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Healing Love
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Where do I begin with this review? No words justify the amount of feels I felt with this book. It is absolutely an amazing read. From heartache and pain to smiles and hope, Ms. Slattery stitches together a novel that will not soon leave the reader's soul. You close the book and reflect on the story and the characters and their faith long into the night. It's forever in my heart, that's for sure!

I have never been on a mission trip but I know of people that have. They come home with stories that will leave you in tears, sometimes from happiness, sometimes from sadness. Ms. Slattery filled this book with such detail that you can't help but feel as if you, the reader,were right there in the center of the mission trip. Watching Brooke along side of Ubaldo really kept me hooked on the story. I loved both of their characters so much. I felt their emotions and their faith as if they were my own. When they came to terms with what God had in store for the two of them, together, I really felt it deep in my soul!

Ms. Slattery has taken on a wonderful theme for this book. Finding love in an unexpected place with an unexpected person, learning of that our plan isn't always His plans, and seeking redemption along the way, really makes for a fantabulous book! I can not simply give this incredibly moving novel a measly 5 star rating. It is beyond that. It is deserving of 5 thousand stars, if you want my opinion. This book, and all it has to offer, will suck you in, cacoon you into it's pages and leave you breathless and in awe of Ms. Slattery's work. Bravo, Jennifer Slattery! Bravo! <a href="http://cafinatedreads.com/book-review-healing-love-by-jennifer-slattery/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Cafinated Reads</a>
  
NO
No One Ever Asked
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I am only allowed to give this book 5 stars in rating? Why? Why can't I give it 5 stars ten million times? It's that amazing. Yes, yes it is. It is absolutely raw. Utterly captivating. Beautifully written. Heart stoppingly real. Every. Last. Page.

Mrs. Ganshert takes every day questions, and every day situations and puts them into a novel that will consume you. Each of these characters jumped off the pages and told their stories to me like they were sitting right beside me on the couch. Each of them made me want to wrap my arms around them and hold on for dear life, telling them all would be okay and that the world isn't all bad.

This book brings to point so many things that today's society is dealing with. So many. Just as the book describes, we as humans have to have a label for everything. If there's not a label for it, we don't know how to exist. No one ever asks the real questions. We just slap a label and run. Mrs. Ganshert takes her readers on a deep journey showing us the outcome that can arise if we would just stop that, and live life for God, and for us. Life doesn't have to be so complicated.

If you are reading this review, then heade my words. Go preorder this book NOW. Don't wait. You will want to read this book and devour it in one sitting the way I did. This book is one of the best I have ever read, and I can't sing it's praises loud enough. Beautifully done, Mrs. Ganshert, and I absolutely can not wait for another thought provoking, jaw dropping, heart wrenching read from your talented hands!
 
*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Blogging For Books and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*
  
A Court of Thorns and Roses
A Court of Thorns and Roses
Sarah J. Maas | 2015 | Young Adult (YA)
10
8.7 (107 Ratings)
Book Rating
My first 10 star rating in nearly 7 years!
Lets be honest, im not a die hard fantasy reader. I didnt like lord of the rings, i didnt like harry potter, i dont like game of thrones.. i could go on. I have pretty much decided that if a huge majority of people are raving about something i will most likely hate it.
Why i picked up this book then? Well, i recently joined a few bookclubs and this author was what everyone talked about, everyone had these inside jokes that i had no idea what they were talking about... i guess that ticked me off enough times to buckle and give this book a try... AND OH AM I HAPPY THAT I DID.
Im not going to go into details about the book and potentially spoil it.. however i will say a few things.
Firstly, after a few chapters in brace yourself.. there is no "down time" to this book, no filler. I literally had to.. HAD TO, put the book down to process because it was so good.
I can not speak for this authors writing in any other novel because this series is my first of hers.. but the writing is beautiful and intricate. Do not expect to speed read this..it wont happen.
everytime i thought i knew what was going to happen next.. I WAS SOOO WRONG. (And im actually pretty good a guessing.)
The characters are so well thoughtout and i love each one of them as i should for what they are. The main characters of a book are usually the only ones you get to know, but we see into the past, future and present of each one of these beautiful souls.
So i guess what im saying is.. i went into this book ticked off lol and very much expecting to DNF ing it. And i came out the other side in love.. ...
  
Good Development of Characters, Humour and Plot (0 more)
Slightly awkward writing at times (0 more)
The Best Book So Far in the Series
The 'Blurb':


'The Peculiar Children are back in the third installment in the bestselling series of YA novels by Ransom Riggs. Time is running out for the Peculiar Children. With a dangerous madman on the loose, and their beloved Miss Peregrine still in danger, it's up to Jacob Portman to channel his newfound abilities and defeat Caul before he loses his friends--and their world--forever. This action-packed adventure features all-new Peculiar photographs from times and places all over the world.'


I've recently finished reading 'Library of Souls' by Ransom Riggs and I thought that this was the best book in the series. I'm not sure if this book was the last in a trilogy or the new book due to come out, follows on from what happened in 'Library of Souls', but I liked the plot of this novel.

Whilst I enjoyed the other two books, I think with 'Library of Souls', the story really gets going and this book was really well-paced and exciting.

I liked the development of the characters and I also thought that the themes running through the book, about how power use others to gain power for themselves, was thought provoking and mature. The teen romance is the only thing that lets this down slightly throughout the other books, but that element was dealt with well in 'Library of Souls'.

Also I think that the writing style is better in this novel. In the first novel, there were a few times where the writing seemed a bit awkward, but I think 'Library of Souls' is well written and at times, funny. At times, the story mirrored 'Harry Potter', but I still thought that it was still quite original.

I hope the new book continues Jacob's story, but even if that's the last thing we hear of this set of characters, this was a fitting end to their adventures.

My Rating **** 1/2 Stars
  
The Girl In Between
The Girl In Between
Laekan Zea Kemp | 2014 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
8
8.8 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
Great, characters, imaginative mix of Fantasy and issues connected with Disability (0 more)
Nothing (0 more)
‘The Girl In Between’ was the first book I read for the ‘Disability Read-a-Thon’ in October and, because this was a free download, I didn’t have high expectations for this book at all. However, I was very pleasantly surprised.

This book’s main character Bryn has a sleeping syndrome, which means that she can suddenly sleep for weeks and months on end. This didn’t mean however, that she a poor defenseless girl, in fact she was the opposite. She was funny, sarcastic and a fully rounded teenager and I thought she was relatable and likeable.

This book wasn’t just about Disability but the book does cover some of the issues that, even though I don’t have the same condition as Bryn, I could relate to, when I was growing up. However, it was also a complex mix of real life, fantasy and Bryn’s condition, which was seamlessly and imaginatively, incorporated into the story.

There were a couple of times when I thought that this book would develop into a slushy teen romance, but thankfully, this just managed not to turn into this and any kind of romance was maturely and sensitively handled.

I found the pace of this to be excellent. In no part of the book did I feel the story dragged and I really wanted to know what would happen to the characters.

I think that the ending was really good and it resolved enough to feel satisfied at the end, but it left enough for me to want to read the rest of the series.

I will definitely be reading the rest of this series at some point. I would recommend reading this book, whether you want to read something with a strong main character who has a Disability, or you enjoy a good Fantasy read.

My Rating ****
  
The Dream Pony
The Dream Pony
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Dream Pony by Shanon Picciolo is a great bedtime story. It does not have too much action in it and has a nice, calming feel to it.



A young girl by the name of Emilie is outside daydreaming when she thinks she hears hoofbeats. She sits very quietly and soon a pony approaches her. Once she gains the pony’s trust she climbs on its back and they go for a ride together.



The pony takes her to a beautiful stream, a faraway valley, and even way up on top of a mountain. Together they play with deer and run with timberwolves. Finally, when it gets dark the pony takes Emilie back home so she can go to bed and dream about a pony in the woods.



What I liked best is that the book takes readers through multiple different areas of the forest and mountains on horseback. Many children dream of having or at least riding a horse one day and Dream Pony takes them on that wonderful journey. What I did not like was that there is one page that is twice as long as the others. Some children with shorter attention spans may have issues with this page as it changes the pace of the story. Parents should be aware of this and ready to help if a child is trying to read it on their own.



Young children will enjoy having this book read to them. Also, children who are starting to read on their own may find this book enjoyable, though they may need help with some of the words. I give this book a rating of 4 out of 4. Other than the one page being longer than necessary there is nothing negative to say about this book. With the book even ending with the words “Good Night” this book gives children something great to imagine right before bed and encourages good dreams.

https://nightreaderreviews.blogspot.com
  
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Salvage the Bones
Salvage the Bones
Jesmyn Ward | 2012 | Fiction & Poetry
6
7.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is the story of Esch and her brothers, Skeeta, Randal, and Junior. The story takes place over 12 days before, during and after Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. Esch and her family live in "the Pit", their dog China, who is the most important thing to Skeeta, has just had puppies. They are trying to get the puppies healthy and find a safe place for them before the storm hits. Esch has just found out that she is pregnant by the only boy she has been with, Randal is determined to get a basketball scholarship so he can get out of "the Pit". All of this is going on while a Hurricane is on the way. This is an emotional story that takes you on a roller coaster ride. With so many mishaps along the way, will they be able to survive once the storm hits?

I listened to this book over a course of 3 weeks back and forth to work. The story captured my attention immediately, but without listening to in continuously, I lost my place sometimes. This is the first book I have read by Jesmyn Ward, and this book was brought to my attention through her new book [bc:Sing, Unburied, Sing|32920226|Sing, Unburied, Sing|Jesmyn Ward|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1499340866s/32920226.jpg|53537916] which came out earlier this year. I'm not sure if I would have given this book a higher rating if I would have read it directly instead of listening to it. But I did enjoy it and look forward to reading Sing, Unburied, Sing.
  
The Sieve (Drakon Book 1)
The Sieve (Drakon Book 1)
C A Caskabel | 2016 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Very short book 1 of 4
This first instalment in the Drakon book sees a mysterious figure, Da-Ren, appear at a monastery looking for salvation, and then follows his memories of his coming-of-age journey as a 12 year-old boy. Dragged from his bed in the orphans camp of his tribe and thrown into The Sieve - a 6 week long trial to weed out the weakest of the tribe, he and his fellow tribe members are forced to stand barely clothed in the freezing field - if they don't fall they get the luxury of clothes and meat; otherwise its porridge. The story flows really well and only seems to drag in a couple of chapters - quite a feat considering the daily drudge being described!
This first part is very short indeed and I can't help but wonder why. I think the overall page count of the full 4 "book" series is about 1500 - so cutting it in to 4 sections seems a little far. This book is about 250 pages. While it tells the full story of Da-Ren's time in the sieve and concludes with his final rating (the role he will perform for the tribe for the rest of his life) I think more of the present story (the monastery) could have been added on the end. A story featuring flashbacks should absolutely not finish in the flashback - showing that this is not really a standalone book at all.
I will read the rest of the series in due course as I loved the storytelling, the world built and am intrigued as to what is next.
  
I suppose I'll mention this was one of the books we just finished in English. Apparently, I think that Breathing Underwater is the best book so far in the school year that was required reading. (Notice I didn't say the best book I've ever read...)

Nick seems to be a person who is quite spoiled and probably has the perfect life being handsome, popular and rich. Beneath the surface though (see what I did there?) he's abused by his father often and has taken out his anger on others as well, such as Caitlin. As a result, there are many consequences due to Nick's actions. It make me really sad to hear that his father was abusive though. Comparing my very own life to Nick's life, my life seems to be easy as pie.

I don't seem to have a lot of reaction from this book. I typically don't read YA Realistic Fiction that much on my own when I look on my list of Books Read.

Why I really gave it such a high rating is the dramatic storyline and the emotional process that Nick takes to recover and learn from his many mistakes that really makes his life far from perfection when he takes an anger management.

Though I don't typically read Realistic Fiction, I highly recommend that if you enjoy reading Realistic Fiction, you read the book. As mentioned earlier, the book has a dramatic storyline and is an emotional and powerful read.

<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/review-breathing-underwater-by-alex-flinn/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>