The Dance by Dan Walsh and Gary Smalley

I am already hooked on this new series by Dan Walsh and Gary Smalley.  I am a big Dan Walsh fan and Gary Smalley seems to be one of my favorite co-authors.  I am looking forward to book 2 already!  This book reminded me some of Karen Kingsbury's series with the Baxters, which I loved!  I'm anxious to see if book 2 keeps the same characters or uses all new ones. I hope the same characters are used!  Each member of this family has a story to tell!

I really liked how this book didn't just hop into divorce and focused on separation.  Marilyn hasn't felt loved in her 27 years of marriage because all her husband, Jim, seems to think about is himself.  When Marilyn leaves, 2 of her children are not surprised and 1 of them is.  Apparently her children saw her loneliness when her husband never noticed.  

Jim is now tasked with earning his wife's love...if he can even manage to do that.  Marilyn loves Jim but Jim has to work through many things in order for reconciliation and restoration to be possible with Marilyn.  It's all about the dance.

__________

I received this book free from Revell Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

Taylor's Gift by Todd and Tara Storch

Life seemed to be going great for the Storch family.  It was just another vacation that was supposed to be full of wonderful memories.  Instead, their life was turned upside down in an instant.  Those wonderful memories are still there, but it's also hidden by the nightmare that they lived through on that day in March of 2010.  At only 13 years old, Taylor had so much life yet to live.  However, a horrible ski accident left her family having to make choices that no parent wants to make for their child.  Taylor still lives on, though, because of the choices that her family made.

I cried while reading this book and was amazed with how they deal with the day-to-day.  As a mom, losing a child is truly something I fear.  I appreciated their honesty and how they aren't afraid to discuss the events of that day, even though I'm sure the thoughts still hold much sadness and their grief is still very much real.

I liked the aspect of this book.  It raises awareness about organ donation, something we often don't think about until our families are left to make the decision for us.  Taylor's life saved 5 other people's lives.  You can't help but feel the thankfulness and the joy of the recipients of her organs, all the while still grieving over the life of this young girl.  As much as this story is about death, it's also so much about hope and life and giving. 

______________

I received this book free from Revell Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

Discovering the City of Sodom by Dr. Steven Collins and Dr. LaTayne C. Scott

This book was quite fascinating.  I have been studying Genesis since the beginning of the summer so when this book came up as available to review, I was quite excited.  I knew this book could go one of two ways....extremely fascinating or quite boring.  It did take me a few chapters to get into the book but was well worth the perseverance.  I think it took me a while to get used to reading the foreign-sounding places and some of the archaeological terms, which have extra help about these terms in the appendix section of the book.

The "Backstory" sections were interesting and I think it helped to remind the reader that it is a personal story, as well as a historical event/place that has been discovered.  I admire him for his use of Scripture and for basing his search off of Scripture.  If I remember right, he tells his students to "go to the text first" while they are figuring out an excavation.  I love that so much emphasis is put on God and that they long to prove to others that these events in Biblical history really did occur.

If you are at all interested in Sodom and Gomorrah, this book is a must read.  You will learn so much.  I think this book will take me several times of re-reading it to completely gather all of the information that is in it.

_______________

I received this book free from Howard Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

Love in the Balance by Regina Jennings

I really liked Molly and her beau Bailey.  Molly is easy to relate to and Bailey is a guy that I admire greatly because he is trying to be what God wants him to be, even if he doesn't always know how to be.  I never really questioned who Molly would end up with, but I was sad for her when it looked like she might choose someone different for a bit.  Bailey's love for her was deep and I just knew he had been crushed.  lt never stopped him or deterred him, though, from trying to win Molly's heart and to prove to her that he could make a life for her.

I am a big lover of historical books and you can't go wrong when you throw in a little bit of romance in with the history.  It was well-written and I didn't want to stop reading it.  I thought that the cover was perfect and really captured the story of the book.  I am very excited to read more of her books, as Regina Jennings is a new author to me and I think she is new to the whole book scene.  She has written another book, Sixty-Acres and a Bride, which is the first book in this series.

____________

For more reviews on this book and for more info on this book, go to http://litfusegroup.com/author/rjennings.

____________

I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers and Litfuse Publicity Group in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

The Guardian by Beverly Lewis

I am a huge fan of Beverly Lewis and have been anxiously awaiting this book in her Home to Hickory Hollow series.  This book took a totally different turn than I ever expected.  The first two books were great but I felt like I knew what had happened or was going to happen.  However, I was pleasantly surprised that was not the case in this book.  I didn't suspect the story to be more about 2 families than it was a girl.

I like how she brought two totally different women together all because of one little girl.  It was a beautiful story of setting aside differences and loving each other despite those differences.  We all go through grief and to see how they each dealt with it and how they came to terms with it was part of the larger story.  I think that's the part the readers can most relate to because we all face grief and hard problems.  We do have a choice in how we deal with the grief, as these two women demonstrated.

I am anxiously awaiting September so I can read the fourth book in this series!
____________
For more info:

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing The Guardian Bethany House Publishers (March 26, 2013) by Beverly Lewis

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Beverly's first venture into adult fiction is the best-selling trilogy, The Heritage of Lancaster County, including The Shunning, a suspenseful saga of Katie Lapp, a young Amish woman drawn to the modern world by secrets from her past. The book is loosely based on the author's maternal grandmother, Ada Ranck Buchwalter, who left her Old Order Mennonite upbringing to marry a Bible College student. One Amish-country newspaper claimed Beverly's work to be "a primer on Lancaster County folklore" and offers "an insider's view of Amish life."

Booksellers across the country, and around the world, have spread the word of Beverly's tender tales of Plain country life. A clerk in a Virginia bookstore wrote, "Beverly's books have a compelling freshness and spark. You just don't run across writing like that every day. I hope she'll keep writing stories about the Plain people for a long, long time."

A member of the National League of American Pen Women, as well as a Distinguished Alumnus of Evangel University, Lewis has written over 80 books for children, youth, and adults, many of them award-winning. She and her husband, David, make their home in Colorado, where they enjoy hiking, biking, and spending time with their family. They are also avid musicians and fiction "book worms."

ABOUT THE BOOK

When schoolteacher Jodi Winfield goes for a morning run, the last thing she expects is to find a disheveled little girl all alone on the side of the Pennsylvania road, clad only in her undergarments, her chubby cheeks streaked with tears. Jodi takes the preschooler home with her, intending to find out where she belongs. But Jodi is mystified when no one seems to know of a missing child, and the girl herself is no help, since she can't speak a word of English. It's as if the child appeared out of nowhere.

As the days pass, Jodi becomes increasingly attached to the mysterious girl, yet she is no closer to learning her identity. Then an unexpected opportunity brings Jodi to Hickory Hollow--and into the cloistered world of the Lancaster Old Order Amish. Might the answers lie there?

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

____________

I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers and CFBA in exchange for my honest opinion.

Firefly Island by Lisa Wingate

I was hooked on this book from the first page.  There are many times when I have difficulty switching from one book to another and it takes me a few chapters to get into the book.  That wasn't the case with this book.  I found the storytelling in this book to be beautiful and captured the reader straight from the beginning.

There is an air of mystery surrounding Jack West, Mallory's husband's new boss.  Did he really kill his wife and child?  Where are they and why have they disappeared with no trace at all?  Why is everything so remote on Moses Lake?  Moses Lake, Texas sounds beautiful but the house seems to be lacking in feminine decor.  Something about stuffed animals on a wall watching over a shower is a bit weird!  

I liked how Mallory's romance bloomed with Daniel so fast and how the reader was able to watch their new marriage play out before their eyes.  You experienced the stress of a move and the newness of becoming a step-parent.  You saw the questions she had and the independence that she battled with.  I did laugh at her talking in her sleep and the things she talked about!  I also loved their honeymoon "suite" and how they tried to dress it up a bit.

I haven't read the other two books in this series, but now I plan to.  I can't wait to read more by Lisa Wingate.

__________________

I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

Outrageous Courage by Kris Vallotton and Jason Vallotton

Radical obedience to God is something that isn't necessarily common these days.  I was so encouraged by this book...to hear of her radical obedience and the things that God has called Tracy Evans to be a part of.

When she was captured by guerrilla forces, I was amazed at her trust in God and her composure.  I was equally impressed with her quick thinking and her courage during her escape.  I'm not certain I would be able to think that clearly in a crisis.  You can see that her childhood helped prepare her for these instances in which she needed to listen and be quick on her feet to obey.

Tracy didn't have the ideal childhood and questioned God and didn't even come to Christ until later.  She wasn't afraid to ask hard questions and to be very honest.  I couldn't help but laugh at her natural instinct to hit someone, but I did like how God freed her of that. 

Too often, we diminish the impact of prayer and Tracy demonstrates the power of prayer in her life.  She has now given her life to help orphans and I love how she said that she's amazed that God has asked her, a single woman, to be a mother to so many children.  So beautiful.

_________________

I received this book free from Chosen Books in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.