This was the last book that I finished in 2012. It was also the first book I finished on my brand new Nook :), & I was able to successfully borrow this from the library. Yeah!

This was a very quick, fast read. I did enjoy it, but I didn't realize when I took it out that it was actually part of a series, so I was a little upset with the way it ended because so many questions were left unanswered. Once I realized it was part of a series, however, it all made sense & I much more enjoyed the ending.

I did feel the book was a little "light" for my tastes - this happens to me occasionally. I really truly enjoy reading young adult books, but sometimes it's just a bit too young for me, & this did fall into this
category.

All of these considered, however, I liked the pace of the book, I did really like the characters, I liked how the two friends solved the mystery & tried to rescue more people (I won't say more & spoil it). I liked how family really came first in the book.

Sophia Makinoff is certain that 1876 is the year that she’ll become the wife of a certain US Congressman, and happily plans her debut into the Capitol city. But when he proposes to her roommate instead, Sophia is stunned. Hoping to flee her heartache and humiliation, she signs up with the Board of Foreign Missions on a whim.

This book draws you in from the very first page - you are routing for Sophia, you are heartbroken when her original plans for marriage go wrong, and you cheer for her as she falls in love with her new life as a missionary and the people she's trying so desperately hard to protect.

It's full of heartbreak and sorrow, and you can't help but cheer for the Poncas, when something good goes there way - like shoes for the children for the winter, and you can't help but cry when they begin to starve. For me, it was difficult to read these passages because you know how badly the Native American tribes were treated and you know just how many died because of starvation, hunger, cold, disease, etc.

The story, for me, first and foremost is the story of the Poncas, a tribe I had never heard of before, but it's also the love story between Sophia and Will, another missionary bent on trying to save the small tribe.


I received a copy of this book for review through the Book Sneeze blogging for books program.

An Amish Kitchen is three mini novellas. Each is a separate story, but the other characters are briefly mentioned in each story. There is also a reader's guide & lots of Amish recipes at the end of the book which would be lots of fun to try - if I were a better cook!

The first story is about Fern, an Amish healer, the second is about Hannah, who runs her family's bed and breakfast while taking care of aging parents, and the third, the longest one in the book, is about Eve and her extended family.

I think I liked the first story the best - I could relate to Fern a lot, I liked the pacing of the story, & I liked how it ended. I also liked the story about Hannah, but I didn't like the pacing of the story as much & I felt the ending was cut very, very short - so much so, that the ending actually ruined the whole story for me, and if I had to rate just the middle story, I'd only give it two stars. I felt like I was being teased, and I didn't feel like I read the whole tale. Without giving anything away, I also really felt like the conflict in the story was solved way too quickly & not very realistically.

The last story, about Eve's family, was a very emotional one for me. Her mother suffer's from Parkinson's disease, which in a lot of ways is similar to Alzheimer's, which runs in my family. I was brought to tears more than once by certain parts, and I also laughed out loud at some of the parts!



I received this book to read & review through the book sneeze program for free.

I got this book for free from netgalley, in exchange for a review. I don't usually review cookbooks, but as my family is avid campers, I couldn't resist.

And was promptly very disappointed. The book markets itself as a family cookbook, but I don't know of one kid who'd like anything from the book. There were only a few things that looked interesting for me as an adult. Second of all, the list of needed utensils & ingredients were absolutely ridiciously for anyone actually camping, unless maybe you had a $100,000 RV. We don't. Third of all, when I'm on vacation, I'm not interested in spending an hour hunting down exotic, fresh ingredients. I'm interested in, you know, actually visiting the area I'm staying in, & then have a quick meal at the campsite at the end of the day.

The only reason why I did give this two stars is I do like the fact that it's divided up into chapters, & the photography was lovely, though on my kindle 3, probably not as lovely as the original color photography would have been.

This was a book I started reading months ago, & greatly enjoyed reading it, as I do any book remotely related to the Tudors. I'm not really sure why it took me most of six months to finish, other than other things always ended up my way.

As such, since it took me so long to finish, my overall thoughts on the book are a little hazy. It was well written, written at a nice pace, and shared the story nicely.

I actually give this book 4.5 stars, for just one reason. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this fast paced book.

Princess Nalia's whole life changes in an instant when she learns she isn't really the princess, but a stand in. Her life quickly - sometimes very abrumptly (hence the 4.5 stars, as the abrumpt changes drove me nuts) kept changing, and she always adapted well to her new circumstances (which also drove me nuts - as she was a little *too* perfect, if you know what I mean. Especially a perfect 16 year old). She starts life living in the palace, then with her aunt, then tries to go to magic school, and ends up an apprentice to a crazy witch, all in a very short time without each location really coming to life in my mind.

The book however, settles in nicely about halfway through. I admit, I wasn't sure who the bad guy was until the end, though I had my guesses.

There's a smidge of romance, but nothing inappropriate for a tween or teen to read. I'm not a fan of straight romance books, but I enjoyed reading how the false princess eventually realized her best friend was the man of her dreams.

All in all, I greatly enjoyed the book & read it in just one afternoon, and I would be interested in reading what else O'Neal may write.

I received this book to review as part of a book tour. My opinions are entirely my own.

I was intrigued by the description of this book, "I didn't even know my mother's real name", and so I borrowed this book from the library to read on my nook.

all in all, it was an interesting read. The book tells of Helen's family & the secrets Helen's parents kept from her and her sister her whole life, until she somehow finds out she's actually Jewish (the book never really explains to my satisfaction exactly how she discovered she was Jewish & that her mother was lying to her). There's also a lot of past / present back and forth in the book which I'm not a huge fan of, but it was also definitely the best way to write this type of book.

The book's pace was a bit slow to me and there are parts that feel repetitive, but I felt the unique nature of this biography offsets the negatives in the book. That being said, why only 3 stars? I feel it was not only cruel, Helen's relentless pursuing of truths her family didn't want revealed, but not only that - she writes a book & publishes it, revealing to the world all of her families dirty secrets. Writing the book I think helped her deal with the truths, which I understand, publishing was still cruel.

I picked up this book to read for my nook from my local library, when I wanted something quick & fast to read. I didn't realize it's young adults (and considered middle school at that, which I don't normally read too much of) so the book was a lighter than I had planned, but overall was a great read.

Poor Jane - she falls in love with a man vastly unsuited for her, and from almost the very beginning of the book does everything she can to make him love her even more. Very true for its age, this drove me nuts throughout the book. Daughter of a doctor, I kept expecting her to take care of people, which never happened, which also drove me nuts.

All of that being said, however, I just loved Jane. You couldn't help but groan at her whenever she made (another) bad decision but you couldn't help routing for her all the same.

So you are probably wondering why I gave this book 4 stars, when I am not exactly raving about the book so far? Well, it's Miss Hepplewhite - the schoolteacher who teaches Jane how to be a proper young lady. So much of Miss Hepplewhite's teaching comes from a book actually written at the time, and it's fascinating to me some of the things she teaches. Though I knew women were raised to be docile and servants to men, it always amazes me to read that women actually acted that way!

I grew up a huge Piers Anthony fan, and I keep trying to remain one as an adult. I still do consider myself a fan, even though I'm always vastly disappointed when I read one of his books.

This is the 3rd book in the geodyssey saga. I've read all of them before, and this one is a reread. You can read the books in order or as a stand alone.

The premise sounds cool on paper - follow one family through history and see what happens. Anthony picks various events in history, explains a bit of back story and reveals his thoughts behind why he writes each chapter the way he does. The first half of the book I found quite enjoyable, but the latter half I was simply bored with. Not sure if it was because the characters were just not evolving, or because I was bored with the historical events he was talking about, or a combination of other things, but the second half simply dragged. I ended up skipping most of one chapter completely because I could not get interested in the story, at all.

So, what's good about the book? Well, it's an Anthony book and as I already explained, he's got a built in fan in me. I love history, and I enjoy what he's trying to do in this book. I like the fact that the characters all have flaws, though he places way too much emphasis on physical flaws and repeats that emphasis in each and every chapter. I like the fact that the book spans such a huge span of history - including the future (though it's way too Romeo & Juliet for me). I like the fact that it's part of a series.

But I just never get behind any of the characters, though I didn't dislike any of them, either. I think because there are six major characters in the book (all being a major character in a few individual chapters and being a minor character in others), plus husbands, wives, kids, and various enemies, there are just too many people to keep track of.

So all in all, I have mixed feelings about the book. I like it enough that I have to give it 3 stars, but I dislike it enough that I can't rate it any better.

I borrowed this book from my dad, who introduced me to Piers Anthony in the first place.