TNT Tour -- Lost In Dreams

ABOUT THE BOOK:

From the moment eighteen-year-old Kim Hartlinger steps off the plane from a mission trip to a remote Mexican village, her journey takes a turn for the worse. As she collides with the biggest challenge of her young life--and faith--Kim struggles with haunting questions and recurring nightmares...all while trying to hide a deep, dark secret. Will Kim find the hope and healing she needs? Or is her broken spirit beyond repair?






ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Roger Bruner worked as a teacher, job counselor, and programmer analyst before retiring at sixty-two to pursue his dream of writing Christian fiction full-time. The first two novels in his young adult Altered Hearts series, Found in Translation and Lost in Dreams, will come out in 2011. He's negotiating with Barbour Publishing to extend the series by at least an additional two books. A guitarist and songwriter, he is active in his church's choir, praise team, and nursing home ministry. Roger also enjoys reading, photography, web design, mission trips, and spending time with his wonderful wife, Kathleen, and their two cantankerous cats.

 You can learn more about Roger on his site, www.rogerbruner.com.



A General Review:

The Review:
My Ranking: 8 out of 10
Ages 14 & up

Having read Lost In Translation, I was was excited to dive into the next book in the series, Lost In Dreams, and continue Kim's story. I absolutely loved the first book and knew if Lost In Dreams kept up the pace, these authors would find themselves in my favorites list. Sadly, I didn't find this one quite as good as it's prequel, but I still enjoyed it.

In this book, something tragic happens to Kim and she blames it all on herself. While I did find it a bit unrealistic how much the blamed herself for the accident which obviously had little to do with her, it did not hinder me from enjoying the story.

The rivalry between Jo and Aleesha was interesting, though. I fell in love with Aleesha in the first book, while Jo annoyed me, so I was kinda partial when I picked up the second book. But those two were hilarious. The way they bickered made me chuckle and I loved the scenes where they were arguing over Kim.

All around, this was a good book and I recommend it. While not a heart-stopping thriller that will keep you gripping the pages into the wee hours of night, I did like this book and will definitely be looking out for more of Bruner's works.

Team Novel Teen is a group of bloggers dedicated to spreading the word about clean teen fiction. Check out other posts about Lost in Dreams by Roger Bruner by clicking on the links below, and check out www.NovelTeen.com for more information about Team Novel Teen.

The Librarian’s Bookshelf â€¢ Rachelle Rea â€¢ The Book Fae  â€¢ My Life with a Mission  â€¢ Katie McCurdy  â€¢ Katy’s Reviews â€¢ Reviews by Jane  â€¢ Jill Williamson

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The Soldier's Cross by Abigail J. Hartman

Hey readers! First off, let me apologize for my lack of presence here lately. My computer has recently decided it is not going to be alive anymore and has keeled over and is practically dead. Yep it's very sad. Anyone here a computer doctor...?
Okay so anyway, while I'm in the process of getting a new computer, my posts might be kinda sporadic. Yep it's pretty sad. I'm utterly devastated. And that on top of the fact that I am going to South Carolina for a week on Saturday to help my aunt who recently had her fourth child equals out to be me not here practically at all for the next week. [insert picture of me crying here]

 So after tomorrow, where I have a product review and giveaway, and also author interview and giveaway going up, and maybe some pictures too, I will be absent for a good week and a half or so. I will miss you, my faithful readers, oh so much! So, enjoy this post and tomorrows! :)

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A.D. 1415 Fiona's world is a carefully built castle in the air, made up of the fancies, wishes, and memories of her childhood. It begins to crumble as she watches her brother march away to join in the English invasion of France. It falls to pieces when he is brought home dead. 


Robbed of the one dearest to her and alone in the world, Fiona turns to her brother's silver cross in search of the peace he said it would bring. But when she finds it missing, she swears she will have it and sets out on a journey across the Channel and war-ravaged France to regain it and find the peace it carries.






The Review:
Ranking: 8 out of 10 stars
Ages 12 & up



The Soldier’s Cross was a neat book filled with great lessons and interesting historical facts. While not the adventure, suspense, or action-packed novel that I usually like, I found myself taking pleasure in reading through Fiona’s journey of finding her deceased brother’s valued cross. \

This book was not necessarily realistic by any means – the girl often travels alone and at night, and the fact that she wasn’t set upon by bandits or the like was extremely surprising and not likely for that time – or any time for that matter. But it did not really effect the story for me – I still really enjoyed it!

 My favorite part of the story was when Fiona became a maid, but I won’t say anymore because I don’t want to give away too much! But I loved the whole time she was in the household – it was such a neat part of the book and I loved the characters introduced.

What intrigued me most was that this book was not written by an adult, but a girl only year or so younger than myself! I was so encouraged and inspired by her -- way to go Abigail! That is quite an accomplishment! ;)

Sensuality:


Fiona is appalled at something a soldier says about her being able to pay with something other than money, and there is a scene towards when a man says Fiona was set upon inappropriately by another man in excuse for his actions(not true in a sensual manner – he was trying to rob her), but it was not explained any further. 


Violence:


There was minor violence included in this book, including fights(both with weapons and fists), resulting in a minorly detailed cut on a man’s face and the death of another man. 


 All in all, this was an awesome book and I was amazed it was written by such a young author! Take time to go visit this young girl’s blog and learn about her – she has a great site and is an amazing writer. Stop by and leave a note or purchase her book here!

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Blog Tour - How Huge The Night

BLOG TOUR:
How Huge The Night by Heather and Lydia Munn


Fifteen-year-old Julien Losier just wants to fit in. But after his family
moves to a small village in central France in hopes of outrunning the
Nazis, he is suddenly faced with bigger challenges than the taunting of
local teens.

Nina Krenkel left her country to obey her father’s dying command: Take your brother and leave Austria. Burn your papers. Tell no one you are Jews. Alone and on the run, she arrives in Tanieux, France, dangerously ill and in despair.

Thrown together by the chaos of war, Julien begins to feel the terrible
weight of the looming conflict and Nina fights to survive. As France fallsto the Nazis, Julien struggles with doing what is right, even if it is not enough—and wonders whether or not he really can save Nina from almost certain death.

Based on the true story of the town of Le Chambon—the only French town honored by Israel for rescuing Jews from the Holocaust—How Huge the Night is a compelling, coming-of-age drama that will keep teens turning the pages as it teaches them about a fascinating period of history and inspires them to think more deeply about their everyday choices.







The Review:
My Ranking: `9 out of 10
Ages: 16 & up

I've always loved learning about WWII, and my favorite way to learn is through fictional books based off of true events: so when I saw and looked into How Huge The Night, I knew if it had great characters and was well written I would love it. Love it I did! From page one, I was drawn into this remarkable, unique, and informative story about the impact of the war on several different young-adult characters. The writing style was easy to read and flowed quite nicely. 


One thing that I found interesting was that Nina and Julien are actually together for a very short amount of time. In fact, the don't even meet each other until the last 75 pages of the 300 page book. While it didn't really bug me, I did find it didn't sync with the back-cover description much, but it didn't affect how much I enjoyed this book. :)

Out of all of them, Julian was my favorite of the characters, which ia strange because he also was the main character and usually my favorite is a secondary character. I'm not sure exactly what made him my favorite, he just was. I looked forward more to reading Julian's scenes rather than Nina's. I felt I could connect more with Julian, as I could see more into his feelings, struggles, etc, while Nina was harder for me to get to know. In fact, I think Giovanni should have been the second main character, as I was able to connect more with him and, frankly, liked him more. 

I almost had the feeling that Nina was kinda a baby. While I sympathize with her situation, it was part of what made it hard to connect with her. She seemed to be such a strong character at the beginning, but then totally changed and broke down. I totally believe this to simply be my preference, and in no way condemn their writing because of it - it was just something that I noticed.

Two other characters that I really enjoyed were Pierre and Benjamin. I think Pierre was my second favorite character - I absolutely loved him and looked forward to reading the next scene that included him. Benjamin was an awesome add - a Jew hiding with Julian's family. I loved getting glimpses of what it might have been like for the hideaway Jews. 

As for content, there is little to tell except one part that, while historically realistic, prohibited me from handing it to my 13 year old brother. A stranger tells Nina and her brother he'll help her but Nina, who is crippled and is riding piggyback on the mans back, thinks the mans hands were not so supportive under her legs, but feeling. Barely escaping(but with no further description of what she thinks he will do to her), she and her brother continue their journey. Later, Nina mentions how they barely escaped a man who wanted to rape her.
I was actually disappointed by this add-in, and wished it had been left out. The history in this book was wonderful, but unfortunetly none of my brothers will be able to enjoy and learn from this book any time soon.

All in all, this was an excellent book that I absolutely loved. The only thing that kept it from receiving 10 stars was the lack of connection between the reader and Nina and also the added content that made it impossible for me to hand it down as a historical book to my brothers. Other than that, I absolutely LOVED this book! I wouldn't consider it a rereadable, but I definitely do not regret putting this book down and highly encourage it to all older teenagers who love to learn history and life lessons. 


I received this free book in return for an honest review from KregelPublishers. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

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Sir Quinlan and the Swords of Valor

Two friends face the Dark Knight’s deadliest scheme, but only one knight has the courage to overcome.

Sir Quinlan leaves his boyhood friend to serve the Prince, fighting a battle darker and more intense than any he’s ever known. The mysterious Sir Baylor recruits him into the ranks of an elite unit of knights known as the Swords of Valor, but when tragedy strikes and everyone blames Quinlan, the Swords of Valor disband, ending a legacy of heroic deeds.

Alone and despairing, Quinlan wanders the kingdom, fleeing his past. His providential encounter with Taras, a mysterious Silent Warrior and former trainer of Valor Knights, offers Quinlan a chance to redeem himself and learn the ways of the secret warriors.

The training is grueling, and just when Quinlan seems to have left his failures behind, he receives an impossible challenge from the Prince—one that will force him to face his past…and the mighty men who blame him for the tragedy that ruined them.

Can Quinlan reunite the Valor Knights in time to save the people from the Dark Knight’s evil plot to rule the Kingdom of Arrethtrae, or will the Valor Knights lose the most important battle of all?



The Review
My Ranking: 10 out of 10
Ages 10 & up

I have read several books by Chuck Black and absolutely LOVE his books, so I was extremely excited to receive Sir Quinlan in the mail. Eagerly, I dove into it, expecting a great adventure. I was not disappointed! Sir Quinlan actually may be my favorite of his books that I've read so far! Granted, I have not read many(only the handful I have been able to get my hands on), but this book was exceptional.

Black's writing style is so easy to read - as soon as I finished Sir Quinlan I passed it to my 10 year old brother, knowing he would be able to fully understand and enjoy it. He's vivid and I love his style - so easy to comprehend! :) I felt as if I were diving into the land of Arrethrae...something only skilled authors can make me do.

Quinlan was just awesome. I absolutely loved this character who was a bit timid about himself. After blaming himself for a tragic event, Quinlan no longer thinks he is worthy to serve the Prince. He struggles to except who he is and understand that the Prince has called him, and he must put aside his lingering doubts and self-pity and except who he is. I related to this character in so many ways. I loved all of his quirks and characteristics - I know that if I met Quinlan in person he would be one my closest friends.

The lessons in Black's books are always excellent, and this one wasn't any different. One of my favorite parts was when Taras was beginning his training with Quinlan...

Lesson 1: Know who you are.
Lesson 2: Know who you want to become. 


What an excellent piece of advice! Something a lot of people should hear and acknowledge. And that was only a small thing that really stood out to me personally. There were so many other lessons in these books - they're just awesome!

Content wise...the best thing about these books is there is absolutely NOTHING in them. Awesome, no?
Struggling to find something, the only thing I could come up with is some mildly violent scenes where people are sword fighting - but nothing gorey or anything.

To conclude, these are amazing books that I couldn't recommend more. They would make excellent family or individual reads. Definitely keep your eye out for these - you won't want to miss them!

I received this free book in return for an honest review from Waterbrook Multnomah publishing group. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

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Litfuse Blog Tour - A Trail Of Ink

An excellent medieval whodunit by the author of The Unquiet Bones and A Corpse at St Andrew's Chapel

Some valuable books have been stolen from Master John Wyclif, the well known scholar and Bible translator. He calls upon his friend and former pupil, Hugh de Singleton, to investigate. Hugh's investigation leads him to Oxford where he again encounters Kate, the only woman who has tempted him to leave bachelor life behind, but Kate has another serious suitor. As Hugh's pursuit of Kate becomes more successful, mysterious accidents begin to occur. Are these accidents tied to the missing books, or to his pursuit of Kate?

One of the stolen books turns up alongside the drowned body of a poor Oxford scholar. Another accident? Hugh certainly doesn t think so, but it will take all of his surgeon s skills to prove.

So begins another delightful and intriguing tale from the life of Hugh de Singleton, surgeon in the medieval village of Bampton. Masterfully researched by medieval scholar Mel Starr, the setting of the novel can be visited and recognized in modern-day England. Enjoy more of Hugh s dry wit, romantic interests, evolving faith, and dogged determination as he pursues his third case as bailiff of Bampton.

Purchase the book here.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Mel Starr was born and grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan. After graduating with a MA in history from Western Michigan University in 1970, he taught history in Michigan public schools for thirty-nine years, thirty-five of those in Portage, MI, where he retired in 2003 as chairman of the social studies department of Portage Northern High School. Mel and his wife, Susan, have two daughters and seven grandchildren.  www.melstarr.org

A FUN CONTEST!

Kregel Publishers is graciously donating a $50 Amazon.com gift card for the Litfuse Blog Tour Contest! Woo-hoo (thanks Kregel!) All you have to do to enter is either tweet (see TWEET THIS below) or share the book on Facebook using this link: http://www.amazon.com/Trail-Ink-Chronicle-Singleton-Surgeon/dp/1854249746/ref=sprightly-20

TWEET THIS: A Trail of Ink by Mel Star. An excellent medieval whodunit. RT for a chance to win a $50 GC to @amazon! http://ow.ly/45c2k #litfuse

• (and be sure to use the hashtag #litfuse to be entered into Amazon.com gift certificate drawing and no need to email that you tweeted - we'll be able to track it via the hashtag.)

FACEBOOK THIS: A Trail of Ink by Mel Star. An excellent medieval whodunit. Share on your wall for a chance to win a $50 GC to @amazon! http://ow.ly/45c2k

• (email info@litfusegroup.com to let us know you 'shared'.)

Check out the tour page HERE!

The Review:
My Ranking: 7 out of 10
Ages: 13 & up

A Trail Of Ink, the third chronicle of Hugh de Singleton, surgeon was my first book by Mel Starr. I love medieval fiction and also mysteries, so when I learned that this had both I was eager to dive into it. While this isn't an action filled, intense suspense, it was still a pleasant read. It reminded me of a few of Agatha Christie's Professor Periot mysteries books in the way it read, though the mysteries in Christie's are way more intense and gripping. The medieval language took me a bit to get used to but after about 5 chapters I was reading it with ease.

Hugh's character was witty and caring, and the type of man I would enjoy associating with. While he took his job seriously, I appreciated the somewhat funny remarks he made on occasion.
Perhaps it is because I haven't read the previous two books, but I was left wondering what the characters look like. It did allow me to use my imagination which I liked somewhat, but I didn't even know how old he was. The same was for all the characters. With Kate, the girl Hugh fancies, all I know is that she's mind-blowingly beautiful. I wanted to know what color hair and eyes she had but was left to come to my own conclusions. While this did not cause me to enjoy the book any less, I was wondering throughout the book what the characters looked like.

The romance between Hugh and Kate was very sweet, proper, and not excessive. I found myself smiling at some of their conversations. They were a perfect couple! I did long to know more about them both, but I suppose that's what I get for reading the third book in the series first. ;)

As for content, there was nothing at all! After thinking for a while, the only thing I could think of to mention is that Kate is very beautiful and Hugh notices many men attracted to her. Other than that, there wasn't even a kiss! Very clean. There was some mild gore but it was very minimal. As a surgeon, Hugh had to set a a broken collar bone, find out of a corpse they found in the river really drowned or if it was foul play, and inspect a man with a few knife wounds. Nothing is really graphic or anything. I wasn't out of ease at all.

All in all, this was a good, simple, story set in medieval times. If you are looking for an action-pact suspense or a surprise ending or anything, this book won't amount - but if you are looking for an interesting story with some mild mystery, this is a book for you!

I received this free book in return for an honest review from Litfuse Publicity. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

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