It's time to announce the winner of the Follower Love Giveaway. Including Twitter entries, we had 35 valid entries. Using a random number generator and numbering the entrants in the order I received them, the winner is:
Anne
who won To Have and To Kill
Congratulations! I'll be contacting you for your address.
For those who didn't win, you can always buy a copy of these books from your favorite bookstore or see if they have them at your local library.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
When is Perfect Perfect Enough? by Nancy Rue
 | When is Perfect Perfect Enough? |
Source: Bought from Half.com.
Book Description from Back Cover:
Quiet, studious Shannon D'Angelo has never made trouble before--and she's not about to start now! People have started to figure out that she's got a problem with anorexia, but she's certain she can handle the situation on her own. There's no point in worrying her parents; they have enough problems dealing with Caitlin, Shannon's troubled younger sister, who's been getting involved with everything from car accidents to house fires. How can Shannon's struggles even compare?
But Shannon quickly learns that there are some things she can't control, including her illness and, well, life. That means if she's ever going to get well, she's going to have to let go of her need to be perfect and allow herself to be loved and healed by the ones--and the One--who love her most of all.
My Review:
When is Perfect Perfect Enough is a young adult Christian novel. This book is the sixth in a series. This story appears to have began in book five (which I haven't read), but the things that have come before this regarding Shannon's anorexia and her sister's misbehavior are summarized at the beginning of this book. Certain events from books four and five regarding Ira are mildly spoiled in this one.
Of the four books in this series that I've read, the other three seemed to push events to extremes to increase the suspense. This one felt more realistic to me in terms of it being a situation the readers are more likely to encounter (in person or in a friend) and in how the characters reacted to the events. All of the characters were more rounded out and complex in how they dealt with problems, and we got to know them on a deeper basis. I liked that. I also liked how her friends were involved and how they learned how to help her.
The Christian element was mainly some God-talk ("we'll pray" and "God loves you"), and God was credited for helping Shannon make progress. There was some "he cussed" style bad language. There was no sex. Overall, I would recommend this book.
If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.
Excerpt from Chapter One
Before I go any further, I need to tell you about my sister. My younger sister Caitlin, not my older sister, Colleeen.
Colleen is three years older than I am, and about three light-years more mature. She always did everything way ahead of the age I did it--shaving her legs, wearing a bra, starting her period. Good grief, she even opened her own checking account at sixteen. She did that when she started to work in a music store so she could save up extra money for college. Turns out she received a partial scholarship to William and Mary, in Virgina. Colleen never did anything less than independently.
Now Caitlin, she never did anything less than infuriatingly. I mean it. From the time she could pull herself up to the coffee table, when I was three and she was a year old, she would look right at my mother and reach for the Lenox china candy dish. Mom or Dad would tell her no, but she would keep looking at them, keep reaching, and keep nodding her little dark curly head yes.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Do I Have To Paint You A Picture? by Nancy Rue
 | Do I Have To Paint You A Picture? |
Source: Bought from Half.com.
Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
Brianna and her mother moved from Oakland to Reno to escape racial tensions and to give Brianna a chance to concentrate on her art. But when Brianna's boyfriend Ira gets into a game of "chicken" with a group of white supremacists and is critically injured, Brianna is thrown back into the middle of the black/white violence.
This isn't Oakland, though. Now Brianna has the Flagpole Girls. With their help--and God's--will she be able to see her way through vandalism and death threats to find a more positive way of settling differences?
My Review:
Do I Have To Paint You A Picture? is a young adult Christian novel about a teenage black girl dealing with extreme racism. This book is the fourth in a series, but you don't need to read the previous books to understand this one, and this one doesn't spoil the previous books. I was a bit disappointed at how small a role the other flag pole girls had in this book, though.
I'm sure people with disagree with me, but I felt like this complex issue--racism--was dealt with in a way that almost promotes segregation...which is ironic considering what Brianna's big "a-hah!" moment was about. But Brianna was basically told that being black made her problems special and heritage powerful in a way that the white, Native American, and Hispanic girls would never be able to truly understand or connect with.
I was also confused by how the two main characters--Ira and Brianna--acted so out of character. We're told Ira would never do what he did, and initially no one believes he did it, and yet we're also not given a compelling reason why he acted so out of character without first trying to solve the problem with more "in-character" efforts. Brianna was very "I'll handle this myself!" at the beginning, but then she immediately runs to Ira--whose plan didn't work!--to tell her how to handle things.
I liked how Brianna was able to see certain of the "enemy" as people with hopes and hurts even if their attitudes were wrong. However, I didn't really like how the book ended with her still thinking of certain people using superiority-based negative descriptive words. She's got a lot of prejudice (not race based) of her own to work on.
The Christian element seemed to mainly be some God-talk ("we'll pray" and "God's timing"), and Brianna not asking God for help until the end when she makes a painting "into a prayer." There was some "he cussed" style bad language. There was no sex.
If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.
Excerpt from Chapter One
It should have been one of the best days in my whole eighteen-year-old life. But the minute Ira and I walked into the Jack-in-the-Box for the celebration, Dillon Wassen came up behind me and said, "You better start watchin' your back, you..."
Then, of course, he added the usual expletive people like him have to throw in when they're talking to people like me. Black people. African-Americans. People they think ought to be wiped off the face of the earth, and the sooner the better.
I wanted to turn around and chew him up one side and down the other so bad. Three things stopped me. One, I was pretty much walking on air, and I wasn't ready to come down yet. Two, the Flagpole Girls were about to show up. And three, my man, my Ira Quao, was with me.
"Ignore him," Ira whispered to me.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Follower Love Giveaway Hop
As a part of the Follower Love Giveaway Hop, I'm holding a giveaway for your choice of one of the following books:
To Have and to Kill by Mary Jane Clark is a fast-paced cozy mystery. You can read my review here.A struggling actress with no immediate prospects, Piper moves back home with her parents in New Jersey and steps tentatively into the family bakery business. Soon, she’s creating a wedding cake for a friend, the star of a daytime television drama. But the bride is getting cruel, anonymous notes warning her that her fiance is a rat. When the bride’s co-star is poisoned from a glass of water meant for her, everyone assumes the bride was the true target. But when others end up stabbed or strangled, no one's sure who might be next.
My Hands Came Away Red by Lisa McKay is a Christian suspense/general fiction novel. You can read my review here.Cori signs up for a mission trip to Indonesia during the summer after her senior year of high school. Six weeks into the trip, a conflict that has been simmering for years flames to deadly life on the nearby island of Ambon. Cori and her teammates find themselves caught up in the destructive wave of violence washing over the Christian and Muslim villages in the area. Within days the church they helped build is a smoldering pile of ashes, its pastor and many of the villagers are dead, and the six teenagers are forced to flee into the hazardous refuge of the jungle with only the pastor's son to guide them.
This contest is for USA & Canada residents only.
To enter the giveaway:
1) you can twitter me saying "Hi @genrereviewer. Enter me in the giveaway for [give the book name and author's name]."
OR
2) You can leave a comment to this post asking to be entered and naming which book you'd like to win. Please also leave some way for me to contact you--or follow this blog so you can see the winner announcement. I'd be fun if you also included why you're interested in reading this novel.
This giveaway ends on February 14, 2012 at midnight. The winner will be randomly selected. I'll announce the winner on February 15, 2012 on this blog.
If you entered using twitter, I'll send you a @ or DM telling you of your win and asking where to send the book. If you entered using the blog comments, you'll need to leave your e-mail address or check back to see if you won so you can e-mail me your mailing address. If the winner hasn't responded with a mailing address within four days, I reserve the right to pick a new winner.
I hope everyone has fun with this!
The blogs participating in the Follower Love Giveaway Hop:
Sunday, February 5, 2012
A Slow Burn by Mary E. DeMuth
 | A Slow Burn |
Source: Bought through Half.com.
Book Description from Christianbook.com:
Burying her grief, Emory Chance is determined to find her daughter Daisy's murderer-a man she saw in a flicker of a vision. But when the investigation hits every dead end, her despair escalates. Not even the kindness of her persistent suitor Hixon can soften her heart towards the community of friends that long for her healing. And as the questions surrounding Daisy continue to mount, and Emory's safety is shattered by the tattooed man's dark pursuit, she can't shake the sickening fear that her own choices contributed to Daisy's disappearance. Will she ever experience the peace her heart longs for?
My Review:
A Slow Burn is a Christian historical novel set in 1977 in Texas. This is the second novel in the series. You can understand and enjoy the story even if you haven't read the first novel, but I got the feeling the story would have had even more depth (and there was plenty already) if I'd read the first book before this one.
This was one of those stories that drew me in and came vividly to life in my imagination, but I think it had more to do with a few, select setting details combined with vividly drawn characters. You truly got to know Emory and Hixon's deepest thoughts, hurts, and fears--nothing held back. The characters were realistic in their reactions to the events and in their coping mechanisms.
The low-level suspense came from the mysterious break-ins at Emory's house and people's worries that the murderer might strike again. When the story ends, we still don't know the name of whodunit, but Emory has finally admitted the truth about herself to herself and started down her road of healing. It's a long, hard, and painful road for her to get to that point, and I suspect it's not going to be an easy road for her from this point on, either.
There was a Christian element--God is clearly involved in these character's lives and is pursuing a closer relationship with them. It didn't come across as one character preaching to another, though--it's more people loving each other like Christ loves us. There was a minor amount of "he swore" style and fake bad language. Emory did use drugs. There were no sex scenes. Overall, I'd highly recommend this book.
If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.
Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.
Friday, February 3, 2012
The Look of Love by Mary Jane Clark
 | The Look of Love |
Source: Review copy from the publisher.
Book Description from the Cover:
Piper Donovan accepts when the owner of Elysium, an exclusive spa and plastic surgery center, offers her an all-expenses-paid trip to Los Angeles to create a dazzling and unique wedding cake.
The ultra-luxurious spa caters to the rich and famous in need of a little “refreshing”—a nip here, a tuck there, a little Botox, a little detox. Nestled in the Hollywood Hills, Elysium seems picture-perfect: the grounds, the staff, even the guests. But no sooner does Piper arrive than a guest is brutally murdered in one of the private bungalows. Someone, it seems, wants to make sure Elysium’s beautiful director, Jillian Abernathy, never gets to walk down the aisle. Piper soon discovers that beneath the glamorous surface of this idyllic oasis lies an ugly truth—and a cold-blooded plan for murder.
My Review:
The Look of Love is a very fast-paced mystery/suspense novel. This book is the second in the series. You don't need to read the first book to understand this one, and this one didn't spoil the whodunit of the first mystery. However, the under-developed romance of the first book was even sketchier in this novel. If the second novel was all you had to go on, then the guy didn't even come across as desirable.
Like the first novel, Piper is curious about who is murdering people, but she doesn't snoop around to find out who the murderer is. She is briefly involved in trying to expose a staff member who is molesting female guests, but she's mainly focused on making the cake and getting an acting job. Piper was one of a number of main characters, and the story frequently switched between the different point-of-view characters.
The author provided plenty of people with a motive and opportunity for the murder. You could guess from the clues, but I felt that whodunit's "normal" thoughts didn't fit with some of the "in the killer's head" thoughts we're given. The first novel proves that the author could have had the two "thought" sets line up and still not give away whodunit.
The details about cake decoration, the resort, the nunnery, and the acting business were interesting. The suspense was created by the physical danger to the characters.
I found Piper engaging and enjoyable to read about, but most of the characters came across rather simplistically: the angry father, the snoopy reporter, and so on, so some parts of the ending (where several characters suddenly change how they've been behaving) seemed abrupt.
One of the characters was a nun, so the Catholic faith is portrayed though I wouldn't call this a "religious" novel. However, the novel did tend to drop tidbits of advice about true beauty and being satisfied with how you look. There was a minor amount of explicit bad language. There was no sex. Overall, I enjoyed this novel (though I liked the first one better), and I'd recommend it.
If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.
Excerpt: Read and excerpt using Google Preview.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
To Have and to Kill by Mary Jane Clark
| To Have and to Kill |
Source: Review copy from the publisher.
Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
Piper Donovan never imagined decorating wedding cakes could be so dangerous!
A struggling actress with no immediate prospects and a recently broken engagement, Piper needs to take stock of her life—so she moves back home with her parents in New Jersey and steps tentatively into the family bakery business. Soon, she’s creating a wedding cake for a friend, the star of a daytime television drama. But the bride is getting cruel, anonymous notes warning her that her fiance is a rat.
When the bride’s co-star is poisoned from a glass of water meant for her, everyone assumes the bride was the true target. But when others end up stabbed or strangled, no one's sure who might be next.
My Review:
To Have and to Kill is a very fast-paced cozy mystery--yet it's not a typical cozy. Piper is curious about who is causing the murders, but she never directly tried to snoop around and find out who did it. She left that to the police. Yet she's still in the middle of everything that's going on due to her job. I liked how, just by being herself, she thwarted the murderer's plans twice.
I also liked how she didn't stupidly go into a dangerous situation (like some cozy heroines do), and she didn't need rescuing when she found herself in a dangerous situation. As for whodunit, the author provided plenty of people with a motive and opportunity. You could guess from the clues, and I did guess before the "big reveal." I was a bit surprised to read a review saying they guessed whodunit from the start, though. I'd agree more with the reviewer who said she'd dismissed whodunit because whodunit's motive didn't seem powerful enough for murder.
I found Piper, her parents, and her actress friend engaging and enjoyable to read about. The other characters were very sketchy. Her love interest, the FBI agent, didn't do much and the romance angle wasn't really developed. The details about cake decoration and the acting business were interesting. The suspense was created by the physical danger to the characters and from wondering whodunit.
There was a minor amount of explicit bad language. There was no sex. Overall, I'd recommend this fast-paced, upbeat mystery.
If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.
Excerpt: Read and excerpt using Google Preview.
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