Month: November 2013

About

Happily Ever After …Or Happily Nevermore? 
Gisela’s childhood was filled with laughter and visits from nobles such as the duke and his young son. But since her father’s death, each day has been filled with nothing but servitude to her stepmother. So when Gisela learns the duke’s son, Valten—the boy she has daydreamed about for years—is throwing a ball in hopes of finding a wife, she vows to find a way to attend, even if it’s only for a taste of a life she’ll never have. To her surprise, she catches Valten’s eye. Though he is rough around the edges, Gisela finds Valten has completely captured her heart. But other forces are bent on keeping the two from falling further in love, putting Gisela in more danger than she ever imagined.

Review

The Captive Maiden picks up about two years later after The Fairest Beauty. Only this time we’re in Valten’s head. I was so glad to see him get his own book. Somehow he managed to capture my attention even though his role was small in the previous novel. He doesn’t disappoint. I really liked Valten and I enjoyed seeing him develop over the course of the novel. His character made complete sense to me and he managed to read as the classic storybook hero without managing to seem silly.

 The Captive Maiden does a beautiful job of capturing the basics of the Cinderella’s story and still showing how Valten and Gisella could manage to fall for each other in a short period of time. The step-mother and step-sisters were cruel, but Gisela never failed to lack spirit. There is also another villain who is introduced and I will say that he wasn’t a very good villain. He just kept messing things up.

If there was anything I didn’t like about the novel, it would have to be some of the grandiose language. I thought the story had that fairytale feel and probably didn’t need language along the lines of ‘I must do away with the villain’ and  she is the “most beautiful, purest, loveliest maiden,” (these are not direct quotes). Sometimes it seemed a bit much. 

Spiritually, I loved the way Valten desired to have a purpose in life an d that he learned to put his faith in God first and himself second. I also liked that Gisela had to learn to care after years of training herself not to care. 

Overall, very good novel. Delicious fairytale. I hope there is another!

Romantic Scale: 9

I happen to own doubles of two Susan May Warren novels and in the spirit of Christmas, I would love to give them away! I will let you pick the book you want. Just leave a comment below with the name of the novel you want plus your email address. I will pick a random winner. The winner must live in the U.S. and respond within 48 hours of being notified of their win. The contest ends Dec 13th. Here are your choices:

                                  -or-

If no one wins the novel you want in this round, don’t worry there will be another!

One Viking woman. One God. One legendary journey to North America. 

In the tenth century, when pagan holy women rule the Viking lands, Gudrid turns her back on her training as a seeress to embrace Christianity. Clinging to her faith, she joins her husband, Finn, on a journey to North America. 

But even as Gudrid faces down murderous crewmen, raging sickness, and hostile natives, she realizes her greatest enemy is herself–and the secrets she hides might just tear her marriage apart. 

Almost five centuries before Columbus, Viking women sailed to North America with their husbands. God’s Daughter, Book One in the Vikings of the New World Saga, offers an expansive yet intimate look into the world of Gudrid Thorbjarnardottir–daughter-in-law of Eirik the Red, and the first documented European woman to have a child in North America.

Review

I haven’t really read very many books about the Vikings. And frankly, I know even less about their history, but when I finished this novel I felt like I was an expert.  Ms. Day does a fabulous job of weaving history seamlessly throughout her novel. I learned so much about that time and era. Most importantly (at least to me) Gudrid, the main character, was a woman of her times. She was strong and had her own mind, and yet worked within the rules of her system, in spite of the fact that she lived in a time when women were little more than chairs in a room. 

Gudrid is someone to be admired. She’s outlived a couple of husbands, she lives with Vikings, and she’s one of the few Christians in a pagan society. Let’s not forget that she is, apparently, every Viking man’s dream (and I don’t mean that sarcastically). In regards to the romance, I didn’t know who the author wanted me to root for until closer to the end of the novel. I know she’s married in the beginning and I always root for the husband, but they lived in dangerous times. I wasn’t sure if I should expect his death or what. That said, Gudrid is not a fickle woman who makes silly mistakes. She comes across as real, authentic, relatable, and a very trustworthy narrator. I liked Gudrid. And I was sad when her narration ended.

Spiritually, if you think it’s hard to be a Christian in this world, it must have been so hard for those who lived amongst out and out pagan societies and without a Bible. Gudrid’s faith in God is admirable. She never wavers no matter how hard things gets and she continues to trust in spite of the fact that no one else will believe God with her. The novel also portrays just how loving God is. Why would you want to serve another?

This novel isn’t written in the usual formulaic way. In some ways it’s a bit more gritty than most Christian romance (Vikings….that is all). I couldn’t put it down though, and I eagerly want to read more. Recommended!

Romantic scale: 8 (considering who she ends up with at the end)

About

For once, Ellie Sweet has it all together. Her hair now curls instead of fuzzes, she’s tamed the former bad-boy, Chase Cervantes (she has, right?), and her debut novel will hit shelves in less than a year. Even her ex-friends are leaving her alone. Well, except for Palmer Davis, but it can’t be helped that he works at her grandmother’s nursing home. 

Life should feel perfect. And yet, it’s not that easy. Ellie’s editor loves her, but the rest of the publishing biz? Not so much. And they’re not shy about sharing their distrust over Ellie’s unlikely debut. 

Ellie has always been able to escape reality in the pages of her novel, but with the stress of major edits and rocky relationships, her words dry up. In fiction, everything always comes together, but in real life, it seems to Ellie that hard work isn’t always enough, the people you love can’t always be trusted, and the dream-come-true of publishing her book could be the biggest mistake she’s made yet. 

Review

I so thoroughly enjoyed diving back into Ellie Sweet’s life. I could not put this book down and it stayed with me for days! Ellie Sweet is a fantastic YA heroine. In a world of silly girls who make silly decisions, Ellie Sweet is a breath of fresh air. 

I really enjoyed The Revised Life of Ellie Sweet and wondered what Ms. Morrill would do to keep me interested in her life. Well, wonder no longer. Ellie has a couple things on her plate in this novel: dealing with her boyfriend (and her ex), learning what it’s like to be a published author, and dealing with family and friend drama. She handles it all beautifully. She’s such a likeable character (even more so than book 1) and really handles her problems well. Usually I read these YA novels and I’m like high school was not like that when I went, but reading about Ellie Sweet reminded that not everyone is what the secular world portrays. She was familiar. I knew that girl (to a certain extent I was that girl minus the book deal and the love triangle :)) And I thought she particularly handled the love triangle that is still in this book (bet you thought that was over with book 1). I hate love triangles, but I liked the way Ellie dealt with hers. 

What I didn’t like about this book [possible Spoiler Alert]: the guy Ellie is with in the end! I could not believe who she ended up with. Sure the guy who was rejected had flaws, but he seemed real and authentic in a way that the other guy didn’t. The other guy was boring and predictable. I’ve met him in other books and frankly, I wasn’t convinced Ellie wanted to be with him either. I thought she should have said that she would rather be single then end up with him. Whereas my guy? The one she should have ended up with? Was the one who made the pages sizzle. I loved reading about him because he was different and I felt like he loved her so much, but he just had a lot on the table. He was the guy who would have rocked Ellie’s world. The other guy….yeah.

So, please Ms. Morrill, if you read this write a book three because a) Ellie is awesome and I love reading about her and b) she needs to leave what’s his face and get with what’s his face (you know who I’m talking about!).

Spiritually, this novel has Ellie going to church and she does apologize to a group of people, but honestly this reads as clean YA as opposed to Christian fiction (no overt messages of Christianity). That said, very enjoyable.

Romantic scale: 9 (with my guy)

Romantic scale: 7 (with the guy she ended up with)

 

Captain Dean Watters keeps his mission and his team in the forefront of his laser-like focus. So when Dean’s mission and team are threatened, his Special Forces training kicks into high gear. Failing to stop hackers from stealing national security secrets from the military’s secure computers and networks isn’t an option. Zahrah Zarrick is a missionary teacher to Afghan children in Mazar-e Sharif. And a target. When Zahrah is captured because of her expertise in quantum cryptology, compromising the US military, Dean is forced to crack the lockbox around his heart—a move that might come at the highest cost.

Gisela Cramer is an American living in eastern Germany with her cousin Ella Reinhardt. When the Red Army invades, they must leave their home to escape to safety in Berlin.

However, Ella is a nurse and refuses to leave, sending her young daughters with Gisela. During their journey, Gisela meets Mitch Edwards, an escaped British POW. She pretends she is his wife in order to preserve his safety among other Germans, especially one wounded German soldier, Kurt, who has suspicions about Mitch’s identity. Kurt also has feelings for Gisela and tries to uncover the truth about her “marriage.”

Their journey to Gisela’s mother in Berlin is riddled with tragedy and hardship, but they strive to keep Ella’s daughters safe so they can reunite with their mother. During the journey Gisela and Mitch begin to develop feelings for one another beyond friendship. They reach Berlin, but their struggles are far from over. Gisela and Mitch must learn to live for the day and find hope in the darkest of circumstances.

In this moving, historically accurate portrayal of WWII Germany, the characters learn that, even with destruction all around them, some things last forever.

Seventeen-year-old slave girl, Nym, should not exist. In a world where Elementals are only born male, and always killed at birth, she is an anomaly at best. At worst, people around her die.

When a court emissary identifies her weather-manipulating ability as a weapon, Nym is purchased and put to work honing her skills. With time running out for the kingdom of Faelen, Nym might be all that stands between it and the technologically-advanced horror racing down upon them—not to mention the rumored reemergence of the monstrous shapeshifter, Draewulf. But some elements even she can’t control.

Nym must decide whom to trust as she’s unleashed into a world of assassins, changelings, and political betrayal surrounding a young king fighting for his throne, a tired nation that has forgotten its calling, and her handsome tutor whose dark secrets could destroy both her people and her heart.

Today. Sera James spends most of her time arranging auctions for the art world’s elite clientele. When her search to uncover an original portrait of an unknown Holocaust victim leads her to William Hanover III, they learn that this painting is much more than it seems.

Vienna, 1942. Adele Von Bron has always known what was expected of her. As a prodigy of Vienna’s vast musical heritage, this concert violinist intends to carry on her family’s tradition and play with the Vienna Philharmonic. But when the Nazis learn that she helped smuggle Jews out of the city, Adele is taken from her promising future and thrust into the horrifying world of Auschwitz.

The veil of innocence is lifted to expose a shuddering presence of evil, and Adele realizes that her God-given gift is her only advantage; she must play. Becoming a member of the Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz, she fights for survival. Adele’s barbed-wire walls begin to kill her hope as the months drag into nearly two years in the camp. With surprising courage against the backdrop of murder and despair, Adele finally confronts a question that has been tugging at her heart: Even in the midst of evil, can she find hope in worshipping God with her gift?

As Sera and William learn more about the subject of the mysterious portrait—Adele—they are reminded that whatever horrors one might face, God’s faithfulness never falters.

Melanie and Will Connors seem like the perfect couple, but their marriage only looks good on the outside, having withered inside from a lack of intimacy.

The barriers Melanie faces to intimacy are hidden in her past—a misguided tryst with a trusted friend of her father’s, a pattern of promiscuity as a teen, empty relationships in early adulthood. The only way Melanie sees to save herself from herself is to turn off her desires—even in her marriage.

Will insists they either work on the marriage—or work on the divorce. Their attempt at restoration occurs in the midst of a New Hampshire presidential primary that is rocked by violent protests and razor-sharp character assassinations. For the first time, their marriage begins to feel like a safe place.

As Melanie tries to sort through her own past, she sees her 16-year-old daughter’s head turned by a charismatic older man on Will’s campaign team. Can Melanie sift through her own rubble and find the voice to help guide her daughter—and possibly find the joy that God intended for her marriage?

 

Are there any in particular you’re looking forward to? I can’t wait to read the Ronie Kendig and I’m sure the Liz Tolsma novel will be good. The novel by Mary Weber seems really intriguing and I really like Kristy Cambron’s cover. I’m familiar with Shannon Ethridge’s nonfiction, but none of her fiction. Seems like it’s going to be a great year in books next year!

Happy Veterans Day! Thank you to the many men and women who have served our country! I thought I would list some authors who write great military fiction:

Roseanna M. White (Revolutionary War and War of 1812)

Laura Frantz (Revolutionary War)

Margaret Daley (War of 1812-From This Day Forward)

Lynn Austin (Civil War)

Gilbert Morris (Civil War & others)

Maureen Lang (WWI)

Sarah Sundin (WWII)

Bodie & Brock Thoene (WWII)

Lori Wick (WWII, Every Storm)

Cathy West (Vietnam War)

1990s on- 

L.K. Malone

Ronie Kendig

Gayle Roper

Dee Henderson

 

 

If you know of any other fantastic military fiction, please list a few!