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Julian Fox, The Dream Guardian

8/22/2019

About the Book

Title: Julian Fox: The Dream Guardian Author: E.J. Miranda

Genre: YA Fantasy

It is said that dreams are just that: only dreams. But believe me, this is not always true. Some dreams are as real as the dreamer.

Thanks to their dreams, dreamers can receive the special visit of eternal wisdom that has inspired the creativity of great inventors, scientists, musicians, and even writers throughout the ages.

This creative wisdom is not always the type that appears to the eager conscience. Sometimes, a Defiler, a destroyer of dreams, is the one who tries to appear before the dreamer. These creatures were once humans, but they allowed their pain and desire for revenge to take over and seek the same miserable fate for the one who dreams.

You must not fear — Dream Guardians, also known as Kelsdrant, will always protect the one who dreams, even with their own life. They are people of flesh and bone, just like you and me, or at least they are on Earth.

The following story is dedicated to the fun, extravagant, and enlightening life of Julian Fox, the Dream Guardian.

Be prepared, dear reader. It is time to dream, laugh, reflect, and even maybe cry.

Welcome to the Land of the Wise Dreams.

Review

Julian Fox is a college graduate looking forward to working at his father's business. He and his brother, Nicholas are engaged in a continuous prank war and his girlfriend, Jennifer is always around saying how much she loves him. Julian's life is beautiful. One night Julian has an extremely lifelike dream, one where he is taken to the Land of Wise Dreams where he fights off an evil force that wanted to enter the dream arch of a dreamer and harm them. Julian learns that he is a dream guardian, a Kelsdrant and has been in training to protect dreamers from the Defiler's. Julian now splits his time between his real life and his dream life until the two begin to mix.

Julian Fox, the Dream Guardian is a unique and interesting fantasy read. It did take me a little while to get into the story as it began with showcasing the extravagant and affluent lifestyle of the extremely gifted Fox family. There was a lot of description of the family's exorbitant wealth that really didn't do anything for the plot except for setting up Jennifer as a gold-digger. I also didn't understand why the mother of the 20 and 21 year old Fox brother's were so involved in their lives to the point of sticking thermometers in their mouths and regulating what they eat. However, I really did enjoy the book once Julian entered the Land of Wise Dreams. The world-building was wonderful and had a captivating history and landscape. I was fascinated by the different animals of the land and how they tied into Earth's mythology as well as the painful histories of those that became Defilers. I found Julian's journey within the Land of Wise Dreams much more interesting as he went on quests, battled Defilers and made friendships. The ending twists Julian's real life and dream life together even more and leaves room for a sequel.

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

Author Bio

E.J. Miranda is an avid reader, an enthusiastic traveler, and a passionate author. Her great sense of humor and love for nature have granted her a rebellious writing style: her approach describes the adventures of life, but in such a way that each reader can have an individual take on the matter. Her inspiration comes from her curiosity about other countries’ cultures and peculiarities. A few countries in particular which spark her curiosity are Colombia, Italy, Costa Rica, England, Belgium, Mexico, Spain, and the United States. Her favorite places to visit are historical sites and museums, locations that allow her to explore important and even overlooked details. She currently lives with her husband in Colombia, but frequently travels to Houston to visit her daughter and son. E.J. Miranda has a degree in tax accounting, but she prefers interacting with people to calculating their taxes. To learn more about her life and work, visit www.ejmiranda.com.

Links

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Pleased to Meet Me

8/19/2019

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About Pleased to Meet Me
• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: National Geographic (August 6, 2019)
Why are you attracted to a certain “type?” Why are you a morning person? Why do you vote the way you do? From a witty new voice in popular science comes a clever, life-changing look at what makes you you.
“I can’t believe I just said that.” “What possessed me to do that?” “What’s wrong with me?” We’re constantly seeking answers to these fundamental human questions, and now, science has the answers. The foods we enjoy, the people we love, the emotions we feel, and the beliefs we hold can all be traced back to our DNA, germs, and environment. This witty, colloquial book is popular science at its best, describing in everyday language how genetics, epigenetics, microbiology, and psychology work together to influence our personality and actions. Mixing cutting-edge research and relatable humor, Pleased to Meet Me is filled with fascinating insights that shine a light on who we really are–and how we might become our best selves.

Purchase Links
Amazon | Amazon Canada | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble

Review:
Have you ever wondered why you do some of the things you do? Or just simply why you are the way you are? With a deeper knowledge of our genetics and how our body and environments interact, Bill Sullivan explains who we are based on our genetics. This topic may not sound like everyone's cup of tea (you might find out why if you read the book!), however, the writing is easy to read and relatable. This is accessible genetics the way you wish your high school biology teacher would have taught things and is filled with pop-culture references and engaging language that will appeal to science buffs and curious minds alike.

Broken into ten sections, the reader is introduced to their Maker, Tastes, Appetite, Addictions, Moods, Demons, Match, Mind, Beliefs and Future. In Meet Your Maker, a primer to DNA, genetics and expression is given for those of us who may not remember the finer points of biology or need a brush up.

My favorite section was Meet Your Tastes, the writing really dives right in to describe how genes are responsible for your love or hatred of broccoli and your tastes in general. It was amazing to see how well genetics could describe my tastes and what I enjoy. I was definitely able to pinpoint some of the tasting genes that I do or do not have just from reading (I am definitely not a supertaster, but I do have a variation in my TRPV1 receptor).

Meet Your Moods was another very informative section for me. Giving insight to how we feel the way we feel, Pleased to Meet Me describes just how much influence our gut bacteria has on the way we feel and made me think about just how much control I have over how I feel.

More than anything, Pleased to Meet Me continuously emphasizes not to judge people based on factors that they may not be able to control- their weight, addictions, moods, temperament or romantic preference. These are all based on genetic factors that we can better understand and- in some cases help one another with. There is a wide future for genetic engineering and the impact it can have on humans, but what we do with these discoveries and innovations is up to us and what our gut bacteria wants us to do.

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

Photo by Eric Schoch

About Bill Sullivan

BILL SULLIVAN is a professor of pharmacology and microbiology at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, where he studies infectious disease and genetics. An award-winning researcher, teacher, and science communicator, Sullivan has been featured in a wide variety of outlets, including CNN, Scientific American, Cosmos magazines, PLOS SciComm, The Naked Scientists, and The Scientist.
Find out more about Sullivan at his website, and connect with him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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The Undertaker's Assistant

8/3/2019

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THE UNDERTAKER’S ASSISTANT
BY AMANDA SKENANDORE
Publication Date: July 30, 2019
Kensington Publishing Corp.
eBook & Paperback; 304 Pages
Genre: Historical Fiction

Set during Reconstruction-era New Orleans, and with an extraordinary and unforgettable heroine at its heart, The Undertaker’s Assistant is a powerful story of human resilience–and of the unlikely bonds that hold fast even in our darkest moments.

“The dead can’t hurt you. Only the living can.”Effie Jones, a former slave who escaped to the Union side as a child, knows the truth of her words. Taken in by an army surgeon and his wife during the War, she learned to read and write, to tolerate the sight of blood and broken bodies–and to forget what is too painful to bear. Now a young freedwoman, she has returned south to New Orleans and earns her living as an embalmer, her steady hand and skillful incisions compensating for her white employer’s shortcomings.

Tall and serious, Effie keeps her distance from the other girls in her boarding house, holding tight to the satisfaction she finds in her work. But despite her reticence, two encounters–with a charismatic state legislator named Samson Greene, and a beautiful young Creole, Adeline–introduce her to new worlds of protests and activism, of soirees and social ambition. Effie decides to seek out the past she has blocked from her memory and try to trace her kin. As her hopes are tested by betrayal, and New Orleans grapples with violence and growing racial turmoil, Effie faces loss and heartache, but also a chance to finally find her place . . .

AMAZON | BARNES AND NOBLE | INDIEBOUND

Review:
Effie Jones was born a slave before she escaped to Union lines where she was taken in by an army surgeon and taught the trade of embalming as the ward of the surgeon and his wife. Now, ten years after the war Effie is compelled to leave the only home she remembers and travels to New Orleans. Effie knows that there might not be many opportunities for a young freedwoman, but she takes a chance by knocking on the door of Mr. Whitmark, the local Undertaker and a former Union soldier. Mr. Whitmark takes Effie on and while improving the shop, Effie tries to find where she fits in. Effie quickly falls for the orator and state legislator Samson Greene and becomes involved in his political committee fighting for rights. Effie also finds an unlikely friend in Adeline, a Creole who teaches Effie social graces in return for help with her tricks of the spiritual trade. However, Effie is looking for more than friendship and love, she is looking for what she forgot before she was found in the Union camp, a family to miss her when she is gone. The answers Effie is looking for might be closer than she thinks.

Thoughtful and distinctive, The Undertaker's Assistant is a historical fiction novel of Reconstruction era south that intelligently weaves together the experiences of a freedwoman and a woman on a journey of self discovery. I was easily able to connect with Effie's character and the turbulent but exciting times in Reconstruction-era Louisiana. Effie also shows the unique lens Undertaker and the very well researched practice of embalming. The impact of the Civil War left it's mark on more than just the freed slaves and the soldiers. Effie's employer, Mr. Whitmark, a southerner who fought for the Union is treated as an outcast even though the Union won. Adeline is a Creole whose family has been hit by the economic downturn. There is also Sampson Greene who has found his calling in helping others to rise above and using his freedom for political action. With this diverse cross-section of people in one place, I can feel the tension rising over the course of the story. In addition to the setting, Effie's search for herself and ties to her own culture drive a second story line. Effie's quest to discover her roots and the people from her past was heartfelt and emotional. Throughout the story there is a foreboding foreshadowing that something traumatic has happened in Effie's past, I enjoyed the unraveling of the mystery within Effie's mind as her travels revealed hidden memories locked in her mind.

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

About the Author

Amanda Skenandore is a historical fiction writer and registered nurse. Between Earth and Sky was her first novel. She lives in Las Vegas, Nevada. Readers can visit her website at www.amandaskenandore.com.

FACEBOOK | TWITTER | GOODREADS

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