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Review: Home on the Range

It's always a pleasure to discover new Christian fiction to me, especially historical fiction that helps me learn more about how people persevered during difficult times and were able to overcome their circumstances through God's help.  Home on the Range by Taryn Oakley is a story that falls into this and is set in late 19th century Kansas amid the bustling growth and travels along the railway. Many thanks to the author for providing a complimentary copy of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own. Book Synopsis In the land of promise, can two lives fulfill one legacy with love? 1891. Lenna Adler—destitute but not desperate—becomes the prize bride in a drunken poker game to one of Chicago’s lecherous men, a man who will stop at nothing to collect what he’s owed. In a hastened escape, Lenna boards the Atchison, Topeka, and Sante Fe Railway to Verona, Kansas determined to carry out her parents’ dream, with or without God’s help. The reputation at the Elton Ho...
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Review: Make Room

I'm in the middle of purging books (how ironic!) and have had quite the past month in eliminating questionable Christian materials, so in a way, I am fulfilling the mandate of this book's title. Make Room by Jennifer Ford Berry is sadly a book I cannot recommend due to how New Age practices and thinking have infiltrated what I had hoped would impart a Christian worldview. Yes, we can make room for God to work in our lives, but no, it does not involve manifestation or speaking our dreams aloud and willing them to happen. Book Synopsis Stuff. We have too much of it. Clothing, kitchen gadgets, electronics, home decor. And more of it arrives on our doorstep all the time. Our stuff takes up an incredible amount of our space, time, energy, and money. But do all these possessions truly make us happier? Certified professional organizer and bestselling author Jennifer Ford Berry says no. Rather than living for our stuff, what actually gives us joy is knowing and living out our purpose ...
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Review: Love on Ice - Original Six Hockey Romance #2

Just in time for the Winter Olympics, this book is the perfect accompaniment to the games, especially if you're a fan of hockey and speed skating. Living in Canada, I felt right at home among the crowds in Love on Ice by Carolyn Miller , the second book in the Original Six Hockey Romance series that features "guts, grit, and grace." What a delight to catch up with familiar players and their friends again! Book Synopsis She’s focused on winning gold. He wants to lose the player tag. Can a fake relationship become something real? Aussie short track skater Holly Travers has one goal—make the Vancouver Games, no matter what it takes. She has no time for distractions, even if they come in the handsome form of her Canadian best friend’s twin brother. This hockey player may say he’s not a player, but can she trust him? Brent Karlsson has one goal—make his sister’s best friend realize he’s a changed man and she should give him a chance. When a set-up in Hawaii helps these two o...
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Review: The Rekindled Heart

I acknowledge that it's easy for me to fall into a spiritual rut and treat walking with God like a checklist. I fall into these bouts knowingly and unknowingly, so I was quite keen to read The Rekindled Heart by Mark Y. Yarbrough as both a refresher and a reminder of how to energize my spiritual life again. This book was just what I needed and it's one that I will continue to reflect on in the coming days and weeks. Many thanks to  Moody Publishers  for providing a complimentary copy of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own. Book Synopsis Sometimes our faith needs to be revived. You started your spiritual life with a burst of joy, feeling deep gratitude to Christ for saving you. You rejoiced with a sense of belonging in the family of God. And likely, you couldn’t wait to open your Bible, to worship, to share your faith with others. But somewhere along the way, your passion for the Lord faded. Your spiritual journey became a slog. The Rekindled Heart was ...
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Review: The Risk She Takes - A Healing Kind of Love #3

The third book in A Healing Kind of Love series, The Risk She Takes by Ella Marie is the much-awaited story of Robyn Lahey, a driven professional who isn't waiting for a relationship to take place. It's refreshing to encounter someone I can relate to and to see how God has been working in her life when she doesn't fit into the mould of her friends. This book releases on February 18, 2026 and will have you wanting a French pastry, or two, to enjoy with it 🥐 Many thanks to the author for providing a complimentary copy of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own. Book Synopsis For Robyn, singleness isn’t some tragic waiting room for real life to begin. By the grace of God, she’s built a life she genuinely loves, one that doesn’t require a man in the equation. Especially not a man like Lucien Monet, her insufferably—and apparently—charming French coworker who has an uncanny talent for pulling the rug out from under her at every turn. Lucien crossed an oce...
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Stop the Slop

One of the reasons why I've been spending more and more time offline has been due to seeing so much generative AI infiltrate the creative space. I won't necessarily repeat my previous Thoughts on AI blog post where much of what I shared in 2023 still holds true today regarding ethics, discipline, and discernment. Little has changed for me as I continue to refrain from utilizing these tools and instead rely on my own visual and written abilities, flaws and all. However, the difference between its emergence a few years ago and now is astounding where over half of what we see online is generated by artificial intelligence (source:  Over 50 Percent of the Internet Is Now AI Slop, New Data Finds ). I'm not one for fear-mongering or sensationalism; however, I am concerned for the effects this may have on my short-term enjoyment of the Internet and my long-term walk as a disciple of Christ and my cognitive skills. First, I have found it difficult to enjoy being online when a lot ...
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Review: A Lady's Guide to Marvels and Misadventure

I'm so grateful that many other readers pointed me toward A Lady's Guide to Marvels and Misadventure  by Angela Bell as it was the exact whimsy and joy I was seeking in my books while I was fighting an illness. With Angela being a featured author in the Clearly Christian Readathon  last year, I appreciated being exposed to a new author and a new genre at the same time! Book Synopsis When Clara's ex-fiancé spreads rumors that her family suffers from hereditary insanity, it's all she can do to protect them from society's prejudice. However, that proves to be difficult when her grandfather takes off on a flight of fancy. Thrown together with a vagabond tinker, Clara sets off on a whimsical adventure and finds a love that defies the odds. Source:  Amazon Book Thoughts What a world that Angela Bell has created! It was a sheer pleasure to disappear into her poetic language and escape to a world where a touch of the fantastical borders on the eccentric. Steampunk is a new...
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