false 85 267 234 true 5735554 read 1 true 3739852 currently-reading 32 true 3739851 to-read http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77697345 to: A Prisoner of Versailles (Darkness to Light, #2) by Golden Keyes Parsons
The French Hugenots are a piece of history that most people don't know about. During the time of King Louis the XIV, he believed that everyone should be Catholic and the Hugenots were persecuted for their faith. Prisoner of Versilles is the sequel to Shadow of the Sun King and is even more gripping than the first one. Golden Keyes Parsons has created a family that is so real you will feel like you on going on their journey with them. Madeline grew up with the King and they once loved each other, now he wants her back even if its by force. With no regard for her family or home. In book one she travels to Versailles to beg for her family and home in the name of the old days. The King is not convinced and she must flee.

Now we follow Madeline as she tries to get her family out of the country and away from the King's reach. She is thwarted and is taken back to Versailles, against her will and with her oldest son. Can she be like Esther and save her family at the cost of herself? Is her son really the heir to the throne?

I was completely swept away by this story. The only good thing about this book ending is that I know there will be a third book to come out and I can't wait. Step back into history and walk the pathway of the past as you read this book and fall in love with Madeline's story!
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77692030 to: White Picket Fences: A Novel (Paperback) by Susan Meissner
I really liked Susan's book, "The Shape of Mercy" but it raises the bar awfully high for any future books she has come out. She does not disappoint. In White Picket Fences we meet Neil and Amanda and their kids Chase and D who live the perfect life in a house with a white picket fence. They take in Amanda's niece, Tally, when her dad disappears. Tally turns the family life upside down (not intentionally) by befriending Chase and all kinds of issues arise to the surface. Is Neil and Amanda's perfect marriage really perfect? What really happened when Chase was in a fire at age 4? Why is Tally's dad in Europe when his daughter needs him?

Chase and Tally have a school project that leads them to interview two old men at a nursing home that survived Treblinka during the Holocaust. This opens doors to the past that no one new existed. Susan Meissner has a gift for bringing the past to the present in an inspiring way. She does it again in this book and I loved it! Secrets are exposed, mysteries unravel and darkness comes to light in "White Picket Fences". ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77295787 to: The Silent Gift (Paperback) by Michael Landon
It is almost 3:00 in the morning as I write this review. Why? Because I just finished the last page of a book that gripped my heart from the first paragraph and didn't let go until the last sentence had me in tears. I was swept away into the life and times of the 1930's with such abandon that I would have sworn for a short while that I could smell the circus, see the sunlight reflecting off the windows at the Edmundson's estate, glimpse the red skin barely peeking out from under Mary's white kid gloves and feel Jack sitting next to me in comfortable silence, sharing companionship with an old friend. The fact that the storyline was fresh and original and always left me wondering what was around the corner was sheer bonus.

The story opens with Jerry driving his young wife Mary to the hospital in labor. On the way there things go horribly awry and we are left wondering if Mary and Jack even survive. From there we move forward seven years and things aren't good. Mary finally sees an opening to leave Jerry and she does just that, taking Jack and fleeing to safety... maybe. Along the way she discovers that Jack has a gift... of prophecy, but he can't speak. This is incredibly interesting and then suddenly the world is turned on its head and Jack is taken away from Mary. Time passes and Mary can finally go looking for Jack, but her search does not reveal what she was hoping for. Is God really watching out for her? Who can she trust? Has Mary let down her son when he had no one else?

Venture carefully into this story because you may not want to leave after meeting Mary and Jack, and I dare you not to love them and sob at the last sentence in this wonderful book.

]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76978538 to: One Fine Season (Paperback) by Michael Sheehan
I read this book and have a couple different things to say about this book. First, I met Michael Sheehan at a conference this Fall and was impressed with the man. He was very genuine and charismatic and I got to talk with him about the story behind the story. The two friends that he wrote the story to memorialize. It gave a whole new depth to the book for me and I really enjoyed meeting him.

Secondly, I do have to put a warning label on this book. I was a little surprised to find a couple swear words in this books, not that they weren't maybe realistic in the scenarios they pop up in, but the story would have been just fine without them being there. And also there is a part in the story where the main character and his girlfriend succumb to their passion for each other. They are not Christians at the time, but that doesn't change the fact that I never approve of pre-marital sex.

Those issues aside, I actually enjoyed the story and was really drawn in by the characters. The storyline is definitely baseball, baseball, baseball - but I really enjoyed the details and the feel of the game. Michael does a great job putting you right in the middle of the diamond and making you follow the hits, strikes and runs. But where he excels is in introducing us to the character, Danny Grace and his journey.

I would love to strongly recommend this book, but due to the warnings I previously listed, I can't, but I can say that if those don't bother you - then this is a really good book.
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76886712 to: Limelight: A Novel (Paperback) by Melody Carlson
What a unique book. This book is about a Hollywood has-been in her 80's that is suffering from a case of... if I can't have what I want, then I'd rather die! So she tries to... die that is. After a failed suicide attempt we meet Claudette Fiore in a mental hospital trying to figure out how she is going to leave when she has no where to go after a recent visit from the IRS, which is what led to attempt in the first place. She calls upon her step-son Michael for help and he comes to her rescue. Only one problem, with the Beverly Hills mansion sold for back taxes that leaves her with her mother's old house back home in a town that she swore she'd never go back to. Could death be worse than this? Claudette doesn't think so. Can Michael change her mind and help her see that her life isn't over yet?

What does she do to take care of herself and her new little bungalow without the staff that has waited on her hand and foot for the last 60 years? Heavens, Claudette doesn't know how to do the dishes, wash clothes or make a bed - how is she ever going to stay alive let alone clean? When people from her past start popping into her life how will she ever survive the humiliation?
Can you really teach an old dog new tricks? Come take a journey with Claudette and see.

I really enjoyed this book and seeing how the other half lives, and I don't mean the rich and famous, I mean the elderly! Good book coming from an author who writes a lot of young adult books, it was kind of nice seeing a different side. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76886246 to: What Matters Most (Diary of a Teenage Girl) by Melody Carlson
"What Matters Most" is the latest and last in Melody Carlson's Diary of a Teenage Girl series. It is book 16 I believe though the series follows four different girls and all of them show up in this book. I think the concept is great, we read the whole book through the eyes of Maya's diary which is actually kind of fun, with the exception that I don't know anyone that is THAT detailed when they write in their diary! I mean, goodness, she writes entire conversations down word for word :-) Maya is a great character - a smart girl with a rock star dad who is never around and an incarcerated mom who has never been a mother to her, she lives with her uncle and is in the process of trying to get emancipation when her mom is released from jail. She has boy issues, girl issues with the snotty cheerleader and the girls from youth group, lots of irons in the fire and now she is starting jam sessions with this Christian Girl Band, Redemption, that lost one of their members to college. Does she really want to be a rock star? Great premise... here is where it goes wrong...

I read the last chapter and look to see when the next book comes out to wrap up all the loose ends in this book... um, try never??? As great as this book is and the series is... I can't believe all the things that are left undone. I was left feeling unsatisfied. It would be a great book if there were another one following, as it is I enjoyed it, I just wish there was more to it.

]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76774220 to: Leaving Carolina: A Novel (Southern Discomfort, #1) by Tamara Leigh
Tamara Leigh is just simply one of my favorite authors. One of a few select authors where if they write a book I want to read it - period. The only issue is that I loved her last book, "Faking Grace" SO much that it is going to take a lot to improve on that book in my opinion.

Enter "Leaving Carolina" and its heroine Piper Pickwick, oops, I mean Piper Wick. When she left home she left behind as much as she possibly could including her full last name. Home was a place that carried some awful, horrible memories and she just wanted a fresh start. Now her recluse of an Uncle (and about the only family member that was every good to her and her mother) wants to change his will to make restitution for all the wrongs that her has done to others over the years, but in the process those secrets will all get spilled in the wide open... including one of Piper's very own secrets. She must go home and try to persuade him otherwise. Let the fun begin...

The big question here is "Can people really change?" Tamara does a great job of searching out that question and all the possible answers and I enjoyed taking the trip to truth with Piper. The characters around her are great and the premise really is wonderful. I really liked this book and am looking forward to the fact that this is just book #1 in this series and more will follow with these great characters... but for me personally, Faking Grace still stands at the top of the list! ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76185967 to: eye of the god (Paperback) by Ariel Allison
This is the last of the new Abingdon Press books that I have gotten to read and review and I am thrilled to say that "eye of the god" is by far my favorite! It is right up my alley in its style and genre... mystery, suspense, romance, twists and turns, history and great characters. I love the way that Ariel blends the present where the Hope Diamond is resting in the Smithsonian Institute and Abigail Mitchell is the person who is the expert on it and is planning a huge event surrounding the diamond along with the past legends surrounding the Hope Diamond. We jump back in time, as Abigail tells stories about the diamond, to India in 1653, France in 1668, Versailles in 1789, Kentucky in 1919 and Maryland in 1933 just to name some of them - we get to track the Hope Diamond through some of the different owners it had over the years. I found all of that fascinating and wish Ariel could have included more of the stories about the diamonds past.

In the midst of all the stories we are pulled back to the present as we see Abigail plan the soiree while others are planning to steal the diamond at the event. The twists at the end we wonderful and I was captivated by the entire book - absolutely fantastic! ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76077987 to: So Much More Than Sexy (Paperback) by Mark Atteberry
Ladies, sometimes we need a myth buster to wake us up and remind us that what we see on tv, in magazines and on billboards that we don't see in the mirror is not all its cracked up to be and not necessarily what guys want. This book does just that. Mark Atteberry sets out in this book to tell women what men really think and break those false ideas we have in our heads that can crush our self-esteem. This book is laid out well and broken into some great sections - the Girls Gone Mild section was one of my favorites while The Radioactive Woman section made me look in the mirror myself.

I think most women should read this book, while it should be required reading for high school and college girls. The point that Mark made that really hit home that we as women tend to forget or overlook is that basically what kind of guy are you trying to attract? Some guys want to see your midriff and cleavage and love those tight jeans you wear, but are those the guys that you really want to attract? The kind of guy that loves God and wants to find a woman to marry and love for the rest of his life will be attracted by modesty rather than skimpiness, he will find godliness sexy (or be attracted to it). Let's keep that in mind as we look in the mirror.

There are some real gems in this book and a lot of info that as women we just need to be reminded of sometimes. Great book!
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75973025 to: Messages to Myself: Overcoming a Distorted Self-Image (Paperback) by Helen B. McIntosh
I got this book thinking that it would be on how to feel better about yourself, maybe some positive self-talk for people like me that don't really see what we want to when we look in the mirror... I don't know if it is just me or if maybe the title isn't as good as it could be for this book, but I was blown away by how wrong I was about this book! Messages to Myself is basically a God Encounter in 6 chapters! What is a God Encounter? Well, about every 6 weeks at our church we have a special weekend where we help people walk through steps and stages so that God can bring freedom to their life and they can grow closer to God through knowledge of His truth. It's an amazing process that includes sessions on "What's Your Name?", "God Still Speaks", "Forgiveness", "Wounds of the Past", "Breaking Down Strongholds" (lovingly referred to as "the yellow sheet" because of the color paper it is printed on) and so on... I was astounded as I started reading to realize that Helen McIntosh goes through many of these same stages and even has a section at the end of each chapter called Making It Personal that helps you start applying the process immediately in your own life.

I have already recommended this book to the leaders of God Encounter at our church as a wonderful tool for participants to use at home as a follow-up of what they learn through the weekend. I strongly encourage you to get your hands on a copy of this book and start applying it, you may be surprised at how it could change your life!

I don't think the title does this book justice for everything it actually holds in its pages, everyone needs a copy of this book. ]]>