A review of Unspoken, by Dee Henderson

UNSPOKEN

Dee Henderson

This is the story of Charlotte Graham aka Ruth Bazoni who was kidnapped at age sixteen and held for four years.

She has not spoken a word about those four years. Now she has inherited a great fortune and needs someone to help her sell the coins from her grandfather’s estate.

Enter Brice Bishop, a coin dealer who finds Charlotte a mysterious but fascinating woman.

As Brice and Charlotte work together to sell the coins he wonders about her past and why she says she will stay single for life. We can only imagine the trauma she went through while she was captive.

Charlotte wants to trust Brice, but can she overcome her fears? Then the something happens  and she has to confront the past.

I enjoyed the basic story, but was a little overwhelmed with all the details of the coin business.

This book was given to me for review purposes by Bethany House Publishing.

Trapped by Irene Hannon

TRAPPED

Irene Hannon

I just finished reading Trapped and it is a book that is hard to put down until you finish it. It is full of suspense and you keep reading to find out what happens next. 

Laura Griffith has taken in her half sister after her father died. Darcy is not happy at all because Laura is too strict and old fashioned. She does what a lot of teens do and runs away, thinking life will be better on her own away from all Laura’s rules.

Laura contacts a private investigator, James Devlin, and hires his company to find Darcy before something bad happens to her. 

After several days without any clues, checking homeless shelters and the bus station, they can find no trace of her. Darcy has disappeared. With a major winter storm in progress, “Dev” hopes Darcy is still in town and presses on as time becomes a factor. The longer she is missing the more likely something bad will happen to her. 

Unknown to Laura and Dev, Darcy is in more danger than she ever dreamed of and is literally “Trapped”. Will Dev find her in time?

While Laura and Dev are searching for Darcy, they discover an attraction that both try to ignore. Dev has to treat her as a client because of company rules, but as the days go by it is getting harder for both of them to pretend the sparks are not there.  

I think this is a really good book and recommend it anyone who likes suspense with a little romance thrown in.


I received this book from NetGalley for review purposes. 

Into the Whirlwind
By

Elizabeth Camden


I have always loved books about history and this one fits the bill perfectly. I have heard of the Chicago fire for years, but have not read a lot about it. Elizabeth Camden brings the story to life in this novel about a city destroyed and the people who rebuild it.

It is hard to imagine what it had to be like with residents running from the fire with what they could carry, panic in the streets, and children separated from their parents in the rush to escape.

Mollie Knox owns the 57th Illinois Watch Company. She employs several veterans of the Civil War and will do what ever she can to help them.

When the Chicago Fire destroys her business she vows to start over, but can she overcome the odds. The city is rubble and people are sleeping where ever they can find shelter. Food is scarce and there is no money.

Zack Kasmarek is an attorney for a large department store that was also destroyed in the fire. He is very influential in the city and as they race to rebuild he and Mollie create their own whirlwind. Can she trust him to be fair? Can she trust her heart? Will she be able to find a buyer for her beloved watches?  Will Zack’s attitude change? What does the future hold?

A lot of questions to be answered. Well, you will just have to read the book to get the answers. I am not telling!


Bethany House provided this book free for review.

STEALING THE PREACHER
By
Karen Witemeyer


A father loves his daughter so much he will go to any means to give her what she wants. But, she has asked for a preacher for her birthday. What’s a daddy to do?  How could her fulfill her wish? Well, he does what any good daddy would do, he kidnaps one.

The preacher in question is not too happy about the circumstances because he is supposed to preach a trial sermon at a church in a distant town. Then he finds out the real reason she wanted a preacher and now he has to find out what God’s will is for him. 

Joanna wants to restore the abandoned church for the community and also wants her father to come to know God. A former outlaw, Silas Robbins has been reformed for 16 years, except for the recent kidnapping, but is bitter against God.

 Will Crocket Archer be the minister they need?  Will he stay or will he file charges against Silas for snatching him off the train? And with Silas’s hatred of preachers, can the attraction between Joanna and Crocket come to anything. Silas will protect his daughter at all costs, especially from lowdown, deceitful preachers.

Then there are the other colorful characters like Holly, Jackson, the Marshall and shy Miss Betsy to round out the story. 

I have enjoyed reading this book and highly recommend it. 

This book was sent to me free from Bethany House for review purposes.

Jennifer

An O’Malley Love Story

By

Dee Henderson

I have read many books by Dee Henderson and they are all great reads. So when the opportunity came to review this book I was very happy.

I have already read several of the O’Malley books and knew of Jennifer. This is her story.

Jennifer is a successful doctor with a thriving pediatric practice and really cares about each child she treats. She meets another doctor, Tom Peterson, who is a surgeon and starts to fall in love. 

Being the youngest of the O’Malley family she is “overly” protected by her older siblings. Trying to figure out how to introduce Tom to her family without them starting a in-depth investigation into his life has her thinking hard.

I laughed when she mentioned one of her brothers and told Tom he might come knocking at his door to check him out. I remember that brother from one of the O’Malley books and he would do just that. The O’Malley’s are a close knit but very unusual family. 

Jennifer has never believed that Jesus and God are real. But after talking with Tom she starts learning about God’s love for her. She is just a baby Christian when tragedy strikes and tests her new found faith. I shed some tears at this point.

This is a lovely love story and a good read. It will have you laughing and crying both.  If you read this story and enjoy it, you really need to start with the  first book of the O’Malley series and read them all. You will not be disappointed.

I received a copy of this book free from Bethany House Publishings for the purpose of review.

Review of Gone South by Meg Moseley

Tish McComb, 35, and unmarried, is living in an apartment in Michigan. She loves vintage clothing and family history and is interested in the old house her great, great, great grandparents lived in. She travels to Noble, Alabama just to see the house. It is for sale and now is the best opportunity to see the inside even if she is not interested in buying it. But, when she walks through the door she makes a decision that changes her entire life. 

She moves to Noble with great expectations to find that she is not welcome because she is a McComb. Why are the McCombs hated in the town? Why are the towns people shunning her for something she had nothing to do with and knew nothing about?

Then Mel enters the picture. A young woman who is homeless even though her parents live in Noble. Thrown out of her parents house, cold , and hungry she happens to run into Tish who offers her a place to stay. Then Tish finds out that Mel is not trusted by anyone in town. Why? Has Tish made a huge mistake in offering Mel shelter? 

George Zorbas and his uncle Calv are the only ones who befriends Tish and doesn’t hold her ancestry against her. He also tries to help Mel hoping he hasn’t made bad decision. 

And then we have the other player in this story. The Corvette, or as Mel calls it the “vette”

I never like to say anything negative about a book but I had a problem with the ending. 

 In my opinion, there should have been one more chapter to bring closure to all the antics Mel is into and the towns hatred of the McComb name. The Epilogue would then have made more sense to me.  

Other than that, it was a good read and I enjoyed the book.

Meg's Website

Http://megmoseley.com

More Info:

http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?work=218210

Author Bio:

http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/author-spotlight.php?authorid=123046

I received this book free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for review.

Review of Nightshade by Ronie Kendig

Ronie Kendig is one of my favorite authors. I hope you enjoy the review.



Nightshade

Ronie Kendig

Nightshade is the first book in the Discarded Heroes series by Ronie Kendig.

A former Navy Seal, fighting PTSD, Max Jacobs and his wife Sidney are struggling in their marriage. Running from the anger and the demons that are ruining his marriage and his life he takes on  secret Black Ops assignments.

In the meantime, Sidney is a reporter and a story has surfaced about terrorists killing villagers and a mysterious group that shows up to save them. She is following the leads to find out who is saving the villagers. Suddenly she finds someone wants her to stop looking into this story or else,  but she persists in going ahead. This is where I, as a reader, want to reach out and shake some sense into her. Why does she keep going? Where will it lead her? Doesn’t she realize she could be killed? And, as always I have to keep reading to see what happens because Ronie keeps dangling the carrot in front of me. (Which is why I enjoy her books. J)

Will Max and Sidney work out all the problems of their marriage? Will she get the biggest story of her life and get a boost in her career? Will Max learn to trust God?

 Well, I know all the answers now, but if you want to know you will have to read the book. My lips are sealed!