A Cast of Stones by Patrick Carr

Errol Stone, an orphan and town drunk, is tapped for an adventure that changes his life. Errol is asked to deliver a message to a priest in order to gain enough coin to pay for the ale he so desperately craves. Errol soon finds himself running for his life. People and creatures are attacking him wanting to end his life and he doesn't know why. Errol soon learns to defend himself not with the sword, but the stick. With the patience and precision of a warrior, he soon learns how to defend himself and best some of the best swordsmen in a traveling merchantman's caravan. Follow Errol on this grand adventure to learn how he ends up impressing and defending a king.

This high fantasy is written in the style of Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. I found this book to be like a train pulling out of a station, it slowly gathered steam until it was roaring down the tracks at full steam. I wish that I had the second installment of this story to read right now. The cast of characters is long and detailed. I loved how Carr was able to introduce so many characters and bring the reader to understanding and wanting to learn more at the end of this book. I loved the action that he brought about with a simple flick of the word and sword. I was taken by surprise with some of the attacks just as a warrior might be taken by surprise. The details of the story helped to move the action along. I loved how the final battle came to a stunning conclusion and then wrapped up with the reader asking questions about who will take the throne when the king dies. This book was a great adventure and I want to read more.

Thank you to Bethany House Publishers for providing me with this book to read and review.

Love finds you in Glacier Bay, Alaska by: Tricia Goyer and Ocienna Fleiss

A friend of mine asked me if I would read her book and write a review on my blog. I was happy to do it and loved the book.

Two love stories are intertwined in a beautiful way. We start out meeting an up and coming singer, Ginny Marshall, who is on the verge of becoming the new "it" girl in the music industry. She is living the life in Los Angeles when thoughts of a old boyfriend send her to Glacier Bay, Alaska. Ginny goes to this quiet, remote town to talk to the only person that has ever gotten to know the real Ginny, former fiancee Brett Miller. Ginny survives the culture shock of this small town and learns to love these simple, joy-filled people. Brett's grandma gives Ginny some intriguing love letters to read. While Ginny gets caught up in these letters, she rediscovers her heart's desire to serve the Lord and love for the special man God placed in her life a few years ago.

I must admit that I was swept into the story the love letters brought as well as the lessons Ginny was learning about in her own life. The authors did a beautiful job of interweaving the letters into the story in a way that the reader was never confused. I like how the letters were italicized so you could tell instantly you were reading a letter. The characters and their struggles felt real. Hearing about this quaint small town makes me want to travel to Glacier Bay and get to know the people there. This was a great read and I look forward to reading more from Tricia Goyer and Ocienna Fleiss.

The Air We Breathe

By Christa Parrish

Molly is a young girl who never ventures out of the safety of her home and place of work. Her home is attached to the wax museum where she works. Molly's mom is extremely protective of Molly. One day a woman from Molly's past comes into the museum with her family. They tour the museum and this sets off a series of events that no one seems to be prepared for.

This book is rather confusing. The chapters jump in time and the characters while they are introduced by name there isn't a good description to help the reader understand how these characters fit into the story. About half way through the book, the pieces start to fall into place and the fog starts to lift for the reader. The book comes to an abrupt end. I was just starting to enjoy these characters and there was no more writing.

While there were parts of this book that I enjoyed, the disjointed feeling I had while reading the story made it easy for me to delete this book from my collection.

My thanks go to Bethany books for providing me with this free e-book to read and review.

Elizabeth Camden is fabulous

Lydia Pallas has the perfect job. She is a translator working for the U.S. Navy. It is very unusual for a woman to hold such a position, but Lydia is grateful for her job. At a young age, she became an orphan when her parents and her younger sibling were lost at sea.

Alexander Banebridge is a driven man. He moves around a lot so that the person that is after him can't pin him down to any one location. Alex's life goal is to end the opium trade. He has seen how innocent people become addicted to this horrible drug by using a supposedly safe tonic that is used to sooth crying babies.

Alex and Lydia's lives cross at the Navy yard in Boston. Lydia helps Alex translate some papers. This simple act is the cause of the loss of her beloved job, but is that all she will lose?

Camden's storytelling pulls you into the story quickly. Lydia has a need for order in her life. Alex passes through the office and moves something on Lydia's desk just to upset that perfect order. Lydia never sees Alex move anything on her desk, she only sees the disarray afterwords. This is how their friendship begins. Camden introduces you to her characters slowly. You get to know them and care about them before she muddies the water with another character. This helps to move the story along without confusing the reader. Camden also weaves subtle humor in the characters that bring about bursts of laughter from the reader. The mysteries to solve unveil themselves one after the other. Just when you think things will right themselves another plot twist appears. The book resolves on a final happy chord. This is a book that will go onto my "to be read again" book shelf.

Thank you to Bethany House Publishers for providing me with this complimentary copy to read and review.

Harvest of Rubies

Harvest of Rubies by Tessa Afshar
Sarah is a scribe working in the Queen’s court in Persia. Sarah happens to be the cousin to Nehemiah, the cupbearer to Artaxerxes. Sarah loves her job and does it very well. She has not learned the art of being a woman or interacting with people as well as she should. When the Queen arranges for Sarah to marry a cousin to the King, Sarah has to learn her worth comes from God and not her work. Sarah learns how to be a woman in the Persian court. Darius, Sarah’s husband, finds that he enjoys his wife. Read Harvest of Rubies to see how an ordinary gardener can teach Sarah and Darius about the ways of God.
I loved this book. This is the second book that Tessa Afshar has written. Both books are filled with wonderful historical facts. Afshar breathes life into some lesser known people from the Bible. The story that she weaves makes it easy to feel like you were actually there. The lessons that Sarah learned about herself worth are lessons that most women need to learn. So often we put our worth into our work or our beauty. When God is waiting for us to realize that He is the one that gives us worth even before we ask for it. He loved us before we first loved him. This is a timeless lesson that I will treasure in my heart for many years to come.

Nothing to Hide by: J.Mark Bertrand

Roland March is a detective for the Houston Police Department. The crime scene has a victim that has been decapitated. The FBI and Mexican cartels are somehow involved with the case. Will March be able to solve the case without losing his life? Read this "CSI" thriller to find out.

This is the third book in the Roland March mystery series. I hadn't read the other two books, so I was a bit confused. While you could read this as a stand alone book, I think I would have understood the plot better if I had read the other two books. Bertrand is gritty in describing the crime scene. He also jumps back in time for a chapter, but it doesn't seem to flow with the story. If you have read the other books I am sure you would enjoy this book. If you are a "CSI" fan this author may intrigue you.

Thank you to Bethany House Publishers for providing me with this book to review.

Love in Disguise by Carol Cox

Ellie Moore has been around the stage all her life, but her job as a seamstress and assistant to a famous actress has suddenly come to an end. Ellie plays the role of her life to land a job with the Pinkerton Detective Agency. Her first assignment: Travel to Arizona and solve the mystery of a silver theft from a group of mine owners. Ellie gives herself dual roles to play in order to solve the mystery. Ellie become a middle aged widow by the name of Lavinia Stewart and the beautiful outgoing niece, Jessie Monroe. Ellie quickly endears herself to the people of the mining town in Arizona along with one of the mine owners, Steven Pierce. Will Ellie lose her identity before she solves her first case? Read Love in Disguise to find out.

Ellie, Lavinia and Jessie are three characters in one, but the reader is drawn into the story line of this character instead of being confused by it. Cox does a beautiful job of leading you into Ellie's characters in a way that you are not confused. Each character continues to draw you into the mystery of the silver theft. The vivid descriptions of the setting help you feel like you are stepping off the train to enter Pickford, Arizona in the year 1880. This is a fun mystery that moves along rapidly with romantic undertones. The questions about the characters keep you turning the pages to see who really stole the silver. Throw this book in your beach bag, it is perfect for the beach.

Thank you to Bethany House Publishers for the free copy of this book to read and review.