Book Review: In Wilderness

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In the winter of 1966, Katherine Reid receives a shattering diagnosis. Debilitated by a terminal and painful illness, Katherine moves to an isolated cabin deep in Georgia’s Appalachian Mountains. There, with little more than a sleeping bag, a tin plate, and a loaded gun, she plans to spend the few short months remaining to her in beautiful but desolate solitude. Her isolation brings her peace, until the day she realizes the woods are not as empty as she believed. A heartbeat in the darkness. Breathing in the night. Katherine is not alone. Someone else is near, observing her every move.

Twenty-year-old Vietnam veteran Danny lives in the once-grand mansion he has dubbed “Gatsby’s house.” Haunted by the scars of war and enclosed by walls of moldering books, he becomes fixated on Katherine. What starts as cautious observation grows to an obsession. When these two lost souls collide, the passion that ignites between them is all-consuming—and increasingly dangerous.

Suffused with a stunning sense of character and atmosphere, Diane Thomas’s intimate voice creates an unforgettable depiction of the transformative power of love, how we grieve and hope, and the perilous ways in which we heed and test our hearts.
My review:  Wow, this book will have you wanting to reach the end the moment you start it!
It's powerful, raw, strange, disturbing ~ like a car wreck ... you try NOT to look, but you catch yourself craning your neck to take a peek anyway!

I wasn't so sure about the story plot at the beginning - with Katherine seemingly unsure about how to handle her illness and modern medicine.  Her troubles lead her to living on her own in the middle of a vast wilderness and she soon realizes that she's not. 

The characters, Katherine and Danny, are a little bit odd, not going to lie.  But in their oddity, they bring something unique to the table - a sense of belonging with each other and knowing that no matter how lost you are in the world, whatever is troubling you, there is always something bigger than yours and together, a possibility of healing. 

Hang on to the edge of your seats -this book will take you for a ride!

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book!

Book Review: Deadly Echoes

 

Book Jacket:  After a youth filled with tragedy and upheaval, Sarah Miller's life is finally settled with all echoes of the past silent at last. She happily calls Sanctuary her home and spends her days teaching at the local school.

Sarah's joy at her recent reunion with her sister, Hannah, and meeting the niece she didn't know she had is too soon interrupted when Deputy Sheriff Paul Gleason informs Sarah her sister has been killed.

As she learns more about Hannah's death, the circumstances are eerily similar to their parents' murder. Sarah enlists Paul's help in digging deeper into the murders the police are dismissing as burglaries gone wrong. Paul's concern encourages Sarah's growing feelings for him, but as their investigation peels back the layers of lies almost twenty years old, they get close to uncovering the truth one person will do anything to hide--even if that means coming after the last remaining members of the Miller family.

My Review:    I normally read review books in the order received but as soon as Deadly Echoes by Nancy Mehl landed in my mailbox, I couldn't wait to jump in.  I read it cover to cover in a couple of hours.  This isn't my "first rodeo" with a Nancy Mehl book and one thing is certain ... she can weave a trail of intrigue!

Deadly Echoes reads like a cross between CSI and Little House on the Prairie.  Sisters, Sarah and Hannah, suffer an unimaginable loss and the story weaves from that loss to present day.  It's chalk full of old fashioned ways of life, old school virtues and values, where kindness and respect and being neighborly meets a murder mystery to be solved.  Sarah falls in love with the small town cop, who's feelings are reciprocated, but their romance is slow to take off while they are trying to peace together who is putting Sarah's life in danger.  She takes on her sister's wishes to raise her niece as her own after she is killed, and that puts an interesting spin on the relationship as well - both to Sarah herself as an "instant mom" and to the life she's hoping to build with Paul.   As I read this book, 2 Corinthians 4 kept echoing in my mind ~ "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed but not driven to despair; persecuted but not forsaken; struck down but not destroyed."  To go through all that Sarah went through and still have a graceful heart and faith strong enough to move mountains is a wondrous thing.

I did lose interest towards the middle of this book - it started to get a little too long to get back on track.  It reminded me somewhat of 'filler words' when you need to get to a certain amount of pages and extend the story.  While an entertaining story to read, it became repetitious and of course, a highly predictable ending to the story.  But if you like books with an old fashioned country plains feel with a mixed intrique, you'd find this story worth your while.

3 out of 5 stars.

Disclosure: 

 

Disclosure:  I received a complimentary review copy of this book from Baker Publishing Group on behalf of Bethany House Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review and the stated opinion I have expressed is my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255.

Book Review: 21 Things the Devil Cannot Do

 

 

Book Jacket:  The devil's weaknesses far outnumber his strengths."Know your enemy" is an ancient military principle that has stood the test of time; yet we forget this when we enter the spiritual battlefield. How much do you really know about Satan? Is misinformation inadvertently hurting you and your loved ones?

In this accessible, hands-on book, respected pastor and broadcaster Duane Vander Klok reveals the devil's true limits--and exposes all the things he cannot do. In doing so, Pastor Duane equips you to take a firm grip on the spiritual weapons Jesus gave us and to wield them more effectively. He also shows you how to pinpoint, and then to reclaim, the areas in which you have unknowingly given the enemy influence in your life.

Don't give the devil more power than he actually has. Through Jesus, you have authority to defeat him. It's time to put him in his place.

My Review:   From cover to cover, Duane Vander Klok does a very good job at covering the bases of his thoughts and depictions of the 21 ideas behind staying Satan's attempt to lure and sway.
This book is an awesome tool to witness - if you are going to walk in the war against Satan, you must bear arms!

All 9 chapters are thoughtfully written, including passages to research and reflect on in addition to the author's thoughts.  Such topics the author has reflected on include obedience, righteousness, salvation, faith, prayer and spiritual life, just to name a few.   It's to our own advantage as Christians to prepare against a possibly assault from Satan, and the more aware we are, the better off we are. 

One of my favorite passages, from Chapter 6, simply put states "walk in obedience with the Lord -
you are delivered and protected in Jesus name."

There is a handy 14 page quick reference guide as well included at the conclusion of chapter 9, which is super helpful, especially if you'd like to use this book as a learning guide, reference or teaching manual for small groups, bible studies, etc.

This is not an easy read and takes time, consideration, serenity.  It read to me almost like a college text book but it's very informative.  In my review notes, I wrote down Romans 12:2 "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will."  While not everything that happens to you, especially the bad stuff, is God's will, the devil promotes that ire ~ he permits resistance, plants the seed.

Stand strong in faith is a good message to deliver!

*Disclaimer:  I received this book for an honest review from Bethany House,

a division of the Baker Publishing Group and was not required to write a positive review.  

Any reflection of such is my own and this review is an honest reflection of such.

Book Review: Still Life

 

Book Description:  Ada escaped her family’s self-enclosed world to elope with a mysterious stranger. Five months later, she’s a widow in a strange new world.

Ada was born into a fringe religious sect named for her father, The Prophet. But her lifelong habit of absolute obedience was shattered when she fled the family compound to elope with photographer Julian Goetz.

Katherine Walker’s marriage was a sham. She and Will rarely spoke without yelling—and never touched. Her affair brings her both escape and guilt.

When a tragic plane crash takes Julian from Ada and exacerbates Katherine’s sense of shame, both women become desperately unsure of where they belong in the world—until the devotion of an artistic young boy conspires to bring them together.

From award-winning novelist Christa Parrish, Still Life is a cunningly complex work that captures themes of abusive religion, supernatural love, and merciful escape. It will resonate with anyone who has ever felt called to a drastic change—or tried to hear the small whisper of God’s voice.

My Review:   Still Life by Christa Parrish is a paper onion -- layers upon layers of words and tart richness, you have to peel back each chapter to get more of the essence!  What a lush, poignantly written novel!  I confess at the requesting of this book, I had ideas of what it would entail in the imagination of my mind.  I envisioned a novel version of the
"Bounce" with Gwyneth Paltrow and Ben Affleck.  Not so!  This book has a life all it's own, a tale meant to woven with a message to share.  Parrish can write.

Ada and Julian are intriquing characters ~ from different worlds but drawn together by a voice, an unexplained messanger - that 'sixth sense' that you hear in the back of your mind, faithfully entrancing you with a premonition that something is just and good.  Ada, from a strict sect and closed world, meets Julian after he is sent on assignment as a photographer to cover the sect, and they are brought together quickly like magnets.

Katherine Walker is a woman on the verge of a broken marriage beyond repair, having an affair and not caring much who it hurts.  As all the stars align in just the right order, place and time, she meets Julian at the airport - having been bumped from an overbooked flight - and they strike up a conversation . She learns he's hoping to be home in time for Ada's birthday, and gives up her seat to him.  And as the same fate would have it, the plane crashes with no survivors.

The ensuing aftermath of guilt, sadness, despair, terror of life unknown is worth the read alone.
While I have lost loved ones, that grief and how it weaves into the lives of the characters is rich and concrete.  Beautiful. Just beautiful.

Disclosure: I received this book free from Book Look Bloggers.  I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own and I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Book Review: Be Still my Soul

Book Overview:  Night’s chill tickled her skin. Lonnie pressed her hands together and glanced up. He was even more handsome up close. Having grown up the shy, awkward daughter of Joel Sawyer, she’d hardly spoken to any boy, let alone the one who had mothers whispering warnings in their daughter’s ears and fathers loading shotguns.
 
Pretty Lonnie Sawyer is shy and innocent, used to fading into the background within her family, and among the creeks and hollows of the Appalachian hills. Though her family is poor and her father abusive, she clings to a quiet faith.  But when handsome ladies’ man and bluegrass musician Gideon O’Riley steals a kiss, that one action seals her fate. 

Her father forces her into a hasty marriage with Gideon—a man she barely knows and does not love. Equally frustrated and confused by his new responsibilities, Gideon yearns for a fresh start, forcing Lonnie on an arduous journey away from her home in Rocky Knob.

Her distant groom can’t seem to surrender his rage at the injustice of the forced matrimony or give Lonnie any claim in his life.  What will it take for Gideon to give up his past, embrace Lonnie’s God, and discover a hope that can heal their two fractured hearts?

My Review:   Super sweet, christian read!  I fell for both characters - both Lonnie and Gideon and how they were thrust together so unfairly.  God truly has a divine plan for each of us, even if we don't know it at the time.

Be Still My Soul (Cadence of Grace book #1) is a heart-warming, enriching christian novel that entwines the sweet ‘falling in love’ with a faith based foundation.   The story opens with the simple encounter between Lonnie and Gideon and a musical event they both attend in the Blue Ridge Mountains backwoods, simple country life of the mountains.   The author blends a wonderful weave of tale with the time and era and the way of life is described so vividly, I felt as if I were walking through each of the chapters of this book with the characters!

With a simple wrong move by Gideon, influenced heavily by alcohol, Lonnie is deemed ‘tarnished’ by her father and forces the young teens to marry, neither of which is planned or happy about.  Lonnie truly is an innocent and she is caught up in the times of that era and must abide by her Pa’s doing or is considered tarnished for the rest of her life and unmarriageable.  I felt so sad for her when she was forced to be married and go to live with Gideon and his family, and Gideon soon instructs his parents that he is leaving to make it on his own with his new wife.  They are unprepared, have no money and the mishaps just start to pile up.

Be Still My Soul is about the ultimate trial and tribulations for this young couple yet God is always there with them both throughout.  One of the sayings that jumped out at me was when Lonnie's Aunt Sarah told her “don’t you let those lies stay inside you. The only opinion that mattes is God’s and he knows the truth.”  That’s a theme that resonates through this book as does 1 Peter 5:10.

This book is a breath of fresh air to read.  I look forward to reading more of Joanne Bischof’s work in the future!

Book Review: More Than This ...

Book Description:

When Mikayla imagined her prom night, she envisioned a fairy-tale evening full of romance. So when betrayal and tragedy come in quick succession, Mikayla is completely destroyed. Suddenly, everything she loved and everyone she relied on are tragically, irrevocably gone.

Jake, a handsome boy she just met, happens to witness her loss. With no one to turn to, Mikayla is forced to depend on this near stranger and his family, and he in turn is determined to take care of her. But Mikayla—thrust into adulthood with no one to guide her—is desperate to contain her grief and hide what she considers to be her weakness. Mikayla and Jake both want more, but despite their growing closeness and intense chemistry, she tries to keep her distance and protect her heart. As he does everything in his power to win her trust, Mikayla must choose between remaining alone and safe or letting love in.

My Review:  Here's the thing about reading a book ~ the author, sometimes, gets right into the heart and head of a character(s) and write with such conviction, it's hard to distinguish that it's just ficton and not an autobiography.  While More Than This wasn't my favorite book to read, one thing resonated with me as I plowed through this book at rapid pace:  Jay McLean can write.

The story takes place in a high school setting with Mikayla, a high school girl, and the events that unfold towards the end of her senior year in school.  Having a daughter exactly her age, this book jumped out at me but let me just say, that's exactly where the similiarities stopped and my review of this as literally work begins.  Mikayla, also known as Kayla to those closest to her, appears to be a typical high school girl by most standards - steady boyfriend, great circle of friends, loving family and focused on life after high school - college, work, career.  She has a best friend, Megan, who sleeps around including with Mikayla's boyfriend, and she catches them together as they are leaving for Prom.  Naturally, she is in tears and destroyed and Prom is ruined.  Enter Jake, an all around nice guy, who happens to be at the same diner as Kayla when this goes down and they end up going to his Prom instead.  What happens next is incredibly sad, a turn of events no child should ever have to encounter and that's the death of Mikayla's entire family in a house fire.  She's left alone with no where to go and grieve, and she's taken in temporarily by Jake and his family, whom she just met!
Their relationship blossoms and he's a caring and falling for Kayla at the same time as trying to juggle school and a baseball scholarship.   The story is captivating - you want to know, does Kayla make it to college?  Does she inherit anything?  How at 18 does a young girl survive in the world?

This book appears to be very real to 'real life' teens and aside from the catalyst of Kayla's incredible losses.  What bothered me mostly was the subject matter being very STRONG in sexual tones and
the bad language.  While I feel the writing style is good, it seemed a little over the top in the language and explicitly.  I wouldn't recommend this book for anyone attempting to 'shield' their children from the descriptions of teenage drinking, parties, sleeping around, loss and betrayal.  If you are okay with all of that, then this book is a page turner and I flew through it at record pace to see how it ended!

Special thanks to Netgalley for providing a copy of this book for review ~ any opinions expressed are purely my own and I was not compensated in any way other than receipt of the book.

Book Review: A Most Inconvient Marriage



From the book jacket:

Abigail Stuart Thought She was Jeremiah Calhoun's Widow.
But Jeremiah Calhoun Is Very Handsome, Very Alive, and Very Perplexed.
Most Inconvenient Indeed.

With few options of her own, nurse Abigail Stuart agrees to marry her patient, a gravely wounded soldier calling himself Jeremiah Calhoun. They arrange a quick ceremony before he dies, giving Abigail the rights to his Ozark farm and giving Jeremiah the peace of knowing someone will care for his ailing sister after he's gone--a practical solution for both of them.

After the war, Abigail fulfills her side of the bargain--until the real Jeremiah Calhoun shows up, injured but definitely alive, and wastes no time in challenging Abigail's story. Abigail is

flummoxed. After months of claiming to be his widow, how can she explain that she's never seen this Jeremiah Calhoun before? How can she convince him that she isn't trying to steal his farm? And will she find a way to stay, even though this practical arrangement has turned into a most inconvenient marriage?


  My Review:

There is something incredibly wonderful about a Christian romance to warm the soul and tickle the senses with the sweetness of love.  That's the basic premise of  A Most Inconvient Marriage by Regina Jennings.  Toss in some unruliness, hard times and good decent folk, and this novel delivers just the western novel is purports to be.  However, this isn't a run of the mill western romance where the cowboy rides in and saves a damsel in distress with a tip of his hat and a howdy ma'am.  Rather, it's a slow simmer about two main characters, torn between what each believes is right, set in the Ozarks during a time where the North and South are battling each other, almost as much as Abigail and Jeremiah do through-out this novel.  They are both caught up in a web of an unusual arrangement where both are struggling to find themselves in the midst of a war torn country where everyone seems to be taking a side. 

 

The characters are delightfully written and the author does a wonderful job of building each personality so well that you get to know them and either like them, nor not.  Abigail is a dutiful nurse, striking up a promise at the bedside of a dying soldier to go back to his farm and take care of his mother and sister, who is gravely sick.  Unbeknownst to her, he is not who he claims to be and finds herself in quite a dilemma after the real Jeremiah Calhoun shows up, and none to happy to hear about her.  He's wounded, both physically and his pride, and finds the fiance' he left behind engaged to someone else and a 'wife' he doesn't want or acknowledge since he's alive and well, not the man who pretended to be him.

There is a whole cast of characters that helps build the plot ~  from the feisty, bitter sister Rachel to Laurel, the fiancé that can't make up her mind who she wants:  Jeremiah or her new doctor suitor, Dr. Hopkins.  The two delightful and playful children of a neighbor, Josiah and Betsy who bring charm and wit to this otherwise hardworking, humdrum daily farm life back drop.  The chapter where Abigail makes a pumpkin pie from scratch to please Rachel and has a melting pie face to scare the busy-body children is absolutely hiliarious!   Jennings even paints a beautiful scene with Abigail meeting her old family horse, Ladymare, at an auction and shares a tender moment.   

However, even with the great character cast, I found this novel slow to warm and didn't quite reach the crescendo I'd hoped.  It is somewhat lackluster and dull in the dialog with the story being too monotonous at times.  I think the author had a nice theme but just didn't deliver the story well and each page, each chapter felt the same as the previous.  I kept waiting for the "wow" factor, but this one sadly fell flat for me.

 

Disclosure:  I received a complimentary review copy of this book from Baker Publishing Group on behalf of Bethany House Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review and the stated opinion I have expressed is my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255.