Review of Davis Bunn's new novel, Moondust Lake

Davis Bunn’s third installment in the Miramar Bay novels is a story of family struggle, redemption, and tragic consequences. It has all the marks of a great romantic novel woven in the setting of family secrets, business intrigue, and the struggle of small-town politics. In typical Bunn fashion, the characters are richly developed. The settings impeccably detailed in word pictures. There are enough twists to keep the plot interesting without leaving the reader in the dark as to what just happened.

If you grew up in a small town you will immediately identify with the characters of the Helms family. What they do for a living might be different, but you’ll recognize the power of small-town life at play. The problems that plague the family are familiar to most families. How can you develop your own life apart from the power family leader? What happens when you dare challenge that person’s authority? Can the family peacemaker keep them all together?

The issue of the place of mental health counseling in the life of people of faith is also a central theme in the book. What would happen if a church devoted some of their resources to providing quality counseling to the members of their congregation and community. Would the secrets be set free on the town or would the people be set free from the secrets that have kept them bound up? Bunn does a great job of weaving the two in a very believable situation.

Fans of Davis Bunn will not be disappointed in the latest edition of the Miramar Bay novels. If you haven’t read his works yet, I would highly recommend this book. You don’t need to have read the previous two works Miramar Bay or Firefly Cove to enjoy Moondust Lake. The stories are set in the same general area but the characters and the stories are distinct. All of them highlight the urban legend stated in the book that Miramar Bay is a town of second chances. If you believe that everyone deserves a second chance you will really enjoy the series.

I highly recommend this book to everyone who enjoys good fiction. I don’t think you will be disappointed in this relaxing read.

I was provided a free copy of this book for review by the publisher.

Review of Heart of A Champion by Steve Riach

Review of Heart of A Champion by Steve Riach

Heart of A Champion is a collection of stories about athletes from various sports. Each one is a hero in his or her sport. They are men and women who have achieved incredible success at the highest levels of their professions. They are names you will recognize even if you are not a sports junkie. You see them on your TV and their stats are splashed all over the internet for those who are fantasy sports participants.

The book would be worth reading if all it contained were their professional stories. How they got to the professional leagues or attained Olympic gold medals. It provides a glimpse into the back stories of their lives. Where they came from, who were their influences growing up, and how they got involved in the sport that has made them famous. Riach does a great job of providing the details about why we should hold these people up as successes in their sports through stats, histories, and quotes from teammates and coaches.

But that is not where the stories end. These men and women are not just champions on the fields, courts, and stadiums. There is something deeper that drives them to be the type of athlete that uses their platform to achieve a greater purpose. The author allows the reader to get to know the other side of these famous stars. The side often unseen by the average fan. Many of them are great givers to causes that have deep personal connections to their past. My guess is that everyone who reads this book will find something about someone in the book they didn’t know before they started reading. When there are so many sordid stories about entitled athletes, this book is a fresh breeze of hope for the redemption of professional sports.

In addition to supporting good causes, these athletes share a common faith in Jesus Christ. Their faith stories are interwoven in a way that makes the reader see them as real people with real faith and real struggles. After you have read each short story, you feel like you have just sat down and had coffee or tea with each athlete and they had a chance to tell you who they really are off the field or court. It’s done in such a way that it isn’t pushy or hokey. So this would be a great gift to give to any sports fan, regardless of their religious beliefs.

If you are a sports fan, you’ll love reading this book. If you are a pessimistic sports fan, you’ll be encouraged by reading this book. If you are a Christian sports fan, you’ll find your faith strengthened by reading this book. I really believe you will find value in the pages and the format allows you to skip around and read at your own pace. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

I was provided a free copy of this book by the publisher for my honest review.