Between Two Shores by Jocelyn Green - A Book Review

    

While I have read a few books set during the French and Indian War, I am less familiar with Canadian history that sees that war as part of a larger conflict called the Seven Years' War which involved the Americas, Europe, Africa and India. In Between Two Shores Jocelyn Green focuses on the war's impact on Quebec, Montreal and the surrounding area. While most of the characters are fictional, most of the details are firmly based on history.

While I want to be careful not to include any spoilers, I will say that Bright Star's remark that, “Some stories don't end the way you want them to,” certainly applies to parts of this story. However, Green demonstrates that forgiveness can lead to acceptance and contentment with the reality of how some of life's stories do end. Coming to this realization is often painful, but to quote another character, “Healing comes with a price, and I'm afraid the price is pain. Beyond that, however, is wholeness.” I believe most readers will find the healing that comes in a variety of ways to a variety of relationships in this book quite inspiring.

I thank Bethany House Publishers for providing me with a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. I was under no obligation to provide a positive review and received no monetary compensation.

How to Study the Bible by Dwight L. Moody - A Brief Reflection

  

     I selected this classic book seeking new ways to study the Bible. I was most impressed with the first few chapters' reasoning on the truth and inerrancy of the Holy Scriptures. In today's climate we may find this work helpful in articulating why we believe that the Holy Bible is truly the Word of God, and thus worthy of our study and worthy of being our guiding light.

The Common Rule: Habits of Purpose in an Age of Distraction by Justin Whitmel Earley – A Book Review

Other than the Bible, this could very well be the most important non-fiction book you read this year! I have already begun a list of people that I want to gift this book to, not because I think they or their lives need to be “fixed,” but because I believe they too will relish the truths between its covers. Justin Earley offers new perspectives on the role of habits in our lives, and demonstrates ways in which we can become intentional in how they help form us in a way that helps us to live out Romans 12:2.

I don't review non-fiction books nearly as often as fiction, but having watched and listened to the author on a YouTube video after reading a description of this book, I knew that I had to read and review it. Earley is quite open about his struggles and failures, not claiming that developing these habits will bring about perfection, but rather comparing them to building a trellis on which our lives may be trained to grow upward rather than sprawling outward in ways we weren't meant to, twisting into something that slowly dies and hurts those growing around us. It is a book about thriving in a culture that is pervaded with distractions.

I am grateful to have received a copy of The Common Rule: Habits of Purpose in an Age of Distraction from InterVarsity Press via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. I was under no obligation to provide a positive review and received no monetary compensation.

American Omens: The Coming Fight for Faith by Travis Thrasher - A Book Review

 

I am so glad that I did not let my initial reaction to this story keep me from reading on. I went from thinking it was a far-fetched futuristic tale to believing that this, or something like it, could truly be in our country's future, if not in our lifetime, then our children's.

Thrasher has created a future United States in which hate speech laws have been used to silence Christians, and social media has been eliminated after becoming a tool for spreading hate. Instead we see a society largely void of God and made up of people with implanted chips in their brains rather than smart phones in their hands, a society manipulated by technology and those behind it. Within this society is a group of people led by someone who goes by the name of Reckoner among other code names. Few have seen Reckoner, and many have not met one another, but they are working toward a common goal: to awaken Americans to the ways in which they are being manipulated and to the coming wrath of God as well as the reality of His grace to those who truly believe in Jesus Christ.

Thrasher is a very talented writer, one with a deep and worthwhile message. Prepare to have your world rocked! I am grateful to have received a copy of American Omens from Multnomah via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. I was under no obligation to write a positive review and received no monetary compensation.

A Desperate Hope by Elizabeth Camden - A Book Review

    

A Desperate Hope is the third book in Elizabeth Camden's Empire State series. While one might not think that a series largely based on the water system of New York City would be of great interest to many, Camden certainly has made it so. Beginning with Lucy and Nick Drake's battle to win back a fortune that their family had been swindled of a long time ago, a battle involving an invention essential to successfully providing clean water to the homes in New York City, Camden's characters have tugged at her readers' heart strings. As the family's story continued there was intrigue, manipulation and subterfuge within the Drake's extended family, but deciding on which side of the family for which to root was never difficult; it was most certainly a tale of good vs evil. A Desperate Hope picks up with the story of Eloise Drake, Lucy and Nick's cousin who was nothing like her parents. Throughout her life, even as a child, Eloise had had to pick up, start over and create for herself an emotional safe space. She longed to be part of a loving family. This longing caused her to live vicariously through the lives of the villagers of Duval Springs, a small town that was now in danger of being destroyed in order to create a reservoir for the people of New York City which was one hundred miles away. Having been banished from her second childhood home, the one overlooking Duval Springs, Eloise was loathe to return to aid in its demise.

While A Desperate Hope is a clean read, some may question its classification as Christian Fiction. There are at least three relationships involving sex outside of marriage, one resulting in the birth of a child, but no explicit sexual material is included. While there are eventually overtures of making things right, there is no clear statement of confession and repentance. There is mention of one character coming to know God and maturing her faith after a prolonged stay at a convent in Arizona, She does pray out of desperation, and does question whether or not she could marry someone who does not share her faith. Overall, the story does not carry a strong Christian message.

I truly enjoyed this book, and indeed the whole series. I would recommend it as a clean read, and am grateful to have received a copy from Bethany House via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. I was under no obligation to write a positive review, and received no monetary compensation.

Castle on the Rise by Kristy Cambron - A Book Review

Once again Kristy Cambron has proven herself to be a stellar writer. She has never failed to pull me out of my present day circumstances and fully immerse me in another time and place. Castle on the Rise is set largely on the Ashford Manor Estate in Ireland in 1798, 1916, and present day. Cambron masterfully weaves together the stories of Maeve Ashford, Lady Isolde Byrne and Laine Forrester. Each lady's story is linked to Ashford Manor, each holds both heartache and victory. Their stories help readers to see that God is not absent in our pain, nor is He indifferent to our questions. Our trust in Him in spite of our pain and questions both pleases Him and brings us peace. While our own stories may not include castles, like these three ladies we do not have to wait for a fairy tale ending before we experience joy. Joy can be found as we walk in faith with God and with those whom He places in our paths through whatever life puts before us.

Cambron's diligent research and personal experience with the setting of this story take us to periods in Ireland's tumultuous history that demonstrate the chasm that existed between Protestants and Catholics and between the English and the Irish. We meet both men and women that are willing to make great sacrifices for what they believe in, willing to dig in and do the hard work of standing up for what they believe is right. Cambron develops characters that readers will hold dear, will root for, and may even cry for. Her dialogue was not only well written, but I found it impossible to read without an Irish brogue playing mentally in my head.

I highly recommend Castle on the Rise and, for those who have not read it, The Lost Castle, the first book in the series. I received a complimentary copy of Castle on the Rise from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The Sky Above Us by Sarah Sundin - A Book Review

The detailed accounts of the lives of World War II airmen and the vivid mental images Sundin paints with her descriptions of the D-Day invasion on the beaches of Normandy set this book apart from many other World War II era books that I have read. We met American naval officer Wyatt Paxton in book one of this series, becoming familiar with the tragic circumstances that tore the Paxton family apart. In this second book we see the situation through the eyes of his middle brother, Captain Adler Paxton of the US Army Air Force. Both brothers encounter God and His grace and mercy while serving in Europe, but will they be able to put this family back together?

We also meet Red Cross worker Violet Lindstrom in The Sky Above Us. Under the misconception that she is going to Europe to work with displaced children, Violet is discouraged to find herself running a Red Cross Aeroclub on an air base. God has many hard lessons for Violet to learn during her time in Europe, life-altering lessons from which we as readers may also benefit.

I will be anxiously awaiting the story of Army Ranger Clay Paxton, the youngest of the three brothers, betrayed by both of his older brothers and also serving in Europe. It is wonderful that our God is a God of forgiveness and reconciliation. Readers will hope that Clay too encounters God.

I am grateful to have received a copy of The Sky Above Us from Revell Books via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. I was under no obligation to provide a positive review, and received no monetary compensation.

The Alamo Bride by Kathleen Y'Barbo - A Book Review

The Alamo Bride is the seventh book in The Daughters of the Mayflower series, and the second penned by Kathleen Y'Barbo. It is the story of Ellis Valmont, great granddaughter of Maribel Cordoba from The Pirate Bride. Ellis is the adult daughter, the only girl with three living brothers, of Boyd and Sophia Valmont. She is learning the healing skills of the time from her mother, skills that possibly save her own life as well as the lives of others, including Claiborne “Clay” Gentry. Clay is on a secret mission for President Andrew Jackson, one that might have great influence on the Texas war for independence from Mexico. The circumstances that bring these two together may make their cooperation essential.

As always Y'Barbo's notes enlighten the readers as to the realities of the time period she is writing about. Being a self-described “history nerd” helps to breath life into her characters. This is a wonderful series and Y'Barbo's contributions to it are exceptional. I am grateful to have received a copy from Barbour Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. I was under no obligation to write a positive review, and received no monetary compensation.

Ladies of Intrigue by Michelle Griep - A Book Review

Ladies of Intrigue includes three separate stories all set in the 19^th Century. I requested the opportunity to read and review this book because I had thoroughly enjoyed previous books by this author. The Gentleman Smuggler's Lady and The Doctor's Woman, the first two stories were fair, but the last story, A House of Secrets, was truly intriguing. It would have been a wonderful plot to have fleshed out into a full-length novel. I was glad to have plugged through the first two stories to reach the third. In this story Amanda Carston struggles for her father's approval before marrying and beginning the next stage of her life. Unfortunately her plans for achieving this goal run counter to the plans her fiance, city attorney Joseph Blake, has for rescuing women from and ultimately closing a local brothel. Keeping a family secret bars him from sharing his efforts with Amanda, something that ultimately has dire consequences.

I would give the first two stories three stars and the final story four. I appreciate receiving a copy of this book from Barbour Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. I was under no obligation to write a positive review, and received no monetary compensation.