August in Review

August was a great book month for me as far as reading goes.  I received some fabulous books in the mail for some upcoming blog tours, particularly a certain sequel by Francine Rivers, and a book that will have me burning the midnight oil by Julie Lessman.  :o)  I wanted to give you guys a peek into some great Christian fiction that I read last month, and maybe you'll find a book or two that's new to you.  :o) 

Adrienne by Judy Baer was a sweet young adult novel about a group of friends with a little mystery on their hands one hot summer.  I pulled this one off my bookshelf to read because when I was younger, I loved reading the Springsong Books and the Heartsong Books that were for young girls.  I've been trying to find all the ones that I haven't read, but it may still be awhile before I can hunt them all down.  :o)  3 Stars

Next up was Light of My Heart by Ginny Aiken.  This book was good, but didn't grab me the way I hoped it would.  The further I got into the book, I started to think it might be similar to a Dr. Quinn type of story, but when it started to focus on a particular group of children in the town, I knew I had to let the story stand on it's own.  This is book one in the Silver Hill Trilogy, and there are two others to follow that are patiently waiting on my bookshelf.  4 Stars

The third book I read in August was Adam by Ted Dekker.  Now, Ted Dekker is an author that I have to take in small doses.  I think Adam is maybe the third or fourth book I've ever read by him.  His style is very similar to Frank Peretti, for those of you unfamiliar, and it can lean a little bit to the bizarre while still remain somewhat believable.  Adam was a book based on a serial killer who grew up with a very disturbing childhood, and that upbringing very clearly shaped the man he became.  This book is not for everyone, but I still enjoyed it.  4 Stars

Next in line was Stain of Guilt by Brandilyn Collins.  This book arrived at my house courtesy of Lori over at Some of My Favorite Books...thanks again, Lori!!  :o)  I've been on a little bit of a Brandilyn Collins kick this summer after I read her newest book, Deceit, earlier this year.  (Just an FYI, that book packs a serious punch!)  Anyhow, Stain of Guilt is the second book in the Hidden Faces series, and it follows the story of a man who has been wanted by police for the murder of two men.  Annie Kingston, a forensic artist, must try to draw a picture of this man that no one has seen for 20 years.  But things are not always what they seem, and Annie has to race against time to help police bring this man to justice.  4 Stars

The next book I read was another young adult novel entitled Forgotten by Melody Carlson.  Melody's books are always so relevant, and I feel like I learn something every time I read one (even though my young adult days passed by 10 years ago).  There's a review of this book posted here on my blog if you'd like to learn more about this story.  4 Stars

The sixth book I read this month is one that I'd been putting off for a VERY long time.  I read the first book in this series, Circle of Honor, probably two years ago, and I LOVED it!!  Why I put off reading the rest of the series, I have no idea.  So before you get your hands on a copy of The Price of Freedom, get a copy of Circle of Honor first. To my knowledge, this series (the Scottish Crown series) is all that she's ever written, and they were written between 2003 and 2005, if I'm not mistaken. 5 Stars

It's only natural since reading The Price of Freedom that I would immediately jump to read The Mark of Salvation.  This book was just as good as the previous two books in the series, in my opinion, but didn't have quite as much of the romance as I'd come to expect from the first two books.  There is only one book left for me to read, and I'm already a bundle of mixed emotions....I'm not ready for the series to end!  4.5 Stars



I took a break from reading for about a week before picking up this next fabulous tale.  First of all, isn't the cover to Masquerade just gorgeous!?!?  Actually, I think that all of Nancy's book covers for her historical novels are beautiful...now, I've actually got to get busy reading some of them.  I did a review of this book for the CFBA book tour, and I'm almost certain it will go on my top ten book list for this year.  5 Stars



I promised myself that when this next book came in that I would literally drop everything to read it.  Guess what?  I did.  If you do not read anything else this entire year, I cannot recommend highly enough the latest book(s) from Francine Rivers.  Earlier this year, she wrote Her Mother's Hope, and I had it read in 24 hours.  It was one of those books that I just read and read and paid no attention at all to where the time had run off to. Her Daughter's Dream was no exception, and in all honesty, I think it was even better than it's predecessor.  I don't have a review of it ready quite yet, but there will be one coming within the next month for a blog tour that I'll be participating in.  Suffice it to say, both of these books are ones you need to RUN, not walk, to the store to get!  5 Stars

Almost to the end of the month, I read Love Finds You in Victory Heights, Washington by Tricia Goyer and Ocieanna Fleiss (wow, that's a mouthful!).  This book stirred up a great sense of pride in me for my country, and the sacrifices that so many soldiers have made for our freedom.  I think if I had lived back then, I would've done whatever needed to be done for my country just like Rosalie did in this story.  There's a review of this one up here on my blog...hope you enjoy!  4 Stars

I squeezed in one final book before August ended, and that was Jillian Dare by Melanie M. Jeschke.  This was an adaptation of Jane Eyre, which I have not had the opportunity to read.  Not knowing that particular story, I really didn't have any expectations from this book, but I have to say I was a tad disappointed just the same.  Click here to see my review.  3 Stars

Holy cow, that's a lot of books....and even with a week break in there of no reading!  11 books altogether is not too shabby, and I got to read some GREAT books.  :o) 

What about you?  Anything really good that you got to read in August?