Tree Swing Reading

Puppy Love

Well, we did it!  We got a puppy!  He is a sweet-natured, non-shedding, adorable mix of Shih Tzu, Lhasa Apso, and Bichon.  We were calling him Mickey, but we changed his name to Bandit. It appears to be a name everyone can agree on. 

I'm Back!

Hi friends! We just returned from vacationing in great state of Washington! Sorry I was absent from the blog, but my computer access was limited while we were gone.

We had a great time, but I have a mountain of laundry and cleaning to do, not to mention all the back-to-school stuff to accomplish; so I haven't decided on the next giveaway yet.

I read some great books lately and can't wait to tell you about them!

Tami

Giveaway Delay

I am away from my computer nursing my daughter back to health and trying to come up with a clever giveaway theme to have next.  I will be back soon!

New Giveaway

Launching a new giveaway tomorrow!

Review of "Ransomed Dreams" by Sally John

Description:

Sheridan Montgomery leads a charmed life as the wife of Eliot, U.S. ambassador to Venezuela. But an attack on their lives cripples Eliot, and they retreat to a remote Mexican village. As Sheridan quietly cares for her husband, she sees her dreams slipping away. Luke Traynor shatters their reverie when he arrives to tell Sheridan of her father's heart attack and the evidence implicating him in a conspiracy. Sheridan returns to Chicago to untangle the web of her father's past and is forced to confront her feelings for Luke, a trail of deceit, and the truth about her marriage.Sheridan Montgomery leads a charmed life as the wife of Eliot, U.S. ambassador to Venezuela. But an attack on their lives cripples Eliot, and they retreat to a remote Mexican village. As Sheridan quietly cares for her husband, she sees her dreams slipping away. Luke Traynor shatters their reverie when he arrives to tell Sheridan of her father's heart attack and the evidence implicating him in a conspiracy. Sheridan returns to Chicago to untangle the web of her father's past and is forced to confront her feelings for Luke, a trail of deceit, and the truth about her marriage.

My Thoughts:

I am a huge fan of Sally John's. I love how she can put me right into the character's shoes and make me feel just what they're feeling.  The descriptions are beautiful and striking.  This story took a look at how a marriage can change in an instant. Sheridan's life changes forever when she and her husband are attacked and her husband is serverly injured. As a result, his whole personality changes. Now over a year later, her marriage is a shell of what it was before.  John takes Sheridan through an exploration of all that would mean, plus throws Sheridan into a family crisis, a friendship that could help her but could be disasterous for her marriage, and her own PTSD from the attack.  A powerful story about love and trust in marriage and forgiveness.  I enjoyed it very much and hope for more in the series.

Review of "The Bishop" by Steven James

Description:

 FBI Special Agent Patrick Bowers's cutting-edge 21st-century geospatial investigative techniques and impeccable logic have helped him track some of the country's most grisly killers. But those skills are pushed to the limit in this new installment of the highly-acclaimed, award-winning The Bowers Files series.This time it's a congressman's daughter who is found dead even as her killers launch a spree of perfect murders in the Northeast. With nothing to link the crimes to each other, Agent Bowers faces his most difficult case yet--even as his personal life begins to crumble around him.

My Thoughts:

I'm soooo happy to have another book in this series!  I LOVE this series!  Steven James can write a suspense that grabs me from page one and leaves me breathless until the end.  I devour his books!  This was another great page-turner from one of my very favorite authors!

Book Bullets:

• My rating: 5 out of 5 stars PLUS an extra star because I can't get enough 
• Genre: suspense
• Themes: forgiveness, family
• Part of a Series: Patrick Bower Series
• Publication year: 2010

Review of "Critical Care" and "Disaster Status" by Candace Calvert

Description:

After her brother's tragic death fighting a fire, former trauma nurse Claire Avery can't face going back to the ER. But when she must offer staff counseling after a propane explosion in a local day care center, Claire's plan self-destructs. She's back in the ER, battling painful memories-and the handsome and surly doctor who thrives on chaos. Dr. Logan Caldwell has learned to distance himself from painful emotion. He expects his ER staff to be as tough as he is, and when hospital administration sends a beautiful but pushy education nurse to offer counseling, he'll have none of it.

Description:

After her brother's tragic death fighting a fire, former trauma nurse Claire Avery can't face going back to the ER. But when she must offer staff counseling after a propane explosion in a local day care center, Claire's plan self-destructs. She's back in the ER, battling painful memories-and the handsome and surly doctor who thrives on chaos. Dr. Logan Caldwell has learned to distance himself from painful emotion. He expects his ER staff to be as tough as he is, and when hospital administration sends a beautiful but pushy education nurse to offer counseling, he'll have none of it.

My Thoughts:

I enjoyed both of these very much and look forward to more from this author!  As a big fan of medical dramas, it was great to get to read about some of the staff members' lives from a Christian fiction point of view. There wasn't an abundance of medical action. Just a nice balance as it pertained to the work lives of the characters. I enjoyed the growth of the characters and the romances that developed.  The stories were somewhat connected, but could be read individually too.

Book Bullets:

• My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
• Genre: contemporary romance
• Themes: forgiveness, trust
• Part of a Series: Mercy Hospital Series
• Publication year: 2009

Review of "The Bride Collector" by Ted Dekker

He loves them because they are beautiful. He kills them because he loves them.

A virtuoso killer is carving a path of death across the west, intent on killing only the most beautiful women, all in the name of love. He has claimed six victims and slipped through the FBIÂ’s fingers, each time leaving behind a hand written note and a bridal veil.

Full of surprising wit and hair-raising twists that will keep you riveted to the end, The Bride Collector will haunt you with a new way of looking at beauty, love and the world in which you live.

My Thoughts:

I listed to this as an unabridged audio book during my workouts over the last few weeks.  I love having a book that keeps my interest going while I'm sweating on the eliptical!  This was classic Dekker, with a twisted bad guy and a cast of less-than-perfect characters trying to find the criminal.  There were constant suspenseful moments combined with thought-provoking devling into the human psyche.  The examination of mental illness was definately enlightening and telling.

Book Winners

Congrats to the following winners whose name were drawn to win books!

Who Do I Talk to? goes to Scotsgal

Hope of Refuge goes to Lovedandamazed

Daisy Chain goest to Melissa

Thanks for entering!

Busy Week

Sorry I've been MIA.  I had a busy week preparing for our church library's summer reading program celebration party!  It was fun and we had 32 kids participating in a banana split party rewarding them for finishing the reading program "Bananas for Books!"

I have been reading some great books and I can't wait to tell you about them starting tomorrow!

Time for a new giveaway too!