Book Review: Plan B by Pete Wilson

Saturday 29 May, 2010 By 3 Comments

Title: Plan B: What Do You Do When God Doesn’t Show Up the Way You Thought He Would?
Author: Pete Wilson
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Publication Date: May 4, 2010
Paperback: 256 pages
ISBN: 978-0849946509
Genre: Spirituality

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About the Book:

Learn how God often does His best work in our most hopeless situations.

What do you do when a shattered dream or an unmet expectation causes you to turn to Plan B? Pastor and author Pete Wilson uses real life stories of disappointments and tragedy along with biblical stories such as David, Joseph, and Ruth to help readers face their own overwhelming situations and through them to learn God is working to help them surrender their plans to receive His. He identifies our common responses to difficulties and offers hope, helping us to

Understand what God might be up to See how surrender helps us to receive God’s plan Embrace the community of believers Reconcile a God of love with a life of tragedy and suffering Wilson points readers to the cross as not just the starting line but the centerpiece of our stories with God where we turn in our Plan B and find the undeniable relationship between crisis and true spiritual transformation.

My Review:

Life does not always go as planned which is where Plan B By Pete Wilson comes into play. Through the use of Biblical and modern references, Wilson assures the reader that God does not leave a person in need; rather He is always present, even if one does not see it at the time. Many would be hard pressed to view the loss of a job, a home, or loved one as a blessed event, yet Wilson gently guides the reader toward a healing and more positive approach to some of life’s curve balls. Wilson clearly demonstrates to the reader in a clear and concise manner that God is always present and that there are solutions, but one must be open to hearing them as well as seeing them when these solutions present themselves, and although they may not be what we hoped for or when we wished they would appear, yet appear they do. Plan B offers the reader hope, guidance and insight into some of the darker moments one may experience, without the added preachiness or “have you been saved” tones other books have used. I found Plan B to be an extremely enlightening book and I would recommend Plan B to anyone going through a rough patch in their life.

I received a complimentary copy of Plan B by Pete Wilson from Thomas Nelson as for review. Receiving a copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

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Book Review: Plain Pursuit by Beth Wiseman

Monday 8 March, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Title: Plain Pursuit (A Daughters of Promise Novel)
Author: Beth Wiseman
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Publication Date: April 28, 2009
Paperback: 320 pages
ISBN: 978-1595547194
Genre: Fiction

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About the Book:

When Carley Marek takes a hiatus from her job, she leaves Texas and visits her friend Lillian in Amish country, Pennsylvania. Carley isn’t there long when she meets Lillian’s charming—but shunned—brother-in-law, Dr. Noah Stoltzfus.

When Lillian’s stepson is stricken with a life-threatening disease, Noah is forbidden to intervene, but he resolves to do whatever it takes to save the boy’s life. Carley finds herself caught in the middle of her feelings for Noah and her loyalty to Lillian. And to further complicate matters, everyone around her is talking about God–a God she doesn’t know and who appears to be punishing her for her past mistakes.

When her hiatus is up, Carley must make a life-changing decision: stay and face the path that is set before her, or flee and leave the only love she’s ever known.

My Review:

Plain Pursuit is a delightfully heart-warming novel that draws the reader into the Amish community. Carley Marek is a journalist who has just been getting by, due to personal losses as of late. To compound on her deep sadness and frustrations, her boss invites her to lunch to inform her she will be taking a paid month’s leave to rest-up and rejuvenate herself. Carley is not pleased, but the alternative is unacceptable. Carley, after being surrounded by her own grief in Houston for the past 6 months, packs up for a month long vacation in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Her dear friend Lillian not too long ago converted to become Amish, married a widower and recently gave birth to a baby girl. Lillian and her husband Samuel Stolzfus have welcomed Carley into their home along with their 13-year-old son David and new baby, Anna. One evening David needs to be rushed to the hospital and is treated by Dr. Noah, who unbeknownst to Lillian, David and Carley, is Samuel’s shunned brother and he holds news about David’s health. However, being shunned they are forbidden to reach out to him. While Carley has her own demons to deal with and the death of her mother on Christmas, Dr. Noah struggles with his own missing of his family, while Lillian and Samuel must deal with David’s illness. Plain Pursuit is a beautifully written novel of love, loss, and hope. The novel is filled with a delightful cast of characters and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the various families and look forward to making David’s favourite cookies, Raisin Puffs, the recipe for which is in the back of the book. Plain Pursuit makes for a delightful evening of reading and would be a delightful choice for a book discussion group.

I received a complimentary copy of Plan Pursuit by Beth Wiseman from Thomas Nelson as part of the tour. Receiving a copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

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The Sweet By and By by Sara Evans and Rachel Hauck: Book Review and Tour

Tuesday 5 January, 2010 By 4 Comments

Title: The Sweet By and By
Author: Sara Evans and Rachel Hauck
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Publication Date: January 5, 2010
Hardcover: 272 pages
ISBN: 978-1595544896
Genre: Fiction

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About the Book:

A redemptive story from multi-platinum recording artist Sara Evans.

Jade Fitzgerald left the pain of her past in the dust when she headed out for college a decade ago. Now she’s thriving in her career and glowing in the light of Max Benson’s love.

But then Jade’s hippie mother, Beryl Hill, arrives in Whisper Hollow, Tennessee, for Jade’s wedding along with Willow, her wild younger sister. Their arrival forces Jade to throw open the dark closets of her past–the insecurity of living with a restless, wandering mother, the silence of her absent father, and the heart-ripping pain of first-love’s rejection.

Turns out Beryl has a secret of her own. She needs reconciliation with her oldest daughter before illness takes her life. In the final days leading to the wedding, Jade meets the One who shows her that the past has no hold on her future. With a little grace, they’ll meet in the middle, maybe even before that sweet by and by.

My Review:

The Sweet By and By is a beautiful and tender novel written by Sara Evans and Rachel Hauck. As Jade and Max approach their upcoming wedding, a time that should be overflowing with happiness, Jade begins to worry that she is not deserving of such happiness and that the skeletons of her past my not stay hidden. Jade’s fiancé, Max, is an esteemed lawyer from an elite and well-respected family, while Jade’s family is fractured. Jade’s father walked out on his family when she was eight, leaving her and her brother Aiden often in the care of their grandparents. As the years passed, her mother, a true 60s hippie, remarried but never abandoned her longing to travel, Beryl left the children with her mother and Jade was often left to care for her baby sister Willow. With the wedding only 5 weeks away, Jade can no longer wait, she must decide if she can put her differences with her mother aside and invite her to the wedding. Lives are forever changed when Beryl and Willow arrive in Whisper Hollow, Tennessee three weeks before the wedding. The Sweet By and By is a wonderfully written story told by both Beryl and Jade, and by touching on the past as well as the present the reader is able to better understand each woman and their decisions. Evans and Hauck write with such raw emotion and truth one cannot help but care for the characters. The Sweet By and By reminds the reader that every obstacle can be overcome, if confronted and dealt with through love and compassion.

I received a free copy of The Sweet By and By by Sara Evans and Rachel Hauck from Thomas Nelson as part of the tour. Receiving a copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

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Green by Ted Dekker A Book Review

Tuesday 3 November, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Title: Green Book Zero: The Beginning and the End
Author: Ted Dekker
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Publication Date: September 1, 2009
Hardcover: 392 pages
ISBN: 978-1595542885
Genre: Suspense/Christian

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Synopsis from the Publisher:

At Last . . . The Circle Reborn

The story of how Thomas Hunter first entered the Black Forest and forever changed our history began at a time when armies were gathered for a final battle in the valley of Migdon. Green is a story of love, betrayal, and sweeping reversals set within the apocalypse. It is the beginning: the truth behind a saga that has captured the imagination of more than a million readers with the Books of History Chronicles.

But even more, Green brings full meaning to the Circle Series as a whole, reading as both prequel to Black and sequel to White, completing a full circle. This is Book Zero, the Circle Reborn, both the beginning and the end. The preferred starting point for new readers . . . and the perfect climax for the countless fans who’ve experienced Black, Red, and White.

My Review:

Dekker is back with his newest novel, Green, once again proving why he is a master storyteller. Green completes the circle in the Books of History Chronicles: Black, Red, and White. Is it possible for time and reality to change and for history to be rewritten? What is truth and is it universal? Is truth good or evil and exactly how is it defined? Dekker poses these questions to his readers through the three main factions in his series: those who follow Elyon, the Horde, and the Eramites. I first read the series several years ago and was quite concerned I would not be able to pick up the storyline after such a long absence from the series. The Books of History came flooding back to me as soon as I read the first page. Green can be either read first in the series or as the very last book as there is neither a beginning nor an end to the Books of History Chronicles. Dekker manages to maintain the storyline in a flawless manner without presupposing the reader has read Dekker’s first three works of the series. For me, Green answered numerous questions as well as rekindled my desire to re-read the series now the circle is complete. I would recommend Green to anyone who is looking for a thought provoking as well as a suspenseful adventure that will keep one turning the pages into the early hours of the morning.

To learn more about Ted Dekker, Green, or his other works, please visit his website.

I received a copy of Green by Ted Dekker from Thomas Nelson as part of the tour. Receiving a copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

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