Maximus

A review copy was provided

Book Details
Author: Richard L. Black
Release Date: March 2015
Publisher: Ensign Peak
Genre: Historical Fiction

A FASCINATING look into the life and times of Jesus~

Two high ranking Roman soldiers impersonate common Jewish men...

In order to follow Jesus to see who he is, what he does, and to see if he is a threat to the Roman empire.

They are to report directly to Pontius Pilate under order of emperor Tiberius.

These two men, Maximus and Androcles, who have fought long, hard battles...

Now find themselves fully immersed in Jewish traditions and living with a family in the fishing village of Capernaum.

They not only watch Jesus teach and follow his movements, but they also question those who have been taught and changed by Him.

Follow Maximus and Androcles as they shed their Roman warrior attire and become Jacob and Levi...

Two humble and nonconfrontational Jewish men questioning- who is this Jesus?

"Is it possible this carpenter from Nazareth is the Son of God? 

Is it possible for a man of war to live a life of peace?"

A GREAT READ!

One you will not be able to put down!

GET IT HERE | ADD TO GOODREADS

About the Author

Richard earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance from California State University Long Beach. His diverse professional background has spanned from the 104th floor of the original World Trade Towers in New York as an Institutional Stock Trader to a major software corporation working closely with the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community.

Maximus is his first novel. He defines it as a ten-year research project that became a labor of love. Richard is currently working on his next project entitled Starfish, the saga of a young Danish woman who immigrates to the timber country of Humboldt County in Northern California during World War ll.

Richard grew up in San Diego, California. He and his wife of 39 years, the former Marian Anne Johnsen, from Santa Rosa, California, have called Utah their home since 1993. Richard and Marian are the parents of eight children and grandparents of two beautiful granddaughters and a handsome grandson. Richard enjoys traveling, swimming in the ocean, playing the guitar and working on cars with his four sons.

Fire and Steel: A Generation Rising

A review copy was provided

Book Details

Author: Gerald N. Lund

Release Date: November 2014

Publisher: Deseret Book

Genre: Historical Fiction

This book is often pitched as a World War I historical fiction...
and it is...but it is also oh. so. much. more!

It is about a family that will live during the most difficult times in history.

They are the Eckhardt family and after three daughters they finally have a son.

A son who turns out to be brilliant.

A son who is doted upon.

A son who is given the chance for an education beyond the normal peasant child.

But Hans is also young and foolish and caught up in the unrest that is descending upon the world.

Choosing to go to the battlefront instead of the University will change young Hans' perception of the world and of mankind.

As this book is so appropriately titled this family will go through a fire so unquenchable that they will either become stronger like steel or they will break and shatter.

Follow the Eckhardt family as they first-hand witness "an explosion of technology"-- electricity, the telephone, the automobile...

And as they battle to live through the "War to End All Wars."

AN AMAZING BOOK!
AN AMAZING TIME IN HISTORY!
DON'T MISS OUT ON THIS ONE!

AMAZON | GOODREADS

About the Author
Gerald N. Lund received his B.A. and M.S. degrees in sociology from BYU. He also did extensive graduate work in New Testament studies at Pepperdine University, and studied Hebrew at the University of Judaism. He is a prolific author and speaker. His novels include The Work and the Glory Series, The Kingdom and the Crown Trilogy, Fire of the Covenant, The Undaunted, and his newest series, Fire and Steel. He has also written several books on gospel topics, including a doctrinal trilogy exploring our relationship with Heavenly Father and how He expresses His love to His children.

During his thirty-five years in the Church Educational System, Gerald N. Lund served as seminary teacher, institute teacher and director, curriculum writer, director of college curriculum, and zone administrator. His church callings have included stake president, bishop, and he also served as a member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy from 2002 to 2008.

He and his late wife, Lynn, are the parents of seven children.

Only the Brave w/ SIGNED BOOK Giveaway

A review copy was provided

Book Details

Author: Gerald N. Lund

Release Date: December 2014

Publisher: Deseret Book

Genre: Historical Fiction

Gerald N. Lund is a FANTASTIC storyteller!

And this book is appropriately named...for ONLY THE BRAVE could have lived through what these people had to live through.

It is 1884 and the Saints have been in the San Juan valley for four years.

Sent there by their leaders to fulfill these three missions:

*They were to become a buffer between the white man and the Indians.

*They were to be like a the shock absorbers on a wagon, which soften the blows for those riding in the wagon, or in this case, those in the other settlements.

*They were to be like a lightning rod, which draws down the fires of heaven upon itself so they do not consume others.

Life is definitely hard as they battle nature and Indians and rough outlaws and competing ranchers.

Church leaders have been called to assess the situation and other families have now been sent to buoy up these Saints.

You will read of true accounts of life in these harsh conditions.

You will also be introduced to Mitch Westland and his family as they try to follow the directive of the Prophet.

And you will learn of the Zimmers family and their strong-willed daughter, Edie.

These two families will unite with the others...in this valley... that will test them to their very most inner strength.

"Many settlers will try to conquer that rugged territory, but only the brave will prevail."

Fascinating details of the lives of these early settlers!

Amazing stories of what life was like for them!

Don't miss out on this one!

AMAZON | GOODREADS

Deseret Book is graciously offering a
SIGNED COPY of Only the Brave 
to one of my followers :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author

Gerald N. Lund received his B.A. and M.S. degrees in sociology from BYU. He also did extensive graduate work in New Testament studies at Pepperdine University, and studied Hebrew at the University of Judaism. He is a prolific author and speaker. His novels include The Work and the Glory Series, The Kingdom and the Crown Trilogy, Fire of the Covenant, The Undaunted, and his newest series, Fire and Steel. He has also written several books on gospel topics, including a doctrinal trilogy exploring our relationship with Heavenly Father and how He expresses His love to His children.

During his thirty-five years in the Church Educational System, Gerald N. Lund served as seminary teacher, institute teacher and director, curriculum writer, director of college curriculum, and zone administrator. His church callings have included stake president, bishop, and he also served as a member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy from 2002 to 2008.

He and his late wife, Lynn, are the parents of seven children.

While this book can be a stand-alone read...

It does follow Gerald N. Lund's book 

THE UNDAUNTED

The Rules in Rome w/ $25 Amazon Gift Card + Book Giveaway

A review copy was provided

Book Details

Author: A.L. Sowards

Release Date: February 2015

Publisher: Covenant Communications

Genre: Historical Fiction

I LOVE espionage thrillers!
A.L. Soward's books are some of THE BEST!

What would you do if your team just killed a man?

And what would you do if you happened to look exactly like that man?

At the height of WWII Bastien Ley is working in Italy against the Germans.

When his team kills an officer that looks just like Bastien he is tasked to take the dead man's identity.

Now he is know as "Dietrich, an Iron Cross-wearing German officer."

But his real task is to send out information to his team to help them win the war.

When Bastien/Dietrich's transmissions become a little sketchy due to lack of sleep they send him a radio operator by the name of Gracie Begni.

Gracie has her own agenda. 

She is out to prove that she can do the job as good as, if not better than, any man.

Their cover story? A young couple who met during the war and are now dating.

Bastien fights that he doesn't need her, she fights that she is up to the task.

Their story is fun and entertaining and captivating and oh so good!

Battles ensue, roundups take place, messages are sent, motorcycle rides are taken, picnics are had, and secrets are threatened...

And admist it all the two of them will come to "find themselves getting lost in their feelings for each other."

"But as they engage in a battle against the deadliest foe the world has ever known, the pair quickly realizes their love may be doomed. Can Bastien and Gracie survive their charade?"

LOVE that this WWII story was set in Italy!
A FANTASTIC read!
Don't miss out on this one!

AMAZON | GOODREADS

BLOG TOUR GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author

A.L. Sowards has always been fascinated by the 1940s, but she's grateful she didn't live back then. She doesn't think she could have written a novel on a typewriter, and no one would be able to read her handwriting if she wrote her books out longhand. She does, however, think they had the right idea when they rationed nylon and women went barelegged.

Sowards grew up in Moses Lake, Washington. She graduated from BYU and ended up staying in Utah, where she enjoys spending time with her husband and children or with her laptop. She does not own a typewriter. She does own several pairs of nylons.

Sowards' novels include a little mystery, a little history, a little romance, and a lot of action, adventure, and suspense. Primarily, Sowards writes to entertain. She also hopes her books will teach readers something new about history or about life. Most of her novels are set during wartime, so there is some violence, but it's not gory or excessive. She keeps the language and romance family-friendly, wanting her writing to be thrilling, clean, and uplifting.

Awards
Espionage was a 2012 Whitney Award finalist in the Historical Fiction category.
Deadly Alliance is a 2014 Whitney Award finalist in the Historical Fiction category. (Winners will be announced in May.)

Tour Schedule
*February 9th

http://mybookaday.blogspot.com 

http://www.iamareader.com (Cheryl's review)

http://ldsandlovinit.blogspot.com

*February 10th

 http://katiescleanbookcollection.blogspot.com

https://joyinthemoments.wordpress.com

*February 11th

http://gettingyourreadonaimeebrown.blogspot.com

http://www.wishfulendings.com

*February 12th

http://lisaisabookworm.blogspot.com

http://ilovetoreadandreviewbooks.blogspot.com

http://melsshelves.blogspot.com

*February 13th: 

http://www.rockinbookreviews.com

http://literarytimeout.blogspot.com

*February 14th: 

http://minreadsandreviews.blogspot.com

http://www.iamareader.com/ (Kathy's review)

http://www.ldswomensbookreview.com/wordpress

The Eleventh Brother

A review copy was provided

THE ELEVENTH BROTHER

by Rachel K. Wilcox

Oh how we LOVE the story of Joseph...

The beloved eleventh son of Jacob.
Given a beautiful coat that was shredded and stained with blood.

The one hated, betrayed, and sold by his brothers.

The boy who finds himself a slave in a foreign land. Joseph, who runs from Potiphar's wife and is thrown into prison. But whose dreams bring him into a place of honor and power.

And now a man who has an "Egyptian-born wife, Asenath, at his side."

A ruler that is governing the barren land and giving food to those in need.

And now the story comes full circle as his brothers come to ask for life-giving sustenance. Did not Joseph dream that this would happen also?

But the family has thought he was dead.
Now this man is accusing them of being spies and thieves.

Can Joseph discover "his brothers' true character?"

I love how the author starts at the end of the story where everything has already happened to Joseph and his brothers are now there asking for food.

What a fun way to relive this Biblical tale with Joseph as he flashes back to days gone by.
Added details brings this story alive and will keep you reading until the very end.

So beautifully told! 

About the Author

After spending her high school years in the south of France, RACHEL K. WILCOX studied philosophy, literature, and film at Brigham Young University, where she graduated as the valedictorian. After college, she moved to West Africa to make a documentary film and instead used her camera to co-found a humanitarian project. She has been a researcher and case writer at Harvard Business School and writes and researches in the interdisciplinary fields of law and the humanities. She is in her final year of law school at Stanford University.

Drums of Desolation

A review copy was provided

Book Details

Author: Chris Heimerdinger

Release Date: October 2014

Publisher: Covenant Communications

Genre: Historical Fiction

Book Synopsis

AT THE PRECIPICE OF BATTLEON THE BRINK OF EXTINCTION ON THE SLOPES OF CUMORAH

Join our time-traveling heroes from the Tennis Shoes Adventure Series as they stand ready to take part in one of the most intense, supercharged, and harrowing contests in all of Book of Mormon history. Surrounded by more than a million Lamanites and Gadianton robbers, Joshua, Harry, Apollus, Meagan, Garth, Steffanie, and many other favorite Tennis Shoes characters brace themselves with the Nephite nation for the promised day of violence and thunder. For four long years, the prophet Mormon has guided his people into making the Hill Cumorah an impregnable fortress against any adversary, but conflict and corruption among the Nephites threaten to undermine all of Mormon’s efforts and make everyone—including our characters—vulnerable for disaster.

Drums of Desolation is a novel of herculean ambition, serving as a sequel not only for Tennis Shoes Book 11: Sorcerers and Seers but also for Passage to Zarahemla and Escape from Zarahemla, combining characters and struggles from both of Chris Heimerdinger’s epic series.

Featuring nail-biting suspense and nonstop action, Drums of Desolation stands as one of the most important fictional studies ever undertaken of the most climactic and ¬heart-breaking episode in the Book of Mormon. Fasten up for the thrill ride of your life—an adventure that will carry you from the depths of despair to the heights of glorious triumph in the midst of one of the most complex and sinister centuries ever experienced in the New World.

DESTRUCTION IS UNAVOIDABLE!

SURVIVAL IS PARAMOUNT!

My Review

I have been following this series since the first printing in 1989. The series continues to thrill and entertain many readers including my family. I LOVE that it brings the scriptures alive and helps my mind grasp the stories so much better. I also LOVE the time travel aspect. How fun and intriguing it would be to travel back to Nephite times.

The adventures continue in this EPIC tale as you travel through rifts in time and space into the land of the Nephites and the Lamanites....beware of the Gadianton Robbers!

As the synopsis states this book combines characters from both the Tennis Shoes series and the Zarahemla series. I highly suggest you read at least a few of the Tennis Shoes books and at least the first book in the Zarahemla series BEFORE you read this book.

You will also find "chapter notes" explaining more details...which I really appreciate.

I absolutely recommend this series for the entire family!

AMAZON | GOODREADS

About the Author

Chris Heimerdinger's first novel,Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites, first appeared in August of 1989. With the twelfth installment, Drums of Desolation, the Tennis Shoes Adventure series has sold over a million and half copies on book and audio. Chris is the author of the novel Passage to Zarahemla and producer/director of the feature film of the same name, as well as its book sequel, Escape from Zarahemla, which are now officially part of the Tennis Shoes universe. He is also the producer/songwriter on the album Whispered Visions. WithDrums of Desolation, Chris presents the twentieth novel of his writing career a creative span of more than a quarter century.

He is married to Emily and has eleven children, the youngest being Hunter Helaman. Chris lives with his family in Providence, Utah.

TENNIS SHOES AMONG THE NEPHITES SERIES

ZARAHEMLA SERIES

PASSAGE TO ZARAHEMLA ON DVD

Ruth and Naomi

A review copy was provided

Book Details

Author: Toni Sorenson

Release Date: October 2014

Publisher: Covenant Communications

Genre: Historical Fiction

I LOVE books like this that breathe extra life into the stories from the scriptures!

Added details and emotions and relationships just bring so much more understanding to my mind.

I have been taught about Ruth and Naomi from the time I was a little girl, but the focus has always been on Ruth and her decision to convert and stay with her mother-in-law.

I have never really thought about Naomi...until now...

WOW! I have such a GREAT LOVE for Naomi!

Naomi lived in a time of famine and false idol-worshiping...

Read as Toni Sorenson weaves in extra details about Naomi's husband, Elimelech, and his decision to follow his heart to move his family in hopes of giving them a better life.

Watch as Naomi has to leave everything behind...her family, her friends, her home, her way of life.

Learn that the one thing Naomi holds strong to is her faith.

Hope with Naomi as she watches her family being fully immersed in the ways of the Moabites, even going so far as her sons choosing Orpah and Ruth as wives.

Mourn with Naomi as she looses her husband AND her sons...

Know that the Lord is mindful of Ruth and Naomi and will provide a way for them to be taken care of...just as he is mindful of us today.

The story of Naomi and Ruth will endear your heart to them and bring you comfort as you travel this path we call life.

A BOOK WORTH READING!

LOVED. LOVED. LOVED. IT!

PURCHASE | ADD TO GOODREADS

About the Author

Toni Sorenson was in fourth grade when she won her first writing award. The Salt Lake Tribune named her an "Aspiring Author." In seventh grade she won top honors as Utah's Young Author in creative fiction. In college she was named one of America's most promising writers and the Nashville Songwriters new-song-of-the-year winner for lyrics she penned.

Her nationally published works have sold more than a half million copies. Her alliance with Covenant Communications has yielded more than twenty published works, including Master and Messiah, accounts of the life of Christ. She won the prestigious Association of Mormon Letters novel-of-the-hear award for Redemption Road. In 2013 Covenant honored Toni with the Making-A-Difference award.

Toni is the mother of six. She spends her time writing, traveling, public speaking, hiking, and just "hanging out" with her children, grandchildren, and friends.

Keepers of the Sword

Book Details
Author: Guy Morgan Galli
Release Date: August 2014
Publisher: Covenant Communications
Genre: Historical Fiction

This tale is so realistic you wonder if it might really have happened this way...

What if...Zoram was the son of "the keeper of the sword?"

And what if...Zoram had been trained to be the next "keeper of the sword?"

And what if...Zoram had been trained in forging and wielding swords?

And what if...Zoram became the keeper of the sword making him a servant to the "keeper of the records?"

And what if...Zoram forged the sword of that keeper?

If so...then Zoram was the servant of Laban, who was keeper of the records, and it was Zoram who forged Laban's sword.

Brings the whole story of Zoram to life...doesn't it?

Clear and striking details of training and living during this time.

Plots between kingdoms and rulers are brought forth.

Lies, deceit, suspense, intrigue, a need to conquer...

A prophet is compelled to flee for his life.

But the records cannot be left behind....

And what happens to the keeper of the sword when the keeper of the records no longer has the records OR the sword?

FASCINATING look into events that are recorded from ancient Israel.
SUPERBLY told and will definitely keep you turning the pages!
I LOVE the way this author writes!

AMAZON | GOODREADS

About the Author

Guy M. Galli loves the accounts recorded in ancient scripture. His vivid and boundless imagination takes the black-and-white words and paints marvelous portraits of the men and women who, like all of us, struggle with challenges and rise to meet and overcome them.

Their stories become an inspiration and a testimony builder tht we are all living out our own personal scripture stories.

You can visit Guy at www.guygalli.com

(A review copy was provided, however, all reviews are of my own opinion :)