Posted October 25, 2017 in Faith, Review / 0 Comments
A Call to Mercy by
Mother Teresa Publisher: Image (2016)
Hardcover (384 pages)
Via: Blogging for Books Rating: Synopsis
Published to coincide with Pope Francis's Year of Mercy and the Vatican's canonization of Mother Teresa, this new book of unpublished material by a humble yet remarkable woman of faith whose influence is felt as deeply today as it was when she was alive, offers Mother Teresa’s profound yet accessible wisdom on how we can show mercy and compassion in our day-to-day lives.
For millions of people from all walks of life, Mother Teresa's canonization is providentially taking place during Pope Francis's Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy. This is entirely fitting since she is seen both inside and outside of the Church as an icon of God's mercy to those in need.
Compiled and edited by Brian Kolodiejckuk, M.C., the postulator of Mother Teresa’s cause for sainthood, A Call to Mercy presents deep yet accessible wisdom on how we can show compassion in our everyday lives. In her own words, Mother Teresa discusses such topics
as:
the need for us to visit the sick and the imprisoned
the importance of honoring the dead and informing the ignorant
the necessity to bear our burdens patiently and forgive willingly
the purpose to feed the poor and pray for all
the greatness of creating a “civilization of love” through personal service to others
Featuring never before published testimonials by people close to Mother Teresa as well as prayers and suggestions for putting these ideas into practice, A Call to Mercy is not only a lovely keepsake, but a living testament to the teachings of a saint whose ideas are important, relevant and very necessary in the 21st century.
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Tagged as 5 star, Read 2017
Posted May 8, 2017 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments
The Black Key by
Amy Ewing Series: The Lone City #3 Publisher: HarperTeen (2016)
Audiobook {8 hours and 9 minutes} (295 pages)
Rating: Also by this author: The Jewel,
The White Rose Also in this series: The Jewel,
The White Rose Reading Challenges: Read 2016 Synopsis
For too long, Violet and the people of the outer circles of the Lone City have lived in service to the royalty of the Jewel. But now the secret society known as the Black Key is preparing to seize power.
And while Violet knows she is at the center of this rebellion, she has a more personal stake in it—her sister, Hazel, has been taken by the Duchess of the Lake. Now, after fighting so hard to escape the Jewel, Violet must do everything in her power to return to save not only Hazel, but the future of the Lone City.
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Tagged as 3 star, Read 2016
Posted May 1, 2017 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments
Once Upon a Prince by
Rachel Hauck Series: Royal Wedding #1 Publisher: Zondervan (2013)
Audiobook {10 hours} (343 pages)
Rating: Reading Challenges: 2016 Re-Reading,
2016 Royal Challenge,
Read 2016 Synopsis
Once Upon a Prince, the first novel in the Royal Wedding series by bestselling author Rachel Hauck, treats you to a modern-day fairy tale.
Susanna Truitt never dreamed of a great romance or being treated like a princess---just to marry the man she has loved for twelve years. But life isn't going according to plan. When her high-school-sweetheart-turned-Marine-officer breaks up instead of proposing, Susanna scrambles to rebuild her life.
The last thing Prince Nathaniel expects to find on his American holiday to St. Simon's Island is the queen of his heart. A prince has duties, and his family's tense political situation has chosen his bride for him. When Prince Nathaniel comes to Susanna's aid under the fabled Lover's Oak, he is blindsided by love.
Their lives are worlds apart. He's a royal prince. She's a nordinary girl. But everything changes when Susanna receives an invitation to Nathaniel's coronation. It's the ultimate choice. His kingdom or her heart? God's will or their own?
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Tagged as 4 star, Read 2016
Posted March 8, 2017 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments
The Bear and the Nightingale by
Katherine Arden Series: Winternight #1 Publisher: Del Rey (2017)
eARC (322 pages)
Via: NetGalley Rating: Also by this author: The Girl in the Tower,
The Winter of the Witch Also in this series: The Girl in the Tower,
The Winter of the Witch Reading Challenges: 2016 Retelling Challenge,
2016 Royal Challenge,
Read 2016 Synopsis
At the edge of the Russian wilderness, winter lasts most of the year and the snowdrifts grow taller than houses. But Vasilisa doesn’t mind—she spends the winter nights huddled around the embers of a fire with her beloved siblings, listening to her nurse’s fairy tales. Above all, she loves the chilling story of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon, who appears in the frigid night to claim unwary souls. Wise Russians fear him, her nurse says, and honor the spirits of house and yard and forest that protect their homes from evil.
After Vasilisa’s mother dies, her father goes to Moscow and brings home a new wife. Fiercely devout, city-bred, Vasilisa’s new stepmother forbids her family from honoring the household spirits. The family acquiesces, but Vasilisa is frightened, sensing that more hinges upon their rituals than anyone knows.
And indeed, crops begin to fail, evil creatures of the forest creep nearer, and misfortune stalks the village. All the while, Vasilisa’s stepmother grows ever harsher in her determination to groom her rebellious stepdaughter for either marriage or confinement in a convent.
As danger circles, Vasilisa must defy even the people she loves and call on dangerous gifts she has long concealed—this, in order to protect her family from a threat that seems to have stepped from her nurse’s most frightening tales.
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Tagged as 5 star, All Time Favorites, Read 2016
Posted March 6, 2017 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments
Freeks by
Amanda Hocking Publisher: St Martin's Griffin (2017)
eARC (400 pages)
Via: NetGalley Rating: Reading Challenges: Read 2016 Synopsis
In a world of magical visions and pyrokinesis, Mara just wants to have a normal life. But is that possible?
Mara has become used to the extraordinary. Roaming from place to place with Gideon Davorin’s Traveling Carnival, she longs for an ordinary life where no one has the ability to levitate or predict the future.
She gets her chance when the struggling sideshow sets up camp in the small town of Caudry and she meets a gorgeous local guy named Gabe. But before long, Mara realizes there’s a dark presence lurking in the town that’s threatening the lives of her friends. She has seven days to take control of a power she didn’t know she had in order to save everyone she cares about—and change the future forever.
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Tagged as 4 star, Read 2016