I’m determined to get these reviews done before the end of the year, so here I am again! Will I make it? Join me over the next few weeks of this incredibly busy time of year and let’s find out together! For now, here are five more mini-reviews of books I read last year.

This was our book club book for the month, and since I number C.S. Lewis among my favorite authors and yet hadn’t read this one yet, I was excited. I ended up having mixed feelings about it. Ultimately, I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I was remotely familiar with the mythology that it’s based on. As it was, much of the book wasn’t especially meaningful to me and I struggled to get into it or see the point.

At the end, however, it all came together for me in a powerful way, a way that showed me a glimpse of the wisdom of God in our lives through this borrowed parable. In a way, it reminded me of another of Lewis’s works, That Hideous Strength, which I found strange and hard to get through for most of it and then incredibly powerful and illuminating by the end.

Book 6 in the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series, I enjoyed this one more than many of its predecessors. The way they brought back a previous character in a surprising new light caught my attention, and it had much more of a traditional mystery feel than the previous couple episodes.

Also, the setting and the ins and outs of the nobility gave me Downton Abbey vibes, which is always a plus in my book.

As mentioned previously on this blog, Rachel originally published this book right around the time I released the first Firmament book, so it’s always had a special place in my heart. But on top of that, it’s just an all-around great story. I agreed to do some beta-reading for her for the newer books in the series, and I felt I should revisit this one first to make sure I remembered everything.

I enjoyed it just as much as ever! Christian sci-fi, particularly of the YA variety, is such a rarity. And well-written indie books can also be hard to find. This book accomplishes all that with great characters, a solid plot, and a good dose of moral dilemma. What’s not to like?

This novella is an enjoyable addition to the Red Rain series! I kept forgetting I was supposed to be reviewing it as I read, because I got so caught up in the story.

It filled in a lot of the curiosity I had from Red Rain, but at the same time it was fun to read just as its own contained story. More moral dilemmas, and it’s fast-paced and well-written.

Another of the Red Rain books, and I was glad to finally read the sequel after reading the original book so many years ago! It was a fun read with good twists and turns and lots of thought-provoking aspects.

It also did a really great job of making you think twice about characters we met in the first book. Are the bad characters all bad? Are the good characters all good? Or is it more complicated than that? I found the characterization in this one very humanizing.

There you go! I’ll hurry back with five more reviews for you. In the meantime, let me know if you’ve read any of these or are interested in adding them to your to-read list!