Book Review | Together at the table

Having read and LOVED the first two books ("A Table by the Window" and "Reservations for Two") in the series by Hillary Manton Lodge, I jumped at the chance to review the final installment!

I decided to wait for my vacation and then go back and read the first two books again before getting into the third book "Together at the Table" and it was WONDERFUL! I loved the first two stories as much as I did the first time, and then I got lost in the third book completely. I must admit I even bored my vacation companions with stories from the books, as the characters are so alive and full bodied, it felt like I was talking about real people.

Once again the author keeps the suspense in the relationships of the two main characters going: "will they, won't they?" She also brings a wonderful and completely unexpected ending to the story of her grandmother which started in the first book.

I don't want to give anything away, but I cannot emphasize enough how much I LOVED this series and can recommend it as a wonderful read for foodies, travel lovers, romance suspense fans, history buffs, pretty much anyone who loves a good read about "real" people which makes you smile and want more...

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Blogging for Bloggers <http://www.bloggingforbooks.org> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Book Review | Meet the New You

I took a long time to get through this book (even though it says 21 day plan), I started reading it in January, and only finished it in June. But, mostly because I wanted to get the most out of it. It was chock full of good ideas of how to really take stock of your life and move forward into good new habits. I spent a lot of time on each chapter, thinking and praying about how to implement it into my life.

Elisa Pulliam is a life coach and mentor, so she uses a lot of those kinds of techniques, but also wraps them up with sound biblical principles and also gives readers questions to dig deeper after each chapter. This is definitely a book I will be reading again and again!

If you are looking for a good book to read as part of your daily quiet time, or as I did, during a weekly "going deeper" session with God, then this is the book for you.

I can highly recommend this book for those women who have a need to see how to grow into the destiny that God has for them, making mostly small (and maybe big) changes to try and change into true Women of God.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Blogging for Books <http://www.bloggingforbooks.com/> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Book Review | The Brontë Plot

Before I went on vacation to Canada, I decided to get a book to read while I was travelling and chose this one from the ones available. Set at first in Chicago, but quickly moving to London and classic places like Haworth where the Brontë's lived and wrote and also the Lake district, this story was a great one to read while travelling myself!

The settings are beautifully described, and the characters are well developed, and the story-line keeps you wanting more - my kind of book!  The main character, rare-book dealer Lucy, has made mistakes in the past, and these catch up with her and ruin her relationship with her Prince Charming, James. She realises that things have to change and in comes James' gran who whisks her along to England on a buying trip, but she also has other motives which surprisingly have nothing to do with James...

As the story unfolded, I was drawn along by wanting to know what was going to happen, and really enjoyed seeing the changes the main characters made in their lives.

I would recommended this story especially to those who enjoy classics from the Brontë's to Austen, and want a good solid read that makes you think about your life and how you can also improve.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Book Review | Reservations for two

I read Hillary Manton Lodge's "A table by the window" and loved it sooooo much that when I saw that "Reservations for two" which is the sequel was up for review, I had to get my hands on it! The only thing that I didn't like about both books is that I didn't realise either were part of a series until it didn't end at the end. So the first book surprised me with a sequel and so did the second... luckily the 3rd book is supposed to be the end of the Two Blue Door series so am looking forward to reading that and getting the closer I need on these wonderfully developed characters.

Once again the main character is Juliette D'Alisa and starts with her searching out her roots in Provence and Tuscany. The romantic storyline with Neil from Memphis is kept on-again-off-again because of long distance, especially when she is back in Portland and running a new restaurant. The characters are developed further and the intrigue continues as she seeks answers to a family mystery. Interspaced throughout with letters from her grandmother during WWII Paris and wonderful recipes which are mentioned in the story, this strong story kept me reading until the end...

I cannot recommend this series highly enough and can hardly wait until the last in the series comes out! Armchair travellers, foodies, history buffs will all love this book - and if you like romance and intrigue all wrapped up in one, then this is the book for you!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Blogging for Bloggers <http://www.bloggingforbooks.org> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Blogging for books review: If God is good

"If God is good" by best-selling author, Randy Alcorn, takes a look at the age-old question of suffering. Just the other night we did an activity at our English class here in Banja Luka, where we mingle and ask each other questions on slips of paper and then switch questions and carry on. One of the questions was "If you had one question to ask God, what would it be?". I actually got that question to ask three times during the activity and twice the person's question to God was "Why is there suffering in the world?"

I wish the activity was also for me to answer the question, because I feel like I have a good handle on it after finishing Randy's book. It took a long time to read as it is really in-depth and looks at all sorts of angles. It is divided into 11 sections ranging from "Understanding evil: its origins, nature and consequences" to "Living meaningfully in suffering".

Each section is like a mini-sermon which can be taken on its own or in the greater context of the book. Filled with real-life stories and examples to make things easier to read, and also clearer, the book, though long is not tiring, and really goes in depth into this subject.

One quote that really spoke to me is and sums it up well is this:
"The world has gone terribly wrong.
God is going to fix it.
First, for his eternal glory.
Second, for our eternal good. "

I would highly recommend this book for anyone searching for the meaning in suffering, or working with people who are.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the blogging for books <http://www.bloggingforbooks.com/> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Blogging for books review | Heart wide open

Shellie Rushing Tomlinson's "Heart Wide Open" is an invitation to live a more intimate friendship relationship with Jesus. To not settle for anything less that a close deep relationship with the one who calls you to spend more time with Him with your heart wide open to all that He has for you in your life.

I enjoyed the book for the most part, and it has a lot of good advice, but a lot of it was nothing new to me. Also, it is really for an American audience and I felt like some of the stories and ideas were going over my head a bit.

That said, I would recommend it to anyone who is wanting to seek fresh new ways to revitalise their relationship with the living God and who lives in North America!

I received this book free from the publisher through the Blogging for books <http://www.bloggingforbooks.org> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Blogging for books review: The Accident

One of the 8 books I managed to read on holiday was this thriller by Chris Pavone. I was intrigued by the premise: a book about something so explosive that no one is sure that it will be published. A manuscript so unbelievably believable that uncovers secrets that have long stayed hidden, and a rush to try and get it published before the person who doesn't want it publish kills everyone who knows about it.

In the beginning, you are not told what the manuscript is about and who is the author, but as the story unfolds, more and more details are revealed, and more and more possibilities emerge as to who the author could be and what exactly is so terribly horrifying about the manuscript and what it reveals.

I won't spoil the story by giving away plot twists, suffice it to say that it was a page turner. My only gripe is that there are a lot of characters who are involved and sometimes I had to go back to try and recall who each of them were as the story flipped back and forth between the different people involved. I was also a bit disappointed in the ending, maybe because it wasn't what I was hoping would come out at the end. Oh well.

Otherwise, I would give this book a 4 stars as a good read, makes you think, kind of novel - this certainly wasn't the mindless holiday read I was hoping for!

Disclaimer: I received this book for free to review through bloggingforbooks.com, however, the opinions expressed are purely my own.

Blogging for books review: A Table by the window

Growing up with Italian-French parents in a restaurant and with one failed restaurant has led Juliette D'Alisa to her current career in food writing. Based in Portland, Oregon, the story starts with her brother Nico wanting once again to open a restaurant with her, but she is sure whether she wants to take the plunge. She is finally happy in her new career and over her heartbreak from the chef at the last restaurant. She decides to dabble in internet dating, and before she sees that is not for her and takes her profile down, she is contacted by Neil from Memphis who is an immunologist and seems to be her kindred spirit.

The story evolves, and the author includes rich details about food (including recipes the main character uses) and the places the character goes to, from Portland to France, and also some interesting things about immunology! The story really keeps your attention, and I didn't want to put the book down, and I especially love the fact that I could learn so much about other things as well. She also weaves in aspects of the main character's faith journey which is also very special.

This is one of those stories that you really don't want to end... and I was so glad to find out that the author has written the sequel to this story, which I am looking forward to. I also love the fact that she puts the recipes into the book as well - there are many that I want to try out.

I would recommend this to anyone, especially foodies, and travel fundis and anyone who likes a good wholesome story.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Blogging for Bloggers <http://www.bloggingforbooks.org> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

being sick does have a good side...

I have been doing a lot of reading lately as I have been flat on my back with a really nasty flu bug - I usually have sympathy for people who are sick, but now I realise that I don't have enough... this was nasty. PTL I am mostly through it (just a nagging cough left and still-oh-so-tired), so will soon be getting back to real life...

But because of the sickness, I managed to finish off two of my "book review" books and figure if I don't get the reviews up on my blog now, who knows when I will get the chance. I was reading them all this time in parallel and decided that they have enough in common to put them together on my blog...

The first book is "GREATER" by Steven Furtick:

He is a pastor of a church called Elevation and his book has a lot of resources that go along with it (found on this website: http://greaterbook.com The book tells some of his story of how he started the church and focuses on ways that he has worked out that God uses to help us be greater. It isn't about being "great", but about being "greater"!

His main focus throughout each of the chapters is actually on the story of Elisha - the prophet that followed the more well known prophet Elijah. I appreciated this look into Elisha's story as it isn't one that I am that familiar with. He also masterfully extracts points from the story that really made me think and examine the way I treat God's work in my life.

The main message is about dreaming bigger, but then starting smaller - making sure we are following what God has for us and not out own pride. He tells us to use what we have "think inside the box" and God will multiply that, just as the woman gathered up all the jars from the neighbours and God miraculously filled them with oil... we need to use what we have and God will do the rest.

He is also realistic, acknowledging that sometimes the "greater life" leaves us worse off than before - God has his way of doing things and we need to keep believing even through the hard times that He will come and make things greater out of this situation.

We need to remember that Jesus said about us: “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12) and step out to do greater things!

At the same time that I was reading this book, I was also being encouraged by another of Max Lucado's books "You'll get through this: Hope and Help for your Turbulent Times". I love Max's use of great stories, amazing insights and just beautiful writing to help me see things that God wants me to see.

In this book, he focuses on the story of Joseph and in each chapter takes a look at another aspect of the story of how God got Joseph through the various adventures he was put through in his amazingly turbulent life. We are also reminded that although things looked horrible for Joseph at times, in the end God was weaving it all together into his eternal story of love and redemption for the people of Israel. It isn't always just about us, but about the bigger picture which only God can see.

However, I do believe the authors differ in their treatment of the people reading the book. Steven is trying to encourage those who feel like they aren't able to do it, to get out there and get onto God's bandwagon. Whereas Max's emphasis is more on helping those who are feeling a bit battle-weary realise that there is more to the story, and they can trust God to move them forward.

I enjoyed these books immensely and would highly recommend them to a Christian seeking either to do greater things for God, or one who is maybe feeling a bit downtrodden and need of encouragement. 


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received these books free from the publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.