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Who are you when you are forced to walk in someone else’s shoes?

Nisha Cantor lives the globetrotting life of the seriously wealthy, until her husband announces a divorce and cuts her off. Nisha is determined to hang onto her glamorous life. But in the meantime, she must scramble to cope–she doesn’t even have the shoes she was, until a moment ago, standing in.

That’s because Sam Kemp – in the bleakest point of her life – has accidentally taken Nisha’s gym bag. But Sam hardly has time to worry about a lost gym bag–she’s struggling to keep herself and her family afloat. When she tries on Nisha’s six-inch high Christian Louboutin red crocodile shoes, the resulting jolt of confidence that makes her realize something must change—and that thing is herself.

Full of Jojo Moyes’ signature humor, brilliant storytelling, and warmth, Someone Else’s Shoes is a story about how just one little thing can suddenly change everything.

2.5 stars out of 5

I LOVED “Giver of the Stars” by Jojo Moyes, so I was excited to read another of her books. For that reason, I gave this book 120 pages before I stopped reading and started skimming pages.

I like the idea behind this book, but it wasn’t pulled off in a way that engaged me. The book opens with a lot of repetition and it doesn’t move anywhere quickly. After 120 pages, not much had happened so I started skimming chapters. (It also annoyed me that Nisha was supposed to be American but used so much British slang.)

I think the story idea has merit, but the execution didn’t work for me.

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For feel-good women’s fiction, check out:

The Good Part by Sophie Cousens
The Way Home by Heidi Chiavaroli

What if the thing Jesus wants most from you isn’t your effort, but your company?

You love Jesus. You read your Bible, you pray, you serve, you show up. And yet underneath all of it, there is a sense that you’re doing so much for Him that you’ve somehow missed being with Him.

You’re not imagining it. There is an enemy who knows he can’t talk you out of your faith, so he settles for keeping you so busy doing things for Jesus that you never actually sit down with Him. Activity becomes a substitute for intimacy. The to-do list grows. The relationship thins.

But Jesus never asked you to produce your way into His presence. On the night before the cross, He talked about a vine and its branches and offered an invitation: Abide in me. Stay close, the way friends keep company with one another.

In these pages, you’ll discover:

• What it truly means to “abide” in Christ
• How being captivated by Jesus changes your whole perspective
• Simple, sustainable practices that create space for real connection with Jesus
• How to remain rooted when life gets hard, dry, or disorienting

This is not a new program or a heavier load. It’s permission to lay the striving down and rediscover the One who has been waiting for your company all along.

Who should read this book?
The person who’s been a Christian for years and doesn’t feel the peace and love they read about in Scripture.
The new Christian who wants to jump right into relationship without wasting years in religion.
Any Christian who’s ever thought that there must be more to Christianity than just going to church and reading their Bible.

Well written and easy to read, Hoy’s book challenges the reader to pursue more than just a passing knowledge of Jesus. She encourages them to desire more, then gives them questions and suggestions to help them figure out how to get there.

A great resource for anyone who’s ever felt like there should be more to their relationship with Jesus, but they weren’t sure how to find it.

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For more spiritual growth books, check out:

Telling Yourself the Truth by William Backus and Marie Chapain
Beauty in the Wilderness by Lindsey Weber

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Dragons are common in the backwater kingdom of Bellemontagne, coming in sizes from mouselike vermin all the way up to the fabled Kings, which haven’t been seen in an age. Gaius Aurelius Constantine Heliogabalus Thrax (who would much rather people call him Robert) has recently inherited his deceased father’s job as a dragon exterminator, a career he detests with all his heart. Things turn from bad to worse when Robert is hired by the royal family to disinfest the entire castle, as Princess Cerise is determined to receive Crown Prince Reginald with the shabby château looking its best.

What happens next is not the fairy tale you may be expecting.

A slice-of-life cozy fantasy, this isn’t high adventure or pace-breaking fiction–it’s a look at a young man’s life and struggles.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book, but I found it delightful. The author just jumps into the story as if the reader will understand everything about life with dragons, and I loved the immediate immersion into the world. I also loved the sly snarkiness throughout the book.

There’s quite a bit of adventure in the story, but that’s not the main focus. There’s some romance (lots of princes trying to woo a princess), but that’s not the focus either. The focus is Robert and how he is living life verses how he wants to live it.

My one complaint is that it did end too abruptly for me–I would have liked to see more of how Robert accepts and lives with his developing role with dragons. Instead, he discovers new things about dragons, then the story ends. It could definitely have used another chapter or epilogue to show more of that.

Overall, a fun read. Kind of YA, but there’s a little more swearing than you’d expect in YA.

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For more YA fantasy, check out:

Lament by Laura L. Zimmerman
Head Over Tails by Brianna Tibbets

By the lack of book review posts it might look as if I’m not reading a ton right now, but I am … I’m just reading more of the same. I’ve been addicted to David Rosenfelt’s Andy Carpenter series since the beginning of the year, so I’m working my way through the 30+ page series. I’m not posting a lot because there’s not a lot to say:

• I love the humor.
• I love the PG/PG-13 rating.
• I love the complex crimes/cases.
• I love the character interactions.

For the most part, they’re all 4-star books for me–they’re consistently entertaining, but I’m always a fan of a little more romance.

Here are my latest reads. I won’t stop until I read them all!

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Check out book one in the Andy Carpenter series here!

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Against the simmering backdrop of the impending WWII, blind virtuoso pianist Chaisley Frappier embarks on a concert tour through a rapidly changing Europe despite the dangers. When she learns that Hitler’s escalating regime of injustice is targeting other disabled people, Chaisley realizes she is in a prime position to help those who are threatened reach safety. But the Führer’s growing fascination with the celebrated musician endangers her undercover mission and forces her to walk a tightrope between her fame and her calling.

When Rick Zimmerman receives his next assignment from the British Secret Intelligence Service, he’s surprised to learn he’ll be acting as the personal driver of a world-renowned pianist as she traverses Europe. The role gives him the perfect cover to complete side missions of sabotage and intelligence-gathering, but he soon suspects the brilliant, alluring pianist has secrets of her own. As Chaisley and Rick confront evil at every turn, it will take every bit of faith and courage they possess to triumph over hate–and survive.

—

I wasn’t sure about reading this book, as any WWII/Nazi books are hard to read, but it’s been a while since I’ve read a novel in this time period, so I wanted to give it a try. It’s also my first Kimberley Woodhouse novel.

I loved the premise of this book–blind pianist and a British spy helping the “unworthy” in Nazi Germany. A hard topic, but one worth remembering and studying. In addition to the FMC and MMC, three side characters help in the mission, spreading a wide network through several countries over a several month time period.

I wanted to love this book, but I didn’t connect with it. Most of the story is written through reflections and explanations (versus seeing things happen). I can see how that would make it easier to write about such atrocities (not having to describe them), but it also kept me from really experiencing the emotional turmoil with the characters.

If you’re like me and you steer away from war-centered books because of the extreme emotional responses (especially the hard scenes), this could be a good book for you–it doesn’t shy away from the horrors of WWII, but it doesn’t dive deep into them either, allowing an emotional buffer.

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For a WWII spy romance with a little more action, check out The Songbird and the Spy.
For more historical romance novels, also consider author J’nell Ciesielski.