The Gift of Friendship Edited by Dawn Camp

From the publisher:
Collecting over fifty true stories from some of today best writers, Dawn Camp offers readers a chance to sit back and experience the gift of friendship. With its beautiful photographs and poignant prose, this collection is a great gift for a dear friend and the perfect pick-me-up any time you need a boost. Contributors include Crystal Paine, Liz Curtis Higgs, Tsh Oxenreider, Myquillyn Smith, Jennifer Dukes Lee, Lisa-Jo Baker, Jessica Turner, Lysa TerKeurst, Bonnie Gray, Holley Gerth, Renee Swope, and many more.
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Friendships.  Just the word stirs certain emotions inside of each of us.  Through nine sections Dawn Camp guides the reader through stories of friendship by various writers.  These are not fluff stories but real stories.  Some are hard to read others will bring laughter and joy to your soul.

This book takes the gift of friendship and digs into what it can really mean.  Whether is is forgiveness, vulnerability, hospitality, or pursuing friendship this book can give you hope and guidance.

I think you will find yourself thinking of certain friendships as you read from these various authors.  And I think you will be blessed.

I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Step by Step by Candace Calvert

From the publisher:
Three years after a tragic accident left her a widow, ER nurse Taylor Cabot is determined to move on, checking off one item after another on her survival list. Her relationship with a handsome plastic surgeon even gives her hope for the last point―“fall in love again.” At least until crisis chaplain Seth Donovan steps back into her life, reawakening unanswered questions about her husband’s death.

While in San Diego to train community volunteers, Seth hopes to learn why Taylor is backing away from the crisis team and from their friendship. But nothing prepares him for the feelings that arise when he sees Taylor again . . . and sees her moving on with another man.

When a community crisis hits home and puts lives at risk, emotions run high and buried truths are unearthed. Will hope make the survival list?
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This is the second book by Candace Calvert that I have read and I have enjoyed both of them.  Her knowledge of different areas of the medical world are interesting to read about.  For someone going through grief I think this would be a good book.  It talks a lot about the stages of grief and how each person tries to deal with it.  Candace also writes about how God is the one who will help heal us.

Both the primary story/characters and the secondary story/characters were very interesting.  There is a secondary character, Sloane, who really grabbed my attention.  I am eager to read the next book in the series to find out more about her story.  There is also another girl who I am interested to find more about.  I like how the stories all wove together in a way that didn't take away from each story but complimented it instead.

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

Cold Shot by Dani Pettrey

From the publisher:
In college, Griffin McCray and his four best friends had their lives planned out. Griffin and Luke Gallagher would join the Baltimore PD. Declan Gray would head to the FBI and Parker Mitchell would go on to graduate school as a crime scene analyst. But then Luke vanished before graduation and their world--and friendships--crumbled.

Now Griffin is a park ranger at Gettysburg, having left life as a SWAT-team sniper when a case went bad. The job is mostly quiet--until the day he captures two relic hunters uncovering skeletal remains near Little Round Top. Griffin just wants the case to go away, but charming forensic anthropologist Finley Scott determines that the body is modern--a young social justice lawyer missing since spring--and all evidence points to the work of an expert sniper. When FBI agent Declan Gray takes over the case, past and present collide. Griffin soon realizes he'll need to confront some of the darkest days of his life if he--and those he cares about--are going to escape a downward spiral of murder that crosses continents.
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This is the first book in the Chesapeake Valor series.  And I am so excited about this new series by Dani Pettrey!  I loved her Alaskan Courage series and couldn't wait for this new series to begin.  I wasn't disappointed at all! 

What I love about Dani Pettrey is that not only is is a masterful suspense and romance writer but when fills her novels with God.  The characters are praying and relying on God in the midst of really intense situations.  But she isn't overbearing in her writing.  The flow is natural.  

This book introduces a lot of characters but it is setting it up for future books.  I already am eager to know more about Parker, Kate, Declan and the rest.  The romance is perfect and the suspense will keep you reading as fast as you can.  

I highly recommend this book.

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

Snuggle Time Prayers by Glenys Nellist Illustrated by Cee Biscoe

From the publisher:
Snuggle Time Prayers, written by Glenys Nellist and illustrated by Cee Biscoe, is a perfect bedtime collection of fifteen prayers. This padded cover board book will help children settle down at bedtime and remind them of their blessings as they draw closer to God.
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This book is perfect for babies and toddlers.  We always read a Bible story before bed but sometimes my toddler is too fussy or tired and we need something short a soothing.  This is perfect for that.  Each prayer begins with a Bible verse.  This Bible verse is the foundation for the prayer.  I love this because it is also training them for a unique way to pray--using scripture and then having their own words to pray that scripture.  To top it off the illustrations are wonderful.  I would have picked this up just for the illustrations but the words are simple yet profound.

I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Miriam by Mesu Andrews

From the publisher:
At eighty-six, Miriam had devoted her entire life to loving El Shaddai and serving His people as both midwife and messenger. Yet when her brother Moses returns to Egypt from exile, he brings a disruptive message. God has a new name – Yahweh – and has declared a radical deliverance for the Israelites.
 
 Miriam and her beloved family face an impossible choice: cling to familiar bondage or embrace uncharted freedom at an unimaginable cost. Even if the Hebrews survive the plagues set to turn the Nile to blood and unleash a maelstrom of frogs and locusts, can they weather the resulting fury of the Pharaoh?
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Book 1 in the Treasures of the Nile is The Pharaoh's Daughter.  You don't have to read that to understand this book but there are some part in the beginning of this book that if you haven't read the previous book will seem a bit confusing.  I actually enjoyed this book much more than the previous book.  

Mesu Andrews is a writer who gives detail upon details to Biblical stories.  She will create the world in ways that you may not have seen before.  I love the story of Moses and the Israelite's' freedom from Egypt but I have never felt so infested in the Egyptian lives as I did while reading this book.  I felt the pain and sorrow of what was happening, as well as the Israelite's' struggle to understand God and His plagues.

There was a lot of deep conversation about the silence of God.  I really resonated with this because I have experienced this.  To read about Miriam going through this and finding out new ways to listen and find God was very inspirational.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

A Son's Vow by Shelley Shepard Gray

From the publisher:
Three months ago, everything changed for Darla Kurtz and her family. Darla’s father was responsible for a terrible fire at Charm’s lumber mill which killed five Amish men. And though he, too, lost his life, the town of Charm hasn’t looked at her family the same since. Even Lukas Kinsinger—with whom Darla used to have a close friendship.

As Lukas and Darla attempt to repair their families, they discover something deeper than friendship growing between them. But will Lukas and Darla’s love be accepted after so much loss? Or will the pain of the past overcome any chance of future happiness?
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This is the first in a series by Shelley Shepard Gray.  As with most series, the first book is introducing a lot of characters.  So it might take little bit to keep everyone straightened out at first.  But soon you connect everyone together.  I was honestly more interested in one of the other characters than the main character. i felt that this other story line was more engaging and I am curious to know what happens next.  This is what is great about a series--readers will relate to certain characters more and many people will be able enjoy the series. 

While I was engaged through out the book I felt that it was too many story lines for such a small book.  But perhaps that's just because it's the first book in a series.  I also wasn't so certain about how two of the girls seemed totally fine to show off shoulders when I feel that they probably would be more reserved.

That being said, it was a good read and I will be looking forward to more books in this series.

I received this book free from the publishers in exchange for my honest review.

Delighting in God by A. W. Tozer complied and edited by James. L. Snyder

From the publisher:
Delighting in God is the message Tozer intended to be the follow-up to The Knowledge of the Holy. He demonstrates how the attributes of God--those things God has revealed about himself--are a way to understand the Christian life of worship and service. We are here to serve and adore him, but we can only fulfill that role by acknowledging who he is, which is the essence of the Christian life and the source of all our fulfillment, joy, and comfort.
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A. W. Tozer is someone I see quoted all the time.  So when I heard about this compilation I wanted to read it.  I always find it interesting when others "finish" a book after someone has died, you find yourself wondering if it is what that author would have written themselves.  I think if you have read A. W. Tozer before you will be able to get a feel for whether this is how he would sound and write.  Since I haven't read his other works before I can't compare it.  But what I can say it that this is a topic I long to further develop in my own spiritual walk--not just the knowledge of God but the delighting in him.

Early on I found myself underlining and marking sections to come back to and think on. A. W. Tozer is a man who doesn't hold back just because he is worried about what other people think.  He will challenge and boldly state what he feels needs to be said.

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