Winter's Captive (The Georgia Series) Volume 1
by June V. Bourgo
My rating: 4.6 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
The one place Georgia never thought she would be for Halloween was in the Yukon with her best friend Marion, but then again Georgia never thought her husband Colin who she helped through school, would cheat on her and get his mistress pregnant, and then leave her for the mistress! At least she has her own little bit of pay-back, she too is pregnant, due within days of his mistress, now isn't that funny! Just as Georgia thinks she is dealing with life, she is taken hostage in the middle of a robbery. She is able to escape, but is lost in the unknown wilds of the frozen north. She finds a small cabin, but soon she is Winter's Captive, as the snow sets in she might as well make herself comfortable for the long haul. +June V. Bourgo gives the reader a story of a woman fighting her own demons, fighting nature, a philandering husband and bungling robbers all in an unknown area to her.
Winter's Captive (The Georgia Series) (Volume 1) is set to be the beginning of a series. The series set around the lead character of Georgia, so this book lays all the groundwork for future books. It has to give you a lot of backstory to produce all the rest of the series from. In that regards you have the best friend Marion, and there are a few tales from childhood. There is the cheating husband Colin, and there are a few tales from their marriage. Colin's parents are introduced as well as the two robbers. + June V. Bourgo builds a wonderful base for a beautiful series, and yet at the same time, a book that can stand on it's own merits just as well. Great book for all readers!
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UNREAL
by Riley Moreno
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Just finished with college, best friends Julie and Kim decided to take one last fling before starting real life with jobs and futures. They have no real plans, they are just going to drive and enjoy their week with no rules before settling down. Seems so easy, so many kids have done the same thing over and over through the years, yet nothing is ever as it seems.
On their first stop for lunch, the girls take up with a pair of clean looking college guys, only to find their worst nightmares are waiting. Kim, so worldly and beautiful, surely she can be the strong one and get them out of this mess. Julie, the innocent and sheltered child, can she have the strenght to get out and get home?
Ethan has his own demons, and never thinks he will be involved in anything like what he got himself into. New client, and for some reason he felt the need to impress, now they are taking him into their secret world. A world he never knew existed but one he wants no part of. How to get out safe and keep the account is his main focus until he is left alone with Julie. Now she is his main focus.
You have two distinct storylines that start and later merge into one, which is wonderful storytelling on the part of Riley Moreno. Each person has their own scars already and then to deal with what is happening is ever tougher. Who will become the strong one? Who will be able to survive?
Although there is some sexual references in the novel, and given that the girls are kidnapped you would expect them. They are not overly graphic, in fact the author does a wonderful job of allowing you o understand what is going on but at the same time keeping the information and details to a minimum. Wonderfully skilled writer in the author to do such a good job with this terrible topic.
This is definitely an adult book, but the whole premise of the story will have you wanting to hug your daughters and remind them again just how dangerous it can be to go with someone you just met. I was truly moved by the story.
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Bloodstone - Deep Water: Book One
by Jeffrey Aaron Miller
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite .
In the world of Jeffrey Aaron Miller's imagination there is a small village that lays nestled in the valley surrounded by mountains. Over the years, the village has isolated itself and cut itself off from the outside world. The idea was for protection, but soon they are to learn that it did not work. Jaren is a young man, bored with life in the isolated village. Arelas is a merchants daughter, one day a large team of horse-mounted knights ride into the village, only to destroy it completely. Jaren and Arelas are able to escape through a hidden cave. Bloodstone follows them as they travel from town to town, only to find that the knights have been there and destroyed it too, looking for people. A dying stranger gives them some answers to what is going on, and they set out on a quest to stop the madness.
Bloodstone gives you the feel of a old-world tale, with knights and villages surrounded by walls, and most people traveling by foot. This feeling makes is easy to envision this world where a small bit of magic has turned a King and his Knights mad with power and greed. Jeffrey Aaron Miller gives us a hero in a young boy, probably around 16 to 18 years old and the daughter of a merchant close to the same age as a heroine. As they travel the world looking for answers, they find themselves in much more than they bargained for. The story was well written and kept my attention throughout, although I have to admit that I did not enjoy the sudden end to the book, as it is book one. I do want to read the next book now, so I am sure that was the intention. This book would be great for all readers, and with the ages of the characters, even young adults and teens would be able to relate and enjoy the story.
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The Heir to the Amulet
by S.P. Meijer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
The Heir to the Amulet mixes the ideas of Knights and old world, medieval places and areas or countries with futuristic, high-tech places and areas or countries and blends them into a story of mystery and intrigue, kidnapping and sabotage. Raith was success in her attempt to take over the country of Cymnosa, but the Queen and her children managed to escape. Years later, Queen Sarah has vanished in a plan crash, and the heir, Lora is living under a false identity in another country, while Richie is under the control of an evil Uncle. When Raith makes a bid to get the remaining two nations fighting, Lora undertakes the adventure of a lifetime to save her brother, her best friend and new friend, along with the rest of the world, in +S. P. Meijer's fantasy epic adventure.
Lost heir's are a dime a dozen, but Lora is different, she is 16 but packs a powerfulful determination into that body to right the wrongs of the world. You like her from the beginning. Her best friend Stephen is the son of the King of Magoria, although the King doesn't quite like her.+S.P. Meijer focuses on the kids, they are the heros of the book, they are the ones who get out there and make things happen. It's not the King or The Queen or any adult, although at times they help a bit, but it is mainly a group of 16 to 10 year old kids. That is what makes The Heir to The Amulet so good for kids to read. It gives them a sense of empowerment and encouragement, that they aren't too small and their voice matters.
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Sorrow's Knot
by Erin Bow
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
On the world were Sorrow's Knot take's place, the tribe of Free Women, think they live on the edge of the earth, Nothing goes beyond the forest. It is their job to protect the tribe, or at least the binder's job. The story tells us of three you kids who are trying to find their places in the tribe, but they aren't going to stick to the old rules. Otter feels that she is going to be a binder, her mother is a binder, but little does she know her mother has other plans for her, she refuses to let her learn to be a binder. The shock and sadness causes her to move into an old hut that was abandon, followed son after by her two best friends, Cricket and Krestel. They each use the magic they have to find their way, to understand the old stories and to unravel the mysteries that are their world. Erin Bow wraps the unknown of a foreign world with the familiar and weaves a story that will keep you glued till the very end.
Sorrow's Knot is a fantasy book because it takes place on another world, but you will forget that as you read the book. As you start reading it feels more like an old Indian Folk Legend from long, long ago that wraps around you as you read. There are mysteries in the old stories, and Cricket finds them first, and I think I enjoyed that because he was the least valued in their tribe, it only made sense that Erin Bow would bring him to the top. The characters are teenagers, which is what puts it in that coming-of-age story group, but it so much more. Teens and adults alike will love this book, and enjoy the world that has been created.
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Reviewed by Amitha Knight
Reviewed by BookHounds
Reviewed by Tasha Saecker
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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In His Father's Footsteps
by Bev Irwin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Reader's Favorite.
At some point in everyone's lives there came that time when we stopped looking to our parents as our idols and role models and started letting our friends be the bigger influence. In His Father's Footsteps is a tale of just that time in a young boys life. He has reached that age when the influences of school friends are making the life and lessons his father taught seem old fashioned and out of date. As the story progresses and Jason is called upon to track his father and bring him home, the skills and lessons his father taught him become the things that he must rely on the most. +Bev Irwin does a wonderful job of twisting teenage angst and survival into a compelling adventure for children and teens of all ages.
The story is so easy to relate to because, at least as an adult we all can remember a time when we felt the same way. Our friends were more important and more knowledgeable than our parents. +Bev Irwin does a wonderful job of blending those feelings with the struggles to find his father and bring him home. In his Father's Footsteps is heartwarming to adults and a lesson to teens. This book could be read by either and enjoyed. The coming of age story, the unique setting and adventure, make it captivating. It might not be all that long of a book, but I still couldn't put it down until I had finished it all. I wanted to see where the story went and how the relationship between father and son finally turned out.
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