The Words Between Us by Erin Bartels

FTC Disclosure: NetGalley and Revell Reads gave me complimentary copies of this book. A positive review was not required. These are my honest thoughts.

There was a unique, vintage-book-infused story between the beautiful and perfectly-textured cover of this novel. Quirky and entertaining, this tale found my happy place in large chunks.

A few things disrupted my peaceful reading experience, the largest of which was the heavy emphasis on drinking alcohol, drunkenness, and bar and holiday parties at which vast amounts of alcohol were consumed. It was unexpected emphasis as the back cover copy didn’t hint at this theme. I must say, though, that I really admired the lead’s stance on not partaking of alcohol despite one of her closest friends trying on a couple of occasions to talk her into it. I was grateful for this positive note amid the muck of that particular theme.

Back to the things I adored about this novel. Firstly, the cover was amazing. As soon as a friend alerted me to the major cuteness of the cover art (thanks, Hannah!), I knew I had to read whatever was behind those gorgeously, quirkily stacked books. When I received the paperback in the mail (thanks, Revell Reads!), I was blown away by the unique texture of the cover. Not only was it strikingly beautiful to my eyes, but it passed on that same quality to my fingertips.

The way vintage books were infused into the storyline was incredible. This is the second novel I’ve read in recent weeks (the other was Finding Lady Enderly) that found a special way to use classic books within the story. I can’t really talk about how those classics were used in either story, because it would give away major things and rob future readers of the amazing journey those classics helped build. Trust me (or test it out for yourself) when I tell you that it made my heart melt and sigh and sing all at the same time.

You Belong with Me by Tari Faris

FTC Disclosure: Revell Reads and NetGalley gave me complimentary copies of this book. A positive review was not required. These are my honest thoughts.

With a delicious cover that sparked up my whimsical, creative side, this debut was entertaining, light, and a quick read. The small-town drama was fun, and I especially loved the quirkiness that was present throughout the novel. The premise was good, and I liked the surprises that cropped up along the way to flesh out the story.

The hippo was one of my favorite parts of this story. I still don’t understand how it works exactly, but I’m hopeful that this will be a thread strung throughout the entire series. Maybe eventually the secrets will be revealed, but I’m not even sure if I want them to be. It’s a fascinating aspect to the story, and I can see how it could play a huge role in each of the Restoring Heritage novels.

The search for belonging someplace was poignant and well written. This is such a relatable topic to a wide variety of people (the entire human race, perhaps?), and Mrs. Faris showed great skill for pulling out different nuances of this topic with each of her POV characters. It was beautiful to watch those threads unfold and see those characters dig deeper and deeper into their issues the further along the story went. That journey they each took was what kept me charmed beyond the initial discovery of how cute and fun this story was going to be. When all those storylines around that theme came together toward the end (and I won’t reveal how, because it’s too sweet to spoil), my heart felt the crescendo and tears washed my face. It was such an emotional finale for me, which I absolutely love in a novel. I’m hoping for more of this type of thing from this author as she grows in her writing journey with each new book.

Finding Lady Enderly by Joanna Davidson Politano

FTC Disclosure: NetGalley and Revell Reads gave me complimentary copies of this book (one electronic, one paperback). A positive review was not required. These are my honest thoughts.

Where do I start? What a captivating novel! From the first page, the style was engrossing, fascinating, and exquisitely quotable. If I had jotted down every line that made me sigh for how beautiful it was, I would have a notebook filled with at least half the lines from this story.

The unique usage of novels within the romance thread was beautiful and made me giggle with delight and gasp with elation. I truly admired the way each of the classics used were woven in so seamlessly and delectably. Every new quote had me holding my breath to see just what sentiment would be shared this time.

Characters Who Are... Pastors or Teachers

Back to school time means that it's time to think about those who lead us. Pastors and teachers carry significant responsibilities in our communities, and reading about them is just one way of honoring them. So whether you pick up a fictional story about a pastor or teacher or a nonfiction book written by a church leader or anything in between that pays tribute to pastors or teachers, those books all count for September's reading challenge.

Oops!

This past weekend was really busy. A Texas Rangers game, a birthday celebration, time spent with friends and family... It was wonderful!

It left zero time for my blog.

And today I am not feeling creative at all.

So I'm catching up on some internet stuff. I just finished sending some welcome letters for a Goodreads group I help moderate, and I have some book planning to do for an upcoming team game.

I thought I would have a book review for you today, but the weekend zoomed by without my finishing the book. Therefore, that will have to wait until another week.

Since I'm not exactly sure what to chat about today, how about y'all help me out?

What is keeping you busy this summer?

Please tell me I'm not the only one who finds herself so busy!

Vacation Recovery

My family and I went to Corpus Christi and San Antonio a couple of weeks ago, and I feel like I'm still recovering. I totally understand what people mean when they say they need a vacation from their vacation. Haha!

Our vehicle's A/C went out a couple days prior to the trip, so we relied heavily on rolled-down windows and the breeze that God sent at wonderful nearly-too-hot moments... and places that had working air conditioning. The temperatures weren't as hot as they could have been, for which I was so grateful. One of my favorite places we visited was the aquarium in San Antonio, but the river walk was another favorite. I'm not a fan of the boat trips, so we didn't do one of those this time, but walking up and down the narrow sidewalks is always a fun thing for my family and me.

At one of the three beaches we went to, we saw a live crab in its natural habitat. I never thought I'd see one in person outside of aquariums or zoos that have aquarium-type sections, and I think I'm still in happy shock about it. We saw a crab! He was much too fast to snap a picture of, especially since I didn't have my phone on me while wading (better safe than sorry, for it wouldn't take too well to the water if I slipped or something).

The first few days of our trip were still a part of Camp NaNoWriMo, so I would sneak in a couple hundred words once we were back at the rental house for the evening. My total for July was over 54,600 words toward a new (and very messy) draft of a brand-new story. I'm not really sure how to wrap up this draft, but I know I'll have to rip apart this current draft, taking it down to its bare bones and search for the potential hidden deep within them before I can re-flesh it out in a much easier-to-digest manuscript. Other rounds of edits will still have to happen, but my hope is that they will be a lot easier than this first one will be.

Since I've taken a break from writing for over a week now, and since we're home from the trip, I've been catching up on laundry and washing dishes and unpacking and doing other things around the house. I still have another two weeks off from work (I love my tutoring schedule!), and I'm trying to make good use of the time to accomplish chores and reading and watching classic movies on TCM (I discovered I enjoy Red Skelton last Friday; I'd never really seen much of his work before then), and I'll be getting back to writing this week as well.

And apparently, I'm also writing up a summary of random things in this article, because my brain's still too worn out from the trip to be creative right now. I'm hoping to be back to normal next week.

Tell me about you.

How is your summer going?

Did your family and you go anyplace?

What's your favorite thing to do when you have time off from work?

Run Well

We all have choices to make along life's journey. Some are as easy as right verses wrong. Others are more complex with no clear right or wrong answer.

The most important thing about making these choices is to make sure whichever one we make is lined up with God's will. Prayer and time spent in the Bible are crucial for hearing God's direction in our lives.