Archive for April 2010

Searching for Eden

 

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“Searching for Eden”

Author: Keith Madsen

Evan Jordan’s life is turned upside down by the unfortunate death of his fourteen-year-old daughter. How does one even begin to handle that? He is lost and hurting and trying to find peace within himself. Before his daughter passed away she had expressed an interest in the Garden of Eden. In an attempt to find something he needs, although he is unsure what it is he is seeking, he sets out to find the Garden.

Evan is not sure if the Garden is fact or fiction but he realizes a quest of this magnitude requires more knowledge on the subject than he possesses. He sets out to recruit help. Somehow he manages to convince a beautiful archaeologist to accompany him while at the same time he manages to rescue a young girl from a life of prostitution.  Coincidentally the girl he saves is the same age as his deceased daughter.

Evan’s journey takes him through Iran and Iraq where he meets wonderful people from differing religions who all pull together to help him find what he’s looking for. They scour the lands searching for clues to the Garden of Eden’s location until they anger the Iranian government because they were too close to nuclear sites. At this point the journey becomes part quest and part rescue mission.

All in all I found “Searching For Eden” to be a touching story but at times it definitely bordered on the unbelievable side. This is a fictional book; however, the backdrop is centered in the Middle East which makes it challenging to remember the genre of “fiction” and the strong religious current throughout the book didn’t help either.

The author, Keith Madsen, does a great job of being descriptive and it’s easy to empathize with the book’s characters. Madsen comes across as knowledgeable about the countries traversed within this tale and at times he provides a very different perspective on the varying religions. His writing style is informative yet fun making it easy to follow. At times there was a little too much “drama” for my own personal taste but overall I found it to be a well written book. To sum up: a good read with a powerful message.

Genoa Bay

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“Genoa Bay”

Author: Bette Nordberg

I found “GenoaBay” to be a delightful and charming read. The author, Bette Nordberg does a wonderful job of skillfully bringing this tale to life. She is extremely descriptive and attentive to detail without becoming boring or long-winded. While the book is fictional I do feel that many readers will be able to empathize with the story and its characters in one way or another.

The main character, Brandy Beauchamp, inherits a bed and breakfast located onVancouver Island. The property is beautiful but will require a tremendous amount of energy, commitment and tender loving care in order to return it to its former glory. Brandy is faced with a difficult choice. Should she stay in her current situation which seems to be taking her nowhere or should she take a chance on a new and previously unexpected opportunity?

Signs, which seem to be telling her to go, jump out at her on a regular basis and Brandy finally realizes she needs to just take a leap of faith and act on this chance. Much to the dismay of her friends and family she uproots herself and her five-year-old daughter Gabby. Together they move to British Columbia in order to take on this huge project and have a chance at a new life.

Once there though things are not as cut and dried as Brandy originally expected them to be. There is a lot of back-breaking work to be done and she continuously wonders if she has made the right choice. It doesn’t help that a local property developer wants to purchase the land that her bed and breakfast sits on and she is shocked by the lengths he is willing to go to in order to get what he wants.

In closing, “Genoa Bay” was a well written novel and definitely a fun read. I highly recommend this book to readers of all ages. Bette Nordberg has a fantastic writing style. Her words have the ability to remove you from your own life before they deposit you right into the pages of her book. I look forward to reading more of her works in the future.

Flaherty’s Crossing

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“Flaherty’s Crossing”

Author: Kaylin McFarren

Normally in my reviews I start with information about the book but in this case I am going to start with the author. I found Kaylin McFarren to be a very descriptive writer. She is able to describe people and situations in a clear yet interesting manner without becoming too wordy or boring. I would liken her writing style to that of Danielle Steele and I think her works will make a wonderful addition to the romance genre.

“Flaherty’s Crossing” is a heartfelt story about a woman whose entire life seems to be in turmoil. Kate Flaherty, the main character, is a woman in constant emotional pain. Because of her life experiences, her upbringing and the death of her mother when she was a small child she refuses to allow anyone completely into her life. Instead she keeps everyone, including her husband, at arms length preferring to hide behind the facade of a perfect life.

We first meet Kate at her father’s house where his losing battle with cancer is almost over. Kate is unsure how to feel at this point. On the one hand she is angry at him for shutting her out of his life ever since the death of her mother. On the other hand she is still daddy’s little girl; desperately wishing for his love and affection or at least a sign that he is proud of who she has become as an adult. He passes away while she is not there which leaves her adrift; warring with feelings of guilt, sorrow and anger.

Kate is also battling with a marriage that is falling apart and neither she, nor her husband Drew, seems to know how to reach out to the other to fix it. They are both at an impasse. She feels she cannot trust him because he is always letting her down and he feels that she no longer wants him in her life.

Several key events transpire which force Kate to face previously unknown truths; force her to question the validity of the reality she thought she knew and force her to realize that no one is perfect. Armed with this new information can Kate rescue herself, her life, and her marriage before it’s too late? The answers to that and to the “rest of the story” can be found on the pages of “Flaherty’s Crossing.”

Deserted Ocean

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“Deserted Ocean”

Author: Norman Holy

Wow, what a phenomenal story! “Deserted Ocean” is a well-written, well-researched, descriptive yet interesting book. Take into account that it is actually non-fiction and suddenly the message within its pages becomes truly frightening. Bottom-line, we are killing the oceans and its inhabitants. The ocean floors are fast becoming barren wastelands which the majority of us can’t see because these “deserts” sit under hundreds of feet of water. This is a dire situation because the oceans play an important role in our survival as a species.

The author, Norman Holy, does an excellent job of compiling information in an easy to read and understand format. He uses more than just the last century as a barometer for these findings and instead follows the degradation of our oceans back over a thousand years. It’s obvious that humankind has an effect on the environment. In the beginning our impact was less harmful only because we didn’t have the technology to harvest the oceans in the manner we do now. However, our technological advancements have improved so much that the ocean’s fish and cetaceans no longer have anywhere to hide.

This book points out, in well-documented black and white, that humans can be a thoughtless species. The majority of us do not live in harmony with the planet which, in my opinion, says a lot for our character as a whole. We are the caretakers of the earth and supposedly the most intelligent species on it. However, opposable thumbs do not a smart person make. I would also wager there is not another animal out there that could, or more importantly would, do the things we have done and are still doing.

I feel “Deserted Ocean” is a must read for anyone who calls this planet home. I know there are those who would argue about our impact; who will throw out other reasons why global warming and oceanic dead zones are occurring. I would say those people are extremely ignorant AND arrogant. While we may not necessarily agree on the amount of impact we have on the earth around us it should be obvious to all that we do have some. As our technology gets better our footprint gets larger. The question Holy seems to be asking is: are we capable of stopping the huge snow-ball barreling down upon us before it becomes the unstoppable avalanche? And if we manage to raise our awareness and lessen our impact will the oceans be able to recover from the damage we have already inflicted upon them?