Book Review: Georgia On Her Mind by Rachel Hauck

Rating: 2.8/5 I finished this book yesterday after having it on my Kindle for a few weeks after I downloaded it when it was free (it now costs $0.99) I honestly wasn't all that interested in it from the description, but hey, a free book is a free book. Once I got around to eventually reading it, I was pleasantly surprised yet unimpressed at the same time. Rachel Hauck has a good writing style and there are a lot of funny moments in this book. Macy Moore, the main character, is rather witty and almost a bit naive, which is fun to read. However, I just could not get past all of the old, recycled Christian romance plot cliches. Seriously, woman has awesome career but neglects her spirituality, woman's career tanks, annoyingly perfect friends gently remind woman about how much Jesus loves her, woman finally meets good man, various hijincks and "big decisions" ensue, woman ultimately makes the "right" decision and they all live happily ever after. I would have loved more drama in the story and was incredibly disappointed by the last several chapters. I was confused by the authors mix of the literal and metaphorical, especially in reference to the bible verse Isaiah 61:3, "...to give them beauty for ashes...", which prompts Macy to leave behind the metaphorical ashes of her corporate life and literally return to Beauty, her hometown in Georgia. If the author was going for subtlety, she failed and may have just gone all in and had Macy's house burn down with all her possessions, but I guess that would be too literal. Also, just once I would like to see a Christian romance where the protagonist's dream goal/profession is actually the "right" thing and they are moved to pursue that goal instead of settling for something else.

I can't highly recommend this book, but if you have a spare 99 cents and want to get a few laughs from an otherwise tired story line, go ahead and purchase this book.

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Book Review: Dragon's Curse by HL Burke

I received this book free of charge in return for my honest review. All opinions are my own and I never commit to a positive review prior to reading.

Dragon's Curse on Amazon.com

I thoroughly enjoyed Dragon's Curse (The Dragon and the Scholar vol. I)  by H.L. Burke. I kind of accidentally stumbled upon this book when I was searching for other bloggers with similar interests. As I've said before, finding a good, talented, upcoming author is a bit like mining. You get a lot of dirt and junk, but occasionally you find a real gem. H.L. Burke is one of these rare gems, and I would give Dragon's Curse a solid 3.5/5 rating. (Not that this book is bad, I just have extremely high standards to give a 4 or 5).

If you enjoy fantasy novels and tales about magic, dragons, and a bit of romance, this is a good book for you.  The main protagonist, Shannon, is an adorable and stubborn scholar whose first assignment out of the academy (which is basically college) is to treat a neighboring king's poisoned dragon wounds. Although slightly nervous, Shannon is confident in her ability as a healer and is determined to prove her worth to her mentor at the Academy, a man named Martin. Shannon quickly discovers that all is not well in the kingdom of Regone and finds herself allied with a dragon to overcome some unexpected challenges, including an over-zealous would be suitor and an evil witch.

I personally enjoyed the strong fantasy plot of this novel.  While not exactly a brand new story, Dragon's Curse is told in a fun and inventive way.  I liked that Shannon is strong willed and mostly unafraid from the very beginning. Her intelligence and natural curiosity are her main strengths and not merely personality quirks.  I found the dialogue to be overall fairly good, although some of the conversations between characters felt almost too tongue-in-cheek or trite at times and I was unsure if what I was reading was supposed to be serious or not.

I definitely recommend this book for anyone who likes epic fantasy and dragons.  It is also a good book for fans of romance novels, although romance is not the main theme of the book.  I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series, Dragon's Debt, and the third book, which is set for release later this year.

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Happy July 4th!

Happy Independence Day to my American readers! It's a busy day for my family, so here is a quick post with some links to FREE 4th of July and Patriotic themed crochet projects! Enjoy.

1. This patriotic bunting would be adorable draping the side of a little red wagon as you pull your little ones in a 4th of July parade or take them to a festival. It could also probably be made in a larger size and used as porch or patio decoration for a barbecue or party.

Patriotic Bunting

2. If the beach is more your style for the holiday, check out this cool 4th of July Beach Bag by Lily Sugar N' Cream. It would be just perfect to carry some sunscreen, towels, and maybe a cover-up for evening while you watch fireworks over the ocean or lake.

Beach Bag

3. These Stars and Stripes Cushions are just the right size to take along to a summer get-together. Add a little cushion to your lawn chairs or benches while showing off your patriotic spirit.  

Stars and Stripes Cushions

4. Use this patriotic granny square by April Moreland to create any number of 4th of July themed household decorations. Make a lot of them and join together to make a throw or blanket, or make them individually as trivets or dishclothes.

Patriot's Pride

5. Even though July is usually too hot for blankets, this Colors of America Throw by Redheart would be nice to keep the chill off while watching fireworks or sitting out on your patio late into the evening.  Make it during those long winter days so you don't overheat working on it during the summer.

Colors of America Throw

6. Last but not least, showcase Old Glory with this American Flag Afghan. Just big enough to cover your lap, this throw would be a beautiful decoration for your home.

American Flag Afghan

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Free Summer Fonts

Now that July is here, summer is in full swing.  July is a great month for outdoor entertaining and your parties and picnics can have some extra sparkle with customized printed menus, placecards, and decorations.  If you're having a big buffet style party, it's nice to print out some labels so your guests know what each dish is and if there are any ingredients they may want to avoid.  There are thousands of great free fonts out there so you can match your print-outs to whatever theme you want instead of just using plain old, boring Times New Roman.  I personally like to browse FontSpace to find new decorative fonts, but there are other good font websites too.  All you need to do to use these free fonts is download the .zip file, scan it for viruses (just in case!), and then open and install it.  They'll be ready to go after installation and are compatible with most common word processing programs. Most of the fonts available are licensed for personal use only, but if you want to sell your work you may be able to contact the artist directly and pay a fee for a commercial use license.

Here are some of my favorite free summer fonts:
1. Reed of Love

2. Sweet Nature
3. Summer Sunshine
4. Beach Type











And here is a sample menu printed with the BeachType font:

Book Review: Flabbergasted

Ray Blackston's Flabbergasted can best be described as enjoyable word vomit. The manic pixie cliche of contemporary romance meets the standard "character discovers faith in some near death experience" of Christian fiction. in this verbose novel. It takes a while to get used to the author's prosaic writing style, but the overall writing is not bad at all. The characters are likeable enough, and the setting is described fairly well. I like the simple, non preachy message about faith and coming to know God in a real and personal way. This book was first published in 2003 so some references feel slightly dated, but I would still recommend this book to anyone who enjoys lighthearted Christian romance novels. This ebook is currently free  on Amazon so you have nothing to lose except a few hours of reading time so go ahead and check it out! 

Flabbergasted

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Free Crochet Patterns: Beautiful Birds

The theme of today's free crochet patterns is beautiful birds! These are more advanced graphs because they contain many intricate details, but with enough patience and focus they should be doable for anyone with a knowledge of basic crochet skills.  As always, I created these patterns on www.stitchboard.com using designs I created with free openware fonts on www.fontspace.com. And again, as always, please only use these patterns for your own personal use. 

Peacock Motif

This first pattern is a gorgeous Asian inspired peacock motif.  It can be kept simple by working in one solid color on another solid color background, or you can personalize it more by making the feathers in an array of colors.  

Toucan Motif

This next pattern is a beautiful toucan bird in a jungle background.  As with the above peacock motif you can keep it simple by working the pattern in a single color, or make it pop by using different colors for each of the different elements of the motif.  

Eagle Banner

This eagle banner is only 100 stitches wide by 60 stitches tall so it is meant to be incorporated as part of a larger project.  It would look great in a patriotic themed afghan or perhaps as a very long decorative pillow.  

I hope you enjoy using these beautiful bird motifs.  If you are interested in a complete tutorial on how I make these gorgeous crochet graphs, check back in a few days for a walk-through on how to use the stitchboard.com free pattern wizard.  If you have any requests or suggestions for future patterns, feel free to let me know in the comments! 

Book Review: Michal (The Wives of King David #1)

I have been reading a lot of biblical fiction lately and have come to the conclusion that biblical exegesis is an under-utilized form of fiction.  I enjoy how the talented authors of this genre use historical and theological research to sort of "fill in the gaps" of well known biblical stories.  It takes a large amount of imagination to writing convincing dialogue and descriptions for a biblical setting, and Jill Eileen Smith does it well.  

I found the novel Michal to be original and well written, and although it was descriptive it was lacking a little bit in details. I also found the jumps in the timeline to be slightly confusing. It could have been improved by focusing on fewer periods of time. I enjoyed the resolution of the plot and the focus on what the characters learned through their ordeals, but it did tend towards becoming "preachy" and I disagreed with the emphasis being placed solely on Michal's sins while glossing over David's.

All in all this was a good read and I look forward to reading more from Jill Eileen Smith.

Michal (Wives of King David Book #1)