kayathebookworm's reviews
212 reviews

Just finished reading it again for the 2nd time. Such an amazing, life-changing book ❤️

God bless,
Kaya :)

Well, I ended up skimming this book. And let me just say that I absolutely hate writing negative reviews. This review, however, is even harder to write as Francis Chan is a favorite pastor and author of mine. This book just missed the mark for me though.

While I believe that the concept and heart behind Letters To The Church was good, the book itself just wasn’t. I will only touch briefly on what I didn’t like as, again, I do not enjoy writing negative reviews.

The book felt very repetitive. At times it teetered on the ledge of relying too much on works, which I know was not Chana’s intention as he greatly emphasizes salvation by faith and grace alone. It also didn’t feel super relevant to me as someone who is not a church leader or pastor.

I’m just going to leave it at that but I do highly recommend reading Crazy Love and Forgotten God by Francis Chan as well as Radical by David Platt, which has a similar topic to this book but I feel was better executed (again, this hurts me to say but I hope someone might find it helpful).

God bless,
Kaya :)

4.5 stars. I read When a Secret Kills in about 8 hours… so yeah, it was good. The suspense sucked me in and the mystery kept me on my toes. This book is definitely my favorite in the series. The other two were good but this one was great.

One of my biggest complaints about the first two books was that the romance in them felt underdeveloped. That is not the case with this one. The romance is absolutely perfect.

I also appreciate that When a Secret Kills wraps up all the loose ends from the others in the series and we finally understand the full story.

Now, my complaint. I feel like a broken record at this point because this issue is just par for the course when it comes to Christian fiction. The faith aspect wasn’t enough for me. It felt weak. If you want to know more about my feelings on this topic, check out some of my other reviews of books in this genre because I’m quite tired of explaining in every review I write. The only Christian fiction I have read so far that gave me what I have been wanting in terms of faith is Don’t Look Back, which is also by Lynette Eason.

Anyway, I would definitely recommend When a Secret Kills. I know the first two books in the series aren’t the best but please try to push through them so you can get to this one (the series is a consecutive story so you wouldn’t understand what is happening unless you read them all in order).

God bless,
Kaya :)

Life changing. Mind-blowing. A must read for all Christians, especially those involved in ministry or missions. Read it now.
- Kaya :)

I read this book in a single afternoon and, I'll admit, my feelings toward it were mixed as I read.

Likes:
It was very refreshing to read a Christian book that was so wonderfully drenched in Scripture (although it was sometimes annoying that the same verses were repeated many times). The faith in Things Not Seen was very strong and encouraging to my own walk with the Lord, especially Derek's powerful salvation at the end (my favorite part!).
I also enjoyed the romance and can't wait to see it more developed in the next book in the series. I particularly appreciated that Cassie made it clear to Derek that she would not be with him since he was an unbeliever at the time. Too often in Christian fiction saved characters get involved with unbelievers as if that is no problem at all.

Dislikes:
Now, I have to be honest here, I was not a fan of Cassie at times. It often felt like she was just throwing a pity party for herself and sulking in fear. Her personality was really flat and gloomy sometimes.
It also bothered me that she was always begging for forgiveness from God without realizing that once we believe in Jesus and are saved, we are forgiven of all our sin -- past, present, and future.
Additionally, as someone passionate about Christian apologetics, it bothered me how weak many of Cassie's arguments for God were. It also didn't help that she kept preaching *at* Derek at the most inappropriate times instead of just being with him and showing him that she cares.
And, finally, the book often felt like it just kept going in circles and wasn't really getting anywhere.

While I ended up enjoying the book -- or at least the end of it because I honestly didn't really like it up to a certain point towards the end -- I had many problems and frustrations with it as I read. I'm looking forward to starting Stand, the next book in the series, tomorrow as I think I will like it more than this one. 3.5 stars.

God bless,
Kaya :)

I’m not even sure where to begin with this book. I’m going to try to keep this review short and sweet because I could go on and on about what a wonderful read this was.

As a future missionary to East Africa (still not sure of what country but it could possibly be Rwanda), I found God Sleeps In Rwanda to be very informative of the nation’s history and eye-opening to what actually happened and is still happening there. I also think Sebarenzi did a wonderful job balancing the information and biography of the book. I found myself really sucked in by the story and sitting on the edge my seat dying to find out what happened next. The book is extremely well-written.

I also greatly appreciate the way the author incorporated faith into his story and touched on how he struggled with doubt after the genocide.

I’m giving this 4.5 stars and would highly recommend it.

God bless,
Kaya :)

P.s. I can’t help but say something about how gorgeous the cover of the book is. It’s just so beautiful!

THIS BOOK. I could not put it down and ended up reading it in one afternoon/evening (I stayed up way later than I’d like to admit in order to finish it)!

I loved the characters (except maybe Cam…) and really enjoyed seeing their growth throughout the book. Love and the Silver Lining quite possibly had the best character development of any book I’ve ever read. I also related a lot to the characters (especially Darcy, since I too am a future missionary teacher struggling with faith right now) and their struggles. The book has a strong faith aspect, which I appreciated too.

Now, the romance… it literally gave me butterflies and had me squealing. I actually didn’t care much for Darcy’s main romantic interest at first but once we started getting to know him more… let me tell you, I think I fell as hard and fast for him as she did!

I hope I didn’t miss anything in this book since I read the books in this series out of order but I can’t wait to read the one that came before this. 4.5 stars to Love and the Silver Lining!


(Personal note: I read this on vacation in Canada)

My first psychological thriller, The Housemaid was absolutely gripping. It definitely never lost my attention. The writing style was really easy to read and flowed well. I was a bit underwhelmed by the ending and “plot twist,” though, so I’m giving it 4 stars.

(Personal note: I read this on vacation in Canada)

Operation World is an amazing prayer resource that was created to help us pray for the specific needs of every nation, tribe, and tongue. This is a must-have for all Christians!

Until all have heard,
Kaya :)