Time and Again: Charlotte of Miles Station

Title: Time and Again: Charlotte of Miles Station
Author: Deborah Heal
Labels: Fiction | Girls | Women
Publisher: Tate Publishing
Publication Date: January 24, 2012
Recommended To: Middle school girls
Contains: Clean.

Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository | Kindle
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Blurb From Goodreads: Tutoring an eleven-year-old for the summer seemed like the perfect college service project for Abby Thomas. But that was before she found herself in a dilapidated old house in Nowhereville, trying to teach Merrideth—a sullen girl who doesn’t want her help. All she has is a pile of useless, musty old books, and Merrideth’s definitely not interested. But who says the only way to teach is with books? When they discover a freaky program on their new computer, history comes alive in ways that Abby and Merrideth could never expect. But is this program only the creative genius of some computer nerd—or are they really seeing Charlotte Miles, the girl who lived in their house 160 years before? Their friends just laugh when they try to explain. But if it really is Charlotte, Abby and Merrideth must find a way to warn her about the danger waiting in the woods behind their house. Time and Again: Charlotte at Miles Station is a story told in the past and in the present. A story of three girls—their perspectives, their relationships, and their journey of self-discovery and faith.
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          I hate to say this, but my overall impression of this book was kind of mediocre. However, I think a large part of this was due to the fact that it seems to be aimed at a younger audience, and I am in fact...an adult. That said, this book would probably be pretty good for kids--probably girls--in the middle school age range.

          I think one of the reasons I wasn't thrilled about this book is that it seems to move at a fairly slow pace, and I didn't always get what a particular scene had to do with anything else that happened before or after. It just didn't seem to have as strong of a plotline as I personally would have liked. I think a younger audience will enjoy this more, and will like the concept of the time warp and whatnot.

          Recommended to a young audience. I received a free copy of this book from the author for this review. These opinions are my own; I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated for this review.

Touching the Sky (Land of the Lone Star, #2)

Title: Touching the Sky
Author: Tracie Peterson
Labels: Fiction | Historical Fiction
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
Publication Date: June 1, 2012
Recommended To: Women, Adult, Romance Lovers
Contains: Clean.

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Blurb From Goodreads: When Laura Marquardt first meets Brandon Reid, their encounter is anything but pleasant. But when the two are seated together at a dinner party, they soon find that they share similar interests--Laura desires to educate blacks, and Brandon, as a white officer over colored troops, eagerly supports her cause.
When Laura's sister, Carissa, marries her Confederate beau, Laura finds herself in a difficult situation when she overhears plots to kill Union soldiers. Though in her heart she feels she should share this information with Brandon, Laura fears she will betray her sister's trust and possibly endanger her sister's life. And when Brandon's motives for pursuing her come into question, her heart is even more conflicted. Where is God leading her?
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          Laura and Brandon meet in an amusing and unlikely way, and soon find their paths crossing. Both have an attraction to the other, but problems arise under the surface when Brandon decides to court Laura, despite the fact he knows his motives will eventually be questioned. He's left working in secrecy, all the while wondering if he should tell come clean to the girl he loves. Laura, on the other hand, begins to have her suspicions, adding a whole new level to this complicated relationship.

          I was slightly disappointed at the lack of involvement I felt as this story unfolded. I didn't feel quite as able to relate to the characters or as "walking in their shoes" as I would have liked. Other than that, the book was pretty good. The plot unfolded smoothly and the impending decisions of the characters kept me interested to the end, though slightly distanced. I'm interested to read the next book in the series, Taming the Wind, to see where the continuing story takes Laura's heartbroken sister, Carissa.

        Recommended. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for this review. These opinions are my own; I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated for this review.

Slowing The Pace

Probably most of you have noticed that I haven't posted nearly as many reviews lately as I have in the past. That's basically due to the fact that I'm three weeks into my freshman year of college...and I've got a lot of homework. Enough that I haven't had a whole lot of time for pleasure reading, sadly. I am working on it though.

So if you're a publisher, author, etc, and you have asked me to review a book and the review isn't up, it will be. It might be a little bit as I get a handle on my new schedule and the homework, but I will review your book.

Please bear with me during this time.

That said, I'm off to do some more homework.

Firestorm (Full Circle Series, #6)

Title: Firestorm
Author: Lisa T. Bergren
Labels: Fiction | Romance
Publisher: Waterbrook Press
Publication Date: June 19, 2001
Recommended To: Women, Adult, Romance Lovers
Contains: Clean.

Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository | Audio
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Blurb From Goodreads: As a smoke jumper, Reyne Oldre--friend to Rachel Tanner and Beth Morgan (Refuge)--once led a team of courageous firefighters into a blaze that ended in unspeakable tragedy. Now crippled by fear, she conducts fire research from a safe distance, determined not to risk that kind of pain again. But when the flames of love begin to flicker between her and smoke jumper Logan McCabe, Reyne must face the fearsome storms from her past and battle the raging Firestorm that burns in her soul.
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          I liked Firestorm. A lot. Bergren wrote an interesting romance you really can't help but like. At first I was a bit irritated at Logan's jump to pursue Reyne, especially when he went as far as to make a bet over it. It seemed, to me anyway, like he was just out to conquer and he didn't particularly pray about it or even really think it out well.

          However, despite my initial reaction to Logan's pursuits, I couldn't help but end up liking him. I know Reyne is supposed to be the main character, but I'm going to go off about Logan for a lil bit since he was my favorite in the book. Logan's a fun, quirky (in a masculine kind of way, of course), dude who's passionate about his job. The longer the plot went the more level headed he seemed to be as he worked to spend as much time with Reyne as possible, and came up with some of the most original ideas for dates.

          One of the things I noticed about this book is the distance I felt from the characters. Generally I like to feel involved in the plot, almost as if I am the character. I didn't quite get that this time around, which is okay. Since the plot covers several months, time is a little less detailed and the relationship between the two is unraveled at a distance almost. Instead of being directly involved, I felt like I was watching from a distance. Was an interesting change of pace for me.

        Recommended. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for this review. These opinions are my own; I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated for this review.

Stress Point: Thriving Through Your Twenties in a Decade of Drama

Title: Stress Point: Thriving Through Your Twenties in a Decade of Drama
Author: Sarah Francis Martin
Labels: Religion | Christian Life | Women's Issues |
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Publication Date: June 5, 2012
Recommended To: Women, +20yrs
Contains: N/A

Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository | Kindle
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Blurb From Amazon: Want to ditch the drama and thrive through your twenties?

Body image. Friendships. Career. Money. Dating. All these issues and more serve as points of stress for the 20-something woman, and combined they can make for a decade of drama in a girl's life. Sarah Francis Martin is the slightly older girlfriend who's been there, done that, and got the not-so-cute t-shirt. Through this interactive Bible study, Sarah helps young adult women address each stress point by encouraging them to wait on the Lord, worship Him, and make Him the focus of their lives.

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        Stress Point is an interactive Bible study covering key stress point of women in their twenties, including careers, self-image, body image, dating, friends and family, money, stepping out on your own, making a difference, and spiritual maturity. Each chapter/stress point features case studies with three different women regarding the issue, plus several journal pages for your own  personal insights.

          Probably what I liked the most about this book was the journal pages. Each chapter has several, with each journal containing interactive, prodding questions that get you thinking on your own. I also liked that the book has both scripture printed out inside the book, as well as references for you to look up. I don't like when books have it all printed out for you, because it stops you from actually studying the actual passage and verses surrounding it; on the other hand, it's a pain to have to go look up one single verse that was mentioned, so in that case it's nice to just have it printed in the book. So in that regard, I thought Stress Point had a good balance of both.

          Overall I thought this was a good study covering a lot of really good, important topics. Overall, a great study. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for this review. These opinions are my own; I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated for this review.

In His Eyes Anthology

Title: In His Eyes Anthology
Author: Katie Klein, Jessie Harrell, Ali Cross, Stacey Wallace Benefiel, S.R. Johannes, Heather McCorkle, Susan Kaye Quinn, Karen Amanda Hooper, Rashelle Workman, Cory Putman Oakes
Labels: Romance | Short Stories | Anthologies
Publisher: Independently Published
Publication Date: February 14, 2012
Recommended To: N/A
Contains: Some of the stories contains some profanity, and the like.

Buy It: Kindle
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Blurb From Goodreads: Available NOW, just in time for Valentines Day, The Indelibles bring you a one-of-a-kind young adult anthology! Sixteen original short stories, all from the point of view of our favorite male characters - some are old flames from our novels and some were dreamed up especially for this anthology. 

          Let these imminently crushable, swoon-worthy guys show you what romance looks like – in his eyes. 

          The contributors to IN HIS EYES include award winners, frequent “Top 100” placers, and hot 2011 debut authors.

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          I'm not really sure how to go about this review since this anthology is chock full of so many stories by so many authors, so I guess I'm just going to go for an overall view. I liked this in the sense that I got to try out a lot of different authors--some of whose books I have been thinking of trying out--without committing to an entire book. Which worked out splendidly, since I found out I don't like some that I had been thinking of getting, while others I either discovered or confirmed my interest.

         It was interesting to see so many unique styles in one "book", so to speak. Each author has their own flavor and flow, which is cool. I got to see a little of each, and in the process found some authors I think I'll like a lot. Overall it was a pretty good read.

          I bought this book, and therefore was not required nor asked to write a review, nor a positive one at that. I was not compensated for this review.

My Stubborn Heart

Title: My Stubborn Heart
Author: Becky Wade
Labels: Fiction | Contemporary Fiction
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
Publication Date: May 1, 2012
Recommended To: Women, Adult
Contains: Occasional mention of female appropriate things.

Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository | Kindle
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Blurb From Goodreads: Kate Donovan is burned out on work, worn down by her dating relationships, and in need of an adventure. When her grandmother asks Kate to accompany her to Redbud, Pennsylvania, to restore the grand old house she grew up in, Kate jumps at the chance, takes a leave of absence from her job as a social worker, and the two of them set off. 
          Upon her arrival in Redbud, Kate meets Matt Jarreau, the man her grandmother has hired to renovate the house. From the first moment
she meets Matt, Kate can't help but be attracted to him--he's got a combination of good looks and charisma that draw and tug at her. But she knows there's zero chance of a romance between them. Matt's in love with his dead wife, and even if he weren't, Kate realizes that she's way too ordinary for him. For Matt Jarreau is no ordinary guy. Kate discovers that he was once a great NHL hockey player who left the sport when his wife--an honest-to-goodness former Miss America--was diagnosed with brain cancer. Matt's been hiding from people, from God, and from his past ever since. Yet Kate is absolutely determined to befriend him, to try to reach him, to help him in some small way. 
          No, Kate's not looking for love. She knows better than that by now. But when the stilted, uncomfortable interactions between Kate and Matt slowly shift into something more, is God finally answering the longing of her heart? Or will Kate be required to give up more than she ever dreamed?
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         I don't know what it is, but lately, I've been running into some incredibly talented authors--not to mention that they're debut authors! First it was Katie Ganshert, and now Becky Wade... Anyway, My Stubborn Heart has flown to the very top of my favorites list in the couple of days it took me to read it.

          Normally, I don't really go for the books with lead male characters who are ridiculously good looking....but I felt like it worked for this book. Not entirely sure why, but it did. The whole dark and brooding thing worked for Matt too--at least in my opinion. Wade's descriptions are vivid and imaginative, and the characters and story felt realistic. The book was funny, cute, and at one point almost (note *almost* :p) had me crying.

          The only thing that seemed slightly awkward was the repeated reference to people having "the hots" for other people. I'm still trying to figure out what that even means. Other than that I thought the book was good...really good. The cover is absolutely fantastic! I especially liked that despite the fact that Kate loved Matt and wanted things to work out so badly between them, she was willing to follow God's will even if it took her in the opposite direction.

          I'm eagerly awaiting Wade's next book. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for this review. These opinions are my own; I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated for this review.