It's time to announce the Gratitude Giveaways winner. Including Twitter entries, we had 65 people enter. Using a random number generator and numbering the entrants in the order I received them, the winner is:
Cindy W.
who won Christmas at Harrington's by Melody Carlson
Congratulations! I'll be contacting you for your address.
For those who didn't win, you can always buy a copy of this book from your favorite bookstore.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Medical Error by Richard L. Mabry, M.D.
 | Medical Error |
Source: Review copy from the publisher.
Book Description from Back Cover:
Dr. Anna McIntyre’s life was going along just fine until someone else started living it.
Her patient died because of an identity mix-up; her medical career is in jeopardy because of forged prescriptions; and her credit is in ruins. She thought things couldn’t get worse, but that was before she opened the envelope and saw a positive HIV test with her name on it.
Her allies are two men who are also competing for her affection. Dr. Nick Valentine is a cynic who carries a load of guilt. Attorney Ross Donovan is a recovering alcoholic. The deeper Anna digs to discover who’s behind the identity thefts the higher the stakes. Finally, when her life is on the line, Anna finds that her determination to clear her name might have been a prescription for trouble.
My Review:
Medical Error is a well-written medical suspense novel with a romance. (While the culprit was unknown and was on my suspect list as someone who could have done it, there weren't enough clues to narrow it down to a specific name unless I missed something.) The suspense was created mainly by wondering what was going to go wrong next, but there was also physical danger to the characters near the end.
The characters were engaging, complex, and acted in realistic ways. The details about the job and setting brought the story alive in my imagination without slowing the fast pacing.
Anna was a Christian, but her main romantic interest felt he'd done something God wouldn't forgive. There were several comments made about God that occurred briefly and naturally in the conversation.
There was no sex and no bad language. Overall, I'd highly recommend this well-written and suspenseful 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
Eric Hatley’s last day alive began routinely enough.
He paused beside his brown delivery truck, shifted the bulky package, and turned in a tight circle to search for the right apartment.
Shouts filled the air. Firecrackers exploded all around him. A dozen red-hot pokers bored holes through his gut.
The package flew from his arms. He crumpled into a privet hedge at the edge of the sidewalk, clutching his midsection and recoiling when his fingers encountered something wet and slimy.
A wave of nausea swept over him. Cold sweat engulfed him.
Eric managed one strangled cry before everything faded to black.
Dr. Anna McIntyre bumped the swinging door with her hip and backed into Parkland Hospital’s Operating Room Six, her dripping hands held in front of her, palms inward. "Luc, tell me what you’ve got."
Chief surgical resident, Dr. Luc Nguyn, didn’t look up from the rectangle of abdomen outlined by green draping sheets and illuminated by strong surgical lights. "UPS driver, making a delivery in the Projects. Got caught in the crossfire of a gang rumble. Took four bullets in the belly. Pretty shocky by the time he got here."
"Find the bleeding source?"
"Most of it was from the gastric artery. Just finished tying it off."
Anna took a sterile towel from the scrub nurse and began the ritual of gowning and gloving made automatic by countless repetitions. "How about fluids and blood replacement?"
Luc held out his hand, and the nurse slapped a clamp into it. “Lactated Ringer’s still running wide open. We’ve already pushed one unit of unmatched O negative. He’s finishing his first unit of cross-matched blood. We’ve got another one ready and four more holding in the the blood bank."
"How’s he responding?"
"BP is still low but stable, pulse is slower. I think we’re catching up with the blood loss."
Read more of chapter one.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Don't Count on Homecoming Queen by Nancy Rue
 | Don't Count on Homecoming Queen |
Source: Bought through Half.com.
Book Description from Back Cover (slightly modified):
At King High, six girls who met at See You at the Pole meet again to pray for each other and for their school. And it's a good thing they do, because they're all going to need prayer this year. Even popular Tobey, who's in for more trouble than she could have dreamed up in a lifetime.
As junior class president, member of the Judicial Board, cross-country team member, and star of the speech club, Tobey has gained a lot of friends on campus. But when she realizes the school's most popular coach is intimidating a freshman Hispanic girl into having sex with him, Tobey is faced with questions unlike any she has asked before. How could her favorite coach be doing this? She trusted him! And what should she do?
She wouldn't have chosen the backlash of standing up for what's right, but in the process she discovers a whole new meaning for the word "friend."
My Review:
Don't Count on Homecoming Queen is a young adult novel aimed at Christian, high-school-aged girls. I'd also recommend it to the parents of these girls so that they can see how much their teens need their support when standing up for what's right.
It's very well written, and I found myself deeply empathizing with what Tobey was going through. She dealt with realistic struggles (harassment for making an unpopular choice, deciding to stand up against a popular adult to help an outcast Hispanic girl, etc.) and hard issues (what to do when an adult sexually abuses a kid). And the author made the results of Tobey's decision about as hard as they realistically could be.
The novel was fast-paced and a quick read. The suspense was created mainly by relationship tensions (whose side everyone would take, verbal abuse, etc.) though some students threatened to beat Tobey up, too.
Tobey, her new Flag Pole friends, and her family were Christians, and the Christian elements felt like a natural part of the story. They prayed their way through this hard time, they credited God for helping them, and one time they each quoted a Scripture that spoke to them about struggles.
The sex wasn't graphically described. There was a very minimal amount of "he cussed" style bad language. Overall, I'd highly recommend this well-written and relevant novel to mature Christian teen girls and their parents.
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 was an aide in PE first period. Coach Gatney told me it was a waste for me to be in study hall when she could use somebody like me to keep "those little chickies" in line.
More like "those little vultures." They were already going after some poor little Hispanic freshman in the locker room when I walked in.
"I don't mean to be rude," Emily Yates was saying to her, "but why do you all wear your hair like that?"
Emily shot her hand straight up from her own forehead to imitate the sort of stiff wall Angelica Benitez had made with her bangs and a can of hair spray.
Okay, so it wasn't a good look for her, maybe for anybody. But it wasn't worth crushing the poor kid's feelings over it. I glared at Emily around my locker door. She ignored me. I went on to Step Two. "By 'you all,' you mean Angelica's whole culture?" I said.
Behind us, I heard Hayley Hatcher whisper, "Yeah, all the Beaners."
Emily caught it, too, and grinned.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
The Master's Wall by Sandi Rog
 | The Master's Wall |
Source: Won from a giveaway on another blog.
Book Description, my take:
As a boy, David watches his parents dragged away to their death for being Christians. He's badly injured while trying to stop the soldiers from raping his mother, so a slaver easily captures the Hebrew boy and sells him to a wealthy Roman living just outside of Rome. There he meets Alethea, the granddaughter of his owner.
Alethea watched as her grandfather ordered her father tied to a horse and dragged to death because her father refused to stop being a Christian. Alethea now lives in fear of her abusive grandfather and with the hurt that her father didn't love her more than his God.
David and Alethea strike up a friendship based on their mutual loss. As they grow up, David tries to teach her about Christianity, but she refuses to convert out of fear for her life. She also believes that she's never sinned and so doesn't need saving. David is tempted to escape but decides to stay and protect Alethea as best he can.
Then, in order to escape a painful punishment for disobedience, Alethea tells her grandfather that David put her in danger when the truth was that he saved her life. Can David forgive Alethea for her deep betrayal? Can Alethea become a woman who can win David's heart and find a way to marry him instead of her cruel betrothed?
My Review:
The Master's Wall is a Christian historical romance novel. It's set in Rome from 76 AD to about 84 AD. The characters were complex and realistic, and I liked Alethea even though she was a spoiled child. (She's 14 at the end of the book.) The romance didn't feel like a sure thing and had it's genuine struggles and problems. The Christian content was woven throughout the whole story and played a critical role in the story.
The setting was vividly described. While the historical detail was fairly good, it sometimes intruded on the story. Some details seemed present just to show off what the author had learned, but these instances were brief when they happened. However, the pacing would have been a little better in the first half if this excess detail was cut out along with some of the details of David's fight training. Incidentally, I doubted the fighting style that David was learning since, as described, it sounded impractical (mostly for show) but was supposed to be for actual combat.
There were also some historical and practical inaccuracies, though these were minor and uncritical to the story. One thing that confused me was that David called Jesus "Yahshua" instead of "Yeshua." (I looked it up, and apparently this is a re-naming of Jesus coined in 1930 AD and followed by a few people.) David referred to God as "Jehovah," which is also not historically accurate. Since I keep mentioning this, here's a quote from The Jewish New Testament Commentary by David H. Stern (page 4):
Long before Yeshua's day, however, the word "Adonai" had, out of respect, been substituted in speaking and in reading aloud for God's personal name, the four Hebrew letters yud-heh-vav-heh, variously written in English as "YHVH," "Yahweh," and "Jehovah." The Talmud (Pesachim 50a) made it a requirement not to pronounce the...("four letter name" of God), and this remains the rule in most modern Jewish settings....(Incidentally, the name "Jehovah" is a modern invention, an English hybrid based on the four Hebrew letters as transliterated into German, J-H-V-H, with the individually transliterated Hebrew vowel-points of "Adonai," e-o-a....
The Hebrew word for "he will save" is "yoshia'," which has the same Hebrew root (yud-shin-'ayin) as the name Yeshua (yud-shin-vav-'ayin). Thus the Messiah's name is explained on the basis of what he will do. Etymologically, the name Yeshua' is a contraction of the Hebrew name Y'hoshua' (English "Joshua"), which means "YHVH saves." It is also the masculine form of the Hebrew word "yeshu'ah," which means "salvation."
There was no bad language or explicit sex. Overall, I'd recommend it as an interesting and enjoyable 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
Rome, AD 76
David tried not to cry, tried not to breathe or make a sound as he crept along the dark street. Careful not to trip on the flat stones, he recalled how that morning he'd taken this same path, chasing friends between the alleys, pretending they were gladiators fighting at the Circus Maximus. Now again he followed the enemy. Only this enemy was real. There were three of them. And they had taken his parents.
Mamma. Abba. He wanted to shout out their names, to cry out to them.
He could still feel Mamma’s hand in his. Could feel her letting go as the soldiers pulled her away. Could feel her stola ripping as he clutched it. All he had left was the shredded fabric from her dress still in his hand. How empty his hand felt now that she was gone.
He made a fist. All he had in the world. Snatched away. And now their lives might depend on him. On what he would do at this moment. But he was just a child, a boy. What could he do? He'd follow them, see where they were taken. Then he could get help. Manius would know what to do.
Monday, November 22, 2010
The Price by Kathi Mills-Macias
 | The Price |
Source: Bought through Half.com.
Book Description, my take:
Toni Matthews is growing closer to police detective Abe Matthews, but she's still not sure she wants to become a private investigator like her father had hoped. Her younger sister, Melissa, appears to be recovering from the trauma of her recent kidnapping, but it worries Toni that Melissa isn't talking with her about it.
Then a teenage high school drop-out comes back to school and starts shooting students and teachers. Melissa survives without a scratch, but her best friend who was standing right next to her is hit, hurt badly, and is paralyzed from the waist down by the bullet. Melissa struggles with why her best friend was hit when she wasn't. Meanwhile, Toni feels prompted by God that--despite all evidence to the contrary--the boy shooter was convinced to do the shooting by an accomplice. But how can she prove it, especially when troubles in her relationship with Abe are distracting her?
My Review:
The Price is a romance novel with a mystery. The romance was pretty typical: worries that could easily be put to rest if they simply asked about them came between the "perfectly matched" pair, Toni and Abe. The main "whodunit" was never in question, but Toni did question some people about a possible accomplice. Though the unknown accomplice was not obvious, anyone who reads a lot of mystery novels should have no trouble spotting the accomplice. However, Toni and the police--though getting close--were stumped until said accomplice decided to kill Toni (for being nosy) instead of sensibly going into hiding in another state.
Anyway. The Christian general fiction aspect of the novel was very good. Teenaged Melissa had to deal with why God would allow her best friend--who loves God and wanted to be a missionary--to be shot by a school shooter and paralyzed by the bullet, yet Melissa and others weren't even hurt. Melissa's friend and an elderly lady living with Toni and Melissa gave good, godly answers to her questions.
Melissa's turmoil, struggle, and way of reacting to the people around her was realistic, and her best friend also struggled realistically with forgiving (or not) the boy who shot her. The other characters were complex but their actions sometimes didn't seem realistic to me.
There was no sex or bad language. This book was the second in the series, and it thoroughly discussed the case and "whodunit" of the first novel. However, the first novel hit about every pet peeve I have, so I'd recommend you just start with this book if it sounds interesting to you.
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
Read an excerpt using Google Preview.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Healing Promises by Amy Wallace
 | Healing Promises |
Source: Bought through Half.com.
Book Description, my take:
FBI Agent Clint Rollins is working on an urgent Crimes Against Children Unit case when he discovers that he has cancer with only a 40% chance to live--and he must start treatment immediately. But young boys are being kidnapped and may be killed if the kidnapper isn't stopped soon. Clint struggles with his body betraying him right when he's needed most. Can Clint trust God to get those children home safe even if Clint isn't personally there to handle it?
His wife, Sara Rollins, is an oncologist who has been fighting cancer with treatment and prayers for years. She's shocked by how different it is to be the wife of a cancer patient instead of the doctor treating it. She feels like a failure and begins to lose hope when a favorite, godly patient dies and her husband fights her concerns at how he's risking his health to get back on the case. A friend asks Sarah if she's depending on God or circumstances. She knows what she should be doing, but how does one get there?
My Review:
Healing Promises is a Christian general fiction book. Much of the story was about the stress that Clint's cancer put on Sarah and Clint's relationship to each other and with God. Near the end, though, the FBI case came to the forefront and resolved with a suspenseful standoff with the bad guy. The story's suspense came from wondering if Clint would survive the cancer and, if he did, if his marriage would survive. It also came from the danger that the missing children were in.
The characters were realistic and complex, and they dealt with realistic struggles. The details about the cancer treatment and FBI unit were good but didn't have a lot of depth to them. The story felt slower-paced because there were really four overlapping stories going on: Clint and Sarah, Steven and Grace, Hannah and Michael, and the FBI case.
A major element woven into the story was the characters' struggle to understand and trust God when everything seemed to be going wrong. I thought it was handled well and liked what was said, but those who prefer minimal Christian content probably won't like it.
This book is the second in the series. I felt like the author assumed I knew the characters and relationships from the previous novel (which I haven't read), but if you remember what everyone's first and last name is, you can follow this story well enough without having read the first. However, there were vague references to "whodunit" in the first story, so read Ransomed Dreams first if you want to be completely surprised.
There was no bad language or explicit sex. Overall, I'd recommend this well-written 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
Most days, Clint Rollins loved his work.
Most days. But not today.
He leaned back in his swivel chair and listened to the hum of voice, computer keys, and his partner's detailed explanation of a new case. Only a week back to work, and he already needed a quiet weekend to rest.
"You listening, Rollins, or still suffering from vacation withdrawal? Maybe it's just too early on a Friday morning."
Steven Kessler's ribbing jerked Clint back to the reality of working in the FBI's Crimes Against Children Unit. Another child missing. No easy cases.
"I'm listening." Clint rubbed the back of his neck.
Too bad criminals didn't care if cops were up to snuff or not. His head still ached from a nasty cold that'd been dogging him for weeks. According to his physician wife, he needed a vacation to recover from his unprecedented two-week vacation. But no one in DC stayed home with just a cold. So he was back on the job in mid-January, doing his second favorite thing.
Putting criminals in jail
He'd still rather be hanging out with Sara and the munchkins.
Read more using Google Preview
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
When the Devil Whistles by Rick Acker
 | When the Devil Whistles |
Source: Review copy from the publisher.
Book Description, my take:
Allie Whitman, a temp-for-hire accountant and professional whistleblower, excels at finding and exposing corporations that over-charge on government contracts. Her lawyer and friend, Connor Norman, keeps her identity a secret while helping her rake in the money that finances Allie's opulent lifestyle.
But when she goes to work at a new corporation, the tables are suddenly turned. The corporation figures out that she's the whistleblower behind Devil to Pay. They threaten to expose her to all those corporations that hate her unless she takes down their competition--and that may mean planting false evidence. Then Allie's live-in rock-star boyfriend sells drugs to a teen at a concert, the teen dies, and Allie's worried she'll go to jail, too, if she turns her boyfriend in.
Allie's afraid to ask Connor for help since he glories in making criminals pay for their crimes. Does that mean her, too? There seems to be only one option that will keep her safe, but there's more at risk than even Allie knows.
My Review:
When the Devil Whistles is a legal thriller that also works in some military suspense. It's fast-paced and keeps the reader guessing as to how everything will work out. The suspense was created by possible physical danger to the various characters as well as curiosity about the various decisions they will make and how it will all play out. The characters were complex and dealt with realistic problems (though--specifically--not ones most people face). The vivid details of the job and setting brought the story alive in my imagination.
For those who care, Allie sometimes drank to excess and lived with her boyfriend. (It's implied they have sex.) She knew he used meth and he knew she disapproved, but she didn't take a strong stand on it until worried for her own neck. But she found some healing and made some hard choices after seeing where the easy ones got her, and I liked who she was by the end.
There was no bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this suspenseful and intriguing 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
Connor Norman loved a good fireworks show. He especially liked the ones that took place once or twice a year in the conference rooms at the California Department of Justice. Some executive or general counsel whose company was under investigation would come in for a witness interview, would lie, and would get caught. Then Deputy Attorney General Max Volusca would go off and the show would start. DAG Volusca did not suffer liars gladly. Fools he would tolerate, often longer than Connor. But if Max felt he was being misled, he soon lived up to his nickname, "Max Volume."
Connor didn’t mind it when Max got loud. In fact, he liked the DAG’s outbursts because they usually rattled whoever was sitting across the table from him. And that usually meant more money for Connor and his qui tam clients. A qui tam plaintiff is a whistleblower who sues on behalf of the government and gets a cut (generally 15-20 percent) of whatever the government recovers. Better yet, if the Department of Justice likes a case, it takes on the lion’s share of the work. Envious defense counsel sometimes complained to Connor that he wasn’t really litigating these cases, just riding a gravy train driven by DOJ. Though Connor never told opposing lawyers, the real fun wasn’t the train ride so much as tying corporate criminals to the tracks in front of the engine.
Today, Connor’s client was Devil to Pay, Inc., a shell company he had created to bring qui tam lawsuits while protecting the identity of its owner. Most contractors assumed that Connor was the force behind Devil to Pay and that he recruited new whistleblowers for every lawsuit. In fact, all those suits were the work of a single woman: a professional whistleblower named Allie Whitman.
The corners of Connor’s mouth twitched. Allie was probably the most widely hated and feared woman in California’s government contracting industry, even though no one knew she existed.
The person who probably hated Allie most at this particular moment was Hiram Hamilton, the CEO of Hamilton Construction. He was sitting at a cheap wood table in conference room 11436 at the San Francisco office of the California Department of Justice, where he was being grilled by Max Volusca.
Read more from chapter one.
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