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Nick Vujicic is a speaker. He speaks to thousands of listeners, reaching their souls, and touching hearts enchained by pain and rejection. He's a writer. His books inspire and embolden believers and...
In a region named Hagenheim lives a fair young maiden by the name of Gisela. She exudes an inner strength, a trait needed for her precarious situation. She resides in her home with her stepmother and...
The Waters Turn Red | Posted April-15-2010
In Red, we now find Thomas Hunter a commander of the Forest Guard. Known as Thomas the Hunter, he’s lived fifteen years in the world of his dreams. He’s a man with two lives – one in a surreal world and one on earth. As a commander, Thomas leads his troops in a war against the Horde – a terrifying tribe that lives in the desert. Thomas fights them off to protect the forest where he and his family reside.
In one of these battles, the Horde invades the Forest people with a massive army. They intend to destroy the forest and all who live in it. This time, Thomas is outnumbered and outmaneuvered. He has to find a way to stop the Horde before they reach the forest. Thomas is struck with an idea; maybe he’ll be able to find information from the other world and use it here.
Thomas dreams and wakes up on earth. He has to find something that will save him and the Forest people. He discovers that explosives can be made and used against the Horde in the other world. Thomas gets the info that he needs to make black powder and falls asleep again. When he wakes up in the other reality, he grabs his best warriors and gets straight to work. They search frantically for the ingredients and eventually find all of them.
Thomas gathers the ingredients and pounds them together. While this is happening, the Horde camps out near the border, preparing to strike the next day. Thomas knows this, and he intends to set off his explosives before they do. He readies the explosives near huge cliffs that are situated close to the Horde camp. Thomas is ready. He and his men set fire to the first row of explosives.
My Thoughts on Red:
With Red, the story continues on from Black. Compared with the first book, I think Red is better. The pages are filled with action, and the story is well conceived. In Black, the storyline had more explaining/describing in it. Because of this, I flew through Red faster than Black. There were a few parts in Red that completely surprised me (An “I was not expecting that!” moment). If I could say just one thing about this book, it would be that it flows nicely. Why? The reading is easy. If you like Black, then you’ll really like Red.
Ted Dekker is superb, and I’m impressed with his writing. His characters in both Black and Red are well developed and realistic. Reading Black and Red has left an impression on me, and I know that I will be reading more of his books.
If you like fantasy mixed with allegory, then you’ll enjoy the Circle series. Fans of Frank Peretti will also like these books. Be sure to read Black, Red, White, and Green in the Circle series!
The Beginning of Darkness | Posted April-02-2010
Thomas Hunter is reckless and he often finds himself in the stickiest of situations. He starts out running from a couple of gangsters in an alleyway of Denver. Bullets fly by his head and his world goes completely dark. He wakes up in a strange new world inhabited with black bats and a man named Bill. The black bats look menacing as they watch him from their perches high atop the trees. Suddenly, the bats attack Thomas and darkness overtakes him.
Thomas Hunter wakes up from his dream and discovers that he’s in a garbage bin. He finds his way back home, closes the blinds, and turns off the lights. He’s waiting for the gangsters to arrive. In this tense moment, his sister, Kara, walks in. She’s stunned when she sees him holding a machete. Thomas tells her everything that’s happened – how real his dream was, the gangsters, and his head wound.
Kara stares at her brother and thinks he’s gone totally mad. She cleans the head wound for Thomas while he spills out all the details. He had borrowed money from the gangsters to bail his mom out of jail and buy a few other things. Kara is a nurse and so she gives Thomas some pain medicine. He drifts off to sleep and wakes up in an unreal world but somehow he feels like he’s been here before.
Thomas starts to doubt that he’s really dreaming about the black bats. Maybe he’s really dreaming about Kara. Perhaps Kara isn’t real and this is all just a dream. He wakes up and tells Kara that all of this isn’t real. She’s not convinced, and he makes the decision that he can prove it to her. He’ll do it. Thomas Hunter opens the door of his apartment, walks out to the railing and prepares to jump.
My Thoughts on Black:
In the first few chapters, this book literally grabs you, shakes you around, and never lets go. But in the later chapters, it wasn’t as exciting and I did lose some interest. When it came to the plot, I wasn’t surprised like I thought I was going to be. I had read that people mentioned that there were lots of twists and turns but it didn’t seem like that to me. That’s not to say that it didn’t have any but not what I would classify as “lots”.
You have to read this book carefully because it has many allegorical references. Some were easy to distinguish, some were harder, and I probably missed a few as well.
This is my first book that I’ve read of Ted Dekker, and he’s an incredibly gifted author. His writing seems so effortless that it’s never confusing. He can describe almost anything in his book, and I can easily envision it all. That’s a hard thing for an author to do, nonetheless do it so perfectly and in a strange fantasy world.
I highly recommend this book to readers who love fantasy/allegorical themes, supernatural thrillers, and Frank Peretti.
Anne Elliot: Being Persuaded | Posted March-20-2010
Miss Anne Elliot is a modest, genteel woman who lives in the country with her father and older sister. Anne’s father, Sir Walter Elliot, is an incredibly vain man who judges everyone on their looks. Sir Walter Elliot makes plans to move to the city of Bath - a place where Anne regrettably does not wish to move to. This is fine with her father and sister, because they want to get rid of Anne. They come to the conclusion that she can stay with her sister, Mary, in Uppercross.
Anne winds up staying with her sister Mary, her husband Charles, and their two boys. There Anne meets up with someone that she did not expect to meet - Captain Wentworth. Anne is unsettled to see Captain Wentworth, and she does everything possible to avoid him. At one time, Captain Wentworth and Anne were in love with each other and they had intended to get married. But Anne had been persuaded by her friend, Lady Russell, to reject his offer of marriage. Because of this, Anne evades him at all cost.
Captain Wentworth does not seem to show any interest in Anne but he does intend to find a wife. He has come back successful and rich. He shows attraction to Louisa (Charles’ sister) but because of an unfortunate accident, that all changes. He wasn’t really in love with Louisa because he’s still in love with someone else. His feelings haven’t changed.
After the accident, Anne leaves Uppercross and joins her family in Bath. When Anne arrives in Bath, she finds that Louisa is to marry Captain Benewick (a friend of Captain Wentworth). She’s relieved. Perhaps there’s a chance that Captain Wentworth still loves her. Through many unexpected meetings, she keeps bumping into Captain Wentworth. Anne can’t escape him and in turn, Captain Wentworth can’t escape her. In one of these meetings, Captain Wentworth leaves Anne a letter. In this letter, he pours out his entire heart to Anne. He says that she has pierced his soul and that he is half agony/half hope. He must know if she cares for him.
My Thoughts on Persuasion:
I like this book by Jane Austen. It’s simple and sweet. Jane Austen is exceptional at making the characters in her book come alive. She has a great talent when it comes to describing the behavior of people. This is an older book and of course the writing is harder to understand. Because of this, some readers might find this book to be somewhat slow and boring. If you enjoy reading the classics and are fascinated with the Regency Era then this book is for you. I highly recommend that you also read Jane Austen’s other books: Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility, and Emma. All in all, I give Persuasion three and a half stars.
Crystal McCord moved to New York for one thing - to become an actress. It had always been her dream to hit it big on Broadway. Or was it? Crystal’s twin sister had the same ambitions when they were both little girls. But ever since her sister’s death, nothing has been the same. Crystal finds herself all alone in the bustling city of New York. Is she living her dream or her sister’s?
Crystal gets word that her family is having an emergency meeting on their ranch in Arkansas. They want her there. Should she go? Crystal feels torn about the whole thing. She doesn’t want to go back home and face everyone… and everything. She left home because of the heartache and pain of losing her beloved sister. But soon after hearing about the meeting, she breaks up with her boyfriend. Everything seems to be going terribly wrong for Crystal. She finally relents and she heads back home. She’ll only stay for a little while… She’ll leave as soon as the meeting is over.
Then Crystal discovers the reason for the meeting - her parents are going on a trip. They need someone to watch over the cows and take care of things while they’re gone. Everyone else in Crystal’s family is too busy to help out at the ranch, so Crystal reluctantly volunteers. It’s strange for her to leave the city girl behind and come back to being a cowgirl: a reluctant cowgirl.
This is Christine Lynxwiler’s first book in the McCord Sister Romance Series. The other two are: Cowgirl At Heart and Cowgirls Don’t Cry.
This is a good book by Christine Lynxwiler. Unfortunately, I do have a few problems with this book, though. The romance between Crystal and Jeremy didn’t have much spark. They fell in love rather quickly, and they don’t get married in this first book. The story also confused me in some parts. For instance - the main character has a couple of brothers and sisters. These characters were introduced suddenly at the beginning. It took me a while to figure out who was Crystal’s relative and who wasn’t.
Besides it being a little confusing, it’s fine. It’s not the most exciting book that I’ve read, but put that aside and it makes for a nice story. The author has the ability to come up with an unusual but unique story. I recommend this book to women who love men with a cowboy hat and a horse. It’s cowboy fiction through and through.
Becoming Mrs. Doc | Posted February-12-2010
Cassie Winston lives comfortably in the city of Montreal, Canada. She’s seventeen and she lives with her parents – her father being a prominent doctor. Cassie’s father regularly brings men (protégés) into their home, but this time it’s different for Cassie. Three respectable men visit her home, and Cassie closely watches each one. There’s Mr. Birdwell (Cassie is interested in him, but her friend likes this particular gentleman), Mr. Corouthers (A man who is ten years older than Cassie), and Mr. Smith (A gentle and well-mannered young man). Out of the three, Cassie is determined to catch the eye of Mr. Corouthers. But she soon finds herself liking Mr. Smith (Samuel) instead.
Cassie learns homemaking skills from her mom, maturing in the process. She’s no longer Cassie but Cassandra. After Cassandra turns eighteen, Samuel comes to call on her and asks her permission to begin courting. She agrees and finds herself falling in love with him. The young man graduates from college and decides that he wants to head back west to his birthplace. Cassandra marries Samuel and grudgingly goes west with him.
Living in the west proves to be difficult for Cassandra, but she perseveres through it all. Cassandra and her hard-working husband make a place for themselves in the small town of Jared. After a couple of years, Cassandra and Samuel begin a family and have five wonderful children together. Cassandra learns to love the small, dusty town of Jared. From it she gains much - most importantly, the love of God (she had never truly known Him before). Through an accident that injures her husband, Cassandra has to become a doctor of sorts. She helps to meet the medical needs of the citizens of Jared while her husband heals from his accident. From then on, everyone calls her Mrs. Doc.
My Thoughts on They Called Her Mrs. Doc
This is a very innocent, sweet, and simple story. It’s straightforward and predictable, but it’s nice nonetheless. It was an extremely easy book to read, and I finished it in no time. Janette Oke’s writing is often like this in her other books - not complicated or overly detailed. I’m sure that teenagers who are interested in historical fiction will enjoy a few of Janette Oke’s books. I don’t know if I would recommend this one so much, though. It was somewhat depressing and a tad boring. Toward the end of the book, it seemed like the author was trying to cram way too much into this story. I’m thinking that this should have been a series of its own. After reviewing this book, I give it three stars.
They Called Her Mrs. Doc is part of a series called Women of the West (This book is #5) and it doesn’t matter in what order you read them. I recommend that you check out these other books that are in this same series: A Bride for Donnigan, The Bluebird and the Sparrow, and Heart of the Wilderness.
Hope Westcott: The Blue Enchantress | Posted February-06-2010
Hope Westcott is flirtatious, beautiful, and a little bit clumsy. She always finds herself in the worst of situations and at times it’s her own fault. Hope’s life has been hard since her mother died years ago and her father doesn’t seem to show any interest in her. With both of her sisters gone most of the time, Hope finds attention and love in an entirely different way. Men are greatly attracted to Hope and she literally throws herself at them. Even though Hope loves all the attention from other men, there’s only one man for her and that’s the pompous Lord Falkland.
When Lord Falkland sets sail to leave, Hope stows away aboard his ship. She’s determined to go with him and she hopes that they will get married. Alas, Hope is in for a big surprise – Lord Falkland is married and his wife is on board the ship. After Lord Falkland finds Hope on his ship, he decides to get rid of her. He stops at St. Kitts and sells her to be auctioned off there.
Captain Nathaniel Mason is a great builder, and he can construct the best boats. He comes from Charles Towne to St. Kitts to do business, but something stops him in his tracks. He notices a familiar woman that is being sold at an auction. He then recognizes her as Hope Westcott from Charles Towne. Nathaniel goes out of his way to bid money on Hope, but it’s not easy for him because someone is already bidding on her. After bidding all the money that he has in his pockets, he has one more thing to offer – his boat the Blue Triumph…
My Thoughts on The Blue Enchantress:
This is a good book by M. L. Tyndall and I like it better than the first. Here’s why -comparing this second book with the first (The Red Siren), I would say that this one had more action. I also enjoyed the scenery of this one much more than The Red Siren. This book has islands, dangerous storms, etc. Much more adventurous and exciting! The only drawback that I have about this book is that it seemed to drag on a little at the end. Other than that, I give this book four stars.
The character of Hope Westcott is a complex one; sometimes she’s annoying and at other times she’s endearing. She learns from her mistakes and changes her ways. She finds that only God can give her real love and fill her broken heart. At the end, she lets God make her completely pure.
I would highly recommend this book to women who enjoyed the first book in this series (Charles Towne Belles). Be sure to check out M. L. Tyndall’s website: mltyndall.com and read an interview that I did with her: gracethorson.blogspot.com.
Faith Westcott: The Red Siren | Posted January-20-2010
Faith Westcott is a feisty and fiery young woman who depends on no one. But Faith does not live alone; she lives at home with her strict father (who is a rear admiral in the navy) and her two sisters: Hope and Grace. Faith is usually restless and often doesn’t spend much time at home with her family. When Faith does leave her home, she leaves because of adventure and, most importantly, gold. Yes, gold.
Faith sails the high seas as a captain of her own ship, The Red Siren. As Faith plunders more and more merchant ships, she hides the gold away in a secret hiding place. Being a pirate is exciting for her, but she’s doing it for a more important reason. The gold isn’t all for her; it’s also for her sisters. She’s desperate to save them with the gold that she’s stolen. She figures that if she steals enough gold, then she and her sisters won’t have to marry disagreeable men. Faith had already one sister, Charity, who was married to a horrible man who abused her. After that, Faith decided to do what she did - but this secret is hidden from her father and sisters. Only Faith and her crew members aboard the ship know of her nighttime excursions.
Faith’s pirate life is short - lived, though, when she meets Captain Dajon Waite. Dajon is a commander in His Majesty’s Navy, and he’s been given orders by Faith’s father to be a guardian to the girls. Faith is annoyed with the captain at first but soon finds herself liking him more and more. But she’s troubled… Captain Dajon Waite has been ordered to hunt down every pirate he meets - including the Red Siren.
My Thoughts on The Red Siren:
I really like this book by M. L. Tyndall. It’s vastly intriguing. How many Christian pirate romance books are there? I’ve hardly or never seen any others. It’s unique, and if you love pirates and the movie “Pirates of the Caribbean” then you must read this book. The Red Siren is the first book in the series Charles Towne Belles. The other books in this series are The Blue Enchantress and The Raven Saint (Each book is about each one of the Westcott sisters).
In the story, I love how Faith realizes that she can’t rely solely on herself all the time. She learns how to love and trust God through the toughest times. The character of Faith Westcott reminded me of an old actress: Maureen O’Hara. I’m not sure if the younger audience recognizes who I’m talking about, but she’s exactly like her. There’s a classic movie called Against All Flags with Maureen O’Hara playing a red-haired, sassy pirate. I give this book four stars, and I recommend it to women who love pirates and adventure on the sea. Check out M. L. Tyndall’s website: http://www.mltyndall.com/ Also, check out an interview that I did with her: gracethorson.blogspot.com
Japan, Fish, and Pineapple Chutney | Posted January-10-2010
Nicole Michelin is a quirky, red-haired woman who lives a quiet life in her cozy little apartment. Two of her most prized possessions are: an aquarium with fish, and a Japanese doll named Sazae. Nicole often sleeps with her doll and wonders about it and the country it came from. She tries to avoid anything that has to do with Japan, but deep down she’s curious, too. Why doesn’t her father tell her more about life in Japan? What happened to her mom?
Nicole lost her mom at a very early age and she doesn’t know how. Since she doesn’t have a mother, she frequently visits her grandmother Ducee, who is just like a mother to her. Nicole’s father rarely ever sees her or talks to her, and she isn’t exactly sure why…
Nicole loves her life in Mount Olive, North Carolina with her eccentric relatives, Japanese doll, and pineapple chutney. But perhaps there’s more? When she’s not visiting her relatives or working as a teacher, she often writes for a website called Pretty Fishy. In one of her columns that she writes, she receives a comment from a stranger named Harrison Michaels. From that one comment, their e-mails grow and grow between each other and soon Nicole falls for him. But there’s just one problem… he lives in Japan and, he knows who she is…
My thoughts on Rain Song:
This is a fantastic book! I ate up every word of it and the author uses such good humor in her writing. Rain Song is written from a first-person perspective, which I haven’t read much of in other books. I really enjoyed reading from Nicole’s perspective, and after a while I developed a connection with her. There are only a few books, that draw me into a story and its main character. I loved Nicole’s character so much so that at the end of the book, I was sad to say goodbye. I wish that this was a series, but it’s not to be.
I have to say that the cover of this book is beautiful! I also want to make note that at the end of this book there’s a recipe for pineapple chutney. All in all, this is a five-star book and I recommend it to everyone. Check out Alice J. Wisler’s website at: http://www.alicewisler.com/
Finding Forgiveness | Posted December-28-2009
Brad Cutler is a driven and professional young man with a busy lifestyle. He works in a New York City office for a company called Kotton Kids Clothing (expensive organic cotton clothing for babies and children).
Brad’s boss and future father in-law asks him to come up with a proper slogan for Kotton Kids Clothing. Brad becomes discouraged and finds difficulty in finding the right words to use. For a brief moment during work, Brad stands still and focuses on the baby photos that are in his office. He can’t help but think about Holden Beach…
From here on, Brad Cutler can’t stay focused on the slogan he was working on or the wedding that will soon come. Brad must take care of a certain thing before he gets married to the love of his life, Laura. He tells his fiance, Laura, that he must go back to Holden Beach to see his old girlfriend. He has to straighten things out with Emma Landon.
Laura is distraught that Brad is leaving so soon and she can’t help but think that Brad might fall in love with Emma. Brad can’t stay even though Laura is insecure about his going. He has to see Emma Landon again. He has to talk to Emma and tell her something that he should have a long time ago… He has to say sorry…
My thoughts on Shades of Blue:
I don’t want to reveal why Brad Cutler needs to say sorry to Emma…though you might already know why. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and it was the first time I had read a Karen Kingsbury book. I’m a complete fan now after reading Shades of Blue and I’ll be reading more of her books.
This story is about forgiving people and receiving forgiveness from people and God. Although there is also another important subject to this story, I’m not going to mention it. I want to keep that a surprise for you…
Three Determined Women in the Regency Era | Posted October-26-2009
The Vicar’s Daughter:
Lord Nicholas Kenswick is a rich and troubled young man who owns an estate in the countryside. He seeks solitude and doesn’t want to be bothered by anyone. One day, Nicholas takes a walk out onto his estate when he spots someone in a tree - a beautiful, red-haired girl. He asks her what she’s doing in the tree. She tells him that she’s trying to rescue the poor cat, but Nicholas informs her that the cat is actually owned by him. After such an embarrassing situation, Nicholas recognizes the woman as Christina, the vicar’s daughter. Christina starts to tell him that she’s a Christian, but before she can finish, Nicholas cuts her off. Nicholas’ bitterness shows through when he tells her that he has lost any faith he might have had…. Will Christina, the vicar’s daughter, be able to help the count?
The Engagement:
Katherine was once engaged to Lord Nicholas Kenswick, but he broke it off. Katherine is a daughter of a prominent family and because of the count, her name has been ruined. Rumors have spread about Katherine because of the broken engagement. Wherever she goes, gossip and rumors follow her and her family. Katherine’s odd cousin, Theodora, has devised a plan to ruin the count and have revenge. Katherine - with the help of Theodora - sets out to catch the eye of the count’s brother, Thomas. Thomas is unmarried, young, rich, and (of course) handsome. Katherine’s cousin is determined to do whatever it takes to ruin Thomas and his brother, Nicholas. But Katherine is very unsure about the whole thing…
Remember Me:
Helen Nichols is a great friend of Christina, who is still living in England. But Helen finds herself in an entirely different place – America. There is also a man by the name of Trevor (North) Kent whom Helen has a huge crush on. She had left for America for many reasons, but mostly because Trevor was going to the States. Helen is obsessed with the duke and hopes that he’ll come and just happen to see her. Helen does, indeed, get to see the duke, but he acts strange and claims to be someone else. At first, she has no idea why he is pretending to be a preacher. Helen finds out that an accident had occurred aboard the ship that Trevor took from England to America. Unfortunately, Trevor Kent is suffering from amnesia and only Helen knows…
My Thoughts on Regency Brides:
This is a decent collection of stories on people overcoming social barriers and falling in love. I enjoyed this book because I’m really attracted to the Regency Era. I’m also a Jane Austen fan, so I really liked reading all three of these stories. It’s a nice and simple book with uncomplicated stories. I have to say, though… that I didn’t like how some of the characters were deceptive and lied. This book gets 3 ½ stars, but everything else about it turns out alright. From the three stories that I read, I think that the Vicar’s Daughter stood out the most for me. The weakest story out of the three was probably Remember Me, because it was just a little silly.
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