Showing posts with label Secular Fiction. Show all posts

Happiness Sold Separately  

Posted by Amanda


ISBN: 9780446699396

Elinor Mackey discovers on accident that her husband has been cheating on her with a physical trainer from their gym. She decides to get them together in the same room to see how they react....then she let's him know it's over. During the time of separation, Elinor remembers the times over the recent months when they were going through infertility treatments, when Ted would try to comfort her and she would shut him out. Now, she realizes that is most likely what drove him away.

Ted, on the other hand, has found himself in love with 2 women. His wife and his mistress. He wants to stay with his wife and loves her immensely, but finds himself missing Gina and her son. But how can that be? How can he make that decision? He is soon able to, when he finds out that El is finally pregnant with their child. They get back together...but can they make it work?

I wasn't particularly happy with this book...mainly because of the lack of morals that the characters seem to have. There were a couple of minor characters in the book that could have been left completely out of it and the story would have been fine. I especially didn't like the ending. I won't spoil it here, but the ending was very unsatisfying. Nothing was resolved and the characters didn't learn anything throughout the story. I like my books wrapped up nice and neat at the end of the story! LOL

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False Fortune  

Posted by Amanda


ISBN: 978-1-59058-363-0
Reviewed for Armchair Interviews
Before she can blink, Hannah Dain of Dain and Daughters Law Firm finds herself maneuvering down an embankment to help the woman stuck in the car that just flew over the cliff and into the lake below. Fighting memories, fear and soreness, Hannah helps the woman out and hears three words before paramedics take her to the hospital: “….should have died.” Haunted by this, she then finds herself being named lead counsel for the plaintiff in a case being handled by her sister. But this case was to be quickly settled…Hannah was only supposed to close the deal. What has she gotten herself into this time? Quickly Hannah realizes nothing is safe: her apartment, her life, her family. Through the determination of a new sister, Hannah follows the evidence and discovers more about herself than she ever realized was there.
False Fortune is number 4 in the Pinnacle Peak Mystery series, and Twist Phelan does a great job of continuing the story. These stories must be read in order, however, because if they are not, there are definite pieces missing leaving the reader to feel as if the story is incomplete. Phelan’s descriptions of the land and the Indian reservation were absolutely on target and she definitely leaves room at the end for another book in this series.

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Facets  

Posted by Amanda


Facets
by Barbara Delinsky
ISBN: 978-0446580274
Reviewed for Armchair Interviews
The St. George mining company is based on people. Helping them. Knowing them. Providing for them. Until the day that John St. George, son of founder Eugene St. George, takes over the company after Eugene’s death. His sister Pamela is now under his control, as he has legal guardianship of her, and she will have no say in any part of the company until she’s 25. Pamela has secretly been meeting with friend, Cutter Reid, who has helped her through many situations regarding John and also helped her become a woman in the truest sense of the word. What will John do when he finds out?
Journalist Hillary Cox is a longtime friend of the family, but also a longtime lover of John’s. When she finds out he’s engaged to be married, she’s furious and is determined to write a book about him that will expose who he really is. But Hillary finds out much more than she’s bargained for…many people have been hurt at the hand of John St. George. And he thinks he is invincible…untouchable. Who is going to prove him wrong? Hillary, with her book? Or Pamela and Cutter with their patience and scheming? And can Hillary deny John (and herself) the physical closeness they find when they are together?
Barbara Delinsky is a wonderful author who truly shows her talents in this novel from early in her career. John St. George as the villain does enough to make even the most ornery person dislike him and want to do him bodily harm! Filled with great passion and many sensual scenes, Facets is a book that will draw you in and make you keep reading to find out what will happen next. A true page-turner!

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This Heavy Silence  

Posted by Amanda


This Heavy Silence
by Nicole Mazzarella
ISBN 1557254257
Amazon.com
Nicole Mazzarella
As a reclusive farmer, Dottie can't figure out why Zela (her oldest and dearest friend) has left Mattie in her care. Dottie is not motherly. Dottie is not friendly. Dottie is not open. Yet for some reason, Zela thought she was the right person. After Mattie comes of age, she leaves the farm declaring she doesn't want to become like Dottie. Slowly Dottie admits her wrongs and does what is best for Mattie - and what Zela would have wanted all along.
I really did NOT enjoy this book. :( It ended VERY abruptly and left many loose ends....and was somewhat hard to follow in the process. Not recommended.....

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When the Bluebonnets Come  

Posted by Amanda

When the Bluebonnets Come
by John Dwyer
ISBN: 978-0976822417
Amazon.com

Reviewed for Armchair Interviews

Katie Shanahan loves her daddy, Ethan. Ethan is the pastor of one of the many churches in Cotton Patch, Texas and is fighting the coming of a 'family entertainment complex'...also known as a gambling and horse-racing complex. Churches are burned and people are hurt. Money seems to be driving force.Katie shows us the way events occurred from her point of view as an 8-year-old child. Sometimes her knowledge is firsthand, sometimes it is what she figures happened. But the end result is the same: her daddy isn't happy with the situation, the town, or the people, and he struggles to find peace through it all. Katie sees how all men fail and fall and make mistakes, and how the same men can make restitution for those mistakes. God is there for all of them and offers grace to repentant hearts. Ethan Shanahan included.

Hearts are softened by the one man who stood up to the rich men--and for what was right. Ethan never wavered, but was gentle in his argument against the new complex. Finally everyone involved sees the light and has a change of heart. In the end, Katie is still living on the family farm with her children, riding horses and showing them the bluebonnets of Texas.

I struggled with this book for several reasons. I find it hard to believe the view of a child seeing or knowing so many conversations. There was so much assumption on her part about what took place that it makes the truth of the story almost unbelievable. Also, it was hard to have a male author writing from the perspective of a little girl. However, the story itself was great.

One of the best things emphasized through the book was that Katie was homeschooled, which is just not seen in many fiction books these days. My favorite line in the book is something Katie said, "When I make it to the upper sanctuary, one of the first things I'm gonna ask God is why He only let me figure out so many things later when I could've used them earlier."

Armchair Interviews says: It is very clear that the point Dwyer makes here is to learn from life's lesson and accept God's grace.

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The Dark Room  

Posted by Amanda

The Dark Room
by Minette Walters
Amazon.com
ISBN: 978-0-307-27709-1

Review for Armchair Interviews

Jinx Kingsley wakes up in a strange room only to be told that she’s been in a head-on collision (with a concrete pole, no less) and is now in a hospital. Apparently, they say, she tried to commit suicide. But Jinx doesn’t believe this. She doesn’t remember anything, but simply can’t make herself believe that she is the type to kill herself. Even though her best friend and her fiancé just ran off together is no reason to off herself. She was happy about it! Wasn’t she??But then the police come to question her and she finds out that her two friends are now dead…and the police suspect her or someone in her family. How can Jinx clear her name when she can’t remember anything? All she knows is this sense of panic and fear. Who could have done this? Who would want to set her up? Can she figure it out before it’s too late? Dr. Alan Protheroe is at the clinic with Jinx and works to help her regain her memory. But in the process, an attempt is made on his life as well and he realizes just how serious this situation is. Can he protect Jinx? He knows she didn’t do it, but can he figure out who did? There has to be more to this than meets the eye.

Minette Walters does a great job of twisting the tale to keep the reader from figuring out the real killer.

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Little Earthquakes  

Posted by Amanda

Little Earthquakes
by Jennifer Weiner
Amazon.com
ISBN: 978-1-4165-2863-0

Jennifer Weiner has done it again with another great novel! Four women are bonded together by their pregnancies and birthing experiences, and continue their friendship during the hard months after. Ayinde deals with a cheating husband while Kelly's husband lost his job and refuses to get another one. Becky has a mother-in-law that just won't quit and a husband who won't stand up to his mother. Through all of this, there is Lia. A woman from Hollywood who follows Becky around, Lia eventually learns to deal with the death of her 10-week old son, Caleb. Can these women be true friends? Can they get through their problems? Follow them all as they discover their own indivual crises that present themselves as Little Earthquakes.

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When Madeline Was Young  

Posted by Amanda


When Madeline Was Young

When Madeline Was Young
by Jane Hamilton
Published by Anchor Books

You grow up, you get married to the woman of your dreams. But then all of a sudden she has a bicycle wreck that leaves her living life with a 6-year-old mentality. What do you do? Do you stay married? What happens to your wife? We find in this touching story that the decision of one man was to take care of his wife as she was his own child. He raised her with his children (from a second marriage) and loved her nonstop.

Mac is this man’s son who grew up thinking that Madeline was his sister. Mac took Madeline to the park, to the ice cream parlor, and defended her against bullies who called her dumb or tried to take advantage of her. Somewhere along the way, Mac learned the truth about Madeline, but still continued to love her like a sister. Mac takes us through his journey as he remembers it when he gets the call that his cousin’s son has been killed in action. Mac tries to decide whether or not to go to the funeral and in doing so, relives his years growing up with Madeline.

Somewhere along the way, I lost the point of the story being Madeline–and it became more about Mac and who he was. Madeline was mentioned occasionally, but mainly as a background character. With the title being about her, I thought the book would have centered more around her rehab, therapies and life after the accident.

Jane Hamilton has a gift in writing that makes it easy to read. While this story is a beautiful one, it was a bit confusing from chapter to chapter. I never knew what decade was being discussed. The story seemed to bounce all over the place with flashbacks that came without warning. It also seems very odd to me when a female writer writes from the male perspective and vice versa.

I think this book could have been better as a finished product if it would have had a little more organization to the story line. The story was there, it just needed some redirection.

Armchair Interview says: A story of extreme caretaking that most would or could never do.

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