Book Reviews – The HeartWord Way

Hello! I have no idea if anyone will even see this post because it has been soooooo long since I have posted. My last post was in 2021, five years ago.

I have been super busy during these past five years. I finished up my senior year of high school, and then promptly started college, where I spent four years getting a creative writing degree. It has definitely been a full but fulfilling five years. Unfortunately, because I was balancing classes, assignments, friends, family, and the scraps of free time I could find during my days, there was no time for continuing this blog.

However, I just graduated in May, so I am beginning a new stage of life. I’m figuring out what I want to do with my degree…and with the rest of my life (yikes!). Of course, I am still a writer. I want to write, publish books and short stories, and earn the term of “author.” But, as writers don’t have the most stable incomes, I am still figuring the rest of my “career” out.

Now that I am more fully stepping into my career as a writer, I figured it would be a good time to hop back on to this little space on the internet that I created a while ago. Writing, after all, was always supposed to be the main inspiration and topic of this blog — whether it’s just documenting my journey as a writer or giving more practical tips and advice on the writing process.

A huge part of this blog used to be my posts about my bullet journals, the spreads I created each month, and the advice I could give on that type of journaling. It has been a few years since I kept a consistent bullet journal, mainly because of the busyness of college life and because I was a little burnt out. I don’t know if that will be a topic that I will incorporate back into my blog because I don’t know when I will incorporate it back into my life yet.

The last main aspect of this blog was books — books I read, books I reviewed, and books I loved. Books are still a huge part of my life — first and foremost because I love reading. But books are also an essential part of my life because I am a writer. Reading is both inspiring and essential for refining my craft.

So… to make this a little more than just an update post…

What I Read in May

Here’s what I read in May!

I read the first three books (or volumes, as the author calls them) of the series called The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower. Here are my thoughts:

Overall, it is a wonderfully delightful series that I have not been able to put down. Each volume is made up of Emma Lion’s journal entries about her life. It is set in 1883, St. Crispian’s (a town in London). It is a town that has all the wonderful odd quirks that create the typical small town charm. Emma interacts with those she knows in the town and occasionally gets into some escapades and scrapes that are humorous.

Volume 1 has a lot of exposition about the town of St. Crispian’s, Emma’s house, Emma’s history, and her current situation. As any avid fan of the series will tell you, the first volume can be a little slow. However, by the end of Volume 2, you should (and will) be thoroughly enjoying yourself. Volume 2 has a lot more dialogue, which starts moving the story along at a faster and more enjoyable pace.

So far, Volume 2 has been my favorite. My interest caught at the end of Volume 1, so when I started Volume 2, I was fully intrigued by the quirky town and characters. I thoroughly enjoyed the second volume and could not resist moving straight into Volume 3.

I am very interested to see where the series goes. There are currently eight published volumes, but the author has stated that she has plans for 25 volumes when the series is fully finished.

I have also been reading a memoir, but I’ll save my review for when I’ve read the full book.

The Future of This Blog

So, this post is really a test to see who’s still out there reading my blog, so I can get an idea of where I’m at. It’s also me just tentatively stepping back out into the blog world to remind myself of what it’s like to write a post and get out my thoughts about where I’m at in life and as a writer.

I still love the idea of capturing my journey as a writer and a creative person, just like I did eight years ago when I started this blog. So that will still remain the cornerstone of this little corner of the internet. I am perfectly happy to still incorporate book reviews because I am still an avid reader. As for what else…. We’ll just have to wait and see. I have a few more ideas in mind, but I’m also happy to hear any ideas/requests from readers.

So, maybe I’ll see you again here sometime soon. Until then,

Signing off,

Corinne

“Why, my soul, are you so dejected? Why are you in such turmoil? Put your hope in God, for I will still praise Him, my Savior and my God.” (Psalm 42:11 CSB)

As you can tell, this is obviously not a Narnian ship, because of the flags. It was the best I could find.

Hello everyone! I am so sorry that it took me so long to get this post out! I know I actually promised this post last week, but I was actually dog-sitting last week, so that took up most of my time.

Book Five: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

This was a pretty good book. I felt like it was a little long and tedious towards the middle, but other than that, it was just as good as the others.

The two youngest Pevensie children, Lucy and Edmund, are staying with their cousin Eustace Scrubb. All three children get drawn into Narnia, this time through a picture of a ship at sea. The children land in the ocean and are picked up by Prince Caspian and are taken aboard the ship, the Dawn Treader. Capsian explains that he wishes to find the seven lost Lords of Narnia: Argoz, Bern, Mavramorn, Octesian, Restimar, Revilian, and Rhoop (wow, those were fun to spell). They find Lord Bern on the Lone Islands. These islands had sadly fallen from Narnian ways and practiced slavery, which is against Narnian law. Caspian sets them on the right track again, and then they continue their journey. At the second island, Eustace runs away and finds a dragon’s cave filled with treasure. It turns out, the treasure is enchanted, so he falls asleep. When he wakes up, he discovers he is a dragon. With Aslan’s help, he is able to overcome his greed and turn back into a boy again. Caspian recognizes one of the bracelets that Eustace had picked up: it was Lord Octavian’s. They assume he either turned into a dragon as well, or he was killed by one. They narrowly escape a sea serpent, and next end up at Deathwater Island. They find a pool with what they think is a gold statue in the bottom. They find out that anything that falls into the pool turns into gold, and the man at the bottom is Lord Restimar. Next, they come to Duffers’ Island where Lucy helps remove an ivisibility spell. At the Dark Island, they rescue Lord Rhoop. Eventually, they find the island of the star, where they find the last three lords in an enchanted sleep. The fallen star who lives there, Ramandu, tells them that the only way to awaken them is to sail to the edge of the world and leave someone behind. Aslan appears and says that only Lucy, Edmund, Eustice, and Reepicheep will go the the edge of the world. Reepicheep goes into Aslan’s country, and Aslan sends the remaining three home.

Book Six: The Silver Chair

I didn’t really like this book as much I as did the previous one. It seemed to drag in the middle, and I guess I just didn’t find it as interesting.

Eustace meets Jill Pole, his new friend at his school. One day, when the school bullies are chasing them, they run straight into Narnia. Aslan tells them to find Prince Rilian, who had disappeared a few years before. He gives Jill four signs to follow, but they have already missed the first when they get to a great castle. They were supposed to greet King Caspian, who is now old and frail, and sailing away on a ship. Trumpkin takes them to their guide who will help them with their journey: Puddleglum. On their way to the land of the giants, the Lady of the Green Kirtle greets them and offers a place to stay. After staying for a few days, they find that they are the main dish for dinner, so they run away. While escaping, they fall down a long tunnel which leads to the Underland. They are found and taken to a young man who tells them that they are welcome in the city where the Lady of the Green Kirtle rules. The young man explains that every night he suffers from “ravings” where he must be tied to a silver chair, because if he is not, he will turn into a green serpent and kill everyone. They decide to watch because they feel that this might be Prince Rilian. When his “ravings” begin, he desperately begs to be let free. The children obey and he announces that he is Prince Rilian and the Lady of the Green Kirtle has been bewitching him. The Green Lady returns and tries to bewitch them all, but Puddlegum breaks the spell. The Green Lady turns into a serpent, they kill her, and then they help all her slaves escape. Aslan sends Eustace and Jill home.

Book Seven: The Last Battle

This was a pretty good book, although I didn’t really like the whole idea with the donkey and the ape.

An ape named Shift persuades a simple-minded donkey named Puzzle to dress in a lion’s skin and pretend to be Aslan. In doing this, Shift deceives everyone into serving the Calormenes and cutting down talking trees. Trinian, the latest king of Narnia is warned that evil things are happening. Trinian and his friend, Jewel the Unicorn, hear of the talking trees and go to confront them. They are captured, and Jill and Eustace soon appear to save him. Trianian and a small army approach and begin to fight. Long story short, they all get thrown into a shed. Inside the shed is Aslan’s country, or also known as Heaven. They watch Narnia die, and find that the place they are in is the real Narnia. And they all live happily ever after!

Wow, that took a while! Those were REALLY long books!

As I mentioned in my last post, this is my last post until I finish with school. I’ll be back sometime in June. I will still respond to emails or comments.

Thanks for reading! Happy writing!

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being thankful in it with thanksgiving. (Colossians 4:2)

Category: Book Reviews

I’m Back! (+What I Read in May)