Believing God Day by Day: Growing Your Faith All Year Long-Short and more shallow than what I was looking for in a devotional

I've heard lots of good things about Beth Moore so maybe this just wasn't a good first introduction to her. I was looking for a daily devotional but the thoughts in this one were just too short and shallow for me to really enjoy. Obviously I didn't need to read a whole year's worth to know this wasn't what I was looking for but I tried it for a full month. I'll try one of her books that is a real study rather than just daily thoughts before I really decide what I think of her as an author.

More about Beth Moore

• Would I pay money for it? No
• Would I read more by this author? I will definitely be trying one of her regular studies
  
• Would I recommend this to a friend? probably not

Purchased as a Kindle freebie January 3, 2014

Invisible-light, fluffy, inoffensive little mystery

Invisible is a quick cozy mystery read that seems to have reviews all over the map, from one star to five.  It is an overtly Christian mystery and the summary on Amazon does not mention this. I'm sure that accounts for some of the review disparity. 

If you are taking it just as a cozy mystery, it would fall on the very light and fluffy end of the spectrum.  Ivy Malone is an older widow who feels like she's pretty much invisible to most people these days due to her age. She still has a lot of curiosity and energy and wants to be doing something so when a mystery happens right in her neighborhood, she begins investigating on her own. 

I had a really hard time getting into this one and almost quit on it. Like most readers, I hate to give up on a book and it did get much better as I read. It started out feeling very shallow. The Christian viewpoint is quite noticeable and even though I'm a very committed Christian, it felt a bit heavy-handed at times. Good Christian dialogue must be very difficult to write. I rarely see it done where it feels natural to me. The mystery was not difficult to figure out.

Even with the problems, I was enjoying the book by the end. I enjoyed the characters as I got to know them. Not a must-read but not a waste of time. I'll finish the series if I run across them but I probably won't actively seek them out.

More about Lorena McCourtney

Would I pay money for it? Probably not

Would I read more by this author? If I run across it as a freebie or at the library

Would I recommend this to a friend? Depends on how light and fluffy they like their mysteries

Purchased as a Kindle freebie February 23, 2013