Book Review - The Prince and the Prodigal

Jill Eileen Smith writes exquisite biblical fiction, and she has done it again with The Prince and the Prodigal. The Old Testament story of Jacob’s favored son, Joseph, comes to life with her words that help us view his experiences and those of prodigal Judah with fresh eyes to see and ears to hear that “… not only had God fulfilled his dreams, but He’d given him the greater blessing of reunion and reconciliation.”

In reading the account directly from the Bible, I know I was always quick to judge Joseph as the betrayed brother who is eventually redeemed and restored by God. It is easy to miss some very important aspects of the greater narrative. In dismissing the brothers as evil and driven by their hatred to commit sins tantamount to murder, it seems I’ve long overlooked the heart work God did in Judah’s life to bring him to the point of kneeling before the brother he so grievously wronged and begging mercy for youngest brother Benjamin, who was the only remaining son of Jacob’s beloved Rachel. There had to be some exceptional work in the hearts of all of the sons of Leah, Bilhah, and Zilpah to lead them to the point where they would treat this remaining son of Rachel with care that spoke to Joseph’s heart and led to the kind of reconciliation that allowed Jacob to spend the remainder of his days in fellowship with all of his sons. Smith pens this book with great care to reflect the heart ache, the heart work, and the heart’s joy as God fulfilled His plan to love and care for His children.

The Prince and the Prodigal by Jill Eileen Smith is available now from your favorite local bookseller or online:

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Thank you to the author and publisher for allowing me a copy to read and review. All opinions expressed here are my own and are completely genuine.

Book Review - Until Leaves Fall in Paris

To stand up for what you believe is a difficult thing. To do it while giving the appearance that you are living a life in direct opposition to your beliefs and shoulder the burden of judgement is exceptionally difficult. This is precisely what Paul Aubrey must do when he finds himself called upon to remain in Paris and collaborate with the Nazis for the sake of his own country. As an American living in France, a widower with a young and creative daughter, Paul walks that fine line for the greater good, always keeping a watchful eye for the moment when he must take sweet little Josephine to safety back in the States. It is no wee complication when he finds himself drawn to the beautiful and lively Lucie Girard, owner of Green Leaf Books, the American bookstore in Paris where Paul takes Josie to look at storybooks and encourage a creativity he doesn’t quite understand.

Though she was born in America and remains a citizen, Lucie has lived in France most of her life, dedicating herself to the ballet. As American Jews, her friends Hal and Erma must quickly escape Paris and leave behind their beloved bookshop, which stands to be a total loss until Lucie decides to quit the ballet and purchase Green Leaf Books from them. Though she knows nothing of owning a shop, she is determined to keep it open and safe until the Greenblatts are able to safely return and resume their business. The shop takes on a new vibrance the day Paul Aubrey and little Josie enter it, bringing the child’s vivid imagination and inspiration, but beneath the facade Lucie has fashioned flow the undercurrents of resistance. Though handsome and charming Mr. Aubrey provokes a favorable response in Lucie, she must distance herself from the collaborator and avoid risking the chance he might discover the secret she holds on the very shelves he peruses.

When their world comes crashing down, what will Paul and Lucie discover about themselves and each other?

Sarah Sundin is my hands-down go-to author for World War II era historical fiction. Her research is phenomenal and her dedication to bringing the Greatest Generation into our hands and hearts is admirable.  Her tales of grit, determination, and perseverance never cease to thrill me and Until Leaves Fall in Paris is no exception. I enjoyed the appearance of our friends Peter and Evelyn from When Twilight Breaks and look forward to meeting Baron Henrik Ahlenfeldt, friend of Peter and Paul, in Sundin’s upcoming release.

Until Leaves Fall in Paris is available now from your favorite local bookseller or online:

Baker Book House            Christian Book            Barnes & Noble            Amazon

Thank you to the author and publisher for allowing me a copy to read and review. All opinions expressed here are my own and are completely genuine.

Book Review - The Lady of Galway Manor

“Hate is fueled by ignorance, son. The first step toward peace is the genuine desire to understand your so-called enemy.”

Seamus Jennings has lived long enough and endured enough to either harden his heart completely or teach him to see beneath the surface of things. Thankfully, he is the latter: an auld man with a keen eye for beauty, a mind that seeks truth beyond what is immediately noticeable, and a heart of gold even more pure than what he and his son use to craft the beloved Claddagh rings of their ancestors. It is Seamus who sees the wisdom of allowing the new landlord’s daughter to apprentice in the jewelry shop he shares with his son. It Seamus who sees that opening Annabeth’s eyes to the beauty beyond the poverty and hard edges of Galway’s residents will help her see their humanity, pride, and great worth. And dear Seamus also sees that Annabeth, though the very embodiment of their perceived enemy, has the opportunity to open and help heal his son Stephen’s wounded soul.

Stephen’s heart has endured more than enough sorrow to harden his heart toward the entire myth of love and the British people who represent the barrier to Ireland’s independence, as well as the murderers of his beloved brother. His pain has festered to bitterness with his situation in the family jewelry shop and the added fact that his father has allowed the British landlord’s daughter to apprentice with them. The face of all things wrong in his world, Lady Annabeth De Lacey is the cross he must bear in order to set things neatly for his intended path into a new future.

Anna does not mind her family’s relocation to Galway or the removal from court life that comes with it. Ireland is beautiful and the opportunity to find her creative expression in the Jennings family’s jewelry shop is a thrill she had not expected. And if she has to cast aside her heavy beaded dresses and intricate skirts in favor of pants for the sake of that art, then so be it. She has much to learn about the process of making the beautiful pieces that stock the shop, and more to learn about the people of Ireland, their culture, and their struggles. Seamus knows that Anna has an opportunity to bridge the gap between the two sides wrapped up in the bitterness of Ireland’s struggle to be free from Britain. It just may be that she also has an opportunity to chase away the fog of bitterness that has held Stephen for years.

Y’all, I cannot get enough of this book! I devoured the NetGalley and promptly threw down my money to purchase a physical copy. Jennifer Deibel has written an excellent story filled with culture and characters that got into my heart and quotes that made me stop frequently to ponder their weight. It would be easy to read The Lady of Galway Manor as a light read, but it would be a mistake to overlook the deeper beauty of this novel.

The Lady of Galway Manor by Jennifer Deibel is available now from your favorite local bookseller or online:

Baker Book House        Christian Book            Barnes & Noble            Amazon

Thank you to the author and publisher for allowing me a copy to read and review. All opinions expressed here are my own and are completely genuine.

Book Review - Sunrise

Susan May Warren’s new Sky King Ranch series kicks off with a crash and a bang in Sunrise.

Dodge Kingston left home ten years ago, sure that every shred of his future had gone up in the flames of a high school bonfire. With the loss of his best friend and the love of his life in Echo Yazzie, the out-of-control fight with his own brother, and the heap of shame he dumped on his father, there was no going back. At least, not until Dodge gets word that his father has crashed one of their planes and needs help to keep Sky King Ranch from falling apart while he heals. Dodge just has to keep his head down, keep his distance from his father, and absolutely avoid running into Echo.

Echo’s mom up and left her and her dad ages ago, but Echo doesn’t need her mom. She has her dad and her dogs. Echo’s biggest regret is losing Dodge. After a decade of missing him and dreaming of a day when they can be reunited, her chance finally comes. But is there any real hope for reconciliation with all the pain they both carry? And is there time for restoration when they have to give their attention to  injured dogs, injured loved ones, and poachers desecrating their beloved Alaskan wildlife?

Susan May Warren invites us to venture into the vast Alaskan wilderness on an exploration of loss and redemption with the first book in her new Sky King Ranch series, Sunrise, available now from your favorite local bookseller or online.

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Thank you to the author and publisher for allowing me a copy to read and review. All opinions expressed here are my own and are completely genuine.

Book Review - Life Flight

“Today was not going to be the day they died…” Y’all know I love a strong opening line. This one leaves no doubt that Lynette Eason is going to take us on a thrill ride, so you better be situated securely and recall your crash safety protocol.

The rain and ice should have grounded the flight EMS helicopter pilot Penny Carlton had to sit down hard on the mountain, but that also should have been the hard part of getting their patient to the hospital. A cold hike to a nearby house should have been the second most difficult part of her shift. And an escaped serial killer on the mountain should not have been a factor in this rescue. Unfortunately, serial killers on the run don’t care about “should” and “should not,” and a run in with this one puts Penny on his list.

Penny’s youth is behind her, but the nightmares are not. Instead, they are exacerbated by her mountaintop life or death experience with an escaped serial killer who will not die. Especially when she starts to hear bumps in the night. She sees his face in the crowd as she responds to work calls. Shadows dance along the line between paranoia and reality. Penny is not the only one taking these oddities seriously, as she is surrounded by a fiercely loyal group of friends, one of whom is FBI Special Agent Holt Satterfied.

Holt and Penny have been flirting with more-than-friendship, but hectic schedules and mutual hesitation to share their deepest held tidbits of information hold them back from more. Now Holt’s work and personal lives collide as he chases an escapee who has set his sights on Penny. Will the chase prove fatal for their relationship hopes as their hidden things are revealed or will it prove to both of them that two are better than one? Life Flight kicks off Eason’s new Extreme Measures series with painstaking precision, including scenes that chill to the bone.

Life Flight by Lynette Eason, the first book of her Extreme Measures series, is available now from your favorite local bookseller or online:

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Thank you to the author and publisher for allowing me a copy to read and review. All opinions expressed here are my own and are completely genuine.

Book Review - A Heart Adrift

Some say Henri Lennox is a privateer. Others murmur that he is a pirate and troublemaker, with his ideas against slavery and his black jacks aboard ship. For Esmee Shaw, however, Henri is the only man she has ever loved. Unfortunately, he loved the sea and she could not bear to stay home as a captain’s wife with him gone so far away for so very long. Esmee is content with the life of a spinster, carrying on the work of her dear departed mother in her roles as chocolatier, companion to her younger sister, and patron of the almshouse. At least she is content until Captain Lennox returns to coastal Virginia and both are forced to reconsider their feelings and what they mean now that Henri has other ambitions better suited to life onshore.

There is a very good reason why Laura Frantz has won both Christy and INSPY awards, and she sets her sails for success with A Heart Adrift. Her main characters and primary plot are stellar. However, don’t underestimate the supporting characters or subplots which carry considerable weight of their own. Such attention to detail makes this one of her best novels to date.

A Heart Adrift by Laura Frantz is available now from your favorite local bookseller or online:

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Thank you to the author and publisher for allowing me a copy to read and review. All opinions expressed here are my own and are completely genuine.

Book Review - Lights Out

From the very first tease, I knew I wanted to try the first installation of the new SNAP Agency series by Natalie Walters. How can you go wrong when an author with a reputation for solid storylines and well written fiction takes up a plot involving the CIA, the privately owned Strategic Neutralization and Protection Agency, and a missing Egyptian spy? The answer: You can’t go wrong with Lights Out.

Brynn Taylor and Jack Hudson have a history neither wants to repeat or even address. They are able to keep it where it belongs (in the past) until the day Egyptian spy Remon Riad goes missing from an experimental international anti-terrorism program developed by Brynn and implemented by the CIA. Riad’s disappearance happens just days before the American and Egyptian presidents are scheduled to celebrate the opening of a new American military base in Egypt. Brynn and Jack are thrust together amidst the chaos of the chase, regardless of their personal history. American and international interests are at stake. Adding to the intrigue are thousands of pounds of fertilizer shipped to “nobody” in Guam, cyberattacks on a global scale, and human trafficking. Natalie Walters takes these elements and delivers an explosive novel that will leave you saying, “Oh SNAP!”

Lights Out, the first book in the SNAP Agency series by Natalie Walters, is available now from your favorite local bookseller or online:

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Thank you to the author and publisher for allowing me a copy to read and review. All opinions expressed here are my own and are completely genuine.