Monday, July 25, 2011

Water's Edge



Title: Water's Edge



Author: Robert Whitlow



Publisher: Thomas Nelson



Source: NetGalley



Available: 8/02/11






About the book:



Water's Edge is a Christian legal thriller. Tom Crane, an up and coming lawyer with a prestigious firm is on his way up in the corporate world. His father's death causes some delay because he has to take a trip to Bethel and close out his father's law office. In less than a day, he finds himself alone and without a job and wondering what was to become of his life. Finding money in an unexpected account causes more trouble than he can handle. This money finds him on a trail of deceit, lies and men who would stop at nothing to quiet the situation.






My take:



I couldn't put this book down. It had a little bit of everything a book lover loves: love, suspense, lots of colorful characters, a dog and more. The plot started off a little slow, but once things started happening it flew. The spiritual journey Tom finds himself on as well as the legal one seemed lifelike. He dealt with many situations in his spiritual walk that many people can relate to. There are some technical details that will appeal to readers who like learning more about law and like more technical details in their reading selections. I'm glad I was on vacation when I picked this book up... it was a definite page turner!






The author:



Robert Whitlow is an author and a practicing attorney who sets his legal thrillers in the south. Check out his new website for other titles in his library.






5 thumbs up!






I was given a copy of this book to review by Netgalley and the publisher. No other compensation was given and all opinions are solely mine.

Friday, July 22, 2011

Elizabeth's Amarillo Adventure



Title: Elizabeth's Amarillo Adventure

SubTitle: Camp Club Girls Book 7






Author: Renae Brumbaugh

Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.



Source: NetGalley



Pub Date: available



About the book:



This book is part of a great series of a group of girls who met at camp and have solved lots of mysteries. This mystery involves a bag of marbles and cowboys! The girls use email and the Internet to solve the mystery as well as some old fashioned getting into tight spaces! Megan learns of a secret bag of marbles her grandmother was given before her death and no one seems to know where they are. A stranger also showed up in town trying to find out about the marbles too, so Megan enlists the help of Elizabeth who enlists the help of the camp club girls to find out where the marbles could be. With the help of a waitress and their parents they learn more about their town and the history as well as some biblical truths.






My views:



This is a great Christian mystery for pre-teen girls. Even though the girls do get into trouble on occasion, they do have to learn there are consequences to those decisions. It is very cleanly written, no shock value, but a wholesome mystery to keep young minds entertained. Even though I had not read any of the other books in this series I didn't feel like I had missed anything. It did make me want to go back and catch up on the other characters that I met in this book.






The Author:



She is a mother of two, wife of one. She is a former public school teacher, now a stay at home mom with a lot on her plate! She not only writes Elizabeth's stories, she also has a newspaper column is a song writer and writes for adults too! For more info...visit her here!






Four and a half thumbs up!






This book was given to me to review via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions of the book are mine alone and no other compensation was given!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Saving Savvy

Title: Saving Savvy

SubTitle: Smart and easy ways to CUT YOUR SPENDING IN HALF and raise your standard of living... and giving!

Publisher: Worthy Publishing

Pub Date: 09/06/2011

ISBN: 9781936034536

Source: NetGalley

Author: Kelly Hancock

Are you looking to get those savings like we see on "Extreme Couponing". This book is a step by step way of getting the best bang for your bucks! Kelly Hancock talks about it all from planning meals, stocking your freezer and cabinets and coupons! She has a website that is heavily promoted through the book, but this is a great Christian resource to use our money wisely. There are a lot of links included to steer you toward some great websites and even smartphone apps to help on the go shopping made easier. She even shares how to share your surplus of time, talents and money in the book.
This book will be especially helpful if you have no idea where to begin in your couponing adventure...it's sort of like a Couponing for Dummies book. However, even if you are an old pro, there are many new ideas to use in everyday savings!
I really enjoyed this book...only 250 pages of jampacked ideas for a family struggling in this
economy. It was a very quick read for me, and is set up so one could easily navigate to the parts of the book that would help the most. I would recommend reading it straight through with a highlighter first and then go back with a computer to really put the book to good use! Very Good Book!!
This book gets a family 5 thumbs up!

Fine print... I was given a copy of this book through NetGalley for review. No other compensation was given and the opinions are mine alone!

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Livning in the Pink

Title: Living in the Pink
Author: Sharon Tubbs
Publisher: Moody
Source: NetGalley
Available: Now

Imagine having a guardian watching your every moves and calling you out when you aren't living the life you should be living. Are you living in a God centered life or does your choices verge more on the pink edges of pure living? This book centers around Sister Pinky and her watch over her church family with the help of some clergy members. When she sees someone "living in the pink", she makes it her priority to step in and nudge them back to a Christ centered life, or at least she tries. This book is a series of short stories dealing with many areas of Christianity that we have all had to deal with at some point in our lives.
I wasn't sure about this book at first, who did Sister Pinky think she was telling everyone else how to live their lives, but the more the book opened up so did the struggles that even she was having. I really liked the study guide questions at the end of each story. While this book is marketed as fiction, there are some wonderful thought provoking issues dealt with. Everything from romance, jealousy, hypocrisy and even about lifestyle choices. This would make a great women's bible study book...a little laughter and probably a lot of tears. It really made me think about what being pure as snow really means!
I'd give this book 4 1/2 thumbs up!

The fine print: I was given a copy of this book to review by Netgalley. No other compensation was given and all opinions are mine alone!

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Voices of the Faithful



Title: Voices of the Faithful



Author: Beth Moore



Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Source: BookSneeze

Available: Now

A yearlong devotion book to give inspiration and strength. This is stories from those doing things for God, learning for God and giving us a purpose in our own struggles.
The book is organized by topics such as: God's Character, God's Word, Prayer, etc. The stories are written by missionaries and it is wonderful to see God's power all over the world. Each day is written with the devotion, scripture and prayer. A wonderful devotion book dedicated to further your spiritual walk and a reminder to pray for those in the trenches spreading God's word.
Another highly recommended book to add to your daily walk with God.
Five thumbs up!

The Fine Print: I am required by the FTC to inform you that I did receive in exchange for my honest review a free copy of Voices of the Faithful from BookSneeze. If you'd like to get your own free books to review please check out www.booksneeze.com, or just click the link in my sidebar. The opinions in this review are my own, and I was only given the free copy of the book, no other compensation was provided or offered.

Lady in Waiting!

Title: Lady in Waiting



Author: Susan Meissner



Publisher: Waterbrook



Source: Blogging for Books
Available: Now


Susan Meissner once again marries opposite polars with two women who live centries apart, yet struggle with the same problem. Do they let others choose their paths or do they choose their own way? They were also linked together with a ring and their name. The theme is choices and we see both women struggle with many choices throughout the book.



I really liked the way that while I was learning more about sixteenth century and Lady Jane Gray, while also relating back to present day. True to Ms. Meissner's writing style, she brings so much history to life!



Highly recommend this book! Especially if you love Susan Meissner's writing style. If you have never read a book...start now with Lady in Waiting!



This book gets a 4 out of 5 family thumbs up!



This book was given to me by the Blogging for books program and I was in no other ways compensated by Waterbrook Multnomah

I'm Back!

Sorry...Due to a family emergency the last few months, I had to take a leave. Things are much better and I'm back to dedicating more great books into your hands. I hope you haven't forgotten me and I look forward to posting many reviews. (Hospital stays are great to catch up on reading.....they are horrible on the nervous system tho')