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Wings of War

4/29/2019

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About the Books:
Title: EMBERS (The Wings of War #1)
Author: Karen Ann Hopkins
Pub. Date: March 15, 2015
Publisher: Karen Ann Hopkins
Formats: Paperback, audiobook, eBook
Pages: 394
Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Amazon Kindle, Audible, B&N, TBD
READ FOR FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED!


There are descendants of angels walking among us. Ember is one of them.


Embers is an epic paranormal adventure/romance about a seventeen year old girl who discovers that she's immune to fire and any other injury when she’s in a horrific car crash that kills her parents. Following a violent episode with her aunt's boyfriend, Ember flees Ohio to live with an old relative in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. Ember's exuberance at escaping a bad home life soon turns to trepidation when she learns that she's a Watcher, a descendant of angels.


While Ember is instructed about her heritage and the powers that go along with it, she strikes up friendships with two teenagers who live in a frightening walled compound in the forest. Inexplicitly drawn to one of the young men in particular, an impossible romance develops. But it's cut short when Ember discovers that her new friends are fighting on the opposite side of a war that's been raging between two factions of Watchers for thousands of years. When the compound’s inhabitants threaten the townspeople, Ember takes action, sealing her fate in the ancient battle of good versus evil, and the grayness in between. Ember is up to the challenge, until she realizes that she isn’t only fighting for the lives of the locals and the souls of her new friends. She may be one of the few champions willing to make a stand for all of mankind as the rapture approaches and the end of days begin.


Embers is the first novel in the dark and gritty YA paranormal romance series, The Wings of War.




“An impending apocalypse provides a compelling backdrop for romance in this page-turning first installment of a new YA series. Hopkins expertly weaves her plotlines together in this compulsively readable teen romance story…Hopkins delivers many successful elements of young-adult romance—appealing lead characters, high-voltage chemistry, repressed sexuality—which will win her ardent followers." Kirkus Reviews
​


Review of Embers:
Ember is a 17 year old who has suffered much during the past year.  Her parents both died in a fiery car crash, a car crash that Ember was also in- but she came away from miraculously unscathed.  With her parents gone, her parent's will sends her to live with Aunt Ila in the hills of Tennessee. Aunt Ila quickly fills Ember in on the reason why the fire didn't hurt her.  Ember is a Watcher, a descendant of the Angels and Ember's power is clearly the fire element.  Ember no w must balance training with Ila and all of her new powers and beginning classes at her new high school.  At school Ember meets several human friends as well as someone who is different.  Ember notices Ivan right away and soon learns that he lives near her in a secluded compound.  When Ember meets Ivan's friend, Sawyer, she recognizes him immediately from her dreams.  Ember struggles with what this means, especially when she finds out what Ivan and Sawyer really are and what their leaders on the compound are planning.  Ember was told that the end of the world was coming.  She just didn't think it would be so soon, or that she would be in the middle of it. 

Embers is the first book in the Wings of War Series.  This is a young adult paranormal romance much in the vein of Twilight.  If you like books like that, then you will probably enjoy Embers.  If you do not like books in this category, than Embers may not be for you.  I happen to love this genre of books and dived in happily.  It did take me awhile to get a feel for Ember and the story.  I settled into the pace once Ember reached Tennessee and the point of view began alternating between Ember and Sawyer.  I really enjoyed the idea of Watchers, Demons, Growlers and their origins.  I'm hoping the next few books explain a little more about their history.  I had a hard time getting to know Ember's character at first, but I did appreciate Ember more as she learned about her powers and made friends at her high school.  Sawyer and Ember's relationship was fast and intense, however they don't get any farther than kissing in this book.  I absolutely loved Ila's character with her knowledge, powers and understanding.  Ivan was another favorite for me and I'm glad Ivan and Ember's relationship was not made into a love triangle.  The ending of the book ramps up the excitement and suspense as the demons prepare for war.  I can't wait to see where the rest of these books go!

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. ​

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About Karen:
Karen Ann Hopkins resides in northern Kentucky with her family on a farm that boasts a menagerie of horses, goats, peacocks, chickens, ducks, rabbits, dogs, and cats. Karen’s main job is home schooling the kids, but she finds time to give riding lessons, coach a youth equestrian drill team, and of course, write. She was inspired to create her first book, Temptation, by the Amish community she lived in. The experiential knowledge she gained through her interactions with her neighbors drove the story of the star-crossed lovers, Rose and Noah. Their story continues in Belonging, where their families and cultures threaten to tear them apart, and with Forever and Deception, where we find out once and for all if love is enough for them.


​Lamb to the Slaughter, the first book in Serenity’s Plain Secrets, is Karen’s newest Amish endeavor, opening up the darker, grittier and more secretive lives of Amish society. It’s a story about the intertwining lives of three unlikely people in an Indiana Amish Community and the devastating results when a rebellious teenage girl is found shot to death in a corn field during the harvest. Serenity Adams is the newly elected young sheriff in the rural town of Blood Rock, and besides dealing with the threatening behavior of her predecessor, she now has a dead Amish girl on her plate. At first glance, the case seems obvious. The poor girl was probably accidently shot during hunting season, but when the elders of the Amish community, and even the girl’s parents, react with uncaring subdued behavior, Serenity becomes suspicious. As she delves deeper into the secretive community that she grew up beside, she discovers a gruesome crime from the past that may very well be related to the Amish girl’s shooting. Serenity enlists the help of the handsome bad-boy building contractor, Daniel Bachman. He left the Amish when he was nineteen and has his own dark reasons to help the spunky sheriff solve the crime that the family and friends who shunned him are trying desperately to cover up. Serenity’s persistence leads her to a stunning discovery that not only threatens to destroy her blossoming romance with Daniel, but may even take her life in the end.


​Karen’s YA paranormal/urban fantasy series, the Wings of War, is an epic story about Ember, whose normal life ends abruptly when her parents are killed and she discovers she’s a descendent of angels. Still coping with her strange powers, Ember finds herself — and her heart — in the middle of a centuries-old war in this “compulsively readable” novel (Kirkus Reviews).


​Karen grew up about a mile from Lake Ontario in Upstate New York. She was bitten by the horse bug at the age of five, and after diligently taking riding lessons for several years, was rewarded with her first horse at the age of eleven. The feisty horse’s name was Lady, a Quarter Horse-Thoroughbred cross, who became Karen’s steadfast companion. Through the years, the constant force in her life was horses. Eventually, she found her place as a riding instructor herself. Before accepting her fate in the barnyard, she worked a short stint as a paralegal, traveled abroad, and guided tourists on horseback riding tours in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee.
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Song of Songs

4/23/2019

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SONG OF SONGS: A NOVEL OF THE QUEEN OF SHEBA
BY MARC GRAHAM
Publication Date: April 16, 2019
Blank Slate Press
Paperback; 400 Pages
Genre: Historical Fiction


Lift the veil of legend for the untold story of Makeda, the Queen of Sheba, and Bathsheba, wife and mother of Israel’s first kings.
When Makeda, the slave-born daughter of the chieftain of Saba, comes of age, she wins her freedom and inherits her father’s titles along with a crumbling earthwork dam that threatens her people’s survival. When she learns of a great stone temple being built in a land far to the north, Makeda leads a caravan to the capital of Yisrael to learn how to build a permanent dam and secure her people’s prosperity.
On her arrival, Makeda discovers that her half-sister Bilkis (also known as Bathsheba) who was thought to have died in a long-ago flash flood, not only survived, but has become Queen of Yisrael. Not content with her own wealth, Bilkis intends to claim the riches of Saba for herself by forcing Makeda to marry her son. But Bilkis’s designs are threatened by the growing attraction between Makeda and Yetzer abi-Huram, master builder of Urusalim’s famed temple. Will Bilkis’s plan succeed or will Makeda and Yetzer outsmart her and find happiness far from her plots and intrigue?

AMAZON | BARNES AND NOBLE

Review:
Half-sisters Bilkis and Makeda are daughters of the Mukarrib or chieftain of Saba.  When a flood overruns the land, Bilkis does her best to protect Makeda, but Blikis is swept away in the waters for her efforts. Bilkis is believed to have perished in the flood, but is found by merchants making their way to Yisrael.  On their journey, Bilkis' caravan is attacked and she is claimed by the King of Yisrael.  Bilkis soon learns the ways of a Queen and orchestrates people and events to her whims.  Bilkis grows and secures her son to the throne, ruling still through him.  She decides a temple should be built and is surprised when stonemason Yeltzer is chosen for the job.  In Saba, Makeda has earned her place as Mukarrib after her father passed and her mother sacrificed after building a dam to secure water for Saba's future.  Years pass and the earthen dam is soon to fail.  When Makeda learns of a builder of stone, she follows a a trader to Yisrael to discover her sister once again.  


The story of the Queen of Sheba is veiled in mystery.  The time period of around 550 BCE is not very well documented, however Marc Graham manages to bring the stories of Bilkis, Makeda and Yeltzer alive.   In addition to these characters that the narrative alternates between, the landscape, dwellings, rituals and beliefs are richly described.   I was amazed at how well I could connect with the lives of these people that lived so long ago.  Their motivations and emotions resonated through the years.  Bilkis and Makeda's relationship as well as their choices made while Queen were incredibly interesting.  Bilkis and Makeda are two sides of the same coin, both strong leaders who are destined to rule; yet, one is guided by force and manipulation and the other with care and sympathy for her people.   Yeltzer's character as the builder of the Temple of Urusalim was fascinating to follow, his life seemed destined to be continuous trial and heartbreak and he always seemed to make to best of his situation.  The journeys of all three characters ends with the promise of more, and I would love to read more.  The story of these characters and the writing carries through and resonates throughout many years creating a harmony of time and place, bringing to life a story of people who have only been known to us through a few verses of religious texts.  
This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

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About the Author
Marc Graham studied mechanical engineering at Rice University in Texas, but has been writing since his first attempt at science fiction penned when he was ten. From there, he graduated to knock-off political thrillers, all safely locked away to protect the public, before settling on historical fiction. His first novel, Of Ashes and Dust, was published in March 2017.
He has won numerous writing contests including, the National Writers Assocation Manuscript Contest (Of Ashes and Dust), the Paul Gillette Memorial Writing Contest – Historical (Of Ashes and Dust, Song of Songs), and the Colorado Gold Writing Contest – Mainstream (Prince of the West, coming from Blank Slate Press in Fall 2019).
He lives in Colorado on the front range of the Rocky Mountains, and in addition to writing, he is an actor, narrator, speaker, story coach, shamanic practitioner, and whisky afficianado (Macallan 18, one ice cube). When not on stage or studio, in a pub, or bound to his computer, he can be found hiking with his wife and their Greater Swiss Mountain Dog.
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | GOODREADS

Song of Songs
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The Time Collector

4/16/2019

1 Comment

 
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About the Book:
THE TIME COLLECTOR
BY GWENDOLYN WOMACK
Publication Date: April 16, 2019
Picador USA
eBook & Paperback; 368 Pages
Genre: Historical/Romantic Suspense


Travel through time with the touch of a hand.
Roan West was born with an extraordinary gift: he can perceive the past of any object he touches. A highly skilled pyschometrist, he uses his talents to find and sell valuable antiques, but his quiet life in New Orleans is about to change. Stuart, a fellow pyschometrist and Roan’s close friend, has used his own abilities to unearth several out-of-place-artifacts or “ooparts”—like a ring that once belonged to the seventeenth-century mathematician and philosopher René Descartes, but was found buried in prehistoric bedrock.
The relics challenge recorded history, but soon after the discovery, Stuart disappears, making him one of several psychometrists who have recently died or vanished without a trace. When Roan comes across a viral video of a young woman who has discovered a priceless pocket watch just by “sensing” it, he knows he has to warn her—but will Melicent Tilpin listen? And can Roan find Stuart before it’s too late?
The quest for answers will lead Roan and Melicent around the world—before it brings them closer to each other and a startling truth—in the latest romantic thriller from Gwendolyn Womack, the bestselling, PRISM Award-winning author of The Memory Painter and The Fortune Teller.


Buy the Book:
AMAZON | BARNES AND NOBLE | BOOKS-A-MILLION | IBOOKS | INDIEBOUND | KOBO



 
Praise for The Time Collector

“A wonderfully intriguing tale, filled with the mystery of objects that tell a story. The Time Collector’s fast pace and fascinating premise will delight history and romance lovers.”―Yangsze Choo, New York Times bestselling author of The Ghost Bride


“A compelling exploration of time, history, and our primal need to connect with the past, The Time Collector is also a rollicking adventure through ancient mysteries and the moving story of two stunningly drawn characters, chasing the answer to the question of what it means to be human.”―Charlie Lovett, New York Times bestselling author of The Bookman’s Tale and The Lost Book of the Grail

“Gwendolyn Womack weaves a suspenseful tale that tackles the question of ‘time’―how it’s measured, its impact on nature and human consciousness―and I could hardly put it down! The Time Collector is a treasure trove of ancient artifacts, mysticism, and intrigue, sprinkled with a dash of romance―my very favorite things. What a book!”―Heather Webb, international bestselling author of Meet Me in Monaco


“The Time Collector is a fascinating tale of psychometrists, people who touch an object and sense the stories embedded within them. Pick up this book and you too will be transported across the globe and the centuries into exhilarating worlds filled with history and mystery, magic and mysticism, romance and danger. Its pages make the past come alive. Once you hold this object in your hands, you won’t be able to put it down.”―Amy Weiss, author of Crescendo


Review:
Roan West has a unique talent, he is a pyschometrist- a person who can read the imprinted memories on an object or person just by using his sense of touch.  There are only a handful of  pyschometrists in the world and since a recent discovery of strange artifacts dubbed ooparts, psychometrists have been gone missing, including Roan's friend, Stuart.  Ooparts, or Out of Place Objects are artifacts that originated in one time period, but are unearthed in rock from a previous time period.  The ooparts carry a mystery to be unlocked, and someone believes that the pyschometrists are the key.  When Roan hears of a new pyschometrist in LA, Melicent, he rushes out to meet her and warn her that she is now a target.  When Roan and Melicent meet, sparks fly and Melicent finds herself in immediate danger.  Now, Roan is racing the clock to find out the secret of the ooparts and to keep Melicent and the other pyschometrists safe.  


Exciting and distinctive, The Time Collector creates an amazing world with people who are able to read the past off of an object.  If I could have any superpower, I would definitely choose this one.  Because of Roan's ability, he has been able to live the lives of countless people throughout history.   Roan has experienced violence, trauma, love, happiness, greed, fame and many other emotions through the objects he has touched making him a extremely complex, sympathetic and well rounded individual who decided to carefully watch how he used his powers.  Melicent was a complimentary counterpart to Roan.  While their relationship progressed quickly, it was aided by their abilities to read each other.  I loved taking the trips into history and experiencing the emotions and journeys connected to each object.  Through the objects I was reminded of the importance of artifacts as well as our inner ties to objects that we posses. With a surprising and action packed ending, The Time Collector is an exhilarating genre-bending thriller.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 
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About the Author
Originally from Houston, Texas, GWENDOLYN WOMACK studied theater at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks and holds an MFA in Directing Theatre, Video, and Cinema from California Institute of the Arts. She is the USA Today bestselling author of The Fortune Teller and the RWA Prism Award-winning reincarnation thriller, The Memory Painter. She resides in Los Angeles with her family.
For more information please visit Gwendolyn Womack’s website. You can also connect with her on :
​Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Goodreads.

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Time Collector
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    Hi there! I'm Stephanie and I obviously love reading.  As, the title suggests, I read at least one hundred pages a day.  I enjoy most book genres; however, my favorites are historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, thriller, horror and YA.  I also read a lot of non-fiction science and gardening books for my occupation.  I enjoy reviewing books and as always, any book that I receive for free is read in return for my honest review.  

    ​https://share.simonandschuster.com/stephanierhildreth

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