Beth Vogt's Catch a Falling Star ~ Reviewed

Catch a Falling Star

By Beth K. Vogt

Published by Howard Books

ISBN#978-1451660272

336 Pages

Back Cover: Is life about accomplishing plans . . . or wishes coming true . . . or something more?

Dr. Kendall Haynes’s plans to have it all—a career, a husband, a family—are eluding her. Now that she’s thirty-six, she needs to stop wishing upon a star and face reality: Some dreams just never come true.

Air Force pilot Griffin Walker prefers flying solo in the air and on the ground—until a dangerous choice ejects him from the cockpit. His life becomes even more complicated after the sudden death of his parents makes him the guardian of his sixteen-year-old brother. There’s no way his life will ever get back on course now.

When their lives collide during a near tragedy, Kendall and Griffin must decide if they can embrace the unexpected changes God has waiting for them.

Review: I’m thankful for the review copy of a book that introduced me to a new author. I enjoyed the interview that was included in this book. I liked this question and Beth’s answer. “What do you hope readers take away from this story?”

Her answer, “Everyone experiences life not going according to their plans – the out comes range from humorous to tragic – What I’ve learned – And what I hope readers discover – is God is in the plans, the dreams that come true, and he’s also in the plans that elude us.”

God knew what was ahead of us all the time. The surprise is to us. It was fun to be reminded of this and many other truths through her characters. They are honest, real and transparent. Loved that!

Catch a Falling Star reeled me in with characters I instantly cared for and a story that grabbed my heart. I enjoyed hanging out with Dr. Kendall Hayne and her thirty something year old friends! They had gathered together to celebrate Kendall’s thirty sixth birthday. Her friend Rachel announces her engagement at the get together and shows off her ring. She’s happy for her friend but reality hits Kendall hard. She thinks, “Was there anyway to have it all and be happy?...where some dreams meant to never come true?”

Air Force pilot Griffin Walker is faced with a few disappointments of his own! He’s had dreams shattered and he was experiencing a string of unfortunate events that were getting the better of him. Life was hitting him hard. It seemed he didn’t have time to recover from one blow when the next one hit. My heart went out to him as I watched him struggle. He wondered where was God in all this?

I love how this author naturally wove the spiritual thread into this story and how real her characters where in facing hard times. The themes running through this novel are singleness, adoption, loss of dreams and loved ones, and about relationships on many levels.

The author says in an interview, “All of these relationships (in Catch a Falling Star) fall under the umbrella of life not going according to plan….Infact, relationships rarely do: they require hard work. Commitment. Trust. Prayer. Patience. Sacrifice. This is why I say there is more to happily ever after than the fairy tales tell us.”

Kendall struggles with a new thought, “What if the prince had never shown up to rescue the princess from the castle?

The princess would still be a princess…It wasn’t the prince that made the princess valuable. It was who she was all along.” I like how the author puts this, powerful stuff.

Can we walk in what God says we are and be validated by Him alone? Love how this author handles this topic.

This author has readers take a look at many different aspects of relationships. What makes them work and which ones to discard. Griffin struggles in this area himself. He has to face a few lies he’s come to believe. His friend Doug says to him, “Your relationship with God is not based on performance…God’s invested in you Griffin. He’s sticking with you for the long haul…God redeems broken people and loves them in their brokenness.” I’ll amen that!

Dr. Kendall Hayne has an unexpected Christian Dr. Friend pop into her life. Could he be the one she’s waited for? Would she settle for what she could get b

ecause she’s thirty- something or will she wait for God’s best? Time will tell.

This story deals with real life struggles that people don’t talk about much. This author doesn’t have everything tied up in a cute bow at the end of the story either. I liked that. Life happens fast sometimes, it doesn’t catch God off guard but it does us.  I liked this story every much. It had characters I could relate to. I also liked the authors writing style and the interview in the back of the book. This is great stuff. Catch a Falling Star is one to put on your summer reading list and book club pick list too! There is so much to talk about, I only scratched the surface! I’m looking forward to this author’s next book. Beth K. Vogt is an author to watch!

Reviewed by: Nora St.Laurent

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Eileen Rife's Laughing with Lily ~ Reviewed

Laughing With Lily
By Eileen Rife
Published by Oak Tara
April 2013
ISBN: 978-1602900790

Back Cover:

A long-buried secret. An unexpected encounter. A quest for answers. Celeste Tatem, a special-education teacher at The Brighton Center in Schreiber, Indiana, couldn't be more in love with her husband, Joe. But the memory of one day in the past haunts her, threatening their relationship.

When Joe dies in a factory explosion, she sinks into depression. It will take the arrival of a new student, Lily, and her delightful honesty, laughter, and joy at life's little things to awaken Celeste to hope. When Don, an old flame from college, reenters Celeste's world, the flickers of love stir once again, and startling questions arise. Questions that threaten to rip the veneer off of her carefully guarded secret. Then the most unexpected thing of all happens.... A story of love and forgiveness in the most unexpected places.

Review: 

It’s Celeste’s anniversary, and she’s married to a wonderful, caring man—a man who longs for unhindered intimacy. Who believes he and Celeste have found that. But what he doesn’t know truly could hurt him, their marriage, and their chance of having a family.

When he dies, Celeste must bear her shame and regret alone. And for a while, she flounders in despair. But then, a sweet little girl in her special education classroom tugs on her heart and helps heal Celeste’s wounds. She pours herself into her job as a special education teacher, growing increasingly attached to sweet little Lily, a special needs’ child with frequent smiles and hugs. What Celeste doesn’t know is, the biggest surprise of all awaits.

This beautiful story of hope and forgiveness reaches into the deepest recesses of women's hearts, encouraging them to hold tight to those they hold dear. It also reminds us that love and purpose can come in the most unexpected packages, often when we’re not looking.

This novel brought tears, which quickly turned to celebration and laughter as Eileen Rife wove together a delightful, romantic ending. Truly a wonderful, heart-tugging story I recommend to anyone who enjoys women’s fiction and romance.

Reviewed by: Jennifer Slattery

Sandra Moore's A Heartbeat Away ~ Reviewed

A Heartbeat Away, Quilts of Love Series #7
Sandra Moore
Format: Paperback
Number of Pages: 240
Vendor: Abingdon Press
Publication Date: 2013
ISBN-13: 9781426752704

Description

When runaway slaves bring Union-loyal Beth Bumgartner a wounded Confederate soldier named Joe, she decides she must defy her pacifist parents and become a nurse. Taking comfort from her mother's mysterious goodbye gift of quilt blocks, she sews them together and discovers a hidden message in the pattern. Will it spur forgiveness and healing? 240 pages, softcover from Abingdon.

Review:

A Heartbeat Away is a book in the “Quilts of Love” series. This book takes place during the Civil War and centers around a young woman named Beth Bumgartner. Due to a terrible accident when she was younger, she suffers from a noticeable limp, but that doesn’t stop her from assisting her grandmother with wounded soldiers. Though she is a loyal to the Union, she finds herself nursing both Union and Confederate men. She finds herself particularly drawn to a wounded Confederate soldier named Joe, but is afraid to let her guard down around him. Throughout the story, she struggles with her relationship with God, stemming from her accident which left her crippled, and seeing the war going on around her. But as she begins to work on the quilt pieces her mother has given her, she begins to find a hidden message of faith and hope.

I love stories that take place during the Civil War. This was a great story, and I loved how the quilt symbolized hope, just by piecing together pieces of fabric. That is just amazing to me. I also liked how she was able to let down her prejudices to help not only Joe, but other Confederate soldiers in need.

Reviewed by: Sarah Meyers

Angela Hunt's The Offering ~ Reviewed

THE OFFERING

By Angela Hunt

Published By

ISBN#978-1-4391-8205-5

300 Pages

Back Cover: One innocent mistake… a lifetime of consequences.

After growing up as an only child, Amanda Lisandra wants a big family. But since she and her soldier husband can’t afford to have more children right away, Mandy decides to earn money as a gestational carrier for a childless couple. She loves being pregnant, and while carrying the child she dreams of having her own son and maybe another daughter…

Just when the nearly perfect pregnancy is about to conclude, unexpected tragedy enters Mandy’s world and leaves her reeling. Devastated by grief, she surrenders the child she was carrying and struggles to regain her emotional equilibrium.

Two years later she studies a photograph of the baby she bore and wonders if the unthinkable has happened—could she have inadvertently given away her own biological child? Over the next few months Mandy struggles to decide between the desires of her grief-stricken heart and what’s best for the little boy she has never known.

Review:  Angela Hunt hits it out of the park with The Offering. Once again this author describes an amazing scientific accomplishment and how it affects us individually and spiritually. I always learn so much when Angela shows me how these amazing things play out in real life with real people! This novel explores the topic of being a gestational carrier! I’m so thankful for the review copy of such an eye opening, informative book.

Angela Hunt says in an author interview at the back of the book, “I believe God created every life for a purpose – so we should behave responsibly toward unborn children even if they are only at the blastocyst stage.”

Amanda Lisandra begins her research about becoming a surrogate. She informs her husband, Gideon, “It’s legal, but not everyone approves surrogacy…Here’s how it works hon, “The baby will be the couple’s biological child, but they’ll pay me to carry it until it’s born. For my part in the arrangement, I’m pretty sure I could earn as much as you do in a year…everything I need will be supplied by the other couple.”

Gideon says, “A man wants his wife to carry his own baby.”

Amanda responds, “In a perfect world, sure…but not everyone woman can carry babies while people like me carry them easily. Look at it this way – I want to contribute to our family’s dream and you risk your life for us every time you go out the front door.”

“Ok baby girl! If you want to be generous, why should I stop you?”

Then their off on this incredible journey! This author gives the reader a front row seat as Amanda plunges into being a gestational carrier nook line and sinker! Amanda comes up against things she didn’t realize would be part of the experience! She thought being a surrogate was simply her trying to help her family out financially at the same time she could make another couples dream come true of having a child of their own. Not so easy! Things were getting complicated!

Angela helps the reader look at this matter from several angles and lets you decide how to feel. All too soon Amanda realized it takes “a village to conceive a child.” Who knew? I really appreciated how the spiritual thread was masterfully woven throughout this astounding novel. The author makes the reader think by asking questions throughout this story, like could God work through a Surrogate? What is a couple’s obligation to eggs that are harvested? What is best for the child?

At the same time Amanda starts her surrogate journey her cousin Amelia and husband Mario start the process of adopting a child. They’ve tried to have a baby for years. Time was ticking! They plug into becoming adoptive parents and see a whole new side of life. It’s heart warming and complicated. Amanda was running into a few compilations of her own, she soon discovered that relationships’ of all kind were complicated.

Angela immediately connected with and had for compassion for her characters and their unreal situations. I was glued to this book from the start to finish. Warning you’ll be up late finishing this one. My heart raced and I got teary eyed at the end. I wasn’t sure how this author would end these two couples journey. The ending was satisfying and made me think about so much. When science and man-kind try to play god things get complicated! I highly recommend this for your book club pick and your summer ready list! There is oh so much to talk about! Wow!

Reviewed by: Nora St.Laurent

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Joni and Ken Tada - Untold Story ~ Reviewed

JONI and KEN TADA: Untold Story

By Ken Tada, Joni Earkson Tada and Larry Libby

Published By: Zondervan

ISBN# 978-0310336730  

192 Pages

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Back Cover: This is the true love story of Joni and her husband of 30 years, Ken Tada. A love story showing what it truly means for a man and a woman to live in love ... in sickness and in health. 

Even the honeymoon wasn't easy. Did Ken realize what he was getting into when he proposed to Joni, a quadriplegic woman? As their marriage years moved on, Ken became increasingly overwhelmed by the never-ceasing demands of caring for Joni, who begins to experience chronic, extreme, nightmarish pain. Ken sinks into depression, and the couple finds themselves on parallel tracks in life, married and living under the same roof but drifting apart emotionally.

But as they fight for their marriage and find their way through the mazes of depression and pain, they wrap their two lives around their rock---Jesus.

During Ken's denial of Joni's diagnosis, and Joni's thoughts of how wonderful a quick exit to heaven would be, they experience a personal visitation with the savior you will never forget.

Review: Joni and Ken Tada have been a couple that have inspired me for years. I was first introduced to Joni Earkenson in the movie she made of her diving accident where she broke her neck as a teen. She reenacted her part in the movie; where her life fell apart and in the recovery she found Jesus. He gave her so many talents from painting with her teeth, to singing, speaking and writing books. She encouraged me and many others in her radio show Joni and Friends. Her passion for what the Lord called her to do show on her face, in her voice and everything she did.

I watched a video clip of Joni and Ken where they discussed this book. Joni says she hopes by sharing their story and how God moved in their lives even through cancer that a couple would say hey if they can make it with all they have going on maybe my problems aren’t so bad. If God will be with them and move in an unexpected way He’ll do the same for them. They’ll have hope and courage to face anything with God.

“This is God’s universal purpose for all Christians suffering: more contentment in God and less satisfaction in the world.” Statement by John Piper

I know that this couple and their testimony encouraged me as I began reading this while in the ICU unit with my youngest son as he battled to recover from a double ear infection, the flu and pneumonia. As with Joni this was not our first time to the hospital. This child came out early and had a few more obstacles to overcome than most just like Joni.

Tears ran down my face as I read how Joni and Ken met and how Joni went to the Doctors was told she had breast cancer. I read this by Joni, “Cancer hadn’t felt like a gift in the beginning…no, not at all.” (wait a minute did I just read the word gift? I double checked – yes!) She goes on to tell how they reacted to the news and how they came up with a plan of treatment. They were both surprised at their initial reactions to the news.

Joni continued, “In just a blink or two, you’re swept along in another direction, toward another destination. Some-where you couldn’t have foreseen. Somewhere you never intended to go… That’s what this day was like…the freeway had divided, and Joni was being whisked away in a new direction fast. Toward what? …Where?.....Her life would change forever getting worse or better, nothing would be the same after this…what next? We live in a society that runs away from tough stuff, divorces loved ones that are sick or puts them away in a home, it’s hard to face the tough stuff day in and day out.

Ken thought, “They had been married 28 years, traveled together on six continents. But this was uncharted territory; off the edge of any map they had ever seen! God saw the whole map of their lives, right to the very edges and beyond. He could handle any dragons. Even ones with a name like cancer, later Joni would said, “Cancer, she told her self, not without a note of wonder, was a gift!”

After the shared about how they heard the news, their first reactions and deciding on the treatment plan; the book flashes back to how they first met. How they thought about marriage, ministry and in the mix they both shared their testimonies! It was neat to learn how God worked separately in their lives and then brought these two people together.

Ken Tada stepped up to be the warrior God made him to be as they faced cancer. Joni allowed her husband to love her and be there for her in a new way. This couple shared their spiritual journey in a very personal, inspirational, and transparent way, revealing their highs and lows in the battle. Through the trials of chemo and surgery God’s love blossomed in them and between them. What the enemy meant to take them out God meant it for there good and something a little more! That was the blessing!

Was it easy? No. Was it painful and scary? Yes. Was it worth pressing into God and each other to make it thru? Yes. I highly recommend this story for everyone! It will give you a new outlook on life, relationships and love. A must read.

Reviewed by: Nora St.Laurent

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Robert Liparulo's The Judgment Stone ~ Reviewed

The Judgment Stone
Robert Liparulo
Release Date   Apr 1, 2013
Publisher   Thomas Nelson
ISBN  1595541721  

What if praying became a curse instead of a blessing?

Former Army Ranger Jagger Baird thought he had his hands full with the Tribe--the band of immortal vigilantes fighting to regain God's grace by killing those opposed to Him. But that was before he encountered the ruthless group of immortals called the Clan. The Clan is after a prize that would give them unimaginable power--a piece of the Ten Commandments known as the Judgment Stone.
Those who touch the Stone can see into the spiritual world: angelic warriors, treacherous demons, and the blue threads of light that signal the presence of believers in communion with God.

By following the blue beam radiating from those closest to God, the Clan plans to locate His most passionate followers and destroy them.

Jagger quickly realizes his high-tech gadgetry and training are no match for these merciless immortals. But how can he defeat an enemy who hunts believers through their prayers . . . and won't stop until they've annihilated all those close to Him?

In this high-action thriller, best-selling author Robert Liparulo examines the raging battle between good and evil on earth . . . and beyond.


Review:


If I see a book with Robert Liparulo's name on it, it ends up in my to read pile. His writing is tense, descriptive (chickens take note, this is not always a pleasant thing) and hopeful. Liparulo crafts characters that are flawed and real and pull at your heartstrings and have kept me up past bedtime a night or two.

And his stories. Whew. Always full of what if's and enough truth to keep me thinking and enough speculation and twists to make me wonder what kind of pizza he eats before bed. This particular book is number two in the series. If you haven't read The Thirteenth Tribe, you may want to whip through it first, however, you won't be lost if you don't. The story centers around Immortals and an epic battle of good vs evil. And The Judgment Stone provides some seriously epic battles. And a story line that is haunting.

The Judgment Stone is an excellent choice for a beach read, plane trip or just because. I was home alone a couple nights and I couldn't open it after dark, so chickens and sensitive readers, you have been warned. Keep em coming, Robert, puleeze.


Reviewed by: Kelly Klepfer

Amanda Flower's A Plain Scandal ~ Reviewed

A Plain Scandal, Appleseed Creek Mystery Series #2

By Amanda Flower

Release Date   Dec 1, 2012
Publisher   Broadman And Holman
ISBN  1433676982 

Description

The people of Appleseed Creek in the heart of Ohio's Amish Country are under attack. Soon after the dust has settled on a buggy accident that turned out to be murder, an unknown assailant begins cutting off the long hair of Amish women and the beards of Amish men.

New to the area, computer specialist Chloe Humphrey may not share their customs, but she is certainly alarmed over these crimes against the Amish and worries how such events will impact her growing number of friends who are more connected to that way of life.

In this small community, when Chloe discovers the body of an Amish businessman who was stabbed in the back and whose beard was cut off, she knows that finding the murderer and restoring peace to Appleseed Creek is as much her responsibility as anyone else's.

Review:

A Plain Death is a follow up to the book A Plain Death.  In this book, we continue to follow Chloe Humphrey, a computer specialist at a local community college who has befriended an Amish family, and has taken in young Becky, who has left the Amish Faith.  Chloe becomes involved in solving hate crimes that appear to be targeting the Amish community.  First, several young Amish girls are attacked only to have their hair cut off.  Then, Chloe stumbles up an Amish man who was murdered.  Despite opposing opposition, Chloe is determined to find out who is responsible and bring them to justice. 
                
I really enjoyed this book.  It was nice to revisit all of the characters and to see how they were coming along.  I really enjoyed seeing the love story between Chloe and Thomas, Becky’s older brother, grow.  I do hope there is another follow up to this story.  I’d love to see what happens next!

Reviewed by: Sarah Meyers