My #1...

Because I would rarely ask others to do something I'm unwilling to do myself, I will be participating in the list of 20 things to do on Book Lovers' Day (or...any day). I hope you'll join me!

Today I'm reading "If One Falls" by Elaine Baldwin and drinking - what else? - coffee. What about you?
#rivershorebooks
http://www.rivershorebooks.com/book-lovers-day-drawing.html

20 Ways to Celebrate Book Lovers' Day (Bonus: A Giveaway!)

Today (August 9th) is Book Lovers' Day!

To celebrate, Rivershore Books is holding three drawings! Entries close on August 31st.

The following 20 ways to spend Book Lovers' Day have been divided by difficulty. The higher the difficulty, the bigger the prize!

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Easy To Do

1. Curl up with a book and your favorite drink.
2. Reread your favorite classic. (My choice: Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen.)
3. Find a book you own but haven't read yet.
4. Using www.dolldivine.com or something similar, create a "doll" of your favorite character - or ten!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Medium Difficulty

1. Visit the library. Put in a request for a book they haven't heard of. (See suggestions in #5 if you're not sure what to recommend.)
2. Make a list of your favorite book characters and what you like about them.
3. Write to an author whose books you enjoy. Most author's emails can be found by a simple web search, and fan mail is always appreciated.
4. Write a book review. They are valuable to both readers and authors!
5. Check out an indie author whose books you haven't read yet. (Not sure who to read? Mirriam Neal, Vicki V. Lucas, LA Ramsey, Elizabeth Ender, and any of our Rivershore authors are great!)
6. Organize your bookshelf (or, if you're like me, bookshelves).

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Expert Book Lover

1. Create a new cover for a book you love. (Don't have Photoshop? Gimp is free and works very well.)
2. Paint a scene from a book.
3. Rewrite a famous book scene.
4. Draw a character who interests you.
5. Create a "movie" poster based on a book.
6. Write a newspaper article about a book you loved or hated. Treat it like a news release. ("Extra; extra! Read all about it! Reader enjoyed new novel by an up-and-coming author!")
7. Go on a book tour. There are iconic scenes in almost any book: recreate those in your area. Double the fun: Film it! Send your video to me (Jansina@rivershorebooks.com) and I may post it on here in the future.
8. Are there any author signings happening in your area? Find one to go to - whether you've heard of the author or not. It could be how you discover your next favorite read!
9. Act out a scene from your favorite book - on your own or with friends.
10. Create a fort with your books. (Suggestion: Use a sheet as a roof to avoid books falling on you.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Important But Boring Info 

To enter: On Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest (your choice!), post a photo, video, or description of what you did with #rivershorebooks or www.rivershorebooks.com somewhere within the post.*

Copy the URL of your post, and enter it in the corresponding Rafflecopter giveaway!

Winners will be announced on September 1st! Some entries may be included on this blog throughout the month. Please email me (Jansina@rivershorebooks.com) if you don't want yours shared.

*Not applicable for book reviews.

Book Review: Mom's Little Black Book

Mom's Little Black Book by Marilynn Dawson

The story behind this book is so sweet: the author created it as a gift for her graduating senior. I know I would have appreciated a book like this when I was graduating.

Some of the advice came across as preachy, but it would have been hard to avoid that within this format. It doesn't take away from the Truth behind it. I especially appreciate how the author has taken advice directly from the Bible and constantly guides the reader back to that.

I read the ebook version, and while that format didn't lessen the value of the content, I would opt for the paperback version if I were buying it as a gift. This is the perfect flip-through, coffee table book. It's not designed to be read in one sitting. It works to read it from start to finish, but it can also be read out of order, reread, bookmarked, and highlighted.

There is so much excellent advice packed into this little book - from practical advice about doing laundry to spiritual wisdom - any young adult just venturing out on their own can benefit from it.

I was given a copy of the book in exchange for this unbiased review.

Book Review: Toxic

Toxic by Vicki V. Lucas

I was given an ebook copy of Toxic for this review. As I neared the end, I asked the author if I could buy signed copies of both this book and its sequel. I have a small collection of signed books and knew this was a set I wanted to add to it.

One of the main things that drew me into the story was the way Lucas introduces the characters. Foehn is a special favorite of mine - I love how the author gave a personality to something normally not seen as sentient.

The main characters are both flawed and virtuous, brave and deceptive, naïve and wise. There is the perfect balance of "good" and "bad" traits, which makes the characters easy to relate to and realistic. (Realistic is my goal as a writer, so that's the highest compliment I know how to give.)

There is less of a balance when it comes to the evil characters - I can't think of many redeeming qualities in them. This works well within the story, though. There is a firm distinction between good and evil; no gray areas. I appreciated this aspect.

That isn't to say that it's always clear who the evil characters are. In some cases, things are revealed to the reader around the same time they're revealed to the characters. More than once I found myself questioning the true motives behind the character's actions and wondering if my first assumptions were incorrect. This was brilliantly done.

The good vs. evil also comes through in the author's use of magic within the story. I'm one of those readers who sometimes objects to magic in a story, but Lucas portrayed it well and made it very clear who the magic was coming from.

The narrative jumps in and out of several different characters' perspectives, which could be confusing if it wasn't handled as well as it is. Between the picture before each switch in narrator (a different picture for each character) and the unique "voice" of each character, it was always clear whose perspective was being shown. Seeing the situations through different eyes added a deeper understanding to the story.

The book is long - over 400 pages - but it never felt like too much. The plot kept me interested till the end, and beyond. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel, Rancid, and I'm sure will read this book again.

I was given a copy of the book in exchange for this unbiased review.

Book Review: Spoken For

Spoken For by Robin Jones Gunn and Alyssa Joy Bethke

The word that comes to mind to describe this book is "beautiful." It's like a warm hug. There was nothing in Spoken For that I hadn't heard before; there was nothing I didn't already believe. The way it was presented wasn't overwhelmingly unique.

But it was needed. It was an expression of God's love and of His promises, and it was...beautiful.

One thing that bothered me was that pronouns about God weren't capitalized throughout the book. Of course, it's proper not to capitalize them (so the authors did this correctly), I just prefer it when they are. It shows respect. Note: This probably wouldn't have bothered me nearly as much if they weren't capitalized on the back cover - making it inconsistent.

The personal stories from both Alyssa and Robin - of both difficult times and joyful times - add a lot to the book. They serve as reminders that God really does do what He says He will, even when it seems bleak. The stories also make it seem like the authors are having genuine conversations with you, the reader, and they add a tenderness and a genuineness to the narrative.

Spoken For is a wonderful book for teens and young adults. There were only a couple places where it felt preachy. For books in this genre it can be difficult to avoid that, so I was glad to see the majority of the book was more of a gentle reminder than a heavy-handed teaching.

 I will read this book again, and I have already started recommending it to others.

Want to learn more about Spoken For? Consider visiting some of these sites:

Robin's Website

Alyssa's Website

Video

More Info

Read Chapter One

Author Bio

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Blog Tour: A Year in Prayer With Jesus by Marilynn Dawson

A Year in Prayer With Jesus is not one of Rivershore's books, but we received a request to feature it and we are more than happy to!

Welcome to the second stop on Author Marilynn Dawson's virtual book tour for her soon-to-be-released book, “A Year in Prayer With Jesus.” Today we feature an excerpt from the introduction of her book:

The Sermon on the Mount. . . Matthew chapters 5 – 7, could be described as Christ's dissertation on how the one who follows Him will live and carry out their daily activities. While the Apostle Paul at that time was Saul the Pharisee, he would echo Christ's teachings quite decidedly in the years to come through his various letters to the churches across the region.

Included in Christ's dissertation that day, was a talk on how to pray. Prayer in the life of a Jew was very much part of everyday life. The more devout the Jew, the more they prayed. This was particularly true of the Pharisees who not only thought it important to pray, but important to be seen while doing so. Piety was deemed something to be flaunted, rather than hidden under the cloak of humility.

Fast forward 2000+ years into our time period, and we still have people and clergy thinking it necessary that everyone knows their piousness. The need for long public prayers eloquently spoken in loud, solemn voices is somehow evidence of that person's elevation above the common man and an indication of how he has God's attention. This behaviour can be seen anywhere from the pulpit to the prayer room. But does it truly show the piety of the person praying? Do they really have that much of an “in” with God?

If we take Christ's words at face value, the answer is NO!

Matthew 6:5-8 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

So if the wordy prayers are out, if we are not to pray in a manner that showcases our pride, and if God already knows what we need before we ask, then how exactly do we pray? What exactly, do we pray for? Both of these questions are given to us in the form of “The Lord's Prayer”.

Click this link here to get your fourth single day prayer guide outline.

http://songdove.fa-ct.com/stuff/YPWJ/YPWJ-day83.pdf

Be sure to stop by Marilynn's blog (http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusing) on June 30th for your next single day prayer guide free download. Be sure to sign up for her monthly newsletter for yet another free gift! Don't you just love FREE?

In addition to these free downloads, Marilynn is giving away a complete one-month sample of her next book via the rafflecopter app below.

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Book Review: The Word Changers

The Word Changers by Ashlee Willis

The description of the story had me intrigued; the first chapter had me hooked. Posy finds herself drawn into a book - literally. For a book lover like myself, this is the perfect plot.

Following that, throughout the book there are references to words, pages, margins, and other book-related terms. The word play around these is delightful. The author has a writing style that is creative and flows naturally. It never felt either too simple or too complex. 

There were very a few grammar mistakes in the book, but they were minimal (i.e., "Oh." The king said. It should be "Oh," the king said.) As an editor, I'm nit-picky, but they didn't trip me up as I was reading and there were only a few instances. (I actually debated mentioning them here - especially since, as I was given a pre-release copy, they may have been caught and fixed already.)

For the most part, the characters are unique and believable. Posy has a mixture of faults and positive traits, and felt easiest to relate to. Our situations may not be the same, but the feelings behind them are. The other characters are a mixture of believable and slightly flat (meaning, mainly good traits or mainly bad traits). There weren't any that stuck out to me as a problem, but some that could have been fleshed out much more. The way the story is written, though - mainly from Posy's perspective - there wasn't much chance of that and the author did a good job with the characters that were shown more. I did feel the change in Kyran was a little too abrupt, however it worked within the plot.

The romance was sweet, but I'm honestly not sure how I feel about it. I'm a hopeful romantic, so it definitely didn't bother me - aside from their ages. (Okay, as older teens, romance is natural, but I prefer it when characters are older. Old fashioned? Perhaps.) Near the end it started to bother me for a different reason, but I won't say more to avoid spoilers.

The overall plot is imaginative and kept my interest. The story begins almost immediately, and it brings the reader right into it, in the same way Posy is brought into the book. There is adventure and pain, goodness and mercy, evil and joy.

Other reviewers have called this an allegory, and it is one. The similarities to Christianity came through clearly even at the beginning of the book, but especially as it nears the end. From the perspective of a Christian, it wasn't preachy or overdone, and it was great to see the Truths throughout the book. More than once, I had to stop and reread a sentence to truly take it in and commit it to memory. The wording is that beautiful.

There is magic throughout the book. Magic brought Posy to the story, and magic guides many things within it. Although I am sometimes against magic in books, it didn't bother me in this one. I think the reason it didn't is because it wasn't shown as a positive thing. It wasn't necessarily shown as a negative one, either; it was just there.

Ashlee Willis is a talented author and I look forward to her next books. Although this book wraps up naturally and works well as a standalone, I would love a sequel! 

I was given a copy of the book in exchange for this unbiased review.

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(Available as an ebook now; in paperback tomorrow, June 23rd)

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There's a Goodreads contest to win a signed copy of this awesome book - but it ends tomorrow, so hurry! Click here to enter.