Novel Reviews

Erin Healy's The Baker's Wife ~ Reviewed

2012-01-26T19:56:00.000-08:00

The Baker's Wife [Paperback]

Erin Healy (Author)

Paperback: 352 pages

Publisher: Thomas Nelson; Original edition (October 4, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1595547525

Description:

Before Audrey was the baker's wife, she was the pastor's wife.

Then a scandalous lie cost her husband a pastoral career. Now the two work side-by-side running a bakery, serving coffee, and baking fresh bread. But the hurt still pulls at Audrey.

Driving early one morning to the bakery, Audrey's car strikes something-or someone-at a fog-shrouded intersection. She finds a motor scooter belonging to a local teacher. Blood is everywhere, but there's no trace of a body.

Both the scooter and the blood belong to detective Jack Mansfield's wife, and he's certain that Audrey is behind Julie's disappearance.

But the case dead-ends and the detective spirals into madness. When he takes her family and some patrons hostage at the bakery, Audrey is left with a soul-damaged ex-con and a cynical teen to solve the mystery. And she'll never manage that unless she taps into something she would rather leave behind-her excruciating ability to feel other's pain.

Review:

Erin Healy blends supernatural gifting and challenging topics and bakes up a satisfying, fragrant, crusty-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside read.

Audrey was married to a pastor, and one of her ministries was delivering fresh bread she and her husband made to parishioners that God laid on her heart. However, a scandal erupts in the church and Audrey and Geoff are pushed out of the ministry and into baking as a career.

One day the unbelievable happens and the elder who pushed the hardest to have Geoff step down as pastor is in the middle of it all.

Audrey is left, with the help of an ex-con in town to atone for her past, to solve a mystery, and save those nearest and dearest to her when the situation explodes.

Healy handles some heavy topics in this unique novel including depression and religiosity vs relationship. She mixes in the Holy Spirit's working in individuals and fallout of church fractures. This is a well told story with a heavy mix of complex characters. Those who love fiction light might find this a little too overwhelming due to the topics. But Healy does a terrific job with the mixing and blending of ingredients and those who love hearty Christian fiction might want to check it out.

Reviewed by: Kelly Klepfer

Liz Curtis Higgs's Mine is the Night ~ Reviewed

2012-01-25T18:51:00.000-08:00

Mine Is the Night: A Novel

Liz Curtis Higgs

Paperback: 464 pages

Publisher: WaterBrook Press (March 15, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1400070023

Book Description:

Stepping from a battered coach on a rainy April eve, newly widowed Elisabeth Kerr must begin again, without husband or title, property or fortune. She is unafraid of work and gifted with a needle, but how will she stitch together the tattered remnants of her life? And who will mend her heart, torn asunder by betrayal and deception?

Elisabeth has not come to Selkirk alone. Her mother-in-law, Marjory Kerr, is a woman undone, having buried her husband, her sons, and any promise of grandchildren. Dependent upon a distant cousin with meager resources, Marjory dreads the future almost as much as she regrets the past. Yet joy still comes knocking, and hope is often found in unexpected places.

Then a worthy hero steps forward, rekindling a spark of hope. Will he risk his reputation to defend two women labeled as traitors to the Crown? Or will a wealthy beauty, untainted by scandal, capture his affections?

The heartrending journey of the Kerr women comes to a glorious finish in Mine Is the Night, a sparkling gem of redemption and restoration set in eighteenth-century Scotland.

Review:

“Can you not look beyond her Highland past?” (p. 320)

The answer to this question reveals the ultimate measure of the lives of Elizabeth and Marjory Kerr as they enter the town of Selkirk. As penniless widows, dependent upon the kindness of a distant cousin whom they haven’t contacted in more than ten years, the Kerr women are far different than when we first met them in “Here Burns My Candle.” What hope must lie in their hearts! What trust in God’s sovereign goodness and direction in their lives! Liz Curtis Higgs has taken the story of Ruth and created a masterpiece of Scottish history, romance and redemption! Readers will recognize elements of the Biblical story and the truth that should be the foundation in the life of every Child of God.

Once again, Higgs has transported my heart and mind back to the Scottish countryside of the 1700’s! I felt as though I was living side by side with Elizabeth and Marjory as they began their new life in Selkirk. The smells, the sights, the sounds …everything comes alive for the reader as these characters are transformed by God’s grace into women of faith, courage and strength. Truly, I grew to love them more in the Mine is the Night than I even did in Here Burns My Candle!

Enter Jack Buchanan – Lord of Bell Hill. What a man! What a hero! What a lovely expression of grace, mercy and kindness! I know he loosely represents the character of Boaz, but no one can help but be charmed by this character! And the things he is want to do to express his love toward those he cares about…be still my heart! Readers will just be astounded by the way Higgs integrates this character and his household into the story! Seamless…altogether believable…and a powerful example of the way all of us should treat our fellow man!

You will not be able to depart the Scottish countryside once you begin this amazing story! You will savor each experience as you laugh and cry with Elizabeth, Marjory – and Jack! I cannot recommend this series highly enough!

Please go HERE to watch the video trailer and learn more about Liz and her wonderful stories!! And stay tuned! I have an interview with Liz coming up!!

Reviewed by: Kim Ford

Sibella Giorello's The Mountains Bow Down ~ Reviewed

2012-01-24T03:18:00.000-08:00

The Mountains Bow Down
By Sibella Giorello
Published by Thomas Nelson
ISBN# 978-1-59554-535-0
373 Pages

Summary:

That's what FBI Special Agent Raleigh Harmon believes as she boards a cruise to Alaska. A land of mountains and gems and minerals, the Last Frontier is a dream destination for this forensic geologist who's hoping to leave behind a hectic work schedule and an engagement drained of romance.

But when a passenger goes missing and winds up dead, Raleigh's vacation suddenly gets lost at sea. The ship's security chief tries to rule the death a suicide, but Raleigh's forensics background points to a much darker conclusion: Somewhere onboard, a ruthless murderer walks free.

Engulfed by one of her toughest cases yet, Raleigh requests assistance from the FBI and receives her nemesis-handsome Special Agent Jack Stephanson. As the cruise ship sails through the Inside Passage, Raleigh has five days to solve a high-profile murder, provide consultation for a movie filming onboard, and figure out her increasingly complicated feelings for Jack-who might not be as arrogant as she originally thought.

And that's only her work life. Family offers even more challenges. Joined on the cruise by her mother and aunt, Raleigh watches helplessly as disturbing rifts splinter her family.

Like the scenery that surrounds the cruise ship, Raleigh discovers a mystery so daunting that even the mountains might bow down before it.

Review: I was so thankful to receive a review copy of such an exciting, fun, suspenseful, and heartfelt novel. I enjoyed reading about Raleigh, a female FBI agent, who specializes in fore4nsic geology and is good at what she does. Sibella went to school to be a geologist so its fascinating to read how geology helps Raleigh uncover clues she never would have discovered with out it.

Review:

I liked how Sibella had Raleigh sty true to her calling in life no matter how the male FBI Agents treated her. I also liked Raleigh’s honesty in her feelings and how she struggled in putting God into the driver seat of her life 24/7.

Giorello takes her readers on a beautiful Alaskan cruise along with her mom and eccentric Aunt who has arranged for Raleigh to be a consultant on a movie being filmed on the cruise ship. She thought this would be a great way to enjoy each other’s company, have fun and get their trip paid for.

Things were beautiful and fun until Raleigh discovers a female body hanging from the back of the cruise ship. Head of security seeks Raleigh’s help in this case because she’s FBI and the woman found dead was famous actor Milo’s wife.

Milo was the one she was consulting on the film on how to be an FBI agent. Milo and everyone else on this project was hoping for a box office smash hit with this movie. Milo needed this to get back into the game.

Sibella Giorello pens an intriguing web of mystery, suspense, fun and quirky characters I enjoyed with well timed humor. This was a “who-done-it” that kept me guessing right up till the end. This was the first novel I’ve read by this author, it won’t be my last. I think I’ll start with The River Runs Dry, or The Clouds Roll! So many choices! Can’t wait to see where this author takes me next!! I highly recommend this book and for you to check out the others!

Reviewed by: Nora St.Laurent
The Book Club Network
Finding Hope Through Fiction

Christa Allan's The Edge of Grace ~ Reviewed

2012-01-23T02:50:00.000-08:00

The Edge of Grace
By Christa Allan
Published by Abingdon Press
ISBN 978-1-4267-1311-8

Description:

An early morning call shatters Caryn Becker's world. Her brother David announces that he is gay, and Caryn completely rejects the one person who stood beside her during her husband's illness and death. Unable to cope with David's news, Caryn disappears into her own turbulent life as a single mom and new business owner.

When David is attacked and nearly killed, his partner asks for Caryn's help. She reluctantly agrees to work with David's lawyer on the case. When her catering business suffers because of David's lifestyle, Caryn is forced to make the hardest choices about family, faith, and her own future, while exploring the grace of forgiveness and acceptance.

Review:

Christa Allan's sophomore book, The Edge of Grace, is a powerful work of art, delving into waters not often stirred in fiction. It made me squirm and it challenged me to consider how I offered grace. The only thing it did not do was leave me unchanged. Novel Rocket and I give The Edge of Grace our highest recommendation: a 5-star must read.

Reviewed by: Ane Mulligan, editor
Novel Rocket

Darlene Franklin's A Ranger's Trail ~ Reviewed

2012-01-20T00:17:00.000-08:00

A RANGER’S TRAIL

Darlene Franklin

Paperback: 288 pages

Publisher: Moody Publishers; New Edition edition (February 1, 2012)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0802405878

Book Information:

This is the fourth book in a six-book series about four generations of the Morgan family living, fighting, and thriving amidst a turbulent Texas history spanning from 1845 to 1896. Although a series, each book can be read on its own.In 1875 Buck Morgan rode into Mason County with the Texas Rangers to quell the violence stirred up by the actions a vigilantly mob. The Hoo Doo (or bad luck) War erupted as suspected cattle rustlers were killed by an angry German mob and former ranger, Scott Cooley, gathers a gang to seek vengeance on the murders. Suspected of cattle rustling, Leta Derrick's husband was murdered by the mob a year earlier. Now she is siding with the rogue ranger, Scott Cooley and refuses to help Buck Morgan stem the tide of violence. Leta prays daily that God will wreak vengeance on her enemies. Buck prays that the God of all provision will supply for the needs of the widow, her son Ricky, and her 15-year old brother, Andy. Buck lays a trap at his uncle's ranch for the suspected outlaws but the plan backfires when Andy shows up. Shots are fired and one man is down. Andy has joined the outlaw gang and is now guilty of murdering Buck's cousin. Will their actions fuel the fire of vengeance' Or will Buck and Leta strike an accord that leads to more than just peace'

Review:

A Ranger’s Trail is book 4 in the Morgan Family Series. It involves a woman named Leta Denning, who’s husband was murdered by a German Rob, being falsely accused of cattle rustling. Tensions in the community grow as Germans and Anglos begin taking revenge against each other. Buck Morgan, a Texas Ranger, comes to the area to help. As feelings between Leta and Buck grow, facts come out into the open putting Buck’s cousin among those that murdered Leta’s husband, and Andy, Leta’s brother, among those who killed Buck’s cousin.

This was a great book. It was interesting to see the tensions rise, and each side thinking they were doing right, instead of taking it to the Lord to deal with. I enjoyed seeing Leta’s character change, from that of the widow who wants revenge, to a woman willing to submit to the Lord and trust him in all things. This was a great book and I highly recommend it!

Reviewed by: Sarah Porter

Janice Thompson's Hello, Hollywood~ Reviewed

2012-01-18T20:00:00.000-08:00

Hello, Hollywood!

By Janice Thompson

Published by Revell

ISBN-10: 0800733460

When it comes to love, one thing's for sure--it doesn't follow a script!

Athena Pappas is the head writer on Stars Collide, one of the most popular sitcoms in television history. But when Vegas comedian Stephen Cosse is brought in to beef up the show's suddenly sagging ratings, she starts to worry about her job. Sparks fly as the competition--and attraction--between the two writers heats up. Athena has never had a problem writing the romances of her characters. So why is her own love life so hard to script?

With humor and a Hollywood-insider viewpoint, Hello, Hollywood! delivers lots of laughs as Athena and Stephen discover that not being in control of the plot of their lives might just be the best thing that ever happened to them.

Review

Comedic timing is an art form, and Janice Thompson is a master. Her romantic comedies keep getting better and better. I laughed all the way through Hello, Hollywood! The story is reminiscent of the old Hollywood sitcoms – the days of I Love Lucy and Dick Van Dyke. If you like to laugh—and who doesn't?—treat yourself to a rollicking good read. Novel Rocket and I give it 5 stars. A must read!

Reviewed by: Ane Mulligan, Sr. editor

Novel Rocket

Blake Mycoskie's Start Something That Matters ~ Reviewed

2012-01-17T14:44:00.000-08:00

Start Something That Matters

Blake Mycoskie

Hardcover: 208 pages

Publisher: Spiegel & Grau (September 6, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1400069181

Description:

Love your work, work for what you love, and change the world—all at the same time.

What matters most to you? Should you focus on earning a living, pursuing your passions, or devoting yourself to the causes that inspire you? The surprising truth is that you don’t have to choose—and that you’ll find more success if you don’t. That’s the breakthrough message of TOMS’ One for One movement. You don’t have to be rich to give back and you don’t have to retire to spend every day doing what you love. You can find profit, passion, and meaning all at once—right now.

In Start Something That Matters, Blake Mycoskie tells the story of TOMS, one of the fastest-growing shoe companies in the world, and combines it with lessons learned from such other innovative organizations as method, charity: water, FEED Projects, and TerraCycle. Blake presents the six simple keys for creating or transforming your own life and business, from discovering your core story to being resourceful without resources; from overcoming fear and doubt to incorporating giving into every aspect of your life. No matter what kind of change you’re considering, Start Something That Matters gives you the stories, ideas, and practical tips that can help you get started.

Why this book is for you:

• You’re ready to make a difference in the world—through your own start-up business, a nonprofit organization, or a new project that you create within your current job.

• You want to love your work, work for what you love, and have a positive impact on the world—all at the same time.

• You’re inspired by charity: water, method, and FEED Projects and want to learn how these organizations got their start.

• You’re curious about how someone who never made a pair of shoes, attended fashion school, or worked in retail created one of the fastest-growing footwear companies in the world by giving shoes away.

• You’re looking for a new model of success to share with your children, students, co-workers, and members of your community.

You’re ready to start something that matters.

Review:

Companies that care about environment or people as much as lining their pockets are companies I like to support and frequent. I suppose that’s one of the reasons I like to buy organic and local.

Start Something That Matters intrigued me because I think Tom’s fits that category. I actually don’t own Tom’s shoes but have supported their effort and watched them explode. So when I saw a review copy of the founder’s, Blake Mycoskie, book available I jumped on it. My 20-something daughter grabbed it and read it then passed it along to her friend to read before I got my hands on it. The pages came back to me dog-earred and underlined and I understand why.

Not only does the reader find out about Tom’s modus operandi, we are introduced to other companies and individuals who have embraced a different business model of thinking.

This book gave me a sense of hope and a renewed trust in corporate America. There is a new mindset on the fringes of our materialistic world and I’m so glad for it.

This is a quick and short read. But I think anyone seeking to dive into something bigger than themselves, something that could maybe provide an income and be a positive benefit to others should consider putting this on their must read list. Start Something That Matters might be a little simple or a little too creative for black and white business text book readers. But those who are chafing against the standard business model might welcome the refreshing splash of color Blake offers. Overall I recommend this as a thought provoking, uplifting and entertaining read.

Reviewed by: Kelly Klepfer

Lena Nelson Dooley's Maggie's Journey ~ Reviewed

2012-01-15T23:54:00.000-08:00

Maggie's Journey (McKenna's Daughters)

Lena Nelson Dooley

Paperback: 304 pages

Publisher: Realms (October 4, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1616383585

Description:

Near her eighteenth birthday, Margaret Lenora Caine finds a chest hidden in the attic containing proof that she's adopted. The spoiled daughter of wealthy merchants in Seattle, she feels betrayed by her real parents and by the ones who raised her. But mystery surrounds her new discovery, and when Maggie uncovers another family secret, she loses all sense of identity. Leaving her home in Seattle, Washington, Maggie strikes out to find her destiny. Will Charles Stanton, who's been in love with her for years, be able to help her discover who she really is?

Review:

A few years ago I read my first novel with seasoned author Lena Nelson Dooley in her Love Finds You in Golden, New Mexico and enjoyed it beginning to end. Again with Maggie's Journey I enjoyed it from the first page and I am uber eager to read more as it comes in the rest of the series.

Of course I'm always a fan of characters that are named Margaret, as I'm a Margaret. But I enjoyed the personality of the characters. The growth that both Maggie and Charles had to endure. It brings a real relative light on the emotional aspects and aftermath of what the turmoil of the Oregon Trail may have left for the next generation. I think the entire series will be thoroughly entertaining and I cannot wait for more.

*Thanks to Realms, Charisma Media for providing a copy for review through the FIRST Wild Card Tours.*

Reviewed by: Margaret Chind

Melanie Dickerson's The Merchant's Daughter ~ Reviewed

2012-01-11T16:13:00.000-08:00

The Merchant's Daughter

Melanie Dickerson (Author)

Paperback: 288 pages

Publisher: Zondervan; Original edition (November 29, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0310727618

Description:

An unthinkable danger. An unexpected choice. Annabel, once the daughter of a wealthy merchant, is trapped in indentured servitude to Lord Ranulf, a recluse who is rumored to be both terrifying and beastly. Her circumstances are made even worse by the proximity of Lord Ranulf's bailiff---a revolting man who has made unwelcome advances on Annabel in the past. Believing that life in a nunnery is the best way to escape the escalation of the bailiff's vile behavior and to preserve the faith that sustains her, Annabel is surprised to discover a sense of security and joy in her encounters with Lord Ranulf. As Annabel struggles to confront her feelings, she is involved in a situation that could place Ranulf in grave danger. Ranulf's future, and possibly his heart, may rest in her hands, and Annabel must decide whether to follow the plans she has cherished or the calling God has placed on her heart.

Review:

Combine Jane Eyre with a bit of Beauty and the Beast and you might have found yourself in The Merchant's Daughter. Earlier this year I found myself reading Melanie Dickerson's debut being a mixture of Tristan and Isolde with Sleeping Beauty in The Healer's Apprentice. I was very delighted to learn that this fall she had something new in The Merchant's Daughter. Again I have the same qualm as before in that... my first and only qualm is that this book is listed as young adult. I don't agree with that, it's not a teen novel. It is shorter than my normal read, but it is definitely one for girls of marriageable age and boy is it an adventure. ... but then perhaps I just do not understand the genre behind "young adult" as I thought I did.

In a way, there is even a bit of Cinderella here. Not in the plot line perhaps, but in the personality of Annabel. There is not magic in the sense of the Disney Beauty and the Beast, he doesn't suddenly float in the air and become beautiful. In a sense, it's always there, just marred and hidden until an unexpected (to him) healing can occur. Yet... isn't that what the entire book is about? You read it, and tell me. :)

*Thanks to Zondervan for providing a copy for review.*

Reviewed by: Margaret Chind

Tricia Goyer and Mike Yorkeys' Chasing Mona Lisa ~ Reviewed

2012-01-09T04:48:00.000-08:00

Chasing Mona Lisa: A Novel

Tricia Goyer, Mike Yorkey

Paperback: 325 pages

Publisher: Revell (January 1, 2012)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0800720466

Description:

It is August 1944 and Paris is on the cusp of liberation. As the soldiers of the Third Reich flee the Allied advance, they ravage the country, stealing countless pieces of art. Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring will stop at nothing to claim the most valuable one of all, the Mona Lisa, as a post-war bargaining chip to get him to South America. Can Swiss OSS agents Gabi Mueller and Eric Hofstadler rescue DaVinci's masterpiece before it falls into German hands?

With nonstop action, Chasing Mona Lisa is sure to get readers' adrenaline pumping as they join the chase to save the most famous painting in the world. From war-ravaged Paris to a posh country chateau, the race is on--and the runners are playing for keeps.

Review:

'Chasing Mona Lisa' by Tricia Goyer and Mike Yorkey is a fascinating sequel to 'The Swiss Courier'. This book continues the saga of two of the main characters, Gabi Mueller and Eric Hofstadler, as they embark on a new adventure in France to keep the Mona Lisa from the hands of the Nazis. You experience the fear of those who dare to stand against the Nazis and the exuberance of the French when they are liberated. While the plot is slightly predictable, it is still a page turner from the beginning!

Reviewed by: Leeann Garbon

Sandra Bricker's Always the Designer, Never the Bride ~ Reviewed

2012-01-05T13:33:00.000-08:00

Always the Designer, Never the Bride

By Sandra D. Bricker

Published by Abingdon, April 2012

ISBN 978-1-4267-3223-2

Description

How many dresses can a designer design before she finally designs her own?

Audrey Regan spent years establishing herself as a wedding dress designer and to date, she's been roped into creating dresses for nine of her girlfriends. Request #10 follows her vow to "Just say no!" and comes from her very best friend. She can hardly turn Carly down!

Audrey arrives in Atlanta to perform all of her maid-of-honor duties and the festivities make her question whether there's a prince of her own anywhere in her future. Enter the groom's brother and best man. J.R. Hunt couldn't be any more different from Prince Charming is he rode in on a Harley Davidson. Oh, wait. He actually did ride in on a Harley!

Review

Sandra D. Bricker is the Babe Ruth of romantic comedy with one home run after another! Third in the hilarious series, I didn't want Always the Designer, Never the Bride to end. Bricker makes her characters your best friends and you want to keep hanging out with them. She doesn't take her readers down totally predictable paths in the story, and Always the Designer follows that tradition. Up to the last page, I wasn't sure what she would do with Audrey and J.R. I'm anxiously waiting for the next book in this series. Novel Rocket and I give Always the Designer, Never the Bride our highest recommendation. It's a 5-star read!

Reviewed by: Ane Mulligan, Sr. Editor

Novel Rocket

Kristin Billerbeck's Perfectly Invisible ~ Reviewed

2012-01-04T05:36:00.000-08:00

Perfectly Invisible: A Universally Misunderstood Novel (Perfectly Dateless)

Kristin Billerbeck

Reading level: Ages 14 and up

Paperback: 267 pages

Publisher: Revell (July 1, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0800719735

Description:

Life after high school is so close . . . and yet so very far away.

It's Daisy Crispin's final semester of high school, and she plans to make it count. Her long-awaited freedom is mere months away, and her big plans for college loom in the future. Everything is under control.

Or is it?

Her boyfriend is treating her like she's invisible, and her best friend is making her sell bad costume jewelry in the school quad—and hanging out with her boyfriend. To top it off, Daisy's major humiliation of the year will be remembered in the yearbook for all eternity. It's enough to make her wonder if maybe being invisible isn't so bad after all.

Can Daisy get her life back on track? Or is she stuck in this town forever?

Review:

As much so as I enjoyed Perfectly Dateless last summer, I enjoyed Perfectly Invisible this one. Kristin really brings out the inner thoughts that are pretty much right on key for a teen late in high school. Brings back memories of my own school experiences as well as while I was a long term substitute teacher.

Again, truly I could not turn the pages fast enough and I overall enjoyed this story. I think that it could be valuable read for many different people. Very enlightening to both girls, guys and parents who want to care or understand. It was interesting to me however, for a girl without cable TV that she was familiar with so many current day television references, but then I guess they're out there beyond the tube or flat screen.

There were some plot things that had me quite confused in this story, but then coming from a teenage mind, I think that was the point that I was just as confused as Daisy was. Overall, I have to admit it makes me wonder about things as my own daughters grow. Truly there is no perfect childhood or youth and I think attempting to stage one would cause more harm than good. But one can only pray for help.

I truly enjoy both adult and youth books from Kristin Billerbeck and cannot wait for more.

*Thanks to Revell Books for providing a copy for review.*

Reviewed by: Margaret Chind

Donna Fletcher Crow's A Darkly Hidden Truth ~ Reviewed

2012-01-03T06:59:00.000-08:00

A Darkly Hidden Truth

By Donna Fletcher Crow

Paperback: 366 pages

Publisher: Kregel Publications

January, 2012

ISBN: 9-780857-210500

Description:

Felicity can’t possibly help Father Anthony find the valuable missing icon. She’s off to become a nun. Then her impossible mother turns up unexpectentanty. And a good friend turns up murdered…

Breathtaking chase scenes, mystical worship services, dashes through remote waterlogged landscapes, the wisdom of ancient holy women, and the arcane rites of the Knights Hospitaller keep the pages turning. Will Felicity choose the veil—or Anthony?

Review:

A Darkly Hidden Truth is beautifully written and starts with perhaps the most chilling prologue I’ve ever read. (One readers won’t want to skim over!) The novel opens with a scene of a young medieval maiden giving her life to Christ. At first, my pulse quickened and a sick feeling settled in the pit of my gut as I questioned exactly what her devotion might cost. Old Indian Jones images flashed through my mind, stealing my breath. By page two I could breathe once again as I realized this young maiden wasn’t embarking upon self-sacrifice but instead, a life of religious isolation. But although my gut-wrenching fears were allayed, my curiosity was not. As the mother said goodbye to her beloved daughter, her internal quote, plucked from the ancient pages of Scripture, triggered numerous questions. When this sorrowful mother asked for prayer, she suddenly understood an ancient prophesy given to Mary, the mother of Jesus,: “Simeon had warned Mary that a sword would pierce through her own soul. Now Dorcas knew: that warning was not just for Mary. It was for all mothers.”

Moving from this ancient and mysterious scene to modern day, we meet a woman as removed from her mother as the previous maiden was from the world. Felicity, a young and impulsive girl drawn to the church and the simplistic, solemn life it offers, contemplates becoming a nun. Unfortunately, a string of murders and the theft of numerous sacred icons complicate matters, as does the sudden appearance of her mother.

Dressed in three-inch heels and a pinstripe suit; Felicity’s mother trails behind a religious ensemble, tracking her daughter down. In front of everyone—those with the power to admit Felicity into monastic life, or keep her from it. Now Felicity is forced to swallow the bitterness welling inside in order to present a pious, loving attitude. But when another icon is stolen and a nun is found unconscious and bloody, Felicity soon realizes her mother’s sudden and rather inconvenient appearance is the least of her problems.

I loved the imagery Ms. Crow provided throughout the novel, from the gothic windows to the rolling monastery grounds. The setting was quite unique—a series of murders and mysterious thefts in a church? As a protestant, it was very interesting to read about the various sacraments and holy days practiced in the Catholic Church and each glimpse and nugget of information was sprinkled seamlessly into the novel, flavoring the story without overpowering it.

A Darkly Hidden Truth is a gripping, multi-leveled mystery with a hint of romance and family drama.

Reviewed by: Jennifer Slattery

Lori Copeland's The One Who Waits for Me ~ Reviewed

2011-12-30T06:20:00.000-08:00

The One Who Waits for Me [Paperback]

Lori Copeland (Author)

Paperback: 320 pages

Publisher: Harvest House Publishers (August 1, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0736930183

Description:

Bestselling author Lori Copeland (Walker’s Wedding and Outlaw’s Bride) sets her brand-new story in North Carolina the months after the Civil War. In the midst of chaos, there is also a sense of possibility and the hope of love when:

Sisters Beth and Joanie run from a vindictive uncle toward healing

Trella, a pregnant young slave, leaves a plantation for freedom

Gray Eagle, a Cherokee military scout, finds refuge for the young women

Captain Pierce, a quiet man of faith, heads for a plot of land and a new life

Samuel, a black soldier, longs to follow his father’s preaching legacy

The intersecting lives and tales of these engaging characters and those they meet along the way create an uplifting story of tested faith, growing seeds of love, and the challenge and gift of believing God’s promise of a future.

Review:

The One Who Waits For Me begins with two young women, Beth and Joanie. After their parents have just passed, they struggle to escape from their tyrant Uncle, Walt, and his son Bear. Trella, a young slave escapes with them. Along the way, they meet three men who are heading home after fighting in the Civil War, Preach, Pierce and Gray Eagle. In initially being kind and rescuing the women from a fire, they unwittingly get tangled in helping them escape their uncle.

I really enjoyed this book. It was fun to see Joanie and Beth’s eyes and hearts open to the fact that not all men are bad. Joanie’s faith was rooted deep from the beginning, but Beth’s was not, however, with the help of different characters along the way, Beth’s heart was softened as well. This was a great read for anyone who enjoys Civil War era books.

Reviewed by: Sarah Porter

Janelle Mowery's When Love Gets in the Way ~ Reviewed

2011-12-27T15:07:00.000-08:00

When Love Gets in the Way (Colorado Runaway Series)

Janelle Mowery

Paperback: 288 pages

Publisher: Harvest House Publishers (October 1, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0736928081

Description:

Grace Bradley wishes all she touches would turn to gold. Instead, it tends to tarnish…that is, until she finds freedom on the Double K Ranch. Grace is fleeing from the man her father chose to be her husband. But once her heart is captured by her new employer’s best friend, and she finally understands the meaning of God’s sacrificial love, she relinquishes her independence to save her loved ones.

Cade Ramsey contemplates running for dear life from the accident-prone nuisance he brought to his hometown. The trouble that trails her seems to latch on to him at every turn. But when Grace manages to win his calloused heart, he chases her down, praying he can keep her from following through on a decision that could ruin their lives.

An adventurous novel of faith, hope, and love in the Wild West.

About This Series: Straight from the heart of the Old West, the Colorado Runaway series is full of adventure, humor, and romance by award-winning novelist Janelle Mowery.

Review

When Love Gets in the Way is about a young woman named Grace Bradley, who is trying to escape the clutches of an evil man who will do anything to force her to marry him. In escaping, she meets Cade Ramsey, her new employer’s best friend. Both are adamant that they will never fall in love, but they can’t seem to fight a growing attraction between them. In the meantime, their town is being terrorized by an unknown group, whom Grace and Cade fear is being run by Frank Easton, the man that wants to marry Grace.

I’ve said it before, and I will say it again: I absolutely love books set in this time period. I’ve read the other books in this series (Colorado Runaway Series) and have loved all of them. It was fun to watch Grace and Cade’s ‘dislike’ for each other, grown into friendship, and eventually love. A great read for those who love books set in the mid to late 1800’s. I highly recommend it!

Reviewed by: Sarah Porter

Serita Jakes's The Crossing ~ Reviewed

2011-12-22T16:54:00.000-08:00

The Crossing

By Serita Jakes

Published by Waterbrook Press

ISBN#978-1-4000-7303-0

292 Pages

Back Cover:

Imprisoned by memories, Claudia Campbell lives each day in the shadow of a ten-year-old murder. Who can set her free?

On the way home from a football game, a decade earlier, a masked gunman opened fi re on a Texas school bus. Cheerleading coach B.J. Remington was killed, but her murderer was never found. Claudia, who had a close friendship with the young, spirited teacher, constantly relives the anguish of that day, caught in one moment in time. When her husband, the assistant district attorney, becomes determined to uncover the mystery of that tragedy, the secrets buried over the years threaten to tear their family apart.

Officer Casio Hightower will never forget the day his dreams were destroyed. A star quarterback with a promising future, Casio was on top of the world—until one bullet changed everything. He is eager to help Victor Campbell find B.J.’s killer, the man who shot him. Maybe solving the case will help silence the demons driving Casio to hurt the woman he loves.

As the Campbell’s and Casio teeter on the brink of losing everything, will they be able to discover that what begins at the crossing ends at the cross?

REVIEW:

Serita Jakes pens an intense, page turning and emotionally stirring novel. It’s full of action, adventure, mystery and surprise. I felt it haunting when the author had B.J. Remington share from her POV, as she reflected on life and the choices she’d made while wavering between life and death inside a school bus as people panicked around her.

Life can get messy when you find yourself tripping over the pain of the past. It can get crazy when you are reacting to life instead of living it. Claudia, daughter to a well known Pastor in town and wife of an assistant DA, was traumatized and suffered with PSTD from the tragedy that happened on the school bus. Flash backs are interwoven in the story as the author had the reader experience parts of that fateful night. Claudia finds herself imprisoned by vivid, unforgettable memories of how her world changed forever when she lost her best friend B.J. What made things worse was that Claudia feared for her life because no one found the person responsible for the disaster.

This author writes in the POV of a few characters which made the story emotionally charged and kept me guessing how things would end up, especially when Claudia’s husband Victor, starts to dig up clues that had been over looked in the original investigation. People get angry when he confronts then and talk about the crime scene in order to track down the person responsible and hopefully stop the pain in his wife’s life and their marriage.

It’s an ending that does not tie everything up in a neat bow. It’s one we’ve seen in today’s headlines. This story deals with loss, suffering, forgiveness, adultery, miscarriages, abuse, PTSD, murder, drinking and mental health struggle. The issues are not sugar coated but brought about in a very real way. Eventually the author shows unconditional love is the only way to move on into the future. This is the first book I’ve read by this author, it won’t be the last. It’s a book you won’t soon forget.

Reviewed by: Nora St.Laurent

The Book Club Network

Elizabeth Camden's The Lady of Bolton Hill ~ Reviewed

2011-12-21T17:57:00.000-08:00

The Lady of Bolton Hill

Elizabeth Camden

Paperback: 334 pages

Publisher: Bethany House (June 1, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0764208942

Description:

Female journalists are rare in 1879, but American-born Clara Endicott has finally made a name for herself with her provocative articles championing London's poor. When the backlash from her work forces a return home to Baltimore, Clara finds herself face-to-face with a childhood sweetheart who is no longer the impoverished factory worker she once knew. In her absence, Daniel Tremain has become a powerful industry giant and Clara finds him as enigmatic as ever. However, Daniel's success is fueled by resentment from past wounds and Clara's deeply-held beliefs about God's grace force Daniel to confront his own motives. When Clara's very life is endangered by one of Daniel's adversaries, they must face a reckoning neither of them ever could have foreseen.

Review:

Now this is a book that I completely loved beginning to end. Page one had me captivated. I'm always nervous about new authors, but Elizabeth Camden with this one novel has made it to the favorite's keeper shelf and I will desperately await more stories to come! What is so extraordinary about this novel is that it was a perfect setting, but for once (something I do not often find with historicals) I could easily translate this and see it in my head as an everyday occurrence in the current time. It's a sad story, and a real story, but it's a beautiful story and so romantic and perfect. It's a romance of two humans and it's a romance of new beginnings with our Lord Christ. Elizabeth Camden has put so much into this book that it is just plain fabulous. I'm delighted to have read it and truly highly recommend it!

*Thanks to Bethany House Publishers for providing a copy for review through

the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance.*

Reviewed by: Margaret Chind

Jennifer Wilson's Running Away to Home ~ Reviewed

2011-12-19T14:39:00.000-08:00

Running Away to Home: Our Family's Journey to Croatia in Search of Who We Are, Where We Came From, and What Really Matters

Jennifer Wilson

Hardcover: 336 pages

Publisher: St. Martin's Press (October 11, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0312598955

Description:

A middle class, Midwestern family in search of meaning uproot themselves and move to their ancestral village in Croatia

“We can look at this in two ways,” Jim wrote, always the pragmatist. “We can panic and scrap the whole idea. Or we can take this as a sign. They’re saying the economy is going to get worse before it gets better. Maybe this is the kick in the pants we needed to do something completely different. There will always be an excuse not to go…”

And that, friends, is how a typically sane middle-aged mother decided to drag her family back to a forlorn mountain village in the backwoods of Croatia.

Review:

I love the books that come out of an inner drive to find something that is missing in life. The ones where the author connects into that empty spot and discovers something about him/herself that leaves him/her forever changed.

Running Away to Home finds a family from urban middle America, living their materialistic, busy-all-the-time-lives. Running to and fro, accomplishing little, constantly striving for that one elusive thing.

Jennifer Wilson is a travel writer, and she and her husband have always dreamed about a sabbatical somewhere exotic. Jennifer’s ancestors are from war-scarred Croatia. So. They head to Croatia to encounter life as it might have been had her family never come to the states.

What they discover is vastly different than life in Urban Iowa. A life where folks are still identified by the political leanings of their parents and grandparents. A place where drinking is an art and maybe the only way to deal with memories for so many. A land where organic is a must rather than a luxury, where neighbors congregate to celebrate, where food and friendship is offered with no strings, where Wilson's family feels embraced and changed.

I would've loved to share some of the reentry issues the Wilson family faced. Maybe there will be a follow up.

Reviewed by: Kelly Klepfer

Amy Clipson's Naomi's Gift ~ Reviewed

2011-12-15T19:29:00.000-08:00

NAOMI’S GIFT

Amy Clipson

Reading level: Ages 18 and up

Hardcover: 192 pages

Publisher: Zondervan (September 12, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0310327350

Description:

Take a trip to Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania, where you'll meet the women of the Kauffman Amish Bakery in Lancaster County. As each woman's story unfolds, you will share in her heartaches, trials, joys, dreams ... and secrets. You'll discover how the simplicity of the Amish lifestyle can clash with the 'English' way of life---and the decisions and consequences that follow. Most importantly, you will be encouraged by the hope and faith of these women, and the importance they place on their families. Naomi's Gift re-introduces twenty-four-year-old Naomi King, who has been burned twice by love and has all but given up on marriage and children. As Christmas approaches---a time of family, faith, and hope for many others---Naomi is more certain than ever her life will be spent as an old maid, helping with the family's quilting business and taking care of her eight siblings. Then she meets Caleb, a young widower with a 7-year-old daughter, and her world is once again turned upside-down. Naomi's story of romantic trial and error and youthful insecurities has universal appeal. Author Amy Clipston artfully paints a panorama of simple lives full of complex relationships, and she carefully explores cultural differences and human similarities, with inspirational results. Naomi's Gift includes all the details of Amish life that Clipston's fans enjoy, while delivering the compelling stories and strong characters that continue to draw legions of new readers.

Review:

Naomi’s Gift takes place in an Amish community. It revolves around Naomi King, a young Amish woman who believes she is destined to spend her life single and helping her mother take care of her siblings. But when widowed Caleb Schmucker and his daughter, Susie, come to visit family things are about to change. Susie and Naomi meet by “chance” and are immediately drawn to each other. When Naomi and Caleb meet, there is an immediate attraction, though neither one are willing to admit it at first.

I loved this book. I was able to relate to Naomi’s character on some level, in regards to wondering if she would ever meet that one perfect guy for her. It was so much fun to watch her character open up to the possibility of love. And Caleb’s character, was fun, too. This is such a wonderful little love story and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves to read stories about the Amish.

Reviewed by: Sarah Porter

Mary Ellis's A Marriage for Meghan ~ Reviewed

2011-12-14T05:03:00.000-08:00

A MARRIAGE FOR MEGHAN
Mary Ellis
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers (October 1, 2011)
ISBN-10: 0736930108

Description:

Fans of superb Amish fiction will welcome the rich and moving stories of The Wayne County series by Mary Ellis, the bestselling author of Abigail’s New Hope, Never Far from Home, and The Way to a Man’s Heart.

Meghan Yost is 19, bright, and eager to prove to her father, the bishop, that she’s mature enough to teach in the Old Order district. But just when Meghan gains confidence and assurance, a troubled student challenges her authority and a male suitor challenges her patience.

Life and love tensions escalate when a string of crimes threaten the Amish community, and handsome FBI agent Thomas Mast arrives to investigate.

Review:

A Marriage for Meghan is book 2 in the Wayne County Series. It follows Meghan Yost, who wants to become the new schoolteacher in her Amish community, but due to being seen as immature by many in the town, she must share the role with her older sister, Catherine. In the meantime, as a result of her independence, she loses her best friend, Jacob Shultz, who is in love with her and wants her to marry him and settle down. While Meghan is going through this, the whole community is going through a difficult time as well. They seem to be the target of hate crimes, so FBI agent Thomas Mast is sent to the community to investigate.

This was an enjoyable book. It was fun to see the story continue from the previous book, Abigail’s New Hope. It was nice to see Meghan’s character grow, and to see her prove herself capable in the eyes of her family and community.

Reviewed by: Sarah Porter

Sigmund Brouwer's Flight of Shadows ~ Reviewed

2011-12-09T04:50:00.000-08:00

Flight of Shadows: A Novel

Sigmund Brouwer

Paperback: 320 pages

Publisher: WaterBrook Press; 1 edition (May 18, 2010)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1400070333

Description:

Her genetic secret could change humanity forever.

Her DNA grants her the ultimate power.

But all she wants is to disappear.

Looming buildings rise into the sky of a near-future America, shadowing the desperate poverty of the soovie parks, death doctors, and fear bombs. In this world of walled cities, where status matters most, Caitlyn Brown is desperate to remain invisible, wrongly believing what she needs to hide is the deformity on her back. The powerful want her for so much more.

She’s forced to take flight again, relying on the help of Razor, a street-smart illusionist she can’t trust. Her only hope is to reach friends already tracked by government.

With a twisted bounty hunter in full pursuit, she and Razor begin to learn the unthinkable about her past and the unique gifts of her DNA. It leads Caitlyn to a choice between the two men who love her, and whether to keep her freedom or sacrifice herself to change human destiny.

In this lightning-fast chase through an all-too-plausible future, best-selling author Sigmund Brouwer is at his best. Flight of Shadows is a terrifying ride into the heart of compelling moral questions about science and society.

Review:

If you love futuristic sci-fi/fantasy books put this one on your list. Not so future America has become segregated into a large, protected colony ruled by religion, or outside of those walls of protection lies the a caste system where the destitute live in Soovie (SUV) parks and are at the mercy of the rich and untouchable. Beyond that, few know, but rumors are that true freedom exists, for the strongest and fittest.

Caitlyn is a young woman, a product of genetic manipulation, thrust from the security of religious safety into the cruel, unknown world. Caitlyn carries a few secrets, some unknown to her. But the secrets relating to the ugly hump on her back make her valuable to many and force her to run, hide and fight for her life. The hunters include a corrupt government, a merciless bounty hunter with revenge boiling in his gut, and those who think she might just be a prize worth owning for various assorted reasons, none of them good.

This novel is not for those of weak knees or stomach. There are moments of brutality. However, this is a page turning, plot twisting, fascinating read.

Reviewed by: Kelly Klepfer

Dan Walsh's Remembering Christmas ~ Reviewed

2011-12-07T05:07:00.000-08:00

Remembering Christmas

by Dan Walsh

Published by Revell

ISBN #: 978-0-8007-1979-1

264 pages

Book Blurb:

Rick Denton lives his life on his terms. He works hard, plays hard, and answers to no one. So when his mother calls on Thanksgiving weekend begging him to come home after his stepfather has a stroke, Rick is more than a little reluctant. He's never liked Art and resents the man's presence in his life, despite the fact that his own father abandoned the family when Rick was just twelve. When what was supposed to be just a couple days helping out at the family bookstore turns into weeks of cashing out old ladies and running off the homeless man who keep hanging about, Rick's attitude sours even more.

Still, slowly but surely, the little bookstore and its quirky patrons--as well as the lovely young woman who works at his side each day--work their magic on him, revealing to Rick the truth about his family, his own life, and the true meaning of Christmas. With skillful storytelling, Dan Walsh creates a Christmas story will have readers remembering every good and perfect gift of Christmas.

REVIEW:

This is a warm cuddly, feel good novel sure to become your next family favorite. It reminds the reader that God uses all things in our life for His Glory and our good. You may not see it at the time because of all the pain and drama but when you look back at the situation you can see the situation didn't take God by surprise. He used the event to change the course of our life. No easy task to get us to change the path we were headed down.

Rick Denton’s life is interrupted when his mom calls and ask him to fill in at the Book Nook. His step father’s in the hospital. She needs to stay with him and can’t be at the book store.

Rick ’s lived life on his own terms after his father abandoned him. He made a point to not get tangled up with his mother’s husband, so that he wouldn't get hurt again. Life was humming along nicely. He was climbing higher and higher on the corporate ladder, he didn’t have time for family, because he was on the pathway to greatness.

Now his mom tells him his step father has had an aneurysm and there was no one to run the store. His mom had never asked for much so when she tearfully asked for his help he reluctantly said he would. He got off the phone with her but hadn’t fully grasped what he just signed up for.

His parents went to church and read the books they sold at the Christian book store they ran - he didn’t! He give his mom a week. He could only take a week away from his clients! That was as much as he could sacrifice. Then when Rick gets there and realizes all he’d have to do -maybe he should reconsider. This was going to take longer than he thought.

The people that show up at the Book Nook, sure felt the need to talk to him about Art, his step father. All this talk was beyond him – he had work to do. No time for chit-chat, didn't they see he had a business to run?

“The Book Nook seems more like an enchanted cottage than a bookstore. A harbor from the cares of life!” Rick was beginning to see why his parents loved their business so much.

Dan’s characters were endearing and I was drawn to them instantly. I enjoyed the fact that most of this novel took place inside a small sweet book store, and last but not least I liked the way this author showed how only God can bring the miracle of Christmas to our lives. He’s the light in our heart that shines for the whole world to see! This is a novel that will get you in the Christmas Spirit on so many levels. I highly recommend it.

Reviewed by: Nora St.Laurent

The Book Club Network

Rose McCauley's Nick's Christmas Carol ` Christmas Bells of Georgia ~ Reviewed

2011-12-05T14:39:00.000-08:00

CHRISTMAS BELLS OF GEORGIA

“Nick’s Christmas Carol”

By Rose Allen McCauley

Published by Barbour

ISBN# 978-1-61626-480-2

350 Pages

Back Cover:

They were sisters once—identical quadruplets—given up for adoption at birth. Now each receives a letter advising her to claim her inheritance and the family she never knew. . .at Christmas. Holly feels betrayed when she learns she’s adopted, while Carol prays for a loving family. Starr thinks it’s all a hoax, and Noelle needs a break from a hopeless situation. There are more surprises in store as each young woman gets just the gift she wants—and needs. You’ll be warmed by love in these interwoven tales of the ultimate Christmas gift. . . .

REVIEW:

Rose Allen McCauley pens a sweet, heart-warming story that will help you catch the Christmas Spirit! I enjoyed reading about her main female character, Carol Peterson, who learns four months before Christmas she is one of four identical quadruplets. They are all schedule to meet on Christmas day! Carol’s been an only child and is excited as the aspect of meeting her siblings.

Carol’s adoptive parents have money so she’s grown up in privilege. Carol Peterson has always known she was adopted but she had no idea she was part of a big family that got split up. This meeting was an exciting and scary gift! How would her sisters feel about her? Would they all get along?

In the search for her family she runs into Nick Powers, a boy from her past. A boy she didn’t treat very nice and made fun of even! Would he remember her and the way she treated him that summer?

Oh, Nick remembers Carol alright, the rich brat who mistreated him that summer in front of all those kids. How could he forget? He’s become a Christian and is learning to forgive and forget. Turn the other cheek. Maybe she’s changed.

It surprised them both at how they felt when they saw each other again. What surprised them both was the fact they had so much in common and enjoyed each others company. Things were different alright! What were they going to do about this? Nick starts to view Carol as a woman he could spend his life with but he struggles with feeling worthy of her love. Carol thinks Nick is her soul mate and just adores his large family after having dinner at his Aunt and Uncles house. What would her parents think?

I live in Georgia so this book was extra enjoyable for me to read because of all the places that Rose talks about in her books. I was filled with delight as I read about Nick and Carol join forces and creativity as they adopt a family for Christmas. They will celebrate with them the 12 days of Christmas. They are very creative about what they give this family and how they give them these gifts every day!

Each story in this compilation is about one of the four quads and how they react to the news that they have identical siblings and will be meeting them at Christmas. It’s definitely a time to rejoice! Do you want to read a story that will make your heart glow, and bring a smile to your face? I suggest this story and the 3 other ones in the four in one collection, titled Christmas Belles of Georgia.

Reviewed by: Nora St.Laurent

The Book Club Network

Donita K. Paul's Dragons onf the Watch ~ Reviewed

2011-12-01T23:22:00.000-08:00

DRAGONS OF THE WATCH

By Donita Paul

Published by: WaterBrook Press (October 4, 2011)

ISBN# 978-1400073412

400 Pages

BOOK DESCRIPTION: Trapped in a forgotten city, bound by secrets, Ellie and Bealomondore must enlist the dragons of the watch to find freedom.

Ellie knows exactly where she is going. She just wants to experience the pomp and circumstance of a royal wedding, then settle into a simple life with a country husband.

With too many choices, Bealomondore’s future is a tangle of possibilities. He is respected, well-known, and admired among the elite of Chiril, but Wulder demands he narrow his focus and follow his Creator, one step at a time.

Both Ellie and Bealomondore’s plans are thwarted when they find themselves lost in an isolated city. As they discern the needs of a group of wild children and a very old man, clues began to surface and a bigger picture is revealed. With the help of the dragons of the watch, can the two tumanhofers find the way out—and perhaps discover their connection to something greater than themselves?

REVIEW:

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this Dragon tale, the only other book by Donita that I’d read was an enchanted Christmas story that I adored. I soon was captivated by how Donita painted a magical world her characters played in. I felt a similar way that C.S. Lewis did when he created Narnia for his book series. Both are allegory stories pertaining to God’s preeminence and how He cares for us all. Each story has their unique characters that the reader will adore and a magical land they grow to love. Each of the stories have interesting names. Although I did find Donita’s names a bit more challenging and would never read this story out loud because I’d never be able to pronounce them! Grin!

Ellicinderpart Clarenbessipawl sees the invitations that arrive at the house and knows what it says because her grandfather has taught her to read. It’s an invitation to the royal wedding and coronation of Princess Tipper and Prince Tayrus. She dreams of going to the event but doesn’t see how that will happen until her Aunt Tiffenbeth and Uncle Stemikenjon agree to escort Ellie to the grand event.

I was thrilled for Ellie until her goat Tak shows up and the Aunt and Uncle tell her she had to take it to the neighbors’ house before she can join them. They head off with instructions on several stops they could meet up at. I thought it was sad and strange that they would send a young one off on her own with a goat and make plans to join up with her later. Why didn’t they all go together?

Another thing that struck me was that Ellie followed their directions without one complaint at all. She took it as her lot in life. I get more complaints from my kids by just asking them to take out the garbage. But I guessed she was confident she knew the way and would catch up with her aunt and Uncle in time. I know that I get turned around with road signs and maps. Here Ellie was going there was no such thing. She was in a strange new town and knew her way around it. I have a friend that can do that! Wow!

But as I suspected Ellie might do, she takes a wrong turn and ends up in a land with dragons and large, unruly children that are all six years old. How strange is that? I didn’t see Ellie getting out of this mess in time to join up with her Aunt and Uncle and making the Royal event. I was disappointed for Ellie but was drawn into this strange new world and thrilled she ran into Bealomondore, along with some other colorful characters I adored. I felt compassion for Ellie and rooted for her as she faced so many challenges with such a patient spirit. I admired her.

Wulder is a Yahweh - God character in the story – like Aslan in C.S. Lewis story but different, but just like the Narnia series it brings parts of the bible and attributes of God to life and the reader can experience them in a dramatic arena, that’s entertaining and powerful! I was caught up in the efforts of Ellie and Bealomondore to escape the mysterious city they were trapped in. This author whisked me into her magical world hook line and sinker. It’s full of adventure, action and intrigue. This is one entertaining story with a deeper meaning the whole family will enjoy!

Reviewed by: Nora St.Laurent

The Book Club Network

Vicki McDonough's Long Trail Home ~ Reviewed

2011-11-30T23:17:00.000-08:00

LONG TRAIL HOME

Vicki McDonough

Paperback: 304 pages

Publisher: Moody Publishers; New Edition edition (November 1, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0802405851

Description:

The Long Trail Home is third in a six-book series about four generations of the Morgan family living, fighting, and thriving amidst a turbulent Texas history spanning from 1845 to 1896. Although a series, each book can be read on its own.When Riley Morgan returns home after fighting in the War Between the States, he is excited to see his parents and fiancee again. But he soon learns that his parents are dead and the woman he loved is married. He takes a job at the Wilcox School for the blind just to get by. He keeps his heart closed off but a pretty blind woman, Annie, threatens to steal it. When a greedy man tries to close the school, Riley and Annie band together to fight him and fall in love.But when Riley learns the truth about Annie, he packs and prepares to leave the school that has become his home and the woman who has thawed his heart. Will he change his mind and find the love he craves' Or will stubbornness deprive him from the woman he needs' Through painful circumstances, Riley and Annie learn that the loving and sovereign hand of God cannot be thwarted.

Review:

Long Trail Home is about a young man named Riley Morgan. When he returns home after fighting in the Civil War, he finds that his family is dead and his fiancée has married another man. When trying to figure out what to do next, he decides to take a temporary job at the Wilcox School for the Blind. While there, he meets a young woman named Annie. She came to the school at age 11 after her Pick-Pocketing father abandons her. What Riley doesn’t know is that Annie isn’t really blind…she has only been pretending to be blind so that she could stay at the school. As the story unfolds, they develop feelings for each other, but both are afraid to actually admit it.

This was such a wonderful story. I loved watching Annie’s journey, as she grows from a girl forced to steal for her father’s approval, to a young woman, convicted of her sins by a traveling pastor. And Riley’s journey from being bitter about the death of his family to opening his heart to the Lord again is wonderful to read as well. This book is a great read and highly recommended.

Reviewed by: Sarah Porter

Stephen Lawhead's The Skin Map ~ Reviewed

2011-11-29T14:47:00.000-08:00

THE SKIN MAP

By Stephen R Lawhead

Published by Thomas Nelson

ISBN#9781595548047

403 Pages

Back Cover:

Kit Livingstone's great-grandfather has re-appeared with an unbelievable story--the ley lines throughout Britain are not merely the stuff of legends but truly are pathways to other worlds. So few people know how to use them, though, that doing so is fraught with danger.

But one explorer knew more than most. Because of his fear of being unable to find his way home, he developed an intricate code and tattooed his map onto his skin. But the map has since been lost and rival factions are in desperate competition to recover it. What none of them yet realize is that the skin map itself is not the prize at the end of this race . . . but merely the first goal of a vast and marvelous quest to regain Paradise.

Enter the ultimate treasure hunt--with a map made of skin, a playing field of alternate realities, and a prize that is the greatest mystery of all.

REVIEW:

Kit Livingstone and his girlfriend (only because he didn’t have the time to find another) Wilhelmina are watching life pass them by. Until one day Kit is in the middle of a day where everything is going wrong, he starts to walk because the transit system is not working and is caught up in a storm. When things settle he runs into a man who says he’s his great-grand father. How could that be? He’d never met this man before. He turns to flee when Cosimo tells him, “I need your help with a project. It will be the adventure of a life time – of several lifetimes. But it will change yours forever.” Cosimo has discovered a way to travel through space, time and alternate universes using ley lines, which are forces of energy that are intersections between worlds.

Kit doesn’t know what to think. Was this real or a dream? He has to go home and sort this out. Cosimo lets him. He needs a willing partner who believes in the search for the Skin Map which will lead them to “the secret of the universe or something even more significant and momentous? He told Kit.” Should he join the quest to find the Skin Map? He gathered that it’s a treasure map everyone wants because it’s the road map to the ley-lines. What would he do?

Thanks to BookSneeze® who provided me with a complimentary copy of this amazing audio book. The man reading had a British accent and read with so much expression and created different voices for the many characters I felt as if I was there. The reader brought The Skin Map to life for me. It was a very unique experience. I really enjoyed. I've never read anything so riveting and illuminating as The Skin Map. Stephen Lawhead is a brilliant and imaginative writer. I liked his well timed sense of humor and his quirky characters. I liked his main characters and his sub-characters some are compassionate, quick witted and others are full of surprises.

The author starts the story in current time and whisks them back to Sept 1666 where life is quite primitive. The time travel is through ley lines. Kit is dropped into Cosimo and Sir Henry's world this way. They both keep Kit in the dark about their search for treasure. The author reveals things to Kit and the reader at the same time. I liked that but poor Kit gets in trouble because he doesn't understand the rules and what this mission is all about. I was so captivated by the adventure and search for the skin map, time travel, and them running from the bad guys I felt as if I might run into Kit during my daily routine. They were that believable.

I could see this series as an amazing big screen movie. This author did a great job of creating visual scenes and a setting I could picture and feel part of. I can’t wait to read the next book in this series. These books are a little expensive because they are in hard back but I’m telling you they are worth every dollar you spend to read this master story teller. I highly recommend this great adventure.

Reviewed by: Nora St. Laurent

The Book Club Network

Deborah Malone's Death in Dahlonega ~ Reviewed

2011-11-28T08:02:00.000-08:00

Death in Dahlonega

By Deborah Malone

Published by Lamppost Inc

ISNB 13: 978-1-60039-190-3

A friendly adventure turns to murder and mayhem in the north Georgia mountains. Historical writer Trixie Montgomery is asked to cover Gold Rush Days in the picturesque Georgia mountain town, Dahlonega. Trixie seizes the chance to mix business with pleasure and asks her best friend, Dee Dee to tag along.

Their well laid plans go awry when Dee Dee is discovered standing over the lifeless body of prominent citizen, John Tatum - the very man she'd had a run in with earlier that day - holding a bloody pickax in her hands. Can Trixie find a way to finish her assignment and keep Dee Dee out of the slammer?

In this fun cozy mystery, Malone sets you down in the heart of Dahlonega, GA, the seat of the country's first gold rush. Rich in ambiance, and quirky characters, it's a delightful read. Novel Rocket and I recommend it.

Ane Mulligan, Sr. Editor

Novel Rocket

Pamela Meyers's Thyme for Love ~ Reviewed

2011-11-23T13:15:00.000-08:00

Thyme for Love

By Pamela S. Meyers

Published by Oak Tara

ISBN 978-1-60290-302-9

April Love has always dreamed of being a chef. But she didn't expect a former fiancé or murder to be part of the recipe for her new job.

When April Love signs on to be an in-house chef at an old lakeside mansion in Canoga Lake, Wisconsin, she comes face to face with her long-lost love, the drop-dead gorgeous Marc Throne. It doesn't take long for their old magnetism to recharge, but how can she trust a guy who left her nearly at the altar eight years earlier? Her gut tells her something has happened to Marc in between—something he's reluctant to reveal.

When April's boss is murdered, Marc is accused of the crime. Unless April can find out who really killed Ramon Galvez, her chances for love will end up at the county jail. But someone else is just as determined she not solve the mystery ... and will go to any length to stop her.

Endorsements for Thyme for Love:

"Thyme for Love is a compelling romance with unique characters that will live on in your hearts long after you turn the last page." ~ Ane Mulligan, Sr. Editor, Novel Rocket

"Fresh, clever, witty, real. That rare romance that leaps to 3-D life and keeps you enraptured—and guessing." ~ Tammy Barley, award winning author of The Sierra Chronicles, Exec Ed., WorldTalk Internaitonal Christian books, Destination: Earth magazine.

"Great food and a murder are all the rage today for haute cuisine. I'm looking forward to the adventures!" ~ Bonnie S. Calhoun, Publisher of Christian Fiction Online Magazine, author of Cooking the Books.

"A romantic mystery, full of twists, turn, fancy cooking, a hunky hero, and a heroine who doesn't take no for an answer." ~ Cynthia Hickey, author of the Summer Meadows Mysteries and Unraveling Love.

Susan Page Davis's Captive Trail ~ Reviewed

2011-11-22T14:19:00.000-08:00

CAPTIVE TRAIL

Susan Page Davis

Paperback: 304 pages

Publisher: Moody Publishers; New Edition edition (September 1, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0802405843

Description:

The Captive Trail is second in a six-book series about four generations of the Morgan family living, fighting, and thriving amidst a turbulent Texas history spanning from 1845 to 1896. Although a series, each book can be read on its own. Taabe Waipu has run away from her Comanche village and is fleeing south in Texas on a horse she stole from a dowry left outside her family's teepee. The horse has an accident and she is left on foot, injured and exhausted. She staggers onto a road near Fort Chadbourne and collapses.On one of the first runs through Texas, Butterfield Overland Mail Company driver Ned Bright carries two Ursuline nuns returning to their mission station. They come across a woman who is nearly dead from exposure and dehydration and take her to the mission.With some detective work, Ned discovers Taabe Waipu identity. He plans to unite her with her family, but the Comanche have other ideas, and the two end up defending the mission station. Through Taabe and Ned we learn the true meaning of healing and restoration amid seemingly powerless situations.

Review:

Captive Trail is about a young white woman named Taabe Waipu who was kidnapped at a young age from her family by a band of Comanche’s. Though she is forced to forget the white man’s ways, as she grows up, there is a yearning in her heart to find her real family, though she can’t remember them. After several years, she finds the courage to take a horse and escape. When an accident happens along the way, she is rescued by a group of nuns that are settling in the area to start a school for girls, and a Mail Company driver named Ned Bright. As the nuns begin to nurse her back to health and learn to communicate with her, Taabe also finds that she is falling for Ned Bright, and Ned is feeling the same. Ned is determined to help her find her family, while trying to keep her safe from the Comanche, whom Taabe knows will be coming for her.

It took me a little while to get into this book. It was very interesting, though. I enjoyed seeing how quickly Taabe was able to begin picking up the English language again. It amazed me how much she had forgotten over her years with the Comanche. However, her determination to find her family again was admirable, especially with the trials she faced in trying to escape.

Reviewed by: Sarah Porter

Melody Carlson's The Christmas Shoppe ~ Reviewed

2011-11-21T13:09:00.000-08:00

The Christmas Shoppe

By Melody Carlson

Published by: Revell

ISBN #: 978-0-8007-1926-5

168 Pages

About Book:

The small town of Parrish Springs is not ready for Matilda Honeycutt. A strange older woman with scraggly gray hair and jewelry that jangles as she walks, Matilda is certainly not the most likely person to buy the old Barton Building on the town's quaint main street. When it becomes apparent that her new shop doesn't fit the expectations of Parrish Springs residents, a brouhaha erupts. After all, Christmas is approaching, and the last thing the town needs is a junky shop run by someone who looks and acts like a gypsy. But as townsfolk venture into the strange store, they discover that old memories can bring new life and healing.

REVIEW:

I’ve enjoyed several of Melody Carlson’s Christmas books and this one is no exception. The Christmas Shoppe reminded me of of two things, one the movie with Johnny Depp called Chocolat, where a mother and daughter set up a chocolate shop in a small town in France and also a book called The Legend of the Candy Cane, where a man comes to town and opens a mysterious shop that turns out to be a candy shop. In each of these stories the whole town watches in anticipation to see what the shop owner will sell.

Melody’s story starts out in a similar way, the whole town is intrigued at what kind of store will open in their small town of Parrish Springs. Matilda Honeycutt is setting up shop and doesn't want to tell just yet what type of shop she has in mind. “Matilda has a little something for each one of them (towns people) sitting on her cluttered shelves, just waiting to be discovered.”

Everyone speculates and wonders what is behind the papered-up windows and locked doors! The town counsel is watching and wants to make sure Matilda follows the rules. She has to follow strict guidelines. When she is cornered about these rules and would she comply with them, she asks the board her own questions and confronts Rose “The secret value of this treasure is impossible to measure-what do you think peace is worth Rose? Impossible to measure?”

Rose ponders that idea and leaves Matilda alone. She talks to another, “Please don’t turn down a gift, George. You might not get another chance. Today is here. It’s yours for the taking! Please, just take it?”

It’s an easy read that helps you see the gifts only God can provide! Definitely a warm, fuzzy, feel good novel with a few twists and subtle messages for the characters and you to ponder. This was a sweet tale that helps the reader catch the spirit of Christmas.

Reviewed by: Nora St.Laurent

The Book Club Network

MaryLu Tyndall's Surrender the Dawn ~ Reviewed

2011-11-18T02:37:00.000-08:00

Surrender the Dawn
Book 3 in Surrender to Destiny Series
By MaryLu Tyndall
2011
Barbour Publishing
978-1-60260-167-3

Review by Michelle Griep

When the war of 1812 robs Cassandra Channing of her father and brothers, she must find a way to support her mother and younger siblings without being forced to marry a man she does not love. Determined to remain independent, she hires a privateer, captained by the town rogue.

Tortured by guilt over his parents’ death, Luke Heaton spends his time drinking and gambling. When Cassandra offers him enough money to fix up his ship, he sees an opportunity to redeem his reputation and help the lady he has loved from afar. Things go well until the British blackmail him into selling supplies to their ships> Still Luke cannot allow Cassandra’s family to be tossed on the streets.

When Cassandra begins to suspect Luke’s nefarious activities, she is heartbroken. Hoping to prove her suspicions wrong, she sets out to catch him in the act. But what she doesn’t expect is to get caught up in a massive British invasion…and one of the most decisive battles of the war where lives, liberty, and the future of a nation are at stake.

Whewie…hold onto your bonnets ladies because this is one wild ride! Surrender the Dawn is the third and last installment in the Surrender to Destiny Series and it’s by far my favorite, for so many reasons.

First off, I love how at the end the reader gets to see previous scenes from earlier books in other character’s perspectives. What an intricate weave of plot author MaryLu Tyndall ties together.

Secondly, what’s not to love about hero Luke Heaton? This is one bad boy lead character who’s completely irresistible. Besides the fact that he’s drop-dead gorgeous, he’s got a heart as big as the sea he sails on.

And last but not least, the amount of history worked into this tale is well worth the read. I especially liked one of the last scenes where heroine Cassandra Channing is shoulder to shoulder with Francis Scott Key with the bombs bursting in air.

If you enjoy history, snappy dialogue, and lots of action, Surrender to Destiny is the series for you.

Laurie Alice Eakes's A Necessary Deception ~ Reviewed

2011-11-16T23:41:00.000-08:00

A NECESSARY DECEPTION

By Laurie Alice Eakes

Published by Revell

ISBN#987-0-8007-3466-4

346 Pages

Back Cover:

When young widow Lady Lydia Gale helps a French prisoner obtain parole, she never dreamed he would turn up in her parlor. But just as the London Season is getting under way, there he is, along with a few other questionable personages. While she should be focused on helping her headstrong younger sister prepare for her entré into London society, Lady Gale finds herself preoccupied with the mysterious Frenchman. Is he a spy or a suitor? Can she trust him? Or is she putting her family in danger?

Readers will enjoy being drawn into this world of elegance and intrigue, balls and masquerades. Author Laurie Alice Eakes whisks readers through the drawing rooms of London amid the sound of rustling gowns on this exciting quest to let the past stay in the past and let love guide the future.

REVIEW:

Laurie Eakes whisks the reader into 1812 – London Society – into the Regency Era. It’s a world filled with drawing rooms, masquerade balls and a time when women were presented into society in hopes of a marriage proposal.

This author knows her stuff and brings historical richness to the story I adored. It was fun to read about the social rules for women to keep their reputation pure. It was also interesting how most of these rules didn’t apply to widows and how most of these rules could be used to trap a man or women into an unwanted marriage proposal in order to keep a woman’s reputation in tact.

Widow, Lady Lydia Gale, age twenty-six was trying to find where she fit into society. She wasn’t married long when her husband was killed in the war. Lydia made her sisters her focus. She wanted them to have a better marriage opportunity than she had so she worked hard to make sure things were set up elegantly in order to be presented into society properly.

In the middle of her preparations, Lady Lydia went on a secret mission to repay a kindness shown her husband before his death. In order to do that Lady Lydia had to go places most ladies would never been seen. The first line in the novel says, “Entrée into the prison proved easy for Lady Lydia Gale.” I was hooked from the start..

Lydia was meeting Christian de Meuse, a French man, who helped her husband an Englishman, at the end of his life. This just wasn’t done. On behalf of her husband she wanted to do what she could to show she appreciated his help.

Things get crazy after she visits the prison and soon discovers Christian de Meuse could be a spy. Would she be in trouble for helping him if he turns out to be a spy? He has told her things, could she trust him?

Lady Lydia is brave, and devoted to her family. She’s willing to sacrifice what she can because she wants the best for them. She’s also self-sufficient and strong willed. She soon finds herself in predicaments that are dangerous for her and her family. She made and emotional decision that puts her life at risk, her reputation and causes her to struggle in her faith and relationship in God.

This was an intriguing story filled with mystery and reminded me a little of a T.V. series, Murder She Wrote, with Angela Landsberry, back in that time period. The novel is sweet, fun, romance Regency style, and full of twists, surprises and scandal. I’m thankful for the review copy of this book.

I enjoyed the Regency setting and the minor characters in this tale. They were delightful and enjoyed the natural spiritual thread. Stories like this make me appreciate our current time with our cars, cell phones and conveniences. It was harder to track down clues to solve the mystery back then, but people were different back then too. They paid attention to their surrounding and what people did. They weren’t obsessed with video games, and iphones. This is a fun read and I recommend this book to the historical minded and those who like a good mystery!

Reviewed by:Nora St.Laurent

The Book Club Network

Jennifer Rogers Spinola's Southern Fried Sushi ~ Reviewed

2011-11-16T00:55:00.000-08:00

Southern Fried Sushi

By Jennifer Rogers Spinola

Published by Barbour Publishing, Inc.

ISBN: 978-1-61626-364-5

Back Cover:

Ride the rollercoaster of Shiloh Jacobs’s life as her dreams derail, sending her on a downward spiral from the heights of an AP job in Tokyo to penniless in rural Virginia. Trapped in a world so foreign to her sensibilities and surrounded by a quirky group of friends, will she break through her hardened prejudices before she loses those who want to help her? Can she find the key to what changed her estranged mother’s life so powerfully before her death that she became a different woman—and can it help Shiloh too?

Review:

Southern Fried Sushi is an intriguing combination of Tokyo, with its fast-paced lifestyle and elbow-to-elbow high rises, and the calm and peaceful lifestyle of America’s south. Shiloh’s life is an odd mixture of both, although she’s most comfortable amidst the hustle and bustle of Tokyo. Or so she thinks, until a family tragedy sends her to a quaint town in Virginia. The fried food, collard greens, and mushy bread aren’t quite what she expected, but the people she meets along the way add palatability to her trip. Even draw her. This unexpected trip challenges her to see things and people differently, including her deceased, estranged mother.

I enjoyed Jennifer’s spunky writing and I found the dual settings unique. It was also fun to learn about Japanese culture, especially from one of their younger members. However, at times I felt this was overdone and forced. Personally, I found all the foreign words, which were often followed by definitions, distracting, but I imagine those intrigued by other cultures will enjoy this aspect of the novel. My interest wasn’t piqued until about forty pages in as much of the beginning presented conversations over various foods and other details that didn’t seem to contribute to the story. There were intriguing conflicts sprinkled in the early chapters, like Shiloh’s boyfriend troubles and a nearly missed deadline. However, I felt the long discourse offered in between detracted from the story. Once we got to Virginia, I caught a glimpse of Shiloh’s true struggles and began to empathize with her.

Those who enjoy lighter fiction that centers on unique locations will love Southern Fried Sushi.

Reviewed by: Jennifer Slattery

Clash of the Titles

Jamie Carie's Pirate of My Heart ~ Reviewed

2011-11-14T13:13:00.000-08:00

Pirate of My Heart

By: Jamie Carie

Published by B&H

ISBN#: 978-08054-4815-3

306 pages

Book Cover:

When her doting father dies, Lady Kendra Townsend is given a choice: marry the horrid man of her cold, money-grubbing uncle's choosing or leave England to risk a new life in America with unknown relatives. Armed with the faith that God has a plan for her, Kendra boards a cargo ship and meets American sea captain Dorian Colburn. But the captain has been wounded by a woman before and guards his independent life. A swashbuckling man doesn't need an English heiress to make him slow down, feel again, or be challenged with questions about his faith-or so he thinks. It is not until Dorian must save Kendra from the dark forces surrounding her that he decides she may be worth the risk.

REVIEW:

I was drawn to this book by the book cover and the title, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect! I ‘m thankful for the review copy of this entertaining adventure! This author pulls at your heart strings from the start when Lady Kendra is born and her mom Eilleen dies, poor Edward, Kendra’s dad, is left to raise his daughter alone! He does well as he devotes his entire life to raising her properly. His relationship with his daughter is special and brought a smile to my face!

Then Andrew Townsend arrives on the scene. He’s Edward’s twin brother. He begs Edward to help him out financially. Kendra knows her father wants to show God’s love to his brother, maybe help turn his life around, but tragedy strikes and Lady Kendra is left alone with her selfish, greedy uncle, to provide for her. The Uncle gives her two choices: she can marry a man that has sought her hand in marriage, who’s older than dirt or she can go live in America with relatives - she has to pick one – Kendra was no longer welcome in her own home!

Lady Kendra chooses America. Maybe these relatives would be nicer. How bad could it be? She has no idea the danger that awaits her on a ship full of men. She’s innocent and thought the best of everyone so she goes on board. Kendra has a strong faith and confidence God knew what was best for her even in tragic times.

Captain Dorian Colburn runs a cargo business. His rule is no passengers on his ship. But his first mate gives into Andrew Towsend’s pleading to take his niece to America so she could care for sick relatives. Andrew was willing to pay handsomely for his request.

Lady Kendra was very beautiful which sweetens the deal. Dorian was furious with his first mate until he met Kendra. Dorian emotions went all crazy inside when he spoke with her. He’d told himself he’d have to stay away from that one! He made a vow to Bachelorhood! Women tried to trap him into marriage all the time - he knew their tricks and he would not let this one catch him either!

Captain Dorian feels responsible to take care of Lady Kendra and protect her from the men. She was elegant and he wanted no harm to befall her. Lady Kendra and the Captain instantly start a playful banter and verbal sparing, each had a quick wit and sense of humor I enjoyed.

Lady Kendra fears pirates will take over their ship, where would she hide? The Captain assures her they won’t encounter pirates on his watch. Lady Kendra does her best to believe him and seek Gods' will for her life in this foreign land with relatives that don’t know her.

This is an enjoyable, sweet story of Lady Kendra and Captain Dorian. Parts of their relationship frustrated me as neither wanted to admit their love for the other and hurt my heart as Captain Dorian and Lady Kendra assumed the worst about the other. They react to each other out of their past pain, instead of talking things out.Ugh!

This novel is filled with action, adventure, love, redemption, trust, acceptance and hope. Some characters jump to conclusions without all the facts and behave poorly. I haven’t read a book by this author before. I’ll definitely jump into another adventure she’s written, this book was pure enjoyment! Look forward to another adventure this author will take me on!

Reviewed by: Nora St.Laurent

The Book Club Network

Kathi Macias's A Christmas Journey Home ~ Reviewed

2011-11-11T00:44:00.000-08:00

A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY HOME

By Kathi Macias

Published by New Hope Publishers (October 5, 2011)

ISBN# 978-1596693289

240 Pages

Back Cover:

During Isabella Alcantara’s seventh month of pregnancy, her parents and siblings are murdered in gang- and drug-related violence, simply because their home was targeted by mistake. Isabella knows she was spared only because she now lives in a different location, but she knows too that the same thing could easily happen to her and her husband, Francisco. When her grandfather offers to hire a “coyote” to bring them across the border to America, she agrees. But Francisco and Isabella are abandoned by the coyote and left to die. Francisco then valiantly sacrifices himself to get Isabella to safety. Homeless, nearly penniless, pregnant, and alone, Isabella determines to find a way to honor her promise to her beloved husband.

Living on one of the smaller spreads along the Arizona border, Miriam Nelson becomes furious with God and turns from her faith when her border patrol agent husband, David, is killed in a skirmish with drug smugglers. Though her mother and young son do their best to woo her back from the anger and bitterness that have overtaken her, they make little headway. Two widows—one driven by fear and a promise, the other by bitterness and revenge—must make their journeys along different pathways, but with the same destination: a barn full of animals that stands waiting for them on Christmas Eve. Forced to face their personal demons, Isabella and Miriam soon discover a common yearning that will bind them together in a most miraculous way.

REVIEW:

Looking for a warm cozy feel good Christmas story? – It’s not found here! Just like Jesus’ life on earth was not filled with cute fuzzy experiences but what he went through here on earth changed the world forever. It was miraculous and so was the ending of this book. Kathi Macias writes stories with heart and they have a mission. This story is to make people aware of Illegal Immigration. Even at the mention of this topic images and emotions stir, Kathi doesn't take sides. She shows the situation from many angels. I really liked that about her books.

This author looks at two women from different parts of the world - living completely diverse lives. Isabella is in Mexico, recently married and is 19 years old. After Isabella’s family is murdered by drug Lords her grandfather gives the couple his blessing and life savings. He wants them to flee to America in hopes of a better life.

Isabella’s husband Francisco secures a Coyote to help them get to the Promised Land. Instead they find themselves all alone in the desert, with no hope of survival.

Miriam is a widow raising her young son with her mother. Her husband patrolled the Borders and was killed doing his job. Enforcing immigration laws was what he did and she was angry at “those” people! The ones trying to cross the boarder, they were all the same and responsible for her being alone!

The author has you empathize with these women and their struggle, each trying to push past their hurts, fear and walk one step at a time trying to hear from God. Living out the Christian life wasn’t easy for Miriam or Isabella.

This is not an easy read as Isabella goes through a series of unfortunate events. It’s hard to read because I know that this kind of thing does exist. Kathi doesn’t get graphic but gives you a glimpse into their struggle. I like how this author shows the grandfather interceding for the young couple! He knows the power of prayer and does it without ceasing!

This is an emotional, gripping tale that will have you look at this situation with new eyes! Kathi also shows what greed, can lead to and what poverty does to people. In the end and all throughout the story reveals how we can only make it thru impossible situations with God working in us and through us with His love, compassion and forgiveness. When we let God work in us and through us our life and the people in our life are forever changed. I highly recommend this story and Kathi’s Extreme Devotion series; her books are unforgettable in so many ways!

Reviewed by: Nora St.Laurent

The Book Club Network

Janelle Mowery's When Two Hearts Meet ~ Reviewed

2011-11-09T19:25:00.000-08:00

WHEN TWO HEARTS MEET

Janelle Mowery

Paperback: 304 pages

Publisher: Harvest House Publishers (October 1, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0736928103

Description:

Janelle Mowery (When All My Dreams Come True and When Love Gets in the Way) concludes her popular Colorado Runaway series with another adventurous story of faith, hope, and love in the Wild West.

Rachel Garrett finds that attaining her dream of becoming a nurse is fraught with peril. A deputy sheriff with a wall around his heart doesn’t help matters, but when she learns why Luke Mason has barricaded his heart, her desire to heal confronts an even greater challenge. Her need of his protection from an unknown assailant might be the force that sends his wall crashing down around them.

Luke became a deputy in order to find the men who killed his father. He turns his back on God, only to run into the fiery Miss Garrett, who is a constant reminder of his lost faith. As Luke hunts for Rachel’s attacker, he finds she has snared his heart. Faced with the fear of losing another loved one, he must decide whether he can learn to rely on God to save her—or run from the love both offer.

Review:

When Two Hearts Meet revolves around a young nurse named Rachel Garrett who moves to the Colorado Territory to work with Dr. Barnes, in Rockdale, Colorado. Her path keeps crossing with Deputy Luke Mason, who, despite his efforts to stay away from her, finds himself losing his heart to Rachel. When Rachel gets attacked by an unknown assailant, Luke decides to do all he can to bring them to justice.

This was such a great book. I love books set in the Old West. I enjoyed watching the change in Luke in this book. In the beginning, he is mad at God for taking his father from him at a young age, but through Rachel’s influence, you see Luke’s heart soften towards God throughout the book. This is a great read, and I highly recommend it!

Reviewed by: Sarah Porter

Deeanne Gist's Love on the Line ~ Reviewed

2011-11-07T20:00:00.000-08:00

LOVE ON THE LINE

By Deeanne Gist

Published by: Bethany House

ISBN# 978-0-7042-0409-8

365 Pages

Back Cover:

Rural switchboard operator Georgie Gail is proud of her independence in a man's world ... which makes it twice as vexing when the telephone company sends a man to look over her shoulder.

Dashing Luke Palmer is more than he appears though. He's a Texas Ranger working undercover to infiltrate a notorious gang of train robbers. Repairing telephones and tangling with this tempestuous woman is the last thing he wants to do. But when his stakeout puts Georgie in peril, he realizes more than his job is on the line.

REVIEW:

Why do I love Deeanne Gist books? Let me count the ways. First off I like the face she writers about smart, but sensitive women – these are women with a heart to do the right thing – and are often pioneers of their times. Second – Deeanne loves history and finds the most unusual and interesting things women did that wasn’t well publicized.

Third – The historical depth to her books help me get a peek into how folks lived back then and realize how far we’ve come socially and technologically in such a short time span. It’s astounding.

I’m thankful for the review copy of such a fun and educational book! I enjoyed Georgie Gail, the rural switchboard operator very much. I liked her spunk and the passion she had for birds that came calling at her window sill and in her garden. It was also fascinating to read about what was asked of a phone operator. People called Georgie to inquire about the shows playing at the Opera house and what times the show were. They called her to find out the price of turkeys and could they be delivered, called for the time because their time piece stopped working and my favorite call was to ask Georgie to watch for their cow that run off.

Georgie has a 12 year old helper named Bettina, who I enjoyed. Bettina got paid to deliver messages to people who didn’t have a phone. Georgia paid her out of her own money to help give the girl some treats her family couldn’t afford. All is well until Bettina says she wants to sell bird eggs to a man willing to pay her $5.00 for them and says, “I just wanted a sarsaparilla stick or one of them rock-and-rye drops. And sometimes, I get me a powerful thirst for a Dr. Pepper. I could get all that fer a nickel and still have money left over.” My have things changed. Imagine what she could get for five dollars back then.

Georgie’s mission is to save the birds. She felt it’s criminal to kill birds and their babies to decorate hats! Birds were our friends not something to be chased down and kill only to become an ornament on someone’s hat.

Then Luke Palmer storms into Georgie’s world. Luke’s the new lineman for the SW & T phone company. His job is to repair, install new phone lines and silicate new customers. He’s also an undercover Sheriff on a mission to catch train robbers, Frank Comer and his gang. He hopes to infiltrate a gang and get their ring leader. Frank Comer is a Robin Hood type of train robber. He only steals from the rich being the banks and lets the poor keep their money. People love him and don’t say much about the robberies, which makes Luke’s job harder.

Luke is prideful and has been on the road chasing bad guys so long he forgot how to treat a lady. Luke and Georgie butt heads! Both are strong willed and focused on their separate goals. Luke soon realizes Georgie had to be on his team in order for him to get the information he needed to complete his mission. That’s when the fun begins. Luke starts singing a different tune! Georgie wonders about him! Is he for real? Grin!

Deanne doesn’t disappoint. I learned so much about this time period and what it took to be a switchboard operator, all the while Deeann gives the reader fun information without bogging them down. This novel has all the winning combinations for me! This story was just plain fun! I highly recommend it!

Reviewed by:Nora St.Laurent

The Book Club Network

Diane Noble's The Betrayal ~ Reviewed

2011-11-04T12:04:00.000-07:00

The Betrayal: Brides of Gabriel, Book Two

Diane Noble

Paperback: 304 pages

Publisher: Avon Inspire; Original edition (July 26, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0061980943

Description:

Ensnared in a religion she increasingly questions, Bronwyn faces an impossible choice.

When recently widowed Bronwyn becomes the second wife to Gabriel MacKay, she promises her new sister wife and best friend, Mary Rose, that the marriage will remain platonic. But she finds herself falling in love with the man who has promised to keep her safe—even as her heart struggles with her promise to her friend. When Gabriel marries a third wife, and as the practice of polygamy increases and the age of brides decreases, Bronwyn begins to question the righteousness of this new religion.

Even as the Saints journey to Salt Lake Valley, their new promised land, Bronwyn and Mary Rose plot their escape. But when they are suspected of treachery by Brigham Young's secret army—whose mission it is to punish apostates—the two sister wives face the most difficult decision of their lives, one that can mean life or death for those they love.

Review:

The Betrayal is book two of the Brides of Gabriel series, and revolves around the Mormon church. In this book, recently widowed Bronwyn becomes the second wife to Gabriel McKay, who’s first wife is her best friend, Mary Rose. Though she promises to keep the relationship platonic, she finds herself falling in love with Gabriel. As the story progresses, Gabriel takes a third wife, and Bronwyn and Mary Rose begin to realize the false teachings of the Mormon church, but are not sure what action to take, as the consequences of speaking out are severe. Bronwyn and Mary Rose begin to plan a means of escape, but if they are caught, it could cost them their lives.

I really enjoyed this book. I wish I had been able to read book one, but this book does a good job of filling the reader in, so you don’t feel like you missed much. One thing I liked about this book is how Bronwyn and Mary Rose’s eyes were opened to the TRUTH. It just goes to show that if you really want to know the truth, God will reveal it to you.

Reviewed by: Sarah Porter

Sandra Bricker's Always the Wedding Planner Never the Bride ~ Reviewed

2011-11-03T05:07:00.000-07:00

Always the Wedding Planner, Never the Bride

By Sandra D Bricker

Published by Abingdon Press

ISBN #: 978-1-4267-3160-0

314 Pages

Book Description:

As a wedding planner, Sherilyn Caine should have the perfect wedding experience...

After all, she just landed her dream job at the wedding destination hotel, The Tanglewood. The rest should be a piece of cake for Sherilyn's Type A personality.

But while everything else goes smoothly, her own wedding plans start to sink right before her eyes. One way or the other, Sherilyn is determined to make this wedding work—until the latest development threatens to call the whole thing off. Is it possible that Sherilyn is allergic to her fiancé?

Review:

I became aware of Sandra’s novel when it won the ACFW’s Book Club pick for December. I was thankful for the review copy and can’t wait for the discussion on the ACFW book club loop. The cover of this book says fun, fun, fun. I wasn’t disappointed.

Sandra has Emma Rae Travis and Sherilyn Carrie meet in college and then go separate ways because of career choices. The girls hoped that they’d work together someday in the future.

But life happens and things aren’t as they expected. Then the girls get a surprise, a glorious surprise. Sherilyn and Emma are in the same city, Atlanta; working together at the Tanglewood Hotel offering couples wedding packages. Then their dream come true an opportunity to work together; happened sooner than they expected. This isn’t what they expected. This reality had a few bumps in the road, could they navigate them and still remain close friends?

Along with the fun story line of the two friends living out their dream, Sandra shows the reader the practical side of planning a wedding, giving out helpful suggestions in preparing, such as 5 tips for choosing the prefect wedding dress, and the do’s and don’ts of a bridal registry; then she has the wedding planner’s ultimate Bridal Checklist, Wedding themes and the top 5 bridal flowers are also included.

Sandra’s new book is not only fun and funny to read it has some practical information and scrumptious recipes for the reader to enjoy as well. This books a hoot! I highly recommend it! When you finish reading you’ll be grinning from ear to ear!

Reviewed by: Nora St.Laurent

The Book Club Network

Beth Webb Hart's Sunrise on the Battery ~ Review

2011-11-01T19:20:00.000-07:00

Sunrise on the Battery
Beth Webb Hart
List Price: $15.99
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Thomas Nelson (October 11, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1595542000
ISBN-13: 978-1595542007

Description:

She wanted her husband to attend the town’s society-driven church.

God answered her prayer in a radical way.

An emptiness dogs Mary Lynn Scoville. But it shouldn’t. After all, she’s achieved what few believed possible. Born in the rural south, she has reached the pinnacle of worldly success in Charleston, South Carolina. Married to a handsome real estate developer and mother to three accomplished daughters, Mary Lynn is one Debutante Society invitation away from truly having it all. And yet, it remains—an emptiness that no shopping trip, European vacation, or social calendar can fill.

When a surprise encounter leads her to newfound faith, Mary Lynn longs to share it with her husband. But Jackson wrote God off long ago. Mary Lynn prays for him on Christmas Eve...and her husband undergoes a life-altering, Damascus Road experience. As Jackson begins to take the implications of the Gospel literally, Mary Lynn feels increasingly isolated from her husband...and betrayed by God. She only wanted Jackson beside her at church on Sunday mornings, not some Jesus freak who evangelizes prostitutes and invites the homeless to tea.

While her husband commits social suicide and the life they worked so hard for crumbles around them, Mary Lynn wonders if their marriage can survive. Or if perhaps there really is a more abundant life that Jackson has discovered, richer than any she’s ever dreamed of.

Review:

I've known Southern families like the ones described in this story - families with "old" money who had a culture all of their own. I've know people who tried to fit into that "world" with hard work and the success that followed - trying to make things "better" for the kids - and the mayhem that often followed. And I've known folks who have been radically transformed from the bondage of the care of the world through the blood of Christ. In short, I identified strongly with all of the characters in this story. I understood their fear, their longing to fit in, their longing to be accepted for who they were - the longing to be accepted by Christ.

This is a multi-layered story. Read beneath the surface and be prepared to be challenged by what you find there. This is a story that will touch your heart and challenge you to examine your spiritual motives. Great read!

Reviewed by: Kim Ford

Mark Schultz and Travis Thrasher's Letter from War ~ Reviewed

2011-10-31T12:51:00.000-07:00

Letters From War
By Mark Schultz with Travis Thrasher
Published by: Howard Books
ISBN #: 978-1-4391-9731-8
288 Pages

Book Description:

Platinum-selling Christian music artist Mark Schultz pens a novella based on his award-winning song “Letters from War,” about a mother’s unwavering hope, courage, and steadfast prayers.

Every night, Beth leaves the front porch light on. Just in case. It’s been two years since her son, James, went missing while saving the life of a fellow paratrooper in his division. Beth’s faith has sustained her while she awaits word on her son’s whereabouts. Well-meaning friends encourages Beth to move on, but Beth continues to hope.

Review:

I’m thankful to have received a review copy of such a moving and tender novel. Beth’s son, James, goes off to serve his country just like his father did. The only thing James’ mom requested of him was that he writes her “real” letters, not emails. Beth says, “Emails can easily be lost. All with an errant click of a mouse or a press of a button.... but to discard a letter, you have to physically throw it away, something she’s been unable to do ever since getting the first letter. Words are different. Words reach the soul. She continues to read them to hear James and to keep believing.”

Beth says to her friend, “I can hear him speaking as she reads his words. They are beautiful just like he was. Here is a letter from James to his mom: “I’m not here to follow in Dad’s footsteps. I’m here to serve all of you and to serve this country... I am the infantry...I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight, wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemy... I am what my country expects me to be: The best-trained soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win!”

These authors have written a touching and memorable novel from a military families POV . James, Beth’s son, and Britt’s husband are in waiting mode. They were waiting to hear of any news of James’ whereabouts. James has been missing in action for two years. Not a single word on his location or any indication if he’s alive.

Beth, Britt and Emily (James sister) feel like their life is on hold. Beth still writes letters to her son James, even though she knows no one knows where he is. It’s as if she stops writing all hope is will be lost – she couldn’t go there.

I liked the unique way these authors used letters written in this novel to James and from his family members to make the story gripping, intimate, and give the reader a personal peek at the ways families relate to one another when they are away. This is a powerful, eye opener, for a non-military person like myself. It really shows the heartache and all the family goes through when one of their loved ones goes missing in action. I could see through James voice he had a “call” to be a solider and his heart to defend his country so we can be safe! It also gives a little glimpse into how James, a believer sees war, “the things we’ve seen - its impossible not to be affected ... it’s not just my faith that’s kept me grounded and out of harm’s way emotionally. It’s been my family too, and my ability to compartmentalize and avoid bad habits. “These are the tools he uses to survive and complete his mission.

This novel gave me a look at the soldiers’ family and how they sacrifice their loved ones to keep our country free. It also reminded me of what I take for granted. It heightened my awareness of what others do to protect our country. I’ve loved Travis Thrashers novels and Mark Schultz’s music, this novel doesn’t disappoint. I’m so thankful for the opportunity to read a story that made me instantly care for the character, made me laugh and also cry. This book was a great reminder with the 9/11 10th Anniversary this year of all I am to be thankful for. It had me see our military men and their families in a whole new light. I recommend this book so all types of readers.

Reviewed by: Nora St.Laurent
The Book Club Network

Virginia Smith's Age before Beauty ~ Reviewed

2011-10-27T14:54:00.000-07:00

Age before Beauty, a novel

Virginia Smith

Contemporary Fiction

Paperback, 313 pages

Publisher: Revell, 2009

ISBN: 978-0-8007-3233-2

Back Cover Description:

What will she give up to have it all?

Allie Harrod is ready for a new career. She doesn't want to go back to full-time work and risk missing her baby's first smile. But she does want to contribute to the family income, and a home-based business seems like the perfect solution. Sure, she dropped out of Girl Scouts because she was lousy at cookie sales, but selling makeup is different, right?

Still, the challenges Allie faces seem to be rising as fast as her credit card balance. None of her clothes fit, her mother-in-law is driving her batty, and her husband only leaves the couch to go help his beautiful-and single-coworker with her home repairs. What's a working girl to do? A lighthearted story of family and finding focus, 'Age before Beauty' is the second book in the "Sister-to-Sister" series.

Review:

This book accurately portrays the struggle of the modern woman-to have it all, do it all, be a size 2, best mom ever, hottest wife on the planet, and capitalist extraordinaire...without any problems or effort...as far as anyone else knows, anyways. I was really drawn to this books raw honesty and humor and thoroughly enjoyed it! The way she brought in spiritual truths such as God's love, will, sovereignty, and provision in our incapability, shortcomings, and unlovableness made it all the more difficult to put down. I found myself wishing I'd read the first book, more focused on the now follower-of-Christ sister, Joan. I highly recommend making time to read this book!

Reviewed by: Rachael Schnitker

Martha Alderson's The Plot Whisperer ~ Reviewed

2011-10-26T06:02:00.000-07:00

The Plot Whisperer

Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master

Martha Alderson

Paperback: 256 pages

Publisher: Adams Media (October 15, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1440525889

When it comes to writing bestsellers, it's all about the plot. Trouble is, plot is where most writers fall down--but you don't have to be one of them. With this book, you'll learn how to create stories that build suspense, reveal character, and engage readers--one scene at a time.

Celebrated writing teacher and author Martha Alderson has devised a plotting system that's as innovative as it is easy to implement. With her foolproof blueprint, you'll learn to devise a successful storyline for any genre. She shows how to:

• Use the power of the Universal Story

• Create plot lines and subplots that work together

• Effectively use a scene tracker for maximum impact

• Insert energetic markers at the right points in your story

• Show character transformation at the book's climax

Review:

There are a lot of good books on story structure and plotting. What works for one writer doesn't work for another. The Plot Whisperer is definitely for those who are plotters or need to be. I found it to be filled with excellent useable tools, something that some books lack.

Reviewed by: Ane Mulligan

Senior Editor Novel Rocket

Bonus Review:

Look on any writer's shelf and you'll discover what their weakest link is. If they can't structure a sentence to save their life, then you'll find a boatload of grammar books. Character development? You guessed it. How to bring your protags and antags to life. Come on over to my house, and you'll see quite a collection of books on plot.

So here's another one...one I just might set on a display stand.

The Plot Whisperer is chock full of hands-on, real world ideas that can shore up a sagging plot better than duct tape and two-by-fours. Really. I've dog eared and highlighted this baby until it barely resembles a book anymore. And I've taken to quoting it on my blog.

But why? Because author Martha Alderson communicates effectively how to breathe air into a lifeless plot. Throughout the book she sprinkles writing challenges (called Plot Whispers) and concise encouraging tidbits (The Writer's Way). After reading yet another plot book, this one leaves me not only encouraged but energized to plan out my next book.

If plot is your bugaboo, go get yourself this book.

Reviewed by: Michelle Griep

Tracie Peterson's House of Secrets ~ Reviewed

2011-10-25T06:09:00.000-07:00

House of Secrets

By Tracie Peterson

Published by: Bethany House

ISBN#978-0-7642-0618-4

309 Pages

Back Cover:

When her father orchestrates a surprise trip to the summer house of her childhood, Bailee Cooper is unprepared for what follows. What is intended to be a happy reunion for Bailee and her sisters, Geena and Piper, quickly becomes shrouded by memories from the past.

Together again, the three sisters sift through their recollections of fifteen years ago...of an ill mother, and of their father making a desperate choice. They vowed, as children, to be silent--but one sister believes the truth must now be revealed. Yet can they trust their memories?

Mark Delahunt arrives in the wake of this emotional turmoil. Determined to win Bailee's affection, Mark becomes the strong fortress for her in this time of confusion, and what was once a tentative promise begins to take root and grow. Caught between the past and an uncertain future, can Bailee let God guide her to heal the past and ultimately to embrace love?

Review:

Thanks to Bethany House for the review copy of a compelling, honest look at family-the good the bad and the ugly. This author tackles a subject not many want to think about or know how to deal with and that is mental illness.

The title grabbed my interest; I loved the word pictures it created in my mind. I wondered how Tracie Peterson would handle mental illness in her novel. This story begins with a father calling an important family meeting. No so strange but it is in their family. Bailee was twenty-four years old and last had a family meeting the day their mom died. All three sisters are to meet their dad at their family’s vacation house. Nobody can figure out what the big news their dad had to share.

They haven’t been back to this house since their mother passed away in it 15 years ago. After that the girls were sent off to boarding school. Their father worked hard and through summers so they had nannies; they didn’t have much of a relationship or a family for that matter. It all died with their mother.

Bailee thinks to herself, “I was being drawn back to that house of secrets – to those hidden memories of loss and sorrow. For so long I had fooled myself into believing the past would never catch up with me. But now the moment of truth had come…and if there was a hell, I just knew that demons were dancing in delight.”

Needless to say no one was thrilled about this meeting. They talked about the family secrets they kept since their mother passed. Did they dare confront their father about what they thought had happened that night? If they did their whole family dynamic would change. But, frankly there wasn’t much there now so what could it hurt?

I liked what Tracie had to say about pain and secrets through her characters, “Some people hold onto pain. Not for the feeling of anguish, but because it’s all that’s familiar. Like holding a long, long grudge; it’s a known element – something recognizable. There’s a warped sort of comfort in that… it aids in the choices we make for ourselves. We can cradle the hurt and pain – wrap it around us like a shield to keep ourselves safe from attack – or we can let it die.”

This was a new thought for Bailee. “Let it die… Could a person really let pain die? Could they stop feeling it and nourishing it with reminders and accusations of the past?

…Bailees friend said, “We don’t have control over what another person does or how they feel. We only have control over how we respond to it – what we do with it.” Amen to that!

I was instantly engaged in the lives of these three sisters and how they were determined end their family secrets and expose everything. I also felt their anguish of time lost with each other and of the one they didn’t want anything to do with - God. If He was loving why did Bailee and her family suffer?

I’d like to think that all families could sit down and talk about secrets, pain, disappointments and begin to forgive like Bailee’s family did. Yes, anything is possible through Christ that strengthens us and I know God moves in mysterious ways. He’s creative and resourceful in how He heals. I also realize not everyone accepts Christ when given the chance. Life is messy and most the time isn’t tied up in a nice neat bow!

It was quite fascinating to read about how each person dealt with the unfolding drama when all the secrets are out in the open and they soon found out not everything was as it appeared. It just proves you can’t really rely on what you see. There is so much more to the story that you don’t see in real life and in this novel. Little ones don’t have a grasp on what happens in a grown-up world. It was fascinating how Tracie dealt with this.

This was the first novel I’ve read by Tracie Peterson. I liked it so much I’m definitely looking up her others. I enjoyed the fact that she wrote this book in first person and that person wasn’t a believer. It was interesting to experience things through her eyes. It wasn’t preachy, but real. How do you show the love of Christ to someone who’s deeply hurt? There's no formula or pat answer in how to do this. I liked how the author handled this subject on many fronts. I liked how Tracie deals with the powerful spiritual thread which is skillfully interwoven into the story as this family faced the emotional land minds of past secrets. I liked her balance and skill in showing how this hurting family dealt with the issues and loved each other through it all.

I highly recommend this book not only for an entertaining read but it’s a read that will open your eyes to how to navigate through emotional healing at any age. Tracie does a good job in showing that God does care and is with us always even when we can't feel his presence in the middle of the storm.

Reviewed by: Nora St.Laurent

The Book Club Network

Susan May Warren's Baby, It's Cold Outside ~ Reviewed

2011-10-24T06:29:00.000-07:00

Baby, It's Cold Outside

By Susan May Warren

Published by Summerside Press

ISBN-13: 978-60936-215-7

Dottie Morgan has no desire to share her home—or her heart—this Christmas. After all, her holiday spirit froze over when she lost her son in World War II. But when the blizzard of the decade descends on Frost, Minnesota, trapping Dottie in her home with four near strangers, she discovers that opening her door might also open her heart to a miracle ... and a new reason to celebrate Christmas.

Baby, It's Cold Outside has an eclectic cast of characters from Dottie the curmudgeon, Jake the pretender, Gordy the neighbor, to Violet the WAAC. Warren's characters take you into their hearts and don't let go. I laughed and cried and turned pages all night long. Baby, It's Cold Outside is a must read this Christmas! Novel Rocket and I give it our highest recommendation: a 5-star read.

Reviewed by: Ane Mulligan, Sr. Editor

Novel Rocket

Bonus Review:

I truly enjoy the writing of Susan May Warren. As a matter of fact, I started my Christmas reading off last year with her contemporary shorter novel The Great Christmas Bowl and enjoyed it immensely, so I was looking forward to her writing being the fall introduction to the Christmas season again for me this year with a war time historical. When I Fall In Love is an awesome series from Summerside Press and just like their Love Finds You series, I have enjoyed every single book I've read so far on various levels.

Baby, It's Cold Outside is a war time, or immediately after war time novel and thus it does have sad undertones. I have to admit that it was hard for me to get into until about halfway through because of the various lives coming together with all of their sadness, depression and regrets. But once things started to work in the way that they were meant to I was very eager to continue to turn the page and find out what would happen next.

This is an absolutely gorgeous cover for a very meaningful read full of hope and second chances.

*Thanks to Litfuse Publicity for providing a copy for review.*

Reviewed by: Margaret Chind

Christine Lindsay's Shadowed in Silk ~ Reviewed

2011-10-21T05:06:00.000-07:00

Shadowed in Silk

By Christine Lindsay

Published by White Rose Publishing

ISBN # 978-0976544494

276 Pages

Book Description: She was invisible to those who should have loved her.

After the Great War, Abby Fraser returns to India with her small son, where her husband is stationed with the British army. She has longed to go home to the land of glittering palaces and veiled women . . . but Nick has become a cruel stranger. It will take more than her American pluck to survive.

Major Geoff Richards, broken over the loss of so many of his men in the trenches of France, returns to his cavalry post in Amritsar. But his faith does little to help him understand the ruthlessness of his British peers toward the Indian people he loves. Nor does it explain how he is to protect Abby Fraser and her child from the husband who mistreats them.

Amid political unrest, inhospitable deserts, and Russian spies, tensions rise in India as the people cry for the freedom espoused by Gandhi. Caught between their own ideals and duty, Geoff and Abby stumble into sinister secrets . . . secrets that will thrust them out of the shadows and straight into the fire of revolution.

Review:

I was thrilled to get a review copy of Shadowed in Silk, Christine Lindsay’s compelling new epic novel. It reminded me of a few big screen movies like Australia, Jodie Foster in The King and I and Out of Africa. Christine has written a powerful and engaging novel that transported me to the streets of India; and mingling in it's diverse rich culture. I felt as if I had stepped off the ship with Abby and Geoff Richards and onto the dock, of Hotic India. Christine’s words paint vivid pictures that allow readers to experience the sites, sounds, scents and vibrant colors of India.

I liked how this author had the reader see Gandhi and experience the peaceful demonstrations he tried to put on. Christine captures this countries rich history, culture and customs, interwoven with a sweet love story. It’s a passionate story of a woman who loves Jesus and is committed to being His hands and feet to the children in the orphanage and the children of India at a high personal cost.

I liked the intensity and richness of her characters and their relationships with each other and their struggle with God, in doing the right thing. Abby is a woman who is determined to make her marriage work, even though it’s been a few years since she heard from her husband, Nick. She’s thankful that Geoff Richards stepped up and has said he’d make sure she and her son would get home safely, since her husband, Nick was no where to be found.

Geoff Richards is a wounded solider, who loves the Lord with all his heart, and feels the need to look after Abby and her young son. He can’t imagine a soldier that would treat his wife like this. Geoff is a protector in the story. Protector of Abby and her son and the men he served in the military. He stayed a respective distance from Abby. He realized that Abby hadn’t a clue about this culture. She was in more danger than she knows. Things changed since she last lived in India.

Not only does this author capture the essence of the country with it's intense humidity, spicy scents, and sounds which all add to the dimension of the novel, but she also penned a page-turning suspenseful drama, with engaging characters that kept me up late at night wondering what would happen next. I had to know about these characters, the spies, gun smuggling, pride and prejudice within the culture, it all fascinated me. It gave me a peek into the horrific slice of history she wrote about with the heart and soul of the people and of that time.

Days after reading this story, the characters and their flight will stay with you. I loved how she naturally wove the spiritual thread into the story-line. It was real, and believable. I highly recommend this beautifully written novel, against the backdrop of India in 1900’s. This novel reads as if a well-seasoned author with many books under her belt wrote it, not as the debut novel it is for Christine. It’s a brilliantly written and a emotionally compelling read! Can't wait to read what she writes next.

Reviewed by: Nora St.Laurent

The Book Club Network

Rene Gutteridge's Possession ~ Reviewed

2011-10-19T04:58:00.000-07:00

Possession

By Rene Gutteridge

Published by: Tyndale House Publishers

ISBN#978-1-4143-27434-0

303 Pages

Book Blurb:

In the aftermath of investigating the D.C. sniper case, police detective Vance Graegan is burned out on life and love. Hoping to save his marriage, he quits the force and moves his wife and son to the other side of the country. But when the movers decide to hold his belongings for ransom, Vance is determined to ensure that his family’s new beginning is not ruined. Soon, though, losing his possessions becomes the least of his problems as everything they are fighting for begins to unravel in the hands of Vance’s past. In an unforgettable climax, a little boy’s innocent faith brings a group of desperate people to their knees. What is at stake counts for everything, but nothing can prepare Vance for who is behind it.

Review:

I was thrilled to receive a review copy of this suspenseful tale. Rene delves into a scenario so many people are facing right now. So many have recently lost so much due to catastrophic situations beyond their control such as hurricanes, fire and flood. Rene had experienced the Oklahoma bombing, saw the devastation and watched how others dealt with tremendous loss. She wanted to explore the idea of losing everything, what that would mean and look like?

Vance, the main character learns quickly how short life really is as they try to track down a sniper in Washington D.C. Vance and the other officers desperately try to come up with a common denominator between the shootings in order to determine where this ghost sniper would strike next. After that ordeal, Vance suffers from Post-traumatic stress disorder.

The author became interested in PTSD after she experienced the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. It's similar to what vets experience but different. Rene does an amazing job of creating multi-layered characters that you instantly care about. I loved her first line, ‘Can you please state your full name?” She has the reader in court and Linda Greagan on the stand. I was swept into the story and was fascinated as to where Rene would take me next.

Vance reminded me of Bruce Willis in the Die Hard movie, who is smart, rough and tough but unlike Bruce who was saving the city, Vance had had enough of his job and wanted out. He was ready to start a new kind of life. He wanted to help his wife achieve her dream. Lindi’s dream was to own a Deli. It was something they could do together. His friends laughed at him but he was serious. He wasted enough years on the force risking his life for nothing. Now, was the time for his wife and son Conner.

Just when Vance thought things were going well, his wife quickly found a place to live, she had a lead on a perfect location for their Deli and they arrived in CA ahead of schedule.

Vance is in such a hurry to get this new life started and meet his family in CA he doesn’t take the time to read the fine print of his moving contract. All heck breaks loose when he gets to California to meet the movers. Moving is stressful on a good day but Vance’s experience is extreme.

His wife, Lindi, hears this from the moving worker, “Ma’am you are contractually obligated to pay us what you owe us.” That’s fine but this wasn’t the price they agreed on.

Vance is about to go ballistic when he hears this from his wife. What was happening? Vance learned over the years he had to departmentalize things; he couldn't get emotional because if he did he would miss something important. He would miss something he needed to solve the case. He was trained. Vance went into police mode to help him handle this crazy moving situation - just like he'd do with any case he was on.

On the gentler side of the story, I liked how their son, Conner, watched a televangelist on TV and got to know and accept Jesus has his personal savior. His parents weren’t excited about this event and hoped it would go away, when he grew up. They actually got scared when this behavior didn’t end. So, they took him to therapists to be observed. But the boy just kept being himself and would innocently share his relationship with Jesus and what it meant to him.

I enjoyed Conner and the beauty of a child’s love relationship and faith in Jesus is precious. I adored the part when Connor explained to his mom how to pray, “You have to always thank God first. That’s important. If you don’t be thankful, then you miss out on what God’s doing. You don’t see it… She wanted to hurry her son along in the prayer and Lindi says, “But let’s pretend we’re getting ready to be in a car wreck, and we need God’s help fast. Then what kind of prayer do you pray?”

“You don’t pray then, Mom, “Conner said. “You just trust that He’s there.” His mom saw great wisdom in her son’s eyes.

I loved the relational dynamic in this novel, the excitement, the honest spiritual thread and how Rene masterfully blends it all together. Amazing!

I highly recommend reading Possession, the book is a great escape into a world Rene creates, to make you laugh, sweep you up into a suspenseful drama and help you think about a few things along the way. Great combination! Thanks Rene for another book that had so much to offer at book club and is just a plain fun read.

Reviewed: Nora St.Laurent

The Book Club Network

Chris Fabry's and Gary Chapman's A Marriage Carol ~ Reviewed

2011-10-17T13:51:00.000-07:00

A Marriage Carol

By Chris Fabry & Gary Chapman

Published by Moody Publishers

ISBN-13: 978-0-8024-0264-6

Description:

Just one choice changes a life

On a snowy Christmas Eve, their anniversary, Marlee and Jacob take a treacherous drive to sign papers signaling the end of their marriage.

But a shortcut over an ice mountain pass brings Marlee on a collision course with her life. Visions of the past haunt; images of the present and future make her wonder if they have chosen the best course.

With a nod to Dickens and a heaping help of the truth from bestselling author Dr. Gary Chapman, this surprising tale will take you through twists and turns and lead you in a journey into the power of snow.

Review:

A Marriage Carol is a delightful fantasy mixed with a generous helping of truth. A story of trust, unconditional love, and the choice to let love grown again, and written in the style of A Christmas Carol, it's the perfect book to put on your Christmas giving list. Novel Journey and I highly recommend it.

Reviewed by: Ane Mulligan, editor

Novel Rocket

Stephanie Grace Whitson's A Most Unsuitable Match ~ Reviewed

2011-10-14T05:32:00.000-07:00

A Most Unsuitable Match

By Stephanie Grace Whitson

Published by Bethany House

ISBN #” 978-0-7642-0881-2

334 Pages

Book Description:

An unlikely attraction occurs between two passengers on a steamboat journey up the Missouri River to Montana...

She is a self-centered young woman from a privileged family who fears the outdoors and avoids anything rustic. He is a preacher living under a sense of duty and obligation to love the unlovable people in the world. She isn't letting anything deter her from solving a family mystery that surfaced after her mother's death. He is on a mission to reach the rejects of society in the remote wilderness regions of Montana. Miss Fannie Rousseau and Reverend Samuel Beck are opposites in every way... except in how they both keep wondering if their paths will ever cross again.

Review:

Miss Fannie Rousseau’s world crumbles after her mother dies suddenly. Hannah, her loyal hand maiden whose been more of a mother to her than her real mom, tries to comfort Fannie. Minnitte, her dearest friend, is blind, engaged to be married, and is busy planning a wedding. Fannie didn’t know where to turn.

Miss Fannie seeks the council of Mr. Van de Kamp, who has run their family finances for years; only thing he can tell her is to get married. She needed help trying to navigate the financial mess her dad’s company was in and what to do from here. He offered no help at all. Getting married wasn’t an option.

Although Fannie was raised in privilege she would only marry for love. She desperately longed to be loved and accepted for Fannie the person - not the daughter of a wealthy man. Fannie discovers a box of old letters - her mother saved. She devours them all. Hannah learns of her find and is surprised. Even more so when Fannie tells her she is going to search for the person who wrote those letters. Fannie and Hannah embark on a dangerous and wild adventure. They encounter things they never dreamed possible! Neither had been on a steamboat or far from home for that matter. They meet Samuel who’s earning his way to Montana. Surprising to learn that Samuel is in search of a person as well. They both hoped to find answers on their journey. Little did they know their search would make them realize they needed each other more than they knew.

Fannie is headstrong and determined to accomplish her mission and so is Samuel. Others realize her lack of manual skills and fiestiness. Valey the innkeeper says, “I had to ask her if she even knew how to sweep a floor.” I think it made her a little mad....but then she said she thought she was smart enough to learn. He laughed “Tell her...she’s due for her broom lesson with Ave.”

I loved the natural spiritual thread and the way the author represented it, Fannie says to herself, “What if she actually sought out the words in the bible and let them rule her life? The idea was at once fascinating...and terrifying.... Did the bible really contain words of Life? For the first time. Fannie wished she had her own bible!” Love this.

I enjoyed Fanny and the authors well timed humor. I enjoyed this historical fiction novel. Also loved the cover - it was intriguing - I would never suspect the author could put together such a fascinating story with so many twists, turns and surprises. I enjoyed the minor characters as much as the main ones.

I enjoyed this authors' style, her endearing characters, and the many surmountable challenges they faced. They discovered that in their weakness God is strong. God will help us grow. He knows what we’re created to do. We just have to trust him and take the first step in the direction He’s called us to. The author talks about heart issues through a blind boy who says, “When you cannot see faces you listen better. Sometimes listening lets a person see in a better way.”

Stephanie mentions, “While working on this book, I've came to the end of myself yet again, and found Jesus waiting with outstretched arms and mine until we had the strength to take up the journey on our own two feet once again. And so... I offer you another story forged in the fires of my own life.” Loved this! I highly recommend this delightful novel!

Reviewed by: Nora St.Laurent

The Book Club Network

James Rubart's The Chair ~ Reviewed

2011-10-13T05:13:00.000-07:00

The Chair

By James L Rubart

Published by B&H

ISBN #: 978-14336-7154-2

386 Pages

Book Description:

If someone gave you a chair and said it was made by Jesus Christ, would you believe them?

When an elderly lady shows up in Corin Roscoe's antiques store and gives him a chair she claims was crafted by Jesus, he scoffs. But when a young boy is miraculously healed two days after sitting in the chair, he stops laughing and starts wondering . . . could this chair heal the person whose life Corin destroyed twelve years ago?

As word spreads of the boy's healing, a mega-church pastor is determined to manipulate Corin into turning over the chair. And that mysterious woman who gave him the piece flits in and out of his life like a shadow, insinuating it's Corin’s destiny to guard the chair above everything else. But why?

Desperate, he turns to the one person he can trust, a college history professor who knows more about the legend of the chair than he'll reveal. Corin's life shatters as he searches for the truth about the artifact and the unexplained phenomena surrounding it. What’s more, he's not the only one willing do almost anything to possess the power seemingly connected to the chair.

Review:

I’m thankful to have received a review copy of a book that took me on an unexpected, suspenseful, and wild journey. James Rubart also did that in his book Rooms too. I see a pattern here! Grin! Loved it!

One day an old woman leaves a mysterious chair at Corin Roscoe’s antique shop. She doesn’t want to sell it but says this chair belongs to him and says he’s now the keeper of the chair. She doesn’t stay long. Says she’ll be in touch with Corin. Corin thinks this woman is bizarre and doesn’t think much about it, he’s just glad the old gal was gone!

He soon forgets about the chair until his next customer enters with a boy who has bad asthma! He sits in this old chair while Corin helps his mom. The next day Corin catches the news and discovers the little boy’s been healed and tells reporters it was after sitting a magical chair in the antique store! The boy says he felt warm and peaceful after sitting there a while! Next thing you know Dr’s confirmed the little boy is healed. Corin starts to wonder about this chair and how to get a hold of the old lady- he had questions to ask her. He runs into the woman again and she says the chair was made by Jesus. Could it be possible? Did it really have the power to heal?

He found passages in the bible such as Matthew 14:35-36 and Mark 5:27-29 where objects were used to heal and a woman was healed by just touching Jesus’s clothes. So maybe there was something to this “Healing Chair.”

The old woman warns Corin to keep the location of the chair a secret to protect himself and the chair. The woman disappears leaving him with more questions than before. He shares his situation with his closest pal - who says, “I think it would be cool if you had a chair made by Jesus, you could start a cult. Pretend it gives people visions if they sit on it! Hey! Make them pay to sit on it to get their visions and make a few bucks by building duplicates, put them in stores and up on your website and sell ‘em!”

If his friend was acting like this what would happen if the world found out? It would be unimaginable to think about the ramifications! How does he validate if the chair is real and keep it quiet at the same time? How can he hide the chair during this process? If the chair was real then what? His life was complicated enough, he didn’t need this!

I liked the suspenseful drama, action and the deep love relationships talked about in this novel. The author says, “...the greatest healing would never be physical, but a healing of the heart and our soul...the restoration of man’s relationship to God and of our relationships with each other.”

Jim also says in his note to readers! “All of us long to be restored physically, emotionally. But I believe the restoration we long for most is the healing of broken relationships!”

I loved this story of discovery and wonder as Corin tries to find out if the chair’s made by Jesus and has healing powers. James L. Rubart talks about the important things in life, love, family and relationships. What would you be willing to do to protect them, love them, be restored to them? I highly recommend this book to everyone. It’s a fun, fast-paced read that will make you think about love, life and your relationship with the master!! Doesn’t get any better than that!

Reviewed: Nora St.Laurent

The Book Club Network

Nancy Rue's Unexpected Dismounts ~ Reviewed

2011-10-11T20:46:00.000-07:00

Unexpected Dismounts

By Nancy Rue

Published by David C. Cook

ISBN 978-1-4347-6492-8

Allison Chamberlain thought she was doing everything God required of her—but as her journey continues in the second book of The Reluctant Prophet series, she might have to let go of everything she loves to follow the call.

She was already taking care of five former prostitutes who were recovering from lives no tick-ridden mongrel dog should have to endure. And trying to adopt an orphan. And coping with feeling she didn't know she had in her.

But along the way, she experiences unexpected dismounts, as every Harley owner who risks the ride eventually does. A distant relative challenges the adoption, And influential businessman tries to block her ministry. Her beloved Chief is seriously injured. A piece of her past elbows its way in. As she picks herself up again and again, Allison realizes she just might have to give up everything she loves just to stay upright.

Review:

This is the series every young person, who seeks not to be a Christian in name only but the hands and feet of Jesus, needs to read. This is what the church needs to be. With an unpredictable plot, wonderful characters you want to meet in real life—well most of them anyway, Unexpected Dismounts is as terrific a read as The Reluctant Prophet. Novel Rocket and I give it our highest recommendation – it's a 5-star must read.

Reviewed by: Ane Mulligan, Sr. editor

Novel Rocket

Ronie Kendig's Wolfsbane ~ Reviewed

2011-10-10T16:04:00.000-07:00

Wolfsbane

By Ronie Kendig

Published By: Barbour Books; Discarded Heroes edition (July 1, 2011)

ISBN# 978-1602607842

352 Pages

Book Description:

Embark upon a danger-laden mission within the pages of Ronie Kendig’s riveting Wolfsbane. Demolitions expert Danielle Roark thought escaping from a brutal Venezuelan general was a challenge. Now she’s charged with espionage and returned to the jungle where a new nightmare begins. Will Dani survive or become just another political pawn destined to be lost forever? Former Green Beret Canyon Metcalfe is disgusted with the suits on Capitol Hill. Still wrestling with the memories of a mission gone bad, he and Nightshade launch a mission to find Dani. Can Canyon rescue Dani, armed with nothing but raw courage?

REVIEW:

I was thankful for the review copy of this realistic, thought-provoking, fast-paced novel. It had me look at war in a way I hadn't before.

It’s a gift to be able to write such a compelling, death-defying drama that stirs a reader's emotions deep to the depth of their soul. Ronnie Kendig has this gift and talent. This author had me laugh, cry and glued to the page anticipating the enemies next move. I was instantly wrapped up into her characters and there horrific situation. If this book were a movie I would have covered my eyes in several parts because I was afraid of what would happen next and what I might see. Yes, I'm a chicken! Grin! But since I've read several of Ronnie’s books already I knew things wouldn’t get too graphic. That was reassuring.

Ronie Kendig pens an honest portrayal of how disturbing it is to be a female POW. Women face unique challenges to survive. A person never knows what they'll be willing to do to escape. Fear. Hatred. Guilt. Hope. Finally--Peace are all felt. Ronnie takes the reader through a wide range of emotions with her larger than life characters. The rhythm and flow of this suspenseful story-line took the reader from extreme riveting highs, to heart-wrenching moments you’ll never forget. This is a book you’ll want to experience.

This author has written a powerful and moving book that transported me to the front lines of war like I’ve never experienced before. I could feel the intense humidity, hear the explosion of gunfire, see through their night goggles, and hear the intense quiet sounds of the enemy slivering near; it’s nothing like you've ever seen or heard before. There is a depth and intensity in the characters that touched me. This is a page-turning action story, with vivid imagery, engaging characters, and a lot of heart. I highly recommend Wolfsbane, It’s brilliantly written and an emotionally compelling a book you shouldn't miss!

Reviewed by: Nora St.Laurent

The Book Club Network

William Boykin's and Tom Morrisey's Kiloton Threat ~ Reviewed

2011-10-07T02:11:00.000-07:00

Kiloton Threat

By William G. Boykin and Tom Morrisey

Published by B and H

ISBN# 978-0-8054-4954-9

262 Pages

Book Description:

Taken from what could be tomorrow's headlines, Kiloton Threat is a novel that explores the frightening potential of nuclear weapons in the Middle East today. Out of the house churches of rural Iran, a Christian masquerading as a Muslim gains the confidence of a high-ranking leader in the Iranian nuclear program and opens his eyes to Christianity. The man’s newfound faith stirs his desire to flee to the West, taking with him intelligence that would allow Coalition forces to neutralize his nation's devastating capabilities. But no one in such a position could ever escape unnoticed.

Enter Blake Kershaw, a highly trained U.S. Special Forces officer who has already made extraordinary sacrifices for his country that include faking death and losing his true identity. His mission to infiltrate Iran and extract the high-value defector strains the relationship with the woman he loves— one of the few people on earth who knows his real story. With even more intensity, it shows the price that must sometimes be paid when political correctness fails and a man has to stand up for what is right.

Review:

I’m thankful to have received a review copy of this action-adventure drama story I couldn’t put down. I appreciated the fact that these authors took sometime in explaining what the Twelfth Imam, AKA “Mahdi” is and why I should know about it in the first place. These authors didn't bog the reader down with technological information but used laymen’s terms to get their message across. It was easy to explore along with the characters in the story the possibility of how WWIII could start in the Middle East and get the attention of the whole world.

My favorite character was Blake Kershaw, a highly skilled U.S. Special Forces Officer. His new mission is to infiltrate Iran and extract the high-value defector. This mission puts a huge strain on his relationship with Ali, his fiancé.

Ali, is the one person on earth he can be himself with. He doesn't have to hide anything from. He says this to Ali, “You know I am not going to walk away from this kind of thing. We’re talking the fate of a nation here. Not our nation, but that doesn't matter. We’re going to need more than my help to do this. We’re going to need God’s help. Together we will pull this off.”

Blake knew this much, “Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.” That’s how he did his job.

I envisioned Blake to be several different leading men rolled into one! Blake had the heart of a Godly Warrior, like David in the bible. He had the determination and strength to carry out any mission, no matter the personal risk. In a pinch when Plan “A” wasn’t working out the way everyone thought it would and/or when regular supplies weren’t available for Blake to use (like they were supposed to be-Grin!) – He reminded me of MacGyver– a man who could think on his feet, a man who was resourceful and could use everyday items to get the operation accomplished.

Blake’s first and foremost a soldier. A soldier always followed orders. That’s the man in a nutshell. I highly recommend this fast paced military novel. I enjoyed the rhythm and flow of the action adventure and this story. The information in this book helped clear up a few military things for me and also helped me understand a little more about the Twelfth Imam!!

I was thrilled to read another book by Tom Morrissey and I've enjoyed them all. I look forward to this new writing team and the stories they will write.

Reviewed by: Nora St.Laurent

The Book Club Network

Anne Mateer's Wings of a Dream ~ Reviewed

2011-10-06T04:42:00.000-07:00

Wings of a Dream
By Anne Mateer
Published by Bethany House
ISBN: 978-0-7642-0903-1

Description

Rebekah Hendricks dreams of a life far from her family's farm in Oklahoma, and when dashing aviator Arthur Samson promises adventure in the big city, she is quick to believe he's the man she's meant to marry.

While she waits for the end of the Great War and Arthur's return, her mother's sister falls ill. Rebekah seizes the opportunity to travel to Texas to care for Aunt Adabelle, sure that her glamorous and exciting life is about to start.

But the Spanish flu epidemic changes everything. Faced with her aunt's sickness, Arthur's indecisiveness, and four children who have no one else to care to them, Rebekah discovers she must choose between her desire to escape the type of life she's always led and the unexpected love that just might change the dream of her heart.

Review:

Historical fiction is not my favorite. Combine it with historical romance and I steer away. But Anne Mateer not only held me captive in the pages of Wings of a Dream, I lost sleep because I couldn't put the book down. Delightful characters you'll fall in love with, precocious children you'll want to hold, and that new fangled invention, the automobile, all combine to deliver a heartwarming story. You'll chuckle and you'll shed some tears, but you'll absolutely love Wings of a Dream. Novel Rocket and I highly recommend Wings of a Dream.

Reviewed by: Ane Mulligan, editor
Novel Rocket

Steven James's The Queen ~ Reviewed

2011-10-05T05:20:00.000-07:00

THE QUEEN
By Steven James
Published by: Revell
ISBN#978-0800733032
517 Pages

Book Blurb:

Critically acclaimed author Steven James has written four other award-winning Patrick Bowers novels as well as many works of nonfiction. He has a master's degree in storytelling and has taught writing and creative storytelling on three continents. He lives near the Blue Ridge Mountains of Tennessee with his wife and three daughters.

Review:

Latest in the Patrick Bowers series by Steven James is the best yet!

I am lucky enough to be married to a woman who reads voraciously and happens to know many authors. A couple of years ago Nora happened to hand me a copy of The Pawn by Steven James. She knows me well and understands that I cannot resist a good detective novel. I am captured by thrillers, mysteries and lawyers fighting in the court room stories.

From the very first chapter of Steven James' series about FBI Special Agent Patrick Bowers series, I have been inextricably pulled into his world of suspense. His books are not for the timid. Keep in mind that Agent Bowers chases down serial killers and investigates some heinous criminals. However there are other sides to Patrick that take us deep into his relationships. He is a widower with a teen step daughter. His wife who he loved intensely is diagnosed with cancer and dies not too long before we meet him in the first book. He was struggling to be a husband and stepfather to his wife's daughter before losing her and now two unrelated, grieving, extended family members are thrust into a relationship they both need and desire but have no clue about what to do with.

This is one of many relationships that complicate Patrick Bowers personal and professional life throughout the series. I mention this because, although one could pick up the Queen and enjoy the exciting pace of the story without ever reading the first four books, I must tell you that you will miss the richness and depth of the relationships that are developed from the first page of book one.

The Queen is clearly the best book of the series so far! I am not saying that the other books lacked anything, because they did not. Each book in this series is well crafted and the endings of all of these stories kept me up much later than I planned, because I was compelled to finish them. They pick up momentum and become a irresistible force, page after blistering page. Special Agent Bowers is a geospatial investigator. What this means is that time and location matter, though mostly the location of the crimes, in the due course of his investigations. He is at odds with his co-investigators who lean primarily on profiling, most of the time. He is Sherlock Holmes meets Criminal Minds!

Interspersed, really woven into the fabric of these stories are the issues surrounding grief, forgiveness, who God really is and who we are to Him and to each other. The richness of this book is in the inner healing of the people who are a part of this story. There are questions asked that the reader is left to answer. I highly recommend this book for reading groups who can handle stories about homicidal maniacs and the people who catch them. I guarantee that there will be topics in each of these books that will generate deep discussion of issues that lead to healing. Teen relationships, self inflicted cutting, alcohol abuse, marriage, broken homes, grief, un-forgiveness and forgiveness and much more.

When I said that the Queen is the best of the series I mean it. Is it because of the culmination of so many issues involved with the story line? Is it because I have come to know these people in the book and care about them? Or is it because the author has created a world where we can care deeply for these characters and what happens to them? Maybe it is all of that.

I was lucky enough to meet Steven James at the 2010 Christy Awards in Atlanta. (I am trying to entice him into joining www.bookfun.org ) I felt myself wanting to ask him to say hello to Agent Bowers for me! He makes his characters that real!

I know one thing. I am looking forward to getting my hands on the next book (due out in the Fall of 2012)!!

If you would like to know more feel free to visit his website http://www.stevenjames.net/ and while there invite him to join us here at TBCN? I honestly believe that his books will lead to intimate discussions in any reading group!

REVIEWED BY: FRED STLAURENT
The Book Club Network

Julie Lessman's A Heart Revealed ~ Reviewed

2011-10-04T05:10:00.000-07:00

A Heart Revealed
By Julie Lessman
Published by Revell
ISBN# 9780800734169
505 Pages

Back Cover:

Ten years ago, Emma Malloy fled Dublin for Boston as a battered woman, escaping the husband who scarred her beautiful face. The physical and emotional wounds have faded with time, and her life is finally full of purpose and free from the pain of her past. But when she falls for her friend Charity's handsome and charming brother, Sean O'Connor, fear and shame threaten to destroy her. Could Sean and Emma ever have a future together? Or is Emma doomed to live out the rest of her life denying the only true love she's ever known?

Filled with intense passion and longing, deception and revelation, A Heart Revealed will hold readers in its grip until the very last page.

Review:

I am grateful to have received a review copy of a novel that is written by an author who's passionate about her relationship with Jesus and others she loves. Not only does Julie have a zest and love for life but Julie’s passion for her Savior radiates throughout this book and not in a preachy way, but an honest and enlightening way. Julie’s newest novel shows that what we have in our hearts is revealed through our actions, thoughts and words. Just like Julie’s characters this often takes us by surprise, thinking we’ve dealt with that matter or didn’t realize a matter bothered us so much. I enjoyed this complex and tender story.

I loved A Hope Undaunted, the first book in the Winds of Change series, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on A Heart Revealed and see where Julie would take me next. This story started out in the time of the great depression of 1931 – where people struggled to survive. They had a hard time balancing, work and family just like we deal with today. This author also talks about true love, making a time for passion, talking face to face (not texting) and how we have to work at keeping a love relationship alive.

I also like how Julie shows that just because these characters accepted Christ in their hearts and go to church; it’s not all happily ever-after. Life can be painful at times and God wants to heal our hurts if we let him. I also enjoyed how Julie Lessman naturally weaves the theme of how we can be free in Christ through forgiveness! Julie shows us how unforgiveness can keep us a prisoner to the pain of the past and never let us walk in what we can be in current time. It’s the freedom we have in Christ through forgiving others, and ourselves. You never know what heavy burden someone was carrying around before Jesus set them free.

Julie answers the question, what does it look like to accept Jesus into our hearts, say we love Him but don’t make him Lord of our lives? And what does someone do when they discover their heart is still bleeding from deep hurts they hide from their conscious mind. Julie shows this very thing and so much more in A Heart Revealed. Each of us has a story to tell, we don’t get out of this life alive and untouched by the tragedies of the world. I love how Julie shows her passion for God through the characters' passion for each other and how all relationships take work.

I liked how Julie honestly looked at marriage on so many levels. Julie looked at the parents Marcy and Patrick's marriage along with Faith and Collin, Charity and Mitch, and Katie and Luke. It’s hard to do creative a loving marriage in changing times and almost impossible to do it without God working in you and through your life. This author gives a peek into these marriages that have very different personalities. I loved how she showed that without God marriage isn’t possible. With each husband and wife seeking God’s will for their lives and asking help in loving their spouse the way he would is the only way they make it. Julie did show the fun side of marriage too. All wasn't serious. I enjoyed the tender moments that left most of the romance to the readers’ imagination and I loved reading about them laughing and having fun; especially when the whole family gets together for game night.

Julie talked about being single in this book and enjoying it. I liked how she handled matter. She showed Sean and Emma as being totally fulfilled in being single. They fully walked in all it meant to be for them. They were both single and living for Jesus. I also liked how she revealed that Sean and Emma could be best of friends. They were confidants; they prayed for one another and held each other accountable. I also liked that even though Emma made strong suggestions to Sean that he sought God on his own terms. He didn’t take someone else’s word for what he was supposed to do.

A Priest said to Sean, “Emma sees herself as – a scarred woman, inside and out. Keep in mind that when a woman’s self-image has been destroyed, both by the man she loved and the very sins that have imprisoned her most of her life, she can’t see what you see. It will only be though the mirror of God’s love and that of your own that Emma will finally have a glimpse of the beautiful women God created her to be.” Powerful stuff.

Julie is creative and fun and had a newsletter contest and two people won the prize. The prize was to have their names in Julie's new book. Casey Herringshaw and Michelle Tuller won. It was fun to read Casey’s name in this book because I work with her on the ACFW book club loop.

I loved reading about all the members of the O’Connor family; they all have so much fun interacting with each other. I highly recommend this book and Julie’s other as well for an honest, passionate look at love and life and everything in-between. Her books are definitely worth your time. Let Julie and her books sweep you into the O’Connor family and into the arms of Jesus. You’ll enjoy her passionate characters in this book and her others.

Reviewed by:
Nora St.Laurent
The Book Club Network

Jenny B. Jones's There You'll Find Me ~ Reviewed

2011-10-03T04:42:00.000-07:00

There You'll Find Me

By Jenny B.Jones

Published by Thomas Nelson, Oct 4th

ISBN 978-1-5955-4540-4

In a charming cottage in rural Ireland, Finely comes face-to-face with the loss of a brother, the hottest teen actor ... and her past.

When Finely books her trip to the "Emerald Isle" as a foreign exchange student, she hopes to create a new identity and get some answers from God. After all, since her brother's recent death, God seems to have forgotten she even exists.

Now all she wants to do is let her heart heal, see the sights in her brother's favorite country, and work on her college audition piece for a prestigious music conservatory. She plans to sue her brother's journal from his time in Ireland as her guide, yet from the moment she boards the plane and sits next to Beckett Rush, teen star of the hottest vampire flicks, nothing goes according to her well-ordered plan.

The peace and beauty of the Irish village are no match for the chaos that soon becomes her life. When she gets roped into working as Beckett Rush's personal assistant, she finds this famous wild child is not quite what he seems. And as she grows closer to the mysterious actor, hew own secrets refuse to stay put.

As things begin to unravel, Finely takes desperate measures to control her own life and fill the empty spaces her brother left behind. When it all comes crashing down, Finely must discover how to give her past to God ... if there's to be any hope in her future.

Review:

Warning! Not your typical 'depressed-teenage-girl-who-falls-in-love-with-a-vampire-novel. In fact this does not even come close to anything "Twilight" in nature, which to me is a very good thing. This book touches the heart on so many levels and delves into difficult issues including: eating disorders, depression, death, forgiveness, and purpose in life. While it does reference vampire books.movies, it's really as more of Beckett's characters occupation than theme of the book. I really loved the use of Ireland as setting for the book. The authors descriptions on the weather, music, food, scenery, etc of this country make you feel as though you are really there. Perhaps, because I am a musician, this book struck a particular chord with me- but I really think that this book encompasses a lot of thing that any young woman struggles with-and the use of music to communicate different plot twists was intriguing. I highly recommend reading this book-I was absolutely captivated by it and could not put it down!

Reviewed by: Rachael Schnitker

Bonus Review:

Jenny B. Jones uses a finely honed sense of humor and a 500 horsepower imagination to deliver quirky characters that will make you laugh and cry then laugh again. This award-winning author just keeps getting better and better. Novel Rocket and I give it a 5-star recommendation. Don't miss this one!

Reviewed by: Ane Mulligan, Sr. editor

Novel Rocket

Allison Pittman's Forsaking All Others ~ Reviewed

2011-09-30T01:34:00.000-07:00

FORSAKING ALL OTHERS
Allison Pittman
Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. (October 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1414335970

Description:

Camilla Fox is alive. The last thing she remembers is being lost in the snow after leaving her home to escape the Mormon faith she no longer calls her own. She’s been taken in by the 5th Infantry Regiment of the US Army and given over to the personal care of Captain Charles Brandon. As she regains her strength, memories of her two children she had to leave behind come flooding back, threatening to break her heart. Camilla is determined to reunite with her daughters. But when news of her father’s grave illness reaches her, she knows she must return to the family farm to reconcile with her father. As spring arrives, Camilla returns to Salt Lake City a changed woman, but nothing could prepare her for the changes to the city, to the Mormon church, and to the family she left behind.

Review:

Forsaking All Others is about a young woman named Camilla Fox. She has fled the Mormon faith, but in doing so, has left behind her husband, who has taken another wife, and her two daughters. In the midst of her flight, she is caught in a terrible snowstorm, but is rescued by US Army Colonel Charles Brandon. While recovering under the care of the United States Army, her faith grows in Jesus Christ, and her resolve to rescue her daughters from the false teachings of the Mormon church grow.

This was such a great book. I wish I had been able to read the prequel first, but it wasn’t awkward jumping in on book 2. I enjoyed seeing how Camilla’s eyes are opened to the truth, and how she was able to discern between the true teachings of the Bible, as opposed to false teachings. It reinforces how important a strong foundation in the scriptures is, even from childhood, because it is those teachings that brought her back to the truth. I hope a sequel is written to this book, as I would love to follow Camilla’s story!

Reviewed by: Sarah Porter

Sandra Bricker's Always the Wedding Planner Never the Bride ~ Reviewed

2011-09-29T06:18:00.000-07:00

Always the Wedding Planner Never the Bride

By Sandra D. Bricker

Published by Abingdon Press

ISBN 978-1-4267-3160-0

As a wedding planner, you'd think she would have the perfect wedding experience ...

Sherilyn Keys has left Chicago behind to marry Andrew Drummond IV, as Atlanta native with a family name that tops all the social registers

Landing the job as Tanglewood's wedding planner is a piece of cake for someone with a Type A personality; she's the perfect fit for a wedding hotel known for its attention to even the tiniest detail.

But when everything else is going along swimmingly, why are her own wedding plans drowning right before her eyes?

One way or the other Sherilyn is determined to make this wedding work—until the latest development threatens to call the whole thing off. Is it possible Sherilyn is allergic to her fiancé?

Always the Wedding Planner Never the Bride had me laughing all the way through. I loved the first book in this series, Always the Baker Never the Bride, but this one is even better. Bricker is the Queen of quirky characters and doesn't disappoint in Always the Wedding Planner. The story took some interesting twists and turns I didn't see coming, and left me thoroughly delighted at the end. Novel Rocket and I give it our highest recommendation. If you like to laugh, it's a must read.

Reviewed by: Ane Mulligan

Sr. Editor, Novel Rocket

Catherine Richmond's Spring for Susannah ~ Reviewed

2011-09-27T04:39:00.000-07:00

Spring for Susannah [Paperback]

Catherine Richmond

Format: Paperback

Number of Pages: 356

Vendor: Thomas Nelson

Publication Date: 2011

ISBN: 1595549242

Description

With no prospects for marriage and her parents recently deceased, Susannah Freemont agrees to go west to the Dakota territory to marry her minister's homesteading brother, Jesse. But Susannah is painfully shy, doesn't see herself as worthy of love from either a husband or from God, and lives in constant fear that Jesse is going to ship her back to Detroit.

In spite of her petite size and the fact that Susannah doesn't look like she could survive on the prairie, Jesse quickly discovers that his new wife is a greater blessing than he even hoped for. The years she spent as her father's veterinary assistant allow her to save Jesse's ox and twin calves and to help neighboring farmers with their animals.

But Susannah's feelings of unworthiness are deeply rooted, and she can't believe that Jesse's praise-or the tenderness and love he shows-could possibly last. The thawing of her heart seems almost as distant as Spring in the midst of the winter blanketing the Dakota prairie.

Review:

Springtime for Susannah is about a young woman named Susannah who agrees to travel to the Dakota Territory to marry the brother of her Pastor, whom she’s never met. Thinking herself an unlikely candidate to every marry any one, she has a hard time believing that her new husband, Jesse, has really come to care for her. Together they face many challenges, including blizzards, grasshoppers, and the possibility of having a baby.

This was a great book. I loved watching Susannah come out of her shell. The love Jesse showed to her despite her faults also led her back to a relationship with the Lord, which, in the end, helped her to get through some very difficult times. Jesse’s faith was challenged through out the story as well, but in the end he had to come back to His Lord for his comfort and strength. A great read for anyone who loves Christian historical fiction!

Reviewed by: Sarah Porter

Yvonne Harris's A River to Cross ~ Reviewed

2011-09-26T04:26:00.000-07:00

A River to Cross

By: Yvonne Harris

Published by: Bethany House

ISBN #: 978-0-7642-0805-4

278 Pages

Book Description:

Texas Ranger Jake Nelson patrols the U.S.-Mexico border, protecting the settlers from cattle rustlers, outlaws, and bandits. Sparks fly when Manuel Diego stirs up a revolt against the government, which leads to the murder of a newspaperman, who is the son of a U.S. senator, and the kidnapping of his sister, Elizabeth Madison, a journalist in the making.

With Elizabeth's photograph in hand--a dark-haired beauty with smiling eyes--Jake rides over the border to find her. After the Rangers defeat the marauders and rescue Elizabeth, Jake is surprised to learn she's not the spoiled daughter of a senator that he was expecting. In fact, he finds himself taken by her. And she by him.

But the Mexicans won't give up that easily, as Elizabeth becomes the target of an all-out hunt. Leaving Elizabeth back at Fort Williams, Jake and his men set off again, this time to go after Diego himself--to apprehend him and his renegades and bring them all to justice.

Meanwhile, Jake knows what's begun between him and Elizabeth is undeniable. Amid all the turmoil, Jake finally admits how much he loves her. She tells him the same. Until now, they've lived in different worlds, yet it is those differences that drew them together.

Review:

I was thrilled to receive a review copy of this western, adventure story busting with action right from the start! Unexpected danger erupts when the author whisks the reader inside a court room.

Elizabeth Evans is Senator Madison's daughter and sister of Lloyd Madison, newspaper business man. Elizabeth and Lloyd were inside County Courthouse, in El Paso Texas, when all heck broke loose. Elizabeth Evans then finds herself in the clutches of Manuel Diego, a man who rules Mexico underbelly.

Texas Ranger, Jake Nelson, hears of Senator Madison’s daugther kidnapping and sets out on a mission to find her. He’s determined to keep Elizabeth safe once he finds her and brings Manuel Diego to pay for his brutal crime. Jake learns early on the assumptions he had about Elizabeth being a spoiled, woman of privelege are wrong. He soon discovers she’s a strong courageous woman. She’s stubborn and determined to learn to ride a horse in order to make an easier escape. She’s determined but hiding in woods as they run from their enemy has it’s own issues. It was time to come up with a plan they both could live with.

Even though I did not read Yvonne’s first book - I enjoyed this book very much and it read as a stand alone. I liked Yvonne’s creativity and imagination. I also liked that I learned about that time period, gyspies and Texas Rangers. I liked this authors writing style well paced action and humor and how she started this story with a bang - literally. I liked the fact that this story wasn’t preachy or mushy with lovey stuff. Yvonne has a great mix of adventure, and suspense, interwoven with a tender love story of two people facing the hurts and pain of their past! Both find themselves thinking they might just give love a change again. I recommend this book to people who like Johnny Stewart type westerns with tender love stories, faithful cowboys and a believable spiritual thread!

Reviewed by: Nora St.Laurent

The Book Club Network

Margaret Brownley's A Vision of Lucy ~ Reviewed

2011-09-24T12:04:00.000-07:00

A Vision of Lucy (A Rocky Creek Romance)

Margaret Brownley

Paperback: 336 pages

Publisher: Thomas Nelson (June 28, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1595548114

Description:

Trouble follows Lucy wherever she goes. So does a vision of second chances . . . and love.

Lucy Fairbanks dreams of working as a photographer at the Rocky Creek newspaper. Her deepest hope is that her father will see her as an artist, the way he thought of her deceased mother, whose paintings still hang on their walls.

But disaster follows Lucy on every photo assignment: a mess of petticoats and ribbons, an accidental shooting, even a fire.

When Lucy meets David Wolf-a rugged, reclusive man who lives on the outskirts of town-she thinks she can catch the attention of the town with his photograph. She doesn't count on her feelings stirring whenever she's near him.

Two things happen next that forever change the course of Lucy's life. But will these events draw her closer to God or push her further away? And how will David accept this new vision of Lucy?

Review:

Margaret Brownley's historical romance novels have a great balance of humor, love and intrigue and A Vision of Lucy continues that trend. Lucy and David are appealing characters for different reasons. Lucy, with her enthusiastic approach to life and desire to forge a career in photography and David, battling prejudice and desperate to exact some justice for past wrongs against him. While there is a bit of he-man behavior at the beginning of the book, this is a fun, sweet story with some more serious elements surrounding David's heritage and racial prejudice. Fans of Mary Connealy and Karen Witemeyer will certainly enjoy A Vision for Lucy and Margaret's other stories.

Reviewed by: Rel Mollet

Susan Meissner's A Sound Among the Trees ~ Reviewed

2011-09-23T04:56:00.000-07:00

A Sound Among the Trees
By Susan Meissner
Published by WaterBrook Press
ISBN 978-0-307-45885-8

As a young bride, Susannah Page was rumored to be a Civil War spy for the North, a traitor to her Virginian roots. Her great-granddaughter Adelaide, the current matriarch of Holly Oak, doesn't believe that Susannah's ghost haunts the antebellum mansion looking for a pardon, but rather the house itself bears a grudge toward its tragic past.

When Marielle Bishop marries into the family, it isn't long before she is led to believe that the house she just settled into brings misfortune to the women who live there.

With Adelaide's richly peppered superstitions and deep family roots at stake, Marielle must assort out the truth about Susannah Page and Holly Oak—and make peace with the sacrifices she has made for love.

My thoughts

Masterfully drawn by great word artist Susan Meissner, A Sound Among the Trees is an intriguing and complex story, delving into relationships and traditions. I thoroughly enjoyed the journey as Marielle, while trying to unravel the mystery of Holly Oak, learned rumors can become tradition and believed as truth. Novel Journey and I give A Sound Among the Trees a high recommendation. An enchanting summer read.

Reviewed by: Ane Mulligan, editor
Novel Journey

Tia McCollors's Steppin' into the Good Life ~ Reviewed

2011-09-21T18:54:00.000-07:00

Steppin’ into the Good Life

By Tia McCollors

Moody Publishers

Paperback: 336 pages

Publisher: Lift Every Voice; 1 edition (February 1, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 080246291X

Back Cover:

Shelia Rushmore thought she'd be the last woman standing when it was time to fight for her man. Instead Ace, her boyfriend of two years, chose to reunite with his ex-wife, leaving Shelia emotionally devastated. It's a year later when Sheila is convinced that sneaking into their wedding ceremony will put closure on the gaping hole in her heart. But it's on the back pew of the church where a new relationship begins for Shelia. She can't explain the touch she received from God on that day, but she's determined to be a better woman-a woman of faith. Since high school, Shelia has been chasing her definition of the good life - it's left her with no home, no man, and no money. But now that's she's living life for God, things should get better, right? Shelia learns that living a faith-filled life isn't always easy.

With faith, tough love, and some tough decisions, Shelia realizes that the life she'd been praying for she could have for herself is actually attainable. Being wrapped in God's arms, she decided, was by far the safest place she'd ever been.

Review:

Shelia Rushmore starts the novel sneaking into her ex-boyfriend’s wedding. She picks up a date on her way out, then fights with her best friend and only means of transportation. From this point on, her life goes from bad to worse. She gives out her phone number like candy to every handsome man, then dodges them once their loser side shows through. Everything would be fine, if only she could keep her sugar-daddy off her back, her brother from robbing her blind, and her so-called best friend from throwing her out on the street. A job wouldn’t hurt, either.

And yet, despite her daily frustrations, and at times, seemingly hopeless predicament, Shelia feels peace, perhaps for the first time in her life. Clinging to a faith birthed in a wedding chapel, she begins to conform her life to Scriptural truths. Although she still longs for that knight in shining armor and the white-picket fence, she finds something even more valuable—authenticity and authentic community.

Author Tia McCollors has a fresh, funny, and engaging voice, making even ordinary events intriguing. When her main character came to faith at the beginning of the novel, I thought for sure the rest of the book would be an eye-glossing flop, but Shelia was such a quirky character and Tia’s writing was so unique, I thoroughly enjoyed the novel. Shelia’s struggles with learning to live a life consistent with her new faith were realistic and kept the novel fresh. Although there wasn’t a lot of plot depth to the novel, or a major character transformation, I appreciated the author’s portrayal of a new believer. Often novels present 0 to 60 characters (sinner to saint), but life transformation usually occurs more gradually.

Reviewed by: Jennifer Slattery