Sunday, November 9, 2014

The Promise by Beth Wiseman



About the book: 

Mallory's search for happiness leads her to a faraway place. There she finds heartache, betrayal---and danger.
Mallory Hammond is determined that no one will stand in the way of her goal---to save a life. She had that chance years ago, and she failed to take it, leaving her adrift and in search of the real meaning of her life. Finally, she meets a man online from a volatile corner of the world who offers her the chance to find that purpose. But she will have to leave everyone she loves behind in order to take it.
Tate Webber has loved Mallory for many years. He understands that Mallory will never be happy with him until her deepest heart's desire is satisfied. When Mallory decides to travel across the world to fulfill her dreams, Tate begs her not to go but tries to give her the space she needs. Mallory embarks on her dangerous journey only to discover how swiftly and easily promises can be broken. And Mallory can only pray that she will make it out alive.
Inspired by actual events, The Promise is a riveting love story that asks the question: how far will we go for love?

Purchase a copy: http://ow.ly/CP8sr 

About the author: 

Beth Wiseman is the best-selling author of the Daughters of the Promise series and the Land of Canaan series. Having sold over 1.3 million books, her novels have held spots on multiple Bestseller lists. She was the recipient of the prestigious Carol Award in 2011 and 2013. In 2013 she took home the coveted Holt Medallion. Her first book in the Land of Canaan series--Seek Me With All Your Heart--was selected as the 2011 Women of Faith Book of the Year. Beth lives in Texas with her family.

Find Beth online: websiteFacebookTwitter





My Take:  I found this book very interesting from the start.  I felt that Mallory might have been  alittle naive and not really be looking at things with out her blinders on.  She is determined to save a life and she lets this desire get the best of her. This book was based on true events which makes the story even more compelling.  a great read.  I think most people would appreciate this story. 


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


Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Audio book Review of Burn by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge read by Danny Mastrogiorgio

Burn (Michael Bennett, #7)

Burn by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
Read by Danny Mastrogiorgio

from Goodreads.
Detective Michael Bennett finally returns to New York City –and to the most unsettling, horrific case of his career.





At last, Detective Michael Bennett and his family are coming home to New York City. Thanks to Bennett, the ruthless crime lord whose vengeful mission forced the Bennett family into hiding has been brought down for good.





Back in the city that never sleeps, Bennett takes over a chaotic Outreach Squad in Harlem, where he receives an unusual call: a man claims to have seen a group of well-dressed men holding a bizarre party in a condemned building. With no clear crime or evidence, Bennett dismisses the report. But when a charred body is found in that very same building, he is forced to take the caller seriously – and is drawn into an underground criminal world of terrifying depravity.
 

My Take:  The Michael Bennett Series by James Patterson is becoming my favorite series by him.  It was nice to have the Bennett family back in New York.  Bennett was kind of demoted by being given the Outreach Squad to lead.  He gets them to finally care about what they are doing then he is given a promotion to work on the case of all the diamond heists that have been going on.  I enjoyed the family drama that goes along with the this series.  I did feel that the resolution to the one case was a bit anticlimatic. 

Audio:  I felt that the narrator wasn't all that great he really didn't have to much range other than reading the book and not showing any emotion. Kinda monotoned. . Not enough to keep me from listening to him again but still not that great.  

This book is taken from my personal audible library. 

Monday, November 3, 2014

A Month of Giving Thanks #2

A Month of Giving Thanks

Today I am Thankful for my hubby.  Not only is he a good provider he is also a Godly man who wants to follow God's leading.  He has been very good during the last couple of months with all of my physical problems.  He just spent the last hour straightening up the bedroom to make it easier for me to get around with my walker.  He is my best friend.

It's Monday What Are You reading?

aaa1

It has been along time since I have participated in this meme.  The last time I did was in July.  With participating in Blog Ahead I hope to make this more of a weekly thing.

Ok so here is what was on the Blog last week.

Book Review of
Guess Who Noah's Boat

Guess Who Noah's Boat   by 


Book review of


The Daughter of Highland Hall by Carrie Turansky


Book Review of


A Lady of Willowgrove Hall by Sarah E. Ladd 


Book Review of
Keepers of the Covenant (The Restoration Chronicles #2)

Keeper's of the Covenant by Lynn Austin

Book Review of



The Mason Jar by James Russell Lingerfelt

Book Review of


The Sea House by Elisabeth Gifford

Announcement of taking part in  Blog Ahead



Blog Ahead

Audio book Review of
Angels Walking

Angels Walking by Karen Kingsbury

Announcement of taking part in Month of Thanks
A Month of Giving Thanks

Month of Giving Tha

This Week on The Blog

Book Review of
The Brickmaker's Bride (Refined by Love, #1)

The Brickmaker's Bride by Judith Miller


Audio Book Review of
Burn (Michael Bennett, #7)

Burn by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
Narrated by Danny Mastrogiorgio

Book Review of
The River

The River by Beverly Lewis

Audio book review of
Lock In

Lock In by John Scalzi
Narrated by Wil Wheaton

Audio book Review of
Warm Bodies (Warm Bodies, #1)

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
narrated by Kevin Kenerly

Book Review of
The Promise

The Promise by Beth Wiseman

Currently Reading

See Sidebar

Coming up
Love Without End (Kings Meadow Romance #1)

A Matter of Heart (Lone Star Brides, #3)

Pound Foolish

What's on your Reading Horizon?


The Brickmaker's Bride by Judith Miller



The Brickmaker's Bride by Judith Miller

About the book: 

Bestselling Author Judith Miller Debuts Historical Series Set in West Virginia
Yearning for a fresh start, Ewan McKay travels with his aunt and uncle from northern Scotland to West Virginia, promising to trade his skills in the clay business for financial assistance from his uncle Hugh. Hugh purchases a brickmaking operation from a Civil War widow and her daughter, but it's Ewan who gets the business up and running again. Ewan seeks help from Laura, the former owner's daughter, and he feels a connection with her, but she's being courted by another man---a lawyer with far more social clout and money than Ewan. Besides, Ewan has resolved he'll focus on making the brickmaking operation enough of a success that he can become a partner in the business and be able to afford to bring his sisters over from Scotland.
But when Hugh signs a bad business deal, all Ewan's hard work may come to naught. As his plans begin to crumble, Laura reveals something surprising. She and her mother may have a way to save the brickworks, and in turn Ewan may have another shot at winning Laura's heart.

Purchase a copy: http://ow.ly/CAurf 

About the author: 

Judith Miller is an award-winning author whose avid research and love for history are reflected in her bestselling novels. When time permits, Judy enjoys traveling, visiting historical settings, and scrapbooking the photographs from her travel expeditions. She makes her home in Topeka, Kansas.

Find Judith online: websiteFacebook,Twitter







My Take:  If you were ever curious about bricks were made then this is the book for you.  I have enjoyed books written by Judith Miller before and this is another book that I can add to that list.  Judith makes here characters jump off the page as if they were actually alive.  You get wrapped up in the story and find yourself cheering for them or hoping they don't achieve what they are trying to do.  A great start to a new series.  

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

Sunday, November 2, 2014

A Month of Giving Thanks

A Month of Giving Thanks

I wanted to join in on this.  I will try to post every day something that I am thankful for.

First up would be for my relationship with God.  I would not have been able to go through the last couple of months without my faith and being able to receive comfort from the Bible and praying.

Audio Book review of Angels Walking by Karen Kingsbury Read by Kirby Heyborn and January LaVoy

Angels Walking

Angels Walking by Karen Kingsbury
Read by Kirby Heyborn and January LaVoy

From Goodreads:
When former national baseball star Tyler Ames suffers a career-ending injury, all he can think about is putting his life back together the way it was before. He has lost everyone he loves on his way to the big leagues. Then just when things seem to be turning around, Tyler hits rock bottom. Across the country, Tyler’s one true love Sami Dawson has moved on.

A series of small miracles leads Tyler to a maintenance job at a retirement home and a friendship with Virginia Hutcheson, an old woman with Alzheimer’s who strangely might have the answers he so desperately seeks.

A team of Angels Walking take on the mission to restore hope for Tyler, Sami, and Virginia. Can such small and seemingly insignificant actions of the unseen bring healing and redemption? And can the words of a stranger rekindle lost love? Every journey begins with a step.

It is time for the mission to begin…
 

My Take:  I enjoyed this book and look forward to listening to or reading the next books in the series.  I liked the way that Karen Kingsbury  went about putting angels in the story doing small things to move the miracles along.  One of the things was just putting the tv on a certain station.  I liked how the story came together and the characters learned the lessons of forgiveness of others and themselves.  I liked the way that the author used the character with Alzheimer's.  This especially hit home as my father is suffering from this horrible disease.  It just proves that God can use us in whatever state we are in.  If you have enjoyed other books by Karen Kingsbury than you will probably enjoy this book.

Audio - I will have to be perfectly honest and say that I really didn't like Kirby Heyborn's reading of this book.   He is just alittle to monotone for me.  I just don't like him as a narrator.  I really have  enjoyed January LaVoy's parts though.  I have liked her in other things that I have listened to by her.

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

Blog ahead challenge




I signed up for this challenge and I am already a day behind.  My Goal is to schedule 30 blog posts ahead.  Now this will be an on going schedule ahead which means i may be scheduling just one day ahead.  I know that this is not the full intent of this challenge but for me it will be a great thing if I can get ahead by one day.

Saturday, November 1, 2014

The Sea House by Elisabeth Gifford

About the book: 

Scotland, 1860.
Reverend Alexander Ferguson, naive and newly-ordained, takes up his new parish, a poor, isolated patch on the Hebridean island of Harris. His time on the island will irrevocably change the course of his life, but the white house on the edge of the dunes keeps its silence long after Alexander departs. It will be more than a century before the Sea House reluctantly gives up its secrets. Ruth and Michael buy the grand but dilapidated building and begin to turn it into a home for the family they hope to have. Their dreams are marred by a shocking discovery. The tiny bones of a baby are buried beneath the house; the child's fragile legs are fused together --- a mermaid child. Who buried the bones? And why? Ruth needs to solve the mystery of her new home --- but the answers to her questions may lie in her own past.
Based on a real nineteenth-century letter to The Times in which a Scottish clergyman claimed to have seen a mermaid, The Sea House is an epic, sweeping tale of loss and love, hope and redemption, and how we heal ourselves with the stories we tell.

Purchase a copy: http://amzn.to/ZSbs53

About the Author: 

Elisabeth Gifford grew up in a vicarage in the industrial Midlands. She studied French literature and world religions at Leeds University. She is the author of The House of Hope: A Story of God's Love and Provision for the Abandoned Orphans of China and has written articles for The Times and the Independent and has a Diploma in Creative Writing from Oxford OUDCE and an MA in Creative Writing from Royal Holloway College. She is married with three children. They live in Kingston on Thames but spend as much time as possible in the Hebrides.

Find Elisabeth online: websiteFacebook

My Take:  This story weaves both timelines very well together not only the modern day mystery but also the story of the minister that was determined to prove that there were Selkies or Mermaids.  I have always been interested in mermaids and loved to read Hans Christian Andersons tale of the Little Mermaid.  This story shed alittle more light on Selkies.  This book does have some language in it. 

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

The Mason Jar by James Russell Lingerfelt

About the book: 

What if your old college roommate called, raving about a book someone sent her, calling it the most beautiful book she's ever read? "But," she said, "it's about you." The author is your college ex.
In The Mason Jar, Clayton Fincannon is a Tennessee farm boy raised at the feet of his grandfather. He and his grandfather leave letters for each other in a Mason jar on his grandfather's desk---letters of counsel and affirmation. When Clayton attends college in Southern California, he meets and falls in love with a dark debutante from Colorado. However, when an unmentioned past resurrects in her life and she leaves, Clayton is left with unanswered questions.
Clayton goes on to serve as a missionary in Africa, while he and his grandfather continue their tradition of writing letters. When Clayton returns home five years later to bury his grandfather, he searches for answers pertaining to the loss of the young woman he once loved. Little does Clayton know, the answers await him in the broken Mason jar.
A story about a girl who vanished, a former love who wrote a book about her, and a reunion they never imagined.
Written for the bruised and broken, The Mason Jar is an inspirational romance that brings hope to people who have experienced disappointment in life due to separation from loved ones. With a redemptive ending that encourages us to love again and written in the fresh, romantic tones of Nicholas Sparks, The Mason Jarinterweaves the imagery of Thoreau with the adventures and climatic family struggles common to Dances with WolvesA River Runs Through It, and Legends of the Fall
Purchase a copy: http://ow.ly/C52aq

About the author: 

James Russell Lingerfelt is the author of The Mason Jar and writes articles forThe Huffington Post. James connects with readers at his blog, Love Story from the Male Perspective, and divides his time between Southern California and his family's ranch in Alabama.

Find James online: websiteFacebook,Twitter





My Take:  This book embodies what it feels like to have loved and lost.  It can really be compared to a Nicolas Sparks books.  Nicolas Sparks is good for a fast cotton candy kinda a read but I usually like a little more to my love stories like a candy apple with alittle more bite.  I liked the idea of the whole book I am just not sure if the concept was fully delivered.

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

Keeper's of the Covenant by Lynn Austin

Keepers of the Covenant (The Restoration Chronicles #2)

Keeper's of the Covenant by Lynn Austin

From Goodreads :
The Old Testament Comes to Thrilling Life in the Latest from Lynn Austin

In one life-changing moment, the lives of the Jewish exiles in Babylon are thrown into confusion and despair when a decree arrives from the king's palace in Susa. It calls for the annihilation of every Jewish man, woman, and child throughout the empire on the thirteenth day of Adar, in less than one year. Ezra, a quiet Jewish scholar and teacher, is suddenly called upon to lead the community as they seek God for a reason for this catastrophe. When a second decree arrives, authorizing them to fight back, Ezra is thrust into the role of military leader as they defend themselves against their enemies.

When the battles come to an end, Ezra's brother Jude is dead and Ezra is required by the Law he so diligently studies to marry Jude's widow, Devorah, and provide an heir. Fatherhood changes Ezra, and he asks God to make a way for him and the other exiles to leave Babylon for good and return to Jerusalem. His prayers are answered and the exiles move to Judea to revitalize worship at the temple--but the fight to keep God's Law is never easy. As more and more of his community are tempted, a new battle emerges...this one for the survival of God's covenant and the souls of His chosen faithful.
 

My Take:  If you would like to read a book that plunges you into the Biblical world and makes you feel like you are really there this is the book for you.  This is the second book in  the series but you can read it as a standalone without any problem.  Even though this isn't scripture it does give you an insite into the world during the time of the thirteenth day of Adar and life after.  This book had me looking in my Bible to find out what is said in the scripture.  Not many books have affected me that way.

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