Category: book review

April 21, 2016

Breaking Free

In Breaking Free, sometimes it takes losing everything to grab hold of what really matters.

About Breaking Free

Women’s ministry leader and Seattle housewife, Alice Goddard, and her successful graphic-designer husband appear to have it all together. Until their credit and debit cards are denied, launching Alice into an investigation that only leads to the discovery of secrets. Meanwhile, her husband is trapped in a downward spiral of lies, shame, and self-destruction. Can they break free from their deception and turn to the only One who can save them? And will it be in time to save their marriage?

My Thoughts

WOW – an emotional roller coaster that takes you through moments of love, honesty, pain, addiction, healing and forgiveness.

First, we have Alice who lives in the picture perfect world of a housewife from a rich neighbourhood. She has built up her wealth and has friends around her that while she may not always like, she lives in fear of their judgement. She constantly felt the need to portray the perfect life, even as she was crumbling on the inside. When her husband has been exposed with an alcohol and gambling addiction, this sets their world upside down. Everything that was the picture of perfection before is shattered and their family is left spinning. Nothing lands the way it should once the spinning stops.

My heart broke for both of them, they are so lost and torn but found it hard to reach out to each other in their moments of need. If they could have spoken to each other more, tried not to hide their faults and discuss them instead, maybe some of the cascading events would not have happened. But, as like many of us would do, we block off the one person we need to reach out, and search instead for other ways to fill the pain. I also love how her best friend tries to reach out to her with the teachings of their faith. She keeps trying to remind Alice she is never truly alone, she can reach out to God, her friends and even her husband. That while he may have let her down, he is still her husband.

Breaking Free is a truly amazing, emotional book that you will not be able to put down. Alice’s life takes over, pulls you in deep and leaves you wanting more. The ending made me cry and made my heart so happy!

You can purchase a copy of the book on Amazon.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Jennifer Slattery is an inspiring contemporary novelist whose stories of hope, love, and grace resonate with real people. She is the author of compelling contemporary romance novels such as Beyond I Do, When Dawn Breaks, Intertwined, and Breaking Free. She also writes for Crosswalk.com and devotions for her personal blog, JenniferSlatteryLivesOutLoud; Internet Cafe Devotions; and Takin’ It To The Streets, a ministry serving Omaha Metro’s working poor and homeless. When not writing, she enjoys hanging out with her teenage daughter and real-life hero husband, as well as serving in her church.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

April 20, 2016

A Dream of Miracles

In A Dream of Miracles, Amish widow Mattie vows never to love again until a suspicious outsider with a shadowy past comes crashing into her fragile world.

About A Dream of Miracles

Mattie Diener can barely keep it together. A young Amish widow and mother of two young children, she faces the lingering heartbreak of lost love, her son’s mysterious illness, and a torrent of accusations that threaten to undo her.

Bo Lambright is a fast-rising social services investigator whose high-society mother won’t rest until she finds his Mrs. Right. Despite Bo’s worldly success, the raw ache of a shadowy past and a series of unsettling dreams have left him reeling.

When Mattie and Bo cross paths, all signs point to disaster. Yet as they face a crucible of trials and tragedies together, longings begin to stir that seem destined only to end in more heartbreak. Is a miracle possible, not only of healing but of forbidden love? What secrets lie in Bo’s dreams? And will Mattie find the courage to face her uncertain future or will she simply run away?

My Thoughts

A Dream of Miracles if full of raw emotions, love, fear, forgiveness and pain. Both of our main characters, Bo and Mattie, must learn to open their hearts to forgiveness and healing to move forward. Two individuals, whom from outward appearances seem very different, have very much in common in their past.

I love how Bo’s story slowly unfolds as he looks into Mattie’s open case. We see glimpses of his past at certain times throughout the novel and we can feel his pain that he has closed himself off too. It is his meeting with Mattie that opens his heart up completely. He learns that he has to heal that pain, to forgive the pain in order to be the person he wants to be. In turn, Mattie faces similar steps. She has lost her husband at a young age and left with two young children. When a social investigator begins looking at her parenting skills and home life, she is heartbroken. My heart broke for her, when some of the investigators could not look past her Amish beliefs and lifestyle to find the truth about her son’s mysterious illness and instead take the easy route by blaming her.

In a story where many of the events could have shattered the two main characters, we instead find healing, perseverance and hope. A Dream of Miracles is a truly beautiful story that all readers will love.

You can find more reviews on the Litfuse blog tour page. You can purchase a copy of the book here.

Rating: 4.5/5

About the Author

Ruth Reid is a CBA and ECPA bestselling author of the Heaven on Earth series. She’s a full-time pharmacist who lives in Florida with her husband and three children. When attending Ferris State University School of Pharmacy in Big Rapids, Michigan, she lived on the outskirts of an Amish community and had several occasions to visit the Amish farms. Her interest grew into love as she saw the beauty in living a simple life.

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

April 17, 2016

The Reflections of Queen Snow White

In The Reflections of Queen Snow White, what happens when happily ever after comes and goes?

About The Reflections of Queen Snow White

On the eve of her only daughter, Princess Raven’s wedding, an aging Snow White finds it impossible to share in the joyous spirit of the occasion. The ceremony itself promises to be the most glamorous social event of the decade. Snow White’s castle has been meticulously scrubbed, polished and opulently decorated for the celebration. It is already nearly bursting with jubilant guests and merry well-wishers. Prince Edel, Raven’s fiancé, is a fine man from a neighboring kingdom and Snow White’s own domain is prosperous and at peace. Things could not be better, in fact, except for one thing: the King is dead.

The queen has been in a moribund state of hopeless depression for over a year with no end in sight. It is only when, in a fit of bitter despair, she seeks solitude in the vastness of her own sprawling castle and climbs a long disused and forgotten tower stair that she comes face to face with herself in the very same magic mirror used by her stepmother of old.

It promises her respite in its shimmering depths, but can Snow White trust a device that was so precious to a woman who sought to cause her such irreparable harm? Can she confront the demons of her own difficult past to discover a better future for herself and her family? And finally, can she release her soul-crushing grief and suffocating loneliness to once again discover what “happily ever after” really means?

My Thoughts

Snow White was one of my favourite tales as a child and teen. I loved the innocence and underlying strength of Snow White. This story with Snow White begins many years after the childhood tale ends, with Queen Snow White facing the after effects of her husband’s death and her daughter Raven’s wedding.

Queen Snow White feels lost and alone. She finds no happiness in anything that used to bring her joy, not even with her own daughter’s wedding. She is struggling with her pain and instead of reaching out to others, she caves into her herself and suffers in silence. My heart broke for Queen Snow White just knowing the amount of pain she is going through. Her husband was her sole confident, the one person she could truly be herself with and her best friend. I think of my own husband and how close he is to me and I can’t even begin to imagine life without him. Your heart bleeds for her and you just want her to find the peace and strength we know is inside her and to heal the bond between her and her daughter, Raven.

It is in a state of loneliness and trying to hide from the guests that have in a way invaded her home, Queen Snow White finds herself climbing the stairs to her stepmother’s long forgotten rooms. Here she must face her past in her stepmother’s favourite object, a mirror. I loved how the mirror forced her to confront her pain and to look inside of herself, constantly reminding her that the mirror can only show her the truth not the way she remembers each memory. The story of Snow White makes her seems frail and dependent on her husband, when we see her through the eyes of the mirror we see a whole new picture. We see a strong young woman who has overcome pain and adversity and still sees the beauty in others. She suffered at the hands of her stepmother but instead of causing her to become a person who in turn does this to others, it makes her gentle, forgiving and righteous. I loved how we were guided through her life and those precious and terrifying moments in time, in order to watch her grow and understand her own strength and courage. Queen Snow White learns many valuable lessons throughout the novel, many of these lessons are ones that we all can easily forget in our own pain and even in our happiness. While my heart ached at times for Queen Snow White, I love how she slowly peels back the painful and happy memories in order to emerge a different woman throughout the novel. The story is beautifully written and is one I cherished from start to finish.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

Rating: 4.5/5

About the Author

David Meredith is a writer and educator originally from Knoxville, Tennessee. He received both a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts from East Tennessee State University, in Johnson City, Tennessee as well as a Tennessee State Teaching license. On and off, he spent nearly a decade, from 1999-2010 teaching English in Northern Japan, but currently lives with his wife and three children in the Nashville Area where he continues to write, teach English, and is pursuing his doctoral degree in educational leadership.

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

April 15, 2016

Sit, Stay, Love Book Review

In Sit, Stay, Love we take one abrasive professional athlete, a quirky out-of-work schoolteacher, and an overweight geriatric dog, and you’re ready for a lesson in love . . . Tippy style!

About Sit, Stay, Love

Pro baseball pitcher Cal Crawford is not a dog guy. When he inherits his deceased mother’s elderly dog, Tippy, he’s quick to call on a pet-sitting service.

Gina isn’t thrilled to be a dog sitter when her aspirations lie in the classroom. Furthermore, she can’t abide the unfriendly Cal, a man with all the charm of a wet towel. But with no other prospects and a deep love for all things canine, she takes the job caring for Tippy.

As Gina travels through Cal’s world with Tippy in tow, she begins to see Cal in a different light. Gina longs to show Cal the God-given blessings in his life that have nothing to do with baseball or fame. When her longing blooms into attraction, Gina does her best to suppress it. But Cal is falling in love with her too.

My Thoughts

Sit, Stay, Love is a light, comical romance that you never quite see coming. Gina and Cal are from opposites worlds, one rich and famous and the other just scraping by. But their lives cross when he inherits Tippy, an elderly dog that does what she wants she wants.

The story emerges through comical episodes that Tippy and Gina put Cal through, that make you smile and laugh. Tippy is exactly what Cal needs as he deals with the loss of his Mother, even though he doesn’t realize it! She reminds him what really matters in life, that love and happiness are more important than money and a career. This is a long and painful lesson for him, as he must also learn to forgive and to open his heart to love.

A beautiful, fun story of forgiveness, love and hope. It will be a great summer time read!

You can find more reviews on the Litfuse blog tour page. You can purchase a copy of the book here.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Dana Mentink lives in California, where the weather is golden and the cheese is divine. Dana is an American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year finalist for romantic suspense and an award winner in the Pacific Northwest Writers Literary Contest. Her suspense novel, Betrayal in the Badlands, earned a Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award. Besides writing, she busies herself teaching third and fourth grade. Mostly, she loves to be home with her husband, two daughters, a dog with social anxiety problems, a chubby box turtle, and a feisty parakeet.

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

April 9, 2016

The Bachelor Girl’s Guide to Murder

In The Bachelor Girl’s Guide to Murder, set in 1910 Toronto, while other bachelor girls perfect their domestic skills and find husbands, two friends perfect their sleuthing skills and find a murderer.

About The Bachelor Girl’s Guide to Murder

Inspired by their fascination with all things Sherlock Holmes, best friends and flatmates Merinda and Jem launch a consulting detective business. The deaths of young Irish women lead Merinda and Jem deeper into the mire of the city’s underbelly, where the high hopes of those dreaming to make a new life in Canada are met with prejudice and squalor.

While searching for answers, donning disguises, and sneaking around where no proper ladies would ever go, they pair with Jasper Forth, a police constable, and Ray DeLuca, a reporter in whom Jem takes a more than professional interest. Merinda could well be Toronto’s premiere consulting detective, and Jem may just find a way to put her bachelor girlhood behind her forever—if they can stay alive long enough to do so.

My Thoughts

Growing up in and around Toronto, I loved reading this book looking at Toronto in the early 1900s. Life was not easy for immigrants coming to make a better life here in Canada, the language was different, the lifestyle was different and there was mistrust between both sides. On top of this, women were held to very difficult standards, when they could be out, needing an escort, etc. It is within this backdrop that this novel is set.

We have two young women who have abandoned the traditional role of a woman (children, married life) and embarked on an exciting journey in the detective world. They start of small but soon work their way up to the murder of two young women who they were roughly acquainted with.

The novel is full of suspense, adventure and just a little bit of romance. I loved how the romance that did develop, did not take away from the young woman’s independence and how he supported her in her role. These two female characters are strong, free and brave, which is something that we need to see more of in novels. A fantastic story from start to finish!

You can find more reviews on the Litfuse tour page. You can purchase a copy of the book here.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Rachel McMillan is a keen history enthusiast and a lifelong bibliophile. When not writing or reading, she can most often be found drinking tea and watching British miniseries. Rachel lives in bustling Toronto, where she works in educational publishing and pursues her passion for art, literature, music, and theater.

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.