June ACFW New Releases

A Vision of Lucy by Margaret Brownley — Romance from Thomas Nelson. Trouble may follow Lucy wherever she goes, but with the help of God and the rugged, reclusive David Wolf, she’ll never face adversity alone.

Behind the Badge by Susan Sleeman — A Thriller/Suspense from Love Inspired Suspense. Can a rookie sheriff’s deputy find a killer before the killer takes the lives of the people she loves?

Beyond All Measure by Dorothy Love — General Fiction from Thomas Nelson. Unless she can let go of her fears and learn to trust again, Ada may lose the heart of a good man.

Broken Wings: A Novel by Carla Stewart — General Fiction from Faith Words (Hachette). One woman clings to her memories. The other wants to erase hers. A story of an unlikely friendship birthed in providence and bathed in grace.

Forever After (A Hanover Falls Novel) by Deborah Raney — General Fiction from Howard (Simon & Schuster). A series of arson fires at Hanover Falls rebuilt homeless shelter threatens its residents and casts new suspicions about the original fire.

Home Sweet Home by Kim Watters — Romance from Love Inspired. Finding a home is all Abby dreamed about, until she discovers the man she falls in love with has a less permanent agenda.

Idaho Brides by Erica Vetsch — Romance from Barbour. Experience the Wild West through the eyes of the three McConnell brothers who long to overcome their troubled childhood as drunkard’s sons.

Love Finds You in Amana, Iowa by Melanie Dobson — Romance from Summerside Press. As the rest of the nation is embroiled in the Civil War, the Amana Colonies have remained at peace—until now.

Protecting Her Own by Margaret Daley — Thriller/Suspense from Love Inspired Suspense. Protecting her own father when an assailant targets him, bodyguard Cara Madison with Connor Fitzgerald, an ex-boyfriend, searches for a would be killer while fighting her feelings toward Connor.

Purple Knot by Raquel Byrnes — Romance from White Rose. With her faith shaken and her world cast in shadows, can Reyna trust the God she believes abandoned her?

Spring for Susannah by Catherine Richmond — Romance from Thomas Nelson. How could a marriage possibly work when the couple has only exchanged a few letters?

The Inconvenient Marriage of Charlotte Beck by Kathleen Y’Barbo — Romance from Waterbrook/Multnomah (Random House). Unlikely romance is sometimes just an inconvenient marriage away

The Irresistible Earl by Regina Scott — A Romance from Love Inspired Historical. If Chase Dearborn, the powerful Earl of Allyndale, found Meredee Price’s family in Scarborough, surely he’d continue his quest to challenge Meredee’s stepbrother to a duel. Meredee is determined to avoid the earl at all costs.

The Story in the Stars, Gateway to Gannah, Book 1 by Yvonne Anderson — Fantasy from Risen Books. The inhabitants of the planet Gannah are known as bloodthirsty savages who once tried to conquer the galaxy. Now a plague has ravaged the planet and only one survivor remains.

The Sweetest Thing by Elizabeth Musser — General Fiction from Bethany House. The Sweetest Thing is the story of two girls–opposites in every way–fighting for the same thing: survival amidst tumultuous change.

The Wedding Season: The Gentleman Takes a Bride by Louise M. Gouge — Romance from Love Inspired Historical. Surely Elizabeth Moberly was born to be a nobleman’s bride. She can’t possibly be attracted to the untitled stranger who interrupts her cousin’s wedding.

Under a Desert Sky by DiAnn Mills — General Fiction from Summerside Press. A race from danger…straight into the arms of love.

 

Ransomed by Els Van Hierden Book Review

Ransomed by Els Van Hierden

 

Book Information
Price:	$19.95
Format:	Paperback
ISBN:	1579219616
ISBN-13:	9781579219611
Publisher:	WinePress Publishing
Year:	2009

 

Book Recap:

Russia, 2003—with the collapse of communism, hundreds of thousands of orphans reside in orphanages and on the street. In search of purpose after the death of his children, David Valensky has left a successful career in a U.S. firm to establish a street ministry in Perm, Russia. During his outreach to orphanages he meets Karina Svetlana, an introverted, morose orphanage director. David’s attempts to reach her with the Gospel fail as she carefully guards the secrets of her dark past.

Meanwhile, Jared and Vanessa Williams travel from Canada to Russia to adopt a son, only to lose their child to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Disillusioned, they return to home with shattered hopes and damaged faith.

David’s misunderstood outreach to Karina costs him his position, sending him home to face his sick mother and a past he has not made peace with. When he is invited to return to his ministry in Russia, a young boy’s suicide opens up a deadly secret within the shelter. Karina is still desperate for God’s healing. Jared and Vanessa make a second attempt at adoption. Will one four-year-old be the answer to their prayers? And will Karina finally accept the answer to her bitterness—the healing power of God’s love?

 Author Bio:

Els Van Hierden has a message of encouragement for anyone who has ever considered adopting a child internationally or getting involved in missions. She has personal experience in the journeys involved in both. She and her husband Edward adopted their fifth child from Russia in 2006. From this very personal experience, Els has crafted a compelling novel. Els has a heart for suffering children, having been active in the pro-life movement and missions for many years. Her family traveled to Romania for five weeks in April, 2008, to work with an orphanage organization. Els and her husband have been involved with FamilyLife Canada. Els is also involved in her local church, working with the teens as well as teaching Sunday school. She currently owns and operates an equestrian centre in Southern Alberta, where they board about forty horses. A Certified Equine Therapist by profession, Els teaches anatomy and sports therapy. Their children range in ages from six to sixteen. Her first book is especially close to her heart as it deals with the passion of her life; redemption and healing through Jesus Christ.

 

My Review

After losing his children to an accident and his wife to his best friend, David moves to Prem, Russia and builds a ministry working with the homeless teens and abandoned orphans as a result of the fall of Communism. I can only imagine how difficult it must have been to work in a community of hate, alcoholism, drugs, suicide, and so many homeless teens and orphan children there was not room enough for them.

 

This is my first book with the setting being in Russia, and with the authors quality research and experience in Russian adoptions, reading this book was like taking a trip there. It was very interesting getting to know the Russian lifestyle, know the customs, experience the weather, and even taste the food. But most of all, getting an insite of the poverty and homeless. My heart was breaking as the author told of the different shelters for street kids and the orphanages housing small children after the fall of the Communist Era. And I was saddened reading about the hassles of keeping food for the children, trying to keep the children and babies alive, such sad circumstances.  It is unbelievable this is the debut novel for Els Van Hierden. She created unique characters that blends together wonderfully, their personalities fit perfectly with the characters, complimenting each other. You could feel the love David, Karina, Ina and the others had for the children they worked with. And more importantly, the author so wonderfully wove all of this together with awesome love of our Lord, and confirmed His promises that “Nothing is impossible with God”, no matter how difficult the situations.

I recommend this book to everyone. I urge you to run and buy a copy of this book to read, and see what it is like living in another country. Els Van Hierden captures the heart of the readers because the subjects in this book are very dear to her. Having adopted a number of Russian orphans, she knows firsthand what it is like for these children and teens, as well as those who work with them. For more information on Children’s Camps International go to http://www.ccicamps.com/

A big Thank You to Wine Press Publishing for providing me a copy of Ransomed to read in exchange for a review. I was not expected or requested to write a positive review of this book. The review and opinions are mine only.

You can purchase this book at AMAZON      GOODREADS       CBD      as well as  THE PUBLISHER

When Chicks Hatch by….Heather Randall

When Chicks Hatch by Heather Randall

Book Information
List Price:	$14.99
Your Price:	$10.94
Savings:	$4.05 (27%)
Format:	Paperback
ISBN:	141411432X
ISBN-13:	9781414114323
Publisher:	WinePress Publishing
Year:	2011

Book Recap:       Nicky Bell is a college student who accidentally uncovers her professor’s infidelity and inadvertently loses her one shot at the internship of her dreams. An unlikely and unexpected request draws Nicky away from the path of selfish ambition. Sidney Flannery finds herself in a web of deceit with married college professor, Peter Marks. Pregnant by their first encounter and unsure of his devotion, she creates a lie to cover her shame. Surrounded by beautiful things, Jennifer Frank is driven by the unquenchable yearning for her own child as infertility and miscarriage have stolen the crown of motherhood from her. An E-ticket for the earliest flight home is Alexis Mark’s ticket out of a life that is crushing her inside. Forced to see the “other woman” as a mom with heartaches of her own, Alexis must decide if Peter is a love worth fighting for. Kristen McGowen is a nurse faced with the uncomfortable task of caring for her brother-in-law’s mistress. Together these women learn the truth of Humpty Dumpty. Shells do break, but the King isn’t just watching a mess on the wall… He’s waiting to see the chick emerge.

                                                                                       **********************************************************************

Author Bio:
Heather Randall grew up in Livonia, Michigan, graduated in 1997 from Churchill High School, and attended Schoolcraft Community College for two years and William Tyndale College for one year. She and her husband have been married for nine years. Despite being prepared for the probability of infertility early in their marriage, God overruled the doctor’s prognosis and blessed the Randalls with three daughters and a son.

While still in Michigan, the Randalls were commissioned into ministry from United Assembly of God (now Real Life Church) and served at Ypsilanti Assembly of God and Tri-City Christian Center (now Connection Church). Heather often finds herself surrounded by kids and is blessed to make an impact on their lives for Christ. She has also been active in Women’s ministry and she has a special heart for moms. Heather enjoys being a stay at home mom and takes pride in homeschooling her children. She actively writes product reviews for “The Old Schoolhouse Magazine.” She also enjoys reading and writes book reviews on her blog for various publishers. Today, Heather and her family make their home in Coweta, Oklahoma.

Writing has always been a desire of her heart. When Chicks Hatch is Heather’s first published novel. Although taking care of her four children often competed with the challenges of parenting, Heather remained steadfast and completed her manuscript. She knew she had a story God could use and, above anything else, she wanted to be used by God. Ultimately, Heather was desperate for God to fuel her abilities to grow His Kingdom. Heather has seen God take disappointments and shape them into dreams. Heather has watched God use trials and heartbreaks to build some of the strongest and most treasured Christian examples in her life. She knows what God can do and she hopes the reader will be reminded of Him as they read When Chicks Hatch.

 

My Review

Best friends Jennifer and Nicky, Sidney, Alexis and Kristen all face challenging situations in their lives. As the story unfolds, each of these women have accept and deal with their own personal struggles. Some because of their own choices, some couldn’t be helped. Jennifer and Nicky’s friendship results in a situation that could have cost their longtime relationship. Sidney made very bad choices because of her self-controlled past. Alexis is dealing with grief and rejection as she tries to save her marriage. And Kristen doesn’t know what she wants, she’s lost faith in her future. And the author weaves all of these ladies situations, showing that God can and will take a bad situation and make something good come from it.

This was an interesting book, with 5 ladies dealing with real life situations that women face today. The story of each woman was interesting, and I enjoyed reading about them. But as I read through the book, I really had a tough time keeping up with the characters and the plot. Each chapter, and sometimes within each chapter the author was back and forth from one situation to the other, and I had to keep going back to see where the story line was coming from and who was suppose to be with who. It was just confusing. And I wasn’t happy when in reading, God’s name was taken in vain twice. I feel that could have been avoided. And there was another cuss word in there than could have been avoided too. Like my dad always taught us, you can always say the same things without the bad words. She did refer to faith and hope, and how God can change any situation, no matter how bad it is. I give this book a 3.0 rating.

A big Thank You to Wine Press Publishing for providing me a copy of When Chicks Hatch to read in exchange for a review. I was not expected or requested to write a positive review of this book. The review and opinions are mine only.

To Purchase the book go to Amazon……..or to Goodreads

 

The Corruptible Book Review

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Multnomah Books (April 5, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1601420749
• ISBN-13: 978-1601420749
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches

About the Author

Mark is a former Marine who’s worked in law enforcement over twenty years. He began his career with the Cocoa Beach Police Department and shortly after that moved to the Palm Bay Police Department, where he currently works as a homicide / violent crimes detective. In his career, Mark has worked as a Patrol Officer, an Undercover Narcotics Agent, a S.W.A.T. team member, as well as a Homicide Detective.

Mark has parlayed his police experiences into a successful speaking and writing career. He has written articles for Focus on the Family’s Breakaway magazine and Lookout magazine and is the also the author of four novels: Rolling Thunder, From the Belly of the Dragon, The Void, and the Christy nominated The Night Watchman. He and his family currently live in central Florida.

The Corruptible  Review 

I knew this book would be interesting when it started out with Ray Quinn, ex-homicide detective in trouble in the bathroom, and its not what you would think! He is trying to hide from a former client’s husband that is not happy with how he handled the former case.  As he stands on the ‘throne’ to keep his feet from being seen, he sends a text message to partner Crevis that he was in trouble. Crevis makes it in there just in time, and just as always, saves Ray’s back. Oh! and they were in a restaurant while all of this was going on. As the story unfolds, Ray is hired by Armon Mayer, a successful businessman to find some missing information stolen by an employee. Ray takes the case, and what seems like would be an easy case, turns out to be anything but that. His journey to finding this information includes an unbelievable manhunt. Being an ex-cop, Ray is able to pull all strings possible to try and pull this case together, but it’s not an easy one. Join Private Detectives Ray Quinn and Crevis, along with the police department as they try to uncover the secrets involved in this unusual case.

I borrowed this book from a friend to read because I  like suspense books, and this one was not a disappointment as far as the story line, but I did think it was a bit too much graphic detail for a book labeled Christian fiction. I had to skim through a lot of the first part of the book because it was just too rough for me. Just not my style. I did like the characters, the author did an excellent job in creating them. They just all fit together well. Ray and Crevis were a hoot a lot of the times, they had me laughing a lot throughout the book.  And even though Crevis was just starting out, he seemed to work well with Ray.

I would recommend this book to all suspense readers, but if all of the gorey stuff makes your stomach grind, then beware of the first part. It goes into deep detail! I hope to read the next book in this series to keep up with Ray Quinn and the troubles that seem to follow him.

Buy this great suspense at Amazon