Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Joy Restored by Jude Urbanski book review

Joy Restored
By: Jude Urbanski

Joy Restored is a definite must read! Once I started this book, I could not put it down. Jude Urbanski draws you in and won’t let you go. Seth and Katarina become real people as you learn about them and their problems. Seth’s wife and child died and he is afraid to love again. Katarina’s husband was killed and she has lost her faith and trust in God. While reading their story, your own faith and trust in God will be challenged and tested.

What do you do when you have lost everything and don’t know where to turn? Seth learned he had to acknowledge God was in charge of his life and he had to accept what he couldn’t change. Focusing on what he had instead of what he’d lost was a big step. What do we tend to do? Do we think about what we no longer have, harbor bitterness toward God over what He has “taken away,” or turn away from God altogether? God has promised peace when we believe and trust Him. He walks the way with us. When we listen long enough, there comes a peace. Faith is God’s gift to us, and we’ve only to accept. Faith involves belief and trust. Happiness might be connected with circumstances, but joy was different. Reading this book enlightens the difference! I took to heart these passages in Joy Restored and feel closer to God than when I started this book. Joy Restored will draw you closer as well and increase your faith and trust in God and His faithfulness.

You will enjoy getting to know Seth, Katarina, her children, and Seth’s parents. Follow along on their journey to the peace God brings when they fully trust in Him. My faith, love, trust, and peace have grown just from reading this book and testing where I stand with God. Yours will be, too. This book is the first in the series. I can’t wait to read the next one! Joy Restored is for anyone who loves romances with a strong Christian background. You won’t be disappointed!

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Isabell'e Inning by Donna Winters

Isabelle’s Inning
By: Donna Winters

I loved this book by Donna Winters! She hits a home run with this story. Isabelle Dorlon’s mother has a rooming house where Jack Weatherby stays. He wants to play on the Erskine College baseball team. Isabelle’s father died and she and her brother, Tracy, are keeping his broom-making business going. Isabelle’s Inning is about faith, hope, love, and trust. Once you meet the characters, you are drawn in and don’t want to stop reading until you finish the book!

In one part of the book, there is a debate whether the automobile will take off, or if the horse and carriage will always be the mode of transportation. Erskine and Robinson debaters are squaring off to see which college will win the debate. Knowing how this turns out makes this debate even better. Two quotes stick with me after reading the debate. One is, “The Medical Journal predicts: ‘If the machine ever attains the unlikely speed of eighty miles per hour, it will have to drive itself, for the human brain will be incapable of controlling it.’” And, “The horseless carriage is an impractical machine suitable only for the privileged minority interested in pleasure driving, and then only on flat roadways during warm months of the year where no horses or cows can be found.” I found the debate to be factual of what people thought about the car when it first came out. Some of the comments, like the one about no horses or cows around, were funny.

Isabelle has an issue that she doesn’t want others to know about. Jack has something he is hiding as well. Read the book to see how Isabelle’s honesty gives Jack the courage to face his fears as well. Isabelle and Jack learn about love and trust. See whether Jack gets to follow his dream of playing on the Erskine 9. The characters are well-developed and the plot draws you in. Whether you like baseball or not, Isabelle’s Inning is a keeper!

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Out of Control by Mary Connealy

Out of Control
By: Mary Connealy

I loved this book by Mary Connealy. Out of Control is filled with inspiration, romance, and mystery. Once I started the book, I could not put it down. If you are looking for an awesome Christian romance with lots of suspense, then this book is for you!

This is book 1 in The Kincaid Brides series. Rafe meets Julia when she has been left for dead in a cave. She can’t get out because someone has moved her ladder. She is yelling for help when Rafe comes along and hears her. He rescues her and together they find out who is trying to kill her. Julia lives with her step-mother who is about to give birth and she has a half sister, Maggie.

Julia’s father works in town but no one knows about her, his wife, or Maggie. Out of Control builds the suspense of who is after Julia and why, who is living in the cave—is it the same person that is after Julia, and do Rafe and Julia belong together? Mary Connealy does an excellent job of describing the scenes and building the suspense to keep you turning the pages. You won’t want to put this book down until you finish the last page.

I enjoyed Julia’s fascination with the fossils she found in the cave. Her explanation of how the fish fossils got there was very interesting. She studies geology, and Rafe has no idea what that is. Do they belong together, will they get together, does Julia’ step-mother’s baby survive, does Rafe get his family back together? This book answers all those questions. Julia thinks she can never be loved and Rafe thinks he can never overcome his fear of caves. Can these two learn to trust each other and God? If you are looking for a great mystery to read full of inspiration and romance, this is it!