The Swiss Courier Book Review

The Swiss Courier

by Tricia Goyer & Mike Yorkey

The destiny of a world is riding on the success of this one mission.

Secret Agents.

Double Agents.

Border Patrol.

Nazi Germany.

Prisoner Torture.

Who can you trust in such a time of uncertainty, during a treacherous war where the enemy could be among those closest to you?

Could you put your own life on the line for someone you've never even met?

Reading this story is like putting together a puzzle; you have no idea how it's going to look in the end but it's an exciting adventure along the way! There are DEFINITELY surprises beyond what you would even imagine! I found the story to be so thoroughly researched that it felt more like a retelling of actual history rather than a fiction novel. This is definitely a recommended read for all historical and suspense fans!

The Jewel of His Heart Book Review

The Jewel of His Heart
by Maggie Brendan
Heart of the West Series, Book 2


Gentle and hard-working. Faithful and passionate. As a sheepherder, trying to build a life as worthy as his father's cattle ranch, Josh McBride happens upon rare jewels, Yogo sapphires and the woman his Lord had planned for him all along.

Alone and hurting. Stubborn and independent. Guarding her heart from pain she is sure to endure, Juliana Brady will never let her life depend on any man.

Both Josh and Juliana learn that life can change in an instant. Will Juliana learn to trust again the God of her youth and let herself love the man He has sent to her? Will Josh push Juliana away so he can prove to his father he can make it on his own? When decisions are made, will love be won or lost?

Sparks fly in this romantic tale of hope and forgiveness. Maggie Brendan does a wonderful job telling an intriguing romance. She creatively throws unexpected events into the story that you can't even see coming. Her unique style of writing will leave you sorry the story is over. I hope to read much more from this author in the future.

An Eye for an Eye Book Review

Available September 2009 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group...

An Eye for an Eye
by Irene Hannon

On a routine, morning jog in the park they meet again. It had been twenty years since FBI-Hostage Rescue Team Agent Mark Sanders and Psychologist Emily Lawson last saw each other, but the chemistry they shared that long summer ago was still there. Their happy reunion is turned upside down when shots are fired from nearby trees, leaving one of them wounded.

Was Mark and Emily's reunion a chance encounter or did God have bigger plans?

Now, without knowing who the bullet was intended for and no leads for suspects or motives to go on, all hope of finding the shooter seemed to be lost.

Will the case stay cold?

Will Emily allow God to stay her fear of another heartbreaking loss and move forward in her relationship with Mark? Will Mark allow God to heal the hollowness in his heart and accept the faith he sees Emily live every day?

This is one suspense novel you won't be sorry you picked up! Hannon weaves a plot so well, she keeps you guessing with each turn of the page. Crime-scene drama and witty banter collide with romance in St. Louis! The combined elements provide a great read for fiction fans of any genre!

Fools Rush In Book Review

Available September 2009 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group...

Fools Rush In
Wedding by Bella - Book One
by Janice Thompson

Bella Rossi's life never sees a dull moment. Her Italian turned Texan family makes sure of that, especially when they hand over the keys to the family wedding planning business. The newly renamed Club Wed now specializes in themed weddings...thanks to Bella's new advertising strategy.

In her late twenties and no serious love interest in sight, Bella has concluded that, as a wedding planner, she is doomed to a life of chronic singleness...planning everyone's happily ever after but her own. That is, until a flicker of hope saunters up the walkway in his worn blue jeans and cowboy boots - Texas twang and all.

Can Bella learn to trust God to lead her out of her comfort zone?

This is one hilarious love story! Mix up the Mob and a few boot-scootin' cowboys and you're in for a barrel o' laughs and then a few more! The lighthearted playfulness of this book only left me with one complaint...that I couldn't read the next installment of the series! A guaranteed smile to add to your reading collection.

The Frontiersman's Daughter Book Review

Available August 2009 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group...

The Frontiersman's Daughter
by Laura Frantz

Leal Click leads a life tucked away in the Kentucky wilderness, as a famed frontiersman's only daughter. Her father's ties to the Shawnee Indians, some secret and others not so secret, darken the only life she's ever known.

Confused by her father's disapproval of her childhood love and a Shawnee, would-be-suitor's attempts to woo her, Lael's father sends her away to an elegant finishing school. For reason's she can't understand, Lael suffers through more than five long years at the school until finally, due to unexpected circumstances and overwhelming loss, her chance comes to return to her beloved Kentucky home. Upon her return, she finds that her seemingly lost chance at love may not be so lost after all, but is not at all what she expects. What she learns about herself in her longing for love will prove to be grander than the beautiful view of her dear Kentucky wilderness.

This book was a hard one to put down. Even after reading the last page, the story stays with you. It draws you into a different place, where you can almost smell the perfume of wild roses drifting on a warm breeze.

Laura Frantz has created a set of characters, each unique and inspiring. Lael Click's determination and grit is what paved the way across long-ago, uncharted America.

I hope we will see much from this author in many books to come. A fantastic story and MUST READ for ANY fiction fan!

The Believer Book Review

Available August 2009 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group...

The Believer
by Ann H. Gabhart

Elizabeth Duncan and her two younger siblings are left desperately alone following the sudden death of their father. Left as a bookmark in the family Bible, a simple Shaker's seed packet guides them to new hope. After the advances of a dangerous and unwanted suitor, Elizabeth leads her young brother and sister secretly to the community of "Believers" who will turn away no one.

For Elizabeth, one Shaker stands out among the rest. Young Ethan is committed to his belief, having never harbored feelings of anything other than sisterly toward any female, he is unprepared for his immediate attraction to the young woman seeking shelter among his people.

Matrimony is sinful in the eyes of the Shakers and any feelings of attraction to the opposite gender are strongly rebuked. As Ethan struggles with his feelings toward Elizabeth, she strives to keep herself from being a stumbling block to his faith. But something draws them close at every turn.

Will Ethan hold fast to the rules that are proving so hard for him to release and learn what being a "Believer" really is?

This book gives a good look into the inner goings on of Shaker villages. The story is brought to life with the detail Ann Gabhart gives to her setting, characters, and storyline. A well written story that is sure to touch you with a sweet sense of finding the truth in God's Word.

Things Left Unspoken Book Review

Things Left Unspoken
by Eva Marie Everson

Lonely Jo-Lynn Hunter is searching for that something to fill the void in her life. As an interior designer, she begins to find comfort when the death of her beloved great-uncle Jim brings her home to the area surrounding small-town Cottonwood, Georgia.

Jo-Lynn accepts a project to restore the historic home that Uncle Jim shared with his wife, Stella. The "big house" was built more than a hundred years before and had been handed down through Stella's family.

Little by little, secrets begin to unravel the legacy Jo-Lynn believed she was restoring in her family's home, but the revelations she uncovers will change the lives of those she loves the most.

Things Left Unspoken holds a little bit of history, with travels back to 1930s Georgia. The twists in this book are amazingly unexpected, a little suspenseful, and quite realistic.

A recommended read for both historical and contemporary readers! The more I read of this book, the harder it was to put it down.