I Just Have to share a great book I read this weekend!

I have been a fan of Nancy Atherton's Aunt Dimity books for years! This latest edition is truly superb, and I just had to share it with you! Granted, it's not labeled Christian fiction, but the stories are family centered, and are highly entertaining! I highly recommend them - this one particularly!

This delightful new addition to Nancy Atherton’s Aunt Dimity mystery series features Lori Shepherd at her best – or maybe her worst. It seems that the beginning of her twin sons’ school years has Lori’s imagination working overtime! Is that a germ? Did a train car full of chlorine gas explode? Will my son catch fleas from his classmates? Are my neighbors hiding a psychotic pseudo vampire in their attic? Aunt Dimity has her work cut out for her in this cozy mystery as she tries to guide Lori through the first weeks of sending her babes into the big bad world beyond their nursery!

Every time I read one of Nancy Atherton’s novels featuring the paranormal journaling of Aunt Dimity and the misadventures of Lori Shepherd and her English friends, I have to wonder what lies beyond the rustle of the next page! Atherton has a brilliant way of turning everyday events into a roaring adventure, and she does it with such warmth and grace that you don’t realize you’ve been holding your breath until you finally release it over the last cup of steaming hot tea! There were a LOT of twists in her latest story, and I truly found myself slack-jawed by the time I reached the last page!

I’ve come to adore Lori Shepherd and the English countryside thanks to Nancy! I take great comfort in the fact that Lori’s twins are only 5-years-old, and the fact that I have many more adventures to look forward to! I can’t wait to see which one of them inherits their mother’s other worldly relationship with Aunt Dimity! In short Nancy, write faster! This book was EXCELLENT!! For Cozy Mysteries at their finest, check out all of Nancy Atherton’s great books here!

You can purchase your own copy here today!

The Perfect Life with Robin Lee Hatcher

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
The Perfect Life
Thomas Nelson (February 5, 2008)
by
Robin Lee Hatcher

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Robin Lee Hatcher discovered her vocation as a novelist after many years of reading everything she could put her hands on, including the backs of cereal boxes and ketchup bottles. The winner of the Christy Award for Excellence in Christian Fiction (Whispers from Yesterday), the RITA Award for Best Inspirational Romance (Patterns of Love and The Shepherd's Voice), two RT Career Achievement Awards (Americana Romance and Inspirational Fiction), and the RWA Lifetime Achievement Award, Robin is the author of over 50 novels, including Catching Katie, named one of the Best Books of 2004 by the Library Journal.

Robin enjoys being with her family, spending time in the beautiful Idaho outdoors, reading books that make her cry, and watching romantic movies. She is passionate about the theater, and several nights every summer, she can be found at the outdoor amphitheater of the Idaho Shakespeare Festival, enjoying Shakespeare under the stars. She makes her home outside of Boise, sharing it with Poppet the high-maintenance Papillon.

She also likes to blog. Go leave her a comment at Write Thinking!


ABOUT THE BOOK:


Katherine Clarkson has the perfect life. Married to Brad, a loving and handsome husband, respected in their church and the community. Two grown daughters on the verge of starting families of their own. A thriving ministry. Good friends. A comfortable life.

She has it all--until the day a reporter appears with shocking allegations. Splashed across the local news are accusations of Brad's financial impropriety at his foundation and worse, an affair with a former employee. Without warning, Katherine's marriage is shattered and her family torn apart. The reassuring words she's spoken to many brokenhearted women over the years offer little comfort now.

Her world spinning, Katherine wonders if she can find the truth in the chaos that consumes her. How can she survive the loss of what she thought was the perfect life?

My Review:

Have you ever had the feeling that the Lord was yelling at you? More accurately, have you ever felt like He was placing the same message in your life over and over again – literally everywhere you looked – as if insisting that you pay attention and stop ignoring what He was trying to say? Robin Lee Hatcher’s book has come to me as another bold reminder…no matter what, TRUST GOD! Whether or not things make sense, whether or not they seem fair, whether or not you understand the reasons behind the circumstances…TRUST GOD! With some things? NO! WITH EVERYTHING!

The Perfect Life contains characters familiar to anyone who has grown up in or around the church. Busy, dedicated workers selflessly giving to others, faithful in their ministry and basking in the apparent blessing of God upon their lives – these thoughts create the first impression of the main characters of this story, Katherine and Brad. However, the time has come for God to teach them some painful lessons. It is time for them to realize that no amount of service, faithfulness, dedication or busy-ness can take the place of total surrender and trust in a loving Heavenly Father. God wants us to belong to Him completely, and many times we get so caught up in our service to Him that we trick ourselves in to believing that He is in control when all the while we are following our own desires and asking Him to bless the effort.

Robin Lee Hatcher brings the couple in this story through the fire in a variety of ways. One set of disastrous circumstances pile up on top of another until you have to wonder just how much more this family can withstand. Well, this is fiction after all…but I know I don’t live in a novel, and I’ve had to face my own set of mounting trials. To what end? To learn to give all that I am and all that I ever hope to be to the God that created me and died to save my soul from an eternity in hell separated from Him. That is the point. There is no other.

Robin’s story is not a difficult, prolonged read, but the message of hope and encouragement within its pages is clear and precious. The Perfect Life is part of the Women of Faith series. Please visit Robin’s site to learn more about her many books! I’m so glad she wrote this one!

The Next Level by David Gregory GIVE AWAY!!

Big things come in small packages! This petite hard-cover is deceptively simple in its layout, yet David Gregory’s insightful look at our true position in Christ is dealt with masterfully at several levels – pun intended!

When I first opened this book and began to read, I’ll admit….I rolled my eyes and uttered a sigh. What in the world? To think…I almost missed a treasure! Have you ever heard the saying, “Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover?” So, I openly confess my skepticism and I thank God that He allowed me to read this powerful book!

Using the allegory of a large corporation, David Gregory takes you on a journey as experienced by a newly hired Organizational Development analyst. Logan Bell comes to Universal Systems, Inc. in search of a new job and to get his dad off his back. To his utter amazement, he is hired on the spot into a position he had only previously dreamed of before walking out of his last job. Logan is asked to analyze each level of the corporation and report his findings to the Director. Like the book itself, the assignment is deceptively simple, yet it proves to be so much more!

As tempted as I am by the English major in me to explain the symbolism of each level, I won’t spoil the discovery that awaits those who decide to read this story for themselves. Suffice it to say, if you will approach this book with an open mind, God will use it to open your heart in ways you cannot begin to imagine!

Are you trying to discover God’s plan for your life? Are you trying to understand your own frustration over your lack of spiritual growth? Then I invite you to explore David Gregory’s latest book – The Next Level. Prepare to grow, to change, and to discover the difference between God’s intention for your life and your own plans that may lie beneath your best efforts to serve Him. This is truly a modern-day parable that every Christian should read and examine!

I have an extra copy of The Next Level to GIVE AWAY! Please leave a comment for your chance to win! I dare you!

About the Author:
David Gregory is the author of the best-selling books Dinner with a Perfect Stranger and A Day with a Perfect Stranger, and coauthor of two nonfiction books. After a ten-year business career, he returned to school to study religion and communications, earning graduate degrees from The University of North Texas and Dallas Theological Seminary. A native Texan, David now devotes himself to writing full time.

Virginia Smith has outdone herself this time!

ABOUT THE BOOK: Sincerely, Mayla. (ISBN 978-0-8254-3692-5, Kregel Publications) The purple hair is gone, but Mayla Strong’s spunk and her nostril stud remain. She has set her cap for Pastor Paul—if only he would give in and accept the inevitable. When he stubbornly resists her charms, she goes off to sulk at her grandmother’s. Soon the house fills up with strays: a sullen teenage runaway and an angry ex-friend. As Grandmother serves up huge portions of guilt along with her famous fried chicken, Mayla realizes being a control freak is an inherited trait. She knows God has all the answers—the trick is letting go long enough to let Him prove it.

My Review:

“I think trying to control every situation you find yourself in is a sign that you don’t trust God to work things out to your satisfaction. Sometimes you just have to put things in His hands and let Him work it out His own way.” These words are spoken by Mayla Strong’s Aunt Louise on page 189 of Virginia Smith’s latest novel, Sincerely, Mayla. There are a host of circumstances that bring Mayla into this very significant conversation.

Her story begins in the novel Just As I Am. Mayla has lived life in rebellion against God, but the Lord answers her mother’s prayers, and she is saved from that life and born again as a child of God. However, her pierced nose and multi-pierced ears remain a trademark well into her new walk with Christ. When Sincerely Mayla opens up, we find our main character facing the challenges of suddenly becoming unemployed. Like every circumstance in the lives of God’s children, Mayla discovers this turn of events to have a purpose, and it opens the door for her to re-establish a broken relationship with her grandmother and aunt. Their relationship was severed years before by the death of her father, and Mayla determines to make her own decisions about these absentee members of her family.

Leaving for her visit with family turns out to be another challenge. Mayla has what she hopes is a budding romance on her hands, and she thinks that the old adage “absence makes the heart grow fonder” might help the relationship along. What she could never guess is that once she arrived at her grandmother’s home, some of her past relationships would follow her on her journey – seeking answers of their own. What started out as a family reunion of sorts buds into something much more meaningful and indeed, life-changing for everyone involved.

Virginia Smith’s main character, Mayla, is fantastic! I love her spunk, her zeal for Christ and her deep friendships. I love the openness of her heart and her willingness to reach out to others. Her past allows her to see very clearly that God’s grace alone is what saves us from our own selves. On page 196 she shares an insight with a friend who is seeking his own answers. “Any life not completely devoted to the Lord is wrong. And that’s basically every person on the face of the earth.” No matter whether we sport a diamond in our nose or wear the latest fashion and work in a prestigious job, we all stand in need of God’s redeeming work in our lives before we can understand what living really means. So, when Mayla finally signs her name “Sincerely, Mayla” on page 213, she has learned a lesson from God’s heart that will forever change her own.

This book is absolutely terrific! The characters are real and their struggles genuine and difficult. The story is filled with a full array of emotion… moments of laughter and poignant moments of silence and reflection…all woven within the journey of becoming the person God wants us to be. I highly recommend this novel, and I sincerely hope to see Mayla appear in another story someday! Bravo!! Please visit Virginia's site here and learn about all of her great books!

Next Week will be FULL of BOOKS!!

I'm looking forward to next week! I will have three terrific books and a give-away to share with you! In the mean time, I plan to make a direct trip to the library tomorrow morning to pick up the latest book by one of my favorite mystery writers! I can't wait!

So, next week, get ready for some books that will make you think about your relationship with Christ, books filled with romance and books that take a real look at a broken heart. A huge variety and some with free copies to give away! See you Monday!!

Restorer's Journey - My Review

I just finished this wonderful book, and couldn't wait to post my review! This is a terrific read!

This book has been the most unexpected pleasure I have experienced since I began my blogging adventure back in the Fall. I am very quick to let folks know that I don’t read fantasy – don’t understand fantasy – can’t keep fantasy characters and places straight in my head while I’m reading….I’m just not a fantasy person. Sharon Hinck’s book has given me hope to keep trying to wrap my brain around this genre! This book was wonderful!!

I suppose what appealed to me at first was that the main characters were based in the 21^st century reality that I live in, and many of their points of reference were familiar to me. Their faith, their experiences in the “real” world helped me to understand their actions and reactions in the alternate world of Lyric on the other side of the portal. More thrilling yet was that once the main characters (Susan and Jake) entered Lyric and the surrounding areas, I was able to follow the story easily despite the fact that I hadn’t read the first two books of this series. I cannot tell you how exciting this was for me! I truly enjoyed this story!

I loved the way these characters wrestled within themselves as they tried to follow where the One was leading them. On page 101 Susan’s mind asks the questions: “How many times in my life had I done this dance with God? Asking Him for direction, then promptly arguing when I sensed His guidance.” Much later in the book, on page 228, her son Jake wrestles with obedience; “I had followed the guidance I’d received then and every day since. And everything had gone wrong. Time to make my own decision.” Even though these characters were dealing with fantasy characters and events, their frame of reference was still that of a Christian in personal relationship with God through Christ. Because of this, the alternate world of Lyric was an echo – a beautiful reworking – of the gospel story. It was very moving to me to watch the sacrificial decisions that these folks had to reach in the course of their journey!

Another feature in the book that appealed to me personally was the poetry. Page 244 features these words: Awesome in majesty
Is the One eternal.
Perfect in His might and power,
The only truth and only source,
He made all that is and loves all He made;
His works are beyond our understanding.

Isn’t that beautiful? There are several other passages just as lovely! Jake’s character is this wonderful blend of frustrated young man, budding hero, closet poet and beloved son. Most of the story in this book is told from his point of view, and I really enjoyed watching him reach his own assurances of faith and confidence in his obedience to follow the One. As a mom of two teens, I could relate to a lot of his struggle, and I am eager to share this book with my own sons!

You really must read this book as well as the other two books in the series, The Restorer, and The Restorer’s Son. I know I will be eagerly back-tracking to read these myself! I just can’t express how much I enjoyed this adventure! Thank you Sharon!! What a wonderful and pleasant surprise to this non-fantasy reader!

Truffles By The Sea by Julie Carobini

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Truffles by the Sea

Bethany House (February 1, 2008)

by

Julie Carobini


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Julie Carobini is an award-winning writer whose stories often spotlight her family, the sea, and God's timely work in the lives of those around her. She lives with her husband, Dan, and their three children in Ventura Beach, California.

She also likes to blog! Go leave her a comment at Waves of Grace.







ABOUT THE BOOK:

If you read, Julie's first book, Chocolate Beach, then you might remember Gaby as Bri’s dramatic, lovesick best friend. Unfortunately, things get worse—much worse—for her before they get…well, best not to give it away.

Sometimes all a girl has left is chocolate...

Gaby Flores has a penchant for drama and an unfortunate knack for dating Mr. So Wrong. After breaking off yet another relationship, watching her apartment building burn to the ground, and discovering that her dippy delivery guy has run off with most of her business, Gaby decides it’s time to turn things around.

So she moves to a tiny waterfront loft and takes on a new motto: “Be gullible no more!” With help from her friends, she works to rebuild her flower shop—and her life. But when legal troubles and quirky neighbors and two surprising romances enter her beachy world, Gaby’s motto and fledgling faith are put to the test.

Can a young woman prone to disaster in both work and love finally find happily ever after?


MY THOUGHTS:

Once again, I’m reading an author that is new to me. Julie Carobini is a mom who loves the Lord, adores the beach and loves being a writer. This is the second novel in her “chocolate” series, and apparently there is a bit of history from book one that is needed to fully appreciate book two. Since I haven’t read the first book in the series, I found myself a bit lost at the beginning of this book. However, as I continued reading I was able to find the “voice” of the main character - Gabby – and quit worrying so much about what I’d missed. Apparently the first novel features her best friend Bri, so maybe Gabby’s history is just missing. I’ll have to go backtrack a bit before I can say one way or another.

This novel is well-written as far as description of scenery and emotion. At one point, Gabby makes a very blunt assessment of herself stating that, “Anyone who really knows me also knows that pregnant pauses and I cannot coexist. They seem to have a gravitational pull that yanks words right out of my mouth.” Her lack of verbal control finds her later, on the same page, walking into her place of business with….”my dignity trailing behind me.” I like Julie Carobini’s turn of the phrase, but she never made me care about the women in her book.

The main character has been the victim of some bad circumstances beyond her control. Haven’t we all? Yet she worries all the time about her appearance. She says she wants to start fresh and be different, but she is constantly describing every male within eye-shot as some kind of chocolate. She’s insecure around everyone she meets and second guesses herself all the time. In short, she desperately needs a huge shot of confidence. Her faith seems genuine enough, but it never progresses much beyond something she uses as a means to boost her mood or an excuse to get out of uncomfortable situations. Her naivety is almost palpable.

The friendships between Gabby and a couple of her girlfriends are something else that seems surreal. Gabby just lost a great deal in her personal life and is financially drowning, yet the first thing her friends want to know is how her latest date went or whether or not her landlord is cute. One friend, Liv, pitches in and helps her try and get her business off the ground, but even as she gives graciously of her time, she is preoccupied with finding time to work out and the details of Gabby’s love life rather than anything of substance. Oddly enough, in many ways, Gabby ends up relating more to the teen next door than to friends her own age.

In a nutshell, I could not relate to the people in this book very well at all. While their circumstances were serious and their desire to grow spiritually was stated, they still seemed preoccupied with things that weren’t very important. Try this for yourself and make your own decision, but other than some great word-pictures, I didn’t connect with this story.

However, I know there are chocolate lovers out there, so I want to give you a message from the author herself! Looks like there is a chocolate contest in the air! I hope you are a winner!!

Julie's Invitation:

To celebrate my upcoming CFBA tour March 5-7, I'll be giving away a copy of Truffles by the Sea AND and a 1/2 lb. box of yummy truffles to three of your readers.

All they need to do is drop by my blog http://juliecarobini.blogspot.com/ during the tour and leave a comment and a way to contact them if they win.