Category Archives: Book Review and Content

Cover Reveal: Golden Daughter by Anne Elisabeth Stengl

Blogger's Favorites, Christian World-View, Fantasy, News and Fun, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,

As a long-time fan of the Tales of Goldstone Wood series, I’m excited to reveal the cover of the seventh novel in this whimsical series. Golden Daughter will hit shelves in November 2014. Here’s a look at the back cover copy, too:

GoldenDaughterCoverBEYOND THE REALM OF DREAMS

IS A WORLD SHE NEVER IMAGINED

Masayi Sairu was raised to be dainty, delicate, demure . . . and deadly. She is one of the emperor’s Golden Daughters, as much a legend as she is a commodity. One day, Sairu will be contracted in marriage to a patron, whom she will secretly guard for the rest of her life.

But when she learns that a sacred Dream Walker of the temple seeks the protection of a Golden Daughter, Sairu forgoes marriage in favor of this role. Her skills are stretched to the limit, for assassins hunt in the shadows, and phantoms haunt in dreams. With only a mysterious Faerie cat and a handsome slave—possessed of his own strange abilities—to help her, can Sairu shield her new mistress from evils she can neither see nor touch?

For the Dragon is building an army of fire. And soon the heavens will burn.

BOOK COVER: The cover illustration was done by Julia Popova. Visit her website, http://www.forestgirl.ru/, to learn more about her and her fantastic work!

If you’d like to learn more about Golden Daughter, visit the book page for interesting articles, illustrations, and more!

AUTHOR BIO:

Anne Elisabeth Stengl is the author of the award-winning Tales of Goldstone Wood series, adventure fantasies told in the classic Fairy Tale style. Her books include Christy Award-winning Heartless and Veiled Rose, and Clive Staples Award-winning Starflower. She makes her home in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she lives with her husband, Rohan, a passel of cats, and one long-suffering dog. When she’s not writing, she enjoys Shakespeare, opera, and tea, and practices piano, painting, and pastry baking. She studied illustration and English literature at Grace College and Campbell University.

GIVEAWAY: Enter to win any two of the first six Goldstone Wood novels as a giveaway prize! Winner’s choice of: Heartless, Veiled Rose, Moonblood, Starflower, Dragonwitch, or Shadow Hand.

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Review: Twice Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Middle Grade 8-12, , , ,

Twice Upon a Marigold
Jean Ferris
HMH Books for Young Readers
Published May 1, 2008

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Months after the evil Queen Olympia disappeared downriver in the kingdom of Beaurivage, a bad energy seems to be stirring up trouble. King Christian and Queen Marigold, still newlyweds, suddenly have their first quarrel. Their five family dogs constantly squabble over one blue squeaky toy.

And far away in a tiny town, a woman who spent her last several months as the helpful and compassionate Angie, suddenly remembers her true identity. No longer the peaceful friendly lady the town has fallen in love with, Queen Olympia demands to be taken home to Beaurivage castle. Once there, her demands only escalate.

As Christian, Marigold, Ed and King Swithbert frantically search for a plan to (nonviolently) remove Olympia from power, Olympia strikes with a plan of her own. She has Swithbert and his friends arrested for treason. Knowing her mother’s ruthless ways, Marigold can’t afford to wait for the trial, which will surely be a farce. Together with Christian and some of the palace workers, she formulates a plan to remove Olympia from power for good.

The same fun spirit, advanced vocabulary and loveable characters fills the pages of the sequel to Once Upon a Marigold. While a lot of attention is given to the theory about Olympia creating “bad energy” which permeates everyone and everything around her, characters do emphasize that one’s attitude remains one’s own responsibility. Readers who enjoyed the playfulness of the first book about Christian and Marigold will surely enjoy this lively addition to the series. A third volume, Thrice Upon a Marigold completes the series.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
No profanity.

Sexual Content
Brief kissing.

Spiritual Content
Marigold and Christian call upon the help of a wizard who is experimenting with necromancy. Characters briefly discuss what this practice entails and the wizard hasn’t had any great success at it as yet. Characters frequently discuss Queen Olympia’s “bad energy” and believe that her negative energy affects everyone around her. This inspires arguments and general uneasiness and unhappiness even when she is not personally involved in the conflict. Ultimately, the wizard and another character perform a magic spell to exile the bad personality within Queen Olympia. He hopes to leave behind the kind and placid personality.

Violence
The servants and guards stage a rebellion when Olympia plans to execute the king and his friends. She plots the execution and builds a gallows, but no hangings occur. Christian and Marigold carefully plan the rebellion for as little violence as possible, even including cookies as a distraction to bystanders.

Drug Content
None.

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Cover Reveal: Winter in the Soul by Jennifer Novotney

Christian World-View, Fantasy, News and Fun, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , ,

From Anaiah Press author Jennifer Novotney comes an intriguing new fantasy novel with a simple, but intriguing cover.

Winter in the Soul
Jennifer Novotney
Anaiah Press
Available July 15, 2014

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

A dangerous journey to stop a powerful darkness…

In a world divided by power and greed, seventeen-year-old Lilika harbors an intense desire to return to Winter in the Soul, the place her family left to escape the darkness that was manifesting from a coldness of the soul.

When she meets Talon, their connection is evident right from the start, and together they travel through the Black Kingdom to recover Lilika’s stolen locket. And in search of an answer to the mystery behind Winter in the Soul.

Lilika holds the key to stopping the darkness from spreading. The fate of their world lies in her hands. Will she stop the Black Kingdom before its darkness overtakes them all, or will they succumb to the darkness that is spreading across the land?

Winter in the Soul will release July 15, 2014 and is Novotney’s debut novel.

About Jennifer Novotney

Jennifer Novotney was born in Burbank, California and lived in Los Angeles for most of her life until settling in North Eastern Pennsylvania with her husband and daughter. She attended California State University, earning a bachelors degree in journalism, and Northern Arizona University, earning a masters degree in English. After college, she spent several years writing and teaching, including at Pennsylvania State University.

 

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Review: Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Book Review and Content, Sci-Fi, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , ,

Across the Universe
Beth Revis
Raborbill / Penguin Group
Published January 11, 2011

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Seventeen year-old Amy and her parents join a team of scientists and military personnel who will endure 300 years of cryogenically induced sleep as they travel across space to form a colony on a new planet. Fifty years before the ship’s scheduled arrival at Centauri-Earth, Amy awakens, trapped and suffocating in her cryo-chamber. She cannot wake her parents without risking sabotage to their mission, so she is left to find a place within the strange society of passengers who make their lives aboard the ship Godspeed.

An unpredictable, manipulative man called Eldest rules the populace, and he immediately threatens to cast Amy off the ship to her death if she disturbs the other passengers in any way. Eldest’s protégé, Elder, finds himself drawn to Amy’s exotic beauty and inner fire. Her stories of life on earth and her insistence that something aboard the Godspeed is very wrong send Elder spinning into doubt and confusion. What if Eldest is wrong? What if the way he governs the people is wrong? When another cryo-chamber is disturbed and the person within dies, the crew aboard the Godspeed must face the possibility that someone is deliberately sabotaging their mission. To stop the killer, they must uncover the truth about Godspeed, its mission, and its leaders.

Amy finds herself trapped in a ship filled with people for whom earth remains only stories and legends. Over hundreds of years, the people of the Godspeed have evolved into a society regulated by artificial hormones and genetic engineering. Does this manipulation reduce the elusive qualities that separate man from animal? Revis expertly explores the morality of such a world in her cleverly constructed sci-fi arena.  I loved the exploration of this idea, and thought the story did a great job of showing some ideas about it without ever getting preachy.

The serial murderer on the loose on board a space ship within a pretty constricting dystopian-like society plus a budding romance makes this an intense read and kind of a genre-bending story, which I loved as well. This is a book that has a lot to offer a lot of different readers.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
No straight up profanity. Instead, characters use faux/made up swear words, like “frexing” and “shite.”

Sexual Content
Passengers aboard the Godspeed are hormonally manipulated into having a mating season, just as animals do. During this “season,” the passengers engage in sex out in the open. Descriptions are brief and spark conversations about the importance of love in relationships and the difference between humans and animals. Several men surround Amy, intending to rape her. The men pin her down and partially expose her, but a friend rescues her before the men fully assault her. The scene is intense.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violence
One resident aboard the ship removes passengers from cryo-sleep one by one, allowing them to thaw and die by drowning in the cryo-fluid. Amy wakes in her cryo-chamber. Someone rescues her, though the experience traumatizes her.

Drug Content
Hormones and medical supplements/drugs control the ship’s populace. Eldest, the group leader, is drinks liquor in a couple of instances.

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Review: Mirage by Kristi Cook

Book Review and Content, Paranormal, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , ,

Mirage
Kristi Cook
Simon Pulse
Published June 5, 2012

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Violet returns to Winterhaven for her senior year, convinced that with her awesome friends and fabulous boyfriend, this year is going to be the best yet. She’s paired with the famed Dr. ‘Hottie’ as her mentor, Aiden is closer than ever to finding a cure for his vampirism, and she’s still on top in the fencing team. Then a mysterious serial killer leaves a trail of blood-drained women in his wake, and violent visions of death for those closest to her terrorize Violet. With her mentor’s help, she hopes to discover enough clues about the visions to stop them from becoming reality before it’s too late.

Though it begins at a slow pace, delving into details like who’s taking calculus or has which lunch period, Mirage quickly ramps up the tension via Violet’s mysterious visions and Aiden’s distant behavior. Few of the characters really shine with complexity, but Violet and Aiden can be listed among them.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme but infrequent.

Sexual Content
Violet laments the fact that she and Aiden won’t be able to have satisfying sex because for a vampire, part of the satisfaction comes from biting his partner. Dressed in an inviting outfit, she meets Aiden in the loft of the barn for some alone time. The couple engage in some heavy making out, but stop before clothes come off.

Spiritual Content
In the story, Violet and her friends each share certain super-human gifts. These are thought to be a leap forward in human evolution rather than any source of spiritual power.

Violence
A rogue vampire leaves a trail of victims. No descriptions of the attacks.

Drug Content
Aiden and his friends work together to create a serum that will cure his vampirism.

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Review: Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Book Review and Content, Historical, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,

Code Name Verity
Elizabeth Wein
Disney/Hyperion
Published February 6, 2012

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

After enduring long hours of torture, Verity, a prisoner in an abandoned hotel in Nazi-occupied France, promises to tell her German captors everything she knows. She begins with recollections of her best friend and pilot, Maddy. As Verity writes Maddy’s story, she recounts the early days of friendship and recruitment as a wireless operator in England. Life for Maddy, a simple country girl with a gift for mechanical engineering, drastically changes on the day she meets a bold woman pilot whose plane needs repair. For Maddy’s friend, a lost German pilot becomes the catalyst that sets in motion her own transformation.

While some of the content definitely places this novel in a category for older teens, it is a powerful story brilliantly told. Author Elizabeth Wein brings to life the story (inspired by history) of two courageous women who served England during World War II. Wein captures not only an intricate physical description of the places in the story, but the desperate, patriotic feel of war-time existence.

On a Personal Note
My grandfather served the US as a flight navigator during World War II. Though he rarely spoke of this period in his life, I was always proud to know that he served. Additionally, I’ve always treasured the story of a dear family friend. She lived in France, and during the war she helped a young Jewish girl escape the country with her. Reading about Verity and Maddy brought those stories along with the love and pride I feel for my family members back fresh and new. As time marches forward, and the veterans and survivors of World War II reach the end of their lives, it is so important for us to remember the sacrifices they made and the reasons they made them. Reading historical accounts and novels is one way to bring this period in history to life for our children.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme with moderate frequency.

Sexual Content
Rumors and brief comments suggest that Verity seduces war prisoners and guards in order to gain favors or information from them. As a prisoner, she allows a man to fondle her breasts in exchange for supplies for which she is desperate.

Spiritual Content
Early in their friendship, Verity and Maddy discuss assisted suicide and whether it’s selfish or noble to refuse to aid someone in ending his or her life.

Violence
As a war prisoner, Verity receives brutal treatment. Most of the torture is not described in the story. In a frantic attempt to rescue prisoners en route to Nazi concentration camps, soldiers and Resistance members face off, and several are killed.

Drug Content
References to alcohol (though all characters may be of legal drinking age) and cigarettes.

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