Book Review: Love the One You're With by Emily Giffin

Love the One You're With by Emily Giffin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


About the book (from Goodreads)

How do you know if you’ve found the one? Can you really love the one you’re with when you can’t forget the one who got away?



Ellen and Andy’s first year of marriage doesn’t just seem perfect, it is perfect. There is no question how deep their devotion is, and how naturally they bring out the best in each other. But one fateful afternoon, Ellen runs into Leo for the first time in eight years. Leo, the one who brought out the worst in her. Leo, the one who left her heartbroken with no explanation. Leo, the one she could never quite forget. When his reappearance ignites long-dormant emotions, Ellen begins to question whether the life she’s living is the one she’s meant to live.
At once heartbreaking and funny, Love the One You’re With is a tale of lost loves and found fortunes—and will resonate with anyone who has ever wondered what if.

My Review:

What I liked most about this book was the story development. I was drawn in from the beginning. I enjoyed the interaction of the main character Ellen and the other less important characters. I was wondering all the way through whether or not she was going to make the right decision. The ending, while a little surprising, was perfect!


If I could change anything about this book I would make the secondary character more of a jerk! As it's written, you can't help but like him a little!


This is a book from my personal collection. Opinions expressed are my own.


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Love and Blessings!

Margaret

Book Review: Judgment Day by Wanda Dyson

About the book (from backcover): SENSATIONAL JOURNALISM HAS NEVER BEEN SO DEADLY.

The weekly cable news show Judgment Day with Suzanne Kidwell promises to expose businessmen, religious leaders, and politicians for the lies they tell. Suzanne positions herself as a champion of ethics and morality with a backbone of steel—until a revelation of her shoddy investigation tactics and creative fact embellishing put her in hot water with her employers, putting her credibility in question and threatening her professional ambitions.

Bitter and angry, Suzanne returns home one day to find an entrepreneur she is investigating, John Edward Sterling, unconscious on her living room floor. Before the night is over, Sterling is dead, she has his blood on her hands, and the police are arresting her for murder. [Correction, she finds her dead boyfriend's secretary] She needs help to prove her innocence, but her only hope, private investigator Marcus Crisp, is also her ex-fiancé–the man she betrayed in college.

Marcus and his partner Alexandria Fisher-Hawthorne reluctantly agree to take the case, but they won’t cut Suzanne any slack. Exposing her lack of ethics and the lives she’s destroyed in her fight for ratings does little to make them think Suzanne is innocent. But as Marcus digs into the mire of secrets surrounding her enemies, he unveils an alliance well-worth killing for. Now all he has to do is keep Suzanne and Alex alive long enough to prove it.

My Review:

This was a very quick read for me, I read it in about a day. The characters were nicely developed and interesting. The author provided "profiles" with out being too wordy about it. The main story was well written and easy to follow. The book was very interesting because there were several subplots. The author tied the whole story neatly together at the end. I tend to like this type of ending because I don't like being left with questions!!

My favorite character was Alex. She is a partner in the PI firm that takes the case. She was a tough as nails debutante but she didn't seem fake. Matched up with Marcus, it made for a great story!

I really can't think of anything I would change in this book. Just a nice, quick read.  If you would like to read the first two chapters, you can go here.

Disclaimer: I was provided a copy of this book to review as part of the Bloggers for Books sponsored by Waterbrook Multnomah. My opinions are my own.

Love and Blessings!

Margaret

Tough Day for this Mom!

You know your a mom when someone does something to your child and you just want to shoot tell them off! 

Someone did something really terrible to my son.  I won't go into details because it's his story to share.  But these were people we trusted and we took them at their word.  Obviously their word wasn't as important to them as it was to us.  He's processed it and he's adapting.  I'm so proud of him and the way he has handled this.

Mom is not doing as well though, I want to strike back.  I want to hurt them like they hurt my son.  But in Roman's 12:19-21, the Lord tells me that vengeance is His. Instead, I have to treat my "enemies" with kindness and caring.  So I will, not because I want to, but because I know any small revenge that I could exact, would be disobedience.  I will continue to pray and to leave it in the Master's hands.

What is one of the toughest moments you've had as a parent?

I posted this in response to a Social Mom's blogging prompt but it was something I needed to talk about.  Love to see your comments!

Love and Blessings!

Margaret

Book Review: Jubilee by Margaret Walker

Jubilee by Margaret Walker

Imagine waking up each morning, knowing that your life was not yours to live, that you were under someone else's control. Imagine waking up and knowing that you had a hard day's labor, and you weren't getting paid. Imagine if you tried to "quit" this job, you would be whipped mercilessly.

For Elvira "Vyry" Brown, this wasn't anything to imagine, it was her life. Born a slave to her white master and his black slave mistress, fate was not on her side from the get go. Oh her early life, up until age six was charmed so to speak. Her only job was to play with her half sister and keep her company. That was until she reached working age... seven! After that Vyry's place on the plantation became clear, first as a house servant, later as the head cook. The story, written by Vyry's great-granddaughter Margaret Walker, takes us from her birth, through her life as a slave, to her eventual freedom. Her path to freedom was not easy but Vyry demonstrated an unquestionable faith throughout. She also demonstrated a kind and giving heart by taking care of the very people who persecuted her throughout life.

Margaret Walker heard the story of Vyry from her grandmother, Vyry's daughter Minna. How precious the words must have seemed!! You can feel the love and admiration through each paragraph of this book. It's not just an autobiography, it a family history and it's wonderfully written. I was drawn into this book from the beginning. The way that the author described the emotions and the plantation activities was so vivid. Having read other autobiographies about this time, I found that Margaret Walker is a top storyteller in this genre. By the time I finished this book, I had no doubt about the character of Vyry Brown.

Definitely a great read for a lover of African American history, Civil War buffs, and anyone who is interested in learning more about that time frame.

Love and Blessings!

Margaret

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Book Review: When Sparrows Fall by Meg Mosely

When Sparrows Fall by Meg Moseley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I enjoyed reading this book.  The story is engaging as Miranda (Randi) a mother of six struggles to cope with raising six children as a widow, her overbearing Pastor and the involvement of her brother in law that she doesn't know. I love how she sticks to her principles for the things she feels strongly about, as well as allowing some latitude on the things she's used to doing but are not written in stone.  The author does a great job of describing each of the children as well as giving a great foundation for where the main character is in life.


The title of the book confused me.  I'm not sure how it fit with the subject of the book.  There were a few references to sparrows, but I didn't sense an underlying connection. It could have had something to do with a tragedy that occurred but that's as close as I can get.


What a liked most about this book is the way the author brought the whole story together.  Throughout she alluded to deeper secrets but didn't give them away until towards the end.  This kept me engaged and curious to know what happened.  There was a Christian theme throughout the book, although in the beginning it leaned towards the fanatical and evened out towards the end.


Overall, a nice, easy read.  I would recommend for anyone who has experienced children, tragedies and life in general!

Disclaimer: While the opinions expressed are my own, I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Love and Blessings!

Margaret

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