Happy New Years Eve! Today I am sharing my December book review with you.
Hope you enjoy!
The first book I read this month was I Said Yes by Emily Maynard Johnson. When Emily Maynard was on The Bachelor I immediately fell in love with her. I was instantly drawn to how strong of a woman she was with losing her fiance and raising a baby (Ricki) on her own. Then again when she was on The Bachelorette I couldn’t help but watch every episode and follow her story. I was a true Emily Maynard fan and knew when this book came out I wanted to read it. Emily didn’t disappoint me and I loved everything about this book! I loved Emily’s honesty and openness to her heartache and hard times. This book gives you a lot of background knowledge of how she fell in love with famous race car driver, Ricky Hendrick. It tells you how she dealt with his tragic death and then finding out a few weeks later she was pregnant with their daughter, Ricki. The book then highlights her decision to go on The Bachelor to try to find her true love. Also, it told of her time on The Bachelorette and how once again she didn’t find her true love with Jef. Throughout this whole time as well, Emily shares with you how she never truly had a relationship with God and was just “chasing” the void in her life. It wasn’t until after her time on The Bachelorette that Emily learned that God was the only thing that was going to fill that void since Ricky passed away and until she was secure in her relationship with Him, she wasn’t going to find true love. The book has a happy ending with her meeting her new husband, Tyler Johnson, and at CHURCH of all places! After reading this book I can say I am still a huge Emily Maynard fan.
The next book this month was Live Original by Sadie Robertson. I was really inspired by Sadie in this book and her knowledge of how to stay true to her values in this crazy world we live in. Throughout the book Sadie gives you advice in each chapter on how to stay true to yourself but still “live original” by doing this. Each chapter is supported with a Scripture verse and it is definitely inspiring and uplifting. When my girls are a little older I will want them to read this because it has great words of encouragement and advice. My favorite Scripture verse I took from this book and something I want Elizabeth and Emily to always remember is this:
1 Timothy 4:12- “Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.”
Wow! What a powerful verse! Sadie does a great job with being such a positive role model for young girls! As a mom of 2 girls, I am thankful for people like her that aren’t embarrassed by her faith and stand strong in her Christian values.
The third book this month was Welcome to the Roller Coaster. Chris and I are becoming foster parents and if you missed that blog post you can read about our decision here. A lot of you probably won’t relate to this book, but to me this book spoke volumes. I found myself crying all the way through it! It was real-life stories of the highs and lows that come with foster care. Some of the stories had happy endings and some of them had sad endings. This book definitely opened my eyes on how the foster care system works, but it also confirmed our decision to become foster parents.
The last book I read this month was The Matchmaker by Elin Hilderbrand. Last month was my first time to read a book by Elin Hilderbrand and I was instantly hooked! I love her style of writing and how you have to “guess” a little bit with how things are going to end. The Matchmaker was no different. It was a really well written novel about a famous matchmaker, Dabney Beech, who lives on Nantucket Island. Dabney had a high school sweetheart, Clen, who broke her heart when he left to go across the world for a writing job. He left her pregnant and alone to raise their daughter, Agnes. Dabney didn’t think she would ever find love again since Clen was her one true match, but eventually she ended up having a lovely marriage with a famous economist, Box Beech. Dabney was very famous on Nantucket Island for working at the Chamber of Commerce and successfully matching 42 couples together. But the twist in this story is that Clen comes back to Nantucket after a horrible accident at his writing job overseas. With his return on the island, it turns Dabney’s world upside down. She has never been more confused about her own love life and just can’t seem to think straight. She knows Clen is her perfect match, but she also has a wonderful and happy life with Box. I won’t spoil the whole book for you, but it has a crazy ending with how Dabney has to choose between her high school sweetheart, Clen, and her “safe” relationship with her husband, Box.
