London Tides

London Tides by Carla Laureano

Reviewed by Lori Twichell

Radiant Lit Blog Tours

Genre: Romance

Publisher: David C. Cook

Date: June 1, 2015

Irish photojournalist Grace Brennan travels the world’s war zones documenting the helpless and forgotten. After the death of her friend and colleague, Grace is shaken.

She returns to London hoping to rekindle the spark with the only man she ever loved—Scottish businessman Ian MacDonald. But he gave up his championship rowing career and dreams of Olympic gold years ago for Grace ... only for her to choose career over him. Will life’s tides bring them back together ... or tear them apart for good this time?

Carla Laureano is the author of the RITA® award-winning romance Five Days in Skye as well as London Tides and the Celtic fantasy series The Song of Seare (as C. E. Laureano). A graduate of Pepperdine University, she worked as a sales and marketing executive for nearly a decade before leaving corporate life behind to write fiction full-time. She currently lives in Denver with her husband and two sons.

London Tides is available for purchase from Amazon.com

Note: I received this book as part of the London Tides blog tour from Radiant Lit.  I received no compensation for this review and only received a copy of the book for review purposes.

I truly enjoyed this author, I have read both the books (London Tides and Five Days in Skye).  The author has a way of putting you right into the lives of the characters she has created.    

In her second book London Tides, she directly deals with PTSD, something that most people just don’t understand.   Carla Laurenao, has done a wonderful job of showing us how it does affect a person. 

After reading her novels I know why these books have won awards, she is an excellent author.  I like the fact that the author lets the characters rely on God, and brings Him into the story line.

In her book London Tides, we find the characters Grace (who is suffering from PTSD) and Ian, in this story we wait to see if Grace will put her career ahead of romance once again. 

This book is an easy read, one that the reader will not want to put down.

I look forward to more books from this author.  This book comes highly recommended.

Review copy provided by the publisher. 

From The Start

Kate writes romance movie scripts for a living, but she's stopped believing “true love” is because in real life real life. Kate was hurt bad by her last love, Kate is thrown into situation with former quarterback Colton Greene, former NFL quarter back and is asked to write his biography.   Could a new friendship Colton Greene renew her faith?

This is a good novel.  It was fun to read, easy to relate to the characters. The author brings you to situations that all of us have had to deal with in our lives.

 I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review and 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.”

All the Places You Will Go

From the back of the book:

Rarely in the Bible does God command someone to “stay”.  He opens a door and invites us to walk through it-into the unknown.  And whether we stay or go will ultimately determine the kind of life we’ll live and the kind of person we’ll become.  But it’s not just one door.  God paces lots of open doors in front of us every day.  For those who recognize them and choose to walk through, life becomes a divine adventure.  And those who don’t well…. Not only are they missing out on all the amazing work God wants them to do through them!

I believe that life is made up of choices, and we must choose from what we will wear that morning ng to what will I do with my life.   We have small choices and big choices to make.

God does open and close doors for us, and it is up to us to discern whether or not we will go through that door, or to leave it shut.  The author asks us to summarize our life with six words, what would yours be?  Mine would be I am blessed.    One aspect that Mr. Ortberg brings up is that when God does open a door, it doesn’t mean that life will be easy, that things will go smoothly.   

One thing to remember is to pray about every opportunity that comes.   If you listen He will either give you peace of mind about it, or give you a feeling of uneasiness. 

I thought the book would be a lot different, and honestly it wasn’t what I was expecting.

 I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review and 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.”

Women's Study Bible

This is an amazing Bible.   I ave to say it ismy Favorite Bible.   Ms Patterson and her team has done an excellent job of putting this Bible together.   It is theologically and doctrinal sound.   I love the Holman translation, it is easy and clear to read.   The print size is excellent.   I have recently gone through a major brain operation, and this review copy was sitting waiting for me the day after I woke up!  I am able to read and follow the text clearly.

Ms. Patterson is a wonderful woman, I have heard her speak and I truly do recommend this Bible for any age woman.   The Study Bible for Women equips you to reach deep into God’s Word. Perhaps the single most powerful aspect of this Bible are the "threads" of specialized study thoughtfully woven throughout, pointing you to God’s larger story and allowing the Holy Spirit to write His revealed truths on your heart.

In The Study Bible for Women, you’ll join a host of other women, all academically trained in the original languages of the Bible and passionate about God’s Word, for an intimately deep dive into Scripture that will equip you to unlock the riches and majesty of His Word, and ignite a passion to mentor others in your life to do the same.

Features

·         Extensive commentary notes

·         Word studies

·         Answers to hard questions

·         Doctrinal notes

·         Biblical womanhood articles

·         Character profiles

·         "Written on My Heart" applications

http://www.bhpublishinggroup.com/

·         Extensive book introductions

·         In-text maps, charts & timelines

·         Full-color maps section

·         Concordance

·         Presentation page

·         Family record pages

·         Silver page edges, thumb-indexed

 I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review and 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.”

Ordinary How to Turn the World Upside Down

From the back of the book:

Ordinary is not a call to be more radical. If anything, it is a call to the contrary. The kingdom of God isn’t coming with light shows, and shock and awe, but with lowly acts of service. Tony Merida wants to push back against sensationalism and “rock star Christianity,” and help people understand that they can make a powerful impact by practicing ordinary Christianity. 

Through things such as humble acts of service, neighbor love, and hospitality, Christians can shake the foundations of the culture. In order to see things happen that have never happened before, Christians must to do what Christians have always done­. Christians need to become more ordinary. 

Let’s think together about how we, ordinary people, doing ordinary things, might turn the world upside down.

Tony Merida  pastor at Imago Die in North Carolina has written a book that every Christian should read.  We as Christians need to open our eyes to the world around us; we need to stop being bench warmers and become “doers” of the word, and showing the love of Jesus.   The last commandment that Jesus left us with was to love one another as Jesus loved us. (John 13:34)   Are we doing that in our little world?  Are we showing neighborly love?

Tony Merida has done a great job showing us where we can start turning our world upside down.  He reminds us that having hospitality is important.  Firstly he defines what hospitality is and how important it is in our Christian lives.   All throughout the Bible it tells us to be hospitable.   It is an important part of evangelism, and for showing love to our “neighbors.

He also reminds us how important it is to take care of our widows and orphans, He and his wife are busy in the area of dealing with human trafficking.

All in all I believe that Tony Merida has done a great job of researching this subject and bringing it out to the public’s attention.    He also included websites to visit, if one is interested in helping with some causes.    

 I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review and 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.”

NKJV Notetakers Bible

Finally, a hardcover Bible that has plenty of room for taking notes during public or private worship, small group fellowships, or any other time or place you feel the need to make comments on the Bible. No more cramped writing in tiny margins—the NKJV Note-Takers Bible makes it easy to stay organized and neat. Personalize the text of God's Word to your life as never before, and treasure this record of your spiritual journey. Includes the complete text of the popular New King James Version

Features:

• Deluxe wide margins for note takers
• Complete NKJV text
• Double column text for easy reading
• Words of Christ in red letter

This is a great Bible for those who love to take notes.  The margins are wide, so that you can make notes as you read, or listen to preachers or teachers.   The NKJV is a version that everyone knows and is accepted everywhere.   It is a red letter edition, which I enjoy.

It comes in hardcover which will endure a lot of wear and tear, as well as being attractive to the eye; slim and light weight so you can carry it anywhere.

What would I change?   Font size for starters, it is a bit tiny for weaker eyes.   I did notice cross references at the bottom of the page, but a concordance is missing and so are maps.  These two items can be necessary for the serious Bible scholar.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review and 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.”

Permission to Doubt

From the Publisher:

In her new book, Ann offers a candid look at the moment her faith and reason collided. Blindsided by doubts, following a thirteen-year struggle with an undiagnosed panic disorder, Ann learned several valuable lessons. Never shy away from the big questions. Always follow the evidence to its logical conclusion. And genuine truth doesn't buckle under the bright lights of interrogation.

Permission to Doubt identifies three types of doubt -- spiritual, emotional, and intellectual -- and develops unique strategies to recognize and understand each. It also details practical step-by-step solutions in which faith can be reinforced in the midst of our struggle.

Ann takes a good look at faith, and how it can be threatened, and teaches us how we can make it grow.  She uses examples from her own life, which we can relate to, everyone at one time may have had some doubt.  

There are some good points that many can relate to; we all have times when we wonder where God is, or what is He doing.  What we have to remember is that He is all powerful and all knowing.  We should not second guess Him, but delve into the scriptures, when those times of doubt come our way, 

This was an easy to read book, I encourage those that have any form of doubt to read this book.

 received this book free from the publisher  http://www.kregel.com . I was not required to write a positive review and 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.”