Blog Tours – Page 13 – LDS Women's Book Review

Shadows of Valor by Elsie Park – Blog Tour

Posted by Shanda Blog Tours, Book Reviews, Shanda's Reviews

Sep 102013

Shadows of Valor

Author: Elsie Park

Publisher: Jolly Fish Press

Published Date: September 7, 2013

Hardcover/Paperback/Kindle/Nook: 252 pages

Genre: Historical/Medieval Romance

(PB) ISBN# 978-1-939967-07-7

Reviewed by: Shanda

FTC FYI: free digital uncorrected galley in exchange for an honest review

Summary

On the surface, Graywall is content and booming. Lord Shaufton, who presides over the city, is a fine ruler. The poor are well-cared for, the area is popular, and morale is high—but within Graywall’s roots, something dark is stirring. This darkness threatens to overpower the once-peaceful town, until a mysterious figure appears: The Shadow. 

As much a figure of fear to the unruly as legend to the innocent, The Shadow is an enforcer of justice and aid to the King. Due to an outrageous export tax set by King Edward, smuggling has tainted the kingdom, so The Shadow is sent to hunt the smugglers down. Contrary to legend, The Shadow is simply a man known as Sir Calan who, although talented and just, struggles to keep his dark thoughts of revenge from becoming ruthless action.  

Due to sheer coincidence, The Shadow learns of a deadly plot against Lord Shaufton on a journey to Graywall. Now, he must enter a pseudo courtship with Lord Shaufton’s daughter under his original guise of Sir Calan, all while old emotions are stirred by the lovely Elsbeth, Lord Shaufton’s niece. Elsbeth, it seems, is the only woman who can heal his troubled soul, but she has a story of her own. What transpires is a glorious tale full of deceit, greed, inner struggles, betrayal, and most of all—love.

Review

Shadows of Valor is a story of ladies and knights, including one with a secret identity, in a tale of intrigue, valor, adventure, and seemingly unrequited love. Sometimes I’m in the mood for a light romantic read that isn’t heavy on historically accurate dialogue and doesn’t shy away from what some consider romance novel cliché. Shadows of Valor fit this mood for me, and I was pleasantly entertained reading about Elsbeth and her dealings with The Shadow and Sir Calan.

The pace of the story kept things moving well and the writing was enjoyable. There were a few things I noticed in the uncorrected proof that I hope were caught before final publication, ie., “had to of” instead of “had to have”, as well as a few phrases that felt too modern for the story. The intrigue and all of the “bad guys” are easy to figure out almost from the beginning (which could be intentional), yet Shadows of Valor is still a fun, quick read that many readers who like historical/medieval romance will enjoy.

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Blackmoore by Julianne Donaldson – Blog Tour

Posted by Shanda Blog Tours, Book Reviews, Shanda's Reviews

Sep 092013

Blackmoore

Author: Julianne Donaldson

Publisher: Shadow Mountain

Published Date: September 9, 2013

Paperback/Kindle/CD/DB Bookshelf: 320 pages

Genre: Regency Romance

ISBN# 978-1-60907-460-9

Reviewed by: Shanda

FTC FYI: free digital uncorrected proof from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

**Visit The King’s English Bookshop page for details on Blackmoore‘s Launch Party on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2013 at 7 PM!**

Summary

Kate Worthington knows her heart and she knows she will never marry. Her plan is to travel to India instead—if only to find peace for her restless spirit and to escape the family she abhors. But Kate’s meddlesome mother has other plans. She makes a bargain with Kate: India, yes, but only after Kate has secured—and rejected—three marriage proposals.

Kate journeys to the stately manor of Blackmoore determined to fulfill her end of the bargain and enlists the help of her dearest childhood friend, Henry Delafield. But when it comes to matters of love, bargains are meaningless and plans are changeable. There on the wild lands of Blackmoore, Kate must face the truth that has kept her heart captive. Will the proposal she is determined to reject actually be the one thing that will set her heart free?

Set in Northern England in 1820, Blackmoore is a Regency romance that tells the story of a young woman struggling to learn how to follow her heart. It is Wuthering Heights meets Little Women with a delicious must-read twist.

Review

Blackmoore is an enthralling, heart-twisting romance with a depth that I greatly appreciated. There were highs and lows throughout as well a heart-pounding-yet-clean chemistry that carried me through the darker elements of the story. I kept turning pages, needing to know how things would turn out for Kate because somehow they must, even though she was determined to stay unmarried and travel to India with her aunt.

The details were expertly done, not too heavy, but enough to picture Blackmoore in my mind with minimal effort. The descriptions of the stark beauty of the moors and Robin Hood’s Bay had me pulling up Google so I could see the area for myself. When Kate hears a woodlark’s song for the first time I was so moved by the scene that I again searched online so I could hear what she was hearing.

The characters were interesting and dimensional, even those that made a minimal appearance in the story. I loved every scene with Henry. My heart broke for him in a way that I did not expect. I ached for Kate and what she felt she must endure. I loathed Kate’s mother. I wanted to know more about Henry’s grandfather, and Herr Spohr, and even the townspeople.

I was easily swept into the story, setting, and emotion of Blackmoore. I experienced elation, anticipation, disappointment, frustration, yearning and freedom right along with Kate. I wanted everything for her. I love they way Julianne writes the hero so that the reader knows exactly what he is feeling without being in his head. It is subtle yet so very effective.

Though Blackmoore carries a bit darker and more serious tone than Edenbrooke, it is a well-written and memorable love story that fans of clean-but-still-toe-curling romance will enjoy. I highly recommend it.

Visit Julianne Donaldson:

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***Special pricing in September for Kindle versions of Blackmoore and Edenbrooke!!***

The Experiment by Jeffery Moore,Sherry Gammon, and Cindy Bennett-Blog Tour Review and Guest Post

Posted by Sheila Blog Tours, Book Reviews, Sheila's Reviews

Sep 062013

The Experiment by Jeffery Moore,Sherry Gammon, and Cindy Bennett-Blog Tour Review and Guest Post

The Experiment, a new novel from the imaginations of Cindy C Bennett, Sherry Gammon, and Jeffery Moore!

Product Details

File Size: 527 KB
Print Length: 338 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Prose by Design (July 10, 2013)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
ASIN: B00DVTLKRY
FTC. FYI: I received a review PDF in exchange for an honest review.

BLURB:

Time is running out for the Collaborative’s oppressive rule of the remote world Senca One. The government attempts to suppress the escalating riots, even while seeking to further their experiments. When their parents are taken, triplets Juliet, Cilla, and Emiah Tripp set out to locate them, and soon discover they are at the center of a hunt to capture them.

Evading the Collaborative across Senca One’s harsh terrain, they’re confronted with the trials of survival. They also discover something that changes the very core of their reality: they’re morphs. Struggling to adapt to the strange new ability, they question what they really are . . . and why. Are the rumors of experiments done on children true? Did their scientist parents have anything to do with it?

Their quest brings them to the capitol city of Brighton, which is on the verge of revolt. While searching for information about their parents, the Tripps align themselves with the very people fueling the rebellion. They unwittingly spark the revolution they want no part of and discover something more dangerous than they suspected.

My Review:
I was so excited to read this book,especially because of it being written by three different authors. This intrigued me so much. I’ve read books written by Cindy and Sherry, but this was the first book I’d read from Jeffery. This was a fun YA book that is Speculative Fiction. There is plenty of action on this new world. The triplets are the main characters and have such different personalities, as it would truly be in real life. The authors did a great job of increasing the suspense the first several chapters as the reader isn’t quite sure what is truly going on. Altogether, this book is a fun ride for YA readers, whether they are teens or adults. The fast pace of the story keeps you fully engaged. I would definitely read anther book written by these three authors. They have a good thing going on here. You need to read the guest post down below to see how truly hard this project was. Kudos to them for doing such a great job in writing such a fantastic story full of romance, mystery and suspense.

Warnings: Some swearing and nakedness due to the morphing that takes place by some characters. Nothing too alarming though.

Guest Post: by Jeffery Moore
I wanted to know about the writing process of this book. This post gives you all of the details.

Jeffery Moore: The project is like one of those things that begins as an idea (maybe a flippant idea) and morphs until coming to fruition. When I look back I think, “How did this really start?” It’s like a butterfly’s wing flapping escalating into a hurricane. Sherry and Cindy are attributing the inception of the project to me, but quite honestly, I don’t remember being the one that said, “Hey, let’s write a book together.” The story is my genre, but the audience (YA) is aligned to Cindy and Sherry. This had its own small challenges. One example is that I wrote a butcher shop scene and let’s just say the story took one of those ‘Pulp Fiction’ turns that needed to be undone.

Once we all said “Heck yeah, writing a story together sounds like fun!” I loosely developed character profiles for each of us. The adventure revolves around three siblings: one who is a leader, one who has the beauty, and one who has the brains. Once we had our profiles and the back story (and mystery) of why the parents were taken away, I crafted the outline and the first chapter to kickoff our writing adventure. Here are some of the biggest challenges I thought we experienced.

Challenge One: The story was in my element (fantasy) and I’m somewhat of a purist when it comes to fantasy. What I mean by this is that when the setting is on another planet I don’t expect it to be a replica of Earth (of course unless the story had a terra-forming element, which it doesn’t). We do make comparisons to Earth’s fauna and flora, but I found I had to really reign in the ‘world building’ aspect of fantasy.

Challenge Two: We needed to write the chapters serially. We each wrote from a single sibling’s POV, so that means I wrote every third chapter from Emiah’s POV. Because I kept to the script (outline) I quickly discovered I couldn’t write my chapters before Sherry and Cindy. Each of our characters tugged and pushed the story in off-script directions, meeting different people and encountering different obstacles.

Challenge Three: Keep the outline fluid and up to date. Because the story evolved with each chapter, it became important to keep the outline updated so that we each knew the story’s direction. I remember at one point something got goofed up and I think it was Cindy that wrote a chapter based off an old outline—oops!

Finally, I’ll add that writing with Cindy and Sherry was extremely fun and rewarding. If you try this with a writing buddy, don’t set deadlines and be willing to compromise on the elements of the story, and then just go with the journey your heroes take you on.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Jeffery Moore

Moore was born in Germany. As a military brat, much of his childhood was spent abroad, growing up in Germany on military installations. He subsequently enlisted in the military and served for ten years as an army pilot. While in the military, he lived in Italy and South Korea and deployed to many European countries. He has traveled to Australia, Japan, Singapore and most European countries. His experiences and contact with many different cultures helps form some of the elements in his stories. He currently works for a global IT company and lives in Massachusetts.

Find more about Jeffery and his work at http://www.jefferyemoore.com

Sherry Gammon

Unlovable was Gammon’s debut novel and quickly rose to many top seller lists on Amazon. She is pleased to announce that Unlovable is currently being made into a movie. She has added two more novels to her body of work. Not so Easy, book one of the Souls in Peril series, is the poignant story of Max Sanchez who is on a journey to help the struggling JD Miller survive high school, and Pete & Tink, a fun, light-hearted novella of a manga-loving geek and a five-and-a-half inch fairy. Gammon and her husband, along with their children and a couple of crazy dogs, call Upstate New York home. It is where she spends her nights writing instead of sleeping.

Find more about Sherry and her work at http://www.wordpaintingsunlimited.com

Cindy C Bennett

Bennett is the YA author of several books, including Geek Girl, Rapunzel Untangled, Enchanted Fairytales, and Heart on a Chain. She lives in Utah and has six kids (two of which are daughters in-law). She loves gooey cookies, dark chocolate, and cheese popcorn. She hates housework and cooking, and has no plans to become a domestic goddess. She occasionally co-hosts a geek podcast with her son, called Geek Revolution Radio. Her favorite pastime is riding her Harley.

Find more about Cindy and her work at http://www.cindycbennett.com

Read an excerpt here.

Read More on The Experiment Blog or on The Experiment Facebook PageAvailable Now at These Retailers:

Face to Face: Seeking a Personal Relationship with God by S. Michael Wilcox – Blog Tour

Posted by Shanda Blog Tours, Book Reviews, Shanda's Reviews

Aug 192013

Face to Face: Seeking a Personal Relationship with God

Author: S. Michael Wilcox

Publisher: Deseret Book

Published Date: August 2013

Hardcover/Kindle/DB Bookshelf: 128 pages

Genre: Religious Nonfiction

ISBN# 978-1-60907-520-0

Reviewed by: Shanda

FTC FYI: free hardcover review copy in exchange for an honest review

Summary

“And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend” (Exodus 33:11).

Is it possible to talk with God as Moses did—face to face? This is not only what we long for, but what God also ardently desires. For Moses that may have meant an actual physical encounter, but for most of us it is an expression that suggests friendship, open communication, honesty, and the conversations of familiarity. But how is that done? And how can we learn how God speaks to us individually? Bestselling author S. Michael Wilcox explores the scriptural expressions and concepts of “pouring out,” “wrestling,” being “filled with desire,” and “knocking” at the door Jesus promised would open to us— particularly in those times when we deeply need heaven to hear us and to confirm to our souls that more than our words are being received.

Review

In Face to Face: Seeking a Personal Relationship with God, S. Michael Wilcox presents six different methods of communication with Heavenly Father through prayer that build faith, increase understanding of His love for us, and strengthen our bond with Him.

I enjoyed the author’s writing style, and found the book to be a quick yet impactful read. I was most affected by the concept of “pouring out” our hearts to God. I related to the examples given and my heart was touched.

The importance of constantly reaching to become closer to Heavenly Father, both for myself and my posterity, was driven home to me by this quote in the chapter about Jeroboam and the fate of the ten tribes:

“Sometimes when we fail to reach for ourselves, we fail for the thousands who will follow in the culture we create.” -page 84

I was reassured by the reminder that our God wants to bless us in every way He can, and that all things that come from Him are for our benefit, even if we don’t see it at the time. I gained a new understanding of the word desire as it refers to becoming one with our Father and Savior, rather than a request for something from Them.

When we consult with God in deep, quiet prayer about what we should desire, He will answer us. Through our reaching out to Him in these different forms of prayer and communication, we will become closer to Him than we can in any other way.

“The Spirit reaches down and draws water for us, or rain falls upon our souls and the flowers of faith, devotion, obedience, virtue, courage, adoration, gratitude–and especially love–spring up. God can walk with us in our garden, one that he himself is primarily responsible for having created. But we both are fulfilled, both satisfied with a mutual giving and receiving.” –page 121

I don’t hesitate to recommend Face to Face: Seeking a Personal Relationship with God to anyone who desires a closer relationship with Heavenly Father. I will be keeping it in a handy place on my bookshelf to revisit often.

Find Face to Face: Seeking a Personal Relationship with God:

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Longing For Home by Sarah M. Eden – Blog Tour

Posted by Shanda Blog Tours, Book Reviews, Shanda's Reviews

Aug 122013

Longing For Home

Author: Sarah M. Eden

Publisher: Shadow Mountain

Published Date: August 2013

Softcover/Kindle/Nook/DB ebook/CD: 432 pages

Genre: Historical Romance

ISBN# 978-1609074616

Reviewed by: Shanda

FTC FYI: free softcover ARC in exchange for an honest review

Summary

Twenty-six-year-old Katie Macauley has placed all her hope in Hope Springs, a small town in the 1870 Wyoming Territory. But if she wants to return home to Ireland to make amends with her estranged family, she’ll need to convince the influential Joseph Archer to hold true to his word and keep her on his payroll as his housekeeper despite her Irish roots. The town is caught in an ongoing feud between the Irish and the “Reds” the frontiersmen who would rather see all the Irish run out of town and the Irish immigrants who are fighting to make a home for themselves in the New World. When Joseph agrees to keep Katie on as his housekeeper, the feud erupts anew, and Katie becomes the reluctant figurehead for the Irish townsfolk. As the violence escalates throughout the town, Katie must choose between the two men who have been vying for her love though only one might be able to restore hope to her heart.

Review

Longing For Home is a well-written and satisfying story with endearing characters and a fascinating glimpse of Irish culture in the Old West at a time when prejudice against them prevailed throughout most of the country.

I thoroughly enjoyed Longing For Home and consider it well worth the wait. It is a deeper, more involved story than Sarah’s other books, proving that she has taken her talent for storytelling to an even higher level. The characters are dimensional and real, with histories full of struggle, survival, love, and loss. They are so well-developed I feel as if they are MY family and friends.

The dialogue is wonderful. I could “hear” Katie’s brogue simply because of the words and phrases she uses with very little, if any, phonetical spelling. I appreciate that more than I can say. The use of traditional Irish phrases is enchanting and adds a wonderful lilt to Katie’s voice in my mind. Tavish and Joseph are remarkable, hard-working men with very different personalities and situations yet with the same capacity for love and desire for peace in the community. I love them both and hope that I will get to read more about them in the future.

Experiencing the story through the point-of-view of all three main characters not only gave me a better understanding of their thoughts and motivations, it also made me care about them even more and kept me guessing about how events would unfold. I truly didn’t know how things would turn out for Katie, or even how I wanted them to turn out because I was as torn about what to do as she was. I was unsure about Katie at first, but her growth throughout her experiences in Hope Springs felt natural and I was glad to see how far she had come by the end.

Longing For Home is a must for fans of Sarah M. Eden. Readers who appreciate clean romance and quality writing will want to add this book to the top of their reading lists. Though I don’t often rate books in my reviews, I don’t hesitate to give Longing For Home an appreciative and enthusiastic five stars.

Visit Sarah:

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Heaven’s Just a Prayer Away by Diony George-Blog Tour Review

Posted by Sheila Blog Tours, Book Reviews, Sheila's Reviews

Jul 182013

Product Description

Title: Heaven’s Just a Prayer Away
Author: Diony George
Paperback: 112 pages
Publisher: Cedar Fort, Inc. (July 9, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1462111890
FTC, FYI: I was given a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Book Description
Before we came to earth, we lived in heavenly realms. We knew our Heavenly Father. We walked and talked with Him. We heard His voice. We felt His love. In Heaven’s Just a Prayer Away, beloved author Diony George teaches us how to reestablish that relationship with Him here on earth.

With the help of this book you will…
• Learn that nothing is too small or unimportant to discuss with Heavenly Father
• Find peace and contentment through daily communication with God
• Gain a better understanding of why some prayers seem to go unanswered
• Develop a greater knowledge of the power of prayer

The inspirational and enlightening experiences found within these pages will change your life forever by strengthening your relationship with God and filling your life with peace, teaching us that heaven really is just a prayer away.

Excerpt:

Repeatedly through prayer I’ve received wisdom to handle situations in my life I wasn’t dealing well with on my own, especially in my role as a Mother.

My bedroom was quiet, and warm from the afternoon sun, but I didn’t find it comforting as I shut the door behind me. I was exhausted, filled with so much frustration I wanted to scream. I started to cry instead.

My son had lied to me again.

I had tried to do everything I knew how to get him to stop. Nothing worked. Not losing friends, video games or television. Not writing sentences, or doing dishes for a week. And none of the many talks or family home evening lessons we’d had about honesty. My discouragement ran deep and I had run out of ideas. How could I get him to understand the immense value of this principle? How could I believe anything he told me?

I’d prayed about it many times, at least I thought I had, in a general way, but the problem persisted and my discouragement and feelings of helplessness to change it increased.

I knelt down by my bed. The filtered rays of sunshine coming through the bedroom window warmed my back and I started another prayer. I felt tired, sad, and at a loss of where to go next. “Father in Heaven, I don’t know what to do. Please help me…”

I told him all of my concerns until my knees were sore. When I finished, I opened my eyes and grabbed a Kleenex to wipe the tears off my face. I got up and sat on the edge of my bed. Releasing the emotions helped lighten my heavy heart, but I still didn’t know what to do.

It wasn’t long before a thought entered my mind.

Really, Heavenly Father, I questioned. You want me to do that? How can that possibly work? What about the next time and the next time he tells me something?

I was to tell my son I was not going to look back anymore at the times he’d been dishonest, the times he’d covered the truth with excuses or denials. That was over and done with. From then on, I would believe he was telling me the truth. I was going to trust him.

I called my son to my bedroom so we could talk and I told him right then I was drawing a line, separating the past from the future. I watched his eyes grow bigger as he listened. With parted lips, he searched my face.

“Unless you do or say something to break my trust, I am now giving it to you completely.” Heavenly Father are you sure, I questioned again, feeling afraid.

His answer was a warm feeling of peace.

My son’s eyes watered and he hugged me. “Thanks Mom, I love you.” He turned and left the room.

My tears fell again.

Over the next several months I saw my son change. The first few times I asked if he was sure he was being honest or telling the truth, there was hesitation. Occasionally he changed his answers. As time passed the hesitations disappeared and his responses were strong and firm.

I would never have thought to handle that situation the way I did, on my own. That inspiration and guidance came directly from Heavenly Father as an answer to my prayers.

My Review

This is one of the most beautiful books I have read about prayer. I loved reading the simple stories of Diony’s life showing how prayer can bring peace to our lives.

I loved this message from the book…

” Modern day leaders of the Church have also taught us to pray always.

‘Carry…the spirit of prayer throughout every duty that we have to perform in life.’

We can pray when we are seeking safety or facing temptation, when we need guidance and inspiration-anytime we need help with anything.”

This really brings so much comfort to our souls knowing that we can pray in any situation. Some of the chapters in the book are entitled:

Pray Always
Pleadings for Peace
How He Answers
His Timing, Not Ours
Draw Near Unto Him
Prayer Changes Things

These are only a few of the thirteen chapters included in this uplifting book about prayer. If you want any questions answered about prayer, you will find those answers in this book. If you want to improve your quality of prayers that you give, you will find scriptures giving you answers of how to make your prayers more meaningful. Regardless of where you are spiritually right now in your life, Heaven’s Just a Prayer Away will give you strength and encouragement, and help you draw closer to Father in Heaven by remembering to pray several times a day. He is there and listening waiting for you to call out to him. Thank you Diony for writing another book that will influence many people for the good.

Meet Author Diony George
Diony George is a wife, full-time mom of seven, grandmother of three, and a published author of uplifting women’s fiction and inspiring nonfiction. She is also a regular contributing writer for Deseret Connect and FamilyHow. Originally from Alaska, she currently lives in Salt Lake City with her family. Besides writing she loves to read, especially romantic suspense, bake, sew and craft.
Her current fiction WIP, Inside the Heart, is based around the kidnapping and disappearance of four-year-old Emma. Her newest nonfiction book, Heaven’s Just a Prayer Away was just released by Cedar Fort, Inc.

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