Pharaoh's Daughters by Mesu Andrews

My copy of this book came in a bit late, so I am behind in reading. What I have read so far is dynamite! I am really enjoyed Mesu's rendition of this Biblical story. Thus far it is a very interesting read, with characters that draw me in and have me reading quickly, even though I know the Biblical story very well.

Annipe is one of Pharaoh's daughters, and it is she who is raising Moses in this book. If you have read your Bible much, you know Moses was raised as an Egyptian, even though he was a Jewish child.

This book is griping, and I can't wait to finish reading it. While I don't think the pharaoh in charge is the one from the actual time period, it still works really well for this book.

Carol :)

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Pharaoh's Daughter

WaterBrook Press (March 17, 2015)

by

Mesu Andrews

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Mesu Andrews’ deep understanding of and love for God’s Word brings the biblical world alive for her readers. She and her husband, Roy, enjoyed fourteen years of pastoral ministry before moving to the Pacific Northwest, where Roy now serves as Academic Dean at Multnomah Biblical Seminary. Mesu writes full-time, snuggled in her recliner beside a cozy fire on rainy Northwest days.  The Andrews’ enjoy visiting their two married daughters and a growing tribe of grandkids. Mesu loves movies, football, waterfalls, and travel.


Biblical fiction is her favorite genre to read and write. Her first novel, Love Amid the Ashes (Revell, 2011), tells the story of Job and won the 2012 ECPA Book of the Year for a Debut Author.


ABOUT THE BOOK

“Fear is the most fertile ground for faith.”


“You will be called Anippe, daughter of the Nile. Do you like it?” Without waiting for a reply, she pulls me into her squishy, round tummy for a hug.
I’m trying not to cry. Pharaoh’s daughters don’t cry.
When we make our way down the tiled hall, I try to stop at ummi Kiya’s chamber. I know her spirit has flown yet I long for one more moment. Amenia pushes me past so I keep walking and don’t look back.

Like the waters of the Nile, I will flow.

Anippe has grown up in the shadows of Egypt’s good god Pharaoh, aware that Anubis, god of the afterlife, may take her or her siblings at any moment. She watched him snatch her mother and infant brother during childbirth, a moment which awakens in her a terrible dread of ever bearing a child. Now she is to be become the bride of Sebak, a kind but quick-tempered Captain of Pharaoh Tut’s army. In order to provide Sebak the heir he deserves and yet protect herself from the underworld gods, Anippe must launch a series of deceptions, even involving the Hebrew midwives—women ordered by Tut to drown the sons of their own people in the Nile.

When she finds a baby floating in a basket on the great river, Anippe believes Egypt’s gods have answered her pleas, entrenching her more deeply in deception and placing her and her son Mehy, whom handmaiden Miriam calls Moses, in mortal danger.

As bloodshed and savage politics shift the balance of power in Egypt, the gods reveal their fickle natures and Anippe wonders if her son, a boy of Hebrew blood, could one day become king. Or does the god of her Hebrew servants, the one they call El Shaddai, have a different plan—for them all?

If you would like to read the first chapter of Pharaoh's Daughter, go HERE.

Here is an interview: http://christianfictiononlinemagazine.com/best_interview.html

Mesa can be reached through the Contact link on her Website 

The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1601425996

If I Run by Terri Blackstock

Casey Cox is in a mess she can't get out of with out a whole lot of help. Her friend is dead, and her DNA is everywhere. She didn't even try to hide it, but Casey also didn't cause his death, but the evidence is more than enough to convict her. 

She has to run, if she doesn't, she is dead. Maybe just life in prison, but probably not. Why? What did Brent know or who did he cross to have this happen? Who is after her and how she keep those she loves safe, or even keep herself alive and not in prison?

Casey's father was an officer. She knows some from him, and now she has to stay one step ahead of the killers, and one step ahead of the law. Meanwhile, a former war hero has been hired by the Pace's, Brent's parents. Dylan's job is to find Casey. What will he really find when he finds her? 

I was occasionally frustrated at how much like Casey's "voice" sounded like Dylan's "voice" for a while. It did improve, but for a while I was thrown by it. Overall a  good read that will have two more in the series, I look forward to the next book.

My copy came from Net Galley in exchange for my honest review and nothing more.

The author's web site: http://terriblackstock.com/news/ 

Cold Shot by Dani Pettrey

The start of a new series in this case is good! 

Four best friends had brilliant lives and careers ahead of them. Then, Luke vanished, and with him, all their lives took separate roads and their friendships languished and were thought to be broken. 

Griffin has been in war, now he isn't a SWAT team member anymore. He just works as a park ranger on an age old battle ground, Gettysburg. His rather numbing routine changes when he finds two guys trying to steal relics of war. These guys dug up a body, but the body isn't from the war, it's current. 

Left with out a choice, the top people in the fields they are in are his old friends. Now they are all back together, and none of them are ok. Even so they have to work to solve who is dumping bodies before more people die, especially one of them. 

The romance is ok, but the strength lies in the realistic issues from all the main characters and the strong theme of forgiveness. I really liked this book. My copy came from Bethany House in exchange for my honest review and nothing more.

Carol :) 

About

Four Best Friends. 
And Then One Went Missing . . . 
In college, Griffin McCray and his three best friends had their lives planned out. Griffin and Luke Gallagher would join the Baltimore Police Department, Declan Grey would head to the FBI, and Parker Mitchell would study to become a crime scene analyst. But then Luke vanished before graduation and their world--and friendships--crumbled. 

Now years later, Griffin has left the police and his friendships behind. Still trying to forget a case that went bad when he was a SWAT team sniper, he's living a quiet life as a park ranger at Gettysburg. Quiet until skeletal remains are uncovered near Little Round Top--and they aren't Civil War-era. 

Griffin just wants the case to go away, but charming forensic anthropologist Finley Scott discovers evidence pointing to the work of an expert sniper. When FBI agent Declan Grey steps in to take over the case, past and present collide. Griffin soon realizes he'll need to confront some of the darkest days of his life if he--and those he cares about--are going to escape a downward spiral of crime, danger, and murder.

Dani Pettrey is a wife, home-schooling mom, and the acclaimed author of the Alaskan Courage romantic suspense series, which includes her bestselling novels Submerged, Shattered, Stranded, Silenced, and Sabotaged. Her books have been honored with the Daphne du Maurier award, two HOLT Medallions, two National Readers' Choice Awards, the Gail Wilson Award of Excellence, and Christian Retailing's Best Award, among others.  

She feels blessed to write inspirational romantic suspense because it incorporates so many things she loves--the thrill of adventure, nail-biting suspense, the deepening of her characters' faith, and plenty of romance. She and her husband reside in Maryland, where they enjoy time with their two daughters, a son-in-law, and a super adorable grandson. You can find her online at danipettrey.com.

Soul's Prisoner by Cara Luecht (Portraits of Grace Book 2)

This book is intriguing! While tying to the first book, you might could read this one alone. However, I would really recommend reading the first book so that you don't lose any of the depth of these books.

Rachel is a prisoner in the "nut hut" if you will, for having seen what she hadn't planned to see. Her torment is on more than one level. Her life is not at all like she ever dreamed it would be. Locked away, what will happen to Rachel? Is she really crazy, or will she go crazy from all this?

Meanwhile, Jenny thought she had it together now. After all she has been through, she thought she almost had her life sorted out. Then things majorly changed. Her world is falling apart, in all sorts of ways.

The threads of this story have to do with love, healing, forgiving, and truth waring with evil and darkness. The gifts in play are growing for Miriam. The characters are growing and it's not hard to get attached to them quickly. This book was a page tuner for me, and the darker or Gothic tones are simply fascinating.

Carol :)

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Soul's Prisoner

(WhiteFire Publishing (December 15, 2015))

by

Cara Luecht

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

A Word from the Author: I never planned to be a writer.

In fact, it took me a while to finish college. But I did, and here I am. And I now I can’t imagine not being a writer.

By day, I am an English Instructor for a local college, mother to four amazing children, and wife to an eternally patient and supportive husband.

In the evening, when I can squirrel away some quiet time, I read and write historical fiction.

I have a B.A. in English Lit. from UW Whitewater and an M.F.A in Creative Writing from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, NJ.

If you have a question for me, or if you are local and would like me to stop by your book club or writer’s group, please drop me a line via the “Ask the Author” tab. I always love the opportunity to meet with others who share my love of books.



ABOUT THE BOOK


She'll fight for her future...but can she escape her past?

Chicago, Winter, 1891
Rachel is in danger. She's seen too much.
She creeps along the cement walls through the dank underbelly of the asylum. She'd never planned to leave her quiet farm life, never thought she'd find a place in the city, never imagined she'd be in the kind of danger that would have her cowering in Dunning's cold, labyrinthine basement.

Jenny has finally found her place. After a childhood of abuse, she has friends, a real job, and her only wish is to give her adopted son the kind of life she never had.

A life of stability, without the risk and uncertainty of a father.
But when Jeremy, Rachel's brother, stumbles into their warehouse, asking for help to find his missing sister, Jenny's carefully constructed life begins to crumble.


The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0373442726 

If you would like to read the first chapter of Soul's Prisoner, go HERE.

Virginia can be reached through the Contact link on her Website 

Evil Forebodings by Carol E. Keen

It's announcement time again! My second fiction book is called Evil Forebodings.
Here is my cover:

About the Book:

Tiffany Rodgers is the kind of danger that she never dreamed could happen to her in the quiet little town of Newville. She is being stalked and having strange visions. The animals even seem different of late, somehow affected by the changes in the air. Officer Allen Lawrence is drawn to Tiffany, but he has reservations. Is she losing her mind, playing games, or are the things that she is seeing more than just evil forebodings?

So far I have one five star rating. I hope that you will check it out, because my beta readers have said it is good. That just makes me excited! Here is the book link:

http://amazon.com/Evil-Forebodings-Some-Fight-Begun-ebook/dp/B01AFK9JJC

Feel free to ask questions. I love hearing from you! 

Carol :) 

PS - One more news update. Monstrous Beauty, the sequel to Beauty For Ashes is now being edited. It's the second book in The Beauty Series.