Love in Disguise, Carol Cox

Hello and welcome to my book review blog! For those of you that are new to my blog, and even those who aren't new, thank you for reading! It's always a pleasure to share a passion of mine - books - with other passionate people.

This particular book review post is part of a book review program with Bethany House. The Bethany House book review program is simple: I request a book from the links they send via email, then I read the book they send and write a review on this blog and a retailer’s site (such as Amazon). If this sounds like something that interests you, you can get more information and/or sign up here: www.bethanyhouse.com/bookreviewers

Love in Disguise is a grin-enducing, edge-of-your-seat whodunnit starring a down-her-luck aspiring actress sent out to the wild, wild west. Finding herself abruptly jobless and having just had her dreams of becoming an actress quite suddenly (and cruelly) crushed by a self-absorbed diva, plain little Ellie Moore is homeless on the chilling winter streets of Chicago when she quite literally stumbles upon a prospective job opportunity. After some trickery and clever persuasion, she is sent to Arizona to catch a thief in a mining operation. But she never expected her crime-solving partner to get married and quit. And she never expected that she'd have to put her acting skills to use in more ways than she had originally planned. Now, having to play two characters in a small town where everyone knows everyone's business, and not getting caught in her roles, seems more complicated than ever. And all of that was before mine owner Steven Pierce introduced himself to her in both of her roles - one as an old lady and the other as the old lady's gorgeous and engaging niece. Now Ellie finds herself losing her heart to a man who doesn't even know her real name and appearance. But that's the least of her worries when the thief comes after both of her characters, Ellie finds herself unsure of her safety and knows time is running out for solving the case. Can she catch the thief in time or will the thief catch her first?


I have to admit that it took me a little bit of time and effort to get into this book at first. The beginning is semi-slow, but picks up in the later half of the book. I was a bit frustrated at times, wishing I could get into it more than I was, but then I mysteriously found myself at the end of the book (it had picked up and grabbed me along the way and before I knew it, it was over and I wanted to read more!).

The story line is interesting and there are scenes and ideas that definitely amused and surprised me that were different from the typical solve-the-case plot you find in most crime-solving books. I loved the tension that Cox brings to life throughout the novel, too. It's gripping, the characters are properly funny, serious, sad, etc., when they need to be, and Cox pulls off depth of emotion and relationships as if it's a talent she was born with.

The humor in the book is outrageous, witty, and helps set a great tone to the novel. Following Ellie as she tries to pull off two completely opposite characters is fascinating to read and Cox crafted everything brilliantly.

This is a must-read for anyone who likes the mystery/crime genres mixed with a good amount of humor and a dash of romantic suspense. I would highly recommend this book as a lighthearted read.

Submerged, Dani Pettrey

For those of you that are new to my blog, welcome! This particular book review post is part of a book review program with Bethany House. The Bethany House book review program is simple: I request a book from the links they send via email, then I read the book they send and write a review on this blog and a retailer’s site (such as Amazon). If this sounds like something that interests you, you can get more information and/or sign up here: www.bethanyhouse.com/bookreviewers

Submerged is a story of mystery and suspense, with a little bit of romance thrown into the mix. Bailey, the main character, returns to her hometown in Alaska after her aunt's tragic plane crash for her funeral. But Bailey's past - and her past actions - hurt more than she dares show the small town of Yancey, Alaska. Running into an old love and discovering that her aunt's plane crash was no accident definitely spice up the intriguing tale Pettrey unveils. But when Bailey's expertise in Russian history and artifacts forces her to stay and help solve a theft/murder scheme, will she crack under the pressure, or will things finally turn out right?

I don’t normally read mysteries/thrillers, so this was a different experience for me. I do have to say that, while I didn’t really buy into a lot of the romance aspect of the novel (which is more familiar to me), the plot was very thrilling. Not, by any means, and edge-of-your-seat thriller, but a pleasantly mild, interest-inducing, twistedly delicious road that kept me reading just so I could find out who the mystery person at the end really was.

There were several aspects that I felt could have been worked on to make the storyline more believable/appealing. Let’s stick with believable, though, since novelists generally don’t write just to appeal to every single reader.

Aspects that could have been more believable:

Relationships – not just romantic, but generally speaking. The depth that we see doesn’t go very far, which isn’t always necessary in a novel, but in this case I feel it could have been a bit deeper – or at the very least could have involved a little more conflict than loosely one-sided from bailey's perspective. Relationships are messy – not all the time, but for the most part there is more tension running through even casual relationships (which Pettrey covers with the main character, but for the most part leaves that tension only at her doorstep and discludes others).

Romantic involvement – it was very shallow. While most romances are characterized by heavy, heavy, dirty, sweaty, etc., etc., not all of them have to be to be good, so put that out of your mind right now that that’s what I 'm trying to say. What I mean is that while most relationships may be very chaste-looking on the outside, there is more on the inside that is important to portray/mention. The romantic involvement of the two main characters in Submerged scrapes by on the shallow side, not allowing the reader to see the real attraction (attraction is more than just physical: characteristics and traits they admire, small things they do for each other, etc., all count as attraction). The author tries and makes a valiant effort, but unfortunately I’m not sure she actually got it right.

Since most of the unbelievable elements of the story (for me, at least) hinged on those two elements, I’ll leave off with that part and move on to the better stuff:

Mystery – I never would have guessed at the direction the novel took in the end, never would have guessed who the killer was. (I won’t ruin it for those who might be interested in reading this, don’t worry.) It was intriguing and absoluetly-can’t-put-it-down good. Point for Pettrey.

Plot – Complicated, a little twisted, and ultimately great! I loved trying to keep up with the plot as it went on, and it kept me off-balance enough that I didn't get bored with it. While I can generally know where the story will go near the end of any book I read, I have to say that there were definitely elements that surprised me. Point 2 for Pettrey.

A compelling story and voice – Pettrey's voice is fresh and new. Her perspective is focused and she's amazingly detailed. Despite a few things I may have overanalyzed, I couldn't put the book down and couldn't wait to pick it back up when I was absolutely forced to put it aside for a few hours.

Overall, I would recommend this book and anything else Pettrey writes. She's fresh, distinctive, and has some major talent that I can't wait to see develop even more. If you want a good read, this is definitely the book for you.

Angels Are for Real: Inspiring, True Stories and Biblical Answers, Judith MacNutt

Time for another book review from the Bethany House program I mentioned in my last post.

For those of you that are new to my blog, welcome! The Bethany House book review program is simple: I request a book from the links they send via email, then I read the book they send and write a review on this blog and a retailer’s site (such as Amazon). If this sounds like something that interests you, you can get more information and/or sign up here: www.bethanyhouse.com/bookreviewers

I think I need to stop having expectations of how a book should be when I order them. For example, I expected this book to be more textbook-like and (no other way to put this) dry. I was, however, very pleasantly surprised when I opened the cover and started reading – the dialogue was engaging and the stories were very intriguing.

But, even though the spiritual realm fascinates me, I couldn’t help being slightly freaked out by some of the stories MacNutt tells. While having a guardian angel seems appealing and yes, I can imagine very useful at times, I couldn’t help but wonder what my reaction would be if one actually appeared to me. I think I would be awed and terrified all at once, to be honest – they are heavenly beings after all.

MacNutt’s approach is understandably religious, so if you’re looking for testimonies of real people, or just a good read, I would definitely recommend this book. Overall, this is another can’t-put-it-down-but-I-really-need-to-get-some-sleep-tonight read for those interested with anything having to do with angels.