Cup of Thoughts

"Endeavour to serve with such good will and attention to the interest of your employers, that they know they are blessed in having gotten such a good servant, one who serves, not with eye-service as a man-pleaser, but in simplicity of heart as a Christian." -Samuel and Sarah Adams, The Complete Servant Summary:  Margaret Macy, born the daughter of a respectful and honorable man, raised by a harrowing stepfather who only entered the family for his own personal gain. Margaret's deceasing aunt has a large fortune, which will be inherited when she turns of age on her next birthday. After overhearing her stepfather's plan to trap her into matrimony with his nephew in hopes of obtaining the money, she runs away. Fleeing alongside her maid, looking for a job elsewhere, she must resolve to do the same. Margaret disguises herself as Nora Garret, a maid at Fairbourne Hall. Eventually, life as a housemaid opens Miss Macy's way of the previous manner towards her own...

"There was still beauty in the world. And it was worth fighting for." Summary:  Yael has known nothing but suffering. Ever since Hitler stripped her of her life and threw her loved ones away as if they had no value, she sides with the resistance and learns more than who she truly is. The desire for Adolf's Youth is great and if you don't meet the qualifying appearance, then you have no right to live, according to the tyrannical ruler. Willing to test an experiment, Doctor Geyer runs several  diagnostics testing his theory on recreating skin pigmentation, along with the melanin that gives your precise shade. After several deficit subjects, Yael is the only one that it seems to show development with. Eventually, her own mother doesn't recognize her. The prisoners stay away from her because she resembles everything that the enemy is. A 'monster,' they call her. Yael discovers, through the new names and characteristics that she can skin-shift. She is a...

"Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine-" ( Exodus 19:5 ) Summary: Katie Weldon, the fiery, and spunky redheaded best friend of Christy Miller, is abruptly facing many major decisions in her senior year of college. Some that will presumably change her life forever. Working at a pizza parlor and juggling with choosing a college major, yet again, Katie's life has become abundant with stress. When a job opposition opens up for her to be a Resident Assistant inside one of the college dorms for girls, she decides to take the open door and see where it leads her. She meets several new young women who are in the same spot she has found herself in, and the relationships that develop help her answer many of her personal struggles. Desiring for a change, Katie and Rick Doyle, Christy's previous high school infatuation, are going down the slow ...

Everything Everything, Nicola Yoon “Life is a gift. Don't forget to live it.” Summary: Madeline has a disease that prohibits her to the outside world. Her immune system is not capable of surviving the atmosphere outside of her sanctified home in southern California. Her mother and hired nurse are the only people she has ever made contact with... until Olly, the new neighbor moves next door. Madeline keeps track of every neighbor that she can see from her glass pane wall. She tracks their habits and daily activities because that's the only way she can get to know them from her position. Soon after she follows the routine of the family next door, she realizes that they're all practical, besides the older brother, Olly. He fascinates her in a non-practical way. He gives her the inspiration to be more than what she can be. The two correspond by email and few glances through the glass that separates them both, and then finally by an air-filtered room. Once Mad...

Anne of Green Gables, L.M. Montgomery “Because when you are imagining, you might as well imagine something worth while.” Summary:  Anne of Green Gables, not of Green Gables at first, however, circumstances provided a way for the orphan girl to land in the hands of the Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert. The Cuthbert siblings decide to adopt an able worker for their Gables and farmland, but in the mixup of the adoption they end up with a tiny, impassioned, red-headed Anne Shirley. With a mind beyond her few years, Anne turns the town of Avonlea into a blunder of amazement. The citizens of the little town, in Prince Edward Island, have and will always be impressed by the little Anne of Green Gables. The adventures and imaginings that involve Anne and the friends (and arch enemies) are full of bewildering excitement. There is never a dull moment or place where Anne is prone to be near. Genre: Classic, Fiction, Young Adult, Children Literature Appropriate Age: All ag...

This Present Darkness, Frank E. Peretti "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." ( Ephesians 6:12 ) Summary:  Following the lives of several citizens of a small town near New York, Ashton has been invaded by a dark force that is headed for an imperceptible doom. Marshall Hogan, a former editor of the New York Times has traded his big-city career for a small town newspaper in hopes of rebuilding his broken family. Trying to make things right in his own home, Marshall ends up getting bound in the hidden betrayals of Ashton. After an annual festival, his reporter, Bernice accidentally stumbles upon a classified and illegal meeting with some of the most powerful people in the town. One, being the highly praised preacher of the majority in the city, Reverend Young. Another, a professor in Ashton's college...

Frederica, Georgette Heyer "-He wished to spend his life with her, because she was the perfect woman he had never expected to encounter." Summary:  The beginning of the story picked up rapidly. Your first initial greeting with the honest, and sharp Marque, Lord Alverstroke, was one to capture your utmost attention immediately. His character was witty and frequently rude. He finds joy in breaking hearts. He becomes amused when his sisters are riled up. His only love is himself. To put it out there, Alverstroke has no meaning in life- until he receives an unexpected call from his unknown cousin. Miss Frederica is the only stability the Merrivilles have, ever since their father died. Second eldest, she's determined to raise her siblings in the city life normalities. Her sister, Charis, is of the age to be introduced to society. Harry, the oldest of the Merrivilles has been handicapped since his teenage years. Choosing to enjoy himself as much as possible, his sust...

A Moonbow Night, Laura Frantz "One of life's most painful mysteries was that time moved on, with or without you. Those left behind loved and laughed and resumed living as if you'd never been at all." Summary:  Tragedy and deep mourning chase both, Tempe Tucker, and Sion Morgan. In a search for peace, Tempe helps run an inn with her family, helping the pioneers who pass over the regions of the Cumberland Gap. As Sion and a crew from Virginia get an allowance to survey the terrain of Kentucke, threats from the Indians, who use the land for hunting, endanger their mission. Circumstances drive Sion and his companions to the Moonbow Inn. After suffering from a dreadful event in 1773, Tempe's world changed indefinitely. Her hopes and dreams of a blissful future with James Boone was not to be. The attack at Powell region killed more than the three that were massacred. The first attempt of traveling into the wild acres of Kentucke was a disappointing start. The...

"I cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look, or the words, which laid the foundation. It is too long ago. I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun." //My most talented friend helped create this  image . The prominent Mr. Darcy proclaimed these words to Miss Bennet, admitting his love for her. Taken from Jane Austen's book, Pride & Prejudice .

"Though sympathy tugged at her, Sophie's imagination made fearsome leaps. The grieving widower. The destitute governess. A motherless child. It had all the makings of a scintillating novel.” Summary: After leaving his home and family for the American Revolution, General Seamus Ogilvy returns home to Tall Acre only to find it desolate and empty. His daughter is in the possession of his wife's sister, and the trails to his wife are concluded with a gravestone. Three Chimneys is the neighboring house to Tall Acre, and the only left inhabitant is Sophie Menzies- the daughter of a devout Tory. In the aftermath of the American Revolution, the property she has grown up and loved to cherish is being taken away from her. After her mother's death, she is left to keep up the household in her father and brother's absence. Achieving victory from the war only to come home with a maimed hand and a scared, adolescent daughter, Mr. Ogilvy is in need of many things to br...

Sherlock Holmes and The Needle's Eye, Len Bailey "The Bible is the only book that, as I read it, it reads to me." Summary:  After Sherlock Holmes' great disappearance, his loyal companion, Dr. Watson, is left to wander through life bewildered, but when Sherlock beckons him on a secret journey, the most epic enigma awaits them yet. Sherlock and Watson find an invention that allows them to transport themselves back in time. A special client requests the wit and brains of the two detectives to solve some of the most questionable mysteries from the Bible. As the book progresses the two travel through the well-known, and not so well-known events from the Bible and unravel the hidden clues that will help you better understand the Word. The following titles are the 10 mysteries that get solved by the world's most legendary detectives. The Hanging Man : Why did Ahithophel hang himself? You'll uncover the secrets of David's son, Ahithophel, and what ...

"But I suppose there might be good in things, even if we don't see it." //Credits for image go to my brilliant, innovative friend. 

Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë “If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger.” Summary: Y ou start the story in the shoes of Mr. Lockwood, the new vivacious and friendly resident in a quaint manor named Thrushcross Grange. He, shortly after the opening, gains the acquaintance of his dark and brooding landlord, Mr. Heathcliff. A winter storm causes our protagonist to stay overnight in his gentlemanly proprietor's humble abode, which is known as Wuthering Heights. Mr. Lockwood begins to question his motives of befriending the unusual neighbors. Mr. Heathcliff's family, along with the odd, weird noises throughout the house provoke Mr. Lockwood to have a horrible stay. Eventually, through the eyes of Lockwood we see that the house is not really haunted, but rather peculiar. You'll unravel why exactly Mr. Heathcliff is the hollow man he portray...

The Frontiersman's Daughter, Laura Frantz "I asked once before, do you always court trouble, Miss Click, or does it just seem tae follow you where’er you go?" Summary:  A story of a girl, born into the wilderness of the Appalachians, who discovers her real destiny. Lael Click is the daughter of a courageous, and well-known man who isn't afraid of the Shawnee Indian warriors that surround the local fort. As protector and chief of his own home, Mr. Click is known to have very few different trademarks apart from being an Indian. He got captured when Lael was only a little girl. Years later, the awaiting Click family welcomed his return with animosity towards his adopted Indian ways. Beckoned to a life of refinement, Lael is sent to a lady school in Virginia. There she becomes an educated woman, yet all she longs for is her familiar Kentucky home. After some dreadful news, she escapes her school and returns to find her childhood home desolate. Her neighbo rs h...

“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” //Credits to my ingenious friend for the image above.

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it." //Creds to my amazing friend for this image .

Where Treasure Hides, Johnnie Alexander "The Louvre is on fire and only the Mona Lisa or the child standing beside it can be saved. Which would you choose?" Summary:  This breathtaking story begins with the perspective of a young Dutch artist during WW2. The tragedies and horrific events pull Alison into making her answer to some of the most difficult decisions in her life. One of those being the "Mona Lisa" question: "The Louvre is on fire and only the Mona Lisa or the child standing beside it can be saved. Which would you choose?"  Her family is famous for their generational gift of art. Alison has always cherished art even before she herself started drawing. Circumstances bring up disastrous choices and the Schuylers end up trying to discern between black and white in the midst of a very gray time. The choice between saving some of the world's most grand masterpieces or innocent lives. Thoughts :  If you enjoy reading Historical fictio...