Review: When Mountains Move by Julie Cantrell

Book Review and Content, Christian World-View, Historical, New Adult 18up, , , , , , , ,

whenmountainsmoveWhen Mountains Move
Julie Cantrell
David C. Cook / Thomas Nelson

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Millie and Bump set off for Colorado and a new life together. Leaving Mississippi is all Millie ever wanted, but it seems the dark memories she thought to escape have followed her. With the memory of what Bill Miller did still hanging over her, Millie isn’t sure she can ever accept her husband’s love, and she’s not sure the past will stay buried long enough for her to try.

As Millie’s new life begins to unravel, her Choctaw grandmother arrives. She anchors Millie with the roots of family and tradition and teaches her the healing power of forgiveness.

Just like Cantrell’s debut, Into the Free, this novel bursts with beautiful narrative. Millie’s experiences are achingly real and deeply moving. Her grandmother, Oka, stands as my favorite character. As I’d hoped after reading Into the Free, the story revisits a part of the earlier tale that happened too fast to be satisfying to me. Millie’s able to get some closure and to explain more of what was in her head in those tumultuous moments.

Additionally, though, there’s a plot element that unfolds that didn’t feel so well resolved. I don’t want to spoil the story, but it felt like one of those “just trust me” sorts of resolutions, and I think I expected more from the story which had so many other intricate conflicts. I did enjoy the ending and I’m glad I read more of Millie’s tale. The Colorado setting felt incredible realistic in all its rugged, frontier power. I loved Cantrell’s descriptions of Millie’s relationship with her horse, too.

See below for the content breakdown. This is a new adult story, exploring the first few years of a troubled marriage and Millie’s healing after a sexual assault.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content – and Trigger Warnings
Millie has flashbacks to the afternoon she was raped. There are snippets of sharp detail, things like her remembering the way her dress tore, or him tearing into her. Millie experiences triggers in her relationship with Bump and has to navigate those moments. We know after they are married that they are intimate. The descriptions are vague, usually hinting at coming intimacy with things like him unbuttoning her nightgown and then leaving off to begin a new scene. Millie’s struggle to connect with her husband is a significant part of the story, though. While graphic sex isn’t described, her relationship to this part of her life is one of the biggest conflicts in the story.

Spiritual Content
Millie and Bump share their faith about God being able to move mountains. Millie remembers scriptures shared with her by her mother. She prays often, especially in times of peril and need.

Oka, Millie’s Choctaw grandmother visits her and shares some traditions with Millie. She cleanses the house, for example. Millie respects the significance of this ritual.

There’s a brief mention of Millie’s conversation with Babushka, an elderly palm reader she knew in Mississippi. Millie never had her palm read, but the woman seemed to see into her soul and tell Millie things she needed to hear.

Violent Content
Rumors spread about a traveling man and his connection to two murders. When the man begins working for Bump, Millie fears for their safety. Millie learns about the night her grandmother was violently attacked and her grandfather killed. Two men get into a fist fight. A man is killed by a mountain lion. Millie witnesses the attack and others come with her to recover the man’s remains.

Drug Content
Millie remembers how damaging morphine use was to her mother.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Author Interview with Jeff Wheeler

Author Interview, News and Fun, , ,

Author Jeff Wheeler joins us today to talk about his new Kingfountain Series. If you missed my review of The Queen’s Poisoner, the first book in the series, you can check it out here.

About Jeff Wheeler

Jeff took an early retirement from his career at Intel in 2014 to become a full-time author. He is, most importantly, a husband and father, a devout member of his church, and is occasionally spotted roaming hills with oak trees and granite boulders in California or in any number of the state’s majestic redwood groves. He is also one of the founders of Deep Magic: the E-zine of Clean Fantasy and Science Fiction.

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Author Interview with Jeff Wheeler

A story is often inspired by a question. What question inspired you to write The Queen’s Poisoner?

If a parent had to choose one of their children to die, who would they pick? I know it’s an awful-sounding question and being a parent of five kids myself, it would certainly be an anguishing experience. But it was also a thought that I believed would instantly help my readers connect with Owen Kiskaddon and his family. Even though they are from a different world full of magic and secrets, at its heart this is a story about families and how it can tug at your heart strings.

It’s definitely a tough question, but I think you’re right – it does help connect us to the story and to Owen. The best stories wrestle with hard questions. Was there anything about The Queen’s Poisoner that came as a surprise to you as you were writing it? Something that emerged unexpectedly?

Absolutely and the surprise was an eight year-old girl named Elysabeth Victoria Mortimer. When I had originally dreamed up this story several years ago, she wasn’t part of the cast. Normally I get to learn about my characters over time as they stew inside my brain and are slowly developed. She struck my imagination like a lightning bolt, an Athena bursting from Zeus’ head. She absolutely changed the story and added to several poignant scenes. It was she who taught her friend Owen how to be brave.

How cool! I liked her from the moment she stepped into scene. It’s hard to imagine The Queen’s Poisoner without her. What do you most hope that readers take away from the story?

It’s my hope from all my books, and especially this one, that a story can be exciting, suspenseful, emotional, and profound without relying on provocative sex scenes, strong language, or graphic violence. I think some readers are even more cautious now about picking up a new book for fear of what mature themes are going to be inside. I want parents and grandparents as well as younger folk to enjoy reading all my stories. Literature is more interesting when people share it with each other and talk about it. It shouldn’t just be a guilty pleasure.

That’s a great take-away, and obviously something near and dear to my heart here at The Story Sanctuary. And you’re right – emotional power doesn’t have to come from violence, profanity and graphic sex. You’ve certainly proved it in your novel. What’s your favorite moment in The Queen’s Poisoner? What makes it so special?

It’s the ending, which I don’t want to spoil for the readers, so don’t worry, I won’t. I really like trying to be unpredictable and weaving things into my stories that make a reader stay up to all hours of the night trying to finish it. It needs to deliver something unexpected but also an emotional payoff. This book doesn’t end on a cliffhanger but I believe with a moving resolution that plays out like a beautiful piano chord at the end of an especially intense crescendo. It made it so that the book stands all on its own even though there are sequels.

I love that. It’s definitely important to me as a reader that a story has a satisfying ending, even if there are bits left unresolved and making me desperate for the sequel. Let’s talk about your readers. What is one question about your writing that you are often asked by readers?

When is your next book coming out? I get asked this a lot, even though I’ve been publishing three books a year and try to have a short window in between them. I get that folks love to binge read and it’s great having loyal fans who anticipate new novels and jump in as soon as they are released. I wish I could write as fast as they can read!

Ha! That’s great – definitely shows you’re doing something right. 🙂 I know for me, being a writer has changed how I read things. Do you do a lot of reading? Is there an up-and-coming author you’re following with interest right now? Can you tell us about an author or novel you think deserves a greater spotlight?

I’m not a big sci fi reader, but one of my fans pointed me to Josi Russell’s novel Caretaker and I really enjoyed it. It’s the story of a space ship bound to a distant planet for colonization. But the ship’s ‘Caretaker’ dies and the computer chooses a man to fill his shoes who hasn’t been trained for that kind of role. It meets my definition of a clean read (no sex, swearing, or graphic violence) and it had the kind of Virtus plot that really appeals to me (a few years ago I wrote a blog called “A Manifesto on Virtue” and talked about the Roman concept of Virtus). Caretaker was a great read and I’m looking forward to more from this author.

Sounds like a great story – and I appreciate the recommendation for a clean read! What are you most looking forward to reading next?

Charlie Holmberg’s newest novel Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet. I love all of Charlie’s books and I got an early peek at the first six chapters putting together the first issue of my resurrected e-zine Deep Magic. Folks are in for a “treat” with this one (pun intended…the story is about magical baked goods)

Yum! That sounds like a lot of fun. I’ve had Holmberg’s The Paper Magician on my reading list for some time. I love the sound of this latest book, too.

Thanks for joining us today and taking time to share a little more about your writing and reading. I look forward to more of the Kingfountain Series. I’m excited that book two is already out.

Review: The Queen’s Poisoner by Jeff Wheeler

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

The Queen’s Poisoner
Jeff Wheeler
47North

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When his father betrays a dangerous king, Owen is forced to leave his family and live in the castle as a hostage to ensure his family’s loyalty. If his father’s loyalty falters again, Owen will be cast into the river to die, as his eldest brother was. As the youngest son of the Duke of Kiskaddon, Owen is alone in a castle full of spies. To survive, he must discover allies and prove himself valuable to the king.

The storyworld in The Queen’s Poisoner was simple yet vivid and believable. I loved the way water factored into the lore and traditions of the kingdom. Someone with a special ability is said to be Fountain-blessed. Traitors are sent over the waterfall to their deaths. Even the simple addition of the game of Wizr (a chess-like game) and how it factored into the story as a framework for Owen learning strategy added deeper layers to the story.

Owen is immediately likeable and fascinating. I definitely wanted him to survive. I loved his friends, from the cook Liona to the poisoner Ankarrette to the loquacious Elysabeth Victoria Mortimer. Wheeler describes The Queen’s Poisoner as the first book he’s written from a boy’s perspective. Though the adult characters played very strong roles (as the title indicates, in many ways Ankarrette is the heroine of the tale,) the story still centered around Owen’s point-of-view and his growing understanding of the world around him.

I’m often nervous reading books by authors as prolific as Jeff Wheeler. Sometimes books being published so closely together means the writing feels rushed or the story underdeveloped. I didn’t sense that at all in this story. I felt like the voice was developed and the writing was very clean and enjoyable. I would definitely recommend this story and would love to read other books in the Kingfountain series.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
The king executes traitors by tying them up in a boat and sending it over a waterfall. About one in one hundred people survive. Executions are often public, and Owen attends one.

Drug Content
The queen’s poisoner is educated in how to use medicines and poisons to help or hurt people. She gives Owen a tea to help strengthen his lungs, but she has used poisons in the past to kill at the command of the king.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Review: Ophelia Adrift by Helen Goltz

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

Ophelia Adrift
Helen Goltz
Atlas Productions

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Newly orphaned, Ophelia Montague moves to the coast to live with her uncle. She soon finds her feet among the locals and takes on a history project learning about shipwrecks in the area. She meets Jack by the sea one night and falls deeply in love with him. Jack feels drawn to Ophelia, too, by a powerful force outside his control. He longs to be with her, but fears she may destroy him if she comes too close. Ophelia doesn’t understand the secrets Jack carries. She only knows she wants to be with him. When Jack reveals the cost of being with him, the price may prove too high for Ophelia to pay, and it may be too late for her to escape.

I liked that the story switches to a lot of different points of view. We see some scenes from Ophelia perspective, others from Jack’s, and still others from Adam or Holly’s viewpoint. I liked the way this drew the focus of the story onto the different relationships in Ophelia’s life rather than letting it be completely swallowed by her obsession with Jack.

The romance between Jack and Ophelia is definitely a dominant force in the tale. I found it a little hard to swallow the strength of their passion for each other because it didn’t seem to have much of a base. Why does she like him? Because she does. Why does he like her? Because they’re soul mates. It was kind of just supposed to be something readers never question. I kept waiting for there to be some revelation about a connection between Ophelia and Jack’s ancestors or something like that. Something that gave reason for the “meant to be” idea.

In the ARC version that I read, there are quite a few copy errors. Sometimes two sentences would be separated by a comma. In the grand scheme of things, it’s not a huge error, but things like that tend to trip me up. They may be fixed before the final version is released, though.

In reading some of the author’s notes about the story, I was excited to learn that the shipwreck mentioned in the tale did really happen, and many of the details about the sailors themselves were pulled from records about the real men aboard the vessel. I found it fascinating to have that bit of history pulled into the contemporary story. It definitely added some intrigue and made me want to learn more about shipwrecks.

Also – I loved coming across the various places mentioned in the Australia setting. Until recently, I worked for a company that creates 3D city models, and we had modeled many of the sites mentioned in the story. So that was kind of a cool thing for me that even though I’d never been to those places, I could visualize some of them from our models.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Intense kissing. Ophelia offers herself to her boyfriend, but he responds telling her that she will only share his bed when she is his wife. Adam receives a young woman into his room while wearing only boxers. No details about what happens after, though Ophelia wonders vaguely.

Spiritual Content
Ophelia believes she’s encountered a ghost and does some online research as to whether that could be true. One thing she learns is that (according to her research) if the ghost only partially appears and is missing some part of himself, then it may be a demon rather than a ghost she’s seeing.

Violent Content
Two of the local boys wind up in a fist fight over an old family feud. Ophelia researches records of shipwrecks in the area and learns about some of the sailor’s deaths at sea. A few of these instances are described in some detail.

Drug Content
None.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Review: 10 Steps to Girlfriend Status by Cynthia Toney

Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

10 Steps to Girlfriend Status (Bird Face #2)
Cynthia Toney
Write Integrity Press

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While visiting an elderly neighbor, Wendy stumbles onto a family secret about a forbidden romance from her grandmother’s generation. Wendy investigates further, but her snooping only seems to create more trouble. Her visits to her neighbor, Mrs. V, land her in trouble with her hopefully-soon-to-be boyfriend, David, when he sees her with Mrs. V’s grandson. Having Alice for a new stepsister was supposed to be fun, but Alice withdraws, barely speaking to Wendy. And even her friend Gayle seems distant. Solving the mystery of what happened to the forbidden couple might soothe Wendy’s curiosity, but it will take more than that to patch up the other relationships in her life.

I enjoyed Wendy as a narrator in the first book, 8 Notes to a Nobody, and was excited to jump back into her quirky mind in this story, too. At fourteen, her latest project is making herself David’s girlfriend. As she pursues a relationship with him—it’s all clean, innocent things—she learns that relationships require more than holding hands and going out on Saturday nights. Respect and trust are essential, as is a basis of friendship. The story unfolds naturally. There’s no moment in which a preachy adult or friend hands Wendy the pearls of wisdom or beats her over the head with them. Everything happens as Wendy’s own discoveries about herself and the world around her. I really appreciated this and thought it was nicely done. I also liked that Wendy doesn’t pursue David using her body or emotional manipulation.

I liked that in the midst of all these other things—investigating the past, learning about changes in Mrs. V’s life, pursuing a relationship with her first boyfriend—Wendy is learning to adjust to her new blended family. When Wendy learns that her mom and new stepdad want her to wait until she’s a little older to date, she struggles with this news. Not only is she disappointed, but she feels like her new stepdad is overstepping his bounds, and worries that her mom may not stand up for what she wants and believes and will let her stepdad run the show. They have a long talk about it, one that I felt like was pretty realistic. Everyone articulates his or her side well, even if they don’t all agree. Blending two families isn’t an easy adjustment for anyone, and while it doesn’t dominate the story, I appreciated that it was an element included. I liked that it was a functional version of what blending families can be. We often see the dysfunctional versions in literature, so I was glad to see smart adults making good calls but again, not driving the story or taking over the scenes. Wendy remained the protagonist and the truth-seeker throughout the entire story.

For late elementary and middle school readers, this is a light, fun story that introduces relationships on a lot of different levels: Wendy’s mentoring/grandparent-like relationship with Mrs. V; the changes in her relationships with her new stepfamily; her relationships with Sam and David. The forbidden relationship in Wendy’s past explores an interracial relationship, and the challenges faced by the two in a generation much less tolerant than today. The details about that struggle are brief and vague, but the story definitely communicates that this was a big challenge for a couple of that time period. Toney does an excellent job introducing deep topics like this in a way that makes them accessible to younger readers but maintains a light story.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Wendy really wants David to be her boyfriend. In her mind, there are ten steps she’ll need to complete in order to make this happen. As the story unfolds, she mentally checks off the steps. They are things like meeting his family, and eating lunch together.

There is one brief kiss on the lips.

Spiritual Content
Wendy and David’s families attend church.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
None.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Review: To Get to You by Joanne Bischof

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Christian World-View, Clean Fiction, Contemporary, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

To Get to You
Joanne Bischof
Mason Jar Books

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When Becca’s dad is involved in a serious accident, Riley vows to do whatever he can to help her. As her family packs up their motor home and takes off to be with her dad, he watches helplessly as she leaves him behind. A call asking for help is all it takes to send Riley on a journey after her. But then his car breaks down and Riley finds himself stranded with only one option: to call the father who abandoned him for fortune and fame as a pro surfer. Determined not to let his dad back into his life, Riley plans on keeping his head down and focusing on what matters: making it to Becca’s side. But the long journey isn’t without its own ups and downs, and Riley has to admit that there’s more to his dad than he wanted to credit him with. The two hammer out their differences as they cross state lines, making their way toward Becca’s family and the girl Riley hopes to make his future with.

At first, I wasn’t sure I’d like this book. The pro surfer thing didn’t really resonate with me, and I worried that it would be kind of too feel-good or obnoxiously clean or something. While the writing is very clean, I found the story to be largely authentic. I liked that Riley finds value in Becca and wants to protect her, even from things he thought were okay in his own past. Honestly, I liked Riley, period. I liked his dad and Saul, too. I thought Saul made a great third wheel and really brought some humor and warmth to the story in some of its harder moments.

I loved that Riley connected with not only Becca but her larger family, too. In my own life, my parents were kind of those sort of people, where our home was a place our friends liked to be, and their connections went beyond my sister and me to include my parents as well. That model definitely resonates with me as an authentic expression of Christianity, so I enjoyed that part of To Get to You, even though it was a smaller, less central element.

Overall I found this book to be a great clean read with a strong spiritual center. It’s the first time I’ve read anything by Joanne Bischof, but I’d definitely read other novels she’s written. To Get to You is a 2016 Christy Award finalist, an honor I think is well-deserved.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Riley makes some oblique references to his past dating experience, stating that he probably owes some girls an apology. We never get specific details about what happened, but we definitely sense his shame and how foreign Becca’s family’s strict rules are.

Spiritual Content
Riley has a mentoring relationship with a local pastor who holds him accountable. Riley thinks a lot about wanting to treat Becca right according to the guidelines her conservative Christian parents set for her.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
Brief references to the fact that Riley used to smoke.

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