Amy Inspired by Bethany Pierce

Amy Inspired is about an unlucky girl who's dreams are broader than her reality. As a writer, she faces multiple rejections from publishers and has unlucky bouts with love. She lives with a roommate named Zoe, who's very different from her and she welcomes a live-in male roommate named Eli. This book takes the reader through her choices and dreams, her mistakes and hopes for her life.

While the writing was entertaining, I was disappointed with the content of the book. Coming from a Christian publishing company, like other reviewers said, the author missed golden opportunities for sharing what's right or sharing faith in a more detailed way. There were definitely times that I was reading this and I wondered if this was intended to reach a secular audience or a Christian audience. Is this appealing more to the world with worldly content or trying to slowly draw the reader in with vague Christian references?

The beginning was slow to start but I did enjoy the story once it picked up. This definitely is a book for the 20-somethings who are trying to get a career started or who are at a standpoint at what to do with their life. While the book had some mediocre chapters, it held my attention at other times. I thought back to those college friends like Zoe who wanted to save the earth. And I know many who have faced male roommate situations. Again, I think more could have been said for Christian purposes, but it wasn't completely done out of line. Perhaps the author was intending to reach the younger 20 somethings crowd and will do well with her story. While not the best book I've read, it was a fun, creative story.
 
**** I received this book for free to review from Bethany House Publishers.

A Year With God by R. P. Nettelhorst

Recently I requested to review a yearly devotion from Thomas Nelson's book reviewer program. I'm always looking for ways to spice up my daily Bible reading so that I will hopefully spend more time devoted to God. I tend to start something and soon enough, I get distracted from my goal and will later on try again. As any fellow believer knows, it takes a major commitment to stay focused on reading the Word. Furthermore, I requested this book in hopes that it would get me on track.

While this book is not the whole Bible in a year, it takes parts of the Old Testament to read and reflect on each day. The readings are not chronological but they are broken up into sections based on different characteristics: hope and fear, love and hate, perseverance and quitting, faith and doubt, loyalty and betrayal, companionship and isolation, mercy and judgement, forgiveness and anger, joy and sadness, and finally peace and conflict. The longer sections of readings are focused on faith and doubt, forgiveness and anger.

What I like about this devotional is that the daily verses are written at the top of the page so you won't need to have two books open. Below the daily Bible reading is an area of reflection from the reading. For someone who needs to focus on a particular area of life, they can easily jump to that section and begin reading there. If you want to read from start to finish, you don't have to wait for January to roll around again like most yearly devotionals. With this one, you can start at any time of the year.

I enjoy the perspectives from the author and the daily readings. I wish there was more depth to it for each day. However, for those who have little time this makes a perfect daily companion. While I'm still not on a perfect roll of reading this devotional everyday, this works well for those areas of my life that I need to focus on. I can refer to it when I need to at different times of my life. Moreover, I am pleased to include this with my other devotionals, even if I don't read it everyday.