Book Review: Intervention by Terri Blackstock

This book was an eye-opener to me about what life would be like having a child addicted to drugs.  So many families have to deal with this in today's society, and this book gives the reader a glimpse of what those families go through.  Told mainly from the mother's viewpoint, Barbara Covington has to make some hard choices when her eighteen-year old daughter is caught in the strongholds of addiction.  Emily is on her way to rehab with the interventionalist, when she disappears from the airport and the woman with her is found dead.  

We follow Barbara and her son, Lance, through the journey that they take trying to find and save Emily.  The detectives think that Emily is just another addict killing for another hit.  Her family thinks she is innocent.  Who murdered the interventionalist?  Where did Emily go?  Each page pulls you deeper into the mystery!  See the extremes that a mother will go to in order to save her child, all of the time keeping her faith in God.

Once I started reading this book, I didn't want to put it down!  I loved the suspense that Blackstock builds throughout the whole story.  It ends with a twist that I wasn't expecting!  I highly recommend this book and cannot wait to get my hands on the next one in this series!  Keep the wonderful, Christian fiction coming, Blackstock!  :)

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Zondervan to read and review.  All opinions are my own.

Book Review: Covenant Child by Terri Blackstock

I just recently finished reading Covenant Child by Terri Blackstock.  Being the first book I have read by this author,  I have to say that I really enjoyed her style of writing.  It was a nice change from the books that I have been reading.  I really enjoyed the fact that the whole theme of the book is like a parable from the Bible.  It did take me a little while to really get into this book, but it was a good read and I was glad that I finished it. 

This book opens introducing the reader to twin sisters who have been placed into the care of relatives that only wanted them for the inheritance money that would one day belong to the girls.  The children lost both  their mother and then father when they were only three years old.  Know as the "Billion Dollar Babies," the girls were taken from their stepmom after their father's death and placed in a home of poverty with relatives that could care less about their well-being.  The horrid details about how the girls had to fend for themselves to survive was sad and a real eye-opener to children who might really live that way. 

The book was very predictable as to how it would end, but I would still recommend you reading this one!  I received a complimentary copy of this book from BookSneeze and Thomas Nelson to read and review.  All opinions are my own.  Since finishing this book, I have also read another one by Blackstock which I could harldy put down!  :) 

Book Review: Loving by Karen Kingsbury

It's finally here!!!  Loving, the fourth and final book in the Bailey Flanigan series, arrived in stores on March 27, 2012.  What a wonderful journey we have been able to travel with Bailey!  In this book, she has some big decisions to make but is finally beginning to see answers to her many prayers unfold. 

A move to L.A. and a move to Bloomington.....   Bailey begins her career as a director over the Christian Kid's Theater.  We watch as her love story unfolds, and she is finally at peace with the choice of her future husband.  I love the fact that she was able to find closure and peace with her decisions.  What a sweet love story and one in which she kept God in the center of at all times!  I don't want to say too much to spoil it for you before you read it, but I highly recommend this book to you!  :)

I received a complimentary copy of Loving to read and review from Zondervan.  All opinions expressed here are my own.  I hope that you enjoy this book as much as I did!  Karen Kingsbury is a truly gifted writer and her love for the Lord comes out in each and every book that is published!

Click here for a preview to Loving.

Book Review: Longing by: Karen Kingsbury

What a wonderful addition to the Bailey Flanigan series!   Longing is the third book in a four-part series.  I have enjoyed following Bailey as she fulfills her dreams of working on Broadway and sharing her faith with her coworkers!  As she works through her feelings for her first love, Cody, and her current boyfriend, Brandon Paul, we are able to see how she looks to God and trusts that he knows what is best for her in this stage of life.  

I know that many people really wanted her to be with Cody in the end, but I love how her mother has instilled in her that she need not to settle for just anyone, and that the right guy will "pursue her like a dying man in the desert looking for water!"  This book has several twists that you won't expect after reading the first two books in the series.  I loved it!  :)

Bailey's dreams on Broadway come to an end, and she is at peace with that.  Will she follow Brandon to L.A. or stay in Bloomington to be with Cody?  I won't reveal any more so that you will read the book for yourself to see what happens!  I can't wait to get the fourth and final book, Loving, which was released on March 27, 2012!  

Karen Kingsbury has such a gift with words, and I have been truly blessed by each one of her books that I have read!  This complimentary copy was given to me by Zondervan to read and review.  All opinions of this book are my own.  I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did!  :)

Click here for a preview of the book...

                                                                                      

Book Review: Smitten by Colleen Coble

If you are looking for a good, clean romance novel, then Smitten is the book for you!  This book was written by four different authors:  Colleen Coble, Kristein Billerbeck, Diann Hunt, and Denise Hunter.   Dividing the book up into four interwoven short-stories, each author focuses on one of the four main characters in the story and tells their section from that point of view.

In the book, the four main characters are best friends.  Natalie, Julia, Shelby, and Reese are four women who embark on a journey to save their small town of Smitten, Vermont.  When the mill, the main industry in the town, shuts down, these four women bond together to try to turn it into the a tourist attraction and the "romance capital of the world."  They each have their own ideas to make it work from a spa and romantic cabins to sweet shops and music being played in the streets of this quaint little town.

I thought this book was a little bit hard to get into at first.  It was very predictable throughout the whole story plot.  I did like that it was clean and fun Christian fiction, though!  I had read books by Kristin Billerbeck and love her as an author, so I was excited to read another one by her.  Although this wasn't a book that I "just couldn't put down", I would recommend it as a good read.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from BookSneeze and Thomas Nelson to read and review.  All opinions of this book are my own.

Book Review: Unlocked by Karen Kingsbury

Another "wow" book from Karen Kingsbury is here!  The book Unlocked opens up the reader's eyes to the world of autism.  In this story, we are introduced to Tracy Harris and her son, Holden.  He is a high school student who has to deal with being bullied and shunned by his peers because of his differences.  One day, a cheerleader and theater student named Ella sees Holden and the rest of the story unfolds as their friendship grows.

When Holden was three, he went from being a playful, talkative child into a withdrawn and quiet little boy.  He would no longer look his mother (or anyone else) in the eye anymore and would not speak.  It is hard to imagine how a mother might feel when her child will no longer even let her touch him or hold his hand.  This story takes you through the challenges and struggles of both mother and son who are living with a new world of autism in their midst.  It was through the gift of music that Ella, Holden's childhood friend, is able to reach him.  Unlocked is really able to let the reader see what people and families with autism have to deal with on a daily basis.  Karen Kingsbury makes it feel so real and has blessed so many addresssing the "harder" issues through her books.  I love how she uses her God-given talent to share with us on these different topics.  I highly recommend that you read this book and receive a blessing, too!  :)

I received this complimentary book from Zondervan to read and review.  All opinions of this book are my own.

Book Review: Heaven is For Real For Kids By Colton, Todd, & Sonja Burpo

"Heaven is for real, and you're going to like it!"  ~Colton Burpo

Wow!  I enjoyed reading Heaven is For Real For Kids as much as my children loved listening to it!  This book was told by Colton Burpo to his parents, Todd and Sonja Burpo, who wrote down Colton's own words about his experiences in heaven.   This is a simplified version of the book Heaven is For Real and written in a child's voice about the experience of his time in Heaven.  It has been beautifully illustrated under Colton's direction so that it would reflect what he saw during his amazing trip there.

I love how it is written with the simple words of a child!  It makes it so easy for kids (and adults, too!) to understand!  Each page includes a corner with a scripture reference that correlates with the main idea that Colton is sharing to show that what he is stating is backed up by the Bible and not just fictional.  Some of the quotes from Colton that I want to share are:
"Jesus really, really loves children!"
"Heaven is more amazing than you can imagine."
"Everyone is happy there!"
"You get to meet a lot of people in heaven." (Colton met John the Baptist, King David, his great-grandpa Pop, his big sister, and many more!)
"You will never get bored in heaven!"
"All the same types of animals that are on earth are in Heaven, but in Heaven they all get along."
"In Heaven, you will live forever with God!" (His favorite place in Heaven is near God's throne!)
"The most important thing Jesus told me was how to get to Heaven.  He said to believe in Him and follow Him.  That makes God very happy."

The book closes with two pages of questions/answers that kids might ask about this book and then a short prayer.  It also has pictures of Colton, his family, and a picture of Jesus painted by an eight-year-old child named Akaine that when shown to Colton, he declared, "That one's right."

I highly recommend that you read this book to your children and also take the time to read Heaven is For Real for yourself!  I was given a complimentary copy of this book to read and review from BookSneeze and Thomas Nelson.  All opionions shared are my own.  I hope that you enjoy it as much as my family!