BEYOND AFRICA by Carie Lawson (an e-book)

I don't give out 5 stars to very many books, but this one deserved it in my opinion. It had danger, sacrifice, love and sorrow all rolled up into one. Can't wait to read the other books in this series! This is a story of a young woman named Lillie, a nurse, who finds herself in Africa as a missionary waiting on her ride to the missionary hospital in the jungle. Along comes Case McCord, who has been asked to pick her up from the airport and deliver her to the mission compound. Case doesn't think folks are safe there during these turbulant times so he and Lilly don't get along too well at the beginning. But Lillie is a hard person to stay mad at and an easy person to fall in love with. Lilly hasn't grown up with alot of love in her life and you will feel for her throughout the story. She has alot of tough decisions she has to make and I loved her honesty and her feelings for Case. I highly recommend this e-book.

THE SWORD by Bryan M. Litfin

This story ended with you wanting to know what happened to the characters in the book, so it is good that this is number one in the trilogy. As it says on the back of the book this is a book of fantasy and adventure. I liked the whole story line idea. The world as we know it right now experiences a deadly virus, followed by nuclear war and destroyes most of the world as we know it. But some people were spared though, and many years later we find some of those people on a mountainside with their small kingdom named Chiveis. These people are living in a medievel style of life and are following a religion that makes the people fear their god, who shows no love.
The two main characters in this story are Teofil and Anastasia. Teolfil is a part of the Fifth Regiment who guards the frontier and who teaches in the university the language of the "Ancients" (that would be us). Anastasia lives and enjoys the outdoors in her village. At the beginning of the book she saves Teofil's life and they eventually spend alot of time together fleeing for their lives. They end up finding an ancient book which tells them of another God, a God who created everything, a God of love.
I enjoyed reading how each person responded to this book that was discovered. The doubts, the excitement, the secrecy, and the twisting of the truth. This was a well thought out book that leaves the reader wanting to know the rest of the story.
Thanks goes to LibraryThing Early Reviewers for sending me this book to review.

ETERNITY by Staci Stallings

I like the way Staci Stallings writes. This was a good romantic story. Harmony Jordan and Aaron Foster have worked next to each other for years. Aaron has just had his fiance break up with him and Harmony is trying to be there for him as his best friend (even though secretly Harmony loves Aaron, but he doesn't have a clue). When Aaron discovers his new roommate is dating his old fiance (who he knows is a heartbreaker), he decides to use his good friend Harmony to help break up the new romance. So he gets Harmony a "make-over" and sends her out to distract his good friend Drew from falling for the wrong woman. The plan backfires though because he starts to see Harmony in a whole new light and doesn't like the way Drew and Haromny are starting to feel for each other. Is it too late for him to express his true feelings?
This book gets a thumbs up for Harmony and her desire to keep herself pure for when she marries. Drew and Aaron were both guys you learned to like, although both were clueless in some areas of their life. They both respected Harmony's values though and took the relationship slow, instead of dropping her if they didn't get what they wanted. Although I appreciated Haromy's stand for doing the right thing, her reasoning behind it was a little weak. I would not classify this book as "Christian Fiction", but it was a good book and I enjoyed the story.

DELIVER US FROM EVIL by Robin Caroll

Although the subject matter of this story was hard to read about, I liked the way the author wrote this story. Brannon Callahn is a search-and-rescue helicopter pilot for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. She and her good friend and co-worker, Lincoln, find themselves on a rescue mission in the middle of a blizzard. Roark Holland is a U.S. Marshall who finds himself on a mission to deliver a heart for a patient who can reveal information on a child trafficking ring if he gets the heart transplant in time. But there are people out there who would kill to keep the heart from arriving. When the helicoptor that Roark is in goes down in the storm, Brannon's helicopter finds them and comes to the rescue. But her helicopter is shot at and they must flee on foot. Brannon and Roark have a hard time at first liking each other but by the end of the story that will change.
This was a fast paced, action packed book. I liked the way the book helped you stay up with the time sequences by the place and time headings throughout the book. I also loved the way Brannon and Lincoln used the "Bible verse" game in any and all situations. It helped them through tough situations and also was a real testimony to Roark. It is hard to believe there are people who would use children the way it is told in this story, but it is good to know there are people out there fighting to keep it from happening. A special thanks to LibraryThing Early Reviewers for sending me this book to review.

THE EASTER EDITION by Robin Shope

This is another story that takes place in Turtle Creek, Wisconsin. Carol Horn is a bridal shop owner who has just lost her beloved mother. She meets the new assistant pastor of her church, Luke Peters, (in a rather unusaul way!) and she pretty much feels he could be the man of her dreams and the answer to her prayers. Luke though has a complicated and not to pretty past. Luke too feels that Carol could be the one woman for him. The problem is a mission trip Carol feels called to go on. Will this keep her from her chance with Luke??
I enjoyed this story. There was a little bit of mystery surrounding the character of Luke, and I wasn't sure about his true character right away myself, although he was a hard man not to like. I also wasn't exactly sure how the author was going to bring this story to a close at the end, but enjoyed the way God works alll things together for good to them that love God. An enjoyable book to read

RAMSOMED DREAMS by Sally John

I give this book excellect marks for dealing with a story that could have went in two different directions at the end and for the way the author brought this book to a close. I don't want to give anything away, but in a moment of time Sheridan Montgomery's life was changed when tragedy struck her, her husband, Eliot, and her friend in Venezuela when shots were fired and bullets went flying. One person was dead, another forever "injured" and Sheridan left to pick up the pieces and try to live in a world neither her nor her husband feel safe in. They end up living in a small town in the middle of nowhere in a Mexican village (and I loved the people in this village). They thought they were safe as no one knew where they were, until one day Luke Traynor shows up to tell Sheridan her father is dying. (Luke is the guy who helped Sheridan through the terrible ordeal after the shooting.) Sheridan must deal with her fears, her bitterness towards her father, her ability to continue to love her husband who will never be the same and to deal with her feeling for Luke. Does she follow her feelings, or follow God's written word? Both Eliot and Luke were men you will grow to respect and understand and you will like them both.
This story line dealt with alot of tough questions and situations and I praise the author for the biblical way she handled these situations. I also enjoyed the fact that I truly did not know how this story was going to end until the very end. Way to keep me guessing!!
I would also like to thank Tyndale House for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book to read and review.

DEAD RECKONING by Ronie Kendig

When you look at the pages in this book you might think it is going to be a long story, but let me just give you advanced warning; this book has so much action and is so fast paced you will be done before you know it, because you will be reading fast to see what could possibly happen next! Whew! This book had so much action, adventure, mystery, and romance! I loved it! A big thank you to Ronie Kendig for doing such a great job on her debut novel!
Shiloh Blake is an underwater archaeologist, and in the opening pages she finds herself underwater with dead people falling down upon her. She doesn't know it yet, but she is in the middle of an international nuclear arms deal and there are those who don't like where she is diving and what she is finding. Shiloh realizes that she is in danger but doesn't know who she can trust. Growing up with a father who is a top-notch CIA guy, (but who Shiloh wants nothing to do with) she kind of knows how to take care of herself and get out of some tight situations. There is a guy though who keeps popping up and seems to want to help her. Can she trust him? Reece is that guy and you are going to love him because he is a great guy. Okay, just read the book because there is way too much action, intrigue and romance to possibly explain.

FAITHFUL WOMEN and THEIR EXTRAORDINARY GOD by Noel Piper

Noel Piper does a wonderful job of giving us an insight into 5 "ordinary" women who God greatly used for His glory. She also gives us her insights on things she has learned through these ladies. These ladies are:Sarah Edwards, Lilias Trotter, Gladys Aylward, Esther Ahn Kim and Helen Roseveare. They all were women who had one thing in common; they were willing to be used by God. I highly recommend this book as it will teach you much about our great God and women who were used by Him and for Him.

MELODY'S KNIGHT by Bonnie Blythe

Once again Bonnie Blythe writes an enjoyable and fun-loving story. This was a short story, but delightful to read. Purely a romance, but hey, there is nothing wrong with that!
Melody Laurent is single and desparately wanting a husband, kids, the whole package. She is stuck though living alone and watching cowboy movies to keep her entertained. On a chance encounter one evening in the park she meets her new neighbor, Avery (a guy who reminds her of her "cowboy" in the movies). He is a fireman, with a disobedient puppy and who is recovering from a failed romantic interest. There are alot of "chance" meetings which usually end up with them not seeing eye-to-eye on most any topic. Barney, the puppy, throws them together quite a lot and Avery keeps coming to Melody's rescue, but can he ever see her as marraige material. Melody tries all different ways to help him out with this. I enjoyed reading this story and encourage you to read more of Bonnie Blythe.

HEAVEN'S SONG by Marilyn Kok

Two people meet in an airport waiting for the weather to clear. They spend time having fun, without bringing up anything about who they are or where they are going. Then their paths cross months later. Nick Meyers is a single dad and a doctoral student at Texas A&M, where Cassie McCormick has just come to get her masters degree. They are both thrown together again and Nick needs Cassie's help. There has been falsified data discovered, someone has been murdered, and now they seem to be targeting Nick and Cassie.


What I enjoyed most about this story is the way the author weaved the truth of God's word into each situation that arose and did a good job of answering some tough questions brought up in this story. The book of Job is mentioned alot and the one paragraph that stood out to me was the one about no matter what happens, the good, the bad, love, life, death - "always behind it heaven's song goes on. . . God's there, over it all, knowing and loving and working out His purposes."