Book Review: In the Lord I Take Refuge

 

In the Lord I Take Refuge

150 Daily Devotions through the Psalms

by

Crossway

Christian

Pub Date 27 Jul 2021

I am reviewing a copy of In the Lord I Take Refuge through Crossway and Netgalley:

If you are looking for a devotional that will allow you to journey through the psalms in a new way, I recommend Inn the Lord I Take refuge.    

In the Lord I Take Refuge you will journey through beauty and delight as well as brokenness and pain.   You will find that joy and sorrow mingle together.  

If you are looking for a Devotional that stays true to the scriptures then look no further than In the Lord We Take Refuge.

I give In the Lord I Take Refuge five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Mother/land

 

Mother/land

by Ananda Lima

BooksGoSocial

OwnVoices  |  Poetry

OwnVoices 

Poetry

Pub Date 15 Oct 2021

I am reviewing a copy of Motherland through BooksGoSocialOwnVoices and Netgalley:

Mother/land was the winner of the 2020 Hudson Prize.  The collection of poetry is focused on the intersection of motherhood and immigration and its effects on a speaker’s relationship to place, others and self.

This book investigates the mutual and compounding complications of these two shifts in identity while examining legacy, history, ancestry, land, home, and language.

Mother/land is heavily focused on the latter, including formal experimentation with hybridity and polyvocality, combining English and Portuguese, interrogating translation and transforming traditional repeating poetic forms.

If you are looking for a collection of poetry written from the perspective of an immigrant Mother of an American child, Mother/land is the book for you.

I give Motherland five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Unknown Threat

 

Unknown Threat

by Lynn H. Blackburn

Revell 

Christian  |  Mystery & Thrillers  |  Romance 

Pub Date 02 Mar 2021 

I am reviewing a copy of Unknown Threat through Revell and Netgalley:

First of all let me say that if you are looking for a book full of action and suspense, one that will keep you on your toes Unknown threat definitely fits that bill., and if you are looking for a taste of romance it has that too.  

Luke Powell is a US Secret Service Special Agent who is lucky to be alive.  He has had three of his special agents die in unusual circumstances in the past ten weeks. Luke is devastated by the loss of his friends and colleagues, and his inability to locate the killer feels like a personal failure.   He's an expert at shielding others, but now the protectors are in need of protection and Luke isn’t used to having to rely on others.

Special agent Faith Malone is an FBI agent who is driven to succeed, she is confident in her ability to solve every case she's assigned. She was put in charge of the investigation into the unprecedented attacks, and with Luke's life in danger, the stakes have never been higher. But it's hard to know how to fight back when you don't know who the enemy is.

As more agents are targeted, Luke and Faith will have to work together to bring a killer to justice and prevent any more names from joining their fallen brothers and sisters on the Secret Service Wall of Honor.

I give Unknown Threat five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: A Fine Yellow Dust

 

A Fine Yellow Dust

by Laura Apol

Michigan State University Press 

 Health, Mind & Body  |  Poetry 

Pub Date 01 Aug 2021

I am reviewing a copy of A Fine Yellow Dust through Michigan State University Press and Netgalley:

Late in April of 2017, Laura Apol’s twenty six year old daughter Hanna took her own life on a sunny April Afternoon, afterwards she was shattered.  

In the days and weeks that followed Hanna’s death she began to write.   

Apol had long believed in the therapeutic possibilities of writing, having conducted workshops on writing-for-healing for more than a decade. Yet after Hanna’s death, she had her own therapeutic writing to do, turning her anguish, disbelief, and love into poems that map the first year of loss. This collection is the result of that writing, giving voice to grief as it is lived, moment by moment, memory by memory, event by event.

If you are looking for a heartwarming, as well as heartbreaking collection of poetry dealing with grief and loss from a fresh perspective.  A Mother’s grief told in beautifully written poem.

I give A Fine Yellow Dust five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Her Every Move

 

Her Every Move

by Kelly Irvin

 Thomas Nelson--FICTION 

Thomas Nelson

 Christian  |  Mystery & Thrillers  |  Romance 

Pub Date 09 Feb 2021 

I am reviewing a copy of Her Every Move through Thomas Nelson Fiction and Netgalley:

After a deadly bomb goes off at a climate change event that librarian Jackie Santoro was the event coordinator and she quickly becomes the prime suspect. Her motive, according to Detective Avery Wick: to avenge the suicide of her prominent father, who was accused of crimes by a city councilman attending the event.

Despite the fact that Avery has doubts about Jackie’s guilt, he can’t exonerate her even after an extremist group takes responsibility for the bombing and continues to attack San Antonio’s treasured public spaces.

Jackie is doing her best to try to hold her shattered family together.

she has no choice but to proceed with plans for the Caterina Ball, the library system’s biggest annual fundraiser. But she also fears the event provides the perfect opportunity for the bomber to strike again.  Despite their mistrust, Jackie and Avery join forces to unmask the truth—before the death toll mounts even higher.

Will Jackie be able to clear her name before more bombs are set off?

I give Her Every Move five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review:Aftermath

 

Aftermath

by Terri Blackstock

Thomas Nelson — FICTION

Thomas Nelson

Christian | Mystery & Thrillers

Pub Date 11 May 2021

I am reviewing a copy of AfterMath through Thomas Nelson Fiction and Netgalley:

When three best friend attend a concert, only one makes it out alive.

Dustin Webb is found with a trunk full of evidence. When police stop Dustin Webb with a warrant to search his trunk, he knows there’s been a mistake. He’s former military and owns a security firm. But he’s horrified when the officers find explosives, and he can’t fathom how they got there.

Jamie Powell is a criminal attorney who will risk anything including her career to prove her friend Dustin’s innocence.

Jamie Powell was Dustin were best friends growing up. They haven’t spoken since he left for basic training, but she’s the first person he thinks of when he’s arrested. Jamie understand she’s putting her career in jeopardy by defending defending an accused terrorist, but she’d never abandon him. Someone is framing Dustin to take the fall for shocking acts of violence. But why is he being framed? Who would want to do this to him?

Find out in AfterMath!

I give AfterMath five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: My Words Flew Away Like Birds

 

My Words Flew Away Like Birds

by Debora Pearson

Kids Can Press 

 Children's Fiction 

Pub Date 05 Oct 2021

I am reviewing a copy of My Words Flew Away Like Birds through Kids Can Press and Netgalley:

My Words Flew Away Like Birds is a poetically told immigration story that fosters understanding and beautifully articulates how the desire to belong and the need for human connection are universal.  It tells of a little girl coming to a new part of the world, having to learn new words, a new way of life, and to make new friends.  Her Mother and Father had taught her new words to learn for when they go to the new country but when she gets to the new country all the new words fly away like birds.

The girl waits, and watches, and listens, trying to figure things out. Only, it's hard. Then one day the girl meets someone who needs her help. And as she makes a new friend, she finds that the new words start to come easier becoming her words, at last.

My Words Flew Away Like Birds is a beautifully written, engaging story told in free verse that is accessible for young readers as well as those just learning to read in English.   This story offers a powerful lesson in empathy for children everywhere. The story is inspired by the many newcomer families Debora Pearson has met in her work as a children's librarian in a bustling urban center. Both timely and universal, it provides young children with an opportunity to expand their worldview and be inspired by how the heroine prevails and finds connection. 

The simply whimsical illustrations done by Shrija Jain adds a playfulness and warmth to the narrative. A perfect read-aloud, this sweet and sensitive picture book encourages all children to celebrate inclusion and highlights the character education traits of resilience, kindness and empathy. 

I give My Words Flew Away Like Birds five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: The Making of C.S Lewis

 

The Making of C. S. Lewis

From Atheist to Apologist

by

Crossway 

 Biographies & Memoirs  |  Christian 

Pub Date 01 Jun 2021  

I am reviewing a copy of The Making of C.S Lewis through Crossway and Netgalley:

The Making of C.S Lewis is a detailed account on how C.S Lewis went from being an atheist to a devout Christian.  we learn how C.S Lewis became one of the most prolific Christian voices of the twentieth century.

During his early years in his Christian life, C.S Lewis consumed volumes of devotional material including William Law’s A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life (1728) and An Appeal to All That Doubt or Disbelieve the Truths of the Gospel (1742), which he preferred.

After his Father’s death C.S Lewis began writing novels.  

In his piece called The Pilgrim’s Regress written in 1932 wrote an account of his conversion as an allegory on the model of John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress.   Instead of progress, Lewis spoke of regress. By regress, he did not mean a deterioration in the spiritual well-being of the pilgrim. Rather, he meant that once the pilgrim has come to faith, he must return to his everyday world and live in this world as one who has faith in Jesus Christ.

If you are looking for a book that allows you to delve into C.S Lewis transformation from Atheist to Christian, I highly recommend The Making of C.S Lewis!

Five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Lainey of the Door Islands

 

Lainey of the Door Islands

by Judy DuCharme

Backlit PR 

Christian  |  Historical Fiction  |  Teens & YA 

Pub Date 23 Jul 2020

I am reviewing a copy of Lainey of the Door Islands through Backlit PR and Netgalley:  

Lainey of the Door Islands will take us back into the world of Door County and its islands in the late 1800s, a time of shipwrecks, lighthouses, and strong individuals who never gave up. 

As Lainey faces tragedy and heartbreak age becomes on of those rugged individuals.  Her Aunt and Uncle has the toughness it takes to survive as the lighthouse keepers on Pilot Island but Lainey takes it a step further with her spunk and grace and becomes a shining light to all those around her. With humor, faith, close friendships and the young man who interferes with her ability to function, Lainey of the Door Islands will capture your heart, and she’ll inspire you to know that no matter what happens, God has a plan to prosper and not to harm.

I give Lainey of the Door Islands five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Reviw: Courageous Faith

 

Courageous Faith

A Lifelong Pursuit of Faith over Fear

by Debbye Turner Bell

Our Daily Bread Publishing 

Christian  |  Multicultural Interest  |  Religion & Spirituality 

Pub Date 24 Aug 2021 

I am reviewing a copy of Courageous Faith: A Lifelong Pursuit of Faith Over  Fear  through Our Daily Bread Publishing:

In Courageous Faith we are reminded that getting up after failing is the hardest when we least expect that failure.  But when the Lord tells us to get up, we need to do just that.

We are reminded too that everyone fails,  but it’s not the failure that counts, it’s what we do with that failure.

Debbye Turner Bell reminds us too that determination is crucial in order for us to have success. 

Courageous Faith also reminds us that everything we do requires Faith.  We are reminded that most people who have experienced great success has also experienced crushing defeat.

It is pointed out too in this book that Courage is not the absence of fear but being able to move forward in spite of that fear.

Courageous Faith is a wonderful book for those who are looking for encouragement.

I give Courageous Faith five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Water for Elephants

 

Water for Elephants 

Sara Gruen

Algonquin Publishing

2007, 2011

I have received a reviewers copy of Water For Elephants for my honest review which is as follows:

Jacob Jankowski' may not speak of them but his ninety year old mind still holds the memories of his past., memories of himself as a young man who had been tossed by fate, after the death of his parents onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth.

He remembered a world full of freaks and clowns, with wonder and pain and anger and passion; a world with its own narrow, irrational rules, its own way of life, and its own way of death. 

Jacob was there because his luck had run out orphaned and penniless, he had no direction until he landed on this locomotive "ship of fools."  It was early in the Great Depression.  and everyone in this third-rate circus was lucky to have any job at all. Marlena, the star of the equestrian act, was there because she fell in love with the wrong man, a handsome circus boss with a wide mean streak. And Rosie the elephant was there because she was the great gray hope, the new act that was going to be the salvation of the circus; the only problem was, Rosie did not even have an act, nor was she able to follow instructions.  But the bond between the three of them grew and this unlikely trio became one of love and trust and it ultimately became the only way they could survive.

Water for Elephants is one of those books, you find yourself having trouble putting down, the characters are so engaging they stay with you long after you have finished the last page.

I give Water For Elephants five out of five stars!

Book Review: Someone to Trust

 

Someone to Trust

by Lesa Henderson

Pelican Book Group 

Christian  |  Romance  |  Women's Fiction 

Pub Date 26 Jan 2021

I am reviewing a copy of Someone to Trust Pelican Book Group and Netgalley:

Megan McCormick hasn’t left Atlanta looking for love, far from it.  She runs to the mountain town of Laurel Crest to flee from her past and a broken heart.    When she's knocked over by Lee Grainger, handsome veterinarian and lover of small-town living, Megan's life takes an unexpected turn.   

Lee is considering a permanent move to the mountains, tired of fast paced city life.  His meeting with Megan has him believing he's in Laurel Crest for more than a partnership in an animal hospital.  

After a case of mistaken identity is cleared up, Megan and Lee strike up a friendship. Lee is everything Megan ever wanted—smart, loyal and dedicated to his faith. But Megan has experienced deep betrayal twice, and she's reluctant to give romance another try. 

Will Megan be able come to terms with the secret that haunts her, get past her distrust of men, and accept the love Lee offers or will her heart be broken again?

I give Someone to Trust five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!