Morning for Dove Book Review

Morning for Dove by Martha Rogers


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Set in a time when Oklahoma was only a territory, Morning for Dove by Martha Rogers is a compelling novel depicting the nature of love and the racism and intolerance which defined this time period. Falling in love with a Native American is looked down upon in Barton Creek, even if it is only a Native American heritage the object of one's affection possesses. That does stop Luke Anderson. As he falls deeper in love with Dove, he can only hope that his parents can learn to see past Dove's skin color to the beauty that lies beneath. Unfortunately Luke's parents' judgement stops short at the telltale color of Dove's skin and hair. Does their relationship even stand a chance? Will Luke's family change their mind or will Luke have to choose between Dove and the people whose blood courses through his veins? In the face of fire, Luke will decide....who will it be?

Morning for Dove is an enthralling novel that I could barely put down. It also brings to the forefront an often forgotten prejudice against Native Americans that at one point was unfortunately quite prevalent. Mrs. Rogers weaves a tale that will make you wish you could jump ahead to read the ending, but I challenge you to wait it out and savor the details. The beauty of this tale is contained in the details between the artistic covers. This novel was clearly written and easy to follow. I also appreciate that Mrs. Rogers dives directly into the story line in the beginning. She is to be commended for her skill of depicting the setting while hooking the reader into the story all within the first few pages of the novel. Well done!

A copy of Morning for Dove was provided by Glass Road PR for review purposes. This has in no way altered the content of this review.

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5 Ministry Killers Review

Five Ministry Killers and How to Defeat Them: Help for Frustrated Pastors--Including New Research From the Barna Group by Charles Stone


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Everyone in ministry experiences hardships, especially pastors, but sometimes a problem can fester and actually kill...kill your ministry, that is. In his recent book entitled Five Ministry Killers and How to Defeat Them Dr. harles Stone carefully explains the following five ministry "killers" as he dubs them
1. Head in the sand mentality that denies existing problems
2. Emotional investment in the wrong issues
3. Unhealthy Responses to Ministry Frustrations
4. A lone ranger attitude that says 'God and I can handle this'
5. Attitudes and actions that lead to lonely, hurting spouses

Drawing from his more than thirty years of experience, Dr. Stone uses statistics from The Barna Group, LifeWay Research, and NationalPoll.com to compile a title to not only help diagnose ministry killers, but ward against them as well.

Five Ministry Killers was an enlightening book. It not only gave me a peek into what my pastor must got through, but also gave me a warning for issues in my own real of ministry. I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to the following two groups of people: anyone in ministry or anyone who has a pastor. This book is well worth the time spent reading it.

A copy of this title was provided by Glass Road PR for review purposes. Receiving a free copy in no way affected the content of this review.

The Last Christian by David Gregory Review

The Last Christian: A Novel by David Gregory


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Abigail Caldwell had no idea what she was getting into as she paddled her canoe down the jungle rivers in Papua New Guinea. All she knew was she had to save her tribe and to do that, she needed to get help. Even her daughter, Miraba needed her help. The expedition for aid turns into a life changing event for Abby as she not only leaves the only life she has ever known, but travels to a country so technologically advanced that the population has explained away God--and it's her responsibility to bring them back to their original faith. Follow Abby on a suspense-filled thriller that will leave you breathless until the very end!

Science fiction is not normally a genre I would even go near, but the blend of faith and science posed in the description of this book enticed me, and I was not disappointed! This plots begins thickly and strongly and carries through until the very last pages. There is not a wasted word in this entire book in my opinion. The characters are well-rounded and deep. Gregory weaves an enticing, yet believable tale of the characters as well as makes the science gobbledygook understandable to my non-scientific mind. He even weaves in sound Biblical truth that challenged me to live out my faith in a more passive way. (I know that sounds opposite to what Christianity is about, but just read the book and you will know exactly what I am talking about.)

A copy of this book was provided by Waterbrook Press for review purposes. Thank you!

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This Fine Life Review -- Kristina's Opinion

This Fine Life by Eva Everson


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Mariette's parents had conflicting aspirations for their only daughter. Her mother felt she should marry a man of "means" and take her place among the community as a dutiful housewife and philanthropist. Her father dreamed of her obtaining a college degree and eventually running the family business. Both dreams were dashed the summer that Mariette decided to run away with the love of her life, Thayne and get married. After coming to terms with the decision they've made, Thayne and Mariette settle down into the every day ins and outs of married life. But what happens when the man you married turns out to have a different plan for his life than you thought? What happens when God calls your husband to a place neither of you planned? This Fine Life follows Thayne and Mariette Scott through their first few years of marriage and subsequently their first few years of ministry.

When I first picked up This Fine Life I must admit I was skeptical. A book set in the 1960's is not normally my cup of tea. I dove in, however and I was thrilled to see a well-written novel full of real-life difficulty. A girl distressed about what she was going to do with her life; a man in her life who had a somewhat hidden past; their passionate love and the decisions they made together were enough to engross me in this story. Eva Marie Everson is to be applauded for her character development and her settings. ALL of the characters in this story were very real and believable; a trait that is hard to come by in fiction. I enjoyed reading this book and I was even sad when it was over! I wanted to know more about Thayne, Mariette and their family. I give this book four stars and would recommend it to anyone!

A copy of this title was provided by Baker Publishing Group for Review. This has in no way affected the content of this review. Thank you for reading!

Life, In Spite of Me by Kristen Jane Anderson (Kristina's Review)

Life, In Spite of Me: Finding Extraordinary Hope After Making a Fatal Choice by Kristen Jane Anderson


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Kristen was only seventeen years old when she decided she had had enough. Life, as far as she was concerned, wasn't worth living. In an attempt to end her life, she laid down on railroad tracks and waited for the next train. The next train indeed came and severed Kristen's legs from her body. Miraculously, Kristen survived and has since accepted Christ as her savior and learned to live life "in spite of herself".

From a story standpoint, it is not my place to like or dislike a memoir. This is Kristen's story and I feel that one cannot like or dislike another person's story of how God has worked in there life. Technically this book was enjoyable and well-written. The book is fast-paced, beginning with the initial suicide attempt at the train tracks and then the immediate recovery before walking you through the events that led up to the attempt. Kristen also scatters 'notes to the reader' throughout the book. These notes are snippets of what Kristen wishes someone would have said to her when she was struggling with depression.

All in all, I enjoyed reading this book. It was well-written and fast-paced. Kristen's writing style is clear and flows well. This book ends up being quite inspiring despite the morose beginning and suicide attempt. This is book is definitely well worth the read! I give it three stars!

A copy of this title was provided by Waterbrook Multnomah for review purposes. Receiving a free copy has in no way influenced the content of this review.

Plain Paradise by Beth Wiseman Review

Plain Paradise by Beth Wiseman



Josie knows that the clock is ticking...and not just the one she wears on her wrist. She is running out of time and yet she still has not reconnected with her biological daughter, Linda. One could reason that since Josie is considered Englisch to the Amish society, it makes perfect sense that she has never met Linda. Even so, Josie is determined to at least introduce herself to Linda--while she still can.

Amish fiction is prevalent in today's book stores, however Beth Wiseman has done an admirable job of creating a believable and interesting plot-line. Her characters are deep and well-created on many different levels. I also appreciate that Beth is very clear on her distinctions between characters. This title is comprised of many vibrant characters, however I was not at all confused with deciphering which character was which. They were adequately and neatly described. (I like it when I can easily understand the relationships between characters.)

This well-written book is an enjoyable read. It is good, clean, interesting fiction and I have to say it was nice to sit back and read a book that had a good moral and didn't necessarily make me search my soul. This book gets 3 stars in my book.

This book was provided by Thomas Nelson Publishers for review purposes. Thank you!

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the secret Holocaust Diaries by Nonna Bannister Review

The Secret Holocaust Diaries: The Untold Story of Nonna Bannister by Nonna Bannister

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Nonna Bannister left behind the horrors of her European childhood when she relocated to the United States alone.  Having lost all of her family, including her brother Anatoly with whom she was quite close to the Nazi regime, Nonna closed the door on her life in Europe and started afresh in the United States.  Throughout her marriage, the birth of her children, and her latter years, she did not speak of the immense cruelty she suffered at the hands of the Germans, however one day, she opened her secret place in the attic to her husband.  Looking at her journals written in many different languages (Nonna knew at least five fluently) her husband wondered how he would read these memoirs that were written in a tongue he didn't know.  It was then that Nonna produced the legal pads.  Piles of legal notepads full of her translations.  This book is the meat of those notepads.

the secret Holocaust Diaries is Nonna's true story of her experiences at the hands of the Germans.  It chronicles her childhood before the Germans came to power and continues through he imprisonment at a labor camp through until her death.  With a memoir, I feel the story cannot be critiqued because this is not a plot fabricated in the mind of an author--this is a person's life; their experience.  Therefore any critique is my opinion on the writing style and/or how much I enjoyed the book.

That being said, I don't think enjoy is the correct word to use when referring to reading a true story about the Holocaust.  This book was intriguing and poignantly written.  I will warn that it is a detailed account of Nonna's experiences and there are some VERY disturbing interactions that take place.  What more can one expect from a Holocaust memoir.  If you enjoy reading memoirs or Holocaust based titles, this book is a must-read.  Again, I would caution however that one should be mindful of the age of those who read this.

This book was provided by Tyndale House Publishers for review purposes.

Indivisible by Kristen Heitzmann Blog Tour

Indivisible: A Novel by Kristen Heitzmann


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Jonah and Tia share a haunted past--one they were both able to ignore. That is, until animals begin being mutilated by an unknown, yet seemingly human predator. The appearance of a drug ring and the involvement of one of his police officer's spouses in it's operation only adds to the stress in Chief of Police Jonah Westfall's life. In what seems to be the nick of time, Liz Ranier has set up residence in Redford and reopened the veterinary clinic there. She establishes herself as an invaluable resource to Jonah as he investigates the mutilations and also a friend.

Indivisible by Kristen Heitzmann is an edge of your seat, suspenseful, thriller with a well-thought out plot and characters that ooze reality. Kristen does not shy away from the emotions that envelope humanity. Instead she expounds on them to make her characters not only believable, but characters to which both a Christian and non-Christian audience can relate to and learn from. As with many books with numerous characters, it took me a bit to become acclimated to each of the characters and their history with one another. The plot of Indivisible relies heavily on the historical relationships between the characters and until I understood where those relational lines were drawn the characters seemed a bit muddy, but that cleared up by the third chapter or so. From that point forward, I was engrossed (to say the least) in Indivisible and I have been RAVING about the ending ever since!

If you are going to read any one fiction book this year, make it INDIVISIBLE! You will not be disappointed!

****

A copy of this book was provided for review purposes by Waterbrook Press. Thank you!

Not A Sparrow Falls by Linda Nichols Review

Not a Sparrow Falls by Linda Nichols


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Mary is scared and in over her head. Not knowing where to turn, she escapes, however the freedom she finds is only partial as she is haunted by the sins of her past. It isn't until she reaches out to a troubled young girl from a family stricken with pain that she begins to piece her disjointed life back together and in doing so learns what it means to love again. In Linda Nichols book, Not a Sparrow Falls Mary Washburn leaves behind her given name and assimilates to the name of her mother, Bridget--Bridie for short. Follow Bridie on her emotionally charged journey to save a young girl and in doing so, save herself.

I applaud Linda Nichols for her work on Not A Sparrow Falls. So many authors shy away from topics such as drugs, alcohol abuse, and suicide, but Nichols broached them with sincerity and truth. She portrayed the dangers of substance abuse and the lifelong impact with great clarity and truth while not crossing any descriptive lines that could compromise the integrity of the reader. At the heart of it all is Christ's redeeming power, the love of Christ for those whom have sinned beyond what they believe he could forgive and lastly, the power of prayer. I could easily recommend this book to any of my friends and be confident that they would enjoy it!

Thank you to Bethany House Publishers for providing this copy of Not A Sparrow Falls for review purposes.