Saving Grace by Annie Jones

Naomi, Rose, Gayle, and Lucy who live in Tennesee come together to re-spark their prayer circle and frienship. A local, eccentric old woman named Grace Grayson-Wiley, who likes to sit on her front porch dressed in very old clothing on the night of the Splendor Belle Gala becomes a bit of an obsession for at least one of the women. The prayer group is asked to help a woman at the diner to bring some food to Grace once per week and from there, the intrique of Grace's story slowly comes to light. The story tells us about each of the friends and a bit about each of their lives, families, loves and problems.

This was a rather nice story, but a bit under-whelming to me. I had a really difficult time just staying with the book and reading it. I must admit that at times it was interesting, but it was also a bit of a drag to read at others. I just couldn't seem to connect with the characters in the story. For the most part, the story was interesting at times, but annoying at other times. It wasn't a bad story, but it wasn't all that great either. I'd recommend others to read it and judge for yourself.

I received this book from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group to read and review.

His Steadfast Love by Golden Keyes Parsons

The American Civil War was a time of  great turmoil within the entire country. Depending on where you lived, you could be fighting with extended family, friends and neighbors. Amanda Belle, a resident of the coastal region of Texas, meets Captain Kent Littlefield of Pennsylvania and the Union army, she is attracted to him and soon falls in love with him. When Texas secedes from the Union, her brother goes off to fight with the Confederates and Littlefield remains with the Union. This contributes to a conflict for Amanda concerning her sense of loyalty to her family and her love for Captain Littlefield.

This was a very interesting book giving us a glimpse into our past and getting some idea of what people had to endure during the war. Along with the story of the war and what people had to endure, we have the family stories of the Belles and the Littlefields and the emotional blackmail of dealing with the strong prejudices of parents who refused to allow a Confederate or a Union person into their family regardless of how the couple in love feel about each other. There is also some glimpses into prison conditions, medicine and treatment of the injured. Soldiers had no real treatment for the PTSD suffered after seeing the horrors of what humans do to each other and having pain and loss infllicted upon so many. All in all, anyone who has an interest in The Civil War and what it was like to live during that time, should find this interesting to read. I do recommend it and did enjoy reading it.

This book was provided to me to read and review by Booksneeze.

Waking Hours by Lis Wiehl and Pete Nelson

The setting for this story is the town of East Salem in Westchester, County New York. It's the fall of the year and scary things are happening. The body of a young girl is found dead on top of a large rock. She had been at a party with other high school kids and now they are all suspects in her death. Unfortunately, no one can remember anything. Forensic psychiatrist Dani Harris is acting with the DA's office to help solve this case. She begins to be troubled by really scary dreams that keep waking her up each night at the same exact time. An aquaintance from Dani's high school days re-enters her life. Tommy Gunderson a former NFL linebacker is having some strange things happen on his property. An elderly woman has set off his alarm system and is found in the back yard babbling in various languages and holding a dead frog. She also tells Gunderson that he is next. Next for what? Gunderson is studying to become a PI and eventually becomes an assistant to Dani, helping to search for answers about the murder of the young girl and also to help protect Dani from the many weird things that are happening to her within her home at night.

Although this book has some rather gory scenes, it is quite a story to read. I found it difficult to leave the story, and kept wanting to know more and keep reading until the end. The book is really interesting and will grab you and keep you wanting to know more and know why things are happening. There is definitely a strong case for the presence of good and evil within our world and it does affect all of us in varying ways. Angels are with us and watching over us. Satan is also here and is present in many horrible ways.

This book was provided to me to read and review by BookSneeze.com.