The Deliverer by Linda Rios Brook is a fascinating fictional account of the children of Israel’s exodus from Egypt to the Promised Land, written from the viewpoint of a fallen angel who made a wrong decision and has regretted it ever since. The author’s imagination has opened a window into the spirit world presenting the reader with a unique perspective on man’s relationship with God and Satan’s strategies to sabotage that relationship. I found the book riveting, insightful, thoroughly enjoyable, and unexpectedly challenging. This stand-alone book is actually the second title in the author’s Reluctant Demon Diaries series, and I look forward to reading the first book (Lucifer’s Flood) as well as anything else I can find by Linda Rios Brook. She’s an awesome writer! ~ Lori

About the Author ~

Linda Rios Brook, President of the RiosBrook Foundation, believes the answers to issues of social justice and righteousness lie in the proper alignment between the church, the marketplace and media and entertainment. She is a sought out speaker and teacher on matters relevant to cultural restoration. Linda worked as a media executive for over 20 years in the field of broadcasting serving as President and General Manager of television stations in Texas, Florida, and Minnesota and was President and part owner of KLGT-TV in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota.

Linda has served on several national boards and community organizations and is listed in Who’s Who of American Women. She is an ordained minister and has a Doctorate of Practical Ministry from the Wagner Leadership Institute.

Linda is also the author of Lucifer’s Flood.

Linda is also a teaching Pastor at Covenant Centre International in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Linda is married to Larry Brook, who is the Executive Director of the RiosBrook Foundation.

  Read the rest of this entry »

Jillian Dare by Melanie Jeschke is a modern-day version of Charlotte Bronte’s classic Jane Eyre. Raised in foster homes, title character Jillian takes a job as nanny to the daughter of a wealthy employer and is introduced to a new life of luxury, mystery and adventure. Having read Bronte’s novel a number of times, I found myself anticipating most of the events in the story but found it interesting to see how Melanie Jeschke adapted the characters and situations to the modern world. This book will appeal to readers who enjoy updated versions of the classics.  ~Lori

About the Author~

Melanie Morey Jeschke (pronounced jes-key), a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, grew up in Richmond, Virginia, and graduated from University of Virginia as a Phi Beta Kappa with an Honors degree in English Literature and a minor in European and English History.

A free-lance travel writer, Melanie contributed the Oxford chapter to the Rick Steves’ England 2006 guidebook. She is a member of the Capital Christian Writers and Christian Fiction Writers as well as three book clubs, and taught high-school English before home-schooling most of her nine children. Melanie lectures on Lewis and Tolkien, Oxford, and writing, and gives inspirational talks to all manner of groups, including university classes, women’s clubs, young professionals, teens, and school children.

A fourth generation pastor’s wife (her father Dr. Earl Morey is a retired Presbyterian minister), Melanie resides in the Greater Washington, D.C. area with her children and husband Bill Jeschke, a soccer coach and the Senior Pastor of The King’s Chapel, an non-denominational Christian church in Fairfax, Virginia.

About the Book ~

Jillian Dare leaves her Shenandoah Valley foster home behind and strikes out on her own as a nanny at a large country estate in northern Virginia. She is delighted with the beauty of her new home, the affection of her young charge Cadence Remington, and the opportunity for frequent travel to the Remington castle in England.

She is less certain about her feelings for her handsome but moody employer, Ethan. In spite of herself, Jillian realizes she is falling for her boss. But how can a humble girl ever hope to win a wealthy man of the world? And what dark secrets from the past is he hiding? This contemporary story, inspired by the well-loved classic Jane Eyre, will capture readers’ hearts.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Jillian Dare: A Novel, go HERE

“If you like fast-paced, action-oriented, CIA thrillers, this is the perfect book for you. This book is Vince Flynn splashed with the love of our merciful savior, Jesus Christ. I was impressed with the author was able to think outside the box and keep you turning pages quickly until the surprise ending. In the current environment we are living, this book could come true tomorrow.”

 ~ Dan O.  (This is Dan’s first review for me. I knew he likes this type of novel and recruited him. Thanks, Dan!)

About the Author ~

MARK ANDREW OLSEN whose novel The Assignment was a Christy Award finalist, also collaborated on bestsellers Hadassah (now the major motion picture: One Night With the King), The Hadassah Covenant, and Rescued. Two of his last books were the supernatural thriller The Watchers, and The Warriors.

The son of missionaries to France, Mark is a Professional Writing graduate of Baylor University. He and his wife, Connie, live in Colorado Springs with their three children.

About the Book ~

When an al-Qaeda email is intercepted, threatening an attack on America, it leads to the capture of the group’s leader. Yet even under fierce interrogation, the terrorist clings to his jihadist beliefs and refuses to divulge any information. Desperate, the Army resorts to extreme measures–a controversial protocol designed to break a subject’s resistance. But the attempt must be masked as an offer of clemency and rely on an outside party, someone who is unaware of the protocol’s aims.

They find that someone in Greg Cahill, a disgraced soldier who now serves in a prison ministry. Lured by the chance to restore his reputation, Greg befriends a man the entire country despises. And the result proves combustible, the two men having to flee for their lives. With both in need of redemption, they set out to prevent a major catastrophe…

If you would like to read the first chapter of Ulterior Motive, go HERE

I thought that Beloved Counterfeit was really interesting. I found the beginning to be a little confusing. It took me a bit to get into the story. I didn’t quite understand the main character Ruby O’Shea’s faith. I thought that some of the stuff was a little different then what I was used to. The romance was good and the plot was interesting.

~Rachel 

About the Author ~

KATHLEEN MILLER Y’BARBO is a tenth-generation Texan and a mother of three grown sons and a teenage daughter. She is a graduate of Texas A&M University and an award-winning novelist of Christian fiction whose first published work jumped onto the Christian Booksellers Association bestseller list in its first month of release. Kathleen is a former treasurer for the American Christian Fiction Writers, and is a member of the Author’s Guild, Inspirational Writers Alive, Words for the Journey Christian Writers Guild, and the Fellowship of Christian Authors. In addition, she is a sought-after speaker, and her kids think she’s a pretty cool mom, too…most of the time, anyway. Read the rest of this entry »

“According to Their Deeds” is written by acclaimed author Paul Robertson. This novel is his follow-up to “The Heir” and “Road to Nowhere”. In this novel, Charles Beale is a dealer of antique books who owns and operates a successful bookstore in the Washington, DC area. The story begins with Charles attending an auction of a former client and friend murdered through a suspicious break-in that went bad. Charles acquires several volumes that he had sold to his client at the auction. One of the books is holding papers of secret “sins” of a number of prestigious individuals in Washington. Charles is left with a moral dilemma where he must decide whether to come forth and potentially ruin many lives or stay silent and have all that he cares about become a potential target of those searching for this information.
Charles does not take this dilemma lightly, and the novel proceeds with many positive elements. His decision moves him through a number of encounters where he gathers evidence to further help him in his decision. This well written novel keeps you engaged in Charles’ next step. I especially enjoyed the dialogues and the banter between Charles and his wife and employees. He comes to life through this book and is a very likable character. I was also intrigued by his dilemma and found myself wanting to keep reading to see what he would do next. There were also a number of references to classical literature integrated into the book that most well-read readers would enjoy as well. I also liked the structure of the book. The chapters were not number but rather written almost in a diary or journal format where morning, afternoon and evening would be followed by a memory of a discussion or interaction Charles had with his client and friend who had been murdered. These discussions although short, were often intriguing and deep, and they were related to an element Charles was dealing with in that point of the story. At times, I found myself wanting more of these!
This book was categorized as a suspense, the book reads more as a murder mystery than what I would associate with a suspense novel. For the mystery genre, it was very satisfying. However, since I thought I was going to be reading a suspense, I expected more action throughout the book rather than towards the end of the novel. That being said, I am not sure this is a fair assessment, because Robertson does write well and delivers enjoyable and compelling characters. Since this was my first book of his that I have read, I would read some more, in hopes that the suspense would offer more action for my bias.
I also was hoping to see more spiritual content. Since this was Christian suspense, it seems that Charles uses his own standards and references these standards according to the discussions with his client. I was hoping that he would also show his reliance on God and on prayer to help him through this dilemma. Instead, we are given some examples through Charles’ mercy and grace to a young man who he takes in through surprising circumstances. Unfortunately, this may be more of a reflection of the publishing world today where it is OK to show Christ-likeness in a character rather than the character seeking Christ in novels.
All in all, I would recommend this novel to those seeking a mystery with a twist of morality. It is well written, delivers a positive message with intriguing characters.  ~ Mike Read the rest of this entry »

Nothing But Trouble is a most appropriate title for this book, as the reader quickly finds out. PJ Sugar is an extremely likeable, well-meaning young lady who seems to walk around under a perpetual “Murphy’s Cloud” – if anything can go wrong for her, it usually does! Her return to her hometown is filled with adventure and misadventure, but she perseveres and takes the reader right along with her as she solves a mystery and gains a new understanding of herself and those closest to her. I came away from this book hoping to see more of PJ Sugar in future stories!  ~ Lori

About the Author ~

Susan grew up in Wayzata, a suburb of Minneapolis, and became an avid camper from an early age. Her favorite fir-lined spot is the north shore of Minnesota is where she met her husband, honeymooned and dreamed of living.

The north woods easily became the foundation for her first series, The Deep Haven series, based on a little tourist town along the shores of Lake Superior. Her first full-length book, Happily Ever After, became a Christy Award Finalist published in 2004 with Tyndale/Heartquest.

As an award winning author, Susan returned home in 2004, to her native Minnesota after serving for eight years with her husband and four children as missionaries with SEND International in Far East Russia. She now writes full time from Minnesota’s north woods and the beautiful town that she always dreamed of living in.

You can sample a chapter of each and every one of Susan’s novels, on her website, HERE. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s very easy to be fooled by the title and description of this book, fooled into believing that BoneMan’s Daughter is a dark and repulsive horror story centered on killing people and serial killers. Truth be told, none of these myths even touch on what Ted Dekker’s latest epic work is about. Sure, a few people die, but not in graphic detail, and not in huge droves. The better description of BoneMan requires pretty much just five words: God saved man from this. To find the other sixty gazillion words, read the book. No matter what you may think or predict when you begin this book, it will not remain the same when you finally put the novel down, and neither will you! Start now, and discover the ultimate heartpounding story, told in the way that only Dekker could do.  ~ Caleb A.

About the Author ~

Ted is the son of missionaries John and Helen Dekker, whose incredible story of life among headhunters in Indonesia has been told in several books. Surrounded by the vivid colors of the jungle and a myriad of cultures, each steeped in their own interpretation of life and faith, Dekker received a first-class education on human nature and behavior. This, he believes, is the foundation of his writing. Read the rest of this entry »

This morning a dear friend sent me a YouTube clip that reminded me how precious are our dreams. As a child, I had so many dreams of what life might be like when I grew up. I remember sitting on top of the corncob pile with my friend, Marlae, and planning my family-t0-be, career-to-be, and home-to-be. Can I just tell you that most days I am overwhelmed by all that God has done in my life and I find myself saying, “I never dreamed …”

Our dreams come from the Dream Giver. Some are small, but many of us have big dreams. I love a song called “Dream Big” by the Martins. Here are the lyrics:

I believe that anything is possible
if we understand who Jesus is
I believe there’s nothing that can
stop us
if we learn to dream like Jesus did
So don’t limit your ambition
to what’s commonly defined
God has a special heart
for those who walk outside the line
Don’t be afraid to spread your wings
and fly
It doesn’t hurt to try
If you’re gonna dream… Read the rest of this entry »

This morning, as I was spending time in the Word, God opened my eyes to a truth about myself that I’ve longed to understand for the last thirty years. I’m going to share it with you now, because I wonder if it might be true for you too. I was reading in 2 Corinthians 5:1-9

Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.  Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.

You may already know that Paul’s reference to our “earthly tent” is speaking about our physical bodies. Not many of us live in actual tents in the twenty-first century, but in those days many people were nomads, living in tents, and Paul was a tent-maker (Acts 18:1), so this was a reasonable metaphor for him to use. While a tent is temporary, unstable, and unsure, the resurrected, glorified body of a believer is secure, solid, and permanent. I can’t help but wonder if the reason why so few of us are content with our physical bodies is because God created us in such a way that somewhere, deep in our heart, we know that there is a better body waiting for us when we get to heaven – and THAT body will reflect our transformed lives. Read the rest of this entry »

Have you smiled today because of the simplicity of something? My boys just transformed my bathtub into the ocean, complete with a pirate boat, shells, a whale, and a stack of towels in the water with a palm tree perched in the center … clearly an island. Can’t say all that made me smile (especially the mess that’s still in my bathroom now), however, this video did the trick. Enjoy!

2 year old sings Lord\’s Prayer