Reviews by bookrecsbyjess | The StoryGraph

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bookrecsbyjess

Shadow Among Sheaves

Naomi Stephens

3.0

emotional sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Loveable characters: No

What it's about:

This is a retelling of the story of Ruth from the Bible. It follows a widow named Rena as she moves from India to England with her mother-in-law. She must learn to survive in a place where she's hated and deal with the grief of all her losses.

What I thought:

This story wasn't bad, but as a retelling of Ruth, I was pretty disappointed. The characters were unlikable, and the way the author tried to retell the story was poorly done.

Quick Thoughts:

> I liked the first third of the book

> I didn’t like how the author reinterpreted the story of Ruth in this book because it changed how the characters acted

> the MMC was awful

> the book was pretty slow after the beginning

⚠️ there’s quite a few heavy topics but the biggest were grief from the loss of a spouse and the atrocious way the FMC was treated based on her ethnicity and social status.

🌶️ fade to black kind of

Content Warnings

Midnight on the Scottish Shore

Sarah Sundin

5.0

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Thank you to Revell Fiction for the ARC of Midnight on the Scottish Shore by Sarah Sundin. All opinions are my own.

This was my first time reading from this author, so I didn’t know what to expect. I do like WWII stories, but sometimes I find them too similar to other books I’ve read. This wasn’t the case at all with this story. I found this book to be unique, and I loved learning so much new information about WWII.

Before reading this book, I knew very little about military intelligence during the war. I found the double agents and the whole military agency so fascinating. I never really knew how they went about spying, so I loved learning their tactics and codes.

The setting for this story was a special highlight of the story with the beautiful Scottish landscape and sea views. I thought it was interesting to see how much the war impacted a small community.

Cilla and Lachlan were such wonderful characters that I was rooting for from the very beginning. I loved how they balanced each other out with their personalities, and how they encouraged each other to grow personally and spiritually.

I also appreciated the Christian faith elements throughout the story. It was so nice to see the characters’ spiritual journeys even though that wasn’t the main focus of this book.

Overall, I would recommend this book! I’m excited to read more books by this author in the future.

Content Warnings

Where the Library Hides

Isabel Ibañez

4.0

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Loveable characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

What it's about:

This book picks right up where

What the River Knows left off. It follows a dangerous journey for the characters with unexpected twists throughout.

What I thought:

While I didn't like this book as much as the first, I did still enjoy this story. The romance gave me anxiety, but I'm happy with how it turned out. I liked never knowing who I could trust.

Quick Thoughts:

> Inez irritated me a lot with her choices

> Whit was still my favorite character

> I didn’t trust most of the characters

> I wish more time would’ve been spent with the Egyptian artifacts

🎧 Audiobook Thoughts: these narrators were great!

⚠️ there is violence, swearing, and blood.

🌶️ there’s a couple intimate scenes, but the details are vague.

Content Warnings

Heart of the Glen

Jennifer Deibel

4.0

emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Thank you to Revell Fiction for the ARC of Heart of the Glen by Jennifer Deibel. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this beautiful story set in an immersive early-1900s Ireland. The romance was sweet, the setting was beautifully described, and the faith themes were interwoven so thoughtfully.

I haven’t read a lot of books set in Ireland, and I loved how well this author described the setting with historical detail. I also enjoyed learning about weaving and all the intricacies that go into mastering that craft.

The romance was definitely a slow burn, but it was so wonderful to watch these characters grow spiritually and then finally realize how God had brought them together. I loved their sweet interactions and their time spent together in the weaving shed.

I think my favorite aspect of this book was how the author included Christianity in such a thoughtful way that encouraged my own faith. While the characters often struggled with their relationship with God, I loved all the reminders of God’s faithfulness even amidst their trials.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who would love to be immersed into this beautiful Irish setting and be encouraged in their faith.

Content Warnings

The Christmas You Found Me

Sarah Morgenthaler

5.0

emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Loveable characters: Yes

What it's about:

Sienna's friend jokingly puts an ad in the paper, on the day her divorce is final, saying that she's looking for a husband. Guy answers the ad in desperation to have the finances his daughter needs to stay on the kidney transplant list.

What I thought:

This story was so beautiful. It was heartbreaking but also so full of hope. I loved Guy so much. His sacrificial love for his daughter and then Sienna was so admirable. The romance was just so tender, and the family bonds that were created were so beautiful to see.

Quick Thoughts:

This book was very emotional
Guy was such a sweet MMC with a servant heart
I loved the relationships formed in this book
There were so many tender moments that I loved

🎧 Audiobook Thoughts: the narrator was great! I’d recommend this format.

⚠️ divorce, swearing, child illness, parent death, dementia, hospital scenes, & terminal illness

🌶️ fade to black

Content Warnings

The Shadows Between Us

Tricia Levenseller

DID NOT FINISH: 51%

Why I chose to read this book:

I read the Daughter of the Pirate King books by this author and really enjoyed them, so I thought I would like this book too.

My thoughts:

I love this author's writing style because it's witty and makes me laugh out loud. This story just didn't keep my attention like her other books have. so I decided to stop reading it. I will however read more books by this author in the future because I really like her writing style.

Heavenly Bodies

Imani Erriu

4.0

dark funny tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Thank you to Libro.fm and Random House of Canada for the ALC of Heavenly Bodies by Imani Erriu. All opinions are my own.

This romantasy book had such an interesting world with magical powers like dream walking, which I found fascinating. I also loved the romance in this book.

The book was easy to immerse myself in right from the very beginning. The magic system was complex enough to be interesting but not too hard to understand. I enjoyed seeing how the main character’s powers grew throughout the story as she learned to better use them.

The romance had so much passion, and I liked how the characters grew to care for each other and look out for one another.

The ending of this book was so wild and fast-paced that I didn’t want to stop reading. I also think it sets up for the sequel well because I really want to know what will happen next.

I listened to the audiobook for this, and I loved the narrator. I thought she did an excellent job with all the different characters’ voices. I would recommend this format.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and will continue with the series.

Content Warnings

His Perfect Bride

Jody Hedlund

5.0

funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Thank you to Sunrise Publishing and the author for the ARC of His Perfect Bride by Jody Hedlund. All opinions are my own.

His Perfect Bride is book three in the Bride Ships: New Voyages series. It can be read as a standalone, but there is a small part of the book that includes characters from the first book in this series.

I loved this book so much! I stayed up late multiple nights to read it because I didn’t want to put it down. This story had characters who had gone through such difficult trials, and I loved seeing how they grew to love and accept themselves instead of holding onto past mistakes.

Sage was such a resilient character with all the loss and hardship that she had experienced, yet she had the courage to leave her family behind in search of a life that would help support them financially. I loved that she could see the best in others and wasn’t quick to judge them based on first impressions.

Jackson was so brooding to begin with, but I really felt for him. He was hurting due to past mistakes, and he had to learn to give himself grace. I loved his passion for engineering and eventually his love for Sage.

The romance in this book had me squealing! Jackson tried to hold himself back for so long, but he was completely gone for Sage. I loved all the moments that he just couldn't keep his eyes off of her. There was so much pining, and so many great kissing scenes! I also just loved how well these two complemented each other. They built each other up, and they were better together.

Jackson’s sister Augusta was such a great side character. I loved how she treated Sage. She didn’t look down on her or consider her beneath her even with their class differences. Her scheming was also a lot of fun.

There were some light themes of faith throughout the story that I appreciated as well. I loved that the characters tried their best to be honorable even when they found themselves in sticky situations.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book!

Content Warnings

The Dreams We Knew

Rachel Scott McDaniel

5.0

adventurous emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Thank you Uplit Reads and the author for the ARC of The Dreams We Knew by Rachel Scott McDaniel. All opinions are my own.

After reading Walking on Hidden Wings by this author last year and enjoying it, I was excited for this new release. I, however, did not know that I would be obsessed with this book! It was so amazing, and it’s definitely a new favorite of mine.

This story is a mashup of genres in the best way possible. I loved the historical details, the intriguing mystery, and the romance with sizzling chemistry. I also appreciated the faith elements throughout.

The Dreams We Knew features some side characters from some of this author’s previous books, but it is considered a standalone novel since you don’t have to read those books first in order to enjoy this one.

Delvina and Kent were such amazing main characters, and I loved the chemistry between them. They each had very different personalities, but they complemented each other so well. I loved how charming Kent was and how he never stopped loving Delvina. The admiration Delvina had for Kent was so heartwarming, and I loved how she consistently boosted his self-worth. There were so many heartfelt scenes between them where they shared their feelings, and I loved all the sweet romantic moments they shared.

The mystery in this story was so interesting, and I loved how the author wove a lot of historical details into the story. I learned a lot about this time period, and I felt immersed in the story from the very beginning. The mystery kept me on my toes, and I didn’t want to put this book down at all.

While it wasn’t a huge portion of the story, I appreciated the Christian faith elements the author included. The characters were still learning to trust and were unsure of their faith a lot, and I felt that their faith was included in a natural way throughout the story.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone! Please note that there is some heavier topics in this book including abandonment, death of a parent, violence, and classism.

Content Warnings

Kingdom of the Feared

Kerri Maniscalco

4.0

dark medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Loveable characters: Yes

What it's about:

In this third book of the series, the focus of the book is a lot more on the relationship between Wrath and Emilia. There's also a big focus on breaking the curse that affects so many people.

What I thought:

I enjoyed how this book wrapped up, but I would've preferred more focus on the emotional part of Wrath and Emilia's relationship instead of such a heavy focus on the physical aspects.

I loved the chemistry between Emilia and Wrath
There were too many spicy scenes for my taste
I would be interested in reading more about the other princes

🎧 Audiobook Thoughts: Marisa Calin did an excellent job with the narration, and the added music was a nice bonus.

⚠️ there is gore and violence throughout as well as swearing.

🌶️ while the scenes are pretty easy to skip, there were quite a lot of spicy scenes throughout the whole book.

Content Warnings

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