Silenced By: Dani Pettrey

Do you live in fear? Does your life revolve around what you are afraid of? Kayden McKenna knows all about fear. From living a healthy lifestyle because her mother died to not letting herself fall in love, Kayden’s life is controlled by fear. What happens when someone tries to kill her? Can she trust Jake to take care of her?

Jake Westin’s past is now revealed and he uses his investigative skills to figure out who killed the climber. He is paired with Kayden since she has extensive climbing experience. Can he protect Kayden when he finds out the killer is someone he knows? How will Jake handle knowing Kayden could be killed like his wife was? Can Kayden and Jake forge a future together over events in their past?

Pick up this book today for an engaging romantic suspense. Each character is like a family member. You won’t want the book to end and have to say goodbye to them. Packed with action, suspense, and intrigue, once you start this book, you won’t be able to put it down.

This is another great book by Dani Pettrey! Kayden must come to the realization that God will take care of her and give her the courage and grace she needs to face life’s situations. Jake has to face his past and work through his fear of events repeating themselves.

Silenced is book four in the Alaskan Courage series. This is Jake and Kayden’s story. You can read the books in any order, but to fully understand the characters I would read them in order. An absolute must read!! I received this book free in exchange for an honest review.

The God First Life By: Stovall Weems

I first picked this book up to read because of what I read on the back cover: “The God-first Life will be a standard resource for believers and churches around the world for years to come.” With a declaration like that, how could I pass up what this book had to say? Once I started reading this book, I read it for all the advice, tips, and speaking to my heart that the book held within its pages.

What is the secret to blessing and freedom? It all starts with the decision to put God first. It’s not as simple as it sounds, but it’s as simple as putting God first in everything. This book is based on the scripture: “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matt. 6:33).

Do you experience anxiety, worry, anger, disorder? Put God first and see these things disappear. When order is restored, blessing is released. When you put God first, you experience peace, security, freedom. This book explains how worship connects us to God, how prayer and devotions reveal Jesus’ identity, and how tithing can yield greater blessing in your life.

Some tips included in the book: Rest comes from trusting God for our future. Jesus is showing us how to reach true greatness in his kingdom-by serving. If we don’t open the Scriptures for ourselves, we won’t be able to see Jesus for who he is.

I underlined many passages in this book. This book spoke to my heart and encouraged changes in my own life.

“By seeking God’s kingdom and righteousness first, we can know and experience freedom in every part of our lives. It comes from recognizing first and foremost that Christ lives in us. We have been given a new spirit, and with that spirit, incredible power-the power to overcome our past, to walk in fearless peace in the present, and to look to the future with joy, trusting God has a plan and purpose for our life.” Pick up this book today to totally transform your Christian walk and turn your life around. This is definitely one book that I will return to time and again.

I received this book free from Booklook Bloggers in exchange for an honest review.

A Broken Kind of Beautiful By: Katie Ganshert

If you only read one book this year, this is it. Katie Ganshert does a wonderful job showing how God can take someone who is broken and makes her whole and beautiful in Him. Fear not, for I have called you; I have called you by name, you are mine. Isaiah 43:1. A Broken Kind of Beautiful is a powerful message to everyone who has been hurt, broken, or feels unloved. If God is for you, who can be against you?

Do you struggle with feelings of loneliness? Have you been hurt? Do you feel unloved? This is the book for you. Ivy Clark has it all. A modeling career, a beautiful face, but she doesn’t feel loved. Her father doesn’t want to have anything to do with her. Her mother can’t stop her addiction long enough to care for her. So, she puts her heart on hold and takes control of her own life, blocking out all the love, joy, and peace. She doesn’t want to be hurt anymore. Sometimes life hurts; but God still loves us. And He puts people in our lives that love us if we will just let them in. All of us are beautiful, empty shells, until we let Jesus in to fill us.

Have you ever had someone that really loved you and sought you out and made sure you were okay? God is calling you in the same way. He loves you so much and wants you safe in His love. After reading this book, I was filled with peace, joy, and love. God wants all of that for His children. We just have to accept it, as Ivy did. God sees behind all the layers we build to hide our true selves from everybody else. But God still sees us, all of us, knows us, and loves us.

I could feel Ivy’s brokenness, but with her I experienced her being made whole and beautiful by God. God may not answer our prayers the way we think He should, but he knows and cares for us. He has only the best for His children.

Pick up this book today and enjoy Ivy’s journey from brokenness to beautiful. God gathered all the broken pieces and made something new. He can for you too. I received an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Spoken For Embracing Who You Are and Whose You Are By: Robin Jones Gunn and Alyssa Joy Bethke

Every teenage girl should read this book! And adults too. This is the book to read. Do you realize how much God loves us? Do you understand how much he wants to spend time with us? While reading this book, I came to understand that God pursues us. He draws us to him, because he loves us so much. Are you looking for someone who will take the role of the hero in your life and love you, deeply love you, not for what you do or how you look, but simply for who you are? This is the book to read to fully understand God’s love for us.

Feelings of being unwanted, lonely, unlovable, unworthy, these feelings are felt in earthly relationships. But God pursues us, the man he had handcrafted so meticulously from the earth’s dust and the woman he had sculpted so precisely from Adam, for Adam. He wants us, he loves us, and he cherishes us.

After each chapter is a list of questions to work through to deepen the points made in that chapter. Also, there is a list of verses from the Bible What God Says About You. My favorite one: My thoughts toward you are as countless as the grains of sand on the seashore (Psalm 139:17-18). He thinks about us, and not just occasionally. More times than we can count!

The choice is up to you. Will you accept God’s love today? The moment you believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior and begin to follow him, he sets you free from sin, selfishness, wrath, eternal separation from God, mistakes, guilt, shame, and your past so you can live fully for Him. This book is written for teenage girls, but anyone can learn so much from it. I caught myself crying several times while reading. Life is hard, relationships can tear us down, but once we accept God’s love for us, we get to live out God’s unfolding love story.

I received this book free from Blogging For Books in exchange for an honest review.

May Leads the Way: Trouble Near Tofino By: KC Frantzen

The third book in the series, May Leads the Way, continues the mission of May the K9 Spy. May is closer to capturing Rukan, her former owner. Looking for a dog adventure? Look no further!

May gets home from Paris, and she and her family must go to the shed before a missile is launched that could cause communications and infrastructure in our country to be destroyed. While they are secluded under the shed, May discovers that even in the dark times, God is faithful. When you don’t know what is going on, God is in control.

May finds a way out of the shelter after they get barricaded in, but HQ has a mission for her and is called away before the rest of her family escapes. As May is deployed she learns from the general that you fail when you try to live on your own. With God on your side, you can do all things. She is used as bait to capture Rukan. Can she do it? Can May follow instructions and get the job done to save the country? You’ll have to read to find out!

For another high-energy espionage mission, pick up this book today! May the K9 spy is a definite must read for anyone who enjoys a great mystery, a Schnauzer who protects and serves her country with neat gadgets and helpful critters, while learning God’s truths for our own lives. The Creator’s plan is already in the works. If you’re alive, there is a plan for your life. In this mission, May must discover if she has enough grace to forgive others. No one is perfect. But to truly forgive, releasing resentment, brings peace to our own lives and it is this forgiveness that we wish others to extend to us.

This series is full of mystery and mahem, God’s truths for our lives, and May the K9 spy finding her way. Can’t wait to read more adventures!

I received this book free in exchange for an honest review.

May Finds A Way: Peril in Paris By: KC Frantzen

May Finds A Way is the second book in the series. You could read these as stand alones, but you’d miss May progressing and learning to be a K9 spy.

In this second story about May the K9 spy, May is going through boot camp so she can nab Rukan, her abusive owner in the first story. She is hoping to graduate top of her class, but then something happens, which then triggers something else, and the training session doesn’t go as expected for May. She gets assigned to airport duty for her first assignment. May has to sniff suitcases.

The adventure begins when May identifies Rukan’s suitcase in the airport. May ends up on a plane heading to Paris and teams up with a cat and lonely boy. May’s antics and events that happen while she is in Paris makes this book a must read. Can a dog find her way around the Metro, being led by a cat and helping other animals in distress? Absolutely! Pick up this book for a high-energy chase through Paris. And learn some new words as well.

May figures out that things happen for a reason, the Creator has a plan for each of us, no matter what we’re going through, God hears us and cares for us. Even if we mess up or things don’t go as planned, God is still in control. When May gets her gear together, the Kevlar vest, the bugs, and tracking and listening devices, it was like being pulled into an espionage movie. Very satisfying end for a job well done!

I received this book free in exchange for an honest review.

May On the Way: How I Became a K9 Spy By: KC Frantzen

I loved this first book in the May the K9 Spy series. What do you get with a dog that won’t be deterred, a past that shapes who you are, and a family that loves you? A wonderful adventure story about a fun-loving dog. Once you start this series, you won’t want to stop reading!

Ever wondered what a dog is thinking? In this series by KC Frantzen, May the K9 spy gives her account of what is happening. May has been abused by her previous owners, but then new owners come to give her a new life. This reminded me of God making us a new creature when we get saved. The past is forgiven and forgotten and all things become new. Even for May, she has to learn new ways of dealing with things, not to react like she did. A new friend recognizes her abilities and trains her to be a K9 Spy. As with us, God equips the ones he’s called. May has the exact attributes needed to become a K9 spy. She is trying to find her purpose in life. Isn’t that what we all are trying to do? Find our way in life. May has fun while doing it.

God gives us a new life. Through God’s grace, the past can be overcome. Pick up this book today and enjoy May’s adventures. Can’t wait to read more by this author!

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.