Badges
Your Dream. God’s Plan.–Are You Longing for Something More?
Your Dream. God’s Plan.
by Tiffany Smiling
with Margot Starbuck
What were you like in fourth grade? How about when you were sixteen? Those are the ages at which Tiffany Smiling had major, life-changing medical events. She shares those stories in her book Your Dream. God’s Plan. Although these were pivotal points in Tiffany’s life, she was rescued by God to later do amazing things for His kingdom.
Your Dream. God’s Plan. is really focused on an audience of young women, but others can derive inspiration and guidance as well. She challenges young women to devote themselves to drawing close to God and then listening to the call He has for them. Her fascinating story relates miracles of how God used her and many amazing people she met to give out of their abundance and find that God always supplies enough.
Tiffany will draw you into worlds of poverty of body and spirit as she describes orphans, women rescued from sexual trafficking, extreme poverty, disease, and demons. But she also shares the many ways God answers prayers when the people of God make themselves available to be used by Him.
The book includes a section appropriate for study by groups or individuals for each chapter. There is a summarizing sentence followed by questions to help the reader personalize the content to her own life. The questions are followed by a “Dream Challenge” which focuses on how you can implement the concepts to find a closer relationship to God and thus discover His plan for your life. She finishes with a sentence or two “tip,” an additional quick take-away to help you make changes in your life to align your dream with God’s plan.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Barbour Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Christian
Notes: I had so many “memorable lines” highlighted that I just pulled out the first 3/4 for use below. I am not a thirty-something or a new Christian, but there was still so much to ponder and so many possibilities for spiritual growth to attend to.
Publication: November 1, 2017 — Barbour Publishing
Memorable Lines:
At the moment the “good life” was just within reach, I discovered that lasting satisfaction wasn’t found where I thought it might be. In fact, as God revealed to me that scrambling after the dream I’d bought into would never satisfy, I tasted something even more fulfilling.
As you release the barren pursuit of earthly pleasures, exchanging it for the surprising way of Jesus, you will experience lasting satisfaction as you embrace what matters most.
You were made for so much more. If you are a student or a single working woman or a missionary or a full-time mommy, there is a calling over your life that involves bringing light to the dark places—in university hallways, in work cubicles, in overseas villages, and in the rooms of your home. If you are willing to release your grip on the plans you’ve been holding for your life, God is waiting to show you His plan that is even better for you and for the people He loves.
Smoke and Mirrors–P.T. Barnum’s American Museum
Smoke and Mirrors
by Casey Daniels
P.T. Barnum’s American Museum, stocked with the odd, unusual, and exotic from around the world, is the setting for the mystery Smoke and Mirrors by Casey Daniels. It’s the fall of 1842 in New York City when we are introduced to the fictional heroine Evangeline Barnum, a sister of Phineas T. Barnum.
Although Evangeline lives in a time of severe restrictions on women in the United States, thanks to her forward thinking brother, she works at the museum with many responsibilities. She has more freedom to pursue her investigations than most women would have. Problems begin with the appearance of an old family friend, Andrew Emerson, soliciting her help. Evangeline turns him away because his presence could cause the discovery of secrets she has worked hard to hide. The plot becomes ever more complex as Evangeline becomes involved in a murder, attempts on her life, and the disappearance of young ladies in New York City.
This was a fascinating book of historical fiction. It is well researched, has interesting characters, and provides a different perspective on the lives of the “human oddities” in live exhibits. These are the kinds of people, like the bearded lady, that one used to commonly find in fair exhibits, but are hopefully not exhibited as freaks anymore.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Severn House for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Historical Fiction, Mystery
Notes: #1 in the Miss Barnum Mystery Series
Publication: November 1, 2017—Severn House
Memorable Lines:
Her words were not light and airy, more like a cloud that foretells a coming rain; not so threatening in and of itself—not at that moment—but simply a reminder that there is a chance there are darker things to come.
It was difficult to explain how such groups of people made me feel. In the museum, whether I was talking to one or one hundred, I was at ease. Yet in such social situations, when I was expected to talk of nothing more interesting than the weather or the latest fashions from Paris, I often felt awkward and tongue-tied.
The more mysterious a thing, the more likely it is that people will pay money for it.
Murder for Nothing–wicked webs abound
Murder for Nothing
by Veronica Heley
This is the second book for me to read in Veronica Heley’s Ellie Quicke Mysteries, and I am sold on the series. Perhaps it is a reflection of my own age, but I like that Ellie Quicke, the main character, is a grandmother and she solves crimes using her brain rather than a lot of running around. I like that she is unabashedly a woman of faith, but does not see herself as perfect, nor is she a prude. She displays courage and insight.
The other characters in the book are what I would call a mixed bag. Some are extremely evil, some are really nice, and a number are common folk just trying to do the best they can given their circumstances.
Ellie is caught in the middle of a number of conflicts, all of which seem to center on a spoiled young lady, Angelique, who has gotten herself in trouble with her ambitions to marry a rich man and live a lifestyle she can not currently afford. Running free and easy through the money of others, Angelique can turn on charming tears at the drop of a hat. She finds herself in over her head, however, when she hosts a rave party at her cousin’s flat while he is on his honeymoon.
I enjoyed Murder for Nothing from start to finish and found myself not wanting to put it down, not because it was so suspenseful but because I wanted to watch the mystery and its solution unfold. Although there are many differences, Heley’s choice of heroine and her focus on detection through conversation and thought calls to mind the unparalleled Agatha Christie.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Severn House for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: #17 in the Ellie Quicke Mystery Series, but works well as a standalone
Publication: November 1, 2017—Severn House
Memorable Lines:
I try, however difficult it may be, to do the right thing and not to compromise. And I bet I sleep more soundly than you do.
She got it. He was feeling guilty. If he would talk about it, she could help him. If he remained mum, the guilt was going to work inwards and poison his whole system.
She had indeed gone for the safe bet in marrying her first husband, only to find out that he had a need to dominate everyone in sight. Yes, it had been a successful marriage in worldly terms, but only because she’d made herself into a doormat for him.
If My Moon Was Your Sun–the Great Forgetting
If My Moon Was Your Sun
by Andreas Steinhöfel
Illustrated by Nele Palmate
Translation by Matthew O. Anderson
If My Moon Was Your Sun is the poignant tale of ten year old Max who kidnaps his grandfather from an assisted living facility where he lives because he is gradually losing his memory. Max takes his grandpa to Grandpa’s favorite place where he first kissed his future wife and asked her to marry him. They are accompanied on their adventure by Miss Schneider who relives her younger days by dancing through the meadow.
I was provided with a digital version of this book for reviewing purposes, but the actual book has a CD audiobook with classical music by Georges Bizet and Sergei Prokofiev. The original story was created as part of the Ohrenspitzer project for children’s concerts. There are annotations throughout the book indicating the musical work and composer that accompanies each segment of the book. Most of the compositions are by Prokofiev, so I listened to some of his works and can only imagine how wonderful the union of the story, artwork, and music must be.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Plough Publishing House for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Children’s Fiction, Parenting and Families
Notes: accompanied by CD audiobook
Publication: November 1, 2017—Plough Publishing House
Memorable Lines:
The special thing happened when you let yourself sink slowly into the tall grass and pressed your hands into earth, which was firm and yet soft too, as though it could breathe. You closed your eyes, you breathed deeply in and out, and in no time at all you felt rooted and alive. Your thoughts became clear and orderly: the right thoughts flowed through your mind like cool, wet silver, and the wrong thoughts burned up like rust in a very hot fire.
To keep the Great Forgetting away from Grandfather when it tried to grab hold of him, it was sometimes enough to hug him tightly, offering nearness and security.
Watching Miss Schneider dance was like watching the sun spill itself over the earth. Stiff arms and legs, now in motion, suddenly seemed touched by eternal youth, and from their graceful movements a lightness flowed throughout the valley.
Bones to Pick–vegan delight
Bones to Pick
by Linda Lovely
Based on the cover of Bones to Pick, I expected a light-hearted mystery featuring a pig. Instead, I found Linda Lovely’s first book in her new Brie Hooker Mystery Series to be a humorous cozy mystery with a tangled plot. The pig has only a very minor role, and the focus is on Brie Hooker, an MBA carrying former banker turned vegan chef. A lot of the humor in the book is derived either from her food preferences or her relationships to two “hunky” guys who are also best friends, Paint and Andy.
The death of a beloved aunt segues into a story of spousal abuse, murder, corrupt cops, mysterious investments, death threats, and a very old feud. Brie has to sort her way through small town South Carolina politics and relationships with the help of her family and friends to solve this mystery. Helping out with a large goat farm and producing award-winning cheese that only a non-vegan could love may not be part of Brie’s original dream, but she now has lots of reasons to make Ardon County her new home.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Henery Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery, General Fiction (Adult)
Notes: #1 in the Brie Hooker Mystery Series
Publication: October 24, 2017—Henery Press
Memorable Lines:
Even minus an introduction, I figured this tall glass of sweet tea had to be Paint, the legendary owner of Magic Moonshine. Sunlight glinted off hair the blue-black of expensive velvet. Deep dimples. Rakish smile.
As usual, Dad had sole custody of the TV remote. Did Mom even know how to use it?
Pools of water camouflaged the potholes that occupied half the graveled roadbed. My bouncing headlamps lit up the rutted drive like a reverse Rorschach ink blot test. The water appeared as blobs of shimmering yellow splattered across a black canvas.
Cold As Ice–trying to cover mistakes
Cold As Ice
by Julie Mulhern
At 6:30 on a Friday evening, Ellison Russell sensed Disaster, but what about her daughter going on a date to see Benji with a handsome, polite young man from their social group or her attending a cocktail party with her best friend Libba? Who could have foretold the disastrous sequence of events that would occur over the next several days?
As expected, Cold As Ice, Julie Mulhern’s sixth novel in the Country Club Mystery Series is a winner. It jumps right into the current story while catching up readers who are new to the series. With a lot of legitimate suspects, Ellison stays busy following leads as she tries to save a failing bank which is her daughter’s inheritance from Ellison’s licentious, now dead, husband and negotiate landmines in her relationships with her domineering mother and her teenage daughter. Meanwhile two love interests, a lawyer and a detective, provide aid in her investigations while vying for her affections.
All of the investigation occurs in the midst of family chaos and is delivered with a heavy dose of wry humor. Mr. Coffee continues to be the only man Ellison can truly depend on. The setting is decorated with multiple authentic touches of the seventies. It is a book I didn’t want to put down, but I didn’t want it to end either.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Henery Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery, General Fiction (Adult)
Notes: # 6 in The Country Club Murders; works fine as a standalone
Publication: October 17, 2017—Henery Press
Memorable Lines:
“How was your date?” A silly question, since animated songbirds perched on her shoulders and whistled.
Perhaps the expression I allowed into my eyes stilled his tongue. It was one of Mother’s best. It spoke of impending pain and suffering and icy fury.
“Hi.” His voice was as delicious as s’mores made in the fireplace on a snow day. Melty and warm and addictive.
We need to talk. Has anything good ever followed those four words?
Twelve Slays of Christmas–a holiday treat
Twelve Slays of Christmas
by Jacqueline Frost
If you are someone with magical memories of Christmas, you will enjoy being immersed in the first Christmas Tree Farm Mystery. We are taken to a Christmas wonderland where the Whites try to keep the family business, Christmas Tree Farm, open in spite of dwindling tree sales by offering a twelve day tourist Christmas extravaganza in the little town of Mistletoe.
Holly returns home after nine years in the big city when her fiancé dumps her a week before the wedding. Murder threatens what should be a happy season for the tourists and locals. Both Holly and the tree farm are in danger. Sheriff Evan Gray makes a believable love interest as they get acquainted quickly through her investigations of several crises. The plot is interesting, the main characters are likable, and the setting is as Christmasy as you can get in a murder mystery.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Crooked Lane Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: #1 in the Christmas Tree Farm Mystery Series
Publication: October 10, 2017—Crooked Lane Books
Memorable Lines:
“I have two cups of Santa’s cinnamon tea, one spicy apple cider, and a peppermint twist hot cocoa,” I said, setting the mugs on the table surrounded by rosy-cheeked women wearing matching holiday sweaters. They leaned forward at the sight of my mother’s specialty drinks. I slipped cinnamon sticks into the tea and cider, then popped a candy cane into the cocoa.
“Everyone’s capable of something they never thought they could be.”
“You have to make things happen, not wait around hoping something might happen to you.”
Fireworks in Paradise–fireworks for TJ and Kyle
Fireworks in Paradise
by Kathi Daley
TJ Jensen transported her sisters, good friend Kyle, grandfather, and his friend Doc, along with a menagerie, across the country to help a family friend for the summer. They are suddenly recalled to the resort the family owns in Paradise Island by a car accident that puts TJ’s father in the ICU.
Fireworks in Paradise is a good cozy mystery that ties in a cold case with vehicle tampering and local politics. Despite personal problems, TJ and her family’s resort host a number of the town’s Fourth of July celebrations. I enjoyed the tale but there are a lot of nuanced relationships that play into the story. The author does a good job of bringing the reader up to date, but there are also a number of new characters incorporated into the eighth novel in this series. Although I enjoyed Fireworks in Paradise, I don’t think this mystery would work as well as a standalone as some of the others in this series.
I do recommend the book and the series, but I have some residual hesitation about a 100% endorsement of this mystery. I found the amount of time TJ spent solving the crime to be unrealistic given other issues she should have been addressing. I know she felt like she could help her father most by finding the saboteur, but having rushed across the country you would think her focus would be spending time with her dad at the hospital or filling in at the resort’s Fourth of July activities for him. In spite of that, I did like the book’s underlying theme of the importance of family and friends.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Henery Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: #8 in the TJ Jensen Mystery Series
Publication: October 10, 2017—Henery Press
Memorable Lines:
Love isn’t something you have to dissect and analyze. It’s something that just is.
…you never knew when someone or something in the background of an otherwise unspectacular photo would provide you with just the clue you needed to solve a case.
Miss Kopp’s Midnight Confessions–moral turpitude in 1916?
Miss Kopp”s Midnight Confessions
by Amy Stewart
Amy Stewart has taken the real story of three sisters in the U.S. in 1916 and fleshed it out as a fictional tale based on her research. The rights of women are so limited in this book that is it hard to conceive of it in the twenty-first century.
Constance Kopp is the first female deputy sheriff in New Jersey and one of the first in the U.S. Many of the problems she deals with involve moral issues which can result in very stiff penalties, especially for women. As the U.S. prepares to enter World War I (1917), girls and women are starting to be employed outside the home working long hours under difficult conditions in factories where they are paid much less than men for the same work. One indicator of the status of women’s rights is that the nineteenth amendment to the Constitution giving women the right to vote was ratified on August 18, 1920.
With this setting in mind, know that there is nothing pedantic about Miss Kopp’s Midnight Confessions. It is composed of very short chapters that make you want to turn the page and keep reading. It deals with cultural and social issues of the time and demonstrates that there can be flexibility, based on reasonableness and sensitivity, within the law. Deputy Sheriff Constance Kopp encounters young women with various problems; she must view them through the prism of the potential for similar issues in her own family.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Historical Fiction
Notes: #3 in the Kopp Sister Novel Series, but can be read as a standalone
Publication: September 5, 2017—Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Memorable Lines:
Whatever discomforts she might endure, they couldn’t compare to the hardships of a trench in the Argonne. The idea stayed with her, as she grew more accustomed to the tedium of a factory job, the long hours on her feet, her red and swollen fingers, and the dull ache behind her eyes from staring at those spinning threads all day. Her brothers were eager to go overseas and endure far worse. Surely she could bear it for their sake.
She was such a slight, mousy girl, with so little to say, but a steel cable of resolve ran through her. The notions of duty and service and country came as naturally to her as breathing.
Edna had an endless reservoir of determination, and all the high ideals in the world, but she didn’t know how to bluff, or play a trick, or talk her way into a room where she wasn’t invited. She was constitutionally unable to lie or cheat or hide anything—money, jewels, the truth. Minnie could do all of that, and while she didn’t know much about war, she was fairly certain that something in that line might be called for.
Protocol–good debut mystery
Protocol
by Kathleen Valenti
There are exceptions, but generally I love it when a mystery begins with action or intrigue. Protocol, Kathleen Valenti’s debut novel, fits in that category. If you think a novel about the pharmaceutical industry sounds stuffy or boring, think again.
Maggie O’Maley is excited to be starting a new chapter in her life in her first job as a researcher at Rxcellance Pharmaceutical. Socially insecure and intellectually astute, she requires income to support not only herself, but also her aunt and father whose restaurant is undergoing hard times. Unfortunately she gets caught up in a world of violence beginning with appointment reminders she receives on her previously owned cell phone that was not properly wiped of information. Her world spirals out of control as she tries to make good choices for her job and to keep herself alive. A subplot that ties into the main mystery puts her long time best friend Constantine up against Ethan, a new love interest from the research facility.
Protocol is a page turner with lots of suspense and twists. Maggie is a likable character, and I look forward to reading more of her adventures in Kathleen Valenti’s next novel.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Henery Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: #1 in the Maggie O’Malley Mystery Series
Publication: September 5, 2017—Henery Press
Memorable Lines:
She imagined furtive glances by coworkers, conversations that stopped as soon as she approached and whispers around the water cooler as innuendo oozed under doors and around cubicle walls.
Maggie fumbled in her pocket and put two quarters into the machine. She punched the combination of keys that would spring Snap, Crackle, and Pop from their coiled prison.
The smell of antiseptic, so familiar, so clean, now seemed deceitful, designed to conceal the smell of putrefaction.
