Christian Bookworm

In The Betrayed, A Novel of the Gifted, Lisa Bergren picks up where we left our group. They were escaping Siena,the hometown of Lady Daria, the healer, after being betrayed by one of their group, and were on their way to Firenze to try to locate more parts of the letter they have and more of The Gifted.

The attacks of the enemy become more personal in The Betrayed. He decides to attack each one personally based on their weaknesses since they seem to be strong together. While in Firenze they discover one in their midst who is one of The Gifted, and they discover important clues that lead them where to travel to.

In the meantime, the Cardinal who used to employ Gianni is plotting to use The Gifted to further his own cause with the church to have the Vatican placed in the city of his choice. Lady Daria and her intrepid travelers make the acquaintence of a very influentianal couple in Firenze, when God intervenes as she gives birth to twins. Little does Lady Daria know how this will be of help to her later.

Once again, we see the humanity in our group of Gifted as they fall prey to human emotions and the flesh even though they have seen the power of God (you have to read the first book) time and time again. It reminds us that even though God calls us all differently and gifts us according to the call He plaes on our life, even though we are human and make mistakes, God can still work through us if we are willing.

I can’t wait until the third book in the series is released, sometime in 2008. I hope some inspired movie producer picks this series up and makes an epic of it such as Lord of the Rings or Chronicles of Narnia. What a testimony to God’s power and Grace.

The Betrayed (The Gifted Series, Book 2)

Lisa Tawn Bergren. Berkley Publishing Group 2007, Hardcover, 416 pages, $23.95

Westward by Amanda MacLean is the first in a series of 4 books that start off with sisters Juliana and Callasandra (Callie). Early in the book, their father dies and they learn that because of bad investments, everything he has left the girls is really nothing after the creditors get their money. However, their Uncle Caleb tells Callie, who is 16 and is now his ward that he has plans for her to marry and Juliana, who is 22 that he has a job for her at one of his friends home.

The girls decide this is unacceptable and leave in the middle of the night, taking the riverboat to Missouri with plans to travel west to New Mexico, where Juliana has dreamed of seeing for years after her painting tutor told her about the beauty of the countryside. The girls meet Matthias Graves who becomes very helpful to them, but unbeknownst to them has plans of his own.

Juliana also meets Captain Parker James, the man in charge of the wagon train. He is enamored of Juliana, but also has plans of his own. Juliana and Callie are caught between these two men, set in the backdrop of the annexation of the US from Mexico.

This was a great book and while it was written in 1996, I still couldn’t put it down.

Westward (Palisades Pure Romance)

Amanda Maclean. Multnomah Books 1995, Paperback, 289 pages, $9.99

I’ll admit that I was a bit concerned before reading The Begotten by Lisa Tawn Bergren. I’ve read many of her books and she always had a sound Christian principles, but the description of this book reminded me more of The Davinci Code. I decided to try the book with the intention of stopping if it wasn’t biblical, because I have known of other authors who lost their Christian beliefs or went through a crisis of faith because it was evident in their books. That said, I have to say that this was a great book. I was hooked from the beginning and couldn’t wait to see how it ended.

This is a book that takes place in the 1300’s, when the Catholic church is fighting over where to have their home. Politics are rampant even among those in the upper hierarchy of the church, with personal desires more important than the church. This is where we meet Sir Gianni, a knight of the Vatican who is sworn to hunt down and destroy evil who has enough faith to leave his position and join Father Piero and Lady Daria in their quest to locate the rest of the Gifted and fulfill the prophecy that was foretold that will determine the fate of the church and the world. Each must sacrifice and even though they are The Gifted, they are human and deal with human failings.

This book is about an ancient book that wasn’t added to the bible, thought to be written by Paul, that tells of a group of people called The Gifted, who will have mysterious spiritual gifts of healing, faith, prophecy, wisdom, and discernment. As The Gifted gather and become stronger, the enemy becomes stronger also and the battles become fiercer.

Facing enemies from within and without, this book reminded me of the Lord of the Rings trilogy without the hobbits and talking trees.

Be watching for book 2-The Betrayed.

The Begotten (The Gifted Series, Book 1)

Lisa Tawn Bergren. Berkley 2007, Paperback, 464 pages, $14.00

Hide and Seek by Catherine Palmer is the sequel to Finders Keepers and is the story of Luke, Montgomery and Darcy.

In Finders Keepers Luke’s wife dies of a brain tumor and in Hide and Seek we find Luke not coping very well with her death. Before her death, Luke was a deacon at church and was strong in his faith but his faith has suffered and he has turned away from God.

Darcy is a new Christian with a strong faith, but is running from her past. After serving time in prison for killing her husband, she is looking to start over and running from her father in law, who has promised to make her pay for killing his son. She is taken in by an elderly widow who begins to have health problems and she and Luke must work together to take care of Ruby.

Just when Darcy is getting comfortable in her new town, her past catches up with her and her new found faith is put to the test.

Hide and Seek (Finders Keepers #2)

Catherine Palmer. Tyndale House Publishers 2001, Paperback, 260 pages, $10.99

Nightmare Academy by Frank Peretti is the second in The Veritas Project about the Springfields.

In this book, the family has been asked to investigate the disappearance of runaways after a missing child is found out of his mind. The only understandable thing he can say is Nightmare Academy. When the boy dies mysteriously in the hospital, the Springfields are called in to see what they can find out. While posing as runaways, Elijah and Elisha are recruited for a “special” school and wake up in a strange place.

At the Knight-Moore Academy they soon learn nothing is really as it seems: up is down, there is no right or wrong, no moral compass, and they learn that evil does exist. They are cut off from their parents or any help, and in a world where there are no rules or expectations they learn how quickly things can get out of hand. They must rely on their faith to get them through this assignment and safely back to their parents

Nightmare Academy

Frank Peretti. WestBow Press 2008, Mass Market Paperback, 352 pages, $7.99