Book Review: Shards of Ashley by Karen Wiesner

This is a lovely story - once again Ms. Wiesner creates wounded characters who find redemption through love.

Shards of Ashley (Book 5 of Family Heirloom Series)
by Karen Weisner
Book 5 of the Family Heirlooms Series
Inspirational Contemporary Romance by Karen Wiesner
Available now from

Whiskey Creek Press
978-1-61160-017-9 (trade paperback); 
978-1-61160-016-2 (electronic)
Click here for a printable order form
The paperback may be available at a significant discount with this special order form
Paperback from Amazon.com
Download from Amazon.com
Download from BN.com

My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0

Book Five Family Heirloom: Learning trust
In order to reconcile her past, she must face the terrible truth she buried long ago...and, in doing so, she gambles with her heart and the salvation of her own soul.

Ashley Savage grew up in a troubled home with a competitive, pampered sister and an abusive, ridiculing mother who played at being a Christian when she needed to...and led Ashley to more addictions than one child could handle. As an adult, Ashley tells herself she's put the extreme fears of the past behind her, but she spends most of her time repairing the crumbling wall holding back the horrors she's not willing to face ever again. She's become a woman against the world.

The one man who has the annoying habit of getting through her defenses is Jay Samuels, a military chaplain and soon-to-be pastor. Much as Ashley wants to leave him behind like she believes she has the rest of her past, Jay is ambitious to a fault where she's concerned. He hears only what he wants to hear?and he doesn't want to hear that she doesn't love him as much as he loves her.

But even Jay doesn't realize the extent of all she's buried deep inside her own subconscious...and what keeps her from giving herself willingly to the God she knows is drawing her inexorably to Himself, to the one place she can't run, where she can no longer hide...

Review:
Ashley was abused by her mother and step-father. When they sought friendship in a church family, she knew them to be hypocrites. At the age of fourteen she escaped her household to find oblivion in drugs with an abusive boyfriend.

Ashley finally broke free and was given a chance to change her life. She was mentored by an interior designer who taught her how to dress and present herself as well as how to dress interiors. Ashley has buried her pain and insecurities and remade herself into a disciplined, tightly controlled success.  Ashley doesn’t see herself as worthy of love and holds herself apart from everyone. She thinks even God didn’t love her enough as a child to save her from the abuse she suffered so she learned to rely only on her own efforts.

Jay has cared for Ashley since they met as teens. He is the pastor’s son and once he returns from his military service he will become the pastor of the local church. Jay and Ashley have remained friends seeing each other whenever he is home but they have no contact for the months he is away. Jay wants that to change. In fact, he is ready for their relationship to become serious and permanent. He knows that Ashley had a difficult childhood and he knows of her past escape into drugs and sex. But he doesn’t know all of her painful past as Ashley has never told anyone.

Jay realizes that he loves Ashley and he determines that he will not let her push him away.  It may take work, especially since his time home is limited, but he wants to convince her that she is worthy of love and he will stand by her.

Bit by bit Ashley’s defenses begin to crumble when faced with Jay’s steadfast and unrelenting love. Jay and Ashley share thoughts through Journaling and it is through that medium that Jay is often able to plant seeds of faith that opens a dialogue between them. Ms. Wiesner shares some beautiful thoughts on the rewards that can come from trusting in God to see us through suffering and pain. 

Although she resists, it is clear that Ashley loves Jay. Their moments together are very sensual, even without complete intimacy. I really enjoy the depth of emotion that Ms. Wiesner gives her characters.  The situations are real to live and there is plenty of warmth that overcomes the sad suffering of the past. I am always reminded how much I enjoy this author when I read her books. There may be too much emotion for me to read these one after another, but they are a source of delight when I pick them up once every six weeks or so! I highly recommend this author especially if you are looking to read inspiring romance and stories of redemption from difficult circumstances. .

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I never heard the second part of  this expression but I think it is spot on:

“Your family is very traditional. The man is the head of the household and all that.”
“Maybe so. But didn’t someone say, if the man’s the head then the woman’s the neck? She moves him in the direction he should go.”  Location 1181.

Part of Ashley' fear of trusting:

They’d made her want to trust them. They’d made her want to trust God. But trust implied giving up all the protections she’d erected for herself.   Location 1966.

I received this title from the author for an honest review.

Bookblast Giveaway -- First Time: The Legend of Garison Fitch

Tour Schedule

This title sounds really interesting and I can't wait to read it! My review is scheduled for December 11.

First Time: The Legend of Garison Fitch

"What if history didn't happen that way ... the first time?"

Garison Fitch was one of the most revered scientists in the Soviet Americas until he left fame behind to work on a secret project in his log cabin in the mountains of Marx.

But something went wrong. Instead of traveling interdimentionally, Garison has traveled through time ... twice.

Now, he's in something called "The United States of America" and a woman he's never met before is calling herself his wife. It it a hoax? Or, has he somehow changed history?

If so, can he return the world to what he believes is "normal", or must he live in this strange world he created?

Purchase

Kindle * Nook * Smashwords

Praise:

"Sam continues to weave his magic as a storyteller. I always find myself anxious to find out what will happen next and what kind of twist will befall the adventurers. It helps to be familiar with the places that the heroines go, which adds to the story."

~Labdaddy, Texas

"I've had a few very unproductive but enjoyable days thanks to Samuel Ben White. If you haven't read Sam's books you have been missing a treat. These were funny, suspenseful, spiritual and kept you turning the pages."

~Karen S.

"Just wanted to say how much I have enjoyed your books. I have a Kindle and I have purchased all of the Garison Fitch novels. I am in Saudi Arabia and your books have really helped take me away from here."

~Scott, Saudi Arabia

Also Part of the Series:

Saving Time

Two years ago Garison Fitch traveled through time and rewrote history. An accident in the eighteenth century created a whole new world, and even gave Garison a wife he had never met before. Now, he’s got a daughter and he’s coming to enjoy this world he created. Until he’s attacked by men masquerading as Indians, and a funeral procession from out of the past enlists his help, and a tree grows from sappling to full-grown in a matter of minutes, threatening his daughter’s very life. Time itself is unraveling and Garison’s trips through time seem to be the cause. Garison must go back in time once again and keep himself from making the original trip that started the problem. But he can’t use his time machine to go back. How does one sew up a rip in time?

Lost Time

Jason Kerrigan and Brownwyn Dalmouth are pilots with the Republic of Texas Army Air Corps. A world war is going on and bombs have just brought an end to Crockett Air Field in south Texas. Jason and Bronwyn, though, are called away from the battle to be test pilots for a new aircraft that-they're told-will bring the war to an end. The experimental craft lives up to expectations in early tests, but then it lands them somewhere it never should have sent them. Another place? Another time? Another dimension? Somehow, they've taken a trip to the future and changed the past. Or did they? The answer to their change of reality may be known to a Justice of the Peace in Colorado named Garison Fitch. To figure it out, though, Garison may have to team up with his least favorite person: Bat Garrett.

Purchase
Kindle * Nook * Smashwords

Author Samuel Ben White

Samuel Ben White (“Sam” to his friends) is the author of the national newspaper comic strip “Tuttle’s” (found at www.tuttles.net) and the on-line comic book “Burt & the I.L.S.” (found at www.destinyhelix.com). He is married and has two sons. He serves his community as both a minister at a small church and a chaplain with hospice. In addition to his time travel stories, Sam has also written and published detective novels, a western, three fantasy novels and four works of Christian fiction.

Links

Twitter * Facebook * Website

Book Blast Giveaway

$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 12/18/12

*You need not enter your twitter name for each entry. Simply enter it when you follow Sam then you can leave the others blank.

Open to anyone who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent's permission. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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Book Review: Forged in Death by Jim Melvin

This is wonderful, action packed, storytelling!
Forged In Death, Book 1 of The Death Wizard Chronicles
by Jim Melvin

• File Size: 644 KB
• Print Length: 260 pages
• Publisher: Bell Bridge Books (August 20, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English

Genre: Fantasy
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0

Book Description
Publication Date: August 20, 2012
Enter the realm . . .
Book One, The Death Wizard Chronicles.
Only a Death-Knower can die. And live again.
Only a Death-Knower can return from death. And remember.
Only a Death-Knower can tell the world what he's seen. Not all care to listen.
For a thousand years, none have rivaled the power of Torg, the Death-Knower wizard, as he ruled his people and kept peace on Triken.
Now a new threat has suddenly arisen. The evil sorcerer Invictus is greater even than Torg, and his greed and ambition threaten to engulf the land in eternal darkness. When Invictus imprisons Torg in a horrifying pit bored into the solid rock of a frozen mountain, the fate of Triken hangs in the balance.
Torg becomes freedom's final hope, but first he must die to earn the victory.

Review:
Torg is a Death-Knower. You learn later in the book that he has lived for thousands of years... occasionally dying and returning, by force of will, to his body with more knowledge to continue his journeys and his battle of good over evil.

As this story begins Torg is captured by forces of the evil sorcerer Invictus. Torg and his desert warriors could battle the evil army but they would risk the lives of many innocents. Over the objections of his men, Torg trades himself as a hostage for the release of the innocent villagers and the safety and freedom of his own warriors.

Torg threatens death to any of his own who might break the agreement and try to follow him. Yet one brave, and impetuous, female warrior, Sobhana, dares to track him. She receives the unexpected help of a dragon, a mighty and powerful being who is one of the last of his kind. He is not under the mind control of Invictus and he has attempted to remain - or appear to be - neutral.

Torg is placed in isolation in painful torture and depravation. It is quite gruesome to read what Torg suffers. Sobhana schemes to rescue him before he dies, not realizing he can die and return with some strength to fight and escape.

Once Torg returns he has new insights and each day is a new adventure. There are many horrible creatures to fight,  strange new friends to help him recover and mystical powers to be gained from the earth and nature (trees). Torg is visited by a ghostly presence who he helps and who tells him glimpses of his future. Torg’s thousand years of celibacy is broken in trade for assistance and power.

I was consistently pulled by the imaginative fantasy of the characters and the metaphysical world created by Mr. Melvin. There are some harsh images of torture and some sexual scenes that make the story more appropriate for adult reading. This is fast paced with good action and always something new on the next page! If you are a fan of fantasy I recommend that you check this out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Torg is a warrior of integrity and good:

Torg believed that in order to combat Invictus he would need to perform an act of virtue that would help to even the scales between good and evil. Location 371.

Torg explains to another, but less powerful, Death-Knower who is frustrated by his lack of bravery and skill:

“You’re ashamed of your success as a gardener and your failure as a warrior. But what you don’t comprehend is that a gardener is the superior being. Nourishing life ranks among the highest states of wisdom, destroying life among the lowest.” Location 2881

I received this from Bell Bridge Books through NetGalley for my honest review.

I will add this to my New Author Challenge List.

Book Review and Giveaway: Five Days of Fear by David Kovach

This is a solidly engaging crime thriller.

Five Days of Fear
by David Kovach

• File Size: 614 KB
• Print Length: 338 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1611530288
• Publisher: Light Messages Publishing (November 9, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English

Genre: Thriller, Christian Suspense
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0

Book Description

Publication Date: November 9, 2012

During a family picnic, Jessica Britton’s well-ordered world is slammed against a brutal reality and her faith is tested when her mom is kidnapped, her dad is shot, and authorities can find no clues to begin their investigation. Jessica’s own anxiety and fear for her mother’s life compels her to help FBI Agent Dan Hamilton look for motives and clues that would lead to rescuing her mom. By chance, clues begin to emerge, and the once floundering investigation speeds to a hectic race against time and criminal minds in a desperate attempt to save Jessica’s mom and the lives of many in San Francisco’s business district.

Review:
Jessica is an attractive, popular and warm hearted first grade teacher. She hasn’t yet found the right man to interest her. When a peaceful family picnic is interrupted by strangers kidnapping her mother, Angie, and shooting her father, Jessica is set on a path of worry. She finds herself inexplicably drawn to the comforting presence of the steady, competent and controlled FBI agent handling the case, Dan.

Dan is an experienced agent and knows how important it is to pursue all clues immediately in a kidnapping. The problem is they have no real clues on this case. He is very attracted to Jessica, the only  witness who saw the kidnapper.  Jessica appears to be a straight forward, pragmatic, caring and brave young woman. Dan agrees to keep her apprised of the progress of the case and even agrees to let her help in a peripheral fashion.

Dan’s team members, his mentor, Chad, the bickering Ben and Ruth, and the newbie, Kyle, are a little surprised by Dan’s behavior with Jessica but they respect his leadership and are partly glad to see him take interest in a young lady. Surprisingly Ruth and Jessica both focus in on the same news story, involving jealousies and allegations of mishandled funds, as a possible avenue to investigate.

Meanwhile Angie is able to leave a few ‘bread crumb’ hints that, once found, create an urgency of time and help intensify the pace of the investigation. The FBI team races against time to follow the slim clues to try to prevent a bomb attack and also to rescue Angie before it is too late.

I really enjoyed the procedural details in this story.  Mr. Kovach shares methodology on finding possible conflicts of interest, image enhancing software, the use of dogs, following financial records and more. There were a couple of points that I questioned such as Dan taking lunch breaks with Jessica while there were leads that could be followed. I give the benefit of the doubt that other members of the team were doing leg work although that wasn’t made clear.

I can’t quite explain why the writing felt ‘simplified’ to me but it did. It reminded me of the old journalism rule that the article should be written at an eighth grade education level.  That bothered me a little at first but by a quarter or so into the book I was wrapped up enough in the story that it didn’t matter. Then I was fully engaged by the action, the plot details and the character interaction, including the sweet emotions that grow between Jessica and Dan.  There is a soft underlying faith shown by the family’s strength in the face of the trauma.  I recommend this book to those who like strong investigative details, good clean action and sweet romance.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here are some sections dealing with Jessica’s anxiety issues:

Jessica suspected that Dan liked her. That might be why he was being so nice to her. But her emotions were booked at the moment. To think of anything other than her mom’s safety and her dad’s health was beyond her. She wanted to be free of the fear that gripped her. Page 39.

Jessica tells her dad: “....I wish I didn’t have this feeling of anxiety and fear hanging over me....”
Her father responds: “Different personalities might be one reason. We’re made differently. Also, I think because you posses so many gifts and talents, it might be harder for you not to over-rely on those abilities.”  Page 137.

I received this book from TLC Blog Tours for an honest review.

This story is set in San Fransisco. I will add it to my New Author challenge list.
Learn more about David Kovach at these links:

• the author's website
• Facebook page
• Twitter account
• book trailer

Check the full tour schedule HERE.

TO ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY for my Review Copy.

ENTRY FORM HERE

For 3 Extra Bonus entries Visit the author's website OR watch the trailer and tell me something you find of interest.

* This contest is open US and Canada.
* This contest will close 10 PM (Central) on December 7, 2012.
The winner will be randomly selected from all entries.
WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED on December 8, 2012.
Winners will have 72 hours to respond by email or the winners form linked in the announcement.

Mailbox Monday November 26, 2012

Welcome to Mailbox Monday.
FOR NOVEMBER: the Mailbox Monday Tour host is (updated) BermudaOnion's Weblog!

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week and explore great book blogs.  This Meme started with Marcia at A Girl and Her Books (fka The Printed Page) but is now hosted at Mailbox Monday and through various blog hosts.

Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists. 

I added more to my book 'forest' this week.
How are your mailbox and TBR piles doing?

Review Titles

I received three review titles -two ARCs and one AudioDrama.

From Sourcebooks: two ARCs for February:


Wait Until Dark
by M.L. Buchman

and

Lady Eve's Indiscretion

by Grace Burrowes

Received from Audio-Visceral, through Audiobook Jukebox.

The Man Who Murdered His Mother-in-Law

by Jeffrey Hatcher

Wins

I got this earlier this month but forgot to post it.
$15.00 Amazon Gift Card from Cym Lowell
for the Wednesday Review Link Up Party
Thank you Cym!

Purchased

I purchased two more titles from my Audible November monthly subscription so that I would have four in November and qualify for a $10.00 coupon.

After Dark: Ghost Hunters, Book 1
by Jayne Castle

Loyalty in Death: In Death, Book 9

by J. D. Robb

Free

I picked up more free titles on Kindle.