Review: 31 Verses to Write on Your Heart

My worry with a book like "31 Verses to Write on Your Heart" is that the verses will be taken out of context. I also have a difficult time with relating to and learning from short devotions. And while those were both still issues with Liz Curtis Higgs' book, I appreciated that she broke each verse apart to get to the truth behind each passage. But there was very little to take away from her memory verse tips for easier memorization. They all seemed cookie-cutter, straight from the book, obvious to me. Then again, I am not a great memorizer of Scripture (although I certainly wish I were!). For most readers, though, I could still recommend this book for its treatment of these important verses (many of which you will probably recognize - this book does not get its worth from originality).

*Disclaimer: I received this book for free in exchange for my honest review.

Fiction Review: Behind the Scenes

The previous book I read by Jen Turano was good, but not great. However, reading "Behind the Scenes," I could not put the book down. Even with a great portion of the book taking place in one evening, the story went at a quick pace. I loved the struggle behind a woman balancing her faith with the strength and ideals of a "modern" woman. Permilia Griswold secretly writes a society column for a major newspaper, using her wallflower status to her best advantage. But how does romance fit in with independence? Especially when death threats collide the two. Although the resolution to the thrilling page-turner was a bit odd and a slight let-down, Turano created likeable characters and ridiculously fun situations that most readers will love.

* Disclaimer: I received this book for free in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Whole Bible Story

Why read a book like "The Whole Bible Story" when you can read the real thing? Does this book include extra historical background to make it worth reading? Not really, unless you count the occasional illustrative graphic. But you can find similar graphics in certain editions of the Bible. Is the book easier and more interesting to read? Not really. There are versions of the Bible that put the real text in every day language. Does the book sort the Bible story in a more chronological manner? Yes, but again there are Bibles out there that do the same thing. Sorry. I'm not sold.

Fiction Review: The Day The Angels Fell

I am anxious to read the next installment in this intriguing series by Shawn Smucker. The young adult novel, "The Day the Angels Fell" sets up a second fall from glory after Satan. One of the two angels guarding the tree of life tries to take the tree's power for himself, while the other angel becomes God's appointed destroyer of the tree every time it grows somewhere new. This time, the tree has grown in the yard of young Samuel Chambers, who has his own reasons to acquire the tree. 

Smucker's writing is slow and nostalgic, warm and inviting. It takes time to get used to his regular switches between present and past tense, and his writing isn't always the most fine-tuned, but it's descriptive and unique. Fans of young-adult fiction will find this book well worth the read.

*Disclaimer: I received this book for free in exchange for my honest review.