Friday, March 15, 2019

"The Dream Dress" by Janice Thompson


About this book:

  Big dreams take big leaps of faith . . . but what if you trip on the way?
  A lowly seamstress at a swanky bridal boutique, Gabi Delgado dreams of doing more than ripping out seams and fitting dresses to doe-eyed brides. She wants to see her own original dress designs gracing the young women of Texas. But when Jordan Singer, reporter for Texas Bride magazine, visits the shop to do a feature, Gabi is humbled in his influential--and unnervingly handsome--presence.
  Convinced she'll never get her dreams off the ground now, Gabi needs lots of encouragement--especially from her friend Bella Neeley--to take a chance and start her business. And as she gets to know Jordan, she discovers that she may have to take a chance on love as well.



Series: Book #3 in the “Weddings by Design” series. Reviews of #1 Here and #2 Here! (Does feature characters from the author’s previous series, “Weddings by Bella” and “Backstage Pass”)


Spiritual Content- A few Scriptures are mentioned; Prayers; Bible reading; Church going & sermons; Many talks about God, fathers, & forgiveness; Being witnessed to; ‘H’s are not capitalized when referring to God; Gabi doesn’t think God cares about her, but does mentioning praying sometimes, *Spoiler* about half-way in the book, she truly understands and prays *End of Spoiler*; Many mentions of God, fathers, & forgiveness; Many mentions of prayers, praying, & blessing over food; Mentions of thanking God; Mentions of those, events, & places in the Bible; Mentions of churches/chapels, church going, lighting candles, Sunday school classes, sermons, services, priests/pastors; Mentions of hymns & worship music; Mentions of blessings & being blessed; Mentions of denominations; Mentions of Catholics, Hail Marys, & the pope; A few mentions of Heaven; A couple mentions of the Bible; A couple mentions of a bird quoting Scriptures; A couple mentions of fans with Virgin Mary on them; A mention of a miracle; A mention of a godly legacy; A mention of a mission trip;
             *Note: A couple mentions of a man who thinks he’s God’s gift to women; A mention of a handsome devil.


Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘duh’, a ‘idiot’, a ‘shut up’; A couple mentions of curses (said, not written); Some sarcasm & eye rolling; Mentions of Gabi’s dad who left when she was young & the divorce; A few mentions of divorces; A few mentions of beer & drinking; A few mentions of animal droppings; A couple mentions of a dead body & injuries (joking); A couple mentions of parents physically abusing their daughter (barely-above-not-detailed); A couple mentions of lying & liars; A couple mentions of hunting & hunters; A mention of a machine-gun sound; A mention of a dog that was run over (no details);
             *Note: Mentions of TV channels, TV shows, celebrities, movies, & fictional characters; Mentions of singers & songs; A few mentions of designers; A couple mentions of car brands; A couple mentions of social media platforms.


Sexual Content- three cheek kisses, three nose kisses, three not-detailed kisses, six barely-above-not-detailed kisses, and two border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed kisses; Remembering kisses (barely-above-not-detailed); Wanting to kiss; Touches, Embraces, & Nearness (barely-above-not-detailed); Noticing & Smelling (barely-above-not-detailed); two ‘babe’s; Mentions of when Gabi’s dad cheated on her mom & leaving their family to go be in another family (including him being a ladies’ man that doesn’t do right by the ladies); Mentions of (not) being a man hater & the battle of the sexes; Mentions of wedding nights (including a mention of girls getting pregnant on their wedding night); A few mentions of kissable lips; A few mentions of crushes; A couple mentions of (a misunderstanding of) thinking a woman works at night (hinted like she’s a prostitute, but she’s not and the misunderstanding is cleared up quickly); A couple mentions of seeing a couple kissing; A couple mentions of married couples kissing; A couple mentions of guys being called gorgeous & yummy; A couple mentions of flirting; A couple mentions of blushes; A mention of a former bad boy; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: Mentions of bustlines, breast sizes, & a woman getting breast implants; A few mentions of joking about coming out of the closet (in the sense of wanting to design wedding dresses); A couple mentions of periods; A couple mentions of buxom women; A mention of a naked lady statue; A mention of hip sizes; A mention of a man’s backside.

-Gabriella “Gabi” Delgado
                                1st person P.O.V. of Gabi
                                                        327 pages

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Pre Teens-
New Teens-
Early High School Teens-
Older High School Teens-
My personal Rating-
Oh, my goodness! I truthfully really enjoyed this book and really loved seeing Gabi’s character development and all the witnessing in this story. While we didn’t really know Gabi from the prior books wells before this one began, I definitely liked learning about her and her career. All the faith content was icing on the cake (😉) and the romance was very sweet and clean. Can’t wait to read the last book in the series!


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.


Friday, March 8, 2019

"Without a Trace" by Emily Thomas


About this book:

  “Following a meeting of the Blue Hill Library's writing group. Lucas Miller disappears. His teenage daughters, Remi and Bella, who are also part-time library employees, are unable to console their distraught mother when Lucas's car is found crashed into a tree outside of town, without him in it. Anne reluctantly agrees to look into the published author's disappearance, but the mystery gets more tangled with each clue she finds. What does the strange code in Lucas's last manuscript mean? How is his disappearance related to the rash of break-ins happening around town?
  Meanwhile, Ben and Liddie's grandparents are coming to town to spend time with them. Their presence floods Anne with bittersweet memories of her late husband, and their attempts to encourage her to consider dating again upset Ben. As the case keeps pulling Anne's attention away, she struggles to give her family the time they deserve.”


Series: Book #13 in the “Secrets of the Blue Hilly Library” series. Reviews of #1 Here, #2 Here, #3 Here, #4 Here, #5 Here, #6 Here, #7 Here, #8 Here, #9 Here, #10 Here, #11 Here, and #12 Here!


Spiritual Content- A few Scriptures are quoted, read, & remembered; Bible reading; Prayers & Thanking God; Talks about God & trusting Him; ‘H’s are capitalized when referring to God; Mentions of God & trusting Him; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of Bible reading & those in the Bible; Mentions of churches, church going, & a reverend; A few mentions of faiths; A few mentions of mission trips; A mention of being blessed;
             *Note: A few mentions of a statue of a god; A couple mentions of evil intentions.


Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘dumb’ and a ‘stupid’; A mention of a curse (said, not written); Going to a casino (for the mystery, not to actually gamble); All about many mentions of a car accident, disappearance, & wondering if the person is still alive (barely-above-not-detailed); All about many mentions of illegal activities, casinos, & gambling; Mentions of car accidents, injuries, blood, & deaths; Mentions of guns being aimed, gunshots, injuries, & blood/bleeding; Mentions of kidnappings, being abducted, & being held hostage; Mentions of crimes (including organized crimes, theft, burglary, and drug charges); Mentions of intruders/thieves, break-ins, & stolen/missing items; Mentions of threats; Mentions of prisons; Mentions of drinking & not being drunk; Mentions of marijuana, cigarettes, smoking, & smoke; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of a husband leaving his family & others doing the same; A couple mentions of vandalism; A couple mentions of rumors; A couple mentions of divorces; A mention of the mafia;
             *Note: Mentions of car brands; A few mentions of social media platforms; A mention of a TV show (Dick Van Dyke); A mention of a band (Beach Boys); A mention of a GQ magazine.


Sexual Content- A little bit of Noticing; A man comments to/flirts with Anne a couple times (not necessarily inappropriate comments, but awkward just the same); two ‘babe’s; Mentions of a married man possibly seeing another woman & possibly cheating (he is not); Mentions of a high school sweetheart, dating, dates, boyfriends, & girlfriends; A few mentions of kisses; A few mentions of a man making passes at a woman; A few mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of winks & blushes.

-Anne Gibson, age 34
                                P.O.V. of Anne
                                                        270 pages

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Pre Teens-
New Teens-
Early High School Teens-
Older High School Teens-
My personal Rating-
To be very honest, this was probably my least favorite in this series to date. The whole plot seemed very far fetched and a little over-the-top dramatic to me. I go into a Guidepost mystery as a laid back and calm read, but this one really wasn’t with the FBI ties and two kidnappings. Felt a little Hallmark movie-ish in the sense of the writing.
On the other side of the plot with Anne deciding if she’s interested in dating or not, it does seem a bit sudden compared to the previous books. A couple parts made me tear up (Liddie’s comment) and I still look forward to reading the rest of the series to see what will happen.


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.