New Wings by Donna Stanley

Donna has a teenage daughter who loves to read about the supernatural. When she couldn't find a suitable book for her daughter that wasn't about vampires and witches, she decided to write one herself.

This is a great book for teens. It reminded me of the Peretti books because we readers get to see the angels and demons at work. Seventeen year old Olivia is the heroine (named after Donna's daughter). She can see her guardian angel, Mike. He protects her several times and encourages her in her prayer life. Olivia finds that there are other people, although few, who can see into the spirit realm as she can.

Donna tackles some important issues for teens in this novel. Be prepared. The novel covers some serious topics, like cutting , date rape, bullying, and other issues confronting teens today. Some of the scenes are descriptive (although nothing I found offensive). Because of the serious nature of the topics in this novel, I would recommend it to older teens, juniors and seniors in high school. I think it might be a bit much for younger teens.

The lessons Olivia learns in this novel are many. Perhaps the most prominent is the importance of prayer. Olivia and her friends pray, responding to the prompting of the Holy Spirit and release the angels to do their work. What an encouragement to teens to pray, knowing that they are taking part in the spiritual warfare going on around them.

Whenever there is fiction about the supernatural, I pay particular attention. I am very happy with Donna's novel. Theologically, I think it is right on.

I really enjoyed this novel. If you would like a novel for your teen to read that is a page turner as well as instructive and encouraging, this is the novel.

Donna Stanley lives in the beautiful Endless Mountains of northeastern

Pennsylvania with her husband and their teenage daughter. She attended Philadelphia Biblical University, Moody Bible Institute, and Mansfield University, where she studied angelology, demonology, and the anthropology of religion. She was a youth leader for ten years and a pastor's wife for sixteen years. She now serves as a young adult mentor and leader in her local church. Find out more at www.donnastanley.com.

Creation House, 240 pages.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from a media group for the purpose of this review.

Magnificent Malevolence by Derek Wilson

It has been fifty years since the death of C. S. Lewis and over seventy years since he introduced us to The Screwtape Letters. Wilson felt the fiftieth anniversary of Lewis' death was an appropriate occasion for a “Hell update.” It is the same war but the weapons and the tactics are different.

The style is a bit different from The Screwtape Letters, which were, well, letters. This novel is mostly descriptive narrative. Another difference between the two books is that this one covers the work of the devils over the seventy years since Screwtape and the church as a whole whereas The Screwtape Letters concentrated on a rather short period of time and one person being tempted.

So, this book is different in style, different in content, and different in emphasis from the one it says it is “in the tradition of.” I would not describe it that way. It is a valiant attempt but the style and content are so different from the original, I would not say it is in the same tradition. Same subject, perhaps, but not same tradition.

So the book covers the nearly seven decades from 1942 to 2007 (where the account breaks off). Crumblewit, the main character, says their aim is to undermine the attempt of Christians to bring love, peace, and justice to bear on world events and to carry out the mission entrusted to them by Jesus. One of their most successful ploys has been to distort Christian truths. They also discourage Christians from thinking, encourage getting ineffective people in places of power in churches, increase suspicion and hostility between denominations, prevent church members from actually doing anything, divert the energy of Christians to the political arena, get Christians to accumulate wealth, use Christian music to cause discord, get them distracted with dates of Christ's return, and generally keep Christians obsessed with their short stay in the material world.

This book is very informative as to how the devil has worked in the last several decades. For seniors, it brings back many memories. For younger Christians, it is a good introduction as to how the church has bounced around, succumbing to distracting movements and beliefs.

The Screwtape Letters is a hard act to follow. A Christian learns much about how the devil tempts Christians individually in it. This novel is more about movements and beliefs, in general, and not about personal or individual temptations (although Crumblewit does give some personal examples). This is not the best I've read “in the Screwtape tradition.”

Derek Wilson is a popular historian and the author of over 50 books. He has written and presented numerous television programs. He lives and writes in Devon, UK.

Lion Fiction (distributed in the U. S. by Kregel Books), 240 pages.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of this review.

Sleeping in Eden by Nicole Baart

This is a haunting novel.

When the rural sheriff and local doctor respond to the suicide of a fellow known to be a recluse and somewhat strange, they accidentally find another body – buried in the floor of the barn.

From this opening, Baart weaves two stories. The reader follows them in alternating chapters. The one story is in the present and follows the doctor and his attempt to find the identity of the young girl found buried. The other story is from the past and follows a girl as she grows up through high school.

The novel is haunting because you think you know that the two stories must intersect. You just don't know how.

Although the novel is generally well written, I did have a couple issues with it. I thought the epilogue unreasonable. The family apparently waited at least two months to have the graveside service for the recovered body. I don't think they would wait that long. The other unreasonable aspect of the epilogue was the drastic change in the relationship between the doctor and his wife. While readers are given many, details about the troubled marriage earlier in the novel, poof, at the end, all is changed – in about two months.

My biggest disappointment is the lack of Christian influence in the book. A couple of the characters “used to go to church” or something, but that was about it. There was so much potential in the novel for readers to be confronted with the power and comfort of the gospel. But it was not there. (I expected Christianity because the novel is published under the Christian imprint of Simon & Schuster, Howard Books.)

Yes, it is a haunting novel. It also left me dissatisfied.

Nicole Baart was born and raised in a small town in Iowa. She and her husband have three young sons. After the adoption of their infant son, Nicole discovered a deep passion for global issues and co-founded a nonprofit organization, One Body One Hope, that works alongside a church and orphanage in Monrovia, Liberia.

Howard Books (the Christian imprint of Simon & Schuster), 368 pages.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of this review.

Francis: Man of Prayer by Mario Escobar

Many people were surprised when Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, a Latin American man virtually unknown among the majority of Catholics, became Pope Francis. To help us know what this might mean for the Catholic Church, Escobar explores the life and thoughts of one of the most powerful men in the world.

Bergoglio was born in 1936 into a family that had immigrated to Buenos Aires from Piedmont, Italy in 1929. As a teen, his heart was torn between a girlfriend and the priesthood. But when he was sixteen, he experienced a spiritual calling during confession. He broke up with his girlfriend and four years later entered seminary, choosing the Order of Jesuits. Escobar reviews his academic life and his experiences in Argentina during dictatorship.

He became a bishop at age 55 and archbishop in 1997 (he declined to live in the luxurious archbishop's palace and still took public transportation). He was ordained as cardinal in 2001. He quickly became well known and respected in the hierarchy of the Catholic Church.

Escobar reviews the founding of the Society of Jesus in the sixteenth century, its history and theology. I didn't realize that, according to the rules of the Society of Jesus, any member who is named bishop ceases to be under the order's jurisdiction, or as Arregi said, ceases to be a Jesuit.

Other insights Escobar offers include how the papal electoral system evolved and currently works, a review of recent conclaves, Pope Benedict XVI's resignation, the choice of Francis for his name, the issues confronting the Pope, the possible impact of being the first Pope from the Americas and of being the first from the Jesuits, and more.

He ends his book with a number of quotes from Pope Francis and a chronology.

For a Protestant like me, this is a great introduction to Pope Francis and what his time at leading the Catholic Church may bring. I appreciated the historical information in the book too. The book is concise and would be of benefit to anyone wanting to know more about the current Pope and the future of the Catholic Church.

Mario Escobar has written about the Inquisition, the Reformation, and religious sects. He contributes to various publications. For more information see www.marioescobar.es.

Thomas Nelson, 224 pages. Publisher's product page.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher for the purpose of this review.

The Cat That God Sent by Jim Kraus

As someone who lives in a multi-cat household, does God really use a cat to help people? Oh, that's right. This is fiction!

Seriously, this is a fun book to read, whether you are a cat lover or not. Jake Wilkerson was let go from his previous associate pastor position because he expressed doubts about his belief in God. He landed a new pastoral position in a small Pennsylvania town by keeping his doubts a secret.

The day he arrives at the rural church, the one with the crooked steeple, a cat shows up too. Jake doesn't know it, but that cat is on a mission from God. Jake decides to let the cat stay and that changes him and the entire community.

This is a cleverly written novel. The cat, Petey, knows people don't learn from words. They learn by experience. So Petey helps humans find the truth, then they can feel they found it all on their own.

I loved the quirky characters in this rural town! Some of those back woods people...well, you'll just have to read the novel. I was fascinated to see how some of those hardened characters were softened by a cat.

There are several themes Kraus weaves through the book. Keeping secrets is a big one. Another is the difficulty of having a good image of God as Father when you don't have a good image of your own (earthly) father. And the last one is about abortion.

One aspect of the novel was less than perfect. Characters in the novel kept talking about belief in God (including Jake, the pastor). There is never a firm statement about belief in Jesus as Savior. That makes this book acceptable to lots of God-believers but does nothing to inform the reader about the need for salvation through Jesus Christ.

The Cat That God Sent was nominated for the 2013 ECPA book of the year.

I am taking part in a blog tour of this book. You can read more reviews here.

Jim Kraus grew up in Western Pennsylvania and has spent the last twenty years as vice president of a major Christian publishing house. He has written more than twenty books, including the best-selling The Dog That Talked to God. He and his family live outside of Chicago with a miniature Schnauzer and an ill-tempered Siberian cat named (of course) Petey. Learn more about Jim at www.jimkraus.com.

Abingdon Press, 336 pages. Please visit your local Christian bookstore to purchase this book.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher for the purpose of this review.

Crushed by J. Shan Young, MD

I have never read a book like this before – an enhanced ebook. I think what I just experienced is the future of book publishing.

First, the format of the book. I read this book on my iPad, as it was an iTunes book. There are videos embedded in the text. Tap the arrow and a short video by Dr. Young runs. There are also highlighted words, words in color. Tap on one of them and I was immediately taken to an article or some other resource on that topic. You would have to be reading the book in a wi-fi environment for those links to work.

This format was amazing. If I didn't know a technical word, tap, and there was a Wikipedia article.

Second, the content of the book. The full title of this book is Crushed: A Physician Analyzes the Agony of Jesus. I have never read such a complete study on the Passion of Jesus. First he lays the historical and biblical background. He relates a great deal of the Old Testament to the Passion. He includes the stories and ceremonies, not just the prophecies.

Then he investigates the actual Passion of Christ. The amount of information in this book is incredible. I have never read anything so detailed as to the physical experiences of Jesus during His Passion. He suggests Jesus' torture was much worse than those crucified with Him as they could carry their crosses while Jesus could not.

I had never read about the lictors before nor the game the Roman soldiers played called Basalinda. Young included insight into the shape of the crown of thorns and has a very moving section on Jesus' experience of hematidrosis, sweating blood. This condition made His skin hyper-sensitized so that the beating He experienced was all the more excruciating.

Young began studying the Passion of Jesus as a teenager. For the next three decades, he read hundreds of articles and books written from almost every possible perspective about the crucifixion of Christ and fulfillment of messianic prophecies. His research shows as there are some 40 pages of bibliography.

There was only one tiny aspect of the book I did not like and that was the inclusion of some fictional accounts at the beginning of a new section of the book. For example, he supposes the scene when Abraham is holding the knife over Isaac: “Sweat poured from his body... His hands trembled... His stomach churned...” That is conjecture as it is not in the biblical account. He also explored Aesop's fable of The Hare and the Tortoise. Although short, that section seemed irrelevant to me.

However, those accounts were a minor distraction for me. This enhanced ebook is so valuable for the information it contains, I highly recommend it. It would be a great book to get now so you can read it during Lent next year.

Dr. J. Shan Young holds a BA in History and an MD degree from Emory University, where he then served as Chief Administrative Resident. He's been named as a Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and has been in private practice for over 20 years. He is a popular speaker at churches and conferences. Dr. Young and his wife have six children and three grandchildren. Find out more about him at www.jshanyoung.com.

Glass Road Media, 384 pages. It is available at the iBooks Store, Amazon, and bn.com.

I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from GlassRoad for the purpose of this review.

Catch a Falling Star by Beth K. Vogt

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Life doesn't always go according to plans. Dr. Kendall Haynes, at 36, had so many dreams. Her dream of being a doctor came true. She helps kids with severe allergies and asthma – something she knows well from her own childhood experiences. But her dream of marriage and a family? A dream that hasn't come true.

Lieutenant Colonel Griffin Walker had a dream too. But his dream of flying has been shattered. The Air Force grounded him because of bouts of vertigo. His parents' sudden death has complicated Griffin's life, making him the guardian of his sixteen year old brother Ian, a brother he hardly knows.

The worlds of Kendall and Griffin intersect with a crash when Ian and Griffin are out for a Mexican dinner and Ian starts gasping for breath. Kendall, who is having dinner with her (married or engaged) fellow doctor girlfriends, recognizes the dangerous signs of a severe food allergy. She comes to the rescue, much to Griffin's dismay. How was he supposed to know Ian was allergic to avocados!

That is the beginning of a very enjoyable Christian romance – yes, romance for people in their late thirties! But it is not an easy path for Griffin and Kendall. At that age, they are pretty set in their ways and each has lots of baggage. It was enjoyable to read how Vogt ultimately brought out the best in the two stubborn characters.

The prominent themes in this novel include singleness (particularly at an older age), adoption, loss of parents, loss of dreams and accepting God's plan for your life. I learned about some of the difficulties of adoption as Ian was adopted and Kendall has a staff person in the process of adopting. I also learned about the serious nature of some allergies. And, interestingly enough, I learned about “Jeep people,” people who love their their Jeep no matter what!

What a fun book. It is a great Christian romance, especially for people who have been waiting for years to see if God's plan for their life includes marriage and a family. There is a Reading Group Discussion Guide at the end of the book.

I am taking part in a blog tour and you can see other reviews here.

Beth K. Vogt is a nonfiction author and editor who said she'd never write fiction. She's the wife of an air force physician who said she'd never marry a doctor or anyone in the military. She's a mom of four who said she'd never have kids. She and her husband have three adult children and one ten year old. This is her second novel. Learn more about her at www.bethvogt.com.

Howard Books, 336 pages. Please visit your local Christian bookstore to purchase this book.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher for the purpose of this review.

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Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on June 3rd. Winner will be announced at the "Catch a Falling Star" Facebook Author Chat Party on June 4th. Connect with Beth for an evening of book chat, trivia, laughter, and more! Beth will also share an exclusive look at her next book and give away books and other fun prizes throughout the evening.

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Her Restless Heart Bible Study by Barbara Cameron

Are you discontent or restless? Do you long for something more but cannot identify what it is?

Cameron has written this study to help women explore their hearts and their desire for real and lasting love and acceptance. The aim of the study is to allow God to satisfy that desire and satisfy their restlessness.

This is not a typical “Bible study” in that Cameron uses her own Christian fiction as a backdrop to explore biblical themes. Narratives from her novel Her Restless Heart are provided in the text so there is no need to buy the novel upon which the studies are based.

The study is spread out over six weeks. Each study begins with a Scripture for the week and an excerpt from the novel. Readings for five days follow. Each day's reading includes additional excerpts from the novel, commentary on selected Scripture and personal application. Questions for reflection are provided throughout each day's reading. Cameron concludes each day's study with an “As You Go” suggestion.

When I first saw the study, I was a bit hesitant as to it's value. A study based on a novel? But as I read through the study, I was impressed. The fiction excerpt is a good jumping point for the subsequent Scripture investigation. Rather than dealing with biblical facts, this study deals with the desires, hurts, and insecurities women experience. I can imagine the lively discussions participants would have when they gather once a week to watch a short video by Cameron. There are also some recipes included from the fiction series, so there could be a tasty potluck at the study conclusion.

The workbook I read is only one part of the complete curriculum. Go here to see the full line of materials including the leader's guide, the DVD, and a video trailer.

Barbara Cameron is the author of more than 30 fiction and nonfiction books, three nationally televised movies (HBO-Cinemax), and the winner of the first Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award. She lives in Edgewater, Florida.

Abingdon Press, 187 pages.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of this review.