Isle of Shadows by Tracy L. Higley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Isle of Shadows is book one of the Seven Wonders series by T.L Higley. Set in the heart of Rhodes in 227 B.C. This story takes us to the base of Colossus and into life of a hetaera. *In ancient Greece, hetaerae were courtesans—highly educated, sophisticated companions. (See "Notes" for more information on the hetaera of Ancient Greece)
In this story we meet Tessa, a beautiful and well known hetaera. Tessa was sold to Servia as a hetaera ten years ago and has been in bondage ever since. Tessa desires for freedom but that chance is dashed when her patron Glaucus, meets an untimely demise. That is, until Tessa finds a friend in his daughter, Persephone. The two of them conspire to keep his death a secret until Tessa can escape to Crete.
We follow Tessa through the depths of her despair, her guilt and her shame as she tries to come to grips with her past...and present life. With the help of a man she doesn't dare to love and an older Jew who cares for her as a daughter, Tessa fights for her freedom. Simeon introduces her to the God of Israel and promises her that God can deliver her and give her peace.
This book is Christian Fiction and is not simply Historical Fiction. Though the author takes us back to Ancient Greece we learn not only of the Greeks but also of the Jews who were scattered across the land at that time. Often living lives of servants or slaves.
On this note I must address the issue of Simeon. I have seen comments that the author took too many liberties with this character in regard to his age. As to not spill the story of Simeon in this review I would encourage those that read this part and puzzled at time discrepancies to please go back and read the author's notes and "Story behind the Story" I think you'll find her explanation to be satisfactory. As you read her explanation please keep in mind that the Bible tells of men that lived up to 900 years so I did not feel that this part of the story was too hard to believe.
I really enjoyed this book. Tessa represents a lot of people living in their pain and grief. She's built up walls to protect herself from hurt and in doing so she has no joy, no peace. Only through her submitting herself to God will Tessa find the peace she craves. Aside from the message of grace and forgiveness in this book, I found myself completely immersed in an ancient landscape. I could almost see the colossus and the docks on the island of Rhodes. The author painted such imagery with her words that I could almost smell the salt air as I read and imagine the waves as they beat against the shore. I definitely suggest this book for readers that are interested in the ancient world and also enjoy Christian fiction.
"God doesn't always ask us to do things that don't cause pain, and we can never know His plan."His Love Endures Forever by Beth Wiseman
Morris the Village Voice by Doris Rueger
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Morris is an advertising column in a small town. Once he was one of the most important features of the village. Standing tall and proud with advertisements for events and activities going on in the community. Unfortunately, people have abused Morris. They have torn down his advertisements and covered him with graffiti. As a result, no one gathers around the town center anymore. No more smiling children or local artists and entertainment. The city council wishes to replace Morris with a flashy neon sign. Finally Morris has had enough. He asks for help from two village children. He asks that they restore him and clean him up. A big flashy neon sign can't be the center of joy and entertainment!
This was a cute little book that teaches children the value of respecting your community and respecting community property. The author, Ms Doris Rueger is also an artist that uses illustrated the book with colorful crayon drawings and collages. It's a fantastic way to discuss the arts and the importance of your community.
About the Author:
Dor Rueger emigrated to America and having had to adjust to a new country and culture gave her great insight into the challenges that so many youngsters from diverse backgrounds face daily. A wife, mother and grandmother, Reuger has worked with people from all over the world for over thirty years.
I received a complementary copy of this book from the Author. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
View all my reviews
Christmas in Apple Ridge: Three-in-One Collection: The Sound of Sleigh Bells, The Christmas Singing, NEW! The Dawn of Christmas by Cindy Woodsmall
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Christmas in Apple Ridge by Cindy Woodsmall is a Three-in-One collection of The Sound of Sleigh Bells, The Christmas Singing and an all new novella, The Dawn of Christmas . This book means something special to me as I had the pleasure of getting to know the author a bit better via email and facebook and I was deeply honored that she included one of my original soap recipes in the back of the book. One thing is for certain, this author cares deeply about her fans and about the characters she is writing about. That care and attention becomes evident in the stories she brings to life and gives her readers a window into the very soul of her characters.
A Wreath of Snow: A Victorian Christmas Novella by Liz Curtis Higgs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A Wreath of Snow: A Victorian Christmas Novella by Liz Curtis Higgs is the first book that I have read from the author and it has been such a pleasure. My only complaint about this novella is that it wasn't a full blown novel! This was such a fantastic Christmas story and really put me into the mood to hop on a train and visit the locations she was describing!
In this story we meet Meg, a sweet girl that is on the outs with her family. Twelve years prior her brother was injured in an unfortunate accident. True to real life, a catastrophe has one of two effects on a person. It will either pull out a strong perseverance spirit or the spirit of bitterness and the latter is true for Meg's brother, Alan.
Alan has determined that it is better for him to live his life in bitterness for the attention that it brings than to try to do better for himself. Caught in his cross-hairs is his sister, Meg. Life with Alan became unbearable for Meg and after inheriting her Aunt's town home she decided to move off to become a school teacher.
While visiting with her family for Christmas, Meg decides that the relationship with her family, with her brother, cannot be repaired and she finds herself on a train, heading back home! It is on the train that she meets an intriguing gentleman named Gordon. It is through the course of a terrible snowstorm and a minor accident that results in Meg and Gordon finding out that their past and their future is intertwined in a way that they never expected.
This story was an excellent tale that portrayed what the forgiveness of God can work in the heart and how a person can change with the help of the Lord. The importance of forgiveness and the fresh promise of love and understanding made this such a fantastic story that I was sad when it was over!
I received A Wreath of Snow as a complimentary gift in exchange for an honest review from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. My comments and opinions are my own.
About the Author:
A Marriage of the Heart by Kelly Long
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
A Marriage of the Heart is three Kelly Long Amish novellas—available for the first time in one collection. Since it is a 3-in-1 collection I will be reviewing each story individually within this review. Something I have never done previously! So, bear with me if it is rough around the edges!
A Perfect Secret:
Rose has accepted her best friend's marriage proposal but she secretly wishes for something more. While she loves him as a friend she desires to feel that spark of romance from him. That moment when he will kiss her and the world stops moving. Instead, it seems to her that he isn't attracted to her and simply proposed because they were friends. Then, she finds out a secret that Luke has been carrying and her entire perception changes. She is intrigued by the "new Luke" and she is desperate to get to know that side of him, even as it threatens to tear them apart. This was a sweet little story about the unknown when it comes to romance and how you can know someone as a very close friend for years and still miss the inner workings of their mind and heart.
Christmas Cradles:
The Lord Giveth and the Lord Taketh. As a midwife, Anna knows this lesson well. She prays that the Lord will give her patients protection and safe deliveries on a cold winter night, Christmas to be exact! Covering for her aunt who is also a midwife, Anna braves bad weather to attend to three births in the community. With the poor weather, she is relying on Asa Lapp to get her to the homes of her patients safely. It is her first time meeting Asa as she is not from the same Amish community, therefore she doesn't know the true reasons for his brooding personality. What she does know is that she is completely intrigued by this man. As she spends the evening with him going from home to home...she can feel herself falling for him. Likewise, he is falling for this quirky and determined midwife! Our past has a way of creeping up on us though and a dark secret threatens to ruin this budding romance. Can Anna trust in the Lord enough to hear him out? Or will she judge him for past sins that are quickly bubbling to the surface?
I really enjoyed this story and though it was over pretty quickly and seemed a little rush, that is pretty typical for a novella. I think you will not be disappointed at the conclusion! If you're like me, you might even develop a little book crush on the obviously handsome Asa with his husky voice and dreamy personality!
A Marriage of the Heart:
Abby is a beautiful and yet manipulative girl who finds herself married to a wonderfully patient man. Despite the fact that she trapped him into marrying her. Joseph is genuine in his desire to get to know Abby and even to love her but Abby is eager for the ways of the world. Joseph has had his fill of the world though, having been "English" he wants for nothing more than to forget his past. A past that he hopes Abby can never finds out. Abby is reluctant at first but she can't help but to start to fall for her new husband and she is surprised by the desire in her heart to learn to cook, to sew, to do all the things a good Amish wife should do for her husband. With his help and gentle patience, he slowly wins her heart and helps her find her true self and in turn, he relies on Abby to help him confront his dark past.
Joseph's character was so dreamy to read about! I think I developed at least two crushes in this collection of novellas. Kelly Long certainly knows how to paint an appealing Amish-man! I think this was my favorite out of the three stories. I kept hoping that things would work out for Abby and Joseph. I was not disappointed with this story in the least! It met all the criteria I look for in a good Amish romance!
Places to Buy:
Amazon
CBD
Barnes&Noble
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255
Inheritance by Christopher Paolini
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Inheritance by Christopher Paolini is the conclusion to the Inheritance Cycle. Out of all of the books, this was the best written story and it had a lot of potential but how anyone can give this book 5 stars is beyond my comprehension, if for not other reason than the ending. The conclusion has to be one of the worst endings I have ever read to a series.
First off, I must say that you can tell Paolini is improving as a writer. I saw a little less in terms of borrowed story-lines in Inheritance although it was still there. It is very obvious that the author is a fan of Tolkien and Star Wars. Also, the simplistic and unexplored objectivist views hint that the author changed course from a simple story to dabbling with allegory, much like Terry Goodkind. Unlike Goodkind I can't tell if this was intentional on the part of the author or if he threw in these views because that is what another fantasy writer did and he liked the idea.
Then we have the issue of too much fluff and fillers in these stories. There is no way this series needed to fill four books. Much of it had nothing to truly lend to the final conclusion such as Nasuada's capture in which he rambled on about her jailer whom we never learned a name for or his story. It added nothing beneficial to the story so why the author spent so much care and attention on describing the jailer's fingernails causes me to scratch my head in confusion.
This book could have very well picked up at the Vault of Souls and bypassed the entire first half of the book. It is honestly...sad. It's sad that I enjoyed this book more than all three of the first and yet it still had so much rambling. Then the fact that the leading up to killing Galbatorix had no huge climax. It was just...over. Then the next 200+ pages had to semi-wrap up all the side story lines that were present and he didn't even do that efficiently.
Spoiler Alert: The conclusion to this story has me wondering why I wasted so much time even reading. Despite the short comings that I described above, I would have still given this book 5 stars. That is, until I read the end. There is no real conclusion. So what, Saphira finds a temporary mate...only to be ripped away from him. Arya finally admits to an attraction to Eragon after four books of him pining away for her and for what? For him to still be alone? We have absolutely no idea what happens. We have no idea if Saphira ever hatched some eggs or if she died with no love or family. The author tied up the unnecessary ends and left the important ones to have no conclusion which really sums up my point of "What did I read all four of these books for?" Did I read it for the anti-climatic killing of Galbatorix because that was over entirely too fast. Did I read it to see Murtagh redeem himself? Because if I did...the author failed on that point too. Although Murtagh did redeem himself for what point did he do it? So he could ride off into the sunset without a real conclusion to his story? For the sake of a girl that he doesn't even end up with? His interest in Nasuada was enough to influence him to betray Galbatorix and yet it was not explored any further? What a colossal waste of my time. I'm so disappointed. Paolini had the chance to redeem himself with this book and he wasted it by writing such an unfulfilled ending.
Click here to read all of my Reviews about the Inheritance Cycle
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Hello dear friends and fans! The ole' blog has gotten a little dusty this week and so here I am with my virtual duster. I will brush away the cobwebs, blow away the dust and while I do so, I will invite you to pull up a stool and drink a cup of hot tea while we talk and catch up!
Mostly, I've been too busy to get here to blog. Yes, I know that it is bad that I do not have a bunch of posts lined up for your reading pleasure but this blog tends to follow my life and the things I'm doing. I want it to be fresh and not some old news I have lying around. You all are my friends and that means news as it happens and not last week's tales!
So, having said that...let me just say how crazy my life has been the last couple weeks. In less than a week's time I attended two military funerals for two very amazing men. A great uncle and then an uncle. I can't say that I knew either of them as much as I would have liked but everything I do know tells me that their presence in this life will be greatly missed.
Secondly, my girls had dental visits. I live in a dinky little town and that means driving some distance to take my daughters to a pediatric dentist. It seems as of late all I've done is put gas in the van and hopped in the car to go somewhere!
Whispers in the Wind by Lauraine Snelling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Whispers in the Wind is book two in the Wild West Wind series by Lauraine Snelling and picks up where Valley of Dreams left off.
Cassie has made it to her father's Valley of Dreams and finds that it is already occupied by another family. Not only that, the ranch isn't hers in it's entirety. The deed was written up between her father and the Engstrom family. Meaning, the ranch is only half hers and the Engstrom boys are none too pleased to be sharing.
Mavis Engstrom, the matriarch of the Engstroms, warmly welcomes Cassie as a part of the family and has a small cabin fixed up for her and her makeshift family consisting of two indians and a wrangler from the wild west show. However, not everyone in town is so accepting of Cassie's friends, nor of the color of their skin. Branding the Engstroms and Cassie as "injun lovers", a group of local drunks decide to run them out of town and as a result, certain events cause Cassie to question whether God is truly keeping his promise to be her protection.
Through it all, Lucas makes his intentions known to Cassie and professes his love. Cassie is confused. She cares for Lucas but in a way that a sister cares for a brother. He asks her to let him make her love him and this too confuses Cassie. It is with that thought that the book wraps up and leaves us hanging. Honestly, I like Lucas but I just don't see Cassie falling for him. I'm very curious as to how this will conclude and will definitely be looking for the release of A Place to Belong which is coming out in the spring of 2013!
About the Author:
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Poppy and the Stranger by Eli Jay
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
About the Book
Poppy is a little wandering balloon that is out on an adventure. However, Poppy sees his shadow and is afraid. He thinks a stranger is following him! With the help of his friends and a very wise bear, Poppy learns that we all have a shadow and that we shouldn't be afraid.
My thoughts
I thought this was a cute little book. My four year old had some thoughts though, "If he thought a stranger was following him why didn't he find an adult or a police officer?" It made me realize that maybe the topic of a shadow shouldn't have been called a stranger as this might make children think they shouldn't be alarmed by strangers. I know it made my daughter ask! Otherwise, cute little book and the illustrations are simple but appealing to my little ones.
“Based upon Kinsinger’s own childhood, it’s reminiscent of the Little House on the Prairie books.” —Romantic Times
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