The First Phone Call From Heaven

The First Phone Call from Heaven by Mitch Albom tells the story of a small town on Lake Michigan that gets worldwide attention when its citizens start receiving phone calls from the afterlife. Is it the greatest miracle ever or a massive hoax? Sully Harding, a grief-stricken single father, is determined to find out. An allegory about the power of belief—and a page-turner that will touch your soul—Albom's masterful storytelling has never been so moving and unexpected.
Intimately following the lives of the chosen children, parents, and spouses of Coldwater whose lives are forever altered when they receive phone calls from those they are mourning... their dead loved ones. Sparking extreme media interest and frenzied support, as well as protest from those who cannot let go of the controversy of divine voices coming through man-made technology, these phone calls become the world's biggest spectacle—except to Sully Harding, who is past skepticism, and now is just downright angry with the nonsense. The sudden "miracle" is giving his young son false hope, and it's making it impossible for a non-believer like him to come to terms with his wife's tragic death; through town resources and the cooperation of his community members, he is determined to expose the phone calls as an utter hoax.

I've read several of Mitch Albom's books and looked forward to reading this one.  It was a pretty good book but I was a little disappointed.  After reading each of the other Albom's books I was left with a sense of peace and wonderment, but this one didn't do that for me.

Heaven Help Heidi

I received a copy of Heaven Help Heidi by Sally John from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Welcome to the Casa de Vida—eleven quaint bungalows located three blocks from the Pacific Ocean in tiny Seaside Village, California. Owner Liv McAlister never advertises vacancies beyond a small hand-lettered sign out front, preferring to trust that God will send the right tenant at just the right time. And He always does.

Heidi Hathaway’s life has been turned upside down. After an accident leaves her injured, unable to work, and incapable of negotiating the stairs in her multilevel oceanfront condo, she leases her home and moves into a cozy little cottage in the charming garden complex where her friend Piper lives. There she finds so much more than a place to rest and recover.

Piper Keyes knows Jared is not coming back from Afghanistan. After making it through the fifth anniversary of his death, she wonders if she’s at last ready to get on with life. She gingerly explores new avenues—photography, cooking, and buying her own boutique—and learns to open her heart again.

The most comforting thing about living at the Casa is that the women there become each other’s mentors and confidantes, learning from their own mistakes and arriving at new, healed places in their lives.

What a great book!  This is the second book in the Family of the Heart series and I hope there is another book in the works.  The ending left way too much hanging for my liking.  Heidi has an terrible car accident that brings her into Liv's complex and into a make shift family like she's never known.  Piper is still trying to get over the loss of her fiance.  Can they help each other to move on to something better?

Dobiosity

I received a copy of Dubiosity by Christy Barritt from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.


Savannah Harris vowed to leave behind her old life as an intrepid investigative reporter. But when a friend raises suspicions about two migrant workers who’ve gone missing from the sleepy coastal town Savannah calls home, her curiosity spikes.

As ever more eerie incidents begin afflicting the area, each works to draw Savannah out of her seclusion and raise the stakes—for both Savannah and the surrounding community. Even as Savannah’s new boarder, Clive Miller, makes her feel things she thought long forgotten, she suspects he’s hiding something too, and he’s not the only one. Doubts collide in Savannah’s mind: Who can she really trust?

As secrets emerge and danger closes in, Savannah must choose between faith and uncertainty. One wrong decision might spell the end…not just for her, but for everyone around her.

Will she unravel the mystery in time, or will doubt get the best of her?

This was a very good book.  There were so many plot twists that I kept second guessing who I thought was behind everything.  Savannah is trying to hide from everyone and everything.  Clive Miller comes into her life needing a place to stay.  When Savannah's best friend, Marti, attempts suicide she can't hide any longer.  The more Savannah digs the more people she finds she can't trust.  Will she find the truth and be able to move on?