Steadfast Heart - A Book Review

 

About the Book (from Amazon):

Despite her spoiled upbringing, twenty-year-old Lenore Fulcher isn't pretentious. She simply believes a marriage should be built on true love. Her father, however, thinks she's wasted enough time searching for the perfect husband. He wants to marry her off to one of his business partners--who is seventeen years her senior--an idea that is out of the question for Lenore. Kolbein Booth, a young lawyer from Chicago, arrives in Seattle looking for his headstrong sister, who he believes may have answered an advertisement for mail-order brides. Sick with worry, he storms into the Madison Bridal School, demanding to see his sister, only to learn she isn't there. But Lenore Fulcher is, and something about her captures his attention. Is this the man Lenore has been searching for? She may not have long to find out...

My thoughts: I am a huge fan of all of the books I have read by Tracie Peterson, and this one is no exception. It was very well written and easy to read and get to know the characters. Just the synopsis had me curious because I absolutely love Seattle! I have visited a few times and would live there in a heartbeat. Peterson did a wonderful job of painting the world of Seattle in the late 1800s and it just drew you into the lives of the young women in this story. I loved the two main characters and how they were constantly there for each other and making the other one a better person. It was a beautiful relationship that we should all strive for. This was a very refreshing read after my last couple of books, it was just so happy. There were some dark and sad parts, but overall it left me feeling good after I put it away. It is nice to read a book that you can immerse yourself in and positively affects your attitude. I actually read this book in just three days because I was truly enjoying it. If you enjoy a good historical fiction romance, I highly recommend this book and I look forward to the next one in the series. *I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley for my fair and honest review.

Reawakened - A Book Review

If you love the television series, you will truly enjoy this quick read.

  

About the Book (from Amazon):

In Storybrooke, Maine, Emma Swan and Mary Margaret Blanchard are friends and roommates. They're united in their mission to make life better for Henry, Emma's young son, who has been raised by Storybrooke's vicious mayor, Regina Mills. Henry is convinced that Mary Margaret and Emma are more than just roommates, however. He believes they're family-mother and daughter fairy-tale characters exiled from their enchanted forest by an evil curse. And he's right: Mary Margaret is Snow White, and Emma is her daughter. In this companion book to the hit ABC television show Once Upon A Time, Emma and Snow tell their own stories, in their own words, for the first time. With Emma relating her time in Storybrooke and Snow narrating the events of fairytale land, present and future fans of the show will get a whole new look at their favorite characters and stories. Show description from ABC: "From the inventive minds of Lost executive producers Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis, the show is a bold new imagining of the world where fairy tales and the modern world collide: 28-year-old Emma Swan is shocked when Henry, the son she gave up, shows up on her doorstep after 10 years in desperate need of her help. He believes she actually comes from an alternate world and is Snow White and Prince Charming's missing daughter. According to his book of fairytales, they sent Emma away to protect her from the Evil Queen's curse, which trapped the fairy tale world frozen in time and brought them into our modern world. Emma is skeptical, but when she brings Henry back to his hometown of Storybrook, she is drawn to this boy and his strange story, soon suspecting that the town is more than it seems. It's a place where magic has been forgotten, but is still powerfully close; where fairytale characters are alive, even though they don't remember who they once were. The epic battle for the future of all worlds is beginning, but for good to win, Emma will have to accept her destiny and join the fight."

My Thoughts: I am absolutely addicted to the television show that this book is based on, ABC's Once Upon a Time. I did purchase this book because I love the show and wanted more of it. There was not too much extra information in the book versus the show, but it was a very fun read and refreshed me on all that had happened in the first season. There is just something that I love about reading a story over watching it. It was very easy to read and quite well written. The story does constantly shift between the world of Snow White/Mary Margaret and Emma Swan and between the past and the present, but it does it quite well and seamlessly. I am usually not a fan of that style of writing, but I did not mind it in this book because it never got too confusing. This is a lovely story that I highly recommend reading whether or not you watch the show. Do you watch the show? What do you think of books based off shows or movies, it seems to usually go the other way around?

The Midwife - A Book Review

 

About the book (from Amazon):

The story about a mother who risks everything to save a child not genetically hers . . . The Past -- Graduate student Beth Winslow was sure she was ready to navigate the challenges of becoming a surrogate. But when early tests indicate possible abnormalities with the baby, Beth is unprepared for the parents' decision to end the pregnancy -- and for the fierce love she feels for this unborn child. Desperate, she flees the city and seeks refuge at Hopen Haus, a home for unwed mothers deep in a Tennessee Mennonite community. The Present -- As head midwife of Hopen Haus, Rhoda Mummau delivers babies with a confident though stoic ease. Except in rare moments, not even those who work alongside her would guess that each newborn cry, each starry-eyed glance from mother to child, nearly renders a fault through Rhoda's heart, reminding her of a past she has carefully concealed. Past and present collide when a young woman named Amelia arrives in the sweeping countryside bearing secrets of her own. As Amelia's due date draws near, Rhoda must face her regrets and those she left behind in order for the healing power of love and forgiveness to set them all free.

My thoughts: The description had me really wanting to read this book, but I was honestly a bit disappointed with it. It unfortunately took me several months for me to get through, which really backed up my reading list. I think the biggest reason that I continuously put the book down, was because it was very depressing. There were really no happy parts to this book. I did think that it was very well written and did have a very interesting story. I cannot imagine going through all the things that Beth experienced and I really felt for her while I was reading. One thing that I struggled with was the constant shifting between past and present, which many books do that I am just not a big fan of. Overall, I think the book was fine, it was just not for me. I think that plenty of people will enjoy reading it, but it just never grabbed me. I give it three out of 5 stars. Have any of you read this book? What are your thoughts?

5 Goals for 2015

Wow, I cannot believe that it is already 2015! It just feels weird every time that I type it. I honestly have no idea where 2014 went, it just flew by in the blink of an eye. It was a great year, but I feel like it just went too quickly and I didn't get to fully enjoy it. It was a big year for us from our amazing trip to Japan to finding out we are expecting our first baby. :)


 

 

 I am not really ready to welcome 2015, but I guess I don't have a choice do I? ;) So, I will do my best and of course start it off with setting some goals. I always say that I hate resolutions, but I do believe that it is as good time as any to evaluate life and see where you want to make some changes. So here are some things that I plan on working on this year: 

 1) Get ready for our sweet baby boy's arrival 

So far, I have done very little to prepare for the arrival of our bundle of joy in April and I am now 6 months pregnant! Life has just been so busy and gone by so fast that I haven't done much besides some readIng and of course all of the dr appointments. We still need to purchase all of the big items and set up his area of his room. We will hopefully at least be purchasing his dresser this weekend, so I guess that is a start ;) But, I need to definitely get everything organized and cleaned in the house before he gets here and things get really hectic. It will be wonderful but I also know I don't want to have to worry about any of that stuff once he arrives.

 

 2) Edit pictures daily 

I had this one on my list last year and I have to say that I epically failed. I am even more far behind than I was then, thanks largely to our trip to Japan, which I am still not done editing and that was back in May! So, I am going to once again commit to editing pictures for at least 15 min per day. I enjoy doing it and I really need to do it, so it is a win win if I can just carve out the time.

3) Do a Project 365 and a Project 52 

This is another photography goal of this year. The Project 365 is a commitment to take a picture everyday. I started this last year and i failed within the first two weeks, I just really struggled to remember and to come up with new things to photograph each day. I really do want to succeed this year because I think it will really have a positive impact on my photography skills. I have a feeling this will become much easier once Baby Schulte arrives, I can't imagine I will ever bore taking pictures of him ;) The Project 52 is a project I am starting through Clickin Moms, a photography resource website that is amazing. Each week an assignment is posted and you take your picture and post it. It is a great place to be held accountable and to get some feedback. I am really looking forward to participating! If you are interested, here is a link to the forum thread, you do have to be a member of the site, but it is really affordable and well worth it! You can join the challenge at any point and it is super relaxed! 

4) Read more I always want to do this! :)

 I absolutely love to read and never seem to allow myself enough time to do so. I just let everything get in the way and before I know it it is time for bed. Last year I participated in reading challenges, which was fun, but it became hard to keep track of everything. This year I have just set a goal of 24 books to read over the course of the year and I will track it through my goodreads account. Do you have a Goodreads account? If so, I would love to follow you, make sure to leave a link in the comments :) I also need to make a list of all the ones I plan to read this year, I will work on that and put it in a future post. And here is a bonus pic from my 18th birthday a ways ago haha! I haven't even read all those books yet! :/

5) Spend more time with God 

This is one that I definitely need to make a priority everyday. Like with reading, I just let everything else in life distract me and take up all of my time. This year I will set aside some time each and everyday to spend with God and work on our relationship. This is especially vital as I prepare for the birth of my son and for life once he gets here. It will be my responsibility to show and teach him how amazing God is, and I can only do that if my relationship with Jesus is strong, secure, and growing! :) So these are my 5 main goals for 2015. I want to keep the list short and doable. I will of course be working on many other things this year, such as my health and my management of finances and whatnot, but I felt the above five are my priorities this year. What goals or resolutions have you made for this year? I would love to hear about them!! Happy New Year Everyone and I look forward to all the adventures we will all experience this year! Ashley   

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