I have read almost all of James L. Rubart’s books with my favorite probably being the first one I ever read by him called “Rooms”. In fact, I was surprised (since it’s been awhile since I read Rooms) when I recognized the name, Micah Taylor, and background story of one of the minor characters in this book as the main character from “Rooms”. As you can tell from my previous statements, I highly recommend this book. In “The Pages of Her Life”, you meet Allison who is at her wits end with her personal and professional life. She is getting fed up with her partner who was her best friend until they tried going into business together. She is divorced and living alone until things with her mom go south which causes her mom to have to move in. Then all of a sudden she ends up with this mysterious journal. James L. Rubart does an excellent job of creating not only his fictional characters but also the world they live. You definitely feel the emotions as the characters are feeling them. Also one of the parts about his books I’ve always loved is the lesson you can get from the stories. No matter where you are in life you can find something about his books to which you can relate. If you have never read his books before, then I recommend you start today or whenever you finish the book you are currently reading. You can start with any of his books. However, he does have a series that you should read in order and I would definitely read “Rooms” before this one so that Micah Taylor’s appearance in this one will make more sense.
Review of “The Hope of Azure Springs” by Rachel Fordham
This is the second book I have read by Rachel Fordham. I have also read “Yours Truly, Thomas” which you are actually supposed to read after this one but it seems that it wasn’t a huge deal that I read them in backwards order. As with “Yours Truly, Thomas”, I was drawn into this book from the very beginning. Rachel does a great job of bringing out the personality of her characters. In this book, the main characters are Em and Caleb (who also show up in the next book as secondary characters). Em originally shows up in town in bad shape. She had been shot and left for dead before arriving in Azure Springs. Also she is too thin and unfortunately is in need of a bath which is why the daughter of the people who nicely take her in does not say very nice things about her. The whole situation reminds me that you should not always judge somebody by their outward appearance especially when you do not know their story. Thankfully Caleb who is the sheriff of Azure Springs realizes that despite her appearance, Em seems to be a nice girl who needs help. Maybe he sees this because it is his job to find out who shot Em or maybe it is because he is a nice guy but I am just glad he looks past her appearance and treats her well. The character of Em shows what it means to be resilient in the face of life’s challenges. And Caleb shows what it truly means to love and care for someone. If you get this book, then you won’t regret it.
Review of “These Nameless Things” by Shawn Smucker
This is my second book by Shawn Smucker. I find myself drawn into his books because of the synopsis that is written about the book. However, both this book and the other book I read by him, I have found myself confused and unsure if I am missing something from the story from the very beginning. Because of my confusion, it takes me longer to get into his books than other authors’ books. He does draw me in though because of the mystery of what is going on. For some reason this book reminds me of a little of the book called “The Giver” by Lois Lowry because they can’t remember certain things right at first. His books are not bad and while he is not my favorite author, he may be yours.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in order to give an honest review.
Review of “Don’t Keep Silent” by Elizabeth Goddard
“Don’t Keep Silent” is the third book in the “Uncommon Justice” series by Elizabeth Goddard. Each of the books in this series are about one of three brothers. The first book called “Never Let Go” was about Austin McKade. The second book called “Always Look Twice” was about Heath McKade. And this last book of the series is about the last brother, Liam McKade. This is the second book I have read by her. I will say that one thing I have noticed between this book and the other one I read by Elizabeth Goddard is that she does not have long chapters which I really like because it makes the book feel like a faster read. However, her books have been so good that they keep my attention and might feel like a fast read without the chapters not being too long. She has a way of bringing her characters to life and making you feel like you are going on their journey right along with them. In this novel, you will meet back up with Liam McKade to whom you were also introduced to in the previous novel. Liam is approached by Rae Burke to whom he previously worked with to help her locate her sister-in-law. Not only do you get to go along with them on their search but you also learn about their past working relationship. One of the best things I have found about this book is that she keeps you on your toes throughout the book by not revealing everything all at once or too soon. This seems like a common occurrence with Elizabeth Goddard’s books though I have only read two. I would bet that she does well with keeping you in suspense in her other books as well. I can honestly say I look forward to reading more of her books in the future.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in order to give an honest review.
Review of “Until I Met You” by Tari Faris
“Until I Met You” is the second book in the Restoring Heritage series by Tari Faris. The first book is called “You Belong with Me” which I previously reviewed for Revell. At the end of “You Belong with Me”, there was an excerpt from “Until I Met You” and while I normally choose not to read these because I do not want to be too excited about the next book since I am not a patient person. I did read this one and I have to say I was hooked and wishing this book was coming out the next day. However, it was obviously not coming out the next day but I knew it would be worth the wait. I was not disappointed in the least once I started reading this book. The one of the main characters in this book was a minor character mentioned in the first one. Tari does a great job re-introducing Libby Kingsley to the reader. As well as several of the other characters such as Luke, Hannah, Olivia, and Nate from the first book. Libby comes to live in Heritage in order to be the new librarian but what she does not realize is that the Heritage library is not like any other library that she has ever been in. She arrives at the house of her brother, Luke, and his wife, Hannah, to chaos and things do not get any better when she meets their neighbor, Austin Williams. Austin has moved to town in order to work on the town square that Hannah has gotten the town to agree to fix up. After Libby and Austin meet for the first time, things get very interesting. If you want to know all about it, then you need to get this book so you can enjoy and read it for yourself. Also, I have to say that to fully enjoy this book you will want to have read the first one as well. If you have not, then also get “You Belong with Me”.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in order to give an honest review.