Category: Litfuse blog tour

Letters from My Father’s Murderer is a tale of forgiveness and peace, a story of redemption and how far it can reach.

About Letters from My Father’s Murderer

When her father was murdered, Laurie Coombs sought justice and found it.

His murderer now serves two life sentences with no possibility of parole. Yet, despite the swift punishment of the killer, Laurie found herself increasingly full of pain, bitterness, and anger she couldn’t control. After coming to faith, she realized she was being called to seek something infinitely more difficult than justice: forgiveness.

This is an extraordinary true story of grace, mercy, and the redemptive power of God to change lives. The reader is swept along with Laurie as she undergoes the life-changing transformation of becoming a Christian. As she studies Scripture, seeing God redeeming losses and healing deep wounds time and time again, she starts to understand that her own healing would require her to love her enemy in a real, practical way.

Using her incredible correspondence with the man who killed her father, Laurie reveals a compelling journey of transformation, not only in her life, but in the lives of those whom many would call irredeemable.

My Thoughts

Death is very difficult to deal with. Their is anger, frustration, regret and so many more emotions pooled together. I can’t even begin to imagine how Laurie Coombs felt knowing that not only had her Father died but that he was also murdered.

This book is not a story about murder, nor about the crime that was committed against her Father and family. Instead it is a journey – a journey of acceptance, forgiveness and how this can truly free a person. Without knowing it, Laurie held onto her anger for years until it began to eat away inside at her. She had to find a way to move forward with her life and forgive the man who caused her so much pain (God says we should love even those who hurt us). But how should she do accomplish this?

I felt Laurie’s pain as she discovered her own way of forgiving and learning to love the man who hurt her so much. It was not an easy road for her and she had many questions and doubts along the way. Your heart bleeds for her but I was also amazed with her strength and her courage. It takes a strong person to forgive and to love someone who has hurt us. It is also the most important thing you can do to move forward in your own live.

This is an incredible journey into the life of a young woman, who chose to forgive and to love the man who hurt her. There are many lessons that we can learn from her journey and put into practice in our daily lives.

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

Laurie A. Coombs is a passionate writer and speaker on the issues of forgiveness, redemption, and the hope that is found in Jesus. Her story was featured in Billy Graham’s new film, Heaven. She is a featured writer and blogger for iBelieve and Crosswalk. Laurie and her husband, Travis, make their home in Nevada along with their two daughters.

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

What if it is too late for dreams to come true?

About Two Roads Home

Minor but nagging setbacks continue to sour Grant and Audrey Whitman’s adventure into the world of innkeeping, but larger challenges brew when an innocent flirtation leads to big trouble for the Whitmans’ son-in-law, Jesse. Jesse Pennington’s friendly and outgoing personality has always served him well, especially in a career that has earned him and his wife Corinne a very comfortable lifestyle. But Corinne and Jesse are both restless and for similar reasons, if only they could share those with each other. Instead, too many business trips and charges of harassment from a disgruntled coworker threaten their marriage and possibly put their three precious daughters at risk.

With their life in disarray, God is tugging at their hearts to pursue other dreams. Can Corinne and Jesse pick up the pieces of what was once a wonderful life before it all crumbles beneath them?

My Thoughts

Deborah spins an excellent tale in Two Roads Home. We watch a couple that are excellent together and could be so happy if they would just speak with each other. Instead they bottle up their feelings and reach out to other things and people to find the happiness they crave. This lands their relationship and Jesse’s career in then hotspot. What started out as a simple step in flirtation with a co-worker quickly spirals out of control and things turn ugly fast. You can almost sense what will happen but even I was shocked at the extend of ugliness that transpires because of the simple flirtation. This not only wreaks havoc on their marriage but also on their career.

From this horrible moment in their marriage, comes a blessing in disguising. They learn things about themselves and grow not only as a couple but as individuals. It drives home the saying that from every unpleasant event in our life something good will always arise. Sometimes we just have to be open to receiving this blessing. This is always the hardest lesson to learn, to be open and willing to receive God’s blessings and the true path we are meant to take.

Two Roads Home will be the perfect addition to your home library! 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

Deborah Raney’s books have won numerous awards, including the RITA, National Readers Choice Award, HOLT Medallion, and the Carol Award, and have twice been Christy Award finalists. She and her husband, Ken, traded small-town life in Kansas-the setting of many of Deborah’s novels-for life in the big city of Wichita, where they enjoy gardening, antiquing, movies, and traveling to visit four children and a growing brood of grandchildren who all live much too far away.

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

In Love Arrives in Pieces, Stella was known for so long for her beauty. Now she must find herself.

About Love Arrives in Pieces

Former pageant queen, Stella, doesn’t trust beauty after her divorce. Her appearance betrayed her and led her into brokenness, so instead of being beautiful, now she tries to make beautiful things but always falls short. She keeps her passion for art to herself and focuses on her interior design work. If she does not get another job soon, she will be stuck living with her parents for a long time.

Contractor Chase Taylor is determined to live a life of no regrets after losing his fiancée. He lives life at full speed, striving to see how much he can accomplish. He knows if he slows down that he will fall apart. He returns home to Bayou Bend to renovate the town’s old theatre and is shocked to discover that the designer is his old flame, Stella.

Forced to work together, Chase and Stella battle their chemistry and past as they struggle to compromise and work together. Their wills clash as they attempt to hide their past and their unresolved feelings for each other, until Chase discovers the hidden parts of Stella while losing her trust in the process.

A near catastrophe, a fire and a small town gossip mill finally force them to realize that they have a choice, to hold on to their past or surrender their fragmented pieces to the One who makes a beautiful masterpiece from brokenness.

My Thoughts

Love Arrives in Pieces is a beautiful extension of another favourite book of my mine, All’s Fair in Love and Cupcakes. In this novel, we get to meet Stella, Kat’s sister. She is a beautiful woman both inside and out but has been broken inside and no longer feels beautiful. She wants to hide her beauty as she feels as though that is all any one sees. No one sees the inside, the part that is less than pretty never less want to stay with her. They toss away the broken pieces because they are seen as ugly and not pretty enough to be kept around.

It was beautiful to watch Stella grow in this novel. She faces her fears sometimes head on and at other times she hides in denial. Stella needs to realize that in order to heal from the inside out, she must accept all the broken pieces of her life (her divorce, her pain, her pageant life) and move forward.

Love Arrives in Pieces is more than just a romance, it is a beautiful portrayal of how you can overcome the worst moments in your life if you can accept the broken pieces that make you who you are.

You can find more reviews on the Litfuse Blog Tour page. You can purchase a copy here.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

In Summer’s List, a dying wish alters the course of a young woman’s life.

About Summer’s List

Life has not always been easy for Summer Snow. Through acts of selflessness, caring for her ailing parents and running her Grandmother’s bookstore, she had forfeited her youth and dreams for others. The only tries she had at love did not work out. She had the bookstore, her Granny but she was missing something or someone.

Opportunity strikes when her Grandmother sends her on an unexpected adventure with Martin Langtree, a kind but gangly young man from her past. A childhood friendship is restored, a romance is kindled and a mystery is solved. Will Summer strike out in love or will this be her chance?

My Thoughts

Summer has definitely not had an easy life, losing those that she held dear to her. These losses, which could have changed her outlook on life, only encouraged her to be a kinder, loving and caring person. She loves her Grandmother with all her heart and held on to her dream of running her book store. This was no ordinary book store but a gift from God to the children who came in. This was where they could go to read, to learn and for guidance.

Throughout the novel, Granny provides us with important life lessons (some that are directed towards Summer but can be directly applied to your own life!). These were important reminders for me especially at this time in my life. The friendship that is rekindled between Summer and Martin is wonderful. Both of them need each other more than they would ever know and cling to each other for support throughout the novel.

A touching novel from start to finish, that will make a perfect read throughout the summer months! 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

Anita Higman has over thirty books published for adults and children. She has been a Barnes & Noble Author of the Month. She has a BA degree, combining speech communication, psychology and art. Anita loves good movies, exotic teas and brunch with her friends.

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

Young women long for connections with women further along their journey. Without realizing it we can sometimes tend to distance ourselves from those younger than us.

About A Friend in Me

Can we have close relationships with women who have different thoughts on church, different family experiences, and different ways of talking about God? Where do we start?

In A Friend in Me, Pamela Havey Lau shows you how to be a safe place for young women in your life to come to. She offers five patterns women need to internalize and practice for initializing relationships and talking about issues of faith, forgiveness, sexuality and vocation. She reminds us that there does not need to be a divide by generations. Together, we can have a global impact and experience a deeper faith.

My Thoughts

We all crave close relationships, it is just a part of human nature. We want to learn from each other, feel a connection, know we are important and that our feelings matter. Sometimes, it can be hard to be a good friend and it can be even harder to cross the generations gaps.

A Friend in Me teaches us how not only to build relationships with other women but how to cross that gap. For myself, I value my relationships with my older co-workers. When I need advice they are the first people I will go to and lay it all out for. They not always agree or understand my choices but they can provide me feedback and advice. This advice has been learned from being there and already doing it. This is why these relationships are so important to young women. We can learn and grow from these relationships, while realizing no matter what the age gap we are all the same and experiencing the same things. My favourite part of the book focuses on the tone of our voices, which I know I am guilty of. Are we relaying what we truly feel in the tone of our voice? How would this make you feel if someone spoke to you like this? Pamela provides plenty of real experiences to get her point across as well as provide opportunity for growth and education. This is a great resource for all women to come back to over and over again.

You can find more reviews on the Litfuse Blog Tour page. You can purchase a copy of a Friend in Me here.

Rating: 5/5

About Pamela Havey Lau

Pamela is the author of Soul Strength and numerous articles. She has taught writing at George Fox University and speaks around the country at conferences and retreats. A graduate of Liberal University and Colorado State University, she lives near Portland, Oregon with her husband and three daughters. You can connect with her online and on Twitter.

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