"A Most Inconvenient Marriage" by Regina Jennings

About this book:

  “Having fled a difficult home life, Civil War nurse Abigail Stuart feels like her only friend in the world is sweet but gravely wounded patient Jeremiah Calhoun. Fearing he won't survive, the Confederate soldier's last wish is that Abigail look after his sickly sister at home. Marry him, return to his horse farm, and it'll be hers.
  Left with few choices, Abigail takes him up on his offer and moves to Missouri after his death, but just as the family learns to accept her, the real Jeremiah Calhoun appears--puzzled to find a confounding woman posing as his wife. Jeremiah is determined to have his life back to how it was before the war, but his own wounds limit what he can do on his own. Still not fully convinced Abigail isn't duping him, he's left with no choice but to let the woman stay and help--not admitting to himself she may provide the healing his entire family needs.”


Series: As of now, no.

Spiritual Content- Praising God; Prayers; Wonders of God’s opinion of the War; Scriptures are quoted.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘blasted’; Abigail is a nurse at a prison, so there’s mentions of blood & patients hurting (barely-above-not-detailed); Smoking; Smelling moonshine & alcohol.

Sexual Content- not-detailed kisses, three semi-detailed kisses, a detailed kiss and a very-detailed kiss; Almost kisses; a mention of stealing kisses; Touches & Wanting to touch (semi-detailed); Noticing & Staring; a mention of a wife’s privilege; two mentions of the intimate part of marriage; Mentions & hints of horses and their uh, mating & seasons; Abigail accidentally sees Jeremiah in his drawers (not-detailed); Love, falling in love, & the emotions. 

-Abigail Stuart

-Jeremiah Calhoun
                                         P.O.V. switches between them.

                                              Set in 1865
                                                        324 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

(and a half)

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens-

(and a half)

My personal Rating-

(and a half)

Was this a bad book? Well, no, but it wasn’t for EHST and down. It could have been a lot better. All the Sexual Content really took away from the plot. :( I do think the cover is fun, however!

See y’all on Monday 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 (Bethany House Publishers) for this review.

"The Case of the Jewel Covered Statues" by Cindy Vincent

 About this book:

  “Buckley and Bogey, Cat Detectives, find their next big case with the Buckley and Bogey Cat Detective Agency to be their most complicated ever! It all starts when someone hides a mysterious package in their Mom's antique store - in the middle of the night! Of course, the boys find it, and put it in a nice, safe place, until they can open it . . . and, find the rightful owner. But that's when a whole bunch of suspicious people show up in St. Gertrude, and every single one of them seems to be after that package! Holy Catnip! Plus, everything happens just when a priceless, jeweled statue collection goes on display at the St. Gertrude Museum. Missing from that collection are two jewel covered cat statues that disappeared almost a hundred and fifty years ago. But soon Buckley and Bogey wonder how long those statues will stay missing. Because this is one case that really keeps them on their paws! From a trip to the Museum, and to an old church for the Blessing of the Animals; and from dinosaurs to diamonds, they end up dodging shady suspects the whole time. It sure helps to have their friends with them, especially when the bad guys make a beeline for boys. That's because it becomes very clear, very quick - the priceless cat statues aren't the only cats those crooks are after! Holy Mackerel!”


Series: It is in “A Buckley and Bogey Cat Detective Caper” and is considered book #3. {I have not read Book #1 or #2, but was able to follow along easily}

Spiritual Content- A mention of a “leap of faith” when having to jump; Mentions of the human family going to church; Gracie’s piano recital is at church; Three of the cats get taken to church for the Blessings of Animals (St. Francis is talked about & quoted); Mentions of Holy Water and being Blessed.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: 49 “Holy Mackerel”s and 58 “Holy Catnip”s (including the back-cover), a ‘nit’, two ‘dumb’ and four ‘stupid’s; A couple mentions of sleeping pills; Delilah is like Cruella de Vil in the fact she talks about making different animals clothing for her to wear (which, of course, doesn’t happen).

Sexual Content- It’s hinted many times that Buckley has a crush on Princess and Bogey on Amelia…breathlessness, dizziness & stuttering happen to Buckley & Bogey when these female cats come near; Buckley & Bogey call female cats & female humans “dames”.

-Buckley the cat
                                         1^st person, uh, cat P.O.V. of Buckley
                                                        242 pages

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 Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

(and a half)

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating-

(and a half)

{Ratings didn’t get higher than a 4-star because of Negative Content}

{Add a full star for cat lovers}

I wanted to read “The Case of the Jewel Covered Cat Statues” because it’s in our target age range of BFCG. But I was hesitant because I’m not a cat lover (at. all. My daddy’s highly allergic) and I wasn’t expecting to there to be any Spiritual Content, so I was a little worried. I was pleasantly surprise that there was Spiritual Content (not as much as I would like, but still better than none). My only complaint is all the “Holy Catnips”s or “Holy Mackerel”s. Catnip and Mackerel is not holy, thankyouverymuch! This book striked me as corny at first (okay, all the way to the end) but I grew to like it better when I pictured it in my head in the style of the Aristocats movie. My favorite part was the special needs cats and them finding homes—that really made the book for me.   

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 (Whodunit) for this review.

"Hidden Agenda" by Lisa Harris

About this book:

  “Michael Hunt is alive--and on the run. Presumed dead by friends and family, the undercover assignment he's been working for the past eight months has just been blown. With a hit out on his life and corruption inside the Atlanta police department, Michael finds himself hunted by both the cartel and the law. His only hope is the daughter of the man who wants him dead.
  This nonstop chase from taut suspense writer Lisa Harris will leave readers breathless as they race to connect the dots before it's too late.”


 Series: Book three in the “Southern Crimes”. {I have not read Book #1, but have been able to follow the storyline easily with reading Book #2. Book #2’s, “Fatal Exchange”, review is Here!}

Spiritual Content- Luke 8:17 at the beginning; Prayers; Scriptures are quoted; Mentions of people from the Bible; Talks about God & trusting Him; ‘H’s are capital when talking about God.

             *Note: a “signed on with the devil”.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a “heck of a lot easier”, two ‘shoot’s and three ‘stupid’s; Blood (semi-detailed); Nightmares; Mentions of killing, murdering & dying (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of smoking; Mentions of La Sombra & how he tortures people (barely-above-not-detailed); Fist fighting (semi-detailed); The drug cartel is a major part of this story.

Sexual Content- a ‘b*st*rd’; three barely-above-not-detailed kisses and a semi-detailed kiss; Wanting to kiss; Noticing & Electricity; Touches that cause warmth; Olivia’s mother was Valez’s mistress (though he never called her that); A waitress who is a flirt; When talking to Olivia about the drug cartel, Valez says “The world I was in was as seductive as your mother.”; Love, falling in love, & the emotions.

-Olivia Hamilton

-Michael Hunt
                       P.O.V. switches between them, Ivan & Avery
                                                        304 pages

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 Pre Teens-

New Teens-

(and a half)

Early High School Teens- 

(and a half)

Older High School Teens-

(and a half)

My personal Rating-

(and a half)

{Not for squeamish girls}

This was an interesting book—I can’t say I’ve read many books about (or featuring) drug importing that aren’t historical novels. I don’t really have much to say about “Hidden Agenda” besides it kept me on my toes and was pretty good. Only thing was I wasn’t a fan of the extra Sexual content and all the murdering.   

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 Publisher (Revell) for this review.

"A Dream of Home" by Amy Clipston

About this book:

  “When she moves to Amish country to find peace and healing, Madeleine finds a special community and a special man who pull her out of her solitude into a new life.
  Moving to Pennsylvania wasn’t in Madeleine s original plans. She should still be in California and should have married her pilot fiancé a year ago but death has a way of changing everything. Now the former Air Force flight nurse is living alone in Paradise, Pennsylvania, and working as a maid at the Lancaster Grand Hotel. She isn’t exactly a widow . . . but she sure feels like one.
  Saul Beiler isn’t exactly a widower . . . but his wife is long gone. His eleven-year-old daughter, Emma, doesn’t know that her mother fled the Amish community and married another man—but she does know that her dat is lonely, and that a pretty young maedel just moved in next door. Madeline’s numb heart begins to thaw as she spends more time with the innocent and ever optimistic Emma. The stronger her friendship grows with the young girl, the more intrigued Madeline grows about the humble, strong, man raising her on his own.
  But even as a strange attraction pulls Saul and Madeleine across a stark cultural divide, they—and everybody around them—have to wonder: What could they possibly have in common besides heartache? Will love allow Madeleine to finally find the home she s been dreaming of all along?”


 Series: Book three in the “Hearts of The Lancaster Grand Hotel”. (To completely understand this novel, it’s best to read in order.) {Book #1, “A Hopeful Heart”, I have read and reviewed (with the old rating system), but looks like I’ve never posted it…Hmmm…, Book #2’s, “A Mother’s Secret”, review is Here!}  

Spiritual Content- Prayers & mentions of Prayers; Bible reading; ‘H’s are capital when referring about God; Church going; Scriptures are quoted; When her fiancé dies, Madeleine’s faith was shaken; Talks about God & His plans for us.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘stupid’ and a ‘wimpy’; Madeleine was an air force nurse & there’s some nightmares over what she saw (boarder-line barely-above-not-detailed to semi-detailed); *Spoiler* Travis, Madeleine’s fiancé, took his life when finding out that his unit bombed an orphanage. *End of Spoiler*

Sexual Content- Kisses on the forehead & cheek; A touch touches that cause warmth; a mention that Carolyn wasn’t married when she had her son (which is a part of “A Mother’s Secret”); Madeleine never knew her father; Love, falling in love, & the emotions.

-Madeleine Miller

-Saul Beiler
                       P.O.V. switches between them, Carolyn, Hannah, Lillian, Trey, Amanda & Emma
                                                        302 pages

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 Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

Ahhh. Miss Amy Clipston’s books just get better and better! “A Dream of Home” has really lead up to “A Simple Prayer” (coming April 2015), which I just can’t wait to read! I also love how Madeleine’s name is spelt! That’s all I can say for risk of spoilers! ;)

Have you seen our post about being on Mrs. Amy Clipston’s Bakery Bunch? Click Here! 

*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 (Zondervan) for this review.