Review: Barefoot Summer by Denise Hunter

Madison McKinley is a 26-year-old veterinarian back living in her home town of Chapel Springs, Indiana, and she has a dream. She wants to win the Annual River Sail Regatta in honour of her twin brother, Michael, a keen sailor who died when they were 17. There are only two things standing in her way: she doesn’t know the first thing about sailing, and she is afraid of water.

She wins a sailing lesson-and-regatta package at a local charity auction, but her plans go awry when she finds the lessons won’t be from married-with-children Evan Higgins, but with the very single Beckett O’Reilly, reformed bad boy and son of the town alcoholic. Beckett has had a long-time crush on Maddy, so is happy to give her lessons, as long as she doesn’t find out how he feels about her, doesn’t find out what happened between him and her sister, Jade, and doesn’t discover his secret—the one he doesn’t know if she will be able to forgive.

The opening of Barefoot Summer was a bit confusing as I tried to sort out all the characters (especially the many McKinley siblings), but I soon worked them all out and settled into enjoying a well-plotted story. It wasn’t a straightforward romance—there were enough twists and turns to keep it interesting and give it a pleasant depth not found in many contemporary Christian romances. The one slight fault was perhaps the outcome of the regatta …

I really enjoyed Barefoot Summer. I liked the characters, I liked the way the author dealt with Madison’s issues with Christianity, and I especially liked Beckett, who has overcome a difficult childhood to become a man anyone would be proud to know, despite his inferiority complex. I liked the style of writing, and I especially liked the way the author introduced the various characters in the McKinley family, obviously setting us up for a sequel (which I will look forward to reading).

Odd as it might seem, I read two books in a row about a twin who lost their faith in God when they lost their twin to death, this and An Open Heart by Harry Kraus. I enjoyed Barefoot Summer much more, because I could really believe Madison’s faith journey, and I found the characters easier to relate to. Yes, the plot was more predictable than that of An Open Heart, and perhaps even a bit corny at times, but the storytelling was better. Or maybe it’s just that I like the romance…

A fun summer read (or, for those of us in the Southern Hemisphere, for cuddling up by the fire with).

Thanks to Thomas Nelson and Booksneeze for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Denise Hunter at her website.

Review: Stealing the Preacher by Karen Wittemeyer

It is 1885 and Crockett Archer is following the call of God to on his way to Burleson County, Texas, to gain what he hopes will be his first official job as preacher. But his train journey is cut short when a group of outlaws hold up the train and kidnap him … as a birthday gift.

Joanna Robbins has always known her father used to be an outlaw and train robber, but his love for her now-dead mother led to Silas and his gang giving up crime fifteen years ago and settling down to work the Robbins ranch. Her mother was a strong Christian, and when she died, she passed on to Jo the burden of praying for Silas and his salvation. Jo has long wanted a preacher for their abandoned church, but never dreamed her father would kidnap one (well, who would?).

It’s an amusing set-up, and one that works well. Jo is a mature and beautiful young woman who is soon attracted to the young preacher, and Crockett soon finds that his plans might be different to God’s plans—and God’s plans just might include Jo and her small church. But he also has to earn the respect of Silas, who has a long-standing hatred for ‘men of God’.

One of the things I enjoy about Karen Witemeyer’s books is the humour, and Stealing the Preacher is no exception. The concept alone is pretty funny, and she manages to mix humour with likeable characters, a solid plot and sound Christian themes without the humour coming off as forced, and without the characters coming off as stupid.

Crockett Archer first appeared in Short-Straw Bride, the first novel about the Archer brothers, and although Stealing the Preacher is part of a series, it can easily be read as a stand-alone novel (although you might just want to go back and read the earlier stories once you’ve finished this one). Recommended for fans of romantic American westerns by authors such as Mary Connealy, Cara Lynn James and Jen Turano.

Thanks to Bethany House and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Karen Witemeyer at her website.

ARCBA Review: Picking up the Pieces by Paula Vince

6 - 10 May

 

Australian Christian Readers Blog Alliance

is introducing

Picking up the pieces

(Even Before Publishing 2010)

By
Paula Vince

Available at Amazon

&
Light The Dark

About the Author

Award winning Australian author, PAULA VINCE, loves to evoke tears and laughter through writing fiction. She has a passion to provide inspiring stories that highlight her own beautiful country.

Website is http://www.paulavince.com/
 

About the Book:

“One terrible decision leads to another and the Parker and Quinlan families find out what it means to be in total despair.

In a moment of recklessness, Blake Quinlan does something he never should. The bitter consequences of his impulse will reverberate through the rest of his life unless he learns to deal with his past.

Without warning, Claire Parker’s life shatters. One horrific event leads to a choice that she can never forget. She must find a source of strength and forgiveness to help her recover or she will never again be the happy person she once was.

Moving forward, there is still a ray of hope. A triumphant story about forgiveness, new beginnings and the power of love.”
 

My Review

Clare Parker sees Blake Quinlan on a bus on the way to a Christian camp, which takes her back seven years to when she last saw Blake, and how his actions shattered her life... The book then moves back seven years, showing us how Clare and Blake met, what happened, and how they both pick up the pieces of their lives after Blake rapes Clare. The second half of the book brings us back to the present, with Clare and Blake meeting on the bus and what happens next, with the story told from both the point of view of both Clare and Blake.

From Clare's point of view, I thought the book was a sensitive portrayal of recovery from a life-changing event for which she feels guilty and ashamed. It felt realistic - Clare's recovery is long and painful, which contrasts with some other books I've read with a similar plot (one I read had the heroine mortally afraid of men one day and falling in love the next, which seemed a little unlikely, to say the least). Clare's recovery is made harder by the well-meaning actions of her family members, both Christian and non-Christian. Sadly, this was entirely believable, and made compelling reading.

But the plot from Blake's point of view was, if possible, even more compelling. Bla ke is not the cardboard cut-out violent, woman-hating rapist. He is a shy, sensitive boy/man (he's 18) with a violent father. On a date with Clare (arranged by his mother), Blake gets so drunk that he commits an unthinkable act for which he hates himself, feeling guilty and ashamed, but knowing there is nothing he can do to change his past action or make it better. So, he too is left picking up the pieces of his life, and facing the scorn of his family and the violence of his father.

This book is well worth reading, for its sensitive handling of a difficult subject, and for the underlying themes of redemption and forgiveness in unthinkable circumstances.

Author Interview and Review: The Heir by Lynne Stringer

Author Interview

This week sees the release of Lynne Stringer's debut novel. Lynne is an Australian author and sci-fi fan, and I'm exciting to introduce her to you.

Thank you, Lynne, for sharing with our readers today. You can find out more about Lynne Stringer at her website.

What was your motivation for writing The Heir?

I have always been interested in science fiction and fantasy, and I love romances that have a fantasy element to them, so this story was one that fascinated me once I had thought of it.

Where did the characters and story come from? What were your influences?

I thought of the idea one day when I was talking to my husband. He is fascinated by cheesy pick-up lines (not that he uses them, then he'd be in trouble!) and he was talking about some of his favourites. I started thinking about some myself, and I thought of the one that says, 'You are the only reason I was put on this planet.' It made me think, what if someone said that to you and they meant it literally? What would be the implications of that? The story grew out of that.

Sarah is very similar to myself, so the writing was a bit vicarious. Dan was someone who seemed to suit Sarah well, and he came out of that. Jillian was born because I needed someone who was a bit pushy in Sarah's life, and Mr Hatchet was originally intended to be the heavy so that he could hit someone if it was required, but he took on a life of his own once I started to write him down.

Who is your favourite character and why?

Probably Dan. He's going through so much during the course of the story, but unfortunately, the reader misses out on a lot of it because the story's told from Sarah's point of view (which was necessary so you don't find out what's happening too soon!). Knowing him and what goes on in his head makes me adore him, but I like Sarah and Mr Hatchet almost as much.

I don’t want to give too much of the plot away, but we find out that Dan has had a very different upbringing to Sarah, and that’s affected a lot of his beliefs and values. How do you see that relating to teens?

I think it can help them see that other people can have different upbringings and experiences from ourselves and this can lead to different ideas about all sorts of things from the things they eat to more significant issues like morality. Learning that people have these differences can be a helpful lesson especially when we're young.

When I read The Heir, there were a lot of things that I didn’t quite ‘get’, but looking back from the end I can see they were all clues (very clever). One thing I didn’t get is why Sarah continues to trust Dan when he acts very strangely at times. Why does Sarah continue to trust him even when she finds him over-controlling?

Sarah realises that there's something special about Dan and Jillian that she can relate to. Dan, in particular, since she fancies him, receives a lot of trust from her, although she never pauses to assess exactly why she places such a trust in him. She's motivated by her subconscious to trust him in this way.

You post a lot of science-fiction images on Facebook. What’s your favourite Sci-fi show?

I love a lot of sci-fi. I'm a fan of Star Wars, and I have been watching and enjoying Doctor Who since I was young enough to sit in front of a television. Another TV show I loved is a little known show called Roswell.

Do you believe there is life on other planets? Why? Why not?

I think it's likely that there is some kind of life, but sentient life? I'm not so sure about that. I think we would have heard from them in a significant way if there was. I try to be open minded about it, though.

The Heir is aimed at the Young Adult market, reflected by the fact that your main characters are in their senior year at high school. What made you decide to write for this age group?

I didn't want Sarah to be an adult. I thought it was more appropriate for her to be on the cusp of adulthood as she discovers all these things about herself, especially as the teenage years are a fertile ground for angst anyway. Lots of teenagers have trouble finding their niche, so I thought it was a good place for Sarah to begin experiencing the things that make her different from everyone else.

The Heir has been published by Wombat Books, a general market publisher who also has a Christian imprint, Even Before Publishing. Why is The Heir with Wombat, not Even Before?

I couldn't think of a Christian angle for The Heir, and I wasn't interested in forcing it into the story just to make it suit the Christian market. I'd like to think that The Heir is a book everyone can enjoy, and Christian teens can tell their non-Christian friends about it and they can enjoy a book without the explicit content that does tend to go with many books in this genre.

How does your faith influence your writing? How would that be different if you were writing for the Christian market?

I have tried to keep The Heir within a reasonable Christian framework of morality. I wasn't interested in writing something filled with sex or bad language, but I didn't want to make it deliberately Christian, not because I had an aversion to writing a Christian book, but just because the story didn't go that way, and I wasn't going to turn it into something it wasn't. I think my faith has influenced its morality, but not in an overt way.

What can you tell us about the next book in the series?

The next book is called The Crown and should be out either at the end of 2013 or the beginning of 2014. It is the continuing adventures of Sarah and Dan, but I can't say too much more or I'll spoil it for people who haven't yet read The Heir!

My Review

Sarah is a normal American teenager. Well, mostly normal. She goes to a fancy private school where all the other kids are rich, her dad is an inventor who never quite seems to get it right, she’s being stalked at school by a creepy boy, and her English teacher is always picking her for class debates even though she hates them. Apart from that, she’s just a normal kid who loves art, tries to survive high school and has a secret crush on Dan, her best friend’s kind-of boyfriend.

But things are not what they seem, and when tragedy strikes and Sarah’s life changes overnight, things start to get even stranger. Melting tables, windows that don’t open, eyes in the bushes … and then things get even stranger.

The story started slowly but there was a growing sense of foreboding and rising suspense that made me realise it wasn’t the predictable Young Adult coming-of-age kind of story it started out as (but I’m not going to spoil the surprise by saying too much). Strange things started to happen and there were a few left-field comments from Sarah’s friends that made me think I was missing something. I was. So was Sarah. And when we got the big reveal it was both a huge surprise and not, because it answered all those niggles.

The Heir is told entirely in the first person, from Sarah’s point of view (which I know some readers don’t like). But she’s a strong character who can carry the story without being so perfect as to be annoying. She’s a realistic teen, with strong likes and dislikes, hopes and fears, a secret crush, and a secret history even she doesn’t know about…

I really enjoyed The Heir. It was well-plotted with good foreshadowing (but without making it obvious), good characters, and an ending that was both satisfying in the way it completed the current story, but left me wanting more (fortunately, the sequel is expected out at the end of the year). An excellent debut novel, recommended for those who like authors such as Kathy Tyers, or those who enjoy YA dystopian or science fiction.

Thanks to Wombat Books for providing a free ebook for review.

Review: Sisters of Mercy Flats by Lori Copeland

Anne-Marie, Abigail and Amelia McDougal are orphans from Mercy Flats, Texas, who make a living as con artists, disguising themselves as nuns to inspire trust in those they plan to relieve of their money. The sisters are being hauled to jail when their wagon is attacked by an Indian raiding party. They escape—barely—with the assistance of three men who just happened to be passing, but the sisters are separated in the escape.

Sisters of Mercy Flats then follows the story of Abigail, the middle sister, as she is carried off by weedy Hershall Digman, a travelling shoe salesman. (Well, that’s what we are supposed to think. The book blurb reveals that he is actually Captain Barrett
Drake, a spy for the Confederate Army, trying to get some important documents to aid in an upcoming battle).

It wasn’t clear who the story was actually going to be about for the first couple of chapters, and by the time it became apparent that it was only about the immature and annoying Abigail, I had already come to the conclusion that I didn’t like her (Anne-Marie was the sister who most caught my interest). The fact that the story was written almost entirely from Abigail’s point of view didn’t help. I would have like to see more from Hershall/Barrett, as I didn’t feel he was ever fleshed out properly as a character.

There was a fast-paced start but after the sisters were separated, it really seemed to slow down, and I found the problems started to outweigh the good points. The sisters had a Robin Hood approach to ethics that didn't sit comfortably with me. They seemed to subscribe to the idea of a victimless crime. I don't. And (at the risk of giving a spoiler) I didn’t think there was sufficient acknowledgement of or repentance from this attitude from Abigail. We were told her attitude had changed, but not shown. I wasn’t convinced.

I also got confused with the timing. In the early chapters it seemed of vital importance that Hershall/Bennett reach Shreveport as quickly as possible, yet they seemed to waste several days in the journey. And I found it odd that a Confederate spy would give a speech about the importance of freedom, given the views of most Southerners about slavery. So was he fighting for slavery or freedom? But I’m not American and most of what I know about the Civil War was learned from Christian novels, so who knows how accurate my views are.

The romance came together very quickly, and I’m not convinced it would last, because of Abigail’s immaturity. Overall, while the basic plot had potential, I had to force myself to finish Sisters of Mercy Flats. Recommended for those who like light romantic westerns by authors like Lori Wick and Karen Baney.

Thanks to Harvest House and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.