Sarai

I read some of the books from Jill Smith's "Wives of David" series, so I was really looking forward to reading this one too, I find her books not only interesting but they also open up the stories and give you a new perspective on what the characters in the stories must have felt!
I love the story of Sarah and Abraham, I relate a lot to what Sarai went through in her "younger" years so I was very interested in reading this book and seeing her story from a different perspective! I have to say I wasn't disappointed, throughout the book we can see Sarai's struggle as she yearns to fulfill the promise she made to her husband during their wedding. As she's pressured to turn to the "occult" to try and fulfill the prophesy over her and Abraham we struggle with her to try and continue on the good and right path. This book has made it to a permanent spot on my book shelf, it was so well written that I could read it over and over again. The book while it lets you have an inside look to Sarai's struggles also encourages the reader through Sarai's story to keep their faith strong, and to trust in God's promises.
I loved this book, it was fantastic and I highly recommend it!

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group".  

Chasing the Sun

Tracie Peterson is one of my favorite authors, I have plenty of her books so when I saw she was part of this review even I was incredibly excited. Like Peterson's previous books, this one was fantastic! Her writing style really holds my attention and it feels like you're right in the story with them. I absolutely enjoy reading the books she puts out!
In this book we meet Hannah who is in charge of raising her siblings and keeping the family ranch running when her father is away. Through the deception and ill intentions of other's Hannah finds herself in a difficult and unwanted situation where she has to choose between following her heart or marrying someone she doesn't love so she can provide stability for her family.
I really liked this book, its one of those books that while it has a good strong Christian message to it, it isn't preachy or in your face so I feel comfortable recommending this to non-Christians and Christians alike!

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group".  

Prize of my heart

This is the first time I've read a book by Lisa Norato and I have to say that it was great! This book was one of my very favorite reads this month, I enjoyed the story line and thought that the book was full of suspense and intrigue! I very much enjoy her writing style and find that it had a great flow to it, in fact it was so good (and near the end, so suspenseful!!) that I had trouble putting it down and ended up reading into the early hours of the morning!
In this book we read about Lorena who lives with her father and her adopted brother (who she helps raise). When a mysterious ship Captain comes to pick up a boat he's ordered from her father's company, he sends her world into chaos. All the characters are surrounded by mystery and secrets that we slowly find out throughout the book. (and even at the end of the book we find out more secrets and suspense right up to the last page!)
I highly recommend this book and very much hope that this author continues to put out books, I know I'll be keeping a look out for them!

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group".  

The Messenger

As I've mentioned many times on this blog, I live historical stories, and I especially love it when they try to hold true to historical events. So I absolutely feel in love with this book. Like all of Siri Mitchell's books, it was really well written, the characters were very believable and the flow of the book was great.  The book had a lot of elements to it, there was romance for those who like it, (and it wasn't romance of a corny variety, but much more thoughtful, which I appreciate), plus suspense, danger, and adventure throughout the book. I've come to expect a lot from this author and have yet to be disappointed, she is one of my favorite authors and I keep a look out when at the book stores to pick up any new ones from her!
The book is about the main character Hannah, who is a follower (along with her family) of the Quaker faith. When circumstances of the day put Hannah in a difficult place she must choose between following her faith or doing what she thinks is right. When she begins to develop feelings for the man she's working with, it further complicates the situation.
I really enjoyed this book, and would highly recommend it!!

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group".  

Heroes and Monsters: An honest look at the struggle within all of us

to be honest here, I struggled all the way through this book, I liked the idea of it, and thought that there were places within the book that were inspiring. However the writing style the author used made it really difficult to get a good flow in the reading, plus it was a bit harder to understand. To me the prose of the book felt a little forced or unnatural.  Plus I found it hard to separate what the author was saying in his story, from the reality of the story. Some of it was was easy to tell and was quite believable, however there were parts of the story that I truly had trouble deciding if the author really thought the situations happened, or if he was just taking some creative license.
That said though, once I was able to get through the book and think more on what was said, I did start to get a bit more from it.  I did appreciate the author's honesty, he seemed to not hold much back, even if it painted him in a not-so-good light. I appreciate that kind of honesty so i have to give the author credit for that.
All in all, its an interesting read once you can work your way through the story, and one worth taking a look at!


"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. 
Available at your favourite bookseller from Baker Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group".

MoonBlood

 

I had the absolute honor of being able to review the manuscript for this book before it's released, and I know without a doubt that this will become a very popular book! I can't say enough good things about the Goldstone Woods series, the whole set is so well written and shares such a fantastic story that I know it will touch readers around the world.

In this book we see a continuation of the story of  Rose Red after Prince Lionheart is pressured to banish her to the realm of Arpair, when Rose Red arrives she is captured by her father and held prisoner in his kingdom, not fully aware of what he (her father) is truly planning for her, his kingdom, and the residence of the far realms!

Really, there aren't words to describe how absolutely wonderful the entire series is, you'd be doing yourself a huge disfavor by not reading it. Its so good.

To me this book (and the whole series) is like a mash up of C.S. Lewis's Narnia series, "The Pilgrim's progress", and the Lord of the ring series, all rolled into a fantastic story of despair, sacrifice, hope and love.

I'm not even recommending this book, I'm saying you NEED to read it (and the rest of the series).

I cannot wait for the next books this author puts out, she is now on my list of favorite authors and I will be working to fill my shelves with her works!!

Go buy the book, you won't regret it!

Veiled Rose

Having read the first book of the Goldstone woods series (Heartless) I was absolutely hooked on this series, and could hardly wait for the next ones to come out! In this book we meet Rose, a young "girl" who lives in the mountains with a grounds keeper of the nearby Summer home of a very rich and royal family. With her lives a pet goat named Bena who also keeps watch over her and protects her. While living up in the mountain Rose by chances meets up with a privileged young man who befriends her while they search for a monster living in the mountains. Rose is hiding a secret that she longs to share but is terrified by the consequences, as their friendship grows Rose begins to struggle decide if she should share her deepest secret. I loved this book, it was just as good as the first book (Heartless) it had just as much mystery and suspense throughout the book, as well as moments of complete surprise. The book is incredibly well written and it just keeps you going straight to the very end. I've read this book a few times over now, and have loved reading every minute of it! Much like the first book, this one too almost serves as a parable of both the world, our inner selves and of God's love and protection. (But the message is subtle, not in your face). I highly recommend the entire series, its beyond fantastic, This series will have a place on my s helves for a very very long time (I can't picture ever not having them, they're just too good).

Our Favorite Sins

To be honest here, I was a bit disappointed with this book. By all means it was well written and a lot of what the author had to say was quite good advice. But I had hoped that the book would be a little deeper than it was, and that it would have been willing to go into the more serious/addictive sins.  He did deal with some prevalent sins, (anxiety, procrastination, overeating, {improper} internet usage, and {improper} social media usage) but to me, these are the easier to discuss ones, but not the ones that are really bringing down and getting a stronghold in a lot of Christian lives. He did deal with everyday type sins, which is very important as well, but I feel he had {and missed} a great opportunity to deal with the more secret kinds as well.
 As a Pastor's wife, I'm generally on the lookout for books that are willing to go into those uncharted territories, that are willing to open discussions about those hidden, addictive sins that many are just not willing to speak about.  (and I do acknowledge that the author touched every lightly on these subjects) So on that level I was pretty disappointed, by the title of the book and the description, I had thought that this would be a book that had a chance to be a great tool for those stuck in sin, and that disappointingly was not the case.
However, what the author does address was very well spoken about and he used a lot of good common sense suggestions and encouraging and appropriate Scripture. So while it wasn't the book I was hoping it would be, it was still quite a good book. Its one I'll keep on the bookshelf and most likely use once in a while.