Book Reviews

Maiden America by Jeannette DiLouie

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Maiden America (Founding America Book 1) by [DiLouie, Jeannette]

The year is 1776 and the fate of the brand new United States of America is in extreme peril. The British and their Hessian help invade the homes of people in New Jersey.

Seventeen-year-old Abigail Carpenter is caught in the middle. She and her sister-in-law are forced to house and care for five boarding officers. Things get more dangerous as a wounded patriot spy ends up on their doorstep with nowhere else to turn and Abigail finds herself deeply embroiled in the patriot cause, and an unexpected friendship has Abigail searching for answers as to what she is willing to sacrifice if she is faced with a difficult choice.

This historical fiction novel by Jeannette DiLouie is filled with wonderful historical facts about a time that was detrimental to the birth and success of our nation.

Jeannette DiLouie wrote this novel in first person, which as a writer, I find very difficult to do well. Ms. DiLouie did a fine job of it, although I did feel like there were places where Abigail became more of a narrator “telling” some of the story. I didn’t feel there was enough live action and dialogue. However, that’s my personal opinion, which could very well stem from the fact that I don’t read many novels that are written in first person. In any event, it didn’t keep me from liking the story line and the characters.

Ms. DiLouie is very good at creating characters that capture the reader’s interest and make the reader care about them. In combination with Abigail and one or two other characters in the story, the story line also kept my attention as I love history. These are the two things that kept me turning the pages.

I would like to see Ms. DiLouie write at least a novella as a follow-up because I would really like to know more about a particular relationship in the story.

If you like American history and strong, interesting female characters, I think you’d like Maiden America by Jeannette DiLouie.

The Adulteress by Jeannette DiLouie

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Back Cover Blurb:

Living in 1st Century Jerusalem, Keziah considers herself to be a Law-abiding Jew, devoted to appearances and propriety. When her parents announce her betrothel to an older priest who cares nothing for her, however, her worldview crumbles and she decides to create her own rules. But her new focus on the immediate over the eternal leads her into further trouble until the day she comes face to face with a universal story too inspiring to ignore.

Loyal to Rome but ruing his decision to join the legions, Demetrius is sure he hates absolutely everything about Judea. That is until the day he meets Keziah. Drawn to her from the start, he ends up fixating on her as some sort of salvation he has to have. Yet while he desperately wants to protect her from her abusive husband, he only ends up putting her in extreme danger; and himself down a precarious path he never could have predicted.

My Review:

First of all, I found this cover very intriguing, and though I’m not one who reads a book based on the front cover, I will say that the front cover of The Adulteress definitely drew me to the book. The blurb on the back cover cinched the deal and I was hooked.

I will admit that even though both front cover and back cover blurb grabbed my interest, I still approached the book with some caution and skepticism because I was well aware that it is a self-published book, and I have read many books that have been self-published or published by vanity presses that are of very poor quality and could have used a good editor’s eye to help the writer whip them into shape before publication.

So imagine my surprise when, from the beginning of the very first page of The Adulteress, Jeannette DiLouie captured my interest and held it captive until the very last sentence on the very last page.

I rarely give a book a five star rating because, as a writer, I believe it is important to continue learning and improving with each book, but once in a while I read a book that I believe the author has done a top-notch job on and couldn’t have done much, if anything, to improve it, and this is one of those books. Therefore, The Adulteress by Jeannette DiLouie has earned a 5 star rating from me.

I highly commend Jeannette DiLouie for producing a top quality book in the self-publishing market; for taking the time to have one or more than one other person/editor read her book and help her to be sure her writing had no glaring mistakes or typos that drive people like me crazy because those things always distract me from the story.

Ms. DiLouie did an excellent job of placing me in the setting of this story. I was drawn into Jerusalem and as Keziah’s story unfolded I found myself experiencing strong emotions: anger, frustration, and bewilderment with her parents; sympathy, fear and concern for Keziah; and the emotions continued throughout the story as Keziah’s life intertwined with the life of Demetrius and other important characters.

My concern for Keziah, and later, Demetrius, kept me turning pages as I hoped that by the end of the story, each would have their problems resolved and find some happiness or contentment in place of their pain and suffering.

Ms. DiLouis also created a situation in Keziah’s story that, though very familiar with the Bible, I didn’t see coming because I was so caught up in Keziah’s emotions. It made for a surprise followed by the thought “How come I didn’t see that coming?” This made the book even more enjoyable.

Jeannette DiLouie did a wonderful job with making Jerusalem real, bringing the 1st Century to life and describing scenes in such a vivid way that I was there, in Jerusalem, witnessing all of these happenings, and some made me chuckle, some made me want to give certain characters a good talking to, and others brought tears slipping down my cheeks.

This is one of those books whose characters and story will stay with me for a long time to come. It’s the kind of book I enjoy so thoroughly and love so much that I hate to see it end, and yet am relieved to reach the last page so that I won’t have to stay up late for one more night.

The Adulteress is filled with living, breathing characters set in a time of Biblical history and truth that reaches to your very soul as you read.

I was astounded to find that this is Ms. DiLouie’s first published book, and the fact that it is self-published was also surprising. It is definitely the best written self-published book I have read to date, and I highly recommend it. It is a story of abuse, romance, bad choices, pain and regret, suffering, real love and true forgiveness.

 

The Captain Takes a Wife by Doris Durbin

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I received a free copy of The Captain Takes a Wife by Doris Durbin for my honest review for BookLook Blogger.

The war is over and Captain Harry Richardson is looking forward to starting a new life in a small town as a pastor. He also hopes to find a wife sometime soon. His journey to the little mountain town turns quite interesting when he meets Sarah Franklin and realizes she’s in some kind of trouble.

She begs him for his help, and he cannot refuse. After all, she’s quite an attractive woman. So, as he tries to help her during the journey, they seem to meet trouble around every corner.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It was suspenseful and romantic. There were unexpected twists, and just when I thought I knew who the head bad guy was, I found out I didn’t.

The plot, character development and dialogue all worked well to move the story forward without slowing down to much or leaving me too breathless for too long. There were some sweet, tender moments to balance out the threats and suspense, yet the pace  didn’t waiver.

Descriptions were vivid and painted pictures in my mind. There was even some humor at places. The  only thing I question is the setting. The place was well described and explained, but the story is to be taking place in 1875, and yet, I felt like I was in present day more often than 1875. That didn’t hinder my interest or the fact that I liked the book, but it did cross my mind a few times.

I’ve been reading books published by West Bow Press for quite a while and often find them lacking in many areas, so it was refreshing and delightful to read a book published by West Bow Press that I felt was quality fiction. So kudos to Doris Durbin for writing a book of good quality that I can honestly say I would highly recommend to anyone who enjoys a romantic suspense story.

16 Lighthouse Road by Debbie Macomber

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I have waited almost three years to finally get to reading this series by Debbie Macomber. My mother had open heart surgery almost three years ago and it was a very difficult road, and when she was in a nursing home for rehabilitation, I visited one evening and she had the T.V. on and I caught the tail end of a show that grabbed my attention. I watched the credits roll and saw that the show was based on the “Cedar Cove” series of books by Debbie Macomber. I was thrilled! We don’t have T.V. at our house, by choice, and I would much rather read a book, so I was on a mission, from that point on, to obtain the entire series, which I did last Spring, and I just finished reading 16 Lighthouse Road, the first book of the series, and the first book I read in 2017.

So, here’s what I thought. I recently was talking with a couple of ladies I know who love to read as much as I do, and one of them mentioned a book that she had begun to read but couldn’t finish because it reminded her too much of a soap opera, and that was my thought as I was reading this book. A soap opera in the fact that it follows the lives of many characters with everyday, real life struggles like most people in the current era; characters who all live in a small town and know one another and one another’s business. However, unlike a soap opera, it’s not the same people struggling with the exact same issues over and over again, and some of these characters actually work to resolve their problems.

I love the characters and Ms. Macomber did a great job of creating characters who grab your heart and make you care about them and want to see them rise above their struggles to find happiness, love, success, God, whatever it is they are looking for. I did not find the book so soap opera like that I’m not interested in reading the rest of the series. As a matter of fact, I care about these characters and want to see what happens in their lives and if the ones I’m routing for the most find love and happiness that requires work (for that is what is real).

I will say, however, that I was quite disappointed to find that this book had some profanity and one sexually explicit scene, though it was between a husband and wife and was a relatively short scene. I don’t believe that a Christian author has to include those things in their books. I believe it is a compromise and that they lose some integrity in doing so. Those are my personal thoughts and beliefs. I’ve read that Debbie Macomber is a Christian, but I noted that the book was not published by a Christian publisher and I’m sure the publisher wanted Ms. Macomber to include such things and she complied.

I completely understand Ms. Macomber’s desire to publish with a mainstream publishing company because I, too, prefer to not have my writing specifically labeled “Christian” because that label seems to carry a negative connotation in secular society and will keep someone from reading such a book because they don’t want to read a book that’s “preachy”. Ms. Macomber’s book is not preachy and does not speak of God, although it does include at least one character involved in church and has several characters with good, strong morals. The book also includes characters who seem to have no scruples. It’s the kind of book that all readers can relate to because each reader should be able to relate to at least one character in the story.

I do look forward to reading the rest of the Cedar Cove series because some of these characters have already become like dear friends and I wish them well.

However, I will be reading other books in between the books in this series because this is a large series — something like 14 books, and my TBR list is MASSIVE.

 

The Hungering Dark: Awakening by Stephen R. Clark

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I received a free copy of The Hungering Dark: Awakening from BookLook Bloggers in order to write my honest review.

The darkness feels alive one evening as Rat is helping his sister finish up the dinner dishes. It’s creepy. The next day his father goes to do some work for an elderly couple living nearby. What happens there leads to the mystery of a puzzle box and the power inside it.

This story began with suspense and had me wondering and guessing at what was going on. Stephen R. Clark created some very interesting characters whose lives I quickly became interested in. The suspense and action held my interest and the mystery of the puzzle box and the power it contained was quite intriguing. The characters who came to town to help figure out the mystery or to try to get their hands on the box were an interesting bunch and it was sometimes hard to figure out which were the good guys and which could be the bad guys.

Sadly, in the final third of the book, the mystery sadly diminished as the author began to tell the reader everything instead of continuing to lay clues to the end. There was no more suspense or any piquing of my curiosity in the final third of the story. Even the action seemed slower and the danger was much less intense. The author no longer wrote any buildup to the big finale.

I enjoyed the book but was disappointed in the ending. I like a story like this to keep me guessing right to the end and that didn’t happen in The Hungering Dark: Awakening.

Book Review: Destiny Maker by Melissa Dugger

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Book Description

Katie is plagued with visions she can’t understand. It’s not until she enters the spirit realm to find her missing dad that the pieces start to fall into place. A reaping of souls has begun and Semonic, the ruler of Dylonia, won’t stop until every soul belongs to the darkness. Katie must decide whether her soul can accept her destiny. But only the Destiny Maker knows if she will lose her life and possibly her heart.

My Review

I received a free copy of Destiny Maker by Melissa Dugger in exchange for my honest review from BookLook Blogger. Destiny Maker was published by West Bow Press.

The beginning of this book definitely caught my attention and made me want to keep reading, but honestly, after a while, the story seemed repetitive and seemed to drag. Katie travels to another country, alone, to try and save her father, just after her high school graduation, without her mother’s knowledge. She has never been to the country, where her father has gone missing, before.

Ms. Duggar attempted to create a world where evil and the dark spirits are holding souls as well as humans in either their power or what seems to be a state of limbo. Though there are some hints at Christianity, I felt that it was much more of a  tribal voodoo type religious realm. Even Katie does not convince me that she has a strong faith in God, which makes me wonder how she could possibly defeat the forces of evil.

Then there is a teen love triangle thrown into the mix, but one of the characters involved is conveniently removed.

When I began reading this book, I had no idea that it is supposed to be the first book in a three book series, so imagine my surprise when the ending comes quite abruptly with nothing resolved and none of the real action having taken place. Therefore I was quite disappointed with the ending because I felt like nothing really happened in the entire thirty-one chapters. The author spent entirely too much time working on the romance and there was very little action. A plan to fight the evil/dark spirits was constantly talked about and there were several times that the fact that they were running out of time was mentioned, but nothing ever really happened.

I believe the author could have completed the story in one, maybe two books, if she had included the action in the story. There were also quite a few spelling and grammatical errors throughout the book and the author changed point of view back and forth between two, sometimes three, characters from paragraph to the next, which caused me to have to reread a paragraph now and then to figure out whose head I was in.

I doubt that I will read the rest of this series if it comes out. I tried to find information or a blog or something by or about Melissa Dugger and her progress on the series, but was unable to find anything, and the fact that this book has been sitting on the West Bow Press BookLook Blogger Book Review list for so long makes me wonder if this series will ever be finished.

I think that Ms. Dugger has a good idea with this story and she has done a good job in creating her main characters. I just didn’t think the pace of the story was fast enough or that there was enough action.

Things I’ll Never Forget by James M. Dixon

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This is not my usual genre to read. I am not a big nonfiction fan, let alone stories about war, but Mr. Dixon did such a great job writing this story that he drew me in and held my attention. I read it quickly because it was an easy read.

War is not a pretty subject, so I didn’t expect to like this story. I was afraid that I would not be able to stomach it or that it would cause me to shed many tears. So, imagine my surprise when I found myself enjoying this story because Mr. Dixon tells this story so personally. Of course, it was personal for him. He was there, but through his writing, he “showed” me what it is like to be a Marine, and most specifically, what it was like to be a Marine in Vietnam.

I was a very young child during the Vietnam War, but I have heard about how badly the men and women who served in Vietnam were treated when they returned and I never understood that. I still don’t, because I am grateful for men and women who are brave enough to serve in such circumstances to aid people in other countries (or at least try to), and to protect us and our freedoms.

Maybe participating in the war in Vietnam was a bad decision, but it was our government’s decision, and they were going to send people over, whether they wanted to go or not. After all, that’s what “the draft” is. So to treat those who served badly upon their return by calling them names, spitting upon them, etc. seems way so disrespectful and cruel to me after the horrors many of them saw and experienced in Viet Nam.

I don’t like war and would rather that we never have to participate in it, but sometimes it is necessary. I’m sorry for the digression from the book review, but Mr. Dixon shared about how poorly they were treated when they returned and it got my hackles up.

Mr. Dixon shared how hard it was to be in Viet Nam, to see friends die, to kill innocent people because you couldn’t really tell who was really innocent and who was working for the Viet Cong. Yes, war is ugly, but Mr. Dixon did a good job of showing what it’s like to be in war in a tasteful, almost gentle way.

I really liked the way that Mr. Dixon began each chapter with a paragraph or two about something in his recent life and then he tied it to or related it to his time and experience in Viet Nam.

Mr. Dixon also shared stories of some good times that he experienced while in the Marines, stories that were humorous, stories that made these Marines real, and when some of them died, the reader felt the loss and the heartbreak, but these Marines didn’t believe that they were in Viet Nam for no good reason and they believed they would help the Vietnamese people. The fact that that the war was lost despite their best efforts, I’m sure was hard to accept.

One of the stories, Mr. Dixon told was both suspenseful and a bit humorous. It had to do with a water buffalo who took a disliking to Mr. Dixon. You’ll have to read the book to find out the whole story.

I do have to issue a couple of words of caution: Because this IS a story of war, there is some graphic violence, some things that you will find disgusting/offensive, and quite a bit of profanity. I don’t like to read books with profanity, but I know that military personnel use profanity and I understand why it’s in this book. Don’t let these things stop you from reading a book that will help you to see what being a Marine in Viet Nam was really like. Reading is knowledge and knowledge hopefully makes us wiser and more understanding.

I recommend this book to any American adult, even if it’s not your favorite genre to read. It’s worth the read.

Long Way Gone by Charles Martin

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I’m sorry, no poetry again today. I will do my best to bring poetry back next week.

 

I received this book Free to write a review for Harper Collins and BookLook Blogger.

Book Description

“No matter where you go, no matter whether you succeed or fail, stand or fall, no gone is too far gone. You can always come home.”

At the age of eighteen, musician and songwriter Cooper O’Connor took everything his father held dear and drove 1,200 miles from home to Nashville, his life riding on a six-string guitar and the bold wager that he had talent. But his wager soon proved foolish.

Five years after losing everything, he falls in love with Daley Cross, an angelic voice in need of a song. But just as he realizes his love for Daley, Cooper faces a tragedy that threatens his life as well as his career. With nowhere else to go, he returns home to the remote Colorado mountains, searching for answers about his father and his faith.

When Daley shows up on his street corner twenty years later, he wonders if it’s too late to tell her the truth about his past—and if he is ready to face it himself.

A radical retelling of the prodigal son story, Long Way Gone takes us from tent revivals to the Ryman Auditorium to the tender relationship between a broken man and the father who never stopped calling him home.

My Review

I never heard of Charles Martin nor read any of his books until I received Long Way Gone, but Wow, what a book. I will definitely be looking for Charles Martin’s books after reading this one. Mr. Martin created characters that were so real and I could feel their pain, their loneliness; I could dream their dreams. He also did an excellent job in describing his settings in a way that brought them to life. The story is a story of several different types of love and the power of all of them. This was the most well-written book I have read in quite some time.

I felt this book was so well written. It was intelligent and literary. I learned a lot about music and guitars from this story as well. The book has a lot of memorable quotes.

This story is a modern story that teaches an age-old lesson, and it touched my heart deeply. Three chapters from the end, tears just streamed down my face, and for me, any book that hits me with such emotion is a winner! I highly recommend this book to EVERYONE!

Oh, and one last thing, I LOVE the cover!

A Disappointing Giveaway and What’s New for the New Year

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I must say that I am stunned!  My giveaway posts earned me some new followers, and to all of you who are now following me, I extend a hearty welcome!  I hope you will find many posts here that you will find enjoyable, inspirational and/or helpful.  However, the requirements for a winner for the giveaway was that people were supposed to leave comments on my giveaway post letting me know how long they have been a follower on this blog and what they would like to see more or less of, and, to my chagrin, the giveaway post received not one single comment.  Therefore, I am disappointed to announce:  the winner is . . . No One!

Maybe it was the books I chose to give away.  Maybe they were too old.  Maybe no one who reads this blog is a fan of Mary Higgins Clark.  Maybe you don’t read Christmas mysteries.  I don’t know what happened, but I never thought that “giving something away” — for free would fail.  But alas, it has.  I will, however, try not to take it personally and will attempt to have another giveaway at a much later date.

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Now for the happier, more positive item — What’s New for the New Year?  Well, I know I did this a couple of weeks before the new year, but my blog has a new look.  I think it’s cleaner, crisper and sharper.  I hope you all like it too!  Also, the photo in my blog header, behind by blog title box, is one I took while we were on vacation on Chincoteague and Assateague Islands in October 2014.  I thought it went well with the new look.

Also, if you scroll down the page and look at the things listed on my right sidebar, you will notice a button for BookLook Bloggers.  I have decided that since I love to read so much, and reading and writing go hand-in-hand, AND since I enjoy writing book reviews anyway, that I would join BookLook Bloggers.  I should be receiving my first book soon, so I hope you will look forward to upcoming book reviews here at Kelly F Barr.

I was excited to receive a year-end report from WordPress on my blog.  I don’t believe I received such a report at the end of 2013, so this must be new as well, and I found it very helpful to see what my readers (you) like to read.  I hope to use this information to keep you all reading here.

I was also shocked and thrilled to look at my follower count today.  The last time I was here, my follower count was just under 90, and I was hoping to hit 100 by 2015, and here it is, January 1, 2015, and my follower count now says 198!  I am not sure if that’s due to the fact that I updated some settings and have the blog automatically connected to my other social media sites now, instead of me simply posting links to all of my posts on Facebook and Twitter, or if the follower counter could somehow be wrong.  But, I hope that it’s accurate and that the count continues to climb.  I don’t worry too much about numbers, but I don’t look at my followers as numbers — I look at them as my readers; readers I hope will come to love what I write and spread the word that what I write is worth reading, because, as a writer, my desire is that others would find value in what I write.

In 2015, I will also continue to keep you up-to-date on my writing journey.  In the past month, I have submitted two nonfiction short pieces for consideration; one to a children’s/family devotional magazine and one for possible publication in an upcoming book of inspirational short nonfiction stories.  I will keep you posted on any response I receive for these submissions.  Just having submitted a couple of things makes me feel like a real writer and it motivates me to keep writing.  I have a few more short nonfiction pieces I want to write and submit to other locations soon, and I will certainly keep writing my fiction.

I saw a friend on Monday who asked me if I’m still writing.  I told her that yes, I am, and that, as a matter of fact, I had recently begun submitting things, hoping to gain some recognition and maybe earn a little money for my writing as well.  I was so blessed by the next words that came out of her mouth, “Well, I don’t know why someone wouldn’t pick you up.  You’re good.”  Such words of encouragement are a light to my writer’s soul.