Why am I passionate about this?

I'm a huge self-proclaimed history dork. I love reading real stories of how God uses the ones that no one would expect in extraordinary ways. I love hearing how God turns horrible situations around. Even in my own manuscripts, from a historical fiction perspective, I love to immerse it in such truth that you think, “That couldn’t really happen... Could it?” I have an ongoing phrase in ministry and life that you need to take “The poo you walk through and let God turn it into fertilizer.” These book recommendations definitely do that. Bad things do happen. They don’t come from God but through Him we can overcome them.


I wrote

An Ember In Time

By Anna M. Aquino,

Book cover of An Ember In Time

What is my book about?

In a time where Pastor Jon Stevens feels like he has lost his hope... One Divine Encounter, will change his…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of God's Smuggler

Anna M. Aquino Why did I love this book?

Brother Andrew’s story is astounding. He was probably one of the least likely candidates to be used by God in such a way, but God always picks those the world would not. The founder of Open Doors Ministries, Brother Andrew’s adventures will leave you in awe of what a life well lived for the gospel can do. It encouraged me to stand for what the Lord says in spite of circumstance. It reminded me of the Biblical truth that God always makes a way, and inspired me to continue to blaze the trail God has for me.

By Brother Andrew,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked God's Smuggler as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 9, 10, 11, and 12.

What is this book about?

A True-Life Thriller That Will Leave
You Breathless!

In the anniversary edition of this electrifying real-life story, readers are gripped from the first page by the harrowing account of a young man who risked his life to smuggle Bibles through the borders of closed nations. Now, sixty years after Brother Andrew first prayed for God's miracle protection, this expanded edition of a classic work encourages new readers to meet this remarkable man and his mission for the first time.

Working undercover for God, a mission that continues to this day, has made Brother Andrew one of the all-time heroes of…


Book cover of Devil at My Heels: A Heroic Olympian's Astonishing Story of Survival as a Japanese POW in World War II

Anna M. Aquino Why did I love this book?

While the book Unbroken is fantastic and also about the Louis Zamperini story, to me, Devil At My Heels is even better.  This book tells the amazing true story of Louis, it also talks a lot about where he was spiritually growing up and includes his conversion to Christ story. I adore this story on so many levels. Louis Zamperini was defiantly an unlikely candidate to become a spiritual giant, but God knew what he had placed inside of him. He went from juvenile delinquent to Olympian, to being a soldier, to being shot down in the Pacific Ocean, to being a POW, to being a drunk womanizer whose marriage was falling apart. Few people understand that it was because God used his conversion that brought Reverend Billy Graham into the public spotlight. His story again reminded me that a life well lived for the gospel carries a legacy.

By Louis Zamperini, David Rensin,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Devil at My Heels as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The bestselling autobiography of the legendary Louis Zamperini, hero of the blockbuster Unbroken A modern classic by an American legend, Devil at My Heels is the riveting and deeply personal memoir by U.S. Olympian, World War II bombardier, and POW survivor Louis Zamperini. His inspiring story of courage, resilience, and faith has captivated readers and audiences of Unbroken, now a major motion picture directed by Angelina Jolie. In Devil at My Heels, his official autobiography (co-written with longtime collaborator David Rensin), Zamperini shares his own first-hand account of extraordinary journey-hailed as "one of the most incredible American lives of the…


Book cover of The Hiding Place

Anna M. Aquino Why did I love this book?

Wow, wow, wow, oh how I love this book and have read it so many times. Corrie Ten Boom was an “old Maid” watch repairer in Holland in WW2. She and her family rescued so many Jews from the Holocaust, only for her to be captured and sent to a concentration camp. She lived only due to an error in the Nazi’s paperwork. She would later term herself as a “vagabond” for Jesus and minister all around the world. I love her so much. Her wisdom and Christian truths ooze out of her story and are life applicable. In her journey, you grow to love her, her family, and what God did through them in such a challenging time. This book will teach you about forgiveness, perseverance, and God turning anything around for His glory.

By Corrie Ten Boom, Elizabeth Sherrill, John Sherrill , Tim Foley (illustrator)

Why should I read it?

11 authors picked The Hiding Place as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 9, 10, 11, and 12.

What is this book about?

The True Story of a Real-Life Hero

It's World War II. Darkness has fallen over Europe as the Nazis spread hatred, fear and war across the globe. But on a quiet city corner in the Netherlands, one woman fights against the darkness.

In her quiet watchmaking shop, she and her family risk their lives to hide Jews, and others hunted by the Nazis, in a secret room, a "hiding place" that they built in the old building.

One day, however, Corrie and her family are betrayed. They're captured and sent to the notorious Nazi concentration camps to die. Yet even…


Book cover of Living a Life of Fire: An Autobiography

Anna M. Aquino Why did I love this book?

This is an amazing story of a life well lived for the gospel. It is amazing how God can take the ones that people would have never thought possible to do the impossible for his kingdom. This story is so amazing that could have only happened by the hand of God and it keeps you passionately engaged thinking about how God uses his children.

By Reinhard Bonnke,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Living a Life of Fire as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Living a Life of Fire is more than simple facts about an evangelist's life, it is filled with adventures from the heart of Africa, real life dramatic stories of people and places that will leave you on the edge of your seat, and powerful demonstrations of the Holy Spirit working in the here and now. Reinhard Bonnke's life is a model for generations of preachers to come, and his story inspires Christians everywhere to believe for God's maximum.


Book cover of Calico Captive

Anna M. Aquino Why did I love this book?

This is one of my favorite books as a young child and has continued to be one of my favorite books. Based on a true story, it is about the capture of a young girl on the brink of love and womanhood. Her fight, spunk, and ability to sew are truly what help her and her family escape. I have always loved this book. I love it for its humanity and truth. I love it for its ability to take the reader and see that even in the worst circumstances, one can still find themselves and learn how to overcome.  

By Elizabeth George Speare, W.T. Mars (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Calico Captive as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 9, 10, 11, and 12.

What is this book about?

From a Newbery Medal–winning author, an “exciting novel” about a colonial girl’s experience during the French and Indian War (Saturday Review).
 
In the year 1754, the stillness of Charlestown, New Hampshire, is shattered by the terrifying cries of an Indian raid. Young Miriam Willard, on a day that had promised new happiness, finds herself instead a captive on a forest trail, caught up in the ebb and flow of the French and Indian War.
 
It is a harrowing march north. Miriam can only force herself to the next stopping place, the next small portion of food, the next icy stream…


Explore my book 😀

An Ember In Time

By Anna M. Aquino,

Book cover of An Ember In Time

What is my book about?

In a time where Pastor Jon Stevens feels like he has lost his hope... One Divine Encounter, will change his life. One mistake that started with A simple flower, will begin to unravel history. And one spark will illuminate the way home.

Picture Quantum Leap meets Back to the Future saturated in Biblical History and Christian truths.

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Cytress Vee: A Dog Squad Story

By Kalvin Thane,

Book cover of Cytress Vee: A Dog Squad Story

Kalvin Thane Author Of Cytress Vee: A Dog Squad Story

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Artist Reader Gamer Father Coder

Kalvin's 3 favorite reads in 2024

What is my book about?

Unlike the typical tales of a flawless fighting unit, this story follows Commander Kami Trenn and her ragtag squad of mixed-race space marines.

Dog Squad fights a mysterious adversary whose presence remains shrouded in secrecy. The fate of the universe hangs in the balance, but will they be able to make enough of a difference?

Can they hope to uncover the enemy’s plans for galactic dominance before the Alliance falls? Maybe. If they can stop fighting each other.

Cytress Vee: A Dog Squad Story

By Kalvin Thane,

What is this book about?

Across the void formed by two galactic spiral arms, vast forces face each other.

The tenuous Alliance, sixty civilizations united only by fear of invasion, prepare to resist the encroachment of their as-yet unseen enemy, known only as the Creeps.

The Void has become a battleground. Three thousand light years across, and populated by a scattering of ten thousand ‘dark’ worlds, it is the Alliance’s last chance to protect their way of life. Self-destructive, robotic drones pour across the Void in ever-increasing numbers, testing the Alliance fleets to breaking point.

In the midst of the surging tides of war, a…


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