Review for John Shaw's Guide to Digital Nature Photography

This book is a great resource for beginning photographers. It offers a lot of tips, especially on equipment and how to use it, also a lot of how-tos for formatting your pictures to get really great results.  The material is presented in a visually appealing, clear, easy-to-read format. Throughout the book there are stunning photographs of nature which really complement the book and its information. I would recommend this book for those who want to learn the details about the settings on your camera and how to use them to get fantastic pictures. 

I received a complementary copy of John Shaw's Guide to Digital Nature Photography in exchange for an honest review. 

Review for To Everything a Season by Lauraine Snelling

I was so excited to see this book come out because I loved the Blessing books so much. I really enjoyed reading this sweet story, seeing where all the Blessing characters are now and adding Miriam to the story. I especially enjoyed how Miriam is a nursing student because I will be a nursing student myself soon.

This was a nice continuation to the Blessing series's; love the characters and am really looking forward to reading the next book. I recommend this book to anyone who has loved the Blessing books' just a note that if you haven't read the Blessing books leading up to this one you may be a little confused, but if you have read them than you will really enjoy this book.

Thank you to Bethany House Publishers for sending me a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed here are my own.

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.

Book Review: Cloak of the Light by Chuck Black

This is the first book that I've read by Chuck Black and I will definitely be reading more by him in the future.When I looked at the description of this book, I thought it looked like it might be kind of strange. Or weird. But then I remembered that I thought the same thing at first about a book that I read awhile back, and that book turned out to be one of my favorite books ever. So I just had this hunch that I should give Cloak of the Light a chance and I'm glad I did. I absolutely loved this book. No review that I could write would do justice to it. It was FANTASTIC.

Cloak of the Light was very strongly written, excellent plot, and had spiritual redemption woven into the story without being preachy or cliche. It was a great fiction story that also dealt with spiritual warfare (one of the main themes in the book) in a really interesting way. I really appreciated how at the end of the book the author listed a bunch of Scriptures about angels and what we know for fact about them. This is the first book in a series and I am really looking forward to reading the next one. This book was great and I HIGHLY recommend it!!

Thank you to WaterBrook Multnomah for sending me a free copy of Cloak of the Light in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed it!

Book Review: Prepared for a Purpose by Antoinette Tuff

This is the inspiring true story of Antoinette Tuff, a woman who God used to stop a school shooting in Atlanta, Georgia from happening.

This book was a worthwhile read. It will remind you of God's work in our lives every day and how He has a purpose for each one of us despite the hard times that we may go through or challenges that we might face along the way. I enjoyed reading this book. I rate 4 1/2 stars.

I recommend this book, especially to anyone who enjoys biographies or true stories of God working through people.

Thank you to Bethany House Publishers for sending me a free copy of Prepared for a Purpose in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: The Sentinels of Andersonville by Tracy Groot

Book Review
Title: The Sentinels of Andersonville
Author: Tracy Groot

The Sentinels of Andersonville is a Civil War story. Emery Jones, a Southern soldier, strikes up an unlikely friendship with Lew, a captured Union soldier he is escorting to Andersonville, a POW camp. Upon reaching Andersonville with Lew, Emery is shocked to discover how inhumane the prison's conditions are and begins formulating a risky plan to get Lew out of there. Dance Pickett, a sentry at Andersonville, is also aware of the horrible conditions in the camp. Violet, a local southern girl, learns of what is going on in the camp and is determined to do something about it. Together, will Emery, Dance and Violet be able to raise awareness to the townspeople of what is going on or will they be seen as traitors to the South? And will Lew make it out of Andersonville alive?

I was really disappointed in this book. The description sounded great- strong plot, good characters- but the story just fell flat. Parts of it were really choppy and hard to follow and the characters just weren't believable enough. I felt like the story just wasn't written with enough depth to it to make a good-quality read. There were some parts of the book tha were good- the Golden Rule was an underlying theme, and this book will make you ask yourself the question "Who is MY neighbor?"- but overall, I don't recommend this book because I think that you'll be disappointed in it.

Thank you to Tyndale House Publishers for sending me a free copy of The Sentinels of Andersonville in exchange for an honest review.

Author Biography can be found here: http://mediacenter.tyndale.com/2_authors/author_bio.aspx?authorID=1376

Read the first chapter of the book here: http://www.tracygroot.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/The-Sentinels-of-Andersonville-Chapter-1.pdf

Review: Blades of Valor by Sigmund Brouwer (ebook)

In the fourth and last book in the Merlin's Immortals series, Thomas has made his way to the Holy Land on a quest to find answers to his questions about Magnus and the mysteries that surround it. But along with answers, Thomas finds still more questions that must be solved. Because of an unexpected plot twist, Thomas sets out for Jerusalem alone on yet another risky journey. Will he find there what he is searching for? Will he be able to determine who he can trust? What is the final key that will unlock all of the mysteries?

This was a great conclusion to the Merlin's Immortals series. Like the previous three books, Blades of Valor is strongly written. Excellent storyline, great theme and characters. This is one of my favorite series' of all time and I HIGHLY recommend this book and the whole series.

Thank you to WaterBrook Multnomah for giving me a free ebook copy of Blades of Valor in exchange for an honest review.

Review on Ten Days Without by Daniel Ryan Day

"Life is full of good intentions, but for too many, our good intentions never become good actions - they don't move us forward, draw us closer to God, or make a difference in the world. Good intentions are cans of paint that could have become amazing works of art... but never did." -Daniel Ryan Day in Ten Days Without

Ten Days Without is a book about someone who went beyond good intentions to do something to make a difference. For ten days at a time, Daniel Day went without a specific "essential" thing in order to raise awareness for a need. For example, he went without shoes for ten days to raise awareness for disease. He went ten days without furniture to raise awareness for poverty. He went ten days without speaking to raise awareness for victims of human trafficking and slavery. In Ten Days Without, Daniel Day talks about his experience doing these things and encourages the reader to do a Ten Days Without experience too.

This book was interesting, inspiring and challenging. Reading this book really made me think about how much I take for granted and how many people around the world don't even have things like shoes or coats or even a voice and it has challenged me. Reading this book has inspired me to do "Ten Days Without Shoes".

I think that the subtitle sums up this book well: "Adventures in discomfort that will change your world and you". Reading this book will change your perspective, raise your awareness and challenge you to do something about it.

I recommend this book.

Thank you to WaterBrook Multnomah for sending me a free copy of Ten Days Without in exchange for an honest review. 

Review of "What Once Was Lost by Kim Vogel Sawyer"

When a fire breaks out at Brambleville Asylum for the Poor, Christina Willems turns to the townspeople to give lodging to her flock of charges until their home can be rebuilt. With nowhere else to go, Christina must ask miller Levi Johnson to take in Tommy, an eleven-year-old blind boy. Levi is reluctant, but a bond soon forms between Levi and Tommy. Meanwhile, Christina is busy trying to get the poor home rebuilt despite numerous complications.

Honestly, I didn't think this book was that great. I felt like the main character, Christina, was pretty lame. I probably wouldn't have even finished the book if it weren't for me really liking a couple of the other characters- namely, Levi, Tommy and Cora. I really loved seeing the bond between Tommy and Levi grow and how they both changed for the better because of it. The redemption and love as Cora's story unfolded was really great and one of the best parts of the book.

All in all, this book ended up being okay, but definitely not great. I don't recommend it.

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

Review: Critical Reaction by Todd M. Johnson

I enjoyed reading this book. It was really interesting and had some very intriguing elements to it. I liked how some parts were like a mystery but not all of the book was. There was enough suspense to keep it a page-turner and the plot/story was realistic. I liked how there was also a focus on rebuilding/restoring relationships between Emily and her dad and Emily and Kieran that gave an emotional side to the story. I enjoyed reading Critical Reaction, and I would recommend it. I think that people who like reading books that have good, solid plots with a bit of mystery would enjoy reading this book.

Thank you to Bethany House for sending me a free copy of Critical Reaction in exchange for my honest review. 

Review: The Jesus Story

Review for The Jesus Story by Dr. William H. Marty:

This book is an easy read, not really in depth, but it is really interesting to read the New Testament in chronological order. Because it is not an in-depth book, I don't think this would be a great read for a mature Christian unless they just wanted to read a simple overview of the New Testament, but I think that a new believer could benefit from reading it because of its simplicity. Because this book uses simple language it would be an easy overview of the New Testament for someone new to the Bible or maybe to read to a younger child.

Reading the Bible is an important part of being a believer and I don't want to imply that you should read this instead of the Bible. You should definitely read the Bible, and this book could be interesting for you to read on the side.

Thank you to Bethany House Publishers for sending me a free copy of The Jesus Story in exchange for my honest review.  

4 stars. 

Review: The Governess of Highland Hall by Carrie Turansky

GOOD-QUALITY WRITING! 

I really enjoyed this book. Yes, the plot was predictable in that you knew somehow Julia and William were going to fall in love, but it was really well-written, not cheesy (one of my pet peeves is cheesy romance) and it was written in a realistic way. It was believable, unlike some books where the author's attempts at a romance ruin the book. The characters in this book were really well-done too and were really enjoyable to read about. I loved them. Julia was my favorite, of course, and I really liked reading about the growing friendship between her and Sarah. Julia is such a sweet, kind character. The plot of this book kind of reminded me of The Sound of Music but a little bit different- and if you loved that movie, you will love this book. I liked this book a lot and I recommend it. I think that anyone who likes historical fiction, especially from this particular era, would enjoy reading The Governess of Highland Hall.

Thank you to WaterBrook Multnomah for sending me a free copy of The Governess of Highland Hall in exchange for my honest review. 

Review: The Dawn of Christmas by Cindy Woodmall

After Sadie's heart was broken by her unfaithful fiancee, she went to Peru to do mission work and to heal. Four years later, her father wants her to move home but Sadie doesn't want to give her new life up.
Levi doesn't want to get married yet, but is family is pressuring him to do otherwise. When Sadie and Levi meet, they find unexpected allies in each other. But what will happen as time goes on and they begin to fall in love with each other?
I enjoyed the first 3/4 of the book, but the romance seemed forced and corny. I had expected better quality writing from Cindy Woodsmall.
This book would make a quick, light read for anyone who enjoys Amish romances. I give it 3 1/2 stars.
I received a copy of The Dawn of Christmas free from WaterBrook Multnomah in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

Excellent Book!! Review: Martyr's Fire

Book 3 in the Merlin’s Immortals series continues the story of Thomas as begun in The Orphan King and Fortress of Mist.

Fifteen men who call themselves the Priests of the Holy Grail arrive in Magnus, bringing with them supposed “miracles” and taking control of the castle.

Barely escaping, Thomas begins a journey that will take him to the Holy Land, where he hopes to find answers to his questions. But on the way, Thomas runs into unexpected circumstances. Will the Holy Land hold the answers that Thomas seeks?

This book was just as good, if not better than the previous two. I was glued to the pages! These books are incredibly well-written, excellent reading. I would heartily recommend this book as well as the rest of the series. I can’t wait to read the next one.

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