Book Review: Fire Prophet

Another Great installment in the series!!  The Fire Prophet by Jerel Law continues the story of Jonah and Eliza with their amazing journey and adventures as quarter angels.  This time there is a worldwide attack on all quarter angels.  Jonah and Eliza, along with their younger brother Jeremiah, have to face another round of battles against Abaddon and all his fallen angels.  Elohim is always there for them and helps them through many battles.  As their talents grow, they also learn to lean on Elohim and each other more and more to succeed. 

I really enjoyed this first book of this series (Spirit Fighter) and the second is no exception.  I know I am not the target audience for these books but I still really enjoyed them. They are a nice quick read with an affirming message of leaning on God and all the amazing things that can happen.  It is also a nice way for kids to understand the unseen spiritual battle that occurs around us every day.  Yes a little exaggerated (I hope) but still a fun insightful introduction.

Note: I did receive a copy of this book for free from www.booksneeze.com to read and review.  The opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for a positive review.

Book Review: Isle of Shadows

The isle of Shadows by Tracy Higley is a story of Tessa, the most famous courtesan on the island.  She hates her life with her current partner Glaucus.  When he unexpectedly dies from an accident, she sees it as her way of attaining freedom.  With the help of two unsuspecting servants a plan is put into motion to save all their lives and the life of everyone on the island. 

I have to say I have read a couple books like this lately and really enjoyed this one.  I don’t know if it was me or the book but I could not get through this book.  There was a lot going on and yet it seemed so slow.  I liked the characters and the plot.  I just couldn’t get excited about the story and it seemed to take forever to get there.

I hope some of you really enjoy this book. This book was a Christy Award finalist for a reason.  I was just unable to get it into it as others had. 

Note: I did receive a copy of this book for free from www.booksneeze.com to read and review.  The opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for a positive review.

Book Review: Marriage of the Hearts

The Marriage of the Heart, Three Novellas by Kelly Long contains the stories The Perfect Secret, Christmas Cradles, and A Marriage of the Heart.  The first novella, the Perfect Secret, was in another Kelly Long novella book, An Amish Wedding.  I enjoyed it then and I enjoyed rereading it now.

Christmas Cradles is a story about Anna who fills in for her Aunt as a midwife on Christmas. As she is called from house to house to help deliver babies, she makes a new connection with her driver.  It’s a great story on new life, forgiveness, and new beginnings.  I was a wonderful quick read.

The Marriage of the Hearts is a story of Abagail and Joseph who are married abruptly without knowing each other well.  As they live out their married life they learn to trust and love each other.  Most of all they gain a family they never had before with each other and their community.

Overall I enjoyed reading these novellas. I’m not the biggest fan of authors reusing their stories in books like this. At first you feel like you are getting more for your money (3 for the price of one) but when you already own books by this author you get less of a deal.

Note: I did receive a free copy of this book from www.booksneeze.com to read and review.  The opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for a positive review.

Book Review: Darkness Rising

Darkness Rising by Lis Whiel and Pete Nelson is the second book in the Salem Series.  I read the first book a while back and love it.  I was so excited to see a second one was available.  I got a copy of it as quickly as I could.

This book picked up right where the last one left off.   The book description is

“The evil in East Salem is no longer content to hide in the shadows. The stakes—and the darkness—are rising.

Dani Harris thought there wasn’t much left that could surprise her after serving as a forensic psychiatrist in East Salem. And Tommy Gunderson has faced few challenges in his life that he couldn’t overcome by either physical strength or his celebrity status.

But as they race to uncover what’s really happening behind the high walls of St. Adrian’s Academy, it becomes clear that supernatural forces have been at work here for generations. And now their focus is on making sure Dani and Tommy don’t interfere.

When the unseen becomes seen, faith is the only weapon strong enough to fight in a battle involving not just murder and betrayal—but angels and demons.”

I would recommend this book series to anyone.  It is a fun fast read.  Although there are a lot of new important character additions in this book, their personalities and interactions with each other help the reader keep track of who is who.  

One of the main things I love about this book is that I can’t guess the ending.  There are a few times you have an idea how certain situations are going to play out but I would never had guessed the ending of this book. I cannot wait for the third installment in the series.

 Note: I did receive a copy of this book from www.booksneeze.com to read and review.  The opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for a positive review.

Book Review: The River

The River by Michael Neale had me with the first chapter.  This is the kind of book that you start and cannot put down.  I could have read it all night (if I didn’t have to work in the morning).

Gabriel Clark was born and raised around the river. His father was a white water instructor and spent all their time hiking, swimming, and kayaking in and around the river until the unfortunate day when he was five years old.  Then everything changed. 

Gabriel couldn’t deny the feeling of the River drawing him but he has learned to fear and hate the river for what it has done to his life. When he comes back years later he searches for the answers to life and how the River fits.

I would definitely recommend this book to everyone.  He author did an amazing job writing the story. The characters are so full of life and depth. 

I can’t wait to read more books my Mr. Neale in the future.

 

Note: I did receive a free copy of The River from www.booksneeze.com to read and review.  The opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for a positive review.  To find out more information you may visit www.booksneeze.com

Book Review: The scent of rain

The Scent of Rain by Kristin Billerbeck is a fun Christian Romantic Comedy about Daphne. Daphne quit her job at the number one perfumery in Paris as a “nose” to move back the US to marry her fiancé Mark and move to Ohio.  When Mark leaves her at the altar, takes her old job, and puts question on her experience she struggles to keep going.  To make all things worse she loses her sense of smell in all the chaos.

At first Jesse did not like the idea of his company who makes cleaning products hiring a “nose” to help increase sales.  Too much was riding on the next quarter and profits had to be made.  Now he had to fit a new salary into the mix. 

Jesse and Daphne have their conflicts from the beginning.  Both have broken hearts and are closed to any close relationship, professional or other.  As they set their plan on tolerating each other for 6 months, connections start to form that throw both their worlds upside down.

 

I really enjoyed this book.  It was a fun romantic comedy to read and different than the books I have been reading lately.  Yes, you know what’s coming… the two people who are thrown together in a less than ideal situation but just happen to complement each other perfectly.. What will happen???

I would recommend this book for someone who wanted to take a relaxing break and just have fun reading. 

 

Note: I was given a copy of this book to read and review for free from www.booksneeze.com.  I was not compensated for a positive review.  The opinions above are my own.

Book Review: You Be Sweet

YEA for more cookbooks!!!!

You be sweet: Sharing your heart one down-home recipe at a time by Patsy Caldwell and Amy Lyles Wilson is a great compilation of yummy desserts.  There are many I am very excited about trying.

The ones I have my eye on most is the red velvet cheesecake, caramel pie, graham cracker cake with pineapple lemon filling and cream cheese frosting, milky way pecan pound cake, pink lemonade cupcakes, lemon layer cake, marshmallow ice cream, Verna’s sour cream apple pie with cinnamon topping, and honey peanut butter topping.  Everything sounds so good.

I really like the lay out of the book, the many pictures, and the discussion from the authors at the beginning of each chapter explaining where the recipes came from and some history. 

This will be a great addition to my wall of recipe books.  I’m sure I will be pulling this one out at for many special occasions and hopefully some every day occasions too.

Note: I did receive a free copy of this book from www.booksneeze.com to read and review.  The opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for a positive review.  To find out more information go to www.booksneeze.com.

Book Review: The death by money report

The Death by Money report by CFP Tracy Piercy and Lisa Maxwell is more of a small essay then a book.  The book took me approximately 20 minutes to read.  It goes over how people struggle between the saving everything to have a comfortable retirement and instant gratification of purchases now with no regard to the future. 

This book also does a lot of promoting for their website www.deathbymoney.com.  After each chapter there is a quick little ‘but you can fix it ‘paragraph leading you to their website.  The book does come with a free one month membership to their website and then after that you must pay a monthly fee.

This book does a good job at pointing out some of the American mindsets towards money and how they can never be fulfilled or how they are flawed.  For example, going to college does not mean you will have a better paying job and you do not have to live in poverty to save for the future.

This book was okay.  It took 85% of their book talking about all the doom and gloom of the current outlooks on money.  The remaining 15% was seven steps to start you on the right track.  Again at the end of the chapter it sends you to their website.   

All in all I do not think I would recommend this book to any of my friends.  I might direct them to the website to browse but I think this book could have gotten condensed into a 2 page pamphlet advertising the website.

Note: I did receive a copy of this book from www.booksneeze.com to read and review for free.  The opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for a positive review.  To find our more information please go to www.booksneeze.com.

Book Review: 10 Christians Everyone Should know

10 Christians everyone should know by John Perry is a series of mini biographies of great people in history including ST Patrick, Galileo, Ann Bradstreet, John Bunyan, Johann Sebastian Bach, Jane Austen, D.L. Moody, George Washington Carver, Sargent York, and William F. Buckley Jr.  Each story tells about the person’s life and how their life was affected by the faith.  All of them had their unique outlook on their faith and how it should be spread, lived, and perceived. 

I enjoyed this book.  There were a couple of people I had only vague memories of and knew little about.  IT was interesting to read about their diverse lives and how they have affected the church today. 

Like others have commented the chapters are fairly quick and easy reads.  There is also a lot of references and additional information that can be researched.  Approximately 30% of the book is references.

This would be a great book for children to learn about these biographies in a homeschool or supplemental curriculum.

Note: I did receive a copy of this book for free from www.booksneeze.com to read and review.  The opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for a positive review.  To learn more information go to www.booksneeze.com

book review: The Money Smart Family System

This book is different than the ones I normally read for booksneese. The Money Smart Family System by Steve and Annette Economides is a book about their system used in teaching their children about money.  Steve and Annette are known books and discussions on money management living on less than the norm.  After having many people in their house teaching them about budgeting and money management, one of their children asked “when are you going to teach me that?” and this book was born.

I really enjoyed this book.  We were just starting to talk about way of setting up allowances and chores for our children.  This book was very insightful into a simple practice method for kids to earn money.  I loved how the intent and attitude towards the chore was just as important (if not more) than the chore itself.   

I would recommend this book to parents (with children of any age) who want to teach them about money want help setting up a system at their house.

I think we will try a version of this system.  I really like the idea of not only teaching them how to earn money but also how to handle it with savings, giving, and spending.

Note: I did receive a copy of this book for free from www.booksneeze.com to read and review.  The opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for positive review.

Book Review: The Scarlet Cord

I  thoroughly enjoyed this last book.  The Scarlet Cord; the love story of Rahab by Joan Wolf is a wonderful interpretation of the Rahab story.  I have always been fascinated by this story and wondered where her intrigue into a different live and God came from the existence as a Canaanite.  Ms. Wolf does a wonder job and describing life in Jericho and the way of life for a Canaanite.  To them their wall seems impenetrable.  Rahab and her family’s life are thrown together with two Israelite merchants and their life is forever changed.  Rahab is torn between her family and old life and the new possible life is Sala, the Israelite. 

Again, I really enjoyed this book.  I found it hard to put down.  From the beginning of the book she has you hooked wondering what is going to happen to Rahab through all her circumstances.  My only complaint/thing about this book is it does not follow Rahab’s living conditions described in the bible.  I do think this picture paints a little too rosy picture of what Rahab was doing. 

Note: I did receive a copy of this book free to read and review from www.booksneeze.com.  The opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for a positive review.

Book Review: Through Rushing Water

Through Rushing Water by Catherine Richmond is a wonderful story about a young woman, Sophia, who makes a rash decision in the sight of tragedy. When Sophia (and the entire college she works at) presumes a young man will ask for her hand in marriage, they are all shocked when he asks her roommate instead.  Because of the loss and humiliation she decides to become and missionary and asked for immediate placement.  She is sent to the first available position, the Wild West on an Indian reservation to help teach and “Americanize” the Indians.  Sophia soon learns God has big plans for her there.  The lives of the Indians impacts her life more than she ever thought possible.  Though famine, harsh winters, death, and the government neglecting and moving the Indians she preservers and does whatever it takes to help and enrich the lives on the Ponca tribe.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  I know it’s a love story about Sophia and Will but the story of Sophia’s journey is so much more.  Sophia is a dynamic person with many levels and a sad past.  Her struggle with her faith and trying to show it to the Ponca tribe is relatable to modern day readers.   There are many people out there today that have either little knowledge of Christianity or have had too many people share warped glimpses of faith making it hard for them to see the true core of what it means to be a believer of Christ.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes books similar to pioneer or Amish setting Christian novels. 
 

Note: I did receive a copy of the book free from www.booksneeze.com to read and review.  The opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for a positive review.

Book Review: Spirit Fighter

Spirit Fighter by Jerel Law is a preteen teen Christian adventure book about Jonah Stone, a sixth grader who is average in every way until he finds out that he is a quarter angel.  Soon after when his mother is kidnapped by evil fallen angels Jonah and his younger sister Eliza are sent on a quest to save their mother.  The entire time they find all the amazing powers “quarterlings” have and how to rely on God for protection and guidance.

All in all in enjoyed this book.  It was a quick read and I think would be great for the intended audience.  I know they tried to compare it to a Christian Harry Potter or Percy Jackson and I think it’s close.  It’s hard sometimes to separate the literary talent from great advertising.  I would say that compared to most Christian authors in similar genres it is very well written.

I do think the author did a good job and mixing faith and scripture verses in a fictional story with adventure.  It didn’t come off as “Hey let’s take a break from this story to throw in a bible verse that kind of relates” like some do.  The idea of fallen angels having children with people does give a lot of interesting characteristic for a story line.

Note: I did receive a copy of this book for free from www.booksneeze.com to read and review.  The opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for a positive review.

Book Review: Garden of Madness

Garden of Madness by Tracy Higley is a fictional telling of King Nebuchadnezzer and his daughter Tiamat. When the king is turned into a mad man because of a prophecy and his pride, Tiamat is left without a father.  Seven years later when her husband dies she is thrown into a twisted plot of power, greed, and secrets.  As she tries to untangle everything going on around her she discovers secrets that change her family history and future. 

Along the way she keeps running into her brother-in-law, Pedaiah.  Pedaiah does not like how the Judean people are slowing mixing their Beliefs with Babylonian gods.  He struggles with keeping himself separate from the Babylon and his feelings for Tiamat.

Together Pedaiah and Tiamat discover God’s amazing plan for both of their lives and their families.  They both lean how submitting to God’s plan can change nations.

I really enjoyed this book.  I was amazed at how hard it was to put down.  The author did an amazing job of mixing fiction with history and faith.  It gave a rich depiction of Babylon appearance of greatness and the hostilities with the Judean slaves.  I would recommend this book to my friends and family and a great entertaining read with a good message and neat insight into a different time and culture.

Note: I was given a copy of this book from free from www.booksneeze.com to read and review. The opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for a positive review.

Book Review: Crazy Dangerous

Crazy Dangerous is a story of a teenage boy, Sam Hopkins, who makes the worst mistake of his life and then has to suffer through the consequences.  He gets into the wrong crowd, beaten up, blamed for murder, and becomes the friend of a strange girl no one else believes.  Through all of this his life is turned upside down and he discovers what a man and how faith effects that.

I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would.  There were a few spots where I struggled getting into it.  I also found when I stopped reading I could go a week until I remembered that I hadn’t finished it.  Not a gripper but good.  Then again I am not the intended audience. 

I would recommend this book to any preteen or teen I knew.  It had a good message.  Although the plot line was a little extreme to what teens today are experiencing, I thought the overall message of bravery and consequences was good.

Note: I did receive a free copy of this book from www.booksneeze.com for review.  The opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for a positive review.

Book Review: Momaholic: Crazy Confessions of a helicopter parent

Momaholic: Crazy confessions of a Helicopter parent by Dena Higley is the true story of Dena and her family. Dena tried to be everything; the perfect mother, wife, boss, pto member, church member, etc, and failed miserable. Only in those lowest moments was she able to realize how wrong she had gone by tying to do everything by herself. With the help of her family, friends, and her faith in God she was able to let go of her children and let them grow into responsible adults, who learned from their own mistakes. She also learned to change her identity as the women who could be everything the the woman who was a child of God’s and did not need to control everything.

Although her story is extreme it is very easy to see glimpses of yourself in some of the stories. From her story you realize children are going to make mistakes and they will learn more from them than you doing it for them. Also each child is different and needs to be taught differently how to grow and flourish on their own.

I really enjoyed this book. It is a quick read and highly entertaining (mostly because of how crazy her life has been sometimes). I would recommend this book to any mother (or father) trying to learn how to deal with life and all its challenges.

P.S. a helicopter parent is a parent how hovers over their child and everything they do.

Book Review: Simply Grilling

Another Great Cook Book!!!

Simply Grilling by Jennifer Chandler is a cookbook meant to make grilling simply and inviting. Tons of recipes cover everything from appetizer to dessert.

I really enjoyed looking through this cookbook and have marked many recipes to try. I was especially excited about the salad section. I don’t think salads when talking about grilling but she made them look amazing. Grilled Caesar salad or grilled bruschetta… YUM!

I do think she made many simple recipes but some seem a little less simple than initially implied. A couple of the recipes have two or three things cooking at once and not all on the grill. She also has a few dessert recipes that have nothing to do with the grill. They are just great summer grill out foods. Although they looked great, they didn’t seem to fit into the book.

All in all I am very happy about this book and can’t wait to use it. I am also interested in her other books mentioned in the opening pages.

Note: I did receive a copy of this book from www.booksneeze.com to review. The opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for a positive review.

Book Review: Farm Fresh Southern Cooking

Farm Fresh Southern Cooking by Tammy Algood is a wonderful cookbook full of recipes that use lots of locally available produce. Her desire is to get people out of the grocery stores and shop at local farmers markets and with local farmers. She also discusses briefly how to eat seasonally and preserve foods to enjoy all year long.

I was surprised by the amount of recipes in the book. A lot of times when you get a book advocating local produce its 150 pages of someone preaching why local produce is better and then 20 recipes.

This cookbook is many many recipes that all sound amazing. She does not limit it to ingredients only found locally. She does use canned tomatoes, corn bread mixes, etc occasionally from the store. But the emphasis of each recipe is using wonderful fresh ingredient that can be purchased locally.

I also enjoy all of the spotlights she does on local farmers. She has covered most of the southern states highlighting local farmers who specialize in a certain food. These are the bigger companies that sell on a larger scale but still offer an amazing product. With the highlight she includes contact information and the website (if they have one). This a great way to not only learn about the company but to also know where they are for a quick detour on a road trip. I already have a couple stops in mind for our upcoming trip to PA.

Also one of the farms I pass every day (Roger’s Farm in Gainesville Florida) was mentioned in this book. Its nice to know that a local place got a great shout out in the book.

All in all I really enjoyed this cookbook. I am excited to add it to my wall/kindle of cookbooks to use.

Note: I did receive a free copy of this book from www.booksneeze.com to review. The comments above are my own and I was not compensated for a positive review.

Book Review: The 13th Tribe

The 13th Tribe by Robert Liparulo is a book about a group of people left to roam the world and never die because of a decision they made a long time ago. Thousands of years ago Moses went onto Mount Sinai to commune with God and receive the 10 commandments. While he was up there the Israelites got restless and asked for a God. When Aaron complied and made them a golden statue, they worshipped it. For that sin on having so little faith in God a group of them were banished from the promise land and left to roam the earth forever. They have spent the years being vigilantes for God trying to get back into his favor with little luck.

As they plot what the newest biggest plan, everything falls apart. One of the senior leaders of the group does not agree with the innocent causalities that will occur with the newest plan and so he steals a very important piece and runs. The other scours the world looking for him ending up where it all started.

From the description above this books sounds exciting, action packed, and a little confusing. Unfortunately I was only able to find this book confusing… and very hard to read. The characters are well written and thought out but the writing style just seems to lag. Normally a book like this would only take me a couple days to read. It has been over a week and I am still less than half way through. Maybe the second half will pick up ad I will enjoy it but right now I cant imagine doing that. I think I need to put it down again and try later.

So this is my review of half the book. Its sounds great but lacks the intensity I expected.

Note: I did receive a free copy of this book from www.booksneeze.com to review. The opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for a positive review.

Book Review: Eyes of Justice

They have done it again. Eye of Justice by Lis Wiehl and April Henry is the sad story and loss of a third of the triple threat club. When Cassidy Shaw is murdered, Allison and Nicole want to help and are blocked at every point. Only with the help of private investigator Ophelia do things start to make sense. Right when they have a suspect in custody, another murder occurs.

This is another great book in the triple threat series. I am very sad to see Cassidy Shaw go. I really liked her dynamic character and balance to the group. I think it will be interesting to see where the series goes from here. With their futures looking bright in the end and a new friend starting in the group, the direction of the next books could be anywhere.

As always I would recommend any of the books in this series as a great read. Lis and April have done a great job weaving suspense plots and creating wonderful relatable characters.

Note: I did receive a copy of this book for free from www.booksneeze.com to read and review. The opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for a positive review.

Book Review: The wedding dress

The Wedding dress by Rachel Hauck is a wonderful story about a wedding dress and four amazing stories of love.
One day when Charlotte is driving around trying to think and she finds herself at an estate auction where she buys a trunk for $1000. Soon after that her life is turned upside down. Her fiancée wants to delay the wedding and a strange man in a purple ascot keeps coming around and confusing her with his words of wisdom. When Charlotte opens the trunk inside she finds a wedding dress in perfect condition. As she searches for the original owners of the wedding dress she finds friends, family, and stories of love.

Emily is a young girl living in 1912. Although she recently excepted the proposal from Phillip, her heart is for another man. Philip comes from a successful established family that will not only benefit her way of life but also her families. Emily is torn between her heart and her duties and the established law of segregation and thoughts of equality. As Emily learns to listen to her heart and God’s will she starts an amazing sequence of events that changes 4 generations of lives.

I really enjoyed this book. It is a feel good book. I know the author meant for the book to hold a lot more deep meaning (man with the purple ascot, etc) but I just read it as an entertaining book and enjoyed it. I do feel like the author tried to throw in too many tie ins to biblical stories and biblical references. They didn’t flow with the story most of the time. They more felt like after math snippets added.

Note: I did receive a copy of this book for free from www.booksneeze.com to read and review. The opinions listed above are my own and I as not compensated for a positive review.

Book List Update: February

Sally’s 2012 Book List


1. 12 books for booksneeze.com
a. This thing of Ours- reviewed in January
b. First Date- reviewed in January
c. Heart of Ice- reviewed in January
d. A Sound Like Fire- reviewed in February
e. Our Favorite Sins- reviewed in February
f. Constantly Craving- reviewed in February
g. Simple Secrets to a Happy life- got on Feb 29th

2. Bible in a year
a. January- In Exodus, on schedule
b. February- Thru Joshua, about 2 weeks ahead of schedule

3. Kisses from Katie- sitting on my kindle waiting to be read

4. 3 spiritual or uplifting books
a. The Cross Centered Life- started in February
b. Isreal my Beloved- sitting on my Kindle waiting to be read

5. 3 self help or organization books
a. Organized Simplicity by Tsh O- completed in January
b. Life Management- completed in February

6. 3 budget or business books

7. Anything else I want to
a. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
b. Ancient Alier Encounters (“proving” the 1st chapter of Ezekiel is actually the first recorded Alien encounter on Earth)
c. 1 book in the JD Robb “in death” series
d. Will love for Crumbs- started in Feb

Book Review: The Simple Secrets to a Happy Life

I first have to say I have never met Luci, I have never heard her speak and this is the only book of hers I have read (so far) but I want to be her friend. The way she looks at life, friendships, what she has determined important in the world is amazing. A lot of the ideas in this book everyone knows and few practice. Her ability to make the tasks and skills simple to start is admirable.

Simple Secrets to a Happy Life is a book by Luci Swindoll outlining 50 simple tasks that make life happier. They are not superficial things like buy a new outfit because she understands temporary happiness is not enough. These 50 things are simple and yet hard at the same time. Things like being content, take care of yourself, giving generously, always be on time, do your homework, always be kind, etc.

There are many things from this book that I will take with me. The biggest thing is a definition of contentment she has in the book.

“Keep your heart free fro hate, your mind from worry, live simply, expect little, give much, sing often, pray always, forget self, think of others and their feelings, fill your heart with love, and scatter laughter wherever you go. These are the links in the golden chain of contentment.”



Note: I did receive a copy of this book from www.booksneeze.com for free to read and review. The opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for positive reviews. For more information on how you can review books for free go to www.booksneeze.com.

Book Review: Constantly Craving.

Constantly craving by Marilyn Meberg are always craving something more. Some times we realize it and sometimes we don’t.

Example: At age 5, Marilyn’s next-door neighbor (same age) was sure she would rather live in Marilyn’s house because she was an only child and the house would be quiet. Marilyn believed living at the neighbor’s house would be better because she had siblings. After switching for one night they realized they were happy with what they were used to.

She does some interesting comparison (I believe she is a psychologist) about how we want or crave things because they make us happy and fulfilled.

For instance a big topic of conversation is friendship and your spouse. She believes the common phrase “You marry your parents” is true. She goes on to dissect how our upbringing molds us into picking a spouse like our parents.

I have so say I can see her point and I agree. But I also kind of disagree. She is very specific on we pick traits in our spouse because those traits can be found in our parents and she doesn’t elaborate on how sometimes we pick traits in our spouse because they were absent in our parents.

(FYI. Mom and Dad if you are reading this, I am not talking specifically about you, us, me, and our relationship; just in general. I love you both.)

This topic of fulfilling past absences does come out later in friendships but not spouses.

I have to agree with other reviewers of this book. The first four or so chapters of this book are really good and then the book kind of falls away. It sort of seems like a lot of little tangents put together.

In general I did like the book. I think she has some very interesting points especially about how being content is about your relationship with Jesus and not the world around you. If Paul can be content in jail just before being executed, I can content in my car during a traffic jam.

Note: I did receive a copy of this book free from www.booksneeze.com to review. The opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for a positive review.

Book Review: Our Favorite Sins

Our favorite Sins by Todd Hunter is a self-help type book where he teaches you to look at the sins your heart desires. Weather sex, money, love, pride, food, drink, anxiety, etc it all shows where our heart and out focus is.

Todd helps you understand how to control these desires and refocus our hearts to its number one desire is to be like Christ.

I really enjoyed this book. I have foudn this book very interesting. Its something that I have been thinking about a lot sinse starting to read this book with everything I do. It truely makes you evaluated why you do something - for you and your earthly desires or for God and your desire to be closer to him.
Todd does a great job with breaking it down into doable steps and saying many times that there is no such thing as perfection. His real life, non-pious look about the topic makes it seem doable from the smallest vices to the big desires that plague you.

One of my favorite quotes from the books is (and I am paraphrasing) temptations do not make desires in your heart but desires allow for temptations to be present. So if food is not a sinful desire for your then going to a buffet is not a temptation.

I do recommend this book to people who are struggling with the big temptations and people who want to learn how to have a heart desire Christ more.

Note: I was given a copy of this book for free from www.booksneeze.com to read adn review. The opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for a positive review.

Sally's Book List for 2012

Here is my book list for 2012. Right now I am doing well completing it. I am reading a lot of other books that don't fall under any of these categories. I want to keep track of them too on a separate list.

Book suggestions are greatly appreciated. It doesnt have to fill a category. It can just be a great book you think I would enjoy.

Sally’s 2012 Book List

1) 12 books from Booksneeze.com
1. This Thing of Ours - reviewed in January
2. First Date - reviewed in January
3. Heart of Ice - reviewed in January
4. Sound like Fire - reviewed in February
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

2) The Bible in a year
January – In Exodus, on schedule
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

3) Kisses from Kate

4) 3 Spiritual / uplifting Books
1. The Cross Centered Life
2.
3.

5) 3 Self help / Organization Books
1. Organized Simplicity by Tsh O. - completed in January
2. Life Management - completed in February
3.

6) 3 Budget and/or Business Books
1.
2.
3.

Other books I've read in 2012
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Ancient Alien Encounter ("proving" the first chapter of Ezekiel is actually a the first recorded alien encounter on earth)
1 book in the JD Robb "In Death" series

P.S. Its so amazing how much you can read with 1) a device that travels easy, and 2) turning off the TV and putting down the magazines.

Book Review: A sound Like Fire

A sound Like Fire by K D Veron is a story of the revelation. The story is mostly told by Dax, a politician who helps the New World Order start and then realized the truth behind the new government with his brother (a preacher) is disappears with all of the other Christians on earth. Dax and his Wife Sally flee for their life and freedom from the evil government forcing people to worship Lucifer . The book does an amazing job showing how things occurring today could be the start of the prophecy of the second coming. He using real political and world crisis as examples of the world cracking before Satan takes if over. The deception of the Antichrist to the masses is chilling and so believable. It makes me as a reader almost hyper observant to what is going on in today's politics, economics, etc.

This book was an amazing adaptation/interpretation of what the revelation will be like. I really enjoyed it. From all of the destruction and awful things that occurred I did take a lot of hope out of it. The Christian Church was not destroyed while on earth on persecuted. And that God always looked out for those who were left and then came to him. Although they did have to endure an awful physical life while still on Earth God loved them and was taking care of them.

The one thing I didn't love about the book was his use of real people in today's world and certain businesses and organization. Although he changed one letter in a name it was very obvious who he did not like. It just seemed kind of petty and immature to do it.

All in all, this is a great book. It was easy to read and in my opinion much better than the left behind series.

Note: I was given a copy of this book to review from www.booksneeze.com. The opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for a positive review.

Book Review (Kind of)

I tried to read the Jesus We Missed by Patrick Henry Reardon but was unable to ever get the book to download.

When you read and write reviews for booksneeze the only way to get another book is to post the web address for your reviews. So here is my review..

The website wasn't working and I could not get the book to download. The title and reviews of the book looks very compelling. It discusses the human aspect of Jesus and his physical, emotional, psychological struggles because of them.

I hope this starts to work later so I can read this book.

Book Review: Heart of Ice

Heart of Ice is Lis Whiel and April Henry is a suspenseful crime novel about three women who call themselves the triple threat; a FBI agent, prosecutor, and crime TV reporter. These three women help each other with their jobs and with personal life. The book also involves Elizabeth a women who lie, cheats, steal, manipulates, and kills to get what she wants. As these four women's live are thrown together, death and mystery occurs.

This book was good. It took me a long time to get through it. If it wasn't for this assignment to read and review the book I think I would have quit about 1/3 of the way through. I'm glad I didn't in the end. In the beginning you are following six different characters with many more side characters. A good 50% of the book is just setting up the background of the story and the people. It doesn't really get exciting until about 2/3 of the way through. If you can make it that far than you will fly through the last third of the book.

I am a huge fan of Lis Wiehls books. This one was no exception in the end. Lis Wiehl is very good about weaving these interesting complex plot lines and yet making them understandable to the author.

Note: I was given a copy of this book to read and review through www.booksneeze.com. I was not compensated for a positive review and the opinions above are my own.

Book Review: First Date

First Date by Krista McGee is a cute book for teens about a girl, Addy, who gets picked to be on a reality TV show competing to be the prom date of the President's son. Addy is not one for attention and glamour. She is a quiet girl focused on good grades and making it to an ivy league school. Though kicking and screaming she does the show. Throughout the show she becomes America's sweetheart for just being herself. She runs into many obstacles including other contestants not liking her and the exec producer and host scheming to get her off the show. In spite of all this Addy starts a great relationship with the Presidents Son, Johnathon.

Throughout the book Addy also deals with her faith in God and his plan for Addy being on this show. Once she is no longer afraid for people to know she is a Christian and that God is in control, she sees how God uses her to better the lives of so many.

Overall I liked the book. I realize I was not the intended target but it was a fun quick read. I would recommend this book to teenagers.

Note: I did receive a free copy of the book from www.booksneeze.com to read and review. I was not compensated for a positive review and the opinions listed above are my own.

Book Review: This Thing of Ours

This thing of Ours: How Faith saved my Mafia Marriage by Camille Franzese is the story of Cammy and her dating a man named Michael. Later they were married and had children. What Cammy didn't really know was that Michael was the son of Sonny Franzese, head of the Colombo Mafia family.

As Michael was trying to get out of the family and his old life, he spent 8 years in jail. During those times Cammy learned to live owning everything and nothing. She an her children would travel the US visiting Michael at different prisons.

This story is one of prayer, faith and commitment. She talks a lot about her mother's solid faith and insistence that prayer would help. Though this force Cammy and Michael both became devote Christians relying on God to resolve these issues. Today Michael is an author and speaker about the power of Faith and God.

There were a few things in this book that really stood out to me. A couple good and a couple bad.

First I loved Cammy's commitment to marriage. She really believes that for better or worse she made a commitment to Michael and never thought about or tempted herself into breaking it.
Second, I loved her honesty about making Michael an idol in her life and thinking he could fix everything instead of relying on God and his path. This is something I think a lot of women are guilty of (myself included) at some point in their marriage. Its so easy to place the love of your life in charge because he is here and you can see him and touch him and you love him so much.

The couple things I didn't like were a few stories in there where she would name out a specific person who wronged them. It felt a little petty to me and something she needs to let go. For instance, the special agent who was trying to get Michael into jail. This agent may have been out to get Michael but consider what Michael was a part of. I don't know if this agent ever crossed the line or did truly have a grudge against Michael but her hatred towards this man came through in this book and turned me off towards her a little. The second story a the guard who wasn't going to let her see Michael and made up the excuse her outfit was inappropriate. I just felt this story made her look a little petty and was not necessary towards her goal and voice in the book.

Overall I enjoyed this book. I don't think I would read it again, but I will keep this copy in my collection.

Note: I did receive a free copy of this book from www.booksneeze.com for review. The opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for a positive review.

Test blog

I need to see if this will let ne post from my phone.