Posted November 24, 2020 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments
The Church and the Middle Ages by
Steve Weidenkopf Series: Reclaiming Catholic History Publisher: Ave Maria Press (2020 (December 25))
eARC (192 pages)
Via: NetGalley Rating: Reading Challenges: Read 2020 Synopsis
Few periods of history are more maligned and misunderstood than the Middle Ages—three-hundred years of division, shifting centers of power, and tensions both within the Church and also between the Church and the secular rulers of the time.
In an engaging and easy-to-understand style, historian and author Steve Weidenkopf highlights some of our greatest saints—Francis, Dominic, Anselm, Aquinas, and Catherine of Siena—and dispels nine commonly accepted misconceptions about the era, which was an exciting period of enduring faith, reform, cultural achievement, as well as defeat and division.
With vibrant accounts of pivotal events and inspiring stories of the people who shaped the Church during the eleventh through fourteenth centuries, Steve Weidenkopf provides a clearer picture of an era where critics used events such as the Crusades and the relocation of the papacy to France to undermine the Church. The period also provided the hallmarks of Christian civilization—universities, cathedrals, castles, and various religious orders.
Weidenkopf also chronicles the development of Christian civilization in Europe and explores the contributions of St. Bruno, St. Anthony of Padua, and St. Bridget of Sweden.
In The Church and the Middle Ages, you will learn that:
- Most Crusaders were motivated by piety and service, not greed.
- Heresy was both a church and civil issue and medieval inquisitors were focused on the eternal salvation of the accused.
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The Church preached against the mistreatment of Jews.
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Priestly celibacy was practiced long before the twelfth century.
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Serfs were never kept as slaves.
Books in the Reclaiming Catholic History series, edited by Mike Aquilina and written by leading authors and historians, bring Church history to life, debunking the myths one era at a time.
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Tagged as 5 star, Read 2020
Posted October 2, 2020 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments
It Started in Budapest by
Julie Daines Series: Romance on the Orient Express #1 Publisher: Covenant Communications (2020)
eARC (184 pages)
Via: NetGalley Rating: Reading Challenges: Read 2020 Synopsis
Molly Cooper is haunted by one simple fact: it is her fault her twin brother, Matthew, has spent his life trapped in a frail body while she has thrived. Deep in her heart, she knows he can’t hold on much longer . . .
In her desperation to save her brother, Molly finds inspiration in an unlikely source: the newly published novel Dracula. When her family embarks on the Orient Express to seek treatment for Matthew in Bulgaria, Molly is prepared to set her plan in motion: she will sneak away from her parents and journey alone to Transylvania, where she will seek a vampire, whose blood can make her brother immortal. Molly’s rash plan is going flawlessly—until she encounters Percy Hunt, a handsome American traveler running from the shadows of his own past. When he discovers Molly’s plan, Percy’s concern for the naive young woman leaves him no choice but to accompany her on her strange quest. But neither Percy nor Molly is prepared for the feelings that quickly grow between them or for the death-defying escapade that awaits.
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Tagged as 4 star, Read 2020
Posted September 23, 2020 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments
Otherwise Engaged by
Joanna Barker Publisher: Covenant Communications (2020 {October 12})
eARC (262 pages)
Via: NetGalley Rating: Reading Challenges: Read 2020 Synopsis
She’s never been afraid of breaking the rules—until she risks breaking her heart.
Constantly stifled by the rules of Society, spirited Rebecca Rowley enjoys finding ways to quietly—or not so quietly—rebel. But riding bareback and avoiding nosy neighbors are nothing compared to the thrilling secret she is keeping from her family.
When Rebecca’s quick thinking saves the life of a young girl, she unwittingly attracts the attention of the child’s dashing brother, Lieutenant Nicholas Avery. As that attention turns flirtatious, Rebecca is forced to tell him the truth: she is secretly engaged—to the one man her family would never approve of. Fortunately, Lieutenant Avery is a navy man with no wish to marry, or so they both assume as they enter into a friendship. Rebecca hopes to change her family’s mind about her betrothed, but the more she comes to know the handsome lieutenant, the more she wonders if she promised her hand too hastily.
After all her carefully laid plans are shattered during a family crisis, Rebecca must force her heart to decide. Should she stay true to the promise she made or fight for the future she’s only just begun to imagine?
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Tagged as 4 star, Read 2020
Posted September 2, 2020 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments
Isaiah's Legacy by
Mesu Andrews Series: Prophets and Kings #3 Publisher: WaterBrook Press (2020)
eARC (400 pages)
Via: NetGalley Rating: Also by this author: The Pharaoh's Daughter,
Miriam,
Isaiah's Daughter Also in this series: Isaiah's Daughter Reading Challenges: Read 2020 Synopsis
The drama of the Old Testament comes to life as Judah's most notorious king ascends to the throne in this gripping novel from the award-winning author of Isaiah's Daughter.
At eight years old, Shulle has known only life in a small village with her loving but peculiar father. When Uncle Shebna offers shelter in Jerusalem in exchange for Shulle's help tutoring King Manasseh, Judah's five-year-old co-regent who displays the same peculiarities as her father, she's eager to experience the royal court. But Shulle soon realizes the limits of her father's strict adherence to Yahweh's Law when Uncle Shebna teaches her of the starry hosts and their power.
Convinced Judah must be freed from Yahweh's chains, she begins the subtle swaying of young Manasseh, using her charm and skills on the boy no one else understands. When King Hezekiah dies, twelve-year-old Manasseh is thrust onto Judah's throne, bitter at Yahweh and eager to marry the girl he adores. Assyria's crown prince favors Manasseh and twists his brilliant mind toward cruelty, beginning Shulle's long and harrowing journey to discover the Yahweh she'd never known, guided with loving wisdom by Manasseh's mother: Isaiah's daughter, the heartbroken Hephzibah. Amid Judah's dark days, a desperate remnant emerges, claiming the Lord's promise, "Though we're helpless now, we're never hopeless--because we serve El Shaddai." Shulle is among them, a girl who becomes a queen through Isaiah's legacy.
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Tagged as 4 star, Read 2020
Posted August 29, 2020 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments
Masquerade at Middlecrest Abbey by
Abigail Wilson Publisher: Thomas Nelson (2020)
eARC (336 pages)
Via: NetGalley Rating: Reading Challenges: Read 2020 Synopsis
When the widowed Lord Torrington agreed to spy for the crown, he never planned to impersonate a highwayman, let alone rob the wrong carriage. Stranded on the road with an unconscious young woman, he is forced to propose marriage to protect his identity, as well as his dangerous mission.
Trapped by not only the duty to her country but her limited options, Miss Elizabeth Cantrell and her illegitimate son are whisked away to Middlecrest Abbey by none other than the elder brother of her son’s absent father. She is met by Torrington’s beautiful grown daughters, a vicious murderer, and an urgent hunt for the missing intelligence that could turn the war with France. Afraid of what Lord Torrington might do if he learns of her son’s true identity, Elizabeth must remain one step ahead of her fragile heart, her uncertain future, and the relentless mystery person bent on her new family’s ruin.
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Tagged as 4 star, Read 2020
