Not Guilty by Teresa Pollard and Candi Pullen

Not Guilty by Teresa Pollard and Candi Pullen is about a young girl whose life is changed forever one afternoon. Carrie Shepherd has everything going for her. She is engaged to a wonderful, godly man; she is in her last year of college and has a wonderful family life. Everything changes one afternoon when on her walk home from school, she is raped by a masked man. As Carrie tries to put the pieces of her life back together, she slowly realizes that she cannot get through this alone and that she needs to rely on God and her family to help carry her through this difficult time.

This book was a lot more difficult to read in the beginning than I thought it would. While it doesn’t go into any details about the rape, it really delved into the emotions that Carrie was having during and after the rape. I would definitely recommend an older audience for this book, just because it can have a great emotional impact.

The story was compelling, but I do believe it is a best case scenario. Some of the dialogue and parts of the story were not really believable in the real world. It would be wonderful if someone could go through a horrible ordeal and then have everything work out wonderfully in the end, but that’s not normally how things work. It is a great story illustrating how relying on God and family can get you through any circumstances, I just kind of wish it was a little more realistic. The dialogue in some parts seemed a little too scripted as well. It just didn’t always flow from one thought to the next. This was a nice story illustrating the power of God’s healing and forgiveness and I would definitely recommend it.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookCrash.com book review program, which requires an honest, though not necessarily positive, review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s CFR Title 16, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

If you would like to purchase this book it is available on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Not-Guilty-Teresa-Pollard/dp/1938708067/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

Over the Edge by Mary Connealy

Over the Edge by Mary Connealy, is the latest book about the Kincaid brothers. With both of his brothers married, Seth Kincaid is working on building a cabin and staking a claim, but he has a nagging thought in the back of his mind that he has forgotten something important. Turns out that while Seth was recovering after his injuries from the war, he got married. Then in a fit from a fever, left her and journeyed home without remembering that he had a wife. Now his wife is out to find him and when she does, she only has one thought on her mind, to kill him. After she finds him, she refuses to let him out of her sight until she feels she can trust him again. With the amount of distrust and hurt she feels towards him, Seth may never get his family back together.

I found this book to be on par with the other books in the series. I had been waiting to find out the end of Seth’s story since reading the first book in the series and I found it to be worth the wait. Seth had been a character in the first two books that you weren’t quite sure about. He was crazy and that shone through, but you could feel that there was something under the surface that just needed a little coaxing to come out. This book delved deeper into the character of Seth and it was interesting seeing how Seth was healing throughout this book. I was definitely pleased with how the author chose to advance his character and finish the story. It is well worth the read and I would definitely recommend this entire series.

I received this book from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for my review. I was not required to write a favorable review.

Twice a Bride by Mona Hodgson

Twice a Bride by Mona Hodgson tells the story of the young widow, Willow Peterson, who has just relocated to Cripple Creek after a troubling few years after the death of her husband.  She has dreams of earning her living as a painter, but in the meantime has accepted a job as a sales associate at her sister-in-law’s, Ida Sinclair Raines, ice box store. When Trenton Van Deer sets up shop as a photographer in Cripple Creek, he advertises for a portrait painter and gets more than he bargains for when he hires Willow. Neither are looking for love, but love never seems to be far away in Cripple Creek.

I found this book to be more simplistic than the author’s other books. It just didn’t seem to be as believable as her other love stories. The plot just moved too fast. They met, sparks flew, and then there was the set back, and then the nice neat conclusion and every one ended up happy. I do like most of Mona Hodgson’s work, but this one seemed a little too fairy tale for me to really enjoy it. I do think that it was well written and that if the story had more depth to it, it would have been a great read. If you are looking for a light, happy read, this is an excellent choice.

I received this book from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing book in exchange for my review. I was not required to write a favorable review.

Be Still My Soul by Joanne Bischof

Gideon O’Riley is a man who is used to having girls fall at his feet, but when he steals a kiss from Lonnie Sawyer, her father forces them into a marriage that neither of them wants. Gideon did not want a wife and is not willing to take on the responsibilities that a wife brings.

Lonnie is used to not being loved, as her father has been abusive her entire life. She had hoped to escape her abusive life when she turned 18, but with the forced wedding, she gives up hope of ever being loved. She relies on her faith in God to help her deal with her new life. Can her groom ever find faith in her God and learn to love her?

For this being the first book that Joanne Bischof has written, I was really impressed. I was so engrossed in this book that I couldn't put it down. I read it in two days just because I received the book after I got home from work and I had to go to sleep some time so I could go to work the next day. It was really difficult reading how Gideon treated Lonnie in the beginning. The story really focuses on Gideon growing, both spiritually and mentally, and Lonnie's faith and steadfastness in God.

 In the beginning of the story, Gideon has no thoughts for anyone but himself. He didn't want a wife and now that he is stuck with one, he blames her for everything that goes wrong in his life. As the story moves along, he is slowly but surely learning what it means to be a husband and that he has greatly fallen short. He learns that he must seek God and change himself before he loses Lonnie.

Gideon O’Riley is a man who is used to having girls fall at his feet, but when he steals a kiss from Lonnie Sawyer, her father forces them into a marriage that neither of them wants. Gideon did not want a wife and is not willing to take on the responsibilities that a wife brings.

Lonnie is used to not being loved, as her father has been abusive her entire life. She had hoped to escape her abusive life when she turned 18, but with the forced wedding, she gives up hope of ever being loved. She relies on her faith in God to help her deal with her new life. Can her groom ever find faith in her God and learn to love her?

Lonnie finds that married life isn't much better than the life she spent with her abusive father. She had hoped that she would find love with Gideon over time, but soon finds that Gideon's only love is himself. She copes just like she has always coped, looking to God for guidance and just accepting her fate. As they grow closer, she finds that she is starting to fall in love with her husband, but she is scared to give her heart to a man who doesn't love her.

I enjoyed this book very much. I would definitely recommend it to all my friends. It does have some difficult content dealing with death of children, but other than that, it was a great read.

I received this book in exchange for my honest review from the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group. I was not required to write a favorable review.

The Widow of Saunder's Creek by Tracey Bateman

The Widow of Saunders Creek by Tracey Bateman is the story of Corrie Saunders, a woman recently widowed when her husband, Jarrod, died a hero’s death in Iraq. When Corrie moves to her late husband’s ancestral home, she thinks she can sense his spirit in the house. Jarrod’s cousin, Eli, who is helping Corrie fix up the house, has strong beliefs against ghosts and spirits and he believes that it is not Jarrod who is returning to the house, but a dark spirit that has lived there for years. As Corrie tries to make sense of what is happening in the house and her life, she leans on Eli, who, in turn, is trying to get her to rely more on the God he serves.

I found this book quite surprising. It was much deeper than I thought it would be. It brought up a lot of questions about spirituality and if ghosts and spirits exist. It delved deep into showing how someone dealing with grief would try almost anything to connect with the person they lost.  Corrie is grieving so much and is so lost that she goes against a part of her upbringing just to see if there was a chance that Jarrod had returned to her. At first, you don’t know what the author’s viewpoint on ghosts is, but towards the end, the author’s opinions become clear.  She allows the reader to come up with their own opinions before she makes hers known. The book can be slightly unsettling since it does have scenes of a spirit moving around the house and causing doors to slam shut, and objects to fall over. Overall, the author does a great job with creating a romance story while adding a little bit of intrigue.

To read a free preview of this book please follow this link:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/93984589/The-Widow-of-Saunders-Creek-A-Novel

I received this book from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group in exchange for my review. I was not required to write a positive review.

Garden of Madness by Tracy Higley

Garden of Madness, by Tracy Higley, is a historical fiction novel set in Babylon during the days of King Nebuchadnezzar. It takes place during the king’s seven years of madness and tells the story of his daughter Tiamat. It begins when Tiamat is about to be married to Shealtiel, the son of the captured king of Judea and then skips ahead seven years to when Shealtiel died and Tia is caught in the middle of her plans, her mother’s plans for her, and the plans of an evil man to take over the kingdom. Tia must learn to trust in God and surrender her control in order to save her father and his kingdom.

I found this to be a very interesting book. I haven’t read that much about King Nebuchadnezzar and this was a different point of view than I had previously read. I had known that King Nebuchadnezzar went mad for seven years, but I had never thought about how his kingdom fared during that time. This book offered an interesting, albeit, fictional, look at what might have transpired during those seven years. I was fascinated by the politics and undercurrents of the court. Tia started out being a very naïve princess who thought that she had power and control, to finding out that she was just a pawn and was expected to surrender to her fate like a good princess. She was trying desperately to control her own life and control everything around her, thinking only she was able to change her fate.  As she grew in maturity, and in her understanding and faith in God, she started to realize that she wasn’t in control and that she never could be. She needed to trust in God and surrender all her plans for the plans that He had for her. I would definitely recommend this book. It was an excellent read.

I received this book from Booksneeze for my honest review.  I was not required to write a positive review.

Angel Eyes by Shannon Dittemore

Angel Eyes by Shannon Dittemore, is about a girl named Brielle who has just returned home from school after experiencing a tragedy. Her best friend was killed and she considers it to be her fault, that she could have prevented it. When she goes back to school in her hometown, she meets a mysterious boy named Jake who opens her eyes to a world that she did not realize existed.

I thought that this was a very well-written book. I found the story line very intriguing and it definitely kept my interest. I always like to read books that are about how angels and demons actually exist and are locked in a spiritual battle. I thought that this book had a very interesting take on spiritual warfare. ***spoiler alert***The one thing that I didn’t really like about the book was that the author didn’t seem to make a big deal about Ali being a unwed, pregnant teenager. It almost seemed accepting about it since she and Marco were planning on getting married. I know that Ali was not a Christian and that is probably why it wasn’t made more of, but when Brielle talked about seeing her in heaven one day, Jake said that was between her and God and left it at that. For a book geared toward teenagers, I would have liked to have seen more said about it and how it wasn’t right.

Overall, though, I thought this was a great book and I can’t wait to read the next one.

I received this book from Booksneeze in exchange for my review. I was not obligated to write a favorable review.