Holy Singing?"), and lyricists versus composers ideas for tunes.

What is most intriguing, though, are the backstories of the hymns themselves and the people who wrote them. Most touching, I think, is the story of Philip Bliss and his wife, Lucy, which is told throughout a few hymns. Knowing what writers were going through when they wrote the hymns also gives the words a new depth and meaning (i.e. Horatio G. Spafford wrote "It Is Well With My Soul" after unspeakable tragedy lead to the death of all his children).

My only criticism of the book is slight - I wish in some cases that there was more than one page per hymn to tell the history of the song. It feels as if you're scratching the surface of the story, but just as you're about to go deeper, the story ends, leaving you wishing for more. All in all, I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves hymns and wishes to know more about their origins.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

"Mia" bag from Big Buddha

I had wanted this bag for almost a year, and found it nearly half-price on Amazon from other online stores. I was thrilled when I ordered it, but the next day somebody posted a review about an awful smell that came with the bag. The previous reviewer is right - there is a bad smell when you first open the box, and I was immediately disappointed that I couldn't start carrying it right away. To get rid of the smell, I sprayed it with Downy Wrinkle Releaser (one of my favorite products in the world, and basically just watered-down fabric softener). That didn't quite work, so I put baking soda in a baggie and placed it inside, and kept the baking soda box beside the bag, then put the whole thing into a scented trash bag for 2 days. That worked! The smell isn't entirely gone, but I'm fairly certain that I'm the only one who notices it.

Other than that, the bag is great! It's very large, which I love. The bag is soft and well-made, and I've only carried it for two days and have already received over a dozen compliments on it. The combination of the rose and leather-like material is a perfect blend of styles and textures. A few things to note: the bag does not stand up on its own. I expected it to be stiffer, but it's not. Additionally, even though pictures on other websites show it slung over a shoulder, it's not really a shoulder bag unless you have fairly slim arms. Other than those two points and the smell, I absolutely love this bag.

Thoughts from a Millennial

I don't often use this blog as a space for a personal soapbox, but I have something I have to share. Today, I sat in a room with marketing professionals, who were all discussing how they should go about marketing to the "Millennial Generation," which is the term for anybody born from 1979-2001. I fit squarely into this category, and I was very interested in their description of my generation. The presenter defined us as many different things - tech savvy (true), socially conscious (also fairly true), and entitled (unfortunately, very true in many instances).

What unsettled me, though, was when the discussion turned to our love of anything mobile. I chuckled at the fact that Netflix is one of my most-used apps on my iPhone, and continued to listen attentively to what they said. That's when they started talking about an activity that until 10 years ago, had almost been exclusively done on paper. Then it started slowly migrating to the Internet, and today is just now starting to be offered as a mobile app. In wanting to be discreet as to not offend the presenter, the company, or the group of marketers, I won't get any more specific than that. But they all started talking about how stupid and indulgent this new app would be, and how it was superfluous in every sense of the word. If we couldn't wait until we were sitting in front of a laptop, they said, then are we even the type of people they want to be marketing to?

I timidly put my hand up and replied "As a member of the Millennial Generation, I'd like to speak into this. I'm hearing everyone say 'why would we do this?' But one thing you should realize about my generation is that we always say 'why not?'" And honestly, I think that's one thing that I truly love about my generation. We are fearless. We see solutions to things we didn't even know were problems. Most of us have a can-do mindset, in that whatever we set out to do with our lives, we assume we'll achieve our dreams. People can tell us that we won't achieve our dreams as much as they want, and we'll just smile and think "I'll be the exception."

And is that really a bad way to be? Is it wrong to expect our dreams to come true, to be successful, and to think that our far-flung goals are attainable through hard work? We expect ourselves to be great, and to do great things. We've been told our entire lives that we can do anything we put our minds to - are we now to be faulted for thinking that way? I hope not.

This is my plea to all the other generations, and to our peers: don't box us in. Rejoice in our successes, help us to learn from our failures, and encourage us to dream big. Thank you.