Have you read FIVE DAYS IN SKYE by Carla Laureano?

/ Dora Hiers / 2 Comments
Five Days in Skye

About the book~
Hospitality consultant Andrea Sullivan has one last chance to snag a high-profile client or she’ll have to kiss her dreams of promotion good-bye. When she’s sent to meet Scottish celebrity chef James MacDonald on the Isle of Skye, she just wants to finish her work as efficiently as possible. Yet her client is not the opportunistic womanizer he portrays himself to be, and her attraction to him soon dredges up memories she’d rather leave buried. For James, renovating the family hotel is a fulfillment of his late father’s dreams. When his hired consultant turns out to be beautiful, intelligent, and completely unimpressed by his public persona, he makes it his mission to win her over. He just never expects to fall under her spell.

Soon, both Andrea and James must face the reality that God may have a far different purpose for their lives—and that five days in Skye will forever change their outlook on life and love.


Meet the cast~

“I like men. I just don’t particularly trust them.” 
Meet Andrea Sullivan. After a disastrous marriage straight out of college, Andrea abandons her dream of playing in a symphony and strives to become Vice President of a hospitality consultant firm, ignoring the hurtful zingers from the men she works with about her personal life. She’s a workaholic with a strong closing ratio, and that coveted VP designation is right around the next contract.

Until she runs across celebrity Chef James MacDonald, who’s flirty and fun. His smile ignites her dormant excitement about life, but he’s too much like her ex-husband to stand a fighting chance to claim her heart. Besides, he’s fighting his own demons from the past. After a devastating breakup with his ex-fiance, he’s determined not to become emotionally entangled again. It doesn’t help that Andrea’s equally determined not to be just a pretty girl on his arm.

Sharing my thoughts~
OK. Here’s where I confess that I’m not particularly enamored with either the cover or the title, so this book sat unopened in my kindle for at least a month. But, when I read the first few pages and they totally reeled me in, I was hooked! What a playful, engaging book! I loved it, from the cast of characters to feeling like I was actually touring Scotland, if only in the pages of a book. 

I mean, really. What’s not to like about this?

“The entire Sound of Sleat spread out in front of them, a wide expanse of blue. Gentle waves lapped at the rocky beach below, creating lacy ripples of white froth against the dark sand. Across, she could see the mountainous edge of the Scottish mainland. The sun had finally risen, and now the sky was a brilliant blue, dotted with fluffy white clouds.”

Don’t you just want to dive into the pages of this book? Or book a trip to Scotland? Yeah, I know. I hear ya. If I like that excerpt, why don’t I like the cover? For some reason (lack of people maybe?) the cover doesn’t work for me. This is a prime example of why I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but that’s such a challenge for me.


If you know me, you know I love “happily-ever-after’s.” Like the title implies, this book covered just five days, so there wasn’t what I’d call a “proper” HEA, but the ending definitely left me satisfied. No spoilers from me. You’ll just have to read the book. Those Five Days in Skye are jam-packed with character depth, emotions and setting. 

Reviewers have noted that Five Days in Skye isn’t your typical Christian romance. Some readers might not appreciate particular topics like drinking wine/ale with meals, which I considered to be more of a cultural difference. It’s also rated high on the kissing intensity scale, yet I found the scenes well-balanced with emotional tenderness and never graphic. I appreciate how the author showed realistic characters and tackled sensitive issues like this:

“Christians like to talk about love and forgiveness, but they’re no better than anyone else. They’d sooner judge you than accept you. I’d rather be a heathen than a hypocrite.”

Ouch.

Have you read Five Days in Skye? 

Do you agree with my review? What were your thoughts?
What about you? Do you decide whether to read a book based on whether you like its cover?

Purchase Link

Disclaimer: I scooped this book up from Amazon when it was offered free. The opinions expressed in this review are my own, and I received no monetary compensation.

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Doubt…or Trust?

/ Dora Hiers / 16 Comments

“Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Mt 28:16-17 NIV

Jesus had warned his disciples all that would happen surrounding his crucifixion. They’d been hanging around with him for three years and had witnessed countless miracles, so many they weren’t all recorded in the Bible (Jn 21:25). You’d think that they would have believed him, right?

Not. 

Everything happened exactly as Jesus predicted. One of his own disciples turned him over to the authorities in exchange for trinkets of silver. Jesus was beaten, whipped, and then nailed to a cross until his last breath. A heavy stone was rolled across the entry to where his broken body lay, and guards were posted outside the tomb. 

All events he’d told them about ahead of time, happened exactly as he’d said. To the last detail.

When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.


Seriously? The disciples doubted?

Men that had followed Jesus around for three years? Soaking in his words, watching him perform miracles, witnessing the compassion in his eyes as he looked upon his children? 

Doubt. 

What a nasty, five letter word that sometimes slithers in to my life. Whether it’s in my marriage, my writing, my faith…

Why do I struggle with it so?

Because doubt is a lie of the enemy, an all out frontal attack by the devil to rob us of joy, of peace that passes understanding. The enemy tosses out those tiny nuggets of doubt, and if we let allow them to take root, they blossom into full-fledged fear.


The disciples doubted even after they’d had a chance to see Jesus, to touch the holes in his hands, to hear his voice. Peter doubted after he’d stepped out of the boat and he looked down at the waves crashing around his feet. Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” Mt 14:31 NIV

I can sometimes picture him, with an outstretched arm, glancing down at me with warm eyes, full of compassion, and in a loving voice, saying, “Oh, Dora, where’s your faith? Why must you doubt?”

God promised that He’d always be with me. Why rob myself of joy and peace by doubting? I choose trust over doubt. 

Do you struggle with doubt? Which will you choose?
Doubt or trust?

http://www.linkytools.com/thumbnail_linky_include.aspx?id=204557A to Z blog hop at Patterings.

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Have You Read NORTH COUNTRY HERO by Lois Richer?

/ Dora Hiers
North Country Hero
by Lois Richer

About the book~
Back home to heal, army veteran Kyle Loness can’t wait to leave the town that holds such sad memories. He never expects beautiful newcomer Sara Kane to enlist his help with the town’s new youth center. What does he know about helping kids? But the more time he spends with the troubled teens—and Sara—the more the jaded soldier feels his defenses crumbling. It might take Sara—and the kids—to open his guarded heart to love again. 

My summary~
Reeling from an injury and angry at God, Kyle Loness is only in Churchill, Canada, to settle things after his father’s death. He plans to get the house ready to sell, and get out. Sara Kane heads to Churchill to cook for Lives Under Construction, a youth center for boys. A former foster child, she has plenty of love to go around. Determined to find her biological family, she seeks out computer savvy Kyle for help.

What I liked…
I really liked Sara. Although she suffered a rough childhood, she still managed to find the good in everything and everybody. Instead of being weak and wimpy, her experience made her strong and determined. Sara showed kindness to the wounded soldier, and although Kyle tries to distance himself, her sweet, generous spirit draws him in.

At a crucial point in the book, Sara couldn’t discern God’s voice or the path He wanted her to take. It took being alone, really alone, for her to recognize His will. I could relate to that. When my world clamors with noise, I need that “alone” time with Him.

and not so much…
I felt the faith element tended to be a bit on the heavy side. That said, the author tackled a couple tough topics with this book, feelings of unworthiness and struggling with why bad things happen, and I thought she handled them well. 

Overall…
I enjoyed North Country Hero and how the characters overcame their feelings of unworthiness and worked through their faith issues realistically. North Country Hero is definitely worth picking up for a nice, leisurely read. 

Disclaimer: Sending a huge thanks to Harlequin  and NetGalley for providing me with an advance review copy. The opinions expressed in this review are my own, and I received no monetary compensation.

What about you? Do you sometimes worry that you can’t hear God’s voice or that you missed His direction? Does it take getting alone with Him for you to discern His will?
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