Home Run by Travis Thrasher

Home Run by Travis Thrasher is the first sports oriented book that I've enjoyed.
Thrasher has been a favorite author in my home for the past several years. His adaptation of this movie is excellent, the book makes me want to see the film.

I've read other Christian "movie books" and they always felt too preachy, like I was getting hit over the head with the main idea over and over again. Thrasher has managed to keep the integrity of the movie without making his readers feel like kindergarteners. 

The only thing I didn't appreciate was the jab against Ben Roethlisberger. At the time this movie was written I'm sure Big Ben was big news and his exploits were well known. It's been several years since then and he's settled down, married, and is trying to live for Christ. It felt like an unnecessary reminder of Ben's past. 

Home Run follows a major-league baseball player through from the height of his career through some major changes brought on by his own foolishness. There are also flashbacks to his childhood where we learn what happened in his past to make him the man he is today.

Excellent reading from the talented Mr Thrasher.

This book was provided for review by Propeller. They've also offered a copy to give away. Leave a comment and tell me your favorite baseball team. 

      

About the Author

Travis Thrasher is the author of more than a dozen works of fiction, including The Solitary Tales series, Isolation, and Ghostwriter. His writing is known for its honesty, depth, and surprising twists. Thrasher lives with his wife and daughters in Chicago.

A Matter of Trust by Lis Wiehl & April Henry

A Matter of Trust by Lis Wiehl with April Henry started out with a bang. If you easily get queasy over the thought of blood or death scenes then you may not want to read this book. The opening death scene is pretty intense.
Full of action and suspense, this whodunit will keep you guessing until the very end. I got a little confused in the middle of the book with the sudden introduction of some characters who didn't seem to fit into the story well (and they came with strange "gamer" names as well).
The main character is a woman who's reeling over the death of her husband just a few months before, she's trying to piece her life together as a sudden single mother.
This story was interesting and kept my attention. Hard to put this one down.

This book was provided for review by Booksneeze.

Scent of Lilacs by Ann H Gabhart

 

Scent of Lilacs by Ann H Gabhart is new from Revell. This book is based in the mid 1960s (though I never got that from reading the story, I thought it was contemporary fiction and not historical. The back cover is what told me when it was set.) and is the story of young teen Jocie Brooke and her pastor father. Jocie's long-lost sister returns after nine years and the family has to start rebuilding what they once knew.

Though the premise was a good one I didn't think this story actually went anywhere. I kept waiting for it to move forward and for something to happen but it moved at a snail's pace and towards the end I just skimmed the pages to see how it ended.

Unfortuately for me it is a forgettable book.

From the back cover:

After the summer of 1964, life for Jocie Brooke will never be the same.

Life-changing events rarely happen in quiet Hollyhill, Kentucky, and when they do, they are few and far between. But for young Jocie Brooke and her family, they happen all at once during the humid summer of 1964. Though on the surface things are just fine, it seems like everyone in Jocie's life has something they're not saying, something they're hiding from her--and from themselves. As Jocie digs into her family's past, she stirs up a whirlwind of discoveries. Will she find the answers everyone so desperately needs? Or will her questions lead to truths better left hidden?

This book was provided for review by Revell. 

 

Firefly Island by Lisa Wingate

Firefly Island by Lisa Wingate confused me a little. It starts out in Washington, D.C. and then moves to a tiny town somewhere in Texas. What I thought was a romance novel turned into a suspense-filled action-packed story. I was able to follow it until the last three or four chapters, and then it picked up pace so quickly that it left me bewildered.

It was an easy read and was filled with some interesting facts (like how to get rid of fleas in your yard--I'm going to try that!), but it didn't satisfy what I was looking for.

From the back cover:
Mallory Hale's life quickly veers off course when she falls hopelessly in love. After a whirlwind romance, Mallory finds herself leaving the bustle and action of Capitol Hill for the remote town of Moses Lake, Texas--with husband, stepson, and a U-Haul in tow.
A sweet-mishap filled journey into marriage, motherhood, and ranch living ensues, and Mallory is filled with both the wonderment of love and the insecurities of change. But what she can't shake is the unease she feels around her husband's new boss, Jack West. Jack's presence--and his  mysterious past--set her on edge, and when hints of a scandal emerge, Mallory finds herself seeking answers...and comes to realize that the middle-of-nowhere home she wasn't sure she wanted is the very place she'll risk everything to save.



This book was provided for review by LitFuse and is published by Bethany House.   .

Roma Downey's Little Angels Prayers for Every Day

Tell me, is this not the cutest little book of prayers ever? Roma Downey's Little Angels Prayers for Every Day is a board book with a padded cover. It's full of the most adorable colored pictures:

And sweet little prayers for your little ones. It's never too early to teach your children how to pray and these prayers can be used as a simple guide in doing so. 
There are prayers for many occasions such as:
prayers for forgiveness
prayers of praise
prayers for others

and more.

This is new and is from Candy Cane Press (an imprint of Ideals)

This book was provided for review by FlyBy Promotions.