Hope on the Inside (Marie Bostwick)

Why I have this book: I like this author, so I bought it with a gift card my daughter and son-in-law gave me. Thanks, kids!

If I had the option, I probably would have gone with 3.5 stars on Goodreads, but since we can't do decimals, I gave it 4 stars. It kept my interest more than just "I liked it," but it wasn't quite to "I liked it a lot." Haha... those pesky star rating systems.

I don't remember any swearing, although there may have been simply because parts of the story are set in a women's prison. Maybe one of the inmates swore in some of the dialogue. Other than that, I don't remember anything that would keep me from declaring this book "clean."

The Oysterville Sewing Circle (Susan Wiggs)

Why I have this book: I borrowed it from the ebook library.

I liked this book quite a bit. It totally kept my interest, and had enough depth to make me feel like I wasn't reading just another romance novel.

I debated whether to give it four stars or three on Goodreads... the only reason I'd drop it to three is because there was a good amount of swearing in it. Way too many F-bombs and other "big" swear words. Totally unnecessary. And while I thought the book wasn't quite at the level of "the triumph of the human spirit" that usually makes me overlook swearing, I did think this was a step above a typical novel in it's efforts to address domestic violence.

See above for swearing report. There was also some sex between unmarried people, but it wasn't descriptive.

The Story Keeper (Lisa Wingate)

Why I have this book: A friend recommended it, and I borrowed it in both ebook and audiobook editions. (I switched back and forth depending on what was going on.)

I liked this book. There were times I felt like I liked it a lot, but by the end, I can say "I liked it." I do wonder how much listening to it as an audiobook comes into play with that. The narrator was good, but when she switched to a gravely voice for men or for old women who had accents, it was sometimes really hard to understand what she was saying. That's really my biggest complaint on fiction audiobooks - when women narrate and try to do a male voice, it just doesn't work.

My other complaint is that I don't always get the "feel" of the book listening instead of reading. I started this one out by listening, but switched to reading until I got a better feel for what the story was about.

In any case, I did enjoy it, and I gave it three stars on Goodreads.

Clean. I don't even think there was any swearing, but I could be wrong. There may have been one or two mild swear words? Or maybe not. Haha...

Holly Banks Full of Angst (Julie Valerie)

Why I have this book: I got it as a free book from the Amazon Prime First Reads or whatever it's called. (Or maybe I used my husband's account to get it at a discount via the same program. I wanted two of them this month.)

Anyway, I should have just stuck with getting one free book. (And it should have been the other one - assuming it's any good. I haven't read it yet.)

This had potential. I thought I'd like it at the beginning, but it really ended up being pretty childish and dumb. The characters weren't really believable (especially the two main female characters), the storyline was just weird, and it was an all around a waste of my time. It took me a long time to finish it, too, because I wasn't that into it.

Funny thing: I accidentally ended up on Amazon's UK page to read the one star reviews (which I like to do to see how many people agree with my opinion). I think the British women might believe that American moms are actually like the characters of this book! I'm here to say we're not. At least, I don't know any moms like this. There might be some out there, but none that I know personally.

I gave it one-star on Goodreads, and I'll probably just delete it from my Kindle. It's really dumb enough that it doesn't need to use up any of my unlimited cloud space. :)

Pretty clean. The main character makes up swear words, although I think she lets a "real" swear word out a couple of times.

The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers (Maxwell King)

Why I have this book: I borrowed the audio version from the ebook library.

Okay, I thought it was cool that Lavar Burton narrated the book, and he did a great job!

At times, I wondered how he kept his voice so enthusiastic with such boooooorrrrrrrriiiiiinnngggg material.

The beginning was good. I enjoyed hearing about and learning about Fred Roger's backgroung and childhood.

I have no idea how far I was into it before I quit, though. I was somewhere just before Mr. Roger's Neighborhood was put into production. There were too many side characters and their lives and too much about the history of television, etc. I just didn't care.

Anyway, I could have pushed through, but I just didn't want to. I only really was interested in HIS life and not everyone he ever met or worked with.

Clean up to the point I "read." I think there was a swear word in an inside joke Fred and his wife had.

Water From My Heart (Charles Martin)

Why I have this book: I borrowed it from the ebook library on the recommendation of a friend.

I liked it pretty well (3 stars on Goodreads), but there were definitely some things that bothered me.

The writing... it was good as far as sucking me in, but the grammar was awful, and I feel like there could have been some editing. I realize it was written in first person, and maybe it was supposed to "sound" like how the character talked or thought, but the guy went to Harvard and had an MBA. I'm sure he wasn't quite so grammatically deficient even in his thoughts.

Next... I just don't think it's that simple to have a happy ending considering his lifestyle. I think it's likely that things would catch up to him.

There was just too much unrealistic stuff that happened. I can't even start on that list.

And the love interest was just too good to be true.

So there you go.

Oh, and here's an example of how an editor could have stepped in: "Paulina walked me toward the middle of the building where a channel or walkway cut through the middle proving that just as many people lived in the middle as on the outside."

????????????? That's got to be one of the worst sentences I've ever read. I had to read it several times, and in the end, I just kinda guessed at what he was trying to describe. Plus... using the word "middle" three times in one sentence? Yeah, probably not the best idea.

Clean. I'm pretty sure there wasn't even any swearing, or if there was, I don't remember it. There wasn't even any sex that I can remember. So either it was really clean, or my memory is very bad. (I just finished the book last night, so it's not like I'm having to think about something I read a long time ago.)

The rest of the Seasons of the Heart series... (Charlotte Hubbard)

Autumn Winds
Winter of Wishes
Breath of Spring
Harvest of Blessings
The Christmas Cradle

Why I have these books: I borrowed most of them from the e-book library. I'm glad I discovered that they had them before I bought any more of them. (I think I bought one more than the two I already had.)

I gave them all 3 stars on Goodreads. I probably would have gone with 2.5 - 2.7 stars if I could have, but since you have to round to a whole number, I went with 3. I mean, I can't really justify reading the whole series if they were only 2 stars.

The "bad guy" in the series is super annoying and not really believable. I'll also say if the Amish world really was as amazing as depicted in this series, we'd all be converting fast and moving to Willow Ridge. How perfectly everything worked out for everyone (Amish or not) wasn't believable, either. Still, it was a mindless read (and listen), and sometimes that's just what I need.

I actually ended up listening to the audio version of the last two or maybe even three. It's perfect for when I'm cross-stitching and can't read at the same time. Haha.

I sound like an old granny with my Amish books and cross stitch projects. Oh, well. I was actually babysitting my grandson this weekend while cross stitching and listening to my Amish books during his naps, so if the shoe fits...

One thing I didn't like is that there were a couple of books in between the main books — little novellas within a compilation with other authors — that told more of the story. I'd start the next book and know I've missed something somewhere, but I'm not going to buy them just to find out what I missed. (They aren't available to borrow.) The author also has other series that tie into this one, but I'm not going to buy them, either. If they come up to borrow, I'd read them, though. I don't mind living in this perfect Amish fantasy world once in a while. :)

These books are clean, although there definitely are some red-blooded Amish males in this series. One character (Luke) crossed the line for me with his stupid comments, but whatever.

Not My Type (Melanie Jacobson)

Why I have this book: I borrowed it from DBS+.

I borrowed it because listening to audio books (which this was) is so nice while working on projects. And yes, I know I swore off fiction audio books, but I'm starting to get used to them. Maybe it just depends on the reader.

I've enjoyed books by this author before. They have a very Rom-Com vibe to them. Light reading, a bit predictable, witty characters. The protagonist in this one was a little long-winded in her thoughts for me (always thinking, thinking, thinking, explaining, explaining, explaining her thoughts to the reader in the middle of conversations she's having with another character). That got a little on my nerves after a time.

It was a cute story. I am starting to feel like I need to dive into something a little deeper now, though, after all these light reads lately.

Clean.

Summer of Secrets (Charlotte Hubbard)

Why I have this book: I think I got it cheap on Kindle, and you know that I always seem to make my way back to Amish romances, no matter how many times I swear them off.

I gave this one 3 stars on Goodreads. It was enjoyable enough, although I'm a little confused as to why they talk like country bumpkins with a German word thrown in once in a while. I've never read another Amish book where they talk like that.

I liked it enough to buy the second book in the series, which I'm in the middle of right now. I'm glad it was cheap, too, because it's not as good as the first. In all honesty, they both have some definite unrealistic parts, so I feel pretty generous with the three stars. Haha...

Clean.

The Candy Cane Caper (Josi S. Kilpack)

Why I have this book: I pre-ordered it, of course. I love Josi's culinary mystery series... and I was really happy that she brought Sadie back for a bonus book!

This book was delivered to my Kindle while I slept the night of September 30. I had it finished before the first day of October was over. I loved it! I gave it four stars on Goodreads. (I try to reserve five stars for books that make an impact on my soul, but I would have given this 4.5 if I could. I love this series so much!)

It was so nice to lose myself in a book all day, especially when I feel like I'm spending time with a good friend as I sink into the story. Ahhhhhh... it was wonderful!

Clean and happy and sad (and happy).

Whisper Hollow (Carol Warburton)

Why I have this book: I borrowed it from DBS+.

I liked this book quite a bit. I gave it four stars on Goodreads.

I did think the "bad guys" were a little too obvious in the way they behaved (especially when the protagonist and her mother were hiding from them), but I thought it was well-written overall, and I found myself reading throughout the day more than usual because I was invested in the story.

Clean, although there is some violence (and talk of violence against women). It's implied that one woman was sexually assaulted, but it's so subtle that I'm not even sure that was the intent.

Two books by Gerald N. Lund

A Generation Rising
The Storm Descends

Why I have these books: I borrowed them from the ebook library.

These are the first two books in the Fire and Steel series, which is set around the time of WWI.

I gave them each three stars on Goodreads. I did like them, especially learning more about Germany during and after WWI. I'm not sure how I felt about the way they reminded me of The Work and the Glory or the Children of the Promise series. The writing had the same feel (which makes sense since Gerald Lund wrote The Work and the Glory series) when the story was focused on any character who was a member of the Church. This was especially true when we "met" the American family in the second book. I don't know... it just seems a little stereotypical or something in the way they talk. I didn't love that so much.

All in all, I liked the books, but I didn't like them enough to jump right into the next book in the series. It's kind of too bad, because I do like learning about the historical events associated with this time period.

Clean.

(I'm playing catch up again on books I've been reading, so I just am picking dates that are close to when I remember reading these books.)

Storm Clouds Rolling In: 1860-1861 (Virginia Gaffney)

Why I have this book: My aunt recommended it on Goodreads, and since it was available to borrow from Amazon Prime, I did. Or at least, I thought she recommended it... now I can't tell if the review was hers or came with the book (on Goodreads). I'd like to ask her, but she actually passed away just about the time I began reading the book. I had to keep reminding myself that she wasn't there when I thought to talk to her about what I was reading.

I liked this book quite a bit, and from what I understand, it's the first of at least fourteen books in the series. I don't know that ALL the books can be about the Civil War (it seems like a lot of books for five years of historical fiction), but I don't know.

The rest of the books in the series aren't free, and although I liked this one quite a bit, I won't be buying them. I'd read them if they were free or cheap.

A notable quote from the book: "Her mama had always told her it didn't do any good to put things in God's hands if you were going to stand in front of him and keep snatching them back."

Clean other than some descriptions of slavery and all the horrible treatment associated with it. There is also copious uses of the N-word.

Prognosis: A Memoir of My Brain (Sarah Vallance)

Why I have this book: I got it for free on Kindle. I think it was a "First Read" book (a program for Amazon Prime members).

I liked it enough for four stars on Goodreads. There were a handful of the nasty swear words, and the writer is a lesbian who talks about how her brain injury made her crave sex a lot. I didn't need to read about that part of her story, but it's her story, so...

It was interesting to read about how her TBI (traumatic brain injury) affected her life, how she worked to overcome it, and the other side effects that she had a hard time controlling.

She talks about her sexual orientation and looking for partners, both long-term and the ones she used just to satisfy her urges. There is also some use of the worst swear words, but not as a constant annoyance throughout. Physical abuse is mentioned, as well.

Chasing Fireflies (Charles Martin)

Why I have this book: I borrowed it from the ebook library after a friend (L) recommended it to me.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. I gave it four stars on Goodreads.

There were a couple of editing issues (he spelled "pus" (the oozy grossness in an infected wound) as "puss" (like a cat) TWICE. How nobody caught that, I don't know. Super annoying.

I also didn't find some of the story to be completely believable, but I sure did like most of the characters. I also thought the writing made it easy to get sucked into the story, and I found myself reading most of the day just because it was nice to be lost in a book.

Fairly clean. One character had been an adult film actress. There is some mention about sexual molestation, murder, etc., but none of it is graphically described. I don't recall swearing, although there might have been one or two uses of the "milder" swear words.

The C.H.A.O.S Cure (Marla Cilley)

Why I have this book: I borrowed it from the ebook library.

I'm a fan of Flylady... or I should say I used to be a fan. Her first book is one of my favorite housekeeping manuals. I thought I'd read this one to see how it compared.

I only gave it one star on Goodreads. Her first book was much, much better. This was more like a long magazine article.

I still like her principles and her first book. I think her products are a bit overpriced for the quality, and the customer service isn't stellar. I also think her email subscription is way overcrowded with testimonials of her products... and many of them are sent out again year after year.

Sadly, this new book didn't do anything to improve my opinion of where Flylady (the business) currently is. I still say her first book (Sink Reflections) is great, and her system can't be beat.

Clean. (haha... no pun intended.) (Pretty sure I've used that on another cleaning book somewhere in these reviews...)

For Elise (Sarah M. Eden)

Why I have this book: I borrowed it from the DBS+ app.

I liked it okay. I don't know. The character Elise kind of bothered me. It got better as it went along, then was a little too sappy in the last few pages, so I couldn't go more than two stars on Goodreads. I may have rated it a 2.5 if I had that option, but I couldn't bring myself to give it a full three stars.
Anyway, there ya go.

Clean, although there is a bit of violence. It's not too descriptive.

Psych! Haha... and a bunch of books I've read in the meantime...

Okay, so I meant it when I said I wasn't going to write on here anymore... but I miss remembering what I read and WHY I liked it or not. Goodreads doesn't really pull that into it. I mean, I know I could do reviews there, but I've already started it here and I don't want to copy and paste all the reviews I've already written.

I've read probably five books or more since I stopped reviewing them here, and I don't even really remember what most of them were about.

These ones I had listed on Goodreads:

Pride and Politics (Brittany Larsen) - I gave it four stars, so I must have liked it pretty well... which is why I went on to read another book by the same author:

Sense and Second Chances - which I gave three stars. I guess I liked it well enough.

Then I "read" a book called Embracing the Broken: Letting Go of Perfection and Living by the Power of Christ's Grace by Tiffany Webster. I gave it two stars on Goodreads, and honestly, I think I ended up skimming most of it. I didn't really love the writing style, so even though her message was a good one, I didn't find it enjoyable to read.

I also read Randy Travis's memoirs called Forever and Ever, Amen. I gave it three stars on Goodreads. I did enjoy it. I always like a good memoir because people are fascinating.

Then I read a handful of even more light reads (because we've been moving and I just needed a little escape in order to fall asleep at night):

A Place for Miss Snow by Jennifer Moore. I gave this two stars on Goodreads.

Willowkeep by Julie Daines. I'd say this was about three stars.

Unraveled by Julie Daines. I'm not really into fairy tales, and the characters in this one were just too simplistic. I'm saying two stars.

Three Amish Books:

BECAUSE... I had read one and I had either one or two others of the series. So then I read the first one again (I had to buy it because it was my mom's before), and maybe I bought one of the other two because maybe the one I had was the third one in the series...? I don't know. In any case, they are titled:

A Time to Love
A Time to Heal
A Time for Peace

... all written by Barbara Cameron. I know I read (and reviewed) the first one years ago, and I liked it at that time. This go-around, I didn't get the same connection as before. I think I was in a place that I needed the message the first time I read it, and that's a good thing. The books don't seem real realistic to me... meaning, they are less realistic than usual Amish romances (haha) because in all of them, someone converts to the Amish faith. I just don't think that happens very often, so to have THREE people in the same circle who convert seems a bit unlikely.

I will give the other two (besides the one I read earlier) two stars on Goodreads. I'll probably just leave whatever stars I gave the first one when I reviewed it earlier.

I threw all these books on Goodreads in probably opposite order than I really read them. I'm just trying to get them off my back ("Write me down so you don't forget you read me!") and off my devices so I can move along.

So even though writing a quick review is kind of a pain, I have found that it is nice for me to have a little something to reference when I wonder if I read/liked/and why I liked or didn't like a book.

In all honesty, I'm not sure if there's another book or two that I read and forgot to record, but that's okay.

ALSO... just as a little side note... the ebook library keeps a history of all the books one checks out. The problem is, sometimes I check out a book and don't read it or it's about housekeeping or something and I don't really want to review it. So that list on the ebook library doesn't really reflect what I've read. It just reflects something I checked out at some point. Sometimes the same book is even listed twice because I didn't read it the first time and ended up checking it out again.

All the books were clean, except Randy Travis did talk about his immoral lifestyle (living with women without being married, being with women who were married to other men, etc.) I don't remember if there was any swearing in his book or not.

Last Post

This is my last post on this blog. I'm just not enjoying writing reviews anymore. It's become a bit of a chore. I'll still keep up my Goodreads account because it's an easy way to track what I've read and at least give myself some idea of if I liked a book or not. The only problem is I won't be saying why I did or why I didn't like it. I won't be saying if it's clean or not. That's a little bit of a bummer.

But that's okay. It's not like anyone makes or breaks their reading lives based on my opinion! And it's not like my opinion really counts for much, anyway, in the grand scheme of things!

I think I've also moved on to more important things in life, so this is something that has lost some meaning for me. That's a good thing, so I'll be reminding myself of that if I ever miss this experience at all. :)

Stalked (Kristiana Gregory)

Why I have this book: I bought it several years ago because I’ve enjoyed other books by this author.

This one was just okay for me. It didn’t seem very realistic. Now I want to reread the other books I enjoyed that the author wrote to see if I still think they were good.

I gave it 2 stars on Goodreads.

Clean... I think. I’m actually writing this several weeks after I read it. 

Please Look After Mom (Kyung-Sook Shin)

Why I have this book: I bought the print edition years ago (but hadn't read it yet), then the Kindle edition was on sale for a couple of dollars, so I bought it since I love reading on my Kindle. :)

I gave this a 3 on Goodreads. I liked it well enough, but it was confusing to read since it was written in the 2nd person, like "You see your brother. You wonder why he is here." (Those aren't exact quotes... haha!) Anyway, just when I thought I figured out the writing style, it switched to the mother's point of view, and the writing changed and I had to figure it out again.

It was translated from Korean, but I can't say that's why it was so confusing. In any case, it was somewhat moving as far as the humanity of it, but the writing and the ending didn't do it for me.

Clean. There may have been a swear word or two?

Farewell, My Denmark (Tina Peterson Scott)

Why I have this book: I bought it years ago for cheap on Kindle.

It was okay. Not entirely believable as far as the "love" interests go. Ditto for the drama. All in all, it was just okay, which explains the 2 star rating I gave it on Goodreads.

Clean. There were a couple of "attacks" against the protagonist, but maybe I just wasn't invested enough to feel too deeply about them. Again, the whole thing just seemed a bit unrealistic, especially how she was made a target.

The Blue Tattoo: The Life of Olive Oatman (Margot Mifflin)

Why I have this book: I borrowed it from the ebook library after I saw it recommended somewhere. (Maybe it was on an old email I read while I was cleaning out our old computer.)

Well, honestly, while the story itself (of Olive Oatman) is fascinating, I didn't love this non-fiction book. I feel like it didn't really clarify anything, since Olive's own version of her experiences changed over time. This book seemed to be discounting some of the first published accounts (and it seems as though they should be discounted), but there are still a lot of unanswered questions about what happened. I have to think this author also filled in the blanks with what seemed "likely."

In any case, there were some parts in the book that I could have done without (the meaning of her Mojave nickname, the sexual exploits of the Mojave people, what other nicknames meant, etc.) Since it was again speculation on how these things fit in with Olive's experience, I'm not sure it needed to really be mentioned in that much detail.

I only gave this book two stars on Goodreads because I did skim quite a bit just to get through it. There were parts that were pretty interesting, but other parts just didn't keep my attention. Also, because so much is speculation, it kind of lost it's significance for me.

Mostly clean, although the reader will get a picture in his/her mind of the massacre that killed Olive's family by the description given. There is also detail (in one section) about the sexual habits of the Mojave people, including what certain "nicknames" meant that had sexual connotation. The author used profanity and vulgarity to describe what those nicknames meant. She could have explained without being so crass, in my opinion, although I'm not sure all that detail was necessary, anyway.

A Company of Swans (Eva Ibbotson)

Why I have this book: A friend recommended it quite some time ago. I bought it then, but just barely read it.

Okay, so I thought this was a book for kids. I was thinking it was for girls about my daughter's age (10-years-old). I thought that because the illustration on the front of the edition I bought looked like it was so.

Um... nope. Definitely not for kids! It took me a little time to get into the story because I was thinking it was for kids, and my brain was fixed on that idea.

It was published in 1985 but was set in the early 1900's. The author was sixty when it was published. I was little surprised by the sensuality of the story for those reasons, but also because the writing sounded as if it had been published in the 1940's or something.

In any case, I did enjoy the book for the writing and basic storyline. However, if you dissect the book, you'll find that it's full of immoral activity that doesn't fit with the time frame nor the characters. It's really quite a contradiction in that regard.

The more I think about it, the more bothered I am by the moral issues in the story. The way it's written, it's easy to just accept their choices. Somehow the author made it seem innocent and pure, even though it was anything but.

I gave it three stars on Goodreads. The writing was four stars, but I had to take it down a notch because the sexuality just didn't fit the era or characters.

There was little to no swearing (maybe a mild word or two?) There was a lot of sensuality and unmarried sexual activity that is not graphically described.

The Music of Dolphins (Karen Hesse)

Why I have this book: My 10-year-old daughter wanted it because they were reading it at school, and she wanted to read it at home, too. It wasn't a bad price on Kindle, so I bought it for her.

Okay... I read it, too. To be honest, I thought it was really dumb. I tried to find value in it, but I didn't find any. Maybe I'm just unenlightened. Maybe I'm not smart enough to figure out all the vague hints at what everyone else in the story is feeling and why. Maybe I just can't read between the lines well enough. Maybe the problem was that I was reading it while also trying to figure out if my daughter would understand what was going on.

I asked my daughter what she thought of it. I mean, she had expressed how much she liked it, but I wanted to know what she thought about the story itself. She admitted that she didn't really get it, but she enjoyed the book.

So there you go. She didn't get it and neither did I. (But at least she enjoyed it. I mostly waited for it to have a point, but I never figured out what I was supposed to learn from it.)

I gave it one star on Goodreads.

Clean. 

Courting Mr. Emerson (Meloday Carlson)

Why I have this book: I borrowed it from the ebook library because I have enjoyed other books by this author.

This was a really cute book! I enjoyed it a great deal for the most part. I don't remember Melody's books being that religious in tone before, but this one did have a fairly substantial Christian slant which was somewhat contained at the same time. I'm not really sure how to describe it. It almost seemed a little out of place, although it wasn't personally bothersome to me.

It was a nice, light, and uplifting read. I do recommend it, but I wish I could give it like a 3.75 instead of the 4 I gave it on Goodreads.

Clean.

The Last Year of the War (Susan Meissner)

Why I have this book: I borrowed it from the ebook library.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. I also learned more about internment camps. I've read books before that focus on that part of US History, but I'm pretty sure I've only read about the Japanese who have been confined there. This book was about a German family (along with her Japanese friend), and that was something new for me. I also didn't know that Germany "exchanged" German families in internment camps for US POW's and citizens.

I gave it a 4 on Goodreads.

Clean, with one or two mild swear words. There is an attempted rape, but it's not described in a graphic way.

An Unforgivable Secret (J.E.B. Spredemann)

Why I have this book: I got it for free on Kindle about four years ago.

This is such a badly written book. I'm not even sure why I finished it. I guess I wanted to see where it was going.

The writing was extremely shallow. The plot wasn't believable. The "love stories" weren't believable, either. As a reader, I didn't feel anything for any of the characters. I have no idea how it was published, although I see that the publishing company isn't one I've heard of before.

I rarely delete books from my Kindle cloud, but I did delete this one. I wouldn't want anyone else to waste their time reading it. I understand the point the author was trying to make, but the writing made it feel trite. That's unfortunate, because had it been written with more depth and more realistically, it would have been a meaningful story.

I gave it one star on Goodreads.

Clean, although it deals with fornication (a word she uses in the book several times) and abortion.

One Candle (Gale Sears)

Why I have this book: I borrowed it from the ebook library.

I didn't finish it. There wasn't anything objectionable in it  — it just didn't keep my interest. The writing wasn't that great. The author was trying to share facts about a historical time and people through a fictional story, but I would have rather just read the history if the fictional story isn't compelling. I figured I can learn the history an easier way.

Clean.

Two books I listened to on audio...

Okay, so last week I had a "staycation" all alone at home for several days. During this time, I listened to two LDS romance novels through the DBS+ app.

Off the top of my head, I don't really remember the titles. One was about lies and breakfast at Tiffany's, and the other might have been called "Healing Hearts" or something. I don't even care enough to look them up because it doesn't matter. Here's what I learned, though:

1) I'm probably not going to listen to fiction books anymore. While it was a nice way to pass the time while I worked on other projects, I didn't like the narrator's way of lowering her voice (both books had female narrators/readers) for the male characters. It just doesn't work. They all ended up sounding like they were blockheads.

2) I would rather put my own inflections and tones into what the characters say. I feel like I lost a bit of connection to them because I was going through a "third party's" interpretation of how they were saying things.

3) I don't think I can give these books a fair rating on Goodreads because I might have enjoyed them more if I was reading them myself rather than listening to audiobooks. Because of that, I didn't even add them to my Goodreads list.

Moon Over Manifest (Clare Vanderpool)

Why I have this book: I bought the print edition years ago at the recommendation of a friend. Another friend recommended it recently, so I borrowed the Kindle edition from the ebook library since it's easier to read at night on my Paperwhite!

I did like this book, although I only read it at night and it took me way longer than it should have. Still, it was a good story and just had a great way of coming together in the end. I gave it four stars on Goodreads.

Clean. I don't think there was any swearing... ? (I can't remember any.)

Where There's Hope: Healing, Moving Forward, and Never Giving Up (Elizabeth Smart)

Why I have this book: I bought it on Kindle because I'm happy to support the author and her foundation.

This is a good book. Kinda hard to read about the very difficult challenges people go through, but I appreciate their willingness to share their experiences and how they've dealt with them.

I also appreciate the "real" sound of Elizabeth's voice in this book. She's very down-to-earth and honest about her life, and it was interesting to see how her life changed after the traumatic kidnapping she experienced as a young teen. Even more interesting was to see how she has managed to live the life she wanted after she was rescued from that nightmare. I continue to be impressed by her.

I gave it four stars on Goodreads. There were lots of great thoughts that I highlighted.

Clean, although there is some description of assaults (including sexual) and other traumatic events.

Silent Souls Weeping (Jane Clayson Johnson)

Why I have this book: I've read another book by the author which I loved, and I am always interested in reading books on mental illness.

I only gave this three stars on Goodreads because, to be honest, I found it a little depressing. (No pun intended.) I'm going to listen to the audio version (free on DBS+) at some point to see if I like it better the second time around.

I don't know... I appreciate the author's desire to remove the "stigma" of mental illness, but I guess since she didn't really delve into treatments (on purpose), it was mostly stories of those who struggle. It didn't feel as hopeful as I thought it could.

I did love her chapter on missionaries who struggle with mental illness and the mission presidents who worked to help them have successful missions. If only every mission president was as concerned about the missionaries as they are about the "numbers." I felt very grateful for those mission presidents who gave those struggling missionaries the best mission experience possible.

I'll update this if I like it better after listening to it.

ETA: I did listen to it on audio, and I did like it better! I'm changing the Goodreads rating to four stars.

Clean. It does talk about suicide and has stories of people who chose to end their lives.

Jane of Lantern Hill (L. M. Montgomery)

Why I have this book: I bought it last year for a good price on Kindle because I've enjoyed other books by the author.

I liked this book a lot. It helped me realize why I have this desire for a cozy little home in the country with fresh air and old-fashioned values. I just love that idea.

Really cute book that made me want to read the Anne of Green Gables series again. (*happy sigh*) I gave it four stars on Goodreads.

Clean.

The Girl in the Glass (Susan Meissner)

Why I have this book: I borrowed it from the ebook library.

I really enjoyed this book quite a bit. Susan Meissner sure knows how to cover a lot of different topics/time periods/locations in her various books. She isn't stuck in one pattern as a writer, and that impresses me. This one is set in Italy, and although it kind of skips from one generation to another, it's doesn't bog you down. I appreciated that.

A quote I need to remember from this book: "Shut your eyes to the world of pain, and you also shut your eyes to the world of delight."

I gave it four stars on Goodreads.

Clean. I don't think I even remember any swearing. There is some vague description of domestic violence.

Three books by Josi Kilpack

A Lady's Favor
The Vicar's Daughter
Miss Wilton's Waltz

Why I have these books: I borrowed them from the ebook library.

I gave each of these books 3 stars on Goodreads. They were a nice way to get through days of sickness — not too much brain power needed for regency romances.

I just think Josi has so much more to offer than in this genre. She's a much better writer than is showcased in these types of books. In fact, after reading these three, I took another of her regency romances off hold at the library. They all kind of blur together after a while, so I lost interest in reading another any time soon.

Clean.

The Great Alone (Kristin Hannah)

Why I have this book: It was another highly recommended book on the internet.

Okay, so reading this book was super intriguing and it was stuck in my mind when I wasn't reading it, so I had planned on giving it four stars on Goodreads. It just kept getting creepier and more depressing as it went on... and even the kind-of happy ending couldn't shake the yuckiness out of me after some pretty sad and disturbing stuff.

I ended up giving it three stars on Goodreads because the story really was interesting and the writing was good. (Although I didn't get all the parentheses she used... it seemed like em-dashes would have worked better. And is it ironic that I am using parenthesis to question her use of parenthesis?)  I just didn't like the sad feeling I ended up with at the end.

There is some swearing in this book, although I don't recall any of the heaviest swear words. There is a sex scene with an unmarried couple that is mildly descriptive. There is also some somewhat graphic descriptions of spousal abuse, injuries, and death.

Hillbilly Elegy (J.D. Vance)

Why I have this book: It was recommended by several sources, including a friend and online lists of "bestsellers.")

I'm sure this book would end up being good, but I'm not willing to get through all the F-words to find out. I marked it as "did not finish" on Goodreads.

Clean so far (at 14%) except for the F-words. I can't vouch for the rest of the book.

Once Upon a Time Travel (Sariah Wilson)

Why I have this book: A friend recommended it to me, so I bought it on Kindle quite a while ago.

I think I was about 45% or more though the book before I got invested enough to decide I was finishing it. I almost stopped because I just didn't care what happened next.

It did get better, but I still can only give it two stars on Goodreads. It was kind of witty, but it just didn't have much depth and I can't really muster up too much enthusiasm about it. It was an "okay" way to pass some dreary-day reading time.

Clean'ish, although there was a bit more sensuality than I expected. I had assumed it was written by an LDS author, but then I questioned that because it was a little "hotter" than is usually found in books in that category. Turns out the author did go to BYU, so I'm guessing she is LDS, after all? I don't know, and it doesn't matter, really. It was still clean by today's standards.

Where the Crawdads Sing (Delia Owens)

Why I have this book: I borrowed it from the ebook library because there were so many good reviews on it.

I liked this book in a lot of ways – the writing was very good, for instance – but I didn't love it as much as so many others did. There were some loose ends, some things that didn't seem realistic at all, and in general, left me a bit unsatisfied. Still, it kept me engrossed while I was reading and I did enjoy it overall.

I gave it three stars on Goodreads.

It's honestly been a over a week since I finished this (as I'm writing this review), but I do know there was a bit of sex which was mildly descriptive. There was also some swearing, if I remember correctly, but I don't recall any of the "big bad" swear words. I could be wrong, though.

The OCD Mormon (Kari Ferguson)

Why I have this book: I saw it on a FB ad for a mental health conference, and since I'm of the same religious persuasion and have OCD tendencies, I bought it.

I bought it and loved it. I thought it was so honest and hopeful, and tied in well with the gospel of Jesus Christ and with Church culture. I gave it 5 stars on Goodreads.

Clean.