Book Review: Indelible by Kristen Heitzmann

"The image you left was very strong." Hands pressed to her back, she paced in short quick steps. "If what I capture is emotionally static, it fades. If not, it leaves an indelible imprint – until I transfer it to the clay."

Natalie has a gift; or is it a curse? Her eidetic memory allows her to capture emotion into her sculptures like no one else. But when Trevor McDaniel, a search and rescue volunteer, recovers her nephew, Cody, from the jaws of a mountain lion and the toddler is left in the care of Natalie, and she wonders, with this “gift”, if she’s fit to take care of Cody by herself.

Trevor’s strong protector quality drives him to take Cody under his wing and meanwhile, a budding romance forms between him and Natalie. Trevor struggles with breaking free from his own past, and tries to compensate by helping Cody face his fears.

A psychotic stalker is somewhere in their midst, deep in the shadows. First blackmailing Trevor, then threatening closer and closer to home, putting helpless victims at risk until it finally goes too far. Can they face their own fears and work together to put this twisted man’s actions to an end before it’s too late?

I was excited to read this book, as it is a sequel to Kristen Heitzmann’s previous novel, Indivisible. It was great to see characters from that book make reappearances in this book. But, for this reason, some of the parts may be a bit confusing for someone who has never read this book’s prequel.

Kristen is one of my favorite authors for several reasons: her plot lines are complex, her writing is unique and visual, she always creates likable characters, and the way she writes dialogue is natural and believable. She is a master at making the reader feel exactly what the characters are feeling. Each of her stories features a tough and athletic hero, and an elegant and artsy heroine. This book is no exception.

The only problem I have with her books is that she makes characters drink wine. This is a very controversial subject, which is why it’s not usually mentioned in Christian books. I personally don’t like that she does this, as I don’t drink at all.

I do like, however, how the story is kicked off with a bang, the action starting on the very first page and pulling me in right away. The rest of the story was not a letdown either, it held my attention all the way though.

One thing that separates Kristen Heitzmann from other authors is her ability to get you inside of an emotionally disturbed person’s head. Her writing from this perspective is downright creepy and really sets the mood. Not for the faint-hearted!

If you love romance, suspense, and psychological thrillers, you’ll love Kristen Heitzmann!
Read an excerpt of this novel here: http://www.kristenheitzmannbooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Indelible-SC.pdf

I give this book 4.5 out of 5 stars.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Please rank my review at: http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/bloggingforbooks/reviews/view/16109/blogr:8242 Thanks!!!

Beauty of Winter

Now that we finally got some snow (I haven't decided yet if that's a good thing or a bad thing!) my talented sister took advantage of the beauty found in winter and snapped some photos of me.

Click here to see more and leave her a nice comment!

Book Review: Mercy Come Morning by Lisa Tawn Bergren

"You are an adult now, Krista. You can fight off your own predators. But the biggest one you face is inside you. You know that, don't you?"

Krista Mueller returns to her home in New Mexico around Christmastime to visit her dying mother who was officially diagnosed with Alzheimer’s twelve years ago, which was the last time she saw her mother when she admitted her to Cimarron Care Center.

She carries around the ghosts of what her mother used to be, all the bad memories and blocks out the good. She’s afraid to love and forgive.

While there, she re-meets her high school sweetheart, Dane McConnell, a doctor there, who reminds her of what it means to love with mercy and grace.

The first thing I noticed is that Mercy Come Morning has incredibly long chapters. Of 222 pages, it only has 15 chapters. I found myself often stopping in the middle of scenes due to lack of time to read instead of being able to find a good stopping point within the next few pages.

It takes a while for this book to progress. It’s about ¾ of the way through before the plot begins to go anywhere. There is way too much backstory and New Mexico history thrown at you during the first half of the book. Enter page-skimming. Because of this, I felt like I was being told a story instead of living the story as it happened to the characters. Like a huge part of the story happened before I joined.

If I weren’t reviewing this book I would have put it down and started another book before I was even halfway through. But once you get past all the history, history, and more history, a great story begins to unfold. Author Lisa Tawn Bergren weaves in the magic of Christmas with the miracle of giving second chances.

Needless to say, Dane and Krista fall in love and Krista finds reconciliation with her mother and loves her enough to let her go. Although it was a little weird for me to read a story about people falling in love who are old enough to be my parents, judging by the dates and age she was during that time, Krista would now be in her late forties (though at the end of the book I realized this story took place almost a decade ago).

I had a little trouble connecting with the actual character of Krista, she sometimes seems inconsistent in character. I was, however, able to connect with her struggle to forgive her mother; in that way she was very real.

Dane seems a bit unrealistic. Of course I would like to think there are men this perfect, Dane is a little too much. The struggle of the story is more of Krista’s internal struggle to let go and love, both her mother and Dane. The relationship struggle is between her and her mother instead of her and Dane, which is probably why this is classified as Fiction/General/Contemporary on the back cover of the book instead of Romance.

Overall, I would give this book 3 stars. Just okay. Not horrible, but not great.

Decide for yourself! Read the first Chapter here.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.


Please rank my review at: http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/bloggingforbooks/reviews/view/15160. (5 stars please if you're feeling kind ;D) Thanks!!!

Encouragement for Writers and Other Artists

Ira Glass on Storytelling from David Shiyang Liu on Vimeo.

I found this on a great blog http://encouragingwordsforwriters.blogspot.com/, which is also a great encouragement for writers.

Hope you have a great day full of little things that encourage you!

Take a Breather.

Luke 10:38-42

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Thanksgiving can be a stressful time, getting food and homes ready for gatherings, but don't forget to make time for God and for family. For a holiday that is made for rest and giving thanks, we tend to forget what it's all about. It's easy to get "distracted by all the preparations", like Martha, and forget about the important things. So let's follow Mary's example and take a breather this Thanksgiving, just to enjoy the quirky moments that accompany being with family!

Book Review: The Crossing by Serita Ann Jakes

Have you ever experienced something so tragic, you couldn't forget? Where every sight, sound, or smell reminded you of a time you'd rather forget? Claudia has. 10 years ago, her teacher, friend, and confidant was murdered right before her eyes and the killer was never found.

The Crossing was a great read, full of emotional ups and downs with Claudia, her husband Victor as he re-opens the case, and their struggle to get past the pain and learn to love each other all over again.

I do have to say the first couple of chapters were a bit slow for me. After about seven chapters, the pace does start to pick up with the mystery that evidence not found during the original investigation is discovered. Many of the twists and turns in the plot surprised me, and I read a lot of suspense novels!

Serita Jakes creates a story of love, forgiveness, and putting the past behind. She certainly kept me guessing until the end who the killer was. I got close, but I never exactly hit the target bullseye. She pulled me emotionally into the case, making me not know whether to side with Claudia or Victor. She created likable characters (in fact, she had me liking one of the bad guys!). So overall, I recommend this book!

I've included two ways for you to preview the first chapter. First is visual....
The Crossing by Serita Ann Jakes (ch. 1 excerpt)

And second is an audio option. Enjoy!

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.


Please go to http://www.waterbrookmultnomah.com/bloggingforbooks/reviews/view/13993 and rate my review!!! Thanks!