"Everything I Never Told You" by Celeste Ng

For more than a year now, I've been hearing about Celeste Ng's Everything I Never Told You. That cover immediately jumped out at me, which made me want to read it even more! However, I have a gigantic TBR list, so the chances of actually getting to it were slim. But then I found it on Audible Channels (a Prime benefit), and I listened to the whole thing in under two weeks, which is very fast for me with audiobooks.

"Moving Target" by Lynette Eason

In a story I think would translate beautifully onto film, police detective Quinn and bodyguard Maddy find themselves playing a cat-and-mouse game with a killer who believes God has chosen him to enact justice.

(Seriously. This book seems like it's made to be a Lifetime movie ... a good one, not a ridiculous one.)

"Out of the Shadows" by Emma Carrie

Sci-fi, YA, and Christian fiction intersect in Emma Carrie's Out of the Shadows, the first novella in her Tacket Secret series.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Liked More/Less Than Expected

When I saw today's topic, Books I Liked More/Less Than I Expected, on The Broke & The Bookish, I thought, "Hey, I can do that!" I've read enough books and I'm opinionated enough about them that the only problem was limiting myself to ten books! I decided to go halfsies—first I'll talk about the books I liked less than expected, then I'll gush about the ones that surprised me in a good way.

"Justice Delayed" by Patricia Bradley

I first "met" Patricia Bradley through her Logan Point romantic suspense series. While I greatly enjoyed those novels, it's clear that Bradley just keeps getting better, as Justice Delayed is one of the best suspense novels I've read in quite a while!

"A Portrait of Emily Price" by Katherine Reay

At the end of 2013, I discovered Katherine Reay's Dear Mr. Knightley. It's a beautiful novel that I read in one evening because it was so "unputdownable." I still haven't read her follow-up, Lizzy and Jane, but I was thrilled to get my hands on The Brontë Plot last year. Turns out my expectations were a bit too high, based on my complete adoration for Dear Mr. Knightley, and I walked away from The Brontë Plot a bit disappointed, even though it's a solid book.

While I expected to enjoy A Portrait of Emily Price, Reay's latest novel, I went into it with much lower expectations ... and I found myself blown away by this beautiful, touching novel.

"The Captive Heart" by Michelle Griep

You know how sometimes you pick up a book and just. can't. stop. reading. even though it's past your bedtime? It used to happen to me a lot. I have childhood memories of huddling under my covers with a flashlight, reading the latest Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, or Baby-Sitters Club book I'd gotten from the library. As I got older, the books changed and the lights remained on, but the late-night reading continued. Then I developed a chronic illness, and I realized just how important a good night's sleep was to my health. Now, I'm in bed (sans flashlight) by 10:30 most nights, and I get 7-1/2 to 8 hours of sleep.

Except on those rare occasions when I encounter an "unputdownable" book ... like Michelle Griep's The Captive Heart.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (2-6-17)

Happy Monday! It's crazy how quickly Mondays come around again ...

So PixL Movie Channel update: My trial ended yesterday, and I decided to cancel. While I enjoyed most of the movies I watched, I decided that, for now, it wasn't an expense I needed. And if I change my mind, I can always sign up for a month for $2 and binge whatever strikes my fancy.

"The Garden" by Kari Jobe + Giveaway

Kari Jobe's latest CD, The Garden, is full of beautiful, worshipful songs.

2017 Reading Challenges: January Update

If you're anything like me, when you sign up for a reading challenge, you do so with the best of intentions, but you never know how you'll do on the follow-through.