Review: "The 49th Mystic" by Ted Dekker

I first "met" Ted Dekker in 2004 when my college roommate gave me a copy of Black, the first book in the Circle Trilogy (which later became a four-book series, but I prefer to think of it as just the three books).

For a while, I read everything Dekker wrote, and the twist endings he's a master of still awe me (hello, Skin and Three!), but after a while his books became a little too much for me. Boneman's Daughters was the final straw, and I drifted away from his writing. But a couple years ago, I heard about A.D. 30 and A.D. 33, biblical fiction set during Jesus' ministry. I really enjoyed both of those books, which made me more inclined to check out the Beyond the Circle series, of which The 49th Mystic is the first.

Review: "Mark of the Raven" by Morgan L. Busse

While I enjoy fantasy now and then, it's certainly not one of my preferred genres. I kept hearing great things about Mark of the Raven, though, so I decided to check it out. Sometimes, it's a good idea to get out of my contemporary romance rut 😉.

Review: "Unbreakable" by Sara Ella

I finally found time to dig into Unbreakable, the final book in Sara Ella's Unblemished trilogy. What a wild ride!

Review: "Unraveling" by Sara Ella

When it comes to sequels—especially ones so closely connected to their predecessors—I'm often at a loss when it comes to writing a review. How can I talk about the book without spoiling book one? Really, I can't. So consider this your spoiler alert: If you haven't read Unblemished yet, go ahead and skip this review.

Review: "Unblemished" by Sara Ella

I've wanted to read Sara Ella's Unblemished ever since I first heard about it. I always had great intentions of reading it, but other novels took precedence ... even when I got book two, I still wasn't ready to give it a go.

Flash forward to last Saturday, when I received the third and final book from the Fiction Guild. Suddenly, it was time. I picked up the book Saturday evening, decided to skip the new Hallmark movie in favor of reading (this is practically unheard of for me 🤣), and finished the book Sunday night. I've had pressing review books to read this week, but I can't wait until I can continue Eliyana's story!

"dream treaders" by wayne thomas batson

About the book (from the publisher): Book #1 in a trilogy from fantasy author Wayne Thomas Batson explores the concept of dreams and their effects on us.

People are fascinated by dreams, and the Bible has a great deal to say about them. From Jacob’s dream of the heavenly stairway in Genesis 28 to angels visiting Joseph during dreams in Matthew 1 to the Apostle John’s “waking dream” from which he obtained the book of Revelation—dreams have been powerful ingredients of God’s plan as revealed through Scripture.

Fourteen-year-old Archer Keaton discovers he has the ability to enter and explore his dreams. He is a dreamtreader, one of three selected from each generation. Their mission: to protect the waking world from the Nightmare Lord, who wreaks chaos in the Dream World. But as Archer’s dreams become more dangerous and threatening, so too does his waking life.

Rigby Thames, the new kid from England, builds a suspicious rock star-like following at Dresden High School a little too quickly. Even Archer’s best friend and confidant, Kara Windchil, seems taken in by the cool guy with the wild blond hair, which definitely rubs Archer the wrong way. Archer must face two foes in two worlds, but he cannot succeed alone. Archer sets off to find other dreamtreaders in a desperate attempt to defeat the enemy terrorizing his friends and family.

My take: Dream Treaders begins as Archer is in the dream world, trying to infiltrate Shadowkeep. He must get back to his anchor before the Nightmare Lord gets him. Confused? I was. I struggled to get my bearings in this world that made no sense. Had the author chosen to introduce Archer in the real world, then go to sleep and begin his work as a Dreamtreader, I could have followed along. But as it is written, I was very confused and hadn't yet formed any kind of attachment to Archer, so I wanted to stop reading. Had I not agreed to review the book, I would have.

And I would have missed out on a great YA/fantasy novel. By about the third chapter, I was flying through the pages, anxious to see what would happen next. The whole novel unfolds at breakneck speed, but once I had my bearings, the speed worked well. It does end in a cliffhanger, but as it's book one of a series, I'm fine with that.

So much YA fiction is geared toward girls, so it was refreshing to read a YA novel that would appeal to both genders. This would be a great series for junior high and high school age kids.

My rating: 4 stars

Buy the book. 

About the author: Wayne Thomas Batson is the author of several bestselling novels, including The Door Within trilogy, The Isle series, and The Berinfell series. As a middle school reading teacher, Wayne writes adventures set in imaginative locales because he believes that we all dream of doing something that matters.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free for review from Amazon.com through its Vine reviewer program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. Also, some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

"dark halo" by shannon dittemore

About the book (from Goodreads): One halo brought sight to Brielle. Another offers sweet relief from what she sees.

Brielle can’t help but see the Celestial realm. Even without the halo, it’s everywhere she looks. And with the heavens above Stratus ravaged by war, Brielle wishes for another gift, any gift. Because Jake is gone. The only boy she’s ever loved has been taken by the demon, Damien—and she knows if she ever wants to see him again, she must fight.

But fighting is so hard when everything you see makes you afraid.

When she receives instructions from the Throne Room leading her to Jake, she unknowingly walks into a diabolical and heartbreaking trap. Then the Prince of Darkness himself offers Brielle a halo of his own making. With the dark halo, she won’t have to see the fear and brokenness that surround her. She’ll be free of that unbearable burden. And it comes with a promise: the guarantee of a life with Jake.

When confusing details about Jake’s past emerge, and the battle above reaches a fever pitch, Brielle is forced to make a choice. Will she choose the dark halo and the ignorance that comes with it, or will she choose to live with her eyes wide open and trust the Creator’s design—even if it means a future without Jake?

My take: Wow. Dark Halo is everything I hoped it would be and more. Shannon Dittemore has crafted a brilliant conclusion to her Angel Eyes trilogy—a conclusion that had me gasping in surprise, crying out in despair, and cheering for joy.

The story picks up right where Broken Wings left off, and it often refers back to events in both Angel Eyes and Broken Wings, so I would highly recommend reading both of those books before picking up Dark Halo. But please do pick it up. This is a wonderful trilogy that entertains while also making you think.

I don't want to spoil anything, so it's hard to say much about the book except that the big questions from the first two books are answered and wrapped up in an extremely satisfying manner. Also, my wish after reading Broken Wings came true: that book looks so much better in light of the complete story. And now that all three books are available, you can read them straight through from start to finish—that would be a great way to spend a weekend!

Read this trilogy. You won't regret it.

My rating: 5 stars, as well as 5 stars for the series as a whole.

See what other bloggers are saying.
Read my reviews of books one and two: Angel Eyes and Broken Wings.

Buy the book:

   

About the author: Shannon Dittemore is the author of the Angel Eyes Trilogy. She has an overactive imagination and a passion for truth. Her lifelong journey to combine the two is responsible for a stint at Portland Bible College, performances with local theater companies, and a focus on youth and young adult ministry. When she isn’t writing, she spends her days with her husband, Matt, imagining things unseen and chasing their two children around their home in Northern California.

ANGEL EYES was Shannon’s debut novel and the launch of a young adult supernatural trilogy. It was published in the summer of 2012 by Thomas Nelson. The sequel BROKEN WINGS hit shelves in February, 2013 and the final novel in the trilogy, DARK HALO, released August 20, 2013.

Author Links:

    

About the giveaway: Shannon Dittemore is having a Live Twitter Chat August 27^th at 6pm (Pacific) where she will be giving away a Kindle Fire HD and other prizes!  Enter here:
http://shannondittemore.com/win-a-kindle-fire/

5-sets of the Angel Eyes Trilogy including Angel Eyes, Broken Wings and Dark Halo. US only. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this ebook free from the publisher via YA Bound Book Tours.  I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

"broken wings" by shannon dittemore

About the book (from Goodreads): Giant angels with metal wings and visible song. A blind demon restored from the pit of darkness. And a girl who has never felt more broken.

Brielle sees the world as it really is: a place where the Celestial exists side by side with human reality. But in the aftermath of a supernatural showdown, her life begins to crumble. Her boyfriend, Jake, is keeping something from her—something important. Her overprotective father has started drinking again. He’s dating a much younger woman who makes Brielle’s skin crawl, and he’s downright hostile toward Jake. Haunting nightmares keep Brielle from sleeping, and flashes of Celestial vision keep her off kilter.

What she doesn’t know is that she’s been targeted. The Prince of Darkness himself has heard of the boy with healing in his hands and of the girl who sees through the Terrestrial Veil. When he plucks the blind demon, Damien, from the fiery chasm and sends him back to Earth with new eyes, the stage is set for a cataclysmic battle of good versus evil.

Then Brielle unearths the truth about her mother’s death and she must question everything she ever thought was true.

Brielle has no choice. She knows evil forces are converging and will soon rain their terror down upon the town of Stratus. She must master the weapons she’s been given. She must fight.

But can she fly with broken wings?

My take: I was so excited to read Broken Wings. After all, I named book one, Angel Eyes, my #2 book of 2012. The day I received it (which was back in February, I think), I opened it up and started reading. But for whatever reason, I just couldn't get into it. So I put the book down and didn't pick it up again until this week. Once again, I had trouble getting into the story. I think it's because Angel Eyes was so good—full of intrigue (who exactly are Jake and Canaan?), suspense, and action—that the slower pace of Broken Wings was a bit of a letdown.

Broken Wings is the "in between" book. The reader already understands Jake's gift and Canaan's nature, Jake and Brielle are in a good place relationally, and the only real conflict throughout most of the book comes as a result of Brielle's father's drinking. But the book also sets up what is sure to be an epic showdown between good and evil in the final book of the trilogy, Dark Halo, and the action really ramps up near the end of the book.

Don't get me wrong, Broken Wings is a good book. Written well with an interesting plot, it's better than much of what's out there. I hope that once I've read Dark Halo, I'll see exactly how it fits in and just how good it is. But taken now, it just didn't quite live up to my (admittedly high) expectations.

My rating: 4 stars

See what other bloggers are saying.
Buy the book.
Read my review of Dittemore's Angel Eyes.

About the author: Shannon Dittemore is the author of the Angel Eyes Trilogy. She has an overactive imagination and a passion for truth. Her lifelong journey to combine the two is responsible for a stint at Portland Bible College, performances with local theater companies, and a focus on youth and young adult ministry. When she isn’t writing, she spends her days with her husband, Matt, imagining things unseen and chasing their two children around their home in Northern California.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Also, some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase an item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

free book: "city of prophecy" by peter dudek

I am thrilled to report that my friend Peter's book City of Prophecy, is free on Amazon today through Sunday (9-21 to 9-23)!

I read and reviewed this book last year, and I loved it! If you're a fan of fantasy, you'll love this book ... and if you're not, it's free, so why not give it a chance? I wouldn't be at all surprised to find you love it.

Get it here !

"tarnished" by daniel & christina morrison

About the book (from the back cover): A journey to find purpose is about to entangle Garyn in a fight for the survival of the entire Human Race!

Leaving the isolated Sylvanwood to enter the diversely populated city of the Tarns sounded like a grand adventure. But Garyn Stelifar never envisioned a world where a lack of magical power would incite fear and prejudice; where simply being Human is a liability.

Stumbling upon unlikely allies, he’ll need every friend as he squares off with Orkyn, an evil wizard who harbors a festering hatred for all humans. This battle will tax more than Garyn’s friends, but also his own resolve to follow the path laid out for him by the One who sent him on the journey. Dealing with dragons, goblins and a vile wizard while discovering other Humans will prove harrowing. Even if Garyn manages to survive, how will he keep from becoming tarnished?

My take: Tarnished is based on a classic story, which I knew before beginning the book, but I forgot until about chapter three. Then I realized, "Hey, this sounds just like __________!" (Sorry, I'm not going to tell you which story—part of the fun is in the discovery!)

Tarnished could have read like a retelling of the classic Bible story (see, I'll give you a hint!) with fantasy elements thrown in, but instead it took twists and turns I wasn't expecting, and the main character, Garyn, doesn't have a biblical counterpart (at least as far as I could tell). This added interest to the story and kept me guessing. Especially satisfying was a major twist at the end revealing a relationship between certain characters that gave the book an emotional punch ... and gave me goosebumps!

Tarnished isn't a perfect work—a few descriptive words are used in odd, nontraditional ways, and I wanted to add more than a few commas as I read. (Note to ... everyone, as I see this often: two independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction [and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet] should have a comma before the conjunction. Grammar lesson over.) I also would have benefited greatly from a glossary, as the book features a myriad of creatures—gryphons, tarns, ogres, sylvans, dragons, and more. While each creature is described well, I found myself forgetting what they were supposed to look like and having to flip back to find the descriptions again. A glossary would have saved me a lot of time!

While Tarnished is geared towards ages 12 and up, I think younger kids would enjoy it, too. Basically, a child who can enjoy The Chronicles of Narnia is old enough for Tarnished. I liked it a lot, and I look forward to hearing the audio book once the Morrisons finish it! 4 stars.

About the authors: Christina Morrison grew up in Northern California as a voracious reader and avid outdoors woman. She graduated with a degree in education and was a teacher for a number of years before she met Daniel Morrison and was married soon after. Daniel grew up in the Bay Area and gravitated to filmmaking at an early age. He graduated with a film degree and established Remnant Studios a few years before marrying Christina. They now have two children and reside in the Denver, Colorado, area.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the authors. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

"angel eyes" by shannon dittemore

About the book (from the back cover): Once you've seen, you can't unsee.

Brielle went to the city to chase her dreams and found tragedy instead. She's come home to shabby little Stratus, Oregon, to live with her grief and her guilt . . . and the incredible, numbing cold she can't seem to shake.

Jake's the new guy at school. The boy next door with burning hands and an unbelievable gift that targets him for corruption.

Something more than fate has brought them together. An evil bigger than both of them lurks in the shadows nearby, hiding in plain sight. Two angels stand guard, unsure what's going to happen. And a beauty brighter than Jake or Brielle has ever seen is calling them to join the battle in a realm where all human choices start.

A realm that only angels and demons—and Brielle—can perceive.

My take: Twilight meets This Present Darkness. That's what I kept thinking as I read Angel Eyes, and I mean it in the most positive way. After I read Twilight, I made no secret of the fact that I had some serious issues with it. But I also couldn't deny that it was completely engaging, and I understood how teen girls could become obsessed with the story. Angel Eyes has enough similarities to Twilight that I think teens who enjoyed the vampire series will also enjoy Angel Eyes.

Don't get me wrong—I'm not calling Angel Eyes a rip-off of Twilight. But the similarities on the surface will help sell Angel Eyes to the Twilight crowd. For example, Brielle moves to a small town in the Northwest to live with her single father. She immediately catches the eye of Jake, who is handsome and mysterious. Jake always seems to show up just when Brielle needs him, and he has some sort of ... powers. That's pretty much where the similarities end, and this book is so much better than Twilight. But when I'm trying to sell my teen friends on this book, "It's kinda like Twilight" is going to be my opening line!

The This Present Darkness connection comes in because Angel Eyes deals with the Terrestrial (Earth) and Celestial (spiritual) realms. Brielle is able to see into the Celestial realm, and she and Jake together must fight evil, both human and demonic. (I don't want to give away any more of the plot than what's revealed in the summary, so just take my word for it: the supernatural element is completely engaging and handled expertly. And it's miles away from anything even remotely Twilightish.)

Shannon Dittemore has written a fabulous book that is at turns witty, thought provoking, intense, and sweet. It's also self-aware, as Dittemore directly references Twilight on a few occasions. (I also appreciated that one of the first things Brielle noticed about Jake was how incredibly tan he was—which is just the opposite of Edward Cullen!)

I was completely sucked in from the very beginning—I read the entire book in one evening because I couldn't put it down! A twist at the end threw me for a complete loop, and I can't wait to read the next book to find out just what will happen to Brielle and Jake. I give Angel Eyes an enthusiastic 5 out of 5 stars.

See what other bloggers are saying here.

About the author: Shannon is a wife and mother. A sister. A daughter. A friend. She was raised in Northern California by her parents—pastors of their local church and constant figures of inspiration.

As a youth, Shannon traveled with an award-winning performing arts team, excelling on stage and in the classroom. As a young adult, she attended Portland Bible College, continued acting, and worked with an outreach team targeting inner-city kids in the Portland-Metropolitan area.

It was in Portland that she met her husband, Matt. They were married in 2002. Soon after, they took the reins of the youth ministry at Living Way Community Church in Roseville, California where they continue to serve in that capacity. In October of 2004, their son Justus was born, followed by their daughter Jazlyn, born in 2008.

Find out more at www.shannondittemore.com.

About the giveaway: Win a Nook Color from Shannon Dittemore (@ShanDitty)! "Angel Eyes" Giveaway and Facebook Party {6/26}


Celebrate with Shannon by entering her "Angel Eyes" Giveaway and connecting with her during the Author Chat Party on 6/26!

Find out what readers are saying here.

One "angelic" winner will receive:

• A Brand New Nook Color
• A copy of Angel Eyes by Shannon Dittemore

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends at noon on June 25th. Winner will be announced at the "Angel Eyes" Author Chat Facebook Party on 6/26. Shannon will be hosting a book chat, testing your trivia skills and giving away some great prizes!

So grab your copy of Angel Eyes and join Shannon on the evening of the June 26th for a chance to meet Shannon and make some new friends. (If you haven't read the book - don't let that stop you from coming!)

Don't miss a moment of the fun! RSVP today. Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 26th!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Litfuse Publicity Group. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."