Beyond the Ashes

Beyond the Ashes

Debra Parham

***** ( 5/5)

As amazon.com suggested, I got a little something for myself while Christmas shopping for my friends and family- and this was it.

The story is about Sohni Vessels and her five “sister friends” and each of their trials and tribulations throughout a year. Everyone has a past, everyone has a story and everyone has a cross that they must bear. Follow Sohni and her friends and the deal with life and each other and look to the Lord and each other to make it though.

This is a good book about girlfriends and I liked because the characters were not clichéd. There were some serious problems in the book and Parham dealt with them and tied them together and to the bible really well. Of course when there are so many characters, sometime you get bogged down and you find the characters you like and want to skip the ones you don’t like.

Overall this was an enjoyable book and highly recommended. I took a lot of lessons to heart myself and I think that when a fiction book helps you do that , without feeling like self help- 5 stars!

Finding Noel

Finding Noel

Richard Paul Evans

***** ( 5/5)!

This novel COMPLETELEY made up for my disappointment with Dear John. This has to be one of my favorite stories- Christmas or not. I read this book and actually shed a tear or two. I picked this up on the way to my hair appointment and finished it before my hair was even dry ( it tied to stop and save it , but I couldn't). You know it had to be good to a) finish it that fast and b) shed a tear or two in the beauty shop.

I’m a fan of The Christmas Box, which my teacher read to my class way back in 7^th grade. The entire class was moved by that story and I usually pull it out and read it when I need to get back in the Christmas Spirit (ok sometimes I cheat and watch the movie). Anyway, so I knew I was in for a treat when I picked up this book, but I had no clue how good a treat.

Mark Smart was at the end his rope one snowy night when he stops off for a cup of coffee and meets Macy Smart. What happens next changes their lives forever. Macy offers Mark a shoulder to cry on and Mark and Macy forge an intense friendship. Weeks later, Mark proposes to Macy, but Macy declines and forces to Mark to comfort some issues of his own. Returning home his stepfather tells him "sometimes it's the fight that makes a thing worth having" as the reason not give up- especially where Macy is concerned. I think that is my favorite line of the book. Each chapter also starts with a beautiful quote.

I absolutely loved this book. I love the Christmas theme, but I think this is a book that transcends it and I see myself re-reading it anytime (who says you can’t have Christmas in July?). This is a great love story and a great Christmas story, and is one of the best of the former and may be the best of the later (besides the original story of Christmas of course!). I think it has even replaced The Christmas Box as my favorite.

Five plus stars! Go get this one! I just passed it on to a coworker and she read it over the weekend and loved it as well!

Dear John

Dear John

Nicholas Sparks

*** (3/5)

John Tyree is the person everyone says should join the military. Rebellious and lost at a youth, Tyree follows this advice and joins the military is transformed by his experience. On leave in his hometown, he meets Savannah Lyn Curtis and what follow is a whirlwind love affair/ courtship. Their vacation ends and John returns to his station in Germany and Savannah returns to school. The two keep up their relationship, waiting for the day when John will return to the U.S. and leave the military. Then Sept. 11. Feeling the call to continue to serve his country, John re-ups. He is then sent to Kuwait and Iraq leaving Savannah behind. Eventually he receives a Dear John from Savannah who has been forced to move toward her destiny. This book culminates when John returns home to bury his father and reunite with Savannah, however, things have changed drastically and one decision has changed everything.

I don’t want to give too much away so, I will just leave it there.

I was rather disappointed by this book- to me it seemed out of Spark’s character and I hated the ending. I was fine with the actual ending, I just felt it was out there and a little unbelievable (although my eyes did glisten). The ending didn’t have to be happy, just better. I did enjoy the relationship between John’s father and Savannah and the portrait that Spark’s painted of him. Besides that, I was rather let down by this book. This isn’t his best, nor is it a great love story. I was moved, but just not enough.

My favorite is still "The Wedding". I also have At First Site & True Believer on my bookshelf to read. I'm saving them for a rainy day.

First Lady: Confessions of a Preachers Wife

First Lady: Confessions of a Preachers Wife
Mikasenjoya

**** (4.9/5)

Aaah- what an interesting title and even though this book is fiction, it seems to portray a pretty accurate description of the life of a preachers wife. Before reading this book, I had some ideas of the kind of drama that being a preachers wife could entail, however Mikasenjoya, did an excellent job of bringing to life.

The First Lady introduced us to Jacqueline Stevens as her family is on the move again when here husband, Pastor Lance Stevens takes a job as Pastor for New Light Church in Southlake, Texas. The book is in the form of Jacqueline’s journal as she navigates life in a new city and new home. The book opens with drama as members of the church are showing the Steven’s their new home, but you can feel the underlying drama and resentment (one of the ladies was a generational member of the church) and it doesn’t stop there. Jacqueline must navigate through life not only as a dutiful wife and mother, but as the First Lady of the Church even where there is evil lurking under the surface trying to wreak havoc.

The characters, situations and dialogue in this book were very real. It felt like a genuine portrayal of a pastor’s wife. I also enjoyed the spiritual and uplifting aspects of it- the prayers and the prayer map were an excellent addition.

This book is a relatively fast read and very enjoyable; A great addition to any home library.

My Invisible Husband

My Invisible Husband
Shelia M. Goss
**** (4/5)

When I saw the titled of this book I rolled my eyes and kept on watching, but something made me go back and pick it up. The back sounds a little harlequin romance (which I have nothing against) but I was looking for a little more substance. I bought it anyway to the ridicule of my friends who still keep teasing me about this lifetime movie I watched way more than I should have for some strange reason, with a similar premise- Invisible Child.

I wasn’t expecting much but the story is about Nikki a woman who is down and out on love after a series of dead end relationships. Sick and tired of family and co-workers asking when she was going to settle down, Nikki concocts a plan (not as farfetched as it sounds either) and…. a husband. While in her mind, the plan is foolproof, she didn’t account for reality and when Bryon Matthews enters her life and agrees so go along with the plan, Nikki & Bryon gets more than they bargain for and begin to fall it love. When some ghosts from the past threaten to disrupt the presence, readers are left to wonder will Nikki’s invisible husband become real.

This book is just as it sounds- light, fun romance reading. The writing is good, characters likeable and well developed and I truly enjoyed this book. As I said the premise is not as far-fetched and crazy as it sounds. Glad I picked this one up and you should too.

Gods in Alabama

Gods in Alabama

Joshlyn Jackson

I picked this book up during a business trip. I wondered into the Books- a- Million near my hotel and this was one of the book club selections. When I picked up this book the first sentence drew me in and I knew that this would be a good one.

“There are Gods in Alabama: Jack Daniels, trucks, high school quarterbacks, big tits and also Jesus”

Arlene Fleet left Possett, Alabama, and hasn’t looked back since. She has carved a somewhat comfortable life for herself teaching at a university in Chicago and she has a seemingly solid relationship with Burr. But when her past comes knocking at her door and a family gathering calls her to return to the place she left she is forced to come to turns with that fact that she has deals with all everything she thought she had run and gotten away from. Throw in southern culture complete with rednecks and the fact that Burr is African American and you get a very interesting read, one that takes you into southern society as it today.

This book was on the reading list for Christian fiction, although I wouldn’t really classify this as one, maybe more like the new “southern lit”. In any book taken place in Alabama, there are references to religion, but I didn’t’ find the book with pushing a heavily religious message or lesson. I think the lesson here stands out no matter what you do or don’t believe. But once again in the south religion Southern Baptists is the king. As a G.R.I.T.S, ( or raised elsewhere by souther parents) I enjoyed seeing parts of my culture- it felt like she was talking about the little town in Georgia where I’m from rather than Alabama. I was also real interested to see how she portrayed the interracial relationship and I felt that she did justice. She described her reaction and the what I've seen as the true reactions of his family and hers- espicially a white girl bringing home a northern black man.

I honestly loved this book. The story is fun, the characters are fun and they felt like people I knew. I felt at home reading this book. Overall, it’s a funny, poignant debut from a promising author. I am looking forward to her next book.

Do You Take This Woman?

Do You Take This Woman?

RM Johnson

*** ( 3/5)

I’m a big fan of Mr. Johnson. Million Dollar Divorce was a great read, this one- not so much.

Even reading the book the premise sounds kind of crazy, but hey as long as I’m reading about drama a not living it.

Carla meets Pete and Wayne one night and both are smitten with her, but Wayne is able to seal the deal and they begin a relationship. However, Wayne’s best friend who saw her first, want her so he decided, tell Carla of Wayne’s infidelities, ending Wayne and Carla and beginning of Peter and Carla . Pete and Carla end up together and are (happily?) married, but then Pete cheats on Carla and admits to it. Carla tells Pete that the only way to even the score is for her to cheat. Pete agrees ( WTH) as long as he chooses the man ( WTH!) and he chooses Wayne ( ??????). Of course Carla and Wayne rekindle their romance and what follows is a slippery descent into hell ( Carla ends up pregnant, there is a fight, someone is arrested…) any situation that begin like this one, will NEVER end well.

What man would allow his wife to sleep with another man- who also happens to be his best friend and her former lover????? NEVER EVER GONNA HAPPPEN! What woman would suggest that in a marriage? Or at least one as “wifely” as Carla is said to be. I know this is fiction, but the reality factor was so off the map, I just kept rolling my eyes.

The drama is good, and you’ll keep turning the pages (if you can get past the craziness and completely unrealistic aspects) and it’s a perect read for an airplane or a hospital/airport kind of wait.

3 stars for unrealistically. 4 stars if you are a drama fiend.

Other RM Johnson ratings from my spreadsheet:

The Harris Family	RM Johnson	3
The Harris Men	RM Johnson	3
Love Fustrations	RM Johnson	4
The Million Dollar Divorce	R.M. Johnson	5
Do you Take this Woman	R.M. Johnson	3

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