Tag Archive | CSFFBT

“North! Or be eaten” by Andrew Peterson CSFFBT January

This months book is “North! Or be Eaten” by exceptional author Andrew Peterson…whom in our house we lovingly refer to as A.P.

This man is not only a talented author, he is also a talented songwriter, singer, piano and guitar player and just all around amazingly great guy.

My husband, brother and 2 sisters had the opportunity to meet him in person after a concert he had done a couple of years ago in Salem, Oregon and this man is truly talented and a humble man to boot.

I have read both of Wingfeather series and am looking forward the 3rd in his series.

In each of these books, I was pleasantly surprised to see the characters actually growing and learning…but through their own mistakes…sometimes making the right decision, sometimes not, but each time having to deal with the consequences of those decisions.

This book was a little harder for me to read, just because it pulled at my heart so much. The struggles that are shown, and the decisions that have to be made regarding where to go, what to do, what to leave behind, emotionally and physically…just tough decisions for a kid to have to make, let alone adults!

This book was so well written that I at times forgot that I was reading a fiction book and got so caught up in it, that when I came up for air, I had to reorient myself as to where I was and what I was doing…reading a story that someone had made up..these were not real children and real people or…non people that I was reading about.. It was a good book.

Cris and I have been so happy with his work that we have bought the books ourselves and are looking forward to having the whole series.

I will try to post more tomorrow about the actual story, but for now this will have to suffice.

To see what others are saying about this book and the author, please check out these blogs:

Brandon Barr
Justin Boyer
Amy Browning
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Todd Michael Greene
Ryan Heart
Timothy Hicks
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Rebecca LuElla Miller
New Authors Fellowship
Nissa
Donita K. Paul
Crista Richey
Chawna Schroeder
Andrea Schultz
James Somers
Steve and Andrew
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Fred Warren
Jason Waguespac
Phyllis Wheeler
Elizabeth Williams
KM Wilsher

take two on “Haunt of Jackals” by Eric Wilson

Oct27

So after doing my main blog for the book of October for CSFFBT, I actually had a chance to finish the book and I have some other thoughts on it.

While I still think that “Haunt of Jackals” by Eric Wilson is still a good read, there were a few places in it that I thought the actions of the characters did not suit their…well…character.

For instance, if they are so desirous to be in line with The Nazarene, then why Cal Nichols tell Gina Lazarescu (AKA Kate) that she should continue going to church…and then go on to explain that church was only getting together on the weekends, and hanging out with people, and doing other stuff…not actually going to church? Not fellowship together with the saints? Not meeting the on the Lords day to partake of the Lords Supper, to pray, to continue in the apostles teaching? (see Acts. 2:42-47 ish) Where is the encouragement to read God’s word…the very word that “The Nazarene” inspired?! I just thought that for them to be so against church, came across not as the characters convictions, but the convictions of the author. While I think that the authors have the “right” to have their convictions portrayed in the book, I think that the way it came across in the book just sent of flags of it not being in line with the characters character.

I hope this makes sense. Again, I still think it is a good read, albeit confusing for someone not well grounded in the scripture and a bit misleading in some areas, but still looking forward to the 3rd book.

Book Review “The Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy” by Vicki Iovine

Sep26

Hello all,

While I know many of you are not females, I thought I would put up reviews of books other than just the ones that I am getting through the CSFF Blog Tour.

For those of you who don’t know, I am an avid reader and am usually reading anywhere from 1-4 books at a time. No, I do not mean ALL at the same time, but I flip back and forth through them all. Also, Cris and I are expecting our first child in December, a little girl whom we’ve decided to name Sarah Hope. Sooooo since my mind is turned also towards pregnancy and getting ready for labor and delivery, you might see some book reviews dealing with those topics.

Today’s book is “The Girlfriends guide to Pregnancy- or everything your doctor won’t tell you” by Vicki Iovine.

I picked this book up because I had a girlfriend who read it through her first pregnancy and shared some snippets of the book with me that were absolutely hilarious so I thought it might be a good investment. My joy was made even more when I was able to get it for $5.00 at a semi-local maternity store in Hillsboro called “Angel Belly” (LOOOOOOOOVED this store! Check them out…the proprietor of the store is superb!).

While reading this book, I did find many humerous stories about either labor, delivery, the husband during either of those two events, and all around information about being pregnant that made me feel like a normal human being instead of some science experiment for everyone to ogle over! lol

The sad thing about this book, is that I also found alot of language that I did not particularly care for. While the author in no way that I can read from the book claims any christianity, I just did not see any need for some vulgar language to be used. That is one of the pitfalls of this book, another one, is that there were instances in the book that encouraged you to just lie to your husband to get more out of him, as in being able to rest more, or being able to take advantage of his kindness, and THAT I do not approve of.

As I said, she does not claim any christianity, and I think the book would have been made better without the language and the lying, but overall it DID give me some useful information that I have had questions about, but have been too embarrassed to ask my midwife about.

I think I would give the book 2 1/2 out of 5 stars. I liked the humour, but I can get alot of the information from talking to other moms and also from asking my doctor…despite the embarassment!

Thats all I have to say about this book. More reviews coming later.

CSFFBT-August-OFFWORLD by Robin Parrish

Aug17

Alright, so this months book actually came to us very early so I have had this read and have been waiting for when I could do a post about it.

This months book is OffWorld by Robin Parrish and is hands-down my favorite of all the books I have read for the CSFFBT to date.

I think why this one was my favorite was because it dealt with stuff that I have had an interest in for a very long time – astronauts and outer space.

I have always wanted to be an astronaut, and was even planning on finishing school and then Lord Willing, working for NASA before I got into a car accident a couple of years ago. God changed my plans for the better. 🙂

Anyway, back to the book, I was drawn into this book just by the jacket cover, and the info on it. Then once I actually started reading the book, I was hooked.

The way that Robin Parrish writes is so good that even though I am not familiar with all the ins and outs of a space ship, or walking on Mars, or even how to land back on earth in a space ship, that I could visualize all of the details as if I was really there.

To me that is a sign of a good book and a good author – if I can be drawn into the story so much that I can actually see it being played out in my head as if I was right there…I could smell the smells, see the sights and feel the metal of the machines… very good.

I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone, and have even told my family about it.

More info hopefully to follow tomorrow and wednesday so come on back and check out what I have to say.

If you want to check out what other people have to say about this book, check these blogs out:

Brandon Barr
Jim Black
Justin Boyer
Keanan Brand
Gina Burgess
Canadianladybug
Melissa Carswell
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Linda Gilmore
Beth Goddard
Todd Michael Greene
Katie Hart
Ryan Heart
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Melissa Meeks
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirtika
Eve Nielsen (posting later in the week)
Nissa
John W. Otte
Lyn Perry
Steve Rice
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Speculative Faith
Stephanie
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Dona Watson
Elizabeth Williams

CSFFBT-July “The Enclave” by Karen Hancock

Jul21

O.k….first things first here… I LOVE this book so far!!! The book I am talking about is of course “The Enclave” by Karen Hancock. We received it with the mail that had accumulated while we were gone on vacation to Wyoming for a family reunion. I started reading it this morning (we got back late Saturday night) and I have hardly been able to put it down since then!

I love the intrigue and the mystery and suspense in the book as well as the subject, science, in the book. I am only a couple of chapters past “Part two” in the book, and already I have raved about it to my mom and showed her the book, which she wants to borrow after I am done with it!

The book caught me at the first sentence about someone being an idiot… I wanted to know who this person was and why they (I did not know if it was a girl or guy yet) thought he was an idiot. From that first sentence I was intrigued and like I stated earlier, I could not put it down.

Lacey McHenry is a character that at times I empathize and other times I have sympathy for her…my feelings are still out whether or not I really like her as a lead character, but they are leaning towards liking her.

*Possible spoiler next (never sure if what I type is going to spoil it for someone or enhance the experience of the book!)

Her faith in God that she is not sure she can still have and the issues she struggles with on a daily basis of peer pressure, rejection, compromise of her beliefs, and other things she goes through make her a very believable character. I keep thinking of her as real.

As for Cameron….there is so much to be said that I don’t want to ruin the book for anyone. I might get into his character tomorrow.

Please check out Karen Hancock’s blog at : http://karenhancock.wordpress.com/

For more info on what others think of this book, please be sure to check out the other blogs on this tour, I am sure you will find lots of opinions. 🙂

*Participants’ Links:

Brandon Barr
Jennifer Bogart
Keanan Brand
Grace Bridges
Canadianladybug
Melissa Carswell
Valerie Comer
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Janey DeMeo
Jeff Draper
Emmalyn Edwards
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Beth Goddard
Todd Michael Greene
Heather R. Hunt
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Mike Lynch
Melissa Meeks
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirtika
Eve Nielsen
Nissa
John W. Otte
Steve Rice
Crista Richey
James Somers
Speculative Faith
Stephanie
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Elizabeth Williams

Thoughts on CSFFBT

Jul6

So we, Cris and I, just received another book from the Christian Sci-Fi/Fantasy Blog tour that we are a part of and it got me thinking. I was thinking of how much fun it has been to read and review these books…at times I am sucked into completely different worlds and carried along on the shoulders of the main character, and at other times, I feel that I am in control of the storyline…that just by my wishing and thinking about it hard enough I can change the story somehow…this is what the fantasy books make me think anyway. It is neat to imagine and think about worlds other than our own, or to think about what might have happened further back in our worlds history, or what might happen in the future. The neat thing about most of these books that we have been reviewing is that 1)they are written from a christian worldview (I say most of them and use the term christian loosely) and 2) I get to read a WHOLE lot of new books!!! Since neither Cris nor I have jobs, getting books sent to me is a nice alternative to going out and having to buy new books without getting to test-read them first…altho, almost all of the books I’ve reviewed, I would have bought anyway, but like I said, this way I get to test read them first.

Anyway, if you are interested in this Blog tour, make sure to click on the above Link. It’ll take you there and the lady in charger is way cool and very helpful. Not to mention that she has the coolest name ever. 🙂 Check out her website for more info on books in general- Rebecca Miller

That’s it, thanks for reading and look for the next review later on this month.

CSFFBT- Vanish by Tom Pawlik

Jun25

So, for those of you who might have experienced the same problem…. Vanish vanished on us. 🙂 It was sent out and the post office apparently forgot where we lived, or even that we had a mailing address so to save time they just decided to write us off which means we did not get the book till about 3 days or so before the tour started.

Luckily for you, I am a fast reader and was able to finish it yesterday. (Tuesday)

This months book was Vanish by Tom Pawlik .

I was a little apprehensive to begin with because it came across as a suspense/thriller book. A type that I dolike to read, however I like to wait a LOOONG time in between those because I get spooked easily.

The thing I liked about this book, was that it was a bit scary, living up to its reputation, but at the same time, I had a hard time putting it down at night when I really shouldn’t be reading scary books because they give me weird dreams and I have a VERY vivid imagination.

I had a hard time putting it down because I wanted to see if what I suspected was going to happen actually did in the book. My suspicions were not confirmed because I had the wrong suspicions.

*possible spoiler in next paragraph*

However, as I was reading I did get the sense that I have seen ads for this book made into a movie, such as Mist and Signs meet Ted Dekker or Frank Peretti (just not as scary! lol ). Not necessarily a bad thing, but I felt like I was having bits of deja vu moments while reading the book, or that it has been done before. I am not sure how closely it related to the movie the Mist (I can’t watch them, see the paragraph about me being spooked), but it reminded me of something that has been done already.

Aside from that though, the beginning of this book was easy to get drawn into, and the characters seemed pretty lively. I liked how they interacted for the most part, but there were times where the dialogue between characters seem stilted and did not flow as easily. I say this only because I am critiquing the book from a non-writers point of view.

I liked the book all the way up until the very end where I was left hanging wondering what happened, and what the character did. I won’t tell you what character, or what I was wanting to happen, or what I was expecting to happen (two different things at times, I assure you), but it did make me want to read more of Mr. Pawlik’s books.

If you’d like to check out his books, or his web page, please make sure to check out the following:
*Featured book, Vanish – http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1414318936
*New release, Valley of the Shadow – http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1414326793

Tom Pawlik’s Web site – http://www.tompawlik.com/
Tom Pawlik’s blog – http://www.tompawlik.com/blog.htm

As for other reviews of the same book, make sure to check out these other blogs and see what they have to say. As Levar Burton used to say “You don’t have to take my word for it” . 🙂