The Review: Phoenix by Daccari Buchelli

   This novel takes place in Peradon, a land that consists of four realms. The Frost, Air, Earth, and Flame. Violetta lost her mother and brother in a tragic accident, leaving her and her father, the King, in despair. Her 15^th birthday seems to sneak up on the young princess and before she knows it, her father announces she is to seek out a potential husband. Her father expects her to pick any young suitor other than the son of the cruel, deceased Frost Emperor, Ryore. The young emperor has however set his sights on the Princess. When a party invitation arrives for Violetta, the King’s expectations and reputation is put at risk. The realms carry many secrets but dark accusations arise. Could it be possible that Violetta’s mother and brother didn’t just die in a freak accident but were targeted? 

   Phoenix is the kind of novel that by the end of it, you’re wishing for a second installment. Character depth and a great plot is something Buchelli did a fantastic job at. In the first chapter or so I found it hard to follow because I wasn’t sure what the setting was but by the end of the second chapter I was hooked. This is a ride you definitely want to get in on and experience for yourself. 

   Until Next Time...
   -Fiction Book Reviewer

The Review: The Gifting By K.E. Ganshert

   This novel takes place in a time where things such as the supernatural and the human soul is believed to not exist. Religion is looked down upon, the second amendment is stripped from the constitution, ignorance is no longer acceptable and anyone who is declared mentally ill is locked away, believed to be a burden on society. Tess Eckhart starts to have strange dreams that come to fruition and sees entities that no else seems to notice. Her family, terrified, moves from their home in Florida to California in hopes of Tess getting treated at mental health facility, known for their success and ability to fly under the governments’ radar. Soon after getting settled in their new home, Tess meets a boy, Luka and discovers that they may have much more in common than just being next door neighbors.

   The Gifting has a unique plot and fantastic, diverse characters that grabbed my attention right off the bat. I’ve read books that have taken place in the future but no author has ventured into the paranormal aspect, things that science cannot explain and where knowing current world events is held in the highest regard. I really enjoyed the fact that students in high school are required to take a class called Current Events. America should diffidently incorporate this into the education system. Throughout the book, I was kept on my toes and constantly wondered if Tess was actually seeing entities or if she was truly going crazy. The Gifting shows another possibility of what could happen to society if science was the only belief acceptable in everyday life. The Gifting is absolutely a fantastic read.

   Until Next Time…
   Fiction Book Reviewer

Update

I hope ya'll are enjoying your Friday thus far! Next up for review is K.E Ganshert's novel, The Gifting, taking place in a world where, presumably, anything supernatural simply doesn't exist. Seems to me this book may be my cup of coffee. The review will be up on November 4th at 11am, CDT.

 Until Next Time....
-Fiction Book Reviewer

The Review: The Black Spaniard: Revolution Begins Within by Linda Brown Holt

The Black Spaniard takes place mostly in Vienna, Austria and immerses you in the 18th and 19th century. This historical fiction introduces Luis van Beethoven, a young, dark-skinned, talented pianist  who struggles with not only his own genius but living in a white man's world. The story stays true to Ludwig van Beethoven's slow deterioration of his hearing and this novel takes you into the mind of a gifted musician who slowly loses the ability to hear the one thing he loves the most. Many well-known individuals made an appearance and it was interesting to see how Luis interacted with them throughout the book. The dialog in these pages perfectly fit into the time this story takes place and the musical terminology, impeccable. The Black Spaniard is a wonderful twist to a fiction based on history and the imagery was great. There was one section that stood out to me and I absolutely loved it.

 "His self-confidence, already high, had shot through the roof, and there was no more holding him back than trying to stuff the wild unruly spirits back into Pandora's treasure chest. There was  no thought for tomorrow, and no regard for yesterday."

The Black Spaniard, though fiction, gives a unique insight into one of the most influential people in the Western art music; leading the way from the Classical to the Romantic era.

Until Next Time...
-Fiction Book Reviewer

Update

Good Morning!
On October 7th I will be posting a review on The Black Spaniard: Revolution Begins Within by Linda Brown Holt. Hope yall are enjoying your Friday 🌻

Until Next Time...
-Fiction Book Reviewer

Update

Goodmorning ya'll, Due to a sudden move going on over here, I will be holding off on my review on The Eagle Tree until October 14th.  I will in the meantime be writing another review on a novel in which I will tell you more about in my next post. Hope you all are having a great day!

Until Next time...
-Fiction Book Reviewer

Update

Next up for review will be The Eagle Tree by Ned Hayes and will be up on September 2nd.

Until Next Time...
-Fiction Book Reviewer

The Review: The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchison

   The Butterfly Garden starts off with a young girl in a cold interrogation room and the FBI agents, Special Agent Victor Hanoverian and Brandon Eddison who are assigned to this case are just agents to think she may have had a hand in this sick and twisted crime. Maya slowly opens up about what happened in the Garden and eventually how she got there in the first place. It is soon discovered that Maya’s name is actually Inara. She has had a rough upbringing that may have been one of the many reasons she seems so calm and collected after witnessing such horrors from the Gardener. Throughout the novel, many gruesome events are revealed and enough twists and turns to give you whiplash. What else happened in the Garden and can any of the surviving young girls really be saved?

   This novel is one of the best crime pieces I have read in a very long time and kept me interested throughout. I grew to love each and every one of the characters and felt absolutely devastated when more information came to light. I recommend this book to anyone who loves in depth crime books with plenty of mystery. 10/10

Until Next Time…

~Fiction-Book-Reviewer 

Book Review Update

The book review for The Butterfly Garden has been postponed and will be posted on July 14th. Have a great Sunday!

Until Next Time...
~Fiction Book Reviewer

Book Review Update

The next novel I will be reviewing is The Butterfly Garden, written by Dot Hutchison. The review on this 288 page book will be up June 24th. Hope all of ya'll are enjoying your summer!

Until Next Time
~Fiction-Book-Reviewer

Review: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

    Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is about a 16 year old, American boy who has grown out of his Polish Grandfather’s fantastic fictions about his life on an island after escaping the Nazis during World War II. Jacob Portman has lived a pretty dull life with the exception of his Grandfather’s more occurring episodes. His dementia has been getting worse and his impossible stories of his childhood in the refugee home started to become real to him. One night Jacob receives a frantic call from Grandpa Portman, asking for a key to his gun safe and how he needed to protect himself. Jacob stopped by his home only to find his grandfather in the woods, close to death and a blackened creature dashing further into the trees. Jacob soon uncovers photos and a letter while he is helping clean out his Grandfathers home. Could there really be an island off the coast of Wales with a house that was more than a refugee children’s home? Could it be possible that the stories about the levitating girl, the boy who housed bees in his body and many more, are true? Jacob sets off to discover the dangerous secrets his grandfather wanted him so desperately to know.

  I loved how Ransom Riggs incorporated actual photos to make this story seem realistic and it adds a whole new dimension of (mainly) creepy. He does a very good job of knowing how much mystery should be held throughout the novel in order to keep a reader on their toes and wanting to know more. The plot is refreshingly different and I wasn’t able to guess what the next turn would be. I would recommend this to those who love fictional stories that give a feeling it could have actually happened and leaves you thinking if there is more to this world than we are aware.

Until Next Time…

~Fiction-Book-Reviewer

The review will be up in just a few moments here and on my Tumblr! Happy Friday!

   Until Next Time...

   ~Fiction-Book-Reviewer

Update #42

I will be reading the New York Times Best Seller, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. My review will be up on the morning of the 20th.

Until Next Time…
-Fiction Book Reviewer

Review: Life First by R.J. Crayton

   Life First takes place one hundred years into a post apocalyptic nation. After the pandemics wiped out eighty percent of the world’s population, the new government made a law, Life First. If an individual needed an organ or blood, it was to be given to them. A married pregnant woman is held in the highest regard because she is the giver of life. Children are told through statistics when they should or shouldn’t sacrifice to save others. The citizens have to give blood every two years to maintain a steady blood supply as well as have their blood type logged into a data base if someone was ill or in need of a donation. Kelsey Reed, a woman in her early 20s is marked for a kidney extraction surgery for a man who is in need of one and she seems to be the only match. In the days leading up to the surgery, she stays with her Father, a lead gubernatorial candidate and sitting state senator. The night before the appointment, she makes an attempt to flee with the help of her boyfriend Luke and the man who witnessed her pregnant mother’s death, Dr. Grant. The attempt fails and Kelsey is sent to a holding facility until her trail. There it is revealed she is pregnant and wouldn’t have been able to have the surgery done if she had gone to the appointment. If she is found guilty, not only will her baby will be stripped from her and given to another family but she will also be sentenced to death through donation. Her uterus will be removed and she will be sent to a long term holding until she is matched with someone who is in need of any kind of vital organ. With the help of her father, Luke, Dr. Grand and her Uncle Albert, Kelsey hopes to avoid a guilty verdict.  If not, they will have to put their risky escape plan in motion.

   Life First is a different outlook on the future of a society after an apocalypse claims billions of lives. Rather than focus on the first year or so after the outbreak, RJ Crayton takes the story a century into the future. The prospect of the government taking on a law like Life First after the pandemic is very believable. The author did a fantastic job of making this novel as realistic as possible, that is, until the tail end. I try not to give parts of the ending away but this is a scene that I have to address. If you plan on reading Life First for yourself, stop reading this now. In the last handful of chapters, Kelsey and Luke make a daring escape from the short-term holding facility. They make their way to Kelsey’s apartment. There, Luke invited their small group of family and friends to witness a small wedding ceremony. Kelsey and Luke apparently had enough time to change into a Tux as well as a white dress. This scene seemed so unrealistic and the whole time I’m thinking, “Shouldn’t they be on the run to Peoria?” Good thing this was not the very ending to the book or else that would have ruined it for me. Overall Life First is well written and for the most part, very convincing that something like what happened to Kelsey could very well happen to any one of us.

Until Next Time…

~Fiction-Book-Reviewer  

Update #41

   Up next for a review is Life First by RJ Crayton.  This book is the first of the Dystopian series and contains 262 pages of content. This novel is about a young woman living in a world where the apocalypse happened over a century ago and eighty percent of the population had perished. A new law was formed, Life First. This law stated that if one person is in need of an organ, the match for that donation would have no choice but to give it. Now, whether it was a vital organ or not, that depended on if you were being held in a long term holding facility. Death by donation instead of death by lethal injection. Kelsey Reed gets word she is to donate one of her kidneys and she decides to run. The punishment for denying a donation? Being brought to a short-term unit where it'll be decided if she'll be placed in long-term or set free. The review will be up on Tumblr as well as Blogger on April 22nd.

Until Next Time...
   ~Fiction-Book-Reviewer

My Tumblr Blog: http://fiction-book-reviewer.tumblr.com/

Review: The Happening by Harvey Yoder

   The Happening retells the unbelievable tragedy that struck an Amish community on the morning of October 2^nd, 2006 and the overwhelming forgiveness from the victim’s families as well as the outpouring of love from around the world. That morning was just another ordinary, beautiful morning in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania as families were readying themselves for the day. The main character, Rebecca Sue is an embodiment of the group of young girls that had survived the Happening as well as changing the names used in the book is a way of preserving the privacy the Amish community wanted. That morning at 10:25 Mr. Roberts rode in a borrowed truck to the small white school house where class was in session. The children ranged from first grade to eighth, twenty-six in total. Mr. Roberts came into the school house with one thing on his mind, to get revenge on God for taking his daughter away from him. An hour later, eleven young girls where shot. Only five survived. Soon an out pour of love and support came rushing to the families of the victims. What was even more astonishing was the forgiveness of the Amish community. Mrs. Roberts and her children reached out to each of the victims’ families, visiting their homes, being greeted with open arms. This tragic event was handled with so much grace and understanding from the community. The people of Nickel Mines had forgiven Roberts but the absence of their loved ones cannot be replaced.

   The author of this novel, Harvey Yoder, did an amazing job of retelling not only of that fateful morning but the love and forgiveness in the aftermath. I’ve read books that share a version of terrible events and the authors would focus the majority of the story about every detail of what had happened. This was a different perspective and included different focal points that I enjoyed. Not only was the event described through a young girl’s eyes but shows an example of tremendous strength within a community. Their faith was unshakable though this time and in doing so, inspiring millions.

   Until Next Time…

~Fiction-Book-Reviewer

Update #40

For the next review I will be reading The Happening: Nickel Mines School Tragedy, written by Harvey Yoder. This book is based on a true even that struck the heart of the community in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania. Mr. Yoder tells a story of an Amish school shooting on the morning of October 2nd, 2006. The review will be posted on the 25th of this month.

Until Next Time...

~Fiction-Book-Reviewer

Check out Books on Screen and New York Bestsellers on eCampus  Here!

Review: The Rexwood Murders novel by Barron Jones

The Rexwood Murders novel by Barron Jones is about a group of teenagers being thrown in the middle of fifteen year old vendetta that is finally making itself known. The first opening chapter takes the reader back to October 31^st, 1998 where this close knit community in southern Georgia is about to be put though a horrific tragedy.  A home in the neighborhood of Meadow-Way is hosting a Halloween party.  Inside there is a fight that breaks out between two men, Kirk Jones and Ronald Rosenberg.  A fire starts claiming the home after Kirk’s failed attempted at throwing his drink at Ronald. The home explodes not long after Ronald goes back into the home to try and rescue his family. Years later, this group of teenagers on Halloween night spend a terrifying night in the Rosenberg mansion, chased thorough hallways and discovered tucked away secrets. After some of the characters make it out alive and into their homes, the dark hooded figure’s presence didn’t diminish.  Through notes and text messages, the group is threatened of their secrets coming to light. The teenagers think they know exactly who is harassing them and who attacked them that Halloween night but when they drive by the Rosenberg Mansion, it’s littered with police. One body bag is being wheeled away. In the distance, the black hooded figure is watching. They were wrong.

The Rexwood Murders novel was different in terms of the writing style.  This example will be taken from the book itself;

“They are reaching a door and Austin starts to place his hand on the door knob.”

 In a usual fiction piece that sentence would be written like this, “They reach a door and Austin begins to place his hand on the handle.” I haven’t read a novel written like this before and I honestly didn’t enjoy this style. There were points where I would catch word or phrase repetition within the same two or three sentences. These two sentences are an example.

“…reach the lunchroom before the lines get full, the three finally reach the lunchroom. 

Entering the lunchroom…”

The plot is very good although towards the end it seemed to resemble a popular television series called Pretty Little Liars. This novel started off very strong and original until it was reaching its last couple chapters. I hope there is a slight change in the way this plot seems to be developing if there happens to be a sequel in the future.

  Until Next Time…

      ~Fiction-Book-Reviewer

Update #39

Goodmorning! I wanted to let you know that I am posting my book reviews, sidebar, and updates to my Blogger page as well as my Tumblr page. Please feel free to check it out!
http://fiction-book-reviewer.tumblr.com/

Until Next Time...

Update #38

Up next for review is The Rexwood Murders, written by Barron Jones. The review will be up the 26th of February.