Tag: Saturday Smorgasbord

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: Amish Christmas Twins

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: Amish Christmas Twins

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this short story collection from Netgalley and Kensington in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

“The Christmas Not-Wish” by Shelley Shepard Gray

After a series of foster homes, Jemima and Roy move in with Will and Elizabeth Ann right before Christmas. The kids’ last foster home was bad, and now they are gun-shy. When they find out EA is pregnant, the kids are afraid they’ll have to leave and take their chances on another foster home.

This was delightful! Nothing terribly surprising, but completely heartwarming and sweet. I loved the kids, and Will and EA worked well through the inevitable bumps along the way as they all adjusted to one another.

 

“New Beginnings” by Rachel J. Good

Elizabeth is a young widow trying to get through the holiday season. Then the hard season is compounded by an injury. But it does bring Luke into her life more often as he comes to her aid. Both are filled with regrets over what might have been.

This was a more painful, but also more precious and heart warming story. Lots of faith components in this one as both Elizabeth and Luke seek God for their struggles. It’s a toss up which of these two stories I liked more. Both were terrific. (CW: grief/loss, teen pregnancy)

 

“Twins Times Two” by Loree Lough

The Briskey twins – Paul and Peter – and their cousins the Hartz twins – James and Thomas – are known around town as Double Trouble. At almost 14, their antics are getting more serious all the time. Playing chicken with a bull is the last straw. As punishment, their parents require them to work for Jubal on his dairy farm to make up for the trouble they have caused.

This one was more slow moving than the other two stories. The love story shared equal time with this redemption story with the four boys. I found that story, with the teens, an absolute delight. Sadly, the romance really didn’t grab me at all in this one. Every scene with the boys, though, made this a worthwhile read. (CW: grief/loss)

 

Overall, the collection of stories here is lovely. I would read all three again. If you love Amish fiction, don’t miss these Christmas stories that all involve twins in one way or another.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥=Great!

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: Mrs. Morris and the Ghost of Christmas Past by Traci Wilton

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: Mrs. Morris and the Ghost of Christmas Past by Traci Wilton

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Kensington in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Charlene and her parents are dining at Bella’s Italian Ristorante for an auction fundraiser for the Felicity House for Children. The event is hosted by the restaurant’s manager, and Charlene’s friend, David Baldwin. David recently won the lottery, and there’s lots of talk about his winnings. He even passes out some checks to people at the event – to his business partner, a graduate of the Felicity House program, and to the Felicity House staff (although it’s a much smaller check than what he’s promised to deliver later). His own son gets an IOU as well.

Then, before the night is over, David goes running out of the restaurant mumbling names no one recognizes. And then he’s struck, but no one saw the vehicle that hit him. Now David is dead, his second wife has closed the bank account so no one can cash David’s checks, and she’s ready to leave town with all of his money.

Charlene is determined to do what she can to help Felicity House. David’s promised money was going to go to an addition onto one of their facilities; they are outgrowing what they already have. Now, they don’t even have money for Christmas, so Charlene’s going to help find some. And Charlene’s ghostly friend, Jack, is ready to offer his insights as she works on who killed David.

Review

This is the third book in the Salem B&B Mystery series, but the first I have read. I like Charlene and her B&B. I loved the Felicity House pieces – the agency’s mission, the fundraiser, Charlene’s support of them, and the connection Charlene makes with one of the teens. That piece is probably my favorite from the book.

The ghost piece was interesting. It was like reading a book with a love triangle, but one leg of it is implausible. I liked how Jack tweaked Charlene’s mom and the cat, but otherwise the character didn’t grab me. Maybe I would have liked him more if I started the series from the beginning.

The mystery here was good. Lots of suspects to consider. I was able to puzzle out the killer before Charlene, but I was guessing for a long while.

Charlene’s mom made this hard to enjoy at times. She had some lovely moments, but not enough to completely offset her awful ones. She has a prickly, abrasive way about her, both with those she’s close to and also with total strangers. She’s a lot to take.

Series fans should check out Charlene’s latest adventure set at Christmas (with a few references to Wicca and the solstice). I think new readers can pick the series up here without issue.

Rating: ♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥=Good/fine/sold

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Jenny Bayliss

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Jenny Bayliss

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. This book will release on October 13, 2020.]

Summary

After a dating dry spell, Kate Turner lets her best friend, Laura, talk her into signing up for the Twelve Dates of Christmas. It’s an event run by the Lightning Strikes dating site. The site plans the dates with 12 matches, and all of the food and drinks are included in the cost. It’s a great way for Kate to meet 12 men, and enjoy some out-of-the-ordinary activities during the holiday season.

Living in a small town means everyone knows Kate’s business. They all know she signed up, and the gossips are staying busy keeping everyone up to speed on every dating disaster. Every time her other best friend, Matt, calls it the Twelve Shags of Christmas, she wants to forget the whole thing. It’s a good thing Kate is such a good sport.

Over time, it becomes clear that there might be a relationship from Kate’s past that is getting in the way of her moving forward with a new relationship. When everything falls apart, she will have to decide if she’s going to fight for the life she has built or if she’s willing to leave it all behind to avoid more pain.

Review

The set up for this – with the twelve blind dates – reminded me of 10 Blind Dates, a YA book I loved last year. This isn’t a comedy like that one is, but the set up works well in both books. It allows the author to introduce a bunch of quirky characters and scenarios for the protagonist.

I liked Kate a lot. She’s confident and knows who she is. She doesn’t put up with any garbage from the dates. And she has an amazing sounding job. I loved how her family and friends support her.

The dates – both the men and the activities – were fun to read. Kate meets interesting people. The activities were varied and fit Kate’s personality – a snowy hike, salsa dancing, a cooking class, etc. And even when the events end in disaster, I always liked Kate as she dealt with the surprises and the disappointments.

I figured out where things were going by about page 10, but I enjoyed the journey to get there. There’s a lot of great food described here (the final copy of the book will have recipes), and tons of holiday elements to help readers get into the Christmas mood. Don’t miss this fun Christmas romance. (Language, off-page sex, LGBTQ+)

Rating: ♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥½=Good+

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: Mrs. Claus and the Santaland Slayings by Liz Ireland

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: Mrs. Claus and the Santaland Slayings by Liz Ireland

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Kensington in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

April Claus is newly married to the big man himself. Nick inherited the job when his older brother died. Some day, Christopher, Chris’ son, will take over the job, but for now, Nick is holding down the holiday fort.

Less than 10 days before Christmas, Nick and the elves have plenty to do. But when an angry elf is found dead, everything is in an uproar.

Giblet had been angry about his second place finish in the ice sculpture contest. As he stormed off, he accused Nick of being a murderer. Now that Giblet is dead, his family thinks Santa killed him. Rumors are swirling around the North Pole.

As things start to look worse and worse for Nick, April feels like she has to look into things for herself. She has to find the evidence to clear her new husband’s name before Christmas is ruined for everyone.

Review

This was a delight from the very first page! The world-building for this North Pole mystery was excellent. The author had her work cut out for her. She had to craft and convey the Christmas setting while also building a mystery. And she does an fantastic job with both! (This reminds me of the Wishcraft Mysteries with the cozy mystery and the fantasy setting.)

I loved April. The whole Claus family is fascinating, really. I wanted more from April and Nick. For newlyweds, there was no chemistry between them. To be honest, though, they hardly had any scenes together thanks to the mystery and the Christmas rush. It works out well to make April wrestle with the rumors and her questions about Nick on her own, amping up the tension of the book.

The mystery was terrific. The culprit was on my radar, but not my only suspect. I needed April to put all the pieces together to be certain. I loved watching the whole thing come together.

The author has set this series up to be able to set stories both at the North Pole and in Oregon at April’s home. I can’t wait to see how the stories develop in these two distinct places, and where the overlaps come into play.

Cozy lovers and Christmas book fans should not miss this one. It was fantastic! A keeper for sure.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥♥½=Loved it! Would read again.

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: The Gift of the Magpie by Donna Andrews

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: The Gift of the Magpie by Donna Andrews

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Minotaur Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. This book will release on October 20, 2020.]

Summary

As Christmas draws near, Meg has her hands full coordinating the Helping Hands for the Holidays ministry for the Ladies Interfaith Council. Her volunteers are pitching in all over town, doing household repairs, yard work, and other projects for folks in need.

Meg’s biggest project is for Harvey Dunlop, also know as Harvey the Hoarder. The town helped Harvey with his yard a few years back. The house is in even worse shape. Harvey’s cousins and neighbors have threatened to call in Adult Protective Services. And the town building inspector is about to declare the house a danger zone. Harvey knows if any of those people come in, they’ll simply throw his things away. Meg makes him a better offer, and Harvey takes it.

But all of the work the volunteers do comes to nothing when Harvey is injured and killed. When all the evidence points to murder, Meg is determined to find out who cut Harvey’s life short, just when he was getting the help he needed.

Review

There’s a TON going on in this book, and the mystery is just one part of it. In some ways it felt like a smaller piece of the story than it should be. But at the same time, what’s there – especially at the end – is highly satisfying.

The Caerphilly community – and Meg’s family – are a delight in this Christmas novel. There are the holiday events and gift-giving pieces that are fun when you have a large cast in an ongoing series like this one. While Meg’s husband still performs his one-man A Christmas Carol, it’s only a small piece of the larger story. The magpies are a fun but small sliver in the larger picture, too.

The service projects are a significant layer of the holiday activity. Harvey’s project is a big part of that aspect of the book. Even as the chief investigates and Harvey’s relatives squabble over wills and inheritance, Meg and her team are securing and sorting Harvey’s things, hoping to find clues. The case is a steady presence in the story. Meg doesn’t do a ton of interviewing or questioning suspects. But her examination of Harvey’s things draws plenty of attention, allowing her to help the chief get to the truth.

I think series fans will enjoy spending time with Meg and her friends and family during the holidays. Other readers may come for the Christmas story and enjoy a mystery on the side. There’s lots of fascinating stuff here about the history of the town during the Depression. And the reaction of Meg’s twins to Harvey’s hoarding was one of my favorite aspects of the book. Newcomers might struggle to track all of the events and characters in this one and might start with an earlier book before tackling this one.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥ – Great! Might re-read

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: Christmas Book Reviews

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: Christmas Book Reviews

Posted on by Jaymie

I usually do a post in October about the Children’s Literature Festival in my area. But due to Covid concerns, it is not happening this year. Instead, I will be posting full reviews – all day – of some of the Christmas books releasing this fall.

I was fortunate to be granted access to several Christmas ARCs this year – far too many to fit into my Wednesday reviews of books for adults alongside the other ARCs I received. So instead of posting them on Wednesdays, you will get to read them all here today.

If you want to pop in periodically, the new posts will arrive every half hour, starting at 11:30 this morning, through 4pm this afternoon. Of course, you can always just come back after 4:00 and read them all.

Here are the books I’ll be reviewing, in order:

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: Fandom and Fan Convention Stories

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: Fandom and Fan Convention Stories

Posted on by Jaymie

Our family thoroughly enjoys attending comic and fan conventions, book signings, etc.. We have been to several over the last 8 years. We love meeting stars and authors, going to panels, and picking up new artwork of our favorite characters or new books from authors we discover.

Thanks to the pandemic, we’ve only been able to do some online fan events this year. While I appreciate ALL of the work that various groups have done to make these events happen, they are still no substitute for the real thing.

So if you are missing out on your usual con events this year, too, consider reading a book or two about the experience. I find these books bring back lots of fun Con memories (although I wish there were more for middle grade and adult readers). Here are some to consider:

Books for Older Kids/Teens

Con Quest! (LGBTQ+) –  A pair of twins ditch their family at a comics convention while they try to win a huge scavenger hunt. This is the book that gave me the idea to do this post. I love books like this! This was written by Sam Maggs. ♥♥♥♥½
The Game Masters of Garden Place – A group of kids playing an RPG (role playing game, like Dungeons and Dragons) find their characters have come to life. This was SO fun! You can read my review here.
Princesses, Inc – From the MIX line by Aladdin about a group of girls who open up a service of princesses and pirates to babysit neighborhood kids. You can read my review here.
Secrets of a Fangirl – A girl trying to keep her “geek life” separate from her popular “jock life” has a chance to win a contest to go to the movie premier for her fandom. But she will have to go up against older competitors who question her fan cred, and she risks showing her peers this geeky side of herself. This one is on my TBR shelves.

Books for Teens/Young Adults

 

Bookish and the Beast (LGBTQ+) – Book 3 in the Once Upon a Con series. Vance Reigns, Hollywood royalty, is hiding from a tabloid scandal in a small town. Rosie lives in that small town, and when she and Vance cross paths, and a rare book is accidentally destroyed, Rosie finds herself having to work off the debt. She also finds out that Vance is a jerk. Beauty and the Beast, anyone? I thoroughly enjoyed this one! ♥♥♥♥½
Bookishly Ever After – A book nerd tries to use the characters from her favorite books to help her negotiate a romance. You can read my review here.
Don’t Cosplay with My Heart – A struggling teen finds strength in her cosplay character and community. You can read my review here.
The Improbable Theory of Ana & Zak – An unlikely pair of teens team up to find  Ana’s younger brother at a fan convention when he sneaks away from a class trip. You can read my review here.
Eliza and Her Monsters – The anonymous creator of a popular webcomic  loses her anonymity, and everything she has built starts to fall apart. I have this one on my TBR shelves.
Fangirl (LGBTQ+) – When two sisters who grew up immersed in a magical fictional world (Harry Potter-ish) start college, one wants to keep writing her fanfiction and stay connected to that part of their childhood while the other wants to make a complete break. I read this forever ago – while at a fan convention – and it was delightful. ♥♥♥♥♥
Geekerella – Book 1 in the Once Upon a Con series. Elle wants to win a cosplay contest for a reboot of her father’s favorite scifi show. Darian wants nothing more than to be in the reboot, but the fandom seems to have written him off completely. Maybe Elle can change all that. You can read my review here.
The Geek’s Guide to Unrequited Love – A guy plans how to tell his best friend he loves her – at New York Comic Con. I haven’t read this one yet.
Now a Major Motion Picture – When their grandmother’s famous book series is being turned into a movie, a teen and her younger brother are on set to watch the magic happen. Until things start to fall apart which puts the whole movie in jeopardy. You can read my review here.
The Princess and the Fangirl (LGBTQ+) – Book 2 in the Once Upon a Con series. In this Prince and the Pauper-like tale, a Starfield fan and the actress who is absolutely over the series must team up to find out who is causing trouble for the franchise. ♥♥♥♥½
The Pros of Cons (LGBTQ+) – A mix-up at a hotel hosting 3 different groups – a percussion convention, a fan convention, and a taxidermy convention – brings three teens together in an unexpected friendship. You can read my review here.
Queens of Geek (LGBTQ+) – Three teens at a convention find unexpected chances at love. I haven’t read this one yet.
Verona Comics (LGBTQ+) – Two teens who meet at a comic convention prom wrestle with personal issues and their feuding families (rival comics shop owners) as they grow closer together.

 

Books for Adults

Battle at the Comic Expo – A comics creator and a con security chief team up when a fan goes rogue and comes after the creator for revenge. This is a new title to me. I only heard about this one when I was doing research for this post.
Broken Genius –  Book 1 in the new Will Parker Thriller series. In 2011, a coding error by young revolutionary CEO Will Parker cost a college student her life. His self-directed penance was joining the FBI Cyber Division. Years later, Will is on a case at a Midwest comic convention when he discovers the case involves tech from his pre-FBI life. You can read my review here.
The Con Artist – An illustrated mystery that takes place at San Diego Comic Con. I haven’t read this one.
Loathe at First Sight – As a joke, Melody shares an idea for an app starring male strippers in a survival game, but it quickly becomes her company’s hottest new project, and she’s running the whole thing. There’s a portion of this book that takes place at a gaming convention, some of my favorite scenes in the book. I just posted a full review for this here.
Pros and (Comic) Cons – An anthology of comics and prose focused on comic conventions. I haven’t read this one.

 

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: Summer Reading Wrap Up 2020

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: Summer Reading Wrap Up 2020

Posted on by Jaymie

At the start of June, I posted my reading goals and agenda for the summer. Today I have a summary of how it went.

 

Family Reading Challenge

I was the first to finish the family challenge again this year.  We added a prize for first, second, and third place last year which helped keep everyone reading. My husband finished in second place, and our teen wrapped up his last book this week. I think for next year I want to make the prizes equal so there is no disincentive – everyone gets the same “reward.”

I enjoyed both of the books recommended to me. The Red Pyramid was a re-read, so I knew I would like it, but it’s been so long since I read it, it was like getting a fresh start at the book. I would read the rest of the series again; I really enjoyed this re-read. And my husband was right, the teen character in Hell Bent really added a fun layer to the book. I will read more Orphan X books if she’s around.

My teen endured Millenneagram for me. He’s really not interested in the Enneagram, but he did affirm that the number we were thinking might fit him did seem like the best fit. He also read the second Lock In book, Head On, and enjoyed it. My husband said he, too, enjoyed the re-read of The Red Pyramid. And I heard him laugh often as he read Undercover Bromance, so I think that one was a winner, too.

All three of us thoroughly enjoyed our Percy Jackson re-read. My husband was inspired to watch the movies after we finished reading, and they were even worse than I remembered considering how great the books are. There are rumblings that we might choose to re-read some of the Heroes of Olympus series next summer. We’ll see, though. I really only like to go back to the first two.

The books we chose for ourselves were a mixed bag. I enjoyed both of mine, especially City Spies. My teen thought the mysteries he chose were fine, but he mostly cared about the cat parts of the books. My husband said his two were fine but not great. If nothing else, we each pulled at least two books from our TBR piles this summer.

 

TBR Books

Of the six review books I wanted to read, I got to all 6 of them. My favorite of the bunch was Lineage Most Lethal.

Of the 15 summer releases I listed, I only got to 4, but I have purchased several more to read when I have some time.

Of the 4 TBR books I hoped to read, I got to 3.

  • Out of the Picture was an excellent mystery from Hallmark Publishing. I will be reviewing the second book for the publisher later this fall, and I can’t wait!
  • Chaos Reigning is the third and final book  in the Consortium Rebellion series, which I have loved. It was terrific. I have some of the author’s other books on my TBR after discovering her through this series.
  • Finally, Talk Nerdy To Me is the third book in the fantastic Bookish Boyfriends YA romance series. It was just as delightful as the first two. Book 4 will be out early in 2021, and I already have it on my wish list.

I hope to post full reviews of these books later this year.

 

#Bookaday

It was my goal to read 56 books in 56 days. I actually finished 67 books as of July 30. I might squeeze in one more with my final day of July; we’ll have to wait and see. This was a mixture of picture books/chapter books (9), middle grade (19), teen/YA (11) and adult books (28) and a mix of fiction (62) and nonfiction (5).

Some of my favorites from this summer that I haven’t already mentioned have been:

So, what did you read this summer?

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: My 2019 Favorites

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: My 2019 Favorites

Posted on by Jaymie

I read a lot of books every year.  I like to keep track of what I read every year and see how it stacks up to years before. Here are some of my reading statistics for 2019.

2019 Stats

Through the course of 2019 I read 400 books.  There were 75 more that I started but did not finish. My stated goal for the year was 300, but I was hoping to get to 365 – and I did! I’m a little behind last year’s record-setting pace (418 books read), but I am okay with where I landed. I’m pretty proud of all the reading I did this year, and even more proud of walking away from books that weren’t working for me.

Of those 400, the break down for target audience is

  • 43% adult (173 books)
  • 18% teen/young adult (70 books)
  • 19% middle grade (76 books)
  •  13% picture books (51 books)
  •   7% transitional chapter books and early readers (30 books)

And of those, 23 were graphic novels for various ages.

The main genre breakdown is

  • 31% Fantasy
  • 19% Realistic/Contemporary
  • 15% Romance
  • 13% Mystery
  • 10% Science Fiction
  • 4% Nonfiction (27 books – my goal was at least one per month)

This year most of the books I read were from the library (114 or 29%). I read 101 books from my To Be Read shelves (which are overflowing), including brand new books, as well as 106  advanced reader copies from publishers. I also re-read 39 favorites this year. Next year I want to prioritize my truly “TBR” books that have been on my shelves for awhile.

In 2019, I had a goal of reading 1-2 nonfiction books each month and I did. I also added a spreadsheet to my tracking process to see if I can better track authors and characters of color and other factors and I loved it. You can find the 2020 version of the Book Riot spreadsheet (which is customizable!) here.

In 2020, I plan to be intentional with nonfiction reading once again and make a concerted effort to get through more books on my TBR shelves. I am also participating in one book challenge.

2019 Favorites!!

At the end of the year, I love to pull the titles of all of my favorites and then compare them to come up with my favorites for the year. I might not remember every detail about them, but I remember how I felt about them. These are the books I recommend time and time again, the ones I re-read and long to re-read.

You can see my list of favorites from 2016 here and 2017 here. The list from 2018 is here.

When I went back through my list of the 400 books I read in 2019, I pulled the best of each month (something I track) for a total of 71 books in my top tier.  This year, because of some re-reads that made it into the list and the way the numbers fell, it was better to go with 12 than 10. So here they are – my 2019 favorites:

12. A Duke by Default – Book 2 in the Reluctant Royals series. You can read my summary of the series here. This book was my favorite of the series, and a favorite from 2019, because of the characters, especially Portia. I loved reading about her efforts to improve herself and work on her personality quirks.

 

 

11. Star Trek Discovery: The Way to the Stars – Sylvia Tilly is my favorite character on Star Trek Discovery, and this book just reinforced that love. This reads a bit like a YA coming-of-age-story to me, which is a feature, not a bug. I adored reading this, and I’m looking forward to reading it again in 2020. (The latest Discovery novel, Dead Endless, focuses on other characters, but that author does a terrific job with Tilly, too.)

 

 

10. Well Met –  A woman coming home to help her sister after an accident is roped into participating in the local Renaissance Faire. Her lighthearted take on the faire puts her in conflict with the man responsible for the volunteers who bears the weight of his family’s legacy. This was a delight from the first page! I already have book 2 on my wish list. This is one I will read again. (♥♥♥♥♥)

 

 

9. Deadly Little Scandals – Book 2 after the delightful Little White Lies. While I rated this a 4.5 and most of the books on this list were 5s, the intricate, twisty plotting of this was something I couldn’t forget. When I compared this to other books on the list, that masterful level of plotting helped this rise above other titles.

 

 

8. The Storm – This is book 6 in the Sons of Destiny series, a romance/fantasy series I re-read usually once every year. It’s unusual for a re-read to make my top favorites of the year, but there are two on the list this year. I’ve written about this book before because it focuses on my favorite of the 8 brothers in the series. I especially enjoyed my re-read this year. I felt like I picked up on nuances with the character that I hadn’t considered before, which is why this rose to the top of the stack when compared to some of the other books I read this year. The emotional depths of this particular book get me every time. (♥♥♥♥♥)

 

7. Prince in Disguise – The second re-read that made my top 12 this year is this delightful YA romance by Stephanie Kate Strohm. The first time I read it, I rated it a 5+++, which is my way of saying a book is among the best of the best. (You can see some other five-plus reviews here.)  In my re-reading, that rating held fast, which doesn’t always happen. I find this book to be a perfect “comfort read” when I need a book I know I am going to adore.

 

 

6. Spiritual Rhythms for the Enneagram – This is the only nonfiction book to make my favorites list this year. I didn’t read a ton of nonfiction in 2019, and what I did read, while mostly enjoyable, didn’t stick with me enough to rise to the top of the list. But I got so much out of this book, and I think about the things I learned when I read it. I have it in a stack of resources I want to read through again in order to glean some more of its wisdom. You can read about this book, and the other Enneagram books I read in 2019, here.

 

 

5. The Bookish Life of Nina Hill – 2019 was the year of romance and romantic comedies for me. And this was one of my favorites! In fact it’s another book on the list that received a 5+ rating. One of my favorite features of this book, in addition to the terrific story, is the smart, snappy writing. It begs to be read aloud. You can read my full review here.

 

 

4. The Boy Next Story – Book 2 in the Bookish Boyfriends series after A Date with Darcy. I adored the first book so much, I was afraid book 2 couldn’t possibly live up to my expectations, but it actually exceeded them. I knew back in April when I first read this that this book would end up on my 2019 favorites list.  This was another 5+ book for me and I can’t wait to see what comes next in this terrific YA series.  You can read my full review here.

 

 

3. 10 Blind Dates – This YA romance was hysterical, and I absolutely adored it.  The premise is fantastic and clever, and the execution was even better. This was the book I was telling everyone about this fall. Here’s my full review.

 

 

 

2. The Blacksmith Queen – A prophecy about a rising queen to replace the recently dead king angers his sons who want no part of anything that would force them to give up the throne. When it looks like the new queen will be her younger sister, a blacksmith gathers supporters to help her defend her family.

There was a tie for first place in my tally at the end of 2019. When I list the top book, I’ll tell you how it edged out this one for first place, but both are fantastic. This is a quirky book, and I cackled my way through it from the first page to the last. When I see this in the book store, it’s often shelved in romance, but I think it makes more sense in fantasy as that is the bigger plot line, at least in my opinion. It’s more violent (and gruesome) than I usually find in romance stories, and at times it was even more than I expected from a fantasy story. But I was hooked by the premise and drawn in by the humor and the characters. I can’t wait for book 2.

 

1. Polaris Rising – I read this awesome sci-fi/romance twice in 2019, and BOTH times it ended up on my best-of-the-month lists, which is why I gave this the top spot for 2019 after the tie with The Blacksmith Queen. I loved the characters in this and the world building. You can read my review here. Book 2, Aurora Blazing, was also great. And book 3, Chaos Reigning, can’t get into my hands soon enough!

 

 

 

Honorable Mention

None of the middle grade, mystery or picture books that I enjoyed this year made it to the top 12. But here are the top two in each category.

Middle Grade: Broken Strings AND Finding Orion

Picture Books: Madeline Finn and the Shelter Dog AND Pluto Gets the Call (follow the link here for a description)

Mysteries: Murder Once Removed AND Restaurant Weeks Are Murder (follow the link here for a description)

 

What were YOUR favorite books in 2019?

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: Spiritual Growth Resources from 2019

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: Spiritual Growth Resources from 2019

Posted on by Jaymie

If you had asked me a month ago what spiritual growth resources I have used this year, I would have been hard-pressed to come up with more than three titles. But when I went back to review the year, I found many more. While I enjoyed many of these in the moment, looking back, only a few made a lasting impact. You can go here to see my list from 2017 and here to see the 2018 list. And here are the resources I used in 2019:

Enneagram

Studying the Enneagram has been a big part of my spiritual journey over the last couple years. You can read my full posts about Ennegram resources here for 2018 and here for 2019 where I talk about all four of these books. Even though I have talked about all of these before, the Spiritual Rhythms of the Enneagram is one of my favorite resources from this year, and one of the most impactful.

 

Bible Study

I think one of the reasons I didn’t feel like I had worked through many spiritual resources this year is because I didn’t do a lot of Bible studies. I am still riding the high of the Isaiah study I did last year. My small group at church worked through Fervent this fall, and because of that, I have spent a lot of time with my Bible, which has been great. This is the second time I have worked through the book, and it is always a solid resource.

I haven’t finished Four Portraits, One Jesus, yet. I’ve had the book for awhile because I love studying the synoptic gospels and looking at how Matthew, Mark and Luke shared the same stories, differently. Last year I got a workbook to go with the text book, but the workbook actually seems to slow me down. I might just finish reading the book in 2020 instead of trying to press through the rest of the workbook. I have LOVED digging into the history of Bible times as well as the days when the gospels were written.

 

Fiction and Nonfiction

I read every single book in this list – and I enjoyed many of them! But few left a lasting impression. In fact, while I might revisit a couple of these because I enjoyed them, only one book in this list earned 5 stars from me – and that’s the fiction one published by a secular company.

Andrew was a perfect fit for me this year because in the book, he’s introduced to a young Amish woman who left the faith and then returned – pregnant. And he wrestles with how to relate to her in light of her “sin.” I was wrestling right along with him. For weeks after I finished the book, I kept thinking about it. To me, that is the mark of a great spiritual growth resource – something that sticks with you and continues to ask you questions and asks you to consider things from a different point of view. (Andrew is book one in the Petersheim Brothers series by Jennifer Beckstrand.)

You can see my reviews and ratings of some of these other good resources here:
Inspired – ♥♥♥♥½
It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way – ♥♥♥♥½
The Jesus Who Surprises – ♥♥♥♥
The Middle Matters – ♥♥♥♥
Shameless – ♥♥♥♥
Taste and See – ♥♥♥♥
The Universal Christ – ♥♥♥♥

2020 Reading

I have high hopes for 2020. I chose 12 resources from my TBR shelves and I have already started one for this month. I also found a few friends who wanted to join me on a more intentional reading journey, so we are keeping each other accountable in the coming year.