The Other Woman – Book Review

In an isolated village in the mountains of Peninsular Spain, a mysterious Frenchwoman begins work on a dangerous memoir. It is the story of a man she once loved in the Beirut of old, and a child taken from her in treason’s name. The woman is the keeper of the Kremlin’s most closely guarded secret. Long ago, the KGB inserted a mole into the heart of the West—a mole who has reached the highest echelons of Britain’s MI6. Gabriel Allon, the legendary art restorer and assassin who serves as the chief of Israel’s secret intelligence service, is lured into the hunt for the traitor after his most important asset inside Russian […]

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The Sculptress – Book Review

May 1917 The elegant streets of Boston are thousands of miles away from the carnage of the Western Front. Yet even here, amid the clatter of horse-drawn carriages and automobiles, it is impossible to ignore the war raging across Europe. Emma Lewis Swan’s husband, Tom, has gone to France, eager to do his duty as a surgeon. Emma, a sculptor, has stayed behind, pursuing her art despite being dismissed by male critics. Through her work, she meets a blind artist named Linton Bower. Their friendship leads to scandal, and Emma flees to Paris, where she uses her talents to sculpt face masks for disfigured soldiers. The Sculptress was an intriguing […]

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Amy’s March 2022 Reads

In March, my soul was stirred, my brain engaged, and my funny bone tickled. I hope you find something wonderful to read on this list!   West with Giraffes By Lynda Rutledge “Few true friends have I known and two were giraffes…” Inspired by true events, this part adventure, part historical saga and part coming-of-age love story follows Woodrow Wilson Nickel as he recalls his journey in 1938 to deliver Southern California’s first giraffes to the San Diego Zoo. Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away. But when he learns giraffes are going extinct, he recalls the unforgettable experience he cannot take to his grave. It’s 1938. The […]

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West with Giraffes – Book Review

“Few true friends have I known and two were giraffes…” Inspired by true events, this part adventure, part historical saga and part coming-of-age love story follows Woodrow Wilson Nickel as he recalls his journey in 1938 to deliver Southern California’s first giraffes to the San Diego Zoo. Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away. But when he learns giraffes are going extinct, he recalls the unforgettable experience he cannot take to his grave. It’s 1938. The Great Depression lingers. Hitler is threatening Europe, and world-weary Americans long for wonder. They find it in two giraffes who miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic. What follows is […]

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Out of the Cave – Book Review

I’ve shared little of my journey with depression on my blog or social media, and I won’t get into in depth now, other than to say that it has sometimes been crushing. That’s one reason I enjoy reading so much—a good novel can whisk me away to another place, another time.   It’s time to get your life back. It’s time to stop pretending that Christians don’t get depressed. It’s time to get real with God about where you are and who’s in charge. It’s time to step forward into his light and enjoy the life he has for you. It’s time to come out of your cave. — Chris […]

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God’s Smuggler – Book Review

Would I have the faith to trust God to provide for ALL my needs? If I’m being honest, I doubt I could do it. Yet in God’s Smuggler, God repeatedly answered Brother Andrew’s faithful prayers as the missionary smuggled Bibles to believers behind the Iron Curtain and throughout the Middle East, China, and Korea. God’s guidance was miraculous. “Suppose on the other hand that I were to discover God to be a Person, in the sense that He communicated and cared and loved and led. That was something quite different. That was the kind of King I would follow into any battle.”—Brother Andrew, God’s Smuggler. Millions around the world have […]

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The Maid – Book Review

Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by. Then Gran dies, and twenty-five-year-old Molly has been navigating life’s complexities all by herself. She throws herself into her gratifying work as a maid at a posh hotel. She delights in donning her crisp uniform each morning, stocking her cart with miniature soaps and bottles, and returning guest rooms to a state of perfection. But Molly’s orderly life is upended the day she enters the Black suite and finds Charles Black dead. Before long, she […]

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