Book Review: “Love’s Awakening,” by Laura Frantz

Genre: Christian Inspirational, romance; historical fiction

Playlist…

Plot Summary: The story of the Ballantyne family continues with Silas and Eden’s youngest daughter Elinor.  The apple of her father’s eye, Ellie grows up knowing only love and privilege in the bustling city of Pittsburgh.  The Ballantynes are respected businesspeople, but also harbor fugitive slaves as they work with the Underground Railroad.  Danger lurks literally right next door as the rival Turlock clan head up a posse of bounty hunters to stamp out the acts of the abolitionists.  But Jack Turlock strikes Ellie as a more gentle soul, and his young sister looks up to her as a role model as she teaches Pittsburgh’s first finishing school.  Where will Jack’s loyalties lie when his father pressures him to break the law?

My Book Review: “Love’s Reckoning” (read my review here) was my favorite read from last year, so I was really looking forward to Laura Frantz’s next in the series!  Again, the book cover art is so vivid and gorgeous and it alone deserves 5 stars.  However, I had mixed feelings about LA…

The Ballantynes come across as being a very real family, real characters and it was delightful picking up to read about them again.  Their grace and faithfulness is wonderful—toward each other, their neighbors and even their enemies.  Ellie has grown up watching her parents love each other and wishes for the same kind of love for herself.  The trusting relationship Ellie had with her father was lovely; no doubt it helped her spot a good man when she saw one.  I also enjoyed reading about the prosperity Silas and Eden had established at the time this book takes place.  New Hope certainly sounds like a wonderful home in which to live and no wonder the escapees begged to live there at the risk of being recaptured!

He who pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor.  (Proverbs 21:21)

LA has a very different feeling to it than LR.  Whereas #1 felt gritty, wintry and tragic, #2 felt full of spring lilacs and roses.  That’s not a bad thing, but for ¾’s of the book I wasn’t very engaged or interested.  It felt like a typical Christian romance and I felt disappointed.  But.  Then there was a plot twist which I am now beginning to really appreciate from this author, and the waterworks started up.  Just as I was reaching for my kleenex, there was another plot twist, and !

Unfortunately, the overall reading experience was not as good as the first, but I love how Frantz is able to leave you hanging at the end of her books (at least, the two I’ve read so far).  I am definitely going to be reading the last in the trilogy and can’t wait to read others by her.

I think older teens could enjoy this series as well.  The heroines are young women who grow in virtue and lovely character.  These are romances, and Frantz doesn’t deny sexual tension.  However, it is carefully worded (not titillating), nothing inappropriate happens between hero and heroine, and the curtain is drawn to keep the marriage bed sacred.

So if you are wanting something light and perfumed, I think you’re going to enjoy Love’s Awakening.  Note, I don’t recommend reading this as a standalone without reading LR first.

PS- I found this on Laura Frantz’s Pinterest and loved seeing how she envisioned the characters.  To be honest, Jack was hard for me to picture so this helps to “fill it in”, but at the same time it’s not even close to how I thought he might look.  Ansel on the other hand looks very much how I imagined!

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I also recommend…

 

 

Non-Fiction Books I’m Liking (Spring 2020)

Bibliostyle: How We Live at Home with Books, by Nina Freudenberger~   I’ve looked at books about decorating with books before and none of them really spoke to me, so what makes this one different?  Besides the beautiful photographs on matte pages, I actually took the time to read most of the text which is unusual for me with these types of books.  This features the home libraries of famous –and not so famous- bibliphiles around the world, so there is a wide variety of eclectic tastes when it comes to collecting, organizing, and displaying.  Most have storage spaces I’ll never be able to have for my own, and most have interests and styles that are not for me.  But their thoughts and their love for the ideas fostered between the covers of books (as well as the covers themselves) were interesting.  I can truly say I enjoyed it. 

Taking the Work Out of Networking: An Introvert’s Guide for Making Connections that Count, by Karen Wickre~ I was supposed to go to some work related conferences at the end of this month and last.  You know the rest of the story…  everything got canceled.  This is because I was prepared to go, in large part due to this book.  Can an introvert really market themselves, network with others, and work a room full of people?  Yes, but in different ways than the stereotypical route.  I can use my natural strengths that come easily and play off of those.  I took lots of handy notes I am sure to refer back to.  Encouraging advice that helped to take the pressure off and that felt doable for me.  When the work gets back on it’s feet, these tips will come in handy. 

 

Christian Fiction for Summer 2019!

Memorial Day is the traditional start of the summer season here in the US but first we honor our soldiers, especially those who gave their lives for our country.  It may seem odd many choose to do so by going on vacation, but however we choose to celebrate our freedom is a way to honor the sacrifices made.

If you’re in need of a beach read, a country read, a plane or car ride read or just any ol’ summer read, here are the latest I’m eyeing that were featured in the CBD Fiction catalog of Summer 2019 (view entirely here).  I believe there have been more books peaking my interest in this issue than ever before!

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Book Review: “Love’s Reckoning,” by Laura Frantz

Genre: Christian Inspirational; romance; historical fiction; 1700’s 

Playlist…

Plot Summary: It is the winter of 1785.  Eden Lee has grown up under her harsh father’s influence and longs to escape to Philadelphia to work among orphaned children.  But things change when a young apprentice joins her father’s blacksmith business.  Liege is determined Silas Ballantyne will marry one of his fair daughters and the eldest Elspeth has her eye set on him.  But Silas doesn’t seem to be fond of either.  As the pressure of circumstances builds around them, how will Silas, Eden, and Elspeth respond? 

My Book Review: I had never read any of Laura Frantz’s books before this one although many of her titles are on my TBR.  I loved the look of this particular cover—the light and shadow and beauty of the heroine’s long tangled fiery hair.  Kudos whenever book art draws me in!  But I wasn’t so sure how I would care for the plot.  It sounded too predictable. 

At first I thought it would run the course of so many cheesy Christian romance novels.  But I stuck it out and things got better and more interesting as it went along.  (So many twists and turns…!)  About two-thirds of the way through it I realized this plot sounded very similar to the Bible story of Jacob and Rachel and Leah.  OH NO!  That means…  Yikes! (If you know how that particular story goes.)  My stomach turned sick and I wasn’t sure I could go on to read what happened next.  

But, of course I did and then all of a sudden a super plot twist turned things around… for the worst!  Nearly covered my eyes I did and gave a heartrending sigh.  I was getting so involved in this; more than I ever expected.  So, by the time the last chapter turned around, I was bawling my eyes out and needed a box of kleenexes.  Yes, it was really that compelling.  Laura Frantz has won me over, and I do not need to tell you I’ll be reading the next and the next after that in the series (The Ballantyne Legacy). 

The settings and descriptions played out much like a movie in my mind.  The candlelight, snow, grime, greenery, a yellow silk gown and the strains of a violin were all so very vivid.  One of my favorite things about the book was that it took place in Pennsylvania, my home state.  Part of the setting is the newborn city of Pittsburgh, which was so interesting during that time period.  I love it when historical novels actually turn out to be historical and well researched. 

I think most lovers of Inspirational fiction will enjoy this one, especially those who do not appreciate cliché, preachy novels.  It wasn’t just entertainment for me, but affected my heart on a deeper level.  Well done, Laura Frantz!

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I also recommend…

 

Book Review: “Titus Groan,” by Mervyn Peake

Genre: classic; literary

Plot Summary: Once upon a time there was an infant son and heir born to the Groan family of Gormenghast Castle.  His name was Titus and being so young he was yet unaware of the long line of history and tradition of which he stood in line to inherit.  But things were turned on their head (quite literally) on the day of his christening, and strange events began to unfold that are even stranger than the world into which he was born.

My Book Review: The Gormenghast series by Mervyn Peake has been on my reading list from very early on.  I believe it was a discovery made while perusing the Dover catalog.  I really had no idea what it was about, which sometimes leads to interesting discoveries.  In this case, it was a very interesting discovery indeed, and has become one of my top reads for this year so far.

This isn’t normally a book I would have picked out for myself, so it’s probably a good thing I didn’t know what it was about. I’m proud of myself for completing such a thick book.  I’m also usually more action-oriented, whereas this is more character driven.  There is not a lot of action and when there is there is always a slow buildup to it, making those scenes stand out more.  I tend to quickly forget details and character names of a lot of the books I read, but not this one.  The scenes in this book stand out clear and defined in my mind, in large part due to great detailed descriptions.  With names like ‘Prunesquallor’, ‘Nannie Slagg’, and ‘Countess Gertrude Groan’, they’re hard to forget.  And the author’s own illustrations of many of them are wild and memorable as well.

Even better than just the names and pictures are the full-bodied characters themselves. You really have to read the book for yourself to make them come alive, and once you do I can almost guarantee they will live forever in your mind.  The insane Lord Sepulchrave, the 76^th Earl of Gormenghast, who thinks he’s an owl; his epileptic twin sisters Cora and Clarice who are stupid and vacant-minded; the vain, middle aged Irma Prunesquallor in love with a teenager; and the sociopathic Steerpike, the young puppet master behind the inhabitants of the castle.  These aren’t all the colorful people of the story; there are many more besides.  It’s ironic that the title character really doesn’t play a major role in this first of the series.  In fact it really only covers the first year or two of his life, but all the important things that occurred during it.

It’s hard to put a finger on why I liked this novel so much. At times it seemed rather dark, and longwinded, yet the wonderful descriptions and the weirdness of it all lured me on.  The author had a way of making even peeling paint sound interesting.  I think one of my favorite scenes was the description of Fuchsia’s attic hideaway.  Who wouldn’t want a great hidey-hole retreat like that all to oneself?

Is this book fantasy? I would not call it that, although it is set in a fantasy world.  If you go into it expecting fantasy, you might be bored.  It is not set in a particular time era, though the closest one might get is the 1880’s-1910 era with a fantastical twist.

Some say this book reads of despair and futility. It is dark and the people of Gormeghast do live futile lives of pointless ritual, but the unusual turn of things as Titus grows gives a glimpse that things may change with Titus as heir… ?

One caution: there is one chapter in which a character, Keda, has a one-night stand with a lover.

I’ve read that there is more than one audio drama of this series, and also a movie, but I don’t see how any of them can be as good as the novel.  If I ever come across them, I’ll surely review it and post if worth it.

Titus Groan won’t be for everyone.  But I’ve certainly learned that character-driven books can be just as interesting (or even more so) than the plotted ones.  I’m not sure what the other books in the series will be like, but I can’t wait to see what will happen in the next installment of Titus Groan’s life.  The entire series are as follows:

1. Titus Groan
2. Gormenghast
   1. Boy in Darkness
3. Titus Alone
4. Titus Awakes

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I also recommend…

 

Non-fiction Books I’m Liking (Fall 2018)

I’m seeing a Japanese theme here, aren’t you?  Enjoy these Asian-rooted books with me this autumn!

The Four Holy Gospels, illustrated by Makoto Fujimura ~ The first time I heard of Makoto Fujimura was on a late Moody radio program.  ‘A Christian abstract artist?  That just can’t be!’ I thought.  I’m not sure how, but somewhere along the way I picked up the thinking that modern art was completely anti-God, anti-Christian and anything that didn’t at least try to look realistic had its basis in evil worldviews.  Thank goodness God’s mellowed me out since then, and I guess the process is ongoing!  For those who may be struggling with this idea that abstract can be glorifying to God, I recommend Francis Schaeffer’s short work, “Art and the Bible.” In any case, I became curious enough to look up this deeply spiritual Asian-American online to see what his art looked like.  I was astounded.  I don’t pretend to understand high art.  I need those trained in it to help me understand it.  But I appreciated the beauty and emotion he infused with traditional Japanese painting techniques to create beautiful washes of color with veins of metallic running through them.  I heard that he was commissioned to illustrate the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, rather like the medieval illumination of old.  I’ve always wanted to see it, and I finally got the chance.  I wish there was more explanation accompanying his paintings and why he chose what he did (as a lot of it goes over my head), but I loved looking at it nonetheless.  My favorite piece was the full-page illustration, Prodigal God.  I would like to own my own copy someday. 

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, by Marie Kondo ~ Spring cleaning… in the fall?  I know, that doesn’t seem to make much sense, does it?  But I’ve always felt more like the fall was a second New Year’s for me, a time to hit restart and a chance to attempt more order.  And as alluded to in a recent post, I’ve been feel overwhelmed and stressed out for a long time and my systems aren’t working.  So I need a change.  I found this book at a garage sale and knew that it was a popular, best-selling book.  I’d first heard of the KonMari method of organizing on a youtube video where a woman went through her wardrobe cleaning and sorting according to what she had read in the book.  And then I just started of hearing it everywhere.  Last year I redded [yes, that is a word even though spellcheck says it’s not] my book collection to purge what I didn’t have room for anymore.  I was pleased with the results, but I really needed to read through this cover to cover.  So, I am currently about halfway through and am enjoying this little book.  So much of what the author recommends seems backward to what I was thinking, but once she explains herself it begins to make sense and I am willing to try.  I have already gone through my own clothes closet and am now to attack books again (I acquire new all the time) and papers.  I want to begin to put her principles into my daily living, not just a once a year mad purge.  I know she comes to the table with a very Eastern spiritualistic worldview.  Some readers may feel weird about Kondo’s assigning personalities to things and talking to them, thanking them for their service.  But at the same time, I identify with that because of my struggles with OCD.  So even though I personally don’t believe my Mom’s 34-year old blender that she got as a wedding present and that is now out of commission has a spirit, it is easier to place it in the dumpster after I’ve given it a dignified “thank you for your service” speech.   

 

 

Autumn/Winter Christian Fiction 2017…

I hope everyone had a fulfilling Thanksgiving!

Today I’m sharing a list of new Christian/Inspirational fiction that was released in the CBD catalog for Fall 2017.  I never really go in for the Christmas-themed books.  But I was thrilled to find a longer list of novels this time around that has me super interested to get my hands on!  Some are by my favorite authors (Lyn Austin, Jane Kirkpatrick, Tricia Goyer…), and some are writers I haven’t heard of before.  That’s exciting!.  And, I must say the book art on these are stunning!  Just look at the layers of color and drama!

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Looking Forward to Early Spring 2017 Christian Fiction!

A new year of Inspirational fiction is upon us, and I love being able to peruse the early spring edition of CBD’s latest fiction catalog right in the middle of January!  This time around, I was impressed by the diversity of genres and quality it appears is on the market.  Of course, there’s still the usual sappy romance novels, but there weren’t quite as many Amish stories this season and I was able to find several ones that look highly interesting.  The cover art is getting more scrumptious all the time!  Take a look-see:

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What are you looking forward to reading?

 

Used Book Shopping at Thrift Stores

Ah!  🙂  Time to grab a chai and a blanket and for a little ‘random book shopping’ post!  There aren’t a ton this time around, but I can tell you I was pretty excited over these:

Ron Dicianni is one my favorite modern day artists. His paintings of the spiritual life are so full of light and the supernatural. I used to have a book of his paintings before (“Tell Me a Story”), but somewhere along the way of moving 5 times, it got lost or destroyed. I was so happy to find this one! It has even more paintings in it!

*See note below gallery of post.

Edith Schaeffer’s non fiction book, “Hidden Art [of Homemaking]” is one of my favorites. I was fortunate to find this in the free bin at the thrift store!”>”A Way of Seeing,” by Edith Schaeffer

As a kid, one particular summer when I had a walloping case of poison ivy, Mom had me soak in ginger baths while she read to me the Mains’ “Tales of the Kingdom.” I later learned there is a trilogy of these wonderful children’s stories, and I was finally able to get my hands on the second one.

*This was the best find out of all of them!  Have you heard of the story of Diet Eman?  This brave young Dutch woman defied the Nazis along with her fiancé in hiding Jews during WWII.  About ten years ago, I listened to a recorded speech she gave that aired on Focus on the Family.  It was split into two parts and I remember being so engrossed in the Part 1 and not wanting to miss the next day’s continuation.  But I was unable to at that time (didn’t have the benefit of looking up past programs on the internet), and was so sorry to have missed it.  A short time later after moving to another state, I saw a flyer announcing a small community theater performing a play based on Diet Eman’s biography.  It was said that Diet herself may be there to meet and greet afterward!  I was so excited and we all bought tickets.  The play (named after the book, “Things We Couldn’t Say”) was riveting.  Unfortunately, Ms. Eman (who is now quite elderly) couldn’t make it that night and we never got to meet her.  But.  I was looking through the wealth of books at a local Salvation Army store and came across her autobiography in great condition.  And when I opened it up… I saw she had autographed it!  !!!!!  How COOL is that?!  I am so thrilled and honored to have a book signed by her own hand to keep for my own and pass on.  It is my hope that I get to meet her one day in person.

You never know what you might find at a thrift store!  Do you have any special book finds?  Please share!

 

Newest Random Used Book Finds

Hey, all!  I thought I would try something new today and show my newest thrift books finds by taking actual photographs of them.  Something tells me it would make the blog feel more personal instead of stock photos.  🙂  You’re obviously not looking at a professional photographer, but I thought it would be fun to change things around a little bit this way.

My newest books are all from the same thrift store, but from different trips.  I was really excited to find a complete trilogy (“The Knights Chronicles”) by Angela Hunt on the shelf!  Please forgive the terrible covers.  They look rather like cheap paperback romances, but if you’ve read Angela Hunt you’ll know that Christian authoress is nothing like.

I also got to poking around the art book section today and found a “Sister Wendy Story of Painting” coffee table reference book.  I thought it would be fun to mull over during breakfast.  I’ve been enjoying the series, Raiders of the Lost Art on Netflix and thought adding this volume to my library would further my knowledge in the area where I’m lacking.

I’m thinking I will be having more frequent book hauls in the future as I plan to focus more energy on book buying.  What have you found in your recent used book hauls that you’re excited about sharing?