The Help Meet Wife

A Table By The Window is book one in Hillary Manton Lodge's new series, Family Secrets and Heirloom Recipes. The story follows Juliette D'Alisa, a French-Italian food writer working for a newspaper. She's juggling her nosy family, long distance online dating, intrigue, mystery, and old family secrets. Juliette's grandmother has recently passed away, and she's inherited some of her belongings. She find buried secrets hidden in them and is trying to hide them from her family. Meanwhile, her brother Nico is offering her the chance to open a restaurant with him, and she's trying to decide what to do about her long distance relationship with a doctor in Memphis. This is the first book I've read by this author, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I'm not a huge fan of romance novels, but this was much more than a romance novel. I love cooking, so all the comfort food and hominess of this book enveloped me and made me feel warm and relaxed. This is the type ...

Forgiving Our Fathers And Mothers by Leslie Leyland Fields (with Dr. Jill Hubbard) is one of the best books on forgiveness I've read in a long time. Each chapter details a different aspect to the parent/child relationship and need for forgiveness, followed by a word from Dr. Jill and study questions. I really enjoyed this format. It was like getting to the heart of the matter with Leslie, and then visiting a professional psychologist (Dr. Jill) to process your emotions afterward. Leslie uses her own real life story, plus the stories of others who have had difficult relationships with their parents, plus plenty of Scripture, to trace the path to forgiveness and healing. This book really hit home for me. Warning: it will probably make you cry! Leslie's story, as well as all of the others, were alternately emotional, touching, sad, horrifying, and redeeming. I liked how Leslie brought practical tips to questions such as, "Do I have to forgive?", "How do I forgive?...

When I first saw Crash The Chatterbox: Hearing God's Voice Above All Others by Steven Furtick, I was intrigued, because I have issues with negative thinking, worrying, and anxiety. I was excited to pick this one up and see what he had to say. This book is broken up into four sections, plus an intro, conclusion, discussion questions, and more: 1. God Says I Am; 2. God Says He Will; 3. God Says He Has; and 4. God Says I Can. It's basically a four step process to removing the negative, lying thoughts from our heads and replacing them with the true, positive, affirming thoughts from God. I could definitely relate to Furtick's plight. Reading the ramblings from his head in the introduction could've been a snapshot into my own mind. I loved the clear guidelines he gave to replacing these thoughts with the "I Am, He Will, He Has, I Can" formula. It's more than just a trite "positive thinking" message that many so-called Christians promote these days. ...

Distortion by Terri Blackstock is book #2 in her new Moonlighters series. I thoroughly enjoyed book #1, Truth Stained Lies, so I have been eagerly anticipating the story's continuation in Distortion. Distortion picks up the story with Cathy's sister, Juliet Cole, featured. Juliet's husband of 15 years is murdered right in front of her. She believes this is a random attack, but soon discovers that it was planned, and she and the children are still in danger. Secrets and a web of lies are untangled as they hunt for the killer. Distortion is Terri Blackstock at her best. She's perfected the art of writing Christian suspense with a tinge of romance. I loved this book. I highly recommend it to any Christian who enjoys a good thriller, but I'd suggest reading Truth Stained Lies first, if you haven't already, so you will be caught up on the storyline and characters. This one is a page turner that will keep you up at night (with the lights on!). Don't miss this o...

A Stillness Of Chimes is Meg Moseley's third offering, although it's the first book I've read of hers. The story centers on teacher Laura Gantt. She's come home to Prospect, Georgia to settle her recently deceased mother's household. She's shocked to hear rumors of her (presumed dead) father being seen around the town. Laura teams up with longtime friend and former boyfriend Sean Halloran to get to the bottom of the rumors and uncover the truth. Along the way Laura and Sean rediscover each other and rekindle their faith. This book, even from just the cover and title, have a mysterious, haunting feel. The cover is absolutely beautiful and the title begs the book to be read. This story is cloaked in Southern charm and shrouded in mystery and left me turning the pages very quickly to find out what would happen, while at the same time not wanting the story to end! The characters are believable, lovable, and very human. I loved this book and can't wait to read...