Monday, December 7, 2015

"The Lopsided Christmas Cake" by Wanda E. Brunstetter & Jean Brunstetter



{{It’s December and that means Christmas book reviews here on BFCG! Unlike how we did last year with every review day being a Christmas book, this year just Monday & Friday will be reviews of Christmas books. Wednesdays will be reserved for new releases. :) A couple giveaways are also scheduled this month, so keep an eye out!}}

About this book:

  “Twin sisters Elma and Thelma Hochstetler have done everything together for their thirty-two years of life—including remaining unmarried. They inherited their grandparents’ house and general store, which will support them well. Now they will take on baking a cake for a Shipshewana charity event together.
  They are decent cooks, but they didn’t anticipate having to demonstrate the baking process on stage before their cake will be auctioned off. They panic, and Elma struggles to keep order while Thelma bumbles through the process with a smile. The pair end up being so entertaining that the bachelor friends in attendance, Joseph Beechy and Delbert Gingerich, think it was all planned. Joseph, a shy harness maker, would like to meet Thelma and asks Delbert to bid on the sisters’ cake. 
  Could a lopsided Christmas cake be the key to opening the door for one or more of the Hochstetler twins?”


Series: As of now, no.


Spiritual Content- Prayers & Blessing over food; Talks about God & His time; ‘H’s when referring to God are capital; Bible reading; Scriptures are remembered, quoted & mentioned; Mentions of God; Mentions of church & sermons.


Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘shut up’ and two forms of ‘dumb’; Killing ants with borax (semi-detailed); Cats attack mice & rats (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of deaths (barely-above-not-detailed); A mention of a horse that was killed (no details); A mention of vomiting (barely-above-not-detailed).


Sexual Content- three semi-detailed kisses; A married couple kiss on the cheek; Remembering a kiss (semi-detailed); Hand holding; Noticing; Mentions of love at first sight; Love falling in love & the emotions.

-Elma Hochstetler, age 32
-Joy Jorgenson, age 32

                                P.O.V. switches between them, Joseph, Delbert & Kathryn (once)
                                                        203 pages

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Pre Teens- 

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

Hmm. I was hoping I would enjoy this one better than Wanda E. Brunstetter’s other books. Sadly, I didn’t. :(  There was so much useless and filler chatter. So much. It was annoying, really. Elma & Thelma (I wish the names were more different, because I kept getting them confused) seemed very young for being 32. The actual plot didn’t actually start till page 110 of 203. Those twenty pages after were cute, but from then on it felt like it went downhill. I didn’t like either of the guys or the love at first sight Joseph had. Delbert & Elma got on my nerves so bad and it was incredibly frustrating to see everyone push them together. Elma was okay the first 100 pages, but when Delbert comes to the picture, he definitely brought out the worse in her and her in him. Overall, I was very disappointed in this book. :(


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

Friday, December 4, 2015

"The Christmas Joy Ride" by Melody Carlson



{{It’s December and that means Christmas book reviews here on BFCG! Unlike how we did last year with every review day being a Christmas book, this year just Monday & Friday will be reviews of Christmas books. Wednesdays will be reserved for new releases. :) A couple giveaways are also scheduled this month, so keep an eye out!}}

About this book:

  “Miranda did not put adventure on her Christmas list, but thanks to her eighty-five-year-old neighbor Joy, that's exactly what she's getting this year. When Joy tells Miranda that she plans to drive an old RV decked out in Christmas decorations from their Chicago neighborhood to her new retirement digs in Phoenix--in the dead of winter, no less--the much younger Miranda insists that Joy cannot make such a trip by herself. Besides, a crazy trip with Joy would be more interesting than another Christmas home alone. Unemployed and facing foreclosure, Miranda feels she has nothing to lose by packing a bag and heading off to Route 66. But Joy has a hidden agenda for their Christmas joyride--and a hidden problem that could derail the whole venture.
  No one captures the heartwarming fun of the Christmas season quite like Melody Carlson. Fasten your seat belt, because it's going to be an exciting ride!”



Series: As of now, no.


Spiritual Content- Prayers (& many mentions of prayers); The Bible & Scriptures are mentioned; Talks about God & having faith; ‘H’s when referring to God are not capital; Mentions of nativity sets, baby Jesus & the true meaning of Christmas; All about Christmas!;
*Note: A mention of a lady who is anit-religion.  


Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘dumb’, a ‘oh my word’, a ‘what the heck’ and two ‘stupid’s; Mentions of curses (not written); A mention of a car crash (barely-above-not-detailed); A mention of an alcoholic; A couple mentions of drug addicts & prions; A couple mentions of rehab centers & addictions; A few mentions of divorce; Mentions of sewers, hookups & black water (barely-above-not-detailed).


Sexual Content- a forehead kiss & a not-detailed kiss; Miranda’s husband cheated & left her for another woman; A mention of another husband who left for a younger woman; Noticing & Attraction that could lead to love.

-Miranda Fortner, age 36
-Joy Jorgenson, age 85-86

                                P.O.V. switches between them
                                                        168 pages

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

My goodness, this was a cute book! I don’t know what my favorite part was! I loved Joy, her giving heart and her desire to bless others for Christmas. The beginning to middle was so sweet and I had a feeling that the last half would have a bit of romance in it. “The Christmas Joy Ride” was such a fun plot and almost like a Hallmark Christmas movie—only better!


See y’all on Monday with a new Christmas 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 review.

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

"Follow Our Leader" by Vicki Watson



About this book:

  “Rosie can't wait for The Great Adventure - the family's first summer camp at Sonrise Stable! However the week presents several unanticipated challenges with the possibility of losing old friends - human and equine, becoming a role model to a rambunctious young camper, and facing persecution from an unexpected source. Through it all, Rosie learns valuable lessons about following Christ, whether His path leads to the mountaintop or through a valley.”


Series: Book #6 in the “Sonrise Stable” series. (Book #1’s review Here! Book #2’s review Here! Book #3’s review Here! Book #4’s review Here! Book #5’s review Here!)


Spiritual Content- Matthew 16:24 & 1 Corinthians 11:1 at the beginning; Lots of Witnessing; Many Bible lessons & discussions; Many talks about God, following & being a Christian; Talks about heaven, hell & eternity; ‘Hs are capital when referring to God; Many Scriptures are quoted & discussed; Many Prayers & Blessings over food; Mentions of Bibles & Bible reading; Mentions of those in the Bible; Mentions of church; A hymn is sung, written & mentioned; Billy doesn’t think God can love him (lots of witnessing to him, too!).


           

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘rats’ and three ‘stupid’s; Horse manure, vet stuff & colic (semi-detailed); A couple mentions of cheating & abused horses; A couple mentions of past horses that have died (barely-above-not-detailed); A couple mentions of eating animals & vegetarians.


Sexual Content- N/A

-Rosie, 10/11
                               P.O.V. of Rosie
                                       130 pages

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Pre Teens-

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating-

{Add ½ a star for horse lovers}
All these books have great lessons in them, and this one was filled with Spiritual Content! Lots and lots of witnessing & discussions. I’m sure many horse lovers will enjoy this series! I thought this one was the last book, but I’m happy to find out it’s not! :)


See y’all on Friday with another 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.