Fearfully Wonderfully Me

Growing in God and Inspiring Young Women Through Faith and Fashion

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Uninvited By Beckie Lindsey--A Book Review

Uninvited By Beckie Lindsey–A Book Review

August 14, 2019 / / 2 Comments

Sometimes we read books that touch our lives in a thoughtful or emotional way . Then there are books that really transform us; books that become a part of our souls and influence how we view the world. 

Beauties from Ashes, a young adult book series by fellow blogger and author Beckie Lindsey, has transformed my way of thinking about prayer and spiritual warfare. 

I’ve already reviewed book one, Secrets, here. And now I’d like to share my thoughts on book two, Uninvited. 

Faith Meets Fiction  

I bought a hard copy of Uninvited not only because I love the feeling of holding an actual book in my hands, but because the cover art is so cool! Thankfully the content lives up to the alluring cover. 

Uninvited continues the stories of Krystal, Mackenzie, Tammi, and Sadie as their present lives mix with their traumatic pasts and intertwine with one another.

These characters are real and relatable, without falling into the “teenage girl” stereotype. I like how Beckie mixes strength and vulnerability into all of her characters. 

The plot of Uninvited is driven by the collision of present events and the secrets of each girl’s past. There’s friendship and boy drama, along with some real life issues such as eating disorders, sexual abuse, depression, and abortion. 

All of these topics are explored in a realistic way that is still appropriate for most teen readers. Premarital sex is also a topic that Beckie writes about, and I believe she does it in a believable way that is still God honoring. 

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Uninvited by Beckie Lindsey

(Photo owned by Beckie Lindsey)

Supernatural Suspense 

One of my favorite aspects of the Beauties from Ashes series is how Beckie portrays spiritual warfare. Angels and demons are interwoven throughout the story as they battle for the souls of the main characters. 

Fans of books like the Screwtape Letters or This Present Darkness will love the way the supernatural collides with the everyday world, and how prayer changes the course of these girls’ lives. 

Overall, I would say that Uninvited is my favorite book of the series yet! It has drama, humor, romance, and the spiritual element that drives the plot into supernatural suspense. 

And if you love cliffhangers, Uninvited ends on one so big that I’m thankful the third book, Daybreak, is already on sale! You can find the links to these awesome books below. 

What about you, lovely one? Do you have any awesome book recommendations? Please comment below! 🙂 

Order Secrets, Uninvited, and Daybreak here! 

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Content on this website is copyrighted and may not be used, sold, or distributed without the author’s written permission. 

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Reluctant to Wed: A Book Review

July 18, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Hello lovely readers and followers! Today I am reviewing the book Reluctant to Wed by the lovely Anneliese Dalaba. This is a special opportunity for me, as Anneliese is the wife of my former pastor. I had no idea she was a writer, so when I found out about her book, I knew I needed to check it out!

(Note: This is not a paid review or sponsored post. All opinions are my own.)

Reluctant to Wed is a regency period romance novel that centers on Emma, a young woman from a small farm town in Pennsylvania. In order to save her family’s farm, Emma agrees to move to England and marry the Earl of Devonport (also known as Devon).

Emma dreams of a marriage full of love and faith, but Devon is looking for a marriage solely of convenience. Due to hidden fears from his past, he is unable to trust women and marriage. However, Emma’s beauty and forthright personality begin to awaken his heart for her. Unfortunately, circumstances and people from their past may keep Emma from her dream marriage.  

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Reluctant to Wed: A Book Review

(Image Source)

Characters

Once I read about the premise, I was drawn to the story immediately. I’m not well read in the regency period genre, but Emma is the type of main character that I could see Jane Austen dreaming up.

I love character driven plots, which is what Reluctant to Wed is. Emma is sincere and straightforward, especially for a woman of that time period. Reading about her transition from an American farm girl to a British lady in high society intrigued me. Although Emma lacked any major flaws, I still felt she was a believable character.

Devon, the second protagonist, was definitely a favorite character of mine. I loved him and hated him at the same time! Although I could tell he was a man of integrity and had growing feelings for Emma, he was also stubborn and haunted, leading him to make poor decisions.

Anneliese also knows how to draw a reader into the lives of the supporting characters. I was especially fond of Emma’s maid, Bessie. I would really love to hear more about her life story in a separate novel–she is that dynamic!

Favorite Quotes

Learning to accept whatever life handed to her was her goal, and she would not allow anything to bring her down. Her faith was in God and she trusted Him to see her through. (p. 50)

She’d rather hurt because she dared to love than to become bitter and gain a cold heart. (p. 136)

Devon watched her walk gracefully across the room to the door. She was grace and fire. (p. 41)

Reluctant to Wed: A Book Review

Final Thoughts

In addition to the interesting characters and premise, I also enjoyed the plot of Reluctant to Wed. Although the pace was slower at times, every sentence was valuable in building Emma and Devon’s world and moving the story along.

I also love the way Anneliese wove the message of the Gospel and Godly values into every chapter. There are many romance novels claiming to be Christian, but don’t even mention the name of Jesus. Anneliese made God a main character in the story in a refreshing way.

I also appreciate that this novel was clean. Although the reader can tell that Emma and Devon are attracted to one another, it is not overdone. Any mention of sex was referenced in their marriage and in a tasteful way. This novel would be appropriate for most teens.

Overall, I highly recommend Reluctant to Wed. If you like romance or regency period novels, then this is a novel you will enjoy. It’s filled with romance, drama, suspense, and even moments that made me laugh aloud.

I look up to Emma’s character as a great role model of a strong, humble, and Godly young woman. If you’re ready to fall in love with a great story and dynamic characters, then you’ll definitely fall for Reluctant to Wed.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below 🙂

(Photography by Joanna Kosinska and Vinicius Henrique)

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Book Review: Sketchy Tacos by Meg D. Gonzalez

March 8, 2017 / / 2 Comments

Hello lovely readers and followers! Today I am writing a book review for a wonderful blogger and author, Meg D. Gonzalez.  Meg was kind enough to send me a free copy of her latest book, Sketchy Tacos, for an honest review.

Summary

Sketchy Tacos is a young adult novel that centers on Mila Gulick, a teen sketch artist who takes a summer trip to Mexico in order to learn about the culture and language–and to get away from her overbearing mother. While staying with her host family, Mila makes both friends and enemies. She also gets entangled in a love triangle, and must learn to be independent as she finds her purpose.

Character Development

What I love about Mila is that she is a character I can easily relate to. Her mother demands perfection from her, which causes great stress and anxiety for Mila. Although I am the source of my own useless perfectionism, I still cringed as I dove deep into Mila’s emotions of inadequacy. Even though I am not an artist, being a writer is an art of its own, and it can bring great self-doubt. Mila definitely grows and develops in her confidence in God throughout the course of the novel.

The development of Mila’s relationships is also well done in this fast read. She has a tumultuous relationship with her host family’s daughter, as well as one of the love interests, and in these relationships we see a lot of growth for Mila. I found myself rooting for Mila and the other characters, and I was happy how the relationship developed between Mila and her mother.

Romance

The love triangle was pretty predictable, and you will easily guess which guy Mila ends up with. That being said, this predictability does not take away from the enjoyment of the story. The two guys Mila gets involved with actually have a mysterious past with each other that unfolds in a surprising way. The romance is sweet and clean enough for teens. And of course, Mila’s reactions are very relatable.

Faith

Although Mila is from a Christian home, she is just in the beginning of her faith walk with Jesus. As she explores Mexican culture and the church her host family is a part of, we get to see her faith grow as she discovers how to use her talents to glorify God. Gonzalez did a great job incorporating faith in a relatable, “non-preachy” way that anyone can appreciate.

This book also focuses on some tough issues. Mila often faces choices that could compromise her integrity and honesty. There are definitely moments that made me cringe as I wished I could talk Mila through the situations she found herself in, but these were also the moments that really drew me into the story.  

Conclusion

I really did enjoy reading Sketchy Tacos. It was a fast read, with relatable characters and good development. The pacing was a little slow in the beginning, but it really picked up toward the second half of the book. Although there were some predictable moments in Mila’s romantic relationships, they were well-developed and joyful to read. I also learned a lot about Mexican culture, which is something I am not very familiar with.

I would definitely recommend this book to a friend, and I hope you all give it a read as well!

You can find a copy of Sketchy Tacos here.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below 🙂

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Book Review: Unoffendable by Brant Hansen

August 31, 2015 / / 4 Comments

(Check out Unoffendable here)

I have never done a book review before, but I guess there’s a first time for everything. I recently read a book I got for my birthday called Unoffendable–How Just One Change Can Make All of Life Better. The author is Brant Hansen–a Christian radio host who is both awesome and hilarious. He can talk about Jesus and toast in the same half hour with flawless ease.

Anyway, the topic of Unoffendable is one that is both hard to talk about but desperately needed: letting go of anger. Brant (and yes, I’m using his first name because I listen to him so much I feel like he’s my friend), is addressing the very thing that is plaguing social media comments and online forums.

The whole world seems to be angry, especially Christians. There are so many injustices in this world, and sin is running rampant. Something must be done! How can this Brant guy possibly tell us to get rid of our anger. Well, he does. And even though it feels like ripping off a band-aid, it truly does bring a spark of revelation and ultimately healing.

Brant shows us that even though feeling angry comes naturally, we have the ultimate choice to either hold on to it or let it go. This is something that can be hard to accept because we all think that our anger is just and righteous. However, Brant lovingly destroys the concept of “righteous anger” for us all.

Truth is, we want Jesus to leave our self-righteousness intact. He wants to smash it. –Brant Hansen, Unoffendable (pg. 70)

Even though this book brought up some challenging topics, it is very easy to read and is quite humorous. Brant humbles himself with funny and inspiring stories. He also came up with some hilarious chapter titles like Bert, Ernie and Satan and Reverend of the Dumpster. 

I can’t really think of anything I didn’t like about Unoffendable. Although it did call me out on some things, I truly appreciated Brant’s honesty and his ability to be refreshingly relatable to his readers.

Without giving away any spoilers, I cant tell you that Unoffenable had three main points:

  1. We have no right to anger–this is hard to grasp at first, but Brant breaks it down very practically.
  2. Humility–In order to let go of anger, we must learn humility before God. Brant reminds us of our place before God.
  3. God’s amazing grace–How no one gets what they deserve (and how blessed we are for that!).

I hope you all enjoyed this review! Go check out this awesome book. I don’t think you will be disappointed.

(Note–I am not being sponsored by a publisher or the author. I simply like this book and wanted to review it. No money is involved.)

Don’t condemn the culture; redeem it. –Brant Hansen, Unoffendable (Pg. 84)

Thanks for reading! Please feel free to comment and share 🙂

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