Zondervan’s NIV Student Bible is filled with tools and resources to help students learn about God, His Word, His plan and purposes and how to connect the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Each book introduction includes a summary and overview, a how to read the book, the high points and a list of the main people. There are also personal profiles of Bible people, a guided tour, subject guide on relevant topics, indices, glossaries and study aids and maps. While it is geared toward youth, new believers or those new to reading the Bible and Bible Study will also appreciate the insights presented in the NIV Student Bible. There are 3-track reading plans and an in-depth overview of the Old and New Testaments. The NIV Student Bible is a great resource for new students of the Bible to begin their Bible Study journey.

You can purchase the NIV Student Bible at Faithgateway or Amazon.com

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free as a member of BibleGateway Blogger Grid. I was not required to write a review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Jill Eileen Smith’s latest novel, “Daughter of Eden: Eve’s Story”, is the account of the first woman as imagined by Smith. With very little biblical and cultural background, Smith tackled the beginning of humankind, the fall of mankind and the trials and blessings of the first family. With very few exceptions (the creation of man, the fall of man and the murder of Abel), everything in the book is a fictional account of how Smith imagines the first man and woman could have lived before, during and after the fall. Usually I do not mind delving into the fictional stories of biblical characters primarily because there is enough biblical data and cultural and historical information to make it somewhat plausible, but in Eve’s story there is very little, if any, and it makes the account unbelievable. I did not like how she characterized Adam as a sulky, sometimes hateful, man and Eve as an emotionally abused woman who could never rise about her past. While these were very subtle and probably unintentional, it was implied that Eve was the sole instigator and Adam was the victim. I will admit that I skipped bits and pieces of the story, but I still got the gist of what was going on. This does not bode well for any book. I usually recommend Smith’s books. They are always intriguing and give way to lots of thought; however, I didn’t like where “Daughter of Eden” took me.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, I was not required to write a review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

When murder arrives in the small Alaska town of Shadow Gap, Police Chief Autumn Long must use all of the resources at her disposal to solve them, including the help of a mysterious outsider, Grier Brenner. The only thing Autumn knows about Grier is that he has the skillset she needs to protect her town and solve the murderous crime spree. From start to finish, Elizabeth Goddard’s “Cold Light of Day” is a thrilling, unputdownable book. Goddard is a treasure. Her characters are so real that many times I would get frustrated with them, feel sorry for them and even get upset with Goddard for what she was putting them through.

“Cold Light of Day” is the first book in Goddard’s new series “Missing in Alaska”. It is so good that I struggled to put it down at bedtime and woke up looking forward to the next time I could start reading again. This book convinced me that Elizabeth Goddard is one of the best Christian Romantic Suspense writers today. Her story was new, different and that’s all I can say without giving anything away.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, as part of Elizabeth Goddard’s “COLD LIGHT OF DAY” Launch Team. I was not required to write a review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Day-By-Day by Jess Conte is a guided journal containing a variety of activities and illustrations, reflective writing exercises and gorgeous art work. It is a great gift for the teenage girl in your life. This journal will be a treasure for years to come as they record the current events as well as looking forward to their goals and dreams for the future. It will be a keepsake to share with their children and to look back and reflect. It can be completed at their own pace and in their own time.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Hatchette Book Group, as part of their Book Review Blogger Program. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Lynette Eason’s “Critical Threat” is her best book yet. She just keeps getting better and better. From character development and plot development to hanging-on-every-word suspense, Eason has upped her game with each new book. “Critical Threat” is the story of FBI Special Agent Grace Billingsley who has teamed up with Sam, the son of a serial killer, to find a serial killer who is imitating his father’s “work”. They each have to learn to trust each other in order to find the killer. With each new development, Sam and Grace’s trust is tested. I absolutely loved this book. Eason never disappoints and always lives up to her reputation as a brilliant writer.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, I was not required to write a review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Have you ever made a plan to read through the Bible in a year and got off to a good start but right around Chronicles hit a bump, and all your good intentions failed? Do you read the Bible through every year but need a little something more to keep you involved in God’s Word or to help you go deeper? Trillia Newbell’s “52 Weeks In the Word” will make your journey through God’s Word in 2023 interesting and will keep you motivated to finish. She breaks down your reading into 52 weekly sections (in order) with six daily increments which include a time of journaling with prompts from the day’s reading and a prayer prompt. You will not only enjoy working through this journal, you will also enjoy looking back on the year’s journey in years to come. I am glad that Newbell kept the continuity of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation as well as the short four chapters per day reading schedule that can be done in 15-20 minutes giving you ample time to journal and pray and think about how to apply what you’ve read.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Moody Publishers, as part of its book review blogger program. I was not required to write a review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Matthew Henry Daily Devotional Bible by Zondervan is the complete biblical text in the NKJV translation containing 366 devotionals adapted from Matthew Henry’s commentary. There are a number of things you should be aware of if you consider purchasing this Bible. First, this is not a study Bible. There are no notes, but there are a few maps in the back. Second, the devotionals are dated, but it skips around–i.e., the first devotional is May 9; however, at the front of the book there is a list of devotions by date and the next devotional is given at the end of the day’s devotional. This was a disappointment to me. Another disappointment was that there were no scripture readings given for the day with the exception of the snippet used for the devotional. There is a list in the back, but these verses, too, skip around. If you are looking for a devotional with a reading plan, you won’t find it in this Bible. Matthew Henry fans will enjoy the commentaries scattered throughout the book. With a few exceptions, it might be possible to read the devotionals in the order they appear in the Bible, so that might not be an issue at all.

You can purchase this Bible at faithgateway.com or Amazon.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free as a member of BibleGateway Blogger Grid. I was not required to write a review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Three authors. Three nail-biting short stories. Six lovable characters. All make for a great three-day read. I don’t know how Lynette Eason, Lynn Blackburn and Natalie Walters did it, but they crammed a 300-page novel into a little over a hundred pages each and told a great story with no problem. I know it was hard work, but they made it look so easy. Their characters came to life in a very short time and popped off the page and into the imagination. The only disadvantage (if you can call it that) is because they were different stories in one book, I sometimes got confused.

Lynette Eason delivered in “On the Run” with Daria Nevsky, an FBI agent able to hack any computer, but somebody wants her dead. Dr. Ryker Donahue refuses to let her find the culprit alone. Lynn H. Blackburn supplied “Deadly Objective” in which Emily Dixon, physical therapist, gets caught up in the attempted kidnapping of the Vice President’s son, as Secret Service Agent Liam Harper tries to protect them both. Last, but not least, Natalie Walters brings former Army PSYOPS officer Ari Blackman and CIA officers Claudia Gallegos together in “Caught in the Crosshairs” after Claudia is implicated in the murder of a Saudi prince.

They were all my favorite. I hope they do more projects together–one I would like to see is a collaboration where they each write a section of a story or each write one character’s story. I think that would be fascinating.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, I was not required to write a review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Grace Reilly is a forensic pathologist who is married to her job, and Nate Cox is the new sheriff who instantly takes a liking to Grace. Grace sees an unusual pattern in several of her autopsies and enlists Sheriff Cox’s help in solving what she thinks are murders instead of natural causes. When Grace starts finding strange seeds in the stomach contents of several of the bodies she is autopsying, she realizes that the deaths have to be connected, but convincing Nate that they were murdered seems to be a lost cause until someone comes after her.

Irene Hannon’s “Body of Evidence” is a definite page turner and will keep you on edge as you try to figure out whodunnit. “Body of Evidence” grabs your attention at the first page. It took a slow turn for a few chapters, but don’t let that fool you–it picks back up. Not many books can cause me to read past my bedtime, but Irene Hannon’s suspense novels often keep me up to read the ending. Grace and Nate are the perfect match in work and love. “Body of Evidence” is the third book in the Triple Threat series following the stories of Grace and her sisters.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, I was not required to write a review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

“Predicting Jesus” by Kim Erickson is a six-week Bible study on the messianic prophecies of Isaiah and is perfect for the few months leading up to the Christmas season. Erickson filled her study with lots of background information. Each week she presents a portion of the scripture, gives some explanations, assigns activities and asks “what’s the point” and “how do we use it” questions.

I love Moody Publisher’s Bible studies. Erickson, as all of the other Moody Bible study writers, teaches while allowing the student to participate and draw things out for themselves. Each study is an opportunity to learn more about God and incorporate scripture into our everyday life. Celebrate this Christmas season by learning about the prophecies that were fulfilled in Christ.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Moody Publishers, as part of its book review blogger program. I was not required to write a review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”