Christian Fantasy Fiction
583090
I really enjoyed getting into this book. It seemed so much like it could be happening now, but of course it's not.  I enjoyed the bringing together of the gemstones. I do wish a little more of their value and identification could have been included. However, that is coming from my own personal preference having 5 children named after those gemstones and remembering the research I did on those gems. Other than that, the plot was engaging and the potential relationship between the pastor and the doctor created a special excitement to the story.
1752745
I like thin genre. Similar to Deryni novels by Katherine Kurtz and the Alvin Maker books by Orson Scott Card. That sort of historic magical fiction with a well-developed world and characters. It is the classic good verses evil which lends itself to religious tones, but I had no trouble ignoring those as they were of the type that is common to most religions (karma, golden rule, positive thinking, faith) and was not preachy. VERY well-written. No continuity or consistency problems. Looking forward to the next two books in the trilogy.
2597851
The Orb of Truth by Brae Wyckoff is Christian based fantasy at its finest.  I loved all the strong, supportive characters and amazing adventures.  'The time is come' and 'Send Me' were such resounding themes throughout this book.  I love the analogies and parables explained in such unique fashion.  Besides...Dragons...who can ever get enough dragons?
3176061
Excellent Christian fiction.  A well written story with interesting characters that I enjoyed reading in one evening. Would love to read more books by Leah Atwood.
3653863
Today I'm going to review a new novel by Tracey Bateman, The Widow of Saunders Creek.  This novel tells the story of Corrie, a woman who has recently suffered the loss of her husband, a soldier who died in Afghanistan.  Against the wishes of her mother and sister who live in Dallas, she decides to move to her late husband's familial home in the Ozarks.  Corrie's husband inherited the house and she and her husband always planned to fix it up and raise children there.  Corrie moves back to the Ozarks to remodel the house and decide whether or not to sell it.
When Corrie arrives in Saunders Creek, she hires her late husband's cousin Eli to do the necessary repairs on the house.  As she waits for the repairs to be finished, she meets and learns about her late husband's family, many of whom believe in the power of the earth and witchcraft.  She must decide whether she wants to use witchcraft to connect with her late husband or reject it and fully embrace Christ.

I decided to review this novel because I love gothic novels and spooky old houses, and I wondered how a Christian author would integrate these themes into her writing while still giving the glory to Christ.  I personally thought the author did a fine job.  She consulted several former ghost-hunters who have now turned to Christianity and I thought she did a good job of depicting generational strongholds and demonic influences while still making the point that Christ is the Lord over all and that our authority comes from Christ.  This book has been quite controversial in Christian circles, but I applaud the author's ability to directly address spiritual warfare without delving into some sort of vague mysticism or belittling the power of Christ.

Spiritual warfare aside, I think the author portrayed grief, disappointment, and recovery well.  If you're looking for a different sort of read with quality characters that deals with spiritual warfare, I recommend this book.
2856750
Don't let the genre "Christian Fiction" through you off.  This will appeal to both Christians and non-christians.  The was interesting.  What would happen if a demon were "trapped" in a human body while they tried to possess it?  This is what happens to the demon Ike in this story.  To make it interesting Max, another demon, decides to save his demon friend.  It is during his mission  to help his friend that he learns about a demon named Garrock.  Garrock is a warrior and is making plans to do away with Lucifer and bring on the apocalypse.  It was at this point my mind started racing.  As a Christian I kept thinking, "wow, I wonder how Lucifer would feel having the tables turned on him?"  To stop Garrock, Max has to become friends with Jack, the possessed man.  Then the three of them must stand together to try to stop Garrock.  I let my mother read this first.  She didn't like it.  When I asked her why she said it was to much fantasy for her.  I knew then that I was going to love this.  Anytime you can mix all the genres I love together we have a win-win situation.  I was right.  I did love it.
I also loved when the demon's eyes were opened to the truth.  There is so much to love here on so many levels.  The characters were well thought out.  For me the story flowed so smoothly it kept me reading from beginning to end.  This is a must read for all fantasy, thriller, suspense lovers out there.  I guarantee you there is something for everyone in this book.  This is just the first book.  I can hardly wait for the second one to come out.
1434552
This book is an intriguing work of christian fiction. It is very refreshing to be able to follow interesting characters in a novel and find redemption for them through a christian world viewpoint.  We don't have enough of that in our culture.  Thanks to the author for offering that to his readers.
1408237
This is the first book I have read from this author and I love the way she writes. I just bought another one of her books. I hope she keeps writing Christian fiction.  Very enjoyable book
531352
If you're looking for a book that is unapologetically Christian fiction, this book is not for you. The main character drinks, smokes, and is definitely not a Christian. There is some very brief Christian content in the book, and two uses of God's name taken in vain. Other than that, I would almost classify it as clean secular fiction.

  Those issues aside, it was a great read, and though there wasn't much Christian about it, the book was clean. The book revolves around police officers and corruption in the police department. It has a great plot and characters, and given the authors law enforcement experience, the police actions and activities have a very realistic feel and approach. The book is very fast-paced and once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down.

  This is a new publisher for this author, and I have read previous books by him that contained no uses of God's name taken in vain and had more Christian content, so hopefully this is a fluke and the rest of the books in this series will do better in those areas.
4593644
When I first read the summary I was not sure if this was Christian fiction. As I started I was still unsure given the quantity of swear words and details in the risqu parts. But as the story continues the author clearly conveys the message of the Gospel. If you find Christian fiction too "fluffy" but are uncomfortable with the content of most secular romance then this may be the perfect book series for you. This is a great debut. I look forward to reading more as the author grows along with her characters.
2125855
I read a lot of non-Christian books.  In fact, I read a lot of books that I would be embarrassed for my preacher to know about.  As much as the covers of these books look like bodice-ripping romance novels, they are in fact excellent Christian fiction.  They follow the story of Hadassah, a Jewish slave working for a rich Roman family in the time of Rome's decline.  The only living disciple left is John, and Christianity is a new religion hated by the Romans.  This story takes place in the time where Christians were burned at the stake or sent to the arena to be killed by lions or other wild animals.  The books are meant to be read in order, although book three can almost stand on its own.  One thing that always bothers me about Christian fiction is that any relationships between unmarried couples are so cheesy.  Example:  they don't even hold hands without the reader feeling like they are asking for forgiveness afterwards.  This series does not make you feel that way.  These books are well written and the characters are believably flawed, as are all humans!  I've read this series at least five times and enjoy it each time.  Don't start book one unless you're intending to read all three, because they do have cliff-hanger endings and you'll be hooked once you start A Voice in the Wind.

Just One Gripe:
I wanted more of Hadassah at the end of book two.  If you read these, you'll know what I mean.

The Best Thing About This Series:
Hadassah's unwavering faith in God no matter what her circumstances are.
1939702
I liked this book. I'm usually drawn to historical Christian fiction, but this book was a fun read. The main characters are likable and true-to-life.
2400925
Really enjoyed this fantasy book amoung many I have read lately. Created a real, engaging story with some great scenes.
1100486
Something that is often shied away from is the genre of Christian fiction. It seems to be only the "Christians' that go for it as the others believe it will either be not something that they will enjoy or they believe it will be all up in the trying to convert and bible bash you. The thing is that what most people don't realize is that today's Christian Fiction for the YA audience holds an edgy feel to it and reflects issues that go on in the lives of Christian and non-Christian teens. A series that I had first discovered back in January 2013 was Nicole O'Dell's Diamond Estate Novels. I was hooked after reading Book #3 and decided to go back and check out Books #1 and #2. The Embittered Ruby is Book #2 in the series. In this one, we meet sixteen-year-old Carmen Castillo who has a wealthy boyfriend, belongs to a country club and has two loving parents and off to greatness with her tennis and private schooling. That is until her parent's marriage starts to crumble and her dad leaves her mother for his secretary Tiffany. Soon the life Carmen knows will be ripped away from her as they move across town to a poorer area filled with gangs and public schooling. Her parents married originally when Carmen was born, so Carmen concocts a plan to fall pregnant to Nick - her boyfriend and then he will marry her and rescue her from this poor life. Things start to go well and eventually too well as Carmen's plans come into play but what will happen when tragedy strikes and everything Carmen has created has unraveled, and she is back to square one, but this time with no support. When her mom hears about a Christian support type rehab for teenage girls, her mom signs Carmen along, and she is shipped off to the Diamond Estates. During her time here, she will meet a variety of characters - some good influences and others bad? What will Carmen choose to follow when it comes down to her survival? Will she pick the path she was taken before the Estates or will she choose to put her faith and self in God's way? Find out in The Embittered Ruby by Nicole O'Dell, Book #2 in the Diamond Estate series. A series that not only instills a Christian value but also targets Edgy family issues and topics in a Christian manner.
220597
I really enjoyed this book.  I will say though that for people who don't like reading Christian books the main character is definitely a Christian although for the most part it is certainly not in your face.

The other reviewer covered pretty much everything so there is not much to add.  I will definitely read the rest of the series.
3787487
I just finished the first book. Very good read. I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a very good Christian fiction book series.
4553205
Olive U, by David L. Johnston, 2014, Prayers and Promises Publications

A subtitle for this book indicates that it is an inspirational novel. I believe it would fit into the category of Christian literature, which is a very broad genre. This particular effort is what Id consider mainstream, in that theres no fantastic elements. Its primarily the story of a Christian musical group from Los Angeles known as Olive U., although the reader also interacts with the pastor and some members of a small community Baptist church in Kansas. At the end, these two disparate groups come together for a Christmas celebration to remember.

This is pretty far from the type of fiction I usually read, which is mostly SF, Fantasy, Horror and Western. However, I enjoyed it. The characters are well crafted and likable. I would enjoy having some theological discussions with them. Such discussions would likely be lively in that I was raised Catholic while I believe this book primarily espouses a Baptist theological approach. A good thing about these characters is that they show themselves to be open to question and discussion, although very firm in their beliefs. All of them are well versed in the Bible. They are clearly portrayed as individuals who are striving to live the lives that they feel Christ wants them to live. But they are not shown as perfect.

The book inspired some far ranging discussion between my wife and I that kept us up until 3:30 in the morning. Gotta like when that happens, and a good thing I didn't have to go to work the next day.