Joyful indeed. Do you love Cookie Monster? Of course you do (Who can resist the lovable blue monster?). Then you need this book.

And a cookie.

Understanding Heaven's Court System: Exp...

I enjoyed this book. It should be on every believer's shelf. Expounds on our authority in the spiritual realm as Christians and packed full of scriptures. I am certainly going to keep it handy to refer to often. I would like to read more by this pastor. I received this copy in a giveaway. Thank you!

I'm not quite sure what to say about this book. I had a hard time getting through the whole book only reading a few pages every so often but I absolutely loved the story and characters. I think it may have been because of Shepard's prose. After reading a little I think I just had to step away and let it "sink in" some before continuing.

Highly recommended!!

My parents taught me to read and write before I attended school. Here in the UK (for those not familiar) we start around the age of 4/5, depending on whether your birthday falls before or after August, which is the start date for all after-Summer-Holiday terms. I started at 4, able to read and write, which got me and my folks into trouble at school, because they like to teach their own way, and didn't like that came pre-taught. Tough luck for them.

For that reason, by the time we started doing reading for classes in school, I was at an advanced level to the other kids. I also had a bit of a knack for being patient – sometimes more patient than the teachers! – so I helped another kid in my class with his reading, because he had dyslexia and/or learning difficulties. I'm vague about this, before I was too young to really understand it (about 9/10 years old) and it wasn't talked a lot back then. Some teachers just thought those with such challenges were slow, were lazy, or didn't want to do the work. I remember that much, because I remember staying inside during break times to help him catch up with his reading. Not many of the teachers, or other students, liked it, but the kid I helped did. And he did great.

I'm pretty sure that's why I wasn't much of a reader growing up. Hard to believe, right? Well, I wasn't. I read Sweet Valley High books, Sherlock Holmes, and stuff the school made us read, but I wasn't voracious about it, like I am now. I think that's mostly because of the subject matter. I never really liked what was being given to us, or what was recommended reading for my age at the library. I guess, nowadays, you'd call me a mature reader. Back then, I just didn't have the time (between school work and home life) or the inclination (subject matter!) to be as passionate about books as I am now.

Now, I read approximate 300 books a year. That doesn't sound like a lot, to some people I know, who can read 500+ a year, but in between that, I read-to-review (which takes longer, because I write notes as I'm reading, and then have to process and type that all up when I'm done) for both Netgalley and Divine Magazine. I also write, as you probably know by now. I can write a book (say about 80k) in a month, if I had unlimited time. Since that's rare and maybe only happens once a year, I can write about 2-3 novels a year, all of which take time, planning, editing, repeated reading, and research. That all takes time. So, for me, 300 books a year is a lot.

And I LOVE it. I love getting to explore new stories, new worlds, new writing and new authors. And I love being able to write my own stories. It might have taken a while, but I found my passion in the end.

I've been under a lot of stress because of graduate work so I tend to gravitate towards lighthearted books that won't make my heart (or soul) feel sick. This book is one of them.

I enjoyed it enough, but as an avid Kinsella reader, something was missing. A spark, perhaps? I didn't care for Katie/Cat Brenner that much. I couldn't really say I have a grasp on her person after finishing. Her love interest and the entire romance plot felt tacked on and hollow. Her "love" for Alex happened way too quickly.

I did enjoy her relationship with Demeter, which I'm surprised to say.

Overall, the entire story felt too superficial and it made me sad because I really wanted to care.