CFBA: Bridge to a Distant Star

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Bridge to a Distant Star David C. Cook; New edition (June 1, 2011) by Carolyn Williford

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Carolyn Williford has authored seven books, including Jordan's Bend, Devotions for Families That Can't Sit Still, and Faith Tango, as well as numerous articles. She and her husband, Craig, live in Deerfield, Illinois, where he serves as president of Trinity International University. They have two children and four grandchildren.





ABOUT THE BOOK

It All Comes Tumbling Down

As a storm rages in the night, unwary drivers venture onto Tampa Bay’s most renowned bridge. No one sees the danger ahead. No one notices the jagged gap hidden by the darkness and rain. Yet when the bridge collapses vehicles careen into the churning waters of the bay below.

In that one catastrophic moment, three powerful stories converge: a family ravaged by their child’s heartbreaking news, a marriage threatened by its own facade, and a college student burdened by self doubt. As each story unfolds, the characters move steadily closer to that fateful moment on the bridge. And while each character searches for grace, the storms in their lives loom as large as the storm that awaits them above the bay.

Then these characters intersect in Carolyn Williford’s gripping and moving volume of three novellas, they also collide with the transforming truth of Christ: Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Bridge to a Distant Star, go HERE.

MY THOUGHTS:
WOW....this book has character.  Each of the stories are very real and touching, painful even...then there's the tragedy.  It reminded me of our tragedy here in MN when the 35W bridge collapsed.  I thought each story was riveting in itself, but when you continue to read and see how they all come together, not only is this book eerie, but it is quite compelling as well.  I was hooked after the first couple of pages!  A summer read must!

Book Review: Double Take

ABOUT THE BOOK: (back cover)
It's spring break of her senior year and Madison Van Buren is fed up.  Stressed over decisions on colleges, her parents' bickering, and pressures from her boyfriend, Madison gets in her car and just drives away.

Meanwhile, seventeen-year-old Anna Fisher wants to escape the so-called simple life of the Amish-which for her consists of caring for younger children, sewing, cooking, and gardening - and she's well aware that her future will simply be more of the same with a man she doesn't love.

Worlds collide when Madison and Anna meet for the first time in a small town, realize they look uncannily alike, and decide the grass is greener on the other side.  Neither of them will ever be the same.

MY THOUGHTS:

This is quite the story, while it's not entirely believable that 2 teens from such different walks of life would actually do such a things as switch places, this book is full of creative entertainment.  For Anna and Madison, life is just too much at the moment and when they begin to talk about switching places their plan becomes set in stone, it's only after the plan happens that they're not so sure what they did is o.k.!  As each of the girls learns a new way of life they grow up and learn not to take some things for granted, life looks a bit different when you step away from what you're used to.  This is a sweet read and you will fall for Anna and Madison as they learn quite a bit about themselves as well as others.  A fun, entertaining summer read good for young adults and adults alike!



* I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for review from Baker Publishing Group.

CFBA Book Review: She Makes it Look Easy

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing She Makes It Look Easy David C. Cook (June 1, 2011) by Marybeth Whalen

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Marybeth Whalen is the wife of Curt and mom of six children. The family lives outside Charlotte, NC. Marybeth is a member of the Proverbs 31 Ministries writing team and a regular contributor to their daily devotions. Her first novel,The Mailbox was released in June 2010. Her next novel, She Makes It Look Easy, will be released in June 2011. Additionally, she serves as director of She Reads, Proverbs 31 Ministries' fiction division.




ABOUT THE BOOK

Ariel Baxter has just moved into the neighborhood of her dreams. The chaos of domestic life and the loneliness of motherhood, however, moved with her. Then she meets her neighbor, Justine Miller. Justine ushers Ariel into a world of clutter-free houses, fresh-baked bread, homemade crafts, neighborhood play dates, and organization techniques designed to make marriage better and parenting manageable.

Soon Ariel realizes there is hope for peace, friendship, and clean kitchen counters. But when rumors start to circulate about Justine’s real home life, Ariel must choose whether to believe the best about the friend she admires or consider the possibility that “perfection” isn’t always what it seems to be.

If you would like to read an excerpt of She Makes It Look Easy, go HERE.


MY THOUGHTS:
I really enjoyed this book.  How many times have you seen a family and thought that they were the perfect family, or wondered why you couldn't have your family life under control like someone else seems to?  Well, this book spells it out clearly that things quite often are not what they appear to be.  It was fun reading along and watching the drama unfold as Ariel learns some important truths.  This is a story about friendship, love and about being true to yourself.




* I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for review from CFBA

Book Review: False Witness

ABOUT THE BOOK: (Back Cover)
An adrenaline-laced thrill ride, False Witness takes readers from the streets of Las Vegas to the halls of the American justice system and the inner sanctum of the growing church in India, with all the trademark twists, turns, and intrigue Randy Singer fans have come to expect.

Clark Shealy is a bail bondsman with the ultimate bounty on the line: his wife's life.  He has forty-eight hours to find an Indian professor who created an equation so powerful it can crack all internet encryption.  If he fails, his wife pays the price.

Four years later, law student Jamie Brock is working in legal aid when a routine case takes a vicious twist: she learns that her clients, members of the witness protection program, are accused of defrauding the government and have the algorithm.  Now the couple is on the run from federal agents and the Chinese mafia, who both know the formula's power and will do anything to get it.

MY THOUGHTS:
This is one adventure filled book.  From the first pages straight through the end the story line keeps you on the edge as Randy Singer weaves a story full of intrigue, action and evil. The characters in the story may surprise you as you learn more about them, the story line has some surprising twists and turns as well and not everything is what it seems.

Can you even imagine being involved with the Chinese Mafia, bounty hunters, the FBI and more?  Just the thought makes me want to run and this book will definitely keep you on edge!

I think that the very thought of Christian books turns some readers off, but really, all a Christian book is missing is a bunch of over the top bedroom scenes and cuss words, if you like adventure this is a must read! 




*I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for review from the B and B Media Group

Book Review: Spring for Susannah

ABOUT THE BOOK: (Back Cover)
When her parents die suddenly, and no suitors call.  Susannah resigns herself to the only option available: becoming a mail-order bride.  Agreeing to marry her pastor's brother, Jesse, Susannah leaves the only home she's ever known for the untamed frontier of the Dakota Territory.

Her new husband is more loving and patient with her than she believes she deserves.  Still, there is also a wildness to him that mirrors the wilderness surrounding them.  And Susannah finds herself constantly on edge.  But Jesse's confidence in her - and his faith in God's perfect plan - slowly begin to chip away at the wall she hides behind.

When she miscarries in the brutal Dakota winter.  Susannah's fledgling faith in herself and in God begins to crumble.  Still, Jesse's love is unwavering.  Just when it seems like winter will never end.  Susannah finally sees the first tentative evidence of spring.  And with it, the realization that more than the landscape has changed.

She looks to the future with a renewed heart.  Yet in her wildest dreams, she couldn't predict all that awaits her.

MY THOUGHTS:

Susannah is one brave women, first she becomes a mail order bride and moves across country to the Dakotas where she finds herself married to a stranger and living in a sod home.  Feeling quite lonely she cherishes the closest neighbors and their friendship, and soon becomes adjusted to her new life.  This could have been your typical love story, but there are a lot of very interesting parts to this story.  As you read you can feel the isolation that Susannah feels, you can also feel the frustration of her husband as he tries to help her open up.  You feel the struggles and the pain right along with the happiness, these characters are very believable and lovable.

I really enjoyed this book and think you will too!

To celebrate her debut novel, Catherine and her publisher, Thomas Nelson, have teamed up to give away a Spring For Susannah Prize Package worth over $150!

One grand prize winner will receive:

* A brand new Latest Generation KINDLE with Wi-Fi and Pearl Screen

* Spring for Susannah by Catherine Richmond (for KINDLE)

To enter just click one of the icons below and then tell your friends! But hurry, giveaway ends on June 27th. Winner will be announced on Tuesday, June 28th at 5 PM (6PM MST, 7PM CST, & 8PM EST) during Catherine's Spring for Susannah Book Club Party on Facebook! Catherine is rustling up some fun for the party - she'll be chatting about the story behind her novel, hosting a book club chat, testing your mail-order bride trivia skills, and giving away some GREAT prizes! Don't miss the fun and tell your friends!

* I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for review
 from Litfuse

Book Review: Chasing Sunsets

About the Book: (back cover)
Kimberly Tucker's life hasn't turned out the way she thought it would.  While her ex is living it up, she struggles to understand what went wrong.  When her two sons end up spending five weeks of summer vacation with their father, Kim plans a respite at the family vacation home on tiny Cedar Key.  As she revisits the long-forgotten past, she discovers that treasures in life are often buried, and sometimes you do get a second chance at love.

Let yourself get swept away to an island retreat of warm tropical breezes, sandy beaches, and the most glorious sunsets you can imagine.

My thoughts:
This was an enjoyable summer read.  I liked how the main character, Kim evolved as she began to realize how her need to control was making her life difficult, as she learns to work on her need to control her life begins to take a turn for the better, but then there is the issue of trust.  Who does she trust when it comes to love, an old friend or an old love?  There is also a sub story here, Kim's sisters have a few issues of their own, these stories don't really develop and take a back seat to the story line, but they are a part of Kim and their story needs to be told!  I loved the imagery surrounding the photography on the beach, I have spent time on the beach taking photos and I felt as if I were there while reading this book.

The only thing I did not like was how the story ended, I may have missed something, but when I reached the end, I was left hanging and a bit confused.  Kim's elderly friend Patsy was a big part of Kim's healing and the book ended in 1964 with a part of Patsy's story, it just didn't make sense to me.  But all in all it was a good read!

“Available June 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

*I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for review from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing.

CFBA Book Review: The Sweetest Thing

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing The Sweetest Thing • Bethany House (June 1, 2011) by Elizabeth Musser

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Elizabeth Musser, an Atlanta native, studied English and French literature at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. While at Vanderbilt, I had the opportunity to spend a semester in Aix-en-Provence,

France. During her Senior year at Vanderbilt, she attended a five-day missions conference for students and discovered an amazing thing: God had missionaries in France, and she felt God calling her there. After graduation, she spent eight months training for the mission field in Chicago, Illinois and then two years serving in a tiny Protestant church in Eastern France where she met her future husband.

Elizabeth lives in southern France with her husband and their two sons. She find her work as a mother, wife, author and missionary filled with challenges and chances to see God’s hand at work daily in her life. Inspiration for her novels come both from her experiences growing up in Atlanta as well as through the people she meets in her work in France. Many conversations within her novels are inspired from real-life conversations with skeptics and seekers alike.

Her acclaimed novel, The Swan House, was a Book Sense bestseller list in the Southeast and was selected as one of the top Christian books for 2001 by Amazon's editors. Searching for Eternity is her sixth novel.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Compelling Southern Novel Explores Atlanta Society in the 1930s.



The Singleton family’s fortunes seem unaffected by the Great Depression, and Perri—along with the other girls at Atlanta’s elite Washington Seminary—lives a life of tea dances with college boys and matinees at the cinema. When tragedy strikes, Perri is confronted with a world far different from the one she has always known.

At the insistence of her parents, Mary ‘Dobbs’ Dillard, the daughter of an itinerant preacher, is sent from inner-city Chicago to live with her aunt and attend Washington Seminary. Dobbs, passionate, fiercely individualistic and deeply religious, enters Washington Seminary as a bull in a china shop and shocks the girls with her frank talk about poverty and her stories of revival on the road. Her arrival intersects at the point of Perri’s ultimate crisis, and the tragedy forges an unlikely friendship.

The Sweetest Thing tells the story of two remarkable young women—opposites in every way—fighting for the same goal: surviving tumultuous change. Just as the Great Depression collides disastrously with Perri's well-ordered life, friendship blossoms--a friendship that will be tested by jealousy, betrayal, and family secrets...

If you would like to read the first chapter of The Sweetest Thing, go HERE.

MY THOUGHTS:
This was a rather slow read for me, it's not that I didn't enjoy the book, because I did.  The characters were very well developed and Dobbs had quite a personality!  I just didn't find this to be one of those riveting page turners.  Perri and Dobbs are two girls who learn to fight and despite all, they don't give up.  They both have huge caring hearts and the book is quite aptly named, because this truly is a sweet story about friendship and caring.





*I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for review from CFBA