Monday, February 16, 2015

Review: Sherwood's End by Diane J. Reed




Due to mature themes, readership is advised for ages 17+.

My Review:

Sherwood's End is an amazing ending to the captivating Robbin' Hearts series. It's raw intense passion flowed straight from it's pages and into my heart. The storyline takes place in both the past and present, bringing to light both pain and love, while also answering some lingering questions. I was speechless at how Ms. Reed flawlessly wove together different aspects of the present with the past and tied them all together in such astonishing ways. Some elements were a bit chilling and you should keep in mind that this is a NA novel and may be more suitable for more mature audiences than the YA book one.

* small spolier alert*
I think one of my favorite things about the story was getting to find out about Creek's mom and dad and see where all that wild passion came from. It's remarkable how much Creek could be like a father he never met. Also Creek finally knowing about his past and getting to heal those wounds was so heart wrenchingly bittersweet.

This entire series is AMAZING and magical and if you haven't read it you are missing out!


Friday, February 6, 2015

Review: First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen


This book was such a wonderful treat! I absolutely loved Garden Spells and the Waverley's of course and was so excited to find out where they are a decade later.

First Frost is just as charming as the first book. I love how enchanting it feels to read one of Sarah's books! She expertly weaves magic into every aspect of her stories leaving you with this wonderful sense of a world with endless possibilities. It's hard to explain exactly what I mean, but to me it's like the story is about magic and this wonderful family, not about a family with magical abilities. It's not just their abilities that make them special. But this wonderful whimsy of what it means to be a Waverley.

I thought this was a very pleasant read with great timing and a little humor sprinkled throughout. I always feel a little nostalgic after reading one of Sarah's books. Hers are some of the only ones that I immediately know I will want to reread again one day. I highly recommend First Frost and although I also highly recommend Garden Spells, I do think it would work as a standalone. Even though in my personal opinion you'd be missing out if you skipped it. 

** I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for review purposes. **



Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Review: A Love Undone


Wow! I have never read an Amish novel before but was drawn to this one after reading the blurb and I am so thankful that I was. A Love Undone is a beautiful, deeply soul resonating story with tragedy, love, faith, laughter, and family, filling it's pages and my heart with a wide range of emotions. I cried and laughed and was even angry at times while reading and for me that's always the sign of a great book!

 The characters were all very well developed and so relatable, something I wasn't sure they'd be for me, with me not being Amish myself. I found Jolene to be very admirable with her strong faith, eagerness to do what she knows to be right, and pure strength she shows throughout the entire novel. I loved that the secondary characters all had distinct personalities and felt like real assets to the story as well. The conflicts brought a perfect sense of suspense and tension to the story that kept the pages flying by quickly as I hoped for a resolution to come for these characters who somehow had stolen my heart. 

 I am looking forward to reading more Amish novels. I just hope A Love Undone hasn't set the bar too high because it was the perfect read for me! 


**"I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review. **