The Delusion by Laura Gallier

*Disclosure of material connection- I received a copy  of the book from Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for my honest thoughts. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own. 

About the book-

By March of Owen Edmonds' senior year, eleven students at Lincoln Forest High School have committed suicide. Amid the media frenzy and fanatical onlookers, Owen remains levelheaded - that is until he encounters his own near death experience and wakes to a distressing new reality. 

Everyone he sees appears shackled and enslaved. 

While frantically seeking to cure his crazed hallucinations, Owen's delusions become even more sinister when he witnesses what appears to be an unseen army of hideous, towering beings. These Creepers, as he calls them, are preying upon people, including his classmates and girlfriend, tormenting and inciting humanity to self-destruct. 

Owen eventually arrives at a mind-bending conclusion: He's not merely imagining forces of evil at work. Everyone else is blind to the evil that is. 

He must warn others and rescue those he loves -- a difficult mission when no one will believe him.

Take this heart-pounding journey through Owen Edmonds' eyes and decide for yourself: Are wicked forces after me?
 
Laura Gallier's debut novel will leave you on the edge of your seat and begging for more.

My thoughts-

The Delusion is the best Christian suspense novel I have read in a while. It was fast paced and the story line kept me aching to find out exactly what was going on. I like that the book creates imagery with the chains to represent spiritual warfare and what everyone might be going through. Even people you might not think are struggling most likely are. I feel bad for Owen because he has a difficult home life, and doesn't have faith, so it is good to see this particular character seeking the truth about what is going on around him. The Delusion isn't for the faint of heart, but I think it is an important book read. It is the first book in a series, so we don't really get any answers in it, but that is a great reason to look forward to book 2. 

I Found My Tribe by Ruth Fitzmaurice

*Disclosure of material connection- I received a copy of the book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest thoughts. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own. 

About the book-

Ruth's tribe are her lively children and her filmmaker husband Simon who has ALS and can only communicate with his eyes. Ruth's other "tribe" are the friends who gather at the cove in Greystones, Co. Wicklow, and regularly throw themselves into the freezing cold water, just for kicks.

The Tragic Wives' Swimming Club, as they jokingly call themselves, meet to cope with the extreme challenges life puts in their way, not to mention the monster waves rolling over the horizon. Swimming is just one of the daily coping strategies as Ruth fights to preserve the strong but now silent connection with her husband. As she tells the story of their marriage, from diagnosis to their long-standing precarious situation, Ruth also charts her passion for swimming in the wild Irish Sea--culminating in a midnight swim under the full moon on her wedding anniversary.

An invocation to all of us to love as hard as we can, and live even harder, I Found My Tribe is an urgent and uplifting letter to a husband, family, friends, the natural world, and the brightness of life.

My thoughts-

I enjoy reading memoirs, but it is difficult to know what to expect when reading a memoir of someone stuck in a precarious position such as being the wife of someone who suffers from ALS. It is a life no one could imagine unless put in that exact situation and I think it is why I feel compelled to read books like these. It was the same reason I felt an obligation to read When Breathe Becomes Air. I find it vital as a human to try to understand the lives of others when we can and these memoirs are a great way to peek into these lives, and understand a little of what they go through. Ruth is an open book and honest in her essays. At first, I wasn't sure if I liked the essay format, but as the book progressed, I realized it was really the only way this book could have been written. These are snippet's from Ruth's day to day so to have short essays on these days was definitely the way to go. I applaud Mrs. Fitzmaurice for having the courage to share her feelings, and not sugar coating the unpleasant ones. Life can be hard without an ailing spouse, let alone seeing the love of your life suffer. I recommend this book to anyone who likes reading memoirs. 

500 Ketogenic Recipes by Dana Carpender

*Disclosure of material connection- I received a copy of the book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest thoughts. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own. 

About the book-

At last, a comprehensive cookbook to the hottest eating plan around! 500 Ketogenic Recipes is the ultimate starter guide to getting healthy, building muscle, and managing blood sugar.

The ketogenic diet emphasizes high ratios of healthy fats, moderate protein, and low carbohydrate intake. While the ketogenic diet isn't new -- there is newly emerging research that the ketogenic lifestyle may help reverse illness, promote longevity, and be the best diet for losing weight. Millions of people are transitioning to a ketogenic diet to look and feel their best.

However, doing the ketogenic lifestyle the right way isn't always easy. How do you keep your macronutrients properly balanced? Which foods are keto-friendly and which aren't? 500 Ketogenic Recipes is here with the answers.

Low-carb queen and bestselling author Dana Carpender shows how to live the ketogenic lifestyle deliciously with 500 easy-to-prepare recipes for everything from snacks and appetizers, to main dishes, to drinks and dessert. 500 Ketogenic Recipesmakes staying in the ketogenic zone simple with hundreds of recipes, pantry and shopping lists, and ketogenic do's and don't's.

My thoughts-

I always feel like I am going to run out of new things to try doing Keto but books like this one are constantly proving me wrong. There are a lot of staple meals for many of us ketoers- omelets, salads, burgers, sweet treats- and what I absolutely love about 500 Ketogenic Recipes is that there are countless variations on each of these staple meals allowing for variance instead of repetition for when we get tired of eating the same old thing. I know that many people on the Keto groups I am a member of on Facebook are worried that they can't have a drink every now and again and I absolutely love that there is a section on keto friendly alcoholic beverages so you can still have a drink! I even found a new strawberry tea recipe for my morning tea fix! 500 Ketogenic Recipes should be a book on every ketoers book shelf, so I recommend this book to anyone trying to follow a Keto lifestyle. These recipes will keep you busy for quite some time! 

Two Girls Down by Louisa Luna

*Disclosure of material connection- I received a copy of the book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest thoughts. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own. 

About the book-

When two young sisters disappear from a strip mall parking lot in a small Pennsylvania town, their devastated mother hires an enigmatic bounty hunter, Alice Vega, to help find the girls. Immediately shut out by a local police department already stretched thin by budget cuts and the growing OxyContin and meth epidemic, Vega enlists the help of a disgraced former cop, Max Caplan. Cap is a man trying to put the scandal of his past behind him and move on, but Vega needs his help to find the girls, and she will not be denied. 
   With little to go on, Vega and Cap will go to extraordinary lengths to untangle a dangerous web of lies, false leads, and complex relationships to find the girls before time runs out, and they are gone forever.

My thoughts-

It has been a while since I read a suspense novel and I was ready for something fresh from someone new. Two Girls Down sounded interesting, so I was excited to read this new book from a debut author. I found the book to move a little slower paced than I like my suspense novels to be, but I liked the book as a whole. I thought there were some great twists and intense moments that are really important for books in this genre. I also liked the aspect of the bounty hunter working with the former police officer. It made for an interesting dynamic. I could see the pair continue on as partners in a book series. I would love to see more of them together in future novels. I would recommend this book to fans of Gone Girl and Girl on the Train.

Washington D.C. Monsters

*Disclosure of material connection- I received a copy of the book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest thoughts. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own. 

About the book-

Do you know Washington D.C.? The nation's capital attracts people from all over the world—even little monsters! Did you know that? Monsters are masters of camouflage who can easily hide in plain sight. They get lost among the Cherry Blossoms at the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, go undercover in the National Gallery of Art and even stow away at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum! Have fun spotting them all as you explore some of The District’s most iconic landmarks and sights, including the United States Capitol Building, the National Mall, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, the National Museum of Natural History, the Kennedy Center and Georgetown

My thoughts- 

My geography loving 8 year old loved Texas Monsters so I knew we needed to check out Washington D.C. Monsters. He has a secondary interests in presidents so he finds Washington D.C. Interesting too. We enjoyed this book as well. These "Monster" books are a great way to introduce your kids to geography and help them learn about other states and landmarks to go visit. I can't wait to see what else comes up in this series. I would love to see Philedelphia, New York City, New Orleans, ect. The options are limitless.  I recommend this book to any aged kids. The monsters make it fun and may spark a new interest!