Posted October 5, 2015 in Reading, Review / 4 Comments
Daughter of the Forest by
Juliet Marillier Series: Sevenwaters #1 Publisher: Tor (1999)
Hardcover (400 pages)
Via: Library Rating: Reading Challenges: 2015 Fairytale Retelling,
2015 Re-Reading,
Read 2015 Synopsis
Juliet Marillier is a rare talent, a writer who can imbue her characters and her story with such warmth, such heart, that no reader can come away from her work untouched. Daughter of the Forest is a testimony to that talent, a first novel and the beginning of a trilogy like no other: a mixture of history and fantasy, myth and magic, legend and love.
Lord Colum of Sevenwaters is blessed with six sons: Liam, a natural leader; Diarmid, with his passion for adventure; twins Cormack and Conor, each with a different calling; rebellious Finbar, grown old before his time by his gift of the Sight; and the young, compassionate Padriac.
But it is Sorcha, the seventh child and only daughter, who alone is destined to defend her family and protect her land from the Britons and the clan known as Northwoods. For her father has been bewitched, and her brothers bound by a spell that only Sorcha can lift.
To reclaim the lives of her brothers, Sorcha leaves the only safe place she has ever known, and embarks on a journey filled with pain, loss, and terror.
When she is kidnapped by enemy forces and taken to a foreign land, it seems that there will be no way for her to break the spell that condemns all that she loves. But magic knows no boundaries, and Sorcha will have to choose between the life she has always known and a love that comes only once.
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Tagged as 5 star, All Time Favorites, Fairy Tales, Fairytale Retelling Challenge, Library, Read 2015, Rereading Challenge, You Read How Many Books Challenge
Posted September 29, 2015 in Faith, Reading / 6 Comments
Tagged as Catholic, Fairytale Retelling Challenge, Monthly Wrap-Up, Polish, Pope Francis, Read 2015, Religious Education, Rereading Challenge, School, Sister, Swap, You Read How Many Books Challenge
Posted September 2, 2015 in Faith, Reading, Review / 2 Comments
And You Are Christ's by
Thomas Dubay Publisher: Ignatius Press (1987)
Paperback (148 pages)
Rating: Reading Challenges: 2015 Re-Reading,
Read 2015 Synopsis
Father Thomas Dubay, one of the foremost authorities on the religious life, discusses one of the most important but not fully appreciated or understood charisms of the consecrated life, the charism of virginity. Although the idea of virginity is unpopular and even despised in modern society, Dubay emphasizes that the importance of evangelical virginity is rooted in its Biblical foundation, both in the Old and New Testaments.
Examining in detail what the call to virginity is and how it is integrated into the whole of consecrated life, Dubay presents his study in such a way as to be of importance to men as well. Noting that a woman, because of her feminine nature and traits, can image and live the Church’s wedded relationship to Christ more realistically, Dubay points out that men with the celibate charism are also members of the virgin Church that is wedded to Christ, just as in the Old Testament the People of God was a virgin bride wedded to Yahweh. The common and distinct elements of male and female consecrated love are fully captured in these pages.
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Tagged as 5 star, All Time Favorites, Catholic, Catholic Book, Consecrated Virginity, Read 2015, Rereading Challenge, Vocation, You Read How Many Books Challenge
Posted August 27, 2015 in Faith, Reading, Review / 3 Comments
An Introduction to the Vocation of Consecrated Virginity Lived in the World by
United States Association of Consecrated VIrgins Series: ORDO VIRGINUM #1 Publisher: USACV (2012)
Paperback (145 pages)
Rating: Reading Challenges: 2015 Re-Reading,
Read 2015 Synopsis
An Ancient Rite Restored, for women living in the world.
Those who choose chastity have looked upon the face of Christ, its origin and inspiration.
They give themselves wholly to Christ, the Son of the ever-virgin Mary, and the heavenly Bridegroom of those who in his honor dedicate themselves to lasting virginity.
-Rite of Consecration to a Life of Virginity (24)
Consecrated by the diocesan Bishop, these women acquire a particular link with the Church, which they are committed to serve while remaining the world. Either alone or in association with others, they constitute a special eschatological image of the Heavenly Bride and of the life to come, when the Church will at last fully live her love for Christ the Bridegroom.
-Pope Saint John Paul II in Vita Consecrata
The Order of Virgins is a special expression of consecrated life that blossomed anew in the Church after the Second Vatican Council. Its roots, however, are ancient; they date back to the dawn of the apostolic times. With unheard of daring, certain women began to open their hearts to the desire of consecrated virginity … the desire to give the whole of their being to God. (This desire) had its first extraordinary fulfillment in the Virgin of Nazareth and her “yes.”
-Pope Benedict XVI to the 2008 Rome International Congress/Pilgrimage of Consecrated Virgins
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Tagged as 4 star, Catholic, Catholic Book, Consecrated Virginity, Read 2015, Rereading Challenge, Vocation, You Read How Many Books Challenge
Posted August 17, 2015 in Reading, Review / 2 Comments
The Rose Bride by
Nancy Holder Series: Once Upon A Time Publisher: Simon Pulse (2007)
Paperback (245 pages)
Rating: Also in this series: Snow,
Water Song,
Sunlight and Shadow Reading Challenges: 2015 Birthday Month,
2015 Color Coded,
2015 Fairytale Retelling,
2015 Mythology,
2015 Re-Reading,
Read 2015 Synopsis
When Rose’s mother dies, her only comfort is the exquisite rose garden her mother left behind. The purple blossoms serve as an assurance of her mother’s love. But Rose is dealt a second blow when her father dies and his greedy widow, Ombrine, and her daughter, Desirée, move in and take over the manor in true Cinderella fashion.
Fate has been cruel to Ombrine and Desirée, too. So despite their harsh ways, Rose has compassion. But these feelings are bitterly tested when, in a rage, Ombrine tears out the garden. Rose nearly gives up all hope—until a chance meeting with the king. Happiness might be within her reach, but first she must prevail over Ombrine. And then she must determine if she has the courage to love.
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Tagged as 4 star, Birthday Month Reading Challenge, Color Coded Challenge, Fairy Tales, Fairytale Retelling Challenge, Mythology Reading Challenge, Read 2015, Rereading Challenge, You Read How Many Books Challenge
