And here we are on our final stop this month, a book that surprised me in how much I enjoyed it and made me wonder whether I might actually enjoy CBA historical fiction after all (who knew?!)…

She Walks in Beauty – Siri Mitchell

Synopsis (from the publisher):

Yet Clara soon wonders if this is the life she really wants. Especially when she learns her best friend has also set her sights on Franklin De Vries. When a man appears who seems to love her simply for who she is and gossip backlash turns ugly, Clara realizes it’s not just her marriage at stake–the future of her family depends on how she plays the game.

My Thoughts:

I really, really enjoyed this novel… which came as a rather big surprise. Banquets, balls, and idle social chatter aren’t typical fare for my reading tastes, but I decided to give this one a try anyway… expanding one’s reading horizons and all that. So imagine my surprise when I found myself truly intrigued by the story, the main character, and the unexpected situation she finds herself in!

Since I haven’t read much that’s similar, I can’t compare it to other books out there (though I know there are many set in this time period/similar situation) — but coming from someone who isn’t familiar with the genre, I found it to be a charming introduction. The characters felt realistically portrayed, and there was just the right balance of description and plot… which I mention only because I do know the genre often focuses a lot on things like setting, clothing, and food. There wasn’t too much of this to bore me, but just enough to give the reader the information she needs and provide the right tone to the novel.

I will say this, however… some of what happened in the story reminded me a great deal of Vin & Elend in the first book of Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn trilogy. But that’s a good thing! I found the main character and the ‘hero’ to be likable characters (with flaws! huzzah!) that I honestly developed an affection for, and I thought the subplot with Clara’s best friend was skillfully and very realistically handled… when you read it, you’ll know what I mean, but it’s one of those situations where an author might often force a character to behave differently for the sake of the story (but as a reader, you know that would never happen simply due to that certain circumstance), but Mitchell keeps the character consistent and true to life.

If you’re not familiar with these ball & banquet-type stories, I think this is definitely an excellent introduction to the genre. If you’re nervous about reading a CBA book, I’ll let you know that the ‘Christian’ side of things in this novel is subtle and, in truth, not overtly present. I think one quick conversation mentions God, and there’s a moment of reflection, but there isn’t a drawn-out evangelistic scene, or random changes of heart, or anything that feels out of place or forced. It’s simply comparable to any novel where a character has a moment of reflection about her beliefs, and I commend Mitchell for keeping her novel realistic but still within the boundaries of CBA-approved storytelling.

And I also learned a lot about corsets, pessaries (WOW), and how our image-driven culture is simply a continuation of the obsessions and mistakes of generations before…

In Conclusion…

This is where I often say “it’s good for church libraries” and leave it at that… but in this case, I can tell you that I already have several friends and family members that I plan to recommend this book to, and it’s one that I’ll gladly keep on my shelf and possibly re-read in the future. I can’t speak to its contribution to the genre as a whole — as I’ve said, I’m new to this kind of book — but from a newcomer’s perspective, it was certainly worth the read. And on the strength of this novel’s writing, I plan to pick up more of Mitchell’s work in the future!

P.S. Want to know more about the book? Here’s a FAQ sheet with the author that’s worth a look!

Available now at your favorite bookseller from Bethany House,

a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Yes, it’s that time again! Blog touuuuur!!! Courtesy of Graf-Martin Communications, as always. Don’t you just love it when publishers give their authors chances like this, to have their books read by people in the blogosphere and spread the news of their work by word of mouth? I honestly wish I’d gotten into reviewing books a long time ago… I’ve always been a voracious reader, but it’s just so satisfying to share the excitement of a great book with others, or even just discuss the likes/dislikes in a respectful, informed manner…

But, enough reminiscing! You’re here for the blog tour, so we’ll get right to it. There are two books this month, and I’ll start with the one I liked least first, and save the best for last (that’s tomorrow!).

Without further ado, I give you…

Sixteen Brides – Stephanie Grace Whitson

Summary (from the publisher):

In 1872, sixteen Civil War widows living in St. Louis respond to a series of meetings conducted by a land speculator who lures them west by promising “prime homesteads” in a “booming community.” Unbeknownst to them, the speculator’s true motive is to find an excuse to bring women to the fledging community of Plum Grove, Nebraska, in hopes they will accept marriage proposals shortly after their arrival!

Sparks fly when these unsuspecting widows meet the men who are waiting for them. These women are going to need all the courage and faith they can muster to survive these unwanted circumstances–especially when they begin to discover that none of them is exactly who she appears to be.

My Thoughts…

Well! I thought this certainly sounded like an intriguing premise… and I looked forward to a lot of strong-willed women trying to duke it out amongst themselves in the wild West. And for the most part, that’s what happened, so I was rather pleased: the women were strong, emotional, capable, but flawed. Yes, that’s right — they were realistically portrayed, and for the amount of women that Whitson had to focus on over the course of the story, it was extremely well done!

From a writer’s perspective, telling the story from the perspective of FIVE main characters is an extremely risky and difficult move, but Whitson pulled it off with skill. They each had their own very strong but distinct voice, and if I ever meet Whitson in person, I’d love to congratulate her on handling it so well.

However… and I hate to say this because the author managed her material so well… the story really did seem to drag during the final third of the book. After several hundred pages of getting the women there, having the love stories get set up and the problems progress, I was ready to resolve everything and be done with it. I think several of the sub-plots simply dragged on too long, and she could have ended the book about a hundred pages earlier without losing anything.

That said, this is the kind of historical fiction that you’ll enjoy if you like this kind of historical — a bit predictable, but entertaining along the journey. For me, I found the inclusion of flaws for each woman to be very refreshing — especially since so many women in the Christian fiction I’ve read recently have been so nearly perfect that I’ve wanted to scream (as you know if you’ve read my previous reviews).

Again, this is one for the church library — but you might as well read it first! You may not love it, and you may find the story drags a bit, but you have to at least admire the skill with which Whitson follows FIVE main characters through the whole novel. Why not give it a try?

Available now at your favorite bookseller from Bethany House,

a division of Baker Publishing Group

Heartless – Anne Elisabeth Stengl (Available July 1st, 2010)

From the Back Cover…

The Dragon King Seeks His Princess– Who Dares to Stop Him? Princess Una of Parumvir has come of age and will soon marry. She dreams of a charming prince, but when her first suitor arrives, he’s not what she’d hoped. Prince Aethelbald of mysterious Farthestshore has travelled a great distance to prove his love–and also to bring hushed warnings of danger. A dragon is rumored to be on the hunt and blazing a path of terror.

Una, smitten instead with a more dashing prince, refuses Aethelbald’s offer–and ignores his cautions with dire consequences. Soon the Dragon King himself is in Parumvir and Una, in giving her heart away unwisely, finds herself in his sights. Only those courageous enough to risk everything have a hope of fighting off this advancing evil.

My Thoughts…

After reading the rather cliched back cover copy, I approached this book with skepticism… I hoped it wouldn’t be that bad, but I kept putting off reading it because I didn’t want to start yet another mediocre fantasy and have to write a lukewarm review on another ER book.

Honestly, it didn’t start well… it was a bit slow, the writing style was in that vague, flow-y fantasy vein that tends to annoy me to no end (why can’t the author just SPEAK PLAINLY?!), and the plot seemed rather generic.

So, imagine my surprise when, in the second half of the book, I became extremely invested in the characters, the plot, and the world that Stengl created. In fact, I read the entire book in one sitting… I think I got up once to refill my tea mug.

The book has its weaknesses: the heroine is a bit underdeveloped, and the love story feels somewhat contrived. But it also has its strengths: the way dragons are born was unexpected and unique, and the hero (and his rival) are rather interesting on their own terms.

One thing to note is, I spent the first two thirds of the book waiting for the ‘Christian’ part of the book to happen… it’s published as a CBA book, which usually means some form of evangelism will appear at least for a few pages (even in the rare CBA fantasy novels), and imagine my delight when I realized that… it wasn’t coming. There wasn’t going to be a forced ‘Christianese’ aspect to the world, rather, the book simply reflected a Christian worldview and let the story stand on its own as a well written, interesting fantasy novel.

I will say that I don’t think the book will be for everyone. I’m also not entirely sure how this is going to develop as a series, which is clearly the author’s intent — I think it does well as a stand-alone.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through LibraryThing.com’s ER program.

Kaleidoscope - Patsy Clairmont

Clairmont’s newest book is a devotional-style offering, presenting short chapters (ideal for busy women) that reflect on specific passages in Proverbs. The chapters address everything from fear to friendship to anxiety, using Clairmont’s trademark lighthearted approach to subjects that might normally bog down a book like this.

It’s certainly an easy read, and the kind of book that I would recommend as a gift to a female Christian friend or relative — particularly someone who’s having difficulty seeing the lighter side of life and needs some reassurance that God is in control. However, be forewarned that it doesn’t contain the same amount of humor that many of us have some to expect from Clairmont — but then, the book isn’t really meant to be funny, so from that angle it makes sense.

Above all, it’s an easy read and Clairmont’s anecdotes give the book a friendly, earthy tone — like you’re meeting a girlfriend for coffee and chatting about life and how God fits into it.

No, it’s not the best book available on the topic, but it does what it sets out to do, and it does it well. Like I said, it would make an excellent gift — but buy it early so you have a chance to read it first.

I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Who doesn’t love VeggieTales? It’s been a long time since I sat down and watched a whole VeggieTales DVD from start to finish… and after watching this new installment — Pistachio: The Little Boy That Woodn’t – I’m sorry it took me this long to start watching them again!

Synopsis (from publisher):

Once upon a time in the small Italian town of Bologna-Salami, there lived a lonely toymaker named Gelato and his assistant Cricket. Gelato had no children he could call his own, so one day he decided to carve a little boy out of wood. Imagine Gelato’s surprise when he learned that this little toy boy could walk… and talk… and definitely had a mind of his own!

Like the little lost sheep who strays from the fold, Pistachio decides to try things his way and lands in a “whale” of a situation! Will Pistachio learn that obeying the wisdom of a loving father will help him find what he really needs and could be the key to saving his whole family from becoming fish food? Find out in this all new VeggieTales adventure with a lesson about the importance of family and listening to your parents.

My Thoughts:

With the series’ trademark humor that spans generations, this latest installment in the VeggieTales franchise does what it sets out to do: entertain while teaching an important life truth.

The animation is as good as always, and I particularly liked the sidekick characters: Cricket (not a cricket) and the three ducklings. Mind you, the ducklings seemed pretty random — why did the toymaker care for ducks? and how did that add to the story? it didn’t… — but they added some laughs and upped the ‘cute’ factor in general.

Admittedly, I’m not sure how successful the story was at conveying its message, but I think that part is really up to the parents or caretakers afterward… this is the kind of thing I would gladly show to my friends’ kids and discuss with them afterward, in order to emphasize and reinforce the message about the importance of listening to your parents.

In Conclusion…

If it’s been awhile since you watched a VeggieTales, how come? Although this particular story didn’t have as many laughs as some of the earlier tales (we’re talking 6+ years since I watched one, here…), the quality of the films certainly hasn’t suffered, if this one was any indication, and I am determined to track down the DVDs I’ve missed over the years and watch them… purely for my own enjoyment

Whether it’s for your church library, your own family, the children of friends or relatives, or even for yourself, Pistachio is a well-crafted addition to the VeggieTales library. And with a good message to boot!

DVD has been provided courtesy of David C Cook and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available now at your local Christian retailer.

Can you believe it’s the end of March already? Talk about a month flying by… seems like just last week I was writing up the February tour reviews.

Anyway, this month I have one book and one DVD to share with you! Today we’ll take a look at the book, and next Monday we’ll talk about the DVD.

So… onward!

Hearts Awakening: A Novel – Delia Parr (www.deliaparr.com)

Synopsis (from the publisher):

Happy End-of-February! To warm you up on this snowy weekend, I have a review for book #3, the final book in our February Blog Tour, courtesy of the fine people over at Graf-Martin Communications Inc. and Baker/Revell books.

The final book is the one that I was least looking forward to reading, initially… and found myself both surprised and thrilled to find that not only did I love the book, but I might even go so far as to put in on my list of memorable reads for the year. Got your curiosity piqued? Here it is…

Beguiled: A Novel – Deenne Gist & J. Mark Bertrand

Synopsis (from promo materials):

In the shadows of Charleston, someone is watching her…

Rylee Monroe, a dogwalker in Charleston’s wealthiest neighborhood, never feared the streets at night. But now a thief is terrorizing the area and worse, someone seems to be targeting her.

Reporter Logan Woods is covering the break-ins with the hope of publishing them as a true-crime book. The more he digs, the more he realizes this beguiling dogwalker seems to be at the center of everything.

As danger draws ever closer, Logan must choose: Chase the girl, the story, or plunge into the shadows after the villain who threatens everything?

My Thoughts:

This romantic suspense has something over so many other romantic suspense novels out there these days: It benefits from both a man & a woman’s writing perspective, drawing on the strengths of both authors, and it shows. Gist is an established romance novelist, and Bertrand is a debut novelist with a crime-thriller background, which means that both the romance AND the thriller/suspense aspects of the book come across strong. Too often this genre offers up books that suffer in one of the two areas simply because of the limitations of the author, but this co-authorship in particular did exactly what it set out to do.

The main character, Rylee, is likable and quirky, and I was thrilled to see a protagonist with an unusual job… plus, I love animals, so I was able to connect with her passions in that area very quickly. I also found her to be very well-rounded as a character, with good elements and evident flaws that gave her a realism I haven’t seen in recent books (*cough*BellaRossi*cough*).

The love interest thankfully took a realistic amount of time to develop, and even then wasn’t a sure thing. The reactions & actions of the main character and love interest were also realistic for people who are interested in each other — rather than trying to hide behind a facade of “proper” Christianese, the characters are human, with human reactions and emotions. I greatly appreciated this, and I really wish more Christian authors remembered that just being a Christian doesn’t mean you won’t struggle with temptations, tough decision and troublesome emotions… and that you won’t always make the right choice, because regardless of what you believe, we’re all human.

Back to the plot… enough questions were raised and answered in the first half of the book to not frustrate a reader, while also keeping other answers hidden until the twist at the end. The tone & pacing of the book was exacted with definite skill, alternating between lighthearted fun and intense mystery without feeling contrived, and even the inclusion of Christian material (ie. the spiritual journey of the characters) felt natural and normal.

My only concern was that the person who turned out to be the ‘bad guy’ in the end was a bit too obvious early on. I don’t want to say much more in case you read it and my comments spoil things for you, but I was a bit disappointed in that regard. Mind you, the twist turned out to be a lot more complicated than I expected, so that sort of made up for it.

In Conclusion…

What can I say? The book surprised me, in a very good way. I sincerely hope that these authors team up together in the future, and I might even be open to reading more from each author individually.

Definitely recommended. You can read an excerpt here!

Available now from your favorite bookseller from Bethany House,

a division of Baker Publishing Group.

It’s that time again! Today we have post #2 for the February Blog Tour, courtesy of the fine people over at Graf-Martin Communications Inc. and Baker/Revell books.

This month I have 3 books to share with you, all very different from each other: one book I thought I would enjoy and didn’t (see Tuesday’s post), one book I thought might be decent and was (that’s today!), and one book I initially wasn’t sure about but LOVED. Of course, we’re going to save  the best for last, so come back tomorrow for the third and final stop on the February Blog Tour.

Today we have historical fiction…

Abigail (Wives of King David, #2) – Jill Eileen Smith

Synopsis (from the promo materials):

My Thoughts:

Once again, this was the second book in a series for which I hadn’t read the first book… but in this case, it didn’t really matter. You can read this one as a stand-alone because, quite simply, it’s Biblical Fiction. If you know the story of King David (or even if you don’t, really), the book can stand alone because it focuses on a different part of David’s life.

That said, I expected the book to be decent and readable, and it was. Smith is authoritative in her writing, and does an excellent job of capturing the spirit of this historical period. She has a lot of detail to work with (head on over to Ye Olde Bible and have a read of the original story!) and manages to convey both character and story in a way that’s true to the Scriptures but new enough to compel the reader to keep reading.

The unfortunate side of things for me is that I recently took several Seminary classes on the Old Testament/Pentateuch, so the material was too fresh in my mind to be able to really enjoy the book the way I think I might have, had I not been quite as familiar with the storyline. Mind you, even if you’re really familiar with the story of David and his wives, but enjoy historical fiction of this variety (“Biblical fiction” , in other words), Abigail would be a good choice. If you want, head out and grab Michal and start there, as I’m sure it’s just as compelling as this book (if not moreso… I was always more curious about Michal, so I’m interested in seeing how Smith approaches her story… yes, that means I’ll probably read it in the near future).

My primary complaint is that a significant amount of time was spent telling the story from David’s point of view. I know that it’s important to have multiple POVs if you’re writing in third person (another note: I would be very interested in seeing this tackled from Abigail’s first person perspective, but I suspect that can get tricky with Biblical fiction as people are nervous about diving into someone’s brain and adding thoughts when there isn’t clear Scriptural evidence for certain attitudes, etc.), but I found that having so much narrative from David’s POV cluttered up the story and weakened it at points.

Yes, there probably isn’t enough material to write just about Abigail, and yes, I know that David’s story isn’t complete without his side of things (after all, he’s the central figure in the original account) but the story is called Abigail in a series about the Wives of King David. I would have liked to see more about her daily routine, her interactions with other women, that sort of thing. Yes, I know David feels guilty, but why do we need to see him every second chapter? We know his story. We’ve read it in the Bible. What we want to see now is the women’s side of things! Isn’t that why you’d pick up a book with this kind of title?

I realize there are likely fears about diving too much into the speculative aspect of things, especially when dealing with historical characters, but I think we have more than enough information about this time period to be able to derive some kind of thesis as to how the women spent their days and probably how they felt about each other.

In Conclusion…

Abigail is a well written, highly readable book. I didn’t love it, but that was purely my own fault due to my closeness with the material — but I liked it, and recommend it to others. If you enjoy historical fiction, this is a good choice, and it’s the kind of thing you can pass on to a non-Christian friend very easily. I don’t think you have to be a Christian to enjoy this book (due to the time period & the author’s approach to the story) and I think it would make a great study group choice — the kind of thing you could use to complement a study of David’s story in the Scriptures. There’s lots to talk about and muse over… I just wish that we saw a bit more of the women’s side of things, in the end.

Interested? Here’s a little excerpt for you to try out and see if you might like it!

Available now from your favorite bookseller from Revell,

a division of Baker Publishing Group.

It’s that time again! The February Blog Tour, courtesy of the fine people over at Graf-Martin Communications Inc. and Baker/Revell books.

This month there are 3 books to share with you, all very, very different. We have one book that I thought I would enjoy and didn’t, one book I thought might be decent and was, and one book I wasn’t really sure about and LOVED. Of course, we’re going to save the best for last, so come back later this week to see which one was my favorite (and might go on my list of memorable reads for the year!).

We’ll start things off with a contemporary romance…

Swinging on a Star (Weddings by Bella, Book 2) – Janice Thompson

Synopsis:

Life is good for Bella Rossi: She’s managing her family’s wedding business and has a Renaissance wedding to plan for a client, her aunt is about to be featured on the Food Network, and her charming boyfriend D.J. is everything she’s dreamed of… what could go wrong? For one, the best man at the wedding is one of Hollywood’s biggest (and hottest) stars, and to avoid the paparazzi he has to stay at her family’s home. To make matters even more awkward, he seems to be showing an interest in Bella.

From a starstruck sister to a feuding aunt and uncle, Bella has a lot on her plate. Will the wedding simply end in disaster, or will Bella make it through in one piece?

My Thoughts:

I chose this book to review because the press release said it was a “hilarious romantic comedy” that will “appeal to fans of Kristin Billerbeck”. If you’ve been around this blog long enough, you know I’m absolutely a fan of Billerbeck’s writing, so this book sounded like something I’d definitely enjoy — lighthearted, fun, charming, romantic…

With all due apologies to the author, I have to admit, I found the book neither hilarious nor romantic. Since I haven’t read the first book, maybe I was missing out on some character background that I needed to really get into the story, but it felt as though the romance element got all used up in the first book, leaving nothing left for this one. Bella already had her boyfriend, case closed. He’s perfect, charming, lovable, and all around the perfect guy.

Well, when the “Hollywood hunk” appeared on scene (note: another problem I had with this book was dated language… for as young as Bella is supposed to be, she talked like a middle-aged woman sometimes… it was a little jarring, to say the least), the synopsis material made it sound like THIS was going to be where the conflict and romance kicked in. A celebrity taking interest in the main character! Temptation and seduction! (Er, in a “Christian fiction” kind of way, of course.) Here’s where things are going to blow up!

…but it’s kind of hard to relate to a main character who is so perfect that she feels guilty talking to another man. Are you kidding me? In one scene at a play, she’s talking to the Hollywood star and senses that her boyfriend is annoyed at her… for talking to a guest at her home? So, what, she’s never allowed to talk to another attractive man in her life? Not only that, but the implied romantic interest he has in Bella never actually materializes, beyond him smiling flirtatiously across the dinner table… that kind of thing.

I was very disappointed by this — I felt like this major plot point was set up and then abandoned, due to the overwhelming virtuousness of the main character. Her struggles (oh no, he smiled at me! I must be unfaithful!) felt contrived, like a real effort had to be made to have anything wrong with her (there wasn’t), and ultimately I couldn’t connect with the character at all. Bella Rossi isn’t an ‘everywoman’, rather she’s the kind of model Christian that makes other women feel bad about themselves and ultimately hate her for it. I’m not saying I hated Bella (I’m not THAT cruel), but I just couldn’t connect with her character and felt more annoyed with her than anything else.

Look, I’m married. I’m faithful to my husband, and he’s a jealous man (as husbands tend to be). But do I feel awful and horrible and start to think infidelity metaphors apply to me when I talk to another man that I find visually appealing? NO! There’s no reason to feel guilty. The issue would arise if I started thinking about another man, fantasizing about him or dwelling on thoughts of someone who isn’t my husband. Good grief. One five-second daydream and Bella reacts with an intensity as if she’s slept with the guy (okay, maybe not THAT bad). Talk about overreacting.

In Conclusion…

So the book wasn’t for me. That’s clear. But let me say this: Janice Thompson has written a lot of books in her career, which means that she has a lot of fans out there. She’s a recognized name in the Christian fiction community, and just because I didn’t like the book doesn’t mean that you won’t. I’m serious! I’ve recently read several reviews of this book on other book blog sites, and those readers enjoyed the story (though the issue of Bella’s perfection tends to come up in those reviews as well…).

BUT… and this is a big one… I’ve also read that Thompson’s development of Bella in the THIRD BOOK in the series is very different. This is from the author herself! Evidently Bella goes through a lot of tough places in book three, and is forced to evaluate herself and her relationships, and we’ll see a lot of growth from her as an individual. That’s a good sign, and I think it might actually entice me to read book three once it comes out.

Like I said, Thompson’s work is well known, so if you traditionally enjoy her books or other Christian contemporary fiction books, you’ll probably find something to enjoy here as well. Don’t let my qualms scare you off completely.

To help you make the choice for yourself, here’s a link (LINKY!) to a pdf excerpt from the book. Read it, and decide for yourself if this is something you’d like to read. It can be read without book one, but maybe going back to the first book would make a difference in how you perceive the characters in this one. It’s worth a shot!

Available now from your favorite bookseller from Revell,

a division of Baker Publishing Group.