The Wedding Dress

Title: The Wedding Dress
Author: Rachel Hauck
Labels: Fiction | Christian | Romance
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Publication Date: April 3, 2012
Reading Range: Adult
Contains: Light...sensuality, I guess you might call it?
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository | The Publisher

My Rating: ★★★★☆
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Blurb From Goodreads: One dress. Four women. An amazing destiny.
          Charlotte Malone is getting married. Yet all is not settled in the heart of Birmingham's chic bridal boutique owner. Charlotte can dress any bride to perfection-except herself. When she discovers a vintage mint-condition wedding gown in a battered old trunk, Charlotte embarks on a passionate journey to discover the women who wore the gown before her.
          Emily in 1912. Mary in 1939. And Hillary in 1968. Each woman teaches Charlotte something about love in her own unique way. Woven within the threads of the beautiful hundred-year-old gown is the truth about Charlotte's heritage, the power of faith, and the beauty of finding true love.
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         This book kinda reminded me of the TV show Cold Case, in a way. Mainly because half of the book is set in present time, and the other half in several different times spanning approximately 100 years. A couple chapters were in present time, with Charlotte searching for the dress owner, and then the next chapters would flash back to Emily's time. It was interesting. Definitely a style I like.

          I thought the characterization in this book was good, especially Emily's. Emily was definitely my favorite character--her personality, beliefs, and general being was just really full. Plus I love characters from the past. Anyway. Charlotte finds this dress and becomes determined to find out who its original owner is. In the meantime, she and her fiance end up in a position where "fiance Tim" becomes "friend Tim". While I felt bad for both Charlotte and Tim over the ordeal, I admired she did her best to stay relatively friendly, instead of slugging him....not sure I would have been able to do the same.

          Overall I liked this book. It is in the adult reading range, as a few minor topics come up of adult range--such as some slightly heated kissing scenes... The ending was good, although I was slightly disappointed it didn't turn out the other way (which I won't give details on, lest I spoil it). I think it would have felt a tiny bit more realistic. But still, it was a nice ending. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for this review. These opinions are my own; I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated for this review.

Blue Flame (Perfect Fire Trilogy, #1)

Title: Blue Flame
Author: K.M. Grant
Labels: Historical | Romance | Juvenile Fiction
Publisher: Walker & Company
Publication Date: August 4, 2009
Contains: Clean as a whistle.
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository | The Publisher

My Rating: ★★★☆☆ (Alright, considering the age range)
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Blurb From Goodreads: Many years have passed since the Occitanian knights killed Richard the Lionheart in a courageous battle to keep the Blue Flame--sparked at the moment of Christ’s death--from falling into the wrong hands. Now it is in danger once again, as enemies from the north draw near. In the midst of this looming battle, lifelong friends Raimon, son of a Cathar weaver, and Yolanda, daughter of a Catholic Count, are falling in love. But a new religious crusade is about to begin, setting boy against girl, family against family, neighbor against neighbor, south against north. Though many seek to possess the Blue Flame, only one person is destined to wield its power to save the people and the sovereignty of the Occitan.
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         So basically, I didn't realize that this fell into the juvenile fiction genre until after it was sitting on my shelf to be read. *fail* Needless to say, due to this fact, it didn't particularly thrill or engage me in anyway. Which is alright, because I'm not in the juvenile age range, so that's kinda to be expected. Anyway. The plot of Blue Flame centers around two young teens--14ish year olds--in medieval Occitan, which is located in some part of the world I couldn't quite gather and I don't think was specifically told. South of France, I think?

          These two teens, Raimon and Yolanda, like each other...or, love each other as they said at times...but their "small town" life is totally interrupted by the arrival of the Blue Flame, whose significance I still don't really get. I got the part where it was supposedly lit at Christ's death--and that I got from the back cover--and therefore it is understandable that the religious people went bonkers over trying to claim it. What I didn't get was the real, true blue point of it was. Raimon seemed to get it wasn't what the religious nuts thought it was, but I had a hard time figuring out what it did mean then.

          Short review made shorter: it was alright considering the age range it is aimed at. While I personally didn't have a whole lot of interest in it I think young teens/tweens might like it, if they're into historical or slightly mythical stories. I bought this book, and therefore was not required nor asked to write a review, nor a positive one at that. I was not compensated for this review.

Entwined

Title: Entwined
Author: Heather Dixon
Labels: Fantasy | YA | Romance
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Publication Date: March 29, 2011
Contains: Some mild violence, not much to speak of.
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository | The Publisher

My Rating: ★★★★★ (Fantastic!)
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Blurb From Goodreads: Confined to their dreary castle while mourning their mother's death, Princess Azalea and her 11 sisters join The Keeper, who is trapped in a magic passageway, in a nightly dance that soon becomes nightmarish.
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          If I had to describe this book in one word, I would probably go with Enchanting. Yeah, I know, that sounds corny. But it describes a little bit of how I felt as I read it. Enchanted. Azalea, the first born of twelve princesses, discovers a magic passageway leading to a [something that I'm not going to say because the way it was described was too epic for me to try to convey without spoiling it]. Her sisters follower her and the twelve of them meet The Keeper, who is at first is fantastic in their eyes. Keeper allows the girls to come every night to dance in his [something I'm not going to say...], but as the story progresses Azalea discovers their host is not all he's cracked up to be.

          To put it short, I really, really liked this book. A lot. I felt drawn in and engaged, if only in watching the tale unfold. Dixon is fantastic at description, and on more than one occasion I felt totally lost in the story, totally fascinated by the scenes flashing in my head as I read. This one had me flipping pages. Quickly. And staying up way to late just to read "one more chapter." And again the next day. I basically had to finish it before I could do anything productive whatsoever.

          I really didn't have any complaints, so I'm going to end this review here before I go off spoiling the story for the rest of you who haven't read it yet. I was not required nor asked to write a review, nor a positive one at that. I was not compensated for this review.

Not This Time (Crossroads Crisis Center, #3)

Title: Not This Time
Author: Vicki Hinze
Labels: Fiction | Suspense
Publisher: Waterbrook Multnomah
Publication Date: February 21, 2012
Contains: Some violence.
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository | The Publisher

My Rating: ★★★★★ (Fantastic!)
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Blurb From Goodreads: Sara and Beth have built a multi-million dollar business together, but their once solid friendship is now strained. Beth is leery of Sara’s husband, and when he is kidnapped, authorities consider Beth their prime suspect. 
          Then, their small town of Seagrove Village is rocked by an act of terrorism, and Beth doesn’t know who to trust. Someone she knows is linked to the attack, but who? Is there a connection to Crossroads Crisis Center? In the midst of the confusion and fear, Beth finds herself attracted to a man from her past. She knows she shouldn’t fall in love with him, but she can’t resist or even explain their bond. As her world unravels around her, she wonders, is it possible to be beyond redemption?
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          This is a ridiculously crazy good book. Just sayin'. Beth is the center character, the co-owner of a multi-million dollar business, along with Sara, her best friend. Ironically, this book isn't labeled as a romance, but that's the part I liked the best. I can't help that I'm a hopeless romantic. Anyway, Beth is a girl who's managed to harden herself against men after having her heart broken by a complete jerk. While she really likes Joe, her past relationship keeps getting in the way.

          Alright, on to the real point of the book. So how would you like to be living in this awesome little village...with a terrorist group knocking on your door? This terrorist group, NINA, has some big plans for this village, and it doesn't take long for Beth to figure out she has to be careful who she trusts. The farther on the plot goes, the more suspenseful it becomes. This is a page turner!

          Yeah, so this book is too good to write a humongous review on, especially without giving anything away. All I can say is it kept me guessing--without ever losing my interest. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for this review. Recommended! These opinions are my own; I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated for this review. 

Tomorrow Is Today (Tempest, #0.5)

Title: Tomorrow Is Today
Author: Julie Cross
Labels: Fiction | YA
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication Date: December 6, 2011
Contains: Profanity | Sexually Inappropriate Content.
Buy It: Amazon

My Rating: ★☆ ☆☆☆ (Wasn't thrilled, to say the least)
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Blurb From Goodreads: The year is 2009. Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, throws lots of parties, is interested in a girl he can’t have, and oh yeah, he can travel back through time.But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.
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          Yeah, I really hate writing negative reviews, but I really wasn't thrilled with this ebook. Tomorrow is Today is a prequel to the book Tempest, which I have never read, and after reading this bonus short story, I never will. Which is a shame, because I actually thought the concept of the time travel--especially with no consequences--was an interesting idea. It was cool that Jackson could go back in time, do whatever, and return to the present without messing up anything.

          What ruined this book for me was the things I consider to be inappropriate. The profanity was frequent, crazy parties and beer were made out to be a-okay (which they're not). I finally stopped reading everything that was including in this bonus--the first four chapters of tempest--when a sex scene appeared. Not. Cool. The concept of time travel was cool, but the story far to filled with junk to be worth the read. I cannot and will not recommend this.

          I bought this book, and therefore was not required nor asked to write a review, nor a positive one at that. I was not compensated for this review.

Bourne (River of Time, #3.1)

Title: Bourne
Author: Lisa T. Bergren
Labels: Fiction | YA | General
Publisher: Independently published
Publication Date: February 26, 2012
Contains: Awkward turtle borderline scene.
Buy It: Amazon

My Rating: ★★ ☆☆  (It was okay I guess...)
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Blurb From Goodreads: BOURNE, a novella (1/3 the length of a normal novel), picks up right where TORRENT left off...Find out what has happened to men returning from the battle, gravely wounded, to the Betarrinis, fighting for the men they love, and just who is hunting them next...
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         So, I wasn't crazy about this installment of The River of Time series. Bourne picks right up where Torrent left off, directly after the ending battle of the latter book. Unlike the first three books of this series, the point of view switches between Gabi and Lia....which is basically the only thing that saved it for me. In all honesty, I'm kinda getting sick of Gabi. When the series first started I really liked her; she felt real and relatable. Now I just wanna smack her upside the head.

          I guess I feel like all Gabi does now is get herself into trouble and drool over her now husband. And if she says "my man" again, I'm going to throw something against the wall (since this was an ebook, I can't really do that without hurting my Itouch....) And all she does is think about him....like lives, breaths, and drools Marcello. Her whole relationship is starting to get shallow. I get that originally she was all gooey, but now that she's married, it's time to grow up and get a life. I'm not saying that married life is boring or unromantic or anything, but I also don't think people are obsessing over each other at that point...it's time to get a grip.

          Now that I've voiced my displeasure with Gabi, let's talk Lia. I actually really like Lia, not to mention Luca (who was my favorite from the start). I feel like both of these characters have really grown up and matured through the first three books, and now, after much waiting, begin to move closer in their relationship. And even in getting closer, neither of them are really drooling or obsessive like Gabi. Even though Luca is always overly dramatic about his love for Lia, he still feels real to me because it's part of his personality. He was already dramatic and funny before Lia and Gabi showed up on the scene. Lia and Luca's relationship just slid together like just as it ought to have. So basically, the parts of this book written in Lia's point of view saved this novella from being a total flop for me.

          Besides Gabi, I have one other complaint. I have for the longest time loved Bergren's books because they're clean. But I'm starting to question whether she's going to cross the line.... Because right now, in this book, in my opinion, she's bordering the dangerous line of going to far. I get that the era this is written in could be pretty crude, but this is fiction. You don't have to follow exactly the way it went - especially when you decide to stick time travel in there. There were a handful of scenes in this book I thought was bordering on inappropriate, most of which I thought were completely unnecessary. If more details go into such scenes and said scenes keep coming up more frequently, Bergren just might lose my respect for her as an author.

          As for whether or not I'll read any future books in this series....we'll see. If there are future books written in Lia's point of view, I'll probably read them. If they're in Gabi's point of view, probably not.

          I bought this book, and therefore was not required nor asked to write a review, nor a positive one at that. I was not compensated for this review.

Alienation (C.H.A.O.S. Series) [Review]

Title: Alienation
Author: Jon S. Lewis
Labels: Juvenile Fiction | Science Fiction | Fiction
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Publication Date: January 3, 2012
Contains: Clean as a whistle.
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository | The Publisher

My Rating: ★★★★☆ (It was good)
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Blurb From Goodreads: Along with his best friends Oz and Danielle, Colt McAllister is now training at the secret Central Headquarters Against the Occult and Supernatural Academy. But strange accidents seem to follow him...even with the security of the school grounds. What first seems random soon turns deadly. But who is targeting Colt?
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          Here I am again jumping the middle of a series :P. Will I ever learn? Anyway, I didn't have a hard time following along with what was going on. Now, I'm not well read in science fiction, so I can't say that this book sets the example for all the other books in this genre, but I thought the surrounding details of the plot were a bit...complicated. Maybe it had something to do with my jumping into the middle of it, but I that was it, because I understood everything completely. To the contrary, I thought everything was explained very well. The problem, in my opinion at least, was that there was simply too much that needed explaining. Every time a new chapter started I felt like there was quite a bit of explaining going on before anything actually happened.

          As for the actual plot, I thought it was great. The main character, Colt, is a newly recruited cadet of the CHAOS academy, and suddenly finds himself on a hit list of the directed of the academy, who inconveniently is also the father of Colt's best friend. It sooner becomes evident that even those closest to him have held things back, and not everyone can be trusted. Colt struggles with deciding who is on the wrong side, and more importantly, who he can trust.

          Alianation falls at about 250 pages, and is a quick, easy read. Colt is said to be sixteen, but from his character voice it felt like he was a bit younger. This would make a great read for young boys. I received this book for free from goodreads. I was not required to write a review nor a positive one; I was not compensated for this review.