Product Description

A Place Called Blessing chronicles the story of five-year-old Josh. He and his two older brothers lose their parents in a drunk driving accident. After a series of foster homes and a shocking tragedy, he and his brothers are separated, leaving him angry, alone, and distrustful. At age eighteen, a step away from homelessness, he finds unconditional love and the gift of "the blessing." This book shows how to implement the five elements of the biblical blessing found in Trent's book, The Blessing. A Focus on the Family book.

 

My Review

I just finished reading a novel of unconditional love, written by John Trent.   I found it to be an incredible life-changing story!  It is written in the first person, as if by Josh, and though this is not my preference, i did think it was the best way to tell this story, and told mostly as Josh relating his story after the fact. Then at the end he brings us into the present.

The story starts off with Josh giving a bit of background to his dysfunctional family, and i was drawn to these little boys left to figure out life while their parents partied.  The story really starts when Josh and his two brothers lost their parents in a drunk driving accident, and they are placed in a foster home.  The events that happen to separate the boys is heartbreaking, but understandable. Even after i was finished reading, my heart was heavy for those poor little ones, and inspired by the unconditional love showed to Josh when he was a young man dealing with anger, mad at the world. 

John uses this novel as a way to introduce the idea of Blessing, or Unconditional Love to those hurting from all kinds of dysfunctional relationships that may have happened in life.

 i recieved this book free from ThomasNelson Publishers through their Booksneeze program. i was not required to give a positive review.

Product Description

Nurse Natalie Fallon has brought her ailing mother to Denver for her health and starts a job at Denver's Mile High Hospital, where she meets fellow nurse Breanna Baylor Brockman. In Natalie's past is a relationship with Rex Rawlins, a young medical student. Two years prior she had ended the relationship when she learned Rex was planning a rural practice. She is determined not to marry a country doctor like her father, who died at age 43 from overwork. But she has never stopped loving Rex, and now, little does she know that Rex is a rural doctor in the surrounding mountains. A serious accident brings them together, but it will take a miracle to give them the promise of a life together.

I just finished reading Al Lacy’s NOT BY MIGHT. It’s been quite a few years since i picked up an Al Lacy book, simply because they have lost my interest. The book was well written, using words to aptly describe vivid scenery. The characters are strong and believable, and catch the reader’s attention.  His book is a typical Lacy wild western complete with good guys , the Marshalls and bad guys, the outlaws.  It is a historical, taking place in Colorado before the use of motorized vehicles. Those who enjoy good clean westerns like Zane Grey will enjoy this book.

MY REVIEW

I prefer books with lots of action – keep you on your toes at the edge of the seat type of action, and Al Lacy does not do that for me. I don’t mind the scripture being mentioned, but this book repeated  Zachariah  4 verse 6 many,  many times “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit saith the Lord”. Again, i prefer the gospel story as well as the salvation story (or lack thereof) to be told by the lives of the characters in a more subtle way that Al Lacy’s in your face.  I could recommend this book to an armchair reader who likes westerns.

Giveaway at Lady Katie

 ATTENTION FRIENDS,

Do you love to read? Lady Katie at www.katie-mccurdy.blogspot.com is having a giveaway. check it out!

August 21, 2011

Hi guys

it's been a long time since i blogged, but it's been a crazy summer. As i sit here in a motel room in Saskaotoon, Saskatchewan, i'm having a bit of down time. Mom and i just came back from an awesome reunion, a highlight of my LIFE.
About 13 years ago i left little town Linden, Alberta to see the bright lights of - little town Borden. (actually Borden is a lot smaller than Linden, but it has something Linden doesn't have - Living Books, Inc and employment for me). The five years i spent there were great years, and i learnt a lot about books (hahaha) and a lot of people.
Now that i have that background out of the way, Yesterday was awesome, wonderful, great and words i don't know. Living Books Inc has now been in business for 25 years, and they invited present and past workers, representatives, and distributors to a grand day of, reunion. Not only were there lots of people i had interacted closely with during the years i worked there, but they had invited a few authors to share in their day, who graceously accepted the invite. Lauraine Snelling (whom i had met at LBI while working there), Brock Thoene (Bodie was busy at Sarah's house with the new grandbaby who arrived a month early) and Davey and Marie Janke (they just have a new book out on OUR WITCHDOCTORS ARE TOO WEAK, from David C. Cook).
i could go on and on about the great day we had, the presentations the authors gave, the allocades the company gave and so on, but suffice it to say that i am grateful they invited me. Martin, Janice and Vangie Whitbread and all the current staff did a wonderful job. Thanks guys. again.

Workadayreads Celebration Giveaway

Sarah from Workaday Reads has a milestone to celebrate! Check it out !!  http://www.workadayreads.com

Well the badge says it all. It's time to celebrate double milestones: my 6 month anniversary of Workaday Reads, and reaching an amazing 500 followers!

I have been having so much fun with this blog. I love all the new authors and books I've discovered, not to mention the whole book blogging community, and all of you fabulous readers. To celebrate I have an awesome giveaway for you.

The Incovenient Marriage of Charlotte Beck - Kathleen Y'Barbo

Product Description

When a man whose price is his family name meets a woman who wishes to buy her freedom, their growing attraction causes their marriage of convenience to become quite inconvenient. Will the heiress intent on freedom succumb to the reluctant astronomer with stars in his eyes?

  MY REVIEW

Kathleen Y’Barbo does an incredible job of bringing high class of the era of 1887 – 1891 to life both in London, England and in the west America country of Colorado. Charlotte Beck is a joy to get to know as are the other characters in the novel.  Having Colonel Cody, also known as the Great Buffalo Bill, interact with the family both in the new country as well as in England ties the two continents together nicely. This delightfully humorous story also explores the relationships between fathers and daughters, step-mothers and step-daughters, grandfathers and granddaughters, and peers.  The reader learns a lot about life during the Victorian Years in a way that doesn’t seem like learning at all.

This is the third book in a series of three following – The Confidential Life of Eugenia Cooper (book #1) and Anna Finch and the Hired Gun (book #2) and though i read and enjoyed The Inconvenient Marriage of Charlotte Beck, i think reading the first two books would give more background to this one.

I found it confusing that Charlotte’s step-mother was named Eugenia (most often Gennie) and her mother was named Georgiana, though both names would have been common during that time frame.

This book was a great one, and i would recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical romance fiction.

I received this ebook free from WaterbrookMultnomah publishers through their Blogging For Books program in exchange for an honest review. The opinions stated in this review are mine.

The Canary List by Sigmund Brouwer was everything and more than i expected from him. It has been quite some time since i delved into a Brower novel, and i was not sure just how this one would compare with some of his earlier ones. I found this one to be just as gripping or more so.

The characters are well rounded, and the scenery vivid, from the coast of California to Italy and the Vatican.

From the first sentence, where we read that a young boy is abused, to the last words of the catholic Father, i was riveted to the story. The twists and turns of the story kept me on the edge of my seat.  When reading this, i would have to leave the story frequently, just to distance myself a little from the intense action going on. But it wouldn’t be much later, and i would find myself back at the novel again, anxious to see what the next turn brought.  This novel also deals with the relationships between teacher and student, father and son, father and daughter, authorities and colleagues, as well as politics in religious circles.

I received this novel as a free ebook from  Waterbrook/Multnomah publishers through Blogging For Books for the purpose of reviewing it. I did not need to give a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own.

Product Description

When false accusations rip apart the life of school teacher Crockett Gray, his only hope of redemption and of reclaiming his son is finding out who has targeted one of his elementary students, twelve-year-old Jaimie Gregg, for death. But the truth behind her gift and her abandonment as a baby is a secret that lies at the heart of centuries-old witchcraft conspiracy hidden within the Vatican - a secret on the verge of destroying Christianity for bleievers all across the world.