Chokepoint: Mini Mission 1.5 and GIVEAWAY

 

Bookworm's Ranking - 4.5 Worms

 

Storyline - Spencer is home and back in school but danger seems to have followed. While earning a place on the basketball team, learning LCT with Beth, and trying to find a homecoming date, strange men are coming after Spencer which is making the agents consider moving him and his grandma to a new location with new aliases. Spencer won't let that happen, even if it means agreeing to new precautions by the agents. When a chance comes up to catch the men, Spencer is willing to take it but he could end up in their hands instead.

Author - Jill Williamson

Publisher - CreatSpace

Age Group - 14 and up

Content - *May Contain Spoilers* Choices are made on weather to fight or avoid danger and weather to return to old habits or continue with his new ones. One crazy party were people are kissing, drinking, and smoking pot (the description is about as detailed as what I just wrote). Spencer is a little clueless about girls and their feelings but starts to learn a little bit more by the end. A boy is very protective of his sister.

Personal Opinion - This book lives up to the usual Jill Williamson standard of writing. It hits you off with a great adventure and builds to a fabulous, thrilling conclusion all the while creating realistic characters with their own concerns and subplots. And checkout that cover. The only thing I'm wondering about was how close to the climax the ending came. It wasn't bad, it was actually a great ending that still contained mystery and some great advice to Spencer, but I think it could run the risk of being a little abrupt for some readers. But it is a perfect story for those who read book 1 and are anxiously awaiting book 2. Another plus is that all the money from this book, bought either as an ebook or paperback, goes to help friends of the author to adopt a girl named Sydney! So read this because it is a great story AND a good donation. :)

You can also donate directly to Sydney's fund or go to the blog.

Buy - Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Publisher,

GIVEAWAY -

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Links - Jill's Website
            By Darkness Hid - Review
            To Darkness Fled - Review
            From Darkness Won - Review
            Replication: The Jason Experiment - Review
            The Mission League: The New Recruit - Review
            The Mission League: Project Gemini - Review (Coming Soon)
            Captives - Review (Coming Soon)

Special Notes - This novel happens between book 1 and 2.

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A Breed Apart: Trinity: Military War Dog

"An Ex-Green Beret and His War Dog

on the Greatest Mission of Their Lives.

And Probably Their Last."

Bookworm's Ranking - 4 Worms

 

Storyline - Heath Daniels only ever wanted to follow in his families footsteps and serve his country. But after a mission gone wrong, his dream to continue to serve is shattered by his inability to work in the field and has left him floundering for what God wants him to do. Left only with the one girl he could rely on, Trinity, his military war dog who could not function after he left the service, Heath receives an invitation to become part of the Breed Apart, a program ran by an old friend to inspire others. Soon they head to Afghanistan to speak at bases and troops. But Heath didn't expect to start falling for a beautiful girl, Darci, who he doesn't realize is an United States operative who is undercover. But when her past comes back to haunt her in the form of a man she played and betrayed in one of her missions, it is going to take Heath and Trinity to find and rescue Darci before she is killed or taken out of country. On the way, Heath and Darci are going to have to face God and learn what he wants for their lives.

Author - Ronie Kendig

Publisher - Barbour Publishing

Age Group - 17 and up

Content - *May Contain Spoilers* Heath works on trying to do what God wants but pushes for what he wants, ultimately coming to see that he needs God to lead and not him to lead God. Darci wonders about God after all the tragedies in her life. She also has regrets in her past but wants to help her country and do the right thing. Trinity is loving, caring, and protects the one she loves. Was totally dog ;). The antagonist is one vile man, beating and torturing happens when he is around, nothing is described but is understood.

Personal Opinion - What can I say? I was very pleased with this book. I loved Trinity. Some books have a synopsises that hints at animal involvement but then they are minimally in them. Not so with this book. Trinity was perfect. She had a real character and was completely realistic in her personality. The author would write a behavior and/or the human in the story would give something for the dog to say and each time I would see it in my mind because it was realistic. Just look at that cover for the cuteness. Trinity was the best... But I should probably say something about the people too. They and their struggles were realistic, with Heath trying to find God's path for him now that he is out of the Military and Darci being undercover and dealing with demons of her own past. They were people you could meet on the street. Each and every character, no matter how big their role in book, had a complex back story and were real people. My only complaints would be that there seemed to be scenes that were not needed and the info in them could have been transferred somewhere else. Trinity's personality, also, wasn't as prevalent towards the end. Lastly, maybe one or two too many plot twists for the story. But, Trinity all came together nicely and this is sure to be a book I will be recommending in the future and tossing peoples' way.

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Links - Learn more about this book and author here.
            Book 2, Talon - Review, Coming Soon
            Book 3, Beowulf - Review, Coming Soon

Special Notes - Book one in the A Breed Apart Series.

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The Mission League: The New Recruit

"Mission 1: Moscow"

Bookworm's Ranking - 4 Worms
 

Storyline - Spencer Garmond loves basketball more than anything and is willing to do anything to play. So when he is presented with either going to Military school or joining the Mission League, a group of Christians who think they are spies, he picks the churchers. Caring less about God, he puts up with these crazy Christians and goes on the mission trip to Russia. While in Moscow, Spencer meets Pasha, a boy with a strange tattoo and who is involved with a scary cult. As the summer continues and Arianna, a Mission League girl, tries to convert him and surrounded by other devote Christians, Spencer will have to make a choice about the gift God has given him and if he wants God in his life.

Author - Jill Williamson

Publisher - Marcher Lord Press

Age Group - 15 and up

Content - *May Contain Spoilers* Spencer swears but the actual words don't appear in the book but switches to substitute swear words when he can no longer use real ones. He has no interest in God or the Christian thing and thinks/says insults towards the other Mission League members but begins to see them differently and wants to learn about God by the end. There is a cult and it is wondered if demon possession is involved but non of the protagonists like it. A character in her past has had a hard life, there are no details but it is known that she was attacked and has a kid.

Personal Opinion - What first attracted me to this book was 1. Jill Williamson (fantastic author), 2. spies (can rarely go wrong with this kinda plot), and 3. Russia (have a strange fascination and obsession with Russia since the movie Anastasia. Even have a book in Russian yet I can't read a word of it). While reading The New Recruit, I enjoyed the opportunity, like many of my fellow reviews, to see from the point of view of someone who doesn't practice their Christian faith while surrounded by those who do. It gave it gave me, the reader and a practicing Christian, a chance to see my behaviors towards someone who doesn't think, or believe, like I do. Spencer did begin to change before the end of the book and will be digging deeper, I'm sure, in later books into who God is. The action in the story was good and the cult that Spencer and Pasha got mixed up in was realistic. ***SPOILER*** For a literature class, I read an author with similar ideas of looking inside yourself for power and truth as the cult in the book thought (I don't think there are any conection between the two). ***END SPOILER*** The beginning was a little slow to me and I thought I saw a couple of telling situations but that faded as the book went on and I found myself picking the book up when school needed to be done from curiosity as to what would happen next. Looking forward to the next books in this series and all the adventure and character journeys to come.

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Buy - Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Publisher,

Links - Visit the Mission League here. Visit Jill Williamson's webpage to learn about her other books and read her reviews. Read an author interview and enter the giveaway.

Special Notes - This is book 1 in the Mission League Series. Read about the others on The Mission League

Disclaimer - In exchange for an honest review, I received this book for free from the publisher/author through Team Novel Teen.

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Full Disclosure

 

Bookworm's Ranking - 3 Worms

 

Storyline - Paul Falcon has been hunting a lady shooter, now dormant, for years, waiting for a break in the case that could lead to her arrest. When Anne Silver, a homicide investigate and the MHI, enters his life and hands him the biggest lead to the case in years, not only is he wrapped up in the new lead but also in discovering more about the enigma of Anne. As Paul and Anne begin to get to know one another, mysteries to her past spring up, causing her to step back from considering a relationship with him, and the lady shoot case gets hot. As things climb with the case, politics, and Anne's pass, it will take strength and trust for Paul and Anne to find a life together.

Author - Dee Henerdson

Publisher - Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group

Age Group - 17 and up

Content - *May Contain Spoilers*  Paul desperately wanted to protect Anne from anything he could, even her nightmares, and was willing to make big sacrifices for her. Anne helps others with no thought to herself or her own gain. Some intense cop cases that Anne deals with as the MHI are mentioned briefly. Paul was really pushy once to Anne.

Personal Opinion - I had trouble engaging this book until I was halfway through. In the beginning, I felt there was way to much little information in both the romance and mystery part. An example is when Paul was giving out orders to his team and I would have to read each order to all or most of the people I never got to know and the orders lasted at least a page. And it happened more than once. Both the romance and mystery were kept apart, almost never branching into each other for that first half so the abundance of little information was within both hemispheres. It didn't seem to tie into each other and bring it together as a whole. But, halfway through, Ann's past started taking a role in the book and I became engaged. I started to enjoy the mystery and romance more. The rest of the book developed well after that but I was disappointed in the ending. It had a nice twist but was too simple. I didn't think this book matched up to Dee Henderson's previous books but that wont keep me from recommending the O'Malley Series and the Uncommon Hero Series (this series was published by two different houses at two different times so it may go by a different name also) with a giddy heart.
 
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Links - Learn more about the book and author at the facebook page and webpage. Also, visit her author website.

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

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Attracted to Fire

"Only One Assignment Stands Between Special Agent Meghan Connors and Her Dream of Protecting the President "

Bookworm's Ranking - 3 Worms

Storyline - Meghan is assigned to protect the Vice President's addicted daughter, Lindsay as she recovers at a friend's ranch, The Dancen' Dust. Unfortunately, the agent heading the the team, Ash Zinders, is known to dislike women agents. But, as attraction between the two builds, so does the threats and dangers to the VP's daughter. People begin to die and it is up to Meghan and Ash to stop him before he gets their protectee.

Author - DiAnn Mills

Publisher - Tyndale Publishing

Age Group - 16 and up

Content - The characters believe in God but it doesn't have as much faith stuff as other Christian books do. Some character do come closer to God/convert but it is very light. Meghan and Ash fight for their protectee's life and tries to do what is right.

Personal Opinion - I only found this book to be okay. I didn't get into it like I do other books. I found the character/story development all lacking and the descriptions weren't very good. The main characters spend very little time with other characters in the book (you don't even get to hear a conversation between Meghan and Lindsay for several days after being on the ranch yet you hear that they have talked before then). I wish more had been discussed about the characters' past such as you know Meghan had been engaged but broke it off and I'm still unsure what happened and you also know that she wants to talk to her mom about it but when she does it is less then a page long. There was a bit more for Ash and much more for Lindsay but I just wasn't that pleased with the back stories.The mystery wasn't very good either. The reader don't really get to guess or suspect anyone except who the main bad guy's accomplice might be because Lindsey knows who it is and tells. Sure, it was great to see her fighting back but it left very little mystery. The story had a good concept but I like more mystery in my books and would have liked more about God. But, I do know the author has won awards for her books so I might try an older one sometime.

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Disclaimer - In exchange for an honest review, I received this book for free from Tyndale Blog Network.

Links - Learn more about the book and author at: http://www.diannmills.com/

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