THE BAKER'S WIFE by Erin Healy

Don't miss the opportunity at the bottom of this review for a chance to win a Kitchen Aid mixer.

The Baker's Wife by Erin Healy is a novel I didn't want to put down. It was a quick and fun read. The author knows how to hook readers and keep them wondering, me included.

·         Audrey and her husband run a bakery now, but why was her husband removed as pastor of their church?

·         What is the strange gift that enables Audrey to experience others’ pain?
·         Who is the mysterious woman recently released from prison, and what's her attachment to the bakery?  

·         After Audrey's car strikes a motor scooter and there is blood all over it, where did the rider go?  

·         Will the rider ever be found, and why are they missing?  

·         Why does the city's detective hate Audrey and her family so much?  

·         Our heroine is called upon to rescue those she loves from the threat of death by solving an apparently insurmountable problem. Will she succeed?  

·         What terrible crime did Diane Hall commit to put her in prison for 25 years, and will her ghosts ever be put to rest.  

This novel rapidly goes from one puzzling question to another, continually ratcheting up the suspense. The pace seldom slows, and Erin Healy’s writing does an excellent job of showing, not telling.

The Baker's Wife is one of Christian Fiction's better novels. We're grateful to Thomas Nelson for providing us with a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

— Gail Lewis

 

Let the flour fly! Beginning October 24th, Erin's celebrating the release of her latest page turner, The Baker's Wife, with an outstanding KitchenAid baking prize package giveaway that includes a brand new KitchenAid Mixer, cook books, and all you need to whip up some fabulous bread or sweets! Then and on November 10th she'll be wrapping up the release of The Baker's Wife with an Author Book Chat Party on Facebook! Don't miss a minute of the fun!

 One grand prize winner will receive:

• Empire Red 4.5 QT Ultra Power KitchenAid Stand Mixer
• Black & White Kitschy Apron
• Black Silicone Oven Mitt
• Black OXO Rolling Pin
• Wilton 9X5 loaf pan
• At My Grandmother's Knee Cookbook by Faye Porter
• Second Helpings with Johnnie Gabriel Cookbook
• The Baker's Wife by Erin Healy

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on November 9th. Winner will be announced at The Baker's Wife Author Book Chat Facebook Party. Erin will be wrapping up the The Baker's Wife celebration with a book club chat and giving away a bunch of "sweet treats"! So grab your copy of The Baker's Wife (it's okay if you don't have one yet- you might win one!) and join Erin on the evening of November 10th for a book chat, some "baking" trivia and lots of "sweet" giveaways (books, and Amazon, iTunes & Starbucks gift certificates)!

Don't miss a moment of the fun. RSVP today and tell your friends. Hope to see you on the 10th!

Enter to win a KitchenAid Mixer and RSVP for Facebook Party on 11/10!

PRODUCT DETAILS:
Paperback: 352 pages 
Publisher: Thomas Nelson (October 4, 2011) 
Language: English 
ISBN-10: 1595547525 
ISBN-13: 978-1595547521

THE SPIRIT WHO SPEAKS, God's Supernatural Intervention In Your Life, By Peter H. Lawrence

In the introductory portions of The Spirit Who Speaks Peter Lawrence establishes his belief that God can and does speak to his people. He does this by referencing some of the many times God spoke in the Bible. He begins with Genesis where, “In the beginning, God said, Let there be light…” He points out that God also spoke to Adam and Eve, Abel, Noah, Abraham all the way down through Moses and Malachi who began, “Thus says the Lord…” He also spoke to the world through Jesus and, on Pentecost, he spoke through the Holy Spirit. It is this Spirit that continued to speak through the Early Church era to Peter and the other Apostles, to Paul and Barnabus, Ananias, Phillip, the elders and other believers.

Okay, he’s made the point well. God is a God who spoke to all those people. That was then, but what about today? Does God still speak to his people? Lawrence insists he does and provides a multitude of examples from his own life to bolster his argument.

One of the things that I liked about the book is that Lawrence is honest enough to record the times when he thought God was speaking…only to find that apparently he wasn’t. Like the time he wandered aimlessly on a blustery beach desperately searching for the suicidal person God “spoke” to him about. The person, of course, was never there to begin with. He does this to illustrate the extreme danger of claiming the Holy Spirit spoke to you.

Not that he doesn’t believe that the Holy Spirit speaks, he does. However, he’s humble enough to acknowledge that while God is never wrong, man does not enjoy the same prerogative. To this end he reiterates over and over the need for discernment, even going so far as to provide mental checklists to help the reader determine whether they’re hearing the Holy Spirit, their own imagination and ego, or in the worst case scenario, a demonic force. This is what I most enjoyed about the book, Lawrence’s ability to point out and even chuckle at his foibles and flops.

Because Peter Lawrence was an Anglican Vicar, I expected a no-nonsense British approach to things. That isn’t what I found. Apparently the Church of England covers a wider range of religious expression than I gave it credit for…including the charismatic. In a final, poignant chapter Peter Lawrence addresses his impending death. (He died before the book was published.) There is also a comprehensive discussion/study guide included.

—E G Lewis

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: David C. Cook; New edition (September 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1434765296
• ISBN-13: 978-1434765291

KISSES FROM KATIE by KATIE DAVIS with Beth Clark

I am fortunate to have heard about this book. Kisses From Katie shines a light on the poverty and pain of Uganda, but also on love and what can be accomplished with enough faith. 

Katie Davis had everything an American girl might dream of. She was her high school’s homecoming queen and was elected senior class president. She drove a yellow sports car and was in love with a boyfriend she expected to marry. It was assumed that after graduation, her parents would cover tuition to any college of her choice.

Yet, Katie had always admired Mother Teresa. At 16 she announced she wanted to do missionary work after graduating from high school. A three-week trip to Uganda with her mother led to an offer there to teach kindergarten for a year. She accepted with a promise to go to college when she returned home. However, after a year she didn’t want to leave.  In an effort to honor her parents’ wishes, she attended a semester of college, but it wasn’t where she wanted to be. Katie’s heart remained with the needy, sick and starving children of Uganda.

This book is filled with many touching stories. Learn how, at only 22, she gradually became the adoptive mother of fourteen Ugandan babies and girls. She also supports over 200 other children with several meals a day, clothing, baths and education. Each child’s story will move you.

The only criticism I have of this book is that, like so many Christian books, it is preachy. The Christian messages are fine, just repetitive. I suspect that Beth Clark might be responsible for many of them. Katie was raised Catholic and most Catholics lead by example. Katie certainly does this.

Katie’s descriptions of the children’s plights, and her attempts to help, are captivating.  Although not every person and child in Uganda receives the assistance they need, and countless die every day, each individual who is helped is a blessing — a precious child of God and their life a miracle. It’s those miracles we need to focus on and how we, too, can help.

Read Katie’s book and visit her non-profit organization, Amazima, which means Truth. They provide medicine, food, clothing and education to as many as they possibly can. It’s your donations and mine that will save more and more lives.

http://www.amazima.org/katiesbook.html

Thanks to Jennifer Smith at Howard Books, a division of Simon and Schuster, for providing us with an advanced reading copy. We are grateful to have read it and been made aware of Amazima. We highly recommend Kisses From Katie.




KISSES FROM KATIE at Amazon.com

40 DAYS TO BETTER LIVING - HYPERTENSION by Dr. Scott Morris

40 Days to Better Living - Hypertension is the second in a series of books from the Church Health Center in Memphis, TN. If you missed our review of the introductory book is this helpful series, you can find it here. Each volume is devoted to a specific health issue. Using the stories of several individuals who have availed themselves of the clinic’s resources, the books offer commonsense advice that can benefit the average person. Though each volume focuses on a particular wellness issue, the Church Health Center’s always treats the complete person.

In just a few pages, they pack a lot into each day. The morning starts with a quiet reflection on God’s power in your life. Then come tips on strengthening your faith life along with simple and easy to follow health tips. You’re also encouraged to keep a journal and to examine your feelings. Through frequent check-ins you’re offered insights and tips on Faith, Health, Mobility, Emotional Well Being, Family, Friends, and Nutrition. And each day wraps up with an evening pick-me-up.

Never preachy, but always helpful, the 40 Days to Better Living series offers the encouragement most of need to get out of that recliner and develop a healthier life style. Devoid of the glitz and glib formulas of so many self-help books, these little volumes are just what the Doctor ordered.

- E G Lewis

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 From the time Scott Morris was just a teenager, he knew he would do two things with his future—serve God and work with people. Growing up in Atlanta, he felt drawn to the Church and at the same time drawn to help others, even from a very young age. It was naturally intrinsic, then, that after completing his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia he went on to receive his M.Div. from Yale University and finally his M.D. at Emory University in 1983.

After completing his residency in family practice, Morris arrived in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1986 without knowing a soul, but determined to begin a health care ministry for the working poor. He promptly knocked on the doors of St. John’s Methodist Church and Methodist Hospital in Memphis inviting them to help, and then found an old house to refurbish and renovate. By the next year, the Church Health Center opened with one doctor—Dr. Scott Morris—and one nurse. They saw twelve patients the first day and Morris began living his mission to reclaim the Church’s biblical commitment to care for our bodies and spirits.

From the beginning, Morris saw each and every patient as a whole person, knowing that without giving careful attention to both the body and soul the person would not be truly well. So nine years after opening the Church Health Center, he opened its Hope & Healing Wellness Center. Today the Church Health Center has grown to become the largest faith-based clinic in the country of its type having cared for 60,000 patients of record without relying on government funding. The clinic handles more than 36,000 patient visits a year while the wellness center, which moved to its current 80,000-square-foot location on Union Avenue in 2000, serves more than 120,000 member visits each year. Fees are charged on a sliding scale based on income.

 ABOUT THE BOOK

Millions experience high blood pressure—and 40 Days to Better Living: Hypertension provides clear, manageable steps for you to manage it, through life-changing attitudes and actions. If you’re ready to really live better, select one or more elements of the 7-step Model for Healthy Living—Faith, Medical, Movement, Work, Emotional, Family and Friends, and Nutrition—and follow the 40-day plan to improve your life, just a bit, day by day. With plenty of practical advice, biblical encouragement, and stories of real people who’ve taken the same journey, this book—from the Church Health Center in Memphis, the largest faith-based clinic of its type in the U.S.—may be the most important book you read this year!

The 40 Days to Better Living series offers clear, manageable steps to life-changing attitudes and actions in a context of understanding and grace for all people at all points on the journey to optimal health. With plenty of practical advice, spiritual encouragement, and real stories of those who have found a better life, this simple and skillfully crafted book inspires readers to customize their own path to wellness by using the 7-Step Model for Healthy Living.

Product Details

Paperback: 176 pages

Publisher: Barbour Books

Language: English

ISBN-13: 978-1616262655

HEATHER SONG by Michael Phillips

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today's Wild Card author is:

Michael Phillips

and the book:

Heather Song

FaithWords (September 19, 2011)

***Special thanks to Sarah Reck, Web Publicist | FaithWords & Center Street | Hachette Book Group, for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Michael Phillips has been writing in the Christian marketplace for 30 years. All told, he has written, co-written, and edited some 110 books. Phillips and his wife live in the U.S., and make their second home in Scotland.




Visit the author's website.

SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Newly married, Marie and Alaster Reidhaven's life seems idyllic. But things start to fall apart when the Duke's sister's curses and spells start to plague them. Alaster dies and again Marie is widowed. Marie returns to Canada to visit her dying father. The reunion is tender and healing for them both.

Unexpectedly months later, Marie is astonished to learn that back in Scotland, her deceased husband Alaster never signed their pre-nup and had instead undertaken the legalities necessary to insure his estate would indeed go to Marie. Olivia is furious and full of threats and attempts to kill Marie and then disappears. Marie inherits and again assumes the title and role of duchess.

But now the other half of her former "love triangle" bubbles up from out of her past. Marie and Grahm begin seeing each other "as friends" awaiting God's leading.

Olivia reappears and again tries to kill Marie. Olivia eventually dies of cancer, unrepentant. The Reidhaven family line is at an end, the legacy of their memory to be carried forward by Marie who loved, in the end, all of them.


Product Details:

List Price: $13.99
Paperback: 496 pages
Publisher: FaithWords (September 19, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0446567728
ISBN-13: 978-0446567725


PRESS THE BROWSE INSIDE BUTTON TO READ THE FIRST CHAPTER:

And Now Our Review:
After reading Angel Harp by Michael Phillips, I was eager to read Heather Song. I have a personal interest in Scotland and enjoy novels about that country. I also looked forward to continuing the story of Marie Buchan who falls in love with two men in Scotland and is unable to decide between them.

However, I feel compelled to bring up something that bothered me a great deal. I was shocked by some of the blatant prejudices in Mr. Phillip’s book. In one scene an evil witch pulls out a Rosary. I found this type of subtle anti-Catholicism very offensive. It’s not only unnecessary to the book, the innuendos against the Catholic Church are upsetting.

Overlooking that, I continued reading. Later, Phillips has a former preacher, Iain Barclay, climb onto his soapbox and rant against both Catholic priests and Evangelical pastors. Passing off hateful diatribes as dialog reveals the uglier side of so-called Christian fiction. How would such techniques be viewed if the writer were a member of the KKK and his target was the black race? If Mr. Phillips has issues with certain branches of Christianity he needs to find an appropriate venue and concentrate on developing his characters and plot when writing fiction.

The theme of this book purports to be forgiveness, and indeed the main character, Marie Buchan’s forgiveness and new awareness of her father just before his death is credible. However, late in the book Phillips reveals that one of the characters witnessed his wife’s murder, and as she died she told him the same person also killed their daughter. The character never reports what he saw, or what he knows because God told him, “Vengeance is mine.” What reasonable person allows a dangerous person to harm others rather than report them to the authorities? This illustrates circumstances arranged to make a specific point regardless of the violence done to story in the process.

Where was Mr. Phillips’ editor? They should have pointed out the inconsistencies and offensive material. They were totally unnecessary to the plot and could easily have been edited out before publication. If they had, this would be an entirely different review.
—Gail Lewis

MEGAN’S SECRETS by Mike Cope

Megan’s Secrets is the poignant story of Mike Cope’s mentally disabled daughter, Megan. She was a little girl who never spoke more than a word or two at a time, but touched the heart of everyone she met. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Megan exemplified this statement. She spent her life being just what God made her to be…no more, no less.

This deeply moving book will bring tears to your eyes, yet you’ll also find yourself chuckling at Megan’s idiosyncrasies and foibles. She led a life unencumbered by expectations and standards, without a worry about how others might judge her. She led a life free to love and laugh, and be herself.

The first half of the book is about the power of her life—a frail, fragile, and broken life. In the latter portion the author addresses the meaning of her life and lessons that can be learned through Megan. You’ll laugh and cry and be blessed by God’s incredible wisdom spoken through the life of this disabled child. Our throw-away society that denigrates the value of the disabled and destroys life deemed less than perfect desperately needs to hear Megan’s story. Through it, they can begin to understand that each and every soul God creates has a purpose and inestimable value. This is a must read book.

We thank Audra Jennings of B & B Media Group, Inc. for providing us with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
—E G Lewis

Product Details:
Trade Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Leafwood Publishers
Language: English
ISBN-13: 978-0891122869

MIRROR BALL by Matt Redman

Did they have a mirrored ball at your senior prom? I still remember them darkening the room and putting on a slow number —probably Johnny Mathis— while aiming a beam of light at a huge ball suspended from the ceiling. As it twirled its mirrors reflected that single ray of light, filling the room with sparkles.

In his book, Mirror Ball, songwriter and author, Matt Redman, uses the analogy of a mirrored ball to illustrate the way believers can live boldly and shine brightly by reflecting the light of God. Underlying all that Redman says is the implicit understanding the worship is never about what we can do for God. Rather, it is about aligning ourselves so as to receive and reflect his light to the world. A time spent with this easy to read, but thought-provoking, book with give a person a new and deeper understanding of what Christian worship is really all about.

St. Francis of Assisi is quoted as saying, “Preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words.” Like Matt Redman, he believed that worship isn’t only a Sunday thing and urged believers to worship God moment-by moment by reflecting his love to the world by the way they live their lives. The book’s extensive chapter-by-chapter discussion section provides an added incentive for families or groups to read it together.

We thank Audra Jennings of B&B Media for providing us with a copy of Mirror Ball for an honest review.

—E G Lewis

PRODUCT DETAILS

Paperback: 176 pages
Publisher: David C. Cook
Language: English
ISBN-13: 978-0781405782