Stone of Destiny by [a:Laura Howard|6653788|Laura Howard|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1356495647p2/6653788.jpg] is book two of the Danaan Trilogy and picks up right where book one left off, like literally with the next sentence after the cliffhanger. Allison now knows that she must destroy Aoife's amulet if there is any hope of her mother recovering. At the same time, she tries unsuccessfully to push Ethan away, to protect him. But at the end of book one, Deaghlan erases Ethan's memories of the Tuatha de Danaan, and Ethan seems to resent Allison. Did Deaghlan do more than just erase Ethan's memories?

As with book one, I love these characters! Allison is still the strong, independent character she was in book one, however she is learning in this book that she can't do everything alone. Sometimes she has to trust and rely on others. Enter Ethan :) I seriously love this guy! He is the perfect book boyfriend. He's known Allison all his life, he likes her a lot, and he seems to know just the right thing to say and when. Basically when Allison tells him everything (and I do mean everything) about Liam and her heritage, he doesn't run for the hills. Nope he tells her "Whatever you're planning to do to help your parents, I want to be there."



The plot of this story is fast moving and really a page turner (I read it in one sitting!). It's a race against time as Allison, Ethan, and Liam must find Aoife and figure out what she is planning. I won't spoil it because it needs to be read and enjoyed :)

Overall I loved this book and am anxiously waiting for the final installment! Be warned there is a semi-cliffhanger and yes I shed some tears as well. If you enjoy fantasy, fairy lore, action, suspense, and a little romance, I highly recommend you check out this series.

Hope at Dawn by Stacy Henrie is book one of the Of Love and War series and tells the story of Friedrick and Livy. With her two older brothers fighting in WWI, Livy Campbell wants a way to help her family. It comes in the form of a teaching position, but what Livy was unaware of is that she will be teaching German American children. With the war raging against Germany, Livy finds her values tested. Friedrick Wagner wants to fight for his home country America, but his German-American father dying, Friedrick is needed at home. Taking a farm deferment, he stays to take care of his father, two half-siblings, and step mother. But with his heritage in question and newcomer Livy, he finds that the war is closer to home than he realized.

I love these characters! Both are very relatable in their struggles and their values. Livy is the eldest daughter of her family and with her two older brothers fighting, she feels it is her duty to help her family in anyway she can. She struggles with what is right and wrong when teaching her German-American pupils. Her values come into question by not just herself but by those in the community. First from the German-Americans and second from the rest of the community who believes she's a German sympathizer. Friedrick struggles with his want to fight in the war and his need to take care of his family. With the prejudice against his family and friends rising, he struggles with anger and resentment against those that were his neighbors.

The relationship that builds between Friedrick and Livy is sweet and full of love and trials. When Livy's beau stands her up at the dance hall on her birthday, a handsome stranger who turns out to be Friedrick asks her to dance. During the dance, Livy opens up to him and he tells her of the teaching position. Both are smitten immediately, but when Livy learns of his German heritage and with the prejudice Friedrick already faces with his neighbors, both become hesitant towards each other. I hurt for them during their struggles to be friends and eventually more. Prejudice, pride, and more affect them, but it's this Bible verse that is the overall theme of the book:



and this one:



Overall, I loved this book and devoured it in a few days. The sweet relationship between Livy and Friedrick, the struggles against pride and prejudice, and the acceptance of God's plan for both of them make this story unforgettable. If you enjoy historical fiction, Christian or inspirational literature, and a little romance, I highly recommend you check out this book. A little note: there are a couple of scenes of violence related to the prejudice against the German-American community of this book, however it is a clean read and although it is listed as a part of a series, this book can be read as a standalone.

I received a copy of this ebook from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Blind by Kory M. Shrum is a short, dystopian, coming-of-age story about Edison and his quest for Artist eyes. In the dystopian world Edison lives in, human eyes are taken around birth and replaced with artificial eyes. There are many types: mathematical, empathy, instructional, etc. And each type of eye determines how you will contribute to society. At birth, you are given the same eyes as one of your parents. Then at 16, you can choose to keep your eyes or upgrade to another and begin training in that field (i.e. instructional eyes could be trained as teachers). It's now Edison's time to decide and what he wants goes against his father and his past.

This story is all about Edison and his desire to have artist eyes. His mother had artist eyes and they are the only ones that can see in color. Imagine for a moment living your life in shades of grey. This is how Edison lives, he also can't dream. These are things he is curious about, having heard about them from his mother. His father is greatly opposed to him trading his mathematical eyes for artist because of the "side effects" that occurred to his mother. I can't say much more without spoiling it.

Edison's story is truly unique. I've never read anything like it! It falls into a fantasy/sci-fi genre all its own. My only wish.....that it was longer! I could really delve into a full length story about this dystopian world. If you enjoy sci-fi, dystopians, coming-of age stories, then I highly suggest you check it out. You won't be disappointed!

Top Secret Twenty-One by Janet Evanovich is the latest installment of the Stephanie Plum series and I was pleasantly surprised. This story revolves around the case of the dying poker players. Stephanie is assigned to bring in Jimmy Poletti when he misses his court date, but one calamity after another keeps her from catching him. Then there's the problem of Randy Briggs. Someone is trying to kill him and he asks Stephanie for help. And to make matters even worse, Ranger's life is on the line when an assassin tries and fails to kill him. Oh and let's not forget Grandma Mazur's bucket list!

As fellow readers of the series can tell you, the last few installments (at least the last 4 or 5) have fell flat for me. Just okay plots, mediocre jokes, and love triangle from hell. But I've stuck with it and continued reading them because I've not invested nearly 15 years in reading a series to not see it through to the end! Well, let me just say kudos to the author for bringing back the characters and plot to what made me initially love the series.



Stephanie is back in this installment and better than ever!! She is independent, a slightly better bounty hunter, and if I'm not mistaken about ready to settle down and leave the dangerous work behind. She's in over her head with this case. No leads other than Randy Briggs who is a thorn in her side. Joe Morelli, the gorgeous hot cop and her sometimes fiancé, is working the murders of the poker players and he is none to happy about Stephanie being in the middle of it all. Morelli's character has grown some in this book I think. He's ready to settle down and I think he's just waiting on Stephanie. He's patient, he for once doesn't push her to quit her job, and he isn't jealous of Ranger (big growth for him!). Ranger is mysterious, also gorgeous, and Stephanie's biggest temptation! What I love about Ranger is his quiet demeanor and his actions. OMG!!!! His actions say everything, he is totally in love with Stephanie, but not a settle down kind of a guy....

Ranger smiled. "There are times when I seriously consider marrying you, but then I get yet another black mark on my path to enlightenment and forgiveness and I scratch marriage off my bucket list."

The plot is well-thought out and for the first time in a long while with this series I wasn't able to guess with any accuracy what was going to happen! I was wrong on all accounts which made me love the book even more. It's full of suspense and humor, classic to the early installments of the series and made me nostalgic for my first encounter with Stephanie Plum when she was chasing Joe Morelli in book one! There are three main threads in the plot: poker player murders, Randy Briggs, and Ranger's assassin. Two of the three tie themselves together in a sloppy bow and then the book culminates with the other thread.

And then who can forget Grandma Mazur?! She gets a paragraph all to herself. I love this character! She reminds me of my great-grandmother, independent and spunky as all get out. In this book, Grandma Mazur decides to make a bucket list and she actually does a few of the items from the list. I'll leave you with one quote from her about it...

"It was mesmerizing," Grandma said. "It was like staring into the eye of a cobra. I don't care if I do anything else on the bucket list. This was awesome. It was like a biblical experience."

Overall, if you are a fan of the series or if you've never heard of it, I highly recommend you give it a try. It's like a cupcake, quick to consume, leaves you feeling light-hearted and wanting more. You will laugh until you cry and then laugh some more. It's a mix of mystery, suspense, humor, and women's lit at its best. And best of all if you are new to the series, it can be read as a stand alone. The author gives enough information about the characters that you will not be lost. However after you read this one, go back and start with number one :)

In the Field of Grace by Tessa Afshar is a retelling of the Biblical account of Ruth and Boaz. The story begins before the Biblical account creating a depth to the characters and giving the story further meaning. Ruth has always been a favorite book of the Bible for me as it tells the story of a young widow leaving everything she knows to follow a God whom she doesn't know and her mother-in-law into a land that hates her for her heritage. This retelling is wonderfully done, making me love the story even more!

Boaz is a middle aged man who life has dealt a bad hand. At the beginning of this story, he loses his first wife Judith and their newborn son during child-birth. In the ten years since, he has learned to accept his lot in life and follows God's will to the best he can. His land is fruitful and in Bethlehem he is a rich man. He is kind to his servants and those less fortunate than him. He is in one word humble.

Ruth is a young woman when she meets Naomi and her sons for the first time. An outcast in her family she finds solace with the comfort and love that radiates from Naomi and her God. When she accepts a marriage offer from Mahlon, she is happy and feels love for the first time in her young life. All she now wants is a child of her own. But God has other plans. When Mahlon and his brother die, leaving her childless and a widow, she does the only thing she knows to do, something she learned from Naomi and Mahlon, pray. Uncertain of what the future holds, but knowing she will not part from Naomi, Ruth follows her back to Israel, to Bethlehem and faces the harsh words and hatred of her birth. Ruth is courageous and faithful, humble and modest.

I loved every word of this retelling. The background given about Boaz and Ruth, even if it is fictionalized, has a ring of truth to it, making the story that much more real and relevant. Ruth faces adversity head on and shows kindness to those that would belittle her. She falls in love, she grieves, she suffers, and she loves again.

Overall if you are looking for an easy, uplifting read, I highly recommend this one! It's beautifully written with God's love and ultimate plan shown throughout. If you enjoy women's lit, historical fiction, and inspirational fiction than I believe you will enjoy this book!

I received a copy of this book from the publishers via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received a copy of this ebook from the publishers via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Contact by [a:Laurisa White Reyes|5244611|Laurisa White Reyes|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1331669493p2/5244611.jpg] is a coming-of-age story about a teenage girl who after her sixteenth birthday develops a rather unusual gift.....erhm....curse. Mira Ortiz can know your entire life story...your dreams, your nightmares, every memory...with just one touch. She believes it's a curse until her mother falls into a coma and Mira believes that the cause is more than her mother's diabetes.

So this book fell flat for me. Don't get me wrong! The characters, the plot, even the tiniest bit of suspense were good, but just not for me. Let me start with the characters. Mira Ortiz is a young girl who can now read every though that a person has ever had with just one touch. It's her curse. I know personally that I would be just a little freaked out! But Mira isn't just freaked, no she's depressed. She wants a way out, so the book begins with her in the hospital after a failed suicide attempt.....um....excuse me but I lost interest there. Call me heartless, but suicide seems like a cheater's way out of a bad situation. So already I had doubts about the main character going in. Then there's David, who is kinda, sorta the love interest. He's cute, but has a secret. One that makes me dislike him.....again call me heartless but.....(sorry can't reveal his secret without spoilers).

Then there's the plot. My thoughts are the main plot is why Mira can all of a sudden read everyone's thoughts with just a touch, but alas that is not the case. In fact, Mira becomes obsessed with her father's lack of emotion when her mother slips into insulin shock (coma). She becomes so obsessed she believes that her father is trying to kill her mother!!!! Mira goes back and forth between believing her father is a good guy to believing he's the enemy. Very wishy-washy :| Also, I was yelling at Mira through my Kindle, telling her she had it all wrong. I had guessed long before the end who the bad guy was.

Now I may have guessed the villain but I did not guess all the details of the ending. The plot and subplot were extensive and tied together neatly in the end. Overall I would give this book 3.5 stars, not quite a 4 star read for me but better than most 3 stars. If you like suspense and sci-fi mixed into a coming-of-age story, than I believe you will enjoy this book.

This review is from the blog www.momwithareadingproblem.com

Rouge by Isabella Modra is book one of this new sci-fi series about a young girl who develops has a rather unusual power. Hunter Harrison is 18 and believes that all she has to worry about is finishing high school and going to college, but she's wrong. After a freak fire at school and home, Hunter learns she not only has the power to withstand burns but she can create fire as well. Her guardian Joshua changes before her eyes. No longer is he the awkward science nerd she grew up with, but there's a darkness to him, a darkness that frightens Hunter. Joshua wants to protect her, but at what costs?



Where do I even start?! There is so much I loved about this book, but also things that I didn't care for. Let's break it down.

The Characters:

Hunter is a very opinionated, smart, young woman, but she's also hurting. She's an orphan. Her parents died in a fire when she was little and she's been raised by their best friend Joshua. Hunter knows Joshua tries, but he's not exactly the best parent or guardian. He's cold, awkward, and not very touchy-feely if you know what I mean. So Hunter feels like she has lacked love in her life.

Joshua is a mystery in and of himself. At the beginning of the story I loved him. Here's this awkward, OCD, professor/scientist who loves his friends and when they die he loves their daughter, though he doesn't know how to show it. Then some weird things happen. He's cold, harsh, and has a temper that is just downright scary. So I'm on-the-fence with him.

Eli is the romantic interest for Hunter and well....I just didn't care for him. He's a rich kid who has daddy issues. Daddy ignores him, parents are divorced, he cowers to Daddy's every whim. He's a vegetarian and avid animal right's activist. He's also the nerd at school and the one the bully picks on. To Hunter, he's handsome and driven and all these other things....



Anyways, he's just not my favorite character. Hunter idealizes him too much. At least that's my opinion.

One treat the author does that I truly enjoyed is getting the POV of different characters throughout the story, though she does stick with Hunter and Joshua mostly. I love this little insight into the characters' thinking.

The Plot:

The story revolves around the origin of Hunter's powers, her discovering her powers, and her becoming a woman in general. It's a true coming-of-age story with an awesome sci-fi element! However it moves slowly. Like I mean really slow. The book is divided into 5 parts, and each part is almost like a novella and has a complete story in and of itself, but they all tie together nicely. Part one is the origin story and moves quickly. In fact it takes place prior to Hunter's birth and tells the story of her mom and how Joshua became her guardian. It hooked me! And I must say I wasn't prepared for how it moved into part two (but no spoilers ;) ).
The story really didn't pick back up until Hunter discovers her powers. There's some arguing and some training with Joshua then it slows down again and takes a very big detour into romance with Eli. And I'm not even kidding. It's a huge distraction, or at least it was for me, maybe because of my feelings for the character.

FYI there are several scenes that are for the 18+ crowd and I wouldn't recommend it for anyone younger. I was not expecting that at all!!! In fact after reading the synopsis I was expecting a YA coming-of-age sci-fi. Well I was part right, it's just not for the YA crowd. Sorry guys!

Conclusion:

Overall I enjoyed the story, slow parts and all. I definitely recommend that it is for mature audiences due to sexual content and violence! Otherwise if you enjoy coming-of-age stories or a good sci-fi story, then I highly recommend you check it out. I don't think it will disappoint you. In fact, I've already read book two of this series and loved it!!! Be warned though this book is slowly addictive and ends with a cliffhanger that leaves you begging for more.

I received a copy of this ebook from the author via Goodreads in exchange for an honest review.

Embers and Ice by [a:Isabella Modra|7153840|Isabella Modra|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1372594926p2/7153840.jpg] is book two of the Rouge series and picks up about two months after the end of book one. Hunter has been captured by the Agents and is now at the ICE facility for testing. There she finds other kids like her with special powers. Grieving Eli moves to the back of her mind as she begins a fight to free herself and the others like her from ICE. Joshua has gone mad and is trying to fix his mistakes so that he can save Hunter.

I do believe I have found a new favorite series! Hunter is a mess this book. She is heart-broken and grieving Eli, but also her relationship with Joshua. She's angry and has a hard time controlling her rage at her former guardian. When she is captured by the Agents and taken to the ICE facility, she doesn't put up much of a fight. But once there, she sees others like her. They are slowly starving and tortured on a daily basis. This puts Hunter over the edge. She pushes her feelings aside and becomes determined to find a way to escape for herself and the others that are prisoners there.

In book one I couldn't figure Joshua out. I thought he was a loving, yet awkward guardian. Then you find out he injected himself with the feucotetanus to try and replicate Hunter's abilities before she was born and instead wound up with the powers of controlling ice. Like Hunter, he hears the ice voice in his head. Unlike Hunter, he lets it control him and doesn't know how to stop it. At the end of book one, he is shocked when she controls the fire and wants to desperately know how she does it. During this book, we see Joshua in a whole new light. In fact, I'm a little in love with him. Yes he is one bad dude, but it's because he can't control the ice. Everything he does and has done is for Hunter, to protect her, to let her live a normal life. He is so sick with worry that he lets the "iceman" overwhelm him.

Spoiler

In a nice little twist, the author brings back Eli and Miss Smart. Joshua froze them and using cryonics brings them back to help him find Hunter. Unfortunately for Joshua, Eli's revival doesn't go as smooth as Jenny Smart's does. Jenny is fine and remembers everything up to the point she was frozen and even remembers some vague feelings while being frozen. Eli however does not. His last memory is of the night that Joshua received his reward, meaning that he doesn't remember Hunter or his relationship with her. Big uh-oh for Joshua!

There are some new characters that I love. Will is the immortal boy at ICE and he has an air of mystery about him, especially where Hunter is concerned. He becomes her friend and confidant. Fearne is a young girl with a truly horrid power of mind control. She's a little scary, but because of the means to keep her from using her powers, Hunter and her become fast friends. Then there's Dr. Wolfe, the head psychopath of ICE facility. He's evil incarnate and his intentions for researching Hunter and her new friends are just plain wrong. He makes an excellent villain :D

There's really two separate plots this book. One that follows Joshua and the other to follow Hunter. Joshua's main goal is to save Hunter from Dr. Wolfe and he enlists some unusual help to get it. He also is learning to overpower and control the "iceman" inside him. Though he has a long way to go! Hunter as I've already said is determined to escape ICE facility and take her new friends with her, but also she must overcome her grief. This book is fast-paced, with a lot more action and suspense than the first installment.

Overall I highly enjoyed this book and read it in one sitting, staying up to the wee hours of the morning to finish it. A lovely mix of sci-fi and fantasy with lots of actions, the author keeps you on the edge of your seat. FYI: there is some graphic violence and strong language so I would recommend this for mature audiences only. If you enjoy sci-fi, action and lots of suspense, then I believe you will enjoy this book. I highly recommend if you haven't read book one yet, that you do so first! Otherwise you will be lost.

I received a copy of this ebook from the author in exchange for an honest review.

This review is from the blog www.momwithareadingproblem.com