Book Review: "A Light in the Darkness" by Staci Stallings

I was gifted the 3rd book in the Faith Series, "A Light in the Darkness"  by Staci Stallings.  This book follows Holly Jacobs as she heads to California to her mother's latest fiancé's vineyard.  It also starts right where the previous book ends like "A Piece of Heaven" did.  It just isn't as obvious as it only ties to Rebecca mentioning at the end of "A Piece of Heaven" that Holly was in a limo on her way to Napa.  "A Light in the Darkness" starts with Holly in the limo hanging up her cell phone after talking to Rebecca. 


We met Holly in the 1st book of the series, "A Work in Progress" and learn that she has had a rough past with her mother moving from one guy to the next always working to "improve" her life.  Holly is never sure how long the latest relationship is going to last and has a hard time letting herself get attached to her current situation since she doesn't know how long it will last.  Once at the vineyard, Holly meets Gabriel Cabrales and is drawn to him and the peace he exudes.  


Gabriel on the other hand would like her to leave him to his quiet time of prayer while he weeds.  He is struggling with what he's supposed to do now that his father has had a heart attack and he's in charge of the grounds crew, but he really feels he's supposed to be going to college. But while reading the book "True Power and Real Peace" he feels that he needs to be a reflection of God's light to Holly. 


Holly starts helping Gabriel weed in the mornings and gives her life to God.  She starts to stand up for herself and realize she doesn't have to bow to her mother's wishes anymore.  When Gabriel's life careens out of control, it is her turn to be strong and help him.    When the summer is over, will they be able to step out in faith and trust that God has a plan?




This book is the most permeated with spiritual dialog of the three books in the series. They deal with spiritual warfare between demons and angels and banishing demons and fear.  What Gabriel reads in "True Power and Real Peace" is given in the story so we can read it, too.  I found it interesting that it is an actual book that you can buy, written for Gabriel in the story!


Staci Stallings' characters are always so believable and real.  I could relate the best to Rebecca in "A Work in Progress" since she is the most like me, but I'm sure that other people relate equally well with the other characters. 

• File Size: 951 KB
• Print Length: 399 pages
• Publisher: Spirit Light Publishing (May 25, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0052NW97C

"A Light in the Darkness" is available for $6.99 in a Kindle edition book.

Book Review: "A Little Piece of Heaven" by Staci Stallings

I was once again thrilled to be gifted an eBook of one of Staci Stallings' wonderful books.  This time, it was the 2nd book in The Faith Series, "A Little Piece of Heaven".   This book starts up exactly where the 1st book in the series, "A Work in Progress" leaves off.  It is almost like it was one book with the first half following Eric and Rebecca's story and the second half following Jeremy Stratton and Emily Vasquez.  We experienced Jeremy's world fall out from below him in the end of "A Work in Progress".  He has now moved back in with Eric and is trying to figure out what he wants out of life now that what he had envisioned for his life has failed.  Emily now is without a roommate, so she hangs out with Eric and Rebecca since she knows them from the Bible study that meets in her room.  Through them, Emily and Jeremy meet and they are each attracted to the other.  Jeremy, however, is not into the "whole God thing" and thinks Emily is a little nuts, while Emily has seen the life of wealth and entitlement up close and it left her wounded. 

"A Little Piece of Heaven" is a New Adult Contemporary Christian Romance Novel.  This means it is written for college aged people, but not that it isn't enjoyable for those that aren't.  There are several times that the characters discuss God and how He works in and through you. Staci Stallings makes you feel like you are a part of the book.  My one complaint about the book is that Emily dates Jeremy when he is not a believer.  As a Christian, I don't think Emily should have been dating a non Christian.  But that is a plot complaint and not about the quality of the writing of the book. 

File Size: 959 KB
Print Length: 384 pages
Publisher: Spirit Light Publishing (February 6, 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
ASIN: B004MME4T0
Text-to-Speech: Enabled  
X-Ray:
Not Enabled  

Lending: Enabled

You can buy "A Little Piece of Heaven" as an eBook for $6.99.