Easter Stories

 

 

Easter Stories: Classic Tales for the Holy Season is a collection of stories by various writers. Some are well know like C.S. Lewis, Leo Tolstoy, and Oscar Wilde and some are less known at least by me. The collection begins with a poem by Jayne Tyson Clement called Carol of Hope and it is followed by 27 more short stories that make great devotionals leading up to Easter but could also be enjoyed any time of the year.  They are written like fables and have an underlying meaning about Christ and his love for us. One of my favorites was Robin Redbreast by Selma Lagerlof. It was a story about a Robin waiting on its red breast and wondering why he was gray, a story about God completing us when He is ready.

If you are looking for a good family devotion to teach your children the true meaning of Easter, to teach them it’s not about eggs and Easter bunnies this would be a great book. Each story is short enough that it doesn’t take a long time to read and discuss. It is also good for an individual devotion time just to prepare your heart and a time to reflect on just what Christ has done for us.

I received this book at no charge from Handlebar Publishing in exchange for an honest  review.

Trisha's Table

Trisha’s Table: My Feel Good Favorites for a Balanced Life by Trisha Yearwood has some wonderful looking recipes in it. I haven’t prepared anything from the cookbook yet bet there is so many recipes in it that I want to try.

Now this cookbook isn’t what I would typically think of when I watch her cook these recipes seem to have a little more of a healthy twist to her southern cooking. Some of which I probably wouldn’t care too much for myself. This probably wouldn’t be my go to cookbook but that’s not to say that there aren’t plenty of recipes that I want to try.

It is very well illustrated with beautiful photography of the prepared dishes. And most look mouth watering. There is a black bean chili and rice recipe for those who want to eliminate meat from a meal, oh and a wonderful looking slow cooker Georgia pulled pork barbecue for the meat lovers.  I believe this cookbook that is offering healthier versions of what normally could be not so healthy comfort foods. Then there are some yummy desserts: chocolate angel food cake with strawberries, brownie batter cookies, key lime cheesecake with raspberry sauce. Okay so not all of it is healthy haha.

I would recommend this cookbook to others. I received this book from www.bloggingforbooks.com at no charge in exchange for an honest review.

Still Life

 

Still Life by Christa Parrish left me a little uncertain about how I feel about this novel. It is a novel about Ada who was raised in a strict, religious sect who married an outsider, Julian Goetz and a lady Katherine who has a troubled marriage. I didn’t hate this book but it probably isn’t one that I absolutely love either. It was just an okay read for me.

First, the description of the book doesn’t quite add up to the story inside but it’s close.  It was a little misleading. I maybe expected something a little different. Ms. Parrish wrote this book in a format that is a little different than most books that I have read which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I kind of enjoyed the format. The characters were pretty believable but it seemed there wasn’t much of a connection made. It is almost as if the story includes too much information trying to be crammed into one book. I would have probably enjoyed the book more if I felt the characters connected with each other on a more personal level throughout.

Secondly, I felt heartbroken that such a weak woman lost so much in such a short period of time. It was nice to be able to feel the characters and follow them. I just wish their story was a little deeper and we were allowed a deeper insight to their lives. I believe the concept of the storyline is a good one. It needed to be pulled together just a little better.

I wish the ending had been a little more detailed and pulled together. It was almost as if the book was made to end just a little too soon and didn’t get a proper finish. It probably needed a prologue with the way it ended. I would have liked to have seen Katherine and Ada to come together a little better.

I’ve listed several negatives but the book still had its good points. I read it pretty quickly and did enjoy the characters. The overall plot was a good one and I did find myself wanting to keep reading it.

I received this book at no charge from www.booklookbloggers.com in exchange for an honest review.

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