Whitney Finalist Review: STILL TIME by Maria Hoagland (General Fiction)

From Amazon: Thrust into the chaos of her mother-in-law’s hoarding and forgetfulness, LDS church member Alyssa Johnston wishes she could retreat to a simpler time when her kids were small and almost anything could be fixed with a hug. But reassurance and a quick distraction no longer erase the pain of a missionary son who is struggling, a young teen who is bullied, or a daughter who is distant. As Aly’s own life and relationship with her husband plunge out of control, she wonders if her faith will be enough to keep her family—or herself—from falling apart. 

Still Time is a deeply moving story about a woman’s faithful journey into the next phase of her life. You will laugh with Aly, feel her sorrow, and see yourself in Maria Hoagland’s realistic, heartfelt portrayal of a woman’s struggle to keep her family safe and hold back time as long as she can.

Audience: Adult (Clean)

Genre: Women's Fiction

Length: 324 pgs

Rating: 4

Review: This is the second of Maria's book that I've read and I have to say this is my favorite of the two. I love Alyssa and how she copes with all the things happening and the changes in her life. I think I especially related to her because I picked up and moved my family thousands of miles from the lives they were used to just like her. I love how in the book there are definite struggles, yet things are still able to work out. The interplay between her and her MIL is just fantastic--it's great to see the heartbreak and how Alyssa struggles to fit things in and do what she feels is the right thing. Excellent book!

Content:

Sex - 0

Language - 0

Violence - 1- (The MIL throws things and gets angry)

Overall Rating - G

Find all of the 2014 Whitney Finalists here.

Review: THE RELUCTANT BLOGGER by Ryan Rapier (Ceder Fort, Aug 2013)

Publication Date: August 2013

From Amazon: Blogging was the last thing Todd Landry expected his psychiatrist to recommend in dealing with his wife's death. But his aversion to therapy demands drastic measures, and Todd soon finds himself writing about his sometimes-humorous struggles with single parenthood, dating, and shattered expectations. With each blog entry, Todd lets his guard down and discovers that perhaps he can find love once again.

Audience: Adult (Clean)
Genre: LDS, Romance, General Fiction
Length: 432 pgs.

Rating: **+ (It was okay and some)

Review: I struggled with how to rate this one. I hate giving under 3 stars, but I also have to be honest about how I felt about this book. As an author myself, I know what  two-star rating feels like. Let's just say, it wasn't my kind of book and that's why, not because it's badly written. (I don't review badly written, one- or two-star books here. If I give a low rating, it's because of a personal preference, not because of writing.)
I read a lot of books from Cedar Fort and I picked out this one because it seemed like an interesting twist. Told in the form of blogs and from a guy's point-of-view. Which, the rating is not because of that. I think that the writer did a good job of telling it through blogs and I liked seeing a romance from a guy POV. I'm a fan of that. This book dealt with some heavy stuff, which, we all know, that's not really up my alley, so that might contribute to the lower rating. It did, however, move me. Seriously moved me to tears multiple times. It compelled me to the end, and I always think a book that does that is well written. I found a few things hard to believe. The MC had two best friends and between all three of them they each had MAJOR trials to work through pretty much at the same time, which doesn't seem realistic to me.

Check out Ryan Rapier's blog
Find more books from Cedar Fort.

Source: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.