Learning to be Patient

by Andrea Renee Cox

In church these recent weeks, we are studying Ecclesiastes. A verse that really leapt off the page at me yesterday morning was the second half of chapter seven, verse eight:

“… The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.”

Ecclesiastes 7:8b NKJ

Patience is something I’ve been working on a lot in the last many years. I’m nowhere near mastering it, and I’m not sure I ever will accomplish that goal. But I feel I must try.

Why?

Grounded Hearts by Jeanne M. Dickson

by Andrea Renee Cox

One of my least favorite things to do is write negative reviews. I understand how much time and effort it takes to write a book, and it's never easy for me to aim an exposing spotlight on a book's shortcomings. However, sometimes it's necessary.

A book I recently read fell into this category.

The gorgeous cover of Grounded Hearts fooled me, as did the premise. I expected a sweet story about a midwife who rescued an injured flyboy, but once I dug into the plot, I discovered the sweetness was merely a mask, and a flimsy one at that. The majority of the story ended up being crude and sensual.

Name Reveal + Bringing Maggie Home by Kim Vogel Sawyer

by Andrea Renee Cox


Two things have me really excited today.

1. Character names

2. Kim Vogel Sawyer's newest book

Hang in there with me today, because I've got a lot to say. Hopefully you're just as eager to hear it all as I am to tell you about it.


Let's tackle my own news first.


Last week, I asked for help naming three characters:

Father

tall, elderly, quirky, sense of humor, fading memory

Son

serious, too busy for love, trouble deciding what's best for dad

Stranger

quick wit, optimist, romantic, world traveler

Pick a Name

by Andrea Renee Cox

Remember when I had you help me choose which project to work on? You ended up choosing a really fun story for me to work on. Now that I'm getting deeper into the plot, I've got another opportunity for you to help me out.

How would you like to help me choose some character names?

The Captain's Daughter by Jennifer Delamere

by Andrea Renee Cox

The premise for this book really intrigued me, as did the title. I was disappointed that the title barely had anything to do with the plot, though. I think there were two mentions, perhaps three, that the leading lady was the daughter of a captain, and she never once set foot on a ship. This was a large disappointment to me, as I really had hopes of a good ship scene or at least a more involved explanation for the title's claim.

A rather large inconsistency in Rosalyn's intuition about smarmy men irritated me throughout. She immediately sensed one character was a no-good rascal, yet another similar character with a slightly smoother but still clearly deceitful nature received welcome attention from the same woman, with little regard to anyone's warnings about him. What happened to her intuition? It vanished so quickly and with no defined reason that I found it difficult to feel sorry for her when things got tricky because of the neglect of her own common sense.

I enjoyed the complex characters from the beginning, and though this dipped a little due to Rosalyn's inconsistent intuition, the majority of the characters remained consistent throughout and I was quite able to enjoy their journeys.