Thursday, May 23, 2013

Thankfully this story has been told

Joni & Ken: An Untold Love Story
Ken Tada , Joni Eareckson Tada with Larry Libby





Book Description: This is the true love story of Joni and her husband of 30 years, Ken Tada. A love story showing what it truly means for a man and a woman to live in love ... in sickness and in health. Even the honeymoon wasn't easy. Did Ken realize what he was getting into when he proposed to Joni, a quadriplegic woman? As their marriage years moved on, Ken became increasingly overwhelmed by the never-ceasing demands of caring for Joni, who begins to experience chronic, extreme, nightmarish pain. Ken sinks into depression, and the couple finds themselves on parallel tracks in life, married and living under the same roof but drifting apart emotionally. But as they fight for their marriage and find their way through the mazes of depression and pain, they wrap their two lives around their rock---Jesus. During Ken's denial of Joni's diagnosis, and Joni's thoughts of how wonderful a quick exit to heaven would be, they experience a personal visitation with the savior you will never forget.

Review: I found this to be a great read. Easy to get absorbed in it and so well written that I could not put it down. It was like being let into a side of Joni that is hidden. I felt privileged to read this story. It was the first ebook that I made notes in and highlighted things. That says a lot since I was storming through this book rapidly. There were many things that made me cry and laugh. I enjoyed the frank honesty of their life together. So many things were precious like their meeting and how sweet Ken was during their dating and up to their wedding. He was more the unknown in this story and it made the man into a real person. I can honestly say that any disability makes a life interesting. I have thought a lot about pain and the changes that occur while married. There is no guarantee that the state of one’s abilities will remain even young. It is more realistic to understand the in sickness and in health. I can empathize with the chronic pain and the cancer on top of it was a lot to wrestle with. I have often thought that the church has lost her understanding of suffering. To me this has been a struggle and found the resounding theme to be that of the Bible with life there is suffering. I am so appreciative to have the privilege to read and review this book. As the beginning promised this is the real love that is lost today. Not easy and not neatly packaged but definitely a love story of all time.
I would like to thank Net Galley and Zondervan Publishing for allowing me to read and review this book in return for a free copy and I was never asked to write a favorable review by anyone.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

A Dynamic Read

The Heiress of Winterwood (Whispers On The Moors)
Sarah Ladd







Book Summary: Amelia Barrett gave her word. Keeping it could cost her everything.
Darbury, England, 1814
Amelia Barrett, heiress to an estate nestled in the English moors, defies family expectations and promises to raise her dying friend’s baby. She'll risk everything to keep her word—even to the point of proposing to the child’s father—a sea captain she’s never met. When the child vanishes with little more than an ominous ransom note hinting to her whereabouts, Amelia and Graham are driven to test the boundaries of their love for this little one. Amelia’s detailed plans would normally see her through any trial, but now, desperate and shaken, she’s forced to examine her soul and face her one weakness: pride. Graham’s strength and self-control have served him well and earned him much respect, but chasing perfection has kept him a prisoner of his own discipline. And away from the family he has sworn to love and protect. Both must learn to accept God’s sovereignty and relinquish control so they can grasp the future He has for planned for them.

Review: I really enjoyed this book. This is my first book written by Sarah Ladd but it will not be my last. The entire story was captivating. I loved Amelia and Graham they were great and very realistic. Many of the events were realistic but also not difficult to predict. The dialog and secondary characters were unknown which easily made everyone suspect. All of which merged perfectly with events as they unfolded for the characters. It was not difficult to figure out who was the kidnapper but the extent that this person went to acquire money was startling. I liked the resolution to events that were very realistic and yet the very end left so many more questions than answers. I felt let down because there were some loose ends that I wanted to see resolved. I am hoping that some of these things get resolved in the next book in this series………. Over all this was a thrilling read with dynamic characters.
I would like to thank Book Sneeze and Thomas Nelson for allowing me to read and review this book in return for a free copy and I was never asked to write a favorable review by anyone.