5 Fall Favorites-Books I Love

Hello Everyone,

Fall 🍂 is my favorite season. Leaves are turning, the wind calls through the trees, as I slip on a cozy sweater then snuggle into warm blankets with a hand wrapped around a mug of cream of Earl Grey tea. I have a good book in hand and a pumpkin cinnamon bun on the side table as rain starts to gently patter down the pane near me. What book am I immersed in? Well, get ready because you are about to find out as we get ready to kick off day one of our Five Fall Favorites Blog Party.

To start off I just want to say how excited I'm to be joining the wonderful ladies here with all the Fall Favorites Fun. I'm part of Team Oak- so joining me today (with their top Five Fall Favorite recommended books) will be:

{Rhys} 🎻 {Hannah} 🍂 {Savannah} 🌰 {Cate} 🚗 {Bethany} 🥧

{Rebekah (One of our lovely co-hosts}

And obviously, I'm Ellie 👋🏻!

Our other host is Kate Willis. Her blog is the central hub if you want to check out the other teams participating in our fall party, and she's the responsible handler of the giveaways this year.

That said, I can't wait for this party to get started. I'm super excited to hopefully find a bunch of clean books to add to my own TBR. Rebekah and Kate, thank you very much for letting me join in the fun this year 🤗.

Originally, today was supposed to be the top five books I've recommended in FFF (which I can assure you will find on most of my teammates blogs), but since it's my very first round, I unfortunately can't do that. So ,I'm going with an provided alternative ☺️, and it's a good one -

So without further ado here are.....

My Top Five Favorite Books that I Love

🤍 The Bible by God 🤍

I thought I should start out my posts with the most wonderful book ever written by my own heavenly Father Who I love more than life itself. It heralded the gift of salvation through Christ alone to me. The most important decision I have ever made to accept Christ as my Savior was because of this book, and on it I can stand. It will change your life if you let it. It's a true guide for my life, His love letter to me as His child, and a book I can trust. Implicitly. It has never once been proved wrong. It is my most precious possession on earth, and I never like going anywhere without it. My favorite book within the book is Hebrews, and my favorite chapter is 11. Never is there been a better book written, nor will there ever be.

Rating: 100,000 stars and beyond.

Age Recommendation: Anyone & Everyone. You will never once regret reading God's Word.

🧣 A Home for Christmas by Jessica Greyson 🧣

This is the first book I ever ARC(ed). I loved it, still love it, and really need a physical copy 🥹😅. The Grandmother is literally one of the best characters, I laughed so hard I cried (which is very rare for me). If you love Prince & the Pauper with a twist and Hallmark Christmas Vibes🎄 , this is definitely the book for you. Plus the romance is super sweet, and it has a beautiful Christian themes woven in.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Age Recommendation: 16+

🍂 The Unwilling Guest by Grace Livingston Hill 🍂

This is one of my top books for a reason. It first, introduced me to the fact that we should never leave Christ out of our conversations. It was also the first book where I became so engaged that I was pleading with the characters to accept Christ, and cried when they did. The story was so real. I love that Maurice stayed true to his convictions. And since I love Dr. MCs, it was bonus that Maurice was one.

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Age Recommendation: 16+

The only thing I would say is I wish the book had been a little clearer on salvation, it was a tad fuzzy.

🧡 A Noble Heart by Jewel Windall 🧡

This book is one of the best Peter Pan retellings, I have ever read (well, it might be the only one), but anyway, I love it so much. Not only is Hook the MMC, but he also gets a amazing redemption arc. And while there might not be any pixie dust flying around, the sparks between Ella & James are literally the cutest. They were so made for each other. Also, the reminder that we aren't to look for affirmation from any but the One Who created us really encouraged me.

Rating: If 10 stars was a thing 👍🏻😉✨.

Age Recommendation: 16+

🦊The Marquis, the Escape & the Fox by Jenny L. Cote🦊

When I closed this book, it felt like saying good-bye to a really good friend🥲. Cote does a spectacular job of making history come so alive that it doesn't feel like history at all. George Washington has always been one of my favorite historical figures, and it's so amazing to see him portrayed larger than life. Layfette has also become more dear to me throughout this series. How great a sacrifice these men, and many patriot soldiers made for our freedom. This books makes me want to honor their memory, to never forget them. Then there is our fictional animal team. Al's unintended humor is hilarious. Elsa is now my favorite character. I love how she wants to help "Fox Vashington." Her and Jock's relationship is also so cute. I love it when she calls him mein Hundebaby. The best part though is that it offered encouraging reminders that even when all else may fail, there is no end to God, and the truth will prevail.

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Age Recommendation: 13+ because of a little bit more description of the bloodshed that happened in the battles

(Disclaimer: Note that none of these reviews & links are a blanket statement for an author, series, or even my fellow bloggers. I may not even agree with everything individually found in a book {which I will highlight}, and I do not pass judgement or accept another's review on a book as it being good. Any book I read must stand on it's own two feet, and I review accordingly. I have to read and review for myself, unless they note specifics that line up with my convictions of why I wouldn't read it, because their convictions may be different from mine. My review will reflect my thoughts alone. What each person chooses to read or write is their choice, between them and the Lord, the same as it is for me 😊.)

*Additional Note- Guide to my Rating & Reviewing System*

{To be clear, I don't like to read romance above a level one (even a few points in level one I don't care to read.)}

8+ I would recommend the book to anyone, any age.

13+ Still squeaky clean, but might have content that would scare a younger reader (e.g. monsters, bloodshed with slight description, slightly excessive cruelty). I don't want to be responsible for a child getting nightmares, you know 😟🙃😊.

(Most of the books I read) ~16+ Contains more of a romantic plot, but very light and squeaky clean.

18+ More Mature Romance or Theme (e.g. May contain a semi-described kiss, more focus or dwelling on feelings, violence or just something I wasn't particularly comfortable with (not that it wasn't clean, it just wasn't something that sat well or I agreed with whether that be romance or description of something. I list content warnings for such.)

20-M+ Clean Deeper Romance {e.g. Suspense, Mentions of Affairs or abuse (not in detail of course), one or two more descriptive kisses (though I also am not fond of any of these). These specific topics must not be described in vivid detail and must be handled gracefully.  Any book in this category must still be clean though to be put on this list (not fade to black or s-talk), otherwise it would blacklisted to DNF or "to the would never recommend status." In my opinion, kids and teens should be allowed to be children for as long as possible. They will sadly have to learn that this world can often be a dark place soon enough, and handing them books on these topics is harmful and not necessary for them to know at these ages especially.}

As to stars ⭐-

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5)- Definitely means I loved it, and/or found it clean. If in one of the above age categories, I will list anything amiss in the CW.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4)- means I definitely found something I didn't quite agree with, but still enjoyed the book. CW will list it.

⭐⭐⭐ (3)- either I didn't agree with something and/or the book just didn't hold my interest.

⭐⭐ (2)- I may have like a thing or two, but the rest was indecent. Most likely rating for a DNF.

⭐(1 or 0) Wouldn't finish, Would not recommend because it contained unacceptable content.

I will never recommend a book containing swear words.

I would even prefer no euphemisms, and it is rare that I read any books containing such. Any book containing even one will usually automatically drop to 4 stars. I will also note it in the CW.

And now it's time for me to "leaf" you. Thank you friends for joining us today, and come back tomorrow. I can't wait to jump into the next pile of bookish fun with you.

Oh, and don't forget to enter the giveaway ⬅️!!!

Until then,

God Bless, and happy reading!

Sincerely,

Ellie