Friday, January 27, 2012

Sunrise on the Battery by Beth Webb Hart


I just finished reading an amazing book called Sunrise on the Battery by Beth Webb Hart.  It is about a woman and her family that seem to have everything; money, social standing, and influence.  But for Mary Lynn, the mother, something seems to be missing.  After fighting her way up from having nothing to having virtually everything, she still has the sense that there is something more out there. So she goes to church. While there she asks the members to pray that Jackson, her husband, will come to know God.  She gets what she prayed for but it may just change her life as well.

I think, after reading this book that the main message the author is trying to bring across is perspective.  Is it more important to have everything on the surface but feel emptiness inside? Or is it more important to be whole, confident, loved, and have a personal relationship with God and possibly have to do without the prestige and honor of having everything?  Also, while reading this book I was faced with what being a Christian really means.  Its not just going to church and doing all the things expected of you.  Sometimes being a real Christian means stepping out into the unknown and uncomfortable to get your hands dirty helping people that you would not normally see in a church building. 

This is a well-written book with an excellent message. It is written in a real down to earth way that anyone can identify with. I highly recommend this book!

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Jenna's Cowboy by Sharon Gillenwater


I recently finished reading a book called Jenna’s Cowboy by Sharon Gillenwater.
Jenna is a daughter of the Callahan’s in Texas.  She has recently moved back home to the ranch after her husband left her and their two-year-old son Zach.  She wonders if it is possible to love and be loved again. Can she trust another man? 

Nate is a man battling some demons of his own.  After just returning from two tours in Iraq, he is suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  After running into Jenna, the girl he loved in high school, he wonders if he will ever be able to get over his past and be able to become the kind of man that Jenna can love and trust her heart with.

While reading this book I was laughing, crying, and constantly on the edge of my seat waiting to see what happened.  This book is very down to earth and shows the true meaning of love.  I was drawn to this book with western backdrop for a Christian romance novel.  If you want a book that you can relate to while you read, this is the book for you.  This family battles everything; war, betrayal, and natural disasters.  But through it all, their faith in God brings them closer together and gives them the strength to make it through.

I highly recommend this book! Check it out!

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Judd for the Defense by Lawrence Louis Goldman


Knowing how I love to read, my mom got me some books for Christmas this year.  One of which was a book called, Judd for the Defense. It’s based on the popular 1960’s television series by the same name.

Clinton Judd is the best defense attorney money can buy. He’s confident, handsome, smart, and ruthless when the need arises.  Carl Betz played Judd in the ABC series.  Clinton Judd is a super lawyer, Perry Mason and Matlock all rolled into one. He even has a streak of Superman in him—he flies— well, his own airplane.

This book is the first of two that were written by Lawrence Louis Goldman.  Judd works alongside Ben, his young partner.   In this story, Ben decides to go back and visit the Commonwealth University where he graduated.  While there he stumbles into a dispute between the college and an old professor, Dr. Michales, who is experimenting with the psychological effects of LSD.  The case is made a little more complicated when one of his subjects, a young girl, falls to her death while under the influence of the drug. So the question becomes, is he unethical, a murderer, both, or innocent?

This book is very well written.  You will suspect many people but not know exactly who is responsible until the very end when Judd and Ben crack the case. 

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Heart of Ice by Lis Wiehl

I recently ordered a book from BookSneeze.com called Heart of Ice by Lis Wiehl.  I was so excited to be getting this book after reading the info about it.

This book is the third in a series called Triple Threat Novels by Lis Wiehl. It follows the lives of three women: Nicole, an FBI agent; Allison, a federal prosecuter; and Cassidy, a reporter at the local news station, as they hunt for the truth and catch the bad guys. 

Unfortunately, I personally found it hard to follow the trails of the three main characters and the psychopath killer they are trying to stop.

Each chapter is about a different person and it goes back and forth between the characters. This caused me to have trouble seeing a fluid picture in my mind of what was taking place.

Heart of Ice seems to focus too much on the psychopath and not enough on the three women charged with catching her.  I did not even finish this book because I was already so untouched by the characters that I did not even feel the need to know if the perpetrator was caught.

Every author wants to be able to reach out and grab the reader and keep his or her interest so that the reader is anxious to turn the page and find out what happens next.  This book did not do that to me.  The beginning grabbed me and made me want to turn the page and find out what happens next but by the time I got halfway through the book, I had slowly lost interest.

I like the idea for this book. I love reading about women that work in powerful positions and use that power for good. 

Change of Heart by Fran Shaff


While on this note of Historical Romance novels, I also read one called Change of Heart by Fran Shaff. This book was also a great one at only 110 pages.

Marietta Randolph lives in Chicago, high society, and fancy clothes. Her sister moved away from Chicago a few years back to follow the man she loved to the sparsely populated Nebraska in the 1850’s.  Upon receiving word that her sister and brother-in-law had been killed, Marietta travels to Nebraska to pick up her nephew, Zack.  While waiting for a wagon train to head back east on, Marietta runs into a handsome rancher named Jase Kent.  When the weather turns nasty with a big snowstorm, she finds herself stranded with her nephew and a man he adores, Jase.  Is it possible for Marietta to forget all the warnings her mother gave her and fall in love?

I highly recommend this book! You can purchase it on this website.