Love and Other Consolation Prizes by Jamie Ford
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free digital ARC copy of this book.

I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. It reminds me of a Nicolas Sparks book...kind of like the Notebook. It is such an emotional love story of two world's fairs and the events in between that led to a wonderful marriage.

The book begins with a Chinese American man who is watching the World's Fair from afar because he can't bear enjoying it without the love of his life who is suffering from dementia. The book goes back in time to let the reader peer into the time when they first met and their blossoming relationship through the years.

This is a very sweet book about the love that the older couple has for each other. The contrast of the character of the wife before and after her dementia is very saddening and emotional.

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The Han Agent by Amy Rogers

The Han Agent by Amy Rogers
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to preview a digital ARC of this book.

I enjoy medical fiction. I was looking forward to reading this book, but it disappointed a little bit. First of all, when I requested it, I don't think I realized that it was a series. I typically don't like reading series books, and I felt the same about this one.

The main character is a female scientist who is doing research on a type of flu. She is terminated from her position at a university and moves to Japan to work with her brother. While in Japan, she gets caught up with the conflict between China and Japan and territorial battles over some islands.

Honestly, I couldn't get past the first half of the book because it was moving too slow and had too many subplots. I was very interested to get into the actual conflict of the bio warfare, but it was moving too slow.


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Friend Request by Laura Marshall

Friend Request by Laura Marshall
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free digital ARC of Friend Request.

I was glad to finally read my version of a 5-star book! It seems like I haven't reviewed a good fiction book in a while. The best part of this book was the twists and turns. I changed my mind about how the book was going to turn out countless times and the ending still surprised me!

The book is told from the eyes of Louise, a divorced single mother. Her life was going well. She had a beautiful, healthy child, a great and prosperous career, etc. One day out of the blue she receives a Facebook friend request from an old school friend, Maria. The problem was that Maria was supposed to have drowned after a school dance while they were in high school.

Louise's life was turned upside down from the time of the friend request. She accepts it, and with the reception of the friend request she also accepts much guilt and fear from what she has done in the past.

Through the friend request, she also learns that there will be a high school reunion coming up which will reunite many of the students involved in what happened to Maria.

This book will keep you guessing until the very end.


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One Minute with Jesus for Women by Hope Lyda

One Minute with Jesus for Women Milano Softone™ by Hope Lyda
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me a digital ARC of this book.

Each chapter is laid out with several Bible verses corresponding to different areas of a woman's life that she might be having problems with. My favorite chapter was "contentment". After the Bible verses, there were several very short devotionals from the author on the topic. I found the topics very relatable as a woman, the devotions were good. They would be perfect as a quick devotional on the go. For some reason, I just couldn't "get into" the devotionals like I do with many. I think most people would really enjoy this book.

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Fever by Devon Meyer

Fever by Deon Meyer
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for a free digital ARC of this book.

After a terrible virus wiped out most of the world's population, Nico Storm and his dad are looking to rebuild their world in a new community called Amanzi. The story is about their survival and their friendships with new acquaintances who are also looking to become part of this Amanzi.

Apocalyptic books always fascinate me. It is so hard to conceive in my mind what it would be like to live in a world where most of the population has been destroyed. I believe the author did a very good job of creating a realistic tale of what the world might be like in such conditions. The story is told from the eyes of Nico, who is fairly young at the time.

Unfortunately, I had a hard time finishing this book. It seemed like the plot was a little slow.

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The Gospel Centered Mom: The Freeing Truth About What Your Kids Really Need

The Gospel-Centered Mom: The Freeing Truth About What Your Kids Really Need by Brooke McGlothlin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free digital ARC in advance for an honest review.

What a God send this book was!!! Mrs. McGlothlin dives into the root of why mothers spend most of their lives feeling like failures. The part of the title "The Freeing Truth About What Your Kids Really Need" is a wonderful description of this book. The author is very honest and gives her own stories of failures with her 2 strong-willed boys. At the end of each chapter she gives the "hard truth" and the "beautiful truth". She uses many Bible verses and stories from the Bible (including Hosea and Gomer) to back up what she says.

I wish I could afford to buy a copy of this book for each Christian mom I know. It has been such a help to me. I have a feeling I will be reading it again and again.

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Who Knew? by Sarah Herman

Who Knew? by Sarah Herman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the free digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed reading this fun-fact-filled book. The book is categorized by different sorts of facts like animals, weather, space, sports, science etc. It is easy to read, but at the same time gives the reader "food for thought". I'll admit that I already knew some of the facts in the book, but I did learn a few things too.

This would be a great book for a school library or classroom.

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