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Grab Bag Blog Tour – Secrets by Robin Jones Gunn & The Golden Cross by Angela Elwell Hunt
February 26th, 2010 | 
Author: 
I was given a unique opportunity to be a part of this "Grab Bag Book Tour" from Blogging for Books, presented by Multnomah Books, a division of Random House publishing. Those who participated in this book tour would get 2 randomly selected books to review. I was pleasantly surprised at how good the two books that I received were. What surprised me most was that I didn't realize I was receiving two Christian titles! I'm not a Christian, so I wasn't sure I would appreciate these books as much as I did. I enjoyed them greatly though!
Secrets by Robin Jones Gunn
About The Book:
Jessica ran from her past...but can she hide from love? Jessica Morgan wants desperately to forget the past and begin a new life. She chooses a small, peaceful town tucked away in Oregon’s Willamette Valley as the place to start over—Glenbrooke. Once there, Jessica conceals her identity from the intriguing personalities she meets—including the compassionate paramedic who desires to protect her and the jealous woman who wants nothing more than to destroy her. Will Jessica’s deceit ruin all hope for the future? Or will she find a deeper peace that allows her to stop hiding the truth from those who love her most of all? This heartwarming bestseller, book one in the Glenbrooke series, introduces the fascinating people of Glenbrooke in a compelling tale of romance and spiritual truth.
My Opinion:
This truely is one of those lovely little heartwarming books. Although some of the events and things that happen in the book are predictable and cliche, surprisingly these things don't detract from how well the book is written and how much you end up liking the various characters in the book. Jessica, the main character, is hiding from who she really is, and she is also hiding from God. When she gets to this wonderful little town in Oregon, she finds people that not only accept her and love her, but they bring her to love herself, and find God as well.
Although I may not be a Christian, I can still appreciate the wonderfully spiritual aspect of someone finding their way back to Deity and the beautiful sprititual growth Jessica goes through. Almost every person alive has had a crisis of faith, even those who aren't Christian, and can relate to how she feels both before she finds her way back to her beliefs and after.
This is definitely a book I would recommend to just about anyone. Though I would say this would be a most excellent book for a Christian book club. However, if you have an open mind and heart to other religions, and just enjoy reading wonderfully uplifting and spiritual books, then you would also enjoy this book!
My rating: stars
Product Details
- Author: Robin Jones Gunn
- Publisher: Multnomah Books (February 16, 2010)
- Genre: Christian
- ISBN-10: 1601422733
- ISBN-13: 978-1601422736
This was book was provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah.
The Golden Cross by Angela Elwell Hunt
THE HEIRS OF CAHIRA O’CONNOR SERIES
BOOK TWO
About the Book:
A line of women who would be warriors for truth “It is said that as Cahira, daughter of the great Irish king Rory O’Connor, lay dying of a wound from a Norman blade, she lifted her hand toward heaven and beseeched God that others would follow after her, bright stars who would break forth from the courses to which they are bound and restore right in this murderous world…” To Kathleen O’Connor, Cahira’s story is nothing more than a charming legend—until her research divulges that several of Cahira’s heirs did, indeed, leave the traditional roles of womanhood to fight for right. Stunned, Kathleen realizes she herself bears Cahira’s mark. Is Kathleen destined to continue the legacy in the twenty-first century? To discover how the histories of these women relate to her own future, Kathleen must delve deep into the past to learn the truth about The Heirs of Cahira O’Connor… Aidan O’Connor Aidan O’Connor was raised among pickpockets and prostitutes in a Dutch colony on Java, Indonesia. But when a world-famous cartographer discovers her natural artistic talent, she is given a chance to leave her troubled life behind. Disguised as a boy, Aidan joins her benefactor at sea and begins the work of drawing the flora and fauna of the new world. This fresh beginning leads her into adventure--and to a great love. But can this love survive the force of Aidan’s past…and her ambitions for her future?
My Opinion:
Although this is the second book in a series of books, there was very little refrenced to the other books in he series, so it wasn't difficult to read this book all on it's own. Mostly a period novel about a young woman, who had come from " a good family" back in Europe, was tossed accidentally into the "bad side of town" and finds her way back to respectablity, love, and God. This isn't just a story about a specific family or a specific period of time, this is also a story about a strong woman. Aidan O'Connor is definitely a strong woman, the kind that I always saw in my own mother and always hoped I would become. This is a very good and inspirational story for any woman!
I would highly recommend this book to any woman, although it is predominatly Chrstian, the values in the book reach beyond Christianity and speak to being kind hearted, accepting, and loving towards other human beings. This is another great book for Christian Book Clubs, especially for women!
My rating: stars
Product Details
- Author: Angela Elwell Hunt
- Publisher: WaterBrook Press (February 16, 2010)
- Genre: Christian
- ISBN-10: 0307458776
- ISBN-13: 978-0307458773
This was book was provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah.
Posted in Adult, Book Reviews, Book Tour, Christian, Spirituality, Women, inspirational | 
Tags: Angela Elwell Hunt, Bestseller Book, blog, blogging, Books, Christian Titles, Cliche, Deceit, Elwell, Fire Fighter, Friendly Fire, Golden Cross, Grab Bag, Intriguing Personalities, Jealous Woman, Jessica Morgan, Multnomah, Paramedic, Peaceful Town, Random House, Random House Publishing, Robin Jones Gunn, Romance, Ruin, Spiritual Truth, Truely, Two Books, Waterbrook, Wh, Willamette Valley
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