heartless book review by jenna

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Heartless Bethany House (July 1, 2010)

by

Anne Elisabeth Stengl



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Anne Elisabeth Stengl makes her home in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she enjoys her profession as an art teacher, giving private lessons from her personal studio, and teaching group classes at the Apex Learning Center. She studied illustration at Grace College and English literature at Campbell University. Heartless is her debut novel.



ABOUT THE BOOK

Princess Una of Parumvir has come of age and will soon be married. She dreams of a handsome and charming prince, but when the first suitor arrives, she finds him stodgy and boring. Prince Aethelbald from the mysterious land of Farthestshore has traveled far to prove his love--and also to bring hushed warnings of danger. A dragon is rumored to be approaching Parumvir.



Una, smitten instead with a more dashing prince, refuses Aethelbald's offer--and ignores his warnings. Soon the Dragon King himself is in Parumvir, and Una, in giving her heart away unwisely, finds herself in grave danger. When Una makes the wrong choice, catastrophe ensues for the princess and her family, and love, courage, and trust are needed when darkness engulfs the kingdom.



Only those courageous enough to risk everything have a hope of fighting off this advancing evil.



There are some delightful things and scenes: the Twelve-Year Market that appears in its own good time and sells fairy goods; a clever blind cat who is invariably underfoot and has, of course, a secret!



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


Jenna's Review ~

There are few words I can say about this book. The princess locked in a tower kind of scenario just minus the tower. Una was to be given a husband, but once he arrived he wasn't what she thought, or planned. Kind of like "Shrek". She doesn't believe his so called tales of a dragon king coming and that she and others must take caution. But the dragon king has Una in his sights. One risk everything they have to defeat this king.
Great writing, great author, and all around magical book! Pick it up!!!

Monday's ~ What are you reading :)

Sheila hosts Monday's "What are you reading?" over @ Bookjourney! Join in and share what you're reading this week won't you?


This week Jen and I will be reviewing:








After finishing these we will begin:






Happy Reading :)

A bit of Me

I know for me I tend to just post my reviews and that's about it for this blog! Afterall, this is for my reviews but I also know that learning the person behind the reviews is important as well :) IF you are interested I post alot of that over on my family blog ~
The Magoos News but from now I on I will be participating in this meme on Saturdays!

Danielle @ There's A book hosts this sweet meme and here is a little info. to explain the purpose:

We all leave our “footprint” on the world, in one way or another. We each, individually, do something or are someone that makes the world a little better just by being here. I created this weekly meme to get to know the blogging community I love just a bit better. To know what makes them tick, outside of books, that is. Each week I will post a question to be answered in the following week’s “A Bit of Me(Me)”. Check back each Saturday to get the info for next week’s post and link up with your current post right here.


This weeks question is:

What is your favorite smell and what memory does it trigger?

To name just one is quite difficult but my immediate thought is

Hawaiin Tropic Coconut Oil ~ It takes me so many places in my youth! Swimming, laying out with friends, to the beaches of California. It just smells sooo good!

I also have to include Chocolate Chip cookies because I immediately think of my Nana who always had them ready and waiting along with a delicious batch of Banana Bread! She was a fabulous cook and always had everything soo nice and made us feel so special!

One smell that has just recently had meaning to me is Beer Battered Fish! When I was little my Daddy would make the BEST fish and always made it in beer batter. Now that Daddy is gone I will never be able to have his fish but I found some that tastes and SMELLS almost the same! Gortons! Thank you for making this and allowing me those moments to go back in time! :)

Have a blessed weekend and Happy Reading

Doing the Hop

ABOUT THE HOP:


In the spirit of the Twitter Friday Follow, the Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and find new book-related blogs that we may be missing out on! This weekly BOOK PARTY is an awesome opportunity for book bloggers to connect with other book lovers, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books! It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs that they may not know existed! So, grab the logo, post about the Hop on your blog, and start HOPPING through the list of blogs that are posted in the Linky list below!!


The Hop lasts Friday-Monday every week, so if you don't have time to Hop today, come back later and join the fun! This is a weekly event! And stop back throughout the weekend to see all the new blogs that are added! We get over 200 links every week!!


Your blog should have content related to books, including, but not limited to book reviews.

If you start following someone through the Hop, leave a comment on their blog to let them know! Stop back during the week to see other blogs that are added! And, most importantly, the idea is to HAVE FUN!!


RULES: (in hopes of simplifying things for everyone!)

1. Enter your book blog link in the Linky List below (be sure to include how long you've been blogging and what genres you review!). If you post about the Hop on your blog, please link directly to your Hop post (don't forget to answer this week's question - see below!).

2. Visit other blogs in the Linky List! Make new friends! Follow new book bloggers! Talk about books! Rave about authors! (Please do not leave your link and not visit other blogs - it's just not cool and not in the spirit of the Hop!)

3. Post about the Hop on your blog! Spread the word about the book party! The more the merrier! Go here

Thanks to all who have visited from the Hop this week! This week Jennifer has asked us to share which book(s) we cannot wait to get our hands on.....

I would have to say Karen Kingsbury's new series coming out on Bailey Flanagan and the other one is Cathy Bryants sequel to Texas Roads! I have had the honor and privelege to vote in both of these book covers so I feel vested ;) in both books already!

The Sister's Wife ~ Review by Jenna

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

The Sister Wife Avon Inspire (June 22, 2010)

by Diane Noble





ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Diane Noble is a former double finalist for the prestigious RITA Award for Best Inspirational Fiction, a finalist for the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award and the Reviewers' Choice Award, and a three-time recipient of the Silver Angel Award for Media Excellence.



With more than a quarter million books in print, Diane feels incredibly blessed to be doing what she loves best—writing the stories of her heart.



For the last three years Diane has been honored to be lead author for the popular Guideposts series, Mystery and the Minister’s Wife (Through the Fire, Angels Undercover), and has recently returned to writing historical fiction. She is currently writing book two of her new historical series, The Brides of Gabriel. Book one is The Sister Wife.



Diane’s hometown is Big Creek, California, a tiny village nestled in the rugged Sierra Nevada back country. As a child, Diane’s older brother Dennis fueled her creative streak by entertaining her with his own gift of storytelling. Growing up without TV and iffy radio reception, Diane became an avid reader, inhaling more than one hundred novels—both YA and adult—in a single

year by the time she reached seventh grade. Her passion for reading continues to this day.



Now empty nesters, Diane and her husband live in the Southern California low desert, near a place known for the lush and beautiful gated communities of the rich and famous.





ABOUT THE BOOK

What if the man you loved told you God wanted him to take another wife? What if that woman was your best friend?



Set in the heart of the earliest days of a new nineteenth-century sect known as the Saints, The Sister Wife is a riveting account of two women forced into a practice they don't understand, bound by their devotion to Prophet Joseph Smith.



When Mary Rose marries Gabriel, neither of them could foresee how quickly the community would turn to the practice of plural marriage. Devastated when Gabe is faced with an order from the Prophet to marry her best friend, Bronwyn, Mary Rose tries to have the faith to carry through with the marriage.



But can she really be married to the same man as her very best friend? Can Mary Rose and Bronwyn face betraying both their husband and their God to do what they feel is right?



If you would like to read the Prologue and first chapter of The Sister Wife, go HERE.





Watch the book video!







Jenna's Review:

This book is a "never put down". The trials of forced marriage and the definition of true friendship are all apart of this book. There's so much that I can't even say or I'll ruin it! All I can say is, two best friends are forced to heartbreak as one of them is forced to marry the other's husband. A new kind of practice that Prophet Joseph Smith has forced them to do. But can she really do it? Can she really betray her bestfriend and husband to do what is right? You'll have to read and find out!
This book is good for ages teen & up! I love this book and author! The way it's written is absolutely beautiful! The book is great, read, read, read!!

thanks, Jenna.

Perfectly Dateless ~ Review

FROM BESTSELLING AUTHOR KRISTIN BILLERBECK
The hilarious and heartwarming story of a teen 
who just wants to be normal for once.


The countdown to prom has begun. Daisy Crispin has 196 days to find the right date for the prom. There's only one problem--her parents won't let her date or even talk to a guy on the phone. Oh, and she's totally invisible at school, wears lame homemade clothes, and possesses no social skills. Okay, so maybe there's more than one problem.

From bestselling author Kristin Billerbeck comes Perfectly Dateless, a hilariously endearing story about a regular high school girl, trying to fit in. Readers will fall in love with Daisy's sharp wit and resourcefulness as she navigates the world of boys, fashion, family, and friendship.

Can Daisy talk her parents into letting her go to the prom? Or will they succeed at their obvious attempts to completely ruin her life?


Kristin Billerbeck is the bestselling, award-winning author of several novels, including What a Girl Wants. A Christy Award finalist and two-time winner of the American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year, Billerbeck has appeared on The Today Show and has been featured in the New York Times. She lives with her family in northern California.


Praise for Kristin Billerbeck’s Perfectly Dateless
"Billerbeck hits a home run with this warm tale about Daisy Crispin's funny trials and tribulations as she lives with eccentric parents, prom stress, and a desire to just be a normal teen." — Jenny B. Jones, award-winning author of Just Between You and Me and A Charmed Life series

"With her brand of wit and insight, Billerbeck takes us into the life of Daisy Crispin as she aims for the perfect prom date. This story reminds us that even a geek can live out her Cinderella dreams." — Rachel Hauck, coauthor of The Sweet By and By

Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, offers practical books that bring the Christian faith to everyday life.  They publish resources from a variety of well-known brands and authors, including their partnership with MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) and Hungry Planet.

For more information, visit www.RevellBooks.com.
Perfectly Dateless
By Kristin Billerbeck
ISBN: 978-0-8007-3439-8
Available July 2010; $9.99

“Available July 2010 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

My Review:
This is the first novel for me from Kristin Billerbeck and I will definitely be searching for other books from her! Perfectly Dateless is a funny and fast read. Daisy Crispin is a highschool misfit as well and like most girls her age she is counting down the days til Prom! She has her eyes set on a few choices for her date and shares her thoughts in her journal! Daisy's parents are "in her eyes" too overprotective and odd in their ways! Daisy is great with numbers and work is the one place she can be herself! Her boss Gil, who is an older guy, loves and encourages her to be all she can and more, and I love this relationship! Daisy learns so much during this school year, she has great morals despite how she talks to her parents and in the end the lessons learned are invaluable! I would recommend this book to all Young Adults and to any others who just want to reminisce about their old high school days and the wonders of Prom!


Heart of a Bookworm gives "Perfectly Dateless" ♥ ♥ ♥ 1/2

Back On Murder ~ Review

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Back On Murder Bethany House (July 1, 2010)

by J. Mark Betrand





ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

J. Mark Bertrand has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Houston. After one hurricane too many, he left Houston and relocated with his wife Laurie to the plains of South Dakota.



Mark has been arrested for a crime he didn't commit, was the foreman of a hung jury in Houston, and after relocating served on the jury that acquitted Vinnie Jones of assault. In 1972, he won an honorable mention in a child modeling contest, but pursued writing instead. Besides his personal website, visit his Crime Genre website at http://www.crimegenre.com/.



The next book in this series, Pattern Of Wounds will come out in the summer of 2011.



ABOUT THE BOOK

Det. Roland March is a homicide cop on his way out.

A missing girl. A corrupt investigation. They thought they could get away with it, but they forgot one thing:



Roland March is BACK ON MURDER...



Houston homicide detective Roland March was once one of the best. Now he's disillusioned, cynical, and on his way out. His superiors farm him out on a variety of punishment details. But when he's the only one at a crime scene to find evidence of a missing female victim, he's given one last chance to prove himself. Before he can crack the case, he's transferred to a new one that has grabbed the spotlight--the disappearance of a famous Houston evangelist's teen daughter.

 All he has to do? Find the missing teenage daughter of a Houston evangelist that every cop in town is already looking for. But March has an inside track, a multiple murder nobody else thinks is connected. With the help of a youth pastor with a guilty conscience who navigates the world of church and faith, March is determined to find the missing girls while proving he's still one of Houston's best detectives.



Battling a new partner, an old nemesis, and the demons of his past, getting to the truth could cost March everything. Even his life.



If you would like to read the first chapter of Back On Murder, go HERE.


My Review: Back to Murder is a soo good! Suspense...Mystery...Thrills ~ It's all in this book! Roland March is on his last chance to save his career and does everything he can despite all he is faced with ~ New partner, demons from his past, and a belief in this case that no one else sees! Back to Murder is an excellent read! It will keep you reading into the wee hours of the morning!

Heart of a Bookworm gives Back to Murder ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥