"The Kingdom" Book Review

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing The Kingdom Crossway Books (June 30, 2012) by Brian M. Litfin

MY REVIEW:
I love this series! Since I read the first one I was captivated by Teo and Ana and their discovery of the lost Deu and Christianity. I was thrilled when the second book came out but couldn't believe I had to wait for book three. It finally came and I couldn't wait to dive into it! The only bad thing about this entire series is that it had to end. It was so well written and the fight of good versus evil was intense from start to finish. Often with trilogies I feel let down at the end of book three that everything didn't get wrapped up very well. That was not the case with this series. It may have been one of the most satisfying endings to a series I have ever read. I can not wait to see what comes from Brian Litfin next because this series will stay on my keeper shelf as a glowing example of what spec fiction should be.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Bryan earned a bachelor’s degree in print journalism from the University of Tennessee as well as a master’s degree in historical theology at Dallas Theological Seminary. From there he went to the University of Virginia, taking a PhD in the field of ancient church history. He is currently professor of theology at Moody Bible Institute in downtown Chicago, where he has been since 2002. He teaches courses in theology, church history, and Western civilization from the ancient and medieval periods. He is the author of Getting to Know the Church Fathers: An Evangelical Introduction (Brazos, 2007), as well as several scholarly articles and essays. Bryan has always enjoyed epic adventure stories as well as historical fiction, but most of his reading these days is taken up by academia.



Today Bryan lives in downtown Wheaton in a Victorian house built in 1887. He and his wife Carolyn are parents to two children. For recreation Bryan enjoys basketball, traveling, and hiking anywhere there are mountains. The Litfins attend College Church in Wheaton, where Bryan has served on the Board of Missions and as a deacon. He also helped start Clapham School, a Christian primary school in Wheaton using the classical model of education.



ABOUT THE BOOK

Book Three in the Chiveis Trilogy



War and disease have destroyed the modern world. Centuries later, feudal societies have arisen across Europe. No one can remember the ancient religion of Christianity—until an army captain and a farmer’s daughter discover the Sacred Writing of the one true God.

As Teo and Ana encounter the forgotten words of the holy book, they realize its message is just what their kingdom needs. Though exiled from their homeland, they join their hearts in a quest to return. But now an ancient pact has united the enemies of the Christian faith into a dark alliance that threatens to consume the known world. Racing to stay one step ahead of their enemies, Teo and Ana must battle heinous villains, stormy seas, and the powers of the underworld itself. As armies begin to mass for a final battle, the odds favor the forces of evil. Can Teo and Ana bring divine truth to Chiveis—or will the Word of God fade from the earth forever?



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

"Wedded To War" Book Review

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Wedded to War • River North; New Edition edition (July 1, 2012)

by Jocelyn Green



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jocelyn Green is a child of God, wife and mom living in Cedar Falls, Iowa. She is also an award-winning journalist, author, editor and blogger. Though she has written nonfiction on a variety of topics, her name is most widely recognized for her ministry to military wives: Faith Deployed. Her passion for the military family was fueled by her own experience as a military wife, and by the dozens of interviews she has conducted with members of the military for her articles and books, Faith Deployed: Daily Encouragement for Military Wives and its sequel, Faith Deployed...Again: More Daily Encouragement for Military Wives. She is also co-author of both Stories of Faith and Courage from the War in Iraq & Afghanistan and Stories of Faith and Courage from the Home Front (forthcoming, May 2012). Her Faith Deployed Web site and Facebook page continue to provide ongoing support, encouragement and resources for military wives worldwide.









MY REVIEW:
The Civil War seems to be a war that there aren't a ton of fiction books written about (WWII on the other hand, there are lots...) so I thought this one might be really interesting. It took me about three chapters to get really engaged with and then I just couldn't put it down. There is quite a cast of characters with Charlotte and her sister Alice being the young ladies of society that become nurses for The Sanitary Commission (the forerunner to the American Red Cross). They are joined by good and bad, fictional and non-fictional, loveable and nasty. There are snippets of Georgeanna's diary woven into the story, she is the real woman that Charlotte is based on. I was moved by this story and am really excited by the titles that I see forthcoming from Jocelyn Green. She is an author that I will be looking for at bookstores!



ABOUT THE BOOK

When war erupted, she gave up a life of privilege for a life of significance.

Tending to the army's sick and wounded meant leading a life her mother does not understand and giving up a handsome and approved suitor. Yet Charlotte chooses a life of service over privilege, just as her childhood friend had done when he became a military doctor. She soon discovers that she's combatting more than just the rebellion by becoming a nurse. Will the two men who love her simply stand by and watch as she fights her own battles? Or will their desire for her wage war on her desire to serve God?



Wedded to War is a work of fiction, but the story is inspired by the true life of Civil War nurse Georgeanna Woolsey. Woolsey's letters and journals, written over 150 years ago, offer a thorough look of what pioneering nurses endured. This is the first in the series "Heroines Behind the Lines: Civil War," a collection of novels that highlights the crucial contributions made by women during times of war.



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

"Rare Earth" Book Review

This week, the  Christian Fiction Blog Alliance  is introducing  Rare Earth  Bethany House Publishers (July 1, 2012)  by  Davis Bunn

MY REVIEW:
     I really enjoy Davis Bunn's books - I look forward to them whenever a new one releases. This book continues with Marc Royce as he embarks on a new mission. There is mystery and intrigue abounding in this book, no doubt! I actually had a bit of trouble figuring out the ins and outs of this plot because it is very political and twists and turns quite a bit. I finally got a grasp on it and wrapped my head around it. At that point the characters were fantastically real and alive in my head and I dove right in. It is another wonderful book by Davis Bunn, it is just very mental so be prepared to think as you read.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Born and raised in North Carolina, Davis left for Europe at age twenty. There he first completed graduate studies in economics and finance, then began a business career that took him to over forty countries in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.


Davis came to faith at age 28, while living in Germany and running an international business advisory group. He started writing two weeks later. Since that moment, writing has remained both a passion and a calling.

Davis wrote for nine years and completed seven books before his first was accepted for publication. During that time, he continued to work full-time in his business career, travelling to two and sometimes three countries every week. His first published book, The Presence, was released in 1990 and became a national bestseller.

Honored with three Christy Awards for excellence in historical and suspense fiction, his bestsellers include The Great Divide, Winner Take All, The Meeting Place, The Warning, The Book of Hours, and The Quilt.

A sought-after speaker in the art of writing, Davis serves as Writer In Residence at Regent’s Park College, Oxford University.  

ABOUT THE BOOK

Marc Royce stares out of the helicopter, a sense of foreboding rising with the volcanic cloud. Below, the Rift Valley slashes across Africa like a scar. Decades of conflicts, droughts, and natural disasters have left their mark.


Dispatched to audit a relief organization, Royce is thrust into the squalor and chaos of Kenyan refugee camps. But his true mission focuses on the area's reserves of once-obscure minerals now indispensable to high-tech industries. These strategic elements--called rare earth--have inflamed tensions on the world's stage and stoked tribal rivalries. As Royce prepares to report back to Washington, he seizes on a bold and risky venture for restoring justice to this troubled land.

But this time, Royce may have gone too far.

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

"Mary Magdalene" Book Review

Mary Magdalene
by
Diana Wallis Taylor

Long maligned as a prostitute or a woman of questionable reputation, Mary Magdalene's murky story seems lost to the sands of time. Now a portrait of this enigmatic woman comes to life in the hands of an imaginative master storyteller. Diana Wallis Taylor's Mary is a woman devastated by circumstances beyond her control and plagued with terrifying dreams--until she has a life-changing confrontation with the Savior.

MY REVIEW:
I have been so impressed with Diana's Biblical fiction and this book was a really great twist on a story everybody thinks they know. I loved examining this story through her eyes and seeing what an alternative to Mary being a prostitute might have been. Following Mary's story from being a young girl all the way through to Jesus ascending to heaven. It is an incredible trip that is so real and in the moment that you will think you have gone back in time. Somehow I missed her book "Martha" but I will have to go back and get it, I really like Diana's books!

“Available June 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

This week, the  Christian Fiction Blog Alliance  is introducing  Serpent of Moses  Bethany House Publishers (July 1, 2012)  by  Don Hoesel  

MY REVIEW:
    I enjoy Don Hoesel's writing. Sadly, I can't weigh in on this book yet, it only arrived a couple days ago so I haven't even gotten to crack the cover. I will have to update later. Suffice it to say at this point that Don is an excellent writer and I always anticipate seeing what spin he will give an interesting Bible story...

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Don Hoesel is a Web site designer for a Medicare carrier
in Nashville, TN. He has a BA in Mass Communication from
Taylor University and has published short fiction in Relief
Journal. He was born and raised in Buffalo, NY but lives in
Spring Hill, Tennessee, with his wife and two children. The
Serpent of Moses is his fourth novel.


ABOUT THE BOOK

Moses built and lifted up the brass serpent,
healing the afflicted Israelites of snakebites.

King Hezekiah called the serpent Nehushtan.
Long thought destroyed, it's been buried for
millennia, secreted under the region's shifting sands.

Now the Israeli government wants it back and they
will stop at nothing to get their hands on it. Yet
they're not the only ones who covet the Nehushtan.

Archaeologist Jack Hawthorne travels to Libya intent
on recovering the sacred object, but one does not
cross the Mossad and expect to walk away without a
fight. Jack and his friends must find the priceless
"snake of brass upon a pole" before those who are
also hunting it find them...and silence them forever.

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

This week, the  Christian Fiction Blog Alliance  is introducing  Nothing to Hide  Bethany House Publishers (July 1, 2012)

 by  J. Mark Bertrand  
MY REVIEW:
     I have enjoyed the Roland March books tremendously and this hope this isn't the end of the series (book #3). The books are intense and edge of your seat the whole way through. Detective March has a way of pushing the envelope and crossing the line but in ways that keep you cheering for him the whole time. The usual secondary characters don't play quite as big of a role this time but we meet quite a few new ones. The only thing is that we are never sure who is good and who is bad. It kept me guessing. I had a slightly harder time following the plot in this one than I did the last two, Mexican drug cartels, gun smuggling, CIA operatives, FBI agents, local police, murders and mayhem, degloving and decapitation and oh, so much more. I managed to stay abreast of the situation but it wasn't easy, I really had to stay tuned in to what was going on. But over all this Roland March novel kept me captivated and I just really enjoy this character and seeing what is going on in his life - no matter how crazy.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:  

J. Mark Bertrand lived in Houston, where the series is set, for fifteen years,
earning an MFA in Creative Writing at the University of Houston. But after
one hurricane too many he left for South Dakota. Mark has been arrested
for a crime he didn't commit, was the foreman of one hung jury and served
on another that acquitted Vinnie Jones of assault. In 1972, he won an
 honorable mention in a child modeling contest, but pursued writing instead.



ABOUT THE BOOK

A grisly homicide. An international threat.

The stakes have never been higher forDetective Roland March.

The victim's head is missing, but what intrigues Detective Roland March
is the hand. The pointing finger must be a clue--but to what? According
to the FBI, the dead man was an undercover asset tracking the flow of
 illegal arms to the Mexican cartels. To protect the operation, they want
March to play along with the cover story. With a little digging, though, he
discovers the Feds are lying. And they're not the only ones.

In an upside-down world of paranoia and conspiracy, March finds himself
dogged by injury and haunted by a tragic failure. Forced to take justice into
 his own hands, his twisting investigation leads him into the very heart of
 darkness, leaving March with nothing to lose--and nothing to hide.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Nothing to Hide, go HERE.

"The Director's Cut" Book Review

"The Director's Cut" 

by Janice Thompson

The Director's Cut (Backstage Pass, Bk 3)
by Janice Thompson
Copyright 2012
Revell Books
ISBN: 9780800733476

About the book:
The one thing she can't direct is her heart.

Tia Morales is used to calling the shots. She's the director of the popular sitcom Stars Collide, and her life on the set is calculated and orderly. Well, most of the time. Life outside the studio is another matter. If only she could get other people to behave as well as her stars do! When she starts to have feelings for handsome cameraman Jason Harris--with whom she's been butting heads for months--it's enough to send a girl over the edge. Will she ever learn to let go and take life--and love--as it comes?

Full of the humor and crazy family dynamics Janice Thompson fans have come to love, this colorful story gives you an inside look at Hollywood and a healthy dose of romance.

“Available June 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

MY REVIEW:

     I have loved this series from Janice Thompson and really hate to see it end, but I love the way Janice wrapped it up in this 3rd book in the series Backstage Pass. She keeps all of the previous characters in the middle of everything while bringing Tia and Jason to the forefront and managing to introduce a few new characters that really add to the mix. Lots of fun calamities ensue as Tia tries to figure out how to keep personal and business lives separate (not going to happen!) and realizes that she may direct a tv show but she can't direct everything in her life or she wouldn't need God and her faith. The ride getting to that realization is so great that I really hated to put the book down when I was done. One thing I have learned - if it says Janice Thompson then I want to read it!