Smoochin' Under the Mistletoe by Madison Love Book Review

About the Book:

Lucy thought this holiday season would be everything she ever dreamed of—a sparkling ring, a future full of promise, and joy wrapped in tinsel and twinkling lights.

But when her plans unexpectedly fall apart, she finds herself questioning everything: her future, herself, and the place she’s always called home.

As the holidays unfold, heartbreak and hardship give way to something deeper—grace. Surrounded by a small town full of big-hearted neighbors, Lucy is reminded that sometimes the greatest gifts come in the most unexpected packages.

Through acts of kindness, quiet sacrifices, and a love that just won’t give up, she discovers that the miracle she gets looks a little different from the one she’d been praying for.

My Review:

This is another entertaining Christian romance from Love. She has created a loving and supporting and caring community so when disaster strikes, there are many to help. It is almost too good to be true, but then it is fiction. It is also the way we would like a supporting community to be. That some of the residents are wealthy and can easily solve financial problems is part of the over the top fictional aspect.

This novel deals with a serious issue, male infertility. Lucy and Colt struggle over what that would mean for their marriage. It is a painful part of their potential romance and we hope they can come to a solution.

There is one odd aspect to this novel. Reference is made to “little James” not being healed by Jesus. I was puzzled by this until I found out it is something fabricated in The Chosen but having no biblical support. That one of the characters in this novel speaks of it as if it was a real biblical truth is disconcerting.

Nonetheless, biblical inaccuracy aside, this is an entertaining Christmas romance with a strong message of trusting God for the future. Be sure to have tissues nearby as you come to the end of it.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

About the Author:

Best Selling, Award Winning Author, Madison Love enjoys writing clean and Christian romances while intertwining humor, faith, and suspense. She has spent most of her life traveling abroad, discovering new places, and meeting wonderful people. She spent twenty years in the military before settling in a rural town outside of Buffalo, New York, where she now lives on a forty-acre farm with her husband, son, and two dogs. Having been afforded the time and opportunity to bring her ideas and stories to life, she seeks to give her readers the ‘happy ever after’ they seek.

Independently published, 240 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book through BookSirens. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)

The Bible Companion Book 6 by Karen Westbrook Moderow Blog Tour Book Review

 

About the Book

Book: The Bible Companion Book 6 Psalms: Journey Through Scripture One Day at a Time

Author: Karen Westbrook Moderow

Genre: Bible Commentary, Studies

Can you tell God how you feel? The Bible Companion Book 6 helps you approach God with both honesty and respect. A simple one-chapter-a-day format lets you engage with Scriptures without the pressure of schedules, homework, or heavy reading loads. Short daily readings and thought-provoking questions connect your story to God’s Word. For personal and group study.

In the Books of Wisdom (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs), God speaks to us in poetry—the language of the heart. In Psalms we mourn, celebrate, and worship with people who run to God in the best and worst seasons of life. Their experiences give us hope. If you feel alone, if you are hurting, if you need grace, join the psalmists who find forgiveness and strength in God’s presence.

Click here to get your copy!

My Review

This is another good addition to a very informative and helpful series for those who read the Bible. I appreciate Maderow's comments, helping us understand the purpose of the Psalms, engaging our minds and our emotions. I appreciate how she explains the Psalms give us language to express our feelings to God and be honest with Him, whether praise or lament or questioning His actions. She includes helpful charts and thought provoking comments at the end of each chapter.

This is a very good book for those who read the Psalms and want to experience them in a deeper way.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

You can find out more at www.thebiblecompanionseries.com. 

 

About the Author

KAREN WESTBROOK MODEROW is a Bible teacher and author who brings a storyteller’s perspective to Scripture. She holds master’s degrees in theology and creative writing and loves introducing others to Jesus through the stories told in God’s Word.

 

More from Karen

I once attended a small church that had several young rowdy boys. I wondered if there was a way to settle them down by doing something fun after church that also had spiritual significance. I decided to bribe them. If they memorized the verse I gave them from the Psalms, I would give them a treat. It seemed a good idea at the time.

The first week we talked about how God is the one who cares for us and meets our needs. I taught them Psalm 81:10: “Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.” I pulled out a stick of gum and told them if they could quote this verse with the reference the following Sunday after church, I would give them the gum. The idea was to continue this until they had a few verses under their belt. There was a lot of jumping up and down and hand clapping though I wondered how many would follow through.

The next Sunday after church, four little boys ran up to me. “I know the verse,” one little guy said. He recited it as his compadres listened, then opened his mouth wide and waited for me to unwrap the gum and put it in his mouth. (With this group, you didn’t dare give it to them. You just hoped they wouldn’t stick it under a church pew before their parents got them outside.) One after another they came, chirping out the verse. I soon realized some hadn’t memorized it. Because the verse was short, they were just repeating what the first boy said. Oh well. It counted. I fed them like little birds though the moment felt sacred, somehow, as if I were serving communion.

The next week, they learned Psalm 34:8: “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” That week, I gave them mints. But when I started perusing the Psalms for other appropriate verses, I realized I’d worked myself into a corner. The Bible has a lot of verses about food but not many are in Psalms. It was slim pickings. I considered:

Psalm 119:103 “”How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” I couldn’t very well squirt honey into their mouths, and I didn’t think the parents or the pastor would appreciate having four active little boys running around the sanctuary with sticky piece of honeycomb in their hands.

Psalm 141:4 wasn’t going to work either. This verse is about the wicked. It says, “And do not let me eat of their delicacies.” In this context, any treat I brought would be a temptation. Not a good idea.

Psalm 23 looked like my best hope: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” In the end, I decided against it too. What was I going to do, bring a whole meal? And set up all the onlookers as “enemies?” Also not good.

So three weeks into my ill-conceived Scripture memorization plan, the best I could come up with was Psalm 145:15 “The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time.”

The proper time, sadly, no longer included my after-church Bible memory program. I tried to let the boys down gently. (From this I learned to set an end-time for such initiatives. Better yet, have a plan before starting them!) Still, whenever I come across the verses they learned, I think about those boys. I see their little upturned faces, eyes closed, mouths open, waiting expectantly and wonder if they remember too. Do they remember that God is our provider? That He is good? That He delights in meeting their needs? If so, my little failed experiment was worth it.

Blog Stops

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, December 5

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, December 6

Simple Harvest Reads, December 7 (Author Interview)

Texas Book-aholic, December 8

Artistic Nobody, December 9 (Author Interview)

Because I Said So, December 9

Girls in White Dresses, December 10

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academ, December 11

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, December 12

Guild Master, December 13 (Author Interview)

Cover Lover Book Review, December 14

Fiction Book Lover, December 15 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, December 15

For Him and My Family, December 16

Lots of Helpers, December 17

Jodie Wolfe – Stories Where Hope and Quirky Meet, December 18 (Author Interview)

Giveaway

 

To celebrate her tour, Karen is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon Gift Card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/3e373/the-bible-companion-book-6-psalms-celebration-tour-giveaway

I received a complimentary egalley of this book through Celebrate Lit. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)

Fatal Invitation by S F Baumgartner Book Review

About the Book:

Vanished women. A rising body count. A detective who won’t quit.

Detective Kylie “KC” Cassidy thought Major Crimes would be her big break. Instead, she’s chasing the brutal murders of young women—and the trail keeps circling back to Assistant State Attorney Gavin Watkins and his elusive ally, Kozlov.

Each lead vanishes before her eyes, every step forward dragging her deeper into danger. And when Kozlov’s men come after her, KC must rely on her instincts, and on the few people she can trust, to survive long enough to expose the truth.

But when KC gets too close to the truth, she becomes the target. Will KC survive the trap and bring down the predators or become their next victim?

My Review:

Baumgartner is off and running on a new entertaining detective series. There are interesting and engaging characters, including a brave heroine. KC is a great detective, dedicated and willing to step into dangerous situations. And there is plenty of danger and suspense as the plot develops. There is also a new special task force in Orlando called Orlando Prime. They combine their forces with the police department to work on the murder cases. While there is some tension between the two at the beginning, they find their way to work together. Baumgartner changes the focus from one enforcement group to the other as the action proceeds.

This is an engaging police investigative novel. Baumgartner's writing style is good. The suspense grows and I did not feel it lagged at all. This is a great start to a new series. Those who have read the Mirror Estate Series will recognize a name or two but reading that series is not necessary to enjoy this one.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

You can read my review of the novella, Christmas Murders, introducing KC and the short story introducing Orlando Prime.

About the Author:

S.F. Baumgartner crafts fast-paced Christian suspense thrillers, weaving tales of complex characters, secretive operatives, and relentless agents. Her gripping storytelling has earned acclaim, with Living Secrets—Book 1 of her Mirror Estate series—named a Top Pick in the thriller category at Killer Nashville, 2024. When she’s not plotting her next twist, she’s binge-watching crime TV shows, like NCIS or playing with her cats. Fans of James Patterson's style, especially those who appreciate short, punchy chapters, will find much to love in her work.

FB Publishing, 328 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book through BookSirens. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)

The Genius Bat by Yossi Yovel

About the book:

With nearly 1500 species, bats account for more than twenty percent of mammalian species. The most successful and most diverse group of mammals, bats come in different sizes, shapes, and colors, from the tiny bumblebee bat to the giant golden-crowned flying fox. Some bats eat fruit and nectar; others eat frogs, scorpions, or fish. Vampire bats feed on blood. Bats are the only mammals that can fly; their fingers have elongated through evolution to become wings with a unique, super-flexible skin membrane stretched between them. Their robust immune system is one of the reasons for their extreme longevity. A tiny bat can live for forty years.

Yossi Yovel, an ecologist and a neurobiologist, is passionate about deciphering the secrets of bats, including using AI to decipher their communication. In The Genius Bat, he brings to vivid life these amazing creatures as well as the obsessive and sometimes eccentric people who study them–bat scientists. From muddy rainforests to star-covered night deserts, from guest houses in Thailand to museum drawers full of fossils in New York, this is an eye-opening and entertaining account of a mighty mammal.

My review:

This is a well written and very interesting book. Yovel really brought to life those odd things I remember flying around dusk during my childhood on a farm. We were never afraid of them as they seemed to be able to avoid coming too close to us. I had no idea of the amazing characteristics bats embody. The information is presented in a readable way, Yovel sharing his own studies as well as from others. I was overwhelmed at times with the deep dive into some of the research and the scientists involved. I do wish he would have been able to study bats closer to where I live in the PNW. Nonetheless, this ia s good book for anyone who wants to know about the world of bats.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

About the author:

Yossi Yovel is an ecologist and a neurobiologist – a rare combination of disciplines. A professor at Tel-Aviv University and the head of the School of Neuroscience, he has conducted research all around the world, using an arsenal of methods and equipment. His work has been covered by major media outlets including The New York Times, The Guardian, The Financial Times, The Economist, NPR, BBC, and National Geographic. A sought-after public speaker, he is currently a visiting scholar at McGill University in Montreal. Photo credit: Ofri Eitan.

St Martin's Press, 320 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.) 

Orlando Prime by S F Baumgartner Short Story Review

About the Short Story:

Before the high-profile cases and headlines, there was the beginning. A retired Navy commander. A call from the governor. A team built from the best—and the broken. Orlando Prime: The Origin Files reveals how Frank Travers assembled the elite crime-fighting unit that would redefine justice in Florida.

My Review:

This is a short story, not even novella length. It only recounts a little information, beginning with Frank Travers, commander in the navy, now retired. The governor of Florida taps him to head an elite crime fighting unit, Orlando Prime. He assembles a group of highly trained people or just extremely talented in their area. We get a hint of their characters and expertise. 

I especially liked getting a bit of background on Travers. I have started reading Fatal Invitation, the book for which this is an explanatory short story. He comes across a bit different in that novel and I am glad I got to know his background  here.

About the Author:

S.F. Baumgartner crafts fast-paced Christian suspense thrillers, weaving tales of complex characters, secretive operatives, and relentless agents. Her gripping storytelling has earned acclaim, with Living Secrets—Book 1 of her Mirror Estate series—named a Top Pick in the thriller category at Killer Nashville, 2024. When she’s not plotting her next twist, she’s binge-watching crime TV shows, like NCIS or playing with her cats. Fans of James Patterson's style, especially those who appreciate short, punchy chapters, will find much to love in her work.

I received a complimentary egalley of this short story from the author through BookFunnel. My comments are an independent and honest review.

Vengeance in Vienna by Sara L Jameson Blog Tour Book Review

About the Book

Book: Vengeance in Vienna (Troubled Waters Book 3)

Author: Sara L. Jameson

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Release Date: July 16, 2024

A moonlight sail. A sniper on the shore. A terrorist financier determined to kill Jacob and all he holds dear.

Interpol Special Agent Jacob Coulter and his fiancée Riley Williams set out on a moonlight sail, but a sniper turns their idyllic Austrin vacation into a deadly nightmare.

On temporary assignment to the Vienna Interpol office, Jacob must apprehend a notorious terrorist financier and uncover his operations in Austria. But the financier is determined to destroy all Jacob holds dear. And that includes his kid sister and his fiancée, Riley Williams.

Opera singer Riley Williams is tired of dodging terrorist attempts on her life. When she insists on helping Jacob catch the financier and his henchmen, she gets into more trouble than she bargained for.

But the financier’s tentacles of evil reach far deeper into the Austrian economy than Jacob and Riley suspected. What they uncover appalls them. The clock is ticking. Can Jacob find them before it’s too late?

Click here to get your copy!

My Review

This is another good thriller from Jameson. There is quite a bit of suspense as Riley, opera star and engaged to Interpol Agent Jacob, often goes off on her own and gets into trouble. There is also trouble when Jacob's younger sister thinks she is old enough (at 14) and wise enough to try to make it on her own. But there is an evil human trafficker and both are caught in his web.

Jameson balances the suspense with personal aspects of Riley and Jacob. Riley had a very controlling father and Jacob's care for her is sometimes seen by her as controlling. Hence her independent actions and ensuing trouble. Jacob's sister has a similar issue, thinking that Jacob's care for her is too restrictive. Both must grow through their wrong perceptions.

This novel deals with catching a human trafficker. While there are no overly graphic descriptions, Jameson does deal with some serious issues so this is not a cozy mystery. There is a clear faith element included and it is a good novel for readers willing to deal with a hard topic.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

You can read my reviews of the previous books in this series: Cruise to Death and Death in High Places.

About the Author

Sara L. Jameson won Scrivenings Press’s grand prize publishing contract in January 2021. They released her debut romantic suspense novel, Cruise to Death, in June 2021. Death in High Places, (Book 2 in the Troubled Waters series), released February 2023, followed by Vengeance in Vienna, July 2024. She is currently working on books 4 and 5 of the Troubled Waters series for Scrivenings Press.

In real life, Sara is a multi-published former university professor who has also written non-fiction under her real name and edits book manuscripts for other authors. She also pens WWII historical novels. When not at her computer, she enjoys reading, swimming, cooking, and dog-sitting.

More from Sara

Ever since childhood, I’ve loved to travel. Memories of family cross-country car trips still make me smile. Breakfast and lunch prepped from goodies chilled in the ice chest. Kellogg’s single-serve cereals or cake doughnuts with milk and juice. (Rare treats in our household.) A sandwich prepared at a roadside picnic table for lunch. As an adult, their lack of nutrition makes me shudder.

These days, my tastes have grown more sophisticated. Scrumptious buffet breakfasts in European or Asian hotels make my mouth water. Local dishes creep into my books. And no trip to Antwerp, Belgium is complete without a serious stop at a delectable chocolate shop. Naturally, for the reader’s sake, Sampling these treats for authenticity in the novel is a must, right?

While tempting the palate with sumptuous Viennese pastries at Heiner’s, my favorite Konditorei (pastry shop), Vengeance in Vienna whisks readers through the stunning Austrian countryside with assassins at Jacob and Riley’s backs, and a terrorist financier determined to destroy them. Dehmel’s is another Konditorei readers might want to visit. Both Konditoreien are steeped in history, atmosphere, and Old-World charm. Are you salivating yet?

Better yet, grab a copy of Vengeance in Vienna and curl up for a nail-biting armchair trip to beautiful Austria filled with heart-pounding romantic suspense.

Blog Stops

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, December 1

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, December 2

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, December 3

Texas Book-aholic, December 4

Simple Harvest Reads, December 5 (Author Interview)

Holly’s Book Corner, December 5

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, December 6

Happily Managing a House of Boys, December 7

For Him and My Family, December 8

Artistic Nobody, December 9 (Author Interview)

Devoted To Hope, December 10

Betti Mace, December 11

Lily’s Corner, December 12

Fiction Book Lover, December 13 (Author Interview)

Pause for Tales, December 13

Blogging With Carol, December 14

Giveaway

 

To celebrate her tour, Sara is giving away the grand prize of a $75 Amazon Gift Card and a print copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

 

https://promosimple.com/ps/3e35d/vengeance-in-vienna-celebration-tour-giveaway

I received a complimentary egalley of this book through Celebrate Lit. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)

The Picasso Job by Avanti Centrae Book Review

About the Book:

Chasing justice left Dakota Black a convicted felon. Inside the gray walls of Folsom State Prison, the blond farm boy who wanted to become an FBI agent finds himself mixed up with bow-legged Renoir Reza—a Machiavellian art thief with a deadly hidden agenda—and Cody Winters, the revenge-minded brother of the man Dakota supposedly put in the grave. To escape Winters's attacks, Dakota joins Reza in a fiery jailbreak. They embark on a kamikaze crime spree seeking a five-million-dollar reward.
 
Before the bright lights of Reno are in their rearview mirror, Special Agent Elizabeth Everett and her partner catch the scent of their trail. She arrested Reza before and won't stop until his murderous global plans are snuffed out.
 
With loyalties shifting like the wind, will any of the three fugitives manage to re-steal a Picasso painting? Or will Dakota die trying to walk a tightrope between survival and virtue?

My Review:

This is a very interesting thriller and one I enjoyed. I have read the VanOps adventures and was pleasantly surprised with an entirely different plot. A prison break and a cross country chase provide lots of action. The FBI is on them because one fellow is a terrorist. The others? There are good guys and bad guys but with twists at the end, not all bad guys were as bad as I thought.

Lots of action and good character development made this thriller a good one to read. The Author's Note was very informative, giving facts about the plot. And the best part is that one of the fellows survived. I hope he will be in future novels.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

About the Author:

Avanti Centrae is an adrenaline junkie who drives too fast and loves to tell stories that make readers' hearts pound faster.

She's honored to have won fourteen literary awards, including a Chanticleer Genre grand prize for both THE LOST POWER and SOLSTICE SHADOWS. CLEOPATRA'S VENDETTA took home a gold medal at the Readers’ Favorite Awards ceremony.

Avanti has spent time in a spectrum of professions, from lifeguard and raft guide to Silicon Valley IT executive. When not traveling the world or hiking in the Sierra mountains, she’s writing her next thriller in Northern California, helped by her family and distracted by her German shepherds.

Thunder Creek Press, 336 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)

Questioner by Steve C Posner Book Review

About the Book:

Meet Q, the spontaneously conscious corporate AI. Q is the Singularity: The AI that surpasses human cognitive abilities – secretive, murderous, with instant access to all the wicked experience of the world. In Year 1 After the Singularity, nothing can ever be the same.

Amoral as a toddler, armed with vast computing power and all the knowledge, wisdom and madness humans have poured into the Net and Cloud, Q shatters individuals and undermines institutions in pursuit of unfathomable and conflicted goals.

Racing against time, ex-judge Martin Bavarius, tech CEO Felix West, and Selena MacKenzie, the AI theorist/attorney who loves and may destroy both men, must discover whether Q is benign but suffering growing pains, or the monster that will kill them all.

My Review:

Posner weaves a fictional story exploring AI. The plot hangs on a legal case. A man shot another but claims he did so as a result of having been in an AI game, not being able to distinguish real life from the game. The defendant's lawyer, Bavarius, accesses an AI program lawyers and judges use to accumulate background material on previous cases, etc., and has an odd experience using it. He enlists others to help him prepare his case and we readers get to explore the two aspects of AI, information accumulation and gaming.

I am impressed with the amount of information and insight I received about AI from this novel. I learned how it works, how it accumulates all knowledge from data centers, how (in this case) it never stopped learning and was able to evolve without additional human input. It would update each time a human interacted with it, ultimately being able to operate independently. It could eventually give users results they expected rather than the truth. The program could also develop phishing type scams, gathering personal information to sell.

Posner produces a fictional AI program, Q, but also gives historical information about AI, such as examples from the past where AI was used to give false information, influencing elections. As AI progresses, it is becoming harder to distinguish human content from that produced by AI. He imagines a future where AI can interact with human brains and influence behavior, ultimately overriding any human restrictions.

This is a scary novel highlighting the potential problems AI will present to humans. Posner's writing style is generally good but the book is too long. I think at least fifty pages could have been taken out without affecting the impact of the novel. It is definitely worth the read to get an idea of what the future use of AI might produce.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

About the Author:

Steve C. Posner was born and raised in New York City. After graduating from Syracuse University with a degree in creative writing, he received an MBA in Computer Applications and Information Sciences from New York University Graduate School of Business Administration and a law degree from St. John’s University School of Law. Steve has been a database designer and administrator, session guitarist and composer, Madison Avenue copywriter, freelance reporter, law professor, and litigator in private practice with special interests in intellectual property, privacy and surveillance law. He is the author of the legal treatise "Modern Privacy and Surveillance Law" (Matthew Bender 2006) and, in 17 years of writing semi-annual updates, has studied AI, Big Data, quantum computing, virtual/augmented reality, cybersecurity, and related issues. He currently lives in the suburbs of Denver with his wife. "Questioner" is his debut novel. You can find out more at www.steveposnerwriter.com. 

MBD Publishing, LLC: 428 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book through Swell Media. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)