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rachelelizabeth's Reviews (1.21k)
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I originally posted this review on my book blog Rachel Reading. For more like this, check out my blog!
I'm going to be honest. I love most books that are political in nature. I'm into politics, I love The West Wing and Scandal and I'm working on House of Cards (for some reason its a slowly but surely thing for me). This book was promoted as a Veronica Mars/Scandal type of YA book and I knew I had to read it.
I did really enjoy this book, and I tore through it fairly quickly. It really kept me reading, because I wanted to know what happened next. The twists didn't feel over played and were revealed perfectly. I wish however, we learned more about the President and other political figures. I also am a huge sucker for lots of world building, but I know that for books of this type, that doesn't always work out perfectly.
The only disappointment I have is that this series isn't longer. Apparently, it's only two books long, and I would love to have seen a really long series between these characters. So much interesting stuff to explore. This read was fun, and light-hearted (it dealt with some heavy subjects but not in a heavy way) and I would highly recommend to fans of Scandal!
I'm going to be honest. I love most books that are political in nature. I'm into politics, I love The West Wing and Scandal and I'm working on House of Cards (for some reason its a slowly but surely thing for me). This book was promoted as a Veronica Mars/Scandal type of YA book and I knew I had to read it.
I did really enjoy this book, and I tore through it fairly quickly. It really kept me reading, because I wanted to know what happened next. The twists didn't feel over played and were revealed perfectly. I wish however, we learned more about the President and other political figures. I also am a huge sucker for lots of world building, but I know that for books of this type, that doesn't always work out perfectly.
The only disappointment I have is that this series isn't longer. Apparently, it's only two books long, and I would love to have seen a really long series between these characters. So much interesting stuff to explore. This read was fun, and light-hearted (it dealt with some heavy subjects but not in a heavy way) and I would highly recommend to fans of Scandal!
Soul Bare: Stories of Redemption
Sarah Markley, Jennifer Dukes Lee, Holly Grantham, Dan King, Sarah Bessey, Kelli Woodford, Holley Gerth, Shannan Martin, Jennifer J. Camp, Amy Peterson, Lindsey van Niekirk, Angie Hong, Tammy Boyd Perlmutter, Mandy Steward, Karissa Knox Sorrell, Linda Basmeson, Monica Sharman, Emily P. Freeman, Trillia J. Newbell, Serena Woods, Kris Camealy, Shelly Miller, Deana Chadwell, Christina Gibson, Amy Smith, Joy Bennett, Tanya Marlow, Cara Sexton, Seth Haines, Sheila Seiler Lagrand, Tara Pohlkotte
This review was originally posted on my blog, Rachel Reading. If you'd like more reviews like this, please check it out!
Man, this essay collection really just blew me away and I didn't expect it to.
I was approached by one of the contributors to see if I'd be interested in a copy of the book and I immediately said yes. Sarah Bessey is one of my favorite writers, so seeing her on the list made me know this would be immediate must read. It became a must read for many reasons beyond that.
This book is written as a collection of essays, divided into three sections. The book as a whole is about being honest, and bearing your soul to God and being honest to the world. Often in the church, we're encouraged to only share the good stuff, or the stuff where we saw God show up. This book talks about the times where yes, he showed up, but also the times where it was hard to see him.
Beautifully written, these stories of redemption are ones I know I'll return to many times, and feel so lucky to have snagged a copy. There wasn't a single essay I didn't get something from, and there were many that I am still digesting.
"Ever slowly, painfully human, we begin to see from all sides the truth we were handed: God does have more for us, and often his more looks like less. It can look like loss and pain. From the vantage point of God's kingdom set on the face of this wobbly earth, the very best he has to offer can look like surrender and taste like tears."
Man, this essay collection really just blew me away and I didn't expect it to.
I was approached by one of the contributors to see if I'd be interested in a copy of the book and I immediately said yes. Sarah Bessey is one of my favorite writers, so seeing her on the list made me know this would be immediate must read. It became a must read for many reasons beyond that.
This book is written as a collection of essays, divided into three sections. The book as a whole is about being honest, and bearing your soul to God and being honest to the world. Often in the church, we're encouraged to only share the good stuff, or the stuff where we saw God show up. This book talks about the times where yes, he showed up, but also the times where it was hard to see him.
Beautifully written, these stories of redemption are ones I know I'll return to many times, and feel so lucky to have snagged a copy. There wasn't a single essay I didn't get something from, and there were many that I am still digesting.
"Ever slowly, painfully human, we begin to see from all sides the truth we were handed: God does have more for us, and often his more looks like less. It can look like loss and pain. From the vantage point of God's kingdom set on the face of this wobbly earth, the very best he has to offer can look like surrender and taste like tears."
This review was originally posted on my blog, Rachel Reading. If you like this and want more, please check it out!
So listen, I’ve realized that I really really love space. I love books that take place in space, I love planets, I love stars, I love love love space. I grew up wanting to be Zenon. After I finished Illuminae and Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, I dove right into Kaufman’s other series. Seriously, they’re that good. I got this one on audiobook, and went in blind again and was blown away.
I’ve never been a huge sci fi fan, but I’m starting to think that maybe it’s because I haven’t been exposed to much of it. I like well done space ships and world building with lots of character development. I like books that explore topics that you don’t expect a book of that genre to explore, and I’ve found that in many space books lately. This one however, is over all, a romance book. I really enjoyed that the audio book had multiple narrators, one for Tarver and one for Lilac, and it successfully avoided one of my huge pet peeves: the princess girl throws herself all over the guy and does anything so he’ll help her survive. Lilac is a strong girl, with determination to show that she is more than just a princess, and she does so, in so many ways.
I love how Kaufman and Spooner write their characters, and I vaguely remember hearing that one of the things Kaufman does with co-authors is they try to switch and see “Would this be weird if a character of the other sex did this?” in an attempt to avoid those cliches. I don’t want to spoil too much of this book, and I feel like going in just knowing it was about space was the perfect thing to know. I would highly recommend this book, and I can’t wait to dive into the second.
So listen, I’ve realized that I really really love space. I love books that take place in space, I love planets, I love stars, I love love love space. I grew up wanting to be Zenon. After I finished Illuminae and Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, I dove right into Kaufman’s other series. Seriously, they’re that good. I got this one on audiobook, and went in blind again and was blown away.
I’ve never been a huge sci fi fan, but I’m starting to think that maybe it’s because I haven’t been exposed to much of it. I like well done space ships and world building with lots of character development. I like books that explore topics that you don’t expect a book of that genre to explore, and I’ve found that in many space books lately. This one however, is over all, a romance book. I really enjoyed that the audio book had multiple narrators, one for Tarver and one for Lilac, and it successfully avoided one of my huge pet peeves: the princess girl throws herself all over the guy and does anything so he’ll help her survive. Lilac is a strong girl, with determination to show that she is more than just a princess, and she does so, in so many ways.
I love how Kaufman and Spooner write their characters, and I vaguely remember hearing that one of the things Kaufman does with co-authors is they try to switch and see “Would this be weird if a character of the other sex did this?” in an attempt to avoid those cliches. I don’t want to spoil too much of this book, and I feel like going in just knowing it was about space was the perfect thing to know. I would highly recommend this book, and I can’t wait to dive into the second.
If I didn't hate Nick Spencer for being so uninventive in his Steve storylines by making him a villain I would love this more. Really love the real discussions Spencer brings that really fits Falcon/Sam's character.
This review is posted on my blog, Rachel Reading. If you like it, and would like to see more like it, please check it out!
Holy God. This book series. Every time I think it's murdered my soul sufficiently it comes up with a way to kill me even more. I just...holy god. It's been like a month since I've read it and I still haven't recovered enough to start Sisters' Fate. It's that bad, y'all. But in the most amazing way.
Y'all. If you haven't read this series you need to. I'm such a sucker for a great dystopian with amazing world building built in. AND dystopian female characters that aren't dealing with awkward love triangles and that defines their main conflict. THIS SERIES IS SO FAR FROM THAT. It murders everything you love though, so just be fully aware.
ANYWAY, this book actually took me much longer to get through than [b:Born Wicked|11715276|Born Wicked (The Cahill Witch Chronicles, #1)|Jessica Spotswood|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1332157702s/11715276.jpg|15706987] which I didn't want to put down and I'm not sure why that is. Once it fully picked up though it was amazing and I didn't want to let it go. It would probably be like 4.75 stars just because I didn't just fly through it? But seriously this series y'all.
Also, I think I can say I've never hated a female character more in my life than Maura. Like I just can't stand her. She's had SO MANY CHANCES TO BE A DECENT PERSON AND SHE JUST WON'T TAKE THEM. WHAT IS UP WITH THAT. FUCKING MAURA.
I also need a shirt that says "So he calls me up again and he's like 'I still love you' and I'm like 'but you're not Finn Belastra'" just because...yes I need this. Even remembering this book is making me freak out again. Time to read Sister's Fate I think.
Holy God. This book series. Every time I think it's murdered my soul sufficiently it comes up with a way to kill me even more. I just...holy god. It's been like a month since I've read it and I still haven't recovered enough to start Sisters' Fate. It's that bad, y'all. But in the most amazing way.
Y'all. If you haven't read this series you need to. I'm such a sucker for a great dystopian with amazing world building built in. AND dystopian female characters that aren't dealing with awkward love triangles and that defines their main conflict. THIS SERIES IS SO FAR FROM THAT. It murders everything you love though, so just be fully aware.
ANYWAY, this book actually took me much longer to get through than [b:Born Wicked|11715276|Born Wicked (The Cahill Witch Chronicles, #1)|Jessica Spotswood|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1332157702s/11715276.jpg|15706987] which I didn't want to put down and I'm not sure why that is. Once it fully picked up though it was amazing and I didn't want to let it go. It would probably be like 4.75 stars just because I didn't just fly through it? But seriously this series y'all.
Also, I think I can say I've never hated a female character more in my life than Maura. Like I just can't stand her. She's had SO MANY CHANCES TO BE A DECENT PERSON AND SHE JUST WON'T TAKE THEM. WHAT IS UP WITH THAT. FUCKING MAURA.
I also need a shirt that says "So he calls me up again and he's like 'I still love you' and I'm like 'but you're not Finn Belastra'" just because...yes I need this. Even remembering this book is making me freak out again. Time to read Sister's Fate I think.