2211 Umbra: A Future History Novel by: Grigor Fedan BOOK REVIEW

2211 Umbra: A Future History Novel

by: Grigor Fedan


Reviewed For +Readers' Favorite 

The legacy of the first African American President turns out to be a wake-up call to all people that we have no come as far as we thought we had in terms of equality, and so the next years are spent actively making changes until 200 years into the future the world is something altogether different, there is no race, no money, no politics.  Welcome to 2211 Umbra A Future History Novel, where people are split into tiers: regents, that have ruling powers, first tiers, second tiers and so on.  Anyone, through education and hard work can promote themselves through the ranks up to a first tier, and with support maybe even become a regent.  Religion and faith in a God plays no part in this society, those people have all abdicated to Texas, with its own government. Soon a zealot with use religion and God as a vessel to exact revenge on a regent he feels slighted him, cutting off Texas from the rest of the world and starting a "holy war".  Grigor Fedan gives us a look at a future society that is once again making the same mistakes as the past, think Stalin and Hitler, because they have forgotten the lessons of the past.

2211 Umbra is a wonderful tale in that you have this "perfect" society that has taken away the need for money or politics, and made everyone equal so to speak, or that was the original plan and those in it still think they are doing that, but there are some outside that don't see it that way. Of course they are living in their scientific world and not thinking about God, and they don't realize what they are missing. Only when they are faced with this war, that divides them do they start to understand things.  Grigor Fedan mixes future with past history, religion and science and what comes out is a wonderful tale of life that needs it all to be well-rounded and fulfilled.  Great story for teens up through adults!

Arielle: Immortal Awakening (Immortal Rapture, #1) by Lilian Roberts BOOK REVIEW

Arielle: Immortal Awakening
Immortal Rapture Series, Book One
by Lilian Roberts

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite .

Arielle has always been a bit different, she can read the mids of some people. Aside from that, she has searched, never really dating all that much, looking for a prue and true love, one that resembles that in her favorite novel. Sebstain is far from normal and her knows it, but he has spent his entire life looking for the one person her can truly love. While Arielle is on vacation, Sebstain spots her and knows that she is the one, but it takes him almost two months to work up the courage to talk to her. Now he can't imagine life without her, there is only one problem. Arielle is a human and Sebstain is immortal. How will Arielle take the news, and how will Sebstain keep her safe from another immortal that has vowed to destory all he loves? Lilian Roberts gives us a new and differnt paranormal story, no vampires but immortals and blends it with a deep and immediate love story. Arielle Immortal Awakening is the first book in a series that will follow Arielle and Sebastain to hopefully answer the qestions.

Arielle Immortal Awakening is scheduled to be the first book in a series, and be forewarned, it does end on a bit of a teaser, which will have you waiting impatiently for the next book. The idea of immortals has been around in stories with the vampires and other paranormal creatures, but there was always a price to their immortality, with vampires it was blood. That is not the case here, but yet there is a deep ad quick love that develops that results in trust questions only because of the speed in which they fall. Lilian Roberts has done a wonderful job in giving the reader a new look into the paranormal romance genre and this is defintely a book for those who are looking for a heart-stopping romance. Although it is a romance, it could actually be read by young adults as well as adults.

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An Untitled Lady by Nicky Penttila BOOK REVIEW

An Untitled Lady
by Nicky Penttila

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite .

An Untitled Lady takes a real life political event, the Peterloo Massacre, and gives it life and voice in the form of fictional characters. Madeline has grown up alone, but her godfather has been grooming her to be his son's bride. Too bad he forgot to tell his son about this development. When Madeline arrives at Shaftsbury, nothing is what she was lead to believe it would be and her world is turned upside down. The younger brother of the Earl of Shaftsbury marries Madeline, and as he is a merchant takes her to town. The plight of workers and the factory owners becomes the main focus as +Nicky Penttila tells the story leading up to what would be later called the Peterloo Massacre when the workers rose up in passive protest to the treatment by the factory owners. As Nash and Madeline strive to learn to live together, they are in the middle of the arguments, he as a factory owner but one who understands the workers. Madeline is pulled in as she searches for her family of birth.

An Untitled Lady may take place in 1819, but the ideals are progressive, and as we watch Nash and Madeline together, we see them learning that the rules of the past will not fit the new order of the world. Nash is a merchant, but he is more understanding to his workers and wants a peaceful resolution. Madeline is drug into the conflict as she search for her birth family, only to find them high in the reform movement. Does she follow her family of birth or the rules she was raised under? Throw in an evil Uncle that has clouded Madeline's judgment and you find a wonderful story of the time period. +Nicky Penttila mixes history and fiction to give life to a moment in time that deserves more understanding.

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Dark Witch (The Cousins O'Dwyer Trilogy, #1) by Nora Roberts BOOK REVIEW

Dark Witch
by Nora Roberts


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Nora Roberts is known for her wonderful Irish magic novels. She has written a number that are set in Ireland, involve some magic that has been passed down through the generations and needs a new set of people to hopefully correct a wrong from long ago.

Dark Witch came out around Halloween of 2013 and starts in the year 1263, a long, long time ago. Socha is a dark witch, and no that is not a bad thing. In this context the dark witch is not evil, but one who protects and heals those of the village are castle during that time period. Socha's man, Daithi is off at war, and she is home with their three children. Brannaugh is the oldest and has her mother's abilities and temperament. She will be a great healer one day. Eamon is the middle child and only boy, and he has his own way with birds, specifically Falcons. Teagan is the youngest child, a daughter and only three when the story starts, but if full of magic even at that young age.

The evil sorcerer Cabhan is greedy and power hungry. He wants Socha's power and he thinks he can tempt her into giving it over to him. Socha is a mother above all and she is not falling for his lies, she is set to protect her children. She passes her magic down to her children, dividing it among the three, not giving it all to one and then sets to defeat Cabhan. She tricks him, and poisons them both, she willingly gave her life to protect her children and to end Cabhan, only it's not over.

750 years later, modern day Ireland and the story picks up as three descendants, one of each of Socha's children must come together to defeat Cabhan.

The beauty of Ireland, seen through the eyes of an innocent and naive girl who is left in wonder of the county. The magic that is just accepted as part of your being without question, and the quest to save the world. All themes that Nora Roberts is known for and does so well, are present in this novel. It will become the first book in a trilogy, the Cousins O'Dwyer series.

If you like The Three Sisters Island Trilogy, or the Dreams Trilogy, or well just about any Nora Roberts book, you will once again find yourself at the mercy of her storytelling abilities.

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Room of Fire by Jenn Rekka BOOK REVIEW

Room of Fire 
by Jenn Rekka

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Room of Fire starts off gentle enough at an East Coast University with a Professor, Carlos Sheldon and his Assistant Laura Gates going through the mail, and even though there is interesting mail, some plates and a cryptic message that ends up sending them to Europe, it all seems so pleasurable and relaxing. A gentlemen of the county, Duke to some, Gustav to others wants to sell off his antiques before his scoundrel of a nephew inherites the manor, what better place to acquire items for the University. There are just some items that the Duke will only let a few in on that exist. Luckily our Professor Sheldon and Laura are among those, and what he has hidden is family crypt could blow the art world away.

After acquiring the pieces they were after for the University, Laura and Prof Sheldon get permission from the University to stay and investigate the secret the Duke has told them about. This is where it get's a bit dicey, they are not the only ones looking into, but probably the only ones that are doing it legally.

Laura and Carlos will travel all over Europe following leads, sometimes in front of the bad guys and sometimes behind them. When it comes to bad guys, you have the bad,bad guys and the good, bad guys and yet which are which and are they working together or who are they all working for in the first place.

Mystery, intrigue, sabotage and kidnapping along with out and out theft all come into play as they volley for the same limited pieces for different reasons. Toss in an attractive good guy and a handsome bad boy and you have even more to struggle with. It is a dynamic read, and took me the morning of a snow day to read it, it was just interesting and I didn't want to put it down. There is also some history and antiques information slightly sprinkled in there that is neat too.

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Nelson Mandela - The Inspirational Life Story Of Nelson Mandela, The Best Of A Legendary South African Leader by Gregory Watson BOOK REVIEW

Nelson Mandela - The Inspirational Life Story Of Nelson Mandela, The Best Of A Legendary South African Leader 
by Gregory Watson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As a parent and a teaching assistant, I am always looking for good and short biography books that I think will interest my kids. They also need to be about people who have done something inspirational, not just made a lot of money. I am so glad to have found this one. I think it is perfect for my advanced level 4th grade, and would be good up through high school.

We have all heard of Nelson Mandela, but maybe our children don't see the importance of him the way we did. This book takes you back and tells you of his life, from birth to death. The triumphs and trials, the joys and sorrows, and everything that went into making Nelson Mandela the man he was.You learn things that you might not have known before, the type of student he was and what motivated him to do the things he did.

This book is a great way to introduce a young, new generation of children to the legacy of Nelson Mandela and to see that they learn of his principals and commitments. To teach them what he stood for and to make sure that they know the importance of standing for something. Definitely one that I want in my library.

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Clockwork Prince (The Infernal Devices, #2) by Cassandra Clare BOOK REVIEW

Clockwork Prince (The Infernal Devices, Book Two)
by Cassandra Clare

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The Clockwork Prince is the second book in the Infernal Devices series, which is a precursor to the Mortal Instruments series.

In the Clockwork Prince we continue to follow Tessa Gray as she tries to discover more about who and what she is, and the London Institute as they try to find and defeat Mortmain. 

This book grows each of the characters in age and maturity. We learn more about Tessa and her brother Nate, Jem and Will and even Jessamine. We watch the friendships and affections between the people grow and become more and shape and influence decisions that they make.

Familiar family names from the Mortal Instruments series can be found in this book, but as the shadowhunters are an elite lineage that should be expected. We find some bad apples in some family trees.

I found myself hoping for and enjoying the development of a relationship with Tessa and Jem, I found it true and innocent and refreshing, especially in a world filled with demons and conflict.  i long for the next book and the resolution to the story, and the hopes for a happy ending.

Book One:  Clockwork Angel                         Review Link
Book Two:  Clockwork Prince
Book Three:  Clockwork Princess                   
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