by admin | Jul 25, 2011 | Books, Chick Lit, Contemporary Fiction, Romance
This week, theChristian Fiction Blog Allianceis introducingCanary Island SongHoward Books; Original edition (July 5, 2011)byRobin Jones Gunn
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Robin Jones Gunn was born in Wisconsin and lived on a dairy farm until her family moved to southern California when she was five years old. She grew up in Orange County and spent her summers at Newport Beach with friends from her church youth group. After attending Biola University and Capernwray Bible School in Austria, Robin and Ross were married and spent the next two decades working together in youth ministry.
It was the young teens at Robin’s church who challenged her to write stories for them. She hadn’t thought much about being a writer, but took their request to heart and set her alarm for 3am, three days a week. With two small children it was the only time she could find to write the first story about Christy Miller. After two years and ten rejections the novel Summer Promise was accepted for publication in 1988. Robin hasn’t stopped writing since. Over 4 million copies of her 75 books have sold and can be found in a dozen translations all over the world.
Robin and her husband now live in Hawai’i where Ross is a counselor and Robin continues to write to the sound of tropical birds chattering in the palm trees outside her window. Their children are grown but manage to come to the islands with their families every chance they get. Robin’s awards include: three Christy awards for excellence in fiction, a Gold Medallion finalist, Mt. Hermon Pacesetter and the Mt. Hermon Writer of the Year award. Robin travels extensively and is a frequent key-note speaker at various events around the world. She serves on the Board of Directors for Media Associates International and Jerry Jenkin’s Christian Writer’s Guild.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
When Carolyn’s grown daughter tells her she needs to “get a life,” Carolyn decides it’s time to step out of her familiar routine as a single woman in San Francisco and escape to her mother’s home in the Canary Islands. Since Carolyn’s mother is celebrating her seventieth birthday, the timing of Carolyn’s visit makes for a perfect surprise.
The surprise, however, is on Carolyn when she sees Bryan Spencer, her high school summer love. It’s been seven years since Carolyn lost her husband, but ever since that tragic day, her life has grown smaller and closed in. The time has come for Carolyn to get her heart back. It takes the gentle affection of her mother and aunts, as well as the ministering beauty and song of the islands to draw Carolyn into the fullness of life. She is nudged along by a Flamenco dance lesson, a defining camel ride and the steady gaze of Bryan’s intense blue-gray eyes.
Is it too late for Carolyn to trust Bryan? Can Carolyn believe that Bryan has turned into something more than the wild beach boy who stole her kisses so many years ago on a balmy Canary night?
Carolyn is reminded that Christopher Columbus set sail from the Canary Islands in 1492 on his voyage to discover the New World. Is she ready to set sail from these same islands to discover her new life?
If you would like to read the first chapter of Canary Island Song, go HERE.
MY REVIEW:
I always enjoy a book by Robin Jones Gunn because I can usually expect a sweet romance in a somewhat exotic location and a liberal dose of practical spiritual wisdom. Canary Island Song did not disappoint.
Gunn is a master of description and made me feel like I was along for the ride with Carolyn as she returned to the Canary Islands for the first time in years. Historical and local details enhanced the story while I painlessly gained a bit of education.
Canary Island Song is a story about family, especially the strong bond between mothers and daughters. It is also a story about second chances and allowing God to heal your wounds.
I purposely am not giving details about the story because to add to what has already been said in the book description above would be taking a chance on spoiling the book for another reader. If you have not read anything by Robin Jones Gunn before, Canary Island Song would be a great place to start.
by admin | Jul 23, 2011 | Books, Contemporary Fiction, Suspense
MY REVIEW:
Enterprising young attorney Tom Crane feels like he has just had the rug pulled out from under him. Believing that he has a partnership in his law firm in his pocket, he is shocked to find that he not only didn’t get the partnership but no longer even has a job. To make matters worse, his girlfriend leaves him a “Dear John” letter and takes his cat. With nothing to hold him in Atlanta, Tom travels to his home town of Bethel to wrap up loose ends of his recently deceased father’s estate and to close his office before returning to the city to find a new job.
Of course nothing goes according to Tom’s plans. His uncle Elias encourages him to return to his spiritual roots but Tom is not interested. Friends and other lawyers in town encourage him to continue his father’s law practice but all Tom wants is to quickly close the office and get back to Atlanta. When Tom finds information in his father’s belongings that does not add up, his investigation leads to a trail of deceit and possibly murder. He soon learns that he cannot be certain who to trust.
Water’s Edge is a riveting legal suspense in the tradition of John Grisham. I personally prefer the novels of Robert Whitlow because the plots are more people centered without the excess legal terminology that tends to bog me down. The characters of Water’s Edge are very realistic. I found myself telling Tom “Don’t do that” on more than one occasion. I wish he had listened but then the story wouldn’t have been nearly as interesting.
I was particularly impressed by the strong message of faith woven unobtrusively throughout the story. Tom’s transformation was truly amazing. The author’s description of “thin places” was of interest to me and I would like to learn more about them.
I would highly recommend Water’s Edge as well as any other of Robert Whitlow’s books, especially to those who enjoy good legal suspense. If you are not familiar with his novels, Water’s Edge would be a good place to start.
This book was provided for review by BookSneeze.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Sometimes the smallest towns hold the biggest secrets. Ambitious young attorney Tom Crane is about to become a partner in a big-city law firm. One final matter has to be cleared from his docket—the closing of his deceased father’s law practice in the small town of Bethel. Killed in a tragic boating accident, John Crane didn’t leave his son anything except the hassle of a bankrupt estate. Then, within twenty-four hours, Tom loses his job, his girlfriend, and his cat. Job didn’t have it much worse. Returning to Bethel with his pride ground to powder, Tom’s plan to quietly shut down his father’s practice and slink out of town runs into an unexpected roadblock—two million dollars of unclaimed money stashed in a secret bank account. Tom follows the money into a tangled web of lies, theft, and off-shore financial transactions manipulated by powerful men who will do anything to stop him from discovering the truth.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Robert Whitlow is the best-selling author of legal novels set in the South and winner of the prestigious Christy Award for Contemporary Fiction. A Furman University graduate, Whitlow received his J.D. with honors from the University of Georgia School of Law where he served on the staff of the Georgia Law Review. A practicing attorney, Whitlow and his wife, Kathy, have four children. They make their home in North Carolina.
by admin | Jul 21, 2011 | Books, Contemporary Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Romance
Shadows On The Sand is the perfect summertime book and would definitely be appropriate for a beach read. The story takes place in the small New Jersey town of Seaside with much of the action centered around Carrie’s Cafe’.
Carrie Carter and her sister have come a long way in the seventeen years since they fled an alcoholic mother and a life of neglect and abuse that had grown progressively worse. The proud manager of her own cafe’, Carrie couldn’t be happier except for the fact that her desire for a family is hampered by her lack of trust in men. Even so, she can’t help wishing that Greg Barnes, a frequent customer, would notice that she was alive.
Greg has actually noticed Carrie but he is haunted by the memories of the deaths of his wife and children and continues to feel responsible. His fear of losing another person he loves prevents him from acting on his attraction to Carrie.
When Carrie’s dishwasher turns up murdered and a young waitress walks out on her job several times without warning before disappearing entirely, Greg finds himself spending more and more time with Carrie as they try to discover what is going on in Seaside.
Not only is Shadows On The Sand an intricately woven mystery, but it is a sweet romance. Populated with some remarkable characters and a few reprehensible ones, Shadows On The Sand has a plot woven with unexpected twists and turns.
I enjoyed watching Carrie and Greg as they began to overcome obstacles from their past as they were forced to face difficult situations and to make difficult choices. Shadows On The Sand is a story of faith, forgiveness, and new beginnings. I would recommend that you add this one to your summer reading list.
by admin | Jul 20, 2011 | Books, Contemporary Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Romance
This week, theChristian Fiction Blog Allianceis introducingShadows on the SandMultnomah Books (July 19, 2011)byGayle Roper
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Gayle is the award winning author of more than forty books. She has been a Christy finalist three times for her novels Spring Rain, Summer Shadows, and Winter Winds. Her novel Autumn Dreams won the prestigious Romance Writers of America’s RITA Award for Best Inspirational Romance. Summer Shadows was voted the Inspirational Readers Choice Contest Book of the Year (tied with fellow author Brandilyn Collins).
Gayle has won the Holt Medallion three times for The Decision, Caught in a Bind, and Autumn Dreams. The Decision won the Reviewers Choice Award, and Gayle has also won the Award of Excellence for Spring Rain and the Golden Quill for Summer Shadows and Winter Winds. Romantic Times Book Report gave Gayle the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Her Amhearst mystery series, Caught in the Middle, Caught in the Act, and Caught in a Bind, originally published by Zondervan, was reprinted in 2007 by Love Inspired Suspense with a fourth original title added, Caught Redhanded. Another original single title, See No Evil, was also released. Caught in the Middle has been optioned for film.
For her work in training Christian writers Gayle has won special recognition from Mount Hermon CWC, St. Davids CWC, Florida CWC, and Greater Philadelphia CWC. She directed St. Davids for five years and Sandy Cove CWC for six. She has taught with Christian Leaders, Authors and Speakers Services (CLASS), serving for several years as their writer in residence. She enjoys speaking at women’s events across the nation and loves sharing the powerful truths of Scripture with humor and practicality.
Gayle lives in southeastern Pennsylvania where she enjoys her family of two great sons, two lovely daughters-in-law, and the world’s five most wonderful grandchildren. When she’s not writing, or teaching at conferences, Gayle enjoys reading, gardening, and eating out.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Carrie Carter’s small café in Seaside, New Jersey, is populated with a motley crew of locals although Carrie only has eyes for Greg Barnes. He’s recovering from a vicious crime that three years ago took the lives of his wife and children—and from the year he tried to drink his reality away. While her heart does a happy Snoopy dance at the sight of him, he never seems to notice her, to Carrie’s chagrin.
When Carrie’s dishwasher is killed and her young waitress disappears, Greg finds himself drawn into helping Carrie solve the mysteries … and into her life. But Carrie has a painful past, too, and when the reason she once ran away shows up in town, the fragile relationship she’s built with Greg threatens to implode from the weight of the baggage they both carry. Two wounded hearts struggle to find a way to make one romance work. Failure seems guaranteed when Carrie locates her waitress but is taken hostage…
If you would like to read the first chapter of Shadows on the Sand, go HERE.
Learn more about Gayle and her books on her Website.
