Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Book Review: With Every Breath by Elizabeth Camden

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Back Cover:
In the shadow of the nation's capital, Kate Livingston's respectable life as a government worker is disrupted by an encounter with the insufferable Trevor McDonough, the one man she'd hoped never to see again. A Harvard-trained physician, Trevor never showed the tiniest flicker of interest in Kate, and business is the only reason he has sought her out now.

Despite her misgivings, Kate agrees to Trevor's risky proposal to join him in his work to find a cure for tuberculosis. As Kate begins to unlock the mysteries of Trevor's past, his hidden depths fascinate her. However, a shadowy enemy lies in wait and Trevor's closely guarded secrets are darker than she ever suspected.

As revelations from the past threaten to destroy their careers, their dreams, and even their lives, Trevor and Kate find themselves in a painfully impossible situation. With everything to lose, they must find the strength to trust that hope and love can prevail over all.

The Positives:
First of all, I loved the cover for this book! But the inside far outweighed the outside.
It starts with the prologue with Kate and Trevor twelve years when they were competing for a scholarship to college. It showed their rivalry. It also showed how they were so alike that they were destined to either be best friends or mortal enemies.
This book gave me a crazy inside look at tuberculosis back near the turn of the century. Everyone was terrified of it because it was fatal in 90% of the cases.
Trevor reminded me a lot a mixture of Sherlock Holmes and a character that I'm writing, who is very stoic. It gave a very interesting dynamic to his character. He would be smiles and laughing one minute and then grim expressions and blank stares the next. Sometimes I felt like Kate, I wanted to punch him. Sometimes it seemed like he didn't care about his patients, but it was really that he couldn't care about them or he would get hurt again.
Ah, Kate. Spitfire Kate. My kind of girl. She was so witty and entertaining and she knew exactly what to say. But she wasn't totally perfect. She had lots of fear. She couldn't seem to let go and trust God. She felt like she knew what was best for her younger brother because she practically raised him, even when he was old enough to know what he really wanted. But I still liked her and she did grow and change throughout the book.

The Negatives:
Nothing.

Overall:
This was a great book and highly recommend it!

I received this book for free from Bethany House in exchange for my honest review.

Monday, August 11, 2014

Through the Deep Waters GIVEAWAY!

Today I'm posting a giveaway for Through the Deep Waters. Blogging for Books has started a new program where bloggers can giveaway books.

I reviewed Through the Deep Waters and it is one of my favorite books and I'm super excited to be doing a giveaway for it.

It's simple to enter, just click the link below to fill out the form and submit!

http://form.jotformpro.com/form/42201720495952

The contest starts on July 31, 2014 at 6:00am EST and ends on August 20th, 2014 at 11:59pm. One winner will be chosen at random on August 21st, 2014 and will be alerted by email. For a complete listing of the rules, please click link above.

Hope you all will enter!

Friday, August 8, 2014

Book Review: The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn by Lori Benton

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Back Cover:
Frontier dangers cannot hold a candle to the risks one woman takes by falling in love.

In an act of brave defiance, Tamsen Littlejohn escapes the life her harsh stepfather has forced upon her. Forsaking security and an arranged marriage, she enlists frontiersman Jesse Bird to guide her to the Watauga settlement in western North Carolina. But shedding her old life doesn’t come without cost. As the two cross a vast mountain wilderness, Tamsen faces hardships that test the limits of her faith and endurance.

Convinced that Tamsen has been kidnapped, wealthy suitor Ambrose Kincaid follows after her, in company with her equally determined stepfather. With trouble in pursuit, Tamsen and Jesse find themselves thrust into the conflict of a divided community of Overmountain settlers. The State of Franklin has been declared, but many remain loyal to North Carolina. With one life left behind and chaos on the horizon, Tamsen struggles to adapt to a life for which she was never prepared. But could this challenging frontier life be what her soul has longed for, what God has been leading her toward? As pursuit draws ever nearer, will her faith see her through the greatest danger of all—loving a man who has risked everything for her?

The Positives:
WOW. THIS BOOK. This was amazing! I have to admit, it didn't seem like my kind of book from just reading the back cover. But the inside is a million times better than the back cover.
The emotions and the dialogue and the entire setting of this story was perfect.
Tamsen was exactly the kind of heroine I like. She was smart, courageous, a bit headstrong at times, but she is now one of my favorite heroines. Her stepfather was a hateful man and I cheered for Tamsen every time she evaded him.
Jesse wasn't exactly what you would call 'Prince Charming' in term of looks, but his character and faith make him the perfect hero for this story. His backwoods, mountain man/indian look gave him the appearance of a heathen, but he constantly prays throughout this entire book. He wants what's best for Tamsen and he will protect her whatever the cost.
The setting in the late 1780's in the middle of the fight between the State of Franklin and North Carolina was interesting. I had never heard of The Lost State of Franklin until I read this book. It presented some legal problems for the characters, because neither state could agree which was a real state.

The Negatives:
Nothing.

Overall:
This was an amazing book and I highly recommend it!

I received this book for free from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.

Author's Website
Read Chapter One