Thursday, March 29, 2012
Spitzer Hafen
SPITZER HAFEN
About The Book:
If you destroy America's values and wait awhile, America might well destroy itself. One of America's most sophisticated enemies is counting on that. He's quietly backing a silver-tongued apostate's plan to subvert Christianity.
So far the main threats to the apostate's plan are two former missionaries broadcasting from a tiny island. As their truth begins to prevail against the apostate's lies, world-class assassins are sent to eliminate the missionaries.
However, the missionaries now have a friend with them. Decades ago he was so deadly, and so stealthy, that the KGB refused to believe he could even exist. He was also the last of the Vectors.
My Opinion:
I have to honestly say that this book was one of the most difficult to continue reading. The bad grammer, spelling and inconsistency aside, the story itself was so convoluted that I found myself having to backtrack to reread several pages at a time so I could be sure where the storyline had come from and where it was going.
The storyline itself had potential but I don't feel that the author was particularly knowledgable about much of what was written. It was more like 4 separate stories brought together in an attempt to formulate a single outcome. Unfortunately too much gets lost in the insignificant details. It sidetracks so much that I easily got lost, thus requiring me to reread certain things to be sure I was unerstanding exactly what it was trying to say.
The names kept getting mixed up as well as so many spelling errors. Being an English/Grammar enthusiast, these random mistakes were very distracting. The radio station, WHGT, often had the call letters mixed up. Sometimes it was WHGT and sometimes WGHT. Also a woman who was known as The Valkyrie, was given an aka of Velma Smith. At least twice the author called her "aka Valerie Smith".
The grammar was lacking in consistency as well. Too many characters, from too many foreign places, made it difficult to know who was who and where each of them was from. Giving "accents" by choosing certain verbage for different characters made it difficult to figure out who was from where. Names tended to be repeated too often and much of the scene building was lost in the over explanation of situations.
All in all, I have to say that the reading experience was unpleasant and drawn out. The storyline itself had such good potential and I would hope that the author will eventually rewrite it with less business and focus on the actual plot.
Disclosure of Material: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookCrash.com book review program, which requires an honest, though not necessarily positive, review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s CFR Title 16, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Friday, March 16, 2012
The Scent of Cherry Blossoms by Cindy Woodsmall
About the book from Waterbrook Multnomah:
Annie Martin loves the Plain ways of her Old Order Mennonite people, like those revered by her beloved grandfather. Retreating from a contentious relationship with her mother, Annie goes to live with her Daadi Moses in Apple Ridge.
But as spring moves into Pennsylvania and Annie spends time amongst the cherry trees with the handsome Aden Zook, she wishes she could forget how deeply the lines between the Old Order Amish and Old Order Mennonite are drawn.
Can Annie and Aden find a place for their love to bloom in the midst of the brewing storm?
My Opinion :
As a sceptical reader of Christian Fiction, I tend to be a bit jaded before I even opening the cover. With The Scent of Cherry Blossoms, I'm glad I did. Not your typical boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl and all is roses and sunshine, The Scent of Cherry Blossoms is a journey through the struggles of mans forbidden form of godly love.
I found the depth of understanding between mans rules and God's forgiveness to be inspiring. Even with subtle differences between the Plain beliefs of the Amish and Mennonite sects, and the struggle to remain loyal to family and church, God's tender mercies shine through bringing even the most stubborn believer to his knees.
Beyond the love that blossoms between Annie and Aden, there is Roman, Aden's twin brother who has a journey of his own to take. Seeing his inner struggles manifest themselves in his thoughts and actions, and overcoming the hurdles that keep him trapped inside himself, gives me hope for a splendid future beyond the limitations of our circumstances.
I do hope there is more to come in the lives of these gentle people.
Here is the first chapter...I just know you'll want to finish the book!
The Scent of Cherry Blossoms by Cindy Woodsmall (Chapter 1 Excerpt)
Please rate my review on the Blogging For Books site.
Annie Martin loves the Plain ways of her Old Order Mennonite people, like those revered by her beloved grandfather. Retreating from a contentious relationship with her mother, Annie goes to live with her Daadi Moses in Apple Ridge.
But as spring moves into Pennsylvania and Annie spends time amongst the cherry trees with the handsome Aden Zook, she wishes she could forget how deeply the lines between the Old Order Amish and Old Order Mennonite are drawn.
Can Annie and Aden find a place for their love to bloom in the midst of the brewing storm?
My Opinion :
As a sceptical reader of Christian Fiction, I tend to be a bit jaded before I even opening the cover. With The Scent of Cherry Blossoms, I'm glad I did. Not your typical boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl and all is roses and sunshine, The Scent of Cherry Blossoms is a journey through the struggles of mans forbidden form of godly love.
I found the depth of understanding between mans rules and God's forgiveness to be inspiring. Even with subtle differences between the Plain beliefs of the Amish and Mennonite sects, and the struggle to remain loyal to family and church, God's tender mercies shine through bringing even the most stubborn believer to his knees.
Beyond the love that blossoms between Annie and Aden, there is Roman, Aden's twin brother who has a journey of his own to take. Seeing his inner struggles manifest themselves in his thoughts and actions, and overcoming the hurdles that keep him trapped inside himself, gives me hope for a splendid future beyond the limitations of our circumstances.
I do hope there is more to come in the lives of these gentle people.
Here is the first chapter...I just know you'll want to finish the book!
The Scent of Cherry Blossoms by Cindy Woodsmall (Chapter 1 Excerpt)
Please rate my review on the Blogging For Books site.
**I was provided a copy of this book from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing through Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest opinion, no other compensation was given.
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