New Releases August 22-27

Dear Readers, 

We are having a stretch of weather here is west Michigan that we are known for.  Cool at night and warm and very sunny during the day.  This kind of weather does not lend itself well to getting yard work done.  I really only want to sit and enjoy.  I want to walk the beaches and go to the many craft fairs that are in the area.  But no I must mow the lawn. (yuck)  So I  make due with reading about going to interesting places while sitting outside and enjoying weather I wish I could keep all year around. 

Happy Reading

P.S.  I just finished the Help.  I am not going to add to the many reviews out there, but in my humble opinion if you haven't read it, read it. 


The Realms There Under - Ross Lawhead
Here's to Friends - Melody Carlson
The Bone House - Stephen Lawhead
The Chair - James Rubert
Pirate of my Heart - Jamie Carie
A Heart Revealed - Julie Lessman
Deadly Pursuit - Irene Hannon
Captive Trail - Susan Page Davis
Lone Star Trail - Darlene Franklin
From this Day Forward - Margaret Daley
The Wedding Kiss - Hannah Alexander

Author Encounter

Dear Readers,

I just want to talk to you all about a weekend idea some author friends and I and thinking of doing.

Their idea is what if you could spend a weekend hanging out with some of your favorite authors? You could get a chance to have a meal or two with them or even just hang out with them at the end of the day.  They would each get a chance to teach a small workshop about the fiction they love to write and you would get a chance to listen to their hearts about why they write what they write.
We are thinking of holding this at the Shack Bed and Breakfast in Fremont MI in 2012 over a Friday to Sunday with a few extra opinions of when you can stay.
Readers if this is something you would be interested in attend let me know we won't be able to get just because of cost and travel expenses, but we will try to get as big a variety as we can.

Authors if this is something you would be interested in please contact me and let me know.  I would have a couple extra questions for you, but for now that is the info I have.

If you and a few of you friends want to come, let me know and we can start getting the ball rolling.

Thank you for your help

New Releases August 15 - 20

Dear Readers,

It has been a busy couple of weeks at the store.  Lots of customers coming through the doors, but also loads of special events and for some reason I think I am involved with them all.  It makes for lots of fun, but I feel a bit disjointed.  I actually completed something today that I started last week.   I am also a bit confused on what color my desk top it.  I don't think I have seen it for about 3 weeks now. 

The only really nice thing about those kind of weeks is that I can go home at the end of the day and grab a good book.  It does make for a few meals that are just straight from the freezer, but no one is complaining and I get a chance to rest.  There are a couple of titles from this week that I am planning on reading or have already read.  Look for reviews soon

Happy Reading.

Deeply Devoted - Maggie Brendan
Hello Hollywood - Janice Thompson
Dry as Rain - Gina Holmes
To Die For - Snadra Byrd
The Touch - Randall Wallace
Mercy Come Morning - Lisa Tawn Bergren
Ella Finds Love Again - Jerry S. Eicher
City of a Thousand Gods - Jeannie St. John Taylor
Composing Amelia - Alison Strobel

Sally John

Dear Readers,

Jack and Jill went up the hill... What if that hill was the hill of success?

To fetch a pail of water.

Jack fell down and broke his crown... What if his fall was that he didn't want to be married to Jill anymore?

and Jill came tumbling after... What would Jill's reaction be if the 'fall' came after 25 years and a career based on being a marriage advisor?

Now I don't know for a fact that these are the questions that Sally John is trying to answer in her book, Desert Gift, but they are ones that sure fit the storyline.

Jack and Jill have been happily married for 25 years.  At least Jill thought so, along with her radio audience and now book fans.  The morning that she is leaving to go on her first book tour Jack drops the bomb of "I don't want to be married any more." 

How do you keep functioning after an anouncement like that?   If you are considered a marriage expert who do you turn to for help when your marriage goes sour?  Jill is floundering and Jack isn't helping her understand why he wants out.  This is not a place she thought she would ever be in, doesn't she always have an answer for everything?  Oh wait, is that part of the problem?

 

I really enjoyed this book.  It wasn't an easy read and yet it was.  The story flows right along, the characters are likable and real.  The storyline is something that could happen to any one of us.  It is also a reminder that we never know what a day is going to bring. 

There was one aspect of the story I was getting annoyed with and that was the "make lemonade" type of answers people kept giving Jill.  It was something that she herself used, but I found it so trite and superfical, then reminded myself that I have used some form of that a few times myself.  I needed to remind myself to stop that.  More often than not the person who is having any sort of trouble doesn't need to be reminded that God can use it for good. They know that, but are not ready to hear it just yet. 

Book #3 in the Side Roads series is due out in 2012.  Book #1 is Ransomed Dreams. 

Happy Reading.

New Releases August 8 - 13

Dear Readers, 

I really admire people that can blog everyday.  Now my family and friends might not believe this, but I don't always feel like I have something to say.  Ok let me admend that, something important to say.  I always seem to have something to say, just ask anyone who knows me.  But you guys don't really want to read about the latest cute thing my grandkids or dog did and I do have a strange sense of humor so what I find funny you might not.  So I will stick to what you want to know, the new releases from the past week.

Happy Reading
To Have and To Hold - Tracie Peterson/Judith Miller
The Doctor's Lady - Judy Hedlund
A Stand-Up Guy - Michael Synder
The House of Grace - Cindy Woodsmall
The Second Messiah - Glenn Meade
Canary Island Song - Robin Jones Gunn
Kiloton Threat - William G. Boykin/Tom Morrisey
Belonging - Robin Lee Hatcher
Thunder in the Morning Calm - Don Brown
Remember Tuesday Morning - Karen Kingsbury - Formerly - Every Now and Then
Angelina Beacon's Secret - Snady Thrush
Wings of a Dream - Anne Mateer

Christa Allan

Dear Readers,

Sometimes a book will slip through the cracks.  I always mean to read it and just for some reason or another I don't get to it.  Walking on Broken Glass by Christa Allan is one of those books.  I had it in the "to read" pile at my house and then it must have fallen out the bottom so to speak and I never got to read it.  I am really glad I finally did, I am sorry it took me so long to read it.

 

It is a topic driven book.  The subject is alcholism.  Not the bum on the street corner that we are all fond of walking around and ignoring, but this is story of a housewife that becomes a drinker to help her cope with life.  I find this one as serious if not more so because this one is easier to deny.

Leah is our main character and refuses to admit that she is an alcoholic.  Her best friend finally confronts her on her problem and tells Leah that she needs to enter rehab and soon. 

Leah knows she isn't a "terrible" drunk, but she knows she has a problem.  She can't remember nights and certain events.  She knows that she is really just self medicating, but does that mean she has a problem? 

I found this book very interesting because of the problem it looks at.  I know about alcholism, not only is the life affected by the effects of alcholism, but also by the problems that it hides.  Emotional problems and other issues are hidden because she is able to just pretend that they are not a problem. 

I also found myself thinking at different times, "does Leah actually have a problem?"  It seemed to me that she didn't have a big problem.  Oops, yes she has a problem and what was interesting were the people in her circle of friends and family that thought the same way I did. 

There is a difference between having a drink now and then and having a drink or more to just get through the day.  That is when the person does have a problem.   We as their loved ones have to remember that we should not excuse the issue just because we don't think it is that big of a deal.  It is and we need to get them help.

Happy Reading

New Releases August 1-6

Dear Readers,

This week I had a friend say to me, "I hate seening things that mean it is now moving towards the end of summer."  I so agree.  Back to School sales are in full swing.  The days are getting shorter, if not cooler.  People of talking about their vacation before fall.  All things that are good things, but yet for us in the northern hemispere means that winter is coming.

Summer is still my favorite time of year to read.  I love sitting outside on the porch or by the pool just reading.  A glass of some sort of drink, lemonade or iced tea are my favorites, a comfy chair and a great book, that is Heaven for me.  These last couple of weeks I have read a couple of really good books and hopefully you will be seeing the reviews for them soon.   There are also a couple of books on the list this week that are on my have to reads.   I need summer to be a bit longer...

Happy Reading
Lie For Me - Karen Young
Unsaid - Neil Abramson
Sword - #2 the Last Cavaliers - GIlbert Morris
Surrneder the Dawn - MaryLu Tyndall
Something Old - Dianne Christner
A Whisper of Peace - Kim Vogel Sawyer

J. M. Windle

Dear Readers,

Freedom's Stand by J.M. Windle is the sequel to Veiled Freedom.  Amy is back in Kabul after a short vacation.  The changes to New hope are shocking not at all what she had invisioned for the woman's compound. There is now a carpet making business and the children are even working.  The dividing walls are gone and the men have the run of the ground level, making the woman have to hide upstairs at all times.  No freedom to be in the court yard and relax.  What happen?

Steve returns to Kabul to help our a friend. The friend had a family emergency and needed to return to the states, so Steve said he would be glad to help him out.  Nothing has changed for him.  The is still corruption on every level.  With the elections coming soon the dangers to the man they are protecting get worse and worse.  Especially since he is the front runner to winning the election.

I have loved both of these books, but they have both frustrated me to no end.  I just become very frustrated with people that are saying one thing and acting completely different.  How can you say you are someone who supports freedom for the people, but still abuse your family?  How can you say you support religous freedom and yet inprision or kill anyone of a different faith from yourself.  Being the leader isn't the right to make everyone believe as you do, but it is the command to take care of those under you, whether they believe the same as you or not.

I have a feeling if I would actually go to visit one of the Islamic countries I would be in trouble in about 15 minutes as I could not wear a burka and I have a strange feeling that I also would get in trouble for being to out spoken.   Their laws really don't make sense as I feel that most of them blame the victims instead of the person who commits the crimes.  Unless the victim is a wealthy land owner, then of course the punishment must be dealt out. 

Ok Ok I will get off my soapbox and just review the book, I strongly encourage you to read these books as it will give you an idea of how to pray for the belivers in countries that are run by Sharia law. 

Happy Reading

Julie Carobini

Dear Readers,

It took me a long time to read this book.  Well maybe I should rephrase that, it took me a while to want to read this book, as I had read one of Julie's earlier books and had a hard time getting through it.  I wasn't sure I was going to like this book, I am happy to report I really did like A Shore Thing by Julie Carobini.

I don't know if I happened to hit a perfect weekend or if it is a really quick read, but I started on a Friday night and was finished by Sunday night.  This is a fun little book (ok not so little, it has 392 pages) to read.  It isn't a great suspense novel as I pretty much figured out what was going to happen early on, but it really did keep my attention. 

Callie is a crusader.  She has always been one that is ready to take up the sword for the underdog.  She was trying to save the planet long before it was cool, so when she hears that a local piece of shoreline is going to be developed, she decides she can't quietly stand by and let it happen.

Gage is new in town.  He is still recovering from losing his job because he wouldn't over look his boss's unethical dealings.  He also has his sister and nephew to support now, and is looking to get his architechural business off the ground.  That is why when he is approached to help design the new developement in Otter Bay, he is sure that is a great way to start.

What he doesn't know is that it will put him at odds with the fiesty woman he just met at the beach.  But who is right or wrong?  Who has all their facts straight?  Will either one of them be able to figure out what God's will is for their life?

This book is set on the coast of central California.  I haven't been able to visit that part of our country before, but I think after reading this it will be on my "to visit" list.  The nice thing about a book like this is that it is a great vacation without ever leaving your house.

Happy Reading

New Releases July 25 - 30

Dear Readers,

This post releases on my birthday.  I am not in the store today as I couldn't think of a better birthday present than being able to sleep in.   That is of course relative.  When I was a teen sleeping in meant noonish, when I was a mother of young kids, sleeping in meant a couple of extra minutes that the kids slept after a later night.  Now it means making it to 8:30 instead of 6, but my body has adjusted to the early mornings that started when my kids where in school.  I don't much care for it and I would really like to train myself to sleep into noon again, but am glad for the 8:30 especially after staying up late to read.

Happy Reading

Nobody's Child - Austin Boyd - #1 in the Pandora Files
Heiress - Susan May Warren