theseasoul's reviews
459 reviews

Shattered by Dani Pettrey

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adventurous emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

|| 3.5 ⭐️ ||

I didn’t get into this quite as much as the first book, but a fun mystery and sweet romance all the same. 
When My Heart Joins the Thousand by A.J. Steiger

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 20%.
Well that got inappropriate real fast. DNF at 20%.
Unshaken: Ruth by Francine Rivers

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slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

|| 3.5 ⭐️ ||

This was alright. I thought Ruth and Boaz were painted as more perfect than they probably were in real life; attempts to add to their complexity kind of fell short. At the same time, this fictional expansion of Ruth’s faith and Boaz’s kindness was encouraging to me. 
Everywhere to Hide by Siri Mitchell

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mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

|| 4.5 ⭐️ ||

I seriously enjoyed this book, despite my lack of understanding in the area of cryptocurrency. That topic didn’t overwhelm the plot, however, so I could still be completely engaged though I found myself skimming through the intricacies of the crypto/law parts.

I did learn plenty about face blindness, and in my opinion is was a fantastic contribution to the plot. It must’ve been tricky to write from the main character’s perspective, but the author pulled it off wonderfully!

|| Content warnings ||
Domestic violence & murder. Not too graphic at any point, but they are major parts of the plot.
Shadow of the Storm by Connilyn Cossette

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challenging emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

|| 3 ⭐️ ||

Any story that has midwifery as a central theme is one I know I’m going to enjoy, at least to an extent. I wish it had just a little more of that. The first half of the book (if not more) felt like a romantic drama, just set in Bible times to make it slightly more interesting. But I can’t say I was the biggest fan of the drama itself. I still enjoyed this enough to read the final book of the series soon—but I just wish it had built upon its stronger elements a little more. 

|| Content warnings ||
References to prostitution & sexual assault (not graphic). Descriptions of birth (also not very graphic).
Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health by Marion Nestle

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 2%.
DNF during the introduction. It’s already very clear this whole book is going to focus on demonizing animal foods/saturated fats and glorifying the calories in, calories out theory. Ironically, sounds like the author has been deeply sucked into the corrupt dietary guidelines of the food industry from the start. 
Eve in Exile and the Restoration of Femininity by Rebekah Merkle

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challenging informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

5.0

|| 5 ⭐️ ||

A fantastic overview of God’s design for femininity. By the end of this book, I was freshly astonished at how God really did think of everything when he created men and women with their distinct roles and giftings, and excited anew to live out my calling as a godly woman. Also, by the end of this, feminism really seems like such a downgrade and scam compared to biblical femininity. 

The author pointed out some really interesting things that I’d never really thought about. I think the part that struck me the most was the role of the Industrial Revolution/age of convenience in making homemaking feel “pointless” and “demeaning”, hence a major factor in leading women to desire a career outside the home. It makes so much sense and I had never connected those dots before. There were so many other discussion points that will stick with me, and overall I think this is a book that every Christian woman should read at some point.
The Book That Wouldn't Burn by Mark Lawrence

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

|| 5 ⭐️ ||

A brilliant beginning to yet another fantasy trilogy. I loved the library setting, the plot concept that just kept getting more and more engaging and tangled/untangled repeatedly, the characters and watching Livira grow up, the quirky animal companions, everything. Nearly perfect and I’m eager to continue on!

|| Content warnings ||
This book would be pretty much void of content warnings had it not been for this one character who loves to throw f-bombs into every other sentence. He’s the only character that swears. The romance aspect doesn’t go beyond kissing, and while there’s some violence/war/blood, it doesn’t get excessively graphic.
Broken Bread: How to Stop Using Food and Fear to Fill Spiritual Hunger by Tilly Dillehay

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challenging inspiring reflective slow-paced

5.0

|| 5 ⭐️ ||

Superb! I was not expecting this book to be what it was to the extent that it was: convicting, encouraging, inspiring and beautiful.

The first few chapters present 4 common sinful approaches to food: asceticism, gluttony, snobbery and apathy. The deep dives into each of these was thoroughly Scriptural and made me reflect on my own tendencies in a way I never had before. I was surprised to find that all 4 pillars have run rampant in my life at one point or another, and I now have some more insight on the deeper underlying sins/beliefs. 

The rest of the book offers reflections on various food-related topics and how they relate to Scripture and the Christian life; such as food in hospitality, fasting, body image, alcohol consumption, the Lord’s Supper, and so on. These chapters don’t build on each other too much, so someone who doesn’t want to read the whole book could pick and choose chapters that relate to them.

However, I don’t see why one wouldn’t want to read the whole book… it’s great. If you are a person (particularly a woman) who ingests food, this book will be deeply relevant to you!
Love Without Borders: How Bold Faith Opens the Door to Embracing the Unexpected by Angela Braniff

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring slow-paced

4.0

|| 4 ⭐️ ||

I always love reading stories about how God brought pieces of a family together, orchestrating everything in such a wonderful way even if/when there are unique hardships along the way. This is a beautiful family!