April 2024 Book Round Up
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Reading Roundup for April
Captive
Targeted age: 14+
Clean: Yes
Christian: Yes
My Rating: 5/5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I’ve been collecting and reading through the readers on the Generations website. Generations is our favorite curriculum company, and they have republished some amazing works of Christian literature, some long forgotten. I love the hardcover books, and they look beautiful on our bookshelf. This book is 3 stories in one bound book. Thus, you’ll need to get the one on the website to get all three together. I’ll warn you, this book is a difficult one to read, but I feel it’s like Foxe’s Book of Martyrs…necessary.
Description: Here are real-life stories of Christian men, women, and children exposed to some of the most extreme dangers ever faced by anyone in human history. These exciting captivity stories come from the American colonial period. Readers will receive a blow-by-blow, upfront look into the experience of Christians facing the most severe trial of faith.
Such classics like this are essential for every Christian library, especially for those who themselves are going through periods of intense trial of faith.
Content Warning: Readers should be prepared for descriptions of violence, suffering, and severe deprivation undergone by these men and women of faith, attended by strong words of comfort and faith. Recommended for readers over 14 years of age.
This volume contains three unabridged works including The Captivity and Restoration of Mary Rowlandson by Mary Rowlandson, The Redeemed Captive Returning to Zion by John Williams, and Nine Years a Captive by John Gyles.
This is a hard, yet necessary read, and I highly recommend this one.
Winter by the Sea - Julie Klassen
Targeted age: Adults (fine for teen girls)
Spice: Clean
Christian: Yes
My Rating: 5/5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is book 2 in the “On Devonshire Shores” series
Description:
”Royalty comes to Sidmouth, bringing unexpected danger and the sweet possibility of romance. . . .
When the Duke and Duchess of Kent and their daughter--the future Queen Victoria--rent neighboring Woolbrook Cottage for the winter, the Summers sisters are called upon to host three of the royal family's male staff in their seaside house. But they soon realize they've invited secrets and intrigue into their home.
Meanwhile, Emily Summers longs to become an author. A local publisher offers to consider her novel if she will first write a Sidmouth guidebook for him. Emily agrees and begins researching the area with help from the Duke of Kent's handsome private secretary. But a surprise visitor from her past shows up at Sea View, leaving Emily torn between the desires she's long held dear and her budding dreams for the future.
Return to the Devonshire coast with the Summers sisters, where loyalties are tested, secrets come to light, and new love emerges.”
I really enjoyed the first book in this series, it felt like a warm cup of tea on a rainy day. The second book in the series was much the same, to my delight. We see the sisters again and their story continues, this time with a focus more on Emily. I loved the weaving of real historical events into this fictional world. It really made the story come alive for me while I read it.
Not to mention, the cover is stunning! My husband likes to call this series of books “1800’s lady in a dress book” when he sees me reading 🤣
No content warnings. Just a couple of kisses.
For a Lifetime (Timeless Book #3) - Gabrielle Meyer
Targeted age: Adults
Clean: Yes
Christian: Yes
My Rating: 5/5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Oh how I love The Timeless Series. This was the first ARC (advanced reader copy) that I signed up for when I started doing book reviews. It has been 6 months, and it’s finally time to give you my review. When this arrived on my doorstep, I tore into it. I knew it would be another masterpiece like book 1 and 2 in this series. I finished it in 3 days and enjoyed every second.
Ladies, I give you Timeless book #3, For a Lifetime.
I’m always amazed at the amount of research that Gabrielle Meyer does to connect each and every storyline and to make these historically accurate. She must research day and night to make these novels and have them connect the way she does.
Here we have another book like books 1 and 2. This time, we have Grace and Hope, twin sisters who are time travelers. They are living in 1692 and 1912, and living out two lives simultaneously. On their 25th birthday, they each have to decide which time period they want to live in. In 1692, they are living through the Salem witch trials. We get a play by play of the witch trials like a living book in a Charlotte Mason curriculum. Historically accurate, Meyer weaves in a history lesson that we get to see through Grace and Hope’s eyes.
In 1912, one of the twins, Hope, is one of the first female pilots. She flew across the English Channel and travels all around the world to waving audiences. A stark contrast from her life in 1692. Tragedy strikes however, altering the plans the twins had for themselves.
In 1692, Hope and Grace are in the middle of the Salem witch trials, and Grace is hiding a devastating secret from Hope. We watch them navigate through the events together, and battle to stay alive.
Through it all, the sovereignty of the Lord shines through. We see Grace hold onto her faith in Christ, and trust that God knows better than she does. While she has to go through the valley, she remains steadfast and strong in her faith and shares it with Hope. Hope is in a different place in her walk with God. She questions why things are happening to her and her loved ones. We see her walk through her faith and grow in her belief as the book goes on. That is my favorite part of the series; all of our main ladies have a strong faith, or someone guiding them through their struggles in the Lord.
Overall, I highly recommend this book and series. But please, start with book 1. You’ll be lost if you don’t start from the beginning.
Warnings:
Talk of the Salem witch trials (not graphic)
Fade to black scene on a wedding night
Night Falls on Predicament Avenue - Jaime Jo Wright
Targeted age: Adult
Christian: Yes
My Rating: 5/5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Jaime Jo Write is an auto-buy author for me. That simply means that whenever she releases a new book, I buy it. I don’t even read the back cover, I just click “add to cart”. This is my second favorite book of hers to date!
If you don’t know about JJW, she writes “spooky” stories for Christian audiences, but the spooky always is resolved as something realistic. Her books are always a dual timeline book, so we hear from two different people in two time periods, but they are connected by a story.
This book deals with ghosts, hauntings, and unsolved murders. Our main character suffers from serious anxiety and panic attacks, and we see her walking through that throughout the story. Her sister was murdered 12 years ago, and she’s still processing it. It remains unsolved, adding to her anxiety. A house connects her and another unsolved murder from long ago.
Highly recommend for mystery lovers!
Injustice for All (The Holly Series Spinoff) - C.C. Warrens
Targeted age: Adult
Christian: Yes
Warnings: Sexual assault, murder, etc.
My Rating: 5/5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is another book in the Holly series, but it’s a spinoff book in between her main books. A series within a series, if you will.
I took a break from the Holly series for a few months because these books are somewhat intense. This is a Christian suspense series, and our main character has been stalked, assaulted, and almost killed by her foster brother. In the last book, he was arrested and charged for his crimes, and Holly is living with the detective who saved her. He’s a father figure to her, and they have an adorable father-daughter relationship (her family is dead, unfortunately). This series is a break from Holly’s point of view, and instead, we get Detective Marx’s POV instead.
I am a big fan of Marx in the series. Maybe it’s because I am a cop’s wife and cop’s daughter, so I’m probably a bit biased in that department. In this book, Marx is tracking down a serial killer that is wreaking havoc around the city. This is a mystery crime-thriller that will take you through many emotions with Marx and Holly to the very last page. I read this book in 3 days and loved every second.
Don’t tell C.C. Warrens, but I might like Marx’s books better than Holly’s 🤫
Content warning:
This book has a main character who in a previous book, was raped and assaulted. We get glimpses as she works through that trauma, but nothing is described in detail. However, this book could be triggering for those who have issues with that topic.
Murder
