A Shining Light, by Judith Miller

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Summary

The book begins with Andrea Wilson receiving news of her husband’s death at sea. Struggling financially, Andrea decides to return to her father’s home with her young son. Upon arriving at the homestead, she learns that her father sold the farm and died in a fire. She is offered refuge in the Amana colony and there she makes friends, finds peace, love, and grows closer to God. Rather than mourning her husband’s death, she is finally free of his abuse and falls in love with someone who treats her right. In a surprising and disappointing turn of events, Andrea has to learn to lean on God and to trust in His plan even when she doesn’t understand it. In the end, she finds that God’s plan is always for her good.

Review

I really enjoyed this book. It is the second book that I have read by Judith Miller and I have enjoyed them both.

The characters were well-developed and each had their own personal journey in learning to trust in God’s plan. The book was written from multiple character’s perspectives and this changed from chapter to chapter.  As long as I paid attention to who first-person speaker was, it was no problem to follow. The author not only wrote from various perspectives, but she wrote in the voice of the character which made it much easier to follow than it might have otherwise been.

The plot was interesting! It was full of surprises, some good, some bad, but all making the story better. The book took me on an emotional rollercoaster as I sympathized with the protagonists and despised the antagonist and worried for the little boy caught in the middle.

I loved that this wasn’t just a book that mentioned God a few times and was a clean novel, but really wove a relationship with God all throughout the book. It made me think about how God’s plan is always for our good and we can trust Him even when we can’t see the end from the beginning.

I highly recommend this book. You can purchase it through your local retailer, on Amazon.com, or through the publisher's website.

*I was provided with a free copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest review*

The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn

Author: Lori Benton

Summary

Raised by her step-father, Tamsen Littlejohn was raised and trained for the sole purpose of marrying up in order to improve her step-father’s social and financial standing. Desperate to escape the prison that her step-father has created and the marriage he is pushing her toward which would only keep her enslaved to her current life, Tamsen attempts to run away but her plans are thwarted by the “rescue” of her step-father and by the man who will eventually help her escape.

Just as her mother is revealing to Tamsen the way that they can escape the abuse of Hezekiah Parrish, he kills her to silence her. Tamsen, given one hour to prepare herself to meet to smooth things over after a poor initial meeting with  Ambrose Kinkaid, instead runs to find help for her mother. Jesse Bird, the man who first stood in her way as she tried to escape now becomes her only way of escape.

Under false accusations of kidnap and murder, Jesse risks his own life to help Tamsen with Parrish and Kinkaid pursuing them. Tamsen seeks a life of her own choosing; Jesse seeks to discover who he is and where he came from. Each of them will find what they are looking for and more in this exciting story that takes you down a trail of history, suspense, and love, and unfolds a tangled web of family relationships as each discovers who they are.
(Read CHAPTER 1)

Review

This is the first Lori Benton book that I have read and I want to read more! The book is almost 400 pages long and I would not have wanted a single page less. Sometimes you wish for a long book to end because it’s boring, but I only wanted this one to end so that I could know what finally happened!

Lori's writing is incredible. She writes incredible descriptions of the characters and everything is written so eloquently. As I read, it was almost like I was watching a movie. I could see everything happening. Great writing!

I think that the main characters were well-developed and I felt like I knew them pretty well… at least as well as they knew themselves. The supporting characters were enough developed to aid the story without altering the focus; however, they were given enough of their own story that another book could be written with some of them as main characters. In fact, I would enjoy reading a book about Cade (Jesse’s foster father) or Ambrose Kincaid.

I had no idea that there was once a State of Franklin! A little bit of history is woven into the story. I’d be interested in learning more. While this was informative, I did find that at times I got a little lost in the history. Part of that could be due to the fact that it’s history I am completely unfamiliar with, but it could also be that it distracted a little from the overall story. That being said, I wouldn’t do away with it because the book wouldn’t be the same without it and it was a really great book!

I really loved the cover of this book. Tamsen is portrayed beautifully and I found myself often flipping to the front cover to see the picture of Tamsen and picture her in whatever scene I was reading.

I highly recommend reading The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn. It will be available for purchase April 15, 2014. You can pre-order the book at Amazon.com and I suggest you do so! It was THAT good.

*I obtained this advance reading copy for free in exchange for an honest review through Waterbrook-Multnomah’s Blogging for Books program.*

Life Support by Candace Calvert

Lauren’s sister Jess is somewhat troubled, so Lauren goes back home to Houston to keep an eye on her. She works at a nurse at the hospital where Eli, a PA, works.

Eli is watching over his sibling as well. He takes care of his disabled older brother, despite many complicated issues in his own family.

Throughout the book both Eli and Lauren deal with troubled family relationships and struggle with how to best protect those they love while getting them the help that they need. For Lauren, that’s dealing with her sister’s mental illness. For Eli, it’s dealing with his brother Drew’s advance directive.

Eli and Lauren have just a tiny bit of romantic history that has been complicated by misunderstandings and difficult family dynamics. They begin to build their relationship, and as storms rage in their personal lives and a hurricane rips through Houston, they find hope and love.

My review:

This book was written by a former ER nurse so it has all of the interesting medical/ hospital stuff that I like without getting too technical for the average reader who knows nothing medical-related.

Each character has their own personal story, but the stories aren’t so intricate and separate that you can’t keep up. It’s just enough to keep you interested and paying attention.

I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the characters, their stories, the complicated issues they dealt with, and the fact that in story form, the book addressed real-life problems. It fought some of the stigma that comes with the label of a mental illness. It dealt with some of the difficulties that families face when individuals are dealing with their own personal guilt. The book touched on domestic violence. Overall, the book far exceeded my expectations. Although my expectations were low, it really was a good book.

I had my doubts when I chose this book to review. It sounded like it would be a good story, but it was one of those that you think could go either way – really good or really lame. I know that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but I did just that. In fact, the only thing I didn’t like about this book was the cover. Rather than encouraging me to pick up the book and read it, the 90s-era-cheap-medical-drama type cover really turned me off. I would give this book 5 stars for content and 2 stars for the cheesy front cover.

I would definitely read another book by this author.

*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Echoes of Mercy by Kim Vogel Sawyer

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Title: Echoes of Mercy

Author: Kim Vogel Sawyer

Echoes of Mercy is set primarily in Sinclair, Kansas in the early 1900s. The story centers around Dinsmore’s World-Famous Chocolate Factory. Caroline Lang, an investigator for the Department of Labor, is sent on assignment to the chocolate factory to investigate the suspicious accident and death of a fellow investigator. She goes undercover as Carrie Lang and meets the charming and intriguing janitor, Ollie Moore. Ollie Moore, aka Oliver Dinsmore, is heir to his father’s chocolate factory and is working undercover to see the day to day operations and decide what he can do to improve things when he takes over the chocolate factory.

Gordon Hightower, who has his own aspirations to one day own the factory, manages the factory and no one will stand in his way of getting what he wants. But Carrie and Ollie have other ideas.

Meanwhile, Carrie meets and befriends fifteen year old Letta when she covers for her theft and then teaches her that stealing is not the way to obtain what you need. After Letta’s father’s death, Carrie and Ollie are faced with the challenge of finding a home for Letta and her two brothers, Leslie, and Lank.

In the process of solving mysteries and working out problems, Oliver and Caroline discover more than they bargained for. They find love and mercy in more ways than one.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It has about 4 primary characters and 6 supporting characters. Each character, whether primary or supporting is well-developed. Kim Vogel’s description of each character immediately brings to your mind’s eye a picture of what they might look like.

The story is a little bit of everything: mystery, romance, adventure, and lessons in Christianity. I enjoyed how Kim wove multiple stories into one: Ollie and Carrie and the mystery of the chocolate factory death and the secrets they uncover, Oliver and Caroline’s budding romance, and the story of Letta, Leslie, and Lank and their search for a place to belong.

This was a very well-written book, beginning to end. This is the second book I have ready by Kim Vogel Sawyer and both in my top 5 favorite books that I’ve read so far this year. (The first was Waiting for Summer’s Return.) I highly recommend not just Echoes of Mercy, but anything by Kim Vogel Sawyer.

Ten Days Without: Daring Adventures in Discomfort That Will Change Your World and You

Author: Daniel Day
Publisher: Waterbrook-Multnomah

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Summary:

Daniel chose to go ten day without various things such as legs, furniture, a coat, touch, his voice, and media in an effort to raise awareness for different organizations and causes such as homelessness, modern slavery, disabilities, etc. From the publisher, "Ten Days Without is a compelling story and practical guide that will equip you and your friends to break through walls of convenience and indifference, and join a movement that is confronting apathy and ignorance around the world to make an impact on people’s lives in a God-honoring way. Ten Days Without is where our good intentions end and making a difference in the world begins."

Review:

I chose this book for only one reason -- of the three that were available to me it looked the least boring. I wasn't particularly interested in reading it and it hasn't kept my attention. It's a nice little book about how he spent ten days without something and what those around him thought about it and his experience in doing so, the discomforts he faced, the odd looks, and the epiphanic moments he had. He tells you a little bit about the organization he was raising awareness for and gives you some hints and tips if you choose to do this experiment yourself.

The publisher calls this "a compelling story." Please do not set your hopes too high. It's an easy read, you can blow through it quickly, you may not fall asleep, but I would never define it as compelling. It doesn't compel me to stay awake to read it nor did it compel me to do any of these challenges myself. It lacked inspiration and while, yes, attention was drawn to the organizations and causes that he was attempting to draw attention too, I think that during his experiments more attention was probably just drawn to himself. I fail to see how it can make a difference in the world to spend 10 days without furniture...

Ten Days Without is "where our good intentions end and making a difference begins" but I think it falls short of it's claim.

It did not inspire me to do any of the above nor did it really strengthen a desire to help any of the causes listed. I'm not saying that I'm not interested in aiding the cause, this book just wouldn't be a reason for that desire.

The author has a nice, casual writing style. You feel as if you are reading his personal blog, which does make this more pleasant to read. It's simple.

Daniel Day seems like a genuinely nice guy with great intentions. I just didn't find the book to be worth my time. You can decide for yourself by purchasing it online at Amazon or from your local retailer.

Day by Day: The Inspiring Stories behind 175 of the Most-Loved Hymns

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Title: Be Still My Soul

Author: Randy Peterson

Disclaimer: This books was provided to me for free from Tyndale House in exchange for an honest review.

From the Publisher:

Be Still, My Soul is a collection of 175 of the most popular hymns and the stories behind them. Many of these hymns were written out of incredible life experiences—from the heart cry of a repentant slave trader to the renewed hope of a survivor of attempted suicide. In this devotional you’ll discover the stories behind the songs we sing. You’ll experience the passion and joy contained in these hymns’ lyrics and melodies. In addition to the hymn stories, Be Still, My Soul includes the musical score, lyrics, and in-depth biographies of 12 of the most-prolific hymn writers, singers, and composers.

Whether you are new to hymns or have cherished them for a long time, you’ll enjoy this illuminating book on the stories behind some of the most popular hymns you sing in worship.

My Review:

I play piano so I requested this book for the music more than the stories. Because of its format, I have not read the book cover to cover, but I have flipped through it and played many of the hymns and read the accompanying stories. I really have been enjoying this book. The musical score is written in typical hymn fashion so they’re easy to play (and need some frills added to make them sound good!). The stories are inspiring and really cause you to read the words that you’re singing to not just sing them but to understand what they mean.

I had never paid much attention to Day by Day until this book and I realized the depth and truth of the lyrics. We are given the strength and grace for each day, not in excess, but exactly what is needed.

If you love music, especially hymns, you’ll enjoy this book.

Claiming Mariah, by Pam Hillman

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Title: Claiming Mariah

Author: Pam Hillman

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from Tyndale House in exchange for an honest review.

After receiving a letter from Mariah Malone after her father’s death, Slade Donovan and his brother make the trip to her ranch to right the wrongs done by her father many years ago. Slade confronts Mariah with the truth as he knows it: that her father stole his father’s gold and left him to die with a gunshot wound to his head. After seeing proof that the gold mine was deeded to Slade’s father, Mariah and her grandmother turn the ranch over to Slade. Slade, torn between feeling tender toward the women who have done nothing wrong and feeling the need for vengeance toward Seth Malone, struggles to balance kindness toward Mariah and Mrs. Malone with his resentment toward Seth.

Frederick Cooper, a neighboring smooth-talking and suspiciously well-groomed rancher, has been trying to court Mariah for a few months. Mariah is tempted to accept his proposal of marriage as a solution to her financial predicament… but there’s only one problem: she doesn’t love him. In fact, if she’s honest with herself, it’s Slade, the man who has taken her home, her ranch, and her financial security, who is is now claiming her heart as well.

Mariah begrudgingly admits to herself that the ranch has prospered under Slade’s leadership and as he runs it he discovers the reason for its lack of success. Follow the twists and turns of this entertaining novel as you delve into the world of ranching, thievery, betrayal, murder, and love. Can Mariah and Slade put their fathers’ past behind them or will they allow their fathers’ mistakes to rob them of their future?

Review:

I really enjoyed this book. It was well-written and easy to follow, but just intricate enough to allow you to catch on to the story and figure things out before you’re told the whole story.

Mariah is sweet and kind, strong but gentle. She stands strong in the face of adversity and takes it on with courage and integrity.

Slade is Mr. Tough Guy with a tender heart that he struggles to let show. He struggles with the desire for vengeance and the desire for Mariah.

The book is a perfect mix of love, suspense, and a touch of mystery. I would like to read more books by Pam Hillman in the future. You can purchase Claiming Mariah at your local bookstore or online at Amazon.com.