Friday, September 15, 2017

Review: Iris

Iris Iris by Anna K. Payne
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have been provided a complimentary eBook and am providing an honest review.

This is the 2nd book in a series written by Ms. Payne. Like the first one, there are two stories that are weaved together with the hero Iris as the lead in both of them. One story involves someone who had a crush on her that is not healthy, the other is her trying to find a greater faith in the God that she sort of believes in. As we get deeper into the mystery of who is sending her pictures of Irises painted in blood, we find out people who are around her are in danger, especially her neighbor and the one thing that she trusts in life, his dog, and through this, she is learning to trust God and her small group of Bible study friends.

I would recommend this to people who are wanting to learn more of what it means to trust God, and/or who want a light mystery. I say light mystery because I had figured out who done it very early on. Again, like the first book in the series, Lilly (who makes an appearance here), it is more like how are they going to get caught. It is a short read, I would say 2 hours or less.

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Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Review: The Elven Stones: Abundance: An Elven Legend Quest

The Elven Stones: Abundance: An Elven Legend Quest The Elven Stones: Abundance: An Elven Legend Quest by P. A. Wilson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book so that I could review it, what follows is an honest review.

I am expanding my horizons and have decided for a little bit of fantasy. The Elven Stones: Abundance, is the second in a series of books by P. A. Wilson. I will read anything but so often books in a series rely on you to have read the previous story. So going in I was a little worried, not having read the fist story. I should not have worries. The author did a masterful job of weaving what we needed to know of the first book into the narrative of this one.

In this world, elves are not as plentiful as they were. They do not seem to be giving birth as much to keep the population growing. We find out that it because the stone of abundance, one of the three elven stones, is missing along with another one. The guardian of these stones wants to put them back into their rightful place, but first they have to find them. The problem is the guardian is near the end of his lifespan. Into our story come the two stars of the previous story, elves who were orphans who have a vested interest in finding the other missing stone, the stone of the orphans, so they can gain back the credibility they lost when it disappeared. That story obviously has to wait for the next book.

At times, I wished the story moved along a little faster. However, the adventure quest turns into an epic journey. And while two stories are advanced here, the choice for a new keeper and the quest for the stone, both get the time they need. And they both come to a conclusions that satisfies but leaves you wanting to know what happens in the next book. The ending, while a surprise, was hinted at throughout the whole story. I just did not see the clues.

I would recommend this book to any who are into the fantasy world of elves and other races. It is also just good as a light reading fare.

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Review: LEADERSHIP: As Seen Through the Eyes of a Follower

LEADERSHIP: As Seen Through the Eyes of a Follower LEADERSHIP: As Seen Through the Eyes of a Follower by George Vucin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I want to thank Dog Eared Publishing and Net Galley for a chance to read this book. It was provided by them and this is my honest review.

Leadership books can be a little tricky to write. Most all of them I have read tell you how to be a leader, and that is OK. But to have a leader, you have to have a group of followers. That is where this book differs from most other leadership books. The follower is not ignored. In fact, you are taught that what you do as a leader can affect your followers.

To often a leader wants to stay with the style that got them where they are. The reason for that is simple. It worked before so it must work now, and no one likes to change. The thing is, as you move up the ladder, the people that report to you change, and you have to know how to change with them.

Leadership principles are discussed. In that way this book is no different than any other leadership book. What is different than most is that once they are taught, then the view of the different types of followers are talked about. What works for one type of follower will not work for another. And they type of people change with what you do.

An example of my own life shows a major point of this book. I work retail on weekends, I have for almost 10 years. Started out in the back room unloading the truck each day I worked. This store rotated managers around about every 6 months. We worked well with one type of manager, but rather than send us that type, the ones that would roll up their sleeves and work with, we often got the ones that would come in, say do the work and then move on. Now I work on the sales floor and that is the way the management works. If you had a manger doing the work with you, then it would be looked at as he did not think you could do the work yourself.

This is the core I got out of this book. Be the manager the people who follow you need you to be. I have been involved with volunteer leadership with churches I have attended for years now. This is the book that I wish I had years ago. What worked in one place did not work in others. I had to learn to change.

I recommend this book for anyone looking at being a leader of any sort. It is excellent in teaching what one needs to know.

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Saturday, September 09, 2017

Review: Beginnings: Driving with Anna

Beginnings: Driving with Anna Beginnings: Driving with Anna by Anna K. Payne
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a short series of five very powerful devotionals. If one were to take a few minutes each day and to read and meditate on them, there would be a change in their life.

Each devotional follows the same pattern. A short story from her life, some scripture, a prayer and then a place for you to write notes for yourself about what you have learned.

I recommend this to Christians and those seeking for answers to things in their life. Even if these devotionals do not highlight problems you face in life, just reading the scriptures may help you to focus on what you need from God.


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Thursday, September 07, 2017

Review: Blindsided

Blindsided Blindsided by Tom Bierdz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As a start us story for what appears to be an interesting series, this tells the story of a psychiatrist who is driven to succeed, a wife who is left behind and a son who decided death was better than life. This is not an action heavy story, but there is some action to it. It is a story of the grief that happens when a child dies and nothing is left to hold a marriage together. What will happen and why are the core parts to this story.

I enjoyed it though I can say I honestly see why some people might not. It was a short read, maybe an hour and a half, but is packed with character development.

I would recommend it to anyone interested in a quick short read about people.

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Review: Avenging Angel

Avenging Angel Avenging Angel by Angelique Conger
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a short easy to read ebook. It took me less than an hour to read.

There is so much of the Bible that many of us who read it would like to know what happened. We know, for example that Adam and Eve had children, many of them . What happened to them and the children? This author has pieced together in her mind stories of the woman of the Bible, ones that we know are not necessarily true, but give us idea of what could have been.

In this story we look at Eve in her later years. Finally able to take a journey with her husband they travel to teach the grandchildren about God, and during this time Adam is taken hostage. What will Eve do to get her husband back. Trust me when I say, the author does not paint a picture of a meek woman.

For the most part it was a good read. In a few places I though it could be tightened up a bit but it was for the most part well written.

I would recommend it to Christian woman. Though I am a guy and liked it, I am not sure for the most part that most men would like it.

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Wednesday, September 06, 2017

Review: 4 Years Trapped in My Mind Palace

4 Years Trapped in My Mind Palace 4 Years Trapped in My Mind Palace by Johan Twiss
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book of this book for review. What follows is an honest review.

All I can say is WOW!.

Johan Twiss has written a second book that has held me interested till the very end. There is no classification for this book. It has ,a little bit of sci-fi, a little bit of psychology, a little bit of fantasy, a little bit of a lot of things. But all that adds up to make a lot of good.

Our hero, Arron has a rare form of meningitis as a young teen, leaving him paralyzed, and unable to move. His doctors think he is brain dead and is moved to a nursing home. If you think this is far fetched, it actually has happened. It is from that real life story that the author came up with the idea for this story.

To keep from going completely insane, Arron creates a world in his mind that he can travel to and do so many things. Only there can he feel complete because no one really treats him like he is alive.

From this life of solitude a room mate is given to him, Solomon, a former jazz musician, who is in his late years, having survived the depression, World War 2 and other events of history. Now in his twilight years he begins to suffer dementia.

So as one is wanting to start his life, one is ending his and reliving his glory days. The interesting thing is that Solomon can talk to Arron. He hears what Arron says in his mind and that is a wonderful thing for Arron, now he can communicate, even if no one believes that they can talk.

To tell you much more gives the story away. But it is a great story, and it is amazing how the author has once again not wasted one word. An interesting thing for me was the whole story was told from Arron's point of view. So much I have read of late has chapters that go back and forth and tell the story, this is all Arron telling the story.

I recommend it for all. I think everyone could get something out of this story. As I said before, not one word is wasted, and all weave together to tell a fantastic story.

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Review: The Last Arrow: Save Nothing for the Next Life

The Last Arrow: Save Nothing for the Next Life The Last Arrow: Save Nothing for the Next Life by Erwin Raphael McManus
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In The Last Arrow, McManus takes an obscure story from the Bible (I have mentioned it to many and most have no idea it is in the Bible) and creates a rich story for how one should live their lives. When Elijah is near death, the King of Israel calls Elijah to pray for him and Elijah gives him two tasks. Shoot an arrow out a window and then, to take the rest of the arrows and strike them on the ground.

The king strikes them three times then stops. God never said how many times and to stop at three was not good. He should have kept striking, but he does not. He stops at three, and though the king could have won over his enemies, now he will only have three years of success.

Some might think this is petty of God. But in our lives we have to learn that we have to do what we are asked of God until there is nothing left, until the last arrow is gone. And that is the basis of the book. What have we done that if we had not stopped, we might have been given the victory in.

Throughout the book are examples of other events in the Bible, most from the life of Elijah, as to exemplify each point he is making. We do not get from God because we do not ask specifically what we need, we stop before we start, we settle for the life we have in place of the life we should have.

I recommend the book for all, but I know it will appeal to the Christian people I know. The lessons learned can and should be learned by all. But the Christian message is not compromised and I am sure that will turn a few people off.


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Saturday, September 02, 2017

Review: 30 Red Dresses

30 Red Dresses 30 Red Dresses by Johan Twiss
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was not a book I would have picked up on my own. The title suggest a book that might appeal to female readers. The description indicated a subject of human trafficking. But a strange thing happened. I offered to advance read a different book for the author and I got sent a copy of this book with that cover. It was an honest mistake, but I realized it as soon as I started it. The writing style drew me in.
An 8 year old orphan in the care of her abusive uncle is sold into a brothel. A man on a book tour to Cambodia has to take refuge in the same during a flood. Their paths cross.
This book grabs you and will not let you go. Writing is clear and concise and no word is wasted. You start to feel something for each person in the story. You either love them or hate them, there is no in between.
I recommend this to everyone. Considering the subject, though we are talking about sex trafficking, there is not real sex that takes place in the book, There is more violence in the book than sex. It is safe for all to read. Grab a copy and have your life changed.

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Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Review: Pineapple Beach House: A Pineapple Port Mystery: Book Five

Pineapple Beach House: A Pineapple Port Mystery: Book Five Pineapple Beach House: A Pineapple Port Mystery: Book Five by Amy Vansant
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ms. Amy has another winner in this interesting series. In fact I think other than book number one, this was the best one. It is nice, even though some of the regular cast is there, we get to get away from the series namesake of Pineapple Port. Even thought the cast is slimmed down we pick up a few others along the way to make up for the ones left behind.

The premise is that Charlotte, her boyfriend, his uncle and two of the husband.wives who raised her in the retirement home she was double orphaned in (read the early books to make sense of that sentence) are going on a working vacation over the Thanksgiving holidays. They agree to repair a beach property owned by a friend in exchange for use of it. Except, it is on the South Carolina coast and there is a huge storm out there. Things get interesting when they find a finger in frozen trash. Did I forget to say there is Nursing Home (Elder Careolina.... get it, North Carolina.... if I have to explain it to you it is just not funny!), that seems to be missing a few residents?

With the weather bad what is a private detective in training going to do? Do I really need to ask? You got it, since the police cannot come to them, they are going to solve the mystery themselves.

This is a fun book, though by the description you might not think so. Amy does a wonderful job of making this cast of characters come to life. I recommend it to anyone wanting a fun mystery. As I have said before, this is not a cozy mystery series. It does not have violence or sex, but it hey it has body parts (just wait till you see the part about the eye!)
As part of the author's street team I was allowed to read the book for free. This is an honest review. If I thought it was bad, you would know it.

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Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Review: Old Earth or Evolutionary Creation?: Discussing Origins with Reasons to Believe and BioLogos

Old Earth or Evolutionary Creation?: Discussing Origins with Reasons to Believe and BioLogos Old Earth or Evolutionary Creation?: Discussing Origins with Reasons to Believe and BioLogos by Kenneth Keathley
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

IVP press and Netgalley provided a copy that I could review.

I always though that the problems with evolution and the like came down to Christians v. science. I was wrong. In the middle are Christians who are scientist, and even then they cannot agree.
I may have oversimplified the opening point, but I think that it gets the point across. Even among people of faith, there are varying levels of what they believe just as their are people of science.

This book is an attempt at dialogue between two groups of Christians as they discuss things that matter to them in the attempt to have scripture and the world seem to co-exist in a relevant way.
Though they try to imply that this is a series of moderated writings, it comes across as a series of public debates. BioLogos and RTB has sponsored a series of these moderated by the Southern Baptist Convention so it is not that much of a stretch.

There were many times that I was able to push through and read a lot at one sitting and be interested. Other times I just felt that I was fighting my way through the material. I suspect that was more me and the topics that I seemed to have an interest in. I would imagine that the same would be true for others as well. This is not a book that you will have an interest in every topic.

The layout is familiar for each topic:
*moderator introduces topic
*one group speaks
*other group speaks
*moderator brings up rebuttal topics
*one group speaks
*other group speaks
*moderator sums things up

Each chapter a different subject. Each one covered in detail.

I liked the format, and I especially liked that they could disagree on a topic and not get disagreeable. They were polite and even talked about points of agreement that they had.

I am not sure I could recommend this to anyone I know. Maybe someone taking a philosophy class would enjoy it. I enjoyed the book but I am thinking that this might be an acquired taste for me.

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Saturday, August 26, 2017

Review: Religion Saves: And Nine Other Misconceptions

Religion Saves: And Nine Other Misconceptions Religion Saves: And Nine Other Misconceptions by Mark Driscoll
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this audio book years ago from Christian Audio (http://christianaudio.com/) as part of their monthly free audio book. For some reason I never listened to it but chose to go through some of the books I had and gave it a listen.
Mark Driscoll was the pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle Washington area. When this was written/recorded I am sure the church was still very active. Within a few years Mr. Driscoll would step down from the church because of claims of him bullying staff members. The church would at that point close it doors within a month. Not having been a member and not knowing much about him, this is all from what I read from sites like Wikipedia. I would tend to think it was true based on the tone of this book. While in a few places he says this is what I believe, the majority of the book is he way it is, take it or leave it.' That is where the problem starts because of what this book is supposed to be.
The theory behind this book is that the church opened up a web site to ask people to post their questions about Christianity and then people could vote on them. The top 9 questions questions would get a sermon based on them. I find it hard to believe that the number 1 question was about the emergent church, but I will have to take him at his word. The topics were wide ranging from sex and birth control to dating to the way churches should be run. Through it all Mr. Driscoll tells you how it should be. While I agree with him on quite a few things, I do not with all. So now, am I less a Christian just because I do not agree, or maybe I am not a Christian at all.
The main problem with a book like this is that it tries to tell you what Christians should be, but in the 2000 years since Christ died, every generation has tried to tell us that. Why should his book define it any better than any others. In listening to it I felt like I was back in my Catholic days and I was having to take what the Pope said because the Church said he heard from God.
The recording was OK. I have heard much better readings of books than this one. Mr. Driscoll read it himself. I would think that he would have had a better understanding of his book, but often there are pauses where there should not be and where they should be, they are not.
I cannot not really recommend this book. I gave it three stars because the content was for the most part OK. The attitude of the author comes through quite clearly.

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Friday, August 25, 2017

Review: RASPUTIN'S LEGACY

RASPUTIN'S LEGACY RASPUTIN'S LEGACY by Lee Jackson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received this book as an advanced reader book. In exchange I offered an honest review.

One of the nice things about being able to read eBooks is that I can look at a lot of different types. When I was much younger I read a lot of different types of books. As I got older with less time to read, most of what I read was for school or work. I am now coming around to reading a variety of books. Rasputin's Legacy was a book that looked interesting so I picked it up.

Our hero, with the interesting name Atcho, has done a service to the Russian/US relationships during the Regan era that took place during the first book in this series. To the authors credit, this not one of those books that you have to read the rest of the series to understand this one. What little you have to know is conveyed in a quick and concise style as it is needed.

Because of his service to both countries from the first book, when a man claims to be a descendant of both the czars of Russia and Rasputin, a mystic to the last of the czars, Atcho is chosen to try to stop him. Why? Because in the first book, Atcho had killed him, or so he thought. Also, the CIA and the KGB can not act openly, so things have to be done rather secretively. And, by the way, the man happens to have a nuclear bomb.

With the backdrop of the cold war, our hero and his team, some willing but not all, try to make there way to stop the takeover of Russia.

Stay till the end. Some people are not whom they seem to be in this story.

Writing is clean, and true to the characters. I recommend it to anyone looking for a good suspense story. Except for the violence, it is one that I could recommend to most people I know. Of course, a cold war era book has to have some violence so that is to be expected if you pick it up.


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Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Review: Pineapple Land Wars

Pineapple Land Wars Pineapple Land Wars by Amy Vansant
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

To start with, the copy of this book I received was in exchange for an honest review.

So, our story of the Pineapple Port detective continues. I said in my review of her first book, this has the makings of a ensemble cast comedy. (Netflicks are you listening?) This does nothing to change how I feel. The characters stay true to the form set up for them in the opening three books. So there is no surprise there. The surprise is in how this author can take some of the typical things in life and weave a great mystery story out of them. I recommend that if you do not know the players then you should look at books 1 to 3 in the series. Basically, Charlotte is a 25 year old woman who lives in a retirement neighborhood called Pineapple Port. If you have to ask why, well you need to read the early books in the series. She is trying to get her Private Eye Licence (again, read the early books) and helps her boyfriend's and her neighbor's husband the police man to qualify for the hours.

Into all of this a man falls off a balcony on to the mast of his boat and dies. Was it a murder or an accident. Our hero is hired to find out but only because the owner of Pineapple Port wants to buy the land that is up for sale because of her death and so does someone else. Who ever solves the mystery and some other silly events, will get the land.

My only down side to the book is that the bad person still gets to go free again. But a good villain is a horrible thing to waste. The good part is that we are introduced to a two legged cat. Yes, I said that right.

Recommenced it to people who are looking for a light mystery with a lot of humor.

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Saturday, August 19, 2017

Review: Lily

Lily Lily by Anna K. Payne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Short, quick read.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

There are really two stories that are going on here and the intertwine with each other. Lily is at the end of her rope. She is divorced three times and pregnant with her third child, all from different dads. She is invited to a Bible Study and wonder why God would ever want her.
Meanwhile she witnesses a murder during a freak storm at the beach and now the killer is out to get her, and she keeps calling the undercover cop who rescued her, she just does not know why.

Will Lilly make until the end of the story or will the bad guy kill her? Will the cop and Lilly ever realize how they feel? Will Lilly accept Jesus? I am fairly sure you can guess the answers. But take a look anyway.
Recommend to those who want a light simple read of a Christian nature. While I have seen some call it a cozy, to me a cozy has a mystery. This is not a mystery in that we know who did it. It is more a drama of what will happen in the day to day life of the title character.

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Thursday, August 17, 2017

Review: Pineapple Puzzles

Pineapple Puzzles Pineapple Puzzles by Amy Vansant
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The third in the series of Pineapple Port and the characters are much the same. Before I go further, I was given a copy in exchange for an honest review. I am also part of the author's street team that promotes the series.
Amy has again written an interesting story. There is a murder out there who is killing people and making them look like accidents. Then, so that people know, the killer is leaving pieces of a puzzle behind as a sign that it is them doing it.
Charolette, our hero, is trying to figure out the person doing the killing as part of her training for being a private eye under the auspices of her neighbor the police chief and her boyfriend's uncle, Samus, who was a private eye at one time. Telling you much more of the story gets to giving clues to how it ends.
The one gripe I have about this, and it is the reason it only got 4 stars, is that the ending did not wrap things up. Someone who should be in jail is not. I suspect that is so the author can set things up for a future book but I am old school and like my stories not to be continued. Still, it is not a bad ending, and I have seen a lot worse than this in stories that I have read lately.
I recommend to anyone who wants a fun, light-hearted mystery. Though the series has been promoted as a Cozy, I would not recommend it as a Cozy. It is not bad, just there are some things in it that do not fit in the Venn diagram of what makes a Cozy.


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Monday, August 14, 2017

Review: The Last Librarian

The Last Librarian The Last Librarian by Brandt Legg
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am not sure where I picked up this book, just that it was in my  library and it looked interesting.  I was a little hesitant in reading it at first.  It was coming across as a 'save the whales' type of book. That was just the leaning of the author I am sure.  In reality, a book about saving books has to be a little bit about saving the environment.  I get ahead of myself.
Our story takes place in the near future. There has been a natural disaster, a plague, that has killed off a large percentage of the population of earth. In order to survive, the war that naturally follows, a one world government is created.  As that government flourishes so does the population of the earth, and the prosperity as well.  In order for things to continue to flourish, the government puts rules in effect for everything from reproduction to reading.
Everyone also has their own computer devices.  They do everything for them.  Even provides them the books they are going to read.  This makes the needs for libraries a thing of the past.  One small device can hole a library of books.
Eventually all the libraries are closed, except for one. And the Last Librarian is soon going to be out of a job. Or is he, a close friend has discovered that words are being changed in books and comes up with an idea to save the most important books in the library.  It is a race against time and the risk of losing his life but our hero takes it on.
Fun stuff in the book comes in the form of quotes from authors we know. Liberal quotes from Fahrenheit 451 and 1984 are scattered through out the book.  Another thing scattered through out is cussing, but it is safe  cussing. It reminded me of the original Battlestar Galatica.  In order to get cussing past the censors, they made up a few words.  Same here, but I am sure that it was not done to get it past the sensors.  There is one moment of intimacy hinted as well but I had to read the paragraph twice just to make sure I read what I thought I read.  This book is safe for kids, though I am sure many would get a little bored with it.
My only real problem was the ending. In order to make sure the second story would have a place to start we are left with many of the plots in the story left hanging.  If I could have I would have taken off a 1/2 star for that. 
In the end a good book. It is kind of long (or seemed so to me).  I would say that any one looking for a good adventure story would like it. 

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Friday, August 11, 2017

Review: Purgatory of the Werewolf

Purgatory of the Werewolf Purgatory of the Werewolf by Brian S. Ference
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Dorian wakes with a weird dream, he was destroyed by a large wolf, but here he was, in the forest, naked, bloody, but alive. He could not really understand what was going on. He feels renewed, healthy, and whatever scars he had were now gone.
So starts the Purgatory of the Werewolf, the second in the Wolf of Dorian Gray series. I have not read number 1, but I was allowed to review an advanced copy of this book for an honest review.
The book held my interest, which is saying a lot as I am not much of a horror/supernatural reader. I may have to track down book number one for a look at it to see how Dorian got this way in the first place.
Dorian does realize that he is the beast and with help, takes steps to distance himself from the population so as not to kill anyone else. It takes him to a British ship where he helps to battle the Chinese during what is the Opium wars of the late 1800's.
The author takes time to set each scene up, painting it with enough words but not too many as to over do it. Likewise, the points of view of each person telling the story ring true to the person they are. It was clear that the author took some time to put thought into each person.
While there is a small amount of violence in the story, that would be expected when you are telling a story of a werewolf. There are also some battle scenes. All of the violence is necessary to advance the storyline.
I would recommend this to anyone who likes horror/supernatural types of story but would not limit it to them. I did find it an enjoyable read.

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Monday, August 07, 2017

Review: Pineapple Mystery Box

Pineapple Mystery Box Pineapple Mystery Box by Amy Vansant
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Another good book by the author.
Some may think that these are cozy mysteries, they are not. A Cozy implies to me that this might be a book you could tell your pastor you had read. These books have a little hint of violence and/or innuendo, but they are safe.
In book two, Charlotte is now trying to be a private eye. As the youngest of the retirement community she lives in (25, do not ask, read the books to find out why), her friends get her set up on a case because someone has switched all the Halloween decorations in their community. But all of a sudden one case blossoms into three and she (and her chalkboard wall) are on the way to solving all of them.
Declan, her maybe boyfriend is their as the owner of the pawn shop move into a Taco Bell name Hocko Bell (take a run for the hoarder) along with his ex-girlfriend who wants him back, or at least the pawn shop. At one point in the book he literally becomes the butt of some of the best jokes in the book.
If you like your mysteries on the spooky or serious side, this book is not for you. If however you love a good laugh, then his book is for you.
I want to tank Ms. Amy for a copy provided for an honest review. In further disclosure, I am part of the street team she has put together to advance her soon to be released 5th book. This is an honest review however. If I though the book was bad, you (and she) would know it.

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Review: Volunteering: A Guide to Serving in the Body of Christ

Volunteering: A Guide to Serving in the Body of Christ Volunteering: A Guide to Serving in the Body of Christ by Leith Anderson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book from the Netgalley web site and the publisher, Zondervan in exchange for an honest review.
A short quick guide but with a lot of information in it.
I have been in volunteering in one way, shape or form in the 35 years that I have been a Christian. I have led departments (sound) and been a background person (kid's ministry) and a little bit of everything in between. I did not think that this book could tell me a lot about it, but I wanted to get some new ideas and thought this might do the trick. I was surprised and not disappointed.
While most of my Christian ministry of late has been online and this book deals with the local church, a lot of the material can be used for the online world.
The book deals mostly with the one in the trenches. One thing that it talks about finding your gift so you can serve effectively. So often we do not know where our gifts are and so if we do volunteer we do it in the wrong place, get discouraged and never volunteer again. So the authors encourage you not to quit but to seek someplace else to use your talents. There is even a guide to what your spiritual gift could be.
One think I liked that is not talked much about is that the authors gave a whole chapter to burnout. I speak from experience, it is real in Christian ministry volunteering. They talk about sensing it, and what to do about it from both sides, the leader and the person who volunteers. This was a powerful chapter.
I recommend this book to any who will be leading or volunteering in a Christian ministry. If you are a breathing Christian, this means you.

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