Book Review: A Kingsbury Collection by Karen Kingsbury

I recently had the opportunity to read the three novel collection, A Kingsbury Collection, by Karen Kingsbury.  I have read several of Karen Kingsbury’s books and usually enjoy them to tears.  I had not previously read any of the stand alone novels in this collection.  The novels in this collection include: Where Yesterday Lives, When Joy Came to Stay and On Every Side.

Where Yesterday Lives follows Ellen Barrett, a prize winning journalist, as she examines her present, revisits her past and dreams of her future.  When Joy Came to Stay is a story of Maggie Stovall.  A woman who appears to have it all together and finds herself falling apart at every turn.  The novel, On Every Side, tells the story of Faith Evans and her fight to save a precious community statue of Jesus in a city park and the heart of a boy she knew long ago.

I enjoyed each title in this collection.  A couple of the stories included story-lines related to adoption which is very close to my heart.  I love how Karen Kingsbury creates characters and story-lines that are real, relational and relevant.  I would recommend her books to any avid fiction reader.  I strongly recommend the e-book format.  I found the size of this book to be a bit cumbersome to read and carry.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Book Review: Inescapable by Nancy Mehl

I recently read my first romantic suspense novel set in the Mennonite community.  Inescapable is the first in the Road to Kingdom series by Nancy Mehl.  Inescapable follows the life of Lizzie Engel as she runs back to her hometown of Kingdom, Kansas.  Lizzie never intended to return to her father or the Mennonite community that wanted to have nothing to do with her and her young child born out of wedlock.  However, mysterious letters and glimpses of a stalker and trouble in her workplace force Lizzie to leave her new life and return to Kingdom, a place so far off the map she hopes no one can find her there.  When Lizzie returns to Kingdom, she is met with a town in limbo.  There are many struggles within the town and the changes people are pushing in the church community.  Lizzie finds friends that help her to adjust to her return and her time in Kingdom presents her with many new options to consider for her and her young daughter.

Inescapable was an enjoyable read.  Two minor things I took note of while reading were the dialogue between Lizzie and her parents and also Lizzie's relationship with her daughter, Charity.  It took a little to get used to the writer's dialogue, especially between Lizzie and her mother and father.  Although Lizzie speaks plainly, her parents speak in a very formal manner, often referring to her as "Daughter" or by her first and middle name.  I also found it difficult to fully identify with the relationship between Lizzie and her young daughter.  Lizzie is a great mom, doing the best she can as a single mom to raise her child. If I recall correctly, Lizzie's daughter is identified as a six year old in the story, yet her behaviors and the mother/daughter relationship make her appear much younger that six in my opinion.

Inescapable is a good choice if you like the combination of modern day romance, suspense and the Mennonite community setting.  The characters are well developed as well as the suspense and desire for reconciliation.  Inescapable also includes 10 discussion questions and a sneak peak of the first chapter of Book #2 of the Kingdom series, Unbreakable, available Spring 2013.

I received this book for free from Bethany House publishers for the purpose of my unbiased review.

Book Review: The Widow of Saunders Creek by Tracey Bateman

I recently read The Widow of Saunders Creek by Tracey Bateman.  This book, while not my favorite, was an interesting, captivating and entertaining read to me.

Corrie Saunders returns to her home that had been in her husband's family for generations. Corrie faces some coldness from family members who think she should have returned the home to the family and moved on with her life after her husband died a hero at war.  Corrie feels somewhat out of place in his hometown, yet it is also the place she feels closest to her late husband, Jarrod.  Corrie believes that the spirits she senses belong to her husband and that maybe he hasn't left her after all.  Jarrod's cousin, Eli, is helping with the renovations of the family home.  He is concerned for Corrie and her safety as she begins to open up about the odd occurrences.  Eli begins to witness the spirit occurrences as well.  Eli, a strong man of faith, is aware of the evil that has been allowed to roam the home for generations, invited to stay by his grandparents.  Eli is aware of many of Jarrod's failings and struggles to hide his somewhat ill feelings from Corrie to not dismantle her hero view of her late husband and her delicate emotions.  Eli and Corrie find themselves drawing closer together, yet being torn apart by differing opinions.  Eli encourages Corrie to grow in her faith and to rely on Jesus in those moments of concern.  However, Aunt Trudy, a old magic practicing medium encourages Corrie that Jarrod is not lost to her and that she can reconnect with him and his spirit.  Corrie must decide how she will choose to live the rest of her life.

The book is full of deep characters, the struggle between good and evil and the growing romance that grief and healing allow.  It had a different plot than books I frequently choose, however, it drew me in quickly and kept my attention.  I would not hesitate to read another book by Tracey Bateman.

If you are interested in The Widow of Saunders Creek, follow this link to a free preview available at Scribd.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Book Review: A Wedding Invitation

How much can a simple wedding invitation change a person's life?  In Alice J Wisler's new book, A Wedding Invitation, it drastically changes the lives of many.  Main characters, Samantha Bravencourt and Carson Brylie share a past together that has the potential to impact their present and future lives if they are willing to see past the hurt and disappointment of the past to embrace a second chance for a future.  

I found this book to be an easy and enjoyable read.  The elements within this sweet romance lead you questioning the direction the story will end for much of its forty-eight chapters. The story-line moves between the present and the past as it lays the foundation for Samantha and Carson's history together.  Throughout the book the author introduces many characters that provide a positive and encouraging support system to Samantha even in the midst their own individual struggles. The book includes some recipes that were alluded to throughout the story and also includes some questions for conversation.


If you are looking for an enjoyable, romantic read that will leave you believing in the endless possibilities of love and how our days and our lives can be altered by one small event then I suggest you take a look at this book.

I received this book for free from Bethany House Publishers for the purpose of this review.

Shadows on the Sand - Book Review

Shadows on the Sand is a sweet romance laced with mystery written by Gayle Roper and published by Waterbrook Multnomah.  The author's ease of character development quickly drew me into the developing story-line. This book includes a variety of well developed characters that add to the drama and suspense of the book.  The detailed scene descriptions draw the reader into the story's seaside setting.  I found this book to be a work of fiction with a hint of reality as the budding romance strives to overcome many obstacles both past and present.  The mystery part of this story-line is laced with various forms of crime and cult activity.  While nothing is described explicitly, readers sensitive to such topics may not find it enjoyable.


This is the first of Gayle Roper's many books that I have read.  This book was not quite the emotional roller-coaster ride that I often find myself on while reading books from some of my favorite authors such as Kristen Heitzmann or Nicholas Sparks.  Even without the dramatic emotional swings I found it to be an enjoyable, pleasant, clean and easy read.  It kept me awake and turning the pages throughout the book.  I will consider reading other Gayle Roper books in the future.


Teaser from the Back Cover:


She serves him breakfast at her café every morning … but he never seems to notice her.
 
Carrie Carter’s small café in Seaside, New Jersey, is populated with a motley crew of locals … although Carrie only has eyes for Greg Barnes. He’s recovering from a vicious crime that three years ago took the lives of his wife and children—and from the year he tried to drink his reality away. While her heart does a happy Snoopy dance at the sight of him, he never seems to notice her, to Carrie’s chagrin. 
 
When Carrie’s dishwasher is killed and her young waitress disappears, Greg finds himself drawn into helping Carrie solve the mysteries … and into her life. But when Carrie’s own painful past becomes all to present, her carefully constructed world begins to sink.
 
Will the fragile relationship she’s built with Greg implode from the weight of the baggage they both carry?


I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.  Please go here to rank this review!

Guarding My Heart

If I were to ask you to list a variety of things we should guard our hearts against, what would you list?  I imagine things like bitterness, evil, unjustified anger, greed, envy, and pride would likely sprinkle the list.  I've recently  been consumed by reading.  I've found that I enjoy reading more now than ever before.  So much so, that it has actually taken away time from facebook (gasp!). I find it very difficult to put down a book once I've turned the first page.  In my head it is like a movie that I don't want to interrupt.  For years there has been one particular secular author I have enjoyed reading.  Recently, I was introduced to some "inspirational" suspense/romance novels.  One particular series was a 7 book series in which I completed 6 of the 7 books in less than two weeks.  While I waited for the one that I had not yet read to arrive by inter-library loan, I gobbled up another two-book series.


I was so enthralled with the well written suspense and I was equally thrilled I felt no guilt in reading the romance that never materialized on paper beyond a kiss and an embrace.  The more I read the more hopeful I was that this was indeed what love should look like.  I began to ponder what had happened to the romance in my own marriage?  I checked myself (with the help of the Holy Spirit) and realized that I was reading "the pursuit."  Each book I read focused on the beginning of new relationships, not the reality of living in a relationship.  I returned to my photo albums to remember that I too had once been "pursued" by a handsome, loving man I now call my husband.  Then yesterday, I ran across an article by Russel Moore that suggested that romance novels could hurt your heart.  The article pointed to similarities between romance novels (even "inspirational" romance) having the same emotional impact on a woman as the physical impact pornography has on men.  He did not by any means make them moral equals.  Is his conclusion wrong?  Honestly, for me it was confirmation that there really is a potential threat to fall into the belief that the man in my life must be all (alpha-male) man and at the same time possess all the sensitive, romantic ideologies of my female brain.  I'm not suggesting we throw out all forms of romantic literature.  I enjoy a good, page-turning book and the tears and excitement that come along with it.  What I have concluded is that it is just that...a book, a fictional story, an escape from reality that is not to be projected onto what is my relationship reality.  Yesterday I finished another book.  This one a different story about a couple married 21 years on the verge of divorce.  Only through their renewed relationship with God were they both able to see their own fault in their marital struggles and move together on the road of reconciliation.  It was a story almost too real to read.  He blamed her for this, she blamed him for that and they altogether gave up on trying to serve and love the other until they were too miserable to even speak to each other.  In the end, they realized that the walls they built around their hearts were built on lies they had told themselves.  It was the truth that set them free to love each other again.


My truth is this: God has blessed me with a wonderful husband.  He may not be the female-brained, alpha-male guy in the romance novel, but he is mine, a gift from God to love and cherish all the days of my life.  Given the time and effort necessary, I too would pen our story in an inspirational pursuit of true love.  Until that day, I will choose to write our story on the pages of my heart and guard this priceless treasure that God has given me.


~"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." Proverbs 4:23