Christian Book Reviews

Lisa Lickel’s Meander Scar challenges us to rethink our ideas of love–to venture past the superficial so that we can focus on the heart, regardless of it’s packaging. This novel has a little bit of everything: conspiracy, a glimpse of high-society, romance, hatred, passion, mercy–practically the entire gamut of human emotions all wrapped up in about two hundred and thirty pages.

When we first meet Alice Ballard, the heroine, we are instantly drawn to her shy, insecure, yet gentle heart. Tied to a man no one has seen or heard from in five years, the upkeep is unbearable. Being connected to the lucrative Ballard trust, through marriage, does her little good because her spiteful mother-in-law does everything in her power to keep Alice from the money that is rightfully hers. And any hopes Alice has of breaking free are quickly shattered. But when a handsome man from the past shows up on her doorstep, promising Alice the love she’s always longed for but never had, her desire to be free increases to the point of desperation. It isn’t long before she takes matters into her own hands, eliciting the help of her handsome new lawyer friend. But when the web of lies that have become her life unravel, will she, and her only remaining son, be able to bear the truth or will it tear what’s left of their lives to shreds?

Although it took about forty pages or so for me to really get into this book, once I understood all the dynamics, I was hooked. Lisa Lickel turns our ideas of “Romeo and Juliet Romances” on their ears in a story that will keep you turning the pages long into the night.

“If I Walked in her Shoes” is a fictional account of the struggles, small victories, and the underlying love that reinforce relationships. Susan Salach has carefully created a composite of characters made up of real people from her personal and professional experiences. These characters are easy to identify with, and exemplify the dynamics of the issues considered and the experiences described within the story.

The novel introduces Sara, a successful corporate executive, happily married, mother of two, who suddenly becomes caregiver for her elderly mother, Rose. Recently widowed, and independent Rose lived in the family home of over 50 years until a serious fall resulted in hip surgery, slow recovery and declining health and progressive dependence on Sara.

Rose and Sara are typical of the elderly parent needing care and the dutiful daughter trying to meet the multiple demands of caregiving, a growing family, and a flourishing career. Feelings of guilt, self-reproach, lack of sleep, and trying to accomplish all types of minutia overwhelm Sara has she feels her world crumbling around her.

Excruciating pain, loss of independence, and no social outlet have turned Rose from an effervescent self-sufficient person to a depressed, bitter, demanding recluse.

“If I Walked in her Shoes” invites the reader to view one day from the two perspectives, Rose, demanding and lonely, and Sara, overwhelmed and defensive. The question considered from the two viewpoints asks, “What is it like to be in the others shoes?”

Susan Salach dramatically helps her characters come to grips with the importance of the foundation of family love as the basis for an ongoing bonding relationship in times of crisis and changing roles.

Susan Salach’s writing is strong, her characters real, and her plot is believable. Introspective, informative, inspirational, and heart searching describe this beautiful tribute to caregivers everywhere.

Anna Finch wasn%u2019t aiming for Jeb Sanders the day she shot him. It was his misfortune that he decided to take a nap behind the very log Anna used for target practice.

For Pinkerton man Sanders, the wound in his side was the least of his problems. Anna%u2019s bullet made a detour through that painful flesh abrasion, wounded his manly pride (he%u2019d been shot by a woman!), then made a bee line for his heart, which he%u2019d been convinced would never love again. But the feisty socialite changed his mind in an instant%u2014sure as shootin%u2019!

Anna%u2019s parents are set on marrying her off to whatever wealthy, respectable suitor will take her off their hands. But Anna%u2019s every bit as determined not to marry a man she doesn%u2019t love. She%u2019s also set her mind on becoming a reporter. She knows she can write. She%u2019s the anonymous author of a whole series of dime novels, and has her own well-stocked bank account to prove it.

When Anna%u2019s sleuthing brings her into repeated contact with none other than Doc Holliday, as well as his good friend Wyatt Earp, Jeb makes up his mind to stop the headstrong, independent, incorrigible woman before she gets hurt. After all, he%u2019s the hired gun Anna%u2019s father pays to keep his daughter safe from herself. Besides, Jeb has a score to settle with Holliday for murdering his wife.

Anna%u2019s antics and Jeb%u2019s determined quelling of them makes for a hilarious romp of a semi-western romance. Bringing Earp and Holliday into the storyline serves to add believability to this fun tale. Y%u2019Barbo%u2019s well-rounded characters insert themselves into the readers heart and don%u2019t let go. I loved both Jed and Anna from the first, action-packed scene, and cheered for them until the last captivating paragraph.

An easy read, one that leaves the reader with a smile and a little more faith in the power of love.

Maggie Anderson isn’t who she once was–in fact, she’s trying to become someone else entirely, at least until she’s safe. In Deborah Raney’s Remember to Forget, we meet Maggie, a formerly abused woman, who is being pursued by three men: Trevor Ashlock, who has his own secrets; her abusive boyfriend Kevin; and the God who she doubts even exists. As she struggles to remember all the lies she’s told and keep them straight, she attempts to forget all the pain in her past. Could little Clayburn, Kansas hold the keys to unlocking her heart for love and her life for healing? Raney writes more than a contemporary romance. Remember to Forget is also a story of romance between the God who created us and desires a personal relationship with each one of us.

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At first I was disappointed. But that had more to do with me than the book. I thought the book was going to draw parallels between Bruce Lee and Jesus. In this post-Victorian age where Jesus is thought of as a pacifist hippie who wears a dress, carries sheep and does aroma therapy I was hoping to see a cage fighter Jesus. %u201CStep into the Octagon with the Messiah!%u201D No, this book is not Bruce Lee despite the title.

My disappointment did not last long however. This book isn%u2019t so much Bruce Lee as it is Confucius in style. It is a book filled with proverbial statements that are often styled in a semi-Asiatic and reflective way. They cover politics, spirituality and of course, God. Though you may occasionally disagree with some of Fox’s reflections, you cannot escape the fact that he points to a personal walk with God as the answer. Fox has no appetite for, as he puts it %u201Corganised religion%u201D. His appetite is for God. Like a good fighter Fox breaks through many of the stereotypes and heresies that modern culture so foolishly clings to but does so in a matter of fact way – like an athlete who doesn%u2019t stop for a rest, cause frankly, he isn%u2019t sweating. His style is not rude, yet to the point.

This book is ideal for those who embrace haikus, martial arts and Zen poetry. It can serve as bridge building book between yourself and one who might not pick up the latest Rick Warren book. This book has the courage to be different and such books are what is needed today.

-Joshua Jones
Youth and Student Leader,
St.Nics Church, Nottingham