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Book Review: Grounded by Dave and Neta Jackson

May 1, 2013 11 Comments

As many of you know from reading my blog, reading is one of my passions.  I enjoy books from many different genres, and always love losing myself in a good book.  As I wrote in a previous post, I thoroughly enjoyed the Yada Yada Prayer Group series by Neta Jackson. The characters in this series are so real and easy to relate to, and I feel like I could be a part of their group.  Neta has also written the House Of Hope series, SouledOut Sisters, and parallel novels with her husband Dave.

I am extremely honored to share with all my readers that Neta allowed me to receive an advanced reader’s copy of her latest book, Grounded, to read and review.  I was absolutely excited beyond belief to receive the ARC because I will admit that I just couldn’t wait for it to come out in the stores.  I hope that you enjoy my review on Neta and Dave’s newest book, and use it to make an informed decision about reading it in the near future.

groundedcover

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781617950001
  • Publisher: Worthy Publishing
  • Publication date: 5/7/2013
  • Series: Windy City Neighbors , #1
  • Pages: 320

General Overview: Grounded begins with an introduction to Grace Meredith, a Christian Contemporary recording artist.  She is a young, single woman who has a very demanding and public career.  She has what she thinks is the perfect husband-to-be and a wonderful career.  Things go wrong, and she suddenly finds herself rethinking her life and what her music stands for.  Even though she is young, she has the maturity of a person far older.  She had things happen in her past that reflected on her lifestyle in the present. And unexpected storm grounds her at home with a new friend, and she begins to re-evaluate her life.  The break up in her personal life soon leads her in a new direction in her professional one, one that is fueled by her renewed faith in God.

My Thoughts: I have to admit, this turned out to be another one of my favorites.  While I don’t have anything in common with the main character Grace, I found her to be a very real character.  I enjoyed getting to know her through this story, unlike Kat the main character from the SouledOut Sisters books.  There is just something very reachable and believable about Grace that was not present in Kat’s story.  Having read all the other books in the Yada Yada series, it was easy for me to visual the current plot happenings.  A great thing about the newest book is that you don’t have to read any other Yada Yada first in order to understand Grounded, but I found that I enjoyed the book even more because I did read the other Yada Yada’s first.  I will also say that I was sad to read the last page because I knew I had to wait a while for the next book to come out.  I especially liked hearing more about Henry and Estelle Bentley.  They were characters that always showed the true meaning of God’s grace and how it is extended to everyone.

Final Notes: All in all, I really enjoyed Dave and Neta’s newest book.  If you are a fan of christian fiction, this is a book that you should definitely put on your must read book list.  If you have ever been to Chicago(I finally got there last July and will be returning again this July), you can get a real sense of where these stories are happening.  I think that is one of the reasons why I got so excited to read her new book because I recognized some of the places from our trip in the details mentioned in the book.  It made the book even more personal to me.  I look forward to the next novel coming out in October of 2013, and I hope that I will be able to do another review for the Jackson’s.

You can find Grounded May 2013 in paperback at Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, and Christianbook.com.  It is also available in e-book format as well.

 I received an advance reader copy from the author in exchange for my honest review.

Filed Under: Book Reviews

To The Point

March 24, 2012 7 Comments

Today’s blog post is going to be short, sweet, and to the point.  The Hunger Games movie is a must see.  The Hunger Games was by far, the best book-to-movie adaptation I have seen in a long time. For how violent some of the scenes were in the book, they did an excellent job portraying them on the screen that was less graphic and suitable for teens. I really can’t wait for them to do “Catching Fire”, which isn’t supposed to come out till late next year.

 

Now go!

Filed Under: Book Reviews, TV and Movies Tagged With: , , ,

Belong To Me by Marisa de los Santos~Book Review

March 19, 2012 Leave a Comment

This small excerpt is taken from BN.com. , and is not my words.

A devoted city dweller, Cornelia Brown surprised no one more than herself when she was gripped by the sudden, inescapable desire to leave urban life behind and head for an idyllic suburb. Though she knows she and her beloved husband, Teo, have made the right move, she approaches her new life with trepidation and struggles to forge friendships in her new home. Cornelia’s mettle is quickly tested by judgmental neighbor Piper Truitt. Perfectly manicured, impeccably dressed, and possessing impossible standards, Piper is the embodiment of everything Cornelia feared she would find in suburbia.
Marisa de los Santos’s literary talents shine in the complex interactions she creates between these three women. She deftly explores the life-altering roller coaster of emotions Piper faces as she cares for two households, her own and that of her cancer-stricken best friend, Elizabeth. As their individual stories unfold, the women become entangled in a web of trust, betrayal,love, and loss that challenges them in ways they never imagined, and that ultimately teaches them what it means for one human being to belong to another.

I picked this book up because a fellow bookseller recommended it to me. I’ve also heard a lot of good things about it from other people. I was all ready for a great read. Then it happened…….I couldn’t get into it. The first few chapters just did not draw me in. I found my mind wandering, and I had to go back several times to reread, just to figure out who was doing the talking. The author switches back and forth between characters, and you sometimes need to figure out that she has moved from first person to third person. It took me almost 2 weeks to finish this book, which is highly unusual, as I have been known to plow through a 400 page book in one evening.

On the upside, the story was very good. You could really picture yourself in Cornelia’s place, having to deal with Piper, and having what she thought was the perfect marriage. The story is set in the Philadelphia suburbs, which is something I thought I could really relate to, because I am only an hour away from where the story is taking place. The characters were easy to like, or hate in some cases, but sometimes it seemed like you needed Cliff’s Notes to keep everyone straight.

All in all, the story was very likeable, and I believe that you would enjoy it. She also has another book, Love Walked In , that deals with Cornelia. I haven’t decided yet if I am going to read it, but if I do, check back for a review!

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The Hunger Games~Book Review

March 19, 2012 9 Comments

Photo from bn.com“Could you survive on your own, in the wild, with everyone out to make sure you don’t live to see the morning?” 

This is the first sentence seen in the description of this book on BN.com. Certainly an eye-catching lead in to what has turned into my surprise like for this year so far.  Classified as teen fiction, this is one book I probably would not have looked twice at.  After all, I am a grown up, and grown ups just do not read teen fiction.  Right?  Absolutely and positively wrong.  I am so glad that I picked up this book and finally read it.  My 13-year-old has been after me for quite a while to read this book.  “Trust me Mom, you will really like it”.  Since we are always the ones that are telling him to try something new, I decided I was going to read it at some point.  Well, it wasn’t until I saw the first trailer on TV that I started to take this book and it’s following seriously.  My son received the paperback box set for Christmas this year, so I was going to borrow his books.  But my husband decided he wanted to read them as well, and he’s isn’t the world’s most speedy reader.

So what did I do?  I purchased the trilogy on my Nook Tablet™ and haven’t look back since.  I have to say that I really don’t think that this book or movie is appropriate for children under the age of 13.  The premise of the story involves a scenario where two children, a boy and a girl,also known as tributes,  are chosen from the 12 separate Districts.  The children are then transported to an arena where they must fight to be the last man or woman standing.  The Hunger Games are part of paying for past rebellions against the Capitol.

Without giving the book and it’s contents away completely, let me just say that I could not put this book down once I started it.  During the battle scenes, you find that those who are overlooked end up having the last laugh.  You learn that bigger isn’t better.  And that enemies can become friends, even for just a short amount of time.  Kids that shouldn’t have survived end up being completely resourceful.  Mercy will be shown.  Tears will be shed.  And yes, these children die.  Some by their own foolishness, others under the watchful eyes of their fellow tributes.

All in all this book is a terrific read, whether you are a starry-eyed teenager, the Mom who likes romance, or the men that like a good fight.  I definitely feel that this book is not appropriate for certain children, and that you, as the parent, decide individually on whether your son or daughter should be reading it.  I guess you could say that it depends on their maturity level.

In closing, I think this book was very well written.  Some parts were a bit far-fetched, but they were completely believable.  All I can say now is this: bring on the movie!

 

 

 Have you let your children read these books?  Will you?  And are you planning on seeing the movie?

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