Book Review - Collision of Lies

Imagine that your son has been dead for three years when you receive a text message from an unknown phone number, "Help me, Mom." I know I would move mountains to find out where this message came from and what it might mean for my child.

Imagine now that you are minding your own business when this message and the parents to whom it was sent land squarely in the middle of your peaceful Saturday morning breakfast. Amara Alvarez, property crimes detective for the San Antonio Police Department, just wants to eat her breakfast and do her job well enough to get her transferred to Homicide. But she hopes a quick check of the text will prove to be an accident or a nasty prank. She never expects what unravels from there. Aided by a Texas Ranger, the FBI, a quirky and intelligent SAPD medical examiner, a homicide detective named Starsky, and Larry, her trusted iguana, Amara follows the shreds of evidence to uncover something much larger and more sinister than anyone could imagine.

Tom Threadgill offers up quite a thrilling web of unfolding details in Collision of Lies. This book was hard to put down from the very beginning and held my attention firmly. Amara and her cohorts were very relatable and highly enjoyable. I look forward to the next time we meet Detective Alvarez and Larry in action!

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me a copy of this book to read and review. The opinions stated in this review are my own and are my completely honest assessment.

Book Review - Isaiah's Legacy

Book Review - Isaiah's Legacy

From the Cover:

Eight year old Shulle has only known life in a small village with her loving but peculiar father. When Uncle Shebna offers shelter in Jerusalem in exchange for Shulle's help tutoring King Manasseh, Judah's five-year-old co-regent, she's eager to experience the royal court. But Shulle is soon disillusioned with Yahweh, the God of her father, when she discovers He's given King Hezekiah only ten years to live. When Uncle Shebna threatens her father's safety and demonstrates the starry hosts' power, Shulle begins the subtle swaying of young Manasseh, using her charm and skill on the boy no one else understands. Will Shulle free Judah from Yahweh's chains? What role will she play in Isaiah's legacy?

Years later, tragedy thrusts an embittered and ambitious twelve-year-old Manasseh onto Judah's throne. When an even darker influence seeks to twist his brilliant mind toward cruelty, Shulle begins to wonder if the gods they've worshipped so freely have led their hearts into captivity... and if anyone can be too far gone to experience the sovereign love to the one true God.

Review:

Isaiah's Legacy, the third installment in the A Novel of Prophets and Kings series by Mesu Andrews, follows in a grand tradition of inspired biblical fiction that enlightens as it carries the reader to Judah for a turbulent ride through the reign of King Manasseh. A thoroughly researched and well crafted novel, but not an easy one to read, it examines a level of spiritual darkness and depravity that is often danced about, implied, but rarely addressed directly. However, these issues are very real and are critical to a true understanding of the evil that gripped King Manasseh's heart until Yahweh broke the chains that bound him and redeemed him in a glorious way.

This novel picks up after the conclusion of Isaiah's Daughter, at the end of King Hezekiah's life, as his son Manasseh prepares and eventually becomes king. We are subject to the conflict of loving certain characters while we hate the evil that works its way into their lives and shackles them apart from the loving God. Shulle had my heart from the very beginning, and my heart broke for her over and over again as she was tricked and manipulated into the sorcery that bound her while masquerading as power. Manasseh's reign of terror against the prophets and Yahwehists is a horror that was foretold, but not any easier to bear as it unfolded. Through it all, Queen Hephzibah can only pray and hope that her previous boy will someday see Truth and turn from darkness. And her abba, the prophet Isaiah, foretells his own demise at the hands of his grandson, knowing that it must be done as Yahweh says to ultimately give Him the glory.

Dear reader, know that Isaiah's Legacy is not a bit of fiction to be undertaken lightly. As Mesu Andrews toiled to bring it forth, so you will toil to digest it. And yet, it is certainly one of the most valuable and eye opening novels I have ever consumed. The understanding that comes from the scripture and the exploration of the spiritual, social, and political turmoil within reveals what is possibly the greatest prodigal story ever told. And if Shulle and Manasseh can be unchained by Yahweh, then nobody is beyond His redemptive love.

About the Author:

Mesu Andrews is the Christy Award-winning author of Isaiah's Daughter and numerous other novels, including The Pharaoh's Daughter, Miriam, Of Fire and Lions, and Love Amid the Ashes. Her deep understanding of and love for God's Word brings the biblical world alive for readers. Mesu lives in North Carolina with her husband, Roy, and enjoys spending time with her growing tribe of grandchildren.

Links:

Find Mesu online at MesuAndrews.com

Follow Mesu on Goodreads * Instagram * Facebook

Purchase Isaiah's Legacy at Amazon (Release date February 18, 2020)

Disclaimer:

Woman By the Grace of God received a book to facilitate this review. The views and opinions expressed here are 100% honest and my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC's 16 CFR, part 255 Guidelines, concerning Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in advertising.

Launch Party Info:

Join Mesu on Facebook Live for the Isaiah's Legacy launch party! Come prepared to hear about Isaiah's Legacy and to ask questions about the research and writing of this awesome novel! Click here to select GOING and receive reminders prior to the party, February 18 at 8pm EST. (I'm pretty sure a little birdie mentioned giveaways!)

Speaking of Freebies:

Did you know that Mesu has written FOUR short-story prequels that have been combined into a novella prequel to Isaiah's Legacy? It's called Adnah's Legacy, and it's FREE to Mesu's newsletter subscribers. Just go to any page on her website, and you'll find a sign-up widget in the right-hand column.

Book Review - An Uncommon Woman

Laura Frantz explores the theme of friendship in a very interesting way with Tessa Swan and Keturah Braam in An Uncommon Woman. Separated as young girls when Keturah is taken captive by the Lenape tribe, the two are brought together years later with a world of difference between them. Overcoming the differences that result from Keturah's years with the natives, the two find a beautifully uncommon relationship that seems to be torn asunder yet again when Keturah chooses to return to Indian territory instead of staying at Fort Tygart with the Swan family.

Frantz leaves no relationship unturned, however, and also tends the beautiful, though sometimes rocky, garden of the Swans. With five brothers of diverse personalities, a loving pa who is no longer with them, and a ma who lovingly binds their family together, Tessa cares for her family deeply. She also finds herself caring for Colonel Clay Tygart, commander of the fort near her family's homestead. So, what does it take for a man who believes himself cursed in relationships and too busy commanding a wilderness outpost to allow himself to love? Only an uncommon woman could do that, but it's not that easy.

Frantz cultivates a beautiful but untamed, adventurous, and uncommon story that brings these relationships together in a fulfilling and uplifting way.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me a copy of this book to read and review. The opinions stated in this review are my own and are my completely honest assessment.

Book Review - Way of the Brave

The Way of the Brave is the first installment of Susan May Warren's Global Search and Rescue series. We are introduced to a very interesting, if not immediately lovable, cast of characters. Orion Starr has his own demons to wrestle and he's not prepared to join ex-military buddies Hamilton and Jake on their global search and rescue team. Like Denali, the mountain that overshadows his very existence, Orion is cold, hard and unconquerable. Jenny Calhoun spends her life trying to outrun the demons that haunt her. Those demons collide when Orion, Ham, and Jake find themselves on a rescue mission to save Jenny and her friends, who have become lost on Denali. And when the falling ice finally settles, we get to the heart of the matter. "What if God lets us suffer so we can reach out to him for comfort and in that moment receive everything he wants for us?"

I have to say that I did not like Orion for most of the book. But then, he began to melt and crack, revealing his true nature and becoming more the man I had hoped he would be. Warren is a master at divulging just the right amount of information at just the right time to move the story along and keep the reader interested. She had me from the first sentence and holds me in anticipation of the next book in the series.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me a copy of this book to read and review. The opinions stated in this review are my own and are my completely honest assessment.

Book Review - Love Amid the Ashes

This, my dear friends, is a review I wrote in November 2011, after I read my first book by Mesu Andrews. In preparing for something pretty stinkin' exciting, I realized that I had never posted my Love Amid the Ashes review to Woman By the Grace of God. I am so sorry! Y'all, fix a cup of coffee, a cup of tea, a glass of tea... get comfy, and enjoy the book that kicked off a fierce admiration for all things written by Mesu.

It is not all that often that I give 5 star ratings. I firmly believe in giving credit where it is due, and that there is always something somewhere that can be improved. Having said that, Love Amid the Ashes gets a solid 5 stars from me.

Mesu Andrews uses the facts we have, weaves in fiction to fill in the blanks so skillfully that one must be careful to discern between the two, and gives us a story of love and redemption that left me wondering if I had read it or if I had truly been there. I expected this to be another love story, but what was delivered is so much more than that. The male/female relationships are balanced artfully with the friendships that are forged to withstand tragedy and triumph. The love story between the characters and El Elyon, God Most High, is so skillfully written that it whispers of the redemption and dedication and soothes the soul.

Mesu Andrews sacrifices neither plot nor description in this well balanced depiction of Job's trials. I wish I had purchased multiple copies of this book!

Book Review - Always Look Twice

I was not familiar with Elizabeth Goddard prior to receiving a copy of

Always Look Twice for review. Once I learned that it was part of a series, I decided to

purchase the first book of her Uncommon Justice series, Never Let Go. I read Never Let Go first,

in order to determine the flow of the series, and was pleased to find that Ms. Goddard had great

continuity of the series, while maintaining the integrity of Always Look Twice as its own storyline.

It could be read as a stand-alone, but I am very glad I didn’t.

As childhood friends torn apart by tragic circumstances, Heath and Harper are thrown

together again as adults in a tragic situation. It felt like this scenario could have easily become

a sloppy tangle of premature or undeveloped emotions, and I was worried that this might happen.

Therefore, I was quite pleased that Ms. Goddard did a great job of balancing the childhood familiarity

with the timid miasma of emotion tied to the circumstances of their reunion.

The suspense is well written, and the romance is tastefully and artfully done.

While there are times in the unraveling of the mystery that get a bit confusing,

I am not sure I can consider this a problem; I feel that the confusion served to help me

relate to the frustrations of Heath, Harper, and those involved in the investigation.

I look forward to reading the final installment of the Uncommon Justice series,

Don’t Keep Silent, upon its release. The character development of the McKade

brothers, the dynamic of their relationships with each other, and romantic suspense

of their endeavors have certainly grasped my interest!

I did receive a copy of Always Look Twice from the publisher and

the views shared here are solely my own.

Book Review: Isaiah's Daughter by Mesu Andrews

"So gather near, friend,
to hear of a daughter beyond imagining.
She had the heart of a lion.
Braver than a soldier.
Wiser than a king.”

Mesu Andrews grabbed my attention with that line in the

beginning of this story and she held it through as we

walked with little Ishma, who toiled and grew to become

worthy of those words. The child introduced to us in the

beginning chapters, orphaned and hopeless,

had no idea of the plans Yahweh had for her.

But as He has promised us, His plans are greater than

ours and they are beyond our current circumstances.

Ms. Andrews is an excellent storyteller,
setting scenes for us that take us into
the lives and struggles of biblical characters
we only thought we knew. We are there
when Ishma is broken, when Hezekiah's
words are stolen, when Micah and his fellow
prophets are in hiding from the angry pagan
king. She gives us the whisper of the dove's
coo and terror that envelops our dear Ishma
at the sight of the sword. We feel the impishness,
the curiosity, and the innocence of the dear
girl's first encounter with the mourning Hezekiah.
We celebrate and we hurt for Hephzibah and
Hezekiah as they grow and grapple with Yahweh's
plan for them and all that entails. Our hearts soar
and tremble, celebrate and weep with the
characters we come to relate to so intimately
through the inspired words of an author who has
carefully researched and prayerfully crafted a story
that will both entertain and enlighten.

I have long been a fan of Mesu Andrews, thoroughly
appreciative of the insights that are revealed within
the pages of her every work. Isaiah's Daughter does
not disappoint, and is yet another excellent read from
an author I've come to trust for a well balanced blend
of novel and soul searching.

I was given a copy of this book by the publisher.
The thoughts and opinions expressed in this review
are my own.