Sovereign - Ted Dekker/Tosca Lee

Dear Readers,

 

Sometimes I put off reading a book by a favorite author for various reasons.  With Sovereign by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee it was I wanted the time to read it and just enjoy it.  I was planning on reading it during a vacation, but instead it got knocked to the bottom of the pile and (regrettably) I forgot about it.

 

Thankfully the paperback version hit the shelves a couple of weeks ago and reminded me that I really wanted to read the conclusion to the Books of the Immortal series. 

 

The Sovereign are dying.  Their numbers have dwindled to a mere 30 survivors and they hide in the catacombs below the city.  They fight for food and survival from the Dark Blood and the Immortals.  Neither group wants them to live and will kill one on sight.  They have learned to use their wits and struggle to hold on to their faith in Jonathan. 

 

When alchemist, Mattius, discovers a virus that will kill the Dark Bloods and Immortals but spare the Sovereign, some see it as a gift from Jonathan and others see it as no better than the original virus that rid the world of emotions so many years ago.

 

I won't go into too many details as I figure most of you that like Ted and Tosca's series have long ago read it, but I still wanted to let you know that if you haven't read it it is well worth the read.  The entire series is interesting and leaves you wondering about what it would be like if we had no emotions and were ruled by fear. 

 

I am also at this time reading Ted's newest release, Outlaw.  That is once again a very different look inside Ted's brain.  He was raised in the jungles of Indochina and because of those experiences he is able to write a book that almost no one else could write.  I will be reviewing the book soon.

 

Happy Reading

New Release - Stolen Legacy - David and Diane Munson

Dear Readers,

It is always great fun to get to know authors, whether they live near or far.  But there is great pleasure in finding authors that write about our own neighborhood that makes that pleasure even bigger. 

David and Diane Munson have been friends of mine for several years now.  They stopped into the Baker Book House I was working at and introduced themselves and told me about their books.  At the time they were being published by a little publishing house in the area and they had to do their own promotion.  Which by the way, they do very well.   With a local link, they became favorites to many in the area and each new one is met with excitement.  Stolen Legacy is their 8th book.

Eva Montanna is back and drawn into a mystery that involves her family.  She finds out her Grandpa Marty worked with the Dutch Resistance to hide Jewish families from the Gestapo.  Now an enemy has returned vowing revenge on his family.  Will Eva be able to find the answers to the conflict and save her family?

Taken from their experiences and their own family history, the Munson write books the are often easily confused with the headlines you hear and see every day.  The books have interesting characters in them and they will give you a good glimpse into what it was like being raised in Michigan, but also what it is like working for the goverment.

The Munson are great ones to invite to a bookclub or signing as they have many wonderful stories to tell that haven't made it into one of their books yet. They travel all over the country and love to connect with fans.

Happy Reading

New Release - To Know You - Shanon Ethridge/Kathryn Mackel

Dear Readers,

I have read book by both of the authors of this release.  Shannon Ethridge is known for her books for women about sexuality in a Biblical sense.  Kathryn Mackel is known for her issue driven fiction books.  When these two team up you know you are in for a book that will not pull punches and yet be sensitive to the topic.

To Know You by Shannon and Kathryn takes on the topic of your past.  Things that Julia never wanted to talk about to anyone has come to the forefront of her family's life.  Her son Dillon needs a living liver transplant.  It is his only chance of survival, the problem is no one in the immediate family is a match.  Well there is a chance one of his half sisters is a match, but they have never met their birth mother and Julia isn't sure they will want to be any help.

For Julia it means traveling back to a time that she would rather not remember.  A time where she made some very bad choices and then gave up her daughters and never spoke to them again.  What will she find when she finally gets a chance to meet her daughters?  Women that are making the same mistakes she made? Will she be able to except her daughters as they are or help them?

Shannon and Kathryn are both authors that I recommend and am very excited to see that they are writing books that have very relative issues for woman today.

Happy Reading

New Releases - October 21-26

Dear Readers,

The new books continue to pour into the store.  I keep thinking we will get a lull soon, but right now you can enjoy a time of  plenty.  Personally it makes my to be read pile almost over whelming but then again I do like a challenge.  How about you?  How is that TBR pile looking?

Happy Reading

The Church Builder - A.L. Shield - Bethany is mourning the death of her running buddy, Annabelle.  When Annabelle was hit by a hit and run driver, the police just thought it was another homeless person and not much was done.  When a client's son is killed, they are beginning to wonder if Bethany had something to do with that murder also.

To Know You - Shannon Ethridge/Kathryn Mackel - The only hope for Julia's son is two daughters she gave up for adoption years ago.  Will they be willing to forgive their birth mother and help an half brother they have never met?

My Hope is Found - Joanne Bischof - #3 The Cadence of Grace - Gideon is once again free to love Lonnie, but has he lost her before he has a chance to return to her?

Heart Failure - Richard L. Mabry M.D. - Medical thrillers at its best.  Carrie found a second love almost to good to be true.  When Adam confesses that he is on the run from the witness program and now they are both in danger.

Governess of Highland Hall - Carrie Turansky - For Downton Abbey fans. - Julia takes on a job as a governess to help support her parents who have returned from the mission field due to illness.

A Marriage in Middlebury - Anita Higman -Charlotte is comfortable in the life she leads.  Until a long lost love returns and she finds there might be something missing.

For Love or Loyalty - Jennifer Hudson Taylor - #1 The MacGregor Legacy - Lauren is willing to help the MacGregor clan free their mother from indentured servitude, the problem is she doesn't know that she is the bargaining chip.

Payback in Panama - Noel Hynd - The Cuban Trilogy -Alexandra knows this is a do or die mission.  Her fight will take her to the criminal underworld across the Western Hemisphere.

Critical Reaction - Todd M. Johnson - What really happened that night the out nuclear facility blew?  Kieran is determined to find out.  He will need help from an old friend, Emily.

The Elegant Solution - Paul Robertson - Drawn into the murder of his master's brother, Leonard discovers he is facing a very elusive puzzle.  One that is complicated by math but also who wanted Jacob dead.

Stolen Legacy - Diane & David Munson - (from the backcover) WWII history and Dutch resistance come alive when (Eva) discovers her Grandpa Marty hid Jewish families from the Gestapo.

New Release - All God's Children - Anna Schmidt

Dear Readers,

There has been a lot of interest in books about WWII again.  In our area the books about the Dutch resistance are really big right now.  Some of the stories are about our own families as many of our relatives moved over to America after the war. 

All God's Children by Anna Schmidt is set in Munich just at the start of the war.  Beth is on a vacation of her dreams, but while in Munich WWII erupts and catchers her unable to get out to head back home.  She is a Quaker so she refuses to take sides.  While she tries to find a way home, she becomes aware of the least of these that need rescuing. As the danger rises Beth decides to say and help.

There are certian things that we will never know what we will do until we are actually in the situation the will require and answer.  One of the being, would we have stood against the Nazi advancement or would we have sided with them and helped turn in Jewish neighbors and friends?  I would like to think I would have joined the resistance, but that is easy to say from this side where my family is safe and their is not threat of being shot or imprisioned. 

But books like this help us to think about what we would do if and when that would arise.  I still can't say for sure I would do what is right, but I really would like to think that I would.

Happy Reading.

Melissa Jagears

Dear Readers,

 

Sometimes a light romance is all I really need to read.  I was suffering from a cold a few weeks ago and the cold medicine I was on made it hard to concentrate on a book. A Bride for Keeps by Melissa Jagears was actually the perfect book to read. 

 

Everett Cline has tried 3 times for a mail order bride and three times he has come up empty, jilted in fact.  One the bride was married to someone she met on the train ride and one of the other brides took one look at his homestead and decided to find a better prospect.  He vows to never try again, until his meddling friend Rachel sends for a bride without telling him. 

 

Julia is looking to get out of town.  She has become a pretty pawn for her father and his business and her former fiance' turned out to be less than she thought he was.  She is at the end of her rope, but she isn't sure Everett is really all that interested in marrying her either.

 

Mail-order brides always seem to do well in the historical fiction department.  Maybe because to most of us the idea of marrying someone sight unseen is slightly terrifying.  I am not sure I would have ever been brave enough to just hop on a train to the middle of nowhere and marry the guy waiting on the other end, but because of these brave women our country and many others were settled and made in to the great countries we know today.

 

Like I said before, this is not a hard read, it is just a fun little read that gives you a little peek into some of the stresses of what it is was like to meet a complete stranger and then take her home as your wife. 

 

Happy Reading

New Release - Outlaw - Ted Dekker

Dear Readers,

Ted Dekker takes his readers a strange and wonderful journey everytime you open the covers of one of his books.  I was standing in one of the isles here at the store the other day visiting with a customer who was in to pick up Outlaw, Ted's newest release.  We had more fun talking about how we loved so many of his books because they were all so different.

The jacket cover talks about how this is a book that only Ted could write.  It is is set in the dark wilds of the jungles that he was born and raised in.  His experience is very unique and he uses that to write a book that is as different as night and day when compared to the lives we live.

Julian Carter and her two year old son end up on a sailboat tossed about in the seas off the northern tip of Australia.   The year is 1963.  Julian and what happens to her after their ship is lost is the story of nightmares and dreams.

Ted's books will take you to place you may never have expected to go. He has taken us to a strange and wonderful land filled with good and evil.  He has taken us back in history to teach us how beautiful and sexy sin can be.   He has taken us into the mind of killers and into the minds of people who are struggling with the faith.  His books leave you unsettled, but thinking about your own life and faith.

Happy Reading