As a card-carrying member of the G.R.I.T.S. club, I am proud to be a Girl Raised In The South.  Piper Wick, however, feels no such pride.  The heroine of Tamara Leigh’s latest novel, Leaving Carolina, left the South twelve years ago and never looked back.  Now an accomplished PR consultant with a prominent boyfriend, Piper is living out her dreams in Los Angeles.  The past she’s worked to diligently to forget is suddenly front and center when an eccentric uncle decides to change his will and expose family secrets that Piper would rather keep hidden.  Reluctantly she returns to her North Carolina hometown in hopes of setting things straight.  She isn’t prepared for the changes back home, including an encounter with her uncle’s handsome gardener, Axel Smith.

Leaving Carolina is a light-hearted romantic story filled with Biblical truth.  Fans of Jan Karon and Jane Kirkpatrick will enjoy Ms. Leigh’s descriptive writing style.  As Piper Wick quickly learns, you can take a girl out of the South but taking the South out of the girl may not be possible.

To learn more or purchase a copy of this book, click on the photo below:

I did NOT receive a copy of this book to give away, however I WILL be happy to donate my copy to one lucky reader.  Just leave a comment below for your chance to win.  Winner will be drawn at random from all comments left between 11/06/09 and 11/16/09.  Thanks for reading and good luck!

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

Welcome readers!  I’ve got another book to give away!  Please leave a comment below for your chance to WIN a copy of Shadow Government.*

Security cameras, surveillance of private financial transactions, radio frequency spy chips hidden in consumer products, eavesdropping on e-mail correspondence and phone calls, and Internet tracking. No one is protected, and privacy is a thing of the past.  An ultra-secret global elite, functioning as a very real shadow government, controls technology, finance, international law, world trade, political power, and vast military capabilities. These unnamed, unrivaled leaders answer to no earthly authority, and they won’t stop until they control the world.

In Shadow Government, prophecy expert Grant Jeffrey removes the screen that, up to now, has hidden the work of these diabolical agents. Jeffrey reveals the biblical description of Satan’s global conquest and identifies the tools of technology that the Antichrist will use to rule the world. Readers will have their eyes opened to the real power that is working behind the scenes to destroy America and merge it into the coming global government. Armed with this knowledge, readers will be equipped to face spiritual darkness with the light of prophetic truth.

To learn more or to purchase a copy, please click on the photo below:

*Winner will be chosen at random from all comments left between 11/04/09 and 11/14/09.

Please note:  I have not personally read this book.  The information above was provided by the publisher. 

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

I started reading Randall Arthur’s The Wisdom Hunter while admittedly playing hooky from church on a Sunday morning.  Had I been a member of pastor Jason Faircloth’s congregation, this would have been cause for concern regarding my salvation.   The novel’s central character, Rev. Faircloth [known by most as “The General”] sincerely believes that God desires His followers to live according to a list of “dos” and an even longer list of “don’ts”.  It is only after he is faced with excruciating personal tragedy that his black and white world begins to fade to gray.   Bewildered by this disastrous turn in his well-ordered life, Jason begins to question everything he believes.  He sets off on a journey, spanning decades and miles, in search of answers.  I feel compelled to mention that there is a recurring subplot involving child abuse.  The author has mercifully limited the amount of time devoted to this part of the story, but obviously cannot eliminate all the graphic details of this horrendous sin.  The Wisdom Hunter, a suspenseful, often heartbreaking story, beautifully illustrates the words of Jeremiah:  “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

To learn more about this book, click on the photo below:

If you would like to WIN a free copy of this book, just leave a comment below!!  Winner will be drawn at random from all comments left between 11/04/09 and 11/14/09.  Good luck!!

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

Earlier this year, I reviewed a wonderful book by called The Hope of Refuge by Cindy Woodsmall. Her depiction of life in an Amish community was unexpectedly fascinating and poignant. Just in time for the upcoming Christmas season, Ms. Woodsmall has released her latest work, The Sound of Sleigh Bells. This sweet story centers on Beth Hertzler, a young Amish woman unwilling to end a time of mourning. After months of denying herself the freedom to move past tragedy, she finds a glimmer of hope in an unlikely source.   Will it be enough to heal her broken heart?  The Sound of Sleigh Bells is the perfect read for a chilly afternoon, a touching story of loss, healing and love.

To learn more or to purchase a copy of this book, click on the photo below.

If you’d like to win a FREE copy, please leave a comment below. Winner will be drawn at random from all comments left between 10/16/09 and 10/26/09.

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

I’m woman enough to admit that I may have rolled my eyes when I read the title of the book scheduled for review this week. Extraordinary – The Life You’re Meant to Live sounded suspiciously like so many other books encouraging Christians to “seize the day” and “partner with God”.  Ideas which, in theory, sound fine but often produce frustration and disappointment.*  It gives me great joy to report that my assumption was incorrect.  Extraordinary by John Bevere is an insightful, straight-forward work encouraging Christians to seek personal holiness.  He points out that, according to Scripture, the life we were meant to live is one that is pleasing to God.  Mr. Bevere teaches principles that, sadly, are often absent from modern-day so-called Christian studies. Topics such as repentance and righteous living are presented in a truthful, loving manner without the use of snappy slogans or slick catchphrases. There are no “4 steps” or “7 keys” to attaining this God-pleasing existence…just Biblical instruction and thought-provoking questions that encourage readers to press on toward an extraordinary life.

To learn more or purchase a copy of Extraordinary, click the photo below to visit the random house link:

If you would like to win a FREE copy of this book, leave a comment below!  Winner will be selected at random from all comments left between 10/09/09 and 10/19/09. Good luck and keep reading!

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

*Check out this post for my thoughts on the subject:  http://endofthestory.wordpress.com/2007/09/23/can-you-live-out-loud-if-youre-quiet/