Category: Litfuse

February 24, 2014

The Thief #Review

Set during the time of Jesus Christ, The Thief by Stephanie Landsem gives us a different perspective of life in these times especially for a Roman Centurion and a Jewish woman.

The Thief is based on the lives of our two main characters, Longinus, a Roman centurion and Nissa, a Jewish woman. Longinus is haunted by death and his own failures. He has always felt a bit out of place by being not a full Roman by blood. When a group of thieves begin to steal from the marketplace he accepts a huge wager – if he can find the thieves before Passover he will earn a transfer out of the region and if he does not he will lose his Father’s sword.

Nissa is a young, Jewish woman who has a sharp tongue and because of her age no hope for marriage. She begins to steal in order to feed herself and keep a roof over her head.

When a healer named Jesus heals her blind brother, Longinus wants to learn more about this mysterious man. In his quest to learn more he is drawn to Nissa. When they are caught up in the arrest, trial and crucifixion of Jesus, they begin to wonder who this teacher is and why he was not able to save himself.

The Thief was a moving story of forgiveness and the power it has to change our lives. I was not able to put this novel down! I stayed up all night reading it. I fell in love with our two main characters and watching them struggle with their own insecurities and beliefs was very difficult. You wanted to be able to help guide them. I loved how they evolved throughout the novel and found healing in the end. It was fantastic the way the story of Jesus was tied into the novel – I was not expecting that at all!

You can purchase a copy of the book here. You can also find more reviews on the Litfuse Blog Tour here.

Rating: 5/5

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

February 14, 2014

HOPEFUL by Shelley Shepard Gray | Win a copy!

Welcome to the blog tour for Hopeful, the first book in Shelley Shepard Gray’s new series, Return to Sugarcreek. Critics have already given their thumbs up for Hopeful: “Lovable characters and a good story, full of romance and suspense . . . a must read.” (Library Journal)

Enter to win one of FIVE copies of the book.

Five winners will receive:

Hopeful by Shelley Shepard Gray

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on February 23rd. All winners will be announced February 24th at Shelley’s blog.

Enter today and be sure to visit Shelley’s blog on the 24th to see if YOU won one of the books!

February 14, 2014

William Sirls’ THE SINNERS’ GARDEN iPad Mini Giveaway!

Meet William Sirls: Once a senior vice president in a large investment firm, he was incarcerated in 2007 for wire fraud and money laundering. Life lessons involving faith, grace, and forgiveness are evident in his writing. The Sinners’ Garden is his second novel. William is celebrating the book’s release with an iPad giveaway.

One winner will receive:

A brand new iPad Mini
The Sinners’ Garden by William Sirls

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on March 1st. Winner will be announced March 3rd on William Sirls’ blog.

Don’t miss a moment of the fun; enter today and be sure to stop by William’s blog on the 3rd to see if you won.

February 14, 2014

Princess Ever After: Review

Have you ever dreamed about being a Princess? Meeting Prince Charming and living in the beautiful castle full of history? I know I have plenty of times!

Princess Ever After by Rachel Hauck is the second novel in the Royal Wedding Series. The novel is based on the life of Regina Beswick. She has grown up in a small town and finally realized her dream of running a classic auto restoration shop. She loves cars and fixing them. She has no idea that she was actually born to be a princess.

Tanner Burkhardt is the Minister of Culture for the Grand Duchy of Hessenberg. He has the task of finding and bringing home the long lost princess, Regina. He must battle his own fears of failure in order to secure the nation’s future.

In the shadows a strong opponent is ready to fight Regina and Tanner to ensure that the throne is abolished forever. Faced with opposition, Regina must decide if she is destined to restore old cars or fulfill her Grandmother’s dream of restoring a nation.

Princess Ever After is a sweet book with love able characters. You just can’t help falling in love with Regina’s character and the choices that are placed in front of her. Should she choose the dream she has just realized in restoring cars or restore her family honour. Regina was not this perfect princess that could do no wrong. She was a normal young woman who had dreams and hopes. The love story was simple and sweet. It did not overpower the story which is perfect and allowed us to focus on Regina and her own personal journey. Overall the novel was light, fun and an easy read. It is perfect for young adults.

Rachel Hauck is an award winning, best selling of author of critically acclaimed novels such as The Wedding Dress, Love Starts with Elle,Soft and Tenderly. Rachel serves on the Executive Board for American Christian Fiction Writers.

You can find more reviews of this book here on the Litfuse Blog Tour. To purchase a copy of the book, you can do so here.

Rating: 4/5

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

February 12, 2014

Sinners’ Garden by William Sirls #review

Hope, love and forgiveness. Finding God in all the quiet and small places. This powerful novel, The Sinners’ Garden has it all.

The Sinners’ Garden is set in the small township of Benning. Andy Kemp is one of the main characters of this novel. His life has been centered around the scars that mar his face. His face had been disfigured by an abusive father and he now hides his pain behinds books and anger. His Uncle Rip returns from prison a different and more religious man. He becomes a mentor for his nephew, trying all he can do to help ease Andy’s pain. When Andy begins to hear strange music through his iPod and making near prophetic announcements to those around him, Rip is convinced that Andy is hearing the voice of God.

Local police officer, Heather Gerisch, responds to a late night break in and enter in a poorer area of town. The masked prowler has left thousands of dollars in grocery gift cards! The bizarre break ins continue and is dubbed the “Summer Santa”. Andy and Rip discover an enormous and well kept garden of wildflowers that seem to have grown overnight. They speculate on whom the gardener could be and soon a spree of miracles transforms the small town from a place of hopelessness into a place of healing and beauty.

This novel was so moving and touched me deeply. It touched on so many difficulty topics of abuse, poverty, pain, forgiveness and healing. It forced me to open my eyes and remember that God is all around us. Sometimes life can become so busy that we forget that God is there listening to us and guiding us. We just need to slow down and listen to Him.

It can be so difficult to forgive those that have hurt us. This novel makes you realize how important the healing process is and if we don’t forgive we will continue to hurt. I loved how real the characters were. They were normal people, they were imperfect and their lives did not end in a happy fairy tale ending just because they were in a novel. This is a definite must read.

If you would like to find out more on this novel and read other reviews, please check out the Litfuse Blog Tour. To purchase a copy of the book please visit here.

Rating: 5/5

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