Thursday, June 15, 2017

None So Blind by Chautona Havig

None so blind FB Banner copy
Click here to purchase your copy.

About the Book

nonesoblindcover
Book title: None So Blind
Author: Chautona Havig
Release date: September 29, 2013
Genre: Contemporary
Dani and Ella Weeks–two women who share one thing in common. The same life, the same family, and the same body.
When Dani wakes with no knowledge of who or where she is–no memories of her life at all–David and Dani Weeks discover that “til death do us part” takes on an entirely unexpected meaning. Practically speaking, Dani died. But she didn’t.
What’s a gal to do?
In a desperate attempt to separate the old life from the new, Dani insists on a new name, a twist of her old one–Ella.
Ella’s doctors can’t explain what happened. Her children can’t understand why she doesn’t know them. David, her husband, finds himself torn between admiration for the “new” version of his wife and missing the woman he’s known for over fifteen years.
Will Ella ever regain her memory? Why does their pastor suspect it’s one great hoax? 

My Review:
What a bold story! None so blind is  a dramatic read that didn't disappoint.  This author has some mystery behind the entire Dani is now Ella issues. I felt very connected to Ella when she came home and hated her house, and when she started to take hold of her life and change it. This is a story that pulls you in and keeps you rooting for Dani/Ella. (Daniella, I love how the author did that!) Ella is totally different from Dani in so many ways, and yet, she is still the woman David married, the mother of his children. David is having to get to know his wife, a very different version of his wife, all over again. Even when somethings aggravated me, they made perfect sense on why they were the way they were. 

Now really, what is going on with Pastor Vince? Why would he ever think that Dani became Ella on purpouse or for some other reason? This guy baffles me more than this family going through this entire major upheaval while holding onto God and trying to rebuild a life completely renovated. 

A throughly fascinating read, and I'm looking forward to the next book in this series. 



About the Author 
media-headshot-smChautona Havig lives and writes in California’s Mojave Desert with her husbnd and five of her nine children. Through her novels, she hopes to encourage Christians in their walk with Jesus.

Guest post from Chautona Havig

“Who are you, again?”
“I’m Joe’s, daughter. Vyonie.” My sister pointed to me. “This is Chautona.”
For some odd reason, the niece she spent the least amount of time with, Aunt Doris remembered—somewhat. But she didn’t remember Vyonie from what I could tell. She smiled at me, that amazing, sweet smile I’d never forget. She asked how I was. I always thought that Mrs. Sanderson—mother of John, Alicia, and Carl on the TV show, Little House on the Prairie—looked and sounded like Aunt Doris. Of course, that memory of me didn’t last. A minute or two later, she gave me a big smile and asked if she knew me.
It gave me a picture of what it must have been like for my character, Ella Weeks—to wake up every day with these children there—children who knew her, but she didn’t remember. The hurt she caused every time she had to struggle to admit she didn’t know something she probably should—again. So, I thought I’d ask her to tell us about it.
Ella: People often assume that the worst part of losing my memory are the memories that disappeared, too. But it’s not. A much as I’d love to remember my wedding day, my daughter’s first steps, my son’s first words, or that moment I realized I was pregnant with my third, those are blessings that I don’t think about often. No, what hurts most is seeing the pain in my children’s eyes when they need me to remember something and I can’t. For me, not remembering their first day of kindergarten is an inconvenience. For them, it’s a further reminder that if they didn’t tell me, I wouldn’t know them. That without them pushing themselves into my life, I wouldn’t care about them any more than any other human in my path. I do now, of course, but not at first. I hate that they heard David say once, “…she doesn’t know me. She doesn’t trust me. She doesn’t know our children. She tries, but she could walk out of our lives tomorrow and never miss us.”
Living so close to it every day, I missed those little bits of pain that I inflicted without meaning to, but when I went with our Bible study to a nursing home and visited with the residents, then I saw it. Women with tears running down their cheeks as loved ones patted their hands and tried to comfort. I heard one man offer to find a woman’s father. She squeezed him close and whispered, “It’s okay, Daddy. I love you. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
The man promised to try to find her father in the meantime.
Those people there—most of them didn’t realize they didn’t remember someone important. They didn’t struggle to remember this or that. Their dementia had gotten bad enough that their lives had gone from constant frustration to, by comparison, blissful oblivion.
And their families withered with each forgotten face, name, moment.
That’s what my “episode” did for my family. It caused them pain that just resurfaced every time something new happened. Pain that I didn’t know I inflicted. And since that visit, I have a greater compassion and awareness of just how amazing and powerful memories are.
I also have a greater appreciation for those beautiful words in Isaiah when the Lord promised… “I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins.”
You see, there’s a lifetime of the sins that Jesus died for buried somewhere in my brain—or, at least at one time there was. I know that those sins were in there, because the ones I committed yesterday are there today. The ones I’ve already confessed and been forgiven for—I beat myself up for the next morning. A week later. A month. But the Lord has wiped them clean. I just keep smearing them back out there again as if to say, “But You don’t get how BAD I was.” Yeah. The arrogance, right? Because an almighty, holy God can’t possibly understand how sinful a sinner that He had to DIE to save from those sins… is. The arrogance? That’s an understatement.
But all those years before that horrible morning… gone. Maybe I stole something. I don’t know. It was forgiven, wiped clean, and then wiped from my memory. I can’t rehash it with the Lord over and over. I can’t drag it back up like a wife who won’t let her husband forget the one time he forgot her birthday. I can’t use it as a whip to beat myself up with. And I think there’s something beautiful in that.
Do I wish I could stop hurting my family with my blank past? Of course. But am I also grateful for a living picture of the fresh start the Lord gives His people at salvation? Definitely. I hope I never take it for granted again.

Blog Stops

June 15: Genesis 5020
June 15: Lane Hill House
June 16: The Scribbler
June 18: Carpe Diem
June 19: Quiet Quilter
June 20: Mommynificent
June 22: Remembrancy
June 23: Pause for Tales
June 24: Bigreadersite 
June 25: Lots of Helpers
June 27: God1meover
June 28: Just Jo’Anne
June 28: Henry Happens

Giveaway

 bf3041c3-aba6-432d-bade-2a2bc46cd775To celebrate her tour, Chautona is giving away a grand prize that includes:
1 $25 Amazon Gift Card
1 Paperback Copy of None So Blind
1 Paperback Copy of Will Not See
1 Lampwork Necklace
1 Cool denim mini-backpack (to hold your stuff!)
1 Custom Travel Mug (with quote from book)
1 FREE eBook code to share with a friend!
Click below to enter. Be sure to comment on this post before you enter to claim 9 extra entries! https://promosimple.com/ps/ba35

Saturday, June 10, 2017

The Secret Slipper by Amanda Tero


The Secret slipper FB banner copy


Click here to purchase your copy.

About the Book

The Secret Slipper final
Book title: The Secret Slipper
Author: Amanda Tero
Release date: May 25, 2017
Genre: YA Historical Fiction
Being a cripple is only the beginning of Lia’s troubles. It seems as if Bioti’s goal in life is to make Lia as miserable as possible. If Lia’s purpose is to be a slave, then why did God make her a cripple? How can He make something beautiful out of her deformity?
Raoul never questioned the death of his daughter until someone reports her whereabouts. If Ellia is still alive, how has she survived these ten years with her deformity? When Raoul doesn’t know who to trust, can he trust God to keep Ellia safe when evidence reveals Bioti’s dangerous character?
As time brings more hindrances, will Raoul find Ellia, or will she forever be lost to the father she doesn’t even know is searching for her?

My Review:

This was a fast little read. It's a slightly different twist on Cinderella. While it does seem that I have read or seen this twist before somewhere, it was well written after you get into it a little bit.  In many ways, it's a story about healing from a broken home, as well as brokenness. There is no romance involved in this rendition. It has plenty of scripture and themes of abuse, disabilities, and forgiveness. Due to the abuse issues, I would recommend this book for ages 13 or 14 and up. 

About the Author 
Amanda bio picAmanda Tero is a homeschool graduate who desires to provide God-honoring, family-friendly reading material. She has enjoyed writing since before ten years old, but it has only been since 2013 that she began seriously pursuing writing again – starting with some short stories that she wrote for her sisters as a gift. Her mom encouraged her to try selling the stories she published, and since then, she has begun actively writing short stories, novellas, and novels.
If something she has written draws an individual into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ, it is worth it!

Guest post from Amanda Tero

Do you ever have plans that come up from almost nowhere? That is kind of how “The Secret Slipper” started. I had written a fun novella, “Befriending the Beast.” It was a stand-alone. Just for fun. My relief project during a longer project. Well, no sooner had “Befriending the Beast” released when a friend asked me, “Hey, have you considered a father/daughter Cinderella story?” That night I stayed up until after midnight, mulling over ideas and coming up with the title. Lord Kiralyn, who appeared in “Befriending the Beast” as Belle’s uncle now had a story—involving a daughter that I didn’t know existed, but whose existence created a whirlwind of adventure, heartache, and excitement. And now that I have two books in the series, my brain is already pulling at ideas for a book three. But that’s another story for another day.

Blog Stops

June 6: Remembrancy
June 10: Reading Is My SuperPower (Spotlight)
June 11: Karen Sue Hadley
June 12: A Path of Joy
June 13: Bukwurmzzz
June 13: cherylbbookblog (Spotlight)
June 19: Henry Happens
June 19: Bookworm Mama (Spotlight)

Giveaway

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To celebrate her tour, Amanda is giving away a grand prize of paperback copies of Amanda’s three novellas: Journey to Love, Befriending the Beast, and The Secret Slipper.Click below to enter. Be sure to comment on this post before you enter to claim 9 extra entries! https://promosimple.com/ps/b994


Friday, June 2, 2017

Threads of Suspicion by Dee Henderson


About The Book:

Will her latest cold case unravel before justice is served?


Evie Blackwell's reputation as a top investigator for the Illinois State Police has landed her an appointment to the governor's Missing Persons Task Force. With so much public fanfare surrounding the launch of this elite investigative team, the political stakes are high, and the team will have to produce results--and quickly.

Evie and her new partner, David Marshal, are assigned to a pair of unrelated cases in suburban Chicago, and while both involve persons now missing for several years, the cases couldn't be more different. As Evie opens old wounds in a close-knit neighborhood over the disappearance of a college student, David searches for a private investigator whose last case involved a high-powered client.

With a deep conviction that "justice for all" truly matters, Evie and David are unrelenting in their search for the truth. But the questions that lie just beneath the surface in Evie's personal life are also begging for answers.

 My Review: 

I have really fallen for Evie Blackwell. These novels are simply page turners. Evie is now part of a missing persons team. Meanwhile, David is hunting for a missing PI. (Bad thing to be a PI and missing you know.) Do the cases connect like they think they do? Do they really overlap like it looks like? I am so involved with Evie that she feels more realistic than many other characters. She could be part of your extend family or a close friend. I'm totally rooting for Evie and David and I really look forward to the next book in this series. It's clean, has the proper Christian parts, and didn't disappoint at all.

My copy came from Bethany House. I wasn't required to leave a positive review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. 


Dee Henderson is the author of numerous novels, including TakenUndetectedUnspoken, Full Disclosure, and the acclaimed O'Malley and Uncommon Heroes series. Her books have won or been nominated for several prestigious industry awards, such as the RITA Award, the Christy Award, and the ECPA Gold Medallion. Dee is a lifelong resident of Illinois. Learn more at www.deehenderson.com.

Invitation by Bill Myers, Frank Peretti, Angela Hunt, and Alton Gansky.


My Review: 

This is a super read. I had already read other works by all the authors in this book, but together they created a super novel. Each author has given us a character  and made this book like a TV show. The house that haunts you, tattoo artists who see the future, a former priest who works off logic, and can remind me of Sherlock Holmes in some aspects, skip on over into the spirit realm and dive into this multi-layered novel. I don't think you will be sorry that you read it, I know that I'm not! It was a riveting read. 

My copy came from Bethany House. I wasn't require to leave a positive review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. 

About
Four Strangers with Gifts They Don't Understand. 
A World Falling into Darkness. 
This is 
Harbingers.

You're invited on a journey of suspense and the supernatural as four of your favorite bestselling authors team up for a unique series. 

From the minds of Bill Myers, Frank Peretti, Angela Hunt, and Alton Gansky, Invitation compiles the first four episodes of Harbingers, each following a different character. 

BRENDA--the street-hustling tattoo artist who sees images of the future
THE PROFESSOR--the atheist ex-priest ruled by logic
ANDI--the professor's brilliant but geeky assistant who sees inexplicable patterns
TANK--the naïve, big-hearted jock with a surprising connection to a healing power

Brought together for the first time in "The Call," the four soon realize pockets of darkness are emerging throughout the world. Whether it involves a mysterious house, the unexplainable death of animals around the world, or an otherworldly little girl, each puzzle they solve brings them closer to the ultimate explanation of what's happening. But will they discover the truth in time?

THE AUTHORS

  1. Bill Myers

  1. Bill Myers is a youth worker, creative writer, and film director who co-created the "McGee and Me!" book and video series; his work has received over forty national and international awards. His many books include Hot Topics, Tough Questions,...

  2. Frank Peretti





Frank E. Peretti is one of American Christianity's best-known authors. His novels, including This Present Darkness, have sold more than 10 million copies. He makes his home in Idaho. 


  1. Angela Hunt





The author of more than 100 published books and with nearly 5 million copies of her books sold worldwide, Angela Hunt is the New York Times bestselling author of The Note, The Nativity Story, and Esther: Royal Beauty. Romantic Times...

  1. Alton Gansky


  1. Alton Gansky is the author of twenty-four novels and eight nonfiction books. He is a Carol Award winner and an Angel Award winner, and has been a Christy Award finalist. He holds a BA and an MA in biblical studies and has been awarded a Doctor of Literature...