New Releases: December 2012

December seems pretty light in terms of new releases from the major publishers. These are some of the books I will be reviewing this month:


Other new releases include:

Review: Special Intentions by Claire Coleman

How many times have you told someone “I’ll pray for you”, and then only remembered once or twice? Have you ever felt there is so much need in our world that it is impossible to pray for all of them, and even only praying for a few can still feel like a laundry list of prayer.

Special Intentions: Remembering Others in Personal Prayer provides an interesting alternative: say one prayer, every day, for someone other than yourself, from the almost two hundred intercessory prayers in this book. The prayers are not formal and liturgical, rather they are freeform, almost like poems. And it’s not the kind of book you sit down and read cover-to-cover. It’s more about reading, meditating on and praying one or two prayers a day, either in order, or by theme, or randomly.

The prayers are collated in themes: Love One Another, Carry the Burdens, No Greater Love, With Thanks, For Perseverance, Prayers and Intercessions, Give Each Other Strength, For Unfailing Faith, Imprisoned, The Suffering, and You Are In My Prayers. There are prayers for the homeless, the single mother, the volunteer, the foster parent, the person who knits hats, gloves and scarves for the needy.

I think this is what I like most: the prayers aren’t just for ‘the world’, which is too big a concept. They can be for an individual, a friend, an acquaintance or a stranger. They can be for someone who is a Christian or who isn’t. But what is most special is that most are for unsung heroes, the people who make our cities and towns into communities. Special Intentions would make a lovely Christmas or birthday gift, for yourself or someone else. Recommended.

Thanks to Claire Coleman and MM Book Publicity for providing a free book for review. You can find out more about Claire Coleman her website.

Review: Betrayal on the Border by Jill Elizabeth Nelson

A year ago, communications specialist Madeline Jerrard was one of two surviving witnesses of a compromised mission in the Rio Grande. She has no memories of the event, but that hasn't stopped those who want to kill her. Now her temporary cover as apartment janitor Madison Jameson is about to be blown, the other witness is dead, and she is on the run again.

Love Inspired Suspense is a Harlequin imprint, publishing relatively short novels, not known for their deep spiritual themes or writing of outstanding literary merit. Some are good, others struggle to achieve mediocre. The lower word count can make it difficult for authors to properly develop their plots, characters and particularly their spiritual themes. I don’t tend to read a lot of them, but picked this one up because I’ve read other suspense novels by Jill Elizabeth Nelson and really enjoyed them. I’ve also read her non-fiction title about writing with Deep Point of View – so was interested in reading this to see if she practices what she preaches! (She does.)

While the plot of Betrayal on the Border was somewhat predictable (which is par for the course for Love Inspired), the characters were interesting and the writing was excellent. It even manages to get in a subtle dig about the dangers of self-publishing through a vanity press. Better than most.

Thanks to Love Inspired and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Jill Elizabeth Nelson at her website.

Review: Sarah's Gift by Skye Wieland

Sarah White was raised by foster parents after witnessing her father murder her mother when she was ten. As a result, she has problems forming real relationships with people. She has no such problem with horses, which serves her well in her role as Stable Manager for a safari company on the border of South Africa's Kruger National Park. She enjoys her job, but doesn’t really get on well with Johnno, her boss, or Mark, another park employee who often accompanies her supervising tourist safari rides.

What seems like a normal trek turns strange when Sarah hears a gunshot and finds a huge area of the veldt devoid of wildlife. And there is something strange, almost like a presence, even though no one is around. Her natural curiosity and care for the animals puts her at risk when the elephant culls begin and she is approached by a local witch doctor, then begins to have strange dreams of a man in white. This is a Christian novel, so there is no real surprise about the identity of her dream man, but this is the only predicable element.

Sarah's Gift is set in 1990, a time when South Africa was going through a huge racial upheaval, and this theme of change and equality is also touched on. The novel also manages to deliver a clear Christian message of redemption and finding our place in the world using the gifts God has given us. However, this does mean there is quite a bit of 'Christianese' which some readers might find off-putting, like references to a move of God, and a powerful testimony

Sarah's Gift is Skye Wieland's first novel, and while she still has a lot to learn about the technical craft aspects of writing and editing, Sarah's Gift does demonstrate an ability to develop characters and utilise conflict to drive the plot forward, and good action sequences. Although this book has undergone extensive editing, there are still numerous grammatical, point of view and homophone errors which occasionally impact on the reading experience. Despite these faults, the end was gripping and I didn't want to finish reading. The author has managed to show us an Africa setting in a time and place that is not normally seen in Christian fiction, a refreshing change.

Thanks to Skye Wieland and ShadeTree Publishing for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Skye Wieland at her website.

ACRBA Review: Bethlehem's Warrior by Ray Hawkins

This is another ACRBA blog tour review, this time for Bethlehem's Warrior Baby, a 31-day devotional by Ray Hawkins.

19 - 23 November

Australian Christian Readers Blog Alliance

is introducing

Bethlehem's Warrior (31 Day Devotional)

(Even Before Publishing November 2012)

by Ray Hawkins

Available from Light the dark this week for $7.95

About the Author:

Ray Hawkins

Ray Hawkins, retired after over 40 years as a Churches of Christ minister, enjoys sharing themes from the Scriptures through Devotional writing. Married to Mary, multi-published inspirational romance author, they have three children and five grandchildren. Ray shares his insights in his first two books on Marriage and Children with more ideas to come about ministry and much more. Living in Beauty Point Tasmania Ray heads up a new Christian Fellowship as well as doing relief preaching, community work and writing.

Book Description:

Bethlehem's Warrior (31 Day Devotional)

Short Book Description: In 31 daily devotional meditations Bethlehem's Warrior Baby takes you out of a sentimental nativity scene and into a contest with eternal significance.

It walks you through God's promise in Genesis 3:15 of Someone coming and the clues to His identity in the old Testament. You become aware that in the Christmas event that 'Someone' has come.

I believe Christmas is the culmination of Heaven's countdown to reclaim men, women and creation from the tyranny of sin, death and Satan. The cost involved to God to achieve this should make the reader bow in awe and gratitude.

Website - http://rayhawkinsauthor.blogspot.com.au/

My Review:

I haven't yet worked my way through all the devotions in Bethlehem's Warrior Baby, but I am impressed by what I have read, and I will get them finished well before Christmas! The overall theme is Jesus, the warrior baby, born to conquer sin, death and Satan on our behalf.

Each devotional starts with a Bible reading of up to one chapter, then a one to two page discussion of the reading, then a short prayer and a gift. This is quite unique, at least in my experience of reading devotionals. It is our gift to God: a promise of what we can (and should) do to bring us closer to God. As an example, the gift for Day 15 (The Time Has Arrived) is "My gift to you is to hang up my personal calendar and accept what you do and the time you choose to do it. I'll learn to wait and persevere until your time is ripe".

Ray Hawkins has an extensive background in Christian ministry, and this shows. The devotions are like the best sermons - easy to read and understand but not simplistic, yet covering some complex ideas and concepts without the language becoming so theological that the lay reader is lost. Recommended.