Thursday, October 31, 2013

Fifteen Minutes

I received a copy of Fifteen Minutes by Karen Kingsbury from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Zack Dylan made a promise to God and his college sweetheart as he left his family’s horse farm in Kentucky to compete on the popular reality television show Fifteen Minutes: If he makes it, the fame won’t change him.

Overnight, Zack is the nation’s most popular contestant, a country singer with the looks and voice of a young Elvis. As his star rises, Zack is asked to compromise and quiet his beliefs, and also some­thing more. Something Zack could never have imagined. Just as America is falling in love with Zack, just as he’s on the verge of winning it all, his choices lead him to the brink of personal disaster.

At the same time, Reese Weatherly, a thera­peutic horse instructor, is no longer sure about her relationship with Zack, or the wedding they had dreamed about. While Zack advances from one round of the competition to the next, an offer comes to Reese—one that will take her to a home halfway around the world.

Then Chandra Olson—reigning diva pop star and one of the Fifteen Minutes judges—intervenes. Chandra has suffered so much public pain and pri­vate agony since her days as a Fifteen Minutes contestant. Now she wants just one thing: meaning.

Can Chandra’s private losses help Zack find his way, or will his fifteen minutes of fame cause him to lose the life he once loved? Fifteen Minutes is a story of character, compromise, and the cost of having it all. A story that raises the question: Who are the real winners?

I really liked this book.  It shows the way we look at celebrities and how hard it must be for them - living everyday in a prison cell that is celebrity.
Zack swears to his family and girlfriend that he won't change if he makes it on Fifteen Minutes.  He keeps telling himself that he hasn't changed.  After about 3 weeks on the show he gets to know Chandra Olson, one of the guest judges on the show.  She's lost her parents and fiance to her fame after she won Fifteen Minutes.  She tries to show Zack how much he's changed and how much he has to lose.  He starts to think about everything that's happened and realizes she's right.

Monday, October 28, 2013

Rosemary Cottage

I received a copy of Rosemary Cottage by Colleen Coble from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amy came to Rosemary Cottage to grieve, to heal, maybe even find love. But there’s a deadly undertow of secrets around Hope Island….

The charming Rosemary Cottage on the beach offers Amy Lange respite she needs to mourn her brother, Ben. She’s even thinking of moving her midwife practice to the Outer Banks community. It’s always been a refuge for her and her family. She also wants to investigate Ben’s disappearance at sea. Everyone blames a surfing accident, but Amy has reason to wonder.

Coast Guard officer Curtis Ireland has lost a sibling too. His sister, Gina, was run down by a boat, leaving him to raise her infant daughter. If anyone knew who little Raine’s father was, Curtis could lose his beloved niece. Yet he can’t help being drawn to Hope Beach’s new midwife, Amy. He even agrees to help her investigate what happened to both Ben and Gina.

Can two grieving people with secrets find healing on beautiful Hope Island? Or will their quest for truth set them at odds with each other…and with those who will go to any length to keep hidden things hidden?

This is the second book in The Hope Beach Series.  I really like Colleen's writing style.  Her stories are very intriguing and have enough characters involved that I never see the ending coming.  She builds up her characters so well that I feel like I'm friends with them.  Amy and Curtis have so much in common that it gets in the way of the relationship they each want with the other.  Amy's parents sure don't help matters any.  I do admire Amy in the way she does what she knows needs to be done to find out the truth about what happened to her brother.


Friday, October 25, 2013

Jude

I received a copy of Jude by Jeff Nesbit from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Jude Asher first called on outside forces to change his destiny as a child. Now a wealthy entrepreneur with his star soaring, he's prepared to make his most daring bet ever to reach the pinnacle of earthly power. Jude's twin brother, Thomas, has chosen a different path as a reporter for The New York Times. As much as he's tried to cut himself off from his brother's trajectory, he finds himself drawn back in ... and troubled by the secret that only he knows.

Surrounded by principalities and powers, each brother must choose their own path—for good or for evil.

This was a very different book than I've ever read before.  Jude and Thomas are twins that are in the foster system until they're 17.  Thanks to Jude they're adopted by a wealthy couple and their lives are forever changed.  They become wealthy beyond all their dreams.  The wealth they inherit is never enough for Jude and he goes on to become the wealthiest man alive.  Thomas on the other had still works and doesn't have any desire to have more money.  Yes he enjoys what he has and can do with the money but he doesn't live for it like Jude.  Money isn't the only thing Jude can control.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

The Promise

I received a copy of the Promise by Gary Smalley and Dan Walsh from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

For the last five months, Tom Anderson has been without a job, a fact he's been hiding from his wife Jean--and everyone else. He leaves each morning, pretending nothing has changed, and spends his disheartening day rotating through two coffee shops and the library, using their wi-fi to search for a job on the internet. The stress of keeping this secret is beginning to put serious strain on his marriage and it looks like the legacy that began with his father is still at work, slowly destroying the bond between Tom and Jean. Can their mutual trust--and love--be restored?

This is the second book in the Restoration Series by Gary Smalley and Dan Walsh.  Tom Anderson has lost his way and doesn’t want anyone to find out about his mistakes. He has been living a lie for several months and is terrified of the impact his deception will have not just on his wife, Jean, but also on his father, Jim. Meanwhile, Jean struggles to live with a husband who has changed into a cold and angry man. When the secrets eventually come tumbling out, Tom fears the worst. However, with the help of his great-uncle Henry, Tom learns to accept the grace of God and to focus on the future. Walsh’s and Smalley’s ministerial backgrounds take The Promise from merely a family-based novel to an insightful drama of faith about the challenges, and the different ways people handle them, in today’s marriages.

Friday, October 18, 2013

Critical Pursuit

I received a copy of Critical Pursuit by Janice Cantore from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Officer Brinna Caruso has built a reputation at the precinct as the cop to call when a child goes missing. For Brinna, it’s personal because she was once one of them. Brinna and her K-9 search and rescue dog, Hero, will stop at nothing to find a missing child, no matter the stakes.

Detective Jack O’Reilly isn’t ready to return to his homicide duties, after losing his wife to a drunk driver. He’s on the downside of his career, and bent on revenge, when he’s assigned as Brinna’s partner. While on patrol, Jack struggles between his quest for personal justice and his responsibility to those around him, especially his partner.

Skeptical of Jack’s motives, Brinna isn’t sure she can rely on her new partner, whose reckless abandon endangers the safety of those around him. But when a man surfaces with an MO similar to the criminal who abducted Brinna twenty years earlier, Brinna and Jack must cast aside previous judgments and combine efforts to catch the kidnapper, and finally allow Brinna the peace stolen from her as a child.

Jack and Brinna don't know it in the beginning but they both need each other.  They're both wrestling with issues in their past that they blame God for.  Because of these issues they've both turned their back on God and have been struggling ever since.  Getting involved in a missing child case is the best thing that happens to both of them.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Derailed

I received a copy of Derailed by Neta Jackson and Dave Jackson from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
After marrying Estelle, the love of his life, ex-cop Harry Bentley’s apartment feels too cramped, especially since he’s now raising his grandson. God seems to provide the perfect solution—a two-flat that would also provide an apartment for his elderly mother. But when plans go awry, Harry has to go back to work as a detective, receiving a bizarre undercover assignment that sends him across the country by train and raises suspicions about his own son’s involvement in a major drug cartel.
It feels like God keeps switching signals—left, right, stop, go? Each time Harry thinks he’s following God’s leading, his plans get derailed and he’s left frustrated, wondering why God isn’t helping out.
Perhaps the only thing going right is he and Estelle are getting to know their new neighbors . . . but discover a block so disconnected one woman almost died unnoticed. Determined to make a difference, Harry and Estelle begin reaching out to their neighbors one plate of cinnamon rolls at a time.
This is the second book in the Windy City Neighbors series. It focuses on the Bentley family as they move onto Beecham Street.  Harry's still new to the following God thing and struggles with all the changes that happen to his perfectly planned life.  He learns looking back on everything that God had a plan and it was a better plan than Harry saw coming.  He's given a second chance to be a father and husband and he takes the chance to live up to the man God wants him to be.

Saturday, October 12, 2013

The 13: Stand

I received a copy of The 13: Stand by Robbie Cheuvront, Erik Reed and Shawn Allen from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The battle for America continues. . .but this time it’s from within. Having given up his soul’s fight against God and surrendered his life to Him, CIA operative Jon Keene works with the Prophet to heal the wounds of a broken America. But a new plot is brewing inside the borders of The 13 that could cripple the already vulnerable nation and bring the US to the brink of civil war. Then on the eve of what seems to be the end of America, a crisis occurs that rocks the entire world to its foundations.
This is the follow up book to The 13: Fall.  I know these are fictional books but with the way the things are going with our government right now they don't see so far fetched.  I think everyone should read the books and think about where our country is headed.  I know we aren't in Jon Keene's position but we are the voters who put our leaders where they are now.  The book is suspenseful and very hard to put down.

Monday, October 7, 2013

Trapped

I received a copy of Trapped by Irene Hannon from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
When librarian Laura Griffith's sixteen-year-old sister disappears on a frigid February day, leaving only a brief note behind, Laura resolves to do whatever it takes to track down the runaway teen. That includes recruiting ATF agent turned PI James "Dev" Devlin to help. But the deeper he digs, the more he begins to suspect that something sinister is at work in the girl's disappearance. And the closer he gets to uncovering the truth, the clearer it becomes that the situation isn't just dangerous--it's deadly.
I really like this book.  It was easy to get into and kept me wondering what was going to happen next.  It was very unpredictable which is something I like in a book.  The relationship between the partners at Phoenix Inc. is great to see especially when it's three men.  They all can read each other like no one else and it's a great asset to the company and it's clients.  Darcy and Laura end up really benefiting from the men's bond with each other.

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

The Noticer Returns

I received a copy of The Noticer Returns by Andy Andrews from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.Perspective is a powerful thing.Andy Andrews has spent the past five years doing a double take at every white-haired old man he sees, hoping to have just one more conversation with the person to whom he owes his life.Through a chance encounter at a local bookstore, Andy is reunited with the man who changed everything for him – Jones, also known as “The Noticer.”As the story unfolds, Jones uses his unique talent of noticing little things that make a big difference. And these “little things” grant the people of Fairhope, Alabama, a life-changing gift - perspective. Along the way, families will be united, financial opportunities will be created, and readers will be left with powerfully simple solutions to the everyday problems we all face.Through the lens of a parenting class at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Alabama, Jones guides a seemingly random group to ask specific questions inspired by his curious advice that “You can’t believe everything you think.” Those questions lead to answers for which people have been searching for centuries:How do we begin to change the culture in which we live?What is the key to creating a life of success and value?  What if what we think is the end…is only the beginning?What starts as a story of one person's everyday reality unfolds into the extraordinary principles available to anyone looking to create the life for which they were intended.
I've loved all of Andy Andrews books.  This one was no exception.  I just wish that I could meet someone like Jones that could help me to find the proper perspective.  This book does help me to try to look at things differently in my life.