Twilight~ by Kristen Heitzmann

"God thunders marvelously with His voice; He does great things which we cannot comprehend."

~Job 37:5

I know I haven't posted what I have been reading for a while, but that doesn't mean I haven't been reading. Don't worry I will spare you the details about why I haven't posted but let's just say that in the passing weeks due to my truly heinous schedule madness has ensued upon my life. Onto the book....

Cal and Laurie were high school sweethearts but their differences kept them from staying together. Laurie wanted nothing more than to leave behind her small town life and all Cal wanted was to stay in the town and become a fireman. Now years later Laurie comes back with her two kids after a discovery shatters the life of wealth and affluence she was a part of after getting married.

Cal once the best firefighter in his town is left with a debilitating fear when a rescue goes wrong. When Laurie returns old feelings start to resurface, but something dangerous followed Laurie. Will Cal be able to conquer his fear and rescue Laurie before it is too late?

I really enjoyed this book. It was suspenseful and an interesting look into the life of a firefighter. It also was interesting to get a peak into what people are willing to do to ensure their comfort. Read it and you will see what I mean.

~Next post First Impressions~ by Debra White Smith

It Happens Every Spring~by Dr Gary Chapman and Catherine Palmer

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

GARY CHAPMAN is the author of the New York Times best seller The Five Love Languages and numerous othe rbooks. He's the director of Marriage & Family Life Consultants, Inc., and host of A Growing Marriage, a syndicated radio program heard on over 100 stations across North America. He and his wife, Karolyn, live in North Carolina.
CATHERINE PALMER is the Christy Award-winning, CBA best-selling author of more than forty novels--including The Bachelor's Bargain--which have more than 2 million copies in print. She lives in Missouri with her husband, Tim, and two sons.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

IT HAPPENS EVERY SPRING is the first of The Four Seasons fiction series, based on the ever-changing cycles of relationships detailed in Gary Chapman's nonfiction book The Four Seasons of Marriage. The novels will focus on four couples, each moving in and out of a different season.

Word travels fast at the Just As I Am beauty shop.
So when a simple homeless man appears on Steve and Brenda Hansen's doorstep, the entire shop is set abuzz, especially when Brenda lets him sleep on their porch.
That's not all the neighbors are talking about. Spring may be blooming outdoors, but an icy chill has settled over the Hansens' marriage. Steve is keeping late hours with clients, and the usually upbeat Brenda is feeling the absence of her husband and her college-age kids.Add to that the unsavory business moving in next to the beauty shop and the entire community gets turned upside down. Now Brenda's friends must unite to pull her out of her rut and keep the unwanted sotre out of town. But can Steve and Brenda learn to thaw their chilly marriage and enjoy the hope spring offers?

The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1414311656

The Reliance~ by Mary Lou Tyndall

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

M. L. (MARYLU) TYNDALL grew up on the beaches of South Florida loving the sea and the warm tropics. But despite the beauty around her, she always felt an ache in her soul--a longing for something more.
After college, she married and moved to California where she had two children and settled into a job at a local computer company. Although she had done everything the world expected, she was still miserable. She hated her job and her marriage was falling apart.
Still searching for purpose, adventure and true love, she spent her late twenties and early thirties doing all the things the world told her would make her happy, and after years, her children suffered, her second marriage suffered, and she was still miserable.
One day, she picked up her old Bible, dusted it off, and began to read. Somewhere in the middle, God opened her hardened heart to see that He was real, that He still loved her, and that He had a purpose for her life, if she's only give her heart to Him completely.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

A YOUNG BRIDE separated from her husband just as a child has been conceived...
A GRIEVING HUSBAND tempted to take his anger out through the vices of his past...
A MARRIAGE AND A SHIP threatenend to be split apart by villainous Caribbean pirates...
In THE RELIANCE, Edmund Merrick tormented by the apparent demise of his pregnant wife Charlisse, sails away to drown his sorrows. He turns his back on God and reverts to a life of villainy, joining forces with the demented French pirate Collier. When his mind clears from its rum-induced haze, will Edmund find the will to escape?
Seemingly abandoned by her new husband, Charlisse battles her own insecurities as she is thrown into the clutches of the vengeful pirate Kent, who holds her and Lady Isabel captive.
Will she be swept away by the undertow of treachery and despair? Can Edmund and Charlisse battle the tempests that threaten to tear them apart and steer their way to the faith-filled haven they so desperately seek? Or will they ultimately lose their love and lives to the whirlpool of treachery and deceit?

The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1597893609

Georgia on Her Mind~ by Rachel Hauk

"Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips. Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, To practice wicked works With men who work iniquity; And do not let me eat of their delicacies"

~Psalms 141:3-4

Macy Moore has it all, a great job, great friends, and the perfect boyfriend. In one day two of those things fall apart and Macy is left wondering what went wrong. As she struggles to pick up the pieces Macy figures out what is really important and that although she may have neglected her relationship with God He never left her side.

I loved this book. I loved the characters and all of the encounters Macy had were funny and entertaining. I also like that Hauk focused on Macy's relationship with God, so often that is only mentioned or glossed over in chick lit books, but it was an integral part of this one which made Macy even more likable and easy to relate to.

Next on my reading agenda~ First Impressions~ by Debra White Smith

The Watchers~ by Mark Andrew Olsen

"Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh."

~Matthew 25:13

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

MARK ANDREW OLSEN whose novel The Assignment was a Christy Award finalist, also collaborated on bestsellers Hadassah (now the major motion picture: One Night With the King), The Hadassah Covenant, and Rescued. The son of missionaries to France, Mark is a graduate of Baylor University. He and his wife, Connie, live in Colorado Springs with their three children.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Just below the surface among the family of God lives another family tree--one traced in spirit, invisible and ageless, known as the Watchers. For two thousand years they've seen beyond the veil separating this world from the next, passing on their gift through a lineage mostly overlooked. Throughout history they've scouted the borders of the supernatural frontier, but now their survival hangs by a thread. And their fate lies in the hands of a young woman, her would-be killer, and a mystery they must solve....

"Congratulations. You just reached my own little corner of cyberspace.
Who am I?
Abby Sherman, that's who.
Who are you? And why are you checking me out?
Drop me a few pixels, and let's find out!"

With that innocent invitation, Abby Sherman unwittingly steps in the crosshairs of history, and thus begins her harrowing tale--taking her from ocean-front Malibu to the streets of London, the jungles in West Africa, the Temple Mount, Jerusalem, and to the very gates of heaven itself!A sneak preview of eternity becomes her one-way ticket to danger--and discovery….Two lives collide in a globe-circling adventure involving both peril and discovery: Abby, a young woman whose visions of heaven turn her into a Web-celebrity; and Dylan, a troubled young man sent by an ancient foe to silence her. From California beachfronts to Nigerian rain forests to Jerusalem and back again, THE WATCHERS is high-octane blends of action, mystery, and spiritual battle spanning centuries.
A woman's awe-inspiring vision launches her on a quest through distant lands and ancient history, face-to-face with eternity and into the arms of a family line on the brink of annihilation...A man who is hired to exterminate her discovers the folly of blind loyalty, then learns how to wage war in a realm he never believed had existed...An extraordinary saga of the unseen war against evil, the reality of the supernatural, and the transforming power of forgiveness.

ENDORSEMENT:
"A writer who can take your breath away with a single sentence. A welcome, fresh voice that must be read!"--Ted Dekker

A Valley of Betrayal~ by Tricia Goyer

"And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, [be] unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever."

~ Revelations 5:13

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tricia is a members of the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance. She also has a blog, It's Real Life and a parenting blog Generation NeXt.TRICIA GOYER is the author of five novels, two nonfiction books and one children's book. She also was named Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference Writer of the Year in 2003. In 2005, her novel Night Song, the second title in Tricia’s World War II series, won ACFW's Book of the Year for Best Long Historical Romance. In 2006, her novel Dawn of A Thousand Nights also won book of the Year for Long Historical Romance. Tricia and her husband, John, live with their family in northwestern Montana.


ABOUT THE BOOK

We are pleased to be able to review her exciting Chronicles of the Spanish Civil War, A Valley Of BetrayalFor reasons beyond her control, Sophie finds herself alone in the war-torn Spanish countryside, searching for her beloved Michael. His work as a news photographer has taken him deep into the country wracked by civil war. What was once a thriving paradise has become a battleground for Nazi-backed Franco fascist soldiers and Spanish patriots. She is caught up in the escalating events when the route to safety is blocked and fighting surrounds her.Secrets abound in the ruined Spain. Michael is loving but elusive, especially about beautiful maria. The American who helped Sophie sneak into Spain turns up in odd places. Michael's friend Jose knows more than he tells. When reports of Michael's dissappearance reach her, Sophie is devastaed. What are her feelings for Philip, an American soldier who comes to her rescue?Sophie must sift truth from lies as she becomes more embroiled in the war that threatens her life and breaks her heart. On her darkest night, Sophie takes refuge with a brigade of international compatriots. Among these volunteers, she pledges to make the plight of the Spanish people known around the world through the power of art.Acclaimed author Tricia Goyer creates a riviting cast of characters against the backdrop of pre-WWII spain. Love, loss, pain, and beauty abound in A Valley Of Betrayal, the first book in her new series, Chronicles of the Spanish Civil War.

Tricia's blog is: http://triciagoyer.blogspot.com/The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0802467679

Earth to Betsy~by Beth Pattillo

"Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD."

~Psalms 27:14

Do you know how many times the bible tells you to wait on the Lord? ......Well it is in the bible a lot, and I have always been taught that when something is repeated in the bible that perhaps it is important :) Why then do people have such problems with waiting? Well, I don't know about you but I need reminders to wait on the Lord. I sometimes get so crazy trying juggle my hectic schedule that waiting seems to become an afterthought, but when you do it is amazing how thing fall in to place. So why am I talking about this? Well, I just finished reading Earth to Betsy and that was one lesson that I got from it. Earth to Betsy is the sequel to Heavens to Betsy. Now Betsy Blessing interim senior pastor at the Church of the Shepherd is faced with a lot of life changing decisions and in her effort to do what she thinks is right she leaves out one important thing waiting on the Lord.

This book was funny and entertaining and Betsy constantly had me laughing and cringing through the entire book. Some of the things she goes through are so crazy and yet so relatable you can't help but see yourself in the book.

~Next on my reading agenda~The Novelist~by Angela Hunt.....I think :)