Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Review of Illusion

Frank Peretti is arguably my favorite writer. Not only do I enjoy his books, but the man himself comes across as very humble, very likeable.

His last book, House, coauthored with Ted Dekker, was released in 2006. And like other Peretti fans, I have long awaited new material from him. So naturally, I jumped at the chance to review his latest work, Illusion.

If you are a diehard Peretti fan who enjoys sci fi, magic, and suspense/thrillers, you should enjoy this book. Even if you are not a Peretti fan, if you're looking for something different in the realm of Christian fiction, this is it. This is not some formulaic end times thriller nor bonnet fiction; it is something entirely fresh and different. A magical story, this book reminded me a little of the movie, The Prestige.

Told in third person, Illusion is a suspenseful, sci-fi-ish story written by Frank Peretti and published by Howard Books. This tale was different than the other supernatural tales Peretti fans are used to him writing. But different isn’t necessarily bad, just different.

Strange things happen. A magician (Dane Collins) loses his wife, and a young girl (Eloise Kramer) awakes to find herself transported forty years into the future. And of course, the two events are related.

I’ve read that Peretti has been releasing chapters on his Facebook page, so if you’re interested, you might want to check that out.

The book is available for preorder on Amazon and is set to be released March 6, 2012.

*Please note that I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my review. However, I was not required to write a positive review. The opinion expressed here is my own.



*The authors of this blog are Amazon.com affiliates. Sometimes, we will include links in our blog posts. When visitors to this site purchase items from Amazon.com using links in our posts, the authors of this blog earn a percentage of the sales.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Review of Firethorn

I recently finished Firethorn, written by Ronie Kendig and published by Barbour. I enjoyed this fourth and final book in the Discarded Heroes series but was sad that the series had come to an end.

Griffin Riddell, also known as Legend, is the main character in this book. When the Shack is attacked, the heroes are scattered, and a female outsider--strong and determined Kazi--is brought in to rescue them. Imagine the worst possible stuff that could happen to the heroes, and well, there you have it. But it makes for a great story.

Just to warn you, there was at least one major shocker/surprise in the story, but I won't spoil it for you. To be fair, the event added a greater sense of reality, because as we all know, not everything in life turns out rosy.

The book was very action packed. There was more at stake than in previous books in the series, and I liked how Kendig provided closure at the end.

After reading Wolfsbane, I had pity for Range, so I was glad that Kendig brought him back and gave him some more story time in this final book.

Even as I write this, I'm hoping Kendig's developing a spin off. *hint, hint, cough, wink* I really enjoyed reading about the characters, and as sappy as it sounds, I will miss reading about them.

This series will appeal to men and women who like a little romance and a lot of action. Women should enjoy the romance and depth of Kendig's characters. Men should enjoy the action and the realism Kendig brings to her carefully researched stories.

Though each book can stand alone, if you haven't read any of the books in the series, I would suggest reading them in order. It makes more sense, and you'll get more out of them:

Nightshade (Book 1)
Digitalis (Book 2)
Wolfsbane (Book 3)
Firethorn (Book 4)

Finally, equally noteworthy, is at the end of the book, Kendig draws attention to the men and women who serve and protect our great nation with pride and honor. While it's fun to enjoy fiction, we must never forget the real heroes.


*Please note that I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my review. However, I was not required to write a positive review. The opinion expressed here is my own.



*The authors of this blog are Amazon.com affiliates. Sometimes, we will include links in our blog posts. When visitors to this site purchase items from Amazon.com using links in our posts, the authors of this blog earn a percentage of the sales.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Review of Indelible

Indelible is a suspenseful tale told in third person. Published by WaterBrook Press and written by Kristen Heitzmann, this novel contains definite spiritual (angels, demons) overtones. Though overall, the tone throughout the book is not a preachy one.

Natalie Reeve, the main character, is an artist with an unbelievable talent. When tragedy strikes her family, her life intersects with mountain climber, Trevor MacDaniel. As the story progresses, and the two become closer, Trevor begins receiving disturbing items in the mail. In the end, he must face various challenges to protect Natalie and to find and stop the person sending the mail.

The book contains enough romance to satisfy female readers but not so much that it would bore male readers. The characters were anything but stereotypical. The story was fairly fast-paced and well-written but did have quite a few subplots/POVs that some might view as distracting. For example, at first, I wasn’t sure where the author was going with one of the subplots/POV involving the antagonist, but in the end, it does become clearer. A reader’s guide is provided at the end of the book for further reflection and discussion. 

In the course of the story, Natalie stays at Trevor’s house for protection as he has better security and she’s recovering from an injury. Nothing inappropriate happens between the two of them during this time, but I mention this, because readers might be offended by this. 

If you'd like to read an excerpt from Chapter 1 of this book for free, please visit Scribd.

*Please note that I received a free copy of this book from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group in exchange for my review. However, I was not required to write a positive review. The opinion expressed here is my own. 

 


*The authors of this blog are Amazon.com affiliates. Sometimes, we will include links in our blog posts. When visitors to this site purchase items from Amazon.com using links in our posts, the authors of this blog earn a percentage of the sales.