Luther and Katharina....a Book Review

Luther and Katharina is a historical romance novel set in 1523 written by Jody Hedlund. 

Katharina a woman of noble birth living in the abbey since the age of 5.  She had adjusted to the life inside quite well, until she read the teachings Martin Luther.  She now longed to find a wealthy husband and pursue a career as an herbalist. 


Luther had been writing about church reform that lead to peasant uprising and violence.  His life was in constant danger. He vowed never to marry due to these circumstances.

After her maid turns up pregnant, she learns of the church's corruption and abused of the women within the walls of the abbey.  She convinces a group of nuns to escape the abbey with her and they find themselves in the care of Martin Luther.  Luther feels responsible for the women and finds new homes for them, with the exception of Katharina. 

Luther and Katharina are at odds with each other on almost every subject. 
They are both very similar and complex characters.  It is no surprise that they ended up together.


While the book was drawn out at times and the historical facts were not as accurate as most would like them to be, it was still a good read.  I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical/Christian romance.

Disclaimer: I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.

A Predictable Book With a Good Message

Here is a short review of the latest book I've read called Hyacinth Girls by Lauren Frankel.

Hyacinth Girls is a story from the POV of Rebecca.  Rebecca takes guardianship of Callie after Callie's mother, and Rebecca's best friend dies unexpectedly. Callie is a passive accomplice of bullying another student, who she then ends up secretly befriending.

Then when Callie finally takes a stand against her friends, who are bullying her friend, the tables turn.  Callie is now being bullied by her former friends.  She becomes withdrawn, and Rebecca tries to figure out how to get to the bottom of things. 

I found the characters in this book to be a little flat.  There just wasn't much to them.  The pace of the story was slow and predictable.  It was hard for me to get through this story.

It did however shine light on a topic that is often overlooked...bullying.  The situations brought up in this book were dealt with and explained well.  So I guess it did have some value.  It just wasn't my cup of tea.

One of the strangest books I've read this year....

I just finished a peculiar book today, and have decided to share it with you all.  The book is called :"The World Before Us" by Aislinn Hunter.  This book was provided to me by Blogging for Books for review.  It is by far one of the strangest books I have read.

The book starts off with Jane....an archivist for the Chester Museum.  Fueled by the disappearance of a small girl (Lily) under her care years previous, Jane is obsessed with finding "N", a woman who disappeared over 100 years ago in the same area.  She discovered "N" during research for her college thesis regarding mental institutions, including the Whitmore where "N" was from.

During the closing night of the Chester Museum, Jane has an altercation with her old employer and missing child's father, William Elliot.  Still thinking Mr. Elliot harbors bad feelings for her, Jane takes off back to the area where both Lily and "N" went missing to do some further research into who "N" was and where she disappeared to.

While all of this is going on, Jane is being followed and watched by numerous spirits who are trying to find out their identities and purpose of still lingering.  Each of these spirits finds memories in the work Jane does for the Chester, the research into "N's" life and just being in the area of the Whitmore in general.

Jane dives into her research and finds many connections between the prominent Farrington family and the Whitmore convalescent home,  Through this connection, both Jane and the spirits following her, learn many things about themselves and teh things that went on at the Whitmore.

 During her trip Jane finds herself as well.  She realizes that there is life after the mishap with losing Lily.  She meets a new man, Blake, a gardener at the estate she is researching.  The two start a relationship that is complicated but promising.

I'm not going to ruin it by telling you what happens to "N" or who the spirits are, but the discovery is quite brilliant.

The only problem that I have with this book is that there were a lot of unanswered questions.   We never find out what happened to Lily, or if Blake forgave Jane for her lies, or if she and William came to good terms.  The question of why the spirits never Ceased wasn't addressed either.  I am not a fan of open ended books, so I guess that's why it bothered me.

The writing style of the author itself was very good.  Just enough detail, but not overdrawn.  Te characters were interesting and well rounded.  The conclusion was just lacking.

Another Gem by Lori Benton...A Book Review

I just finished another wonderful story by Lori Benton, a Christian Romance author.   I tend to like Christian Romance better than your typical Romance novel, due to the lack of smut in them.

  I had previously reviewed another of Benton's work, "The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn".  A book which kept me reading into the late hours of the night to find out what happened.  So, to have the opportunity to review another of her novels, was definitely a treat.

This book is called "The Wood's Edge".  And like it predecessor, it kept me intrigued.

A quick synopsis of the book....

This book starts at Fort Henry with a British soldier, Major Reginald Aubrey switching his dead infant son with one of a set of twins born to a woman of the Native American Oneida tribe (Good Voice).  One of her babies was born dark skinned and the other white.  Having been delirious during delivery Heledd Aubrey, does not notice the switch.   

Not long after, the fort comes under attack and everyone inside must flee.  On her way out, Good Voice realizes that one of the children she carries, is not her own.  But, it is too late to go back to find the other.  Meanwhile, Major Aubrey saves a girl whose parents have been murdered on the roadside (Anna), and decides to raise her as his own. 

While recovering from war injuries, Major Aubrey is being taken care of by a local apothecary and his family.  The apothecary's daughter Lydia has decided to name the little girl rescued Anna Catherine. 

A few years later, the Aubrey's are settled in a farm in New York.  Heledd has never accepted Anna as her own, but the "son" she calls William is never found without Anna.  The two grow up as close as two children can be.  But, as William grows older, his mother convinces his father to educate him overseas in London.  So, William and Anna are separated, with the promise of letters.

Running into the woods after William leaves, Anna meets Two Hawks, an Oneida boy with his uncle and father.  The two are immediate friends.

On the flipside of this story is also the tale of Good Voice, her husband Stone Thrower and their son Two Hawks.  This family has never gotten over the loss of Two Hawks twin, who they refer to as He-Is-Taken.  When they find the location of Aubrey's house, a plan goes into effect to try and get He-Is-Taken back. 

This story follows the plan, including the building of the friendship between Two Hawks and Anna, the guilt of Reginald Aubrey, the growing up of Lydia, and the journey that they all must make to find their way in God's path.

I am  not going to spoil the book and tell you what happens when Anna finds out that the two men she cares about, Two Hawks and William are twins.  But, it definitely kept me glued to the pages.  I cannot wait for the next installment in this series.

All in all, this book was definitely worth the read.  The back and forth POV's of both Anna, Aubrey, Lydia, Two Hawks and Good Voice gave you a detailed account of what was going on in all sides of the story.  It was beautiful to watch all of the characters grow in the 10+ years this story took place, and to see them find God even when they thought that they didn't deserve it.

Can both families survive this without bloodshed?  To find out you'll have to read it.

If anyone is interested in the book, it can be found here.

Disclaimer:  This book was provided to me to review by Blogging for Books.  For more information about their program, please visit them at www.bloggingforbooks.org

This book threw me for a loop!?!

I just finished another wonderful book provided by Blogging For Books, so I think it's time for another review.

The book is "Until You're Mine" by Samantha Hayes.

This book is told from the perspectives of 3 different people: Claudia Morgan-Brown, Zoe Harper and DI Lorraine Fischer.

The book begins with James and Claudia Brown's search for a nanny to help a pregnant Claudia take care of twins Noah and Oliver and soon-to-be baby sister, while James is off with the Navy.  In enters Zoe Harper, who seems like the world's perfect nanny.  She comes with glowing recommendations, has studied Montessori method and has traveled.  But, unbeknownst to the Browns, Zoe has a strange life that she has left behind, including trying to have/obtain a baby for her former flatmate, the eccentric Cecelia.

Zoe is found snooping amongst paperwork locked away in James' study, including papers pertaining to the inheritance James received from his dead first wife.  It leaves one to wonder how far she will go for a baby of her own.

Meanwhile, pregnant women are turning up dead, with their babies ripped from the womb.  Married detectives Lorraine and Adam are trying to solve these murder mysteries, while simultaneously dealing with home issues caused by Adam's infidelity.

I won't spoil the ending, but I will tell you that it completely threw me for a loop.  People are not who they seem at all in this book.  The way that all of the characters in this book are intertwined throughout the story is intriguing.  All of the characters seem to have more to them than meets the eye.  Each has a unique personality and story all their own.

Overall this book was written very well (in fact most days I couldn't put it down). It does get graphic at some points, but nothing that most people can't handle.    I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good mystery.

A Modern Day Sleepy Hollow Tale - NEW Review

The next book in my series of reviews is "The Secret Journal of Ichabod Crane" by Alex Irvine.  It is a tale of modern day Sleepy Hollow through the journal of a newly resurrected Ichabod Crane.

The story starts with Ichabod waking up in prison with the lieutenant and fellow officers believing him insane.  After many discussions and the return of the hessian, Lieutenant "Abbie" and a few select others now know that Ichabod has been telling the truth all along.

Now, Ichabod and Abbie along with some allies have to hunt down the hessian and stop he world from being ended by the demon Moloch.

This is a great story, albeit it was slow at first to peak my interest.  It allows the reader to be introduced into the story behind the original Sleepy Hollow novel.
It sticks true to the fact that Ichabod Crane often recorded data in journals, and continues to do so centuries later.  And, his distaste for new things such as cell phones and fashions is entertaining.

The new characters introduced such as Abbie, Jenny, Henry Parrish, etc.  are quite interesting and are a great addition to the classic tale.

This book left me wondering what will come next for Ichabod and Abbie in the next volume.

Rich Girl/Poor Girl Story With a V.C. Andrews Type Twist

Blogging for Books has given me another great chance to read a new book.  The book I am reviewing is Bittersweet by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore.

This story started out as your typical rich girl/poor girl story.  The two girls Genevra (Ev) and Mabel share a room in college.  The two don't talk to each other until they are brought together by the tragic suicide of Ev's cousin.  Ev then invites Mabel to stay with her at her family's estate, Winloch for the summer.

Once there the girls fix up the cottage that Ev will inherit (Bittersweet) and then their summer of fun can begin.  Mabel's first impression of the Winslow family is that they are your typical spoiled rich people all blonde, tanned and "raising" their children through au pairs.  Life could not be better, until she is recruited by an eccentric Aunt Linden (Indo) to expose her family secrets.

As Mabel delves deeper into the family history, she realizes that this family is not as perfect as it seems.  Lies, murder, violence, incest and theft run deep in this clan.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book.  It started off slow, but half way through really picked up.  The plot twist reminded me of the many V.C. Andrews books I read as a teenager.   The cast of characters both main and supporting had unique characteristics that made them all complex.  Very few people are what they first seem to be. I often found myself sneaking a few pages here and there just to find out  little bit more about what this family was really into.  I am eager to read another book by this offer.