Captivating

Captivating
By John and Stasi Elderegde
Captivating is set around the premise every little girl asks the questions, “Am I lovely? Am I beautiful? Am I captivating?” Throughout life we go on with the daily grind but deep inside our hearts we are still asking ourselves these questions and looking to external things to answer them. Captivating explains how God places these desires into our hearts and how ‘looking time’ can help answer the questions and what it takes to become truly captivating.




John and Stasi Elderidge talk candidly about how we all can easily fall into a fantasy world of the way we think things should be. When our lives don’t play out the way we thought they should many women escape to mindless movies, romance novels, food, or whatever else brings comfort. What many of us miss is how all our struggles and longings stem from the fall of Adam and Eve.



As the pages are turned, Captivating doesn’t promise if you do A and B you’ll get C but explains how we are beautiful because we are made by Christ and everyone’s shortcomings stem from the fall of man. The chapters are filled with thought-provoking questions of where we stand in certain areas followed by a prayer asking God to help us turn to Him and away from the lies we have believed.



I first heard of this book a few years ago when it was newly published. Friends of mine had talked about being captivated by it just as the title says. So that’s exactly what I expected - to be drawn in and unable to put the book down by the way it explains the questions all women ask. I wasn’t as captivated by this book as I thought I would be, possibly because all had I heard previously about it. However I do think there are many good points scattered throughout the pages, they just seemed hard to find. It is definitely a book to read when you want to sit down, really digest each chapter and ask yourself tough questions.

Favorite Quote:

“We have never considered that by living a controlling and domineering life we are really refusing to trust God. And it has never dawned on us that something precious in us is being squelched, diminished, or refused. Something that God has given us to bring to the world.”



I received this book as a review copy for free from Thomas Nelson Publishers
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Rating: 4 carats

Peculiar Treasures

Peculiar Treasures by Robin Jones Gunn

After attending her best friend’s wedding Katie Weldon begins to wonder about her own life. As she juggles her friendships, her sort-of boyfriend, Rick, ponders whether to take a job as a Resident Advisor, and contemplates declaring a major, Katie starts to constantly question what she is doing with her life and where she wants to go.

This is the first book in the Katie Weldon series and is a continuation of the Christy Miller and Sierra Jenson series by Robin Jones Gunn. I've only read a little bit of the Christy Miller series but I can definitely see how these characters have grown in depth and become more dimensional as they have progressed through college.

Katie is sweet and relatable to almost any 20-something girl who has wondered about life. Robin Jones Gunn has a fantastic way of lightheartedly and captivatingly sweeping you up into her stories, leaving your heart filled with warmth. I think the only way to describe her writing is from a quote in the middle of the book, "What I appreciate about you is your freshness and honesty. You say things I would never think of saying and you say them in a way that makes me think."

There is nothing peculiar about this treasure!

Favorite Line:
"I wonder if being willing is a just as good in God's eyes as being ready. Especially since it’s kind of difficult to be ready when you don't even know where you're going in the morning."

Rating: 5 carats

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Buy the book HERE

Three Weddings and a Bar Mitzvah

by Melody Carlson

Three Weddings and a Bar Mitzvah is the fourth and final book in Melody Carlson’s 86 Bloomberg Place Series. The four roommates are now busy planning weddings for Lelani and Kendall but the families of both girls are making everything difficult. As the wedding planning gets underway both Megan’s and Anna's lives start falling apart even though they try to conceal it to be happy for Lelani and Kendall.

This book is written as all Melody Carlson books are, lighthearted and realistic. I enjoy how the friendships grew and strengthened throughout the book and how they became one another’s family when they had no one else to turn to. The ending is sweet and wraps up the whole series perfectly in an airy, peaceful way.

Favorite Line:
"God had known what they needed all through the ups and downs of life. Through the heartache and growing up God used their friendships to touch them. He truly knit their hearts together."
Rating: 4 carats

Look at Melody's website HERE
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Not a Sparrow Falls

Not a Sparrow Falls by Linda Nichols

Not a Sparrow Falls

A carefully planned escape helps Mary Bridget Washington run from an abusive relationship and a circle of friends to start her life over in Alexandria, Va. She takes on the name Bridie and begins working as a nanny for a Pastor with three children whose wife died two years ago.

Samantha, the Pastor’s oldest daughter, reaches out to Bridie in a note one night at dinner. Although Bridie is lost and confused herself, she remembers her childhood with her grandma and the godly way her grandmother lived her life. As the words of Bridie’s grandmother float through her mind, Bridie looks to the Lord and decides to do whatever possible to help Samantha. Little does Bridie know that reaching out to someone else will completely change and restore her view of life.

This book was a little strange because I didn’t always know if it was contemporary or old fashioned, even though it is listed as contemporary romance I’m not even sure where the romance was. The book felt very heavy and dark, even the scenes that were supposed to be uplifting. However it is a story about God’s forgiveness and how He stays with us all the time no matter how far we run from Him. Hence the title Not a Sparrow Falls.

I received this book free for review from Bethany House Publishers.

Favorite line:
"The arm of flesh will fail you," Bridie's grandmother had been fond of reminding her, especially after she'd started dating, bringing home this one and that one, going on and on about them. "Love with all your heart, but don't look to anybody but the Lord to fill up your empty spots. There's never been a man born who can do that, and I don't care if he's the finest thing since store-bought pickles.""

Visit Linda's website HERE

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Rating: 3 carats

The Last Song

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks

Ronnie Miller and her brother, Jonah, are shipped off to spend the summer with their estranged father. Ronnie is still angry at her father over her parents’ divorce. When her parents’ marriage ended she stopped talking to him and now is livid with her mother for forcing her to spend the summer with him.

From the moment she arrives, Ronnie puts distance between her and her father by spending the first night away from his home. As Ronnie runs from him she meets Will and Blaze. It’s this night that ultimately changes her summer.

If you are a Nicholas Sparks fan, you won’t be disappointed. The Last Song is perfect to his form of telling emotional love stories with spiritual themes that don’t preach and show that even the darkest clouds have silver linings. If you just like a good romance or an emotional journey you’ll like this book as well.

From the moment I started reading this book I could clearly picture Miley Cyrus playing the part of Ronnie with her mannerisms and the way she talks real loud. I can’t wait to see the movie!

Favorite Line:
“Life, he realized, was much like a song. In the beginning there is mystery, in the end there is confirmation, but it's in the middle where all the emotion resides to make the whole thing worthwhile."

Rating: 5 carats

Rodeo Sweetheart

Rodeo Sweetheart by Betsy St. Amant

About the Book:

To save her family ranch—and her father’s legacy—Samantha Jenson reluctantly runs a dude ranch on the financially strapped property. Among the greenhorn tourists in stiff jeans and shiny cowboy boots: handsome businessman Ethan Ames. Ethan makes Sam remember her own dreams—of love and marriage. But surely he’ll ride out of her life—in his fancy car—when his vacation is over. Until she learns that Ethan isn’t on vacation at all. He has a very big secret. One that just might destroy her dreams of being his rodeo sweetheart…forever.

About the Author:

Betsy St. Amant lives in Louisiana and is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers group. Betsy is multi-published through Steeple Hill and has been published in Christian Communicator magazine and Praise Reports: Inspiring Real Life Stories of How God Answers Prayer. One of her short stories, ‘Kickboxing or Chocolate’, appears in a Tyndale compilation book, and she is also multi-published through The Wild Rose Press. Betsy has a BA in Christian Communications and regularly contributes articles to Crosswalk.com. She is a wife, author, new mother and an avid reader who enjoys sharing the wonders of God’s grace through her stories.

My Review:

Samantha Jenson is determined. She’s determined to keep her family’s dude ranch and determined to keep her father’s legacy alive. As far as Sam is concerned the ranch is the most important thing in her life. Sam puts her personal life aside but still wonders what would happen if she didn’t. Regardless, Sam will go to whatever lengths necessary for the ranch, even if it means putting herself in danger.

Ethan Ames grew up in the family business. Ethan is use to making as much money as possible and doing whatever is necessary to close a lucrative deal. His working vacation on a dude ranch in Texas along with a pretty cowgirl turns his thoughts upside down, leaving him to wonder - is money and being successful in the family business really the most important thing?

The book alternates between the lives of Sam and Ethan as each of them ponder what their lives would’ve been like if they had taken different paths. Betsy St. Amant does a good job of capturing their angst and questioning of their lives through their actions and thought process. Her descriptions of the ranch are strong enough to make you feel you are in the middle of the ranch too.

I like this book as it’s contemporary when most westerns are historical. As I read the book I could picture it as a Hallmark or Lifetime move, with good actors, of course!

Favorite Line:
“Some things just weren’t meant to be - even if under the glow of the stars is seemed, as if, for

a moment, they could.”
Check out Betsy's website HERE

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Rating: 5 carats

Never Say Never

Never Say Never by Lisa Wingate

For her 70th birthday Donetta Bradford decides to step out of her small town life in Daily, Texas and go on a cruise with her three best friends. On their way to the Texas coast they encounter bottlenecked roads from everyone trying to get out of town. After their car breaks down they stop at a gas station and see a giant hurricane is headed right towards Texas where they were supposed to leave for the cruise.

Kai Miller never had a normal life. She grew up moving from town to town as her father tried to make it as a musician. Never having put down roots and never knowing how to stay in one place for too long, Kai takes a job on a cruise ship. After accidently oversleeping Kai goes to work only to find out her cruise ship left post early because a major hurricane is on its way. Kai evacuates but runs out of gas and stops at a gas station to find three ladies stranded and offers to take them along to get out of the way of the hurricane.

Each chapter switches between the points of view of Kai and Donetta. This frequently became confusing because they both were first person points of view and I had to mentally remember who was narrating each chapter.

Although the southern drawl of Donnetta and her friends spelled out phonetically was sometimes amusing, at times it was hard too because it didn’t flow easily. Donetta’s points of view were filled with wonderful southern metaphors and similes.

All in all the book felt very long and drawn out moving slowly like Texas tumbleweed on a calm day. However, the book culminated with a sweet ending which put a smile on my face.

Review copy provided by Bethany House Publishers

Favorite Line:
“Maybe life is a balancing act between the things you choose and the things you sacrificed.”

Rating: 3 carats

Buy the book HERE

Look at Lisa's website HERE