They Were Single Too

They Were Single Too by David M. Hoffeditz is an updated nonfiction book highlighting eight Biblical individuals.  It's primarily informative about the Biblical figures mentioned. The book has one chapter each on Paul, Anna, Martha, Jeremiah, Ruth, Joseph, Nehemiah, and John the Baptist. I really appreciated the variety of people mentioned--Anna's years of widowhood present an entirely different perspective than Paul's ministry or Joseph's temptations.The book is less than 150 pages long, and each chapter ends with a few brief questions for reflection.
I found this book quick and easy to read, with a good tone and perspective. It might be a good conversation starter for a a small group.It also has good historical context and background for the Biblical characters.
Some books meant for single adults are just aimed at 20-something year olds. The author of this book acknowledges that not all singles are that age. The examples cover a wide range of ages, so that singles of a variety of ages will find something useful in this book. I really enjoyed reading it and will probably read it again.  If you're looking for something addressing church culture and singleness, this is an okay place to start but not really sociology-oriented.
Three and a half of five stars.

The Unreformed Martin Luther

Nearly 500 after Martin Luther (supposedly) nailed his 95 Thesis to a church door, his historical significance is undeniable. But just who was he? Over time, the truth has been clouded by myths and legends. Did his wife escape a convent in a herring barrel? Did he intend to create a new denomination?
In The Unreformed Martin Luther, author and theologian Andreas Malessa examines 25 of the most common "facts" about Luther, considering the historical context, Luther's own words, and more. At the same time, he reviews the basic history of Luther's life and provides a background for those who may not be familiar with early Protestant history.
This 160-page book is written in a conversational, easy-to-read tone.  Middle schoolers and older should be able to read this without too much difficulty, but interest will vary. It's a good introduction to church history for a variety of ages, but parents of younger children might what to skip over some of the chapters.  The author also does a good job of showing how Luther's influence impacts the church and society today.
I would give this book three stars out of five. I received a free copy of this book from Kregel Publications in exchange for an honest review.

The Fifth Column

Another day, another air raid. For Detective Inspector John Jago,  there's nothing unusual when two men report a body at one of the air raid sites.  However, the initial investigation reveals that the body wasn't at the site the previous night, and no bombs had fallen in the area since. Could it be foul play? Supplies have gone missing from the classified office where the young woman worked; her sister seems indifferent, and not all stories match up.  As Jago investigates the case, it seems everyone has something to hide....

The Fifth Column by Mike Hollow is the first novel in a new series, The Blitz Detective. As the title suggests, the novel focuses on a British detective during WWII.  The historical setting provides both atmosphere and motivation for several plot elements without becoming too dense for causal reading.

Mysteries aren't my usual reading fare, but I'm familiar with the basic genre conventions.  Two writing elements stood out for me in this book. First, the number of characters and perspectives. I'm not sure how common this  tactic is in mysteries (historical or otherwise), but there were at least half a dozen characters/perspectives in the book. While they did overlap to a certain extent, it made it tricky to judge which information would be relevant to the murder. It's not the same as red herrings or false leads, but I'm not quite used to it.

The second aspect I noticed (related if one likes to try solving mysteries ahead of the book) is that some of the motivations would have been inexplicable if they had not been spelled out by characters. For example, 1940s methods of dying hair have a certain relevance, but I didn't even think about it until one of the female characters brings it up to Jago.  It's not the sort of thing a single man would know, but it still seemed ....lecturish?

I would probably still recommend this book, but I doubt I'll reread it,

I was given a free copy of this book from Kregel Publications in exchange for an honest review.

The Hardest Thing to Do

The Hardest Thing to Do by Penelope Wilcock, the fourth book in The Hawk and the Dove opens after the death of Father Peregrine, just as the new abbot returns to take command. But the peace of Lent is disturbed by news of a fire at a nearby community of Dominicans, led by Prior William, known for harsh rules.
The previous books have shown what love looks like in a community, how growth can come from loss, but this is so much harder. This is an enemy, this is a man that we desire to see brought low, but at the same time his world has been so utterly destroyed.
This book can be read without any knowledge of the previous installments in the series, but I would recommend reading at least the chapter of The Wounds of God  featuring Prior Williams.  Even if someone doesn't normally like historical or Christian fiction, these books are a raw, honest look at people, at the body of Christ, and how he works through people. I've really enjoyed the previous books and am looking forward to reading the next installments.
I received a free copy of this book from  Kregel Publications in exchange for an honest review. Five stars

The Heretic

The Heretic by Henry-Vyner Brooks is a vivid story of the Protestant Reformation in England under Henry VIII.  The story contains a vivid cast of characters, including a Benedictine monk, a leper, and the children of a couple arrested for heresy. While the story is slow to get started, it picks up in the middle and the last two hundred pages or so are quite intense.

Although I generally don’t read historical fiction, the Tudor period is one of my favorite eras, so I thought I’d give this novel a try.  It seemed fairly accurate, not only in terms of events and setting, but with worldviews. One of my pet peeves with historical fiction is when characters have fairly modern worldviews: a 15^th-century girl complaining about arranged marriages, for example. Even if I disagree with the historical views, I want characters to be accurate.  It’s not wrong to have ‘progressive’ characters, but they shouldn’t be the norm. And the characters in this book were historically accurate in their perspectives.

The book was a little too long. It covered two or three years, possibly four—necessary for some of the plot points, but perhaps not the best decision for pacing.  It’s an improvement over books in which trials take weeks or months, but the first chapters were so heavy and full of setting the scene and putting all the threads in place that I didn’t feel interested in reading more.

Overall, though, it was a good book, and I will probably reread it at some point.

The Traitor's Heir

Eamon Goodman is on the cusp of swearing loyalty to the Master and joining the Gauntlet,  an elite band of men who help maintain order in the River Realm, putting down "snake" uprisings. But when he hears their version of history,  he must reconsider where his loyalties lie.This book is historical-fantasy, with only a few special abilities that would be outside the ordinary; particularly important are the 'breachers,' men who can break into others' minds and discover what they're thinking.
As the first novel in a planned trilogy,  I expected this book to lay the groundwork for further character development and set the main conflict in motion.  Did it succeed? Somewhat.  In over five hundred pages, the main character discovers that the world he's always lived in is more complex than he's been led to believe, but is reluctant to take a stand for either side. Even at the end of the book, I'm not sure which set of vows he'll chose to follow.  Furthermore, I fail to see how one side holds any attraction for him at all--power and pleasure are concretely on the Master's side.  Eamon may have resisted "easy treachery," but I was hoping to see more development by the end of the book.
Overall, the book was interesting, but I doubt I'll re-read it any time soon, and I'm not sure I'd recommend it either.
I received a free copy of this book from Kregel Publications in exchange for an honest review.

Death on Lindisfarne

This book, the sequel to The Hunted Hare, is the second in Fay Sampson's Aidan Mysteries. While mysteries are not my favorite genre, I love the author's blending of Celtic history, Irish scenery, and modern mysteries. In fact, it sometimes feels like I'm taking a vacation to these locations, without the inconvenience of long flights, poor weather, and traffic.
While The Hunted Hare was told through the eyes of Aidan and his wife Jenny,  Death on Lindisfarne uses multiple points of view. While this can be useful, I feel it is a mistake to use more than two points of view in a mystery novel, as the reader learns more than an one character knows on his or her own.  However, as the author generally stuck to Aidan and the group leader,  I feel the possible damages were limited.
While I am looking forward to any further books in this series, I also think there's a limit on how many murders one individual can stumble onto without breaking suspension of disbelief. I'm hoping to see some theft or missing persons cases, just to mix things up a little.

Magnificent Malevolence

Magnificent Malevolence  attempts to evoke the spirit of C.S. Lewis's  The Screwtape Letters by laying out the grand agenda of the Lowarchy over the past half-century. It's an impressive goal, but also a notable departure from Lewis's focus on an individual tempter and patient. Another difference is the format--as the subtitle declares, this book is written as a memoir, rather than letters. While this makes sense with today's genre preferences, I feel the author missed a chance to introduce further conflict within the story.
The book was well-unified, with intriguing, sometimes controversial interpretations of recent events. But even when I disagreed with the author, I felt he raised valid concerns with contemporary American culture. However, the book fell short in the most important area: the tone.  Although The Screwtape Letters has a very dark, gritty tone, there are also moments of levity and irony when the reader realizes flaws in the demons' arguments. Magnficent Malvolence takes itself so seriously that the darkness threatens to suffocate readers. It rates a solid three stars, but I'd recommend As One Devil to Another by Richard Platt for someone looking for a modern perspective on devilish correspondance
I received this book for free from Kregel Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.

The Hunted Hare by Fay Sampson

The Hunted Hare by Fay Simpson, the first in her Aidan mysteries series,  is a haunting blend of genres. The main characters, Aidan and Jenny, take their daughter Melangell to her namesake community, Pennant Melangell in Wales. But the trip has an additional significant--Jenny is dying of cancer and hopes to visit the healing services there.

Although this book is classified as a mystery, I came away from the reading with an overwhelming sense of place. Pennant Melangell is based on a real place, with a few fictional settings added. This technique adds details and emotional background rarely seen.

Without giving away the plot, I will say that the mystery was well-managed, rejecting easy solutions to the crime and maintaining suspense all the way through. The balance between exterior conflict and Jenny's internal struggle kept the plot from becoming sentimental or too action-focused.

I recieved this book through Kregel Blog Tour but was not required to write a positive review.

Son of the Underground

Isaac Liu, son of the Chinese house-church preacher Brother Yun, grew up witnessing the cost of faith firsthand. His father went to jail several times, and his mother was sometimes denied the family's portion of food from the community storehouse. His simply-told story, without self-pity or exaggeration, stands as a vivid reminder to Western Christians of the sufferings faced by our foreign brothers and sisters in Christ. This book would be helpful for a Sunday School or small-group study on today's persecuted church .