The All American // Book Review

 

Hi! It's been awhile since posting a book review... I'm slowly working my way out of a reading slump! 

★★★★☆

The All American by Susie Finkbeiner 

This was a new to me author and her writing style proved to be engaging and her characters realistic. The story unfolds from the eyes of two sisters in the 1950s. Their family might live in an ordinary town with ordinary neighbors (who didn’t end up to be too friendly!) but the Harding family was anything but ordinary. 

The father, Will, reminded me of Hugh Jackson who plays P.T. Barnum in The Greatest Showman. He was a dreamer with deep nuggets of wisdom for his children. I like how he took time for each child and really connected with them on their level. 

And funnily enough, I also thought the mom reminded me of Charity Barnum. Someone sophisticated, loyal, and the glue that held the family together.

Even though the book was an equal split between sisters, I felt like Bertha was the main character. She followed in her father’s footsteps and took chances in order to make her dream of being a Sweet Pea come true. I enjoyed reading about her grit, determination, and kindness to her fellow Sweet Pea team. Her relationship with Leo could have been expanded, and I would have liked to see things wrap up with those two at the end.

Flossie’s story was the most entertaining to read. Her character reminded me of Anne of Green Gables (which I’m sure Flossie would approve of this comparison). Even though she was younger, and often acted younger than she was, I loved that she was a devoted bookworm. She was also a good friend, and learned lots about friendships (what really matters in a friend group) along the way. She said what was on her mind, and she was quite dramatic. This made her story very humorous at times. 

Overall, this story was about trials. And how trials can bring families together. This family (though fictional) showed me that life does not always have hallmark endings, but happiness, purpose, and contentment can be found in the thick of uncertain times. I enjoyed learning about The All American Girls Baseball League. I would have liked to hear more about the girls who played alongside Bertha (especially Lucy and her story). I also felt like the whole book ended with some loose ends. More closure would have been nice. One thing I thought was neat was the letters and newspaper clippings sprinkled throughout. A nice touch! 

I enjoyed reading the Harding sister’s story! It was both humorous, melancholy, and deep. Though, thanks to Flossy, I may need to brush up on some of my literary references. *winks* Thank you Revell Reads for a complimentary copy!

What summer books have you been enjoying? 

Many Blessings, 

Brooklyne 

First Review of 2023!!

 

5 stars! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 

My favorite author has once again blown me away with intriguing characters, historical setting, and a page-turner plot! The Sound of Light is a story about rising to courage in uncertainties. Both main characters showed integrity in the face of hardship and their willingness to bend the rules in order to save the lives of their neighbors is an important theme. 

I enjoyed learning about the historical location (Denmark) in WWII. Some of the terminology and language was hard for me to grasp at first, but it’s also one of those things I like best about Sundin’s books. Learning new things!

The ending was a whirlwind but kept me invested in the plot. I felt like this book had slightly less biblical content and I would have liked to see more of it in especially Else’s story. We got more character insight through Hemming as his story was more intriguing. All in all, I enjoyed reading The Sound of Light and can now add it to my growing list of Sarah Sundin favorites! 

——

I know this blog has been inactive for awhile, but if you happen across it again, "hi!" 

Happy Reading! 

The Catch // Book Review

Hallo fellow book readers and suspense lovers! Today I'll be sharing my review for The Catch! 

Back of book: 

"After a harrowing attempt on a judge's life at the courthouse, Deputy US Marshals Madison James and Jonas Quinn are tasked with finding a missing woman and an endangered child in connection to the murder of the judge's wife. What seems like a fairly straightforward case becomes hopelessly tangled when the marshals discover that the woman they are searching for is in witness protection and the Amber Alert put out for the missing child has put two lives in danger.

Madison and Jonas are forced into a race to find the woman and the child before the men who want her dead discover her location. And in a final showdown that could cost her everything, Madison will come face-to-face with the person who murdered her husband.

USA Today bestselling author Lisa Harris concludes her thrilling US Marshals series with this breathless tale of secrets kept, lies exposed, and ultimately, justice prevailing."

My Review: 

⭑⭑⭑⭑⭒

The Catch was a awesome conclusion to the US Marshals series by Lisa Harris. I quite enjoyed getting to go along on this final adventure with Madison and Jonas. The plot was exciting and full of plot twists towards the end. The characters were well developed and relatable. I love how the characters are not portrayed as perfect US Marshals, but they do make mistakes even though they are good at their jobs. I finished this book while on a road trip and it was hard to put down. I look forward to reading other books by this author and I'm super glad I got the chance to read this series through Revell Reads. This might be one of my favorite suspense series I've read! 

(P.S. now I've got my sister reading it!)

I hope y'all have been enjoying these warmer days! Have a happy summer! 

Many Blessings, 

Brooklyne Elysse 

Priorities Change, but this isn't goodbye for good

*crickets chirping... again* 

Hi, hey guys. Probably only a handful of people will see this, but I'm writing this mostly for me.

Four years ago, there was a girl who never skipped a Wednesday blog post. 

She was prompt and organized, her blog was her way to outreach and meet online friends. Four years ago, there was a girl who teased her older sister who had stopped reading due to work, but she was determined to always have time for reading. Sometimes, it feels just like yesterday that I was starting my blog, networking in the blogosphere. Writing for writing contests and doing fun blog tags. Heck, I even did a Q&A video! 

I don't even know where to begin. This blog has such a special place in my heart because it's played a huge role in my story. I've grown so much and changed so much. Because of this blog, I've stepped outside of my comfort zone countless times... Who would have guessed it would have been the reason I had the opportunity to meet online friends!

Priorities change. 

It's weird to think about, but I have two years left of college. This next fall, I'll be starting my Junior year! God has also opened the door to many unexpected things. My summer plans include a few milestone vacations and as much as I'm excited for all the new changes, I've had to put blogging on the back burner. Even reading fiction has slowed down quite a bit (even though I'm still determined it will never stop completely! *winks*) 

Priorities have changed. This isn't goodbye forever, I'll be posting an occasional book review. But for now, I've decided to say goodbye to posting things other than book reviews on Showers of Blessings. 

I'm actually really sad to write this post. Somehow it went from every Wednesday posting like clockwork to not posting for months and I don't know what to blame other than life gets busy and priorities change. God gave me this blog at a time when I needed it. Boy, did I need it. And I look back to see how far He's brought me. If you're reading this right now, if you've read my blog at any time in the last 4 years, I just hope you know how much Jesus loves you. 

I hate change so much but I can't keep up with blog posts anymore. I'm not a author yet but I'm still a writer at heart. Who knows, when I come back to the blogging world, it might be to promote my book! But until then, this blog will be for Revell book reviews. 

I don't know how to end this post other than to say, thank you for reading and following my blog over the years. If you'd like to stay connected, you can find me on Instagram (I don't post that often but when I do, it's like an extension of Showers of Blessings) @brooklyne_elysse and my business page is @windsoffaithco

I truly hope this blog has been a blessing to someone out there. And I know for sure that my story would look a lot different if I hadn't decided to start a blog to share my writing on. I don't regret for one minute all the designing and writing that went into this blog. Each post is certainly not perfect but every one of the 264 posts in this blog have meant something to me and I won't soon forget this little corner of the internet.

Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV "For I know the thoughts I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." 

Psalm 16:11 NKJV "You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore." 

Many Blessings, 
Brooklyne Elysse :)

*P.S. I had every intention to do a giveaway celebrating 4 years of blogging but I didn't get around to it... I may be doing one on Instagram soon though! 

The Lady of Galway Manor - Book Review

 

Book Review 

Back of the Book: 

"In 1920, Annabeth De Lacy's father is appointed landlord of Galway Parish in Ireland. Bored without all the trappings of the British Court, Annabeth convinces her father to arrange an apprenticeship for her with the Jennings family--descendants of the creator of the famed Claddagh Ring. 

Stephen Jennings longs to do anything other than run his family's jewelry shop. Having had his heart broken, he no longer believes in love and is weary of peddling the "lies" the Claddagh Ring promises. 

Meanwhile, as the war for Irish independence gains strength, many locals resent the De Lacys and decide to take things into their own hands to display their displeasure. As events take a dangerous turn for Annabeth and her family, she and Stephen begin to see that perhaps the "other side" isn't quite as barbaric and uncultured as they'd been led to believe--and that the bonds of friendship, love, and loyalty are only made stronger when put through the refiner's fire.

Travel to the Emerald Isle for another poignant and romantic story from the enchanted pen of Jennifer Deibel."

My Review: 

⭑⭑⭑⭑⭒

What a fun and summery read! The Lady of Galway Manor was a light historical read that had me day dreaming about what it would be like to see Ireland in the 1920s. I loved the descriptions to this book and the characters were great too! The fact that it was centered around a jewelry shop was also unique and I liked getting the behind-the-scenes descriptions to making jewelry. 

Annabeth was a fun main character. Her role was the optimistic one, she always saw things through different lenses. Her view of the world around her was refreshing and even though she was naive at times, she always put others above herself. I definitely enjoyed watching her character grow and I admire her thoughtfulness and faith in God. Stephen was a bit stubborn at first, but his character grew on me. One of the side characters that I will mention is Stephen's dad, Seamus. He was a hoot, his antics and wisdom found a great balance. 

Towards the end of the book, the plot fell a bit flat for me, the excitement wasn't that exciting and the reasoning behind the climax didn't feel valid to me. Despite this, the historical details, fun characters, and cool setting made this book worth the read! I'd recommend this book to historical fiction lovers! 

Thanks Revell Reads for a complementary copy of this new release! 

Many Blessings, 

Brooklyne Elysse

Sunrise // Book Review

Hello friends! It's time for another book review! Unfortunately, I missed the deadline for this one, so I'm just getting around to posting it. 

Back of the book blurb: 

Pilot Dodge Kingston has always been the heir to Sky King Ranch. But after a terrible family fight, he left to become a pararescue jumper. A decade later, he's headed home to the destiny that awaits him.

That's not all that's waiting for Dodge. His childhood best friend and former flame, Echo Yazzie, is a true Alaskan--a homesteader, dogsledder, and research guide for the DNR. Most of all, she's living a life Dodge knows could get her killed. One of these days she's going to get lost in the woods again, and his worst fear is that he won't be there to find her.

When one of Echo's fellow researchers goes missing, Echo sets out to find her, despite a blizzard, a rogue grizzly haunting the woods, and the biting cold. Plus, there's more than just the regular dangers of the Alaskan forests stalking her . . .

Will Dodge be able to find her in time? And if he does, is there still room for him in her heart?

Sunrise is the first explosive volume in a new nail-biting series from USA Today bestselling author Susan May Warren.

My Review:

⭑⭑⭒⭒⭒

This was my first book by Susan May Warren. Although the storyline and characters fell flat for me, I was amazed by this book's vivid descriptions! The gorgeous cover paints a picture of the setting, but this authors descriptive writing style really brings the scenery alive! 

The characters each had dramatic backstories and getting to see how each overcame their past was nice, however, I couldn't relate to either of them and I felt like the drama was drawn out.

I really liked the names in this book, Echo, Dodge, Peyton, Idaho, Colt, etc! Even the dogs had unique and interesting names!

Sunrise just didn't grab my attention and there was no substance to the story. However, there were scenes that tried to make it exciting. I appreciate the effort made to give this story Christian themes. There was main themes of love and how love doesn't run away. But also there were themes of forgiveness and starting fresh. 

Overall, this book is a nice story of finding what matters most. It has unique characters (with unique jobs) and for a contemporary book, it gives some quaint, small town Alaska vibes. (Small towns are the best!) The descriptions are stunning and yet the plot felt overused and dull to me. I'd recommend this book to someone who likes a bit of drama, animals (dogs, bear, chickens, etc), and mild adventure. 

~~~

What was your last 2 star read? Have you read any books by Susan May Warren? Do you like sled dogs or Alaska? (I think it would be such a cool place to visit!)

Comment below! 

Many blessings,

Brooklyne :)

P.S. Keep your eye out for a giveaway happening soooonnn! 

Happy 4 Years of Blogging!!

Friendsss, I can't believe its been four whole years! *throws confetti* 

Today marks 4 amazing years of running this blog and to celebrate, I'm throwing together this quick post to say that I'll be officially celebrating in a couple weeks.... I know, this means I'm a terrible blogger, but as I sit down to write this, I'm recovering from a snow skiing wipe out and trying to wrap up my last school week for this sub-term. Life has been full of busy schedules and scrambling to meet deadlines so I have had next to none time to actually write blog posts. Hints my absence... 

But I just HAD to post on my 4 year blogging anniversary and I promise to post a more official celebratory post soonnnnn! 

But until then, I hope y'all are staying warm and I've missed interacting on this little corner of the internet. 

Posts coming: 

-photo dump

-Never seen before snippets off my earliest writing!!

-a giveaway? (vote in the comments if you think this is a fun idea!) 

-Book review and maybe a lil' life update 

I'm excited for spring break, and hopefully in that time I'll be able to write up some posts to celebrate 4 years of Showers of Blessings (I literally can't believe it's been that long!) 

Thanks for reading my blog over the years and I know it hasn't been tons active lately, but yeah... some other priorities have gotten in the way. *facepalm*

When did you find my blog? What's been happening around the blogosphere while I've been away??

Many Blessings, 

Brooklyne :)