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I love to read, have always loved to read. In fact, I can have three to four books going at a time usually. This is a blog of my journey through different reading challenges, in which I hope to share the books I read along with my thoughts, inspirations and the weird ideas gleaned from each book along the way. Come and join me! In addition, I will be attempting to improve my own writing to move along the path I see before me, a path strewn with the words I desire to form into stories.
Oh my goodness, this book was so good! I am a huge fan of time travel stories, so when I realized Sarah Hank's newest book had time travel in it, I was so excited. This has got to be my favorite book of hers. I was even more excited to realize it is the first book of the Time Sailors series, so more books are to come.
What a unique take on time travel. Stella and her best friends, Wendy and Claire, are on a cruise on their way to Hawaii prior to her marriage to Everett. Though they are such close friends, they are all hiding something from the other two. Suddenly, Stella mysteriously steps out of the elevator to find herself on a steamboat over a hundred years in the past, in anti-bellum Missouri. A Dr. Duncan comes to her aid, but is he someone she should put her trust in? Adding to the mystery is that there is a Dr. Duncan who introduces himself to her friends in the current day timeline. Yes, we get to see the story from both timelines, and from all three friends' points of view. And Wendy and Claire are able to communicate to Stella, and vice versa, through an antique mailbox.
Stella has a mission to fulfill in order to make it back to her time, but she's not sure how she can accomplish that when she has no clue what it is. Wendy and Claire attempt to help her, researching what they can, discovering what happened to the steamboat she is on back in the 1850s. But they are dealing with their own issues as well.
This story drew me right in and wouldn't let go. I was intrigued by the time sailor take on time travel. The author did a great job making me care for all the characters, though there were quite a few times I was frustrated with them when they failed to communicate with each other. Which I guess is sort of hypocritical seeing as I am bad at communicating and opening up. The conflict and danger in the 1856 timeline gripped me and kept me swiping through the pages. As did the relationship issues in modern day. But most importantly there was the faith thread that wove through each of these storylines. Learning to fully trust in Jesus and put one's life in His all-powerful hands.
I received an e-copy of this book as a member of the launch team and was not required to write a favorable review. These are my own honest thoughts.
Always Think of Me by Lori Keesey is the author’s debut novel, though she has worked as a journalist for years. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I started reading this story, and even though the prologue and first couple of chapters drew me in, I admit I had a bit of trouble staying focused on quite a bit of the story, though the last quarter of the story re-gripped me, and I could not put the book down.
The book begins from the point of view of TC, otherwise known as Tyrus Cal, though he would prefer to NOT be known by those names, thus the TC. He is telling us his story on the day where things got a bit topsy-turvy for him. The reader sees that TC is involved in what appears to be a tragedy, but it is not specified for sure whether he is alive or dead. However, he suddenly has this urgent mission to reach out to an acquaintance he made a year earlier at a music festival.
Something obviously otherworldly is going on, as he suddenly finds himself, along with a companion who cannot be seen, in this person’s house a state away. This other person is Ginny, who appears to be quite down on her luck, depressed, possibly suicidal, and just not the same person he met a year earlier.
For the majority of the story, TC is telling the story at the music festival, though sometimes we get to see Ginny’s point of view. And sometimes we get to see a bit more of present day, and we even get to see part of the story through the point of view of TC’s unseen companion.
Though so much of the story is told during the time of the music festival, it isn’t just events at the music festival that we are seeing. TC and Ginny spend time sharing stories from their past, as they, and we the readers, get to know them, get to learn about their stories, their families and friends, their backgrounds, events that have led them to where they currently are. As Ginny opens up to TC, he begins to feel something is not quite right with her current relationship, but wonders if it is his place to say anything. At the same time, is there something brewing between them?
And then, we get a glimpse at what occurred from the time of the end of the festival and the situation that is taking place in present day.
This is a story of second chances, a story of faith, a story of finding one’s way and a purpose to one’s life. However, one of the reasons I lowered my rating was the lack of mention of the need for faith in Jesus. The Bible is spoken of as a book that is important, and is physically present, but no Scriptural truth is shared in the story. It is made clear that TC’s companion is an angel, and there is mention of the “Big Man” who I can only assume is meant to be God, which yes, bothered me. We know that Ginny’s grandmother had faith and saw how Ginny was with and without her faith. I just wish it was made clear what/who their faith was in. And while I do believe in angels intervening, I couldn’t quite understand why TC was enlisted to help.
I don’t know. I really wanted to be able to rave about this book as I have seen other reviewers do. I did enjoy getting to know TC and Ginny, and the other side characters who were important in their lives. I just have these things I was struggling with. That said, those concerns may not be yours, and you may be inspired by this story. Just be aware, as mentioned, there is mention of suicidal thoughts and there is a scene of domestic violence.
I received an e-copy of this book as a member of the launch team and was not required to write a favorable review. These are my own honest thoughts.
I'm quite late, but here is what I read for my challenges in February:
Read a book...
With a title that starts with a P
By an author you’ve never tried before: Trust the Stars by Tricia Goyer
Set on the coast
With a tree on the cover: The Captive Heart by Michelle Griep
By an author whose name starts with a J
From a genre outside your comfort zone
With an adverb in the title
Featuring a character with grey hair
That has won a Carol award: The Reckoning at Gossamer Pond by Jaime Jo Wright
Published in 2024: 8 Down by Kimberley Woodhouse
By a debut author
Written by multiple authors
With a green cover
That is a bestseller
Set on a boat, train, or plane
With an illustrated cover: Husband Auditions by Angela Ruth Strong
With a main character who is disabled
With a single mother or father: The Irish Matchmaker by Jennifer Deibel
Written by an indie author: Fake Relationship at the Triple Z by Cali Black
Set somewhere you’ve been: If I Were You by Lynn Austin
Featuring law enforcement: Fatal Witness by Patricia Bradley
Published during the summer
Set during a holiday: The Christmas Dog by Melody Carlson
That is considered women’s fiction
Featuring a Jewish character
Set over 100 years ago: Reverence in the Wilderness by Andrea Byrd
That contains bible verses
With a teenager as a main character
With a one word title
A book you preordered
With a solid colored cover
By an author who writes with a pen name
That takes place in a national park
With a title that starts with an M
By a male author
That includes pirates
By an author whose name starts with the letter T
That has been made into a movie or television show
With forgiveness as a topic or theme: The Divine Proverb of Streusel by Sara Brunsvold
Featuring a journalist: Embers in the London Sky by Sarah Sundin
That includes sisters: Fragile Designs by Colleen Coble
With a midwife or doula
That takes place in a country you’ve never been to
That is lighthearted or humorous: Dear Henry, Love Edith by Becca Kinzer
Set during WWII:
That you choose because of the cover:
By an author who writes multiple genres: 26 Below by Kimberley Woodhouse
With a dual timeline
With a second chance romance
Recommended by someone you know: Assaulted Caramel by Amanda Flower
Also, I joined in with a second yearly challenge last year in the Scripture Literature-You Are What You Read group. I just never added it to my blog post. So, this year I'm adding it here, though the post is going to be so long. LOL.
So, here it is:
1- Takes place in Israel
2- Second chance: An Uncertain Road by Abbey Downey
3- Not your usual genre
4- Significant church event
5- Well known author/lesser known book
6- Major motion picture
7- About an influential Christian
8- A Mysterious disappearance: Fatal Witness by Patricia Bradley
9- Speculative Fiction
10- Protagonist has a disease/disability: Embers in the London Sky by Sarah Sundin
11- Recommended by an author: The Captive Heart by Michelle Griep
12- Includes angels
13- An inheritance: Fragile Designs by Colleen Coble
14- Finish what you started: 26 Below by Kimberley Woodhouse
15- Carol Award winner: The Reckoning at Gossamer Pond by Jaime Jo Wright
16- A Spy
17- Forgiveness
18- Redemption
19-Less than 200 pages: The Christmas Dog by Melody Carlson
20. Two or More Authors
21. By your Favorite Author
22. Male Protagonist
23. Recommended on this Page
24. Blended Families
25. Book of Devotions
26. Christian Literary Classic
27. Dystopian
28. Mistaken Identity: Dear Henry, Love Edith by Becca Kinzer
29. A Life Lesson: Husband Auditions by Angela Ruth Strong
30. Bible Retelling
31. The American Frontier: Reverence in the Wilderness by Andrea Byrd
32. Features Music
33. Recovering from Addiction
34. Gothic Romance
35. Eye Catching Cover: Trust the Stars by Tricia Goyer
36. Takes Place on an Island
37. Spiritual Warfare
38. Protagonist Shares your Occupation
39. Written by a Famous Christian
40. Family Estrangement: The Divine Proverb of Streusel by Sara Brunsvold
41. Tear Jerker
42. Treasure Hunt
43. New to you Author
44. Mother-Daughter Bond
45. 2023 Best Seller
46. Title Includes a Color
47. Fairytale
48. On your TBR: One Wrong Move by Dani Pettrey
49. Alternate Reality
50. Written before 1950
51. Includes a Foreign Language: The Irish Matchmaker by Jennifer Deibel
52. Includes a Historical Monarch: If I Were You by Lynn Austin
53. Choose your own Adventure
My Goodreads goal is to read 110 books this year. Last year I had set it at 100 and I ended up reading 122. So far this year I have read 19 books.
Phew, I know this seems like a lot, even more than last year, but like last year, I hope to be able to combine challenges where possible. And with the yearly challenges, I read books for the other challenges and then see where they fit in the yearly challenge lists. Also, when I pick books for the monthly challenges, I will try to choose books that take place in different states or countries. Also, I'll probably prioritize the challenges I've been doing longer if I start struggling with keeping up.