Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Review of Bathsheba: Reluctant Beauty by Angela Hunt

Bathsheba: Reluctant Beauty (Dangerous Beauty, #2)
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Genres: Biblical Fiction

"After sending his army to besiege another king's capital, King David forces himself on Bathsheba, a loyal soldier's wife. When her resulting pregnancy forces the king to murder her husband and add her to his harem, Bathsheba struggles to protect her son while dealing with the effects of a dark prophecy and deadly curse on the king's household.

Combining historical facts with detailed fiction, Angela Hunt paints a realistic portrait of the beautiful woman who struggled to survive the dire results of divine judgment on a king with a divided heart."

The second book in a series about women in the Bible, Bathsheba's story was not a disappointment.
It's once again clear that the author has done her research -- I felt like I was transported back in time.

This story made Bathsheba's character more relatable, David seem more human (which I assure you, he was), and Uriah's tragic fate that much more tangible. Hunt did a fantastic job on making this real life events come alive for us today.

I highly recommend this series for lovers of Biblical Fiction! I'll be keeping my eye out for more from Angela Hunt.

**I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.



Thursday, November 12, 2015

Book Review: The Magician's Nephew by C. S. Lewis

The Magician's Nephew (Chronicles of Narnia, #6)The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Genres: Fantasy; Classic; Children's/YA
                                                    
"When Digory and Polly are tricked by Digory's peculiar Uncle Andrew into becoming part of an experiment, they set off on the adventure of a lifetime. What happens to the children when they touch Uncle Andrew's magic rings is far beyond anything even the old magician could have imagined.
Hurtled into the Wood between the Worlds, the children soon find that they can enter many worlds through the mysterious pools there. In one world they encounter the evil Queen Jadis, who wreaks havoc in the streets of London when she is accidentally brought back with them. When they finally manage to pull her out of London, unintentionally taking along Uncle Andrew and a coachman with his horse, they find themselves in what will come to be known as the land of Narnia."


For some weird reason, it took me until now to start reading the Chronicles of Narnia.  I have seen all the movies, but because C.S. Lewis wrote a prequel that was never made into a movie, I only had snippets from friends conversations to help me know what to expect.  That of course, helped me none whatsoever in predicting what would happen, so I got to discover the story for myself, Which always makes me very excited.
  The beginning was alright, it wasn't my favorite entrance into a story though.  It almost felt off topic, but it all made sense toward the end.  After the entrance I was very into the story until it got to right in the middle, when I got a little bit bored.  There was a little bit too much happening in some chapters and not enough stuff of importance in a few others.  Because of this it took me a lot longer than I had planned to get through that part of the book.  I ended up putting it down for a while to read another story.  When I picked it back up a short while later, it turns out I was only a few pages from where things start to really pick up again.  When I picked it back up, I was enthralled with the story and where it was heading.  The way C.S. Lewis described how Narnia was made and how the Lamp post got there, why the animals can talk, and everything else special about Narnia it amazed me.  His describing skills really caught my attention.  The story wasn't over after Narnia was created though.  Digory and Polly, whom I  have grown to appreciate, are sent on a mission that starts to answer questions on how the other stories of Narnia would come to be.  Then C.S. Lewis wraps it up pretty quickly.  I actually missed hearing a bit more about the last little thing, which I won't spoil for those who haven't read it.  Over all, this prequel has done a really good job of making me want to propel into The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe. 
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That's me.  Propelling into the series.  I'm  ready for a reading spree. 
I am blessed to have the entire series in one volume, so expect a review of at least one other book in the series.    My apologies for being gone so long!  Until next time!                                                                                                                                                         
“Now the trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed.”