Friday, October 30, 2015

"The Gift" by Wanda E. Brunstetter



About this book:

  “Not everyone thinks Leah has a gift…
  Leah Mast and her family have always considered her to have a healing touch and a special gift for reflexology—treating people’s ailments by massaging certain places on their feet. But others scoff at the notion saying that the very idea of curing people of illness through their feet is absurd.
  Adam Beachy is one of those scoffers, even though his own mother used to practice reflexology. And then she left the Amish faith and walked out on her family, leaving his father to rise Adam and his sister alone. Now Adam mocks reflexology and balks at the idea of ever marrying and starting a family of his own.
  When tragedy strikes, Adam is suddenly a father figure to his nieces. He finds himself needing a wife—immediately. Despite their differences, Leah seems the best option to fill that role. Can they hope to find peace and love in a modern-day marriage of convenience?”


Series: Book #2 in “Prairie State Friends” series. (Review of #1, “The Decision”, Here!)


Spiritual Content- Isaiah 30:15 at the dedication (& quoted three times later); Quite a few Scriptures are quoted; A bit of Bible reading; Mentions of those in the Bible; Prayers & mention of prayers; Talks about God & His creation; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Mentions of Church & Off-Sundays; Cora hasn’t trusted God since she was a young girl *Spoiler* She asks forgiveness near the end. *End of Spoiler*;
*Note: Adam calls reflexology “hocus-pocus” many times.


Negative Content- Minor cussing including: three forms of ‘stupid’ and four forms of ‘dumb’; A bit of sarcasm; Jared talks back & is mouthy to his mother; A few mentions of blood, a mean groundhog & dog with the groundhog’s carcass; Mentions of divorce; Cora left her first husband; Someone dying (barely-above-not-detailed).


Sexual Content- A barely-above-not-detailed kiss; Married couples kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches (barely-above-not-detailed); Noticing; Cora’s husband left her for a young woman, after he cheated on her; Mentions of his unfaithfulness; A mention of being married in the physical sense; A mention of wanting more; Two mentions of sharing a bed; Mentions of being a wife in name only; A marriage of convenience; Love, talks about love & sharing love, falling in love & the emotions.

-Leah Mast, age 25
-Adam Beachy, age 29-30
                            P.O.V. switches between them, Cora, Sara (7x), Elaine (5x), Priscilla (3x), Jonah (3x), and Dianna (2x)
                                                        318 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

I really didn’t like the first book in this series due to the serious plot & sadness in it. Seeing those characters again, felt awkward to me. Especially with how this one ended. I’m not happy with the ending at all. I had a feeling those plot twists would be coming, but I was so hoping I would be wrong! *sigh* This book could have gotten a bit of a higher rating from me had it not played out how it did. The reflexology and humming bird parts were pretty neat, but I wish the cover had shown a humming bird (and two more girls) on it. Overall, it was very clean for a marriage of convenience, which was nice. :)


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 Author for this honest review.

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

"Gospel Formed" by J. A. Medders



About this book:

  “A call to Christians to be caught up in the powerful whirlwind that is the gospel of grace
  Christianity is based on the foundation of the good news of the gospel. Yet how many Christians truly find their identity there? How many are thriving in a community clinging to the gospel? How many forget about the wondrous glory of Jesus? J. A. Medders is on a mission to help Christians remember that the power that raised Jesus from the dead is also the power for our everyday life in Christ.
  Yet living a gospel-centered life does not always come easily. The biblical meditations in Gospel Formed help to kindle, or rekindle, the passion to live a grace-addicted, truth-filled, Jesus-exalting life by constantly driving the reader back to the power of the cross and the empty tomb. Funny, punchy, and theologically accessible, readers will be encouraged, challenged, and ultimately reoriented to the true North of Christianity―Christ Himself.”


Series: Non-fiction


Spiritual Content- Over 500 Scriptures from title page to back-cover are quoted, mentioned or referenced (Many are repeated); H’s are not capital when referring to God or Jesus; All about God, Jesus, & the Gospel; Prayers; Hymns are written & mentioned; Many mentions of those in the Bible;
*Note: a mention of alien power.


Negative Content- Minor cussing including: an ‘idiot’, a ‘shoot’, a ‘sucker’, a ‘yeesh’, two ‘dumb’s, four forms of ‘stupid’; A couple mentions of divorce; A few mentions of drinking & alcoholics; A story of someone who committed suicide (no details); Bug stories (semi-detailed and somewhat gross);
             *Note: A mention of Lady Gaga.


Sexual Content- The author calls his wife ‘babe’ twice; A couple mentions of eating disorders; A mention of labeling another Christian a homosexual; A couple mentions of a man listing & drooling over women; A mention of a teenager who’s addicted to porn; A mention of the naked man in Luke 8; A mention of honoring Jesus in the bedroom (Hebrews 13:4 is referenced); A mention that the Gospel goes into every part of life—including s*x; A quote from C.S. Lewis mentioning “a strip-tease act—that is, to watch a girl undress on stage.”.

Non-Fiction
                                                       200 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

Author J. A. Medders makes many fantastic points in “Gospel Formed”. He got me thinking, and there was parts that I needed to read. I personally capitalize the ‘H’s when referring to God & Jesus, so I did write in the book, “fixing” those. ;) I liked how the author did all the Scriptures in ESV, as that’s very close to my favorite, NAS.


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 (Kregel Publications) for this review.