"Borrowed Trouble" by Shaen Layle

About this book:

  “The wedding of Harriet Bailey and Will Knight has finally arrived. Friends and family of the bride and groom have gathered, and the celebration couldn’t be more perfect—until the power goes out during the reception. When the lights come back on, Harriet’s family heirloom is missing! Could one of their friends really have taken such a special item?
    Determined to prove that couldn’t be true, Harriet and Will pause their honeymoon plans to search for the missing antique brooch. As they interview witnesses and possible suspects, they realize there is more history to the jewelry than they ever imagined. And what happens when other valuable items disappear? Harriet and Will must map out the truth before their honeymoon road trip takes another detour.”


Series: Book #15 in the “Mysteries of Cobble Hill Farm” series. Click on the numbers to be taken to the prior books’ reviews: Book #1, Book #2, Book #3, Book #4, Book #5, Book #6, Book #7, Book #8, Book #9, Book #10, Book #11, Book #12, Book #13, and Book #14!


Spiritual Content- Matthew 6:34 at the beginning & is remembered by Harriet as well; Prayers; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Mentions of God & His timing; Mentions of prayers, praying, answered prayers, & blessings over food; Mentions of Bibles & Bible reading; Mentions of churches, church going, pastors, services, & ministries; A couple mentions of Heaven; A mention of a miracle; 
             *Note: Mentions of luck, bad luck, & a superstition.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: Three ‘dumb’s; Eavesdropping; Fainting (barely-above-not-detailed); All about & many mentioned of missing items that were possibly stolen, stolen items, & thieves; Mentions of deaths, grief, & illnesses (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of a war, a soldier missing in action, & deaths; Mentions of intruders, break-ins, robberies, & weapons; Mentions of sibling bickering/rivalry (between twin seven year-olds that stems from jealousy); Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of gossip & rumors; A few mentions of swindlers and pickpocketing; A couple mentions of injured animals; 
             *Note: Quotes from & Mentions of poems by Alfred, Lord Tennyson; Mentions of car brands & inventor; A few mentions of fictional characters (Agatha Christie characters & Spiderman); A mention of an athlete.
 
 
Sexual Content- An almost kiss, a not-detailed kiss, and five barely-above-not-detailed kisses; Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, & Nearness (barely-above-not-detailed); Will carries Harriet into their hotel room on their wedding night and they share a couple barely-above-not-detailed kisses before the chapter breaks and picks back up the next morning with them waking up to each other; A ‘babe’; Mentions of dates & dating; A couple mentions of a broken engagement; A mention of flirting; Love, being in love, & the emotions. 
 
-Harriet Bailey, age 35/36
                                                 P.O.V. of Harriet 
                    Mostly contemporary, but also seven scenes from 1850s and 1860s
                                                        252 pages
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

Definitely don’t look too close to the cover of this book or it will spoil the ending of the mystery! Because of this detail, this mystery wasn’t very exciting, but I was excited to see Harriet and Will’s wedding. 

 

I will note that I thought both Harriet and Will jumped to conclusions so much in this book, they could have been at one of those jump park places with all the jumping they made. I’m shocked they didn’t ruin friendships with their different questions and accusations. I think I would have been completely hurt in those people’s shoes or perhaps I’m just too not confrontational and can’t image accusing a friend of stealing from me, but they weren’t too hurt over it once things were explained. This is obviously a minor complaint, but it was overall a decent story. Not my favorite of the series, but not a bad one.

 

 

See y’all on Wednesday with a new review! 

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

"Phooey Kerflooey" by Kristen Joy Wilks

About this book:

  “A puppy will fix everything.
    A boring new house?
    Boring house + puppy = adventure!
    An attacking squirrel?
    Evil squirrel + puppy = a squirrel-battle extraordinaire!
    A daredevil brother who zooms into constant peril?
    Rowdy sibling + puppy = calm days snuggling their furry friend!
   What could possibly go wrong?
   When Marcus’s dog dreams finally come true, something is indeed terribly wrong. Phooey Kerflooey is eighteen pounds larger than expected. She will only eat organic lunch meat and drink from a china teacup. Plus, she is terrified of absolutely everything, including his brother’s wheelchair and that troublesome squirrel.
    How can Marcus find “perfect peace,” like in Isaiah 26:3, when God has given him a whole lot of chaos?
    Through a raucous tornado of personal growth, the boys and Phooey work together to save the day. But when the dust (and squirrel poo) settles, can they convince Dad and Mom to let them keep their puppy princess?”


Series: Book #1 in the “Phooey Kerflooey” series for middle-grade readers. The author also has younger reader versions of this book broken into two shorter stories. 


Spiritual Content- Scriptures are read, mentioned, & thought over; Marcus wants to have the perfect peace that Isaiah 26:3 talks about; A couple prayers; Talks about God, His peace, His plans, not changing others from how God made them, & trusting God; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Marcus reads a book that is about David and Goliath; *Spoilers* Towards the end, Marcus tries to trust God, but doesn’t think it helps when it gets even more chaotic in their home; The verse about perfect peace comes back to his mind, he wonders if that peace can be his if he turned his eyes away from the chaos and focused on his Master instead, & focuses on Him instead of the chaos *End of Spoilers*; Mentions of God, His peace, & His plans; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of those & events in the Bible; Mentions of church, church going, Sunday school, & a Sunday school lesson; A couple mentions of the four horsemen; At the end, there is a bonus section with a true story with many Scriptures shared and how everyone is valuable to God; 
             *Note: Marcus’ great aunt shouts the Lord’s name loudly on several occasions while dealing with a squirrel (while not written out, Marcus adds that she “must have been praying…a lot.”); Marcus’ dad names their enemy-squirrel “Rasputin” after the Russian mystic that was really hard to get rid of; A few mentions of aliens; A mention of Santa; A mention of Yeti myths. 
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘gah’ and five forms of ‘wimp’; A couple lies (by Marcus and he feels as if his chest is tight after saying them); A fire & Trying to put it out (up to semi-detailed); Blood/Bleeding (barely-above-not-detailed); Marcus feels responsible and guilt for his brother’s injury (because Conner snuck out at night and Marcus slept through it; *Spoiler* Towards the end, Marcus recalls his father telling him that he is not to blame & Marcus tries to focus on having God’s peace even in the chaos of life *End of Spoiler*); Because of his brother being reckless, Marcus writes down the possible dangers for each of their plans before moving forward or not with it; Marcus is concerned about his brother or the puppy getting hurt; Conner comments about breaking his leg again so his mom will let him keep the puppy; A puppy is attacked and bitten by a squirrel multiple times (causing pain and distress for the puppy, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of Marcus’ brother (Conner) sneaking out one night to go “adventuring” and ending up breaking his back (which caused spinal code damage and he can’t feel his legs); Mentions of fires, house fires, & smoke; Mentions of injuries, stitches, pain, blood/bleeding, throwing up, & fainting; Mentions of urine & poop; A few mentions of a boy taunting Conner & his dares (which lead to Conner breaking a bone once); A couple mentions of poisons & being poisoned; A couple mentions of cigarette smoke; A couple mentions of a hunter; A mention of a rumored drowning; A mention of a kitten being dumped; 
             *Note: Marcus and Conner hide or throw away Phooey-the-Puppy’s girly toys and items because Conner wants a fierce dog (Marcus wonders a couple times about why they need a fierce dog, but because Conner wants one, Marcus tries to make Phooey became that); Because of this, a friend tells Marcus that he can’t change Conner or Phooey from how God made them; Conner says Shakespeare insults; Mentions of Rube Goldberg machines; Mentions of Sasquatch; A couple mentions of brand names & pop culture (Birkenstocks & King Kong); A mention of PTSD; A mention of Frankenstein.
 
 
Sexual Content- N/A.
 
-Marcus, age 12
                                P.O.V. of Marcus 
                                                        195 pages
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

As someone who grew up in a house of only daughters, this book was completely how I expect a boys/sons only household to be: complete and utter chaos. I mean this in a nice way because I did overall enjoy the story, but my goodness, it was chaotic! 

 

Bless Marcus’ heart—he’s a worrier and determined to make his parents less stressed and keep his daredevil little brother out of more trouble; his plans of having peace in their lives goes awry when a cowardly (but cute) puppy and a very destructive squirrel enters into the picture. I was ready to donate to a GoFundMe to get rid of that awful squirrel!

 

As a dog lover, I loved Phooey, but I do wish the family would have been a little more prepared for a puppy and all that entails. Thankfully there’s good lessons about not changing someone (or some puppy) to your wants and expectations, but there were a few things that made me cringe and panic that there would be an emergency vet appointment in this book. 

 

Overall, it was a very crazy story, but also entertaining at times too. I think boys and some girls would enjoy it. :)

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new review! 

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

*I received this book for free from the Author for this honest review.

"Run for the Roses" by Cate Nolan

About this book:

  “An unexpected discovery at an estate sale sends Hannah Prentiss and her best friend, Lacy Minyard, on a search for a champion horse and her jockey who disappeared on the eve of the greatest race of the filly’s life. Trophies, a photo album, and other racing memorabilia bring back memories of Hannah’s childhood love of horses, and she resolves to find out more.
    Hannah already has her hands full running the Hot Spot, but soon she and Lacy become consumed with curiosity about the fate of the missing horse, Kentucky’s Angel, and her rider, Mickey. As Hannah and Lacy dig into the past, they find themselves exploring the legendary racetracks and horse farms at the heart of the Kentucky Bluegrass region. But the longer the list of suspects grows, the more Hannah fears the answer lies closer to home.
    Can the two best friends locate a missing person who may not want to be found?”


Series: Book #6 in the “Mysteries of Blackberry Valley” series. Reviews of Book #1, Book #2, Book #3, Book #4, and Book #5!


Spiritual Content- Philippians 3:13-14 at the beginning; A few Scriptures are read, mentioned, & thought over; Prayers & Blessings over food; Church going & a sermon; Talks about God; ’H’s are capital when referring to God; Mentions of God, Jesus, His will, & trusting Him; Mentions of prayers, praying, blessings over food, & praising the Lord; Mentions of churches, church going, services, sermons, pastors, & hymns; Mentions of morning devotional/quiet time; Mentions of blessings & being blessed; 
             *Note: Mentions of luck.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: Some eye rolling; Avoiding hitting a dog in the road (the dog is okay, barely-above-not-detailed); All about & many mentions of a missing horse and her jockey (including theories of possible foul play, a kidnapping, the horse being stolen, or throwing the race); Mentions of deaths & grief (including Hannah for her mother); Mentions of a father yelling often (including to his child) & not being a good father after his wife died (due to blaming the child for the wife’s death); Mentions of blackmail, threats, & betrayal/manipulation from family members; Mentions of fires & arson; Mentions of gossip & rumors; A few mentions of accidents & injuries; A couple mentions of alcohol; A couple mentions of hatred; A mention of jealousy; A mention of a man drinking often; 
             *Note: Mentions of a young woman running off with a man her father disapproved of; Mentions of the controversy of allowing women to become jockeys (including women being mistreated and being told to stay in the kitchen & races boycotted because of women jockeys); Mentions of authors, books, & fictional characters (‘The Black Stallion’ by Walter Farley, ‘Black Beauty’, and ‘Seabiscuit’); Mentions of car brands; Mentions of football teams; A couple mentions of the controversy about horse racing & animals being treated as assets rather than living creatures; A couple mentions of Halloween.
 
 
Sexual Content- A cheek kiss; A few touches, butterflies, noticing, & staring (not-detailed); Blushes; A date; Hannah thinks about her feelings for Liam & if she wants there to be more between them; Seeing two couples share a kiss; Mentions of falling in love & being in love; Mentions of boyfriends/girlfriends, liking someone, dates, & dating; A few mentions of blushes; 
             *Note: Seeing a difficult foaling & concern for the mom and foal (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a woman hiding her gender because of her career; A few mentions of a mother dying in childbirth & the father blaming the baby for her mother’s death.
 
-Hannah Prentiss
                                P.O.V. of Hannah & a couple others
                                   8 chapters set in the 1950s-1960s
                                                        253 pages
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

Despite not ever being a horse girl growing up, I found myself more interested in this mystery than I expected. I’ll admit it might be mostly because of the very light romance brewing between Hannah and Liam that really caught my attention, hahaha. :)

 

I did get confused a few times because of all the names and how some of them were similar to other names mentioned. The ending was a bit bittersweet, but was overall an interesting mystery. 

 

For those wanting a Thanksgiving or fall themed mystery, this one would be a great option! You do not have to read the prior books in the series—I’ll always recommend to read those first personally, but it’s not necessary—this book can be read as a standalone as it only mentions prior mysteries, but does not give away the end of those mysteries. It definitely felt like a fall-ish book with the importance of community, reaching out to others, and family.

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new review! 

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

"Melanie Ann: A Legacy of Love" by Eleanor Clark

About this book:

  “When fourteen-year-old Melanie Ann is told by her grandmother that one day she will inherit the memory trunk that has been passed down through the generations, she learns about the responsibility that is required to preserve the family's heritage.”


Series: Book #6 in “The Eleanor” series. Reviews of Book #1 Here, Book #2 Here, Book #3 Here, Book #4 Here, and Book #5 Here! (The bonus book in the series, “Eleanor Jo: A Christmas to Remember”, will be reviewed in December.)


Spiritual Content- 1 Corinthians 13:13 at the beginning; Many Scriptures are read, quoted, remembered, thought over, & discussed; A hymn is sung; Many talks about God, Jesus, trusting God, loving the Lord, the salvation message, shining your light for the Lord, being a Christian, sharing the gospel, Bibles, Heaven, & strong faiths; ’H’s are capital when referring to God; Many mentions of God, Jesus, trusting Him, & loving the Lord; Mentions of the salvation message & asking Jesus into your heart; Mentions of Bibles, Bible reading, Scriptures, & memorizing Scriptures; Mentions of prayers, praying, fasting, blessings over food, & praising the Lord; Mentions of Christians, being a good witness, & sharing the gospel with others; Mentions of Heaven, seeing those who have accepted Jesus as their Lord there, & being with Jesus; Mentions of churches, church going, children’s ministry, & Sunday school; Mentions of religious persecution, religious freedom, & martyrs; Mentions of a portrait of Jesus that Grand Doll has (which Melanie Ann notes about Jesus’ eyes radiating love & feeling the presence of God settling over her when staring at the picture); A few mentions of blessings & being blessed; A few mentions of missionaries; A couple mentions of those in the Bible; A couple mentions of those who say they love God but don’t act like it; A mention of a miracle; At the end of the book, in bonus content, there is a devotional-like lesson about love with many Scriptures shared & also a testimony section with a prayer on welcoming Jesus as your Savior and Lord;
             *Note: A mention of Santa.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: Melanie Ann recalls helping care for her grandmother before she passed (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of wars, fighting, weapons, battles, slavery, & deaths; Mentions of the Great Depression; A few mentions of people being put to death for their religion; A few mentions of prisons; A couple mentions of butchering a hog; A mention of a break-in;
             *Note: A mention of Shirley Temple.
 
 
Sexual Content- N/A; 
             *Note: A couple mentions of physical and hormonal changes that Melanie Ann is going through.
 
-Melanie Ann, age 14
                                   P.O.V. of Melanie Ann 
                                                        181 pages
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

Unlike the rest of the series that have only the prologue and the epilogue in the modern  setting and the rest of the book in the historical time period, this final book is completely set in the modern time period. Throughout this series, we’ve seen “Grand Doll” (a grandma) tell her multiple granddaughters about young girls in their family’s history, but this book is featuring the oldest granddaughter and recaps the lessons of the prior books. Because of remembering those books, I was a little bored with this one, but I did appreciate all of the faith content and Scriptures shared. While I still have the bonus book to read next month (I saved it for Christmas time), this has been a solid and faith-filled series, ones I definitely recommend for middle-grade readers!

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new review! 

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.