Book Review: Death in the Clouds

Death in the Clouds by Agatha Christie

Twenty-one people have boarded the Prometheus at France's Le Bourget airport for a routine, one-day flight to London. But what begins as an ordinary excursion over the English Channel turns into a most extraordinary case of murder when a female passenger is shot with the venom-tipped dart of a South African blowpipe. Even more bizarre is that the killing could go completely unnoticed by any other passengers--including Hercule Poirot, the brilliant Belgian detective, sitting not fifteen feet from the victim.

This was another good read from Agatha Christie. I don't think I've read a single book by her that I didn't like. It wasn't my favorite of her books, but still suspenseful and well-written as always. I thought I had it all figured out, but, as happens most of the time with her books, I ended up being wrong in the end!

Book Review: A Broken Kind of Beautiful

A 

Broken Kind

              of Beautiful

 by 

Katie Ganshert

  

SOMETIMES EVERYTHING YOU EVER

LEARNED ABOUT YOURSELF IS WRONG.

Fashion is a fickle industry, a frightening fact for twenty-four-year-old model Ivy Clark. Ten years in and she's learned a sacred truth---appearance is everything. Nobody cares about her broken past as long as she looks beautiful for the camera. This is the only life Ivy knows---so when it starts to unravel, she'll do anything to hold on. Even if that means moving to the quaint island town of Greenbrier, South Carolina, to be the new face of her stepmother's bridal wear line---an irony too rich for words, since Ivy is far from the pure bride in white. If only her tenuous future didn't rest in the hands of Davis Knight, her mysterious photographer. Not only did he walk away from the kind of success Ivy longs for to work maintenance at a local church, he treats her differently than any man ever has. Somehow, Davis sees through the facade she works so hard to maintain. In fact, it seems that everyone Ivy comes across in Greenbrier challenges what she has come to believe about beauty and worth. Is it possible that God sees her---a woman stained and broken by the world---yet wants her still?

This book is beautifully written. I must admit I'm a little envious of Katie's writing style. She adds just enough detail to give you a feel for the surroundings without being too wordy. I loved the book at first because of this, but after a while I guess I just grew kind of bored with the story. It's a bit cliche and predictable and a little unrealistic. At one part someone drops a snow globe on CARPETED floor and it shatters... and at another part a guy hit a girl in the cheek with a beer bottle and the bottle shattered and cut her face... uh... I'm pretty sure her cheek bone would break before the bottle would! The glass in glass bottles is pretty thick! Stuff like that REALLY bugs me in books... but anyway, other than those things it was an interesting story and Ivy wasn't your typical heroine for these types of books so I guess that was nice. Although her character kind of annoyed me. I suppose it's sort of cut down the middle. It had good stuff and not so good stuff. But I'll give it 4 out of 5 because of the writing style and the story was interesting at some parts.

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for this honest review.

Book Review: Dark Justice

DARK JUSTICE

by 

Brandilyn Collins

What did he say? 

                  What does it mean?

While driving along a rural road, Hannah Shire and her aging mother, 

who suffers from dementia, stop to help a man at the scene of a car accident.

The man whispers mysterious words in Hannah's ear. Soon there are people

---perhaps even law enforcement---who want to kill her and her mom 

for what they "know."

The two women must flee for their lives. But how does Hannah hide

her confused parent, who just wants to listen to her favorite pop music,

wear her purple hat, and go home? If they turn to Hannah's daughter for

help, she could fall into danger as well. 

Surrounded by trouble, Hannah must keep all three generations of

women in her family alive. Only then does she learn the threat is not just to

them, but the entire country . . .

This book was quite intriguing, and caught my interest from the very beginning. It's a very suspenseful edge-of-your-seat sort of read, leaving you wondering what will happen next with the turn of every page, thus making it a quick and easy read. Most of the book is written in first person's perspective from Hannah's point of view, but there were some parts written in third person where it switched to her daughter's point of view, and a couple other characters. It was a very clipped and to the point sort of writing style, not focusing too long on any one thing, which helped with the fast flow of the story. Sometimes that was nice and sometimes it kind of annoyed me, but overall it's not a big deal. If you're in the mood for a riveting suspense that will keep you coming back to the book to learn what happens next, I recommend this book! It does have quite a bit of violence and killing in it, as well as break-ins and kidnappings, so if that sort of stuff bothers you it's probably not the book for you. This was the first book I've read by this author, and after reading it (and "Praise" for her other books) I would certainly like to read more by her! I give this book a 4.5.

Book Review: Blades of Valor

Blades of Valor by Sigmund Brouwer (Merlin's Immortals book 4)

Thomas is finally in the Holy Land and reunited with Sir William, but is forced to travel on his own from the coast through Nazareth, and finally to Jerusalem. The road is a dangerous one—especially to a lone traveler. Bandits masquerade as slaves, traitors appear to be allies, and once again, Thomas doesn’t know whom to trust. He must rely on his own resources to discern friend from foe, and to finally discover the final key to the Druids' master plan before returning home to expose them.

Back in England, a final storm is brewing against Thomas, for the Druids are much more powerful than the Orphan King can even imagine.

This book was pretty good, though it seemed to drag on some in the beginning. Throughout the whole book there were both parts that I found quite interesting and parts I found quite boring. Especially some of the conversations, which dragged on and often repeated things that had already been said either in the previous book or to another person. Also I don't feel like the characters were pushed enough to their limits. Quite often they would too easily get out of dangerous situations, so the book never got too suspenseful or filled with much action. It seemed like the exciting scenes started and ended all too quickly and the boring scenes went on far too long. I think perhaps I liked the book before it a little better, but it was a decent end to the series (even though I didn't read book 1 and 2) and all ended well.

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: Martyr's Fire

Martyr's Fire by Sigmund Brouwer (Book 3 in the Merlin's Immortals series)

Posing as a beggar, Thomas escapes Magnus after fifteen men, who are calling themselves the Priests of the Holy Grail, arrive and take control of the castle through wondrous acts and apparent miracles. With the help of his longtime friend Gervaise, Thomas sets out on a journey that leads him to the ancient Holy Land. Unaware that Katherine and Hawkwood are watching over him, Thomas is tested in his beliefs and comes face to face with the ancient power that the Merlins and Druids have long been searching for.

I chose this for my next read from Blogging For Books because it was pretty much the only thing I had to pick from, and it was short so I knew I could read it in a timely manner. As it is the third installment in a series it was a little confusing in some parts as most of the characters had already been introduced in the previous books and the plot was set, but I didn't find it to be too terribly hard to follow. Toward the beginning I thought it to be kind of boring and it didn't really grasp my interest. Still I read on, and I'm glad I did! It actually turned out to be a fairly entertaining read with likeable characters and it was well-written. Also, it was kind of funny as I'm reading along and all of a sudden Robin Hood is randomly thrown in it! Anyway, the only downside is that the story leaves off in the middle of things so now I must read the next book in the series! Anyway, not a terribly amazing book but entertaining enough to keep my interest.

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for this honest review.

Book Review: A Kiss In Time

A Kiss In Time by Alex Flinn

Talia fell under a spell. . . .

Jack broke the curse.

I was told to beware the accursed spindle, but it

was so enchanting, so hypnotic. . . . 

                  

                   I was looking for a little adventure the day I ditched my 

                   tour group. But finding a comatose town, with a hot-

                   looking chick asleep in it, was so not what I had in mind.

I awakened in the same place but in another

time--to a stranger's soft kiss.

                

                  I couldn't help kissing her. Sometimes you just have to

                  kiss someone. I didn't know this would happen.

Now I am in dire trouble because my father, the king, says I have

brought ruin upon our country. I have no choice but to run away 

with this commoner!

                  Now I'm stuck with a bratty princess and a trunk full of

                  her jewels. . . . The good news: My parents will freak!

A Kiss In Time is a modern retelling of the story of Sleeping Beauty. I found it to be a pretty enjoyable read! It was pretty funny at some parts and was a quick and easy read. It was fast paced and kept my interest until the end. Though not being a Christian book, it did have some worldly stuff in it, but nothing too bad. Probably a little better in that sense than Beastly, which is written by the same author. Overall a good book that I would recommend to others and I know I would be interested in reading more of Flinn's modern fairy tales.

Book Review: Paper Roses

Paper Roses by Amanda Cabot (Texas Dreams book 1)

Her future stretched out like the clear blue Texas sky. 

But a storm is coming.

Leaving the past behind in Philadelphia, mail-order bride Sarah Dobbs arrives in San Antonio ready to greet her groom---a man she has never met but whose letters, her paper roses, have won her heart from afar. But there is a problem---Austin Canfield is dead, and Sarah cannot go back East.

As Sarah tries to reconcile herself to a future that is drastically changed, Austin's brother Clay wants nothing more than to shake the Texas dust from his boots, but first he must find his brother's killer. And then there's Sarah.

Something is blooming out in the vast Texas landscape that neither Clay nor Sarah is ready to admit, and the promise of redemption blows like a gentle breeze through the prairie grasses.

At first this book was terribly slow moving and way too descriptive for my taste, lingering far to long on the character's thoughts and feelings, but after a while it seemed to be a bit less descriptive and I did enjoy it. It still was rather wordy and a book that was nearly impossible to read quickly; sometimes it seemed like the author threw in big words just because, as if flaunting her word knowledge. Still the story did have depth and that's what kept me interested. I had to keep reading to discover who Austin's killer was! As far as the romance part it was predictable, but still sweet. I really liked Clay. He was probably my favorite character in the book. Not a super thrilling story that everyone simply must read but still worth the read. I'd give it a 3.5.