Best Books That I Read in 2016!

Okay, so here we go! The top ten books I've read in 2016! Some of these I've written reviews for, others I haven't. I'll leave a synopsis below each photo. :) Thanks for reading!

10) Courageous (Book #3 in the Valiant Heart series) by Dina Sleiman 

Inspired by the vision of the Young Lady Sapphira, Rosalind of Ipsworth joins a group of men, women, and children as a defender of the cross, seeking to free captives from prisons near Tripoli. She gladly gives herself to the cause, as she's haunted by a tragic mistake and no longer deserves such joys as marriage and family might bring.

Sir Randel Penigree was reared to serve in the church, but dreams of protecting the innocent as a knight. Joining a crusade to escape humiliation at home, he finds himself drawn to Rosalind as they partner to train and protect a group of young adolescents. When they face political machinations, danger, and an unknown enemy bent on their destruction, they are forced to reconsider their priorities and the very nature of the God they serve.

(from Amazon description)

Purchase it here!

9) The Golden Braid (Book #6 in the Medieval Fairy-tale series) by Melanie Dickerson 

Rapunzel can throw a knife better than any man. She paints beautiful flowering vines on the walls of her plaster houses. She sings so sweetly she can coax even a beast to sleep. But there are two things she is afraid her mother might never allow her to do: learn to read and marry.

Fiercely devoted to Rapunzel, her mother is suspicious of every man who so much as looks at her daughter and warns her that no man can be trusted. After a young village farmer asks for Rapunzel’s hand in marriage, Mother decides to move them once again—this time, to the large city of Hagenheim.

The journey proves treacherous, and after being rescued by a knight—Sir Gerek—Rapunzel in turn rescues him farther down the road. As a result, Sir Gerek agrees to repay his debt to Rapunzel by teaching her to read. Could there be more to this knight than his arrogance and desire to marry for riches and position?

As Rapunzel acclimates to life in a new city, she uncovers a mystery that will forever change her life. In this Rapunzel story unlike any other, a world of secrets and treachery is about to be revealed after seventeen years of lies. How will Rapunzel finally take control of her own destiny? And who will prove faithful to a lowly peasant girl with no one to turn to?

(from Amazon description)

Purchase it here!

8) A Daring Sacrifice (Book #2 in the An Uncertain Choice series) by Jody Hudland 

In a reverse twist on the Robin Hood story, a young medieval maiden stands up for the rights of the mistreated, stealing from the rich to give to the poor. All the while, she fights against her cruel uncle who has taken over the land that is rightfully hers. Forced to live in the woods and hide with the poor people she's grown to love, she works to save and protect them, but she never anticipates falling in love with the wealthy knight who represents all she's come to despise.

(from Amazon description)

Purchase it here!

  

7) Chivalrous (Book #2 in the Valiant Hearts series) by Dina L. Sleiman

Read my review here!

and then

Purchase it here! 

6) Rules of Murder (Book #1 in the A Drew Farthering Mystery series) by Julianna Deering

Drew Farthering loves a good mystery, although he generally expects to find it in the pages of a novel, not on the grounds of his country estate. When a weekend party at Farthering Place is ruined by murder and the police seem flummoxed, Drew decides to look into the crime himself. With the help of his best friend, Nick Dennison, an avid mystery reader, and Madeline Parker, a beautiful and whip-smart American debutante staying as a guest, the three try to solve the mystery as a lark, using the methods from their favorite novels.

Soon, financial irregularities at Drew's stepfather's company come to light and it's clear that all who remain at Farthering Place could be in danger. Trying hard to remain one step ahead of the killer--and trying harder to impress Madeline--Drew must decide how far to take this game.

(from Amazon description)

Purchase it here!

5) Summoned to Forgive (Book #2 in the Value His Mission series) by Kaitlyn Newlon 

Read my review here! 

and then 

Purchase it here!

4) Playing the Part (Book #3 in the A Class of There Own series) by Jen Turano 

Read my review here!

and then

Purchase it here!

3) Prophet (Book #1 in the Books of the Infinite series) by R.J. Larson 

Ela Roeh of Parne doesn't understand why her beloved Creator, the Infinite, wants her to become His prophet. She's undignified and bad-tempered, and at age seventeen she's much too young. In addition, no prophet of Parne has ever been a girl. Worst of all, as Parne's elders often warn, if she agrees to become the Infinite's prophet, Ela knows she will die young.

Yet she can't imagine living without Him. Determined to hear the Infinite's voice, Ela accepts the sacred vinewood branch and is sent to bring the Infinite's word to a nation torn apart by war. There she meets a young ambassador determined to bring his own justice for his oppressed people. As they form an unlikely partnership, Ela battles how to balance the leading of her heart with the leading of the Infinite.

(from Amazon description) 

Purchase it here!

2) The Silent Song Bird (Book #7 in the Medieval Fairy-tale series) by Melanie Dickerson 

Evangeline is gifted with a heavenly voice, but she is trapped in a sinister betrothal until she embarks on a daring escape and meets brave Westley le Wyse. Can he help her discover the freedom to sing again?

Desperate to flee a political marriage to her cousin King Richard II’s closest advisor, Lord Shiveley—a man twice her age with shadowy motives—Evangeline runs away and joins a small band of servants journeying back to Glynval, their home village.

Pretending to be mute, she gets to know Westley le Wyse, their handsome young leader, who is intrigued by the beautiful servant girl. But when the truth comes out, it may shatter any hope that love could grow between them.

More than Evangeline’s future is at stake as she finds herself entangled in a web of intrigue that threatens England’s monarchy.Should she give herself up to protect the only person who cares about her? If she does, who will save the king from a plot to steal his throne?

(from Amazon description) 

Purchase it here!

1) Lodestar (Book #5 in the Keeper of the Lost Cities series) by Shannon Messenger 

Read my review for the series here!

and then 

Purchase it here!

If you purchased, read or love any of these books because of my reviews, please let me know in the comments! If any of these books look interesting to you READ THEM! You won't be sorry! And then share this blog post with your friends! :) 

Keepers of the Lost Cities ~ A Book Series Review

When Your Life Turns On Its Ear, Who Can You Trust?

Sophie Foster finds out there is more to her than she thought. In fact, there is more to the world than she thought. She's always known she's been odd. Being able to read thoughts tends to do that. 

But when she is told by a strange boy with the bluest, strangest colored eyes she has ever seen that she is an elf, well that's the start of a grand adventure. 

It turns out Sophie had more than just the ability to read minds. She's also not normal even by elven standers.

Join Sophie, Fitz, Dex, Keefe, Biana, Tam, Linh and the rest of Sophie's friends and family as they fight a new sort of evil in the world and face a threat they aren't sure they will ever be able to beat.

~   ~   ~

DISCLAIMER! This book is not a Christian series but is clean, funny and has a good message for right always winning, despite the cost. 

That being said .... I FREAKING LOVE THIS BOOK!!!!

So I'm going to try to leave as few spoilers as I can, but I love these characters and I think this series is the top of my love list for non-christian books. 

There are a lot of twists and turns in this book. Lodestar made me cry, but that is set off with TONS of hilarious comments from Fitz, Tam and Keefe. I can't put down these books and that can be a problem when I'm trying to be constructive during the day. Haha. 

The only problem is ... HAVING TO WAIT FOR THE STINKING SIXTH BOOK!!! Why, Shannon, WHY?! I love this series, cannot say enough but if you can't wait a year for the next book WAIT! It's torture to wait. 

My favorite characters are:

1) Keefe

2) Fitz

3) Sophie

Comment yours as you read! I'd love to know who's actually taking me up on my books suggestions!

Mrs. Messenger! I LOOOOOOOOVE your books!! I can't put them down and please please please have Fitz kiss Sophie in book 6! I cannot stand this suspense! (Keefe is acceptable too but I've been waiting forever for Sofitz)

Summoned to Forgive ~ A Book Review

Will He Find the Strength to Forgive?

Morgan and Gen are back in the second book in Value His Mission Series!

Morgan is struggling to put the events of six months ago to rest in his mind, but this trip to India with Gen and her family threaten to undo him. When a powerful young man in the village they're making a clinic for disrespects his dead father, Morgan feels a bitter hatred at the man. As trails and triumphs plague the Taylors and Morgan, will he be able to follow God's summoned to forgive? 

♥♥♥

The second novel by Kaitlyn Newlon is just as amazing!

Gen and Morgan become all the more real. With Gen's klutziness, Morgan's humor and caring and just the general family feel made me smile and cry!

I loved the family setting so stinking much!!! The brothers teasing the sisters is sooooo relatable to me! Coming from a family of eight myself, I loved it! Caleb and Hannah are totally my favorite!

However, Miss. Newlon was very evil as well. I mean, it is expected of writers, but serious?! The amount of mauling to both Gen and Morgan was enough to bring me to tears.

Despite all that, I have to give this book a FIVE STAR review! I love, love love this book and I cannot wait to read book three when she releases it! 

Bravo Miss. Newlon! Bravo!

Playing the Part ~ A Book Review

Lucetta Plum is anything but a damsel in distress! 

But everyone else sees the young actress only as the characters she portrays on the stage. When one over-zealous fan drives Lucetta and Mrs. Abigail Hart - the lady persistent on finding a match for Lucetta - from their home, the two ladies seek refuge at Abigail's grandson's ... castle? 

Bram Haverstein has a flare for the Gothic and it is evident in the fact that he bought Ravenwood castle! With all his secrets, his loyal but once less the law-abiding staff, and a 'haunted' castle, Bram has more than his share of adventures. When he meets the actress he's been falling for for a long time, Bram wants to sweep this lovely lady off her feet. But he soon learns that Lucetta isn't the lady waiting for her knight in shining armor he envisioned her to be. In fact, Lucetta isn't anything that Bram imagined and that might just upset the balance of his well-balanced, secret filled life. 

With haunted castles, crazed fans and a match making grandmother and friend, will Lucetta and Bram ever make it to the curtain call? Or will the curtain fall well before then?

♥♥♥

Okay so this is the third book in the A Class of Their Own series by Jen Turano  and I loved it almost as much as the first two! (Read my reviews for those here) This follows the story of Lucetta Plum, Harriet and Millie's friend who is determined to NOT be a lady in need of saving. The reason why is heartbreaking, but I don't want to give away too much info! :)

So the characters.

I found Lucetta to be a little hard to relate too. She's not a lady who needs or wants to be saved, and to be honest, I'm not like that at all. I'm the one who wants a guy to be strong for me, someone I can lean on. Being an actress WAS something I could relate to however, so that was cool.

Is it pathetic that I related to the guy more? Seriously! Bram is a whole lot like me! (Minus the love for the morbid, death and shackles bit.) You'll find out many secrets about him, (one that had me rereading the sentance about three times!) and he is humorous, which I like. I could totally picture him from Jen's description which I LOVE to be able to do.

Abigail was hilarious, as the norm. A little plot twist in the epilogue will have you aw-ing all over the place.

Millie is in it too! Which had me ROLLING as she is by far my favorite character in the series. Well, her and Everett.

Harriet make a brief appearance and they mention her husband, Oliver.

Over all, I give this book 5 FREAKING STARS! Make sure you check out the first two in the series and comment below who your favorite character is!

Bravo Mrs. Turano! I can't wait for your next series! 

    

First Date and Starring Me ~ TWO Book Reviews

Addy Davison has been chosen to be in The Book of Love - a reality TV show - with ninety-nine other girls. The prize? A date with the president’s very handsome, very popular son, Jonathon. Addy is also the only one who doesn’t want to be there. She hates the spotlight and is sure she’ll be eliminated right away, especially since all her ‘co-stars’ and the producer seem to hate her guts.

But Jonathon seems to really like her and the odd meetings they keep having seem to form a special bond between the two. 

As the show moves on, Addy realizes that maybe, just maybe, this is right where God wants her. Perhaps, as her loving uncle reminds her, God’s put her here for such a time as this. 

Based roughly on the story of Esther in the Bible, First Date will leave you in stitches and then in tears. 

Kara McKormick was born to be on the stage. It’s been her dream for as long as she can remember. When she is called back for the role of co host on an all new teen talk show, she is off the walls with excitement. Literally, her family and best friend, Addy, could barely hold her down 

Chad Beacon became an overnight popstar sensation once we won America’s Next Star. Now, with his new talk show on a new teen channel, he’s eager to find his co-host. Except for one little problem. His parents insist on her being a Christian. Not that Chad disagrees. But the stress is awful. 

When both Chad and Kara meet at Jonathon’s house (which just happens to be the White House), they form a bond. But Chad knows that Kara isn’t a Christian. And if only Chad Beacon could be the star she might be playing opposite! 

Starring Me is an amazing sequel to First Date and show what happened after The Book Of Love finished!

♥♥♥

Okay, so. These books were so so so SO good! I finished First Date the day I got it. Same for Starring Me. They are both so hard to put down once you start reading them! 

Addy and Kara were both so real! I could totally relate to Addy, being angry and frustrated with God when His plans don’t match up to what I want. But, like Addy, ultimately I realize that I am where I am for a reason and God’s not going to just make my problems or my situation disappear. 

While I related with Addy, I am much much MUCH more like Kara. I love acting. Though admittedly I’m not as outgoing nor as outspoken. But she was so spunky and fun that I just ended up laughing and crying with her. 

I also really liked how these stories are based roughly on Biblical narratives! As my summary says, First Date was based off Esther. I love that story (Veggietales does an amazing parody of it by the way. Great songs) so this book grabbed me thanks to that. Starring Me, however, took some thinking on my part to find the Biblical parallel. I thought Chad’s parents wanting a Christian for the costar sounded familiar and then it hit me. Issac and Rebekah! It’s so cool to see that unfold in the book. 

So, my rating? 5 out of 5! For sure! I highly highly HIGHLY recommend these books for a quick, lighthearted read! I will for sure be picking up more of Mrs. McGee’s books in the near future!

Chivalrous ~ A Book Review

She refuses to bend to future she doesn't want!

Gwendolyn would rather fight in the countryside than wear gowns and flirt with royals in court. But that is exactly what is expected of her, now that her father has returned from war. 

Harsh, unyielding Lord Barnes is determined to marry Gwen off to the harsh, prideful, domineering Gawain. 

To make things worse, Gwen has fallen for Allen of Ellsworth. 

Allen long ago lost his heart to the beautiful Lady Merry when he was an outlaw with her and the other children in Farthingale forest. But now that she is engaged to Sir Timothy Grey, Allen knows it's time to strike out on his own. 

So he heads off to Britannia, a land that is best known for being like Sir Author's Camelot A place devoted to God and the pursuit of His will. 

  When he arrives, the city is in the midst of preparation for a grand joust, just the thing for a newly appointed knight to try.

It is here that Gwendolyn and Allen meet and fall in love with each other. But they must decide if their's is a love worth fighting untold odds for. In the twists and turns of this book, Gwen and Allen learn what it means to be truly Chivalrous.

♥♥♥

I. Love. This. Series!!!! And I absolutely love love love Dina Sleiman's books. 

The Valiant Heart series continues in Chivalrous with Allen, who was in Dauntless as the spiritual pastor of the Fathingale Forest Ghost. He's recently been promoted to a knight and decides to seek out a different place to live, away from Merry and Timothy. 

I loved the fast pace, ever changing story! The characters from book one come into play and Dina introduces characters that are going to be in book three in a epic way! I can't wait until it comes out. 

Allen was a favorite of mine in Dauntless and I loved the new characters of Gwendolyn and Rosaland. Both Allen and Gwen are strong, courageous people and the battles, adventures, and missteps they have strengthen them and make them wonderful role models.    

I am so excited for book three that's due to come out in July of this year! 

I give this book 5/5! Can't wait for more Mrs Sleiman! 

   

The Choosing ~ A Book Review

Being chosen is everything.

So when Carrington is passed over, her whole world comes crashing down. Her mother, her father, her little brother...gone. 

Now Carrington is a Lint - a girl who wasn't chosen forced to work the rest of her life and follow the Authority. It's a nightmare and when rumors of rebellion being to circulate, all of Carrington's beliefs are rattled. 

When she goes to see the mysterious Aaron speak, her beliefs become more than rattled. 

Join Carrington as she discovers she has always been chosen. It just looks different than what the world says. 

♥♥♥

This book was really, really good! Rachelle took a cue from her father and wrote a world in which perspective is skewed from right and wrong and it take the reader to discpher what that is!

It strats right at the Choosing Ceremony. That was a little confusing, but I soon understood what was happening. Talk about depressing! The poor girls who weren't choosing are never allowed to marry, are forced to work in slummy gross places and are now labeled Lints!

I loved how the figure of Aaron was symbolic to Christ and how he chooses each and every person! He loves us all even when we can't love ourselves and it was truly wonderfully written that way!

The whole deal with the stuttering guard, Renko, Carrington and Issac was so frustratingly wonderful! I won't get into it (Spoilers!) but let's just say I was on the edge of my seat many, many times!

The only thing about this book I disliked was how it made me super moody! If what you read affects your moods, thoughts etc. I would shy away from this novel. It is super depressing for a good chunk of it!

I give this book 4/5! Well done Mrs Dekker! Can't wait for book two!

I was given this book for my honest review from the Book Club Network. 

The Shock of Night ~ A Book Review

The Darkwater claims all who enter it.

And yet here is Willet Dura. Somehow he's escaped it, the lone survivor of a company of soldiers to escape it. Now plagued with sleep walking, (or so he believes it to be,) he is haunted by the things he cannot recall.

Head reeve to the King of Bunard in a world divided by those with gifts and those without, Willet is tasked with solving the mysterious murder of two men - a simple guard and the man he serves. But as the priest is dying, he grasps Willet and screams in a strange tongue. He dies without explaining. 

Now Willet is back to the task of solving the murders. As more and more people show up dead, he discovers a new power to see into the deepest, darkest thoughts of those he touches. Digging deeper, Willet discovers he is now one of the gifted - with a gift that shouldn't exist. 

Join Willet as he strives to solve the murders of those around him and come to grips with his new and potential deadly gift. 

♥♥♥

Patrick Carr is one of my all time favorite fantasy writers! Like, seriously his book Cast of Stones was captivating on so many levels! 

That said, when I saw this book on the Book Club Network I was ecstatic! 

I was slightly less so when I saw the font! 

It is a super duper tiny font that made the book daunting for those of us having a hard time focusing. Add that to the fact that the book is already 450 pages and it makes it quite a heavy read! 

But despite that, I still was enthralled with the premise and twist in The Shock of Night. Nothing is as it seems. While the back of the book seems to tell you exactly what will  happen, the characters and settings take on a whole new meaning as more and more facts come to light. 

The characters were so refreshing! Willet Dura and Gale, his fiance, were fun and witty. The description of the little pickpockets followed nicely with the Prequel Novella I read a few months back. 

All and all, Patrick W, Carr has introduced us to a whole new world of good versus evil and I have to applaud him! 

I give this book a 4/5! Bravo Mr Carr! I can't wait for the sequel to The Shock of Night!

I was given this book by the Book Club Network for my honest review, which I have given. 

Mississippi Nights ~ A Book Review

Two brothers, a car fire and the power of forgiveness.

When firefighter David Boyette's fiance dies in a car fire, one of the first responders is police officer Jeremy Boyette', David's older brother. Unable to do anything, Jeremy is riddled with the guilt of letting his little brother down.

So he leaves.

It's been three years since the devastating crash and Jeremy has finally come home. Deciding he wants to try and mend the rift between himself and David, the brother's must decide if they are willing to forgive.

Will the bond of brotherhood overcome the shadow of hate?  

♥♥♥

This book was amazing!! 

The characters were fresh and the story line unique. I felt the guilt that Jeremy had over letting his little brother down and the pain of losing your true love like David did. 

I loved loved loved the writing style of D.M. Webb. It reminded me of some of my other favorite authors and drew me right in!

That said, I give this book a 5/5! Great job Mrs. Webb! I will be coming back for more!

I was given this book by the Book Club Network for my honest review which I have given.