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The Deposit Slip by Johnson
The Deposit Slip is an intriguing mystery that keeps you guessing all throughout. I completely loved the whole story from beginning to end. I highly recommended for any age reader.
The Deposit Slip
By Todd M. Johnson
Bethany House
July 2012
When Jared accepts a, possible but highly unlikely, breakthrough case, it brings him back to his childhood home. With all the bad memories, he still chooses to go back there and eventually end back up at his home, with his dad. As he climbs deeper and deeper into this ten million dollar case, he finds, not just himself, but others in danger. When he discovers how deep he has gotten involved, it is really too late to back out and he is also closer than anyone has gotten so far, but how far would he go?
This book has many twist and turns. The outcome was nothing I expected. I loved the way Mr. Johnson wrote this to keep you wanting to engage in reading. I read this book in 2 days time.
Brittney Dodson is a stay at home mom who also works from home. She find reading free her from reality and the worries it brings.
This book was provided by the publisher as a review copy.
What Your Husband Isn’t Telling You by Murrow
When my husband first saw me reading this book, he told me he thought it would be full of lies and only makes men look horrible. I told him that wasn’t the case and throughout the story, would read specific facts in there and he told me they were right. One thing I learned throughout this book, was that it is the truth.
What Your Husband Isn’t Telling You
By David Murrow
Bethany House
October 2012
David explains things in the book that most people know but haven’t thought about. He uses real life stories and history to explain why men are the way they are. I truly enjoyed this book and I now understand my husband better than ever. You can know every fact about your husband but you will never understand why he does the things he does, says the things he says or vice versa, unless you read this book. Things that used to bother me about my husband were explained and now those problems just seem to fade away, thanks to my new found knowledge. My husband has even noticed how some of the little things don’t bother me anymore.
I would definitely recommend this book to any female seeking to understand men better. I grabbed it just out of curiosity and am very glad I did. If there are things your husband does, that upsets you and you don’t know why, give this book a try.
Brittney Dodson is a stay at home mom who also works from home. She find reading free her from reality and the worries it brings.
This book was provided by the publisher as a review copy.
The Tutor’s Daughter by Klaussen
Julie Smallwood is the main character in this delightful book. She is fast on her way to being a spinster due to her vast knowledge of books. She reads constantly and hoards her books like they were gold. Her father runs a small academy for young men of the gentry.
The Tutor’s Daughter
by Julie Klassen
Bethany House Publishers
January 2013
The year is over, all the students have graduated and gone home. Julie’s father receives an offer to come to Cornwall and tutor Sir Giles Weston’s two young sons. The two older Weston boy were taught by Professor Smallwood and this seems an ideal situation for Sir Giles since the boys’ mother thought they were to young to be away from home. Her father is delighted by the invitation and soon they are on their way to Cornwall.
The Smallwood’s arrival at Weston Manner is anything but pleasant. . Something very strange is going on. Julie and her father soon settle into the routine of tutoring the boys and are enjoying their stay in the country. Julie is beginning to have feelings for one of the Weston men. She is aware nothing will come of her feelings, but she can dream can’t she. Why would a Baron’s son want to have anything to do with a lowly tutor’s daughter?
Suddenly Julie’s life is turned upside down. Pranks are being played on her. Strange love letters are being slid under her door, she hears music being played late at night, a large hand appears on her mirror, and someone is coming into her room at night. These are things she can live with, but when she gets locked in an abandoned chapel and almost drowns, her father calls a halt and they return home to their small academy.
Will Julie’s love be returned by Mr. Weston or will she live out her days as a spinster – longing for what might have been?
I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It is well written, a page-turner and the plot holds you spell-bound. I fell in love with Julie from the first page and you will too.
Highly recommended.
Romance Editor Mary Asher, the Golden Reviewer, is an 80 year old avid reader reviews the newest in Christian fiction and non-fiction with a sprinkle of the secular on top..
This book was provided by the publisher as a review copy.
Running For My Life by Lomong
He was six years old when his childhood ended. Though still alive, the only life he had ever known stood out in front of the Sudanese church with tears running down their faces as he was roughly thrown into the back of a truck and driven away with the other ‘lost’ boys by a corrupt militia.
Running For My Life
By Lopez Lomong
Thomas Nelson
July 2012
This was 1991, the year Lopez Lomong’s life became nothing more than sleeping, eating and going to the bathroom in the cramped quarters of one small tent. They all waited in fear of what was to come next. When the soldiers noticed boys dying, they decided it was time to begin the training. That’s when they began to drag the boys big enough to hold a rifle out into the unknown.
It was time for Lopez to make his break. A few boys from his village, whom he referred to as his ‘angels’, came to him with their escape plan one evening, and before he knew it, they were all running for their lives.
Running in the wrong direction, the landed their selves in a camp in Kenya. But this camp was different, and he began to dream. Having been invited to watch an old farmers t.v. (something he had never seen before) with some older boys, he had the opportunity to see the Olympics. He saw Michael Johnson run, and he knew he just had to find a way to America. If he could not see his parents again, he would keep running. But this time for Gold.
Run along side as Lopez unfurls an incredible story of hope! Get a glimpse of the redemption he experienced when he began to dream.
I enjoyed this book! Of course, it is not written in the style of a seasoned author. But what you get is a man who wants to tell his story. And what a great story. I think it is always a pleasure to peek into a life that is vastly different than your own, to help you appreciate and better understand those around you. I would highly recommend this!
Heather Ring says that books are her plane ticket into another world, “I’d feel lost with out them. Reading is a part of me. However I am also an avid lover of the outdoors and pouring into my creative outlets. But I think my biggest passion, is spending time with my family and friends.”
This book was provided by the publisher as a review copy.
Band of Sisters by Gohlke
Fleeing her Irish homeland, with shame on her shoulders and little sister in tow; Maureen O’Reilly sets sail for America to make good on a promise made to her father years ago.
Band of Sisters
By Cathy Gohlke
Tyndale House
August 2012
After surviving the long passage across seas and then the obstacles and unexpected help on Ellis Island, she finds herself thrown out into the cold confusing streets of New York. But she knows all will be well once she finds the wealthy family that owes her deceased father a favor. She was not expecting that family to close their door on her and leave her scrambling for work and shelter elsewhere.
Looking for a job becomes disheartening, especially after the lodging she’s had to lower her standards for. Against her own want, she decides to use the influence of a man who befriended her upon her arrival.
When she is given the job as a sales clerk in a distinguished department store, she is thrilled. But when she notices her coworkers getting promoted and then disappearing, the luster slowly wears off and danger sneaks in. So she decides to get to the bottom of it.
Playing sleuth at the store runs her into trouble, and she has no one to turn to. She has a sister who wont speak to her, a family who turned her out and a man she doesn’t trust following her around the city.
Will she find the answers she is looking for, and in the process let go of the past so she can finally allow someone to truly love her?
This book was very enjoyable. The writer really pulled me into the story. I stayed very absorbed, doing my own detective work. I enjoyed so many of her characters and all the different stories they each had. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes historical fiction, with a little mystery mixed in!
Heather Ring says that books are her plane ticket into another world, “I’d feel lost with out them. Reading is a part of me. However I am also an avid lover of the outdoors and pouring into my creative outlets. But I think my biggest passion, is spending time with my family and friends.”
This book was provided by the publisher as a review copy.
A Season of Tending by Woodsmall
Rhoda Byler has a gift. One that has caused her community to shy away from her. Not only does she have an herb and berry garden that seems to produce when no others are, she also has been known to predict certain harmful events.
A Season of Tending
Amish Vines of the Orchards, book 1
By Cindy Woodsmall
Waterbrook Press
September 2012
Already shrouded by the guilt of her unfortunate past, the town’s sneers and insinuations only push her further into her garden and the only work she loves. It’s the one place she can hear her sisters voice and try to drown out the constant ridicule.
Digging her fingers into the dirt one morning, she finds a girl sleeping in her berries, clearly having been there all evening. Finding she is Amish, despite her clothing, she finds out how to return her home.
She is nettled by the stern older brother who shows up to claim her. Frustrated at her attempts to get him to see things her way, she is glad to see him leave. And very surprised when she sees him returning not a few days later. And this time with a business proposition.
Who is this man who has waltzed into her life so suddenly? Helping to pick of the pieces of his failing orchard may be just the distraction she needs. Could this be the ticket out from under the accusing stares of her neighbors? Or will she get much more than she could have ever bargained for?
I have to say, I have not met a book by this author that I have not enjoyed. From her very first book I have loved her stories, and this is no exception. She does such a great job weaving so many types of characters into her books. I always love to see how the story twists and turns. I am on pins and needles for the next book in this series. Very well done! Highly recommend!
Heather Ring says that books are her plane ticket into another world, “I’d feel lost with out them. Reading is a part of me. However I am also an avid lover of the outdoors and pouring into my creative outlets. But I think my biggest passion, is spending time with my family and friends.”
This book was provided by the publisher as a review copy.
The Almond Tree Michelle by Corasanti
This is a tragically touching story about how a Palestinian family learns to cope with having to start over during the Israeli occupation of the Gaza strip and how two people learn to get along despite the history their people’s suffered at the hands of one another.
The Almond Tree
By Michelle Cohen Corasanti
Garnet Publishing
September 2012
One is a young Palestinian man and the other an older, wiser Israeli teacher. Each grew up hating each other for what had transpired between their countries. They reluctantly end up working together and do so for 40 years with amazing results.
I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend this to others.
Shelley Walling is a 43 year male who is on disability retirement from complications from brain surgery. He was an Electrical Dispatcher for 11 years until the surgeries, he now enjoys spending time with his wife and two girls who are still at home along with four grown boys as well. He and his wife have an interest in sustainable and off-grid living and hope to live off-grid one day. He likes to read books about nutrition and medicine, Christian fiction and end times theology.
This book was provided by the publisher as a review copy.
Christmas Stories by Lucado
Who doesn’t love a good collection of Christmas stories? During the holidays, when the snow is falling and hearths burn bright, it’s easy to imagine ourselves in front of the fire as a loved one narrates Christmas tales, getting us ready for the upcoming holiday!
Christmas Stories
Heartwarming Classics of Angels, a Manger, and the Birth of Hope
By Max Lucado
Thomas Nelson
August 2011
It’s England, at Christmas, and quite a few years back the first time the Haddington’s receive their first visit from the Christmas angel. Mysteriously he appears, sets one candle ablaze, and the disappears. The candle is given away the next day to one in need, and a miracle is reported after having used the candle and prayed.., Since then the angel appears only every twenty five years with the same results.. It becomes the towns hope around the holidays… But this year things didn’t go quite as planned. Curl up and see how the Lord comes through for a small town of people in need.
His marriage is failing, and all he has from his past is a picture. In order to clear his head, he takes a break from his wife and goes in search of the things that he has never known about himself. Landing in a small Texas town, he sets to work trying to find out all he can about the picture, and the person who may have left it behind. Being met with opposition only fuels his fire to get to the bottom of his past. But is he prepared for what he might uncover? Will it cause him to open his heart and re-examine who has has become and who he has the chance to be ?
And there are more! This book is packed with stories in various lengths, all to help us celebrate the true meaning of Christmas.
I did not love this book. It wasn’t poorly written, it just failed to capture me or pull me in to any of the stories. They are cute, though a little bit cheesy sometimes. I did like that they stayed focused on the true meaning of Christmas. I would not discourage someone from reading this, I just might not have it in my Christmas reading list each year.
Heather Ring says that books are her plane ticket into another world, “I’d feel lost with out them. Reading is a part of me. However I am also an avid lover of the outdoors and pouring into my creative outlets. But I think my biggest passion, is spending time with my family and friends.”
This book was provided by the publisher as a review copy.
Unstoppable by Vujicic
This is an awesome book! Imagine a man with no arms and no legs has been told he is a security risk, once he is told this, he lets his friends know how to pray through and that God is in control and he will take care of everything. He talks about how when was younger, that things did get discouraging and how he attempted suicide once, because he could not see what God had in store for Him. He did reach out to others and they asked him questions and became his friends and he also realized God had a plan for him.
Unstoppable
The Incredible Power of Faith in Action
By Nick Vujicic
Waterbrook Press
October 2012
This book is filled with inspiring stories from people he has met in his many travels throughout the World. One I can identify with is how Pastor Leon Birdd began his ministry with a story that sounds like a parable told by Jesus. He was working as a carpenter and driving a truckload of furniture in a rural area outside Dallas in 1995 when he saw a middle-aged man walking on the road. At first glance he thought he might be drunk, but as he drove by the man, he felt the Holy Spirit speak to his heart. He found himself stopping to offer him a ride. When he pulled alongside the man, Leon noted that he seemed to have trouble walking. Leon asked him “Are you Okay? The man replies suspiciously “I’m not drunk if that is what you are thinking.” Leon tells the man, “You seem to be having a hard time. I’ll give you a ride.”
The man, Robert Shumake, was telling the truth. He had difficulty walking because he had undergone several brain surgeries which affected his mobility but not his determination in helping others in need. For years Robert had been taking coffee and doughnuts to feed the homeless in downtown Dallas every Saturday morning.
“How do you do that when you can hardly walk?” Leon asked.
“People help me, and now you’ll help me,” he said.
“I don’t think so. What time do you do this?” Leon asked.
“Five thirty in the morning.”
“I am not going to drive you, especially at that hour,” Leon said. “Even the Lord isn’t up at five thirty in the morning.”
The next Saturday, though, Leon awakened at five o’clock in the morning, worried that Robert might be waiting for him on a street corner. He feared for Robert’s safety since the location that he’d suggested for their meeting was a rough part of the city. Once again the Holy Spirit seemed to be working through him.
Before sunrise he found Robert standing on a street corner with a thermos filled with five gallons of hot coffee. Robert asked Leon to drive him to a doughnut shop, where they loaded up on pastries. They then proceeded to downtown Dallas. The streets were empty. “Just wait,” Robert told Leon. With the big thermos of hot coffee they waited.
As the sun rose, homeless people appeared one by one. Nearly fifty people assembled for Robert’s coffee and doughnuts. Leon could see from the smiles and joy exhibited on these people as they accepted the hot coffee and doughnuts that Robert was sowing seeds and that he clearly needed help so he began assisting him each Saturday morning after that. In the months that followed, Robert’s health declined.
“Robert, what happens when you can’t do this anymore?” Leon asked one day as they packed up.
“You’ll do it,” Robert said.
“No, you really need to get someone else,” Leon insisted.
“You will do it,” Robert said again.
Robert was right. Leon Birdd became Pastor Birdd, an ordained minister with an inner-city mission supported by nine local churches and other donors. Although Robert died in 2009, the seeds he planted have grown into full-blown open air services with music and celebrations of faith. Now every Sunday morning, more than fifty volunteers join Pastor Birdd in feeding the bodies and ministering to the souls of hundreds of homeless in downtown Dallas.
This story was so inspiring to me, because I also have had multiple brain surgeries and have been looked at funny by others as well, so I can relate to Robert’s life.
This book was well written and the whole book was a testament to what God can do. When you put “Go” in front of “disable”, you get “God is able.” Let Go and Let God.
Shelley Walling is a 43 year male who is on disability retirement from complications from brain surgery. He was an Electrical Dispatcher for 11 years until the surgeries, he now enjoys spending time with his wife and two girls who are still at home along with four grown boys as well. He and his wife have an interest in sustainable and off-grid living and hope to live off-grid one day. He likes to read books about nutrition and medicine, Christian fiction and end times theology.
Fresh off the Boat by Huang
Eddie Huang is best known as a rising chef, a blogger provocateur, and the founder of Boahaus in New York. Eddie Huang is an Asian-American who has defied every “model minority” stereotype. This book is an inspiring story about family, identify and finding a place to belong.
Fresh off the Boat
by Eddie Huang
Spiegel & Grau
January 2013
He was a kid who did not respect authority. got into trouble easily because of his attitude, and did not get along with his mad family. His father always seem to put him down and his mother yelled a lot. He was/is a bright person, but did not always use common sense. The book is a lot about food. Food seemed to be Eddie’s anchor – lifeline.
The book was interesting, but I didn’t like it. The language is very filthy – too much – did not need. This foul language seems to distract from the real story. Eddie appears to be a person with a large chip on his shoulder and a very filthy mouth. Let’s hope his blog is a lot cleaner than his book.
Not recommended.
Mary Asher, the Golden Reviewer, is an 80 year old avid reader reviews the newest in Christian fiction and non-fiction with a sprinkle of the secular on top..
This book was provided by the publisher as a review copy.
A Home in Drayton Valley by Sawyer
A story of hope, heart aches, disappointments, and love.
A Home in Drayton Valley
by Kim Vogel Sawyer
Bethany House
October 2012
Tarsie Raines and her friend Joss and Mary Brubacher with their two children leave 1880 New York for Kansas. Tarsie hopes to get her friend Mary to a warmer climate, Mary is sickly and conditions in New York are not helping her. They hook up with an unusual wagon train. All the members and the Wagon Master are black. Joss is very prejudice and is reluctant to follow a black man, but Mary’s pleas prevail and they set off. Tradegy strikes on the trail and Mary passes away from her illness. Before she dies she ask Tarsie to take care of her children and to love Joss and bring him to Lord. Tarsie promised Mary, but how can she love Joss – he is mean, prejudice and has a foul temper. However, she did promise Mary and she would try to honor Mary’s last wish. When the train arrives in Kansas, the wagon train goes on it way and Joss and Tarsie set out for Drayton Valley. Tarsie tells Joss about Mary’s dying wish and ask him to marry her. Joss is reluctant to do so, but he needs someone to care for the children so he agrees,
Life in Drayton Valley is hard for Tarsie. Joss isn’;t interested in her as a woman – he only wants her to take care of the children and him. Tarsie meets Ruth, a colored women, with three children. Her husband is the boss at the local winery where Joss is now employed. Ruth befriends Tarsie and she agrees to teach Ruth how to read. Joss is dead set against this and forbids her to teach Ruth. She ignores him and the entire town and continues to seek out Ruth.
Tarsie has come to the end of her rope. She is leaving Joss and the children. This is very hard on her as she loves the children as her own and to her surprise has fallen in love with Joss. Joss is arrested for stealing. and Tarsie is held captive by the men that are responsible for the theft.
A very interesting ending. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It will make you laugh, make you cry, you will experience the prejudice against the colored people, and you will pray that Tarsie finds the love and peace she so richly deserves.
Highly recommended.
Mary Asher, the Golden Reviewer, is an 80 year old avid reader reviews the newest in Christian fiction and non-fiction with a sprinkle of the secular on top..
This book was provided by the publisher as a review copy.
The Pleasures of Men by Williams
The Pleasures of Men brings the hot, teeming streets of Victorian London to life.
The Pleasures of Men
By Kate Williams
Voice
August 2012
Young Victoria has just entered her second year on the throne. A major recession has hit London. Nineteen year old Catherine Sorgeiul lives with her uncle. who is rather strange. She is deadly afraid of him and rarely leaves her room when he is home. Catherine is intrigued with the gruesome murders of young girls sweeping the city. The serial killer has been nicknamed the “Man of Crows”. Catherine begins writing stories about the murders. She secretly leaves the house at night and takes to the streets putting herself in the killer’s place. As her voyages into the streets of London brings her farther into the underworld of London, she discovers disturbing evidence against her uncle. Could he be the Man of Crows?
A very interesting suspense story that will keep you turning pages far into the night. Be sure to leave the light on as it is very scary. I loved the book.
Highly recommended.
Mary Asher, the Golden Reviewer, is an 80 year old avid reader reviews the newest in Christian fiction and non-fiction with a sprinkle of the secular on top..
This book was provided by the publisher as a review copy.
