Minding the Light by Suzanne Woods Fisher

This whole series fascinates me in several ways. As I mentioned in my review of Phoebe's Light, the first book in this series, this is not my usual genre that I prefer. I don't tend to like books focused on the Quakers. However, for some reason, I have fallen in love with these stories. The more I think about it, the more I think that it's because of the setting and the strong story centered around a journal. The setting is in Nantucket and I have loved learning more history about this place. Also, Suzanne Woods Fisher does a fantastic job making the Quaker part of the story, which is strong and so hard to put down! I'm hooked from the very first page!

Minding the Light focuses on Captain Reynolds Macy who got married and then left his new bride, Jane, a month later. He's a whaling captain and had to head out to sea to make money. Neither of them knew it would take 6 years for him to come home. Nothing is the same as he left. His family has grown, unbeknownst to him. When he returns, it turns into a welcome he never anticipated. He realizes what he did to Jane and wishes he could make different decisions that would have protected her more. You can't live in the past, though. So as his life is totally flipped upside down, he has a choice to either stay, run, or move forward. It's not an easy decision in light of the tragic event that he has just faced.

Minding the Light can be read separately, but it adds more depth to the story if you read Phoebe's Light first.There's not a lot of the same characters, but there are a few. It makes the story so much sweeter when you see the thread of the Mary Coffin Starbuck's journal. She's said to be the wisest person on the island and was thought to be like Deborah the judge in the Old Testatment. In fact, Phoebe's Light gave a little history into the journal, which I could fascinating. 

There is so much history wrapped into this series that I've found myself researching places and now I long to visit there and see the beauty. I am excited for her to release the third book in this series!

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I received a complimentary copy of this book. No review was required, and all thoughts expressed are my own.

I Can’t Believe You Just Said That! by Ginger Hubbard

I was first introduced to Ginger Hubbard when a friend told me that I needed to read her book “Don’t Make Me Count to Three!” I really enjoyed that book and was so excited to see that she had written another book.

First of all, I LOVE the cover to this book. It got moved up on my reading list simply because I couldn’t resist the fun cover. The subtitle to the book also got my attention: “Biblical Wisdom for Taming Your Child’s Tongue.”

There is so much wisdom packed into the pages of the book. I loved how she encouraged her readers to focus on the child’s heart. I loved it when she said “Jesus’s questions caused people to evaluate themselves which led to the realization of their own sin and need for the Savior.” I loved this because it made me think about my conversations with my children. How often do my questions cause them to evaluate themselves instead of lecturing them and pointing things out to them.

This book covers 14 issues that children face. They face more things than that, obviously, but it’s 14 of the most common things that come out of their mouths. There was so much wisdom and several things that I had never linked together. I liked how she pointed out that “whining is an issue of self-control.” But she doesn’t just leave it at pointing out struggles. She gives ideas of how to help your child realize what they are doing and how to get to the heart, which is what ultimately leads to change and not behavior modification.

I really hope Ginger Hubbard is working on another book. Her books stay on my shelves and I loan them out because I don’t want to be without them!

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I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

Saving Each Other by Stacy Mitchell

I'll admit that I wasn't hooked on this book in the first few pages. I didn't like the way that the prologue started, with scenes that didn't necessarily have to be in the book. I wish the first prologue had been a different story from Ean's life. I almost set the book aside because I thought it would be too much of a romance book, and I'm not a lover of a lot of romance.

I appreciated the raw emotion that filled the pages. I felt like I could easily place myself there and feel what each of the characters were feeling. I was a little surprised at how easily I was able to do that within the first couple of chapters.

This is a story of two people who have had their lives torn apart by a drunken driver. Dani Adams loses her husband on her anniversary. Ean Montgomery loses his pregnant wife and son during the same accident.  This has pushed them to visit a grief counselor to help them process what has happened and to help them learn how to move forward.

I don't particularly like to read a lot of books with colorful language, simply because I think words are beautiful and there are other words that you could use to get the same point across. This book does have some colorful language, so that was something that I struggled to get through. It would be a great book with the same level of emotion even if they had been left out. I didn't feel like they enhanced the moment at all. Each person is different, but that's just my opinion and how I felt reading.

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I received this book free from PR by the Book and Stacy Mitchell in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.