"Run for the Rose" 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
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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
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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.

"Out of the Depths" by Beth Adams

About this book:

  “While Hannah Prentiss’s cousin, Ryder, is exploring the local underground caves not far from Blackberry Valley, he stumbles on a cold case. Inside a remote cave, Ryder finds a backpack filled with personal items that once belonged to their great-uncle. Uncle Chuck was last seen entering the dangerous cave, with its many narrow passages and sharp drops, and there has been no trace of him since.
    However, the items uncovered now indicate that their great-uncle walked out of this cave very much alive all those years ago, so where did he go? The more Hannah digs into Uncle Chuck’s disappearance, the less things add up. Can Hannah solve this decades-old mystery and give her family peace of mind?”


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


Spiritual Content- A few Scriptures are read, mentioned, & thought over; Morning Bible/Devotional reading; Church going; Singing a hymn; Mentions of God, trusting Him, His plan, & fear; Mentions of churches, church going, pastors, sermons, & services; Mentions of hymns; A few mentions of prayers & praying; A few mentions of miracles; A couple mentions of books of the Bible; A couple mentions of blessings & being blessed; A mention of thanking the Lord; A mention of appreciating God’s creation; A mention of devotional reading; A mention of Christian music; 
             *Note: Mentions of luck; A mention of a woman coming across as a “long-suffering saint” because of her husband.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a form of ‘shut up’ and two forms of ‘stupid’; Some eye rolling; Hannah goes to a concert at a place that has a bar (but she only drinks soda); All about & many mentions of cave-ins, people being trapped and/or killed in caves, & possible accidents; All about & many mentions of a man who left his family (*Spoilers* which he believed it to be best for them, but others view it as selfish of him to do; The wife wrote in her diary that she and their son would be better off without him because of his gambling and lies, but later feels bad for saying that; The man never stopped thinking about the two of them and thanks to Hannah’s help, the father and son reunite at the end; The man adds that he didn’t think anyone would try to rescue him because he wasn’t worth it and was fine with dying in the cave if that happened *End of Spoilers*); Many mentions of gambling, betting (horse races), addictions, & losing a lot of money (which put major strain on a marriage); Mentions of deaths & grief (including Hannah and her father for their mother/wife & someone else dying from lung cancer); Mentions of the mob/mafia; Mentions of bars & drinking (including underage drinking); Mentions of lies & lying; A few mentions of fires; A few mentions of divorces/separations (including Hannah thinking that would have been a better option than what the man did); A couple mentions of war & a man never being the same after; A couple mentions of crimes & crime scenes; A couple mentions of a possible break-in & stolen items; A couple mentions of nightmares; A couple mentions of gossip; A mention of the possibility of murder; A mention of tattoos; 
             *Note: Hannah recalls hearing about gambling being an addiction that’s like an illness rather than a “conscious choice”; A side character quotes the cruel words from a teacher & struggles with confidence in himself because of it (Hannah tries to encourage him); A quote from Nelson Mandela at the beginning; Mentions of car brands; A couple mentions of brand names (Corelle); A couple mentions of ADHD; A mention of ‘Romeo and Juliet’.
 
 
Sexual Content- Some touches, embraces, & imagining both (barely-above-not-detailed); Some noticing & racing hearts (barely-above-not-detailed); Flirting; Hannah’s best friend teases her about wanting to know if a guy is a good kisser; Hannah has set boundaries with her father about conversations about her dating life (regarding that she doesn’t have time to date someone right now); Mentions of an out-of-wedlock pregnancy & the couple getting married (including mentions of the man not being emotionally or mentally ready for being a husband and father and it taking a major toll on their marriage, her parents wanting them to get married, his parents believing that he got himself into the situation and it was his punishment (which someone else disagrees with viewing the child as a consequence rather than a blessing), the woman having doubts before the marriage, the man leaving his wife and child so they can have a better life without him, & the son knowing they only got married because of him with mixed feelings about it); Mentions of girlfriends/boyfriends, dates, & dating; Mentions of flirting; Mentions of crushes & lovesick puppy eyes; A few mentions of kisses, kissing, & good kissers; A mention of a married couple kissing; A mention of a woman being called a “chick”; 
             *Note: A couple mentions of possible bigamy (but not actually). 
 
-Hannah Prentiss
                                P.O.V. of Hannah 
                                                        247 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

This book was truly a case of “it’s me, not you [the book]”. I had a really hard time being interested in this story, but I think that’s because I’ve never been in a cave or anything like that, so it just didn't keep my attention. Those familiar with caving and/or interested in it would probably enjoy this book more. As awful as this might sound, I also didn’t really care about the mystery of the assumed-dead-but-actually-possible-alive great uncle of Hannah’s. But again, I think that’s just me. 

 

I did like the light romance and cute, almost-flirting scenes towards the end between Hannah and a certain firefighter, though.

 

 

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.

Heart of a Princess" by Hannah Currie

About this book:

  “You're the princess. Be the princess.
    To the watching world, Princess Alina has it all—maids to serve her, a kingdom to revere her, a prince to marry her, and a wardrobe filled with enough frills, flounces, and shades of pink to rival a flower shop. But behind the smiles and designer clothes, Alina has a secret. She’s barely holding it together.
    After a moment of panic almost ends in tragedy, Alina is sent to a refuge far from the palace to recuperate. Her family claims it’s for her own good but—faced with cows, knife-beaked ducks, and far too many of her own insecurities—Alina is pretty sure it will kill her first. And Joha Samson, infuriating man that he is, will laugh as it does.
    Only there’s more to Joha than she realizes, and more to herself too. When the time comes to make a stand, will she find the courage?”


Series: Book #2 in the “Daughters of Peverell” series. Review of Book #1 Here!


Spiritual Content- Prayers; Talks about God & faiths; ‘H’s are not capitalized when referring to God; It is illegal to worship a higher power in Peverell (*Major Spoilers* Alina’s father outlawed believing in God after his wife’s passing because he was upset that God didn’t answer her prayers or his for her and believed God would fail others as well *End of Spoilers*); When God is brought up in a conversation, Alina thinks about seeing “that notion” in an outdated history book and laughing at the thought of some people believing in “some invisible higher power as the source of all life”; Alina says God isn’t real (because she doesn’t believe, the ‘G’s for God are lowercase); *Spoilers* Alina is given her mother’s journals that are her letters to God; Alina becomes curious about her mother’s God and Someone accepting every little thing about her; Alina is fearful that the Rebels’ god won’t want her because she’s not good enough (which her brother later corrects); Towards the end, Alina says she’s a Follower of God (partially to hurt her father but also because she means it) which makes her father upset, but they have a sincere conversation about it (where he doesn’t understand her decision, but will support her); Many others have been praying for Alina and cry over her news; Alina feels God speak to her and feels at home in a chapel *End of Spoiler*; Alina has a dream about a chapel and feels joy from the scene because of the welcoming camaraderie and acceptance; *Spoiler* The Rebels in Alina’s country are mostly Followers of God and have been exiled because of their beliefs *End of Spoiler*; Mentions of God, God having a purpose for everyone, peace, & faiths; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of “Followers” (Christians); Mentions of chapels, one being a refuge where a person can find “forgiveness, grace, faith, hope, and healing”, & worship; Mentions of miracles; A couple mentions of thanking God; 
             *Note: A side character says that no one has proven that a higher power exists; A mention of a “damning” news story.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘dumb’, a form of ‘shut up’, and six ‘stupid’s; Eye rolling & Sarcasm; Lying (Alina lies often, mainly to hide her feelings from others, but also notes that she’s practice lies so often they fit her “better than the truth”); Eavesdropping; Alina says hurtful and harsh words to others (including her former best friend); Alina feels guilt for her mother’s death (because she died in childbirth with her, saying she “killed” her mother) & wishes her mother had been the one to live instead of her; After shocking news, Alina wishes that a sniper would take her out & wishes again that her mother had lived instead of her; Mentions of deaths & grief (including Alina for her mother and wishing she could have known her, up to semi-detailed); Mentions of terrorists, attacks/riots, exile, & treason; Mentions of a possible abduction, possible torture, & being drugged; Mentions of criminals & crimes; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of hatred; A mention of murderers; A mention of throwing up; 
             *Note: Alina has anxiety, panic attacks where she blacks out, & negative thoughts telling her lies about herself (because of this, she often hides her feelings from everyone else and believes she cannot show herself falling apart due to her princess status; She also thinks she isn’t enough and wishes to be worth her mother’s sacrifice; all up to semi-detailed); Alina feels as if her father is trying to control her life; Mentions of anxiety, panic attacks, & blacking out from them (Alina).
 
 
Sexual Content- A nose kiss, a cheek kiss, an almost kiss that turns into a cheek kiss (up to semi-detailed), a barely-above-not-detailed kiss, a semi-detailed kiss, a border-line semi-detailed // detailed kiss, and a detailed kiss; Remembering a kiss (up to semi-detailed); Imagining kisses & kissing (up to semi-detailed); Staring at lips (up to semi-detailed); Seeing couples kissing; Touches, Embraces, Dances, Butterflies, Nearness, & Smelling (up to semi-detailed); Blushes; Noticing (including muscles or the lack of being able to see muscles, barely-above-not-detailed); Alina hasn’t kissed her fiancé yet because of him wanting to wait until their wedding (she’s fantasized “more than once” about kissing him and mussing with his hair, barely-above-not-detailed); *Major Spoilers* Towards the end, Alina’s fiancé has rumors about him having a secret son from a fling years prior with the woman coming forward to claim he is her son’s father; Alina doesn’t believe them because he hasn’t even kissed her, but Marcus tells her that he was with a girl years prior in a moment of anger at his father and there could have been a child from that night; He has felt ashamed for years since and has not been in contact with the woman; He never planned to tell anyone (including Alina) about that night; Marcus wants to make things right and marry the girl and Alina is very hurt by his betrayal; Alina kisses Joha after this news and wonders if she was being unfaithful to Marcus because of their engagement; Alina feels peace from God to still marry Marcus, but he elopes with the other girl *End of Spoilers*; Alina has dreams of relationships with kisses, embraces, and nearness (barely-above-not-detailed); Alina accuses (and says a handful of times) that Kenna seduced Alina’s brother into marrying her (Alina holds a grudge against Kenna because of this even though nothing happened between Kenna and Ben, but they still had to get married; Book #1); A side character makes assumptions about Alina saying she’s probably kissed many men and possible “done more” with them; Mentions of dalliances, cheating, flings, & being with someone one night and it resulting in a child; Mentions of kisses & kissing (including dreams of kisses); Mentions of falling & being in love; Mentions of boyfriends/girlfriends, dating, exes, & break-ups; Mentions of flirting; A couple mentions of cute guys; A couple mentions of jealousy; A mention of Alina being naïve but knowing that it takes more than “a handshake to create a child”; A mention of gossip stories about Alina being pregnant twice; A mention of Alina’s father warning her against the “fun, carefree” type of guy because of her reputation which could be harmed; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: A comment about Alina and a guy not showering together (she makes the comment about sharing a bathroom/shower “with [him]” and he replies “it’s not like we’ll be in there at the same time” which makes her blush); Alina wants to turn down eating waffles because of her figure/weight being “on the edge of what was considered an acceptable weight” (but eats them anyway); Alina later thinks that her weight would thank her for missing a few meals; A mention of a couple trying for years to have a baby; A mention of a female monthly time; A mention of curves.
 
-Alina, age 18
                                1^st person P.O.V. of Alina 
                                                        324 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

Trigger Warnings: anxiety, anxiety/panic attacks & negative thoughts

 

It’s been over a year since I read the first book in this series, so I really didn’t remember much about the events in that book besides what the back-cover says. I reread my own review which helped some, but because of this and how long it took for me to remember the ending events and details (and how long it took for Alina to tell us about them), I would suggest reading these books in order and closer together than what I did. 

 

I do remember Alina being a brat and we definitely see that in this sequel story as well. Because of the delay in reading this story, I actually felt more sympathetic towards her when I probably would have found myself incredibly frustrated and annoyed by her—okay, I still was both of those at times, but I was able to stomach it a bit better than expected. 

 

The romance felt very juvenile because we only see Alina’s perspective. She’s pretty infuriating and arrogant, but how she treated Joha (and him to her) was pretty ridiculous. Mostly on purpose, I think, but it also made the book feel like it was a lot longer because I wasn’t interested in reading it. I really didn’t like him at all, however, and thought he needed a major lesson in showing grace and compassion. We don’t get his POV, though, so this is probably partially why my annoyance with him was so high for basically the entire book. I didn’t like them together at all and I especially did not care for the “kiss her to shut her up” trope happening. 

 

All of that said, I did enjoy the final quarter and Alina’s character development even if I didn’t care for the romance. It was a good ending and I liked the faith content throughout the book, especially. I’m curious to read the third book and see these characters again!

 

 

 

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.