The Witnesses by Stephanie Black

The Witnesses by Stephanie Black

“Welcome to New America, where patriots are traitors and religion is a crime. After government agent Daniel Lansbury fakes the executions of three believers on national television, he and the fugitives Alisa Kent, Ian Roshek, and Ian's sister, Jill face the perilous task of outwitting President Amanda Ryce and her power-hungry Council long enough to escape to freedom. While a government reformer is on their side, rigorous new security measures thwart any chance of aid. And Daniel's estranged father, Marcus, an underground terrorist leader, is hatching plans to sabotage the breakable trust between Daniel and Ian and put himself in power at the head of the nation. As faith and loyalties come under fire, the fugitives struggle to stop Marcus and his zealous terrorists and bring to light the wrongs committed against the citizens of this fragile, fledgling nation.” (summary from Deseret Book)

  I was super happy when I discovered that The Witnesses was a direct sequel to Black’s previous novel The Believer. I reread the first book so I could remember the plot for the second book. The novel leaves off right where the first left off, which surprised me a bit. I was looking forward to seeing more of the world and how things had changed in her future, but it turns out that her characters were never able to escape New America and the corrupt government. The strain of staying in hiding is threatening to tear apart the fragile bands of loyalty the group only just forged. It doesn’t help that Marcus Landsbury is still out there making plots to take over the presidency, and is still trying to manipulate his son. With the way things are going it is only a matter of time before Ian, Alisa, Jill, and Daniel are caught. What they didn’t expect was that their capture may be the key to getting the reforms that they wanted all along. I really liked experiencing another adventure with these characters and seeing how they were able to change their country for the better even if it happened in a way they would never have expected. I love how layered and complex Black’s characters are, especially her villains. She did a superb job of showing their motivations and revealing their fascinating decisions. I really enjoyed getting back into this intense dystopian world.

Visit Stephanie Black's Website

The Runaway King by Jenifer A. Nielsen

The Runaway King by Jennifer A. Nielsen
“A kingdom teetering on the brink of destruction. A king gone missing. Who will survive? Find out in the highly anticipated sequel to Jennifer A. Nielsen’s blockbuster THE FALSE PRINCE! Just weeks after Jaron has taken the throne, an assassination attempt forces him into a deadly situation. Rumors of a coming war are winding their way between the castle walls, and Jaron feels the pressure quietly mounting within Carthya. Soon, it becomes clear that deserting the kingdom may be his only hope of saving it. But the further Jaron is forced to run from his identity, the more he wonders if it is possible to go too far. Will he ever be able to return home again? Or will he have to sacrifice his own life in order to save his kingdom?

The stunning second installment of The Ascendance Trilogy takes readers on a roller-coaster ride of treason and murder, thrills and peril, as they journey with the Runaway King!” (summary from author’s website)

After Jeron takes the throne he discovers that his life is still in danger from pirates, rival countries, and even his own regents. Jeron has no chance of winning against any of them the traditional way. So, he does what he does best. He risks everything in a crazy plan to take over the Avenian pirates. Jeron reverts to his previous persona Sage and infiltrates the dangerous pirate compound by claiming he knows the location of an extremely valuable treasure. If Jeron manages to stay alive his crazy plan could just give his country a fighting chance. Just like the first book in the series the author expertly puts her character in high-stakes situations where you can’t help by root for their survival. An intense and riveting read.

For more information visit Jennifer Nielsen's website.

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen
"THE FALSE PRINCE is the thrilling first book in a brand-new trilogy filled with danger and deceit and hidden identities that will have readers rushing breathlessly to the end. In a discontent kingdom, civil war is brewing. To unify the divided people, Conner, a nobleman of the court, devises a cunning plan to find an impersonator of the king’s long-lost son and install him as a puppet prince. Four orphans are recruited to compete for the role, including a defiant boy named Sage. Sage knows that Conner’s motives are more than questionable, yet his life balances on a sword’s point — he must be chosen to play the prince or he will certainly be killed. But Sage’s rivals have their own agendas as well. As Sage moves from a rundown orphanage to Conner’s sumptuous palace, layer upon layer of treachery and deceit unfold, until finally, a truth is revealed that, in the end, may very well prove more dangerous than all of the lies taken together. An extraordinary adventure filled with danger and action, lies and deadly truths that will have readers clinging to the edge of their seats." (summary author's website)

This was a really interesting read. I love the sardonic and self-deprecating voice of Sage. I had a suspicion that he wasn’t who he first appeared to be, but I really wondered just how he came to be an orphan on the streets. The author does an awesome job of convincing the reader of his real backstory. I really enjoyed reading about this strong-willed, bitter, and unconventional hero.

Seriously, this is a book you have to read. The conflict drags you into the story immediately and you can’t help but want to know more about Sage and his unusual quirks. It was really refreshing to read something without romance (huzzah!) and to read something I could share and discuss with my husband. As soon as I finished I put the second book on hold at the library. We are fans.

Jennifer A. Nielsen's website

After Hello by Lisa Mangum

After Hello by Lisa Mangum

"What if the first day of your relationship was the only day you had? 

Seventeen-year-old Sara is a seeker. She’s always on the lookout for the perfect moment to capture with her ever-present, point-and-shoot camera, especially on her first trip to New York City. 

Sam is a finder. He has a knack for finding what other people can’t—a first-edition book or the last two tickets to a sold-out Broadway show. In New York, there is always something interesting to find. 

When Sam and Sara’s paths cross, neither one of them is prepared for what they will find out about each other—and about themselves when they form an unlikely partnership in search of a seemingly elusive work of art. They have one day to find the impossible. Fate brought their talents together, but what happens when time runs out? Will love be able to overcome fate? This new novel from award-winning author Lisa Mangum explores what happens after hello."

 

Sara is stuck wandering the streets of New York while her father is in a meeting that runs late. She happens to run into Sam, and they discover that they are kindred spirits, both holding wounds that they can help each other heal. Sara accidently gets Sam’s brother fired from his job being the personal assistant to an actress with anger management problems, and spend the rest of her time in New York searching for a piece of art that will get Paul his job back. I enjoyed the characters and setting of the novel and it reminded me in small way of The Fault in our Stars, except the novel was far less depressing, as the book is ultimately not a tragedy, and has a happy ending. I guess the only problem I had with the book is that I felt like the stakes to find the art weren’t high enough personally for Sara. The book kind of slowed for me in the middle because I had a hard time believing that Sara would go through all this trouble and blow off her dad for some guy that was actually kind of a jerk to her when they met. Still, over all I found this to be an interesting read.

 Tour giveaway is here

a Rafflecopter giveaway

LDSPBP: Ken Baker

http://www.kenbakerbooks.com/

Old MacDonald Has a Dragon 

This fun picture book meshes the children’s classic song ‘Old Macdonald” with the classic fantasy trope of a dragon. One can only imagine the type of havoc a dragon could cause on a farm. The famer is losing animals left and right. Then the dragon eats the farmer’s dog and the farmer has had enough.  With a little bit of team work and some music the farmer and his animals managed to chase the dragon off for good.

I thought this was a fun and clever reinterpretation of two children’s tropes. A enjoyable read for those that love farm-animal tales.

Cow Can’t Sleep

Cow isn’t comfortable sleeping in the itchy hay. So she goes to find another place to sleep. That soft feather mattress is slightly more wiggly and lumpy than she expected. Thus begins  Cow’s chaotic search for a new place to sleep. Who knew that one tired cow could cause so much havoc on the farm.

A humorous tale about a picky cow looking for a nice place to sleep.

 

Brave Little Monster by Ken Baker

Albert, a young monster faces his fears of boys and girls before he falls to sleep.  Little Albert is certain that there are little boys and girls lying in wait under his bed,  hiding in his closet, and playing outside his window. With a little creativity and a lot of courage Albert knows all the right tricks to scare them away. 

The story of a young little monster overcoming  his fears of boys and girls. This book made me laugh because as a young child I used some of the very same tricks to convince myself my room was safe at night.

Transparent by Natalie Whipple

Transparent by Natalie Whipple

"Plenty of teenagers feel invisible. Fiona McClean actually is.

An invisible girl is a priceless weapon. Fiona’s own father has been forcing her to do his dirty work for years—everything from spying on people to stealing cars to breaking into bank vaults.

After sixteen years, Fiona’s had enough. She and her mother flee to a small town, and for the first time in her life, Fiona feels like a normal life is within reach. But Fiona’s father isn’t giving up that easily.

Of course, he should know better than anyone: never underestimate an invisible girl."

Fiona is one of those whose genes have been affected by change. Her particular mutation makes it so that she appears invisible to everyone around her. When she looks in the mirror she doesn’t even know what she looks like. In fact, she often feels like a tool and she is an extremely useful one to her Father, the leader of a crime syndicate.  When her father has plans to send Fiona overseas to kill somebody her mother decides it is time to get out.

They sneak off to a small town in the middle of the desert, and Fi actually gets to go to a normal school. There she begins to make friends and have an almost normal life. Life is almost perfect except for the fact that her brother, her dad’s henchman, keeps coming around the check on them. Fiona can’t trust the fact that he’ll keep their location a secret. She has to rely on her new friends to stay out of her father’s long reaching clutches.

Alright, I know this sounds x-men, and I’m not really a huge fan of this mutant trope, but I loved the small scale of this novel. A vulnerable girl trying to navigate her way through high school, her first crush, and her seemingly insurmountable family issues . I loved the details of how Fiona’s invisibility affected her everyday life, her sense of self, and her relationship with others. I have to say that I loved the way the teen romance worked out in this book. Like the setting it is small, subtle and in a market saturated with epic teenage love stories with protagonists that just can’t keep their hands off each other even in the most unlikely of circumstances Whipple presents the exact opposite. Without a single kiss Fi and Seth build a tender and honest relationship. An excellent read that I’d recommend to everyone.

The sequel Blindsided comes out January 2^nd and I can’t wait to finish reading Fi’s story. Find out more about Whipple's work at her website.

Proceed with Caution by Betsy Brannon Green

Proceed with Caution by Betsy Brannon Green
"Brooke Clayton is in trouble. Deep in the shadowy woods outside Nashville, the young activist stumbled on something she was never meant to see something she can never reveal if she values her life. Now, as an unknown enemy closes in, she must take drastic measures to disappear. Brooke s only hope for survival is to accept help from her uncle, Major Christopher Dane, and his team of highly trained operatives. Dane entrusts his niece s safety to one of his most reliable men, Hunter, aka Owl. Brooke and Owl go into hiding, posing as a married couple volunteering at a Civil War reenactment site. As Brooke comes to trust her protector, their connection deepens and their cover relationship begins to feel all too real. But when danger encroaches on their make believe world and explosive truths are revealed, Hunter and Brooke risk everything to expose the discovery she tried so hard to escape and as peril looms ever closer, it s too late to proceed with caution.” (Summary from DB)

Alright, so I wanted to switch things up a bit and Covenant has added me to a list of book blog reviewers and so I snatched this one right up, hoping it wouldn’t be a romance. Alas, I am not to escape, not at all! This one is firmly in the romantic suspense category. I still enjoyed it. I believe the book is a spin-off of other characters in her Hazardous Duty series, which I never read. On occasion, this felt awkward as if I were left on the outside of a few inside jokes among a close group of friends. I also had a hard time getting through the first chapter that felt more cliché and kind of info dumpy because I wasn’t really invested in the characters you were obviously already supposed to care about. Still, the plot and character relationships are understandable and I got invested in the story pretty quickly after that.

My favorite part of the book is when a pair of the characters have to go undercover at a civil war reenactment experience resort. This of course is when the romance line went full swing, and really it was so much fun, and sort of hilarious. I wish I could have spent the entire rest of the book at the fun resort, but alas there were bad guys to elude and dangerous missions to undertake. So, despite the rough start I ended up enjoying this book and the varied, entangled plots that ensue.

Visit Betsy Brannon Green's website

Blackmoore by Julianna Donaldson

Blackmoore by Julianna Donaldson

“At eighteen, Kate Worthington knows she should be getting serious about marriage, but her restless heart won’t let her settle down. To escape her mother’s meddlesome influence, she dreams of traveling with her spinster aunt to exotic India. But when the opportunity arises, Kate finds herself making a bargain with her mother: she will be allowed to go only if she spends a season at the family’s wealthy estate, Blackmoore, where she must secure and reject three marriage proposals. Enlisting the help of her dearest childhood friend, Henry Delafield, Kate sets out to collect her proposals so she can be on her way. But Henry s decision to help threatens to destroy both of their dreams in ways they could never imagine. Set in Northern England in 1820, Blackmoore is a regency romance that tells the story of a young woman struggling to learn how to listen to her heart. With hints of Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters, Blackmoore is a page-turning tale of romance, intrigue, and devotion. (summary from Amazon)

Set in the wild moors of Scotland in an old gothic manor with secret passages and the remains of ruined abbeys in the countryside. Blackmoore has an atmospheric setting that makes its heroine Kate thrilled with the prospect of adventure. She has dreamed of going to Blackmoore forever, but quickly finds that the experience of Blackmoore is much more painful than her childhood fantasies about the place. Her childhood relationships are more complex and fraught with tension then they once were. Desperate, Kate enlists the help of her dearest friend Henry to escape her mother’s clutches and her family’s tarnished reputation.

Donaldson has produced another standalone regency romance novel for Deseret Book’s proper romance line. I really enjoyed Blackmoore and felt like this novel was much more polished than Donaldson’s debut. The plot has more originality and the characters rely less on regency tropes, as I felt was the case in her first book, and stand on their own. In addition, I love how eloquently and beautifully Donaldson can convey her character’s emotions, a skill that has only grown since Edenbrook. I’m excited to see what this author has planned next.

If you're interested in trying out Donaldson's work this is the perfect time to jump in as Edenbrooke: A Proper Romance is currently on sale as a kindle ebook for $1.99 this month. Blackmoore is currently on sale for $7.99 in ebook format.

Visit Donaldson's website

The Not Even Once Club by Wendy Watson Nelson

The Not Even Once Club by Wendy Watson Nelson

The Not Even Once Club is a story about a boy, Tyler, who has moved to a new neighborhood. His primary class has a secret club house and is close-knit group that likes to play together. Tyler has to pass a test to be able to join the club—the test is turn down drinking an alcoholic drink on a pretend restaurant  menu. Tyler then signs a club contract that says he will always keep the word of wisdom, dress modestly, avoid pornography, and other bad habits. The boy is super happy about his new friends and super excited about his commitment to avoid doing any of these things Not Even Once!

On the one hand I think this is a pretty decent story. I think the idea of a secret club based on keeping the commandments is a fun idea for kids. Finding friends that have the same standards as you is a rewarding experience. The book also provides a safe way for parents and kids to have discussions about church standards and the choices we make. There is a discussion guide in the back for parents and kids to follow on topics like modesty and pornography, obedience, and repentance.

I did kind of have a problem with the fact that the primary teacher was the founder of the club and that she supplied the club house with snacks, candy, puzzles, games and crafts as long as the kids kept the promise of the contract. I didn’t like the message that the primary teacher would provide treats and other external rewards conditional on the children’s behavior. Because keeping the commandments shouldn’t be motivated by getting candy or games, keeping the commandments should be motivated by how living the gospel brings peace and happiness internally. Also, why should this primary teacher get to be judge if these kids deserve snacks or not? Is she going to keep track of everything they do? Also, what primary teacher can afford to do that? Seriously? 

I think this book does have a lot of potential to be a good catalyst for gospel discussions and conversations in families, but I’m not a fan of the teacher’s influence. I’d like the book much more if the kids had decorated and supplied the club on their own initiative out of a desire to do what the primary teacher taught them about. They could have all brought something special to share— an activity, snack or game that reflected their commitment to make choices different from the world and to create a safe haven for themselves and their friends.

I hope that my quibbling with story details doesn’t cause people to discount completely the potential for this story concept to be a positive influence. I don’t want to convey that idea at all. I think that with the guidance of parents this story concept is flexible enough to adapt to different situations and circumstances, and that it could be a tool to strengthen families. 

Find more information about the book here.

 

Finding Sheba by H.B. Moore

  Finding Sheba by H.B. Moore An ancient legend is reborn . . . One that might prove the Bible false. For centuries, historians have theorized the Queen of Sheba as only a seductive legend, and scholars have debated over the legitimacy of King David or King Solomon. When undercover Israeli agent, Omar Zagouri, stumbles onto a tomb in Northern Jerusalem he unknowingly finds the final clue that threatens to overthrow government claim to the Holy Land, pits wealthy collectors against one another, and sends ruthless archaeologists scrambling to find the queen’s secret burial place. An assassination attempt on the Coptic Pope, His Holiness, Patriarch Stephanus II, is only the first in the chain of lethal crimes. Omar must find a way to prevent the greatest discovery of the century from becoming the most deadly.

Purchase on Amazon

Moore admits that her concept for Finding Sheba was inspired by the popularity of Dan Brown's novels. I think I enjoyed Moore’s attempt more than Brown’s books. As an experienced historical novelist I feel like she does a much better job of blending her historical information into her narrative making her text read smoothly and naturally rather than the stop and go of Brown’s info dumpy style. So I found this to be a really fun read for the historical thriller genre. The concept centers around the life of the Queen of Sheba and her legacy.  Her historical legitimacy lends many different countries with the historical context for their claim to political power. I love how twisty and complex that she makes the Queen of Sheba’s life, making it possible for all of the different factions warring for more information to have legitimate claims, or at the very least still preserves that need for more historical information to come to light before any solid conclusions can be ascertained. Yet, we get the meat of a very compelling and interesting story about a strong woman and her leadership.  I enjoyed that the author included a point of view from the Queen of Sheba herself so we could hear her story in her own words.

If you love a fun historical thriller a la Dan Brown or the National Treasure genre then this is an excellent and enjoyable read.