Worlds Unseen by Rachel Starr Thomson (Book Review)

Worlds Unseen by Rachel Starr Thomson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Again I found this gem of a book on the freebie ebook list on Kobo. Being on a tight budget but an avid reader without a car to make it to the library all the time, I am constantly on the lookout for good books that I can read without hurting my pocket. The least I can do for these great freebies is rate and sometimes get around to writing reviews. It is also a great way to find new authors.

I will begin by saying I really liked this book and I am now hooked!

In Worlds Unseen, Thomson has created a special world in her book. This world is filled with many great characters, a plight to save the world, diabolical enemies, unexpected heroes, heartbreaking losses, and hopeful victories. The classic good vs evil storyline always gets my interest along with a strong female lead character. I also really enjoy fantasy books that work outside the box and hint at great possibilities. Rachel Starr Thomson accomplished all of this and much more in this book. A bonus to this book I had not realized until after I was submerged into her world was the strong Christian allegory throughout the story that reminded me of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.

The story is told through many character perspectives which helps give a broader view of this new world. However, it is the plight of the unexpected main characters, Maggie and a boy named Nicolas that really establishes this story for me. There is a hint of deeper things going on in the world that Maggie unknowingly steps in when she helps an old man and becomes determined to grant his last wish and is determined to find the answers to the tragedies from her past. Nicolas is pulled into the story when he happens upon Maggie who is in trouble and feels the need to help her fend off some unsavory characters in a back alley. After taking her to a safe Inn he continues on his journey, never liking to be in cities for long, but on his way, he hears a disturbing voice and knows Maggie is still in trouble from something way worse than a couple of street thugs. Compelled to race back to the Inn to save Maggie once again before whatever that is looking for her finds her first. What is after Maggie is more than what anyone would ever think is real, it is something evil and otherworldly. Will Nicolas be able to help her, will they be able to flee and find some way to overcome this evil, will Maggie be able to complete her quest and find the answers she seeks? The ending of this book answers some of these but leaves you with more questions as the quest evolves into something more. I can't wait to continue on the journey and discover what both Maggie and Nicolas and the other characters will do to help start a revolution and save their world from impending evil.



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Getting Wilde by Jenn Stark (Book Review)

Getting Wilde by Jenn Stark
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I came across this book on the freebie ebook list via Kobo. I read the synopsis and it sounded like it would be an interesting read. As it turnded out I was glad I downloaded this book to my overdrive on my phone, as I did enjoy the read.

Without giving away too many spoilers, I will say I really liked the characters in this book. The main heroine so to speak Sara Wilde has a lot of stuff going on in her past & present that she needs to figure out to help her in the future. There is alot of action in this story and those moments of frustration where you want to shake the main character but are still hooked to see how things will turn out. About the only thing I could do with out was the odd "romance" scenes, they were just a bit too graphic for my liking. I personally don't mind a bit of hinting but really I do not need to know play by play detail. I also found it frustrating how the main character just seem too confused about her own feelings and why she is so scared about the whole thing. I really do hope that gets explained in the sequels. This is definitely a book that caught my attention and I did not want to put it down, the ending leaves you hanging a bit and I will be looking forward to reading the next book to find out where Sara story leads.


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Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

I so hope everyone had a good holiday season.  

December was especially busy for me. 
It started off  at the begining of the month with our special Banquet event at church, then Rowan's band concert, Christmas play, Christmas service, Jesus's birthday service, Christmas dinner with close friends, caroling, packing, moving, and finally Watch Night service (New Year's Eve). Plus I still had my weekly appointments to attend. Phew.  

No wonder I just did not find the time or energy to sit down and write a blog, the whole month just went by in a blur. 

So here I am a week into January just finally calming down after all the excitement. I got the last bit of our moving/cleaning of the old apartment done on Jan. 3rd, my keys and mail box done by the 5th. I am so releived and thankful that is over! 

It just feels so good starting the new year off in a fresh new place. A great time and opportunity to get good habbits started for a healthier lifestyle in body, mind, & soul. Taking each day one at a time and making sure God is in the forefront of our lives. 

The "bare necessities" are already unpacked. Now I can take my time to unpack and sort through everything else. I do still have some cleaning in the kitchen & bathroom before I can finish unpacking those rooms. Nothing much just wiping down cupoboards and shelves and getting contact paper down. That will be my priority area before I move onto the living/dining room area. My bedroom will eventually fall into place once those other areas get done. Rowan's room is pretty much done and decorated. Which is good since school starts back on Monday Jan. 9th.

Once school starts back up it will be easier to get back onto a regular schedule and finding a routine. One that will hopefully fit with our new surroundings with a healthier lifestyle in mind. I already feel better just being in our new place for a whole week. Not breathing in the smoke, dust, mold, mice debri, and who knows what else, has helped immensely. Also just having the stress removed from the other building feels like a huge weight has been lifted. I still have a long road ahead especially where my health is concerned but I finally feel like I am living in an enviroment that will be of help and not a hinderance.

I will now take a moment to thank Jesus for everything He has done for me throughout this whole process. For the church family He has given me and the help & support they have been. The apartment that was found and now living in, the opportunity to witness to others and share a part of my story & faith with them. The peace, strength, endurance, love and joy that has surrounded me. Thank you Jesus, I love and appreciate you so much! In Jesus name Amen.

Again thank you Reader for taking the time to read my post, until next time...

Take care & God Bless!
~Ryan (RMM)

September Ends

Hello Again!

As September draws to a close the days are definitely getting colder. Frost welcomes us in the morning and last Friday we had a very crazy hail storm, not to mention I can’t seem to get warm throughout the day. Time to pull out the warm leggings to wear under everything before I freeze! In all, it really has been a long month.

The highlight of the month had to be my daughter having her first Homecoming. It was so much fun helping her pick out a dress and get ready for the dance. She looked absolutely amazing! One of her friends hosted a dinner for a group of us, the moms and daughters, so we could all help the girls before they left for the dance. Of course we had a photo shoot once they were all ready. I heard one of her friends whisper, “she looks like a goddess,” when we were taking photos; her dress was white and with her dark complexion it really stood out. Such a beautiful young lady, I was the proud mama that day!

The toughest part of the month was when public assistance was way behind on their renewal process which left us without medical or food benefits for the first half of the month, (talk about anxiety). As a result I ended up close to a month of being without my thyroid medicine, I felt like a sloth! The whole thing was a real headache, after calling and leaving messages I finally had to go down to see them which took two days. The first day was so packed that they were turning people away and this was before noon! So I went back the next day early in the morning and was able to get an appointment the same day and three hours later I found out the reason why there was no renewal was that they were still processing papers from July!  

The whole thing reminded me of the scene from Zootopia, the sloths working at the DMV, the irony; I can laugh about it now, but I was getting really stressed out for a while, lol. Another big thing happened is that I finally received my disability packet forms to fill out which had a two week time frame, I was able to get an extra two week extension and got them finished with a week to spare, (woohoo!). If you know me, you would know certain paperwork causes me a lot of anxiety, and yup this packet was one of those kinds, so I feel pretty accomplished that I finished it up before the deadline. Though I will admit I could not even start on the packet until I got the whole public assistances worked out, basic needs always come first. Though my anxiety and mood was touch and go at points, God is right there. I am so grateful and thankful to my Lord Jesus, I know He is always ready to help hold me up when I need it. In Jesus name Amen! 

Phew! I am glad this month is almost at a close. My next hurdles are housing and getting back into physical therapy. Oh and I am looking forward to Halloween! Really I think I am just a big kid at heart, who doesn’t like dressing up and getting free candy? I also enjoy a good scary movie, not the gross gory kind or the ones that leave you with a bad feeling in the spirit, but the kind that can give you a good jump scare  and maybe a small case of heebie jeebies that you can laugh about later. Does anyone have any good scary or suspenseful movie recommendations or even any good books?

Okay so on that note I will say goodbye, 

Take care & God Bless!

~Ryan (RMM)

***Here is a nice clip for you to enjoy and if you have not watch the full movie I highly recomend it!

Be Strong

Hello Again!

So it looks like I am on the trend of one blog per month, ouch! No wonder there are no followers, can't follow something that is not there! 

I have no clue as to what to write, I did start a post on internet slang and decorum, or more so the lack of it in some areas. After reading I decided to hang that one up and safe to drafts, chalk it up as a good writing excercise as it was more of an essay read. Who knows I may go back and refine it a bit before posting at a different time. For now I will try to keep this post short as I can already tell without a set topic I am just going to keep rambling on. I suppose I can give an update on the status of my back.

Physical therapy is working great, I have not needed a cane in a few weeks, my leg is much stronger, I am able to go for small walks and use the stairs. I am still working on strengthing and endurance, I still can not do a squat or kneel without help or intense pain, but overall the general pain level has gone down and the daily excercises I am suppose to do at home (when I remember), really do help. In fact, tomorrow I get to see the Dr. about my leg again. I am sure he will say the same as he has for the last two visits, which is to keep up the physical therapy and see me in 2-3weeks, call the office if things get worse. Surgery is of course still recommended but they want to hold off to see how much I can improve with physical therapy alone. 

Now for this next stage in my physical therapy they are attempting to ween me off of traction (aka the Rack) and have me doing more of a workout in the gym area. I am not sure how well this will work out. The excercise part is all good and I don't mind it feels good to be back in the gym of sorts, but really it has been the traction that has helped soo much with the pinched nerve. I went for a whole 2 1/2 weeks with no traction and just regular physical therapy when I started having the pinched nerve pain again. It wasn't as bad as it was orginally but it was definetly the precursor pain I felt before it got really bad. I tried all the home excercises and nothing worked, cold and hot packs, not even the pain meds where helping. It got so I could not even do the home excercises and I almost pulled out my cane to help me. One of my PT appointments had gotten canceled because of some mix up so by the time I got into PT a whole week had gone by with the pain getting worse. So we will see how long I can go from needing traction again. For now I am just thankful for the progress I have made and will keep doing my best to keep my mind on God. I know all things are possible with Him.

In the mean time, the weather has been great and I need to remember to ALWAYS wear sunblock, I burn to easily and it truly drains me. I went for a small walk out in the sun just this last Friday and did not think of putting on sunblock, yes I got a small burn that made me exhausted. I pretty much fell asleep not long after I got home that day and then slept my whole Saturday away. The good news is that I finally made it to Sunday School this last Sunday but did not quite make it to the evening service. I will try again for next Sunday for both services.

Oh, this Wednesday is the last of school for my daughter then summer vacation starts, she also has a play comming up the last weekend of May and the first weekend of June. So she will still be busy as these last two weeks before the play are pretty hectic. The play is "Little Women," I have yet been able to attend any of the play practices so I am really looking forward to going to the show.

I will keep up with my walking, remembering to wear sunblock, my goal is to get a short walk in everyday and gradually make my walks longer. Right now I am good every 1 to 2 days for about a 10-15min walk, plus I do my daily exercises and go to PT 2-3x a week. It would be great to have a 20-30min daily walk even if I have to break the walk up to two 10's or two 15's that would be a huge progress! I have no clue the distance I walk, I am just focusing on time right now but will try to keep track of how far I can go, but for now my walking is slow to moderate so I do not get far in 10-15mins. The idea is the longer I can walk eventually the faster I will be able to go, especially the stronger I get.

Well that is all I will write this time round, I will try to break the one blog a month, thanks for reading!

God Bless and Take Care!

~Ryan (RMM)

Review: The Thompson-Chain Reference Study Bible-KJV

The Thompson-Chain Reference Study Bible-KJV by Anonymous
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This bible was a gift back in 2011 and I will say it has been one of the best gifts ever! I love God's word, each time you read a whole new layer comes to light!

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Review: Nuts in May

Nuts in May by Cornelia Otis Skinner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is one of those treasure finds! A hilarious book/play that is well written and really an easy read, that will have you laughing out loud!

I had never heard of Cornelia Otis Skinner, until my daughter's acting troupe decided to do the play "Nuts in May." I spent that weekend reading the play and looking up Cornelia Otis Skinner and was dumbstruck that I had not heard of her before. I now have a new (old) author to add to my list! The only draw back is that much of Cornelia's writings are hard to find, but really well worth the hunt!

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Review: Shifting Shadows: Stories from the World of Mercy Thompson

Shifting Shadows: Stories from the World of Mercy Thompson by Patricia Briggs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this collection of short stories, from the Mercy Thompson world. Each story was from a different characters view point and either was an orgin story or story that filled out some of the different characters in her books. I found this to be very refreshing and it was nice to get a different look into Mercy Thompson world from perspectives that were not hers and getting to know some of the other characters better, especially those that do not make many appearances otherwise. Though I will give a warning as the author does at the beginning of the book, there are a few spoilers throughout, so if you are new to Mercy Thompson world, or not up-to-date with the series (Night Broken), you may not want to read this book (yet). That is if you don't like spoilers. ;)

Patricia Briggs has become one of my favorite authors over this last year. She has a relaxed way of writing and I also really love her scene and character discriptions, that bring her books to life, I just sort of sink into her world. That is one thing I really look forward to when I open a good book or reading any good story, I want to be able to sink into that world and see it come to life!

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Review: Heir of Fire

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I picked up the book and litterally could not put it down! I really enjoy the way Sarah J Maas writes and has a way of wrapping her world around yours while you read, that is a huge plus in my book. I am so glad I had the next book waiting, I hate being left on cliffs to hang around! I am eager to find out what happens in the world of Celeana Sardothien, so many exciting things are going on!

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Review: Fire

Fire by Kristin Cashore
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It is an exciting tale of the other side of the mountians where monsters live in all sorts of vibrant colors. Where civil war threatens the land and one girl discovers herself and is faced with some life altering decisions. Will she continue on in an as much as possible ambiguous way, or will she meet the challenges faced before her and help save the kingdom?

So far I will have to say this is my favorite book to the Graceling Realm books. I found this book to be very exciting and was sad the story was over. I wanted to know more about Fire's life and how things continue on. It would be great if Cashore adds a continuence to Fire's story in the future.

Unlike the first story (Graceling) which I did enjoy, I felt more connected and related better with Fire's story and character. The first book had an interesting story which kept me going, though some of the character developement felt forced. By the time you are into the second book (which I am glad I continued reading the series!), Cashores character developement and scene descriptions have matured. It is as if she were having fun with the characters in this story and really delving into a deeper level of a story-telling.

I am sad to leave Fire's story behind, it really was a very good read. I do look forward to reading the next book, "BitterBlue," which hopefully will round off the trilogy and tie things together or maybe it will open the story to future Graceling adventures! Which I would certiantly look forward to reading!


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Review: Twelve Years a Slave

Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An incredible story of hope, faith, and resilience. This book did not read as a non-fiction, once I started reading I could not put it down!

I found Solomon such a good story teller it was easy to slip back into time as an unseen witness to his crucible. The fluid language of the era and his strong sense of belief's definetly gave a different first hand viewpoint to one of the most darker sides of American history. I experienced a whole range of emotion, from joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness; knowing it is a true story made it all the more touching!

I recomend this book to anyone that wants an inspring story, a look into history, and well are not satisfied with just surving but want to live!

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