The Fifth Season
by Rayna Dee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Fifth Season starts in Delphi, India and the main characters are of Indian origin, which given the readers own origin either explains or confuses some of the events that occur in the book. For the most part though everything is told in such a way that no matter your own origins, you can follow along and understand eveything that is going on and why. There is a glossary of some of the common terms that are used in the book often at the end.
Daman is a man of means. He was raised poor, lost his mother to illness when they didn't have the money for treatment, his father to sucide from the guilt to be raised by his Uncle. He has built his Uncle's business into what it is now that they do not have to worry about money, but at the same time he has closed himself off to love. He refuses to allow anyone to get close to him for fear of losing them again.
Muskaan has grown up in a poor family, but there was much love in her family and she never felt the need to amass riches, she is looking for love. She is a free spirit and everything that Daman is not. When their worlds collide, she is hired to be his grandfather's reader and guide, everything they both had planned for life is turned on it's ear.
Just on the verge of what should be happiness for Daman and Muskann, his arrogance and disbelief in love threatens to ruin it all. As she slowly learns what he has done wrong and the effects it has hard on not only Muskaan, but himself, can he learn to change? Can he learn to lower the walls and allow himself to love? More importantly can he earn Muskaan's forgiveness?
Author Rayna Dee takes the reader on a true journey, starting in India and finishing in America while spending time in London. In each detestation there are places and events that are talked about in detail and involved in the story, but all are parts of the story in a whole. There is a purpose for each of the events and places, they are not just filler. It makes for some interesting reading.
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A Deeper Cut
by Sheri Wren Haymore
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite .
Every summer Hunter spends it with Granny Jen in Beaufort. This year he has brought Mikki with him, thinking it might be a good thing for them. This summer though, a murderer has decided to visit Beaufort also, and frame Hunter for at least one of the killings. A Deeper Cut mixes drug dealers and sweet, southern charm into a realistic tale of a summer on the shoreline. Hunter is tasked with figuring out who he really is, and whether to continue to let his father's disappearance and failures define him or not. +Sheri Wren Haymore writes a wonderful mystery, thriller that you want to know who did it, but at the same time keeps the beauty and charm of life is a small southern town.
A Deeper Cut follows Hunter, and more than just the cuts of the killer are needing to be healed this summer. Hunter has always felt that everyone, except maybe Granny Jen expected him to fail and turn out like his father. This summer he will have to face his father, and the demons he carries and figure out who he really is. +Sheri Wren Haymore mixes this soul-searching with the mystery of who if offing drug dealers and sets it all in a sweet, charming southern town. You will feel for Hunter, want to hold the boy and help him through his struggles. At the same time you will enjoy the intrigue of discovering who the real killer is and just why the killer might have it out for the Kittrell family.
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Sadie's War : A Supernatural Uprising Novel
by Jayelle Cochran
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
It is a MUST read!!
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite .
I received an Advanced Copy of the book to review. The book is scheduled to be released towards the end of February 2014.
**Sadie's War was officially released February 23rd. You can now find it on Amazon.**
Young Sadie is blind and alone, left to live on the streets in an area called the Gutter. She is poorly equipped for life on the streets and doesn't understand the most basic of ideas of the world. Fester literally runs into Sadie one day, and he is captivated by her beautiful blue eyes. He makes it his mission to keep an eye on her, and when he finds her almost frozen on the street, he takes her to his home. Once there, her lack of understanding of the world becomes even more clear, and Fester feels the need to protect her, as well as his friend Michael and his sister Chloe, who all live together. What follows is Jayelle Cochran's amazingly beautiful and poignant story of love and family, abuse and neglect, fear and trust. Wrapped into a supernatural war between regular humans and those with special power's, that Sadie mistakenly believe's is all her fault. Sadie's War is a journey of learning and adventure.
Sadie's War, as she thinks it is all her fault, is driven by one action. The fierce need to protect her from harm that both Michael and Fester feel. Sadie has no ability to trust, but slowly learns that all the lessons in her life where wrong, and that she can trust people. Although the two main characters, Sadie and Fester have suffered terrible physical and mental abuse at the hands of their parent's, the abuse is not detailed and only alluded to. Jayelle Cochran does a wonderful job of telling this remarkable story without terrorizing the reader. The fear and love that the characters feel come through in the book so vividly it had me crying and laughing all throughout the book. Even given the topics, this would still be a good book for young adults, with some parental guidance for any questions they might have. I found it to be a story of hope and love, of life after tragedy and what family can provide if you allow it. Amazingly poignant.
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The Appearacne of Truth
by Rosemary J. Kind
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Her mother passed away a year ago, and Lisa is still having trouble figuring out what to do now that she is on her own. A chance meeting at the cemetery brings new hope to her life, in the form of a budding relationship with Pete. A casual discussion about family, and a bet to research their family tree's will lead to unknown events for Lisa. She finds that what she thought she knew was not the truth, and she is not who she thought she was. +Rosemary Kind does a wonderful job of bringing to life the search for the truth to Lisa's identity as well as telling the heartbreaking tale from her parents side of the story as well. The Appearance of Truth will challenge you to understand the pain of parents, and the confusion as Lisa searches for the truth.
The idea that maybe you actually have a rich and famous ancestor in your family tree has sparked many a person to research their genealogy. An Appearance of Truth takes the idea of family tree's and turns it upside down, as Lisa sets out on a normal quest only to unlock a mystery that has be hidden for thirty years. +Rosemary Kind brings to life the many sides of this story, with each getting equal time, and none being slated as being the better side. The story takes the fears of finding out a secret and packages it into a novel worth the read. This was an engaging story that kept me interested to the very end.
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite .
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The Sundered
by Ruthanne Reid
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers Favorite
Water is no longer blue, it's black and it's dangerous. Not only is it dangerous, but it covers most of the world. The world is inhabited by the humans and those they can The Sundered. The Sundered come from the water, but can be controlled by the human mind. It can be difficult, but they have to be harnessed for humanity to live in this world. Ruthanne Reid weaves a story of co-dependency and mutual distrust. The humans need the sundered to grow food and survive on the world. The sundered don't need the humans, but they are less powerful and submit to the control, for the most part. The story follows one young man, and his group as they search the world over for the Hope. The Hope of Humanity is rumored to be what will fix the world back to what it used to be. Other's want to destroy the Hope to in turn destroy the sundered and take the planet for themselves. The truth, is somewhere altogether different.
Ruthann Reid creates a world that feels like Earth, only many years advanced when water covers most of the planet and land is rare. The humans can't touch the water, it will drag them in and kill them. They have to have the sundered to get the water to live. The Sundered is well written and has you really thinking. There are the two factions, one that says the Hope will fix the world, the other that says the Hope must be destroyed. As the story progresses and you learn more, things are uncovered that make you question each faction. Can two cultures survive on the world together, or does it have to be just one or the other? Which culture is really the one that invaded the other and forced themselves on the planet? Great read for adults and teens alike.
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A Lifetime to Die
by P. S. Meronek
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Reader's Favorite
Our story begins in Czechoslovakia, where a young man, Aristotle Mercury is living with his mother after the death of his father. A Lifetime to Die follows Telly, as he tries to make his way as a young man, only to have to escape his home to American. Once in America, he builds his life and business beyond what anyone probably thought he was able to do. He experiences the joys and heartaches of life, and through it all is a deep desire to right a wrong done to his parents many years ago. This driving force it what propels him from just a carpenter to a businessman and developer. P.S. Meronek takes the all American dream of making it big, and translates it to this young refugee with superb skill. You will root for and cry with Telly from the beginning to the end of the book.
This saga follows one man through his life, and although he has a goal to right a wrong, he never seems to let it overtake him. He keeps a good balance on life. A Lifetime to Die starts in Czechoslovakia and travels to America, although truthfully it could have been from anywhere. It follows Telly, from teen to late 50's, almost a lifetime. P.S. Meronek does a wonderful job in this tale to reignite your belief in the American dream, and even more the ability of it to be achieved without selling your soul to the devil. It is a truly believable tell that you won't want to put down until you turn the last page.
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Orphan of the Olive Tree
by Mirella Sichirollo Patzer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Reviewed by Michelle Randall for +Reader's Favorite.
Orphan of the Olive Tree is a beautifully crafted story of the life-long friendship of two men, sent to war and yet brought safely home. The are best friends, live next door, and because of the war make a blood oath to marry their firstborns to each other. Enrico is married to the sweet and honest Felica, and they have twin boys. Carlo is married to the ever envious Prudenza, who can not stand to let someone else enjoy their happiness, and on the day of the birth of the boys spread a cold-hearted lie. As with all lies, they tend to come back to haunt you, and when in the next year Prudenza herself gives birth to twins, she refuses to admit her lie and instead sends one child away never to be talked about. +Mirella Sichirollo Patzer knows that lies and fate have a way of deciding for themselves what should happen, and you are not in control, and Prudenza slowly finds out.
Orphan of the Olive Tree is so well written and flows so beautifully that you really have a hard time putting it down. You always want to know whats next. +Mirella Sichirollo Patzer weaves an amazing story of friendship and bonds, of rivalry and envy, of love and betrayal so effortlessly together. Some of the drama comes from superstitions of the 13th century, but most is just the down right evil of one person, who wants their own way. As you follow along you begin to develop a relationship with the characters and get to know them and you know what you want to happen, and you get mad when things are not going that way. I will have to say that anyone that loves a good family saga will love this story, not only that by the Spanish influence and the romance and the betrayal. It is just a perfect read.
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