"High Heels and Hay Bales" by Keira Mueller

About this book:

  “Three city girls. Two country girls. One absurdly amazing summer.
    Priscilla, Bella, and Lacy Prichardson, daughters of the richest man on Earth, cannot wait for their exclusive summer vacation—hopefully in the Bahamas. Or Paris. Or Santorini. Not a random farm in the middle of nowhere.
    Country girls Skylar and Cassidy have no time for fuss and feathers while helping their grandmother run the family farm, especially not for three walking fashion magazines who think that milk comes from a tree and horses are magical.
    Forced to partner with peasants, the Prichardsons take to farm work as well as pigs fly (not at all), spurring hilarious hijinks involving bucking broncos, tractor driving, and horseback riding.
    Deprived of all luxury life essentials, will the triplets embrace their new reality (face-first where Lacy’s concerned), or hug their high heels closer?”


Series: Book #1 in the “Country Girls vs. City Girls” duology.


Spiritual Content- Going to a church for a funeral; Mentions of praying (but not towards Who); A couple mentions of churches & church going; A couple mentions of a preacher & sermon at a funeral; A couple mentions of hymns sung at a funeral; A mention of God; A mention of the Bible; A mention of the Fruit of the Spirit; A mention of being blessed; 
             *Note: A grandmother exclaims “Heavens to Betsy!” and different variations of it a handful of times; ‘where in heaven’s name’ is also exclaimed once; One of the triplets rejoices with yelling “Hallelujah” about being able to tan; A tombstone says that a deceased person was “stolen from our earthly sphere by some mysterious power”; Bella says that she hopes the “fates” never bless someone with a sale; A few mentions of the girls imitating theirs idol (an older sister or artist); A few mentions of a store called “Bikini Heaven”; A few mentions of Zodiac signs; A few mentions of statues of Cupid; A couple mentions of eyes having devilish gleams & faces having evil glows (when pranking someone else); A couple mentions of girls looking like goddesses; A mention of Bella thinking Heaven has “angels, clouds, and unlimited shopping malls”; A mention of the triplets being used to people worshiping the ground they walk on; A mention of a “heavenly” cheese; A mention of an evil witch and spells in a book; A mention of having a sixth sense.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘bah’, a ‘gosh’, a ‘holy hay bales’, a ‘holy moly’, a ‘shucks’, a ‘suck it up’, two ‘holy cow’s, three forms of ‘dumb’, four ‘jeez/geez’s, four forms of ‘idiot’, four forms of ‘suck’, five ‘stupid’s, eight ‘OMG’s, eight forms of ‘oh my gosh’, eight ‘shut up’s, and nine ‘duh’s; Many other phrases (such as ‘what in the green grasslands’, ‘miniskirts and Michelin stars’, ‘jam preserve us’, ‘for the love of all things good and Gucci’, ‘freaky foundation’, ‘flapjacks!’, ‘thank Gucci’, ‘oh my gummy bears’, and many other varieties) are said and exclaimed; Other name calling such as ‘brats’, ‘moronic’, ‘dum-dum’, ‘dolt’, ‘donut-brain’, ‘ding-dong’, and ‘imbecile’ are also said; Lots of eye rolling & sarcasm; Fighting, Being punched, Injuries, & blood/Bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Seeing a death (of a parent due to an accident, barely-above-not-detailed); One of the twins punches one of the triplets due to the girl’s mean words about her grandmother and all the sisters get involved in the fight (up to semi-detailed); The triplets often partake in sister bickering and snapping at each other, name calling, throwing items at each other, & grabbing items from one another; The twins play a prank on the triplets (that ends up dying the triplets’ hair) so the triplets play a prank back on them (*Spoilers* which involves letting all the animals at the farm loose; All the animals are recovered; After a physical fight, both sister groups apologize to each other under orders from the twins’ grandmother *End of Spoilers*); One of the triplets kicks a chick, which hurts it and Skylar tells her to never hit an animal; Mentions of deaths from accidents & grief (from a husband for his late wife); Mentions of injuries, pain, passing out, & blood/bleeding (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of threats & blackmail (between the sisters/all five girls); Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of throwing up & vomit; Mentions of manure; A few mentions of hatred; A couple mentions of stealing; A couple mentions of lies, lying, & liars; A couple mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of animals (dogs and horses) that have passed away; 
             *Note: Lacy has moments of panic attacks & hyperventilating at distressing news (but can snap out of it when yelled at) while her sisters pass out; The triplets refer to their mother by her first name; The triplets wear lots of makeup and place major importance on it & being on their phones and social media sites (Priscilla notes once that she would “rather die” than go without makeup; *Spoilers* Towards the end, the triplets start wearing less makeup when working on the farm *End of Spoilers*); Many, many mentions of designer brands and the triplets spending a lot of money on designer items (Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Jimmy Choo, Harry Winston, Dior, Valentino, Versace, Cartier, Chanel, Prada, Tim Ford, YSL, Michael Kors, Charlotte Tilbury, Marc Jacobs, Montblanc, Aquazzura, Armani, Fendi, Oscar de la Renta, Lululemon, Swarovski, Rolex, Dolce & Gabbana, Neutrogena, Bulgari, Burberry, Hermès, Calvin Klein, Saint Laurent, & Alexander McQueen); Many mentions of makeup, applying makeup, and large collections of makeup (including eight-year-olds wearing makeup); Mentions of books, authors, & fictional characters and places (which references to Harry Potter, Jane Austen’s books, Frankenstein, Shakespeare, ‘In Search of Lost Time’ by Marcel Proust, ‘Looking for Alaska’by John Green, Anne of Green Gables, Dr. Seuss, & Sherlock Holmes); Mentions of social media sites & apps (Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Netflix, & Pinterest); Mentions of brand names (Barbie, Dum-Dums, Dyson, Stanley Cups, Webster dictionaries, Mad Libs, LEGO Friends, & Boeing); Mentions of artists (Vermeer, Van Gogh, Monet, & Edgar Degas); Mentions of panic attacks, hyperventilating, & passing out; A few mentions of magazines (Vogue, Vanity Fair, & Harper’s Bazaar); A couple mentions of Starbucks; A mention of the Met Gala; A mention of some people saying humans are animals.
 
 
Sexual Content- The triplets comment about cute boys, wanting a new boyfriend, and some of them having two hundred boyfriends total or twenty boyfriends at once; One of the twins asks her sister if “looking pretty [like the triplets] is the way to attract attention and success” because the triplets have all had many boyfriends, but her sister says it doesn’t matter what you wear but how you present yourself (Cassidy still wonders about this and would love to catch someone’s eye just once, so she asks the triplets for help; Bella says that almost anyone can be pretty with enough makeup and a cute outfit, which confuses Cassidy as she’s been taught that beauty come from within, but decides to trust the triplet’s opinion because they are some of the most gorgeous people she knows; Bella tells Cassidy again that true beauty comes from what you wear); Bella comments that “romance is a pursuit for those not striving for higher ideals and a plague upon our society” but says she doesn’t really believe that when asked; Two ‘hot’s when referring to boys; Mentions of cute/hot boys, boyfriends/girlfriends, dates, dating, break-ups, & attraction; Mentions of boys staring at the triplets and trying to flirt with them; Mentions of blushes; A mention of one of the girls being “starved of proper male company” and reading romance novels; A mention of YA book being very “amorous”;
             *Note: The triplets dress in “skimpy” tops and “inappropriately short shorts” and are told to put on something less revealing (so they pull on skin-tight cropped t-shirts instead, but the twins’ grandmother decides not to comment on those and pick her battles instead); One of the triplets wears a “minuscule miniskirt” and top that was close to exposing an “unmentionable area”; A few other scenes of the triplets wearing skimpy and short clothing, outfits that hug their shapes/curves, & bikinis (One triplet plans to wear a skimpy bikini, but a sister tells her that it’s “not even legal” to wear in public); Cassidy tries on a dress of the triplet’s that the girls say will “flaunt [her] assets” due to the V-neck and show off her legs, but Cassidy is uncomfortable in it (though she still wears the dress to the event and attracts both attention from the boys and disapproving stares from some conservative adults; She has to watch her neckline from slipping any lower; *Spoiler* Skylar brought more casual dresses for her sister and the triplets to change into just in case, so then the others change during the event and are more comfortable *End of Spoilers*); The triplets comment often about calories, counting calories, different diets, avoiding sugar due to possible weight gain, and maintaining their weight/figures while also avoiding carbs and eating very little to keep their “size negative two”; The triplets avoid working out to keep from gaining muscle mass; One of the triplets comments “A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips!” when offered a carb-heavy meal; *Spoilers* As the book continues (past half-way through) and they start to work hard on the farm, they start to eat more food (including carbs) and start to gain muscles; When visited by their rich friends, the triplets are told about those girls eating five hundred calories or less, their “cheat” days on their diets (by adding an extra almond to a meal), and only eating a single blueberry when feeling faint; One of the girls tells Cassidy she looks like she needs to be on a diet, which Cassidy is shocked by and says she’s a size six; After these girls leave, Priscilla apologizes to the twins for how she acted when she first arrived on the farm and all five girls apologize for something and ask for forgiveness *End of Spoilers*; Mentions of the triplets packing and wearing skimpy outfits; Mentions of bikinis; Mentions of acne/pimples & wrinkles (and the triplets being concerned about both and avoiding them); A few mentions of girls (including the triplets) having hallucinations due to a lack of food for days; A mention of one of the triplets practicing “lucratively suggestive poses” in the mirror; A mention of B.O.
 
-Priscilla Prichardson, age 14
-Bella Prichardson, age 14
-Lacy Prichardson, age 14
-Skylar Spencer
-Cassidy Spencer
                                P.O.V. switches between them 
                                                        381 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

When I first heard of this book, it was the cover that attracted me to the story—I mean, look how cute the cover is! It’s adorable and fits the book very well. I was a little nervous about having five main characters and while it took me about fifty pages to get the triplets’ names right and their personalities, I was able to keep them all straight by the end. I do want to note that I was a little taken aback by a death of a parent that happened in a rather silly manner and the girls being unaffected by it in the first chapter of the book. 

 

I think there were some pros and cons for me, personally, about this book, but I do think other readers would enjoy it more. 

 

Positive- It was well written with a lot of descriptive vocabulary used, which was great! 

 

Con (for me)- I found the triplets to be really over-the-top to the point of being like a Disney Channel character—think like London Tipton on steroids…but three of her. They have eighty closets, eat with actual gold spoons, and easily spend a million dollars on a shopping spree. There were a ton of designer name name-dropping throughout the almost 400-pages which got to be a bit much for my tastes.

 

Both- I didn’t love the triplets in general, but I did grow to like the youngest, Lacy, as she started to become more open to farm life. Priscilla was really mean to her sisters at times and I found myself frustrated by her and her comments. Thankfully, there’s some decent character development and lessons learned, so I was glad to see the changes in both the triplets and the twins towards each other and the other sister group’s interests. I wish it had come sooner because some of the triplet’s spoiled attitudes and crazy spending had me flabbergasted and it took me about halfway through the book to get into the story.

 

I was expecting at least a bit more faith content in this book, so I was disappointed by the lack of it in this story. Hopefully book two in the duology will have more of it and also the triplets becoming a little more down-to-earth with the changes that will be happening in their lives. **Edit to add: After posting this review, it's come to my attention that this book is marketed and was published as Clean Fiction, so that's why there wasn't much faith content. My apologizes for the misunderstanding and I want to give a note correcting this. 

 

I think I probably would have enjoyed this book a bit more when I was younger, perhaps around ages 12/13. Our main characters were a little too dramatic for my reading tastes now, but some readers may be okay with that. Some families may not care for all the brand name-dropping or the comments about diets and counting carbs even though it’s played up and boarder-lines on ridiculous and impossible as times, so I think this book may only work for those who can understand the over-the-top elements to this story and be entertained by 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.

"A Gift in Time" by Shaen Layle

About this book:

  “It's opening day of Sarah Morgan's gifts and curiosities shop, Heavenly Presents. Not only are her family and friends there to support her new business, but a local television crew is on-site to interview her. Sarah decides her latest acquisition, an antique music box that supposedly belonged to Thomas Edison, is the perfect item to show off on television. They've only heard a few notes in the strange melody when an onlooker claims her great-grandmother used to play that same tune on the piano but was secretive about its origins.
     When Sarah discovers a hidden drawer on the box that requires a key to open, she is determined to unlock the box's secrets.
     Meanwhile, someone in the Port Huron community is also determined…to see Sarah's business fail.
    Can Sarah find out who is behind the troublemaking, or will she be forced to close the doors on her dream forever?”


Series: Book #1 in the “Gift Shop Mysteries” series.


Spiritual Content- James 1:17 at the beginning; Prayers & Thanking God; Church going; 'H’s are capital when referring to God; Sarah wonders why God would open doors for her dream, only to let her hopes be crushed by the negative things that have happened & wonders how He will make something good out of the situation; Sarah also wonders if God cares about the small problems in her life and while she knows the “pat answer” is “of course”, she doesn’t feel reassured; *Spoilers* Sarah soon learns that it’s true that God does give good gifts and brings good out of bad situations, even the small ones; At the end, Sarah knows that the next time she encounters hardship, she will hold tight to God *End of Spoilers*; Lorena believes that God brought Al (Thomas Edison) into her life and paired them together; Mentions of God, trusting Him, & Him bringing good out of every situation; Mentions of prayers, praying thanking God, & blessings over food; Mentions of churches, church going, services, a pastor, a sermon; Mentions of Easter, Palm Sunday, & Good Friday; A few mentions of blessings & being blessed; A mention of mission work; 
             *Note: A couple mentions of luck.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a form of ‘dumb’; Many mentions of rumors & gossip; Mentions of deaths & grief (including a young woman for her mother and father & a husband for his wife); Mentions of a child nearly being killed in an accident; Mentions of complications from Addison’s disease (including seizures and possible death); Mentions of stealing, stolen items, crimes, & criminals; Mentions of intruders, trespassing, break-ins, & thieves; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of jealousy & rivalries (including sibling rivalries); A few mentions of the Civil War, battles, & deaths; A few mentions of injuries & blood/bleeding; A few mentions of teens playing pranks; A few mentions of manipulators & manipulations; A couple mentions of fires; A couple mentions of threats; A mention of scarlet fever; 
             *Note: In the historical chapters, Lorena has a different opinion than her father of what her future should be (finishing school vs wanting to go to a music conservatory) which leads to her commenting negatively on what others think of women (such as some men believing that all women have silly interests and ideas) and keeping secrets from her father such as writing letters to a young man through a maid in hopes her father will later change his mind about the young man (Lorena feels smothered by her father’s protectiveness and plans for her); *Spoilers* Eventually, her father makes it known that he is aware of Lorena’s secrets and steals an item that the man gave Lorena to keep them apart; The relationship between Lorena and Thomas Edison does not go further which makes her cry when he is cold to her; Later chapters show her married to another man and seemingly happy in the marriage *End of Spoilers*; Many mentions of historical figures (Thomas Edison, Mozart, & Beethoven); Mentions of car brands; Mentions of an opera and a song from it (‘The Bohemian Girl’); A few mentions of brand names (Doxa & Rolex); A mention of the YMCA.
 
 
Sexual Content- A little bit of dancing & hand holding (barely-above-not-detailed); A little bit of noticing a man’s attractiveness & blushing over it (barely-above-not-detailed); Sarah tells others that she doesn’t have time to date as she is focused on her store; A few mentions of dating; A couple mentions of chaperones & reputations; A mention of a woman being accused of being a home-wrecker; A mention of a cute guy; 
             *Note: A mention of Sarah noticing a “bit of weight redistribution” after turning forty.
 
-Sarah Morgan
                                P.O.V. mostly of Sarah 
          Mostly contemporary, but also eight chapters from 1862-1865, 1867, 1886, & 1947
                                                        252 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

The beginning of a brand new cozy mystery series by Guidebooks! While I was planning on waiting to start this series until I finished the “Mysteries of Cobble Hill Farm”, I looked ahead and decided to begin the series due to holidays/seasons mentioned in upcoming books. This was a promising start to the series, even if it wasn’t a new favorite mystery. It took me a bit to keep track of all the new characters and how they are connected, but that’s common when starting a new series so I just made use of the search feature on my Kindle. 😉 I did find some of the side characters to have too much high school drama for women in their forties, so I hope the series will have less of that as it continues. 

 

As a note about the historical chapters: I did have difficulty reading those chapters on my Kindle due to the font. I didn’t particularly care for the historical time period as the character then was deceiving her father about a relationship with a man and hiding about it from him. The man was Thomas Edison, who did not date a girl named Lorena according to some research I did while reading. I’m not really a fan of authors making up fictional events and love interests for an actual historical figure, so these parts weren’t the most enjoyable to read, personally. I preferred the contemporary time-period and meeting the woman who will be main character of the whole series. 

 

Overall, not a bad start to the series and I look forward to seeing what the future books will be about in the months to come. 🙂

 

 

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.

"The Girl & The Green Hat" by Rachel Allord

About this book:

  “School’s out!
    Addie Brown has survived her first year in London. Now she can’t wait to ditch her tie, chuck her school shoes, “Mary and Jane”, under the bed, and forget all about Math(s) for six glorious weeks back home. As she flies off to Chicago to visit Aunt Becky and reconnect with best friend Lauren she wonders if this could be: The. Best. Summer. Ever?
    But nothing’s ever straightforward for Addie. Blindsided by Dad’s surprise new girlfriend, Addie arrives at summer camp only to discover London has followed her there. Join Addie as she navigates family dynamics, messy friendships and even a bear, all with a little help from the mysterious lady in the green hat.”


Series: The sequel to “The Girl on the Tube”. Review Here!


Spiritual Content- A handful prayers and talking to God (including apologizing to God for doing something bad); Church going (once); ‘H’s are not capital when referring to God; Addie and her father don’t go to church often after her mother died, but they go with her aunt (which Addie enjoys and listens to the preacher’s sermon about praying); Addie doesn’t know much about God, but knows He exists because of all the wonderful things in nature & notices that she has been praying to God in different moments because she doesn’t know “who else” would she be talking to; Addie recalls her mom praying with her before bed and feeling safe when she would do that; Addie wonders if she can pray about missing her mom and could tell God she’s angry at Him for “taking her away”; When in a dangerous situation, Addie prays to God for help and a sudden gust of wind leads her to a safe direction (and later says that she thinks God was watching over her); When her aunt accidentally swears, she apologize to Addie and to God, which Addie notes about it being like her aunt was talking to God as if He was right there with them (Addie’s aunt comments that she messes up every day, but “God is good…He forgives.”); Addie tells God all about her concerns and feelings despite thinking “He must know about everything already” because He’s God, but maybe He is interested in hearing about it all from her personally; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers, praying, talking to God, & blessings over food; A few mentions of churches, church going on holidays, a preacher, & a sermon; A mention of an event in the Bible; 
             *Note: Addie wonders if someone has appeared in front of her like a fairy godmother or an angel; A woman is described as “otherworldly”; Mentions of luck & being lucky; A couple mentions of Addie being “spellbound” by something; A couple mentions of a Greek mythology character (Narcissus); A mention of a girl being in “heaven” when doing something she likes.

 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘duh’, a ‘rats’, four ‘dumb’s, and seven forms of ‘stupid’; A few mentions of a curse (said, not written; the adult apologizes to Addie and God for saying it); Eye rolling; Addie lies & gossip (including talking badly about a girl and saying that they aren’t friends; Towards the end, *Spoilers* Addie realizes she’s done more than just stealing, but also snapped and yelled at family members & gossip and lied *End of Spoilers*); Addie snaps at others & can be disrespectful and rude (including to adults like her dad, her aunt, and her dad’s girlfriend); Pain, Injuries, & Blood/Bleeding (barely-above-not-detailed); Crying & Grief (Addie for her mother and what their lives could have been if she was still alive; up to semi-detailed); A dangerous situation with being trapped between a mother bear and her cubs (which makes Addie and another girl think they could die or be seriously hurt, up to semi-detailed); Addie steals an item from someone and feels guilt about it (*Spoilers* She steals her dad’s girlfriend’s sunglasses and justifies it at first as taking something like the girlfriend stole Addie’s day with her dad & how it’s Addie “winning” against the woman; Addie denies knowing where they are, lies about them, & hides them for the summer; Addie starts to feel guilt about taking and hiding them; Addie has a couple moments to confess to the woman, but doesn’t until the very end of the book after talking to the woman in the green hat about it; Addie tells God she’s sorry for taking them and apologizes to her dad’s girlfriend for it when giving the sunglasses back; The girlfriend says it’s okay and Addie feels great relief (Addie’s father is not made aware of any of this) *End of Spoilers*); Addie feels jealous and left out when her old best friend is hanging out with another girl (feeling like she’s been ditched by her “former best friend”) & also when a different girl gets more attention at camp than her (a few different scenes); A girl accuses Addie of only thinking of herself, so Addie responds with words to “bite [the girl] back” and calls her a “bossy killjoy” and says she looks forward to having a break from her over the summer (Addie thinks that saying that feels good at first, but then sees the girl’s reaction and wonders if she went too far; Addie doesn’t apologize, but tries to give a peace offering); Later, Addie gossips and talks badly about the girl to a group of others (*Spoilers* which the girl finds out about and is very hurt by Addie’s words; Addie says she didn’t mean what she said and that sometimes the girl can be bossy; Addie says they are “friends who fight sometimes, but friends” and they grow closer as the book continues *End of Spoilers*); Mentions of deaths & grief  (including Addie for her mother & a woman for her father); Mentions of stealing, stolen items, thieves, & crimes; Mentions of a divorce, a girl having to choose which parent she will live with, & parents arguing (a side character/friend of Addie’s who discusses it with her); A few mentions of a car accident & death; A few mentions of injuries, pain, & blood/bleeding; A few mentions of when Addie went outside by herself in Book 1 & got lost; A few mentions of lies, lying, & liars; A mention of World War II; A mention of cheating on a test; A mention of throwing up; 
             *Note: Having a panic attack (being unable to breathe, up to semi-detailed); Addie’s mother died a few years prior and she greatly misses her; Addie is very upset at her dad for having a girlfriend and is mad that her mom could be replaced (this leads to Addie yelling at her dad, running to her room and slamming the door (x2), feeling like her dad is keeping secrets from her, lying, stealing, and being very rude to her dad’s girlfriend and being very mad at her dad; The girlfriend continues to get to be kind to Addie and try to get to know her; *Spoilers* Towards the end, the girlfriend tells Addie that no one can replace her mom and that helps Addie’s opinion on her dad’s relationship with the woman; By the end, Addie helps her dad plan the proposal and being okay with their relationship *End of Spoilers*); Addie doesn’t want to invite her dad’s girlfriend to her birthday party (despite being told it would be nice and the right thing to do) and decides not to invite her because it’s her birthday; Addie comments that because of her peanut allergy, if she ate one she could die, but her dad says that’s “rather dramatic”; Addie breaks her school’s dress code on the last day of school by removing her tie while still on school grounds (when leaving for summer vacation; another girl tells Addie that she will get in trouble, but Addie does not); Mentions of brand names and items (LEGO, Minecraft, Mad Libs, KitKat, & Tootsie Rolls); A few mentions of FaceTime; A few mentions of singers (Benny Goodman, Muggsy Spainer, Quincy Jones); A few mentions of a book Addie starts to read (‘Animal Farm’); A few mentions of a panic attack & anxiety; A mention of Uber; A mention of a musical (‘Oliver!’); A mention of stepmothers often being villains (Addie says this because of fairytales).
 
 
Sexual Content- Seeing a couple embrace; Addie is very upset to learn her dad has a girlfriend and dislikes the woman (calling her nothing special and will not allow the woman to “shove her way” into their lives; Addie’s aunt tries to talk to her about wanting her dad to be happy and for Addie to give the woman a chance; Addie’s cousin tells her to treat the woman like a random person instead of her dad’s girlfriend, which Addie does and the day goes better; Addie still hopes they won’t last due to having a long-distance relationship; *Spoilers* Towards the end, Addie overhears her father saying he is ready to propose and Addie is incredibly hurt and upset; After a conversation with the girlfriend, Addie starts to realize that maybe she isn’t so bad and the woman isn’t trying to replace her mom; The book ends with Addie helping her dad plan the proposal and being okay with their relationship *End of Spoilers*; Mentions of girlfriends/boyfriends, dating, & dates; A few mentions of blushes (between an adult couple & Addie friend and cousin when meeting for the first time); A mention of kissing; A mention of Addie and a friend talking about boys (which ones they like and don’t like); 
             *Note: A friend straightens Addie’s “frizz[y]” hair and Addie can’t take her eyes off herself in the mirror because of it.
 
-Adelina “Addie” Brown, age 12-13
                                1^st person P.O.V. of Addie 
                                                        160 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

It’s been a while since I read the first book about Addie, so I think it would be best to read them close together because there’s not a lot of “catch up” to remind the reader of prior events and characters. Because of this, I didn’t remember the issue Addie had with a classmate, Victoria, so I was very disappointed in Addie when she spoke harsh words to her. I didn’t love Addie’s attitudes towards different topics in the beginning (how she treated some other girls, her reaction to her dad having a girlfriend, and then stealing something), but at the same time, her emotions, thought process, and overall lack of thinking did make sense because she’s hurting. She was honestly acting like a brat at times (especially towards those she didn’t like), so I was eagerly looking forward to her much-needed character development to happen. I would have personally preferred Addie to apologize for some of comments or actions, but it was good to see a change in her by the end of the book. I’m not sure if there will be a book 3 in this series and while I hope so because of the woman in the green hat and I would like to see more faith content, it was a satisfying ending for this book’s plot.

 

 

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 Publisher (10Publishing) for this honest review.

"Archer" by Quinn Knightly

About this book:

  “Raina Swiftmain can outride hunters, outfight soldiers, and do what no man can—win the trust of Raven, the savage black stallion stolen from her enemy’s keep.
    But saving a kingdom will demand more than courage. It demands trust.
    Raina carries the last clues to Andrea’s lost prince, the rightful heir hidden since birth. King Sangor wants her silenced. Regelian wants the missing royal signet ring. And the only things standing between Raina and capture are her bow, her faith, a mysterious beast… and the wilderness she knows better than any court.
    Then Torin finds her.
    He is the enemy captain who should deliver her in chains—yet every step closer to the truth reveals he has been hunting the same secret. As midsummer approaches, a coded riddle leads them toward Lionsbreath, an ancient mountain stronghold where a forgotten lie may finally be exposed. But the closer Raina rides beside Torin, the more dangerous he becomes—to her mission, her hard-won independence, and the guarded heart she can no longer afford to lose.
    In a kingdom built on blood and betrayal, one woman may hold the power to restore the crown.
    If she dares trust the wrong man.”


Series: Book #1 in the “Stallion’s Quest” series.


Spiritual Content- Scriptures are mentioned, read, & discussed; A Psalm is sung; Prayers & Thanking God; Most ’H’s are capital when referring to God; Raina feels thankful to God for saving her life, but does feel a little bitter as well because she thinks He could have made it a little easier; Halfway through the book, Raina shouts at God for letting the deaths of her parents happen and allowing evil to happen, *Spoilers* but quickly realizes that while she’s been taught about God being good her whole life, she’s also began to believe that following God would be easy, so when suffering happens, she feels like God has deserted her; She realizes she’s been wrong in thinking this and that God’s plan for her is good *End of Spoilers*; Mentions of God, Jesus Christ, His plans and will, & faiths; Mentions of prayers, praying, answered prayers, & blessings over food; A couple mentions of “the King’s Book” (The Bible); A couple mentions of those & events in the Bible; A couple mentions of sin; A mention of a blessing from Heaven; A mention of a brooch with a cross in its center; 
             *Note: Religious phrases: a ‘what on God’s green earth’ and a ‘for heaven’s sake’; Raina is told a story about a man who struggled about trusting God after the death of his younger brother and was transported into another realm/world where he sees fantasy creatures worshiping God, feels free there, and is told about rejoicing through pain and suffering (*Spoilers* He also is told about and witnesses a patch of flowers that reflect how some people will come to God and others will fade away (an allegory); He sees a young crystal horse die after not listening to it’s mother and later sees the mother still worship through her grief; He also meets a talking lamb and lion, which are implied to be God and Jesus; The lamb says he gave the mother horse the life of her son (the young crystal horse who died), but it’s life was destroyed due to not heeding it’s mother’s warning and adds that the young horse was outside of the lamb’s protection and will be remade in the lamb’s “everlasting kingdom”; The man finds healing and realizes that he only believed in the lion (Jesus) halfway; The man wakes up in the forest after this realization and prays for God to sustain him in all things *End of Spoilers*); Torin thinks of Raina looking like a angel; Raina says she lives in a “superstitious generation” and hears whispers of people talking about demons, dragons, and “the very devil himself”; Mentions of fantasy creatures like dragons & transparent crystal horses.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: an ‘idiot’ and two ‘stupid’s; Fighting, Punching/Hitting, Being hit/slapped, Being threatened with harm and death, Being trapped in mud, Injuries, Pain, Blood/Bleeding, & Passing out (up to semi-detailed); Shooting a deer for food (and seeing a large cat eat some of it; up to semi-detailed); Grief (Raina for her parents, up to semi-detailed); A man orders for a horse to be killed and gives suggestions on how to do it, but it does not happen (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of deaths & grief (including Raina for her parents, a man for his younger brother, & also the death of a baby who was said to be stillborn); Mentions of fights/fighting, weapons, injuries, pain, & blood/bleeding; Mentions of thieves & stolen horses; Mentions of prisoners, dungeons, & torture/beatings; Mentions of lies & lying; Mentions of hatred; Mentions of rumors; Mentions of hunting, blood, & skinning/preparing animals for food; A few mentions of war; A few mentions of someone being poisoned (and killed); A couple mentions of threats; A mention of public executions; 
             *Note: Mentions of a mother and child who are believed to have died in childbirth.
 
 
Sexual Content- Noticing & Staring (including muscles, up to semi-detailed); Raina is taking a bath in a river (naked) when Torin comes after her trail (he does not see anything, but it is a tense moment for her and she tries to avoid being seen); A couple mentions of blushes; 
             *Note: Raina kicks a man in a place “where it counts the most” when trying to get away from him; A friend of Raina tells her that she could easily get a man because she’s gorgeous, but perhaps wearing a dress would help with that; A mention of breeding horses.
 
-Raina Swiftmain
-Torin Hammaguard
                                1^st person P.O.V. switches between them 
                                                        235 pages
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New Teens- 

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Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

This was very different from what I was expecting—I would consider it non-magical in a knight/swords kind of setting, but there mentions of creatures like dragons and transparent crystal horses that add more of a fantasy aspect to the story. No magic is shown or mentioned in this book.

 

It was a little heavy on the play-by-play or sharing each action of the main characters, but the writing style was very unique in the way that it didn’t make it seem slow. It felt like I was with the characters and watching them from a distance, taking it all in.

 

I will note that there were a few comments that felt a little out of place for the setting (such as Torin thinking that rabbits are God’s insurance plan for him to keep from starving—would they really have knowledge of insurance in this medieval-like setting?) and a chapter about a story that was very heavy in an allegory with talking animals. I didn’t love that chapter as I found it a bit confusing and I’m not sure I fully agree with some of the theology in it, but I did enjoy the other faith content shown throughout the book. Especially the scene of Raina realize that she’s been expecting an easy life with following God when we’re not really promised that. I’ve seen a gazillion characters over the years be mad at God, but not come to that proper conclusion, so that was really good to see. 

 

Not a ton happens in this 235-paged length story in regard to the whole plot and finding the lost prince, but it was a good introduction to the world, characters, their motivations, and setting the stage for more to come about that element in the next books. Overall I enjoyed this book and would be interested in continuing the series to see what happens in the hunt for the hidden prince.

 

 

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.

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