Glass Road PR Tour Stop for The Anniversary Waltz by Darrel Nelson

It’s the summer of 1946, and Adam Carlson has just returned from the war to his home in Reunion, Montana. Despite the strained relationship with his father, Adam sets out to revive the dilapidated family farm, neglected since his departure overseas four years ago. After some convincing to take a rest from his labors, he attends the town festival, where he meets Elizabeth Baxter, a young woman going steady with his former high school rival and now influential banker, Nathan Roberts.

My thoughts..

This is a such a sweet story of how Adam and Elizabeth meet and fall in love almost immediately. The sacrifices they made and their journey is heartwarming. On the eve of their wedding the bride to be is involved in an accident that forever changes her, she breaks their engagement and frees Adam to find love again with someone else. What Adam does to prove his love for her is precious.

So much happens from the time Adam gets home from the war. His father is not the type to show his love and he is still upset with his son for leaving the farm to fight. Adam is struck with guilt when he sees how run down the farm has gotten so he begins repairs and painting to make the place look again only to find out the bank is ready to foreclose.

This book is a beautiful love story. I wish I could give it more than 5 stars!

I received a copy of this book free from the Glass Road PR in exchange for an honest review.

The Atonement Child

Dynah Carey knew where her life was headed. Engaged to a wonderful man, the daughter of doting parents, a faithful child of God, she has it all. Then the unthinkable happens: Dynah’s perfect life is irrevocably changed by a rape that results in an unwanted pregnancy. Her family is torn apart and her seemingly rock-solid faith is pushed to the limits as she faces the most momentous choice of her life: to embrace or to end the life within her.

This is ultimately a tale of three women, as Dynah’s plight forces both her mother and her grandmother to face the choices they made. Written with balance and compassion, The Atonement Child brings a new perspective to the most controversial topic of our times.

My thoughts...

Francine Rivers just cannot write a bad book, this one is as fabulous as all the others. Heartwrenching, eye opening, full of encouragement. The Atonement Child deals with a sensitive issue and Francine handles it beautifully.

A baby conceived of rape, an abortion, more than one generation effected, this book shows the baby is not the only victim. It sheds light on a controversy that plagues people today.This is not an easy read and it gives plenty of food for thought.

The Atonement Child gets 5 stars from me!

Imagination Station Attack at the Arena

Patrick and Beth learn that Mr. Whittaker’s fancy ring can be seen inside the Imagination Station but not outside of the machine. A mysterious letter leads the cousins to fifth-century Rome in search of a special cup that belongs to a monk. If found, the cup could keep the mysterious Albert out of prison.

At the Roman Colosseum, Emperor Honorius is hosting a gladiator battle in celebration of a war victory. Beth attends the event as the emperor’s slave; Patrick attends as a monk’s apprentice but is taken prisoner and sent to fight in the arena. During their adventure, the cousins meet Telemachus (a true historical figure), a monk who believes that fighting is wrong. Telemachus is willing to risk everything—even his life—to stop the killing. When the cousins return with the cup, they find that a third letter has been sent with more information about Albert’s fate.

My thoughts...

Beth and Patrick are on an adventure to ancient Rome as they search for a silver chalice in order to save Albert from the mysterious Lord Darkthorne. The cousins enter a time machine and exit in Rome. What adventures these two encounter!

Fast paced, fun characters, suspenseful. A great read for children. My grandchildren loved it! I give it 5 out of 5 stars.

AAAARGH!!!

This six-book series centers around two 23rd century goofballs, Tuna and Herby, who travel back in time to study TJ Finkelstein for their history project. TJ will someday become a great leader who demonstrates honesty, integrity, thoughtfulness, self-sacrifice, respect for others—all traits she hones and grasps through her adventures in this series. Unfortunately, Tuna and Herby get stuck in TJ’s time (modern day), so she has to deal with their schemes while juggling the normal issues of a seventh grader who has moved to a new city, is trying to fit in, and is coping with her mother’s death and her family’s new life.

In AAAARGH!!!, Tuna and Herby try to help TJ with a book report by getting the author to write it for her, but all three of them quickly see the consequences of cheating spiral out of control. Meanwhile, TJ’s cute neighbor and classmate Chad Steel is getting ready for a big surfing competition—and learning his own lesson about honesty.

My thoughts...

TJ is behind in her studies, has become friends with two very unpopular kids, and all her plans are falling apart. Everyone thinks she's crazy. TJ has invisible friends from another century following her around and causing trouble everywhere!

This is a cute book, funny storyline but also teaches important lessons such as honesty. You see, TJ is cheating on a book report and it's not a big deal to her.

Funny book. Highly recommended for kids of all ages! I give it 5 of 5 stars.

Spirit Wars: Winning the Invisible Battle Against Sin and the Enemy

Kris Vallotton, a pastor at Bethel Church in Redding, California, and the cofounder of its School of Supernatural Ministry, knows his way around the spiritual battlefield. For years he was tormented by a host of demonic assaults, though he didn't know the problems were spiritual. Confused, overwhelmed, he actually contemplated suicide--until the Lord delivered him.

Since that time, Kris has spent his life spreading a message of hope and freedom. He's helped people all over the world recognize the devil's stealth attacks and taught them to overcome. Weaving time-tested spiritual warfare tactics with biblical understanding, Kris offers Christians a bold new battle plan, showing how even those in the most devastating of personal battles can be victorious.

My thoughts...

Spirit Wars is an interesting book. I was fascinated by Vallotton's testimony and experience with spiritual warfare. He has a different opinion on the subject. To me, this was more of a self help book. There were several things I disagree with or have a little trouble believing such as his claim that it isn't our nature to sin after becoming a Christian and that he has gone several weeks without committing a sin. I felt there wasn't enough scripture to back up his thinking.

One thing I especially liked is the entire book can be taken as a call to return to the gospel. I give it 3 stars out of 5.

I received a copy of this book free from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest review.

The River Rose by Gilbert Morris

Life hasn't been easy for Jeanne Bettencourt, a widow approaching thirty and struggling to provide for her eight-year-old daughter. But hope arrives in the form of the Helena Rose, a steamboat she unexpectedly inherits from a distant, departed relative. Jeanne's father had captained a similar vessel and taught her how to pilot a steamer along the banks of Memphis. She's looking forward to a renewed livelihood on the mighty Mississippi.

However, as plans are made, news comes of another heir to the Helena Rose - a tough man named Clint Hardin - and a clause in the will that says claimants of the estate must live aboard the boat. Jeanne, a Christian woman, makes it clear she won't stay with a man who is not her husband. But both are desperate for work, so they agree to keep their distance as Clint occupies the lower deck and Jeanne takes the captain's quarters.

As they restore the Helena Rose, the slowly softening Clint becomes attracted to Jeanne - who is now being courted by a wealthy plantation owner. With her family and future at stake, the desires of Jeanne's heart are duly complex. Only her simple faith can navigate her through what's about to happen.

My thoughts...

Memphis, Tennessee 1854 two people inherit a riverboat. Jeanne is a widow with a young child. Her husband is assumed dead in the war. She is working in a hotel barely making ends meet.

Clint has several jobs which include boxing and singing. They inherit the Helena Rose from a very distant relative.

Jeanne's parents had owned a riverboat so she has plenty of experience. She and Clint begin their business and it becomes very successful. Their story is full of happenings and not all good. Things have a way of working out or so it seems.

The book keeps you drawn into it, you just never know what is going to happen next. The characters are fun and realistic. A great read!

I received a ecopy of this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Skip Rock Shallows

Lilly Gray Corbett has just graduated from medical school and decided to accept an internship in the coal camp of Skip Rock, Kentucky. Her beau, Paul, is doing his residency in Boston and can’t understand why Lilly would choose to work in a backwater town. But having grown up in the mountains, Lilly is drawn to the stubborn, superstitious people she encounters in Skip Rock—a town where people live hard and die harder and where women know their place. Lilly soon learns she has a lot to overcome, but after saving the life of a young miner, she begins to earn the residents’ trust.

As Lilly becomes torn between joining Paul in Boston and her love for the people of Skip Rock, she crosses paths with a handsome miner—one who seems oddly familiar. Her attraction for him grows, even as she wrestles with her feelings and wonders what he’s hiding.

My thoughts...

Fresh out of medical school Lilly accepts an internship in the mountains of Kentucky. The people of Skip Rock Shallows are unique, very standoffish and unwilling to accept a lady doctor until a discovery is made and everything changes!

When Lilly's fiance visits, they work very well together and he's prepared to take her back to Boston with him but Lilly isn't ready to leave the place she's grown so fond of and she certainly can't leave them without a doctor. Something happens between Lilly and a stranger that changes their lives forever.

There's a bit of everything in this fun story... humor, romance, danger, and Watson has done a good job of capturing the lives of mountain folk. I give this 4 stars.

I received a copy of this book free from the publisher in exchange for an hoenst review.