A Vision of Lucy

In the late 1800’s Lucy is a young aspiring photographer, hoping to get a job with a newspaper to help support her younger brother and father. While on an assignment for a prospective job, Lucy gets caught up in a bank stagecoach robbery and foils the robbers plans. A mysterious man named David Wolf comes to her rescue. David has come back to the town to solve a mystery about his life that has eaten away at him. Lucy and David do not know what to make of each other, but they eventually fall in love, a problem since Lucy is a white woman, and David is half-Indian. Lucy eventually finds herself helping David to unravel a secret that some members of the town have kept for twenty years.

This book was ok and I am not sure I would recommend it to anyone. The characters were ok, some were cute and funny, others were creepy, but none stand out or are memorable. Lucy can be kind of annoying with some of her babbling, and it seems most of the towns people have one secret or another. With all the gossip that goes around, I am surprised any secrets could really be kept. The story line is good, part of it is a surprise, another part is a little disappointing. (Without giving away any spoilers, it concerns what David is searching for.) It is evident the author did a lot of research into photography, but other than that, the story was not too interesting. It was a quick read for me, I was able to read it in one afternoon, but after I finished the story, I kind of wished I had read something else.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Seraph Seal

Paul Binder is born on December 21, 2012 at 9:00 pm, or 2100 hours. Around the world, eight other babies are born on this same day at the same time, each having one of four different birthmarks. Thirty-six years later in 2048, technology has advanced, but many people are still suffering. World leaders have discussions and make agreements, but secretly devise ways to destroy and cripple each other. Unusual weather systems, earthquakes, mysterious animal deaths, and new diseases travel the world. Paul Binder, now a professor interested in different cultures and civilizations, has received a strange letter (in an even stranger way) and sets off for London to review some ancient documents. In deciphering these documents, four of the eight born on December 21 are drawn to Paul. They soon discover that if humanity is to be saved, they must work together to achieve their destiny, which was spelled out before they were all born.

I really liked this book. The story was exciting and there is a good amount of mystery and action to keep me wanting to turn the page to find out what happens next. I am not too interested in reading books (fiction and non-fiction) about possible end of the world scenarios, but this one was good. The only complaints I had about this book is there were many jumps from place to place around the world. For example, there could be a scene in the Midwest of the United States, then a couple paragraphs later, the authors switch to a scene in Africa, then a couple paragraphs after that, another scene and set of characters in Europe. The entire book is interesting, but there were some passages that could have been cut out and the story would not have changed at all. The ending is different from the usual “end of the world” discussions, but it is a satisfying ending. This book was enjoyable and I am looking forward to reading more from these authors.


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Final Summit

David Ponder is one of the Travelers, those who God has allowed to travel through time accompanied by archangels and witness various events in history. Many Travelers are historical figures, such as Winston Churchill, Anne Frank, and Benjamin Franklin. But the time has come for judgment of humanity. God has tasked the archangel Gabriel with gathering the Travelers and appointing them to come up with the one reason (already known to Gabriel) that humanity should be spared. As the Travelers discuss their past lives and various possible answers, they discuss several ideas of what the right thing humans should do and change in their lives. But there is only one good reason, and the Travelers struggle to determine what that reason should be.

This is a short book, I was able to read it in a few hours, but I am not sure if I like it too much. I kept thinking that I was missing something while reading and should have read the previous book in order to understand everything that happened. Most of the characters are based on actual people from history, and I did like reading about their interactions with each other. But the dialogue of the characters seem out of place. I think this book would be better written as a non-fiction book, without a story. It seems the story is just a reason to write the book, so I think the author would have been better off writing about why humanity should act and what we need to do to change ourselves instead of writing about characters telling us what we should do.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Nick of Time

In Nick of Time, Nick Polchak, a forensic entomologist, and Alena Savard, a dog trainer who specializes in training dogs for the FBI, the DEA, and Homeland Security, are getting married in a few days, but instead of helping Alena plan, Nick wants to go to a meeting of the Vidocq Society. The Vidocq Society reviews old cases and offers help and direction to detectives in order to come closer to solving the cases. Nick is specially invited to this meeting by an old friend for a certain case. After the friend turns up dead, Nick starts hunting for clues to the killer, pretty much up to the day of his wedding. Alena, concerned that Nick might not make the wedding, takes a few of her dogs to track Nick down. Along the way, Nick and Alena find out information separately concerning Nick’s friend and it all ends in a huge surprise ending that no one was expecting.

I did not like this book too much. I did like the premise, the storyline and the mystery, but Nick makes way too many wisecracks, especially in the first chapter. I know he is supposed to be pretty much antisocial and inconsiderate but I think he is at an extreme. Alena has some of her own weird quirks, but she is much more likeable than Nick. The ending was good and I would probably read the other past and future books in this series, but I am not sure how much more of an annoying Nick I could take. I have to admit, I do not even think I would use my money to buy the books. I might just look for them at the library to read.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Take Action Bible

The Take Action Bible: NKJV

The Take Action Bible is a study Bible geared towards people “taking action” to spread the word of God and to help those in need. This Bible is the New King James Version, with the words of Jesus in red and headings before most of the chapters describing what the chapter is about. Among the chapters are color pages and stories of people describing who they are and what they have done to minister and help people around the world. There are also various passages listed for you to read and then questions to answer based on the readings and your life experiences. In the back of the Bible is a yearly reading plan, a Concordance, and color maps of various places of ancient times. Also in the back is a list of 52 Take Action Ideas, one for each week of the year.


I liked the idea of this Bible. In reading the stories of the people who are helping minister to people, it gave me ideas on how to help others and I especially liked the 52 Take Action Ideas. These ideas range from picking up garbage that was tossed and dispose of it properly to volunteering in various places to assist others who are sick and infirm. There were a couple of drawbacks to the Take Action Bible. For one, the print is very small and the paper is very thin. It seems like the paper the Bible is on could tear easily. The color pages are sturdy, so I wish the Bible was printed on the same or similar paper as the color pages. It would make it a little more durable. But overall, I would recommend this version of the Bible to others. I like the idea of the stories of others in it and the recommendations of stuff I could do to help others and make some people’s lives a little easier.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

A Deeper Kind of Calm

When I first received the book, A Deeper Kind of Calm, I was amazed at how short it is. It is less than 140 pages and is a quick read (I was able to read it in one day). I did not think this small of a book would have much information, but as I read the stories and scripture references in the book, I found that I was wrong. It is a wonderful book to read about how to deal with disappointments and hardships in life by turning to God for help. The book has several stories about incidents that happened to the author, her family and friends, and people she has met in her travels and how these people were able to overcome their struggles and be thankful for their life. The book teaches how to use these struggles and disappointments as learning tools to help you go on with life and that God will always be there for you to help you.

At the end of the book is a four week Bible Study course that gives Scriptures to read and questions to answer about your life. This Bible Study and questions that are asked helps you think about your faith and how you will be able to triumph over your present and future disappointments. I can recommend this book to anyone who is going through various problems in life (and everyone is) and, after reading this, hopefully the reader will be able to look on their life in a calm way and be able to find solutions to their problems with God’s help.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from NavPress Publishers as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

A Conversation with God

Since I read a previous book, A Conversation with God for Women, I decided to check this one out. I wondered what type of questions, answers and conversations would be in this book. I knew this book would be special to me, and I absolutely love it. The book is written as a conversation, this time between you and God, Jesus, Peter, David, John and many others. The book has another 55 questions that everyone would want to know the answer to. Some questions are “What’s ahead for us in the future?“ and “Are we living in the end times now?“ I did not know what questions would come up in this book, but I am glad I read it because it answered all of my remaining questions about God, Heaven and life on Earth.

I would recommend this book and “A Conversation with God for Women” to anyone. Any questions you have about your life, your faith and you future would be answered by reading this two books. I have a brighter outlook on life and plan to enjoy it more. I feel I do not have to worry too much about the future because I have more of an idea of what it will be like. I still have some fear, but I believe God has a plan for me and will help me in my times of need.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”