"Love Water Memory" by Jennie Shortridge (UPDATED)

Love water memory by Jennie Shortridge is an interesting story about an engaged couple, Grady and Lucie.  When they have a huge fight, Lucie leaves and doesn’t return.  Grady looks all over for her and eventually finds her in a hospital with amnesia, learning she was found standing in San Francisco Bay.  The whole book is about Lucie learning secrets from her past and getting her memory back while her and Grady try to rebuild their relationship.  It’s a good read but did not like it as much as Gerard did--both the main characters were likable.
(Karen's review)

Love Water Memory is told by Grady and Lucie, a couple who was going to get married until a huge fight. Eight days later, Lucie is found but remembers no one and nothing of her former life. I loved this book! It had me from page one and all the way through. My feelings about Lucie and Grady went back and forth. The writing was very good too. The only downside was that I was hoping for a better ending, but it does leave an opening for a sequel which would be good!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"Reconstructing Amelia" Lives Up To The Hype

There is a lot of hype about Reconstructing Amelia and I am here to tell you that it is true! This book is very good! It is told by Amelia and her mother, Kate. Kate gets a call telling her that Amelia is dead. When Kate is notified that her daughter’s death may be the result of foul play, she sets out to find answers. The book leads up to the day Amelia died and is riveting! There are lots of “wow” moments in it so I enjoyed it!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Karen planned to read this too but only started it and quit on it because she didn't like Amelia at all. 

Blogging 'Bout Books says it is "Reconstructing Amelia: It's That Disturbing and That Compelling." She was ready to give up on it too but kept on going.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

We Loved "Orphan Train--a Novel" by Christina Baker Kline (UPDATED)

I really enjoyed Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline about the life journey of Vivian, a 91-yr.-old who was an Orphan Train rider at the age of 9 who becomes friends with Molly, a 17-yr.-old Goth girl who is in the foster care system.  This novel is written in such a way that is both contemporary and historical fiction, as Vivian shares her background with Molly.  It is a very interesting read because both Vivian and Molly have a lot in common, understand each other, and help each other.

This book has some very sad parts but also some very happy and heartwarming parts which makes it an enjoyable read.  It addresses the issues of the importance of kind people in our lives, what things we value, perseverance and how things happen for a reason.  The author does an outstanding job of smoothly transitioning from the past to the present and from the story of Vivian back to the present-day story of Molly and Vivian.  I was never confused at all.  Great novel that brings the early 1900’s to life in sharing that part of American history.  I highly recommend this to anyone!
(Karen's review)


Orphan Train--a Novel by Christina Baker Kline has two main stories: (1) A 91-yr.-old woman tells of her young life of being on an orphan train. Her story is fantastic! and (2) A young teen girl who is now an orphan, describes what she is going through. Her story is very good. These two women are brought together and find they have more in common than they thought. I loved this book!

Even when the story is finished, there is still an interview with the author, a story about orphan trains and questions for a book club . Make it a point to read Orphan Train; you will be glad you did!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Related Reads:  Orphan Train Rider by Andrea Warren

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

Tuesday Teasers: 3 This Week

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should  Be Reading. Anyone can play along, so I thought  I  would play for fun! Just do the following

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page (well, we cheat and choose specific ones)
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on  that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away!   You don’t  want  to  ruin the  book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can  add the book to their TBR  Lists  if they  like your teaser.   

Gerard's:

She opened her mouth to tell him, but didn't know what to say. He waded closer, slowly, carefully, like someone would approach a hurt dog or a crazy person.

From page 2 of Love Water Memory by Jennie Shortridge. (click the link for Gerard's review)

Karen's:

"Don't worry, we'll be all right . . ." I begin, but she gives me a look of such desperation that my words trail off. As we watch people line up and begin to mount the steps to the stage, I feel like one of the cows in the agricultural show my granddad took me to in Kinvara.

From page 64 of Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline.  (Click link for Gerard's review)

They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out.

From Acts 5:18-19 of The NIV Study Bible.

Happy Reading!

The Gospel of John is a Must Read!

WOW!  I finished reading through the Gospel of John and found it to be so interesting.  I thought I knew everything that was in it but still found lots of things that caught my interest and refreshed my memory.  If you doubt that Jesus is the Son of God, this is a must read for you!  I really enjoyed this book of the Bible very much which contains probably the most well-known verse in the whole Bible:

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son, that whoever believes in Him, should not perish, but have eternal life.--John 3:16 (NIV)

This book was written by the apostle, John, one of Jesus closest disciples.  The one, in fact, that Jesus loved and trusted so much that when dying on the cross, he gave the responsibility of taking care of his mother to John.  John writes an eyewitness account of many of the things Jesus did when he lived here on the earth.

I love these two verses that John included just for us today:

Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book:  But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that by believing you may have life in his name. --John 20:30-31 (NIV)

Here are several of my "Sunday Sharing" posts where you can find some highlights that I shared from this book and a bonus one from Easter 2012:

He Knows My Thoughts (John 2)
A Personal God (John 2-6)
The First Speed Boat (John 6)
Plotting Against Jesus (John 9-11)
I Give You Peace (John 14)
A Direct Line to God and a Password Tip (John 15-16)
4 Questions--Can You Answer Any? (John 20)
Happy Easter Everyone:  He Is Risen! (John 3)

I hope you will take some time to read some of these posts.  Since I read the Bible every day, I am going to start sharing a teaser each week from it too for our Tuesday Teaser post.  It's the one book that has made the biggest impact on my life!  I must share about it!


Have you read this one? Who do you say Jesus is?  Happy Reading!