Book Reviews
Gail Gaymer Martin’s And Baby Makes Five ~ Reviewed
25 May 2008 Author: In: Book Reviews
By Gail Gaymer Martin
Published by Heartsong Presents
ISBN 978-1-59789-638-2
Back Cover:
PREGNANT, WIDOWED, AND LIVING IN HER CAR
This is not what Felisa Carrillo envisioned when she left her home in Guadalajara at sixteen, married to a handsome guy and headed to America. Who could have known her husband would turn abusive and “America” would mean migrants work and impoverished living? But here she is, years later, wiser but still in trouble.
Chad Garrison is on a routine visit to the fields when he sees a young migrant worker double over in pain. He hurries to help, only to find she is about to deliver a child there in his field. He rushes her to the hospital, then finds himself drawn to her.
Is Chad being taken in by a scheming, dishonest immigrant, as some of his friends suggest? Should Felisa be concerned that Chad has ulterior motives in his generosity toward her? Is this relationship God’s doing or just a big mistake?
Review
I found it easy to fall in love with these characters that Gail Gaymer Martin brought to life. Even though Felisa and Chad came from two different worlds, their love for God brought them closer. The gradual development of the characters, and their differences in society, really made me want to continue reading. This book stirred all my emotions, making me laugh, cry and get angry. I feel Ms. Martin really did a nice job displaying prejudice, friendship and love. I had a hard time putting it down!
If you enjoy a good love story – I would definitely recommend this one!
Reviewed by Diane T. Stokowski
Original post by Kelly Klepfer
Randy Singer’s By Reason of Insanity ~ Reviewed
24 May 2008 Author: In: Book Reviews
By Reason of Insanity
Randy Singer
Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers (April 11, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 141431633X
Product Description
After a series of kidnappings and murders in Virginia Beach, newspaper reporter Catherine O’Rourke experiences disturbing dreams that detail each crime. In an effort to aid the investigation, she shares them with her confidential source–a detective working on the case. Catherine’s intimate knowledge of the crimes immediately makes her a prime suspect. When scientific evidence corroborates her guilt, she’s arrested and charged with murder. As she begins to doubt her own innocence, Catherine turns to Las Vegas lawyer Quinn Newberg, a high-priced specialist in the insanity defense. Quinn believes in justice, Vegas-style. But he doesn’t believe in the supernatural, or that Catherine’s dreams are anything other than the result of a fractured personality disorder. Who can understand the human mind? Quinn knows that insanity cases are unpredictable, but nothing had prepared him for this! To win, or even survive, Quinn will need more than his famed legal maneuvering and biting skepticism. On this case, he needs a miracle.
My Review:
Insanity is the first of Randy Singer’s works I’ve read and I will definitely look into his other novels. Legal thriller fans who haven’t checked into him are missing out if Insanity is any indication of the quality of his previous novels.
Full of medical/psychological detail regarding Dissociative Identity Disorder, capital punishment, legal details into the insanity defense, jail brawls, high stakes gambling and enough plot twists to keep the reader on his or her toes, I whipped through this wild ride of a novel.
The spiritual thread is light until the end, and even then doesn’t feel thrown in to sew everything up. Quinn and Catherine were intriguing with the background trauma in their lives, but I struggled a little with the friendship between them. A couple of red herrings didn’t get resolved clearly, but I was totally caught off guard by a few plot twists so I gladly forgave this issue.
I didn’t know how resolution could work out within the last hundred pages and I was impressed that the book ended on a satisfying note.
Big Honken Chicken club members need to take note — there are some intense themes and scenes in Insanity.
Reviewed by: Kelly Klepfer
Original post by Kelly Klepfer
Terri Blackstock’s Dawn’s Light ~ Reviewed
22 May 2008 Author: In: Book Reviews
By: Terri Blackstock
Published by Zondervan
ISBN# 978-0-310-25770-7
Backcover:
As the end of a worldwide crisis comes in sight, one family considers the lessons they have learned….and faces their ultimate test.
In the face of a crisis that sweeps the entire planet back to the age before electricity, the Brannings face a choice. Will they hoard their possessions to survive—or trust God to provide as they share their resources with others?
#1 bestselling suspense author Terri Blackstock weaves a masterful what-if series in which global catastrophe reveals the darkness in human hearts—and lights the way to restoration for a self-centered world.
As the pulses that caused the power outage are finally coming to an end, thirteen-year-old Beth Branning witnesses two brutal murders. She narrowly escapes from the killer and runs away in terror. If she tells anyone what she saw, he’ll find her and kill her. But if she doesn’t, her silence could cost her life.
Meanwhile, as Deni’s ex-fiance returns to Crockett with a newfound faith and the influence to get things done, Deni is torn between the man who can fulfill all her dreams and Mark Green the man who inhabits them.
As the world slowly emerges from the crisis, the Brannings face their toughest crisis yet. Will God require more of them than they’re prepared to give? How will they keep their faith if he doesn’t answer their prayers?
Review:
There is a season for everything says Ecclesiastes 3:1, and Dawn’s Light covers many of those seasons. It is a story of beginnings, endings, and all the things in life that come in between.
Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? How do you forgive what seems unforgivable? How do you trust God when you can’t see Him? These are just a few questions answered in the story.
The last book in Blackstock’s Restoration series is the most powerful and thought provoking of them all. It is a book where the reality of life’s hardships and fiction meet. Prayer, faith, and compassion are all topics presented in the book. The story made me realize there is such a thing as a suspenseful tear jerker and Dawn’s Light is it.
Dawn’s Light can be read as a suspenseful book that will keep you up at night, or it can be used to take the reader to a deeper spiritual level. I found it very challenging as I compared myself to how main characters dealt with conflict, revenge, suffering, and how I do. I have read several of Blackstock’s books, and this one moved me more emotionally and spiritually than any other. After reading the story I wanted to know the God of the Branning family better and so will you.
Original post by Kelly Klepfer
Sigmund Brouwer’s Broken Angel ~ Reviewed
21 May 2008 Author: In: Book Reviews
Broken Angel
Sigmund Brouwer
Hardcover: 256 pages
Publisher: WaterBrook Press (May 20, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1400070325
Product Description
Her birth was shrouded in mystery and tragedy.
Her destiny is beyond comprehension.
Her pursuers long to see her broken.
She fights to soar.
In the rough, shadowy hills of Appalachia, a nation carved from the United States following years of government infighting, Caitlyn and her companions are the prey in a terrifying hunt. They must outwit the relentless bounty hunters, skirt an oppressive, ever-watchful society, and find passage over the walls of Appalachia to reveal the dark secrets behind Caitlyn’s existence–and understand her father’s betrayal.
In this engrossing, lightning-paced story with a post-apocalyptic edge, best-selling author Sigmund Brouwer weaves a heroic, harrowing journey through the path of a treacherous culture only one or two steps removed from our own.
My Review:
A fascinating look at a future time with chilling possibilities. The story of Broken Angel centers around a daughter with a secret, even to her, and a father who gave up everything to keep it just that.
The government, a form of Big Brother, knows all, unless one is clever enough or daring enough to test that theory. Jordan is, and Caitlyn is left to pick up all the pieces, the trails and the horror of what has just been revealed to her and what might lie ahead.
Action-packed, well-written, full of moments of creepiness, this book is a lightning-fast read and hopefully book one of a series because I would really like to find out what happens after “The End.” Broken Angel is my first Brouwer book but it won’t be my last.
Reviewed by: Kelly Klepfer
Original post by Kelly Klepfer
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