The First Hostage by Joel C. Rosenberg

★★★★★

“The president of the United States…is missing.”

With these words, New York Times journalist J. B. Collins, reporting from the scene of a devastating attack by ISIS terrorists in Amman, Jordan, puts the entire world on high alert. The leaders of Israel and Palestine are critically injured, Jordan’s king is fighting for his life, and the U.S. president is missing and presumed captured.

As the U.S. government faces a constitutional crisis and Jordan battles for its very existence, Collins must do his best to keep the world informed while working to convince the FBI that his stories are not responsible for the terror attack on the Jordanian capital. And ISIS still has chemical weapons…

Struggling to clear his name, Collins and the Secret Service try frantically to locate and rescue the leader of the free world before ISIS’s threats become a catastrophic reality.

Wow. Joel C. Rosenberg’s The First Hostage has no shortage of fast-paced action, thrills, and suspense. From what I understand, since I haven’t read the previous J.B. Collins novel, this newest novel picks up right where The Third Target ended, and the President of the United States is missing. New York Times reporter J.B. Collins follows the aftermath of a recent ISIS attack from the frontlines and places himself in one dangerous situation after another. As Collins and his surrounding international cast work to find and bring back the President, I simply could not stop reading until I knew what would happen in the end. All around, The First Hostage is a fascinating political read - I would not hesitate to recommend it to interested readers and now look forward to reading more from Rosenberg in the future.

Thanks to Tyndale BlogNetwork, I received a copy of The First Hostage and the opportunity to provide an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, and all the opinions I have expressed are my own.

An Amish Year by Beth Wiseman

★★★★★

Spend a year in Amish country with four sweet romances.

“Rooted in Love” (previously published in An Amish Garden): Rosemary Lantz is doing her best to run her family’s household. She excels at all her tasks except one: gardening. Saul Petersheim has pursued Rosemary for years, but Rosemary keeps turning him down. What Saul doesn’t know is that she has good reason – something no one can know – especially not him.

“A Love for Irma Rose”: The year is 1957, and young Irma Rose has a choice to make. Date the man who is “right” for her? Or give Jonas a chance, the wild and reckless suitor who refuses to take no for an answer? Irma Rose steps onto the path she believes God has planned for her, but when she loses her footing, she is forced to rethink her choice.

“Patchwork Perfect”: Eli Byler has been a widower for two years when he chooses to make a fresh start in Paradise, Pennsylvania. As Eli juggles the admiration of two women, he meets Miriam Fisher – the most unconventional Amish woman he’s ever met. She doesn’t fit the mold for what Eli is looking for, but it isn’t long before Eli realizes that Miriam is everything he wants. But Miriam has no plans to get married – ever. Will Eli be able to change her mind?

“When Christmas Comes Again” (previously published in An Amish Second Christmas): Katherine knows the first Christmas without Elias will be hard for her and the children. But when a mysterious Englischer appears with photographs of her late husband, Katherine begins to wonder what other blessings Christmas could have in store.

These days, I’m a big fan of novellas, so naturally, I was excited to pick up Beth Wiseman’s An Amish Year. This book contains four unrelated novellas, each one occurring in a particular and different season of the year. As I expected, each novella offers a quick but well-developed story, filled with great characters, quirky circumstances and interactions, and touching sentiments of love and friendship. An Amish Year, as a whole, is a delightful and heartwarming read, and any fan of Amish fiction will enjoy taking the time to read it - I would certainly recommend it to interested readers.

 

Thanks to BookLook Bloggers, I received a copy of An Amish Year and the opportunity to honestly review it. I was not required to write a positive review, and all 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.”)

 

About the Author

Award-winning, bestselling author Beth Wiseman is best known for her Amish novels, but she has also written several successful contemporary novels, set primarily in her beloved Texas, including Need You Now and The House that Love Built. Both have received glowing reviews. Beth's The Promise is inspired by a true story.

Unstoppable Gospel: Living Out the World-Changing Vision of Jesus' First Followers by Gregg Matte

★★★★✩
Goodreads | Amazon

The path of least resistance is seldom the path of greatest impact. 

The apostles boldly proclaimed the gospel, every day and at great risk. Today the church wants to avoid risk, avoid stepping on toes, and avoid any bad publicity that might come with going out on a limb. But giant leaps forward in God's kingdom don't come without a big vision and a great big dose of risk.

In Unstoppable Gospel, pastor Gregg Matte calls us to take up the mission of the early church and go change the world. He shows how using ordinary, everyday people to spread the Word like an unquenchable fire has been God's plan from the beginning. He shares practical ways you can take advantage of the countless opportunities you have to make lasting kingdom impact in our world.

In Unstoppable Gospel: Living Out the World-Changing Vision of Jesus' First Followers, Gregg Matte looks at the book of Acts to show how the Gospel is powerful and truly unstoppable when believers can embrace it and proclaim it despite the risk. He offers many lessons gathered from these early believers that could easily benefit members of the church today. I greatly appreciated reading Unstoppable Gospel, as it is an encouraging, valuable, and worthwhile read. Interested readers should certainly read it.

Thanks to Baker Book Bloggers, I received a copy of Unstoppable Gospel and the opportunity to provide an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, and all the opinions I have expressed are my own.

About the Author

Gregg Matte (MA, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) is the senior pastor of Houston's First Baptist Church and founder of Breakaway Ministries at Texas A&M University, one of the largest college Bible studies in the nation. He is the author of Finding God's Will and I AM Changes Who I Am. An energetic communicator, he and his wife, Kelly, have a son and a daughter and live in Houston, Texas.

Waiting on Wednesday: Always Watching & Stars Over Sunset Boulevard

Hosted weekly by Breaking the Spine 
to spotlight eagerly-anticipated upcoming releases.

Title: Always Watching

Author: Lynette Eason

Publisher: Revell

Expected Publication Date: 2 January 2016

The bodyguards of Elite Guardians Agency have more than just skill and prowess in common –they're also all women. When it becomes clear that popular psychiatrist and radio personality Wade Savage has a stalker, his father secretly hires Elite Guardians in order to protect his son.

But when Wade's bodyguard is attacked and nearly killed, agency owner Olivia Edwards must step in and fill the gap. Olivia's skills are about to be tested to the limit as Wade's stalker moves from leaving innocent gifts at his door to threatening those closest to him. Olivia has the feeling that she's next on the list. And to complicate things even further, she realizes that her heart may be in as much danger as her client.

Title: Stars Over Sunset Boulevard

Author: Susan Meissner

Publisher: NAL

Expected Publication Date: 5 January 2016

In this new novel from the acclaimed author of Secrets of a Charmed Life, two women working in Hollywood during its Golden Age discover the joy and heartbreak of true friendship.

Los Angeles, Present Day. When an iconic hat worn by Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With the Wind  ends up in Christine McAllister’s vintage clothing boutique by mistake, her efforts to return it to its owner take her on a journey more enchanting than any classic movie… 

Los Angeles, 1938.  Violet Mayfield sets out to reinvent herself in Hollywood after her dream of becoming a wife and mother falls apart, and lands a job on the film-set of Gone With the Wind. There, she meets enigmatic Audrey Duvall, a once-rising film star who is now a fellow secretary. Audrey’s zest for life and their adventures together among Hollywood’s glitterati enthrall Violet…until each woman’s deepest desires collide.  What Audrey and Violet are willing to risk, for themselves and for each other, to ensure their own happy endings will shape their friendship, and their lives, far into the future.

Top Ten Tuesday: 2016 Debuts Novels I'm Looking Forward To

Hosted weekly by The Broke and the Bookish.