"A Stranger's Secret" Review

Lady Morwenna Trelawny Penvenan made many mistakes in her younger days. Now that she is a young widow and mother, she is determined to make things right for her son, who is the heir to the title of Penvenan. Everything becomes even more complicated when Morewenna is accused of purposely crashing ships off the coast of her land in order to steal their goods. When a mysterious, unconscious stranger washes up on the shore – with the Trelawny medallion around his neck, no less – she really doesn’t know where to turn next. 

David Chastain wants nothing more than to find out what happened to his father and return to his ship-building business. He definitely didn’t plan on being in a shipwreck and winding up under the care of a beautiful lady of the manor.  

As Morwenna and David spend more time together, it is discovered that each may hold secrets that could answer questions for the other. Did Morwenna’s adventurous parents have something to do with the death of David’s father? And does Morwenna have something to do with the multiple attempts to keep David quiet?

As the questions mount, David and Morwenna are drawn together. But can they trust each other enough to find out the truth? 

A Stranger’s Secret is the second in the “Cliffs of Cornwall” series.

When I requested this book, I didn’t realize that it was the second in a series. I knew that it was labeled a ”Cliffs of Cornwall” novel, but it didn’t say anything about it actually being a series. That being said, I was a bit lost through some parts of this book.  

I was able to pick up on most of the background for Morwenna eventually, but the other characters continued to be confusing even as I kept going in the story. The names of the secondary characters were not always recognizable, which made it harder to keep them straight – especially when they were sometimes referred to by their first names and sometimes by their last names. I felt as if I needed a character list at the beginning! And while the main characters were well-drawn, the other ones seemed to just be thrown in here and there when needed. There was a real disconnect between the main characters and the secondary ones, and I don’t really know how that could have been rectified.

 
Even though the characters were sometimes confusing, the overall storyline was good. I liked how Morwenna and David met and the circumstances and emotions that played out during their relationship. As I said earlier, the main characters were much more fleshed out than the others which made me care more about them than I was expecting at the beginning of the book.

The secrets and mysteries in this novel were really what kept it going. At times it became a bit slow when Morwenna and David would start on their inner monologues. But then another part of the mystery would unravel (or poor David would be drugged again – seriously, how many times did that happen?) and the story would again pick up.

As for the spiritual aspect, it was there – David and Morwenna both professed faith in God – but it probably could have been developed a little bit more. I wasn’t completely unsatisfied with how their faith was portrayed. I just thought it needed some more depth to it. I did enjoy Morwenna’s obvious devotion to her young son. Her affection for him was touching, as was her determination to do the best she could for him and for his future.

Overall the plot in A Stranger’s Secret was good even if the characters sometimes made it confusing. 

I will give  A Stranger's Secret ... 3 BookWorms.

A Stranger's Secret
by Laurie Alice Eakes
Zondervan Publishing
Publication date: April 21, 2015
352 pages






Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Zondervan Publishing. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this is accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

"Anchor in the Storm" Review

From the back cover:

In a time of sacrifice, what price can one put on true love?

Nothing slows Lillian Avery down--not her personal challenges and certainly not America's entry into World War II. She finally has a chance to prove herself as a pharmacist in Boston. The demands of her new job energize her. But society boy Ensign Archer Vandenberg's attentions only annoy--even if he is her brother's best friend.

During the darkest days of the war, Arch's destroyer hunts German U-boats in vain as the submarines sink dozens of merchant ships along the East Coast. Still shaken by battles at sea, Arch notices his men also struggle with their nerves--and with drowsiness. Could there be a link to the large prescriptions Lillian has been filling?

As the danger rises on both land and sea, the two must work together to answer that question. But can Arch ever earn Lillian's trust and affection?

My Take: 

Sarah Sundin has become one of my favorite Christian authors over the past few years. I like how her series books can be read separately but also tie together, and her attention to the historical details is amazing.

This latest offering in the Waves of Freedom series was another excellent example of what I like about Ms. Sundin’s books.

After getting to know Arch in the first novel in the series, I was so excited that he was going to be one of the main characters in Anchor in the Storm. I also liked the character of Lillian, and I really liked the two of them together. Getting an up-close look at 1940s pharmacies through Lillian’s profession was fascinating. The historical details are top-notch, especially the descriptions of the town of Boston and the accounts of the sailors on the Navy ships. I had no idea that the German U-boats were able to get that close to the United States during World War II.

The spiritual aspect in Anchor in the Storm was very seamless in its presentation which is something that I really appreciate in a Christian novel. I think it could have gone just a bit deeper, but it was still portrayed very well. One of the best parts of the book was the reference to the hymn My Hope Is Built/The Solid Rock. It’s always been one of my favorites, and I enjoyed how it tied in with the themes in this novel.

When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

In this novel, Arch and Lillian both have internal struggles to deal with that bring them together but then also keep them apart. A romantic plot device that was used in this book was the closest Ms Sundin has ever come to the Big Misunderstanding which was fairly disappointing. I would have liked something else to be the mechanism for keeping them apart for a time as opposed to what was presented. But at that point in the novel, the suspense portion took over and kept the book interesting.

Speaking of the suspense plot of the book – it was so good! Once the mystery portion of the novel got going, I was intrigued, and it kept me interested throughout. I had my suspicions of who was behind everything (and I was right), but that didn’t detract from the mystery plot at all. Anchor in the Storm truly ended up being a page-turner, and one that I stayed up way too late to finish.

I will give Anchor in the Storm...4 BookWorms

Anchor in the Storm
by Sarah Sundin
"Waves of Freedom" #2
Revell Publishing
Publication date: May 3, 2016
400 pages





Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Revell Publishing. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this is accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

The Berenstain Bears "God Made You Special" Review

Quick Overview:

Brother, Sister, and the Bear family meet a young cub named Tommy and are reminded that God has made all of us special in our own way.

Mike Berenstain grew up watching his parents, Stan and Jan, working together to write and draw these lovable bears. Eventually he started drawing and writing about them, too.

Get more information and purchase this book here: http://www.zondervan.com/the-berenstain-bears-god-made-you-special

The Berenstain Bears God Made You Special

Mike Berenstain

Zonderkidz Publishing

24 pages

Ages 4-8

My Take:

We love the Berenstain Bear books at our house. Even with our daughter reading more chapter books lately and leaving her picture books behind, we still pull out the Bears books regularly.

This particular book addresses special needs and how everyone should be treated with care and respect. It emphasizes how everyone is special and unique. I can see how this book could be used to help younger children understand that not everyone is that same and how that should be celebrated.

This Berenstain Bears books does feel a bit different from previous Bear books. I have actually noticed this in some of the more recent publications of the Bear family. The stories seem to be more "sugar-coated, Sunday School-type" stories rather than the humorous, playful, real stories that I grew up with.

That being said, this Bear story fits a real need in our current world, and I know kids will still enjoy it.

I will give The Berenstain Bears God Made You Special ... 4 BookWorms.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this is accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

"Annihilation" Review

Area X has been cut off from the rest of the continent for decades. Nature has reclaimed the last vestiges of human civilization. The first expedition returned with reports of a pristine, Edenic landscape; the second expedition ended in mass suicide; the third expedition in a hail of gunfire as its members turned on one another. The members of the eleventh expedition returned as shadows of their former selves, and within weeks, all had died of cancer. In Annihilation, the first volume of Jeff VanderMeer's “Southern Reach” trilogy, we join the twelfth expedition.

The group is made up of four women: an anthropologist, a surveyor, a psychologist (the de facto leader), and our narrator – a biologist. Their mission is to map the terrain, record all observations of their surroundings and of one another, and – above all – avoid being contaminated by Area X itself.

They arrive expecting the unexpected, and Area X delivers―they discover a massive topographic anomaly and life forms that surpass understanding―but it's the surprises that came across the border with them and the secrets the expedition members are keeping from one another that change everything.

My husband's take:

I am a huge fan of Sci-Fi and fantasy books, and I have been for as long as I can remember. But even I must admit that sometimes they can be a bit cookie cutter. The hero finds him/herself in space/a distant land and must conquer the aliens/dragons and save the love interest. Occasionally you get something different, but that really doesn’t happen too often. 

Now don’t get me wrong – I still love reading these types of books even if it is the same basic story over and over. I’m a fan, and there is something to be said for the familiar. 

However, Annihilation is something different. Very different. So different that it is hard for me to put it into a category or even decide if I liked it or not.

The story is of an expedition in Area X. Actually, this is the story of the 12th expedition in the strange area that has been cut off from the rest of America. Each of the previous expeditions all died in very strange ways, so this expedition is treated differently. Four women with varying skill sets enter the zone, completely alienated from the history of the area and each other. They don’t even know each other’s names. With tensions already high, they start to become affected by Area X and slowly descend into madness.

This book is written from the perspective of one of the four women’s journal entries. The author does a fantastic job of painting a picture of the surroundings and giving you a real grasp of the tension among the four women. One of the women is a psychologist who has given them hypnotic suggestions to try to control them without their knowledge. When the narrator figures this out, she immediately tries to figure out why. Each of the women’s mental state decays throughout the novel, which is actually pretty cool. Our main character sees them all start to lose it but can’t figure out if she is going crazy or not. The descriptions of Area X were amazing, and trying to figure out what happened to the area and the previous expeditions was appealing, too.

But even though parts of this story were interesting, I still felt as if it was missing…something. I’m not sure if “missing” is the right word to use here, but it was definitely lacking in story lines and progressions. There didn’t seem to be much of a story arc – just a slow descent into more questions. And each question that was raised seemed to just lead to more questions. There were no answers – none at all. There were lots of little storylines that looked like they might be promising, but they went no further than a few steps and then veered right back onto the path to nowhere.

It doesn’t help that I didn’t realize this was the first book in a trilogy (I should have known. Is it possible for someone to write a book that isn’t part of a trilogy these days?), so the ending was completely unsatisfying. Maybe there would be more of a story arc over the entire trilogy and maybe those questions would get answers eventually. When I did learn it was a trilogy, the biggest question that came to mind was – is this book good enough for me to want to read two more? And like all of the other questions raised in this novel, I really don’t know the answer to that one, either. 

I will give Annihilation ... 3 BookWorms.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from HarperCollins UK/4th Estate Publishing through NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this is accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."