I have always been a fan of Susan May Warren’s novels so I was happy for the opportunity to review My Foolish Heart. This one just may be my favorite one yet.
After a devastating accident that took her mother’s life, Isadora Presley suffers such severe panic attacks that she rarely leaves her home due to her fear of a meltdown. She secretly hosts a radio show from her home giving romantic tips to her callers. For some reason a new caller, Boy Next Door, touches her heart and she finds herself fantasizing about him often. At the same time she is very attracted to her new next door neighbor Caleb Knight who apparently has a few problems of his own.
Caleb has moved to Deep Haven hoping to coach the high school football team and prove to himself that he can live a full life despite the severe injuries he suffered in Iraq. Hiding his greatest disability, Caleb bravely enters the competition for the coaching position. Accidentally overhearing one of Issy’s broadcasts, he uncharacteristically calls for advice. From that point on he is hooked and can’t resist the attraction of the sympathetic hostess to whom he pours out all his secrets, not knowing that she and Issy are the same person. Through his deep faith, Caleb is able to reach out to Issy and help her find her way back to a life of freedom. And in the process, he finds hope and healing for himself.
I thought the plot of My Foolish Heart was quite clever and enjoyed reading about both the on air and real life relationships between Issy and Caleb. The inclusion of the dog “Duncan/Roger” and his escapades added whimsical entertainment and the inclusion of Issy’s best friend Lucy and returning football hero Seb is a special bonus. An inviting small town setting, down-to-earth characters, and a warm and witty narrative make My Foolish Heart a joy to read. I would recommend this book without any reservation.
This book was provided for review by LitFuse Publicity.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Unknown to her tiny town of Deep Haven, Isadora Presley spends her nights as Miss Foolish Heart, the star host of a syndicated talk radio show. Millions tune in to hear her advice on dating and falling in love, unaware that she’s never really done either. Issy’s ratings soar when it seems she’s falling in love on-air with a caller. A caller she doesn’t realize lives right next door.
Caleb Knight served a tour of duty in Iraq and paid a steep price. The last thing he wants is pity, so he hides his disability and moves to Deep Haven to land his dream job as the high school football coach. When his beautiful neighbor catches his eye, in a moment of desperation he seeks advice from My Foolish Heart, the show that airs before his favorite sports broadcast.
Before he knows it, Caleb finds himself drawn to the host—and more confused than ever. Is his perfect love the woman on the radio . . . or the one next door?
Enter to win a Romantic Night on the Town from Miss Foolish Heart in Susan May Warren’s fun giveaway! Find out who won during the Miss Foolish Heart Facebook Party on June 16th!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Susan May Warren is an award-winning, best-selling author of over twenty-five novels, many of which have won the Inspirational Readers Choice Award, the ACFW Book of the Year award, the Rita Award, and have been Christy finalists. After serving as a missionary for eight years in Russia, Susan returned home to a small town on Minnesota’s beautiful Lake Superior shore where she, her four children, and her husband are active in their local church.
Susan’s larger than life characters and layered plots have won her acclaim with readers and reviewers alike. A seasoned women’s events and retreats speaker, she’s a popular writing teacher at conferences around the nation and the author of the beginning writer’s workbook: From the Inside-Out: discover, create and publish the novel in you!. She is also the founder ofwww.MyBookTherapy.com, a story-crafting service that helps authors discover their voice.
Susan makes her home in northern Minnesota, where she is busy cheering on her two sons in football, and her daughter in local theater productions (and desperately missing her college-age son!)
A full listing of her titles, reviews and awards can be found at:www.susanmaywarren.com.
The promotional material, book cover, and book trailer indicate that Shattered deals with very serious issues but I was pretty much blindsided by what happened. I definitely didn’t see that coming. Because I feel that the surprise is probably an effective component of the story, I will not even attempt to give an overview of it.
As always, Melody Carlson has used a fictional story to illustrate very important lessons for teen readers. In Shattered, the reader will walk beside Cleo as she experiences the devastating consequences of one seemingly insignificant choice and the high cost of keeping terrible secrets. Shattered is a story that takes Cleo from the depths of guilt, grief, and pain to the hope and redemption offered through Christ.
I would highly recommend this book for all teens. If it could influence them to think about the consequences of their choices beforehand, many could be saved from severe repercussions and possibly even tragedy. In my opinion, all of Melody Carlson’s young adult books should be included in the libraries of families with teens.
This book was provided for review by
LeAnn Hamby with Glass Road Public Relations.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Cleo Neilson’s best friend is moving away and she wants to make Lola’s last night in town special. For Cleo, that means going to the big Christian concert in the city, but her mom won’t allow her to go. She says that area of the city is too dangerous for two unchaperoned teenage girls.
Convinced her mom is just being an overprotective “helicopter” mom, she sneaks out of the house. After all, her mom has to let her grow up sometime, right?
Cleo now faces the chilling consequences of her actions and a secret that it is eating her up inside. As Cleo fights through her grief and guilt, she learns about faith in God and forgiveness through him.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Melody Carlson has written more than a hundred books for all age groups, but she particularly enjoys writing for teens. Perhaps this is because her own teen years remain so vivid in her memory. After claiming to be an atheist at the ripe old age of twelve, she later surrendered her heart to Jesus and has been following him ever since. Her hope and prayer for all her readers is that each one would be touched by God in a special way through her stories.
I thought the premise for this novel was a good one. What if the “answer lady”, the woman with all the answers about how to make a marriage thrive, suddenly and unexpectedly found that her own husband wanted a divorce? Desert Gift begins with Jill’s husband breaking the news to her just as she is leaving to promote her new book, the book that she couldn’t have written without his collaboration. Shell shocked, Jill attempts to fulfill her speaking commitments while trying to hide the fact that she is falling apart on the inside.
The author takes the reader through all the emotional turmoil suffered by Jill as she goes through the stages of anger, pain, grief, denial, blame, and finally deep soul searching and surrender to God. Her encounters with family, strangers, and friends provoke and encourage her. Before the book ends, Jill has learned quite a bit about herself and her motivation. The reader is also treated to Jill’s husband Jack’s side of the story as he goes through his own self examination. He is bewildered by his actions but also relieved. He doesn’t understand the reasons but only knows that he is extremely unhappy with their marriage. He also learns a few things about himself .
Desert Gift is filled with some wonderful characters who are able to speak into the lives of Jack and Jill. This is a wonderful story of forgiveness and reconciliation that goes beyond the Galloway marriage. Overflowing with wisdom, this book should prompt the reader to examine the relationships in her own life and apply the lessons learned.
This book was provided for review by Tyndale House Publishers.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
What does a nationally known marriage expert do when her own marriage falls apart? Just as Jillian Galloway sets out for a publicity tour to promote her new book, her husband drops a bombshell: He wants a divorce. Jill flees to her parents’ home in the California desert, wondering whether everything she’s built her career on—indeed, everything she’s built her life around—is a sham. Navigating this “side road” of life is an uphill climb that leads to new understandings about herself, her marriage, and her relationship with the One who created marriage.
When the going gets tough—or weird or wonderful—the daydreamer gets going on a new story. Sally John has been tweaking life’s moments into fiction since she read her first Trixie Belden mystery as a child.
Now an author of more than fifteen novels, Sally writes stories that reflect contemporary life. Her passion is to create a family, turn their world inside out, and then portray how their relationships change with each other and with God. Her goal is to offer hope to readers in their own relational and faith journeys.
Sally grew up in Moline, Illinois, graduated from Illinois State University, married Tim in 1973, and taught in middle schools. She is a mother, mother-in-law, and grandmother. A three-time finalist for the Christy Award, she also teaches writing workshops. Her books include the Safe Harbor series (coauthored with Gary Smalley), The Other Way Homeseries, The Beach House series, and In a Heartbeatseries. Many of her stories are set in her favorite places of San Diego, Chicago, and small-town Illinois.
She and her husband currently live in southern California.
The Fine Art of Insincerity is the story of three adult sisters who have come together to empty and clean their grandmother’s beach house before its sale. Although they share the same tragic family background, their lives have taken widely divergent paths. Each sister thinks she knows the others so well but as the weekend passes, it becomes evident that they don’t really know each other at all.
I have long been a fan of Angela Hunt but had a difficult time getting through this book. Her writing was the high quality I have come to expect and the plot was an interesting one. However, this story could have been set anywhere because it took place primarily within four walls. The beautiful St. Simons Island setting was pretty much wasted here. Even though the story is told in first person through each of the three sisters, I never got to the point that I really cared about any of them. I guess I must prefer a book with a little more action and less introspection.
So – I don’t want this to be a negative review because I know there are many who love emotionally charged relationship stories. I do believe that Hunt did an excellent job of getting into the minds of her characters and taking them through some drastic changes as they began to understand each other. I was just not in the mood for the serious subjects of this book. Needless to say, I will continue to read Angela’s books and expect to enjoy them.
This book was provided for review by
Rebeca Seitz with Glass Road Public Relations.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Three Southern sisters with nine marriages between them–and more looming on the horizon–travel to St. Simons Island to empty their late grandmother’s house. Ginger, the eldest, wonders if she’s the only one who hasn’t inherited what their family calls “the Grandma Gene”–the tendency to enjoy the casualness of courtship more than the intimacy of marriage. Could it be that her sisters are fated to serially marry, just like their seven-times wed grandmother, Lillian Irene Harper Winslow Goldstein Carey James Bobrinski Gordon George? It takes a “girls only” weekend, closing up Grandma’s memory-filled beach cottage for the last time, for the sisters to unpack their family baggage, examine their relationship DNA, and discover the true legacy their much-marrying grandmother left behind.
“The Fine Art of Insincerity is the story of three middle-aged sisters that converge on St. Simon’s Island to clear away the cobwebs from their deceased grandmother’s island home. But the cobwebs hiding the secret pain that each sister harbors threatens to entangle and complicate each woman’s deep sense of order and decorum, especially since one of the sisters is hell-bent on a collision course with fate. Angela Hunt’s womanly tale of sisterly affection and protective martyrdom is a well-woven story of self-discovery and personal growth that will melt your heart!”—Patricia Hickman, author of The Pirate Queen and Painted Dresses
“Only Angela Hunt could write a relationship novel that’s a page-turner! As one of three sisters, I can promise you this: Ginger, Penny, and Rose Lawrence ring very true indeed. Their flaws and strengths make them different, yet their shared experiences and tender feelings make them family. From one crisis to the next, the Lawrence sisters are pulled apart, then knit back together, taking me right along with them. I worried about Ginger one moment, then Penny, and always Rose—a sure sign of a good novel, engaging both mind and heart. Come spend the weekend in coastal Georgia with three women who clean house in more ways than one!”—Liz Curtis Higgs, bestselling author of Here Burns My Candle
“The Fine Art of Insincerity is a stunning masterpiece. I was pulled into the lives of Ginger, Pennyroyal, and Rosemary—sisters touched by tragedy, coping in their own ways. So real, so powerful. Pull out the tissues! This one will make you cry, laugh, and smile. I recommend it highly.”—Traci DePree, author of The Lake Emily series
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Angela Hunt is the bestselling author of more than 100 books, including The Tale of Three Trees, Don’t Bet Against Me, The Note, and The Nativity Story. Her nonfiction book Don’t Bet Against Me, written with Deanna Favre, spent several weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. She and her husband make their home in Florida with their dogs. You can learn more at AngelaHuntBooks.com.
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Mike now lives in Hanover, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Jen, and their three daughters. He writes a monthly column for Writer . . .Interrupted, was a newspaper correspondent/columnist for over three years, has published several articles for The Candle of Prayer inspirational booklets, and has edited and contributed to numerous Christian-themed Web sites and e-newsletters. Mike is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance, the Relief Writer’s Network, the International Christian Writers, and International Thriller Writers. His short stories have appeared with Amazon Shorts and in Coach’s Midnight Diner genre anthology. He received his BA degree in sports exercise and medicine from Messiah College and his MBS degree in theology from Master’s Graduate School of Divinity.
Mike Dellosso writes novels of suspense for both the mind and the soul. He writes to both entertain and challenge. In addition to his novels, Mike is also an adjunct professor at Lancaster Bible College and a faculty member at the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writer’s Conference.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Sam Travis lives in a Civil War era farmhouse in Gettysburg, PA, where he awakens one morning to find an old journal with an entry by a Union soldier, Lt. Whiting…written in Sam’s own handwriting. When this happens several more times, both at night and during waking “trances,” Sam begins to question his own sanity while becoming obsessed with Lt. Whiting and his bone-chilling journal entries. As the entries begin to mimic Sam’s own life, he is drawn into an evil plot that could cost many lives, including his own.
Can the unconditional love of Sam’s daughter, Eva, break through his hardened heart before a killer on the loose catches up with them and Sam’s past spurs him to do the unthinkable?
If you would like to read the Prologue and first chapter of Darkness Follows, go HERE
Watch the book video:
MY REVIEW: (duplicate of my May 10 review for another blog tour)
Mike Dellosso has done it to me again. He has written another book that makes me want to slam the covers shut because I fear what will happen next but it is also one that I can’t put down because I have to find out how it will end. Each time I pick up one of Mike’s books, I soon remember just why they are so addictive. His books bring back childhood memories of telling each other scary stories until we were afraid to cross the hall alone for a trip to the bathroom – except Mike’s stories far exceed what we found scary in those days.
Darkness Follows is further proof that Dellosso is a master at building suspense line by line and page by page until it is almost unbearable. Characters are developed through both their present circumstances and their past with even their history being offered up just one enticing bit at a time. In Samuel’s case, the reader just knows something devastating happened to him as a teen but must wait for the complete story to be revealed. As the title implies, Darkness Follows is a very dark story in which evil seeks to destroy. However the darkness is balanced by the light of the Lord as Samuel’s daughter constantly reminds him how much she and Jesus love him.
I cannot say more about this book without revealing major plot spoilers. Suffice it to say, if you are a fan of deep, dark suspense, Darkness Follows will grab you and won’t let you go.
I usually restrict my book reviews to Christian fiction but when I was offered Friendship Bread through the Amazon Vine program, it seemed to be an intriguing but safe choice. As it turned out, Friendship Bread was a thoroughly delightful story – well written with an interesting plot and a stellar cast of characters. Although it is not a faith based book, I found nothing in its pages that should offend the Christian reader. It is a wholesome tale centered around family, friends, and community with central themes of friendship, reconciliation and doing the right thing.
Friendship Bread has several primary characters whose lives intersect in one way or another. As it begins Julia Evarts, a young mother who has been isolated from friends and family since the death of her son, receives a plate of Amish Friendship Bread and a package of starter. Little can anyone imagine the events that one package of starter will set in motion and the lives that will be changed as a result.
Not only is Friendship Bread a warm and tender story but the author has included recipes for the starter, basic Friendship Bread, and several variations. If that is not enough for you, the companion website offers a wealth of recipes, hints, and ideas.
This book was provided for review by the Amazon Vine Program.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
An anonymous gift sends a woman on a journey she never could have anticipated.
One afternoon, Julia Evarts and her five-year-old daughter, Gracie, arrive home to find an unexpected gift on the front porch: a homemade loaf of Amish Friendship Bread and a simple note: I hope you enjoy it. Also included are a bag of starter, instructions on how to make the bread herself, and a request to share it with others.
Still reeling from a personal tragedy that left her estranged from the sister who was once her best friend, Julia remains at a loss as to how to move on with her life. She’d just as soon toss the anonymous gift, but to make Gracie happy, she agrees to bake the bread.
When Julia meets two newcomers to the small town of Avalon, Illinois, she sparks a connection by offering them her extra bread starter. Widow Madeline Davis is laboring to keep her tea salon afloat while Hannah Wang de Brisay, a famed concert cellist, is at a crossroads, her career and marriage having come to an abrupt end. In the warm kitchen of Madeline’s tea salon, the three women forge a friendship that will change their lives forever.
In no time, everyone in Avalon is baking Amish Friendship Bread. But even as the town unites for a benevolent cause and Julia becomes ever closer to her new friends, she realizes the profound necessity of confronting the painful past she shares with her sister.
About life and loss, friendship and community, food and family, Friendship Bread tells the uplifting story of what endures when even the unthinkable happens.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Darien Gee is an author, wife, and mother of three. She’s a Libra Monkey, a chocoholic, and of late, an Amish Friendship Bread addict. A former California resident, Darien served on the board of the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library and ZYZZYVA, an award-winning literary journal. She’s an alum of Squaw Valley Community of Writers. Her next Avalon novel, Memory Keeping, will be published in 2012 by Ballantine Books.
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Unknown to her tiny town of Deep Haven, Isadora Presley spends her nights as Miss Foolish Heart, the star host of a syndicated talk radio show. Millions tune in to hear her advice on dating and falling in love, unaware that she’s never really done either. Issy’s ratings soar when it seems she’s falling in love on-air with a caller. A caller she doesn’t realize lives right next door.
Susan May Warren is an award-winning, best-selling author of over twenty-five novels, many of which have won the Inspirational Readers Choice Award, the ACFW Book of the Year award, the Rita Award, and have been Christy finalists. After serving as a missionary for eight years in Russia, Susan returned home to a small town on Minnesota’s beautiful Lake Superior shore where she, her four children, and her husband are active in their local church.
