Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

The Weekly Read

Cinderella in Cincinnati: Review of If the Shoe Fits by Sandra D. Bricker

When it comes to fiction, I lean more toward historical, although I’m slowly being wooed to the contemporary romance genre.

So, when I saw the trailer for If the Shoe Fits by Sandra D. Bricker, I decided to give it a try. (Disclosure: I received a free copy of the book from Moody/River North in exchange for my review.)

Take a look:

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/67661585 w=400&h=300]

I’m always intrigued by a new take on a familiar fairy tale, and this one flips the story with the woman looking for the man who fits the boot she finds with a toolbox in an intersection after a near-collision. Julianne and her best friend from childhood Will have opened their own law firm in Cincinnati. Will has been in love with Julianne for 20 years, and she’s clueless. Her glimpse of the guy at the intersection sends her on a quest to find out if he’s her missing Prince Charming.

I mostly felt sorry for both characters. Will seems a little bit pathetic, unwillingly to risk the friendship to tell her how he feels meanwhile always being her back-up date to work functions. He makes a couple of bold moves during the story, and I found myself liking him best when he did. Julianne I couldn’t make myself like. She’s a little flighty and basically can’t see what’s right in front of her in Will. She has a good heart and does many likable things, but I just couldn’t connect with her. if the shoe fits

This was my first Sandra Bricker novel, and I thought it was just okay. I got a little tired of reading about Julianne’s “honey-blond hair” and the flow of the story was not smooth. The author adds a lot of adverbs to her descriptions of the character’s speech, and I found myself hung up on those words.

I wanted to see it through to the end because–duh!–everyone wants a happy ending, but even that left me a little bit disappointed.

Overall, I think I just wanted more. I wanted more emotion from both characters and more tension in their story. There weren’t a lot of surprises throughout. I might still give this author another chance on some of her other books, but this is not the kind of book that would convince me to read contemporary romance.

To end on a positive note: it’s a light read with some funny scenes. I could see certain scenes played out like a sitcom.

What no one talks about: Review of The Spiritual Danger of Doing Good by Peter Greer

No one tells you when you’re signing up for nursery duty or applying to be a missionary or answering a call to pastoral ministry that it might be spiritually dangerous.

But as Peter Greer writes in his new book The Spiritual Danger of Doing Good, Christian service, whether paid or volunteer, ought to come with a warning label. (Disclaimer: I received a free advanced reading copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.)SpiritualDangerOfDoingGood_200rgb-662x1024

While charity can harm others, doing good can also wreak havoc on us. … Without evaluating our motives, it is possible to love our service more than we love our Savior.

Greer is the CEO of HOPE International, a nonprofit that focuses on microfinance as a means to end physical and spiritual poverty. His book is full of personal experiences of doing good for the wrong reasons with the wrong motive and paints an honest picture of what can happen in a person’s life, family and ministry when service takes precedence over everything else.

The book is funny and a little bit self-deprecating. Greer gives readers no reason to think he’s got it all together or is a saint when it comes to serving for the right reasons. Even as the CEO of a nonprofit, he’s still a human. He includes stories of others who have experienced personal failure while their ministry was thriving. It’s a fascinating and quick read, though by no means is it an “easy” read.

The Spiritual Danger of Doing Good is a warning as well as an encouragement to check your ego, your motives, and your personal relationships often in the midst of whatever job or ministry God calls you to. I wish this book had been published five years ago, before my husband went to seminary. And I’d recommend it to anyone who serves in the local church, as a longtime volunteer or full-time paid staff.

Greer’s message is that important.

Practical, applicable, relevant, The Spiritual Danger of Doing Good is not to be missed. And each chapter concludes with a link to bonus material on Greer’s Web site in the form of photos and videos. I look forward to viewing these “extras.”

For more about Greer, visit his Website www.peterkgreer.com.