"Leap Day in the Square" by Erynn Mangum

About this book:

  “Lucy McGrady only wants two things - to open up her cotton candy truck in time for her town's Leap Day in the Square celebration and to never see Ben Wilson again. And yet, somehow, these two things seem mutually exclusive.
    Lucy has spent most of her adult life trying to forget high school, thanks to Ben. Starting up her cotton candy truck, the Farmhouse Floof, is a dream come true and it seems like everything is finally going her way. Until the new health inspector comes over and it's none other than Ben Wilson. What could the Lord possibly be wanting to accomplish in this situation?
    On top of everything going on with the Farmhouse Floof, there's also the new Bible study on forgiveness Lucy's sister is dragging her to, weekly family dinners with her extremely tight and usually overly-nosy parents and sisters, and just when it seems like nothing can get worse, insert a stray cat.
    Lucy's about to discover that while sometimes the Lord works in mysterious ways, sometimes He just has to plop her right in the middle of the impossible to redeem everything that was broken and fix the unfixable.”


Series: Book #1 in the “Holidays in Hillview” series. 


Spiritual Content- Many Scriptures are read, quoted, mentioned, discussed, & thought about; Many Prayers, Thanking/Praising God, & Blessings over food (including one that Lucy calls disrespectful and she isn’t surprised she didn’t get an answer); Going to church (including a time Lucy is unable to focus on the sermon) & a Bible study (which Lucy doesn’t want to go to for different reasons but goes to a handful of times and does the lesson book at home; The lessons and pastor’s message are often shared); Quotes by Saint Augustine, C.S, Lewis, Lewis B. Smedes, & Jean Sophia Pigott are read in a Bible study, mentioned, & thought over; Many talks about God, Jesus, forgiveness, a Bible study, sin/sinners, & not being enough, but being enough in God; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Lucy feels like she isn’t good enough and struggles with that thought which has affected her Bible reading; *Spoilers* Lucy has the feeling of not being good enough again and then hears the still, quite voice of the Lord saying “Because you’re not. And that’s okay. Because I am.” and she realizes she has let others determine who she was instead of who God says she is *End of Spoilers*; Lucy recalls her friends calling her parents “stricter than God”; Lucy thinks that if she was Moses, she would have added in an Eleventh Commandment (“Thou shall not hide thy dimples underneath thy scowl”); Many mentions of God, Jesus, forgiveness, & peace; Many mentions of Bibles, Bible reading, & Bible studies; Many mentions of churches, church going, services, pastors, sermons, & hymns/worship; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of those in the Bible; Mentions of Christians, becoming one, & being one; Mentions of sins & being a sinner; A few mentions of Pilgrims Progress by John Bunyan; A couple mentions of Heaven; A couple mentions of being Blessed; A couple mentions of a children’s ministry at church; A couple mentions of testimonies; A mention of Dallas Theological Seminary; A mention of a prayer request; A mention of something smelling like Heaven;
             *Note: Lucy’s sister says that some lies are not sins, but Lucy argues that lying to your sister in church counts as a lie; Lucy thinks “hell hath no fury like the older sister of one scorned”; Lucy thinks her sister looks like an angel; A mention of Cupid.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘crappy’, a ‘holy smokes’, a ‘idiot’, a ‘ticked off’, a ‘what the heck’, two ‘dumb’s, three ‘gosh’s, three ‘stupid’s, and ten ‘oh my gosh’s; Eye rolling & Sarcasm; Lucy lies a couple of times to her family (to hide her feelings or that she’s gotten enough sleep when they ask); Lucy’s sisters mention about killing Ben and burying his body in their family’s acreage because of what he did to her (which Lucy gets concerned one sister might do this); Mentions of selling organs on the black market (which is what Lucy thinks her sister’s fiancé does); Mentions of poison; Mentions of bullies, mean girls, & their pranks; Mentions of hatred; A few mentions of potential kidnappers & being kidnapped; A few mentions of smoking; A few mentions of lies & lying; A couple mentions of World War II & Nazis; A couple mentions of jail & felons; A couple mentions of possible car accidents; A couple mentions of gossip; A couple mentions of “animal jails” (animal shelters); A mention of a Russian mob; A mention of thieves; A mention of serial killer movies; A mention of a con man;
             *Note: Lucy struggles with feeling like she isn’t good enough; Lucy and her sisters were bullied in high school about being from a “white trash house” and their lack of money; Lucy has kept from her family about most everything that happened to her in high school, but tells them all of it half-way through (*Spoiler* A girl named Carla and her boyfriend, Ben, with their group would make fun of Lucy by making snide comments of her family’s lack of money and her clothes which made Lucy feel like she wasn’t good enough; Their comments and pranks escalated when a comic was started at a school about her being a superhero with a hand making an ‘L’ for loser on the cape and they all dressed up as her for Halloween with raggedy clothes; She verbally tore into them and Ben left her notes of apologizing in her locker; Eventually and after sharing more notes back and forth, Ben asked her to go to prom and she said yes, but when she got there, he was dancing with Carla and made an ‘L’ for loser aimed at Lucy; *Major Spoilers* It turns out Carla left a note for Ben and signed it from Lucy where it said she would never date someone from a broken family like him; Lucy is stunned by this information and promised it wasn’t her; He apologizes for what happened and that despite not knowing the Lord then, knew what he was doing was wrong; She sobs at the emotions and things that her teenage-self had to face and they choose to start over *End of Spoilers*; Mentions of the foster care system & an implied bad experience; Mentions of movies, TV shows, actors, books, & fictional characters (Pirates of the Caribbean, Marvel movies, Ben-Hur, Angels in the Outfield, The Princess Bride, That Thing You Do, Seinfeld, The Andy Griffin Show, MythBusters, Psych, Chad Michael Murray, Michael Buble, Count of Monte Cristo, Lion King characters, Daffy Duck, the Joker, Mrs. Bennet from Pride and Prejudice, Jedis from Star Wars, Jack Sparrow, & Mary Poppins); Mentions of bands, singers, & songs (Eagles, Michael Buble, Michael Jackson, Hanson, N*Sync, Aerosmith & Cupid Shuffle); Mentions of Hallmark movies & HGTV; Mentions of brand names & items (Pyrex, Dr. Pepper, M&Ms, Uggs, Tupperware, & iPhone); Mentions of car brands; Mentions of social media platforms & websites (Instagram, Facebook, Amazon, & Google); Mentions of places (Hobby Lobby, Goodwill, Cracker Barrel); A few mentions of Halloween;  A couple mentions of Disney; A mention of ESPN; A mention of Olympic athletes; A mention of the YouTube channel Dude Perfect; A mention of MLM candles; A mention of the grim reaper.
 
 
Sexual Content- A cheek kiss and a barely-above-not-detailed kiss; Seeing an engaged couple kiss & embrace (no details); Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, Warmth, Nearness, & Smelling (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Remembering touches, embraces, & warmth (barely-above-not-detailed); Blushes & Winks; Noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); *Spoiler* After talking about past events, Lucy says it was good that she and Ben never went on a date because it could have led to them dating and he wasn’t a Christian then which could have changed things now *End of Spoiler*; A ‘babe’; Mentions of boyfriends/girlfriends, exes, break-ups, dates, dating, & asking someone out; Mentions of prom; A couple mentions of blushes; A mention of a heartthrob at school; Some love, the start of falling in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: A mention of unmentionables; A mention of butting into a conversation.
 
-Lucy McGrady, age 28
                                P.O.V. switches between them 
                                                        235 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

AH! That ending! Well, now I’m counting down the days to a book I don’t know when is going to be released—that’s just mean! 

 

Let it be known I don’t usually like the whole “misunderstanding-in-high-school-and-holding-onto-to-a-grudge-for-ten-years” trope, but this is one of my favorite authors, so I was going to read it regardless. This was a harsh misunderstanding though—Ben did something to Lucy in a way that truly hurt her and the effects of it have stayed with her all these years. It’s not serious enough to not wish for them to be together one day, but it’s enough to make me side with her sisters about off-ing him and burying him in their family’s acreage for the first while of the book. 

 

That said, when the conversation happened and everything is shared, it wasn’t a “misunderstanding” that I’ve seen in other books and would (quite honestly) roll my eyes at over the pettiness shown by the characters. Perhaps it’s because I felt Lucy’s pain or how the author wrote it, but I could understand her emotions and I’m really glad she wasn’t petty back to those who hurt her. I think that’s probably the main difference from other times I’ve read this trope before, the main girl there is usually insufferable and acts like she’s still in high school despite being in her late twenties. Lucy was definitely not this way and I greatly appreciated it and it made the story actually believable.

 

Just like for Lucy, it took a while for me to warm up to Ben. I do wish they would have talked about The Events™️ just a wee bit more when it all came to light, but I think the discussions that they had were shown well with their emotions and regret and moving forward. As I always appreciate with this author’s books and a reason why Erynn Mangum is a top favorite author of mine, there was a ton of faith content and the main character going about her life, but also going to church and a Bible study. There’s something about that that I just love to see, but especially in this book as it highlights forgiveness (despite Lucy not really wanting to hear about that topic) and that we’re not enough because we all need the Lord. Everything was so well done in the faith content and it felt like I was right in there with them in class. 

 

I loved seeing Lucy and her sisters and many of their conversations made me laugh out loud, so I’m so excited that the next book will be Dani’s story! I definitely need Sam’s ASAP, though! This is the problem about starting a series as it’s being released—you have to have patience and wait for the next book, something I still haven’t perfected in my many years of reviewing!

 

 

 

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.

"The Broken Branch" by Erynn Mangum

About this book:

  “Jess Callahan is not ok.
    Two months ago, Jess got a phone call that changed her life forever. Her dad had been in a car accident and her mom was now alone, trying to manage the goat farm Jess grew up on by herself. Going back to New Mexico was never a part of Jess' plan, but here she is - stuck in New Mexico and stuck in her faith.
   Where was God when the accident happened? If He's truly all powerful and truly loves them, why did God allow her dad to die? How can a loving God be so cruel?
   Wrestling both with her thoughts and the goats, Jess is faced with a Will the accident wreck her faith as well? And when her childhood friend shows up, will she set aside her stubbornness and accept the help?
  Jess' story of loss is a delicate weaving of grief, redemption and hope.”


Series: A stand-alone novel. 


Spiritual Content- Psalm 46:10 at the ending; Many Scriptures are read, quoted, mentioned, thought over, & discussed in a sermon; Prayers, Praising God, & Blessings over food; Church going, worship, & a sermon; Many talks about God, why bad things happen, Heaven, grief, & having Hope; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Jess isn’t on great terms with God after the death of her father & doesn’t believe God care about how hard it is on her family or that God made a huge mistake, later adding that if feels as if God is against her; Jess recalls prior to the accident when she would read her Bible and everything was amicable with her and God & wonders how much of it was her just following the rules and doing what she knew she was supposed to do; *Spoiler* Toward the end with love, prayers, and discussions with her mom and Trey lead Jess to read different Scriptures and while she may not understand why her father died, she will trust God *End of Spoiler*; Many mentions of God & Jesus; Many mentions of churches, church going, pastors, sermons, services, hymns/songs, youth group; Mentions of prayers, praying, & blessings over food; Mentions of Bibles, Bible reading, & Scriptures; Mentions of those & events in the Bible; Mentions of Heaven; A couple mentions of Christians; A couple mentions of Christian radio stations; A mention of a miracle. 


Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a form of ‘crap’, a ‘gosh’, a ‘holy cow’, an ‘idiot’, a ‘for Pete’s sake’, a ‘ticked’, a ‘sheesh’, a ‘stupid’, two forms of ‘dumb’, & three ‘dang it’s; When Trey comments on “what they say about assuming”, Jess baits him to see if he’ll say the word in front of her and her mother, but he deflects with the mention of a teacher they both had that would throw out the “occasional curse word”; Sarcasm & Eye rolling; Pain, Injuries, & Blood/Bleeding (barely-above-not-detailed); Grief & some guilt/what-ifs (up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of Jess and her family’s grief, the sudden death of her father, & lightly the details of how it happened (car accident, up to semi-detailed on everything else); Mentions of other deaths (from cancer & a brain tumor); Mentions of divorces & a father leaving his family; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of predators attacking and killing goats and chickens (barely-above-not-detailed); A couple mentions of child abusers; A mention of murderers; A mention of a hostile government attacking another one; A mention of a bombing; A mention of puke; A mention of a rabid raccoon killing a rabbit; 
             *Note: Mentions of goats going through labor with some blood/details & having constipation (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of TV shows, movies, & fictional characters (Seinfeld, American Idol, Phineas and Ferb, Gilmore Girls, Day After Tomorrow, The Princess Bride, & Miracle on 34^th Street); Mentions of Starbucks; Mentions of brand names (Pepsi, Coke, Carhartt, Band-Aid, LL Bean, & Motrin); Mentions of car brands; Mentions of social media platforms; A few mentions of anxiety (including Jess panicking that her mom could be killed or paralyzed); A few mentions of restaurants & places (Sonic, Cracker Barrel, Ace Hardware); A few mentions of Hallmark movies; A couple mentions of sleeping pills given to help with anxiety; A mention of a Disney movie; A mention of a zombie apocalypse.
 
 
Sexual Content- A head kiss, a cheek kiss, four not-detailed kisses, two barely-above-not-detailed kisses, and a semi-detailed kiss; Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, Warmth, Nearness, (borderline barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Blushes & Winks; Noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of girlfriends/boyfriends, dating, & dates; Mentions of crushes & broken hearts; Mentions of girls fawning over Trey when they were growing up; Mentions of prom; A few mentions of kisses & kissing; A couple mentions of flirting; Some love, falling in love, & the emotions.
 
-Jessica “Jess” Callahan, age 27
                                  1^st person P.O.V. of Jess 
                                                        220 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

{Add up to a full star for those who have recently lost loved ones.}

I knew this book would make me cry. 

It did. Many times in fact, eight times to be exact. Plus another seven times of the words going blurry on my screen. (Honestly, I was already tearing up at the end of the first chapter.)

 

I hate to say that this book was relatable because that feels weird to say about a book with such a focus on grief. Maybe a better way to say it would be that I felt seen. My grief of losing a sibling is obviously much different than Jess’ or the author’s grief of losing a parent, but I felt so many of the same emotions she felt and questions that she had. Saying that grief is hard is an understatement, but this book handled it so well with discussing the Hope we have to have while we grieve, to focus on Jesus during those times. I truly wish I had this book a year ago, but it was still a balm to my healing heart, as cheesy as that might sound.  

 

On another note: I love how male leads in Erynn Mangum’s books encourage the main girl in her faith. I’ve easily read 2000+ Christian Fiction books over the years and rarely do I ever see a male lead do this like I see in a book by this author. This is part of the inspiring faith content I sign up for when I read an Erynn Mangum book. I love it. Add in that Trey in this story is Jess’ brother’s best friend and I was tickled pink at the sweet romance. It wasn’t the main focus of the book as that’s definitely more about Jess’ grief and what’s next for her, but it was there and weaved through the book in such a natural way.

 

This book may have made me cry, but it was also so healing to my scarred heart. An excellent book to say the least. 

 

 

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.

 

"Mind the Gap" by Erynn Mangum

About this book:

  “The best thing to do when all your dreams get crushed? Pack your bags and head to London.

   Kate Macon has spent her life preparing to be a teacher and six weeks into her dream come true, everything crashes and burns thanks to budget cuts and a hiring freeze. With nothing but bowls of cookie dough and Pride and Prejudice marathons to look forward to, it’s not a hard decision when her grandmother calls and invites her on a trip to London.

   However, instead of being an escape from reality, London just proves to be a catalyst for bringing out the worst in Kate. All her fears, insecurities and frustration seem to be right in front of everything. And her feisty grandmother, not to mention their quick-witted tour guide, aren’t helping to lift the mood.

   What could the Lord possibly be doing by causing so much havoc in Kate’s life? When everything seems to be falling apart, could it be Jesus putting things back together – but in a way Kate never could have imagined?

   Grab your passport and a hot cup of coffee. This is a London adventure you won’t want to miss.”

Series: As of now, no.

Spiritual Content- Scriptures are quoted, mentioned, remembered, read, discussed, & thought over; Bible reading; Prayers & Blessings over food; Watching someone saying a blessings over someone else; Church going, a sermon, & also visiting historical churches; Many talks about God & trusting Him; ‘H’s are capitalized when referring to God; Kate is struggling to find what God wants her to do her with life & a lack of direction; Many mentions of God, Jesus, & trusting Him; Many mentions of Bibles, Bible reading, devotionals, studies, & Scriptures; Many mentions of churches/chapels, church going, sermons, hymns, & pastors; Mentions of prayers, praying, blessings over food, & praising God; Mentions of Heaven, eternity, & being in the presence of Jesus; Mentions of Kate’s thoughts that God must prefer to listen to British prayers than American ones (because of the accent); Mentions of sins, sinning, & sinners; A few mentions of those in the Bible; A few mentions of the rapture & waiting for the Lord’s return; A few mentions of Charles Spurgeon & Elisabeth Elliot; A couple mentions of Christians & witnessing; A couple mentions of blessings; A couple mentions of a family that was agnostic; A mention of if someone was more charismatic, she’d be shouting “Hallelujah!”; A mention of a monastery; A mention of a Christian school; A mention of the phrase “we don’t know him from Adam”; A mention of idle hands being the devil’s workshop;

             *Note: A few mentions of Ghandi & a couple quotes from him (Oliver disagrees with him on what truth is and that if humankind is as good as Ghandi said, we wouldn’t need Jesus); A mention of going backwards in the evolutionary process; A mention of Egyptian’s thoughts about the afterlife; A mention of a Bible study that said “if you aren’t sinning, then do what you want”. 

 

 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘holy cow’, a ‘rats’, a ‘shoot’, a form of ‘shut up’, a ‘stupid’, two ‘blimey’s, two forms of ‘dang/dang it’, and seven ‘oh my gosh’s; A mention of the phrase “you know what they say about assuming” (the answer is not said); Eye rolling & Sarcasm; Mentions of those who were beheaded, executed, & tortured in history; Mentions of wars, fighting, & the Nazis; Mentions of prisons & being arrested; Mentions of thieves, bank robbers, & stolen items; A few mentions of the possibility of a plane crash & a terrorist attack; A few mentions of serial killers, gangs, & con-men; A few mentions of the possibility of being kidnapped; A couple mentions of car accident & death; A couple mentions of illnesses & deaths; A couple mentions of (not) transporting a body or illegal weapons; A couple mentions of bars; A (teasing) mention of being mistaken as the Unabomber; A mention of deaths from falling off ladders; A mention of deaths from a historical accident; A mention of being cautious with ibuprofen so that you don’t accidentally overdose; A mention of a urine sample; A mention of finding a mouse stuck in a sticky trap; A mention of wondering if lying doesn’t count as lying when it’s about a gift for someone;  

             *Note: Many mentions of books, movies, TV shows, actors/actresses, celebrities, singers/bands, the Beatles, & fictional characters; Mentions of Instagram & Pinterest; Mentions of Apple products & Siri; Mentions of Disney & characters; A few mentions of Marvel movies & characters; A few mentions of Amazon; A few mentions of Starbucks; A couple mentions of Harry Potter; A couple mentions of Sherlock Holmes; A couple mentions of Hallmark’s movies & the YouTube channels (Lizzie Bennet Diaries and Emma Approved) that were inspired by Jane Austen books; A mention of Maybelline; A mention of aliens.

 

 

Sexual Content- Two cheek kisses, two not-detailed kisses, two barely-above-not-detailed kisses, and a semi-detailed kiss; Remembering a kiss (not-detailed); Touches, Embraces, & Hand holding (barely-above-not-detailed); Butterflies, Blushes, & Winks; Noticing, Nearness, & Smelling (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of girlfriends/boyfriends, dating, dates, & break-ups; Mentions of blushes/blushing, winks, & flirting; A few mentions of boundaries (but not those kinds of boundaries); Love, falling in love, & the emotions;

             *Note: Mentions of a statue of a man wearing only a cloth around his middle & another statue only wearing a loincloth; A couple mentions of centuries of inbreeding in British royalty; A couple mentions of (teasingly) saying Kate’s grandparents were related (they were not, Gran was teasing Kate); A mention of Gran’s opinion that if you’re willing to wear something that could have gotten you stoned not too many years ago and have a pretty face, you can be a movie star; A mention of having to take off your shirt to get something out of a money belt; A mention of butting into a conversation.

 

-Kate Macon, age 23

                                1^st person P.O.V. of Kate

                                                        305 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

{Add a full star for those around Kate’s age or those interested in London.}

Well, I’m on Cloud 9, right now, don’t mind me. Pure happiness radiating within me after finishing this book. This much awaited, very anticipated book. I’ve been anticipating this book since the author first shared about it—I mean, if Erynn Mangum wrote it, I’m already anticipating it, but add on the plot of traveling around London for two weeks, sign me up, please. (No, seriously, I want my own Oliver.)

Kate was very worried at the beginning about a number of things that could go wrong, but it wasn’t until the middle of the book, that I realized, “oh, I’m that way too”, so I think that maybe part of the reason I enjoyed this novel, but a major factor would be the faith content shown in this book. Oliver was a doll, no questions there, but what made him really attractive was how he encouraged Kate’s walk with the Lord and was easy to discuss such topics. So, yes, you would consider this a “romance book”, but it’s one where the faith of the other person is noticed more than their body or physical appearance, and that’s what makes this author’s books stand out above the rest to me.

Hmm, yes, what else do I say? I truly enjoyed this book, I’m so happy with how it ended, It was such an enjoyable read. All the details of Kate and Gran’s London adventure make me so eager to go on my own adventure one day, so count on me rereading this book again and again. I laughed so much, the humor and banter was completely my style (just like the all the other books written by Erynn Mangum), but there was also many touching moments that made me tear up. It was very much a precious novel, and one I definitely see myself recommending for years to come. :)

 

 

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.