Tree Swing Reading

New Giveaways this week!

This drawing is now closed.

A week from today, Sunday, Oct. 28, I will be drawing for 2 book giveaways!  To be entered in the drawing you need to:

1) live in the United States.

2) post a comment to this entry and let me know which of the book or books you are interested in be entered in. 

3) also in your post, answer this question: what author would you really like to meant (who's alive right now)?

4) check back to see if you won and I'll tell you what to do next!

The giveaways for this week are:

Splitends by Kristin Billerbeck

I read this book this week and loved it!  MY REVIEW

Description:

In a fit of short-lived courage, Sarah Claire Winowski flees Sable, Wyoming, for Beverly Hills, where she earns the title "Hairstylist to the Stars." But success isn't very satisfying---and she wonders about the small-town girl she left behind. Can she see through her gorgeous boyfriends, unscrupulous relatives, and an egotistical boss to find the real Sarah?

One paragraph from my reivew:

I loved this book! Sarah's sense of inadequacy struck a chord in me and spoke to my heart. At times I wanted to reach out and shake her (yes, I know she's not real, but she felt real to me!) and tell her that God's measure of her worth is not about the clothes, the job, or the success, or even about who her absent father is or her mother's shame.  Don't we all struggle with this? Finding a way to accept God's love for us even though we've made certain mistakes or feel unworthy?  Reading about this struggle in Sarah's life helps me remember God's love for me too.

The other book I'm giving away is one of the first books I reviewed on this blog and I also enjoyed it very much! It is suspenseful and engaging and a can't-put-it-down mystery: Rolling Thunder by Mark Mynheir (book 1in the Truth Chasers series).

MY REVIEW

Description:

Follow the crime-busting truth-seeking exploits of three investigators from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement! In Rolling Thunder, you'll meet lead detective John Russell, who's working a high-profile missing-person case when a strange and evil visitor appears at his home. It's John's father---and his mother's murderer. Can John grant forgiveness before his father dies?

Be sure to add your comments to this post to be entered to win!

Winners of this week's book giveaway

Congratulations to Deborah for winning Rekindled and Julie F. for winning Demon, a Memior!

I sent you both an email to check how to get your books to you!

Don't forget to enter comments for the giveaways

I'm drawing names on Sunday evening for these books:

Post a comment if you want to be in the drawing!

Review of "Split Ends" by Kristin Billerbeck

Split Ends by Kristin Billerbeck

Description:

In a fit of short-lived courage, Sarah Claire Winowski flees Sable, Wyoming, for Beverly Hills, where she earns the title "Hairstylist to the Stars." But success isn't very satisfying---and she wonders about the small-town girl she left behind. Can she see through her gorgeous boyfriends, unscrupulous relatives, and an egotistical boss to find the real Sarah?

My Review:

I love Kristin Billerbeck!  Every time I read one of her books I just want to read more!  I loved this book and totally fell in love with Sarah Claire and her idealized sense of Hollywood romance verses real life commitment and love.

Sarah's childhood was less than ideal. She grew up with a mother who was more concerned about her alcohol than being a mother and brought all the unpredictability that an alcoholic can bring to her family. Sarah is determined to get away from her childhood and start over by using her talent as a hair stylist to help her shine. 

She goes to Hollywood where her dream of making it big has to start with garbage pail emptying, toliet seat lowering, and latte making before she can put her talent to work in one of the best salons in the area.  She lives with her cousin Scott, who is also trying to escape his past but living faster and flashier.  Scott has a temporary roommate, Dane, whose style and ease embodies the romantic notions Sarah has for men like Cary Grant and old Hollywood.  So why doesn't her cousin think they should be together? You'll have to read the book to find out!

Sarah's insecurities with her past drive her to search for what she thinks is success; however, success Hollywood-style ends up not meeting the needs of her heart. 

I loved this book! Sarah's sense of inadequacy struck a chord in me and spoke to my heart. At times I wanted to reach out and shake her (yes, I know she's not real, but she felt real to me!) and tell her that God's measure of her worth is not about the clothes, the job, or the success, or even about who her absent father is or her mother's shame.  Don't we all struggle with this? Finding a way to accept God's love for us even though we've made certain mistakes or feel unworthy?  Reading about this struggle in Sarah's life helps me remember God's love for me too.

I am grateful for this book and can't wait to read more from Billerbeck! Who knew a book about hair styles was really about God's love? I give this book my big sunny rating!

Want to buy this book? Here's a link that gives me credit!

Split Ends
By Kristin Billerbeck / Thomas Nelson

In a fit of short-lived courage, Sarah Claire Winowski flees Sable, Wyoming, for Beverly Hills, where she earns the title "Hairstylist to the Stars." But success isn't very satisfying---and she wonders about the small-town girl she left behind. Can she see through her gorgeous boyfriends, unscrupulous relatives, and an egotistical boss to find the real Sarah? 304 pages, softcover from Integrity.

Review of "Hazardous Duty" by Christy Barritt

Hazardous Duty by Christy Barritt 

Buying a gun to kill your wife: $3,000
Hiring Trauma Care to clean afterward: $1,500
Having that same cleaner uncover evidence that frames you: priceless

On her way to completing a degree in forensic science, Gabby St. Claire drops out of school and starts her own crime scene cleaning business. “Yeah, that’s me,” she says, “a crime scene cleaner. People waiting in line behind me who strike up conversations always regret it.”

When a routine cleaning job leads her to find a murder weapon the police overlooked, she realizes that the wrong person is in jail. But the owner of the weapon is a powerful foe . . . and willing to do anything to keep Gabby quiet.

With the help of her new neighbor, Riley Thomas, a man whose life and faith fascinate her, Gabby plays the detective to make sure the right person is put behind bars. Can Riley help her before another murder occurs?

“Christy Barritt’s novel, Hazardous Duty, is a delightful read from beginning to end. The story’s fresh, engaging heroine with an unusual occupation hooked me, and I couldn’t put it down. I highly recommend Hazardous Duty.”
—Colleen Coble
Author of Fire Dancer, book one of the Fire Jumpers Series

"With Gabby St. Claire, Christy Barritt has created a fun sleuth in a unique profession. Hazardous Duty provides both humor and an engaging mystery. The twists and turns of the whodunit are matched only by the surprises of Gabby's spiritual growth and romantic entanglements."

Sharon Dunn Author of the Ruby Taylor mysteries including Cow Crimes and Mustang Menace.

Cow Crimes and the Mustang Menace

"Christy Barritt is a bright new voice on the fiction scene, destined to rise above the others with her fun, intriguing mysteries. . . . Stay tuned and watch for more from this gifted, talented author..You'll love it."

Cheryl Wolverton Multi-published author Award Winner, The Choice of Readers (IRCC Winner)"

"The next time you're tempted to watch CSI reruns, read this book instead! Spunky, sassy y St. Claire sparkles in this new series. She'll keep you turning the pages." Siri Mitchell author of The Cubicle Next Door

My Reivew:

This was a great book! I knew I would like it! I always like these "nosy female figures out crime" type plots.

The main character, Gabby, has aspirations to be a CSI, but is working as a crime scene cleaner to pay the bills in the meantime. As the book opens, Gabby is cleaning a crime scene where a politician's wife was murdered. In the process of cleaning, Gabby stumbles on new evidence and, as she wonders what to do with it, discovers that the house is on fire!  Gabby escapes with her life, but is now determined to find out the truth behind the crime.

When the detective assigned to the case isn't as engaged in the evidence she found as she would like, Gabby decides to work on the mystery herself and it almosts costs her her life--3 times!  Fortunately she's got great friends who are looking out for her. Sierra, her "tree-hugging," save-the-animals, vegan downstairs neighbor and Riley, her mysterious, kind, and religious across-the-hall neighbor do their best to look out for her, when she lets them.

Barritt keeps the reader fully engaged in solving the mystery. Her characters are quirky, likeable, and "not-too-perfect" enough to be human. I definately feel like there must be another book coming with these characters as a bunch of storylines were hinted at, but not fully explored--like Gabby's relationship with her father, her dating life, Gabby's relationship with God which is just barely beyond "not on speaking terms" as she just commits to attend a church service at the close of the book, etc. I can't wait to read more about Gabby! I give this book a sunny day rating! 

Want to own this book yourself? Click on the link below and I'll get credit for your order!

Hazardous Duty By Christy Barritt / Kregel Publications She always wanted to be a forensic pathologist. But when circumstances force her to drop out of school, Gabby St. Claire starts a crime scene-cleaning business. Suddenly a routine job turns up a murder weapon, and Gabby and her neighbor Riley realize that the wrong man is behind bars! Will they catch the real killer? 240 pages, softcover from Kregel.

Review of "Crimson Eve" by Brandilyn Collins (book 3 in the Kanner Lake series)

Crimson Eve by Brandilyn Collins

This week, theChristian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

CRIMSON EVE(Zondervan October 30, 2007)by

Brandilyn Collins

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Brandilyn Collins is a best-selling novelist known for her trademark Seatbelt Suspense™. These harrowing crime thrillers have earned her the tagline “Don’t forget to b r e a t h e…® ” She’s so well known in the industry there’s actually a club for her non-readers. That’s right. The Big Honkin’ Chickens Club (BHCC) members are proud of the fact that they’re too wimpy to read Brandilyn’s intense fiction. Now and then one of them tries. Bribing works pretty well. (Just ask Deb Raney.) Somehow they live to tell the tale.

Brandilyn writes for Zondervan, the Christian division of HarperCollins Publishers, and is currently at work on her 17th book. Her first book, A Question of Innocence, was a true crime published by Avon in 1995. Its promotion landed her on local and national TV and radio, including the Phil Donahue and Leeza talk shows.

She’s also known for her distinctive book on fiction-writing techniques, Getting Into Character: Seven Secrets a Novelist Can Learn From Actors (John Wiley & Sons), and often teaches at writers conferences. Brandilyn blogs at Forensics and Faith.

Visit her website to read the first chapters of all her books.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Carla stared at the gun and David Thornby—or whatever his name was. Her mind split in two, one side pleading this was some sick joke, the other screaming it was all too real.

“Please. You must have the wrong person. There’s no reason for someone to want me dead. I don’t have any enemies.”

“Then you’d best rethink your friends.”

Realtor Carla Radling shows an “English gentleman” a lakeside estate—and finds herself facing a gun. Who has hired this assassin to kill her, and why?

Forced on the run, Carla must uncover the scathing secrets of her past. Secrets that could destroy some very powerful people...

Brandilyn Collins fans and reviewers are saying Crimson Eve is her best book yet:

“Collins tops herself by creating a suspenseful nonstop thrill ride … Truly the best Christian Fiction suspense title so far this year.”
– Library Journal, starred review

“Crimson Eve is Collins at her very best. It left me feeling as if I’d climbed Mount Everest without oxygen … I didn’t think Brandilyn could outdo herself after reading Coral Moon. She did.”
–TitleTrakk.com

“I’ve never edited a more tightly crafted, deftly woven, compellingly written book.” –a Crimson Eve editor, with 20 years experience

“This is your best book! I could not stop reading!” – one of many readers with similar responses

Read about Violet Dawn and Coral Moon, books one and two in the Kanner Lake series.

My Review:

Collins again does a fabulous job with this book!  This is one of my favorites of hers so far.  The plight of Carla, the realtor from Kanner Lake who we've met only briefly in the first two books, as she runs from a hitman who has threatened to kill everyone she cares about if she turns to someone for help, is engaging and intense.  I couldn't put it down!

Once again, Collins reveals pieces to the story's puzzle through snipits of flashbacks that draw you in and leave you reading for more to solve the mystery of Carla's secrets from her past. Meanwhile, the characters' viewpoints also contribute to the storyline as the reader is taken into each one's perspective on the events unfolding. 

I found myself looking at Carla's situation through thoughts of "what would I do in that situation?"  Can you imagine...she's showing someone a house and he turns a gun on her and tells her he's a hitman coming to kill her?  I'm not sure I would have the sense to be able to even escape the situation, much less be able to hide out and escape from him.  Carla's desperate thoughts of escape are the fuel that feeds this book.  She has to figure out who wants her killed, she has to get away from the hitman who has threatened to kill her friends if she turns to them or the police for help, she learns that some law enforcement are in on the plans to kill her so she doesn't know who to trust, she doesn't know where to go, and she has someone trying to reach her who knows more to her past and the secrets she keeps.

If you like suspense, grab yourself this book and snuggle up for a good one!  I give this book my sunny day rating!

Review of "Defiant Heart" by Tracey Bateman (Book 1 of the Westward Hearts series)

Defiant Heart by Tracey Bateman (Book 1 of the Westward Hearts series)

Description:

Book One of the Westward Hearts series, orphans Fannie Caldwell and her two young siblings have spent the last three years as indentured servants under a cruel master. Desperately wanting a better life for her brother and sister, Fannie devises a plan to secretly join a wagon train heading west.

Her plan immediately runs into trouble when the handsome yet bullheaded wagon master Blake Tanner refuses to allow an unmarried woman on the train.

But Fannie's determined...she'll escape and go west with or without help!

As life on the trail tests everyone's endurance and faith, Fannie soon realizes the perils of being a single woman on the frontier. Witnessing Fannie fending off one scare after another, Blake slowly recognizes how much he cares for this alluring young woman.

My Review:

I enjoyed this pleasant, fast read. The theme of the book is really one of redemption. The wagon master, Blake, pays to free Fannie and expects nothing in return--a gift freely given.

I give it my mostly sunny rating.

Funny Monday

My new Monday blog topic is funnies to get the week started right! I got to hear Anita Renfroe at a Women of Faith Conference and she cracks me up!

Review of "I Love Claire" book 3 in the Claire Series by Tracey Bateman

I Love Claire by Tracey Bateman, Book 3 in the Claire Series

Description:

Lovable and quirky Claire Everett finally snagged a man, but how will she pay for the wedding when her writing career hits a snag of its own? She was busy enough as a novelist and mother of four, but after Claire finds the wedding dress of her dreams, complete with a nightmarish price tag, she kicks into overdrive to find a way to afford the heavenly gown. Suddenly she becomes Claire Everett: Entrepreneur. Assistant to the elderly. Dog-walker extraordinaire. She soon discovers that walking dogs and doing odd jobs are a piece of cake compared to fending off the advances of her client’s drop-dead gorgeous son and dealing with her kids’ antics. Claire needs God’s help if she’s ever going to straighten out her tangled life. And when her magical honeymoon plans crumble into dust, she has to wonder what disaster lies in store for the Big Day.

Review:

Another fun book about Claire Everett, the woman I like to watch and learn from as she struggles to keep up with her kids, her writing, her fiance, and all the new things she takes on in order to earn enough money for her dream wedding dress.  She gets into all kinds of strange and funny situations as she prepares for her upcoming wedding and all the changes that are coming her way after she marries her soon-to-be-a-paster fiance. 

A fun a pleasant read. I give it my sunny rating.

If you would like to order your own copy of this book from CDB and give me credit while you're at it, click on the link below.

I Love Claire, Claire Series #3 By Tracey Bateman / Faithwords Lovable and quirky Claire Everett finally snagged a man, but how will she pay for the wedding when her writing career hits a snag of its own? She was busy enough as a novelist and mother of four, but after Claire finds the wedding dress of her dreams, complete with a nightmarish price tag, she kicks into overdrive to find a way to afford the heavenly gown. Suddenly she becomes Claire Everett: Entrepreneur. Assistant to the elderly. Dog-walker extraordinaire. She soon discovers that walking dogs and doing odd jobs are a piece of cake compared to fending off the advances of her client’s drop-dead gorgeous son and dealing with her kids’ antics. Claire needs God’s help if she’s ever going to straighten out her tangled life. And when her magical honeymoon plans crumble into dust, she has to wonder what disaster lies in store for the Big Day.

Giving Away "Demon, a Memoir" and "Rekindled"

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.

A week from today, Sunday, Oct. 21, I will be drawing for 2 book giveaways!  To be entered in the drawing you need to:

1) live in the United States.

2) post a comment to this entry and let me know which of the book or books you are interested in be entered in. 

3) also in your post, answer this question: what are you reading right now (first I forgot to change this week's question, sorry about that!)?

4) check back to see if you won and I'll tell you what to do next!

The giveaways for this week are:

Rekindled by Tamera Alexander

Description:

When her husband disappears into a mountain snowstorm one morning, Kathryn Jennings is flung into the world of ranching, banking, and business. Penniless and pregnant, Kathryn is determined to keep her land as a legacy for her child. The man who offers her a job seems to have an awful lot of secrets, but she is desperate. Most disconcerting of all is the uncanny familiarity she feels toward the badly scarred ranch hand who works in the dark shadows of the horse stables.

Want to read my review of this book? Review of Rekindled. This was a good book! I know you'll enjoy it too!

And the second book I'm giving away this week:

Demon, a Memoir by Tosca Lee.

Decription:

Clayton's life is stuck in the mud. His wife has been cheating on him for years, his literary career is uninspired, and his job as an editor is mediocre at best. But when he walks into a restaurant and finds a mysterious dark-haired stranger waiting for him, his life dramatically changes. The stranger claims to be Lucian, one of Lucifer's fellow fallen angels, come to tell Clay his story of the angels' dramatic fall from Heaven, Adam and Eve's Eden, and Christ's triumph on the cross - from a demon's perspective. This seems just the thing to get Clay's career jumpstarted, but it could mean his ultimate success or failure as Lucian's story seems to become more and more like his own.

My review link: Demon, a Memoir. This book will impact you!

Sign up to win these books!  Add a comment to this post and let me know which book(s) you'd like to be entered to win!

Good luck! Don't forget to check back for next week's giveaway!