Emma Rae Travis is an award winning baker that lands her dream job as head chef at The Tanglewood Inn. Because she has type I diabetes, she can only sample a tiny bit of her own creations. The Tanglewood Inn is set to re-open as Atlanta’s exclusive wedding destination hotel. Jackson Drake bought the hotels as a fulfillment of his late wife’s dream, but he is completely clueless when it comes to actually running the hotel. Emma Rae quickly steps in to help Jackson and he finds himself losing his heart to her…but can he move on to a new love without feeling like he is unfaithful to his first wife?

Always the Baker, Never the Bride is as sweet as the cake that graces the cover. Each chapter begins with a recipe or wedding planning tips. Funny scenes and colorful, memorable characters kept me shirking my many responsibilities to read.

Please note-I received an advanced reader copy of the book for free in order to review it. This has no bearing on my opinion of the book.

And here we are on the final day of the blog tour…

Let me tell you about the ride you are in for while reading the book. Imaginary Jesus is is like a roller coaster. There were times I’d laugh out loud and even read some of the funny parts out loud to my husband. Other times I’d be thrown for a loop and wince at the truths piercing my heart. When I read the chapter about Matt’s wife’s miscarriage, I had to frantically wipe the tears from my eyes, hoping I didn’t dissolve into a sobbing puddle while remembering my own pain of three miscarriages and a stillbirth of my 19 week old son. Not many books can evoke so many emotions.

I promised you a couple more nuggets from Imaginary Jesus by Matt Mikalatos, so without further ado:

One of Matt’s conversation with his imaginary Jesus:

“I don’t know how to stop calling you up,”  I said. “I don’t want to stop calling you.”

“The problem is that you honestly like me. You can compare me to the Jesus in the Bible and see that I’m not real. You can compare me to your own experience of the real Jesus and see that I’m a fake. Your own friends point out my inconsistencies. Logic pokes holes in my reality. But time after time, you keep returning to me because deep down you prefer me to the real thing.”

I nodded. It actually made sense. The real Jesus was frightening sometimes, and he said things I didn’t like. He required sacrifice. He scared me by doing things I didn’t believe he could. He was a better person than me. I preferred my fake Jesus.

One more:

(This is Political Jesus speaking) “Let’s be frank, Matt. The real Jesus is inconvenient. He doesn’t always show up when you call. He asks for unreasonable things. He frightens people. He can be immensely frustrating.”

That’s enough. Although tempted to post more, I don’t want to give them all away. Just go buy the book .

Does Matt find the real Jesus? Read the book to find out. Will Dawn find Him? I’m ready to change and devote my life to finding Him. Stay tuned to see how my story turns out.

Yesterday I introduced Imaginary Jesus by Matt Mikalatos. Yes, I loved the book. Not only does Matt write beautifully, but the story is so engaging that you don’t wince quite as much when hit with a zinger. Case in point, in the excerpt below, Daisy, a talking donkey is speaking with Matt as he visits Israel at the time of Jesus:

Daisy paused. “Do you understand what it means to be someone’s disciple?”

I thought about it and absently kicked at a chicken pecking at my feet. It was like a plague of chickens. “I thought it meant ‘student.’”

Yes, but not how you think of it. You’re thinking of Y’shua like an algebra teacher. But to be a disciple means more than learning. It means to become like your teacher. It means transformation from what I am into what my teacher is. Y’shua said once, ‘Everyone who is full trained will be like his teacher.’”

“So you’re saying that if I was, for instance, your disciple—“

“You wouldn’t need to find a bathroom,” the donkey said, “because we’re walking on a perfectly fine road. You would eat when I eat, you would rest when I rest, and under the same olive tree. You wouldn’t take the shortcut while I went the long way. We would be inseparable. You would live like my shadow, mimicking my actions until you could do what I do without thinking, until you had the same instincts, thoughts, and words.”

OUCH! I’ve claimed to be Jesus’ disciple or even to follow my pastors and leaders, but I can tell you I’ve never had that sort of devotion. And you can tell it by my lack of spiritual maturity in the trials that have occurred over the past few years.

Tomorrow I’ll drop a couple other nuggets on you.

Other tour participants:

Brandon Barr
Keanan Brand
Grace Bridges
Beckie Burnham
Valerie Comer
R. L. Copple
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Andrea Graham
Tori Greene
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Leighton
Rebecca LuElla Miller
John W. Otte
Donita K. Paul
Crista Richey
Chawna Schroeder
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
KM Wilsher

It’s time once again for the Christian Science Fiction & Fantasy blog tour! This month’s selection is Imaginary Jesus by Matt Mikalatos.

Imaginary Jesus is really not CSFF in the classic sense. It is more like a biographical allegory (I think I just made up a new genre!). In fact, I almost did not sign up for the tour. (Now is a good time to tell you that I did receive a review copy of the book from the publisher, but this does not affect my opinion of the book whatsoever.) I am, however, very glad that I did because I don’t know that I would have read Imaginary Jesus otherwise which would have been a very great loss.

Imaginary Jesus follows Matt Mikalatos on his first person journey to find the real Jesus. And what an enjoyable journey it is for you the reader (although I’m certain the Matt did not find the journey quite as enjoyable as I did).

Along the way, Matt (and I) realize that the Jesus we think we know is really far from the real Jesus. And that’s a problem. I do not want to follow a god of my own making. I want to know the real One.

Mikalatos drops profound thoughts inside such an entertaining story you almost don’t mind having your toes stepped on.

I’ll post some excerpts from the book tomorrow. For now, here’s a list of other blog participants:

Brandon Barr
Keanan Brand
Grace Bridges
Beckie Burnham
Valerie Comer
R. L. Copple
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Andrea Graham
Tori Greene
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Leighton
Rebecca LuElla Miller
John W. Otte
Donita K. Paul
Crista Richey
Chawna Schroeder
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
KM Wilsher

The Last Christian by David Gregory takes place in the near future. Instead of using a computer and keyboard to access the web, people have implants to access it and virtual reality is built right in. Sounds cool, but a little scary!

Abby Caldwell must leave her home as a missionary in Papua New Guinea after a mysterious illness. Before she departs, she receives a decades old message from her grandparents telling her that they believe Abby has a mission from God to bring Christianity back to America.

Creighton Daniels investigates his father’s untimely death and his path collides with Abby’s as she searches for her grandfather, one of the co-designers of a synthetic brain purported to defeat death and usher in a new age of transhumanity.

My favorite books are ones that cause me to examine my own faith and beliefs…whether what I believe is really what the Bible says. David Gregory has a fabulous story woven around a theological truth that I know will change my life once I really grasp it. At times, the book was a little preachy, but the preachiness fit well with the story. I am not too fond of the ending, but again, it works.

Although I received a review copy of this book from the publisher, it in no way colored my opinion of this book. I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Jill Williamson‘s By Darkness Hid has already received acclaim from various secular and Christian sources, but I’ll add my two cents anyway.

Achan Chan is a stray who is regularly beaten and made to drink a horrible concoction every morning. Even though such a dream is out of reach, Achan wishes to become a knight. When someone actually gives him a chance, Achan’s life takes a turn he could never have imagined. Vrell Sparrow is a noble lady in disguise as a stray boy to avoid an unwanted marriage. As their destinies collide through their gifts of bloodvoicing, the fate of Er’Rets hangs in the balance.

By Darkness Hid is one of the strongest, most compelling fantasy debuts I’ve read in a long time.

The second book in the series, To Darkness Fled, was released in April. Many times a second book is not quite as good as the first because authors spend so much time polishing their first book, but must work under a deadline for the second. Not this time. To Darkness Fled pulled me in and held me captive until the last page. Full of action, romance, and blossoming faith, To Darkness Fled left me frustrated that the third installment is not yet complete.

Other blog participants will have more to say:

Brandon Barr
Keanan Brand
Gina Burgess
Beckie Burnham
Melissa Carswell
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
Emmalyn Edwards
April Erwin
Sarah Flanagan
Andrea Graham
Tori Greene
Ryan Heart
Joleen Howell
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Leighton
Rebecca LuElla Miller – Great analysis of the deeper meaning of the book.
New Authors Fellowship – Interview with Jill Williamson
John W. Otte – Interview with Jill Williamson
Crista Richey
Chawna Schroeder
Andrea Schultz
James Somers
Rachel Starr Thomson – informative review
Steve Trower
Fred Warren – great review
Dona Watson – Another Jill Williamson interview
Phyllis Wheeler
KM Wilsher

Raven’s Ladder is the third book in The Auralia Thread series. Jeffery Overstreet is a master wordsmith with prose that is just exquisite to read.

The first book in the series is Auralia’s Colors; the second, Cyndere’s Midnight. I read Auralia’s Colors shortly after it’s release. It frustrated me. I was confused and annoyed because I felt like I did not get enough information about the story world to understand what was going on. Overstreet refers to things that he may or may not explain later on in the book.

I really wasn’t interested in reading Cyndere’s Midnight until the opportunity to review Raven’s Ladder came up (BTW, I received a free copy of the book to review). I don’t know what made me say I would like a review copy of Raven’s Ladder, but I did. In order to appreciate the third book, I felt I had to read Cyndere’s Midnight first. I’m glad I did. Cyndere’s Midnight answered some of the questions I had at the end of the first book and I was hooked.

After reading Raven’s Ladder, I still have questions, but I’m excited to read another installment. I probably will have to read all the series a couple of times to get everything. Concepts are not just handed to you, but skillfully exposed slowly throughout the whole series. Also, the series itself is not your typical fantasy heroic journey.

I found Raven’s Ladder (and Cyndere’s Midnight) to have more action and slightly closer to a “commercial” style of writing than Auralia’s Colors.

All in all, if you are a fantasy fan (Christian or not), read the series. Make sure you start with Auralia’s Colors or you will not understand the rest.

Other tour participants:

Brandon Barr
Rachel Briard (BooksForLife)
Keanan Brand
Beckie Burnham
Melissa Carswell
Valerie Comer
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Shane Deal
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Ryan Heart
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Nissa
John W. Otte
Donita K. Paul
Crista Richey
Chawna Schroeder
Andrea Schultz
James Somers
Robert Treskillard
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
KM Wilsher

The Lost Mission is a complicated book that switches views from an old Spanish mission to today. The story follows Frey Alejandro, a Benedictine priest in the 1700s and the mission he and his superiors established. In the modern world, the story follows Lupe, a Mexican woman who feels called to preach the gospel in America; Tucker Longwood, a poor minister to Latinos; Delano Jones, a rich man with hidden grief; and Harmony, his daughter.

Athol Dickson is a gifted writer and strings words together beautifully. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy the book. It started slow and seemed to drag on; I made it about halfway through the book and put it down. I’m not quite sure why it was part of a Science Fiction and Fantasy blog tour as I really did not see anything that would make the book fit into those genres. Maybe I didn’t read far enough into it. You can check out Athol Dickson’s blog here.

On the other hand, if you go to Amazon, you’ll see that the book has 4 ½ stars, so my dislike is simply a matter of taste. I’m sure that other blog tour participants will give you other viewpoints.

Brandon Barr
Keanan Brand
Amy Browning
Valerie Comer
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Timothy Hicks
Jason Isbell
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Rebecca LuElla Miller
New Authors Fellowship
John W. Otte
Donita K. Paul
Crista Richey
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
KM Wilsher

Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter by R.J. Anderson is a delightful book for your tween. Bryony is the only child in a colony of faeries who have lost their magic. Their population is dwindling as a mysterious illness steals one faery at a time. Bryony, renamed Knife, searches for the answer.

I love that story took a completely different direction than I thought it would. Throughout the whole book I wanted to know how tall the faeries are! LOL I finally found out near the end (7 inches) which gives me a whole other issue…how could a human hear what a faery has to say? Wouldn’t it speak way too softly to hear with those tiny vocal cords?

Other blog participants:

Sally Apokedak
Brandon Barr
Amy Browning
Melissa Carswell
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Timothy Hicks
Jason Isbell
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Rebecca LuElla Miller
New Authors Fellowship
Nissa
John W. Otte
Donita K. Paul
Crista Richey
Chawna Schroeder
Andrea Schultz
James Somers
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
KM Wilsher