Category Archives: Book Reviews

Book Review: End of the Road

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Come visit the Black Horse Campground, where mystery abounds!

I have only great things to say about End of The Road by Amy M. Bennett. Vivid writing makes each scene unfold before your eyes. Bennett has a true talent for character development, lively dialogue, and strong plot. Well-seasoned with humor, End of the Road features an enjoyable cast of memorable characters in an authentic New Mexico atmosphere.

Corrie Black, owner of the Black Horse Campground, is spunky, proud, curious, independent, strong, and she has a big heart. When a dead body of a long-time guest is discovered and thousands of dollars stolen, Corrie becomes embroiled in a mystery and a hunt for the thief/killer. She won’t stand idly by while her old flame, the sheriff, investigates. And she’s not sure what to think of the shady, yet attractive, Harley rider who rolls into the campground one night. In fact, the chemistry between Corrie and the two guys was my favorite part. Watch out for flying sparks!

End of the Road is a charming, clean novel with upstanding morals, yet there’s never a dull moment. This cleverly crafted novel never crosses the line into anything distasteful, crude, or gory. While the Catholic characters attend Mass, the Catholicism is subtle and the story easily enjoyed by all readers.

Between the mounting plot and juicy character development, the story moves along at a fun pace. The twists and turns keep you thinking, guessing, and reading. The novel comes to a satisfying end, yet readers will want to revisit the campground and the characters to see where life takes them in the next mystery, No Lifeguard on Duty. And the third, most recently released, book is No Vacancy. I recommend starting this series today!

End of the Road is available in paperback and as a Kindle ebook.

Book Review: The Search for the Madonna

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It’s always a pleasure to read a novel by the talented Donna Alice Patton.
Woven into her stories are enticing themes of mystery, suspense, faith, hope, and trust. The Search for the Madonna incorporates all these elements in an adventure story for girls. It reminds me of an American Girl novel, but longer, with more substance, and geared especially for Catholics!

The characters come to life in a genuine historical atmosphere. In the midst of the Great Depression, eleven-year-old twins–timid Maggie and spunky Em–spend the summer on their Aunt Sophie’s beautiful farm. Maggie hopes this idyllic place can finally be a permanent home. Unfortunately, the bank is ready to snatch the farm if the overdue taxes aren’t paid soon.

To save the farm, Maggie determines to find the family’s long-lost Brandenburg treasure and the priceless jewel-studded Madonna statue. But mysterious “ghost” trespassers, eerie lights, and confusing clues frighten and befuddle Maggie’s efforts.

With a developing devotion to the Blessed Virgin, Maggie learns to overcome fear and to trust in the Madonna not only in times of crisis, but always.

Entertaining, educational, memorable, and moral, The Search for the Madonna makes a delightful read for girls seven and up.

And stay tuned, because the author has a sequel in the works!

The Search for the Madonna is available in paperback and as a Kindle ebook.

Book Review: The Gift of Summer Snow

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The Gift of Summer Snow by Donna Alice Patton is a beautiful, wholesome quality mystery novel for young girls about age seven to thirteen.

Eleven-year-old Becky loves to garden and she is determined to win a top prize at the county fair with her Summer Snow rose. The problem? Someone is snatching her best blooms! With time running out, Becky determines to hunt down the culprit and solve the mystery. Along the way, she learns lessons in faith, friendship, and kindness. She also increases her devotion to a favorite saint, St. Theresa.

The writing, plot, and characters are lively and entertaining enough to hold the attention of the most reluctant readers, and suspense will keep readers turning pages to reach the satisfying conclusion.

The Gift of Summer Snow is a refreshing, sweet, and interesting story that you can feel good about giving your daughter to read. The role models and the depiction of a solid family unit are inspiring. This book would make a great gift or addition to a homeschool collection. In addition, the black and white illustrations are quite charming.

I would have loved the opportunity to read this book as a child. My little girls will read this someday for sure. It’s a keeper!

The Gift of Summer Snow is available in paperback from the author’s website.

Book Review: Saint Magnus The Last Viking

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Wow! Let me begin by putting to rest any notion that this,
being a historical novel, is bogged down with details and facts. The balance and delivery of fact and fiction is flawless. Saint Magnus The Last Viking brings Saint Magnus to life while delivering action-packed excitement and suspense galore!

From the beginning, I couldn’t put this book down. A ruler’s deathbed decree sets in motion a dire future for the heirs to the throne of the Orkney Islands. When Saint Magnus, a prince, clashes with his ruthless cousin Hakon, Hakon is banished. Brooding and bitter, Hakon plots revenge.

Magnus faces hardships that would drive a lesser man to despair. But the battles of good and evil ultimately chisel Magnus into a saint.

Full of twists and turns, Saint Magnus The Last Viking is sure to be read with bated breath. Teen boys will devour the action, adventure, and bravery. I’m sure many, many young women will enjoy this thrilling story as well. Adults, you too!

Note that there is violence and some blood, but a story like this could not be done justice without it. Violence is not used simply for shock value; it brings home the reality of what Magnus suffered and how his sainthood was truly merited.

At it’s core, Saint Magnus The Last Viking is a most intense story of moral courage and forgiveness against all odds.

Those who’ve never heard of this saint before will never forget him after reading this book. It’s an absolute must-read!

Saint Magnus The Last Viking is available in paperback.

Book Review: A Subtle Grace

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There is plenty to love about this beautiful novel, including the graceful flow of the story, the genuine characters, the description, the rich historical detail, the joyous moments, and the frightening ones.

A Subtle Grace by Ellen Gable is an inspirational historical romance, and more. It takes you on a genuine journey into the past, into the lives of the endearing O’Donovan Family. While the main story focuses on the oldest daughter, Kathleen, I enjoyed the intertwining, equally interesting, stories of the close-knit Catholic family and how they coped with life’s challenges: losses, tragedy, vocations, and temptations.

At 19 years old and living a privileged life in 1896 Philadelphia, Kathleen longs to be married and to begin a family before she reaches “old maid” status. She becomes fascinated by the attentions of a certain young man, but when her sparkling expectations for the future are savagely crushed, she has to learn to hope and love again. With time and trials, she matures into a selfless, instead of a somewhat self-absorbed, young woman. Even though she cannot fathom God’s plan for her life, she must trust in Him. Meanwhile, a lurking threat follows her like a dark shadow, marring her happiness.

A Subtle Grace is the sequel to the lovely book In Name Only, yet A Subtle Grace can be enjoyed independently. Of course, readers of the first book won’t want to miss this one! We get to see where life has taken Caroline and David and their family, and how the journey of life continues. The story kept me so interested that I hardly realized this was, in fact, a lengthy book.

A Subtle Grace is a novel to stir your heart, your emotions, and your soul. I highly recommend it!

A Subtle Grace is available as a Kindle ebook and will soon be available in paperback as well.

Book Review: Don’t You Forget About Me

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Don’t You Forget About Me by Erin McCole Cupp is a rollicking fun
and exciting cozy murder mystery. I found it genuine and fascinating in every way: the characters, the setting, the plot, and the twists.

Mary Catherine Whelihan, a successful author in her thirties, has no desire to return to the town where, as a young girl, she discovered a dead body in the creek. But a nun’s funeral and a strange email from Gene, an old grade school classmate (and her secret crush), lure her back–into a net of danger as she encounters foes from her childhood class, mystery, mayhem, and murder.

When another dead body turns up, Cate finds herself held as a suspect. Will Cate be able to escape the so-called “Curse of ’87” that seems to strike almost everyone from her grade school class? Together, Cate and Gene search for answers, uncovering secrets that could cost them, and their loved ones, their lives.

The author’s strong and clever command of the written language makes this book an entertaining page-turner. Don’t You Forget About Me is well-plotted with never a dull moment. From a narrow escape from a window, to a gunfire-in-the-woods scene, this novel will have you reading with bated breath.

Fans of Christian fiction will particularly enjoy the elements of faith that add to the richness of the story without hampering the plot. Fallen away from the Catholic faith of her childhood, Cate encounters not preaching, but simple, strong faith in action, even in the face of deadly adversity.

The ending of Don’t You Forget About Me is satisfying without being predictable, and an epilogue hints at just enough danger to tantalize a sequel. I recommend this highly-enjoyable, cozy, clean, lively mystery to all readers!

Don’t You Forget About Me is available in paperback and as a Kindle ebook.

Book Review: Roses are Red, Diamonds are Blue

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From the clever title and stunning cover, to the well-written story, Roses are Red, Diamonds are Blue by Donna Alice Patton is a mystery suspense novel that delivers what it promises.

The novel has an engaging beginning with plenty of tension. A mere week before Christmas, Laura Barkley receives a desperate call from her husband, Peter, right before he dies tragically in the museum where he works. When the priceless blue Anastasia Diamond is revealed missing, suspicion falls on Peter—and thus Laura—adding to her burden as her life crumbles around her.

Eleven months later, Laura is doing her best to eke out a stable existence for herself and her little twin daughters, when the threats and fear begin anew. Whom should she trust and where should she go? And will she ever be able to decipher Peter’s final clue and find the Anastasia Diamond before it’s too late?

The mystery kept me reading, and the touches of romance added to the enjoyment of the layered story. Characters are rounded and real, and I truly felt for Laura and her girls and all the hardship they’ve endured. This is a novel that grabs at your emotions and a book that any lover of suspense could enjoy.

Many potential readers will also be happy to know that this is a clean read. The Catholic faith elements are minimal, but a very nice touch. Laura progresses from a lapsed Catholic who thinks she must rely on herself for everything, to realizing that, both humanly and spiritually, she can’t (and shouldn’t) always go it alone.

Roses are Red, Diamonds are Blue is set in the late 1970s, a time period that I don’t often come across in a novel, so I found it quite interesting as well as unique. The time period and setting always felt authentic to me, and I particularly enjoyed experiencing the Blizzard of ’78 in the climax.

Thank you, Ms. Patton, for a great story!

Roses are Red, Diamonds are Blue is available as a Kindle ebook.

Book Review: I Thirst

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I Thirst is a poetic, unique first novel by Gina Marinello-Sweeney.
The writing is fresh, lyrical, and literary. The novel is definitely more character-driven than plot-driven. Twenty-year-old Rebecca meets an interesting young man and they instantly connect. They share a love of writing and embark on a writing project together, through which a deep friendship grows.

While the story moves with it’s own flow, I found it a bit disjointed in places and somewhat random. As I read, I kept hoping for more story tension. Symbolic and poetic as it was, some parts were a tad too abstract for me. The story didn’t always hold my interest, particularly the play within the play.

This is just my honest opinion, and tastes differ. From the raving reviews I’ve seen, there are certainly others who love this book. You might be one of them! I suggest reading the first several pages in Amazon’s “Look Inside” the book feature to see if I Thirst draws you in.

Catholic readers will appreciate the Catholic aspects, which are tastefully included and not overdone.

Marinello-Sweeney has quite a way with words and is certainly a gifted writer. I enjoyed her use of the first person voice and the writing is lively, descriptive, and contains zany touches of humor. The author did an excellent job fully fleshing out the characters and making some of them off-beat and eccentric. I also enjoyed her depiction of the true passion of a writer. The author’s own passion shines through in I Thirst, and I’m sure we will be seeing more of her work in the future.

I Thirst is available in paperback.

New Catholic Fiction and Reviewers Welcome

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Announcing the launch of two new pages on the Catholic-Fiction.com website:

Newest Catholic Fiction Releases
Here you will find up-to-date notification of the newest Catholic fiction books. Also, you can let Catholic-Fiction.com know about any upcoming releases.

Submit Your Review
Interested in writing specifically Catholic fiction book reviews? If so, please submit your reviews here and share them with Catholic-Fiction.com readers.

So take a look at these two latest pages and help spread the word.
Thank you!

Book Review: Finding Grace

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Laura H. Pearl’s first novel, Finding Grace, was a pure delight to read. The story is absorbing on so many levels.

The main character, Grace, is thirteen at the beginning of the book, but her story spans the years of 1972-1980 as she becomes a young woman in a world fraught with challenges. She strives to live as a good Catholic so that she may one day become a saint; but goodness doesn’t come easily, and as she struggles to live her faith, she encounters life in all its many facets of good and evil, joy and disappointments. Add to this the pain of falling deeply in love with a young man who sees her only as a friend, and I had to keep turning pages, staying up late, to find out how everything turns out.

The characters are fully developed, easy to relate to, and real. Grace’s relationships with her parents, her many brothers, and her friends, are genuine. Readers will become invested in Grace’s fate, and yearn for her to win her true love in the end. While this book is a wonderful coming-of-age story for teens, it is also great for adults looking for a romantic story that is deep and meaningful. Not a shallow romance, Finding Grace has all the hallmarks readers could want: romance, conflict, humor, life, love, laughter, and tears.

Parents can feel confident in buying this for their teens. Finding Grace is a moral read, without being bland or boring. The importance of family and faith is highlighted. Yes, there are lessons to be learned, but readers will be highly entertained along the way.

I laughed out loud. I shared in the heartaches as Grace learned who she is, and who she can be, with the grace of God. I really do miss the characters and I’m sad to be done with the novel, even though it has a beautiful ending! This is a book that I will definitely recommend to my own daughter someday.

Finding Grace is available in paperback and as a Kindle ebook.