Angel Eyes by Shannon Dittemore

Angel Eyes by Shannon Dittemore, is about a girl named Brielle who has just returned home from school after experiencing a tragedy. Her best friend was killed and she considers it to be her fault, that she could have prevented it. When she goes back to school in her hometown, she meets a mysterious boy named Jake who opens her eyes to a world that she did not realize existed.

I thought that this was a very well-written book. I found the story line very intriguing and it definitely kept my interest. I always like to read books that are about how angels and demons actually exist and are locked in a spiritual battle. I thought that this book had a very interesting take on spiritual warfare. ***spoiler alert***The one thing that I didn’t really like about the book was that the author didn’t seem to make a big deal about Ali being a unwed, pregnant teenager. It almost seemed accepting about it since she and Marco were planning on getting married. I know that Ali was not a Christian and that is probably why it wasn’t made more of, but when Brielle talked about seeing her in heaven one day, Jake said that was between her and God and left it at that. For a book geared toward teenagers, I would have liked to have seen more said about it and how it wasn’t right.

Overall, though, I thought this was a great book and I can’t wait to read the next one.

I received this book from Booksneeze in exchange for my review. I was not obligated to write a favorable review.

The Bride Wore Blue by Mona Hodgson

Vivian Sinclair, the youngest of the Sinclair sisters, has finally joined her three older sisters in Cripple Creek, Colorado. She hopes that her sisters will see her as a grown, independent woman and not just as the baby of the family, but she has no confidence in herself since she made an irreversible mistake back in Maine. She now sees herself as having to make her way in the world without the benefit of a husband in the future. When every job that she applies for falls through, she feels like she has no choice but to accept a job as a hostess in a sporting house. As her life continues to spiral out of control, she learns that she should no longer rely just on herself, but put her life in God's hands.
I really enjoyed this book. I have not been able to read the second book in The Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Creek series, but I did read the first one and this book was just as good as that one was. I thought that the character of Vivian Sinclair was very well written. She had a lot of depth to her struggles and she seemed more relatable than many other characters I have read. She made a mistake and felt that because of this mistake, she could never have the life she had dreamed about. She was no longer worthy to even be on the same level as her sisters. She felt like a hypocrite and that God would never forgive her for what she had done. The author did an excellent job with showing that no matter what someone does, God is always willing to forgive and you can move past your mistakes. I also really like how the author integrated an adoption story in the book. Adoption is something that is close to my heart and I really enjoyed reading about one in a fictional story. Overall, this was a great story and I am looking forward to the next book by Mona Hodgson to read more about the Sinclair sisters.