Kathryn Elizabeth Jones

I should perhaps have taken greater notice of the content of this book before deciding to read it.

I’m not a spiritual person, I’m not a religious person, and I’m not one of those people who feeds off self-motivational material. I’m very grounded. So, I found this a very hard short story to read – you need to be spiritual, Christian, God-fearing to appreciate it. I am none of those things. So for those of you that are, you will probably enjoy this short parable, you’ll understand the message and in all likelihood learn something from it. So, look away now.

It just wasn’t my cup of tea. Ms Virginia Bean loses her job at the local doughnut factory. She lives alone and hasn’t had much excitement in the love department either. ‘God’ gives her direction and challenges her with the gift of 5 stones each representing something different and to which she then looks to help her find a new job, new skills and new friends. I thought this was totally unrealistic and ultimately Virginia thoroughly irritated me, because she couldn’t take a positive step without running it past ‘God’ or looking to the stones for ‘guidance’. Why ‘God’ had to throw in a bit of tragedy to help her to her path of employment and fulfilment, I just couldn’t see, and of course, not being very conversant with the bible, the significance of the parable was lost on me.

The story is short and to the point and reasonably well written. I can see that there would be an audience for it who I’m sure will enjoy it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t one of my top reads.… (más)

This review was originally posted on Melissa's Midnight Musings on November 16, 2012.

A few months ago Kathryn stopped by my blog to talk about What Your Reading Genre Says About You. I learned quite a bit about my own reading preferences from her post. Recently I read her book, Scrambled. Here are my thoughts on it.

I have to start out by saying that I don't read cozy mysteries all that often. I actually can't remember the last time I read one before this one. Maybe it's because I don't read them all that often, but this one didn't exactly blow me away.

The book starts out by having us learn that Susan is unhappy at home, with an inattentive husband who really likes to eat junk food. One day she just up and leaves her job and her husband and starts a new life.

I was actually frustrated from the start because I didn't really know why she was leaving. Yes she was unhappy with her life and her husband, but we don't really get to see much of their interaction together to get a real feel for the environment and her dislike for him because the book starts out immediately with her leaving.

I was also a little frustrated because it didn't really make sense that she could just up and start over with no resources. She tried to change her identity too, by giving herself a new name, but that doesn't work completely because she slips up when talking to one of the tenants of the hotel where she lives and cleans rooms.

There's a death in the story and Jenny/Susan seems hesitant as to whether or not it's murder. Not a bad thing to question, but it seemed like she was unsure of herself a lot and the questioning the underlying story itself which made me question the story as a whole. Susan/Jenny is a nice enough character. Likeable, a decent person, a little too gullible maybe. But, she flip flops a lot. She can't decide whether she still loves her husband, and when she finds that someone else likes her (won't say who to prevent spoilers) she goes back and forth with him too. He's willing to be patient but she sees him as a nuisance or someone who's only a friend. She doesn't really tell him so until a lot later in the book though. I suppose I was just hoping to see her grow stronger as a character throughout. She does, to a point, but I think I was hoping for more. The strongest, most decisive action she takes is leaving her husband.

The eggs.

Oh my goodness, the eggs. At first the mentions of Susan/Jenny eating eggs when stressed or sad was a cute touch. Then it turned into a bit of an obsession. She is constantly eating eggs. Or making omelets. Or egg casserole. There are exactly three instances where Susan/Jenny doesn't eat eggs. One when she's making a frozen dinner of a chicken leg, one where she's eating a steak and having a raspberry vanilla soda, and one where she's eating "something that looks like a burrito." The rest of the time it's all about the eggs. I almost wish I had counted the scenes where there are eggs so I could compare the numbers. I understand that there's a deeper metaphor behind them, but I think that the mentions could have been pared down to a handful and it would have been fine.

At the same time, I do like that there is a recipe included at the back of the book. And at the end, Susan was hopeful and eager to start making her own baked goods. Add food details and you've got my interest, what can I say?

The mystery of the book does keep you on your toes at points, but at other times it can just be too confusing. I think that some of Susan/Jenny's debating about if there were a murder contributed to that confusion. I do have to say that although I thought I had it all figured out close to the beginning of the story, I didn't know for sure who did it until the end.

There are really good details about all the characters, so it's very easy to see them in your mind as you read. And these are quite the mixed up bunch of characters if I ever saw one. I definitely wanted to know more about these characters.

In terms of dialogue and formatting and pace, the story is a quick read. It's paced really nicely and there are only one or two sections where it drags slightly. I have to say that I found the dialogue to be a bit stiff in places, with phrases like "the murderer of my son" and things like that. Also, in the last chapter or so of the book there are several words and phrases spread over a section of pages that are italicized. As I was reading initially I thought these were for emphasis, but as I continued to read it seemed to me just to be a formatting issue, so that was a tiny bit distracting.

Overall, this was an okay story, it just wasn't for me. I'd definitely recommend that readers who are more familiar with cozy mysteries give it a try though.

*I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.*… (más)

David gathered five smooth stones to meet and defeat the giant Goliath. What did each of these stones represent and how can you use them to conquer Goliaths on your own personal quests through life? Ms. Virginia Bean will show you how.

Join her as she travels on her own personal journey. See what she does. Learn how she grows. Discover what she becomes.

Conquering Your Goliaths: A Parable of the Five Stones by Kathryn Elizabeth Jones is for anyone desiring to travel beyond mediocrity, pain and fear. Learn of the great power within you, a power given to you by God, a power that must be unleashed in order for you to conquer the Goliaths in your own life. Come to an even deeper understanding of God and what He wants for you.

I enjoyed reading this book very much. I actually started reading this book on April 12 and probably would have finished this book much sooner, but my Kindle's battery overloaded on April 15 and until I can get it fixed or buy a new Kindle for myself, any reading of ebooks will have to be done on my computer. Reading ebooks on my computer slows down the pace of my reading for some reason, and I don't really understand why.

Anyway, in my opinion, Conquering Your Goliaths: A Parable of the Five Stones by Kathryn Elizabeth Jones deserves an A! This book does have a strongly Christian theme running through it. It is very well-written and understandable, and primarily is about how you can live an inspired and inspiring life.… (más)

Virginia has experienced the power and direction of the five stones, and has grown so much closer in her relationship with God. Now, five years on, Virginia will need to use the stones once again. For entirely different reasons.

Keeping her marriage together is not the only thing on Virginia's mind. Her successful business Just Desserts is beginning to founder, her five-year marriage is in trouble and apparently having a child isn't going to happen in the usual way. Virginia is convinced that adoption is the answer.

So, if she did all the of right things, said all of the right words; if she remembered the five stones in her journey to get her child, God would surely have to answer her.

It shouldn't be too difficult...

I must say that I enjoyed The Feast just as much as I did Conquering Your Goliaths. It was interesting to see how much Virginia had grown in her relationship with God - but how she also had a tendency to forget that her relationship with Him still needed to be nurtured. I give this book an A! and look forward to reading the next book in this series some time soon.… (más)