Book Review: The Spoils of Eden

When my friend Jill Hart of CWAHM.com sent out an email asking for people to renew Linda Lee Chaikin's book, The Spoils of Eden, from Moody Publishers, I jumped at the chance. I love fiction and am an avid reader, so it seemed like a good fit.

Let me state up front that this is a historical romance and that is not my favorite genre. I personally prefer mystery and suspense, and the only historical era that interests me in fiction is the 1940's. So this book will probably receive a much better review from someone who absolutely loves this genre and this era.

The Spoils of Eden is set in 1891 Hawaii, an independent nation struggling with the possibility of becoming a state and ending its long history of monarchy. The heroine, Eden Derrington, is a young nurse who is determined to abandon the man she loves to help her father, a well-known doctor, fulfill his dream of starting a clinic on a leper colony. His goal is to assuage his guilt over Eden's mother acquiring leprosy while assisting him years before. Eden's goal is to finally get her father's attention. And she's willing to sacrifice everything to do so.

A sub-plot of the story, though touted as the plot itself on the publisher's review, is that Rafe Easton, Eden's estranged fiance, has acquired a young child, born of a leper, and plans to adopt him. Eden, on the other hand, is on a mission from the Hawaii Board of Health to send the baby to the leper colony where he legally belongs. The story is filled with battles of the will between Rafe and Eden, the Derrington patriach and other characters, and even Eden's own battles within.

Even when I receive a book free as I did this one, I am determined to give an honest review. And while I would like to say I fell in love with this book, I can't honestly say that. For the most part, it is well-written, but there are several instances where the author's presence becomes felt as she reverts to "telling" to give information rather than "showing," which is what fiction is about.

Having read dozens of books on writing well, and being that avid reader I mentioned, I'm the first to admit that I'm a critical reader. No book that interrupts my suspension of disbelief will ever receive five stars from me.

With that said, this is a decent book. For those who especially enjoy historical novels, this would be a good pick. The characters are well rounded and true to nature (though part of my problem, too, is that I'm not crazy about Eden—I think she needs to grow up and be a woman instead of trying to be "daddy's little girl," but that's another issue). And I do like the hero, Rafe. He's strong, dependable, and is a very likeable character.

All in all, I'd give the book three stars and add that if you do like historical fiction, and you can get past the historical facts interrupting the story, you might really enjoy this book.

Purchase The Spoils of Eden.

Book Review: Beguiled by Deanne Gist and J. Mark Bertrand

Deanne Gist, the author of two previous books, and J. Mark Bertrand, awaiting publication of his first, met in a writer's critique group and jokingly spoke of collaborating on a book. Having sprung the idea of a joint book on Mark, Deanne fully expected him to resist the idea. But he jumped on the chance, and Beguiled was born.

This is the story of Rylee Monroe, a young woman who was raised by her now-senile grandmother after her father disappeared and her mother died suddenly of an overdose of sleeping pills. Desiring to give her "Nonie" the best care possible, Rylee starts her own business walking dogs and caring for the pets of the well-to-do, animals she loves and are who give her the only sense of "family" that she has.

When a thief, dubbed the Robin Hood burglar by the media, begins to target the homes of Rylee's clients, she becomes the prime suspect in the robberies. And it seems the only ones on her side are her attorney, a long-time family friend, and a reporter, Logan Woods... and she's not so sure about Logan. Does he really care, or is he just looking for a scoop?

Beguiled is exactly my kind of book! It has suspense, intrigue, romance, a strong yet vulnerable heroine and hero... all the things my favorite books contain. And while I received this book from Bethany House to review, it's exactly the kind I search for when I purchase a new book (which is often).

I've read every book by both Dee Henderson and Terri Blackstock—my two favorite authors—and I can only hope that the team of Gist and Bertrand become as prolific in their writing. I can assure you, I'll be buying every one of theirs as well.

This one gets Five Stars, hands down!

Purchase Beguiled.

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Members of Animal Kingdom See Need for Attitude Adjustment

Enjoy this guest post from Greg Miller and visit his website to let him know you saw him on Christian Daily Blog!

Several members of the animal kingdom met in the center of the forest to discuss each other’s faults.

Kang A. Roo complained to Stink E. Skunk about a certain odor that the little black-and-white critter occasionally shared with everyone.

“You must do something about that terrible smell,” said Kang. “It’s polluting my air space.”

“You’re always hopping mad about something,” said Stink.

“Yeah,” agreed Dear the Deer. “ And we think you need a slight attitude adjustment.”

“What sort of an attitude adjustment do you have in mind?,” asked Kang.

“Oh, nothing too severe,” said Stink. “I think we should have you spell out ‘My attitude needs adjusting’ in the dirt 500 times.”

Several other animals joined the discussion and aired their own ideas for changing Kang’s attitude.

Buzz Ard dropped in to look for a snack that she was hoping had fallen on the ground. Overhearing the conversation, she suggested that Kang could change his attitude by doing a good deed for at least one animal every day. “If you’re thinking of others, you won’t be thinking of yourself as much,” she said. “And that may result in a transformation of your attitude.”

“I have an idea,” said Stripe the Tiger. “I think you should spend a whole day walking around the forest looking for animals that are wounded. You can take them to the animal hospital. You’ll gain a fabulous feeling on the inside, and I think your attitude will be changed, too.”

Goe Ferr was the next animal to offer a solution to Kang’s problem. “My idea is for you to give some of your Animal Forest Animal Kash to help repair the Animal Forest Elementary School,” said Goe Ferr.

Kang felt he had heard enough ideas to rehabilitate his attitude. “I’ve had a very long day, and I’m going home, have a relaxing dinner and go to bed,” he said. “But I’ll listen to one more suggestion before I leave.”

Leopard was eager to make her voice heard. “I have a question and a suggestion,” she said. “My question is, ‘Do you really want to change?’”

“Well, I don’t really see that my attitude is a very big problem, so I don’t plan to change it much anytime soon,” Kang replied.

“Then it will do no good to share my suggestion, because as I know very well, it is impossible for a leopard to change its spots, so I guess it‘s impossible for a kangaroo to change a hopping-mad attitude,” said Leopard.

“OK, I may need a very small attitude adjustment,” Kang admitted. “But since all of you seem to be so concerned about my attitude, I think your attitude needs an attitude adjustment!”

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To contact Greg Miller for speaking engagements or puppet ministry, please email kidcool4jesus@yahoo.com

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