Book Review: Ths Good Hawk

The Good Hawk (Shadow Skye, Book One)

by Joseph Elliott

Candlewick Press 

Walker Books US

Candlewick Press

 [Historical Fiction

  Middle Grade 

Pub Date 21 Jan 2020

I am reviewing a copy of The Good Hawk Through Candlewick Press/Walker Books Us and Netgalley:

This journey will transport you to a Mythical Scotland.

Agatha, is a brave and fierce Hawk.  She protects her people by patrolling the high walls of their island home, this is a job she is proud of, despite the fact that some in the Clan say it is simply to get her out of the way, due to the condition she was born with.

After disaster strikes and the Clan is kidnapped it is up to Agatha and Jaimie to travel across the haunted mainland of Scotia to Norveg, they get help along the way from a clan of Nomadic bull riders.  Many animals are drawn to Agatha’s way of communicating.

Jaimie who is thoughtful, and anxious is an Angler, but he hates the sea.  Worse yet he’s been chosen to Mary something his Clan hasn’t required in generations.  The elders won’t tell him why they have promised him to a girl in a neighboring clan, but there are rumors of approaching danger.

If you are looking for a thrilling, dark, and rich novel, may I recommend  The Good Hawk.

I give The Good Hawk five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Out of the Embera

Out of the Embers
by Amanda Cabot
Revell
Christian
Pub Date 03 Mar 2020


I am reviewing a copy of Out of the Embers through Revell and Netgalley:


Evelyn Radcliffe once again finds herself homeless ten years after her parents were killed.  The Orphanage that had become her home and then her place of employment burned to the ground.  She and a young Orphan girl were the only ones who had been able to escape.  She is convinced the fire must be related to her parents murders and escapes with the other young girl who survived.  Evelyn leaves with the girl to Mesquite Springs in the Texas Hill Country and finds refuge in the home of Wyatt Clark, a talented horse rancher, who has no plans for a family of his own.



Wyatt Clark finds Evelyn a distraction at first but when it becomes clear that the trouble she was trying to escape followed her to Mesquite Springs she becomes a disruption.   Will Wyatt be able to keep Evelyn safe from the man who is out to murder her?  Will his own plans become collateral damage?



Out of the Embers is a sweet, Suspenseful, romantic tale set in the Texas Hills during the 1850's.


I give Out of the Embers five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

Book Review: Speaking of God

Speaking of God
An Essential Guide to Christian Thought
by Anthony G. Siegris
Herald Press
Christian
Pub Date 29 Oct 2019


I am reviewing a copy of Speaking of God through Herald Press and Netgalley:


If you ever feel that you have forgotten how to talk about God, then Speaking of God is a book I would encourage you to read.




In this book it is pointed out that theology at its most basic level is simply people speaking together about God.  It is an ongoing conversation, one that intrigues us and draws us in.


Siegris reminds us too that Sin is a difficult word that travels with a lot of baggage. However, just about everyone believes in sin in one form or another.


Speaking of God reminds us too that Being alive means we are not invincible. It means we are never in total control. 



In Speaking of God Author and Theologian Anthony Siergis reminds us that Learning to talk about God requires courage and humility; this handbook of Christian theology will help you gain both. Join the deepest, longest conversation in the world.



I am giving Speaking of God five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

Book Review: In the Dark, Soft Earth

In the Dark, Soft Earth
Poetry of Love, Nature, Spirituality, and Dreams
by Frank Watson

Plum White Press LLC
Plum White Press
Literary Fiction | Poetry
Pub Date 07 Jul 2020


I am reviewing a copy of In the Dark, Soft Earth through Plum White Press and Netgalley:

Due to the subject matters in this collection of poetry, I would not recommend this to readers under the age of sixteen.

In this collection of poetry, you will find yourself digging into poetry that deals with the dark, the sultry and you will find yourself ruminating the searing to the sultry as you absorb this haunting lilt of burning carnality. The poems ignite rapid and surprising shifts in focus and perspective as they twist and turn your preconceptions, allowing the implications to linger in your thoughts.

The vignette verses in this book include workings of love, , nature,  and spirituality, as well with dreams with sprinklings of tarot symbolism and jazzy blues. Together these the Dark, Soft Earth

I give In the Dark, Soft Earth, four out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: A Life, Redefined

A Life, Redefined

by Tracy Hewitt Meyer

BHC Press

 Teens & YA 

Pub Date 12 Mar 2020  

I am reviewing a copy of A Life, Redefined though BHC Press an Netgalley:

There are times when the darkness is to great, the pain is so real, that there is nothing but sharp edges, that feel like razor edges, these things are the reminder that I am alive.

It was seven years ago  that an innocent act by Rowan Stone, turned her life into a nightmare.  She has lived with the burden of her baby brothers death since she was ten years old, now she is seventeen and she just wants to graduate high school, go to College, so she can escape the loveless family she has endured for all these years, the very same family who held her responsible for her baby brothers death, but no one can hold her more responsible than herself.  

After Mike Anderson her long time crush invites her to the prom, she feels her world is starting to look brighter, but her her younger sister Trine is determined to ruin her new found happiness no matter the cost.  But it is when she discovers what really happened to her baby brother, her Mother’s long time secret, she finds herself teetering on the edge of the abyss.

Will Rowan be able to find the strength to look to the future or all she be doomed to live in the past?

I give A Life, Redefined five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Blue Skies

Blue Skies

by Anne Bustard

 Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing 

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

 Children's Fiction 

Pub Date 17 Mar 2020

I am reviewing a copy of Blue Skies through Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing and Netgalley:

Glory Bea Bennett knows that in Gladiola Texas, with its population of 3,421 miracles happen.  In fact her Grandmother is responsible for thirty nine of them.

Right now Glory Bea needs her very own miracle.

The Second World War ended three years ago, but Glory Bea never returned home from the front in France.   When  her Mom, Grandmother and Grandfather tell her that her father died on Omaha Beach she understands but somewhere deep down she believes her Father is still out there.

When the local newspaper the Gladiola Gazette reports that one of the Boxcars from the Merci Train  a train that is filled with gifts  is stopping in Gladiola, Glory Bea is certain that her Daddy will be its surprise cargo.

This middle grade novel would be a perfect tool to get  children to talk about their feelings of grief.

I give Blue Skies five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review; The Poetry of Strangers

The Poetry of Strangers

What I Learned Traveling America with a Typewriter

by Brian Sonia-Wallace

 HarperCollins Publishers 

Harper Perennial

 Biographies & Memoirs  |  History 

Pub Date 30 Jun 2020

I am reviewing a copy of The Poetry of Strangers through HarperCollins and Netgalley:

Before he was an award wining Author and Poet, Brian Sonia-Wallace decided to set up a typewriter on the street with a sign that read Poetry Store.  In doing so he found something that surprised him, all over America, people wanted poems.  At first Brian was an Amateur Busker who asked countless strangers what they wanted a poem about, and to his surprised many of  these people opened up to share their deepest longings, yearnings, love, and heartbreaks.    Hundreds then thousands of people around the nation from every walk of life became converts.

The Poetry of Strangers is the story of Brian’s cross country journey, through a series of his heartfelt and thought provoking essays, chronicling the journey.  In his travels Brian learned that people were not afraid of poetry, when it came to telling their stories.  

The story of Brian’s Journey comes at a time of unprecedented loneliness and isolation, and shows how art can be a vital bridge to community in surprising places.

The Poetry of Strangers is a thought provoking idea.  This book is an unforgettable portrait of America told through the hidden longings of one person at a time, by one of our most important voices today. 

I would recommend this book to anyone who needs to be reminded just what a gift poetry can be.  

I give The Poetry of Strangers five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!