The Springsweet by Saundra Mitchell

Harcourt Children's Books (April 17, 2012) 288 pages

My Thoughts:

The Springsweet is the second book in the Vespertine Series. If you plan on reading The Vespertine, this review will contain spoilers from that book, even though I haven't read it yet. I was never lost, but events from The Vespertine was mentioned several times throughout the book.

Zora is still mourning the loss of her fiance, and just can't seem to let go. She debates simply picking a widower to marry as a way to somewhat force herself to move on, but she finally decides to move west to help her newly widowed aunt(Birdy) and baby cousin(Louella). She learns that she can find water underground, so she helps the struggling community find the best place for wells. Of course, there's a love triangle, too!

It was heartbreaking for me to read how much some of these people struggled! After one particular scene, I just sobbed! I'm the first to admit that I'm an extremely emotional person, and I was already having an emotional day, but it hurts to know that it was an all too true story for plenty of people. More than anything, The Springsweet gives you a glimpse of just how hard life could be in the west during those times.

There's just so many categories that this book could be put into, though. (YA, historical, romance, western). There's really only a VERY slight paranormal element, which is the ability to know where the water is underground. The whole story is surrounded by sadness, and a bit of darkness.

There's one scene that is very quickly added in the story at the end that I wish had been left out. I just think it added a bad note to an otherwise beautiful, albeit sad story.

I really liked The Springsweet! It's not one that I would re-read, I don't think, but I'm definitely glad I read it. I'm very curious to go back and read The Vespertine, so I know all the events that led up to this book.

Clean Factor:
It was pretty clean. "D***" was used a few times in different ways, but that was it as far as profanity. God's name is used in vain(Thank G**, or something similar). There was some kissing. There was also a scene that I honestly don't know if it is implying premarital sex happens or not. I guess the reader is left to decide, and I'll go with the more conservative.

*I was provided an ARC through the Amazon Vine program in exchange for my honest opinion.

Eye of the Sword by Karyn Henley

WaterBrook Press (March 13, 2012) 256 pages

Description from Amazon:

Where angels walk the ground and the future is told in song, does a man of low rank have a chance at love with a princess?

In Camrithia, a land of shadows and mystical secrets, Trevin lives to serve King Laetham. But his heart belongs to the princess, Melaia. When the King sends Trevin on on a dangerous quest to find the missing comains—captains in the king’s army—he must leave Melaia to the advances of a swaggering Dregmoorian prince.

Challenged to prove his worth, Trevin throws himself into his quest. Striving to prove his love, Trevin undertakes a second mission—find the harps Melaia seeks in order to restore the stairway to heaven. Through fire caves, rogue winds, and murderous threats, Trevin remains steadfastly dedicated to his quest—even when he is falsely accused of a heinous crime. As Trevin’s time runs out, he realizes he must face the shame and horror of his own past and the nightmare that has come to life. Will he have the courage to finish what he has started?

My Thoughts:

Last year, I read the first book in the Angelaeon Series, Breath of Angel, and loved it. At least, apparently I did, because I put it on my "favorites" shelf. As I started this one, though, I was having a really hard time remembering what the book was about. As I read through Eye of the Sword, I started slowly putting together things that happened in the first book, but it was all still really vague.

I struggled through Eye of the Sword. I seem to remember Breath of Angel having more of a fantasy/paranormal feel to it, but this one seemed more of a science fiction/fantasy kind of story. Now I like a good bit of science fiction/fantasy, but I do have to be in the mood to read it, and apparently I just wasn't in the mood to read it right now.

Breath of Angel was narrated by Melaia, so maybe I connected with her more. Eye of the Sword is narrated by Trevin. I do think it is more gender neutral than the first book. Even the cover looks more targeted to guys. I definitely didn't hate it, but I didn't like it as much as I was expecting. It may have helped if I'd re-read Breath of Angel to refresh my memory before picking this one up.

*I was provided an Advance Reader's Copy through Waterbrook Multnomah in exchange for my honest opinion.

Author's Site

More Info

Read Chapter One

Author Bio

101 Bible Adventures: The Ultimate Quest for Truth

Tyndale House Publishers (January 20, 2012) 224 pages

My Thoughts:

101 Bible Adventures is a bit different than what I expected, but I don't guess that's a bad thing. I thought there to be "adventures" with the devotionals(challenges of some sort). There's not challenges, but they are still great devotionals for children!

Each story starts out with a "What's Up" section, which gives you a peek at what or who the story is about. There's a "Key Verse" section, which isn't necessarily from that story's reading, but in some way connects to it. Then there's the story. It tells you where it came from(book, chapters, verses), and then gives you a summary of what happened. There's a small black and white picture(kind of comic book style, but only one picture) that goes along with each story. Finally, there's a "Now What" section. It tells you what you should have gotten out of the reading and has some questions.

Overall, I like it! It's a simple, quick, straight forward kind of devotional. It's on it's way to one of my nephews, and I think he will enjoy it!

*I was provided a review copy through Tyndale in exchange for my honest opinion.

Laura Ingalls Wilder Challenge

Barbara @ Stray Thoughts is hosting the Laura Ingalls Wilder Challenge for the month of February.

I've decided to read Little House on the Prairie. From reviews, I've decided to skip the first two, at least for now. I may come back to them one day. I'm trying to keep myself realistic for this challenge, and just commit to one book, since I usually fall a bit short of my goals.

This will be my first time reading anything by Laura Ingalls Wilder, which should come as no surprise if you've been around here very long! ;)

Shakespeare's Lady by Alexa Schnee

Guideposts (April 3, 2012) 360 pages

My Thoughts:

I have mixed feelings about Shakespeare's Lady! It was another one that arrived in my mailbox as a surprise. I opened it up to read a few pages, and completely got sucked into the story! What I didn't realize at first was that the whole book centers around adultery. Almost everyone in the book is committing adultery in some way or another. That's just not something I approve of, so I generally don't read stories like that.

The story mainly centers around Emilia Bassano and the possibility that she was Shakespeare's mistress. So, we read about two married people falling in love, and not with their spouses. Again, I just don't approve of that, and it was hard to read about at times. Most of the book was based on actual events, though. There's also lots of sexual references, but Alexa NEVER writes any details. It is a very clean book, which I really appreciate. I would NOT label it as Christian fiction, though.

Now that I have that part out of the way, I did very much enjoy the rest of the story. I actually loved this book other than all the adultery. I was shocked to find out that it was written by an 18 year old! This girl has got talent!!

Just in case you're like me, and didn't really retain a whole lot of history information, Shakespeare's Lady takes place in England during the late 1500s, early 1600s. Queen Elizabeth I(Anne Boleyn's daughter) was reigning at that time, and she does play a very big role in Shakespeare's Lady. I really enjoyed all the historical detail, and I'm not really a big history fan. Alexa has created a beautiful first novel, and I can't wait to see what else she pens!

*Content: "D***" is used once, and "A**" is used once. That's it as far as profanity. I think God's name was used in vain once(Thank G**). As I mentioned above, while there's definitely lots of sexual references, it's done very tastefully, and never any details. If the whole adultery part doesn't bother you, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it. Honestly, though, I have no intentions of reading anymore "adultery" books. On another note, I wouldn't really label this book as a romance. It's very light in that department.

*I received an ARC from Summerside Press in exchange for my honest opinion.

Lucy Maud Montgomery Challenge Wrap-Up

Well.... I didn't finish Anne of Avonlea. To be honest, I barely got started on it! There's been so many review books I just couldn't seem to pass up lately. I still passed on WAY more than I accepted. I DO have a little self control with books. (only a little, though). ;) I've tried to make sure I've kept them read as they come in, though. From now on, I think I'll stick to only committing to one book per challenge.
I'm thrilled that I've finally read Anne of Green Gables, regardless! I remember back before I started reviewing books(Well, not reviewing, but just telling my thoughts about a book, as one author put it), I would find a book I loved and would quickly make my way through the entire series. Sometimes, I miss those days! I do love getting books that I already want to read for free, though! No complaints here. If I had read Anne of Green Gables in those days, though, it would be a series that I read through quickly!

You may remember I also wanted to watch both versions of the Anne movies. Annette watched the older version(her review HERE), and I decided I'd rather spend my time elsewhere. :) I didn't get a hold of a DVD version of the newer Anne movie, so I didn't watch them, either.

For those of you who haven't kept up with the challenge, and love Anne, you have to see this post! Carrie(the challenge host), hosted an Anne of Green Gables Brunch. This is such a FUN idea!!!!! My mind is just twirling with possibilities now! :)