The Shadow of Your Smile

The Shadow of Your Smile

by  Susan May Warren

Description from the publisher:

A beautiful blanket of snow may cover the quaint town of Deep Haven each winter, but it can't quite hide the wreckage of Noelle and Eli Hueston's marriage. After twenty-five years, they're contemplating divorce...just as soon as their youngest son graduates from high school. But then an accident erases Noelle's memory. Though her other injuries are minor, she doesn't remember Eli, their children, or the tragedy that has ripped their family apart. What's more, Noelle is shocked that her life has turned out nothing like she dreamed it would. As she tries to regain her memory and slowly slips into her role as a wife and mother, Eli helps her readjust to daily life with sometimes-hilarious, sometimes-heartwarming results. But can she fall in love again with a man she can't remember? Will their secrets destroy them...or has erasing the past given them a chance for a future?

I absolutely loved this book. Having read two other Susan May Warren books that I thoroughly enjoyed, I had high expectations for The Shadow of Your Smile. Let me tell you that this book didn't disappoint me in the least. In fact, it made me love Susan May Warren even more! Her ability to tell a compelling story with memorable characters and scenes is evident in this book. I highly recommend The Shadow of Your Smile. On a side note, I can't even type the book's title without hearing the song..."The Shadow of your smile/When you are gone/Will color all my dreams and light the dawn..." It is one of my favorite songs, and this book has also become one of my favorites. I enthusiastically give it a 5!

Come Back to Deep Haven and Win a $200 Visa Card from @SusanMayWarren!

Sometimes love requires a little forgetting ... Come back to Deep Haven and find out what's been happening in your favorite quaint hamlet. If you're new to the Deep Haven series - this is the perfect book to start with - each book in the series is a stand alone story.


Susan is celebrating the release of The Shadow of Your Smile by giving away a prize pack worth over $200 from 1/9-1/28.

One grand prize winner will receive:

• A $200 Visa Gift Card (Use that to rekindle a little romance, treat yourself to a spa day, snap up those shoes you’ve been eyeing, or purchase a few great books!)

• The entire set of Deep Haven Books 

The winner will be announced on 1/30/12 on Susan’s blog, Scribbles! Just click one of the icons below to enter and tell your friends about Susan's giveaway on FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning.

About the author:

Susan May Warren is an award-winning, best-selling author of over twenty-five novels, many of which have won the Inspirational Readers Choice Award, the ACFW Book of the Year award, the Rita Award, and have been Christy finalists. After serving as a missionary for eight years in Russia, Susan returned home to a small town on Minnesota’s beautiful Lake Superior shore where she, her four children, and her husband are active in their local church.

Susan's larger than life characters and layered plots have won her acclaim with readers and reviewers alike. A seasoned women’s events and retreats speaker, she’s a popular writing teacher at conferences around the nation and the author of the beginning writer’s workbook: From the Inside-Out: discover, create and publish the novel in you!. She is also the founder ofwww.MyBookTherapy.com, a story-crafting service that helps authors discover their voice.

Susan makes her home in northern Minnesota, where she is busy cheering on her two sons in football, and her daughter in local theater productions (and desperately missing her college-age son!)

A full listing of her titles, reviews and awards can be found at: www.susanmaywarren.com. 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from LitFuse Publicity Group. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

The Ring Makes All the Difference

The Ring Makes All the Difference (The Hidden Consequences of Cohabitation and the Strong Benefits of Marriage)

by Glenn T. Stanton

Cohabitation. Many couples go this route to "test drive" their partner for marriage. What they don't know is how detrimental it is to their future relationship. Using current statistics, Glenn Stanton presents the case that couples who live together before marriage have a higher rate of divorce than those who don't. 

I had often heard that cohabitation was bad for a relationship, but I hadn't heard the statistics and reasoning behind it, beyond the church circles that say it's wrong. Stanton does an excellent job of presenting the fact in an unbiased manner. In fact, if I didn't know that Stanton comes from a Christian viewpoint, beyond the first and last couple chapters, I would think I was reading a secular sociological study. What is interesting to me is Stanton's conclusion that God knew what He was doing when He commanded against fornication. All of the statistics point to God's perfect plan.

This is the second book I've read and reviewed by Glenn Stanton (see my first review here). I have also read a lot of his material on Boundless.org (see an example of a great article of his here), and am impressed with his research skills and interesting take on today's issues. 

This is a great book - one I think would be great for anyone who counsels or works with youth or singles, or married couples. 

About the author, Glenn T. Stanton:

Glenn T. Stanton is the author of the book, The Ring Makes All the Difference: The Hidden Consequences of Cohabitation and the Strong Benefits of Marriage (Moody, 2011). He is a leading family researcher as the Director for Family Formation Studies at Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs and debates and lectures extensively on the issues of gender, sexuality, marriage and parenting at universities and churches around the country. He served the George W. Bush administration for many years as a consultant on increasing fatherhood involvement in the Head Start program and is a regular columnist at National Review Online and Boundless. He and his wife have five endlessly growing children and they live in the shadow of Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Moody Publishers, through NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Worlds Collide

Worlds Collide

by Alison Strobel

Jada Eastman is a biographer who is writing a book about Jack and Grace Harrington. Jack Harrington is an actor who has starred in several television shows and many movies. Grace Winslowe is a teacher who recently moved from Chicago to California, where she meets and falls in love with Jack. 

I really enjoyed this story, and I liked the idea of where I think the author was going with it. But at times I was confused about what was going on. For instance, in the prologue Jada Eastman, the interviewer, introduces herself and talks about how she is interviewing Jack and Grace Harrington for a book she is writing. Then it abruptly jumps into the first chapter, where what seems like the same first person voice is telling her story. It wasn't until the middle of that first chapter that I realized it wasn't Jada's voice, but Grace's. And then there are times when Grace or Jack will be telling their story, and Jada will interrupt them to ask a question - only it isn't always all that clear where the story begins, the interview questions begin, and the story resumes. 

What I liked about this book was the uniqueness of the story presentation. It's not every book that allows the reader to see into the minds of both main characters. I did find myself wishing to have more than one chapter at a time into either Jack's or Grace's mind, but overall, Strobel did a great job with this technique. I also loved the character development that occurred over the course of the book. The author's portrayal of the characters' skepticism about Christianity makes it evident that she is Christian apologist Lee Strobel's daughter. When I figured that out, I was so excited, because I love his book, The Case for Christ. 

Would I recommend Worlds Collide? Absolutely.

Click here to rank my review. 

About the author:

Born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago, Alison began writing stories in elementary school, following in the footsteps of her journalist/author father, Lee Strobel. She moved to California where she was inspired to write her first novel, "Worlds Collide," which released with Waterbrook Press in 2005. Her sophomore release, "Violette Between" came the following year and earned her a Rita Award nomination from the Romance Writers of America. After writing "Violette Between" Alison took a break from writing to enjoy life with her new baby girl Abigail. She now has another daughter, Penelope Jane, and two more books published--"The Weight of Shadows" (with Zondervan Publishing) and "Reinventing Rachel" (with David C. Cook), as well as two more releasing in 2011. To learn more about her or to sign up for her newsletter, please visit http://www.alisonstrobel.com.


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Waterbrook Multnomah. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Her Daughter's Dream

Her Daughter's Dream

by Francine Rivers

I started Her Daughter's Dream almost immediately after finishing Her Mother's Hope. The first book ends with Marta, "Oma," going to her daughter Hildemara's house to take care of Carolyn, her granddaughter, while Hildemara recovered from tuberculosis. This serves to further drive a wedge in Hildemara and Marta's relationship, as jealousy crops up over who will care for Carolyn.

I was quickly swept up into the book as Carolyn's story started to unfold. One tragedy after another seems to define her life, and she runs away to the counter-culture of San Francisco in the 1960s. When she returns home, she finds out she is expecting a baby, who she names May Flower Dawn.

I think I liked this book even more than the first. I loved reading about how God redeemed the lives of the characters, and "restored the years that the locust had eaten." My favorite books always have a theme of redemption, and Francine Rivers never fails to disappoint. I especially enjoyed reading the afterword, where Francine talked a little bit about her family's history, and how it correllated with the story in this series.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about God's redeeming mercy in the lives of characters that seem like they could live next door.

Her Mother's Hope

Her Mother's Hope

by Francine Rivers

Marta Schneider's father is determined that she won't be smarter than her brother, so he takes her out of school when she's 12 years old and sends her out to work to help support the family. Marta finds the work a relief to get away from her abusive father, and learns valuable skills in the process. She eventually opens her own boarding house in France, and meets her husband, Niclas Waltert. The two move to Canada and experience the struggles of farming. Soon they have 4 children, one of whom is Hildemara Rose, who becomes the main character in the middle of the book. Hildemara feels she can never do enough to please her mother, while Marta only wants her to be able to stand on her own two feet. Will Marta's and Hildemara's relationship eventually change? Will Hildemara be able to spread her wings and prove her strength?

I really enjoyed this book. Starting in turn of the century Switzerland and ending in post-World War II California, I had a hard time putting it down. I have to admit I struggled with Marta's character. I was sympathetic towards her in the beginning as she was escaping her father's abuse and forging her own way, but I had a difficult time sympathizing when she fought with her husband for dominance of the household, and treated Hildemara so cruelly. By the end of the book I understood her a bit more, but I am looking forward to reading the second and concluding book, Her Daughter's Dream, to find out if the two can repair their relationship.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys good historical fiction with a bit of romance.

Love At Last Sight: Book Review

Love at Last Sight: 30 Days to Grow and Deepen Your Closest Relationships

By Kerry & Chris Shook

The title of this book intrigued me. I had heard of the term "love at first sight," but certainly not "love at last sight." I decided it would be interesting to read what the authors thought this was.

First off, I really like the way the book is divided into 30 short and easy to read chapters with 3 challenges/questions at the end of each to encourage your work on your relationships. I also thought it was helpful that they created a topic to focus on for each week: Week One is "The Art of Being All There"; Week Two is "The Art of Acting Intentionally"; Week Three is "The Art of Risking Awkwardness"; and Week Four is "The Art of Letting Go."

Now for the things I didn't particularly care for. When I read the sentence, "Everything you've been told about relationships is upside down and wrong," I cringed and thought to myself, "What a horrible generalization," but decided to give the book a chance. Then the authors (a husband and wife team) stated that they would be writing the book as "one," so when one tells a story, it is impossible to know which one is talking. Though the concept of writing as one is a nice thought, I think it took a lot away from what could have been more valuable lessons.

Overall, I did enjoy reading this book. I found out that the idea of "love at last sight" is about living every day as if it would be your last with an important person in your life, whether it is a parent, spouse, or friend. I believe I can take away some valuable ideas in order to work on m y own relationships.

Please click here to rank my review.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Waterbrook Multnomah. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."