Friday, September 29, 2017

Secret Daughter (Shilpi Somaya Gowda)

Why I have this book: I bought the paperback edition six years ago and never read it. I suggested it for book club (so I would be more motivated to read it), and then I ended up buying the Kindle version for $1.99. I just like reading on my Kindle better! (I gave the print edition to a friend in my book club.)

I liked this book. As an adoptive mom, I was interested in the emotions of the characters. I actually think it tied up too neatly without a full resolution, but adoption is like that more often than not, I think.

The cultural descriptions of India were interesting to me. I've read several books set in India, and it's a fascinating country. I don't think I would do well there, though.

This book is pretty clean. There are a few swear words and a mention of rape.

Sunday, September 24, 2017

The Selection Series Books 1-3 (Kiera Cass)

The Selection
The Elite
The One

Why I have these books. I bought the first one when it was on sale for Kindle. I borrowed the rest.

I loved these books. If love was the only criteria, I would give them 5 stars on Goodreads, but I have to reserve that for books that are amazing, like Unbroken and such. But if I could, I would give this 4.8 stars. Sadly, it just goes from 4 to 5, so I gave them 4 stars each.

I could hardly get my nose out of these books, and I started the next just as soon as I finished one. There are two more books in the series, which I have on hold at the library, but I'm at a good stopping point, so I'm being patient. I was really tempted to buy the fourth one!

Anyway, this is geared toward young adults. (Although the world would maybe say it's fine for high-schoolers, I'd say young adult.) Great writing, great story... and it's easy to get absorbed into the world Kiera Cass created in this series.

There is some occasional swearing in this series (including using the name of God as an exclamation of expression) and some mildly suggestive situations. Nothing graphic and nothing goes "too far." There is some violence (like in a war or rebellion), but not graphic.

Monday, September 18, 2017

Missing Lily (Annette K. Larsen)

Why I have this book: I bought it a couple of years ago after reading the first book in the series. I only discovered I had it when the rest of the books in the series came up on sale. (.99 each!) I had enjoyed the first one, so I thought, "Why not?" on the rest of them.

Sadly, I didn't enjoy this one near as much as the first one. The writing seemed very "tell me" instead of "show me" (something I learned about in my recent writing class - haha). It's odd, because I've read books by this author that I really like, and then there are others that just don't have a smooth feel to them. This one was also a little far-fetched for me.

I'll finish the other books in the series over time.

Clean.

Saturday, September 9, 2017

Strings Attached (Judy Blundell)

Why I have this book: I borrowed it from the ebook library after reading another of the author's books and having them both recommended to me by a friend.

Okay...

I felt like the first part of the book was really slow and a little all-over-the-place. Then it became super intriguing and attention-grabbing, and then it ended in a way that I didn't expect.

I think I'm mostly annoyed that it didn't end the way I thought it would. The book was good enough that I'm actually bothered about it still. It's not like I'm saying, "Well, that was lame," and then moving right along. I was invested enough that I'm still just bothered!

This book was mostly clean, although there was one instance I remember where the Lord's name was taken in vain and there were mobster-type situations with a bit of moral scandal. Nothing was graphically described.

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Though Waters Roar (Lynn Austin)

Why I have this book: I've had it for a long time (about 5 years!) on my Kindle. I've always like the author's books, so I'm sure that's why I bought it at some point. It was also only $2.99, so that's always a motivation.

So... I'm sad to say that I didn't love this book. That was a surprise, because Lynn Austin is usually a really great writer.  I only gave it 2 stars on Goodreads.

The storyline could have been fleshed out to make it so much better, but it mostly felt like even the characters weren't developed very well. I was thinking it might have been her first book, but it wasn't even close.

I'm still a fan, but this one wasn't great for me.

This Christian novel is clean.