Blackberry Crumble by Josi Kilpack

I kind of forgot about this blog.  I might be that it took me about 6 months to read one book.  It wasn't this book however.

This book is the fifth in it's series by Josi Kilpack.  I really have grown attached to the characters in the stories and get excited to find out what will happen to them in the next book.  I have also tried some of the recipes and most of them that I have tried I've really enjoyed.  I think this was a good idea for a book series.

As the fifth book in a series, I was kind of nervous that it would kind of be a repeat of the other four and that I would start getting bored with it.  Luckily I was surprised to find that it was different than the others leaving me still guessing at the end of the book.  I'm glad that it wasn't predictable and that the author was able to bring in a different type of story without ruining the whole series!  I am excited to read the next book in her series.

The Second Sun by Chris Stewart

Yet another Chris Stewart book that I can’t get enough of.  The Great and Terrible Series is just so amazing and this book really makes you start thinking about things that could possibly happen in the future.  This particular book is one of my favorites from the series.  It is starting to really bring things into focus from the previous books as well as leave you hanging for what is going to happen in the rest.

Chris Stewart is an amazing author.  The descriptions of everything that happens in the book are so vivid.  He descibes things perfectly.  A lot of research and experience were put into these books and that time was not wasted.  AMAZING!!!!!

Eddie Fantastic by Chris Heimerdinger

I really enjoyed this book as well.  Chris Heimerdinger is a pro with the time variances.  It seems that most of his books have some sort of time shifting element but I really don’t mind.  I liked this book from start to finish.  It was fun to read and Duck was my very favorite character.

That being said, I was not happy with the ending.  He definitely left it open for a second book but he left too many loose ends that needed to be tied up.  The numbers that he was told to memorize didn’t turn into anything.  I really wanted to know what that was.  Although if he ever does write a second one, I’m sure he’ll tie that in but there is no sequel to Eddie Fantastic in the works.

Overall though, the book was good and I would probably recommend it to others and even to my kids as they get older.

The Fourth Nephite by Jeffery Savage

This book was really interesting.  Since it is obvious by the title that it is LDS fiction, I excepted something in the Book of Mormon time period just based on the title.  I had even read the description of the book and thought that it was a time travel type book that would send him back to Book of Mormon times not unlike the Tennis Shoes books by Chris Heimerdinger.

I was pleasantly surprised when it had a completely different time travel than expected.  This author did an excellent job portraying what many LDS teens are thinking and feeling today.  I really liked that he made it easy for someone that age to read.  I also like the whole story.  I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it.  It’s an easy read but a good story.

Chaos by Jeff Downs

This was an interesting book if you like suspense novels.  It wasn’t extremely suspenseful and I kind of wished that it would have had a little more to it.  It seems kind of random although I suppose the title of the book fits that.  They also threw in the LDS fiction story as well.  I think it could have been better.  I like the suspense novels to make you think a little more or have something a little more close to the characters that happened, but like I said before the title fits the story.

Where Angels Fall by Chris Stewart

An absolutely fabulous book in a absolutely fabulous series!  Chris Stewart paints a picture that is amazing with his descriptions and characters.  This was the second time I've read (or rather listened to) this book and it just gets better.  Things I had missed before stood out.  The thing I like the most about these books is that they are so well written that it almost seems like a non fiction book.  I'm excited to listen to the next four books in the series again.  These are my most favorite book ever and I would recommend them to anyone!

Midway to Heaven by Dean Hughes

This book was really good.  I enjoyed it.  A lot of it made me laugh thinking about a dads and daughters relationship and wondering if dads really think and act like that when their daughter has found someone that they may want to marry.  I have to say that I didn't really like the ending.  I felt like he ended it too early.  There were a lot of unended things that I would have liked to see wrapped up a little bit better.  Overall though, I really enjoyed it.

The Brothers by Chris Stewart

This was my second time listening to this on tape.  It is one of my very favorite series.  The best LDS fiction I've ever read.  A lot of it is speculation about what things could have been like.  The thing I like the most about it is that it makes you ponder things that you normally wouldn't.  I love this book as well as the other 5 that come after it.  If you are looking for a good LDS fiction, read this.  AWESOME!

Key Lime Pie by Josi Kilpack

I have to say that this one was my favorite of the series so far.  I have liked them all but this had unexpected twists, drama, action and romance all from the point of view of a 50+ year old woman.  I love the characters.  I just really enjoyed this book.  I laughed, was on the edge of my seat and almost cried all within a few chapters.  I would not only recommend this book, but the entire series as well.

Finding Dad by Alma J. Yates

Not a bad book.  My husband and I listened to it on CD together.  It didn't really have an extremely exciting plot and there wasn't much of a love story either.  It did have a heartwarming ending but it was a little predictable.  It's not a book that you will regret reading but if you don't have your heart set on reading it then I don't know if I would waste my time.  If you are looking for a simple read that won't really get you emotionally attached, then read it.  Not bad but not one of the better books that I've read.

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks

This story was a pretty good one.  I won't say it was one of my all time favorites though.  My husband and I listened to it together on a CD.  I liked the different characters and their points of view.  At first, I didn't like Ronnie at all.  She bugged me, but as the story progressed and she started to grow up I started to like her.  My favorite character of the book was her brother Jonah and he really didn't get much face time in the book.  It does have a love story in it that was pretty good.  I did like the relationship built between Ronnie and her dad.  It does have a sad ending.  Overall it was a decent book.

Promise Me-Richard Paul Evans

I saw an advertisement for this book a few months ago and was really excited to read it.  In the past, books by Richard Paul Evans have been fantastic and usually they are tearjerkers.  Right before I started reading it, my sister told me of someone who said that they really disliked the book.  Instead of deciding not to read it, it intrigued me as to why they wouldn't like it.  I didn't come to figure out why until near the end of the book.

If you are still planning on reading the book, you may not to read much farther.  It contains spoilers.

The beginning of the book started out about like any other of his books.  I was reading with an open mind or I wanted to say that this other person was dead wrong and it was a fabulous book.  I was enjoyable to read and it made you want to find out what happens.  I really like the short chapters as well.  Having three small kids, I can't just sit and read a big long chapter without interruption so the shorter chapters are appealing to me.  It was an easy read as well.  It's something that you can just breeze through if need be.

Toward the end of the book, I finally discovered what I didn't like about the book.  It was a love story and I usually love those.  I knew there was something funny going on but I wouldn't really explore the obvious option because I didn't think that Evans was a sci-fi writer.  It wouldn't have been so bad finding out that this man that Beth (the main character) had fallen in love with was from the future, but to have it be her daughter's future husband was weird.  The fact that he loved her as well and that they spent 10 months exploring Europe together with Charlotte (Beth's daughter) after she knew who he was was a little disturbing to me.  In fact, if that was ever to happen to anybody in real life, I highly doubt that you would still have contact with the man.  It was a weird ending to a book that could have been good had it not been the future son in law angle.

I have to say that I wouldn't read this book again and I definitely wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

Book Reviews

As I've been reading quite a bit more than I used to, I realized that I have no opinion on whether I like the book or not.  I have a hard time saying "That was a good book!" or "That could have been better."  In an effort to think more about what I like and what I don't like, I've decided to start this blog so that I can think a little bit more about the books that I'm reading.