Formula for Danger

TANG, CAMY

FORMULA FOR DANGER

Someone wants dermatologist Rachel Grant's latest research, and they'll do anything to get it, including trashing the plants needed for her breakthrough scar-reducing cream -- and trying to run Rachel down. Desperate for help, she turns to Edward Villa, the only man she trusts. But the greenhouse owner knows too much about Rachel's research, and now he's a target too. Break-ins, muggings, murder...the would-be thief is getting desperate -- and getting closer. Edward vows to protect Rachel at all costs. Yet with time ticking away, Edward knows they have to uncover the madman shadowing Rachel before their chance for a future is destroyed.

THIS LOVE INSPIRED NOVEL HAS SUPENSE WITH A CAPTIAL 'S'! FROM THE ACTION-PACKED OPENING SCENE TO THE NAIL-BITING CONCLUSION, FORMULA FOR DANGER IS PACKED WITH NERVE-RACKING SUSPENSE.

THE INNOVATIVE PLOT WAS VERY DIFFERENT FROM OTHER LOVE INSPIRED SUSPENSE THAT I HAVE READ AND I ENJOYED THE FACT THAT THE HERO WASN'T IN LAW ENFORCEMENT -- ANOTHER THING THAT MAKES THIS BOOK UNIQUE.

AMIDST ALL THE ACTION AND ANGST, TANG STILL MANAGES TO WEAVE A TOUCHING INSPIRATIONAL THREAD THAT, COMBINED WITH THE SUSPENSE, MAKES THIS A SATISFYING READ.

A Hope Undaunted

LESSMAN, JULIE

A HOPE UNDAUNTED

What happens when the boy she loved to hate becomes the man she hates to love?

The 1920s are drawing to a close, and feisty Katie O'Connor is the epitome of the new woman -- smart and sassy with goals for her future that include the perfect husband -- good-looking, well-connected, wealthy and eating out of her hand. But when she is forced to spend the summer of 1929 with Luke McGee, the bane of her childhood existence, Katie comes face-to-face with a choice. Will she follow her well-laid plans to marry Jack? Or will she fall for the man she swore to despise forever?

A HOPE UNDAUNTED IS THE FIRST IN THE SECOND SERIES ABOUT THE O’CONNOR FAMILY. EACH BOOK HIGHLIGHTS ONE OF THE O’CONNOR SIBLINGS BUT LESSMAN MAKES SURE TO ADD LIBERAL DOSES OF THE REST OF THE CLAN TO LEAVE DEVOTED FANS SATISFIED…OR CLAMORING FOR MORE…DEPENDING ON HOW INSATIABLE A READER YOU ARE.

ONE OF THE THINGS I LOVE BEST ABOUT LESSMAN’S WRITING IS THE UNHURRIED WAY SHE LAYS OUT A STORY. SHE DOESN’T SCRIMP ON DETAILS AND TAKES THE TIME TO BUILD THE PLOT AND ALL THAT LOVELY TENSION. IN FACT SHE DID IT SO CAREFULLY IN THIS BOOK THAT I WAS ALMOST LULLED INTO A FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY!

“WOW, THIS ISN’T SO BAD,” I THOUGHT TO MYSELF A TIME OR TWO AT THE BEGINNING OF THE BOOK. KATIE HAD SOME GROWING UP TO DO AND THE ANTAGONISTIC SPARKS FLYING BETWEEN LUKE AND KATIE WERE A LITTLE DAUNTING TO BE SURE, BUT THEY COULD BE OVERCOME…EVENTUALLY. OR SO I THOUGHT.

LESSMAN KEPT THE PLOT TWISTS TIGHT AND SHARP IN A HOPE UNDAUNTED. I GAVE UP TRYING TO SECOND GUESS HER SOMEWHERE AROUND THE MIDDLE OF THE BOOK. THINGS THAT I COULD NEVER IMAGINE HAPPENING DID. ONE SUB-PLOT WENT FROM ME DREADING THE WORSE TO BEING RELIEVED WHEN IT DIDN’T HAPPEN ONLY TO BARELY SURVIVE BEING SUCKER PUNCHED BY THE AUTHOR WHEN THAT WORST FEAR WAS REALIZED AFTER ALL!

IN FACT, LESSMAN SURPRISED ME A LOT IN THIS BOOK AS SHE TOSSED PREDICTABILITY OUT THE WINDOW AND WENT FOR THIS READER’S JUGULAR TIME AND TIME AGAIN! I RAN A FULL GAMUT OF EMOTIONS ALL WEEK AS I READ, DIGESTED, READ SOME MORE AND ALMOST TOSSED THE BOOK ACROSS THE ROOM. I CLOSED IT INSTEAD, VOWING I WOULD NEVER READ ANOTHER SENTENCE AND THEN PROMPTLY OPENED IT AND STARTED READING AGAIN!

I READ THE EMOTIONALLY CHARGED ENDING ON THE BUS RIDE HOME AND MANAGED TO MAKE IT TO THE SAFETY OF MY BEDROOM BEFORE I BURST INTO TEARS AND CRIED MY HEART OUT FOR HALF AN HOUR. PHEW! TALK ABOUT EMOTIONALLY DRAINING! AND I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT!

IF YOU LIKE TO BECOME EMOTIONALLY ENGAGED IN A GOOD BOOK, IF YOU LIKE DEPTH IN YOUR CHARACTERS, SURPRISE IN YOUR PLOTS, ROMANCE THAT CURLS YOUR TOES AND PUTS BEADS OF SWEAT ON YOUR BROW, THEN I GUARANTEE YOU WILL LOVE THIS FIRST BOOK IN THE WINDS OF CHANGE SERIES

The Bridge of Peace

WOODSMALL, CINDY
THE BRIDGE OF PEACE

Lena Kauffman is a young Old Order Amish schoolteacher who has dealt all her life with attention raised by a noticeable birthmark on her cheek. Having learned to move past the stares and whispers, Lena channels her zest for living into her love of teaching. But tensions mount as she is challenged to work with a rebellious young man and deal with several crises at the schoolhouse that threaten her other students. Her lack of submission and use of ideas that don't line up with the Old Order Ways strengthen the school board's case as they begin to believe that Lena is behind all the trouble.

One member of the school board, Grey Graber, feels trapped by his own stifling circumstances. His wife, Elsie, has shut him out of her life, and he doesn't know how long he can continue to live as if nothing is wrong. As the two finally come to a place of working toward a better marriage, tragedy befalls the family.

Lena and Grey have been life-long friends, but their relationship begins to crumble amidst unsettling deceptions, propelling each of them to finally face their own secrets. Can they both find a way past their losses and discover the strength to build a new bridge?

HAVE YOU EVER PICKED UP A BOOK THAT YOU COULDN'T PUT DOWN BUT HAD TO BECAUSE YOU COULDN'T BEAR TO READ ANY MORE BUT THEN YOU PICKED IT RIGHT BACK UP AGAIN BECAUSE YOU CAN'T BEAR NOT KNOWING WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN? LOL. MAYBE I'M THE ONLY ONE WHO GETS SO EMOTIONALLY INVOLVED WITH THE CHARACTERS THAT SOMETIMES IT JUST PLAIN HURTS TO READ. ANYWAY, THE BRIDGE OF PEACE WAS THAT KIND OF BOOK FOR ME.

IT'S THE SECOND IN THE ADA'S HOUSE SERIES, AND WHILE READING THE FIRST BOOK, THE HOPE OF REFUGE, ISN'T COMPLETELY NECESSARY, IT WOULD ENRICH YOUR ENJOYMENT OF THIS ONE. BE PREPARED FOR AN EDGY READ, THOUGH. THIS ISN'T YOUR TYPICAL AMISH ROMANCE AS WOODSMALL HAS INTRODUCED A DARKER ELEMENT TO THE THE PLOT, MAKING THE BRIDGE OF PEACE A DEFINITE PAGE-TURNER.

LENA IS SO MUCH FUN! I REALLY ENJOYED HER CHARACTER, HER MISCHIEF-MAKING AND DELIGHT IN SHARING LAUGHTER WITH THOSE AROUND HER. SHE'S DEFINITELY A DIFFERENT IMAGE OF WHAT YOU MIGHT THINK A STEREOTYPICAL AMISH WOMAN WOULD BE. AND I ADORED THE RELATIONSHIP SHE HAS WITH HER FATHER. SO LOVING AND GENTLE, WITH LOTS OF TEASING THROWN IN. HE WAS SUCH HAVEN FOR HER AS MORE AND MORE DIFFICULTIES AROSE.

I ALSO APPRECIATED THE RECURRING ROLES OF FAVOURITE CHARACTERS, CARA, EPHRAIM, ADA AND DEBORAH (NOT TO MENTION BETTER DAYS) FROM THE HOPE OF REFUGE. WOODSMALL DEFTLY WOVE THEIR STORIES IN AND AROUND LENA'S MAKING THIS BOOK A RICH AND SATISFYING READ. I AM NOW ON TENTERHOOKS WAITING FOR THE THIRD IN THE SERIES. NO IDEA OF TITLE OR PUBLISHING DATE YET, BUT I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!

Making Waves

SEILSTAD, LORNA

MAKING WAVES

When spunky Marguerite Westing discovers that her family will summer at Lake Manawa in 1895, she couldn't be more thrilled. It is the perfect way to escape her agonizingly boring suitor, Roger Gordon. It's also where she stumbles upon two new loves: sailing, and sailing instructor Trip Andrews. But this summer of fun turns to turmoil as her father's gambling problems threaten to ruin the family forever. Will free-spirited Marguerite marry Roger to save her father's name and fortune? Or will she follow her heart -- even if it means abandoning the family she loves?

I'M SO THRILLED TO BE ABLE TO GIVE THIS REVIEW BECAUSE I KNOW LORNA AND HAVE READ SOME OF HER UNPUBLISHED WORK. WE BELONG TO A SMALL LITTLE GROUP OF 'WRITING ENCOURAGERS' AFFECTIONATELY DUBBED 'THE SCRIBBLERS' SO I'VE BEEN THERE (IN CYBERSPACE) FROM THAT FATEFUL ACFW CONFERENCE TO THE EDITOR/AGENT CALL AND THE WHOLE BIRTHING OF THIS WONDERFUL BOOK. I COULDN'T WAIT TO GET MY HANDS ON MAKING WAVES, IRRITATED BECAUSE IT HIT CANADIAN BOOKSTORES LATER THAN THE AMERICAN ONES. BUT IT HAS ARRIVED AT LAST AND I HAVE DEVOURED IT AND HERE IS MY REVIEW!

WORDS LIKE 'FRESH', 'WITTY' AND ENTERTAINING' HAVE BEEN REPEATED OVER AND OVER TO DESCRIBE LORNA'S WRITING STYLE IN REVIEWS AND BLOGS I'VE READ AND I HAVE TO ECHO THEM. THERE'S SOMETHING DIFFERENT ABOUT LORNA'S STYLE. MAYBE IT'S HER QUIRKY HEROINE, MARGUERITE WHO UTTERS THE MOST OUTLANDISH PRAYER REQUESTS THROUGHOUT THE BOOK. OR MAYBE IT'S LORNA'S COMEDIC TIMING OR THE SUBTLETIES SHE USES TO SHOW US THE INNER WORKINGS OF HER HEART-PALPITATING HERO, TRIP ANDREWS. IT COULD ALSO BE THE WAY SHE WEAVES AN IMPORTANT GOSPEL MESSAGE INTO THE MIX WITHOUT IT SEEMING FORCED OR PREACHY. NOT TO MENTION THE WAY SHE WRITES AN ACTION SCENE! OY, I COULD GO ON TRYING TO ANALYZE WHAT MAKES THIS BOOK SO UNIQUE AMONG OTHER HISTORICALS BUT NO MATTER WHAT I SAY, I FEEL LIKE I'M NOT QUITE GETTING TO THE HEART OF IT, SO I'LL SIMPLY TELL YOU WHAT I LOVED ABOUT MAKING WAVES INSTEAD.

LOVED THE SETTING -- DEFINITELY DIFFERENT, COMPLETELY FASCINATING. I ACTUALLY THINK I COULD ENJOY CAMPING IF I COULD BRING ALONG MY SERVANTS AND FURNITURE AS WELL! LORNA'S ATTENTION TO DETAIL FROM THE BATHING COSTUMES WITH THOSE ITCHY BLACK STOCKINGS (UGH) TO THE TECHNICALITIES OF SAILING BROUGHT THIS STORY TO LIFE.

LOVED THE HEROINE. 'FREE-SPIRIT' AND 'SPUNKY' ARE GREAT DESCRIPTORS FOR MARGUERITE. SHE HAS AN OUTGOING PERSONALITY BORNE OF A YOUNG WOMAN WHO HAS BEEN PAMPERED, BUT NOT SPOILED. HOWEVER, SHE IS NAIVE AS WELL -- ENOUGH TO THINK THAT IF SHE JUST WAITS LONG ENOUGH HER DADDY CAN FIX JUST ABOUT ANYTHING. AND SHE HAS A WAY OF TWISTING THE TRUTH JUST A SMIDGEN TO SMOOTH THINGS INTO GOING HER WAY. BUT WHILE THESE ATTRIBUTES CAN BE ENDEARING, THEY ALSO MAKE HER FALLIBLE WHICH KEPT ME ON THE EDGE OF MY 'READING' SEAT.

I DIDN'T JUST LOVE THE HERO, TRIP ANDREWS -- I FELL IN LOVE WITH HIM. FROM HIS DIMPLED SMILE TO HIS HONORABLE NATURE TO HIS PENCHANT FOR RESCUING MARGUERITE -- WELL, LET'S JUST SAY THAT HE IS DEFINITELY ON MY SWOONWORTHY LIST! OF COURSE, HE COULD BE INFURIATING AS WELL, SOMETIMES OVERLY FIXATED ON HIS SIDE OF THINGS, BUT -- HEAVY SIGH -- WITH A FLASH OF THOSE DIMPLES I WAS READY TO FORGIVE HIM ALL.

LOVED THE CONFLICT. ONE OF THE THINGS TRIP VALUES MOST IS HONESTY. HE HAS A PAST THAT MAKES HIM MORE SENSITIVE TO EVEN LITTLE 'WHITE' LIES -- THE KIND MARGUERITE HAPPILY INDULGES IN. AS I GOT DEEPER AND DEEPER INTO THE BOOK AN OMINOUS FEELING OF DOOM STARTED WEIGHING ME DOWN. GREAT MOTIVATION TO KEEP READING!

THE CHARACTER I MOST LOVED TO HATE: ROGER. EWWWW! I KNEW HE WASN'T THE MAN FOR MARGUERITE ON PAGE ONE...UNFORTUNATELY ROGER DIDN'T FIGURE THAT OUT UNTIL PAGE THREE HUNDRED AND SOMETHING! LOL. AND I HAVE TO SAY THAT MARGUERITE'S MOTHER, CAMILLE, CAME A CLOSE SECOND. WHAT KIND OF MOTHER COULD...WELL, I DON'T WANT TO GIVE ANYTHING AWAY. YOU'RE JUST GOING TO HAVE TO READ THE BOOK AND ENJOY EVERY SECOND OF IT LIKE I DID!!!!

Jane Austen ruined my life

PATTILLO, BETH

JANE AUSTEN RUINED MY LIFE

English professor Emma Grant has always done everything just the way her minister father told her she should -- a respectable marriage, a teaching job at a good college, and plans for the requisite two children. Life was prodigiously good, as her favorite author Jane Austen might say, until the day Emma finds her husband in bed with another woman. Suddenly, all her romantic notions a la Austen are exposed for the foolish dreams they are.

Denied tenure in the wake of the scandal and left penniless by the ensuing divorce, Emma packs up what few worldly possessions she has left and heads to England on a quest to find the missing letters of Jane Austen. Locating the elusive letters, however, isn't as straightforward as Emma hoped. The owner of the letters proves coy about her prize possessions, sending Emma on a series of Austen-related tasks that bring her closer and closer to the truth, but the sudden reappearance of Emma's first love makes everything more complicated.

In the end, Emma learns that doing the right thing has very little to do with other people's expectations and everything to do with her own beliefs. Laced with fictional excerpts from the missing letters, Jane Austen Ruined My Life is the story of a woman betrayed who uncovers the deeper meaning of loyalty.

SCHOLARS ESTIMATE THAT JANE AUSTEN WROTE OVER THREE THOUSAND LETTERS IN HER LIFE TIME. ALMOST ALL OF THEM WERE DESTROYED AT HER DEATH IN ORDER TO PROTECT HER PRIVACY...BUT WHAT IF MORE HAVE SURVIVED THE PASSAGE OF TIME THEN WE THINK? THE PLOT OF JANE AUSTEN RUINED MY LIFE IS BUILT UPON THIS UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE.

THE DELICIOUSLY MYSTERIOUS TASKS THAT EMMA IS GIVEN IN ORDER TO PROVE HERSELF TO THE FORMIDABLES, A SECRET JANE AUSTEN SOCIETY, TAKE THE READER ON A TOUR OF AUSTEN'S ENGLAND. BUT IT'S EMMA'S PERSONAL STRUGGLES THAT COME TO THE FOREFRONT DURING HER AUSTEN PILGRIMAGE THAT REALLY CAUGHT -- AND KEPT -- MY ATTENTION.

PATTILLO HAS CREATED MEMORABLE CHARACTERS -- INCLUDING THE FLAMBOYANT FORMIDABLE, MRS. PARROT. AND THEN THERE'S ADAM -- THE PERFECT, LONG-SUFFERING HERO. POOR ADAM, HE DOESN'T QUITE GET HIS HAPPILY EVER AFTER -- MORE HAPPILY EVER HOPE. I'D LOVE A SEQUEL THAT SORTS THAT OUT!

Halos

HEITZMANN, KRISTEN

HALOS

The halos she glimpsed around the sun was the first sign that this might be it -- the place she was searching for. Filled with hope and promise, Alessi Moore pulls into Charity amidst her first real snowfall. Enraptured by the pure, serene beauty of the little town, she just knows something good is coming.

But her almost heavenly impression is quickly dashed by an unforeseen loss. Left with nothing but the clothes on her back, Alessi is cast into the care of a reluctant party. Yet in a place where nothing could be wrong, darkness sometimes lurks.

WOW!!!! THERE IS SO MUCH I WANT TO SAY ABOUT THIS BOOK I'M NOT SURE WHERE TO START. FIRST OFF, IT WOULD MAKE A GREAT CHRISTMAS READ SINCE IT STARTS A COUPLE OF WEEKS BEFORE CHRISTMAS AND ENDS JUST AFTER CHRISTMAS AND THERE IS AN UNDERLYING MESSAGE OF CHRIST'S LOVE. IN MY MIND IT'S A CHRISTMAS CLASSIC WITH AS MUCH HOLIDAY IMPACT AS IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE. IT HAS THAT KIND OF FEEL TO IT. THE WRITING IS EXQUISITELY DESCRIPTIVE -- IT PLAYED LIKE A MOVIE IN MY MIND AS I READ. HERE'S AN EXAMPLE OF HEITZMANN'S SKILL AS A WORDSMITH:

"SO MANY LIVES HAD TOUCHED HERS AND MELTED AWAY, WALK-ONS IN HER MEMORY. BUT THESE PEOPLE WERE SINKING IN."

HEITZMANN IS ALSO SKILLED AT PACING BOTH HER CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT AND HER PLOT. SHE DOESN'T RUSH HER READERS OR OVERLOAD THEM WITH TOO MUCH INFORMATION. INSTEAD I FOUND MYSELF RELUCTANT TO PUT THE BOOK DOWN BECAUSE I WANTED TO KNOW MORE. WHAT MADE ALESSI AND STEVE REACT TO THINGS THE WAY THEY DID? WHY WAS THE SHERIFF ACTING SO STRANGELY? SOMETIMES THE WHOLE TOWN SEEMED LIKE SOMETHING OUT OF THE TWILIGHT ZONE. WHAT WAS GOING ON HERE? HEITZMANN MADE SURE HER READERS STUCK WITH HER TO THE VERY END BY ARTFULLY CRAFTING A BLEND OF FRIENDSHIP, LOVE AND SUSPENSE THAT CONTINUED TO DEVELOP OVER THE COURSE OF THE BOOK.

ALESSI IS OPEN AND LIKABLE AND VULNERABLE AND KIND...ALMOST TOO INNOCENT FOR THIS WORLD. I WAS IMMEDIATELY DRAWN TO HER CHARACTER AND ENJOYED PUTTING TOGETHER THE PIECES OF HER PAST SO I COULD GET TO KNOW HER BETTER. I LOVED HER FREE SPIRIT -- THE PULL SHE HAD TOWARD HALOS OF LIGHT AND HER SURETY THAT THEY FORETOLD SOMETHING GOOD. SHE CREATED A MAGICAL FEEL TO THE STORY -- A BRILLIANT CHRISTMAS SPIRIT THAT ANCHORS EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING ELSE.

STEVE IS A BEAR. GROWLING, CLUMSY, AWKWARD -- WITH A TALENT FOR SAYING THE WRONG THING. AND CYNICAL. HOW DID HE GET TO BE SO CYNICAL? HE IS CRIPPLED BY HIS INABILITY TO WORK THROUGH PAST HURTS. THEY HAVE WARPED HIS MIND, AND WHILE AWARE OF THAT, HE DOESN'T REALLY WANT TO CHANGE...UNTIL ALESSA COMES TO TOWN. AND EVEN THEN, IT'S NOT SO MUCH THAT HE WANTS TO, BUT THAT IT HAPPENS IN SPITE OF HIMSELF, A LITTLE BIT AT A TIME. AGAIN IN HEITZMANN'S WORDS:

"SHE HAD UNLOCKED HIS HEART AND HIDDEN THE KEY IN HER OWN."

THERE IS A POWERFUL CLIMAX THAT PULLED SO MANY EMOTIONS OUT OF ME. FURY, IMPATIENCE, HORROR, DISBELIEF...HOPE, IN JUST A SPAN OF A FEW PAGES AND THEN, ONCE AGAIN WITH SLOW DELIBERATION, HEITZMANN LEADS HER READERS TO AN EMOTIONALLY SATISFYING ENDING.

THIS WOULD MAKE A FANTASTIC BOOK CLUB CHOICE. THERE ARE SO MANY WONDERFUL THREADS WORTHY OF DISCUSSION -- FROM HOW WE VIEW OUR PLACE IN THE WORLD TO HOW LIFE'S HARSHER MOMENTS DEFINE US AS INDIVIDUALS TO EXAMINING CHRIST'S PURPOSE AND WHAT CAPACITY WE ARE SERVING HIM HERE. THERE ARE JUST SO MANY LAYERS TO HALOS, I THINK IT WOULD INITIATE A VERY ANIMATED DISCUSSION! PLUS, IT WAS PUBLISHED IN 2004 SO IT SHOULD BE EASY TO FIND IT AT YOUR PUBLIC LIBRARY TOO WHICH IS ALWAYS A PLUS FOR BOOK CLUB SELECTIONS.