Wishing on Willows

Wishing on Willows by Katie Ganshert is a novel about a young widow who is facing the loss of her beloved café when a developer and over half the town want her to sell to make room for some new condos that are supposed to be built. Robin, the young widow, is determined to fight it with all she has, not only for her café, but for a ministry center nearby that means a lot to her.

The developer, a handsome divorcé, is just as determined to get her to change her mind. Can they come to a mutual agreement, or will one of them have to give in?

The ending of this book was a little more interesting than the first 2/3. I wasn’t particularly impressed with the storyline and the execution, but romance novels aren’t really my thing, either. If you enjoy Christian novels set in the modern day Midwestern, small town America, then you would probably enjoy this.

I received an advanced reading copy of this book free from Waterbrook Press through the Blogging for Books program in exchange for an honest review.

Desperate: Hope for the Mom Who Needs to Breathe

I thoroughly enjoyed Desperate: Hope for the Mom Who Needs to Breathe by  Sally Clarkson and Sarah Mae. That title could describe me perfectly a lot of the time! I never realized how tough this motherhood gig is until I became a mother, and then I was like “Whoa! Why didn’t anyone tell me it would be this hard? Why didn’t anyone warn me?!”

I could have used a book like this as soon as my oldest was born, but it still has so much wisdom, so much insight on the struggles of motherhood. Partway through the book, my computer crashed and I lost all my bookmarks and the parts I highlighted because they were either so me, or they spoke truths that I needed to hear and wanted to remember. I wanted to have those to reference when I wrote this review, but I don’t have that anymore.

However, this is hands down one of the best books I have ever read written for moms, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is a mom, especially of little ones, who sometimes feels like she can hardly breathe (or go to the bathroom in peace!!) or anyone who wants to understand moms.

I like the way Sarah Mae, who is more “in the trenches” so to speak, writes about challenges she’s facing, and Sally, an older mom and Sarah Mae’s mentor, responds. I can identify with Sarah Mae, and I am blessed by Sally’s honesty, wisdom, and experience.

I was given this book free by Thomas Nelson publishers through the Booksneeze program in exchange for an honest review.

Unstoppable by Nick Vujicic

Do you have arms and legs? Are you able to use them? Then you already have an advantage over Nick Vujicic.

Although he has distinct physical limitations, Nick lives a full, adventurous life. What is stopping you from taking control of your life and making it the best it can be? Are your circumstances too overwhelming and difficult for God to redeem?

Through his stories and those of others who have overcome great difficulties, Nick shows you how to live a rich life, how to get through tough challenges and become unstoppable.

I was given this book by Multnomah and Waterbrook Press in exchange for an honest review.

Grace by Max Lucado

What is grace? Do you understand it correctly? How have you been changed by grace?

In this book, Max Lucado takes a closer look at grace, answering the questions above and more, showing us how grace looks in our lives. Max always has an interesting, compelling, fresh perspective on issues, and whether you agree with his conclusions or not, you will never be bored.

I would recommend this book to anyone who doesn’t fully understand grace and want wants to know how to experience it more abundantly.

This book was given to me by Thomas Nelson publishers through the Booksneeze program in exchange for an honest review.