kailey_luminouslibro's reviews
3794 reviews

This daily devotional book gives you a traditional Christian hymn to read/sing each day, and tells about the composer/author who wrote it. There are Bible passages to read and a place to write in some of your thoughts as you answer the Bible study prompts.

The design of this book is really beautiful, with every page in a soft color. The pages for week 1 are in a dusty pink, then week 2 is olive green, week 3 is lilac, and week 4 is a soft blue. The pretty flower design on the cover is mirrored on the pages inside, and there are special pages with Bible verses quoted in lovely font.

As a musician, I really enjoyed learning about the history behind some of my favorite hymns! Many of the stories of the authors are tragic, but it is also encouraging to see how God brought them through their troubles and gave them grace and peace through their music.

Many cultures find winter to be a restful and exciting time of year. Snow becomes a beautiful occurrence when you approach it with the right mindset. But some cultures encourage an attitude of despair and grumpiness in the winter, making summer the star of the year, and forcing winter into a narrow box of grouchy grumbling. This book will give you practical tips for enjoying winter no matter how bleak it may first appear.

When I used to work an office job, I would go to work in the dark and leave in the dark and never see the sun in my little indoor office. I had the winter doldrums for sure. But now that I am master of my own work schedule, and I can go outdoors in the winter when the sun is shining, I find that I enjoy winter so much more! Even when days are dark or cloudy, my mindset is completely different. I find the darkness restful, and I don't push myself to be so active in the winter. I embrace the cold and make it into something cozy. Instead of focusing on the cold, I focus on the crisp clean feeling in the air, and I appreciate the warmth of fuzzy socks and a hot cup of tea even more.

No matter what your schedule may be, or how little sunlight your area receives in the winter, you can find gratitude and appreciation for all the delightful things that winter brings. I love that this book gives real practical ways to enjoy winter. Get outside. Dress warmly. Sleep more. Enjoy warm foods. Embrace candlelight and low lamps. Celebrate holidays all winter long, not just at Christmas. Make time for calm activities. Notice nature.

My favorite part of this book was the chapter that talked about rest. I realized that I don't let myself rest enough, especially in the winter. I always thought of sleep as sort of a waste of time when I could be doing productive things, but those productive things are not going to happen if you don't have a healthy foundation of rest. Mental rest, physical rest, spiritual rest; all these can be cultivated in winter more than any other season.

I used to think I had Seasonal Affective Disorder, because I would be so worn down and depressed in the winter. After reading this book, I'm convinced that (for most people) Seasonal Affective Disorder is a myth. Only the most extreme cases might actually be medically diagnosed with SAD. But for the rest of us, we just have a culture of griping and grouching in the winter. For myself, I want to cultivate an attitude of rest, gratitude, and delight in the winter.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review.

When the royal family of Bohemia needs help, Holmes is on the case tracking down a photograph being used for blackmail. The blackmailer is the beautiful Irene Adler, and she might be the only person to ever fool Holmes and beat him at his own game.

This Sherlock Holmes mystery is retold and simplified for children ages 7-13. The story follows exactly the same story line as the original book by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, with much of the same dialogue and narration. Holmes and Watson are the same beloved characters that we know, and the mystery is just as suspenseful and thrilling as the original.

I loved how the writing style is simple, but is still vivid and energetic! The text is large, and there are a few definition boxes that explain terms or historical items that may be unfamiliar.

I loved the black and white illustrations that pop up every few pages. The cartoony style of the drawings is just right for this type of children's retelling, and gives an added flair to the story. The artwork is sometimes humorous and fun, making the story a little more lighthearted for young people.

I can't wait to revisit more Holmes stories in this children's series! This is an excellent way to introduce classics to elementary and middle grade readers!

An engineer comes to Holmes with a terrible story to tell. He was lured to a house in the middle of the night and attacked, and his thumb was cut off! Holmes and Watson listen to his story with horror, and they quickly get the police on the track of the criminals, but only Holmes can make sense of the strange circumstances.

This Sherlock Holmes mystery is retold and simplified for children ages 7-13. The story follows exactly the same story line as the original book by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, with much of the same dialogue and narration. Holmes and Watson are the same beloved characters that we know, and the mystery is just as suspenseful and thrilling as the original.

I loved how the writing style is simple, but is still vivid and energetic! The text is large, and there are a few definition boxes that explain terms or historical items that may be unfamiliar.

I loved the black and white illustrations that pop up every few pages. The cartoony style of the drawings is just right for this type of children's retelling, and gives an added flair to the story. The artwork is sometimes humorous and fun, making the story a little more lighthearted for young people.

I can't wait to revisit more Holmes stories in this children's series! This is an excellent way to introduce classics to elementary and middle grade readers!

Abigail Rook has a job as an assistant to free-lance detective Jackaby. Jackaby has a rare gift as a seer. He can see magical residue and detect magical creatures that are otherwise invisible. Jackaby and Miss Rook are called out to the country to investigate a murder at a dig site where some kind of prehistoric bones have been discovered. Miss Rook is eager to visit the country, since her friend Charlie has been stationed there as a policeman, but she wonders if she can balance her career and romance.

I loved this book so much! I really liked the world-building and the way that the supernatural creatures mingle with ordinary humans. Even the most wild magical theories end up having some supernatural explanation.

I especially loved Jackaby and Miss Rook and their detective partnership. They are both full of witty remarks and flippant little quips. Utterly delightful!

I loved Miss Rook's character! She is very introspective, analyzing the clues and analyzing her relationships with people. We get to see her emotional turmoil as she tries to adjust to her new adventurous life. She goes on quite an inner journey to find the confidence to trust herself and make her own decisions for her own life. She is so spunky!

The writing style is excellent. The plot is mysterious and fun! The mystery really kept me guessing, and I loved all the strange clues. Because there are magical elements in play, it's difficult to tell what is just a normal clue or what is some weird supernatural power at work. There are a lot of moving parts in the plot, and characters with different abilities and secret knowledge. It becomes like this weird game of chess with red herrings all over the place, until you realize that the red herrings are actually the center of the mystery. Such great plot twists!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

Princess Minna receives word that the Prince of a neighboring kingdom has been put under a sleeping curse. She must get past the guards, past the thorny bushes, and wake the prince before sundown or the curse will be permanent! On her way to the enchanted forest, she stops to help a swan with a hurt foot, an old lady who has dropped her groceries, and a sheep whose wool needs sheering. Will she make it to the castle before sundown? And how will she defeat the guards and get through the thorns and awaken the prince?

This chapter book is so hilarious and cute! I love the colorful illustrations on each page and the wild shenanigans and adventures. The story is really funny and clever, and Princess Minna is completely adorable!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. 

Princess Minna barely sleeps at night, and she knows something must be wrong with the kingdom. Princess Minna has some very special skills; she is good at taming unicorns, and kissing frogs, and fighting dragons. She goes out into the kingdom and finds that there is a unicorn emergency! A wild unicorn is trampling through the town. Princess Minna is so tired from getting no sleep that she gets all mixed up, and tries to fight the unicorn instead of tame it! When she is called on to kiss a frog, she gets mixed up and tries to tame the frog instead. What will happen if she sees a ferocious dragon? Will she try to kiss the dragon instead of fight it?

This chapter book is so hilarious and cute! I love the colorful illustrations on each page and the wild shenanigans and adventures. The story is really funny and clever, and Princess Minna is completely adorable!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review.

This book was boring and long-winded. Every chapter took forever to get to the point.
I also did not care for Dickens and Wilkie Collins as the main characters. They were not exactly nice people in real life and this book accurately reflects that. They both have mistresses/lovers who feature in the story, and there are some descriptions of less-than-savory venues like an opium den with whores. Since I was already bored, I just didn't want to read about all that.
I find it very strange that with all the content warning labels available on StoryGraph, "adultery" is not one of them. 

Percy and his friends are off on another quest, this time to save Annabeth, who disappeared when they were attacked by a manticore. Unfortunately, Percy has to team up with two of Artemis's hunters, and those maidens do NOT like boys. As they travel west, Percy and Grover and the maidens of Artemis encounter some strange signs that Pan might be awakening. But he's not the only old god who is moving again. Kronos is sure to have a trap set to entice any powerful half-bloods.

This book includes my favorite scene in the entire series, when they visit Hoover Dam and joke about the "dam snack bar." It's so silly, but it cracks me up every time!

Thalia has a major part to play in this book, and I loved the cautious dynamic between her and Percy. They are both so strong and powerful, and they are both leaders, so their friendship is always a little tenuous, but they make it work because they care about the same things. They put their rivalry aside for the greater good of their friends. This is also the book where we are introduced to Nico Di Angelo for the first time. I love his character, but he has some issues too.

I love the sass and the adventure and the old Greek legends! Percy Jackson is always a fun read!

Jacqueline is planning her wedding to her darling Christopher, but then the war comes. While he is at war, Jacqueline stays with her sister Mary, helping to care for her nieces and baby nephew. After the war is over, Mary needs Jacqueline more than ever. Christopher wants to be married at once, but Jacqueline feels that she must do her duty to her sister and nieces and nephew, so they agree to lengthen their engagement while Christopher goes to India on business. But can their love remain constant through all this time?

The writing is really dramatic! Everybody is either suffering utter misery or ecstatic with wild joy. The characters are all really emotional and they go through all these awful situations. The aftermath of the war has changed them and now they have to deal with the realities of life. It was a bit depressing in the middle, but worth all the suffering to reach a happy ending.

I liked Jacqueline's character, but I also got really annoyed with her for making her fiancé wait so long. She's a martyr to her family, and I wish that she had taken more definitive action to secure her own happiness. But it fits with her personality. She's completely unselfish, always putting others first, and she has a very high sense of honor and duty that would not allow her to turn her back on her sister's need. I admire that self-sacrifice at the same time that it frustrates me plot-wise.

I really enjoyed how the story explores all these different relationships in this family and analyzes why the behave certain ways and how they relate to each other. There are a lot of different layers in these relationships. Jacqueline and her fiancé Christopher have a very spiritual love that binds them together no matter how many miles may be between them. We explore Jacqueline's motherly relationship with her nieces and nephew as they grow up. We analyze the extremely close bond between Jacqueline and her sister Mary; they are so empathetic that they feel each other's pain. And then Jacqueline has to deal with the high-handed commands of her brother-in-law. It's fascinating to see this group of people interacting, and under the surface are all these layers of emotion.