All For One by Ryne Douglas Pearson

One amazing teacher, 5 great kids, and 1 dead bully.  The question is – Who did it?

Bring in the Kiddie Catcher from the closest big city who thinks he knows who did it.  He just has to get close enough to the suspects to get one of them to talk and spill the beans.

The problem – things aren’t what they seem.  It starts to look even worse when one of the suspects turns up dead.

Mrs. Austin is sure her students didn’t kill the class bully but she can’t prove it.  The Kiddie Catcher is sure that the students are hiding a secret and he works hard to get to the truth.

Who killed the bully?  You must read this book to find out!

Being an avid reader I often figure "it" out fairly quickly into the book.  However, this one kept me guessing for longer and then ended in a way I never expected.  I highly recommend it.

This is not a Christian book.  There is some language throughout the book.

After the Leaves Fall - Nicole Baart

Loved this book!  It is, however, a tear jerker.  So, if you don’t like stories that make you cry – steer clear! 

Julia, the main character, starts the book at about age 9 and when the books ends she is only 19.  She lives through her share of heartache, grief and poor decisions.  Her father and grandmother have taught her about God but she can’t believe that a loving God would have allowed the things that have happened to her.  She pulls herself up and decides to be the captain of her own destiny.

The best part of this story is that you can see a little bit of any teenage girl in her emotions, decisions and conversations.  I saw a little bit of me as this story unfolded.  I really connected with this character and was sad when the book ended.  In fact, although the ending was perfect, I found myself going “WHAAAATTTT!” because I wanted to know more of Julia's story.

So, what is the book about?  It is about Julia who loses her mother, her father, her best friend and her college career and at the end of it all finds God.  

Genre – Faith Based Fiction

Summer Reading - Asenath by Anna Patricio

Upon checking my Kindle account I discovered that I had about I have about 450 books on my device.  That seems a bit over the top to me J  So, I decided to do three things:  organize the books I have alphabetically, stop obtaining books, begin with A and read through as many as I could this summer.  That’s what I did!  After I alphabetized them (actually the app did that) I looked through the As and Bs and chose the ones that I really wanted to read.  When I have read those I will move on to the next letter.

Now, as I blog about them this summer you should see that the titles will appear in ABC order.  I am determined to stick to this plan, but we will see how disciplined I will be at not obtaining new books or skipping ahead in the alphabet.

Here is the first of the books on my summer reading list!

Asenath by Anna Patricio

This book is the story of  Asenath who married Joseph in the Bible.  Little is said in Scripture about this woman so Anna Patricio, the author,  took the liberty to create her story.

The story begins when Asenath is a young child in her fishing village on the Nile. Life changes quickly when Asenath is kidnapped by raiders who hate Egypt.

Life is not easy but Asenath eventually winds up in a major Egyptian town in a home where she meets Joseph.  At this point in the story you will begin to recognize some of the story from the Biblical account of Joseph.

I really enjoyed the characters in this book.  Each played a significant part in shaping Asentath.  It was a short book and part of me really wished that the author had developed portions of the story a little more.

Asenath is a quick read but I couldn’t put it down.  So far this is my favorite book of the summer J

Michal's Window

This post is about the book Michal's Window by Rachelle Ayala

                Ok, so this book falls into the Christian Fiction genre.  There is scripture quoted in every chapter.  It is the story of King David and his first wife Michal.  However, it also reads like a harlequin romance novel with some steamy love scenes in it.  Would I put it in the Christian Fiction category?  Probably, with an asterisk.   So, did I like the book?  Not sure! 

                I liked the story line.  I enjoy Biblical fiction.  After I finish one I like to go back to scripture and see how it compares.  Scripture does not give us much information about Michal so much of this book is the work of the author’s imagination.  The story line is great.  The way she plays Michal like a sex starved woman was a bit of a turn off.

                Michal meets and falls in love the handsome shepherd boy David.  David, who plays the harp to calm King Saul, falls in love with Michal.  It seems that David will do anything to have Michal.

                King David is written as a weak man, who can’t make up his mind about anything except the fact that he loves his wife Michal.  History tells us that David had many wives.  This book has each wife but none of them can hold a candle to Michal in character or beauty.

                The author also places 2 other men in Michal’s life and she can’t decide if she loves them or the now King David.  All 3 men have multiple love scenes with Michal.  Michal seems to best like the one she happens to be with in that chapter.  I just had a hard time getting my head around all the sex.

                So, would I recommend this book?  If you like a light read and don’t mind some love scenes then you will enjoy this book.  If you are looking for something of substance or great writing, then perhaps you will pass on this book. 

                Happy Reading! J

The Frog Prince and Sleeping Beauty

             No, these are not the fairy tales you remember from your childhood.  They are absolutely stories for the big girl who needs a good giggle.   These 2 books were FUNNY!  They were both quick, romantic comedies.  The Frog Prince was laugh out loud funny.  My husband asked me several times what I was laughing while I was reading these books.

            Let’s start with the Frog Prince.  It is a modern day fairy tale based on the Frog Prince.  The main character is Leigh.  She is a twenty something woman who feels socially awkward.  She plants her high heel into the foot of a handsome prince at her great aunt’s memorial.  Roman, the prince, decided he wants to get to know her better and proceeds to force his way into her life.  Leigh is reluctant because of her social awkwardness and the fact that he is a prince.

            The book takes place in several locations as Roman whisks Leigh all over the world.  Eventually the fairy tale must come to end and the main characters must make a choice.

            The second book, Sleeping Beauty, was a bit more serious but still had some funny parts.  The main character, Claire, has a condition where she passes out and then falls into a trance for several day or weeks at a time.  Thus the title!  She does not remember most of the time that she is out.  She meets a handsome doctor just before one of her episodes.  This doctor is supposed to be helping her figure out what is wrong with her but he excuses himself from her case just as the episode begins.

            While experiencing this episode, she meets up with the handsome doctor and the 2 fall in love.  Upon awakening she has no memory of the doctor or their blossoming relationship.  There are several side characters in this book that keep the story interesting.

            I have read my share of books and can usually figure out where a book is going.  I have to admit that there were several pieces of this book that I didn’t see coming.

            Elle Lothorien, the author, has done a great job of taking very well known fairy tales and putting a twist on them.  Just as a warning, these books do not fit into the Christian fiction category.  There is some questionable language.

            So, if you need a good beach read – these two books fit the bill perfectlyJ