The Heiress of Winterwood by Sarah Ladd

The year is 1814; the setting, Darbury England.  Amelia Barrett is a capable woman.  She is strong-willed, determined, and keen to keep the promise she made to her friend Katherine shortly before her death: to raise the woman’s baby.  She takes the task seriously and even takes steps to secure the child’s future by proposing to its father, a sea captain named Captain Sterling.  Together, they plan to raise the baby.  However, the child goes missing and only a ransom note is left hinting at her whereabouts.  Amelia and Captain Sterling must listen to God and give up personal control in order to succeed in finding the one thing they both love the most.

As a historical fiction, The Heiress of Winterwood by Sarah Ladd caught my attention right away.  I knew from the first few pages that it was going to be a good book, and I was right.  It was a fairly easy read and kept the story clipping along at a good pace, so I read through it pretty fast.  I thought the plot was good, but it could have been a little more complex.  I was able to predict what would happen, but there were a few little twists thrown in here and there that kept me on my toes.  Overall I was pleased with the development of some characters and the consistency of some.  There were some great lessons in forgiveness and mercy shown by one of the characters towards another, and that made me happy.  The bad guy was also very well done.  I can’t say too much without giving the plot away, but in my opinion they had a good motivation that drove them.  I recommend the book to those who like historical romances.  Although I feel it didn’t have a lot of historical references aside from the time period it was set in, the author did a good enough job of convincing the reader of the setting.  It was a happy ending, but I have a sense that there will be a sequel coming in the future.  (No spoilers, I promise.)

Thanks to BookSneeze.com for providing me with a free copy of the book in exchange for my review.

A Cast of Stones by Patrick W. Carr

In the backwater village of Callowford, roustabout Errol Stone is enlisted by a church messenger arriving with urgent missives for the hermit priest in the hills.  Eager for coin, Errol agrees to what he thinks will be an easy task, but soon finds himself hunted by deadly assassins.  Forced to flee with the priest and a small band of travelers, Errol soon learns he’s joined a quest that could change the fate of his kingdom.  Protected for millennia by the heirs of the first king, the kingdom’s dynasty nears it end and the selection of the new king begins--but in secret and shadow.  As danger mounts, Errol must leave behind the stains and griefs of the past, learn to fight, and discover who is hunting him and his companions and how far they will go to stop the reading of the stones.

Phenomenal.  That is the only word I can think of to describe A Cast of Stones.  Right from the first chapter I was hooked, and it wasn’t long before danger and intrigue ran rife throughout the plotline.  There was never a boring chapter of this book.  Boring paragraphs, yes, but that was the extent of it.  Patrick Carr did an amazing job of developing his characters.  They were so real that I could live through them.  I appreciated his advanced vocabulary and sentence structures, and the plotline was so thick that I practically had to shovel my way out.  That wasn’t a bad thing however, it just means that there was so much dimension to the story that I can hardly believe it’s a first novel.  Carr included mountains of description, and it’s obvious he has developed his fantasy world to the point that the reader begins to believe it’s real.  I believe it takes a talented author to do that.

One of the things that I enjoyed most about the book was the relationship of government and church.  The kingdom of Illustra where the story takes place is very similar to a medieval style society.  They have a king, nobles, peasants, knights, and all of the Arthurian type of characteristics, while still managing to seem human.  God has a presence among the lives of those in the book, but Carr developed it in a way that wasn’t so blatant as other Christian books can be.  The relationship worked naturally within the novel, and the message was just as clear as if it was set on Earth.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves fantasy or medieval fiction, or those who love getting wrapped up in a good story.  A Cast of Stones was quite the adventure story with hardly a dull moment, and I must say I couldn’t put it down for more than 12 hours at a time.  It is not an airplane book, as I would call it, for the characters and plot were not shallow or one sided.  They had many dimensions, and I found myself racing to untangle the plot before they could.  I won’t say anything to spoil the reading experience for anyone else, but being an author myself, I appreciate the ending.  As a reader, however, I am holding my breath waiting for the next book to come out.

Thanks to Bethany House Publishing for a free copy of the book in exchange for my review.

Right Where I Belong by Krista McGee

Natalia Lopez wants nothing to do with love.  After seeing her father divorce his fourth wife, she has had enough.  She moves from Spain to Florida with her stepmother to finish school and maybe start a life away from the influences of her rich and overbearing parents.  She only plans to stay long enough to help her stepmother adjust and overcome depression, but she senses God calling her to stay and wait.  Natalia makes new friends who share her faith and care about her, and pretty soon she realizes that maybe God has placed her right where she belongs.


This book came at a very convenient time in my life.  I’ve had it for a couple of months now waiting to be read, but I didn’t actually get to it until now.  However, once I started it, I couldn’t put it down.  Many of the things that Natalia was experiencing were very relatable to me and some things in particular are relevant currently.  I was very pleased with the character development that occurred throughout the book, in major and minor characters.  Natalia’s relationship with God is inspiring, and it speaks to the reader.  The plot moved along at a nice pace and it was engaging to the very end.  I would be comfortable saying that Right Where I Belong is my favorite out of Krista McGee’s books so far.  I appreciate that the story moved away from stardom and television shows (as the previous books have focused on) and was centered around an ordinary girl who was dealing with change.  This made the story more relatable but still enjoyable.  Plus, there was a little bit of Spanish and Puerto Rican culture thrown in, which I was a huge fan of.  Having read her other two works, I can see her development as a writer manifested in each new episode back in Tampa.  (I appreciated how we were able to reconnect with some previous characters.)  I would definitely recommend this book to any teenager or above who likes fiction about teenage life or about growing in their faith.  It’s definitely on the top of my lists for this year.
Thanks to Booksneeze.com for providing me with a free copy of the book in exchange for a review.

Finding God in the Hobbit by Jim Ware

Just as some have said that The Chronicles of Narnia shows C. S. Lewis’ faith, so does The Lord of the Rings.  However, the one book that explains it all, The Hobbit, is many times overlooked when it comes to this.  Jim Ware saw this also and wrote Finding God in the Hobbit to show us where God come through in Tolkien’s writing once again.

I originally picked up the book because I have read The Hobbit and I was curious about the author’s perception on the book.  Also, not too long ago I read Finding God in the Land of Narnia, another book in the same series.  I must say, while I enjoyed some of the chapters of Finding God in the Hobbit, sometimes I felt that the idea of God was stretched out a little, “like butter spread over too much bread.”  Jim Ware did a nice job in many places of pulling out things that could be applied to life, but sometimes I wasn’t really able to see the connection, especially how they related to The Hobbit.  The one thing I did like about the book (and the whole Finding God series in general) was the reflections at the end of each chapter.  They reminded me of a fable because they had big ideas to bring home and think about.  It was hard for me to get into the book, but I am mainly a fiction reader and I only picked up this book because I knew I had liked the previous one in the series that I read.  I would, however, recommend this book to anyone who has read The Hobbit or is planning to read it and who wants to delve further into the meaning behind Tolkien’s works.

I was provided with a free copy of this book by Tyndale Blogging Network in exchange for my review.

Isle of Shadows by Tracy L. Higley

Tessa of Delos is a sought-after hetaera.  She is beautiful.  She is cunning.  She is a marble Athena.  After years of trying to block out her own pain and suppress her past, she has had enough.  She seeks to release herself from her captivity by taking her own life.  However, when her master dies in a freak accident, she finds herself in a position where she has never been before: with hope.  She, along with Simeon, a Jewish slave in the same household, and Nikos, a mysterious dock worker who arrives on their doorstep one day, embark on a dangerous game where she tries to keep the death a secret long enough to escape to freedom.  

Unfortunately, she is not the only one with something to hide-- Spiro, a power-hungry politician, plans something sinister that only Tessa, Nikos, and Simeon know of.  Before long, Tessa is thrown into a masquerade where she must struggle to uncover the plot and keep her own secret simultaneously.  She looks to the god Helios for help, not realizing that God has the freedom and hope that she has always desired.  The question is, will she see past her own intentions to do what He wants for her?

I have slightly mixed feelings on the book.  I began reading it and immediately was thrown into the plot, which was exciting and fast-paced from the start.  However, having read Tracy L. Higley’s other book, Garden of Madness, only a short time ago, I saw very similar parallels between the two stories, which made Isle of Shadows easy to predict.  I was very impressed with the former book, and looked to the latter to be just as good.  I wasn’t entirely mistaken, for I enjoyed this book very much.  However, I feel like the plot was just a little bit too unrealistic and predictable for what I was hoping for.  I feel that the ending was a bit rushed, and that certain events could have been expounded upon further.  One other thing that I couldn’t help but think about the whole time I was reading was that the entire story only spanned a time of about seven days, but the characters developed at a pace that would have taken months in real life.  I do realize that this minor detail was absolutely necessary because of the time constraints that Higley incorporated into the book, and it didn’t bother me too much since it felt like longer when I was actually reading the story.

On the positive side, the book had a very entertaining plot line that was easy to follow and not confusing in the slightest.  I was actually reminded quite a bit of Francine Rivers when I first started reading the book, as it seemed similar to something she would write.  I found myself comparing Tessa to Rivers’ characters as I read, which made me smile inside because I am a huge fan of the Mark of the Lion series.  I would recommend Isle of Shadows to those who like historical fiction, especially ancient historical fiction, and those who want a quick, easy read.  (I found that I couldn’t put the book down.)  I am definitely looking forward to reading more of Higley’s books, especially those in the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World series, and I have high hopes for what they hold.

Thank you to Booksneeze.com who provided me with a free copy of the book in exchange for my review.

The Choice by Robert Whitlow

Even as a pregnant, unwed teen in 1974, Sandy Lincoln wanted to do the right thing. But when an ageless woman approached her in a convenience store with a mysterious prophecy and a warning, doing the right thing became even more unclear. She made the best choice she could...and has lived with the consequences.

More than thirty years later, a pregnant teen has come into her life, and Sandy's long-ago decision has come back to haunt her. The stakes rise quickly, leaving Sandy with split seconds to choose once more. But will her choice bring life...or death?

The Choice by Robert Whitlow has a great message. The conflict in the book deals with two sides and their opinion on the value of life. While I enjoyed the content, the plot line was very predictable. The author spent much of the time developing the main character and her life. Halfway through the book, her life is fast forwarded to 33 years later. I felt as if the first half was written well, with suspense and great character development while the later half was severely lacking in depth. The outcome was too pretty and perfect. The ending that was prophesied earlier in the book did not really tie together in the end. It was a far stretch from what could have been developed.

I would recommend this book for a light easy read. If you like happy endings, you will like this book. Spiritually, the book has a light faith base to it but the main conviction was the aspect of choosing life over abortion. There was no mention of Jesus or the main characters forgiveness for sin committed earlier. Robert Whitlow could have used more prayer and more insight into the faith of the main character. He also could have used his expertise to create an awesome trial in the end. This was my least favorite book of Robert Whitlow’s books.  I was provided with a free copy of the book by Booksneeze.com in exchange for a review.

Starring Me by Krista McGee

All Kara McKormick has ever wanted is to act.  She’s performed in plays and productions locally, but she really wants to be famous and make it big.  She got her foot in the door when she was on the show The Book of Love, but she didn’t win that competition.  However, a new show is coming, and she is selected to audition for the role of co-star.  When she gets the call, she is thrilled.  She moves down to Orlando for a month-long audition and lives in a house with nine other contestants and an eccentric housemother.  Getting through auditions is tough, but what Kara doesn’t know is that God has an even bigger plan for her than acting--and it’s even better than what she expected.

This was a really good book.  I was hoping that because it continues the story started in First Date it would do the other book justice.  I needn’t have worried, though.  Starring Me was in some ways even better than First Date (although I do highly recommend reading both!).  I really loved the fact that the story was told mainly from the perspective of Kara, who was a spunky, fun character.  It showed her journey through the auditions and portrayed very well the horrors of being in the show business with teenagers.  I found myself rooting for Kara as she dealt with the bratty other girls, and I was pleased with the ending and how the book resolved.  I would recommend this book to anyone who’s tweenage and above.  Children could read it (there’s nothing inappropriate), but I just don’t think a younger person would really appreciate the book’s message or understand the trials Kara went through.  If you have read Krista McGee’s other book, First Date, and enjoyed that, then you will also like Starring Me.  I look forward to reading the other books the author has to offer, and I wouldn’t hesitate to lend this particular book to a friend.

Thanks to BookSneeze.com for providing me with a free copy of the book in exchange for my review.