Where Dead Men Meet

I am a sucker for a good suspense novel.  I love the feeling of being on the edge of my seat and speculating the direction the author is going to take me.  I have also been on a historical fiction kick this year so I was very excited when I picked up Where Dead Men Meet by Mark Mills.

Set in 1937, you see the framework for World War II being set in Europe and all the horrors that went along with that time period.  Luke Hamilton was an orphan who was taken care of for years by a kind-hearted nun before being adopted.  Years later, the nun is brutally murdered and Luke finds himself being in the assassins crosshairs.  With Luke's journey of dodging assassination attempts and traveling all over Europe trying to find the truth, you find yourself getting lost in the details, and never feeling like you can keep up.

This is the first book I've read by Mark Mills and I hate to say I was extremely disappointed.  It took me months to get through this book and I finally gave up.  The beginning grabbed my attention but as I read on the pace felt forced and the story line became muddled to me.  I finally gave up and put it down.  Sometimes you're just not in a right frame of mind to read a certain type of story.  

I didn't want to give up on Where Dead Men Meet since the synapsis was intriguing and I've heard good things about Mark Mills' work.  I picked the book back up a few weeks later and the same thing happened.  I struggled to get lost in the story.  I felt no connection to the characters whatsoever and even though I was curious to find out who it was that was hunting Luke and killed the nun, I couldn't finish it.  

I really wanted to love this book, but I really didn't.  It was chaotic, convoluted, and forced and this is the first fiction in a long time I couldn't finish.  

*I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

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Stevie Nicks: Visions, Dreams, and Rumors

My parents were in a rock band when I was growing up.  Not only was it amazing to see them evolve into wonderful musicians themselves, but I was also introduced to a lot of music that kids my age weren't a custom to.  Fleetwood Mac was one of those bands that I did not really appreciate growing up but now that I am an adult they are one of my all-time favorite classic rock bands.  Though I know their music quite well I knew little about the bandmates themselves and their rocky history until I read the latest Stevie Nicks biography Stevie Nicks: Visions, Dreams, and Rumors by Zoe Howe.

I personally fell in love with Stevie Nicks when she did her solo album Rock a Little which was released in 1985.  Stevie's unique voice and her beauty and fashion sense are something I've always admired.  Reading about who she was as a person, where she came from, and the tumultuous journey that she has been on in her music career was something I was very excited about.

I've always heard about her love/hate relationship with Lindsey Buckingham but I never realized the depth!  I loved hearing about her start with Fleetwood Mac and the stories behind many of their songs.  I wish there would've been more focus on Stevie and her solo career but the author seemed to stick with Stevie and her association with Fleetwood Mac more than anything.  Fleetwood Mac is touring this year so I'm sure this biography was a push to get more interest in the band reuniting and the tour itself.  

There were many quotes that I did not find cited which I thought was strange and, to be honest, the book was hard to get through for me.  It is extremely long and after awhile you feel like the story becomes redundant.  I still think the story of Stevie Nicks is fascinating and I plan on picking up Gold Dust Woman by Stephen Davis, which is coming out in November of this year.  I hope Davis delves deeper into his subject more than Ms. Howe has.

For someone who has never read anything on Stevie Nicks, or Fleetwood Mac for that matter, I would say this is a decent book to start out with, since the majority of the book is bits and pieces of other articles and interviews.  But I do believe this book could've been better.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review   

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The Long Run

I do not seem to possess the endurance that it takes to become a runner.  I admire those that can lace up their sneakers and run for miles at a time.  I'm lucky to do jogging intervals when I attempt to run.  Maybe I do not have the mental stamina it takes.  Maybe I need a shove in the right direction and a little inspiration from those who have ran before me.  This reason is why I picked up The Long Run by Australian writer and runner Catriona Menzies-Pike.

Catrina Menzies-Pike started running after mourning the deaths of both of her parents in a plane crash.  After dealing with depression and addiction for years, Ms. Menzies-Pike started running first as a hobby and later adopted the running lifestyle.  It is during this time that the author begins to research the history of women in running and the road that has led to her own participation in a half-marathon.

Any avid runner will be able to relate to her stories and why she runs and this is the part that I really enjoyed reading, despite it being a small part of the book as a whole.  The majority of the book is a history lesson on women's rights and women in sports.  I was hoping this story would be more about the author's overcoming a personal tragedy and working through grief through running but I felt like Ms. Menzies-Pike keeps her readers at arms length throughout the book.  The focus feels more on history and not on the author's story.

The Long Run is very well researched but lacks the author's personal story which is why I chose this book in the first place.  I started this book hoping for inspiration to run and I did not find that at all.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

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Scars of Independence

I have always been squeamish about war.  Growing up in a classroom, you tend to be desensitized to the effects of war.  It's just words on a page when you're a child, but I remember, even at a young age, never really liking to learn about wars past.  The loss of life, the anger and hatred that fuels each battle, and the utter destruction of everything that is connected with each encounter is hard to swallow.  Don't get me wrong, I understand the reasoning behind many of the battles, but it's still a tough subject for me to grasp.

When I sat down to start reading Scars of Independence by Holger Hoock I had little bit of a pit in my stomach.  What was this book about the Revolutionary War going to teach me that the history books haven't already?

I have read books about the Revolutionary War before but so many of them are hardened, strictly sticking to the facts, and not giving any indication to the thoughts or feelings of those that participated, or were witness, to these battles.  Scars of Independence is different and you realize that from the first few pages that you read.  You see viewpoints from different people and their reasons for fighting for what they believed in.  You see the stages being set and the battle lines being drawn.  You can hear the cries of the wounded and the screams for victory.  Yes, it is hard to read the bloody details of the Revolution but it is a story that we should all hear and not one that should be romanticized.  This is where we came from!  This is the birth of our nation!

Mr. Hoock must have done hours of research with all of the details that are within these pages.  He has a wonderful writing style that captures the imagination and is easy to understand, though I will say it is hard to sit down and read it cover to cover.  It has a dry, textbook feel to it which makes it hard to not feel like you're studying.  In saying that, Scars of Independence is a wonderful resource that could easily be used in a classroom setting and taken apart piece by piece to be studied.

If you love studying about the Revolutionary War, or American wars, I would highly recommend this book.  The research that was done and details about the war are well worth the effort!

*I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

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Good Clean Food

I'm SO excited about the review I am posting today!  Not only because it's my birthday (woot! woot!) but because I have been following Lily Kunin on her blog Clean Food Dirty City for awhile and was SO excited when I heard that she was coming out with a cookbook!! 

Let me start by saying that cooking is not a passion of mine.  I appreciate good food, and the work that goes into it, but I do not like to be the one doing that work.  

Reading Good Clean Food makes me want do that work!  This book is not a certain "diet" but a beautiful cookbook with each recipe highlighting clean eating in its simplicity.  Each recipe will help you make healthier food choices and there are some delicious recipes to help get you started if you are new to clean eating. 

The recipes in Good Clean Food are are not what you will find in a normal plant-based cookbook.  There are unique recipes for things like hair and face masks, and what's even better is they are easy!  

The recipes call for ingredients that are easy to find which is a major plus for me.  I don't know how many times I've been excited about a cookbook only to go from recipe to recipe and have no idea what some of the ingredients even are!  That is usually the first and last time I pick up that book!

I have to say my favorite part of Good Clean Food has to be the pictures.  The pictures are absolutely stunning and so motivating!  I want to make these recipes! 

Needless to say, this is my new go-to cookbook!  Highly recommend!

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Rise

My past is something that is extremely hard to talk about.  There are glimmers of goodness but the majority of my past is peppered with darkness due to domestic violence.  I survived physical, mental, and emotional abuse and am thankful that I did survive, but telling my story is extremely hard and painful.  Who wants to relive a nightmare?

I love hearing stories about other women who also have survived abuse and commend any woman who can tell her story because personally I am not there yet.  Rise: How A House Built A Family is the story of Cara Brookins, a woman who takes control of her life and family after an extremely abusive situation, and builds her life back while also building her own house.

The premise of this book is intriguing, especially when you have came from an abusive situation yourself.  I can't imagine going through what I went through AND building a house from the ground up!

I wanted to love this book, but it was a hard read for me.  There are FALL chapters, which go into detail about her trials with her two abusive ex-husbands, one who is schizophrenic and continues to terrorize Cara and her children.   These chapters brought back a lot of memories for me, and in that regard, were hard to read.

The RISE chapters go into the details about building your own home and struggles and injuries that the family endured.  I did find these chapters pretty neat since I have helped build a house before but I struggled to get through these chapters.  You feel the author's pain as a mother and a woman, but Cara tends to get a little wordy and it's easy to get lost in the details.

Mixed throughout the book are two characters that are seen in the authors mind while she sleeps and meditates and I thought that whole part of the story was odd.  I could not relate to these "beings" at all and did not think that they were pertinent to the story in my opinion.

My favorite part reading Rise was reading about Cara's four children and how they overcame despite everything they had to endure.  My children were very little when I was going through my own abusive situation and I've always worried about how it would affect them.  These kids dug deep and did what they had to do to build this house and I find that awe-inspiring.  They built a house and they were stronger people for it, both mentally and physically.

Inkwell Manor

The story itself is a wonderful testament of strength, endurance, and focus.  You walk away feeling like you can accomplish anything you set your mind to!   For me, the author's writing style was not in my taste and I don't see me reading any of her other books, but despite my reservations on writing style, I would still recommend this book.  This woman built her own house with the help of YouTube!!  Why would you NOT want to read that story!

*I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

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Talking with God

Prayer has always been something that I've struggled with during my Christian walk.  It's not that I don't pray, but when I do I don't feel like I pray "right."  Words have never been hard for me to come by, but there is something about the pressure of praying to the God of the universe that gets me tongue tied every time.  I know I put too much pressure on myself and apparently I am not alone.

In Talking with God, Adam Weber has a wonderful way of taking off the pressure of prayer with one simple word: relationship.  When you look at prayer as developing a relationship with God it takes the pressure off in a lot of ways.  Think about starting a relationship with another person.  When you start a new relationship with someone, it takes time and attention to help that relationship grow.  The same is true with Jesus.  We need that time and attention both in prayer and in God's Word to help that relationship grow. 

Mr. Weber's own personal stories are sprinkled throughout the book and are the perfect touch.  It's like listening to an old friend instead of reading a book on prayer.  You never feel like Mr. Weber is talking above you, but having a conversation with you, building a beautiful relationship between author and reader.

This book was quick to read but packed full of wonderful nuggets of truth and stories that bring the author's points home and make the truth all so clear.  When you pray, you are literally talking to God.  It really is that simple.  

If, like myself, you've struggled with prayer, I HIGHLY recommend this book.  I no longer feel the burden that I felt before when it comes to prayer.  I am simply having a conversation with my Lord and building a relationship that will last for eternity.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

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