Book Review: Crazy Joy

 

Crazy Joy

Finding Wild Happiness in a World That's Upside Down

by Mary Katherine Backstrom

Pub Date 30 Aug 2022 

 Worthy Publishing,  Worthy Books

 Christian

 

I  am reviewing a copy of Crazy Joy: Finding Wild Happiness in a World That's Upside Down through Worthy Publishing and Netgalley:

Happiness is considered a destination, but the destination is constantly moving.  It changes when we get married, find that dream job, move away from home, have a baby, build a dream house, etc. We are promised that a happy life is tied to these milestones.

What if society has it wrong?  What if happiness is not a destination?

Mary Katherine paints a picture of a different life—one bursting with a force that is far more sustainable and vibrant: joy with her trademark candor as well as her hilarious storytelling.

With Crazy Joy readers can be helped in the following ways:

1.  Identify and reject ridiculous expectations that society has placed on their lives.

2.  Liberate their hearts from the comparison prison and feel content in their current circumstances.

3.  View themselves, inside and out, as the masterpiece creations they are.

4.  Find joy (and dare we say, laughter!) in the middle of life's biggest messes.

Crazy Joy invites readers to embark on a counter-cultural journey toward a life filled to the brim with contentment, humor, and most importantly, Crazy Joy.

I give Crazy Joy five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Six Feet Deep Dish

 

Six Feet Deep Dish

by Mindy Quigley

Pub Date 23 Aug 2022 

 St. Martin's Press,  St. Martin's Paperbacks

 General Fiction (Adult)  |  Mystery & Thrillers 

I am reviewing a copy of Six Feet Deep Dish through St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley:

Delilah O’Leary is excited about opening her new new gourmet deep-dish pizzeria in Geneva Bay, Wisconsin—a charming resort town with a long history as a mobsters’ hideaway, millionaires’ playground, and vacation mecca.  Delilah is engaged to a hunk with a large trust fund and is posed to begin a life that’s just about as delicious as one of her cheesy creations.

But just before opening night Delilah’s plans for pizza perfection hit the skids when her fiancé dumps her and leaves her with a very large memento from their relationship, Butterball, their spoiled, plus-sized tabby cat.

Delilah’s trouble only deepens when she discovers a dead body and finds her elderly aunt holding the murder weapon. Handsome local police detective Calvin Capone, great grandson of the legendary gangster, opens an investigation, threatening to sink Delilah’s pie-in-the-sky ambitions before they can even get off the ground. To save her aunt and get her pizza place generating some dough, Delilah must deliver the real killer.

I give Six Feet Deep Dish five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: The Prayer Jar Devotional: Hope

 

The Prayer Jar Devotional: HOPE

by Wanda E. Brunstetter; Donna K. Maltese

Pub Date 01 Sep 2022

 Barbour Publishing,  Barbour Books

 Christian

I am reviewing a copy of The Prayer Jar Devotional: Hope through Barbour Publishing and Netgalley:

This devotional is inspired by Wanda E Brunsteeter’s  book series The Prayer Jar:

The Prayer Jar Devotional brings the same life-changing inspiration as Wanda E. Brunstetter’s unforgettable stories. Every reading will help you draw closer to your heavenly Father.

Your prayer life will be transformed as you read through these dozens of encouraging devotional readings centered around the theme of hope. With each turn of the page, you’ll discover unchanging truths of God’s Word alongside meaningful prompts that guide you to write out your personal prayers or favorite, hope-filled Bible verses and then add to your very own prayer jar. (Simple instructions are included in the introduction.

By the time you finish the last page, you will have a the same life-changing inspiration as Wanda E. Brunstetter’s unforgettable stories. Every reading will help you draw closer to your heavenly Father.

I give The Prayer Jar Devotional: Hope five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: The Road Way From God

 

The Road Away from God

How Love Finds Us Even as We Walk Away

by Jonathan Martin

Pub Date 07 Jun 2022

 Baker Books 

 Christian 

I am reviewing a copy of The Road Away From God: How Love Finds Us Even As We Walk Away through Baker Books and Netgalley:

Disentangling the good news  of the gospel from the toxic theologies that have rendered Jesus unrecognizable is no easy journey .  There’s no wonder many have walked away from the Church.

The Road Away from God is Jonathan Martin’s reimagining of Luke's story of two disillusioned disciples walking the Emmaus road away from the holy city where they had watched their hope die a gruesome death right before their eyes.

This book is for anyone who has felt their Faith come apart, for those who are reckoning with the religious trauma they have dealt with, or for those walking the long road of deconstruction.  Martin speaks compassionate hope into the journey of today's disillusioned disciples, revealing that the resurrected Christ is profoundly present with them even on what seems to be the road away from God.

I give The Road Away from God five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: The Call to Follow

 

The Call to Follow

Hearing Jesus in a Culture Obsessed with Leadership

Richard Langer & Joanne J. Jung

Pub Date 09 Aug 2022

 Crossway

 Christian

I am reviewing a copy of The Call to Follow: Hearing Jesus in a Culture Obsessed With Leadership through Crossway and Netgalley:

In this book authors Richard Langer and Joanne J.Jung  teach that “followership” is a crucial part to both organizational and spiritual flourishing.   The Call to Follow reexamines the nature of leadership and followership in light of the life-transforming power of following Jesus Christ.

Everyone wants to lead, very few want to follow.  But is there value in following?  Jesus was a follower.  He did what the Heavenly Father called him to do.  Now it’s our time to follow his lead in our relationships and the works we are called to do.

I give The Call to Follow five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Crossfire

 

Crossfire

by Lynette Eason

Pub Date 02 Aug 2022 

Revell 

Christian

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

Juliana Jameson is a top knotch FBI Agent/hostage negotiator, she has never lost a hostage. So she can certainly take care of her younger sister Dottie, couldn’t she? Dottie showed up unannounced to live with Julianna while she finished her senior year of high school.

Clay Fox was a former sniper with the 75th Ranger after a tragic incident he could never get past. He works as a high school resource officer at least until he can figure out what to do with the rest of his life. 

Julianna and Clay’s path cross when Julianna is called in to negotiate a courtroom hostage situation involving Clay’s sister. Impressed and a bit intimidated by the calm, capable woman with the dark hair and blue eyes, Clay invites her to speak at his school. Dottie’s school.

As the anniversary of a school shooting from Julianna’s past approaches, it becomes clear that her perfect record is about to be tested and that Dottie is at risk. If Julianna and Clay can’t figure out who’s behind the attacks, more innocent people will die — and Dottie is next in line.

If you are looking for a tense, heart pounding story of revenge and redemption.

I give Crossfire five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Carved in Ebony

 

Carved in Ebony

Lessons from the Black Women Who Shape Us

by Jasmine L. Holmes

Pub Date 02 Aug 2022

 Bethany House,  Bethany House Publishers

 Christian  |  Teens & YA 

I am reviewing a copy of Carved In Ebony, Lessons from the Black Women Who Shape Us through Bethany House Publishers and Netgalley:

Elizabeth Freeman, Nannie Helen Burroughs, or Charlotte Forten Grim, do these names sound familiar?  Have you heard of Sarah Mapps Douglass, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, or Maria Fearing? What about Sara Griffith Stanley, Amanda Berry Smith, Lucy Craft Laney, and Maria Stewart?

Some of these names may be familiar to you, most may not, but these women lived faithful and influential lives in a world that was filled with injustice. They worked to change laws, built schools, spoke to thousands, and shared the Gospel all around the world. And while history books may have forgotten them, their stories can teach us so much about how we can live today.

I give Carved in Ebony five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!