SHATTERED TRUST by J. CHRIS RICHARDS

For a debut novel, the author hit this one out of the park. It is well written with  Logan as  the main character finding himself on the wrong side of the law. There is a small problem though, he is a cop himself. There seems to be a little under the table bets going on in the squad room of who can arrest the most suspects in a shift. Logan finds himself arresting someone with his partner one day and things get out of hand. The author brings to the surface the headlines of police brutality . The arrest turns violent and at one point Logan sees his reflection . What he saw was a police officer that had turned bad. His anger, his bully tactics and his quest to win a bet had taken him to the depths of darkness. Has  your anger ever overtaken you? Logan knew he had gone to far.

What follows is a heart wrenching journey that Logan will take to put his life back together. I liked the way he is shown as a person who struggles with good vs evil. He contemplates his action and makes a decision that will take his life on a roller coaster. His vulnerability was well defined as he struggled to do the right thing. Could you admit you had done something wrong that could cost you your job and perhaps your freedom? Would you turn your friends in or take all the blame? Logan must learn who to trust and allow God to lead him to the right path.

I loved reading about the behind the scenes of a police department. There is one character that I absolutely loved. I will let you discover who it is, but let's just say this person is feisty with a heart of gold. The kids that interact with Logan is a great example of how police officers can make a difference in the youth when they take time to work with them and  show then they are important.

This story touches on corruption not only in the police department but also in the school system. The question arises of who can you trust? Will evil win out? I'm glad the author brought to the light the issue of child support. It affects many , with  a system that is flawed . The emotions in the book are realistic and at times heartbreaking. This is one book that will be hard to put down. It raises the question of when trust is broken , can it ever be repaired?

""Jesus didn't come to save perfect people. He came to heal those who have sinned ."

"Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God."  John 11:40

I received a copy of this book from the BookClub Network for an honest review.

HUNTED by SANDRA ROBBINS

I have eagerly been  awaiting the second book in the Firebrand Series. I plunged into the book and never stopped till the very end. It packs a whooper of a punch with action, deceit, second chances and surprises that will having you gasping for air. The author once again has written a story so intriguing that I devoured every page. Yes it is that good. The author is at the top of the list right along with Lis Wiehl,  Dee Henderson, Richard Mabry  and others who write with depth and intensity. I'm not comparing her to these authors , just letting readers know that she is a superior writer and can go toe to toe with others and keep her readers anxiously wanting more.

Colt and Sloan have been married for awhile.After a heartbreaking loss, Sloan decides she can't stay with Colt and leaves him. But something will bring them back together that could cost them their lives. Who is after Colt? Will this person use Sloan to lure Colt into a trap? Sloan and Colt will have  to be smart, trust the Lord and rely on their instincts to stay alive in this action packed book. I loved the intricate details of working undercover. Gray Feather otherwise known as Colt is a very skilled military sniper and his skills will be put to the test in this dangerous game of being the hunted. They must stay one step ahead of Nimrod who is desperate to seek revenge. Why does Nimrod want to kill Colt? Can Colt trust everyone who is helping him?  Be ready for an unforgettable story that will keep you on the edge of your seat. I can't wait for the next book in this series that I'm sure will be another explosive , action packed , well written book.

I received a copy of this book from The BookClub Network for an honest review.

Purchase your copy here.

About the book

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Out with Murphy and in with O’Reilly!

O’Reilly’s Law: Murphy was an optimist!

Marriage has been good to Aggie. After a few years and a baby under her belt, she’s confident that she can take on anything–including adding child number ten to the home! Blessings aren’t always easy, and Aggie is about to discover that in a whole new way!

When their near-idyllic life was turned upside down by senseless vandalism, Aggie and gang spent a week on “Aunt” Willow’s farm. Luke worked day and night to get them back home for Thanksgiving. But when things, once more, seem to pile up, Aggie flounders. Her pregnancy grows precarious, and her husband doesn’t recognize her anymore.

Only the Lord can soothe her rumpled spirit, but will she allow Him to comfort her as only He can?

Aggie’s sure that she just needs to “knuckle down” and “ante up” to keep from losing ALL her marbles.

Ante Up! is the fourth book in the Aggie Series

About the Author

Chautona lives in a small, remote town in California’s Mojave Desert with her husband and six of her nine children. When not writing, she enjoys paper crafting, sewing, and looking forward to retirement from home education. Chautona writes stories of fictional people who have real problems, weaknesses, and triumphs. Through their stories, she tries to share the Hope that is within her.

Guest Post from Chautona Havig

“You have eight kids? How do you do it? I can barely manage with the one (or two or three) that I have! I could never do eight.”

How many times had I heard those words? Ten? Fifty? A thousand? I suspect it was between fifty and a thousand. I guarantee it felt like a million. And the reason wasn’t that people were rude or unkind about it. It was simply because they assumed things that weren’t reasonable. They acted as if I’d woken up one day with eight kids and never had a problem with adapting to it.

The cold, hard truth? I never planned to have children—ever—much less the eight I had then or the nine I have now. I didn’t like children, and even now, I really just prefer mine and others’ in very small doses. I’m naturally a very selfish person. So the comments that made me sound excessively patient and maternal were, in a word, ridiculous.

I had one answer I always gave—just one. “I didn’t get them all at once. I got them one at a time, the old fashioned way. And with a minimum of about eighteen to twenty-two months of getting used to having two, three, six, seven before I got the next.”

But that thought haunted me for weeks. What would happen if someone did get eight at once? How would she handle that? Not like the women with multiples—five, seven, eight at a time. No, I was thinking of what it would be like for someone to have my kids just dumped on someone all at once with all those different ages to deal with. I think I should have known at that moment that my childhood dream of being a writer would come true, because my next thought was, “And what if she was single?” From there, I added more. A grandmother-in-law to rival any horror stories of mothers-in-law, home renovations with kids (every mother’s nightmare), grieving, and accident prone kids who can’t stop calling 9-1-1 and you had all the worst things I could think of without becoming ridiculous.

I had originally decided that Aggie would remain single. Yeah, that didn’t happen. So, I gave her personal convictions to follow. I added to that her sister’s convictions, just to keep things interesting. I wanted to show that people have convictions for a myriad of reasons, and just because they hold one, doesn’t mean they look down on those who don’t. That original story grew from a sixty-thousand word single book into a trilogy—each book being over one hundred twenty thousand words! I was sure people would hate the length, hate the story, and ride me out of the country on the proverbial rail. I just hoped I landed in the southern Atlantic—nice and warm.

Instead, Ready or Not has been my best selling book—an Amazon bestseller. The first promotion we did resulted in the book being downloaded every 3.6 seconds in a twenty-four hour period. I was flabbergasted. I did the math a dozen times to make sure. When the last book came out, fans bemoaned the loss of their favorite character. I added more of her to another series, Past Forward. That helped—a little.

Eventually, I agreed to write a fourth book. I waited, and I’m so glad I did. Nearly five years have passed since Aggie inherited her eight nieces and nephews, and nearly four have passed since she married and began a new journey with him. She’s a mother now, not “just” an aunt. She’s a wife. Her life is rich and full of the craziness readers have come to love. So in this book, I decided to explore what happens when life throws just one too many curve balls. I decided to show the children growing up and facing new trials and temptations. And, I wanted to give just a little bit of joy in the extended family front after three books of trials there. I thought it was about time.

My goal for these books has always been to point my readers to the Lord. I did that through one character’s wisdom, another’s steadfastness, and of course, through Aggie’s songs and bite-sized prayers (p-mails). In this book, I wanted to point readers to the Lord through Aggie again, but in a different way. I hope it is as encouraging to them as it was to me. I learned so much in the writing of this book. It laid open my heart before the Lord and I saw things in myself I didn’t want to see but needed to. The Lord is so good to us.

Don’t forget—for those who purchase before July 7, 2016, we’re giving away a FREE bonus devotional, Tune My Heart: 25 Hymn-Filled Moments with the Lord. Each chapter corresponds to the book and examines some of the themes of the book, so you don’t want to read it before you’ve read the book! To get your free copy, just forward your Amazon receipt to THIS EMAIL.

 There was one scene that made me laugh out loud. One of the children spills milk and total chaos breaks out. Can you imagine all those children running around in the milk and all you can do is laugh? I especially liked how the author used Vannie to teach us about pride. It is so hard to swallow that pride of ours and ask for forgiveness, even if we think we didn't do anything wrong. Thank you for giving readers a great example that reminds us to "be quick to forgive and slow to anger."

At first I had a bit of a struggle getting into the book , but as I read more I became more focused on the family and how they remained me of everyday life. Aggie's bladder problem seemed to become a bit annoying to me only because it seemed to drag on for several chapters. When it was found out that she had a medical condition that could cause her to go into premature labor, I was then glad the author added it to the story. It showed me how we need to learn to be patient and rely on God. Aggie soon realized she needed to rest and have faith that the family would be taken care of.

I loved reading about the teens and their problems of trying to fit in with peers and dealing with dating . It is not easy be a teenager and the author eloquently wrote the storyline with realism. There were times I could feel myself sitting in their living room watching the family interact with each other.

The story was very intriguing and I loved how the author gave us a real family with real struggles that we could relate to. There were a couple of things that really made me think as I read the story. It showed me how we need to be patient, rely on God, trust Him more and rest in his embrace.

"I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit for an honest review.

Blog Stops

June 27: Reading Is My SuperPower

June 28: Melissa’s Reviews

June 29: Texas Book-aholic

June 30: Quiet Quilter

July 1: Debbie’s Dusty Deliberation

July 2: Mary Hake

July 3: Petra’s Hope

July 4: Chas Ray’s Book Nerd Corner 

July 5: Book Reviews From an Avid Reader

July 6: 100 pages per hour

July 7: Cassandra M’s Place (spotlight)

July 8: His Grace is Sufficient

July 9: Red Headed Book Lady

July 10: Karens Krayons

July 11: cherylbbookblog (spotlight)

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Chautona is giving away a Kindle Fire! Click to enter: https://promosimple.com/ps/9d3a

CHANGE OF HEART by RACHEL J. GOOD

I can't say enough nice things about this lovely book. It has great character development and each one will touch your heart. Lydia is keeping her eye on her younger sister Emma. Emma is kinda stubborn and has a yearning to experience things that could perhaps get her into trouble. I can relate to Emma quite well. I was a rebel growing up around a very strict upbringing. Guess like Emma, I wanted to see what the world had to offer. Will Emma find what she is looking for away from the safety of her family?

Lydia is busy being the good child and doesn't want to go against anything that would cause her shame. She seems to want to be the one who always does the right thing. What will happen when she needs to defend herself against people in authority? Will she find it prideful to speak her mind, or will she submit to her elders?

There are wonderful lessons to be learned in this well written and emotional read. We find the dad  who has been holding unforgiveness and bitterness in his heart. Will he finally allow God to soften his heart, or will he push his family away.? I loved how the mom had much wisdom to share and did with a soft heart and humor. I think using humor when giving advice makes it easier to receive.

There are other characters in the book that will cross paths with Lydia and Emma. What impact will they have on their lives? I loved the writing style and how  each character learned different things as they listened to God. The story will make you really think about your own attitude. Do you have someone you need to forgive? Is pride standing in the way of a blessing from God? Do you know what unconditional love feels like? Don't miss this beautifully written story that will give you a "Change of Heart" if you are open to receive it.

WICKED DISREGARD by BARBARA ANN DERKSEN

I enjoyed this book because the author writes with intensity and doesn't back down from details. The subject matter may be difficult for some, but it is one that needs to be exposed and made known to the world. Human trafficking is everywhere and the author writes a powerful story that pulls  you in with the brutal honesty of this ongoing crisis . It is a fictional story, but it could easily be on the front page of any newspaper today , which makes this book so emotional and real.

Christine Smith has opened an investigation agency that looks for lost children. Her  latest investigation has her dodging bullets and wondering what she has gotten herself into. Her service dog, Chief is masterfully written as a well bred, well trained dog who will protect Christine at all costs. She still has a mystery to solve that happened along time ago as well as finding out who is behind the human trafficking of children. Who killed her parents ? Does their deaths put Christine in danger?

Jeremy is a very determined young man who wants to protect Christine . His job gets  harder when Christine continues to put her life in danger . Has she stumbled onto where the missing children are being held? Who is behind the inhumane treatment of these innocent children? I loved  the emotions the authors presented as Christine gets desperate to help these children. She hates the thought of one child being harmed and it makes her feel helpless . The combination of Christine and Jeremy working together is well written and at times the story made me cry as the author takes us to the dark and sinister world of human trafficking and pedophiles . You could fell the sheer terror these children must of felt when it seemed hopeless for a rescue to happen. The story has intense scenes that kept me glued to the book.

There was several things that really stick out to be and pierced my soul. " These  perverts kill the minds of their victims as well as their bodies. It is a powerful trip for them to have total control of these young kids and there are no such things as coincidences. God loves you and sent angels to protect you. Gods word says so." Will this help Christine give her heart to ? Will she be able to trust Him and let Him guide her to save the chi,Daren before its to late? The book has reminded me that human trafficking happens everyday around us. There are pedophiles in every neighborhood just waiting and watching. The author has written a book that reminds us that evil is out there.

I received a copy of this book from Thr BookClub Network for an honest review.