Book Review: Wings of Glass, By Gina Holmes

By: Gina Holmes

Tyndale House

2013

Paperback

ISBN: 1414366418

From the Back:

On the cusp of adulthood, eighteen-year-old Penny Carson is swept off her feet by a handsome farmhand with a confident swagger. Though Trent Taylor seems like Prince Charming and offers an escape from her one-stop-sign town, Penny's happily-ever-after lasts no longer than their breakneck courtship. Before the ink even dries on their marriage certificate, he hits her for the first time. It isn't the last, yet the bruises that can't be seen are the most painful of all.

When Trent is injured in a welding accident and his paycheck stops, he has no choice but to finally allow Penny to take a job cleaning houses. Here she meets two women from very different worlds who will teach her to live and laugh again, and lend her their backbones just long enough for her to find her own.

My Reflections:

The novel Wings of Glass is Gina Holmes third book. Holmes has previously published Crossing Oceans and Dry as Rain. I have not had the pleasure of reading these other two stories, but when Wings of Glass became available I jumped at the chance to review it.

This tale is an emotionally gripping narrative about dashed dreams, spousal abuse and good friends. The story is told in first person. Penny is retelling telling her story, not to the reader, but to her young son. It took a while for me to get accustom to this style of writing, but once I grew familiar with the flow It was fine, Gina’s writing is definitely unique and very memoir-like

Gina has masterfully written a very realistic, true to life story. The characters are believable, and heart breakingly accurate. It is strongly written, eye opening and raw.

 I must admit I felt like putting this book down and walking away at points in the novel. It was just too hard to see this beautiful, character get beaten down time and time again, emotionally and physically. It broke my heart to watch her turn her back on the very people who tried to help her. But like a train wreck you persevere on and find that Penny’s friends have her back, and will not let her continue on a life of destruction and fear.

This book is not a light read, I feel it would be a good choice for book clubs, there are some great discussion questions at the back, and this type of abuse often gets swept under the carpet even in churches. The more women are educated and supported the better it is for people suffering mental, physical and sexual abuse.

I received this book from Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for my honest review. Thank you Tyndale House!

About the Author: 
 
 

Gina Holmes

Bestselling author Gina Holmes is the founder of the influential literary site Novel Rocket, regularly named one of Writers Digest's best sites for writers. Her debut novel, Crossing Oceans, was a Christy and Christian Book Award finalist and winner of the Carol, INSPY, and RWA's Inspirational Reader's Choice Contest awards, as well as a CBA, ECPA, Amazon and Publishers Weekly Religion bestseller. She is also the author of Dry As Rain, a Christy Award finalist, and Wings of Glass. Gina holds degrees in science and nursing and currently resides with her family in southern Virginia. She works too hard, laughs too loud, and longs to see others heal from their past and discover their God-given purpose. To learn more about her, visit www.ginaholmes.com.

Book review: Beyond Ordinary, by Justin and Trisha Davis

Beyond Ordinary : When a good marriage just isn’t good enough.

By Justin and Trisha Davis

Back of the book

 How safe is your marriage? The answer may surprise you. The biggest threat to any marriage isn’t infidelity or miscommunication. The greatest enemy is ordinary. Ordinary marriages lose hope. Ordinary marriages lack vision. Ordinary marriages give in to compromise. Ordinary is the belief that this is as good as it will ever get. And when we begin to settle for ordinary, it’s easy to move from “I do” to “I’m done.”

Justin and Trisha Davis know just how dangerous ordinary can be. In this beautifully written book, Justin and Trisha take us inside the slow fade that occurred in their own marriage—each telling the story from their own perspective. Together, they reveal the mistakes they made, the work they avoided, the thoughts and feelings that led to an affair and near divorce, and finally, the heart-change that had to occur in both of them before they could experience the hope, healing, and restoration of a truly extraordinary marriage.

My reflections:

Beyond ordinary is a “he said, she said” memoir designed to take your marriage beyond ordinary to extraordinary. I must say I was a little bit skeptical when I received this book.  I have been married for over 18 years, ordinary moments just happen in that time frame.
Although I feel I already have an extraordinary marriage, my eyes were opened to realities I didn’t consider, that could cause conflict in the future, and I was so glad to have read this book!

The book takes you into the very personal lives of the Davis marriage. You see the good the bad and the ugly, and along the way learn the tidbits of truths about the spiritual battle we all face in our relationships. This book definitely was not at all what I expected; it is fresh, real and painfully honest and transparent.

I enjoyed the format of the book you get both perspectives of Trisha and Justin and at the end of each chapter there are questions you and your spouse can use to dig a little deeper. It was easy to read and the layout was orderly and easy to follow. I enjoyed the bible verses that pertained to the chapter readings it was seamless and done beautifully.

This book is truly not an ordinary do this and it will fix everything kind of book. It is a dynamic though provoking, personal narrative, that will change your relationship with God and your spouse.
 It is even a wonderful resource for single or dating individuals, as it prepares your heart for the spouse God has designed just for you.
 I think this is a book that should grace every  book shelf.  

I received this book from Tyndale in exchange for my honest review. Thank you Tyndale!

~You can learn more about Dave's Ministry RefineUs here - http://refineus.org

~You can watch the trailer here-  http://www.tyndale.com/x_products/videos.php?flv=BeyondOrdinary_1.flv

~You can get to Tyndale's website here- www.tyndale.com


About the authors 

Justin Davis

Justin and Trisha met at Lincoln Christian University in Lincoln, Illinois. Justin received his BA in Christian education, and Trisha later earned her BA degree from Indiana University. The Davises' return to ministry is the result of a victorious battle for their marriage and family. After successfully planting their first church, their marriage was devastated by an affair. What followed was a four-year journey of pain, grief, and ultimately, by the grace of God, the restoration of their relationship.
In 2009 they founded RefineUs Ministries, Inc., to ignite a movement in the church and among pastors and church planters to build healthy marriages and families. They consider the resurrection of their marriage to be a great gift and feel it a privilege to use RefineUs to help others find that same healing. Today Justin and Trisha are bloggers, authors, and teachers in Nashville, Tennessee, where they reside with their three boys. Justin is currently campus and teaching pastor of Cross Point Community Church, Bellevue Campus.

Book review: Adventures in Odyssey 90 Devotions for Kids

 

We were in the market for a new devotional, so when I saw the Adventures in Odyssey available for review I scooped it up right away!
My children 10 and 12 love adventures in Odyssey and couldn't wait to read the next days devotion. As a new home school mom we are incorporating this book into our "Bible time".

If you and your family have listened to Adventures in Odyssey, then you will be familiar with Mr. Whittaker, Connie, Eugene, and Wooton, characters from the series.

 These characters are in every devotion and share interesting facts, and life applicable stories throughout the book. Each devotional is tied to a particular episode within the main text. However, even if you or your children are not familiar with Adventures in Odyssey, enough information is given for you to understand the example and how it relates to that day's point. A Bible is required to look up verses in the Devotional. I personally loved this aspect of this devotional as it is centered on the word of God and not just the characters views or experiences.

The devotional is divided into thirteen themes, including Exercising Faith, Witnessing, and Worship . We loved the format of the book and found it easy to read and engaged the children. A fun review puzzle is included at the end of each week, along with a printed prayer, Daily challenge and memory verse.

I would highly recommend this fun, and informational devotion for your family!

I received this book complementary from Tyndale Books, in exchange for my review. 

Thank you Tyndale!

Book Review : Over The Edge

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=HeSzqacHzQM
 
This is a quirky adventure full of humor and drama! Connealy has penned a Western like no other. From a forgotten wife to "crazy" cowboys, you won't want to put Over the Edge down.

The story of the Kincaid brothers continues in this, the third adventure in the series. If you missed the first two stories you need not worry, because Connealy does a wonderful job of weaving each brother's tale together, forming a complete story line.

 Oftentimes thorough the book I felt sorry for the Seth Kincaid a man who's traumatized enough to forget his own wife. His character was so loveable and real, that you just had to keep flipping the pages to find out what "crazy" stunt he was going to pull next!

That was just one of the characters of this book. Each and every character had depth and a vividness that literally had you living in the Colorado hills, right along side this cast of handsome cowboys and their wives. 

Loved this book and can't figure out why I have not read all of Mary Connealy's books. I will be taking a trip to the local bookstore, because now that I have read one of this great author's books I am hungry for more!

Thank you Tyndale Books for the opportunity to receive this complementary copy for review purposes.

From the back of the book:

Seth Kincaid survived a fire in a cave, but he's never been the same. He was always a reckless youth, but now he's gone over the edge. He ran off to the Civil War and came back crazier than ever.
After the war, nearly dead from his injuries, it appears Seth got married. Oh, he's got a lot of excuses, but his wife isn't happy to find out Seth doesn't remember her. Callie has searched, prayed, and worried. Now she's come to the Kincaid family's ranch in Colorado to find her lost husband.

Callie isn't a long-suffering woman. Once she knows her husband is alive, she wants to kill him. She's not even close to forgiving him for abandoning her.

  Then more trouble shows up in the form of a secret Seth's pa kept for years. The Kincaid brothers might lose their ranch if they can't sort things out. It's enough to drive a man insane--but somehow it's all making Seth see things more clearly. And now that he knows what he wants, no one better stand in his way.                      



 About the Aurthur:

 


I wrote my first book when I was about twelve. A romance novel. I shudder to think what a twelve year old could know about romance. I have no idea what happened to the manuscript. I suppose my mother found it, and burned it while screaming in horror, but I’ve always been afraid to ask. Was it a hundred pages? Two? I have no idea, but I seem to remember just writing FOREVER! So I’m guessing two pages long at least.

As a new bride I marched straight out of journalism school and into the kitchen, I did a lot of scribbling. I still have those heartbreaking works of staggering genius, Ode to Roast Beef, things like that, all born out of the ‘Write What You Know’ school of literature.

I began writing more seriously when my baby went to kindergarten. Not writing well of course, but just putting words on paper. No one does anything well the first time. I’m sure Babe Ruth missed the first ball pitched to him. I’m sure Picasso smeared pages with paint-y fingers when he was a kid—as I remember he went back to that later in life. I’m sure Beethoven played the eighteenth century version of Chopsticks before went for the sonatas.

My writing journey is similar to a lot of others. Boil it down to persistence, oh, go ahead and call it stubbornness. I just kept typing away. I think the reason I did it was because I’m more or less a dunce around people—prone to sit silently when I really ought to speak up(or far worse, speak up when I ought to sit silently).

So, I have all these things, I want to say, in my head; the perfect zinger to the rude cashier, which you think of an hour after you’ve left the store, the perfect bit of wisdom when someone needs help, which doesn’t occur to you until they solve their problems themselves, the perfect guilt trip for the kids, which you don’t say because you’re not an idiot. I keep all this wit to myself, much to the relief of all who know me, and then I write all my great ideas into books. It’s therapeutic if nothing else, and more affordable than a psychiatrist.

So then a very nice, oh so nice publishing company like Barbour Heartsong comes along and says, “Hey, we’ll pay you money for this 45,000 word therapy session.” That’s as sweet as it gets.

My journey to publication is the same as everyone’s except for a few geniuses out there who make it hard for all of us. And even they probably have an Ode to Roast Beef or two in their past

    

Book Review: You're Stronger Than You Think The Power to Do What You Think You Can't

You’re stronger Than you Think by Dr. Les Parrott

 

In You’re Stronger Than You Think, psychologist Dr. Les Parrott helps you access the power to do what you feel you can’t. With practical insights and hard-earned wisdom, he shows you that by changing how you think, understanding what you feel, and using the power that lies untapped deep in your soul, you can summon strength you didn’t know you had—strength that ultimately comes from God. The secret to tapping into your inner strength is not about positive thinking or pulling yourself up by your bootstraps. Instead, it’s about leveraging your strengths and overcoming your weaknesses to reveal a surprising inner-power that God has placed deep in your heart. Using a counterintuitive approach to overcoming hardship, You’re Stronger Than You Think will help you find the unexpected power you need to pass through both the everyday and extraordinary tests of life.

This is an easy to read book with a fabulous layout.
It is comprised of three parts and 6 chapters.
Some of the topics are: Think simply, Think Expectantly, Feel Vulnerable, Feel connected, Be emptied, and Be Bold.

Purchasing the work book would definitely help readers dive deeper into their healing experience.

While I found the book to hold sound widely used mental health practices, I was often left wishing that Les Parrott used a more biblical approach in his book.

 He often quoted medical evidence and backed up his stories with medical accounts and personal stories. More scripture references would have made me give this book a higher rating.

All in all I found “You’re stronger Than you Think” a solid book, but was left feeling a little let down by the lack of Biblical references and slant towards popular psychology.

I was graciously given this book in exchange for my honest opinion from Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

Thank you Tyndale!

About the Author:

Les Parrott

Les Parrott, PhD, is a New York Times number one bestselling author. He is cofounder, with his wife, Leslie, of the Center for Relationship Development on the campus of Seattle Pacific University. He is the author of such books as High–Maintenance Relationships, Love Talk (with Leslie Parrott), 3 Seconds, The Hour that Matters Most (with Leslie) and the award–winning Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts (with Leslie). Dr. Parrott is a sought–after speaker and holds relationship seminars across North America. He has been featured in USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times. His many television appearances include The View, The O'Reilly Factor, CNN, Good Morning America, and The Oprah Show. Les lives in Seattle with his wife and two sons.