The Prayers of Friends Are Sweet

Posted on by April 19, 2016
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Deb’s Dozen: The prayers of best friends can surmount many obstacles and odds.

Shirley Amendt has another cute and edifying children’s story written in verse, Best Friends Forever: How Anna’s Prayer Was Answered. Anna and her best friend Leah were out playing far beyond the time they were supposed to come in for dinner. Leah is injured and Anna blames herself. She thinks she could have prevented the accident if only she’d done the right thing—what she knew she should do.

Leah does not recover and gets worse and worse—to the point of near death. Her father Jairus begs the Prophet, Jesus, to come help his little girl. Though the story is known to most adults, children will thrill to the suspense of the story. And the teaching points are good.

If you have young grandchildren or children, you should definitely get Best Friends Forever to read to them. You and they will enjoy the experience.

The illustrations by Kimberly Merritt, are beautiful and add to the enjoyment of the story. Five stars for kids.

Shirley Amendt lives in Watertown, SD, and began writing children’s verse-stories at the urging of friends. All proceeds from the sale of her work go to help Windswept Academy, a non-denominational -Christian school for native-American children in the poorest county in the US—Eagle Butte, SD.

Shirley gave me a copy of her book in exchange for my unbiased review.

Great Mystery/Suspense: A Powerful Secret

Posted on by March 31, 2016
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Deb’s Dozen: Even the Most Powerful Men Can Be Dethroned by a Powerful Secret.

With The Worthington Destiny: A Powerful Secret, Dr. Kevin Leman and Jeff Nesbit’s latest mystery/suspense book, they have scored a hit again. I was thrilled with the first book in the series, A Perfect Ambition (see my review here) and have been waiting for this sequel to come out. They did not disappoint.

Sean Worthington, the second sibling in the wealthy and powerful Worthington family, is stunned when his brother, Will, instead of launching his campaign for the US Senate, goes on stage and announces he is withdrawing from the contest. Sean, his campaign manager, has no clue why Will would do this or what has caused such aberrant behavior in his brother. Will won’t tell him, and, as usual, their father backs his “perfect” son.

Sean does what Sean always does—runs. Frustrated by his father’s lack of belief in him, he runs off to one of the NGOs (non-government organization) he is contemplating supporting in Nepal. While there, he decides he will do the unexpected—he will run for Governor of New York, thereby killing two birds with one stone. He can return the call to the political powerbroker and tell her he doesn’t know why Will withdrew his candidacy, but he himself is tossing his hat into the ring.

His actions set off a powder keg of events leading to the revelation of a powerful secret which changes everything.

Leman/Nesbit have fleshed out the character of Sean in this book. While we got to know a bit about him in the first, Will’s book, we get even deeper into his psyche in A Powerful Secret. We learn much more about all the members of the Worthington family and what makes them tick. I have come to care for and be intrigued by the siblings: Will, Sean, and Sarah and am waiting with anticipation for Book Three: A Primary Decision. Good job, guys—even better than the first. Five stars!

dr-kevin-lemanA Perfect AmbitionDr. Kevin Leman is the author of more than fifty books and a frequent guest on such shows as Fox & Friends, The 700 Club, CNN, and Good Morning America. His co-author, Jeff Nesbit, is a former senior communications official at the White House and the author of twenty novels.

Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, gave me a copy of A Powerful Secret in exchange for my unbiased review.

Historical Romance – Guardians of the Heart

Posted on by March 24, 2016
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Deb’s Dozen: Two hurt and lonely people work together to accomplish their individual goals.

Am I blessed! Another Loree Lough book! Guardians of the Heart is Book Two of the Secrets of Sterling Street Series. Like the first book, the ending of this historical romance is predictable, but how the characters arrive there is the fun of the read.

Nell Holstrom has lived a life of poverty and want, but now has found a sanctuary and employment with the DiMaggios in their store. However, Michelle’s mother, Maria, is coming to live with them and will need the tiny apartment Nell has been calling her own. Joe tells her that Asa Stone has an ad up for a housekeeper for the Stone Hill Inn, which he is refurbishing and hoping to reopen.

Nell approaches Asa for the job and is immediately hired. He’s taken note of her as she’s worked at DiMaggio’s and is intrigued by her cheerful nature, not to mention her beauty. Talking with Joe, he discovers she does a multitude of tasks at DiMaggio’s and is certain he’s made the right decision. In an attempt to make the transition easier for her, he fixes up the storeroom at the back of the Inn for Nell. When she arrives, Nell is pleasantly surprised at the accommodations and immediately sets out to make the room, the kitchen, and the rest of the house livable and homey.

Asa keeps working on restoring the Inn and Nell keeps working at trying to make him talk to her. Taciturn by nature, and harboring a dark secret, Asa tries to tamp down his growing attraction for Nell. Nell works harder and harder trying to win Asa’s approval. You will love these two and the way they complement and spark off each other. Well-developed, as most Loree Lough characters are, you’ll want to keep reading to learn more and more. The characters from the first Sterling Street novel, Currency of the Heart, pop in and out and endear themselves further to you.

The only fault I could find with the story is the ending. I feel the ending was rushed—I wanted more detail about the events that occurred at the end. Guess I’ll have to wait for Book Three! Guardians of the Heart (To purchase, click here.) rates Four Stars and is well worth the read.

Currency of the Heart

Loree Lough

Loree Lough is a prolific writer who has nearly five million of her books in print. In March 2014, she added her one-hundredth book to her shelf. Congrats, Loree! She shares her hard-earned wisdom about writing and the business of writing at conferences all over the country. She splits her time between their tiny home outside Baltimore and their even tinier cabin in the Allegheny Mountains. She shares her life with her real-life hero, Larry, who silently puts up with the folderol of a writer’s life with few complaints. Visit Loree at www.LoreeLough.com.

My thanks to Whittaker House and The Book Club Network for providing me a copy of Guardians of the Heart in exchange for my unbiased review. (Okay, slightly biased because I love Loree’s writing!)