Title Tuesday: The Crown

 ****spoilers ahead, stop now if you haven’t finished the first four books******

The Crown is the second of two books that tells the story of what happens after the happily ever after in America’s story in the #selectionseries.

This book is all about Eadlyn journey for love as the first female ruler to hold a selection.

This book was SUCH a disappointment. From the cliched guy interested in fashion comes out as gay trope to the love triangle trope, to the fact that Edalyn uses some of these boys as safety nets in a way that is really gross to me.

The lack of fidelity and the back and forth is just too much for me.

Also, Eadlyn is still a stuck-up, out-of-touch brat… she just changed her country’s form of government on a whim and without the direction of counsel.

Overall, serious disappointment.

This book is NOT a deep or complex read, but it is light (and I love series) so of course I’m going to finish them all!

Are you an author looking to have your book reviewed on @goodreads and @amazon?

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Title Tuesday: Thank You Sarah

This was the very last of our #thanksgivingbooks to read this year. 

"Thank You, Sarah" is the story of Sarah Hale the woman who petitioned for 35 years to have #thanksgiving made into a national holiday. 

She wrote thousands of letters to make it happen… while raising a family. 

This book is just phenomenal. 

don’t care who you are, you need this book in your library, find it here. 

Title Tuesday: Katherine von Bora

We have been completely immersed in the 1500s since completing the #reformationday unit from @brighterdaypress. 

If you’ve been on the fence about unit studies, I would start with hers. They are so user-friendly!

While doing the unit, my oldest asked if only boys were in the Reformation. 

We have thoroughly enjoyed researching and hunting down information about the women of the Reformation. 

This was by far my favorite book we found for kids. 

If you are interested in resources for adults just shoot me a DM.

This is why I love homeschooling. 

A simple question sparked weeks of conversations, questions, and research.

Title Tuesday: The Heir

The Heir is the first of two books that tells the story of what happens after the happily ever after in America’s story in the #selectionseries.

****spoilers ahead if you haven’t finished the first three books******

This book is all about America’s daughter, Eadlyn the first female ruler to hold a selection.

I have to be honest. I wanted to like this book purely from the aspect of equality. The fact that an author had the guts to make the Cinderella-meets-HungerGames-while-watching-the-bachelor thing apply to men just like women.

So in that frame of mind, I kept reading even where there were obvious issues.

I really dislike the whitewashing that America and Maxon. They had such great character development in the first three books. They were dynamic and bright. It felt like the author had to dull them down to make Eadlyn interesting.

Just not super impressive.

This book is NOT a deep or complex read, but it is light (and I love series) so of course, I’m going to finish them all!

Are you an author looking to have your book reviewed on @goodreads and @amazon?
Send me a DM!

Title Tuesday: The One

The next of the #selectionseries (the America portion) is The One.

Again, I say freely that this book is NOT a deep or complex read, but it is fun and I LOVE a series.

This book is where I started to dislike the series. The abusive behavior shown in this book is egregious. I really dislike the fact that the abuse is treated like it is normal and no big deal simply because it is happening in a palace.

Between the downplayed abuse, the forced softening of one of the Selected which was completely unrealistic, and the fact that Maxim and America are just SO flakey on their relationship… this book is like a teenage soap opera.

Are you an author looking to have your book reviewed on @goodreads and @amazon?
Send me a DM!

.⁣

Title Tuesday: The Elite

When we were on a family vacation I decided to read the #selectionseries as a bit of a mental break. You can read last week's Title Tuesday post for all of my thoughts. 

This is book number 2 of 3 in the America portion of the series, The Elite. When the group of girls gets cut down to just six.

I found myself rooting for America and her friends although I really, really dislike Aspen.

This book is NOT a deep or complex read, but it is fun (and I love series) so of course I’m going to finish them all!

Are you an author looking to have your book reviewed on @goodreads and @amazon?
Send me a DM!

Title Tuesday: The Selection

We have been on a family vacation to the beach. Since we drove from Philadelphia to North Carolina I wanted some intellectual junk food for the drive.

This book series was recommended to me by FOUR different people and it was a perfect choice.

The Selection by Kyra Cass is a wild ride y’all.

Since this is book number one in the series I want to be careful about giving too much away. I am at the end of the third book now after all the driving…and I’m not quite sure how I feel about the series as a whole so let’s just look at book one for now.

I loved the main character, America, from the start. She is bright, enthusiastic, determined, relatable, and most importantly she is herself.

I found myself rooting for her throughout the book as she tries to work her way through life as one of 35 women vying for a prince’s heart.

I found myself thinking that this is a bit like Miss Congeniality mixed with The Hunger Games and 10 Things I Hate About You… all at the same time.

This book is NOT a deep or complex read, but it is fun (and I love series) so of course, I’m going to finish them all.

Are you an author looking to have your book reviewed on @goodreads and @amazon?
Send me a DM!

Title Tuesday: Circe

This… book…. Wow.

I know I am late to the game on this book but good grief Circe by @madeline.e.miller was good.

I read a couple of reviews that said it was dry and I have to think those are the same people that look at a sunrise and go “meh”.

I loved the inter-connectivity between the different Greek myths. I loved the descriptions of basic and every day things.

When the beings were turned (if you’ve read it then you know) I was 100% on Circe’s side.

I loved the delicate dance that Circe walked between being a God but loving mortal things. I loved her dedication to certain key characters.

I can say I wasn’t surprised by the ending since if read Telegony but the creativity used to blend the story together was just phenomenal.

If you are into Greek Mythology (or mythology at all) this is a great read! You can find it here!

*A caveat, as always I want to provide book reviews that help protect the hearts of people that may be struggling. If you have dealt with:
-infant loss
-infidelity
-sexual assault
you should know that these are components of the story and you may want to tread lightly rather than delving in.

C-Section Saturday: Take Care of Your Body

Welcome to C-Section Saturdays! I am using Saturdays to discuss, teach, and learn about C-Section recovery. Be prepared, some of the information that we discuss will be graphic, but I assure you that I will do my best to cover each topic with the grace of the true southern lady that I am. With that being said lets jump in! 

Today I want to talk about expectations and reality. Things tend to go one of two ways with postpartum expectations. They usually end up being something like this:

"oh my gosh, my body is going to bounce right back and it is going to be wonderful" 

or 

"I hate everything I am going to fall face first in a box of doughnuts since I'm eating for two now anyways."  

And neither of these are good. 

The reality is, your body won't bounce right back. It takes time to heal from the trauma of pregnancy, let alone birth or worse, a C-Section. Your body will not look the way it did originally, no matter what magazines, advertisements, and fitness gurus tell you. You pushed a human being (or had one pulled) out of you. That changes a body. 

The other option of "I'm nursing so now I can finally eat for two" is not right either. You have to take care of your body. This is not the time to give up on yourself. Take the extra step, make the extra effort to eat real and healthy food. Get up and move your body when the doctor clears you to do so. You can't take care of a precious newborn baby with zero energy. 

In reality your body will be different, and you need to be ready for that. 

In fact, I remember thinking that I was marred for life when I first saw my incision. I cried alone in the bathroom at the hospital, just nine hours after my first son was born. 

If you want to see what a C-section body looks like you can see those images here. 

Be prepared, it isn't always pretty at first. If you don't like where your body is after your C-Section, get up, and change it. 

Put one foot in front of the other. 

Don't quit, don't stop. 

You can do this. 

Psalm 139;19 says that "God knit me together in my mother's womb". 

Isn't it amazing to be a part of the miracle of birth? Isn't it amazing what God made our bodies to do? Your body will look different. Your body will feel different. But your body is incredible and don't you let anyone tell you otherwise.

(As a side note, this has NOTHING to do with your size. I don't care what the label on your dress says. There are plenty of unhealthy size zeros walking around out there. Be a good steward of your body and help it to be healthy, not just thin.)

Title Tuesday: A Single Thread

I enjoyed the slow, sort of meandering pace of A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier.

This is the story of a woman caught between world wars.

In the story, Violet deals with women’s rights, equal pay, devastation, loss, financial burdens, unrequited love, LGBT discrimination, and more.

If you are looking for high action or a really deep plot, this one isn’t it.

I think of it more as a sort of palette cleanser between denser books.

But I greatly enjoyed it even without a super complex plot so it gets a solid four stars. 

Are you an author looking to have your book reviewed on @goodreads and @amazon?
Send me a DM!