#Revell Books

[doodlesink]

A Year of Flowers by Suzanne Woods Fisher -- A Book Review

Happy Tuesday!  A Year of Flowers by Suzanne Woods Fisher is out today!  Pop by to see what I thought about this touching set of tales.  Happy Reading!

https://bibliophileandavidreader.blogspot.com/2024/11/a-year-of-flowers-by-suzanne-woods.html#google_vignette

[elfosterreviews]

Tea with Elephants by Robin Jones Gunn

Blurb from Goodreads:

Ever since they met as teenagers volunteering at a conference center in Costa Rica 20 years ago, Fern Espinoza and Lily Graden have shared a close friendship, even though they live in different states. They can hardly believe it when their teen dream of traveling to Africa together becomes a reality. It's the trip of a lifetime--but life sure isn't what they thought it would be back when they were young.

Along with their suitcases, each woman brings along emotional baggage that weighs heavily on them. Yet the people they meet and the places they experience have the power to change their hearts--but only if they surrender to the lessons God wants to teach them in this unexpected land of emerald tea fields, graceful giraffes, and rambunctious elephants.

Pack your bags and get ready for adventure as Robin Jones Gunn invites you on a safari of the heart in this vulnerable exploration of how to move forward in faith even when the future is uncertain.

Review:

Tea with Elephants was my first look at Robin Jones Gunn’s works. As always, I did a bit of research on her other works beforehand and was delighted to find that this book contained allusions to some of her previous works with overlapping characters. I love when authors leave that sort of “Easter egg” for readers to find and it’s made me want to read the books those characters come from. 

As for the book itself, Fern and Lily have a beautiful friendship and it’s wonderful to see it continue to blossom and grow throughout their travels in Africa. I love Robin’s portrayal of cozy moments interspersed with all the travel experiences. This is a great look into the enjoyment of travel and the appreciation of those restful moments within all the excitement. I love Robin’s take on Africa. It’s a beautiful representation of the people, cultures, and wildlife the continent has to offer. She manages to connect all of this back to faith, which is a great thing for readers who approached this book for that reason. Personally, I was more interested to see how Robin represented travel on a continent that is frequently seen as “lesser” by those who believe it is their mission to tout Christianity. I can say I was very pleased. While this book does connect everything back to faith, it is not at the expense of the people and cultures portrayed. And one of the main characters even refutes the idea of Africa being “uncivilized.” 

Overall, this was a fun and cozy read. I’m glad I got to experience it and I’ll be looking for more of Robin Jones Gunn’s works in the future. 

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher via the Revell Reads Blogger Program in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are HONEST. All opinions are my own. 

[danielleurbansblog]

Review: The Christmas Tree Farm

Synopsis: When Madison McDowell returns from several years teaching overseas, she has high hopes of picking up where she left off at her family’s Christmas tree farm in Oregon. But between damage from a recent wildfire and the neglect due to her sister Addie’s unwillingness to invest, the farm is in sad shape. In fact, Addie is intent on selling the property. And to top it off, her former high…

[artthatgivesmefeelings]

Hans Memling (German-Flemish, 1430-1494) Triptych with Saint John of Patmos, 1479 Memlingmuseum, Museum St John’s Hospital, Bruges The Book of Revelation or Book of the Apocalypse is the final book of the New Testament. Written in Koine Greek, its title is derived from the first word of the text: apokalypsis, meaning 'unveiling' or 'revelation'. The Book of Revelation is the only apocalyptic book in the New Testament canon.

[tomcriuse]

Crazy to think that there were 15 seasons of Supernatural and Jesus wasn’t like a Thing. Never mentioned. They decanonized Jesus Christ

[sictransitgloriamvndi]

[kanga-moroo]

desperately hope Arthur runs a prophet scheme while in the 13th century. Let people think John is the Holy Spirit whispering in his ear

[cosmicportal]

[whetstonefires]

Underrated element of where Jiang Cheng is re: wwx after everything is that they always had a sort of dual relationship. Two different relationship premises, superimposed on one another.

There's the one where they grew up together, as close as brothers, beating each other up and complaining and being one another's closest companions, sharing a bedroom as kids and eating at the same family dinner table, actively encouraged by Jiang Fengmian to interact as equals.

And then there's the one where Wei Wuxian was in service to Jiang Cheng's family. Not as a servant--Jiang Fengmian absolutely refused to do that, even if he couldn't adopt him. But as a disciple of Jiang Cheng's father and recipient of his charity, as Jiang Cheng's future right hand and most trusted subordinate.

It's a vertical relationship, intimate in its own way but with very strict expectations about what obligations flow in what directions; they are not identical and reciprocal as between friends and equals.

(It's my opinion that Jiang Fengmian's core deal was a deep-seated discontent with the hierarchies he was at the top of, without access to any way to actually deconstruct them or even coherently articulate his opposition. Wei Changze was his dear friend, and no one thinks that's a good enough reason for him to treat Wei Changze's son like his own, because Wei Changze was also his servant, and you can't make that circle square. That's not a way you're allowed to love.)

Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian were like brothers; Wei Wuxian served Jiang Cheng.

The personal relationship was always the most important one. To them, in their hearts. But it was the other one that was real, that had weight in the world.

And it's important to understand that neither can be held up as more factual than the other, even though they conflict. Both relationships existed, and had power.

So then when Jiang Cheng chose to hate Wei Wuxian and articulate his grudge against him, he chose to do it in the language of fealty. Because as far as he knew, his case there was secure, watertight, and it wouldn't expose him emotionally or politically.

And those are the terms in which he's been condemning him all this time: for abandoning the Sect, for ingratitude, for lack of loyalty.

For fuckups, too, and poor judgment, but some of that now turns out to have been justified and some of it was mostly the fault of enemies behaving badly, or even Jiang Cheng himself allowing himself to be pushed into making unworthy choices.

And it was all for his sake.

The thing, the thing in my opinion, about what Wei Wuxian did, about the core transfer and his silent self-destruction around keeping it secret, is that that is a hideous thing to have done between two people who love each other, as an act of love. Beautiful, but awful. As the man who was like a brother to him, Jiang Cheng has a great deal of standing to object to it.

But as an act of vassalage, it's basically perfect.

If Wei Wuxian were only what he formally was to Jiang Cheng, if he is interpreted through a lens of fealty and obligation, he did exactly what he should have done, and went beyond what duty actually required. And went to his death silently, allowing himself to be judged, taking all the burden on himself rather than let harm come to his lord.

Like, obviously Jiang Cheng was harmed by the part where Jin Zixuan got manslaughtered and Jiang Yanli walked into the line of fire in situations where Wei Wuxian was resorting to violence and probably shouldn't have, but those are one step removed from the core issue. In terms of Wei Wuxian's intentional choices around Jiang Cheng himself, at the times he was feeling betrayed and abandoned Wei Wuxian was in fact being impossibly, poetically loyal, an absolute cliche about it.

But only in terms of the hierarchical form of their relationship.

Which means that even though Jiang Cheng has a lot of reasons to still be mad at Wei Wuxian, his actual complaints that he's centered for thirteen years are basically wiped out by the revelation of Wei Wuxian's sacrifice.

Wei Wuxian was in fact doing the tragic hero loyal vassal thing, which very much includes being misunderstood and slandered by the world. (Chenqing as a name choice absolutely references this expectation, and the idea that Jiang Cheng specifically will never understand that Wei Wuxian was trying to help him first and foremost all along; he is not subtle.)

The debts Jiang Cheng has been spitefully calling in and considering defaulted were already long paid.

So if at this point Jiang Cheng keeps pursuing that same line of rhetorical attack, now that he knows, he'll be putting himself morally in the wrong, and he knows it. But if he pivots to something else, he'll both be signalling the shape of that secret to the entire world and looking like a prize idiot.

Which is already how he feels.

To actually address the remaining grievances between them, which are considerable, would require releasing those safe, open grudges to Wei Wuxian's face and then reclaiming him as a loved one. Which is, one could fairly say, more than anyone could expect.

Which is why Wei Wuxian told him he didn't have to.

Which leaves Jiang Cheng at something of an impasse.

[tomato-bird-art]

Doing Line Art Commissions in this style for $150+ for the summer! Good for tattoos, OC interpretations, or illustrating your dreams and visions.

Email me at tomatobird.art@gmail.com if you're interested

[the-muppet-joker]

hello mr kermit, I just notice that you post on here almost every hour of the day. Do you not sleep? Or do you schedule those posts?

No time for sleeping when writing the new Bible for the world

[doodlesink]

The Christmas Tree Farm by Melody Carlson -- A Book Review

Happy Wednesday!  The Christmas Tree Farm is a holiday novella by Melody Carlson.  Pop by to see what I thought about this merry tale.  Happy Reading!

https://bibliophileandavidreader.blogspot.com/2024/09/the-christmas-tree-farm-by-melody.html

[elfosterreviews]

Until Our Time Comes by Nicole M. Miller

Blurb: American horse trainer Adia Kensington is living her dream of working at the famous Janów Podlaski stables in Poland, where they breed the best Arabian horses in the world. But her plans to bring the priceless stallion Lubor to the US are derailed when the German army storms into her adopted country in 1939. Little does she know this is just the beginning of six long years of occupation that will threaten her beloved horses at every turn.

Major Bret Conway is at Janów Podlaski under the guise of a news reporter, but his true mission is intelligence gathering for the British. That and keeping Adia safe, which is harder and harder to do as she insists they must evacuate 250 horses to save them from being stolen, sold, or eaten by the invading forces. What follows will test their physical, mental, and emotional strength, as well as their faith in God, humankind, and each other.

Drawn from true events of World War II, this epic story of escape, capture, resistance, and love from debut novelist Nicole M. Miller will thunder into your heart like a herd of beautiful horses across a raging river.

Review: Until Our Time Comes is a beautiful look at just how far the Nazi forces affected every aspect of life in the lands they occupied during WWII. There are plenty of novels that explore the human aspect of Nazi occupation, but very few that look at how they impacted things like animals, wildlife, landscape, and other facets of the environment. The way Nazi occupation affect these areas of European life is no less shocking and impactful that the effects they had on humans, but they often fall to the wayside considering just how tragic the aftermath of their treatment of humans was. We focus on the Holocaust because that was a level of destruction humans had never seen before. But it wasn’t the only destruction the Nazis wrought. 

Until Our Time Comes takes a look at one tiny part of what the Nazis did to animals during their occupation of Eastern Europe. And Miller did an incredible job of showing just how heartwrenching these events were. When we think of WWII we don’t often, if at all, think of horses. Hitler’s goals were for an “Aryan Race.” Which most often is associated with humans (hence the Holocaust and the culling of those who did not fit that mold). But those goals extended beyond just people. And while millions of people were trying to flee from the SS, the Nazis were extending their goals to animals as well. 

Janów Podlaski is, and was, a world-renowned horse stable. They are responsible for some of the finest Arabian horses on this earth. The Great War (WWI) greatly impacted their breeding program. And they were still recovering when WWII broke out. There was a desperate effort to keep the horses at Janów Podlaski out of Nazi hands. The stables hand were not able to evacuate all of the horses, but they put their best effort into it. And after the war ended, some of those horses made their way back to the stable. 

Until Our Time Comes tells this story, but Miller does this with a cast of (human) characters that allows readers to explore the human impact of the Nazi invasion as well. Aida is a compassionate, loving, protective, and strong woman who refuses to run when the animals (and people) she cares about are in danger. While she works to save the horses she loves, we see her also loving and caring for Bret and Ewan as well. We see Bret falling for Aida even before the invasion begins and then doing everything she can to keep her safe, even when she won’t leave the horses behind. Aida, Bret, and Ewan become a family in the midst of the hell that was the Nazi invasion but found ways to keep themselves, each other, the people, and the horses they cared about as safe as possible. 

This is not a simple feel-good read. There are points where you will cry, points where you will laugh, and points where you will feel your heart breaking only to feel it mend. The romance makes this book human. It gives you relationships to explore. But this book centers on the horses, Aida’s love for them, and the massive undertaking it was to keep them safe. 

Miller has delivered a fantastic look at how the Nazis impacted animals right alongside the horrors of the Holocaust. For most readers, this will open the door to a whole other side of Hitler's atrocities (we don’t often hear about how animals were treated during the war). This is a masterful story of love: for lovers, for family, and for the animals in our lives. I am blown away by this novel and I cannot wait to see what Miller comes up with next. 

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher via the Revell Reads Blogger Program in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are HONEST. All opinions are my own. 

[danielleurbansblog]

Review: One Last Shot

Synopsis: When country music star Oaken Fox joins survivalist Mike Grizz’s new adventure show in the Alaskan wilderness, he just wants to boost his fan base. But when tragedy strikes and Air One Rescue must save them, Oaken wants to quit. Too bad his producer has other plans–signing him on with Air One Rescue as a recruit and making a reality show. EMT Boo Kingston did not join Air One Rescue…

[artthatgivesmefeelings]

Rogier van der Weyden or Roger de la Pasture (Netherlandish, c.1399-1464) The Seven Sacraments, detail, ca. 1440-45 Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp

[tamatarkha]

apocalyptical beasts from the book of revelation