Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Apocalyptic Review: Left Behind (Left Behind #1) by Tim LaHaye, Jerry B. Jenkins

Left Behind  (Left Behind #1)
by Tim LaHaye, Jerry B. Jenkins

Description:
An airborne Boeing 747 is headed to London when, without any warning, passengers mysteriously disappear from their seats. Terror and chaos slowly spread not only through the plane but also worldwide as unusual events continue to unfold. For those who have been left behind, the apocalypse has just begun.


My Review:
I really enjoyed this book. Gets a bit preachy here and there, but since the whole point of the book is to explore the Rapture and the aftermath of it, I expected such.

I like how the book follows two main characters whose experiences, reactions, and paths taken after being left behind are different, but linked. The supporting characters are just as realistic and important to the book. I think Buck's tale drew me in more than Raymond's. There seemed to be a lot more tangible and spiritual danger to him. The final meeting blew my mind.

There are scriptural references sprinkled throughout to lend authenticity to the imagined way things would go down. Found them interesting.

I think folks who love apocalyptic stories might like this as well, regardless of religion. Devout Christians in particular may find the story encouraging and validating, while the casually religious might find it frightening.

I bought my copy of this book at a thrift store.


About the Authors:


Timothy "Tim" F. LaHaye was an American evangelical Christian minister, author, and speaker, best known for the Left Behind series of apocalyptic fiction, which he co-wrote with Jerry B. Jenkins. He has written over 50 books, both fiction and non-fiction.

Timothy "Tim" F. LaHaye was an American evangelical Christian minister, author, and speaker, best known for the Left Behind series of apocalyptic fiction, which he co-wrote with Jerry B. Jenkins.

He has written over 50 books, both fiction and non-fiction.




Jerry Bruce Jenkins is an American novelist and biographer. He is best known as co-author of the Left Behind series of books with Tim LaHaye. Jenkins has written over 185 books, including mysteries, historical fiction, biblical fiction, cop thrillers, international spy thrillers, and children's adventures, as well as non-fiction. His works usually feature Christians as protagonists. In 2005, Jenkins and LaHaye ranked 9th in Amazon.com's 10th Anniversary list of Hall of Fame authors based on books sold at Amazon.com during its first 10 years. Jenkins now teaches writers to become authors here at his website. He and his wife Dianna have three sons and eight grandchildren.

Books in this Series:

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

New Release Announcement: The Bay of Sins (Water Road #3) by J.D. Byrne


The Bay of Sins (The Water Road #3) by J.D. Byrne

Genre: Fantasy
Release Date: March 22, 2017

Description:
The war is over, but nothing is settled.

On the Neldathi side of the Water Road the clans are slowly pulling apart following a sudden murder. Hirrek is tasked with getting to the bottom of a mystery: was this killing the random act of a violent, unstable man? Or was it something more sinister, a hint of what the Neldathi thought they’d defeated during the war? The unity won in blood may be slipping away.

In the rebuilding city of Innisport, life is returning to something like normal. That’s largely due to Mida, given the task of rebuilding the city by Antrey Ranbren herself. After Mida hands power over to the Guild of Politicians, she finds herself on trial for her life, charged with treason and being a collaborator. Along the way she meets someone, a curious remnant of the war, who makes her rethink the way she sees those that destroyed her city.

In the meantime, Antrey returns from exile, escaping to the wilderness of Telebria. She gains new allies, including Rurek, and a new foe, the Sentinel Faerl. He’s best known among the other Sentinels as the man who let Antrey slip away once before, getting all his men killed in the process. Now he has a chance for redemption and revenge. But Antrey is willing to do anything to ensure that her legacy does not slip away.

The chase is on, as the saga of The Water Road barrels toward its explosive conclusion.

I'll be reviewing this one in a few weeks.  Looking forward to it.

Book Links:
The Water Road
The Endless Hills

Learn more about The Water Road trilogy from the Water Road Wednesday posts on J.D. Byrne's blog.


About the Author:

J.D. Byrne
JD Byrne was born and raised around Charleston, West Virginia, before spending seven years in Morgantown getting degrees in history and law from West Virginia University. He's practiced law for more than 15 years, writing briefs where he has to stick to real facts and real law. In his fiction, he gets to make up the facts, take or leave the law, and let his imagination run wild. He lives outside Charleston with his wife, one-eyed dog, and black cat.

Facebook: JDBAuthor

Twitter: @JDBAuthor

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/JDByrne

Web: jdbyrne.net

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Childrens New Release and Review: The Queen of the Frogs by Davide Cali and Illustrated by Marco Soma

The Queen of the Frogs 
by Davide Cali (Author), Marco Somà (Illustrations)
 
Release Date: March 20, 2017

Description:
An enchanting modern fable.

The frogs enjoy their life at the pond, filling their days with fly brunches and night music. But one day a little frog finds a crown at the bottom of the pond and is instantly pronounced a queen. She starts doing what queens do: making demands and expecting others to serve her. But when her royal subjects start to question her authority, she must prove she's fit to rule—if she can.

Reminiscent of Aesop's fables, this beautifully illustrated book is sure to start a discussion about the concept of leadership and the importance of humility.


My Review:
What a sweet little story about a frog who finds a crown and becomes the frog queen. I like how it has a moral showing that having a crown doesn't make you a good queen. The explanation around the crown itself is also cool and left a smile on my face.

The illustrations are lovely, not cartoony, but interesting with neat froggy contraptions and scenarios. I think I would I have liked this had I read it as a kid, mostly for the details in the pictures, but also for the queen's plight. It is simple, but not simplistic.

I would have liked to know what happened to the queen beyond just after having lost her crown.

Overall, I really liked it. Good for bedtime reading, interesting pictures, and simple story. Recommended.

I picked this up on NetGalley for a quick read.


About the Author:
Davide Cali was born in Liestal, Switzerland and lives in Genoa. He was a comic writer and illustrator for various magazines until he turned to children's books in 2000. At first both an author and illustrator, he finally decided only to write. Since then, he has written more than 20 picture books, which have been translated into many languages. --translated from the Goodreads author profile

Goodreads (author page)
Amazon.com (books by)
Website
Facebook Fan Page


Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Sci-Fi Romance ARC Review: Ensnared by Rita Stradling

EnsaredEnsnared
by Rita Stradling

Genre: Science Fiction Romance
Age category: Adult
Expected Publication Date: TBD
Description:
A Near Future Retelling of Beauty and the Beast

Alainn’s father is not a bad man. He’s a genius and an inventor. When he’s hired to create the robot Rose, Alainn knows taking the money is a mistake.

Rose acts like a human. She looks exactly like Alainn. But, something in her comes out wrong.

To save her father from a five year prison sentence, Alainn takes Rose’s place. She says goodbye to the sun and goes to live in a tower no human is allowed to enter. She becomes the prisoner of a man no human is allowed to see.

Believing that a life of servitude lies ahead, Alainn finds a very different fate awaits her in the company of the strange, scarred recluse.

My Review:
Ensnared is like Beauty and the Beast with AI robots tossed into the mix. To save her father from going to jail for fraud when Rose, the robot he built for Lorccan, refuses to go, Alainn pretends she’s the robot and goes in her place.

This was an intriguing read on many levels. First, there’s the new take on the classic fairy tale. Unlike in the original story, Alainn isn’t actually Lorccan’s prisoner. He has no clue she’s even human, thinking instead that she’s the amazingly realistic robot Alainn’s father built for him. I thought that made it easier to sympathize with him.

The story delves into several directions AI could take. The robots and AI in the story have drastically different levels of self-awareness and motivation. Some work towards the good of their owner, some for their own good, and some to shape their world in their own image. Some don’t seem to have any motivation at all. It was interesting, and also rather disturbing at times, just imagining robots that could seem so real they could be mistaken for alive, and vice versa.

I also thought the love story was rather sweet. Two people suffering from the trauma of their pasts finding healing in each other. It takes a long time for the love to develop, and in Lorccan’s case, he fights it hard, under the impression he’s falling for a thing, not a person. It gave the story a rather unique dynamic.

I didn’t really dislike anything about the story, but I must say I was surprised when the first intimate scene rolled around. I thought the scenes were well done, but very detailed, and I’d no idea the story was going to go there. That being said, I personally liked how it wasn’t just the act but the emotions that go with it, and I think folks who dig love scenes will probably like the ones in this book.

Overall, I loved this story. It’s a fun, fairytale retelling with a sci-fi twist. There’s a greater plot than just the love story, making this original despite its inspiration. Folks who like fairytales, romance, and sci-fi with a focus on AI will probably like this book.

I received the ARC of this book from the author via Lola’s Blog Tours.


You can find Ensnared on Goodreads

Watch the Book Trailer

Ensnared-Rita-Stradling-Promo2


 


Rita StradlingAbout the Author:
Rita Stradling is the author of The Deception Dance series, the Dakota Kekoa series and The Fourteen Day Soul Detox Novella Serial. She has a BA in Art History and a particular love for modern and medieval art.

Rita lives with her husband and son in Northern California.

She has an insatiable novel addiction and mostly reads young adult and adult: romance, paranormal, urban fantasy and high fantasy.

You can find and contact Rita here:
- Website
- Facebook
- Twitter
- Goodreads

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Non-Book Review: Tweetdeck is Awesome!

Tweeting in TweetDeck
I like Twitter, but Tweetdeck is awesome.

I don't recall exactly how I found out about it, probably from another blog or a tweet. Basically it's Twitter, but on your terms. You customize how you want to interact with your account. I have all the posts responding to or liking my tweets, my messages, and my scheduled posts all on their own columns. The constant twitter feed, which I find overwhelming on the main site, is hidden off to the side.

And yes, the scheduled posts. When I first got on Twitter, I was all like, "I write and post all my Tweets real-time." That's fine and all, but when you're trying to manage a blog and share reviews and also post thoughtful and interesting Tweets consistently, it gets rather difficult. So yes, with Tweetdeck, I went to the dark side, as I thought of it at the time, and started scheduling things ahead of time, mostly links to my books and quotes from them.

Then about this time last year I got frisky and wrote out a slew of posts of all sorts. Not just for my books, but for some of my older non-review posts here on the blog, for things I've learned as an author, and for my take on healthy living and happiness. I wrote them all over the course of a week and then spent a weekend scheduling them to go out over the course of the rest of the year.

This experiment in scheduled Tweets actually ran out just last month. So now that it's over, was it worth it?

Yes, it was. Not only did I manage to be more present in Twitter, I got more engagement out of folks and more followers, because I wasn't just posting random stuff, I was posting regularly and according to a few pre-determined themes I thought folks would enjoy.

An unexpected bonus was the enjoyment I got out of seeing those posts come up and remembering when I wrote them. It was fun!

So, long story short. I found Tweetdeck. It's neat. I definitely recommend it to folks who like Twitter.

Go forth and Tweet!