Critical Condition ~ Review

ABOUT THE BOOK:

It began as a quiet dinner party honoring Dr. Shannon Frasier's colleague, but became a nightmare when a man was shot on her lawn, reviving emotions from a similar episode a decade ago. Then a midnight call from her sister, Megan, causes Shannon to fear that her sister is on drugs again.

Her "almost-fiance" Dr. Mark Gilbert's support only adds to Shannon's feelings of guilt, since she can't bring herself to fully commit to him. She turns for help to her pastor-father, only to learn that he's just been diagnosed with leukemia.

Shannon thought it couldn't get any worse. Then the late-night, threatening phone calls begin, the rough voice asking, "What did he say before he died?

My Thoughts:

Anytime I get a chance to read one of Dr. Richard Mabry's books, I jump on it!  I absolutely LOVE his medical thrillers and Critical Condition was EXCELLENT, as I knew it would be! I'm never able to solve the who-done-it in Dr. Mabry's books and I LOVE that! I've always loved the fact that his books, for me, are not the typical cookie cutter suspense novels.  He writes good, clean, exciting novels that leave you anxiously awaiting the next one!

I loved Shannon and how she loved her family! She cared immensely for her sister, and being the oldest child, she took on a role that I could completely relate to. I just thought Mark was amazing and his patience with Shannon were obviously God-given :) But that is always how the Lord works! What we think is impossible, God makes a way and provides all you need to get through it, and that is evident in Dr. Mabry's books! 

If you haven't read one of Dr. Mabry's books, you truly should! If you like suspense, medical thrillers, then Oh boy! you truly need to read his books!! 

Critical Condition is a 5 ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥'s review for sure!

Thank you Litfuse for allowing me the complimentary books in exchange for my honest review!

A Promise in Pieces

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

A Promise in Pieces

Abingdon Press (April 15, 2014)

by

Emily T. Wierenga


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


A Word from the Author:

I’m Emily, and I’m honored and humbled to meet you, friend.

We’re all stumbling along on this journey and you can approach me about anything okay? I’m an open book, with dog-eared pages and a worn cover.


I’m mama to two boys, ages two and four, and married to a farm-boy-turned-math-teacher. We live in a small Dutch hamlet with three churches, one Co-Op and no stop lights. There are a lot of fields out here, there’s a lot of space and sky for breathing and running and writing.


We foster two boys in addition to our own two, and before I had kids, I took care of my Mum who had brain cancer. She fought back and has recovered, all glory to God, and my pastor-father still holds her hand while they go for daily walks.


I battled anorexia nervosa as a child, and then again as a newly married woman, and I write a lot about body image now and have a passion for women to learn to love themselves.


My husband and I have battled infertility and are currently trying to adopt our third child through the local Alberta government.


I hurt for the church, and believe in it, and pray for it, as I’ve grown up inside its walls and have heard its groanings.


I have a heart for Africa, particularly Uganda, and went there in January on a bloggers’ trip with World Help.


My favorite things to do are read literary novels, play guitar, snowboard, paint with oil and acrylics and hug my babies.


I am the author of two books on eating disorders, a novel releasing this spring, and a memoir coming out this summer.


I hope you’ll connect with me on FB: https://www.facebook.com/emilytwierenga, or if you prefer, Twitter: @emily_wierenga. I’d love to have a virtual glass of wine, or cup of coffee, with you.


Peace to you friends,


e.

ABOUT THE BOOK

After the end of World War II, Clara Kirkpatrick returns from the Women’s Army Corp to deliver a dying soldier’s last wishes: convey his love to his young widow, Mattie, with apologies for the missed life they had planned to share.

Struggling with her own post-war trauma, Clara thinks she’s not prepared to handle the grief of this broken family. Yet upon meeting Mattie, and receiving a baby quilt that will never cuddle the soldier’s baby, Clara vows to honor the sacrifices that family made.

Now a labor and delivery nurse in her rural hometown, Clara wraps each new babe in the gifted quilt and later stitches the child’s name into the cloth. As each new child is welcomed by the quilt, Clara begins to wonder whatever
happened to Mattie—and if her own life would ever experience the love of a newborn. Little does she know that she will have the opportunity to re-gift the special quilt—years later and carrying even greater significance than when it was first bestowed.


If you would like to read the first chapter of A Promise in Pieces, go HERE.

Maybelle in Stitches

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Maybelle In Stitches

Abingdon Press (March 18, 2014)

by

Joyce Magnin


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


A word from the Author:

I am the author of seven novels. Five adult novels and two middle grade readers. I never wanted to do anything else but write and every day I wake up astonished that I get to do what I always dreamed about. My days are filled with words and images along with the usual family stuff. I have three children, Rebekah who is married to Joshua. They have three of the most adorable boys on the planet, Lemuel, Cedar and Soren. My daughter Emily Kate is a lovely young woman anthropologist and my son Adam is fourteen and a student--he's a genius who loves frogs and lizards and fish and plants. He amazes me.


I have never eaten a scallop. I love cream soda. Drink way too much coffee. I do not like elevators but I do enjoy needle arts and of course books. I prefer jazz over country (no offense), milk chocolate over dark, but not roller coasters although my life has often resembled a roller coaster ride.


One of my life's desires is to meet Amy Grant so I can tell her she saved my life.


ABOUT THE BOOK

Maybelle can’t sew. But when she finds an unfinished quilt in the attic of her mother’s house, she gets the crazy idea to complete it. At first, it’s just a way to fill the lonely nights while her husband, staff sergeant Holden Kanzinzki, is away fighting in World War II.


Yet when Maybelle discovers that the quilt is made from scraps of material that can be traced back through her family heritage, the project is suddenly much more important. Then word comes that Holden is missing in action, and with little else to do, Maybelle clings to the quilt as much as to the hope that her husband is still alive. As neighborhood friends gather around Maybelle to help her through the unknown days and nights ahead, it is the quilt that becomes a symbol of her unflagging belief that Holden will return—to her, to their home, and to their quilt-covered bed.


If you would like to read the first chapter of Maybelle In Stitches, go HERE.

Lip Reading

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Lip Reading

David C. Cook (March 1, 2014)

by

Harry Kraus


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

A Word from Harry:

I started writing my first novel during my last year of surgery training at UK. I was a chief resident, and started writing Stainless Steal Hearts in a call room at the Veteran's Administration Hospital in Lexington. It was a crazy time to write! I had a very demanding schedule, often spending days and nights in the hospital. I had two sons at that time, and I recognized the wisdom in my wife's urging: "Now doesn't seem the right time for this dream."

My experience as a writer is far from typical. Having received my formal training in biology and chemistry and medicine, my only preparation for a writing career was a love for reading. The longest thing I'd written before my first novel was a term paper in undergraduate school. My first novel was accepted by Crossway Books and published in 1994, and it wasn't until after I had FOUR published novels that I even opened a book of instruction about the craft of writing fiction. This is not what I recommend to others! Yes, I was successful, but I was bending the "rules" without knowing it. I had a natural talent for plotting, but I realize my initial success may have stunted my growth as a writer. I'd have made faster progress if I'd have gone to the fiction teachers sooner.

I have three sons: Joel, Evan, and Samuel. Look closely in all of my books and you'll see them there. My lovely wife, Kris, provides the basic composition for all those beautiful, athletic, dedicated women in my novels.

ABOUT THE BOOK

She Could Save Millions, or Save Herself


She just needs a little longer. She’s really close. Dr. Rebecca Jackson, a medical researcher, stands on the verge of a breakthrough that will transform medicine. But she soon discovers the reason behind the miraculous progress in her research, and it leaves her with a nearly impossible choice . . . and little time to decide. More than her research is at stake. And more threatens it than this latest revelation. Something she’s tried hard to cover up. There is a high cost to some things in medicine and it’s not always the patient who pays. Can Rebecca find the faith and wisdom she needs to make the right call? The clock is ticking and the pressure is on.




If you would like to read the first chapter of Lip Reading, go HERE.

What Follows After ~ Review

ABOUT THE BOOK:

In 1962, life was simple, the world made sense, and all families were happy.
And when they weren't, everyone knew you were supposed to pretend.
For the past year, Scott and Gina Harrison have been living a lie. While they show up at family get-togethers in the same car, they've actually been separated for over a year. To keep up the charade, they've even instructed their sons, Colt and Timmy, to lie--to their grandparents, their teachers, and their friends.

Colt, for one, has had enough, so he hatches a plan. He and his little brother will run away from their Florida home, head for their aunt's house in Georgia, and refuse to come home until their parents get back together. But when things go terribly, terribly wrong, Scott and Gina must come to grips with years of neglect and mistrust in order to recover their beloved sons, their love for one another, and their marriage.

In this emotional story, bestselling author Dan Walsh takes you on a journey to rediscover the things that matter most in life--love, truth, and family. With profound insight into the heart of a hurting child, he reminds us that a time will come to look back on hard times and smile, because we'll know that what follows after . . . is not what we expected at all.

"Dan is an artist and his canvas is the novel, where he uses different colors and hues of words to create a masterpiece. What Follows After is a story that will surely touch your heart and soul."--John M. Wills, New York Journal of Books
Dan Walsh is the bestselling author of several books, including The Unfinished Gift, The Discovery, and The Reunion, as well as The Dance and The Promise with Gary Smalley. He has won three Carol awards, and three of his novels were finalists for RT Book Reviews Inspirational Book of the Year (2011-2013). Dan lives with his wife in the Daytona Beach area, where he's busy researching and writing his next novel. Visit www.danwalshbooks.com for more.

My Thoughts:

Oh my goodness! What Follows After is AWESOME! However, It made me CRAZY!! Why? Well, it is set back in 1962 and I had to remind myself that there were no cell phones, no internet, and some people didn't even own a telephone in their own home! In What Follows After a young boy is kidnapped! Timmy is taken from a diner while his brother, Colt,  goes to the restroom.  Though they are running away, person after person doesn't take Colt seriously and Timmy is getting further and further away with each minute!

While I was reading intently to see how Colt was dealing with the guilt of losing his brother, I was seeing their parents marriage transform with every chapter. The Harrison family goes through so much in What Follows After and while I was going crazy wanting to jump in there and wake some people up and make them help Colt I was so happy to see how Dan Walsh brought this story to a WONDERFUL ending. You see God work in the lives of this family and in others around them. This book isn't just about a kidnapping but it's about seeing God break chains of of bitterness and let truth be revealed and forgiveness be freeing! 

Thank you Dan Walsh for sharing your gift of writing with us! For showing how important marriage is and how two people can work things out! 

You want to make sure this book is smack dab on the TOP of your "to be read pile"!! You will LOVE IT!!!

Thank you Revell for allowing this book in exchange for my honest review!

A DEFINITE 5 ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥'s

Hope Runs: An American Tourist, A Kenyan Boy, a Journey of Redemption ~ Review

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Sammy Ikua Gachagua had lost his father to illness, his mother to abandonment, and his home to poverty. By age ten, he was living in a shack with seven other children and very little food. He entered an orphanage seeing it as a miracle with three meals a day, a bed to sleep in, and clothes on his back.

When Claire Diaz-Ortiz arrived in Kenya at the end of an around-the-world journey, she decided to stay the night, climb Mt. Kenya, then head back home. She entered an orphanage seeing it as little more than a free place to spend the night before her mountain trek. 
God had other plans. 

Hope Runs is the emotional story of an American tourist, a Kenyan orphan, and the day that would change the course of both of their lives forever. It's about what it means to live in the now when the world is falling down around you. It's about what it means to hope for the things you cannot see. Most of all, it's about how God can change your life in the blink of an eye.

My thoughts:

Wow! Hope Runs is one of those books that leaves you inspired and anxiously awaiting the next "divine appt." that God has for you! What is a divine appointment you ask? Well, my opinion is when God brings a person into your life and HIS plans work through you or them or both of you together to bring Glory to HIS name and purposes! That divine appointment happened when Claire came to know Sammy and how their lives were changed and now others are being changed as well! Gods purposes at work through HIS Divine Appointment? Indeed! 

Please take time to read this one! You will be changed! You will be inspired!

I give Hope Runs a 5 ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥'s for sure!!

Thank you Revell for allowing me this complimentary book in exchange for my honest review! 

Dancing with Fireflies ~ Review

About the Book:

A Chapel Springs Romance

Jade returns home to Chapel Springs after years of protecting her fragile heart. Then along comes Daniel, making her long to dance again.

Creative and complicated, Jade McKinley felt like a weed in a rose garden growing up in Chapel Springs. When she left, she thought she’d never look back. But now, pregnant, alone, and broke, she has no other choice but to return.

The mayor of Chapel Springs, Daniel Dawson, has been an honorary member of the McKinley family for years. While his own home life was almost non-existent, Daniel fit right into the boisterous McKinley family. He’s loved Jade for years, but she always saw him as a big brother. Now that she’s back, his feelings are stronger than ever.

As Jade attempts to settle in, nothing feels right. God seems far away, she’s hiding secrets from her family, and she’s strangely attracted to the man who’s always called her “squirt.” Finding her way home may prove more difficult than she imagined.

Learn more and purchase a copy at Denise’s website

About the Author:

Denise Hunter is an internationally published best-selling author. Her books have won The Holt Medallion Award, The Reader’s Choice Award, The Foreword Book of the Year Award, and was a RITA finalist. In 1996, inspired by the death of her grandfather, Denise began her first book, writing while her children napped. Two years later it was published, and she’s been writing ever since. Her husband says he inspires all of her romantic stories, but Denise insists a good imagination helps, too. When Denise isn’t writing, she’s busy raising three heroes-in-the-making with her husband.

Find out more about Denise athttp://www.denisehunterbooks.com/.

My Thoughts:

HOLY MOLY!! To say this book is amazing is an understatement !! I LOVED this book and absolutely could NOT put it down!! I actually picked it up just to see what it was about and began reading just a little bit and before I knew it I was HOOKED! :)

I fell in love with Jade and Daniel, oh my! He is a gem! These two would be so much fun and I just loved everything about them and their friendship and love for one another! Daniel is just one of those guys you pray your daughter will find! He loves the Lord and he loves the McKinley family! Jade's family has known these two belonged together for years but it takes a little longer for Daniel and Jade to see what everyone does!

You will laugh, and at times maybe even scream, LOL!! No matter what you think, this book is one that you MUST READ!!! 5 ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥'s FOR SURE!!

Thank you LitFuse Publicity Group for allowing me this complementary book in exchange for my honest review!

Claiming Mariah - Review

about the book:

After her father’s death, Mariah Malone sends a letter that will forever alter the lives of her family. When Slade Donovan, strong willed and eager for vengeance, shows up on her front porch, Mariah is not ready to hear his truths: her father’s farm, the only home she’s ever known, was bought with stolen gold. With Slade ready to collect his father’s rightful claim and force Mariah and her family out on the streets, Mariah must turn to God for guidance. Though Mr. Frederick Cooper, a local landowner, promises to answer her financial woes if she agrees to be his bride, Mariah finds herself drawn instead to the angry young man demanding her home.

With the ranch now under Slade’s careful eye, he unearths more than he ever imagined as a devious plot of thievery, betrayal, and murder threatens the well-being of the ranch, endangering those who hold it dear. As the days dwindle until the rest of the Donovan clan arrives at the Lazy M ranch, Mariah and Slade must rise above the resentment of their fathers and see their true feelings before greed changes their futures forever.

my thoughts:

One of my very favorite Scripture is Romans 8:28--"And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them."

I think this story reveals this Scripture in such a beautiful way! Mariah and Slade are brought together through circumstances that will take both of them on a journey of truth and forgiveness! When Slade arrives demanding to take ownership of Mariah's home, and the farm too, Mariah is shocked to say the least! She has worked hard and doesn't want to let it go but Slade leaves her no choice but to sign it over. 

Both of them have allowed unforgiveness and guilt to rule their lives in some aspects and it keeps them from seeing the blessings that are right in front of their own eyes!  But then, haven't we all been guilty of that at some points in our lives! It is so moving to see Slade and Mariah work through each of their past and let go of that unforgiveness! 

Claiming Mariah is a WONDERFUL READ! I highly recommend it to any and all!

Thank you Litfuse for allowing me this complimentary book in exchange for my honest opinion!

To learn more about Claiming Mariah, you can go here