"Destroy" by Tricia Mingerink

 This review has spoilers for the prior three books, please read with caution.

 

About this book:

  “Before the war, before the Blades, before the Leader…There was a boy and a scullery maid and a secret shame. One moonlit night of blood and knives destroyed their country and their lives forever. The Leader failed to die, but will he also fail to lead?”


Series: Book #3.5 in the “Blades of Acktar” series. Reviews of Book #1 Here, Book #2 Here, and Book #3 Here!


Spiritual Content- 1 Kings 3:5-9 & 4:29 at the beginning; Scriptures are read, mentioned, & remembered; Prayers; Church going; Swearing on a Bible; Talks about God, Jesus, & forgiveness; Keevan wonders if God is punishing him by taking away his looks and voice (that he used to use for luring maids into kissing him); Mentions of God, His will, trusting Him, His purpose for us, & forgiveness; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of Bibles & Bible reading; Mentions of church services & ministers, & worship; Mentions of Christians; A few mentions of those & events in the Bible; A couple mentions of blessings & being blessed; A mention of Christians being arrested.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a “what in Acktar”; A couple lies (to protect one’s feelings); Fighting, Being stabbed and nearly killed, Intense pain, Major injuries/wounds, Blood/Bleeding, & Passing out (semi-detailed); Seeing bodies, major injuries/wounds, blood, & someone nearly dying due to a slit throat (up to semi-detailed); Grief (for parents and siblings, up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of deaths, assassinations, assassins, dead bodies, grief (including for parents and siblings), injuries/wounds, & lots of blood/bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of wars & battles; Mentions of executions & prisons; Mentions of torture, beatings, & whippings; Mentions of criminals, thieves, stealing, & arrests; Mentions of passing out; Mentions of alcohol, drinking, & a tavern (including Keevan and a brother drinking together previously); Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of throwing up; A few mentions of hatred; A mention of eavesdropping; 
             *Note: Keevan has moments of PTSD after the assassination attempt when others try to touch his neck; Keevan thinks it would have been better if one of his brothers would have survived rather than him.
 
 
Sexual Content- a hair kiss, a cheek kiss, a border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed kiss, and a semi-detailed kiss (with asking permission first & being careful not to lose himself in it and have self-control); Staring a lips (and trying not to); Blushes; Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, Nearness (most with asking permission first, barely-above-not-detailed); The book starts with Keevan being caught kissing a maid (noting that he had let himself go “too far”, wasn’t thinking, and feels ashamed of his actions) and thinks he would have stopped before he hurt her, yet knows that wasn’t true because the girl was crying and telling him to stop, but he only focused on the “pounding of his pulse” and ignored her no because his desires were telling him yes; Keevan knows he messed up and his uncle is firm with him about his poor actions, but his father waves it aside with the phrase “boys will be boys”; Keevan wants to be better which includes trying to avoid looking or staring at Addie’s body in moments where her dress shows her body (and chest) in a way she is unaware of (x3); *Spoilers* Keevan wonders if he could have a girl like Addie be in love with him (despite her knowing his past) and while he has done his best to treat all women with honor, he wonders if he could find out what it means to love a woman as God intended; After a discussion about his past and forgiveness, he asks Addie if they could be more than just friends and if he could court her with the intention of marriage; Towards the end, Keevan meets with the maid from the beginning and apologizes to her; She still lives with the memories of that time, but had forgiven him *End of Spoilers*; Mentions of kisses & kissing; Mentions of princes luring maids into closets to kiss them; A few mentions of kisses going “too far”; A few mentions of avoiding temptation (with God’s help); A couple mentions of flirting; A couple mentions of attraction (between a married couple); Love, falling in love, & the emotions.
 
-Adelaide “Addie” Croft
-Keevan Eirdon, age 17-22 (?)
                                P.O.V. switches between them 
                                                        216 pages
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

Prior to reading this book, I was nervous about it due to a sample I had randomly read of the beginning. We’re introduced to a young prince who has skimped on his responsibilities and focused on what pleases him—even if that’s at the cost of harming innocents and forcing kisses on maids. I knew this author would handle this topic carefully and with great faith and character development after reading the previous books in this series. And I was right, she definitely did. But I’m still going to give a warning for this book because of the book opening with a sexual assault.

 

I think the author did really well highlighting the change in Keevan. It didn’t feel like a 180-change because we only saw parts of the change from different times: the start, five months later, a few months later, two years later, and then another two years later. Each time there more and more growth from him regarding his past choices that hurt others, including young women he took advantage of. He continues to feel guilt and shame over those past actions. There’s three scenes that particularly stood out to me about his change: Him guarding his thoughts and eyes when Addie accidentally shows him more of herself than she knows she is. He is very cautious about Addie and does not want to hurt her or fall back to his old self. That desire to be good and honorable—especially towards her—helped my views on him immensely.  

 

We cover almost five years in this book—before the first book started and all the way through to the third book in the series. Just with a main character difference, which adjusts many things in this Book #3.5 story. Going into this book, I didn’t particularly care about learning more about Keevan (mainly because I didn’t care for his attitude in Book #3), but I found myself interested in seeing his change and I thought Addie was sweet. 

 

While I haven’t finished this series yet, I don’t think this book is necessarily to read per se—at least, I don’t think so having after only reading the first three books. You would definitely have to read those first before this one or you would be completely lost, but at this point, it’s not 100% necessary because this character is really only introduced in Book #3 and this is his story. It was interesting to see the perspective change on different events from the prior books, but it’s not a book I can personally highly recommend because of the sexual assault implications. Some older readers might not be bothered by it and I think the author handled the character’s regret very well, but I still want to give a heads-up on that content.

 

 

 

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.

"A Lady's Handbook to Gadgets and Guile" by Angela Bell

About this book:

  “Ambulatory wheelchair user Margaret Kingsley secretly crafts gadgets for the Daughters of Genius Society, a covert team of lady inspectors disguised as harmless bluestocking spinsters. While her fellow inspectors gallivant about London solving crimes, Margaret has been perfectly content assisting from the sidelines--until her expertise is needed to infiltrate the domain of London's most prolific inventor, Alvan T. Harrison.
    Charles Noble sacrificed his career as a musician to support his family after his father's stroke. Now he balances ledgers as a secretary by day and tends his disabled father by night, until taking a temporary job as event coordinator for a famous inventor commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of his mechanical empire. As strange occurrences surface, Charles's event planning collides with Margaret's case, and the pair must unravel a plot of sabotage against the inventor's legacy while also investigating the sparks of attraction between them.”


Series: A spin-off/sequel to “A Lady’s Guide to Marvels and Misadventure”; Also considered to be Book #1 in its own series, “Daughters of Genius Society”. 


Spiritual Content- A few Scriptures are mentioned & thought over; Prayers & Thanking God; Praising God through hymns and worship; Talks about God, Him being our Sustainer, & giving Him our pain; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Mentions of God, His creation, & Him sustaining us; Mentions of prayers, praying, & thanking God; Mentions of hymns & worshiping God; A couple mentions of a meeting being an “occurrence of providential orchestration”; A mention of the rapture; 
             *Note: Mentions of Cupid’s arrow making someone smitten; A mention of being lucky.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘balderdash’, a ‘by jove’, a ‘drat’, a ‘dumb’, a ‘gah’, a ‘pah’, a ‘shoot’, a ‘stars above’, a ‘what in blazes’, two ‘botheration’s, two forms of ‘dashed/dash it all’, two ‘idiot’s, two ’shut up’s, and nine ‘stupid’s; A mention of a curse (said, not written); Margaret exclaims “rusted cogs” (x4) and “great gadgets” (x17); Charles often exclaims composers’ names in place of typical phrases (such as “Bach and Beethoven”, “Hummel help me”, “Great Gustav Mahler”, and “what in the Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart”); Side characters say exclamations based off of their interests (such as a woman who likes plants saying “oh my morels” and “cremini”; Margaret also says ‘what in the ever-loving kitty cats’); Charles and his brother call each other names when bantering (teasing, not mean-spirited); When undercover, Margaret does lie or withhold the truth a few times; Eye rolling; Being attacked, Fighting, Injuries, & Pain (including pain due to chronic pain and old injuries; up to semi-detailed); Mentions of deaths & grief; Mentions of wars, battles, deaths, & grief for fallen friends (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a father having a stroke & his injuries (including being paralyzed on one side and losing the ability to speak; Charles’ father); Mentions of an accident, serve injuries, pain, & blood/bleeding; Mentions of a woman being committed to an asylum by her husband & others planning to rescue her; Mentions of kidnappings/abductions & hostages; Mentions of thefts, thieves, stealing, & stolen items; Mentions of threats & blackmail; Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of injured animals; A few mentions of arrests & prison; A few mentions of embezzlement; A few mentions of eavesdropping; A couple mentions of lies & lying; A couple mentions of alcohol & drinking; A mention of a drunk pirate; A mention of cigars; A mention of throwing up; 
             *Note: A panic attack and unable to breath or focus (Charles, up to semi-detailed); Due to an accident in her childhood, Margaret is afflicted with chronic pain and feels like a burden on her parents (often thinking of herself as a burden, useless, and deals with guilt over it all, but tries not to allow her thoughts to wallow in bitterness); *Spoiler* Margaret mentions this feeling to Charles and he tells her to talk to her parents about these feelings as they probably do not feel the same way that she does and are grateful she is alive; She talks to her parents a bit later about this and feeling like she is a burden, but they firmly tell her that she is not a burden and is their most precious treasure *End of Spoilers*; Margaret dislikes being called or treated as an “invalid” or a “cripple”; Margaret recalls hurtful words from a childhood friend’s mother about her injury and hasn’t allowed any of her new friends to find out the extent of her pain since then (as she is concerned that they would find her eventually leave her as well if they knew); Margaret overhears two young boys talking about her and her disability like she can’t hear them, which hurts her; Mentions of musicians/composers (Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Debussy, Franz Listz, Gilbert and Sullivan, Gustav Mahler, Handel, Haydn, Hector Berlioz, Herman Bemberg, Hummel, Humperdinck, Johann Pachelbel, Joseph Bologne, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Paganini, Richard Wagner, Scarlatti, Schubert, Spafford, Strauss, Tchaikovsky, Verdi, Vivaldi, & Wette); Mentions of and references to different authors & fictional characters (Jane Austen, Pepper Basham, Toni Shiloh, Wilkie Collins, Jaime Jo Wright, Edgar Allen Poe, Jules Verne, Sharon Hinck, & Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Elizabeth Gaskell, & Louisa May Alcott); A few mentions of ballets (Swan Lake); A few mentions of panic attacks; A couple mentions of miscarriages and a couple suffering losses; A mention of an artist (Henriëtte Ronner-Knip); A mention of some men believing that the female mind is “incapable” of inventing something.
 
 
Sexual Content- A fingers-to-lips touch, a hand/fingers kiss, a forehead kiss, and two barely-above-not-detailed kisses; Staring at lips (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches, Hand holding, Flutters, Nearness, & Smelling (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Blushes, Flirting, & Winks; Noticing & Staring (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of blushes & winks; A few mentions of chaperones; A couple mentions of a married couple kissing; A mention of flirting; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: Margaret thinks of herself as a “damaged good” that no man would care to buy (because of her injury); A few mentions of a woman possibly not being able to have biological children due to an injury (*Spoiler* Margaret *End of Spoiler*); A mention of buxom woman.
 
-Margaret Kingsley, age 30
-Charles Noble, age 30
                                P.O.V. switches between them 
                                         Set in 1895-1896
                                                        336 pages
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

After reading “A Lady’s Guide to Marvels and Misadventure” twice and greatly enjoying it both times, I’ve been eagerly awaiting the next book by Angela Bell. The blurb and cover for this book had me so curious and so excited about meeting Margaret. Which was multiplied by about a hundred when I started reading and found out that Margaret is the daughter of Clara and Theodore from this first book! This may have been obvious to some astute readers if you notice her last name, I was taken by surprise and so happy about it! It was so wonderful to see those two again as they are one of my favorite couples of all-time and it was so special to meet their daughter. 

 

In fact, there were some Easter Eggs from not only that book but other clever hints (my favorite was “The Aristocats” nod!) that made me tickled pink while reading and smile at finding them!

 

Margaret was a lovely girl who I wish I could give a big (but gentle) hug to; due to her chronic pain, she faces challenges that many wouldn’t think twice about completing. Washing her face, getting dress, and daily tasks can be too much and require assistance from family members. I do not have personal experience in chronic pain, but I have dear family and friends who do, and this book helped me understand a little bit more of some of the things they have to handle on a daily basis. Despite all of this, Margaret is a dear. Her faith was the best—okay, if I’m being fully honest, second best part of this book because I adored seeing Clara and Theodore the most—part of this book because of how she still worships the Lord through her pain and weakness. She could have easily continued to be mad at God for the accident that stole her mobility and health, but she praises Him through it and I just loved that major element to this book. So, maybe seeing my favorite couples again and the faith content are tied overall for my favorite thing about this book. 😉

 

Margaret’s group of friends reminded me of some friend groups from Jen Turano’s books—particularly “The Bleecker Street Inquiry Agency” series. I did have to make use of the search feature a few times to keep them all straight, which helped a lot in that regard. 

 

Our Male Main Character, Charles, was also a dear. He turned away from his promising music career to take care of his family after his father’s stroke. I personally related to his story a little more after taking care of my mother and loved seeing the parts of him with his family. I understood his anxiety and introvert nature so well and thought him and Margaret were wonderful for each other. He was completely like a smitten schoolboy over Margaret. This is absolutely not a complaint because I love it when the Male Main Character is smitten with his girl. That will always be a favorite trope of mine, especially with the two of them being friends first before being anything more. He instantly fell for her, but it felt so sweet and precious. One thing I would have liked to see more of would have been more faith content and conversations in his parts, but overall, I great appreciated that both main characters had strong faiths in Jesus Christ. That’s not always super common in Christian Fiction books and stands out to me when I read a book with both main characters/both halves of the couple having a faith—Margaret and Charles were great in this regard. 

 

“A Lady’s Handbook to Gadgets and Guile” felt a little more like a fantastical historical book than I would say “A Lady’s Guide to Marvels and Misadventure” did was due to all of Margaret’s inventions. While that one had a flying machine that looked like a giant owl, this book had more steam-powered and unique products. It’s not purely historical because of these clever ideas and items, so go into this story expecting some interesting inventions. 

 

The verdict? Precious. Heartwarming. I want a group hug with all of these characters. While I don’t think any spin-off book can top the original book, this was a lovely companion story with lovable characters. I look forward to seeing what will happen next in this series! I also plan to listen to the audiobook version of this sequel with my mom as she greatly enjoyed “A Lady’s Guide to Marvels and Misadventure” when we listened to it together last year. I look forward to revisiting this book and all the characters soon!

 

 

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.

"Forever Settled in My Heart" by Laurie Salisbury

About this book:

  “Summer is supposed to be fun, but things have never been worse for eight-year-old Jack Bolton and his nine-year-old sister, Emma. Spending the summer with grandparents he has never met is not Jack's idea of fun. And Grandpa bringing horses to the farm has Emma sick with fear. The siblings remember Dad saying, “We can trust God to bring us through anything,” but they are finding it hard to believe God's promises with Mom and Dad so far away. His promises must be Forever Settled in their hearts.”


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


Spiritual Content- Each chapter starts with a Scripture that is also usually discussed in the chapter as well; In a bonus chapter at the end of the book, the author shares about Jesus and a prayer to pray to welcome Him into your heart; A few Scriptures are quoted, mentioned, prayed, discussed, & thought over; Prayers & asking God about what a Scripture means; Praising & Thanking God; Witnessing to someone & hearing that person invite God into her heart; Talks about God, trusting Him, praying, & fear; Most ‘H’s are not capital when referring to God; Jack starts to read his Bible in the morning, but then begins to rush through it or skip it because of excitement about something else which *Spoilers* causes his attitude to become troublesome and his grandmother talks to him about it; Jack feels the Holy Spirit speaking to his heart about reading the Bible *End of Spoilers*; Jack learned that it was okay to just read the Bible a little at a time and listen for God to explain it & also that it was okay to talk to God like he talks to a friend; Mentions of God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, God keeping His promises, & trusting Him; Mentions of Bibles & Bible reading; Mentions of prayers, praying, & answered prayers; A few mentions of a church, church going, & services; A mention of miracles. 
 

Negative Content- A bit of eye rolling; Jack thinks of his sister as “bossy” once and snaps at her; When very disappointed, Jack says he hates being with his grandparents and then has an important realization about the meaning of a Scripture which fixes his attitude; Emma hates being on the farm due to her fear of large animals and getting hurt by them which makes her sob over being there (*Spoiler* Her grandmother talks to her about this and she is not fearful by the end of the book *End of Spoiler*); Emma and Jack are told by their grandmother that they must obey them right away without complaining and while they both say they will, Emma wonders if Jack can do that; *Spoiler* Shortly after, Jack doesn’t follow the rule of staying close to the house, so he and Emma are punished with an extra chore; Jack realizes after praying about it that he was wrong and apologizes to his grandparents *End of Spoilers*; Halfway through, Jack starts to get a bad attitude about helping around the farm and *Spoiler* it is due to him skipping his Bible reading and prioritizing something above God; His grandmother talks to him about this and he tries to do better *End of Spoiler*; Jack is concerned that he might get a “beating with a leather strap” from his grandfather if he misbehaved (this is a misunderstanding and does not happen); Mentions of a car accident, injuries, & a grandmother being in the hospital (but will be okay); A couple mentions of a fire; A couple mentions of jealousy (including Jack towards a girl who lives on a farm & Emma wishing she had a girl’s curly hair).
 
 
Sexual Content- N/A.
 
-Emma Warren, age 9
-Jackson “Jack” Warren, age 8
                                P.O.V. switches between them 
                                                        155 pages
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

I was a little surprised that this book didn’t follow the twins from the first book of the series. It follows two new characters, Jack and Emma, as they visit their grandparents who they haven’t seen much. It looks like most of the rest of the book in the series will follow this new sibling duo. 

 

While there were a few typos here and there, it overall a good story with strong faith content and our main characters learning good lessons. I think a few conversations might be a little unrealistic for the ages of our main characters, but perhaps it will cause young readers to think about what they are saying and grow from the characters' experiences as well.  :)

 

 

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.

"A Pet Project" by Stephanie Coleman

About this book:

  “When a young woman knocks on the door asking for Harriet Bailey-Knight's late uncle, Harriet and her aunt Jinny are pulled into an unexpected mystery. Uncle Dom's friend, Joshua, had started a boutique pet food company with a partner years before. However, five years into their new enterprise, Joshua's partner accused him of embezzling money. Desperate for help, Joshua reached out to Dom, but tragedy struck—Joshua died before he could clear his name. Now Joshua's daughter, Anna Grace, desperately wants to discover the truth of what happened when she was a child. Harriet determines to help Anna Grace find the answers she seeks.
    Meanwhile, Harriet gets a surprise request to step up as the lead vet for the annual puffin festival in Yorkshire. She's thrilled about the request, but not everyone is. Zoe, the assistant wildlife vet, claims Harriet isn't qualified. When an injured puffin is found, can Harriet and Zoe set aside their differences to help the animal?”


Series: Book #21 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, Book #14, Book #15, Book #16, Book #17, Book #18, Book #19, and Book #20!


Spiritual Content- Colossians 3:13 at the beginning; Prayers; Church going; Mentions of God, His creation, & showing grace to others; Mentions of prayers, praying, thanking God, & blessings over food; Mentions of churches, church going, pastors, sermons, services, & hymns; A few mentions of blessings & being blessed; A couple mentions of books of & those in the Bible; A mention of Bible reading; A mention of a godly man; A mention of a parent being concerned about his adult child who walked away from the faith; 
             *Note: Mentions of luck & being lucky; A mention of a “heavenly bite” of food.
 

Negative Content- Mentions of deaths & grief (including a woman for her husband, a young woman for her father, & a woman for her dog); Mentions of embezzlement, accusations of stealing/fraud, crimes, & thieves; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of pubs; Mentions of deaths of animals (dogs) and grief, injured or sick animals, & Harriet’s veterinary clinic treatments (including animals in pain, having tumors/lumps, fleas, surgeries, and vaccinations being mentioned; barely-above-not-detailed); A few mentions of manipulation; A mention of a restaurant burning down (Book #19); A mention of a divorce/separation; A mention of a child eavesdropping on her parents; A mention of a dog being hit by a car (but will be okay); 
             *Note: Mentions of car brands; A few mentions of books (Narnia).
 
 
Sexual Content- a forehead kiss, six not-detailed kisses, and three barely-above-not-detailed kisses; Some touches, embraces, & hand holding (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of married couples having dates; A few mentions of girlfriends/boyfriends, dating, & break-ups; A mention of a crush; 
             *Note: As a note for parents of younger readers interested in this series, there are a couple references to Harriet and her husband sharing a bed at night, but there is nothing sexual hinted at in those scenes.
 
-Harriet Bailey-Knight
                                P.O.V. of Harriet 
                                                        256 pages
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

This was a great book in this series! It was well balanced between the animal parts with the puffins (loved hearing and learning about those especially) and then the mystery with the pet food company. I’ll admit that some parts showing a pet owner grieving her dog were hard for me to read as I relate to it, but other than those sad moments, I did really enjoy the book. The pacing was good and the light romance between Harriet and her husband was very sweet as well. It will be sad to say goodbye to this series next month when I review the final book in the series!

 

 

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.