TOO BAD TO BE TRUMAN By Chris Well

MY REVIEW

Okay Truman fans, here is another installment that is worth reading. Chris Well has written another comical story about down-and-out Truman. This time Truman finds himself trying to get out of writing a biography about a really bad man and trying to stop a murder-for-hire. 

Well throws in lots of humor, laugh-out-loud scenes and lots of twists in this crazy story. 

This is definitely a "guys" book, not that women wouldn't enjoy it. However the humor is "guy" humor and may not be appreciated by most women. I did enjoy the story though it is a bit out of my usual reading genre.  

If you haven't read Too Good To Be Truman, I suggest you get a copy of it before you read Too Bad To Be Truman. It isn't a stand-alone book. The characters you will meet in Too Good To Be Truman are carried over into the second book. So reading the second book would be like jumping into the middle of the story. 

Chris has a great dialog, strong plot and equally strong characters. I believe you will enjoy reading these books.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Here's the deal: When I was in the first grade, my life goal was that I would grow up to be Batman. Because I thought it was a vocation -- you know, policeman, fireman, Batman. Once my first grade teacher crushed the dreams of that little boy, I guess I decided I would do the next best thing and make up stories about Batman. And then somewhere after that I learned about things like "intellectual property" and "copyright law" and "cease and desist" and decided that I would have to make up stories about my own characters.

So today, I do just that: Write stories about my own characters -- whether it's a doomed

hitman named Solomon Long or a grumpy old amateur sleuth named Earl Walker or an

out-of-work smart alec crime reporter named Truman.

My novels include the crime comedy TOO GOOD TO BE TRUMAN, the Earl Walker whodunit

NURSING A GRUDGE and the Kansas City crime shoot-em-up FORGIVING SOLOMON LONG.

Check out his website

Chris Well provided me with a free advance reader's copy for the purpose of writing this review.

 

 

DEATH BE NOT PROUD (The Secret of the Journal - Book 2) by C.F. Dunn

ABOUT THE BOOK

---

Following the vicious attack by a psychotic colleague, and reeling from the suspicion that Matthew Lynes is not all that he seems, Professor Emma D’Eresby flees her college teaching position in Maine to her hometown in England— taking the mysterious seventeenth-century journal she stole from the college’s archives with her.

Broken physically and emotionally, Emma drifts until, fearing for their daughter’s sanity, her parents invite a family friend to assess her. In the course of their conversation, Emma discovers that he spoke to Matthew over thirty years before.

This finally spurs her into action and soon, when she finds what certainly must be a reference to Matthew in the journal, she begins to understand Matthew’s profound secret.

But when Matthew arrives to confess his love for her, she must decide if she can trust him—and he must decide if he can share his extraordinary secret with her. Drawn by a deep connection that both feel but don’t quite understand they find they must set aside their doubts and trust each other.

Readers will be thrilled by the second installment in The Secret of the Journal from British author C. F. Dunn. Mixing suspense, romance, and the supernatural, Death Be Not Proud explores the profound moral implications of a life seemingly invulnerable to time.

WATCH THE TRAILER

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YPwiAnZefs&feature=c4-overview&list=UUIaEHeBFvlcwnS_9L0B-5Dw 

 

READ AN EXCERPT HERE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

C.F. Dunn runs a specialist dyslexia and autism school in south-east England. She is the author of Mortal Fire, book one of the Secret of the Journal. 

Learn more about her at her website

MY REVIEW

Not all authors can maintain the same momentum they began with when writing a series. However having said that, I believe C.F. Dunn not only maintains that momentum but exceeds it in her second book of the The Secret Journal series, Death Be Not Proud. Powerful and moving, Dunn continues the story of Professor Emma D'Eresby and Matthew Lynes. 

I found myself completely engrossed with this book just as I was with Dunn's first book, Mortal Fire. Many times I found myself holding my breath as I turned to the next page, in anticipation of what would take place next. 

Dunn's characters are strong and intriguing. Her story-line is flawless. She intertwines romance with mystery and suspense leaving her readers wanting more at the end of each story. 

I wait with great anticipation to her third book of this series, "Rope of Sand," and I believe her fans will also, after reading her second book, "Death Be Not Proud."

This review was made possible by Kregel Publications providing me with a free review copy. 

   

 

UNHOLY HUNGER: Lure of the Serpent Book 1 by Heather James

ABOUT THE BOOK

Evelyn Barrett wants to die. As long as her daughter’s murderer dies with her, she is ready to go. Why did this man--this stranger--destroy her family? Why has he not been brought to justice? Why is she forced to live a life of anger and grief? Amid a million questions she cannot answer, Evelyn knows one thing for sure: this murderer must be punished for his crime.

Before it all, she was a successful attorney who won all the hard cases. Now that the case is personal, Evelyn will stop at nothing to seek her own version of justice. When another girl goes missing, Evelyn plows forward, ignoring the warnings from police detectives, the pleas of her grief-stricken husband, and the strange, almost supernatural tingles that tug at her. But as she follows the stench of evil, Evelyn learns that the hardest thing she will have to face may not be the death of her child after all. Perhaps the harder lesson is this: the ultimate truth--of crime and verdict, of life and death--cannot be swayed by a mother’s revenge.

In this first book of a new, page-turning series, a woman will be brought to her limits before she finally recognizes the movement of the Holy Spirit and reconnects with the source of true peace.

WATCH THE TRAILER

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

Heather James is the author of the upcoming Lure of the Serpent Series, suspense novels that pack quick wit into the high heels of attorney turned vigilante, Evelyn Barrett.

 

In addition, Heather is a practicing lawyer in California and a columnist with The Bakersfield Californian. Her columns focus on the humorous aspects of marriage and parenthood. Heather is married and works at home, raising two young sons.
To visit Heather’s author page on Amazon and see current books and trailers: http://www.amazon.com/Heather-James/e/B009TWYH2C/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

Her website is heatherjames.net

MY REVIEW

I am thrilled to write about this debut novel by Heather James. It is always a privilege to review debuting authors. So without further ado, here is my review.

Written in the first person viewpoint, we meet Evelyn Barrett as she talks about the first Eve and a piece of fruit. From that point forward it becomes a wild roller-coaster ride for Evelyn, emotionally, spiritually and physically. 

Heather chose a difficult subject to write about, sexual abuse and murder of young innocent children. Her main character, Evelyn, is a woman who tries to deal with the murder of her only child. It is how she deals with it that will make the reader continue to read this extremely suspenseful novel.   

Will she accomplish what she sets out to do? Will revenge fulfill her emptiness?  

Heather James has crafted a novel that will have have you turning the pages until you reach the last. An incredible, chilling tale with a spiritual twist that will have you looking at things differently, Unholy Hunger, is a winner for me. 

I look forward to reading the next one in this powerful series. 

Kregel Publications provided me with a free review copy for the purpose of writing this review. 

  

MORTAL FIRE: The Secret of the Journal by C.F.Dunn

About the book

Twenty-nine-year-old, independent, and self-assured Cambridge history professor Emma D'Eresby has one obsession in life: the curious journal of a seventeenth-century Englishman, a portion of which was left to her by her late grandfather.

When an unexpected opportunity to study the journal in its entirety presents itself, Emma finds herself leaving Cambridge to take up a year-long position at a prestigious university in Maine. Anticipating a quiet year of research, Emma quickly discovers her work impeded by a range of unforeseen complications. 

From the start, there is the well-intentioned matchmaking of her vivacious Russian colleague, Elena Smalova, and the unexpected jailing of one of her post-graduate students. More troublesome, however, are the unsolved, brutal night attacks on women near the university and Emma's suspicion that they might be linked to the sinister English professor, Kort Staahl. But, most diverting and disconcerting of all, is Emma's growing attraction to the strikingly handsome Dr. Matthew Lyons, whose kind but deliberately distant demeanor puzzles her.

Suspense and dread mount when Kort begins to take a persistent and unsettling interest in Emma. What are Kort's intentions, and what is he capable of? And the mystery surrounding Matthew only deepens when Emma discovers a link between him and the journal. What is Matthew trying to hide?

Read Chapter One here

C.F.Dunn runs a specialist dyslexia and autism school in south east England, and writes in the south west.

Here is the link to C.F. Dunn's website

My Review

I am always excited to receive a package in the mail. Invariably it contains a new book for reviewing. I usually have a few books going at the same time in the review process, so I will let a new one wait until I get the others finished. Can't get too many books going at once. 

However, today when I received the review copy of Mortal Fire, I knew it was a book that couldn't wait to be read. The cover alone was intriguing. Dark and mysterious, old books in the foreground and an eye surrounded by wisps of smoke. Very intriguing, indeed. But the best part lay in-between the pages. 

Once I began reading this book, I couldn't put it down. I only stopped because my dogs wouldn't stop pestering me to take them outside. I had to know what was going to happen next. 

Extremely well-written, strong, bold characters and a plot so tight with suspense I found myself holding my breath more often than not.

Emma D'Eresby, a visiting History professor from England, is on a journey, a quest, searching for a lost journal. The people she meets at Howard's Lake College in Maine, USA, are a cast of characters in and of themselves. Sam Wiesner, the "lady's man;" Elena Smalova, intelligent and excitable, and Matthew Lynes, mysterious, strong, and maybe even something more.... just who is he?

Mortal Fire is a book you want to read with the lights on and during the day. But if you are like me.... you won't be able to put it down.

You can purchase your copy here: 

http://store.kregel.com/searchproducts.cfm

www.amazon.com

This review was made possible by Kregel Publications providing me with a free review copy. I am under no obligation to write a positive review.

 

 

FINDING OUR WAY HOME by Charlene Ann Baumbich

ABOUT THE BOOK

When the road home becomes daunting—sometimes a very capable girl on a bicycle can help find the way.

“Charming, surprising, familiar, and just downright wonderful.”
—Allie Pleiter, author of Yukon Wedding and Bluegrass Blessings

When principal ballerina Sasha Davis suffers a career-ending injury at age thirty-eight, she leaves her Boston-based dance company and retreats to the home of her youth in Minnesota. But Sasha’s injuries limit her as much as her mother’s recent death haunts her. Concluding she can’t recover alone, Sasha reluctantly hires a temporary live-in aide.

Enter the übercapable Evelyn Burt. As large-boned as Sasha is delicate, Evelyn is her employer’s opposite in every way. Small town to Sasha’s urban chic, outgoing to Sasha’s iciness, and undaunted where Sasha is hopeless, nineteen-year-old Evelyn is newly engaged and sees the world as one big, shiny opportunity.

Evelyn soon discovers Sasha needs to heal more than bones. Slowly, as the wounds begin to mend and the tables tilt, the two women form an unlikely alliance and discover the astounding power of even the smallest act done in the name of love. Finding Our Way Home is a story of second chances and lavish grace.  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Charlene Ann Baumbich is the author of the Dearest Dorothy series, Stray Affections, and Divine Appointments, as well as several nonfiction books of humor and inspiration. She is also a popular speaker, an award-winning journalist, and lives with her husband in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. 

MY REVIEW

This is the first book I have read by Charlene Baumbich and I have to say I was completely entertained from beginning to end. She is a wonderful writer with strong characters and an equally strong plot. She must have a great sense of humor because I found myself chuckling often over the antics of Evelyn. Charlene also has a strong faith in God because grace and faith was a central theme throughout the story.

I found myself sighing with Sasha while she dealt with continuous pain during her healing process. I also emphatically felt the thrill and excitement of each leap and jump she completed in her dances as she replayed them in her mind. 

But the what I especially enjoyed was the relationship between Evelyn and Sasha. Watching it develop from an employee and employer relationship to one of deep friendship, was beautiful, hopeful and quite moving.

Evelyn was not only Sasha's helper, she brought light and music back into Sasha's life. Sasha was not only Evelyn's boss, she brought stability into her life by providing a place to work and live. 

The two of them were almost as different as night and day, yet there was plenty of shared laughter, tears and shared secrets that made their relationship work.

This e-book was made available for review through Blogging for Books. I am under no obligation to give a positive review.

 

SUNRISE ON THE BATTERY by Beth Webb Hart

She wanted her husband to attend the town’s society-driven church. God answered her prayer in a radical way.

An emptiness dogs Mary Lynn Scoville. But it shouldn’t.
After all, she’s achieved what few believed possible. Born in the rural south, she has reached the pinnacle of worldly success in Charleston, South Carolina. Married to a handsome real estate developer and mother to three accomplished daughters, Mary Lynn is one Debutante Society invitation away from truly having it all.

And yet, it remains—an emptiness that no shopping trip, European vacation, or social calendar can fill.

When a surprise encounter leads her to newfound faith, Mary Lynn longs to share it with her husband. But Jackson wrote God off long ago.

Mary Lynn prays for him on Christmas Eve . . . and her husband undergoes a life-altering Damascus Road experience. As Jackson begins to take the implications of the Gospel literally, Mary Lynn feels increasingly isolated from her husband . . . and betrayed by God. She only wanted Jackson beside her at church on Sunday mornings, not some Jesus freak who evangelizes prostitutes and invites the homeless to tea.

While her husband commits social suicide and the life they worked so hard for crumbles around them, Mary Lynn wonders if their marriage can survive. Or if perhaps there really is a more abundant life that Jackson has discovered, richer than any she’s ever dreamed of.

Read an excerpt from the book here

***************

Having grown up in a large family with no social standing other than my father was a blue collar worker, I could kind of understand why Lynn and her husband Jackson wanted the best for their children. I too wanted the best for my child. So I worked hard, taught her the value of the dollar, the difference between right and wrong, moral values... well you get the picture. 

Lynn and Jackson wanted the lives to their children to be more than better. They wanted them to have the best education, be musically talented, have the best social standing, shop in the best stores, whatever it would take to not just propel them into the uppercrust of Charleston, South Carolina, but become members of the elite.

Lynn remembered the heartache and heart break of not being accepted and Jackson never forgot how hard he had to work to obtain the current position he had in Charleston's society.

In Sunrise on the Battery, I found myself drawn to their oldest daughter, Catherine. The pressure to not just succeed but excel in everything was incredible. How her parents failed to notice there was something wrong with her was incredible sad. She almost..... oops.... I almost told you what happened!

When Lynn prayed for her husband to know Jesus.... she just didn't anticipate what would become of her life, the lives of her children or Jackson, himself.

I can see where the author, Beth Webb Hart, was influenced by David Platt's Radical. 

I did enjoy the book, though to me it seemed a little like a fairy tale in some places. (Maybe it's because I've never had the pleasure of hobnobbing with the uppercrust folk.) I found Beth Webb Hart's style of writing relaxing and warm. A bit like sipping a nice ice cold glass of sweet tea on a warm afternoon. (I have done that!)

So, if you are looking for a refreshing glass of ice tea.... I mean, a warm and lovely story about love, grace, compassion and life changes, then this is a great book for you.

Beth Webb Hart, a South Carolina native, holds a B.A. in English Literature from Hollins College and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Sarah Lawrence College. 

Her first novel, Grace at Low Tide, was one of three finalists for the 2006 Christy Awards in the general/contemporary/fiction category. Her second novel, Adelaide Piper, was selected for Books-a-Million's book club and for their national book of the month for December, 2006. Both titles were included in the "Top 10 Christian Novels of 2006" by Booklist, the American Library Association's review journal. Hart's third novel, The Wedding Machine, became an ECPA best-seller in July of 2008.

Beth Webb lectures on a variety of topics and has taught creative writing on the college and high school level where she received two national awards from Scholastic, Inc. She lives with her husband, composer Edward Hart, and their children in Charleston, South Carolina where she teaches English and Creative Writing at Ashley Hall.

This is her website: http://bethwebbhart.com/sunrise/

This book was provided by The B&B Media Group, Inc. for the sole purpose of reviewing. I am under no obligation to provide a positive review.

  

Judgement Day: A Novel by Wanda L. Dyson

Wanda L. Dyson has a new fan.... me! This is the first time I have ever read one of her books and I am hooked. 

Judgement Day is so fast paced and the characters are so interesting that I found myself holding my breath in anticipation of what was going to happen next. 

Suzanne Kidwell is a rating-getting reporter on a cable news show Judgement Day. Her style of fact gathering on business men, religious leaders and politicians causes a backlash on her own life and actions. When her fiance dies in a fatal car accident, she discovers information that ties him, a prominent politician and doctors to a dark enterprise that will bring her facing her own judgement day.

Extremely well written, with a plot that will keep any reader riveted, Judgement Day is one of the best suspense novels I have read in a long time. I agree with other people when they say it's "high octane from the start."

Wanda L. Dyson lives on a working horse farm in Maryland, boarding and keeping a menagerie of critters. She is the author of four acclaimed suspense novels, including Shepherd's Fall, and she is the co-author of Why I Jumped, the true story of Tina Zahn. 

You can read more about her and her work on her website: http://www.wandadyson.com/


Judgement Day is available in both Trade paperback and e-book format.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.


Here is a sneak peak at Judgement Day
http://www.multnomahemails.com/wbmlt/pdf/SneakPeek_Judgement%20Day.pdf 

Don't forget to watch the trailer!

The Miracle of Mercy Land by River Jordan

   From the start of The Miracle of Mercy Land you step into another time and place. You hear to the slow cadence of the south, soft as butter and music to your ears. You can smell the honeysuckle, jasmine and magnolia blossoms each time you take a deep breath. Memories of lazy summer days filled with fishing and chasing butterflies in the fields are brought back to your mind. And you find yourself not only visiting Bay City, Alabama, but seeing and sensing it through one Mercy Land.

Mercy Land, a Bittersweet girl, finds herself plunged into a mystery. A mystery where there are no real answers on how to solve it. This mystery involves a book. A very special book. It showed up at Doc Philips place, without so much as a how do you do. Doc Philip is her boss and owner of the Bay City newspaper.

Together they try to determine the purpose of the book because this book shows the lives, past, present and could be future of everyone of Bay City. Doc thinks he’s suppose to use it to change something that took place in the past. Mercy is trying to determine the book’s purpose. And together they find out that the choices one person makes affects the lives of many.

The author, River Jordan, has written a beautiful book about some wonderful, ordinary people. She brought to life Mercy Land and Doc Philips and those who play an important part in their lives in such a manner that you become a part of the story as well. River Jordan is a wonderful storyteller and this book, The Miracle of Mercy Land, will take you into the past, to southern Alabama, where you will experience those hot summer days with a cool breeze coming off of the bay; along with the sudden squalls that frequent the area that time of year; and in life. River Jordan and her cast of characters in Mercy Land will keep you captivated to the very end.

River Jordan is a critically acclaimed novelist and playwright. Her previous works include Saints in Limbo and The Messenger of Magnolia Street. She speaks around the country on the “Power of Story” and produces and hosts the radio series Clearstories from Nashville, Tennessee, where she makes her home. You can visit her at www.riverjordan.us.

This book was provided to me free from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group for the purpose of writing a review.