A Love So True

Jagears Delivers a Wonderfully Romantic Read with a Hero and Heroine to Cheer For

Evelyn Wisely has a heart for the orphans of Teaville and works at a local mansion that rescues children out of the town's red-light district and gives them a place to live. But her desire to help isn't limited to orphans. The owner of the mansion, Nicholas Lowe, is willing to help her try to get the women working in prostitution out of the district as well--if she can gain the cooperation and support of local businessmen to go against the rest of the community.
David Kingsman has recently arrived in Teaville from Kansas City to help with one of his father's companies in town. While he plans on staying only long enough to prove his business merit to his father, he's shown interest in Evelyn's work and is intrigued enough by her to lend his support to her cause.
They begin with the best of intentions, but soon the complications pile up and Evelyn and David's dreams look more unattainable every day. When the revelation of a long-held secret creates a seemingly insurmountable rift between them, can they trust God still has a good plan for them despite all that is stacked against them?

My thoughts: I have loved both books in this series! Both have done a marvelous job of bringing the time period to life, not to mention addressing social issues of the early 1900's. I loved getting to know Evelyn as she fought for to help others find a better life outside of the red light district of Teaville. At first, I wasn't so sure about her and her reaction to David, but things made sense as I read on and discovered more of her story.
This is a wonderful book that can be read as part of the series or as a stand along story. I highly recommend it!
I received this book from Bethany House in exchange for my honest review.

Shatter

When a mysterious explosion kills her sister, Salem Jefferson becomes convinced the death was no accident—it was a conspiracy. But no one else at her high school believes her, and all she has so far is one clue. She knows Carrie hired a gang member to protect orchard workers. Problem is, Salem doesn't know who.

To find out, Salem pursues the gang-bangers who rule her town, especially classmate Cordero. As her distrust of Cordero heats up, so do the number of suspects in Carrie's death. Teachers and school officers are orchard owners. They have every reason to stop farm workers from demanding higher wages. With Carrie's killers still out there, Salem's not sure who she can trust. Meanwhile, the people who live on orchards and the people who pick them are drawing lines in the sand.

The only way for Salem to learn the truth is to slip behind those enemy lines.

The only way to survive is to find a way back out.

Shatter is the grand prize winner of the LDStorymakers First Chapter Contest that author Jolene Perry calls "a stunning debut that’ll keep you turning pages ’til the end."

My thoughts: This book was a little bit confusing at first, since it jumps around a lot to catch the reader up to speed on what happened leading up to Carrie's death. After the first few chapters though, things do start to come together so that the reader has a clear picture of what makes Salem think that her sister's death wasn't an accident.
While I didn't really click with Salem, I did think this was an excellent story, since it deals with social issues like strikes, fair wages, and gangs. The mystery side of the story was quite suspenseful too! This is an excellent debut novel with a lot going for it. I look forward to reading more by Nikki!
I received this book from Cedar Fort in exchange for my honest review.

Under Our Skin

Can it ever get better? This is the question Benjamin Watson is asking. In a country aflame with the fallout from the racial divide—in which Ferguson, Charleston, and the Confederate flag dominate the national news, daily seeming to rip the wounds open ever wider—is there hope for honest and healing conversation? For finally coming to understand each other on issues that are ultimately about so much more than black and white?

An NFL tight end for the New Orleans Saints and a widely read and followed commentator on social media, Watson has taken the Internet by storm with his remarkable insights about some of the most sensitive and charged topics of our day. Now, in Under Our Skin, Watson draws from his own life, his family legacy, and his role as a husband and father to sensitively examine both sides of the race debate and appeal to the power and possibility of faith as a step toward healing.

My thoughts: I think Benjamin Watson does a wonderful job of presenting the race issue that was hi-lighted with Ferguson, doing a wonderful job of drawing on history and human nature to show how we have arrived, at a country, to this point. I appreciated his thoughts and the background that he gave of his own story and that of his father and Pop Pop. He has so many valid points on how the music we listen to affects the way we perceive things and how it is easy to get caught up in thinking of it as a race war. I think this is an excellent book that gets to the heart of the issue and shows how we can change for the better.
I received this book from Tyndale in exchange for my honest review.

Side by Side

In the dusty, Islamic country of Sudan, Mia’s life collides with that of another young woman. A young Christian American mother, Mia finds more than one dark secret on the streets of Khartoum. She finds Halimah, a young, upper-class Arab student with a bright future in her family’s business whose risky and secretive decision has put her life in danger. What happens when the path of young mother intersects with that of a spunky Sudanese student? God transforms them both . . .forever.
Part of New Hope® Publishers’ contemporary missional fiction line, Side by Side opens the reader’s eyes to the life of Muslims in Sudan as well as some of the struggles that Christians face when living under Islamic law. The reader will be inspired to pray for those who are persecuted for their faith as well as pray for the salvation of those who persecute.
In the dusty, Islamic country of Sudan, Mia’s life collides with that of another young woman. A young Christian American mother, Mia finds more than one dark secret on the streets of Khartoum. She finds Halimah, a young, upper-class Arab student with a bright future in her family’s business whose risky and secretive decision has put her life in danger. What happens when the path of young mother intersects with that of a spunky Sudanese student? God transforms them both . . .forever.
Part of New Hope® Publishers’ contemporary missional fiction line, Side by Side opens the reader’s eyes to the life of Muslims in Sudan as well as some of the struggles that Christians face when living under Islamic law. The reader will be inspired to pray for those who are persecuted for their faith as well as pray for the salvation of those who persecute.

My thoughts: I was blown away by this book! I can imagine that it made it all the more realistic that it is based on real life events, since the author has been a missionary to several different countries on several continents. Her characters come alive with their struggles against the culture in present day Sudan. This book is a must read!
I received this book from Litfuse in exchange for my honest review.