The Extreme Devotion Series: No Greater Love and More than Conquerors by Kathi Macias

Greetings Readers!

Extreme is the word for No Greater Love. This was a rather gripping page turner, and one of the few books I have read that I couldn't predict the plot, or be rather sure of what was coming next. I did find it sad, but yet true in many ways. It did cause me to grieve though, which I am sure was not the intent of the author. It is though, a very good portrayal of South Africa in a very dark time of its history.

I haven't quite finished More Than Conquerors because I had a mailing issue occur. :p

I can tell you that this book is almost a totally different tone than the first book in this series. It appears to have a much different ending than No Greater Love. This is good for readers who don't care for the first book because the second one is much different.

Things that are alike are the ways that the main characters find God, and how they hear from God and how this affects their lives. That part is very real and nicely done.

Carol :)

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
The Extreme Devotion series

No Greater Love

More Than Conquerors New Hope Publishers (April 5, 2010)
by
Kathi Macias
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Kathi Macias is an award-winning author of more than twenty fiction and nonfiction books. She has also ghostwritten and collaborated on books for a number of well-known individuals. She is a staff member for The Christian Communicator Manuscript Critique Service and a member of The Christian Proofreaders and Editors Network, Christian Authors Network, American Christian Fiction Writers, Christian Writers Fellowship International, Advanced Writers/Speakers Association, for who she serves as membership chair, and orange County Christian Writers Fellowship. She is the 2008 winner of AWSA’s Golden Scroll Award.



A Former newspaper columnist and string reporter, Macias is a credentialed minister and served as an associate pastor at a large church in Southern California, where she did biblical counseling, trained small group leaders, and oversaw support/recovery ministries. She is a popular speaker at churches, women’s clubs and retreats, and writers’ conferences, and has appeared on several radio and TV programs.


ABOUT THE BOOKS

...(set in South Africa in 1989, during the violence and turmoil just prior to Nelson Mandela’s release from prison and the overthrow of Apartheid.

Forbidden romance, an unlikely martyr and an even more unlikely hero. Orphaned four years earlier when their parents, active in the African National Congress ANC movement against apartheid, were murdered16-year-old Chioma and her 15-year-old brother Masozi now live and work on an Afrikaner familys farm. When Chioma and Andrew, the farm owners son, find themselves attracted to one another, tragedy revisits their lives. Chioma escapes to join an ANC rebel band in her effort to survive and gain revenge for her family and culture. When cultures clash in life-or-death struggles, Chioma must choose between violence and revengeor forgiveness and selfless love. Loosely based on historical events and set near Pretoria, South Africa, in the violent upheaval prior to ANC leader Nelson Mandelas release from prison in 1990 and his ascendance to the presidency of South Africa, this story of forbidden romance produces an unlikely martyr who is replaced by one even more unlikely.

If you would like to read the Prologue and first Chapter of No Greater Love, go HERE.

Watch the video trailer:

...(set in Tijuana, Mexico, and also in San Juan Chamula, Mexico, which is deep in the heart of Mayan country)

True love ignites their passionate pursuit of His call With violent crime on the rise and the political climate changing throughout certain parts of Mexico, the opportunity for open Christian witness, particularly in some areas of Chiapas State, is rapidly decreasing. Hector Rodriguez pastors a small church in the tourist-popular border town of Tijuana. He also routinely carries Bibles deeper into the hostile areas of Mexico, where he ministers despite increasing difficulty and persecution. Hectors mother accompanied him on one of those trips and felt God called her to stay in the little village of San Juan Chamula, where she uses the Scriptures to teach reading to the families who are open to it. In retaliation for Hectors bringing the Bibles into areas hostile to Christians and in an effort to dissuade him from continuing to expand his ministry there, Hectors mother is murdered. Hector must decide if he will continue his work despite his worries about protecting his wife and children.

If you would like to read the Prologue and first Chapter of More Than Conquerors, go HERE.

Watch the book video:



The book link for No Greater Love is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1596692774

The book link for More than Conquerors is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1596692839

Raven's Ladder by Jeffery Overstreet

Greetings Readers!

Oh yeah! Another wonderful Jeffery Overstreet book! I am so glad to get to read the third book in The Auralia Thread, Raven's Ladder.

Raven's Ladder speaks to us of hope. Hope in the face of despair, something I have been dealing with myself. Hope that leads us to faith to follow the vision we have been given. In this case, Cal-Raven is following the vision he sees in Auralia's colors. This book was every bit as strong to me as the first book in this trilogy. I have greatly enjoyed it, and I hope to read more books from Jeffery Overstreet in the future. They have far reaching impact.

Carol :)

Raven’s Ladder - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1400074673
Author Web site and blog - http://lookingcloser.org/category/journal/

About the book:

A DEADLY MENACE IS BREAKING THROUGH THE GROUND. THE PEOPLE OF ABASCAR MUST ABANDON THEIR STONE REFUGE AND FLEE INTO VULNERABILITY IN THE FOREST. BUT THEIR KING HAS HAD A VISION…

Following the beacon of Auralia’s colors and the footsteps of a mysterious dream-creature, King Cal-raven has discovered a destination for his weary crowd of refugees. It’s a city only imagined in legendary tales. And it gives him hope to establish New Abascar.

But when Cal-raven is waylaid by fortune hunters, his people become vulnerable to a danger more powerful than the prowling beastmen––House Bel Amica. In this oceanside kingdom of wealth, enchantment, and beauty, deceitful Seers are all too eager to ensnare House Abascar’s wandering throng.

Even worse, the Bel Amicans have discovered Auralia’s colors, and are twisting a language of faith into a lie of corruption and control.

If there is any hope for the people of Abascar, it lies in the courage of Cyndere, daughter of Bel Amica’s queen; the strength of Jordam the beastman; and the fiery gifts of the ale boy, who is devising a rescue for prisoners of the savage Cent Regus beastmen.

As his faith suffers one devastating blow after another, Cal-raven’s journey is a perilous climb from despair to a faint gleam of hope––the vision he sees in Auralia’s colors.

In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Participants’ links:
Brandon Barr
Rachel Briard (BooksForLife)
Keanan Brand
Beckie Burnham
Melissa Carswell
Valerie Comer
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Shane Deal
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Ryan Heart
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Nissa
John W. Otte
Donita K. Paul
Crista Richey
Chawna Schroeder
Andrea Schultz
James Somers
Robert Treskillard
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
KM Wilsher

Too Close To Home by Lynette Eason

Greetings Readers!

I had not read a book by this author before, but I throughly enjoyed Lynette Eason's style and book! This book had a wonderful pace to it, and a very good plot. I throughly enjoyed it. The romance was just enough, and Samantha was one of several wonderful characters. This book has a good bit of the feel of several very successful TV shows, making it really entertaining to read. God and faith, as well as every day evil and humans are skillfully woven into this book.

This book also covers some of the dangers to those are are un-aware on the internet, and would be a good recommendation for many teenage girls.

Carol :)

FBI agent Samantha Cash sets out to solve a string of murders in a small Southern town. Troubles arise when the case turns personal…

Lynette Eason debuts a new romantic suspense series that features strong female characters who will stop at nothing to find the criminal: the Women of Justice series.

Too Close to Home is the first novel in this new series, which renowned suspense author Dee Henderson called “a hit” and said that she “enjoyed every minute.”

In this thrilling first book, readers meet Samantha Cash, who is the FBI’s secret weapon. Her methods are invisible, and she never stops until the case is closed. When missing teens begin turning up dead in a small Southern town, Samantha is assigned to help the local police chief Connor Wolfe find the killer. And he has two problems with that. There’s her faith–in God and herself. And then there’s the fact that she looks exactly like his late wife.

As they get close to an answer, the case becomes personal. The killer seems to be taking an interest in Connor’s 16-year-old daughter, who thinks her dad is getting way too protective. Can’t a girl just have some fun?

Too Close to Home ratchets up the suspense with each page, and will have readers cheering for the characters they love as justice is served and love grows even in the face of danger. Read this one with the lights on!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Lynette Eason is the author of several romantic suspense novels, and a member of American Fiction Christian Writers and Romance Writers of America. A homeschooling mother of two, she has a master’s degree in education from Converse College.

Lynette’s blog is here.

Lynette’s website is here.

Download an excerpt from Too Close to Home here!!!

“Available April 2010 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter by R. J. Anderson

Greetings All!

I have been happily lost in a huge oak tree, wherein dwell faeries! Byrony is a young faery who is growing up and learning who she is. As this happens, she changes her name to Knife. Knife loves flying and not be imprisoned in the great Oak where the faeries there have lost almost all of their magic. With the loss of magic the Faery Queen bound almost all the faery folk to The Oak for safety. Knife becomes the Queen's hunter and soon she is enthralled with studying the forbidden world of humans. Before long Knife comes closer to human than ever before, and that is when this story really picks up even more!

(Book Cover)

Several characters grow and change in this book, giving it a wonderful deeper dynamic. The quite Christian aspects of this book were beautiful, and I throughly enjoyed it. I think this one is good reading for all ages.

A wonderful read that will be enjoyed by many!

Carol :)

Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/006155474X
Author Web site - http://www.rj-anderson.com/
Author blog - http://rj-anderson.livejournal.com/
Twitter - http://twitter.com/rj_anderson

http://rj-anderson.livejournal.com/tag/christianity

Participants’ links

Sally Apokedak

Brandon Barr
Amy Browning
Melissa Carswell
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Timothy Hicks
Jason Isbell
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Rebecca LuElla Miller
New Authors Fellowship
Nissa
John W. Otte
Donita K. Paul
Crista Richey
Chawna Schroeder
Andrea Schultz
James Somers
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
KM Wilsher

In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Here Burns My Candle by Liz Curtis Higgs

Greetings!

This book has lovely language. I really love it when writers use language that is in keeping with the area or the era. A very well told story, rich with history. The book video is also worth watching if you are interested in this book!

Carol :)

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Here Burns My Candle

WaterBrook Press (March 16, 2010)

by

Liz Curtis Higgs

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

In her best-selling series of Bad Girls of the Bible books, workbooks, and videos, Liz Curtis Higgs breathes new life into ancient tales about the most infamous—and intriguing—women in scriptural history, from Jezebel to Mary Magdalene. Biblically sound and cutting-edge fresh, these popular titles have helped more than one million women around the world experience God's grace anew. Her best-selling historical novels, which transport the stories of Rebecca, Leah, Rachel, and Dinah to eighteenth-century Scotland, have also helped her readers view these familiar characters in a new light. And her nonfiction book, Embrace Grace, winner of a 2007 Retailers Choice Award, presents her message of hope in an engaging and personal way, speaking directly to the hearts of her readers.

A veteran speaker, Liz has presented more than 1,600 encouraging programs for audiences in all 50 states and 10 foreign countries: South Africa, Indonesia, Germany, France, England, Canada, Ecuador, Scotland, Portugal, and New Zealand. In 1995, she received the Council of Peers Award for Excellence from the National Speakers Association, becoming one of only 32 women in the world named to their CPAE-Speaker Hall of Fame.

Feature articles about Liz have appeared in more than 250 major newspapers and magazines across the country, as well as online with Salon.com, Beliefnet.com and Spirituality.com. She has also been interviewed on more than 600 radio and television stations, including guest appearances on PBS, A&E, MSNBC, NPR, TBN with Kirk Cameron, CBC Canada, BBC Radio Scotland, Rhema Broadcasting New Zealand, Radio Pulpit South Africa, LifeToday with James Robison, Focus on the Family, Janet Parshall's America, 100 Huntley Street and Midday Connection.

Liz is the author of twenty-six books, with more than three million copies in print.

Her fiction includes two contemporary novels, one novella, and four historical novels. And she has written five books for young children.

ABOUT THE BOOK

A mother who cannot face her future.

A daughter who cannot escape her past.

Lady Elisabeth Kerr is a keeper of secrets. A Highlander by birth and a Lowlander by marriage, she honors the auld ways, even as doubts and fears stir deep within her.

Her husband, Lord Donald, has secrets of his own, well hidden from the household, yet whispered among the town gossips.

His mother, the dowager Lady Marjory, hides gold beneath her floor and guilt inside her heart. Though her two abiding passions are maintaining her place in society and coddling her grown sons, Marjory’s many regrets, buried in Greyfriars Churchyard, continue to plague her.

One by one the Kerr family secrets begin to surface, even as bonny Prince Charlie and his rebel army ride into Edinburgh in September 1745, intent on capturing the crown.

A timeless story of love and betrayal, loss and redemption, flickering against the vivid backdrop of eighteenth-century Scotland, Here Burns My Candle illumines the dark side of human nature, even as hope, the brightest of tapers, lights the way home.

Watch the book video:



If you would like to read the first chapter of Here Burns My Candle, go HERE.

The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1400070015

Dead Reckoning by Ronie Kendig

Hello Readers!

Here is a great book to read! I have been throughly enjoying this one. Shiloh is a wonderful character and the book moves at a wonderful pace! A nuclear meltdown had to be prevented so Shiloh has to work with a man she doesn't know, doesn't trust and isn't sure what to do about. Meanwhile the man who is in love with her is laid out in a hospital! Shiloh has to decide if she is going to let God help her though this really tough time, or if she is going to fail all alone.

Great book!

Carol :)

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Dead Reckoning

Abingdon Press (March 1, 2010)

by

Ronie Kendig

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ronie has been married since 1990 to a man who can easily be defined in classic terms as a hero. She has four beautiful children. Her eldest daughter is 16 this year, her second daughter will be 13, and her twin boys are 10. After having four children, she finally finished her degree in December 2006. She now has a B.S. in Psychology through Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA. Getting her degree is a huge triumph for both her and her family--they survived!

This degree has also given her a fabulous perspective on her characters
and how to not only make them deeper, stronger, but to make them realistic and know how they'll respond to each situation. Her debut novel, Dead Reckoning released March 2010 from Abingdon Press. And her Discarded Heroes series begins in July from Barbour with the first book entitled Nightshade.


ABOUT THE BOOK

Underwater archeologist Shiloh Blake is consumed with passion for the water and inflamed at the injustices of life. When her first large-scale dig traps her in the middle of an international nuclear arms clash, she flees for her life.

When she spots a man trailing her, the questions are, Who is he? And how is he always one step ahead? Is the man trailing her an enemy or a protector sent by her CIA father?

Reece Jaxon is a former Navy SEAL and now serves his country as a spy. His life is entangled by the beguiling Shiloh Blake as he hunts down the sources to a nuclear dead drop in the Arabian Sea near Mumbai, India. The only way to end this nightmare and prevent a nuclear meltdown is to join forces with Reece. Will Shiloh violate her vow to never become involved in her father's web of intrigue and mystery? Will she reconcile with her past and with him? Will she allow God to help her throught this ordeal of danger, mistrust and uncertainty?

If you would like to read the first chapter of Dead Reckoning, go HERE.

The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/142670058X

The Lord Is My Shepard by Debbie Viguie

Hello All!

Here is a mystery, and a serial killer book with lots of neat Jewish traditions mixed into it. This is a combination you are not likely to find often! Starting close to Easter the church secretary for the church next to the synagogue finds a dead body in the church, and that is just the start of the wild ride that Cindy finds herself going through.

This book has a dash of romance, but not too deeply. It has plenty of action and lots of theatrical aspects and drama. I enjoyed it.

Carol :)

This week, the


Christian Fiction Blog Alliance


is introducing


The Lord Is My Shepherd


Abingdon Press (March 2010)


by


Debbie Viguie

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Debbie Viguié has been writing for most of her life. She has experimented with poetry and nonfiction, but her true passion lies in writing novels. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in Creative Writing from UC Davis. While at Davis she met her husband, Scott, at auditions for a play.

Debbie's love for writing brought her from working as a church secretary to a successful career writing supernatural fiction. She is the author of Midnight Pearls, Scarlet Moon, and Charmed: Pied Piper, and the young adult Sweet Seasons series. She also is coauthor of the New York Times bestselling Wicked book series.


Debbie and Scott now live on the island of Kauai, Hawaii. When Debbie is not writing and Scott has time off they love to indulge their passion for theme parks.


ABOUT THE BOOK

Cindy’s church is getting ready to celebrate Easter, and Jeremiah’s Temple is preparing for Passover when Cindy literally stumbles over the body of an unknown man lying dead in the sanctuary. The church was locked, and a bloody cross necklace on the floor seems to be the only clue. The killer is likely a member of the congregation, but there are hints that similar deaths have happened in the past. Are Cindy and Jeremiah dealing with a serial killer? They have to unravel the clues before Easter Sunday arrives and more people die.

Cindy and Jeremiah come from two different worlds, even though they work right next door to each other. Cindy is a strong Christian who lives a normal but somewhat dull life, working as a church secretary. Jeremiah is a Reformed rabbi with a mysterious past full of danger and excitement. But one eventful Easter/Passover week, the two find themselves working together to solve a murder and stop a serial killer from striking again. Solving the mystery should put an end to their alliance, but the church secretary and the rabbi quickly find themselves enmeshed in another mystery. Soon the two form a friendly alliance and friendship, exploring personal history and faith and growing closer with each passing adventure. Despite their differences Cindy and Jeremiah find a lot of common ground.

If you would like to read the first chapter of The Lord Is My Shepherd, go HERE.

The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1426701896