An Absence so Great

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group

Book:  An Absence so Great

Author:  Jane Kirkpatrick

Did Photography replace an absence in her life - or - expose the truth of her heart's emptiness?

    While growing in confidence as a photographer, 18 yr old Jessie Ann Gaebele's personal life is at a crossroads.  Hoping she's put an unfortunate romantic longing behind her as "water under the bridge," she exiles herself to Milwaukee to operate photographic studios for those owners who have fallen ill with mercury poisoning.
    Jessie gains footing in her dreams to one day operate her own stuiod & soon finds herself in other Midwest towns, pursuing her profession.  But even a job she loves can't keep painful memories from seeping into her heart when the shadows of a forbidden love threaten to darken the portrait of her life.
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I love photography, so when I saw this book was about a women who wanted to pursue a career in that field, in a time where women were just beginning to provide for themselves, it instantly drew me to this book.

Apparently, there is a first book in this series called "A Flickering Light" - I did not read that book & did not really need to in able to enjoy this book... though, as intriguing as this book was, I wish I would have read it to know more background - & I may even go get it now just to see the "pre" story...

I loved getting to know Jessie in this book & see who she was as an indepedent woman - & a woman in love - with a man, she shouldnt be in love with.  The romance in this book, with fellow photographyer, Fred, just captured me.  It wasn't your "typical" romance - but left me anxious to turn the page to see what would happen next.

My favorite part of this book - throughout the chapters, there would be works of Jessie's - pictures from the time era of the 1900's - along with a background of the picture.  Again, being a photography buff, I just loved these stops in the story. 

I also particularly enjoyed in the front of the book, there is a Character List - & how they are related or interacted with each other.  I wish EVERY book had this!  So helpful!

Finally, at the end, the question & answer section revealed that Jessie was actually the author's grandmother & these people are real - & these pictures are real... made it even more fantastic to me...

I thoroughly enjoyed this book... loved getting in the feel of the time period... getting to feel the "absences" that were throughout the story in the characters lives - & how the healing of those empty areas in someone's lives can be filled...

If you are interested in purchasing this book, you can click right here:
http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781578569816

My rating:  4 skeins

Enjoy this video as well - it really gives a wonderful description of the story.

Here Burns my Candle

Book:  Here Burns my Candle

Author:  Liz Curtis Higgs

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group

      Lady Elisabeth Kerr is a keeper of secrets.  A Highlander by birth & a Lowlander by marriage, she honors the auld ways, even as oubts & fears stire deep within her.
     Her husband, Lord Donald, has secrets of his own, well hidden from the household, yet whiserped among the town gossips.
     His mother, the dowager Lady Marjory, hides gold beneath her floor & guilt inside her heart.  Though her two abiding passionars are maintaining her place in society & coddling her grown sons, Marjory's many regrests, buried in Greyfrars Churchyard, continue to plague her.
     One by one, the Kerr Family secrets begin to surface, even as bonny Prince Charlie & his rebel army ride into Edinburg in September 1745, intent on capturing the crown.
     A timeless story of love & betrayal, loss & redemption, flickering against the vivid backdrop of 18th Centry Scotland, this book illumines the dark side of human nature, even as hope, the brightest of tapers, lights the way home.
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So first, let me say - I LOVE me some Liz Curtis Higgs.  She's from my area & still hangs out around her - so I love a local gal who makes it big!  And she has knocked out some fantastic reads!  Who doesnt love all the "Bad Girls of the Bible" books.... and "Embracing Grace" is probably one of my fav's...

So when Waterbrook Press provided me this book for review, I was excited!

I will say, the story was interesting - didnt even realize that its a "re-telling" of Ruth & Naomi from the Bible.  To me, it was just a book about all the weavings of families & the secrets they carry & how they interact with one another.

This story does have a lot of historical atmosphere going on.  From wars & language & cultures of the time, you do have to like a historical kinda book to really appreciate the full work of Mrs. Higgs.

I will say, the Scottish language was hard for me to grasp.  And there is a "Scottish Glossary" in the back & while sometimes you can figure out what they are saying on your own, for me, it took me a few minutes to stop & either figure it out, or look it up.  That took a bit of the enjoyment away for me of the story....That's just me though - I like a book I can just flow through.  That is my ONLY downside of the book.  I'm sure most of you pro-readers wouldnt think anything of it though.

The characters are so intriguing with what each person deals with & the different personalities of each... but it also shows how family comes together when tragedy stricks...

My heart was always rooting for Elisabeth in this story & I was hooked on watching her journey throughout the whole story. 

If you are interested in purchasing this book, you can click on this link:
http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?isbn=9781400070015

My rating:  3 skeins (only because of the hard time I had with the "language" - sorry I'm such a dork Mrs. Higgs)

Here is a video that details a little more on the book..

Satan's Whispers

Book: Satan's Whispers

Author:  Robert Don Hughes

Liar... lies... the father of lies.
Can you hear Satan's whispers?  Which of his lies bind you?

I read "Questioning God" & saw that the author wrote this book first.  I found it on Half.com & got it for like 50 cents.  It looks like it came out n 1992 & this book is OLD & the pages have yellowed & it looks worn... but the message is stll the same.

Why?  Because the whispers of Satan is still the same...

This book goes the opposite of "Questioning God" - it holds what a would-be conversation with Satan would look like.  Some of the title of the chapters are:
"Why would God worry about you?  you're worthless!"
"Go ahead & sin!  Nobody has to know"
"Not even God can forgive what you did"

Having read both books, its interesting because some of the questions are the same as the other book, just different perspective.  And that's where it comes in.... because I really think Satan works his same old tricks, after all this time, so some of the "comments" Satan made in here, its exactly what I have felt myself in those moments of despair....

But, with Scripture backing Satan down in every chapter, it leaves you feeling encouraged &  lifted up & knowing that Satan is the father of lies!!!!

It also challenged me because some of the things that the Satan character would say, would kinda make sense & that would freak me out that I could see that side... but obviously, I'm not alone if the author wrote it out himself too... but again, the answer to that question would come from Scripture, right there in black & white - giving the perfect conformation & answer to sooth the worry....

Really think its an interesting book - even if its a little aged... you too can probably find it for next to nothing.

My rating:  4 skeins