Posted January 5, 2015 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments
Blood of a Stone by
Jeanne Lyet Gassman Publisher: Tuscany Press (2015)
eARC (395 pages)
Via: NetGalley Rating: Reading Challenges: Read 2014 Synopsis
Set in the first century on the edges of the Roman Empire and the Jesus movement, Blood of a Stone is a sweeping story of murder, betrayal, love, and the search for redemption.
Faced with the brutality of slavery, Demetrios confronts his master and flees by the blood of a stone. Determined to escape his past, he struggles to create a new life and a new identity with his friend and fellow escaped slave, Elazar.
However, freedom has its price. Secrets cannot remain secret forever. A chance for love is lost. Elazar betrays Demetrios to a so-called prophet named Jesus of Nazareth. Fearing the Roman authorities and Jesus, Demetrios risks everything to silence those who would enslave him again. His quest leads him to startling discoveries and dire choices. Demetrios must answer the question we all ask: Can we ever be free of our past?
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Tagged as 4 star, NetGalley, Read 2014
Posted December 28, 2014 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments
Splintered by
A G Howard Series: Splintered #1 Publisher: Amulet Books (2013)
eBook (377 pages)
Via: Library Rating: Also by this author: Unhinged,
Ensnared Also in this series: Unhinged,
Ensnared Reading Challenges: Read 2014 Synopsis
This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence.
Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.
When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.
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Tagged as 5 star, All Time Favorites, Library, Read 2014
Posted December 27, 2014 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments
Merry Christmas!
It is so great that Christmas is more than just a day so I can say Merry Christmas
for quite a while yet, until the Baptism of the Lord on January 11 actually.
Merry Christmas!
The Case for Christmas by
Lee Strobel Publisher: Zondervan (2014)
eARC (96 pages)
Via: NetGalley Rating: Reading Challenges: Read 2014 Synopsis
Who was in the manger that first Christmas morning? Some say he would become a great moral leader. Others, a social critic. Still others view Jesus as a profound philosopher, a rabbi, a feminist, a prophet, and more. Many are convinced he was the divine Son of God. Who was he really? And how can you know for sure? Consulting experts on the Bible, archaeology, and messianic prophecy, Lee Strobel searches out the true identity of the child in the manger. Join him as he asks the tough, pointed questions you d expect from an award-winning legal journalist. If Jesus really was God in the flesh, then there ought to be credible evidence, including Eyewitness Evidence Can the biographies of Jesus be trusted? Scientific Evidence What does archaeology reveal? Profile Evidence Did Jesus fulfill the attributes of God? Fingerprint Evidence Did Jesus uniquely match the identity of the Messiah? The Case for Christmas invites you to consider why Christmas matters in the first place. Somewhere beyond the traditions of the holiday lies the truth. It may be more compelling than you ve realized. Weigh the facts . . . and decide for yourself."
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Tagged as 4 star, Christmas, NetGalley, Read 2014
Posted December 24, 2014 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments
Esther: Royal Beauty by
Angela Hunt Series: Dangerous Beauty #1 Publisher: Bethany House (2014)
eARC (325 pages)
Via: NetGalley Rating: Also by this author: Delilah Also in this series: Delilah Reading Challenges: Read 2014 Synopsis
An ambitious tyrant threatens genocide against the Jews in ancient Persia, so an inexperienced beautiful young queen must take a stand for her people.
When Xerxes, king of Persia, issues a call for beautiful young women, Hadassah, a Jewish orphan living in Susa, is forcibly taken to the palace of the pagan ruler. After months of preparation, the girl known to the Persians as Esther wins the king's heart and a queen's crown. But because her situation is uncertain, she keeps her ethnic identity a secret until she learns that an evil and ambitious man has won the king's permission to exterminate all Jews--young and old, powerful and helpless. Purposely violating an ancient Persian law, she risks her life in order to save her people...and bind her husband's heart.
Esther marks bestselling author Angela Hunt's return to biblical fiction. In each novel she explores an example of a Hebrew Old Testament tob woman: a woman whose physical beauty influences those around her--and can change the course of history.
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When I first saw this book on NetGalley, I knew I had to request it. It is about Esther! I absolutely love the movie One Night With the King and the biblical book of Esther. Esther (or rather, Hadassah) is one of the biblical persons who really fascinates me. And the cover is just beautiful.
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Tagged as 5 star, All Time Favorites, NetGalley, Read 2014
Posted December 23, 2014 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments
Time's Edge by
Rysa Walker Series: The Chronos Files #2 Publisher: Skyscape (2014)
eBook (452 pages)
Via: Library Rating: Reading Challenges: Read 2014 Synopsis
To stop her sadistic grandfather, Saul, and his band of time travelers from rewriting history, Kate must race to retrieve the CHRONOS keys before they fall into the Cyrists' hands. If she jumps back in time and pulls the wrong key--one that might tip off the Cyrists to her strategy--her whole plan could come crashing down, jeopardizing the future of millions of innocent people. Kate's only ally is Kiernan, who also carries the time-traveling gene. But their growing bond threatens everything Kate is trying to rebuild with Trey, her boyfriend who can't remember the relationship she can't forget.
As evidence of Saul's twisted mind builds, Kate's missions become more complex, blurring the line between good and evil. Which of the people Saul plans to sacrifice in the past can she and Kiernan save without risking their ultimate goal--or their own lives?
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This was a book I borrowed via the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library. I read the first book in the series a few months ago. Then I decided in December to borrow the second. It was … an interesting book.
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Tagged as 3 star, Read 2014
