Mathia's Quilt

"The Doctor's Christmas Quilt" by Kathy Mathias is the story of Laura, a staunch Pro-lifer and physician who's views are tested when her daughter, Megan, a med student, becomes pregnant. Can she practice what she preaches? The author keeps the night of conception a little vague.  Alex, the self-centered and egocentric boyfriend, may have date-raped Megan or there may have been a lot of begging and pleading with a little coercion.  The lines can get blurry, and this one is blurry. Leaving Laura even further tested in her beliefs. 
This is a very well written story entangling, abortion, forgiveness, rape, and spiritual growth.  The author discusses the abortion issue without beating the reader over the head with it.  She shows that even the most dedicated stance can waver when life rears its ugly head.  The characters are all fairly well developed.  Mathias even brings clarity to the Alex character showing both the immaturity and the kindness.  I loved this book and hated to see it end.  I received this book for free from www.bookfun.org in exchange for an honest review.

sooner or later

"God'll Cut You Down" by John Safran is a real life crime story about a white supremacist, a black hustler, a murder, and a whole lotta sides.  "God'll" is the telling of the story in the time of the writing of the book adventure. Safran, an Australian Jew, travels to Mississippi to research the story of Richard Barrett, a white supremacist, who has some sort of relationship with Vincent McGee, a black 20 something repeat offender.  Vincent murders Richard, whether it was a lover's spat or a employee abuse gone wrong, or a race inspired murder, no one knows.  That is what Safran is trying to find out.  All are possibilities.
This is a captivating book.  The murder never really makes much sense, but I imagine most don't.  Strangely, this book is actually pretty funny.  I like how the author spins the story making even the racial tension in the south be amusing.  The further into the book the author goes the less amusing it gets and the more tense it gets.  The murder mystery has more layers than a ogre. I highly recommend this book.  This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review from First to Read. 

Breaking up is hard to do

"Breaking the Rules" by Melinda Curtis is a break-up/getting back together novella about Jack, an NBA team owner, and Viv, his angry, capable soon to be ex-wife.  Viv has finally gotten Jack to sign the divorce papers, claiming that he doesn't love her.  However, Jack has cooked up some plans of his own.  He has locked the two of them in a safe room for a 12 hour "cooling period".  This novella is a quick and sexy read.  There is some steaminess.  Not too much so that it gets uncomfortable to read, but you wouldn't want your preteen to get a hold of the book either.  The writing is good, the sex is good, the romance is good.  The only bad part is that Jack falls while in the safe room and re-injures his spine leaving him temporarily paralyzed.  The weird part is that the whole time Viv can't get sex off of her mind.  I'd be freaking out myself.  I might have left that part out or explained it a little better.  However, as far as romances go, I'd give it a whirl if I were you.  I received this book for free in exchange for an honest interview from The Sweet Team. 

Christmas with the Robertsons Giveaway winners!

The winners of Miss Kay's first fictional book is.......... Kenny Messick and bookpsycho!  I will mail your books to you this week.

keepers covenant review

Lynn Austin's "Keepers of the Covenant" is book 2 of the Restoration Chronicles.  The two books do not need to be read in order, though they are written in a chronological order.  In this novel Austin follows the Queen Esther story, only without the Esther part playing too much of an aspect in the story.  The book follows what were the rest of the Jews doing?  In case you are unfamiliar with the story:  The king's right hand man had convinced him to kill all of the Jews in the kingdom. 
I liked this book better than the first.  No real reason that I can explain, but it just interested me more.  Austin seemed a little more comfortable in her writing on this subject.  She writes on several different characters.  There are the three brothers and their families; then she also includes the sword maker and his family.  To complete the story she also includes the Jews' enemies point of view and their families.  Ironically, I had just finished a novel about Jews in Nazi Austria in Concentration camps.  The similarities were startling.  Since both were fictional tellings, I am not sure how much was true and how much was tradition.  But it just goes to show how easy greed is to use as leverage.  Good story.  I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review from Bethany House Publishers. 

spoken for review

"Spoken For: Embracing Who You Are and Whose You Are" by Robin Jones Gunn and Alyssa Joy Bethke is a non fiction work giving a different perspective about a woman's relationship with God.  the usual relationship that is mentioned in most churches is that of Him being our Father.  This book looks at things a bit differently.  The two women take turns sharing points in their lives that they have had relationship woes and successes with men and how it enhances their relationship with God.  They see it and explain it as God being a husband.  At the end of each chapter are "thinking questions" that the reader can use for discussion or reflection.  There is a lot of scripture quoted as well.
I totally embrace this view of God as our "husband" rather than a father figure.  My father had a temper that wouldn't quit, so seeing God as a father really wasn't a relationship I wanted to get to deep in to.  I can view Him much clearer as a husband.  The writing is great and the women really relate to the reader (provided she is a woman).  I can't see how a man would be able to relate to this book, but the writing will relate to women.  I highly recommend this book to women groups and women looking for a good daily read.  It is a quick read and easy to follow.  I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review from www.bloggingforbooks.com. 

butterfly and violin review

"The Butterfly and the Violin" by Kristy Cambron is a fictional telling of Adele, a young woman whose father is a general in the Third Reich in Austria during WWII, and Sera, an art gallery owner in present day New York.  Sera has fallen in love with a painting of a young woman playing a violin with a prisoner tattoo.  She begins a quest to find the original painting and all that she can about Adele.  This leads her to William, the grandson of the man who sent Sera the copy.  The two begin a romance as they deepen their search.  Adele is the woman in the painting that Sera is searching for.  Adele is in the throws of a forbidden romance with a merchant's son and is helping to hide Jews from the Nazis.  Her father ultimately finds out and has her put into the prison system for "reeducation." 
This novel is both mystery and romance.  It is a really well written novel that leaves the reader thinking about it all of the time. Neither couple takes over the book and both are equally appealing.  I enjoyed watching Adele mature though hated to read how it was done.  I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review from www.booklookbloggers.com.