Confessions of a Prayer Slacker - Diane Moody

This book popped up for free and it caught my eye.  I'm not sure about you, but I'm a total prayer slacker.  I'm not normally a nonfiction reader, but I thought it was worth a try.

Inside, this author doesn't give you prayer guilt for your habits, she just tries to steer you in the right direction.  She doesn't shove in your face that you struggle, she also struggles and is very open about it.  I found the writing style to be amusing and it made the book more personal.  It was like you were having a conversation with the author on each page.

The only complaint I have is the amount of quotes in the book.  For some reason, at times it seemed like it was more a compilation of other books than an original work.  Let me just clarify: I really did enjoy this book.  It was insightful and it made me want to work harder at something that I have struggled with so much in the past.  You have an excuse?  She'll lay it bare for you and show you how to move past it.

I recommend this book.  It was well-written and was a beneficial read.  Good book!

Secretly Smitten - Colleen Coble, Kristen Billerbeck, Diann Hunt & Denise Hunter

This is the second book about the small town of Smitten, Vermont.  The first one, Smitten, was a pleasant read and I enjoyed it enough to pick this one up when the price dropped.

This time, we are following three sisters (cousins to Natalie from Smitten) and their mother. There's also the continuing story of their grandmother's lost love throughout all four short stories.

First up is Tess.  When some mysterious dog tags are located in the attic, Tess is determined to find out more about her grandmother's lost love, David.  Ryan owns the house David used to live in and they search together for clues to the mystery of how the dog tags of a man who died overseas during the war could possibly turn up in Tess' grandmother's attic.

Next up is her sister, Zoe.  She's found her passion in finding matches for other people. Scraping together her savings, she's purchased a store that is not quite up to code. William finds the flaws and points them out to her.  It's for her safety after all.  He wants to get closer to her, but his responsibilities to his job keep pushing her away.

Third is the mother of the girls, Anna.  She was left 10 years ago and basically traded in for another family.  Michael has come to town to take care of his ailing mother and is attracted to Anna.  But she has dealt with a military man before and had so much belittling that she has erected a wall around her heart.

Last up is Clare.  She loves her plants and has a landscaper's eye.  Being dumped for being predictable and boring, she hires Ethan just to prove that she can be spontaneous. Ethan sees that she has talent and wants to get her to see beyond the safe way she does things to the possibilities of following her dreams.  She enjoys her safety too much and doesn't like change.

While I found the first book to be somewhat cheesy at times, I felt like there was more cheese this time.  I think that I gagged my way through some of the more cheesy moments because I was waiting to see what happened with the grandmother and her lost love.  I have to admit that the flow seemed better in this book compared to the first one and it wasn't totally horrible.  There's going to be another Smitten book coming out in January 2014.  I suppose if it popped up for free, I might pick it up, but I won't be tracking it.  This might be the end of the road for me and the town of Smitten.

Winter Chill (Seasons of the Heart) - Susette Williams

This novella popped up for free and I thought it might be a nice little read.

The story begins with Sasha witnessing her friend get engaged.  She's a little jealous, but her past has her living in fear of all men.

Forrest works on campus and finds Sasha to be interesting.  Especially when she is trying to break into his house and gets stuck halfway in.  There's a snow storm outside, so he tries to be a good host, but Sasha makes it clear that she's controlled by her fear.

Sasha has been raped.  Apparently the man who did it is on campus and has no problems confronting her and asking her out.  Forrest witnesses him talking to her and gets in a fight.  Suspended from his job, he looks for Sasha.

And that's about where I quit.  It may be a novella, but rape is a topic I do not like reading about.  Knowing that the whole novella would center around the emotions and fear that Sasha's encounter created, I had no desire to keep going.  The book description didn't mention this part and I wish it had.  It would have saved me some time.  Not for me.

The Face of God - Bill Myers

This author seemed familiar to me, but I don't think that I have read him before.  This particular book drew me in with the topic and I was glad to give it a try.

Daniel is the pastor of a megachurch who has lost his passion.  After receiving a strange stone in the marketplace, things start to go badly.  When his wife is murdered, Daniel begins to question just about everything.  His faith, his relationships with people, especially his relationship with his son.  Before she died, his wife told him of a dream she had.  Once he gets home, his house is ransacked and it all comes back to the stone.

The stone itself appears to be one of 12 stones that make up the ancient priest's breastplate that, along with the Urim and Thummim, allow the wearer to hear the voice of God.  It is something that Daniel, along with other people, wants desperately to hear.

Ibrahim is a terrorist thinking that he is doing the will of Allah.  His plan is to set off bombs in various locations and release the smallpox virus on millions.  He seeks the stones to make sure that he is doing the will of Allah.  The people he is working with are not patient men and urge him to proceed without that information.

The pastor's team consists of his son, a Jewish archaeologist and the niece of the terrorist.  Aside from the son, each woman has their own agenda that they keep secret from Daniel and his son.  Time is running out and it seems that tragedy follows the stones.

The author mentions in the beginning that it is a violent book and urges readers under 17 to put off reading it until later.  To me, it wasn't that bad, and I'm a sensitive soul.  The author tended to get a little wordy at times and I found myself skimming a little bit, especially when Daniel is diving.  The formatting in the dialogue portions of the book is horrendous.  You have to make sure to watch for the beginning and end quotes to keep track of the speaker.

Aside from those minor issues, this was a great book.  The only issue I had with the story was the romantic tension between the archaeologist and the newly widowed pastor.  I think it would have been an easy thing to leave out and it wouldn't have really changed the story in my opinion.  There is a setup at the end for a sequel about the Tree of Life, but I couldn't find any record of a book about it.  Since this particular book was released originally in 2002, I don't think that it's out there.  Pity.  As for The Face of God, the author did a great job with a unique story and I recommend reading it.  Good Book!

Claiming Mariah - Pam Hillman

I had the opportunity to read another book by this author, Stealing Jake, quite a while ago and enjoyed it, so I was pleased to see this one pop up for $1.99.

Mariah's father revealed a dark secret to her before he died and now Mariah wants to try and make right the wrong he has done.  He cheated his business partner out of his half of the gold from their claim and now Mariah has written to make amends.

Slade wants nothing more than revenge on the man who ruined his childhood.  Once Mariah's father took their money and shot his father, nothing went right.  His father became a violent alcoholic and a young Slade was sent to find him on numerous occasions.  Now Slade has shown up on Mariah's door demanding what he believes belongs to him and that is the whole ranch.

Mariah lives alone with her grandmother and has spent most of her money keeping her sister Amanda at school in Philadelphia.  Slade is handsome and a good man inside, but he's taken her home and now she is working there until Slade's mother and sisters arrive. Mariah had thought to offer him a fair share, but now that Slade has demanded the whole ranch, where will she go?  And what will happen to her heart when she leaves?

I really liked this book.  I loved the characters and the story.  I haven't been able to find any more books by this author, but I hope that she keeps writing.  I would like to read a continuation of Slade's younger brother and Amanda as well.  Good writing style kept me wrapped in the story and made the book hard to put down.  Recommended - Good Book!

Safe in His Arms (Under Texas Stars #2) - Colleen Coble

This book popped up for $2.99 and I snatched it up.  Colleen Coble is one of my favorite authors and I can count on her for a good, easy read.

Margaret has been helping around the ranch for many years now and is angry that her father has not only hired a new foreman, but has also brought in her cousin, Lewis. Although the new foreman, Daniel, is handsome, Margaret overhears a conversation that labels him as a bank robber.  She doesn't want to turn him in, but she plans to keep an eye on him until she has more information.

Daniel is attracted to Margaret, but he has a job to do and he can't let her get in the way. Not only his fate, but the fate of his younger brother hang in the balance.  When strange things start happening around the ranch, Daniel fears for Margaret's safety and tries to protect her.

Overall, this was a good book, but it certainly wasn't one of my favorites.  Usually, this author's books flow nicely, but this time the flow was missing.  I'm not sure what happened, but it seemed like the characters were completely scatterbrained.  I'm not sure if I missed something, but there were times I wondered what had happened.  People get shot and head toward the doctor but end up going home instead.  Apparently being severely injured in this book was no big deal.

I also had some issues with the suspense aspects of the book.  They were too close together and didn't really make sense being that close.  Margaret's emotions are something else that had me questioning whether I missed something.  I thought that she witnessed Daniel talking to another woman at the barn party, but that never seems to bother her as much as the bank robbery.  Even though I can understand her concerns, I would think that watching Daniel with another woman would at least raise enough concern that she would at least ask about it or not totally forget.

This is the second book in the series, which is something I didn't realize when I picked it up.  Book 1, Blue Moon Promise, is the story of Lucy and Nate.  They are Margaret's best friends, and you pick up a little bit of their story in this book, but I don't think that it would ruin my reading of the first book if the price ever drops.  Even though this wasn't my favorite book by the author, it was still enjoyable and I'm giving it my Good Book! review.

Sing (The Homeward Trilogy #2) - Lisa T. Bergren

A while back, I was able to read Breathe, the first novel in this series.  In the past, I have read this author's River of Time series and have started her Grand Tour series.  She is one of those authors that seems to want to make one continuous story into three separate books.  Usually, it's the type of series I avoid, but she is a good author I can normally count on for a good read.

This is basically a continuation of the story surrounding Odessa.  She is now married to Bryce and they have a son.  The main focus of this book is her sister, Moira.  Moira is an opera singer who has lost her job in Europe.  Her manager has stolen her money and she is forced to go back to America.

On the ship, she meets Gavin, who wants her to expand her horizons into a different type of market on the frontier west.  He appears to be interested in her, but Moira is drawn to Daniel, a quiet, strong man who is also on the ship.

Once they reach America, Moira decides to give Gavin's idea a chance.  She wants to sing and that is the opportunity he is offering her.  Assuming a new identity, she is now Moira Colorado and her future seems secure once more.

Reid has been released from prison and is plotting his revenge on the St. Clair's.  He blames them for his current situation and nothing will prevent him from it, including murder. He wants the gold that is on Odessa's land and he believes that they know where it is.

You're on a journey with these three siblings.  Knowing that ahead of time will help you get through the parts that don't seem to mesh with the others.  Reading about Dominic's nautical experiences doesn't fit in with the rest of the story, but it does set you up for the third book, Claim.

This book has a lot of depressing moments in it.  I have to say that overall, it was a good read.  Moira's story is somewhat wrapped up for you.  Reading the additional information at the end, the author states that she doesn't necessarily like to wrap up her stories in neat little bows because life is not like that.  I have to say that is in direct contrast to what I love to read, but I think that the author's writing style makes up for it.

I read Breathe a long time ago, so I couldn't really remember much about the story, but the author had enough reminders in there that I was able to read it without being completely lost the entire time.  I liked this book and I am tracking the last one.  We'll see if it drops in price and I can read about the fate of the St. Clair family.  Good Book!

Strong and Stubborn (Husbands for Hire #3) - Kelly Eileen Hake

This book finishes out the Husbands for Hire series.  It is the story of Naomi's search for a husband and the resolution of the relationship between Braden and Cora.  It is important to read the other two before reading this one.  Book 1 is Rugged and Relentless and the second one is Tall, Dark and Determined.

Now that all the other potential brides have been spoken for, it's up to Naomi to keep up their end of the bargain and pick a husband from one of the workers.  The problem is, she has things in her past that make her reluctant to pick anyone at all.  She's going to have to reveal her past and she's so ashamed of what happened that she hasn't even told her best friends.

Mike is on the run to get his son away from his grandparents.  Marrying for money wasn't what he had planned for his life, but it's the lot he ends up with.  Now that his wife is dead, the boy's grandparents are insisting that Mike hand the boy over to their care.  With them threatening to do whatever it takes to get their grandson, Mike goes on the run and ends up at Hope Falls.

Right after Mike gets off the train, he gets wrapped up in helping the town.  Once he meets Naomi, they are attracted to each other.  Being a carpenter, Mike ends up working on a miniature house with Naomi.  After finding out that she is the last bride from the ad, he rethinks whether she is actually the woman for him.

Cora is finally fed up with Braden.  Determining to end their engagement and try to move on, Cora stands up to Braden and tells him off.  Braden has finally figured out that he's been cruel to Cora and just about everyone else and has to mend his ways.  But is he too late?

The book backtracks a bit, which put me off at first.  I had to go back and read the end of book two to figure out if I had missed something.  At the end of book 2, we had the cave in at the mine.  The beginning of this book starts before the cave in.

I did enjoy this book, it wrapped everything up in a nice package.  If you don't read the other two books before this one, you'll probably have no idea what is going on.  Most times I don't like series that make you commit to reading all the books to find out what happened, but this series was different.  At the end of the first two, you have enough resolution to the story that you could stop there and be okay.  If you want resolution to the whole story, you would need to read all three, in order.  They are chronological and there's enough missing that if you hadn't read the other two, you'd be lost.  Good series! Good Book!

A Constant Heart - Siri Mitchell

I've read a couple of this author's books in the past and it's been pretty hit or miss for me. I liked one and couldn't finish the other.  I decided to take a chance with this one when it popped up for free.  I certainly didn't have anything to lose by giving the author another chance.

Marget is being married to the Earl of Lytham.  She is determined to be the best wife that she can be, no matter what obstacles her husband puts in her way.  And there are a lot. He is a courtier in the service of Queen Elizabeth I and constantly at her beck and call. Marget doesn't make the best impression on first meeting the queen and has an uphill battle from there.

Lytham was married once before and can't believe he's married to another beauty. She must be determined to betray him just like his first wife, so he does his best to guard his heart.  He ends up falling in love with her, but they have to keep it secret.  The queen doesn't like to share her courtiers.

Meanwhile, Marget is doing everything she can to better herself in the eyes of the queen and try to advance her husband's career.  She dyes her hair and paints her face.  The more she paints her face, the worse she feels.  Not wanting to disappoint her husband, she continues to paint regardless of the effects it has on her health.

This book was just depressing for me.  Marget tries so hard while Lytham treats her like dirt.  The pains that she puts herself through, especially with the paints, causes her to lose children and her health.  She listens to The Lady de Winter, trusting that the woman has her best interests at heart, but one begins to wonder how much of a friend the woman really is.  The history in the book was well done, but I felt so bad for Marget that it was depressing.  I also thought the ending needed a little more to it.  At that point, I was questioning whether they lived happily ever after.  I suppose the author leaving that part out lets me believe what I want about the fate of Marget and Lytham.  The other complaint I have is that both Marget and Lytham's characters are written from the first person.  I had to really pay attention when the author changed viewpoints.  I had to look for the cues to figure out who was speaking.

I believe that in the future I'll avoid reading books by this author.  While the history was very interesting, I read for enjoyment and I'm not sure that in the end, I could say I enjoyed it.  I didn't have any issues getting through it, I was anxious to find out if things would ever get better.  The author writes a good tale, but I don't think they're for me.

Mortal (The Books of Mortals #2) - Ted Dekker & Tosca Lee

Anyone who has read my reviews will know that I am a big fan of Ted Dekker.  I've read Forbidden, which is book 1 of the series.  I really got into the story and anxiously awaited book 2.  As time went by, I regret to say I forgot about the series and only purchased it when I noticed that the price dropped to $2.99.

In this book, we continue to follow Rom, Feyn, Saric and Jonathan as they struggle for the seat of the Sovereign.  Saric has found the body of Feyn and resurrected her using his own tainted blood days before Jonathan was going to claim the seat.  Now the Mortals are struggling to find a way for Jonathan to claim his place as Sovereign.

Before Feyn's ascent to power, she offered herself up to be killed due to the changes in the law that would name Saric as leader if anything happened to her after she came to power.  Now that she has taken her place as Sovereign, Saric has control over her and if she becomes a liability, he can just kill her to get the power he wants.

The Mortals are fighting among themselves over what should be done against Saric's army and the disturbing news they are receiving about Jonathan's life-giving blood. Roland, the prince of the nomads, begins to think that it's time he thought about the future of his people and that the Nomads might be the future of Mortals.

I'm sorry to say that I had issues getting into this book.  There were so many unnecessary pages of descriptions that I almost dreaded trying to get to the end.  The story line reminds me so much of The Circle series, but I didn't have any problems reading through those.  I found myself tapping my Kindle to see what percent I was at and being disappointed at how slow it was going.  I skimmed the last 15%.

It is important to read these in order or you won't have a clue what's going on.  There were many times in this book that I wasn't sure what was going on.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do about the third book in the series, Sovereign.  It comes out in June and I think that I'll wait and see what some of the other reviewers say about it.  I'm hoping that it's better than this one, it just moved so slow as to be painful reading.