Definitely a Golden Harvest



Biblical fiction is one of my favorite genre's to read and enjoy. Since she started writing with A Pearl in the Sand, Tessa Afshar has quickly become one of my favorite authors in this genre. The research she does is meticulous; it's also refreshing to read a story about side characters in an interesting phase of history.

Harvest of Rubies was the first book in the tale of Sarah and Darius, if you have not read it yet, I highly suggest you do so BEFORE reading Harvest of Gold, because it sets the necessary backdrop for both the characters as well as the setting for the story. Sarah and Darius are amazing characters, at the end of Harvest of Rubies some things were resolved, but it's only in Harvest of Gold that both characters come out truly healed and whole. How this happens you will have to read for yourself. I can promise however that you will fall in love with the characters and the depth of this story.

If you enjoy biblical fiction, or just plain historical fiction, you will enjoy this series. It talks about God, and the impact he has in each of our lives. It also explains a sideways view of Nehemiah and the work he had to do to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Reading this book has made me want to go back and re-read the Biblical accounts, something that always happens when I read a great book. Because of her level of writing, the complete immersion that her story uses to guide a reader in, I found it hard to place this book down, and you will too. I am giving this book 5/5 nuggets of gold for what was truly a well done book. Thank you Tessa and I look forward to reading more from you, perhaps not about Sarah and Darius, but about other stories.

To others reading this, if you haven't checked them out, read A Pearl in the Sand (a story about Rahab that is unrelated to this novel) and also read Harvest of Rubies (which is related to this title). Enjoy this masterpiece of a novel.

Christian's Quest - Timeless Fun

Pilgrim's Progress, the inspiration for this book has been a favorite of mine for some time now. Having read Little Pilgrim's Progress and now Christian's Quest, I have thoroughly enjoyed myself. I appreciated the adaptation because it provided different insights and perspectives.

The primary reason I selected Christian's Quest to review was for my little brother. I wanted to see if this book would be manageable for him to read at the age of 9, while the book is a little long, I found this an easier read than Little Pilgrim's Progress for younger children. The illustrations also went a long way towards making this book geared towards a younger generation. While I’m not sure if this will entice him to make his way through the book, it at least is the best attempt I’ve seen that stays close to the intent of the original Pilgrim’s Progress.

If you enjoy adventure books, you will enjoy Christian’s Quest, no matter your age. Christian’s Quest brings Pilgrim’s Progress to a more modern age, allowing many different backgrounds to better understand what happened and the application of Christian’s quest in our own life. Due to the quality of this book, I am happy to give Christian’s Quest 5 swords out of 5 for an excellent job. I thoroughly recommend this title.

I received this book for free from Moody Publisher’s in exchange for my honest review.

Vision + Engineering + God = Visioneering



Andy Stanley’s Visioneering caught my interest due to the well-designed cover. What path do you envision your life will take? All of us will approach this question at some point in our life, are we prepared? So many in life fail to achieve their potential because they do not have a clear vision or the courage to follow through with it. So how do you learn how to develop a vision? How do you choose the right vision for your life? This is the question that Stanley seeks to approach in Visioneering.

My personal definition and breakdown: Vision + Engineering + God = Visioneering

While having a vision is a great idea and adds significance to your life, a vision is worthless without the hard work and dedication required to achieve it. Visioneering is setting a positive goal for your life and refusing to lose sight of it. Visioneering is also about finding worth and fulfillment in God.

What I like most about Stanley’s book is that he incorporates God into the Visioneering process. It is my firm belief that without God, all the machinations you might make for yourself in life is without purpose, it is a vain exercise. Vision brings order and purpose to your life, vision allows you to see your life in a different lens. Everyone yearns for purpose, for a while perhaps you could do a job, but eventually you would want to know that your job had meaning, helped to contribute to something outside of yourself. While a vision does add purpose to your life, it also has a price which Stanley also explores.

I would suggest this book to anyone who enjoys self-help type novels, Stanley does a great job in Visioneering and helps you to better understand yourself and your motivations which is why I’m giving Visioneering 4/5 stars.

Regency Era Fun - The Heiress of Winterwood



Sarah Ladd in her debut title, The Heiress of Winterwood exceeds expectations. I've always been one that enjoys stories in the regency era and this one does not disappoint. As a reader, my favorite genre of books is historical fiction because it enables me to engage with a story that might have happened in the past. What I enjoyed most about this story was the unconventional methods to which Amelia was willing to go for her child. While she may not be the blood mother, it proves that family is not driven by blood but by feelings.

For individuals that are interested in historical fiction, especially one that is based in the regency area, this will be a book that you enjoy. Amelia is a strong heroine and is willing to buck tradition. Regency Era England was a time where you could not step out of line without severe repercussions, most notably being shunned by the ton.  I like that this novel shows how love and loyalty matter more than public perception as well as what is ‘proper.’ It is for this reason that I give The Heiress of Winterwood 4/5 stars for being a story that gripped me from beginning to end as well as a relaxing diversion I look forward to more books from Sarah Ladd, I do believe she has a bright future.

I received this book for free from BookSneeze in exchange for my honest review.

Dualed

The premise of this book intrigued me. We are introduced to a dystopian society where each individual has an alt with which they are paired from birth. Each alt is raised by separate families and prepared for their ineveital confrontation where the strongest would survive and become a complete.

Our main protagonist is West who has not yet approached her 'activation period.' This story is part of a growing number of Teen Dystopian series. Much like the Hunger Games, there is a cast structure within Dualed. Some districts have more more and thus more access to elite training, where others only have schools. The basic premise of Dualed features children fighting to the death. Activation can take place anywhere in between 10-20 and the strongest will survive. There are of course alternative 'methods' of assistance for the right amount of cash, but most do not have the funds to pay. Who will end up alive? Which is the best version of you? The city of Kersh engineers it all to find out, bringing alive a 'dog eat dog' mentality.

In the end, the idea of Dualed was one that greatly intrigued me, however the execution left several holes. First of all, if the strikers are illegal and 'hard' to track down, why no simiply look at the wrists of citizens and figure out who has striker marks and who does not? It would seem to be an easy solution to the problem. Other complaints were merely that I felt the story at time lagged and at other times rushed, all in all however it was a fast read and enjoyable. I will be looking intently for the planned sequel. 4/5 for a good read, and I hope that the next book will unlock even more, as well as go about a way to bring down this barbaric societal practice.

"Not So" Little Pilgrims Progress

Pilgrim's Progress has to be one of my favorite books of all times. I've read previous versions of this story and was excited to see how Helen Taylor would have made this story welcome for younger children. I have to say that she did not do too bad. My only statement I'd say with this is that it is a bit of an advanced book for most 8 year old children, which is what the book sates it is applicable for. I would more place this into the age range of 10-14, I think they would understand the concepts better as well as have more of an ability to read through the book in its entirety.

The story is not a modernized account but more a retelling to enable younger children to understand. I enjoyed this story and while there were areas that were glossed over, it had to be in order to present to the intended audience. In this regard, the author does well. I liked Little Pilgrims Progress and would definitely read it again, however, it will likely be awhile before my younger brother picks up the book, he'd just not be able to read the book through yet. 

I would suggest this to parents/family members that have enjoyed the telling of Pilgrims Progress and would like to share a fresh perspective with their children. It's a great way to do family devotional in the evening. I am giving it 4/5 for family friendliness.

I received this book for free from Moody Publishing in exchange for my honest review.

Big House, Empty Promises

The Big House on Adams Street by Alberta Sparks was a book that I picked after seeing it had not had many reviews of yet. I wanted to give it a chance and the idea for the story sounded promising. The story is loosely about a man named Fritz and a group of individuals that start a house in pre- Civil War America, even this information is not fully described at first. For the first two chapters, not once is the information on the time period of the book shared. Sure, you can guess, however, it's not stated, which to me is a bit of a flaw.

I really tried to get into this book, but the story was very disjointed. It started so many stories and yet I felt it never gave adequate time to the characters that had already been introduced, resulting in an almost 'flat-character' state for a few of them. The story also ended on a very abrupt note, almost as if it was rushed and a bow/ribbon had to be tied around to ensure it was a happy ending.

I would like to say that I could recommend this for individuals to read, however the truth of the matter is, that while it is a brief read, it is also not something I can recommend for purchase. At the end of the day, within this genre, there are other books that can speak to a community being created without the piecemeal story given in the Big House on Adams Street. As a result I give this book 2/5 stars, for there were some anecdotes in the story I found enjoyable, however on the whole it was not a book I would read again or suggest.

I received this book for free from BookSneeze in exchange for my honest review.