"Beneath His Silence" by Hannah Linder

About this book:

  “Will Seeking Justice Lead to Her Own Demise?
    A Gothic-Style Regency Romance from a Promising Young Author
    Second daughter of a baron—and a little on the mischievous side—Ella Pemberton is no governess. But the pretense is a necessity if she ever wishes to get inside of Wyckhorn Manor and attain the truth. Exposing the man who killed her sister is all that matters.
    Lord Sedgewick knows there’s blood on his hands. Lies have been conceived, then more lies, but the price of truth would be too great. All he has left now is his son—and his hatred. Yet as the charming governess invades his home, his safe cocoon of bitterness begins to tear away.
    Could Ella, despite the lingering questions of his guilt, fall in love with such a man? Or is she falling prey to him—just as her dead sister?”


Series: As of now, no. 


Spiritual Content- Scriptures are read; Bible reading; Ella doesn’t care what God thinks of her because she doesn’t know if there really is a God, that she was repulsed that her father had turned to “such weakness” on his deathbed, & hasn’t seen proof of God (which Henry tells her that she just hasn’t looked and that gets her wondering); Ella doesn’t want to say prayers out-loud with a child, thinking that he’s been taught foolishness; *Spoiler* About halfway, Ella truly starts wondering about God and then a bit later prays to God, saying she believes in Him *End of Spoiler*; Henry has a faith after going through terrible events, but sometimes feels like there’s too much guilt between himself and Heaven (he wonders if God has forgiven him); A vicar aims a gun at someone saying that he is performing the will of the Lord (he says that is won’t be easy as he’s a man of the cloth and it could destroy his congregation, *Spoiler* but does not end up shooting him *Spoiler*); Many prayers; Many talks about God, seeing proof of Him, & faiths; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Many mentions of God, faiths, praying, & forgiveness; Mentions of Bibles & Bible reading; Mentions of churches, church going, & a vicar (who is said to spent half the time trying to convert Ella and the other half trying to win her heart); Mentions of sins; A few mentions of Heaven; 
             *Note: Phrases like “in the name of everything holy”, “for mercy’s sake”, & “in heaven’s name” are used up to a couple times each; Ewan tells Henry to “go to the devil” when mad at him & tells a group “the devil with all of you”; Henry believes a curse has been placed on his house and him after his wife’s death & mentions of it; Ewan thinks that God Himself is ordaining a punishment (but is actually his own plan); Ewan says that a deceased person still talks to him (he is mentally unwell); Ella isn’t one who adores children, thinking that they are “strange and devilish creatures if the village urchins are any indication”; Someone calls Ella an “uncouth little devil” after she talks back to someone in a higher status than her; A nightmare about hellfire and hearing “sleep of death” said; A couple mentions of a woman being called a goddess; A couple mentions of a rumored ghost; A mention of a prison/locked room being called a man’s “demon chambers”; A mention of a man being like a “mad, devilish creature”; A mention of rats being “fearsome little devils”; A mention of guilt being a demon; 

 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘bloody’, a ‘bloody-well’, a ‘blooming’, a ‘stupid’, a ‘why the deuce’, two ‘blasted’s, two forms of ‘dash it all’, two forms of ‘what the—‘, three forms of ‘what/why/who the devil’, six forms of ‘dash’, and twenty-one forms of ‘biddy’; Mentions of curses (said, not written); Being threatened with a gun (thrice), seeing someone shot and killed, being shot, shooting at someone (self-defense), pain, blood/bleeding, & passing out (up to semi-detailed); Setting a fire, being locked in a fire set on fire, panic, & pain (semi-detailed); Fighting, Being hit, Being choked, Pain, & Blood/Bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Helping a those on a shipwreck, being caught in the waves, seeing bodies, & passing out (up to semi-detailed); Being thrown off a horse & pain (up to semi-detailed); Nightmares (up to semi-detailed); *Spoiler* Ewan kidnaps Peter (Henry’s son) to have Henry become all alone like him & also sets fire to Ella’s room after locking her in there (semi-detailed) *End of Spoiler*; Ella believes that Henry murdered her sister/his wife; Henry threats a man by grabbing his throat (barely-above-not-detailed); Ewan gambles, drinks alcohol, & throws up (*Spoiler* Including Ewan gambling Peter (a young boy) away and the man who “won” him using him for ransom for money and Ella (he tells her that he killed the boy, but did not) *End of Spoiler*); Ella hides her true identity from Henry and both Ella & Henry lie a couple times; Henry did not have his mother’s love growing up and is sadden by the fact his son won’t as well (Henry struggles to forgive his mother for her leaving/disappearance); When something is destroyed, Ella thinks that her mother was right in her endless scolding about Ella’s recklessness; Many, many mentions of Ella’s sister’s murder, her trying to find out what really happened, the murderer, & Ella wanting revenge on the murderer (up to semi-detailed, *Major Spoiler* It turns out her sister was having an affair with her husband’s brother and was accidentally shot by Henry (who feels guilt and grief over this) when he confronted her and the brother (Henry says he was so angry that he almost wanted to kill his brother and asks God why the gun went off) *End of Spoiler*); Mentions of someone who wants to kill himself, but is locked up so that doesn’t happen (he is not mentally well most of the time after the death of a loved one) & him wanting to make someone else suffer, *Spoiler* Henry’s brother and Ewan wants Henry to suffer *End of Spoiler*, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a shipwreck, deaths, bodies, injuries, & blood/bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of the possibility of being murdered; Mentions of ransom; Mentions of gunshots, being shot, getting the bullet out, fights/being hit, blood/bleeding, injuries, & pain (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of fires, smoke, & injuries (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of crimes & criminals; Mentions of alcohol, drinking, & taverns; Mentions of gambling & debts; Mentions of hatred (including Henry and Ewan towards their mother); Mentions of lies, lying, liars, & deceit; Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of nightmares; A few mentions of wars & injuries; A few mentions of throwing up; A few mentions of smoking & cigars; A few mentions of hunting; A couple mentions of bribes (including someone thinking that a constable is taking them); A couple mentions of jealousy; A mention of eavesdropping; A mention of a possibly injured horse.
 
 
Sexual Content- Two hand kisses, two cheek kisses, a jaw kiss, a barely-above-not-detailed kiss, and three semi-detailed kisses; Staring at someone’s lips; Touches, Dancing, Nearness, & Smelling (up to semi-detailed); Blushes; Noticing (including a brief mention of a bit of chest hair, barely-above-not-detailed); *Major Spoiler* Ella’s sister (Henry’s wife) had more than one affair with his brother and they had a child together (which she kept who was the biological father a secret from both Henry and Ewan; Henry believes that the child is his); Ewan had “a thrill” in taking Lucy away from his brother and gaining her love without Henry knowing; In Lucy’s diary, it’s said that Henry did not give his heart to her (he married her out of social obligation) and was aloof to her; A couple mentions of their secrets nights of love that was “wild and forbidden” with passion *End of Spoiler*; A man tries to get Ella to warm his bed and go with his to a room by threatening to kill her if she doesn’t & *Spoiler* later asks for her as part of a ransom deal (which Henry is strongly against her being a part of it, but Ella sneaks out and Henry saves her before anything happens.) *End of Spoiler*; For the first third of the book, Henry doesn’t like interacting with women because he knows what they want (marriage) when they try to brush up against him (he later says he “wants” Ella but catches himself); Mentions of couples sharing beds (married and an affair); Mentions of kisses, hand greeting kisses, & embraces; Mentions of touches, smelling, & blushes; A few mentions of a mother possibly disappearing with another man (leaving her husband and children); A couple mentions of reputations & compromising someone; A couple mentions of flirts & flirting; A couple mentions of jealousy; A mention of a maid’s scandal; Love, falling in love, & the emotions.
 
-Ella Pemberton, age 22
-Henry Sedgewick 
                                P.O.V. switches between them & Ewan
                                            Set in 1814 (Epilogue in 1815)
                                                        320 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

All I need to hear is “clean regency mystery” and I’m excited to read the story. Which is what happened when I first heard about this new novel. To be honest, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would and that’s possibly because I hyped it up in my head prior to reading it. It’s a bummer, unfortunately, and I have mixed feelings on this book. :( 

Some things I liked: The faith content was strong throughout the story and very realistic for what the characters were going through; I particularly liked seeing Ella’s development in that regard. I liked the writing style and would definitely try another book by this author. That we see both Ella and Henry’s point of view, because if we only saw her POV, then we probably would have hated him with her in the first half of the story. (He’s dealing with his own grief and guilt over the past events, but doesn’t share his emotions with anyone else.)

What I wasn’t a big fan of: The suggestions of a creepy man towards Ella and him trying to force her to go with him into a room. The last 30% or so of the story felt very melodramatic, and while, yes, there was a lot happening, I can’t pin-point exactly what displeased me on this (part of it was partially because of someone who’s mentally ill being a villain-like figure). Henry believing in a curse on him, even though that’s not of God. Henry was interested in Ella, knowing that she didn’t believe in God and didn’t share his faith (that part is quickly resolved, but I would have preferred Henry to be at least somewhat hesitate towards her because of that). The vicar was an odd side plot. The angst of Henry and Ella’s feelings, particularly when the reveal of identities happened. There felt like there were inconsistencies in regards to the regency time period (Henry and Ella being alone together a lot, no chaperones, and elements of the dramatic ending).

So, yes, it was more of some suggestive hints and then some little things that added up and affected my enjoyment of the story, unfortunately. 

 

 

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 (Barbour) for this honest review.

"Abbie's Woods- Defending the Nest" by Susan Thoegerson Maas

About this book:

  “Twelve-year-old Abbie Keegan loves the peaceful woods behind her house and watching the nest of baby robins. The woods provide a retreat from her parents’ constant bickering and from her sweet, but needy, little brother, Patrick.
    Then Abbie sees two boys breaking pop bottles in the pond. She refuses to allow such harm to “her” woods. However, every attempt she makes to stop the boys only provokes them to greater destruction. Her retreat becomes a place of fear, instead of peace. A feud is born, and Abbie feels helpless to stop it. At home, her parents seem close to divorce and her brother’s asthma is getting worse. How can Abbie protect the people and places she loves?”


Series: As of now, no. A stand-alone book.


Spiritual Content- Prayers & Thanking God; Talks about God, forgiveness, & accepting the answer He gives even when you don’t like it; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers & praying (including the only time Abbie and her brother heard her father pray was when Patrick was very sick); Mentions of churches, church going, children’s church, praise songs, & a sermon (including that Abbie’s father doesn’t go to church with them anymore *Spoiler* but at the end says he will *End of Spoiler*); A couple mentions of blessings.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘drat’, a ‘hush up’, a ‘what the…’, four ‘idiot’s, four ‘shut up’s, and eight ‘stupid’s; Mentions of curses (said by a seventh grade boy, not written out); Abbie calls a couple of boys a jerk (because he purposely broke a glass bottle in a pond); A bit of eye rolling & sarcasm; Fighting (up to semi-detailed); A fire & smoke (up to semi-detailed); Abbie lies a couple times & also doesn’t say complete lies, but does hid the full truth from her mom; A bully shoots and kills a baby bird with a pellet gun (barely-above-not-detailed); A bully tears apart a kid’s book to be mean; *Spoiler* Abbie, her mom, and brother came home after church one day to find all of her father has moved out; Her mother sobs & later says her and Patrick are not at fault for this happening; Abbie and Patrick come up with a plan to fake an asthma attack to get their parents back together (which doesn’t go as they hoped and gets them in trouble); At the end, her parents say they will get counseling *End of Spoiler*; All about many mentions of Abbie’s parents’ constant bickering/arguing/fighting, Abbie preferring not to be home (because of it and the tenseness in the air after they argue; it upsets her younger brother a lot and Abbie tries to comfort him), & Abbie and her brother being concerned about their parents getting a divorce (both of them wonder if they’re the problem and make a list of ways to help them, like cleaning and making dinner/breakfast) (this includes her mom getting upset at her dad, someone sleeping on the couch, and comments by her mom such as her wondering if their marriage is a joke to her husband, after the kids do something for her that “it’s nice to be appreciated”, asking her husband if her opinion even matters to him, & telling him to grow up); Many mentions of littering, vandalism, & a boy trying to hit a bird’s nest and baby birds with his pellet gun (by two boys around Abbie’s age to the woods by her house; she cleans up after them and scares them off by throwing rocks at them instead of talking to them first or talking to an adult); Mentions of someone’s father being in jail for child abuse & his children being beaten and their scars (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of asthma attacks & allergic reactions (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of lies & lying; A few mentions of blood/bleeding & injuries; A couple mentions of a rumor of a boy who punched another boy and wouldn’t apologize; A couple mentions of kids throwing gum and candy wrappers at Abbie on the bus; A mention of manure; A mention of Abbie’s mom keeps an eagle eye on their computer, afraid that the kids will visit “some nasty site or something”; 
             *Note: After Abbie tells an adult that they want to get something nice for their mom, the adult tells her and her brother that “kids can’t make their parents happy, you know. Some things are bigger than you.” But Patrick responds that they can at least try; A mention of FaceBook; A mention of Dr. Seuss; A mention of Boy Scouts. 
 
 
Sexual Content- A wink & a blush; A couple mentions of parents kissing; A mention of Abbie’s mom being concerned about Abbie being alone in the woods because of perverts & “what could happen to Abbie if someone got a hold of her” (her father says that Abbie will be fine because she’s a smart girl and knows how to take care of herself);
             *Note: A mention of Abbie looking through her mom’s magazines to see how a husband could impress his wife & that some of the “ideas were a bit R-rated”. 
 
-Abbie Keegan, age 12
                                1^st person P.O.V. of Abbie 
                                                        189 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

{ Could be triggering for girls whose parents have divorced or separated }

This short middle-grade book tugged at my heartstrings much more than I was expecting it to do so. I thought it would be mainly about Abbie and defending her woods, but that was about 40% of the story and the other 60% was about her parents’ arguing and her concern of a divorce happening. I really felt for her little peacemaker heart. She cares so much about her family and the birds in the woods. 

I did really like the writing style and thought it was very realistic for a pre-teen, but it was nice that there was no slang found in the book. It does deal with tougher topics like parents arguing, a baby bird being killed, a bully, and a father in jail for child abuse, though, so please take in account for potential young readers. 

 

 

 

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.

"The Bookshop of Secrets" by Mollie Rushmeyer

About this book:

  “A collection of lost books holds the clues to her family's legacy…and her future.
   Hope Sparrow has mastered the art of outrunning her tragic past, learning never to stay anywhere too long and never to allow anyone control over her life again. Coming to Wanishin Falls in search of her family's history already feels too risky. But somewhere in the towering stacks of this dusty old bookshop are the books that hold Hope's last ties to her late mother—and to a rumored family treasure that could help her start over.
   Only, the bookshop is in shambles, and the elderly owner is in the beginning stages of dementia and can’t remember where the books lie. To find the last links to the loved ones she's lost, Hope must stay and accept help from the townsfolk to locate the treasured volumes. Each secret she uncovers brings her closer to understanding where she came from. But the longer she stays in the quaint town, the more people find their way into the cracks in her heart. And letting them in may be the greatest risk of all…”


Series: Part of the ‘Love Inspired’ book line, but does not seem to be connected to any other book.  


Spiritual Content- Proverbs 31:25 at the beginning; Scriptures are quoted, mentioned, read, referenced, & discussed/thought over; Prayers & Thanking God; Singing ‘Amazing Grace’; Many talks about God, trusting Him, hearing Him, feeling broken, & why bad things happen; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Hope doesn’t trust God after everything that’s happened and feels abandoned by Him, but tries praying and talking to God, asking for healing *Spoiler* She realizes towards the end that what happened to her wasn’t something God did, but the evil in the world did *End of Spoiler*; Ronan thinks that God has been quiet while his failures are loud in his head; Many mentions of God & trusting Him; Mentions of prayers, praying, & thanking God; Mentions of churches, church going, services, sermons, pastors, a couple being called to ministry, & youth groups; Mentions of Bibles, Bible reading, & those and events in the Bible; A few mentions of gospel music & hymns; A couple mentions of blessings; A mention of a life-sized nativity scene; 
             *Note: Mentions of a family’s curse & how everyone in town views them differently because of it (Ronan struggles with this *Spoiler* But thinks towards the end that “whatever curse lay on his family didn’t extend to him” and Hope tells the town that there’s no cures expect for the ones they placed on the family *End of Spoiler*; A couple mentions of legends about a ghost; A mention of living in hell for ten years (Hope). 
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘dumb’, two ‘idiot’s, and six ‘stupid’s; Eye rolling & Sarcasm; Being held at gunpoint & threatened (barely-above-not-detailed); Falling into water & being afraid (because Hope can’t swim, twice, semi-detailed); Pain, Injuries, & Blood/Bleeding (barely-above-not-detailed); Fires & Rescuing someone (up to semi-detailed); Saving someone from drowning & doing CPR (semi-detailed); Hope has a panic attack & recalls someone choking her and pulling her hair (semi-detailed); Hope thinks she is broken & not able to give or receive love (this is due to her captor’s years of abuse, which she knows that she shouldn’t believe his words at all, but still echoes in her mind); Negative thoughts enter Hope’s mind and try to discourage and belittle her; Ronan thinks he isn’t a whole man after losing a limb in an accident & beats himself up over a co-worker’s death (he thinks he should have been the one to die); Mentions of an accident that caused a death & Ronan losing a limb (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Mentions of Hope’s mother’s death from ovarian cancer; Mentions of being held at gunpoint (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of fires, smoke, & someone being trapped in a fire (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of someone almost drowning (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of panic attacks, PTSD, and Hope’s panic over meeting new people; Mentions of beatings & Hope receiving burns and scars for not listening to her trafficker (barely-above-not-detailed);Mentions of vandalism, graffiti, leaving something stinky in a bully’s locker, stealing, break-ins, robberies, & thieves; Mentions of shipwrecks, pirates, & stealing (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of trafficked women being used for petty crimes (theft, forgery, & drug possession); Mentions of con-artists, blackmail, & cheating others; Mentions of bullies & being bullied (including Hope being bullied by other foster kids and pushing her into a pool when she can’t swim; Hope says they didn’t know what to do with their anger at their birth parents for abandoning them and they took it out on her); Mentions of alcohol; Mentions of cigarettes, cigars, & smoking; Mentions of lies, lying, & deceit; Mentions of rumors; A few mentions of those who drowned (barely-above-not-detailed); A few mentions of a man being beaten by a group of other men & their plan to hold him for ransom or as a slave; A few mentions of drugs, drug dealers, & women using drugs to cope with a terrible situation; A few mentions of a young man being thrown from a horse and suffering a traumatic brain and spinal cord injury (barely-above-not-detailed); A couple mentions of nightmares; A couple mentions of an unwanted tattoo; A mention of the Great Depression; A mention of a possible burglar; A mention of a husband leaving his wife after a miscarriage; A mention of throwing up; A mention of a rabbit being caught in a snare; 
             *Note: A side character (Ronan’s grandfather) has dementia & we see many parts of him popping in and out of varying degrees of cognizance; Many, many mentions of classic books, characters, & authors; Mentions of songs & artists; Mentions of a brand names (Converse shoes, Ford, Honda, Coke, & Crock-Pot); A couple mentions of celebrities (Gordon Ramsay & Fred Astaire).
 
 
Sexual Content- Two palm/hand kisses, a forehead kiss, a barely-above-not-detailed kiss, and three semi-detailed kisses (including one that ends with Hope’s body panicking); Wanting to kiss (not-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Dancing, Hand holding, Electricity/Tingles, Warmth, & Smelling (up to semi-detailed); Wanting to touch & embrace (barely-above-not-detailed); Blushes & Winks; Noticing (including a guy’s muscles, barely-above-not-detailed); A slight spoiler, but an important part of this book is that Hope is a human trafficking survivor (an older man convinced 15-year-old Hope that he loved her and to run away with him (telling her sweet words, giving her gifts, and she ignored the red flags about him), but played her and imprisoned her with two dozen other girls; the only details mentioned about what happened are that he sold her body to anyone willing to pay for it, that men used her to satisfy their lust, all of the hands touching her, and she was beaten and abused every day for ten years; Hope was told by those at the women’s shelter (for women who were imprisoned and violated “at the hands of their vile captors and their patrons”) that it wasn’t her fault and that she had nothing to be ashamed of, but she still feels like there’s grime coating her; A few mentions of the young women Hope was with losing the light in their eyes and some of them disappearing; At one point, Hope feels like Ronan was being possessive of her in front of another man and it scares and annoys her, but he was just trying to protect her from a creep); Hope flinches or panics whenever someone tries to touch her due to past trauma (her brain is used to telling her that physical touch hurt, even when it didn’t and she has to tell her brain to stay calm in such cases);  Hope doesn’t like the idea of marriage or relationships in general because of her past and doesn’t know what she could offer a man emotionally, spiritually, and physically because of her PTSD and panic attacks when kissed or touched; Mentions of Hope getting a creep vibe from a slimy man & then him suggesting other forms of paying for an item she wants (suggestive tone with innuendos); Mentions of boyfriends, girlfriends, dates, & exes; A handful of mentions of a (historical) woman meeting alone with a man at night and possibly being sold into human trafficking; A few mentions of Hope thinking that men will want something from her in exchange for helping her; A couple mentions of domestic violence; A couple mentions of kisses; A couple mentions of flirting; A mention of a woman thought to be a soiled woman (historical setting); A mention of a woman’s laugh that Hope thinks must have made men drool; Love, falling in love, & the emotions.
             *Note: A man asks if Hope is Ronan’s “significant other, wife?” then adds “Maybe I’m a little behind in this politically correct world. No intention to offend you.” but his tone says the opposite; A couple mentions of a miscarriage & a woman unable to have children of her own; A couple discussions between Hope and Ronan about chivalry and Ronan believing that women aren’t the weaker gender, but deserve respect; A mention of a bosom friend.
 
-Hope Sparrow
-Ronan Barrick
                                P.O.V. switches between them 
                                                        352 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

{ Possibly triggering for those sensitive to human trafficking, panic attacks, and/or PTSD}

Every Love Inspired book I’ve picked up over the years have been cheesy, but typically a cute, easy read. So that’s what I was expecting with this book as well, a light-hearted cozy mystery that focused more on the romance than the mystery parts. That makes it sound like I had the bar set low for this book, but, yes, I guess I technically did because I wasn’t expecting much from it.  

“The Bookshop of Secrets”, however, was so not that. There was such a depth to this book that I wasn’t expecting at all. There were hard hitting topics like human trafficking and PTSD but also a lot of faith content and trying to trust God after feeling abandoned by Him. And that’s what made the book feel hopeful even as our main characters are struggling so much to keep breathing and their head above the water. It was that faith content and raw, realistic conversations about God and trusting Him even after terrible things happen that made me keep reading, even though human trafficking is a hard topic for me to read about. But because of the faith content, that’s what made this book feel like there was hope in the story and healing was to come for these characters, which is why I’ve given it a three-star rating for my personal rating.

While I suppose this could be considered a spoiler, it’s revealed shortly into the story, and I believe it’s very important to know as a trigger warning: Hope is a human trafficking survivor. I truly appreciate that the author didn’t go into the details of what Hope went through, but yet at the same time, having Hope’s reactions to different things and her questions in regard to why God would “abandon her” during that time. This book could be trigger for those who have been in similar situations, but I could also see those who are struggling about God after such events feel relatable to Hope’s emotions and maybe even help with healing their own hearts. 

I do wish the back-cover blurb would have shared about this important element of the story, though, as a warning for those sensitive to this topic and for younger readers that may pick up this book, expecting a cozy mystery. 

 

 

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 (Revell) for this honest review.

"Of Peace and Precipitation" by Aaron J. Gourlie

About this book:

  “After discovering at age eleven that she was “smarter” than her mom, freshman Jen Morris has since been trying to find balance in her life. 
   Between high school, her complicated mother, the school play, drifting friendships, and the boring church that her mom makes her attend, Jen feels like she is inadequately equipped for her life. 
   When her most embarrassing moment happens in front of the whole school, a devastated Jen questions her existence.
   In the following days, Jen deals with ridicule and family, doubt and faith, the humiliation of Youtube infamy, hope, and the distancing of people close to her. 
   Deeper acceptance of her own family, faith, and circumstances lead her to become empowered to not just focus on her own issues but to the needs of others as well.”


Series: As of now, no. 


Spiritual Content- A couple Scripture are quoted & mentioned; A few prayers; Church going & Youth group events (which Jen did not want to go to more youth events at church because they were all boring); Talks about God & Jesus; (Most) 'H's are capital when referring to God; Jen is pretty sure she believes in God, but doesn’t like church that much since it feels like (to her) that church is pointless as it’s full of people that talk about love and doing nice things, but it feels like “a special club for lame, close-minded, and judgmental adults” (she adds that the people there aren’t mean, but don’t cross them or get caught doing something sinful; Jen recalls when an eleventh grader was caught smoking outside and was “practically excommunicated from the church”, had a meeting with the pastor and her parents that told her she had to repent or she was going to hell, and everyone staring at her; Jen does like the hymns and peaceful moments at church, but they are “few and far between” and most moments were “spent thinking about how annoying the people at her church were”); Jen thinks that a man is crazy to have heard God talked to him (since God has been silent towards her and her mom); *Spoiler* Towards the end, Jen feels peace and a Voice comes over her, saying Jeremiah 29:11 and she feels loved (this happens again once more when she wonders why something happened *End of Spoiler*; Jen’s church is not looked upon well by her expect in a few moments where she feels peace, elsewise, there’s only negative comments about the church and the judgmental people there;  Mentions of God & Jesus; Mentions of Bibles, Bible reading, & books of the Bible; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of churches, church going, services, pastors, hymns, Bible studies, youth group events, & children’s service (Jen’s mom is adamant about them attending); Mentions of a youth pastor sharing his story of being bored at church & then coming across a Scripture; A few mentions of blessings & being blessed; A few mentions of being lectured about sin; A couple mentions of a church’s Wi-Fi password being ‘predestination777’ and Jen not knowing what that means; A couple mentions of Christmas & Easter services; A mention of Christian pop music (which Jen calls “crappy”); 
             *Note: Jen recalls when a pastor told her that Star Wars seemed innocent but was “based on Buddhist principles and how it was really evil or something” (Jen was embarrassed and after her mom heard about that, she was not longer allowed to watch them); A couple mentions of doing or reading something religiously; A mention of being lectured on the evils of secular music; A mention of Jen not wanting to be lectured by someone at church for breathing “unChristian-like or whatever”. 
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including (& written in the book as listed): an ‘a-holes’, a ‘D-bag’, a ‘d---‘, a ‘dumb’, a ‘[someone being as] high as f---‘, a ‘f----ing’, a ‘God only knew’, a ‘gosh’, a ‘pissed’, a ‘s---‘, a ‘shoot’, a ‘shut the hell up’, a ‘what the hell’, a ‘who the bleep cares’, two ‘AF’s, two ‘blah blah blah’s, two ‘BS’s, two ‘bull s—‘s, two ‘OMG’s, two ‘what the heck’s, three ‘geez’s, four forms of ‘crap’s, five ‘idiot’s, six ‘oh my gosh’s, six ‘shut up’s, seven ‘sucks’s, nine forms of ‘retarded’ (mostly used when kids refer to Jen’s mom) and eleven ‘stupid’s;  Mentions of curses (said but not written, not fully written out, & also Jen thinking her mom would have a heart attack if she heard how kids talked at school); A couple mentions of Jen’s best friend potentially cussing someone out for her; Lots of Sarcasm & Eye rolling; Jan is sassy, talks back to, & argues with her mom (she also gets impatient and yells at her, but feels bad about doing that); Jen argues with her brother & calls him names; Jen wishes that her mom was normal & like other moms (this is a major part of the book as her mom has a learning disability and Jen says she’s smarter than her mom and that her mom ruined her life; Jen’s aunt tells her that while academically Jen might be smarter, her mother still deserves respect and is a good mother, which Jen agrees with overall); Jen has negative thoughts & thinks she deserves others saying bad things about her after she messes up; When Jen is mad about her family’s cat, she mutters that she’d love to kick her & then denies saying that when her brother tells on her; Being teased & mocked by others at school; Mentions of injuries, pain, & blood/bleeding; Mentions of being bullied & bullies; Mentions of a drug addicted mother, her addiction, & rehab; Mentions of smoking, tobacco, & teens being caught smoking weed (and the smell, barely-above-not-detailed); A few mentions of Jen’s father leaving their family, promising to come back and send money (which he did once or twice); A couple mentions of parole & someone doing community service (Jen wonders if a teacher is helping with the school play because of this; it’s never said if that’s true); A couple mentions of lies & lying; A couple mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of tattoos (including a pastor getting upset at a youth pastor for showing his); A couple mentions of peeing (in a pool & someone in their pants); A mention of a kid being pushed down the stairs & breaking his leg; A mention of Jen wondering if a teacher is trying to make his class brain-dead; A mention of throwing up; A mention of Jen calling her eyes “poop-colored”; 
             *Note: Many mentions of social media, games, brand name items, & pop-culture (Instagram, Tik Tok, Snapchat, Netflix, Google, YouTube, FaceBook, Fortnite, Elder Scrolls, World of Witchcraft, iPod Touch, iPhone, Lego, Raisin Bran, Kool-Aid, Lucky Charms, Taco Bell, & Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards); Mentions of an adult (who was adopted) sharing that in middle-school, he hated that he was adopted, his birth parents for giving him up, looking different than everyone else, facing racism, & that his parents couldn’t fully understand him; Mentions of Disney, movies, TV shows, & actors/actresses (Camp Rock, Serendipity, Star Wars, Pride & Prejudice, An Affair to Remember, Veggie Tales, The Vampire Diaries, Arrow, Hawaii 5-0, Deborah Kerr, & Cary Grant); Mentions of clothing brands (American Eagle, Gap, Abercrombie, Puma, Old Navy, Hollister, & Sophique); Mentions of Agatha Christie & her books; Mentions of mothers who aren’t able to do “normal” mother things (like take care of her children or pay the bills, because of a learning disability or an addiction) and it falling to their daughters; A few mentions of & jabs about an awkward homeschooler (including his mother thinking he needs to socialize more & him being obsessed with a video game); A few mentions of Jen’s mom thinking a Korean man is Chinese (Jen tries to explain to her that those are different countries and languages but gives up because her mom doesn’t understand); A few mentions of car brands; A few mentions of a boy singing “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)”; A couple mentions of a football team (Cleveland Browns); A mention of a band (Metallica); A mention of a play (Guys and Dolls); A mention of a song (Moon River); A mention of a student wearing a “420” hoodie (which typically refers to weed); A mention of a Black kid being bullied at school & being called racist names; A mention of Jen thinking that her church isn’t racist or prejudiced, but is so “racially and culturally monochromatic”.
 
 
Sexual Content- When a guy touches Jen’s hand, she has butterflies and gets excited; Jen stares at a handsome guy & gets breathless when talking to him (barely-above-not-detailed); Jen thinks that if she was prettier, boys would like her, make friends easier, & she’d be cooler; Mentions of crushes, boyfriends/girlfriends, group dates, dating, & break-ups; Mentions of Jen and her best friend talking about cute boys, crushes, & saying a crush is “my man”; Mentions of flirting, “flirty little chats” with a guy, & girls being giggly over a popular guy; A few mentions of Jen’s father who was called a womanizer and left their family saying that it was “for the good of the family”, promising to send money (he came back a couple times more, including the time Jen’s younger brother was conceived); A couple mentions of teens in the hallways at school embracing, kissing, and grinding on each other as if they’re going to start a family; A mention of a guy raunchily saying that nobody licks a girl (Jen; she messes up her line in a play that sounds like “nobody licks me” and gets teased for it); A mention of a popular guy’s harem; A mention of Jen’s best friend saying that her and her crush are “lover-soulmates”; A mention of jealousy; 
             *Note: A mention of a curvy woman; A mention of Jen’s curves; A mention of Jen and her friend doing silly and sultry poses for Instagram pictures; A mention of a teacher’s shirt being not so flattering and tighter than it should be; A mention of a girl saying that she would join the boys’ soccer team at school because of all the cute boys, practices, long bus trips, and group showers.
 
-Jennifer “Jen” Morris, 9^th grade
                                P.O.V. of Jen 
                                          134 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

{Add 1-2 stars for older girls in Public School who feel like they could relate to this story}

This was an interesting story and while I did like the ending revelations of Jen’s, I wish that they would have come much sooner in the story. I was happy to finally see the resolution of Jen and God towards the end, but it did feel a little out-of-the-blue. I wasn’t personally a fan of how her church was portrayed as judgmental and everyone was a fuddy-duddy. 

This was a short book, but I nearly marked it as Did-Not-Finished multiple times for different reasons—which those reasons are why the ratings are what they are. 

I was personally very disappointed by all the cussing found in this book. Yes, that can be realistic for some circles, but there’s other ways to allude to a character cussing without actually writing the word with little dashes instead of the whole word. Then there were a few sexual innuendoes were were throw in that I wasn’t happy to see either. 

I really disliked how Jen acted towards her mother and how Jen thinks about those at church. I was taken aback by how Jen talks to her mother and brother. She’s responsible for quite a bit, such as knowing the amount in their bank account, paying bills, but she also has a chip on her shoulder the size of Alaska towards her mother. It was sad to see, really. 

For older girls in public school settings and could possibly related to Jen’s struggles, this might be an interesting book for them, but it’s not one I can personally recommend due to all the cussing and other 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.

*I received this book for free from the Author for this honest review.

"End Game" by Rachel Dylan

About this book:

  “When elite members of the military are murdered on the streets of Washington, DC, FBI Special Agent Bailey Ryan and NCIS Special Agent Marco Agostini must work together to bring the perpetrator to justice. Unfortunately, all evidence points to a Navy SEAL sniper whom Bailey refuses to believe is guilty.
   When Bailey and Marco start to connect the dots between the victims, including a link to a powerful defense contractor, they wonder if there's a deeper cover-up at play. Then Bailey is targeted, and it becomes clear that someone is willing to kill to keep their dark secrets.
   With the stakes getting higher by the moment in a twisted conspiracy, there's a rush against the clock to determine whom they can really trust. As allies turn to enemies, the biggest secret yet to be uncovered could be the end of all of them.”


Series: Book #1 in the “Capital Intrigue” trilogy. 


Spiritual Content- Prayers; Talks about God, trusting Him, having a faith, & seeing others’ faiths; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Lexi doesn’t consider herself a religious person (she goes to church on holidays) but prays for God’s help when something happens; When Bailey says she’s praying, someone else says that her God isn’t going to help her; Mentions of God & having a faith; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of churches, church going, & services; A few mentions of thanking God; A couple mentions of an eternity that awaits; 
             *Note: A mention of a man’s eyes being like “the devil himself”. 

 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘dumb’, a ‘shut up’, a ‘tick [someone] off’, two ‘stupid’s, three ‘heck’s, and six forms of ‘idiot’; A mention of a name for a situation that a man won’t say in front of a woman; Eye rolling; Shooting to kill (self-defense, barely-above-not-detailed); An explosion/bomb, Being choked, Being held at gunpoint, Fighting back, Being robbed, A car crash, Passing out, Injuries, & Pain (up to semi-detailed); Seeing others shot & killed (barely-above-not-detailed); Lying (for the sake of the mission and getting information); All about many mentions of murders, bodies, the killers/possible serial killer, how the murders happened, & someone being framed (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Mentions of a murder disguised as a suicide (including others saying the person wasn’t suicidal, the barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of terrorism & terrorists; Mentions of the deaths/murders of military men (stateside and abroad, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of being held at gunpoint, gunfire, being shot at, being shot, shooting to kill (self-defense), seeing others shot, injuries, blood/bleeding, & passing out (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Mentions of autopsies & a morgue (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of car crash, injuries, & passing out (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of fights/fighting (self-defense) & weapons (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a bomb & explosion; Mentions of crimes, organized crime groups, jail/prions, & arrests; Mentions of robberies, thefts, & injuries (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of gambling & other vices and addictions; Mentions of rumors (including one of a man being a killer for hire/assassin); Mentions of someone struggling with PTSD & some believing he’s a murderer; Mentions of a bar fight/brawl that happened because a man riled another man that he’ll ask out his ex-wife; Mentions of lies & lying; Mentions of nightmares (including a woman’s sexual assault, no details); A few mentions of a car accident & deaths (Bailey’s parents); A few mentions of a father dying in the line of duty (police officer); A few mentions of threats; A few mentions of a divorce (due to the husband’s stressful job, they still loved each other); A couple mentions of torture; A couple mentions of a sniper taking a lot of lives in his career & having PTSD from it; A couple mentions of there being “plenty of whackjobs” that would want to kill a Navy SEAL; A couple mentions of throwing up; A mention of men that torture and kill for a living (assassins); A mention of the death penalty; A mention of a thug; A mention of drugs; 
             *Note: Bailey is afraid to start caring about someone only to possibly lose them, so she found the best way to protect herself was by not letting a man near her heart; A mention of eating crow; A mention of a car brand. 
 
 
Sexual Content- A hand kiss, an almost (semi-detailed) kiss, five barely-above-not-detailed kisses, and two semi-detailed kisses; Remembering a kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); Talking about an almost kiss & their feelings for each other (barely-above-not-detailed); Wanting to kiss/to be kissed & embrace (up to semi-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, Nearness, Shivers, & Sparks/Flutters (barely-above-not-detailed); Blushes; Noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); A young woman tells someone about the time she was assaulted (all that’s said is that he put his hands all over her and she says that it would have been worse she if hadn’t fought him off; it was someone in a higher position at her work and the person she tells says it wasn’t her fault, *Spoiler* This happened to Izzy and the person she told says something that caused the man to retire early *End of Spoiler*); Mentions of boyfriends, girlfriends, dates, dating, & exes; Mentions of flirting & crushes; A few mentions of an almost kiss & kissing; A few mentions of thinking a guy is a player or ladies’ man; A couple mentions of a guy going home alone after a date (and not with his date); A couple mentions of a boyfriend cheating; A couple mentions of jealousy; A mention of a wink (unwanted and uncomfortable); Love, being in love, falling in love, & the emotions (technically for four different people in three different relationships);
             *Note: Lexi calls Marco “Marco the Alpha Male” (once); Mentions of it being hard to be a woman in certain fields; A mention of a blond bombshell.
 
-Bailey Ryan
-Marco Agostini, age 31
                                P.O.V. switches between them, Izzy, & Lexi
                                                        312 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

Besides a Love Inspired Suspense book by this author, you could technically count this one as my first (full-length) book by this author. So, like always, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but since I enjoy the Christian Suspense genre, I wanted to try out a few of her books to form an opinion. 

The back-cover blurb of this story didn’t interest me a lot, but the first page pulled me into the story with Bailey have a late dinner with her friends, one who is undercover with the CIA. I really enjoy books with friendships in them, so I decided to read this book. I’m glad to see that the next books will be about her friends and plan on reading them. 

I thought all the different agency parts were fascinating and I liked the team that was formed. I think I cared more for Izzy, though, than Bailey or Marco. Which is my personal negative with the story, that Bailey and Marco’s romantic relationship and a lot of their dialogue felt so forced. A lot of their conversations and falling in love parts felt flat to me. I struggled to not roll my eyes at certain parts, but I will give credit to the author that it didn’t have the typically Romantic Suspense cliches and she added in little details that made the book have a different feel compared to the majority of the other books I’ve read in this genre. I liked that and could see her background of being an attorney within the story. 

I was pleasantly surprised by how clean this was in the sense of the suspense elements—particularly the murders and bodies. There was very little descriptions of those parts of the story and the book was able to be suspenseful without being over-the-top with the details of the dead bodies or blood. Those that don’t care for those elements of a suspense novel, but like the suspense part, might enjoy this book because of that. 

Overall? Not bad, personally. It was much cleaner than I expected (for this genre) and the plot-line kept me engaged.

 

 

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.