New Releases: June 2013

June 2013 new releases I will be reviewing include:

Other new releases for June:

What are you waiting to read?

Review: Though My Heart is Torn by Joanne Bischof

I was a bit hesitant about requesting  Though My Heart Is Torn for review. While I read and (mostly) enjoyed the first book in the series, Be Still My Soul, I found Gideon’s immaturity and misplaced male pride very annoying. Then I see the blurb for this, the sequel. It seems that Gideon’s redemption has just taken a giant step backwards, as it appears he has unknowingly married two women. How does that happen? More importantly, can the author write her way out of this?

The beginning was confusing enough having read Be Still My Soul: I suspect it would be even more so if I hadn't. Again, i's Lonnie who is the victim. In Be Still My Soul, Lonnie's father forces her into marriage with an unwilling and immature Gideon at gunpoint. Now she finds the marriage she didn't want isn't even valid.

Though My Heart Is Torn gives Gideon another opportunity to show some backbone and moral fibre, to prove he really does love Lonnie as much as he claimed. It shows that becoming a Christian doesn’t ‘fix’ everything in our past, because those past mistakes have consequences that can still hurt those we love.

The story is told in third person from the points of view of Gideon, Lonnie ... and Cassie. I found Cassie's point of view difficult, partly because I sometimes mixed her up with Lonnie and then had to backtrack to work it out, and partly because I found it difficult to sympathise with her. It seemed like a betrayal of Lonnie to sympathise with Cassie. And even though Cassie was a viewpoint character, I never felt as though I had a chance to get to know her or understand her. I wonder if the book might have been better to focus only on Lonnie and Gideon.

The writing was strong, and Joanne Bischof carried off a bittersweet and potentially controversial plot with sympathy and grace, although it was less overtly Christian than I expected. I'll certainly be keen to read the final book in the series to discover what happens. Recommended, but read Be Still My Soul first.

Thanks to WaterBrook Multnomah and BloggingforBooks for providing a free ebook for review.

Review: Wounds by Alton Gansky

It’s the week before Easter, and a student from San Diego Theological Seminary has just been found murdered in a manner that is both brutal and unique. Carmen Rainmondi is the police detective assigned to the case, along with partner Bob Tock. And one murder with no leads soon turns into two, then …

Ellis Poe is a professor at the Seminary, and is both surprised and worried when Carmen Rainmondi turns up to interview him about the victim. Because he recognises her. She’s the image of her sister, who he saw murdered years ago. Ellis sees that Carmen is still tormented because the murderer was never found—perhaps because he never reported what he saw. Yet it seems that Ellis might hold the key to this case.

This was one of those books that:
a) You shouldn’t read alone in the house;
b) You shouldn’t start just before bedtime.

I didn’t make either of these mistakes, thankfully, because once I started, I just couldn’t put down. Not only is there the mystery over finding the murderer before he strikes again, but there is the elephant in the room of what Ellis hasn’t told Carmen about her sister. Ellis was the archetype of the college professor—intelligent, highly-principled, but a total wimp. He knows what he should do, but he’s afraid to do it.

There were a couple of things that made me shake my head. One was the description of everyone hurrying to get home after work on Good Friday. You mean it isn’t a holiday in the US? Here in New Zealand, Good Friday is a major public holiday, and only essential services are open. There was also the inevitable comment on the origin of Easter—for another viewpoint, I recommend reading this blog post from Anne Hamilton (which makes a lot of sense).

Anyway, back to the book review. The other thing that was slightly weird was the last line. While it fit the storyline, I don’t think it was a good last line (but it would have made a great last line in a prologue leading into a sequel). That’s another annoying thing—Wounds is published by B&H, who have just cancelled their fiction line, which almost certainly cuts out the possibility of a sequel. A shame.

All in all, Wounds is an exciting thriller, albeit a bit gory in places. It’s not preachy-Christian (although there is a bit of preaching in the funeral service), and of the main characters, only Ellis is a Christian. There is an underlying theme of the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. It’s so subtle that a non-Christian probably wouldn’t even notice, but it’s there. Recommended for thriller fans who don’t mind a few dead bodies.

Thanks to B&H Publishing and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Alton Gansky at his website.

Indie Review: Crucible Heart by Diana Symons

Jenna’s college days ended before they even began when she ran over a small boy while texting and driving—a mistake that put her in prison for two years. She’s now living in downtown San Francisco and trying to build a life as an ex-convict and murderer, but she is still in a prison of sorts, this one a prison of guilt, nightmares and headaches.

Jenna is sitting in the park one day when a handsome young man sits beside her and tells her Jesus can heal her hurts. Her first thought is that he is crazy, but he keeps showing up and one day, after yet another setback, she decides to listen, becomes a born-again Christian, and sees her life start to change. She finds God is real, and not only is He willing to forgive and heal her, but He has plans to use her to reach those around her.

Crucible Heart isn’t a typical Christian romance. It’s edgy, with real characters who are feel like fallen people with genuine faults—even Jess. They face temptations, have arguments, do stupid things and feel guilty, just like real people. They aren’t the cookie-cutter Christians speaking in Bible verses all the time. Even when they do quote Bible verses it feels real, as though they are genuine discoveries made by the characters. It’s exciting to watch them grow in faith, and I guess that sense of reality and exuberance is why I rate it so highly. Yes, there are a few too many adverbs and run-on sentences, but the story is so real that they are hardly noticeable.

One issue is that the whole falling in love thing happened very quickly and they seems to spend more time apart than together. I also question the wisdom in pursuing a relationship with such a new Christian. And while I like the immediacy of the first-person narrator, the weakness is that we only ever see the story from one character’s viewpoint. There were times when I would have liked Jess's point of view.

At the end, the author talks about melting gold in a crucible: “The gold technician knows when the gold has reached its peak of purification when he can see his face reflected in it. Pure, molten gold is nearly clear. When our hearts are purified by God’s grace, he can see himself in us”. That’s a lovely image, and I think Jenna’s story brings it through well. Recommended for anyone who likes Christian fiction with a bit of edgy realism.

You can find out more about Diana Symons at her blog.

Indie Review: The Discipleship Series by Taka Sande

The Discipleship Series is a series of lessons, all in this one book, about the fundamentals of Christianity—specifically, Pentecostal belief. Although it’s only 90-odd pages, it’s not a quick read. There is some real meat in here.

The strength of The Discipleship Series is that it is written in conversational English, using extensive Bible quotations to back up its arguments. It’s not an incomprehensible theological treatise. It’s simple , just like the gospel is meant to be, and reflects his view that “the decisive qualifications for profitable Bible study are spiritual rather than intellectual.”

There is nothing new here, but that’s the point: it’s an explanation of the central views of Christianity (albeit from a Pentecostal viewpoint). Sande’s not trying to lead the church into a new revelation, but to solidify our understanding of our faith, and reignite (or ignite) our passion for worship and fellowship (I found those sections particularly inspiring). Importantly, I didn’t find any areas where it misrepresented or twisted Christian belief (which is more than I can say for some ‘Christian’ books I’ve read).

The weakness of The Discipleship Series is that while it is a solid discussion of belief, it’s not really clear who it is aimed at: the non-believer, the new believer or the Christian who is more established in their faith. There are also occasional typos or misused words, and some formatting bugs in the ebook, but these do not distract from the central message.

Overall, The Discipleship Series is a very readable work which would make an excellent Bible study for young adults, new Christians, or those who would like to understand evangelical or Pentecostal Christianity better. Thanks to the author for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Taka Sande at his blog.

Indie Review: Dead Man's Journey by Phillip Cook

Aaron decides to investigate when father goes missing during his daily run and is found, dead, twenty kilometres away from home—and missing a finger. The investigation leads him to suspect a link between his father’s death and the mysterious ‘vanishings’ of homeless men in Brisbane.

His investigation also leads him back to Mackenzie, his childhood best friend and the girl he left behind. He knows what Mackenzie believes about what happens when we die. She’s a Christian. He isn’t. But when Mackenzie vanishes, Aaron finds himself re-evaluating his beliefs about life and death, angels and demons—and God.

The story is a Christian thriller with a speculative/science fiction backdrop and a hint of romance. It is set in and around Brisbane, Australia, in the near future, has a well-constructed plot and a host of interesting characters (I particularly liked the group of homeless men for their humour). It’s an exciting story that kept me thinking ‘what’s going to happen next?’, and I wasn’t disappointed.

Dead Man's Journey is Phillip Cook’s debut novel, and I will look forward to reading more of his work (and not just because I edited this. I really enjoyed it). Recommended for those who like Christian Speculative fiction by authors such as Frank Peretti or Alton Gansky, and for anyone who wants to support Australasian authors.

Indie Review: Knowing (A Series of Gifts) by Tammy Hill

Ember is unwillingly stuck in Smalltown, Georgia (pop. 15,000), when her mother divorces Bill. Ember is a Christian, although you wouldn’t know it based on her behaviour over the last four years. She strikes up an immediate friendship—and romance—with Cade, and through him is introduced to Mouse, who invites Ember to her church youth group.

As Ember unpacks and settles into her new home, school and church, she finds that she attracts attention not just as the new girl, but as the strange girl. Because something strange is happening. Sometimes, not all the time, but sometimes when she sees someone, she knows things about them—private things, things no one else would know. This gets her in trouble at first, but then one person believes her. And things change.

Knowing isn’t just a standard Christian novel with an evangelical bent. It goes further than that, as Ember comes to know and understand that the miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit detailed in the Bible weren’t just for Biblical times, but are for now. In that, the novel is more Pentecostal than evangelical, yet it manages to dispel some myths about Pentecostals and normalise them. Us.

Those who don’t believe that God gives people these gifts and talents today might be tempted to discount this novel, but they’d be missing something. And think about it: the doctrine of Cessationism is that “miracles, prophecies and such in the Bible existed to help grow the church. They don’t exist now because we don’t need them any more”.

Yet we live in a society where church attendance is declining rapidly, where large portions of Africa and South America are run by governments that are rife with corruption and human rights abuses, and where the War on Terror against Islamic militants in the Middle East has been continuing for more than a decade.

God is being dismissed as irrelevant by the majority of the population. At the same time, large portions of the church believe we don’t need His miracles any more, because we don’t need to grow the church. Are we stupid, or merely ignorant? Hmm. (Rant over.)

The title, Knowing: A series of gifts, implies this is the first book of a series covering some of the gifts of the Holy Spirit as seen in I Corinthians 12:8-10. Ember has shown us the gift of messages of knowledge. I look forward to seeing what’s next.

Thanks to Tammy Hill for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Tammy Hill at her website.

Indie Review: Trust Me Twice by Alison Stanley

Alana Johnston and Zac Whitehouse had been best friends since they were children in Oakley, New South Wales, Australia, and discovered the shared the same birthday. But then Zac’s parents moved. Seven years later, Zac came back. He was cute and cool. And Alana wasn’t. And while Alana thought they might become best friends again, she then overheard something that confirmed it wasn’t meant to be.

Ten years later, Alana and Zac are both back in Oakley. It seems super-cute Zac is now a TV star, on the soap, ‘North Shore’. Not that Alana knew, as she’s too busy with her career to watch TV. Meeting Zac again… the attraction is still there, but she’ll have to work out their new relationship, and review her relationship with God.

I really enjoyed Trust Me Twice. It was an easy and relaxing read, perfect for summer sunbathing (or curling up by a winter fire). There is quite a lot of detail about Alana and Zac as teens, and it was almost too realistic. Remember those times when you said things you didn’t mean, or you said something and it came out totally wrong?

The adult Alana and Zac were much more mature (thankfully). They’d both worked out who they were a bit better, and while there were still a whole bunch of issues to work through before Alana especially could trust Zac again, it was well done. A good read and I’ll look forward to reading more from Alison Stanley.

Thanks to Alison Stanley for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Alison Stanley at her website.

Review: Jennifer by Dee Henderson

Jennifer O’Malley is a doctor specialising in pediatric oncology. She meets Tom Petersen, a handsome young surgeon in the same Houston hospital, and they become friends. As they get to know each other and explore the possibility of a closer relationship, Jennifer also has to come to terms with Tom’s Christian faith.

Jennifer is a very quick read – only 160 pages, approximately half the length of a regular novel (although I notice it’s currently priced as a full-length novel). Fans of the O’Malley series will want to read this, even though it’s entirely predictable. Those who haven’t yet had the pleasure of the O’Malley stories should start with Jennifer.

For anyone who has read any of the O'Malley series, this story was always going to be bittersweet, because the later O’Malley books made told us how the three main plot points were going to develop over time. Even so, it is good to finally get Jennifer'sstory, because of her disproportionate impact on the whole O'Malley saga.

Thanks to Bethany House and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Dee Henderson at her website (it’s a little basic: it seems she an author who wants to focus on writing, not fancy graphics and promotion).

Review: Sleeping in Eden by Nicole Baart

When Jim Sparks is found hanging in his barn, Dr Lucas Hudson is called in to act as coroner. It’s pretty clear that Sparks has committed suicide, but the discovery of a human skeleton buried in the floor of the barn is unexpected. Is it Angela, Jim’s daughter, who disappeared eight years ago? Lucas finds an inscribed ring on the barn floor and decides to keep it as a peace offering for his wife, Jenna. Their marriage has been slowly failing since Angela disappeared, and he hopes the ring will provide some closure and help restore their broken relationship.

Meg Painter and Dylan Reid are high school students in Sutton. She’s intelligent, athletic and popular; he’s the guy from the wrong side of the tracks, but they are best friends until all-American neighbour Jess starts dating Meg, and she doesn’t understand her feelings.

The two stories run side by side, although it isn’t initially apparent how or when they will link. And both stories were equally intriguing, because I knew there had to be a link, and when I realised what it was… well, I didn’t see that coming. Maybe I should have, but I didn’t. The second half of the novel is bittersweet, as you can see where the story is going yet it's like a runaway train: there is nothing that can be done to change the inevitable.

Nicole Baart writes gritty stories with characters making difficult decisions, and Sleeping in Eden is no exception. She evokes strong emotion, not through melodrama but by placing her characters in situations that just could happen and where there is no easy or obvious choice. Her writing is beautiful, evoking images and emotions in just a few well-chosen words.

Sleeping in Eden isn't typical Christian fiction, even though it’s published by Howard Books, Christian imprint. There are a couple of swear words and Lucas makes a morally questionable decision in keeping the ring. There are a few unanswered questions, and a couple of characters whose stories aren’t finished. Despite this, Sleeping in Eden is a poignant tale of love and hope, beautifully written and a story that will be remembered. Recommended.

Thanks to Howard Books and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Nicole Baart at her website. For those who'd like to know more about the author (or the story behind that very cool cover), Nicole Baart was interviewed at the Women's Fiction Writers blog.

Review: Afloat by Erin Healy

It’s an intriguing idea: a subdivision built on the water, apartments literally floating on concrete-covered foam blocks anchored to the sea shore. Vance Nolan, the architect and designer, originally conceived Eagle’s Talon as a way of providing low-cost housing to the needy, but he couldn’t raise the cash. Instead, investors like Tony Dean are decorating and furnishing the apartments to the highest specifications and pricing them to get rich—and using Danielle Clement, a pretty single mom, to make his sales.

But one fine day the unthinkable happens. One of the pylons gives way and several apartments fall into the Rondeau River. Things get worse when a storm comes, cutting off their only exit to the mainland… and then cutting off their communications and electricity. Simeon, Danielle’s son, is sure they will all be safe because the pretty lights under the water told him so, but the adults are fighting over whether it is safer to leave in a jury-rigged boat or stay in a damaged building.

Afloat was well-plotted with a good amount of suspense, well-developed characters, an interesting subplot with possible supernatural elements and some very well-done flashbacks, but I did find there were some unanswered questions. Even at the end I didn’t really get what the people saw under the water, and there was a scene at the end that just came out of nowhere, in a ‘I’m not sure I believe that’ way, not a ‘wow, what a cool idea’ way. Or maybe that’s just me.

I don’t mind being left to ponder an idea at the end of a novel (in fact, the best novels are the ones you are still thinking about days later), but I like to have all the plot questions answered, and Afloat left one too many unanswered questions for my liking.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Erin Healy at her website.

Review: Catch a Falling Star by Beth K Vogt

Doctor Kendall Haynes is celebrating her thirty-sixth birthday with friends, and silently lamenting the fact that although she has the career she always dreamed of, she doesn't have the husband and family she expected. Her meal is interrupted by a teenager, Ian Walker, suffering from anaphylactic shock brought on by an avocado allergy.

Griffin Walker has been saddled with the guardianship of his much younger brother and has been forced out of career as an Air Force pilot into a desk job because of a nasty case of vertigo. He is convinced that his failed marriage and personal history means that he isn't the best choice to look after Ian, who he barely knows and has trouble relating to. As a result, he knows nothing of Ian’s medical history, which annoys Kendall.

It seems that everyone is engaged or married, including her much-younger sister, Beckah. Has God forgotten Kendall? She is pleased to be invited out by the handsome Dr Heath Parker, who has just returned to Colorado Springs after several years as a medical missionary in Africa. But there is also a spark with the annoying Air Force officer…

I liked the fact that the characters were older, in their thirties. And I especially liked the no-apologies attitude towards about remaining pure outside marriage. Too many Christian romance novels feature girls barely out of their teens, which can be demoralising for older women. I know that some women choose career over family, but so do many men. And some don't have the choice. Many novels gloss over this, perhaps in an attempt to be 'real' or 'relevant'. But God's standards haven't changed, even if the expectations of society have.

“Fairy tales . . . all they have is the made-up magic of fairy godmothers and elves. But you have faith in a real, powerful God. And nothing can stop the happily ever after he has planned for you.”

Overall this was a really enjoyable light romance, perfect for reading outside in the sun. Catch a Falling Star is Beth K Vogt's second novel, and while the Evie subplot was a little clunky, overall it was very readable, and I enjoyed it more than Wish You Were Here (which I have also reviewed). Beth Vogt shared at the end that Evie and her story were the hardest part to write, and this showed, particularly when they were introduced out of the blue. However, by the end, the Evie subplot fitted in well to the whole. A welcome addition to my authors-to-read list.

Thanks to Beth K Vogt and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Beth Vogt her website.

ACRBA Review: Ellenvale Gold by Amanda Deed

6 - 10 May

 

Australian Christian Readers Blog Alliance

is introducing

Ellenvale Gold

(Even Before Publishing November 2012)

By

Amanda Deed

Available at Amazon
&
Light The Dark

About the Author

 

Amanda Deed grew up in the South Eastern suburbs of Melbourne in a Christian home, and found faith at an early age. She has followed her passion to serve the Lord through music and literature since her teen years. Now married, with three children, Amanda enjoys the variety of being a mother, finance administrator, musician and historical romance writer.

Her debut novel, The Game, won the 2010 CALEB Prize for fiction, and Ellenvale Gold was a finalist for the same prize in 2012.

For more information, visit www.amandadeed.com.au.

 

About the Book:

 

It is the time of Australia’s harsh rogue-filled goldrush of the 1850’s when Miss Penelope Worthington suddenly finds herself orphaned, isolated and alone. With a large sheep station to run single-handedly, she has little option but to enlist the aid of a mysterious, but sinister stranger.

 

But who is the more treacherous? Gus—the scruffy, trespassing, ex-convict who co-incidentally shows up looking for work just when she desperately needs a farmhand or Rupert—the handsome, wealthy neighbour who would willingly marry her at the drop of a hat and solve her apparent dilemma?

Repeatedly, her faith is tested as she faces the unforgiving elements, deceit, lies and uncertainty. But where and how will it all end? But…is it the end? Will vengeance return or will Penny’s faith prevail?

My Review

It is bad enough that Miss Penelope Worthington has lost both parents to Ellenvale Station, the Australian sheep run they established and run for several years. She has also lost her brother to the gold fields and now Joe, her faithful servant, to illness. Now it is left up to Penny to make ends meet with just Bertha to help. Neighbour Rupert Foxworth would gladly help, then a stranger, Angus McDoughan, arrives and offers his assistance. Penny doesn’t trust either of them, but knows she can’t manage alone…

I enjoyed Ellenvale Gold, which is set against the backdrop of the Australian Gold Rush, the ongoing tensions of living in a nation of convicts and ex-convicts, and the difficulties of carving a living out of a new land. It was also interesting to see how settlers like Penny still thought of themselves as English (or Scots) and dreamed of ‘home’ in the days before Australia’s independence and sought to follow English customs.

I also liked the way the author wove the Christian themes into the book. There was a clear Christian message and Penny, in particular, undertakes a journey from basic belief to actual faith and relationship in Christ, with this transformation coming across as real without being preachy.

Ellenvale Gold is the first in Amanda Deed’s Jackson Creek trilogy. I do recommend reading them in order – I had already read the final book, Henry’s Gold, and it may have affected my view of a couple of the characters—but to tell you any more would be a spoiler!

Thanks to Even Before Publishing for providing a free ebook for review.

Review: Rescue Team by Candace Calvert

Kate Callison is the interim director of the emergency department at Austin Grace Hospital, and she’s finding it hard to fill the shoes of her saintly predecessor, Sunni Sprague, who disappeared several months ago. Staff morale is at an all-time low and she is under pressure to improve the reputation of the ER following a series of critical letters published in the local paper. Things get worse when an abandoned newborn baby is discovered in the ER bathrooms, a tragedy that reminds Kate of the secret she has tried to forget.

Wes Tanner is the perfect man. Handsome, blue eyes, works in the family business and leads a small volunteer search and rescue in Houston, Texas. He searches for the lost because he still wonders why his mother committed suicide when he was a child. He is attracted to Kate, but she keeps herself aloof from everyone, especially her father.

There lots of suspense and a nice romance with a good mix of internal and external conflict and an underlying theme of being lost then found. Rescue Team is very well plotted and relatively complex, with solid and likeable yet fallible characters, especially Kate and her father, Matt.

There were a lot of characters including five viewpoint characters, and while they weren’t difficult to keep straight, I do think five is too many point of view characters in a novel of this length. Kate and Wes, as heroine and hero in a medical romance, were obvious viewpoint characters, and I could see why Matt, Kate’s father, was important.

The other two? The inclusion of one effectively revealed her role in the ‘mystery’ of the letters, while I’m still not sure if the other was a red herring or just setting the character up as being the lead in the next book in the series. Rescue Team is the second in the Grace Medical series. I had no trouble following the story in Rescue Team, even though I haven’t read Trauma Plan, the first in the series. Good, but some lingering questions and too many viewpoint characters prevent it being great.

Thanks to Tyndale House and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Candace Calvert at her website.

Review: Undeniably Yours by Becky Wade

Megan Cole has just inherited her father's extensive holdings, including an oil company, a range of investments, hundreds of employees, three properties, six luxury cars, a plane… and the Whispering Creek Ranch. And the responsibility is bringing on her panic attacks. Her next task is to fire Bo Porter, the ranch manager, but he has the job he always wanted and manages to persuade Meg to give the ranch a six month reprieve.

Bo is immediately attracted to Meg, which puts him in a delicate situation, as she is his boss and the one who will make the decision about his job and those of twenty other ranch employees. Meg is attracted to Bo because, for some reason, his presence calms her panic attacks. But she is his boss, and to do anything about the attraction would be unethical.

This isn't the typical employee-boss romance (for one thing, the boss is usually the man), and while money is one issue, the main issue (at least for Meg) is trust. Because the last man she gave her heart to stole it, along with two million dollars. And she's still dealing with the consequences of Stephen MacIntyre’s betrayal.

Becky Wade's first book, My Stubborn Heart, caused a minor furore in Christian publishing circles for its use of bad language ('crap' being an example). My personal view was that it was a bit of a storm in a teacup—while there are much worse words in the English language, this one didn't actually need to be there. Perhaps it was just a marketing ploy? Undeniably Yours doesn’t have any bad language, but some readers might find parts of the plot a little edgy because it deals with a couple of sensitive issues, one of which is divorce among Christians.

The writing was very good, and included some amusing throwaway lines, like describing the cat as taking ‘a sharp turn from calm couch potato into Tasmanian devil’ and giving Meg ‘the feline version of “talk to the hand”’. The focus of Undeniably Yours was on Meg and her journey to discover God's peace and His will for her life. We could see her grow in confidence as the story progressed. The character of Bo was weaker, in that he had no faults and didn't have the same change and growth in the story (but he was an almost-perfect hero).

Overall, Undeniably Yours is a good read and shows that Becky Wade is a writer to watch. I’ll certainly be looking forward to her next book. Thanks to Bethany House and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Becky Wade at her website.

New Releases: May 2013

I will be reviewing these Christian new releases this month:

Other Christian fiction new releases for May are below. What are you waiting to read?

New releases for children (age 9+):