A Book Review

I’m finding e-books on my Kindle frequently contain formatting errors. Usually it’s the page format that’s off with the page number and page title appearing in the middle of the “page” on my Kindle. In this instance, any word spelled with two f’s, the f’s were omitted. So office appeared as o ice, suffice appeared as su ice, etc. It was a tad bit difficult to read.

Here’s the book description from Amazon.com:

Charlotte Graham is at the center of the most famous kidnapping in Chicago history.

The task force of FBI and local cops found her two abductors, killed them, rescued her, but it took four very long years. The fact she was found less than three miles from her home, had been there the entire time, haunts them. She's changed her identity, found a profession she loves, and rebuilt her life.

She's never said a word--to the cops, to her doctors, to family--about those four years.
A family legacy has brought her back to Chicago where a reporter is writing a book about the kidnapping. The cops who worked the case are cooperating with him. Her options are limited: Hope the reporter doesn't find the full truth, or break her silence about what happened. And her silence is what has protected her family for years.

Bryce Bishop doesn't know her past, he only knows she has coins to sell from her grandfather's estate--and that the FBI director for the Chicago office made the introduction. The more he gets to know Charlotte, the more interested he becomes, an interest encouraged by those closest to her. But nothing else is working in his favor--she's decided she is single for life, she struggles with her faith, and she's willing to forego a huge inheritance to keep her privacy. She's not giving him much of an opening to work with.

Charlotte wants to trust him. She needs to tell him what happened. Because a crime cops thought was solved, has only opened another chapter...

Yeah, it sounds like a really interesting read. Unfortunately there’s too much going on. About a third of the book involves Charlotte selling coins to Bryce. Ms. Henderson provides detail upon detail upon detail upon detail about the coin selling business. It completely bogs the story line, which is particularly unfortunate.  I found myself skimming most of these pages.

Then we learn Charlotte has inherited a lot of money. A. Lot. Of. Money. She doesn’t want a single dime of it. Bryce knows there’s a lot of good that could be done with the money so he and Charlotte marry and Bryce takes on giving the money away to various charities.

In between all this, a reporter is writing a book about Charlotte’s kidnapping. She’s never told anyone the details, because the kidnapper is still at large. As if that’s not enough, we learn two of Bryce’s friends are looking into a cold case – a baby that was kidnapped around the same time as Charlotte.

Whew! Like I said, there’s a lot of stu  (see what I did here? Deleted the double f’s? Lol.) happening in this book. The additional plotlines tended to reduce the natural flow of the book. Charlotte’s kidnapping is resolved but in no way satisfactory to the reader.

What I did like about the book was Charlotte’s struggle with her faith. God forgives and Charlotte has trouble with Him forgiving the men who kidnapped and hurt her. It’s a very real struggle and Ms. Henderson handles it beautifully through Bryce.

I received this e-book from Bethany House in exchange for an honest review.

A Book Report

This was one of two books I needed to review for Bethany House Publishers.

Before I even cracked the spine, there were three things that immediately caught my attention. The first was the title. It's embossed, so I spent a good 30 seconds tracing my finger over the indented lettering. The second thing that caught my eye was
the "Alaskan Courage Book Two" insignia. Not having read Book One, I was a bit worried. And the third thing was Dee Henderson's quote, "Shattered will keep you turning pages until the very end! It should be on your keeper shelf." Considering these 3 things, I went into this book expecting big things.

Shattered is really a love story wrapped around a murder investigation. Sheriff Landon Grainger has been family friend since high school. He's grown up around Piper McKenna and protected her like a little sister. Last summer his feelings became confusing. Does he love Piper? If he loves Piper would she look at him as more than a surrogate brother? Piper's brother, Reef, returns home for a snowsport competition and is subsequently arrested for the murder of his ex-girlfriend (ex-fling, ex-friend with benefits?). This ultimately throws Landon and Piper on opposite sides. It's only when Landon requests a leave of absence, to protect Piper who is injuried while trying to investigate on her own, do they work together and work out their feelings for each other.

The McKennas are a very big family. So much so that I had to refer back to previous pages to keep folks straight. And I'm still not sure where Jake fits. My guess is I'd know a bit more had I read the first book.

I found Landon's character to be most interesting. His conflict and inner struggle, most of it stemming from a painful past, was nicely fleshed out. Piper's character was the opposite. She was uninteresting, boring and annoying. Someone broke into your house, drugged your dog, ran you off the road and still you are determined to investigate by yourself.

I enjoyed that the investigation took Landon and, ultimately, all the McKennas to Canada and California. The gang lead was tiresome. (Isn't it always gang related?) It wasn't until the investigation took a turn into biotechs and microchips did I start really turning the pages. Until the end, which was rather contrived.

While this was an enjoyable book, I was able to put it down. I also respectfully disagree with Ms. Henderson. It's not a shelf keeper.

Disclosure: This book was provided to me free of charge through Bethany House Publishers for the sole purpose of an honest review. All thoughts, comments, and ratings are my own.

Books To Review!

A Book Review

As I mentioned in this post, I received my second book from Bethany House. I absolutely loved the first book I got so I was rather excited about this one.

My excitement didn't last.

This book is apparently the third of a Roland March series. I haven't read the first two and I don't think I'd read any subsequent books. This one involved gun running, Mexican cartels, FBI conspiracy, etc. It just wasn't my cup of tea.

The story started out very promising. A body is found with a missing head. Both hands have been skinned (de-gloved) and a pointing finger could be a clue. Enter Detective Roland March.

I was intrigued all through the first half of the book. Once the storyline took off with the Mexican cartels, I got lost and my interest waned. I did plug on and finished the book, but it was a difficult read.

Overall I feel the book is miss titled. Plenty of people had everything to hide. What irritated me most was, while the initial homicide was solved, the identity of the victim was never determined. A better title might be "Nothing Resolved."

Note: I received a free copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers for my review. These opinions are my own; I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated for this review.

Another Book To Review

I've been selected to review this book, so watch for an upcoming post. (The book will take 3-4 weeks to get to me, so check back here the end of August.)

If you would be interested in signing up to receive review copies of books, click here to sign up!

Nothing to Hide by J. Mark Bertrand
A Roland March Mystery
On the streets of Houston, the discovery of a headless corpse launches a new case for Detective Roland March. But when the FBI identify the victim as one of their undercover assets, they want March to protect their operation—even if it means compromising the investigation.

Unable to let a murder go unsolved, March does a little digging and figures out that something isn’t right. Someone’s covering something up, and it seems everyone has something to hide—maybe even March.

A Book Review

Some say not to judge a book by it's cover. I found it very hard not to get excited about "My Stubborn Heart" because of such an attractive cover. I didn't have to create imagines of Kate and Matt; their pictures were right on the cover. (Although they do leave enough of Matt to my imagination!) I loved the fresh yellow band and the title script is textured. This book felt so good in my hands!

This was my first Christian romance novel. I was initially nervous as this is a genre I normally steer clear. I must say, the book absolutely lived up to my enthusiasm over the cover. I loved everything about the book. I loved the story, I loved the author's style of writing, I loved it all!

Kate, in need of a break from life (work burnout, a few failed relationships), has agreed to assist her grandmother with renovating her childhood home. Matt, a former NHL hockey star, is the hired contractor.

Matt's wife died a few years earlier. He's hiding from the world and he's lost his faith. Kate has strong faith and intuits Matt's abyss. Slowly they become friends and eventually they begin dating. Kate realizes her purpose differs from the path her heart wants to take. While painful to her, she gently nudges Matt toward a return to hockey. I greatly admire people with a strong faith in God, and it was this faith that really endeared me to Kate.

Having just completed "50 Shades of Grey" the lack of sex was so very refreshing! Kate and Matt were definitely attracted to each other, but their physical attraction wasn't a necessary part of their story. I didn't miss it one bit!

I am very impressed with Becky Wade and would love to read more of her books.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers for my review. These opinions are my own; I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated for this review.

Yay!

I've been waiting weeks for this package! It figures that it would come right when I'm in the middle of reading another book. This will give me a great excuse to hurry up and finish "50 Shades."

Bethany House Publishers

Several months ago, Myla forwarded to me an email from Bethany House Publishers. They were looking for people to read their books and write reviews. I signed up immediately.

I received this email today:

From: Bethany House
Subject: Review Copy of My Stubborn Heart

*** Do Not Reply To This Message

This email is to confirm that you will receive a review copy of My Stubborn Heart

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Fiction Publicist

Bethany House Publishers

A Division of Baker Publishing Group

I can't wait to receive my first book!