Book Review: The Choice by Nicholas Sparks

I'm not a Sparks fangirl.  I don't have to read everything written by him.  A few of his stories have caught my interest and The Choice is one of them.

What is the choice?  There are two of them in this story and the one I believe the title came from is not what you'd expect.  I should also point out that this story actually defies regular Nicholas Sparks logic.  I won't tell you how, though!

Gabby moved in next door to a single man, Travis.  Travis's closest friends are all married with children.  He was very attractive, very adventerous, and very much the vet she goes to when her dog is in trouble.  One can only guess what's going to happen next except Gabby has a boyfriend.

There is a second part to the story, but I'm not going to tell it to you because it gives away too much of the first part of the story.  All I will say is it has a lot do with the choice.

I wasn't too thrilled with the second part of the book.  Honestly, it felt like it came out of left field and didn't connect well with the first part.  As its own story it's nice, I just don't feel it fits with the first part too much.

I read this book for pure pleasure.  All opinions are my own.  I was not compensated for this review in any way.

Book Review: The Man in the Ceiling by Jules Feiffer

I started this book, oh, I think way back in the seventh grade, maybe earlier.  That was about 19 years ago.  I got maybe a chapter or two in and thought it was completely dull.  I put it away, not to want to pick it back up again.  Come this year, at age 30, I decided why not?  So, I picked it back up.  I was completely wrong.  It was a very enjoyable story.

Jimmy Jibbetts is a cartoonist.  Well, that's what he's working towards being when he grows up.  He also wants to impress his father and the popular guy at school, Charley Beemer.  Working together with Charley Jimmy finds out what is truly important.

Jimmy's uncle writes plays that he hopes to get on Broadway but that has never happened.  Until now.  He has come up with the one (weird) story that changes his life.  The changes show him and Jimmy what is most important and it gives Jimmy inspiration on what to do with the Charley Beemer incident.

Overall, I liked the story.  It was not what I was expecting.  When I was younger I didn't like that, but now, it's cool.

I read this story for pure pleasure.  All opinions are mine.  I was not compensated for this review in any way.

Book Review: Pattern for Romance (Quilts of Love #8) by Carla Olsen Gade

Honour Metcalf was an English woman living in America in 1879.  She's also a quilter working for a wealthy woman.  She is falsely accused of stealing and one Joshua Sutton comes to her rescue.  The only thing in Honour's family now is her sister, Temperance, as her parents and brother were killed on their trip to America.

Book Synopsis from goodreads.com:

Honour Metcalf s quilting needlework is admired by a wealthy customer of the Boston Mantua-maker for whom she works. In need of increasing her earnings, she agrees to create an elaborate white work bridal quilt for the dowager s niece. A beautiful design emerges as she carefully stitches the intricate patterns and she begins to dream of fashioning a wedding quilt of her own. When Honour is falsely accused of thievery and finds herself in a perilous position, merchant tailor Joshua Sutton comes to her aid. As he risks his relationships, reputation, and livelihood to prove her innocence, the two discover a grander plan a design for love.

I'm finding that I'm not really into historical romance and that hurts my opinion of this book.  It is nicely written and does tell a great story.  If you like historical and Christian romance you will probably enjoy this book.  I had a hard time with it as historical romance is becoming not my thing.

I read this as a review request from netgalley.com using Adobe Digital on my laptop.  All opinions are my own.  I was not compensated for this review in any way.

Book Review: Take Flight! by Robin Jones Gunn

A devotional written by Robin Jones Gunn and Cindy Hannan based on Gunn's popular Sisterchicks Series. Gunn starts off each section with a short story relating to the theme and then Hannan wraps everything up with the theological portion.  They included Bible verses, quotes from real life Sisterchicks, and quotes from the series itself.  If you're a fan of the Sisterchick Series or just Robin Jones Gunn's writing in general and looking for a new devotional this is a good one to get.

I read this book as a review request from Blogging for Books using Adobe Digital on my laptop.  All opinions are my own.  I was not compensated for this review in any way.

Tuesday Funnies

A day late and a dollar short.  Last week was a busy week for me and I didn't realize I was behind on things.  So, enjoy this post a day later.  Hopefully, next week I'll be back on schedule.  Also, congrats to the Tampa Bay Rays for winning the tie-breaker game against the Texas Rangers last night.  Good luck to the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates who battle for the wild card tonight and the Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Indians who battle tomorrow night.  My team, Atlanta Braves, play the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday for the NLDS (as you can tell, baseball is my favorite sport).

And an extra one for this post being late:

Book Review: Five Miles South of Peculiar by Angela Hunt

I don't know.  This one felt different than other Angela Hunt works.  It was still good.  I did it enjoy it.  But, I didn't enjoy it as much as her other stuff that I've read.  It might have been the mood I was in while reading it.  I don't suffer from depression.  I suffer from social anxiety and I was in a down moment during the time I read this book, so it could have effected my opinion of the story.  I'm willing to give this book a try again in about a year to see if my opinion changes.

This is the story of almost 50 year old twin sisters who could not be more different.  One was the quiet type who stayed in the family house raising her family.  The other was a talented singer who went to Broadway to become a star.  Did she become star?  Well, no.  And now she was faced with a health issue that could put an end to her dreams.

Carlene's arrival home does not sit well with her twin sister, Darlene.  Darlene has always felt she lived in the shadows of her sister in more ways than one and now her sister was coming home to take over the limelight in Peculiar.

The youngest sister, Magnolia more commonly known as Nolie, deals with a tragic relationship from her past possibly having changed her just a bit.  She cares for her dogs and gardens on the estate when a man with his own haunted past moves in to help the ladies.

I read this book for pure pleasure.  All opinions are my own.  I was not compensated for this review in any way.

Book Review: Fifteen Minutes by Karen Kingsbury

Zack Dylan has a talent for singing.  When he leaves his girlfriend and his family's farm for the singing competition show Fifteen Minutes he promises to not let it change him or his faith in God.  Overnight Zack becomes a sensation, the show's most popular contestant.  But, they want him to quiet his talks of God and Christianity as well trying to pair him up with the cute little blonde cheerleader contestant.

Struggling with their faith are the judges.  We don't really get insight into the male judge, but we do get to know the two female judges.  One is a former winner of Fifteen Minutes who she wishes she had never tried out for the show.  She wants to look out for people like Zack and help them stay true to who they are.  The other female judge is a famous celebrity who grew up in a Christian home but turned away from it for fame.

The only interaction I've ever had with shows like these is watching them on TV, but I didn't like how Kingsbury made them seem like the devil.  It is instant fame and it can change people.  Yeah, they most likely want Christian contestants to quiet their talks on God.  That's Hollywood for you, unfortunately.  But, there have been Christian contestants who come out as Christian artists and I don't see them compromising their faith.  I don't think the industry is quite as evil as it is made out in this book.

I read this book as a review request from netgalley.com using Adobe Digital on my laptop.  I was not compensated for this review in any way.