Tuesday, December 30, 2014

21 Things the Devil Cannot Do by Duane Vander Klok


"21 Things The Devil Cannot Do" by Duane Vander Klok is a book where the title tells you what it is about.  This book is not at all on the same level as the previous book I read about satan and demons.  The author is all over the place to me.  They were some good points in it such as not dating an unbeliever so that you can bring them to Christ as that can cause big troubles. One point he made that told that is was more about his opinion than scripture that the devil cannot understand the Bible.  My understanding is that devil will and does twist scripture looks at the first sin with Adam and Eve or even the temptation of Christ the devil knew the word of God twisted it to his liking.  Then in another chapter of the book the author talks about how the devil can't harm you but if you are negative you are cursing yourself.  Excuse me where does it say that we are more harming that the devil.  Also if being negative is a sin then why did Jesus himself call the pharisee white washed tombs that doesn't sound positive to me.  So this book is a big thumbs down for me.

I was given this book by Chosen a division of Baker Publishing Group for my honest review.

50 Things You Need to Know About Satan and Demons

 "50 Things You Need To Know About Satan and Demons" by Mark H. Muska is compressed book that answers the most asked questions about Satan and Demons. At first I was leery of this book as I was wondering if the author was going to give more credit to satan but he did not do that.  He points out that satan is a created being that rebelled not at all equal with God.  Which in today's society people seem to think he has equal footing with God, so not true.  He backs everything he writes with scripture and not just his opinion which is very nice as some on this subject just go with their feelings about it not scripture.  He even touches subjects that most people won't for example, Is fortune-telling demonic or the question is it wrong to watch movies or read books about the occult.   I was very impressed by this book so I highly recommend it especially for quick reference guide.  But always use the scriptures as your finally authority.

I was given this book by Bethany House Publishers for my honest review.

Thursday, December 18, 2014

The Patmos Deception by Davis Bunn



Before Reading

About the Book from Amazon
The Patmos Deception
Nick Hennessy, a young Texas journalist yearning for his big break, finds himself in Europe--his assignment, to investigate the alarming disappearance of invaluable Grecian antiquities. Nick has the credentials--and cover ID--to unearth the truth. And he knows just the researcher to help him...

Carey Mathers, fresh from her studies in forensic archeology, has accepted a job with the prestigious Athens Institute for Antiquities--a dream come true, really, particularly when the Greek isle of Patmos, where the Apostle John received his vision of the Apocalypse, was a particular focus of her research.

Dimitri Rubinos, for whom the Greek islands represent his life, holds on by his fingernails to the family charter boat business. But his country's economic chaos isn't the only thing that has turned his world on its head...

My expectations


I was expecting a solid mystery with what is the norm in almost all Christian literature a little romance. If I remember right I have never read any of this authors books so I was not sure what I was getting into with him (I read a lot of different authors so I don't always remember which ones I have read).  The cover was part of the reasoning I requested this book from Harvest house as it really appalled to me. 


Critique
Were my expectations met?
No the story did not develop enough or go fast enough for me.  I would start getting into it and then the tone would change just slightly but enough to slow me down.


Prose & Dialogue 

The author did write an excellent story that flowed well.  One point that bothered me was that for first third of the book I kept getting reminded over and over again that the story was in Greece and about Greek artifacts.  I started thinking I am I watching My Big Fat Greek Wedding listening to the dad talk non stop about Greece. Other than that portion it was well written but just not my style.


Characters 

The character of Carey Mathers was kinda of dull except when discussing her obsession/crush as a little girl to her childhood friend's big brother Nick Hennessy.  While Nick was a little more interesting even when he was discussing when he went from seeing Carey as his little brother's friend to a beautiful adult women.  Dimitri was the wild card character as he is a local man who has an interest in Carey.  One set of characters that was at the beginning of the book I would love to have read more about was Carey's grandparents.  Her grandmother was the over bearing type while he grandpa had a good clear head on his shoulders, the interaction of those two characters were fun.

Pace & Romantic Tension
The pace of this story for me was very slow, I just had a hard time getting into. The main plot moved too slow for my taste not enough action, I am a fan of mysteries with a lot of action.  Truthfully there really wasn't much if any romantic tension which is what I would expect in any book that was supposed to have some romance in it.  Thankfully there was nothing inappropriate in the romance which is actually starting to be common in even Christian novels.

Audience and entertainment
This book would be good for Christians and non-Christians alike it is a good clean slightly romance story just not my cup of tea.  I will admit if the story had a little tweaks to the story added I could see it as a great movie.

Conclusion

I had a real hard time getting into this book it was well written but the story fell flat for me.  The three main characters at first where interesting especially their back stories but then when I got into more of their current issues together now the story just fell apart for me.  At first I thought the mystery/suspense would take over the story like other stories have done when the characters are dull and lifeless. But nope not in this case.  The romance portion of the story just wasn't there and it needed to be there (this is unusually for me to write as I am not a romance type reader).  However to each their own it is an ok clean read just not my type.  So I will recommend it as one for people to try out for themselves.  3 Stars (great cover, ok story and had potential)

I was given this book by Harvest House Publishers for my honest reviews and was not required to give it a positive review.


Monday, December 15, 2014

Refinery 29 Style Stalking


"Refinery 29, Style Stalking" is a very neat fashion books that is all about breaking most of the fashion industries rules with our own different rules. I picked this book to review as it seemed to be a way to encourage women to be confident in their style like the book "Advanced Style" does with senior women.  This book breaks down different section of style like jeans, good vintage, tomboy style and other styles.  I really enjoyed this book as it gives tips on each style but doesn't tell you how to dress but gives you suggestions on to style your look to be you and unique.  Even tips on each season and using one item in three different ways.  I loved how it did not tell you that you have to wear things certain ways but how to style yourself to be class with funkiness but not blandness.  My style has always been different and usually fashion books discourage uniqueness but this does not it encourages it.  I highly recommend this book its a fun read especially after reading advanced style.  

I was given this book by Blogging For Books for my honest review and was not required to give a positive review.

Monday, December 8, 2014

Weird post/thought

This is just a weird post and thought.  Well after ten years of being skirts and dresses only while rarely ever wearing pants I am back to wearing jeans on and off.  A couple months ago  my hubby bought me a pair of pants from Goodwill to wear while hunting with him.  Well anyway while I was hiking around with him and it dawned on us that my hip did not pop out of place once while hiking like it usually does when I wear skirts hiking or walking a lot.  So now I am back to wearing jeans but  I still wear skirts and dresses.  Now when we went to Goodwill and Walmart around the same time to buy a couple of cheap pairs at first I was like ugh I will have to deal with low waist jeans not knowing that they would work best for me.  Ok women's high waisted jeans have always been to short in the legs for me so in the past I used to only buy jeans in men's before going skirts only.  I have a weird shape, long legs and long torso with broad shoulders (men's clothes used to fit me better than women's even when I was anorexic as a teen I know weird).  So I was shocked that the style of low waisted women's jeans actually fit me very well and are modest for me (shirts are still an issue getting them long enough so I just layer but that was problem when I was skirts only also).  Such a blessing.   I know odd out there post but I just wanted to post this.

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Portlandia Cookbook


"The Portandia Cook Book" is an excellent cookbook for fans of the show Portlandia.  Now most of my readers will have not heard of the show so I will warn you right now not all the skits are decent (I have learned which characters to skip).  Portlandia takes the uniqueness of Portland, Oregon and makes fun of it.  And I love the city of Portland I know as a conservative Christian how can I love a city that is so very liberal and out there.  Well number 1.  I love the unique aspects of it, 2.  The mission field there is huge 3.  People that live there are more honest about what they believe than where I am at right now (fake fronts are a big part of life here).  Anyway back to the book it has many different recipes some you were foods talked about in the show like the  Craig's Crazy Guac Tacs.  Plus other recipes that fit with the style of the show.  Also there is comments from some of the characters and other notes.  I have already tried one recipe and the part of our family that could eat it loved it. It was the Babysitter's Mac and Cheese oh so so good. Not the best picture but here is a picture of it.

I can't wait to try more recipes from this fun cookbook (how often can you call a cookbook fun?). I recommend this cookbook for anyone who wants an odd cookbook or is a fan of Portlandia.
I was given this book from Blogging for Books for my honest review and not required to give a positive review.

Thoughts on my hubby

27 years ago was the summer before my senior year in high school and I went for a walk that would change my life forever.  I just wanted to ...