I’m still trying to figure out how we got here, but since it’s officially July, it looks like it’s time for another quarterly update! I hesitated with the title on this one, and also wasn’t sure if I was even going to do one this time since I also did the Mid-Year Freak-out Tag, plus I’ll (hopefully) have a June wrap-up, and yeah… But I also decided to go ahead since the format and set-up of each post was a little different, and consistency is key, right?
My last quarterly post was back in April, and in many ways that seems to have been a lifetime ago. But, looking back a little farther, those first three months were pretty jam packed and challenging too. This year is completely different from last year in so many ways, but has it’s own share of challenges and trials. It’s been quite a year already, and we’re only just past the mid-point.
But just as their have been hardships, there have also been a good number of blessings and unexpected twists for the better as well. God is so good to His children, and has been with us through it all. He has used the trials of the last few years to hone and train us up, and this year seems to be a testing ground for all those skills and lessons we’ve been learning in previous years. It’s been interesting to see, and oh so comforting to know that He is with us through it all. The strengthened faith and trust in Him is a priceless gift, and something I’m more and more thankful for with each passing day.
April
This was an intense story, but I expected that. I wasn’t quite prepared for that opening scene, but then again I guess given the topic and area they were in, it makes sense. What am I talking about, you ask? The story talks about missionaries who are attempting to smuggle Bible into some of the more hostile countries in the world, and it’s not an easy job and definitely for the faint of heart.
The story was fun, I could have done without all the little mermaid jokes though. I know the next book will be worse for that, but might hopefully also provide some answers. I’m still undecided if I’m going to continue reading this series though. On the one hand, I loved meeting Keith and his team, and it does offer an interesting look into an area of missionary work that I don’t often see talked about. But the pop-culture references and especially one charismatic scene where it talked about the Holy spirit causing a ‘high’ feeling…Yeah, nope. Definitely not Biblical, no matter how many people and churches are stating otherwise.
There was also a scene with morphine that, while it made sense was a bit… Well, nothing happens but it’s clear that things could have gotten out of hand in a heartbeat and yeah, not sure how the rest of the series will look with this being the first book, and while I’m curious to know, I also don’t know if it’s worth it to continue the series to find out. I’m torn on this one for now.
I love-hated Suchy’s first book, and then read the first version of When Forever Comes. In Secrets, Lies, and Deadly Ties it was the mask wearing secret society and sorority elements that I struggled with. Neither are godly, and knowing this made me extremely uncomfortable reading about them in the book. I loved Reed though and the faith showed real people dealing with real challenges and trying to live out their faith as best as they could, which I loved.
Then in When Forever Comes, I wasn’t impressed with the original version at all, and got far too much ‘vampire angst’ from the whole thing. But upon realizing that she rewrote it, I worked it out and agreed to reread it, but this time the edited and expanded version. And I really enjoyed it!
But that was a few years ago, and as much as I’d changed night-and-day then, I’ve continued to change and my reading tastes have also changes and likely matured in that time too.
So, I’d been excitedly awaiting this one for a while, but there were some *ahem* secrets that might have made me decide to skip it had I known beforehand. It wasn’t bad, but the FMC struggles with feelings of loneliness, and her faith takes a hit as a result. The MMC has amnesia but is also… well you’ll have to read it to find out, but he is a recovering/converted … and therefore still has some *uh* bad habits? The story just focused a little too much on physical attraction and the body’s reaction to being near someone you’re attracted to. We kept getting descriptions of how they ‘felt’ and the desires they had for each other, and there were even a few inappropriate innuendo (which, I mean I get it he’s a former …) but yeah. Justifying it doesn’t make it good or less problematic.
I definitely wasn’t comfortable recommending this one to other Christians, and would worry that it might even cause some to stumble or at least not take these issues seriously when scripture tells us that they are very serious, and even our thoughts are enough to cause us to fall into sin, whether we act on them or not, they define us over time.
This one could have easily ended up like the previous book, as it deals with a similar theme, but with a unique twist. This story is about an older couple considering a second chance at love.
The story is a quick read, and does deal with the main couple and their budding romance, but also takes a look at past choices, missed opportunity, and what’s important in life. While the characters are far from perfect, I respected this honest look at the way our lives and those around us can impact each other and intertwine at time, sometimes in the most unexpected ways.
I didn’t really enjoy this one at all. I just felt unfinished and lacked any real point or conclusion.
I first found this one on StoryOrigin, but ended up reading it on KundleUnlimited, which turned out being a good thing. It just lacked any real direction and either hinted at something that wasn’t right, or just didn’t have any purpose at all. I’m not entirely sure which, but either way I didn’t end up enjoying it.
I loved this one! It’s also one I’d love to reread, more so with the sequel now expected to come out soon.
I heard about this one on instagram last year, but wasn’t sure if it was something I’d enjoy or not, so went back and forth of if I wanted to read it or not. God, in His divine wisdom, knew exactly when I’d need this story, and I finally got around to reading it this year. Ah, I loved these characters, the deep faith themes and moral questions raised about some of the issues they faced. I really enjoyed this unique look at history, and that this story was set in a time period often over-looked in fiction.
I wasn’t sure about this one, but when given the chance to read it I decided I’d give her books a try. I haven’t really heard anything about this author, but happened to find her one day. This book is pretty short, at somewhere around 64 pages.
Upon reading it I realized it reminded me a lot of Sherri Kukla’s Dry Brook romantic suspense series. This one especially reminds me of her latest book in the series, The Enemy. Fatal Perception was surprisingly good for being so short, and while I wanted it to be a little more fleshed out I did end up enjoying it.
As the second book from Embassie Susberry that I’ve read, this one was quite the doozy. It has a little of everything, and so much so that I’m almost afraid to read more of her stories, haha. It was a lot.
It does offer an interesting look at the Pullman Railroad though, and was a delightful (if highly emotional) read. I loved the characters, and honestly loved the story. Susberry is a talented author, and I’m honestly amazed more people don’t know about (or talk about) her. I’ve never heard of her books until recently, and then only do to some one-off random post that must have been a Holy Spirit nudge as I’d have never known about her otherwise.
Still, this one does have several questionable and less-than-ideal situations and topics brought up, and well…there’s the whole family gang thing… Oh, and the flirting. There’s a lot of that too. The MCs weren’t actually the problem, and I loved them both dearly. Some of the other characters though… It also used the n word a lot, and I get it’s due to race and culture at the time, but yeah. There were a few instances that I definitely could have done without that, but yeah.
May
I read this for a blog tour, but didn’t know what to expect. I was sort of expecting a fun cozy type read. And this one is those things. There’s plenty of wit and humor, and a cute romance. But it also tackles some bigger topics and issues as well.
This one does have a little more focus on the physical touch aspects than I normally enjoy, but in this case it did serve a purpose and made for some interesting introspection and discussions in the story.
After enjoying the previous book in this series, I had hoped this one would be just as good, or maybe even a little better. That’s not really what happened. I just didn’t end up enjoying this one.
I just didn’t really care for this one. It did somehow still remind me of Sherri Kukla’s Dry Brook series. This one reminds me a little more of her Dry Bones Calling. It also needs a good edit, which probably didn’t help my overall opinion of the story in this case.
I knew this was a closed-door / fade-to-black story. Because of that, I wasn’t sure if I’d regret reading it or not. Still, I wanted to try at least one of her books, and this one seemed to be the one.
I did end up enjoying it. It talked about waiting for marriage, and the struggles that can some both from trying to keep that resolution and what to do if you mess up. The characters weren’t perfect, and did fail to uphold their promise at time, but instead of giving up they decided to still try to make the best of it and try to make things right. I know people who are on both sides about this book, some who love it, and some who ended up very much against it. And I can understand and see where both are coming from for the most part.
I was part of the launch team for the sequel to this one, so I decided it would be best to just go ahead and read this one first.
I found it to be an okay read, I didn’t love it and it felt a little bland and cliché for a while. Around the second half I did start enjoying the characters more, which was nice. By the end I was excited for the sequel, and the overall story ended up being good, it just took a little bit of time to really get started. This seems like the start of what might just be a wonderful series, and I’m interested in following along and seeing how things end up in the next book.
This was an interesting read. The characters weren’t my favorite but their stories were rich and touching, which was what I loved most about the story. The writing took some getting used to and the characters even got on my nerves at times, but the heart of the tale was beautiful and I ended up loving it as I reached the end.
This was another fun story. While I wasn’t sure after reading the last one, this one started off interesting. It did have take some time to really get going after the start, as there’s a time-skip before the main story starts really moving forward.
I loved the beautiful redemptive story that dealt with not only mistakes and past offenses, but also overcoming disabilities and weaknesses as well. This beautiful and heart-touching story was the prefect lead-up to the final book in this series!
This one was the new release that I had an eARC for. After reading the first book, I was in a hurry to get this one read in time for the release day deadline. I actually finished it a few days later, since I ended up with a week long headache that made reading next to impossible right around then. Still, I did enjoy this one and was able to read a few pages each day, just not fast enough to finish in time.
I’m so glad I took the chance to read these though. Having read the first book, the events in this one made a lot more sense and having the character’s backstory made this one all the more enjoyable. The ending also had a different feeling, and I’m curious to see what’s next in their adventures.
I actually had this one from the author’s newsletter several months ago, and never read it. So, when I got the chance to read her other book in this series, I decided I’d finally get around to reading this one too. I was actually hoping to boost my confidence to read her latest release, A Rebel’s Shot, so I was reading some of her other stories as I went.
This one was a pleasant surprise! I can’t say that it was the best book ever, or even my favorite from her, but it was a fun historical marriage-of-convenience tale. Sparrow was a fun character, and I enjoyed seeing them learn to trust each other and work together in their travels to find her people. Trapper Dan was also an amusing character.
Yep, another Blackard story. This was another one from her email newsletters. This one is actually the prequel/origin story for her Stryker Task Force series.
While I don’t plan to read the series, I sometime enjoy just going through and reading these novella and freebie books that I pick up in author newsletters at times, and it was another Blackard book, so I decided I might as well while I was reading some of her other books.
I enjoyed the story, and while I don’t expect to read the series, I have read all of her Alaskan Rebels series so far, and some of the characters end up popping up there from time to time, so it’s fun to get to see them from a different perspective here. It’s also an interesting read, and a wonderful prequel and novella read.
June
I did it! I finally got around to reading this one. Six months after I planned to, but I did it! And I loved it!
Okay, so there’s some gore that I could have honestly done without, it wasn’t even on scene, that was one thing, but her story about camping…Ick, it still gives me chills just thinking about it weeks later. The stuff of horror, I tell you. It isn’t even very long or really more than a few disturbing sentences and Merritt’s emotional response that makes it so disturbing. But otherwise, that and some pop-culture references that I know are Blackard’s style, I loved this one. Even more that I expected to. Especially toward the end, some of the descriptions and character realizations were some of my favorites to date.
This was a review copy read, and I knew nothing about it or what to expect apart form the cover and blurb. It definitely wasn’t what I thought I would be reading, but I also ended up really enjoying it overall for the most part.
There were a couple of conversations and Biblical interpretations that were a little heavy-handed and I could have done without the author’s pushing those topics, especially with the epilogue being set several years in the future, considering they don’t align with Biblical truths I’ve found in scripture. It wasn’t anything overly blatant, and I know it’s a point of contention for many, but the Bible has a single truth, a singular timeline, and only one true interpretation. It’s not ours, not mine, not his (the author’s), not even yours. It’s God’s. He alone knows all that is included in His Word, and He alone knows the whole plan. When ever we start pushing my truth, your truth, things get messy and we loose sight of what matters. Jesus Himself is the Word. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. So, when a story tries to force a different perspective off-handedly like this one does, it kind of feels slimy and under-handed. I did enjoy the story, but the more I think about it, the less I like how they handled that topic.
I’ve wanted to read this so much since I first heard about the story last fall. It was one of two books that I was most excited about in 2025 when the year began, and it was such a thrill to actually to get to read it around when it came out!
I ended up loving the story! It was everything I’d hoped for and more. It’s am emotional and heart-warming story of hope, grace, forgiveness, and love, and I loved it!
This was the other book that I was super excited for this year. Both are new releases, and both from debut authors.
Both were also historical fiction books. The first was a wagon-train pioneer story. This one is a Trail of Tears Cherokee tale. This one took a little longer to really catch my attention, and I wasn’t sure at first if I was even going to really enjoy it or not. I did! It was a little touch-and-go at times, but by the end the characters and their emotional story had captures my attention. I loved getting to know them and reading their story!
I mentioned with the first book in this series that I decided to read them both? Well, it wasn’t until I finished the first book that I realized there character were actually supposed to be some of the villains (or at least some of the more morally gray characters) from another series she wrote. She was inspired to write these as a spin-off from that series, but I managed to read both without ever reading any of the books in the other series.
I didn’t enjoy this one quite as much, but reading about a sheep herder was interesting. Her being dumb/mute was also an interesting twist to the story.
After not loving some of the last books from Laura Beers that I read, I was a bit hesitant to read this one. I know she’s a LDS author, one of a few I’ve read recently. I loved the first book or two I read from her, but the last one wasn’t my favorite and just seemed a bit flat, especially since I know she’s capable of writing amazing stories.
This one didn’t have that issue, and the mystery even kept me guessing! I know who the next couple is and can’t wait to read their story as well!
Cindy Bonds is another new-to-me author. It seems there have been several so far this year, maybe I should do a post about that? We’ll see.
Either way, I have a few of her other books that I’ve recently added to my TBR as well, so when I found out that she had a new release coming out, I was all the most excited to read her books!
I ended up winning a print copy of this from the author in one of her book launch giveaway opportunities. So, since I had won this one as part of the release promo, and since I wanted to read her books anyway, I decided to just start here. I’ve been working through the few print books on my shelf that I haven’t read yet, and this one seemed to be the logical next choice. I’m so glad I picked this one up last month! It was a fun read and interestingly paralleled in some ways with my other read (the ebook I was reading at the same time, haha). That seems to have happened more and more lately, which I’ve begun realizing is likely a Holy Spirit thing as He continues to teach and grow me in all aspect of life, bringing me closer in my walk with God.
Looking Forward:
Last time I talked about some of the books I was hoping to read in this quarter, including These Wild Dreams of Ours by Carly L. Carlson and Gold in Fire by Misty Woods.
The good news is that I have since read both! These Wild Dreams of Ours came out in May, and Gold in Fire releases later this month, but I had an eARC of both and ended up reading them back-to-back, haha. It wasn’t planned that way, but ended up being just what I needed at the time.
I also talked about reading some of the new-to-me authors and working on finishing up some of the series I’ve started in the past. One of those authors was Sara Blackard, which I managed to catch up and read all the books by her that I had on my TBR. She has (I think) two more Alaskan Rebels books that are yet to be written, so I might read those if/when they come out. But otherwise, I’m caught up on her books.
I also have finally caught up on Connilyn Cossette’s books so far, and need to read my eARC of Splendor of the Land, but otherwise, haha.
I made some amazing progress on some of my TBR reads, and read a few I really wanted to get read this time, while also reading some I hadn’t expected to. It was a wonderful couple of months, and I’m excited for a few more upcoming release this time around. In the next quarter I have a few more highly anticipated releases coming out. In my last post I shared some links to my Goodreads shelves for those who were curious to see some of my planned upcoming reads. If you would like to see some books that I have my eye on and am thinking about reading soon, you can see those here on my To-Read and To-Read-UnOwned shelves.
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