The Ex Files-Victoria Christopher Murray

I enjoyed this book for the simple reason that it gives a glimpse into four women's lives who are dealing with much the same circumstances in their life. The Bible study and prayer group that they start coming to helps to knit them together to make each one of them stronger and closer to God. There is a twist to the story that I won't share (I don't want to ruin your reading), but this twist serves to remind them of the importance of God and each other. There is some steaminess in this book, however, that made me a little uncomfortable, simply because you do not expect it in a Christian fiction book. That could have been left out and the book would still have been excellent, but it was not. I think that this will be a sticky point for many readers, simply because this is why we don't read traditional romances. It had a good message, but would have been much better without the steamy parts.

About the Book:

The Ex Files:
A Novel About Four Women and Faith...
There are four ways a woman can handle heartbreak. She can fall apart, seek revenge, turn cold, or move on. The Ex Files is the story of these four women:

When Kendall Stewart finds her husband and her sister in bed together, she vows to never let anyone get that close again. But when she is faced with saving the life of the woman who destroyed hers, will she be able to forgive?

When an NBA superstar tells his mistress, Asia Ingrum, that he's decided to honor his marriage vows, her shock quickly gives way to revenge...but her decision may come back to haunt their five-year-old daughter.

Every night Vanessa Martin wonders why her husband committed suicide. Even worse, she contemplates joining him in eternity. Will Vanessa be able to gather the strength to live again?

Sheridan Hart is finally finding her way after a lie destroyed her seventeen-year marriage. Her new love is ready to get married, but will she commit to this younger man or is her ex-husband taking up too much space in her heart?

When their pastor asks Kendall, Asia, Vanessa, and Sheridan to meet weekly for prayer, they can't imagine they will have anything in common. But then a devastating tragedy strikes and these strangers are forced to reexamine their choices. Will they find true friendship, or will prayer -- and their union -- fail them?

About the Author:

Victoria Christopher Murray always knew she would become an author, even as she was taking quite an unlikely path to that destination. A native of Queens, New York, Victoria first left New York to attend Hampton Institute in Virginia where she majored in Communication Disorders.

After graduating from Hampton, Victoria attended New York University where she received her MBA.Victoria spent ten years in Corporate America before she decided to test her entrepreneurial spirit. She opened a Financial Services Agency for Aegon, USA where she managed the number one division for nine consecutive years. However, Victoria never lost the dream to write and when the “bug” hit her again in 1997, she answered the call.

Victoria originally self published Temptation. “I wanted to write a book as entertaining and compelling as any of the books on the market, put God in the middle, and have the book still be a page-turner. I wasn’t writing to any particular genre – I didn’t even know Christian fiction existed. I just wanted to write about people I knew and characters I could relate to.”

In 2000, Time Warner published Temptation. Temptation made numerous best sellers list across the nation and remained on the Essence bestsellers list for nine consecutive months. In 2001, Temptation was nominated for an NAACP Image Award in Outstanding Literature.

Since Temptation, Victoria has written four other novels: JOY, Truth Be Told, Grown Folks Business, and A Sin and a Shame. All of her novels have continued to be Essence bestsellers; her last three each reaching #1. In addition, Victoria has received numerous awards including the Golden Pen Award for Best Inspirational Fiction and in 2006, she was awarded the Phyllis Wheatley Trailblazer Award for being the pioneer in African American Christian Fiction.

If you are interested in purchasing this book or any of Victoria's earlier books, you can click here!

Next week, I will be having a giveaway, so check back!

Smiles and Loves! Janis

A Clearing in the Wild-Jane Kirkpatrick

My favorite type of book is the ones that weave history into the story, especially history about the early settlers or the Holocaust. This book is about the early settlers of Missouri who moved west due to their religious beliefs and persecution that they felt from the government. Emma, the heroine of sorts, questions their beliefs and discovers that although she questions the "church", she is greatly blessed by the people that she is with. You will really enjoy this book!

About the Book:

Emma Wagner seeks a singular voice in her 1850s religious community in Bethel, Missouri when she chafes at the constraints of a culture that values conformity over independent thought, especially in women.
Sent West with nine men challenged to secure land set apart from the world's distractions, this novel, inspired by historical events, follows one woman through her isolation from her community and the lessons learned in her spiritual journey.
In book one of this fact-filled fiction, Emma discovers what it truly means to serve--and to survive.

About the Author, Jane Kirkpatrick:

Jane grew up near Mondovi, Wisconsin, a little town not far from the Mississippi River. Her older sister Judy and younger brother Craig helped on the family dairy farm. Dozens of cousins lived within 50 miles providing the privilege of extended family memories. Most of the "Rutschow" clan remained in the Wisconsin-Minnesota area. Jane moved to Oregon in 1974 after completing her master's degree in social work. She worked in the disabilities field, became the director of the mental health program in Deschutes County and eventually "retired" from there to homestead and begin a new adventure in writing, working on the reservation, growing watermelons, and attempting to grow grapes, alfalfa and cattle.

The Kirkpatrick's new life has included "clearing sagebrush and wrestling wind and rattlesnakes" while "homesteading" land on the John Day River in a remote part of Oregon known locally as Starvation Point. She and her husband Jerry still live there today. "It's our 'rural 7-Eleven' since our home sits seven miles from the mailbox and eleven miles from the pavement" notes the author. Additionally, she currently works as a mental health and educational consultant on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in Central Oregon with both Native American and non-Indian communities.

To learn more about Jane and the other books that she has written, including the next one in this series, A Tendering in the Storm, visit http://www.jkbooks.com/.

Smiles and Loves! Janis