Crossing Jhordan's River by Kendra Norman-Bellamy

Crossing Jhordan's River by Kendra Norman-Bellamy Trade Paperback: 250 pages Publisher: Moody Publishers First Released: 2005

Source: Bought from Half.com.

Book Description, My Take:
As a boy, Jhordan watched in horror as his mother told him that she loved him and then took her own life. As a young man, his first wife left him for a rich man while still claiming to love him...but, for her, love just wasn't enough.

Now handsome Jhordan Adams is a firefighter married to beautiful Kelli, a woman who clearly loves both him and his daughter from his first marriage. He loves Kelli more than he wants to. What if she leaves him, too? His solution is to pull away from her to guard his heart against the potential pain.

Kelli can't understand the distance that her husband Jhordan has put between them. It's been less than a year since they got married! The only explanation she can come up with for his absences from their home and reluctance to get physically intimate is that she's not enough somehow and that he's being unfaithful to her. Deeply hurt, she starts spending time with a handsome divorce lawyer who's more than willing to listen to her woes.

Will Jhordan and Kelli cross the river of pain in their marriage before it divides them forever?


Review:
Crossing Jhordan's River was an interesting Christian general fiction book. The topic of the novel and how it was handled will probably appeal to both men and women. There was a good amount of suspense, especially near the end, and the pacing was very good. The world-building was okay.

The characters were likable and had realistic struggles and reactions. Initially, the character's motivations were stated extremely clearly, and I tend to prefer a bit more subtly. However, the author did back off in the second half and let the reader figure things out for themselves.

The characters were Christian and did attend church and pray (though usually the details of the sermons, prayers, etc., where left to the reader's imaginations). Characters handed out plenty of good marriage advice to Kelli and Jhordan, but the novel wasn't preachy in the sense of "you need to get religion, folks!"

There was married sex, but it wasn't graphic. There was no bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this novel as good, clean reading.


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
Kelli sat up and looked at the space beside her. The pillow was neatly in its place, and the covers were too tidy to have been slept on or under. By now, she should be accustomed to the routine, but it never got any easier. At this point in her life, she didn't expect to be sleeping alone.

By anyone's definition, she was still a newlywed. It had been less than a year since she and Jhordan Adams had tied the knot, and it didn't take a rocket scientist to know that they had a problem. At twenty-nine, it was her first marriage. Jhordan was only a year older than she, but the marriage was his second.

During their yearlong courtship, he'd been nothing short of a gentleman. The tall, handsome man with the strong features of Tyson Beckford and the deep chocolate skin of Wesley Snipes walked into her church one Sunday morning and took a seat right next to her. Not once during the entire service did Kelli's heart stop pounding.

In a matter of months, she was madly in love, and she knew he felt the same. Jhordan was distant at first and almost seemed to fight his growing affections for her, but fate won the battle. After marrying him, Kelli moved from her one-bedroom apartment in Jackson, Mississippi, to the two-bedroom apartment he rented in the tourist-attraction city of Biloxi. The move was a good one. It placed her closer to her church and her parents.

Kelli had no idea what was wrong. Wesley and Mary Jenkins had raised her to be a very respectable lady. Her parents had been married for nearly forty years--forty good years--and she knew how a woman should treat her husband, but apparently she wasn't doing something right.

Giveaway: Beaded Hope

I really enjoyed Beaded Hope by Cathy Liggett, so I decided to give away my review copy so others can also enjoy it. You can learn more about the novel by reading my review.

This contest is for USA and Canada residents only.


To enter the giveaway:

1) you can twitter me saying "Hi @genrereviewer. Enter me to win BEADED HOPE by Cathy Liggett."

OR

2) You can leave a comment to this post asking to be entered. Please also leave some way for me to contact you--or follow this blog so you can see the winner announcement.



For an additional entry, go to the Beaded Hope shop and include in your primary entry the name of the piece of beadwork from Beaded Hope that you like the best.


The winner will be randomly selected. I'll announce the winner at noon (Central Time) on March 24, 2010 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 shipping 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!

Beaded Hope by Cathy Liggett

Beaded Hope by Cathy Liggett Trade Paperback: 391 pages Publisher: Tyndale First Released: 2010 Author Website This novel was inspired by a nonprofit organization named Beaded Hope. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this novel will go to support it.

Source: Review copy from the publisher.

Book Description, My Take:
Four American women take a mission trip to South Africa. One hopes it will help her career, another is running away from the loss of a loved one and her dreams for their future, another hopes for relief from the hurtful, judgmental attitudes of people who were once her friends, and another hopes it will renew and strengthen her relationship with her daughter.

Their lives are changed in ways they didn't foresee when they meet the group of South African women they're supposed to help. These women suffer from AIDS and have lost many loved ones to it yet they have great joy and faith despite the overwhelming adversity.

One of their new friends shows them the amazing beadwork of the local women. She tells them her dream of helping these women to support their families by somehow selling their beadwork in America. The American women agree to help make her dream a reality, but, with the obstacles in their way and their own problems to deal with, it may take more than they've got...


Review:
Beaded Hope was a well-written and enjoyable inspirational general fiction. It's fast-paced and full of suspense. I was quickly engaged by the realistic characters and their realistic struggles, and I cared about what happened to them. The world-building was excellent and brought everything (especially South Africa) alive in my imagination.

Most of the main characters were Christians. There was some God-talk and praying, but no preaching at the reader. Unless you're strongly anti-God, you probably won't be bothered by the religious content of this novel.

There was no sex and no bad language. The novel was a bit of a tear-jerker--what happened to the characters made me cry--but it was also full of hope. Overall, I'd highly recommend this well-written novel.


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
Suburb of Columbus, Ohio

"Hey, Gabby, what are you doing?"

Even after all their years together, the sound of her husband's voice could still make Gabrielle Phillips's heart skip a beat. She pressed the cell phone closer to her ear. It had been such a long week without Tom at home. "I'm running into Hirscham's to pick up a shirt for Dad's birthday."

"Running? You're running?"

His overly cautious tone brought a smile to her face. "Not running, silly, although I could run, you know. I'm walking briskly. Hurrying. I have to be back at church by 1:30 for a meeting with the other directors."

"Is everything...?" His hesitancy to finish the sentence told her everything he feared. How many times had he asked the same question only to hear the worst? No wonder Tom could barely ask anymore. Only fools got too close to a fire after getting burned time and again.

But at least today she had good news.

"Everything is fine. Absolutely fine. Wonderful. Really." Closing her eyes, Gabby whispered her thanks to God. Tom's audible sigh and then silence made her think he might be doing the same. "Except for...I miss you terribly."

"Yeah?"

"When does your flight get in? Soon, I hope. It's supposed to storm today."

And the winner is...

It's time to pick a winner for the copy of Recollections of Rosings by Rebecca Ann Collins. Using a random number generator and numbering the entrants in the order I received them, the winner is:

Kristi

Congratulations! I'll be contacting you for your address.

For those who didn't win, you can always join in the fun by buying this book at your favorite bookstore!

Deadly Disclosures by Julie Cave

Deadly Disclosures by Julie Cave Trade Paperback: 287 pages Publisher: Master Books First Released: 2010 Buy from publisher

Source: Review copy (galley) from the publisher.

My Description of the Book:
FBI agent Dinah Harris is in disgrace after her personal life fell apart a year ago and her grief caused her to make a mistake that cost a man his life. She's now severely depressed, self-medicating using alcohol, and has considered suicide. What does she have left to live for?

Her old partner, David, pulls her into a missing person case in an attempt to help her. The prominent Secretary of the Smithsonian has vanished from his office, and his associates are telling a story that sounds rehearsed. When someone finally agrees to talk to them later, in private, she's soon found severely beaten and no longer willing to talk.

When the Secretary's body is discovered, Dinah and her partner must discover who is behind the ever-increasing body count and why the Secretary was killed in the first place. With the news press harshly questioning why a failure like Dinah is on the case, will her method of coping (by getting drunk) get her fired before the answers are found? Will she find a reason to live when all she feels is pain, loss, and loneliness?


Review:
Deadly Disclosures is a well-written detective suspense novel. The story was fast-paced, and the world-building was excellent. The details about the setting and the job brought the world alive in my imagination.

The characters were interesting and had realistic struggles. We didn't find out the details of why Dinah was so broken until late in the story, which made it difficult for me to bond with her, but enough information was dribbled out up until then that her actions were understandable and I cared about her.

I felt that some parts of the ending were wrapped up a little quickly--there were a few minor details that I questioned as they seemed to contradict something said earlier or seemed a little convenient. However, I was reading a galley and these minor details might have been fixed by the final version of the book.

The two main characters weren't Christian, but there were several Christian topics brought up during the novel. For example, a short TV debate between an atheist (the Secretary of the Smithsonian in his younger years) and a Christian was described during the murder investigation. Both atheist and Christian arguments were treated respectfully with no "straw men" arguments or quick conversions. Neither Christians nor atheists were portrayed as all good or all evil. Members of the secretive organization being investigated were shown doing good things and genuinely objecting to the murders. So, overall, I thought the Christian elements were handled very well and wouldn't bother most readers, but it is a Christian novel.

There was no sex and no bad language. I'd highly recommend this novel as well-written, clean reading.


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
Thomas Whitfield climbed out of the Lincoln Towncar and stood in the snappy, early morning fall air, breathing deeply. The temperature had fallen a few more degrees overnight, signaling that winter was truly on its way.

Thomas glanced up and down the wide street. There was nobody around at this early hour, and he took a moment to drink in the sights of his beloved city. The graceful willows, their branches arching over the street, were turning gold and red and, in the gentle yellow morning light, threw off highlights like burnished copper. This street was like many others in the center of DC — wide and tree-lined, with magnificent government buildings standing one after the other. That was another thing that Thomas found so delicious about this city — so much of it hinted at the enormous wealth and prosperity of the country, and yet only a few streets behind these world-famous landmarks, the seedier side of American poverty flourished. It was a city of contradictions, Thomas thought.

His gaze fell finally to the building right in front of him — the main complex of the Smithsonian Institution. Enormous stone pillars flanked the entryway into a marble lobby, and behind that were laid out the evidence of mankind’s brilliance. Everything about the institution was testament to the scientific and anthropological advances of man over the pages of history — the inventions, the discoveries, the deductions, the sheer radiance of a human being’s intelligence at its finest.

Thomas Whitfield had always been immensely proud of this place, and everything it showcased. He had boasted about it, defended it, nourished it, and protected it, the way a proud father would his prodigious child.

He was the secretary of the Smithsonian, after all, and he felt a strange kind of paternal relationship with the buildings and their contents.

He stood for a moment longer, a slender whippet of a man dressed immaculately, with highly polished shoes gleaming, thinning dark hair cut short, and a gray cashmere scarf to ward off the cold. Then he purposefully strode down the path and into the main building, scarf fluttering behind him.

To the malevolent eyes watching him through high-powered binoculars down the street in a non-descript Chevy, he presented a painfully easy target.

Thomas settled in his large office with the door shut, turned on the computer, and shut his eyes briefly as he contemplated what he would do next. The course of events he had planned for this day would change everything, and the impact would be felt right up to the president himself. Courage, Thomas, he told himself silently. What you are about to do is the right thing to do.

He began to type, slowly and decisively, feeling within himself a great sense of conviction and purpose. He was so lost in concentration that he was startled by the door suddenly swinging open.

“What are . . . ?” he exclaimed, almost jumping off his seat. Then he recognized his visitor and he glanced at his watch.

“What are you doing here?” Thomas asked.


Read the read of chapter one.

The Heir by Paul Robertson

The Heir by Paul Robertson Trade Paperback: 368 pages Publisher: Bethany House Publishers First Released: 2007

Source: Bought from Half.com.

Back Cover Description:
Wealth. Fame. Power. Murder. Jason Boyer just got an inheritance to die for.

The Boyer business empire was supposed to pass to different hands. Which suited Jason just fine. The money was crooked and the power corrupt. But then an accident claims his father's life, and when the will is read, Jason is named heir.

Now power-hungry politicians and shady business partners all are trying to force Jason's hand. He wants only to be a better man than his father was--but attempting to stand for what's right soon brings murderous consequences.

As those closest to him are endangered--and news emerges that his father's accident may be something more sinister--Jason finds himself fighting for his soul...and his life!


Review:
The Heir is a suspense novel involving politics, business ethics, and a murder mystery. Jason's sarcastic humor lightened the angst of the novel as he tried to find a purpose for living and to do the right thing--even though he wasn't always sure what made a thing right.

All of the characters were likable or fascinating, though our view of them (through Jason's eyes) was rather shallow because he had shallow relationships with everyone. Jason was a cynical, sarcastic, searching character who gradually added some maturity to his complexity as he was forced to grow up.

The novel was very fast-paced, and I had a hard time putting it down. Since Jason usually acted in a way that made any situation worse (due to his temper), it was like watching a train wreck in slow motion while hoping that everyone survived the wreck. The ending was a bit sad though Jason did find answers to his questions.

There were a few, brief, generalized references to God (though none to Jesus), and there wasn't any preaching at the reader. There was no sex and no bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this novel as well-written, clean reading.


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
I couldn't take my eyes off the casket. It was expensive, and it glowed, resting among the candles and the heaps of flowers. It so perfectly expressed the man inside.

The dignitaries droned, and I didn't hear them. We knew it all. We knew what he had done with his life. If a man knows his purpose, then everyone else will know it, too.

They'd been told what to say and to keep it short, and they obeyed. They'd all gotten where they were by doing what they were told.

It was tribute by catalog listing: achievements, philanthropy, and Senate career. The real man was never mentioned--the companies he inherited, the rivals he crushed, the cold-blood behind the politics--but everyone knew. Was anyone else listening? It's easy to eulogize a man who knew why he lived his life.

I just stared at that gleaming box and wondered why I was living mine.

We sang a hymn, and that brought me back--words obscure enough to drive any clear thoughts from a man's brain. A voice behind me sang off-key.

I watched the man's wife instead. He name was Angela, and she was sitting between my brother, Eric, and me. I might have given her a hug, but she had always objected to my familiarity. It was nothing personal; she objected to anyone. Her brother and sister were not at the service.

She was his second wife. The other one died young of cancer, which had been worth a lot of sympathy in his first election. If he had grieved for her, I wouldn't know.

Flawless by Selby & Campbell

Flawless: Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History by Scott Andrew Selby & Greg Campbell Hardback: 336 pages Publisher: Union Square Press First Released: 2010

If you like true crime books, you might want to read my review of Flawless.