First Date

First Date

by Krista McGee

2 stars

336 pages

Published Jan. 10, 2012 by Thomas Nelson 

 

If you like christianity being shoved down your throat and all things "The Bachelor," this book is clearly for you.

Now, I am a christian, but this book is just not my cup of tea. Every page has some religious ideology and prayer on it. Religion for me is a personal thing. I go to church - I enjoy it, but I don't want my beliefs turned into a YA romance filled with saccharine, eye-rolling and lack of plot. It may have helped if the writing was better and the relgious down-the-throat-shoving was toned down to just "religious overtones."

The only reason I gave it two stars is because there is no swearing, sex or bad stuff. And it obviously touts the benefits of christian thinking - forgiveness and love.

And I finished the thing. I guess that counts for something.

Pawn

Pawn (The Blackcoat Rebellion #1)

by Aimee Carter

4 stars

 
346 pages 
Published Nov. 26, 2013 by Harlequin TEEN 

Argh! I can't believe it's been 10 days since I've last posted! But happily, it was for a good reason. Some girlfriends and I flew up to Berlin and spent the whole week sightseeing and shopping. It was delightful.

BUT NOW, back to the reviews.

While on the plane I read this whole book - so you know Pawn will be a fast read. It's not thick on character development or fantastic writing, but it does move along quickly and has a decent premise - think Meg Cabot's Airhead trilogy, with a touch of Keira Cass's The Selection and with some rebellion thrown in.

One happy aspect - there is no love triangle. For a while, I thought there might be, but I was thankfully wrong. And there was an evil grandmother - who doesn't like an evil grandmother?? Quite awesome.

I will be reading the next in the series.

Emma: A Latter-Day Tale

Emma: A Latter-Day Tale

by Rebecca H. Jamison

3 stars

256 pages

Expected publication: Aug. 13, 2013 by Bonneville/Cedar Fort, Inc.

Jane Austen fan fiction goes Mormon!

This novel follows the plot almost exactly of Austen’s much-loved tale Emma, but with Mormon lingo, doctrine and spirituality. Uplifting and squeaky clean, this book would feel right at home between the “Book of Mormon” and “Pride and Prejudice.”

I’ve read some Austen fan fiction and have been less than impressed with most. This adaptation is an easy, light read – totally predictable, but everyone knows how the original Emma ends, so no biggie. It is a book that I can recommend to my mom or those who are intimidated by Austen’s antiquated language (it does take me a while to get into the rhythm of Austen’s original works). 

But I so wish the author had at least changed all of the names. Emma, Knightley, Mrs. Bates, etc., are all named characters within.  I would have enjoyed trying to figure out who was who instead of having it handed to me on a platter.

Those who are not LDS or Mormon will struggle a bit with the lingo, but this book is so obviously geared toward Mormons, that I wouldn’t worry about audience. 

So if you are LDS (or are familiar with the lingo) and are looking for a good beach read that won't tax your synapses, this is the perfect book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Cedar Fort, Inc. for the opportunity to review this book.