"A Noble Friend" by Kendra E. Ardnek

About this book:

  “He'll follow her to the ends of the earth, even as she marries another. But what happens when her husband proves to be a monster?”


Series: Book #15 in the multi-author series, “Cornerstone”. It does not seem to be connected to any other books, however. A stand-alone novel. Click on the books to be taken to that review: Book #1, Book #2, Book #3, Book #4, Book #5, Book #6, Book #7, Book #8, Book #9, Book #10, Book #11, Book #12, Book #13, Book #14, and Book #16!


Spiritual Content- A few Scriptures are mentioned; Church going & a sermon; Talks about God & those in the Bible; Most 'H's are capital when referring to God; Joah feels ashamed that he forgot it was the Lord’s Day and goes to the chapel when reminded (he has difficultly focusing on the priest as he focuses on Aloise sitting up front, but hears some of the sermon); *Major Spoilers* There is a letter for Aloise from Bluebeard in the room he told her not to go into that says about the Lord giving “our father and mother in the garden” a rule and how he gave Aloise the chance, but proved to be like “our mother” to be “treacherous and willful” as his prior wives so she must share their fate (death); Aloise thinks that she should have obey him because of what the Word commands, but her brother says that the Word commands husbands to love their wives the way the Son loves His church and that only God has the authority over life and death; Joah also says that the Lord will not be mocked and will not allow evil to reign forever; When Bluebeard comes home, he finds out what she’s done and plans to kill her, while ranting about being surrounded by treacherous women and that she isn’t the saint he thought she was; Joah says that the Lord is not even as cruel as Bluebeard is because God sent His Son *End of Spoilers*; Mentions of God (also called the Author); Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of churches/chapels, the Lord’s Day, a priest, & a sermon; A few mentions of the Word; A mention of Christians; 
             *Note: Joah notes that Bluebeard does not look at Aloise with the “worship she is due”; Joah thinks of Aloise as an “ethereal creature”; A few mentions of a rumored curse/legend on Bluebeard that his wives will die until he finds the right one (which Aloise says that curses don’t really exist “unless one has really displeased the Lord” so she doesn’t believe this rumor); A few mentions of some believing that Joah was the son of a wind spirit or some mystical creature with how he appeared on Aloise’s family’s doorstep; A couple mentions of luck & being unlucky.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a form of ‘dumb’; Some eye rolling; Fighting & Seeing a death (barely-above-not-detailed); Joah thinks the greatest thing he can do for Aloise is to die for her and considers the thought to be an honor; *Major Spoilers* Aloise comes into the room her husband told her not to and finds miniatures of his past wives with red slashes through their necks and a lock of their hair (which Joah calls the room “clearly designed to intimidate and unnerve”); There is a letter for her from him that talks about the Lord giving “our father and mother in the garden” a rule and how he gave Aloise the chance, but proved to be like “our mother” to be “treacherous and willful” as his prior wives so she must share their fate (death); When he comes home, he finds out what she’s done and plans to kill her, but Joah and her brothers protect her and kill him instead (barely-above-not-detailed) *End of Spoilers*; Mentions of murders, deaths, threats, grief, & guilt (including from a bad fall, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of lies & lying; Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of jealousy; A few mentions of Joah being left on Aloise’s family’s doorstep underfed and half-conscious; A few mentions of hatred; A few mentions of people acting like whipped dogs or looking at another like “the worst dog to walk the earth”; A couple mentions of blood; A couple mentions of possible robbers attacking or a possible mountain lion attack; 
             *Note: Aloise makes a few comments about women like her being “traded and bartered for like sets of pretty dolls with no feelings”, how some men that would dismiss her protests as “silly female dramatics”, and another woman comments that men with power want “their wives meek and docile”; Joah is concerned that Aloise will be married off to a man who will likely be as cruel and demanding as her father & that her father only views her as a way to expand his riches and prestige; Aloise’s brother says that men have to protect women because “they are all to prone to death as it. It takes work to keep them alive.” and Joah frowns that that statement, but isn’t sure how to refute it.
 
 
Sexual Content- A blush; Seeing a married couple embrace and share two hand kisses; Joah is in love with Aloise, but tries to hide it because of their difference of status and believing he would be sent away by her father or her husband if they found out about it; When Aloise bats her eyelashes, Joah forgets how to breathe and later, also think of her as being “perfection itself”; Joah prays for resistance against the temptation of being with Aloise and tries not to imagine being anything more to her than just her guard; When Aloise pulls Joah into her bedroom to tell him something, he tells her it is highly inappropriate; Mentions of reputations; Mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of blushes; A mention of Aloise and her husband having bedroom far from each other; A mention of desire; Very light love, being in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: Joah notices that Aloise’s corset is pull too tight which has given her “unnatural curves”.
 
-Joah, around age 18 
                                1^st person P.O.V. of Joah 
                                                        104 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

When I first heard about this book, I was concerned for two reasons: 

1. The Bluebeard part of this story. I’ve read a clean fiction retelling of that one before and the original tale turns my stomach. (Plus I’m a dedicated rule follower and couldn’t imagine opening a door that I was specifically told not to go into.) This author kept that information much lighter than the original story, though, which was good and made it cleaner for sure! 

2. Male Lead is in love with his foster-sister-like-friend who has just gotten married to another man. There’s a lot to unpack in that sentence but it was mostly the “married to another man” and Joah following her as her guard that made me nervous. Thankfully, though, he does not act on his feelings for her—even prior to her marriage because of the status difference—but especially not when she’s married because he doesn’t want to cause gossip or harm her reputation. I was nervous about a potential cheating element, but was very relieved that there wasn’t any on her part or him trying to tempt her away. It’s a touchy line and I’m glad that it wasn’t crossed. 

 

We don’t get her POV, just Joah’s which I think worked well enough for the story. It would have been nice to see someone else’s perspective like Aloise’s just to see how she views everything that is happening, though. Within the first two pages I was thinking, “you got it bad for her, bud” and that was Joah’s whole personality, but to be fair, when the Bluebeard guy was introduced, I agreed with Joah that that guy was suspicious. 🤨

 

I think for me this was a miss because I don’t care for this fairytale in general and how Scripture was twisted by a villain. The ending had a promise of hope for the main characters, though, which was good, and I hope it works out for them!

 

 

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.

"A Noble Life" by C.K. Heartwing

About this book:

  “A prince in search of his missing brother. Two sisters tucked away in a snowy wood trying to live in peace. When their paths cross, they find not all in the wood is as it seems.
    When their father the king is assassinated in the palace courtyard, Frederick Belvare can do nothing to stop his older brother Matthias from plunging into the Blackwald forest after their father's assassins to bring justice and to retrieve his stolen crown. Only the Crown Prince does not return, and Prince Frederick must go to the Blackwald to bring his brother back. He enlists the help of his father's knights and sets off into the Blackwald, but rumors lurk of strange men and monstrous bear tracks in the snow.
     Rosalind Everwright and her mother and sister only want peace. Secluded in their little cottage in the Blackwald, they've found for themselves a refuge from the painful past, that is until Rosalind finds a man wounded in the snow. The Everwrights take him in to their care. The huntsman seems to be more than he's letting on, and with his arrival what little peace they've found is shattered.
    Neither Prince Frederick or Rosalind know who to trust in the snowy wood, but one misstep may cost them their lives, for not all in the wood is as it seems.”


Series: Book #14 in the multi-author series, “Cornerstone”. It does not seem to be connected to any other books, however. A stand-alone novel. Click on the books to be taken to that review: Book #1, Book #2, Book #3, Book #4, Book #5, Book #6, Book #7, Book #8, Book #9, Book #10, Book #11, Book #12, and Book #13!


Spiritual Content- Romans 12:21 at the beginning; Scriptures are mentioned, remembered, & thought over; Prayers & Thanking God; Talks about God, trusting Him, forgiveness, & fear; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers, praying, & blessings over food; Mentions of a bishop at a wedding; A mention of being Blessed; A mention of meeting someone again in Paradise. 
 

Negative Content- The beginning chapter starts with Frederick seeing his father’s body and blood after he was assassinated (he later has a nightmare of this, the attack, & a wolf attacking him; all up to semi-detailed); A fire, smoke, & rescuing trapped horses (up to semi-detailed); Fighting, Being attacked, Being hit, Being chased, Being kidnapped and tied-up, Being held at knife-point, Being shot/Being shot at, Injuries, Pain, Blood/Bleeding, & Passing out (up to semi-detailed); Finding someone injured & near death (up to semi-detailed); Seeing a death (including the person’s horse sniffing the body and looking sad, up to semi-detailed); Grief & sobbing (up to semi-detailed); A horse is also injured (but will be fine, up to semi-detailed); Frederick drinks ale at a tavern; Many mentions of deaths, grief (for fathers and a wife for her husband), a body, & blood/bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of assassins & an assassination; Mentions of wars, battles, & deaths; Mentions of attacks, fighting, weapons, injuries, pain, blood/bleeding, & passing out; Mentions of a tavern & ale; Mentions of hunting; A few mentions of a fire; A few mentions of pellets of bears with the head still attached (used for rugs); A couple mentions of lies & lying. 
 
 
Sexual Content- A cheek kiss and a not-detailed kiss; Some Touches, Embraces, & Flutters/Butterflies (barely-above-not-detailed); A blush; Seeing a couple hold hands, embrace, and share a kiss on the forehead; A bit of noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); Very light love, falling in love, & the emotions.
 
-Rosalind Everwright
-Frederick Belvare, age 21
                                P.O.V. switches between them 
                                                        159 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

I’ve read a couple other retellings of Snow White and Rose Red before and because I didn’t care for them, I was starting to think that this fairytale might just not be my cup of tea—but I enjoyed this one! The author did well with the elements of the fairytale, but it never felt like the fairytale was taking over the story, if that makes sense. It was balanced well between the fairytale and then her own story, which I liked. 

 

I thought it was funny that the sisters both met their men in the same scenario—finding them injured and nursing them back to health. I felt a little jipped by not getting Blanche and her guy’s story, but Rose and Frederick had their cute moments. I did really appreciate that they both focused on what was important now-and-then rather than let their emotions take over. It was a very sweet and very clean romance for sure! 

 

I will say that I didn’t quite understand all the details of the timing of events and what was happening towards the end, but that could have been me? I was a bit lost on it which unfortunately dropped my personal rating a bit. (*Spoilers* My question is that if Matthias was going to marry Blanche after knowing her a month after searching for his father’s assassins and the traitor-knight knew that, why was the traitor-knight’s motivation to kill the king was that the king would allow their marriage? I’m confused on this timing because Matthias and Blanche met after the king’s death? So how is that the traitor-knight’s motivation to kill the king as if the king knew of their relationship and approved? Someone please feel free to explain this to me! *End of Spoilers*) Regardless of this though, I did like this story and am curious to see what else the author has written or will publish in the future.

 

 

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.

"A Noble Rescuer" by K.R. Mattson

About this book:

  “Whitney McRether is a Deronian, a fierce warrior of the north mountains where pain and death are viewed as something to be embraced. But when a stranger is dragged into the village by her brother, Whitney sees no other choice but to defy tradition and stand in the way of the stranger and death. The longer he stays, the more trouble lands on their doorstep…and the harder it is to let him go.
    Serve the Queen at all costs.
    As a bounty hunter to the Queen, that’s exactly what Knox Schilling did. Until his hunt for two traitors lands him in Deron and the gaping jaws of death. He's viewed the uncivilized warriors as barbarians, until a young woman risks everything to rescue him from his plight. For the first time in years, someone stands up for him and he finds himself drawn to the welcoming soul.
    Enemies of the past and present begin close in, loyalties are tested, and lies and dark truths are drawn to the surface. Can they weather the storms together or will it ultimately break their growing bond of friendship?”


Series: Book #13 in the multi-author series, “Cornerstone”. It does not seem to be connected to any other books, however. A stand-alone novel. Click on the books to be taken to that review: Book #1, Book #2, Book #3, Book #4, Book #5, Book #6, Book #7, Book #8, Book #9, Book #10, Book #11, and Book #12!


Spiritual Content- A few Prayers; God is called “the Maker” and “Give of Life”; Whitney notes that taking in people who need help is what the Maker commanded, but she “understood that not all were Believers”; Whitney believes in the Maker commanding life and death, while Knox does not after his father “believed in the unseen” and lost his life due to the Queen; Mentions of God (also called the Maker); A few mentions of prayers, praying, & blessings over food;
             *Note: A man tells Knox that he’ll see him in hell; The phrase “speak of the devil” is said once;   Knox has blades that are called his “Demon Blades”; Whitney recalls her grandmother saying that “violence against the innocent was a crime; but, against the evil, it was a mercy”; Whitney silently begs someone to listen to her, but because “she was not psychic” the person doesn’t hear her; There is a rumor that the Snow Queen is able to turn people in ice statues by looking at them.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘sucked’, two ‘gosh’s, two forms of ‘shut up’, two ‘wimp’s, three forms of ‘idiot’, and four ‘stupid’; A mention of a woman being called a ‘witch’ because it fits in more ways than one (not implied in a spells/potions way); A mention of a curse (said, not written); Name calling such as ‘bonehead’, ‘bozo’, ‘buzzard’, ‘double sided iceberg’, ‘jerk’, ‘loony’, and ‘nincompoop’;  Insults like “freeze in a lake” and “go sit in a lake” are said; Eye rolling; Whitney’s aunt is a harsh and brutal woman & Whitney is sent to live with her for a bit (Whitney also calls her a psychopath); Lots of fighting, injuring and harming others in fights, knocking others out, being tortured (almost drowning and being burned), being held at knife-point, being captured and tied-up, being hit and attacked, pain, injuries, blood/bleeding, & passing out (up to semi-detailed); Falling through a frozen lake (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Knox is captured, tied-up, and tortured by Whitney’s brother (almost drowning and being burned & thinks he may die, semi-detailed; Whitney catches this and stops it from going further); Whitney’s brother attacks and raids traders passing through their area to get supplies for their village (one attack is on-page and while they aren’t supposed to shoot anyone, he orders for her to shoot a man and she does when the man attacks her); Whitney feels a twinge of guilt for leaving an injured man when the wolves will probably get him; Knox uses a powder to blind a room & Whitney’s brother has a “tear gas” concoction; Knox lies to Whitney to protect himself; The Snow Queen has an underground ice pit where she keeps the frozen bodies of people who disappointed her; Many mentions of torture (including a different bounty Hunter being rumored to have stabbed a pregnant woman in her abdomen), people being shot, injuries, pain, blood/bleeding, & passing out (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Mentions of killing, willing to kill others, & planning to kill (including comments about slitting throats and Whitney’s brother killing guards of the Queen’s, up to semi-detailed); Mentions of deaths; Mentions of people being captured, injured, & threatened; Mentions of frostbite & people and animals dying or possibly dying in the harsh weather conditions (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of crimes & criminals; Mention of stealing & stolen items; Mentions of some breaking into a house; Mentions of someone almost being tarred and feathered; Mentions of tear gas & a blinding powder that causes pain; Mentions of a tavern; Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of tattoos (which those under the Snow Queen’s rule have); Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of hunting; A few mentions of throwing up; A couple mentions of possible murders; A couple mentions of the possibility of a wife killing her husband (she did not); A couple mentions of whippings/beatings; A couple mentions of a person being stolen (but actually ran away); A couple mentions of nightmares; A mention of an execution; A mention of drugging another; A mention of manure;
             *Note: Whitney recalls hearing about women in other places being “cowards” by staying at home sewing and tending gardens & she almost wonders if she is a descendant of “one of those weaklings”; Whitney’s brother taunts/threatens her pet weasel with roasting him over a fire; Knox thinks that his mother would rise from her grave and smack him if he didn’t help someone.
 
 
Sexual Content- Holding hands, a shiver, & a blush (all once); Knox calls Whitney pretty and she blushes; Know believes that true love is a myth and “one only married to further a legacy”; Mentions of a couple being in love; A few mentions of men in her village being interested in Whitney (but her brother threatening all of them);
             *Note: A mention of sore buttocks.
 
-Whitney McRether
-Knox Schilling
                                P.O.V. switches between them 
                                                        136 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

This was very different than I was expecting! I’m pretty sure this is one of the shortest of this multi-authored series and while I would have liked more about Whitney and Knox’s friendship-leading-to-more that’s quickly thrown in at the very end, it was a fast paced plot. 

 

Whitney's family and village are called barbarians, but some of them (particularly Whitney’s brother) reminded me of the Vikings with their eagerness to ruin other people’s lives. Her brother was really rough and even tortures someone, which was unpleasant to read about. That was what didn’t really make sense to me because Whitney followed the Maker (God) and her mom mentioned Him as well, and though she noted that not every believed in the Maker, but her brother was off trapping traders and stealing their stuff. You could argue they needed it for their village/people to survive, but then he starts torturing someone that is connected to the Queen. It didn’t quite add up for me. 

 

I did like the setting, despite it being set in the freezing cold and I’m not a cold weather person. The author did well creating a new culture and while it wasn’t really my cup of tea, those who like cold weather (freezing, really) settings and Viking-like barbarians may enjoy it more than 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.

 

"A Noble Comfort" by Katja H. Labonté

About this book:

  “As lady-in-waiting to the crown princess, Thalassa d’Acton is used to hectic palace life. The bustle is a good excuse to avoid thinking of the insecurities that plague her. But when a usurper takes over the throne, Thalassa finds herself and her princess imprisoned in a lonely tower—and with all the time in the world to worry.
     Outlawed Azaziah has roamed the land for years with his band of Inseparables. Playing knight errant was a God-given task, and helps him bear the knowledge that evil is spreading over his land unopposed. But now he alone knows the secret plans of the usurpers… and he isn’t enough to overturn the peril himself.
     As personal and political turmoil heightens, despair floods over the hearts of Thalassa and Azaziah. What can comfort them even in the face of defeat? And can their inadequacy and loneliness possibly be the very opening the Eternal needs to change the course of their country’s destiny?”


Series: Book #16 in the multi-author series, “Cornerstone”. It does not seem to be connected to any other books, however. A stand-alone novel. Click on the books to be taken to that review: Book #1, Book #2, Book #3, Book #4, Book #5, Book #6, Book #7, Book #8, Book #9, Book #10, Book #11, and Book #12! The rest will be reviewed in the upcoming weeks. 


Spiritual Content- Every chapter starts with a Scripture (or more); Many Scriptures are quoted, read, remembered, & thought over; Many Prayers & Thanking God; God is often called ‘the Eternal’ throughout this book; Talks about God, His will, & trusting Him; 'H's are not capital when referring to God; *Spoilers* Around halfway, Azaziah realizes that the Eternal cannot be defeated and is always in control; He takes comfort and confidence in this; Later, he thinks that the Eternal has equipped him to fight a battle against evil, but towards the end, realizes that it is God who will decide the outcome, not Azaziah *End of Spoilers*; *Spoilers about Thalassa’s depression and anxiety* When imprisoned, Thalassa wonders what her faith really means if she could abandon it so quickly in hard times; When Constanza asks if she’s prayed about it, Thalassa thinks that it never occurred to her to seek help for her struggles with inferiority and depression as she thought it was a flaw she shouldn’t have and shouldn’t have to bother God with; She realizes how senseless that is and starts to pray and read the Bible more, trying to hold onto the truths she reads even when the darkness tries to come back; This is a major part of the book with her recognizing the fact of the Eternal creating her and receiving His love *End of Spoilers*; Many mentions of God/the Eternal, Jesus Christ, His will, & trusting Him; Many mentions of prayers, praying, & thanking God; Mentions of Bibles, Bible reading, & those and events in the Bible; Mentions of miracles; A few mentions of blessings & being Blessed; A mention of someone being persecuted for their religious beliefs; A mention of meditating (implied on Scripture); 
             *Note: Someone says that the deity ‘Ekklesia’ herself is behind his plans (Alexios thinks that this deity may have“sincere, God-seeking souls in her ranks”, but for the most part is assembled by “religious yet unconverted beings, and her upper layers were little more than a political organization”; No other information about this deity is given after this comment); Thalassa realizes that if she was perfect, she would be a god (realizing that perfection is unrealistic and unattainable); Mentions of defeating evil; A mention of the unholy hours of an early morning; A mention of Cupid; A mention of something not being a talisman.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: 2 ‘balderdash!’s are exclaimed; Being imprisoned & potentially facing a death penalty; A bit of jealousy (from Thalassa to Constanza); Azaziah believes that everyone he has loved is lost to him (either by death or the person walking away); Mentions of potential wars; Mentions of possible assassins & assassination attempts (including being mauled by a tiger); Mentions of possible executions, beheadings, & deaths for treason; Mentions of grief & a man being cruel to his daughter for being the cause of his wife’s death following childbirth; Mentions of prisons, prisoners, & being imprisoned; Mentions of injuries & pain (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of nightmares; A couple mentions of hunting; A mention of a death (due to a duel); A mention of a rumor of a woman doing cruel acts in fits of anger; A mention of possible murderers or robbers; 
             *Note: Thalassa struggles with feeling inferior & due to circumstances, she also battles depression and anxiety (*Spoiler, but notes about the depression and anxiety parts* Once held in a prison with Constanza, Thalassa struggles with having nothing to live for and difficultly waking up in the morning; Her depression is also said to be her “falling into the darkness” and halfway, she reads the Bible and prays about it, which helps though she still feels that the darkness is not easily vanquished *End of Spoilers*); A man catches a moth to burn it in a candle’s flame; A mention of others slandering a princess, saying she is a “bundle of defects”.
 
 
Sexual Content- A bit of jealousy (from Thalassa to Constanza and being on the end of a smitten smile from someone); Azaziah says another man is blessed because he doesn’t know what it is to love someone and be rejected; Thalassa craves affection and longs to be the most important person to someone, such as being chosen as a man’s lifelong partner; Mentions of jealousy/envy; A mention of flirtation; 
             *Note: Thalassa thinks negatively about her appearance and figure a couple of times (*Spoiler* but realizes that the Eternal had “fashioned [made] her [H]imself”; Towards the end, she makes a comment of self-depreciation *End of Spoiler*).
 
-Thalassa, 
-Azaziah
                                P.O.V. switches between them & Alexios (x1)
                                                        197 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

Whenever I have the opportunity to read a book that was written by a dear book friend, I’m always excited but also a bit nervous! Yay, I get to read their book! But what if I don’t enjoy the plot or the characters? It can put a reader in an awkward position, but I’m a firm believer that kind honesty in the best policy in many ways.

 

I’m happy to say that I did enjoy many elements of this story! I’ll admit that there was a lot of characters and they all had very unique names, so I did have a bit of a challenge with that at times and used the search feature on my Kindle then. Because of this and all the unfamiliar names of the fictional places and characters, the book definitely felt longer than it’s 190 pages so I did struggle throughout reading the book and it keeping my interest because of this and trying to keep everyone straight. 

 

I was curious about Azaziah and we get hints about his past throughout the book, but once it all came to light, I got a little excited to see what would happen next. The last 30% of this book is where it really picked up for me and I got invested into the plot. I really liked the writing style and was able to visualize a lot of different parts while reading because of the descriptive writing style, which was neat. 

 

Out of the 13 (of 16 total) books I’ve read from this series, I would say this one has the most faith content by far! I really liked how personal it became to Thalassa and how we see her try to trust God while struggling with depression over the circumstances she’s in. It was beautifully done and obviously a topic neat to the author’s heart, which she shared in the author’s note at the end of the book. 

 

Personally, I would have loved pictures of everyone’s outfits and the items described, but I snooped on the author’s Instagram and Pinterest, which helped quite a bit with that. ;) 

 

There’s really not a romance in this book, but the message of trusting God no matter what (including through anxiety and depression) took center stage, which I thought was carefully done with sincere encouragement. I would put this book in my top five for the series so far!

 

 

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.

"A Noble Intent" by Kendall Hoxsey

About this book:

  “A dethroned prince wants his kingdom back. His enemy’s granddaughter stands in his way.
    Prince Max and his elite warriors, the Wolves, have lived in hiding since Lady Vermilion and her Huntsmen conquered the kingdom of Cadmium over ten years ago. He has spent his time training, planning, and strategizing for the day he can take back his kingdom and avenge his family. But to do this, he must find the legendary red diamond that is said to bear the power to appoint the true ruler and remove those in power who wish to use the throne for their own purposes.
    Gisela’s grandmama, Lady Vermilion, has made no secret of her disappointment in Gisela’s scholarly pursuits. But now, Gisela has a chance to redeem herself in her grandmama’s eyes as she’s sent on a journey to find the ancient sage--The Owl--and use her gifts of language translation to decipher ancient texts that will lead her to the powerful red diamond. If she can help her grandmama solidify her place on the throne, Gisela will become what she always has dreamed of being. Wanted.
    When Max masquerades undercover as a guide to lead Gisela on a journey to find the red diamond, they must face trouble neither of them anticipated. And learning to trust their darkest enemy, might become their brightest hope.”


Series: Book #12 in the multi-author series, “Cornerstone”. It does not seem to be connected to any other books, however. A stand-alone novel. Click on the books to be taken to that review: Book #1, Book #2, Book #3, Book #4, Book #5, Book #6, Book #7, Book #8, Book #9, Book #10, and Book #11!


Spiritual Content- Prayers; Talks about God; Most ‘H’s are not capital when referring to God; In the beginning chapter from the point of view of Max, he says he’s killed Lady Vermillion’s huntsmen, but God will forgive him and he will “restore order to this kingdom and then dedicate [his] life to His penitence [after he has avenged his family]”; *Spoiler* Later, someone tells Max that he has let hate rule his heart and Max says that God does not answer selfish prayers so he hasn’t prayed about it; Towards the end, Max is willing to make any bargain with God for something and thinks that God is testing him; Max has a hard time trusting God because God allowed bad things to happen, but realizes he wasn’t allowing God to guide him and at the very end understands what the person meant *End of Spoilers*; Gisela doesn’t understand how her grandmother can tell her to kill someone when that is a sin & that only God has the right to “strike someone down”; Gisela hasn’t prayed since her parents died because her grandmother didn’t insist on prayer; Someone tells Gisela that God will be with her and will always listen and help her (“though, it just may not be the help you are specifically asking for”); The red diamond was a gift from God that whoever possesses it is the king or queen of the country as God bestowed it as a gift to the ruler; Mentions of God & praying; Mentions of prayers & praying, & thanking God; A mention of someone feeling as if God ignored his plea; A couple mentions of the devil being on someone’s heels; A mention of a Bible; 
             *Note: Max thinks about someone competing with the demons from his past; There are talking birds and a talking fox; Mentions of a talking dragon; A mention of a superstition.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: ‘curse that woman!’ is exclaimed once & a ‘drat’ is also said; Eye rolling & Sarcasm; A mention of a curse (said, not written); Being attacked, being shot with an arrow, being held at sword-point, holding someone at knife-point, knocking someone unconscious, pain, injuries, blood/bleeding, & passing out (up to semi-detailed); Having the opportunity to kill someone and holding a knife to the person’s throat (*Spoiler* Max with Lady Vermillion *End of Spoiler*); Planning to poison/kill someone *Spoiler* Gisela’s grandmother towards her *End of Spoiler*; Max hates Lady Vermillion and her family for killing his family and wants revenge (major plot point as it’s consumed his life); Gisela’s grandmother has ordered her to kill Max, but Gisela doesn’t think she can do that and questions her grandmother about it (which makes her grandmother grab her; Later, Gisela thinks about if Max is really her enemy just because of family ties and history and knows that nothing will bring her mother back; Gisela knows she can’t do it); It’s implied that Gisela has been physically abused (slapped) by her grandmother as well as the verbal abuse she’s been subjected to for years; Despite this, Gisela has tried to win her grandmother’s approval; A story is shared about a young girl almost being eaten by a dragon after her family was attacked by the dragon (but ultimately, the dragon adopts the young girl has her daughter); Many mentions of killing, murders, deaths (including of parents), and an order to assassinate someone; Many mentions of revenge & hatred; Mentions of attacks; Mentions of kidnappings & ransoms; Mentions of prisons & prisoners; Mentions of lies, lying, liars, & deceit; A few mentions of a dragon killing someone & someone killing the dragon; A few mentions of grief; A few mentions of alcohol & drinking (Lady Vermillion has a glass of brandy in her POV); A few mentions of gossip; A few mentions of jealousy; A few mentions of hunters; A couple mentions of hangings; A couple mentions of someone being tortured; A couple mentions of stealing; A mention of someone falling to their death; A mention of a young boy seeing his family murdered; A mention of the huntsmen leaving a child to die in an abandoned well; A mention of a blood oath; A mention of slave labor (by dwarves who kidnap humans for this);
             *Note: A couple mentions of the death of a mother and young sibling in childbirth.
 
 
Sexual Content- A jawline kiss and a not-detailed kiss; Touches, Embraces, Dancing, Nearness, & Smelling (including muscles, border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Wanting to embrace; Noticing (including muscles, barely-above-not-detailed; Gisela’s grandmother has wanted all the male attention on herself, so Gisela has never spent time with a man; A few mentions of feelings & attraction; A few mentions of flirting & blushes; A mention of wooing someone; A mention of a man being frantic about producing a child with his new wife; Some attraction, love, falling in love, & the emotions.
 
-Gisela
-Max
                                P.O.V. switches between them, Lady Vermillion (x2), & Hugo (x1)
                                                        114 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

I have to say that some things didn’t make sense to me at times, which may have been due to missing punctuation and typos, unfortunately. I will also add, however, that this is probably one of the ones in the series so far that I didn’t feel like the ending was rushed. 

 

I thought it was interesting how Gisela wasn’t sure if the missing prince was her enemy like her grandmother views him, but then Max automatically views Gisela as his enemy because of her connection to the woman who killed his family. I could understand Max (as much as I could) with his desire for revenge, but that was definitely his main personality trait. I honestly didn’t care for Max even besides his plan for and focus on getting revenge. At one point he purposely pushes Gisela’s buttons and thinks about how fun it is to tease her, but it didn’t feel like teasing to me and definitely not to her. I struggled with his character for the majority of the book. I didn’t love the faith content with Max as it didn’t feel like a satisfying ending in that regard where it was a clear change from what he was the rest of the book. 

 

I’ve noticed some similarities between Little Red Riding Hood and Snow White before, but especially with this retelling. I had to keep reminding myself it wasn’t a Snow White retelling because it felt like one often. The author will be sharing a novella that is collected to this story that is a Snow White retelling (well, after the main events of story), however, so it made sense that I was seeing nods to that classic tale as well. 

 

Despite the small page amount, the events in this book were well paced throughout the story. I liked the different elements of the classic Little Red Riding Hood story that came to play. I didn’t personally greatly enjoy this short story, but I liked different parts and think it would be enjoyable for some other readers as well. 

 

 

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.