Book Review of The Exceptional Life: 8 Powerful Steps to Experiencing God's Best for You by Stephen Arterburn

Stephen Arterburn's book, The Exceptional Life: 8 Powerful Steps to Experiencing God's Best for You, covers 8 different things in our lives that may be hindering us from - like it says in the title - experiencing God's best for us.  In the introduction of the book, Arterburn states that he believes if he were to take the main problem anyone is having in life, no matter what it is, he'd be able to boil it down to the fact they must release one of eight things in order to gain the beneficial qualities they are missing.  For every negative quality a person releases, they will gain a positive.  Here is a list of what Arterburn covers in this book.

1. Give up guilt and shame, in order to get back hope.
2. Give up resentment, in order to get back love.
3. Give up fear, in order to get back trust.
4. Give up anger, in order to get back forgiveness.
5. Give up instant gratification, in order to get back patience.
6. Give up learned helplessness, in order to get back power.
7. Give up isolation, in order to get back connection and community.
8. Give up addiction, in order to get back freedom.

I love Stephen Arterburn's writing style.  He seems to be knowledgeable of current trends, down to earth and extremely candid which is very appealing to me when I am reading a book--especially a book to help improve my life.  This book is eye opening, and Arterburn's insight to each topic is thought-provoking.  If you want to improve your life, I would definitely recommend this book.  You won't be disappointed.

I received this book for free from Bethany House Publishers for an honest review.

Book Review of Heart of Ice (A Triple Threat Novel) by Lis Wiehl with April Henry

Heart of Ice is the third novel in the Triple Threat series by Lis Wiehl with April Henry.  The series is about three friends: Cassidy, a TV crime reporter, Allison, a federal prosecutor, and Nicole, an FBI agent.  The three women together make up the Triple Threat Club and work together to solve crimes in the town of Portland.  In this book, the villain is Elizabeth Avery, a master manipulator, convincing many people to do things for her.  When random crimes start popping up all over Portland, the Triple Threat Club is on the case, and they won't believe where these crimes lead them!

I enjoyed this book, but I was a little confused as to why it is published by a Christian publisher.  One of the main characters, Allison, is a Christian and there are moments in the book when faith is talked about, but it is not throughout the entire book which is what I would have expected coming from a Christian publisher.  With that said, the book is fast paced and interesting to read.  The characters are real and are dealing with everyday situations that I could easily relate to.  If you are looking for a good thriller to read, I would recommend this book.   


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive 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