Flame of Resistance: A Review

When Tom Jaeger’s plane is shot down in Normandy in the spring of 1944, he becomes part of the Resistance’s plan to fight the Nazis because of his German looks. Tom is to visit prostitute Brigitte, who will find out secrets from her customers and relay them to Tom to take back to the Resistance leaders.  Knowing an invasion draws near, the two have little time to uncover the enemy’s secrets. Will it be enough?

I love the idea for this book: an American flyer and a prostitute working together as spies. There’s a lot of room to explore the character’s motivations and to weave an action-packed novel. Instead, there are so many characters and cover names that it took me a good 1/3 of the book to figure everyone out. While I liked the characters of Tom and Brigitte, especially Brigitte, they sometimes seemed lost in the muddle of figuring out who is who. Cutting out some of the excess characters would have strengthened the plot’s pacing and made for a less-confusing read.

Fans of historical fiction will enjoy this book, perhaps a little more if they make notes of who everyone is. Once you get halfway through, it becomes a beautiful story of courage and loyalty, much like a WWII version of the Biblical story of Rahab.

I was given this book in exchange for my review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Giveaway!

Congrats to Michelle for winning A Sound Among the Trees. I'll ship the book soon.
This week, I'm giving away Under a Cajun Moon. I loved this book. I'm originally from Louisiana and loved the culture in the book.

To enter to win, leave a comment about a culture you love or would like to know more about. To get a second entry, follow the blog (and let me know you do). Be sure to leave your email address so that I can get in touch with you.
I'll pick a winner next week.
I can only ship to the US.

Starring Me: A Review

Kara McKormick didn't win the competition in First Date, but she's back for another chance at fulfilling her dreams when she is chosen to compete for job on a TV show where she could showcase her singing and acting skills.



Chad Beacon is a star but wants to do more than just singing, so he is eager to be on a new teen variety show. Adamant that Chad be surrounded by Christians, his parents ask his long time family friend Flora to choose the girl to be Chad’s costar and to surprise him with revealing her name right before the show started.

When a tragedy strikes, will Kara turn to the Jesus Addy and Flora have shown her?



Kara was my favorite character in First Date, and I was excited to read her story. She is funny, energetic, and full of life. McGee makes her personality spark from the first page to the last, and the readers are taken on a fun ride as she learns to balance being herself and working in show business. Flora was my second favorite character in the book. Her quirky love for Austen and all things literature combined with her love for Chad and his family made her a great support for Kara.



I know this book was a modern retelling of Isaac/Rebecca from the Bible, but I like that McGee had Chad and Kara meet before it was revealed who won the competition. Knowing they both felt sparks but were clueless that the other was involved in the show added to the buildup and the final reveal at the end of the book.





Fans of Christian YA will enjoy this second novel (read First Date first). Parents can also trust this book with their tween readers.



I was given this book in exchange for my review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Perfectly Ridiculous: A Review

In the third installment of the Universally Misunderstood series, Daisy finds herself in Argentina for what should have been a vacation with her wealthy best friend and a chance to see where things stand with Max. Instead, Daisy has to go help out at a mission for underprivileged kids in the slums of Argentina so that she can secure her scholarship to Pepperdine. At the mission, things go from bad to worse as Max dumps her and J.C., the cute guy working with her and future classmate at Pepperdine, is bitten by a scorpion and beaten up when he tries to help out an abused kid. Kicked out of the mission, Daisy is fearful of her scholarship and her feelings for Max and J.C. Will Daisy learn to embrace God’s Grace, or will she continue to fear His Rules?

This is my favorite of the three books in the series. I’ve long been a fan of Billerbeck’s adult books, and I felt a little disappointed with her YA books so far. In this book, she hits her stride and delivers a fun read full of funny encounters, sharp wit, and a little bit of food for thought.

In the first two books, Daisy got on my nerves with her back-and-forth feelings for Max, and I feared the third book would be more of the same…just a different country. Adding the character of J.C. mixed things up and brought out a stronger Daisy. I found I liked her a lot better when she was forced to think for herself and when she was around J.C. I also loved the change in her relationship with her overbearing parents, who truly love her despite their awkward dance routines and homemade clothes. Another pleasant surprise was Claire. For two books, she tried fad after fad, searching for a place to belong, and she found it in Argentina. I would love to read about her next adventure. (Hint, hint, K.B.)

Fans of the Daisy series will enjoy this third book, and I do recommend that new fans read them in order. I’m hoping there’s a fourth book so we can see what happens next.

Under the Cajun Moon: A Review

Etiquette expert Chloe Leget thought she had escaped her parents and their French Quarter restaurant and built a life for herself. When her father is shot, she is called back down to New Orleans. Instead of rushing to the hospital, her father's lawyer requests her signature on some documents. When she awakes the next morning, she finds herself framed for murder and just a "follow the recipe" clue. Joined by Travis, a quirky Cajun guy, Chloe must put together the ingredients of her father's recipe to find out who wants her father dead.



I enjoyed this book. I loved the characters of Chloe and Travis, and since I'm originally from Louisiana, I enjoyed the location references, the Cajun history, and the French phrases. In addition to Chloe's tale, readers get to meet Jacques, a French guy back in the 1700s, who is in the middle of a conspiracy by the government to get settlers to the New Orleans area.



What makes this book such a great read is the steady pace of the book. Each chapter is full of action (and character development) and ends on a cliff hanger. I kept thinking I would read one more chapter and then do something else, but I got sucked in each time, wanting to know what happened next.

Fans of Christian fiction, especially suspense with a dash of romance, will love this book.

Wildflowers from Winter: A Review

This book is so good, I find it hard to believe it is Ganshert’s debut novel. The characters are well-developed, the plot well-planned, and the writing well-executed.

When Bethany fled her trailer park past to become an architect in Chicago, she never planned to go back to her past and its memories. However, when her grandfather dies and she is laid off, Bethany is called back to the world she so desperately tried to leave behind. Now heir to her grandfather’s farm, Bethany is stuck since Evan, the brother-in-law of her childhood best friend, owns the farmhouse and animals, making it difficult for Bethany to sell the land. Will being stuck in the middle of nowhere for a cold winter sprout wildflowers in her own life?

Bethany is a cold character. Childhood troubles taught her to bury her emotions deep, yet Ganshert makes her likeable by slowly revealing why she is the way she is. Because the book takes place over almost a year’s time, Bethany’s “thawing” is authentic and profound. Evan is also a great character. Who doesn’t like the farm guy who works with his hands? J

What I think makes this book great is the author’s slow reveals….emotions, feelings, and revelations of the past come at a steady pace, allowing the reader to feel with the characters. The writing style draws the readers in and makes Ganshert a Christian fiction author to watch.   

The Scent of Cherry Blossoms: A Review

The tale of young love separated by family loyalty is as old as Shakespeare, yet it remains a well-used plot in today's novels. In This Amish tale by Cindy Woodsmall, Annie and Aden find themselves falling in love as they work together in his family's restaurant. While both are believers, she is Mennonite and he Amish. Their relationship could not only separate them from their families but also ruin his family's livelihood, which is in part run by Annie's grandfather. Will the strength of their love be enough to bring the two families and communities together?

I'm not a huge fan of Amish fiction just because I feel the plots start to all seem the same, but I felt Woodsmall branched out in her plot...but she added so many plots that the story became diluted in their development and therefore less poignant. In addition to Aden and Annie, readers were introduced to Annie's family--her parents are separated (they can't divorce), and Annie and her family are at odds. Aden has a stuttering problem, and his twin Roman is stuck in a wheel-chair after an accident. Roman is dealing with feeling like less of a man because he depends on Aden's strength. He meets a fiery girl who is a verbal match for him. On top of all that, you have the Mennonite/Amish conflict.

While I enjoyed the story of Aden and Annie, I felt it was boggled down with too many side plots that were wrapped up way too quickly. However, fans of sweet romance will enjoy Aden and Annie's story. I loved their meetings in the cherry blossoms (and the story behind how they were planted), and I love the tree symbolism at the end of the book. Instead of telling both brothers' romances, I would have liked to see better development of Aden and Annie as characters themselves, with each other, and with those around them.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read. Fans of Amish fiction will enjoy it, more so than those who are casual readers of Amish tales.

I received this book in exchange for my review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Giveaway!

This week I'm giving away A Sound Among the Trees. I love trees (check out my post below about Boston to see some of my favorite). 

To enter to win, leave a comment telling me about your favorite sound. I love when I have a group of kids in the library and I hear them all reading to themselves. It's even cooler when it's kinder or first grade kids who didn't know how to read at the beginning of the year and then you hear them reading.

To get a second entry, follow the blog and leave a second comment letting me know that.
I will pick a winner next Monday, the 9th. I can only ship to the US.

Happy 4th of July!

Boston

Boston is my favorite city. I went once back in 2004 in the winter and fell in love with the history and beauty of the city. I went back last week and had so  much fun. My mom was presenting a workshop for teachers, so I toured on my own. In my last visit, I did the trolley tour and visited all the historic spots, so this time, I wanted to just walk and absorb the city.

I didn't take a whole lot of pictures, but I had to take some tree pictures. :)

I also had to visit the public library. It's beautiful!

One last set: the churches are so beautiful. It kinda makes me sad that people don't build buildings like this any more.

Last few random shots

Subway

Sweet, a cupcake shop in Boston but not as good as the ones here

A bridge by Barking Crab, a restaurant with amazing crab cakes

 John F. Kennedy's birth home

Angel Eyes: A Review

Brielle left her small hometown in search of fulfilling her dreams, but when tragedy strikes, she returns home broken. She finds herself constantly bumping into Jake, a new guy, whose warmth draws her in despite her best efforts to ignore it. When a spiritual battle breaks loose in their small town as evil threatens the lives of innocent children, the two are drawn into a world where the supernatural and natural meet and choices that determine forever are made.

For fans of Christian fiction, picture Frank Peretti's This Present Darkness and mix with a teen romance and dab of a girl's journey to find herself. That's what Angel Eyes is. The beginning of the book is a little slow, but by the middle it had picked up to a speed that kept me up until after one in the morning to finish the novel. Brielle is a flawed but well-developed character and teen readers will identify with her. Jake is the typical hero, goofy but sensitive. Girl readers will love him.

The spiritual/paranormal plot fits what is popular with teens right now, and I think teen readers will love the romance aspect of the story. I hope they walk away thinking a little more about the spiritual world and the eternal ramifications of the choices they make.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to book two.

I received this book in exchange for my review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.