"God's Crime Scene for Kids" by J. Warner Wallace & Susie Wallace

I've read a couple of J. Warner Wallace's books—I'd describe them as apologetics for the common man (or child, depending on the title). Last year, I was pretty impressed by Cold-Case Christianity for Kids, so I was eager to read his latest children's release, God's Crime Scene for Kids.

Top Ten Tuesday: Underrated Inspy Fiction

For this week's Top Ten Tuesday post, I'm taking some liberties ... the official topic is Ten Hidden Gem Books in X Genre. The books that I'm featuring today may or may not be underrated by readers of inspirational fiction, but they're all books I'd like my sister, who will read practically anything except inspirational fiction, to check out. So they're hidden gems in that Val would never pick these books up on her own, but I think she'd like them if she ever did read them.

One of Val's biggest complaints about Christian fiction is that the interweaving of God and faith into a story can be clunky and inauthentic—like the faith aspect is shoehorned in just because it "should" be present. That's totally valid, but I also believe that many authors are doing it well. All of the books I'm recommending either have a very light faith thread (some you wouldn't be able to identify as Christian without looking at the publisher) or feature characters whose faith journeys feel real. You won't find much romance on this list, as romance is much more my thing than Val's, but I did manage to sneak a couple in 😉

"Chasing Secrets" by Lynette Eason

A 25-year-old murder. A teenager who needs protection. A long-forgotten past. An intriguing new cop on the police force. These things converge to take Elite Guardians bodyguard Haley Callaghan on a ride she'd never anticipated in the finale of Lynette Eason's Elite Guardians series.

"High as the Heavens" by Kate Breslin

Danger. Romance. Second Chances. All are found in abundance in Kate Breslin's latest World War I-set novel, High as the Heavens.

"Anne of the Island" by L.M. Montgomery

As a preteen, I read all of L.M. Montgomery's "Anne" books. In fact, the first book-induced ugly cry that I can remember came as I read of a death in Rilla of Ingleside. (If you'd like to know the specifics, go here. I'm purposely trying not to spoil you!)

As a young teen, I was completely obsessed with Anne of Avonlea (a.k.a. Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel), and Gilbert Blythe (as portrayed by the late Jonathan Crombie) was pretty much my dream man. (True confession: I wore out our videotape because I kept rewinding and rewatching the final proposal scene.) I still have yet to watch any Anne, as I'm just not sure I want to see anyone besides Crombie and Megan Follows portraying Gil and Anne!

When I saw that Audiobookworm Promotions had the first three "Anne" books up for review, my first thought was, "GET THEM ALL!!!" Then I came back to reality as I remembered that it takes much longer for me to get through an audiobook than it does a regular book, so I should pick just one. I chose Anne of the Island, as I remembered (and confirmed through a quick Google search) that it's the book where Anne finally realizes she's in love with Gil 💗

Review Wrap-Up #2: August 15, 2017

Here we go with Review Wrap-Up #2! It's looking like maybe this will be a once a month thing :-) These are the books I've reviewed in the last month, and I'm so glad to report that I loved most of them!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (8-7-17)

Happy Monday! I haven't done too much reading recently because ... life.

1) My uncle moved from Los Angeles to my small town last Wednesday. He's living in a really nice assisted living facility, and though the transition has been a bit rough so far, I'm hopeful that he'll soon settle into his new life.

2) One of my best friends is getting married this Saturday, and her bachelorette party was last weekend. At said party, I had my first massage ever ... it was very nice!

3) I spent some time with my sister in Omaha. We went to a Lady Antebellum concert with our cousin, and the next morning, Blendy treated me to breakfast out for my birthday (which is this coming Saturday—I'll be a little busy with wedding things!), where I had the best gluten free cinnamon roll ever!

4) School. This time next week, I'll be at our back-to-school night, and we start back next Tuesday. Where did the summer go?

"The Captivating Lady Charlotte" by Carolyn Miller

Earlier this year, I read Carolyn Miller's The Elusive Miss Ellison. In the novel, readers met Lavinia Ellison's cousin Charlotte, a young woman about to make her debut into society. Charlotte intrigued me, so of course I wanted to read The Captivating Lady Charlotte (which happens to have quite the captivating cover, I must say!).