The Witch Lineage
by Marian Lindner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
Lena is a gawky, nerdy, teenager who can't wait to get to college and blossom, like her older sister Linda did. For now, though she has to get through her eighteenth birthday with her father out of town. To make matters worse, she had a nightmare the night before, and once she makes it to school, she finds out it actually happened. One of the senior boys was attacked at a bonfire and is in the hospital. This brings out the ever present rumors of witches, which some people swear are false, but with some many people ignoring the rumors, could they just really be true? The Witch Lineage is a paranormal story of witches, lurking just beneath the surface of everyday life, and wreaking havoc on life without anyone the wiser, all because too many people discount the idea of witches. Author Marian Lindner gives readers a well written and complex story about teenagers, witches and legend.
The Witch Lineage is listed as young adult, as the main characters are high school students, but yet adults play key roles in the story as well, so I would recommend it for any age reader. Author Marian Lindner writes a story of a legend of the area where the story takes place, witches and so many people refusing to even entertain the idea of witches, that the witches are able to do so much without notice. It makes for a good story of good over evil, but also about not discounting legends, being aware of the world around you and exploring every avenue. This was a captivating story that draws you in as a reader. It was clean, with no language or sex, so I recommend it to all readers.
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A Great and Terrible Beauty (Gemma Doyle, Book One)
by Libba Bray
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
All Gemma wants is to get out of India and go to boarding school in England, and she can't understand why her mother refuses to let her go, even her grandmother still lives in England. When strange events on the streets of India one day lead to Gemma seeing visions, her mother's death, her father's unraveling and the family's sudden move back to England she finally gets her wish.
Spence Academy for Young Girls is not what Gemma was expecting, but maybe it is just what she needs. Her roommate is not the type of girl Gemma would have picked as a friend, but maybe there is a reason they are together. When the most beautiful and the most popular girls end up befriending Gemma, first as a joke then as a new club, they all discover secrets of Spence Academy.
Author Libba Bray takes the reader back in time, but gives us girls that fight the status quo of their time. They want more than to be seen and not heard. They are discovering more about themselves and learning right, wrong and the grey areas in between. There is power, strength and so much more in this story that these girls are just scratching the surface of, and the whole way learning so much about life and friendship.
This is a great young adult, teen read. It is even a great parent read. Even better, a teen and parent read and then talk about together! There are discussion questions in the back of the book, so it is already set up for a book club or classroom, or even parent/child discussion. I personally love to read books my kids are reading and then talk with them about those books, question them and challenge them to see more than the surface meanings of the book, find what is hidden in that second and third levels that the author want to get through.
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The Last Legend : Awakened (Volume 1)
by Joshua B Wichterich
My rating: 4.0 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
Long before the beginning of the world, there was the Light and all was good, but there was also the darkness who wanted the adoration that the Light received, and he schemed to try to get that adoration. The Light knew all and was able to see the true desires of the darkness and cast him and his followers into the unknown, and thus began The Last Legend: Awakened (Volume 1). The darkness bid his time until he was able to inhabit the body of a princess and rule the kingdom in evil, but his rule was short lived, when her body died. Now he waits again. Princess Marissa is about to be engaged to Prince Philip when she is kidnapped. It is up to her best friend and her fiance' to find her before it is too late. +Joshua Wichterich takes the classic story of lucifer's fall from grace and turns it into a legend fit for the knights of camelot.
The Last Legend is a story so old that parts of it have been lost, it has been retold so many times it has become jumbled, and it is up to Prince Philip and Tarrien to find the truth in it all. It takes a great deal of trust and faith. +Joshua Wichterich takes what could easily be a wonderful fantasy story of good and evil, of knights and castles, dragons and witches that any young adult would love to read and infuses it with a large dose of faith and religion. It provides a lesson in trusting in the unseen, having faith, and giving it over to an unseen God to pull you through when things look the bleakest. Wonderful fantasy with a message for all who read this story.
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An Almost Perfect World
Legend of East Series, Book One
by Carrie-Ann Barnes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
Miranda loves acting, and has always been great at memorizing her lines, but she is taller than most of the boys in school, so life has been a little rough. Finally in this play her co-star is her same height. Miranda has always known she was adopted, but what happens in the next few days rocks her world like no other. Two strange boys appear in the neighborhood, Alex and Griffin and attempt to get to know Miranda. Although attracted to Alex she tries to avoid them to the point that they are forced to kidnap her. Turns out that Griffin is her brother and Alex his best friend, and they live on another world. They have to take her home for their mother's funeral. Once there she meets her father and twin brother Evan, she gets a job as an actress and learns more about herself. She also finds some secrets. An Almost Perfect World is the story of Miranda's life as she is reintroduced to life on Utopia. Carrie-Ann Barnes tells an inventive story of a promised child, hidden away and brought back to save the world.
An Almost Perfect World, is a cute title given that the world we are taken to is called Utopia. Everything is not perfect on Utopia, and Miranda learns from Jackson that she might be the one that is suppose to save the world. Although at the end of the book, leading into a second we get a hint that someone higher in the family thinks Jackson has it wrong. I found the novel to be interesting and truthful, I mean how would you feel if you were suddenly dropped onto another plant at age 18 and had to figure out everything all over again. It rang true, and felt like something that could really be happening. I enjoyed the characters, something in each of them spoke to me. This is set up to be part of a series, you can tell by the abrupt ending of this book, which is not one of my favorite things, and you can tell that certain characters are keeping secrets. Although billed as a young adult book, this is a great read for young adults, teens and adults as well.
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Kwennsefulass
by Kris Godwin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
Imagine waking up and not knowing who you were, not know where you were, not knowing when you where and not knowing what you were. Kwennsefulass is that kind of story. A young man takes the name Kwenn, short for Kwennsefulass which is written on a necklace he wears, but he knows nothing else. He can't even tell you the world he is on or anything about it. As tragedy strikes the town he first stumbles into, and some consider it an omen and his fault. He feels a drive to find the reason for the tragedy and to answer for it, even if it had nothing to do with him. +Kris Godwin gives him a strong moral character even if he knows nothing else about himself. The story follows as he sets out with a few villages to find out what has happened, maybe regain his memory and to save the world.
As +Kris Godwin weaves this tale of fiction and fantasy and legend together, I am reminded of the stories of the Greek and Roman gods and the ways that they played with the fates of mortals. Kwennsefulass gives you a sense of that, yet it is something altogether different at the same time. From the moment Kwenn wakes, I felt for him, I could feel his loneliness and fear and I wanted him to find his memory and to find the answers, yet around each twist in the book I was glad that it hadn't come back yet. That meant there was still more book. Even days after finishing the book, I still find myself thinking about the story and Kwenn and what the author was wanting to say. This is a great story for all, and for some it will stay with you and become a friend.
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The Crystal Key
by T. L. Howard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
Do we believe in tolerance or is it one way or no way? In The Crystal Key we travel to a fantasy world created by brother and sister God's, but at the moment one rules and the other is completely left out. The time for the choosing, which one will rule has come and only those high in the temple even know it is real, not just a myth. This follows Rasmusen as he tries to become the Chosen for the brother God and the path his journey takes him on to the Choosing. We also follow Mirah, a young girl as she makes her journey to the Choosing learning and coming to terms with being the Chosen. All through these two tales of travel T. L. Howard weaves a story of true faith and what happens when we let power and greed get in the way of faith.
Of course neither Chosen one could journey on their own, so you have to meet a whole cast of characters for each set of travels. T. L. Howard writes it in such a way that it almost looks, in my mind, to be a medieval knights and castles kind of place. You easily come to know who to route for and who is a traitor. It's so easy to come to like the people, wishing they were real. The Crystal Key is a long book, about on par with a Harry Potter book, but it really didn't take that long to read, it kept me going to the end. Teens and adults alike will enjoy this story and it's strictly g-rated too! Even a better plus for the book.
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The Art of Forgetting - Rider
by Joanne Hall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed by Michelle Randall for Reader's Favorite.
Take the stories of knights on horseback, armies defending the Queen, and those crusader type stories from the 11th and 13th centuries, now place them in another world and you have The Art of Forgetting. Rhodri is a young boy, found in the woods, who no one quite knows what to think of. He has a perfect memory, but the people are scared of him, so life in his village is rough. Enter the Kings Third army troop and Rhodri's life is about to change forever. You follow him as he joins the army, trains and becomes a good solider. Watch as he makes new friends, grows and creates a relationship with someone much older than himself. Joanne Hall does a wonderful job of writing so that you forget this takes place on another world for the most part, it could be the story of anyone of the 11th to 13th centuries.
Joann Hall is a wonderful writer and has done a beautiful job in crafting a fantasy story that almost feels like a historical novel. The Art of Forgetting is set on another world, with two moons; yet for most of the book you almost forget that focusing solely on the army life of this young boy and his friends. If you like the adventures of the crusaders, the bravery of the knights and romance of the early centuries, then you will enjoy this novel. It brings all those elements together, places them on another world and adds some modern romantic situations to make for a compelling new novel.
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Minion
by L.A. Banks
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Minion was the first book by L.A. Banks that I ever read. I bought it a couple of years ago, and then life got in the way of my having the time to read it and it got shelved away.
This was written long before the vampire and werewolf craze that Twilight and True Blood started. It was cutting edge back then.
After a visit with my sister-in-law, where she loaned me her collection of Sookie Stackhouse novels to read while we were there and on the drive home, I knew I wanted to read more in this type of genre. This being said, I am NOT a Twilight fan, couldn't stand the first book and never watched the movies, but I find some books to be better at this type of story.
So walking through the house, I rediscovered my copy of Minion and read it! I loved it! It was so hard to put down. I loved the references to good and evil, the backplots and the characters. It was such a good read.
I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series, although it was out at the library the day I went, and so I got started on L.A. Banks other series, a Crimson Moon, the first book being Bad Blood. Now I think I am going to have to finish this one before going back to the other.
This review was written many years agos, probably over ten years, and it was when I was first starting out at writing reviews, so I know it isn't the best. I moved it to the new blog because I think it is still a good story. It fits with the books that are being written today, yet it was written years ago, and I love the way the author writes.
Another reason I wanted to move it was because I found out that the author passed away a few years ago. I think she finished the Crimson Moon series and this series but I am not sure. I am going to work on getting that information. She was a great writer and it is a shame to lose her, so I wanted to feature her books again.
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