Jan Watson's Tattlers Branch ~ Reviewed

Tattlers Branch
By Jan Watson (Author)
Release Date Sep 15, 2013
Publisher Tyndale House Publishers
ISBN 1414339151

Overview:

Lilly Corbett Still has grown to love her life as the small-town doctor of Skip Rock, a tiny coal community in the Kentucky mountains. Though her husband, Tern, is away for a few months at a mining job, Lilly keeps busy with her patients and her younger sister visiting for the summer.Her hands full, Lilly turns to her good friend and neighbor, Armina, to help keep things in order. But when a mysterious chain of events leaves Armina bedridden and an orphaned baby on her doorstep, Lilly must trust in God and her resilient country neighbors to help her uncover the truth.While working late one night, Lilly cares for a patient whose odd behavior sets her on edge, but she?s unaware of what a mess she?s found herself in until a break-in at her office puts her on high alert. Struggling between what is right and what is safe, Lilly discovers the strength of her neighbors, her God, and herself.

Review:

Tatler’s Branch follows a young doctor, Lilly Corbett Still. She is the doctor for the small town of Skip Rock, a small coal mining community in Kentucky. Her husband, Tern, is a doctor as well, but travels frequently to different mining towns. She is keeping herself busy with her patients and friends, as well as her sister, who is visiting her for the summer. Everything seems to be running smoothly until her good friend, Armina, is discovered ill and unable to move in her home, with no memory of what happened. To make matters more complicated, she is found with a baby that is not hers. As the story unfolds, we learn more about the turn of events that led to her memory loss and the baby.

This was a nice story. I believe it is the second book in a series, so I wish I had read the first one to get some of the back story, but I didn’t have a difficult time following this one. It was an enjoyable storyline and as always, I loved the time period. I would very much like to read the first book in the series to see how Lilly got to where she was in this book.

Reviewed by: Sarah Meyers

Maureen Lang's All in Good Time ~ Reviewed

ALL IN GOOD TIME 

Maureen Lang

Release Date   Mar 22, 2013 
Publisher   Tyndale House Publishers 
Series  Gilded Legacy   
ISBN  1414364474 
Description:


Dessa Caldwell has a dream: to open Pierson House, a refuge for former prostitutes in Denver's roughest neighborhood. But after exhausting all charitable donations, Dessa still needs a loan, and nearly every bank in town has turned her down. Her last hope hinges on the owner of Hawkins National Bank.Henry Hawkins has a secret: though he owns the most successful bank in town, his initial capital came from three successful raids on Wells Fargo coaches. Now he's the most eligible bachelor in Denver, but to protect his criminal past, he's built a fortress around his heart. Not even the boldest matchmaking mother can tempt him . . . until the day Dessa Caldwell ventures into his bank requesting a loan.Though he's certain her proposal is a bad investment, Henry is drawn to Dessa's passion. But that same passion drives her to make rash decisions about Pierson House . . . and about whom she can trust. One man might hold the key to the future of her mission--but he also threatens to bring Henry's darkest secrets to light. As the walls around their hearts begin to crumble, Henry and Dessa must choose between their plans and God's, between safety and love.

Review:

All In Good Time is about a young woman named Dessa Caldwell and takes place in Denver in the late 1800’s. Dessa has a heart for the young women who are involved in prostitution and feel there is no way out. Through her determination, she is given a loan from Hawkins National Bank to open the Pierson House, a refuge for these women. The owner of the bank Henry Hawkins did not okay the loan. He thinks it is a bad investment and doesn’t expect her to make a go of it. Henry has closed himself off from society, mainly due to not being able to forgive himself for past sins. As the story progresses, he finds his heart warming towards this young woman, and she finds the feeling is mutual. However, they begin to run into obstacles that could shut down the Pierson House for good. As they struggle against the evil in their city, they also have to come to terms with their past sins and realize they have forgiveness through their Heavenly Father.

This book was wonderful! I had a hard time putting it down. I could relate with Dessa as she struggled with past mistakes. None of us are perfect so I think all women can relate. It was great to see her grow throughout the story. I felt the same about Henry. He had spent so many years trying to be good to cover up his past mistakes, that he had a hard time forgiving himself and realizing that he had forgiveness through Jesus Christ. This was a very encouraging book and I highly recommend it!

Reviewed by: Sarah Meyers

Terri Blackstock's Truth Stained Lies ~ Reviewed

TRUTH STAINED LIES

By Terri Blackstock

Published by Zondervan

ISBN#978-0-310-28313-3

305 Pages

Back Cover: 

When truth doesn't make sense, will lies prevail? Cathy Cramer is a former lawyer and investigative blogger who writes commentary on high-profile homicides. When she finds a threatening note warning her that she's about to experience the same kind of judgment and speculation that she dishes out in her blog, Cathy writes it off as mischief . . . until her brother's wife is murdered and all the 'facts' point to him. The killer has staged the crime to make the truth too far-fetched to believe. Working to solve the murder and clear her brother's name, Cathy and her two sisters, Holly and Juliet, moonlight as part-time private investigators. Juliet, a stay-at-home mom of two boys, and Holly, a scattered ne'er-do-well who drives a taxi, put aside their fear to hunt down the real killer. Stakes rise when their brother's grieving five-year-old son is kidnapped. As police focus on the wrong set of clues, the three sisters and their battered detective friend are the only hope for solving this bizarre crime, saving the child, and freeing their brother.

Review: 

Terri Blackstock pens another eye opening thriller! This time she takes a look at blogging and how technology we use every day can be used against us, even ensnare us like a mouse in a trap.

Our justice system is supposed to be one that says we are innocent until proven guilty. Unfortunately in many cases the media has made people guilty before they’ve had a chance to prove their innocence.

Cathy Cramer is a retired lawyer who has been on a personal mission to see that justice is done in her community. She calls it as she see’s it on her blog no emotions and/or judgment held back. She writes for her readers and tells them the truth as she sees it.

Cathy receives a note on the wind shield of her car it says, “Guilt or innocence is not something to be judged by a two-bit blogger with a drama-loving readership. Maybe it’s time you saw first hand how speculation ruins lives. Judgment that has nothing to do with truth. See how it feels.”

This note didn’t faze her. She got threats all the time. She thought nothing of it; until life has she knew it changed.

I was quickly drawn into this story and cared for her characters and their wild situation. Terri has a way of making you the reader stop and take a look at our fast paced ever changing world in a whole new light. Wow!

If you are into suspense with a faith message naturally interwoven into the story, I recommend this read. It will change the way you think about several things. It will have you read this statement with renewed hope and something more, “The truth is the truth no matter how it looks…tell them that.”

Words typed in an email and sent into cyper space can’t be taken back and they can never be erased. It’s there forever! Think about that as you grab this book to take on vacation with you! Wow!

Reviewed by: Nora St.Laurent

TBCN Where Book Fun Begins!

Neil Gaiman 'Smoke and Mirrors' Book Review

"Half of the stories I loved, but the rest I'm not sure about"

I'm a Neil Gaiman fan, and I am three quarters of the way through his book - Smoke and Mirrors. 'A collection of short stories'. And for any one interested, so far about half are pretty good (A few I've read at least 6 times again, three of them I loved), but the rest are a bit iffy. Bordering on disappointing.

Sometimes the stories are coincidently about a "writer" or something similar. Which makes me think that some of these stories were never really meant to be read by any one else but Gaiman. Others I think are possible experimentations Which Gaiman was hopeful about but in practise I just don't know about. So sometimes I wonder a bit why they were published. But maybe I just don't see what others might see in those stories.

The most striking resemblance to Gaiman, being "The goldfish pool and other stories" A story about an English Author who's novel was optioned for the screen, and came to holly wood to write the script. An obvious inspiration from his own film adaptations. The story shows the "Hollywood experience" but from the stand point of within reality, measured up against the "dream" that holly wood is supposed to be. Both on and off screen And how sometimes its the worst place to be if you love films and not film making.

But even so, it has one of my favourite short stories, I've read it at least seven times and enjoyed keeping the familiar weight of the book in my satchel as I walk around. Simply because I love that short story, and I rarely like a short story enough to say I love it.

The second one I love being "Only the end of the World again" A Hp Lovecraftian, Werewolf story by the sea. Its about a Man who happens to be a werewolf, who's new in town and has just reverted from a change. No point in saying anything more than that, accept it includes unrestrained werewolf violence, a weird "quiet" folklore ridden town, and other developments from curious dark people with mysterious origins.

But I must admit, that I might be wrong about the disappointing parts of the book, I haven't finished it yet. There's a bunch of stories that still need reading.

So for me personally, I would buy it just for those stories. But I'm a bibliophile. For any one else, if you like/love Gaiman's stuff, or if you like Great Fantasy that sometimes has a soupcon of cool perversity (Which is basically the same thing) then buy it just for the those great stories, or at least borrow it.

Book Review for "A Christmas Gift"

Book Review for: A Christmas Wish
Written by: Diane Craver
Whimsical Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-936167-33-3
Available in Print & eBook
5 Stars

"A Christmas Gift" embodies the feel-good atmosphere of the season that will tug on your heartstrings. Seven year-old Debra Reeves is a precocious young girl who makes a surprising discovery regarding her father. Will that discovery inspire or hinder her father's determination?

The story is set in 1957 in a small town called Finley, Ohio. The Reeves run a farm. Debby is the youngest daughter. There's Kathy who is fourteen, Gail who is in her twenties, and Carl is twenty-one. Debby's parents are in their fifties. They're a hard working couple. The community is small, but supportive of each other.

Debby's family is close. One night when Debbie gets up, she discovers her father is in the kitchen, copying off her reader. She stays hidden, but realizes her father doesn't know how to read.

Debby wants to help her father, but is unsure what to do. After careful consideration, she confides in her sisters, Gail and Kathy. After talking to their mother, she confirms Debby's father can't read.

Debby prays to God. Her heartfelt prayers seem answered when a handsome young teacher comes to town. His name is James. After meeting James, Debby is convinced he's a perfect fit for her family.

Bravely, Debby confronts her father about his inability to read, and encourages him to accept James help. Does Debby's father have the strength and courage to tackle this challenge at this point in his life?

Craver handles this story with a smooth touch and loving caress. "A Christmas Gift" tugs on the reader's heart. There's a veryl strong element of faith and family that shines throughout the novel.

The plot flows organically. The first person narration is well done and Craver captures the voice of a seven-year-old effortlessly, putting the reader right in the scenes next to Debby. Craver's authentic descriptions and dialogue allow the reader to picture Finley, Ohio easily.

The novel's rich characterization is the best part of the story. Debby is warm-hearted, yet a bit mischievous. She's also honest and sincere. Debby's father's determination to overcome a challenge is inspiring, but what I really enjoyed is that the story involves the entire family. I especially liked Gail's story. She has a second change at love, but will she take it? Does Carl possess the conviction to change the course of his life? Will Kathy overcome the handicap of polio?

"A Christmas Gift" is an inspirational fiction. It embodies the hope, faith, love, and joy of the season. An emotional and engaging read!

Great Book Gifts For Your Jewish Friends - Inspirational Fiction Book Review

Do you have a Jewish friend and unsure what to get them; are you from a Jewish family and want to get something really smart as a gift? Well, then boy have I got a book idea for you:

"The Big Kahn - A Fake Holy Man's 40-year Lie" By Neil Kleid and Nicholas Cinquegrani; Nantier Bealle Minoustchine Publishing, Inc; Los Angeles, CA; ISBN 978-1-56163-561-0.

This is a great story, as it turns out a Jewish Rabbi, David Kahn, was never Jewish at all, and he never even knew it during his life time. Turns out the Rabbi's brother breaks the news to everyone and his family at the Rabbi's funeral and to the entire congregation. And what follows is a story that once you start reading you will not be able to put it down. If you are Jewish you will be quite amused at this book and will completely enjoy it and wish to pass in onto friends and family as a gift.

Speaking of great books for your Jewish friends Neil Kleid has also written another very good book, this time with co-author Jake Allen. It's called; "The Jewish Gangster" (ISBN 978-1-56163-459-X) and it is a great story, one which will suck you in and another book you are not going to be able to put down, as it is witty, moving, and intelligently written as well.

And you'll even learn about Brooklyn's Brownsville Neighborhood as well. Indeed, I am going to recommend you buy both of these books. Well, I hope you enjoy reading these books as much as I.

Fiction Review: 'The Shame Of What We Are' By Sam Gridley

When readers first meet Art Dennison, the preteen is waking up in a hospital, though readers won't discover why for many chapters. In the next chapter, Art is only four years old. Exploring an abandoned lot where a house has been demolished, he climbs a pile of broken windows and gashes his leg. Starting with that scar, Art has a hard time distinguishing between wounds self-inflicted and otherwise. He is, in some ways, wiser than his college dropout mother and engineer father, even at that age. He detects their strangeness and distance from him early on.

He's also aware of his own eccentricities. The loss of blood at age four left him feeling lightheaded, and somehow Art senses the feeling never really went away. He'll never understand his "difficult" baby sister Katie or quite fit in with any of his peers. At one point, he lives across the road from a glorious California beach for weeks without ever realizing the water and sand are there.

Art Dennison has a quirky sense of humor. It grows with him as he ages to a high school senior by the end of the book. His tale can be humorous, though the humor often takes a poignant turn. Like the tale of Laika, the little dog with the white streak on her muzzle whose life was sacrificed in the interest of space exploration, Art's survival in his parents' bizarre 1950s world is both inspirational and sad.

Sam Gridley calls 'The Shame of What We Are' "a novel in pieces." The subtitle describes the way Gridley wrote it. Chapters appeared as independent short stories in the literary magazines Amarillo Bay, Juked, Quay and Superstition Review. Still, it never reads like a collection of short stories. This is a unified novel, with hints of what's to come in the earliest chapters, speaking to Gridley's ability to imagine Art Dennison's world in all its sticky, sunlit detail.