Saving Hope by Margaret Daley (The Men of The Texas Rangers Series)

I got a tad lost this week, thinking that Saving Hope was the second book in this series. It is in fact, the first!
The second book in the series is Shattered Silence. Saving Hope is strong, hard hitting and a non-stop page turner. I really liked this book a great deal! As a first book in a series is is super strong!

Saving Hope is about a girl named Rose, and her life, and all those who are connected to her. Rose was found beat up and left for dead, most likely by her pimp. That is the plight of the young girls taken in and being raised at Beacon of Hope. Most of them are very young, 13 or so. They are living and going to school under Kate Winslow's care so that their lives are turned around and changed. But not all the girls are happy with their new lives, and in Roses's case, she just wants to save her friend Lily. So when Lily calls Rose and asks for help, Rose breaks the rules and rushes to save her with out thinking it through, and with out Kate or anyone else's help. Soon Lily is found dead, and Rose is still missing. Although she is alive, Rose is a connection to a huge string of un-folding events tying into human trafficking and child prostitution.

While Kate prays daily to find Rose, and works to keep Beacon Of Hope from going under, in-spite of her Mother and some other huge problems. Ranger Wyatt Sheridan battles keeping his teen-age daughter in line and dealing with his Mother dating weird guys, while he finds himself falling for Kate.

That just touches the very surface of this rather in depth book! Since CFBA is the reason I got to read this book, I have happily left the logo on here for you, although, this particular book was not set up as the book to be reviewed for this tour. That book is Scorned Justice and my review of it is coming up in my next post!

Carol :)

ABOUT THE BOOK

When a teenager goes missing from the Beacon of Hope School, Texas Ranger Wyatt Sheridan and school director Kate Winslow are forced into a dangerous struggle against a human trafficking organization. But the battle brings dire consequences as Wyatt's daughter is terrorized and Kate is kidnapped.     

Now it's personal, and Wyatt finds both his faith and investigative skills challenged as he fights to discover the mastermind behind the ring before evil destroys everyone he loves.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Margaret Daley is an award winning, multi-published author in the romance genre. One of her romantic suspense books, Hearts on the Line, won the American Christian Fiction Writers’ Book of the Year Contest. Recently she has won the Golden Quill Contest, FHL’s Inspirational Readers’ Choice Contest, Winter Rose Contest, Holt Medallion and the Barclay Gold Contest. She wrote for various secular publishers before the Lord led her to the Christian romance market. She currently writes inspirational romance and romantic suspense books for the Steeple Hill Love Inspired lines, romantic suspense for Abingdon Press and historical romance for Summerside Press. She has sold eighty-three books to date.

Margaret was the president of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), an organization of Christia writers with over 2300 members. She was one of the founding members of the first ACFW local chapter, WIN in Oklahoma. She has taught numerous classes for online groups, ACFW and RWA chapters. She enjoys mentoring other authors.

Until she retired a few years ago, she was a teacher of students with special needs for twenty-seven years and volunteered with Special Olympics as a coach. She currently is on the Outreach committee at her church, working on several projects in her community as well as serving on her church’s vestry.

On a more personal note, she has been married for over forty years to Mike and has one son and four granddaughters. She treasures her time with her family and friends.

Margaret can be reached through the Contact link on her Website 

The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/Saving-Hope-Texas-Rangers-Book/dp/1426714289/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1364655380&sr=8-4&keywords=saving+hope

The Survivor by DiAnn Mills

The Survivor is the squeal to The Chase. Karris Walker is back, and she is in more trouble than ever. After finishing Cherished Doe's cold case story in The Chase, she is now working on another cold case novel. Only now Karris has more problems. She isn't on the terms she needs to be with her FBI friend and the man she is in love with, Tigo. 

This new case that she is working on is the survival story of a little girl who had her throat slit, and was raped and left to die. Only, she didn't, and the now very adult Dr. Amy Garrett wants to get her story out there to help other women. But as events start to unfold, that seems to not be the only event, nor the only secret that Dr. Amy is with holding. Before she can pull the story threads together good, Tigo is working on a bombing that has killed a woman her daughter, and it is starting to look like the two cases could be tied together. But the who, why, where is all very murky. Tigo has to decide if he will go with God or loose Karris for good, and Karris has to be able to forgive and someone needs to do something with Dr. Garrett before she gets everyone in worse trouble than they already are. 

A good sequel  to the first book! 

Carol :) 

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing The Survivor Zondervan (March 5, 2013) by DiAnn Mills

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

DiAnn Mills believes her readers should “Expect an Adventure.” She is a fiction writer who combines an adventuresome spirit with unforgettable characters to create action-packed novels. Her books have won many awards through American Christian Fiction Writers, and she is the recipient of the Inspirational Reader’s Choice award for 2005, 2007, and 2010. She was a Christy Award finalist in 2008 and a Christy winner in 2010.

DiAnn is a founding board member for American Christian Fiction Writers, a member of Inspirational Writers Alive, Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, and is the Craftsman Mentor for the Christian Writer’s Guild. She speaks to various groups and teaches writing workshops.

DiAnn and her husband live in Houston, Texas. Visit her website or find her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/diannmills


ABOUT THE BOOK

Kariss meets Dr. Amy Garrett, who survived a brutal childhood attack in which the assailant was never found. Now Dr. Garrett wants her story written in a novel. Kariss wishes she could seek the advice of Special Agent Tigo Harris, but she broke off the relationship a few months prior and seeing him again would be too painful. She interviews Amy and conducts her own research, stepping unaware into a viper's pit of danger. Tigo misses Kariss and wants her back, but he understands why she broke off their relationship. Instead, he concentrates on solving a car bombing and bringing the killer to justice. As Kariss's new story attracts an onslaught of danger that she never expected, can Tigo save the woman he loves and find who wants her dead for writing about an unsolved cold-case?

If you would like to read the first chapter of The Survivor, go HERE.

DiAnn can be reached through the Contact link on her Website 

The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0310333229 

Wings Of Glass by Gina Holmes

Wings Of Glass is the first book I have read by Gina Holmes. I haven't quite finished it, but I am really appreciating this book. This book is about the life of woman names Penny Carson. She is married to an abusive husband. The kind that follows the patterns well known to any who have had a friend or loved one, or even themselves trapped in an abusive cycle.

Trent married Penny young. He says he loves her, he works, but he does this own thing, and sometimes, he hits her. Oh, he always "makes up for it" but the cycle always repeats again. Penny just keeps praying, because she suffers the deep lack of self-worth and emotional battering that comes with abuse, even if that abuse isn't physical.

Then, it seems the answers to her prayers have happened in a way she never expected! Trent has a work accident that leaves him blind! Suddenly he is helpless, and kind to her again. To top things off, she is expecting a baby, and oh wow! Trent wants to go to church and raise his child to not grow up and be like his  old man. The baby is something you will have known from the start of this book because Penny is writing her to child. Since they can't eat if she doesn't go to work while Trent waits to see if he will heal up, Penny gets a job. Of course, going to work means some freedom! In this case, it also means Christian friends who are odd, but have clear ideas of what abuse looks like and that Penny has no idea about how much danger she is in. After all, Penny is just now learning to stand up for herself and to figure out what has to happen to make this not be her daily life anymore. She has to have the strength and determination to change.

I am extremely happy with this beautiful in-depth look at the life of one Christian abused wife. I would like to thank Gina Holmes for showing things like they are, and not glossing abuse over as a normal thing. I deeply appreciate the open honesty of just how this can be, as I work with women I love who are also bound in life threatening situations who need prayers of protection daily. The good news is that God saves us from ourselves, and those who claim to love us but are abusive! Wings Of Glass is a book that I would not hesitate to recommend to those women.

Carol :)

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Wings of Glass

Tyndale House Publishers (March 1, 2013)

by

Gina Holmes

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Gina Holmes began her career in 1998, penning articles and short stories. In 2005 she founded the influential literary blog, Novel Journey now called Novel Rocket and she is also the founder of Inspire The Fire.

Her debut, Crossing Oceans, was a Christy and Gold Medallion finalist and winner of the Carol Award, INSPY, and RWA’s Inspirational Reader’s Choice, as well as being a CBA, ECPA, Amazon and PW Religion bestseller. Her sophomore novel,  Dry as Rain, was also named a Christy finalist. Her upcoming novel, Wings of Glass will releases this month.  She holds degrees in science and nursing and currently resides with her family in southern Virginia. She works too hard, laughs too loud, and longs to see others heal from their past and discover their God-given purpose.


ABOUT THE BOOK

From the bestselling author of Crossing Oceans comes a heart-rending yet uplifting story of friendship and redemption. On the cusp of womanhood, Penny  is swept off her feet by a handsome farmhand with a confident swagger. Though Trent Taylor seems like Prince Charming and offers an escape from her one-stop-sign-town, Penny’s happily ever after lasts no longer than their breakneck courtship. Before the ink even dries on their marriage certificate, he hits her for the first time.  It isn’t the last, yet the bruises that can’t be seen are the most painful of all.

When Trent is injured in a welding accident and his paycheck stops, he has no choice but to finally allow Penny to take a job cleaning houses. Here she meets two women from very different worlds who will teach her to live and laugh again, and lend her their backbones just long enough for her to grow her own.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Wings of Glass, go HERE.

Gina can be reached through the Contact link on her Website.

The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1414366418 

Scent of Lilacs by Ann Gabhart

This book was really hard for me to read. I had to push and pull myself through it. There was only once that I really felt like I engaged with the story. However, that didn't last for long, and it wasn't until page 212!!!

If you were expecting the kind of book that Words Spoke True was, this one isn't it. I didn't mind one bit that it was from the perspective of a thirteen-year old. That part was fine, and it was nice when we finally got to the scent of the lilacs. Even so, I could sum up the entire book in just a very very few sentences. It wasn't at all what I was expecting, and yes, this time I was disappointed. 

Carol 

About The Book:

After the summer of 1964, life for Jocie Brooke will never be the same.

Life-changing events rarely happen in quiet Hollyhill, Kentucky, and when they do, they are few and far between. But for young Jocie Brooke and her family, they happen all at once during the humid summer of 1964. Though on the surface things are just fine, it seems like everyone in Jocie’s life has something they’re not saying, something they’re hiding from her-and from themselves. As Jocie digs into her family’s past, she stirs up a whirlwind of discoveries. Will she find the answers everyone so desperately needs? Or will her questions lead to truths better left hidden?

Combining unforgettable characters, true-to-life struggles, and the perfect dose of humor and nostalgia, this riveting story from bestselling author Ann Gabhart explores the very essence of new life and love.

“Gabhart’s compelling characterization serves up a juicy slice of life in a small town where little is as it seems. Jocie’s conversational voice and quirky sense of humor are a delight.”-RT Book Reviews

Ann H. Gabhart is the bestselling author of several novels, including Angel Sister, Words Spoken True, The Outsider, The Believer, The Seeker, The Blessed, and The Gifted. She lives with her husband a mile from where she was born in rural Kentucky. Find out more at www.annhgabhart.com.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ann H. Gabhart is the bestselling author of several novels, including Angel Sister, Words Spoken True, The Outsider, The Believer, The Seeker, The Blessed, and The Gifted. She lives with her husband a mile from where she was born in rural Kentucky.

Continue reading about Ann H. Gabhart.

Available March 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Memory Of Murder by Ramona Richards

Memory Of Murder is a good paced page turner. I really *really* appreciated that the Author sent me a signed copy! I treasure that! I liked it even more that I had never read any of Ramona Richard's books, and  this was not only a great first impression, but it was suspenseful and fun as well! (For those daunted by higher priced or lengthy books, this will be just what you were looking for to read!)

Lindsay has two sisters and they all live in a small town. Her sisters are married, and all have careers  Lindsay is single, but is working hard on her restaurant. Suddenly  her life is flipped upside down! Someone wants her dead, or her neighbor  or maybe her sister. Slowly, but surely, with the help of a handsome Christian officer, Jeff, Lindsay starts to think this mess is something coming from her past. However, she has blocked her memory from what happened when she was little. Lindsay, July in her past, must unearth her memories with out falling apart, and with out getting killed while she is putting the pieces together. She also must make sure she doesn't get those she loves killed while she is stumbling around in the dark of her life, and figure out that she either trusts God to lead her, or she doesn't.

Memory Of Murder was suspenseful, nicely written with just enough romance, but not too much. Emotions were sorted out, deep ones, lots of prayer was included, as well as Scripture. Not all is as it seems, and this book shows that very nicely. I enjoyed my first book by Ramona Richards!

Thank you!
Carol

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Memory of Murder

Love-Inspired Suspense

by

Ramona Richards

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

A word from Ramona:

The hardest biographical sketch to write is always your own, whether or not you’re a writer by profession. You can’t decide what to throw in, what to leave out, and whether or not you should list strengths and flaws, or just strengths.

I like writing and telling stories so much that I once tried to live out a few. After getting a master’s in English, I went on to be the seneschale of my local Society for Creative Anachronism. I had a rocky start, but I did get better. (Robin Hood, eat your heart out.)

People often ask members of the SCA, “Are you in a play?” so I thought it would be fun to do that, too. For seven years, I produced and performed in shows staged by Nashville’s Circle Players.

Although I’m single now, I married in 1982 and in 1987 had Rachel. She’s a cutie. Severely disabled, she’s the heroine of many an article for Special Ed Today magazine. Rachel's nurse, Phyllis, is the real life heroine of “An Act of Desperation,” which I sold to Chicken Soup for the Caregiver’s Soul.

I’m not really a complex person, and my dreams are fairly straightforward: sell books, have enough money to pay the bills and travel a bit, and settle into a cottage. In early 2006, I bought the cottage, which is now more or less swamped by books and DVDs. I write at night (I’m a lifelong night owl), and I occasionally escape by scuba diving, hiking, dancing, and going to movies and bookstores.

I’ve gone to the same church since 1993, and I even sing in the choir. It’s a small but awesome church. I’m no angel, although occasionally I play one in the backyard.

I like staying busy. Life is too short not to follow your dreams.

ABOUT THE BOOK


THE SECRETS OF HER PAST COULD IMPERIL HER FUTURE

Lindsey Presley certainly can't imagine why anyone would want her dead-though she knows she wouldn't be alive today if not for the local cop who saved her from two murder attempts. Deputy Jeff Gage has worked difficult cases, but with only Lindsey's fractured memories of a broken past to guide him, this is by far his most challenging.

For Lindsey, fleeing the town she has come to call home is unthinkable. Separately, they are vulnerable, but together, Jeff and Lindsey just may stand a chance of catching a ruthless killer.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Memory of Murder, go HERE.

Watch the book video trailer:


The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0373445318 

Love In A Broken Vessel by Mesu Andrews

Love In A Broken Vessel is the Bible Story of  Hosa and Gomer, added in in the amazing way that Mesu Andrew's writes. This book is simply amazing! I am relishing it and while I haven't finished reading it, it is only because I am making sure I don't miss a single word or lessen the impact of each page. In this book, just as in the Bible, we read about Hosa, a man of God, a Prophet who marries a woman who can't stay faithful to him. Even so, Hosa loves Gomer in the kind of love that God commands husband to show to their wives. Husbands are to love their wives like Christ loved the Church, so much that he died for her! Hosa has this kind of love for Gomer. When she betrays him, breaks his trust, breaks his heart, he goes back and rescues her over and over again - showing that "no greater love" that Jesus has shown to us. Broken, abused, un-trusting, bug Gomer is on a road to healing and redemption if she will just take a hold of the love that God gives her, and the love that Hosa is showing her and all of Israel.

Carol

    Book Description

Hosea has been charged by God with a difficult task--marry a prostitute in order to show God's people the nature and depth of his love for Israel. When Hosea goes to Israel to proclaim God's message, the prostitute God tells him to marry turns out to be his childhood friend Gomer. He finds her broken and abused, unwilling to trust Hosea or his God. But when marrying Hosea becomes her only choice, Gomer does what she's good at--she survives. Can Hosea's love for God and God's love for Israel heal Gomer's broken spirit?

With her potent combination of in-depth research and masterful storytelling, Mesu Andrews brings to life a complex and fascinating biblical story of the power of love and forgiveness in the face of utter betrayal.

   From the Back Cover

An epic journey of intimacy, rejection, betrayal . . . and hope
God gives Hosea a difficult command--marry a prostitute in order to show God's people the nature and depth of His love for Israel. When Hosea goes to Israel to proclaim the Lord's message, the woman God directs him to marry turns out to be his childhood friend Gomer. He finds her broken and abused, unwilling to trust Hosea or his God. But when marrying Hosea becomes her only means of escape, Gomer does what she's good at--she survives. Can Hosea's love for God and God's love for Israel restore Gomer's broken spirit?

With her powerful combination of in-depth research and masterful storytelling, Mesu Andrews brings to life one of the most complex and fascinating stories of love and forgiveness in the face of utter betrayal.

Praise for Mesu Andrews
"Andrews's research shines through on every page as she delves deeply into the cultural, historical, and biblical records to create this fascinating and multilayered tale."--CBA Retailers + Resources on Love Amid the Ashes
"Andrews weaves a beautiful tale and takes readers to an ancient Jerusalem rich with history and customs and a culture that struggles to follow the one true God. This novel is well researched and well told."--RT Book Reviews, 4½ stars, on Love's Sacred Song
"Andrews breathes life into her characters."--Library Journal on Love's Sacred Song
Mesu Andrews is the author of Love Amid the Ashes and Love's Sacred Song. Winner of the 2012 ECPA award for Best New Author, she is an active speaker who has devoted herself to passionate and intense study of Scripture. Harnessing her deep understanding and love for God's Word, Andrews brings the biblical world vividly alive for her readers. She lives in Washington.

 About the Author

Mesu Andrews is the author of Love Amid the Ashes and Love's Sacred Song. She is an active speaker who has devoted herself to passionate and intense study of Scripture. Harnessing her deep understanding and love for God's Word, Andrews brings the biblical world vividly alive for her readers. She lives in Washington.

The Book Link: http://www.amazon.com/Love-Broken-Vessel-A-Novel/dp/0800721691

An Interview with the Author about this book: http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=WDGD6LNX

Available March 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Moonlight Masquerade by Ruth Axtell (A Regency Romance)

What an intriguing book Moonlight Masquerade turned out to be! I am not sure if it is the way that Ruth Axtell writes, or just the plot in this book that got my attention. Of course, I am a bit fond of the Masquerade idea, and it was worked so very nicely into this book! Moonlight Masquerade is about a woman named Celine. Her forced marriage to an elderly earl left her with financial freedom, but no children, a mean sister-in-law, and an over all unhappy life. Celine decides to spice up her life a bit by being a low key spy. She really more fancied herself doing something to keep her from being so board, when suddenly she is sent a new Butler that is surely working for the Brits! One problem - she is drawn to him, a lowly grey eyed butler, a servant in her household! Ress AKA Mr. MacKinnon, is at odds with himself. He has a country to protect, a woman he is falling for who has many great qualities but he isn't at all sure she isn't a French spy, and he is overwhelmingly drawn to figure this out and to protect her. However, there are costs on all sides involved, and does the Lady Wexham even know the God who Ress serves?

A fun book to read,well set in the time period with lots of interaction with many servants. A few characters that were able to keep me wondering about their true motives until close to the end. Well done!

Carol :)

  About The Book:

Sometimes it is hard to tell if you are the cat or the mouse.

Lady Céline Wexham seems the model British subject. French by birth but enjoying life in 1813 as a widowed English countess, she is in the unique position of being able to help those in need--or to spy for the notorious Napoleon Bonaparte.

When Rees Phillips of the British Foreign Office is sent to pose as the countess's butler and discover where her true loyalties lie, he is confident he will uncover the truth. But the longer he is in her fashionable townhouse in London's West End, the more his staunch loyalty to the Crown begins to waver as he falls under Lady Wexham's spell.

Will he find the proof he needs? And if she is a spy after all, what then will he do?

With sharp wit, fast-paced dialogue, and infectious intrigue, Ruth Axtell deftly creates a world where black and white burst into a confusion of colors--and no one is who they seem.


"Intrigue, romance, a clandestine kiss . . . all cast in a Regency setting so magnificently detailed I could see the fabrics and feel the glow of another era. A wonderfully romantic and memorable read!"--Maureen Lang, author of Bees in the Butterfly Garden

"The first paragraph drew me into the story, and the next twist held me there to the end."--Laurie Alice Eakes, author of A Flight of Fancy

"A wonderful romance, graced with expert detail of the Regency period, as well as with Ruth Axtell's usual flair for intensely romantic situations between characters so real I couldn't stop thinking about them."--Melanie Dickerson, two-time Christy Award finalist and author of The Healer's Apprentice and The Merchant's Daughter

  About the Author

Ruth Axtell is the author of thirteen novels, including Wild Rose, one of Booklist's Top Ten in Christian Fiction. Currently a resident of Downeast Maine, Axtell has lived in the Canary Islands, Miami, and the Netherlands.

Her Website: http://ruthaxtell.com/

The Book Link: http://www.amazon.com/Moonlight-Masquerade-A-Regency-Romance/dp/080072089X

Available March 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group! :) 

Strands Of Deception by Robin Caroll

My book did not show up in time for my review, so here is the standard post.
Carol :)

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Strands of Deception

B&H Books (March 1, 2013)

by

Robin Caroll

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Born and raised in Louisiana, Robin Caroll is a southerner through and through. Her passion has always been to tell stories to entertain others. Robin’s mother, bless her heart, is a genealogist who instilled in Robin the deep love of family and pride of heritage—two aspects Robin weaves into each of her books.

When she isn’t writing, Robin spends time with her husband of twenty-plus years, her 3 beautiful daughters, 2 precious grandsons, and their character-filled pets at home—in the South, where else?


ABOUT THE BOOK

When Gina Ford, the daughter of a prominent Tennessee politician, goes missing from the University of Memphis a week after another girl was murdered on the same campus, police call in the FBI. Nick Hagar, married to his job as Special Agent in Charge, is assigned to the case, and when Gina’s body is found, her father demands justice.

Maddie Baxter is the forensic expert running DNA tests from the crime scene. When they come back without a match, Nick asks her to do a familial DNA run that yields a shocking result: the prime suspect is Adam Alexander, the very same guy who broke Maddie’s heart when she was in college.

But do scientific advancements tell the whole story? Strand of Deception offers romance, suspense, and a lively debate about the impact of DNA testing, for better or worse, on the United States justice system.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Strands of Deception, go HERE.

Robin can be reached through the Contact link on her Website

The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1433672146