Review: "Always" by Jody Hedlund

A few years ago, Jody Hedlund, one of my favorite historical romance writers, penned a medieval YA series that I absolutely loved. (See my reviews of the books in that series here.) Though Hedlund has wrapped up that series, she isn't finished writing medieval YA; Always is the opening novella in her upcoming The Lost Princesses series!

"Alex, Approximately" by Jenn Bennett

Fair warning. This review is going to contain lots of spoilers ... if you consider Alex's identity a spoiler, which I really don't, as the book's description tells you. But if you don't want to know, don't read any farther.

"The Practice Boyfriend" by Christina Benjamin

Well, it's January 4, and I have my first "dud" of the reading year. It was bound to happen, right? But did it really have to be my third book of the year?

It's my fault, really. I got this book through the Kindle Owner's Lending Library without reading any reviews, but author Christina Benjamin was compared to Kasie West, and you know I love me some Kasie West! Plus, the title brought to mind the adorable Adorkable, which is another fake boyfriend book that I really enjoyed reading last year.

"Adorkable" by Cookie O'Gorman

In my apparent recent quest to read all the YA things, I stumbled across Cookie O'Gorman's Adorkable. I got this one with another awesome Amazon benefit—the Kindle Owner's Lending Library. This allows you to check out one book per month off of a select list (which I think is just about anything available in Kindle Unlimited, but I could be wrong there). There's a much larger selection here than in Prime Reading, but you're limited to one a month. (This is a total bummer right now, as I would be reading O'Gorman's next book, Ninja Girl, at this moment if I could.)

"Dating on the Dork Side" by Charity Tahmaseb & Darcy Vance

Did you know that if you're an Amazon Prime member, you have access to Prime Reading? I haven't used it much, though I do always have the allotted 10 titles checked out ... I just generally return something I haven't yet read when I want to check out another title. (You can learn more about Prime Reading here.)

Anyway, after I finished reading Tell Me Three Things, I knew I wanted to follow it up with another YA novel, so I went looking through my Kindle library, and I came across Dating on the Dork Side, which I borrowed through Prime Reading on a whim several weeks ago.

"Tell Me Three Things" by Julie Buxbaum

What is it about YA? I am well, well past the target demographic for YA novels, but I still love them. It's interesting, though—while I love reading about teenagers falling in love, it really bugs me when adult romances feature women in their early 20's. I'm not exactly sure why that is ...

Anyway, I picked up Tell Me Three Things on the recommendation of Modern Mrs. Darcy, but, as I'm wont to do, I never read it. Then yesterday I saw that one of my blogger friends had featured it on Instagram, and I'm between books right now, so I thought, "Why not?" I started reading this afternoon, and I basically didn't stop until I'd finished.

"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.

"The Silent Songbird" by Melanie Dickerson

Author Melanie Dickerson continues her tradition of adapting classic fairy tales with The Silent Songbird, based on The Little Mermaid.

"Intermission" by Serena Chase

When I was a little girl, I used to daydream before going to sleep each night. As I got older, I started dreaming about certain boys falling in love with me, becoming famous (ha!), or traveling the world. But I still remember the dream I had when I was 9 or 10, before boys came into the picture: I dreamed of playing Liesl in The Sound of Music. The "Sixteen Going on Seventeen" scene in the gazebo was my favorite in the entire film, and I would imagine my school was putting on the play, and I, along with some nameless-and-faceless boy, would put on the best performance of that scene that anyone had ever seen.

I'm a horrible actress with a decent but not stage-caliber voice, and the only musicals my school put on were the elementary's annual Patch the Pirate play, so I knew my dreams would not come to fruition, but I sure enjoyed thinking about them. In the years since then, I've gone on to have quite a love affair with showtunes (my favorite musical is Les Miserables; I'm currently obsessed with Hamilton), so I was thrilled to learn that Serena Chase, an author I'm familiar with but had never before read, had written a musical theatre-themed novel. Intermission provides the Broadway references and romance I'd hoped for, but it's also so. much. more.

"four letter words" by bill giovannetti

About the book (provided by Litfuse): Thou shalt tolerate every opinion... except the Christian's. Today's postmodern "prime directive" leaves many followers of Jesus tongue-tied. In the global village, isn't it unreasonable, and even dangerous, to suggest that the Bible has a monopoly on truth?

The church needs a new breed of Christ-follower. We need Christ-followers who are alert to today's touchy ideas, the truths that fire up more heat than light. We need Christ-followers who can make a clear case for the Bible's worldview; who are ready to help our friends think through their beliefs; who can recognize inconsistencies and challenge them; and who can do all of this with humility, confidence, humor, and love. For more information visit http://fourletterwords.org.

My take: Four Letter Words is the perfect resource for both teens and adults who want to be able to defend and explain their faith. In the book's opening chapter, Giovannetti explains why he wrote this book: "I wrote it to teach Christ's followers to cuss boldly—to speak faith's four letter words—without backing down, yet without coming across as a religious inquisitor either." That statement resonated with me, as so often Christians who speak out come across as just as pigheaded, stubborn, and intolerant as those they are debating. Giovanetti's focus is on defending the faith, but doing it with love.

Each chapter focuses on one word, such as True, Love, and Wait. After listing "Touchy Ideas" and "Touchy Scriptures"—those that many believers question and unbelievers are offended by—Giovannetti discusses the topic in depth. Then at the end of the chapter, he lists several "Talking Points"—ideas for discussing the topic with friends.

Giovannetti writes in a clear, logical voice, and his examples serve to bring each topic out of the abstract and into reality. This book is a must-read for teens, whether they are questioning their faith, exploring the idea of Christianity, or trying to explain their faith in Christ to others ... and adults would benefit from it, too! I give it 5 out of 5 stars.

Want to see what other bloggers thought? Go here. You can buy it here. (The Kindle version is only $4.99, and it includes hyperlinks to some of the resources Giovannetti mentions. It's totally worth your $5!)

About the author: Dr. Bill Giovannetti is a professor at A.W. Tozer Theological Seminary and the senior pastor of Neighborhood Church of Redding. An experienced speaker and author, Bill informs the mind in ways that touch the heart. He enjoys life with his wife and two kids in northern California. For more information about Bill and his other books, visit http://maxgrace.wordpress.com and http://fourletterwords.org.

About the giveaway: Bill is celebrating the new Kindle edition of Four Letter Words (for only $4.99)! He’ll be traveling coast to coast over the next few weeks on this virtual book tour and he's celebrating by hosting a great giveaway! Click here to find out how you can win two gift certificates to Amazon (in the amount of $50 and $25) and free downloads of his yet-to-be-released title, Recession-Proof: Living a God-Blessed Life in a Messed Up World. The whole scoop here: http://fourletterwords.org/2012/01/contest-giveaway/

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a Kindle copy of this book free from Litfuse Publicity Group. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."