The Man He Never Was

There is only one novel of James L. Rubart's I haven't read and I will correct that very soon. However to understand his style of writing, it is not going to be something you can easily figure out like most novels. Most of his take the reader on a journey that may have not been expecting and with that I believe comes a greater understanding that we share similar qualities with the characters he pens to life in his novels.

The Man He Never Was is exactly like that. You have the main character Toren Daniels who mysteriously wakes up in a hotel room with no recollection of why he is there. He believed he went bed beside his wife in his own home, but that is not what has happened, nor will he like what he is about to discover. Eight months of his life have completely vanished without a trace. He has no memory other than the rage he used to have to contend with is no longer present in his life, leaving his with a calming peace in places where only there used to be burning rage and anger. His only clue is a mysterious package that arrives, telling him that the anger that has robbed him not only of his chance with the NFL but also with his family.

He vaguely remembers that anger as it seems that he is looking outside of the former person he was and all he knows from those he talks with is he apparently wrote a suicide note, and vanished into thin air, leaving people to believe he followed through on his threat. Even his wife and children have moved on and his wife is now in love with someone else. Through vague recollections and pieces of what might have occurred he struggles to get back what he has lost, without losing himself to the former man he was. Using the examples of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, along with the Hulk, Toren believes he may have been experimented on, giving some kind of mind altering drink but as he feels that peace and contentment slipping away, he knows he is running out of time and the dark beast within is threatening to become unleashed again.

I received The Man He Never Was by James L. Rubart compliments of TLC Book Tours and Thomas Nelson Publishers. There are so many spins in this novel that unless you are familiar with James' work you might just get lost before you settle in and wait for the outcome. Most often than we'd like to admit, there is a bit of darkness in all of us. Some can make peace with it while keeping it under control and there are others that allow it to dominate the person they become and in the process are lost like children who can't find their way home. "Henry Jekyll says that he and every other man and woman is not truly one, but truly two, and he sees the human soul as the ultimate battleground of our lives - one part of us an angel and the other a demon, both struggling for mastery and destruction of the other." You'll have to see what you get from this when you finish, but for me, another well done masterpiece. There is even a reader's discussion guide included which would make this a great novel for book clubs. For me, another well deserved 5 out of 5 stars.

For more information about The Man He Never Was, James L. Rubart or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

The Man He Never Was by James L. Rubart

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To read more reviews on The Man He Never Was, please visit TLC Book Tour page. 

High Cotton

What do you think when you hear the word "Family Reunion?"

For some, it might be the opportunity to get together with those wonderful members of the family that are separated by the miles on rare moments like a family reunion.

For others it might be cringe worthy. Those are the times when you know family drama is about to become a full-blown theatrical production and that is just what Shay Henke has on her mind when she receives another invitation to the Bucklin Family Reunion. It seems like her family is always finding a way to bring everyone together even though its not all that it is cracked up to be. But then again, it's probably like that for most families. Time to reunite, share some beloved family memories and traditions and leave the drama hopefully in the closet for now and just smile and get along right?

Well if you have read any of Debby Mayne's novels, you know you are about to join in, whether you're ready or not to join in with the Bucklin clan. So grab a glass of sweet tea and sit back and unwind as all the wonderful characters she has created in her latest novel High Cotton is unveiled in the first of her series, the Bucklin Family Reunion! This is truly all about bringing a bit of the South and all it's traditions, sayings, accents and more to those who have never been privy to such a family affair. And you just know its not going to go off without a hitch either.

Just the cover alone is what got me wanting to read this, besides the premise of a wonderful drama filled family reunion that doesn't involve me personally and being a fan of anything Debby Mayne rights just makes me pick it up without having to know if it's going to be good or not. That's the thing with exceptional authors that write books that take you into the story line transporting you right in the middle of things. You've got those well-meaning elderly women who are wondering when you are going to find the right man and settle down before one becomes an old maid, the men in the family who would rather be doing anything but attending another one of these lively events and those in the family who believe it is their job to be a personal savior to anyone needing help.

I received High Cotton by Debby Mayne compliments of Litfuse Publicity and Gilead Publishing. I can't wait to read the very next novel Fit to Be Tied coming on the heels of this one, but as all exceptional series are, they are never soon enough for those of us that want even more. This is a wonderful summer novel and one I highly recommend and that is why I am giving this a 4.5 out of 5 stars. If this is your first Debby Mayne novel, you will want to check out everything else she has written, they are all wonderful novels that would definitely make it to my summer reading list.

For more information about High Cotton, Debby Mayne or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

High Cotton by Debby Mayne

You can find Debby Mayne on Facebook to stay up to date on all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on High Cotton, please visit Gilead Publishing's website. 

Adverse Possession

It takes a lot to scare me and make me want to not turn off the lights.

Especially books lately because I am very selective on which ones I will review or read anymore. This excludes most of the best selling authors because they don't line up with the same spiritual values that now dictate my reading choices for the most part. However with that being said, Jess Hanna, managed to do just that.

In his second book, Adverse Possession, the best way I can describe it is the Exorcism with a Christian twist. If that doesn't peak your interest I don't know what will and trust me this book gives it all to you in just the right doses to make you reconsider whether you should finish it or not. Not because it isn't a great book, but the suspense, thrill factor is on steroids. Finally an author who gets it. Gives it to you in small amounts so your mind begins to wonder what could it be and what is going on.

Andy Forrester is a buy it and flip it investor who finds a house he might just promise his family that will finally be their forever home. Lately what has been happening is that the family will stay in on of his latest fixer uppers long enough for the work to be done, before its time to move out so that can be sold. But he realizes that this isn't the kind of life for his wife and two small children, Jonathan and Alexis. So he really chooses a fixer upper in a small isolated part of town where the house has been sitting vacant and unsold for some time. (Clue 1).

As the construction gets underway the first accident occurs when a construction worker has his fingers severed while standing next to a power saw. He claims it just started itself and soon he is rushed off to the hospital, but not before Andy attempts to clean up the blood, and realizes the only place it remains is on the saw. (Clue 2).

While the family attempts to live in the home, a random power outage occurs in the home, twice a day and both at the same time. 10:27am or pm, the power will go out and resume at exactly 10:28 am or pm. There is nothing they are doing and it replays itself like on an endless loop every single day and night. The family just passes it off and old wiring in the house since it is causing any harm. Yet will the beginning of the families complacency attitude be just the thing that leaves the door open for even more chilling things to come? Have the family moved into a haunted house or something even more sinister? You'll have to pick this one up and find out.

Adverse Possession by Jess Hanna is a powerful book that reminds us all of the power of complacency in our own faith and how much the power of God can do and can't do when it is wielded by those who know Him and those who don't. For me, this one really spooked me pretty well as it should because people far too often don't realize how innocent activity in their own life can open the door for other spiritual beings to make themselves quite at home. No pun intended. For those of you that LOVE your books to be a bit on the edge of your seat, don't read it alone, keep the lights on kind of fiction? This is it! I give this one a 5 out of 5 stars because it did what it was intended to do.

You can find more information about Adverse Possession, Jess Hanna or how to pick up a copy of this book today, by clicking on the links below:

Adverse Possession by Jess Hanna

You can find Jess Hanna on Facebook to stay up to date on all his latest books.

The Road to Hell

I don't know how I passed this book up?

I kept coming across fellow Book Reviewers that I know, that said how amazing this book was for a first time author, Jess Hanna and for those that love supernatural and spiritual warfare fiction genre's this was a must read. To say that it got my curiosity up was a bit of an understatement. I was even willing to pay for this one since I respected the opinions of my fellow peers not to steer me wrong. Thankfully, I had uploaded it some time ago, along with the second novel when it was offered FREE and never had the time to fully dedicate some time to reading it. Last night I finished it and so glad I did.

First of all if you love that supernatural, spiritual warfare novels like from such greats as Frank Peretti's Piercing the Darkness and This Present Darkness, do yourself a favor and pick this one up. It focuses on the life of one man Lucas Stone, who has made a name for himself working for Valiant Public Relations and never really considered at any point in his career he would find himself jobless. But that is just what happens to him, caught up in thinking he would skate by with another client who wanted to be "served" by Lucas but was left high and dry instead. It was the straw that broke the camel's back with the agency.

Now jobless and without any future prospects the drive home that day would forever change his life when he gets into an accident he failed to see coming. In an instant both is physical mobility and his spiritual outlook on life would change in a heartbeat as he fights both for his physical life and his spiritual one as well, when he finds that instead of taking that journey into the tunnel of light, he is pulled down into the vacuum of hell only to realize what a tragic mistake he took. After a handful of days in the hospital enduring physical therapy, he now is faced with mounting medical bills and no way of paying them. God sends him a man named Mike that would teach him about unconditional love and what a true Christian walk looks like with human skin on.

Throughout the book, Lucas' life is moved with other characters that have crossed his path and will play a pivotal role in the culmination of the purest evil known to man in the physical world as Lucas is once again faced with a public relations nightmare when one of his clients seeks him out to help him launch his career as an author who has written a controversial book on what the real definition of hell looks like. Is it the same as the one Lucas experiences or it this a wolf in sheep's clothing. For me, this is a phenomenal novel and one I couldn't wait to finish. It is well worth all 5 out of 5 stars in this reader's opinion and now I can't wait to read his other novel Adverse Possession. 

The Road to Hell by Jess Hanna

You can find Jess Hanna on Facebook to stay up to date with all his latest novels.

Beneath the Bellemont Sky

Sometimes the best way we can understand our future is to spend some time looking through the past. For America, a lot changed when we entered WWII, and as thousands of husbands, brothers, and fathers left to serve, women stepped up in a role not familiar to them to pick up in factories where the men left off, their way of helping in the war effort.

As the war ended, and some men returned home, often times with less than they had before, with disabilities, missing limbs, and dealing with PTSD, women were again challenged to step into the roles vacated to help those returning home. Then again, there were those women who married before the war, and were notified that their husband, was killed and would not be returning home. This set the stage for the beginnings of the women's right movement as men returned to go back to work, women who enjoyed working were now faced with resuming the role of a full-time wife and mother, and wanted the respect and recognition that they got in working that was missing in their domestic roles.

That is the stage set for Beneath the Bellemont Sky by Raneè S. Clark. For the Larsen family, having a farm is what helped them to get by during the war and now that the men are beginning to return home, the women in the family are looking forward to having the men take over the farm tasks. Vera and her four children have moved back home after learning her husband wouldn't be coming home after all and a way to help make ends meet. The hardest part for any of them is learning to move forward into an unknown future when all they have known is their past. As the town attempts to resume normal life, Andrew Larsen returns with a French wife and now the town's socialites have decided to snub her at every attempt, partly because one of them had hoped that Andrew might return to marry her instead.

Vera knows she has to find a new start for her life and finds solace in the new teacher that comes to town, Dominick Whitaker, who is finding starting over in a small town might just be what he needs but also brings its own share of problems as well. Vera and Dominick hit it off as friends being in similar places in their futures and find an instant connection in their conversations, one that lasts beyond the time they spend with each other. Will Dominick be ready to take on a ready made family or will something in their pasts keep them apart despite their growing affections for one another?

I received Beneath the Bellemont Sky by Raneè S. Clark compliments of Covenant Communications. I truly LOVE the novels set among the war time because so much was forced to change to help benefit everyone both in serving in the war or supporting those who left behind those empty places. Change was forced whether one embraced it or not. And in a small town of Wyoming, one can only imagine that everyone knew everyone else. When the war came to a close, some women wanted to stay working, and raising a family and not everyone wanted to return back to their former lives, especially when things we so different. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and give it a 4 out of 5 stars in my opinion.

For more information about Beneath the Bellemont Sky, Raneè S. Clark or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

Beneath the Bellemont Sky by Raneè S. Clark

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To read more reviews on Beneath the Bellemont Sky, please visit Amazon's website.

The Stars Above Northumberland

I have to admit it. I'm guilty.

Guilty of being hooked on what some might label the genre as Traditional Regencies! Fans of Jane Austen's novels and fans of Downton Abbey understand exactly what I am saying. It is a genre like any other because of the social implications for women back in the 1800's. Women had little to say in the way things were handled and often time had very little to do except accept what social standards dictated at the time.

For Meriwether Sturgess, that was a life of seven years to a mean man whom she married that had one persona on the outside and another in the quiet confines within his home and in their marriage. That is why it came as no shock when the man died quite unexpectedly leaving her not only a widow and single mother to their two children, but also the large financial inheritance she would assume or rather oversee until her son Crispen was old enough to assume the responsibilities of running the Sturgess finances and holdings.

But for Meri, she simply planned carefully for the last seven years, holding back a small fund from her husband's allotment of her monthly expenses to keep up appearances for both herself and the children. Along with the jewelry he bestowed upon her, she kept it all hidden until the day she could change both her own circumstances and that of her children. She shared no affections for her husbands family and couldn't wait to leave the estate under the guise of needing to get away and be with her family to deal with her grief. There was no turning back for Meri.

Now she has returned to live with her Aunt Annabel at the Rosewell Manor and finds a bit of a surprise to learn that her childhood friend, Elliot Rosewell has returned as well and he hopes to find a second chance at love with Meri and her two children, something he has deeply regretted for those same seven years, watching her go and marry another man, while he had to deal with his own broken heart. But like all great romances, there are bound to be complications which work against our dear couple in an effort to keep them apart but will these secrets truly be the ones that keep their love from full blossoming?

I received The Stars Above Northumberland by Anita Stansfield compliments of Covenant Communications. I absolutely LOVED this entire novel, although at the beginning there are parts of the novel that appear repetitive as though you just read the same pages previously. Once you get pass those however, you find yourself ever rooting for our beloved couple and know that Meri's quick departure will not be a lasting one. No one can ever truly run from their pasts. I have loved reading Anita Stansfields novels and now anxiously await each new one she pens. I easily give this one a 4.5 out of 5 stars in my opinion.

For more information about The Stars Above Northumberland, Anita Stansfield or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

The Stars Above Northumberland by Anita Stansfield

You can find Anita Stansfield on Facebook to stay up to date with all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on The Stars Above Northumberland, please visit Covenant Communications website.