A Question of Courage

Hello everyone! Today I am taking part of Jesseca Wheaton's blog tour for her newest book A Question of Courage!

About the book: 

A man. A decision. A destiny. 

Rafe Sullivan never imagined the war would come to his doorstep. But when Pearl Harbor is attacked and America's focus suddenly shifts to the pacific, he finds he can't ignore the problem anymore. 

Leaving the life he loves behind, he joins up to do what he does best. Fly. 

Yet, nothing could have prepared him for the horrors of war, and the struggle that is going on in his own heart. As an outstanding navy pilot, he is stationed on one of the few Pacific carriers. But could God be calling him to step out in faith, and go beyond the call of duty? 

Lily Wilson gives her all to help the hurting community around her. With the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the war is brought home to many American families. And as a nurse, she longs to be able to relive some of the suffering. Yet, her own grief is still fresh in her heart, and though she's made the decision to get on with her life, she can't seem to leave the past behind. When healing at last comes, the guard she placed around her heart slowly begins to crumble. 

But when she receives the news she hoped she would never again hear, can she trust that God’s plan is always right?

Arthur Warrington saw the Navy as an escape from the life he left behind. And it seems good for him. He is able to forge new friendships and distance himself from his past. But when his best friend makes a decision that rocks his world, he is left grappling with the question: what is true courage? 

Three lives. One War. And a search for the Courage to go on.

My Review:

Warning: There may be spoilers in this review if you have not read A Question of Honor first

What I liked:
1. I was drawn in quickly by Rafe being so very different from David. Rafe's chatty and witty, and really an all around fun guy. He has faith that keeps him out of a lot of trouble.
2. Rafe's relationship with Lily was extremely sweet. I would have liked to know more about how they became close friends in the first place, but it was still well done.
3. Jesseca Wheaton's style is getting better with every story. This story's structure was even stronger then the first books.
4. The author took a very realistic view on war. She did a great job of showing the bad parts and good.
5. Rafe has got great standards. Even when he pranks people, he doesn't just leave them hanging.
6. That ending. <3

What I didn't like:

1. David and Rafe's motto (and Kansas's to) is to the stars, through any difficulties. I think this was supposed to mean something to us, but honestly it didn't really mean anything to me.
2. Sometimes the author threw things in like "The old rift between Navy men and Marines hadn't helped." That really jerked me out of the book because, call me clueless, but I hadn't known there was a rift between them. She did this with several different things.
3. Near the end of the book Rafe started to sound more and more like David. I was really sad, because he had started off so different.

Overall, this was a great sequel to Jesseca Wheaton's A Question of Honor. This authors style is definitely improving and I look forward to reading more by her in the future. I would highly recommend you try her books out. 

Find the first book in the series, A Question of Honor on Goodreads and Amazon 

And A Question of Courage on Goodreads and Amazon

Note: I made the two quote graphics in my review. The photos are from Unsplash.com and the quotes are copyrighted to Jesseca Wheaton. And I apologize for spelling the authors name wrong.

About the Author

Jesseca is a daughter, sister, and a child of God. Her days are spent reading, cooking, spending time with siblings, or playing piano. And writing, of course! At an early age words fascinated her, and her love for the printed page has only grown. She lives with her parents and seven siblings in the sunny state of Kansas, and she’s convinced there’s no place like home.

Jesseca's Blog || Goodreads || Instagram

And she's running a giveaway!!

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I hope y'all get to check her books out! 

Happy December!

To Their Standards

She cries in her room

Where she thinks no one see’s

Anguish wraps around her heart

As she pours it out to God 

“Everyone expects” she gasps out

“Me to be perfect

I never live up 

To their standards

I always mess up 

I always disappointment them

Couldn’t you please make them

Expect less off me?

Because I’m tired of trying

To live up to their ideals” 

And in that one moment 

As she pauses for a breath

Something whispers in her heart 

“Are you sure it’s them 

That expect you to be perfect?

If you’d look into your heart 

You’d see 

It’s you

And I love you 

Just the way you are 

That's all 

That really matters

So don't hold yourself

To their standards

Dancing Around Each Other

Well guys, there are only three days left in November, and my brain in fried. I’ve been running around like crazy with the holidays and NaNoWriMo. Honestly, I’ve got a lot to say to y’all, but right now, I just can’t think strait enough to do it. Also I apologize for the lack of photos, but the internet is not working well right now.

But, here’s a little bit of what I’ve been working on this week:

You and me 

We’re always dancing around each other 

We never quite make it together 

I spot you from my home 

You spot me from yours 

We come so close 

We were meant to meet up 

But we keep 

Dancing around each other 

I twirl and smile 

You do your part 

We both dance 

The same dance 

Just in different places 

I twirl to a beat 

You march to a drum 

We go at the same time 

Never meeting always dancing 

I pour my heart into every note 

You pour your life into yours 

And we continue 

To dance around each other 

The dance leads us apart 

I’ve gotten used 

to our companionship 

I dance alone 

My heart aches 

You march on 

I take strength from that 

So we continue 

To dance around each other 

Until the music 

Brings us together

And then at last 

We’re dancing side by side 

And I begin to march just a bit 

And you begin to twirl 

So we dance together

And it’s like 

We were meant to be

You Are Enough

Imperfect

Flawed beyond repair

Not good enough

Once the lies are started

They are hard to stop

You don’t work enough

You’ve failed your goals

You aren’t being a good witness

You are not loved

Or you shouldn’t be loved

Lies scream inside

Like a roar of thunder

Shaking your very soul

Everyone else is perfect

They have their life’s together

They don’t doubt like you do

They don’t fail as much as you

They are in tune with God

They have it off so easy

The lies won’t leave you alone

But in the midst of the shattering noise

A whisper like gentle rain comes

You are enough

You may not have 

Everything perfectly together

But God doesn’t mind

He’ll use your brokenness

And make it beautiful

And show much God loves you

Just as you are

It has nothing to do with your work

Or your success and failures

Or when you think you’ve blundered

And everyone else struggled

In their own unique way

But you are enough

Not because of what you do

But because of who you are

And who you belong to

And when the thunder breaks

Threatening to shatter your soul

Listen for the gentle rain

That says that you’re enough

My NaNo WIP

Hey everyone! So this month has been pretty crazy. I've been working on a lot of writing. I've also been trying to get better at this lovely thing called time management. Yeah, I'm really trying not to let my day be taken over by any one thing, but I'm not super good at it. Most of today was taken up by a review book when I should have been writing. *Cough* 

Anyway, I thought I'd share some snidbits from my work in progress. It is tentatively called Autumns Dance.

I stared at my ballet shoes. I jerked foreword and ripped the laces off, not bothering to untie them. I threw both of them venomously across the room and they hit the wall.

“I’ll never dance again.” I ground out through my clenched jaw. 

And I never did.

*****

I leaned my head against the white trunk and gazed down at the colorful forest floor. It was covered in a rainbow of leaves ranging from yellow to red with green grass poking through the empty places. Sunlight filtered through the trees and danced on the leafs like waves on the ocean. 

I let my breath out slowly, sounding loud in the still forest.

What I wouldn’t do to be free to dance like those sunbeams. 

*****

I set my fingertips on the cool glass. The moonlight bathed my face and I grinned up at the crescent in the sky. The silhouetted trees waved in the breeze, breaking the light into a thousand glittering shards and scattering it over our yard. Everything was more magical at night. Our roses looked to be made of silver and ground of glass. I leaned my forehead against the cool window pane, wishing I could enter that magical night world. Maybe there things would be different.