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A Review of I, Saul by Jerry B. Jenkins

17 Saturday Aug 2013

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I, Saul

More than two thousand years ago in a small Roman dungeon where he awaited his execution, the Apostle Paul lived and breathed and…what else?

What were his conditions, his mood, his thoughts, his actions? While we can’t know for sure, in I, Saul, Jerry B. Jenkins dares to both explore those questions and create a fictional account of the answers. And he doesn’t stop there.

Paul’s historic last days result in modern-day danger for Augustine Knox, a struggling professor who is called upon to help a friend now hunted because of what the Apostle Paul left behind. Coming to his friend’s aid, Augustine doesn’t only jeopardize his career and his own life, but the life of his fiancée as well.

What will become of them, and of the priceless Pauline discovery, remains a mystery until the very end.

Jenkins has once again gone outside of the box to bring readers a story worth getting excited about. Augustine, equal parts jock and egghead, is an unusually witty character who endears from the beginning, and who really comes to life when he hits Italian soil. Roger Michaels, the friend responsible for Augie’s newfound problems, comes across as the guy everybody wishes they knew.

Augie’s fiancée Sofia is also likeable and seems to have a pretty good head on her shoulders, and the romance elements between them remain somewhat surface level so as not to detract from the main focus of the plot.

For the story to advance to a position of intense intrigue and high stakes, Jenkins had to build quite a bit of background in the early chapters. As a result, the beginning consists of several flashbacks, which at times made it a slow read. But once the stage is firmly established the story takes off. Imagine a rollercoaster that paces its way to the top, then plunges its rider into an adventure that is both intense and exhilarating.

More than that, I, Saul has a message of faith that is piercing to the heart. This surprised me, since at first I found the delivery of the faith topics very simple and straight-forward. Turns out simple + straight-forward + the Word of God = Powerful.

I gave it four out of five stars.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Seven Books in Seven Weeks Drawing Results

21 Friday Jun 2013

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Thanks to all of you who followed along and participated in my Seven Books in Seven Weeks reading marathon! I had a great time and read some great books because of your recommendations.

I also enjoyed your comments and some of the emotional turmoil we shared. All that was missing was the ability to share a cup of coffee while reading together real-time.

But don’t worry, I always drank an extra cup in your absence :-).

Now for the winners of the three books included in the giveaway for this series:

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Congratulations Pragya, Daniellajoe, and Victoria! I will be contacting each of you by email in order to deliver your books.

And again, thanks and many blessings to everyone who participated to make this series a success. God bless you!

Week 7 Book 7: A Review of Truth Stained Lies by Terri Blackstock

15 Saturday Jun 2013

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truth stained lies

Ever since the murder of her police officer fiancée, and the perp’s bogus acquittal, Cathy Cramer has been using her law background and a high-profile blog to help keep other murderers from getting away with their crimes.

But prosecuting defendants in the court of public opinion wins her more than national recognition and a faithful following. Cathy has enemies armed with death threats. It’s a risk she’s willing to take, until she receives a letter that proves to be more than a bluff.

In Terri Blackstock’s Truth Stained Lies, Cathy’s brother is framed for murdering his estranged wife. Now Cathy is faced with the reality that things are not always as they appear–something she never fully respected in her blog commentaries. Soon it’s a race against the clock to prove her brother’s innocence, and to find the true killer before he can strike again.

Written in a simple but effective style, this debut in Blackstock’s Moonlighters Series  is a great read. The pacing was quick, entertaining, and full of suspense. There were several characters and a couple of sub-plots (some fully developed and others just touched on) but everything ultimately tied into and/or enhanced the main story in such a way that none of it was distracting.

The main character, Cathy, had three siblings, all of whom were important to the story. Though they came from the same background, Blackstock took pains to make sure each sibling was as different as the seasons, and she created a family dynamic that was realistic. The faith elements were believable, redemptive, challenging…and precious.

Some parts of the plot were slightly predictable, but the story as a whole was so intriguing that I couldn’t put the book down until it was over. Even when the killer is revealed the reader is left to stress about how, when, or if he/she will be caught.  I literally flew through the pages in one night.

In the end, Truth Stained Lies wasn’t just read, it was experienced. I teared-up, hoped, paced, praised God, took self-stock, and smiled when I put it down. I gave it four out of five stars.

This book concludes my Seven Books in Seven Weeks Series, and will be included in the giveaway. Stay tuned next week for information about the book giveaways!

Week 6 Book 6: A Review of Taliesin by Stephen R. Lawhead

08 Saturday Jun 2013

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taliesin

It was the age of Atlantis, when nine kings ruled in peace and prosperity and the lives of their people were saturated with extravagance. It was also an age marked for destruction–a fate to dwarf the devastation caused by the outbreak of war after two millenia of peace.

In Taliesin, Stephen R. Lawhead slashes through the veil of mystery surrounding Atlantis. The story follows two main characters: Princess Charis, daughter of one of the Atlantean kings, and Taliesin, druid prince destined for greatness.

Princess Charis learns of her land’s impending doom and manages to escape, but not before Lawhead breathes life into the legendary city of Atlantis. Across the ocean, Taliesin maintains a vastly different but just as intriguing existence; his life linked to Princess Charis’ before the two ever meet.

A tale of hope, heartbreak, violence, and love, Taliesin is a brilliant intermingling of fiction and history. Though written in 1987, the craft used to write this story makes it timeless. Lawhead writes with intricate detail to construct setting. Though I’m not a fan of overdone scenes, the detail used here was appropriate. The palaces, arenas, gardens, and caers were of foreign places and fictional times, therefore it was Lawhead’s responsibility to set the stage, which he did well.

Characterization was also a strength of this story. Each character was introduced with distinct, memorable qualities, so that they became real people who inspired real feelings. Charis grew from a spoiled brat to a wise, determined and heroic woman. Her mother, Briseis, exuded wisdom characteristic of noble queens, and concern inherent in caring mothers. Annubi’s sarcasm and familiar style of communication made him easy to relate to and just as easily trustworthy.

Better still was the plot. Tension continued to grow and unfold as the story progressed. Though the fate of Atlantis was inevitable, Lawhead wrote in such a way that I continued to hope and root in certain scenes for a different outcome than what was expected. Backstory was well-timed and so well written that it kept the story flowing despite pumping in details of the past. Even stories within the story were interesting, and everything–however subtle–had its purpose in the final product.

In short, Taliesin was a phenomenal novel written with excellence. I haven’t been this excited by a work of fiction in a long time, a fact which earned it five out of five stars. Though I’m sad it’s over, I’m beside myself happy that it’s the first in a series, and I can’t wait to get my hands on book two.

Click here for the list of the remaining books: Seven Books in Seven Weeks: The List .

Week 2 Book 2: A Review of Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman

11 Saturday May 2013

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not a fan

Got your church T-shirt? Your “Jesus is my co-pilot” bumper sticker? What about your WWJD bracelet?

Bible? Check! Some verses memorized? Check! Personalized tithe envelopes? You know this maaan!

Okay, okay. Now what about Jesus? You’ve got all the paraphernalia–the outward stuff that clothes you with the Christian image–but do you really have Jesus? Are you a fan, or are you a follower?

Uhhhhhhh……………..what you talkin’ bout Willis?

Willis isn’t here. But if you want to know what I’m talking about, pick up Kyle Idleman’s Not a Fan: Becoming a Completely Committed Follower of Jesus. Idleman uses an in-your-face and step-on-your-toes approach to distinguish between professors of Christ who are merely fans, and followers of Christ who are all in.

Kyle addresses several indicators of fandom. In short, they know about Jesus but don’t know Him, they praise Him with their mouths but their hearts are vacationing in self-ville, or in Kyle’s words, “They want to be close enough to Jesus to get all the benefits, but not so close that it requires anything from them.” Followers, however, don’t just put Jesus first. He is it. He is all. There is no competition.

Because the book is non-fiction and the theme very specific, it’s difficult for me to review it in-depth without giving away too much. What I can say is that it will challenge readers to do a great deal of self-reflection. It is written in such a way that, fan or follower, you cannot walk away from it without digging deep inside to see where your loyalties lie, whether they are divided, or even if somewhere along the way they’ve shifted.

Most of the time Idleman addresses the reader as if he/she is already a fan. Some might sit a little straighter at such presumption, but calm down. Following Christ is a daily calling, not a one time deal. And every opportunity to search the heart and “see if there is any wicked way” in it (Psalm 139:24) is time well spent. Remember: followers of Christ welcome a righteous rebuke, we don’t refuse it (Psalm 141:5).

If you’re a fan and you’re happy right where you are, my guess is Kyle’s message will seriously offend you. If you’re a fan but no longer want to be, it’ll challenge you to bolt out of the stands, suit up, and get to the business of living like a true follower of Jesus. If you’re already a follower you’ll identify if and when you tend to have seasons of fandom, or whether there are compartmentalized areas of your life where your spiritual weapon of choice is a set of frilly pom poms.

Where this book is concerned, I have to say I would qualify as a fan of the book. I am “an enthusiastic admirer” of the message and the style of writing. I laughed (hard), I cried (loud), and when I put it down I started calculating how much it was going to cost me to get one in the hands of way too many people. I found the personal testimonies particularly powerful. I gave it five out of five stars.

When it comes to Jesus, however, I am not a fan.

Click here for the list of the remaining books: Seven Books in Seven Weeks: The List .

Week 1 Book 1: A Review of The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

04 Saturday May 2013

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Cover.-Language-of-Flowers-pbk Throughout history flowers have been known for their beauty and fragrant scents. While commonly given as expressions of love and well wishes, their meanings became even more specific during the Victorian era. Dictionaries of the flower-to-emotion relationships were penned with care, but over time the language created for romantic expression faded to obscurity.

In Vanessa Diffenbaugh’s The Language of Flowers, the elegant art of floral communication resurfaces through the most unlikely of sources: eighteen-year-old Victoria Jones. The San Franciscan has just aged out of the foster care system and heads into the world with a chip on her shoulder and thorns in her heart.

She has no plans or ambitious dreams about her future, only a love for flowers and knowledge of their language that comes from a past failed adoption which haunts her. The details of that event remain hidden until the end of the book but one thing is clear: Victoria is so afraid of love and relationships, and so certain of her own lack of worth, she is determined to live as much of a life of isolation as possible.

But the need to survive forces her as far out of her shell as she believes herself willing to go, and she soon begins to use her connection with flowers to help others. She is given a fresh start at life in the company of people who want to make her part of theirs; but her past is like a jealous weed determined to prevent her from blossoming out of its muddy clutches.

A story of second chances, The Language of Flowers is beautifully written and emotionally draining. Victoria makes enough bad choices to tempt even the reader to give up on her; yet there is something about her personality shown through her first-person narration of the story that keeps one rooting for her.

I was torn between my compassion for her past and exasperation over how her current choices were negatively impacting her future. Sometimes I wanted to take her by the shoulders and shake her, other times I wanted to cry for her. In the end, however, I couldn’t help but like her.

When a girl does things like snatch a few extra donuts out of the box because her date is eating them too fast, you just have to like her.

Sometimes the story slowed down a bit, and on more than one occasion I had to flip back through it to find the meaning of a flower previously mentioned. I discovered halfway through the book that there’s a flower dictionary at the end. It would’ve been helpful to put it after the table of contents or at least mention it somewhere in the beginning.

Overall, Diffenbaugh did a wonderful job with her debut The Language of Flowers. It is a heart-wrenching and realistic portrayal of the struggles of a broken human heart trying to push its way through the weighted soil of a hard life, and open its petals to the hope and promise of the future.

I gave it four out of five stars. This book will be included in the book giveaway at the end of the Seven Books in Seven Weeks series.

Click here for the list of the remaining books: Seven Books in Seven Weeks: The List .

Seven Books in Seven Weeks

12 Friday Apr 2013

Posted by in Book Reviews, Writing and Pursuing Publication

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bookmarathon

I’m constantly reading. Sometimes, if I’m lucky, I’ll find a book impossible to put down and conquer it in a day. Other times I’ll find one that’s good but I can put it down, so with the day-to-day of family and other responsibilities it’ll take me a little longer to get through it.

And last, but most unfortunately, every now and then I’ll come across one that’s terrible. But because I’m nosy and have a hard time not finishing what I start, I’ll carry it around like a shackle on my leg until I’ve finally dragged myself to the end. Though I always tell myself, “I just have to know if there’s a point, a redeeming quality, anything to make me feel like I didn’t waste my time,” I usually get to the end and say, “Why on earth did I waste my time with that?”

Anyway, I’m in the mood for a reading marathon. Seven books in seven weeks. Just the thought of it has me excited.

What’s this mean for you? Two or three things:

  1. If you have a book you think I should read (and not one of the terrible kind just to make me suffer), post your recommendations and I’ll consider it if I haven’t already read it. 
  2. With each book I’ll post a review. That way if you haven’t read it yet I can provide some insight as to whether or not it’s worth your time.
  3. This one is optional but I’ll be ecstatic if you do it…you can join me! They don’t have to be the same seven books, just the same volume and timeline.

I’m eager to start so put in your recommendations. With your help I hope to compile a list and get the first leg of this race started by next weekend :-).

Update: Click here for the Seven Books in Seven Weeks List.

And if you’re one of the brave souls committed to joining me in this marathon, say so in the comments so we can make this journey together.

God bless and happy reading!