Where Treetops Glisten

Christmas stories are so much fun to read and this one was truly a special read to me.  Not only is this a novella written by three authors but one of the authors, Cara Putman, lives in my home town. Lafayette Indiana is the setting for these stories that take place during World War II. It is not very often when I can read a book that depicts places I know and live by. That is why it was so much fun for me to read along with learning about what Christmas was like during the Second World War.

The three authors have done a masterful job weaving three family stories highlighting a different family member with each tale.  Cara Putman's White Christmas tells of Abigail Turner who is a college student and works in a candy store.  This candy store makes amazing candy canes which was interesting to me since I have made some in the upstairs candy parlor a few years ago. Abigail is not looking for romance but there is a romance blooming with Jackson. She has already lost a beau to the war, so will she be able to find romance again?
The second story by Sarah Sundin is I'll be home for Christmas chronicles Abigail's brother Pete.  Pete is a fighter pilot home on furlough. He meets up with an old childhood friend Grace, whom he bullied as a child, along with her precious child Linnie. With a past between them, can Pete make up for the hurt he caused Grace and can Grace trust him to be part of her life.
The third story by Tricia Goyer is Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.  That story tells of Meridith Turner or Merry to her friends.  She is on the front lines in the Netherlands as a nurse.  She has been betrayed by a man she loved earlier and  is struggling being able to trust any man again.  Her heart is broken but will God  show her how to love again.

These are just snippets of the storyline which I hope make you want to read this novella.  It contains danger, excitement, love, forgiveness, faith, healing and the tragedy of war.  Loved how the authors used Christmas songs from that period, 1941-1944 to connect the stories. Pick this book up , find a comfy chair , a hot drink and enjoy being transported to a simpler time and be thankful this Christmas season for great books to read and treasure.

Thanks to Waterbrook for sending me this book free just for my honest opinion.
 http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/SneakPeek_WhereTreetopsGlisten.pdf
 http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/author-spotlight.php?authorid=75413

Turning Points with God

I have a devotional addiction!.  When I had the opportunity to review Dr. Jeremiah's newest devotional, I was thrilled and could not wait till it arrived. I was definitely not disappointed when it came, an absolutely beautiful leather book.  I love Dr. Jeremiah's writing, his radio show and this is the icing on the cake.
Since it is a daily devotional you can start on the date you receive it and go from there.  Each days devotional has a scripture verse to tie in with what the devotional is about and ending with a statement from well know people applicable to the days reading.  Here is a great example of one of the days I just read on obedience.
As I obey God's Word where I stand today, it will give direction for the next move I should make.  In other words, there is no need o see a quarter mile down life's path if I am not going to obey and take the one step God has made clear from where I stand.  If you are seeking direction for your life, obey what God has shown you today.  Do that one day at a time and, looking back, you'll realize the entire way has been illuminated.  Obedience is not a matter of seeing the whole path, only the next step.  Obedience increases seeing.
 This book is a great way to seek God and His word on a daily basis.
Thanks to Tyndale Publishers for this free book just for my honest opinion.

Hearing His Voice Devotional

Do you yearn for deeper communication with God?  Don't we all want this and to hear His voice speaking to us. I will let you know I am a devotional junkie.  I love to read my bible but I love devotionals that make me think  and learn more about God.  We have everyone of Chris Tiegreen's devotionals and they are read daily. You know I was super excited to review his newest devotional-One Year Hearing His Voice devotional. I was curious to see how different this one would be since we had all the other ones.  This one is another home run by Chris Tiegreen.  This devotional not only is a daily devotional but you will see how the daily readings show you patterns and practices to hear God better.  We love to talk to God but do we really listen to God?  These devotions help you that listening to God is a process, a journey and an adventure. We know that God will reward those that seek Him.  Each day has a scripture reading, a devotional reading covering many issues and a prayer at the end.  A sample from today: Whatever it takes, develop your sensitivity to God and His whispers in your life.  Ask Him to tune you in to the sound of His voice. Don't wait for Him to shake the foundations of your life to get your attention.  Give Him your full attention every day.  Devour Scripture, watch for His words, and look for ways to apply them. Let the softening of your heart draw you into God's nourishing, healing, strengthening presence.

Do yourself a huge favor,  pick up one of Chris Tiegreen's devotionals and be prepared to be blessed by his words.  Why not start with his latest, Hearing His Voice devotional and you will not stop with just one devotional of his.  Be blessed by his writings and remember God is not silent.

Thank you Tyndale Publishers for this free book to review just for my honest opinion.

The Remaining

Being a Travis Thrasher fan, I was eagerly awaiting this book to read.  It was an easy and quick read with a plot like the Left Behind books except with a twist, which made it an interesting concept.

There are six friends together to prepare for a wedding between Dan and Skyler. They have been friends since college and you learn bits and pieces about each of the six before the wedding takes place.  As the wedding ends and the reception begins, people start dropping dead.  The five speculate as to the cause of the dying people and realize that it could be the rapture, but only the bodies are left behind.  One of the six friends, Lauren, is gone and so begins the questions and how will they survive.  Why were they left behind and why was Lauren taken. This is an apocalyptic story so you need to read the ending to find out if and who will accept Christ before it is too late.

This was a good read, nothing earth shaking and looking forward to the movie which many be more in depth with the storyline.
This was provided free by Tyndale Publishers just for my honest opinion.

The Story Keeper

Every so often a book comes along that just touches your heart and The Story Keeper did just that for me.  I knew it would be a good read since Colleen Coble wrote a glowing endorsement.  It is one of those books I almost did not pick to review and so glad I changed my mind and picked it. 

The plot centers around Jen Gibbs who is a New York editor and just acquired a job at a top rate publishing house and wants to be the best editor there.  She is learning the ropes of the company and is told of a slush pile in the Presidents office.  This pile is old manuscripts that are 20 years old and kept for some reason.  A manuscript appears on her desk and she does not know who put it there and could get in trouble if it is found to be from the slush pile.  She decides to read a few pages and she finds herself reading about Sarra, a mixed race Melungeon girl trapped by dangerous men in Appalachia at the turn of the twentieth century. She wants to find out more about this story but it means heading to  the Blue Ridge Mountains and that would be bringing up painful memories.  She thinks she can find the author of this manuscript and hopefully persuade him to a blockbuster book deal.  This is all I will tease you with because there is so much more to this book that is hard to put on paper. I loved how the author went back to Sarra's time and then back to the present and how they both meshed so well together.  The narrative was superb and the characters were so real along with a captivating plot that just won my heart and it was a story I did not want to end.

This is my first story by Lisa Wingate but it will not be the last.  This book was storytelling at it's best.
I received this book from Tyndale Publishers free for my honest opinion.

Woman of Courage

A Quaker woman dare the unknown to be a missionary.  This statement was one of the reasons I picked this book for review.  Normally, I am not a huge historical reader but the author was Wanda Brunstetter and I knew she writes good books.  This books actually drew me in throughout the story and kept me guessing just how Amanda would survive and make it to her destination.

Amanda Pearson was jilted by her fiance' and decides to pick up and embark on a three-thousand mile journey in 1837. She wants to follow the Rev. and Mrs. Spalding into the western wilderness to minister to the Nez Perce' Indians along with her father.  The trail is long and difficult and there are many dangers and tragedies that Amanda has to overcome. She faced a near death experience but God showed her the people she was sent to help and minister to even before she got to the Spalding Mission. I felt that was the key to this story-her obstacles and her courage to go on.  Amanda also has no desire for any relationship but a certain man enters her life as he guide but he has no desire to help anyone who claims Christ as their lord.  How can Amanda reach the Indians if she cannot reach anyone around her for Christ.  As the journey continues, it becomes life changing for her and those she meets.  The choices she has to make are almost unbearable.

This was a really good book laced with scripture and and forgiveness by some of the characters.  I received this book from Barbour Publishing free for my honest opinion.

Firewall

Just finished Firewall by Diann Mills and it was superb!!.  This author is one of my favorites and she never lets me down when it comes to suspense and romance in the stories.

Taryn Young is a genius software developer who has a great job, a man who loves her, and a brand new marriage. Disaster strikes before the honeymoon can begin when an airport bombing injures her and her husband disappears. She is suspected of being involved in the death and destruction.  FBI Special Agent Grayson Hall does not believe Taryn is involved with what happened and begins to investigate her and her missing husband.  Fingers are pointed in several directions, but as the truth comes to light, so does more danger for Taryn and Grayson.  When a child is kidnapped, the two must work together to stop evil in its tracks. The story changes with a possible mole in the FBI office and when they learn what the bombers are really after, they are trying to stop a massive attack on the US and unravel the plot against national security.
This story is a skillful blend of suspense, romance and spirituality, this book's intricate storyline will keep you guessing all the way through.

Thanks to Tyndale Publishers for this free copy just for my honest opinion.

Silenced

I love to read, especially suspense fiction and Dani Pettrey is masterful  in that category.  This is my fourth book that I have read in her Alaskan Courage series. Each book takes a character in a family and builds stories that are extremely good.  All the books have the family characters interwoven throughout which reminds me of Dee Henderson's O'Malley series. This books deals with Kayden McKenna who finds a climber dead and she must find out if it was an accident or murder.  Jake Westin is back in town and is asked by the sheriff if he will help investigate. These two will clash with her personality being very closed, strong and  independent and fearful.  Jake, on the other hand, is a charming, patient, and willing to go after what he wants.  The story blends the best of suspense, romance and the classic-who did it. Along with just being a terrific story, I learned a lot about rock climbing.

This book has it all-mystery, romance and how God will win in the end with Kayden and her fears.  The author blends God's hope, mercy and grace throughout the storyline and characters which makes her books so enjoyable for me.  Loved the plot, characters, Alaska and am eagerly awaiting book #5 dealing with Reef. If you are interested in suspense and romance books, Dani Pettrey and her Alaskan Courage series will not disappoint you.  You will enjoy them immensely.

Thank you goes out to Bethany House for this free copy just for my honest opinion.

Heart Wide Open

When I pick out the books I want to read there are various things that make a book standout to me and this  statement did it for me "You believe in God.  You're trying to serve him.  But do you know how to truly love Him and let Him love you"?,   This statement is from Shellie Tomlinson in her book Heart Wide Open which she lays her heart open in eight chapters.  She says "Jesus, I know I don't love You like I should, but I want to want to love You". That is where my heart is and where all our hearts should be-loving Jesus more and more each day.

I loved so many things about this book; the author's humor, her honesty, her truth in her search for a deeper relationship with God.  She instilled in me some valuable tools to make that relationship become deeper for me and how to make my faith become "more alive". I enjoyed how she used lessons from her own life and sprinkled her writing with Scripture to enhance each chapter with easy to understand teaching.  She had a great chapter on bible study-I suppose cliff notes are out. This chapter game me some new ideas on how to approach scripture reading. "Every single choice we make to take hold of Scripture provides another opportunity for Scripture to grab hold of us".

This is one book I am glad I chose to review.  This is a book you want to read slowly and have a highlighter ready to mark up the pages.  There are many nuggets you will want to go back and re-read again and again. Enjoy your new pursuit of Jesus.

Thanks to Blogging for Books for allowing me to review this free book just for my honest opinion.

http://www.belleofallthingssouthern.com/
http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/SneakPeek_HeartWideOpen.pdf
http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/author-spotlight.php?authorid=184028

A Stillness of Chimes

A Stillness of Chimes is Meg Mosley's latest book which I was very eager to read.  She has become a favorite author of mine with her two previous books.  She always gives the reader a different kind of storyline which makes her writing so interesting.

Laura comes home to Prospect, Georgia to go through and get ready to sell her mother's house after her death..She has been gone for a long time and now the town is full of rumors about her father who disappeared twelve years ago in the lake.  Different people claim to have seen him.  Since his body was never found, Laura firmly believes he is alive and sets out to find him.  This is one of the story lines which Laura enlists the help of Sean ( her high school boyfriend) to help her find her father.  Laura's father was a mentor to Sean but he is afraid to help her, since he has his own reasons for letting her father's disappearance stay that way.  They do uncover the truth in the Blue Ridge Mountains that surround Prospect, but you will be very surprised with the facts they uncover.  The ending completely surprised me.  Can't tell you more, since you need to find out for yourself what I am talking about.

This book has romance, intrigue, second chances, memories, family secrets and great, believable characters. I really enjoyed the book but felt, at times, the story dragged with too much page fillers. Meg Mosely still writes beautiful stories and I look forward to her next book.

This book was provided by Blogging For Books  free for my honest opinion.

 http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/SneakPeek_StillnessofChimes.pdf
 http://megmoseley.com/
 http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/author-spotlight.php?authorid=123046
 http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?work=218208
 http://www.randomhouse.com/images/dyn/cover/?source=9780307730787&width=125

Visible Threat

Since I have read all of Janice Cantore's books up to now, I was excited to review her newest book-Visible Threat. This is the second book in her latest series  There are authors that you just know their books will be good and she fits into that category for me.  Being a retired Long Beach police officer adds so much credit to her writing.  As I read her books I am thinking this was a case she may have investigated which makes reading more interesting for me.

As with the first book we are following Brinna Caruso as she wants justice and to save the innocent from the evil predators that inflict pain on their victims.  The storyline follows two sisters arriving from Bulgaria being promised a better life in America.  Unfortunately that was a lie and they were not the only ones being coerced by the evil of human trafficking.  A body is found in the river and Jack O'Reilly needs help from Brinna. As they uncover the identity of the victim, they hunt for the sister and the story explodes from there.  A lot of times Brinna does not go by the book and does things her way which lead to another storyline in the book.  Brinna was kidnapped at age 6 and was rescued two days later, which is why she has such an interest and such an emotional attachment to this case.  There is also Brinna and Jack as they find the traffickers but also as Brinna learns from Jack.  "If he is a good God, why would he stop something in your life that will make you stronger, make you a better person?"  "Just because bad things happen doesn't mean that God isn't good"

 The story is at times hard to read, forgetting that this in happening now all over the world. It is not just a growing problem worldwide but in our own backyard.  The author did a great job of making it real but not
being too graphic.