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Review: Brave Woman, Mighty God by Laura L. Smith

Book Review and Content, Nonfiction, Spirituality, , , , , ,
Brave Woman, Mighty God by Laura L. Smith

Brave Woman, Mighty God
Laura L. Smith
Kregel Publishing
Published March 11, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Brave Woman, Mighty God

Find strength, hope, and resilience through God’s mighty empowerment.
You can use your gifts, say yes, be the change, stand up for what’s right, share what you have, break bad cycles, reach out for support, speak up, and so much more.
You can… because God empowers, equips, and cheers you on in everything you’re facing today, tomorrow, and every day.

In Brave Woman, Mighty God, Laura L. Smith reminds us of the steadfast love of God–of how He equips and empowers us. Through reflections on thirty resilient women in the Bible, such as Sarah, Ruth, Abigail, Elizabeth, and Priscilla–women in the middle of their own trials, falsely accused, in tumultuous relationships, in danger, burdened by responsibilities, balancing work and family–you can witness God’s faithfulness in the ways He empowered them to do mighty things. God gives this same strength, wisdom, and courage He gave these women of the Bible, to you. Fully empowered by Jesus you can step into abundantly more than you ever hoped or imagined. You can be brave and do mighty things!

“Every woman needs this book! The women in every chapter face impossible situations–but with the God who makes all things possible.”
–Amy Seiffert, author of Grace Looks Amazing on You, Starved, and Your Name is Daughter

“As we seek to develop courage and live as the daughters of God He has called us to be, we all need this message!” –Rebecca George, author of Do the Thing and host of the Radical Radiance podcast

My Review

A couple of years ago, I read a book with a similar theme aimed at girls twelve and up, but that one left me with some kind of icky feelings due to how it ignored problematic content in some of the stories. I have been a long-time reader of Laura L. Smith’s work, though, and if I was ever going to read a book about women’s stories and God’s love and value in women, I felt confident that she’d deliver a frank, loving, and nuanced book on these themes.

And… I was right!

I really appreciated the way that she acknowledged the harm done to women like Hagar and spoke about the judgments and assumptions we might make about the woman at the well or the woman facing a crowd who wanted to stone her. There are many things we can’t know about stories that took place so long ago, and reading those stories now without acknowledging our assumptions or potential biases can mean that we never encounter the true meaning of the teaching there.

As with Laura L. Smith’s other nonfiction, readers looking for encouragement in the Christian faith will find a lot of it here. No one roots for her readers and shares her own vulnerable moments like Laura.

Each chapter has a story from the author’s personal life, relating a challenge she or someone close to her has faced, and then a story about a woman from the Bible with some historical context. The connection between the two is the virtue both situations require. The chapters end with a brief scripture and a few discussion or journal questions to help process the ideas and foster continued faith practice.

I think this would make a lovely gift book or text for a women’s group study.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Vague references to sex. (References to Bible stories about people becoming pregnant or being accused of adultery.) References to sexual assault and human trafficking (in the stories of Hagar, Gomer, and the Woman at the Well.)

Spiritual Content
Each chapter focuses on a different woman mentioned in the Bible and tells her story, and it highlights a virtue she exemplifies.

Violent Content
See above.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Cursed by Marissa Meyer

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

Cursed (Gilded #2)
Marissa Meyer
Feiwel & Friends
Published November 8, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Cursed

Before the Endless Moon, when the Erlking means to capture one of the seven gods and make a wish to return his lover, Perchta, from the underworld, Serilda and Gild attempt to break the curses that tether their spirits to Adalheid’s haunted castle. But it soon becomes clear that the Erlking’s hunger for vengeance won’t be satisfied with a single wish, and his true intentions have the power to alter the mortal realm forever. Serilda and Gild must try to thwart his wicked plans, all while solving the mystery of Gild’s forgotten name, freeing the ghosts kept in servitude to the dark ones, and trying to protect their unborn child.

Romance, danger, and Serilda’s journey to find her power as a woman, a mother, and a storyteller make this reimagining of Rumpelstiltskin one that Meyer fans—old and new—will treasure.

My Review

So I listened to CURSED as an audiobook from my library, and I had to return it mid-read and then wait for my name to come up in the holds list again. All that to say that my reading was a bit choppy, which might have affected how I feel about the pacing, so I’m not going to pass any judgment there.

When I finished reading GILDED, I knew I had to read the second book. I love the way the author took a simple fairy tale story and reimagined it into this whole complex world with history and mythology and bigger reasons for things to happen. And, of course, where the Rumpelstiltskin character isn’t the villain. I thought that was an interesting change.

In CURSED, all the pieces set up in GILDED begin to move toward their final positions. Gild and Serilda try breaking their curse. The Erlking puts his plan to change the mortal world forever into place. So much happens in this book. There is truly never a dull moment.

As with the first book, I liked both Gild and Serilda’s characters, as well as others in the story. I enjoyed seeing Serilda begin to think of herself as a mother and to experience the joy and grief that comes with that transition. Because of that and the fact that Serilda is kind of on her own through the whole book, behaving independently, I think this is really more of a crossover book rather than true young adult literature.

In any case, I enjoyed reading it a lot. I think fans of Marissa Meyer will love it, and I think readers who didn’t get into CINDER because of the sci-fi elements will enjoy this duology for its more traditional fairytale feel.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Major characters are white. Two women, minor characters, get married to one another.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. References to sex (Serilda is pregnant). Two women get married.

Spiritual Content
The story contains characters who are essentially ghosts, including five children who were murdered so the Erlking could hold their spirits captive to control Serilda. Other characters called Dark Ones, belong in the underworld as servants of the god who rules there.

The story also contains mythical creatures and monsters, some of whom become Serilda’s allies, and some of whom fight against her. Some of the monsters are pretty creepy, like the ones that dig talons into someone and transmit their worst nightmares into their minds to paralyze them.

During the full moon, the veil between the mortal and immortal world falls, and Dark Ones and ghosts have the ability to interact with humans and living creatures.

In Serilda’s world, there are seven old gods who were once prayed to and worshipped. She tells stories about them and eventually encounters them.

Violent Content
Battle scenes and some references to torture.

Drug Content
None.

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