Ties that bind by Cindy Woodsmall Book Review

                                              Ties that Bind by Cindy Woodsmall

                I have read many Amish books in the past and enjoyed many of them. This was my first book that I have read from Cindy Woodsmall and it did not disappoint. Right from the get- go she immersed you in the story and immediately made you curious to see what was going to happen next.

                Ties that Bind by Cindy Woodsmall is the first book in The Amish of Summer grove series. If follows a young Amish girl, Ariana Brenneman, throughout her somewhat tranquil life in the Old Order Amish. But secrets from the past begin to surface and her once quiet life is unraveled.

                This is one of the great books just to begin reading and not have much knowledge of the synopsis. It’s better to go in blindly and just figure out what the book is about as you read it. Overall this was a book like none other Amish book I have read and I highly recommend it if you love Amish fiction. Go and get yourself a copy, you will not be disappointed.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

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A Refuge at Higland Hall Book Review

                A Refuge at Highland Hall by Carrie Turansky is set during World War I in London. This is the third and final installment of the Edwardian Brides series. I have read the first two books in this series and really enjoyed them. I had high expectations for this because I enjoyed the other two so much.  

                This third book focuses on Penny Ramsey, the sister of Kate Ramsey who is featured in the second book, The Daughter of Highland Hall. I was excited for this one because Penny was one of my favorite characters in the other two books. This book did get off to a slow start and didn’t really grab my attention until the middle of the book. That’s one the main plot of the story was happening and was getting a little more exciting. In the first part of the book you’re reading a lot about the family and how their life has changed because of the War. I really liked how Turansky maintained the different perspectives of the characters. That’s something I really enjoyed in the first two books.

                I absolutely loved the setting in this book. It went back and forth from France and England. In more ways than one it reminded me of Downton Abbey. So if you’re a fan of Downton Abbey, then I think you’ll really enjoy this book. With the different character perspectives you really got to see how the war affected people from servants, pilots, prisoners, and the women and children waiting for their loved ones to return.

Even though this book did get off to a slow start, it still was a good book and I did enjoy it. I give it 3 out of 5 stars.

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FTC disclaimer: I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

The Time Chamber Review

The Time Chamber

I have heard about the craze of these adult coloring books and was intrigued by them and wanted to get my hands on one. I have never had an adult coloring book and wanted to see what all the hype was about. When I received the book I began to flip through all the beautifully drawn pictures. Every page is filed with gorgeous detailed pictures. And it’s not just your average coloring book; this coloring book has a story that goes along with it. Not every page has words on it, only a few, but nevertheless, it still follows a little red headed fairy that journey’s out to the unknown.

I thought it was very cute to see a story sort of progressing throughout the book and added a cute touch, so it wasn’t just pictures on a page.  I had read many people that had tried these coloring books said it helped relieve their stress. In some ways I can see that, but I have to be honest and say I thought it induced stress for me. Each picture is very detailed and requires immense amounts of patience to neatly color with in the lines. I found myself stressing about staying with in the lines and wanting to quickly get it done. I was also coloring the same thing repeatedly and it became annoying and I would go as fast as I could to get every single leaf colored! So I will say that you will not finish a page in ten minutes, it will take you a considerable amount of time to finish because the amount of detail on each page.

But I do think this is an excellent gift idea for someone that likes to be creative and color and has more patience then me. If you have the time to sit down for a couple hours and color, good for you. But as for me I probably won’t purchase another adult coloring book. Not that it’s a stupid or bad idea. It’s just not for me.

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I received this book from Blogging for Books.