Book Review: Something Worth Doing

 

Something Worth Doing

A Novel of an Early Suffragist

by Jane Kirkpatrick

Revell 

 Christian 

Pub Date 01 Sep 2020

I am reviewing a copy of Something Worth Doing through Revell and Netgalley:

It was 1853 Abigail Scott was a nineteen year old school teacher in the Oregon Territory when she married Ben Duniway.  The problem was marriage meant giving up on teaching, but Abigail always believed she was meant to be more than a good wife and mother.  After financial mistakes as well as an injury force Ben to to stop working, Abigail becomes the primary breadwinner for her growing family.  What Abigail sees as a working woman is appalling to her and she devotes her life to fighting for the rights of women, including their right to vote.  

 Something Worth Doing follows Abigail as she bears six children, runs a millinery and a private school, helps on the farm, writes novels, gives speeches, and eventually runs a newspaper supporting women's suffrage, this book explores issues that will resonate with Modern Women.

Jane Kirkpatrick weaves a novel based on the life of an early suffragist, who will will inspire you to believe that some things are worth doing--even when the cost is great. 

I give Something Worth Doing five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: A Portrait of Loyalty

 

A Portrait of Loyalty

by Roseanna M. White

Bethany House 

Bethany House Publishers

 Christian 

Pub Date 08 Sep 2020 

I am reviewing a copy of A Portrait of Loyalty through Bethany House Publishers and Netgalley:

Zivon Marin had been one of Russia’s top cryptographers up until the October Revolution tore apart his world.  He was forced to flees to England after speaking out against Lenin,  Zivon driven by his growing anger is determined to offer his his services to the Brits.   But Zivon’s brother who he feared died in the train crash that separated the brothers is never far from his mind.

Lily Blackwell sees the best the world has to offer through the lens of a camera and possesses unsurpassed skill when it comes to retouching and re-creating photographs.   Her fathers connections in propaganda have allowed her to be recruited to the intelligence division, despite the fact her Mother would disapprove if she ever found out.

When Captain Blackwell invited Zivon to dinner, one evening, a friendship blossoms between him and Lily that soon takes over their hearts.   But both Zivon and Lily have secrets of that they are not willing to share, and neither one of them is entirely sure they could trust the other one.  When Zivon finds his loyalties have been called into question, proving him honest is about more than one couple's future dreams, it becomes a matter of ending the war.

If you like World War 1 era fiction, you will love A Portrait of Loyalty.

I give A Portrait of Loyalty five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Vying the Viscount

 

Vying for the Viscount

by Kristi Ann Hunter

Bethany House 

Bethany House Publishers

 Christian 

Pub Date 04 Aug 2020

I am reviewing a copy of Vying for the Viscount through Bethany House Publishers and Netgalley:

The Newly titled Viscount Stildon, Hudson, moving to England from India where he was born and raised was already an arduous enough endeavor.    After Hudson, learns the fate of the racing empire he inherited and his title depends upon him getting in the good graces of another stable owner, he finds that he is at even more of a loss.

The stable in question the one at the neighboring estate has been Miss Bianca Snowley's refuge for years, and when a strange man appears to be stealing the horses, she jumps to the protection of the Horses without a second thought.  When she learns that Hudson is the new owner, she finds herself intrigued by the area's newest eligible bachelor. 

Thoughts of Romance are quickly set aside when Hudson proposes they work together to secure suitable spouses for each other.   But as their friendship grows Hudson and Bianca begin to reconsider what they truly want in life.   But will their societal expectations and the weight of their responsibilities keep them from pursuing their true desires?

If you like historical Christian Romance, you will love Vying for the Viscount, five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Acceptable Risk

 

Acceptable Risk

by Lynette Eason

Revell 

 Christian

Pub Date 04 Aug 2020

I am reviewing a copy of Acceptable Risk through Revell and Netgalley:

Sarah Denning a Military Journalist is with the Army in the Middle East when her convoy is attacked and they are taken hostage.   After Army ranger Gavin Black is asked by his old unit commander (who also happens to be Sarah’s imposing Father, ) is asked to do an extremely dangerous rescue mission, Gavin reluctantly agrees and is thankfully able to successfully execute the plan.

After she is Back in the U.S, Sarah becomes livid after being discharged from the army based on a false psychiatric evaluation, she vows that she will return to the army.  But after learning of her brothers suspicious suicide a suicide she knows her brother is not capable of she puts her plans on hold and enlists Gavin’s help to find out what really happened to her brother.  What Gavin and Sarah uncover could be the biggest story of Sarah’s career, that is if she survives long enough to write it.

If you are looking for a fast paced, nail biting, thrill ride, you can’t go with Lynette Eason’s Acceptable Risk.

I give this book five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: An Ivy Hill Christmas

 

An Ivy Hill Christmas

A Tales from Ivy Hill Novella

by Julie Klassen

 Bethany House 

Bethany House Publishers

 Christian 

Pub Date 01 Sep 2020

I am reviewing a copy of An Ivy Hill Christmas through Bethany House Publishers and Netgalley:

Richard Brockwell is the youngest son of Ivy Hill’s most prominent family.  He hasn’t been home for Christmas in years because he prefers to spend the time at his London Townhouse which is far away from Brockwell court and the past mistakes he made that haunt him.  But his Mother has told him if  he does not come home she will stop financially supporting the carefree lifestyle he loves so much if he does not come home for Christmas.  He is out of options so he makes his way to Ivy Hill, but he plans on making his way back to his carefree life in London as soon as the festivities are over.

Christmas in the country comes with surprises that he could not have foreseen, which includes an encounter with an orphaned apprentice as well as Arabella Awdry the first love he had disappointed many years before, a young lady who is far more appealing than he recalled but is determined to have nothing to do with the man who broke her heart.

Will Christmas at Ivy Hill draw these two together, or will it push them even farther apart?

I give An Ivy Hill Christmas five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: When We Pray Like Jesus

 

When We Pray Like Jesus

Courageously Honest and Fearlessly Abandoned before God

by Elisa Morgan

 Our Daily Bread Publishing 

 Christian  |  Religion & Spirituality 

Pub Date 01 Jun 2020

I am reviewing a copy of When We Pray Like Jesus through Our Daily Bread Publishing and Netgalley:

When We Pray Like Jesus reminds us that we look to the Lord’s Prayer for guidance that we mouth our own prayers after its formula.  We beg God  to intervene according to the model of of The Lord’s Prayer.  But it does not always work, and that is because the Fall has pulled us farther away from God, making it more difficult for us to get as close to him as we should.  We pray constantly but far to often it does not seem enough.

When We Pray Like Jesus encourages us to do something different in our prayer life. We are reminded that their are two sides of a prayer take this cup, is the honest side, and if it’s not hid will we need to abandon it.  Author Elisa Morgan shows us that When We Pray Like Jesus’s chapters alternate in a rhythm between Jesus’ model of prayer and our practicing His example.

Elisa Morgan reminds us that Jesus lived prayer, he prayed like he breathed.  We are reminded that Jesus prayed all the time, that he punctuated events and decisions with words to his Father.

Even Jesus had asked his Father to take his cup, while he was on the cross.   This book reminds us that as Children we are honest until we learn not to be.  

We are reminded too nothing could separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus.  We are reminded too that Jesus prayed His prayer coin of honest and abandon, embracing the intimacy.  That if Jesus died  to provide a close relationship between his Father we need to enter into that relationship.

When We Pray Like Jesus reminds us that we can totally be honest with Jesus.  Jesus wants to know exactly how we feel, this book will help to share our deepest emotions to God and have confidence in His will for your life.   This book allows us to explore Jesus’s prayer in the garden of Gethsemane and see His ultimate example of intimacy with the Father.  This book shows us that we can trust God in the same way.

I give When We Pray Like Jesus five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: In the Shadow of the Shahs

 

In the Shadow of the Shahs

Finding Unexpected Grace

by Farifteh V Robb

Lion Hudson Ltd 

Lion Books

 Biographies & Memoirs  |  History  |  Religion & Spirituality 

Pub Date 18 Sep 2020

I am reviewing a copy of In the Shadows of the Shah’s through Lion Hudson LTD and Netgalley:

Farifteh V. Robb came to the Christian Faith at the height of the Iranian Revolution.  This book is the story of a woman torn between two worlds, and the difficult choices she had to make.

Have you ever found yourself wondering what it was like to have survived a revolution?  Have you wondered what it was like to start anew, with a new religion, a new nationality and starting new with a new discipline?  Have you wondered what it was like to fall in love, deeply, despite facing the obstacles of a burgeoning relationship?

In the Shadow of the Shah’s the fascinating and moving story of a woman’s journey between two cultures – her Persian Muslim heritage and her  life as a Christian in Scotland.  This book tells of the challenges she faced in an Iran torn apart by political turmoil, and in her new life in the UK. 

This book is written with compassion, and gentle wit this is the story of a life lived in faith in a multicultural world.  I find In the Shadows of the Shah’s worthy of five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Dorothy and Jack

 

Dorothy and Jack

The Transforming Friendship of Dorothy L. Sayers and C. S. Lewis

by Gina Dalfonzo

Baker Books 

 Christian 

Pub Date 18 Aug 2020

I am reviewing a copy of Dorothy and Jack through Baker Books and Netgalley:

Dorothy and Jack were both highly intelligent, perceptive, and creative from the start, developing a deep knowledge of and passion for literature.  They had both attended Oxford University, they had both graduated with honors and had become famous authors of novels, essays, scholarly works, and more.

Jack had more of a spirit of contentment while Dorothy Sayers had an adventurous, even reckless one. His manner was winsome if boisterous, hers just plain blunt. Much of what came naturally to her, in work and in life, was difficult for him, and vice versa.   

Both Oxford University and the town that surrounded it were in turmoil during the First World War, as was the rest of Great Britain “Both students and citizens were rapidly enlisting, and college buildings were being used for training, as hospitals, and to house refugees from the war-torn European continent.”

Jack at eighteen had dreamed of attending Oxford University but when he arrived in the spring, he knew he would not be there for long.

This book shows us what happens when we are able to push past the surface in order to allow mutually challenging, and edifying friendships to develop.  In order to this we need to look at the little known friendship between two prominent Christian thinkers Dorothy L. Sayers and C. S. Lewis.  

The friendship between Dorothy L Sayers was born out of a letter the Mystery novelist wrote to Lewis as his star was just beginning to rise, this friendship between a married woman and a longtime bachelor developed over years of correspondence as the two discovered their mutual admiration of each other's writing, thinking, and faith.

This book shows a friendship of a man and women at a time when many still do not think a man and women could be friends while still remaining faithful to their spouses.

I give Dorothy and Jack five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Forget MeNot

 

Forget Me Not

The Gents, #1

by Sarah Eden

Covenant Communications 

 Christian  |  Historical Fiction  |  Romance 

Pub Date 07 Sep 2020

I am reviewing a copy of Forget Me Not through Covenant Communications and Netgalley:

This book transports us to Nottinghamshire , in the year 1785, where we meet Julia Cummings.  Julia has become all to familiar with loss, she has lost her Mother her brother, her sister, her friend.  They all died to soon.  The loss that had pushed her grief to the limit as a young girl, was the loss of her best friend, Lucas Jonquil, who abandoned her without looking back. Eight  years later, Lucas has returned to Lampton Park, and Julia has steeled herself—she will never be able to forgive the man who broke her heart.

Lucas too has lost to many friends and family to death, and has made a vow to himself that he would live life to the fullest.  And now that he has traversed the world he has returned from his adventures to find his family and home much as he left them—except for Julia.

Julia is no longer the little girl he left behind, she has become a captivating young woman.  A young woman who has made it clear she despises Lucas.  But the former friends, who have little hope of reconciliation are blindsided when their parents make a shocking announcement.

Lucas and Julia have been betrothed by their parents, without their knowledge, and are to be married immediately.  Lucas must rely on the help of his closest friend are blindsided when their parents make a shocking announcement, but a lady he is growing to love more everyday.

I give Forget Me Not five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Dirt

 

Dirt

Growing Strong Roots in What Makes the Broken Beautiful

by Mary Marantz

 Revell 

 Christian 

Pub Date 15 Sep 2020

I am reviewing a copy of Dirt through Revell and Netgalley:

This book reminds us that it takes courage to chase a dream.  Raw, unfettered, lionhearted, caution-to-the-wind courage.  We need to have a level of bravery to reach for our dreams especially when circumstances seem to be against us.

Dirt is the story of places where we start.  For Mary Marantz it was from a single wide trailer in the mountains of rural West Virgina, and then to the halls of Yale Law School.  Mary Marantz reminds us of the importance of remembering our roots, while we turn our faces to the sky.  She tells us of growing up in a trailer that smelled thick with mildew when it rained, she has known what it was like to feel as if she were broken or disqualified because of the Muddy Scars that left smudged footprints across life.

She talks of how generations of her lived and logged in those hauntingly treacherous woods, risking life and limb just to barely scrape by. And yet that very struggle became the redemption song God used to write a life she never dreamed of.  Her story is not one of brokenness though, but one of hope and perseverance.

Dirt is a story of with, of heartwarming memories, but at its core it is a story of healing .  Mary tells her story With gut-wrenching honesty and hard-won wisdom, Mary shares her story for anyone who has ever walked into the world and felt like their scars were still on display, showing that you are braver, better, and more empathetic for what you have survived. 

I give Dirt five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!