The Help Meet Wife

Staying Alive: A Love Story by Laura B. Hayden is a touching memoir of the loss of her husband. Laura lost her husband, Larry, suddenly when he was just 49 years old after he suffered a blood clot following a "routine" bypass surgery. This book is written as a series of essays that span her childhood, her marriage, the loss of her husband, dealing with grief, and her life as a widow. She discusses how she and her children all dealt with the loss differently. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this memoir. I laughed at some parts and teared up at others. This was a very quick read - I read it in one evening. I couldn't put it down - I felt like I knew the author by the time I finished it. My heart was touched by her poignant writing about her marriage and husband. I definitely left this book wanting to seize every moment in my life and marriage. I liked reading about her childhood as well, and enjoyed how she incorporated basically her whole life story into the book. I didn...

Forever Friday by Timothy Lewis is a romance novel that spans three separate stories. There are three storylines that weave through the book. There's the story of Adam Colby, a recently divorced man who is trying to put his life back together, the love story of Gabe and Pearl, and the story of the last days of Pearl's life in a nursing home. Lewis successfully spins all three together in a way that makes you want to keep turning the pages. You get bits and pieces of each story until they all come together in the end. Sometimes books written this way can be confusing, but this was skillfully written in a way that I wasn't confused by the intertwining stories. This book reminded me of a Christian Nicholas Sparks novel. Epic love story, page turning intrigue, and a tear jerker. I had trouble putting this one down and couldn't wait to find out how it would end. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Christian romance. I receieved a copy of this book from...

I have previously read the Pacific Coast Justice series by Janice Cantore and loved it, so when I saw that she was releasing a new series, I was thrilled and couldn't wait to read the first book. It didn't disappoint - she has outdone herself compared to her first series. Critical Pursuit follows Long Beach police officer Brinna Caruso, former child kidnap victim. Now grown and in law enforcement, it's her life's mission to rescue kidnapped children and get pedophiles off the streets with her scent dog, Hero. She is obsessed with her work and enjoys the solitude of working with her faithful dog. Being involved in a shooting with a suspect forces her to temporarily sideline Hero and work with a human partner, Jack O'Reilly. Jack is still reeling from losing his wife and unborn child to a drunk driver. Together the two of them work together to catch a predator. I was so excited to receive this book that I opened it up and started reading it as soon as it arrived. ...

A Walk Through The Dark is the story of Eva Piper's walk through her husband Don's severe car accident. It begins as she hears word he's been in an accident while teaching, and details the surgeries, hospital stays, setbacks, injuries, and more that occur over the next years. Eva describes the day by day caretaking and gives much wisdom for caretakers and loved ones who are supporting a caretaker. However, this book wasn't quite what I expected. It's subtitled "How My Husband's 90 Minutes In Heaven Deepened My Faith For A Lifetime". The problem is that Eva doesn't even mention Don's trip to Heaven until one of the very last chapters, and the entire discussion and event is described in less than two pages. That's it. No details are given, and I was left wondering why he didn't tell her about it until more than a year later, and why the only reason it seemed she found out is because she overheard him telling someone else. Eva did discuss...

Fiery Secrets is the first offering by new Christian fiction writer Stephanie McCall. I chose this book because it included two topics which I enjoy: medicine and suspense. Dr. Grace Taylor is a pediatrician, recovering alcoholic, and new Christian who has recently moved to Hart Hill, Tennessee. She is trying to regain custody of her son, Jacob, from her abusive ex husband. She meets teacher Chris Anderson, a victim of a school shooting and sufferer of PTSD, when he tutors Jacob. They have an immediate attraction but must work through many challenges to form a relationship. First off, the positives: this was a very interesting and exciting book. The plot lines included alcoholism, abusive marriage, PTSD, school shootings, ghosts and mysteries from the Civil War, medicine, divorce, abortion, teaching, drug abuse, and more. It is 362 pages long, quite a large book, which I was happy with because I enjoy a good, long read. The cover and pages were nicely done and attractive. I got into t...