Tag: 5 star

{Review} Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives – The Story of Christmas

Posted December 24, 2015 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments

{Review} Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives – The Story of ChristmasJesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives by Pope Benedict XVI
Series: Jesus of Nazareth
Publisher: Image (2012)
Hardcover (127 pages)
Rating:
Reading Challenges: 2015 Alphabet Soup, 2015 What's In A Name?, Read 2015

Synopsis

New York Times Bestseller! The momentous third and final volume in the Pope’s international bestselling Jesus of Nazareth series, detailing how the stories of Jesus’ infancy and childhood are as relevant today as they were two thousand years ago.
In 2007, Joseph Ratzinger published his first book as Pope Benedict XVI in order “to make known the figure and message of Jesus.” Now, the Pope focuses exclusively on the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life as a child. The root of these stories is the experience of hope found in the birth of Jesus and the affirmations of surrender and service embodied in his parents, Joseph and Mary. This is a story of longing and seeking, as demonstrated by the Magi searching for the redemption offered by the birth of a new king. It is a story of sacrifice and trusting completely in the wisdom of God as seen in the faith of Simeon, the just and devout man of Jerusalem, when he is in the presence of the Christ child. Ultimately, Jesus’ life and message is a story for today, one that speaks to the restlessness of the human heart searching for the sole truth which alone leads to profound joy.

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{Review} City of Saints: A Pilgrimage to John Paul II’s Kraków

Posted December 23, 2015 in Faith, Reading, Review / 0 Comments

{Review} City of Saints: A Pilgrimage to John Paul II’s KrakówCity of Saints by George Weigel
Publisher: Image (2015)
Paperback (336 pages)
Via: Blogging for Books
Rating:

Synopsis

“Karol Wojtyła, Pope John Paul II, was a man whose life was the expression of a richly textured and multidimensional soul. The many layers of that soul took on their first, mature form in Kraków.” – George Weigel
In this beautifully illustrated spiritual travelogue,
New York Times bestselling author George Weigel leads readers through the historic streets of Kraków, Poland, introducing one of the world’s great cities through the life of one of the most influential Catholic leaders of all time.
“To follow Karol Wojtyła through Kraków is to follow an itinerary of sanctity while learning the story of a city.” Weigel writes. “Thus, in what follows, the story of Karol Wojtyła, St. John Paul II, and the story of Kraków are interwoven in a chronological pilgrimage through the life of a saint that reveals, at the same time, the dramatic history and majestic culture of a city where a boy grew into a man, priest, a bishop—and an apostle to the world.”
With stunning photographs by Stephen Weigel and notes on the city’s remarkable fabric by Carrie Gress, City of Saints offers an in-depth look at a man and a city that made an indelible impression on the life and thought of the Catholic Church and the 21st century world.

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{Review} Winter – Will Cinder Really be able to Start a Revolution?

Posted December 21, 2015 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments

{Review} Winter – Will Cinder Really be able to Start a Revolution?Winter by Marissa Meyer
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #4
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends (2015)
Hardcover (824 pages)
Rating:
Also by this author: Cinder, Scarlet, Cress
Also in this series: Cinder, Scarlet, Cress
Reading Challenges: 2015 Fairytale Retelling, 2015 Finishing the Series, Read 2015

Synopsis

Princess Winter is admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, and despite the scars that mar her face, her beauty is said to be even more breathtaking than that of her stepmother, Queen Levana.
Winter despises her stepmother, and knows Levana won’t approve of her feelings for her childhood friend—the handsome palace guard, Jacin. But Winter isn’t as weak as Levana believes her to be and she’s been undermining her stepmother’s wishes for years. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even have the power to launch a revolution and win a war that’s been raging for far too long.
Can Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter defeat Levana and find their happily ever afters?

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{Review} Emerald Green – Thrilling Conclusion to Time Travel Trilogy

Posted December 16, 2015 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments

{Review} Emerald Green – Thrilling Conclusion to Time Travel TrilogyEmerald Green by Kerstin Gier
Series: Ruby Red #3
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company (2013)
Hardcover (451 pages)
Via: Library
Rating:
Also by this author: Dream A Little Dream, Sapphire Blue
Also in this series: Ruby Red, Sapphire Blue
Reading Challenges: 2015 Finishing the Series, Read 2015

Synopsis

Gwen has a destiny to fulfill, but no one will tell her what it is. She’s only recently learned that she is the Ruby, the final member of the time-traveling Circle of Twelve, and since then nothing has been going right. She suspects the founder of the Circle, Count Saint-German, is up to something nefarious, but nobody will believe her. And she’s just learned that her charming time-traveling partner, Gideon, has probably been using her all along. Emerald Green is the stunning conclusion to Kerstin Gier’s Ruby Red Trilogy, picking up where Sapphire Blue left off, reaching new heights of intrigue and romance as Gwen finally uncovers the secrets of the time-traveling society and learns her fate.

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{Review} The Heart of Betrayal – Will Lia and Rafe Survive Venda?

Posted December 14, 2015 in Reading, Review / 8 Comments

{Review} The Heart of Betrayal – Will Lia and Rafe Survive Venda?The Heart of Betrayal by Mary E Pearson
Series: The Remnant Chronicles #2
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company (2015)
Hardcover (470 pages)
Via: Library
Rating:
Also by this author: The Kiss of Deception
Also in this series: The Kiss of Deception
Reading Challenges: Read 2015

Synopsis

Held captive in the barbarian kingdom of Venda, Lia and Rafe have little chance of escape. Desperate to save Lia’s life, her erstwhile assassin, Kaden, has told the Vendan Komizar that she has the gift, and the Komizar’s interest in Lia is greater than anyone could have foreseen.
Meanwhile, nothing is straightforward: There’s Rafe, who lied to Lia but has sacrificed his freedom to protect her; Kaden, who meant to assassinate her but has now saved her life; and the Vendans, whom Lia always believed to be savages. Now that she lives among them, however, she realizes that may be far from the truth. Wrestling with her upbringing, her gift, and her sense of self, Lia must make powerful choices that will affect her country… and her own destiny.

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