Book Review: Beyond Betrayal

Beyond Betrayal

Overcome Past Hurts and Begin to Trust Again

by Phil Waldrep

 Harvest House Publishers 

 Christian  ,  Religion & Spirituality 

Pub Date 11 Feb 2020

I am reviewing a copy of Beyond Betrayal through Harvest House Publishers and Netgalley:

Have you ever been betrayed by someone you love, someone you trusted?  Like most of us, I am sure you have, and it changes things between you and the person who betrayed you doesn’t it?  It truly hurts.

There are other very painful events in life, but Betrayal is unique in the effect it has on us!  

In Beyond Betrayal Phil Waldrep reminds us, his readers that “When you give someone your love and trust, you also give them the ability to wound and hurt you like no one else can.”

The author reminds us that anger is a normal human emotion, and that is in fact okay to get angry, anger in itself isn’t bad he reminds us.  He goes on to tell us that Anger is a normal human reaction but allowing that anger to control you is not!

Author Philip Waldrep reminds us “We are called to forgive, but only God can forgive and forget. Too many people try to be super‑Christian and convince them‑ selves they can forgive and forget what happened.”.   We can forgive, through God, but it is only God who can wipe the slate clean, the memory of the pain the betrayer caused you!  He goes on to remind us that forgiving is not forgetting , but it is letting go of your right to pay your betrayer back for the pain they caused!

It is crucial for our healing that we allow the Lord to heal our hurt and heartbreak, so that he can turn our pain into something good.  Journaling can help too.

Waldrep reminds us too that Betrayal is an act of selfishness.  

When we are fresh from Betrayal it is hard to even think about forgiveness our pain is so fresh and new, but if we give it to God he will help us through that difficult time, and give us the strength we need to forgive!

One quotation from Beyond Betrayal sums it up well:  “Being betrayed hurts. And just because a BandAid is good to stop the bleeding, that doesn’t mean the pain will go away when you put it on. Healing will take some time.”

We are reminded too, something that at times seems obvious which Is that Pain Changes People, but at times I think we tend to overlook that fact, and see the change in that person!

If you are dealing with Betrayal, and want to know helpful ways to work through it, ways based on Biblical Principles, then I would highly recommend Phillip Waldrep’s Beyond Betrayal.

I give this book five out of five stars! 

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Welcome to Adulting Survival Guide

 Welcome to Adulting Survival Guide

42 Days to Navigate Life

by Jonathan Pokluda

 Baker Books 

 Christian 

Pub Date 03 Sep 2019 

I am reviewing a copy of Welcome to Adulting Survival Guide through Baker Books and Netgalley:

For a lot of young people they find the transition to adulthood a difficult one, with plenty of opportunity to make mistakes as well as bad choices.  The once clear expectations of hope and school are gone, and they likely fear what comes next but it doesn’t have to be so complicated.

If you have a teen transitioning to adulthood, then  Welcome to Adulting Survival Guide would be a great book to give them.  I found the advice in this book to be helpful for those transitioning to adulthood!

I give Welcome to Adulting Survival Guide four out of five stars!

Book Review: The Undesirables

The Undesirables

by Chad Thumann

 Lake Union Publishing 

 Historical Fiction  ,  Women's Fiction 

Pub Date 18 Oct 2016 

I am reviewing a copy of The Undesirables through Lake Union Publishing and Netgalley:

It is the winter of 1941-1942 Leningrad is under siege, and Karen Hamilton, a seventeen year old American musician, who finds herself trapped and struggling  to survive.  All through the city, people are starving to death or frostbite and Karen knows she will die herself is she does not escape herself.  If she has any hope of leaving Russia and Reuniting with her fiancé Bobby who was in New York, she must cross the enemy lines.

On this dangerous journey, Karen meets Petr, a young conscripted Russian Soldier.  She isn’t certain she can trust him and he is wary of trusting her.  But soon they join forces to stay alive, an unexpected romance begins to grow.

As the reality of escape gets closer Karen must decide If she and Petr will stay in worn torn Russia, or will she return to a safe life in America.

I give The Undesirables five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: The Elephant’s Girl

The Elephant's Girl

by Celesta Rimington

Random House Children's

Crown Books for Young Readers

Children's Fiction , Middle Grade

Pub Date 19 May 2020

I am reviewing a copy of The Elephant’s Girl through Random House Children’s through Crown Books for Young Readers:

An Elephant does not forget, but Lexington Willow cannot remember what happened before she was swept away when she was a toddler.  The only thing she knows is the Tornado landed her in an enclosure in a Nebraska Zoo and there an elephant named Nyah protected her from the storm.  There was no trace of her birth family so Lex grew up at the Zoo, with Nyah her elephant family, her foster father Roger, and her best friend, Fisher, and the wind whispering in her ear.


At twelve Lexi is finally old enough to help with the Elephants.  During the first training session Nyah sends her a telepathic image of the woods outside the zoo.  Even as the wind protests Lexi decides to look into Nyah’s message and gets wrapped up into an adventure involving ghosts, treasures and a secret that may lead Lexi to the family she lost.  As she begins the search for answers she realizes she must find the courage to leave the area surrounding the Zoo in order to discover who she really is...and why the tornado brought her to the Zoo all the years before.


I give The Elephants Girl five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

Book Review: The Words I Never Wrote

The Words I Never Wrote

A Novel

by Jane Thynne 

 Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine 

Ballantine Books

 Historical Fiction  ,  Mystery & Thrillers 

Pub Date 21 Jan 2020

I am reviewing a copy of The Words I Never Wrote through Netgalley and Ballantine Books:


I must say I am really impressed with this novel, the plot line, the characters, they all come a live on the page.

In present day New York Juno Lambert decides to buy a 1931 Underwood Typewriter that had belonged to the late celebrated journalist Cordeila Capel.  The owner of the shop tries to convince her to buy another model, but Juno feels something is special about this one.  Inside it’s case is an unfinished novel that tells of a transatlantic journey to fill in the secrets that lie between Cordelia and her sister.




1936 Europe Cordelia’s sister a socialist marries a German Industrialist, who quickly whisks her away to Berlin.  Cordelia is feistier and more intellectual than Irene pursues her Journalistic career in Paris. Letters sent by her sister as politics begin to boil over in Europe, begin to show Cordeila that Irene is married to a Nazi Sympathizer.  With an increasing desperation, Cordeila writes to her sister.  As life in Nazi Germany Darkens, Irene no longer feels safe telling her sister what her existence is truly life, so Cordelia writes the truth on her Underwood Typewriter!


As Juno reads the Unfinished Novel, she resolves to uncover what happened between Irene and Cordelia.


This powerful novel draws you in and doesn’t let you go, therefore I find The Words I Never Wrote five out of five stars!



Happy Reading!

Book Review: Teen Writer’s Guide: Your Road Map to Writing

Teen Writer's Guide: Your Road Map to Writing

by Jennifer Jenkins

Owl Hollow Press

Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles

Reference , Teens & YA

Pub Date 24 Mar 2020

I am reviewing Teen Writer’s Guide: Your Road Map to Writing through Owl Hollow Press:

Can you use your imagination to turn a single picture into a plot line, if you can this book is just the ticket for you.

Before you begin with your short story, novel or other piece of writing ask yourself if this is a genre you would read?  Is your story idea one you could find yourself reading, that will help you in the telling of the story.  It is important too decide who is going to narrate your story, will it be the main character or someone or something all together different.

You will need to decide too whether your story will be told in the First, Second or Third Person POV, noting that most stories are told in the first or third person point of view.

You will need to decide too the main conflict of the story you are telling.  And ask yourself too what is at stake if your hero or heroine does not succeed in his quest.  Ask yourself too what your characters main goal is what does he or she want to achieve above all else?  Make sure your characters fit the story you are telling as well, not all characters will fit in all stories. 

This book would be a great addition to the library of the young adult in your life who has showed an interest in writing, or a great addition to the High School English or Creative Writing Class.  

I give Teen Wrier’s Guide: Your Road Map to Writing five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: When You Love a Produgal

When You Love a Prodigal

90 Days of Grace for the Wilderness

by Judy Douglass

Bethany House

Bethany House Publishers

Christian

Pub Date 17 Sep 2019

 I am reviewing a copy of When You Love a Prodigal through Bethany House Publishers and Netgalley:

In this book we are reminded that loving a prodigal is a long desperate journey, one that is filled with fear, worry and self -recrimination.  You find yourself waiting for the call will it be for the jail or from the hospital?  You find yourself pleading with your loved one, while you are looking for help for them.  You feel the shame, you cry out why Lord?

Author Judy Douglas is familiar with what it means to love a Prodigal.  She is one herself and created a large and loving community of prodigals.  

As Judy traveled on this road with her own prodigal--reading, learning, praying, and seeking God. Over and over he continued to give her wisdom, he sustained her, he covered her with grace, and he filled her with hope. 

If you are looking for a book that will give you hope for your prodigal:  When You Love A Prodigal is just that book.

I give When You Love a Prodigal five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Crossing the Farak River

Crossing the Farak River

by Michelle Aung Thin

Annick Press Ltd.

Annick Press

Children's Fiction

Pub Date 07 Apr 2020

I am reviewing a copy of Crossing the Farak River through Annick Press and Netgalley:



For Hasina and her little brother Araf, the constant threat of the Sit Tat, the Myanmar Army, it had in fact become a way of life in the Rakhine province.  Just the mention of the Sit Tat sends chills down their spines.  They know that the only thing to do when the sound of the helicopters, they run and not stop.  When soldiers invade their village one night, and Hasina awakes to her aunt's fearful voice, followed by smoke, and then a scream, they do as they always do and run.

Hasina races deep into the Rakhine to hide with her cousin and Araf, when they emerge days later it is to a smoldering village, their house is still standing but their family is gone.  Where could they be, have the soldiers taken them?

I found Crossing the Farak River five out of five stars, this would be a good teaching tool for middle grade to junior high school students, teaching of culture, and the effects of war!  

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Cold But Not Forgotten

Cold But Not Forgotten

by RJ Waters

The Wild Rose Press, Inc

Humor , Mystery & Thrillers

Pub Date 15 Sep 2019

I am reviewing a copy of Cold But Not Forgotten through The Wild Rose Press, Inc and Netgalley:

Lieutenant Carson is a detective in rural Nevada. He finds a woman’s lifeless body while at the shooting range with his team. The woman is covered in blood despite no evidence of gun shot wounds.

As Carson digs into the case, he encounters a web of suspects. The woman’s husband a dentist is having an affair with his office manager, who has been embezzling from him. She has a Marathon partner who is jealous of her trophies and a doctor who has been prescribing her arsenic to scare her into eating better. Kindly Mrs. Howell, a widowed neighbor of the victim's, had access to her computer and detested the husband.

Everyone said she was the nicest lady in town, so who wanted her dead? 

I give Cold But Not Forgotten Five out of five stars!  

Happy Reading!

Book Review: The Secret Sister

The Secret Sister

by K A Clarke; A J Brittany

HQ Digital

General Fiction (Adult) , Mystery & Thrillers

Pub Date 10 Jan 2020

I am reviewing a copy of The Secret Sister through HQ Digital and Netgalley:

Ella Matthews seemingly has everything. She has a loving husband, a beautiful house, a daughter she adores.  Her life has turned out just as she planned, or has it?

After her Mother unexpectedly dies, Ellen’s perfect life starts to crack.  She learns she had an older sister, named Colleen.

Ellen is excited about the prospect of no longer being an only child and starts out to search for Colleen.

But Colleen has a whirlwind past of her own.  She is so desperate to escape her past she will go to any length to do so.  

Just as their paths start to collide it is realized someone is keeping secrets...After Colleen disappears without notice Ellen cannot hell but wonder if she should have started looking for Colleen.

I give The Secret Sister five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: And There Was Light

And There Was Light

The Extraordinary Memoir of a Blind Hero of the French Resistance in World War II

by Jacques Lusseyran

New World Library

Biographies & Memoirs

Pub Date 18 Mar 2014

I am reviewing a copy of And There Was Light through New World Library and Netgalley:

Jacques Lusseyran was an unlikely hero of the the French Resistance during World War 2.  Blinded at the age of eight by a freak accident.  After completing his schooling he was determined to take part in the world around him.  When he was seventeen in 1941 that world was Nazi occupied France.

Lusseyran managed to form a resistance group of fifty two boys. He used his heightened senses to recruit the best.  He would later be sent to Buchenwald Concentration camp in a transport of over 2000 Resistance fighters he was one of only thirty to survive that transport.

This gripping story is one of the most gripping stories of how one man can truly make a difference, a man who just happened to be blind.

I give And There Was Light five out of five stars!

 Happy Reading!

Book Review: In the Shadow of Vesuvius

In the Shadow of Vesuvius

A Lady Emily Mystery

by Tasha Alexander

 St. Martin's Press 

Minotaur Books

 Historical Fiction  ,  Mystery & Thrillers 

Pub Date 07 Jan 2020

I am reviewing a copy of In the Shadow of Vesuvius through St Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books and Netgalley:

Some bodies remained undisturbed a lot longer than others.  When Lady Emily uncovers a body in plain sight among the ruins of Pompeii.  In doing so Lady Emily sets a deadly chain of events in motion a deadly chain of events that ties her to a woman who told her story two thousand years ago.


Emily as well as her husband Colin Hargreaves have accompanied Emily’s friend Ivy Brandon on a trip to Pompeii when they discover a corpse and the police dismiss the murder as the work of local gangsters, Emily launches an investigation of her own. She seems to be aided by the archaeologists excavating the ruins, including a moody painter, the enigmatic site director, and a free-thinking American capable of sparring with even the Duke of Bainbridge. But each of them has secrets hiding among the ruins.


The sudden appearance of a beautiful young woman who claims a shocking relationship to the Hargreaves throws the investigation off track, having her have to face the truth about her husband’s past.  It begins to come clear though that someone other than Collin wants her off the case permanently and will stop at nothing to make sure she cannot investigate. Emily resolves to solve the mystery though, but at what cost?


I give In the Shadows of Vesuvius five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

Book Review: Mother’s Day Mayhem

Mother's Day Mayhem

by Lynn Cahoon

Kensington Books

Lyrical Press

Mystery & Thrillers

Pub Date 02 Apr 2019

I am reviewing a copy of Mother’s Day Mayhem through Kensington Books and Netgalley:

Jill Gardner, is the owner of Coffee, Books and More.  And they are almost out of Mother’s Day Cards. She only has a few in stall, but she has put them aside so Jeff can help her pick out a card for his Mother. She will be meeting Jeff’s Mother for the first time, and she is rightfully nervous.

Jill isn’t the only one concerned about Mothers. Kyle who works at the antique shop next to Jill’s Book and Coffee shop. He needs to find the perfect card for his Mother he has not seen since he was five when she went to jail. Her arrival isn’t exactly celebratory, and the way she acts towards her son is strained.

I give Mother’s Day Mayhem five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!