Tree Swing Reading

Review of "Learning to Fly" by Roxanne Henke

Description:

New mom, Susan Schaffer, looks down at her newborn daughter, Lily, and wonders if she has what it takes to be a mom. Each stage seems to bring a new challenge and Susan is filled with doubt. A chance meeting with former classmate, JoJo Nash, also a new mom, gives the two mothers a friendship to help each other, and their daughters, learn and grow. As the girls approach high school graduation their mothers are faced with the question: Are the girls ready to ‘fly’ on their own? Are the mom's ready to let them?

Learning to Fly is a novel about living, loving and letting go.

Andrea Sisco of  Armchair Interviews.com writes: “All the self-help books or parenting classes in the world will not score a direct hit like Henke’s message...a must read for all mothers and mothers-to-be.”

My Review:

Henke's story is a side-by-side view of two very different parenting styles.  Susan is a prayerful and steady mother, even when it is hard.  She lays down the law and disciplines with love and firmness.  JoJo is more concerned about not making waves with her daughter.  She gives in to her daughter's whims and spoils her.  While the point being made is quite obvious, it is interesting to watch the outcome of the different parenting styles as it plays out in the daughters' lives.  It actually made me think of parables and how Jesus often gave instruction through stories like this.

An enjoyable read with a good reminder about the importance of our role as mothers in our childrens' lives.  Henke reminds us that being a good mom is not easy and there are times when our children will act like they don't want us to be so firm, but there are also times when they will thank us for doing our best to guide them even when it's hard. 

CFBA Blog Tour and My review of "Broken Angel" by Sigmund Brouwer

Broken Angel by Sigmund Brouwer

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Broken Angel
(WaterBrook Press (May 20, 2008)
by
Sigmund Brouwer


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Sigmund Brouwer is the author of eighteen best-selling novels for children and adults. His newest book is Fuse of Armageddon and his novel The Last Disciple was featured in Time magazine and on ABC’s Good Morning America. A champion of literacy, he teaches writing workshops for students in schools from the Arctic Circle to inner city Los Angeles. Sigmund is married to Christian recording artist Cindy Morgan, and they and their two daughters divide their time between homes in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada and Nashville, Tennessee.


ABOUT THE BOOK

Her birth was shrouded in mystery and tragedy.
Her destiny is beyond comprehension.
Her pursuers long to see her broken.
She fights to soar.

A father's love for his daughter…a decision that would change both their lives forever. But who is she really─and why must she now run for her life?

Caitlin's body has made her an outcast, a freak, and the target of vicious bounty hunters. As she begins a perilous journey, she is forced to seek answers for her father's betrayal in the only things she can carry with her─a letter he passes her before forcing her to run, and their shared memories together.

Being hunted forces Caitlyn to partner with two equally lonely companions, one longing to escape the horror of factory life in Appalachia and the others, an unexpected fugitive. Together the three will fight to reach a mysterious group that might be friend or foe, where Caitlyn hopes to uncover the secrets of her past...and the destiny she must fulfill.

In the rough, shadowy hills of Appalachia, a nation carved from the United States following years of government infighting, Caitlyn and her companions are the prey in a terrifying hunt. They must outwit the relentless bounty hunters, skirt an oppressive, ever-watchful society, and find passage over the walls of Appalachia to reveal the dark secrets behind Caitlyn’s existence–and understand her father’s betrayal.

Prepare yourself to experience a chilling America of the very near future, as you discover the unforgettable secret of the Broken Angel.

In this engrossing, lightning-paced story with a post-apocalyptic edge, best-selling author Sigmund Brouwer weaves a heroic, harrowing journey through the path of a treacherous culture only one or two steps removed from our own.

If you would like to read the first chapter, go HERE.

The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1400070325

My Review:

Well, there were moments when I couldn't put the book down because I wanted to solve the mystery of Caitlyn, but there were moments when I wanted to abandon reading it because of the descriptions of torture and other crazy "conspiracy theories."  I was already nervous about reading it when the back description indicated that it was "the future of America" or something like that.  When authors start writing books of doom and gloom and then say it is my future, I get a little antsy.  I guess I just don't like thinking like that.  It makes me unconfortable.  Does anyone else get this reaction from these type of books?

Anyway, if you like books that speculate on our future, this one is well-written and intriguing.  Not everyone likes what I like and that's cool. I ended up with strange dreams and an edgy feeling when I was done because I wasn't sure what my response should be.  If you've read it and have a different perspective, let me know. 

Giveaway: Tamara Alexander's series "Fountain Creek Chronicles"

What does this mean?  Well, I'm giving away a bunch of books of all kinds!  Some new releases, some that have been around a while...but are too good to miss.  Some fiction of all different genres, some non-fiction. 

My rules will be the same as usual. 

1) Post a comment to the blogs with the books you want to enter to win.  Answer the question that goes with that blog.

Today's question: Do you call it "soda" or "pop" or something else?  What is your favorite kind?  I grew up calling it "pop," but my husband's family calls it "soda" and now I do too.  My favorite is Root Beer!

2) See if you win!

Winners are drawn 10 days after the giveaway is posted. 

Today's giveaway will be drawn on May 31.

Today's books are Rekindled, Revealed, and Remembered by Tamera Alexander (The Fountain Creek Chronicles series).

Description of Rekindled:

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.  The first book in the "Fountain Creek Chronicles Series."

My Review

I got hooked on this book right from the beginning.  Alexander pulls the reader into the story immediately as she decribes a man watching his wife have funneral for him!  From that moment on, I had to find out what happened and how the characters got to that place.

The author describes a marriage between Kathyrn and Larson that has gone stale.  Inability to conceive a child, the constant struggle to keep their ranch going, and demons from Larson's past keep them from communicating fully with each other.  It is only when Larson disappears and is presumed dead that Kathryn realizes how much she loved him.  Without him, she must struggled against difficult circumstances and rumors and inappropriate advances to try to keep his land.

Meanwhile, Larson has survived and is coming to terms with his injuries and his Maker through the selfless love and care of the couple who saved his life.

For me, this story comes down to the theme of second chances.  Interwoven throughout is the idea that God is giving these characters a second chance to love each other and to live a life for Him.

Description of Revealed:

Newly widowed Annabelle Grayson hears a second chance calling her. But she can't answer it living in Colorado City; where everybody knows her sordid history. When she advertises for a guide to escort her to Idaho, Matthew Taylor---a bitter soul escaping his own past---applies. Will they find the fresh beginning they each seek?

My Review:

Another success by Tamera Alexander! This books picks up characters from book 1 in the series and makes them the main characters in book 2.  We met Annabelle in Rekindled as a "woman of the night" who befriends Kathryn. Now we find out that she has been bought out of her position and has married her resucer Jonathon. Determined to take Annabelle away from the town that only knows her from her past, Jonathon sets out to move with her to Idaho. Unfortunately Jonathon dies before they can make it.  Jonathon's half brother Matthew is then chosen to help Annabelle continue to journey to Idaho to make a new start.  But Matthew is unable to see past Annabelle's past mistakes and does nothing to hide his disdain for Annabelle. Too bad Matthew can't see his own past mistakes as a way to relate to Annabelle and not to judge her.

The journey to Idaho is not without adventure and Annabelle and Matthew must come to rely on each other to survive.  Their relationship develops into trust in spite of themselves. Once again, Tamera Alexander is reminding us that God is a God of second chances and forgiveness. And, when you get to know someone, really know them, you can find out that there may be more behind their mistakes than you realized.

Description of Remembered:

The threat of war--and a final request--send Véronique Girard from France to a distant and uninviting country. In the Colorado Territory, she searches for the man who has held her heart since childhood--her father. Pierre Girard left Paris for the Americas to seek his fortune in fur trading, vowing to send for his wife and daughter. But twenty-five years have passed and his vow remains unfulfilled. Sifting through shards of broken promises, Véronique embarks on a dangerous search for a man she scarcely remembers.

His grief finally healed, Jack Brennan is moving on with life. After years of guiding families west, he is now working as a freighter to the mining towns surrounding Willow Springs. What he doesn't count on is an unexpected traveling companion on his trips up into the mountains, and how one woman's search will cause havoc with his plans... and his life.

My Review:

As with the first 2 books in the series, I really enjoyed the characters of Remembered. Veronique was feisty and yet naive at the same time. Jack was rough but tender and the journey they make toward each other was sweet and pleasant to read.  I think the overarching theme that Alexander was making is one about God's timing and plans for us, which may not always be our timing, but in the end it is best to trust Him.  The romantic in me enjoyed the protectiveness of Jack and the fierceness with which he held his responsibility to care for Veronique.  I was also touched by Veronique's journey out of pride to learning to humbly accept genuine love in the community of Fountain Creek.

CFBA Blog Tour and My review of "Embrace Me" by Lisa Samson

Embrace Me by Lisa Samson

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Embrace Me

(Thomas Nelson March 4, 2008)

by

Lisa Samson

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Lisa Samson is a Christy Award-winning author of 19 books, including the Women of the Faith Novel of the Year, Quaker Summer. Lisa has been hailed by Publishers Weekly as "a talented novelist who isn't afraid to take risks."


In Embrace Me, the latest novel by acclaimed author Lisa Samson, readers are privy to the realization that regardless of outward appearances…hideous, attractive, or even ordinary…persons are all looking for the same things: love, forgiveness, and redemption.

This story explores a world that is neither comfortable nor safe, a world that people like Valentine know all too well. Masterfully crafted by Samson and populated by her most compelling cast of characters yet. It is a tale of forgiveness that extends into all spheres of life: forgiving others, forgiving oneself, forgiving the past.

She lives in Lexinton, Kentucky, with her husband and three kids.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Biting and gentle, hard-edged and hopeful...a beautiful fable of love and power, hiding and seeking, woundedness and redemption.

When a "lizard woman," a self-mutilating preacher, a tattooed monk, and a sleazy lobbyist find themselves in the same North Carolina town one winter, their lives are edging precariously close to disaster...and improbably close to grace.

Valentine, due to her own drastic self-disfigurement, ahs very few friends in this world and, it appears as if she may be destined to spend the rest of her life practically alone. But life gives her one good friend, Lella, whose own handicap puts her in the same freakish category as Valentine. As part of Roland's Wayfaring Marvel and Oddities Show, a traveling band of misfits, they seem to have found their niches in an often curiously cruel world.

Residing in a world where masks are mandatory, Valentine has a hard time removing hers, because of her disfigured face but more so because of her damaged soul. It is much easier for her to listen endlessly to different versions of a favorite song, Embraceable You, and escape reality. Yet, life has more in store for her when she meets Augustine, replete with the tattoos, dreadlocks, and his own secrets. With his arrival, Valentine's soul takes a turn.

If you would like to read the first chapter, go HERE

The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1595542108

My Review:

I always enjoy reading Lisa Samson's books.  These characters were definately among the most interesting I have every read about.  As unique as they are, their story resonates for us all.  Initially, the pain of the characters is so palpable I felt wounded for them.  It is that pain that makes the transformation then that much more striking.  I really like the  characters in this book--especially the people they become.  They stayed with me a long time after I finished reading the book.  Such is always the case with Samson's books!

Giving Away "Restoration Series" by Terri Blackstock

What does this mean?  Well, I'm giving away a bunch of books of all kinds!  Some new releases, some that have been around a while...but are too good to miss.  Some fiction of all different genres, some non-fiction. 

My rules will be the same as usual. 

1) Post a comment to the blogs with the books you want to enter to win.  Answer the question that goes with that blog.

Today's question: This is a question to help me survive the summer...I'm a work-at-home mom with a 6 year old and a 9 year old girl.  Most of their friends are in day care for the summer.  Any suggestions on ways to keep them busy at least for part of each day so I can still do my work?  I'm getting nervous for summer!

2) See if you win!

Winners are drawn 10 days after the giveaway is posted. 

Today's giveaway will be drawn on May 27.

I'm giving away the Terri Blackstock Restoration Series! Four books!

Last Light (Book #1)

In the face of a crisis that sweeps an entire high-tech planet back to the age before electricity, Deni Branning's career ambitions have vanished. She's not about to let her dream of marriage go as well. But keeping it alive will require extraordinary measures. Yesterday's world is gone. All Deni and her family have left is each other and their neighbors. Their little community will either stand or fall together. But they're only beginning to realize that—and trust doesn't come easily. Particularly when one of them is a killer. Terri Blackstock weaves a masterful what-if novel in which global catastrophe reveals the darkness in human hearts—and lights the way to restoration for a self-centered world.

Night Light (Book #2)

Winner of the 2007 Retailer's Choice Award for General Fiction!

Learn the true cause of the global power outage that has brought the Brannings to their knees!

Technology is a thing of the past as a power outage covers the globe. One family struggles to do what’s right when so much is going wrong. When the Brannings catch two boys breaking into their home, Jeff tracks them to a filthy apartment and discovers a family of children living alone, stealing to stay alive. Where is their mother? The search for answers uncovers a trail of desperation and murder... and for the Brannings, a powerful new purpose that can transform their entire community—and above all, themselves.

True Light (Book #3)

Thanks to all my readers for making True Light #1 of all Christian books the first month it was out!

Eight months into a global blackout, the residents of Oak Hollow are coping with the deep winter nights. But the struggle to survive can bring out the worst in a person—or a community.

A teenager has been shot and the suspect sits in jail. As the son of a convicted murderer, Mark Green already has one strike against him. Now he faces the wrath of all Oak Hollow. But the Branning family stands with him as he fights to survive—and forgive. Book three in Terri Blackstock’s Restoration series

Dawn's Light (Book #4)

In the face of a crisis that sweeps an entire high-tech planet back to the age before electricity, the Brannings face a choice. Will they hoard their possessions to survive—or trust God to provide as they offer their resources to others?

As the Pulses that caused the outage are finally coming to an end, thirteen-year-old Beth Branning witnesses a murder. Threatened by the killer, she keeps the matter to herself. But her silence could cost her life.

Meanwhile, as Deni’s ex-fiancé returns to Crockett with a newfound faith and the influence to get things done, Deni is torn between the man who can fulfill all her dreams and Mark Green, the man who inhabits them.

As the world slowly emerges from the crisis, the Brannings face their toughest crisis yet. Will God require more of them than they’ve already given? How will they keep their faith if he doesn’t answer their prayers?

Winner of Tracey Bateman books

Congrats to Carolynn! Your name was drawn to win the two Tracey Bateman books, Catch a Rising Star and You Had Me At Goodbye. Thanks to everyone for entering!

Winner of The Boo Series by Rene Gutteridge

congratst to Christy H! Your name was drawn to win these 4 books!

Giving away "Believing God" by Beth Moore

What does this mean?  Well, I'm giving away a bunch of books of all kinds!  Some new releases, some that have been around a while...but are too good to miss.  Some fiction of all different genres, some non-fiction. 

My rules will be the same as usual. 

1) Post a comment to the blogs with the books you want to enter to win.  Answer the question that goes with that blog.

Today's question: When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?  I wanted to be a nurse and to have 12 kids! 

2) See if you win!

Winners are drawn 10 days after the giveaway is posted. 

Today's giveaway will be drawn on May 25.

The book for today is Believing God by Beth Moore. 

Description:

If God is who he says he is and can indeed do what he says he can do, why are so many Christians living mediocre lives? Beth Moore thinks that there is a simple answer to this question: unbelief. Therefore, in Believing God she challenges us to take God at his word, believe his promises and, as a result, live fuller lives. Don't be afraid to set aside your unbelief and experience the great blessings of God's promises.

Review of "Healing Promises" by Amy Wallace

Healing Promises by Amy Wallace, book 2 in the Defenders of Hope Series

Description:

Facing a new threat.
When FBI Agent Clint Rollins takes a bullet during a standoff, it might just save his life. But not even the ugly things he’s seen during his years working in the Crimes Against Children Unit could prepare him for the overwhelming powerlessness of hospital tests revealing an unexpected diagnosis. If only Sara weren’t retreating into doctor mode…he needs his wife now more than ever.

Frozen in fear.
Sara Rollins is an oncologist with a mission–beating cancer when she can, easing her patients’ suffering at the very least. Now the life of her tall Texan husband is at stake. She never let the odds steal her hope before, but in this case, the question of God’s healing promises is personal. Can she hold on to the truth she claimed to believe?

Faith under fire.
As Clint continues to track down a serial kidnapper despite his illness, former investigations haunt his nightmares, pushing him beyond solving the case into risking his life and career. Clint struggles to believe God is still the God of miracles. Especially when he needs not one, but two. Everything in his life is reduced to one all-important question: Can God be trusted?

About this series:

Missing Children
	Shattered Dreams
		Hidden Truth

That’s where Defenders of Hope come in. FBI agents Steven Kessler, Clint Rollins, and Michael Parker risk their lives and hearts serving in the Washington DC Crimes Against Children Unit.

Every day these FBI agents work cases that constitute a mother’s nightmare. The hardest cases evoke haunting questions. What is justice? What part does faith play? And the hardest question of all… why?  Read more at the website: http://www.defendersofhope.com/index.html

What Amy Wallace says about this book and the first book:

FBI Agent Clint Rollins is one of my favorite characters to write, but the challenges he faces in book two were the hardest to put into words. This story grew out of a painful time of wrestling with God and doubting His goodness when two dear friends and a vibrant young adult in my church’s student ministry faced life threatening illnesses. These amazing people all play cameo roles in Healing Promises. But the book is dedicated to Ken Whaley and his family, who showed me in action that even when circumstances don’t go the way we prayed, God is on His throne and He is very, very good. Always.

Writing about a married couple whose deep love for each other is tested right along with their faith stretched me in ways I’m still decoding. The intimacy and history between marriage partners was both fun and painful to put into words. Clint and Sara’s love sizzles at a deeper level than new romance, but inherent in that depth is the possibility of even more pain with loss.

In Ransomed Dreams I wrote about one of my greatest fears, that of losing my children. With Healing Promises, the fear I grappled with was not only losing my spouse, but also the reality of living in a fallen world with bodies that aren’t always healed this side of heaven. My hope for readers of Healing Promises is that as they watch Clint and Sara’s journey, they’ll be challenged to ask their own deep questions. In doing so, I pray they’ll find that understanding isn’t the key to survival, but believing the truth is where the peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7) begins.

My Review:

Wow. This book grabbed me and held on to me from the beginning to the end.  A beautiful book that speaks of hope and trust in times when hope and trust are hard to find.  The characters are protrayed wonderfully and their stuggles are painted with authenticity and an almost raw humaness.  I put myself in their shoes as they wrestled with God and battled to understand the reasons for their suffering.

Cancer. It is a frightening word. Clint is an FBI agent whose job it is to find missing children.  That makes him a hero already. But to have to face cancer is an enemy that he can't take down with his gun.  Plus cancer battles the person and his entire family and friends as well. I know personally. My mother  had cancer and it was our whole family's battle for a time. His wife Sara's battle to "do it all" during Clint's chemo treatments reminds me of my own struggle to run my mom's household at age 16.  The questioning of God and the waiting on Him was as profound for me then as it is for Sara and for Steven, Clint's partner, as they pray and pray and look for answers.

Wallace does a wonderful job of showing that trusting God doesn't always mean the answer that we want. Some cancer patients live and some don't and we don't know why. All we can know is that God is on His throne and He is always good.

I highly recommend this book.  I reminded me again that though life is known to be hard, God is faithful. 

Get this wonderful book for yourself! Healing Promises

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1601420102

Review of "Ransomed Dreams" by Amy Wallace

Ransomed Dreams by Amy Wallace, book one in the Defenders of Hope Series

Description:

Chained To Yesterday

When tragedy struck and Gracie Lang lost everything, her faith crumbled, and nothing but the drive for justice propelled her forward. But after two years of dead-end searching, the truth Gracie seeks is the very thing her stalker will stop at nothing to hide.

Forgiveness Unlocks the Future

An FBI agent in the Crimes Against Children Unit, Steven Kessler spends his days rescuing other people’s children and nights caring for his son. He’s through with God, embittered by his ex-wife who abandoned them both, and definitely doesn’t expect what’s coming next.

The Past Is the Key

A plot to kidnap a British ambassador’s daughter dangerously intersects Steven and Gracie’s worlds–a collision that demands a decision. But are they willing to pay the high ransom required to redeem dreams and reignite hope?

What the Author Says About this book (good stuff!):

Out of the national tragedy of September 11, 2001 came a literal dream that wouldn’t let go. It included FBI characters and a deep desire to give tribute to the agents who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to see our country both protected and healed. This story also required me to walk through my greatest fear, that of losing my precious children. These two different plot lines converged to create my first novel, Ransomed Dreams.

As I began plotting this book, God brought into my path a federal agent who just happened to be married to a writer. Both Jack and his wife met with me and together we brainstormed a story originally titled The Journey. Through the initial writing and a few years of editing, one major theme rose to the top… forgiveness.

As I wrote about Gracie’s struggle to forgive the person who killed her family, I looked at the pictures of my children on my desk and wrestled with forgiving people in my past who nearly succeeded in destroying my family. But Steven’s battle with forgiving himself struck even closer to home. Growing up in an alcoholic family I learned early that type A behavior had its rewards. Now an adult, I see that the same behavior that helped me survive stands in opposition to trusting Christ and walking with Him at peace. Through writing Steven’s personal and professional struggles, God shined the light on my prideful living where I demanded perfection of myself and failed miserably. In God’s amazing grace, He also gave me a clear picture of the peace gained from setting others and myself free from the perfection treadmill.

Forgiveness is in no way an easy process. But my prayer for readers of Ransomed Dreams is that they will see the healing power of forgiveness played out in the pages of the book in a way that they can transfer to their own walk with the Lord.

My Review:

I think I found another favorite author!  A wonderful book with a great combination of suspense, romance, and heart.  Gracie Lang goes through a horrible tragedy, losing her husband and children in a deadly automobile accident.  I could not imagine going on with that kind of pain.  On top of that, she is still searching for answers of the identity of the drunk driver who killed them. She is convinced that she will be able to find him and that finding him will put the past to rest.

Gracie moves to a new home and begins a new life as a teacher. Meeting one of the fathers will end up changing her life. Steven is an FBI agent who is dealing with his own painful past.  He has been raising his son alone since his ex-wife abandoned them for alcohol years before.  What will happen when she suddenly shows up again wanting custody? 

As Steven and Gracie grow closer, they both have to learn to let go of the past. To forgive.

Forgiveness becomes a key theme in this wonderful book.  I enjoyed it very much and found the author had just the right mix of suspense with romance and important truths of God's unfailing love and his forgiveness in our lives. I picked up on Amy Wallace's profound authenticity in her writing and the heart for her characters. 

I highly recommend this author and this series!