Anna's Fight for Hope: The Great Depression by JoAnn A. Grote

Title: Anna’s Fight for Hope: The Great Depression (1931) (Sisters in Time #20)

Author: JoAnn A. Grote

Pages: 144

Year: 2004

Publisher: Barbour Books

     When I was in school I never enjoyed history class. I found the textbooks to be very boring. Therefore I grew up with a very poor understanding of our history. As an adult I’ve become more interested in it and yet I find that I have a very hard time getting myself to sit down and read about it unless it is in novel format. I have found that if I start with a book written for 8-12 year olds I can become so caught up in a time period that I will then want to go on and read more things geared for adults about the same period. This is one of those wonderful children's books.

     Times are tough for Anna Harrington. But times are even tougher for some of her friends, who’ve been devastated by the Great Depression. Dot’s family is hungry and may lose their home, while Chet, riding the rails as a hobo in search of work, is in trouble with the law. Twelve-year-old Anna and her cousin, Fred, watch in sorrow as others suffer, wondering what they can do to show God’s love to their friends.

     The characters were very well developed and likable. I was drawn into the story and actually learned quite a bit about the Great Depression that I had never known before. I’ve checked some of the facts that were new to me and found them to be accurately portrayed.

     I thoroughly enjoyed this story and give it 5 stars. It’s a great history lesson for both adults and middle-grade students. I highly recommend it.

Thread of Suspicion (The Justice Agency #4) by Susan Sleeman

Title: Thread of Suspicion (The Justice Agency #4)

Author: Susan Sleeman

Pages: 217

Year: 2013

Publisher: Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense

Note: I won a free copy of this book through a giveaway held by the author.

     Another incredible Christian suspense with plenty of twists.

     When someone sabotages former navy SEAL Luke Baldwin’s “unhackable” software, there’s more than his reputation at stake. Faced with treason charges, Luke turns to Dani Justice, a computer expert and skilled investigator. She’s eager to dive into the challenging case…until she uncovers a devastating connection. The hacker framing Luke has a personal, deadly history with Dani. Luke’s code of honor and his growing feelings make him resolved to protect the sweet, strong woman he knows is more vulnerable than she’d admit. But what good is his training or determination against an enemy who can hack into any system and find them wherever they hide?

     Once again Susan Sleeman has done a marvelous job of character development. While developing strong lead characters for this novel she has kept all of the characters from the previous books in this series straight and true to their personalities from the books they starred in. It was nice to see how Cole connected with Luke. I enjoyed the fact that both Dani and Luke were struggling to understand the timing of their meeting. Yet in the midst of their struggles they were open to seeing if it was God putting them together. They did need to have some prodding from their siblings but that’s what family is for right.

     I also liked the story development as I got a look at what type of things a hacker can do to mess with people. It was very entertaining and sucked me in as I was pulling for Dani and Luke to figure out who was behind it and bring the culprit to justice.

     As with each of the previous books in this series I have to give this one 5 stars. It is another job well done by Susan Sleeman. I highly recommend it.

The Reliance (Legacy of the King's Pirates #2) by M. L. Tyndall

Title: The Reliance (Legacy of the King’s Pirates #2)

Author: M. L. (MaryLu) Tyndall

Pages: 334

Year: 2006 (Reissued 2011)

Publisher: Barbour Publishing (Mission Books)

     An incredible adventure in trusting God.

     Captain Edmund Merrick, convinced his pregnant wife, Charlisse, is dead, sails away to drown his sorrows. Having turned his back on God, Edmund reverts to a life of villainy and joins forces with the demented French pirate Collier. When Edmund’s mind clears from its rum-induced haze, will he be able to pull himself up from the depths to which he has sunk?

     Believing herself abandoned by her new husband, Charlisse begins to battle her own insecurities, as well as the vengeful pirate Kent who now holds her and the Lady Isabel captive. Will Charlisse lose her love for Edmund as well as the life of her unborn child?

     As they battle the tempests that threaten to tear them apart, is there any way Edmund and Charlisse can regain the helm and steer their way back to the haven they both so desperately seek? Or will their love drown in a whirlpool of treachery and deceit?

     This is a wonderfully written swashbuckling adventure. At the same time it is an incredibly well written look at how past baggage and methods of dealing with problems can take over again for believers when disaster strikes. The character development is fantastic, not only for the two main characters but also for a fairly large number of secondary ones.

     Both Charlisse and Edmund had go-to ways of dealing with problems. As well as thought patterns that had developed before they accepted Christ. When they are torn apart and believe the worst they each revert to their past methods. The battle then becomes one of trying to trust God and believe what they had learned of Him.

     I have to give this book 5 stars because it is so marvelously well written and developed. I highly recommend it.

Prime of Life by P. D. Bekendam

Title: Prime of Life

Author: P. D. Bekendam

Pages: 272

Year: 2014

Publisher: Worthy Publishing

Note: I received a free copy of this book from Worthy Publishing’s First Look program in exchange for my honest review.

     A wonderful look at how different personalities relate to each other.

     Ben is the janitor at a retirement home in Southern California. He recently left his job as a cardiothoracic surgeon to search for a stress-free life with a little freedom from the past thrown in.

     This is P. D. Bekendam’s debut novel. He has done a masterful job of developing his characters for this book. Ben has a few idiosyncrasies that make their appearance early in the book and continue throughout the story. I did find some of these habits to be very annoying to me. But each of them is a part of who he is as a character. He is only one of a number of key individuals with a wide variety of personalities. It was fun to see how they all interacted with each other. There were times that the core group of characters didn’t get along with each other. Yet when they were facing a huge problem there were able to work together. I really enjoyed this.

     As I worked my way through the story I was planning on giving it only four stars. When I reached the end and found out how everything was wrapped up I knew it deserved more than that. I have decided to give it 5 stars. I’m looking forward to see what else Mr. Bekendam writes in the future.

No Way Out (The Justice Agency #3) by Susan Sleeman

Title: No Way Out (The Justice Agency #3)

Author: Susan Sleeman

Pages: 218

Year: 2013

Publisher: Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense

Note: I won a free copy of this book through a giveaway held by the author

     This is a suspenseful inspirational romance.

     Alyssa Wells has uncovered evidence that her police officer husband was murdered by his partner. That’s a dangerous claim to make in a small town. She had not suspected it was even possible until she was in the wrong place at the wrong time and overheard a conversation between three men. After two tours in Iraq, protecting Alyssa and her children shouldn’t be a problem for private investigator Cole Justice. Alyssa’s is very doubtful of her ability to judge whether someone can be trusted or not. Is Cole one of the good guys? Will Cole and Alyssa be able to safely navigate the danger to their hearts as well as from the killer after Alyssa?

     Susan Sleeman has crafted another great suspense story. From the very beginning my attention was grabbed. Her development of Alyssa was very thorough. It is amazing to me that this character is so different from those in the previous books from this series. I had been introduced to Cole in the previous books and had gotten a peek at his past. I loved how the details of his story were revealed in this book.

     The plot was intricately built and very believable. When danger arrived it got my heart rate to speed up and made me ignore my family until the characters were out of danger once again. There were some very nice surprise twists in the plot that really kept me guessing.

     I highly recommend this book and give it 5 stars.

Dead Wrong (The Justice Agency #2) by Susan Sleeman

Title: Dead Wrong (The Justice Agency #2)

Author: Susan Sleeman

Pages: 215

Year: 2012

Publisher: Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense

Note: I won a free copy of this book through a giveaway held by the author.

     WOW! Fantastic Christian suspense!

     When her client and old college friend is murdered, P.I. Kat Justice knows the killer will come for her next. Her survival depends on finding her unknown enemy first…and working with homicide detective Mitch Elliot, her onetime crust. It’ll take all her professional skills to ignore the sparks between them, but Kat can’t allow the handsome cop to get close. She’s seen too many people she loves die, so she vows just to do her job without getting emotionally involved. Yet keeping her distance may not be the best way to protect her heart – or their lives.

     This book got my heart racing by the third page. The suspense continued throughout the book. Thankfully it wasn’t heart-pounding the whole time. There were wonderful periods of great character and relationship development spread throughout as well. Susan did a fabulous job of introducing the main characters and their personality types in the first chapter. Then as the story progresses she gradually reveals events from each person’s past to show how those personalities were developed. It was very easy to connect with both Kat and Mitch. I was very interested to see how each of them would grow and develop as the story progressed.

     I loved this book and give it 5 stars. I highly recommend it.

The Redemption (Legacy of the King's Pirates #1) by M. L. Tyndall

Title: The Redemption (Legacy of the King’s Pirates #1)

Author: M. L. (MaryLu) Tyndall

Pages: 317

Year: 2006

Publisher: Barbour Publishing

     This is a fabulous Christian historical romance. I’m giving it 5 stars and looking forward to reading the other books in this series.

     Lady Charlisse Bristol sets off on a voyage to find her father whom she never knew. Instead she finds herself shipwrecked on a deserted island in the Caribbean. After weeks, stranded by herself, she finds that her salvation comes in the form of a band of pirates. Their leader is fiercely handsome, Edmund Merrick. He is busy learning to walk a more godly path while still leading his crew. He now has added the task of shielding Charlisse from his lecherous crew to the task of trying to bring the cruelest pirates to justice. Can the supernatural power of God rescue Charlisee and Edmund from the danger and treachery that await them?

     This book is filled with incredible swashbuckling adventure. The descriptions that MaryLu Tyndall includes of the pirate battles and life style were great. I loved the character development. The way she built the pasts of the characters up and revealed them slowly throughout the course of the book was great. It held my attention and drew me into the story just as much as the action packed sequences did. I also thoroughly enjoyed the strong belief in God that Edmund displayed. He was truly trying to serve Him even in the midst of wanting to be in control. It was wonderful to watch him grow in trusting God and turning control over to Him.