Faithful Reader

We hope you all had a wonderful Mother’s Day! Mine was very special as I spent it with my mom, mother-in-law, and the rest of my immediate family.

Now it’s time to turn our attention to the dads! Just as we did for Mother’s Day, we have created a roundup of fiction and nonfiction titles that we think will be outstanding gifts for dad on his special day. Click here for all our suggestions.

This month, we’re celebrating the release of JENNIFER: An O'Malley Love Story with a special contest that will give 40 readers the opportunity to win a copy of Dee Henderson's uplifting story about a woman whose faith is about to be tested, and in a way she never expected. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, June 13th at noon ET.

I'M NO ANGEL: From Victoria's Secret Model to Role Model is the latest book we’re giving away in our monthly contest. In December 2011, 21-year-old Victoria's Secret model Kylie Bisutti stunned the fashion industry when she chose faith over fame and fortune, and made the switch from supermodel to role model. In I'M NO ANGEL, Kylie shares her story. If you'd like to win one of five copies of the book, please fill out this form by Thursday, June 13th at noon ET.

We’re featuring an interview this month with Leslie Gould, whose newest romance, ADORING ADDIE, is the second installment in her Courtships of Lancaster County series, which kicked off with COURTING CATE. When Addie Cramer and Jonathan Mosier fall head over heels for each other, can their love finally end the feud between their two families? Click here to read about the challenges Leslie faced in adapting the classic story of ROMEO AND JULIET to an Amish setting and the meaning behind the book’s title.

We have a new study guide available for WHEN LOVE CALLS, the first installment in Lorna Seilstad’s Gregory Sisters series. It is 1908 and Hannah Gregory has her hands full providing for her two younger sisters. When romance calls, will she choose to answer? Click here for the guide.

Among our featured books this month is CONFESSIONS OF A RAGING PERFECTIONIST: Learning to Be Free. It’s a memoir by Amanda Jenkins, a raging perfectionist who determines each day’s worth, and ultimately her own, by keeping track of her personal stats. That is, until God spoke into her life, waking her up to the true costs of her addiction to perfection. Read more about the book and an excerpt.

Candace Calvert returns for the second installment of her Grace Medical series, RESCUE TEAM. Nurse Kate Callison has decided to stop running from her past and become Austin Grace Hospital’s permanent ER director. But when an unthinkable tragedy brings swarms of media to the hospital, a search-and-rescue hero seems determined to meddle in Kate’s life. Read more about the book and an excerpt.

IN BROKEN PLACES by Michèle Phoenix introduces readers to Shelby, a single mother to a four-year-old. In a drastic attempt to escape her own violent childhood, Shelby moves to Germany, but quickly discovers how intimately linked memory and healing are --- and how honestly she must scrutinize her past in order to aspire to a richer future. Read more about the book and an excerpt.

We have 10 new reviews to share with you this month. Among them are MAKING GOOD HABITS, BREAKING BAD HABITS: 14 New Behaviors That Will Energize Your Life by Joyce Meyer, THE OFFERING by Angela Hunt, and ONE GLORIOUS AMBITION: The Compassionate Crusade of Dorothea Dix by Jane Kirkpatrick.

We’ve updated our awards feature, as the Christian Book Award winners and the Christy Award nominees have been announced. Also announced recently were the winners of the Christian Small Publisher Book of the Year Award. Congratulations to all who have been recognized!

Here’s to a month of great reading. And to all you dads out there, Happy Father’s Day!

Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)

We are celebrating the release of JENNIFER: An O'Malley Love Story with a special contest that will give 40 readers the opportunity to win a copy of Dee Henderson's uplifting story about Jennifer O'Malley --- a woman whose faith is about to be tested, and in a way she never expected. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, June 13th at noon ET.

JENNIFER: An O'Malley Love Story by Dee Henderson (Romance)
Jennifer O'Malley has a pediatrics practice in Dallas, Texas, and meeting and falling in love with surgeon Tom Peterson is adding a rich layer to her life. She’s sorting out how to introduce Tom to her family and thinking about marriage. She is falling in love with Jesus too, and knows God is good. But that faith is about to be tested, and in a way she didn't expect. The results will soon transform her entire family.

-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
-Click here to read Dee Henderson’s bio.
-Click here to visit Dee Henderson’s official website.
-Click here to connect with Dee Henderson on Facebook.

Leslie Gould, the award-winning author of COURTING CATE, is back with the second installment in her Courtships of Lancaster County series. In ADORING ADDIE, the rivalry between the Cramers and the Mosiers heats up again when Addie Cramer and Jonathan Mosier fall head over heels in love with each other. As in ROMEO AND JULIET, the Shakespeare classic that inspired this book, the lovers will have to overcome many obstacles if they hope for any chance at a happy ending together. In this interview, Gould talks about how her love of the Bard dates back to preschool, the challenges she faced in adapting a classic story to an Amish setting, and the new romance that’s budding in Lancaster County.

ADORING ADDIE: The Courtships of Lancaster County, Book 2 by Leslie Gould (Romance)
The rivalry between the Cramers and Mosiers heats up again when Addie Cramer and Jonathan Mosier fell head over heels for each other. Now old tensions are renewed, and Addie's parents insist she marry stolid and uninspiring Phillip Eicher. Distraught at a future apart, the two decide their best hope is to reconcile the two families. Will their love be enough to keep them together, or will long-held secrets ruin their chance at happiness?

-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
-Click here to read Leslie Gould’s bio.
-Click here to visit Leslie Gould’s official website.
-Click here to connect with Leslie Gould on Facebook.

WHEN LOVE CALLS: The Gregory Sisters, Book 1 by Lorna Seilstad (Historical Romance)
Hannah Gregory is good at many things, but that list does not include following rules. So when she must apply for a job as a switchboard operator to support her two sisters, she knows it won’t be easy. “Hello Girls” must conduct themselves according to strict --- and often bewildering --- rules, which include absolutely no consorting with gentlemen while in training. Hannah doubts it will be difficult to keep that rule --- until a handsome young lawyer starts getting under her skin.

-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
-Click here to read critical praise.
-Click here to read Lorna Seilstad’s bio.
-Click here to visit Lorna Seilstad’s official website.

CONFESSIONS OF A RAGING PERFECTIONIST: Learning to Be Free by Amanda Jenkins (Memoir)
Amanda is a raging perfectionist who determines each day’s worth, and ultimately her own, by keeping track of her stats --- pounds gained or lost, stuff accomplished. That is, until God spoke into her life, waking her up to the true costs of her addiction to perfection. CONFESSIONS OF A RAGING PERFECTIONIST is more than Amanda’s confession; it’s a journey of letting go of the subtle but destructive idols of her overactive inner voice and replacing them with God’s truth.

-Click here to read an excerpt.
-Click here to read Amanda Jenkins’s bio.
-Click here to visit Amanda Jenkins’s blog.

RESCUE TEAM: Grace Medical, Book 2 by Candace Calvert (Romance)
Tired of running from her past, nurse Kate Callison intends to become Austin Grace Hospital’s permanent ER director and make Texas her home. Despite staff friction, she’s moving ahead. Then unthinkable tragedy wraps the ER in crime tape, bringing swarms of media, legal chaos --- and a search-and-rescue hero who seems determined to meddle in her life.

-Click here to read an excerpt.
-Click here to read Candace Calvert’s bio.
-Click here to see all of Candace Calvert’s books.
-Visit Candace Calvert’s official website and blog.
-Connect with Candace Calvert on Facebook and Twitter.

IN BROKEN PLACES by Michèle Phoenix (Fiction)
When, under staggering circumstances, Shelby becomes a single mother to four-year-old Shayla, her carefully managed world begins to fall apart. In a drastic attempt to escape her own violent childhood, Shelby moves to Germany, but quickly discovers how intimately linked memory and healing are --- and how honestly she must scrutinize her past in order to aspire to a richer future.

-Click here to read an excerpt.
-Click here to read Michèle Phoenix’s bio.
-Visit Michèle Phoenix’s official website and blog.
-Connect with Michèle Phoenix on Facebook and Twitter.

MAKING GOOD HABITS, BREAKING BAD HABITS: 14 New Behaviors That Will Energize Your Life by Joyce Meyer (Christian Life)
From nail biting to cell phone addiction, procrastination to overspending, bad habits seem to outnumber the good ones. Unfortunately, we pay a price for bad habits that outweighs the immediate gratification that they bring. In this book, Joyce Meyer starts by examining the nature of habits. She then explores how to break bad habits by examining the destructive negative behavior patterns, and moves on to discuss 14 good habits, devoting a chapter to each. Reviewed by Lynda Lee Schab.

-Click here to read more about the book.

THE OFFERING by Angela Hunt (Romance)
Amanda Lisandra is a gestational carrier for a childless couple. Just when the nearly perfect pregnancy is about to conclude, unexpected tragedy enters Mandy’s world and leaves her reeling. Devastated by grief, she surrenders the child she was carrying and struggles to regain her emotional equilibrium. Two years later, she studies a photograph of the baby she bore and wonders if the unthinkable has happened. Could she have inadvertently given away her own biological child? Reviewed by Susan Miura.

-Click here to read more about the book.

The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) has announced the winners for the 2013 Christian Book Awards. Presented annually to the finest in Christian publishing since 1978, the Christian Book Awards honor titles in seven categories: Bibles, Bible Reference, Nonfiction, Fiction, Children, Inspiration and New Author.

Five finalists are selected in each category following a stringent judging process by judging panels specially selected for each category. The top scoring book in each category is named the Christian Book Award winner. The Christian Book of the Year is chosen among the finalists to represent Christian publishing's highest quality and greatest impact for 2013.

ONE GLORIOUS AMBITION: The Compassionate Crusade of Dorothea Dix by Jane Kirkpatrick (Historical Fiction)
An unexpected visit to a prison housing the mentally ill ignites an unending fire in Dorothea Dix’s heart --- a journey that will take her across the nation as she fights to relieve the suffering of what Scripture deems the least of these. In bringing the 19th-century historical reformer to life, Jane Kirkpatrick combines historical accuracy with the gripping narrative of a woman who recognized suffering when others turned away, and the call she heeded to change the world. Reviewed by Marcia Ford.

FIREFLY ISLAND by Lisa Wingate (Romance)
Congressional staffer Mallory Hale can't imagine her future without Daniel Everson and his little boy, Nick. So she takes a leap of faith and enters into a marriage that at times reminds her of the mail-order-bride stories. But then she discovers secrets and questions beneath her rosy new life. Can she find answers on Firefly Island, a little chunk of property just off the lakeshore, where mysterious lights glisten at night? Reviewed by Lynda Lee Schab.

THE HOUSE THAT LOVE BUILT by Beth Wiseman (Romance)
Brooke Holloway has only loved one man, her late husband. Owen Saunders is rebuilding after a painful divorce. Can a mysterious house bring them together for a second chance at love? Throw an eccentric uncle into the mix, along with the town’s teenage troublemaker, even a finicky cat, and one thing becomes clear: God is bringing them all together for a reason. Reviewed by Lynda Lee Schab.

AFLOAT by Erin Healy (Supernatural Thriller)
Eagle’s Talon is an architectural marvel --- shining residential units afloat in a protected cove of the gorgeous Rondeau River. The project is nearly complete when a sinkhole gives way. Then torrential rains and a flood leave a ragged collection of builders, investors and residents stranded in one floating building, cut off from the rest of the world. In this watery world where everyone's secrets will eventually come to light, salvation may mean more than just getting out alive. Reviewed by Susan Miura.

10 PRAYERS YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT: How to Talk to God About Anything by Rick Hamlin (Christian Living/Prayer)
In 10 PRAYERS YOU CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT, Guideposts executive editor Rick Hamlin shares 10 real-life ways of praying to our loving God. It includes the practical insight Hamlin has gained about prayer from the everyday men and women in the pages of Guideposts magazine and from his own lifelong journey in prayer. Reviewed by Evelyn Bence.

LETTERS FROM THE CLOSET: Ten Years of Correspondence That Changed My Life by Amy Hollingsworth (Memoir)
As the years and letters passed between John and Amy, the layers fell off as they explored and unmasked themselves and each other. Every writer needs a room of his own, but for some people, at certain times and in certain circumstances, the best you can do is a closet. From the confines --- and protection --- of his closet, John wrote these letters, letters that were read, cherished, and then locked away for decades in Amy’s closet. Now they are chronicled and shared for your enrichment. Reviewed by Michele Howe.

GOD DISTORTED: How Your Earthly Father Affects Your Perception of God and Why It Matters by John Bishop (Christian Living)
Regardless of the type of father you grew up with --- or without --- it is likely that your view of God is influenced by the relationship you had with your father. Author John Bishop wants to help you discover that God is not just like your dad. Instead, God is the Father revealed in Scripture, where the truth is clear. God is a father who is always there, up close and personal, fully pleased, in complete control, and completely safe. Reviewed by Michele Howe.

THE GATE by Dann A. Stouten (Fiction)
When an ad for a vacation cottage catches the eye of a man on the edge of burnout, he impulsively sets off to visit the property while his wife and daughters are away. When he arrives and is ushered through the gate, he realizes he may have found the back door to heaven. The proprietor and people from his past welcome him with food, rest and conversation, until what started out as a little escape from everyday life turns into an experience he will never forget. Reviewed by Lynda Lee Schab.

-Click here to read an excerpt.
-Click here for the study guide.