First Chapter Review: Love's Second Chance by Mike Lynch

The first chapter of Love's Second Chance was sent to me by author Mike Lynch. This appears to be an inspirational romance novel, especially since the publisher is part of the Christian Small Publishers Association.

BLURB: Everyone deserves a second chance in life, no matter how unlikely. Dana Rogers learns this powerful truth while she serves as the head pastor's assistant at New Covenant Christian Church, the center of community life in the town of Fair Haven for the past two hundred years.

Evan Johnson, a successful real estate agent and kindred spirit, takes an immediate interest in Dana when they meet, but the tragic death of her fiance' has left scars he's not sure he can heal.

Can a woman who has vowed never to love a man again, find a second chance at love?

Will Evan be able to stay the course and seek God's will as he pursues Dana?

For Dana and Evan, this second chance at love could mean a lifetime of happiness, if they would only open their hearts and understand God's will for their lives.

COVER: It's nice. The red roses provide a lovely contrast against the blue, while the white roses symbolize purity and innocence. I like the floral accent in the title.

FIRST CHAPTER: Dana is reading to Miss Honeywell's class, which she does every other week. She enjoys it, along with the drive to her job at New Covenant Christian Church, which allows her to forget about the messy parts of her life. When she arrives at church, she finds the door locked, but Evan Johnson graciously lets her in.

KEEP READING: No, at least not this unedited version. While Lynch does a nice job of adding the right amount of setting details, the opening line reads, "Men, we make out stand here..." I'm hoping that word was supposed to be "our." But then, it also appears that way later in the text, as does the word "her" which is supposed to be "hair" and of course the plural possessive of student is "students'" not "student's." There's more, but I don't want to beat a horse to death. I only received eight double-spaced Word document pages, so the number of errors was definitely a distraction. And the text is inconsistent, too. The blurb above states the town as Fair Haven, but in the first chapter it is Fairhaven.

We get to know a tiny bit about our main character: where she works, what she likes to do, and also that she lost Jim. Though we don't know who Jim is, we can gather by the text, the book blurb, and the book's title that this man was her fiancé. I'm surprised that about two and three quarters of the pages I received is Dana reading to the class. I'm not sure what that adds to move the story along, even though it does give some possible insight into Dana's interests, since it is a Revolutionary War excerpt she's reading. Kudos to the author for knowing that third graders study this part of history.

After some editing, this might be a good story. I really can't tell as it stands now, since I don't know enough about the character or which way this story will go.


Paperback: 316 pages
Publisher: Ellechor Publishing House, LLC (March 1, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1937844080
ISBN-13: 978-1937844080

I received the first chapter of this novel from the author. This review contains my honest opinions, for which I have not been compensated in any way.

First Chapter Review: After the Cross by Brandon Barr and Mike Lynch

Mike Lynch, co-author of After the Cross, contacted me for a review. While I couldn't work a full review into my schedule right now, I offered him a First Chapter Review. This is one of those books, however, I will admit up front I would love to fit into my schedule.

 BLURB: Colton Foster, once hailed as a renowned linguistics expert, had his career and self-respect in pieces until a team discovers an 800-year old letter in Istanbul and his life takes a pivotal turn. The job of translating the letter, purportedly revealing the hidden cross of Jesus, is his for the taking, and with it a chance to redeem himself.

Mallory Windom is a linguistics prodigy who eagerly accepts the chance to accompany Colton’s team, seeing it as a ticket to the legitimacy she craves.

Join Colton and Mallory as they hunt for Christianity’s most prized relic, mysterious forces seem bent on stopping them at every turn. In a race against time and hired mercenaries, they soon discover that the most important struggle of their lives is not around them, but from within, testing their beliefs, their ethics, and their growing love for one another.

COVER:  Love it. It captures the ancient relic adventure story within. The cross and the map are nice details.

FIRST CHAPTER:  Emel Dwayat and Hassam are at a Constantinople Library excavation site in Istanbul, Turkey, when they hear someone downstairs. After the dust has cleared, two dead men are dead, one of them carrying a shiny metal box with a piece of parchment inside.

The story then moves back in time to 30 A.D., during the Crucifixion and the days following, where Caiaphas makes a decision that he hopes will erase all traces of Yeshua.

KEEP READING:  A definite yes. This is an intriguing story that if it continues to remain as strong as this first chapter will provide tons of action, adventure and mystery. Floating between present day and the past, it provides a glimpse into the history that created the current discovery. The banter between Dwayat and Hassam adds a touch of humor. What I think is interesting is that the main characters mentioned in the blurb aren't part of the first chapter. I usually like to meet the main characters right away, but it seems like this first chapter serves like a prologue to what will unfold throughout the story. It works for this genre, but in some instances I don't care for it.

I hope I get a chance to read this entire book at some point. It sounds fascinating.

Paperback: 274 pages

Publisher: Ellechor Publishing House LLC; 1st edition (June 1, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0982624204

ISBN-13: 978-0982624203

Available in paperback and electronic formats

I received the first chapter of this novel from one of the co-authors in exchange for a First Chapter Review. I received no monetary compensation of any kind to provide my honest opinions.