Review: Rise of the Fallen by Chuck Black

I have conflicting feelings about this book!

I was among the many readers who eagerly anticipated Book 2 in the Wars of the Realm series. Surprising me and probably many other readers, Rise of the Fallen was not exactly what I was expecting. Book 2 of the trilogy takes an unexpected turn by telling the story from the point of view of Validus, the warrior angel assigned to protect Drew Carter. This was a very interesting perspective on the story! But because this book essentially was "on the other side" retelling the first book (along with a lot of flashbacks of Validus' time as a warrior angel throughout Biblical history) it took literally until the end for Validus to discover the reason for Drew Carter's importance.

It was really frustrating not to have the story continue from where Cloak of the Light left off. Although the way this book was written added quite a bit to the story, I didn't 100% like how it was done. It was a good book, and very interesting, but it felt like a letdown, and it almost seemed like the author was trying to stretch Drew Carter's story, probably because the whole time I just wanted to find out what happened after the point where we left Drew in Book 1! I had really high expectations for this book because Cloak of the Light was so awesome, and so I was disappointed in Rise of the Fallen because it was not what I was expecting. This book did add quite a bit of perspective to the overall story though and I will still definitely be reading Book 3 because (I'm hoping) it will continue the (awesome) story that was started in Book 1.

One last note, I again really appreciated how the author is careful to distinguish what we do and don't know about angels based on the Bible. 

I was disappointed in this book (see abovementioned reasons) but I still would recommend it to Cloak of the Light readers. Looking forward to Book 3! 

I received a complimentary copy of this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed here are my own. Thank you for reading! 

Sigmund Brouwer's Thief of Glory is not a fluffy read. It's intense. It's heart-wrenching. It's one of those books that you will ponder for weeks to come. 

Thief of Glory deals with an often neglected aspect of World War II. It also deals with one boy's experience of strength, courage, sacrifice, heartbreak and choices that haunt him for life. 

After his father and older half-brothers are separated from the rest of the family by the invading Japanese, Jeremiah takes on most of the responsibility for himself and his younger siblings as they and his troubled mother are forced to relocate to a Japanese POW camp. Conditions in the camp are horrendous, and Jeremiah becomes involved in connecting with the outside world in order to obtain needed medical supplies while caring for his family. Jeremiah forges a strong-as-steel friendship with Laura as they work together. Jeremiah also has various encounters involving Georgie, his rival and enemy. 

I was not expecting the twist at the end as the story came full-circle. This book is one that will both warm you and haunt you. I highly recommend it. 

I received a copy of this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

Review: A Short Walk to the Edge of Life by Scott Hibbard

A Short Walk to the Edge of Life is the tale of one man's physical and spiritual journey through an extraordinary life-and-death circumstance. 

A seasoned hiker with lots of experience, Scott Hibbard had no idea what awaited him when he set out on what would turn out to be the hiking experience of a lifetime. Anticipating a relatively short day hike, Scott set out into the South American desert unprepared for what lay ahead. 

Unknowingly going off-course from his intended route, Scott found himself lost with a rapidly diminishing amount of water and no way to get more. As he struggled to get back on course, Scott found through and unexpected and lifesaving set of miracles that God's plan for our lives can turn out to be far different than what we expect and that sometimes in order to be rescued you have to be past the end of your rope. 

This book was pretty good. I enjoyed it. The one part that bothered  me was the author's credit to his late brother, who the author saw while hallucinating, for getting him back on the path that would lead him to being rescued. I think God can use hallucinations to accomplish His purpose, and I just think that the author should have given all the credit to God for that. 

If you enjoy hiking yourself or if you enjoy true survival stories, you would enjoy this book. I rate it 4 stars. 

I received a copy of this book free from the publisher for the purpose of writing this review. All opinions expressed here are my own. Thank you, WaterBrook Multnomah, for my free copy! :-)

Book Review: Life Support by Candace Calvert

I was really disappointed in this book. I was looking forward to reading a book relating to the medical field because I thought it would be very interesting... but Life Support was not that great. The author's writing just didn't pull you into the story, and the storyline fell flat. There was a lack of strength in the writing. When I finished the whole thing  I was just like "And the point of this book was....?" It was difficult to get into, and was not very interesting. I was really disappointed in this book. I hate to be harsh, but this book was lame. I would not recommend it.

I received a copy of this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Review: The Young Entrepreneur's Guide to Starting and Running a Business

Start your own business!

Whether or not you are a "young" entrepreneur or entrepreneur wannabee, you will find this book helpful. I have been very impressed by it. It is very, very detailed, with lots of real-life examples, figures, facts and details. A very thorough book, and of course all the stories of small-business entrepreneurs are very inspiring to start a small business of your own. Even if you are not going to start a business right away, this book will give you some interesting reading material and lots of things to think about!

At first I was surprised at how huge it is - at nearly 500 pages it's pretty thick - but it's full of tons of great information. I'd definitely recommend this book.

I received a copy of this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

Spoken For by Robin Jones Gunn and Alyssa Joy Bethke

I knew I wanted to read this book when I saw that one of the authors is Robin Jones Gunn. My first taste of Roin's wiritng was the Christy Miller series, which I loved, and I have read and reread Praying For Your Future Husband multiple times. I knew that if Robin wrote it, it would be a good read. This was the first time I heard of Alyssa Joy Bethke but after reading Spoken For, I would love to read more by her.
 
Spoken For is about the relentless love that God has for us, now He loves us, wants us, and pursues us because we are His true love. Robin and Alyssa write about how you are wanted, pursued, loved, have been called, are of great value, are a peculiar treasure, are set free, covered, promised and spoken for. Robin and Alyssa use examples from their own lives and love stories as an example of God's love for us. Bible verses, poems, and quotes lace this book together. 

This book was sweet and encouraging. I recommend it to ladies of all ages, whether you are single or married. 

I received this book free from WaterBrook Multnomah in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! 

Review: A Broken Kind of Beautiful

At 24, Ivy is in jeopardy of losing her modeling contract to a new and younger face. Caught up in bitterness over the love and acceptance that she has longed for but never received from her late father, Ivy ends up in a small South Carolina town modeling wedding dresses for her stepmother. This brings her back in touch with David, her stepmother's nephew, who also happens to be Ivy's photographer for the wedding dress shoots. Doing photography again after he'd sworn long ago to never pick up a camera again brings back David's memories of a past he wants to forget. Will David accept forgiveness for the past? Will Ivy realize the love that God has for her and her immeasurable value in His eyes? Will both of them embrace healing?

A Broken Kind of Beautiful by Katie Ganshert was a worthwhile read. I rate it 4 stars. Women of all ages would enjoy this book.

Thank you to WaterBrook Multnomah for sending me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.