The Day of Ezekiel's Hope By Donna VanLiere

 

Millions have vanished…
War has erupted around the globe…
Cities have been ransacked and overrun with lawlessness…
Yet this is only the beginning of the chaos that is to come.

Emma Grady has seen civilization collapse and New York gutted by nuclear attack. Amidst this international crisis, she and her growing family of outcasts must unravel the meaning of these strange and horrifying events, even as they struggle to survive.

On the other side of the world, Zerah Adler finds Israel surrounded by invaders intent on total annihilation. In Jerusalem, two men have the power to stop the rain and call down plagues of every kind. Are they sorcerers, or do they have the power of God? And a magnetic new leader has emerged, promising to provide peace and even salvation to the globe.

In the gripping follow-up to The Time of Jacob’s Trouble, bestselling author Donna VanLiere explores the end times through the journeys of Emma, Zerah, and others who face unprecedented danger. In the final chapters, you’ll discover what God’s Word says about our world’s future and yours—and realize that things aren’t spiraling downward but are actually looking up! 

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The Day of Ezekiel's Hope: VanLiere, Donna: 9780736978811: Amazon.com: Books

..a mom, a wife, an animal lover, and a closet comedian at home. She's passionate about cooking (...and eating), reading, movies and teaching, inspiring, challenging and encouraging dreamers! She doesn’t like watching sports on TV but is a huge fan of athletes under five feet tall who call her Mom. Donna also loves to write books. As a New York Times and USA Today best-selling author, her 14 titles include The Christmas Shoes and The Christmas Blessing - both of which were adapted into movies starring Rob Lowe, Kimberly Williams-Paisley and Neil Patrick Harris. Both movies garnered stellar ratings for CBS, including the highest rated made-for-TV movie of the year.  The Christmas Hope starring Madeline Stowe was adapted by Lifetime Television, and her movies The Christmas Secret and The Christmas Note when aired were among the highest rated movies in the history of the Hallmark Movies and Mystery channel. Donna's non-seasonal novel's, The Good Dream, Angels of Morgan Hill and non-fiction works like Finding Grace and High Calling - the biography of Space Shuttle Columbia Commander Rick Husband - capture the same warmth and poignancy as her Christmas books.

Donna has won a Retailer's Choice Award for Fiction, a Dove Award, a Silver Angel Award, two Audie Awards (seven nominations) for best inspirational fiction, has been a nominee for a Gold Medallion Book of the Year and is an inductee in the Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges Hall of Excellence joining such luminaries as Coretta Scott King, Hugh Downs, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale and Senator John Glenn. She also serves on the board of directors for National House of Hope, a residency program that is offered in several states for abused and at-risk teens. (By the way, if you’re looking for a place to give or to serve, look no further than here… www.NationalHouseofHope.org)

Donna's mini-van is staring down 200,000 miles as she runs her kids to school, drama and tennis practices, Tae Kwon Do, church, and the grocery store all while promising her editor to meet her book deadlines (...which occasionally does happen). She loves to spend her summers with her family around the swimming pool or a campfire.

One of Donna’s great loves is teaching and speaking. She has appeared at countless events around the country including keynote addresses at the prestigious Patricia Adams Lecture Series at Heidelberg University, Women of Faith, Among Friends Conferences and Extraordinary Women.

My Thoughts...

I read The Time of Jacob's Trouble which was book one in this series. So I was looking forward to book two. It was an eye opening read.

I have read every Christmas book by Vanliere and loved them all. The verdict is still out on how I feel about her writing  Science fiction books, while they are good reads I just don't know about them.

I will maybe know by book three.

The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required and all views expressed are our own.

Starstruck in Willow Falls By Pat Nichols

 

Two women whose dreams are about to come true find themselves in a town turned upside down.

As a Hollywood film crew and famous movie stars swoop into Willow Falls to film a full-length motion picture, the small town’s new normal as a popular North Georgia tourist destination is thrown into chaos.

Rachel Streetman fears her life-long dream to act is drifting into oblivion and leaving behind bitter regret. Weeks away from marrying Charlie Bricker, the manager of the town’s new winery, Rachel wonders if auditioning for a role in the movie will boost her lackluster career or open the door to a lifestyle incompatible with the small-town life she has come to accept.

Rachel’s twin sister, Emily Hayes, also has a dream—to be a famous author. But the release of her debut novel is upstaged by the Hollywood invasion. When she and Rachel accept the job as the director’s liaisons, their patience is stretched to the limit by starstruck residents. 

Pick up your copy here...                                                                                                                                    Starstruck in Willow Falls: Nichols, Pat: 9781645263111: Amazon.com: Books 

My writing journey began nine years after I retired from a corporate career with Avon Products. Now I'm proving it’s never too late to follow your dreams. I draw on twenty-seven years working with amazing women from all walks of life to write emotional stories set in the south, punctuated with humor and romance about women facing tension-laced challenges and heart-warming triumphs in pursuit of their dreams. Books one, two and three in the Willow Falls series follow the lives of Emily, an aspiring author, Rachel, a wishful actress, and Sadie, a parolee who spent thirty years in prison for killing the town hero. Willow Falls is a small southern town on the brink of failure, populated by opinionated, quirky, lovable residents. The stories will appeal to fans of Debbie Macomber, Ane Mulligan, Jan Karon and other southern writers. The Secret of Willow Inn, book one in the series, is a 2020 Selah award winner.

I'm married to my high-school-sweetheart, am the mother of two and grandmother of four. One precious granddaughter lives with the angels. I was born in Illinois, grew up in Orlando, and have called the Atlanta area home since the eighties. When I'm not writing I enjoy reading, jigsaw puzzles, movies, and spending time with family and friends. One of my favorite activities is speaking to groups and reading clubs. You can reach me at patnichols@patnicholsauthor.blog

Although we love dogs, especially black labs, our pets now consist of squirrels scampering across our deck, deer traipsing through their back yard, and an occasional rabbit peaking out from the shrubbery.

I'm a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Word Weavers International and have been featured on WATC Television Atlanta Alive, in Voyager Magazine, and Southern Writer's Magazine.

You are welcome to come on over to my website: www.patnicholsauthor.blog or join me Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Goodreads, and Bookbub. 

My Thoughts...                                                                                                  This was my third book in the Willow Fall series that I read. It was by far the best of the three. I was happy to have gotten the chance to read the final book in the series.                                                                                    I love small towns and I love romances so this was the best of both worlds and it did not disappoint.                                                                     Grab your copy of this 4 star read. The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required and all views expressed are our own.

Escape By Emma Eggleston Giveaway!

 

Laila is Richardsville High's quirky girl. She's just biding her time until graduation when she has an unusual encounter with Matty, the all-American boy next door, everybody just can't get enough of. When Matty and Laila start to talk, he shares a secret with her. He's a part of a clinical study for a medication called effugium and it can really transport him to other places and times. Will Laila trust Matty enough to try the effugium? 

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Amazon.com: Escape (9798594211483): Eggleston, Emma: Books

 I don't have a headshot or author bio this is a first.

This is a teen read, young adult if you will.

Truly Like Lightning By David Duchovny GIVEAWAY!

 

From the New York Times–bestselling author David Duchovny, an epic adventure that asks how we make sense of right and wrong in a world of extremes

For the past twenty years, Bronson Powers, former Hollywood stuntman and converted Mormon, has been homesteading deep in the uninhabited desert outside Joshua Tree with his three wives and ten children. Bronson and his wives, Yalulah, Mary, and Jackie, have been raising their family away from the corruption and evil of the modern world. Their insular existence―controversial, difficult, but Edenic―is upended when the ambitious young developer Maya Abbadessa stumbles upon their land. Hoping to make a profit, she crafts a wager with the family that sets in motion a deadly chain of events.

Maya, threatening to report the family to social services, convinces them to enter three of their children into a nearby public school. Bronson and his wives agree that if Maya can prove that the kids do better in town than in their desert oasis, they will sell her a chunk of their priceless plot of land. Suddenly confronted with all the complications of the twenty-first century that they tried to keep out of their lives, the Powerses must reckon with their lifestyle as they try to save it.

Truly Like Lightning, David Duchovny’s fourth novel, is a heartbreaking meditation on family, religion, sex, greed, human nature, and the vanishing environment of an ancient desert.

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Amazon.com: Truly Like Lightning: A Novel (9780374277741): Duchovny, David: Books

David William Duchovny (born August 7, 1960) is an American actor, writer, producer, director, and singer-songwriter. He is known for playing FBI Agent Fox Mulder on the sci-fi horror action drama show The X-Files and writer Hank Moody on the comedy-drama series Californication, both of which have earned him Golden Globe awards. Duchovny appeared in both of the two X-Files films, the 1998 science fiction-thriller of the same name and the supernatural-thriller The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008). As of May 2015, he has been executive producing and starring in the historically based cop drama Aquarius.

Duchovny has a B.A. in English Literature from Princeton University and an M.A. in English Literature from Yale University.

My Thoughts...

A story of family, who knew Duchovny could write? This is his fourth book and one you need to grab.

I struggled for the first few chapters and then it flowed so well I was done with the book before I know it.

I gave this book 3.5 stars and I hope that you will give it a read.

The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required and all views expressed are our own.

From This Moment By Kim Vogel Sawyer

 

Growing up in the foster care system, Jase Edgar always dreamed of one day starting his own family. But his fiancée's untimely death shattered his plans. Moving to Kansas and serving as a youth minister should be a fresh start, but he can't seem to set aside his doubts about God's goodness long enough to embrace his new life.

Newly-appointed church custodian, Lori Fowler is battling her own challenges. Her strained relationship with her father and her struggles with overeating convince her she's not worthy enough for love. When an Amish weaver enlists their help locating the owner of a ring found among the donated clothing she uses as fabric, Jase and Lori find themselves drawn to each other. But will they be able to release the past and move forward from this moment into a joyful future? 

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From This Moment: A Novel: Vogel Sawyer, Kim: 9780525653684: Amazon.com: Books

Award-winning, bestselling author Kim Vogel Sawyer is a wife, mother, gramma, chocolate-lover, cat-petter, and--most importantly--a daughter of the King! With more than 1.5 million books in print in seven different languages, Kim enjoys a full-time writing and speaking ministry. Her "gentle stories of hope" are loved by readers and reviewers alike. Kim and her retired military husband, Don, reside on the plains of Kansas, the setting for many of her novels. 

My Thoughts...

I love Sawyers books she pens such a great story every time. From This Moment was no exception. I loved the whole mystery behind the ring, I loved the relationships that the characters shared with each other. It was such a fast read.

I really enjoyed the brownies and how they were such a great part of this story.

I will say that there is a recipe for  Kenzie's Secret recipe Brownies  you are not going to want to miss these.

4 stars and I recommend this book.  

The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required and all views expressed are our own.

Under Our Roof By Madeleine Dean

 

A congresswoman and her son reveal how he survived a ten-year battle with opioid abuse—and what their family’s journey to recovery can teach us about finding hope amid the unspeakable.

When Madeleine Dean discovered that her son Harry was stealing from the family to feed a painkiller addiction, she was days away from taking the biggest risk of her life: running for statewide office in Pennsylvania. For years, she had sensed something was wrong. Harry was losing weight and losing friends. He had lost the brightness in his eyes and voice, changing from a young boy with boundless enthusiasm to a shadow of himself, chasing something she could not see. Now her worst fears had come to light.

Under Our Roof is the story of a national crisis suffered in the intimacy of so many homes, told with incredible candor through the dual perspectives of a mother rising in politics and a son living a double life, afraid of what might happen if his secret is exposed. In this honest, bracing, yet ultimately uplifting memoir, they discuss the patterns of a family dealing with an unspoken disease, the fear that keeps addicts hiding in shame, and the moments of honesty, faith, and personal insight that led to Harry’s recovery.

In a country searching for answers to the devastating effects of opioids and drug abuse, Under Our Roof is a ray of hope in the darkness. It is not only a love story between mother and son but also an honest account of a pressing national crisis by a family poised to make a difference. 

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Under Our Roof: A Son's Battle for Recovery, a Mother's Battle for Her Son: Dean, Madeleine, Cunnane, Harry: 9780593138069: Amazon.com: Books

Madeleine Dean Cunnane is an American politician and the U.S. Representative for Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district. The district includes almost all of Montgomery County, a suburban county north of Philadelphia.

My Thoughts...

When asked to review this book, I did not think about it I just said yes. But after spending an afternoon with my nose in it and I did not put it down. 

This is a book of hope no sad ending to this families trying times. It is a story of understanding and hope.

This is going to be the new normal I hope.

Grab a copy of this 3 star read and share it with those around hurting from drug addiction. Let them know that there is hope.

The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required and all views expressed are our own.

The Life You Long For By Christy Nockels

 

Christy Nockels knows firsthand how easily our desire to serve God—even when using the gifts He has given us—can overshadow our delight in simply being with Him. When God called her to lay down her ministry for a season, Christy was forced to confront how her sense of purpose and worth had become tangled up in her work. God then lovingly invited her to discover true rest in His presence as she learned to live as the Beloved.
 
In The Life You Long For, Christy shows us how to let go of hustle and achievement and instead find our identity in the quiet center of God’s love. As we delight in being with Him, we are filled to overflowing with contentment and love that propel us into an entirely new way of being, one in which every act of service and every encounter with the people around us arise from a heart at rest.
 

With irresistible warmth and grace, this book calls you to step fully into the life you didn’t even realize you’ve been seeking, as you find your highest calling not in a duty to uphold but in a beautiful identity to live out.

Pick up your copy here...

The Life You Long For: Learning to Live from a Heart of Rest: Nockels, Christy: 9780593192542: Amazon.com: Books

Christy Nockels is a worship leader, singer/songwriter, who has a heart to lead others to authentically connect and communicate with God. Christy and her husband, Nathan, toured nationwide as the Christian music duo, Watermark, recording five acclaimed albums. The couple was also an intrical part of the collegiate movement, Passion Conferences, for twenty years. Christy’s voice can be heard on songs like, “Waiting Here for You” and her songwriting on church anthems like, “Lord, I Need You” and “Healing is in Your Hands.” Christy now records for the couple’s own recording label, Keeper’s Branch Records, where they’ve enjoyed releasing fan-favorites like Be Held; Lullabies for the Beloved. Christy’s popular podcast, “The Glorious in the Mundane” is intentionally focused to help women, in any season of life, find the wonder and awe of God in the moments of the here and now. Christy lives in Franklin, TN with her husband and three beloved children (and two dogs who think they are beloved children!) 

My Thoughts...

This is the kind of book you have to take  your time and read it slow there is so much to chew on you can read it fast you will get choked and miss a lot. 

I love how Nockels shared her heart in her personal stories. It was almost like sitting with her on her back porch and hearing her share her heart with me.

This is the perfect gift book and one that you will want to share with those that you love.

I gave this book 4 stars.

The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required and all views expressed are our own.