Tag Archives: Karen Witemeyer

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I’m Thankful For

top_ten_tuesday_thankful

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, my thoughts are turning to turkey and gravy, and family, and stuffing, and mashed potatoes… and some of the things I’m thankful for… and pumpkin pie. In no particular order. And, since this week’s Top 10 Tuesday topic at The Broke and the Bookish is “Top Ten Books I’m Thankful For,” that’s what I’ve decided to blog about. I’d love to hear what books you’re thankful for too.

The Bible.  If you know my reading habits and my beliefs, this one kind of goes without saying, but I’m going to say it anyway. No other book can ever be as life changing or important to me as this one. The overarching story of the Bible is a beautiful tale of God’s love for mankind and his plan of grace and redemption. It amazes me how, after reading it for years, I still glean something new with each reading.

The Butterfly and the Violin by Kristy Cambron.  I won an autographed copy of this novel in a Goodreads giveaway. And reading it introduced me to an author who quickly became one of my favorites. Then I got to meet her in person at a writing conference and discovered what a sweet and thoughtful person she is. The book itself is both meaningful and beautifully written, and I highly recommend reading it.

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis.  The summer between second and third grade, the children’s librarian at my local library recommended I read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I loved it so much then, and I love it (and the rest of the titles in the series) even more now that I can better appreciate its allegorical elements.

The Best Yes: Making Wise Decisions in the Midst of Endless Demands by Lysa TerKeurst.  This inspirational nonfiction book reassured me that letting go of busywork is okay, even a good thing, when it makes room for more meaningful activities. It sounds kind of obvious, but it was something I really needed to hear at the time, and still do every now and then.

The Elephant and Piggie series by Mo Willems.  I first heard of this series in a Library conference session where the speaker discussed fun book related activities to do with kids, such as using elephant and pig masks or puppets along with these books. My kids and I love the humor and the fun of reading and acting out these characters’ antics. In fact, these books have played a part in some of our family’s most enjoyable reading experiences.

The Haven Seekers Series by Amanda G. Stevens.  This series exemplifies what I would like to see more of in Christian fiction. A thought provoking premise, realistically flawed characters, and Christian themes that are neither preachy nor superficial. You’ll want to start reading with Seek and Hide, the first title in the series, but I think it’s the fourth and final one that’s my favorite, called Far and Near.

The Story Equation by Susan May Warren.  Susie and fellow author Rachel Hauck presented and demonstrated the story building concepts from this book at a writing conference I attended before this book had become a book. I was fascinated by what I heard, but had to miss half their talk in order to keep my appointment to pitch my novel to an agent. So you can imagine I was thrilled to find this book a few years later and fill in the missing pieces. I’m in the midst of reading it now, and already planning to read it through again.

A Broken Kind of Beautiful by Katie Ganshert and Not in the Heart by Chris Fabry. These were the books that first introduced me to two of my favorite authors. Both use beautiful language to tell the kind of meaty and discussable story that I find fascinating, and that can be perfect for a book discussion group.

To Win Her Heart by Karen Witemeyer. This book holds a special place in my heart because the heroine is a librarian like me, and the hero is a blacksmith like my husband. It was also my first taste of this author’s humorous writing style. It’s been way too long since I’ve read this one though, so I’m thinking I may need to revisit these characters again soon.

So those are a few of the titles that came to mind, when thinking of books I’m thankful for. Which books would you put on your list?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Audiobook Review: Full Steam Ahead by Karen Witemeyer

Title: Full Steam Ahead
Author: Karen Witemeyer
Narrator: Carine Montbertrand
Audio Publisher: Recorded Books
Print Publisher: Bethany House
Series: Full Steam Ahead, Book 1
Genre: Historical Romance
Published: 2014

Book Description (from the Baker Publishing Group’s Website):

When love simmers between a reclusive scientist and a wealthy debutante, will they abandon ship or is it full steam ahead?

Nicole Renard returns home to Galveston, Texas, to find her father deathly ill. Though she loves him, Nicole’s father has always focused on what she’s not. Not male. Not married. Not able to run Renard Shipping.

Vowing to find a suitable husband to give her father the heir he desires before it’s too late, Nicole sets out with the Renard family’s greatest treasure as her dowry: the highly coveted Lafitte Dagger. But her father’s rivals come after the dagger, forcing a change in Nicole’s plans.

After a boiler explosion aboard the Louisiana nearly took his life, Darius Thornton has been a man obsessed. He will do anything to stop even one more steamship disaster. Even if it means letting a female secretary into his secluded world.

Nicole is determined not to let her odd employer scare her off with his explosive experiments, yet when respect and mutual attraction grow between them, a new fear arises. How can she acquire an heir for her father when her heart belongs to another? And when her father’s rivals discover her hiding place, will she have to choose between that love and her family’s legacy?

My review:

Karen Witemeyer’s latest novel, Full Steam Ahead, takes her signature blend of witty romance, faith, and history from the ranches of earlier books into the world of the steamboat.  Specifically, to an 1800’s Texas plantation where a reclusive scientist performs explosive experiments designed to improve the safety of steam engines, and thereby prevent future casualties.

I find the history of technology and scientific advances to be pretty fascinating, so I thoroughly enjoyed that aspect of this story.  It certainly didn’t hurt that the author incorporated those details in a vivid, and at times explosive way that complements the story well.  And yes, I do mean “explosive” literally.  😉

Nicole and Darius make great romantic leads.  They’re both intelligent and highly motivated characters with interesting backgrounds that just happen to make them perfect for each other… even if they don’t see it at first.  But their chemistry… wow.  I loved watching their romance develop, and particularly the way they impact each other’s faith journeys.

But that’s not all.  Witemeyer also provides some thoroughly charming and entertaining secondary characters.  Not to mention a pair of villains out to steal a treasured family heirloom who season the story with just the right dash of suspense, leading up to an exciting conclusion with a bit of an unexpected but surprisingly satisfying twist.  Definitely worth the read.

Specific to the audio edition:

I must confess that when I read a couple of reviews by listeners who described the narrator’s voice as “old sounding” I was a bit concerned about whether this would be an audiobook I could recommend.  It is, after all, a book about young people.  Would the voices work?  I re-read the book’s description, listened to the audio sample, and decided to take a chance on reviewing it.  I’m happy to say I was not disappointed.

Carine Montbertrand’s performance perfectly captures the wry humor of the novel, and gives life to the characters’ voices and emotions.  Her use of lovely French accents comes in handy for the voices of some of the secondary characters, as well as names of French origin.  Both male and female voices sound authentic and entirely appropriate for their ages.

At times, I did detect a slight gravelly quality to the narrator’s voice, primarily at moments when her voice dipped into the lower registers during passages of narrative description, but I found this didn’t bother me at all, and even seemed to disappear into the background as I grew accustomed to her reading style and got lost in the story.

Overall, I found the listening experience to be a very pleasant one, and I am happy to recommend it.  Thank you to Recorded Books for providing me with a copy of this audiobook for review purposes.

See Also: Karen Collier Guest Contributing at Edgy Inspirational Romance

See also

If you follow the Edgy Inspirational Romance {and occasionally YA} blog, aka “EIR” you may have seen an announcement a couple of weeks ago that introduced me to readers as a new guest contributor to the blog. And if you missed it, feel free to hop on over there now for a few biographical details about me that you may not have known.

Here’s the link: Introducing Karen Collier! New EIR Guest Contributor

Go ahead.  It’s okay.  I don’t mind  waiting a bit for you to get back.

[Karen steals a moment to read a few pages of a novel on her Droid’s Kindle app. Either that or she attempts to quell whatever chaos is being wrought by her toddler and pre-schooler.]

Okay, back?  Cool.  Me too.

I’m super excited about contributing over at EIR, partly because of all the authors, reviewers, and fans of Christian romance I’m getting to virtually “meet” and “hang out with” in the process.  And partly because EIR is such a fun and entertaining read, it’s frankly an honor to be asked to join in the fun.

So why did I wait so long to mention it?  Because I wanted to wait until my first guest post went live so I could share it with you.  That first post went live this morning, so without further ado, here it is:

My review of Short-Straw Bride by Karen Witemeyer.  (Hint: I loved the story’s blend of light humor with tender romantic moments, and I’m happy to recommend it.)

In case you were wondering, I do plan to continue blogging right here at KarenCollier.com on a more or less weekly basis as well as making regular guest contributions to the EIR blog.

Thinking about following EIR, so as not to miss any of my posts there?  Great!  If you haven’t already met, I’d love to introduce you to co-bloggers Serena and Joy, and to Megan who’s also joining in as a new guest contributor.  And if you’re curious what EIR means by “Edgy,” be sure to check out their post entitled “What is Edgy Christian Romance?”

So tell me, do you prefer your Christian fiction edgy or sweet?  Are you a fan of romance or do you have another favorite genre?  Please leave a comment, subscribe, or connect.  I’d love to hear from you.