May 2022 Reading Recap & June 2022 TBR

My May 2022 Reads: 

1. The Finder of Forgotten Things by Sarah Loudin Thomas - ⭐⭐⭐⭐½ - Read my review.


2. Drawn by the Current by Jocelyn Green - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Review coming soon.


3. Willow by Ronie Kendig - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Read my review.


4. To Tame a Cowboy by Jody Hedlund - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Review coming soon.


5. Curtain Call by Lyneta Smith - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Read my review.


6. A Healer's Promise by Misty M. Beller - ⭐⭐⭐½ - Read my review. 

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Expected June 2022 Reads:

1. Holy Vulnerability: Spiritual Practices for the Broken, Ashamed, Anxious, and Afraid by Kellye Fabian - Currently reading.


2. The Songs That Could Have Been by Amanda Wen - I loved Wen's debut novel, so I've got expectations for this one. 🥰


3. A Heart Adrift by Laura Frantz - My local book club's selection for June. This will be a reread for me and I can't help but recall how I started drinking hot chocolate on a daily basis after reading this novel. 😂 Read my original review.


4. Suncoast Empire: Bertha Honore Palmer, Her Family, and the Rise of Sarasota by Frank A. Cassell - I've been interested in Bertha Honore Palmer since I read about her as a side character in Jocelyn Green's Veiled in Smoke. I love visiting her estate, Historic Spanish Point, which is about 45 minutes away. Looking forward to learning more about her  and her family.


5.  Nightshade by Ronie Kendig - This book has been on my want-to-read list for a long time. Looks like I'm finally going to get to enjoy it! 🎉

What will you read this month?

Book Review: Curtain Call by Lyneta Smith

About the Book:

I thought I was having a breakdown; turns out, it was a breakthrough. In 2014, I wanted out of my story. I didn’t want to be on this earth anymore. 

Bombarded by uninvited memories of childhood trauma, I questioned why God would allow so many horrible things to happen to me.

When God interrupted my pleas for help with a simple question—“Will you trust Me with your story?”—I agreed to step out of my stage-perfect Christian life and into the journey toward healing and finally seeing Him as a good, loving God.

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My Thoughts:

Curtain Call by Lyneta Smith retells the author’s journey from living behind a façade to living authentically in all areas of her life. The author wove in a theme about the masks we wear and tied everything together well.

That being said, I almost didn’t get past the second chapter of Curtain Call. The author’s story belongs to her, and she has the right to tell it with as little or as much detail as she wishes, but she retold the sexual abuse by her babysitter in graphic detail. Once I read the words, I couldn’t unread them. I had to put the book down for several days. When I returned to it, I read it slowly, but found the frequent timeline jumps a bit confusing. As always, reading about sexual assault was difficult and saddening, but Curtain Call’s narrative felt authentic. I recognized some of the same family dynamics from my own childhood and experience with sexual abuse.

Curtain Call by Lyneta Smith brims with compassion and offers hope to readers struggling to heal from sexual assault. Specifically, Lyneta’s experiences testify that healing is possible for survivors and that God cares for those harmed by sexual assault. While survivors are the target audience for Curtain Call, the book might prove helpful for those wishing to understand and help a survivor.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I was provided a copy of this book by the author or publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.