Book Review: PURSUED

Written by Lillian Duncan
Review by Nike Chillemi

This is a lady any cowboy worth is saddle would like to take over his knee and spank. Reggie Meyers, former foster child, now a big city attorney on her way up the corporate ladder is a handful, to say the least. She’s a self-made success and hasn’t got much time for lesser mortals. Needless to say, when she plows her bright red sports car into Dylan Monroe’s aging pickup, she blames him.

Reggie is a short-tempered powerhouse with a definite vulnerable side. You want to be angry with her, but just can’t. Dylan on the other hand is easy going, solid, and a man who believes in prayer. The wonder of their relationship is he has no trouble handling her. Now protecting her from whoever is trying to kill her, that’s another matter entirely.

After an accident, even one she’s caused, what does such a gentleman do? He offers to drive the lady home. When Dylan and Reggie get to her condo, they find the place has been trashed. Reggie collapses and Dylan discovers she’s a diabetic, which accounts for some of her moodiness, as she hadn’t eaten all day. At first, Reggie assumes her ex did the trashing. Soon it becomes evident she’s got a lot bigger troubles than an inappropriate former boyfriend.

There is no shortage of twists and turns. It isn’t long before someone is shooting at Reggie. With Reggie stashed safely at a friend’s apartment, Dylan cleans up the mess in her apartment and finds a listening device. Since someone has been monitoring Reggie, they now know where she is hiding. Dylan rushes to the condo and saves her from a sneak attack.

After several more attempts on Reggie’s life Dylan takes her to the home of his mysterious, reclusive friend, security expert and ex-Marine Billy Clyde Addams and his charming wife Theresa. Billy Clyde discovers a large corporation is monitoring Reggie and Dylan’s movements. It turns out this company is owned by Reggie’s mysterious biological father.

The police determine a former law office client who thinks she mishandled his case made the attempts on Reggie’s life. He’s taken into custody and she is free to go home. Here the author puts a snag in the true love scenario. Reggie decides Dylan won’t fit into her upwardly mobile lifestyle, after all, he’s just a small town farmer. She wants to be happy but equates happiness with money and power. She doesn’t have the kind of faith Dylan has, though she’s starting to yearn for it. He asks her to marry him and she’s ecstatic. However, this is followed by a bunch of star-crossed misunderstandings.

All is not well on the safety issue front. Billy Clyde learns someone is still monitoring Reggie’s credit card activity. The action picks up again with ferocity. The climax is intense. This is a wonderful read, with fantastic characters for anyone who loves high caliber romantic suspense.

Book Review: No Safe Haven

Written by Kimberly and Kayla R. Woodhouse
Reviewed by Nora St. Laurent

Back Cover: Jenna and Andi Tikaani-Gray are hoping for a fresh start. Though twelve year-old Andi has long struggled with a rare medical disorder, she and her mother have finally received good news from out-of-town specialists. Its news they desperately needed, especially after the recent death of Jenna’s husband (Andi’s dad) in a car accident.

But as they are flying home to Alaska, ready to begin again, the unthinkable happens. The pilot sabotages their small plane and crashes into Sultana, one of the most remote and dangerous mountains in the Land of the Midnight Sun. Even worse, a winter storm is headed their way along with someone who doesn’t want to save them, but to kill them.

Only one man can keep them alive: Cole Maddox, the mysterious last-minute passenger who joined them on their flight. But trust doesn’t come easy to Jenna or Andi and they both sense Cole is hiding something.

A relentless tale of survival and suspense unfolds, involving military technology designed by Jenna’s late husband that some would do anything to possess.

Review: I was thrilled to receive a review copy of such a gripping, action adventure novel. This is a great book for so many reasons. First it’s written by an amazing mother-daughter team. Kayla is 13 years old and writes the POV of the 12 year old girl who has the same nerve disorder she has. Making Kayla’s condition part of the story brought a depth of emotion, suspense and drama to a whole new level. Not only were Andi and her mom running from men determined to wipe them out but there was an urgency to get Andi to a safe place to stabilize her condition.

This book gripped my heart from the start as the action exploded from the very first page, literally. Jenna and Andi try to find help and piece together what happened as the reader is doing the same. Not only were the main characters Cole, Andi and Jenna running from the enemy, they were also battling Mother Nature and all she had to dish out: snow storms, frost bite, avalanches, and dropping temperatures that messed with their ability to get a grip on the side of the Alaskan mountains as they climbed to safety.

Jenna tries to explain her daughter Andi’s medical condition to their pilot Cole. He says, “She’s a real dare devil, huh?”

“Oh, you have no idea. Take a stubborn child, and remove the fear factor. Think about it. If you have no fear of consequences – mainly pain- you’d try just about anything.”

Kayla adds much to the story and gives the reader an insight into her condition they never would have had other wise. Andi’s dialogue, spunk, and her passionate relationship with Jesus added intensity, tension and gave an urgency of their rescue.

This compelling story had me holding my breath, biting my nails and up until the wee hours of morning seeing who would survive. No Safe Haven has it all danger, suspense, romance and characters I cared about long after I finished reading the last page.

This is an engaging, faith-building story written by a dynamic mother-daughter writing duo you won’t want to miss. I’m anxiously awaiting this team’s next book called, “Race Against Time.” After reading No Safe Haven, you’ll be looking for it too!

Book Review: The Year of Living Like Jesus

Written by Ed Dobson
Reviewed by J. Renee Archer –

Ed Dobson committed to living as Jesus did for an entire year. His goal was to do what Jesus the person would have done, not necessarily what Jesus the Messiah would have done. Dobson’s plan was to live in accordance with the Jewish way of life as opposed to healing the sick and blind. A journal tracked his days, progress and struggles.

This book intrigued me from the moment I read the title. I expected a life changing story not only on the author’s part but for myself, as well. It seems to me that a commitment such as this would alter a person’s life in a major way. A highly spiritual experience is what I anticipated. As it turns out, the book was very different then my pre-reading notion. My life was not permanently changed and, as far as I can tell, Dobson’s life wasn’t either.

The Year of Living Like Jesus was interesting reading, especially the first half of the book. In this section the writing is in journal form and more detailed daily living. The second half was more traditional non-fiction writing. I enjoyed the first half more due to the style.

A major theme of the book is Jewish living and tradition. The word Jesus in the title of the book could easily be replaced with Jews and accurately represent the book. Since I knew nothing about the Jewish culture I found the book educational in that regard. Dobson ate Kosher, observed Shabbat (Sabbath) and other Jewish services. The author also adopted prayer customs of several other religions which didn’t make sense to me because it seemed counter to his commitment. (I’m certain Jesus did not pray the rosary.) There were times when he focused too much on living as a Jew. It almost trivialized Jesus’ life. Dobson was so caught up in making sure he followed the Jewish Law that it kept him from drawing closer to God. At the end of the year I didn’t get the impression that he was a stronger Christian or had a deeper relationship with Christ. That was a disappointment.

Dobson set a lofty goal and made a major commitment that took much perseverance to follow through with. I give him credit for sticking with the project for a whole year. I hope it was more of a spiritual experience than I perceived from his writing. And I thank him for teaching me about a culture I have not personally experienced.

Book Review: People of the Book

Written by Kathi Macias
Reviewed by Nora St.Laurent –

Back Cover: Will God protect and keep them safe in the midst of persecution?

Farah lives in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with her family, and wants nothing more than to develop a deeper devotion to her Muslim faith. She sees the month of Ramadan as her chance to draw nearer to Allah, and pursues that goal. All goes well until the prophet Isa—Jesus—appears to her in a dream and calls her to Himself. Her brother, Kareem, who has never liked her, seeks to discredit her.

Farah’s cousin, an only child, frequents an online chat. She discovers former Muslims discussing their new belief that Isa is much more than a Muslim prophet—He is actually the Son of God. She becomes acquainted with an American girl of Muslim ancestry—now a devout Christian—Sara. Sara has problems of her own due to her brother Emir’s suspicious behavior.

Each finds their faith put to the test. Will they be true to their beliefs? Will God protect them, or will they pay the ultimate price for their faith?

 

Review: Kathi Macias shows readers how God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things all over the world, in her extreme devotion series. This author quickly captures the reader’s attention and shows God’s love in action through the hard times her characters face. Since I’d read all the books in this series, I was anxious to receive a review copy of the last installment, People of the Book, which focuses on teenage girls in Saudi Arabia.

Sara and Nura are teenagers who develop a friendship through an on-line chat room. Sara is a Christian living in America and Nura is a Muslim girl living in Saudi Arabia. Sara prays, witnesses to Nura and tells her where to read the Bible online.

This is a haunting tale of young people facing tough choices from one corner of the globe to the other. My heart strings ached as I read of the dangers these Saudi women faced just for thinking about reading the Bible and talking about God. The challenges these young girls encountered, captivated my thoughts. I contemplated their hardship, danger and courage they faced in order to take a stand for Christ in their country.

This author reminds the reader that many people don’t have the religious freedoms we enjoy here in America. As I read, I was compelled to pray for people like Nura and Farah, who are facing prison sentences and/or death for serving the one true God. Kathi reminds the reader that God’s Word is alive, and it can touch the human heart and mind in very unique and real ways. I was reminded that God can do far more than we can even imagine through prayer and reading the Bible. It’s powerful!

Kathi has an extraordinary gift of telling a compelling story that comes alive in the heart and mind of the reader. The constant tension between the characters and the dangers they faced, made this a page turner for me. These characters came alive. The call on their lives was authentic and the battle for their hearts and their minds real. I felt compassion for these teens as they struggled with their faith, hope and courage to seek the face of the Savior. They were also overwhelmed by the unconditional love God wanted to give them. Kathi Macias once again has skillfully penned a believable, captivating, mission-minded novel…one that will stay in your heart and your mind. I know you’ll find yourself sharing this story with your friends. I can’t stop thinking about this story and the characters. I highly recommend People of the Book.

Book Review: Words

Written by Ginny L. Yttrup
Reviewed by Nora St. Laurent –

REVIEW: “I can’t talk. I can’t breathe. Tears choke me.”

That’s exactly how I felt when I read the last page of this book. I’m thrilled to have received a review copy of such an astounding, debut novel. I haven’t read anything this profound, inspiring and life changing since Redeeming Love and June Bug. The author is a master wordsmith and trusts the readers’ imagination to fill in the blanks about the abuse Kaylee endures and talks about it without being graphic. Ginny L. Yttrup has overcome sexual abuse in her own life, is compassionate towards its victims and has penned a story filled with healing and hope. Ginny shows the reader a way to shine the light of Jesus in the darkest places of life in a real way.

Kaylee is a ten year old girl fascinated by words. Words are a colorful protective shield she uses to give her hope and clarify things she doesn’t quite understand. Kaylee is a bright and loving child surviving day after day anticipating her mother’s return.

I enjoyed Ginny Yttrup creative writing style. It was fun to read and had a powerful impact to the story, for example Kaylee says, “my favorite C word – co-loss-al. It means awesomely huge.”

She uses it to describe the colossal redwood trees she loves. The tree is her special place to hide her earthly treasures and new words. The author’s style adds richness to the novel and gives Kaylee a distinctive way of expressing herself.

“I’m so hungry I could eat the scrambled egg in one bite. Instead, I try to make it last, make it seem like more. I take tiny bites. I think of a word that I added to my box this week.

Sa-vor – verb 1) to perceive by taste or smell, esp, with realism 2) to give oneself to the enjoyment of: savor the best in life.

Yes, I savor each bit of my eggs.”

This author’s unique voice allows the reader to experience and see the healing power of love in action. This book is not preachy but potent. The message is clear “Jesus is the word – the most important word”

Ginny had me going in parts of the story I thought I had figured out, and threw in twists I didn’t see coming. Parts were surprising, suspenseful and I found myself nervous for the characters. This book is quite an experience, one you’ll never forget and don’t want to miss. This novel is one of the reasons why I read and promote Christian Fiction. I highly, highly recommend it. Treat yourself to reading Words. I don’t know where Ginny will go from here but I’ll be following.

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