TITLE:  Mrs. B Has Cancer
AUTHOR:  Glynis M. Belec
DATE:  2013
PUBLISHER: Angel Hope Publishing 
STARS:  ****

Tristan has a million questions when he finds out Mrs. B has ovarian cancer. When he learns about all the tests his tutor has to go through, Tristan starts thinking the worst. Then he gets an idea. Why not surprise Mrs. B with a Cancel Cancer Party? Tristan rounds up his friends to help and soon the big day arrives. But there is something fishy going on. And Mrs. B is not the only one who is surprised! 
 
Children always have questions. In a subtle way, some of the basic questions children ask about cancer are answered in this charming story. Mrs. B Has Cancer is a non-threatening way for children to gently learn about the realities of those dealing with cancer. It is also a book that can easily be read aloud as a discussion starter.

I’ve been curious about this book since I first heard about it, so when author Glynis Belec offered free e-copies, I jumped at the chance to finally read Mrs. B Has Cancer. This is a sweet story about a harsh reality, and Ms. Belec does a magnificent job of pulling back the curtain on a subject difficult to discuss, especially for children.

Using the point of view of Tristan, one of Mrs. B’s tutoring students, was an inspired choice. Tristan is a typical boy with lots of energy, some issues with learning, and a big heart. His response to the news of his beloved tutor’s illness is a wonderful coping mechanism for children and adults alike.
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I recommend this book for anyone dealing with questions about cancer or other serious illnesses and award it four stars. 

TITLE:  Thin Ice (Men of Valor #2)
AUTHOR:  Irene Hannon
DATE:  2016
PUBLISHER: Revell
STARS:  *****

After losing her parents in a car accident and her sister to a house fire, Christy Reed has been mired in grief. Life is finally starting to feel normal again when an envelope arrives in the mail--addressed in her sister's handwriting. And the note inside claims she is still alive.

FBI Special Agent Lance McGregor, a former Delta Force operator, is assigned to reopen the case, but he's coming up with more questions than answers. If Ginny Reed is still alive--who is the woman buried in her grave? Where is Ginny? And is Christy a pawn in a twisted cat-and-mouse game--or the target of a sinister plot? As he digs deeper, one thing becomes clear: whoever is behind the bizarre ruse has a deadly agenda.

Bestselling author and two-time Christy Award finalist Irene Hannon warms readers' hearts as they root for a romance between Lance and Christy, but she pulls out all the stops as this high-stakes thriller chills to the bone in a race to the finish.

Want to read a heart-pounding, palm-moistening thriller wrapped in a tender romance? Irene Hannon’s Thin Ice fills the bill perfectly. This is book two of Ms. Hannon’s Men of Valor series, but it easily stands alone. And keeps the reader flipping pages as quickly as possible.

Christy Reed’s grief tugged at my heart from the beginning of this story, and as she is wrapped tighter and tighter by the net of a psychotic killer, her strength and faith is tested to the limits. Lance McGregor has more than one reason to solve this case without any more losses. His faith has been shaken to his core by his previous work as a Delta Force operator, and a situation he deeply regrets.

As these two characters dealt with the danger thrust upon them by the unknown killer, I, too, felt challenged to make sure my faith was placed in Almighty God and not any substitutes.
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The publisher offered me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion, which I have given. Thin Ice earns five stars. Highly recommended, but don’t start this one late at night!

TITLE:  Love So Divine (Wondrous Love #2)
AUTHOR:  JoAnn Durgin
DATE:  January 2016
STARS:  *****

The ballerina and the inner-city youth pastor. 
She’s known privilege. 
He’s known hardship. 
Her dad builds casinos. 
His dad battles a gambling addiction. 
How can it possibly work? 
A little divine intervention. 

After a rough childhood in Chicago, youth pastor Chase Landers loves his work with inner-city kids in Indianapolis. His prayers to find a woman who can handle the demands and stress of a man called to full-time ministry have gone unanswered. Resigned to bachelorhood, he pours his heart and soul into his work. 

Heather Montague grew up with privilege but despises the way her father made his millions. Gutsy and smart, she’s found success as a principal dancer with the Indianapolis City Ballet. After a string of failed romances, she’s given up on finding a man unless God plants one right in front of her and makes it clear that he’s the one. 

When this Best Man and Maid of Honor get to know one another during the wedding festivities for their friends, Sawyer Mancini and Ava Carlisle, neither one can imagine a future together in spite of a strong mutual attraction. Raised in opposite worlds, Chase and Heather are determined to resist one another. But it seems the Almighty—not to mention their friends—might have other plans. 

Will pursuing a relationship lead to eventual heartache…or the kind of love to last a lifetime? 

JoAnn Durgin is one of my favorite authors, so when I saw that she had a new book out, I simply had to purchase it. I’m so glad I did! Love So Divine challenged my faith and touched my heart as it brought smiles and a few tears.
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Chase Landers is a hero is the best sense of the word, a man who takes his faith seriously and isn’t afraid to face danger for the sake of “his” teens. Heather Montague is courageous, too, and I loved her lack of pretension in spite—or perhaps because—of her upbringing.

Ms. Durgin has crafted a wonderful love story, one of many, but this one may be my favorite. Highly recommended, Love So Divine earns five stars.
 

TITLE:  Beyond the Silence
AUTHOR:  Tracie Peterson, Kimberley Woodhouse
DATE:  2016
PUBLISHER:  Bethany House
STARS:  *****

Lillian Porter has always wanted to fulfill her mother’s dream of going west, so when she hears about a nanny position in Angels Camp, California, she defies her grandfather and takes a chance on a new future. But she quickly wonders if she made the right choice. Murky rumors swirl around Woodward Colton, her new employer, but the gossip doesn’t match the man Lillian comes to know.

Still, something dark did happen in the family’s past. Lillian’s seven-year-old charge, Jimmy, hasn’t spoken in over a year. Gently, Lillian tries to coax him out of his shell, hoping he’ll one day feel safe enough to share what scared him. But the Colton olive farm is no longer a safe place. When the housekeeper is brutally attacked, the town once again suspects the worst. Will discovering the truth help Lillian clear the name of the man she has come to love—or will it endanger her even more?

This story grabbed me from the first line and didn’t let go until the very end. I fell in love with little Jimmy right away and hoped Miss Lillian could find a way to break through his silence to begin his healing. Jimmy’s dad, Woody, needed some healing of his own after being accused of murdering his wife. Lillian was a strong, sympathetic character, and I found myself cheering for her, especially when her temper burst out against the townspeople. I loved the way she dealt with Jimmy’s friend, Harry, creating a circle of respect and safety for both damaged boys. And I adored Mrs. Goodman. What a treasure.

Beyond the Silence is a beautiful tale of loss, danger, faith, and love. It ranks in the top five books I’ve read in the last year, and I give it five stars. Highly recommended.

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
 

TITLE:  Love in the WINGS
AUTHOR:  Delia Latham
DATE:  2014
PUBLISHER:  White Rose Publishing
STARS:  *****
​
Church secretary and praise team leader, Aria Robbins isn't happy when she has to work with the new youth minister. She also has to grin and bear it when he moves into the cottage next to hers at Heart's Haven...but she doesn't have to like him. Truth is, she'd be much happier if Corbin Bishop would take his charm and his big, fancy ideas right back to Austin where he belongs.

When a spiritual attack on Angel Falls lands Aria and Corbin on the battlefront as part of a team of prayer Warriors in God's Service (WINGS), they must fight for their town, their church, and their pastor, and Aria sees Corbin in a whole new light.

But emotional scars from an unspeakable childhood have distorted Corbin's acceptance of certain Scriptural truths, and Aria won't trust her heart in the hands of a man whose faith is unsure. Aria wraps her prayer wings around him tightly. Will Corbin finally trust God to heal his soul?
The beginning of this story struck me as eerily reminiscent of Frank Peretti’s bestseller, This Present Darkness, and I wondered just how similar it would turn out to be. I needn’t have worried, Love in the WINGS is an original and wonderful book. Like Peretti’s novel, it deals with spiritual warfare and the reality of angels both good and evil, but this is a romance as well as an adventure in the spiritual realm.
Author Delia Latham’s skill is creating characters that make us care is evident, as my heart ached and rejoiced with Aria, Corbin, Pastor David and his wife, Pia, as well as some minor but very important characters.
I have not yet read the other books in Ms. Latham’s Hearts Haven series, but now that I’ve read Love in the WINGS, I certainly want to read them all. This book earns five stars. Highly recommended.

Happy New Year, dear readers! We're starting 2016 off with a bang--or maybe a shiver. Our guest today is Shirley Raye Redmond and her suspense novel, Viper's Nest.

Shirley Raye is offering a free e-copy of this book to one person who comments, so be sure to comment with your email address for a chance at this great prize.

Excited? Me, too! I can't wait, so let's get started.

Shirley Raye Redmond is the author of several sweet romance novels and dozens of children’s books. Many of her titles have won national and regional awards. She is a member of numerous writing organizations including American Christian Fiction Writer, Romance Writers of America, Women Writing the West, and SCBWI. She lives in New Mexico, has been married 41 years to her college sweetheart. They have two adult children, two adorable grandsons and one sassy Scottish terrier.

1.      What was your inspiration for this story?
I actually had a private tour of the Jacksonville Insane Asylum many years ago. Mary Todd Lincoln was a patient there briefly following the death of President Lincoln. Built in the mid 1840s, the asylum was the product of humanitarian Dorothea Dix’s impassioned plea to the Illinois Legislature. Miss Dix was a stalwart advocate for mentally ill individuals mistreated by society. Some were locked away in cellars and attics. Others were put on display in county jails. No medical aid or social services were available at the time for those declared insane. Everyone was lumped into the same category—whether one was a cruel psychopathic killer or a melancholy young mother suffering from postpartum depression.  Dorothea Dix changed that.
 
2.      What is its take-away message?
 
There are two: (1) Trust God. He has goodness in store for you, and (2) Dorothea Dix is a fine example of how one Godly woman, dedicated to a cause, can change the world.

3.      Tell us a bit about your writing routine. Do you have set hours? Do you get dressed first? Do you travel for research? Where and when do you do your best work?
Yes, I always get up, get dressed, have my quiet time with my Bible and coffee. I still write out my first draft on a yellow pad—the old-fashioned way. Then I revise as I type the scribbled down pages on my computer.
I do often travel to do research—even for my children’s books. In fact, almost all of my titles are the result of some family vacation or a trip with my younger sister. The Dog That Dug For Dinosaurs (Simon & Schuster) was the result of a three-week trip to England. Lewis & Clark, A Prairie Dog for the President (Random House) was inspired by a family vacation to Yellowstone National Park.
 
4.      What’s your next writing project? I am working on a romantic suspense novel with gothic overtones set on the Liberian mission field in 1932. My working title is CURSE OF THE LEOPARD.

​Wonderful answers. Thank you!
 
Just for fun:
1.      Coffee or Tea?                        Both, depending on my mood!
2.      Snacks: Sweet or Salty?            I have a weakness for potato chips.
3.       Dream vacation                        To go to Iceland…and I did!
4.      #1 on your Bucket List            New Zealand

Thank you, Shirley Raye. I appreciate getting to know great authors, and your answers intrigue me. I'd love to be able to sit down and enjoy and cup of coffee or tea with you. (I love both, too, depending on my mood!)

Now, dear readers, hold tight as we peek in Ms. Redmond's ​Viper's Nest.

Caring for her 9-year-old daughter Pippi is widow Wren Bergschneider’s main priority. But she becomes frightened and mystified when she receives an anonymous note hinting that her husband’s traffic death the year before might not have been an accident after all. When an unidentified shooter makes Wren and her boss, history professor Allan Partner, his targets after they emerge from the basement of a 175-year-old insane asylum slated for demolition, their lives take an unexpected—and dangerous—turn. 


Now, I have to admit I haven't read this book--yet. But from what I've learned about it, it has gone to the top of my to-be-read pile. It sounds absolutely fantastic.

Here's one more blurb:
Research assistant Wren Bergschneider and her boss, Professor Allan Partner, find themselves targets of a deranged shooter after they emerge from the basement of an old asylum slated for demolition. As their lives take an unexpected and dangerous turn, both the police and the institution’s comptroller want Allan and Wren to cease their research of the historical building. 

But the handsome history professor has more at stake than publishing another bestselling biography about Dorothea Dix. He is also quietly investigating the death of his mother, who died under suspicious circumstances while a patient at the mental asylum many years before. 

Can they uncover the scandal of the institution before the secrets—or Wren and Allan—are buried forever? 

Purchase links for Viper's Nest:
http://pelicanbookgroup.com/ec/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=37_47&products_id=687
 
http://www.amazon.com/Vipers-Nest-Shirley-Raye-Redmond-ebook/dp/B0157IFJFK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1442249339&sr=8-1&keywords=Viper%27s+nest+by+redmond
 
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/vipers-nest-shirley-raye-redmond/1122639944?ean=2940150833999

TITLE:  Silent Stars of Bethlehem

AUTHOR:  Laura Hodges Poole

DATE:  2015

STARS:  *****

From the time she was a child, Carly Shepherd has gazed at the silent stars in the night sky of her home town of Bethlehem, North Carolina. With her childhood overshadowed by her father’s abandonment and mother’s alcoholism, she wonders how anyone can believe in an equally silent God. After all, she’s not felt his presence any more than her own biological father. Though she remembers Christmas pageants and attending church as a child, she no longer has any use for what she considers fairy tales. 

Drew Middleton is seeking shelter from a rain storm when he walks into Carly’s vendor tent at a fall festival, but he’s quickly taken with the talented artist and her creations. Feeling an instant connection, Carly is confused by her feelings, especially when she realizes his spiritual commitment. 

Dealing with a wayward brother and career opportunities that may require relocation, Drew knows now is not the best time to begin a relationship, especially with someone who doesn’t share his faith. 

Carly’s past and their chance of future together collide when she’s snared into refurbishing sets for a Christmas pageant with Drew’s help. 

Will Drew’s love and their shared experience bring about a spiritual awakening in Carly this Christmas? Or will time run out as the stars continue to shine silently over Bethlehem?

Silent Stars of Bethlehem is a delightful story, a quick read that doesn’t feel rushed. I loved the characters, especially Miss Lottie, and Carly’s quirky friend Jenna adds some humorous moments. The faith message is clear, and the changes in both Carly and Drew are complelling and believable. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
​
This sweet Christmas tale earns five stars and is highly recommended. I was given an e-copy of this book as a gift—one most appreciated.