This book is in a league of it's own!
596243
It's almost hard to put into words how wonderful this book was! I felt a humbleness from Julie Ferwerda that was refreshing and enticing. Her heart to simply understand our great calling as parents and the Christian community will not be missed on these pages. You'll fall in love with her stories, you'll be broken by the truth, you'll be wishing there were more pages at the end!
Read it if you want direction in parenting. Read it if you want to be spurred onto the greater call of the Christian life.. just read it!!
4969657
Mr. Betley's first book in the series was excellent, the second pretty good, and this one I'm afraid to say will not have me desperate for the fourth. The author has huge potential, but the quality of the writing is following the wrong trajectory. The book reads like a video game, where the characters routinely pull off literally unbelievable physical stunts, rarely miss a shot and never stop moving long enough for us to really learn about them in any depth. Aspects of the book are very well done; duplicitous loyalties, deep state conspiracies and bro-man banter. If you are just looking for a fun guns-blazing romp this will deliver. I'd really like to see Mr. Betley reach his full potential on book four, I'm rooting for him. He is clearly a talented new author.
485198
I have been a fan of John Grisham since his first novel and have read everything he's written. I really like this particular genre and Grisham's books normally engage me from the start. 'The Associate' was no exception. I read the entire book hungrily, waiting for what I was sure would be a stunning conclusion. But on finishing the book, I was left with many questions and a feeling that I had been slightly cheated.

Why spend 384 pages capturing every detail of this young attorney's experience and then not give the reader a satisfying ending? Who was behind the whole scheme? Did Kyle just fade into the York PA sunset never to be heard from again? Who was the other insider at the firm? Another 25 pages or so could have wrapped this up tidily.

The detail of a young associate's first year at a big law firm was enough to make me happy I hadn't chosen a career in law!

Someone who had read this book before me (it was from the library) actually did some editing! I had to laugh. There were several places where Grisham had his characters' names mixed up and the person had carefully crossed out the incorrect name and written in the right one. Those kinds of errors are inexcusable in a book from someone with Grisham's reputation. Was there only one edit? If a casual reader could find these errors, why couldn't the editor?

Oh well. I liked this book well enough and will not cross John Grisham off my list of favorite authors just yet. I'm glad he's returned to the genre where he does his best work too. 'Playing for Pizza' was a big mistake!!!
3088318
Mark St. Amant has put together an enjoyable book that takes us through his year as a full-time fantasy football junkie.  But this book is also more than that. Mr. St. Amant is a skilled writer who provides great descriptions of how he quit his job and convinced his bride to go along with his plan.  He weaves in the interesting history of fantasy sports and introduces us to a cast of characters from across America who share this hobby with millions of other Americans.

It's a fun book and an excellent first effort by a pretty talented writer.  Definately worth a read and the perfect "vacaction" book.
2431773
At times it can seem overwhelming, the amount of information in this one book.  But I could not put it down!  Great job; I will be reading again during the baseball season since one reading isn't enough for me to retain all the info.  Fun read though; it'll become traditional baseball season reading for me!
3751498
Truly, a fun book to read, I read through the night, finally had to put it down and finished it the next day.
There are a LOT of characters and they flit in and out of the story; more cameo's than anything and yet they are introduced as important characters, only to disappear.
The story line is plausible, but the paragraph development is disjointed.  A few paragraphs on one subject, then suddenly jumping to another which leaves the reader a little confused.  More than once I had to go back and reread something because it wasn't clear.
The end of the story though is really weird, and here is where I will cite something directly from the book, so if you don't want to know STOP HERE!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Near the end of the book, the rescue scene, the hero climbs up to the balcony, only to be followed by his brother and Sister!!  How is the sister, in a long gown going to climb anything much less up a building to a balcony.  From there the other good guy "leapt" from the other balcony...Seriously!!

The close of the book, everyone loved everyone and all was good...and all unexplained.  Just a little to contrived.

I think that this author has a good idea and a good start, but this book could have been so much more had she taken the time to flesh out the characters and story line.  Sometimes less is more, but this time less is just less.
3911993
Another great League novel. This one will have you laughing out loud so much. I could not stop laughing with all the sarcasm, the exchanges between these guys and many other parts. I love the characters. Glad that you get more of Talyn and Fain is someone you will fall in love with also. Many of the old characters make an appearance as well. If you haven't read the books prior to this one, then you will be overwhelmed with all the characters and trying to get them all straight. However, if you have read them all then you will be happy to have all the characters show up.
Exciting story and will keep you wanting more. By the end you will have a whole new perspective to think about. Can't wait for the next one!
3810501
I'll save you time and words (which you'll need to read this monster of a book): this is a masterpiece written by one of the most knowledgeable fans around.

This was clearly a labor of love, as Mr. Simmons goes into detail of how he became a fan, talks about his top moments, players, and teams, re-designs the Hall of Fame, and creates his own "Dream Team".  At the end of the day, even if you may not agree with his take on everyone (Shaq and Wilt fans in particular might be less than pleased), you can appreciate the passion and work that was put into this book.

Buy it, read it, love it!
1121050
I didn't know much about arena football, but the classic football season is here and this book is worth a read. Some of us are "football widows" during the season and this is just the thing to keep us occupied other than bringing snacks and beer! I do like how Shanna described herself sitting and thinking, "What if" because that is when GREAT ideas happen and this certainly was a great idea! I'm just not sure that "sweet" would be the first adjective that comes to my mind when describing this. It is love which is totally caught off sides, there are flags thrown around every play, but in true Shanna style you can count on a TOUCHDOWN at the end! I also can't put the book under a "Christian" classification. I wish Shanna would have included our Heavenly Referee to resolve some of the conflicts. Dinner time Grace  isn't enough to put it in that classification in my opinion. You will NOT be embarrassed to read it, no bad language, etc, Great job, Shanna!
2585159
As an attorney, author and genuine sports nut, I have enjoyed reading Mr. Ham's sports column in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. From the description, I was hoping it would be a book not unlike some other  histories of sports that have been great reads; books such as "The  League," about the NFL, and John Helyar's incomparable "Lords of  the Realm," one of the best (and funniest sports books ever written.  It didn't quite measure up to those works, but had one problem that I  couldn't have possibly imagined when I started it.  By definition, any  book of history, sports or otherwise, is fact-oriented. Either events  happened or they didn't. It is extraordinarily exasperating when one reads  a historically premised book and finds out that the author is simply wrong  on certain facts. Within the first 10 pages of the first chapter, Mr. Ham  makes at least three blunders that any factchecker would have spotted.  Buddy Ryan was not fired by the Bears in January 1986, he took the Eagles  head coaching job two days after Super Bowl XX. Wilbur Marshall was not  "dumped" by the Bears, he signed with the Redskins as a free  agent. Mr. Ham quotes from a prominent Chicago sportswriter and places him  with the wrong newspaper.  None of this detracts from the story Mr. Ham  has to tell which he does with flair and interest. It is just that this is  not a book for the casual fan, it is for the reader with a keen interest  (and presumably) a background in the NBA and the business of sports. It is  precisely that type of reader who will see such errors and stop reading to  wonder how such an experienced author as Mr. Ham could have written such a  good book but missed a few easy lay-ups with the facts.
1690661
A friend suggested that I read this book for a book club discussion and since it had some good reviews I ordered it. Boy, am I glad I bought it.

Doing His Time by Nichelle Walker is just a hot mess from the beginning! Emerald who is only 15 or 16 when the story begins goes out for her birthday and ends up landing the attention of big baller, shot caller, Dollar - who happens to be about twice her age. He picks her up the next morning and drops 1600 dollars on clothes and shoes for her and the rest is a wrap. He gives her everything a young broke girl could dream of and boosts her head up until she starts believing that everybody is out to get him or is jealous of her. Even down to blasting her grandmother and leaving home to live with Dollar. All is good in her new hood with money, sex and status, until Dollar starts making her run some drops for him. Uh oh...this is when the book starts to really take you on a ride.

Doing His time got better and better as the book progressed. I've never read a book that was so engaging that I didn't care about typos or grammar snafus, but that Emerald got a hold of me in the first chapter and didn't let me go until the last word in this book. I read the book in a few hours and I'm ready to read Money Over Men!! Get on it Nichelle :-) I gotta see what she is going to do to Dollar and her sister.

Simply said, PAGE TURNA

Waiting on the sequel!

Shani Greene-Dowdell

<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Keepin-It-Tight/dp/0615150748/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Keepin' It Tight</a>

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1892345
Wow.  There is so much packed into this book that Im not even sure where to start.  I was afraid as I got into it that it was going to mirror the first book, where Elsie couldn't get past her dead husband, it seemed that Cailyn was going to spend the whole time trying to figure out if she could move past her fiance and explore the ties she felt to Jace.  Then there was the issue of what happened to Jace when he was a prisoner to make him so dark and unwilling to acknowledge Cailyn as his Fated Mate.  I will warn you now, however  if you are sensitive to scenes of troll sex, this is NOT the story for you!  As you can figure out, theres some humor in these stories, some smexiness and lots of paranormal twists and turns!  The characters  and I mean CHARACTERS  from the first book are back again, and the layers of the Tehrex Realm and the battle therein continues to build and leaves this reader anxiously awaiting the next segment of the story!
4874400
Ready for something off the beaten path?  This was a really great change of pace in a book.  I picked this book up because I have been a lifelong Cleveland Brown's fan, one who lives in northern Indiana.  Too I wanted to revisit John Grisham as it had been several years since I picked up one of his books.  I still remember reading "The Firm" my first Grisham book and how the pages flew by.  This is a little different from his normal pen, and quite a breath of fresh air.  I would even recommend this book for those of the opposite sex and those partners who hate football.  She might even find herself wanting to sneak a peak at football after reading the book!  The story finds itself revolving around Rick Dockery who is a 3rd string Quarterback for the Cleveland Browns.  Basically he enters the title game after an injury to the other two Quarterbacks ahead of him on the NFL roster.  I will let you read what takes place in the book, but basically it leads to Rick's downfall in the NFL, and an agent who has a tough time finding him a gig after the downfall.  Soon Rick is out of the country and playing Quarterback for a foreign pro team "The Parma Panthers" in Italy.  What enspires is a coming of age book and Rick finding himself not just in the game of football.  Along the way you get a flair for the life in a foreign country, tasting the food, seeing the sights, learning the customs and ways, and even a little romance is thrown in.  I never had much of a desire to travel abroad, but this book makes me think twice on that stance as I love the tastes and sights set forth in this book.  I really felt as though I could smell and taste the tantalizing food set on the tables before the players.  Not only that, but could see the sights taken in by our main character and hear the language.  If your ready to embark on a trip to Italy, and learn a little about the food, and perhaps even learn a little about our innner selves as we can feel the dissapointments of our main character, then pick up this book and score a touchdown then savor the moment when you finish it.  Quite a delightful read and perhaps one of my favorites of Grisham.
3267758
It definitely shows that it is a self-published work, in that it could have used some good editing and stylistic choices are a little odd at times, but overall its good. Each chapter chronicles one year of the league, with league business opening the chapter, followed by a short summary of league play and finishing with descriptions of the Stanley Cup challenges. Bowsley did a lot of research here, going into city and newspaper archives to chronicle the full history of the league, which has never been done before at this scope. He also includes a full appendix at the end which includes the stats of every PCHA player, as well as scoring summaries of each year, and other various stats that are relevant.
2749483
This was just a heck of a lot of fun.

Take the sport of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fighting and combine it with Virtual Realty gaming and a little bit of <em>Tron</em>, and you get Holly Jennings' book <em>Arena</em>.

It is the year 2054 and Virtual gladiator-style fighting is big business.  Bigger than today's Super Bowl or Stanley Cup.  The fighters are super star celebrities whose whereabouts and goings-on are constant tabloid news.

While it is virtual fighting, the gamers experience their own deaths nearly every week (unless they are the fortunate few who are at the top and don't take a loss) and those deaths - usually a hacking or decapitation - are broadcast on network television.  This can take a toll on the players - imagine feeling your own death a thousand times! - who resort to drugs and alcohol to get them through.

One of the hottest teams in the RAGE League tournament series is Team Defiance - one of the few teams with female players.  That two of the women are having a lesbian affair and one (Kali Ling) is sleeping with her teammate, Nathan.  This is all big news for Virtual Gaming League  and RAGE followers!

But Defiance is knocked down in a big way by a team that has come out of nowhere, Team InvictUS.  All of Defiance is killed in record time and they are sent to the losers bracket in the RAGE Tournament. The team's owner calls Kali in for a meeting where he explains that he making her the team captain.  Defiance never had an individual leader, but the recent loss shows that they need one.  It's also good for the owner's publicity to have the first ever female team leader.

Shortly after that, Defiance is met with another loss - the loss of Nathan, who dies in a drug overdose.

Defiance slowly pulls together, which is made even more difficult with the inclusion of a new teammate who seems to have trouble taking direction from a woman. But the game has now changed for Kali.  She has two goals now ... to get the team back on a winning streak, and to make sure the public knows about the rampant drug problem in gaming - the problem that killed Nathan.

As I wrote at the beginning, this was just a heck of a lot of fun to read.  Author Holly Jennings really brings the reader into the action and we can easily picture the game-style fighting that's going on.  She's also done a really nice job of telling a story and making this about more than just virtual gaming.  The drive to keep Nathan's memory alive and to let the world know about the problem of drug abuse in gaming feels a little bit forced, though it does make for a more complete story than just the constant fighting.

The relationship between Kali and the new team member seems pretty obvious from the very start, but Jennings works it nicely, even though we all know what's going to happen.

Having had fun here, I do want to read the follow-up!

Looking for a good book? <em>Arena</em>, by Holly Jennings, is a swift-action story of virtual gaming, life, death, and the path to winning.  It is a lot of fun and highly recommended.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
3246635
At least one time in the book, the author makes the reader suspect every character!  I do not recommend books to friends very often, but this one is making the rounds at work!  And everyone is saying the same thing....everyone could be the suspect!
3581313
Wow, there is quite the debate in here regarding this tome. Well, I want to add my two coppers to the mix. Is this book not as thrilling as the others? Perhaps. Is this series going to become another Wheel of Time? Come on! Stop crying out "Another Robert Jordan!" I agree that Martin is clearly in love with his world, and it seems that, yes, he has written a very self-indulgent book. But the sheer imagination of his tale is incredible. He is taking us on a journey through his world, focusing not just on major characters but the "smallfolk" as well. Again, is this perhaps an example of the author drooling over his creation? Could be. But people, I think if you hold to faith and wait for the next book, you will see the action picking back up. And for all of you crying over how you can't keep track of the characters, you should have all discovered by now that, with these books, you need to remember that you don't have to memorize every character in exacting detail. There is a trick to it that Martin readers should have learned while reading the first book. In the end, I give this 4 stars because I like being taken on a trip to a fantastic world like Martin's, one that is clearly beloved by the author. BUT, there were points even for me that dragged. To one and all, to each his or her own, right? Let's all agree to disagree. Happy reading!