Review: God Gave Us Love

God Gave Us Love by Lisa Tawn Bergren

As Little Cub and Grampa Bear’s fishing adventure is interrupted by mischievous otters, the young polar bear begins to question why we must love others… even the seemingly unlovable.

In answering her questions, Grampa Bear gives tender explanations that teach Little Cub about the different kinds of love that is shared between families, friends, and mamas and papas. Grampa explains that all these kinds of love come from God and that it is important to love others because…

“Any time we show love, Little Cub, we’re sharing a bit of his love.”

This sweet tale will warm the hearts of young children as they learn about all the different sorts of love, while the gentle explanations of each provide a valuable opportunity to encourage children to share with others a “God-sized love.”

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What an absolutely delightful children's book. This is my favorite of Lisa's children's stories so far. In a fabulous and adorable manner Grampa explains to Little Cub why and how God gave us love. The pictures are too cute if you take the time to see the side line stories and hear the slight whine and pitch of Little Cub's voice. I absolutely love one picture that sent me into fits of laughter with snowballs. *wink* I treasure this book and I am so glad I have this story to be able to share one of God's very powerful truths in such a great explanation way with my daughter. I highly recommend this book and cannot wait to get my hands on others of Lisa's children's books.

View all my reviews >>


Lisa Tawn Bergren is the award-winning author of nearly thirty titles, totaling more than 1.5 million books in print. She writes in a broad range of genres, from adult fiction to devotional.God Gave Us Love follows in Lisa’s classic tradition of the best-selling God Gave Us You. She lives in Colorado, with her husband, Tim, and their children, Olivia, Emma, and Jack.

Visit the author's website.

Find on Random House.


I also really enjoy Lisa's adult Christian historical fiction as well as her other God Gave Us titles, such as God Gave Us Heaven. Read more… God Gave Us Heaven is one of the best children's book with the most important message that is often hard to explain. I love Lisa Tawn Bergren's adult fiction series and now I love her children's books as well and cannot wait to add others to my shelf. The pictures are wonderful and provide for much exploring and conversation. It is definitely a book I would recommend for my nieces and nephews.

*These books were provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.*

Review: God Gave Us Chrstmas

God Gave Us Christmas by Lisa Tawn Bergren

As Little Cub and her family prepare to celebrate the most special day of the year, the curious young polar bear begins to wonder…
“Who invented Christmas?”
Mama’s answer only leads to more questions like “Is God more important than Santa?” So she and Little Cub head off on a polar expedition to find God and to see how he gave them Christmas. Along the way, they find signs that God is at work all around them. Through Mama’s gentle guidance, Little Cub learns about the very first Christmas and discovers that…
Jesus is the best present of all.
This enchanting tale provides the perfect opportunity to help young children celebrate the true meaning of Christmas and to discover how very much God loves them.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Whenever I search for a children's book dealing with Christmas time, it's always a challenge and question on whether or not to deal with a book about Santa or about Jesus. This wonderful little treasure from Lisa's God Gave Us series makes it where there is not a choice, but just truth. Here, Mama takes time to show Little Cub in detailed images why and how God gave us Christmas and intertwines how Santa fits into the picture. I love the poetry of the prose and the pictures are fabulous and colors are wonderful to look at. I truly enjoyed sharing this story with my daughter and look forward to reading it more and more in the years to come and highly recommend it!

View all my reviews >>

Find on Random House here.

Lisa Tawn Bergren is the award-winning author of nearly thirty titles, totaling more than 1.5 million books in print. She writes in a broad range of genres, from adult fiction to devotional.God Gave Us Love follows in Lisa’s classic tradition of the best-selling God Gave Us You. She lives in Colorado, with her husband, Tim, and their children, Olivia, Emma, and Jack.

Visit the author's website.

David Hohn is an award-winning illustrator who graduated with honors from the Maryland Institute College of Art. He has worked as both a staff artist and an art director for a children’s software company in Portland, Oregon, a position which led to his art directing an award-winning project for Fisher-Price. Hohn’s recent projects include Lisa Tawn Bergren’s God Gave Us Christmas.

Visit the illustrator's website.


I also really enjoy Lisa's adult Christian historical fiction as well as her other God Gave Us titles, such as God Gave Us Heaven. Read more… God Gave Us Heaven is one of the best children's book with the most important message that is often hard to explain. I love Lisa Tawn Bergren's adult fiction series and now I love her children's books as well and cannot wait to add others to my shelf. The pictures are wonderful and provide for much exploring and conversation. It is definitely a book I would recommend for my nieces and nephews.

*These books were provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.*

Trailer: Breathe by Lisa T. Bergren

Lisa Bergren's Breathe Promo 1 from tim bergren on Vimeo.

Breathe by Lisa Tawn Bergren (a review)

Breathe: A Novel of Colorado by Lisa Tawn Bergren

Devastated by the loss of four sons to tuberculosis and his wife in childbirth, a Philadelphia patriarch sends his three living children west in 1883 to make a new life in the clean mountain air of Colorado Springs. Odessa is struggling to survive consumption; Moira is beautiful and dangerously headstrong; and pugnacious Dominic is charged with establishing a new arm of the family business-a business he doesn't want. Readers will love The Homeward Trilogy, in which the St. Clair siblings struggle to follow where the heavenly Father leads them.
In Breathe, Odessa arrives at a famous sanitarium seeking a cure for the disease that killed her brothers. While Moira and Nic establish themselves in Colorado Springs society, Dessa inches her way back to health... and into love with a softspoken fellow patient, rancher Bryce McAllan. When she witnesses a murder - in the very hospital where she is recuperating - and other patients begin to die, Dessa struggles to breathe again. She'd always expected to die young, but now that she has a reason to live, can she hold on to her fragile health to solve the mystery?

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Breathe is more than just a prairie romance, it is an edge of your seat page turning mystery. This book is deeper than most historical fiction books that you will find and it really makes you think. There is a darker side of things, but not too dark to survive without God on your side.



In this novel, instead of following one character with various side characters in the background, the reader really follows the three different St. Clair siblings on their individual adventures. Having one story come to a content closure in this book, I really look forward to the next two books in the series to find out just how their journeys continue.


View all my reviews.

CFBA: Breathe by Lisa T. Bergren

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Breathe
(David C. Cook; New edition June 1, 2009)
by
Lisa T. Bergren


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Lisa T. Bergren is the best-selling, award winning author of over thirty books, with more than 1.5 million copies sold. A former publishing executive, she now splits her time between writing and freelance editing and parenting her three young children with her husband Tim. She lives in Colorado Springs.

ABOUT THE BOOK

To make a new life, she'll have to learn how to breathe again...

By the time Dominic and Moira St. Clair get their ailing sister, Odessa, to Colorado Springs in the winter of 1883, she is nearly dead. Odessa has been seriously aling for the past year from consumption, an illness that claimed the lives of four of her younger brothers, prompting her father, to send his only surviving children west to chase the cure.

Moira is beautiful and dangerously headstrong; and pugnacious Dominic is charged with establishing a new arm of the family business--a business he doesn't want.
Several days after her arrival, Odessa witnesses what she fears is the murder of miner Sam O’Toole, friend and neighbor to the charming Bryce McAllan.

What’s more, Sam leaves her a poem containing clues that seem to direct her to his mine, which is purported to carry a fantastic vein of silver. But if she is ever to rise from her bed again, she must first concentrate on conquering the giant that threatens her─consumption. Indeed, she must learn to breathe again─daring to embrace her life, her future, and hope in her God.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Breathe, go HERE

God Gave Us Heaven by Lisa Tawn Bergren

God Gave Us Heaven by Lisa Tawn Bergren

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars God Gave Us Heaven is one of the best children's book with the most important message that is often hard to explain. I love Lisa Tawn Bergren's adult fiction series and now I love her children's books as well and cannot wait to add others to my shelf. The pictures are wonderful and provide for much exploring and conversation. It is definitely a book I would recommend for my nieces and nephews.

View all my reviews.



It is time to play a Wild Card! Every now and then, a book that I have chosen to read is going to pop up as a FIRST Wild Card Tour. Get dealt into the game! (Just click the button!) Wild Card Tours feature an author and his/her book's FIRST chapter!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today's Wild Card author is:

Lisa Tawn Bergren

and her book:

God Gave Us Heaven

WaterBrook Press (August 19, 2008)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Lisa Tawn Bergren is the award-winning author of nearly thirty titles, totaling more than one million books in print. She writes in a broad range of genres, from adult fiction to devotional. God Gave Us Heaven is Lisa’s fourth children’s book, following in the tradition of the best-selling God Gave Us You. She makes her home in Colorado, with her husband, Tim, and their children, Olivia, Emma, and Jack.

Visit the author's website.

ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR:

Laura J. Bryant studied painting, printmaking, and sculpture at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. She has illustrated numerous award-winning children’s books, including God Gave Us You, Smudge Bunny, and If You Were My Baby. Laura lives in Asheville, North Carolina.

Visit the illustrator's website.



Poduct Details:

List Price: $10.99
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 40 pages
Publisher: WaterBrook Press (August 19, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1400074460
ISBN-13: 978-1400074464

AND NOW...THE FIRST TWO PAGES:

First Name
Blog
Adam
http://quilluponthepaper.blogspot.com/
Alexis
http://ajpr2.blogspot.com/
Ali
http://faith-walkin.blogspot.com/
Amanda
http://www.ohamanda.com/
Amara A
http://somewhatofficialwoodsidebible.blogspot.com/
Amy
http://peek-a-booicu.blogspot.com/
Amy
Http://homeschoolblogger.com/bowofbronze
Amy
www.scribblingsuit.blogspot.com
Amy
http://www.myfriendamysblog.com
Angela
http://neveradullmoment-angie.blogspot.com/
Angie
http://godusesbrokenvessels.blogspot.com
Ann
http://www.xanga.com/a_thousand_thoughts
April
http://blessfulwritings.blogspot.com/
Audra
http://www.audrasilva.com/blog/
Becky
http://womenathome.typepad.com/becky/
Becky
http://stand-firm-then.blogspot.com
Beth
http://andtheniwokeup.blogspot.com/
Caleb
www.missionalstudents.typepad.com
Caleb
http://reviewsplus.blogspot.com/
Camille

Cara
http://carasmusings.blogspot.com/2007/09/yippee.html
Casandra
www.xanga.com/spazzymommy
CeeCee
http://booksplurge.blogspot.com/
Chris
http://thehubbs.net/chris/
Chris
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/underdog
Chris
http://chrishobbsblog.blogspot.com
Christa
www.cballan.wordpress.com
Christina
http://daisycrazyliving.blogspot.com/
Christina
http://christina-everythingelse.blogspot.com
Christy
www.crittyjoy.wordpress.com
Christy
http://christysbookblog.blogspot.com
Daniel
http://www.danieliweaver.com/blog
Dave
www.daverhoades.com/wordpress
David
http://fauthclan.blogspot.com/
Dawn
http://www.bookjunkieconfessions.blogspot.com/
Deborah
http://books-movies-chinesefood.blogspot.com/
Dee
http://christianfiction.blogspot.com/
Dee
http://christianfiction.blogpsot.com
Deena
http://deenasbooks.blogspot.com/
De'Etta
http://not2many.blogspot.com
Denise
http://cottagekeeperdenise.blogspot.com
Derek
http://thrushblog.blogspot.com
Ed
http://www.hickorywithepc.org/Pastor/pastorblog/pastorblog.php
Edyth

Elisa
ExtravagantGrace.net
Elisabeth
http://ekemerson.wordpress.com/
Eliza
http://www.elizatucker.com/journal
Eric
http://www.wordsfromtheway.com/between-the-trees/
Gina
http://portraitofawriter.ginaconroy.com; http://writerinterrupted.com
Gretchen
www.dreamwriter07.blogspot.com
Heather
http://booksandbairns.blogspot.com
Heidi
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/ReviewsbyHeidi
Jamie
http://mybandofboys.wordpress.com
Jamie
www.survivingthechaos.blogspot.com
Janis
http://www.janisrodgers.blogspot.com/
Janna
www.cornhuskeracademy.blogspot.com
Jennifer
http://quiverfullfamily.com/blog
Jenny
mybucklingbookshelf.blogspot.com
Jenny
http://ausjenny.blogspot.com
Jessica
http://www.jessyferguson.blogspot.com
Jill
CWAHM.com; RadiantLit.com; Blogcritics.org
John
jmb3.blogspot.com
Julia
www.reviewzbyjewelz.blogspot.com
Karla
http://www.roadstoeverywhere.com/blog.html
Kathy
http://blog.myspace.com/the_real_rory_gilmore
Katie
www.myspace.com/soccercpk
Katrina
http://callapidderdays.blogspot.com
Kelly
http://rkvaughn.blogspot.com/
Kim
http://bookreviewstoday.blogspot.com/
Kim
berlysue.blogspot.com
Kristinia
http://kristiniac.blogspot.com
LaShaunda
http://lashaunda.blogspot.com/
Laura
http://laurawilliamsmusings.blogspot.com/
Leah
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/friends4tea
Linda
http://mochawithlinda.blogspot.com
Lisa
http://ourapplesofgold.blogspot.com
Lisa
http://qtpies7.com
Lori
http://web.mac.com/randypatterson/Site/Welcome.html
Margaret
www.homeschoolblogger.com/cappuccinosmom
Margaret
http://cherryblossommj.blogspot.com
Matthew
JesusNeedsNewPR.blogspot.com
Melanie
www.MelanieWrites.blogspot.com
Michele
http://www.xanga.com/catzndogz9
Michelle
http://michellesfoodpage.blogspot.com/
Michelle
raisinglittlewomen.com
Michelle
www.raisinglittlewomen.com
Mimi
http://tagsandotherformsofmischief.blogspot.com/
Nancy
http://nanhann.blogspot.com/
Pam
http://www.hip2bhomeschooling.blogspot.com
Pattie
http://freshbrewedwriter.blogspot.com
Rachel
doctorsmclaughlin.blogspot.com
Rachelle
http://zyphe.blogspot.com
Rebecca
http://lifeinthefarcountry.blogspot.com
Rel
www.relzreviewz.blogspot.com
Robert
http://www.robosborn.com/blog
Ron
http://www.moreron.com
Sarah
http://sassyfrazz.blogspot.com
Sarah
www.elizardbreath8.blogspot.com
Sean
http://seanslaglebookmarkcafe.blogspot.com/
Shannon
www.sands1198.blogspot.com
Sharla
http://thesnugglebunch.blogspot.com/
Sue
http://nymrsb.blogspot.com/
Susan
www.hismorningglory.blogspot.com
Susanne
http://susannesspace.blogspot.com
Takiela
www.HisBeauty4Ashes.org OR www.BooksaLatte.com
Taran (John)
http://cafespoon.blogspot.com/
Terra
http://terragarden.blogspot.com
Terri
http://www.myccm.org/txann21/blog
Tina
http://spaghettipie.wordpress.com
Travis
http://thehogshead.org, http://restlessreformer.com
Trina
www.wordpress.com/trinadaniels
Trish
http://joyfulheartblog.blogspot.com
Ty
http://www.cookieaisle.blogspot.com/
Vanessa
http://hittingthebooks.com/
Shera
www.froggyreviews.com
Wendy
http://canseegod.blogspot.com/
H&L
sparksoflava.blogspot.com

The Begotten by Lisa T. Bergren: a review (as promised!)

Last week was the Christian Science Fiction & Fantasy Blog Tour for The Begotten by Lisa T. Bergren and here is my promised review.

See updated review below...

(From Summer 2007) I did not finish reading this book. I know that it is just a fiction novel, but there were too many things in this book that were troublesome to me that I believe Christians should not put themselves in the situation to have to endure if they can help it. I do not recommend this book. It is gnostic and if someone wants to study gnostism they should instead read the gnostic gospels for themselves, not books such as this.


UPDATED:
(From Today) I attempted to read this book last summer when it was fairly new out and there was so much attention going on to the DaVinci Code stuff. I was thrown off and was not interested. Because of a blog tour I decided to give the book another chance. The book deals with a "what if" scenario of some lost letters of Paul to the Corinthians. The idea of lost letters is true enough, the what if is from the author of this book here. For a book, this is a fairly good and adventurous story. The tale is interesting and does keep one turning pages and curious. Overall the main message is the love of Christ, and it is sad I feel that I was turned away from this book earlier on, because of what I assumed it would be. I'm very glad that I had a chance to redo those thoughts. I do recommend this book for those with a desire for adventure. Some have said this is on the lines of Lawhead, and while I wouldn't quite say that, it still is an enjoyable and entertaining read with the love of God as the main theme through out. Even if it is a little charismatic.

-MJ

CSFF The Begotten by Lisa T. Bergren, Day 3

Would you like to know something that annoys me?
- People who join blog tours and then post nothing! At least something please, but nothing!

Irritating.

I digress, sorry.

Today is Day 3 for the Christian Science Fiction & Fantasy blog tour. Look at Monday and Tuesday for the other day posts and interesting information.

Today I would be posting my review, but I'm not done yet! So you'll have to wait, but it's coming!

MJ

CSFF The Begotten by Lisa T. Bergren, Day 2

Day 2 on the April Christian Science Fiction & Fantasy Blog Tour of Monday - Wednesday, April 21-23rd is Lisa Tawn Bergren's book, The Begotten, book #1 in The Gifted Series. (see yesterday for day 1) So, about that email I mentioned yesterday... here for your conversation perusal purposes... my email to Lisa and her response!

Dear Lisa,

Last summer I worked in an embroidery shop in a historic downtown and there were many more "free" hours than there were customers and it was during that time that I discovered Christian fiction. I have to admit that your book was available from the library as a new book and I started reading it. I did not get very far, I stopped because it was so different and frightened me that it would be so like The Di Vinci Code with the heresy and blasphemy so I put it back. Now, I have read such reviews, and received it as I'm a part of the Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Blog Tour group. The reviews that I have read have been incredible and have shown me that I've stopped too early! The topper, is to receive the book and have my all-time-favorite author as an endorser on the front cover!! (Liz Curtis Higgs, of course!) So, I'm reading the book again, when more trust. :) [...] I'd really love to be able to share your book with others and get them to see it for what it really is and not walk away early frightened by what they do not understand and assume. (Like I did.)

What are some good websites you recommend? Good books and articles that
explain what lost or gnostic books are for your readers? Anything you
want to share with readers.

Margaret
cherryblossommj@gmail.com
http://cherryblossommj.blogspot.com

Margaret, Thanks for giving it another whirl! I understand not wanting to expose yourself to the dark--there's too much light to let in! But what I found interesting in researching The Gifted, was that their battles--realistic for medieval times--are still some of the battles we face today. We NEED some knowledge, NEED to do some thinking on our place in the battle, if we are to be affective warriors for Christ. That said, I had a bunch of people praying for me as I began to research and continued to research. Thank God for the Holy Spirit! In regard to gnosticism--when I was researching (five years ago now!), I mostly went to the web to read up on it. While it is a part of the texture and gave me some context in my books, it is not a central focus, as in Da Vinci Code. My characters are more drawn by the sins we face today--greed, power, lust, etc. And my evil characters are drawn from my research about black magic practiced in the day...and the subtle ways Satan uses everyone and everything he can to draw us. They do not address Christ's divinity nor prescribe to the "spirit over body" concepts--which would be in keeping with gnosticism--they simply try to draw his followers away, break them down, use them for their own dark purposes. They revel in the human body and off-camera, they're obviously involved in dark practices in regard to the body. This is historically accurate and reflects modern day society too. How much time do we spend thinking about our bodies? How many ways do we defile God's temple? Over and over again, I found parallels. Everything old is new again. One thing I would tell your readers is that this series exponentially expanded my understanding of how we are all in a spiritual battle, whether we take the time to think about it or not. I adore the writings of John Eldredge for this reason alone--he's constantly calling us to wake up, pay attention--much like the Bible does as well. [...]
Blessings on your head, LTB


And then... (nothing new for the other members of the tour, but new to some!!!) there is this...


Q: Is The Begotten the first book?
A: Yes, the trilogy is written in this order: The Begotten, The Betrayed, and The Blessed (Fall 2008 release).

Q: What’s this trilogy, The Gifted, about?
A: It’s about a group of spiritually gifted people brought together to introduce religious and spiritual change, and are therefore battling forces of evil—and even the Church.

Q: Why did you write The Gifted?
A: I read The Da Vinci Code in 24 hours—the first novel I’d read that fast in a long time. The pace, the intrigue caught me. But I was horrified by the heresy in the end. Many people read it as “story,” “just one idea,” but many others believe it to be a viable alternative. That’s why story is so valuable to us…it lives in our minds and hearts and helps us see different angles, different perspectives. But when that is used to tear down truth, we’re in trouble.
At the same time, I was totally captivated by The Lord of the Rings trilogy on film. I’d always been a Lewis and Tolkien fan, but to see those works of fiction come to life on screen was something that deeply moved me. It awakened in me a desire to write an epic trilogy on the scale of LOTR (I know, as if…but it was the inspiration), and with the mystery of Da Vinci Code.
So I set out to find a biblical mystery and asked some theologian friends. They both came back with the “missing letters of St. Paul,” letters Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians in the biblical text. I thought, “What else might he have sent to the Corinthians? Written about?” Wanting to stick to the biblical text we do have, I centered on the spiritual gifts he writes about, and set my books in the most difficult period I could imagine for such gifts to emerge—pre-Reformation, pre-Renaissance—in the era of the Inquisition. Conflict. Drama. Intrigue. Power. Potential for some very cool fictional things to transpire!

Q: So you’re done with The Blessed. Is the series complete with that book?
A: When I finished my last trilogy, I was most definitely done with the characters. When fans wrote to ask for more, I’d say, “They’re fine! Let them live happily ever after!” This group so intrigues me, I think it could go on. Yes, there’s a nice ending to book #3 and there’s no current plans for additional books. But hey, if we find the readership and sales take off, there are definitely more stories in these people—because Satan, our perennial enemy, is always present. That’s what I love…The Gifted are really us, God’s people, out in the world, uniquely gifted to do his good work. If we’re willing. The story goes on in real life, if not in my books.

Q: What’s the bio you want out there?
A: Here ‘tis: Lisa T. Bergren is the best-selling author of 28 books, 14 of them novels. She is a full-time writer and freelance editor living in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with her husband Tim, an artist, and their three young children. Lisa is currently concepting three different novels—a trilogy set in historical Colorado, a medieval novel about a pirate queen, and a Renaissance novel about a woman who loved the great sculptor, Bernini. She loves to explore, travel and experience life—on foot or in her novels. Her web sites are www.LisaTawnBergren.com and www.SatisfiedHeart.com and soon, www.FamilyTripster.com.

Thanks again for giving me the web space on your page! I appreciate it.

Every good thing,
Lisa T. Bergren

CSFF The Begotten by Lisa T. Bergren, Day 1

Today is a busy day in my blog world. For the Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Blog Tour this month, taking place this Monday - Wednesday, April 21-23rd is Lisa Tawn Bergren's book, The Begotten, book #1 in The Gifted Series. I had put in an e-mail with a bunch of things to Lisa, but haven't heard back yet... So, today I'll get you started with the basics.

Click on the title above to go to the Amazon page for purchase or more information.
Click on Lisa's name above to go to her website, to find out more about her and her other books.

You may have heard of Lisa before, she also writes those wonderful God Gave Us... books.
God Gave Us Christmas, God Gave Us You, God Gave Us Two, and coming soon God Gave Us Heaven, and How Big is God?


The Begotten, The Betrayed, and The Blessed (Fall 2008) are the three books that make up The Gifted Series. It is about a group of spiritual gifted people brought together to introduce religious and spiritual change, and are therefore battling forces of evil--and even the Church as this takes place during the time of the Inquisition.

Last summer, while working at the Embroidery Shop, I had a lot of time on my hands and therefore, spent that time doing a lot of reading. This book in hardback (see the first photo), The Begotten was new in the library and I started reading it. This was shortly after the crazy The Da Vinci Code madness had quieted down from the book and the film. I started reading this book and did not get very far and felt quite certain this book was not for me and that I could waste my time elsewhere and not on something that was full of such heresy and blasphemy. I returned the book and did not look back. Then when the title came (see second photo for paperback cover) the schedule for the Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Blog Tour I was intrigued and figured I must have stopped too early if it was a work that they were endorsing. So, here I try again. Also, the endorsement on the front of the paperback cover is none other than my all time favorite author, so obviously I had missed something!

Continue on down for a review, an an excerpt!

In the next few days check back for more interesting things with this book, series and genre.

MJ

I am reading the book again and I'm not prepared for a full review to share with you, but I can share a review that I found very intriguing from Deb at Books Movies & Chinese food:
Middle Ages Version of X-Men

A lot of times we like to play the what if question. This can lead to long drawn out debates on what could have happen if something had taken place. Sometimes we worry that things would have been radically different if things had changed. Other times times we speculate on the possibilities that could have taken place if only such and such had taken place. That is the premise of The Begotten. Paul had written many letters to churches. What if there had been another letter sent to a special group of people called The Gifted?

Set during the time of the Inquisition, the secret of Paul's extra letter is trying to be kept hidden by the holy leaders. They are against females holding high authority and wish to keep any knowledge about it in secret. Years later however, individuals with secret powers find each other as they strive to help out those in need. They are Christians, strong in their faith, battling those who have turned to the dark side.

This book was a wonderful engrossing read. I love books about medieval times with knights and lords and ladies. The whole story was fascinating when you imagine a group such as the Gifted existing in today's world or even the world back then. Daria was a very strong female character especially for that time period. She was highly respected by the people around her. The men are eager to protect her yet they do not see her as just a weak female or try to woo her. They are quick to defend her and risk their lives for not only her but anyone in their company. I felt this book in a genre like The Da Vinci Code, although far superior. Myth and legend are always interesting especially when you can incorporate scriptural truth with it. In my opinion, I felt the characters were like a middle ages version of X-Men or Heroes. Group of people with special powers that feel unwanted by the rest of the world.

I highly recommend this book for those who are fans of this genre, and for anyone who enjoys a really good story. If you have a good imagination, this book definitely makes good use of it.

Other participants in the tour are as follows:

 Brandon Barr

 Jim Black

 Justin Boyer

 Jackie Castle

 Karri Compton

 CSFF Blog Tour

 Gene Curtis

 D. G. D. Davidson

 Jeff Draper

 April Erwin

 Karina Fabian

 Beth Goddard 

 Marcus Goodyear

 Todd Michael Greene

 Michael Heald


 Christopher Hopper

 Joleen Howell

 Jason Joyner

 Kait

 Carol Keen

 Mike Lynch

 Terri Main

 Margaret

 Melissa Meeks

 Pamela Morrisson

 John W. Otte

 Rachelle

 Steve Rice

 Ashley Rutherford

 Chawna Schroeder

 James Somers

 Rachelle Sperling

 Stuart Stockton

 Steve Trower

 Speculative Faith

 Robert Treskillard

 Laura Williams

 Timothy Wise

Here is an excerpt from The Begotten, taken from Lisa's homepage.

Excerpt from The Begotten:

CHAPTER ONE
The Year of Our Lord, 1339
In his two years as a knight of the Church, they had burned at the stake a score of sinners. As each died, Gianni de Capezzana could not determine whether any were any less saint than he. This one was different.

For the first time, Gianni longed to immediately put his adversary to death, to drown the chill emanating from the Sorcerer in the heat of flame. This one was coldly sinful, delighting in the dark power—Gianni could feel the force of it surrounding, threatening. He glanced backward, over his shoulder, to make sure his men were right behind him. As they passed, the men filled and lit occasional oil lamps among the loculi to show them their way out.

The lamps did little to dispel the dark shadows from the passageway of the ancient catacombs before them, but now was not the time for torches or even any more small lamps. If they did not surprise this group ahead…Surprise was their principal ally. They would simply have to risk the dark.

Cold sweat rolled down his neck and down between his shoulder blades. The death hallways were cool enough to ease the heat of his armor, but fear—a feeling rare to him—made him hot as fever. “It is only the stories, the foolish stories of the villagers,” he muttered, as if mentoring a squire instead of himself. But his mouth was dry, making him want to pause, cough. He forced himself to take another step and then another, knowing if he stopped, he’d turn around and retreat.

It was dread. Different than the dread of battle—this fear filled his mind and soul. This was why he had been called to the Church, to do battle with evil, to hunt it down before it hunted the weak. But this…this threatened to overcome him. Over and over again he fought down the urge to turn and run. “Deo iuvante. May God give us His strength,” he whispered, clenching his teeth. “Send your angels, Lord God. Be with us in this.”

Sword in hand, his eyes scanned back and forth, briefly settling upon the loculi on either side, early Christian skeletons shelved like books in a scholar’s library. The Romans had burned their dead. It had been the Greeks who had insisted on coffins and death crates, and the Christians who adopted the cheap burial grounds. The cardinal had spoken of this place, having seen early Church documents. But the abandoned catacombs had long been lost to the overgrown hills of Roma. Never did Gianni believe he would be within them! Whatever happens to me here today, Lord God, do what Thy wish with my bones. Just bring me into Thy presence in heaven.

Aeneas appeared at the doorway. “Up ahead,” he whispered, casting a brief, curious eye about the room. But his mind was clearly on their adversary.

Gianni immediately turned and led the way Aeneas directed. Flickering light told him there was a torch ahead and he raised his hand to slow his company of knights. Their noise made him wince. There was no element of surprise possible, he realized, even with a stealthy approach. The stone caverns went on for miles, and carried sound just as far. Surely their approach was known by now, and if so, they were too late! “Charge!” he cried, in motion before the word fully left his lips, hearing his men follow after a moment’s hesitation. They roared together, a great cacophony meant to send an enemy to quaking.

His company of twenty-four filled a large room, lit by one torch in the center, and stopped in stunned silence. The stone altar…the blood…

A knight behind him began to quietly retch.

Gianni raised his torch higher and slowly walked forward. He swallowed hard, forced himself to touch the pooling blood. It was fresh. This travesty had happened within the hour. He looked up and around the room, noting tunnels that led away, each equally cold and silent. Horror ubique animos si simul ipse silentia terrent, he whispered, quoting Virgil. Fear and silence everywhere present terrify the soul.

He kneaded his temples with one hand, forcing himself to not be drawn into the fear. He must think! Their enemy was not far gone. He raised his torch again. “You men, light your torches. We must see where we are. What this place is.”

Aeneas and the others lit their torches and the walls of their cavernous hall came alive with light. One man behind him gasped. Another fell to his knees.

Gianni lifted his torch higher, perusing the frescoes, reading the ancient Latin. “If you are searching for them, here lies united a host of the Blessed. The venerable sepulchers enclose their bodies, but the royal palace of Heaven has carried…Here lies the companions of Sixtus…”

Aeneas was reading alongside him. “Not Pope Sixtus.”

Gianni looked about the room again and shook his head with grim fury. It was an ancient papal crypt. Six sarcophagi lined the room! His enemy had dared to do such evil here! Here, in the lost crypt of popes!

“Captain…” said a knight with a tremulous voice behind him.

Gianni turned. The knight in the center of the room, looking at the blood, pooled on the ground and atop the stone altar. It was then that Gianni saw it. It wasn’t an altar, but another sarcophagus, ornately carved on the outside.

“They sacrificed him, right here, atop the pope’s grave!” said the knight. Gianni walked toward him, dreading that he was right. What kind of man committed such sacrilegious acts? What kind of man dared to murder atop the monument of one of God’s own?

“The boy’s blood was put to good use, knight.”

Gianni whirled, facing the dim outline of a man just ahead along a passageway, standing against him in cold defiance.

“You will die! You will face the wrath of God!” Gianni cried, rushing forward.

“Captain, wait! To whom do you speak?”

Gianni looked back in confusion to Aeneas. “There! Ahead! Come!” But when his eyes went back to where he’d seen the man, he noted five different passageways bleeding off of the larger hall, and all lay empty. He swallowed the foul words that leapt to mind. “Did you not see him? Hear him?”

His fellow knight shook his head, brows furrowed in concern and fear.

“The sorcerer? He spoke to me!”

“They cannot see me,” the sorcerer whispered in Gianni’s right ear, and the knight whirled again, nearly nicking several of the closest men with his blade. They cried out, on alert with their leader, swords at the ready, but clearly confused by his actions.

“Captain,” Aeneas said urgently, drawing near his left as was their habit, eyes scanning with him. “What is it?”

“He is here,” Gianni said through gritted teeth, turning slowly, willing his eyes to see through the darkness.

“I was here,” whispered the voice in his left ear, “but am no longer. You are too late.”