Howard Lovecraft and The Fozen Kingdom by Bruce Brown

In order to properly review this book and understand the graphic novel I would like to give a brief overlook of Howard Lovecraft.
Bruce Brown -with a twist- has written the childhood story of one of the first great horror writers of the modern age, Howard Lovecraft, aka H.P. Lovecraft. The series focuses on a fictional tale of Howard as a child, growing up in England in 1894.

This particular book opens up on Christmas Eve as Howard goes with his mother to visit his father, who is locked up in a mental ward. When left alone with his father Howard is to told to destroy a book and shortly finds himself holding the book. This book holds the secrets to another world. Howard doesn’t understand the book at first but quickly learns that the book his father had written for him maybe should be destroyed. Will Howard get rid of the book before the book gets rid of him? Through a journey to another world Howard will face danger, and could very well get lost in the great expanse of the universe.

I felt the novel was well laid out with an easy to follow plot; though it was slightly on the simple it did have a couple of twists. I feel the book would be perfect for a diverse age of readers, anyone ages 10 and up. One thing I didn’t really care for was the vocabulary, the use of basic terms like ‘gobble’ multiple times within a couple of pages got a bit boring, but that is a rather minor detail.

With quick easy to read text and mysterious pictures the graphic novel was very well laid out. The chapter breaks were good distances apart and I feel the 73 pages of the book were a proper size for a quick read before bed.

Though it has some simpler qualities, plot and vocabulary, for younger readers The Howard Lovecraft series is good book for a comic fan.

B

The Unraveling of Wentwater by C.S. Lakin

With a twist on the familiar tales of sleeping beauty and rumpelstillskin combined C.S. Lakin tells the story of Teralyn, a girl of great beauty and skill with music, who was foretold as a babe to cause the destruction of Wentwater before her eighteenth birthday. For her own survival she was hidden away in the mountains surrounding the superstitious village, but on a visit to the little town below she meets a man that will change her life, but will also cause the destruction of the village.

The story of Wentwater features Teralyn, a gifted girl who goes through great lengths to save the town of Wentwater. I feel that her character started out very well shaped and strong, developed throughout, and carried through till the end; showing Mrs. Lakins skill. The young man Former is Teralyn’s lover and I honestly feel he should have been better shaped, we learn of his character and such, but for his roll in the story, which is a large roll, he was underdeveloped. Honestly, at first review of the book I was surprised to see how much the plot rotated around him. The amount of time given to him is minimal, causing him to be slightly on the “flat” side. The person I connected to the most was Justyn, which is odd but true. Justyn is an educated young man from the Heights—a college like set up in the mountains near Wentwater—who has left his superstitious family in the village to learn all that he can about the physical world. I understood his views and, though I didn’t agree with his reactions to his circumstances, to a degree sympathize with him.
The book’s pace started out nicely, though it dragged slightly through the middle “The Unraveling of Wentwater” ended with a quicker pace for the reader. As far as originality goes for a fairy tale I thought the book was well done. There were enough things that remind one of the fairy tales we have grown up on, the Sleeping Beauty beginning and the Rumpelstillskin like ending for example, but it with the unique characters and other features Lakin had me wondering and interested from cover to cover. The story felt homey, and familiar but with twists that kept it fresh; the book is perfect for a relaxing read before bed.
In Mrs. Lakin’s past books she had written great plots that tie up all the lose ends and I was slightly disappointed to find this story didn’t. I was left with a couple of questions, menial questions granted, but the lack of understanding of bits of the story took away from the overall enjoyment of “The Unraveling of Wentwater”.

C.S. Lakin has once again written a wonderful story that isn’t a fast pace action novel but more of a wondering walk of enjoyment for a person to relax to. Though not my favorite in “The Gates of Heaven Series”, “The Unraveling of Wentwater” still is a wonderful book showing great writing style.

B

Temptation By Travis Thrasher

He’s given up. What can he do? Summer is here but he can’t spend his time having fun with friends for a of couple reasons.
First, he has Summer school. Yeah! Just what every graduating Senior thinks of doing over his last Summer break.
Second, what friends does he have? Rachel, Poe and, of course, Jocelyn have all left him in one-way or another. Iris is gone, his mom might as well be gone--as she falls deeper and deeper into her need for vodka—and his father never was there to begin with.
So why fight? “Keep low”, that is what Chris has been told. So he is. Keeping low. He is staying out of trouble, giving up, going with the flow. Until Lily walks into his life. Following the same routine of the previous two books Chris falls for the new high school beauty. Chasing Lily around Chris keeps out of trouble but when their relationship goes sour Chris has time to get himself into trouble. Learning of the town’s history, his ancestors and the people in the town, Chris once again finds himself in trouble. But with visions, relationship/family problems, and of course the mystery of Solitary Chris will learn more then he wanted to, yet feel utterly lost in the book Temptation.

I can’t decide if I like or hate Lily, Chris’s new girl friend. She toys with Chris and gives the most predictable plot yet in “The Solitary Tales” making this book perhaps the most disappointing so far. I was ready for another gripping, creepy, thrilling, adventure with Chris Buckley but was disappointed and surprised by the turn Thrasher took with this novel. It was the happiest story so far; lots of warm happy feeling moments compared to the last two books. I also feel the ‘temptation’ part of the book was not needed for a young adult book, it didn’t add to the plot in the long run. (I want to make clear with that statement, this book is perfectly PG but does hint at some things that are not G.)

Now the reader does learn why things are happening, and what makes Chris so special in Temptation. These few answers do help one to understand what has happened and is happening better but it also (like Travis Thrasher has done before, in an amazing way.) opens the door for even more, deeper, questions.

Thrasher ends Temptation well though, with a promise for a race against the clock ending for Chris I am looking forward to the last book in “The Solitary Tales”.

C+

Gravestone by Travis Thrasher

I was able to receive an advance copy of Temptation, the next book in "The Solitary Tales" by Travis Thrasher and will be posting the review for it April 1st, Temptation official release date.  If you would like to read the review for Solitary, book 1, simply click HERE

Did that just happened? The cliff-hanger ending of Solitary left me wanting more of Travis Thrasher's young adult series and eager to read the second book in the series, Gravestone. Thankfully Gravestone did not disappoint. Filled with mystery, discovery, action, love and fear Gravestone is a perfect sequel to Solitary.

Starting up right where Solitary left-off, one continues the journey through Christ Buckley’s normal day-to-day life, or lack there of. On top of what every 16 year old must face Chris has to deal with his parents divorce, mother’s alcoholism, lack of trustworthy friends, turmoil over Jocelyn, and a deep seeded fear that seems to cover the small town of Solitary. Chris needs help; that is a fact. He also needs a license and a job; that too, is a fact. So when his mom finds him a job in a small tucked away inn, that pays extremely well, he takes it. The little old innkeeper starts asking Christ uncomfortable questions when Chris’s cousin, Jared, comes to the rescue. Finally Chris has someone to rely on and answer some of his dying questions about what is going on in Solitary.
Lastly, where would Chris be without some emotional conflict on top of this adrenaline filled lifestyle he has? Enter adorable young Kelsey and another interesting girl to create a love triangle that is almost depressing.

Thrasher, once again, did a great job with his characters. Sticking to many of the people we have come to love (and hate) from Solitary I was able to pick up quite easily from where I left off. Also the introduction of new characters; Iris, Kelsey, Jared, Mike, and others kept the book fresh.

The dinky little hick town Solitary is expanding a bit as well. We visit a few of the suburbs that surround the town and learn about what goes else is around and under town. This was well done; otherwise, we would have a book filled with flashbacks from past scenes instead of learning new facts with these new places.   

Lastly the plot was amazing, fast, creepy and gripping. Even though it was over 400 pages long I don’t think any part was overly slow, especially the bits about Aunt Alice or the Inn.

Gravestone is a great sequel that keeps the past relevant while making the reader look ahead to try understanding what is going on in Solitary and why is Christ so special.

B+

The Hunger Games By Suzanne Collins

Katniss Everdeen is 16 years old, living in the coal mining District 12 with her mother and sister, Prim. Her father died a few years ago in a miners accident and since then Katniss has been doing everything in her power to care for her younger sister and mother. Picking up her father’s bow and using the skills he taught her in the local forbidden woods she supports her family.
The annual Hunger Games, a tournament where a boy and girl from each district ages 12-18 are selected to compete in a deadly game of kill or be killed, comes around and she soon finds herself in the Capitol being prepped for the deadliest days of her life.

I was surprised. I have heard so many great things about this book from friends that I just had to read it. Now I have had books like this before, Harry Potter is one, but I honestly thought that with the basic plot of the story being children forced into killers in order to live, that I wouldn’t like this book. Wow, was I wrong. Now I still don’t agree with the idea of children killing children but Collins wrote the death parts in fairly non-graphic, dare I say it, and tasteful ways. Yes, there are a couple of cringe worthy moments, but there are also heart breaking moments.

The plot was astounding. We get to know Katniss very personally in the first few chapters and are then transported to the Capitol where we see how incompetent she is for the challenges she’s about to face. We meet her support team and Peeta, the boy selected from District 12 to play in the games. This was my favorite part of the book, seeing the modern world from a new angle. Then the fun is over and the games start. As said earlier the deaths where as tastefully done as one can imagine for this type of book. What I really enjoyed was the added level of complexity in the game, by the sponsors and support teams. The players aren’t just sent into the game but can try getting sponsors to help them throughout the contest; this gave a wonderful twist to the book. Also the last part of the book has some wonderful twists that I toughly enjoyed.
I think Katniss was well written in first person and that we were easily able to understand her and her actions. I liked having Peeta, Cinna, Gale, Prim and others support her, without an external support team no one would last long in a game like the one Katniss was forced to play. It is a game of mental more then a game of physical, and the game is very physical.
Panem, a future version of North America and Canada, was my least favorite part. District 12 was interesting, the Capitol a little less then original, and the arena was undefined. By undefined I mean Katniss took almost two days to reach one spot, but then she is constantly going back to that location within a few hours. Also there is mention of grassland but we never get to explore it. I did enjoy the Mutations though. These creatures are very useful to the book, though slightly creepy, and add a level of understanding to how much genetic engineering has changed in the world of Panem.

I read this book in two days and have to say that I love it. True the morals of some characters is disappointing, Katniss never felt remorse for her kills, but the book is still very good.

A

2 VERY Important Annoucements

As promised I had another giveaway once I reached 30 followers. You (my beloved readers) got to chose the book that is going out to a lucky winner.
Now due to the fact that one person signed up I would like to Congratulate Beleg on winning Swords of the Six, by Scott Appleton.
Beleg I will be emailing you through the address used to sign up shortly so that I can get your mailing address.

Also I would like to announce a very sad thing. Life for me has gotten a little out of control and I now have to start making decisions on what I keep in my life and what I have to cut back on. For me though I love reading and reviewing and blogging this site in going to be limited. I know it has almost been a year and I have loved reading some wonderful books but I don't feel like I have been giving my full potential to this blog. Therefore I will be cutting back on how many reviews come out. This has been happening slowly for the past few months. So from this point forward only select books will be appearing on Arrowhead for an undefined amount of time.
Please continue to check-in on the blog.

Thank you everyone for all you have done for this blog.

Michelle Archer

Coin Toss Giveaway! (Closed)

Due to a tie with the vote for the giveaway I am going to do a coin toss. Heads for Isle of Fire. Tales for Swords of the Six.

Don't worry if the book you wanted to try for isn't the winner this round, odds are it will show up again for the next giveaway. Now for the flip...

And it is Tales! This Giveaway is going to be for Swords of the Six!

To enter here is what YOU can do.

~You can follow this blog. A follower widget is located on the blog's sidebar. (earns 2 entries)
~You can post about this giveaway on your blog. Comments MUST have a link. Limited to once a week. (earns 2 entries)
If someone comes to this blog from your blog post and comments, you get 1 extra entry. (Make sure to tell them to say you sent them!)
~You can tweet with a link to this post. Comments MUST have a link. Limited to three times week (earns 1 entry each) While you are Tweeting be sure to follow me @GoldarrowGA.
~You can read any of my reviews on this blog and comment on it, as long as you have not already done so on it for another giveaway. (earns 1 entry each)
~You may link this giveaway on facebook. Comments do require links. Limited to once a day. (earns 1 entry each)
~Like me on Facebook. This is a new feature for Arrowhead so I am going to be pushing it, 3 entries for simply liking Arrowhead Reviews. See side bar to like.
Contest ends January 31, 2012. Sorry to say but due to a budget this contest is open to U.S. residents only.

Alienation by Jon S. Lewis

From a perfect life to pure chaos, that is Colt McAlister has been dealt. Shortly after his 16^th birthday his parents were both killed in a car crash. Just it wasn’t any random accident, no it was a hit and run target mission put on by aliens. Since then Colt has moved to Arizona to live with his Grandfather Murdoch, who is a famous -if only in comic form- hero. In Invasion, book one of the CHAOS series, we learned of Colt’s family history with a secret government branch that focuses on protecting earth from aliens forces who are planning on taking over earth. Now it is Colt’s turn to continue the family legacy and join CHOAS Academy with his old friend Danielle Salazar and his new friend Oz Romero. As a team they must learn everything they can before the Thule aliens invade.   
As if this wasn’t enough Colt is constantly in the cross hairs of a master assassin. Watching your back isn’t good enough when the hunter is a skin changer.

I when I picked Alienation up I had just finished two fairly large books, one 500 pages another 400 and was happy to see that Alienation was a grand total of only 274 pages. When more and more authors are going for long 400-800 page books I started to wonder, can an author create a gripping book in so few pages? Well, Jon S. Lewis did it.
We start Alienation where Invasion left off. Colt is living with his grandfather getting ready to leave for CHAOS-Central Headquarters Against the Occult and Supernatural-training.

I really got to know Colt through Alienation. He learns so many things about himself in the book, some good and some not so good things. We see how he is willing to stand up for what he thinks is right and protect those he cares about. He also reacts the same as any other human would, making him more then just a ‘cool’ character, which he is.
Same with Danielle, she doesn’t get enough credit in my opinion. Smart, friendly and a pro-hacker I just loved watching her take over and help Colt as he was going through so much stress, not to mention the death threats.
Now what are we missing in this team? Yep, the muscle in the group. That is covered by Oz, son of CHAOS director Lobo, has grown up in the alien world and knows how to fight. He is a great character that I truly hope will get more of the spot light in the next edition of CHAOS.

We didn’t get to see any alien planets this time but there were gadgets aplenty to make up for it.
I was thrilled with how this book turned out.
Another really cool this is a short 6 page comic that stands in as a prolog. I think that was one of my favorite parts.
So much is packed into such a small book, and the fact that it is small and can be read in a few hours is great. 

A
Thanks to Booksneeze for giving me this review copy.

I want YOU to Win!

That's right, right here. YOU can win! What can you win? Well YOU get to decide! Vote on the left side bar poll and the book with the most votes wins! The poll will be open for 2 weeks and then the giveaway will be open for 6 weeks after that. 

So what do YOU say? 

The Land of Darkness by C.S. Lakin

Jadiel is a young 12 year old girl who loves her father and misses her mother, who died the year before. On top of grief for her mother she has to deal with her new step-mother, Huldah, and her two daughters. Huldah quickly feels the need to put Jadiel in her place making her do difficult house chores. Still the witch, Huldah, doesn’t like Jadiel taking up time with her new husband and his wealthy estate. To get rid of this nuisance she devises ways to kill young Jadiel. After a couple attempts Huldah comes up with an impossible mission; find the Tree of Youth and bring back a satchel full of its leaves. If she doesn’t Jadiel’s beloved father will die at the next full moon.
Only thing is… no one knows where this tree is, or if it even exists. 
Callen, a young carpenter discovers some old drawings of a bridge, a magnificent bridge, unfortunately no one knows who made it. Determined to find this bridge and learn of it’s creator Callen takes leave of his apprenticeship to find it.
Only thing is… no one knows where this bridge is, or if it even exists. 
These two seekers find each other on the road, Callen fearing for the young girls safety (Who just happens to be his apprentor’s niece.) Offers to help Jadiel with her mission to save her father. Traveling across the land they learn of the bridge’s creator, the Tree of Youth and so much more.

Once again I was entrapped in the wondrous realm of Sherbourne and it's surrounding lands. The hidden magic the world holds and the innuendoes to the previous 2 books — The Wolf of Tebron and The Map Across Time, in the Gates of Heaven Series by C.S. Lakin — had me feeling at with home with The Land of Darkness.

The speed of this tale is one of Lakin's best. The Land of Darkness starts out a bit slow and cumbersome but when I reached part two I was having trouble putting this adventure down. I was blown away at how easily Lakin places facts and stories from other books of the Gates of Heaven series in her stories yet they can be read as stand alone novels. Seeing references to Adian, Tebron and other things would just make me smile.
Now the main tale is about Jadiel and her conflict with Huldah. But Callen had his own villain stalking him a Golgoth, the dark creature from another world that can kill armies in a matter of days. This added a great twist and suspense to the plot, giving it a more grown up feel to your normal fairy tale yet keeping it very friendly for younger readers.
C.S. Lakin also did a wonderful job of laying the mood of the story and scenes. Many times I would find myself holding my breath hoping Callen wouldn’t open the door or wanting to jump for joy when Jadiel was freed from the slavers.  At other times I was irritated at the characters for not understanding, or practically yelling at them trying to tell them to believe.

The characters in this book had as much personality as the other books in this series. From talking boars and frogs, to the strange man constantly speaking in riddles.

I enjoyed this book and am extremely thankful to C.S. Lakin for giving me an advanced copy of her latest tale.

A+

Keeper by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee

Two hermit brothers have spent years living in seclusion. Trying to fight their emotions so that they may be blessed in the next life. One night a lone man finds them and tells them they are dead. How can this be? Breathing, walking, talking men, dead. To live again they must become keepers, a secret order trying to preserve the emotional life of human beings.

I really enjoyed Keeper it was interesting, and gave great insight into the book Forbidden, which Keeper serves as a prologue for. It did it’s job making me even more interested in reading Forbidden. I see that Forbidden is going to focus on love and other emotions. I don't think following your emotions is a good thing since emotions can fog a persons sense of logic and lead to trouble. But I'll see how Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee pull it off. After reading Keeper I am very much so looking forward to Forbidden. Keeper was well written and did what it was intended to do, get me hooked on Forbidden before I even read the first page.

B+

Vigilante by Robin Parrish

The squeeze of a trigger followed by a silenced bullet and Nolan Gray, a famous war hero, is dead.
The world is falling apart; National debate is a joke, criminals are running rampant holding a large part of the job force, war lingers over the world and the United States Government is about to collapse.
President Thornton Hastings is trying his best to bring law and order back to America by forcing budget cuts, and creating a new anti-crime team (Organized Crime Intelligence agency-OCI) he hopes can save the country he once fought for.
When strange bill-boards start appearing across the country promising “a better way”, people wonder if “a better way” is truly possible. Hope is sparked on the streets in New York as a mysterious man rises up to take down the unlawful and protect the innocent. Can a single man change the dark streets of New York and trigger a hope for the nation?

The first sentence of Vigilante had me interested in this book, by the time I finished chapter one I knew this book was going to be good.

Vigilante reminded me of Batman and Spiderman mixed together. Creating a grapple swinging, bullet proof, almost superhuman, vigilante. The mission, solve the world’s problems and make people themselves better. With only his military training, an ex-commander, a tech genius kid, and enough drive to go miles Nolan Gray is ready for a challenge.
Robin Parrish created an excellent action story that kept the pace up through out. We are quickly introduced to Nolan and learn of his ambitions, skills and what drives him.
Sadly this is one thing that needed work. Nolan is a great hero, just his back up team was just that; back up and under developed. We did learn some basic character history to better understand personalities but more insight would have helped explain Alison, Arjay and Commander’s loyalty. Same with the villain, though he was a good strong villain, the fact his motives were based off of sickly blind rage kept him flat and predictable.

The plot was intense and built upon itself nicely. Since this is an action book a lot of the time I felt like it would make a good movie. There are a lot of good fight scenes, races, tense moments, time-ticking bombs, fires, and drama for a full-length film.
I am not going to give out potential spoilers but the ending of this book will leave you with mixed feelings. I also feel it was rushed, like Parrish needed to quickly finish the book so he just ended it and gave a five page epilogue to hastily tie up some lose ends.
Robin Parrish wrote a good book with a fast plot, decent twists, and a strong hero that I could see popping up in the movie theater. Sadly the use of Batman and Spiderman classic techniques hurt my respect for the creativity of the book. While the ending had me wondering if that was really the end.

B
Thank you Bethany House for the review copy. 

The Realms Thereunder by Ross Lawhead

A homeless man is stalked by a pale, wraithlike creature with a mouthful of needle-sharp teeth. Maimed animals and a host of suicides cluster around a mountain in Scotland. And deep beneath the cobbled streets of Oxford, a malicious hoard besieges a hidden city.

Freya Reynolds is a university student with a touch of OCD and an obsession with myth and folklore. Daniel Tully is living rough on the streets of Oxford, waging a secret war against an enemy only he can identify. Years ago, they found themselves in a world few know is real. They have since gone their separate ways and tried to put that adventure behind them.

But the mythical world is now bleeding into our reality-a dark spiritual evil that is manifesting itself in forgotten corners of the British Isles. Alex Simpson is a Scottish police officer who specializes in hunting mythical creatures. Together, they must confront the past, the present, and points beyond to defeat the ultimate threat to humanity.

Nothing they've seen so far prepares them for what awaits . . . in The Realms Thereunder.

(Taken from the back of the book.)

This book is very well written with only a couple typos found. The chapters were also a little confusing at first. Due to the fact that the story is set in two times and then multiple point of views (POVs) in these times, the author has the book set up with chapters and then sections within these chapters. At first I found it confusing but after the first two chapters I thought that the chapter/section layout was very smart and easy to follow.

The beginning of “The Realms Thereunder” was wonderful on both parts, past and present. I quickly learned important things about the settings and people that attached me to the world and characters. Sadly I felt that the “past” part got repetitive, predictable, and overall boring near the end. To make up for this the “present” sections always had me guessing and wondering what is going on and about to happen. All in all the plot was an excellent start to the series, giving us the first steps of the next adventure and the history in one entertaining story.

I thought that the world was very well created with both old and new creatures to keep you interested. The mix of dragons, trolls, elves and other classics of fantasy blended in seamlessly with yfelgóp, Tuatha Dé, changelings, and more.
Britain served as an excellent springboard for this book. Giving us a rich history, you can tell Ross Lawhead did quite a bit of research for this book. He expanded Britain’s history and added a wonderful variety to what we already know making me feel pulled in and wondering if his tale could have real happened.

Daniel and Freya were properly formed and well rounded. They had different depths of character between their younger and older selves in a realistic way.
Something I truly enjoyed watching through the book is their friendship. They are polar opposites of social classes, forced to work together. They had disagreements on what they thought they should do, but worked it out and focused on the main goal, get home. Other times they didn’t agree and handled it in another very human style, avoided each other, but once again they saw the need and worked it out. I liked the author having them mix like this, it gave a very interesting view about life styles and working together.
Ecgbryt and Swi∂gar added a wonderful flare to the story with riddles, wonderful accents, and tales from the history. Many of the characters had accents, Ross Lawhead did a great job with these. I could almost tell who was talking from their accent; few authors can do such a great job with this.

I liked this book, it was a nice fantasy book that had me interested throughout. I am waiting a little less then patiently for the next book in the series to come out.

A

Thank you Thomas Nelson and Book Sneeze for providing me with a copy of The Realms Thereunder.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

Disclaimer- Christians that don't agree with magic should not read this book. For me personally I read the series thinking of the magic as something that made the series unique. I also know that some people practice magic, I do not support magic in the real world. Harry and his friend also did some things that I feel Christians shouldn't support, lying, breaking rules, plotting revenge, and stealing are some of the common things that did happened in the book that I don't agree with.

Harry isn't normal, he lives under the stairs at his Aunt and Uncles house, where he is treated more like a slave then a nephew. When Harry receives his first birthday letter he learns that his father and mother were wizards! And that he can train to be a wizard too! He can leave his miserable life with his Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon and Cousin Dudley!
When he arrives at “Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry” Harry is automatically the popular kid and quickly makes enemies because of it. On top of making new friends, fending off enemies, and schoolwork, Harry finds himself wrapped up in a mystery that includes the evilest of dark wizards who killed his parents when he was a baby. There is evil a foot, unbreakable banks are being robbed, mirrors are not telling the truth, and no one knows who will help bring He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named back from the near dead.

After hearing so much about this series I finally just picked them up. I was pleasantly surprised. The first book in the series is rather light hearted with an excellent plot that had many twists, red herrings and humor.

Harry is well developed and was easy to attach too, I took instant pity on him as I saw what he had to grow up with for “family”.  Harry quickly showed that even with his unusual history he just wants to be a normal boy. Sadly no one will let him be that, so he must compensate and just be ‘the’ Harry Potter famous for something he can’t even remember.
Harry couldn’t have asked for a better pair of sidekicks in his adventure. Ron and Hermione really brightened up the story with Hermione’s know-it-all attitude and Ron’s care free relaxed bearing.
I also loved the supporting characters. Neville I think was my favorite minor character, I feel the same as he does about studies. The teachers were all fitting for the typical teacher style, making it easy for young student readers to relate to the mysterious Hogwarts School.
Lastly I enjoyed the way J.K. Rowling had a minor enemy that was front and foremost in the story’s plot and a major villain that is plotting destruction in the background. This made the book have a good ending with the minor villain but kept the series going with questions for the next books.

For the world I thought Rowling could have added more. The only real description of Hogwarts is basically, “A castle looming on a mountain surrounded by a black lake.” Rarely will I complain about a book not having enough description but I feel a little extra would have helped. Later in the series the description adds up so you can almost see Hogwarts but for a first book it was weak.

Now I had heard about the game Quidditch before, but had no clue about what it was. After learning about it the Quidditch matches they quickly became some of my favorite scenes. The game Quidditch it gave me a feeling of a real school, with popular jocks and fans.

So minus the facts about Harry's poor moral choices the book is easily worth a B. If Harry had kept strong moral character the book would have been a A+ easily.

B

Dragonspell by Donita K. Paul

A dragon egg is in the clutches of an evil wizard, Risto. Paladin and his followers know that if the egg is hatched within Risto's clutches destruction will befall that land of Amara. Paladin must rely on a slave girl turned servant, who has an extraordinary gift. Just this child isn't a warrior, she knows nothing of the world beyond the village she served in as a slave. How can she fight evil wizards, find a hidden treasure and expect to raise minor dragons?
Kale has already started her journey, following a planned path she is looking for adventure as a servant in the capital city Vendela. When she is told that she is suppose to follow a couple of strangers into a bog looking for a wizard that doesn't want to found, battle an evil wizard and raise minor dragons she doesn't think she can handles it all. Will this naive girl survive the dangerous path she needs to follow and trust in Wulder?

Kale is the main character of Dragonspell, she was very well developed growing throughout the book in a realistic manor. With her history as a servant showing through everything she does it was easy to understand her. She learned a lot throughout the book, growing from and ignorant slave girl that doesn't understand companions and friendship, to a quester who is looking forward to learning as much as she can about the world around her.
There were many characters in this book, though not to many that I got them confused. I enjoyed all of them. They were all unique in their own way; Dar and his flashy antics, Leetu as she learned to lead, Fenworth with his nonsense talk, and little Gymn fainting throughout the book, as well as everyone else had some special feature that I loved.

For the world, Amara is probably one of my favorite fantasy worlds. With minor dragons, the 7 high and low races, the bogs, mountains and the history made Amara feel like it was a real place. The magic was well placed and didn’t over bear the book, but still was needed for the plot. The minor dragons really made the world stand out, with their adorable hobbies that had me laughing.

Plot was fine, slightly slow at times because it would wander from the main plot line. I feel this is okay though, it gave us more insight into the world and characters as well as taught many lessons about character development.
The book could have been read like it had two main plots, find the meech egg and teach Kale. I liked this because it made the book more interesting. With only one plot the book would have been very similar to many other books, the underlying plot gave a certain flare, which made Dragonspell more memorable.

All in all I feel this book was a good lighthearted and humorous read to enjoy with my busy life. 

A

Thank you Waterbrook for giving me this reviewers copy.

The Final Hour by Andrew Klavan

Charlie West is caught. His days of running from the law are over, but that doesn’t mean he is safe. Prison life isn’t like walking though a bed of flowers, and the Homelander members that share the prison with him are making sure he knows it. Beatings are common and death is peering over his shoulder. He has to get out if he is going to live to see the New Year.
Freedom is offered but at a terrible price. Will he do the unthinkable to get out and save the lives of others? And what about the Homelanders? Almost all have been caught but that doesn’t mean they will stop fighting. They are mounting a final attack that will happen at the last possible hour. . .

I loved this series. Book 1, “The Last Thing I Remember”, was fast pace and all action. While Book 2, “The Long Way Home”, was absolutely hilarious. Book 3, “The Truth of the Matter”, had emotion and discovery, and I feel book 4, The Final Hour, was a mix of all these, but mainly action.

Once again Charlie is written amazingly, the first person view point had my heart racing while he raced through the mud, exchanged bullets and crash landed. It also helped me will him on, making me feel the loneliness of prison life, cringe with pain at each blow and hold my breath hoping and praying for the best.
Charlie is truly the main character but I have to add the Detective Rose and Mike were excellent. Stone face and chucklehead gave me something to laugh at in the midst of the trouble.

Plot was different then the last 3 books, it was more straightforward. Almost all the questions have been answered in the past books. This book was more about getting an ending that ties up the last loose ends and leaves the reader content. It was a good plot with action and twists, but I feel that it was the weakest of the series. Now as a testament to the series and how good it is, the plot was still amazing. Just not quite as strong and interesting as “The Last Thing I Remember”, “The Long Way Home”, and “The Truth of the Matter”.

Klavan brings up ideas of bravery, morals, and perseverance. All of which I loved, using a fiction book to teach, and in such a way that it doesn’t slow down the plot, phenomenal!
In closing I think this is one of the best series I have read, the best first person I have ever read, and a great addition to Christian fiction.  

A

Thank you to Book Sneeze for giving me this book to read.

Raising Dragons by Bryan Davis

Billy and his family are rather normal, but when a crazy man starts to hunt them. Billy learns he had been lied to his whole life. His dad really is a dragon, forced to change into human form to avoid getting killed by slayers that will forever hunt him and his offspring. While Billy and his family are running from a maniac guy with a sword, Billy is trying to learn how to trust his family again and learn the truth.
Bonnie is a loner; living in the foster care system sure doesn’t help. She can’t trust anyone, because telling the wrong person the truth might get her killed. Living like life is normal is hard, but with her strange condition it is next to impossible to make friends and live a common life.

Together they will fight for their lives and discover that they have to rely on each other to survive.

I thought the characters were descent, maybe to cut and paste for my taste. Bonnie is a orphan who is looking for a place to fit in. Billy a middle of the road guy between cool and dorky that likes to draw and hang with his best friend, Walter. I would have liked a bit more diversity and distinction between them. The fact that all the characters fit into stereo-type cut outs society uses to describe people was boring, since people are not cut and paste in real life. 
As for the villain I think that he was flat. He was described as insane, that fits him to a tea. We never understand why he has such a hatred for the dragons, just that he does. I have read many books and feel this villain was one of the weakest I have ever read.

The plot was alright, it had a good opening chapter and kept the pace up for the rest of the book. There were a couple lags but since the book is 371 pages long it was paced well enough to keep me interested. The book is based off of King Arthur mythology, just with a twist. dragons are real, and living in the modern world. I liked this idea, and feel that in the long run Davis pulled it off very well.

One of my biggest down falls is with Billy and Bonnie’s romance thing. I say “thing” because their ages aren’t given in the book but from the way they act they aren’t old enough to be dating or seriously thinking of marriage. For some reason they both fall in love with each other in the book during battles and running from the bad guys. I feel with the stress they were going through, falling into each others arms isn’t a good way to have their friendship go. It was very unrealistic, and came off corny. 

Raising Dragons is a good book for fantasy lovers and younger readers, not bad but not great.

C+

Thank you to Living Ink books for providing me with this review copy.

Beyond the Dead Forest by Steve Grolls Give-away! Winner!

First off I would like to say thank you to Steve Groll for donating a copy of his book! Also thank you to everyone that signed up!

Now without to much more mumble jumble, since I know everyone wants to know who won...
The winner is....

Jake!  

Congrats Jake! You have a week to let me know your address. 

Thanks again to everyone that signed up, more give-a-ways are coming soon!

Radical by Davis Platt

The reason I picked up this book was because I wanted to strengthen my faith in God and to learn how to follow His will.
This book covers just that topic, how to learn God's will by turning from the American Dream.

Radical opens up talking about underground churches, which I like. I have long respected Christians in closed countries and pray for their strength, during this day and age of Christian persecution; which is worse then it has ever been in history.
Then it talks about how you can be a radical Christian and implies you will be a strong Christian like underground church members. The book goes in depth on a 5 point plan to become a stronger Christian:

1. Pray for the world

2. Read the entire Bible

3. Sacrifice your money

4. Give your time for God

5. Join a Church or Small Group to help you grow in your faith

If you do these five points you will be a Radical Christian, and I agree with all of these 100%. I need to read my Bible more often, I should go on a mission trip, I try to keep track and pray for both local and world problems, I also give what I can to church and charity, and I am an active church member.  But I don’t consider myself a true Radical Christian, at least not what I want my version of Radical to look like. I guess this book is perfect for Christians who go to church, then live like anyone else the rest of the week, and for middle road Christians who do the actions but don’t share their faith.
David Platt also brings some strong points to mind like; How can we sit in comfortable multi-million dollar churches while children starve to death? Shouldn’t we be more concerned about people’s eternal lives then what fast-food joint we should eat at? Just he never gave a good solution about how to solve this. Other then donate, but American churches are not going to stop expanding and building. VBS still helps teach young kids, Retreats still save eternal lives, so I don’t know how David Platt expects us to stop growing our churches yet do all he wants in the American church. 

Over-all this book is a good read, just I don’t think this book covers what it said it would. Use it as a motivational plan to strengthen your faith, by doing the 5 point plan, but don’t expect a radical change. I know that, at this time, I don't have the strength to deal with half of what most underground church members do, but I hope to some day with God’s strength.
So I guess yes, follow his step by step and you will be a stronger Christian, but I think radical is not the right word. 

C

Thank you Waterbrook for giving me this book to review.