Sunday, July 31, 2016

Missing by Lisa Harris

"I didn't have a choice"  
 " That's where you are wrong _______," Nikki said, standing to leave. " You always had a choice."    - Nikki Boyd, Missing by Lisa Harris                              





Can you believe that it is almost August? It is almost time for school to start again and for those beautiful fall days that are perfect for ... Reading a great book of course! 
So if you are going on a "end of summer" vacation or are looking for a awesome book to read, here is my latest "Must Read"  Missing by Lisa Harris.

Missing by Lisa Harris is the story of Special Agent Nikki Boyd who is part of the Missing Persons division in Nashville, Tennessee. Nikki and her partner Jack, were called to the scene of a homicide which made them very confused since they do not handle homicide cases. As they arrive on the scene, They discover that there was a home invasion and the " robbers" were both shot,but the homeowners, Mac and Lucy Hudson were missing.  As they investigate what occurred, they receive a report that one of the homeowners were seen down by the Marina. Nikki is shocked when they arrive on the scene and it is her best friend Tyler's boat! Then to make matters worse, they discover Tyler inside the boat and they see that he found Mac Hudson, but Mac was no longer alive.  They take Tyler and his Father-in-law ( who they also found on the boat) in for questioning. As they uncover some parts of the events that unfolded before and after the home invasion, they find out they now have only a matter of hours to find Lucy before whoever did this finds her .  As evidence and new clues surface, the case only gets harder because it seems that Lucy has covered her tracks well. How do you find someone who does not want to be found?  They also discover that not only is Lucy in danger, but Tyler and his son as well. The people behind this horrible attack believe that the three of them know and are hiding evidence of a crime which would put them in jail for a very long time,  Will Nikki be able to keep Tyler and his family safe? Will she be able to find Lucy ? And what about her mixed feelings for Tyler, Will she be able to hide it away in her heart or will she finally tell him how she feels? 
If you want to see how it ends... You will have to read it to find out! 


What did I think of the book? 
First, Missing is book 2 in the Nikki Boyd Files Series. I have read book 1, Vendetta and it was just as good as this one but I think that you could also read this book as a stand alone. The original story in book 1 talked about how her sister was abducted 10 years ago and that is the reason why Nikki is a part of the Missing Persons division. She hopes to one day find her sister or her sisters captor.  They do mention a little bit about what happened to her sister but they do not dwell on it. The focus of the plot is definitely finding Lucy and discovering who is after her.  I thought the book was well written. Though there is mention of the crime and what happened with Mac, there never was anything graphic mentioned about any of the events. The book was exciting and the plot did not stop until the very last page. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a suspense novel with a lot of action and a little bit of drama. There is even a little bit of romance thrown in the mix. Overall I enjoyed reading the book and look forward to the next book in the series,  Pursued. It's coming out in 2017! 
I rate this book 4.5 out of 5 stars ***** ( it is so close that I put the 5 stars up :)


Well, sense we have to wait about a year for the next book,  you can check out her other books while you wait! Here is the link to other great books by Mrs Harris.





Happy Reading :)



I would like to thank Revell , A division of Baker Publishing Group for allowing me to review this book in exchange for a free copy, I was not required to write a favorable review, just an honest one.



Wednesday, July 27, 2016

No Way Up by Mary Connealy


"You are all fools if you do not know what you have in a father's love! Yes, lucky, Blessed... And part of that blessing is that starting right now, you're all locked up here at the ranch until one year from today." 
                                                -Heath Kincaid, No Way Out by Mary Conneally.

This is my 50th Post!!! I just want to take a moment to thank all of the people who have viewed or commented on my reviews. I especially would like to thank the Publishers that have let me review books for them, Thank you Bethany House, Tyndale House, Blogging for Books, Revell and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review your amazing books!

So here is my lastest review...
I just finished reading No Way Up by Mary Conneally and it was great!
No Way Up is the story of Chance Boden, a wealthy rancher and his three children Sadie, Cole and Justin. Chance was riding through the steep trail of Skull Gulch, with several of his ranch hands when suddenly there was an avalanche!  As they raced through the falling rocks, they all thought they had narrowly escaped the deadly rock shower.  But when Heath Kincaid looked around he saw that Chance was no longer with them. They were able to locate where Chance had been buried under the rocks and debris but were worried about the horrible injury on one of his legs. Heath had a little bit of medical training from a previous job and was able to clean and bandage the injury but he was worried that the wound would get infected or that Chance would lose his leg.  After they arrived at the house and the Doctor was able to look at the injury they discovered that hope was not completely lost for Chance. The Doctor knew a Specialist in Denver who could do a procedure that would allow Chance to keep his leg and still be able to walk on it, he just may have to walk with a limp or with the assistance of a cane.  Chance's children tried to arrive home before he left but he was only able to see Sadie. He told her that he had changed his will and that the changes were to start as soon as he left for Denver since there was a chance that he would not survive the trip. So with tears and goodbyes. Chance and his wife left.
Because Chance had told him to, Heath brought Chance's last will and testament out and read it to Sadie, Justin and Cole. All three of them were shocked at what their father had done! He wrote that they had to live together and work on the ranch for a full year. If any of them left the ranch or worked outside of the property, They would lose everything and the ranch and all of their father's property would go to a relative that they all could not stand.  As Heath observes the family, he is suprised at how much they remind him of his family back home and he wonders if they will be able to fulfill their father's wish. That afternoon, Heath and Sadie were riding around the property when they noticed that there was someone on top of Skull Mesa, the place where the avalanche had occured.
Heath wonders if the avalanche was an accident or was it attempted murder?  When Heath tells the others his suspicions, they decide to try to climb up the side of the mesa but how can anyone be up there when there is no way up?
When they discover a note telling them to "get off the property that they stole from Mexico", they realize that in order for the ranch to stay in the family, they would have to learn to be a family again, which was going to be hard because they all have there own way of doing things, their own opinions and they can never seem to get along... Will they be able to bond as a family to protect one another and the home they love? Will their father, Chance survive the trip to Denver and recover from his injury?
You definitely don't want to miss the adventure within the pages of this book!!!

What did I think?
I LOVED the book!  It had everything that I look for in a book, It had action, romance, humor, faith and some awesome characters with an intriguing plot. One thing that may not have come through on my synopsis that you just read on the book was the humor that is intertwined in the story. It is the perfect balance of danger and humor so that the story never was too serious. Do not get me wrong, I think that the book was excellent because there were serious moments but there also were parts that were sweet or hilarious too.  I love the relationship between Heath and the Boden kids ( well, they are all adults, but I'm sure you knew what I meant) which you will have to read to find out about. Overall I give the book 5 out of 5 stars!!! *****


Don't forget to  check out her other amazing stories by clicking the link below!
http://maryconnealy.com/

ALSO, You can get a free* ebook called "The Boden Birthright" which is a prequel novella of the series at Amazon and at Barnes and Noble. Here are the links:

Amazon Kindle Ebook

Barnes and Noble Nook Book

*the ebook, " The Boden Birthright" by Mary Coneally was free at the time this post was published. The writer has no guarantee if it will always be free of charge.


Happy Reading :) 



I would like to thank Bethany House for allowing me to read and review this book in return for a free copy. I was not asked to write a favorable review, Just a honest one.

Thursday, July 21, 2016

Ben-Hur, A Tale of the Christ by Carol Wallace


So I just finished reading Ben-Hur by Carol Wallace, which is a new updated version of the classic book.
When reading the Authors note at the beginning of the book, I was thrilled to see that the Author, Carol Wallace is the great-great Granddaughter of  author, Lew Wallace who wrote the original book that was published in 1880.
When I found out that I was going to be able to review this book for you, I was so excited!  I remember watching the classic movie Ben-Hur that featured Charleston Heston with my family when I was little and I LOVE the movie but have never read the book, So If you are not familiar with the story, let me tell you a little about it.

Ben-Hur is the story of Judah Ben-Hur, a Young 17 year old boy who is a prince in Israel. The book opens with Judah waiting for his friend, Messala, A Roman boy who went away to study and Judah has not seen in 5 years .  When they finally meet, Judah is surprised at how old Messala looks. As they talk, Judah discovers that it is not only Messala's looks that have changed but his views as wel. He used to not care that Judah was Jewish, but now he had a Roman way of thinking and during their conversation, He talks bad about Jerusalem, Judah's faith and the sheltered life that Judah's has lived. Judah is confused and mad about what his friend said but is helped by some advice given by his mother.  The next day Judah is on the roof of their palace watching the procession for the new Procurator, Valerius Gratus. He tries to get a better look and knocks a loose tile off of the edge and it hits the Procurator right on the forehead. Immediately, Soldiers break down the door and arrest Judah and his family. Messala comes in the house and Judah is thankful because his friend knows he would never hurt anyone. But Messala pronounces them all guilty of attempted murder and sends Judah's Mother and Sister to jail and Judah was to be sent to the Galleys.
To be sent to the Galley was a death sentence because you were sent to a roman war ship and with several other prisoners and forced to row the oars for the rest of your life. Most people did not last more then a year in the Galleys.  Judah was on his way to the Galley when he collapsed of exhaustion. The soldiers were making him walk the desert with no water and he was practically being dragged behind their horses. As the soldiers got some water in the small town of Nazareth, Judah is given water by a young carpenter who defied the soldiers orders to not give any water to the prisoner. This gave Judah hope to continue on to the Galleys and whatever God had planned for him. The book skips to about three years later when a new commander was coming aboard the ship that Judah was currently working on. Commander Quintus Arrius was not new to war and the galleys but was intrigued by one slave that appeared to be about 20 years old. He questioned Judah about why he is in the galleys and is shocked that he has survived for so long. After he has spoken with Judah he is still thinking about his story when the fleet are forced into battle against a band of pirates. As the slaves were being chained to their seats, Commander Arrius tells them to leave Judah unchained. This single act is what saved Judah's life. A few hours later ( or minutes, the book does not say) the battle intensifies and the ship catches fire. Judah manages to escape by jumping off the burning ship and he finds a piece of wood floating that he manages to climb on. As he is floating he spots Commander Arrius and saves him from drowning.  Commander Arrius and Judah are rescued by a Roman ship and Commander Arrius adopts Judah as his son and his heir. Judah stayed with Arrius until he died, Then he left to discover what happened to his mother and sister.  As Judah reaches Antioch, the home of the Hur Family's steward. He is met with suspicion as to his identity. The steward has been questioned and almost beaten to death by Roman soldiers in order to find the Hur fortune so he is not sure Judah is who he says he is. After Judah meets with the steward to convince him that he is Judah Ben Hur, He wanders around and ends up in the Grove of Daphne, a place where your every desire could be met for the sake of pleasing the idols of Rome. The Steward sent someone to follow Judah because he wanted to see what kind of person Judah was.  While in the Grove, Judah saves the life of a old man and his daughter and through them, he meets the Sheik who owns the most beautiful Arabian Horses that Judah had ever seen.  After speaking with the Sheik, Judah decides to enter into the upcoming Chariot race, especially since he discovered Messala was also racing and Judah remembers that sometimes people get hurt or killed in the arena, that it is just part of the sport. Will Judah kill Messala out of revenge?  Will Messala recognize Judah?
Looking at the bigger picture... Will Judah ever be able to find out if his mother and sister are still alive and if they are... Where are they?


What did I think of the book?
I liked the movie better. The book was OK,
Again I want to say that I have not read the original book, so I do not know about the accuracy of the book. but I did not like how Judah was portrayed. In the movie, his faith is strong and it is his belief in God that helped him to get through his time in the Galleys, In the book, it is his quest for revenge against Messala for destroying his family. Yes it is the Tale of the Christ but on the only Biblical part, When Balthasar was speaking about seeing Baby Jesus,  He told the story wrong. In the Bible it says that the Wisemen went to King Herod and asked him where was "the King of the Jews" born ,after that they found the Baby and were told in a dream to go home a different way... In the book, Balthasar says that they found the Christ Child and then were told in a dream to go to King Herod and ask where the "King of the Jews was born.
Overall, I thought the story was OK, But it was a very long book and tt had some graphic scenes, like the battle on the ship and there was also a riot. I give the book 2 out of 5 Stars.   **



You can check out her other books at: 
http://www.carolwallacebooks.com/books/


 Happy Reading :)


 I would like to thank Tyndale House Publishers for allowing me to read and review this book in return for a free copy and I was not asked to write a favorable review, Just a honest one.