Where Angles Fall (The Great and Terrible #2)

Not as strong and intriguing as Book #1 but still powerful.


The characters have now moved from the pre-existance to their mortal lives.

Evil is lurking and calamity is brewing. The stage is being set for the final showdown.

Luke and Ammon are twin brothers, raised by LDS parents. Their father is the top war administrator for the President. Sam is their foster brother. Raised in an ugly and abusive environment and taken in by the Brightons. He becomes a skilled warrior for the U.S. Army.

Elizbeth is born in Persia. Her mother dies from her birth and she is raised by a single father, struggling in the poor country to eek out a living and love his daughter.

The insight into Satan is creepy and very realistic.



My favorite quote...

"But deomcracies, with all their beauties, are also the most fragile of governments known to man. They are delicate and weak and dependent on good. And when the people turn to darkness, their democracies are doomed, for government cannot exceed the moral worth of the people it rules. And while the economic and moral prosperity that follows freedom can provide fertile ground for the truth, history has proven that prosperity will inevitably sprout the weeds of selfishness, pride, and decay.

When the people become physically comfortable, the truth is ignored. And when they become wealthy, the truth is despised."
 
Rating 4  I LOVED the first one.  This one hardly compares but still good.
Rating  Rating PG 13 violence having to do with war.  Satan and his followers attempt to entice the living, kinda creepy.

A Loving Heart (Dicken's Inn #3)

*Spoilers*

The third installment of the Dicken's Inn saga picks up where the second left off.  Chas is pregnant with their second child.  Jackson has been baptized and they are looking forward to the time when they can be sealed in the temple.
We immediately find out that the baby Chas is carrying has a heart defect and may die at or before birth.  Jackson's former FBI associate calls to see if he will accept a woman in protective custody (hiding from the mob) at the Dicken's Inn. Jackson's sister comes to stay with the family to help.  Her son, a soldier in the war in the Middle East is injured and ends up moving in to the inn.  And Jackson's old FBI team member finally comes for a visit to help with the woman they are harboring........he may never end up leaving.

I think this may have been the best book in this series so far.  Jackson was all manly and cop like, which is a plus.  I do appreciate the way that Stansfield's characters approach situations and handle themselves very graciously and very gospel oriented, but I don't find it at all realistic.  This time Jackson seemed more human to me......especially when he whipped out his duty weapon.  Aside from the totally obnoxious fact that the characters are usually independently wealthy and function together as a couple.........ALL day, EVERY day (Which I consider to be the biggest work of fiction in these books)...the book was much more palatable.  It didn't have the emotional turmoil that many times harrows up these books.  I am ready for this series to be over.  I love Jackson and if he actually worked full time as an agent or a police officer he would probably be a much better character........but he runs an inn.....and is a little demasculinized by it.

Rating 3.5  More action.  Jackson actually uses a weapon....which he stopped wearing when he retired......and I find absurd.  The storyline containing the new baby was good and even though it was traumatic, it wasn't so mentally emotional that I felt like a dog going in cirlces after my tail.
Rating PG  Shooting!!!!

Exploring the Connection Between Mormons and Masons

Exploring the Connection Between Mormons and Masons by Matthew B. Brown

Brown tidily lays out why LDS temples and temple ordinance work is not founded or copied from Freemasonry.  The book, as non-fiction is informative, especially the footnotes, but not a wild and intense read.  Much of the information you probably already knew if you are LDS.  Also, because Brown did not want to leak or slander the sacred LDS ordinances or Freemason rituals, there was actually little he could say......which is probably why you picked the book up in the first place (to get all of the nitty gritty!). 
Brown does a good job of laying out the facts in a timeline fashion so that they are easy to understand.  And he proves his point well.....if you already agreed with the point he was making. However, if you are not LDS, you probably don't really care about what he has to say.  He assumes that the reader will count revelation, visions, and other spiritual activity as a plausable way of gleening information.  While I do.......not everyone does.  So, you could be left saying.........'Well, the whole shebang could have just been lied about or made up."

Rating 3 It didn't rot.  I was interested.  I understand why this wasn't some 'Enquirer' expose...BUT it did leave you wondering why you really read it.  The footnotes were probably some of the best parts.
Rating G

The Miracle of Forgiveness

The Miracle of Forgiveness by Spencer W. Kimball

After all of these years, I have never read this book before.  I finally found it at a library sale for fifty cents and decided to buy it.  I started months ago and wasn't feeling it.  But once I had one of those intense PMS days, where you see your life stretching out before you.........as you struggle up the down escalator of life...and I felt like since I was already down I could take a good kick in the teeth. (You know how sometimes you're down and you just want to really GET DOWN?)  So I set out with my pen to mark up the book.
I can't say that I am behind every word uttered in the book.  I've never been called a prude (well I take that back) so don't believe what I say......but I don't feel like I'm a sinner when I wear shorts.  Also, I drove a car in my teen years and made it to adulthood fairly unscathed.  I also have a much more tolerant view of homosexuality.  That said, the actual doctrine of repentance was five star.  There were some amazing quotes and my book is totally written all over.
In the beginning I will say that it seems harsh, but I like harsh.  Don't hold back on me.  I know Heavenly Father loves me despite the fact that I am a cold hearted, quick to anger, justice seeking, judgemental fool. And I had a lot of hope that if I can just be merciful to others, (if I can just.......be.......merciful.....) then I will also be given mercy.
My fave quote..."You can't flirt with sin and be repentant."  ......er something like that.  I guess I better stop batting my lashes then.
Grade 5
Grade PG 13 Frank discussion about homosexuality and sex.

First Love Second Chances

First Love Second Chances by Anita Stansfield

Well it seems I wasn't quite finished with being sentimental.........and I took in the second book. 
Clean, romantic, foreign, struggle with emotions and problems unique to the LDS culture.  Sigh.  I felt fulfilled.

This is the second book put out by Stansfield YEARS ago.  Loved it maybe a hair less than the first one.

Hopefully I am now able to move on to other literature.
Rating 5
Rating PG

First Love and Forever

First Love and Forever by Anita Stansfield

This was the first book I ever read by Stansfield and that is when I fell in love.  After my last read of hers, I was feeling a little sentimental so I reread First Love and Forever.

Emily is in an unhappy marriage to the man that she felt compelled to choose after much prayer.  Ryan was able to give her the one thing that the 'other' man couldn't, a temple marriage.  The 'other' man is Michael Hamilton.  A published Australian nonmember author that Emily met at BYU.  And as far as I can tell besides being an nonmember Michael is nearly perfect.  That aside, Ryan and Emily aren't making happy memories when, after ten years Michael comes back into the picture asking Emily to leave Ryan and marry him. 
What will she do?  Even though all works out in the end..........it is a painful process.
Stansfield at her best.  This is probably my number one top pick out of all of her books....actually her first five were great.
So if you either haven't read this particular Stansfield or you just need to revisit the Hamiltons......it is a nice cozy, romantic escape.
Rating 5 I've read it at least half a dozen times.  I love Michael Hamilton.....I will admit after this reading Emily started to wear on me........but then there was Michael.......
Rating PG   Kissing, reference to marital sex.

The Holy Secret

The Holy Secret by James Ferrell

By the author of 'The Peacegiver' (rating 5) comes the next instructive parable. I hate to lay it out there like this.......but it wasn't quite as good. Basically the book is a conversation between two adult men about learning to love things that are holy including the temple and the scriptures. A younger family man comes to an elderly ward member looking for answers after hearing him speak in sacrament meeting. He comes to realize during the talk that he doesn't love the temple or the scriptures. He wants to learn how.
It felt to me like the book began strong. It had a good break down of how to go through the scriptures asking questions in order to participate or have a conversation with the scriptures....thus gleaning more than merely buzzing through them just to gain another tally mark. The elderly man spoke about finding similitude's of Christ in other scripture stories. This is something I may have EVENTUALLY come up with, but I liked having it pointed out. I suspect for those of you who were either active as youth or didn't skip institute to make out with your boyfriend may have known these things already. So this book could be a great reminder.
Another aspect of the book that may have been one of the best parts, was the break down of the sacrament prayers. I took notes.
By the end, when we were getting to the temple parts......which is what I was truly interested in, it began to fade a little for me. I am on board with the vicarious work thing so I guess this part was just reminder for me. But who doesn't need a refresher? And then it ended......and I mean abruptly.
Rating 4 Some great info. made easy to read. Some of it was just refresher. Not up to par with Ferrell's first book.
Rating G

Eve And The Choice Made In Eden

Eve And The Choice Made In Eden by Beverly Campbell

This was not my first reading of this book so I may be more critical this time. There was nothing wrong with the book first off. I am just not a go get em' feminista. I have never thought that one gender was any more important than the other. I do believe that each gender has some unique and specific roles better played by them. I do not want to be a man. I have never thought Adam and Eve made a mistake. I have never thought it was all Eve's fault (although I have had a poorly educated religious leader tell a group of young women that......boo hiss! I promptly corrected his male chauvinist attitude.).

The back cover states, "Understanding what happened in the Garden can change your life." I guess that is possible if you have any misconceived notions such as the ones stated above. Considering that I don't.........my life is still the same.

The book does try to pump up Eve which I don't have a problem with. She certainly rocked or she wouldn't have been Eve. I would only hate for anyone to read and feel superior. Adam and Eve were equal in intelligence and power. They were just different.....which is why it is so great. I feel like hopefully Campbell put this across.

I do however LOVE that Campbell explains through doctrine the difference between sin and transgression AND the fact that there was transgression in the Garden......not sin. She also hits on mercy vs. justice which is a topic I always enjoy. And the information also covers the thought that Adam and Eve probably had a trying time contemplating what to do. This may have taken years, not like one afternoon. The author also delves into the difference in ways that men and women assess morality, decision making and risk taking. To round it all out she makes us aware that this was all part of the Plan and not a mistake or whim. Adam and Eve had to use their own agency to leave the Garden and the presence of God. God made a Plan whereby this would take place and then there would be a way already in the works to be able to return. Campbell also puts forth the thought that although Satan tried to thwart the Plan, he really just helped the right thing to happen.

In all I really enjoyed the book especially the points with doctrine to uphold it. My life wasn't changed because I already believed I am divine in my own right......and that women are just as great as men. I do like that this may strike a chord with those thinking that women of our faith submit like a beaten puppy. Not so. We make our own choices and only follow men of faith.

Rating 5 I give it a five because I feel like this is something you could read every few years. Mostly my favorite parts were the ones about the difference between transgression and sin. This is something I like to keep straight in my mind and I need to brush up on the specifics.

Rating G