Mine is the night by LIZ CURTIS HIGGS

As an avid reader of christian fiction and Liz Curtis Higgs, I was highly anticipating reading this book. In previous works by Higgs I recall her to be a witty and humorous storyteller. While Mine is the Night is not meant to have you doubled over in laughter, it certainly held me on the edge of my seat and laid open in my hands for several hours until its completion. Mine is the Night is a modern retelling of the beloved story of Ruth from the Bible. If the 18th century can be considered "modern". While based on Ruth, it is not merely the same story with names and settings swapped out. In fact, after the initial introduction of the characters and opening plot I did not see how Higgs would follow through with her interpretation of the biblical story. Basis of the plot set aside, I found this book another complement to Higgs' collection of well-written volumes. As I said before, I could not put it down once I began reading and finished it in one day. The characters were well developed and I felt as if I were in Scotland along with Elizabeth and Marjory. And while this is the conclusion to a previous book, Here Burns My Candle, I did not feel as if I had come into the story unaware and was playing catch-up the entire time. In addition, being someone familiar with christian fiction, I was pleasantly surprised with the lack of "preaching" in this book. It is my preference not to read through pages and pages of sermons (in reality skipping over) while characters attend church services. Higgs does a wonderful job of presenting the gospel through the lives of her characters while not boring (can I say that?) her christian readers. All in all, if you're a fan of this type of literature you will find Higgs' newest book a delightful read.

[Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."]

Shadowes on the sand by Gayle Roper

It's been a while since there has been a new original book from Gayle Roper so I was anticipating this book very much. It's been a while since I've read a good mystery and I know I can get one from Roper's books. From the cover of the book, as well as the description of the story, I wasn't expecting religious cults to play a huge factor in the plot. Cults are something that both interest and disgust me at the same time. I never can understand how people get sucked into them. I found it incredibly sad at how Andi was forced by her parents to leave her home and join the cult. Reading about the polygamous marriages and how they were making young teenage girls get married to older men was despicable. I felt that Greg's reasons for why men and women join religious cults were good explanations yet very sad at the same time. I feel like religious cults are something that needs to be brought up more because Christians need to know when God's words are being twisted and used incorrectly and not get swept up by things that sound like they are right.

While I enjoyed the story a lot, I felt sometimes that the book was going in many different directions and didn't know which one it wanted to stick with. There were times it felt like a cozy mystery, then a romance story, then suspense, then women's fiction. The different points of view that kept changing threw me off a bit too. One chapter would be first person perspective from Carrie's POV and then it'd switched to Andi's third person POV, not to mention the murderer's side of the story as well. I wasn't a big fan of how the murderer was introduced. I felt it was way too obvious and not beneficial to continue from their POV after we had already met and figured out who it was. The last thing that irked me was how people who used twitter were portrayed in this story in a negative light. As far as I know, the author isn't active on Twitter so unless she is just lurking, I don't think she really knows how to use it. The Twitter users were portrayed as rude with bad social skills and glued to the Internet 24/7. Also the false misconception of how everything you do must be posted on Twitter is used again here. It bothered me because if someone actually uses the service then they know it is not like that at all.

Despite everything I said above, I really did enjoy this story. It's a good mystery and despite the beachy looking cover, it's not really a light read at all. As I mentioned earlier, there are dark things mentioned in this book that a lot of Christians don't really want to think about or read about in their books. This appears to be the first book in a series so I'm hoping that we will be returning back to Seaside for more adventures in the future.

RESTLESS IN CAROLINA

by

Tamara Leigh

ISBN: 9781601421685

Paperback, 342 pages

Multnomah Publishing

Bridget Pickwick-Buchanan runs a nursery and loves the outdoors.  She has been a widow for four years but just can't let her husband go, she still wears her wedding band.

But as the family estate is going to have to be sold as her uncle Obe is now the full owner of the Pickwick mansion and the lands around it.  But he has the early stages of dementia and wants to get the property sold and dived up to his neices before he can't remember at all anymore.  This property sits just outside Ashville, N.C. so she is really a tom boy from the south instead of a belle.

Bridget alone with Piper and her other cousins are in control of getting this done and the best price for the property.  Then alone comes two guys that both are interesting in buying it, there is the rich J.C. Dirk and Caleb Merriman.

Now there is the challenge of picking the person that will keep the property experimental safe, as the family is really into saving the planet.

I really enjoyed this book as Bridget is really a funny person but also I live in SC and have been to Ashville a number of times and also to the famous Biltmore House.

Thanks so much to Blogging for Books for sending me this copy of the  book to review.

A scent From Darkness

By michael Leehan

  Intersting book,a book into yhe world of satan.I don't see how Michael could continue on a path of destuction for 20 years .How he could cut himself as a sacrifice to satan all those years.Didn't he realize as he was loseing friends,family jobsanf relationships all he had to do was turn back to God.God was with him all the way.

This book was sent to me free from BookSneeze for my review.

Not by Might

Al Lacey

I enjoyed this book,nurse Nataliv Fallon and nurse Brookman went throught some diffcult times with the ones they loved,There faith in god spirt was with them all the way.



this book was sent to me free for my review from WalterBrook/Multnomah.

Stumbling into Grace

By Lisa Harper

This book was hard to get into at first.But the way Lisa  wrote her interpertation of Bible veriser made yunderstand them you better.She made you laugh at timesand think about what would in certain things that hasppen.


this book was sent to me free from BookSneeze for my review.

Robertas reading Place

The Harvest of Grace

by

Cindy Woodsmall

ISBN: 978-1-4000-7398-6

Paperback, 357 pages

WaterBrook Press

Excerpt

My Thoughts:

Cindy has written some good Amish books and I own all of them.  But this one got me a little confused, it keep bouncing from one person to the other and was a little hard to keep up with.  But after I got into the book a little further it became clearer.

Sylvia Fisher was not like most young Amish women, she didn't like to do housework but had rather be outside raising the herd of milking cows that her father owned.  She could be up all night when there was trouble with a birth and she could manage the diary by herself.  But when the man that wanted her to marry him and she had put off, come up engaged to her sister, she could not stay around and watch them get married.  So she saw a notice where an older man needed someone to help him with his diary, she talked her dad into letting her apply for this job and she got it.  She moved to the farm in another town but it was so run down and they were so in debt, she didn't know if she could save it or not.  Then their son came home and everything changed as he hated the diary and farming but started to help his parents out but he was wanting them to sell the farm and to move into town with him.

Thanks to Waterbrook Press for sending me this book to review .

Robertas reading place

The Canary List
by Sigmund Brouwer
Jamie Piper is a twelve year old girl who  can sense evil.She tries to find safety with her teacher Crockett Grey.Crockett isgetting drunk on the anniversary of his daughter death who died from cancer.
Jamie only brings trouble to him.He is accused of child molestation and is arrested.Crocket tries to uncover what has happen to him and where Jamie has gone.
As time the mess gets darker he finds the vatican is watching him and he doesn't know why.
the Canary list makes you wonder if demons are real or can we explain all this.
 this book was sent to me for free from WaterBook/Multnomah Publishing for my review.

Robertas reading place

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Thunder Dog
By Michael Hingson with Susy Flory

You would think being blind would make Michael Higson disability.But in his case that is not so.Michael was born blind but has never let it stop him from doing the things he wanted to do.He learned to ride a bike,drive,and even to fly a airplane.
The book Thunder Dog tells his story of how he suriviedd the attack of the World trade Center with his guide dog Roselle.He only remembers the attack by sounds,smells and feeling
as he walked down 78 flights of staries with the help of Roselle.

He remembers hunders of other people,fire fighters on their way up as he slowly came down before the building collapses around them.Michael lets you know that anyone can overcome obstacles and anything is possible.

I received this book free from BookSneeze for my review

Robertas reading place

                                                      Life in spite of me
                                           By Kristen Jane Anderson with Tricis Goyer
                                             209 pages paperback

I really enjoyed this book.How Kristen could lay down across train tracks with a train coming is beyond me.
God had to be with her.Everything that happened to her was God's showing Kristen the way he wanted things to be for her.Just like  he can show anyone of us the way he would like things to be for us if we only would beleive and had the faith Kristen had.


I do recommend this book.It was esnt to me free for my review from WalterBrook/Multnomahn.

Robertas reading place

          Money Secrets of the Amish
  by Lorilee craker
     ISBN 978-1-5955-5341-6

 The author sharies her Amish roots.She explanation of ties to the Amish was more of a connection with tradition in the way of dress,eating and verbigage,
They belive in simplicity,sharing and saving.Don't by on credit.use what you have first.It gently tells how ideas that amish families utitize to be responsible with.
I did enjoy the stories about some of the amish.Such as one maqn who saved $400,000.00 dollars to put towards his own farm all while raising 14 children and renting a farm.
  This is a powerful testimony of saving for a goal.

If you are a saving person you will not be disappointed.



I was sent this book from BookSneeze for my review.the opions are my own.