Friday, May 30, 2014

"The Road to Testament" by Eva Marie Everson



About this book:

  “Ashlynne Rothschild grew up with the proverbial silver spoon in her mouth. Smart and sassy, Ashlynne expects to inherit the "Park Avenues" magazine empire. But her family has other ideas. Feeling she needs to understand the world beyond, they ship her off to Testament, North Carolina, for a little learning about life." William Decker grew up in a small town with dreams of big-city success. But when the spoiled Ashlynne falls under his authority, her big city ways aren’t so appealing. Ashlynne’s attempt at learn normal ends with a wounded spirit, while William's reach for the stars attitude ends with a wounded heart. When these two journalists go head to head, the race is on to see if either will succeed in getting what they really want.

Another bio about this book: {Mine is an Advance Readers Copy (ARC) and is different from both of these.}

“Ashlynne Rothschild never wanted to be a people person. She learned a long time ago that the more she protected herself from the details of people’s personal lives, the better off her life would be. So it comes as a surprise when she finds herself liking—if not loving—the good, God-fearing people of Testament, North Carolina, where she is sent to earn her chops as a reporter. And it is with some anxiety that she unearths a story that could turn these people against her. Beneath the picturesque setting of the Blue Ridge Mountains, secrets are buried—one secret in particular. Keeping it hidden would go against Ashlynne’s journalistic integrity, but publishing the story would hurt those she’s learned to love—even her gruff, unapproachable boss, William Decker, who harbors mysteries of his own. Ashlynne has two options: run away or expose the truth of Testament . . . whatever the cost?”


 Series: As of now, no. :(


Spiritual Content- Everyday—or almost every day—Ashlynne starts off with a devotional; Two Scriptures and with each devotional; Prayers; Talks about God & His Will; Church goin’.


Negative Content- Minor cussing including: seven ‘shoot’s (Will was trying to teach Ashlynne how to say “Shoot, I reckon.” and they repeat it many times); Drugs & Slaver play a part but are not-detailed and once semi-detailed.   


Sexual Content- Two semi-detailed kisses & a few not-detailed kisses.


-Ashlynne Rothschild
                                         P.O.V. of Ashlynne
                                                        346 pages

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 Pre Teens-
 
{It would be okay for Pre’s but see Negative & Sexual content first}



New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-


This was my first book by Eva Marie Everson I’ve read {I looked on my ‘shelves, and I own “This Fine Life” by her, just haven’t read it yet.} and it defiantly won’t be my last! It was a sweet story with a historical past.

See y’all on Monday for another 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 ARC for free from a Goodreads giveaway for this review.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

"Full Steam Ahead" by Karen Witemeyer





About this book:

  “When Nicole Renard returns home to Galveston from an eastern finishing school, she's stunned to find her father in ill health. Though she loves him, he's only ever focused on what she's "not." Not male. Not married. Not able to run their family business, Renard Shipping.
  Vowing to secure a suitable marriage partner, Nicole sets out with the Renard family's greatest treasure: a dagger personally gifted to Nicole's father by the pirate Jean Lafitte. Many believe the legend that the dagger is the source of all Renard Shipping's good fortune, though Nicole is sure her father's work ethic and honorable business practices are the keys to their success. Before she can board the steamer to New Orleans, Nicole finds her father's rivals—the Jenkins brothers—on either side of the gangplank, ready to grab her and steal the dagger. Quickly, she decides to instead travel north, to Liberty, Texas, where she can decide what to do next.
  Darius Thornton needs a secretary—someone to help him get his notes in order. Ever since the boiler explosion aboard the "Louisiana," Darius has been a man obsessed. He will do anything to stop even one more steamship disaster. The pretty young socialite who applies for the job baffles him with her knowledge of mathematics and steamships. He decides to take a risk and hire her, but he's determined her attractive face and fancy clothes won't distract him from his important research.
  The job offer comes at exactly the right time for Nicole. With what Darius is paying her, she'll be able to afford passage to New Orleans in mere weeks. But Mr. Thornton is so reclusive, so distant, so unusual. He can create complex scientific equations but can't remember to comb his hair. And his experiments are growing more and more dangerous. Still, there are undeniable sparks of attraction between them. But Nicole is leaving soon, and if she marries, it must be to a man who can manage a shipping empire. Darius certainly doesn't fit that description. And the Jenkins brothers have not given up on kidnapping Nicole and seizing the Lafitte dagger for themselves.



Series: As of now, no. :(


Spiritual Content- Romans 8:1 at the beginning; Many Prayers and Scriptures are quoted; Talks about God, His Will & trusting Him when bad things happen.  


Negative Content- In the prologue, Darius tries to save a drowning little girl, but sadly, fails and it haunts him throughout the book.


Sexual Content- a ‘wrench’; Nicole studies Darius when he’s sleeping (on the couch); Kisses (Two detailed, a semi-detailed and the rest are not-detailed)

-Nicole Renard
-Darius Thornton
                                         P.O.V. switches between them.
                                              Set in 1851 (Prologue set in 1849)
                                                        346 pages

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 Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

“Full Steam Ahead”  had me smiling & swooning like a ninny; my pulse would race when the plot thickened. I think this might be my favorite Karen Witemeyer book yet!


I'll see y'all on Friday for another 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 review.

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

"Samantha Sanderson at the Movies" by Robin Caroll


{ Did you hear? We're on Instagram ( @lindseyfrombfcg ) now! Follow to see behind the scenes and seek peeks of BFCG! }


About this book:

  “Sam Sanderson is an independent, resourceful, high-tech cheerleader. She dreams of becoming an award-winning journalist like her mother, and so she s always looking for articles she can publish in her middle-school paper (where she secretly hopes to become editor). And with a police officer for a father, Sam is in no short supply for writing material. It seemed like the perfect opportunity. When an explosive device is found in the local theater, Sam gets the lead on this developing and controversial story---controversial because the movie theater has recently come under attack by a renowned, outspoken atheist for allowing a local church to show Christian movies. Sam s police-officer father happens to be heading the investigation, and Sam can t resist doing some sleuthing of her own with the help of her best friend Makayla s techno-genius. But when Sam s theories end up being printed in the school paper, she lands in big trouble---and danger!”


Series: Book #1 in the “Samantha Sanderson” series, which is part of the “Faithgirlz” line.


Spiritual Content- 1 Timothy 4:12 is written on Sam’s Youth Group’s wall; Proverbs 22:11 and a few other Scriptures are written; Sam learns how to witness to her friend without forcing her Faith on her; Prayers are said and Sam & Makayla tell each other people they need to pray for; Sam & Makayla go to Youth Group.

 

Negative Content- Minor Cussing including: a ‘sucker’; There are mentions of drugs, divorce, bombing & hitting people, which all play a role in this book but are not-detailed


Sexual Content- N/A


-Samantha “Sam” Sanderson, age 12
                                   P.O.V. of Sam
                                                                    254 pages

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 Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-


I truly liked this book! When I first saw the cover I wasn’t so sure about it (You’d think I’d learn not to judge a book by it’s cover by now!)…the girls seemed a bit odd on the front cover but when I read the back cover—what the story was about—I thought it might be like “God’s Not Dead” (a fantastic movie, if you haven’t seen it you need to!). While reading it I relized it really isn’t like “God’s Not Dead” but a great storyline regardless. I knew I had hear of the author, Robin Caroll, after looking on my bookshelf that has some of my Pre & Teen books, I found them! The “Rock Harbor Search and Rescue” series written with Colleen Coble.  (Book #1’s, “Rock Harbor Search and Rescue”, review here! Book #2’s I have not posted yet but did read.) I can really see the writing similarities between this series and that series, but I liked this Book #1 in this series more than “Rock Harbor Search and Rescue”, which is book #1 in that series.
I really liked “Samantha Sanderson at the Movies” and can’t wait to read book #2, “Samantha Sanderson on the Scene”.



See y’all tomorrow for another new review! Did you hear? We're on Instagram ( @lindseyfrombfcg ) now! Follow to see behind the scenes and seek peeks of BFCG!

 

*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 (Zonderkidz) for this review.

Monday, May 26, 2014

"Meant to Be Mine" by Becky Wade

{ Did you hear? You can follow us on Instagram ( @lindseyfrombfcg ) to see behind the scenes and seek peeks of BFCG! }
About this book:

  “Ty Porter has always been irresistible to Celia Park. All through high school--irresistible. When their paths cross again after college--still irresistible. This time, though, Ty feels exactly the same way about Celia. Their whirlwind romance deposits them at a street-corner Las Vegas wedding chapel.
  The next morning they wake to a marriage certificate and a dose of cold reality. Celia's ready to be Ty's wife, but Ty's not ready to be anybody's husband. As a professional bull rider, he lives on the road and can't bring himself to settle down.
  Five and a half years pass. Celia's buried her dreams so that she can afford to raise her daughter. Ty's achieved all of his goals. Or thought he had, until he looks again into the face of the one woman he couldn't forget and into the face of the child he never knew he had.
  How much will Ty sacrifice to make Celia's dreams come true, to win her trust, and to prove to her that their spontaneous marriage can still become the love of a lifetime?



Series: Is book #2 in the “A Porter Family Novel” series. {I have not read book #1 “Undeniably Yours”.}

 
Spiritual Content- Ephesians 4:32 at the end; Many prayers and Three Church goings; Celia has an off-again-on-again relationship till near the end.


Negative Content- Minor Cussing including: a ‘oh my gosh’, a ‘yuppies’, a ‘crud’, two ‘heck’s, two forms of ‘suck’, three ‘w*ss’s, three forms of ‘screw’, and six ‘shoot’s; Ty drinks & has a hangover; Ty curses many times but nothing is written


Sexual Content- a ‘wrench’, two ‘hot’s, and six forms of ‘sexy’; There are hints about Ty & Celia’s shot-gun wedding night; Jerry says the best thing about his wife, Donetta, is that “she’s good in bed”; Kisses (ranging from not-detailed with a few semi-detailed and a couple very; almost every kiss gets analyzed) 


-Ty Porter
-Celia Park
                                   P.O.V. switches between them
                                                                    372 pages

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 Pre & New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating- On the border line of 2.5 and


For me, there’s a difference between swooning over the main guy and getting that weird-almost-like-butterflies-and-like-eating-way-too-much-sugar in your stomach. The latter is just something I’m not comfortable reading at my age. I also felt like this at “My Stubborn Heart” by the same author…”Meant to Be Mine” reminded me of a bigger, thicker and more detailed Love Inspired Book—and it had a Texas-accented cowboy!  


See y’all tomorrow for another new review of a book for Pre&New Teens! Follow us on Instagram ( @lindseyfrombfcg ) to see behind the scenes and seek peeks of BFCG!

Becky Wade's latest novel, Meant to Be Mine, is a keeper! 

Celebrate with Becky by entering her "Dream Come True" $200 Visa cash card prize pack giveaway and RSVP for her June 10th Facebook party!

  meanttobe-400-click 
  One winner will receive:
  • A $200 Visa cash card
  • Meant to Be Mine by Becky Wade
Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on June 10th. Winner will be announced at the Meant to Be Mine Facebook author chat party on June 10th. Connect with Becky for a fun evening of book chat, trivia, laughter, and more! Becky will also share an exclusive look at her next book and give away books, fun prizes, and gift certificates throughout the evening.

So grab your copy of Meant to Be Mine and join Becky on the evening of June 10th for a chance to connect and make some new friends. (If you haven't read the book, don't let that stop you from coming!)

Don't miss a moment of the fun; RSVP todayTell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 10th!




*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 (Bethany House) for this review.