Please pardon the construction

I am working on getting this review blog set up and right now its a mess.



It should be done soonish though.


I hope.

book review – Here Burns My Candle

A mother who cannot face her future.
A daughter who cannot escape her past.
Lady Elisabeth Kerr is a keeper of secrets. A Highlander by birth and a Lowlander by marriage, she honors the auld ways, even as doubts and fears stir deep within her.
    Her husband, Lord Donald, has secrets of his own, well hidden from the household, yet whispered among the town gossips.
    His mother, the dowager Lady Marjory, hides gold beneath her floor and guilt inside her heart. Though her two abiding passions are maintaining her place in society and coddling her grown sons, Marjory’s many regrets, buried in Greyfriars Churchyard, continue to plague her.
    One by one the Kerr family secrets begin to surface, even as bonny Prince Charlie and his rebel army ride into Edinburgh in September 1745, intent on capturing the crown.
    A timeless story of love and betrayal, loss and redemption, flickering against the vivid backdrop of eighteenth-century Scotland , Here Burns My Candle illumines the dark side of human nature, even as hope, the brightest of tapers, lights the way home.

Author Bio:

LIZ CURTIS HIGGS is the author of twenty-seven books with three million copies in print, including: her best-selling historical novels, Thorn in My Heart, Fair Is the Rose, Christy Award-winner Whence Came a Prince, and Grace in Thine Eyes, a Christy Award finalist; My Heart’s in the Lowlands: Ten Days in Bonny Scotland, an armchair travel guide to Galloway; and her contemporary novels, Mixed Signals, a Rita Award finalist, and Bookends, a Christy Award finalist. Visit the author’s extensive website at www.lizcurtishiggs.com.

 

My thoughts:

For a history buff Here Burns My Candle is both a pleasure and painful to read. The imagery and detail in the history are wonderful. The painful part is knowing the history of Scotland and wanting to warn the characters of being on the wrong side.  (I will leave it at that so as not to spoil anything.)

This is an excellent book and I loved reading it and will love rereading it when the sequel comes out in Spring 2011 (yep, I like to read that much). I am definitely going to recommend this book to friends and family.

Here are different options where you can purchase the book online:

http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?isbn=9781400070015

I received this book free from WaterBrookMultnomah for purposes of review but I get no other compensation. These opinions stated are mine.

book review – The Language of Love and Respect

Book Description:

An in-depth study of why your communication styles are not wrong, just different!
Finally an answer for the number one problem in marriages—communication! This analysis of the vital principles of cross-gender communication helps couples recognize they speak two different languages. They are sending each other messages in "code" but won't be able to crack that code until they realize that she listens to hear the language of love and he listens for respect.
Most advice on this subject fails to understand that husbands and wives are wired very differently, and when those wires get crossed, the communication sparks can fly!
Dr. Eggerich's best-selling book, Love and Respect, launched a revolution in how couples relate to each other. In The Language of Love and Respect he shares how that message can be applied.
Formerly titled Cracking the Communication Code.

My thoughts:

Altogether this is a good book full of sound advice and practical tips. It wasn’t anything incredibly earth shattering for me because I knew that one of the largest needs for men is respect. The Language of Love and Respect is helping me to see areas that I need to improve and ways I have been unintentionally wounding my husband without meaning to do so. I also really liked that  this was God centered because God is a very important part of a Christian marriage.

Would I recommend this book to others? Yes because I think it has something to help almost every marriage.

book review – Sons of Thunder by Susan May Warren

 
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Sophie Frangos is torn between the love of two men and the promise that binds them all together. Markos Stavros loves Sophie from afar while battling his thirst for vengeance and his hunger for honor. Dino, his quiet and intelligent brother, simply wants to forget the horror that drove them from their Greek island home to start a new life in America. One of these sons of thunder offers a future she longs for, the other the past she lost. From the sultry Chicago jazz clubs of the roaring twenties to the World War II battlefields of Europe to a final showdown in a Greek island village, they'll discover betrayal, sacrifice and finally redemption. Most of all, when Sophie is forced to make her choice, she'll learn that God honors the promises made by the Sons of Thunder.  
Sons of Thunder launches the new Romantic Suspense line for Summerside Press - it will be available to purchase in Wal-mart mid-January. Also - its uniquely written - its an epic suspense story written as three novellas - 3 points of view, 3 settings.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Susan May Warren is the award-winning author of seventeen novels and novellas with Tyndale, Steeple Hill and Barbour Publishing. Her first book, Happily Ever After won the American Fiction Christian Writers Book of the Year in 2003, and was a 2003 Christy Award finalist. In Sheep's Clothing, a thriller set in Russia, was a 2006 Christy Award finalist and won the 2006 Inspirational Reader's Choice award. A former missionary to Russia, Susan May Warren now writes Suspense/Romance and Chick Lit full time from her home in northern Minnesota. Learn more about Susan here: www.susanmaywarren.com

My thoughts:
This wasn’t quite what I expected – I thought  it would be more like a light and fluffy romance novel set during before and during WWII. Instead I found myself gripped in a story that was so much deeper than I expected. The characters were very realistic and battled emotions and problems common in people today. 

I would highly recommend this book.

I received this book free for the purposes of review from LitFuse Publicity but received no other form of compensation. These opinions are all mine.

book review – Lady Carliss and the Waters of Moorue by Chuck Black

Lady Carliss and the Waters of Morrue:
Determined, smart and a master of both the sword and the bow, Lady Carliss has proven herself as a veteran Knight of the Prince. Returning from a mission of aid, Carliss is plunged into adventure once again as she searches for the marauders responsible for kidnapping a friends’ family. Along the way she is reunited with Sir Dalton and discovers that the struggle in her heart is far from over. When Dalton falls to the vicious attack of a mysterious, poisonous creature, Carliss finds herself in a race against time. As Dalton clings perilously to life, she must find the antidote in the distant and strange city of Moorue .

While there, Carliss uncovers the master plot of a powerful Shadow Warrior that will soon overtake the entire Kingdom. Her faith in the Prince and her courage as a knight are tested as she faces evil Shadow Warriors and a swamp full of dreadful creatures. The lives of many, including Dalton ’s, depend on Carliss. But she cannot save them all, for time is running out.  She faces an impossible choice: save Dalton , or let him die so that others may live.

Author Bio:
Chuck Black, a former F-16 fighter pilot and tactical communications engineer, is the author of nine novels, including the popular Kingdom series. He has received praise from parents across the country for his unique approach to telling biblical truths. His passion in life is to serve the Lord Jesus Christ and to love his wife, Andrea, and their six children. He lives with his family in North Dakota .

My thoughts:
Oh my goodness! This book grabbed my attention from page one and held on to it until the very end. It is fast-paced and has bits of humor sprinkled in. I can’t wait to check out the rest of the series. 

This is book 4 in the series but I was able to keep the characters straight and enjoy the story even though I haven’t read any of the others.

I also read the introduction to my daughter and she wants to read it.  She really wants to read it which is very impressive for a reluctant reader.

I heartily recommend this book. you can purchase it here through Random House.

I was provided with this book by Random House for purpose of review but have received no other form of compensation. The opinions expressed are mine.

Book review - All Things Hidden by Tricia Goyer

ABOUT THE BOOK!
The past is brought to light...
Charlotte is cleaning out the basement of Bedford Community Church when she comes across a tattered and yellowed newspaper article. The clipping, published more than a century ago, implicates her great-great-grandfather in the loss of funds intended to help finish building the church. Charlotte has heard stories about the incident through the years, but now it seems the past has come back to haunt her. Is it just her imagination or are people treating her differently now that they think she's descended from a crook? Will Charlotte be able to clear her family's name once and for all?
Meanwhile, Sam is spending time with a new girl in town-and is keeping secrets from his grandparents about where they go. Christopher is trying to get an article published in the local paper, and Emily reluctantly partners with a foreign exchange student on a class project and eventually comes to see that they're not that different after all. As old secrets are brought to light, the whole family is reminded that the truth is often more complicated than it seems.
Come home to Heather Creek. Get to know Charlotte Stevenson, who is raising her grandchildren on the family farm after a tragic accident changes all of their lives forever. With the help of her husband Bob and a close-knit circle of friends, she will do whatever it takes to keep this fragile family together. See how God, who makes the sun rise and the crops grow, watches over our lives too.
ABOUT HOME TO HEATHER CREEK:
Charlotte Stevenson's world is turned upside down when her daughter, Denise, dies in a tragic car accident. She ran away at eighteen and Charlotte has never forgiven herself. Now, Denise's children, abandoned by their father, are coming from California to live on Heather Creek Farm in Bedford, Nebraska.
--
Tricia's first book in the Home to Heather Creek series was Sweet September (book two) followed by  Every Sunrise (book seven) last spring and Sunflower Serenade this summer. All Things Hidden is book eighteen in the continuing story of the Stephensen family!

My thoughts:
I hate to admit that this is not my favorite Tricia Goyer book but it is still a good book.  I just didn’t relate as well to the characters, maybe because the main character is a grandmother and the other three main characters are teens.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Tricia Goyer is the author of several books, including Night Song and Dawn of a Thousand Nights, both past winners of the ACFW's Book of the Year Award for Long Historical Romance. Goyer lives with her family in Montana. To find out more visit her website: www.triciagoyer.com
BUY THE BOOK!
http://www.guideposts.com/heathercreek or you can call 1.800.431.2344


To read what others are saying about this book you can go HERE.

Life Lessons From a Horse Whisperer

While I have always liked horses, I wasn’t the horse-y one in my family. My sister was more into horses than I was, and she still is. So when I saw this book I was thinking about her.

But I really enjoyed it myself.

Dr. Lew Sterrett has written a fascinating and insightful book about what he learned about human relationships from training horses.  It is more similar than you might think.
He talks about

• getting a horse’s “want to” going and I know that is something I need to work on with my children, especially with school work.
• if a horse (or a person) is struggling “getting” a task, then break it down into smaller steps and if needed then go back to basics
• the importance of gaining trust, without trust the task is much harder – if not impossible.

Horse lovers will adore this book but you don’t have to love horses to enjoy it. Unless you are a hermit who avoids people and animals, you can learn something from Life Lessons From a Horse Whisperer. Dr. Sterrett style is engaging without being “preachy,” he shares what he has learned but doesn’t tell you what to do.

I highly recommend this book. You can read what others are saying about this book here.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR!
A champion trainer and true horse whisperer, Dr. Lew Sterrett has used patience and a firm but gentle hand to earn the trust of more than 3,500 horses. Dr. Lew Sterrett (Ph. D) had little idea that his boyhood interest in horses would open doors internationally for speaking and training. During his years in 4-H, he savored many opportunities to train and show horses and earn national recognition. As a student leader at Penn State University he benefited from many mentoring relationships from which he received valuable training, experience and honors. This foundation provided a basis for an extensive horse career with a unique emphasis on training youth and community leaders.
Lew has served as the Executive Director of Miracle Mountain Ranch Missions, Inc. (MMRM) since 1977. MMRM, located in northwestern Pennsylvania, is home for a summer youth camp, and a leadership training center for youth, adult, and family groups. He has also promoted safety in public riding programs, serving as President of the Certified Horse Association for 7 years. A licensed pastor, certified Youth, Marriage and Family Counselor, he earned his PhD from North Tennessee Seminary in 2007.
Find out more about Dr. Lew Sterrett on his website: http://www.sermononthemount.org/

I was provided with this book, free for purpose of review by LitFuse Publicity. I am not compensated in any other way.