A Karen Kingsbury Collection

Three books in one how can you go wrong?  Karen Kingsbury is one of my favorite authors. This book is a collection of 3 of her stand alone books:  Where Yesterday Lives, When Joy Comes to Stay, and On Every Side. Kingsbury books will pull you in and these 3 stories are no different. Be prepared with a box of tissues her books are almost always tear-jerkers and these 3 are no exception.

Where Yesterday Lives is a story about Ellen Barrett and her family after her father dies. She has been estranged from her siblings and her father’s death made it worse. Things get worse with her marriage also falling apart. Only God can help her deal with her past and help her get her life in order.

When Joy Comes to Stay is about Maggie Stovall who is dealing with depression and family problems all stemming from giving up her child for adoption 10 years earlier. Keeping the secret really is taking a toll on her and her husband. Can God heal her and marriage?

On Every Side was a little out of place with the other two stories, but I still enjoyed it.  Faith Evans is a newscaster who finds herself defending her faith when controversy strikes over a statue of Jesus that stands in the middle of a park. Jordan Riley who is fighting to have the statue removed believes Faith is wrong. What will happen between these two who are fighting for what both believe is right, will they be able to find some common ground?

I always recommend anything by Karen Kingsbury. Her books are interesting and well written. They will hold your interest if you like Christian romance novels. Again be aware that they will make you cry.

You can purchase this book here

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Sisterchicks in Gondolas

This is the first Sisterchicks book I have read. Sisterchicks in Gondolas by Robin Jones Guinn is about 2 women who embark on a journey to Italy:  One a divorced lady with a grown daughter and her sister-in-law who has had her share of struggles in the past few years.

The book is about mentally healing from various events in each of the ladies lives. Jenna is asked to cook and serve some men who are coming to Italy for a retreat. Jenna doesn’t have the greatest cooking skills and knows that her more timid sister-in-law could use the trip and also has the cooking skills needed.

The retreat, although for the men, helps Jenna and Sue heal from their struggles. They learn much about their own lives by watching and serving the men. They get to learn how wonderful it is to serve others but they also get to explore Italy. In the end they know what they must do with their lives. I really enjoyed reading this book. It was somehow calming to me as I read it. I felt as though I could be riding in a gondola in Venice right along with them. The author did such a wonderful job describing the sights, sounds, and smells of Venice. I could imagine myself walking through the streets.  The only negative thing that I could say about this book is that it made me a little jealous that I couldn’t be on this trip with them.  

You can purchase this book here.

This book was provided to me at no charge by Multnomah publishing in exchange for an honest review.

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Every Perfect Gift

 

“Ethan and Sophie long to share a future together. But the secrets they’re not sharing could tear them apart.” Every Perfect Gift  by Dorothy Love is a novel set in the mountains of East Tennessee in the 1800s. A small town is getting a new hotel, a reestablished newspaper, and much more. Sophie a former resident and orphan of the small town returns to run the newspaper where she meets Ethan. Both are fighting demons from their past and it is affecting their newfound relationship.

I’m from the beautiful area of East Tennessee and that is why I chose this book to review. I love the Blue Ridge Mountains and the people here. This book did a wonderful job of capturing the area and its roots. I can imagine how it was over 150 years ago and the excitement that townspeople must’ve felt as railroads and expansion moved in. I live in the oldest town in Tennessee so I know a bit about the history here. Ms. Love did an excellent job when presenting what it must have been like and capturing the essence of an early 1850s small town. The characters were true to the people who lived here and many who still do. They were very believable and that is something that I find very important. The plot was also realistic and easy to follow. The people were very colorful with each having something to bring to the story. I loved the friendship that developed between Sophie and Gillie. Sophie has overcome a lot to get to this place. The town had not treated her so kindly when she was a child in the orphanage. I will not go into detail about that because I don’t want to give away any “secrets” to the storyline.

 I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more by her. I would highly recommend this book if you like historical romance. Although, like many books of this genre the ending is not a great surprise but that is probably the only negative that I could find. I know this may seem trivial in a book review but I also loved the cover and the feel of the book.  

I received this book from booksneeze.com at no charge in exchange for an honest review.

If We Survive

 

 

If We Survive by Andrew Klavan it the second book I have read by him. When I was given the opportunity to review this book I was excited. I enjoyed Crazy Dangerous, and after reading If We Survive I wasn’t disappointed.  I really liked this book and found it was hard to put down. It is geared more toward younger readers, probably young teens. It is about a group of kids and a preacher who have travelled on a mission trip to Central America to help rebuild a school. Then they are caught in the middle of a revolution and face many struggles to try to make it home.

I love the way Andrew Klavan writes. His character, Will Peterson, is actually telling the story in first person. The characters are interesting and although I’m not sure that I can believe the storyline I suppose it is possible. Will Peterson is a high school boy telling this story. I can imagine a real teenager telling of his adventures adding excitement and adventure at every turn. I can see this book keeping the attention of the reader. I like the fact that even though it tells of some horrible acts of a revolution that it doesn’t go into gory details. Each person in the book has a different way of dealing with the tragedies around them just like in real life.  I would feel very comfortable recommending it to a teen. Any younger than that might not be a good idea, just because it does include some violence and death. As I said before it isn’t terribly graphic but there is mention of gunfire, blood and death.

I will pass this book along to my daughter and I think she will really enjoy it. It isn’t a gender specific book and would be good for either gender.  After recent events that have happened I will wait a while before giving it to her to read.

I was given this book by Thomas Nelson publishers in exchange for an honest review. I would definitely recommend it to especially teen readers who like action/adventure books.

                                                      

 

 

 

A Christmas Home

After previously reading A Dog Named Christmas I knew I wanted to read A Christmas Home.  A Christmas Home by Greg Kincaid is a sweet story that would probably be enjoyed most by people who love the Christmas TV movies and animals.

“Todd McCray, hero of a Dog Named Christmas, is now twenty-four years old and working at a local animal shelter, where he meets and quickly becomes best friend with Laura, a young volunteer.” Laura and Todd both have disabilities that help them understand each other. Todd trains a stray that has come to the shelter to be a service dog to help Laura with her physical disabilities. He loves his job at the animal shelter but the small town is struggling financially and announces they will have to close the shelter. Todd struggles to know what to do next.

 Todd is something of a prodigy when it comes to loving and training animals although it is evident that he struggles with learning disabilities. The story shows that we all have our strengths and weaknesses in life and if we follow our desires we can accomplish anything.  It a story that shows family and friends can pull together to get each other through obstacles of life.

A Christmas Home would be a good read for a younger reader, pre-teen or teen. It is easily read and the characters are easy to believe and identify with.  And as I said before if you love the Christmas made for TV movies you will love this book. As I read it I thought it would make a good movie for the holidays.

I would recommend this book to my friends. I received this book at no charge from booksneeze.com for an honest review. You can purchase this book here at Amazon.com.

Grace

 

Do we really understand grace? This is a question asked of us before delving into Grace: More than we Deserve Greater than we Imagine by Max Lucado.  This book is like many of Mr. Lucado’s books. He fills it full of real life stories to help us understand the way God’s grace works. He uses some of his own faults and failures in life to also illustrate God’s grace.  If you enjoy a light book that focuses completely on accepting God’s grace you will enjoy this book. I don’t feel Mr. Lucado goes into grace so deeply that he makes it hard to grasp. He lays it out very simply so that all of us can understand it. All we have to do is accept the gift that God has so freely given us. I love the quote “Grace is the voice that calls us to change and then gives us the power to pull it off.” “Let’s make certain grace gets you.”

Mr. Lucado explains how God will change your life if you will just let him. His grace is more than just a word, it’s our comfort, our healing, our life changing gift from God. It’s a gift given freely to us. The book also includes a study guide for each chapter. Each study begins with a small idea of what the chapter was about, a review of scripture and questions we should ask ourselves. It could be a study done individually but would also make a good small group study.

I would recommend this book for anyone who would like to understand grace a little more. I received this book at no charge from Booksneeze.com in exchange for an honest review.

Breaking Free From Fear

I have to say I really love Kay Arthur and Breaking Free from Fear is no exception. This is a 6 week study for small groups although I believe you could do it as an individual study. I do think you would glean more from a group with the discussions.  I read through them but didn’t do the study.  I love the way they are laid out. Each week has the scripture that goes along with the lesson, and observation (what you should be looking for), and discussion. I would recommend having a journal to take notes in, there are spaces for notes but the areas are quite small.

The weeks are broken down to help you realize why you are afraid and build to helping you learn to live without fear.  It really opened my eyes that fear rears it’s ugly head in many ways and can steal our joy.  I also loved the fact that the author includes the scripture right there for you to read. I’m not sure which translation she uses but I know it isn’t KJV so if that bothers you this may not be the book for you.

I would recommend this book for small groups or Sunday school classes. It is a wonderful study.

I received this book at no charge from Waterbrook Press in exchange for an honest review.

You can purchase this book here.

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The Reason

 

I had to take time to ponder this review. I’m still not sure I can review my exact thoughts about it. The Reason by William Sirls is about a small town whose church’s cross was struck by lightning. It is a small town filled with people of varying backgrounds. Each person has their own cross to bear in this novel. Some are more trying than others, some deal with illness or disability, some deal with demons of their past and other dealing with their faith. Then enters Kenneth, a carpenter, who personifies Jesus and he starts performing miracles around the town.

First, I enjoyed the book and read it quickly and I also enjoyed the characters. Each had a very distinct personality and was believable and easy to identify with. I liked the story line and there were real life events happening throughout the town. The author did a good job pulling all of the characters together and telling their stories individually as well as bringing unity to the group.

Now my problem with the book, I’m not sure that I really liked the personification of Jesus the way it was done. I also feel that the book comes across that if you “only believe” that Jesus will answer all of your prayers the way that you want him to. Even though there is a short statement that states God will answer prayers in His way and His time the tone of the book was that if you “only believe” nothing bad will ever happen to you and if it does He will fix it and make it better here on earth. I feel that sometimes bad things happen but God will give us grace to deal with those things. I believe the author tries to include this but doesn’t do the best job at it.  I’m not going to give a spoiler but I don’t like the way the story of Alex played out.

I’m glad that I read the book and I enjoyed it. I think most people who enjoy a good, Christian novel would like it.

I received this book at no charge from Booksneeze.com in exchange for an honest review.

Be Still My Soul

Be Still my Soul by Joanne Bischof is a wonderful story. I loved this book. It was light reading and a great story about how God can bring us through stuff even when we aren’t sure why he led us to it. The story is set in the Appalachian Mountains which holds a special place in my heart anyway. I love the Appalachian Mountains and think they are one of God’s greatest creations.  Lonnie, a sweet girl, has a hateful father and doesn’t get much support from her family except for her aunt that she loves very much. She is looking forward to moving in with her when she turns 18 but after a night when Gideon walks her home and kisses her Lonnie’s dad says she is “soiled” and forces Gideon to marry her. Lonnie is heartbroken because she isn’t in love with Gideon. Her life is not going as she expects but her aunt has taught her to trust in God. She wonders if she can do it.

Times are so different now but I’m sure in the not so distant past things like this probably happened. The characters were very believable and I was able to fall right into the storyline. It was a quick read and kept me interested all of the way through it. It isn’t a really deep book and is a typical historic romance story that adds in God’s leading hand. It teaches that no matter your situation God has a plan and we have to trust Him. If you are a romantic you will love this book. This book shows the ups and downs that we all face in life. It’s a book that has forgiveness, friendship and love. I would definitely recommend this book to others.

You can purchase a copy of this book here

I received an advanced readers copy of this book at no charge from Waterbrook & Multenomah publishing for an honest review.

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God is More than Enough

God is More than Enough by Tony Evans takes you through Psalm 23. I really wanted to love this book but I can’t say that I did. I liked it and Mr. Evans did a really good job going through the Psalm and explaining it. He used colorful and real live situations to illustrate the Psalm and to relate it to today’s living. I just felt like something “new” was missing. I have been through studies of Psalm 23 so maybe that’s why I couldn’t “love” the book. It would be a really good study guide for someone who wants to study this Psalm a little more deeply. He did bring out some really good points. I had never thought about God “making us lie down” to rest. And I used one of his illustrations in a bible study group when giving devotions. It was an illustration about a GPS and I won’t give it away but it really made me think.

God is More than Enough is a short book and would be a good daily devotional to study Psalm 23. I don’t know that I would recommend buying it at the retail price of $10.99 which I think is a little steep for what I would consider a mini book.

I would recommend this book though for an individual or small group study especially for newer Christians. You can purchase this book here.

I received this book at no charge from Booksneeze.com for an honest review.