Monday, January 7, 2013

Over the Edge

I received this book from Bethany House Publishers because I signed up to be a book reviewer.
I absolutely loved this book! I have many of Mary Connealy's books and totally love her sense of humor. This book had more of the same but it didn't seem as powerful as in some of her other books.
Seth's story was great to read! And wraps up the Kincaid Brides series very well.
This book had an awesome extra detail that wasn't mentioned on the back cover. The extra detail (a big one) also makes the whole reason for Callie's return make sense.

Overall I was very pleased with this book and will be looking forward to the next book by Mary Connealy.
~Emma Metzger

Short Straw Bride

I signed up to be a book reviewer for Bethany House Publishers. I post a review so here it is:

Short Straw Bride by Karen Witemeyer
I absolutely loved this book. It was humorous and interesting the whole way through! Meredith sets out to help Travis who had rescued her 10 years earlier. She has always pictured him as her hero. They end up marrying and although it isn’t a love match, they both are... determined to help each other. I love how the back cover of the book did a good job of making the story sound interesting without giving away important details or summarizing the whole story.
Like many books, the bad guy turns out to be unreasonable and horrible, which can be kind of over done, but I did not feel like it was unrealistic in this book. I felt like the characters where realistic and faced problems with normal human reactions. I like how the author had all of the characters as imperfect people who grew and became stronger through the book.
All-in-all I really enjoyed this book and would like to see a sequel. I will definitely look forward to reading more books by Karen Witemeyer.
~Emma Metzger

Taming the Wind

Taming the Wind- Tracie Peterson
I received this book through the Bethany House Publishers Book Review Program. This book was fine but not outstanding to me. It didn’t capture me and pull me in. I have not read the previous two books in this series, but this book stands very well on its own without needing the background stories from the other two books.
The plot had a lot of unexpected things h...appen to make it a good book, but the kidnapping/hostage situation is getting to be an overused conflict in many books. This one did have its own twist and solution which did help.
Although I liked this book just fine it wasn’t a book that I just couldn’t put down, nor did it make me want to immediately read the other books in this series or by this author. The situations that arose in the book caused strong emotions and reactions in the characters, but I didn’t feel like it was written so that the reader would feel the same. The love story in the book also seemed kind of ho-hum. They were friends, talked a few times, he was gone most of the book, and suddenly they both just feel like they are in love and want to get married when he returns. I didn’t feel like there was as much excitement and intensity in the book as the back portrayed.
Overall I enjoyed the book but I, myself wouldn’t necessarily recommend it to others.
~Emma Metzger

A Home in Drayton Valley

A Home in Drayton Valley by Kim Vogel Sawyer
I received a free copy of this book as part of the Bethany House Publishers Book Review Program. I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I loved the characters. None of them were perfect, all of them had character flaws, but they grew and learned through the course of the story.
I loved how the major conflict/resolution of the book didn’t revolve around one o...f the character’s past catching up with them. The racial conflict in the story added another dynamic that was very interesting and helpful to the plot. It gave a deeper insight and perspective into what our nation used to really be like.
I got very wrapped up in this story and am looking forward to more by this author. I think a sequel to this book would be really good. I loved the characters and the story line and have thought about where their lives may have led them after the story ended.

~Emma Metzger

Courting Cate

Courting Cate by Leslie Gould
    I received this book free as part of the Bethany House Book Publishers.
   Wow! I loved this book! There was way more to this book than I was expecting. I loved the characters and the plot. I loved how the book was written in first person so I didn't know the perspective of more than one character. I loved how this book was about the Amish, but didn't involve any of the members of the Amish church leaving it. It seems like alot of books tear down the Amish lifestyle. I also loved how the book showed the Amish as any Christians and just that their traditions are different than many other denominations.
    I am looking forward to the next book in this series and will definately read it!
Great book!!!
~Emma Metzger