The Alliance by Jolina Petersheim

★★★★★
Goodreads | Amazon

"Finally, an apocalyptic novel ablaze with hope. Just the kind of story I champion. A must-read." -Sarah McCoy, New York Times and international bestselling author of The Mapmaker's Children and The Baker's Daughter

When Leora Ebersole sees the small plane crash in her Old Order Mennonite community, she has no idea it’s a foreshadowing of things to come. Once the young pilot, Moses Hughes, regains consciousness, they realize his instruments were destroyed by the same power outage that killed the electricity at the community store, where Englischers are stranded with dead cell phones and cars that won’t start.

Moses offers a sobering theory, but no one can know how drastically life is about to change. With the only self-sustaining food supply in the region, the Pacifist community is forced to forge an alliance with the handful of stranded Englischers in an effort to protect not only the food but their very lives.

In the weeks that follow, Leora, Moses, and the community will be tested as never before, requiring them to make decisions they never thought possible. Whom will they help and whom will they turn away? When the community receives news of a new threat, everyone must decide how far they’re willing to go to protect their beliefs and way of life.

I’m not sure exactly what I expected when I began reading The Alliance by Jolina Petersheim, but I guarantee the story contained within its pages is so much better. I loved it. As a Mennonite community forges an alliance with a stranded band of Englischers, this book kept me interested in what would happen next and how the characters would act and react, and I couldn’t put this book down. It’s quite the page-turner, an engagingly unique and compelling read with plenty of thought-provoking moments, and I highly recommend it. Readers looking for an apocalyptic-type and faith-filled tale will enjoy The Alliance (and certainly, by the end, be left as eager for Petersheim’s next book as I was). 

Thanks to Tyndale BlogNetwork, I received a copy of The Alliance 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.

Bout of Books 16

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 9th and runs through Sunday, May 15th in whatever timezone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 16 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. -From the Bout of Books team


It's time to start my first Bout of Books read-a-thon! Though I'll still be working full-time as usual, I hoping to get a lot of reading done this week. Here's the (ambitious) list of books I'd like to read this week:

-The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
-The Execution by Dick Wolf
-Fading Starlight by Kathryn Cushman
-Her One and Only by Becky Wade
-The Intercept by Dick Wolf
-Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern
-Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern
-Sister Dear by Laura McNeill
-Someone Like You by Victoria Bylin
-The Ultimatum by Dick Wolf

And throughout this read-a-thon week, I'll be posting here with my progress.

Happy reading!

Monday, May 9th:

Books I read: The 5th Wave (audiobook, finished), Sh*t My Dad Says (audiobook, finished), Say What You Will (audiobook), Sister Dear

Very different books to be reading one after another in a single day, but they kept me going through my Monday, which I have to appreciate.

The week’s total number of finished books: 2

Tuesday, May 10th:

Books I read: Say What You Will (finished), The Intercept (audiobook, finished), The Execution (audiobook), Sister Dear

The week’s total number of finished books: 4


Wednesday, May 11th:

Books I read: The Execution (finished), The Ultimatum (audiobook), Sister Dear (finished), Someone Like You

The week’s total number of finished books: 6

Challenge: 5 Favorites

(that I have loved for more than 5 years)

-Artemis Fowl

-Ender’s Game

-The Giver

-Much Ado About Nothing

-Redeeming Love

Thursday, May 12th:

Books I read: The Ultimatum (finished), Pearl in the Sand (audiobook, finished), Daughter of Smoke & Bone (audiobook), Someone Like You (finished)

Thursdays are just the best. My absolute favorite of days.

The week’s total number of finished books: 9

Challenge: If You Like This, Try This

If you like the TV show The Family, try Sister Dear by Laura McNeill.

Friday, May 13th:

Books I read: Daughter of Smoke & Bone (finished), The Boy Most Likely To (audiobook, finished), The Winner’s Curse (audiobook), Fading Starlight

The week’s total number of finished books: 11

Saturday, May 14th:

Books I read: The Winner’s Curse (finished), Dumplin’ (audiobook), Fading Starlight

The week’s total number of finished books: 12

Sunday, May 15th:

Books I read: Dumplin’, Fading Starlight

Well, it’s the last day of the read-a-thon, and I’m pleasantly surprised with how many books I managed to finish (even without finishing any today). It's been a good week.

The week’s (final) total number of finished books: 12

The Girl Who Stayed by Tanya Anne Crosby

About the Book

★★★★✩
Goodreads | Amazon

Zoe Rutherford wasn't sure what she was expecting when she returned to Sullivan's Island. The house on Sullivan's hadn't represented home to her in decades. It was the place where she endured her father's cruelty. It was the place where her mother closed herself off from the world. It was the place where her sister disappeared. But now that her parents are gone, Zoe needs to return to the house, to close it down and prepare it for sale. She intends to get this done as quickly as possible and get on with the rest of her life, even though that life seems clouded by her past, both distant and recent. But what she discovers when she gets there is far beyond her imagining and will change her in profound ways.

The Girl Who Stayed is a remarkable exploration of the soul by a writer with a rare talent for reaching into the hearts of her characters and her readers, a novel of transformation that will leave you moved and breathless.

Tanya Anne Crosby tells an interesting story full of mystery, suspense, and emotional healing in The Girl Who Stayed. As Zoe Rutherford returns to her family home on Sullivan’s Island, her story intrigued me. Page after page, Zoe faces the haunting memories of her past and seeks for the truth behind her sister’s disappearance, and I couldn’t stop reading. The Girl Who Stayed is a compelling and enjoyable read, and I recommend it. Readers looking for mystery and suspense with plenty of emotion will not be disappointed.

Thanks to TLC Book Tours, I received a copy of The Girl Who Stayed 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. To read other opinions of the novel, click here.

About the Author

Tanya Anne Crosby is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of twenty-five novels. She has been featured in magazines, such as People, Romantic Times and Publisher's Weekly, and her books have been translated into eight languages. Her first novel was published in 1992 by Avon Books, where Tanya was hailed as "one of Avon's fastest rising stars." Her fourth book was chosen to launch the company's Avon Romantic Treasure imprint. Known for stories charged with emotion and humor and filled with flawed characters, Tanya is an award-winning author, journalist, and editor, and her novels have garnered reader praise and glowing critical reviews. In 2013, she penned her first romantic suspense novel, Speak No Evil, which appeared on the USA Today list. The Girl Who Stayed brings her full circle to work with Lou Aronica, President and Publisher of The Story Plant, who first published Tanya at Avon Books. Tanya and her writer husband split their time between Charleston, SC, where she was raised, and northern Michigan, where the couple make their home.

Find out more about Tanya at her website and on her blog, and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.

Spiritual Sobriety: Stumbling Back to Faith When Good Religion Goes Bad by Elizabeth Esther

★★★★✩
Goodreads | Amazon

It’s easy to get high on God in America.

But is this good religion?

In a compelling follow-up to her memoir, Girl at the End of the World, Elizabeth Esther explores how religious fervor can become religious addiction. 

The evidence is everywhere. In families who inexplicably choose to harm their children in order to abide by cultic church doctrine. But in ordinary believers too who use God the same way addicts use drugs or alcohol—to numb pain, alter their mood, or simply to escape the realities of this messy, unpredictable thing called life.

If you’ve ever wondered how a religion that preaches freedom and love can produce judgmental and unkind followers; if you’ve ever felt captive to the demanding God of your own childhood; if you’ve struggled to find contentment without needing another emotional hit from a “life-changing” conference or “mountain-top” experience, then Spiritual Sobriety is for you. The author, who grew up in a hyper-controlling church cult, will help you find hope and rebirth in the ruins of disillusioned faith.

Filled with stories and warm, practical advice, Spiritual Sobriety offers a gentle path out of the desperate cycles of craving-euphoria-hangover and into a freer, clean-and-sober faith practice.

Girl at the Edge of the World shared Elizabeth Esther’s experience within and escape from a fundamentalist cult, and now, her Spiritual Sobriety: Stumbling Back to Faith When Good Religion Goes Bad addresses the problem of and recovery from religious addiction. Once again, with honesty and eloquence, stories from her personal experience fill the pages and provide an interesting and eye-opening read regarding faith. Her inclusion of practical advice for the readers also struggling with religious addiction makes Spiritual Sobriety quite thought-provoking (even without complete agreement to the conclusions about faith). Overall, I really enjoyed reading this new book by Elizabeth Esther and recommend it to fans of faith memoirs.

Thanks to Blogging for Books, I received a copy of Spiritual Sobriety 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.

There Will Be Stars by Billy Coffey

★★★★★
Goodreads | Amazon

"In a life full of lies, he finally settled for the truth."

No one in Mattingly ever believed Bobby Barnes would live to see old age. Drink would either rot Bobby from the inside out or dull his senses just enough to send his truck off the mountain on one of his nightly rides. Although Bobby believes such an end possible—and even likely—it doesn’t stop him from taking his twin sons Matthew and Mark into the mountains one Saturday night. A sharp curve, blinding headlights, metal on metal, his sons’ screams. Bobby’s final thought as he sinks into blackness is a curious one—there will be stars.

Yet it is not death that greets him beyond the veil. Instead, he returns to the day he has just lived and finds he is not alone in this strange new world. Six others are trapped with him.

Bobby soon discovers that this supposed place of peace is actually a place of secrets and hidden dangers. Along with three others, he seeks to escape, even as the world around him begins to crumble. The escape will lead some to greater life, others to endless death...and Bobby Barnes to understand the deepest nature of love.

The novels I’ve read by Billy Coffey have led me to expect each new book from him to be thoroughly enchanting and unforgettable, and fortunately for me, these two words are entirely apt descriptors for his latest novel, There Will Be Stars. In another story for the small town of Mattingly, Coffey sets town drunk Bobby Barnes into a cycle of reliving the same day again and again and tells a very interesting story of faith with his characteristic style. It captivated me from beginning to end and I loved it. Fans of Billy Coffey’s novels will not be disappointed with There Will Be Stars - I highly recommend it.

Thanks to BookLook Bloggers, I received a copy of There Will Be Stars 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.”)