Recent Reads {Rekindled}

Rekindled by Tamera Alexander - I couldn't pass up this freebie from one of my favorite authors, and it certainly did not disappoint. This is the first in the Fountain Creek Chronicles series, and I am planning on reading the others too. The story is about Larson Jennings and his wife Kathryn. Larson's past is broken and checkered, and he struggles with trusting anyone - even the wife he adores. Kathryn walked away from wealth and privilege with her family in Boston because of her love for Larson. Ten years into their marriage, they are doing their best to make a success of Larson's ranch in Colorado, and nothing seems to be going their way. The ranch is in trouble, they haven't been able to have children, and the communication between them is difficult and strained. Then Larson is involved in an accident while away from home and can't get word to Kathryn of his whereabouts. As the months go by, Larson comes to a new understanding of God's grace and hopes that Kathryn will still want him when he finally can return home. Kathryn gains insight into Larson's tortured past and wishes she had been able to love him for who he was rather than who she wanted him to be. When Larson arrives back home, everything seems to have changed - will he and Kathryn get a second chance?

Something I really liked about this book (and the others by Alexander that I've read so far) is that the main characters are not idealistic teenagers. These characters are older and have been knocked around by life, and the romance aspect of the story reflects a deeply committed Christ-like love. The problems and trials they face, and the scars they bear, are devastating, and their personalities are layered and complex. This story drew me in from the start because of the compelling hurts of the main characters, and an unusual story-line that wasn't always predictable. It's not exactly a feel-good story because while there is a happy ending, there's a good deal of heart-wrenching before the resolution. The narration goes back and forth between Kathryn's and Larson's experiences while they are separated from each other, but was easy to follow. There were some places where the switch from one scene to another was very abrupt - just a new paragraph rather than a new chapter section - but I think that was a formatting problem on the Kindle. 

By the same author: A Lasting Impression, To Whisper Her Name

(Book #26 in the 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge)

©2008-2014 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

WWW Wednesdays: June 25, 2014

Should Be Reading hosts this weekly update on what we're reading, what we recently finished reading, and what's next. 

• What are you currently reading?  Still working on The Shadow Lamp by Stephen R Lawhead, Loyal in Love by Jean Plaidy, and Sinner's Creed by Scott Stapp. I recently started reading Flourish by Mary Jo Tate.

     

• What did you recently finish reading? Rekindled by Tamera Alexander, but I fell behind and haven't reviewed it yet.

• What do you think you'll read next?  I just got home from a church conference with a book called 8 to 15: The World is Smaller Than You Think by Tom Mercer. 

What are you reading? Anyone can join in this link-up by answering these three questions. Visit Should Be Reading to find out more.

©2008-2014 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Teaser Tuesdays: June 24, 2014

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. To play along, just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoilers!
• Share the title and author, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!

Tony considered this for a moment. "I certainly don't mean to be, in Mrs. Peelstick's term, snarky -- if I seem that way, let's chalk it up to parental concern and exhaustion brought about by utter . . . disorientation and a massive paradigm shift. But how can I be certain that you don't have Cass stashed in your basement or locked in an attic somewhere?"
~The Shadow Lamp by Stephen R. Lawhead, page 166

©2008-2014 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

WWW Wednesdays - June 18, 2014

Should Be Reading hosts this weekly update on what we're reading, what we recently finished reading, and what's next. 

• What are you currently reading?  I've been working on The Shadow Lamp by Stephen R Lawhead and Loyal in Love by Jean Plaidy. I also started Scott Stapp's biography, Sinner's Creed, as well as Rekindled (on my Kindle! Ha!) by Tamera Alexander.

     

   

• What did you recently finish reading? Elusive Hope by MaryLu Tyndall (Read my thoughts on this book.). I also read a novella by a new author, Appalachian Serenade by Sarah Loudin Thomas. (Read my thoughts on this book.) I finished Meet the Skeptic but haven't "reviewed" it yet.

   

• What do you think you'll read next?  Someday I will read When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert. My DH probably doesn't believe me, but I will. LOL 

    

What are you reading? Anyone can join in this link-up by answering these three questions. Visit Should Be Reading to find out more.

©2008-2014 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Teaser Tuesdays - June 17, 2014

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. To play along, just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoilers!
• Share the title and author, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!

In less than a year I'd gone from being a scholarship student with several different offers to a guy who had been expelled and was now eking out an existence at minimum-wage jobs. Where I had once been filled with optimism, I now felt cynical. My concept of Christian justice had been shattered by a college dean. My notion of a loving heavenly Father had been smashed by an abusive earthly father. I felt I had no choice but to fend for myself, spiritually and materially. 

~Sinner's Creed by Scott Stapp, page 83

©2008-2014 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Recent Reads {Appalachian Serenade}

Appalachian Serenade by Sarah Loudin Thomas - This delightful novella is set in West Virginia just after WWII. Young widow Delilah Morrissey returns to live with her sister and family, and entertains the hope that maybe she can still find love and have children of her own. When she starts working at the local general store, it looks as though she and store owner Robert may have a future together, but what if children can't be a part of that? Delilah and Robert both have to reconsider their plans and dreams and take some steps of faith.

This was such an enjoyable read, and I was impressed with the depth of the characters and how well the descriptions evoked the atmosphere of the community. I felt connected to the Delilah and Robert and the other characters right from the start, and it was a pleasant surprise to find such well-developed characters and themes in a novella. The underlying theme is about trusting God's plan, and the relationship between the two principle characters demonstrates both their struggle and their faith, but is not preachy. It's sweet and realistic, and I found it refreshing to have main characters in a romance that are well past their teenage years. While this story is a prequel to Miracle in a Dry Season, which will be released in July 2014, it doesn't leave the reader hanging - there is a resolution, but it certainly whetted my appetite for more!

There is a preview of Miracle in a Dry Season included, and I am looking forward to the whole story already. The focus shifts to Perla and Casewell, and Delilah and Robert will move into supporting roles, but still play an important part.

At the time of writing, Appalachian Serenade is available free for Kindle.

©2008-2014 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Recent Reads {Elusive Hope}

Elusive Hope by MaryLu Tyndall - The second book in the "Escape to Paradise" series shifts focus to another potential romance among the colonists introduced in Forsaken Dreams. These folks from the American South hope to establish a new home for themselves in Brazil after the Civil War. Hayden Gale is a con-man who is in Brazil hoping to find his father and take revenge on him, but none of the other colonists know that. Magnolia Scott is spoiled and self-centered, and obsessed with her appearance, and completely under the thumb of her arrogant and controlling father. Like almost all of the other colonists, they have shameful secrets in their past. When Hayden leaves the New Hope colony for Rio de Janeiro, Magnolia impulsively sneaks after him, thinking that she can convince him to take her along to Rio where she can board a ship back to some semblance of her old life in Atlanta. Can either of them trust the other? Will they get past their deceptions and fears and admit their growing feelings for each other?

Meanwhile, back at New Hope, the greedy politician Graves continues his quest for gold and power; and many of the colonists are disturbed by frightening visions from their past. They start to see a possible connection between these visions and the abandoned tribal temple where Graves has been obsessively digging for the gold. By the time Hayden and Magnolia return from their journey to Rio, most of the main characters have admitted to seeing the visions. To make things worse, pirates also show up looking for the gold rumored to be there; and one of the figures from the past shows up in person and stirs up more strife.

Although I didn't find much to like about Magnolia, and indeed I wondered what attracted Hayden to her, I did become much more sympathetic to her character as the story moved along. The themes of inner beauty and forgiveness were interwoven throughout, and both Hayden and Magnolia developed and grew as characters. The introduction of spiritual warfare lends a paranormal twist to the story, one that I found stretched belief in some places. That aspect of the story sets up the anticipated third novel in the series. Once again, Tyndall delivers an enjoyable story filled with action and romance, with believable characters in sometimes unbelievable circumstances.

By the same author: The Ransom, Forsaken Dreams, Veil of Pearls, Surrender the Dawn, Surrender the Night, Surrender the Heart, The Falcon and the Sparrow, Charles Towne Belle Series (The Red Siren, The Blue Enchantress, The Raven Saint), The Legacy of the King's Pirates series (The Redemption, The Reliance, The Restitution)

(Book #25 in the 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge)

©2008-2014 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

WWW Wednesdays: June 11, 2014

For reasons unknown to me, this didn't publish yesterday as I thought it had. Oops! Let's try this again!

Should Be Reading hosts this weekly update on what we're reading, what we recently finished reading, and what's next. 

• What are you currently reading?  I got back into The Shadow Lamp by Stephen R Lawhead and started two new reads: Elusive Hope by MaryLu Tyndall, and Loyal in Love by Jean Plaidy.

  
   

• What did you recently finish reading? Voyager by Diana Gabaldon (Read my thoughts on this book.) and Twelfth Night by Deanna Raybourn (Read my thoughts on this book.). 

   

• What do you think you'll read next?  I still have When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert in the stack; I moved Meet the Skeptic to the backburner; and I have a couple of new things waiting for me at the library! o.O 

    

What are you reading? Anyone can join in this link-up by answering these three questions. Visit Should Be Reading to find out more.

©2008-2014 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Teaser Tuesdays: June 10, 2014

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. To play along, just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoilers!
• Share the title and author, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!

"A house made of bones?" She tossed her head in derision, her tone high and haughty. "Do you honestly expect anyone to believe this unabashed claptrap? Or is this merely your lumbering way of discouraging the rest of us from participating in your discovery?"

~The Shadow Lamp by Stephen R. Lawhead, page 95

©2008-2014 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Recent Reads {Twelfth Night}

Twelfth Night by Deanna Raybourn - at last! Another Lady Julia Grey story! I'd missed her and her eccentric family so I was very excited to get this novella. In this one, the entire March family has gathered at Bellmont Abbey to perform the Twelfth Night Revels. A newborn baby is discovered in the stables - cradled in the steel helm that Brisbane is to wear for the part of St George! - and the local legend of a ghost living in a nearby abandoned cottage is revived. With a little help from precocious niece Perdita, Julia and Brisbane track down the mother that abandoned the baby and the source of the latest ghost story. And then are faced with a momentous decision that may change all the plans they've been making for their future.

Since it's a novella, the pace is quick and there aren't a lot of details about the rest of the March family. They are all present, but make only brief 'cameo' appearances. We do get a little introduction to Perdita that makes it sound as though she may be appearing in a future Lady Julia story; and we meet one of the characters from A Spear of Summer Grass as a child. I particularly enjoyed that little tie-in! Although the ending didn't come as a surprise to me, the identity of the baby's mother did. Another very enjoyable little cozy from Deanna Raybourn that whetted my appetite for whatever will come next.

By the same author: City of Jasmine, Whisper of Jasmine, Midsummer Night; A Spear of Summer Grass, Silent in the Grave, Silent in the Sanctuary, Dark Road to Darjeeling, The Dark Enquiry, Silent Night, The Dead Travel Fast

(Book #24 in the 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge)

Here's the thing: for the challenge, we are supposed to be listing books and not novellas, but really - I think the fact that this is just a novella is balanced by my having just read an 800+ page epic. Just saying. ;-)

©2008-2014 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Recent Reads {Voyager}

Voyager by Diana Gabaldon - The third in Gabaldon's Outlander series picks up both Claire's story and Jamie's story where they left off in Dragonfly in Amber. Jamie regains consciousness after being wounded at Culloden in 1746, and we follow him through all his troubles and adventures for about twenty years. Interspersed with the chapters about Jamie are chapters which pick up Claire's story in 1968, when Roger Wakefield reveals that Jamie Fraser likely did not die at Culloden as she had believed. Her part of the story is told in her familiar first person, but also with flashbacks telling many details of the previous twenty years of her life, and that of her daughter, Brianna. Eventually, Claire, Brianna, and Roger gather enough documents and evidence to trace Jamie Fraser to Edinburgh twenty years after Culloden; and with Brianna's blessing, Claire returns to the past through the stones. That's the first third of the book. :-) The remainder tells of the reunion of Claire and Jamie and many more dangers and trials for them to overcome. Jamie has by that time collected several aliases and is a smuggler and a printer. Almost as soon as Claire arrives in Edinburgh, there is a fire at the printer's shop and a near disaster with the smuggling operation, so Jamie and Claire return to Lallybroch, where Claire's arrival creates quite the stir, in ways both expected and unanticipated! Later, Jamie and Claire embark on a lengthy sea voyage (and you may remember that Jamie suffers disastrously from seasickness) in search of Jamie's nephew who has been kidnapped for reasons unknown.

Even without knowing that there are still several more novels in the series, it was clear to me that at least one more installment would be forthcoming as I read the final chapters. There is still a potential danger to Brianna, and although it seems Geillie is truly dead this time (yes, she reappears in the Indies), we had thought that before so I'm inclined to be skeptical.

As in the previous two books, I often felt overwhelmed by the sheer size of the story, but was also invested in the characters and the thrill of wondering what they would encounter next that I kept turning the pages. Once again, it's time to think ahead to the next novel in the series!

By the same author: Dragonfly in Amber, Outlander

(Book #23 in the 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge)

©2008-2014 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

WWW Wednesdays - June 4, 2014

Should Be Reading hosts this weekly update on what we're reading, what we recently finished reading, and what's next. 

• What are you currently reading?  This past week I've been devouring Voyager by Diana Gabaldon, so The Shadow Lamp by Stephen R Lawhead and Meet the Skeptic by Bill Foster have had to take a backseat.

      

• What did you recently finish reading? Sabrina's Man by Gilbert Morris. (Read my thoughts on this book.)

   

• What do you think you'll read next?  Well, I'm about to start a book for our Sunday morning small group, called Do Science and the Bible Conflict?  And I just got a couple of new books on my Kindle too, most notably the newest Deanna Raybourn novella, Twelfth Night.  I still have When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert in the stack too.

   

What are you reading? Anyone can join in this link-up by answering these three questions. Visit Should Be Reading to find out more.

©2008-2014 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Recent Reads {Sabrina's Man}

Sabrina's Man by Gilbert Morris - This book was free for Kindle awhile ago, and I grabbed it because: 1) I like westerns; and 2) I like the author. I particularly liked Morris's Lions of Judah series, which was a very different setting. Anyway, this book is about a wealthy, spoiled, and headstrong young woman who enlists the help of a bitter ex-criminal in order to find and rescue her younger sister who has been kidnapped.

I have to admit that around Chapter 4 or so, I checked the cover material again to make sure I had the right book. Sabrina isn't mentioned at all in the first section, which gives the background of "her man", ex-soldier turned outlaw Waco Smith. Never fear, Sabrina will make her appearance in the second section, where several chapters are devoted to developing her background and setting up the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of her sister, Marianne. I found it easy to sympathize with Waco - he is a young man without family who has gone into business with a friend and soon finds a young woman he plans to marry. However, after being forced to serve again in the Civil War, he returns to Arkansas to discover that his friend has cheated him out of the business and his fiancee, and Waco is left with nothing. From there he makes some poor choices and winds up being betrayed by those he trusted again until he finally winds up in prison. He's had hard luck every way he turns, and it's understandable that he is hardened and cynical, and wary of everyone. I did not find it nearly as easy to like Sabrina. When she is introduced, she is a spoiled and selfish young woman who takes the attitude of doing what she pleases when it suits her, no matter what anyone else thinks about it. She is used to getting her own way, and is stubborn and somewhat arrogant. Her younger sister falls in love with a man that their parents don't quite trust, but Sabrina can't be bothered to change her plans in order to meet this man and give her own opinion, and confidently assumes that she will talk sense into her sister once she's finished her own shopping trip. Unfortunately, by the time she returns from her little vacation, Marianne has run away with the man. Sabrina immediately takes off on her own to Oklahoma Territory determined to find and rescue Marianne. Once there, she finds that the local law doesn't have the manpower to devote to her project, and enters into a deal with Waco to track the outlaws that have Marianne. Sabrina continues her selfish and stubborn ways throughout their adventures, but of course Waco falls in love with her anyway, as they work together to outwit the gang and get Marianne back to safety.

Overall, I did enjoy this book, despite a leading lady that I thought needed to be brought down a peg or two!

(Book #22 in the 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge)

©2008-2014 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Teaser Tuesdays - June 3, 2014

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. To play along, just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoilers!
• Share the title and author, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!

"Oh, come on, then, gowk," she said, taking pity on him. "Come into the scullery wi' me, and we'll get ye brushed and combed before Mam and Da see ye."
He glared at her, then turned to look up at me, with an expression of mingled bewilderment and annoyance. "Why in the name of heaven," he demanded, his voice cracking with strain, "does everyone think bein' clean will help?"

~Voyager by Diana Gabaldon, page 401

©2008-2014 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/