Book #Review: Copycat by Kimberla Lawson Roby

Book Title: Copycat
Author: Kimberla L Roby |Website| Twitter| Facebook| Instagram

Publisher: William Morrow
Genre: Christian Fiction
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Format: Hardcover, Paperback

Cost: $19.99

Pages: 172

How I got it: Purchased

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound
Publication Date: 01/31/2017
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Synopsis:

From the New York Times bestselling author who "writes with high-octane levels of emotion" (USA Today).

Befriending Traci Calloway Cole is the best thing Simone Phillips has ever done. Traci is the kind of woman Simone wants to be-in every way possible. She begins copying her role model. Not because she wants to be Traci. She just wants to be exactly like Traci.

Traci doesn't worry, though. She knows Simone doesn't mean any harm and that her mimicry is only sincere admiration. Until she discovers how far Simone's obsession has gone. It is then that Simone's entire world begins unraveling, and dreadful secrets from her past are exposed with no warning. Secrets that she'll do almost anything to protect.

I went into Copycat right after reading A Deep Dark Secret (Review) and I was excited to see what this one was going to be about.

Copycat is a fun, wild ride that shared the story of Simone and Traci. Traci is super successful writer with a great heart, she’s from a good family and wants to make friends with another author from her town. She meets Simone while at the hair salon and they connect. Once Simone realizes Traci is as nice as she seems in her interviews she decides to ask for her advice about becoming an author. She's got a manuscript written but she doesn't know where to go from here. 

Traci is receptive and decides to share the advice she wishes she’d been given when she first started so she could have avoided some of her mistakes. In building the friendship with Simone she won’t be alone as an author anymore in her home town.  Once Simone realizes that Traci is as success full as she is because of who she is as a person Simone decides she needs to be just like that to become successful too. But instead of being a genuine her, she decides to be a second Traci and then the story goes off the rails.

As the story progresses Simone increases the instances in which she copies Traci, form dinner choices to clothing choices. Her partner begins to get annoyed at the changes he’s seeing and asking more questions than she’s comfortable with and as the story progresses her decisions begin to have real implications for her. There are also many times in which she could have pulled back and my gods she ignored them all.  We eventually do learn Simone’s motivations for being anyone but herself and that helps to humanize her even as you are yelling at her to get it together. I especially loved that when she went to church God literally had the words set up for her and she just couldn’t hear it.  Anything that began to challenge her new world view was studiously ignored.

There are moments I expected the story to become a bit of a thriller as Simone’s behavior escalates, particularly with someone she considers in her way. And in real life when these obsessions get to be like this they tend to hurt the person who they are obsessed with as that person can never live up to the ‘perfect’ version of themselves that the copycat believes them to be. And I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see how it was all going to shake down. Listen when that final scene happens??? I cannot get over how it went down. We love to talk about vengeful women but petty men?? Girl…

I really enjoyed the read. And can recommend it if you’re looking for a quick read. 

I did have a few small issues and these maybe personal reading preferences so take it with a  grain of salt.  I noticed that when the book started the way it was being told was shared in a bit of ‘tell’ instead of showing me manner, eventually this gets dropped but if you’re not hooked by then you might end up putting the book down.  The tone of the book wasn’t really that of a book written for adults at first, it felt like something that a young reader could pick up and understand and that might be off-putting to some. Just know that changes as the book advances and we get a better narration style as the story progresses. 

One of the things I can say about Kimberla is in her writing she has always been pro-therapy, be it spiritual therapy in advancing your walk with God or actual psychotherapy. And especially in this case she shared about why Simone needed it. I loved the lessons shared as well that both women needed to learn.

I highly recommend for those looking for a good quick read. Enjoy my loves

 ★★★★☆

Happy Reading my loves, 

Book #Review: A Deep Dark Secret by Kimberla Lawson Roby .@KimberlaLRoby

Book Title: A Deep Dark Secret
Author:  Kimberla L Roby |Website| Twitter| Facebook| Instagram

Publisher: William Morrow
Genre: Christian Fiction
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Format: Hardcover, Paperback

Cost: $19.99

Pages: 179

How I got it: Purchased

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound
Publication Date:  Sept 29, 2009
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Synopsis:

Kimberla Lawson Roby explores the consequences of a life-altering family trauma in A Deep Dark Secret, tackling controversy with the same storytelling brio and startling insight into human nature that made her previous books New York Times bestsellers. Leaving behind the world of philandering preacher Curtis Black and his family—featured in her acclaimed novels Too Much of a Good Thing, Love and Lies, Sin No More, and The Best of Everything—Roby enters the life of a little girl hiding A Deep Dark Secret and gets to the troubling root of an all too prevalent societal and family issue. Both groundbreaking and ultimately hopeful, this coming-of-age story is powerful, brave, and unforgettable.

****Trigger Warning for those who are sensitive to books about child abuse, sexual abuse, rape and suicide.******

I went into this book like normal, completely oblivious to the synopsis and my gawd I needed that warning. The first time I tried to read this I had to put it down because I couldn't make it past the first chapter I wasn't ready. Now two years later I [icked it up and flew through the book. It's short read but it's devastating in its content.

Told from the perspective of a young girl who is being sexually abused starting at age five until age twelve when the abuse escalates and she begins to try to find ways to end it. I was so devastated reading this because 1) you know it's true for some children who are abused. The stats here in America is 1 in every 4 girls and 1 in every 8 boys have been abused * and that is severely under-reported* 2) the manipulation described was spot on and oh gawd I just wanted to rescue her and keep her safe.

I became so emotionally invested in this story, the young girls struggle to find her way to safety, to not just leave it all behind, her desperation when she realizes there is another possible victim close by. Just the reality of her journey and the devastation one person is causing in her life. Reading how she reacts and how her friend is reacting to her journey as well, a friend who is 'boy crazy' and what she's willing to do to have someone love her.  Consent was also discussed in this book as the protagonist began to explore being a pre-teen who wants to feel something for the cute boy in her class.

I'm so glad that Kimberla wrote this because it's a book every single black mother needs to read, it's a book that needs to be in the church, it needs to be given to students in school so they can read the story and see the manipulation and how it worked to silence her for so long.  I need teachers to read this and see what the signs are.  There were so many who should have seen something was wrong but no one dug deep enough, no one asked the right questions and these girls were left to fend for themselves.

The ending was great, I loved that we saw the two varied reactions to the truth coming out.  I'm glad we got to see how those closest to the survivor acted, and how they have changed by telling their truth.  It's a necessary read and I just felt all the emotions reading this.

 ★★★★★

RECOMMENDATIONS

• Speak by Laurie Halse Andersen
• Live Through This by Mindi Scott

Happy Reading my loves, 

Book #Review: "Summer by Summer" by Heather Burch .@heatherburch .@blinkyabooks

Book Title: Summer by Summer
Author:  Heather Burch |Website| Twitter| Facebook|

Publisher: Blink
Genre: Young Adult
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Format: paperback

Cost: $12.99

Pages: 288

How I got it: Unsolicited from the Publisher

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Publisher
Publication Date: April 7, 2015
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Synopsis:

When Summer took a job as a nanny for a couple vacationing in Belize, she imagined it would be a fresh start before starting college in the fall. And while she adores her charge, Josh, she can’t say the same for her employers’ oldest son, Bray. He’s cocky, inconsiderate, and makes her feel she’s a chore he has to put up with. In short, he’s everything she dislikes in a guy. Bray had a plan for the summer: party, hang out with friends, and forget all the responsibilities waiting for him back home. But every time he’s forced to be around Summer, her dour, serious mood sets him off. Not to mention she has a habit of picking up on what he already knows is wrong with him. Then the two find themselves on a dive trip gone wrong, stranded on a remote island. As they focus on survival, their differences melt away, and they find being together may be what both needed all along.

This has been one of the best Christian romances I have read in a while.  This book really did a wonderful job of sharing the faith of the character without knocking you out with a sermon that would make you feel guilty. I loved how the character growth took place, because let's be real this could have gone oh so wrong for her.  I loved the lessons shared without them being loud, brash or in your face and I think this would be a wonderful addition to any teen of faith's library.  It's a good clean romance, that shared that what is important isn't the trappings and the words; but the actions of the person who claims to love you.

At the end of the book Heather wrote a note sharing how she named certain places for God and it really enhanced the story in my opinion and made it so much more especially when you realized how much this affected their growth and facilitated the story progress. I would have loved a cut away from the characters showing how their parents were handling the search and what was going on, but since this was told through the two characters point of view, we only knew what they knew and learnt what they learnt as the story progressed. This didn't take away from the story, but I was curious to their families reactions to them being missing.

I loved that at the beginning the two characters were at crossroads from each other, Summer having her own issues and needing the vacation as a way to heal and progress before she went off to college.  We learnt only when Bray did, why she needed this job and it was heartbreaking to learn, but I loved Bray's reaction to the news & how Summer learned to progress in her growth and healing.  This story kept me glued because I wanted to see how they would progress, I laughed at both of them because boy; they certainly had their moments of being silly, and yet they were so realistic it felt like this story was one of them sharing in a conversation of what happened to them.

The story really relied on both Summer and Bray to move  and even though there were a few times where things  could have gone wrong, if it weren't' for the fact that both of them were down to earth and good campers, they wouldn't have survived the first day.  Reading the story as it progressed I felt sucked in, I wanted to know what was going to happen next, I felt their despair, their fear, their anger at each other and at fate, the desperation when it seemed like nothing was going to go right and then oh my gosh as things slowly started going in their way I loved it.

Summer grew so much in this story, learning to look beyond the surface, and truly see the human being that is revealed is her biggest lesson, not just about Bray but about herself as well. I loved that when tested she felt comfortable falling back into helpful habits and made no apologies for it. I loved how she embraced herself and her faith and how she quietly shared that with Bray without being preachy or superior.  This endeared her to me and I loved reading those moments when she took the time to talk to God.

Bray had a bit of growing up to do, as a college freshman with the world as his play ground he wasn't at all enchanted to discover his parents had hired a nanny, one who dressed like she was 90 when she was only 18 and one who acted as if he were a plague in his own family.  Summer wasn't fazed or fascinated by him and when she called him out about his behavior, he wasn't at all thankful for her presence.  However, she was a enigma and he loved finding ways to annoy her and as they lived and fought to survive the island, he came to realize there was more to Summer than meets the eye.

I loved watching how they worked well together, and how they kept each other motivated and sane; as it seemed like hope dwindled each day of a early rescue.  I loved the discussion of Summer keeping the promise she made years ago and how Bray decided he wanted to be the kind of man worthy of her.  I totally loved their conversations and how they got to know each other and felt like the progression of the love and the story were done extremely well.

I enjoyed reading this and am looking forward to more books by the author.

 ★★★★1/2☆

It's a wonderful clean love story for those looking for that, and it carries a great message.
Happy Reading

Book Review: An April Bride ( A Year of Weddings)

Book Title: An April Bride ( A Year Of Weddings)
Author: Lenora Worth |Website| Twitter| Facebook|

Publisher: Zondervan Fiction
Genre: Romance
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Format: ebook

Cost: $3.79

Pages: 140

How I got it: NetGalley

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Publisher
Publication Date: March 25, 2014
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Synopsis:

War changes everything . . . even their love. Bride-to-be Stella Carson can’t wait to marry her longtime sweetheart Marshall Henderson. But Marshall has been away serving his country and after suffering a head wound and being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress syndrome, he has distanced himself from Stella by asking her not to visit him in a Washington, D.C. hospital. Marshall returns to Louisiana just four weeks before the wedding, but as the big day draws near, Stella wonders if the man she’s loved for most of her life still wants to marry her.

  The author relied on a lot of misconceptions about amnesia and kind of used it the same way a daily soap opera would have.

To be truthful I wasn't a fan of this story I was severely annoyed with Stella, despite doing her research and knowing that by pushing you could make it worse she kept harping on him to remember her. He just came home from the war and she's attempting to make him back into the guy he was before he left, which I get, but we all grow and change and this isn't a change anyone would want but stop trying to make it all perfect. He's suffering from PTSD and a brain injury, it's not something that's going to be fixed in a weeks time, it can take up to years before it all works it self out.

I get it she wanted to be married and yes he can't remember and I'm sure that hurt, but are you more worried about a wedding or the groom?? She kept saying she was going to take it on faith and then immediately countered that by being pushy.  I get it, I do but maybe because I work in the field and know how frustrating it can be for those suffering from brain issues, especially issues dealing with memories, I was just annoyed that she kept saying she understood then kind of demanded perfection from him.

In the end I wasn't even a fan of Stella and I just felt bad for Marshall. I think if she had listened to him and went with on working with him over the weeks and seen it as a chance to court him again or be courted again then perhaps I would have liked it more. In the end she didn't learn a darn thing, she got her wish didn't she??  The book kinda made light of all the hard work that goes into the Veterans coming home, it ignored that for some those memories never come back and they still walk on faith and either move on or continue with their lives.  Stella didn't have to change, she didn't have to grow, this was just a lurch in the road to her perfect plans, EVEN though a friend told her to settle for the best or good enough she still held out for perfection and I feel the ending rewarding her whining and not growing instead of making her grow and change.

Even thought it's a good clean romance, I'm not a fan of it like I loved the others.  The faith was there and even though  the chance to learn kept coming up I felt like she wasn't learning anything. She would have a good  AHA moment (thanks Oprah) then turn right around and undo all the good she had just done. I will say the author is wonderful at pulling you into the story and sharing with a great turn of words the beauty of the south; and the importance of faith.  The cover of course is gorgeous!!

 ★☆☆☆☆

Make sure to RSVP to the other Weddings taking place this year. Click the link to get your invitation.

Happy Reading

Book Review: A January Bride (A Year of Weddings 2)

Book Title: A January Bride
Author: Deborah Raney  |Website| Twitter| Facebook|

Publisher: Zondervan
Genre: Christian Romance, Romance
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Format: ebook

Cost: $3.79

Pages: 120

How I got it: Netgalley 

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Publisher
Shelfabililty: Should Read
Season: Wedding Season
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Synopsis:

Part of A Year of Wedding Novella series: In A January Bride by Deborah Raney, what will happen when novelist Madeleine Houser’s “pen pal” friendship with a lonely widower takes an unexpected turn? Who can work in a house that's overrun by contractors and carpenters? Not Madeleine Houser, a successful novelist who gladly accepts the help of her octogenarian friend, Ginny, to arrange for a temporary office in the charming bed and breakfast owned by Ginny's friend, Arthur. Maddie's never met the innkeeper - but a friendship grows between them as Maddie and Arthur leave messages for each other each day. To Maddie's alternate delight and chagrin, she seems to be falling for the inn's owner - a man who's likely many years her senior - and who she's never even met.

Unlike December Bride, January Bride is done with a stronger flavor of faith in it.  It's a cute story about a writer and an innkeeper widower who mistakenly believed something about the other, they start to communicate through letters and slowly begin to feel great regard for the other even though they have never met.

I laughed when I figured out what was happening; they certainly had their own time frame and they truly had made some funny assumptions about each other.  I loved that the characters were both book lovers (one being an author, the other a professor in English).  It was funny to read about an author struggling to get the story written and how she kept finding little pieces of Arthur and using them in the book she was writing.

They several near meetings and each one made you want to see if they would figure out who the other was.  I loved their friend who kept them in the dark and aided in the meeting of minds before they could even begin to find reasons why it couldn't work. I totally get Arthur's hesitation and clearly, he needed to feel like he was doing the right thing and not just being a lonely man grasping the first thing to make him feel.  Maddie was an amazing and straightforward woman, who knew what she wanted but didn't want to be jerked around and she put her boundaries out there and I love her even more for it.

Make sure to RSVP to the other Weddings taking place this year. Click the link to get your invitation.

 

I enjoyed reading the story, even with its strong Christian flavor, it might be a little strong for those who aren't Christian but will be the right amount for those looking for a good clean love story with faith involved.  ★★★1/2☆☆

Enjoy the latest wedding my loves and see you at the next one!!

Book Review: A February Bride (A Year of Weddings 3)

Book Title: A February Bride ( A Year of Weddings 3)
Author: Betsy St. Amant  |Website| Blog| Facebook|

Publisher: Zondervan
Genre: Romance, Christian Romance
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Format: ebook

Cost: $379

Pages: 120

How I got it: NetGalley 

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Publisher

Shelfabililty: Should Read

Season:  Valentine's Day

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Synopsis:

In A February Bride by Betsy St. Amant, history repeats itself when this bride runs out of the church on her wedding day---in the same dress that had been passed down for generations and worn by her mom, grandma and great-grandmother who also ran out of their weddings. The heroine struggles to break destructive cycles of the past. Can this bride shuck expectation and discover who SHE is as a bride and in the Bride of Christ? And if she finally walks down the aisle, what dress will she be wearing? Readers will enjoy this novel of redemption centered on a winter wedding.

Out of the three books I have read so far, this is the best one. I loved this story. I loved that the couple had a history so it wasn't insta~love and that it had so much love flowing through the pages.  The Christianity wasn't overt and loud, but it was there in the Bible quotes, the deeply held beliefs and thoughts of so many of the characters especially the main characters.

Allie was a great character to read, she had so much hope, but was so deeply afraid of hoping and leaving a greater legacy of pain than her family did. I totally could relate to not wanting to repeat family mistakes, but I also understand that it's also your choices, something that Allie hadn't learnt yet.

The author wove so much emotion into the story, that even after my reading sprint was supposed to be over I couldn't give up reading until I was totally done with the story.  I loved reading Marcus's thoughts as well and having him struggle with hoping and not wanting to be the one left with a broken heart again but still being willing to believe.

It's a cute love story about redemption and the power of love. And let's face it, the cover is too adorable!!  Make sure to RSVP to the other weddings happening this year. Click on the link below.

★★★★☆ It's a beautiful and romantic read. It's fast and a good little pick me up during the season of love. Happy Reading & Romancing

Book Review: The Accidental Bride

Book Title: The Accidental Bride
Author: Denise Hunter |Website| Twitter| Facebook|

Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Genre: Christian Romance
Series/Standalone: Series
Format: Paperback

Cost: $13.79 (paperback), $9.99 (Kindle)

Pages: 305

How I got it: Library

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Publisher
Shelfablilty: Borrow From The Library
Season: errmmm Bridal Season?!!
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Synopsis:

When a wedding reenactment turns real, Shay finds she's an accidental bride. Shay Brandenberger is raising her daughter in Moose Creek, Montana, on her childhood ranch, nestled against the Yellowstone River. Despite the hard work, she can't seem to keep her head above water-and now the bank is threatening to foreclose. She prays for a miracle, but the answer she receives is anything but expected. Having agreed to play the bride in the Founders' Day wedding reenactment, Shay is mortified to be greeted at the end of the aisle by none other than Travis McCoy, her high-school sweetheart-the man who left her high and dry for fame and fortune on the Texas rodeo circuit. Then the unthinkable happens. Thanks to a well-meaning busybody and an absentminded preacher, the make-believe vows result in a legal marriage. But before Shay can say annulment, Travis comes up with a crazy proposal. If she refuses his offer, she may lose her home. If she accepts, she may lose her heart. Shay isn't sure if the recent events are God's will or just a preacher's blunder. Will trusting her heart to the man who once shattered it be the worst mistake of her life? Or could their marriage be the best accident that ever happened?

What can I say about this book, umm yeah I disliked Shay as a character, I'm sure the author wrote her thinking she was making a woman who we could relate to, someone who had issues, she didn't have it all worked out, and she needed God to help her find her way. The only thing I got from this book was how freaking annoying Shay was. She was so freaking childish, even her daughter was more mature.

She is supposed to be a character led by God, but she was so easily led by others and what she thought others thought about her. I get that we are all human and that we seek approval, but this character??? It consumed her, and not in a way that made her relatable. She was one dimensional and it just rang false to me. I'm sorry but she doesn't deserve a man like Travis, he did all the work to make their relationship work. This is one of those rare times where I wasn't rooting for the couple to get back together,

Shay was just content to drift along in her misery, she wasn't willing to do anything different or try to make anything work. She was hell bent on being a whiny idiot and refused to move past that. Yeah as you can tell I didn't much care for her.

Shay is supposed to have an explosive temper, *which isn't healthy, but in this instance she's going to need it; hear me out*, she then thinks that Travis is cheating on her, instead of killing him *wait sorry that's my response* her response is supposed to be flipping out on him, she instead throws him out without confronting him, she just tells him," look lets not waste anymore time, I need you to leave", Really?? That's not how she was written in the first half of the book. For some reason Shay has a huge chip on her shoulder and she's angry all the time, she decides to get married to her high school sweetheart, yet she ignores many of the signs that he is feeling overwhelmed ( I'm not excusing his sorry a**, however, he gave ALL the signs that he was a bit of an a** and she so ignored it).

Travis for his part was a bit of a coward when he notices that his future bride refuses to consider leaving her town. She's a bloom where she is planted kinda gal, and even though she feels like the town people pity her she refuses to move and have a different kind of life. Travis makes her see she needs more than survival to be happy. I loved that he made her open her eyes.  I, at the end like the way they came together, but Shay is still not my favorite kind of character. I did love however that they are in my favorite state Montana!!

This book reminds me of why I love the library, don't like the book?? Simply return it, n

o need to throw it against the wall. It's not yours to worry about any longer. It's a good read, not a burn rubber to get it, but a good read none the less.

 ★★★☆☆

Happy Reading my loves

Book Review: A December Bride ( A Year of Weddings)

Book Title: A December Bride
Author: Denise Hunter |Website| Twitter| Facebook|

Publisher: Zondervan
Genre: Romance
Series/Standalone: Series
Format: ebook

Cost: $3.63

Pages: 120

How I got it: NetGalley

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Publisher
Shelfablilty: Must Read
Season: Christmas/ Winter
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Synopsis:

What started as a whim turned into an accidental - and very public - engagement. Can Layla and Seth keep up the facade in Chapel Springs this holiday season - for the sake of her career . . . and his heart? Under normal circumstances, Seth Murphy, the best friend of Layla O'Reilly's ex-fiance would be the last person she'd marry. But the news of their upcoming (and phony) nuptials convinces a big client that Layla may be high-society enough to work for his agency, a coup that would put her fledgling home-staging business on the map. Seth has secretly loved Layla for years, even when she was dating his best friend. Maybe she'll never forgive him for the way he hurt her back then, but he has to try. And Layla is willing to keep up their engagement farce until she's landed her client. For Layla, it's the chance to save her career. But for Seth, it's his last chance to win her heart. A year's worth of novellas from twelve inspirational romance authors. Happily ever after guaranteed.

This is a short sweet Christmas romance.  The couple Seth and Layla met years ago and hit it off, but Seth took too long to make his move and Layla moved on.  Cut to a few years late, Layla's boyfriend has moved on and Layla's hurt. She pours herself into her new business venture and tries her best to land her dream job.

I loved reading this little novella, it didn't take long and it was sweet, Layla's a woman trying to prove to herself and to everyone else that she's not her father's daughter; but she's struggling with that, because small towns have long memories, of course it's never of your triumphs.

I'm intrigued to read the brother's story and to get to know the town. Madelyn seems like a great woman, and she helped Layla out when she could.  Personally, I wouldn't mind kicking Jessica at least once.  I loved that Layla was loyal and that Seth was so good to and for her.

For a very short novel it really got a lot of story told. I can't wait to check out more books by the author, and of course I have RSVP'd to all the other weddings happening this year. You can too.

★★★★☆

I Hope you enjoy!!
Happy Reading

Book Review:: The Christian Mama's Guide to Having a Baby

Book Title: The Christian Mama's Guide to Having A Baby
Author:  Erin Macpherson |Website| Twitter| Facebook|

Publisher:  Thomas Nelson
Genre: Non Fiction, Christian, Books For Mothers
Format: Paperback

Cost: $15.99

Pages: 287

How I got it: From Publisher

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Publisher



Synopsis:

Everything you need to know about pregnancy--from weight gain to stretch marks to figuring out how to rely on Christ through the ups and downs of the next nine months. This comprehensive guide is packed with information that every newly pregnant Christian mama needs--including: help for pregnancy insomnia, morning sickness, weight gain and moreadvice on how to maintain a godly attitude and outlook during pregnancy--even when you're feeling anything but godlywhat to expect from doctor check-ups, your encounters with the scale and labor and deliverytips on how to survive food cravings, aversions, and even dreaded pregnancy exercisehealthy eating advice for pregnancy that doesn't outright ban ice cream sundaesideas on how to keep your marriage a priority when you're pregnant, including a guide for Christian dads-to-be and even pregnancy sex tips This detailed guide takes you through each trimester with helpful tips, humorous accounts, and supportive spiritual advice--all with a girlfriend-to-girlfriend approach that will help moms feel comfortable as they navigate this life-changing time.(

This book is great for those not seeking the medical jargon of most of the pregnancy books out there. It's written by a lay (non medical degree or medical field professional i.e not a nurse/midwife/doctor) person, a simple mother who was pregnant and wanted a little Christian fellowship while she was pregnant, finding none she decided to fill in the blanks herself and wrote a book for the other women who were like her.

Now being in the medical field I know she lacking a whole lot of necessary information, she does have her sister fill in some information about diet, I do wish she had some more information, but this is more for the spiritual aspect than the medical one.  If your looking for more medical information try "Pregnancy Week by Week", or "What to Expect When Your Expecting", but for the spiritual pieces this is a good book.

Her witty banter makes me love this book even more. I found myself laughing while reading her stories of each of her pregnancies and she gives great advice especially when she notes that you should run everything by your birth professional. I loved that she didn't judge or make it her business to make you feel like you had to go to one professional over the other. I liked that she advocated that mothers take care of themselves and that she advised them to allow things to start to slip so they can get used to it when they are mothers of toddlers.
It's a great book filled with lots of good stories & lots of little prayer sections along with great verses from the Bible.

I highly suggest this book to any Christian Mama getting ready for her first baby.
 ★★★★☆
Happy Reading