Category Archives: Reviews

Review: A Cast of Stones, by Patrick W. Carr

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A Cast of Stones, by Patrick W. CarrA Cast of Stones, by Patrick W. Carr (Bethany House, 2013)

The kingdom of Illustra has a mediaeval feel to it, with horses, knights and magic. The story opens with Errol, a homeless youth, seizing the opportunity to deliver a message to a reclusive priest. The money will buy him more ale, which will push back the memories he can’t face.

Errol is the most unlikely of heroes: scrawny, hopeless and addicted to drink. Yet as he’s dragged unwillingly along with the others on a desperate journey, he develops skills and a sense of worth. Something about the lad engaged my interest from page one, before I realized he was the novel’s protagonist. (He wouldn’t like me to use the word “hero.”)

There are plenty of allegorical references to the Christian faith, but not in a way that should limit this book’s appeal to a wider audience. Readers will find the corrupt as well as the pure within Illustra’s church leaders. Indeed, the pure seems the exception rather than the rule.

The magic element comes from those who can cast and read hand-carved lots. To anyone but a reader, the lots look like balls made of wood or stone. To a reader who asks the right question, the lots can reveal truth—and the future.

The novel’s magic and religious systems are well-thought-out, the world feels believably real, and the characters come alive. Errol’s perpetual danger on his journey (and once he reaches his destination) and his transformation along the way, make for a deeply satisfying fantasy read.

Favourite line:

“I am Brother Fenn,” the man in the cowl said. His voice sounded dry, dusty—as if he’d forsaken water when he’d taken the rest of his vows. [Kindle location 1616]

A Cast of Stones is book one in The Staff & The Sword trilogy, and I was happy to discover that books two and three are already available. For more about the author and his books, visit patrickwcarr.com. You can watch a brief trailer for A Cast of Stones, complete with original music: [youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqmIFM3T080] [Review copy from my personal library.]

Review: Secretly Yours, by Valerie Comer

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Secretly Yours, by Valerie ComerSecretly Yours, by Valerie Comer (GreenWords Media, 2014)

Who doesn’t love a secret admirer story? When chef Lindsey Solberg returns to the small town of Riverbend, BC, she’s shocked to recognize the youth pastor of her sister’s church. The way Nick Harrison behaved in high school, church was the last place she’d expect to see him.

No way will Lindsey risk Nick hurting her again. What’s a guy to do but send anonymous gifts and try to win her trust?

Secretly Yours is a Valentine’s Day novella, and the shorter length is perfect for an afternoon’s read. Author Valerie Comer always adds more than the romance. In this story (the first of a series to be set in Riverbend) we see Lindsey’s step-father as a morose, deflated kind of man. Dynamics in the household are not good—that’s why Lindsey returned, to act as a buffer for her younger sister. I suspect we’ll see some changes and growth in these characters as the series progresses.

What I most appreciated about Secretly Yours was watching Lindsey’s discovery of God’s love as personal. It’s a tricky balance, to know He loves each individual as if he/she were special. As Lindsey says in the story, we can think of Jesus’ death to save us something for everyone—which of course it was—without realizing how personal it was for each soul.

Valerie Comer is a prolific Canadian author of romance (plus one fantasy novel). She’s most known for her Farm Fresh Romance series. This new Riverbend series is set in Canada, which is a treat for readers like me. For more about the author and her books, visit valeriecomer.com.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Review: Triple Threat, by H.L. Wegley

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Triple Threat, by HL WegleyTriple Threat, by HL Wegley (Harbourlight Books, 2014)

If you like novels that kick up the adrenaline on the first page, this one’s for you. Triple Threat is book 4 in the Pure Genius series, and it features Jennifer and Lee’s adopted daughter, Katie, who’s about to turn 21. Timeline-wise, it’s five years after Moon over Maalaea Bay.

Katie is doing her doctoral research on tracking terrorist messages on the Internet. When she discovers a triple threat aimed at the US (fire, power blackouts and disease) she and research partner Joshua West don’t have time to convince the FBI. They have to get proof – and stay alive long enough to deliver it.

Triple Threat reads like a movie. Some of the action is a bit past the believable point for me, but it’s good, clean fun. There’s a spiritual element too. Katie and Josh discover a mutual attraction, but she isn’t willing to have a relationship with a man who’s not a Christian. Josh thinks faith is for people who can’t see it doesn’t work. They have some interesting chats as Katie shares how her brilliant mind sees reasons for her faith.

Because the novel deals with cyber crimes, there are technical terms that get thrown around to give context, terms the characters would likely use. Confession: those sentences were over my head, so I skimmed them. Didn’t affect my enjoyment of the story any more than if the characters had been talking medicine or botany.

I haven’t yet read book 1 in this series, but the others have been good reads. HL Wegley writes clean, action-based fiction that tackles real-life issues like terrorism and human trafficking. If you like novels that tackle grittier subjects yet won’t leave you traumatized, check out the Pure Genius series. If you want to start at the beginning, book 1 is Hide and Seek.

Author HL Wegley describes his novels’ atmosphere as “A climate of suspense and a forecast of stormy weather.” For more about the author and his books, visit hlwegley.com.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Review: A Promise to Protect, by Patricia Bradley

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A Promise to Protect, by Patricia BradleyA Promise to Protect, by Patricia Bradley (Revell, 2014)

To finish repaying her student loans, Dr. Leigh Somerall must take a temporary position in the one place she dreads: the small southern town of Logan Point. Logan Point was home, once.

Soon after she and her son TJ arrive, Leigh’s brother Tony is murdered. His dying request to Acting Sheriff Ben Logan? Protect Leigh.

Ben is the last person Leigh wants around – what if he discovers TJ is his son? It’s been too many years, and she’s told too many lies, to reveal the truth now.

In the mean time, whoever killed Tony wants a certain flash drive. And thinks Leigh has it. A series of attacks, some aimed at Leigh and some at the town’s general safety, keep Ben and his team scrambling. Is it really about Leigh, or is it about undermining the people’s confidence in Ben, who’ll be running for Sheriff in the next election?

A Promise to Protect is deftly plotted and keeps the reader guessing. I enjoyed the suspense more than Leigh’s angst over whether to tell Ben about his son. Ben and Leigh are realistic characters, each with inner struggles as well as the external one thrust on them by the unknown villains. And although this is their story, it was good to see Taylor Martin from the previous novel playing a small role.

This is book 2 in Patricia Bradley’s Logan Point series. Personally, I engaged better with the characters in book 1, Shadows of the Past, but both are quality stories, well told and well worth reading. I’m looking forward to the next in the series.

Patricia Bradley writes romantic suspense for Revell, and romance for Harlequin Heartwarming. For a brief, suspenseful read, visit her website and read her short story, “Blood Kin.”

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Review: Emissary, by Thomas Locke

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Emissary, by Thomas LockeEmissary, by Thomas Locke (Revell, 2014)

Hyam is an honest and unremarkable farmer in a world where magic is only permitted within the confines of  Long Halls: places of training for wizards. He was a Long Hall acolyte for a time, until the wizards threw him out. Not that he wanted to stay. To be an acolyte was much like being a prisoner.

Now, as Hyam reaches his coming-of-age birthday (21), his mother’s deathbed request sends him back to the Long Hall with a message. The unwelcome news he receives there, plus the sudden onset of what seems to be magical ability, thrusts him from his home and into a life of adventure.

Emissary is mainstream fantasy fiction, in the classic reluctant hero’s journey style. It’s been called epic, but I wouldn’t go that far. It’s a fun read with plenty of action and struggle, enjoyable characters and a well-developed world and magic system, but epic fantasy has a weight to it. Emissary, for all the great danger Hyam faces, is a lighter read.

The dangers are huge and at times spectacular, but he always comes through them with ease – even when survival looks impossible at first. [I’m excluding the ending from this comment, because I don’t want to give any spoilers. Perhaps they all die. You’ll have to read the book to find out!]

Thomas Locke is a pseudonym for Davis Bunn, a well-known, award-winning novelist. I understand the choice to use a pen name for this series. It’s an entirely different genre (fantasy instead of suspense) and it’s also a clean mainstream story instead of Davis Bunn’s overtly Christian novels. This way, readers know not to have the same expectations they’d have of his other work.

If you want to know more about Emissary, there’s a free ebook excerpt called The Captive available through the author’s site: The Captive. This may be only available in Kindle format. It’s Joelle’s story (she’s one of the key characters in Emissary). There’s also a book trailer for Emissary and a sample chapter on the Thomas Locke website.

Emissary is book 1 in the Legends of the Realm series, and book 2 is scheduled to release in 2016. Also to come from Thomas Locke is Trial Run, book 1 in the Fault Lines series. This one looks more like science fiction from the brief description at the end of Emissary, and I’m eager to learn more about it.

[Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.]

Review: Hidden Agenda, by Lisa Harris

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Hidden Agenda, by Lisa HarrisHidden Agenda, by Lisa Harris (Revell, 2015)

Hidden Agenda is book 3 in Lisa Harris’ Southern Crimes series, and it follows the events in book 2 (Fatal Exchange) by about a week.

I heartily encourage you to begin with book 1, Dangerous Passage, and if you plan to do so, don’t read the rest of this review.

Hidden Agenda contains a massive spoiler for the first two books.

Still here?

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

And now for my review:

Contrary to what his family believes, Michael Hunt is not dead. He’s been working undercover for the past eight months, gaining evidence on the leader of an international drug cartel. Now his life’s in danger and he has to rely on the daughter of the man he swore to bring down. Will he live long enough to see his family again?

Michael isn’t the only one searching for the truth.

Olivia Hamilton is after the truth, as well. She’s a journalist. It’s what she does. So how can she have been so oblivious to a lifetime’s hints that her father isn’t simply a successful businessman? Will the truth be worth the cost?

Hidden Agenda is a chase novel, with Michael, Olivia, and her brother Ivan only a few steps ahead of their pursuers. Wounded, Michael must get them to safety. He can’t let his attraction to Olivia distract his focus.

This is more than a chase novel, though, and more than a romance. Michael has been undercover too long, and he’s forgetting who he really is. Olivia and Ivan have lost part of their identities with the revelation of their father’s true nature, and more grief strikes as they flee.

These three characters find their faith shaken and tested by the evil they encounter. They discover that belief isn’t about pat answers or happy endings, but about trusting God in the middle of the worst that life can throw at them.

I appreciated the character of Ivan, who is deaf. He’s resourceful and possibly brilliant, but Olivia has mothered him since their mother died, and at 19 he needs to break free. Ironically, it’s Olivia’s own experiences with Michael’s overprotective streak that help her learn how her brother feels – and to give him his space.

Well-plotted and tautly-written, Hidden Agenda is a fun read and a great finish to a series that just kept getting better. I’ve enjoyed “meeting” the Hunt family in these three stories.

Bestselling author Lisa Harris has over 30 novels and novella collections to her credit. She and her family serve as missionaries in Africa, where she also runs the ECHO Project.

[Review copy provided by the publisher for an honest review.]

Review: The Last Toqeph, by Yvonne Anderson

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The Last Toqeph, by Yvonne AndersonThe Last Toqeph, by Yvonne Anderson (Yvonne Anderson, 2014)

The Last Toqeph brings the Gateway to Gannah series to a satisfying close. Because it’s the fourth book, I appreciated the recap at the beginning, as told by Adam, one of the central characters. This means a new reader could start here and not feel confused, although the series is worth reading from the beginning.

Gannah is an Eden-like world, and although to North American eyes some of its customs seem harsh, the people value honesty and honour. The best thing about being a native Gannahan is having an organ called a meah, which allows one to communicate telepathically with other Gannahans and also with the Yasha (as God is known on this planet).

The whole story of how the people of Gannah came to worship the Christian God is part of why I recommend starting with book 1, The Story in the Stars. It’s fascinating.

Present-day Gannah has one pure-blooded native remaining, plus her mixed-race children and a settlement of immigrants who want to follow the traditional Gannahan way of life. At least that’s what they all think – until Adam meets a native Gannahan stranger, Daviyd. In truth, there’s an entire colony of survivors.

Although the characters are in some ways different than we are, there are enough common points that I never felt “alienated” by them. In fact, they consider themselves humans – just Gannahan, not Earthish. Characters from other planets bring different cultural backgrounds and biases into the settlement, and that makes for added conflict. If you don’t relate to an aspect of Gannahan conduct, it’s likely that one of the other characters will agree with you.

I enjoyed discovering the different planetary backgrounds and perspectives. The author definitely did her homework when it came to world-building. The differences increase the sense of realism.

The Last Toqeph wraps up all the plot threads woven through the series, and while not all aspects of the ending are happy, they’re satisfying. Not everything is cut and dried, though. Readers can speculate for themselves over the intent behind Adam’s closing line of dialogue.

I hope we’ll see more novels from Yvonne Anderson. In the mean time, you can learn more about Gannah on her website, Y’s Words.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Review: The Greatest Gift, by Ann Voskamp

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The Greatest Gift, by Ann VoskampThe Greatest Gift, by Ann Voskamp (Tyndale House, 2013)

What better antidote to the stress and hurry-hurry of December than a few quiet minutes, every day, to re-orient our thinking and ponder the true meaning of Christmas?

The Greatest Gift, subtitled “Unwrapping the Full Love Story of Christmas,” is a collection of Advent devotional readings tracing the promise of a Saviour – “the love story that’s been coming for you since the beginning” (p. x).

Each day’s reading begins with a page of Scripture and a brief look at how this is part of the Advent story and how it’s relevant to us today, whatever our circumstances. It ends with a practical suggestion for applying the day’s thought and with three questions for further exploration.

Ann Voskamp is known for her lyrical prose and for her call to recognize God’s grace – and find gratitude – in both the happy and the difficult days. These daily Advent reflections speak to wherever we may find ourselves, and they offer hope, peace and perspective.

My favourite lines:

The Light never comes how you expect it. It comes as the unlikely and unexpected – straight into Bethlehem unlikely and the feed trough hopeless, and Christmas whispers there is always hope. (p. 139)

The secret of joy is always a matter of focus: a resolute focusing on the Father, not on the fears. All fear is but the notion that God’s love ends. When does He ever end?” (p. 189)

I found these daily moments of reflection helped me to more fully appreciate the days leading up to Christmas. The Greatest Gift is a lovely gift book for yourself or a loved one, and it’s rich enough in content to read again in future years.

The author’s website offers downloadable paper ornaments which readers are encouraged to place daily on a simple “Jesse Tree” (instructions included). This could be a personal or a family act. For those interested in a family Advent devotional, there’s Unwrapping the Greatest Gift: A Family Celebration of Christmas.

Ann Voskamp is the bestselling author of One Thousand Gifts. She blogs daily at A Holy Experience. The Greatest Gift is a 2014 “Christian Retailing’s Best” award winner.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Review: Less than Dead, by Tim Downs

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Less than Dead, by Tim DownsLess than Dead, by Tim Downs (Thomas Nelson, 2008)

A multi-million-dollar building project is stalled when excavators clearing the forest discover an old graveyard… and some of the graves have a second body buried on top of the casket. What better place for a murderer to dispose of a body than in a graveyard?

Nick Polchak is a forensic entomologist – meaning he studies the insects on and around a corpse to determine time of death and if the place of death is the same as where the body was found. He’s brilliant, but short on social skills, which makes him a funny man to read about.

Nick is called to the excavation site to help determine how long the victims’ skeletons have been in the ground. It looks like a serial killer’s work, but is this someone from the past, or someone who’s still around?

Problem is, he can’t do his job until the other graves are identified and marked – or so insists the expert whose cadaver dog seems unable to find anything it can’t see. In desperation, Nick enlists a local woman whose uncanny, three-legged dog really does seem able to find the dead.

Alena Savard is a reclusive young woman living on the mountain above the Virginia town of Endor – feared by the people as a witch, but really a gifted dog trainer who’s been hurt and shunned by the townsfolk since her childhood.

Nick’s investigation puts Alena in danger, and her dogs may not be enough to save her – although they do a good job of protecting her from Nick’s initial attempts to meet her.

Less than Dead is a fun suspense novel with clever descriptions and plenty of funny lines. Most of these are too long to quote, but here’s one of my favourites describing “Marge,” the expert dog handler who so annoys Nick:

[Her face] was long and thin with high cheekbones that ran down into sinewy sunken hollows like wax dripping over a ledge. [Kindle page 25]

I’m not reading this series in order, but I really enjoy both the stories and the characters. Less than Dead is the fourth in the Bug Man series. Currently there are six, the last of which, Nick of Time, released in 2011. I hope we’ll see a new one soon. As well as writing Christian fiction, Tim Downs is the co-author with his wife, Joy, of non-fiction books on relationships.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Review: When God Interrupts, by M. Craig Barnes

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When God Interrupts, by M. Craig BarnesWhen God Interrupts, by M. Craig Barnes (InterVarsity Press, 1996)

“Finding new life through unwanted change.” The book’s subtitle promises hope, and the notion of God interrupting isn’t meant as blaming Him for the pain we experience. I think the idea is that God interrupts the pain and disappointment.

The introduction begins this way: “We just keep losing things: wives, husbands, friends, health, the dreams and security of the past.” (p. 9) When God Interrupts calls these losses abandonment, and challenges readers to accept them as “the opportunity to discover a new life.” (p. 10)

The premise is that if we’ll allow it, Jesus will fill the empty places and our end, while not what we had hoped or planned, will be richer. The author calls these choices conversion – the same word we use for our initial turning to Christ.

When God Interrupts draws examples from the Bible and from the author’s experiences as a pastor counselling his people. It looks at different forms of abandonment: death, disappointment, infertility, discovering our head-based religion isn’t enough, business failure, illness, divorce/family rejection, and even the sense of being abandoned by God.

In each case the message is to let go of our expectations, hopes, dreams… our perceived rights. And to ask God what He wants to do with the pieces.

This is one of those books filled with quotable lines. Here are a few of my favourites:

Nothing makes it harder to see God than our expectations of him. (p. 30)

The challenge to people of faith is to learn how to follow. Central to that task is giving up the expectation of knowing where we are going. (p. 53)

Walk as one who walks with a Saviour. (p. 90)

I’m not reviewing a lot of non-fiction books anymore, but this one bears sharing. It’s an encouraging book filled with examples of ordinary people who have chosen to grow closer to God when life falls apart. It’s one of those “keeper” books to read again throughout one’s life. A book to buy for a friend.

M. Craig Barnes is a pastor and author and was appointed President of Princeton Theological Seminary in 2013. You can find his “Faith Matters” columns at The Christian Century.

[Review copy from my personal library.]