Rebel Book Reviews

When too many deaths happened one right after another, and when so many things seemed to go wrong and I was lost in the upheaval, I wondered if there were others who felt the same as I did. I could find no blog, no book, no devotional, no person to connect, no mentor to talk to. I tried reaching out, and became rejected by so many people or labeled a freak or wanton. I wanted help with dealing with issues. I wanted guidance. Eventually, I decided that some things had to be done on my own. So I studied, I read, and I wrote on my blog. I had a few relationships born out of the studying and internet surfing. The season of the friendships is over, but they were there for a purpose: to help strengthen me. I did eventually quit blogging about things I formally did, and things are still as tough as before, but not quite so daunting.  If there is one person out there that feels the same way, then this book 30 Days is for him/her. Read more about it below: Do you desire to no l...

Books and stories about occult and the powerful, mesmerizing allure of its leaders always find a sweet reading spot within me. The Redemption of Caralynne Hayman is no exception. As I read this story, I am swallowed by its fast pace and deep storytelling; and it is my pleasure to host an interview with this talented author. About the book: How far would YOU go to avenge a daughter’s cruel death? Cara is considered rebellious and inappropriate to befriend. Dayne is the apple of Elder Simmons’ eye—until he takes a stand against their teachings. Can his prayers and love reach Cara and show her the way to redemption? Will Cara realize God’s love and forgiveness before she goes too far? The Redemption of Caralynne Hayman is a novel of hope shining through the darkness with strong elements of suspense and romance. This novel was a semifinalist in the Genesis contest and is receiving raving reviews! Release date was October 21, 2013 from the Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas, an...

The time is June 1861. A journal is given to a young Rebel fighter and each entry over the next four years detail the lives of 8 men: Rebel and Yankee. As the journal falls from one hand and into the next, each man will read what was written beforehand and add his own thoughts: about life, about the war, about love, and about God. Each man is at a different stage in his life in his relationship with God. Some make the choice, a couple do not. And each finds that there are good men and bad men on both sides and each pray for the day the war will end. The Journal chronicles these men's lives and will bring the reader even deeper into their own walk with God. At times I found the writing to be heartbreaking and I could picture the horror of the young man trapped in the bombardment of Vicksburg and his relief that his company had surrendered. Finally food and rest, either in a prison camp or in heaven. Through all the entries and all the worry, the ugliness of war and man...

"Hope and freedom hang in the balance between the success or failure of one man’s plan. And John Muntean will succeed, or die trying."   The True Story of John Muntean as told to Josephine Walker I have the blessing to know Jo Walker through online and phone calls. A truly remarkable lady with a bright love for Christ in her heart. When she told me about her opportunity to write John Muntean's story I was excited. But that excitement paled in comparison as I read a portion of the story before it was even published. Willing to Die takes the reader into a world very few knew much about. History books made passing remarks. We could find the country of Romania on the map. We heard tales about Romanian gypsies and the Romanian circus, but other than that what did we really know about it other than it was the Breadbasket of Europe? The horror of WWII barely touched Muntean's village.  To those who experienced the atrocities the news about the war's end broug...

Declutter Now! Uncovering the Hidden Joy and Freedom in Your Life by Lindon and Sherry Gareis This isn't just a book about Decluttering your house and home, oh, no. This is a book that goes way beyond that. Declutter Now! starts off small, hitting the physical, and then it takes you into the spiritual and emotional side of the psyche. Taken in small steps, Declutter Now ! offers insights into the authors' lives, giving examples and testimonies. This isn't just a self-help book. This is a "we'll help you" book. Lindon and Sherry Gareis not only takes the reader step by step through the decluttering process of the home and life, but shows how and what is the most important in life...and it isn't possessions and material goods. The accumulation of things and bad habits and loss of focus drowns most people in this world, tying them down. With Declutter Now! the reader learns how to do without the extra load and how to free oneself from tha...

Joanie Bruce & her debut novel Alana Candler, Marked for Murder Joanie Bruce has written a fast paced, page turning romantic suspense novel. This book captured my interested and held it throughout, despite the technical writing flaws which were few in number. Normally, the first instance of "head-hopping" or "backstory dump" I would put the book aside and lose interest. BUT NOT this book...her writing style surpassed the flaws. The faith of the main character Alana was evident and the growth seen in Jadyn was a smooth transition into a faithful believer. Her twists and turns in the plot kept me guessing. Although I found myself correct in my assumption of the mastermind behind the crimes, throughout the book she had me second guessing myself. Hints and foreshadowing made me turn the page and read as fast as I could to see if my conclusions were correct. For a good suspense with a beautiful romantic subplot, this book is highly recommended . It ...

Prized! Your Journey as His Daughter by Noelle Toscano Noelle Toscano shares her emotional testimony of trials and discoveries in Prized! . Uplifting and honest about mistakes and consequences, the author candidly talks about finding that loving relationship with Jesus Christ and how to find security, belonging, and personal identity through Him. Short and concise chapters discuss the variations in a girl's life, from child to young adult. While the reader may skip to any chapter that speaks to her, I encourage the reader to start from beginning and never skip. A rewarding and thought provoking book, Noelle Toscano has written a devotional type book to encourage young girls to Be Not of This World. ***I received this book through BookCrash in exchange for an honest review***

This isn't just a book about Decluttering your house and home, oh, no. This is a book that goes way beyond that. Declutter Now! starts off small, hitting the physical, and then it takes you into the spiritual and emotional side of the psyche. At the moment of this review, I am only halfway through this book. It's that good and that well written that I had to write a review for it. Taken in small steps, I am slowly doing away with the baggage of the "extras" in my life that is leaving me burdened and un-joyful. Declutter Now! offers insights into the authors' lives, giving examples and testimonies. This isn't just a self-help book. This is a "we'll help you" book. Lindon and Sherry Gareis not only takes the reader step by step through the decluttering process of the home and life, but shows how and what is the most important in life...and it isn't possessions and material goods. The accumulation of things and bad habits and loss o...

Along the lines of Robert Ludlum, Jim O'Shea delves into the world of the Vatican, The Shroud of Turin, intrigue, and faith. Definitely a page-turner, definitely a heart-pounding read, the linen god explores the deepest part of humanity. Not even the most faithful of servants are truly faithful. What if prophecies foretold came true? What if those prophecies were lies, the manipulation of men and evil forces? Could Christ be cloned? Would that be the Anti-Christ and the fall of the Church and the rise to Evil? Taking into account The Book of Revelations, the history of the Catholic Church, the spiritual warfare between Heaven and Hell, this books explores the depth of faith. Is your faith strong enough? Each character was well developed. The twists and turns kept me reading well into the night. Just when I thought I had it figured out, a new twist threw me head long into a vortex of deceit, murder,love and hope. The ending was most surprising of all, something I truly did no...

The reader is introduced to an Agatha Christie-like cozy mystery meets Inspector Clouseau-style heroine in this charming murder mystery, Design on a Crime: Deadly Decor Mystery . Maybe not a profound whodunit story, but this book packs a wallop with the list of suspects, the main one being designer Haley Farrell, bungled "snoop" sessions, comical happenstances between her arch-rival Dutch and the "Karate Chop Cop", and Haley's downs-and-ups in her faith. The main story may seem more of  "who killed Marge", but the sub-plot concerning Haley's faith and her eventual growth in Christ strengthens the storyline. Marge's death leads to Haley's understanding that not everyone is perfect, and even the most undesirable person can receive forgiveness. Everyone has a choice, and sometimes people choose to ignore the right choice. This theme is worked throughout the book without it being preachy. The constant references to Starbucks can be s...

Shirley Corder's Strength Renewed: Mediations for Your Journey through Breast Cancer Shirley Corder's Strength Renewed is not just for those who suffer or have suffered from breast cancer...it is also for those who suffer from depression, anxiety, lethargy, pain, and all other "cancers" in life. From page one I found myself uplifted by Shirley's words. Although I have read the passages of Scripture before, I reread them with new understanding and new life. Just as her book provides new life to hope. I am listing a few things at the beginning that captured me so thoroughly that I went back and reread that chapter of meditation: " Jesus and his disciples came across a man who had been blind all his life. 'Who's to blame for this man's blindness?' the disciples asked Jesus. 'No one," Jesus replied. He explained that God's power would be revealed as a result of the man's disability.... ...Cancer is finite. God is way...

Neal Lozano's Unbound: A Practical Guide to Deliverance from Evil Spirits Recommended by Christian musician friend, Lance Edward of Angel Dean ( hear a sample of his song in this book trailer: Mississippi Nights or as part of The P salms Pro ject : Psalms 1 ), this book will take you beyond a simple walk with Jesus and into a deeper relationship. Letting go of the past isn't as simple as some may think. The devil will still try to hold those bonds of servitude against you. As you read, little by little, taking notes along the way, you will experience how to let go of the pain, of the shame, of the anger, etc. and how to keep it away forever. Many people may not want to talk about Hell and Satan; choosing, instead, to ignore that part of spirituality. If a person believes in the Almighty God and Jesus, then Satan is just as real and he doesn't want to lose a soul. A spiritual battle is waged every day, every hour. This book helps the reader in fighting this war, becaus...

For many years, Pentecostals are one of the most misunderstood denominations in Christianity. They are different. They are vibrant. They are emotional believers. Ada Brownell does an excellent job in showing the life of a Pentecostal, the ups and downs, the doubts, the fears, and the wisdom that life offers. Through her book daily life is broken down and bits and pieces of what makes a Pentecostal is laid bare. Unlike some of the prejudices directed at those of the Pentecostal faith and the untruths about who they are, Ms. Brownell shows how each of them are just as plain and just as flawed as the rest. The one difference is the enormity of their faith and their determination to abide by God's Word. As I read through this book, despite the typos and grammatical errors that pop up from time to time, I was held in awe. Her faith started out as a babe, and then became nurtured, sometimes faltering. Many times, she was reminded of her sin or lack of faith, which only strengthe...

All the Gods of Eisernon (1973) , The Elluvon Gift (1975) , The Trumpets of Tagan (1992) , Timeslide (1993) , Hopeship (1994) Written under the pen name, Simon Lang, by Darlene Hartman, this series tells the story between Earth and the conquered world of Eisernon. Like all worlds that are conquered, the ruling members are either killed or incorporated into society. But the story isn't about how the world was conquered, but how the world became to be Earth's greatest ally. Through political mistakes, friendly fire, and misunderstandings many atrocities are committed. The ruling Han of Eisernon are no more and the only surviving heir, Marik Dao, becomes the second in command to the stellar starship of the Federation, USS Skipjack and under the command of Captain Paul Riker. With the beginning of All the Gods of Eisernon , the reader witnesses the love-hate relationship between Marik and Riker, and learn of Marik's distrust of his new allies. As a top doctor, or ...

Uncharted by Angela Hunt Published by Thomas Nelson-2006 David Payne dies in a horrible wreck. Five friends from college decide to honor his memory and finish his charitable service project. Various reasons they give: out of guilt, for publicity, for an alibi. Meet Karyn & Kevin. Divorced ten years ago, with a fifteen year old daughter. Karyn is an actress for a daytime soap opera. Kevin is a high paid executive for a candy company. Both are absorbed with their success. Lisa is a woman, never married and secretly harboring an infatuation over an old friend, who runs a daycare and cares for her ailing parents. She obsesses over the rewards she receives from her church and being noticed. Susan, an interior designer, is financially stable through the death of her older husband. She agonizes about her looks and her status. Then there is Mark. An used car salesman, out to make a quick fortune, who hides a horrid secret. On the way to the Marshall Islands, a s...

To Darkness Fled, By Darkness Hid, From Darkness Won By Darkness Hid, To Darkness Fled, From Darkness Won: The Blood of Kings by Jill Williamson Published by Marcher Lord Press- 2009, 2010, 2011 Jill Williamson may sit beside the authors Tad Williams with his Sword of Sorrow series and George R.R. Martin with his Game of Thrones series. She succeeds them with her Blood of Kings trilogy. Follow the whirlwind journey of Achan, a young man whose status is lower than a slave, who not only discovers that he is the long lost heir to the throne, but also the one anointed by the One True God. Not a believer at first, Achan soon walks in fellowship with Arman. Gifted with the legacy of bloodvoicing, Achan is the strongest one of all. He is befriended by Sir Gavin. Before long, Achan is thrust into a terrifying war to claim his birthright and destiny. Knights, Giants, a boy who is really a girl, Duchesses, Dukes, and demons are only a few of the companions and foes. Temptat...

  The First Gardener by Denise Hildreth Jones  published by Tyndale House Publishers 2011 One couple...two tragedies. If one death could steal your joy, then what would two deaths do, steal your soul? Gray and Mackenzie are brought from joy to despair to hope and then thrown into the pit of hell. A review will never capture the essence of what this story does. It shows that no matter how big the hurt, the pain, the hope, etc., nothing is too big for God. The chapters intermingled with Jeremiah's POV give a true Southern taste and how deep our roots go when it come to leaning and trusting our Lord. This story had me laughing and a lot of times--crying (and that is hard to do). Riveting at its best, and poignant at its worst, I have never read such a story with such heartfelt sincerity and bold honesty. As Jeremiah says: "When God call you to sump'n big, ever'thing in your life gon' be big. Your mountains and your valleys--the...

Konig's Fire by Marc Schooley published by Marcher Lord Press 2010 (blog was written March 1, 2011) Reading the blurb for this book does not prepare the reader. Written in first person, you quickly lose yourself in the story. You are becoming Sascha Konig. Set in the time of WWII at the height of the Third Reich, a young man, a  Christian hidden under the teachings of Hilter's Youth, must battle the evilness of the Nachthaus, a secret underground cave that houses torture chambers and the oven, dubbed Dante's Inferno by Konig. Earning the name of Nebuchadnezzar, Konig strokes the fire seven times hotter than it had ever burned before. It isn't the evil of Nachthaus that Konig, and his two fellow Christians-in-hiding, must contend with, but the evil that resides in the heart of all men. For all are sinful and all can fall, but only those who face the time of the final testing and overcomes (so says the philosopher-face) will see the resul...

Shawn Grady Through the Fire   published by Bethany House 2009 Aidan O'Neill, a fireman with an innate ability to read fire, knowing when and how it will burn, becomes overconfident in his gift and it leaves him with the guilt of another fireman's tragic accident. It is a blow to his pride and to his faith. Told with a great deal of knowledge, not only in a fireman's line of work, but also in a man's struggle to cope with a loss and with guilt. This isn't a carefully weaved tale of salvation, but one of redemption. Even though he encounters betrayal through the hands of family, Aidan finds love through the hands of another. Shawn Grady writes a great tale. It causes you to turn page after page until you suddenly find yourself at the end and wishing for another book of his. The only downside: using first person POV is tricky and there are a few paragraphs that are repetitiously beginning every sentence with "I". Other than that, thi...

The Sleeping Rose by Angela Elwell Hunt   (This blog was written December 23, 2011) Have you ever loved something so much that it became more important than anything else in your life? This unique tale of a beautiful white rose that is requested by the King and Queen prove that sometimes the most beautiful thing can be found in the most surprising place. Baldrik spends his entire time caring for the most perfect rose plant during winter. Its one and only bloom opens on the first day of May. So famous is the rose, that the King and Queen invites Baldrik to their castle. Soon Baldrik's hobby becomes an obsession since his dream has always been to be a master gardener for the royal gardens. Through his concern for the rose his pride rises and he forgets about his compassion for those around him. Then the unthinkable happens, and the rose refuses to bloom, but it is the love and thankfulness of a beggar that shows Baldrik that the most important thing in life...

The Wonder of Your Love by Beth Wiseman The Wonder of Your Love by Beth Wiseman published by Thomas Nelson 2011 (this blog was written on January 27, 2012) I picked this book to read to do research on the top ten sellers in Christian fiction. What made them the books that people went to over and over? What formula was used? Imagine my surprise as I started reading, I became engrossed by the story. Even though I started reading it quite a few days ago when time permitted, I finally sat down and finished the last 200+ pages of the story. I did not want to put this down. Romance is not my typical genre. The Wonder of Your Love is the first Amish romance I have ever read. Stereotypical Amish romances, from reviews and perusing of some books, are usually cookie-cutter type books of fluffy happiness and goody-two shoes characters. Not this book. Each character had flaws. Secondary characters strengthen the story and foreshadowed upcoming titles. The...

Terri Blackstock: Golden Rose Spotlight I welcome Terri Blackstock , a NY Times bestselling author, and a remarkable lady. It is my honor and privilege to have interviewed her. Short blurb for Predator : The murder of Krista Carmichael's fourteen-year-old sister by an online predator has shaken her faith and made her question God's justice and protection. Desperate to find the killer, she creates an online persona to bait the predator. But when the stalker turns his sights on her, will Krista be able to control the outcome? Ryan Adkins started the social network GrapeVyne in his college dorm and has grown it into a billion-dollar corporation. But he never expected it to become a stalking ground for online predators. One of them lives in his town and has killed two girls and attacked a third. When Ryan meets Krista, the murders become more than a news story to him, and everything is on the line. Joining forces, Ryan and Krista set out to stop the killer. But...