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In this book the Triple Threat club of Allison, Nic, & Cassidy are on the case of a very cunning killer with absolutely no moral conviction whatsoever.

Crime dramas like Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, NCIS, & CSI are some of my favorite types of TV shows so when it came time to pick another book to review Heart of Ice was very appealing. I liked the idea of three friends who were in 3 different fields related to crime solving all working together to help solve a crime, Allison is a Federal Prosecutor, Nic is an FBI agent, & Cassidy is a crime reporter for a local TV station. I thought the authors did an excellent job laying out who the characters were and what their motivations were. The story wove together really nicely as well. I hope I can go back and read the two previous novels by these two authors because they were a great pair on this novel.

I also took a new approach for this book in that it is the first book I have ever read completely digitally. I read the book entirely on my phone using the Amazon Kindle app. I am happy to say that I really liked it, for my ongoing book reviews for Thomas Nelson, I will continue to download them to my phone (or if I get a tablet in the future, my tablet).

When I decided to read The Christian Zombie Killers Handbook by Jeff Kinley I didn’t know what I was getting into. The author takes an interesting path on how he wrote the book. This book is both fiction and non-fiction. The author first writes a chapter that tells a story of the life after the zombie apocalypse has begun, then follows it up with a chapter explaining how the chapter before relates to our Christian walk. While reading the book, I felt like it was too disjointed but after reflecting on the experience I realize that the author has a great talent tying together a story that he has made up with the ultimate story into a cohesive unit.  I actually finished this book quite a while ago, but have spent a lot of time trying to figure out what review to write. After considering, I have to say that the author has written a pretty good book. Like I said, it seemed disjointed at the time, but after reflecting, I realized how good of a book it really was. If you are into zombie fiction at all or how it can relate to your Christian walk, you should definitely pick up this book.

David Ponder is at it again…actually, he gets dragged into it again. David Ponder is now 74 years old when Gabriel decides to visit him and pull him and all previous Travellers to save the world…literally…humanity is on a crash course with destruction and the Travellers must figure out how to save it…

We first met David Ponder in The Traveller’s Gift where he first learned the 7 decisions that determine personal success. I loved that book and with The Final Summit Andy Andrews has done it again. What I like the most about Andy’s books is that he teaches major life lessons using stories that intrigue you and pull you in. When you sit down to read an Andy Andrews book you don’t want to get up, you find yourself rifling through the pages as fast as you can. The Final Summit does not disappoint in this regard. Writing a review for a book like this is hard because it is such a good book that you really just want your reader to go buy the book…and experience it for themselves without being tainted by your own opinion. So, I will say it again…go buy the book…

Other (highly recommended) Books I have read by Andy Andrews:

• The Butterfly Effect
• The Noticer
• The Heart Mender

Well that was a wild ride…

It all started one night when I walked into our room and my wife asked me a question that led to the first You Make the Call post.  After watching my wife voraciously devour the first few of these 14 books and having the discussions that these books inspired, I had to try them for myself.  I was not disappointed.  These were great books.

Disclaimer: these books are chick books so guys, there is not a whole lot of action in them.

The books start with Redemption a book about Kari Baxter and the troubles she is having (this is the situation that I discussed in the You Make the Call post).  In this book you meet the Baxter family and through the course of the next 13 books, you learn all about them.

To try and review each individual book would give away too much information (I am surprised however how much information about the series is given away by the covers), but the 14 books are broken up into 3 different series:

• Redemption Series – Karen Kingsbury & Gary Smalley
  • Redemption
  • Remember
  • Return
  • Rejoice
  • Reunion
• Firstborn Series – Karen Kingsbury
  • Fame
  • Forgiven
  • Found
  • Family
  • Forever
• Sunrise Series – Karen Kingsbury
  • Sunrise
  • Summer
  • Someday
  • Sunset

The thing I liked most about this series is that it made you deal with issues of faith and morality that you may not normally deal with because you can imagine the Baxters living down the street from you.  Karen Kingsbury does a really good job of setting the scenes in a way that you can believe they are really happening.  For instance, book 3 deals with the Baxters (and friends) dealing with the events of September 11, 2001.  There are a couple topics that Kingsbury talked about that hit almost too close to home.  I can’t spoil the books, but Mandy and I read Summer right around the time we attended a friend’s memorial service a situation that if you know where Mandy and I have been with a couple very close friends of ours and you know what happens in Summer you can understand why Mandy was bawling at the end of the book and I was brought to tears as well.  Parts of Summer are some of the most powerful chapters I may have ever read.  Reading Summer brought healing for both Mandy and I.

Mandy asked me a question when I had about 3 books left in the series was whether or not I liked the Baxter Family Drama series more or books by Dee Henderson (O’Malley Series & Uncommon Heroes Series).  It was a tough call for me.  I like the Dee Henderson books because for chick books there is a lot of action in them…mainly because of who the characters are.  But the Baxter Family Drama really hit home on issues and make you deal with them.  I told her that I think I liked the Dee Henderson books better, but after finishing the Baxter Family Drama I think it may be a tie.  Either way, I hope you give both authors a chance to entertain you.

Overall rating for the Baxter Family Drama Series: 5 out of 5

As I have mentioned on Facebook and LinkedIn before (for those of you who are friends of mine on Facebook or LinkedIn) that November, December, and January are my busiest months of the year.  Even though it is my busiest time of year, I still try to keep my reading habits up.  To do that I usually return to books I have read before, but love to read to help me get away from the stress and busyness of my busiest months.

A little under a month ago, I picked up my copy of The Chronicles of Narnia (amazon affiliate link – to the boxed set, I have the unabridged version) and started reading with The Magician’s Nephew.  I have seen worlds created, worlds destroyed, and voyages had.  C. S. Lewis along with J.R.R. Tolkein (with his Lord of the Rings trilogy) have set the standard for what has become the fantasy genre and it is good to go back and read both series from time to time.


While Hollywood has tried and in my mind succeeded with making movies of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King I still love reading the original books from time to time.  I am also looking forward to the Upcoming Voyage of the Dawn Treader movie which comes out this year and The Hobbit movies which are also coming out soon.