BLOG TOUR and REVIEW

Missing Max

by Karen Young

Description: When baby Max is kidnapped during Mardi Gras, Jane and Kyle Madison's life falls apart. What their daughter, Melanie, does next is unthinkable.Max vanished into thin air while in the care of his teenage sister, Melanie. Six months later, the family is a shadow of its former self: Melanie blames herself and is acting out and rebellious; Jane is obsessed with finding Max; and Kyle, a lawyer, struggles to cope with his own grief and a persistent suspicion that one of his cases is connected to Max's disappearance.With her family in turmoil and her marriage on the rocks, Jane thinks things can't get any worse. Then when an affair and an unexpected pregnancy threaten to tear the Madisons' lives apart, an anonymous caller leads to a break in the case. Can a second kidnapping bring their family back together?

Thanks to Rebeca Seitz at Glass Road Publication for this wonderful book to review.



My Thoughts:  This is a great book and I thought that it would be a really hard read because of the kidnapping but it really was not that bad in fact it is a great suspence book, you can get your copy here and let me tell you that it is really worth your money,

About the Author:

Karen Young is a spellbinding, experienced storyteller, with 34 novels and more than 10 million copies in print. Winner of the Rita Award and Reviewers' Choice Awards, she weaves another emotion-packed romantic suspense. Max, the six-month-old beloved son, disappears in the Mardi Gras crowd, leaving behind a tiny shoe. Could it be sixteen-year-old Melanie's fault? Will the experience tear Jane and Kyle's marriage apart? Will Melanie's surprise pregnancy to replace him bring peace? Who is the kidnapper? What is that person's motivation? Is it one of Kyle's or Jane's clients? Readers will remember this multi-layered, fascinating story long after they've read the last page. Young's skill was augmented with help and encouragement from a veritable who's who list of best selling authors and professionals. Young's latest work is a fine read. Missing Max has wide appeal to all ages, teen through adult. It's a safe read, realistic and moving, but without shockers and unpleasant incidents found in some CBA books. Review by Audrey Hebbert, author of Green Light Red Light

Kelly Long is the author of Sarah's Garden, the first novel in the Patch of Heaven series. She was born and raised in the mountains of Northern Pennsylvania. She’s been married for nearly 25 years and has five children.
Favorite Verse: Exodus 18:18 (NASB) is my favorite—“You will surely wear out…for the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone.”  This verse applies to parenting a child with autism, to writing, marriage, and all of my life.

SARAH'S GARDEN

Kelley Long is a new writer to me and I really enjoy the Amish books, even though there are so many coming out now with this theme.  Kelley put a whole new twist on the Amish story.  This book started out with a bang and ended with one. 

When I started reading it I thought it would be the same as the others I have read and enjoyed but this one was so different.

Sarah was the only daughter at home with older brothers and she loved to garden, that was her top priority, she didn't care for quilting or sewing as most of the Amish women tend to do.  But she could make a mean garden and knew about all the plants.

When a new vet moved into the Amish community everything started to change.  He was loved by all and did his work great but he was not Amish.  This did not seem to brother the people as other books led us to believe in the past.  They took him on as one of them.

Sarah was a loner as she didn't like to meet a lot of people, (I understand her because that is the way I am) but she was made to run the stand that the Amish make a lot of their money from in the summer, and she hated it.  She didn't know what she was going to do when the "Englishers" came.  She decided to start a quilt top for her sister's baby that would soon make his appearance, so this is the way she got by sitting all day at the stand.

As the story unfolds the Amish man that is in love with her "but she not him" keeps trying to get her to go out with him and he is a nice man but she grew up with him as a friend and that is all he will ever be.

She does get by and with her new nephew she begin to see things more in the light of an Amish woman and even starts her own quilt and has a quilting party.  This is a must read for all that enjoy Amish books, it is a good clean Christian book with a new twist.

This book was sent to me for review by BookSneeze

Synopsis: Deep in the heart of Pennsylvania's Allegheny Mountains, shy Sarah King is happiest when working in her vibrant Amish kitchen garden, but new family responsibilities lead her into the confusing world of the Englisch.
Sarah finds her life turned around when she encounters the community's new Englisch veterinarian, Grant Williams. His blue-gold eyes and his obvious concern for her people attract her immediately. Sarah seeks solace and direction from the Lord as she creates a quilt pattern which details her struggle between two worlds.
The Lord is guiding Sarah to follow His will, but will she listen?

Litfuse Blog Tour stop for Scars and Stilettos by Harmony Dust.

Scars and Stilettos

From back of book: this book is Harmony's stark, honest, and ultimately hope story of how God found her in that dark, noisy place and led her back out.  She has since married, completed an MA in Social Welfare and now leads Treasures, an organization helping women in the sex trade discover their true worth.

"Once your start this book, you will not be able to put it down.  You will laugh, you will cry, you will be encouraged, you will fall in love with God all over again."

My Review:

When Harmony was thirteen she could hear him walking around in the apartment, she was alone as her Mother had gone off and left her for a few days.  She could remember her step day dragging her mom down the stairs and showing her the door that was left unlocked and she had done the same thing.

Derrick was a good looking teen who was mistreated in his foster home so her Mother had let him stay with them.  He was always walking in on her and at fourteen she had already had sex with him

She took all she could and left home to make it on her on, but Derrick found her and moved in with her.  He would not work and just played basketball or video games all day.

Harmony was going to college and working two jobs just to get the bills paid and Derrick was always wanting her money.  She had to find a job that would pay more.  She had meet a guy in college that started driving her around and he carried to a strip club to just show her how much money could be made.  She didn't want to do this but she had to have money, so she took on this job.  She made more money than she thought possible but hated for the men to stare at her.  Derrick always wanted to know how much she had made that night and wanted his share.  He even left in her car and stayed gone for a couple of weeks.  He then brought his pregnant girl friend to live off Harmony.

In a job she thought was just going to last a few weeks turned into years and Derrick still wanting her to pay his way.  She finally found the Bible her Grandmother had given her and started to read it.  She found the verse John 15:5-6, I am the vine and you are the branches.  He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.  If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered.

She then begin to think about her life and where it was leading her.

She quit her job at the strip club, called Derrick and told him she would no longer keep him up and for him not to ever get in touch with her again.  She gave her heart to God and begin a new life.

You really must read this, it is such a heartwarming story you will want to just take her in your arms and tell her someone cares. You can find her help group at www.iamatreasure.com.

Thanks to  Kregel Publications for a copy of this book,  so that I could give my honest opinion in a review.

Harmony Dust is the founder and Executive Director of Treasures Ministries, a Los Angeles, CA, based nonprofit organization [outreach and support group] for women in the sex industry.
As a child, Harmony was sexually abused and raped by multiple people. She ended up in a group home at age 17, where she first encountered social workers and began to dream about one day making a difference in peoples’ lives. She discovered, however, that despite her dreams, the abuse and pain from her past continued to hold her captive. She found herself walking straight from a troubled adolescence into an adulthood entrenched with dysfunctional relationships and a life inside the walls of a strip club working as an exotic dancer. She continued down this path for several years, until committing herself to a journey of healing that radically changed her life.
While completing a Master’s Degree in Social Work at UCLA, Harmony founded Treasures as a dream born from a broken past and a heart healed by the love of God.  Each month, Harmony and a team of dedicated volunteers visit strip clubs in the greater Los Angeles area to give gift bags to the women inside the clubs. The mission of Treasures’ is to empower women to make healthy life choices, the foundation of which lies in encouraging them to discover their value and purpose. The gifts represent the heart of this organization, sending the message to each woman, “You are loved!” Harmony is truly passionate about seeing women’s hearts and lives revolutionized by a relationship with God and a revelation of their true worth in Him. She also has a passion for seeing the house of God be a place where hurting and broken people are met with open arms and offered a safe haven for their healing and restoration.
Harmony holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology (2000) and a Master’s Degree in Social Welfare (2005) from UCLA. She was a case manager for the Los Angeles County Department of Child and Family Services, where she helped families whose lives had been impacted by issues such as sexual and physical abuse, neglect, and drug and alcohol dependency. To honor her contribution, the National Association of Social Workers California Chapter presented her with the “Outstanding Youth Social Worker of the Year” award for 2006.
She has been featured in various media sources, including Glamour Magazine, 700 Club, Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew and The Tyra Banks Show. She is a sought after speaker and her memoir, Scars and Stilettos has been released by Lion Hudson.

The Flat on Malabar Hill

                               by Chitra Kallay

Excerpt:  Piety and religious devotion run alongside drug addiction and bigotry in a Mumbai middle class family. Told from multiple view points, The Flat on Malabar Hill pits traditional values against modern ways and reflects a part of Indian culture. In this family, two sons provide devout mother Shanti and morally upright father Vinod their greatest joy and deepest anguish. Kishore is handsome, brilliant and an MIT graduate. His Americanized wife Anjali has spent years in the U.S. and struggles to adjust to Mumbai. The younger son Dev plays drums at nightclubs and shares drugs with his idle rich friends. When he wants to marry an uneducated, low-caste, Anglo-Indian night-club singer, Vinod threatens to disown him. Dev finally agrees to an arranged marriage. Years later, when Vinod has heart bypass surgery and Shanti is diagnosed with Alzheimer's, Kishore, a member of the sandwich generation must make a choice between the best education for his children and the responsibility of caring for his parents. He uproots his family from Seattle, where he works for Microsoft, and moves them into the Malabar Hill flat, which his father deeds over to him. Anjali begins to redecorate, but each brush stroke erases Shanti's and Vinod's memories. Shanti's mind continues to fade and Vinod feels powerless to help her. He makes a fateful decision, leaving a painful legacy for the family. Or was it their karma?
meta>

My Review: The Flat on Malabar Hill tells the story of three generations of an Indian family living in an apartment in an upscale neighborhood of Mumbai.

Chitra Kallay portrays an in depth  of the family in context to the country's
culture and how these very powerful influences interweave  with the India way of living.

The characters are vivid and the novel conveys the real life of the city.

Deep mutual love between a long-married husband and wife, Vinod and Shanti, forms the core of this story set in one of the finer neighborhoods in Mumbai, India. The couple's love also encompasses their two sons, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren.

The characters and family dynamics were both believable and recognizable. The conclusion hauntingly tore at my heart strings. I would highly recommend this book.

While it is a charming  book to read, it also teaches and creates understanding of many of life's most difficult problems. The book about this Mumbai family evokes both smiles and tears in the reading.

This book was sent to me for review by Paula Krap of aMe publishing.

Chitra Kallay grew up in Bangalore, India. She moved to the United States to do post graduate work in English Literature and Journalism. She settled in Los Angeles where she taught English for several years at Harvard-Westlake School, a private college-prep school in Los Angeles. She has two children and three grandchildren, all of whom live close enough to keep her busy. She loves traveling, volunteering at the Getty Museum, and reading. 

Reecca's Choice

by

Jerry S. Eicher

Set in Adams County, it is the third in The Adams County Trilogy but can be read as a stand alone.


This book is about Rebecca that is in love with an Amish man named John who was a minister's son, but she had been in love with a Mennonite man before and he had given her a ring which was wrong in the Amish faith, she broke up with him but had kept the ring. After she fell in love with John she threw the ring into the river but got in trouble with the Bishop because she had kept it.

Their problems are created by a selfish bishop's wife who believes she is initialed to an inheritance that is left to the main female characters by the bishop's wife's aunt Emma Miller the school teacher of so many of the children. All Rachel could think of was the money her aunt Emma had inherited from Rachel's father. She didn't want her husband to succeed in anything and when he bought goats and started to do really well she tried everything she could think of to get rid of them. All she could think of was getting back the money that Emma had inherited from her Rachel's father.

As Rebecca and John was planning their wedding and old teacher of Rebecca's had died and left her all her money and belonging to Rebecca so that she would marry an Amish man. She got in trouble again with the Amish because it looked as though she was only marring John for the money. Will things work out for them as the time approaches for the wedding.

This is the first book I have read by this author, he is an ok author but there are so many Amish writers out there, I found this it to be rather confusing in many of the conversations. I think maybe he came a little late into this field. The book didn't hold my interest as some of the other Amish author's do.

This book was sent to me for review by Harvest House Publishers

Morning for Dove

by Martha Rogers

BLOG TOUR FOR RETURNING INJURY

Returning Injury

by

Becky Due

This is a help book for all abused women and girls. It tells of Rebecca's life of being abused by a past boyfriend Roy. She is happily married to a wonderful man and is a rich lady with everything she could ever want, but, she can never forget what happened to her a few years back.

She started dating Roy because her boss set her up with a friend, but sometimes he would be nice and then sometimes see, like a different person. When she decided to break it off with him she had no idea of the man she was dealing with.
Even after he was sent to prison and she found out he was released she didn't tell her husband and let him go on a business trip.  She was always watching over her shoulde and though she saw him everywhere.

My thoughts on this book. It really opened my eyes to what is going on in this world. I am so thankful that I have never had to deal with this abuse. Beware if you are sensitive  on explicit sex and words that it offend. The book will be a great read for anyone that has ever been abused so thanks to Becky Due for writing it.

Thanks to Word Press for sending me a copy for review:

         The Six Liter Club
                               by
                      Harry Kraus
   

In 1984, Dr. Camille Weller is the first black female trauma surgeon at the Medical College of Virginia. On her first day on the job, Camille quickly becomes a member of the elite Six-Liter Club; entrance is saving the life of a teen that had been shot who lost six liters of blood.

However, Weller struggles with sexism and racism as she becomes a highly regarded surgeon. She bends rules, but whenever she hits a gender, race, or national origin glass wall, she breaks through by recalling her early childhood in the Congo where her white missionary father and local resident mother died. Raised by her Father's sister that live in America. Camille has nightmares, but she can't remember what they are, she is just really scared every time she hears the phrase "Everything will be alright"

This is a medical thriller that focuses on the trials of a young doctor facing several types of prejudices, as well as the horror of being orphaned in the Congo. Camille makes the story line work as she seeks her roots while also making it as a surgeon. At the same time with a deep look inside the OR, beads from East Africa and accepting or disavowing her father's religion, Dr. Harry Kraus provides a strong Reagan Era tale.

Dr. Camille Weller begins her first day as an attending surgeon saving a young man who loses six liters of blood: thus her initiation into the Six Liter Club. Expecting a rousing congrats, Dr. Weller soon realizes the stereotype of "woman doctor" still applies--and as a black woman doctor, so do prejudices. A bout of nightmares about her childhood send her on a slippery slope of discouragement and confusion as she deals with hospital politics and romance.

Thanks to Rebeca Seitz from Glass Road Public Relations for sending me this copy for review.

Biography

Harry is a board-certified surgeon and medical missionary to East Africa. His novel, "Could I Have This Dance?" was the number one CBA bestseller in the contemporary category. His novels are laced with his signature of medical realism. He has been both an ACFW Book of the Year and Christie Award for Inspirational Fiction finalist.

Harry loves miniature Schnauzers and motorcycles and is passionate about spreading the good news of GRACE. In addition to his love of writing fiction, he has written two non-fiction books: "Breathing Grace" and "The Cure."

Visit his website: http://www.harrykraus.com/ for… Read more

Thumbing Through Thoreau

By Kenny Luck

You can buy the book at book store or order from Amason,com

Book Summary

On July 4, 1845, when Henry David Thoreau moved into his cabin on the shores of Walden Pond, he was probably unaware that his abode in the woods, and the impact and influence of that endeavor, would forever echo through time.

Thoreau was an uncompromising idealist; an ardent maverick who criticized his fellow man. He urged that men and women ought to live more simply, and more deliberately. “The mass of men,” he famously wrote, “lead lives of quite desperation.”

Yet the scope of Thoreau’s message is much wider than social criticism. He speaks of spiritual transcendence in Nature and the unbounded potential of the individual. Thoreau is a dreamer and he speaks to dreamers. In a word, shun dogmatism and demagoguery; see beyond the immediate conventional religious explanations to reap a higher understanding.
In our commodified contemporary American society, with the rise of religious intolerance and fundamentalism, materialism and mass consumerism, Thoreau’s message is needed now more than ever.



Kenny Luck Bio

Kenny Luck is a graduate student at Marywood University in Scranton, Pa., and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in History & Political Science from the same institution. He writes for The Weekender – an arts and entertainment weekly – and The Independent. He is currently working on his second book. He enjoys recording music, book browsing and travel.

Excerpt from Introduction (by Kenny Luck)

As I stood on the edge of Walden Pond, about to make a symbolic leap into what had become in my mind a scared place, Hawthorne’s poetic observation was not present in my thoughts. For a summer day, it was unusually cold; a light mist rose above the surface of the water; and having forgotten my towel and bathing suit at home in Pennsylvania, I was forced to strip down, making do with what I was wearing in that revealing moment. I hung my clothes on a nearby tree branch and began inching my way toward the water. It was a ritual Henry David Thoreau, one of America’s first literary giants, had performed countless times during his stay in the woods.

It was June 2007, and this was my second trip to Walden Pond. I had visited the previous summer but resolved only to walk along the shoreline, avoiding the seduction of the water. “This time,” I thought to myself, “I am going in.” Although I was initially reluctant, once the water rose past by waistline, I felt an extraordinary release. I made one final push off the rock where I was standing and let go. I let the water take me. Feeling free from constraints, I had transformed into one of Hawthorne’s angels, baptized by the clear, cool waters of the pond.

My experience at Walden Pond that day was emblematic. It was the culmination of a two-year journey which led me to Concord, Massachusetts, where I hoped to retrace the steps of a man who I had never met, but felt an extraordinary affinity towards. Moreover, I saw a little bit of myself in Thoreau. Here was a man who, despite the conventions of his day, shunned every comfort and convenience. Thoreau once refused to take a doormat, for instance, offered to him by an elderly woman, hoping to avoid what he called the “beginnings of evil.” It seemed like something I would have done had I not read about it first. For the first time in my young life, I met my literary and intellectual soul mate.

 

M Review:

As I read through the book, there were so many illustrations and stories beneath each one, I was amazed. Luck makes Thoreau's writings very accessible. Most people would find it somewhat intimidating to read a book written by an author over 150 years ago. Luck did the hard work for us; he edited quotations from multiple books which were written by Thoreau. The beautiful illustrations on each page also add to the character of the book. This book would be a great conversation item if you use it as a coffee table book. I believe everyone would pick it up and start to look at it.

The copy of this book was provided by Nicole Langan at TributeBooks for review.