Review: Almost Heaven by Chris Fabry

Almost Heaven

Almost Heaven by Chris Fabry is a wonderful example of what I think Christian Fiction should be.  First of all, Fabry is a top-notch wordsmith, a writer who uses words well, not only to tell a story but to set a mood.  Secondly, Almost Heaven is the story of a man's life, and that life includes spiritual struggles.  Those struggles are addressed in the book, indeed could even be the focus of the book, they are not tacked on as an extra that could easily have been omitted.  While in some ways it would be a shame to skip this book just because it is Christian fiction, on the other hand, it is an overt story of faith, and probably not something someone who doesn't care for religion would like. 

Almost Heaven is the story of Billy Allman and of an angel, Malachi, who has been sent to watch over Billy.  Billy is from Dogwood West Virginia and has lived a life filled with tragedy.  His life work ends up being a small low-powered AM Bluegrass Gospel radio station.  The chapters alternate between Billy and Malachi and in some ways the story is as much Malachi's as Billy's.  Malachi is having his own doubts about the One running the show after seeing things that happen to Billy (and after being called away from Billy at a time when something obviously happened).  

Fans of June Bug (my review) will enjoy seeing June Bug again but not having read that book will not cause you a problem with this one.  

I'd like to thank the Tyndale Blog Network for providing a complimentary review copy.  Grade:  A-

Emily's Chance

Emily's Chance: A Novel (The Callahans of Texas) is a heart-warming Christian Romance novel.

About the book: Emily Rose may be in the tiny West Texas town of Callahan Crossing for the moment, but it's just a rung on her ladder to success. Her work at the Callahan Crossing historical society will look good on her ever-growing resume as she attempts to break into the prestigious world of a big city museum curator. Little does she know cowboy and contractor Chance Callahan has decided that he can convince her to stay--both with the town and with him. As he helps Emily restore the town's history after a devastating fire, he also helps her uncover her own hidden worth and the value of love. The second book in THE CALLAHANS OF TEXAS series, Emily's Chance is a heartwarming story of letting love take the lead. Readers will come away wishing they lived in Callahan Crossing.

My Comments:  Since I really enjoyed the first book in the series, Jenna's Cowboy: A Novel (The Callahans of Texas) (see my review) I was pleased to accept when the publisher offered me a complimentary review copy of this one.  Like Jenna's Cowboy, Emily's Chance: A Novel (The Callahans of Texas) is a Western-themed Christian romance whose characters are real people with real flaws.  While the book contained some of what I'd term "gratuitous religion"--faith elements that serve no purpose in the plot but seem to be there solely to remind us that it is a Christian book--it wasn't overwhelming.  Emily is a young woman out to prove herself in a competitive world.  She doesn't need the money, but has picked a field--museum curator--where there are few plum spots, and she wants to prove to her parents that she can get one.    

After the fire that was the climax of Jenna's Cowboy Emily is invited to stay at the Callahan ranch, since her rental home was destroyed.  While there she falls in love not only with Chance but also with the whole family, whose life is about as different from her family's as possible.  Still, getting involved with Chance means giving up her dreams; is he worth it?  Chance is about as close to the perfect guy as possible without becoming too good to be true.  Sharon Gillenwater does a great job of showing the romance and sexual tension while remaining chaste.  As I've said before, that can be more romantic than a blow-by-blow of who does what to whom.  

Emily's Chance: A Novel (The Callahans of Texas) is a fun romance that I really enjoyed reading.  Grade:  B+  It is available October 2010 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Dismissed with Prejudice

Dismissed with Prejudice

About the Book:  Dismissed with Prejudice is a legal drama that deals with the dark side of a powerful university, major college sports and state government. At the urging of a wealthy businessman and booster with mafia ties, an assistant coach is fired under false pretenses. Landon Duhon, a smalltown lawyer, reads about it in the paper and becomes suspicious. It's the third assistant in the last seven years fired by the same multi-million-dollar head coach, a political schmoozer and philanderer. Duhon sends his colleague to investigate and slowly uncovers layer upon layer of fraud, corruption and backroom deals. The assistant's career is over regardless of the outcome, but he decides to sue for wrongful termination, setting in motion a legal battle that escalates into threats, violence and murder. The novel is a classic "little guy against the system" story with insight into the bureaucracy, legal environment, and corrupting influence of money in the university and political arena.

My Comments: This legal thriller, set at LSU, has a good basic storyline -- big money big time college basketball coach sets up assistant to take the fall for a recruiting violation, and assistant does not go quietly into that good night, but rather fights and finds out exactly how crooked things are in Tigertown.  The writing however leaves something to be desired--I suspect a good editor could have helped this self-published novel. Still if you are a sports fan who likes legal thrillers, you may enjoy this one, especially if you like those that feature south Louisiana.

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Hi, and welcome to Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival. This is Catholic blogger's weekly chance to share our best posts with each other.  To participate, go to your blog and create a post titled Sunday Snippets.  In it highlight and link to one or more of your posts from this week.  Also include a link to this post.  Then come back here and sign Mr Linky giving a link to your post.  Finally, visit the blogs of other participants and leave comments!

Another week when I've been going crazy with real life rather than blogging.  My son's high school ring day was this week, and I need to write about it, and will, I just haven't gotten there yet.  I have a few book reviews this week, but nothing exceptional or Catholic.  What about you?  How is blogging for you?