Her daughter's dream

by Francine Rivers

Hildemara, Carolyn and May Flower Dawn's story continues with mothers and daughters not understanding each other until at last they are brought together and begin to really communicate.

As always, Francine Rivers has written fascinating page-turners.

Her Mother's Hope

by Francine Rivers

Marta's father makes her quit school at 12 years of age. She eventually moves to America, marries and has children. But somehow, she is never able to communicate with her daughter.

Blessed Child

by Ted Dekker & Bill Bright

Jason and Leiah rescue a child from an attacked monastery in Egypt. The boy becomes famous as a healer in the US, but someone wants him dead.

This book was riveting, but seemed to say that enjoying God was equivalent to seeing a vision of beauty in everything around. While I don't dispute that people who are enjoying God do see more beauty in everyday things, the Bible teaches that enjoying God means enjoying and obeying His Word and spending time in prayer.

The Princess and the Goblin

by George MacDonald

An old, allegorical fairy tale (fantasy novel) in which the young princess Irene discovers a magical great-great-grandmother in the attic, makes friends with a young miner and later rescues him from the horrid goblins, and he in turn rescues everyone in the castle.

The lesson of trust in a God we cannot see will likely need to be explained to younger children. I read this book to my kids and they loved it.

This story was first published in 1872; the author, a long-time favourite of mine, was an acquaintance of Charles Dickens and Mark Twain and greatly influenced several later writers including J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and Madeleine L'Engle.

Christmas Stories to Warm Your Heart

by Karen Conrad

A collection of sweet stories set mostly in southwest Nova Scotia that teach the gospel and gentle lessons of kindness and faith.

I was particularly interested in reading this book since the author is a former neighbor of mine. There were a few editing mistakes, but the stories are interesting.

Contact Karen to purchase her book.

Firestorm

by Kelly Ann Riley

Kitty's deceased father is suspected of arson, and she comes home to clear his name. The fires are still happening and she is inconveniently attracted to the new fire chief.

This story was interesting enough; nothing deep, but decent light reading: however, the author seems to have gotten her timeline a bit mixed up. In one place, she says, "A little over a year ago, Michael was kidnapped. It took nine months to find him..." and a few pages later (at most a few days in the story) it says, "Two years ago, Luke was totally consumed in finding Michael."

Leather and Lace

by DiAnn Mills

Casey is a female outlaw who escapes from a gang she was in for seven years, but the gang leader wants her back and will go to any lengths. Someone helps Casey escape and wants to help her clear her name but she is not sure that she can trust him.

This was an okay book as far as historical western Christian romance goes. Not my favourite style, but it was interesting.

Try Fear

by James Scott Bell

Lawyer Ty Buchanan successfully defends a suspected drunk driver, but when his client is killed he ends up defending the man's brother on the charge of murder. The evidence points to his innocence, but who committed the crime?

Try Fear is a very interesting mystery story. It's supposed to be a Christian book, but it's really just a "clean" story. There is a bit of romance.

The Encounter

Sometimes, God has to intervene 

by Stephen Arterburn

Jonathan Rush was abandoned as a child in Alaska and later adopted by a family in Miami. As an adult, he realizes that he is angry at his birth mother and that his anger is ruining his life. His pastor pressures him to return to Fairbanks, Alaska and find out as much about her as he can. With the help of a reporter who befriends him, Jonathan finds more than he had bargained for and has to make difficult choices. There is a section at the end of the book explaining the author's inspiration and reasons for writing the book and also a study guide.

The Encounter is a short but interesting book. The theme of forgiveness, its necessity and difficulty, comes through quite well. The cover says, "sometimes, God has to intervene," but I'm not sure what the intervention was in the story; it didn't seem like anything unexpected happened. And there was a scene where Jonathan was rude to someone and the reporter took him up on it, but it was never resolved or even talked about again. I thought that was rather a loose thread. While this book might be helpful to people struggling with difficult situations, the author seems to expect more results than I would. So all in all, I would consider this a nice story but not really life-changing.

Disclaimer: I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

London refrain

by Bodie & Brock Thoene 

This novel is set in Poland, Germany, England, France and Israel near the beginning of World War II. I think it's a rewrite of one of their older books, but it was great. I love all their WWII stories.

Against all odds

by Irene Hannon

In this romantic suspense novel, FBI agents Coop and Mark must protect Monica from terrorists. Her father, a diplomat in Afghanistan, has received a threat against her in connection with a hostage situation that he is working on. Coop is determined not to let his emotions become involved, but he can't deny his attraction to Monica.

This was a great suspense story, a lot like Dee Henderson's style only more exciting. I had to stay up late and finish it in one evening.

Love finds you in Lahaina, Hawaii

by Bodie Thoene

The story of Kaiulani, Hawaii's last princess, and the end of the kingdom in 1897; and of Sandi in 1973 who wonders if her husband, missing in action in Viet Nam, will come home.

I enjoyed learning some of Hawaii's history, but this was not the page-turner I had come to expect from Bodie Thoene. That might be because it was written for the Love Finds You Christian romance series (which is not really my thing), but there wasn't really a lot of romance in it.

The Silent Governess

by Julie Klassen

After an attack in which her neck is injured and she temporarily loses her ability to speak, Olivia is hired to work with children in a mansion where there are many secrets.

I found this historical Christian romance very interesting.

Limelight

a novel
by Melody Carlson

Claudette Fior is an elderly widow who returns to her hometown because she can no longer afford the Hollywood lifestyle she is used to. She is afraid that she will be bored and lonely. She manages the move with a great deal of help from her step-son but when he leaves her on her own, she is almost helpless. She eventually makes friends and learns to do things for herself.

I truly enjoyed this book. It was a glimpse into a world and lifestyle that is far removed from mine. I liked the fact that the main character is old and I found it enlightening to see things from that point of view. The story was easy to follow, interesting, and alternately poignant and hilarious.