Forsaking All Others by Allison Pittman

From the Publisher

Camilla Fox is alive. The last thing she remembers is being lost in the snow after leaving her home to escape the Mormon faith she no longer calls her own. She’s been taken in by the 5th Infantry Regiment of the US Army and given over to the personal care of Captain Charles Brandon. As she regains her strength, memories of her two children she had to leave behind come flooding back, threatening to break her heart. Camilla is determined to reunite with her daughters. But when news of her father’s grave illness reaches her, she knows she must return to the family farm to reconcile with her father. As spring arrives, Camilla returns to Salt Lake City a changed woman, but nothing could prepare her for the changes to the city, to the Mormon church, and to the family she left behind.

My Take

When I picked Forsaking All Others, I didn’t realize it was #2 in the Sister Wives series.  Thankfully, the way Ms. Pittman started out her book covered what I needed to know. I’d like to go back and read the first book, For Time and Eternity, when I get the time.

I enjoy watching the TLC show “Sister Wives” because it’s such a different lifestyle than what I know so when I saw Forsaking All Others—The Sister Wives Series, I knew I needed to read it. I didn’t know much about the Mormon doctrine back in the mid-1800’s but the introductory “letter” at the beginning explained it quite well. Ms. Pittman evidently did her researched historical Mormonism and did a great job of communicating it to the reader. She was able to explain without sounding like a school lecture. 

The first couple chapters seemed a little slow to me and I just couldn’t get into the book. However, after I got a few chapters under my belt and became invested in the characters, I couldn’t put it down! I enjoyed the comparison between being a Mormon and being a Christian and their relationships with God. Ms. Pittman’s perspectives and comparisons were very well written and easily understood.

Overall, I would give Forsaking All Others 3.5 stars. I hope the next book in the Sister Wives series comes soon!

Tyndale House Publishers has provided me with a complimentary copy of  Forsaking All Others in exchange for my personal, honest review.

About the Author

Allison Pittman is the author of For Time and Eternity, Stealing Home, the Crossroads of Grace series, and her nonfiction debut, Saturdays With Stella. A high-school English teacher, she serves as director of the theater arts group at her church. She is also the co-president of a dynamic Christian writers group in the San Antonio, Texas area, where she makes her home with her husband and their three boys.

Cash Burn by Michael Berrier

From the Publisher

Billions of dollars flow through Jason Dunn's banking office each year. When he suffers a series of career setbacks and his marriage begins to crumble, he and his attractive new assistant devise a plan to disappear with a slice of the bank's cash flow. The unwelcome appearance of his brother on the scene, just released from prison, threatens to sidetrack Jason's plans. But Jason's brother "Flip" has his own problems with a parole officer who isn't fooled by this dangerous parolee. In the race to the jackpot between Jason and Flip, and the unwinding of their troubled history, the question soon becomes, Who will get burned?

My Take

I have to say this book was difficult to “get into”. The story line was kind of sluggish for the first 100-125 pages and it was tough to keep going. Once the story line picked up, it was pretty good. However, there was a lot of discussion about the banking industry and Jason’s job. I’m an ex-auditor by trade (insurance, not banking) but I do know a little bit about banking. Some of the processes talked about in the book were even a little confusing to me. I understood the gist of the process—enough to know about the plot (don’t want to spoil it!)--- but I think some readers would be even more lost reading it.

The thought process going into the money theft from the bank was pretty interesting and I liked how some of it was actually thought out. After the way Jason had been treated in some of his bank dealings, I could understand some sort of vendetta against them. When the story line was moving quickly, it was a page-turner but the momentum wasn’t always there.

I think Berrier is technically a good writer, has done his research and can describe a picture very well. In my opinion with his writing and maybe a modification to the story line, this could have been a very good book. I hope he writes another one soon—I’d like to see how he grows throughout his career.  I’m giving this book a 3 out of 5 stars based on the effort put into the writing.

Tyndale has provided me with a complimentary copy of Cash Burn in exchange for my personal, unbiased review.

 Heartwrenching!! A story of life and faith!

From the Publisher

Jeremiah Williams has been tending the gardens of the Tennessee governor’s mansion for over twenty-five years. And like most first families who have come and gone, this one has stolen his heart.

Mackenzie and her husband, Governor Gray London, have struggled for ten years to have a child and are now enjoying a sweet season of life—anticipating the coming reelection and sending their precious daughter, Maddie, off to kindergarten—when a tragedy tears their world apart. As the entire state mourns, Mackenzie falls into a grief that threatens to swallow her whole.

Though his heart is also broken, Jeremiah realizes that his gift of gardening is about far more than pulling weeds and planting flowers. It’s about tending hearts as well. As he uses the tools that have been placed in his hands, he gently begins to cultivate the hard soil of Mackenzie’s heart, hoping to help her realize what it took him years to discover.

A Southern tale of loss, love, and living, The First Gardner reminds us that all of life is a gift, but our heart is the most valuable gift of all.

Read the first chapter here.

My Take

This is one of those books that you just can’t put down---it’s almost as if you are living with the characters and feeling their pain and heartbreak. The First Gardener was the first book I’ve read by Denise Hildreth Jones but it won’t be the last! She has the gift of story-telling and really draws the reader in to her story.

I felt so sad for Mackenzie and Gray with their attempts at having a family. To lose a child, especially in such a tragic event, must be the worst event in a mother’s life—it’s understandable the emotions  and  reactions she goes through. However, she never could deal with her grief. Her family makes attempts to help her but until Mackenzie wants to help herself, nothing will work.  As in real life, the first step is to admit you have trouble but Mackenzie doesn’t even get that far. Pushing down the grief isn’t healthy but having been in the same circumstance many years ago, it’s the hardest experience to deal with. However, I was frustrated with how her family coddled her. At some point they should have intervened to help her climb out of her depression---her health, emotional and physical, was in jeopardy. Even if it was just to reignite her faith in God and his healing grace. Yes, it’s hard, but she needed that grace.

Mackenzie’s mom is just a hoot! And her friends even more so. They added that little relief of humor so necessary in a book like this. Even though they were an embarrassment at times, you gotta love their spunk during a time of need. And they truly cared about each other. Any negative comments to each other were always forgiven and dismissed as only good friends can do. Their belief in each other really touched my heart.

But my favorite character was the gardener, Jeremiah. His deep faith in God and his garden (through God) is unshakeable. I loved how he used to language of flowers to speak to others when words just weren’t enough. He took such good care of his “family” in the governor’s mansion and became a confidant to those currently living there. Jeremiah is one of the people you meet and remember for the rest of your life. He reminded me of a big hug using only his words and flowers. 

Even with the sadness and grief,  I’d give this book a 4 out of 5 stars. The characters became my friends and I hurt along with them. It’s a story of real life and undeniable faith. I’ll definitely be reading more of Ms Jones’ books in the future!


Tyndale House Publishers has provided me with a complimentary copy of  The First Gardener in exchange for my personal, honest review.

About the Author

Author website    http://www.denisehildrethjones.com/

If you are looking for a good summer-time fiction novel to read, I recommend The First Gardener  by Denise Hildreth Jones!   It’s a real life story of life . . .  and death, forgiveness, depression and broken dreams.  The story line is that of the Governor of Tennessee, Gary London, and his wife, Mackenzie and their dear little daughter, Maddie, who was very loved and long waited for after going through many years of infertility.   But tragedy hits the family, actually several times that sends them tail-spinning into finding their new normal and recovery.

Another major person in The First Gardener, is the governor’s gardener, whose tender heart reaches out to the family through his gift of flowers and their meanings.  I loved this what he said, in his Southern accent, as he grieved with them:

Maybe this what the last thirty years been for.  Maybe this why I gone through ever’thing I gone through, see ever’thing I see, hear ever’thing I hear. ‘Cause this family need me.  ’Cause there be some way I can make a difference, even if it’s only prayin’ for an ornery ol’ woman.

The Brotherhood by Jerry B. Jenkins

From the Publisher

Boone Drake has it made. He’s a young cop rising rapidly through the ranks of the Chicago Police Department. He has a beautiful wife and a young son, a nice starter house, a great partner, and a career plan that should land him in the Organized Crime Division within five years. Everything is going right. Until everything goes horribly wrong. His personal life destroyed and his career and future in jeopardy, Boone buries himself in guilt and bitterness as his life spirals out of control. But when he comes face-to-face with the most vicious gang leader Chicago has seen in decades, he begins to realize that God is a God of second chances and can change the hardest heart . . . and forgive the worst of crimes.

My Take

Thought provoking!! Powerful life lessons! Unexpected plot resolution!

Jerry B. Jenkins has started a new police thriller series in the Precinct 11 novels. The first installment, The Brotherhood, introduces us to Boone Drake as a young go-getter cop who wants to impede gang activities on his beat. He and his partner, Jack Keller, work the night shift and put their lives on the line each and every night. When he’s moved to the day shift, he’s not home when a tragic accident hits his family.

Boone has to make the unimaginable decision to keep his wife alive or let her go. His guilt and sorrow so deeply affects him that he questions his life and faith. How can God allow such bad things happen to such good (and devoted) people? While he questions God’s actions, his bitterness grows. Jenkins asks the hard questions and makes the reader really think about their own faith—he doesn’t provide a cliché explanation like so many other Christian novels do. The lesson I took from this is to cherish each and every day with your loved ones because you never know when God will call them home.

Fast forward to a year later……Boone’s partner is up for promotion in the Organized Crime Unit and Boone wants to follow him to bring down the gangs, drug lords, and the “mob”. Why should these lowlifes live to kill while his faithful family is destroyed? Why should these criminals be rewarded for their evil ways? Again, Jenkins allows the reader to dig deep and reflect on their own beliefs without providing a pat answer.

The Brotherhood dives right in to gang and mob activities that are probably more real-life than we care to admit. Boone works with one of the high ranking gangbangers who has turned his life over to God and wants to atone for his sins. Seeing the change in this criminal helps lead Boone back to the Father he once knew. Although Boone is skeptical about God’s plans, he realizes there’s a reason for those plans and a reason that certain people come into your life. A second lesson I learned is that God knows what he’s doing and it’s not our job to question His plans for us.

The book has an interesting plot and Christian theme. I’ve never read any of Jenkins’ other works (Left Behind series in particular) so I didn’t quite know what to expect. I liked the way he integrated Christian beliefs without being cheesy or preachy. It was also kind of an eye-opener to frightening organized crime activities that are out there.

That said, I did have a couple issues with the book. Not that I want to discount the tragedy with Boone’s family, but it took up the first 200 pages of the book. Personally I thought the organized crime case should have been more developed. Also, there was a jump in the time line that I thought should have been included—the year between the tragedy and the beginning of Boone’s move to the organized crime division is pretty well glossed over. However, even with those issues, the book was still interesting and unexpected (no spoiler here!). I couldn’t wait to get through the last few chapters just to see how it all ended!

I give The Brotherhood 4 out of 5 stars!

Would you like a copy of The Brotherhood? Leave me a comment & you can have a chance to win a gift certificate for your own free copy!

I received this book free from Tyndale Publishers as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. (January 24, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-13: 978-1414309224