Sunday, August 19, 2012

Dying to Read by Lorena McCourtney

Cate Kincaid Files Series #1

Cate Kincaid is just dipping her toe into the world of private investigating until one of the many resumes she has floating around lands her a real job. All she has to do is determine that a particular woman lives at a particular address. Simple, right?

When the big and brooding house happens to contain a dead body, this routine PI job turns out to be anything but simple. Is Cate in over her head?


My Review:
Mystery lovers have a new, female sleuth: Cate Kincaid. In addition to her bright mind and her ability to ferret out details, she sometimes trips over clues, but she manages to solve the crimes.

At the beginning of this light-hearted cozy mystery, Cate is grabbing the chance to work in a temporary position of Assistant Private Investigator; after all, it's the only paid job she can find. As she stumbles along, her curiosity takes her places few would venture.

The story is rich in quirky characters. There's the Whodunit book club, a group of middle-aged mystery readers; Willow, a tree hugger, who wins people over with her cooking; Octavia, a blue-eyed, fluffy, white cat who seems to direct Cate; and a hint of romance supplied by a couple of eager young males.

I can't wait for the next Cate Kincaid Files to be published! Thank you to Donna Hausler for my copy.

Available August 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Monday, August 13, 2012

A Sweethaven Homecoming by Courtney Walsh

The Sweethaven Circle is back—and so is the friend they thought they’d never see again!

Country music star Meghan Rhodes has moved on with her life, leaving Sweethaven and its painful memories in the past. But when she is confronted on national television with her ex-husband’s plan to file for sole custody of their twins, Meghan takes the first flight home, back to the charming lakeside town full of regrets and relationships that need mending.

As Meghan searches for forgiveness—as well as the ability to forgive—she is overcome with the need to make things right with her children, her ex-husband, her mother, and even the friends she’d convinced herself she no longer needed. But is she too late?

The Sweethaven Circle is together again as Meghan works with Campbell, Jane, Lila, and Adele begin a new scrapbook for memories yet to be made. Picking up where A Sweethaven Summer left off, A Sweethaven Homecoming explores the strong bonds of friendship, the power of forgiveness, and the importance of unconditional love.


My Review:
This is the second in the series, and I enjoyed revisiting the beach town of Sweethaven. The Circle of friends each wrestle with problems. Meghan, a country music star is the central character. As her agent, Duncan, suggests, the thing she does best is to be a star; Meghan seems to turn everything else into a mess. As an alcoholic, she has a hard time forgiving herself. Sadly, her four-year-old twins no longer recognize her.

Romance blooms aplenty. Marriages are restored.

Journaling and scrapbooking help the characters better understand how to forgive themselves and others. There are some gems of wisdom within these pages.

Thank you to Bonnie at Christian Fiction Blog Alliance and Guideposts for my copy.

If you would like to read the first chapter, click here.

If you would like to buy a copy, click here.

Dr. Dobson's Handbook of Family Advice by Dr. James Dobson


Encouragement and Practical Help for Your Home


Families worldwide seek the godly guidance of respected counselor and internationally recognized radio host Dr. James Dobson. Now in this helpful collection, families young and old have quick access to Dr. Dobson's advice and wisdom to nurture their marriages and children with love, grace, and biblical preparedness.


Through engaging stories and relatable examples, Dr. Dobson helps readers:


  • make family time a priority
  • deal with job and financial pressures
  • forgive and love unconditionally
  • successfully maneuver the tween and teen years
  • share God's love and truths by example

This collection of Dr. Dobson's sought-after expertise and encouraging insights will be referred to many times as families seek leading in vital topics including adolescence, money, marriage, discipline, and much more.


My Review:
If you're a fan of Dr. Dobson, you're going to love this book! Written in a 90-second format that makes pieces of wisdom sharp and to the point, Dr. Dobson has complied commentaries taken from his radio and television programs. Further, they are organized into sensible categories such that when the reader would like enlightenment on a subject, (marriage, teens, or getting older, etc.) all he need do, is turn to the pages of that section.

I think that this book will serve many as an excellent resource for practical help.

Thank you to FirstWildCard and Ginger Chen at Harvest House Publishers for my copy.

And now, the first chapter:


Boundaries


The Security of Boundaries


Children feel more secure, and therefore tend to flourish, when they know where the boundaries are. Let me illustrate that principle.


Imagine you’re driving a car over the Royal Gorge Bridge in Colorado, which is suspended hundreds of feet above the canyon floor. As a first-time traveler, you’re pretty tense as you drive across. It is a scary experience. I knew one little fellow who was so awed by the view over the side of the bridge that he said, “Wow, Daddy! If you fell off of here, it’d kill you constantly!”


Now suppose there were no guardrails on the side of the bridge. Where would you steer the car? Right down the middle of the road. Even though you don’t plan to hit those protective railings along the side, you just feel more secure knowing that they’re there.


It’s the same way with children. There is security in defined limits. They need to know precisely what the rules are and who’s available to enforce them. When these clear boundaries exist at home, the child lives in utter safety. He never gets in trouble unless he deliberately asks for it. And as long as he stays within those reasonable, well-marked guardrails, there’s mirth and freedom and acceptance.


Your children need the security of defined limits, too. They may not admit that they want you to be the boss, but they breathe easier when you are.


Mom’s Football Team


In the late 1960s, the phrase “If it feels good, do it” made its way around the counterculture. It meant, in effect, that a person’s flighty impulses should be allowed to overrule every other consideration. “Don’t think—just follow your heart” was the prevailing attitude. That foolish advice has ruined many gullible people. Those who ignore lurking dangers are casting themselves adrift in the path of life’s storms. We must be prepared to disregard ephemeral feelings at times and govern our behavior with common sense.


Not only can emotions be dangerous—they can also be unreliable and foolish. I’m reminded of a story told by my mother about her high school years. They had one of the worst football teams in the history of Oklahoma. They hadn’t won a game in years. Finally a wealthy oil producer asked to speak to the team in the locker room and offered a brand-new Ford to every boy and to each coach if they would simply defeat their bitter rivals in the next game. The team went crazy. For seven days they thought about nothing but football. They couldn’t even sleep at night. Finally the big night arrived, and the team was frantic with anticipation. They assembled on the sidelines, put their hands together, and shouted, “Rah!” Then they ran onto the field—and were smashed thirty-eight to nothing. No amount of excitement could compensate for the players’ lack of discipline, conditioning, practice, study, coaching, drill, experience, and character. Such is the nature of emotion. It has a definite place in human affairs but is not a substitute for intelligence, preparation, and self-control.


Instead of responding to your impulses, therefore, it is often better to hang tough when you feel like quitting, to guard your tongue when you feel like talking, to save your money when you feel like spending, and to remain faithful when you feel like flirting. Unbridled feelings will get you in trouble nine times out of ten.


So, before you chase after something that simply feels good, you might want to think it over. You could be about to make one of your greatest blunders.


Children and Materialism


It’s not easy to say no to children, especially in an affluent and permissive society. Toy companies are spending millions of dollars on advertising aimed at children—not their parents. They know boys and girls are the very best customers. But by giving in to this pressure, parents may actually deprive their children of pleasure. Here’s why.


Pleasure occurs when an intense need is met. A glass of water is worth more than gold to a person who’s dying of thirst, but it’s worthless to the person who doesn’t need it. That principle applies directly to children. If you never allow a boy or girl to desire something, he or she will not fully enjoy the pleasure of receiving it. If you give him a tricycle before he can walk, and a bike before he can ride, and a car before he can drive, and a diamond ring before he knows the value of money, you may actually have deprived him of the satisfaction he could have received from that possession.


How unfortunate is the child who never has the opportunity to long for something, to dream about that prize by day, and to plot for it by night, perhaps even to get desperate enough to work for it.


Excessive materialism is not only harmful to children—but it deprives them of pleasure, too.


Children and Television


There’s been considerable debate in recent years about television rating systems. That kind of information is desperately needed by parents who want to protect their kids from harmful content, and I’m among those who believe that the present system just doesn’t get the job done.


But even if changes are implemented, there’s a new wrinkle to be considered. Social research conducted by Yankelovich Partners, Inc., has analyzed the television-viewing habits of Americans. What they discovered is surprising. Forty-two percent of children between nine and seventeen have their own cable or satellite television hookups in their bedrooms.  1 The image of families gathered around a single TV set in the family room is fading. Instead, many kids are off by themselves where they can choose anything that they want to see.


Ann Clurman, a partner at Yankelovich, said, “Almost everything children are seeing is essentially going into their minds in some sort of uncensored or unfiltered way.”  2 Considering the explicit sex, violence, nudity, and profanity available now, especially on cable and satellite television, this is a disturbing revelation.


Children need to be protected from adult programming, and yet almost four out of every ten kids have parents who don’t really know what they’re watching. I fear that situation will come back to haunt us for years to come.


Sunday, August 5, 2012

Lethal Legacy by Irene Hannon

Guardians of Justice (Book 3)

The police say her father's death was suicide. But Kelly Warren says it was murder--and she has new evidence that she believes proves it. Detective Cole Taylor doesn't put much credence in her claim, and nothing in his case review suggests foul play. But when Kelly ends up in the emergency room with a suspicious life-threatening medical condition, the incident strikes him as more than just coincidence. Digging deeper, he discovers she's linked to a long-ago crime. Is history repeating itself? Who wants Kelly silenced?

With her trademark high-intensity action and taut suspense, Irene Hannon closes out her Guardians of Justice series with a story of old grudges and budding romance that is sure to increase her substantial fan base.


My Review:
What a compelling read! Irene Hannon knows how people think, and she gets inside the heads of her characters. Early on, the reader can guess the identity of the villain. However, this only adds to the suspense as his twisted thought process is brought to light. The plot moves along at just the right pace.

The story contains romance aplenty. Although sexual tension is felt, Kelly and Cole demonstrate admirable constraint.

Sentence fragments bother me, but perhaps only me. The book is definitely worth your time, and I recommend it.

Although this novel is the third in a series, it can easily be enjoyed as a stand-alone novel.

Thank you to Donna Hausler at Baker Publishing Group for my copy.

Available August, 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.