Tag Archives: Christa Parrish

If You Liked . . . The One You’re With

31 Jul

My book club liked The One You’re With by Lauren K. Denton. This women’s fiction focused on truth-telling — but not all the characters had the same views on what that entailed. 😉 It certainly created a lively discussion! If you liked it too, here are some more recommendations. All the books on my list explore secrets kept, secrets revealed, and the consequences.

The Rhythm of Secrets by Patti Lacy

Sheila Franklin has lived three separate lives. Now a conservative pastor’s wife in Chicago, she is skilled at hiding secrets–a talent birthed during childhood romps through the music-filled streets of New Orleans. But when the son she bore at the age of eighteen comes back looking for answers and desperate for help, her greatest secret–and greatest regret–is revealed. Eager to right past wrongs, Sheila’s heart floods with memories of lyrical jazz music and a worn-out Bible. But when her husband learns of her shady history, Sheila is suddenly faced with an impossible decision: embrace the dream–and son–she abandoned against her will or give in to the demands of her safe but stifled life. As she struggles to reclaim both her son and her identity, Sheila soon realizes that God’s grace spans both seas and secrets and that He is all she really needs. 

With dynamic writing that makes the reader feel the heartache of a teenage mother, struggle with the disillusionment of an abandoned boy, and revel in the idea of grace despite flaws, rising star Patti Lacy takes her fans on a journey they won’t want to end–and won’t soon forget.

Since You’ve Been Gone by Christa Allan

One moment, Olivia Kavanaugh is preparing to walk down the aisle and embrace her own happily ever after. The next, she learns that her fiancé, Wyatt Hammond, has been in a fatal car accident. Then comes a startling discovery: Wyatt’s car wasn’t heading toward the church. He was fifty miles away—with a baby gift in the backseat.Her faith shaken, Olivia pores over the clues left behind, desperate to know where Wyatt was going that day and why. As she begins uncovering secrets, she also navigates a tense relationship with her judgmental mother and tries to ignore the attentions of a former boyfriend who’s moved back home. But when she starts receiving letters written by Wyatt before his death, she must confront a disturbing question: Can we ever know anyone fully, even someone we love?

When an unexpected path forward—though nothing like the life she once envisioned—offers the promise of a new beginning, will she be strong enough to let go of the past and move toward it?

Stones for Bread by Christa Parrish

Liesl McNamara’s life can be described in one word: bread.  From her earliest memory, her mother and grandmother passed down the mystery of baking and the importance of this deceptively simple food. And now, as the owner of Wild Rise bake house, Liesl spends every day up to her elbows in dough, nourishing and perfecting her craft.But the simple life she has cultivated is becoming quite complicated. Her head baker brings his troubled grandson into the bakeshop as an apprentice. Her waitress submits her recipes to a popular cable cooking show. And the man who delivers her flour – a single father with strange culinary habits – seems determined to win Liesl’s affection.

When Wild Rise is featured on television, her quiet existence appears a thing of the past. And then a phone call from a woman claiming to be her half-sister forces Liesl to confront long-hidden secrets in her family’s past. With her precious heritage crumbling around her, the baker must make a choice: allow herself to be buried in detachment and remorse, or take a leap of faith into a new life.

Test of Faith by Christa Allan

Elle Butler has managed to hold on to her politically-driven husband and her secrets until the unexpected happens. When one phone call rips her world apart, Elle will have to decide if the truth is worth the consequences. Especially when it threatens to destroy the world she’s so carefully built around her life and her marriage.

Top 10 Tuesday — TBR Shame

10 Sep

This week, Top 10 Tuesday prompted bloggers to disclose the books on their TBR lists that they are avoiding. I am not so much avoiding the books on my list as I am forgetting they are there! I have lots of bookshelves in my house, but alas not enough to adequately provide proper storage. That leads to one shelf that has books double-parked. The poor books that are hidden may never see the light of day if I don’t read the ones in front or figure out better storage. So here’s the list of ten (sadly, there are many more) of those very deserving books that I am treating so shabbily. 😉

What about you? Which books are you avoiding/forgetting? For more blogging confessions, head to That Artsy Reader Girl.

 

10 Forgotten Books on My TBR Shelf

Ain’t No River by Sharon Ewell Foster

Penned in the same poetic voice introduced in her bestselling debut novel, Passing by Samaria, Sharon Ewell Foster’s Ain’t No River is a contemporary tale where the angst of modern life is seasoned with wisdom, humor, and a dash of African-American history. Meemaw has been a doting mother, grandmother, and church mother to her community. Suddenly she’s become a slimmed-down, silver-haired, seventy-something fox with a new attitude. And all fingers are pointing at a much younger ex-pro football player, GoGo Walker. When D.C. lawyer Garvin Daniels — Meemaw’s granddaughter — gets wind of what’s happening, she heads back to her hometown determined to help her Meemaw get it together before she goes too far.

Dry As Rain by Gina Holmes

From the bestselling author of Crossing Oceans comes a powerfully moving story that tests the limits of love’s forgiveness. Like many marriages, Eric and Kyra Yoshida’s has fallen apart slowly, one lost dream and misunderstanding at a time, until the ultimate betrayal finally pushes them beyond reconciliation. Just when it looks like forgive and forget is no longer an option, a car accident gives Eric the second chance of a lifetime. A concussion causes his wife to forget details of her life, including the chasm between them. No one knows when—or if—Kyra’s memory will return, but Eric seizes the opportunity to win back the woman he’s never stopped loving.

In Every Flower by Patti Hill 

Sometimes you get a second chance . . .

Remarriage isn’t the happily-ever-after Mibby McManus hoped for. Between conflicting work schedules, a rebellious teenage son, a mother-in-law who can’t get enough of the Food Channel, and a cat-in-law bent on destruction, Mibby and her new husband, Larry, never seem to find enough time for each other.

Then there’s the part Mibby really didn’t expect: the constant intrusion of memories.

Just when she thinks she’s gotten back on track, a phone call from California unsettles everything. It’s time for Mibby to face her past or risk losing her future.

It Had to Be You by Susan May Warren

Eden Christiansen never imagined her role as her younger brother Owen’s cheerleader would keep her on the sidelines of her own life. Sure, it feels good to be needed, but looking after the reckless NHL rookie leaves little time for Eden to focus on her own career. She dreamed of making a name for herself as a reporter, but is stuck writing obits―and starting to fear she doesn’t have the chops to land a major story. If only someone would step up to mentor Owen . . . but she knows better than to expect help from team veteran and bad-boy enforcer Jace Jacobsen.

Jace has built his career on the infamous reputation of his aggressive behavior―on and off the ice. Now at a crossroads about his future in hockey, that reputation has him trapped. And the guilt-trip he’s getting from Eden Christiansen isn’t making things any easier. But when Owen’s carelessness leads to a career-threatening injury and Eden stumbles upon a story that could be her big break, she and Jace are thrown together . . . and begin to wonder if they belong on the same team after all.

Long Journey Home by Sharlene MacLaren

After divorcing her abusive husband, single mother Callie May is still nursing the scars of a painful past. The last thing she needs in her life is another man, so she’s less than thrilled when a handsome but brooding stranger moves into the apartment across the hall. Dan Mattson may be attractive, but his circumstances certainly aren’t: a former church pastor, he abandoned his flock in Michigan and fled to the Chicago suburbs after the death of his beloved wife and baby daughter in a tragic automobile accident. Embittered by his loss, Dan turns his back on God.

Callie mistrusts men, and the angry Dan often gives her good reason to. Both are weighed down by the scars and disappointment in their pasts. When Callie’s ex–husband shows up to wreak more havoc in her life, Dan finds himself coming to her defense — and facing his own demons in the process. Will Dan and Callie be able to get past their baggage and give love another chance? Can they come to see life’s apparent tragedies as part of God’s perfect plan? Can the power of God change their hearts and mend their hurts?

Magnolia Moonlight by Mary Ellis

What Sinister Secrets Lurk in the Shadows of Yesterday?

Natchez, Mississippi — Private Investigator Nate Price and his new wife, Isabelle, need a vacation. Their coworkers generously team up to surprise them with a belated honeymoon…but the happy trip turns sour when Izzy spies her ex-husband, who appears to have taken up his gambling addiction once again.

While the boss is away, Price Investigations remains in the hands of Beth Kirby, a former police officer, and Michael Preston, a former forensic accountant. Hardly a dream team, as Beth resents working with a man who has no experience in his new job.

But Beth and Michael must move past their differences if they hope to uncover the truth behind a beloved Southern preacher’s demise. The preacher’s widow suspects foul play, despite the evidence indicating suicide.

With tension escalating between these investigators and local law enforcement — and new threats arising on all sides — how will Beth, Michael, and Nate hold on to faith and bring the truth to light?

On Hummingbird Wings by Lauraine Snelling

“But Mother is always dying,” is Gillian Ormsby’s sarcastic response when her younger, favored sister tells her that she has to go take care of their hypochondriac mother. Much against her will, since she and her mother never have gotten along, Gillian arrives in California to find the garden and yard dead, the blinds all drawn, and her mother indeed in bed–waiting to die. But when Gillian talks with the doctor, he assures her there’s no medical reason behind her mother’s state.

Now on a mission to restore her mother to health, Gillian insists Mother get out of bed, eat, exercise and hopefully, choose to live. She also sets about reviving the garden to its former glory, enlisting the help of Adam, a handsome man who owns a family gardening business with his father. Gillian is delighted when a pair of hummingbirds appear, and her friendship with Adam grows.

Soon, Mother’s health improves, and one day she announces she and her friend Enzio are going on a cruise. Before Gillian has time to turn around, her mother is gone and she is left high and dry again, and wondering, what is she going to do with the rest of her own life?

Quaker Summer by Lisa Samson

Sometimes you have to go a little bit crazy to discover the life you were meant to live.

Heather Curridge is coming unhinged. And people are starting to notice. What’s wrong with a woman who has everything–a mansion on a lake, a loving son, a heart-surgeon husband — yet still feels miserable inside?

When Heather spends the summer with two ancient Quaker sisters and a crusty nun running a downtown homeless shelter, she finds herself at a crossroads. Life turns upside down for Heather in a Quaker Summer.

Visible Threat by Janice Cantore

Officer Brinna Caruso wants perfection — perfect justice and a perfect world. She wants to save and protect all the innocents in the world, no matter the cost.

Orphaned and struggling to get by, Ivana and her sister left Bulgaria for America with dreams of a better life. But since they arrived in Long Beach, everything they were promised has turned out to be a lie.

After a dead girl is found in the river with a mysterious tattoo on her hip, homicide detective Jack O’Reilly asks for Brinna’s help. Unaware of the depths of evil that will be uncovered, Brinna finds herself flung into a dangerous frontier — an organized human trafficking ring.

Watch over Me by Christa Parrish

Deputy Benjamin Patil is the one to find the infant girl — hours old, abandoned in a field. When the mother can’t be located, Ben and his wife, Abbi, seem like the perfect couple to serve as foster parents. But the baby’s arrival opens old wounds for Abbi and shines a harsh light on how much Ben has changed since a devastating tour in Afghanistan. Their marriage teeters on the brink and now they must choose to either reclaim what they once had or lose each other forever.

 

 

 

Which book would you move to the front of the shelf?

Book Review: Stones for Bread

26 Nov

689010A solitary artisan. A legacy of bread-baking. And one secret that could collapse her entire identity.

Liesl McNamara’s life can be described in one word: bread.  From her earliest memory, her mother and grandmother passed down the mystery of baking and the importance of this deceptively simple food. And now, as the owner of Wild Rise bake house, Liesl spends every day up to her elbows in dough, nourishing and perfecting her craft.

But the simple life she has cultivated is becoming quite complicated. Her head baker brings his troubled grandson into the bakeshop as an apprentice. Her waitress submits her recipes to a popular cable cooking show. And the man who delivers her flour – a single father with strange culinary habits – seems determined to win Liesl’s affection.

When Wild Rise is featured on television, her quiet existence appears a thing of the past. And then a phone call from a woman claiming to be her half-sister forces Liesl to confront long-hidden secrets in her family’s past. With her precious heritage crumbling around her, the baker must make a choice: allow herself to be buried in detachment and remorse, or take a leap of faith into a new life.

CParrish-186Christa Parrish is the award-winning author of three novels, including the 2009 ECPA Fiction Book of the Year Watch Over Me. When she’s not writing, she’s a homeschool mother of three wonderful children. Married to author and pastor Chris Coppernoll, Christa serves with him as co-leader of their church’s youth ministry as well as serving as a facilitator for a divorce recovery ministry. She is now also slightly obsessed with the art of baking bread.

My Impressions:

Stones for Bread is the second book I have read by Christa Parrish, but will definitely not be the last! She is an author to put on your must read list, and her latest novel is proof of her big talent.

Liesl is a baker of bread; a keeper of bread. Bread making is more than a way to make a living for her. It is a way to connect with her past and her passion. It also is a good way to work herself so much she has little time for relationships. Although she has been safe in her kitchen, Liesl is forced to make connections — to her staff, a friendly delivery man and his daughter and to her past. It is her past that has kept her insulated and it is her past she must confront.

I loved the way Parrish tells Liesl’s story. She begins her chapters with glimpses of Liesl’s childhood and then interspersed is a mystical tale of bread containing facts, superstitions and spiritual truths. And for those who are more adventurous and patient than myself, there are recipes for sourdough starter and breads. But it is the characters that really make the story for me — Xavier a retired baker and his grandson Jude, Tee the cantankerous Ukranian cook, the prodding kitchen helper/waitress Gretchen, and the larger-than-life Seamus and his daughter Cecelia, the little girl abandoned by her mother who makes the biggest connection with Liesl.

So if you want a very satisfying read with a complex storyline and well-fleshed-out characters, pick up a copy of Stones for Bread. And you may want a little snack near by; this book really whet my appetite!

Highly Recommended.

Great For Book Clubs.

To read more reviews, click HERE.

To purchase this book, click on the image below.

(Thanks to LitFuse for a review copy. The opinions expressed are mine alone.)

We’re thrilled to be touring Christa Parrish‘s fourth novel, Stones for Bread. Filled with both spiritual and literal nourishment, Stones for Bread provides a feast for the senses from award-winning author Christa Parrish.

Christa is celebrating the release of Stones for Bread with a KitchenAid Mixer giveaway.

stonesforbread-pinit-2-504x330

EASY STEPS TO ENTER:

1. Follow Christa Parrish and TNZ Fiction on Pinterest.

2. Then Pin the Stones for Bread book cover (below), the contest graphic (above), or both, and link to this post (using this URL: http://litfusegroup.com/campaigns/stones-for-bread-by-christa-parrish).

3. Then fill out THIS SHORT FORM to let us know. (There are also some additional ways to earn extra entries, as well as an option for non-Pinterest users. It’s true—people like that do exist!)

Questions? Email info @ litfusegroup dot com.

Winner will be announced on Christa’s Facebook Page on December 9th. Happy pinning!

Book Review: The Air We Breathe

24 Jun

205552_w185Seventeen-year-old Molly Fisk does not go outside. She’s ruled by anxiety and only feels safe in the tiny tourist-town museum she and her mother run and call home. Yearning to live free but unable to overcome deep wounds from her past, she stays hidden away. Then the chance arrival of a woman Molly knew six years ago changes everything.  Six years ago, newly single Claire Rodriguez was an empty shell. Only in the unique friendship she strikes up with a young girl–a silent girl who’ll only talk to Claire–does she see the possibility of healing. But one day the girl and her mother vanish, their house abandoned. What happened that drove them away? And how can Claire now offer Molly the same chance at finding a life anew?

549647_10151182040864400_16829416_n-199x300Christa Parrish is an award-winning author of three novels. Her debut, Home Another Way (Bethany House, 2008) was a finalist for the ECPA Fiction Book of the Year. Her second novel, Watch Over Me, won the ECPA Fiction Book of the Year and the ForeWord Reviews bronze medal for religious fiction. Her long-awaited third novel, The Air We Breathe (Bethany House, 2012) has already been named a finalist for the 2013 Christianity Today Book Award. When not writing, Christa is creative director of the modern contemporary worship service at her church and co-director of the youth group. She also produces a weekly radio show, helps facilitate DivorceCare and DC4K, chauffeurs her Grand Champion blue belt to and from Taekwondo clases, and chases a toddler. She and her husband, author and pastor Chris Coppernoll, have three children in their blended family: Gray (18), Jacob (11), and Claire (2).

My Impressions:

Emotionally charged, riveting look at the hurts of this world alongside the miracles of God — that’s what you get in Christa Parrish’s The Air We Breath. Parrish’s novel will touch your heart.

Hanna is just 11 when her dream life becomes a nightmare. Her father and her security are ripped from her, and she enters a world that is easier to face silent and locked away. A chance encounter with Claire, a woman dealing with her own demons, gets her talking again, but the strain on her relationship with her mother brings a very uneasy peace.

Hanna and Claire both deal with survivor’s guilt. They blame their own actions for the results of another’s sin and the consequences of a fallen world. They both know God is there, but are unsure of just how much grace one is allotted in  a lifetime. Both struggles, born out of extreme circumstances, nevertheless resonate with the reader. Does God always answer and can we really expect Him to work through all the things in our lives?

The Air We Breathe is beautifully written. The chapters alternate between Claire and Hanna/Molly’s characters and two different time periods, giving the reader glimpses into past actions and present results. The characters are complex and flawed, causing the reader to alternately feel empathy and frustration. This book would be a great addition for any book club.

The Air We Breathe is nominated for a Christy Award. The ceremony is tonight, and I look forward to finding out if the judges were as blown away as I was by this book.

Highly Recommended.

Great for Book Clubs.

(I received The Air We Breathe from Bethany House in return for a review. The opinions expressed are mine alone.)

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