Book Review of Dance Upon The Air by Nora Roberts

Nora Roberts is one of those authors that I can read over and over again. I've read these books years ago but decided to give it another whirl since its October and reading about witches should be fun. Nora doesn't need my reviews to help others buy her book but here are my thoughts. Nell Channing escaped her abusive relationship by faking her own death. Talk about going to the extreme. Nell is drawn to the small Three Sisters Island. She is determined to start over and her timing is perfect as she finds herself in a cute bookstore/cafe and overhears one of the staff quitting, making a break to New York. Before her controlling marriage Nell had been in a catering business with her mother. Mia the owner of the bookstore is beautiful and exotic with flowing red hair and feels an instant kinship with Nell. She gives her the job running the cafe. Throughout the whole book my mouth is watering for all the tasty treats Nell makes. Not only does Mia give Nell a job but a cute yellow house by the sea to rent. When the sexy irresistible sheriff Zach Todd comes sniffing around asking questions Nell tries to avoid him. He is attracted to her and knows she needs protection. Mia helps Nell face her true destiny of being a witch. Her relationship with Zach develops and the question looms over her, will she be able to hide her true identity from him?

I liked shutting my brain off for a quick and easy read. It's not reality but I don't read for reality. And so I read the next book in the series about Ripley Todd, sister to Zach and deputy, fighting against her destiny.

Book Review of A Candlelight Courting by Joyce DiPastena

This is a beautifully written short story of love found in the most unusual places. Meg or Christina, the name Meg wants to be called is determined to become a nun. She doesn't want to marry Burthred as her parents had arranged in her infancy. Meg is now eighteen and Burthred ten years older is ready to marry. Meg’s father is angered that his only child wants to be a nun. On Christmas Eve, Meg stays in her room praying while everyone is having a joyful Christmas feast. Her father tricks her into coming face to face with Burthred. She has never seen him and up close she can't help be in admiration of his knightly stature, tall and manly. There is a sensitive side that she had not expected from him. They both have secrets they think will make them an ill match. The characters Meg and Burthred are endearing. You feel their doubts and joys as if you knew them. It’s a delightful story and you’re sad that it ends so quickly. Candlelight Courting is a sweet and lovely tale.

Purchase your copy today for only $1.99 @ https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/235885

Joyce DiPastena is another person on my list of authors who have by example helped me develop my talent and press forward on my career to become a writer. I've been wanting to write a short story about Princess Kristina and reading this story has really motivated me. I can only hope that I can master the talent as Joyce has. Her stories bring you in and make you feel like your in the room experiences everything right with the characters. I'm still pondering the story of Meg and Burthred and I wanting more.

Book Review of "The Lady of the Rivers" by Philippa Gregory

Philippa Gregory does it again with another gripping and wonderful story about a strong woman in history. I've thoroughly enjoyed "The Cousins' War" series and absolutely loved "The White Queen." When reading it, I too couldn't help wonder about the mother of the white queen, Jacquetta. I'm happy that Philippa was inspired to write her story in "The Lady of the Rivers." It starts when Jacquetta was a young lady and befriended Joan of Arc and learns from Joan's tragic end that women who were powerful could be silenced by men who didn't understand their special powers. Jacquetta's first marriage was to a much older man, Duke of Bedford, but lucky for her he wanted her for her special powers of sight and not her body. This is where Jacquetta meets Richard Woodville, a faithful squire to the Duke. Richard is always by Jacquetta's side and when the Duke dies they finally profess their love to each other. It is a wondrous love story about marrying someone for love and not for the advancement in your status. It's quite evident that Jacquetta and Richard are truly and deeply in love by all the children they produce. The secrets Jacquetta keep are huge as she stands by her queen while others turn against the sickly King of England. Phillipa in the Author's Note speaks about Jacquetta : "Why she has not been studied is a mystery to me. But she belongs to that large population of women whose lives have been ignored by historians in favor of the lives of prominent men." That is one of the things I love best about Philippa Gregory’s stories is she explores the lives of strong women that otherwise we would know little about.

Read more about the series at Philippa Gregory's website:

http://www.philippagregory.com/work/10-the-cousin%E2%80%99s-war-series/

Book review of “Eona” by Alison Goodman

*This review will have spoilers if you haven’t read book one.

The sequel to Eon is one of the best stories I've read in a long time. It was grabbing from the very beginning and didn't let you rest until it was over. And even after it was over I couldn't stop thinking about the book. I really wish it would go on and on. To me it was comparable to some of the best epic fantasy stories like, Sword of truth series and the Lord of Rings series.

The story starts right off after Eona’s real gender has been revealed and the kingdom has been conquered by the King’s evil brother Sethon. Kygo should have taken the King’s place after his death but instead Sethon has taken the Kingdom by force. Eona has seen many people slaughtered and almost all the other Dragoneye’s and appreciates have been killed by Lord Ion. After they escape Ryko has been wounded and is on his dying bed. Dela begs Eona to save him and she finds that her healing powers make him a slave to everything she wills him to do. Ryko despises her for making him a slave. Their group finds the Emperor Kygo and they start making plans to help him win back the throne.  A romance develops between Eona and Kygo but Eona doesn’t know if she can trust him. Does he really want her or just her power over her dragon to win a war?  Eona tells the Emperor that they will have to breakout Lord Ion from Sethon’s prison so he can teach Eona how to control her dragon. When they find Lord Ion he is almost dead from torture. Eona heals him and he becomes her slave. They are the last two Dragoneye’s left and a special bond develops between them. Even though Lord Ion killed all the other Dragoneye’s and was their enemy, Eona senses a change in him. She keeps many secrets from everyone especially Emperor Kygo. Her friends Dela and Ryko are starting to think that she is becoming more like Lord Ion and desires power.  In the end Eona is torn between two very different men. Everybody wants her power to rule and Eona has to decide who she can trust. 

Learn more about Alison Goodman: http://www.alisongoodman.com.au/eona.html

To purchase book:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/eona-alison-goodman/1017040965?ean=9780606236485

http://www.amazon.com/Eona-Alison-Goodman/dp/014242093X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1349114041&sr=8-3&keywords=eona

Book Review of Erasing Time by C.J. Hill

Time travel, Love, Escape, and Death all wrapped into a gripping tale

What an exciting book! Identical twins, Taylor and Sheridan get abducted into the 25th century. Lots of things have changed in the future and defiantly not for the good. Echo and his dad Jeth are "wordsmiths" who studied and fluently speak the English version of the 21st century. They are called in to help the scientist figure out what went wrong from the two girls. The Time machine made the mistake and brought two teenage girls instead of the scientist they were searching for. Echo's twin Joseph was recently killed by the evil Dakine’s group who has more power and control than the government.  Echo is ready to escape but his plans change as he becomes attached to Sheridan and wants to help her. Taylor who is the genius of the twins comes up with a dangerous plan to destroy the time machine, hoping to prevent anyone else from experiencing the same terrible fate of being stuck in the future. They have to do this and escape before the government erases their memory and installs a tracking device.
C.J. Hill's word-play was spectacular. With the slang we use today the girls were able to disguise what they were planning. It was hilarious to see through the eyes of those in the future how ridiculous those sayings really are. The story kept you wondering, who was bad? Who could they trust? How would they ever return home? The conclusion was nail-biting to the very end. A must read, not only for Sci-Fi fans but those who enjoy a good love story.

To purchase:

http://www.amazon.com/Erasing-Time-C-J-Hill

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/erasing-time-c-j-hill

Book review of “Jane Austen and the Archangel” by Pamela Aares

Jane has moved to Chawton with her mom and sister Cassandra. Jane is in a terrible state of not being able to write her next novel and worrying over her friend Serena. Serena’s fiancé went to war in Spain and never returned. It’s been two years and her family is forcing her to move on and marry an awful man, Lord Rendin. As Jane receives a letters from Serena the letter carrier introduces himself as Michael Grace. There is something intriguing about him. When he arrives on Jane’s doorstep on a rainy day she invites in him for tea. She knows it’s improper but admits to herself that being near him overthrows all propriety. When Jane confides in Michael concerning her worries over her friends missing fiancés, he immediately assures her that he has connections in Spain that can maybe assist. Michael who really is an archangel doesn’t know why he is so drawn to help Jane and see her happy.  Jane goes to Serena’s place in Anderley to help her friend with a scheme to show the true character of Lord Rendin. As the plan unfolds, Jane finds herself facing truths that even her imagination couldn’t come up with. The lengths that Michael goes through to bring happiness to Jane even surprises him.

It’s a fascinating and brilliant love story.  As stated in the novel Jane admits, “She’d read about such things, had thought she knew what Dante and Shakespeare had meant when they’d penned their words about pure love, about love beyond imagining, love beyond words.  But she’d never had an inkling.”

Those of us who enjoy Jane Austen’s work sometimes feel a little sad for her as she wrote such beautiful love stories and in her real life its unknown if she ever found true love.  In “Jane Austen and the Archangel” we learn that she has loved deeper and stronger than most could ever dream of. A well crafted novel by Pamela takes us into a new world and gives us the peace of mind that Jane truly knew love. 

To learn more about Pamela and her wonderful book, go to:

http://www.pamelaaares.com/

To purchase her book, go to:

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/177105

or

http://www.amazon.com/Jane-Austen-Archangel-ebook/dp/B008FERXTE

Book Review of Slayers by C.J. Hill

I’m a believer! Dragons really do exist.  After reading “Slayers” by C.J. Hill the storyline is plausible. Dragons may have disappeared but their return and attack on mankind is inevitable.  All the stories in medieval times that Dragons exist are not fables but true. What’s great about this book is its happening today right in your own town. Well this story takes place in Washington DC but no one is safe from the return of Dragons!

Tori a rich girl who always dreamt of dragons and obsessed over them being real found Dragon camp and this summer finally talked her parents into letting her go. She hoped it would help her figure out why she believed in dragons. She gets off on the wrong foot with the other campers as two good looking guys try to help her carry her heavy luggage she brought and she mistakes them for bell hops.  The other campers have been attending Dragon camp since they were 11 years old so they are tight-knit group.

Tori quickly learns two different camps are going on… the normal geeky people who are obsessed with mystical creatures and the advance Dragon camp where they have special powers and are actually training to kill these “mystical” creatures.  Dr. B who created this Dragon camp for the sole purpose to finding Slayers knows dragons are real first hand. His family had worked for a Dragon Lord, Overdrake. They could control dragons and wanted to use the power to control America. The Overdrake’s plan was to protect the dragon eggs that had been dormant for 150 years and as soon as they hatched they planned to attack and take control of the government. When the eggs were moved to Washington D.C. 17 years ago it activated the DNA of the descendants of the original knights who were Dragon Slayers. These kids all had special powers that only kicked in when a dragon were nearby. Tori didn’t know if she wanted any part of putting her life on the line.

Tori can’t help being attracted to Team Jesse with his tall, dark, and handsome features and Team Dirk with his blonde, blue eyes, and surfer boy attitude; really they are the “team” captains. That is how they train by competing against each other and they are very competitive. Tori’s way behind in training and very frustrated because she doesn’t know her purpose in the group. Her special power is she can hear what the dragon hears, which for now, as an egg is a heartbeat. How special is that?

This story is exciting and keeps you speculating what will happen next. Not everybody is who they claim to be and with their lives on the line they have to decide who they can trust.

Ryker is a side story of the boy who got away but I can’t wait until the second book when he finally joins the group and find out his powers. I believe he will be powerful and just what the other Slayers need to finally rid the world of Dragons.

To purchase:
http://www.amazon.com-Slayers-CJHill

http://www.barnesandnoble.com-Slayers+cj+hill

For more information about the book and to watch the book trailer go to: http://www.cjhillbooks.com/

ME and C.J. Hill at Changing Hands bookstore