To Have Or to Hold: by Josi S. Kilpack

To Have or to Hold by Josi S. Kilpack



This was such a good read! I needed to read a romance that wasn't cookie cutter sweet and that had a lot of angst. It still is a good LDS romance, but it had a kick that many LDS Romances are not brave enough to attempt! Good job Josi Kilpack on this novel.

This was a hard one to put down.I have to admit reading it during my lunchtime and avoiding eating in the faculty lounge so I could finish this book and not have to talk to anyone. I get a little weird when I really want to read a book, so I take advantage of any spare time I can get.

I will warn you, the main character is not the most likable character I have ever "met", but you grow to love her and care about her each chapter you read. As for the main male character, well what can I say, I really liked him.

Now Josi has several books that she has written, but I wanted to tell you about her last two books that made me shake in my boots and think hard about two facts: internet predators and identity theft.

With Sheep's Clothing, Josi wrote a novel that every parent, especially those of teenagers, should read with their children. The main character is an almost 16 year old girl, the oldest of six children, that is feeling neglected and misunderstood. She soon meets a "friend" on the internet who introduces her to her "cousin" and they become friends. Jess becomes too involved with her "friend' and soon disappears and all is not as it seemed. That is all I will tell you, but know this, it struck great fear in me for all children out there who peruse the internet daily. Many parents are naive about what and whom is really out there threatening our children. It is up to us to always know the sites that our children visit and who they may be chatting with. Josi was honored last year at the Whitney Awards for this well written book, and was given the award for best book in Suspense/ Mystery.



This year, Josi released another book that makes you think, called, " Her Good Name" about identity theft. Before I read the book I wondered if anything could keep up with Sheep's Clothing. I breathlessly read this new book, awestruck at how easy it is for ones identity to be stolen. Other emotions that came from reading this book, upset stomach, heart palpitations, and my head spinning (not literally folks!) Josi has written another must read book for both men and women. OK guys, yes there is a mildly disguised romance behind this novel, but the crux of the novel is how easy it is to become a victim and how hard it is to get your good name back. This novel will really make you think twice before using a credit/debit card and never letting that card out of your sight at any time.





I hope that you will also go read Josi's website and blog. She is a wonderful writer and an amazing person. I hope that she continues to write great novels for a very long time. Every book of hers that I have read so far, and she has written 8 novels, I have read quickly and had a hard time putting them down; hence me becoming a social hermit when one of her books is in my hand. OK, now what are you waiting for...get reading!


http://www.josiskilpack.com

Why Can't I Decide?

It was on January 1st that I happily declared that I was participating in the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge. I have been looking at many other sites to see what people have decided to read for the challenge. I have had a few suggestions from people and I have started to make my list. Why then am I still sitting here, six days later still trying to decide what I am going to read for the challenge? This isn't a life altering decision that must be made... but these days it sure feels like it!

Most decisions I make during the day directly affect my children or the children I teach. Now, as I must make a decision that should bring great enjoyment into my life, I am sitting frozen in place. I am not sure whether to read the books in the Royal Twist or the Twilight Twist...books that inspired the Twilight series. **sigh** How sad that I am dragging my feet on making a decision that should be relatively easy, but the mole hill is turning into a mountain.

So instead of announcing my picks for the challenge, I now am shamelessly reporting back to you that I don't have a clue what I will be reading. I still have 24 days to make a decision and get the book read in order to fulfill the first month's requirement. I also will freely admit that it doesn't help that I am in the process of reading 6-7 other books right now and this may be distracting me just a bit.

Feel free to give me feedback, suggestions or if you want to commiserate with me that would be helpful too! Thanks for reading.

The Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

I am so excited that I will be participating in my first "official" reading challenge. This challenge will be a Historical Fiction reading Challenge. It is being hosted by the women over at Royal Reviews (http://theroyalreviews.blogspot.com/2008/12/historical-fiction-reading-challenge.html)


So this is how it's going to work:

• Read 3 historical fiction books in 3 months from 1st Jan 09 - 31st March 09.
• Historical fiction will be counted as anything set or written prior to World War II. This will include classic novels, time travel novels or anything you feel fits the genre.

For an extra bit of fun, you can choose to participate in one of the following themes:

• The Royal Twist - Read 3 based on or inspired by 3 different royals. Emperors, Queens, Kings whatever inspires you!
• The Twilight Twist - Read a selection of 3 of the classic novels that inspired the Twilight Saga. There's Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte or A Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare.

I have not yet decided which twist I will be choosing, because I love both themes. I will let you know once I have decided which 3 books I will be choosing to read and review. I hope that there are some Historical Fiction readers out there that will want to participate with me. You know who you are!!

Also, if you have some good suggestions for me of books that would fall under the "Royal Twist" theme, please leave them in the comments suggestion under this post.

Remember, this challenge only last from January 1st 2009-March 31st 2009, so if you are going to read Historical Fiction with me, let me know!