The Widow of Saunders Creek - Tracy Bateman

I usually don't read Christian Romance books. Mostly because they're so predictable. They all seem to have the same storyline - young newlywed woman loses the love of her life, the grieving widow meets a handsome, single gentleman who has a troubled past and won't let himself fall in love with her, she feels guilty because she starts to have feelings for him, by the end of the story one of them has a near death accident and they realize they both love each other. Of course I do like to read a good love story but I prefer it to have a little more depth in it.

Description from the publisher:

Corrie Saunders grew up in a life of privilege. But she gave it all up for Jarrod, her Army husband, a man she knew was a hero when she vowed to spend her life with him. She just didn’t expect her hero to sacrifice his life taking on an Iraqi suicide bomber.

Six months after Jarrod’s death, Corrie retreats to the family home her husband inherited deep in the Missouri Ozarks. She doesn’t know how to live without Jarrod—she doesn’t want to. By moving to Saunders Creek and living in a house beloved by him, she hopes that somehow her Jarrod will come back to her.

Something about the house suggests maybe he has. Corrie begins to wonder if she can feel Jarrod’s presence.

Jarrod’s cousin Eli is helping Corrie with the house’s restoration and he knows that his dead cousin is not what Corrie senses. Eli, as a believing man and at odds with his mystically-oriented family members, thinks friendly visits from beyond are hogwash. But he takes spirits with dark intentions seriously. Can he convince Corrie that letting go of Jarrod will lead to finding her footing again— and to the One she can truly put her faith into?

I received The Widow of Saunders Creek as an ARC from Waterbrook Multnomah and honestly, I wasn't expecting much. After I started reading it though, I didn't want to stop. It was a cute story even though it was predictable and everything happened perfectly. I loved the old fashioned town and the close-knit family atmosphere. I liked Eli, but I mean, who wouldn't like a guy like him? The spirit world element of of the story was interesting but I thought it seemed a little overboard and unrealistic some of the time.

In short, this story was predictable and lacked some depth but it was a pleasant and enjoyable read.

some quotes from Catching Fire

Everybody's talking about the Hunger Games. So I will too. ;)

In December I jotted down the titles on my list of books to pick up at the library. My friends gave them all 5 star ratings on Goodreads so I thought I should check them out. But even then, judging the books by their covers, I didn't have a desire to read them until I stumbled across the movie trailer on Youtube. I immediately got very excited because just from watching the trailer I knew it was going to be a story that I would love. And it most definitely was. I mean, who doesn't love a book that you can not put down? That no matter how late it is you will not turn your light off at the end of the chapter because you have to find out what happens next! Thank goodness I read them over Christmas break because I would not have gotten my school done anyway.

Since I loved the books, I was obviously excited to see the movie. I saw it twice. Once with my friends, then with my family. I liked the movie, but it wasn't as good as the book. But that's the way it usually works. It wasn't terrible, it was really good actually. But it should have been better. I'm looking forward to seeing it again when it comes out on DVD, but it isn't the kind of movie that I'll buy and display beside absolute favorite movies that I watch over and over all the time, like LotR. I loved the score though, and all the actors were excellent.

But anyway, the reason I wanted to write up this blog post was because I just finished rereading Catching Fire and this time I realized another reason why I love the books so much: the humor. It's kind of a dry, sarcastic humor. The kind that makes you chuckle. So here are some of those parts and also a couple of my other favorite quotes.

     There's no welcoming committee on the platform, just a squad of eight Peacekeepers who direct us into the back of an armored truck. Effie sniffs as the door clanks closed behind us. "Really, you'd think we were all criminals," she says.
     Not all of us, Effie. Just me, I think.

     "Oh, before we set a date, we better clear it with Karniss's mother," says the president. The audience gives a big laugh and the president puts his arm around me. "Maybe if the whole country puts its mind to it, we can get you married before you're thirty."
     "You'll probably have to pass a new law," I say with a giggle.
     "If that's what it takes," says the president with conspiratorial good humor.
     Oh, the fun we two have together.

     While I was wallowing around on the floor of that cellar, thinking only of myself, he was here, thinking only of me. Shame isn't a strong enough word for what I feel.
     "You could live a hundred lifetimes and not deserve him, you know," Haymitch says.
     "Yeah, yeah," I say brusquely. "No question, he's the superior one in this trio."

     As the alcohol overcomes my mind. I hear the glass shatter on the floor. This seems appropriate since I have obviously lost my grip on everything.

     "Yes, I think your days of pink lipstick and ribbons are behind you," says Cinna. He touches the button on my wrist again, estinguishing my light. "Let's not run down your power pack. When you're on the chariot this time, no waving, no smiling. I just want you to look straight ahead, as if the entire audience is beneath your notice."
     "Finally something I'll be good at," I say.

     Do you think we'd have ended up like this if only one of us had won?" he asks, glancing around at the other victors. "Just another part of the freak show?"
     "Sure. Especially you, I say.
     "Oh. And why especially me?" he says with a smile.
     "Because you have a weakness for beautiful things and I don't," I say with an air of superiority. "They would lure you into their Capitol ways and you'd be lost entirely."
     "Having an eye for beauty isn't the same thing as a weakness," Peeta points out. "Except possibly when it comes to you."

     "So what should we do with our last few days?"
     "I just want to spend every possible minute of the rest of my life with you," Peeta replies.

     "I wish I could freeze this moment, right here, right now, and live in it forever," he says

     Finnick recites a poem he wrote to his one true love in the Capitol, and about a hundred people faint because they're sure he means them.

     "Done knocking yourself out, sweetheart?" says Haymitch, the annoyance clear in his voice. But as I careen forward he steps up and catches my wrists, steadying me. He looks at my hand. "So it's you and a syringe against the Capitol? See, this is why no one lets you make the plans."