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.
Tuesday, November 26, 2019
Monday, November 25, 2019
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.
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.
Thursday, November 14, 2019
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.)
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.)
Monday, October 21, 2019
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.
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.
Friday, October 18, 2019
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.
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.
Saturday, October 5, 2019
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.
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.
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
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).
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).
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