Wednesday, May 3, 2017

"A New Chapter" by Kristin Eckhardt



About this book:

  “Mary Fisher's dream has come true. She's about to open Mary's Mystery Bookshop in her beloved hometown of Ivy Bay on beautiful Cape Cod. But weeks before the grand opening, her shop is broken into and torn apart. Mary is stunned to discover that the only thing missing was an old, dusty photograph of the storefront. Who would have taken it, and why? With the help of her sister, a childhood friend, and decades of reading mystery novels, Mary searches for answers.”


Series: Book #1 (of 24) in the “Secrets of Mary’s Bookshop” series. Please click on the number to be taken to that review: Book #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23, and #24.


Spiritual Content- Scriptures are mentioned, read, remembered, quoted, & talks about; Prayers & thanking God; Church going, singing hymns, & a sermon; Most ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of faiths; Mentions of churches, church events, church going, a pastor & services; Mentions of hymns; Mentions of blessings & feeling blessed; A couple mentions of Sunday school; A couple mentions of stained glass windows with events from the Bible.


Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘dumb’; A bit of sarcasm & eye rolling; All about a break-in and a stolen item; Mentions of husbands who left their families; Mentions of jail, criminal activities, & money laundering; Mentions of vandalism & vandals; Mentions of a fight & a black eye; Mentions of lies, lying & liars; A few mentions of an accident & injuries; A few mentions of pain; A few mentions of a bully & decking him; A couple mentions of a war; A couple mentions of divorces; A couple mentions of gossip; A couple mentions of cigar smoke; A mention of a fire;
*Note: A couple mentions of Boy Scouts.


Sexual Content- A bit of Noticing (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of wondering if someone had an affair & questioning their faithfulness (it’s revealed they didn’t have an affair); Mentions of dating & girlfriends; A few mentions of flirting; A couple mentions of smelling;
            *Note: A mention of a woman’s figure.

-Mary Fisher, age 62
                                        P.O.V. of Mary
                                                        290 pages

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Pre Teens-
New Teens-
Early High School Teens-
Older High School Teens-
My personal Rating-
This was a pretty clean read! I do feel like that Mary was acted out like she was older than what she actually was. Not my favorite Guidepost mystery book (that would go to the Secrets of the Blue Hill Library series), but I did enjoy it. I plan on checking out the rest of the series so see if I’m interesting in the later books. :)


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.

Monday, May 1, 2017

"Road to Harmony" by Sherry Kyle



About this book:

  “It’s 1907 and a cattle thief is loose in Harmony Valley. Elena Seifert wants to help her father guard his dairy farm, but everyone thinks that's a man's job. When her childhood sweetheart returns to Harmony, her heart is torn between Jonas Bollinger, her secret love, and Lars Rissler, the wealthy middle-aged storeowner her parents hope she marries.
  Jonas never imagined he’d be back in Harmony Valley, but his pa isn’t well. When Jonas makes a promise he wishes he didn’t have to keep, he is torn between loyalty to his family and the woman he has loved since he was a boy.
  The thief continues to strike, while a dispute among dairy farmers stirs up discord in the Valley. Is a truce possible so everyone can live in harmony? And will Elena and Jonas find the inner peace to choose love and still do what is best for their families?”


Series: As of now, no.  


Spiritual Content- 1 Peter 3:8 at the beginning; Scriptures are read & thoughts over; Many Prayers & a blessing over food; A bit of witnessing; Church going, hymns, a pastor & sermons; Talks about God; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; The thief mentions that if he was a praying man, he’d pray to God for help; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of thanking & praising God; Mentions of churches, church going, a pastor & sermons; Mentions of faiths & Christians; A few mentions of when Jonas rededicated his life to the Lord; A few mentions of those in the Bible; A few mentions of Heaven; A couple mentions of miracles; A couple mentions of being an angel; A mention of a Bible.


Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘dumb’, an ‘idiot’, two ‘stupid’s and three forms of ‘blast’; A few mentions of curses (said, not written); Sarcasm & Eye rolling; Pain, passing out & being kidnapped (up to semi-detailed); Shooting someone (barely-above-not-detailed); Many mentions of a thief, stealing, stolen cows, hunting & traps; Mentions of blood, gunfire, shooting someone, & a wound (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of blood, injuries, & saloon fights (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of almost being shot; Mentions of a break-in & a broken window; Mentions of an agreement that almost gets physical; Mentions of drinking, saloons, whiskey, drunks & card games; Mentions of a pipe, smoking, tobacco & a cigar; Mentions of illnesses, diseases, & deaths; Mentions of having to put a horse down (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of shady business dealings, illegal shipments, jail, & a murder; Mentions of blackmail; Mentions of jealousy; Mentions of gossip & rumors; A few mentions of the San Francisco earthquake & deaths; A few mentions of wanting to hit someone; A few mentions of injuries; A few mentions of cow manure; A couple mentions of switches;


Sexual Content- a finger-to-lips touch, a cheek kiss, a head kiss, two (not romantic) kisses, and two semi-detailed; Hand holding, Touches, Embraces, & Tingles (up to semi-detailed); Imagining being kissed & embraced (barely-above-not-detailed); Wanting to kiss someone (barely-above-not-detailed); Wanting touch someone’s hair; Nearness & Flutters; Noticing & Smelling; The thief says he “hasn’t had a female in a long time”, especially never one looking as “pure as the driven snow”; The thief mentions buying “a night of lovin’ with one of the women [at the saloon]”; Mentions of noticing & touches (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of kisses, kissing & wanting to kiss; Mentions of marriage convinces & being married in name only; Mentions of feelings, old loves, & fancying someone; Mentions of jealousy; Mentions of blushes, impropriety, & intimate conversations between opposite genders; A few mentions of saloon girls; A couple mentions of stealing kisses; A couple mentions of wondering if a kiss will happen; A couple mentions of causing a scandal; A couple mentions of a honeymoon; A couple mentions of a broken heart & a breakup; A couple mentions of swooning; Love, being in love & the emotions;
             *Note: Mentions of women’s figures & curves; A man (not Jonas) mentions that women are the weaker sex & that he’ll tame his wife in no time.

-Elena Seifert
-Jonas Bollinger
                                P.O.V. switches between them & the thief (five times)
                                              Set in 1907
                                                        273 pages

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Pre Teens-
New Teens-
Early High School Teens-
Older High School Teens-
My personal Rating-
While I remembered enjoying the author’s previous historical, “Watercolor Dreams”, better, I still enjoyed this one! It was interesting historical read set in California in the early 1900s. There were many times I wasn’t sure how it would end, but the ending was the best, of course. I did enjoy the author’s other historical book much more, this was a quick, good read. I really liked how the title was an important part of this book and mentioned often. :)


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.