Untangle Your Emotions by Jennie Allen

★★★★★  The publisher provided a copy for review.
Do you know what you're feeling right now? 

Last night, when you said something stupid you didn't mean because you got angry or confused

 ... or today when you went into another meeting with that "hostile" person or topic and didn't know how to respond?

HELP! 

Allen offers insights for identifying and using your emotional life for good rather than harm. She encourages the reader to use the power of emotions to understand, assist, and boost you personally and professionally.

Highly recommended. Check out all the podcasts she's done (interviews with influencers) to get a sense of what you're missing if this is still on the shelf. It's been an instant bestseller. When you read it, you'll know why.

The ChatGPT Edge Fletcher Parks

★★★★ ☐ The publisher has provided a copy for review. 
Ok, this was unexpectedly helpful. I'm a novice to AI, egged on by my brother, a realtor who uses ChatGPT for all his ads and promotions: "What do you mean you don't use ChatGPT?"

If you use social media but are not a techie, OR if you feel lost in the swarm of A1 offerings, here is your step-up guide. Follow the instructions and get on board - you'll find great ideas but also clear directions for the edge offered by auto-generated content and edits.

Recommended for beginners and middle-stagers.

Watercolor Your Way by Sarah Cray

★★★★ ☐ The publisher has provided a copy for review. 
A fresh look at the art and craft of paint and water on the page. You probably won't win awards by using this manual, willed with beautiful illustrations. And you may not become world-famous with the kind of watercolor demonstrated.

But you will enjoy the process of creating beauty from what you see around you, regardless of the level of skill with which you begin. I recommend it for beginners and middle-skill levels.

Open it at your kitchen table or at your desk - and enjoy making something pretty with a light touch, a deft hand, and new tools.

Cray has a lot of followers so check her out on FB, IG, YouTube, etc.

Joy by Danielle Steel

★★☐☐☐ The publisher has provided a copy for review.

I had high hopes for this book since it's by an author I usually enjoy. But the theme of leaving what you know and jumping headlong into a new attraction is foreign to me, married for 46 years. I'm totally not into this kind of reinvention since you take your own "stuff" into each relationships.

So, nope not going to recommend this one. My version of joy is a sustained rhythm of gratitude and appreciation for what's around me, not a discarding the past for something new and exciting. Sorry.

Ladykiller by Katherine Wood

★★★★ ☐ The publisher has provided a copy for review.
This one kept me in suspense until the last page. And I still am thinking about possible outcomes. 

If you like suspense and character development and a new kind of plot twist, it's for you. I'm surprised that I enjoy it as much as I did. So ...

For readers of suspense, travel, society, and just plain good fiction, this one's for you.

Upside Down by Danielle Steel

★★★ ☐☐ The publisher has provided a copy for review. 

I liked Steel's more complex plots and character developments in previous novels. This one - an older-younger/younger-older romance pairing - felt a bit predictable.

It's easy reading. Something to pick up for the commute or beach, when your brain needs entertainment and a diversion.

She's done better but it was still fun.

The Party Crasher by Joshua Ryan Butler

★★★★ ☐ The publisher has provided a copy for review    You may be just like my dad. He was a hard-core German with strong opinions on who should lead the Church and the world. He was certain that the way he viewed global challenges was correct. He knew what to do and, had people listened to him, would have fixed everything wrong in today's world. Does anyone tell you, "There's no reasoning with you so let's talk about something else?"

Similarly to Dad, you may be utterly certain of what's black and white in your journey with Jesus. Maybe you follow (or lead) a political movement to change your city, state, country ... or organization. You may be puzzled or frustrated by the fragmentation and cherry-picking of others from news sources, research, or conversations. 

Yet not everyone agrees with you, no matter how much evidence you present. Others have their own sources - and those are opposed to your own information. Welcome to the current culture wars and political divisions.

So how do you engage in difficult exchanges without alienating people who are just as certain that they are right? And how do you lead or cultivate networks among deeply divided NGOs, congregations, and friendships?

What would happen if Jesus showed up? If he crashed your certainty and your party (and theirs)?

This book offers practical solutions to living the life of Jesus among culture wars, religious hardliners (is that you?), and religious certainty. You'll be challenged, offended, and perhaps corrected as you read. Well worth keeping at the front of your bookshelf as you seek the wisdom of God in the diverse world around you.