Review of Irene Hannon's In Harm's Way

Revell Books sent me this complimentary book to read and review.

In Harm's Way is book three in the Heroes of Quantico series. I was a bit hesitant to review this book as I haven't had great success with books further along in a series. But this one was a great read all by itself. I could tell who the other books were about as those characters overlapped into this book, and they were more minor characters which was really nice.

This book was a great mystery even though you knew who the suspect was from the beginning. The reader had the inside scoop and was able to watch how the suspect was found and caught. How the main characters put the pieces together. And there was still the sense of justice at the end even though the reader knew the conclusion.

A great read and an author that I would definitely read again.

Available April 2010 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Review of A Million Miles In A Thousand Years by Donald Miller

Thomas Nelson sent me this complimentary copy to read and review for them.

This book sat on my shelf for a few weeks before I decided to pick it up. I'm not a big non-fiction fan, and I have heard that this was a good book, but I had to be in the right spot to be ready to be challenged.

To start out, this was an amazing book. A very, very easy read in the sense that you are listening to someone talk. The flow of this book made complete sense and the reader could easily track Donald's train of thought. His sense of humor would pop up unexpectedly and I would literally laugh out loud. This is such a down to earth book, both heart and life compelling.

Donald makes you think about your life as a story being written. He says, "If I have a hope, it's that God sat over the dark nothing and wrote you and me, specifically, into the story, and put us in with the sunset and the rainstorm as though to say, Enjoy your place in my story. The beauty of it means you matter, and you can create within it even as I have created you."

The part that resonated within me the deepest and still sticks to me like thick molasses is this (it's long, but oh so good):

Growing up in church, we were taught that Jesus was the answer to all our problems. We were taught that there was a circle-shaped hole in our heart and that we had tried to fill it with the square pegs of sex, drugs, and rock and roll; but only the circle peg of Jesus could fill our hole. I became a Christian based, in part, on this promise, but the hole never really went away. To be sure, I like Jesus, and I still follow him, but the idea that Jesus will make everything better is a lie. It's basically biblical theology translated into the language of infomercials. The truth is, the apostles never really promise Jesus is going to make everything better here on earth. Can you imagine an infomercial with Paul, testifying to the amazing product of Jesus, saying that he once had power and authority, and since he tried Jesus, he's been moved from prison to prison, beaten, and routinely bitten by snakes? I don't think may people would be buying that product....It's hard to imagine how a religion steeped in so much pain and sacrifice turned into a promise for earthly euphoria. I think Jesus can make things better, but I don't think he is going to make things perfect. Not here, and not now.

He hit the nail right on the head.

I'm ready to read this book again. Such great nuggets of wisdom that totally make sense in life. I would recommend this to anyone to read. Go out and buy it! It's a must have for your personal library.

Review of Too Close To Home by Lynette Eason

Revell Books sent me this complimentary copy to read and review for them.

What a great book! I'm becoming more and more of a fan of mystery books, especially ones that I can't figure out "who done it" until the end.

Here's a short overview of the book:

In this thrilling first book, readers meet Samantha Cash, who is the FBI's secret weapon. Her methods are invisible, and she never stops until the case is closed. When missing teens begin turning up dead in a small Southern town, Samantha is assigned to help homicide detective Connor Wolfe find the killer. s they get close to an answer, the case becomes personal. The killer seems to be taking an interest in Connor's 16-year-old daughter, who thinks her dad is getting way too protective.

I had a hunch who The Agent was (the bad guy), but not until well over half way through. It was a hard book to put down as it sucked the reader in right from the beginning. The characters were well developed and the story line flowed smoothly.

The teaser at the end for the 2nd book was just as rivating and it'll definitely be a book I will want to read.

Available April 2010 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Review of Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Bethany House sent me a free copy of Sense and Sensibility to review for them.

This is a bit different version as it is an Insight Edition which has notes along the margins. Trivia, notes, and inspirations to enhance the story.

A great classic as any Jane Austen book is. I really liked the comments about the movie, the little blips about Jane Austen's life and their humorous remarks about the characters.

It took a bit longer to read with all of these side comments, but they did enhance the story. I didn't care for the inspiration notes as they seemed to almost force the story towards God (which isn't a bad thing, but just distracting with an already true classic story).

I liked this book overall and it'll hold a spot on my bookshelf.

Year two is coming to a close. I never ever thought it would ever come. I really, truly didn't. But it is upon us. Ed has one more class on Wednesday and then year two is complete (though he does have to take some summer intensives, but his 2nd year will be "officially" done).

His internship for the fall has been confirmed and he's ready to start.

After this summer he has 18 credits left.

18 credits.

And then he's done.

I can't even imagine what that is going to feel like for him, for me or for our family. Or what life is going to be like after that (we still do have another year...).

We dream of what is to come and before we know it, he'll be walking down the aisle and receiving his diploma for all of his hard work.

And then what? (that's the question everyone asks).

Good question.