Rose of Prophesy by Hope Ann

This is another book I read because I bought it at some point and I'm working through the books in my account before buying more.  What I hadn't realised before I read it was that this was a novella, nor that it was a retelling of Beauty and the Beast.


This book seems to be no longer available on Amazon, so here is the blurb from goodreads:

She is afraid. Not because she is alone. Not because thick roiling clouds obscure the moon. Not because the wind rushes through the forest like a wild dragon. She is afraid because she is late. And to be late means death.

Her life had been happy once.

Despite the destruction wreaked by Tauscher, traitor to the King. Despite the distant war led by the Prince and fought with the help of her three brothers. Despite her own poorly-chosen nickname of Beauty, she'd enjoyed life.

Of course, that was also before her father left home on a hopeful errand but returned weary and ill, bearing a velvety scarlet rose which he claimed would never wither. But even life in the ancient hall, tucked away in the center of Mosswood, surrounded by roses of every description, overshadowed with mystery and home to a scarred figure who was more beast than man, wasn't too bad after a time.

But now...now, in a flash of light, Beauty finally glimpses the truth. And the cost. The price which must be paid, or the sacrifice which must be made.

It is a curse which even love alone may not be able to break.

So, not realising when it started it was based on Beauty and The Beast, the fact that the protagonist's nickname is "Beauty" didn't give it away for me, nor the fact she asked her father for a rose - duh!  There was enough story around these elements that it felt totally natural.  (I did 'get' it, by the time we met the Beast, I'm not totally silly!)

For being book 1 in the series, I thought there was not enough background to the thing between the Prince and Tauscher.  There was also a reference that I totally didn't understand - the Stieg Der.  Always written in italics, and never explained.  I don't even know what it means (a quick google was no help).  Having finished the book, and noticing there is some Christian allegory to this retelling (though it is not overt, so I other than a Bible reference on the very last page, it won't 'ruin it' for non-Christian readers, but is an interesting twist) it's something to do with The Fall: 'stieg' is the past tense of 'steigen' in German, where 'steigen' means 'to climb'.  So is it a play on words, rather than The Climb (Der Aufsteig), to illustrate the fall, the words have been place backwards (Stieg Der)? I don't know.

Other than that, however, I enjoyed the book.  At 78 pages it is very short (Kindle estimates it will only take an hour to read) and if you enjoy retellings of classic fairy tales then you will enjoy this book.

Weekly Update Y2w6

So, I haven't lost weight since I've been home.  Actually, that's a slight lie, as I did initially lose weight, and then have piled it back on again.  I'm no longer below 94kilos.

My excuse defence is that we're getting our kitchen done at the moment, so have been without a hob for a few days, and are still without an oven, so we've had to eat a lot of pre-made meals and takeaways.  Added to that, it probably didn't help that I ate a whole packet of biscuits by myself on Friday morning, before going out with a meal with my husband that night (the rare Friday nights we have free are date night, as both girls are dancing until 9pm!), meeting up with friends from uni for a meal on the Saturday, and we had a family day on Sunday which involved a meal out, after which I went to Afternoon Tea with ladies from church, and had more than one slice of cake...  But it's probably the fault of not having a fully working kitchen, lol.

On the positive side, and yes I can still see a positive side, my kitchen is looking good so far, and I'm looking forward to cooking in there again.  And my weight does bump up and down fairly frequently, so I'm not giving up, but taking it on the chin and I know my weight will come down again soon.

Weekly Update Y2w5

Just a quick update today as I need to take DD2 to her science club.  I'm still losing weight!
I did put on weight over the weekend, as we were celebrating my mum's 60th birthday, but not as much as I was expecting and I'm still below 94kilos - hurrah!

I'm confident that I can start to lose weight again now I'm home. <fingers crossed>

Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb

Keen-eyed readers may notice that I've already done a review of this book with this picture.  That was a summary of the whole series (albeit with the blurb from this book) done from memory as I do really like these books.

This time, however, I was recommending this book to someone and because it's been a long time since I have read them, I have decided to reread them, not only to refresh myself of the story, but also to see the story now that I know how it ends.  (Don't worry, no spoilers here!)

I am not disappointed!  It's amazing how much detail there is in the book that I hadn't noticed the first time through.  There are hints as to what is ahead, both the short-term and also longer-term in other books of the series; and all the riddles and deciphering of old texts make perfect sense.

I read this book in just a few days (eight to be exact, according to goodreads) and even though I knew what was coming, I couldn't put it down.  There was much more packed into this first book than I remembered, and even though I remembered the overarching story, there were some details (eg about Nosy) that I had forgotten.

If you enjoy reading fiction, this book is for you.  It's filled with drama, twists, hierarchical society, battles, raiders, royalty, assassinations, love, honour and a smattering of magic.  Even though I intended to alternate between rereading this series and reading new (to me) fiction, I've already started on book 2 because it is so gripping.

Weekly Update Y2w4

I'm really happy with my weightloss this week!  It's not a lot - I've lost more in previous weeks - but it is consistent.  And I haven't been depriving myself, just trying to be more mindful about what I put into my mouth.

I have even eaten our this week (and chose a starter with a side, because I didn't need to have a main course), went out drinking with a friend (and chose to have spritzers, rather than just alcohol), had puddings at home and eaten chocolates (which I've shared with family). I think this mindfulness is probably the key to long term weightloss.

I have had 'bad days' in between too - on Saturday I was absolutely starving, to the point of feeling sick.  I had planned to go straight home after taking DD2 dancing and make myself a big bowl of porridge, but I couldn't manage it, and had to stop in Aldi to get some food (I needed to buy the girls lunch anyway).  I ate half my sandwich in the car, so I was able to drive home.  Then when home, I ate the other half and the popcorn I had bought for myself.  That's probably when I should have stopped, but I also ate 2 sausage rolls (200kcals each - who knew!?), half a packet of cookies and had a yoghurt.  One mistake (meal!) doesn't mean the day is a write-off, and I brought it back at dinner time, simply having some prawn party food.  I didn't need to eat anything more!

Because I'm feeling good about losing weight today, I decided to look ahead and see what will happen if I continue losing weight at the same rate.  My current rate is 'slow' but I'm hoping that means that when it does all come off, I will have created enough good habits that it won't all pile straight back on again.  The main thing I need to watch is that when my weight stabilises for a while, or even if it increases for a few weeks, I don't give up altogether.  This is slow, but so worthwhile.

I have guestimated my rate of weightloss (roughly 1 kilo every 10 days), but looking at the top graph I think that's a fair estimation.  If I continue at that rate, I won't hit my target weightloss until the very end of the year.  So, it's the long game I'm playing and I need to keep that in the forefront of my mind.  But, if I do reach it at the end of the year, I'll be in a good place to arrange my mastectomy and still get it done before I turn 40.

Sons of Encouragement by Francine Rivers

This book was lent to my by a friend from church.  It is fiction, but follows the stories of five Biblical men and imagines what they would have thought, said and done.  It is very cleverly written, and really brought the characters to life, as well as linking in other people who were around at the time, and plenty of Biblical truths during their conversations.  At the end of each book (this is actually five books in one), there is a chapter that can be used for personal or collective Bible study or reflection - I confess to having skipped straight over those bits.  I was reading this as my fiction book, rather than a study book.

The blurb says:

In this five-book compilation of the popular Sons of Encouragement series, the New York Times bestselling author of Redeeming Love and A Voice in the Wind illuminates the lives of biblical men who stood behind heroes of the faith and quietly changed eternity.

Aaron--the priest who stood in Moses' shadow but had the courage to cover his brother's fears.
Caleb--the warrior whose words stirred men's hearts and brought God's people to the Promised Land.
Jonathan--the prince whose humility led him to befriend the man who would become king in his place.
Amos--the prophet who heard when God called and spoke to a nation unwilling to listen.
Silas--the scribe who surrendered his wealth to record God's Word, even as those around him were silenced.

Each faithfully sought God in the shadows of His chosen leaders. They answered God's call to serve without recognition or fame. And they gave everything, knowing their reward might not come until the next life. Be challenged by these faithful men whose stories we must never forget.

Each novella includes an in-depth Bible study, perfect for personal reflection or group discussion.

At first I found the book to be very slow, and if I'm honest, I didn't like Caleb's story to be immediately after Aaron's because I felt that a bit too repetitive.  (Caleb's and Aaron's stories are interlinked, and the order of these books follow the order of the Bible, so chronologically it is correct.)  However, I think both of these points could be because I was reading a real book (dun dun dunnnnnn!), and being five books in one, it is a hefty size!  In the end, I bought the Kindle version myself, returning the original to my friend, and that made everything go a lot smoother and much more enjoyable.

The five books are all independent, and follow secondary characters to those written about in the Bible itself.  It allows for some poetic license, but Francine really brings the characters and struggles of these people to the forefront.  I particularly enjoyed the story about Amos.  In the Bible, Amos is a fairly short book, all about prophesy, encouraging the Israelites to repent and return to God.  There is not much there about the character of Amos himself, so it was good to spend some time thinking about what he could have been like as a person, following God's will, spreading a message that many others did not want to hear.

Would I recommend this book? Yes.  I'd go so far as to say that you don't have to be a Christian to enjoy these stories.  If you have the slightest interest in the Bible or ancient history, then this book would be a good read to help set the scene and see the different challenges that would have been faced in those times, but even if you don't, the writing is good enough to draw you into the story and relate to their experiences.  I do have to repeat that this is fiction, but highly recommend that if you enjoy it, you read the Bible itself afterwards, so you can see how accurate it is for yourself.

Musings about The Greatest Commandment

In Matthew 22:36-40, Jesus was asked "What is the greatest commandment?".  Jesus replied, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.  And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself.  On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."

If I'm asked to summarise the Bible, I'd respond:

• Love God
• Love your neighbours
• Love your enemies

I have always struggled with the phrase "Love your neighbour as yourself" because I have always taken it to mean "Love your neighbour as much as you love yourself", and because I don't tend to love myself, in my head I have always thought it should be (because, obviously, I know more than the Son of God...<eyeroll>) "Love your neighbour more than you love yourself".  I've not had a problem with that thought, and I don't think it has harmed others to think that.  

Recently, however, I have come to think that the phrase has more practical implications.

I may not feel all lovey about myself, but I do show myself love - when I am hungry I get something to eat, thirsty and I get something to drink, cold and I put a jumper on.  Even if I don't feel love for myself, I do show myself love through these small ways.  Even if I may not like myself in the moment, I can still show love for myself, and it is this showing of practical, real, hands-on love that Christians are called to share with their neighbours (and their enemies).