Saturday, April 11, 2020

About the Book

Book:  Dove Strong
Author: Erin Lorence
Genre:  Christian YA
Dove Strong loves God. She loves standing chin up and fists clenched when facing Satan’s attacks. But there’s one thing she doesn’t love—other people. So when this spiritually-gifted, antisocial teenager is chosen to join other believers in a trek across Satan’s territory, rattlesnakes and evil-intentioned Heathen aren’t her biggest challenges.
But failure isn’t an option. In a month, the Christian Councils will decide the Reclaim, a vote on whether there’ll be a war between Christ’s followers and Satan’s to take back America. It is up to Dove, God’s messenger for peace, to reach her Council in time. Because if she doesn’t, things could get bloody.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Erin Lorence grew up in rainy Western Washington, an avid reader and the daughter of a published nonfiction author. She attended Washington State University (WSU) where she met and married her husband, Brian. Together, they recently moved to Apex, North Carolina with their two amazing daughters (who also love to read) and their beagle Charlie (who doesn’t read). Her lifelong love of literature, her gratitude to God, and her enjoyment of hiking in Central Oregon all inspired her to write the Dove Strong Trilogy. Visit her at:  www.erinlorence.com.

More from Erin

I politely smile and keep what I really think inside. But my main character, Dove Strong, doesn’t. She blasts people with the full force of her words. Sometimes Dove’s words sting…but she’s never merely polite or hum-drum boring.
I secretly hug the random and ridiculous moments of life to myself, preserving my appearance of normalcy. But when I write, the true ‘uncool’ me escapes. It is responsible for the caterpillar dangling from a character’s nostril as well as for the little sister who won’t stop harping on about her precious bag of chips.
I write to escape and to help others escape. I write to laugh and make readers smile. I write so ‘the lost’ will wake to find that they crave an intimate relationship with The One who loves them most.
This is why I write. And that is why I wrote Dove Strong.


MY REVIEW

This has been a very interesting book to read. The imagination of the author intrigued me. What if we lived in a world where Christians voted to start a war against non-believers? It is a fascinating look at a world where Christians are faced with hard decisions. I loved the main character Dove. She is a sweet young girl who has a gift that will help her on her journey. She sure has a big responsibility ahead of her. What if you were chosen to represent Christians in a vote that could have devastating effects?

I liked the addition of Melody. I wasn’t sure she was up for the task to go with Dove on this dangerous mission. Her gift is very special and I liked reading how her gift becomes very important and compliments Dove’s gift. It was nice to feel part of the story as the author describes in detail the terrain the girls must cross and the enemy who is determined to destroy Dove. 

One of the points the author makes in the story is how Christians are loyal. What a great statement it is be reminded that Christians are loyal to God. People are sometimes not sure if Christians honor God. In this story it is very evident that Dove is loyal and trusts God as she hears His voice. We do need to be on guard against the enemy at all times . Dove will discover how sneaky Satan can be. The encounters Dove and  Melody  have are at times hard to read. So much darkness and evil surrounds them as they hold on to  hope. 

The author uses several people from the Bible as references and I liked how she was able to use their struggles and triumphs  to show how God is always near. The story is filled with adventure, danger, and determination. I couldn’t wait to find out if Dove would succeed in her mission. Will Christians stand together or will Satan win them over? 

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion. 

Blog Stops

Genesis 5020, April 13
Artistic Nobody, April 14 (Author Interview)
Wishful Endings, April 16 (Author Interview)
Simple Harvest Reads, April 18 (Author Interview)
Emily Yager, April 19
Rebecca Tews, April 21
Vicky Sluiter, April 22 (Author Interview)

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Erin is giving away the grand prize package of paperback copies of Dove Strong and its sequel Fanatic Surviving!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

at 3 comments:

Friday, April 10, 2020

About the Book

Book:  Grasping Hope
Author: Heather Greer
Genre:  Contemporary Women’s Fiction
Release Date: March 2019
When dreams turn into nightmares what’s left to hold onto?
Katie McGowan knows her fears are irrational. They’re also beyond her control. Her mind says her fiancé is faithful, but the betrayal of her past love ignites a fear stronger than her trust. Attempts to overcome it are unsuccessful. Nothing banishes her panic attacks for good. Dreading Austin’s response if he finds out about her struggle to trust, Katie hides the truth nearly destroying their relationship.
It takes a lesson in hope to start healing. Katie is released from the nightmares holding her captive to enjoy the blessings God has given. But when tragedies change her life forever, Katie’s understanding of hope is challenged. Unresolved anger and disappointment leave Katie doubting the sincerity of her beliefs. Desperate to prove her faith and minimize her failure as a believer, Katie buries her feelings beneath all the right words. Katie must learn where true hope is found or risk losing her faith under the weight of the things she has lost.

Click here to get your copy!


MY REVIEW 


 I think one of the things I liked most about this story was the openness Katie shares about her life. She has bouts of anxiety and it is controlling her life. Something that happened in her past makes her  doubt her fiancé at times. I worried that she would push him away but his steadfast love and faith helps them work through their relationship. The struggle Katie faces was well written and I understand her feelings of being  inadequate as a pastor’s wife. We allow our past to define us and forget that God has forgiven us. It is a good story that shows a couple facing obstacles together and allowing God to show them forgiveness and hope. 

 I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion. 

About the Author

Heather Greer is a pastor’s kid and pastor’s wife from southern Illinois. Though her nest is quickly approaching the empty stage, with three of her four children out on their own, she enjoys the times she gets to spend with all her children, husband, and grandson. Equal mix geek and romantic, you could as easily find Heather watching an episode of Doctor Who as the latest Hallmark movie. Of course, you may find her baking, reading, or crafting too!
Heather’s writing and teaching ministries revolve around a passion to see believers grow in their faith. Though God has used her most often with teens and adults, she has worked in ministries reaching all age groups through the years. It is Heather’s prayer for God to use what she writes in her books and on her blog to challenge and encourage readers in their faith walks.


More from Heather

Often, we throw around the word hope as if it’s a fancy replacement for a wish. Nothing could be further from the truth. Godly hope is more than wishing our circumstances were different without any indication that our desire could become reality. When our hope is based on who God is and what He has promised in His word, it becomes something to anchor us in the troubling times we go through. It is what allows us to give the circumstances that weigh us down to God and go on living life even though physically there may be no changes in what’s happening.
Hope isn’t pretending the bad stuff isn’t there. And it isn’t acting as if the hard things don’t hurt. Hope doesn’t erase the hurt or ignore the problems, but it does free us from allowing our emotions and circumstances to control us. Hope lets us have peace that makes no sense to the rest of the world. Hope allows us to rest in the middle of the trial. Hope based on scriptural truths allows us to live with joy even when things aren’t going our way.
As I wrote Grasping Hope, God took me to places that challenged and grew my own understanding of what it means to have hope as an anchor to our souls (Hebrews 6:19). When I started writing, I had no idea the path God would take me down to show me just how little I understood about hope. It’s something I never want to repeat and wouldn’t wish on anyone. But the lessons I learned grew me as a believer, and it is my prayer that what I learned through this difficult time in my life comes through clearly for everyone who reads Grasping Hope.

Blog Stops

Rebecca Tews, April 9
Pause for Tales, April 11
Artistic Nobody, April 14 (Author Interview)
Quiet Quilter, April 15

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Heather is giving away the grand prize of $25 Amazon gift card!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
at 4 comments:

Thursday, April 9, 2020

Vestige of Legacy FB Banner

About the Book

Book:  Vestige of Legacy
Author: Sara Blackard
Genre: Historical, Time-Travel, Romance
Release Date: March 10, 2020
Vistage of Legacy coverA women bent of survival…
…a man intent on saving…
…thrown together by a tumble through time.After running away from her foster home and surviving several years living on the streets, Samara has finally found her path in life—performing music with the hope of putting down roots. But when she is violently attacked and somehow ends up one hundred and forty years in the past, it appears her dreams for the future have once again been ripped from her.While trekking through the Coloradan Rockies in 1879, Orlando finds a wounded woman. He questions why God would put this small, weak woman in his path. As he races to save her from the harsh wilderness bent on destroying them, he hopes his failures of the past don’t catch up to them.Continue the breath-taking Vestige in Time series!

Click here for your copy!

MY REVIEW
Oh how I love an author who can describe things so vividly. This story is such a great read with the author’s ability to transport us back in time to 1879. We find ourselves in the rugged Colorado Rookies where wolves are plentiful and home life hard at times. The journey will be filled with sadness, danger, trust and hope.  
Samara’s past is shadowed by pain as she feels abandoned by those she loved. The pain she keeps inside causes her not to trust anyone. Her relationship with  God is almost non existent. I can’t image finding yourself in the middle of a dangerous situation and suddenly realize something is not quite right. If someone told me it was 1879, I think I would have to find the nearest hospital and check myself in. What I really liked about Samara was her vulnerability. She may think she is strong but on the inside is a little girl crying out for her parents.
Orlando is everything you could hope for in a man. He is rugged yet compassionate. His faith is strong and trusts God with everything he has. Orlando believes Samara has been brought to him for a reason. Will he be able to gain her trust?  The story is full of adventure and danger as Samara embraces her new surroundings. I enjoyed reading how Orlando protected Samara and guided her towards accepting her new life. 
There are times in the story where I wanted to tell Samara to stop being so hard  headed and allow Orlando to help her find peace. The author writes a beautiful story that captures the time period with realism. Samara will find herself at times wondering why God brought her to this place that is unfamiliar. I loved the theme of trusting God and letting go  of the past. I look forward to the next book in the series.  
“Everyone has a past. It’s what we do with it that makes a difference.”
I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.  
About the Author
Vistage of LegacySara Blackard enjoys writing romantic stories full of adventure and weaved with God’s message of love. She makes her home in the sub-arctic of Tok, Alaska with her husband and five children. In between writing and publishing, she can usually be found either homeschooling her children, enjoying the Alaskan wilderness, or helping build their house.

More from Sara

A trip to the Alamo brings introspection and a bit of sweat.
Texas heat could melt a woman…
…I know. I experienced it this last September when I ventured south for the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) conference in San Antonio.
I noticed several t-shirts in the gift shops that said “If you can’t take the heat, leave Texas!” I looked at those shirts and told them, “Not until the conference is over, you bully.” They don’t like it very much when you talk back to them.
I visited the Alamo while I was there. I could glimpse it of out the window of our hotel room (Thank you, Jesus for answered prayers!) Inside the walled grounds was a small museum one of the actors told me to check out. There wasn’t much in the museum. Old rifles. A few uniforms. Some personal items. I found Davie Crockett’s brush, and next to it sat this tin box that Crockett carried with him. It surprised me, because this box isn’t small. Crockett was a man in a foreign land, looking for a better future. What would cause a man to carry such an awkward box by horse across miles on his journey?
That box got me thinking about what things I carry? I had just finished the first draft of Vestige of Legacy. Samara, the heroine, carries her mother’s Appalachian dulcimer with her. She has the memories of her mother in the case, but she’s also packed it full of fears, regrets and lies. Do I have such a thing in the items I’ve lugged around the country as we’ve moved from place to place?
Then I started thinking about what do I want to carry with me? The answer quickly came back as God. In all the things I can take with me as I travel across the miles or down the street, I pray I’m taking God with me, pray He guides my thoughts, actions, and words. And here’s the crazy thing, I know He takes me with Him, carries me through all my troubles and through the joy. He says so in Isaiah 46:4  “And I’ll keep on carrying you when you’re old. I’ll be there, bearing you when you’re old and gray. I’ve done it and will keep on doing it, carrying you on my back, saving you.”
Wow… aren’t God’s promises amazing? What are you carrying with you? Are you like Crockett, lugging around this awkward box? You can bet, whether you recognize it or not, that God is faithful to carry you.

Blog Stops

Artistic Nobody, April 10 (Author Interview)
Older & Smarter?, April 14
Betti Mace, April 15
Pause for Tales, April 22

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Sara is giving away the grand prize package of a $25 Amazon Gift Card, a copy of Vestige of Hope,and a copy of Vestige of Legacy!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
at 5 comments:

Wednesday, April 8, 2020

About the Book

Book:  Flight Risk
Author: Cara Putman
Genre:  Romantic Legal Suspense
Release Date: April 7, 2020
Bestselling author Cara Putman returns with a romantic legal thriller that will challenge the assumptions of truth tellers everywhere.
Savannah Daniels has worked hard to build her law practice, to surround herself with good friends, and to be the loyal aunt her troubled niece can always count on. But since her ex-husband’s betrayal, she has trouble trusting anyone.
Jett Glover’s father committed suicide over a false newspaper repo rt that ruined his reputation. Now a fierce champion of truth, Jett is writing the story of his journalism career—an international sex-trafficking exposé that will bring down a celebrity baseball player and the men closest to him, including Savannah’s ex-husband.
When Jett’s story breaks, tragedy ensues. Then a commercial airline crashes, and one of Savannah’s clients is implicated in the crash. Men connected to the scandal, including her ex, begin to die amid mysterious circumstances, and Savannah’s niece becomes an unwitting target.
Against their better instincts, Jett and Savannah join ranks to sort the facts from fiction. But can Savannah trust the reporter who threw her life into chaos? And can Jett face the possibility that he’s made the biggest mistake of his life?

Click here to get your copy!
MY Review 
 What I like most about this author is her ability to write books that are multilayered with intrigue, incredible characters and fast action. It is nice to read a story where you are kept guessing to the end. The author is good at developing the story with danger  that starts slow and increases as the pages turn. There is nothing simple about this story. 
Savannah is a very smart lawyer who has her hands full with a sister who is usually unstable and a niece that needs her help. Her ex-husband is mixed up in something that is unthinkable. When Jett was introduced I wasn’t quite sure I liked him. As a news reporter he is certainly a go getter. His thirst to get a big story may cost him his life. He soon redeems himself in my eyes when he is determined to find the truth.
The story deals will a plane crash that has ties to Savannah’s ex-husband and her clients. I loved the technology in the book and it is obvious that the author did her research for this book.  I don’t want to forget the other mystery in the book. Savannah has clients that are trying to sort out a patent infringement which ties to a plane crash which ties to well you will have to read the book to find out. 
Savannah and Jett work together to unravel the mystery while developing a friendship. Will their friendship lead to something more? Can Savannah tear down her walls and start to trust again? What does a plane crash, a new technology and Savannah's ex-husband have in common? What is in Thailand that would cause people to risk their lives for?  The author connects the dots with twists that make this story one of her best to date.  Get ready for an adventure that  digs into the underbelly of human trafficking, secrets, the FBI and stolen technology. 

 The truth shall set you free. 
I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.  
About the Author
Since the time she could read Nancy Drew, Cara has wanted to write mysteries. In 2005 she attended a book signing at her local Christian bookstore. The rest, as they say, was history. There she met a fellow Indiana writer Colleen Coble. With prompting from her husband, Cara shared her dream with Colleen. Since those infamous words, Cara’s been writing award-winning books. She is currently writing book 33 and dreaming up future books, not hard when she sees what-ifs everywhere.
Cara Putman is an active member of ACFW and gives back to the writing community through her service on Executive Board. She has also been the Indiana ACFW chapter president and served as the Area Coordinator for Indiana.
Cara is also an attorney, full-time lecturer at a Big Ten university, active in women’s ministry, and all around crazy woman. Crazy about God, her husband and her kids that is. She graduated with honors from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Go Huskers!), George Mason Law School, and Purdue University’s Krannert School of Management. You can learn more about Cara at www.caraputman.com <http://www.caraputman.com/>.

Learn more about Flight Risk and Cara Putman here!

Blog Stops

Betti Mace, April 8
Genesis 5020, April 9
CarpeDiem, April 10
Emily Yager, April 12
Splashes of Joy, April 12
Mary Hake, April 12
Older & Smarter?, April 13
Book of Ruth Ann, April 13
Remembrancy, April 14
Simple Harvest Reads, April 15 (Guest Review from Mindy Houng)
By The Book, April 16
Bigreadersite, April 17
Pause for Tales, April 18
Hallie Reads, April 19
EmpowerMoms, April 19

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Cara is giving away the grand prize package of a Vera Bradley travel cosmetics set, a journal for capturing vacation memories, a copy of Flight Risk, and a bracelet!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

at 2 comments: