SISTERCHICKS Down Under! – Robin Jones Gunn

I’ve never read a book by Robin Jones Gunn before, and I didn’t know what a SISTERCHICK was, either. It’s a copyrighted term meaning a friend who loves you like a sister and tells you things you need to hear. Sounds like the kind of friend we all need. I was very pleased to make the acquaintance with the author and the term—“SISTERCHICKS Down Under!” was a fun read. We start the book by meeting Kathleen and Tony. Tony works for a movie studio and has been asked to go to New Zealand for three months for his current project. … Continue reading →

Miss Invisible – Laura Jensen Walker

Another book by my new favorite author, Laura Jensen Walker, is “Miss Invisible.” I related to this story on a lot of levels. Our main character is Freddie, a plus-sized woman who works decorating cakes at a bakery. Her boss, the super-slim, super-chic Anya, likes to keep her in the background while she herself deals with the customers. This is fine with Freddie—she knows she doesn’t have the flair with people Anya has. But suddenly, it would seem that things are going Freddie’s way. She meets Deborah, a self-described “big beautiful black woman,” while at church, and she loves the … Continue reading →

Organic for Health – Sandy Powers

In the new book “Organic for Health,” author Sandy Powers shares her own story of sickness and healing. In 2005, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. However, her treatment was complicated by the fact that her liver enzymes were three times higher than normal. Her doctor feared that the surgery for the breast cancer would damage the liver, but Sandy feared the cancer more than the liver. She proceeded to have the mastectomy needed, but decided against chemotherapy and radiation because of the possibility of harm to her liver. Every time she had her enzymes tested, they were dangerously high. … Continue reading →

Guide to Pirate Parenting – Tim Bete

When I first picked up “Cap’n Billy ‘The Butcher’ MacDougall’s Guide to Pirate Parenting,” I really had no idea what to expect. I thought perhaps it would be a book that compared raising children to training pirates, and that through the allegories, we would be taught new and vital information we need in order to be successful parents. What I actually got was a book that literally tells you how to raise your children to be pirates, and it’s absolutely hysterical. It’s a spoof on all the other parenting books out there, and makes you step back and realize that … Continue reading →

Daring Chloe – Laura Jensen Walker

“Daring Chloe” is the first book in a new series by award-winning author Laura Jensen Walker. The series is entitled “Getaway Girls” and is about a group of women who comprise a book club, and have decided to live out some of the adventures they read about. Chloe’s fiancé showed his true colors the night before their wedding. He sent her a text message in the middle of the night, telling her he couldn’t go through with the ceremony, and then he went backpacking out in the wilderness. Chloe can’t understand what went wrong, and she really can’t understand why … Continue reading →

Lost Highways – Curtiss Ann Matlock

I love finding new authors (well, new to me) and Curtiss Ann Matlock captured my imagination from the first page. Her narrative voice is so friendly and quirky—I was pulled in to the character even before I picked up on the plot. Rainey Valentine is a complicated woman. Complicated in a good way, though. She’s been divorced twice but still believes in true love. She’s taken a little time off from her ‘real’ life to follow a dream—her mother, champion barrel-racer, left her the prize horse and trailer in her will, and Rainey is driving around the country to compete … Continue reading →

His Shadowed Heart – Hazel Statham

A while back, I had the pleasure of reviewing another of Hazel Statham’s works, “My Dearest Friend,” and also of interviewing the author herself. Today I review “His Shadowed Heart,” Hazel’s latest Regency romance. Richard Moreton, Earl of Waverly, is still in mourning for his wife, Elizabeth, who died in childbirth. Their little daughter Julia is now three, and needs a mother, but Richard doesn’t want to think about it, especially when pestered about it by his well-meaning sister, Victoria. Haven’t they been doing well enough on their own? It’s not like he hasn’t had many chances to remarry—it seems … Continue reading →

The Hidden – Kathryn Mackel

You know, I never thought there was such a thing as a Christian supernatural thriller, but I found one. It’s called “The Hidden,” and it was written by Kathryn Mackel. Psychiatrist Susan Stone has been burying herself in work to try to overcome the grief surrounding her son’s death, but it’s not working. Memories of him flash through her mind and she fights them off, trying desperately not to remember what happened, what led up to those last moments. When the phone rings to tell her that her father has been in an accident, she leaves everything behind to go … Continue reading →

Code Red – Jennie Hansen

In the LDS suspense novel “Code Red,” we read about Nicole, a young woman who grew up on a military base. As a child, she saw her father murdered, but there was a cover-up and the military refused to acknowledge that any such thing had happened, claiming instead that her father had chosen to leave his family. Even her mother doesn’t believe her, and Nicole is sent to a mental institution where she lives for the better part of a year, until she realizes that if she doesn’t retract the story, she’ll never gain her freedom. Squelching down the things … Continue reading →

The Clairvoyant Countess – Dorothy Gilman

I reviewed “Kaleidoscope” a few weeks ago, which is the sequel to “The Clairvoyant Countess.” I enjoyed it so much, of course I had to go back and find the original. I wasn’t disappointed at all. We meet Madame Karistska, clairvoyant, who has lived a fascinating life. She came from money but because of political upheaval in the countries where she lived, she came to America as a pauper. She has never used her clairvoyance for profit, but having to rely on her own skills to make it in the world, she decides to go into business for herself. She … Continue reading →