Pound Foolish

There is a saying that the grass is always greener on the other side. I wonder why people believe that to be true. I guess sitting in your current situation, it is easy to look at how other people seem to be so much better off than you are. Their marriage is full of love and romance, their kids are so well behaved, they don't struggle with finances like you do, but what we often fail to realize is what those people had to endure to get to where they are now. We like the blessings, we don't like to work at it to get there. Isn't that true?

Dave and Neta Jackson have been sharing a series of novels called the Windy City Neighborhood and in their latest book, Pound Foolish is by far my favorite. I think that is so because there is something in this one that most people can relate to. The Windy City Neighborhood Series is about a group of people who live on Beecham Street in Chicago, a melting pot of families in all shapes and sizes and in each novel, we get to interact with them as those it is another episode in a television series to see what has been happening to them since we last met, and get a more in depth look at one family in particular.

In Pound Foolish, we get to meet the Singer family. A couple who have been married for quite some time, with two children, a boy and a girl. Greg Singer, is the proverbial breadwinner of the family whose job as an event coordinator for PowerSports, a company that deals with sport shows in hopes of gaining people who will come to these events to buy boats, ATVs, or Snowmobiles. Just when he believes he is literally at the top of his game, the economy takes a nose dive and some of the larger companies are deciding to pull their registrations from upcoming events. Greg just believes it will pass but soon learns his boss is closing the company and he is about to be laid off. His biggest dilemma is how to tell his wife Nicole.

To say that their marriage is challenging lately would be an understatement. Nicole home schools her two children and runs the entire household. Her husband on the other hand simply believes that is the way God designed it and over time has put more time into his working relationship than in the relationship with her and the kids. In fact she has been considering the attentions of one of their neighbors who says and does all the right things, the way Greg used to and she wonders if their marriage can manage through this latest storm. When Greg believes the messages from their prosperity preacher that he is simply lacking the faith to believe in the greater blessings of God, it will ultimately test more than his family and his friends to see that it isn't the right kind of faith to have. Will he lose it all in the process of trying too hard to hold on to what he believes is right for his family?

I received Pound Foolish by Dave and Neta Jackson compliments of Castle Rock Creative Publishing and Litfuse Publicity for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation and the opinions contained in this review are strictly my own. I think the reason I loved this one more than the previous three books is because we have all had issues with security, whether in our finances, our marriages or our jobs. I can see through the eyes of each of the Singers how desperate they are to "fix" things but believe they are right and the other person is wrong. How seeing the struggles they have to endure to hold on not to just their finances while Greg struggles to find work, but in trying to hold on to those relationships that are important in our lives, family and friends. Even the struggles they have to endure with what their church pastor is preaching makes us all a bit more diligent into not merely accepting the truth because it's being preached by a man in a pulpit. I loved the entire novel and can easily say it is a well deserved 5 out of 5 stars in helping to teach us what is really important in our lives. There is a Reader's Discussion Guide and sneak peek at book 5, "Snowmageddon", at the conclusion.

For more information about Pound Foolish, Dave and Neta Jackson or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

Pound Foolish by Dave and Neta Jackson 

You can find Dave and Neta Jackson on Facebook to stay up to date on all their latest novels.

To read more reviews on Pound Foolish, please visit Litfuse Publicity's Book Tour Page.

Penny Wise

I remember when I was a child growing up in a small beachside neighborhood. All the neighbors knew one another and we lived in a small cul-de-sac. Holidays were celebrated in a big way because we got outside and hung out with the people who lived around us. Even late at night, parents would keep an eye out for all the kids, not just there own. But it seems like we have forgotten those great times where we look out for one another. Call it being busy or simply not interested enough, but Neta and Dave Jackson take us back to an old Chicago neighborhood on Beecham Street in each of their novels in the Windy City Neighborhood Series. In the third book, Penny Wise, we meet the Jasper family. The hard working father, Jared works crazy hours as an air traffic controller so the time he does spend with his family is split between work, church and family obligations. His wife, Michelle carries the weight of raising three growing teens, Destin who loves basketball and wants to attend summer camp to enhance his skills for a potential scholarship when he graduates from high school. The twins Tavis and Tabby, are growing 13-year-olds who are desperately seeking their own identities and trying to stay away from the gangs and drugs.

Michelle attempts to hold it all together while working at Bridges Family Services, along with volunteering at Lifeline, a crisis pregnancy center that helps young girls deal with the implications of dealing with the emotions of abortion and teen pregnancy. When she isn't there or working, she is raising a growing, busy family alongside helping out when she can at her church. What the Jasper family is dealing with the most is finding family time again with everyone being so busy in their own personal lives. Sure Jared and Michelle have to work to pay the bills, but it seems as if they are spiraling out of control and unexpected expenses keep piling up when they least expect them, which adds to the pressure that their marriage has to deal with. It isn't hard to understand even in today's tough economic times, that we can all relate to the Jasper's situation. Just how they work it all out is the premise behind this novel. It will showcase just how important family and neighbors can be and by the time you get to the end, you hope that we can all get out and meet with our neighbors a bit more.

Your favorite neighbors that you have met in the first two novels are back, from fun loving, blunt and honest Estelle Bentley, to Christian singer Grace Meredith, and Mattie Krakowski finally makes it home from recovering from her hip injury to take residence in the Bentley's new town home. You gain insight into the strengths and weaknesses that Michelle and Jared face in their marriage and in how they choose to work things out. It challenges us in our own marriages and parenting situations to see things from a different perspective.

I received Penny Wise by authors Neta and Dave Jackson compliments of Castle Rock Creative Publishing and Litfuse Book Tours for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions contained are strictly my own. I would recommend that even though you can read this as a stand alone, you would get more enjoyment reading this series in order, with Grounded being the first and Derailed following that one. I can't wait for the next one Pound Foolish to come out this fall that picks up the homeschooling family we meet in this novel and one I am sure I will relate to as well. I would rate this one a 4 out of 5 stars in my opinion.

For more information about Penny Wise, Dave and Neta Jackson or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

Penny Wise by Dave and Neta Jackson

You can also find Dave and Neta Jackson on Facebook to stay up to date with all their latest novels.

To read more reviews on Penny Wise, please visit Litfuse Publicity's Book Tour page. 

Derailed

I love it when you find a true treasure in a great series of books. The kind that make you sad when you finish one because you have to wait for the next one and often times it could take awhile. Such is the case with The Windy City Neighborhood Series by authors Dave and Neta Jackson. After reading Grounded, their first novel in the series, the second book, Derailed has finally picked back up with our favorite characters we met in the first one. Perhaps by far, my favorite character is Estelle Bentley, because she has the faith that most would dream of having. The kind that offers up simple prayers as easily as having a one on one conversation with a close friend. But what we discover is that even those prayers are offered up, they are not always answered in the way we would like to. Even when it seems that the steps we take are guided by God, it soon leaves us second guessing if we didn't in fact step out on our own instead.

This novel is based on the Harry Bentley, Estelle's husband that was once blind but now can see, is asked to go undercover as a blind man in disguise working for the police on board the Amtrak trains. It takes us into the back story of Harry that we only glimpsed in passing in the first novel. Since Harry is new to the Christian faith, living with Estelle as a strong woman of faith makes him question his own actions at times. I love this honesty of how the life of faith isn't an easy one to walk and at times, we all find ourselves questioning whether we are doing what God would want or simply our own desires. He struggles being the head of the house and financial provider of learning to reverse the roles of putting his family first instead of his job. Not an easy one for men to live up to.

The Bentley's life hasn't been an easy one but is a true testament of what faith can do when it is applied correctly. Harry's son, Rodney has been in prison but now upon his release is looking for ways to turn over a new leaf. Since his son, DaShawn has been living with Estelle and Harry, Rodney is hoping to secure a decent job and find a way to start a new life for him and DaShawn. Perhaps my favorite part of this book, isn't really the individual stories but one of how they all interact with their neighbors. It shows us an example of what a faith based community should look like even if our neighbors are not believers. It shows us how to respond in love and kindness and role models what we all can hope to obtain by being better people to those around us.

I received Derailed by Dave and Neta Jackson compliments of Worthy Books and Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions expressed are strictly my own. I can't wait for the next book in this series Penny Wise which you get a sneak peek at in the conclusion of this novel. There are also discussion questions included to make this a great novel for book clubs. I'd rate this one a 5 out of 5 stars. For more information about Derailed, Dave and Neta Jackson or where you can pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

Derailed by Dave and Neta Jackson

You can follow Dave and Neta Jackson on Facebook to stay up to date with all their latest novels.

To read more reviews on Derailed from the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance Book Tour, click here.

• Series: Windy City Neighbors (Book 2)
• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Worthy Publishing (October 8, 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1617950017
• ISBN-13: 978-1617950018
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1 inches

Grounded

Grace Meredith has been touring the country sharing her message of purity and that her fans are worth the wait as part of her contemporary Christian music tour entitled New Year, New You. She feels the passion of God speaking to her heart and finds literally after every concert at her Meet and Greet sessions that talking with young people about their decision to remain pure until marriage is something God's called her to do. She's even telling them that she is waiting in her own engagement to Roger for them to be married first because it's worth the wait. It's a message that has made her a role model for her young fans.

Only thing is, Roger calls Grace during her tour to drop the ultimate bombshell on her, that he can no longer wait for her. He can't deal with her busy concert tours and not being home. He's hoping to find someone a bit more rooted in town that he can begin a family and marriage with and hopes that they can still remain friends. Now how can Grace appear before the many fans sharing a message of being worth the wait when her own finacè won't wait for her?

As Grace struggles with coming to terms with her upcoming tours, she finds herself at a loss for words quite literally. Seems she has picked up more than a sore throat that threatens her upcoming concert dates. When she tries to contact her agent, she's informed that she has been assigned a new one, Jeff Newman. Jeff wants to meet with Grace as soon as possible to see what the direction might be for her concert series and if she wants to remain with the New Year, New You theme.

Just when Grace finds herself home alone in Chicago with nothing more than her cat, Oreo as her companion, she wonders about the neighbors who live on her street. After all the time shes spent living her, she hasn't had the time to meet a single one. But all that is about to change with a snow storm is destined for Chicago and with it a chance to see things she had never noticed before until she finds herself Grounded!

I received Grounded by authors Neta and Dave Jackson compliments of Worthy Publishing and Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for my honest review. I received no monetary compensation for a favorable one and literally fell in love the message of redemption and grace that permeates throughout this entire novel. I can so relate to Grace's character because I have found myself in the same shoes almost as Grace and the message is one that readers can relate to. That no matter what has happened in your life, you can be forgiven. Don't let the enemy try to wear you down telling you that you will never be worthy enough for heaven and that no matter how hard you try it will never be enough. This is a great novel that defines God's grace for what it really is meant to be. I rate this one a 5 out of 5 stars and can't wait to read the next one in the Windy City Neighborhood series in the Fall of this year. My favorite character next to Grace would definitely be Estelle! Oh how I would LOVE to have a neighbor like her.

For more information about Grounded, Neta and Dave Jackson or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

Grounded by Neta and Dave Jackson

You can find Neta and Dave Jackson on Facebook to stay up to date with all their latest novels.

To read more reviews on Grounded from the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance Book Tour, please click here.