by admin | Jul 7, 2010 | Books, Civil War, Historical, Romance
MY REVIEW:
Unwilling Warrior is a captivating Civil War romance filled with engaging characters, a mystery or two, personal conflicts, and an excellent scriptural message. Although Valerie and Benjamin are totally unsuitable for each other by society standards, the reader knows almost from the beginning that they will end up together. Fortunately the pages in between contain such a good story that my interest was held through the end.
In my opinion, the moral of the story is to rely on God and always try to do what is right no matter what may come against you. Although Valerie had faced several major losses and changes to her life, she continued to trust the Lord to help her. She practiced her faith when she tried to minister to Catherine in spite of all the mean things the other woman had done to her.
I enjoyed Unwilling Warrior and would recommend it, especially to those who love historical romance novels.
This book was provided for review by Glass Road Public Relations.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Valerie Fontaine is frightened. Her mother has passed and the War Between the States is raging. She braves the distance and leaves her finishing school in Virginia to be home with Daddy in New Orleans for Christmas.
Benjamin McCabe has a noble dream of photographing the Civil War–until his brother is lost during a battle. He has no idea his quest to find the missing brother will lead him into the enchanting presence of a New Orleans socialite.
And neither could have guessed how their lives would be forever changed.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Andrea Kuhn Boeshaar has been married for more than 30 years. She and her husband, Daniel, have three adult sons, daughters-in-law, and two precious grandchildren. Andrea’s educational background includes the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, where she studied in English, and Alverno College where she studied in Professional Communications and Business Management.
Andrea has been writing stories and poems since she was a little girl; however, it wasn’t until 1984 that she started submitting her work for publication. Eight years after that, she was convicted about writing for the Christian market. She read books in her genre (Inspirational Romance & Women’s Fiction), studied the market, and worked hard to hone her craft.
Finally her first novel was published in 1994. Since then she’s written numerous articles and devotionals. Andrea has also published inspiration romance novels, women’s fiction, and novellas.
In 2003, Andrea joined the Hartline Literary Agency and worked for Joyce Hart as a literary agent. She saw much success. But then in 2007, Andrea realized she was more of a teacher/encourager than a sales person. She left the agency and became a certified Christian life coach. Now, in addition to her writing, Andrea enjoys encouraging others to use their God-given talents and gifts to their fullest.
Andrea has taught workshops at such writers conferences as: Write-To-Publish; American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW); Oregon Christian Writers Conference; Mount Hermon Writers Conference and many local writers conferences. She also speaks at various churches and women’s groups.
Another of Andrea’s accomplishments is co-founder of the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) organization. For many years she served on both its Advisory Board and as its CEO.
by admin | Jul 6, 2010 | Books, Contemporary Fiction, Suspense
This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
NightmareBethany House (July 1, 2010)
byRobin Parrish
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Robin Parrish is a journalist who’s written about the intersection of faith and pop culture for more than a decade. Currently he serves as Senior Editor at XZOOSIA.com, a community portal that fuses social networking with magazine-style features about entertainment and culture.
He had two great ambitions in his life: to have a family, and to be a published novelist. In March of 2005, he proposed to his future wife the same week he signed his first book contract with Bethany House Publishers. They contracted him for the rights to The Dominion Trilogy: Relentless (2006), Fearless (2007), and Merciless (2008). His science fiction thriller, Offworld came out in 2009. This summer debuts Nightmare, and he’s working on another for 2011. Robin and his wife and children live in North Carolina.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Ghost Town is the hottest amusement park in the country, offering state-of-the-art chills and thrills involving the paranormal. The park’s main ride is a haunted house that promises an encounter with a real ghost.
When Maia Peters visits during her senior year of college, she’s not expecting to be impressed. Maia grew up as the only child of a pair of world-renowned “ghost hunters,” so the paranormal is nothing new and to her most of the park is just Hollywood special effects. In fact, the ride feels pretty boring until the very end. There, a face appears from the mist. The face of Jordin Cole, a girl Maia knows who disappeared from campus a few months ago.
Convinced what she saw wasn’t a hoax and desperate to find answers to Jordin’s disappearance, Maia launches into a quest for answers. Joined by Jordin’s boyfriend–a pastor’s kid with very different ideas about paranormal and the spirit realm–Maia finds herself in a struggle against dangerous forces she never expected to confront on the edge of the spirit realm that try to keep the truth from emerging.
If you would like to read the first chapter of Nightmare, go HERE.
MY REVIEW:
Nightmare is a page turning, spellbinding tale that will keep the reader on edge until the electrifying climax. Written in first person from the point of view of Maia, the daughter of famous television paranormal experts, the narrative spans two time frames. Some chapters narrate Maia and Jordin’s experiences during the previous year as they explored sites famous for paranormal activity. Alternating chapters follow Maia and Jordin’s boyfriend as they frantically search for Jordin after her unexplained disappearance.
Because it features ghosts and the paranormal, Nightmare is likely to become one of those controversial books among Christian readers once word gets out about it. Although everyone may not agree with views presented in the story, they should remember that is is just that – a story. The book was well researched and gives the reader plenty to think about without drawing any concrete conclusions. Certain events in the story are obviously speculative and should be treated as such.
Mr. Parrish has penned a terrifying chiller without the usual blood and gore that is common in most books of this genre. That he has also managed to insert a wealth of spiritual truth without becoming preachy is a major achievement in my opinion. This book is not for everyone, but for those who enjoy a good supernatural thriller, Nightmare is well worth reading.
