The Influence - Matthew John Slick

Being a fan of Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker, I kept seeing this pop up as a comparable spiritual warfare thriller.  For a time, I tracked it.  It was only $3.99, but that genre is kinda iffy for me.  I normally really like it or I don't.  When this book popped up for free, I felt it worth a try.

In the beginning, we are switching back and forth between and husband and wife, her father and angels and demons.  The husband, Mark, has been struggling with his son's death.  SIDS has taken his son and he can't find any answers on why it happened.  The questions are what is eating him up inside.  A demon takes this opportunity to push Mark to almost commit suicide.

Kathy has watched her husband's depression get worse over time and she's not sure what she can do to help him.  When her father falls ill, she travels to go take care of him.  On the way, a demon tries to involve her in a car accident.

During both these encounters, we get glimpses of John, Kathy's father.  He wakes up occasionally and prays for the couple, keeping them safe.  We also see the interactions between the angels and the demons.

I'm not saying this is a horrible book.  I'm saying it's just not for me.  I trudged my way until about 10% and then put it down.  I understand that the author was trying to portray the world of the angels as seamless with our world by weaving them together, but it felt disjointed to me.  One paragraph was about the humans and then we switched to the angels with  no transitions.  I also had to re-read some sentences to make sure I knew what was going on.  I didn't like the style of writing and I felt the plot was moving at a sluggish pace with unnecessary amounts of repetitive details.  It just wasn't my kind of book.

Unending Devotion (Michigan Brides #1) - Jody Hedlund

This is a new author for me.  Being free, I felt comfortable giving this book a chance.

Lily has been searching for her sister, Daisy, in lumber camps in Michigan to no avail. Daisy ran away from the home she was at to work in a saloon.  Lily is mortified Daisy has chosen this path to get money for them to be together and is determined to find her and set her free.  She travels with her "father" who is a photographer.  He takes pictures at the lumber camps on the weekends.  Lily goes along and sets other young women free as she searches for her sister.

Connell has been spending his life trying to live up to his father's standards.  It's a hard life for him and now he's having trouble getting his numbers of logs to add up.  Lily comes and tries to make him see what he's doing to the land and how the camps are detrimental. Connell feels his hands are tied and thinks things are necessary the way they are.

Lily challenges Connell's ways of thinking and he falls for her quickly.  Lily's schemes seem to only get her into trouble, and Connell is always there to help her out.  Once Lily discovers the location of her sister, she's willing to do anything to save her.  She decides to save her alone, not wishing to see anyone hurt on her account.

This book was a little more serious than I thought it was going to be.  The forced prostitution is a thread that continues throughout the whole book.  I found it disturbing that Lily spent most of her time trying to change Connell and make him the way she wanted him to be.  He was a good man to begin with, and I don't have a problem with her trying to make him aware and involved in the problems at the camp, but nothing was ever enough for her.  He did everything she asked and then basically just kept asking for more.  I found myself liking Connell's character much more than Lily's.

This was a good book.  It was well written and I didn't have issues getting through it.  It was just a little more depressing than expected.  The author has two other books out: The Preacher's Bride and The Doctor's Lady.  She also has another one coming out in March called A Noble Groom.  I added the unreleased title to my watch list, the other two didn't seem like something I would enjoy. Good Book!

The Lightkeeper's Ball (Mercy Falls #3) - Colleen Coble

In the past, I have read the first book in this series, The Lightkeeper's Daughter.  I saw this one pop up for $3.99 and snatched it up.  Coble is one of my favorite authors and while I always enjoy her books, they don't go on sale very often.

Olivia is on her way to Mercy Falls to try and find out how her sister died.  Fearing foul play, she intends to investigate her sister's fiance, Harrison.  Before she even gets to town, she is assaulted and thrown off the boat taking her to Mercy Falls.  Her rescuer is none other than the man she suspects of murder.

Harrison is tired of bowing to his father's will.  He would rather work on his aeroplane than stay working with his father.  After the death of his fiance, he has sworn that he won't bow to any more of his father's marriage schemes.  Harrison could care less about being a member of society and has sworn off contact with Olivia's family.  His father, on the other hand, is trying to bring about a marriage with Olivia.  The problem is, Harrison isn't aware that the woman he's falling in love with is Olivia.

In order to detect without being found out, Olivia adopts her little known title.  She shares her suspicions with some new friends in Mercy Falls, but they don't feel Harrison to be capable of the murder of her sister.  As Olivia becomes acquainted with Harrison's true nature, she begins to not only believe in his innocence, but she starts to lose her heart to him as well.  She knows the mistrust he holds for her family and fears revealing her true identity.

In the meantime, there are attempts on both their lives.  It is unclear who exactly the culprit is after, but it soon becomes clear that Olivia is the target of the violence.  In order to get to the bottom of the attempts and find out who murdered her sister, Olivia is going to have to solve the mystery behind both her sister and her father's deaths.

As usual, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  I found the broken trust to be a little too quickly mended at the end, but it didn't ruin the ending.  I have not read the second book in the series, The Lightkeeper's Bride, but the characters are mentioned in this third book.  I have to say that it's not to the point that you don't know what's going on if you haven't read it.  In other words, you can easily read these out of order.  I'm still watching for the second one to drop in price.  Good Book!

The Calling of Emily Evans (Women of the West #1) - Janette Oke

I was looking for a short, light novel to read after the intense Eyes Wide Open series I just finished by Ted Dekker.  I came upon this book by Janette Oke.  It was free and I enjoy Love Comes Softly.

This book tells the story of Emily, a young woman who answers the call of God to go forth and preach.  Much to her father's dismay, this means she is going to travel and answer that call alone.  Emily feels certain that she is doing God's will, but she struggles with her studies and her health.

I plodded through the first 20% of the book and sighed.  I was up to the part where Emily was leaving home to accept her new position, but I was uninterested.  Up to that point, I had read about her schooling and a few trips home.  There were a couple descriptions of classmates, but there just wasn't much to hold my interest.

I gave up at 20%.  This isn't my kind of book at all.  I couldn't get myself involved in the story or Emily.  This one is a pass for me.

Touching the Sky (Land of the Lone Star #2) - Tracie Peterson

This book popped up for $2.99 and I picked it up.  After reading Chasing the Sun, I started tracking the other two in the series.

The Civil War has ended and Laura wants peace in Corpus Christi, Texas. Brandon comes upon a scene where Laura is arguing with his troops, urging them not to pursue the men who had approached her so they won't get hurt.  She believes there has been enough blood shed. Brandon misinterprets the situation as a Southern girl railing against his troops and thinks to put her in her place.  He soon finds out he was wrong.

Brandon and Laura are attracted to one another, but he is on a mission to find out more about the man engaged to Laura's sister.  The man is suspected of trying to start the war back up and murdering defenseless troops.  Brandon wants to court Laura, but he fears she will think he's only interested in her for her connection to her brother in law.  So he holds on to his secret and tries to figure out what the man is up to.

I felt like this book started out pretty slow.  I didn't understand how the relationship between Laura and Brandon grew since they had little interaction in the early parts of the book.  Laura's sister also has to deal with domestic abuse.  If you don't like reading about that, you might want to skip this one.  Once I got about 40% in, it started to pick up the pace and became a real page-turner.

All in all, I feel like it was a good read, just a little slow.  I didn't see any connections to the first book, so it can easily be read by itself. I just wish there had been less of her teaching people to read and more interaction between Brandon and Laura.  Good Book!

Seer (Eyes Wide Open #4) - Ted Dekker

As with my other reviews, avoid reading this if you haven't read the other books - there are spoilers in here.  This book was scheduled to come out on Monday, but the last one came out early, so I've been checking just about every day and lo and behold - it was available this morning.  I snatched it up and read it as soon as the kids were on the bus.

Christy and Austin are seeing the world through glasses that may be actually showing them the truth.  It looks like they are going to be free from the hospital, but when they get outside, the world is not the way they expect it to be.  There they meet Outlaw, someone who is telling them they are perfect the way they are - there is no need for corrections. They just can't forget.

Once the glasses are gone, it's easy to forget what they learned.  They're going to have to overcome what their minds are telling them and see the truth.

I had to read this one a little more slowly than the others.  With the other 3, the action was so intense that I just had to keep reading, but the interaction with Outlaw was something that I had to read slowly so I wouldn't miss anything.  It was a truth that most of us forget on a daily basis.

I loved this book.  It has ties with Showdown, so if you have read the Paradise series, you will see the connection easily.  When I was getting closer to the end, I could feel a sequel coming, and I was right.  There was a "coming soon" for Water Walker, the next book in The Outlaw Chronicles.  I couldn't find any information on it at this time.

I can't say enough about how much of a master this author is.  There were two parts in this book that really struck a chord with me.  One of them was about how you need to see yourself whole to love yourself and others.  I'm going to keep an eye out for when they're coming out with the next one.  What it all boils down to is: Who are you willing to be?  Are you willing to be an Outlaw?  Great book!

Unseen (Eyes Wide Open #3) - Ted Dekker

Warning - if you have not read Identity, there are going to be spoilers in my review that may ruin the surprise for you.  I recommend you read Identity and go from there.  As of now, it is FREE on amazon and you won't lose anything by giving it a try.

This third installment in the Eyes Wide Open series is more of the same thrill ride that we've been on since the first book.  The further in I get, the more I start to question whether Christy is really Christy or is she actually Alice?  In Unseen, Christy gives in and accepts a truth that she is so ugly that she will do anything to change herself.

Austin is starting to wonder if he actually is delusional.  After an encounter with Christy, he realizes that whatever they have told her, she has accepted it and he thinks that he's going to have to leave her behind.  He is determined to escape and after the death of Fisher, he thinks that he knows how.  The problem is that not everything is as it seems in this hospital.

The end is another cliffhanger and I am anxiously awaiting the final installment due out Monday the 14th, Seer.  The wonderful thing about this book is that normally you know what is going on with the main characters.  In the Eyes Wide Open series, you aren't sure who the characters are because they are questioning who they are.  When you think you have them figured out, something else happens and you're back to wondering who they are.  Dekker is a master.  Good Book!

Mirrors (Eyes Wide Open #2) - Ted Dekker

This is the continuing saga of Christy and Austin.  If you haven't read the first part, I recommend not reading this review.  There will be spoilers and I don't like to ruin the story for readers.  The first two parts of this book have taken me a little over an hour to read and has been a great ride so far.

In this installment, Christy and Austin (or is it Alice and Scott?) are separated.  Austin doesn't doubt his ability to keep his sanity intact, but he worries that Christy won't be able to tell the truth and the illusions apart.  His first goal is to get up to where she is at, then figure out a way to get them out of the hospital.

The main problem seems to be that Austin can't figure out how they will escape.  He figures that Alice is the key to their escape, so he's going to have to figure out where Fisher has taken her.  Taking drastic measures, Austin ends up where he wants to be, but things don't turn out quite as planned.

The end to this one is a major cliffhanger as well.  I waited until today, the release date that I had for book 3 - only to find out that it was released on January 3.  Apparently they decided to release it a little early and not tell me!  Either way, I snatched this one up and will most likely read it today.  Then I'll have to watch closely to make sure I catch the release of the last book.  Continuing to be a Good Book!

Identity (Eyes Wide Open #1) - Ted Dekker

Identity is a short novel that is part of a bigger story.  I follow Dekker through his website and received an email about his new book.  It is coming out in four installments, the first being free.  If you happen to look it up on amazon, it's showing as $0.99, but if you go through Dekker's Facebook page, it is still available for free at the time of this review.

Since the book is so short, I don't want to give away too much, but I'll tell you where we start out.

Christy has lost her locket.  Although it really isn't worth much and doesn't really have a picture in it, it is important to her and she really wants it back.  Going into an old stock room, she finds her locket, but unfortunately finds a lot more than she bargained for.  We find her at the beginning trapped and fearing that no one will ever find her.

Austin has a great mind, but he is also battling migraines.  He is only 17, but he attends college classes to audit them.  The headaches that have been plaguing him are frustrating him and he is waiting for a call from the doctor to tell him his MRI results.  He fears they have found a tumor.

I was sucked into this book from the very beginning.  Ted Dekker is probably my favorite storyteller of all time for his deep, thought-provoking books.  I didn't enjoy his vampire book, but this one has me hooked.  As soon as I finished Identity, I purchased Mirrors - book 2.  It came out on December 31.  Book 3 comes out on January 7 - Unseen, and January 14 is when book 4 - Seer comes out.

While the first one was free, the other three come with a price of $2.99 each.  The four books are also going to be available as a paperback, released February 4.  I'm all about getting my money's worth, so I look at it this way.  The paperback is 296 pages.  I purchase 3 of the 4 ebooks and pay about $3 each, totaling $9, about the normal price for a regular book.

In the email that Dekker sent out, he described this set of books, that he has labeled the Outlaw stories, as a TV series with four episodes.  If the other episodes are anything like the first, I can't wait to read Mirrors!  Easily gets a Good Book! review.

Heart of Gold - Robin Lee Hatcher

I've read a few of this author's books in the past and have enjoyed them for the most part. This one looked to be right up my alley.  Stagecoach driver, Idaho.  It's up close to my area and sounded interesting.

Shannon is a young woman living in Virginia at the time of the Civil War.  The war has given her the opportunity to nurse injured soldiers and her fiance has been killed.  She's very bitter toward the North, unlike her father, the minister, who believes that all are children of God and refuses to take sides.  Now he has taken a job in a mining town in Idaho and is taking Shannon away from everything she knows and loves.

Matthew is a stagecoach driver for Wells Fargo.  When his sister reaches out to him to help her, he agrees to set aside the stagecoach driving that he loves so much and help nurse her back to health.  It has been a long time since he has seen her, but with her husband gone and a young boy to take care of, it's his duty to step up and help her.

The first meeting between Shannon and Matthew doesn't bode well for a future for the two.  But with the arrival of Alice, Matthew's sister, Shannon offers to use her nursing skills to help the woman back to health.  The problem is that Alice is dying and nothing will change that.  Alice's husband fought for the Union and Shannon vows that they can never become friends.

As Shannon spends more time in Idaho away from the war, it seems a little more distant. Alice becomes very dear to her, but the dying woman has a plan in mind to make sure that her brother and her son are taken care of.  She also starts to think that Matthew might not be as bad as she first thought.

It took me a long time to get through this book, not because it was a bad read, but because of the winter break.  I also had a little trouble getting through it at times with the formatting.  There were paragraph breaks in there all over the place that just didn't belong.  It was a good read and I think that it was a good purchase. It was depressing at times, with Alice dying throughout most of the book, but that's life. The villain was a little predictable and I had him figured out and what he was up to pretty early on.  All in all, it was a nice read and I give it my Good Book! review.