Wingate has another winner here. We get to go back to Moses Lake, although we don't see much of our old favorites. We glimpse Birdy and Len all settled in their home and Birdy is going to school, but they have already had their story. This one is about young woman being forced to face the demons she met in high school, like the mother of her high school crush, and the tormenting memories of her father's death. Funny that her uncles and mom live in an old funeral home.
The scenery is perfect, the characters are very believable and the dialog is enchanting. Lisa Wingate has a thang about Texas and can get into the heads of just about any Texan she writes about. She even does a great job of making a 30-something young woman act like the awkward teenager in front of her high school crush when he actually notices her this time. Do you feel sometimes like you are that gangly 17 year old again? Awkward speech, awkward stance, stumbling all over your words? It doesn't happen too often any more for me, but on occasion I get that buterflies-in-my-stomach feeling when looking out at the audience of women who expect me to spout some wisdom in their ears.
Anyhoot. Buy this book. It gets 5 of 5 stars. Its a keeper.
Heather
Hampton returns to Moses Lake, Texas, to help facilitate the sale of a
family farm as part of a planned industrial plant that will provide the
area with much-needed jobs. Heather's future fiance has brokered the
deal, and Heather is in line to do her first large-scale architectural
design--if the deal goes through.
But the currents of
Moses Lake have a way of taking visitors on unexpected journeys. What
was intended to be a quick trip suddenly morphs into Valentine's
week--with Blaine Underhill, the handsome banker who just happens to be
opposing Heather's project. Spending the holiday in an ex-funeral parlor
seems like a nightmare, but Heather slowly finds herself being drawn
into the area's history, hope, and heart.
If you would like to read the first chapter of Blue Moon Bay, go HERE.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Lisa Wingate is an award-winning journalist, magazine columnist, popular inspirational speaker and a national bestselling author of sixteen books. Her first mainstream novel, Tending Roses, is in its eighteenth printing from Penguin Putnam. Tending Roses is a staple on the shelves of national bookstore chains as well as in many independent bookstores.
Recently, Lisa’s Blue Sky Hill Series, set in Dallas, received national attention with back-to-back nominations for American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year Award for A Month of Summer (2009) and The Summer Kitchen (2010). Pithy, emotional, and inspirational, her stories bring to life characters so real that readers often write to ask what is happening to them after the book ends.
Lisa is one of a select group of authors to find success in both the Christian and mainstream markets, writing for both Bethany House, a Christian publisher, and NAL Penguin Putnam, a general market publisher. Her bestselling books have become a hallmark of inspirational fiction. Her works have been featured by the National Reader's Club of America, AOL Book Picks, Doubleday Book Club, the Literary Guild, Crossings Book Club, American Profiles and have been chosen for numerous awards.
When not busy dreaming up stories, Lisa spends time on the road as a motivational speaker. Via internet, she shares with readers as far away as India, where her book, Tending Roses, has been used to promote women's literacy, and as close to home as Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the county library system has used Tending Roses to help volunteer mentors teach adults to read. Recently, the group Americans for More Civility, a kindness watchdog organization, selected Lisa along with Bill Ford, Camille Cosby, and six others as recipients of the National Civies Award, which celebrates public figures who work to promote greater kindness and civility in American life.
This is a story that you truly need to read to your kids. It ultimately answers all those questions asked by children when someone dies in the family or the favorite pets dies. Those questions we dread to answer because it is so difficult to form words that will bring peace to our children. A person is there, and then the body remains but there is no life. Where does the life go?
Colton Burpo knows beyond any doubt what happens when you die and he remembered to tell his folks who wrote it down and then Thomas Nelson published the story. Buy the CDs, buy the book for adults first and then buy this one to read to your children. It is worthy, and I know it is true, for I know there is Heaven because God says it is so.
If you do not believe there is Heaven, then read it first. If you do not believe after reading this, then I'm sorry I won't see you when we all get to Heaven on that glorious day.
Heaven is for real, and you are going to like it!
Colton Burpo came back from his trip to heaven with a very important
message: Jesus really, really loves children. In effort to reach even
more families with this eternally significant story, this runaway
bestseller is now told from Colton—kid to kids! Children will receive
the same comfort and assurance that so many adults have received from
the trade book.
Beautifully illustrated, under Colton's direction, this book is
uniquely written from a child for a child. Colton tells of his
experiences in first person and comments on things that will be
important to kids. A letter to parents is included to guide them in
talking to their children about heaven. Scripture along with Q&A
section with answers from the Bible are also included in the book.
MY REVIEW...
Gordon MacDonald begins with asking the question, "What does a deep person look like?" Then he enumerates several qualities that describe deep people:
Quiet but noticeably living, people who exude all the fruit of the Spirit as well as grace and wisdom
People who know what their motivational gift is and who operate within that gift.
If a church were populated with a whole congregation of such deep people, there would be no power on earth great enough to stop their ministry.
Enter an unchurched friend who suddenly ask the 40+ year pastor, "What's your church's elevator story?" The pastor has this doe-in-the-headlights look. "What's an elevator story?
Thus a wonderful journey begins. With some very simple, yet powerful changes in church leadership meetings, injecting fun as mandatory, and understanding people's gifts, MacDonald takes this church into new heights of power. Miracles happen, and a church is deepened with the power of Christ Jesus.
An absolute must read for every pastor who deeply desires his church family to make a difference in the community doing exactly what God has intended His church to do. An amazing, and very readable book.
Five out of Five Stars.
ABOUT THE BOOK...
The future of the Christian faith will not be determined by the
number of people who fill the pews but by the spiritual depth of those
people.
Pastor Gordon MacDonald revisits the fictional New England
congregation of his critically acclaimed book Who Stole My Church to
deal with a new dilemma: What's his church's story? What is it doing
that justifies its existence? The importance of these questions is
anything but fiction.
Through a series of e-mails and discussions with friends and
parishioners, Pastor Gordon's search for their story leads him to
realize that the future of the Christian faith, and thus the church, is
at risk. As MacDonald says, "We seem to know how to get unchurched
people to visit our buildings. We even seem to know how to draw them
across the line into a declaration of personal faith in Jesus. But what
we do not seem to know is how to cultivate spiritually deep people.
Tomorrow's church could be headed for trouble."
Deep people. People who possess spiritual awareness and maturity,
people with solid, grounded, life-altering faith. MacDonald shows that
the church needs people with a passion for God's presence and a
desperate hunger to seek him above all things.
Join Pastor MacDonald and his congregation on their quest to
cultivate spiritual depth and grow into a community of believers whose
hearts and minds are truly focused on God.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR...
Dr. Gordon MacDonald has been a pastor and author for more than fifty
years. He serves as chancellor at Denver Seminary, editor-at-large for
Leadership Journal, and speaker at leadership conferences around the
world.
This is a WOW, 5-Star novel. The end of the first chapter made me gasp and I was hooked for every page until the end. I'm delighted to say that Christian Fiction has a magnificent author in Sibella Giorello. You won't want to miss a single paragraph of this novel, and for sure you'll want to purchase all the other books by Giorello.
Even though this is well into the Raleigh Harmon series, it is a perfect stand alone. You know something went on before, but you don't need that information for the storyline or for the characters believability and development.
The cruise ship is a great place for a murder mystery, and the suspects are mostly neurotic Hollywood types, but the way Giorello moves the plot along, you really aren't sure who the killer is until the last which is extremely satisfying.
I have complained so much before that writers are basically inept at combining romance with suspense. I have seen them make characters kiss at the most inopportune times or exchange mooning glances while embedded in unraveling a knot of mystery. Well, I stand corrected. Giorello is a genius at adding that romance touch with just the right amount of flavor and spice. Excellently done.
This one is a keeper!
ABOUT THE BOOK
Even Alaska can't give Raleigh Harmon a vacation from her job as an FBI forensic geologist.
A cruise to Alaska sounds like the perfect vacation--it's a geologist's dream and will give Raleigh space to sort out her feelings about her recent engagement. But before the ship even reaches its first port, a case manages to find her. The producer of a movie that's being filmed onboard goes missing and is then discovered hanging from the railing. Suicide seems to be the cause, but Raleigh quickly realizes the pieces don't add up.
When the Seattle field office sends Jack Stephanson to assist her in the investigation, her personal uncertainty skyrockets. Why is it that she forgets to even call her fiance back in Virginia. And Jack seems to know her as well as she knows herself. She'll have to wait to sort out those feelings, though, because she and Jack only have five days before the cruise ends to solve this case.
This is a most charming novel. It has a little suspense, a little tragedy, and a lot of great romance. You can't miss with this one.
While I really love her series about the folks from Daily, Texas, it didn't take very long to fall in love with the Game Warden and the Psychologist along with all the other characters that live in this rural area wrapped around a lake and a river in Texas. It has such depth of characterizations in a down home sort of way.
If you've ever lived in a rural town beside or near a lake, then you've already met the characters in this book. What a fun and amazing nostalgia trip for me. If you've never lived in a rural town before, then you're going to want to after reading this novel. Don't miss the baby raccoon in the shower, the Moaning Lady, or Len who is one of the scrungiest, but most interesting characters I've ever read about.
This is a Five Star offering and is well worth the money.
Lisa Wingate is an award-winning journalist, magazine columnist, popular inspirational speaker and a national bestselling author of sixteen books. Her first mainstream novel, Tending Roses, is in its eighteenth printing from Penguin Putnam. Tending Roses is a staple on the shelves of national bookstore chains as well as in many independent bookstores.
Recently, Lisa’s Blue Sky Hill Series, set in Dallas, received national attention with back-to-back nominations for American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year Award for A Month of Summer (2009) and The Summer Kitchen (2010). Pithy, emotional, and inspirational, her stories bring to life characters so real that readers often write to ask what is happening to them after the book ends.
Lisa is one of a select group of authors to find success in both the Christian and mainstream markets, writing for both Bethany House, a Christian publisher, and NAL Penguin Putnam, a general market publisher. Her bestselling books have become a hallmark of inspirational fiction. Her works have been featured by the National Reader's Club of America, AOL Book Picks, Doubleday Book Club, the Literary Guild, Crossings Book Club, American Profiles and have been chosen for numerous awards.
When not busy dreaming up stories, Lisa spends time on the road as a motivational speaker. Via internet, she shares with readers as far away as India, where her book, Tending Roses, has been used to promote women's literacy, and as close to home as Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the county library system has used Tending Roses to help volunteer mentors teach adults to read. Recently, the group Americans for More Civility, a kindness watchdog organization, selected Lisa along with Bill Ford, Camille Cosby, and six others as recipients of the National Civies Award, which celebrates public figures who work to promote greater kindness and civility in American life.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Adventure is the last thing on Andrea Henderson's mind when she moves to Moses Lake. After surviving the worst year of her life, she's struggling to build a new life for herself and her son as a social worker. Perhaps in doing a job that makes a difference, she can find some sense of purpose and solace in her shattered faith. For new Moses Lake game warden Mart McClendon, finding a sense of purpose in life isn't an issue. He took the job to get out of southwest Texas and the constant reminders of a tragedy for which he can't forgive himself. But when a little girl is seen with the town recluse, Mart and Andrea are drawn together in the search for her identity. The little girl offers them both a new chance at redemption and hope--and may bring them closer than either ever planned.
If you would like to read the first chapter of Larkspur Cove, go HERE.
MY REVIEW...
I adore Davis Bunn. His versatility in subject matter, his way with word pictures, his grasp of what makes suspense and avoidance of that which I like to skip in other, less professionally written novels all add up to some very excellent reads.
Black Madonna is another smash. Although, I really do not like it when men try to get into women's thoughts, Bunn does okay with it. He focuses more on the story than on angst which makes the story so much more interesting. Bunn also learned some great things from Janet Oke when he collaborated with her which makes these later novels by him so much better. (I'm quite sure she's learned a lot from him, too. It is a good author match.)
The suspense will have you reading far into the night. The surprises will chill your spine, and there is enough humor to break the tension just enough your muscles don't get sore.
The only thing that could make it better is the sub-story between Storm's two friends is not developed well. Bunn pulls the reader from the delicious suspense to agonize over a love story with few particulars so it just isn't satisfying. The other thing is Storm's attraction to the man she loves to hate in the beginning. That is truly formulaic and I am just a bit disappointed with T. Davis Bunn over that. However, it does not detract from the story line at all.
This one gets 5 of 5 stars. Worth the money and it's a keeper.
ABOUT THE BOOK...
Following the internationally acclaimed Gold of Kings, Storm Syrrell returns in the compelling story of The Black Madonna.
Antiques expert Storm Syrrell heads to Europe to investigate the clandestine trade in religious artifacts. She dismisses superstitious tales of miraculous healings and divine omens. Yet when an obsessive Russian oligarch calls—just as her friend Harry Bennett vanishes—all assumptions must be cast aside. Storm seeks answers in a medieval monastery. There, the scarred visage of an icon provokes ever more startling questions. Is she prepared to confront both earthly and spiritual powers? Storm remains haunted by lessons in love and betrayal that lie just outside her grasp. But hesitation now holds mortal consequences.
What is sacrificial love? That is the question asked by Ted Dekker of his fans and of the bloggers on this tour of his new book, Immanuel’s Veins.
Oddly, that term is not in the Bible. Nor is the term unconditional love found, but these principles are stark realities of God’s Word. We are to present ourselves and living sacrifices, Paul tells us in Romans 12:1. I wrote about unconditional love several years ago and still believe that humans are not capable of unconditional love without the continuing super power of God infusing our being completely and solely. How often does that happen?
Yet, there is Jesus on the cross thinking about the joy beyond, not the shame of the moment. There is the instance of Abraham who was told by God to sacrifice his precious son, Isaac. There is Paul who was beaten and left for dead, whipped, ship-wrecked, starved, worked for his living, who loved God so much that he bore all the tribulations to obey the command, “Go and make disciples.” The Apostles died terrible deaths for the Gospel, all for love of our Father who created us in His image and who gave His only Son so that we would be reconciled to Himself. That is sacrificial love. It is putting our self-serving desires aside to provide service to a greater cause.
Every Christian must know the difference between lust and love, but not every Christian exhibits sacrificial love. It goes against the human nature to love someone else more than oneself. God knows this which is why the 2nd Greatest Command is to Love one another as you love yourself. Healthy sacrificial love is not beating the chest, or slicing to let blood flow. It isn’t being crucified every Easter to show the world how much you love God.
It is quiet. It is sweet. It is unannounced. It is done, not talked about. A mother gives her tiny, daily ration to her child instead of eating the only meal she’s been able to scrounge, though she starves, her child will live. A father works three jobs so his wife doesn’t have to and his children can eat and go to college. A sister gives her only dress instead of loaning it so that her sister can look nice on an interview and get a job. A brother gives his kidney to his brother so he may live.
Sacrificial love is more than compassion in action. It is the ultimate giving of one’s self to make life or liberty better for others. Is it possible to exhibit it on a continual basis? We would die trying.
~oOo~
I read a little more than a quarter of the way into this new book of Dekker's and I felt this sinking in the pit of my stomach. I thought, "Oh, no! Ted has succumbed to this vampire trend. Why is everyone jumping on this stupid bandwagon? How in the world can this possibly be a Christian story???? Dekker, what have you gotten me into now?" Then I kept reading. The way he writes you just have to keep going.
I was struck by something else. Dekker has an uncanny way of seeing into human nature and putting it on paper (yes, even women's thoughts seem pretty much on target.) He captured the deep longing of the human heart and painted the pain with words. I think this may be one of his best. It was certainly gripping.
Tension builds as Toma (the hero) is confronted by a little gnome of a man who warns him that he is riding toward evil. Well, would you sit still on your horse having heard that if you were the champion warrior of your country? Of course not. Warriors have to face down the evil and defeat it. Thus begins an epic journey of the heart of one man.
This one is a keeper. I will say that it is not for the fainthearted or for the weak of stomach. Frankly, there were some stomach-churning parts I had to skip over. However, it is well worth the money.
Ted Dekker is a New York Times best-selling author of more than twenty novels. He is best known for stories which could be broadly described as suspense thrillers with major twists and unforgettable characters, though he has also made a name for himself among fantasy fans.
Early in his career he wrote a number of spiritual thrillers and his novels were lumped in with ‘Christian Fiction’ a surprisingly large category. His later novels are a mix of mainstream novels such as Adam, Thr3e, Skin, Obsessed and BoneMan’s Daughters, and fantasy thrillers that metaphorically explore faith. Best known among these is his Circle Series: Green, Black, Red, White and The Paradise Books: Showdown, Saint, and Sinner.
Dekker was born to missionaries who lived among the headhunter tribes of Indonesia. Because his parents’ work often included extended periods of time away from their children, Dekker describes his early life in a culture to which he was a stranger as both fascinating and lonely. It is this unique upbringing that forced him to rely on his own imagination to create a world in which he belonged.
After leaving Indonesia, Dekker graduated from a multi-cultural high school and took up permanent residence in the United States to study philosophy and religion. Upon earning his Bachelor’s Degree, he entered the corporate world and proceeded to climb the proverbial ladder. But his personal drive left him restless and, after many successful years, he traded corporate life for wide range of entrepreneurial pursuits that included buying and selling businesses, healthcare services, and marketing.
In the early nineties while visiting a friend who had just written a book, Dekker decided to pursue a long held desire to be a novelist. Over the course of two years he wrote two full length novels before starting from scratch and rewriting both. Now fully enamored by the the process and the stories, he realized that storytelling was in his blood and a new obsession to explore truth through story gripped him anew.
He sold his business, moved his family to the mountains of Western Colorado and began writing full-time on his third novel. Two years and three novels later his first novel, Heaven’s Wager, was published.
Now, Dekker’s novels had sold over 3.4 million copies worldwide. Two of his novels, Thr3e and House, have been made into movies with more in production. Dekker resides in Austin, Texas with his wife Lee Ann and two of their daughters.
ABOUT THE BOOK
This story is for everyone--but not everyone is for this story.
It is a dangerous tale of times past. A torrid love story full of deep seduction. A story of terrible longing and bold sacrifice.
Then as now, evil begins its courtship cloaked in light. And the heart embraces what it should flee. Forgetting it once had a truer lover.
With a kiss, evil will ravage body, soul, and mind. Yet there remains hope, because the heart knows no bounds.
Love will prove greater than lust. Sacrifice will overcome seduction. And blood will flow.
Because the battle for the heart is always violently opposed. For those desperate to drink deep from this fountain of life, enter.
I knew Bertrand had the kind of mettle to crank out a winner and he did. Mark has woven a tail that is not only very interesting, it is fast paced and so male. The only thing that could make it better is a little less editing knife. Some paragraphs and/or scenes seemed to have been cut to the point of almost incoherence. But, I get it. That is how men think most of the time. A few words here and there actually speak volumes. But, it does cause the story flow to stutter once in a while. On the other hand...
The reader is drawn into the world of policing when a man is on the cusp of a comeback. It makes for a very satisfying read. The characters are believable, the protagonist is strong, vulnerable, wise, impatient, and downright likable. Just when you think Roland and Charlotte may be heading for divorce, they're over the rough water and back together with both oars in the water.
Another interesting point is that this story is told from an unbeliever's POV, looking into the Christian world with no little amount of skepticism. Unusual? Not really, but so well done that you forget all others that went before this story.
This is five stars out of five. A Worthy read and it's a keeper.
J. Mark Bertrand has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Houston. After one hurricane too many, he left Houston and relocated with his wife Laurie to the plains of South Dakota.
Mark has been arrested for a crime he didn't commit, was the foreman of a hung jury in Houston, and after relocating served on the jury that acquitted Vinnie Jones of assault. In 1972, he won an honorable mention in a child modeling contest, but pursued writing instead. Besides his personal website, visit his Crime Genre website at http://www.crimegenre.com/.
The next book in this series, Pattern Of Wounds will come out in the summer of 2011.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Det. Roland March is a homicide cop on his way out.
A missing girl. A corrupt investigation. They thought they could get away with it, but they forgot one thing:
Roland March is BACK ON MURDER...
Houston homicide detective Roland March was once one of the best. Now he's disillusioned, cynical, and on his way out. His superiors farm him out on a variety of punishment details. But when he's the only one at a crime scene to find evidence of a missing female victim, he's given one last chance to prove himself. Before he can crack the case, he's transferred to a new one that has grabbed the spotlight--the disappearance of a famous Houston evangelist's teen daughter.
All he has to do? Find the missing teenage daughter of a Houston evangelist that every cop in town is already looking for. But March has an inside track, a multiple murder nobody else thinks is connected. With the help of a youth pastor with a guilty conscience who navigates the world of church and faith, March is determined to find the missing girls while proving he's still one of Houston's best detectives.
Battling a new partner, an old nemesis, and the demons of his past, getting to the truth could cost March everything. Even his life.
This is one of the best historical romances that I have read in a long time. What makes it so interesting is the authentic Biltmore Mansion, the detailed look behind the servants' quarters door, and the class boundaries. All very well done!
I wasn't that intrigued by the romance story, however, because this is the first of Gist's novels where she harps on the muscles of the leading man, Mack Danvers. What is that all about? There was a scene at the servants' dance where the protagonist, Tilly Reese, and her love interest are basically lost in each other. That scene was magnificent, as well as the quiet moments in early morning when the two meet doing their chores. Mack Danvers became my hero the instant I found out how he was caring for all his siblings and when he punched the child abuser! Bully for him!
I have an excellent imagination, as well as most readers. There isn't a need to keep talking about muscles. That comes through our imaginations quite nicely, thank you. Except for that minor flaw, this is a worthy read and a keeper.
After a short career in elementary education, Deeanne Gist retired to raise her four children. Over the course of the next fifteen years, she ran a home accessory and antique business, became a member of the press, wrote freelance journalism for national publications such as People, Parents, Parenting, Family Fun, Houston Chronicle and Orlando Sentinel, and acted as CFO for her husband’s small engineering firm--all from the comforts of home.
Squeezed betwixt-and-between all this, she read romance novels by the truckload and even wrote a couple of her own. While those unpublished manuscripts rested on the shelf, she founded a publishing corporation for the purpose of developing, producing and marketing products that would reinforce family values, teach children responsibility and provide character building activities.
After a few short months of running her publishing company, Gist quickly discovered being a "corporate executive" was not where her gifts and talents lie. In answer to Gist’s fervent prayers, God sent a mainstream publisher to her door who licensed her parenting I Did It!® product line and committed to publish the next generation of her system, thus freeing Gist to return to her writing.
Eight months later, she sold A Bride Most Begrudging to Bethany House Publishers. Since that debut, her very original, very fun romances have rocketed up the bestseller lists and captured readers everywhere. Add to this two consecutive Christy Awards, two RITA nominations, rave reviews, and a growing loyal fan base, and you’ve got one recipe for success.
Her 2010 books, Beguiled and Maid To Match are now available for order.
Gist lives in Texas with her husband of twenty-seven years and their two border collies. They have four grown children. Visit her blog to find out the most up-to-the-minute news about Dee.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Falling in love could cost her everything.
From the day she arrived at the Biltmore, Tillie Reese is dazzled, by the riches of the Vanderbilts and by Mack Danvers, a mountain man turned footman. When Tillie is enlisted to help tame Mack's rugged behavior by tutoring him in proper servant etiquette, the resulting sparks threaten Tillie's efforts to be chosen as Edith Vanderbilt's lady's maid, After all, the one rule of the house is no romance below stairs.
But the stakes rise even higher when Mack and Tillie become entangles in a cover-up at the town orphanage. They could both lose their jobs, their aspirations...their hearts.
If you would like to read the first chapter of Maid to Match, go HERE.
I don't know when I've enjoyed a historical romance more than this one. It has been a very long time. My advice is to hurry up and buy it, but don't start reading it when you settle into bed because you'll look up and suddenly it will be 2 AM! I couldn't believe how quickly time flew while I read. I'd think, just one more chapter, and two hours later, my eyes all bleary, I'd have to reluctantly put it aside and turn out the lights.
The characters are delightful, very well developed and quite believable. The dialogue is magnificent. The 1890s were atrocious times for women who had to suffer in corsets and really were not their own persons. The 1890s were also a time when women began to come out of their cocoons, but it would be another 20 years before women would be professionals at anything except "polite society".
Siri Mitchell has captured an era in intricate detail, with an understated flamboyance. All the glitter and the pomp are there, with the underlying concern of how the poor lived, the station of daughters who must catch The Catch of the Season with no regard for love or honor are displayed with seeming ease.
My favorite is that she has captured the art of nuance in prose. She tells the story in dialogue, and a sharp reader will “get it” without it having to be explained. I absolutely LOVE that! I do not need or want for everything to be laid out in neon signage. Just tell the story with the lifted brow, a slight smile and the turn of a shoulder at the perfect moment.
Excellent read!! Five out of Five Stars. A keeper.
Siri Mitchell is the author of nearly a dozen novels, among them the critically acclaimed Christy Award finalists Chateau of Echoesand The Cubicle Next Door. A graduate of the University of Washington with a degree in business, she has worked in many different levels of government. As military spouse, she has lived in places as varied as Tokyo and Paris. Siri currently lives in the DC-metro area. Visit www.sirimitchell.com
I have reviewed this book for Bethany House with no compensation.
I must begin this by saying that Gina Holmes is a truly insightful woman. Her blog, Novel Journey, is something to be admired and enjoyed by author and reader alike. She can ask some thought provoking questions that can get right to the heart of any issue that should be explored.
Gina Holmes began her career in 1998, penning articles and short stories. In 2005 she founded the influential literary blog, Novel Journey. She holds degrees in science and nursing and currently resides with her husband and children in southern Virginia. To learn more about her, visit www.ginaholmes.com or www.noveljourney.blogspot.com.
ABOUT THE BOOK
I have read lots of books about dying women -- cancer of breast, skin, lungs, brain, etc -- most of them were excruciatingly poignant. I do not know if I could have read them all if I were close to someone dying, because I have the kind of personality that identifies, if at all possible, with the protagonist of the story.
Gina Holmes must have been close to someone who was a mother and who was dying to catch the intensity of feelings that this story captures. Either that, or she interviewed many mothers.
The way she writes this story, the reader is sitting on the porch with Jenny Lucas, and you can smell the lake on the moisture laden breeze. Emotions we take for granted seem to peak and rise rather than ebb and flow in Jenny's breast. She learns, in the few short months she has left, she learns about forgiveness... about what true love is rather than clingy infatuation... and she learns how a deep abiding relationship with God turns the bitterest of anger into a soft acceptance of what is best for her tiny daughter.
You will smile and you will cry. Reading this book is a good experienced. But, I did get to a point where I wonder if Jenny would ever die. So much happens here that it becomes a point of circumstance reaction rather than character growth. However, Jenny learns a lot. She records the lessons in her journal and that becomes a treasure. Made me understand why I love writing so much. It is because I feel a burning desire to pass along what I've learned. I so identified with this character. I believe you will, too. This one is a keeper.
I read that and thought, "WOW! Finally someone who can explain why men think and do the things they do." Since I am a member of Book Sneeze at Thomas Nelson, I thought I'd see what this was all about.
John Eldredge wrote this book about ten years ago, and he has now updated it for today's man (and woman). I discovered that men today need permission to really be men. I heartily agree with that statement. Feminists have de-genderized society to the point that I'm not sure who is who anymore.
I have observed within my own experience the three things a man must have in order not to lose his being: 1. Battle to fight, 2. an Adventure to live, and 3. a Beauty of rescue. Each of these three things work together to make up a man's character. One can see perfectly what kind of man a man is when you study the fights he chooses, the adventures he takes, and the kind of Beauty that he links arms with through life.
There was something so satisfying about this book, simply because my 50+ years of observations rang true to what Eldredge was saying. He also does an excellent job in correlating Manly Jesus to manly things, all the while leaving room for tenderness with the Beauty and the Children as he succinctly states, "And all his wildness and all his fierceness are inseparable from his romantic heart...music, wine, poetry, sunsets, those were His inventions, not ours. We simply discovered what He had already thought of."
Its enough to make a maidenly heart flutter. And enough to give men permission to be all they can be, and still be lovely and comely in God's eyes as well as woman's. This is a keeper. Buy it, and give it to your son or husband or nephew or son-in-law. They will appreciate it and so will their wives.
Right now, I am standing and applauding Bethany House for finding such a jewel as Linda Nichols.
I believe Linda's grandmother and my grandmother were best friends, for she has captured the sights, sounds and smells of my girlhood between the pages of this book regarding the grandmother character.
The reader is caught up into the sphere of spiritual warfare from the very first page, and then reads how it all plays out in the earthly realm. I know I have read the first few pages of this before and I'm thinking it was a contest that Dave Long held on conversion experience. It was so gripping then that I remember it to this day.
This story is very unique and, yet, it is the oldest story since time began because we all get caught in Satan's web of seduction, we all think there is no way out, we all bargain with God at one time or another, we all get angry at circumstances and must fight to forgive our loved one's choices, and we all find out sooner or later that only God can cure all ills, heal all wounds and change all hearts... if we just allow Him the elbow room to do it.
This story is very well-woven. The characters are first rate developed and we see personalities clash in a most believable way. What I love most about this story is that every character grows, blossoms, and finds sure footing on their life path.
The main character, Bridie Collins, is worn out from the bad choices she has made. One day, she's had enough of buying ingredients for cooking meth and being the maid for two slothful drug dealers, so she bides her time until they both crash from too much of a bad thing. She steals the drug money and makes her getaway, calling a hot tip line to make sure that Jonah is arrested and put safely away so he won't come after her. The drug money is stolen so her plans for getting far, far away go awry. She settles in Virginia. Bridie is not her real name, it is her mother's. Somehow, taking on the name of her mother settles her spirit and infuses her soul with a modicum of peace. She is still running away from her bad choices and not facing the music, but we realize that she has some spiritual growing to do before that can happen. It may be the middle of winter, when snow swirling around, but what a garden grows in the little family that is blessed with her.
There are a couple of things that distract somewhat, and keep this story from being 5+ stars. When the paths of Bridie and Jonah part, we follow Bridie and then we're jerked from that story into the jail cell of Jonah. It does not lend to the storyline at all knowing what Jonah is thinking. The tension is better built with the fear from Bridie rather than Jonah's intentions. Also, there isn't a thing added to the storyline by knowing what Jonah's attorney is thinking or that she finally winds up out of the public defender's office and in the prosecutor's office. Those were major distractions.
In my opinion, it doesn't matter how excellently a story is written if we are led down dead end paths which do not include the protagonist. In crafting a believable story, the writer should understand that the reader feels cheated and bewildered when we don't know where we're going, there isn't any light at the end of the tunnel, and we're in the company of a character we do not know.
But don't let that keep you from buying this book for your Keeper Shelf. It is an extremely good character study of a pastor who is man-called, not God-called and of a woman who is coming to terms, with God's help, with her bad choices and how God works in our lives for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Excellent read. Time well spent.
Linda Nichols, a graduate of the University of Washington, is a novelist with a unique gift for touching readers' hearts with her stories. She is also the author of the acclaimed novelsIf I Gained the World and At the Scent of Water. She and her family make their home in Tacoma, Washington. Visit Linda's Web site at www.lindanichols.org
Enter Carina Maria DeGratia and her trusty mule on the side of a mountain with a broken wheel. Along comes a handsome but decidedly crusty man. Is he a knight in shinning armor? No. He just tells her to get whatever she treasures out of the wagon, then over the side the wagon goes. I completely sympathize with Carina when she gets angry.
The story opens very well, with quite an exciting trip down into the ravine to retrieve at least a change of clothes and her silver. However, the excitement dies down into an intriguing mystery. Carina is befriended by a sleezy lawyer with questionable practices in selling a house which Carina has the rightful deed... or does she?
As she tries to settle into this ribald town, she whines about her lost love Flavio. This man she pines for was unfaithful. (I'm not giving away a plot line here, in fact it should have been introduced much sooner, but too much was happening all at once, I guess.)
The problem is that this young woman is painted as a firebrand with much spirit and life, yet she whines at least twice a day about this Flavio. She dreams about him, too. I got disgusted with it about half way through the novel. I know what I'm talking about because I have lived through this kind of disaster. When a man is unfaithful, then the emotion at the forefront is anger. That takes a long time to work through. Ah, well, different strokes and all that.
The historical aspect is very interesting. You can tell that Kristen did her homework. I have spent some time in gold rush towns (both ghost town and quite lively) and this historical account rings true. The characters have been very well developed. There is nothing two-dimensional about them. They are all quite unique and colorful. They all have their warts, they all have good qualities. It is a good read if you can get past the constant reminder about Flavio.
Kristen Heitzmann is the bestselling author of over a dozen novels, including Freefall, Halos, A Rush of Wings, and the Christy Award winner Secrets. She and her husband, Jim, and their family live in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where she serves as worship leader in their church. Visit Kristen's Web site at http://www.kristenheitzmann.com/
Anything from Guideposts has always had the highest quality and this year's Christmas story is no exception. It has a marvelous cover with beautiful artwork and all of that is before you even open the book.
Once you start reading this intricately woven story from the viewpoint of all the family members, you can see why communication is a crucial key for family relationships (not to mention all other relationships both personal and business). We do not have the ability to read each other's minds. While the Holy Spirit does a most excellent job of helping us to understand our loved ones and their motives, we must make sure that we put God first above all others, no exceptions.
I have read stories before that were written from different perspectives and got very bored before finishing the novels because you are reading the same thing, just different angles. But this one is well done, and each perspective moves the story along. It was only slightly tiresome reading all the background story, too, but that did lend a greater insight to motives and beliefs.
The last page is a bit ambiguous, and I hate ambiguous endings... but then I think, how else could it end? This is a saga told succinctly and poignantly beginning with WWII up to present day. We slowly find out what happens to this set of treasured Christmas glass ornaments, and there is a beautiful testament of friendship.
Excellent read, well worth the money. It is a keeper
Marci Alborghetti has been writing only slightly longer than she's been reading. In seventh grade she received her first writing prize for a zany Halloween story. The prize? A five dollar gift certificate to a local bookstore. She was hooked. The Christmas Glass is her fourteenth book, and she is currently at work on a sequel as well as a non-fiction book about service. Some of her other books include: Prayer Power: How to Pray When You Think You Can’t, A Season in the South and Twelve Strong Women of God.
She and her husband, Charlie Duffy, live in New London, Connecticut and the San Francisco Bay area. While in New London she facilitates the Saint James Literary Club.
ABOUT THE BOOK
In the tradition of The Christmas Shoes and A Christmas on Jane Street, the heartwarming story of The Christmas Glass shows how, today as always, the Christmas miracle works its wonders in the human heart.
In the early days of World War II in Italy, Anna, a young widow who runs a small orphanage, carefully wraps her most cherished possessions -- a dozen hand-blown, German-made, Christmas ornaments, handed down by her mother -- and sends them to a cousin she hasn't seen in years.
Anna is distressed to part with her only tangible reminder of her mother, but she worries that the ornaments will be lost or destroyed in the war, especially now that her orphanage has begun to secretly shelter Jewish children. Anna's young cousin Filomena is married with two-year-old twins when she receives the box of precious Christmas glass.
After the war, Filomena emigrates to America, where the precious ornaments are passed down through the generations. After more than forty years, twelve people come to possess a piece of Christmas glass, some intimately connected by family bonds, some connected only through the history of the ornaments.
As Christmas Day approaches, readers join each character in a journey of laughter and tears, fractures and healings, as Filomena, now an eighty-four-year-old great-grandmother, brings them all to what will be either a wondrous reunion or a disaster that may shatter them all like the precious glass they cherish.
