Reads things. Writes things. Fluent in sarcasm. Willful optimist. Cat companion, chocolate connoisseur, coffee drinker. There are some who call me Mom.
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After surviving a devastating shark attack, the last person Emma wants to see haunting the halls of her high school is the mysterious boy she met on her beach vacation. But try as she might, Emma can’t seem to escape Galen, nor can she find an explanation for the powerful connection she feels when she’s around him.
When Galen finally explains his reasons for following Emma across the country, she can’t – or doesn’t want to – believe him. But neither can she deny the inexplicable gift she possesses, a gift Galen says holds the key to saving his people from war. If Emma accepts Galen’s story, it will change everything and put everything she wanted and almost had squarely out of reach.
Despite the heaviness of the opening scenes, this is a fun, often humorous story about forbidden love with a bit of a new spin on mermaid – or Syrena – myths. Emma, a pure soul with a tragic past, and Galen, a duty-bound prince of a hidden realm, make perfect star-crossed lovers. Of Poseidon has recently been nominated for the 2013 YALSA Top Ten award.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild.
Sexual Content
Emma worries that her mother will assume she and Galen are having sex, though they aren’t sharing more than secrets and a few super-charged kisses.
Spiritual Content
None.
Violence
A bull shark attacks a young girl as she swims at the beach. Details are a bit gruesome. Two girls with super-strength tackle each other in a beach house, destroying furniture, but causing only minor damage to each other.
Since the death of his little brother, Akivar has wanted only to get away and leave family and memories behind. Before he can have his chance, however, savage men kidnap his sister Jeslyn. Akivar and Derrick, his best friend and Jeslyn’s fiancé, pursue the kidnappers, determined to rescue Jeslyn and bring her safely home.
Jeslyn vows to escape her captors, but once she arrives in Daath, a place of legend which she remembers her mother fondly describing, Jeslyn can’t help being intrigued. Her captor, Lucino, seems a wealthy lord, and she is honored by his attention and wants to believe his claims that he had nothing to do with her kidnapping and will contact her family on her behalf.
Though at first she is reluctant to accept his offer of marriage, the longer she spends with him in his magical homeland, the more Jeslyn wants to embrace her role as his wife. She does not know that her brother and lover continue to track her and still plan for her rescue.
Lucino may seem like a stereotypical charming villain at first glance, but as the story unfolds, both his exposure to Jeslyn and something deeper from within his character bring forth conflicting desires, making him one of the most interesting and complex characters in the story. The narrative moves quickly, but sometimes jumps ahead, skipping over transitions and leaving the reader to fill in the blanks, causing some confusion. Still, Tilton creates an interesting fantasy landscape and weaves together the stories of several very different characters, leaving readers anxious to open the second book in her Daath Chronicles series.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.
Sexual Content The Daath Lord keeps a house full of women, but no specifics are given as to what he does with them. It’s clear women, even Jeslyn, are attracted to him.
Spiritual Content Akivar and his family worship a Creator god, and their planet’s two suns are cleverly described as the eyes of the god watching them.
Violence Lucino’s advisor studies humans, sometimes torturing them as part of his “research.” Descriptions are brief.
Drug Content
Lucino poisons wine he offers guests at a ball so that he and other reptilian leaders can draw energy from the debilitated humans. The humans do not survive.
Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Haunted by a cruel playground song, Stacey is determined never to be fat again. With her best friend Zoe, she embarks on a rigid diet, rejecting the high-calorie, deep-fried southern dishes her family seems to thrive on. But just when Stacey has it all under control, a fainting spell alerts her boyfriend Calvin that things aren’t as well-ordered as they seem. Stacey brushes off the event as “female problems” and hopes Calvin will just forget it.
Calvin just wants Stacey to be okay, and he’s willing to pay just about any price to make that so. He endeavors to support her, but his own emotions become increasingly strained as his bike – and through it his way of coping with life – begins to fall apart. Though Calvin wants to believe he can love and encourage Stacey through her insecurities, it becomes impossible to ignore the downward spiral her life is taking. Calvin isn’t sure he can push her into recovery without breaking her.
In her brave debut, Sharples captures the raw driving intensity of emotional insecurity and the terrible tension it places on a relationship, boldly describing a tragic teen issue. The reactions of Stacey’s friends and family, the helplessness Calvin wrestles with all felt very real and true to character and life. Though a message of hope is woven through its pages, the story Running Lean isn’t dominated by its spiritual messages. Rather, each character wrestles with thoughts about and feelings toward God in his or her own timing and way.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.
Sexual Content Stacey and Calvin share kisses and hold hands, but both have made a commitment to abstinence until marriage. Things get a little hot and heavy between them as Stacey’s emotions spiral further out of control and Calvin tries to reassure her of his love by pressing her physical boundaries further than she’s comfortable with. Clothes stay on, and nothing much ultimately happens before Stacey stops Calvin. There are brief references to a past sexual abuse situation. While the scars of the experience, both physically and emotionally still manifest in the victim, not a lot of detail is given about the events.
Spiritual Content Since his brother’s death, Calvin has had difficulty thinking about spiritual things. He’s grieving and angry and offers of prayer from his friends and family only frustrate him further. As his relationship with Stacey becomes more and more strained, Calvin begins to rethink his “okay on my own” religious stance and consider asking for God’s help with the situation, since he’s way past knowing what to do on his own.
Violence None.
Drug Content
Stacey visits a party at which alcohol is present. She doesn’t drink anything, but others around her do.
Ethan returns from a week-long disappearance into the Nevernever with his girlfriend MacKenzie and a lot of explaining to do. After passing off the adventure to parents and police as an impulsive New York getaway, Ethan hopes to return to life as normal. But with his faery Sight keeping him aware of the fey all around him and making him something of a target, “normal” seems like an awfully tall order.
When Ethan and MacKenzie receive a request for help from a desperate faerie and friend, they prepare themselves for another dive into the faerie world. Together with Kierran, they seek to uncover a dark secret and prevent the death of Kierran’s true love. Ethan only hopes the price to save her won’t prove more than they can pay.
Once again Kagawa brings forth a dark and dangerous world of faeries and monsters, in which the most dangerous move of all is to bargain with the fey. As Ethan and his friends seek to do just that, they collide with a cast of characters both familiar and foreign, fun and freakish. While other novels in this series possessed powerful narrative and strong central characters, this one seemed to keep readers at bay in a tone that tells the story but doesn’t draw readers in to experience it. Ethan’s standoffish manner and constant overthinking made connecting with him difficult. Kagawa’s writing seems to shine more in her female-led narrative, packing more punch with earlier books like The Iron Daughter and her Blood of Eden series.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme. No F-bombs until near the end, though.
Sexual Content
Ethan and his girlfriend discuss whether/when to have sex briefly. He states that he will wait until she is ready. She wants to engage in sex before she dies of leukemia.
Spiritual Content
Brief references to a time during which faeries were worshipped and feared by humans.
Violence
Brief battle scenes. No graphic details.
Drug Content
A vendor at a faery market offers Ethan several different potions. Ethan refuses.
Jaimie Engle is the author of Clifton Chase and the Arrow of Light, a middle-grade adventure story in which a modern-day boy has a chance to be a hero in fifteenth century England. The novel is published by Wayman Publishing and illustrated by Debbie Johnson. Jaimie joins adventure fans today to answer some questions about her debut novel.
Blogger asks: One of the things I found most interesting in your novel is the time period to which the arrow whisked Clifton away. What made you choose to write about this moment in history?
Jaimie answers: It actually started when I came across an oil painting by Philip James de Loutherbourg depicting the Battle of Bosworth Field, which is the final battle of the War of the Roses. There’s this teenage boy holding up a sword among piles of horses and soldiers. I gasped. It was my main character, Clifton Chase, only instead of holding a sword, I envisioned a blazing Arrow of Light. I began some research on the time period and discovered King Richard’s two nephews who had been locked away in the Tower of London, never to be seen again. That’s when the questions swirled.
A story is often inspired by a question. What question inspired you to write this novel?
Jaimie answers: The biggest question I had after my research was: What happened to those two boys? I wondered what it felt like to be forgotten by history, after everything had been stripped from their lives, and how someone might be able to remedy this travesty. They died without honor and I think that’s such a sad way to leave this earth. No legacy. No tombstones. No memory.
Were there things about your favorite character in this story which couldn’t be included in the novel? Can you tell us a little bit about something you know about the story that the reader may not know?
Jaimie answers: Great questions! One of my favorite characters is Dane the dwarf. He’s feisty, he speaks his mind, and he has a tender side that he keeps hidden. Dane is extremely old, much older than is natural. I imagine he was created back during the Old Testament days, maybe some time after the flood, and he stayed in an unseen form until the middle ages. He is connected to another character in a very fundamental way, and his abilities weren’t fully exposed in this novel. Maybe in the next one…
Are you currently working on another novel? Will there be a sequel about Clifton and his magical arrows?
Jaimie answers: I have completed a second novel—not a sequel—which is a YA fantasy taking place in Viking Era Canada, which is currently under review by beta readers. I’ll begin shopping it to agents, hopefully by October. I have had several children and students ask me when the next Clifton book will release. I guess I’d like to see the book reach some level of success before I invest in the series. But I do have some ideas for two more possible Clifton Chase adventures.
One of the great things about middle grade and young adult fiction is that it has such power to mark our memories. Sometimes the stories we read during those years really stick with us for the rest of our lives. What stories did you fall in love with as an early teenager? Who or what awakened an urge to write in you?
Jaimie answers: That’s an easy one for me. Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass have smudge marks from where I turned the pages over and over again. These stories whisked me to amazing, beautiful worlds where anything was possible. I knew when I was seven years old that I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. I actually still have about 50 stories I wrote in crayon when I was in the 1st-3rd grades, and lots of humorous poetry inspired by Shel Siverstein.
What advice do you have for other aspiring young writers?
Jaimie answers:My best advice would be to read as much as you can. Read books in the genres you like, books on the craft of writing, and books that are classics or bestsellers. Then, write. Write short stories, poems, songs, whatever you feel inspired to write, with the understanding that, like anything else, you don’t begin as professional. A six year old playing t-ball will never swing a hit like someone in the MLB. But as they practice and grow in their sport, studying others and perfecting their shortcomings, they may one day become an amazing ball player who is recruited by a college team or into the professionals. I’d love to help answer questions for any aspiring young writers. Feel free to email me at jaimiengle [at] cfl [dot] rr [dot] com!
Don’t miss the chance to win a free copy of Clifton Chase and the Arrow of Light
Update: The contest has ended.
Leave a comment on the review posted here and “like” the Clifton Chase fan page on Facebook before Sunday 10/06/13 at 11:59pm Eastern Time. One participant will be selected to receive a FREE copy of Clifton Chase and the Arrow of Light. Two copies will be given away: a paperback copy is available for one participant chosen from those who enter with a US or Canada address, and one winner will be chosen from all entrants worldwide to receive an ebook copy!
When a mysterious arrow turns up in a dusty closet, Clifton Chase thinks he’s uncovered nothing but old worthless junk. The arrow, however, turns out to be so much more. With a flash of light, Clifton finds himself transported back to fifteenth century England, in a time when a ruthless ruler has seized power and locked away two young princes. Allies of these princes believe Clifton is just the hero they’ve been waiting for and they prepare a force to accompany Clifton on a bold rescue mission.
Inspired by true historical events, this middle grade adventure novel weaves history together with mythical creatures and memorable characters to create a highly entertaining story. Though this is Engle’s debut novel, she handles story like a pro, barely giving the reader a moment to catch breath before leaping off into new twists and turns. Readers who enjoy middle grade adventure stories will not be disappointed in this charming and exciting adventure.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.
Sexual Content None.
Spiritual Content Brief references to a Creator who has a plan for the lives of his creatures.
Violence A few brief battle scenes. Nothing gory. One character gives his life to save another.
