Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Hello, and welcome to Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival. We are a group of Catholic bloggers who gather weekly to share our best posts with each other. To participate, go to your blog and create a post titled Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival. In it, discuss and link to your posts for the week--whether they deal with theology, Catholic living or cute Catholic kids. I'm mostly a book blogger so my posts are generally book reviews, some Catholic, some not. Make sure that post links back here. Once you publish it, come back here and leave a link below.

We also have a yahoogroup; signing up for it will get you one weekly reminder to post.  Click here to sign up.

Today I spent the morning selling Girl Scout cookies.  After ten years, I have to admit, it has lost its allure; however it is good for the girls to earn money to do what they want to do.  Tomorrow my family is getting together to celebrate by Dad's 84th birthday.  There was a while this fall I didn't think I'd see this day come, so we can thank God for this year with Dad.  This week also marked seven years since my Mom passed away.  I still miss her; I guess I always will.  

Only one post since we last got to together:  Grave Consequences is a historical Christian romance, and the tour gives you a chance to win a mini-I-Pad.

Blog Tour: Grave Consequences

Grave Consequences: A Novel (Grand Tour Series)

About the Book:

For Cora Kensington, the journey of a lifetime takes unexpected twists. And her future—her very life—depends on the decisions she’ll make at each crossroad. As her European tour with her newfound family takes her through Austria, France, and Italy, an unseen enemy trails close behind. Meanwhile, a forbidden love continues to claim her heart, putting everyone’s plans in danger.

And as Cora stays one step ahead of it all, what might need the most protection is her own heart, torn between the dramatic pursuit of a dashing Frenchman and a man who has been quietly staking claim to her affections all along. Love has dangers all its own. She must escape the bonds of the past and discover the faith to make the right choices, as each one has grave consequences.

My Comments:

I enjoyed the first book in this series (my review) and Cora and her three suitors are back, along with most of the other main characters from Grand Illusions.  Another attractive interesting man is also important to this episode.  That's my only real complaint about this book, this series--it is a series of episodes in the same story rather than a bunch of lightly related stories.  Without completing the series, the reader is left wondering what she missed.  That may be good for selling books, but as a reader, I prefer a complete plot arc, including resolution, in the books I buy.  On the positive side, the descriptions of the local and time period are lush, the characters are interesting and the plot is engaging.  Grade:  B.

Thanks to Litfuse for providing a complimentary review copy.  I was not obligated to write a positive review.

Blog Tour:

Celebrate the release of Grave Consequences with Lisa T. Bergren by entering to win an iPad Mini!

One "grand" winner receive:

• A brand new iPad Mini
• Grave Consequences and Glamorous Illusions will be pre-loaded onto the Mini!

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on March 23rd. Winner will be announced on March 25th at Lisa's website.

Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning.

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Hello, and welcome to Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival. We are a group of Catholic bloggers who gather weekly to share our best posts with each other. To participate, go to your blog and create a post titled Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival. In it, discuss and link to your posts for the week--whether they deal with theology, Catholic living or cute Catholic kids. I'm mostly a book blogger so my posts are generally book reviews, some Catholic, some not. Make sure that post links back here. Once you publish it, come back here and leave a link below.

We also have a yahoogroup; signing up for it will get you one weekly reminder to post.  Click here to sign up.

Well, it's been quite a week.  A week ago tonight I was at my Dad's house with my family, visiting with a cousin I haven't seen since I was a senior in high school.  It is amazing how much he's changed in ?? years.  Still it was fun seeing him and catching up on his siblings.  One neat thing about the internet/facebook is that it makes it easy to keep up with a lot of people.  

The middle of the week brought sorrow.  A young man whose family has been close to mine had surgery for a brain tumor.  At first everyone was hopeful, however the next facebook messages announced his death.  Please pray for R's soul and for comfort for the P family.

This weekend was a high.  My daughter has selected Northwestern State University of Louisiana as her college.  This weekend was Senior Day; their big recruiting effort.  There were about 400 kids there today; about 30, including my daughter were invited to a reception at the President's house last night.  We had our picture taken with President Webb, chatted with other top students and staff.  Today my daughter got a chance to take tests to bypass a couple of freshman class.  We'll find out in a couple of weeks whether she passed or not.  She also participated in an application session for their freshman leadership program, which, if she gets in, will add another small scholarship to her list.  

So what about blogging?  Several pre-written posts published this week, so even though my reading/blogging time has been limited, it looks like I spent a lot of time on it this week.  My reviews were:

The Chance:  Christian fiction about old loves who promised to meet again

How to Retire Happy

Three Sisters:  Women's fiction about the lives and loves of three neighbors

David Sticker Book:  About King David 

Review: The Chance

The Chance: A Novel

About the Book:

Dubbed the “Queen of Christian Fiction” by Time magazine, #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Karen Kingsbury is arguably America’s favorite inspirational novelist with a dozen bestsellers to her credit. In The Chance, she delves deeply into a theme that resonates with us all: It’s never too late for those willing to take a chance.

Years ago, the day before Ellie moved from Georgia to California, she and her best friend Nolan sat beneath the Spanish moss of an ancient oak tree where they wrote letters to each other, and sealed them in a rusty old metal box. The plan was to return eleven years later and read them. But now, as that date arrives, much has changed. Ellie, bereft of the faith she grew up with, is a single mom living in a tired apartment trying to make ends meet. Sometimes she watches television to catch a glimpse of her old friend —Nolan, now an NBA star, whose terrible personal tragedies fueled his faith and athletic drive in equal measure. But Nolan also suffers from a transcendent loneliness that nothing has ever eased.

In their separate lives, as Ellie and Nolan move toward the possibility of a reunion at the oak tree, Kingsbury weaves a tale of heart-wrenching loss, the power of faith, and the wounds that only love can heal.

My Comments:

This book is prototypical Karen Kingsbury.  It is a heartwarming story that plays on readers' emotions.  It is filled with faith content and is as much about characters' spiritual journeys as it is about their relationships with each other.  The moral of the story is clearly that forgiveness is necessary not only for eternal life but also for happiness in this world.  Kingsbury is also telling her readers that while believers may have to endure suffering in this world, in the end, even in this world, God will work it all out for the best.  Those who like a lot of faith with their fiction will enjoy this story; those who like a more subtle approach or who don't like religious stories should pass.  

Thanks to the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.  Grade:  B.