lucyslibraryreviews's reviews
363 reviews

Echo Nova by Clint Hall, Clint Hall

hopeful inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

5.0

This book is down right jaw dropping! I’m astounded with how well Hall has pieced together an amazing timetravel thrill ride that includes a beautifully innocent romance and the restoration of family. Dash begins his adventure as a timestar out of a desire to make a name for himself, and a better life. Hhe’s not very smart in how he does this; he chases the proverbial carrot on a string. The corporation promises to make him a hero for the sake of fame and fortune, but by the end, he is a genuine hero willing to give his life to make the world a safer place. 

Hall does a great job with character development and writing a tale where the reader's mind will deduce powerful truths about the sanctity of human life and the dangers that grow when people & corporations lust for power & money. 


"People [my father’s] age call my generation the timeless, because we have never knwon a reality in which people couldn’t experience other time periods at will” Dash 

"Time, once lost, cannot be regained." Dr. Suvea

The Awesome Super Fantastic Forever Party Board Book: Heaven with Jesus is Amazing! by Joni Eareckson Tada

hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

0.5

This is a beautiful book that teaches kids what the Bible says about Heaven.

Murder at Mistlethwaite Manor by A.J. Skelly, A.J. Skelly

dark emotional mysterious tense

4.75

This is a well crafted story & the author does an above average job of telling it in a Regency voice. There is a sweet romance woven through, with lovable characters. Some of the random characters being killed off are much less lovable. 

Andromache by L.E. Richmond

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Andromache Kanoska is nothing like me, but I still found myself in her story. L.E. Richmond clearly wrote from her heart with this heroine that treasures life. This tale covers the heavy topic of sanctity of life as our heroine, Andromache, is infertile in a world that has almost died out and was left with a necessity to repopulate the earth. This is a dystopian version of Esther. Andromache competes for the heart of the prince beside other women brought in from the West to become wives to help grow the population. I would love to see this as a duology, but the author gave me what I needed in the epilogue so I’m satisfied with the ending. 
“Is this how it has to be? Humanity burned & crushed into the ground before a remnant realizes 
the value every human life holds?” Andromache Kanoska

The Celebration Place by Dorena Williamson, Erin Susanne Banks

inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

A great look at the church that is a place for various races, nationalities, ages, etc. Amazing artwork & a brief shout out to MLK who helped bring unity into the church.

A Pocketful of Goobers: A Story about George Washington Carver by Barbara Mitchell

hopeful informative medium-paced

5.0

A Pocketful of Goobers: A Story About George Washington Carver is beautifully written & reads easily in story form. It’s just what I was looking for, a story about Carver that demonstrates that he had a personal relationship with God. It also has a surprising amount of detail. One of my fav things I learned was that Carver wove his ties, naturally dying the fibers, himself. Thus far, this is my fav book on this hero of mine.

World Saving and Other Disasters by Bethany Meyer

adventurous challenging dark funny hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

After Wick & Archer spent the first book stealing from everyone, here in the second book they are trying to do things right in spite of everyone having legit reasons to not trust them. In this book, we see lots of personal growth as they try to negotiate and gain allies. They do pretty well with this and we get to know their past and a softer side of both characters. They also learn who their enemy really is & that completing their mission to gather the stones and cast the barrier spell is their only hope as they’d never be able to defeat them. This book has the same wonderful humor as the first, & the reader is bound to like the characters even more by the end of it.
Even though they are using magic to defeat the enemy, there really isn’t any other magic in the book. The magic is in the rocks. There is some violence, as they are essentially trying to stop a war. It’s not overly graphic. I’m looking forward to book 3 & to reading more from Meyer as she has a unique and beautiful voice.

Jake Rogers' Planet by Philip Wilder

adventurous challenging hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Jake Roger’s Planet is a great book to draw people, especially teen boys, into a genuine relationship with God. The Hebrew word Midbar means “wilderness.” It’s a place of order, where we get back to God & man. This book is like Jake Rogers’ wilderness journey where he wrestles with God & finds out who he truly is. He does’t just wrestle God. He wrestles wrong mindsets, unjustified self-blame, & his father who’s still back on Earth. Jake is the youngest of a group of strong boys that wants to follow his own path. There are some flash back scenes that help us better understand Jake as he processes out difficult memories and finds healing.
Jake also wrestles a bunch of really creative aliens. Not that the aliens themselves create, but that Wilder wrote some pretty wild stuff from his imagination. These aren’t your humanoid aliens, they are far more creative than that. There is some fun art throughout, which makes the book even more fun. 
Through all of the events in the story, Jake learns that the wilderness is a beautiful place, that benign God's will and in communion with God is a beautiful place. 

I Can't Believe My Eyes! by Joshua Cooley

hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

5.0

I Can't Believe My Eyes is a great book that uses the wind to help kids understand how we can know that God is real. It is beautifully illustrated & covers many ways a child can see God.

A Ruse for Romance by Maisie Finley

hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Maisie Finley wrote a charming tale of a Regency era house party that is part of a ruse for romance. it was fun to stay with the characters through the lengthy house party with various activities that are all a chance to get to know the characters better. This debut novel has beautiful prose & charming dialogue. The romance is undeniable as they overcome many obstacles to reach their true love. 

I gave the book 4 stars because I immediately felt that it doesn't read like period writing. The author does avoid modern phrases and slang. By a few chapters in, I didn't notice that my initial thought was that the voice sounded closer to modern, than Regency period. 

I enjoyed this sweet, innocent story & look forward to reading future works by Maisie Finley.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.