"Operation Bonnet" Book Review

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Operation Bonnet David C. Cook; New edition (February 1, 2011) by Kimberly Stuart
MY REVIEW:
Kimberly has a very unique style of writing and she gets better with each book. This book is my favorite of hers so far. I love the premise and plot and her characters are just as quirky and fun as ever. The boss who can't talk without screaming, the best friend who's a guy and works at Radio Shack, which is perfect because Nellie with the red afro hair is a wanna be private investigator except that she lives in a relatively small town and has no P.I. jobs. Then comes along Amos, a former Amish young man that decides to hire Nellie. Ah, yes, and chaos has just started. She has to infiltrate his former Amish neighbors to get the info he needs...right... I love where it goes and Kimberly brings us along on every uncomfortable encounter along the way. My favorite thing about Kimberly's books are that she doesn't wrap everything up with a pretty, neat bow at the end. But she does bring everything to a close. Another good book from a very unique author.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Kimberly says:

I am a writer of comedic fiction, and would like to suggest that you laugh regularly when reading my books. Let’s also try for one to two teary moments. If you are crying more than that, you don’t understand my sense of humor and should move on to another author.

I grew up in a book-loving home. Actually, that’s not entirely accurate. My mom loves books. My dad loves to read the first chapters of books and then make us all listen as he recites his favorite passages. I, however, enjoy reading books in their entirety and came into writing as a result of book-love. After earning two fancy degrees in education and Spanish, I promptly let the thinking part of my brain take a breather and instead became pregnant. (I’m sure a lot of other things happened between early literacy and pregnancy but I don’t really remember any of that. If you also have shared your uterus with another human, you understand.)

In an effort to author a book that would entertain my sassy, irreverent, breast-feeding/drooping friends, I wrote my first novel, Balancing Act. People were so nice to me after that, I decided to continue with writing. Also, I can’t craft, knit, or scrapbook, so what else was a nice, Christian girl to do?

In addition to writing books to make my friends laugh and cry, I observe the chaos at the home I share with my unfailingly supportive husband and three offspring. We’re doing our best and so far, no one’s been to prison.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Twenty-year-old Nellie Monroe has a restless brilliance that makes her a bit of an odd duck. She wants to be a private investigator, even though her tiny hometown offers no hope of clients. Until she meets Amos Shetler, an Amish dropout carrying a torch for the girl he left behind.

So Nellie straps on her bonnet and goes undercover to get the dish. But though she’s brainy, Nellie is clueless when it comes to real life and real relationships. Soon she’s alienated her best friend, angered her college professor, and botched her case.

Operation Bonnet is a comedy of errors, a surprising take on love, and a story of grace.

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



Watch the book video trailer:

"Save The Date" Book Giveaway!!

This week, theChristian Fiction Blog Allianceis introducingSave The DateThomas Nelson (February 1, 2011)byJenny B. Jones

MY REVIEW:

Ah, yes. Every once in awhile a book comes along that I have been waiting for and anticipating with bated breath... "Save The Date" is one of these books! Jenny B. Jones went to the top of my favorite authors when she penned her wonderful YA series (especially with Bella Kirkwood), and then she delved into the Women's Fiction realm and I was hoping that she wouldn't lose the quick wit that I loved with her YA. Thankfully she didn't, in fact, her writing style just kept developing by leaps and bounds. So now "Save The Date" has finally shown up at my house and I am in heaven!!! Jenny introduces us to two amazingly unique characters that can't stand each other, but desperately need each other. Alex to win the public opinion's vote to secure his seat in Congress and Lucy needs financing for the non-profit girls home that she runs. Bring the two together and we have a fake engagement. Now, of course its a fun scenario and Jenny spares no humiliation of either party through their shenannigans, but the icing on this yummy cake is the incredible dialogue she weaves between Alex and Lucy. Darts are thrown back and forth, and swords are drawn and parried as I enjoyed every page. This book is a winner and sheer delight to read - thank you, Jenny, for another brilliant book!

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I'm thrilled to offer a copy of this book for a giveaway! If you would like to be entered to win then leave a comment telling me the last important date that you had to save for whatever reason. If you are a follower then leave an extra comment for another chance to win. If I pass 100 followers during this giveaway then I will give the followers that enter each an extra entry! Good luck - you will love this book!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:



I write Christian fiction with a few giggles, quite a bit of sass, and lots of crazy. My novels include the Katie Parker Production series and So Not Happening. I would also like to take credit for Twilight , but somewhere I think I read you’re not supposed to lie.

When I’m not typing my heart out (or checking email), I teach at a super-sized high school in Arkansas.

My students are constantly telling me how my teaching changes their lives and turned them away from drugs, gangs, and C-SPAN.

Okay, that’s not exactly true.

Some facts that are true include:

I've always been refined!

A. I got my camera confiscated by big boys with guns at the American Embassy in Europe this past summer. O la la!

B. I once worked in a seed mill office and cleaned out mice on a regular basis. Ew.

C. I’m a former drama teacher.

D. I didn’t pass my drivers test the first time. Or the second…

E. I attract stray animals like a magnet.

F. I used to assemble and test paint ball guns for a local factory...

Since my current job leaves me with very little free time, I believe in spending my spare hours in meaningful, intellectual pursuits such as:

-watching E!

-updating my status on Facebook

-catching Will Ferrell on YouTube and

-writing my name in the dust on my furniture

I’d love to hear about you, so drop me a note. Or check me out on Facebook.



ABOUT THE BOOK

You’re invited to the engagement of the most unlikely couple of the year.

When the funding for Lucy’s non-profit job is pulled, she is determined to find out why. Enter Alex Sinclair, former professional football star and heir of Sinclair Enterprises—the primary donor to Lucy’s Saving Grace organization. Alex Sinclair has it all . . . except for the votes he needs to win his bid for Congress. Both Lucy and Alex have something the other wants. Despite their mutual dislike, Alex makes Lucy a proposition: pose as his fiancée in return for the money she desperately needs. Bound to a man who isn’t quite what he seems, Lucy finds her heart – and her future – on the line.



Save the Date is a spunky romance that will have readers laughing out loud as this dubious pair try to save their careers, their dreams . . . and maybe even a date.



If you would like to read the first chapter of Save The Date, go HERE

"Another Dawn" Book Review

This week, theChristian Fiction Blog Allianceis introducingAnother DawnBethany House (February 1, 2011)byKathryn Cushman

MY REVIEW:

This is a very brave book that Kathryn wrote. Brave because she approaches a subject that is a hot button for many - myself included. I almost didn't read this book based on the topic but I'm glad I changed my mind. The subject matter - to vaccinate or not to vaccinate - that is the question. Kathryn presents characters on both sides of the subject and I expected to hate it. On the contrary she presents both sides evenly and never really picks a side (obviously anyway). The characters are all such that you can see both sides and sympathize equally. The story is intriguing and I was tied up in it emotionally. This book will make you think no matter where you stand on the issue. And the storyline will keep you engrossed. A very good read.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Kathryn Cushman is a graduate of Samford University with a degree in pharmacy. After practicing as a pharmacist, she left her career to marry and begin a family and has since pursued her dream of writing.

Other books by Kathryn, A Promise to Remember was a finalist for the American Christian Fiction Writers Book-of-the-Year in the Women’s Fiction category, and Waiting for Daybreak was a finalist in Women’s Fiction for the Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award.

Leaving Yesterday, her third novel, was a finalist for the ACFW Carol Award.

Now her fifth book, Another Dawn, has arrived in stores, and I’m very excited about it!

On the homefront, Kathryn has been married to Lee for over twenty years now, and their two daughters are currently braving the worlds of junior high and high school. They’ve lived in Santa Barbara for the last nineteen years. It’s a beautiful place and Kathryn feels blessed to be there (although a seventy degree Christmas still leaves her dreaming of a white one—or at least a colder one!)

ABOUT THE BOOK

Grace Graham is back in Tennessee with her four-year-old son on a short unpaid leave from work, helping her father recover from surgery and spending time with her sister.

Shoal Creek seems more backward than ever after her years in California, and it's hard to find organic food anywhere. When the unthinkable happens and her son is diagnosed with measles, Grace's fears over modern medicine take a dangerous turn.

Worse, the town has fallen into quarantine and its residents focus their anger and blame on Grace. She is alone and scared, until one brave woman chooses to reach out a hand of forgiveness and mercy. But when the outbreak takes a life-threatening turn, will Grace be able to forgive herself?

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

"Stars Collide" Book Review

STARS COLLIDE

BY

JANICE THOMPSON

HER FUTURE'S SO BRIGHT,

SHE'S GOTTA WEAR SHADES

Kat Jennings and Scott Murphy don't just play two people who are secretly in love on a television sitcom - they are actually head over heels for each other in real life. When the lines between reality and TV land blur, they hope they can keep their relationship under wraps. But when Kat's grandmother, an eccentric star from Hollywood's golden age, mistakes their on-screen wedding proposal for the real deal, things begin to spiral out of control. Will their secret be front-page news in the tabloids? And can their budding romance survive the onslaught of paprazzi, wedding preparations, and misinformed family members?

From the soundstage to a Beverly Hills mansion to the gleaming Pacific Ocean, STARS COLLIDE takes you on a roller-coaster tour of Hollywood, packing both comedic punch and tender emotion.

MY REVIEW:

I have enjoyed many of Janice's books, especially her Weddings by Bella series, and this book is quite enjoyable as well. I liked the setting, behind the scenes of a TV show and all the quirky cast and writers and the amazing secondary players that Janice is fantastic at putting in her books. I loved the cameo by Brock Benson (who I'm just sure was in one of her Weddings by Bella books!) and Lenora Worth as grandma who was a Hollywood starlet way back when and seems to be stuck there now. There is lots of mayhem and mischeif as grandma misunderstands and thinks that Kat and Scott are getting married in real life, not their characters Scott and Angie. My only misgiving was that we come into the story almost too soon. I had a hard time understanding Kat's emotional concerns because I didn't get to experience her and Scott not being a couple, they were having their first kiss... so I lacked something there. Beyond that this book is a delight.