Live Uncaged by Mary DeMuth

Live Uncaged is no longer available on Amazon UK, but its blurb said:

Are you stuck in the past? Don't know how to heal beyond what happened to you back then? Are you tired of repeating the mistakes of your parents?

Author Mary DeMuth helps you understand your past, embrace healing today, and anticipate an irresistible future.

Through biblical teaching, real life in-the-trenches examples, and an eye toward spiritual growth, author Mary DeMuth helps you live the uncaged life you've always wanted.

Throughout this  book Mary DeMuth goes through lots of different ways in which we can be living as if caged, rather than allowing Christ to set us free.  I should as a trigger warning here, because Mary has experienced much pain in her life, not lease because of sexual abuse and rape that she has experienced as a child.  Despite this, thoughout the book you can see the joy that has come into her life thanks to her faith.

As this book is a collection of blog posts, rather than written as a book, some of the topics are repeated, but don't let this put you off.  Each post is clearly laid out, and Mary puts her heart and soul on the page, as she prays for herself and for the reader that they get healing from whatever ails them.

A Flair for Chardonnay by Deborah Garner

This is the first book I have read this year, and I enjoyed it.  It is about a woman who owns a fashion shop notices one of her shop-neighbours, a chocolatier called Matteo, has had an argument with his family and decides to investigate.  Before long, a murder has occurred and it looks like Matteo may be the guilty party.

The blurb says:

When flamboyant senior sleuth Sadie Kramer learns the owner of Cioccolato, her favorite chocolate shop, is in trouble, she heads for the California wine country with a tote-bagged Yorkie and a slew of questions. The fourth generation Tremiato Winery promises answers, but not before a dead body turns up at the vintners’ scheduled Harvest Festival.

All four Tremiato siblings have possible motives, as well as a few peripheral acquaintances, but only one could be the guilty party. As Sadie juggles truffles, tips and turmoil, she’ll need to sort the grapes from the wrath in order to find the identity of the killer.

This was an enjoyable book, a cosy murder mystery, with a laid-back pace of Sadie and her dog Coco.  It kept me reading, as I wasn't sure who the real murderer was, and all loose ends were neatly tied up at the end of the book.
The only negative to this book was that it referred to Sadie's sleuthing, and the fact that detectives were refusing to come to her for guidance, - making me think I had started halfway through a series - when in fact this is indeed the first of 4 books.  I think it just means that rather than a flamboyant senior sleuth, Sadie Kramer is a nosey-parker who likes to get involved in other people's business.
I'm glad I read it, nonetheless.

The Island Legacy by Ruth Saberton

I read this book, because, yet again, it was next in the list of books I've bought but haven't read yet.  The Island Legacy is about a woman who inherits a small island, complete with its own castle, off the coast of Cornwall, from an uncle that she never met.  That uncle never had children of his own, but was cared for in his dying days by a different niece with a heart-of-gold, and was in touch with a nephew who was busy circling with the vultures...

The blurb says:

When free spirited Ness Penwellyn inherits a Cornish island, it isn't long before she encounters property developer, Max Reynard. Wealthy and wickedly handsome, Max is accustomed to getting his own way but his assumption she’ll sell to him makes Ness determined to go it alone.

Before long, Ness and Max are locked in a battle of wills as the castle’s past and present collide in the fight for its future. As time runs out, Ness must decide who to trust with the island legacy and her heart…

THE ISLAND LEGACY is captivating blend of romance, mystery and courage played out against the breath taking beauty of Cornwall’s dramatic coastline.

This is a heartwarming cozy romance in amongst the tale of a woman troubled by secrets of her parents' past.  It is well written, and was lovely to read a story based on the British coastline.  Having stayed in Perranporth and been to the beach at Perran Sands, I confess to having googled to see if Pirran Castle was a real place (it isn't), but it is reminiscent of St Michael's Mount (which I have been to).

I read this book in one night (night, because I had insomnia and this kept me occupied until 6am) and it was a really enjoyable read.  Arguably it is predictable, but when reading this type of book you want it to be - I would be disappointed if the leading lady didn't get her love interest in the end.  There are clear goodies, and baddies, and some who appear to switch sides when you know them on a deeper level.  I will definitely read more of Ruth's books in the future.

Weekly Update Y2w1

So, my weight is still increasing after the Christmas period, and I don't know whether to start a new graph for the new year (in the hope that it decreases nicely and looks pretty), or to own the fact that I haven't lost weight, and am back to where I was a month or so ago? What do you think? Should I start again (again)?

What I am starting again, though, is tracking.  Once again, I'm using My Fitness Pal to track what I'm eating, as there does seem to be a correlation between me tracking and at least maintaining my weight, if not losing it.  I am also reconnecting with the 2B Mindset, specifically the 2 Bunnies - Water First, Veggies Most, Use the Scale and Track what you eat; and aim to do Body Groove at least once a week, if not twice.  My new day for Body Groove is Tuesday (since I'm home all day Tuesdays) and the Friday mornings that I'm home (roughly fortnightly).

I've also joined a local online fitness/get healthy group, in the hope that it will motivate me and spur me into action.  This is not a new year's resolution - it just happens to be in the new year, because it''s after the Christmas period.  I need to lose weight for my health and for future surgeries.

And because, whilst watching Friends with my girls, DD2 commented last night that I looked like Monica, and should do what she did and simply lose weight.  As much as I should be horrified by that comment, I'm not - I'm more horrified that I look at 'Fat Monica' and notice that she's thinner/looks better than I do.

The Empty Door by E R Mason

The blurb for The Empty Door says:

Cassiopia Cassell’s high IQ had always been too much for the men she’d dated. But now her beloved father was missing, and the only way to rescue him required she retain the services of a man with special abilities, a man she did not care for, and one she would have to convince to accompany her through an unexplained portal that led to dangers beyond imagination.

This book for me was a mixed bag.  It has tonnes of potential and some really good ideas.  Unfortunately, it seems to be two books in one.  There's one storyline which has this artefact that causes people to see their true being (and therefore the suicides of some bad guys).  Simultaneously, there's the storyline with the missing physicist, hidden experiments and a portal to another world.  Each of these plots has potential to be great books in their own right, I just don't understand why they've been put together?

That said, I have put book 2 on my wishlist, so it can't have been that bad.  I just hope this book focuses on the Cassiopia/SciFi side of things...

My Books of 2019

Now I've had this blog for over a full calendar year, I can see the books I have read this past year - so here is the list of them!  If you look at my blog, there are more book reviews than just these ones list, but they weren't actually read this year.

For each book, I have linked to my review (and within each review is a link to the Amazon page where the books can be purchased, though of course there are many other book retailers where you may prefer to spend your money).

January
King Arthur and Her Knights 1-3
King Arthur and Her Knights 4-7
Love Me Sweetie
Bloom: 50 Things

February
No books finished this month!

March
Women of Courage

April
Again none.  I was doing a Bible read-through, where I was reading the whole Bible within 6 months, and that often took more time than I planned.  This coming year, I'm going back to reading it over a year.

May
Nowt. Nada.

June
Finished reading the Bible!

July
Lorna Doone
The Fourth Element Trilogy
Love Me Dreamy
From Daughter to Woman

August
Enjoy Your Prayer Life
Born a Crime
Dev Haskell Private Investigator 1-14
Blood Singers Series
Skip
When the Body Says No
Stories Aren't Just For Kids
Garden Girls Cozy Mysteries 1-3
Fahrenheit 451

September
Abducting Abby
After Math
All The Way To Heaven
Agent With a History
Against the Odds
Russian Hill
Contract Snatch
Emotions, Mirrors of the Heart

October
Praying For Your Children
Parenting
Kappa Quartet

November
Adam's Journey
The Poet X
A Life of Balance
Sei Thrillers 1-3
The Pilgrim's Progress
The Overcoming Life

December
Love Me Darling
The Forgotten Girls 1-3
The Ravagers 1-5
plus two more books whose reviews have not been published yet!
(I will add them to this list later this week)

Wow, that's quite a list!  Thirty-nine different links, with over 70 individual books read (I've included the Bible as one book, rather than 66 separate ones).  I said the other day that I thought trying to read 50 books in a year might be challenging, but clearly I am reading more than I thought, so will aim to read at least 70 again next year.

The Ravagers by Alex Albrinck

I've still been working through my list of books from my old kindle that I had bought, but hadn't read.  Now I have a new one, there's a feature where I can automatically see all the books that I have and haven't read, so I don't need to keep my paper list any more.  Anyway, The Ravagers by Alex Albrinck was next on my list to read, so I have read it this month.  Having read previous books by him, I knew I wouldn't be able to put this down, and I wasn't wrong.

The blurb says:

In the distant future, humanity staggers as wave after wave of population decimating catastrophes push humanity near its extinction point.

A gift from the past provides them a way forward, and soon the human race is exploding its numbers, recreating civilization, generating art and commerce, and expanding its technological capabilities. The growing human civilization also bring back the concepts of war; East and West wage an eternal detente, neither side willing to attack, neither willing to announce peace.

In the midst of resounding success, a dark force conspires against humanity: the unleashing of a shockingly deadly, destructive weapon that will leave humanity on the brink of extinction once more.

Five people must deal with the launch of this weapon, work to survive, atone for their role in its creation, and try to discover and thwart the plans of those who launched it. 

Before it's too late. Before everything is gone.

The Ravagers is set in the future and refers to our time as "The Golden Ages".  It is interesting because it has advanced technology in some areas, but not in others (for example, no air travel) and people are scattered around the world in densely populated, walled citiplexes, that keep everyone safe from the beasts that roam the land.  One of the ways that technology is advanced, is in the area of weaponry - Ravagers are robots that can deconstruct any material (except Diasteel!) down to its atomic constituents, before using those elements in order to create more ravagers.  As such, a few can easily become a thick oily sea of ravagers ravaging the country.

It took me barely a week to read all the books in this series.  I don't want to go into too much information, but there were some surprises that actually did surprise me!  There were also some I could spot too, but was riveting nonetheless.  This series is set in the same universe as the aliomenti series, but you certainly don't have to have read that to read this - I personally recommend you read both!