Friday, November 28, 2014

"Honor" by Lyn Cote



About this book:

  When unexpected circumstances leave Honor Penworthy destitute after the death of her grandfather, she is forced to leave her Maryland plantation--and the slaves she hoped to free. With no marketable skills, her survival hinges on a marriage arranged through the Quaker community to artisan Samuel Cathwell. Samuel is drawn to Honor, but he has been unwilling to open his heart to anyone since scarlet fever took his hearing as a child.
   A move west brings the promise of a fresh start, but nothing in Honor's genteel upbringing has prepared her for the rigors of frontier life with Samuel. Nevertheless, her tenacity and passion sweep her into important winds of change, and she secretly becomes involved in the Underground Railroad. Samuel suspects Honor is hiding something, but will uncovering the truth confirm his worst fears or truly bring them together?


Series: Book #1 in the “Quaker Brides” series. {Book #2 “Blessing” is coming out in Summer 2015.}


Spiritual Content- Many Scriptures are quoted & Many Prayers are said; Church going; A lot about the Quaker Faith; Many talks about God (but ‘H’s are not capital); Honor has a very strong Faith; Honor prays that her anger and violence will go away & that God will forgive her for such thoughts.
*Note: a “h*llish”


Negative Content- a swear is said but not written; Kidnapping (but they’re okay—just drugged); a mention of hearing about Indian scalpings; a few fights & throws; Slave catchers & slavery are major parts of this story.


Sexual Content- not-detailed kisses, five semi-detailed kisses and a detailed kiss; Noticing & Imaging touching someone; Touching & Wanting to Touch (semi-detailed); Embraces (barely-above-not-detailed); seven mentions of a wedding night; Samuel gets jealous when another man us around Honor & basically doesn’t trust her (which Honor tells him to knock it off); a man sexually used a (slave) women which resulted in a child; a mention of slave catchers raping women slaves (it’s mentioned once in a sentence); a prostitute walks by and talks to a few men; Love, an arranged marriage, falling in love, & the emotions.  

-Honor Penworthy
-Samuel Cathwell
                                         P.O.V. switches between them.
                                              Set in 1819-1820
                                                        368 pages

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Pre Teens-
New Teens- 
(and a half)
Early High School Teens-
Older High School Teens-
*
My personal Rating-
*
{ *This was a hard book to rate…for OHS & MPR, both on boarder-line 3.5 stars and four stars.}
Wow. I’ll admit I was nervous about reading this book…especially about the arranged marriage (which normally means way more sexual content) but was pleasantly surprised that there wasn’t so much Sexual Content. Interesting enough, when you read the back cover you get the idea that “Honor” is set during the Civil War. Nope, about forty years prior. And, oh my goodness! “Honor” had such wonderful quotes! I’m already looking forward to reading the next book in this series when it’s out! :)

Quotes with my thoughts in the {{}}:
   “She’d been shunned by the living and betrayed by the dead.”

   “What a sad world sin had caused.”
{{I’ve been quoting this all this week with everything going on.}}

   “Royale’s confidence tore something inside Honor. For a moment Honor hated her white skin, hated that this woman would fear her on that basis alone.”

   “Anger tried to boil up higher inside her. She closed her eyes, praying for God’s peace. Human wrath was against the will of God and only gave Satan influence over a soul. Honor must leave these evil men to God’s justice.”


{{And my very favorite one:}}
   “’My mother is bold in her caused,” George said. “We have never had a runaway slave come to our door, but I too would help him. My mother and I were forced to leave North Carolina when we freed our slaves. The anger our former neighbors and friends turned on us told us much. When a person does what is right, it stirs the rage of those who will not turn from doing the same evil.”


See y’all next Monday with the first post of the Christmas month! ;D



*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 (Tyndale House Publishers) for this review.
 

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

"Just Between Friends" by Sandra Byrd



About this book:

  “Walking home from the beach, Lucy and Serena come upon a little dog that is hurt and lost—and has no idea tags. Lucy’s living in a “no dog allowed” cottage, and Serena’s dad is allergic. But they can’t leave the poor thing where it is! So the girls devise a temporary scheme…that could mean trouble.
   Things get even messier when they discover the dog is about to have puppies. Who will take care of all these dogs? Even more worrisome—who will pay the vet bill? Lucy and Serena decide their Diary Deed for the week is to find a solution and make it work. But the days are slipping by. Will they figure it out in time?”


Series: Book #3 of the “The Hidden Diary” series. {Read Book #1’s Review Here! and number two’s Here! There are a total of 8 books in this series.}


Spiritual Content- Matthew 18:20 is on the back of the book (Just the reference, it’s not written out there but is written out at the end of the book.); Church going & Youth Group; Prayers; A Scripture is quoted.


Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘dumb’; Some parents might object to “They had promised each other they’d do something similar—a Diary Deed—every week by Friday, no matter what trouble or adventure they came across.” (It says a couple of paragraphs before “Not getting-arrested kind of trouble, but amazing-kind-of-adventure trouble.”); Mentions of when Lucy’s parents were separated.


Sexual Content- It’s mentioned that Lucy thinks Jake is “…uh, nice.”.
             *Cover: Short skirts & shorts are worn. Lucy is smiling at (we assume) Jake while Serena is not.

-Lucy Larson, age 12
                                         P.O.V. of Lucy
                                                        108 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens- 
(and a half)

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

{ Lowered ratings for mentions of Lucy’s parents arguing & separated a few years prior. Depends on your Family’s opinion on certain things.}
To compare the first three book in the “Hidden Diary” series, “Just Between Friends” would probably be my favorite one, by just a little bit. Manly because I loved the part when it’s mentioned that the Kingsley family is hoping to adopt from China—which if you’re been reading my blog for a while, you’ll know that that’s a country near to my heart. :)
The Older High School Teens rating is lower because this whole series is “fluffy”, it's good if you’re looking for a not-depth read.  


See y’all on Friday with a new review! :) And I hope that everyone in the USA, has a Happy Thanksgiving!



*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.

Monday, November 24, 2014

"The Apothecary's Daughter" by Julie Klassen


About this book:

  Lilly Haswell Remembers Everything --- Whether She Wants To, Or Not ...
  As Lilly toils in her father's apothecary shop, preparing herbs and remedies by rote, she is haunted by memories of her mother's disappearance. Villagers whisper the tale, but her father refuses to discuss it. All the while, she dreams of the world beyond --- of travel and adventure and romance.
  When a relative offers to host her in London, Lilly discovers the pleasures and pitfalls of fashionable society and suitors, as well as clues about her mother. But will Lilly find what she is searching for --- the truth of the past and a love for the future?



Series: As of now, no.


Spiritual Content- Prayers; Church going; A couple talks about God & praying; Lilly grows in her Faith by the end of the book.
             *Note: five “h*llish”s.


Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘idiot’, a ‘stupid’ and four ‘dash it’s; Curses are said but not written; Mentions of drinking; Leeches (Ewww! Borderline semi-detailed to detailed) and Bleeding a person (barely-above-not-detailed).


Sexual Content- Three semi-detailed kisses; A urge to kiss someone; Noticing eyes & lips; Suitors & that drama; Dancing (the feelings, semi-detailed); It’s mentioned the Lilly’s mother left them for a man; a jerk tries to kiss Lilly (but nothing happens); Christina wears a dress revealing cleavage (she’s trying a new scheme to get her beau to propose); a mention that a married man has a string of mistresses; a baby was born out of wedlock; Love, wanting to fall in love, and the emotions.

-Lillian Grace “Lilly” Haswell
               P.O.V. of Lilly, Francis (starting at chapter 23 & on) and Dr. Graves (starting at chapter 31 & on).
                            Set in 1810-1815 (Prologue set in 1810, then Chapter one starts at 1813.)
                                                        411 pages

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Pre Teens-
New Teens- 
(and a half)
Early High School Teens-
Older High School Teens-
My personal Rating-
Was this a bad book? No, but it did have parts I didn’t like. With a few I did like sprinkled in. I cringed at the idea on putting leeches on someone—I’m so glad we don’t do that anymore! Some things I didn’t like (besides the Negative & Sexual content) was the drawn out choosing of a husband…it took about half the book!  


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.