Journey to Riverbend by Henry McLaughlin

Journey to Riverbend follows the western adventure of Michael Archer as he travels to Riverbend to carry a message and the cross of Ben Carstairs mother to his father. Ben Carstairs has been alienated from his father and now he has run out of time to reconnect with his dad. Ben has been executed for a crime that many people felt he did not commit. Sam Carstairs, Ben's father never answered any of the many letters that Ben had sent to him. Michael Archer had stood by Ben and tried to save his life, but there just wasn't any evidence to prove his innocence. After arriving in Riverbend, Michael meets quite a few nice people including Rachel Stone who has turned her life around from a very dark past. Sam Carstairs is kidnapped and the local law and volunteers form a posse to go in search of him. Michael joins them. The search for Sam leads to adventure and understanding of how things were done in the old west.

I enjoyed reading this lively story, but really felt left wanting when it ended. Somehow I was really looking forward to the homecoming of all the men who went out in search of Sam Carstairs. It wasn't important to the story to have a reunion, I just would have liked to read about the various reactions of the townspeople. In spite of my slight disappointment with the abrupt ending, I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys good, clean old west stories.

This book was provided to me to read and review by Tyndale House Publishers.

Lady in Waiting by Susan Meissner

Lady in Waiting

by

Susan Meissner

Lady in Waiting

This is the story of two women named Jane.  One Jane lives in modern day New York City, the other Jane is Lady Jane Grey who lived in the 16th century in England. The modern Jane's husband has decided that they need a separation from each other to determine where their marriage is going. Jane is shocked and without a clue as to why he has decided that they need this separation. In England, Lady Jane Grey is living a life that seems to be completely at the design of others. Both Janes seem to be living lives that are directed by others and leave them both without choices. Looking at modern Jane and the long deceased Lady Jane, we can see similar choices that the parents of both Jane's have made or nudged their daughters toward. But at various times in their lives, they did make their own decisions.
I really enjoyed reading this book. I enjoy reading about royalty and how they lived way back when. For that reason, I found Lady Jane Grey's story to be more interesting to me. A ring arrives at the family antique shop that the modern Jane manages for her aunt. The antique ring is discovered hidden in an antique prayer book. The ring has a Latin inscription and the name Jane. This leads to the back and forth chapters of the modern Jane and the 16th century royal Lady Jane Grey. It seemed to me that both Jane's felt that things happened in their lives without their consent. Eventually both Jane's realize that they did have choices along the way so they did have some control over their own destiny.

If you would like to read the first 4 chapters, please follow this link
http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/2010/04/15/sneak-peek-lady-in-waiting-by-susan-meissner/

This book was provided to me to read and review by WaterBrook Multnomah Publishers.

The Clouds Roll Away by Sibella Giorello

The Clouds Roll Away

by Sibella Giorello

Raleigh Harmon is a forensic geologist with the FBI. She has returned to Richmond Virginia fron an assignment in Washington state, and is hoping that things will be better for her in Virginia but has quickly learned that her suprevisor is apparently hoping to get Raleigh booted out of the FBI. Raleigh is facing pressure at work and at home. Her mother is elderly and not in the best of health mentally. At work Raleigh is dealing with a hate crime involving a well known rap artist. There are a lot of twists and turns with this case, including drugs, the kkk and diamonds.
Although this is the third book in this series, it is the first one that I have read. In the beginning it seemed a bit slow, but after awhile it did pick up and held onto my attention through to the end. Things left dangling will hopefully be addressed in the next book or books that will be written. I did enjoy reading this story and am going to look for the preceding two books and read them also.

I received this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers to read and review.

The Pirate Queen by Patricia Hickman

Saphora Warren seems to have it all. Beautiful homes, a successful husband and adult children, but something is missing. After a photo shoot for Southern Living, Saphora plans to escape to their summer home in Oriental North Carolina. She hopes to just have quiet time to do whatever she wants, when she wants. Her escape is cut short when her plastic surgeon husband comes home early, and before she can get on the road he tells her that he is dying. Life can change in an instant and how Saphora copes with it and the many people around her, is the premise of this story.

Dealing with all the sudden changes in the life of Saphora and her husband is a somewhat complicated story. The adult children, some married and with children of their own and even the children's friends add to this story. Saphora's husband Bender and his doctor friends and the ladies that he has had flings with also add to the story and give us a look at what Saphora has put up with during her marriage to Bender. Somehow it feels like too much of this story is left out. I get the feeling that Bender and Saphora have been living separate lives, but living in the same home. It was a bit difficult for me to understand how Saphora seemed to be a bit out of touch with Bender and was more concerned with her own need for time alone when he was on limited time here on Earth. Did she really need to go off alone on a fishing trip alone or go sneaking through the fence to spy on the neighbor guy when her first concern should have been her husband? I know that not everyone will see this story the way that I do, but that's what makes life and reading books interesting. I wasn't happy with the ending of the story either. It seemed nuts. The few encounters these people actually had doesn't seem like a romance that will endure.

Read the book and decide for yourself. I did enjoy reading it, but was annoyed at a few turns in the story, but most of my annoyance was with Saphora. She had a lot in her life, and did welcome others and help quite a few people, but there was also this feeling that she was just selfish toward her husband and toward Sherry who had her own life, but seemed to always have to give up her own life to run when Saphora called.

This book was provided to me by WaterBrook Press to read and review.

Sir Quinlan and the Swords of Valor by Chuck Black

Sir Quinlan known as Twitch because of a nervous muscle spasm in his cheek, leaves his friend Tav and the family that has taken care of him since the tragic death of his parents. He plans to set off with Sir Baylor and join the Swords of Valor. During a horrible battle with the evil Shadow Warriors, Sir Baylor is killed. Because of a mistake made by Sir Quinlan, the other Knights blame him for this tragedy and the Swords of Valor are disbanded. Sir Quinlan wanders the kingdom until he meets Taras a Silent Warriorand former trainer of Valor Knights. After a grueling time of training, The Prince speaks to Sir Quinlan and he decides to get the Valor Knights to come together and fight the Dark Knight and his evil cohorts who plan to take over the Kingdom of Arretthtrae.

This is a really good story of knights and the traditional good and evil battle that everyone faces every day. This book is part of a series of stories for young teens and pre-teens. I definitely enjoyed reading this book and know that young people who like adventure and knights will love this book and enjoy the story that does teach about what strenght we find when we band together and inspire others to overcome apathy. There is always strength in numbers especially when the numbers are people of valor and truth.

This book was provided to me to read and review by WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing.
 

Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball by Donita K. Paul

   

The scene is a snowy little town during the Christmas season. People are hurrying to get shopping done and baking the goodies that their family will enjoy. Not everyone is with their family though and some are not with the person they should be with. A mysterious little group of matchmakers are working hard to bring certain people together for Christmas and for the rest of their lives. If you are lucky enough to shop at Warner, Werner and Wizbotterdad's booksellers, you just might come away with a very special ticket tucked into your book for the Christmas Ball.

This book is so enchanting to read, I could not put it down. Every chapter brought a new element to the story. Everyone needs a little magic in their lives and this book is just full of fun and some really magical twists that will make you want to read more. 

I highly recommend this book to everyone.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. If you would like to read the first chapter, then click on the link.

CHAPTER 1

A Rush of Wings by Kristen Heizmann

Noelle St. Claire has taken flight from her home on her father's estate in New York. She doesn't know where she is going, but is determined to get away from whatever it is that she fears the most. She winds up in Colorado and finds a place to stay at a ranch owned by Rick Spencer and his brother Morgan. Will Noelle find comfort and a chance to just be herself and not be afraid of whatever it is that has brought her to this place?
On the surface I liked this book. Getting to the end was a real challenge because of the anger and frustration that I often felt with Noelle. She seemed to be a headstrong, spoiled rich girl who wasn't willing to accept anyone's rules. That's fine for some things, but when it comes to other people's property and especially the animals under their care, I can't accept the audacity of a person to just do what they want regardless of what someone else has told them not to do. Maybe some people think it's cute for a sweet, pretty rich girl to go against authority, but I kept finding it to be terribly annoying. I don't like people taking their own problems out on innocent animals, either directly or indirectly.
In spite of my occasional aggravation with  Noelle and how she acted throughout the book, I did enjoy the book. Anger isn't something that should be held onto, and Noelle did have a lot of reason to have problems with enjoying her life and opening herself up to people who want to help her. In the end, the story does have a good conclusion that should satisfy almost everyone.

I received this book from Bethany House Publishers to read and review.