The Firebird (Susanna Kearsley)

Why I have this book: I bought it years ago, and finally read it because it was a book club choice.

I almost gave this book 2 stars on Goodreads. (2 stars = it was okay.) I gave it 3 stars ("liked it"), though, just because I like the author and maybe I just wasn't in the mood to appreciate this one. I had just read two of her other books (both of which tied into this one), so maybe it was just too much of a good thing.

Maybe it was because it was set in Russia, and that location doesn't do much for me. (Nothing against Russia, I promise!) Maybe I was just tired of the back and forth between eras and trying to keep up with two stories.

In any case, I'm not completely sure I gave it a fair shot, but it didn't keep my attention like her other books have. (Maybe I've just been too tired at night, which is when I typically can read.)

So with all those "maybe's," I don't really have much more to add.

Clean'ish. There is one "bodice-ripper" scene, which is not really descriptive (and maybe it's my age, but it mostly just made me roll my eyes), and there might be a few mild swear words.

The Shadowy Horses (Susanna Kearsley)

Why I have this book: I bought it years ago because I love the author. I was motivated to read it now because it ties in to this month's book club book (The Firebird), so I wanted to make sure I read them in order.

I enjoyed this book a lot. Susanna Kearsley books just suck me in, even though they always seem to have an element of the supernatural. The books are more about history, though... so don't be turned off by the word "supernatural." I'm not into that kind of stuff, but she does a great job of connecting people from history to people of today, and it's not as weird as you might think at first glance.

I also love the settings of her books. I definitely want to take a trip to Great Britain someday!

Clean. Although an unmarried couple sleeps together, it is not descriptive.

Marc's Mission: Way of the Warrior Kid (Jocko Willink)

Why I have this book: It's the sequel to the other Warrior Kid book, and I read this one in hardback because the kids had it and weren't reading it at the time.

This is another good one for kids, dealing this time with controlling your emotions and working through problems with friends. Lots of good stuff here.

Clean.

Way of the Warrior Kid: From Wimpy to Warrior the Navy SEAL Way (Jocko Willink)

Why I have this book: My oldest son bought it and the sequel for my youngest kids. They have the print books, but since this one was cheap on Kindle and I didn't want to wait for my daughter to finish it (plus she kept leaving it at school), I went ahead and bought the ebook.

I really liked this book. It's great for kids and adults alike. (My ten-year-old son was up early the morning after he started it to exercise, get dressed, teeth brushed, hair combed, etc., all done an hour and a half before he normally wakes up. However, he easily slipped back to his normal self a day later.) The book has such good motivation, though, for taking control of your life, being self-disciplined, and bring proactive in accomplishing your goals.

Clean.

Plain Peace (Beth Wiseman)

Why I have this book: It was the last of the series.

I enjoyed this book just like the others. I think they are definitely too good to be true, but maybe that's why we read books sometimes... just to escape life and see the happy endings.

This one had the bonus of a really cute grandma who has a funny and very human personality.

Clean.

Plain Proposal (Beth Wiseman)

Why I have this book: I was cleaning out old emails and discovered that I had only read the first four of this series. In the email, I mentioned that I liked them, so I bought the last two in the series. This is number five.

I liked this one, as well. I actually re-read the rest of the books before reading this one. (I bought them again with the discount price Amazon offers for Kindle when you've already purchased the "real" book. I had bought the first four years ago, then gave them to my grandma to read.) Anyway, I've enjoyed the peaceful escape these Amish books provide, even though I pretty much consider them "fantasy" about what life in a Amish community is really like. In all honestly, I don't know, but I've read enough on the news and in another non-fiction book about the Amish to believe that things aren't quite as simple as these fiction books portray. That's okay, though... sometimes it's just nice to live in a sweet and peaceful fantasy fiction world. Haha...

Clean.

Fields of Home (Rachel Ann Nunes)

Why I have this book: I borrowed the ebook from DBS+. This is another one I had read before, but couldn't remember if I liked it or not.

Okay, I loved the relationship between Mercedes and Wayne. I loved the life they had. I could accept Brandon coming into her life, but I just didn't find the love story (from his side) believable. I also couldn't buy his wrestling with the moral decision he had to make as a surgeon later in the book. Sorry, that's not realistic for a surgeon who had been, up to this point, described as a really good guy.

I gave it 3 stars on Goodreads. I liked enough of it, but I couldn't quite get it past a 3. I might have even given it a 2.9 if I could, just to show that it wasn't quite a solid "like."

Clean.