Book Review: Kreindia of Amorium: Wade of Aquitaine Book Two by Ben Parris

Kreindia of Amorium: Wade of Aquitaine Book Two
By Ben Parris

Kreindia of Amorium is the second in the trilogy of Wade of Aquitaine books.

If you like history, you will love this book.  If you like science fiction, you will love Kreindia of Amorium.  If you like action and adventure, then this book might well be for you.

This book reads a little differently than the first book, Wade of Aquitaine. However, just like in the first book, there is plenty of action, adventure, and maybe a little treason here and there.

Both the first and second books are well-written and interesting.  The only problem we have with this book is the jumping back and forth between years on the timeline.  But, then again, that is what holds the plot together.

The classic paradox of time comes into play in these books.  If I go back in history and kill my grandfather before he has kids, would I ever be born?  And if I am never born, how can I go back in time and kill my grandfather?  That rational also holds this book together.

We give it all five stars.  If you like thinking about the astral plane, then you will enjoy Kreindia of Amorium.  If you don’t like that type of adventure, then this series probably will not be your cup of tea.

 

Wade of Aquitaine, the first book in the series, is also available on Amazon.




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Book Review: Max & Charlie by Zack Lieberman

Max & Charlie

By Zack Lieberman

Illustrated by Louis Neubert 

We were sent two copies of Max and Charlie so that we might review it.

We would have to say that Max & Charlie is probably the strangest children’s book we have ever read.  The book is supposed to be a dream but is really more of a nightmare.

The pictures are colorful and bright.  However, the font is way too small for tired eyes to read.

We cannot imagine giving this book to any of our children back when they were younger.  Many of the reviewers like this book, most from New York City.

We understand that many people like this book. However, we live in Gulf Coast Texas and this book is so far away from our reality that it seems more like a bad trip than a fantasy. Perhaps we are missing something.

For us, the story is just too hard to follow. Perhaps those living in a fast-paced place like New York City will relate to this book and even like it.  Down here on the coast, it is just too overwhelming for us to enjoy it.

We give Max & Charlie one star because the font is too small and hard to read and the story is very confusing.

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Book Review: 175 Best Superfood Blender Recipes by Marilyn Haugen & Doug Cook, RD, MHSc

175 Best Superfood Blender Recipes
By Marilyn Haugen & Doug Cook, RD, MHSc

We were sent a review copy of 175 Best Superfood Blender Recipes so that we could try it out and see what we thought about the book.

If you have just gotten your Nutribullet and are looking for great things to try out, this book is for you. There are smoothie recipes galore. This book has a little bit of everything. There are kid-friendly recipes, smoothies, soups, dips, and more.

We really love our NutriBullet and 175 Best Superfood Blender Recipes makes a great companion to it. We plan on trying most of these recipes.

We give 175 Best Superfood Blender Recipes five stars on our scale of zero to five stars. We think you will enjoy it, too!

If you have any questions or comments, please email us at gindysvideos@gmail.com. Please follow our blogs. Thank you.


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Book Review: Final Departure by Jeff Walton

Final Departure
By Jeff Walton


We were sent a copy of this book by the author for the purpose of writing a review. We are a strong military family. Every male in our family who was physically able to serve in the military has done so.

The author, Jeff Walton, is a former Navy man. Our oldest son is a chief petty officer in the navy. Our youngest son is a corporal in the United States Marine Corp (oorah). As you may know, the Marine Corps is a department of the Navy. The Men’s Department!!

Final Departure is a great book. We rate books on a scale of zero to five stars. Zero is absolutely terrible and five stars means the book is wonderful. Five might mean the book is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

If we could, we would give this wonderful book 490 stars. Since the most we can give it is five stars, that is what it gets.

The pace of this book is a little slow, but there is reason that the book is a little slow. Jeff Walton uses the slow pace to present the case for believing in the Bible.

Throughout this book, scientific facts are presented that back up the validity of the Bible. We are both Bible-believing Christians and we were not aware of many of these facts.

The Bible tells us in Matthew 5:17 NIV

"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil."

This is an important verse to remember when reading Final Departure. It will help to make much of what you read understandable.

We find this book to be very sound doctrinally. If you are a Christian and you struggle with how to explain Christianity to non-Christians, this book might very well give you the information you need to help you explain your beliefs.

If you are a non-Christian but you want to understand why your Christian friends hold on to the Bible and their faith, Final Departure might give you the information you seek.

We enjoyed Final Departure immensely. It is suspenseful and entertaining. We hope you enjoy it.

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Book Review: Wade of Aquitaine by Ben Parris

Wade of Aquitaine

By Ben Parris

We were given a copy of Wade of Aquitaine so that we could review it. 

Wade of Aquitaine is not the type of book we normally read.  This book is one that really makes one think and contemplate.  It is one of those types of books that requires one to really think outside the box. If you have every contemplated the classic paradox of time, you will enjoy this book.

Wade of Aquitaine is very well written and extremely well thought out.  Often when we read fiction, we find ourselves reading about something that we just can’t see happening.  This book could have gone that way except Ben Parris, the author, explains the underlying premise as to why it could happen.

The book is one you don’t want to put down.  It is a long read, but a very interesting one.  It is very entertaining and appears to be well researched. 

The Reviews by David and Suzanne scale rates books from zero to five, with zero being terrible and five being great.  Wade of Aquitaine rates all five stars.

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Book Review: Crazy-Stressed by Dr. Michael J. Bradley

Crazy-Stressed 
By Dr. Michael J. Bradley

We were sent an advance review copy of Crazy-Stressed so that we could make a review.

First, we need to explain our review policy.  All of our blogs are Christian-based.  This means that anything we review we read from a fundamental Christian perspective.

Therefore, when we read a book that uses our Heavenly Father’s name in vain, we immediately knock the rating down to zero.  This means that a book has to work harder to get any stars.

Our rating scale is from zero to five stars.

That being said, the advanced copy, which might differ slightly from the final book, has The Lord’s name in vain four times.  Once on page 63 and three times on page 67.

It is interesting to note that Dr. Bradley spells this out completely (all in one lowercase word) as he does for the name of a female cat.  However, for all other foul words he blanks out part of the word.  He uses dashes in place of a few letters.  Somehow, he sees this as not quite so bad.

Now that we have explained our ranking system, let’s get to the review.  This book is well written.  Dr. Bradley does not burden his readers with a lot of medical jargon.  He explains things in simple, easy to understand English.  He might even be able to speak a little redneck.

He has some funny stories and uses humor throughout the book. Crazy-Stressed is a fun read, other than the bad language. It is also an important read for any parent of a present or future teen.

We wish this book had been available when we were raising our four living children.  Perhaps we could have used some of the tactics described in the book.

One of the great things about Crazy-Stressed is that Dr. Bradley tells parents that it is okay to be stressed by your teen.  He lets his readers know that this is only natural and to be expected.

We give Crazy-Stressed a total of three stars.  We would have been able to give it five stars, but the language used in some parts was not appropriate for Christian readers.  Dr. Bradley actually should know better than this.  It is possible to speak today’s language without using inappropriate words.  This is exactly what parents should do for their children.

Dr. Bradley tells his readers about how teens model their parents.  From our own experience, we find that it is easy to fall into using certain words when you hear them often.  If we want teens to show proper respect and use proper language to show that respect, we must use proper language ourselves.

We recommend Crazy-Stressed by Dr. Michael Bradley with a language warning.  Very often just reading poor language allows it to sneak into our conversations.

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Book Review: Buttercream Basics: Learn the Art of Buttercream Decorating by Carey Madden

Buttercream Basics: Learn the Art of Buttercream Decorating

By Carey Madden

We were given this book in consideration of a review. We will always give our honest opinion of the books that we review and this one is great!

The author, Carey Madden, had me hooked from her introduction. She sees cake decorating as a creative expression along with other things that maybe folks don’t usually see as creative, such as working on cars. She is very encouraging and implies that we are all creative in some way. She wants us to just do it and enjoy it, whatever the “it” is in our lives. We are encouraged to silence that inner critic and explore our creativity. This is a great attitude!

The first three chapters cover the basics: tools, recipes, and how to get started, all things that we need to know in order to have a successful cake baking and decorating adventure.

Pages 59 through 252 are devoted to various ways to ice the cake and lots of cool ideas and techniques for further decorating your cakes with buttercream embellishments. Carey Madden even shares some of her mistakes along the way with pointers for how we can go about avoiding them ourselves.

Along the way there are tips to either simply parts of the project or turn it into a more advanced project for that WOW factor. There are explanations of terms as well as answers to questions frequently asked about cake decorating.

There is even a section on color theory to help you get the colors mixed just right for the buttercream art you are wishing to create.

There are great pictures throughout the book. If you’re not battling a sweet tooth going into this, you will certainly be doing so by the end of this book!

One of the prettiest cakes in the book is decorated with buttercream cherry blossoms (“sakura” in Japanese). Compared to some of the other designs in the book, this one is minimalistic and just absolutely beautiful. It is one of the first that I would like to try. It is found on page 193. Maybe you will try it to and we can compare notes.

If, like me, you think you can’t possibly ever have too many cake-related books, then you will definitely want to get a copy of Buttercream Basics: Learn the Art of Buttercream Decorating!

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Book Review: World Class Smiles, Made in Detroit by Jamie Reynolds

 

World Class Smiles, Made in Detroit

By Jamie Reynolds

World Class Smiles, Made in Detroit is the kind of book you would expect to be given on your first visit to an orthodontist.  It is well written and informative.

If someone is having questions regarding their need for orthodontic work or is wondering what might take place during orthodontic work, World Class Smiles will answer that for you,

This book is written by an orthodontist.  It explains in great detail all the information that a person seeking orthodontic treatment should have.

We give World Class Smiles, Made in Detroit a five on our scale of zero to five stars.  You probably won’t see this on any Best Seller list anytime soon, but if you are seeking information on orthodontic work, you could not find a better book.

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Book Review: The People's President by John C. Bednar

 

 

The People's President

by John C. Bednar

Our blogs are all Christian-based and any reviews we post reflect our strong Christian beliefs.  That being said, we have zero tolerance for anyone using our Lord’s name in vain.  Our policy is that when this takes place, whatever book we are rating drops immediately to our zero-star rating.

The People’s President by John C. Bednar uses the Lord’s name in vain at least three times.  That drops the book down to zero stars right off the bat.

We would love to give this book a five-star rating based solely on the fact that it is written by a Clemson University professor.  We both grew up in the shadow of Clemson and we have our tiger pride.

However, this book, even without using God’s name in vain, just isn’t that great of a book.  The People's President is more a forum for the author to state his liberal views on gun control, the military, taxes, the environment and other political issues.

The book is well written and is entertaining, but it really is more a political statement than a novel.

The storyline is about a Princeton professor who runs for president without spending any of his own money or accepting any campaign contributions.  It would be great if real life worked that way.

Other than the use of God’s name in vain, the People’s President fits very well within Christian values.  There are no sex scenes, no extramarital affairs, and very little other curse words.

If one could get past the liberal agenda, The People’s President is mildly entertaining. We do not suggest the book and we give it zero stars on our scale and one star on the Amazon scale.

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Book Review: It's Hard to Swim by K. J. Hales

It’s Hard to Swim Ellie the Wienerdog series

By K. J. Hales

It’s Hard to Swim is a cute little children’s book with wonderfully cute illustrations.  It is the story of Ellie the Wienerdog, who starts out talking about how she can’t swim because she has fur and does not have flippers and fins, etc. 

Someone puts a life jacket on her and puts her into the water.  Here is where we have a problem.  Ellie goes through a series of thoughts about not being able to be found, spooky creatures, and more.

We feel that, unless your child is already a swimmer and very familiar with the water and swimming, this might not be the book for your child.

The story turns out all right.  Ellie is thinking about possibly teaching fish to sit.  This is good, but we are concerned with the apprehension that might be stirred up in a child because of Ellie’s fears.

The story is cute and the illustrations are great.  We give It's Hard to Swim three stars.  We caution parents to be careful with children who might be sensitive to Ellie’s fears and might not be able to see that the outcome of the book is positive.

 





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Book Review: Talking Back to the Bible A Historian's Approach to Bible Study by Edward G. Simmons

Talking Back to the Bible is not your typical read.   In this book, historian Edward G. Simmons takes his readers on a tour of his life from Fundamental Baptist to atheist and then back to a moderate Presbyterian.

Talking Back to the Bible is really not so much a book as a collection of articles that could stand by themselves.  Each article does not necessarily need the articles previously presented to provide context for them to be understood. 

We would suggest that anyone who is not completely grounded in their faith, or lack thereof, not read this book. The author isn’t really certain of his faith.  However, he does try to present the material in a balanced way to not influence the faith of his readers.

If one were to choose to read Talking Back to the Bible, one should do so one chapter at a time with a good study Bible nearby as well as a good college dictionary and maybe a copy of Josephus as well.

This book is written on the graduate level.  The author does not use academic citations, but does use words found on the graduate level of reading. This makes sense since the author is a Ph.D. and is most likely used to writing on that level.

The author presents historical data, data found by archeologists, and other information alongside Biblical writings to try to compare and contrast the information. This is done so that the reader can understand the context.

We will not discuss the merits of the information presented in Talking Back to the Bible; that is for the reader to decide. We will tell you that we were sent a copy of this book and asked to read it and review it on our blogs.  Our blogs are Christian-based.  We are very devout, fundamental Christians with Holiness persuasion.

We cannot agree with much of the information presented in Talking Back to the Bible.  We cannot agree with the author’s belief stated early in the book that implies it is ridiculous to say, “The Bible says.”  This really is a matter of semantics more than anything else.

We feel that we are to trust in God and come to Him with the faith of a child.  We also believe that we should lean not on our own understanding.  If one begins to question parts of the Bible and discount them, then how does one decide which parts to believe and which parts not to believe? 

Judging Talking Back to the Bible purely on its readability and on the information presented, we would rate it a four out of five stars.  We do not agree with much of what is presented in the book.  However, the whole idea behind the book is to provide the information so that the reader can decide what to believe. 

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Book Review: Lowcountry Boil by Susan M. Boyer

Lowcountry Boil

By Susan M. Boyer

Wow!  This book had me holding my breath in many spots and in others left me totally breathless. It was riveting! As one scene unfolds into another, you are left wondering what could possibly happen next.  Once you think you have things figured out, a twist comes along to make you rethink what you thought to be the case.

There are two overriding questions throughout the book: Who did this? and What about Michael?  One of these questions is answered by the end of the book…

The main character, Liz Talbot, is tenacious in her quest for answers.  The more answers she finds, the more questions there are.  She is a bit of a brat, too, and disobedient, but in the name of finding out what is going on in her hometown.

This book has quite a few instances of profanity, but thankfully, does not taken Heavenly Father’s name in vain.  I would have been very disappointed if it had done so.  There are extra-marital affairs and violence.  There are a few somewhat graphic scenes, but nothing really over the top and not very often.  It doesn’t get anywhere near being pornography.

The author of this book grew up one county over from me. So, when it was offered to me in consideration of a review, I jumped on it.  I want to support the home team, so to speak.  Though the setting of the story is a fictional island called Stella Maris, the other places mentioned in the book are places with which I am familiar.  This made it very easy to connect to the story.  Maybe you won’t know these places, but I think, if you love a good mystery story, you will readily connect to Liz, her colorful Southern family, the Stella Maris community, and her quest for answers.  You will want to know who killed Grandma, too!

If you love a real page turner, this is the book for you!

Susan M. Boyer is from Greenville, South Carolina and is the author of the Liz Talbot Mystery series, the first of which is LOWCOUNTRY BOIL.  It won the 2012 Agatha Award for Best First Novel and the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense.  Her books take place on a fictional island named Stella Maris that is accessible by ferry from Charleston.  In LOWCOUNTRY BOIL, Private Investigator Liz Talbot high-tails it to Stella Maris when she finds out that her grandmother has been murdered.  Then her long-dead best friend shows up.  When more people start turning up dead in this small seaside town, Liz must use more than her wits and charm to catch a psychopath before he catches her… With five books under her belt, Susan’s sixth Liz Talbot mystery LOWCOUNTRY BONFIRE releases June 27th, 2017.

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Finding God Anew - Book Beginnings and Friday 56

Finding God Anew by Barbara Kudwa is a true story that is written in such a way that it will appeal to even you fiction-only readers. 

This is a story of a woman who is trying to hold onto her faith but from time to time realizes that she had fallen away from God. 

Let’s start with Book Beginnings.

We will start with the introduction page xv

Over the past decade, I’ve often felt nudged to write a book. Just as quickly, I’ve found myself asking why followed by countless reasons why not. With so many larger tragedy stories to tell, why is my story worth sharing?

Once you get into the book, you will see why her story is worth sharing.  Let’s fast forward to page one and get into the book. Each chapter starts and ends with a prayer.  This is wonderful, but we will leave the prayers for you to read when you buy Finding God Anew for yourself.

With the remnants of the sandman in the corners of my eyes, my lids slowly opened to see the springs of the bunk bed above me holding my older sister Miriam.

I was seven years old.  Full of energy and increasingly independent but always eager to see my dad, I was wakened at five a.m. every morning to the sound of him flushing the toilet down the hall, determined to see him off before he left for his two jobs.

This girl is the sixth child and youngest daughter in a family with eight children.  She learned hard work and sacrifice early on.  Her family was Catholic and very much devoted to the Lord.

Now, let’s book on over to page 56.  Page 56 sees us coming to the close of chapter 8.  Here Barbara tells us:

Little did I know that, over time, other people’s choices would show me another side to them.  Tough times were coming, tougher than I had ever known.  I was building my relationship with God with daily prayer, meditations, and devotionals, and I was going to need God’s protection after I received some shocking news.

We will not tell you what happens next, but we will tell you that in this book she sees infidelity, two annulments, two and a half divorces, a murder, two suicides, the betrayal by a good close friend, and the death of her unborn child.

This woman is left massive debt that she was obligated to pay in a will that cut her out every other way.  And what do those two policemen on her doorstep want with her and why won’t they let her brother and sister talk to her?

If you want a good suspense story, Finding God Anew is it.  If you are looking for a romance story where everyone lives happily ever after, keep looking.



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