Review of OBSESSION by Patricia Bradley

On February 12, 2021 By vickleaIn Book Review2 Comments

*A totally clean read, rated PG because of content*

A fast-paced and intriguing mystery involving a Natchez Trace ranger who is also an historian and her former fiancé who is a law enforcement ranger. Emma doesn’t like it when Sam is assigned to investigate the case after someone shoots at her in the park early one morning. But since Sam is tasked to keep her safe, Emma just has to suck it up and go along with his constant presence. Unfortunately, there is someone else who has Emma in his sights, someone who is totally obsessed with her. Sam can’t keep her safe unless he can figure out what his really happening and the twists and turns in this book are rampant. I enjoyed meeting Emma and Sam and how they interacted with each other. It was apparent from the beginning that Sam was still smitten with Emma, but Emma wanted nothing to do with him. There are several layers of mystery here, including the disappearance of Emma’s twin brother Ryan and the death of Ryan’s girlfriend Mary Jo. The historical part of the story deals with a cemetery for slaves and that in itself was interesting. I loved how the deeper Emma dug into the cemetery, the more that was revealed from past mysteries and the more intrigue about the present. The story was complex but not hard to follow since the clues to the killer were clearly laid out. I did not guess the perpetrator because there were a lot of red herrings, but I did understand all of the clues once the identity was revealed. My kind of mystery! This book gave me just the right amount of chills and thrills and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good mystery. Although the book is part of a series, it can definitely be read as a standalone and it is a good, clean read!
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the #RevellReadsBloggerProgram via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions 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 Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

*Information about the author can be found on her website at* http://www.ptbradley.com

This book is available NOW! Purchase Links:

Proverbs 8

On February 12, 2021 By vickleaIn Scripture2 Comments

www.bible.com/1171/pro.8.19.mev

What can bring something more precious than silver and gold to your life? Wisdom! The knowledge that only comes from knowing and listening to God. I encourage you to read all of this proverb this morning and then ask God for wisdom to handle whatever situation you find yourself facing. He knows just what the solution is to every problem! He is the only wise God and He chooses to give us His wisdom.

May you be blessed today with wisdom that can only come from spending time at the throne of God!

A Promise When We Pray

On February 11, 2021 By vickleaIn Scripture3 Comments

This is a wonderful promise from God’s Word, but did you read it carefully? We have to ask “according to God’s will” in order to receive the answer that we desire. How do we know God’s will? I submit to you that we know it by spending time with Him, reading His Word and just talking to Him. It’s fantastic to be able to pray and have our prayers answered! But what is better is to be able to sit quietly and just talk to the Father.

“Jesus I Believe: by Big Daddy Weave

A Promise for All Times

On February 10, 2021 By vickleaIn Scripture5 Comments

www.bible.com/111/mat.18.20.niv

When I feel defeated or discouraged, I tell my husband and he prays. Often, I call our daughter and she prays with us, too. When I am ill, or when I fall and get hurt or when I just feel lonely, I ask my husband and daughter for prayer. I used to call or text our pastor, but we are in the middle of changing churches and the new pastors don’t know me well, so I don’t feel comfortable sharing a lot with them yet. Nevertheless, I do have prayer warriors to call. The best news, though, is that when I am totally alone, I can call on the Lord. Jesus is always with me because He has sent His Comforter, the Holy Spirit who is constantly with me. So, when I am driving and get scared (because I don’t drive very much anymore), I send up a prayer and know that the Lord is hearing me. I don’t have to be in a big crowd or even next to a phone to send up a prayer and know that my Father in Heaven hears me and is working on an answer for me. This morning, I awakened with pain in my shoulder and my hip from my physical therapy yesterday. Balancing on one leg is hard for me, even before I broke my foot. But I have to work on strengthening it, so that is one of the exercises I do. Before I even got out of bed, I praised God for a new day and asked for healing for my aching parts. My husband was sleeping soundly next to me, so I didn’t wake him up to join me in prayer. I just prayed, knowing that the Comforter was with me and would help me get out of bed and start a new day. Two or three isn’t many, and with Jesus with you, that means you can pray all by yourself in your prayer closet.

Prayer requests for you prayer warriors out there: Angie, with cancer on her spine and a friend named John who is having open heart surgery tomorrow

Thanks for the prayers and support. If you need prayer, just let me know in the comments and I will pray for you. God bless you in this new day. Expect great things from God!

Review of THE VINEYARD AT PAINTED MOON by Susan Mallery

On February 9, 2021 By vickleaIn Book ReviewLeave a comment

*I would rate this a PG*–13. *It is almost a totally clean read and was an absolute pleasure for me to escape* *into!*

What a wonderful and magical book! The characters were charming (well, most of them) and the plot was well-written, with just enough foreshadowing to leave me with the desire to continue to read to see if I was right. Mackenzie is a strong female protagonist, a talented winemaker who gets stronger in the face of adversity. Barbara, her domineering mother-in-law, is selfish and short-sighted, two characteristics that lead to her loneliness. Stephanie and Four, Mackenzie’s loving sisters-in-law, are the perfect matches to help Mackenzie through the rough times in her life. I really enjoyed how the plot unspooled itself, one thread or loop at a time. The book was perfectly written to make me ponder the themes: relationships, work v. family, single parenting and selfishness. There were characters that I knew from the beginning that I would not like, like Lori, the other sister-in-law, the one who tries to ingratiate herself with Barbara by disdaining Mackenzie. I honestly did not like Barbara and her manipulations at all, but I did understand that was all that she knew. I loved Bruno and could have just swooned when he appeared on the scene. He was a metropolitan man in a country setting, and he stood out as a super hero tends to do. All of the characters were complex and so well-developed that they have lived with me in my den for the past week or so. Fans of good romance will want to snap up this fantastic book! And the author has included bonuses at the end: wine pairings, recipes and discussion questions. This is definitely a great book to read with a book group!
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions 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 Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

*More information about the author and her other wonderful books can be found at her website:* http://www.susanmallery.com

Available NOW! Purchase Links:

This is one of the best romance books that I have ever read, so I highly recommend it and hope that you will get a copy and enjoy it, too!

Rejoicing and Blessings

On February 9, 2021 By vickleaIn Scripture5 Comments

www.bible.com/1171/psa.21.6.mev

Read and think about this verse. Really think about it. God places blessings on us FOREVER. We are blessed here on earth and we will continue to be blessed in Heaven. Therefore, we can rejoice because God’s presence is always with us, working in us to do His will on the earth. This is a promise that I can relate to since I have felt especially blessed to be alive six years after a massive stroke. I am blessed with a husband who loves me, three children who are strong and healthy and nine grandchildren who are precocious, talented and so lovable! So, I am blessed. Everyday when I awaken, I thank God for a new day to walk with Him here on earth. Are you blessed? If you are reading this, you are blessed!

Be blessed today, my friends, so that you can be a blessing.

Trusting

On February 8, 2021 By vickleaIn Scripture5 Comments

www.bible.com/1171/psa.20.7.mev

In the United States of America, we have a tendency to trust our might, our power, our strong economy and usually our President. Those things are our “chariot” and our “horse,” but in reality, only God can be trusted. I recall the great Egyptian army that rode fearlessly into the Red Sea, chasing the Israelites, with their chariots and horses. All of them drowned, wiped out when the Almighty God returned the sea to its bed. It is only when we trust in the Lord our God that we can rest easily, knowing that we are truly safe. There is no government that can save us. There is no mighty army, navy, air force or even marine corps that can save us. Most of us also have to remember that we can’t save ourselves, although we are sometimes determined to try and to set ourselves up as our own god. The only Name to remember is that of the Lord God. It is He Who saves us: from our sin, from the temptations of the world and ultimately, from death. Thus this Scripture brings me great comfort and I hope that you find comfort in this promise, too. It is God who is totally trustworthy to take us through the battles of life and to eternity with Him.

I pray God’s blessing on you today, no matter where you go or what you do. Nothing will happen today that you and God cannot handle together!

The Heavens Declare…

On February 5, 2021 By vickleaIn Scripture4 Comments

Just a reminder that man is without excuse for rejecting the knowledge about God’s existence. The skies above us declare His glory! Bless His Holy Name!

May you have a blessed weekend and remember to look around at all that God has created for us to enjoy.

Totally Loved

On February 4, 2021 By vickleaIn Scripture9 Comments

From my devotional this morning, I got this promise. Isn’t it wonderful to know that no matter where you are or what is happening in your life, the Lord God is with you? He is the same Lord who died for you on the cross, the same Lord who loves you with an eternal love, a love that no one can change or take away. He saves! Hallelujah!

As I read, I related to being a small child and waiting anxiously for my father to come home from work. No matter what had happened that day, daddy always knew what to say and how to calm my fears. Now, broaden the scope and imagine that our Heavenly Father is waiting for us to call on Him. We don’t have to anxiously sit and wait for His arrival; He is always right there beside us. In my mind, I recall my daddy picking me up and holding me and telling me that he loved me. Those moments with my father were worth all that had happened that day: the hurt of being different from the other children because I couldn’t run and play due to my health conditions, the anguish of being rejected by my mother, and the multitudes of other pains that small children go through and think we just can’t live through them. I survived because I knew my daddy loved me and would be home soon to cuddle me. And when I began to go to church, the comforting arms of my earthly father were replaced by the everlasting comfort of my Heavenly Father. By that time, I was living alone and needed to know His love since my daddy was hours away and I could not share my daily frustrations with him. But God was there! He was there for me all along, just waiting for me to ask Him to come alongside me and be that One that I can always count on.

God quiets us with His love. He loves us totally, completely and unconditionally. I can choose to leave Him, but He will not leave me. He sees me as worthy, as beautiful and as a necessary part of His creation. The God of the Universe looked down on earth and thought it needed one of me. Awesome thought, right? Of course, it is also an awesome responsibility to fulfill His purposes for me during the years He has established for me here. Nevertheless, while I am here, He rejoices over me. Just as my daddy used to sing songs (“The Church in the Wild Wood” was a favorite of his) that showed me his love for me, imagine the Heavenly Father singing songs over you, not just when you need comfort, but just because He loves you. What song is in your heart today? Imagine the Father singing that to you. That thought makes my whole being quiver with anticipation for what the new day will bring and what the Father will do for me and through me in it!

I like the mental images that come to my mind when I meditate on these two verses. I added them to my promise journal so that I can look back and remember. That’s what life is all about sometimes, a series of memories that mean something important to us. When I am remembering the afternoon minutes that I spent with my daddy, I also recall the many times that God has shown me grace and mercy and love…lots of love. Can I do any less for others who are hurting and need a Mighty Warrior to save them and a loving God to calm and rejoice over them with songs? We are sent to tell others because we have a great truth that should never be hidden. The world is hurting, and we have just the right remedy…a relationship with the Lord!

Be blessed today so that you can be a blessing.

Review of THE PERFECT DAUGHTER by D. J. Palmer

On February 2, 2021 By vickleaIn Book ReviewLeave a comment

*I would rate this book for mature audiences since the content deals with mental illness, murder and family issues that are very sensitive.*

I was totally blown away by this intricate tale of family relationships, secrets, murder and mental illness! Penny was found in the park when she was only a small child, and Grace was determined to give her a good, stable home with her own children, Ryan and Jack. Life’s circumstances and Penny’s past got in the way of Grace’s plans for Penny when Penny’s biological mother is murdered and Penny is the primary suspect. Grace is hopeful that the doctor at the institution where Penny is imprisoned awaiting trial will be able to help her at the trial, determining that she was mentally ill when she killed her mother. The trial lawyer Navarro isn’t very hopeful, but he goes along with Grace’s ideas to allow Penny to testify. This book touched me in all of the right places and satisfied all of my reading addictions. With themes of dark secrets and unconditional love, this book was a complex story with clues left in unlikely places at unlikely times. In fact, once I finished the book, I sighed and told myself that now I have to read it again to look for all of the hidden clues about what was really happening in the background that led to the very satisfactory conclusion. I was totally enthralled and mesmerized by the story of Penny and by the family love that Jack and Grace showed to Penny, accepting her just as she was. There is also a sub-plot of Dr. Mitch’s son Adam and his addiction to opiates. Putting a more caring face on the doctor who is mostly all business was a necessary part of his characterization that made him more likable. The fact is that most of the characters were likable and all were three-dimensional and realistically portrayed. This is a spider-web of a story that drew me in and didn’t let me go, haunting my thoughts even after I completed it. Fans of the author and of psychological suspense will devour this book.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions 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 Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”