Sunday, July 27, 2014

critical condition review

"Critical Condition" by Richard Mabry is a murder mystery that keeps you turning the pages.  Shannon is a doctor that has PTSD from the shooting and killing of her boyfriend when she had just begun medical school ten years ago.  Currently Shannon's sister, Megan, has come to live with Shannon.  Megan is an addict that is nothing been trouble.  One day before she shows up to live with Shannon, a man is shot on Shannon's lawn.  Two days after that, Megan's former live-in boyfriend is shot as well.  Coincidence?  The police don't think so.  Megan appears to be in this up to her eyeballs.  While all this is unfolding, Mark, Shannon's 'almost-fiance', is being supportive, but just how much is a man supposed to take?
This is some good writing.  Mabry is an MD himself, so the medical world in the book has a very realistic feel to it.  Anyone with "that relative" will completely understand the Megan saga.  Including the "why is Shannon taking all of this" feeling that keeps playing.  The characters are great and the creep factor won't let go.  I recommend this book.  I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review from www.booklook.com

Saturday, July 26, 2014

major's daughter review

"The Major's Daughter" by JP Francis is the story of two young women during World War II.  Collie is a Major's daughter living at a POW camp at a logging site.  Elle is her best friend who has fallen in love with an Indian (Eastern) man.  Collie has fallen for a German soldier.  Both girls must decide whether they should follow their hearts and try to live with the differences between them and their love or should they marry the easy options that are available to them. 
This is a wonderfully written book.  The characters are so clear.  The reader becomes invested in the characters lives.  The novel is not just a romance, though it is that.  The story also exposes the history of POWs living in America.  The story is played out and consequences are examined.  There are scenes in the book that get stuck in the readers head.  For instance, when August, Collie's soldier, has a dance with a young friend of Collie's, but they are several feet away from each other and there is a fence between the two!  Pure classic.  I really liked this book and recommend it highly.  5 stars.

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

remember the alamo stanley

The 10th Flat Stanley World Wide Adventures book "Showdown at the Alamo" by Jeff Brown follows Stanley on vacation to Texas with his brother Arthur  to see his friends, Carlos and Eduardo.  The book not only follows him on adventures in Texas and teaches the reader about Texas, but also shares Stanley's feelings about becoming famous and all that goes with it.  This book is written by a different author that the creator of Flat Stanley.  The writing is in a simpler form aimed at readers between the ages of 6-10.  I read this with by 9 year old and it was at about her reading level as well as her understanding.  She liked the book fine.  She had done the Flat Stanley thing where you mail him to someone during the school year.  So she was already familiar with him.   She gave it 3 stars.

call to arms review

"Call to Arms" by PG Nagle is a historical novel about Emma, a woman who to avoid the oppression of being born female in the 19th century, dresses as a man.  In doing so, she is able to choose a profession, get an education, decide who and if she will marry, and be her own person.  However, with the outbreak of the Civil War, she must take the bad with the good.  Social pressure to join the military causes Emma "Frank" to sign up for the army and serve primarily in the hospitals.
This book has an interesting story line.  There is intrigue and action.  The author enables the modern woman to empathize with the oppression of Emma when she is forced to marry by her father to a much older man. The author goes back and forth between the war and twenty years later when Emma is trying to get her military benefits.  This seems to slow down the storyline.   I still give it 3 stars.  I received this book for free from librarything.com. 

Friday, July 18, 2014

beloved daughter review

"The Beloved Daughter" by Alana Terry is an amazing book.  "Beloved Daughter" is the letter from a mother to her daughter, not knowing if she will ever see her infant daughter again.  Chung-Cha lives in North Korea and is from a Christian family.  Her family is arrested when she is 12 and she spends 9 years in prison.  After she escapes she becomes a part of the underground church. 
This book is fiction, so I am unsure how much of this is fact and how much is fiction as far as politics in Korea is concerned, but the whole book reads like an autobiography.  It is an amazingly written novel that leaves the reader personally involved.  The hard part to remember is that it takes place in modern times. The reader will be reading along and than be jarred when the characters mention a cell phone.   The oppression of the North Koreans is staggering to the American eye.  Loyalty to the Party is demanded at all times including any type of religion.  There are children being born in the prisons and they spend their whole lives there!  I have never read a book about women in another country and not been utterly grateful that I was born in the US.  This book only re-establishes that belief.  I give it five stars.  I received this book from the author through goodreads.com in exchange for an honest review.

Thursday, July 10, 2014

the truth shall set you free

Amelia is the heroine in Carol Cox's "Truth Be Told."  It is the 1890's in Arizona and Amelia's parents are separated.  Though an adult, she spends most of the year with her socialite mother in Denver and the summers in Arizona with her father.  When she arrives that summer, she finds her father deathly ill and having a battle of words with Great Western, a hydraulic mining company, that has moved into the area.  Shortly after Amelia arrives, her father dies and the battle of words turns physical.  With her mother immediately remarrying and her step father being a bit handsy, Amelia decides to stay and finish where her father left off.  Ben works for Great Western and has been assigned to spy/befriend Amelia.  The two together begin to discover what the truth is.  And it isn't anywhere near what they suspected!
This is a nice light hearted historical fiction.  It is an easy read.  Good for when there is a lot going on.  I do like how even though it is historical, it isn't over the top innocent as some historical Christian fiction can be.  Amelia is tough and smart.  Savy if you will.  Nice read.  I received this book in exchange for an honest review from Bethany House Publishing.