The Letters by Suzanne Woods Fisher (Review)

Rose Schrock is a plain woman with a simple plan. Determined to find a way to support her family and pay off her late husband's debts, she sets to work to convert the basement of her Amish farmhouse into an inn. While her family, especially her cranky mother-in-law, is unhappy with Rose's big idea, her friend and neighbor, Galen King, supports the decision and he helps with the conversion. As Rose finalizes preparations for visitors, she prays. She asks God to bless each guest who stays at the Inn at Eagle Hill. As the first guest arrives and settles in, Rose is surprised to discover that her entire family is the one who receives the blessings, in the most unexpected ways. And she's even more surprised when that guest decides to play matchmaker for Galen King.

With her signature plot twists combined with gentle Amish romance, bestselling author Suzanne Woods Fisher invites readers back to Stoney Ridge for fresh stories of simple pleasures despite the complexity of life. Fisher's tale of God's providence and provision will delight her fans and create many new ones. Welcome to the Inn at Eagle Hill.

I GIVE THIS BOOK:

MY THOUGHTS:
I felt extremely lost when I started this book. There were so many characters and they weren't introduced very well that I thought I had somehow misread and this was a sequel. So it was a struggle to get into the story.

Once I finally worked out who was who it got a little better, but there was a lot of repetitive thoughts and comments that I personally found boring.

I loved how the story was focused on a widow who's in her thirties and her family (mother-in-law, step-children, and her own children). So many Amish books seem to be about young people and their journey to find love, which is nice but can get tiring. The POV switched between several different women, which was nice to get several generations' viewpoints.

I'm planning on reading the second novel, The Calling, and am hoping it will be a more enjoyable read since I'll know who most of the characters are already.

If you love Amish fiction you'll probably enjoy reading The Letters, but if you are looking to get into the genre I would suggest you try a different book.

If you found this review helpful, will you please click yes HERE. Thanks!

Out of This World 2014 Reading Challenge

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I plan on reading a lot of Doctor Who novels this year, and those usually take place on some fictional planet,  as well as a few others that take place somewhere other than Earth so this challenge is perfect! 

Here are the details:

• the goal is to visit via books as many places out of this world as possible! Out of this world can include other planets and stars (including the Moon!), completely different worlds (like Middle Earth), paralel worlds, dream worlds, distant future and distant past (I am talking dinos here. Not the 80's), heaven and hell... and so on.
• It can be just a visit to this place. It counts even if only part of the book is set there. 
• all books finished in 2014 count. It's okay if you started the book before January the 1st.
• No need to review, just if you feel like it. In the end just a list of the books read and the places visited is all you need.
• no need to have a blog. You can link to any public profile, or keep track in the comments
• any lenght, any format, any genre
• You can pick one of the levels (and you can move up or down) or you can set your own goal

The level I'm choosing is Above and beyond - 25 places but I'm hopeful that I can increase it :)

No One to Trust (Hidden Identity #1) by Lynette Eason (Review)

Summer Abernathy wakes up one morning to find her husband missing, three men in her home intent on finding him, and the life she's been living based on a lie. Which Kyle Abernathy did she marry? The computer programmer she met in line at the bank? Or the one who was apparently using that image as a cover story?

The search for her husband--and answers--takes Summer ever deeper into a world of organized crime where people are used one moment and discarded the next. And with her deepest relationship of trust already shattered, Summer doesn't know who to believe.

I GIVE THIS BOOK:

MY THOUGHTS:
When a book is labeled suspense I expect to either be in suspense or to be kept guessing at what/who is behind what's going on in the story. Neither of those things happened with No One to Trust. Overall it was an okay read, but I didn't think it was that suspenseful and I made several guesses early on (around page 60) and was right with every one of them.

That being said, the story wasn't unenjoyable. I thought it was an easy read but at the same time had I not had to finish it within a certain time frame for a review I probably would have set it aside and still wouldn't have finished it. The story just wasn't gripping and I wouldn't have had any trouble not finishing it.

There was a line a character said that I think really explained why I didn't care for this book all that much and it was "I feel like I'm in a Lifetime movie or something.". I almost always find those movies laughable and annoying, and this book did actually remind me of one of them at times, so that's probably part of the reason I didn't care for the book all that much.

Another reason is that I didn't care much for the main character, Summer. I thought she was whiny and very immature. She was constantly doing stupid things, like rushing out of a building when she was told it wasn't safe, and I just didn't like her. Yes, it would be terrible to learn that your husband has lied about who he is, but really all he lied about was his name - almost everything else was just changed a tiny bit, so her behavior was just strange to me.

I really liked David, but he almost seemed too perfect. Being so understanding of Summer's feelings, going out of his way to do things for her, etc. were all great and so sweet of him, but I don't recall ever seeing him get angry...about anything with Summer.

No One to Trust is the first book I've read by Lynette Eason, so if you've read and enjoyed any of her other books you'll probably enjoy this one too. Also if you love romantic suspense and can't get enough of it you'll probably enjoy this more than I did. If someone asked me to recommend a suspense novel this wouldn't be my first choice, but I wouldn't not recommend it either. I think this book is one that's subjective to each person, so many people seemed to have loved this book but I just didn't.

***I received a complimentary copy of this book to review. I was asked to give my honest opinion of the book - which I have done.***

“Available January 2014 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

If you found this review helpful, will you please click yes HERE. Thanks!

Bout of Books 9.0: Double Date Book Challenge

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The challenge for today is hosted by Writing My Own Fairy Tale and it's a Double Date Book Challenge!

The Rules for the Challenge:

You must pick two books that you would recommend someone read together (like a double date!) and explain your reasons for the recommendation. You can recommend the books because they are in the same genre, one is a retelling of the other, they deal with the same issues, or maybe they're complete opposites, whatever you want as long as you can explain why they should be read together. Just one exception: they cannot be books from the same series. You can leave your answers in the comments or post your answers wherever you're posting your Bout of Books updates and leave the link in the comments. Then make sure you fill out the Rafflecopter! And don't forget to have fun with it! I can't wait to see all the pairings you guys come up with!

The Dance (The Restoration Series #1) by Dan Walsh & Gary Smalley and Contingency (Covenant of Trust #1) by Paula Wiseman should be read together since they both deal with a marriage in crisis, though for different reasons, and are both AMAZING!!!

Bout of Books 9.0: Introduce Someone to Your Favorite Genre

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The challenge for today is hosted by Doing Dewey and it's to introduce someone to your favorite genre.

I read a wide variety of genres but for sure my favorite genre is historical fiction.

Julie Klassen is like the Jane Austen of today. I love the way she writes and even though her books are long, 400+ pages, I just fly right through them!

I love Sarah Sundin's books, great WWII fiction!

I also LOVE Julie Lessman's O'Connor series, a fabulous family saga!

Jody Hedlund is another favorite of mine, I love how she can take an historical event and bring it to life!

And finally, Elizabeth Camden. Her books are great, even the one I wasn't too thrilled with was still written beautifully.

Bout of Books 9.0: Mad Libs Challenge!

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The challenge for today is hosted by Cheap Thrills and it's a Mad Lib!

Here's my list:

Character name: The Invention of Sarah Cummings by Olivia Newport
Adjective 1: Beautiful Chaos by Gary Russell
Adjective 2: On Distant Shores by Sarah Sundin
Item: Martha in the Mirror by Justin Richards
Occupation: The Tutor's Daughter by Julie Klassen
Act of violence: The Poison Diaries (Poison Diaries, #1) by Maryrose Wood
Adjective 3: Dangerous Passage (Southern Crimes #1) by Lisa Harris
Noun 1: The Pawn (The Patrick Bowers Files, #1) by Steven James
Noun 2: Emerald Green (Precious Stone Trilogy, #3) by Kerstin Gier

Here's the story:

I just read the greatest book!

This girl, Sarah Cummings, ends up in the middle of a beautiful conspiracy. Turns out her ancestors were pirates, and she might be the key to finding the distant mirror. It’s a mythic artifact that disappeared centuries ago, and now a shadowy group of tutors are looking for it. No one knows what uncovering it might do, but these guys are willing to poison for it.

I won’t say anything else. But believe me, if you like dangerous stories with pawns and emeralds, you have to read this one.

Bout of Books 9.0: Goal

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My goal for this read-a-thon is to read 6 books. I don't like to post a list of books, since once I do I never seem to want to read those, so I'll just post the books as I read them. I'll be updating my reading progress on both Twitter and Goodreads throughout the day and will post my complete totals for each day HERE.