Scan barcode
readerturnedwriter's reviews
1080 reviews
Thicker Than Blood by C.J. Darlington
4.0
This is a Christian novel about two sisters whose parents died when they were teenagers and they separate. Years later, the story picks up to see where the sister's lives have gone. It's a book about making the right choice even when it's hard, forgiveness, and how no one is too far gone from God. I enjoyed it and thought it was well-written.
Clean My Space: The Secret to Cleaning Better, Faster--And Loving Your Home Every Day by Melissa Maker
4.0
This is a book I've wanted to buy for a long time. I watch Melissa Maker's YouTube channel and wanted to support what she was doing. She also runs a cleaning company, so the book detailed her systems for cleaning in the quickest and most efficient way. I feel like I know pretty well how to clean already, but I did get some useful tips and reminders. I was also excited to get her homemade cleaner recipes.
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
3.0
I read the first three of this series. These books were fine. I didn't love them, but I think I would have if I'd read them when I was in high school. They felt very Twilight-esque to me. It was set in our world/time, but there were vampires, werewolves, faeries, warlocks, demons, and shadowhunters (humans who had angel blood, tasked with fighting the demons). For the most part, I liked the characters and the character growth. It had a happy ending, which I always like.
Things that bothered me about them: there were parts of the plot (particularly in the third book) that were just annoying; the main bad guy was messed up and when they talked about some of the things he did, it bothered me; as far as I could tell, nobody slept together, but there were some times they were close and it definitely was a theme throughout the book; a child dies, which always bothers me (I almost stopped reading then); and finally, the fact that the premise of the book was about demons versus angels, I just don't really like stories based on that usually.
I won't be reading the rest of the series. It didn't draw me in enough (though I have read The Clockwork Angels series and liked that more).
Things that bothered me about them: there were parts of the plot (particularly in the third book) that were just annoying; the main bad guy was messed up and when they talked about some of the things he did, it bothered me; as far as I could tell, nobody slept together, but there were some times they were close and it definitely was a theme throughout the book; a child dies, which always bothers me (I almost stopped reading then); and finally, the fact that the premise of the book was about demons versus angels, I just don't really like stories based on that usually.
I won't be reading the rest of the series. It didn't draw me in enough (though I have read The Clockwork Angels series and liked that more).
If Life Were Easy, It Wouldn't Be Hard: And Other Reassuring Truths by Sheri Dew
5.0
I love Sheri Dew and even though this is an older book, it was fun for me to read it. I loved the way she talks about charity and about motherhood. I found a lot of inspiration and motivation to be better as I read through it.
Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life by John Townsend, Henry Cloud
4.0
I really liked the premise of this book--which was the importance of setting healthy boundaries in your life, but I honestly didn't like the actual book. I thought it was too long; they repeated themselves needlessly and added things in that are simply obvious (for example, they spent a few paragraphs in more than one place in the book on how our skin is a boundary, duh). It was also very Christian, and I felt they pushed that too much. Some of the time when they were referencing scriptures, it felt like a stretch, that they just wanted to reference more scriptures and it didn't actually back up or fit with what they were discussing. I am Christian, so I didn't mind the references, I just thought they were trying too hard with it. That being said, I did think it had some good points and ideas. I was able to take this book and better my life still.
Secrets of a Successful Homeschool Mom by Jamie C. Martin
5.0
I loved this book! I loved the ideas she touched on and the way she talked about homeschooling. I think it is a great read, especially for those homeschool moms who are just starting out.
Unschooling Rules: 55 Ways to Unlearn What We Know about Schools and Rediscover Education by Clark Aldrich
3.0
This book came highly recommended, but I actually didn't like it. The author didn't seem to know what he was talking about and most of the time, didn't back up what he was saying. I will say, there were some redeeming parts where he did share some important ideas about education and what is best for the child.
Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine
5.0
I loved it! It's about an autistic girl whose brother is killed in a school shooting and how she, her father, and her entire community heal from that horrible experience. It's beautifully written, you fall in love with the characters, and you're able to follow the characters' growth and healing journey throughout the book. I literally read it in almost a day, I could hardly put it down to go to bed. Also, every time I saw it on a book list, it reminded me of To Kill a Mockingbird and that book/movie is actually a big part of this book, which I loved, because I LOVE To Kill a Mockingbird!