Saturday, March 29, 2014

Mark of Evil by Tim LaHaye and Craig Parshall

Mark of Evil (The End Series, #4)

Book Description

Economies have fallen, freedom has been suppressed, and peace is a distant memory. The world is falling apart. Joshua Jordan’s protégé Ethan March, along with Jimmy Louder and Rivka Reuban have been left behind in a world that is rapidly coming under the complete influence of the Antichrist.
Technology is growing by leaps and bounds, with BID-Tag implants, robotic police units, and drone-bots flying overhead . . . all designed to control and dominate those who resist the Antichrist’s reign of evil. As Biblical prophecy is fulfilled each new day, Ethan and the others in the Remnant struggle to eat, to procure necessary goods, and to avoid the Global Alliance---in short, to survive.
But when the forces of evil attempt to pervert the world’s most powerful information system to their own sinister ends, eliminating everyone who gets in their way, it’s up to Ethan and the Remnant to subvert their dark ambitions. From New York Times best-selling author Tim LaHaye, creator and co-author of the world-renowned Left Behind books, and Craig Parshall, Mark of Evil is the final thrilling chapter in The End series.
With high-tech thrills against a background of prophetic events that seem to leap from today’s news, this is the story of global tribulations bringing the world one step closer to the reign of the Antichrist and the return of Jesus Christ in glory.

My Take:  This is the last book in this series.  I had listened to the first two book in this series on audio but I had not read or listened to the third one so I was alittle lost for the first couple of  chapters so it is not necessary to read the first ones to enjoy this book.  These books are not the Left behind books.  This book has alot more technology and it has alot of characters.  To be perfectly honest I struggled getting into this series because I loved the Left Behind series and I had a hard time not comparing it to the other series.  This series does have it's pros.  The way the rapture has already occurred and to buy or sell you must have the tags embedded.  This book did have turning the pages to see what was going to happen and who was going to live and who was going to die (and some of my favorite characters don't make it to the end).  I enjoyed Left Behind better but this series did entertain me and I would recommend it to others but I would read this series before Left Behind if you can.  

I received a review copy from BookLook Blogging program in exchange for my honest review.  

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Twelve to Murder by Lauren Carr




From Goodreads.com

Two people are brutally murdered in their summer place on Deep Creek Lake. Suspected of the murders, former child star and one-time teenybopper idol Lenny Frost takes innocent bystanders hostage in a local pub and demands that Mac Faraday find the killer. Can Mac save the hostages and himself from the wrath of the enraged has-been by piecing together the clues in less than twelve hours, or will it be a fatal last call at the stroke of midnight?

"Twelve to Murder must be one of the more intense novels the author has written, and one readers will not want to put down. Twists and turns keep the plot moving forward at break-neck speed and fans working hard to figure out who killed the Stillman's. As always, it isn’t who we think." - Reviewer: Edie Dykeman, Bellaonline Mystery Editor

"Carr once again delivers a punch with her latest Mac Faraday novel, Twelve to Murder. Like all Carr's other novels, Twelve to Murder kept me glued to its pages from the very start, and while this murder mystery looks like it may be a cut and dried whodunit, Carr's expertise keeps readers guessing while the twist and turns unfold." - Reviewer: A Book Vacation Reviews

"As always, Lauren Carr brings an action packed story that is almost impossible to put down. Her mystery plots have so many twists and turns, I didn't know if I was coming or going. And the action just didn't stop, from the very beginning, till the very end. If you haven't read any of Lauren's work, I suggest you do she is a great writer and this one didn't disappoint at all. I look forward to reading more Mac Faraday novels in the future as they always keep me entertained."--Reviewer: Melina Mason, Melina's Book Reviews


"Twelve To Murder is a clever blend of comedy, mystery, and sappy love story. Lauren Carr does a good job of moving the quirky storyline along nicely with an abundance of witty dialogue. And you have no idea who the good guys are and who the bad guys are until the end." - Reviewer: Every Free Chance Book Reviews.

My Take:  This is the first book I have read by Lauren Carr but it will not be the last.  This is the seventh in a series so I will be going back to read the others in the series not because I needed to have read the others to enjoy this book but because this book was so good that I want to read more.  This mystery has all the right elements that make a good mystery.  The characters are very believable and the story keeps you guess right up till the very end,  Great book.  



Lauren Carr fell in love with mysteries when her mother read Perry Mason to her at bedtime. The first installment in the Joshua Thornton mysteries, A Small Case of Murder was a finalist for the Independent Publisher Book Award. 

Lauren is also the author of the Mac Faraday Mysteries, which takes place in Deep Creek Lake, Maryland. It’s Murder, My Son, Old Loves Die Hard, and Shades of Murder, and Blast from the Past have all been getting rave reviews from readers and reviewers. The Murders at Astaire Castle is the fifth installment in the Mac Faraday Mystery series. The next installment in the Mac Faraday series, The Lady Who Cried Murder will be released in October of this year.

Released September 2012, Dead on Ice introduced a new series entitled Lovers in Crime, which features prosecutor Joshua Thornton with homicide detective Cameron Gates. The second installment in the Lovers in Crime, Real Murder, series will be out in 2014.

The owner of Acorn Book Services, Lauren is also a publishing manager, consultant, editor, cover and layout designer, and marketing agent for independent authors. This year, several books, over a variety of genre, written by independent authors will be released through the management of Acorn Book Services, which is currently accepting submissions. Visit Acorn Book Services website for more information.

Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. She also passes on what she has learned in her years of writing and publishing by conducting workshops and teaching in community education classes.

She lives with her husband, son, and three dogs on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV.

I received a review copy of this book from Pump your Book in exchange for my honest review.  

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Dancing with Fireflies by Denise Hunter

Book Info
About the book: A Chapel Springs Romance

Jade returns home to Chapel Springs after years of protecting her fragile heart. Then along comes Daniel, making her long to dance again.

Creative and complicated, Jade McKinley felt like a weed in a rose garden growing up in Chapel Springs. When she left, she thought she'd never look back. But now, pregnant, alone, and broke, she has no other choice but to return.
The mayor of Chapel Springs, Daniel Dawson, has been an honorary member of the McKinley family for years. While his own home life was almost non-existent, Daniel fit right into the boisterous McKinley family. He's loved Jade for years, but she always saw him as a big brother. Now that she's back, his feelings are stronger than ever.
As Jade attempts to settle in, nothing feels right. God seems far away, she's hiding secrets from her family, and she's strangely attracted to the man who's always called her "squirt." Finding her way home may prove more difficult than she imagined.

Purchase a copy: http://ow.ly/uJ6OD

About the Author: Denise Hunter is an internationally published best-selling author. Her books have won The Holt Medallion Award, The Reader's Choice Award, The Foreword Book of the Year Award, and was a RITA finalist. In 1996, inspired by the death of her grandfather, Denise began her first book, writing while her children napped. Two years later it was published, and she's been writing ever since. Her husband says he inspires all of her romantic stories, but Denise insists a good imagination helps, too. When Denise isn't writing, she's busy raising three heroes-in-the-making with her husband.

Learn more about Denise at: http://www.denisehunterbooks.com








My Take:  I have enjoyed other books that Denise Hunter has written so I thought I would give this book a try.  Although this is a second in the series you won't be to lost if you haven't read the first book.  I intend to go back and read the first in the series because I enjoyed this one so much.  This book is about letting yourself love again after a disappointment in a previous relationship.  The characters are very well depicted and I can see them as being real live people.  This book has your emotions going all over the place.  Very well written.  I will be looking forward to other installments in this series.  

I received a review copy of this book from Litfuse in exchange for my honest opinion. 

The Devil Walks in Mattingly by Billy Coffey

Book Info
About the book: For the three people tortured by their secret complicity in a young man's untimely death, redemption is what they most long for . . . and the last thing they expect to receive.
It has been twenty years since Philip McBride's body was found along the riverbank in the dark woods known as Happy Hollow. His death was ruled a suicide. But three people have carried the truth ever since---Philip didn't kill himself that day. He was murdered.
Each of the three have wilted in the shadow of their sins. Jake Barnett is Mattingly's sheriff, where he spends his days polishing the fragile shell of the man he pretends to be. His wife, Kate, has convinced herself the good she does for the poor will someday wash the blood from her hands. And high in the mountains, Taylor Hathcock lives in seclusion and fear, fueled by madness and hatred.
Yet what cannot be laid to rest is bound to rise again. Philip McBride has haunted Jake's dreams for weeks, warning that he is coming back for them all. When Taylor finds mysterious footprints leading from the Hollow, he believes his redemption has come. His actions will plunge the quiet town of Mattingly into darkness. These three will be drawn together for a final confrontation between life and death . . . Between truth and lies.

Purchase a copy: http://ow.ly/ux3hc

About the Author: Billy Coffey's critically-acclaimed books combine rural Southern charm with a vision far beyond the ordinary. He is a regular contributor to several publications, where he writes about faith and life. Billy lives with his wife and two children in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains. 

Learn more about Billy at: http://billycoffey.com





My Take:  This book was definitely a slow starter for me.  I felt like I was in the middle of the story when I first started reading (which I guess is really kinda of what I was as the main event took place about twenty years before.)  I can't say that I really enjoyed this book but I will say there was alot of drama and it did keep me turning the pages to see what was going to happen.  This just wasn't my kind of book and I couldn't really enjoy it.  Not sure why.  It was well written and I am sure others will enjoy it.

I received a review copy from Litfuse in exchange for my honest opinion. 

First Chapter Peak of Love Redeemed by Kelly Irvin

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!



Today's Wild Card author is:


and the book:

Harvest House Publishers

***Special thanks to Ginger Chen of Harvest House for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Kelly Irvin is a Kansas native and has been writing professionally for 30 years. She and her husband, Tim, make their home in Texas. They have two children, three cats, and a tankful of fish. A public relations professional, Kelly is also the author of two romantic suspense novels and writes short stories in her spare time. To learn more about her work, visit www.kellyirvin.com.



SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:In the second book of the New Hope Amish series, one young woman must find a way to move beyond the agony and mistakes of her past and embrace God’s promises for a hopeful future…and a love of her own.




http://youtu.be/sic4oyVOYDU 




AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:

Phoebe Christner longed for water. Sweet, cool water. The kind that soothed a parched throat. She should be concentrating on living water, but the blazing August heat made it almost impossible. Who had the bright idea of holding baptism classes outside in hundred-degree weather? Probably her daed. As if the searing heat would make the scholars more likely to choose the church and eternal salvation. She hid a smile behind her damp palm and then swiped at the sweat trickling down her forehead with the back of her sleeve. The sound of hymns sung by the other members of her community wafted from her family’s barn, a slow, steady hum that threatened to lull her to sleep. She jerked upright on the hard wooden bench. No sleeping in class. The humid air hung heavy on her shoulders, making her dress sodden under her arms. She strained to feel a tiny breeze, a hint of fresh air to dissipate the rank smell of manure and horse that hung over the corral. Her stomach rumbled like a train, threatening to drown out the sound of the blue jays chattering in the oak trees that shaded their small class. The heat of embarrassment rolled over her, compounding her discomfort. She hazarded a glance at Michael Daugherty. He sat back straight, arms folded over his chest, on the bench across from her, next to his best friend Daniel Knepp. She tried her best not to stare, but Michael’s dark blue eyes, full lips, and the hint of dimples rarely seen but surely there made it hard to look away. His gaze sideswiped hers. The skin of his tanned face grew darker. He ducked his head. Now she’d embarrassed him too. Her face as warm as the sun that beat on them, Phoebe wiggled in her seat and leaned over to brush away a piece of dry grass from her dusty prayer service shoe. Michael’s cousin Rachel elbowed her and gave her the look. The look that said Stop it now before it’s too late. Molly Troyer, sitting at her right side, coughed into her hand, a soft, warning cough. They’d all been friends since before Phoebe could remember. They knew how easy it was for her to get off track. Too late. “Phoebe, are you sitting on a pile of ants, by any chance?” Despite his words, Thomas Brennaman didn’t sound angry. Phoebe so wanted to possess the deacon’s unending well of patience. Instead, she flitted from one thing to the next, like a hummingbird. “Forget those flights of fancy and concentrate. Baptism is one of the most important and sacred acts in your life.” Mortified, she cast a swift glance in Michael’s direction. A touch of something—sympathy maybe—softened his gaze. He shook his head slightly, as if to ask, What’s going on with you? He had no idea how hard she tried. He so rarely talked to her beyond a few mumbled words of greeting at the singings or a congratulatory whoop when she got a hit at the baseball games they’d played outside the schoolhouse in the old days. In fact, he seemed to go to great lengths to avoid talking to her. To be fair, he wasn’t much of a talker with anyone. If only he could make an exception with her. “Phoebe, do you have corn cobs in your ears?” Now Thomas did sound aggravated. “Hello?” Daydreaming again. Her face burned. “I’m sorry. It’s so warm today. And I didn’t have time to eat breakfast this morning.” She flapped both hands in front of her face, trying to create a breeze. “Now it’s hard to concentrate because I’m so hungry. The lesson and three hours of service—well, it’s a long time until we eat.” “You always have an excuse. We’ve been through a half dozen lessons this summer, and you’re still offering excuses. You’re not a child anymore.” Thomas’s thick eyebrows waggled over a new pair of gold-rimmed spectacles that made him look like her daed when he sat down to read The Budget newspaper in the evening. “After you join the church, you’ll be considered an adult. If you finish these classes. You can’t burn the candle at both ends…” He let the sentence trail off, but his gaze wandered to the others in this group, all young, all at the tail end of their rumspringas. The older folks turned a blind eye to the shenanigans that went on during this period of running around, but sometimes it was hard to miss. The late hours, the schinckt of cigarette smoke lingering in clothes, a necklace one of them forgot to remove. Phoebe tried never to flaunt her forays into the Englisch world in her parents’ faces, but she knew they cringed at her late hours and unexpected absences. This morning she’d overslept and only arrived downstairs in time to clean the kitchen. She couldn’t expect to eat if she didn’t help prepare the meal. “I’m sorry. I promise to do better.” Her stomach growled again, like a bear threatening to claw its way out. Embarrassment made the tips of her ears hot. “I’ll study hard.” “Pray hard. Look into your heart and make sure this is something you want to do. To commit to the church and to follow the Ordnung for the rest of your life.” Thomas’s gaze roved from Phoebe to Molly and Rachel on the girls’ side and then, with slow deliberation, to Michael and Daniel. “If you have any doubt in your mind, wait. There’ll be another opportunity in the spring.” His gaze came back to rest on Phoebe. She tried to hold it but faltered. He seemed to know of the turmoil in her head. She wanted to be baptized. She wanted to commit to the church for life. She loved her family and her community. But mostly she wanted to marry, live with her husband on their own farm, and have children. Two things had to happen first. She had to be baptized and she had to somehow get Michael’s attention. Hard as the baptism classes were, the first seemed easier than the second. So here she sat outside her family’s home, sweating in hundred-degree Missouri weather, hoping to take a step in the right direction on both counts. “The second sermon is beginning. We need to go in.” Thomas stretched his long legs out in front of him, his expression somber. “You’ll meet with Silas in two weeks. Be sure you keep working through the Dordrecht Confession of Faith. We’ll review the seventeenth and eighteenth articles next time. The date for baptism will be set for two weeks before the fall grossgemme. Then it will be time for communion, which you will take as members of the church. We should have dates by the next class.” Baptism and then her first meeting as a member of the church. She would have a vote on changes in the Ordnung. Then her first communion. Phoebe swallowed against the bitter taste in the back of her throat. Her days of rumspringa would be over. Days of slipping out to hear music and watch the big-screen TV over the bar in the little tavern in New Hope would be over. So would riding with her hair down and blowing in the hot wind in their Englisch friend Dylan’s convertible on the back roads that wound their way through fields full of rustling cornstalks. Time to grow up. Time to marry and have children. She hoped. “But in two weeks we’ll be at Stockton Lake.” Her voice timid, Molly raised her hand as if she were still in school. “All our families will be there.” The thought of the lake and swimming and fishing and barbecuing hot dogs and marshmallows and making mountain pies and telling stories in the tent after dark made Phoebe want to stand up and shout hallelujah. She caught herself just in time. Michael’s daed had announced his intention to take the whole family as well. She’d have plenty of opportunity to cross paths with Michael morning, noon, and night. To strike up a conversation. Maybe he’d ask her to take a walk in the woods some evening. Maybe. Just maybe. A nudge from Rachel told her she’d done it again. Quickly, she fixed her gaze on Thomas, who perused the calendar book he always brought with him to the classes. “You’re right. I’ve lost track of the days.” Frowning, he shoved his hat back on his head. “I’ll talk with Luke and Silas about the dates. You’ll be told with plenty of time for prayerful consideration.” He stood. “Go. I don’t want any of you missing the service.” No one needed to be told again. Everyone popped up from the benches like wild horses set free from a corral. Rachel and Daniel traipsed ahead of Thomas, pretending they didn’t know each other from Adam when everyone in their tight circle of friends knew the two were leaving the singings together on Sunday nights. Phoebe hung back, wanting to give Michael a chance to say something—anything. Molly gave Phoebe a skeptical glance, sighed, and trudged after the others. A band tightened around Phoebe’s heart. The man her friend fancied would marry another in November. At least Phoebe still had hope. As far as she knew, Michael hadn’t shone his flashlight in anyone else’s window. “Molly, wait.” She slipped over and gave her friend a quick hug so she could whisper in her ear. “You’ll meet someone soon. Don’t worry.” “All in God’s time, right?” Molly sniffed and swiped at her nose. “For you too, right?” “Right.” Phoebe patted her back. “You’re such a good girl. You’ll see. It’ll all work out.” “It always does. God has a plan.” Molly managed a watery smile. “Anyway, I’d better get in there. My mudder’s waiting. Yours too, I expect.” “Aren’t you coming to the singing tonight?” “Nee. I don’t want to see…him.” Molly swiped at her nose again with the back of her sleeve. Her huge brown eyes fringed with dark lashes—her best feature—were bright and wet behind her brown-rimmed glasses. “I never have a handkerchief when I need one. Anyway, behave, friend. They’re watching, you know.” “I will.” Molly’s funk melted away and she chuckled, a soft, sweet sound that made Phoebe smile. “No you won’t, but you will try.” Looking like a chubby pheasant in her dark brown dress, she trudged toward the barn, her head down. “Cheer up,” Phoebe called. “Everything in its time. Isn’t that what they always say?” Molly flopped one hand in a wave, but she didn’t look back. Phoebe turned to find Michael staring at her, an odd expression on his face. She tugged at her apron, certain her kapp needed straightening. “Are you going in?” What a silly thing to ask. Of course he was. She might as well have commented on the weather. Hot, isn’t it? Michael stood, his tall, broad frame towering over her. His eyes, the color of the sky on an early spring morning, seemed to pierce her. “Did you understand what Thomas was saying?” “About gelassenheit?” She struggled to organize her thoughts. She’d heard her daed give dozens of sermons on the topic, but she hadn’t given it much thought. She’d spent her whole life yielding to a higher authority—mostly Daed’s. Still, she’d wanted to talk to Michael. Even if she didn’t get to pick the topic. “I think so. We’re supposed to yield to the will of God and be content about it.” “I wonder how we’re supposed to know what His will is.” Michael cocked his head, his forehead wrinkled under his Sunday service hat. Tufts of his dark—almost black—hair escaped under the brim. “Do you ever wonder that?” Phoebe generally left the talk of religion to those who understood these things better. She only knew what she felt. She might be hotheaded and hot-blooded by her folks’ standards, but she loved her Lord God and she loved her community in a speechless bigger-than-her sort of way. She was in a hurry, that was all. Her mudder said she had always been that way for the entire nineteen years of her life. Learning to walk and talk earlier than her bruders and schweschders. Learning to read sooner. Speaking English first. Always running to school instead of walking. “Nee, not really.” She traced a line in the dirt with the toe of her shoe. “I just do the best I can. I figure He’ll do the rest.” Michael smiled then, a brief smile so breathtaking Phoebe forgot how to move. She forgot how to breathe. She forgot the two languages she knew how to speak. Her mudder’s voice entreated her to always remember Gott watches. Gott knows. Before she could say anything or do anything, Michael started toward the barn. Her opportunity slipped through her fingers once again. “Michael, wait.” His long-legged pace slowed. He glanced back. “We don’t want to miss the sermon.” “Your family is going to Stockton Lake?” “Jah.” He halted and turned. “Yours too?” “Jah.” The pause lengthened. Say something, say something. She really wanted Michael to say the something that would lead to the next step. Whatever that next step turned out to be. She had no experience with this. Instead, he fixed her with a perplexed look as if he had no idea, either. “Then I guess we’ll see each other there.” “I guess we will.” He shifted from one foot to the other. She did the same. “Maybe we—” “We could—” “What’s going on here?” Phoebe’s daed strode toward them, his tall, wiry body backlit by the sun. At first she couldn’t see his expression, but she heard the surefire irk in his words. “Phoebe, get yourself into the service. Now.” “Nothing’s going on—” “Go.” “Daed—” “Phoebe.” The command in his voice sent her scurrying toward the barn. His gaze icy, he moved aside so she could pass. She’d finally exchanged more than two words with Michael, and her father was about to break the slim thread between them. “Daed, please.” She poured all the entreaty she could muster into the words. “We were just talking.” “When you should’ve been listening to the sermon.” She risked one last glance at Michael. He looked the same as always. Untroubled. Shoulders broad enough to bear the weight of the world. “I’m sorry. I had a question about the lesson,” he said. He wrapped his fingers around his suspenders, his expression earnest. “I held up Phoebe, thinking she could help me figure it out.” Her daed’s glare faded a little. “You should ask those questions of Thomas.” The growl in his voice dissolved. “Or me.” “I will.” The two men seemed to size each other up. Michael didn’t know her daed all that well. If he did, he’d look a whole lot more worried.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

The Hungry Family Slow Cooker Cookbook by Christina Dymock




I love my Slow Cooker and am always looking for recipes for it (especially since I recently started working third shift).  I love being able to put everything into the slow cooker when I get home in the morning and have it cook all day while I sleep and having a great meal waiting for me when I get up.

This cookbook is great as it has alot of recipes that will feed a family of six all done from your slow cooker.  There are recipes for beef, poultry, seafood pork and other good stuff, chili, sides, soups and stews and desserts.  There are sprinkled throughout pictures that make you drool just by looking at them.

I like the tip she gave of cooking frozen beef in the slow cooker to have ready for casseroles and what not.

I just made the Steak and Potato Dinner in the Slow Cooker yesterday and boy was it delicious and super easy.

This cookbook would be terrific for families that are busy but don't want to stop at the fast food drive through all the time.  It is so nice knowing that you have a great homecooked meal at home waiting for you.

This Book can be bought at Amazon.

If you want to learn more about the author you can visit her blog.

I received a pdf of this book for review from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

It Had to be You by Susan May Warren

Book Info
About the book: A Christensen Family Novel.
Eden Christiansen never imagined her role as her younger brother Owen's cheerleader would keep her on the sidelines of her own life. Sure, it feels good to be needed, but looking after the reckless NHL rookie leaves little time for Eden to focus on her own career. She dreamed of making a name for herself as a reporter, but is stuck writing obits---and starting to fear she doesn't have the chops to land a major story. If only someone would step up to mentor Owen . . . but she knows better than to expect help from team veteran and bad-boy enforcer Jace Jacobsen.
Jace has built his career on the infamous reputation of his aggressive behavior---on and off the ice. Now at a crossroads about his future in hockey, that reputation has him trapped. And the guilt-trip he's getting from Eden Christiansen isn't making things any easier. But when Owen's carelessness leads to a career-threatening injury and Eden stumbles upon a story that could be her big break, she and Jace are thrown together . . . and begin to wonder if they belong on the same team after all.

Learn more and purchase a copy at Susan's website.

About the Author: Susan May Warren is the bestselling, RITA Award-winning author of more than forty novels whose compelling plots and unforgettable characters have won acclaim with readers and reviewers alike. She served with her husband and four children as a missionary in Russia for eight years before she and her family returned home to the States. She now writes full-time as her husband runs a lodge on Lake Superior in northern Minnesota, where many of her books are set. She and her family enjoy hiking, canoeing, and being involved in their local church. Several of her critically acclaimed novels have been ECPA and CBA bestsellers, were chosen as Top Picks by Romantic Times, and have won the RWA's Inspirational Reader's Choice contest and the American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year award. Five of her books have been Christy Award finalists. In addition to her writing, Susan loves to teach and speak at women's events about God's amazing grace in our lives. She also runs a writing community for authors. Visit MyBookTherapy.com to learn more.

Learn more about Susan at: http://www.susanmaywarren.com


My Take:  I feel myself becoming attached to the Christiansen family and I am liking it.  This si the second in the series about this family and this isn't your perfect christian family that has no flaws but these feel like real people that you can relate to and be friends with if they were real.  I enjoyed reading about Eden and her relationship with Jace and the story takes place in an environment that I am not use that of hockey.  I look forward to reading more about this family. 

I received a review copy of this book in exhcnage for my honest opinion from Litfuse .

A Sky without Stars by Linda S. Clare

Book Info
About Quilts of Love: Quilts tell stories of love and loss, hope and faith, tradition and new beginnings. The Quilts of Love seriesfocuses on the women who quilted all of these things into their family histories. A new book releases each month and features contemporary and historical romances as well as women's fiction and the occasional light mystery. You will be drawn into the endearing characters of this series and be touched by their stories.

About the book: In 1951, Frankie Chasing Bear is a Lakota caught between cultures. She wants to raise her son Harold to revere his Lakota heritage, but she knows he will need to become as a white man to succeed. After his father's killed in a barroom brawl, Harold and Frankie move to Arizona, where she begins a Lakota Star pattern quilt for Harold with tribal wisdom sung, sewn and prayed into it.

She distrusts Christians, as her own parents were forced to convert at an Indian School, until she meets BIA agent Nick Vandergriff, a half-Lakota who's also caught between cultures. Nick must convince Frankie that white men and Christians aren't all bad as he tries to win her heart in order to put the stars back into her sky.

Learn more about this book and the series at the Quilts of Lovewebsite.

About the Author: Linda S. Clare is an award-winning coauthor of three books, including Lost Boys and the Moms Who Love Them (with Melody Carlson and Heather Kopp),Revealed: Spiritual Reality in a Makeover World, and Making Peace with a Dangerous God (with Kristen Johnson Ingram). She is also the author of The Fence My Father Built. She has taught college-level creative writing classes for seven years, and edits and mentors writers. She also is a frequent writing conference presenter and church retreat leader. She and her husband of thirty-one years have four grown children, including a set of twins. They live in Eugene, Oregon, with their five wayward cats: Oliver, Xena the Warrior Kitty, Paladine, Melchior, and Mamma Mia!

Learn more about Linda at: http://www.lindasclare.com

My Take:  I love how each Quilts of Love book is so different and comes at the stories of the quilts from different angles. This story is one that involves how the government interfered in the lives of the Indians and how they tried to take away the Indian.  this is also about trusting others although you have been hurt before.  Great story.  This was really a subject matter that I was awae of but didn't really know much about. 

I received a review copy from Litfuse in exchange for my honest opinion. 

Friday, March 7, 2014

Audio Book review of Fifteen Minutes by Karen Kingsbury read by Kirby Heyborne

Fifteen Minutes

Fifteen Minutes by Karen Kingsbury
read by Kirby Heyborne

Publisher's Summary

#1 New York Times best-selling author Karen Kingsbury shows why she is America’s favorite inspirational novelist with this dramatic story about character, compromise, and the cost of having it all.
Zack Dylan has a dream. He wants to sing on the biggest stages, for the biggest crowds, and he’ll do whatever it takes to make it come true. But Zack also made a promise to his college sweetheart when he left Kentucky to compete on the popular TV show Fifteen Minutes: If he made it, nothing would change him or his faith in God.
Overnight, Zack becomes the nation’s most popular contestant, a country singer comparable to a young Tim McGraw. As his star rises, Zack is often asked to compromise and quiet his beliefs. Just as he’s on the verge of winning it all, his choices lead him to the brink of personal disaster. Meanwhile, a former Fifteen Minutes winner is searching for meaning amidst her own private losses. Can she warn Zack about the real price of fame? Or will Zack lose everything he loves for his fifteen minutes of glory?
From the novelist dubbed the "Queen of Christian Fiction" by Time magazine, Fifteen Minutes explores the cost of fame and celebrity set against the backdrop of America’s favorite singing competition.

My Take:  I usually like Karen Kingsbury books so I thought I would give this book a try.  I did like this book but not as much as some of her other books about the Baxter's.  I did like it more than The Chance.  This book takes a look at a singing show much like American Idol where the singers get their Fifteen Minutes of Fame.  Zach swears that he is in the competition just to try and get enough money to bail out his families failing Horse farm.  He also makes a promise to his girlfriend.  while Zack is waiting in line he meets a group of cheerleaders who's Zoey flirts with him.  The producers see them together and thinks they should be a couple.  They edit footage to make it seem as if they are together and after awhile of being together everyday things start to happen .. Will Zach compromise the promise he makes to God and to His girl back home?  This boo was interesting from beginning to the end as I use to watch American Idol every season up until a couple of seasons ago.  I liked the way Karen Kingsbury explored how the shows manipulate people for ratings and how what is seen on the show is not really how things are in real life.  I think this is very much done in the so called reality shows.  If you like Karen Kingsbury I think you will like this book. 

Kirby Heyborne did a fairly good job with the narrating.  It was kind of awkward when he read the lyrics of songs when the characters were suppose to be singing.  other than that he did a good job.  

I received a review copy of this audio book from Simon and Schuster Audio in exchange for my honest opinion. 

Monday, March 3, 2014

Princess Ever After by Rachel Hauck

Book Info
About the book: A Royal Wedding Book
Regina Beswick was born to be a princess.
But she's content to be a small-town girl, running a classic auto restoration shop, unaware a secret destiny awaits her. One that will leap from the pages of her grandmother's hand-painted book of fairytales.
Tanner Burkhardt is the stoic Minister of Culture for the Grand Duchy of Hessenberg. When he is tasked to retrieve the long-lost princess, he must overcome his fear of failure in order to secure his nation's future---and his own.
Yet lurking in the political shadows is a fierce opponent with sinister plans to abolish the throne forever. Overwhelmed with opposition, Regina must decide if she's destined to restore old cars or an ancient nation. Together---with a little divine intervention---Regina and Tanner discover the truth of her heritage and the healing power of true love.

Purchase a copy: http://ow.ly/tk6Wt

Meet the author: Rachel Hauck is an award-winning, best selling author of critically acclaimed novels such as RITA nominated The Wedding Dress and RITA nominated Love Starts with Elle, part of the Lowcountry series, the Nashvegas series and the Songbird Novels penned with multi-platinum recording artist, Sara Evans. Their novel Softly and Tenderly, was one of Booklists 2011 Top Ten Inspirationals. A graduate of Ohio State University with a degree in Journalism, she worked in the corporate software world before planting her backside in an uncomfortable chair to write full time in 2004. Rachel serves on the Executive Board for American Christian Fiction Writers and leads worship at their annual conference. She is a mentor and book therapist at My Book Therapy, and conference speaker. Rachel writes from her two-story tower in an exceedingly more comfy chair. She is a huge Buckeyes football fan.

Learn more about Rachel at: http://rachelhauck.com

My Take:  This book is for every little girl who dreamed of finding her prince and becoming a princess.  I think that is why we are so interested in the Royal family.  Little girls want to grow up and be princesses.  This book is the second in a series but you don't have to have read the first book in order to enjoy this book.  Rachel Hauck has crafted a wonderful story that has the romance of a princess book along with the thriller touch of who is out to get rid of the throne.  Rachel Hauck is a great writer and keeps you captivated from the very start.

I received a review copy of this book fro Litfuse in exchange for my honest opinion. 

Distortion by Terri Blackstock

Book Info
About the book: Juliet Cole's life has been dismantled by the murder of her husband. She doesn't know who---or what---to trust when everything she has believed to be true about her marriage has been a lie.
A husband's lies can have deadly consequences.
When Juliet Cole's husband of fifteen years is murdered before her eyes, she thinks it was a random shooting. Devastated and traumatized, she answers hours of questioning, then returns home to break the tragic news to her boys. But a threatening voicemail takes this from a random shooting to a planned, deliberate attack.
Juliet realizes that she and her children are in danger too, unless she meets the killers' demands. But as she and her sisters untangle the clues, her husband's dark secrets come to light. The more she learns, the more of her life is dismantled. Was her husband an innocent victim or a hardened criminal?
 
Pre-order a copy for just $4.99 on Kindle, Nook, iTunes, or the eBook version on CBD until March 10th.

Purchase a copy: http://ow.ly/tPPB8 

About the Author: Terri Blackstock has sold over six million books worldwide and is a New York Times bestselling author. She is the award-winning author of Intervention, Vicious Cycle, and Downfall, as well as such series as Cape Refuge, Newpointe 911, the SunCoast Chronicles, Restoration, and Moonlighters.

Learn more about Terri at: http://terriblackstockbooks.com








My Take;  I have been a fan of Terri Blackstock books since a friend gave me the 'Cape Refuge series and then I read the Restoration Series and was blown away.  I didn't read the first book in this new series Truth Stained lies but I have a copy and I intend to so back a read it because there is some mention of events that happened in that book in Distortion but you don't have to have read the first book in order to enjoy this one.  I just started working Third shift and my job is such that I can read and I found this book the perfect book to keep me awake because I just wanted to keep turning the pages in order to find out what was going to happen next.  I just can't imagine finding out that your husband was not the person you thought he was after he died.  Juliet is left with questions like was her husband really a Christian or was he just pretending.  I liked all the cast of the family.  the three issters who are Private Eyes on the side and how the family stuck together through thick and thin.  Great story.  Goodsolid story telling which is what I have come to expect from Terri Blackstock.  

I received a review copy of this book from Litfuse in exchange for my honest opinion.