Books for Adults

The Wind Blows In Sleeping Grass

October 25, 2023 By Annette1 Leave a Comment

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product for The Wind Blows In Sleeping Grass through Nuts about Books. Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so, and is so much appreciated. 🙂

Okay, okay, so I wrote on my FB that this book, this book is what Christian fiction should be. ” A real story with real people with real drama without romance being in the forefront. A solidly good book.” Was their romance? Yes, but it was like the romance of the everyday, a solid, you know it exists romance, but not ooey gooey romance that seems unbelievable. The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass is a story about people helping each other, a day where people learn to love more deeply, and the glue is a lovely lady. You really need to meet Wilma and see the heart that she has for those around her.

The Basics of The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass

Title: The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass
Author: Katie Powner
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
Pages: 368
Intended Audience: adult
Genre: Christian fiction, family life fiction, Contemporary Christian fiction
Available formats: Hardcover, Kindle, Audio, Paperback

Who wrote this novel and what’s it about?

Katie Powner grew up with cows in the Pacific Northwest and has a thorough love of red shoes! She freely admits it is all her gramma’s fault! She has an expanded family in Montana and loves to write. After having thoroughly this read I want to check our church library to see we we have any of them!

What is The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass all about? Take one garbage man Pete, who has had a hard life, and walk with him through his days. Then watch him make friends with Wilma and over time expand his circle. And as his circle expands, so does Wilma’s. Themes of redemption, forgiveness, kindness, family issues, and friendship about throughout in various permutations.

My Thoughts

The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass is a tender, family-oriented drama. I love the interplay between the various characters. Wilma played her role so well. A momma wanting to fix the world while being an older lady with the struggles that age can bring. Connections leading from one person to the next, new social skills learned, and the joy of living in community. I would happily re-read this lovely novel and am looking forward to sharing it with my mom and various friends before donating it to my church library.

You’ll find the characters well developed… including that of the pig. 🙂 The writing draws you in, as you want to see how Pete handles the different situations that pop up in his life. Knowing the struggles that Wilma is dealing with begs for some sort of resolution. Will they be handled by the end of the novel? These compelling reasons keep the reader invested from start to close. Pete is a guy I think I would want to know and Wilma reminds me of a Mrs. B in a church I used to attend. A lady who was near and dear to my heart. So read it, fall in love with the characters, and share it with those around you too! 🙂

A Long Way Gone

October 11, 2023 By Annette1 2 Comments

I am not going to tell you that A Long Way Gone is an easy read. It might be a necessary read, but it is not an easy read. The hard things these boys went through, and yet, and yet their resilience. They stayed together, they fought for each other, and came out on the other side hurt, but figuring out there is something better. Something more worth fighting for. That hope in the end… made this hard read worthwhile and that’s not a bad thing!

Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so, and is so much appreciated. 🙂

Basic Details for A Long Way Gone

Title: A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a boy Soldier
Author: Ishmael Beal
Publisher: Sarah Crichton Books; First Edition (August 5, 2008)
Pages: 229
Intended Audience: adult
Genre: Historical African Biographies, Boy Solider, African War, Biography, Black Biography
Available formats: Hardcover, Kindle, Audio, Paperback

My Thoughts

My mom I think gave me this book to read a while back. She told me it was interesting but a hard read.

I’d call that a fairly accurate description. Take some boys, going to school, enjoying their life and then throw them into a middle of a war. A war filled with brutality, complete loss of life, and families torn apart. Make them fight for survival. Have them do well, (well as well as can be expected), until they are captured and made to fight.

Not only were they taught to fight, they were drugged up and encouraged to be violent. Be violent and live, or die. Survival means living.

Life in that war-zone was so very hard. Not just for the boy soldiers but for anyone getting in the way of either side of the conflict. People died, villages literally disappearing overnight, people fleeing everywhere. Everyone just needing to survive.

Something beyond survival

Until one day it suddenly stops. And you have to learn a new way to be and it’s hard, just so hard to see beyond the now to the future.

So much was hard. I hated reading about the brutality and wondered why it needed to be included. Then I read about the end, about the need to change, and how sudden and difficult it was. And the hope offered once the boys figured it out things could be different. That hope at the end. It made all the pieces fit together.

So A Long Way Home, a hard read, but necessary if you want to understand the plight of the boy soldiers during the war in Africa. It is not one I would recommend for sensitive readers as it is not an easy read. But if you appreciate a hard book offering hope at the end, a book that speaks truth, this might work!

High Five

September 13, 2023 By Annette1 Leave a Comment

Today we have another book that I recently finished an enjoyed so… here I am sharing it with you. 🙂 High Five is a murder mystery by Jane Evanovich. Reviewing just because I want to and yes, I’ll link to amazon so you can find it easily should you be so inclined.

This book showcases bounty hunter Stephanie Pluim and just takes in her life with her somewhat… unique family…and her love life (which doesn’t get overly personal), and the people that she interacts with in her daily life. Her family is odd…but what family isn’t a bit odd? They love each other dearly (at least her immediate family does) and at times have an interesting way of showing it. She’s a character who makes me laugh and sometimes… that’s just exactly what I need. 🙂

Talking about the Book

I can’t remember how long ago it was that I was introduced to the Stephanie Pluim series by Janet Evanovich. First you get a gal with all kinds of attitude and lots of get up and go but not a real financial whiz at all. Add in a quirky family and an interesting job as a bounty hunter… that often turns into a murder investigation… and you have a story that will intrigue and make you laugh.

High Five starts with Uncle Fred and a cancelled cheque. Shouldn’t be that hard to figure right? Well, before you know it, bodies are dropping in all sorts of unexpected places. The family gets involved and poor Stephanie has to deal with the fall-out.

Bad guys abound… and one bad guy really is a scary, mentally ill, sorta really bad. Didn’t much like him.

But the rest… just all murder mystery feel to it.

Recommendation

This is not the best Stephanie Pluim novel that I have read, but it made me laugh. Since I brought it to work with me… that laughter evoked conversations with co-workers, which made it all the better.

Is High Five worth reading? For sure. You’ll laugh, shake your head, and be glad that by the end, all the bad guys will have been stopped. And that my friend, is always a very good thing. 🙂

The Diamond Eye

September 6, 2023 By Annette1 Leave a Comment

So I’m reviewing this book Diamond Eye because I just liked listening to it. I listened through CloudLibrary which means I kinda borrowed it through my library? I’m not quite sure of the logistics of how the system works. Apparently if you borrow it through audible there’s a PDF you can get with it, I never looked into that though. Free is better than paid you know? Reviewing just because I want to and yes, I’ll link to amazon so you can find it easily should you be so inclined.

So why tell you about The Diamond Eye. I learned a facet of WW2 history that I wasn’t aware of before. Lyudmila Pavlichenko was a Ukrainian woman with a young son she was raising on her own. The Germans attacked, wiping out entire families. Mila got angry, and her national pride kicked in, and before you know it, she was a sniper on the front lines of WW2.

Talking about The Diamond Eye

The Diamond Eye was written by Kate Quinn. Just recently published, this past March.

I found it to be a well-written story and the after story where the author talked about Mila and some of the changes she made, I found myself looking for more information on this formidable woman. Her life was a bit sad after she stopped being in the army… She suffered from PSTD which led to alcoholism and her eventual early death.

BUT she stopped 309 Germans from decimating her people. She served her people well by speaking to the need for American and Canadian troops to attack the Germans from the rear. And upon her return after her propaganda tour she again served her people well by teaching the next generation of snipers.

YES, Kate Quinn changed the story a bit to make it all fit the narrative, but the things that were pivotal in Mila’s life she kept the same.

Recommendation

If you like books about WW2, or just like learning a new piece of history, Kate Quinn’s The Diamond Eye will suit you. I had not known about Ukrainian snipers in WW2 before this, I also didn’t know about the wiping out of complete villages in Russia either. All I really knew prior to this story was Germany fighting a battle on two fronts was not the wisest decision on their part, but they really managed to hurt the Russians. (another fact I sorta knew but didn’t really know, if you know what I mean). 🙂

Good history, written as if it were Mila herself talking her way through her life. Seeing her friendship with Mrs. Roosevelt develop, and her growing confidence not only as a sniper, but then later as a public speaker. She did many hard things as a woman in the 1940’s and her history is worth knowing.

Cold Pursuit

August 16, 2023 By Annette1 Leave a Comment

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product for Cold Pursuit through Nuts About Books. Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so, and is so much appreciated. 🙂

The love of a well written mystery fills my bones, I hope it fills yours too. Cold Pursuit by Nancy Mehl walks into an interesting cold-case which turns out to be not so cold afterall. Can River and Tony solve this cold case and bring some answers to a grieving mother? I won’t tell you the result, but I will urge you to give it a go!

Basic Details for Cold Pursuit

The Basic Details for Cold Pursuit

Title: Cold Pursuit
Author: Nancy Mehl
Series: Ryland & St. Clair, book 1
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
Pages: 336
Intended Audience: Adult fiction
Genre: thriller, murder mystery, cold case, FBI, serial killer, Christian mystery, Christian Suspense, Christian mystery romance
Reviewed for: Nuts About Books
Available formats: Hardcover, Kindle, softcover, Audio
Received: softcover

About the Author and book

The Author

Nancy Mehl is the author of more than fifty books, a Parable bestseller, and the winner of an ACFW Book of the Year Award, a Carol Award, and the Daphne du Maurier Award. She has also been a finalist for two Carol Awards and the Christy Award. Nancy lives in Missouri, with her husband and their puggle.

Other books by this author that I have reviewed: Night Fall, Mind Games, and Fatal Frost.

The Book

Ex-FBI profiler River Ryland still suffers from PTSD after a case went horribly wrong. She’s start a PI business with her former colleague Tony. They’re soon approached by a grieving mother who wants them to find out what happened to her teenaged son, who disappeared four years ago.

But as they follow the boy’s trail, they find themselves in the path of a murderer. As River and Tony race to stop him before he kills again, a more dangerous threat emerges involving River’s past as well as her future.

Digging Deeper

Adult fiction with mystery and twists. Light suspense without being too intense. I enjoy a good murder mystery that makes me wonder what is really going on.

Cold Pursuit is a faith based murder mystery. Faith is an integral part of the lives of at least two of the characters, one a main character, the other a minor one. River is challenged in her thoughts about matters of faith. BUT faith issues are not central to the story…the story is predominately about the cold case and the need to solve it to bring closure to the mom.

The writing style is easy, probably written at a high school/first year college level. The trains of thought made sense with no odd leaps of logic. A nice and somewhat suspenseful read at the beach mystery. 🙂

My Recommendation

I have to admit, I wasn’t too surprised at what the end result of Cold Pursuit was… though the story in the shadows has me intrigued.

A secondary part of the story is the behind the scenes threat…. which draws me in to reading the next book in the series to see if River and Tony can solve it before something horrible happens. I want to know! I DO I DO! Nancy Mehl did an excellent job of drawing me in.

You may find the story draws you in a well. If you want an uncomplicated mystery with a suspenseful understory that makes you want the solution (ergo needing to get more in the series) read Cold Pursuit. You might find yourself intrigued by the matter of faith as well. Finding yourself asking deeper questions about forgiveness. That’s not a bad thing either eh? 🙂

All The Lost Places

March 18, 2023 By Annette1 2 Comments

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product All The Lost Places through Nuts about Books. Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so, and is so much appreciated.

Amanda Dykes presents to us a story of history interwoven in the present, and yet even the present has the depth of pastness woven in. Be drawn into the story of Daniel, Sebastian, and Massimo. Can there be a connection separating 100 years of history?

Learning the Details of All the Lost Places

Author: Amanda Dykes
Title: All the Lost Places
Publisher: Bethany House
Pages: 400
Intended Audience: young adult, adult
Formats Available: Kindle, Audiobook, Hardcover, Paperback
Reviewed For: Nuts About Books
Received: paperback copy
Genre: Christian Fiction, 20th Century Historical Romance, Historical Christian Romance, Christian Historical fiction.

About the Author

Amanda Dykes has written several books over the past few years. She writes from a faith-based perspective, and loves to drink tea. Her goal is inspire hope in her readers.

About the book

1807
A baby discovered in floating basket is raised by a guild of artisans in Venice. Raised in each of their trades, the boy Sebastien wonders about his origins, wanting to answer the question Who Am I? A stranded woman starts him on the path of answering that question. Getting the answer might affect not only his future, but also that of his beloved floating city of Venice.

1904
Daniel Goodman is a man haunted by his path, and looking for redemption. He’s given a fresh start in life as the century turns. His assignment takes him from California to Venice. His job: procure and translate a copy of a rare book, the book of Waters. With the help of Vittoria, a bookshop keeper, Daniel soon finds himself in a web of shadows, secrets, and discoveries within the stones and canals of the ancient city and deep in the mystery of Sebastien.

Digging Deeper

I love the chapter heading images. That bridge? It fit so well into the entire story, symbolizing the bridge between history, love, and the hope hidden in the shadows.

Each chapter clearly lets us know if we are talking about the life of Daniel, Sebastien or the Book of Waters.

Two different fonts are used throughout the story to distinguish between the book of the past, and the working through of history and present company. I appreciated the distinction as it added an important element to the story.

My Thoughts?

It took me a long time to work my way through this story, far longer than I thought it would. The biggest reason was the story just didn’t really grab my attention. It’s poetic and introspective in nature and jumps back and forth in history. Not quite my style of read.

Is there a message of hope? Yes. Does good triumph? Yes.

Does the modern day story have a good ending? Certainly.

I want to say… go get it, but I was just left feeling meh, and I have a hard time recommending it. Now, if you are familiar with Amanda Dykes and her writing style and love it… well go get All The Lost Places! Enjoy it.

Learn some history, and be inspired to hope in something bigger than yourself. It’s a good thing that!

The Hills Have Spies

February 8, 2023 By Annette1 2 Comments

Some of the very first fantasy books that I read were the Valdemar books by Mercedes Lackey. Last weekend hubby and I were out kicking about and stopped at a book store… because you know.. BOOKS! I was browsing the discounted books section and came across “The Hills have Spies” and I immediately snatched it up. Learning more about Mags and his family? FANTASTIC!

Basic Details

Title: The hills have spies
Series: Family Spies, book one. A Novel of Valdemar.
Author: Mercedes Lackey
Chapters: twenty
Pages: 368
Genre: Fantasy, Fantasy Adventure
Publisher: DAW (June 5, 2018)

Author and Story

If you want to know more about Mercedes Lackey and her writing I would suggest you visit her website. Born in Illinois in 1950 she writes fantasy and music. I have read so many of her works, the only series of her I’m not as keen on is her Elemental Masters Series. But her world of Valdemar has always had me hooked solidly.

Horses that are magical, a magical system that feels real and has consequences, and people being chosen to serve a higher purpose (they become Heralds). And then we have Mags… an orphan boy that I got to watch grow up to be a Herald and he had a family! This is book one focusing on the family of Mags.

My Thoughts on The Hills Have Spies

One of the things I loved in The Hills Have Spies is that Mags doesn’t have all the answers. This book truly emphasizes the unique skills of his son Peregrine yet shows him as a young adult needing help.

I have to admit that the help initially came from a source I didn’t expect, but in retrospect fit the character and gifting of Perry well. This coming of age story takes place in the hills of the Pelagirs, a dangerous place for folks to visit. Why is it particularly dangerous now with people disappearing? Mags and Perry set out to discover why. As they travel they meet individuals along the way that prove pivotal to solving the mystery and achieving a satisfactory end.

The strange entity that was revealed is an intriguing character…and without Perry’s gift could have gone horribly wrong. Instead, through Perry’s gifting and intelligent animals, all ends well.

Is this a hard or complicated book to read? By no means, its written at an easy level for teens and up. The story flows well and Perry’s training at the start of the story bears fruit as the adventure unfolds.

I’ve always known that the Heralds have their foibles, but seeing this clearly displayed in Arville, the Herald that initially alerted them to the problem in his area. It brought a realness to the story. It’s good to know that Heralds are not all-knowing and completely capable. They are just people, albeit with their own unique giftings.

I found it to be a nice way to kill a Sunday afternoon, delving into the world of Valdemar and watching a young man start his journey as a young adult. The Hills have Spies is a good, easy read with believable magic and interesting symbiotic relationships.

Books for Adults

The Wind Blows In Sleeping Grass

The Basics of The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass

Who wrote this novel and what’s it about?

My Thoughts

A Long Way Gone

Basic Details for A Long Way Gone