Posted in Uncategorized

Jill Williamson’s Project Gemini

About

After an exhausting school year, Spencer is thrilled to discover that the summer training mission will take him and his fellow agents-in-training to Okinawa, a tropical paradise. But there’s little time for R & R as Spencer must attend school, volunteer at a local martial arts training facility, and track and report a mysterious girl named Keiko. Spencer thinks he knows exactly what to do, but the more he discovers about Keiko, the more questions he has. All he really wants to do is protect Keiko from her ex-boyfriend and stay out of trouble, but where Spencer Garmond is concerned, trouble is never far away.

Review

What a joy it was to get my hands on the next book in The Mission League Series. Can I just say that I love Spencer? Constantly throughout this novel, I found my eyes on the bottom of my kindle, hoping that the novel was not almost over yet. I think that Ms. Williamson does a fabulous job writing the voice of a teen boy. Spencer is so well-developed that it seems he can step through the pages. Though this novel is not a romance (and I am a romance lover) there is plenty of relationship drama and so much humor that the novel doesn’t feel like it’s suffering in any areas (plus I have a feeling that the romance will be more gradual throughout the series). Also, prior to reading this novel, I discovered that not all the characters from the first novel would be in this one. At first, I was disappointed, but I found that I barely considered the missing characters and I so enjoyed getting to know the new ones. If you liked the first book, you’ll love the second one and eagerly anticipate The Mission League 2.5. Spiritually, I love the importance and emphasis placed on the gifts that God gives us and I enjoy watching Spencer and others use them. I also like watching Spencer grow spiritually (slowly, and gradually), but it seems like his foundation is sure. So much fun and highly recommended!

Posted in Uncategorized

Monday Musings…Cover Love

Aren’t these some interesting covers that are coming out this year?

Priscilla Slater shows up at her 20-year reunion as a national celebrity. Her hair salon dynasty has skyrocketed, and to top it off, she has her own line of hair products. She has become a huge success with the “Ms. Prissy Big Hair” line that lets women with the thinnest of locks get the coveted “big hair” look so popular in the South. Her classmates have finally come to terms with adulthood, but they’re handling it with the grace of a Southern woman wearing white after Labor Day. It’s just downright awkward! Asserting the maturity that her classmates have often lacked, Priscilla holds her head high. But she can’t ignore everything. When she catches her mother in the arms of her former high school principal, Priscilla can’t get out of town fast enough. Eager to get back to her more comfortable life, Priscilla runs head on into an ultimatum: Tim tells her they’re not getting any younger—as if she has to be reminded.

Leslie Rhoads may have grown up in a small town, but is on the verge of becoming a supermodel in the Big Apple, when the 24-year-old is chosen to grace the cover of Style magazine and star in the controversial Passion Nights’ perfume ads. But before she can step into the spotlight, Leslie is assaulted by a drug gang and disfigured with a broken scotch bottle. Without her perfect face, she is lost and no amount of surgery can ever make her what she once was. Now trying to hide her face from the world, Leslie encounters more trouble as she seeks to rebuild her life: unrequited love, thoughts of suicide, and her assailant out to finish the job. Little does she know that a young girl named Angel will turn it all around, showing Leslie the joy and potential in life and the fact that love truly is blind.

After the tragic death of her closest friend, 20-year-old Celia Thatcher is sent to work in the bookstore of family friends. Hoping the new surroundings in Massachusetts will help her regain a happy outlook on life, Celia catches the eye of not one, but two men: the elite, but unkempt Bostonian-turned-hermit, Edward Lyons, who is clearly trying to run from his past and from God, and Charles Harrod, a charming Harvard law student who promotes a religious belief Celia has never before considered. With both men vying for her attention, Celia’s world is again turned upside down when one of her beaus is accused of murder. Suddenly realizing where her heart lies, Celia is now challenged with a choice bigger than man: should she follow her heart or her God?

Dear Mr. Knightley is a contemporary epistolary novel with a delightful dash of Jane Austen.

Samantha Moore survived years of darkness in the foster care system by hiding behind her favorite characters in literature, even adopting their very words. Her fictional friends give her an identity, albeit a borrowed one. But most importantly, they protect her from revealing her true self and encountering more pain.

After college, Samantha receives an extraordinary opportunity. The anonymous “Mr. Knightley” offers her a full scholarship to earn her graduate degree at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. The sole condition is that Sam write to Mr. Knightley regularly to keep him apprised of her progress.

As Sam’s true identity begins to reveal itself through her letters, her heart begins to soften to those around her—a damaged teenager and fellow inhabitant of Grace House, her classmates at Medill, and, most powerfully, successful novelist Alex Powell. But just as Sam finally begins to trust, she learns that Alex has secrets of his own—secrets that, for better or for worse, make it impossible for Sam to hide behind either her characters or her letters.

(Doesn’t this one sound like Daddy Long Legs? Loved that book, can’t wait for this one!)

Kirsten has spent her life trying to forget. But mercy begs her to remember.

Guilt-ridden after a family tragedy at age 16, Kirsten attempted to bury her pain in her flesh and called it coping. But at 23, on the night she expects her long-time boyfriend to propose, Kirsten discovers a devastating secret about him. In the emotional chaos that follows, an accident by her own hand lands her in a hospital psych ward, unable to find release in injuring herself.

The only viable treatment option is a stint on a Montana sheep ranch, working with the quirky but insightful “Sister Frankie.” Feeling as inept as the sheep themselves, Kirsten slowly joins the unlikely crew of people who are also searching for healing. Gradually she opens herself to embrace mothering an orphaned lamb and hearing God’s voice and . . . possibly . . . finding love again.

Through it all, mercy begs her to remember the past, showing her there is nothing—nothing—that can’t be redeemed.

Thalli has fifteen minutes and twenty-three seconds left to live. The toxic gas that will complete her annihilation is invading her bloodstream. But she is not afraid.

Decades before Thalli’s birth, the world ended in a nuclear war. But life went on deep underground, thanks to a handful of scientists known as The Ten. Since then, they have genetically engineered humans to be free from emotions in the hopes that war won’t threaten their lives again.

But Thalli was born with the ability to feel emotions and a sense of curiosity she can barely contain. She has survived so far thanks to her ability to hide those differences. But Thalli’s secret is discovered when she is overwhelmed by the emotion in an ancient piece of music.

She is quickly scheduled for annihilation, but her childhood friend, Berk, convinces The Ten to postpone her death and study her instead. While in the scientists’ Pod, Thalli and Berk form a dangerous alliance, one strictly forbidden by the constant surveillance in the pods.

As her life ticks away, she hears rumors of someone called the Designer—someone even more powerful than The Ten. What’s more, the parts of her that have always been an anomaly could in fact be part of a much larger plan. And the parts of her that she has always guarded could be the answer she’s been looking for all along.

Thalli must sort out what to believe and who she can trust, before her time runs out… 

 

How cool are these? Christian fiction is stepping it up!

Posted in Personal

Feature Friday…Francine Rivers

Um…You cannot be a true Christian fiction reader if you haven’t read a Francine Rivers novel, so here are some of my favorite:

This is the first one I ever read by Ms. Rivers and….it was mind-blowing. I went from Jannette Oke to Francine Rivers. It’s like going from Anne of Green Gables to Harlequin; only they are both women who love God and are able to convey the need for a deep relationship with him. But one is a bit more risque than the other.

This is the next book I read by Ms. Rivers. All of her books I have recommended to my family members and though Redeeming Love was intense, my cousins are unanimous, this is one of the best ones. It’s been borrowed so much I have pages falling out.

I hesitantly picked up this series…and was completely changed forever. I cried like a baby with the first one and dragged my mom to the library to pick up the rest. I don’t have a ‘favorite’ novel because that spot changes on a regular basis. But, if I had to choose one, it would be A Voice in the Wind. I mean, that is what a romance novel should be and Hadassah was such an example of Christ that is resonates with me till this day.

Now, I really liked this one, but it felt a bit incomplete to me. I always wished there was a book two. Otherwise, a very good read.

This book deals with some serious issues and I usually run from those, but Ms. Rivers handled it so wonderfully that I was glad that I read it. Again, she writes the best romance stories. Loved the hero in this one.

These are my favorites! I have read her other novels, but these stand out in my mind and my heart the most. Which one is your favorite? Haven’t read her? Start tod

Posted in Fantasy/Sci-Fi

Jennifer Hartz’s Heroes of the Horde

About

Six mismatched students at Deacon Proprietary are about to discover the demonic legend of their school’s origin is actually true. Not only have they obtained amazing powers, but they’ve also unleashed the demonic Horde. Now it’s up to these six high school freshmen to stop the Horde before its evil spreads throughout the school and beyond.

Review

I am a superhero fan and there is nothing more that I appreciate than a beginning story and that’s what we have here. There are six high school students who go through something (read the book and find out!) and end up with six unique gifts. I so enjoyed watching them discover the gifts that they had and furthermore discovering what they needed to use those gifts for. I found the story to be believable (as believable as these kinds of stories can be), fascinating, engaging, and even at times a bit scary. It seems really popular these days to have angels or angelic powers in teen novels, but this one deals with demons, adding a new aspect that I haven’t read yet in teen fiction. I especially enjoyed how each student came across as unique and with their own voice. There is no way you could get them confused with each other. I will admit that I liked watching the romantic entanglements though it did seem a bit dicey in moments (but then again what’s high school without dicey moments). The only drawback to this story was that in the beginning there was a lot of description about the past and sometimes, the teens sounded more like adults than teens. Spiritually, though this novel is not necessarily geared to Christian teens you can’t help but go there. There is one devout Christian in the group and scripture is often used to combat demons. I definitely recommend this one to those of us who are superhero fans and I think teens everywhere will have fun with this novel!

**I received a copy of this novel from the author. My opinion was not affected in any way.**

Posted in Uncategorized

Serena Chase’s The Remedy

About

PURPOSED by birth. DESTINED by prophecy. REVEALED by Truth.
Now, her time has come.

Having come to terms with her long-hidden identity, Princess Rynnaia E’veri is ready to take her rightful place. But before she can join her father at Castle Rynwyk, she must endeavor to fulfill a 200-year-old prophecy and defeat the Kingdom’s ancient enemy, the Cobelds. Joined by her faithful knight, Sir Julien de Gladiel, and a gifted group of friends, Rynnaia must trek a dangerous path through canyons, forests, and into the very depths of a mountain where, if the prophetic scrolls prove correct, she will face an unknown foe, alone. Treacheries will be discovered, sacrifices will be made, friends will be lost, and love will be tested, but if even one line of the riddled prophecy is misinterpreted, Rynnaia will fail . . . and the Kingdom will fall.

Beginning at the point THE RYN ended, THE REMEDY concludes an epic re-imagining of the classic Grimm fairy tale, SNOW WHITE & ROSE RED, but the Eyes of E’veria series is only beginning . . .

Review

The Remedy picks up right where The Ryn left off and you will feel as though you never put the first book down. Initially, this novel begins a bit more laidback. Rynnaia gets to know her father more, details are hashed out concerning the Remedy (and Julien!), and some former characters are reintroduced. But then, the fun begins as Rynnaia and her group begin their journey to find the Remedy. I found this sweeping novel to follow that epic-like feel that only the best fantasy novels have. I loved how E’veria has a history that is diverse and layered. I really liked how the group had to follow the clues of an old prophecy to find the Remedy. Each time one was found I was mentally checking it off of my list. I especially liked the character development of Rynnaia. I liked that she wasn’t perfect and that she had moments of frustration. I loved the way Julien courted her in spite of the fact that he knew she loved him already. I even liked it when there was tension between them just so I could see their relationship grow. The only thing that made me question the novel was why her and why now? I wasn’t sure that it answered that question. Spiritually, though this is not a blatant Christian novel, I believe it holds a lot of similarities to knowing God and trusting Him, and seeking His face (and expecting an answer) when trials come up. Loads of fun, you’re in for a treat with this one and I am very excited to read the next one (please have Cazien!). 

** I received this novel from the author. My opinion was not affected in anyway.**

Posted in Uncategorized

Monday Musings…Children in Fiction

I will admit that this is a bit of a random topic, but lately I’ve just felt like I need to get this off my chest. I rarely like children in books. Now, as a disclaimer, for the most part I do like children in real life. I teach Sunday School and I adore babies. But in my books. Not really. They are usually used as a way to bring a couple together and to me, that is just a complete cop-out. The worst thing an author can do in my opinion is to have said child say something like “You should be my mommy” or “Can I call you daddy?” or something lame like that. But not every author uses kids in such a generic way. A couple of authors do things right, like:

1. Fully developed children. When the children are just cute little dolls in a novel, I don’t like them. Because children are not cute little dolls all the time. They are messy, fussy, annoying, and, yes, full of personality. They should not be used as simply props in novels, but be the complete human beings that they are (albeit in a tiny package). I would have a hard time marrying someone with children. The best novels convey the difficulty of becoming a full-time parent and not just the sweet moments where they smell good and say nice things.

2. Their presence has no (real) affect on the romantic relationship. It took me forever to read Mary Connealy’s book Petticoat Ranch because it was about a widow with four children. All I could think was that it was going to be too cute. I was so wrong. Yes, the children are a part of the storyline, but they are not what brought the hero and the heroine together. I think Ms.Connealy does a wonderful job with children in her novels. They may have wanted another parent(maybe, depending on the book), but they weren’t scheming to get their parent with someone else.

Anyone agree? Disagree? Got another point to add?