Out of the Depths - Edgar Harrell. USMC

Out of the Depths is the true story of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis, during WWII.  Written by one of the survivors, it recounts his enlistment, service, harrowing ordeal and his survival.  As he spent 5 days in the open sea, he watched his fellow shipmates sickened, attacked by sharks, taken by hallucinations, and separated by the ocean swells.  During the entire ordeal, he turned to his God and trusted Him for his salvation - both physical and spiritual.

Reviewing a non-fiction book is always difficult, especially one with such a horrific, true story of shipwreck and survival.  Who am I to look at this man's indescribable memories and suggest he should have recounted them differently?  I cannot even imagine the pain and suffering that occurred, let alone the emotional turmoil required to relive them through telling his tale for others.  And yet, he does so - not for the drama or any recognition, but to chronicle his journey of faith from head knowledge to heart-felt passion about his dependence on the God who saved him from the depths.  He does so to inspire faith and patriotism in others, and in this he succeeds.

Given my reluctance to criticize this man's tale, there were a few things that could have made the story more reader-friendly.  There were a lot of naval details included, which could have enriched the story if I understood them; overall, the author did a good shop of describing ships' sizes and travels, but there were several sections I glossed over because there were a lot of technical details that weren't explained.  Additionally, the quotes from other survivors that are sprinkled throughout the book lent weight to the horrors of the situation, but they felt disconnected from the story itself.

The book does do a good job of opening the reader's eyes to the horrors of war and the unspeakable things our troops go through to ensure our freedom.  For this reason, and for the undeniable glory given to God, I give this book 4 stars for the story it has to tell.

You can find more about the author, the book, the crew, and other resources regarding the USS Indianapolis HERE.
You can order the book there, or HERE (includes an excerpt).

I received a copy of this book from the publisher, in exchange for my honest review.

Nashville Sweetheart - by Rachel Hauck

The orphaned daughter of famous gospel singers Ray and Myra James, Aubrey James never set out to become a multi-platinum, award-winning, country singer.  Yet, here she is, hounded by the paparazzi, trashed in the tabloids, betrayed by a personal friend within her crew, and surprisingly engaged to a true Nashville blue blood.  How did she get here?  Is here where she wants to be?  And what happened to the faith her parents lived for?

I recently found Rachel Hauck through her installment of the Year of Weddings, and then followed that into the Royal Wedding series.  I've found her books to be fun, engaging, and quick-paced, and this one was no different.  I could feel Aubrey's struggle with where her life had taken her and how she had been changed by all that had befallen her.  She was a lovably imperfect character, with real flaws, and real life decisions gone wrong.  She fully admitted her faults and sought her way out from them by looking to the Man her parents taught her about.

I give this book 4 stars, and now have a need to go find the rest of the series so that I can read more about some of the side characters in this story.  Just a friendly warning, because this is the sort of thing that bothers me - it does appear that these books have been re-titled and re-released as ebooks.  From what I can tell, Nashville Sweetheart was formerly titled Diva NashVegas, and was #2 in the NashVegas Series.

You can find Nashville Sweetheart HERE.
You can find Rachel Hauck's website HERE.

I received a copy of this ebook from the publisher, Thomas Nelson, as part of their BookLook program, in exchange for my honest review.

Cloak of Light - by Chuck Black

Drew Carter's life has already been marked with tragedy and upheaval, when he befriends the school geek at his new school, an unlikely pairing for the standout football player.  However, as his life continues to be spun around, Ben becomes one of the few things he can count on, until the day something happens to Ben's physics experiment, and Drew is left blind.  Ben disappears shortly after, and Drew is left to figure out what happened to him, what happened to Ben, and what are all of these "invaders" he can suddenly see in the midst of humans' daily lives.

I don't read a lot of young adult fiction, so I found this writing to be on the simplistic side for my usual tastes.  However, I did find myself engrossed in the story at points, finding it to be very much like a scaled down This Present Darkness.  I liked the idea of the jock making friends with the geek, not just because he could get homework help (although he did), but because his dad and his dad-figure had taught him integrity and honesty, and doing the right thing.  There were several plot lines that bothered me, though; Drew goes through and awful lot for one person, even before he gets mixed up in the invader business.  Second, I find it hard to believe that it would take him so long to figure out what the invaders were, or that he wouldn't have confided in someone that would help him understand the dimension he was seeing into.  I also didn't realize that this was going to be the first book in a series, until I came to the very end of the book and nothing had resolved.  I dislike not knowing when books are part of a series.

For the action and content, and themes of integrity and honor, I give this book 3 stars.  I hope that the story continues to develop well and that the rest of the series might include some more depth and growth and understanding on the parts of the characters.

You can find Cloak of Light HERE.
You can connect with Chuck Black on Facebook HERE.

Please consider ranking my review: you could win a FREE copy!


I received a copy of this book from Multnomah Books, in exchange for my honest review.

Greetings from the Flipside - Rene Gutteridge and Cheryl McKay

Hope Landon has always loved creating greeting cards and making people laugh.  As far back as elementary school, when she rewrote a fellow student's "do you like me?" card, she has been affecting the people around her with her cards.  Now, she's about to get married and leave this small town of Poughkeepsie and find a way to live her dreams.  Instead, she's left at the altar and attacked in the parking lot, resulting in a coma, where she suddenly finds herself in the Big Apple anyway, but things don't seem quite right.

It took me a little while to get into the flow of this book.  The dual perspective of real life and Hope's fantasy life in the coma was just a little too weird for me at first.  Over time, I warmed up to it, and to the characters in the story.  It was fun to start to see the things from real life that were creeping into her dream life.  It was an interesting idea for a story, but it didn't leave any real impact on me.

I give the book 3 stars for originality and characters that kept me interested.

I received a copy of this book from the publishers, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

You can find Greetings from the Flipside HERE.
You can find Rene Gutteridge's website HERE.
You can find Cheryl McKay's website HERE.

A Stillness of Chimes - by Meg Moseley

Laura Gantt lost her father, broke up with her boyfriend, and decided to move thousands of miles away, all the week that she turned 18.  Now, she's back in her hometown, after her mother's death, sorting through her things and hearing rumors that she's not sure what to do with.  Additionally, her high-school sweetheart is the one helping her sort through the rumors, her best friend is back in town dealing with her own familial issues, and Laura doesn't know what to make of her life at the moment.

This may be one of the least cohesive reviews I've ever written.  Something about this book drew me in immediately - besides that fantastic cover, but I can't pinpoint what made me immersed in the story.  The plot itself was a little strange, and there were definitely clunky points along the way.  Yet, my overall impression of this book was that I was *in* the story, all the way.  I felt the characters' confusion and emotions, I felt the need to know the secrets that were hidden, and I wanted good things for all of them.  I think my first pull to the story was that it started with three 12-year-olds, swearing to be there for each other their whole lives, and then brought those three kids back together as adults, who were still willing to be there for each other.  Their relationships had grown and changed over time, but they felt honest and realistic; their grown-up friendships held true to their relationships as kids.

I give this book 4-stars, with no tangible reasons other than, I liked it.

You can find A Stillness of Chimes HERE.
You can find the author's website HERE, along with ways to connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.
You can read an excerpt from the book HERE.

Please consider ranking my review so that I can continue to review great books!


I received a copy of this book from the Waterbrook Multnomah as part of their Blogging for Books program, in exchange for my honest review.

A March Bride - by Rachel Hauck

Susanna Truitt is a simple girl from Georgia, whose family runs a BBQ shack.  A simple girl, who just happens to be engaged to the king of Brighton.  She knows she loves Nathaniel, but is the life she's meant to live?  Can she be happy so far from her roots and family and friends?  Can Nathaniel make her give up all of the things that make her the woman he fell in love with?

My overall impression of this book was that I liked the characters, but I wanted more story.  Turns out that there is much more to the story, in fact, there's another whole book that comes before this one.  I wish I had read the backstory to Susanna and Nathaniel in Once Upon a Prince before reading A March Bride.  I think I would have appreciated where they'd come from to get where they were at the beginning of this novella.  As it were, it was an awkward way to begin a book and left me feeling like I was trying to catch up.  Even so, I really liked how Susanna took the time to evaluate what made her who she was - was it her country? Was it her career? Was it her family?  How much could she give up and still be who she was?  It felt authentic, and gave depth to her character in this short excerpt of her story.  I really wanted more to the supporting charcters, too; where did the prophetess-like lady in the woods come from? What's her story?  What about Suz's sister and Nathaniel's cousin - will they end up together?  I don't know how much of the Royal Wedding Series features the same cast of characters, but I might have to look into it!

I give this book 3 stars.  I wish I had known that it was just a piece of a bigger story, instead of a short story in its own right, but even so, I was able to enjoy the complexities the characters were forced to consider in such a short time.

You can find A March Bride, the 4th in the Year of Weddings series, HERE.
You can find the author's website HERE.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

My Stubborn Heart - by Becky Wade

Kate has come to Pennsylvania to help her grandmother restore the family home, and to give herself a break from the job she no longer loves.  When she meets their contractor, Matt, she senses that there is something broken within him and makes it her mission to draw him out and to become his friend.  As she gets him to let her in bit by bit, however, she finds that there may be more, and less, to her mission than she'd thought or hoped for.

This book started off a little rocky for me; I found the "setting of the stage" in the prologue to be a strange start.  While it gave some background on the main characters, it took me awhile to adjust from the odd opening to get into the story.  Once I was in, however, I was hooked.  Kate's persistence in winning over Matt was sweet, and there was just enough of the story from his point of view to see when he transitioned from being annoyed by her into being impressed by her.  Her insights with what God was doing with Matt, and her struggles with choosing to follow His lead gave the story more depth than a typical romance.  Throw in a supporting cast of 70-somethings, and a quirky antiques appraiser, and this was one of the most original feeling books I've read in awhile.

I give this book 4 stars; I wish I could revisit these characters again in a couple of years and see how they're doing.

You can find My Stubborn Heart HERE.
You can find the author's website HERE. (If you browse around, you can find some fun background information on My Stubborn Heart!)

I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.