Disclosure: I received these books to review. Post contains affiliate links. Opinions shared are mine.

For many of us who watch TV or see movies, the stars who are featured on our favorite shows can seem larger than life. It’s easy to pass off their troubles as insignificant.  After all, how hard can it be to eat healthy if one has a personal chef?  Or, we’d all have awesome hair if we had a personal stylist.  While some of that might be true, it’s refreshing to see such transparency in the Duck Dynasty crew.  They seem completely down to earth; their show is funny and clean enough that my kids can watch with us.  Not knowing much about the family other than the show, I went into the book The Good, the Bad, and the Grace of God: What Honesty and Pain Taught Us About Faith, Family, and Forgiveness with a completely open mind.  The book is much like the show.  It’s funny, lighthearted, and endearing at times. For example, when Jep uses the Rocky and Adrian metaphor to represent his love for Jessica?  Awwww!  Then there are deeper lessons to learn about overcoming pain and heartache. I hadn’t seen this window into the Robertson family before, and it was hard to shift my mindset.  Balancing the smiling, easy-to-like Jep with this dark side?  It unsettled me.  The words in the book, though, were focused on God’s grace and forgiveness.  The Robertson clan knows its share of tough situations, and they leaned on God to overcome those obstacles. I love the way they approach spirituality.  It’s very real and personal.  This book is inspirational, and helped me to hold this sweet family in even higher esteem.

Next, I read the book The Innocent by Ann Gabhart. This book takes us to a rural farm in the aftermath of the Civil War. When Carlyn’s husband didn’t make it home, she is forced to make her own path in the cruel world. It was heartbreaking to see her struggle, especially as she tried to escape the unsavory intentions of Curt Whitlow. To survive, she turned to the Shaker village near her home. Although I lived near a former Shaker area when growing up, I hadn’t read about the Shakers before. I was surprised by some of their practices. It seemed like a shrewd way to live, rather than a communal gathering of believers. My heart rooted for Carlyn (and Sheriff Brodie) throughout the entire book, but Asher (her dog) was one of my favorite characters! This isn’t the typical Amish novel; the focus isn’t on romance, but instead has many suspenseful twists throughout the plot. Gabhart has a knack for keeping those pages turning!

Finally, we have the book Every Bride Needs a Groom by Janice Thompson. I read it a while ago, but it occurred to me that I never typed up my review. It’s a decent beach book for those who want complete mind candy!  Let’s start by realizing that this book is utterly cheesy.  It’s predictable and somewhat overdone, so as long as you go into it with that acceptance, you’ll likely enjoy it.  Katie is the quintessential Southern girl, who always knew she’d marry her high school sweetheart.  Taking her life for granted all these years kind of made her seem flighty, but I don’t think she really was.  She just came across that way with all the force of a tornado.  Thompson used many redundant phrases that got old after a while, so I found myself skimming through some of the story.  The setting of the bridal shop was fun, and I enjoyed the kooky characters who sat on the sidelines.  I’d love to read more about their lives after the end of this book!  There were many chuckles as I read this story, and I found it easy to pick up again after taking a break for a few days.  For those who like to binge-watch bridal shows on TLC, this one’s for you!!