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My Pink Champagne Life–witty, autobiographical “must read”
My Pink Champagne Life
by Meredith Shafer
My Pink Champagne Life is an autobiographical work by Meredith Shafer who tries to celebrate all the big and little events that shape her life. The story touches on her first marriage and divorce, but focuses mainly on her marriage to Mr. Wonderful and on her blended multi-cultural family. I rarely read a book twice, but I probably will read this book again. It sparkles with wit and offers wisdom based in real experiences and a love of God.
Shafer pulls no punches about her life as she describes, often with tongue in cheek, what life is like in the (Mother) Hood—from the creativeness of her kids to the craziness of trying to juggle being a military wife, mother of four, public speaker, author, and lawyer who works from home directing a foundation.
With superlative turn of phrase, she injects humor into the telling of the messiness of everyday life and how God has carried her through. Shafer shares how God has molded her character through the good times and the bad. I wish this book had been around when I was a young mother. It will be an encouragement to women who want to be their best for God, who want to come to God without their Sunday mask on, ready to trust God to bring about changes in their lives.
Shafer has written another book which should hit the shelves on November 15, 2016. It is entitled Mad Cow: a PTSD Love Story. If you don’t want to wait until then, you can connect with the author on her website www.meredithshafer.com to buy it directly.
Michelangelo’s Ghost–a good cozy in which I expand my cultural awareness
Michelangelo’s Ghost
A Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mystery
by Gigi Pandian
Michelangelo’s Ghost is an interesting cozy. The mystery is good and the characters and setting took me out of my comfort zone, which is good in this case. Jaya Jones is a history professor in San Francisco. She is attractive, feisty, petite, intelligent and adventurous. As Jaya is of Indian and American descent, like the author herself, the book has many authentic references to Indian culture and foods.
In her pursuit of the killer of her former mentor, Jaya, accompanied by her successful brother Fish and his exotic girlfriend, travels to Italy to trace the Renaissance roots of an art find that the mystery is centered around. The little known artist has connections to India and possibly to Michelangelo.
There are twists and turns to the plot, characters who are not really as they present themselves, and a good tying up of loose ends. I recommend this book and am interested in reading others in the series.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Henery Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Pumpkins in Paradise–Great Example of a Cozy!
Pumpkins in Paradise
by Kathi Daley
I love mysteries–the kind you read. Not the kind where you wonder where you hid something so no one else could find it! I love the type of mystery that focuses on the puzzle, not on the actual blood, gore and violence. I’m not interested in the extremities of psychological madness or depravity. When I retired, and before I began reviewing, I sated my appetite by reading all of Agatha Christie’s novels. Although I didn’t care for her mysteries that dabbled in the occult, most of the rest of the works of this prolific writer are excellent.
Having conquered the Christie mountain of 78 mystery novels, I read from a variety of genres and stumbled across a sub-genre developed at the end of the twentieth century, the cozy mystery. While I don’t limit myself to cozies, I do intersperse them with my other readings. Cozies downplay sex, violence, and inappropriate language while providing the reader with a puzzle. The story is usually set in a small town where everyone knows everyone else. The amateur detective is usually a woman with some contacts in the law enforcement community. A cozy series may be thematic and there is often an element of humor and a touch of romance. Christie’s Miss Marple books fit into this category as does the television series Murder, She Wrote.
Pumpkins in Paradise is the first novel in the Tj Jensen Mystery Series written by Kathi Daley. There are currently seven books in the series, all set in the little town of Paradise and most with a seasonal theme. Our heroine in this cozy series is Tj Jensen, a single, high school PE teacher and coach who has moved in with her father and grandfather. They run a local woodsy resort and are helping her care for her two newly orphaned half-sisters. Pumpkins in Paradise meets all the criteria for a good cozy and excels in the puzzle category. In order to solve a murder mystery, Tj has to solve a final puzzle created for her by the victim. The story is populated by interesting, colorful townsfolk and visitors. The setting has small town appeal: Paradise is decorated for fall and bustling with pumpkin activities.
I recommend Pumpkins in Paradise as an excellent cozy that you will not want to put down. I plan on reading other books in the series–comfortable excitement in a feel good setting. But don’t be fooled–Pumpkins in Paradise has a healthy dose of suspense as well!
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Henery Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
DISILLUSIONED–Didn’t Disappoint This Reader
Disillusioned
by Christy Barritt
Disillusioned, a Christian thriller by Christy Barritt, plunges the reader into a tense scene of media pursuit. It then segues before the end of the first chapter into an attempt to coerce Nikki and her brother Bobby, a Navy SEAL, to accompany some armed men. Are their attackers terrorists or feds? The action continues at a fast pace through the whole book with a cast of strong characters.
Interwoven with and integral to the main plot, in which Bobby is accused of being part of a Columbian terror group, are three major subplots. One deals with Nikki’s complicated romantic relationships. Another with spiritual faith and trust issues Nikki has in the aftermath of several traumatic years. The last is the mental state of her brother and the possibility that his years of captivity in Columbia have altered his character.
I strongly recommend this book on two levels. As a thriller I find the ins and outs of the plot to be fascinating. Except for the high stress level I occasionally needed to relieve, it is a book I didn’t want to put down. As a Christian novel, I found the implicit challenge to be personal. If confronted with the extreme difficulties and disappointments Nikki faced, would my faith in God remain strong? Would I remember that “God is on my side even when all seems lost.”?
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Waterfall Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
A Changed Agent–a good historical romance
A Changed Agent
by Tracey Lyons
Waterfall Press, a Christian publishing branch of Amazon, released a new historical romance on July 19, 2016. A Changed Agent by Tracey Lyons, who has written a number of historical novels, is well-written and has an engaging storyline and characters. Set in the 1890’s in the Adirondack Mountains of New York, this tale draws together a beautiful and kind schoolteacher, a Pinkerton detective, and his recently orphaned niece and nephew.
The “spinster,” Miss Elsie Mitchell, has strong Christian values and faith and feels led by the Lord to help Will Benton with his new charges as he settles into what she believes is his new job as a lumber foreman in her hometown. There are, of course, relationship issues as these characters come together, and danger bubbles beneath the surface as Will hunts for an unknown railroad bond thief.
Grab a copy of this book if you are looking for a fast-paced read that you won’t want to put down. It has characters you will like, set in a time removed from our age of technology, with enough adventure to transport you out of the confines of your world and back in time to a small town with muddy streets, a saloon with ladies of questionable repute, and an annual church picnic.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Waterfall Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
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Admission: Yes, I left the book cover picture REALLY big because I am a PURPLE freak.
Collision of the Heart–good historical romance
Collision of the Heart
by Laurie Alice Eakes
Collision of the Heart is a historical romance set in 1856 in frigid winter in Michigan, the author’s home state. Laurie Alice Eakes gives us a story in which the main characters have to ultimately decide if their love for each other is strong enough. Does Mia love Ayden more than the opportunity to become a professional writer? Does Ayden love Mia more than a successful, secure career surrounded by loving extended family? Just when all seems predictable, the author twists the plot twice with surprises.
In Collision of the Heart, Eakes uses words as brush strokes with her well written descriptions of cold winter nights that draw the reader in to experience the evenings as the characters do. For example, Eakes writes of an upset Ayden that “His footfalls crunched on the frozen snow, loud in the quiet of the night.” The author arouses our senses with “The wind carried the scent of wood smoke with its promise of warm fires, hot soup, and hotter coffee.” In another passage, the author uses repetition of “ached” to good advantage to drive home both the thoughts and emotions of Ayden as he tries to work through his feelings for Mia.
Collision of the Heart is an easy going, enjoyable romance which captures the reader’s interest immediately with a train wreck, leaving passengers hurt and stranded in a small town for many days. We witness the kind and generous responses of most of the townspeople and follow the intrigue of an abandoned child. I recommend this book which will be released by Waterfall Press on August 23, 2016.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Waterfall Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
From the Sideline–chick lit for football illiterates
From the Sideline
by Amy Avanzino
From the Sideline is the second book in The Wake-Up Series by Amy Avanzino. Many reviewers praised the first book, Wake-Up Call, as a very funny novel. This is confusing because From the Sideline has humorous notes and certainly moments I can relate to, but they are more than balanced out by the difficulties, past and present, of the main character, Autumn Kovac. In fact, the major problems in the lives of Autumn and her son Zachery are rather dark. My other point of confusion is that Wake-Up Call’s main character is Sarah Winslow, not Autumn Kovac. While it is fine to write a series based on a theme rather than a character, there is a supporting character named Sarah (no last name given) in From the Sideline. I guess I will have to read Wake-Up Call to find out if it is the same Sarah and to read a book with a more generous serving of humor.
From the Sideline combines a number of themes. It focuses on an overly protective single mom, a survivor of several abusive situations, whose awkward, intelligent, and bullied son wants to play football. Autumn Kovac receives an in-depth, rapid introduction to youth football: terminology that seems like a foreign language, coaches who range from caring mentors to frustrated men trying to recapture the glory days of promising sports careers, enthusiastic football moms and dads, and pressured players who are really just kids who want to play.
Another theme is, of course, one that most people experience–the wake-up call. Bad habits and ways of responding to others creep up on us, and Autumn learns to recognize that as well as how to disengage herself and make healthier choices.
Although circumstances vary, most women can probably identify with some parts of this story and engage with the main character who, like all of us, has some difficult choices to make. It’s “chick lit,” and while I enjoyed this book as an entertaining read, I came away with food for thought as well.
I extend my thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Henery Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Blood Brothers–a Satisfying Read
Blood Brothers
by Rick Acker
Satisfying. Blood Brothers by Rick Acker is satisfying. That may not sound like much of a compliment, but it really is–the same way that an excellent meal is satisfying. When I finished the book, I found the ending had come at the right time and in the right way without being predictable. Through Acker’s writing I had experienced just the right amount of excitement and intrigue within a framework of our legal and investigative systems and a background of scientific research. There was even a touch of history and the romance of a foreign country.
When I reviewed Acker’s book Dead Man’s Rule, I mentioned that the main character’s wife, Noelle, had only a minor role and was not well-developed. That deficit was rectified in this novel as Noelle is presented as a three-dimensional character adding realism to the novel.
Blood Brothers deals to a great degree with relationships–mainly focusing on two rich brothers, Karl and Gunner, at odds over control of their pharmaceutical company and also on lawyer Ben Corbin and his spouse Noelle. Private investigator Sergei Spassky, who is a new Christian, has to confront his feelings for FBI agent Elena Kamenev, a nonbeliever who shares his Russian heritage. Together they have to face the ramifications of very different religious beliefs.
The intricacies of the lawsuit and countersuit were handled well including the reactions of a fairly new judge and the chosen jury. Insights into the science trials were also interesting and included one loose end (a mistake made by a summer intern) that surprisingly was not included in the book’s resolution. I appreciated the brief afterword containing nonfiction information related to some of the technical aspects of the book. I definitely advise reading it after you finish the book, however, as reading it in advance would spoil the story for you.
Rick Acker has written three legal thrillers for adults and two detective mysteries intended for a younger audience, but as is often the case with a well-written book for youth, several reviewers also recommend them for a fun read for adults. I definitely was not disappointed by Blood Brothers, the second of Acker’s engaging tales for me and certainly not the last.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Waterfall Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an unbiased review.
Reflections on What Comes Around–with Content Warning!
What Comes Around
by Adair Sanders
In the interest of full disclosure, I need to say that I went to school with the author and I really wanted to like this book as much as I did her two previous books: As Sick as Our Secrets, the first in the Allison Parker Mystery Series and Biologically Bankrupt…Sins of the Father, a sad, autobiographical work. What Comes Around is the second in her mystery series. I think Sanders is a good writer: in terms of plot, characters, etc, I can easily award this book four stars (out of five). The first chapter is particularly well written and drew me into the rest of the tale.
My reticence in wholeheartedly recommending What Comes Around centers on its graphic descriptions of sexual violence. Everyone has a personal tolerance level for various aspects of fiction–horror, violence, even romance. I personally find this level of detail disturbing, but another reader may see its role in What Comes Around as essential to character and plot development.
Kudos to Adair Sanders who completed a successful law career and has jumped into a second successful career as a writer. I look forward to reading more of the Allison Parker Mystery Series.
Review of The Discovery Saga Collection
The Discovery Saga Collection: A 6-Part Series from Lancaster County
by Wanda E. Brunstetter
At some point in time, I got on Wanda Brunstetter’s email list and received a free
download of The Discovery Saga Collection which was initially released as a series of six books. It recently struck my fancy to read it. I found it to be basically a sweet book, focusing on the power of being kind to others.
The setting of The Discovery Saga Collection is “Amish country” as that culture and religion holds a fascination for the author. I found the first part of the saga very slow paced as Brumstetter tells the story alternately through the thoughts of the husband and wife and their reflections are very similar (i.e. repetitive). The plot picks up pace and interest at the end of the first part.
Brumstetter creates interesting characters and a fascinating, difficult situation that involves many characters and their relationships. I did want to read to the end to discover the resolution of the various conflicts, and I got the ending I wanted–sort of. Without spoiling the book, let me say that I liked the characters’ reliance on God and the book’s use of Scripture as well as a liberal sprinkling of Pennsylvania Dutch in the dialogues. I found many aspects of the book simplistic and unrealistic. If you long for a very clean novel with some romance, a tidbit of action, and a focus on the faith of the Amish as well as other Christians, you will be pleased with this laid-back novel.
