Value Fiction Titles from Waterbook/Multnomah

Press release from Waterbook/Multnomah - (look at the end for reviews of two of these titles by yours truly)

Value Fiction For Your Spring Break

Colorado Springs, CO— Fiction lovers don’t need to budget to travel this spring break with Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group’s six full-length novels by beloved Christian authors (WaterBrook, February 16, 2010). At the low cost of only $5.99, these well-read “get-aways” provide quality entertainment at a price that any reader can afford.

Full-length novels offered include:

Secrets
by Robin Jones Gunn - Jessica has moved to a new town to start a new life. But a friendly fire-fighter and a suspicious boss both want to know what she’s hiding.


Beneath a Southern Sky
by Deborah Raney – Daria Camfield is expecting her first child when her husband Nate is reported dead on the mission field. Devastated, she returns to the States and soon marries again. But two years later Nate is found alive in the jungle. How can Daria possibly choose between he two men who love her?


The Golden Cross
by Angela Elwell Hunt – Aidan O’Connor may be a poor barmaid but she’s also a gifted artists. When a famous cartographer takes her on as a student, Aidan is swept into an adventure that will bring her back to her heavenly Father, and into marriage with the love of her life.


Deep Harbor
by Lisa Tawn Bergren – Tora, Elsa, Kaatje, and Karl face trouble, tragedy, and treachery across the Wast, Hawaii, Japan, and the high seas. These four immigrants from Bergen, Norway, each grow closer to God and learn afresh the value of faith, family, and coming alongside each other in times of need.


Faithful Heart
by Al and Joanna Lacy – The adventures of certified medical nurse and dedicated Christian Breanna Baylor continue as she travels by wagon train to visit her sister, Dottie, in California. Little does she know that her most dangerous encounter might be with Jerrod, her brother-in-law, who’s suffering from dementia caused by combat fatigue.


Yesterday’s Promise
by Linda Lee Chaikin – Rogan Chantry faces danger from tribesmen, ruthless politicians, and his own family as he searches for gold in South Africa. In England, his beloved Evy is injured by a mysterious assailant. The greed and intrigue surrounding the diamond mines could very well drive them irrevocably apart.


I received Secrets by Robin Jones Gunn and Faithful Heart by Al Lacy for review.

I love Jones Gunn's Sisterchicks series and was anticipating the arrival of Secrets. I have to admit I was disappointed. It was a quick and easy read, but predictable and not compelling. I like a light-hearted fiction book that doesn't require a lot of thinking now and again. It wasn't painful to read, just forgettable.

I have also read some of Lacy's writing and particularly like the Mail Order Bride series. Faithful Heart is Book Two of the Angel of Mercy Series which is a spin-off of The Stranger series. The book opens with the author giving the reader a back story on the main characters. That was a turn-off to me. Even though I like reading series books, I don't like feeling like I HAVE to read another book to feel like I can understand the book currently in my hand. I have read a couple of the Stranger series.

The main story line of Faithful Heart deals with Shell Shock of a soldier after the Civil War and the wife that stands by him during the ordeal. She is faithful to her wedding vows and truly loves her husband. Extremely admirable traits, and I truly cared about her and her plight. This book also continues a romance between two characters introduced in the Stranger series. How many times can you bring a couple extremely close to being together to only allow circumstances to pull them apart again? I can't handle it on t.v. sitcoms and I don't like it in my books. Give us a resolution already! I almost feel like it is purposely crafted to get to the next book, and the next, and the next.....

While I realize they are not glowing reviews, the books were okay for a light spring break read. The books were provided by Waterbrook/Multnomah for review and I was not compensated in any other way. Opinions expressed are all mine.