A Broken Kind of Beautiful Book Review

A Broken Kind of Beautiful

            Fashion model Ivy Clark has been in the fashion industry seen the tender age of fourteen.  With a past that is too hurtful to look back upon, Ivy crowds her life with modeling and men.                                                                                                                                                          After returning from her father’s funeral, Ivy learns that the company she has been modeling for doesn’t want to renew her contract. With no hopes of modeling, Ivy reluctantly agrees to go to South Carolina to be the face of a new bridal line. And not just any bridal line, her stepmother’s.  Along the way Ivy meets Davis Knight, the man that will be the photographer for the line.                                                                                  Ivy puts on a smile, but underneath is a brokenness that can’t seem to be mended.  No one seems to notice, except for Davis Knight. He sees underneath the smiles and act and knows there’s more to Ivy than just modeling. But ivy is not the only one hiding a past, Davis is and Ivy is determined to find out what that is.      This book is more than just some cliché’ contemporary romance, this book is much deeper than that. It is about finding oneself thru times of distress and grief.   Ivy can be a model of society, where ‘real’ beauty is found on the outside and the only thing that matters is your appearance. But the real definition of beauty is quite the opposite. Real beauty is found within us, not on the outside. I believe our society has made a huge misconception about beauty and whether we like to admit it or not, we tend to believe them. Society tells us that you have to have beauty to succeed in life, to have a filling life. And whether they directly say this or not, it is definitely implied.                                                                                                                                    This book does a great job of getting the real message of beauty across. That it is what’s on the inside that matters the most and no matter what society tells you, beauty is not all about the outside.                                I can’t express in words about how much I love this book. I has definitely been one of the best books I have read in a long time. It was a beautiful book with beautiful writing. I wouldn’t change anything about this book; it is perfect as it is.                                                                                                                               Blogging for Books provided this book to me for free in exchange for an honest review.

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Through the Deep Waters Book Review

Through the Deep Waters by Kim Vogel Sawyer

                This story follows a 17 year old girl named Dinah living in Chicago in 1883. Growing up in a brothel with a loveless mother, Dinah has seen hard times and continues to meet them. As Dinah gets older she realizes she doesn’t want the same life as her mother.  She is fed up the destructive life of a prostitute’s daughter. Dinah wishes for a more meaningful life, she wants to make something of herself. And staying in a brothel won’t help.                                                                                                                                           After coming across an ad in the paper looking for girls of ‘honest moral’ to wait on tables at a hotel, Dinah jumps at the chance to free herself from a life unwanted. In hopes of escaping her troubled past and making something of herself, Dinah jumps on a train to Kanas. Once she arrives she finds out that she is a year too young to become a ‘Harvey Girl’. In hopes of becoming one when she is eighteen, she reluctantly takes a job as a chambermaid in the hotel. Once there she becomes acquainted with a local chicken farmer named Amos. As her friendship progresses, she begins to have feelings for him. But will Amos accept her for her troubled past? And will Dinah find the love to overcome her mistakes?  

                This is the first book I have read from Kim Vogel sawyer and thoroughly enjoyed it. It does focus on a pretty sensitive issue that is vastly common today. Right when the book began and you were introduced to Dinah, you could feel her pain and want to get away from her life. I loved Dinah as a character and saw much character growth as the story progressed. I loved all the characters, but had mixed feelings about Ruth. Her character was at times annoying towards the middle of the book. But towards the end I felt Ruth really grew as a character and liked her towards the end.                                                     Overall, I’m really glad I read this book and enjoyed more than I thought. I will definitely read more of Kim Vogel Sawyer’s books. I rate this 4 out of 5 stars.  

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

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" A Stillness of Chimes" Book Review

A Stillness of Chimes by Meg Moseley

                A Stillness of Chimes is set in Prospect, Georgia and centers around the life of thirty year old Laura Gnatt. With the recent and unexpected death of her mother, Laura finds herself back home. Returning to the place she grew up has her feeling out of place. Especially when her old boyfriend, Sean is there. But when she returns home she finds people in town talking about seeing her father. The only thing is, her father died twelve years ago. With crazy rumors running around the whole town about her father, Laura doesn’t know what to believe. Sean tells her not to believe the rumors, but she begins to question if her father really died that day on the lake. The more she hears, the more she worries. What if her father was still alive? What if he was roaming around the woods with no food and no place to sleep? Desperate to find out more, she begins asking people around town where they saw him. She also begins reading her mother’s journal, searching for any clue that could tell her why her father would fake his death.                                                       A stillness of Chimes kept me guessing to the very end. I loved Stillness of Chimes. I’m usually not one for mysteries or guessing-games, but this book I loved. It has you guessing to the very end. I give this book four out of five stars.                                                                                                                                                                                   I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review.

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Emma of Aurora Book Review

Emma of Aurora                                                 by Jane Kirkpatrick

     Set in the 1850s Emma is a young woman living in Bethel, Missouri with her family. But when her beliefs clash with their colony leader, troubling times are yet to come. Emma embarks on journey that will forever change her life.                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Emma of Aurora is the complete trilogy that follows the true story of Emma Wagner Giesy. What first intrigued me about this book was that it was based on a true story.  I was excited to start reading this massive book. But I was soon sadly disappointed when I began reading it. I could not get myself immersed into the story. It does have quite a slow beginning, and I found myself wanting to skip certain parts in the book that I found to slow. I did start enjoying it when it started to pick up a bit, but then it would have another dead part.                                                                                                                                                                        Overall I give this book three out of five stars. Although it was a slow start if I really wanted to I could push myself through the book. I thought it was beautifully written, and possible will read it again.

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

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