Thieves of Greatness

 

Bookworm's Ranking - 4 Worms

Storyline - Elizabeth is the second daughter of King Henry the VII and unlikely to ever receive the crown or be remembered. Shunned by her family, she feels alone and wishes to be great. Yet, when she starts seeing a flying sailing ship, she begins to worry that she is going insane like her father is rumored to be. When the ship lands atop the palace and the man called Captain invites her aboard, she begins an adventure where animals talk, travels through time, and meets the other children invited on board like King Tut, the boy king of Egypt, Neal Armstrong, an adventurous boy who jumps into everything, and Coaxoch, a shy Aztec princess. But, their adventures are interrupted by someone taking children out of their time and abandoning them. As they race to stop whoever is doing this, the hunters become the hunted and they will have to find a way to send the world's and time's children back to where they belong and find in themselves all they can be.

Author - Emily C. Burger

Publisher - Howling Wolf

Age Group - 12 and up
 
Content - *May Contain Spoilers* Elizabeth decides to go with a man on a sailing ship that flies who she just met. Coaxoch struggles with right and wrong. Each child has to face their fear and doubt to overcome the evil they are facing and use their talents.

Personal Opinion - I've been jumping between rating this book at 3.5 or 4 stars because, while it is good and interesting and the characters are great, there were some questions and concerns I had. The story was really good and engaging, having a Doctor Who feel with the Captain and the Explorer and the strange items aboard the ship as well as picking up people who are fantastic (the biggest difference here is in Doctor Who, the companions are just normal people while each kid in this book is a recognizable figure from history but the sentiment is the same for the people who come along). That is one cool thing, that the every kid is an important person from history, which really shows that, "Every child has the ability to make history," as Captain says, and there are hints of how these children do so while reading this book. Speaking of history, while it was fun seeing  different people from various cultures and historical time periods, I did question the historical accurateness at times. The reader gets to see Elizabeth in her home for several chapters before she meets the Captain yet there were times I thought, "Is that right? I thought it was different." It makes me want to do research. That being said, the issue of accurateness also comes into play with point of view. It seemed it was mostly from Elizabeth's POV yet sometimes the author would seem to speak to the reader director, and then, again in the description, an item would be described by being compared to something else, something Elizabeth would not know anything about because of the time period difference. It made me wonder who was telling this story. There were also several POV changes without a scene break or chapter change that went from one character to another with only the change of a sentence. For the antagonist, I am still not clear is what his motivation and goal was. Lastly, and this is more personal, I would have liked to have seen Elizabeth at home longer at the end of the story, had seen how she changed, especially after how long the beginning was before even before a hint of the flying ship. But, this story was good. It wasn't a, "I have to get back to this right now!" story for me but, when I was reading, I was interested and engaged, enjoyed the various characters, human and animal, and seeing how these historical people before they were famous were brought into the story. I think there is a lot of room for it to become a series and continue on but it also works well for a stand alone. This is a good book, maybe one I would not say, "You have to go buy this," but, if someone was interested in it, I would say good things and support them picking it up. The author, Emily C. Burger, has a great future in writing if she wants to continue and work on it some more. I would keep an eye out for her next book.

Buy - Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Publisher,

To read or comment on this and other reviews, stop by Bookworm

 

Chew on a good book today!

Finding Unauthorized Faith in Harry Potter

"Devotions from the
Wizarding World"

Bookworm's Ranking - 3.5 Worms

About - There has been much controversy concerning Harry Potter and the Christian faith. Now, Nicole L. Rivera, explores how the series can speak and support Christian truths. Focusing on each book, excerpts and verses are combined to explore Harry and his friends more deeply to understand how these adventures reveal Christianity and faith, one chapter at a time.

Author - Nicole L. Rivera

Publisher - Hickey's Books

Age Group - 15 and up

Personal Opinion - When I first heard of this book, I was interested. I have read devotionals in the past the centered on a popular book but Harry Potter was unique because of the controversy concerning the series. Also, upon seeing the movies and currently reading the series, I can see where more can be taken from the books than just a great story but something deeper. And the author worked really had on it. Unfortunately, I did not find it that engaging. Sometimes the message was really quick or quoted the Bible verse associated with it more than discussing it and connecting it. Early on, some of the chapter seemed like a stretch to connect Christian scripture and the series (but, I do think the early books set up for the deeper stuff so that shouldn't be unexpected). I think this book could've had more editing as well. While I liked the book being broken up into the Harry Potter books and covering the messages in each one, the chapters could have been much more impactful and insightful if condensed together. While covering one of the books, I believe two chapters covered love that were the same kind of love. This made it almost over kill and would have made the message better had those two chapters been combined. Several times, I also became confused on what the author was trying to say. As an example, the message it seemed like she was saying that was should separate ourselves from people who don't believe what we do, yet I couldn't help but think that Jesus said to go and make disciples of all people, which means we would have to be around others who disagree with us. Lastly, but this is personal taste, I wasn't fond of the version of Bible she was using. The language was too modern and I felt lost some of the message. In the end, I could see someone who really likes Harry Potter and is a Christian interested in this book but not someone who has issues with the series.

Buy - Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Publisher,

Disclaimer - In exchange for an honest review, I received this book for free from the author.

To read or comment on this and other reviews, stop by Bookworm

 

Chew on a good book today!

The Golden Braid

"The One Who Needs Rescuing
Isn't Always the One in the Tower."

Bookworm's Ranking - 3.5 Worms

Storyline - When a man asks her to marry him, Rapunzel's mother moves them out of their village and to Hagenheim. Yet, they are attacked on the road and rescued by a brave knight. As Rapunzel and Sir Gerek get to know one another and the truth about her past begins to be revealed, she starts to question everything her mother ever told her and sees a side of her she never expected. But, finding a life she wishes to live might be harder than she thought, especially when her mother is determined to keep her.

Author - Melanie Dickerson

Publisher - Thomas Nelson

Age Group - 16 and up
 
Content - *May Contain Spoilers* Lecherous men throughout the novel. Several fight scenes and some deaths. A crazy, controlling woman obsessed with keeping Rapunzel away from men so she doesn't make the same mistake. Rapunzel learns to trust others and is determined to do the right thing. Uses wit and determination to get herself out of trouble. Gerek uses honor and integrity to help others even at his own risk.

Personal Opinion - While this novel was well written, Rapunzel's realization that not all men are evil and just want to use her, and trying to find life and true love, I had a hard time liking this book. For the second part that I said I like, that not all men are evil and just want to use her, there were a lot of men, almost all besides the main characters, that looked at her or threatened her with attacking her. For trying to make a point about people being good, most did not have good intentions to her except the main guy. It seemed counterproductive. Also, Sir Gerek's annoyance and then its disappearance towards Rapunzel seemed to come out of no where which made it seem unnatural. There were parts of the story that also seemed not to flow well such as the castle being taken over or the mother suddenly waning the man who hurt her back. That whole part seemed out of place until I reached the end and saw it all come together. The mystery of Rapunzel's past is well done and interesting and good how it was brought up and done. *SPOILER* What I liked the most was that he fell in love and gave up wanting to be rich in order to be with the woman he loved. Also his making up with his brother was really nice *END SPOILER*. Those who really like Melanie Dickerson will like The Golden Braid, but there was too much in it that got on my nerves to completely enjoy despite the fact it was well written and a good story. 

Buy - Amazon, Barnes and Noble, ChristianBook, Publisher,

Other Reviews for this Author - The Healers Apprentice - Review
                                                    The Merchant's Daughter - Review
                                                    The Fairest Beauty - Review

Disclaimer - In exchange for an honest review, I received this book for free from the publisher through BookLook.

 

To read or comment on this and other reviews, stop by Bookworm

 

Chew on a good book today!

Mythmaker: The Life of J.R.R. Tolkien

"Creator of The Hobbit and
The Lord of the Rings"

Bookworm's Ranking - 3.5 Worms

Storyline - J.R.R. Tolkien was a man of many things and his life lead him down many different paths. In this biography, readers can look into his life, his happiness and struggles, as he became the author of some of our world's favorite fantasy novels. From his early life in Africa to living as an orphan in England to becoming the writer of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien is presented simply and begins the readers journey in knowing the man behind Middle-Earth.

Author - Anne E. Neimark

Publisher - HMH Books for Your Readers

Age Group - 12 and up

Content - *May Contain Spoilers* Is a bit disobedient as a boy growing up. He encourages a woman he wants to marry to ditch the guy she is engaged to, convert, and marry him (they do end up living happily together though). Despite the negativity of his colleagues, Tolkien pursues his writing career even when it is hard and he wants to give up. He stays true to his convictions and faith.

Personal Opinion - While this book gave revealed information I did not know of J.R.R. Tolkien, it was also really simple. Not that that is a bad thing but it was not nearly as in depth as I would have liked.  It seemed to skim over and tell the story very straight forward of his life. An example of this is when it mentioned that one of his friends died who he was really close to and that it was painful for him, but that was it. It had only mentioned the friend one other time and there was no development of their friendship or information on how he dealt with the grief after. Yet, it makes a good start on learning about Tolkien and, because of its simplicity, allows for readers of about twelve to start learning about this author. But, for older age groups, they might want to find other books that will have more to it.

Buy - Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Publisher,

To read or comment on this and other reviews, stop by Bookworm

 

Chew on a good book today!

The Case of the Sin City Sister

"She's Not Your Average Nun.

And Now Sister Eve Divine's Risking it all,

Searching for a Missing Person in Las Vegas."

(Squirmy tired to disappear, like the sister in the book,

for the photo but I didn't have time for his antic so just took the picture.)

 

Bookworm's Ranking - 3.5 Worms

 

Storyline - Sister Eve takes a sabbatical to figure out where she truly wants to be. After her last visit home and helping her father with a case, she is not sure where she is belongs or being tempted to leave the convent. While trying to make her decision, another case comes in; to find someone's great-grandfather who disappeared in the 1890s after coming out for mining opportunities. But another case is calling to Eve, her missing sister. When she can't contact her, she can't help but feel something is wrong and goes out to Vegas to find her. But as she digs deeper into her sister's life, Eve is beginning to wonder what her sister has gotten into. As people begin to get hurt and a strange man appears multiple times where Eve goes, she wonders if she will find her sister alive.

Author - Lynne Hinton

Publisher - Thomas Nelson
 
Age Group - 15 and up
 
Content - *May Contain Spoilers* Eve turns to God when things become difficult and to help her make decisions while doing everything she can to help others, even people she hardly knows. Even as things become dangerous, Eve and her friends wont turn back from finding the truth. Several Vegas women hint the Eve might be a woman on the job on the street. A couple lies. Eve wants to encourage a romance between two people yet one is already married. Law breaking. Eve suggest that her sister called out to her father so strongly with her mind that her dad heard it. 

Personal Opinion - While I liked the characters and I read this book in a week and sat, absorbing about 50 pages per time, I have a lot of issues with this story. Something I did like was the beginning and end of the book, giving the reader a look into the past with the case the father worked on while Eve was away. It was fun to really see what happened to that character. This could have been a fun story on its own but is barley touched, just opens and ends the book which is really about finding Eve's sister.  Also, Eve's naivety was not believable because of how she grew up. It seemed like a connection was trying to be made that because she was a nun she didn't know the ways of the world when that wouldn't have been true when he father was a cop and preferred to watch baseball instead of going to mass so she would have know more about society. It was also unbelievable that it took the characters so long to see come clues or come to determinations when they are supposed to be "so good at this." The author would also hold back information until she wanted to reveal it but it didn't make sense not to note it earlier. Example: we meet a woman who is being beaten up by her boyfriend yet the bruises Eve saw are not mentioned when the woman is initially described, yet it is supposed to be obvious even beneath her makeup, but mentioned in the next chapter when two of the main character decide to talk about it. There were a handful of times it seemed strange that Eve was okay with something, or didn't even notice, yet was a Benedictine nun, such as when she missed Sunday morning mass and it was never even mentioned, like she didn't even notice or care when that would not be part of a nun's life style or belief. What perhaps got to me the most though was the clarification. A character would make a comment and the author would clarify it in the sentence after like the comment couldn't be taken by itself or it might not be clear. Yet it was so I felt I was reading the same thing twice. Yet, for everything I disliked about the book, I read it fast and it was a fine read. Maybe a little read best read at the beach. Unfortunately, the problems this book had made what could have been a good book into an okay book. I might read another one of her later releases, but this book needed some small detailed editing to make it shine.

Buy - Amazon, Barnes and Noble, ChristianBook, Publisher,

Disclaimer - In exchange for an honest review, I received this book for free from the publisher through BookLook.

To read or comment on this and other reviews, stop by Bookworm

Chew on a good book today!

Dreamworks Dragons: Riders of Berk; Volumes 1-4

Bookworm's Ranking - 3.5 - 4 Worms

Storyline - Hiccup and his friends are defending Berk, fighting dragons, and meeting new enemies in this comic book series based off the TV show, Riders of Berk. In the series, we meet old and new enemies as the dragons and Vikings get in trouble a well as the heroes using their ingenuity to conquer their antagonists. Ride along with the dragons and riders as the work together and learn new lessons on their crazy adventures.

Publisher - Titan Comics

Age Group - 13 and up
 
Content - *May Contain Spoilers* Hiccup tries to be a good leader but also disobeys his father from time to time. He is determined to protect his dragon and friends. Jealousy also comes into play. All the gang tries to work together and protect their home and dragons.

Personal Opinion - This series is fun and charming but I found some of the stories missing something. These stories are not recreations of the episodes on TV but their own adventures to add to the show which makes them new. That artwork was colorful and bright, bringing the story to life. The new enemies were interesting and challenging, requiring the dragon riders to use their famous ingenuity to win. Yet, something seemed to be missing from the books. For some, it might have been a sense of immediacy with the danger and the stories went fast. One of the comic's art was a bit strange but, I like this series and can't wait to see the rest of the stories.

Buy - Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Publisher,

To read or comment on this and other reviews, stop by Bookworm

 

Chew on a good book today!

Valiant Hearts Book 1: Dauntless

"Where Legend and History Collide,

One Young Woman Will Fight for the Innocent"

Bookworm's Ranking - 3.5 Worms
 

Storyline - Merry Ellison has lost title, home, and family when her father rebelled against the king of England. Now living in the woods with a band of orphan children, they steal to survive. The only dream she will allow herself to have is to find a safe home for the children to live while she must remain hidden. And not fall in love. Their thievery has been noticed, dubbing them the Ghosts of Farthingale Forest since they are never seen. They are a wanted band. And the first one to catch on to them is Merry's betrothed, Timothy Grey. Fighting between duty and love, Timothy will have to decide to hand over Merry for her crimes or find another way. Yet, unbeknownst to Timothy, someone is out to destroy him. Will Merry find a way to care for the children and welcome love or will choices beyond their control determine their future?

Author - Dina L. Sleiman

Publisher - Baker Publishing Group; Bethany House Publishing

Age Group - 16 and up

Content - *May Contain Spoilers* Merry fears for her honor once. The Ghosts steal in order to survive. Timothy searches to do the right thing by his duty and master yet struggles with the idea of allowing Merry to be hurt. A Lord is described to "love" often. Someone seeks to hurt another.

Personal Opinion - Merry and Timothy's struggles to care for others and find a way in their life drives their decisions and causes conflict between them. Even though they love each other, they believe the other doesn't and both have been hurt enough in their life to be cynical. This bring believability and life to the characters for different reasons. Merry can't see another life for herself because she is wanted by the king and thought dead, leaving the only option to steal to survive and protect innocent lives, believing that is the only way her life can go. Timothy is the ninth child and not going to inherit anything so has to find a place for himself yet morns the loss of the woman he loves. These two have a lot to deal with but are not the only ones. The rest of the cast are developed into players themselves with wants, desires, and struggles themselves, such as one of the Ghosts in love with Merry and leaning on God for direction and a man in the castle jealous of Timothy and plans on destroying him. While all this character development was good and interesting, I expected a little more action because the story is based off Robin Hood. The story is good, just would have liked more action sooner in the story.

Buy - Amazon, Barnes and Noble, ChristianBook, Publisher,

Disclaimer - In exchange for an honest review, I received this book for free from the publisher through Bethany House.

To read or comment on this and other reviews, stop by Bookworm

 

Chew on a good book today!

The Patmos Deception

"An Ancient Island Holds

an Ancient Secret..."

 

Bookworm's Ranking - 3.5 Worms

Storyline - Carey travels to Greece only to find the Institute that had offered her a job has closed, leaving her stranded. Thankfully, Nick, a journalist in Paris and an old friend of Carey's offers her a job. An under the radar job seeking stolen antiquities. Dimitri is a local for-hire tourist boat guide on Patmos struggling to make ends meet in the troublesome economy of Greece. So, to keep his family's legacy alive, he agrees to some illegal work. Yet the job requires more than he bargained for. They are all in danger and it will take their knowledge, skill, and determination to survive.

Author - Davis Bunn

Publisher - Bethany House

Age Group - 16 or 17 and up

Content - *May Contain Spoilers* Each character is encouraged to turn to God for direction in their current situations as well as dealing with their past such as Dimitri previously being a womanizer and then a smuggler and Carey with overcoming bad relationships.

Personal Opinion - I liked the idea of an ancient secret affecting modern day lives and thought this would be a good adventure novel. The characters were diverse and had detailed histories about how they became who they are and where they are now. There's a lot of information concerning various islands (mostly Ephesus and Patmos), their history, a legend, and how they tied in with Biblical times. The novel also gave an in depth image of the economic crisis in Greece. For all the work of creating characters with various personalities and histories, the book did not emphasis the mystery that much. This made it highly character centered and made me think on several occasions "What is this book about again? Oh, right." In fact, the story could go several chapters about the characters' present and past, were they were going, or the island's history without even touching on what the main plot was. I prefer books that are more evenly character and plot centered then heavily one way or the other. While it had great information and characters, I found this book slow and not my particular taste.

Buy - Amazon, Barnes and Noble, ChristianBook, Publisher,

Disclaimer - In exchange for an honest review, I received this book for free from the publisher through Bethany House Reviewers.

To read or comment on this and other reviews, stop by Bookworm

Chew on a good book today!

The Ice Dragon

Bookworm's Ranking - 3.5 Worms

 

Storyline - Adara was born during the coldest winter her village has seen in over a hundred years, and is just as cold. She loves the winter and the ice dragon that visits, bring an icy chill. Yet, because of her frosty behavior, her family can't get close to her. As war advances to her village and winter comes sooner every year, her family struggles with what to do, stay or leave. When it seems like her whole world is about to fall apart when she is seven, one choice from here will affect the outcome of her whole family.

Author - George R. R. Martin

Illustrator - Yvonne Gilbert

Publisher - Starscape Book; Tom Doherty Associates, LLC

Age Group - 15 and up

Content - *May Contain Spoilers* Detailed description of mother's womb and was born with a cold affecting her. After a brief temptation to runaway and abandon her family, she returns to face a terrible enemy. Unconditional love, even when it is not returned, shared.

Personal Opinion - Beautifully told. The story was very symbolic of love and family and sacrifice and change. I am actually surprised how well it was told with so little dialogue which is really popular for stories. I wish it had been longer and went deeper into the characters and events, especially since it is for an older age group despite how short it is, but I think it had a good message about cold and warmth and how people change.

Video -

Buy - Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Author,

Awards - New York Times bestselling author

Note - The book has recently been republished with a new cover.

To read or comment on this and other reviews, stop by Bookworm

 

Chew on a good book today!

The Fairest Beauty

"A Daring Rescue.

A Difficult Choice."

Bookworm's Ranking - 3.5 Worms

Storyline - Sophie has always lived a simple but tortured life, working as a scullery maid, for Duchess Ermengarde. When a strange young man, Gabe, arrives, telling her she is truly the dead Duke's daughter and betrothed to his older brother, she can't help but want to believe it. But the Duchess has plans for Sophie's death. Soon, Sophie and Gabe are on the run and hiding at the Cottage of the Seven. As they hide, they can't help but fall in love with each other. Can Sophie and Gabe find a way to be together despite her being promised to another? Can they both find the plans God has for them?

Author - Melanie Dickerson

Publisher - Zondervan

Age Group - 15 and up

Content - *May Contain Spoilers* Sophie is kind and giving and is learning to trust after being betrayed and lied to all her life. Gabe is rebellious but an event in his past that causes him guilt which contributes. He is also learning to be responsible and learning what his actions cost him. Both are going against their betrothals. Duchess Ermengarde is just a bit creepy, wanting to kill Sophie and happy about the idea of her dying. The Seven are open but one doesn't mind facing the issue at hand and trying to have Sophie and Gabe see it the problems of their relationship.

Personal Opinion - The Fairest Beauty was a story of love, adventure, and overcoming obstacles. The action scenes were really good and exciting. Sophie was sweet and helped others however she could and Gabe's rebelliousness reminded me of Han Solo in the original Star Wars film. I also liked how each of the Seven had a distinct thing about him that made him easy to remember and spot. But there were a couple of things I was not very fond of. Gabe was very rebellious in the beginning but then had a quick change of heart, almost too quick for me but I think it would have been a bit more believable if some information about his past had been hinted at earlier. I had also thought there would be more information on the personal stories of the Seven but there wasn't much of that. Most of the time, Sophie or Gabe was wondering about their feelings or how they were going to be together which was fine but I felt it happened a little too much (then again, it might just be my action side talking). All in all, The Fairest Beauty was good but not my favorite. If someone really wants to read it, they should because they might really like it.

Video -

Buy - Amazon, Barnes and Noble, ChristianBook, Publisher,

Special Notes - The Healer's Apprentice - Review
                         The Merchant's Daughter - Review

Disclaimer - In exchange for an honest review, I received this book for free from the publisher.

To read or comment on this and other reviews, stop by Bookworm

A Winter Dream

"The #1 Bestselling Master

Of the Holiday Novel 

Reimagines the Classic Story of

Joseph and the Coat of Many Colors,

Presenting An Inspiring Modern Story 

Of Family and Forgiveness."

Bookworm's Ranking - 3.5 Worms

Storyline - Joseph is one of twelve brothers, is the favorite of his father, and doing well in the family's advertising agency. Unfortunately, this doesn't sit well with his brother and the first chance they get they coerce him into leaving home and never coming back. Joseph is heart broken but tries to make the best of it. Soon he is rising up in his new job and falling for a beautiful and kind waitress, April. But she hides a past and his boss's fiance is a bit flirtatious. When things begin to fall apart, Joseph is left reeling and it seems he is about to sink to the bottom. But his dreams are yet to be realized. Based of the Bible story of Joseph in the book of Genesis.

Author - Richard Paul Evans

Publisher - Simon and Schuster

Age Group - 17 and up

Content - *Contains Spoilers* Joseph is angry at the situation but is willing to sacrifice for the ones he loves and keeps to his convictions even in the face of adversity (aka being tempted by another man's fiance). Joseph ultimately forgives and loves his family. April is from a polygamist colony and was treated unfairly. She is also very loving and sacrificial. About 2-3 swear words but this is better than some books I have read. The woman who tempted him tore open her dress and it mentions that he saw her under garments.

Personal Opinion - A pretty enjoyable read. I kept going back to it, wanting to know what would happen next even though I know the Bible story like the back of my hand. It is pretty accurate to the Biblical tale and how the author played with the names in keeping them accurate to the Bible story but believable for modern day was a fun, creative aspect to the story. They were quite fun actually, such as Timothy Ishmael, the names of the 12 sons (some the same, some different yet very similar), and Joseph Jacobson. It does require some knowledge of the original story but fun non the less. I also liked how the dreams where made for modern day and yet were accurate to the dreams Joseph had in the Bible. A couple of things don't sit well with me, though. First, very little to almost no mention of God throughout the entire book even though it is based of a Biblical story. The majority of God was a picture of Jesus hung in a girl's house as well as she once was mentioned as consulting her Bible and Joseph's father once mentioned "God's time." There were a couple of things I didn't completely understand after I finished as well so I'm still working through them. Might have to reread it but will save it for next year. The book does deliver what it advertises on the back, "An inspiring modern story of family and forgiveness" and I would like to add love and good coming from bad. Good in those aspects and fairly clean, just wish it had incorporated more of God in the story like in the Bible.

Video - This isn't a trailer but of the author talking about his book. Quite interesting.

Buy - Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Publisher

Links - Learn more about the book and author here.

Special Notes - The author has written multiple Christmas novels based off Biblical stories.

To read, comment, and rate this and other reviews, stop by Bookworm

Prize of My Hear

"Massachusetts, 1815.

Will His Love Endure Once

He Learns Her Secret?"

Bookworm's Ranking - 3.5 Worms

Storyline - Brogan's wife took his son, Ben, away and hid him, promising that he will never find his son again. Three years later, Brogan has found his son. But Ben doesn't know him, has a new name, and has been integrated into the new family. But Brogan is determined to get him back and not to fall for the sweet mother-figure, Lorena, of Ben. As Brogan begins to spend time with them, that is proving harder to do and to keep the secret that he is Ben's father. Though, Loren has a secret too that she is keeping from Brogan, something that could devistate him.

Author - Lisa Norato

Publisher - Bathany House Publisher, an imprint of Baker Publishing Group

Age Group - 15 and up

Content - *May Contain Spoilers* Lorena looked to God when she needed help and looked after the ones she loved. Brogan is bitter towards God but comes to learn His love. Some hints to someone having been immoral but hasn't been and someone else is said to have had an affair. Asks the question of weather Piracy in time of war is wrong. A lie is kept for a while then told to Brogan but is still being kept from one person in the end.

Personal Opinion -

I enjoying this book. The author did a good job at moving the story along and making characters I could conect with. Enjoyed it all the way through, espessially the Bible references like one character was said that Moses could have used his sarcasm as a plague. Also, the characters' inner journeys was good, even though it seemed one character had changes of heart a little too quickly on occaision. But,it was the ending bugs me at first. Don't get me wrong, it had a good message on love anI enjoying this book. The author did a good job at moving the story along and making characters I could conect with. Enjoyed it all the way through, espessially the Bible references like one character was said that Moses could have used his sarcasm as a plague. Also, the characters' inner journeys were well done, even though it seemed one character had changes of heart a little too quickly on occaision. But, it is the ending that brought it down from me. I was really upset with it at first and had to re-read it to be happier with it. It has its upsides and downside. I can see how this ending was needed to really show this love and I can't go too in depth because I would have to give away the entire book but there was one thing that could have made it a lot better for me which would have been seeing Ben and Brogan interacting with each other after the secret came out, still would have liked this scene even when I'm feeling my best about the ending. Maybe I liked it more the second time because I missed something while crying buckets or my mind was just rebelling or something after the first reading. Still, I go back and forth on this, condsidering giving it 3.5 or 4 Worms depending on my mood. In the end, it was an interesting read and the author did a good job at creating a story and characters with a good message on love but I will probably not re-read this book any time soon.

Buy - Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Publisher,

Links - To learn more about the book and auther, click here.

Disclaimer - In exchange for an honest review, I received this book for free from Bethany House Publishers.

To read, comment, and rate this and other reviews, stop by Bookworm.

Hatchet

"Lost"

Bookworm's Ranking - 3.5 Worms

Storyline - Brian is headed to Canada to spend the summer with his father after his parents divorced. When the pilot dies and the plain crashes, Brian is alone in the wilderness to survive with only his new hatchet to help. Will he find a way to stay alive or will the unknown elements defeat him?
Author - Gary Paulsen

Publisher - Simon Pules: A devision of Simon and Schuster

Age Group - 12 or 13 and up
Content - *May Contain Spoilers* He learns to be a survivor on his own instead of being helpless. He makes himself learn and do something about his predicament and survival. Becoming depressed once, he cuts himself in hopes of dying but this is not graphic, just tells that is what he did and saw the dried blood later and regrets that action.
Personal Opinion - Good but had some trouble getting into it. Perhaps because it was mostly him having internal thoughts or sharing what was going on around him because he was alone, therefore couldn't have a conversation. Learning to survive and do things on his own, his growth in that way, was interesting and pulled me deeper into the story with his determination to survive. How he did it was fun to learn and was something I liked about the book. The ending was a bit abrupt but there are more books about Brian so I may read those. Those books might give more  to the story because there were some things I was curious about after it ended.

Buy - Amazon

Awards - Newberry Honor Award

Links - Learn more about the book and author here.

Special Notes - There are several more books about Brian but this book can be read without needing to read the rest. There is also a movie based off the book.

To read, comment, and rate this and other reviews, stop by Bookworm.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Bookworm's Ranking - 3.5 Worms

Storyline - Harry always thought he was just a regular kid with an aunt and uncle and cousin who didn't like him. But, when a letter arives to Hogwarts, the truth comes out that he is really a wizard. As he makes friends for the first time, he has to deal with teachers who don't like him and getting use to the magic. When mysterious things start happening and the potential of his parents' murderer of coming back, Harry Potter will have do what he can to stop him.

Author - J. K. Rowling

Publisher - Scholastic

Age Group - 13 and up

Content - Harry and his friends stood up for each other and others how needed help but broke rules several times with no consequence (okay, there some consequences). Dumbldore, the wizard in charge of the school, had lots of good advice for Harry. Some adults where portarayed pretty dumb and Harry often wanted revenge on his cousin and other relatives.

Personal Opinion - I never read Harry Potter when I was young so this was my first exposer to the books (I've seen a few of the movies) and I thought it wasn't bad. Yes, Harry wants revenge and disobeys the rules a bunch but I have read worse. Yes, there is also magic but it isn't that bad either. The author told you much the info, which I find irritating usually, but I was pulled into the story well. I have this book at 3 Worms because I'm not sure I can make a complete decision on the book unless I read the others.

Awards - New York Times Best Seller,

Links - Learn more about the books and author at: http://www.jkrowling.com/

To read, comment, and rate this and other reviews, stop by http://bookwormreading.blogspot.com/

River of Time: Torrent

Bookworm's Ranking - 3.5 Worms

Storyline - Book 3 - Returning to medieval times once again, they find it has been longer than they wished since they departed their men but they are happy to see each other again and quickly celebrate. But that happiness soon ends when an opportunity comes to save Fortino, Marcello's brother, who was captured by Firenze. Unfortunately, that cost for Fortino is Gabi and Lia. They devise a plan to rescue him, the Bettarini women as bait. When things go wrong, Gabriella finds herself potentially being forced into marriage with someone she does not love. Can she escape and return to Marcello? And will she be able to convince her family to stay with everything life threatening that has happened and the plague only a few years away?

Author - Lisa Bergren

Publisher - David C. Cook

Age Group - 15 and up

Content - All of the character defend each other and try to save others even at the cost of themselves. Gabriella and Lia are willing to put themselves at risk to save Marcello's brother and Gabi is willing to be with the one she loves and to protect others from harm. A priest had some good advice in the book. There was some sexual stuff from the bad guys and Gabriella hinted at being together before marriage.

Personal Opinion - It was good but I was disappointed about the representation of the priest in the story. He was excommunicated and performing duties that he could no longer do and which would not be recognized by the church, such as marriage.  Considering that Marcello is suppose to be the guy who really follows his faith and loves God, this was strange that he was okay with it and would be going along with it. As a family member pointed out, though, in the situation where the priest was administrating at the wedding, it could be argued that it was an extreme circumstance and it was going to be made valid later but I still see holes from what I read about excommunication.When you add this to the one time Marcello complained about the Pope and one man said that his father was a priest, I wasn't very happy, feeling every example was in some way negative to the Catholic Church. I will not deny that there was abuses within the church but that is still not an accurate picture of the Catholic faith. There were good along with bad. Another thing that I wish had been different in the book was Gabi's faith walk. I thought she would grow more in her faith since she not use to going to church except on Christmas and Easter and didn't really pray. All that happened was she prayed a bit more. It didn't seem that she grew that much in her faith or came to any big connection with God. This was all unfortunate because it was an exciting book with some fun time travel. But I will hesitate in recommending this series from here on out because of the excommunicated priest. If the view of Catholicism had been balanced and the priest had been faithful to his superiors, no matter their decision, it would have been better to me.

Disclaimer - In exchange for an honest review, I received this book for free from the author.

Links - Learn more about the books and author here.

Books 1 and 2, Waterfall and Cascade, Review.

Special Notes - Book releases September 1, 2011.

To read, comment, and rate this and other reviews, stop by Bookworm.

Updated - May 13, 2012