Book Review: The Shattered Cross

 

The Shattered Cross

by Michael John Sullivan

Pub Date 22 Mar 2022 

 Permuted Press 

 Christian  |  General Fiction (Adult)  |  Historical Fiction 

I am reviewing a copy of The Shattered Cross through Permuted Press and Netgalley:

This unique novel explores the question: What would this world look like if Christ had never been crucified?

Long Ago Michael and Elizabeth Stewart that they could time travel through an old church’s basement on Long Island. What they didn’t realize was that their actions in First Century Jerusalem could upend life for the world as we know it.

Their encounter with Roman thug, Pontius Pilate, turns life upside down for billions of future generations. Michael endures family loss and survives in a brutal and violent world with the help of a new friend, Adriel. The mystery of this forsaken world is discovered while Michael and Adriel fight off old wicked ways from a past war. Michael realizes he must return and confront Pilate and the Romans to save the world from long-suffering oppression.

I give The Shattered Cross five out of five stars!

Book Review: A Daring Faith, In a.Cowardly World

 

A Daring Faith in a Cowardly World

Live a Life Without Waste, Regret, or Anything Unfinished

by Ken Harrison

Pub Date 28 Jun 2022 |

 Thomas Nelson--W Publishing,  Thomas Nelson

 Christian  |  Parenting & Families  |  Self-Help

I am reviewing a copy of A Daring Faith in a Cowardly World through Thomas Nelson and Non-Fiction:

If you ask Christians what they expect to happen to them after they die, and most will say they will go to heaven. And they’ll probably say that they will meet Jesus and hope to hear Him say, “Well done good and faithful servant.”. But there are many believers who know they are not living up to God’s calling on their lives. In fact, many might even admit their lives don’t honor God at all at least Mondays through Saturdays.

Ken Harrison masterfully uses his stories as a Los Angeles police officer in one of the deadliest areas of the country to explain and illustrate deep truths from God’s Word in A Daring Faith in a Cowardly World, This isn’t your typical inspirational book—it’s a hard-hitting work that packs a lot of truth into an easy-to-read page-turner. Each chapter starts and ends with a gripping story that has a twist, a “rest of the story” at the end of the chapter, and packs intense biblical truth and wisdom in the middle. 

You will:

   Have a clearer picture of what being a true follower of Christ looks like and how to become one

Gain insightful truths that lead to genuine “Aha!” moments in your life

Experience stories you won’t forget and that create a lasting change to your faith

Learn what the Bible says about the myriad of issues in today's culture

I give A Daring Faith in A Cowardly World, five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Stories of my Life

 

Stories of My Life

by Katherine Paterson

Pub Date 13 Sep 2022 

 Westminster John Knox Press 

 Biographies & Memoirs 

I am reviewing a copy of Stories of my Life through Westminster John Knox Press and Netgalley:

Beloved author of Bridge to Terabithia and Jacob Have I Loved as well as other classics of children’s literature reveals the fascinating personal stories that have shaped her creative life.

For almost fifty years Katherine Paterson’s stories have captured readers young and old. From Bridge to Terabithia’s Leslie Burke to the unforgettable Gilly Hopkins to countless others, her characters are woven into the memories of several generations.  Patterson’s writings have always explored the rich emotional landscape of childhood, for she has never forgotten how she felt as a child herself.

Katherine Patterson’s gift to capture childhood so vividly in her books came from her own fascinating life, told here in a collection of stories that reach from earlier generations of her family to the present day. Born in China to Presbyterian missionary parents from the American South, her young adulthood led her to Japan and then back to the East Coast, where she began to raise her family and put stories on paper. Each of these experiences influenced the books that were to come. Through Paterson’s memories, we learn the origins of her characters and storylines and share in her unexpected literary acclaim. We see the intimate moments of family, creativity, and faith that come together for a life well lived.

If you are looking for a behind the scenes look at one of the greatest Children’s authors then I highly recommend Stories of my Life.

I give Stories of My Life five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Out of the Shadows

 

Out of the Shadows

Voices of American Women Soldiers

by Ron Farina

Book Review: How to Be A Patriotic Christian

 

How to Be a Patriotic Christian

Love of Country as Love of Neighbor

by Richard J. Mouw

Pub Date 19 Jul 2022

 InterVarsity Press,  IVP

 Christian  |  Politics  |  Religion & Spirituality 

I am reviewing a copy of How to Be a Patriotic Christian through InterVarsity Press and Netgalley:

What Does it Mean to love our Country?

There are Christians see loyalty to America as central to our faith and identity. Whereas  other Christians are skeptical that our nation warrants such devotion or attachment. But Richard Mouw encourages Christians to have a healthy sense of national peoplehood that promotes civic kinship and responsible citizenship. He navigates between Christian nationalism on one hand and cynicism about country on the other to avoid the perils of both idolatry and disengagement. 

In this book Mouw asks the sticky questions such as how to honor national holidays in church and the place of protests in forging a more perfect union. Placing love of country in the context of Christian love of neighbor, he sees patriotism as an expression of our heavenly citizenship and a call to help our country be a place where all people can thrive in peace. Mouw's winsome and wise reflections direct our patriotic affections toward the civic good of others within our churches and in our communities.

I give How to Be a Patriotic Christian Five Out of five Stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: The Fun Master

 

The Fun Master

A Memoir

by Jeff Seitzer

Pub Date 16 Aug 2022

 SparkPress 

 Biographies & Memoirs 

I am reviewing a copy of The Fun Master  through Spark Press and Netgalley:

Jeff Seitzer was a self involved academic struggling to cope with his own neurological problems.  He could barely take care of himself , let alone a child with special needs, when his son, Ethan, was born. But despite multiple surgeries, hospitalizations, serious breathing and swallowing problems, hearing loss, and a challenging social environment in his first months of life, Ethan thrived all the while teaching Jeff to take things as they came. And eight years later, the arrival from China of adopted baby sister Penelope took Jeff's on-the-job training to a whole new level.

Jeff's determination to live life fully and Ethan's instinct for fun proved the perfect complement to Jeff's determination to live life fully.  Ethan died to young, but not before he, Penelope, and their mother, Janet, taught Jeff that the true path to happiness was putting other people's needs before his own—and living in the moment rather than trying to control it.

I give The Fun Master five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Unforgivable

 

Unforgivable

by Natalie Barelli

Narrated by Jennifer Jill Araya

Pub Date 26 Jul 2022 |

 Dreamscape Media 

 Mystery & Thrillers 

I am reviewing a copy of Unforgivable through Dreamscape Media and Netgalley:

Your ex wife is twisted, she didn’t leave you because of me.  She didn’t abandon her little girl because of a couple of love notes in your jeans pocket. She left because she’s twisted, and she wanted to punish you. And she’s not finished yet. You have to believe me. If you don’t, there’s no knowing what she’ll do next.

The best thing that ever happened to me was becoming a stepmother.  The favorite part of my day is picking Charlie up from school, watching her little rucksack bounce behind her as she skips over for a hug. I love the feel of those thin freckled arms around my waist. After a few rocky months of panic attacks when her mother deserted her, Charlie is flourishing. But the day Charlie’s mother Bronwyn returns without warning showering Charlie with gifts and making promises she can’t keep fear ripples through me.

No one wants to listen when I raise my concerns.  no one wants to listen. I know I sound like the jealous new wife, but nothing is more important to me than Charlie’s safety. Bronwyn and I have history. We both have dark secrets in our past, and I know the dangerous lengths she will go to get what she wants.

But Bronwyn doesn’t know me as well as I know her.

She doesn’t know just how far I will go to protect that little girl.  

I give Unforgivable five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: After We Were Broken

 

After We Were Stolen

by Brooke Beyfuss

Narrated by Jesse Vilinsky

Pub Date 19 Jul 2022 

 Dreamscape Media 

I am reviewing a copy of After We Were Stolen through Dreamscape Media and NetGalley:

Nineteen year old Avery awakens to flames consuming her family's remote compound, she knows it's her only chance to escape her father's grueling survival training, bizarre rules, and gruesome punishments.   

For the first time she and her brother Cole flee the grounds for the first time in their lives, suddenly homeless in a world they know nothing about. After months of hiding out, they are arrested for shoplifting and a shocking discovery is made Avery and Cole were kidnapped fifteen years earlier, stolen by cult leaders they knew as Mom and Dad.

Cole is returned to his birth faMiley, immediately leaving Avery alone and desperate. She is uncertain if her ""parents"" survived the fire and is terrified to find out. The loss of Cole and the trauma of her former life threaten to undo her, but when the police investigation reveals there may be more survivors, Avery must uncover the truth about the fire to truly be free.

This powerful story is suspenseful, and emotionally charged and deeply thought-provoking, After We Were Stolen delves into the idea of family—those we're born into and those we make—resilience, and the lengths a cult survivor will go to finally be free of her painful past. Brooke Beyfuss's powerful debut novel sparkles with heart, grit, and extraordinary characters who will stay with you long after the last page.

I give After We Were Stolen five out of five stars!

Book Review: The Jesus Illusion

 

The Jesus Illusion

Finding the Man by Revealing the Myth

by Tony Sunderland

Pub Date 22 May 2022 

 Independently Published 

 Christian  |  Nonfiction (Adult)  |  Religion & Spirituality

I am reviewing a copy of The Jesus Illusion through the author Tony Sunderland and Netgalley:

According to the author of The Jesus Illusion has been abandoned for to long by Religious Scholars according to Tony Sunderland, in this book he challenges the reader to join him on a new quest to find the echoes of Jesus’s lived existence that can still be heard nearly two thousand years after his death.

He argues that to find any semblance  of ‘Jesus the Man’, Sunderland argues that we must strip away the supernatural aspects of the Christ story,  disregard the institutional constructions that arose after Jesus’s death, and try to see the very human story hidden beneath the myth: A story of someone born in poverty and raised in obscurity, who dedicated his brief life to being a voice for the oppressed and abused. 

We come into this world helpless and armed only our instinctive yearning to survive; and all of us leave it the same way! Jesus, like the rest of us, lived and died a very ‘human’ life. Sunderland takes the reader on a journey to discover the historical Jesus in a way that does not depend on a leap of faith.  Surprisingly, what he discovers, will be uncomfortable for some; but also, enlightening for many.

I give The Jesus Illusion three out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: The Paper Caper

 

The Paper Caper

by Kate Carlisle

Narrated by Sara Young

Pub Date 26 Jul 2022

 Dreamscape Media 

 Mystery & Thrillers

I am reviewing a copy of The Paper Caper through Dreamscape Mrdia and Netgalley:

Joseph Cabot is a San Franciscan who is both wealthy and popular. He owns the main newspaper, as well as radio and tv stations.  Some years before Brooklyn’s husband Derek and his security team rescued Joseph from an assassination attempt, and now the man and his wife are friendly with Derek and Brooklyn. The friendship is helped along by the fact that Joseph is a big book lover and contributes lavishly to the Covington Library. His favorite author is Mark Twain (another newspaperman), and he’s underwritten the first annual Mark Twain Festival at the Covington.

Brooklyn will spend a few hours every day at the Library, giving demonstrations of her work, re-binding an old copy of The Prince and the Pauper, as part of the festival activities.  There will be events all week, all around town, celebrating the time Twain spent in the city. But the biggest event is being run by Joseph’s newspaper: a citywide contest based on The Prince and the Pauper—they want to find someone who looks like Joseph! The two men will trade places for a week as part of a huge publicity campaign to raise money for the Covington Library. But the fun turns frantic when a murder occurs right before Brooklyn’s eyes! Now Brooklyn and Derek will have to chase clues all over their beloved city to solve the murder before another death becomes front page news.

I give The Paper Caper  five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Making It Write

 

Making It Write

by Betty Hechtma

Pub Date 02 Aug 2022 

 Severn House 

 Mystery & Thrillers 

I am reviewing a copy of Making It Write through Severn House and Netgalley:

Veronica Blackstone works as a writer for hire,  because she puts her keyboard to use to help others.   Including writing advertising copy for local businesses or love letters for those with romantic troubles, or helping people publish their memoirs. Maeve Winslow needs the latter.

Maeve is the wife of a famous artist nominated for a prestigious award, and the memoir is to be released ahead of the ceremony. All of Maeve's notes are given to Veronica but for the final few pages. There's a huge surprise within those last pages, but Maeve won't reveal it yet. 

After Maeve is found dead the foot of her stairs it looks like an accident, but Veronica isn't convinced. Was the scene staged? Was Maeve murdered to keep her silent? Could clues to the surprise, and the identity of the murderer, be hidden within the notes? It's up to Veronica to figure it out and write the real story.

I give Make It Write five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Songs of Suffering

 

Songs of Suffering

25 Hymns and Devotions for Weary Souls

by Joni Eareckson Tada

Pub Date 02 Aug 2022

 Crossway 

 Arts & Photography  |  Christian 

I am reviewing a copy of Song of Suffering through Crossway and Netgalley:

Joni Eacerson  Tada is no  stranger to pain, both physical  and emotional, the author, speaker, and advocate for people with disabilities, has inspired readers for well over four decades.  At seventeen a shallow dive rendered her a Quadriplegic, and for years she has battled with Chronic pain, breathing issues, and Cancer, a living testimony of God using those the world looks out as broken.

Turning twenty five hymns, complete with Devotions, and beautiful photographs, Songs of Suffering is a one of a kind devotional, created to spark hope even in lives hardships,  Joni Eacerson Tada’s life certainly reflects that.

If you’re looking for a devotional that reminds you that Hope can be found even in suffering, then I highly recommend Songs of Suffering.

I give Song of Suffering five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: More After the Break

 

More After the Break: A Reporter Returns to Ten Unforgettable News Stories 

by  Jen Maxfield  

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Greenleaf Book Group Press 

Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 12, 2022

Greenleaf  Book Group Press sent me an Advanced readers More After the Break for Review which is as follows…

Jen Maxfield highlights ten career defining stories in More After the Break, the stories she highlights are often heartbreaking, some inspirational and others simply make you angry, but this book highlights Jen Maxfield’s compassion as well as the stories she covers.

In this book she introduces some Inspirational people often at the most difficult time of their lives.  The ten year old girl who survived the same bus crash that killed her best friend, the man that lost both of his legs, in a ferry crash but not his hope, or his sense of humor, and the nurse who came from another country, who saved his life, the woman who was an endurance athlete and had Lung Cancer, her will to live, evident .  A young woman who gave her life for an animal, a Wall Street executive on an ill-fated bike ride, a preschooler whose health hinged on an immigration battle, a family who lost everything in a hurricane, a mother who fought back against domestic violence, and a man who stood up for his rights while seated in his wheelchair.

Being able to return to these people years, even decades later news gives Maxfield an opportunity to ask the burning questions she had always pondered: What happened after the live truck pulled away? What is the rest of the story?

I give More After the Break five out of five Stars!

Happy Reading!