Lynn Austin

Dear Readers,

I really like Lynn Austin's books. I think I have them all read now, including her newest, Though Waters Roar.

What do you do when your Great-grandmother hid runaway slaves, your grandmother fought for prohibition and woman's suffrage and you yourself have just been thrown in jail for running liquor? Harriet is going to have lots of time to think about it as she is in jail and refuses to call anyone to come bail her out.

What comes out for us is a good and interesting read. I personally could really relate to Harriet's character. She struggled to fit in with her own family. Her mother and sister were caught up in all the girly things of the time. Tea parties with the ladies, shopping and just generally being refined. Harriet on the other hand vowed to never marry and certainly never have children. She was described as plain, with a good head on her shoulders. That isn't really what a girl of that time would like to hear if she was looking for a suitable mate.

Instead Harriet wants to follow in her grandmother's footsteps and help change the world. I kept things of the line "good girls don't change the world." It wasn't that Harriet wanted to get arrested, but she didn't find that her grandmother had gotten arrested several times as a bad thing.

This is really a fun book to read. It is set in a time of America's history that not many books are written about. I also have to admit that I kept thinking of the mother in Mary Poppins movie who is fighting for the woman's suffrage movement. She is a bit shallow and thankfully the grandmother seems to be much more level headed, but it is kind of funny. (Watch the movie to get a good idea of what I mean. :-)

Just a reminder, Lynn will be in our store on Sept, 19th from 10 - 12. If your book clubs are interested in coming let me know, otherwise just come and have Breakfast with Lynn.

Happy Reading

T.L. Higley

Dear Readers,

Ok I have to admit when I first heard about this series I wasn't sure how well it would do or if I would even like it. I had read a couple of T.L. Higley's other books and they were ok, but in the Seven Wonders series she seems to be perfecting her craft. Her characters are much more 3 dimensional and the stories read less like a history lesson.

Guardian of the Flame is the 3rd of the series and the 2nd one I read. The one I missed, number 2, is City of the Dead and set during the time of the construction of the Pyramids. I was just handed a copy of that one today and will be reading it soon.

Guardian is set in Egypt again only in Alexandria and centers on the lighthouse that was built there in 250 BC. It stood guard over the harbor, guiding ships in through the harbor reefs and shallows. Sophia is the guardian of the lighthouse, making sure that the flame never goes out. She is seen by the people of Alexandria to be cruel, unloving and someone that you just don't want to meet. She seldom leaves the lighthouse and pretty much keeps to herself. As you read her story, you come to understand that she is just trying to protect herself from more hurt. That is until her past student, Cleopatra, returns to the city to reclaim the crown that her brother has stolen from her.

At the same time Julius Caesar arrives in Alexandria to seek repayment of a debt long over due. The city is in turmoil, and Caesar orders one of his platoons to take over the control of the Lighthouse so their fleets will be guaranteed safe passage into the harbor. Bellus is not thrilled with his new orders, but knows that he deserves much worse for how poorly his soldiers did in the battle for the city. Sophia has meet her match in Bellus and for some reason finds herself drawn more and more to him.

This is an action packed book. The battle for Alexandria kept my attention because of all the political intrigue that is involved. Keeping all the Egyptian names straight did prove to be a bit of a challenge, but didn't take away from the story at all. I loved the history of it all and I did learn stuff that I didn't know before. Which is always interesting. I think that the next four books of this series will prove just as interesting and am looking forward to the chance to read them.

Happy Reading
Chris

P.S. I did do a review of Shadow of Colossus back when it was released in Oct. If you didn't get that one or don't remember it, you can go to my blog to view it. bbhfiction.blogspot.com. Just scroll down to reviews by author on the right hand side and find T.L. Higley. If you click on that one it will bring it right up.

MItchell Bonds

Dear Readers,

I always have a few people asking for teen books. Hero, Second Class by Mitchell Bonds is written for teens, but I can think of several adults that will probably like this book also. It is a fun and very sarcastic book, which does make it different than most books I have read. The sole reason I picked this book up was because Eric Wilson recommended it on Amazon reviews. I had just finished his Haunt of Jackels and was wondering about it. What made me look for it at all was I received a letter about it getting nominated for an award, which I can't remember now. Well I am very glad that I did read it.

This is not a typically Christian novel. It is almost just plain silly, but it is not light, but sarcastic. Which I do understand won't be for everyone, but I did think that maybe readers of the Harry Potter books might like as Harry can have its very sarcastic moments.

This books starts with a battle between Villain Voshtyr Demonkin and the Hero Crimson Slash. Voshtyr is trying to conquer the world and is setting his evil plan in to action. The problem is he didn't plan on a Hero being in the palace that he has attacked. Crimson Slash was just enjoying a meal with the king and happens to be in the right place at the right time.

Shortly after that we meet Cyrus who is soon to be an Hero apprentice. He passes the Hero tryouts with flying colors and soon is apprenticed to the Crimson Slash. He has always dreamed of becoming a Hero, just like his dad.

What follows is a interesting story where Heroes pay dues to the Hero's Guild and Villains are restricted to one eclipse of the sun per month. There are rules about being a Hero, like a Hero must always rescue a damsel in distress and a dragon must capture damsels and hold them hostage until their families pay the ransom. Villains also belong to a Guild and are regulated by rules also, but they don't always play by the rules and of course the worst of all is Voshtyr Demonkin.

I wasn't sure what to expect, the author is only 20 years old and started this book as a short story. Amazingly his short story turned into 600 pages. They are all well worth it. It is also very much a book #1 in a series. You will be able to tell, but I am not telling why as it gives some of the story away.

For me I was completely sold on the story when I read the first paragraph of the 1st chapter. I have included it just to give you a good idea what the book is like. "Once upon a Time in a faraway kingdom, there lived an old man and his wife. They had no children, and the old man prayed every day that he and his wife would have a son. This story has absolutely nothing to do with them." Does that help you understand why I liked it?

Seriously though, I am pretty sure that most teenage boys will like this book and there will probably be several girls that will like it also. If you yourself are looking for something just a bit off, this is a wonderful read for that.

Happy Reading

Jennifer Erin Valent

Dear Readers,

Cottonwood Whispers by Jennifer Erin Valent is the sequel to Fireflies in December. I am never sure about a sequel by a new author, with great delight I can tell you this is a good one.

Our favorite nosy 13 year old is now turning 17 and getting ready for her last year of school. Jessilyn is facing many strange and different things. One of them being that her best friend Gemma is not acting like herself, which really annoys Jessilyn. Also, maybe now Luke will notice her as a woman and not just a bothersome girl.

When a neighborhood child is hit and killed, Jessilyn is beside herself with grief, and when the sheriff seems to arrest the wrong person, she is determined to prove that he is wrong.

I think the thing I liked about Jessilyn is she really does struggle with her faith. Nothing is clear cut for her and she doesn't believe just because her parents and best friend believe. Which does cause her a bit of stress because she knows that it hurts her mother and yet it doesn't force her to believe something she just doesn't find true. It makes for an interesting dynamic of the story that you don't always find in an historical story.

This is a nice and simple story. I don't mean it wasn't good, just not a hard read. I had a 6 hour bus ride to a white water rafting trip and I was able to read the book on that. It wasn't any problem staying in the story, which is always a good thing. So if you haven't read Fireflies yet, do that first and then finish off the summer reading season with a good read.

Happy Reading

Paul McCusker and Walt Larimore

Dear Readers,

I don't really know what I expected from this book, but I really enjoyed it. TSI: the Gabon Virus, by Paul McCusker and Walt Larimore is a suspense/action/end of the world type book. Not like the Left Behind books, but it is a race against the spread of a pandemic that starts in Africa. The TSI, Time Scene Investigators, scramble to find the cure.

Back in 1666, the tiny village of Eyam is almost completely wiped out by the Black Plague. They willingly cut themselves off from the world to stop the spread of the disease.

Mark Carlson is not sure he is ready to handle the medical emergency that has just been handed him. He carries a lot of emotional baggage. When the calls start coming he knows he has no choice and flies to joining TSI in England to help find the cure for a disease that seems to kill most of its victims in minutes after exposure.

As Mark and his team try to come up with answers, they begin to think the village of Eyam may contain the answers they are looking for.

I am not even sure why I liked this book. I guess I knew the answers to the questions before we even got started, but I found myself caught up in the story none the less. It made a good read without feeling like I couldn't lay it down. Maybe it was actually just plain and simply a good read.

Happy Reading

P.S. if you follow the link to purchase notice the title is wrong.

Ted Dekker

Dear Readers,

First of all if you are a Ted Dekker fan... READ THIS BOOK. Yes it is that good. I am so amazed that one man can do this with a series that he started over 5 years ago. I also have to confess that at first I was a bit disappointed that he was going to write another book for a series that he said ended 4 years ago. I hate when authors do that. Well I was wrong, this one so needed to be written and if you haven't read the Circle trilogy, the Paradise books or the Lost Books, you may want to do that first, but you don't have to. I will explain that later.

Ok now the review of Green... sort of. This is one of those reviews that is a bit delicate to write. I am afraid that with anything I say I may give the entire book away and I really don't want to do that as the best part of the book is not knowing what is happening.

I can safely say that all our favorite characters are back in all their glory. There are some new and exciting ones which makes this even better yet. Thomas Hunter is the one who got this all started by crash landing in the black forest and he is once again completely in the center of it all.

This is listed as book 'zero' of the Circle Trilogy, and it fits. It didn't make sense to me until I read it so you are going to have to trust me on that part of it. :-) But the subtitle "the beginning and the end" is completely correct. Do you feel like I am talking in circles yet? lol. (This is why you don't really have to read any of the other books first) I really feel that if Ted wasn't a writer than he would have serious mental problems and at least 7 personalities. :-)

Ted won me as a fan with his books Black and Three and this year he reminded my why with his books Boneman's Daughters and now Green.

Happy Reading

P.S. Book is available on Sept. 1st.

Chuck Holton

Dear Readers,

Meltdown by Chuck Holton is number three in the Task Force Valor series. Number one is Allah's Fire written with Gayle Roper and two is Island Inferno. I read the first one and enjoyed it, but missed number two. I didn't have any problem picking up the story line for this book without reading them all. Basic storyline of the series is Task Force Valor is following terrorists and bad guys around the world, making sure America stays safe.

In Meltdown, TFV is sent off to Russia to track down the explosive they found in Panama. They are trying to find out who made it and who now has it. While they are in the Dead Zone around Chernobyl in the Ukraine, terrorists attack the nuclear reactor. They are in the fight for their own lives, but also for thousands of people around the world.

While they are over in the Ukraine, America is under attack. The ITEB has made it way to the US and no one group has claimed responsibility. The bombs are disrupting American commerce and life in general. Our citizens, and congress are screaming for something to be done and yet no one can seem to figure out who is responsible.

While this is an interesting book, I was admittedly left a bit flat by the ending. I guess I didn't understand why Chuck would write the book this way. I can't really tell you what the ending is or there really is no reason to read this book. I try hard not to judge a book by it's cover, but a bad ending is not a good thing for a book. Now this isn't a "bad" ending, but it is not a "good" ending. I know that is confusing, but without giving it all away... Sorry. If you want to know all about it and aren't worried about knowing the ending, I can explain it all for you. :-) Otherwise, this isn't a terrible read, just be forewarned.

Happy Reading