Lunch Notes to Our Children by Nicole Hewitt,

     Lunch Notes to Our Children is a quick read with short, to the point chapters. And I think it will be a useful book to reference. It has some lunch note examples you can use and some bible verses to refer to, and it even includes little tiny squares to cut out and put your notes on. I won’t be using those, because I personally think it will make the book unpleasant to look at, and if you tear the pages out then you just have a book that will flip to random missing pages, and that just isn’t something that makes me feel good.

   The beginning of each chapter includes a note in a font that I think is supposed to make it look handwritten, and I thought that was pretty cute. The examples seemed a bit long winded to me. I feel like most kids would be excited to get a note in their lunch box, but won’t want to read something that comes off as a lecture, and that’s how I felt reading the examples.

   The note included in front of the first chapter, said something that bothered me. It’s more of a problem with the wording, than a problem with the message.

 The note said “stick up for someone others are making fun of a little too much.” 

  I understand the point. I think the author was trying to say that you should stick up for people if they are being made fun of, but that’s not how the wording comes across. The wording of this particular quote makes it sound as if being made fun of is ok, and to only interfere when it’s become too much. I think we should be encouraging our kids to stick up for others who are being made fun of, period. Not if it becomes too excessive. In my opinion we should be teaching our kids fun should not be had at the expense of another person. But, I am willing to admit that I think the wording is just off, and the author didn’t mean for kids to sit by until it becomes a problem.

    We are a homeschooling family, and I found that there wasn’t a lot of stuff that really pertained to us. I do think that I can still use this book when it comes to activities, and times when we are around other kids. But for us, it will mostly be used as a reference for little bits of advice, rather than actually writing notes.
   If you would like to grab yourself a copy of this book, just head on over to Amazon.

   I was given this book in exchange for a review. And I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity. 

The Silent Patient by Alex MIchaelides

     The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides is likely to be my favorite book of the year, and maybe even that I have ever read. 

    From the first sentence of chapter one, we know that 33 year old Alicia Berenson has murdered her husband of seven years.  We know that Gabriel, her husband, was shot several times in the face, and was tied to a chair. We also learn that Alica had some injuries. But, since she went silent after the murder of her husband, we don't know why. We don't know why she shot him, we don't know why he was bound to a chair, we don't know why she had cuts on her wrists. But, the book was going to reveal that to us.

   The book then goes on to introduce us to Theo Farber, a 42 year old psychotherapist, and the story is told through his point of view, and the point of view of Alicia's diary. Through both of these view points we learn the story of why Alicia murdered her husband, who she seemed deeply in love with. I liked the diary entries. It felt like I was getting to know the real Alica, and since she wouldn't talk, I felt like we got details that we shouldn't have.

    This book has an amazing twist to it, and I never expected it. I was reading along, and then BAM! it comes in and throws you for a loop. For a debut novel, this book is incredibly well written, and the twist is so well executed. I could not put this it down. I had to keep reading. I had to know why she killed him. Throughout the whole book, I was convinced at several different moments that someone else had killed him and Alicia was taking the fall for. But since the first sentence of the book, and the summary on the back tells you that Alicia kills him, I feel like I can confirm that she did it. But the fact that I was able to question that the entire time I was reading, was so incredible. It kept me focused, and wondering if I had missed some clue. This book is truly one of the best books I have read, and I am so grateful to have gotten the chance. If you want to read this book for yourself, and trust me, you do, then head over to Amazon and grab yourself a copy. It is due to release in February.

Sadie by Courtney Summers

  This book was given to me before release date. I did read it then, and posted about it on goodreads. However, I am just now getting to writting a real review.

  This book will just suck you in.  From the sentence at the end of the first chapter, I was hooked.

  "And it begins, as so many stories do, with a dead girl."

 This story is about a girl named Sadie, as she takes off to avenge the death of her sister Maddie. Through out the story we learn more and more about how Maddie died. And eventually we learn why Sadie would venture out, and take matters into her own hands.

  I really appreciated the story being told in two points of view. One viewpoint is Sadie's. Sadie's view point is interesting because we see how she is struggling, and how she intends to carry out her plans, and how things either go well, or how they go wrong.

  But, I really enjoyed the podcast viewpoint. It's something I hadn't seen before, and was really interesting. Through the podcast, and the viewpoint of the host of podcast we learn about Sadie, since she isn't telling us too much about herself. We learn about the girls upbringing, and their parents, as well as the woman who actually cared for them.

  The ending of this book really got to me, because we don't know what happens to Sadie. Did she survive, and just never return home? Or did things go south, and she completed her goal, but she didn't make it out either? I just don't know, and it makes me think about this book over and over again. I intend to re-read this book, because it just won't leave me. And I need more of it.


  Also, this isn't related to this book, but I am curious to know if book reviews should contain spoilers or not. I'm finding it hard to review the book without giving away details. Or should they contain spoilers, but have a warning first?  I think i'll read some reviews about books I love and see what they do.

Craving by Helen Hardt

  I don't have a personal picture, that I took of this book because I read it as an e-book on my phone. I used the kindle app (I do have a kindle, but find my phone easier to hold, and the screen isn't as bright which makes for easier bed time reading). The kindle app is free through whichever app store you prefer, and it's great because you get access to books that are on sale, or if your on the fence about actually buying a kindle, get the app, check it out. I've read many books just using the app. So I recommend it. Now, onto the good stuff.

    Craving is the first book in the Steel Brothers series, written by Helen Hardt. I first found this author through a giveaway. I didn't win the giveaway, but when I found this book was free in e-book for for a limited time, I snatched it up. I don't know what I was expecting, but I was blown away.
 
  As far as I am aware (i've only read book one) there are 3 Steel brothers, Jonah, Ryan, and Talon. And a Steel Sister, Marjorie. Marjorie has a best friend named Jade Roberts. This book is told in two points of view. One is from Jade's side of the story, and one from Talon's side. I found Talon's to be the most interesting.

  Jade is fresh out of law school, and is waiting on her bar results. She is staying at Steel Ranch for a bit of time. While staying there, she recieves news that she did pass the bar, and she get s a job working in law rather quickly. But while she waits for the results, she starts having midnight meetings with one of the Steel brothers, Talon.
 
  Talon is described as a very strong, and handsome man. From his chapters, we learn that he was subjected to some childhood abuse. It is sexual abuse. In the first book we don't know who the abusers are, although I'm pretty sure we are given a clue toward the end who one of them is. And we don't get the whole story.

  The Steel family also seems to have a lot of secrets, since Marjorie at one point finds out her name is actually something else, and no one ever told her. The book ends though leaving us to wonder what the secrets are, and why they have them.

  There are a few sex scenes in the book, but I won't be going into detail about those. I did love this book though, and it was pretty quick read. I have the next few in the series, and I am looking forward to spending more time with this family, and learning all of their dirty secrets. I just have a few books in line before I can get back to them, and let me tell you, it's been difficult.