Book Review

The Mason Jar by James Russell Lingerfelt

Book ReviewThe Mason Jar by James Russell Lingerfelt was a sweet book.  This is a book that I wasn’t sure how I was going to like it but I have to say it was a sweet story.  This one was different for me to read because it is basically told from the male point of view and that is a nice change from the books I usually read.  This author has an amazing way of writing.  I can’t put my finger on what I loved so much about it but I didn’t want to put the book down and I was sad when it was over.  There are very few books that I would read over again and this is one of them.  If you are looking for a sweet story make sure you check this one out.

The Mason JarAbout The Book

What if your old college roommate called, raving about a book someone sent her, calling it the most beautiful book she’s ever read? “But,” she said, “it’s about you.” The author is your college ex.

In The Mason Jar, Clayton Fincannon is a Tennessee farm boy raised at the feet of his grandfather. He and his grandfather leave letters for each other in a Mason jar on his grandfather’s desk—letters of counsel and affirmation. When Clayton attends college in Southern California, he meets and falls in love with a dark debutante from Colorado. However, when an unmentioned past resurrects in her life and she leaves, Clayton is left with unanswered questions.

Clayton goes on to serve as a missionary in Africa, while he and his grandfather continue their tradition of writing letters. When Clayton returns home five years later to bury his grandfather, he searches for answers pertaining to the loss of the young woman he once loved. Little does Clayton know, the answers await him in the broken Mason jar.

A story about a girl who vanished, a former love who wrote a book about her, and a reunion they never imagined.

Written for the bruised and broken, The Mason Jar is an inspirational romance that brings hope to people who have experienced disappointment in life due to separation from loved ones. With a redemptive ending that encourages us to love again and written in the fresh, romantic tones of Nicholas Sparks, The Mason Jar interweaves the imagery of Thoreau with the adventures and climatic family struggles common toDances with Wolves, A River Runs Through It, and Legends of the Fall.

James Russell LingerfeltAbout The Author

James Russell Lingerfelt is the author of The Mason Jar and writes articles for The Huffington Post. James connects with readers at his blog, Love Story from the Male Perspective, and divides his time between Southern California and his family’s ranch in Alabama.

Find James online: website, Facebook, Twitter

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Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2014 Margaret Margaret

Where Treetops Glisten

Book ReviewWhere Treetops Glisten was an amazing book.   This book was the best of two types of  books that I love to read.  It takes place during WWII & it is also is a collection of 3 short stories written by 3 different authors.  It also helps that I love all three of the authors in this book so reading it was great.  I am not going to get into the stories  but this such a sweet book and perfect for the holiday season.  This book will leave you smiling and wanting more.  I do wish that the stories would have been a whole book because I did love each of them and wanted to read more about them.  If you are looking for a heart warming story to read during the holidays than this is the book for you!

Where Treetops GlistenAbout The Book

The crunch of newly fallen snow, the weight of wartime

Siblings forging new paths and finding love in three stories, filled with the wonder of Christmas

Turn back the clock to a different time, listen to Bing Crosby sing of sleigh bells in the snow, as the realities of America’s involvement in the Second World War change the lives of the Turner family in Lafayette, Indiana.

In Cara Putman’s White Christmas, Abigail Turner is holding down the Home Front as a college student and a part-time employee at a one-of-a-kind candy shop. Loss of a beau to the war has Abigail skittish about romantic entanglements—until a hard-working young man with a serious problem needs her help.

Abigail’s brother Pete is a fighter pilot hero returned from the European Theater in Sarah Sundin’s I’ll Be Home for Christmas,trying to recapture the hope and peace his time at war has eroded. But when he encounters a precocious little girl in need of Pete’s friendship, can he convince her widowed mother that he’s no longer the bully she once knew?

In Tricia Goyer’s Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Meredith Turner, “Merry” to those who know her best, is using her skills as a combat nurse on the frontline in the Netherlands. Halfway around the world from home, Merry never expects to face her deepest betrayal head on, but that’s precisely what God has in mind to redeem her broken heart.

The Turner family believes in God’s providence during such a tumultuous time. Can they absorb the miracle of Christ’s birth and His plan for a future?

unnamedAbout The Authors

TRICIA GOYER is a prolific author of nearly forty books, including Chasing Mona Lisa, and a speaker and blogger.

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CARA PUTMAN is the author of twenty books includingShadowed by Grace. She is the winner of the 2008 Carol Award for historical fiction.

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SARAH SUNDIN is the critically-acclaimed author of the Wings of the Nightingale series, the Wings of Glory series, and the forthcoming Waves of Freedom novels.

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Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2014 Margaret Margaret

The Sea House by Elisabeth Gifford

Book ReviewThe Sea House by Elisabeth Gifford was a fun book to read.  I am going to say right up front that some people had problems with some language in this book but I personally didn’t see a problem with it.  This book was so different from anything that I have read in awhile that I truly enjoyed all of it.  There were parts that I thought drug on a little longer than they needed to but the overall message of this book made reading through those part so worth it.  I recommend this book to everyone and I hope that you will stick through the slow parts because it is an amazing book.

The Sea HouseAbout the Book

Scotland, 1860

Reverend Alexander Ferguson, naive and newly-ordained, takes up his new parish, a poor, isolated patch on the Hebridean island of Harris. His time on the island will irrevocably change the course of his life, but the white house on the edge of the dunes keeps its silence long after Alexander departs. It will be more than a century before the Sea House reluctantly gives up its secrets. Ruth and Michael buy the grand but dilapidated building and begin to turn it into a home for the family they hope to have. Their dreams are marred by a shocking discovery. The tiny bones of a baby are buried beneath the house; the child’s fragile legs are fused together — a mermaid child. Who buried the bones? And why? Ruth needs to solve the mystery of her new home — but the answers to her questions may lie in her own past.

Based on a real nineteenth-century letter to The Times in which a Scottish clergyman claimed to have seen a mermaid, The Sea House is an epic, sweeping tale of loss and love, hope and redemption, and how we heal ourselves with the stories we tell.

Elisabeth GiffordAbout The Author

Elisabeth Gifford grew up in a vicarage in the industrial Midlands. She studied French literature and world religions at Leeds University. She is the author of The House of Hope: A Story of God’s Love and Provision for the Abandoned Orphans of Chinaand has written articles for The Times and the Independent and has a Diploma in Creative Writing from Oxford OUDCE and an MA in Creative Writing from Royal Holloway College. She is married with three children. They live in Kingston on Thames but spend as much time as possible in the Hebrides.

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Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2014 Margaret Margaret

Life Discarded by D.E. Haggerty

Life Discarded by D.E. Haggerty wasn’t my favorite book.  I believe that has to do with the subject matter and how related able the author made it.  That being said it was a hard book for me to read but at the same time it was well written and a book I am sure that people will love.

Cover 2.0About The Book

Suspense/Thriller
Date Published:September 1, 2014

Why would a woman who has it all throw her life away? Morgan has the perfect life. She married the man of her dreams. Daniel is smart, gorgeous and successful. Everything she has always wanted in a husband and the father of her children. But he’s also domineering, over protective and jealous. Is living with him enough to drive Morgan over the edge? Or does something more treacherous lurk beneath the façade?

D.E. HaggertyAbout The Author

D.E. Haggerty was born and raised in Wisconsin but thinks she’s a European. After spending her senior year of high school in Germany, she developed a bad case of wanderlust that is yet to be cured. After high school she returned to the U.S. to go to college ending up with a Bachelor’s degree in History at the tender age of 20 while still managing to spend time bouncing back and forth to Europe during her vacations. Unable to find a job after college and still suffering from wanderlust, she joined the U.S. Army as a Military Policewoman for 5 years. While stationed in Heidelberg, Germany, she met her future husband, a flying Dutchman. After being given her freedom from the Army, she went off to law school. She finished law school and moved to the Netherlands with her husband and became a commercial lawyer for more than a decade. During a six month break from the lawyering world, she wrote her first book, Unforeseen Consequences. Although she finished the book, she went back to the law until she could no longer take it and upped stakes and moved to Germany to start a B&B. Three years after starting the B&B, she got the itch and decided to pull the manuscript for Unforeseen Consequences out of the attic and get it published as an e-book. Deciding that she may have indeed finally found what she wanted to do with her life, she went on to write Buried Appearances. After moving to Istanbul, she started on Life: Discarded , her third book. Between tennis, running, traveling, singing off tune and reading books like they are going out of style, she writes articles for a local expat magazine and various websites, reviews other indie authors’ books, writes a blog about whatever comes to mind and is working on her fourth book.

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Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2014 Margaret Margaret

Feast For Thieves by Marcus Brotherton

Book ReviewFeast For Thieves by Marcus Brotherton was different from any other book that I have ever read.  It takes place after WWII which by now I am sure you all know is my favorite time period.  This book was so different because of the story line and that made me really love this book even more.  It is refreshing reading a book that doesn’t follow the typical pattern that most books follow.  The one thing about this book that would get on my nerves is the writing.  I know the author wrote how the people would talk but I found myself wanting to correct the characters grammar and things like that.  But that is mainly just a problem with how my head works and not the book.  I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to try a new type of book.

Feast For ThievesAbout The Book

Sergeant Rowdy Slater is the most skilled—and most incorrigible—soldier in Dog Company, 506th PIR, 101st Airborne, an elite group of paratroopers fighting for the world’s freedom in World War II.

Through a bizarre set of circumstances, Rowdy returns to the States after the war, turns his life around, and falls into the only job he can find—preacher at the sparsely populated community church in Cut Eye, Texas, a dusty highway town situated at the midpoint of nowhere and emptiness.

The town’s lawman, suspicious that Rowdy has changed his ways only as a cover up, gives an ultimatum: Rowdy must survive one complete year as Cut Eye’s new minister or end up in jail.

At first Rowdy thinks the job will be easy, particularly because he’s taking over for a young female missionary who’s held the church together while the men were at war. But when a dark-hearted acquaintance from Rowdy’s past shows up with an evil plan to make some quick cash, Rowdy becomes ensnared due to an irrevocable favor, and life turns decidedly difficult.

Rowdy’s a man used to solving problems one of two ways: with his rifle or with his fists. Will he be able to thwart his old friend’s evil schemes while remaining true to his new higher calling?

This is a wild ride of a book bursting with bank robbery, kidnapping, desperate prayers, and barroom brawls. Before the smoke clears, all sides just might end up getting exactly what they want.

 

About-Marcus-photo-682x1024About The Author

Marcus Brotherton is a journalist and professional writer known internationally for his books and literary collaborations with high-profile public figures, humanitarians, inspirational leaders, and military personnel. He has authored or coauthored more than 25 books.

Notable works include We Who Are Alive and Remain, a New York Times bestseller, A Company of Heroes, which ranked No. 1 in the country among World War II/ Western Front books, and the widely-acclaimed Shifty’s War. Marcus’ debut novel, Feast For Thieves, releases in September 2014.

Marcus’ books have been praised by the Wall Street Journal, CNN, MSNBC, Entertainment Weekly, Associated Press, Booklist, Publishers Weekly and more. Critics have called Marcus’s books “… fascinating…” “…brilliantly arranged …” “…magical…” and “… refreshingly frank….”

He has been interviewed by the New York Times, Washington Post, BBC World Today, HuffPost Live, and The John Batchelor Show, and was featured in the documentary film A Company of Heroes, which aired on PBS stations around the country.

Collaborative works include projects with Lt. Buck Compton (one of the original Band of Brothers), apologist Dr. Ravi Zacharias, NFL quarterback Colt McCoy, psychologist Dr. Nancy Heche, fashion journalist Lauren Scruggs, Austin Stone pastor Matt Carter, Bronze Star winner Colonel Susan Luz, Alabama restaurateur Martha Hawkins, humanitarian Susan Scott Krabacher, speaker Dr. Bruce Wilkinson, youth ministry expert Doug Fields, radio show host Steven Arterburn, First Place weight loss program CEO Carole Lewis, musician Tommy Walker, youth speaker Ryan Dobson, university chancellor Rev. Wayne Cordeiro, and more.

Born in Canada in 1968, Marcus earned a bachelor’s degree in biblical education and journalism from Multnomah University in Portland, Oregon, and a master’s degree in practical theology and writing from Talbot Seminary at Biola University in Los Angeles, where he graduated with high honors.

Marcus lives with his wife and children in Washington State.

Hear Marcus speak at the TEDx conference HERE.

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Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2014 Margaret Margaret

Almost Perfect by Orly Krauss-Winer

Book ReviewAlmost Perfect by Orly Krauss-Winer was a hard book for me to get into.  This is usually the genre for books that I love but for some reason I just couldn’t get into this book.  This book had everything that I usually love in a good book but it just wasn’t the right fit for me.  There were parts where I have to keep reading because I wanted to know what happened next and then there were other parts where so was uninterested and I would just skim read the pages.  If you love Mystery/Thrillers I would give this one a shot because I am sure most people would love it.

Almost PerfectAbout The Book

A Saturday off-road outing leads to a burned-out car with a man’s body inside: a young and successful lawyer found dead, with no known enemies.
Three women, all deeply connected in some way to the victim, are swept into the investigation, involving a post-WWII love affair, an embezzlement case, and a brilliant police detective. When the truth is revealed, secrets are exposed – they must all face a difficult, complex, and unexpected reality.

Almost Perfect is a light thriller, which does not require a thorough reading to trace the hidden details. You will find a sophisticated, intriguing story, variety in the narration, and many secondary stories (interesting in themselves), connecting to a harmonious overall picture. It has humanity and longing for warmth and love.
The writer sets her stories in the real world, where the smells, tastes and feelings are known and accessible to the reader. These make the book enjoyable, thrilling, and allow the reader to connect with the characters.

Orly Krauss-WinerAbout The Author

I was born in 1959, in Israel, the eldest child of parents who immigrated from different parts of the world. My father came from Hungary after World War II, and my mother from Uzbekistan, after a long, ten-year journey with her family through the desert, by way of Afghanistan, India, and Sri-Lanka. My sixth book was about my father’s family history, their brave and special story of survival through the Holocaust, and I dedicated my eleventh book to the story of the hardships endured by my mother’s family in the desert.
My love of books goes back to when I was a child; my parents taught me to read at the age of four, and I’ve been a voracious reader ever since. I used to read under my desk at school, and I was kicked out so many times that, in high school, I went straight to the beach in Tel-Aviv with my books, not bothering to stop off at school. Nonetheless, I successfully earned a high school diploma, served in the army, and studied at Tel-Aviv University, for both an undergraduate and a graduate degree.
I worked as a flight attendant for El-Al airlines for seven years, then became a freelance writer for several newspapers. Three years later, based on my experiences and happy memories of those years in the air and the unique lifestyle of the flight crews, l wrote a romantic thriller about three flight attendants. The novel was an overnight success, and topped the bestseller list for weeks.
I’ve since published twelve books, all best sellers in Israel, many based on my personal stories, and those of my family and friends. I currently live in Tel-Aviv with my 21-year-old daughter, Gal, and my partner, Gili.
I write a book a year. My novels are romantic thrillers and historical romances, for the most part based on true stories. Naturally, those written about my family and my life are dear to my heart. On the other hand, I enjoy writing the romantic thrillers more, so it’s hard to say which of my novels I like best. One thing is certain – I thank God every day for granting me the privilege of working at something I love so much.

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Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2014 Margaret Margaret