Shelf Full of Books

Sadie thought her big break into music was just around the corner when she got her audition for America’s Top Talent. Even better, her heartthrob Jason Prescott was the guest judge. She could barely breathe she was so in awe of him. Unfortunately for her, he was much less in awe of her performance. Sadie was mortified. Then to make matters even worse, she threw up in front of everyone!

It’s difficult to qualify for a fairy godmother, but Sadie managed to do through the Magical Alliance’s Pitiful Damsel Outreach Program. Sadie was assigned Chrysanthemum Everstar. However Chrissy is a fairy-godmother-in-training and while she grants Sadie’s wishes literally, they somehow miss the mark of what Sadie was looking for. But wishes are permanent and so are their consequences.

I found it extremely funny that the fairy godmother alliance would allow a fairy-godmother –in-training out to grant wishes (even if she had the assistance of a leprechaun) when she hadn’t been accepted, let alone trained at the fairy godmother university. It just seems to be asking for trouble. Indeed, it did cause a lot of trouble for Sadie.

My Fairly Dangerous Godmother is a hilarious look at everything that can go wrong when you are given three wishes. Chrissy manages to mess up Sadie’s wishes even though she knows what Sadie means but gets the grammar imperfect in her request. This story will certainly make you think twice about how you word things.

I loved how Jason was dragged into the fairy tales along with Sadie but was utterly confused as to how he got there or why he was there. His true character was then visible and it he wasn’t the nice man that Sadie thought he was. The media made him seem like a prince but he was not even a gentleman. On the other hand she met another young man who had a fairy godmother who was considered a petty thief, but he was a generous, young man who was every inch a gentleman and the title prince would have fit him much better. I think Sadie experience taught us that it’s not a person’s station in life that matters, but the quality of their character.

There were so many twists and turns in this story that it seemed impossible that Sadie could get Jason and herself back to the 21st century.

I’ve never heard about a fairy tale about twelve (or eleven) dancing princesses, but whether or not there is one, the tale worked well for this story and added to the fun. I also liked that the author thought about the different versions of the Little Mermaid and made use of that in her story as that also added interest.

The author used a lot of creativity and imagination in writing My Fairly Dangerous Godmother, making it a book worth reading for fantasy/fairy tale lovers and those in the young adult age range. I gave it a rating of 4 stars out of 5.

Thank you to the author for providing a copy of the book in exchange for a fair and honest review. A positive opinion was not required. All thoughts are my own.

To see my full review, visit Shelf Full of Books: http://kathrynsshelffullofbooks.blogspot.com/2015/11/book-review-my-fairly-dangerous.html

This was a beautiful tale of two lovers, Chen and Mae Li who were kept apart not once, but twice. The first time because the matchmaker matched them with other people and the second time because Mae Li had become a matchmaker herself, and dedicated her life to helping others find their true loves.

With only 60 pages to the book, this prequel is a very short read, but does a beautiful job of introducing us to Mae Li (or Pearl, her adopted name) and developing our interest in her. I liked the pacing of the book. The twists and turns led Mae Li through some dangerous circumstances which were common for single women without home or family in her time. You’ll probably finish this short book in one sitting as it’s too interesting to set down before you’re done.

I am very much looking forward to reading more about Mae Li in the upcoming books in the series. If you enjoy clean romance and this series sounds like it might interest you, I suggest you read this prequel. I rated it 5 stars out of 5.

Thank you to the authors for providing a copy of the book through Ebooks for Review in exchange for a fair and honest review. A positive opinion was not required. All thoughts are my own.

To see my complete review, visit Shelf Full of Books: http://kathrynsshelffullofbooks.blogspot.com/2015/11/book-review-power-of-matchmaker-prequel.html

Reframe is not a novel, but rather an inspirational book to help you readjust your life and get your relationship with Jesus back on track as a personal, intimate connection with Him. Brian Hardin, the author, states that knowing all the facts about God will not make a deep, true relationship with Him just as knowing all the facts about your spouse will make a successful relationship with your spouse. It is the interaction between the two, the give and take of information, sharing of emotion, dialogue and time spent together that creates that deep personal relationship.

Hardin says that “what God wants is an honest, loving, loyal, and intimate relationship with us.” (Loc. 1150) and that “He wants to be holistically included in everything we do and think and dream about and hope for.” (Loc. 1172) He also states that “talking to Him isn’t just about gratefulness or worship or petition or complaint. It’s all of that and everything else that happens every day.” (Loc. 1174)

Reframe challenges us to change – change the way we do life. The challenge is that we “will be entering into a first-person, always-on, never-off relationship with the God of all at all times and in all places for the rest of eternity.” (Loc. 1475) We need to include Christ in our life – but not just so that we can know Him more, but “it is the act of completely and irreversibly opening your heart to God and giving yourself wholly back to Him – to know and be known.” (Loc. 1622)

I thought that this was perhaps not such a new concept, but an old one that we have long forgotten, for Hardin backed up his ideas with Scripture. All through the Bible we see God pursuing us, calling out to us, to share in a relationship with Him. Hardin points directs us to Old and New Testament verses that show us that God does not want to be shut up in the box that we have put Him in where we only let Him out on Sundays or just before mealtimes when we say grace. He wants to, as His name Emmanuel means, be “God with us” at all times.

I for one have been challenged by this book to re-think what my relationship with God looks like. I want to recognize and feel Jesus’ presence with me all day, every day and able chat conversationally with Him about whatever is going on, on a moment by moment basis. I plan on reframing my relationship with Jesus so that it will be what God meant it to be.

Reframe is both inspiring and challenging, and a call to change. It included anecdotes from Hardin’s life and I found the book to be so interesting I zipped through it highlighting important phrases and sentences along the way.

I thoroughly enjoyed Reframe, and I would highly recommend it to everyone who considers him/herself a Christian. I gave this book a rating of 5 stars out of 5.

Thank you to the publishers via NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. A positive opinion was not required. All thoughts are my own.

To see my complete review, visit Shelf Full of Books:

http://kathrynsshelffullofbooks.blogspot.com/2015/11/book-review-reframe-from-god-weve-made.html

Rewarding Redemption ties up all the loose ends from the four previous novels and brings this series to an end. We finally meet Jenny as she makes her way toward Clearwater County, the treasure, and something with it that is more important to her than the treasure itself.

Jenny’s mother died when she was quite young. Since her mother’s death, her father, the leader of the Caracus gang, turned cruel and became a monster of a man, causing Jenny to run away. She’s been on the run ever since.

Agent Mendez, who we’ve met in the other novels, and felt like such a threat to the other Caracus sisters, has been following Jenny for years. This is the closest he’s ever been to her in all the time he’s been tracking her.

I liked how Rewarding Redemption gave us a different viewpoint of Jason Mendez. I didn’t like him very much in the other novels. He came across much differently in this novel. The previous connection between him and Jenny from their childhood made all the difference in the world about how I viewed him and his intentions. I developed a positive opinion of him as I read the story.

This novel was written with alternating viewpoints between Jenny and Jason in third person point-of-view. This helped the reader to understand the mind of both characters and how they felt about each other and the way they thought about everything that was happening around them.

There were several plot twists and turns in the story that lead to serious emotional setbacks for Jenny. When you have almost no one in the world that you can count on, rejection by the few you can turn to can be crippling. There was lots of danger and betrayal for Jenny and Jason, so I’m glad Jason didn’t turn out to be the bad guy I thought he was.

I think that though Jenny was forced to face issues from her past sooner than she wanted to, it was better for her. For one thing she was able to stop running. She discovered things about herself that she didn’t know before and it changed her future for the better, putting people in her life that she could count on.

I loved how the story ended. I think that was one of the highlights of the book for me because of the joy it brought to others. That’s all I can say about it or it will be a spoiler, except that it made me smile and feel warm and fuzzy inside and wish that I could be there.

I gave Rewarding Redemption a rating of 5 stars out of 5 because of the clever plot twists and the satisfying ending to the story. I enjoyed Ms. Paulson’s writing style and look forward to reading more of her work.

Thank you to the author for providing a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. A positive opinion was not required. All thoughts are my own.

To see my complete review, visit Shelf Full of Books: http://kathrynsshelffullofbooks.blogspot.com/2015/11/book-review-rewarding-redemption-by.html

Here are three more stories from this excellent author for young children. Each story in this book was illustrated by a different illustrator.

Letter in a Bottle

Foxy had been naughty and sent to his room to write an essay about how to improve himself. Instead he wrote a note requesting help, describing where he was, sealed it in a bottle and tossed it in the river outside his window. Oliver, Jumpy and Joey discovered it and went to rescue the kidnapped prisoner only to discover it was Foxy’s latest prank.

I liked this story and how Foxy got caught doing something that most children get caught at doing. It might not be sweeping crumbs under the carpet, but it may be some other shortcut.

I liked the illustrations which were clear and crisp and very similar to the illustrations in other Oliver and Jumpy stories which have been done by other illustrators.

Oliver Meets Jumpy

This was a good story because it fills in some of the information for long-time followers of Oliver and Jumpy. We know a lot about Oliver, Jumpy and Joey, but this is the first time we have heard about how two such unlikely animals ever became such good friends.

The illustrations were obviously done by a different illustrator in this story who had a little heavier hand in the outlining of the characters. There is nothing wrong with the quality of his work, but it is noticeably different from some of the other illustrators that I have become accustomed to seeing illustrating the Oliver and Jumpy Stories.

I particularly liked this story for its message: sometimes good things can come from bad things. I think it is important for us to help children look for positive things amongst all the negative things we see around us or we will become very negative ourselves. It is an important lesson.

Enchanted Forest

Oliver and Jumpy visit Ghost Castle and enter a room in which there is an enchanted forest. The trees can talk because they were soldiers that were turned into trees by a witch. Oliver casts his own spells with his own wand to turn them back and then fights with the witch. Afterwards he frees the remaining animals in captivity.

This was not my favourite story as I do not care for stories about witches and witchcraft. That being said, I did like that Oliver was willing to go out of his way to help others in need.

This author’s illustrations have the same feel to them as the illustrations from the earlier Oliver and Jumpy Stories books.

The pictures in all the stories in this series of books are always engaging for the young reader with lots of clues as to what is happening in the story.

I think young children will enjoy having these stories read to them and older children with some reading skills will enjoy being able to read the books to themselves (although there are a few words that will be beyond the young readers vocabulary). I gave this book a rating of 5 stars out of 5.

Thank you to the author for providing a copy of the book in exchange for a fair and honest review. A positive opinion was not required. All thoughts are my own.

To see my complete review, see Shelf Full of Books: http://kathrynsshelffullofbooks.blogspot.com/2015/11/book-review-oliver-and-jumpy-stories-28.html

When a cranky resident at the Julius and Rebecca Cohen Home for Jewish Seniors dies at the end of the day on Yom Kippur, no one is really all that sad. After all, she is such a pain in the tuchis to everyone. But Vera Gold’s sister claims that Vera was deliberately poisoned and asks Rose Kaplan for help.

Mrs. K and her friend Ida have little to go on and so do the police when they are called in. However, knowing how helpful she was in their last investigation in a murder at the home they ask Mrs. K for help in drawing up a list of suspects of who might want Vera dead.

A Pain in the Tuchis is written from the first-person point of view through the eyes of Ida, Mrs. K’s friend. It seems as though she still thinks in her native language as she uses many Jewish words, although she translates them until we get used to the meaning of them. It’s as though Ida is a new immigrant friend from Israel who is struggling with the English language. I thought it added an authentic cultural feel to the book. Without it, the speech would have sounded just like any other American speaking.

The case seemed to be solved quite tidily about halfway through the book, but Mrs. K was not happy with the solution that the police had come up with so, despite their polite request to “butt out” she kept sleuthing.

There were a few interesting little side stories in Mrs. K’s and Ida’s life while their investigating went on which gave us more insight into their characters and added humour into the story. The twists and turns in the plot were well carried out in leading us to whom the real killer was.

A Pain in the Tuchis was a fun cozy mystery read. I have given it a rating of 4 stars out of 5.

Thank you to the publisher via NetGalley for providing a copy of the book in exchange for a fair and honest review. A positive opinion was not required. All thoughts are my own.

To see my complete review, visit Shelf Full of Books: http://kathrynsshelffullofbooks.blogspot.com/2015/11/book-review-pain-in-tuchis-by-mark.html

This lovely hardcover book, The Night Before Christmas: A Brick Story is the classic story written by Clement C. Moore that we’ve all grown up with. The new twist on it is that the illustrator Amanda Brack has created all the scenes with LEGO bricks. This book’s illustrations will delight children and adults of all ages. My young adult daughter saw that I was reviewing this book yesterday, looked at it and commented that everyone her age (20’s) would love the book because they all still love LEGOs.

The details in the photos are excellent, right down to the expressions on the faces of the people. As you look at the pictures, you can imagine all the hours of work it must have taken to build the sets for these images. That’s dedication for you!

I thoroughly enjoyed paging through this book, looking at the detailed pictures and noticing things like Santa filling the stockings and putting presents under the tree. Reading this story every Christmas with little ones will definitely be something to look forward to.

I think The Night Before Christmas: A Brick Story will make an old classic into a new classic. I give this book a rating of 5 stars out of 5.

Thank you to the publishers for providing this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. A positive opinion was not required. All thoughts are my own.

To see my complete review, visit Shelf Full of Books: http://kathrynsshelffullofbooks.blogspot.com/2015/11/book-review-night-before-christmas.html

But Aren’t I Lucky That is a book that takes potentially negative situations and looks at the positive side to each one in a little boy’s life during a Saturday when his dad has to work and miss his ball game.

I liked that the child’s mother helped her son think of positive ways to look at situations that could be thought about negatively such as even though dad had to work, his working allowed them to buy the good food they ate. She didn’t dismiss his sad feelings when he lost his ball game; she acknowledged them, but then suggested that he was lucky he got to play with his friends even if they did lose. Then she got him to think of something positive about the game he lost and he came up with the awesome line drive he caught from the opponent’s toughest batter.

If, as parents, we can teach our children to think in this manner, rather than dwelling on negatives, our children will potentially grow up to have more positive outlooks. This book is one attempt at teaching children to do just that.

The story is interesting and will hold their attention. It’s a great book for a parent and child to read together. The pictures have a soft edge to them as though they have been painted. There are not a lot of fine details to them.

I very much enjoyed this book and think it would be a great addition to any library because of its positive nature. I gave this book a rating of 5 stars out of 5.

Thank you to the author for providing a copy of the book in exchange for a fair and honest review. A positive opinion was not required. All thoughts are my own.

To see my complete review, visit Shelf Full of Books: http://kathrynsshelffullofbooks.blogspot.com/2015/11/book-review-but-arent-i-lucky-that-by.html

Brink of Dawn was a fast-paced novel that is second in the Chosen series but can be read as a stand-alone novel. Juliet and Troy travel to New York where Juliet meets up with the other 3 Chosen. It is here that they are to prepare to meet “an ancient foe that threatens all humanity.”

These four young people, who were chosen for this quest, have to learn to work out not only their own issues, but stop fighting amongst themselves and learn to work together. As they change and learn how to use their new abilities, they also face their own flaws and must overcome them.

Their character flaws were very relatable and realistic. This made the characters seem all the more personable and three dimensional. The kinds of flaws they have are similar to the ones we each have – phobias, addictions, dependence on others, low self-esteem and so on. Most of us can relate to one or more of these in one way or another.

I liked each of the new characters that were introduced as the Chosen. I thought that the way that they were introduced – through a dream Juliet has about them – was an interesting way to do it – as it gave both Juliet and the reader the same information at the same time.

The unexpected twists and turns in this story made it a delightfully refreshing book to read. There is lots of action and all of it will keep you on the edge of your seat. This is a book that will be hard to put down. Brink of Dawn is a great book for audiences over the age of 13 due to the amount of violence.

Brink of Dawn was a very engaging book to read and I gave it a rating of 5 stars out of 5. I’m looking forward to the final instalment of this trilogy!

Thank you to the publishers for providing a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. A positive opinion was not required. All thoughts are my own.

To see my complete review, visit Shelf Full of Books:

http://kathrynsshelffullofbooks.blogspot.com/2015/12/brink-of-dawn-book-tour-with-jeff.html

Trish James is a young widow with a traumatized six-year-old son who saw his father die when a horse kicked him. Trish is in financial straits but refuses to let anyone know, including her family, because she doesn’t want anyone’s help. Starting a business as an artist and a wedding planner is hard enough and in a small town like Miller’s Creek it’s even tougher. What can she possibly do?

Andy Tyler relocates to Miller’s Creek with a new law practice and volunteers as the coach for Trish’s son Bo’s baseball team. Bo and Andy hit it off right away with Bo looking up to Andy as a substitute father. Andy would like to get to know Trish better too, but it’s been less than a year since her husband passed away and Trish is not ready to move on yet.

I really enjoyed the relationship that developed between Bo and Andy. When a young boy doesn’t have a father, it really helps to have someone who he can look up to, to meet that need.

Trish was afraid of the same thing as many of the rest of us are – of looking weak or needy if we ask for help. But God knows that we are not all islands of our own and we need each other. We were built to need one another and it’s okay to need help. I think that was one of the lessons that God was trying to teach Trish.

One of the benefits of allowing others to help us that we often forget is that we allow them to opportunity to show their love for us by doing something for us. That makes them feel blessed too.

Throughout all the twists and turn, mishaps and fun, God seemed to be telling both Andy and Trish to simply wait. Wait. But wait for what? They found themselves in a place that we all find ourselves in at some time in our lives. And just like Andy and Trish it is a difficult thing to do because we often don’t know why He wants us to wait. Our inclination, just like Trish, is to push on and try to do things on our own, work out a solution instead of waiting on God. But if we can discipline ourselves to wait on Him, things turn out so much better.

I very much enjoyed this captivating story and gave it a rating of 5 stars out of 5. I thought the life lessons the characters learned were very relevant to everyone today and handled realistically.

Thank you to the author for providing a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. A positive opinion was not required. All thoughts are my own.

To see my complete review, visit Shelf Full of Books: http://kathrynsshelffullofbooks.blogspot.com/2015/11/book-review-path-less-traveled-by-cathy.html

Commander Rocky is dognapped by Major Dakota’s ghost, a former operative from the American arm of the same Organisation that Commander Rocky heads in Australia. Major Dakota needs some help getting rid of dog-nappers that are holding the dogs of 5 famous people in his home. When Rocky’s operatives discover who spirited him away, they immediately take off for the US to rescue Commander Rocky.

Major Dakota’s Ghost will have both adult and child laughing though perhaps for different reasons. The dogs held hostage belonged to celebrities and for adults it was plainly obvious who the owners were and had me chuckling. The characters of the dogs were hilariously reminiscent of their owners so adults will enjoy reading this book with their children.

Children will be laughing at the actions and antics of the all the dogs whether celebrity dogs, ghost dogs or dogs that are part of the Organisation. If you have read any of the other three previous books in this series you will already be familiar with operatives and their specialized skills.

Major Dakota’s Ghost is a bit different from the previous three books in that it has spy links in various spots in the book where you can click and go to a website where you will find activities and games related specifically to this particular book. It all adds to the fun and value of the book.

There are also illustrations with the book that were done by the author. They are pencil crayon drawings which on the iPad you can enlarge in order to see more easily. They are colourfully drawn and a nice addition to the book.

I gave this book a rating of 5 stars out of 5 because it will be fun for parents and children to read together with humour on both levels to enjoy.

Thank you to the author for providing this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. A positive opinion was not required. All thoughts are my own.

To see my complete review, visit Shelf Full of Books: http://kathrynsshelffullofbooks.blogspot.com/2015/11/book-review-major-dakotas-ghost-by.html

Claws for Alarm was a great cozy mystery involving a tuxedo cat named Nick with a penchant for getting into places and doing things that no cat should be able. He makes a great side-kick for his self-adopted owner Nora Charles who runs a sandwich shop. Nora used to be an investigative reporter in Chicago before moving to Cruz where she runs the shop she inherited from her mother.

Nora and her sister Lacey don’t always get along. But when Lacey is arrested on charges of first degree murder, apparently over lousy grades, Nora knows it can’t be true no matter the evidence seems to show. She knows Lacey is not capable of murder and sets out to help prove Lacey’s innocence.

This cozy mystery was quite funny. I’d love to have a side-kick like Nick who is so capable of getting into things that no cat should be able to. Where he learned his spelling skills is another mystery too, but a helpful one.

There were a lot of things going on in Claws for Alarm and it was difficult to suss out who the real murderer was. If not for Nick, Nora would not have been able to solve the case.

Claws for Alarm was thoroughly enjoyable and engaging. It was fast paced and funny. If you enjoy cozy mysteries, I think you will enjoy this novel. I gave it a rating of 5 stars out of 5.

Thank you to the publishers for providing the book in exchange for a fair and honest review. A positive opinion was not required. All thoughts are my own.

To see my complete review, visit Shelf Full of Books: http://kathrynsshelffullofbooks.blogspot.com/2015/11/claws-for-alarm-book-tour-excerpt-and.html

The world that Larissa Kenders lives in is a bleak one. With the death of all the bees, a world-wide chain reaction in the ecology of the planet has caused massive food shortages and other disasters. Hexagon has brought order back to the world such as it is.

Kenders’ belief that Andrew was still alive despite the military’s insistence that he was dead after their searches for him was tearing her apart. The time she spent in Nirvana, a virtual world where anything can happen, and she could visit with Andrew only cemented in her mind that Andrew was still alive. Yet still the military wanted her to sign the death certificate and make it final.

Was it possible that there was a conspiracy in Hexagon? Andrew’s work for them was top secret. Kenders didn’t know what he was researching. And his contract stated that Hexagon was not responsible for his death or disappearance.

Kenders’ time in Nirvana and then in her friend’s private VR while she was in the Bubble began to blur with reality so much that she began to confuse the two. Solving the mystery of whether or not Andrew was alive was her top priority and amid the twists and turns of the story she comes across an amazing discovery.

This is one of those books that are hard to write a review for without giving anything away. It was very intriguing and once you’ve read the author’s bio, it will leave you wondering how close science fiction is coming to science fact.

Nirvana is a thought-provoking speculative science fiction novel where the use of virtual reality could have profound psychological and emotional effects on the users. Even as we see the addictive nature of technology in the form of phones and tablets, with VR encompassing more of the user’s senses, I think the addictiveness will be even greater. How long can an individual survive in virtual reality?

I found Nirvana to be most enjoyable as a mystery and science fiction novel. Knowing that VR technology is just around the corner on the market makes this book all the more interesting as we watch as see how close to reality it may come. I am looking forward to the next book in this series. I gave this novel a rating of 4 out of 5 stars.

Thank you to the publishers via NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. A positive opinion was not required. All thoughts are my own.

To see my complete review, visit Shelf Full of Books: http://kathrynsshelffullofbooks.blogspot.com/2015/11/book-review-nirvana-nirvana-series-book.html

This cute little story explains how all the sweets Santa leaves in each Christmas stocking get there since they’d be crushed if he brought them in his gift sack. Rather than Santa bringing the sweets, mice around the world work as a secret part of Santa’s team to make the sweets for him.

We watch a young mouse family as they make preparations for Santa’s coming. They create sweets such as candy canes, sugar plums and all other manner of goodies. Max wishes their part in Santa’s team wasn’t a secret so that children would think they were cool.

As the story plays out, we find that the mice’s part in team isn’t a total secret as they are left with a reward for all their hard work. Plus, when Santa leaves, it is Max and Molly’s turn for gifts and their favourite Christmas story just as the sun is coming up over the horizon.

The illustrations in this book are quite well done. They are colourful, fun to look at and have the added challenge of having a spider to find on each page. Also, if you look very carefully, you might even find out what the spider’s name is.

Some of the pages have print only. These pages are beige with black print, offering a good visual contrast. The pictures with illustrations sometimes have print on them. The print is generally white unless black print will provide better contrast. This will be very helpful for any children who have visual problems and require good visual contrast.

I like the good, clear font the author chose as it looks the same as if the words were printed. This will make it easier for children who are learning to read if the letters (such as “a” and “g”) look like the ones they write.

I enjoyed this fun little Christmas story for children and I think your children will enjoy it too. I gave Merry Stirring Mice: Santa’s Secret Team a rating 5 stars out of 5.

Thank you to the author for providing a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. A positive opinion was not required. All thoughts are my own.

To see my complete review, visit Shelf Full of Books: http://kathrynsshelffullofbooks.blogspot.com/2015/11/book-review-merry-stirring-mice-santas.html

Meritorium is a non-stop, full-speed ahead, fast-paced action thriller that continues on from where Meritropolis left off. Charley, Sandy, Grigor, Hank, and Orson leave Meritropolis in a quest to take down the System. They end up in Meritorium, “a city where gladiatorial games of life or death combat are waged between High Scores and Low Scores, man, and beast.”

Charley continues to struggle with his violent anger and thirst for revenge for his brother Alec’s zeroing. As he watches the audience’s thirst for blood to be spilled, he begins to wonder if man is just as much an animal as the animals. But Grigor reminds him that man has the capacity to extend and receive grace, something that only comes from God. As we watch Charley throughout the book, we see him working out this concept in his mind until it begins to take root in his heart.

I really enjoyed the author’s creativity in the animal combinations in this book. There were small black and white illustrations of many of these creatures to help visualize what they might have looked like. I found that to be helpful.

I did find that there was a lot of violence in this book, but given the theme of man against beast in a fight to the death, that was pretty much expected.

I liked the theme of grace and the recognition that it is often both hard to give as well as receive.

There were a lot of twists and turns in the story, one of which leads to a surprising ending in one way, and yet also not so surprising in another. After all, man pretty much considers himself god.

Meritorium ends on a note that indicates there will be a third book to come. I am looking forward to that third installment. I thoroughly enjoyed this very engaging second book in the series. I gave it a rating of 5 stars out of 5.

Thank you to the publishers for providing a copy of the book in exchange for a fair and honest review. A positive opinion was not required. All thoughts are my own.

To see my complete review, visit Shelf Full of Books: http://kathrynsshelffullofbooks.blogspot.com/2015/11/meritropolis-blog-tour-and-giveaway.html

Home and Away was a poignant reminder of the tense and traumatic times families went through during WWII. The Hayes family had not heard from Glen for a few weeks and Christmas was approaching. Their fears for their son and brother were mounting. Was he alright? Was he injured or worse? Why hadn’t they heard from him? How would he be spending his Christmas?

The vivid detail of war in the trenches brought fear for the men who fought those battles crawling up my spine. The contrast of how some of the people on American soil felt about going to war and the actual realities of war couldn’t have been made clearer. War is glorified when it’s at a distance, but it’s bloody, dirty, cold and gruesome in the trenches.

At home, Dennis learns a lot about himself, his father and his desire to follow his brother by enlisting when he turns seventeen. He works so hard to purchase that special gift for his mother, but will he be able to do it?

The twists and turns in Home and Away create the drama that makes this book so hard to put down. It will remind you that on the other side of your gun is another soldier whose mother is praying that her son comes back whole and uninjured too.

I’ve never been to war, and Home and Away assures me that I neither want to go to war or send my children to war. I thought it was an incredible read and I would highly recommend it. I gave it a rating of 5 stars out of 5.

Thank you to the publishers via NetGalley for providing a copy of the book in exchange for a fair and honest review. A positive opinion was not required. All thoughts are my own.

To see my complete review, visit Shelf Full of Books: http://kathrynsshelffullofbooks.blogspot.com/2015/11/home-and-away-blog-tour-and-giveaway.html