The Chair by James Rubart

The Chair

By James Rubart

Published by Broadman and Holman Publishers

This is the second book of James Rubart's that I have read, and my favorite of the two.

The Chair is the story of Corin Roscoe, an antiques dealer with a business in trouble, who is given a special chair from a seemingly random woman one day. When she gives him the chair, she claims that it is a special chair made by the best carpenter in the world.

As Corin tries to find the true origin of the chair, he encounters miracles along the way. A young boy is healed of his asthma after sitting in it. Is this chair able to perform miracles?!

His research takes him to the depth of danger as he soon finds out that he is not the only one interested in the origin of the chair, and that he is not the only one who will do anything to possess it.

The story is one of faith and longing. Of love and betrayal. Of hope and longing. Of miracles seen and miracles denied.

The Chair is a book I would highly recommend. And the best part of the book is the end. :) Read it. You'll be glad you did.

Hiding My Bruises While Singing In the Choir

Hiding My Bruises While Singing in the Choir
By Jan Juliano Balzer

Have you ever had a book that you just couldn't put down? One that called your name when you weren't there, beckoning you back again?

Well, this book did just that for me.

As you may know, I'm really a Christian fiction kind of girl. Give me a good mystery, thriller, or Christian romance, and let it take me away from it all. It's my escape.

So for a non-fiction book to grab me, it has to be good. And I can name only a handful that have kept my attention all the way through.

Hiding My Bruises While Singing in the Choir is the true story of a lady who I am proud to call my friend. We met because of another friend's book.

It's the story of a little girl with big dreams that grows up to have those dreams shattered, and then put back together again through the grace of Almighty God.

Jan's book had me gasping, holding my breath, and then breathing a sigh of relief. The tragedies played out in this book are turned into life lessons that we can all learn from.

The book had me thinking, and praying, and considering what God is doing in my life that will someday help someone else.

A highly recommended book for anyone who needs to be encouraged in rough times.

Thanks, Jan, for sharing your story, and for allowing me the privilege of reviewing it!

The Mercy

The Mercy - By Beverly Lewis
Published by Bethany House Publishers

The Mercy was provided to me free of charge by Bethany House Publishers in exchange for my posted review.

The Mercy is the third book in The Rose Trilogy, written by Beverly Lewis.

The Rose Trilogy follows the life of Rose Ann, an Amish young lady, youngest in a family of 9 I believe.

The Mercy finds both Rose and her sister, Hen, (a nickname for the name Hannah), both longing for change. As Hen takes care of her injured husband, Rose gets another chance at love.

Rose has recently released her beau (and fiance) from their engagement, after finding out he was pining for a friend of hers. As she deals with this loss, her brother and sister -in-law decide to play matchmaker. Will the young man they set her up with be the man of her dreams after the heartache she's endured?

And if so, why does her mind keep reminding her of her former best friend, Nick? He's been shunned after all, and has brought shame on his family in the process.

Read the series to find out what happens to sweet Rose, and her beloved sister, Hen.

Falls Like Lightning

Falls Like Lightning  - By Shawn Grady
Published by Bethany House Publishers

Falls Like Lightning  was provided to me free of charge from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for my review.

Silas Kent is a smoke jumper - a man who jumps out of a plane, and then fights fires from the ground  - WITHOUT water. 

He never expected to meet Elle again, but when she is assigned to pilot the plane Silas and his team are jumping from, Silas begins to regret the mistake he made with her years ago.  Elle, on the other hand, has her hands full being a single mother with a high risk job. She's been hurt enough, and wants no part of Silas anymore. 

Before they can start to at least rebuild their friendship, Silas is assigned to fight a huge forest fire in the same forest that Elle has flown over inch by inch following a horrible tragedy with her father.  So naturally, Elle is assigned to pilot the plane yet again. 

When a freak accident leaves Silas on the ground, barely escaping with his life,  and Elle possibly dead from the plane crash, Silas sets out to find the downed plane even while fighting the fire with a new crew. 

As he searches, he realizes he has much more to fear than the raging fire itself. 

Falls Like Lightning was a good read.  Not a favorite book of mine, but good for contemporary Christian Fiction/Suspense. I learned a bit about Fire Jumping and the sacrifices men and women make for our communities every day.  And for that I am extremely thankful. 

An Unlikely Suitor

An Unlikely Suitor by Nancy Moser
Published by Bethany House Publishers

This book was provided to me free of charge by Bethany House Publishers in exchange for my review.

Life is tough for Lucy Scarpelli and her family. After moving to the United Stages from Italy to pursue a better life for their family, the Scarpelli family is crammed into a 2 room tenement apartment with no private bathroom and no hot water.

To make matters worse, the tenement they've lived in for years is scheduled to be destroyed in a matter of days.

With her father gone and her uncle and aunt moving out West to be with their son, the burden of finding a mew place to live falls on Lucy's shoulders.

After a quick prayer for guidance, Lucy sets out to find such a place. Little does she know that finding a place for her family to live will change their lives forever.

For Lucy not only finds a place for her mother, sister and herself to live, she also finds new jobs for all of them at a dress botique - Madame Moreau's Fashion Emporium.

There Lucy forms a special bond with Rowena, a girl with a disability that Lucy is able to help hide with her abilities as a seamstress.

Their blossoming friendship prompts Rowena to invite Lucy along to her family's summer retreat in Newport, Rhode Island. Lucy jumps at the idea, never having the opportunity to visit such a place.

While there, much to Lucy's surprise, she meets a dashing young man, and love begins to take bloom. But Lucy resists this love, wondering why a man of his station would fall for a poor dressmaker like her.

Meanwhile, Rowena faces an arranged marriage to a young man she is not in love with. But can she hope for anything else, being crippled as she is?

And finally, Lucy's younger sister, Sophia, begins to fall for a man above her station, too.

Will the 3 girls find love in the end, or will all their hearts be broken.

An enjoyable historical fiction book with just enough twists to keep you guessing til the end.

The Girl in the Gatehouse by Julie Klassen

The Girl in the Gatehouse by Julie Klassen

Published by Bethany House Publishers

This book was provided to me free of charge by Bethany House Publishers in exchange for my posted review.

Set in the early 1800's, The Girl in the Gatehouse follows the life of Mariah Aubrey, a young lady who has to leave the only home she has ever known to live in the gatehouse of a distant relative - an aunt by marriage, named Mrs. Prynn-Hallsey - because of a scandal surrounding her name. 

Having no money to her name, Mariah must support herself and her trusted servant, Miss Dixon, the only way she knows how - by writing novels. This can only compound the scandal already attached to her name.   You see,  women writing novels in the early 19th century is frowned upon!

So Mariah writes anonymously. Trouble presents itself, though, when the man who offers to publish her book wants to meet her in person. Should she allow this? Can she trust him? Or will he be the one to ruin it all for her?

As the meeting looms, a wealthy Navy captain, Matthew Bryant, comes to rent the estate from Mrs. Prynn-Hallsey's step son following her death. He sees the publisher going to visit Mariah, and wonders what a man would be doing visiting "his" estate's gatehouse. 

When he  checks it out, he realizes there is a young lady who lives there.  And she is quite beautiful. Kind, too.  As he gets to know her, and discovers she has a secret to hide, he becomes aware that befriending a young lady with scandal attached to her name is not the best idea. 

Add to all this drama some mystery surrounding the gatehouse itself, 2 servants falling for the Miss Dixon at the same time, and the fact that although Captain Matthew is drawn to Mariah, he is determined to win back an old flame,  and you have a book Jane Austen fans will enjoy.  

 

The Alarmists - By Don Hoesel

The Alarmists - by Don Hoesel

Published by Bethany House Publishers

The Alarmists was provided to me free of charge by Bethany House Publishers in exchange for my review.

I have to say I was so excited to receive the book The Alarmists. It is a fiction book about the theory of the end of the world coming in conjunction with the end of the Mayan Calendar in December 2012. Now I love a good mystery. I ask questions all the time, and want to know things like if paranormal activity or UFOs are real. I watch all I can about alien space crafts, Area 51, and the Bermuda Triangle. So this seemed right up my alley.

I started reading with enthusiasm, but was not impressed. The story line was not bad. It was, though, in my opinion, too wordy and the plot was too drawn out. I felt there were too many characters to keep up with.

Please don't get me wrong. I love details. This just wasn't my cup of tea.

The entire book takes place within 21 days, but it felt like it took me that long to read it. I finally had to skip to the end just to see how it would end. Even the ending was a bit disappointing to me, because of it's abruptness.

Wish I could have given it a better review. But I have to write it like I read it. Sorry, folks.

Max on Life - By Max Lucado

Max on Life - By Max Lucado

Published by Thomas Nelson Publishers

(This book was provided to me free of charge from Thomas Nelson Publishers in exchange for my agreement to write a review on it.)

Have you ever wished you could ask Max Lucado some really tough questions? Questions like, "Why am I here?"

"What should I do when all hope seems lost?"

"Is there really a hell, and is it eternal?"

How about questions about sex and marriage? Questions on how to discipline your children?

Well, you're in luck. Even if you, like me, have never physically written him a letter or an email. Because Max's new book Max on Life answers these questions and so many more!

This book, to me, was like another version of God's Promises for Your Every Need. Max Lucado style.

In the easy to read format Max is known to us by, he answers the hard questions we desperately want answers for, and he does it all without beating us over the head with the Bible.

Oh, he uses the Bible to answer all the questions. Many different versions (which I personally loved!) But in the end you don't feel beat up or preached at. You feel the compassion I think Jesus would have portrayed.

The references had me searching my Bible more than ever. Which is what I think Max would have wanted. And I'm POSITIVE God wants me to do that.

So, thanks, Max! You drew me closer to God through your research and answers. I can't wait for your next book to come out.

Unlocked by Karen Kingsbury

Unlocked by Karen Kingsbury 

Published by Zondervan

I've been a fan of Karen's books for several years now, but this one was especially meaningful to me due to the fact that the main character is a teenage boy with Autism, and I have a 13 year old son with an autism spectrum disorder.

Unlocked is based on the true story of a friend of Karen's who showed amazing progress because of music.   

Holden Harris is an 18 year old boy with Autism that renders him non-communicative. He lives locked in his own world - one that no one understands. He's considered an odd kid at school.

But Ella meets Holden and feels an immediate connection. She is determined to be his friend no matter if Holden stays locked in his own world or not.

Can Ella, with the help of God, find the key to Unlock Holden's world?

If you're looking for a great book, "Unlocked" by Karen Kingsbury is for you!!!! Happy reading!