English

7.06.2013

Dandelions on the Wind ~ Review

Dandelions on the Wind
The Quilted Heart - Novella One
By Mona Hodgson

Saint Charles, Missouri in 1865 is trying to recover from the loses it experienced in the War Between the States.  It is in this town that Maren Jensen finds herself after the man that she thought she would marry deserts her.  What follows is a story of hope and healing as Maren, Mrs. Bratenberg, and Gabi (Mrs. Bratenberg's four year old granddaughter) adjust to the return of Rutherford "Wooly" Wainwright (Gabi's long absent father).

Gabi is overjoyed at meeting her father.  Mrs. Bratenberg is understandably wary of the man who deserted them at the death of his wife.  Maren views Wooly's return as an answer from God, allowing her to seek work so that she might save for her return to Denmark.

But as the four work together to bring in the harvest they are all drawn closer and Maren and Wooly may have a chance to heal their broken hearts.

Dandelions in the Wind is a sweet story that will take you on a short trip into America's past.  Perfect for a summer afternoon read or as a early evening wind down.  Mona Hodgson has created yet another world you'll want to revisit in (hopefully) successive novellas!  At right at 100 pages this is an easy read with enjoyably likeable characters!

I was provided a copy of this book in digital format from the publisher WaterBrook Multnomah/Blogging for Books in exchange for my review.

7.05.2013

A Voice in the Night ~ Review and Excerpt

A Voice in the Night
By Ernestine Dail

With a name like A Voice in the Night you just know you're about to read something good like an old scary movie.  And when the first line reads Dark, rainy and ominous was the night you know your inclination was right on.

When the quiet of the night is broken by someone outside their cabin screaming, "Open the door." Brian, Thomas, and Josh are in for quite a scare and a shock.  
Who is this stranger wanting in their cabin with them in the middle of the night?  And even more concerning what does he want?

A Voice in the Night takes you through a series of  seemingly unconnected events that take the reader back to the opening scene.  A rap contest, a stranger in black, a diamond theft, three best friends, and a lot of time is packed into a short story.   

False accusations, an unexpected reunion, and second chances are found in Shallow Springs.  Perfect to share around the campfire if you want to have a scary story with a not so scary ending.  Should hold the interest of young readers (3 -6 grade). 

I was provided a digital copy of this title in conjunction with the Pump Up Your Book blog tour in exchange for my review.



ABOUT A VOICE IN THE NIGHT
Brian, Josh, and Thomas arrived at Blackstone Cabin with great expectations of fishing and having fun. Now in the midst of a raging storm, and a hooded stranger frantically knocking at their door, the boys desperately wished for Josh’s father, Mr.Joplin, to return to the cabin. Will he return in time to save the boys from danger, or will the boys open the door to the frantic knocking of the hooded stranger outside.
 Get your copy from  AMAZON | BARNES and NOBLE

ABOUT ERNESTINE DAIL
Ernestine DaiI is a high school teacher and lives in Maryland. She has taught school for several years and enjoys the wonders and amazements she finds in being around children. The inspiration for writing her book comes from being surrounded with children and knowing their joys, likes, and dislikes. She is the author of two books—Dimples DoGood, and her latest, A Voice in the Night. She likes to read, write, travel and do crossword puzzles.
You can visit Ernestine Dail’s website at http://bookstop.wix.com/children-books.

Book Excerpt:

Dark, rainy and ominous was the night. The mountain wind whistled ferociously through the trees and around the cabin shaking its rugged doors. Lightning cracked the sky and thunder rolled over the mountain peaks resounding in an echo of authority. Brian, sleeping on the sofa, suddenly sat up gasping as the torrential rain splashed and pounded against the cabin windows. Shaking and trembling, he sprang from the sofa, ran to check the windows and the doors to make sure they were locked. Gingerly moving about the room, he noticed that the fire in the fireplace smoldered as the cold, dark stillness in the room beckoned him to put more logs on the fire. Carefully, he moved about in the dark, thinking about his friends, Josh and Thomas, sleeping upstairs in the loft. He wished that they were awake so that he wouldn't be up alone, but the eerie, foreboding silence upstairs reminded him that they were still asleep, unaware of the storm. Slowly, he found his way to the wood bin in the corner of the room and placed a few logs on the fire, hoping that they would last until morning.

Standing by the fireplace, he remembered when he first met Thomas Templeton in school. He was tall and muscular, with cropped black hair and forlorn, hazel eyes. Being six feet tall, he hovered above others in the class. His appearance was always meticulous even though he didn't wear the latest fashion. He rarely smiled and sometimes appeared to be very irate, but never mentioned what bothered him. Frequently, he turned his homework in late, if at all. While in class, he consistently made comments that were not relevant to the lesson. Quite often, he bullied his classmates, took lunch money from the younger children, and never had anything positive to say about anyone.

6.29.2013

Claudia: Wife of Pontius Pilate ~ Review

Claudia: Wife of Pontius Pilate
By Diana Wallis Taylor

Into a life of exiled privilege Claudia, granddaughter of Caesar Augustus, is born.  She is privileged in name only having been confined to the grounds of a small villa in Reggio because of the sins of her mother.  Kept to these grounds by the goodwill of her grandfather, Claudia's life would soon change at the death of her grandfather and the ascension of Tiberius, her mother's former husband.

When Tiberius brings Claudia to Rome, making her his ward, her future is in his hands.  The intrigue of the palace makes Claudia wary and long for both a home of her own and a husband she doesn't despise.

Claudia is the story of one woman's search for something more.  Something beyond what she knows and what she has been taught.  As the wife of Lucius Pontius Pilate she enters the Judean territory at a time of turmoil and unrest.  It is in this time and place that Claudia finds what she has been searching for when she experiences the truth of the promised Jewish Messiah.

Claudia offers a new perspective on the life of Jesus and the life of Pontius Pilate the man God used to fulfill His promise.  Join Claudia as she joins with the early Church and the new believers who experienced the death and resurrection firsthand!

A delightful and lovely book that will touch your heart!  Perfect to give as gift or to treat yourself.  Yes, this is fiction based on a Bible verse and some historical evidence, but this book will capture your attention and hold it.  You will feel Claudia's pain at her separation from her family.  Her dislike of Sejanus will become yours.  And her fears and hopes concerning her son and the man who healed him will move you.

Take a journey into the past and see Rome at its height and the birth of Christianity!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Available June 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.


About
In a time of turmoil, one woman will search for love and peace--and find it where she never expected.
Tugged this way and that by fate's indifferent hand, Claudia's life is adrift--until she meets Lucius Pontius Pilate and becomes his wife. When they move to the troublesome territory of Judea, she does what she has always done: makes the best of it. But unrest is brewing and Claudia will soon find herself and her beloved husband embroiled in controversy and rebellion. Might she find hope in the mysterious Jewish Rabbi everyone seems to be talking about?

Let this epic story whisk you through marbled palaces, dusty marketplaces, and idyllic Italian villas as you follow the unlikely path of a woman who warrants only a passing mention in one of the Gospel accounts, but whose story, as told by Diana Wallis Taylor, is one worthy of legend.

6.26.2013

CSFF June Blog Tour ~ Storm Day 3

Welcome to the CSFF June Blog Tour Day 3

StormSTORM

The Swipe Series

by Evan Angler 


The Swipe series revolves around those who are the Marked and the Markless.  But what is the Mark?  The Mark is an implanted device that allows the "Marked" to be a part of civilization.

But this isn't anything that is even close to be a viable technology in our world today, right?  Well, yes it is.

People microchip their pets in case they are lost or stolen.  One of my dogs is because we don't trust her personality to not do something stupid and get out of our yard (6 feet tall I might add).

Another dog needs melatonin daily or his fur falls out.  Surprisingly this is more common than I thought because they make an implant for this for dogs.  The implant releases melatonin slowly over a 4 - 6 month time period.

There are medical implants that when scanned can access person's complete medical history in minutes.

There are cell phones which can be tracked.  GPS devices in cars so you won't get lost (which I don't have).

Now if you want to be honest there are Marked people in the world today, and we've chosen it, even embraced it if the truth be known.  But is this necessarily a bad thing?  Only time will tell!  (And you can always pull out the aluminum foil if you're really worried! ;P)

I enjoyed Storm and am looking forward to Spark book 4 in the Swipe series.  I want to know what happens to Logan and to know who Lily really is.

 I was provided with a copy of this book by the publisher: Thomas Nelson for the purpose of this review.  All opinions expressed are my own.
  
    


About Swipe:

Everyone gets the Mark. It gives all the benefits of citizenship. Yet if getting the Mark is such a good thing, then why does it feel so wrong? 
Set in a future North America that is struggling to recover after famine and global war, Swipe follows the lives of three kids caught in the middle of a conflict they didn’t even know existed. United under a charismatic leader, every citizen of the American Union is required to get the Mark on their 13th birthday in order to gain the benefits of citizenship. 

The Mark is a tattoo that must be swiped by special scanners for everything from employment to transportation to shopping. It’s almost Logan Langly’s 13th birthday and he knows he should be excited about getting the Mark, but he hasn’t been able to shake the feeling he’s being watched. Not since his sister went to get her Mark five years ago . . . and never came back. 

When Logan and his friends discover the truth behind the Mark, will they ever be able to go back to being normal teenagers? Find out in the first book of this exciting series that is Left Behind meets Matched for middle-grade readers.

About Sneak:

In a future United States under the power of a charismatic leader, everyone gets the Mark at age thirteen. The Mark lets citizen shop, go to school, and even get medical care—but without it, you are on your own. Few refuse to get the Mark. Those who do . . . disappear.

 Logan Langly went in to get his Mark, but he backed out at the last minute. Now he’s on the run from government agents who will stop at nothing to capture him. But Logan is on a mission to find and save his sister, Lily, who disappeared five years ago on her thirteenth birthday, the day she was supposed to receive her Mark.

Logan and his friends, a group of dissenters called the Dust, discover a vast network of the Unmarked, who help them travel safely to the capital city where Lily is imprisoned. Along the way, the Dust receives some startling information from the Markless community, opening their eyes to the message of Christianity and warning that humanity is now entering the End of Days.

When the Dust finally arrives in the capital, it seems that all their careful planning is useless against a government that will do anything to bend its citizens to its will. Can the gentle words Logan has found in a tattered, banned Bible really stand against the most powerful military the world has ever known? Can Logan even sacrifice his own freedom, choosing to act through faith alone?

About Storm:
In a future United States under the power of a charismatic leader, everyone gets the Mark at age thirteen. The Mark lets a citizen shop, go to school, and even get medical care—without it, you are on your own. Few refuse to get the Mark. Those who do . . . disappear.

L
ogan Langly went in to get his Mark, but he backed out at the last minute. Ever since, he’s been on the run from government agents and on a quest to find his sister Lily, who disappeared when she went to get her Mark five years earlier. His journey leads him to befriend the Dust, a vast network of Markless individuals who dissent against the iron-grip rule of the government. Along the way to the capital to find Lily, the Dust receive some startling information from the Markless community, opening their eyes to the message of Christianity and warning that humanity is now entering the End of Days.
In Storm, Logan and his friends are the leaders of the Markless revolution. But while some Markless are fighting Chancellor Cylis’ army, the Dust is busy trying to find a cure for a horrible epidemic sweeping through the Marked. And it’s difficult for them to know who to trust, especially when they aren’t sure if Logan’s sister Lily, one of the commanders in Cylis’ army, is on their side or not. And all across the nation—and the world—the weather has become less stable and a storm is brewing that bigger than any of them could have ever imagined.


Check-out Evan Angler’s website: http://www.evanangler.com/ unless you are afraid.  But if you've made it this far on this post DOME and the IMPs already know about you so you might as well get all the latest news from Evan and maybe some help in disappearing before it's too late.

Be sure to visit all the tour stops over the 3 day tour (June 24 - 26)

To learn more about CSFF and to even join check-out the website!

Find Swipe on Facebook! 
Get your copy of Storm from Amazon before it is banned!

6.25.2013

CSFF June Blog Tour ~ Swipe series Reviewed





Swipe series review with book 4 cover reveal



SWIPE
by Evan Angler

Life as you know it is about to change. Maybe not tomorrow or even next year, but change is coming and you won't like it....

The Total War almost ended everything until the Unity. Shortly after Logan Langley's birth the Mark Program was instituted in the American Union and now just a couple months shy of his thirteenth birthday world unity is looking very likely. 

Logan is nervous about getting his Mark and taking the Pledge because of his sister Lily who never returned when she went to get hers. But if Logan doesn't take the Mark he won't be able to get a job, vote, or even buy anything. 

But Logan is being watched by someone. It started shortly after Lily's death and the closer it gets to Logan's birthday the worse it is becoming! Everyone thinks he is acting out, delusional or paranoid. No one believes him until he meets Erin Arbitor the new girl in school and in Spokie. 

When Logan tells Erin about the noises and strange happenings that have been occurring, she knows that this is her chance to get back home to Beacon City. Logan's experiences sound similar to something she read in her father's classified DOME files - files that just looking at could land her and Logan in big trouble.

But Logan isn't being watched by just anyone, it is a group calling themselves Dust, a term used to insult and deride the Markless. And Logan isn't the only thirteen year old in Spokie that is in danger. There have been kidnappings and more are expected so Dome is watching and looking for clues.

But the more Logan learns the more confused he becomes. Who has his best interests at heart and why won't his parents believe him? Will Logan join the Marked or will he become another rare complication just like Lily?

Who will you trust? Your answer will determine your future.

Swipe is an exciting can't-put-it-down book. In an unexpected twist Swipe sets you up for Sneak book 2.


SNEAK
by Evan Angler

What you are about to learn will change your life and either send you into hiding or, if you are willing, one of the few souls brave enough to reveal the truth to the world before it is too late...
Logan Langley is on the run. Dust is on the run. Dome is on the move determined to stop them and the Markless throughout the country are paying the price. 

Unless you have been oblivious to what has been going on you know what I am speaking of: Logan refused to take the Mark and escaped from the Pledging Center. Dome has promised a reward to any Markless who turns in this treasonous troublemaker.

Logan needs to be found and stopped before the Unity between the American and European Unions is finalized because he could ruin everything. 

Five years ago Logan's sister Lily died during her pledging, but in truth she was taken to Beacon City to Archeron! Logan and Peck are determined to free Lily from this Markless prison of unimaginable torture. But first they have to avoid Dome and travel the hundreds of miles between Beacon and Spokie using a vast underground system called The River.

But nothing is ever as it appears as Logan and his friends are about to find out all too soon on their separate paths to Beacon. Betrayal lurks around the every corner and any minute could be their last. Can they determine who is friend and who is foe before they are captured? 

~S~N~E~A~K~

A thoroughly thrilling read that I could not put down.  Picks-up where SWIPE leaves you and you learn more about this fragile new world order that is precariously struggling to wipe all traces of the old from memory. 

Can reading a banned book called The Bible truly topple world unity? Or is it humanities last hope?

If you value your life follow these steps!

Please delete your browsing history before it is too late!  Whatever you do, don't bookmark this page, add it to your favorites or forward it on to anyone else.  Just reading this review has put you in danger and if you have not yet taken the Mark you are doomed because you will flunk your pledging test because you now know the truth.  "Wisdom makes one wise person more powerful than ten rulers in a city." 


STORM
By Evan Angler

If you have been keeping up with these banned books by Evan Angler you know everything is not as good as General Lamson has lead us to believe. If not for the efforts of Dust we might never have been made aware of these problems, problems that came to light through the illegal activities of Dust, Logan Langly, and Erin Arbitor. 
After 10 years of negotiations the world has been unified, but Global Union does not mean global peace. Markless protests are continuing and the drought is continuing bringing a shortage of food for the American State. But beneath it all is subterfuge and sabotage, someone or something is bringing unnecessary suffering and the question is why?
Lily Langly, who was long thought dead, is a an IMP in Beacon City. For some reason Cylis head of the European State wants to speak with Lily. Cylis has a mission for Lily, a mission that could affect the world and cost Lily her life.

But Lily isn't willing to risk everything she's achieved to accomplish Cylis's goal so she reaches out to Dust and her brother. Will love blind Logan to the chance that Lily may betray them or is his trust in his sister justified? Can they stop the permadrought before it is too late?

Logan has questions that only one person can answer. But Beacon is looking for him, can he get in and out undetected?

Storm is as nerve-wracking and intense as Swipe and Sneak. Don't miss out on the third offering of this exciting series. Discover the truth for yourself before it is too late! Logan needs you to join in the fight and to refuse the Mark - your life depends on it!

I was provided with a copy of these book by the publisher: Thomas Nelson for the purpose of this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

~ ~ Coming  November 2013 ~ ~

SPARK

By Evan Angler


Prepare to learn more....

Jesus the One and Only ~ Review

Jesus the One and Only
By Beth Moore

Jesus the One and Only takes one on a journey - a journey of the life of Jesus as seen through the eyes of Luke.  Luke is unique in his perspective in that he was the only Gentile Gospel writer, he was inspired by God  to write this account.  Where the other writers assume the reader is familiar with the culture of the day, Luke focuses on the Jewishness of Christ and the culture in which He lived.  Through Luke we see how Jesus was and is the fulfillment of Jewish law and God's promises to humanity.

We see Jesus experiencing the human experience living as an ordinary average person.  Just as Jesus asked questions, as a child in the Temple, we too should ask questions so that we may come to a greater understanding of God.  Only by seeking answers can our faith grow.  But asking isn't enough, we must also listen to the answers.  Growth and understanding are not instantaneous and it may take time to understand the answers and how they apply to us.

We see through the temptations of Jesus that temptation is not a sign of God's displeasure.  When facing temptation don't fight with your words instead do as Jesus did and fight Satan with God's Word.

Through Luke's Gospel we learn that no one goes unnoticed by Christ.  Studying the Bible is proof that we are the family of God.  The scars of the Crucifixion are a testament of this notice and love that Jesus has for us.

Jesus the One and Only has 53 chapters that cover select verses in the Gospel of Luke, every single verse is not discussed, but this in no way detracts from this study.  This study is perfect for the individual or in a group setting.  This book will help you to actively engage with God's message and not just sit on the side and watch.  We need to seek out seek out God and this book will give you a good starting point to change your life and to become more effective in your daily relationship with Him.

I was provided a copy of this book through Shelton Interactive in exchange for my honest review.
Available from B&H Publishing Group and other retailers.

CSFF June Blog Tour ~ Storm Day 2

Welcome to the CSFF June Blog Tour Day 2

STORM

The Swipe Series

by Evan Angler

Storm
Lily Langly is at the heart of the Swipe series.  In Swipe Logan is dreading his upcoming thirteenth birthday because he is to take the Mark.  Logan's fear and trepidation is due to Lily's death 5 years ago from a rare reaction to the process of being Marked.  But Lily's death also gave birth to Dust which was started by her best friend Daniel Peck.

But Peck believes that Lily didn't die as reported and again Lily is a motivating factor in Sneak as the various members of Dust along with Spokie teenagers Hailey, Dane, and Logan make their way to Beacon. More specifically they make their way to a mysterious prison known as Acheron.  Acheron is spoken of in whispers among the Markless whom roam the outskirts of society.  It is a place of terror and horror if the stories are to be believed and it is in this place that Peck has been lead to believe that Lily has been held all these years.  But Lily is not as they assumed.  She is Marked and among the select few who has become an Advocate among the IMPs.  But most disturbing is that Lily doesn't want to be rescued, in fact she betrays the Dust who have entered Acheron trying to rescue her.

Storm finds Hailey, Erin, Peck and Logan on the run trying to stay ahead of DOME.  Erin has been affected by the Mark virus and is growing weaker.  While her brother and her childhood friendtry to avoid capture, Lily has been secretly summoned to the European Union by Chancellor Cylis.  Lily is given a mission, a mission that could determine the fate of the Global Union.  But Lily is unable to complete the mission herself or risk compromising her position and her life so she reaches out to her brother and to Dust.  Logan believes Lily and pledges himself to her mission, but Peck doesn't trust her and goes his own way.  But everything doesn't go quite according to plan or as Lily made it sound.  As Lily again betrays the brother who loves her and trusts her, his life is placed into her hands and she places him into the unknown and hidden depths of Acheron exiled into existence of nothingness.

What the future holds for Lily, Logan, Peck, Hailey, Erin, Dane and the rest of Dust and the rebellion is yet to be known.  But I'm sure Evan Angler will soon let us know, if he manages to stay ahead of those determined to stop him and his revelation of the truth.

 I was provided with a copy of this book by the publisher: Thomas Nelson for the purpose of this review.  All opinions expressed are my own.
  
    


About Swipe:

Everyone gets the Mark. It gives all the benefits of citizenship. Yet if getting the Mark is such a good thing, then why does it feel so wrong?

Set in a future North America that is struggling to recover after famine and global war, Swipe follows the lives of three kids caught in the middle of a conflict they didn’t even know existed. United under a charismatic leader, every citizen of the American Union is required to get the Mark on their 13th birthday in order to gain the benefits of citizenship. 

The Mark is a tattoo that must be swiped by special scanners for everything from employment to transportation to shopping. It’s almost Logan Langly’s 13th birthday and he knows he should be excited about getting the Mark, but he hasn’t been able to shake the feeling he’s being watched. Not since his sister went to get her Mark five years ago . . . and never came back.

When Logan and his friends discover the truth behind the Mark, will they ever be able to go back to being normal teenagers? Find out in the first book of this exciting series that is Left Behind meets Matched for middle-grade readers.

About Sneak:

In a future United States under the power of a charismatic leader, everyone gets the Mark at age thirteen. The Mark lets citizen shop, go to school, and even get medical care—but without it, you are on your own. Few refuse to get the Mark. Those who do . . . disappear.

 Logan Langly went in to get his Mark, but he backed out at the last minute. Now he’s on the run from government agents who will stop at nothing to capture him. But Logan is on a mission to find and save his sister, Lily, who disappeared five years ago on her thirteenth birthday, the day she was supposed to receive her Mark.

Logan and his friends, a group of dissenters called the Dust, discover a vast network of the Unmarked, who help them travel safely to the capital city where Lily is imprisoned. Along the way, the Dust receives some startling information from the Markless community, opening their eyes to the message of Christianity and warning that humanity is now entering the End of Days.

When the Dust finally arrives in the capital, it seems that all their careful planning is useless against a government that will do anything to bend its citizens to its will. Can the gentle words Logan has found in a tattered, banned Bible really stand against the most powerful military the world has ever known? Can Logan even sacrifice his own freedom, choosing to act through faith alone?

About Storm:
In a future United States under the power of a charismatic leader, everyone gets the Mark at age thirteen. The Mark lets a citizen shop, go to school, and even get medical care—without it, you are on your own. Few refuse to get the Mark. Those who do . . . disappear.

L
ogan Langly went in to get his Mark, but he backed out at the last minute. Ever since, he’s been on the run from government agents and on a quest to find his sister Lily, who disappeared when she went to get her Mark five years earlier. His journey leads him to befriend the Dust, a vast network of Markless individuals who dissent against the iron-grip rule of the government. Along the way to the capital to find Lily, the Dust receive some startling information from the Markless community, opening their eyes to the message of Christianity and warning that humanity is now entering the End of Days.
In Storm, Logan and his friends are the leaders of the Markless revolution. But while some Markless are fighting Chancellor Cylis’ army, the Dust is busy trying to find a cure for a horrible epidemic sweeping through the Marked. And it’s difficult for them to know who to trust, especially when they aren’t sure if Logan’s sister Lily, one of the commanders in Cylis’ army, is on their side or not. And all across the nation—and the world—the weather has become less stable and a storm is brewing that bigger than any of them could have ever imagined.

Check-out Evan Angler’s website: http://www.evanangler.com/ unless you are afraid.  But if you've made it this far on this post DOME and the IMPs already know about you so you might as well get all the latest news from Evan and maybe some help in disappearing before it's too late.

Be sure to visit all the tour stops over the 3 day tour (June 24 - 26)

To learn more about CSFF and to even join check-out the website!

Find Swipe on Facebook! 
Get your copy of Storm from Amazon before it is banned!