Love in Disguise is an excellent book for a lazy day of reading. It’s lighthearted with elements of mystery and romance, and is set in the charming time period of the late 1800s in a small Arizona mining community.
Unlikely heroine, Ellie Moore, becomes desperate after unexpectedly losing her job and pretends to be an older wealthier woman in order to be hired as a private detective. Although she has no undercover experience and little confidence, she creatively uses her skills in order to impress her new employer and solve the mystery of the silver thieves. But while working to undercover the mystery at hand, she also uncovers many facets of her own identity and learns to embrace her God-given identity.
This is a sweet book, with fun characters, a good amount of mystery, creative plot twists, and just enough depth. Readers who enjoy Christian fiction will find it delightful and refreshing.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House.
I wish I could recommend this book because I’m a big fan of supernaturally oriented Christian fiction. But there were a couple theological issues in the story that bothered me: 1) the Christian characters had no power against the demonic realm and were frequently abused or tormented by the demons, and 2) the Christian characters had to keep their supernatural gifts a secret (especially from the demonic realm, lest their gifts be stolen and used for evil). Since this is juvenile fiction, I feel these are especially big issues. I want my own kids to know and see that they have power in Jesus against the demonic realm. And, though we shouldn’t flaunt our supernatural gifts for our own benefit, we should be actively using them to encourage other Christians and to evangelize to the world. We need more juvenile fiction that demonstrates the supernatural realm through a biblical perspective, and this was so close (the spiritual battle is described well, as is the spiritually tangible fear, and the metaphor of the power-giving halo), but it fell short.
I also found Dittemore’s use of the first person present tense really awkward and distracting. This is a much smaller issue, but it did prevent me from melting into the story.
Despite these setbacks, I did enjoy the characters and overall story. The heroine, Brielle, is a dancer who is dealing with the loss of a good friend, and I felt her struggle with why God allows suffering was presented very well. I also enjoyed the interaction between the humans and angels/demons and the balance of action and dialog. Dittemore is a creative storyteller with an excellent handle on human emotion–and I can tell she has a strong faith. I pray her future books will also have a more accurate handle on supernatural theology.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through Thomas Nelson.
Whenformer Olympian Trevor MacDaniel rescues a toddler from a mountain lion attack, his life entwines with the child’s aunt Natalie. Natalie has a gift for seeing deep into people’s souls–it’s so powerful for her, she can hardly look at people and can only remove the images and feelings she sees through her gift of sculpting. Together, Natalie and Trevor’s friendship helps each of them work through their wounds to find courage and peace. Meanwhile, strange and evil things begin happening, and Trevor and Natalie find themselves right in the middle of it.
I’m surprised so many people like this book. I just couldn’t get into it. I did enjoy the major characters and the way they interacted, and Heitzmann did an excellent job portraying the personalities of the characters through their unique artistic and athletic abilities. But I otherwise did not enjoy the storytelling. The grammar and syntax were sloppy (and distracting) in many places (especially in multiple character scenes). I did not find the story suspenseful (the ending, in fact, was a bit anti-climactic). And I especially disliked her attempt to parallel the antagonist’s journey with Milton’s Paradise Lost.
After each chapter were mini chapters from the antagonist’s perspective, each beginning with a stanza from Paradise Lost, then describing the villain’s activity in a terribly written poetic prose. I think these short chapters intended to build the suspense and mystery that evil was on the move. Personally, I thought they were so poorly written that it killed any bit of suspense. I was distracted by the grammar and found many of the Paradise Lost quotes to be contextually misplaced. I’ve noticed that a handful of other reviewers greatly enjoyed the addition of Paradise Lost, which makes me wonder how many of them have actually read it!
I actually think Indelible could have been more successful as a romance novel. There were many romantic elements between Trevor and Natalie and also several of the minor characters; and the health (or dysfunction) of relationships in general was very central to the story line. Heitzmann did such a good job with the internal story and character development that it’s unfortunate the suspense plot line, poor attempts to be poetic, and weird Paradise Lost references had to get in the way.
This is the first book I’ve read of the Triple Threat Series, and I enjoyed it. It was light reading, suspenseful, with interesting characters–and it takes place in Portland Oregon, which happens to be one of my favorite cities.
The “triple threat” is made up of Federal Prosecutor Allison Pierce, FBI Special Agent Nicole Hedges, and crime reporter Cassidy Shaw. These good friends are able to investigate and solve crimes, and also support each other through every-day-life.
Heart of Ice is unique from other crime mysteries in that the perpetrator, Elizabeth, is introduced from the beginning–as someone the other characters know well. There is plenty of suspense, however, since the reader has inside information into the killer’s background and sociopathic mindset which the characters do not have. A few scenes were almost too intense/graphic for me, and since the book does realistically present situations of theft, murder, manipulation, arson, fraud and a bit of sexuality, I wouldn’t recommend it to teen readers.
It’s not obvious that this book is Christian fiction, though one character does have spiritual convictions (which are subtly displayed). Had I picked this up in an airport (for instance), I wouldn’t have guessed it was Christian at all, though the language was clean, and I suppose the darker elements (murder, etc.) could have been even more graphic. I’m interested to see if there may be Christian themes in the series overall.
I received a complimentary copy of this book as a part of the Thomas Nelson Book Review Blogging Program through booksneeze.com.
I’m not sure how to describe Night of the Living Dead Christian except that it’s full-on satire, very unique, and very good. Mikalatos mixes elements of fiction and non-fiction, and even includes himself as a character within the story. The story follows lycanthropic (werewolf) Luther Ann Martin as he discovers what it means to be a Christian and how to become free of his animalistic tendencies. Vampires, mad scientists, an android and a congregation of zombies are also woven into the narrative.
Each of the monsters or monstrous conditions represent various problems or tendencies within human nature, and through this, Mikalatos demonstrates the process of salvation and reveals much about the state of the church. There is a congregation of zombies, for instance, that do not think for themselves and act just like their leader. They run around proselytizing, stuffing headphones of podcasts into their victim’s ears, and trying to eat their victim’s brains. I’ve met this sort of creature; perhaps you have too.
Sometimes it takes imagining the world in fantastic terms to understand the reality; I love how Mikalatos mixes both realms outright. There is also an excellent Discussion Guide and Self-Diagnosis Guide to Common Monstrosities in the back of the book, which would be really fun to discuss in a small group or book club.
(Also, I enjoyed the whole book, as I’ve said, but really got into it around sixty pages in; and I mention this in case some readers are tempted to stop before the good stuff starts: keep reading!!)
To get more of an idea of the author and this book check out this video:
It just so happens that Tyndale gave me a certificate for a free book to give to one lucky reader. Leave a comment below telling me you want it and I’ll decide the winner in one week. This will be my first contest, so I’m pretty excited to have a free something to give away. 🙂
Invasion is a story of alien attacks, other universes, real-live comic book characters, super gadgets, and secret service agents, all mixed in with typical high school life. High school hero, Colt McAlister, discovers that his family has been involved in a secret military organization to defend the world against alien intrusions, and that the accident that killed his parents was no accident at all. Now it’s up to Colt and his high school friends to help the agency and save the world.
Invasion is definitely geared toward teen readers, and even has a bit of teen romance (which I personally thought was well done), but certain adult readers may also enjoy it. In fact, I actually enjoyed reading it quite a bit. The characters were fun and personable, and the plot felt realistic despite being very imaginative.
This is the first book in the C.H.A.O.S. Series*. I appreciated how it is a complete story in itself, though I can’t imagine readers not wanting to keep up with the series.
*Edit: I had mistakenly thought Invasion was the second in the series (and read the book with that mindset), but it turns out that Lewis’ book I am Number Four is not related to the series.
I received a complimentary copy of this ebook as a part of the Thomas Nelson Book Review Blogging Program through booksneeze.com.
I love eschatology and the Middle East, so this fictitious rendition of end time events was especially fun for me to read. The Tehran Initiative is the second in a series of three (I recommend reading them in order as The Twelfth Imam really sets up the story and characters).
The story begins as the Twelfth Imam (the Islamic Messiah) is coming into power and setting up his caliphate, and each nation must decide how to respond. Meanwhile, CIA agent David Shirazi, is working undercover in Iran to find Iran’s nuclear warheads so they can be destroyed before the next Holocaust begins.
The Tehran Initiative has more Christianity, more romance, and an even stronger emphasis on world politics than the first book. It keeps the momentum from The Twelfth Imam, but feels slower because it focuses on character development and introspection more than physical action and suspense (but don’t worry: it is still plenty suspenseful!). Although I enjoyed reading it just as much or more than the first book, it may not be as enticing to non-Christians or those expecting intense action plots. There is also a lot of supernatural action and emphasis, which I personally love (and experience) but which may also be a turn off for some readers.
For those who enjoy thinking about the end times, the political conflicts in the Middle East, or how Christian and Muslim eschatology fit together, I’d highly recommend this series. I love how Rosenberg realistically develops and captures one possible end time scenario, while staying true to scripture, and giving his audience so much (politically, spiritually, introspectively) to consider. I was personally encouraged and strengthened in my faith to go on this adventure with the characters. I look forward to the final book in the series: The Damascus Countdown, to be released in fall of 2012.
For more on this book and the author, check out Joel Rosenberg’s blog and the Joshua Fund, which was founded by him and his wife to “mobilize Christians and bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus”. I’d also encourage you to watch this short video of the author introducing the book:
This is a guest review by my grandma, Beda Stewart.
Genre: Romance/Action/Novella
Recommended.
Department of Defense heroine, Lacey Galloway, spices up her predictable life by trekking overseas to rescue her MIA, secret crush, Sergeant First Class Jim Micah. Micah’s best friend and Lacey’s ex-boyfriend, Lieutenant John Montgomery, aids in the rescue, which stirs up Lacey’s heart and divides her feelings between the two men.
I enjoyed Waiting for Dawn, but was surprised it was so short. The story was fast paced and held my attention. I especially felt it was nice to be reading a fiction book that wove scripture into the plot; it was great to see references to God and his love interspersed between the story lines! Also, the characters obviously knew each other and had been in other books together. I enjoyed their chemistry and would enjoy reading more about their adventures together!
I also found it rather interesting to learn about the tribes and some of culture of Afghanistan since it is so much in the news today! Warren’s descriptions really gave me an idea of what the land was like.
Furthermore, I appreciated that the romantic moments were real but not so in depth as in some of the secular romance novels. It’s nice to read a book with a Christian touch!! I’m excited to read some of her other books!
I really enjoyed reading The Crossing. The story immediately caught my attention and kept my interest. But it’s not traditional light-hearted Christian fiction. The characters deal with real issues (Depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, anger issues, drunkenness, high spending, adultery, etc., etc.) and are honestly portrayed. It’s probably not the story for the reader who wants neat happy endings, but the depth and honesty of the characters and events is what makes the story so compelling.
A ten year old murder case is reopened in a small rural Texan community: a masked gunman had targeted and killed the cheerleading coach after a high school football game while the bus was stopped at the railroad tracks. ADA Victor Campbell is eager to find the killer and bring his wife (a witness and close friend of the victim) the closure she needs. Football player, Casio Hightower, now a police officer and assistant in the investigation, was also shot that day, and has a personal stake in finding the killer. As they investigate the murder that happened at the railroad crossing long ago, each of the characters are also at crossings of their own. Will any of them find THE cross and reconcile with the Lord, Jesus Christ?
I loved the style of the writing and the depth of the story. As the characters contemplate their lives and work through their issues there is lots of room for personal introspection. I look forward to reading more from Serita Jakes!
I did not enjoy reading this. It’s very slow, and the writing lacks the momentum to propel the story. I was excited to read about how about how a wealthy family in Charleston adjusts to living radically for the Lord–especially when the husband and wife are not initially on the same page. But Sunrise on the Battery fell short of my expectations. It wasn’t until the very end that the husband becomes a Christian and begins to act radically in his faith (an event described in the back-of-the-book synopsis). I would say that the book redeemed itself a bit at this point, but it was too late.
There were also multiple theological problems that bothered me, most of which were very small but stood out more because of the slow pace of the book. For example, we don’t turn into angels when we die, and the priest should have corrected the character who was wrongly believing this.
There are some good descriptions of Charleston and the Southern way of life, which may make this book more exciting to some readers. And an Episcopalian reader would likely connect better to some of the theological aspects than myself. But overall, it’s not one I can recommend.
I received a complimentary copy of this book as a part of the Thomas Nelson Book Review Blogging Program through booksneeze.com.
Love in Disguise is an excellent book for a lazy day of reading. It’s lighthearted with elements of mystery and romance, and is set in the charming time period of the late 1800s in a small Arizona mining community.
