Eye of the Sword by Karyn Henley

Genre- Fiction/Fantasy

Series- Angelaeon Circle

Published by- WaterBrook Multnomah

Copyrighted- 2012

Number of pages- 233

Age Group- Young Adult and Adult

Description of book- paperback, list price $9.99, ISBN 978-0-307-73014-5

Trevin serves King Laetham of Camrithia.  And he loves the princess, Melaia, but she is being wooed by the Dregmoorian prince.

King Laetham sends Trevin on a quest to find the missing comains (captains in the king’s army), which he gives his all.  Along with this mission he has another one, find special harps for Melaia.  She needs those harps to restore the stairway to heaven.

Trevin will face many dangers: threats, winds, and fire caves.  Trevin continues his quest, even when he is accused of murder.  Will Trevin be able to accomplish everything he needs to?

Chapter One

About the author- Karyn Henley has won a regional Emmy Award for a Christmas television special.  She wrote Beginner’s Bible, which has sold more than five million copies.  Breath of Angel is the first book in this series.  She lives in Tennessee. 

Karyn Henley’s Website.

My thoughts- I have not read the first book in this series and there is enough information in this book, to not need to read the first book if it is not available.  This book was so good I couldn’t put it down.  I stayed up late reading it.  And I am looking forward to the next one.

I thought the characters and the plot lines were well developed.  As I was reading I could close my eyes and see and feel what Trevin and Princess Melaia were experiencing.

The addition of the Angelaeon was splendid.  It reminded me of the series Chuck Black has written, but the series are completely different.  This series has something I had never thought of before, the Nephili (half-angel, half-human) and Windwings (winged horses).

I would recommend this book if you like fantasy and being captivated ‘til the end.

Disclosure of Material Connection- I received Eye of the Sword by Karyn Henley for free from the WaterBrook Multnomah “Blogging For Books” program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

By Faith, Not by Sight by Scott MacIntyre

Genre- Religion/Christian Life/Inspirational

Published by- Thomas Nelson

Copyrighted- 2012

Number of pages- 271

Age Group- Teen and Adult

Description of Book- hardback, list price $19.99, ISBN 978-0-8499-4721-6

He has been on American Idol, he’s blind, and he has a strong faith in God.

Scott MacIntyre’s life has never been ordinary, since birth he has been blind and by the age of six he had a paying gig with the piano.  When he graduated from college at the age of nineteen and was soon to be on his way to college in England, he was diagnosed with kidney failure.  It was with his faith in God and his family and friends that he was able to conquer the odds and call his trials and a blessing and not a curse.

Author- Scott MacIntyre has toured across the world giving concerts and was the first blind finalist on American Idol.  He is an inspirational speaker and his latest CD debuted at #18 in the iTunes Pop Album Chart.

My Thoughts- Scott MacIntyre has had a lot of triumphs and a lot of struggles.  I am very impressed that he continually maintained his faith throughout it all.  This book should be required reading for all those in high school, so they can discover that God’s blessings are there in their darkest days. 

Many people think that breaking up with a boyfriend or girlfriend is the end of the world, but Scott has had many more serious issues and has triumphed.  He has been legally blind since he was born, but he never let that stop him from reaching his dreams.  He learned to play the piano and sing, went to college in England, and participated in American Idol.  

Along with being blind, he also had kidney failure when he was graduating from college.  He had wonderful doctors, family and friends.  He was able to get a new kidney.  I was surprised to read that his little sister developed the same problem later on and I was glad that she has had the same success.

It is for Scott’s faith in God during his trials that I highly recommend this book.

Disclosure of Material Connection- I received By Faith, Not by Sight by Scott MacIntyre for free from the publisher through the BookSneeze Review Bloggers Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

The Merchant’s Daughter by Melanie Dickerson

Genre- Teen Fiction

The Merchants Daughter by Melanie Dickerson

Published by- Zondervan

Copyrighted- 2011

Number of pages- 284

Age Group- Grade 7-10

Description of book- softcover, list price $9.99, ISBN: 978-0-310-72761-3

Annabel wants to have a life in a nunnery to escape the advances of the bailiff.  Unfortunately, her family is now in great debt and she has become an indentured servant to Lord Ranulf, which puts her even closer to the bailiff. 

Lord Ranulf is not the man she expects him to be and he begins to give her security and joy.  Her problems with the bailiff and her insecurity puts him in danger and everything rests with her.  Annabel will need to decide between her plans and the plans God has for her.

About the author- Melanie Dickerson lives in Alabama with her husband and two daughters. She has a bachelors degree in special education of the hearing impaired and has been a teacher and missionary. Her novel has been a finalist seven times in Romance Writers of America sponsored contests.

 

My thoughts- I loved this book.  As I read it, it gave me chills and goose bumps.  When I come across something excellent I feel like that, so I knew this book was great.

 

Annabel was a strong Christian woman, but she had weaknesses as many of us do and that was not telling Lord Ranulf everything when it came to Bailiff Tom, because she wasn’t willing to trust enough.  I hope I can always remember to trust those who are to be trusted.

 

I highly recommend this book. 

 

Disclosure of Material Connection- I received The Merchant’s Daughter by Melanie Dickerson for free from Zondervan. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255. All links were current when posted.

Tyndale by David Teems

Genre- Biography & Autobiography/Religious/General

Published by- Thomas Nelson

Copyrighted- 2012

Number of pages- 303

Age Group- Adult

Description of Book- paperback, list price $15.99, ISBN 978-1-5955-5221-1

It is the age of Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, Martin Luther, Thomas More, and a man by the name of William Tyndale.

The Catholic Church controls almost everything for the English and there are people who wish to change the way people get the word of God.  William Tyndale is one of the people who plans to help change the world.  He lives and works in secret, because he has been exiled from England.

What will happen to Tyndale and the English Reformation?

Author- David Teems and his wife live in Tennessee near their grown sons.  He has written four other books, one of them, Majestie: The King Behind the King James Bible.

My Thoughts- I thought this book was very interesting.  Some of it was long and boring, but I can understand if there is not a lot of information about his daily life.  Sometimes I thought there was a little too much information about Thomas More.  I know he was an important character in Tyndale’s history, but there was too much information about him.

William Tyndale was an awesome man.  He wrote a Bible with words that everybody would understand and gave his permission for all future translations.  Tyndale is a person we Christians can look up to.  Today’s writers can take note as well, because Tyndale wrote for his ideal reader, who was the plowboy.  That is something to remember when writing.

Tyndale also made a lot of new words which can be learned in the appendix.  And many of them we use today.

I highly recommend.

Disclosure of Material Connection- I received Tyndale: The Man Who Gave God and English Voice by David Teems for free from the publisher through the BookSneeze Review Bloggers Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Man Alive by Patrick Morley

Genre- Christen Living/Men

Published by- WaterBrook Multnomah

Copyrighted- 2011

Number of pages- 208

Age Group- Adult

Description of book- paperback, list price $14.99, ISBN 978-1-60142—386-3

Many men are unsure how to have “a rich and satisfying life” (John 10:10) with Jesus.  This book will help you become the man you need and want to be. 

Dive into this book where you will learn your seven primal needs and how to relate them to the Bible.  You will learn:

• How you know God really knows and cares about you.
• Your life has purpose.
• How to break the cycle.

Here is a link to an excerpt.

About the author- Patrick Morley has been advocating for men for many years and has founded Man in the Mirror to help men all over the world.  He lives in Florida with his wife.  They have four grandchildren and two married children.  He is on Facebook and more information can be found at www.maninthemirror.com.

My thoughts- While I am not a man, I have listened to what my husband has said about his relationship with God and I know this is the book for him and any man that has the desire to improve his spiritual life.

I thought it was great how each chapter was about one of the seven primal needs that man needs to resolve to have a good spiritual life with God.  The questions at the end of the chapters help the reader think more deeply about what he has learned.

I highly recommend this book to all men.

Disclosure of Material Connection- I received Man Alive by Patrick Morley for free from the WaterBrook Multnomah “Blogging For Books” program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

The Healer’s Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson

Genre- Teen Fiction

The Healer’s Apprentice  by Melanie Dickerson

Published by- Zondervan

Copyrighted- 2010

Number of pages- 268

Age Group- Grade 7-10

Description of book- softcover, list price $9.99, ISBN: 978-0-310-72143-7

Rose is the healer’s apprentice at Hagenheim Castle.  She doesn’t like the sight of blood, but she needs to prove herself.  She doesn’t want to marry any of the elderly bachelors and widows her mother wants her to marry.

Lord Hamlin, the future duke, falls for Rose when she takes care of his injury from a boar.  Hamlin is unable to act upon his feelings, because he is betrothed to a young lady in hiding.

Rose has fallen for Lord Hamlin, but she knows he is betrothed to another.  She needs God to help her determine her own destiny.  Can she do it?

About the author- Melanie Dickerson lives in Alabama with her husband and two daughters.  She has a bachelors degree in special education of the hearing impaired and has been a teacher and missionary.  Her novel has been a finalist seven times in Romance Writers of America sponsored contests.

 

My thoughts- I loved reading this book.  I thought it was a great idea to use the basic storyline of Sleeping Beauty.  Rose is a wonderful example of how the young ladies of today should behave.  She did have moments of weakness, as most of us do, but she was strong when it was most important, when Lord Rupert and Lord Hamlin presented temptation or were the temptations themselves.  Even when she had the chance to be with both of them she held to her morals with the knowledge that God was with her and would help her.

 

I thought this book was wonderful and I would highly recommend this book to all young ladies so they learn better ways to behave and treat romance. 

Disclosure of Material Connection- I received The Healer’s Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson for free from Zondervan. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255. All links were current when posted.

Going Deep by Gordon MacDonald

Genre- Religion/Christian Life/Spiritual Growth

Published by- Thomas Nelson

Copyrighted- 2011

Number of pages- 384

Age Group- Adult

Description of Book- paperback, list price $6.99, ISBN 978-0-7852-2608-6

Have you ever wanted to become a deep person in Christ?  This book is going to show you how, so be prepared to enjoy this book and don’t forget to take notes.

Gordon MacDonald uses the fictional setting from his book, Who Stole My Church?  As the priest he realizes his church is missing something.  Deep people.

Along with his wife, Gordon chooses a small group of people to meet once a week to cultivate into deep people.  The group, along with Gordon and his wife learn what spiritually deep people are like.  And excitement spreads to the rest of the church.

Author- Dr. Gordon MacDonald has written a number of books and has been a pastor over fifty years.  He lives with his wife, Gail, in New Hampshire.

My Thoughts- I haven’t read any of his books, but I was intrigued when I read the synopsis.  I want to be a deep person for God and I thought this book would help me do that.

One of the best parts of this book was that is was written as a novel, which made it much easier to read.  I thought it could be dry if it had been written as nonfiction.

Even though it may be written as a novel, there were many nuggets of information in each chapter.  It took many notes about how Gordon should be a rabbi like Jesus, the group learned about their temperaments, how to pray, and many other things.

I would like to see a workbook to go with this book.  It would help many readers become deep people if there was a guide they could use on a daily basis.

I highly recommend.

Disclosure of Material Connection- I received Going Deep by Gordon MacDonald for free from the publisher through the BookSneeze Review Bloggers Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.