I'm so excited! Summer Book Trek

New LDS fiction is hosting a summer book trek again! Huzzah!

There are always awesome prizes.










My list:
Through Cloud and Sunshine by Dean Hughes

Longing for Home by Sarah M. Eden

The Runaway King by Jenifer N Nielsen

Cloak by James Gough

Road to Bountiful by Donald S Smirthwaite

Proceed with Caution by Betsey Brannon Green

A Change of Plans by Donna K. Weaver

A Change of Plans by Donna K. Weaver
When twenty-five-year-old Lyn sets off on her cruise vacation, all she wants is to 
forget that her dead fiancé was a cheating scumbag. What she plans is a diversion 
uncomplicated by romance. What she gets is Braedon, an intriguing young surgeon. 
He's everything her fiancé wasn't, and against the backdrop of the ship's make-believe world, her emotions come alive.

Unaware of the sensitive waters he navigates, Braedon moves to take their relationship beyond friendship—on the very anniversary Lyn came on the cruise to forget. Lyn's painful memories are too powerful, and she runs off in a panic.
But it's hard to get away from someone when you're stuck on the same ship. Things 
are bad enough when the pair finds themselves on one of the cruise's snorkeling 
excursions. Then paradise turns to piracy when their party is kidnapped, and Lyn's fear of a fairy tale turns grim.

Alright, so at first I was a little iffy on this book. The opening scenes establish the characters on the cruise ship and all the guys were checking out the main character in stereotypical fashion, but there was more than one character surprise along the way. Even the most shallow characters had some real depth.  The plot line swings from romantic adventure cruise to pirate attack to tropical island survival story and I loved it! As a kid I always loved the Hatchet and Island of the Blue Dolphins. The total man versus nature plotlines and it was thrilling to read about the adventure this couple had to go through to survive the elements and carve out a sanctuary for themselves. Something else I loved about this book is that it doesn’t end with at the rescue. It is fascinating to watch  Lyn reintegrate into society after subsisting on an island for two years. It is not a painless task. I will probably reread this one.    

This one is part of a blog tour and so has a raffelcoptor giveaway! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Way Back to You by Emily Gray Clawson

A Way Back to You by Emily Gray Clawson

What would you do if you were given a second chance? Annabelle, whom nearly everyone calls Anne, has been stuck in the past for two years. Numbed by grief over her husband's unexpected death and overwhelmed with the responsibility of raising their three young children alone, Anne agrees to let a friend take the kids for the weekend while she tries to get some much-needed rest at her parent's home. But when Anne wakes up the next morning, she is suddenly sixteen again. And it just happens to be the worst day she spent as a teenager. High school the second time around brings unforeseen changes and frustrations, but remembering that her future husband, Mitch, has just returned from a mission and is living on the other side of town gives Anne hope. Getting Mitch's attention (for the second time) is more complicated than she could have imagined, but Anne discovers she is stronger than she believed possible—and there just might be a future for her after all.

When Anne gets transported back to high school she sees her teenage angst in a whole new light. Being a little overweight is not really a big deal. Her dirty room is totally dragging her down. Some cleaning is in order. She also rediscovers her passion for music and for her teenage crush Sam. The going back to high school storyline is a familiar one full of tropes and annoying clichés. What I loved about A Way Back to You is that it mostly steers clear of these pitfalls. I love the way that Anne brings her 30 year old maturity to her teenage years.  It was so refreshing to read about a teenage protagonist that was less egotistical and self-absorbed than usual. Yet, Anne doesn’t have everything figured out. She tries to clear the air with her old fling and only makes a fool of herself. Repeatedly. She doesn’t know why she’s suddenly a teenager again and has to worry about whether her choices, especially her romantic ones will make her three children not exist in the future. Then there is the chance that she can see her deceased husband again. The chance that she can see him one last time, but arranging that is far more difficult than it should be. I really loved how this book made me think back on what I loved as a teenager and what parts of my young self I have held on to into adulthood.   

a Rafflecopter giveaway