"Wonderland Creek" is a Christian adventure set in 1936 in Illinois and Kentucky. The main characters were complex, realistic people. Alice started of"Wonderland Creek" is a Christian adventure set in 1936 in Illinois and Kentucky. The main characters were complex, realistic people. Alice started off as extremely self-centered but grew as she was forced to think about others and endure some hardships. It's not really a romance, though she dated a handsome, great kisser for a while (and her appreciation for his fiddling was about all they had in common). While Mack shared her love of books, they hardly spent any time together and Alice even thought about how he brought out the worst in her.
This certainly was an adventure, though even Alice admitted it was unbelievable. For example, she and Mack searched the mine office (which just happened to still have all of the paperwork stored there even though the mine was closed). Mack later said he needed a map of the mine, but surely there would have been several at the office. The action just seemed forced sometimes so they would then do things the hardest, most dangerous way.
Despite Alice's father being a pastor, she had a very shallow understanding of God. Lily was an old woman who explained why bad things happened and otherwise answered Alice's questions about God, yet she showed very little trust in God. Rather than trusting that God would provide needed help (like He had already), Lily manipulated Alice to get her way and even forced Alice to do things she didn't want to do by pointing her loaded gun at Alice. There was no sex or bad language. I wouldn't recommend this book to people who really care about realism, but others may enjoy it....more
"River of Secrets" is a Christian romantic suspense. Though the second book in the series, it works as a standalone. However, Gabe's description of ho"River of Secrets" is a Christian romantic suspense. Though the second book in the series, it works as a standalone. However, Gabe's description of how Micah got left behind is provided in the first book. Someone's trying to kill Micah, but he can't remember his past and so has no idea who or why. Amy has a tendency to go off on her own to meet with criminals without effective backup, so his hands are full. (She's trying to find a relative and help her get away from the criminals.)
The main characters were likable, honorable, and well-meaning. Amy and Micah came to care for each other as they spent time together, and Micah admired Amy's faith. The suspense came from the danger from the attacks, from the jungle, and from not knowing who was trying to kill Micah.
As an Amazon Vine reviewer, I was only offered the Leader's Guide, not the accompanying video or participant's workbook. Thus I can't really comment oAs an Amazon Vine reviewer, I was only offered the Leader's Guide, not the accompanying video or participant's workbook. Thus I can't really comment on the study as a whole. The Leader' Guide started with some directions on how to lead a Bible study in general and this one in specific. It then took the questions from the study (first the personal study, then the group questions) and offered possible answers to those questions. For each chapter, you read a section of Acts and then answer the questions about what was going on and what you think about it. The group discussion questions sometimes repeated one or two of the personal study questions. Some of the answers appear to involve knowing the Old Testament as you're supposed to find verses referring to the events happening in Acts. It could be that the Scripture references are provided and the participant just has to look them up. The leader has the verses printed out in the book. It seems like a Bible study that would be acceptable to most Protestant denominations....more
"Wings of Refuge" is a Christian historical set in the land of Israel. The main action started with a lot of suspense as Abby got accidently caught up"Wings of Refuge" is a Christian historical set in the land of Israel. The main action started with a lot of suspense as Abby got accidently caught up in spy games in 1999. After the initial excitement, though, she settled into working on an archeological dig. The repercussions of the initial situation were pretty much dropped until the very end, and even then some things were never explained.
Abby works under a Messianic Jew, so she asked about her life and we're taken back to the origins of the state of Israel and the wars fought when Israel was attacked. Abby also uncovered items in the dig providing clues about a Jewish woman living in the 60-70 AD. So we get her story: how she came to believe in Jesus and witnessed the Jewish revolt against Rome.
The main characters were complex, realistic people that were well-developed. Historical details were woven into the story in vital, interesting ways which brought the stories alive in my imagination. The main characters dealt with forgiving those who had wronged them. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting story....more
"Lethal Deception" is a Christian romantic suspense. Cassidy went to South America to retrieve an orphaned child that a friend wanted her to raise. Th"Lethal Deception" is a Christian romantic suspense. Cassidy went to South America to retrieve an orphaned child that a friend wanted her to raise. The child's relatives question if she's up to raising a toddler due to her past party-girl behavior, but a recent conversion to Christ has changed her. After arriving in South America, she's kidnapped by criminals living in the jungle. Her father asks Gabe to rescue her. Gabe once lead Cassidy's brother on a military mission that ended with him left behind, presumed dead. Cassidy wants to know what happened, but Gabe isn't allowed to explain the mission.
The main characters were likable and reacted realistically to events. Though Gabe was judgmental of Cassidy at first, he quickly realized he didn't actually know her and he liked the woman he was getting to know. They came to care for each other as Gabe helped protect her. The suspense came from the danger from the attacks, from the jungle, and from not knowing who was trying to kill her and why.
"Holiday Hideout" is a Christian romantic suspense. Almost from first sight, Abby and Cal imagine kissing each other even though they don't quite trus"Holiday Hideout" is a Christian romantic suspense. Almost from first sight, Abby and Cal imagine kissing each other even though they don't quite trust each other. Abby's brother-in-law is a detective yet he's declared he'll make her life miserable for letting his wife (Abby's sister) and his baby die. She's on the run, and cop Cal ends up hiding her on his family's ranch. He thinks she's running from domestic abuse, and, in the past, he didn't act in time to save a friend from dying from domestic abuse.
The main characters were likable and acted realistically. The attraction between Abby and Cal seemed mainly physical, but they did get along well. The suspense came from repeated attacks on Abby while a snow storm prevents help (cops and medical personal) to get through when her hostess could give birth at any time. Abby is angry at God for letting her sister die, and Cal talks to her about her relationship with God. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable suspense....more
"Danger on the Mountain" is a Christian romantic suspense. It's the third in a series but works as a standalone. Widow Maggie and her baby daughter ar"Danger on the Mountain" is a Christian romantic suspense. It's the third in a series but works as a standalone. Widow Maggie and her baby daughter are put in danger and nearly kidnapped during a bank robbery. Policeman Reese stops the attempt, but the attacker escapes, vowing to get revenge.
The main characters were likable and acted realistically. Reese recently lost his wife and baby in childbirth, so he struggled emotionally around Maggie's baby. Maggie's husband didn't want the child, and she left his family behind after his death. Her sister-in-law has tracked her down, pleading to spend time with the baby. Reese protects them while trying to capture the attackers. Reese and Maggie built each other up and generally worked well together. The suspense came from repeatedly attacks on both of them.
Maggie learned to trust God with their safety. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable suspense....more
"The Counterfeit Lady" is a historical mystery set in 1896 in London, England. It's the second book in a series, but you don't need to read the previo"The Counterfeit Lady" is a historical mystery set in 1896 in London, England. It's the second book in a series, but you don't need to read the previous novels to understand this one. However, there is an ongoing quest for justice throughout the series.
The main characters acted realistically. Georgia is likable, smart, and capable (except when it comes to the handsome duke, who inspires silly, giddy thoughts). Her male colleagues respect her. She asked questions and spotted clues until she figured out where the missing papers were and whodunit. The author captured the time period well in terms of technology and manners.
There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this fun mystery....more
"The Vanishing Thief" is a historical mystery set around 1896 in London, England. The author captured the time period well in terms of technology and "The Vanishing Thief" is a historical mystery set around 1896 in London, England. The author captured the time period well in terms of technology and manners. The main characters acted realistically. Georgia is likable, smart, and her male colleagues respected her. She asked questions and spotted clues until she figured out what happened to the missing man and who was trying to kill him. As he was a blackmailer, there were a number of highborn suspects. While she does keep secrets well, she sometimes wasn't as compassionate as her coworkers about how to discover them.
There was no sex. There were only a couple uses of bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this fun mystery....more
"When a Heart Stops" is a Christian romantic suspense. This is the second book in a series but can be read as a standalone. Serena has something that "When a Heart Stops" is a Christian romantic suspense. This is the second book in a series but can be read as a standalone. Serena has something that someone else wants, and that person is willing to send a killer after her. Not only does she have to avoid this threat but she's working with FBI agent Dominic to solve a serial killing that looks a lot like an old case that was solved. And the killer's in prison. So did they get it wrong or is it a copycat?
Dominic and Serena worked pretty well together. They realized how much they cared for each other while they worked together. The main characters were likable and reacted realistically to events. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable suspense....more
This historical is set in 1852 in California and has a 15-year-old heroine, so I think it's a young adult story. Corrie's the eldest of 5 children. HeThis historical is set in 1852 in California and has a 15-year-old heroine, so I think it's a young adult story. Corrie's the eldest of 5 children. Her father and Uncle Nick ran off to California when the kids were young, leaving their mother to care for them. When they got word of where Uncle Nick was, the mother took them on a wagon train to go find him, but she died along the way. Now they're in California, but how are they to find their Uncle? Will he want them? How will they get along if he takes them in? And why did their father leave? All of these questions are answered as kind people help the kids find their relatives and adventures happen.
The main characters reacted realistically to events and were likable. Some parts pushed believability, but most YA adventures do. A woman who helped them answered some of Corrie's questions about God (and she did a good job of it). There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this adventure about gold mines, a rough mining town, and family....more
This book is a mystery set in the 1920s in England. Angela is the clever amateur sleuth that catches all of the clues and understands what they mean, This book is a mystery set in the 1920s in England. Angela is the clever amateur sleuth that catches all of the clues and understands what they mean, but Charles is our point of view character. They weren't even working together. The mystery had an odd disconnect because Angela wasn't the focus of the story and we don't even get to know her as the story progresses.
Anyone who's read Agatha Christie ought to suspect whodunit before the murder is even discovered. I had two obvious suspects from the start of the investigation, but all of the clues pointed toward one person as time went on. Charles could see clues when they're pointed out to him, but he's otherwise oblivious. He's still besotted with Rosamund (who was once engaged to him), and most of his focus was on her. None of the characters were very deeply developed, though.
Whodunit wasn't content with one murder, yet at the end, Angela regretted exposing whodunit. Um, whodunit would have killed again in the future, and the murder victim deserved justice. I felt like Angela cared more for the self-centered murderer than the innocent victims. So this series isn't for me, though I liked the style of writing well enough. There was no sex. There were only a few uses of bad language....more
This is a sweet romance. Nicole's grandmother sends her on a summer vacation/treasure hunt of sorts. But now her grandmother is dead, so finishing theThis is a sweet romance. Nicole's grandmother sends her on a summer vacation/treasure hunt of sorts. But now her grandmother is dead, so finishing the game is a final tribute to her as well. Though these clue-based hunts are apparently something they've done in the past, Nicole missed obvious clues (as in, it was pretty obvious what book she was supposed to look in, but Nicole missed the reference). She spends time making new friends, including Mark, a detective taking a break from the big city. He's working to solve a series of break-in thefts of rental houses.
Nicole and Mark get along well and come to care for each other as they spend time together. Neither the clues nor the people behind the break-ins were very difficult to figure out (probably because I read mystery genre), but it gave the characters something to do that I found interesting. There was no sex and I don't recall any bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable romance....more
This is a Christian romantic suspense. Karen intends to find out what happened to her younger brother nine years ago. Adam thinks he knows: her brotheThis is a Christian romantic suspense. Karen intends to find out what happened to her younger brother nine years ago. Adam thinks he knows: her brother raped his sister and was killed for it, leaving his sister traumatized and unable to cope. Karen doesn't believe her brother would rape a woman, and the little she gets from Adam’s sister doesn't fit that scenario, but Adam won't let her question his sister any further. The killer who knows the truth wants to stop Karen from finding out, so Adam ended up protecting her. Karen helped Adam see that his sister wasn't as fragile as he thought. The main characters were likable, and I cared about what happened to them. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting suspense....more
This is a YA re-telling of a fairytale. There's a tall tower with no entrance except a window on the highest floor and no rooms below that floor. It'sThis is a YA re-telling of a fairytale. There's a tall tower with no entrance except a window on the highest floor and no rooms below that floor. It's never explained why someone would build such a tower, but the villain knew it existed and somehow got Daisy up there and then expected that she wouldn't use that or another method to leave the tower when left to fend for herself. The only reason the plan worked is because Daisy, at 13 years old, was so young that she convinced herself that cooperating was the one way to get free of the enchantment.
Xander finds her, but the kiss of a stranger (him) only got him wrapped into the same enchantment. He's the smart one and quickly learned that the smart thing to do was to compliment Daisy rather than point out when she's acting like a 13-year-old when she's nearly 18. She gets angry at the poor fellow for practically anything. Not sure why they 'fall in love' except for a shared love of traveling around. Daisy discovered that she doesn't like the discomforts of an adventure, which may be another reason she didn't leave the tower until Xander shook things up. Anyway, while Daisy did use her knowledge of the enchantment and the villain to save the day at the end, usually she was being shown up by resourceful maids and children.
I sometimes had trouble following the descriptions of the action, which made whole scenes end up rather confusing. The author spent so much time talking about the adventures and characters from the other books that it felt like very little happened in this one. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this fantasy to fans of the series....more
"Plein Air Techniques for Artists" is an art book that provides tips for painting outside, specifically for capturing various lighting conditions effe"Plein Air Techniques for Artists" is an art book that provides tips for painting outside, specifically for capturing various lighting conditions effectively in your painting. The author used oils, but the focus was not on "this brush with this paint" but on how to achieve different effects. She included questions to help problem-solve why your painting doesn't look the way you desired and had demonstrations of several beginner paintings and how to improve them.
The book started with basic materials and color and composition basics. She then focused on how to capture various lighting scenarios: shadows, direct and indirect light, backlighting, front light, nighttime, evening light, fog, glare, reflections, etc. The book was full of paintings demonstrating her points as well as some step-by-step demonstrations showing how to capture shadow-and-light effects when the sun keeps moving and such. This book is going into my art library as I know I'll need to refer back to it over time as there are a lot of useful tips in it. Overall, I'd recommend this book to any artist who paints outdoor scenes.
I received this review copy from the publisher through Amazon Vine....more
"Blue Ribbon Trail Ride" is set on a horse farm with a riding stables. This is the 4th book in a series, but you can understand this one without readi"Blue Ribbon Trail Ride" is set on a horse farm with a riding stables. This is the 4th book in a series, but you can understand this one without reading the others. The friends in this story are in middle school and love horses. They want to raise money for one of their brothers to go to a special summer camp. They learn how to put on a scavenger hunt trail ride, from approaching business owners to give prizes to finding hiding places and putting out the clues. When the entry money's stolen, they pray to God that the thief will return the money. They also try to sleuth out or trap whodunit, only to realize that they misjudged several people.
The main characters were likable and acted realistically. There was no bad language or sexual content. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable story to young horse lovers....more
"The Rogue Princess" is a YA re-telling of a fairytale. If you know the original fairytale, the miller's son married a princess because he obediently "The Rogue Princess" is a YA re-telling of a fairytale. If you know the original fairytale, the miller's son married a princess because he obediently followed the instructions of the talking cat. It's not that he's clever, but the cat's clever and manipulated events to get the desired result. Puss took the spotlight in this story, too, especially if you like cats.
Kali's a bit dense (which is okay as some people are). She's likable, means well, and isn't stupid, but she's unable to put together the clues about what's going on for herself. Prince Xavier's not quite as dense. He's quite happy to rescue Kali whenever she needed it and seemed to fall in love with this role more than her. However, he did encourage her that her desire for adventure (which he shared) could be a good thing. They had an interesting adventure. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable fantasy....more
"The Golden Princess" is a YA re-telling of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. Zaria is the helpful servant girl that Cassie briefly encountered in the p"The Golden Princess" is a YA re-telling of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. Zaria is the helpful servant girl that Cassie briefly encountered in the previous book in this series. Zaria was once a favored playmate of the royal children but was cast out when her vizier father died. When she unexpectedly sees the prince she's long been attracted to, they discover that both the royals and Zaria were lied to. Both sides thought the other had forgotten them. They fairly quickly work through these hurt feelings and team up to stop the thieves and the traitor at the palace.
The main characters were engaging and fun to read about. Zaria was the super-clever one who saved the day repeatedly and figured out how to expose and capture the bad guys. Prince Tarek supported her and admitted he'd long been in love with her. But his father objected to his marrying a local commoner rather than in a marriage alliance with the newly rediscovered countries. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable fantasy....more
"The Protector's Mission" is a Christian romantic suspense novel. It's the third in a series but works as a stand-alone. There's a serial bomber on th"The Protector's Mission" is a Christian romantic suspense novel. It's the third in a series but works as a stand-alone. There's a serial bomber on the loose, and the suspense came from everyone being in danger (can they solve whodunit before another bomb is set?) and the danger to Lydia since she saw the bomber. She has short-term memory loss from being buried in the bomb blast and can't clearly remember who she saw before the blast. Jesse's SARs dog found her in the rubble, and Jesse helped to protect her as he worked to solve who the bomber case.
The main characters were engaging and reacted realistically to events. Lydia didn't freeze when in danger and thought fast on her feet. Lydia and Jesse got along and worked well together. They grew to care for each other as they spent time together. The Christian element was about trusting God and forgiving people. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this exciting novel....more
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