The Rhythm of Secrets




This week, the
 
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
 
is introducing
 
Rhythm of Secrets
 
Kregel Publications (December 22, 2010)
 
by
 
Patti Lacy
 



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:





Patti Lacy, Baylor graduate, taught community college humanities until God called her to span seas and secrets in her novels, An Irishwoman's Tale and What the Bayou Saw. She has two grown children and a dog named Laura. She and her husband can be seen jog-walking the streets of Normal, Illinois, an amazing place to live for a woman born in a car. For more information, visit Patti's website at www.pattilacy.com, her blog at www.pattilacy.com/blog, and her Facebook daily Artbites.  



ABOUT THE BOOK


Sheila Franklin has masqueraded as the precocious daughter of avant-garde parents in colorful 1940s New Orleans, a teen desperate for love and acceptance, and an unwed mother sent North with her shame.


After marrying Edward, Sheila artfully masks her secrets, allowing Edward to gain prominence as a conservative pastor. When one phone call from a disillusioned Vietnam veteran destroys her cover, Sheila faces an impossible choice: save her son and his beloved…or imperil Edward’s ambitions.

Inspired by a true story, The Rhythm of Secrets intermingles jazz, classical, and sacred music in a symphony trumpeting God’s grace.

Endorsements:

“A vibrant journey across time in search of the greatest truth of all: grace.”—Tosca Lee, author of Havah: The Story of Eve and Demon: A Memoir



“No longer a ‘well-kept secret,’ Patti Lacy is a master storyteller who speaks to the soul with a powerful and unique rhythm, weaving a tale so emotionally rich that story and reader become one.”—Julie Lessman, author of The Daughters of Boston series and A Hope Undaunted
“Patti Lacy pens another beautifully written story in The Rhythm of Secrets. I couldn’t put it down!”—Melanie Dobson, award-winning author of The Black Cloister
“The Rhythm of Secrets is a stirring story of faith and endurance that will keep readers turning the page until every last secret is revealed.”—Tina Ann Forkner, author of Ruby Among Us and Rose House


If you would like to read an excerpt of Rhythm of Secrets, go HERE.

Happy Reading!!

Digitalis - Review

My

This week, the
 
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
 
is introducing
 
Digitalis
 
Barbour Publishing, Inc.(January 1, 2011)
 
by
 
Ronie Kendig
 


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:  

Ronie has been married since 1990 to a man who can easily be defined in classic terms as a hero. She has four beautiful children. Her eldest daughter is 16 this year, her second daughter will be 13, and her twin boys are 10. After having four children, she finally finished her degree in December 2006. She now has a B.S. in Psychology through Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA. Getting her degree is a huge triumph for both her and her family--they survived!!


This degree has also given her a fabulous perspective on her characters and how to not only make them deeper, stronger, but to make them realistic and know how they'll respond to each situation. Her debut novel, Dead Reckoning released March 2010 from Abingdon Press. And her Discarded Heroes series began in July 2010 from Barbour with the first book entitled Nightshade.

This is the second book in the series.

ABOUT THE BOOK





Step into the boots of a former Marine in this heart-pounding adventure in life and love. Colton “Cowboy” Neeley is a Marine trying to find his footing as he battles flashbacks now that he’s back home. Piper Blum is a woman in hiding—from life and the assassins bent on destroying her family. When their hearts collide, more than their lives are at stake. Will Colton find a way to forgive Piper’s lies? Can Piper find a way to rescue her father, trapped in Israel? Is there any way their love, founded on her lies, can survive?

If you would like to read an excerpt of Digitalis, go HERE.





My Review:

This was my first Ronie Kendig book and with it being the 2nd book in the Discarded Heroes series, I was afraid I would be lost.  I have been pleasantly surprised, but would also love to go back and read the first book.  This book is definitely action packed and a real page turner.  I would highly recommend it.
Thank you CFBA for the complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Happy Reading!!


Angel Harp


This week, the
 
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
 
is introducing
 
Angel Harp
 
FaithWords (January 26, 2011)
 
by
 
Michael Phillips
 



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:




Michael Phillips has been writing in the Christian marketplace for 30 years. All told, he has written, co-written, and edited some 110 books. Phillips and his wife live in the U.S., and make their second home in Scotland.  

ABOUT THE BOOK  


Widowed at 34, amateur harpist Marie "Angel" Buchan realizes at 40 that her life and dreams are slowly slipping away. A summer in Scotland turns out to offer far more than she ever imagined! Not only does the music of her harp capture the fancy of the small coastal village she visits, she is unexpectedly drawn into a love triangle involving the local curate and the local duke.


The boyhood friends have been estranged as adults because of their mutual love of another woman (now dead) some years before. History seems destined to repeat itself, with Marie in the thick of it. Her involvement in the lives of the two men, as well as in the community, leads to a range of exciting relationships and lands Marie in the center of the mystery of a long-unsolved local murder. Eventually she must make her decision: with whom will she cast the lot of her future?

If you would like to read the first chapter of Angel Harp, go HERE

Happy Reading!!

Serendipity

This week, the
 
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
 
is introducing
 
Serendipity
 
Bethany House (August 1, 2010)
 
by
 
Cathy Marie Hake
 


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:  


Known for surfing across the kitchen on a dropped dill pickle slice, waterskiing on sea anemone spit, and using Right Guard® as hair spray; she considers herself living proof that God does, indeed, possess a healthy sense of humor.

Cathy loves classical music, romantic getaways with her husband, and Diet Pepsi Free®. "I need chocolate to survive, love my friends, and enjoy a deep personal relationship with the Lord. Although an extrovert, I'm very conservative on a personal level."

In her writing, Cathy attempts to capture a unique glimpse of life and how a man and woman can overcome obstacles when motivated by love. In her inspirational pieces she enjoys the freedom of showing how Christ can enrich a loving couple's relationship.

Cathy Marie Hake is a registered nurse who worked for many years in an oncology unit before shifting her focus to perinatal care. The author of over twenty novels, she lives with her husband and two children in Anaheim, California.


ABOUT THE BOOK  

Todd Valmer should have known better. A farmer who's been through several disasters, he travels to Virginia to fetch his widowed mother to cook and help him around his Texas farm...or that was the plan until she keels over on the train and they get kicked off.


Maggie Rose barters for a living and also makes soaps, lotions, and perfumes with a special rose recipe passed down from mother to daughter for generations. She hasn't wanted to marry...until that handsome Texan shows up.

Her heart skips a beat, and when he proposes, a hasty marriage follows. What ensues, however, is a clash of culture and a battle of wills--and it's clear they both mistook instant attraction and infatuation for love. As their marriage loses its sparkle and fills with disillusionment, Todd and Maggie must determine what is worth fighting for. He dreams of a farm. Maggie wants to fulfill the family tradition with her rose perfumes.

Todd's mother, however, has entirely different plans for her son that do not include Maggie. In light of their hasty marriage and mistaken dreams, is there any hope of recapturing their love and building a future together?

If you would like to read the first chapter of Serendipity, go HERE.

Happy Reading!!


Unto the Hills - Review


 Book Description

The classic 365-day devotional from Billy Graham, now back in print.
No matter your place in life, this classic collection of devotional readings is designed to bring you daily to that special place of renewal— to help you pause and gaze "unto the hills" for help and inspiration.
Each of the 365 daily readings in this inspiring collection offers a carefully chosen passage of scripture, a brief, thoughtful message from Dr. Graham, and a heartfelt prayer composed especially for this book. Distilled from a lifetime of study and ministry, these devotionals supply daily food for thought about living fruitfully and joyfully in an often fretful world.
Simple, direct, encouraging yet challenging, this book offers itself as a heartening companion for your daily walk in the valley. This collection is a gentle but constant reminder that we can find help for all our needs as long as we remember to look up . . . unto the hills but especially unto the Lord.
My Review:
I never had the privilege of reading the first “Unto the Hills”, but after growing up in the Bible belt and living with my Nanny who absolutely loved Billy Graham, I was so excited to be allowed the chance to review this new edition.  I am a devotional lover anyway and have definitely been thrilled with this one.  Billy Graham has such a peaceful way of dealing with and explaining things.  
As with most devotionals, this book is broken down into daily tid bits.  Little pieces of knowledge, comfort, joy, hope, and inspiration as well as strength to deal with suffering, discouragement, and selfishness.  This book, if used as intended, will be a great tool in any life, family, and marriage. 
I know we will be keeping it around and leaving it out to pick up and read as need and to offer to friends and family.  I would recommend this devotional to everyone!!
Thank you Thomas Nelson and the Booksneeze program for the complimentary copy of  this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Happy Reading!!

Courting Miss Amsel - review




This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Courting Miss Amsel
Bethany House (January 1, 2011)
by
Kim Vogel Sawyer






ABOUT THE AUTHOR:



Kim Vogel Sawyer is the author of fifteen novels, including several CBA and ECPA bestsellers. Her books have won the ACFW Book of the Year Award, the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, and the Inspirational Readers Choice Award. Kim is active in her church, where she leads women's fellowship and participates in both voice and bell choirs. In her spare time, she enjoys drama, quilting, and calligraphy. Kim and her husband, Don, reside in central Kansas, and have three daughters and six grandchildren.





ABOUT THE BOOK



Edythe Amsel is delighted with her first teaching assignment: a one-room schoolhouse in Walnut Hill, Nebraska. Independent, headstrong, and a strong believer in a well-rounded education, Edythe is ready to open the world to the students in this tiny community. But is Walnut Hill ready for her?



Joel Townsend is thrilled to learn the town council hired a female teacher to replace the ruthless man who terrorized his nephews for the past two years. Having raised the boys on his own since their parents' untimely deaths, Joel believes they will benefit from a woman's influence. But he sure didn't bargain on a woman like Miss Amsel.



Within the first week, she has the entire town up in arms over her outlandish teaching methods, which include collecting leaves, catching bugs, making snow angels, and stringing ropes in strange patterns all over the schoolyard. Joel can't help but notice that she's also mighty pretty with her rosy lips, fashionable clothes, and fancy way of speaking.



When Edythe decides to take her pupils to hear Miss Susan Anthony speak on the women's suffrage amendment, the town's outcry reaches new heights. Even Joel isn't sure he can support her newfangled ideas any longer. And if he can't trust her to know how to teach the boys, how can he trust her with his heart?



If you would like to read the first chapter of Courting Miss Amsel, go HERE.

My Review:

Kim Vogel Sawyer's Courting Miss Amsel was truly an enjoyable book for me.  As a homeschool mom, I always enjoy books that include a one room school house.  Miss Amsel has such a love for teaching and for the kids.  I love how she handles the sweetness of some students and the pranks of another.  As with all of us, there are times when we need to learn or relearn to give God complete control and let Him guide us through life.  This was such a refreshing book, an easy read, a page turner.

Thank you CFBA for the complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Happy Reading!!

The Girl in the Gatehouse





This week, the
 
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
 
is introducing
 
The Girl in the Gatehouse
 
Bethany House (January 1, 2011)
 
by
 
Julie Klassen
 


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:  

Julie says: My background is in advertising and marketing, but I am blessed with a dream job—working as an editor of Christian fiction. I have been writing since childhood, but Lady of Milkweed Manor was my first novel. It was a finalist for a Christy Award and won second place in the Inspirational Reader's Choice Awards. My second novel, The Apothecary's Daughter, was a finalist in the ACFW Book of the Year awards. I am currently writing one novel a year.

I graduated from the University of Illinois and enjoy travel, research, BBC period dramas, long hikes, short naps, and coffee with friends.

My husband and I have two sons and live near St. Paul, Minnesota.



ABOUT THE BOOK





Miss Mariah Aubrey, banished after a scandal, hides herself away in a long-abandoned gatehouse on the far edge of a distant relative's estate. There, she supports herself and her loyal servant the only way she knows how--by writing novels in secret.

Captain Matthew Bryant, returning to England successful and wealthy after the Napoleonic wars, leases an impressive estate from a cash-poor nobleman, determined to show the society beauty who once rejected him what a colossal mistake she made.

When he discovers an old gatehouse on the property, he is immediately intrigued by its striking young inhabitant and sets out to uncover her identity, and her past. But the more he learns about her, the more he realizes he must distance himself. Falling in love with an outcast would ruin his well-laid plans. The old gatehouse holds secrets of its own. Can Mariah and Captain Bryant uncover them before the cunning heir to the estate buries them forever?

If you would like to read the first chapter of The Girl in the Gatehouse, go HERE

Happy Reading!!

Under the Overpass - review by Dan

About Mike and Sam:


Mike and his wife Danae live in Vancouver, B.C. with their dog, Elliott, and are both studying for their Masters of Christian Studies (MCS) degrees at Regent College. Their passions include backpacking, hiking, running, tea, growing veggies, good books, and connecting with people of all sorts. Mike serves on the board of directors for World Vision US and the board of advisers for Kilns College. He and Danae just released a new book called Zealous Love: A Practical Guide to Social Justice









Sam
Purvis just married lovely Christine on Sept 21. 2010.  Sam and Christine both work at a coffee bar called BARISTA in Portland, OR. They are involved in a small house church community seeking to live out a belief in God, a love for each other and a commitment to the city they live in. Outside of work Sam and Christine enjoy life in Portland, the variety of people, food, music and art that comes with a city enamored with thought, culture and design.

Seven years post-travel with Mike, Sam's ideas about living in relationship with those in obvious physical need have been forever changed and are still being shaped. If you were to ask Sam today if he feels like he has found a place where the more privileged life that he leads as a result of color and generational privilege has collided with the lives of those lacking these temporal privileges, he would tell you that he still feels caught in between and is trying to grow in to a way of living where he is walking in obedience to Christ's heart for those less fortunate.



Under the Overpass Specific Bio: 
Several years ago Mike Yankoski took off a semester from college between his 
Sophomore and Junior years to do something a little uncanny. 
He was homeless. For five months, in six different American cities, Mike and a friend 
named Sam intentionally ate from trash cans and Rescue Missions, slept under bridges, 
and panhandled in order to survive.  They chose to do this not only in order to better 
understand the plight of the American homeless, but more specifically to observe how the Church and Christians were interacting with this despised corner of American society. 
Mike's book Under the Overpass: A Journey of Faith on the Streets of America 
(Multnomah, 2010) captures his journey on the streets and relates the people and 
experiences that forever changed his life during that five month journey.  Today, Mike 
has a passion to push Christians to live an active and out loud lifestyle of faith, directed 
by God's will, centered on His Word, and engaged with the surrounding world.  He is 
excited to use the story of Christ's love and calling in his life to captivate and motivate 
Christians into deeper faith and bolder action. 
Living in Vancouver, B.C., Mike and his wife Danae are studying for their Masters 
Degrees at Regent College.  When they aren't buried in books or writing papers, their 
hobbies include running, hiking, and backpacking.  Their new book, Zealous Love: A 
Practical Guide to Social Justice (Zondervan, 2010) helps readers respond to eight areas of global need in light of Christ's great love. 
Mike also serves on the Board of Directors of World Vision US and the Advisory Board 
of Kilns College. 
About the Book:

After meals from garbage cans and dumpsters, night after night Mike and Sam found their beds under bridges and on the streets. They were forced to depend on the generosity and kindness of strangers as they panhandled to sustain their existence. For more than five months, the pair experienced firsthand the extreme pains of hunger, the constant uncertainty and danger of living on the streets, exhaustion, depression, and social rejection—and all of this by their own choice. This is their story. Through Mike’s firsthand account, Under the Overpass provides important insight into the truths of the street and calls the younger generation of believers to take great risks of faith to bring Christ’s love to the neediest corners of the world.



Dan’s Review:
Mike Yankowski answers God's call on his life and takes a daring road-less-traveled approach to experience and understand firsthand the realities of a life on the street. Through his personal experiences he gains a more thorough understanding of God's call to serve all people regardless of their social status or outward appearance. His own internal struggles and revealing of the church's shortcomings are a strong reminder where we lack application of what Jesus taught his disciples and us through his lessons in the Word. 

Christians as-a-whole grossly lose focus of what is important in our lives by focusing on our own personal comforts and desires rather than attending to the real needs of those around us. Mike shares a couple of examples of real people that no matter how meager their possessions, they have the heart to serve their fellow homeless people in need. Hopelessness is an ever-present theme in many homeless people along with mental illnesses, addictions and physical challenges. Mike helps the reader see the homeless as people with names. This is something he refers to in the book that he gives as an example of how people are able to ignore those in need that they encounter by not even acting like they are people with names. 

Mike and his partner on the street, Sam, while learning the hardships, simple joys and experiencing the relational loneliness of life on the street, find a way after their experiences to apply what they learn to be a better Christian witness with their own lives. 

I did enjoy this personal account of life on the street and know Mike was holding back some of the even more brutal realities of his experience but I believe this book does a great job of challenging us to come back to the basics of serving God's people in need. 
I want to thank Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers and the Blogging for Books program for the complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Happy Reading!!

Paradise Valley - review




This week, the
 
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
 
is introducing
 
Paradise Valley
 
Bethany House (January 1, 2011)
 
by
 
Dale Cramer
 



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:  


Dale Cramer was the second of four children born to a runaway Amishman turned soldier and a south Georgia sharecropper's daughter. His formative years were divided between far-flung military bases, but he inherited his mother's sense of place—


He took on small construction projects at night to help make ends meet— "and to preserve the remainder of my sanity," he says. While building an office in the basement of a communications consultant, a debate over labor/management relations turned into an article on mutualism which found its way into an international business magazine. It was Dale's first published article, and he liked the feel of it. He bought books, studied technique, and began participating in an online writers' forum, writing during the boys' naps and after they went to bed at night. Before long he was publishing short stories in literary magazines and thinking about writing a book.

Three storylines vied for Dale's attention when he finally decided to write a novel. His first two choices were commercially viable secular stories, and a distant third appeared to be some kind of Christian saga about a broken-down biker. The process of determining which novel to write was settled by a remarkable encounter with his youngest son, a lost set of keys, and God. His sense of direction was suddenly clarified. In 1997, Dale began work on Sutter's Cross, which was eventually published in 2003.

His second novel, Bad Ground (July 2004), while it is not autobiographical, contains a great deal of material drawn from his own experience as a construction electrician.

He and his wife and two sons make their home in northern Georgia.


ABOUT THE BOOK  


An Amish settlement in Ohio has run afoul of a law requiring their children to attend public school. Caleb Bender and his neighbors are arrested for neglect, with the state ordering the children be placed in an institution. Among them are Caleb's teenage daughter, Rachel, and the boy she has her eye on, Jake Weaver. Romance blooms between the two when Rachel helps Jake escape the childrens home.


Searching for a place to relocate his family where no such laws apply, Caleb learns there's inexpensive land for sale in Mexico, a place called Paradise Valley. Despite rumors of instability in the wake of the Mexican revolution, the Amish community decides this is their answer. And since it was Caleb's idea, he and his family will be the pioneers. They will send for the others once he's established a foothold and assessed the situation.

Caleb's daughters are thrown into turmoil. Rachel doesn't want to leave Jake. Her sister, Emma, who has been courting Levi Mullet, fears her dreams of marriage will be dashed. Miriam has never had a beau and is acutely aware there will be no prospects in Mexico.

Once there, they meet Domingo, a young man and guide who takes a liking to Miriam, something her father would never approve. While Paradise Valley is everything they'd hoped it would be, it isn't long before the bandits start giving them trouble, threatening to upset the fledgling Amish settlement, even putting their lives in danger. Thankfully no one has been harmed so far, anyway.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Paradise Valley, go HERE.

My Review:


I have heard a lot about Dale Cramer’s book Levi’s Will but have never had the chance to read it or anything by him.  I am a huge Amish fiction fan, so I was excited, yet a little skeptical, when given the opportunity to read a story about an Amish girl written by a man.  I was extremely thrilled with the outcome though.  From beginning to end Dale did a fabulous job.  He is a very talented author and completely keeps your interest from beginning to end.  
I love how he took the unfortunate events of the 1920 Ohio Amish community and turned it into such a great story.  I really enjoyed how he weaved fact with fiction and told the story of one Amish family who chose to leave the US in search of freedom.  I enjoyed the family adventure and the love that always blooms in spite of the situation.
I would recommend this book to anyone.  It was an easy read and thoroughly enjoyable.
Thank you CFBA for the complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Happy Reading!!

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I am a fully devoted follower of Christ!! I love my husband and kids more than I ever thought you could love. I have a wonderful granddaughter who is the most precious little girl in the world. I am a long time homeschool mom and love every minute of it. I thank God every day for blessing me with my family and allowing me to be able to stay home and devote my life to them!!!
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