I am Second

I am Second is a collection of true stories of the moment that a person chose to put God first in their lives.  The book was put together by Doug Bender and Dave Sterrett and is based on the web site iamsecond.com, where all of the stories are shown.  Many stories focused on in the book are famous athletes or musicians.  These stories are about drugs, alcohol, sex, illness, death, and many other real issues that impact our world.

Before reading this book, I wasn’t even aware of the website.  I thought it looked like an interesting book and decided to read it.  Each story is a great testimony to God’s redemptive power in people’s lives and the audience will be able to relate to at least one of these stories.  Each story is inspiring and gives me hope for the people who are not putting God first in their lives.  At the end of each person’s story, they show the web address for that person’s testimony as well as other stories that are similar.  I enjoyed that they put that part into the book so that I was able to see more people’s stories.  I have already recommended this book to a friend and will continue recommending it.  This book is great not only for those who already put God first in their lives, but also for those who do not.

This book was given to me for free by Thomas Nelson Publishing for unbiased review purposes

The Canary List by Sigmund Brouwer

Jaimie Piper is a young foster kid who has a strange power of being able to sense evil.  Crockett Grey is her teacher who is still struggling with the loss of his daughter.  For the first time since his daughter died, his life is uprooted again when Jaimie shows up in the middle of the night speaking of evil following her and needing a place to stay for the night. 

Crockett tries to do the right thing but ends up in deeper water than he realizes when he finds that the evil following Jaimie is now out to make sure he is not able to speak of what he has heard.  The only way Crockett can get his life back to normal is to search for the truth, which leads him to unexpected places.

The Canary List by Sigmund Brouwer is intriguing.  It is easy to follow, and, without spoiling what happens, it has some twists which make the ending interesting.  The evil that Jaimie deals with in the book brings them to corruption within the Vatican, which, to me, is predictable and a little boring.  Therefore, I would rate this book a 3 out of 5 because it was entertaining but the Vatican conspiracy in the book made it a little dull.

I got this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.  All the thoughts on the book are my own.

Angel in my Room by Betty Collier

Angel in My Room by Betty Collier is a short story written in third person about a woman whose experience changed her views of forgiveness.  Lillie was a child who always wanted to do what was right.  However, when making it to her 30s without a husband or children, she started to feel that God’s timing wasn’t correct.  The next relationship she had ended quickly but not before she got pregnant.  During her pregnancy and birth she went through many trials that tested her faith and she had to make a decision how she wanted to deal with them.

The book was a little difficult to read because it was written in the third person so it didn’t flow well.  Also, many ideas were repeated in the same way within the book, which, since the book isn’t very long, made it feel like the author was trying to stretch her ideas.  Other ideas in the book were not explained fully so it was hard to see exactly what the author was trying to say.  However, all of us can relate to having a difficult time with forgiveness and deciphering God’s plan for our life, which makes Lillie’s story connect with the reader.  For me, it is hard to see what type of audience this book is for and therefore it would be hard for me to recommend it to anyone.

I got this book for free from Thomas Nelson Publishing at booksneeze.com.

Invasion by Jon S. Lewis

Invasion by Jon S. Lewis, a sci-fi book with Christian themes, is the first in the CHAOS series.  Colt is a high school student whose life is changed forever when his parents die in a car crash.  As he is dealing with the grief, he finds out that the car crash may be more than just a drunk driver.  What he finds out may change the fate of the Earth and may change his opinions about aliens and the fictional CHAOS agency.

I enjoyed reading this book.  There was plenty of action and it was a good introduction to the CHAOS agency as well as the main characters.  This book didn’t show as much creativity in building aliens and a universe as I would have wanted but I hope the next book will be able to show more of the alien universes and the author’s creativity to create them.  The book had a good ending for a series because it concluded what happened in this book as well as created anticipation for the next book.  This book was an easy read and I would recommend it to those who enjoy sci-fi or fantasy books.

This book was given to me for free by Thomas Nelson Publishing at booksneeze.com.

Heart of Ice by Lis Wiehl with April Henry

Heart of Ice by Lis Wiehl with April Henry was the first book of the Triple Threat Novels that I have read.  The series is about three friends: a TV crime reporter, a lawyer, and an FBI agent.  In this book, all three woman come together to try to catch a psychopathic killer, who manipulates people into doing her bidding.  However, just because there is a killer to catch doesn’t mean that your personal problems slow down, which the FBI agent, Nicole, finds out.

            Since this was my first Triple Threat Novel, my opinion may be a little different.  First off, I requested the ebook and noticed some typing errors while reading it.  The book itself was very quick and easy to read.  If you are looking for a book to unwind, this one is good for that.  However, if you are looking for a can’t-put-your-book-down-because-it’s-too-exciting kind of crime book, this may not be the one.  For me, the plot was predictable and some explanations were too short.  I also didn’t feel that there was enough development of the character’s backgrounds to fully understand each of the character’s motives.  With that being said, the book was entertaining but don’t expect this to be a page turner that keeps you up reading all night.

This book was given to me for free by Thomas Nelson Publishing at booksneeze.com.

Unleashed: Release the Untamed Faith Within by Erwin McManus

Unleashed: Release the Untamed Faith Within by Erwin McManus tells us to leave a life of complacency and rules and live an untamed life, or as McManus puts it, the Barbarian Way.  This way is all about listening to God’s calling on your life and not being afraid to do something out the ordinary.  The book is set up in four long chapters which explain how to not just listen to God but follow Him.

            The book has a great message for those who are bored and stuck in a mediocre faith.  It calls us to break free of the ordinary to allow God to choose your path.  Although the message was good, I did not agree with how far some of the information was taken, such as rituals and traditions not being part of the Barbarian Way.  For the most part, though, the book had relevant stories which made good points about our culture’s tendency to live in a way where we don’t take risks in our faith and grow tired in our faith.

This book was given to me for free by Thomas Nelson Publishing at booksneeze.com.

This is Your Brain in Love by Dr. Earl Henslin

This is Your Brain in Love by Dr. Earl Henslin is a book on having a psychologically healthy brain for a better marriage.  The book focused on five different types of people: the “Scattered Lover”, the “Over-focused Lover”, the “Blue Mood Lover”, the “Agitated Lover”, and the “Anxious Lover”.  Within the chapter, there is a test to take to see if you have that specific tendency, ways to help the marriage, and also view on what part of the brain causes each one of these issues.

            The book did talk about all of these issues and can be helpful in a situation where a spouse has one of these psychological problems, but for the people who do not have those specific issues, I feel there is not much benefit.  However, the book was written well and did have interesting stories that opened my mind to problems that could arise in a marriage and how certain lifestyle changes can bring about more understanding and happiness between spouses.  It was also easy to read and did not get overly detailed when it came to the scientific brain scans.  I got a complementary copy of this book from BookSneeze®.