3.5/5 stars Singapore Secrets by Irene Onorato

August 28, 2021August 11, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Christian, romance Christian romance, Irene Onorato, Kathleen Li

Narrated by Kathleen Li

Run Time: 3 hrs and 45 mins

Genre: Christian romance, suspense

Performance 4 stars. Story 3 stars.

Summary:

When her father proposes to his sweet, much younger, beautiful actress girlfriend, a spoiled little rich girl pitches a fit and runs away to Singapore. The father sends an ex-soldier, who happens to be tall, handsome, physically fit, etc after her, just to make sure she’s okay. The usual ensues. Toss in a few Christian references and the kid sort of sees the error of her ways and you pretty much have this story.

Additional Comments:

Highly predictable. There wasn’t much investigating going on. Julia wasn’t exactly hiding. One check of her cell phone would have had her pinned down. She didn’t strike me as the type to be carefully covering her tracks. Heck, I think she even used her credit card to pay for the hotel and such. Pretty sure daddy could get a hold of that record if he wanted to. If he was that worried, I see no reason he wouldn’t have hopped on a plane to drag her behind back from the other end of the world. But then, Julia wouldn’t have had the chance to fall in love with the devastatingly handsome ex-soldier boy.
Has a few mammoth plot holes, especially where the danger factor is concerned.
Performance is fine. The senator, Gabe, Julia, and the famous actress fiancée are all distinguishable. I’ve said it before and stand by the assessment that the narrator has nice reading instincts. Her pauses are natural. Her accents are decent and believable. She doesn’t have a huge range of characters (10+), but you don’t need that for this story anyway.
The title has very little to do with the story, except that it mentions where most of the scenes take place.
The cover has zip to do with the story, except that it might get the genre right.
Story’s okay.
Characters: Gabe’s a decent love interest, but I have a very hard time liking Julia because she goes from a stupid, super selfish little rich brat to contrite semi-selfish, slightly less dumb little rich girl to damsel in distress to semi-tolerable little rich girl who’s got a hot boyfriend. There is a smidgen of hope for her at the end when she fights back. She’s probably the most realistic character but still annoying.
Romance angle is fine.
The Christian angle didn’t bother me, but it wasn’t subtle in any sense. It was also a tad unrealistic. The story wouldn’t have changed one iota if it hadn’t been there at all, just a few lines of dialogue would change. That tells me it wasn’t integrated well.
Suspense angle fell flat, but it made the last quarter of the book better than the first three quarters.
Book is clean as far as curse words go and adult scenes. There’s one scene that might trigger some people, but I thought it was fine and I’m picky about such things.

Conclusion:

It’s not a bad story, just highly predictable with little that makes it stand out.

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Many of my 50 audible titles are listed on Audiobooks Unleashed.
Whether you’re looking for mystery or suspense or fantasy, I’ve got a title for you. Free codes are probably on audiobooks unleashed.
Normal links go to audible. *The Amazon labeled links are affiliate links. That means I get a very small payment from Amazon if you go through with a purchase.*
Note: Filter by US if you’re looking for those codes as many titles are out.
Ones I think may still have US codes: Reshner’s Royal Ranger, Never Again, Innova, The Golden City Captives, The Holy War, Reclaim the Darklands, Eagle Eyes, Treachery Makes it Tense, Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts, The Dark Side of Science, Ashlynn’s Dreams, Nadia’s Tears, Malia’s Miracles, and Varick’s Quest
There are plenty of UK codes, but not many US ones left.

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

Awakening – Redeemer Chronicles Book 1, MG fantasy (Amazon) (free codes)
The Holy War – Redeemer Chronicles Book 2, MG fantasy (Amazon) (free codes)
Reclaim the Darklands – Redeemer Chronicles Book 3, MG fantasy (Amazon) (free codes)
River’s Edge Ransom – Prequel to Redeemer Chronicles (Amazon) (email devyaschildren @ gmail.com for free codes)

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Devya’s Children Series Links:

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – short stories featuring Jillian. (Amazon) (free codes)
The Dark Side of Science – official prequel to Devya’s Children; Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live. (Amazon) (Please email devyaschildren @ gmail.com for free codes)
Ashlynn’s Dreams – Genetically altered Dream Shaper learns her gift. (Amazon) (free codes)
Nadia’s Tears – Jillian tries to awaken her sister, Nadia, from a coma. (Amazon) (free codes)
Malia’s Miracles – Jillian and her siblings try to save a friend’s mother. (Amazon) (free codes)
Varick’s Quest – Jillian and Danielle get kidnapped. Nadia’s also in trouble. (Amazon) (free codes)
More Scifi:
Reshner’s Royal Ranger (epic sci-fi) just made it there. (Amazon) (free codes)

Guardian Angel Files:

Spirit’s Bane – Allister and Mina are training to be Guardians. Satan’s out to get them. (Amazon) (free codes)
Kindred Spirits – Mina’s exiled to Earth. Allister’s stuck in the Heavens. (Amazon) (free codes)

4/5 Stars Shadow of Shame by Barbara Goss

August 27, 2021August 23, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Christian, historical, romance Barbara Goss, Tom Jordan

The Shadow Series Book 1

Narrated by Tom Jordan

Run Time: 4 hrs and 30 mins

Genre: Christian romance, historical fic

Summary:

Ivy Jeffries falls hard for Jonas Armstrong, but he doesn’t want to taint her with his past. He married at 18 because a woman said she was carrying his child. Falsely, by the way.

Additional Comments:

Besides the bad guys, all the characters are saints.
I’d listened to book 3 before 1 accidentally, so I knew some of the names. It was probably more interesting this round, knowing their pasts.
It’s not exactly a deep-thinking series, but then again, none of these are.
They’ve got a general good message of letting go of your past regrets because God forgives sins.
They follow the historical romance pattern right down to the characters not feeling good enough for the other person, so they try to drive the other way, see the error of their ways, and finally let themselves be loved and love the other person.
As with others in the series, there’s talk of sex as part of marriage (good) or outside of marriage (bad), but it’s still a clean read.
It’s not exactly a Western, though this does include a smidge of danger and action, which is a nice change of pace between the she loves me, she loves me not routine.

Conclusion:

Intriguing Christian historical romance.

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Audibook Rev The Quinn Case by Julie C. Gilbert

August 26, 2021August 11, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Christian, mystery Heartfelt Cases, Julie C. Gilbert, L.W. Salinas

Series: Heartfelt Cases (prequel)

Narrated by L. W. Salinas

Run Time: 1 hr and 3 mins

Summary:

On the heels of closing a rough case with a highly unsatisfactory conclusion, FBI Special Agent Ann Davidson must tackle a new case involving a similar victim. Young Josiah Quinn gets caught up in a custody kidnapping. Ann and Patrick need to find the kid fast.

Additional Comments:

Most Heartfelt Cases stories are around 30,000 words. That would be a 3.5 ish hour audiobook.
L.W. Salinas did a decent job with the narration. This is the only book I’ve produced through Findaway Voices. I’ve distributed a few with them but not produced. It costs more since you have to pay them to find you a narrator. I would work with her again, but I never really got in touch with her at all since there was always a middleman.
There isn’t exactly a lot of time for grand character development here, but it’s a nice intro to Ann and Patrick.
Some readers have likened it to a TV show, a short spot of clean drama.
I get most of my character names from baby name lists.

Conclusion:

If you’re looking for a very short Christian mystery, check this out. If you’re looking for slightly longer, try The Collins Case or the rest of the Heartfelt Cases stories.

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5/5 Stars Field of Redemption by Lori Bates Wright

August 25, 2021July 30, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Christian, historical Austenne Grey, Lori Bates Wright, Saberton

Series: The Saberton Legacy 2

Run Time: 9 hrs and 28 mins

Genre: Christian historical fiction

Narrated by Austenne Grey

Summary:

The back cover copy pretty much outlines the entire story. Abigail McFadden travels down South then gets stuck there in the middle of the Civil War. The womenfolk of Macon sort of take her in.

Colonel Ian Saberton has orders to prep the cities and towns for Sherman’s march through Georgia.

Additional Comments:

Disclaimer: I really like Civil War tales, so that is in this book’s favor.
As with book 1, Austenne Grey did a lovely job with the narration. She has credible male, female, British, Southern, and normal American accents. Some scenes weren’t easy because they had several Southern ladies and gents present, but the narrator handled these well.
Stayed up late to finish. That’s always a great sign for a book’s quality.
The title doesn’t quite fit. Oh it nails the genre swell, but as far as I can tell, has zip to do with the book itself. That’s a fairly minor complaint.
I don’t think it’s meant to be a funny book, but there are plenty of hilarious situations. One of my favorite little parts is when Cora, pretty much the queen in that town, tells this poor soldier kid he’ll let them by or she’ll have a word with his momma.
Bad guy’s a little over the top evil, but it fits the book well.
Even though parts of the book are small town drama, I never felt like nothing was happening, which is a rarity.
4/5 Characters: Abby and Ian are both paragons of good, but it works. Cora and the townswomen are deliciously meddlesome. Abby’s flaws of not being able to cook or sew make sense given her background.
End twist was a nice touch.

Conclusion:

A near picture-perfect Christian historical fiction novel.

Audiobook Promotions …

Many of my 44 audible titles are listed on Audiobooks Unleashed.
Whether you’re looking for mystery or suspense or fantasy, I’ve got a title for you. Free codes are probably on audiobooks unleashed.
Normal links go to audible. *The Amazon labeled links are affiliate links. That means I get a very small payment from Amazon if you go through with a purchase.*
Note: Filter by US if you’re looking for those codes as many titles are out.
Ones I think may still have US codes: Reshner’s Royal Ranger, Never Again, Innova, The Golden City Captives, The Holy War, Reclaim the Darklands, Eagle Eyes, Treachery Makes it Tense, Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts, The Dark Side of Science, Ashlynn’s Dreams, Nadia’s Tears, Malia’s Miracles, and Varick’s Quest
There are plenty of UK codes, but not many US ones left.

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Guardian Angel Files:

3.45/5 stars The Comanche Girl’s Prayer by Angela Castillo

August 11, 2021July 31, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Christian, historical Angela Castillo, J. Grace Pennington, Texas Women of Spirit

Narrated by: J. Grace Pennington

Run Time: 4 hrs and 42 mins

Summary:

Soonie Eckhart goes to live with her mother’s people to be a local teacher. She falls in love with them but finds dangers in the woods.

Additional Comments:

The love story angle was about as subtle as an elephant in New York City.
The singing threw me because I play audiobooks fast.
The danger seemed realistic, but I wish there was more fighting.
The narrator did okay.
The Christian aspects of the book aren’t even remotely subtle.
If you’re used to the genre, not much will stand out about this story. Typical brave girl out of her element finds the love of her life once God takes the surly soul and flips his attitude on its head.
Side characters: I liked Darla. Molly seemed superfluous. The uncle is a decent sort of chap. The bad guys were suitably evil.
I did end up yelling at the MC to get it together at least once.

Conclusion:

It’s book 2 in a series, but I think it’s fine as a standalone book.

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4/5 stars The River Girl’s Song by Angela Castillo

August 8, 2021July 31, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Christian, historical Angela Castillo, J. Grace Pennington, Texas Women of Spirit

Narrated by J. Grace Pennington

Run Time: 4 hrs and 31 mins

Summary:

I must have a thing for stories with kids being abandoned. This is the second book in 2 days with that beginning. Zillia Bright ends up caring for her baby brother and a farm when her mother’s good-for-nothing husband high-tails it soon after the kid is born.

Additional Comments:

3/5 stars Performance: It’s decent. I’ve heard a lot of books read by this narrator. She has a nice, clear voice and good reading instincts. She does not have a very wide range of character voices though. She has 3-4 solid female voices and 1-2 solid male voices. She does a credible job with songs, though it is startling at 2.3x speed.
Normally, this kind of series can be read out of order, but I accidentally reversed books 1-2, and I believe they would have been much better read in order. The parts of book 2 featuring this character seemed very odd without having heard her story first.
Typical clean historical Christian fiction. I did like the very small taste of action near the end. Other than that, it’s pretty much 4 hrs of this woman’s daily life. Nothing earth-shattering, nothing terrible.
There aren’t many in-betweens in stories like this. The characters are either paragons of light and purity or complete jerks.

Conclusion:

If you like clean, historical Christian fiction, this is a decent series.

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Book Review 4.5/5 Stars Mercy’s King

June 26, 2021June 13, 2021 Julie Gilbert Action Adventure, Christian, dragons, Fantasy, medieval Christian, Katy Huth Jones, Medieval Fantasy

*spoilers are possible in discussion

Summary:

Probably the most violent and action-packed of the series to date.

Additional Comments:

– The king ails under something mysterious, but it’s time for the annual tournament. Dragons are attacking outlying villages. Valerian gets some of the blame. He and Merry ride hard to discover what has happened.

– When the king succumbs to the mystery ailment, Kieran smuggles Drew and Valerian’s family out of the keep. Sir Greggory becomes the head of the regency council with Rafael as the puppet king.

– Rafael’s part was kind of frustrating. The light cast on him turns from him being painfully naive to dumb to helpless to sort of coming to his senses.

– the beginning part involved a lot of setup so was relatively slow paced.

– Content Warning: things come to a head here. Though nothing is described in gruesome detail, there is mention of and treatment of torture, beheadings, skulls on spikes, threats of rape, etc.

– Valerian and his family spend a lot of time in exile, hiding.

– The setup had good payoffs.

– The story should probably be taken as a ginormous start to finish one with the others in the series. If so, this has a climax-y feel to it.

– I get that medieval women didn’t do much but it’s a tad disappointing that Merry has only a bit role in the story.

– Valerian’s strong faith is interesting.

– Dolan looks like he will be a fun character in the future. Joy’s kinda useless but I guess that’s to be expected of an 11-year-old kid. She will likely have a bigger role later. I think there is a spin-off series.

– The title fits. At first, it doesn’t seem to, but by the end, perhaps it fits better than some of the others.

– Yes, I cried at the end or at least wanted to cry.

Conclusion:

You should probably start the series at the beginning. This is a beautiful, tragic, action-filled entry in Christian epic fantasy.

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4/5 Stars Mercy’s Battle

May 24, 2021May 15, 2021 Julie Gilbert Action Adventure, Christian, Fantasy Christian fantasy, he who finds mercy series, Katy Huth Jones

Prince Valerian and Lady Mercy still reel from the lost of their firstborn son. Val and Kieran struggle to get the older knights to accept the usefulness of the sword as a weapon. Meanwhile, Liall Guinness still wants his revenge on Valerian. He systematically works his way up the Vandal ranks with an eye on conquering the kingdom to the north.

Additional Comments:

It’s a very long book, so it took me several months to read it. That has more to do with my reading speed than interest.
Some parts could have been shortened, but it’s more realistic to think Liall’s conquest took a very long time. The Vandal parts kind of blurred because they mostly read the same: Liall get challenged, beats somebody, eats something gross, gains a torc, rinse and repeat.
Merry gets to do some healing. Once again, that keeps her from being completely useless. The book doesn’t focus on enough court stuff to let that sort of intrigue carry the plot. There’s a little bit about her jealousy over another woman’s pregnancy.
Drew’s jealousy over Gwen’s affection for Kieran got old, but it was nice to see things from his perspective.
Medieval Christian fantasy. It’s written kid-safe but is definitely not content-wise kid safe with the increased emphasis on the Vandals and their barbaric customs.
The end fight was pretty cool, but it took a lot of setup to get there.
This isn’t the end of the series. There’s much more to come, but I think there’s a gap of about 11 years between books 3 and 4.
There’s enough sense of closure here, but there’s certainly more to come.
I can’t wait til these make their way to audio someday 😉

Conclusion:

Merry and Val try to balance personal life and their official royal roles. Liall plots against them from afar, working his way up the Vandal ranks and gathering an army for a proper invasion.

Audiobook Promotions …

Many of my 48 audible titles are listed on Audiobooks Unleashed.
Whether you’re looking for mystery or suspense or fantasy, I’ve got a title for you. Free codes are probably on audiobooks unleashed.
Normal links go to audible. *The Amazon labeled links are affiliate links. That means I get a very small payment from Amazon if you go through with a purchase.*
Note: Filter by US if you’re looking for those codes as many titles are out.
Ones I think may still have US codes: Reshner’s Royal Ranger, Never Again, Innova, The Golden City Captives, The Holy War, Reclaim the Darklands, Eagle Eyes, Treachery Makes it Tense, Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts, The Dark Side of Science, Ashlynn’s Dreams, Nadia’s Tears, Malia’s Miracles, and Varick’s Quest
There are plenty of UK codes, but not many US ones left.

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Guardian Angel Files:

3.45/5 Stars Amber Alert by Linda K. Rodante

May 12, 2021May 2, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Christian, romance Christian romance, J. Grace Pennington, Linda K. Rodante

Narrated by J. Grace Pennington

Run Time: 9 hrs and 16 mins

*Disclaimer: possible spoilers in discussion; Not my primary genre.

Summary:

Coming off an abusive relationship, Sharee Jones decides to focus on her grand vision for the Christmas program. John doesn’t really want to help because he’s mad at God, but he does it anyway because that’s his job.

Additional Comments:

Does Sharee have a title at the church? I know she’s involved with the Christmas program, but is she just a volunteer or does she have a more formal role?
3/5 Main Characters – Sharee’s over the top insistence that she can do everything herself is annoying. She’s painfully naïve without one iota of self-preservation in her. Everybody around her is like “don’t do that picking up of strangers thing because it’s dangerous” and she’s like “yes, but I prayed first.” John’s kind of volatile and moody. The whole disable car and steal keys until you go on a date with me thing is not really attractive. Pretty sure someone who just came off of an abusive relationship would be less okay with that than Sharee.
2.5/5 Side Characters – They’re okay. Nobody’s really memorable.
3/5 Performance – It’s okay. You can tell who’s who. That’s what counts.
The romance is kinda weird. Both of them have some baggage. They’re falling in love but she’s like “nope, you’re not a Christian. I must resist” and he’s like “but I am a Christian” and she’s like “okay, yay. I shall now fall deeper in love with you.” Typically, in this brand of story one of them genuinely isn’t a Christian, becomes a Christian in the course of them dodging danger together, and then the non-Christian flips and they enter Happily Ever After.
Probably could have been shortened. I listen at a faster speed but even then some parts dragged.
The bickering between the MCs went over the top.
Title tie in – This book pulls one of those, I’m going to show you 5 exciting pages and then skip to 3 months ago, but literally, the part that has to do with the Amber Alert is maybe a few hours. Everything else it to fill in the blanks of how we go there.
The mystery’s wrap up kind of lost its wow factor because I 100% didn’t even remember the character.
This could just be a quirk of the book not translating well to audio format, but the scenes seemed disjointed.
Definitely hits the romance genre, sort of hits Christian, doesn’t really hit suspense. But certain pieces of the mystery were intriguing.
I would read other stuff by the same author, but I wouldn’t re-read this.
Didn’t feel much about Cooper and John. Why is his dog always hanging around anyway?

Conclusion:

It’s a decent Christian romance.

Audiobook Promotions …

Many of my 42 audible titles are listed on Audiobooks Unleashed.
Whether you’re looking for mystery or suspense or fantasy, I’ve got a title for you. Free codes are probably on audiobooks unleashed.
Normal links go to audible. *The Amazon labeled links are affiliate links. That means I get a very small payment from Amazon if you go through with a purchase.*
Note: Filter by US if you’re looking for those codes as many titles are out.
Ones I think may still have US codes: Reshner’s Royal Ranger, Never Again, Innova, The Golden City Captives, The Holy War, Reclaim the Darklands, Eagle Eyes, Treachery Makes it Tense, Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts, The Dark Side of Science, Ashlynn’s Dreams, Nadia’s Tears, Malia’s Miracles, and Varick’s Quest
There are plenty of UK codes, but not many US ones left.

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Guardian Angel Files:

4.5/5 Stars White Wolf and the Ash Princess by Tammy Lash

April 27, 2021April 23, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Christian, historical Adele Adler, Christian, Tammy Lash

Narrated by Adele Adler

Run Time: 12 hrs and 57 mins

Genre: Christian-ish historical fiction

Summary:

A traumatic event in Izzy’s childhood causes amnesia. She doesn’t remember life before she was seven. Jonathan’s always been a friend to Izzy, but he keeps terrible secrets to himself in an effort to protect Izzy.

Additional Comments:

Jonathan and Izzy’s relationship isn’t immediately clear. I think it took about an hour to unfold that he’s her guardian, not an older brother, because their interactions certainly have a sibling vibe.
But Izzy’s entire story isn’t immediately clear. That’s kind of the point. I’m typically not a fan of flashbacks, but these enhanced the story. Flashbacks are a natural thing with a character with amnesia.
4/5 Stars Main Characters: Jonathan and Izzy’s relationship is mildly frustrating, as most romances are – at least fictional ones. He loves her, but she doesn’t love him like that. He keeps secrets to protect her, but that makes her distrust him. Huzzah for a character I don’t want to reach in and smack some sense into. Izzy’s a bit naïve and selfish, but she comes out of her shell nicely throughout the course of the book.
4/5 Stars Plot: The epic journey through the American wilderness is interesting, though there are few enough landmarks mentioned to even get a feel for where they are on the continent.
4/5 Stars Side characters: Tubs is adorable, though his character reads a bit younger than 13.
5/5 Stars Narration: The narrator handled the characters well.
4/5 Stars Fit with the Title: Very nice.
There are little inklings like this wanted to be a steampunk novel and just never made it there.
3.5/5 Stars Cover Fit: The cover’s absolutely gorgeous. While I think it fits the book very well, I don’t think it tells you the genre right off the bat. I had to look up what it’s categorize as because I went in expecting a fantasy. While there may be mild fantasy influences, it’s definitely historical romance and adventure. I do not get that vibe from this cover.
Strong Christian influences, though I’m not sure I’d outright stick it in that genre. It’s certainly not a stereotypical Oregon trail/mail order bride flavor book, though plot-wise there are strong resemblances to that.

Conclusion:

A unique and beautiful tale of love, redemption, forgiveness, and finding oneself.

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