Stray Review

This time I’m reviewing Stray by: Elissa Sussman.

Aislynn lives in a world where all women have magic, but if not contained, that magic will cause them to stray from The Path they are given in life. Aislynn has always struggled to keep a lid on the powerful magic bottled up inside her. Unfortunately she has an occurrence that sets her life on a completely different Path of being a fairy godmother. Aislynn constantly struggles to be and do as she’s told, but that becomes increasingly difficult…

This book took a while to get into. I really considered putting it down and never finishing it, but I trudged along. About a fourth to a third of the way into the book, I finally started to become interested and I didn’t want to put it down.

The synopsis of this book is, honestly, terrible. I expected this book to be completely different, where Aislynn was a spoiled, selfish girl who acted out, which caused her to become a fairy godmother. Actually, though, she couldn’t control her magic, which caused her later fate. This was completely different than what I was led to believe and I felt so much more for Aislynn in the way the book actually turned out than if she really was how the synopsis had led on.

I thought the plot of this book was good, but I wished there was a bit more explained earlier on. Aislynn slowly learns more and unravels the mysteries surrounding her, but I was so often confused in this book. Many of the concepts and idea in this book were unique, but I just wished they were brought about in a clearer manner. It took me too long to figure out different terminology (that wasn’t really blatantly explained) and to understand the reasoning behind a bunch of the rules in this book.

I really did like Aislynn as a character. She struggled with questioning the system that she’d lived in her whole life and I loved the changes that I saw her go through. She bloomed in a wonderful way and really found herself. I really wish her self-harming was explored just a bit further. That’s a huge topic to tackle and I felt it was almost just mentioned and forgotten. There’s so much more that Elissa Sussman could have done with it to add even more emotional depth to Aislynn. Aislynn was still a great character as is, but Elissa Sussman could have made Aislynn even better.

As far as secondary characters go, I liked Thackery and Brigid, but I found I didn’t really care to see any of the others again. I even was getting tired of Linea (the girl Aislynn is the fairy godmother to). All the characters, other than Aislynn, felt a bit two-dimensional. They just seemed to have a short list of qualities and traits, but that was as far as they went. They were all a great supporting cast, but Aislynn feel really like the only main character (at least depth-wise).

There was one event in the book that happens out of the blue. It is never explained further. Maybe the next book will mention it, but I think it is unlikely. It bothered me that this thing that contradicted so much in the book would just suddenly happen and everything acting like it was okay. After it, I enjoyed the book enough that I chose to not dwell on it further, but it really felt like a cheap trick to force the plot to go a specific way.

Overall, I really did enjoy this book. I wish that there weren’t so many little things that got on my nerves. If you can overlook things like that, then you can really enjoy this unique story. There really is a bunch of good in this book, but I wish it could have a bit more work done on it.

Lastly, the cover is beautiful. This was part of the reason I was so interested in this book.

The Ride of Her Life Review

This time I am going to review The Ride Of Her Life by: Lorna Seilstad.

It has been three years since Lilly Hart has lost her husband. Raising a six-year-old boy is challenging enough as a single mom, but the matter is further complicated by Lilly’s former in-laws. They will stop at nothing to rip her son from her in the name of doing what’s best for the boy. All this adds up to some major trust issues that are challenged when Lilly spends more time with Nick Perrin.

I enjoyed this book, but not nearly as much as I enjoyed the first two books in this series. Maybe this could mostly just have to do with what was going on in my life, but I put this book down multiple times. It was easy to forget about.

That isn’t to say that it isn’t a great book. Lorna Seilstad’s writing wraps you up in the story when you read it. The plot progresses nicely. I was never bored with the book, I just managed to put it down too often. It’s not a book that I couldn’t wait to finish and I stayed up all night long to read.

I really liked Lilly when she was just Marguerite’s sidekick. She was a great voice of reason and an encouragement for Marguerite. I really loved her faith and relationship with God. In this book, though, I felt there was a huge disconnect from the Lilly of Making Waves and the Lilly presented here. I understand her heartache changed her, but in the first book she almost seemed so secure in her Christianity. I really loved getting to know her in this book, but she almost felt like a completely different person.

I liked Nick, but he felt a bit flat as a character. His backstory was so unique that I wished it played a bit larger role in this book. It was just barely mentioned on occasion throughout the whole course of the book that I became super curious about it. I wanted to know even more, but there never was the chance. I liked his unique job of designing roller coasters, but I didn’t know really why he liked it. I didn’t really feel his motivations for pursuing the career. This all translated to a good, but not great hero for this book.

The ending to this book is good. So much time was spent building up to the climax that the ending actually felt a bit rushed. Most of this book revolves around Mr. Hart wanting to take Levi from Lilly that I thought climax and tension would be so much more than what it turned out to be. It just fizzles out towards the end like a fuse that goes out right before igniting a firework.

I thought Lorna Seilstad did a great job dealing with Lilly’s trust issues. Nothing to do with that felt fake or forced. The message in this book was beautiful.

Even though it doesn’t quite sound like it, I really did enjoy this book. It’s a great book for someone looking for a sweet inspirational romance.

A Great Catch Review

This time I am going to review A Great Catch by: Lorna Seilstad.

Emily Graham is the president of her local suffrage movement and she pours herself into her cause. Her meddlesome aunts and grandmother think she should settle down, but Emily has other ideas. She’s determined to chase away any suitor and her constant clumsiness aids her cause. Her plans are dashed when baseball pitcher Carter Stockton enters the picture. Emily fights to keep her work for the suffrage movement at the forefront of her mind, above all else, but Carter proves to become increasingly distracting.

I’ve loved the Christian Fiction genre for awhile now. Most of the time when I read all the inspirational messages in them, I haven’t really been struck by anything I didn’t already know. Books in this genre have a whole lot of great advice, but normally it’s all stuff I already knew from being a Christian.

This book however, blew me to pieces in that department. I identified so much with Emily. All the lessons she learned really hit home. Lorna Seilstad masterfully wrote this book and Emily’s struggles. Not once did I feel like anything in this book was fake. More than any other book, the lessons in this one really made an impact.

All the characters are unique and fun to read. They all have depth and their struggles are really poignant. The secondary characters really help further the story. This book wouldn’t have been the same without them.

The plot moved along nicely and at a pleasant pace. I never got bored during this book and I loved reading the budding romance between Emily and Carter. They had many obstacles to overcome and it made the book feel more like real life.

I really loved this look into the Women’s Suffrage Movement. It makes me so proud of the many brave women in our history that worked so hard to give us the many rights we have today. Not all of them got to see the day when women could vote, but if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t know that right either.

Lorna Seilstad did an excellent job in including the movement in her book. She really represented all the attitudes raging at that time: from the hardworking and fired-up suffragettes to the bull-headed opposers. I really felt like this book gave an excellent glimpse into what it could have been like during that time.

Making Waves Review

This time I am going to review Making Waves by: Lorna Seilstad.

Marguerite Westing couldn’t be happier to escape the city to vacation at Lake Manawa and leave her boring suitor, Roger, behind. The lake is just the place for her adventurous spirit to run free. From the first moment she sees a ship gliding through the waters of the lake, she falls in love with sailing and decides she has to learn. The problem is, it’s not something a woman should be doing. Hatching a scheme, she finagles a way to learn from the hansom Trip Andrews. Something about him makes her heart race, but tragedy could very well prevent them from being together, not to mention Roger, who isn’t quite all he appears to be…

I originally read this book a couple years ago and I absolutely loved it. I couldn’t put it down and I was so amused by Marguerite’s spunk. Browsing the kindle store, I noticed it was only a buck and I decided to buy it. The next books in the series weren’t expensive either, so I decided to buy them as well. Before I went onto the second book, I decided I should probably reread this one and it was just as good as I remembered. Once again, I couldn’t put it down.

I have a lot of fun reading characters like Marguerite. I love her need for adventure and pushing boundaries, probably because I have some of those qualities. Marguerite refused to be vanilla. I loved how she set her mind to something and wouldn’t give up. She was rich, but she didn’t mind hard work.

I also love the journey this book took her on. She would sometimes lie to aid in achieving her goals. Just like so many of us, she could easily justify the lies. They were little, so who could they really hurt? The lesson of learning to be truthful is so important and Lorna Seilstad did a wonderful job in challenging Marguerite in this way.

Trip was a great character as well. He could be hot-headed at times, just like his father. I appreciated that his father was tough, but you could really sense that Trip still loved him. Trip’s growth in this book was also good. I wished I could see a bit more of his thoughts while his attitudes seemed to change, closer to the end of the book. There is a whole lot more that could be said about how people could never measure up to his standards and how he learned to let go of that.

The ending was sweet and I just wished there was more because I didn’t want this book to end. Lorna Seilstad’s writing easily wrapped me up in the story. She did a great job with all the different POV’s and they all were unique in personality to fit the character.

I loved this book and I’m looking forward to read the next one!

Mindsurge Review

This time I am going to review Mindsurge by: Heather Sunseri. (This is the third book in the series, so there are bound to be spoilers from the first two books. Read at your own risk.)

Lexi can’t get free from the evil trying to control her. Evil has a name: Sandra, Lexi’s DNA donor. On Lexi’s eighteenth birthday, Sandra starts sending ‘gifts’ that continue to escalate in severity. With all those that Lexi loves threatened, she wants to take revenge on the one who gave her life but also who is the driving force of destroying her life.

I really loved this book, but since I became a huge fan of Jonas’s, it was also a bit of torture. From the very beginning, I’ve said that there is something about Jake that just makes me not be able to absolutely love as a character. I really enjoyed Lexi and Jake’s relationship and growth in the first two books, but all throughout this book, I screamed for Lexi to want Jonas. That was never going to be a remote possibility because Lexi and Jake are so in love, but I couldn’t help but torture myself with that wish.

Getting past that, everything else about the book was amazing. The ending was very satisfying for the conclusion of the series (even though there is another book after this one). One thing in the end left me with some questions, but I’m sure (well, hoping really) that Heather Sunseri with give us an explanation for it later. I’ll be disappointed if there never is one, but it’s really not a huge thing to get caught up about.

I did actually find a typo in this book. At one point (I should have kept track), the name should have been ‘Alyson,’ but it was written ‘Sandra,’ and knowing the characters, that is a huge difference.

I really liked the introduction of new characters in this book, especially Lexi’s mom. The growth of the other relationships were wonderful as well. I liked seeing more of Coach and Seth. They were great people for Lexi to turn to.

I’m so impressed by how Heather Sunseri dealt with Lexi’s trust issues and grieving in this book. I really identified with her and her pain really came through in this book. When Lexi started pushing everyone away, Heather Sunseri made it so real. Other books so often struggle and fail at conveying these feelings, or they don’t let them last long enough to explore them fully. This book did an excellent job with them and helping Lexi move past them.

I’m so impressed with Heather Sunseri’s work and I really can’t wait to read more of it. She has an amazing imagination to have put this book together and she did a wonderful job in writing it. I’m also excited for the next book, even though it will be a bit of a change because it is focused on Kyle, but I have always wanted to get to know him more.

Mindsiege Review

Today I am going to review Mindsiege by: Heather Sunseri. (This is the second book in the series so there are bound to be spoilers. Read at your own risk.)

Lexi Matthews just discovered the person invading her mind. The most terrifying part, they can make her do whatever they want and she is powerless to stop them. Having just run from her boarding school, Wellington, she now must run from a whole different evil, but where can she hide when this voice can control her from any distance?

I loved this book so much, probably even more than the first book. I didn’t not want to put it down for a second, but sadly I had to get sleep at some point.

The flow and plot of this book were amazing. Things continued to build and progress until the very intense end. Question from the first book are answered. Lexi is starting to discover more about herself. A few twists are thrown in to keep you off-kilter.

I really like the all the minor characters. Sure, they could probably have a bit more depth, but since they are minor character it doesn’t matter. They really add something extra to the book. Out of them, I’m really excited to see more of Kyle and Addison in the coming book. Even Bree I’m looking forward to getting to know a bit more about.

Now, the character I totally loved in this book was Jonas. Wow. He’s a great bad boy and you don’t always know if he’s trustworthy, but I am so glad he got a role in this book.

Like I said with the last book, something about Jake just makes me like him but not love him as a character. I’ll admit he’s perfect for Lexi and I love their relationship, but… I don’t even know what exactly it is about him. He’s like a shirt that fits great, but just something about it looks horrible on you.

The ending does have a cliff-hanger, but the ending to this book didn’t make me want to scream like the last one did. (I didn’t want to scream because it was bad, it was just intense.) This cliff-hanger I can deal with, but I am going to pick up the next book in about two seconds, so that might be a factor…

Heather Sunseri did an excellent job writing this book. She brought just enough detail into it that all the science fiction elements felt really believable to me. I really can’t wait to read more of her work and I’m sure I’m about to devour the next book in the series, Mindsurge.

Mindspeak Review

This time I am going to review Mindspeak by: Heather Sunseri.

Lexi Matthews can make people do what she wants. With just a nudge with her mind, people obey, but it takes a toll on her in the form of a nose bleed. Lexi has kept her secret, but it isn’t as well kept as she thinks. When her father is murdered, her world turns upside down. She has no one to turn to and she doesn’t know who to trust. The intriguing Jake’s appearance into her life also complicates things…

This book was a great surprise. I bought this book when it was free at one point and it just hung out on my kindle forever. Needing not to spend too much more money on books, I decided to pick it up and I couldn’t put it down. Needless to say, I had to force myself to stop around five in the morning to go to bed. Then I finished the last little bit the next day.

Normally in books, I can grow so impatient when the main character goes back and forth on who they can trust. Lexi did this in the book, but every time she did, I felt she was justified. All the characters surrounding her are so hard to figure out, which adds a whole lot of depth to this book. Everyone is keeping things from Lexi and she is just beginning to figure things out.

I really liked Lexi’s character. Heather Sunseri did a great job in writing her. When Lexi’s father died, she grieved. So many books skip the grieving and get straight to the action or romance. I appreciate that Heather Sunseri didn’t do that.

I like Jake as a character, but so many times I thought there just had to be more to how much and how quickly he loves Lexi. He’s an amazing guy and wants what’s best for her, which is cute. I just wish he seemed a bit less clingy. Overall, I definitely liked him, but there just seemed like something was a bit off. I think it was probably me just reading him wrong and expecting different things from him that really gave me this slight feeling of not fully loving him as a character.

I thought Seth was a great character. I loved how you could never fully know if he was trustworthy or not, which actually happens with about every character. I kept forgetting that he had to be older, though (like Lexi’s dad’s age). I for some reason kept imagining him in his twenties.

All the science fiction elements in this book are great and I can’t wait to learn even more in the next books. Throughout the whole book, you get little tidbits about what is really going on, which kept me guessing till the very end.

Now about the ending. I really wanted to scream when I read the ending. This wasn’t because it wasn’t good, but some things happen that were beautifully torturesome to the reader. The ending is a slight bit of a cliff-hanger, but it isn’t as extreme as some I’ve read. All in all, the ending just made me want more and I can’t wait to dive into the next book.

I really love all the surprises and twists that are in this book. It really keeps you on your toes and entertained throughout the whole thing. This is a really wonderful start to this series and very well written.