Book Reviews

Keira by Kate Willis

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As a Book Reviewer, this is my honest review of Kiera by Kate Willis. I was not required to write a positive review nor any review. This is the first book or story that I have read by Kate Willis, though it is not her first nor her only publication.

Kiera by Kate Willis is a novel about a young woman who is facing the military draft during a war as soon as she reaches her eighteenth birthday. She has no desire to leave her family and friends and have her life change so completely. She and her parents and brothers pray that God will provide a resolution to this problem.

Though I liked the story and it held my interest and kept me turning pages, I found it difficult to determine a time period for the book. The lifestyles of the characters could very well take place in the present day. However, the mention of checking the weather daily to see what the level of radiation is before going outdoors makes it seem as though it could be in the not-too-distant future. Ms. Willis also mentions her main characters using “devices”, which are clearly electronic technological devices, to access information and contact friends and family. No specific name was given to any device, though they didn’t seem like anything other than today’s laptops, tablets, and cell phones. Each was always referred to as “the device”. Nor was there ever any clear description or information regarding the war that is taking place in the story.

However, Ms. Willis did a great job creating well-developed characters that the reader can relate to, like, and care about. The internal and external struggles of the characters are what keep the reader engaged and turning pages. The reader walks through the struggles with Kiera and her family and with Brennan Stewart, both empathizing and sympathizing with them, and hoping they will have a happy ending.

There isn’t really a romance in this novel, but there is definitely a love story in this book. By that, I mean, it is a very slow developing deep love between two of the characters. It isn’t sensual. It is a deep, pure love, unlike what the modern world views as love.

The ending of the story is a bit confusing. The words “The End” appear at the bottom of page 279, but there is one page following that, where a scene involving a minor character takes place, and it isn’t clear why the scene is there. It almost seems like a set up for a second book, but there is no mention of an upcoming book or that Kiera is part of any series.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story, as I fell in love with the characters and I cared about them. Ms. Willis really did a wonderful job writing her characters, and they are definitely the heart and soul of this story, making it worth reading.

If you like character driven stories and like getting attached to and involved in the lives of a novel’s characters, you will definitely like Kiera by Kate Willlis.

Kiera is a Christian Fiction book and is a clean story – no profanity, no explicit violence, and no explicit intimate scenes. This novel is acceptable for both Young Adult and Adult Readers.

I do recommend Kiera by Kate Willis to readers who prefer character driven stories, and I give Kiera by Kate Willis 4 stars.

Reluctantly Yours by Jessica Marie Holt

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Reluctantly Yours: A Granny Matchmaker Romantic Comedy (Granny Pact Book 1) by [Jessica Marie Holt]

As a Book Reviewer, this is my honest review of Reluctantly Yours by Jessica Marie Holt. I was not required to write a positive review nor any review.

Reluctantly Yours by Jessica Marie Holt is a delightful, humorous clean romance story. Ellie and June have been friends forever and have shared many adventures and made many memories together. However, now they are facing what may be the greatest challenge they have ever faced. But they have a plan – the Granny Pact.

Ellie’s grandson, James, is unmarried, as is June’s granddaughter, Sarah, and these grandmothers have vowed to help their grandchildren’s romantic happiness along, whatever it takes. But James and Sarah aren’t so easy to convince, and these two have a past that their grandmother’s don’t know about, which complicates everything.

If you enjoy clean sweet romantic comedy novels, you’ll enjoy Reluctantly Yours by Jessica Marie Holt. The delightful scheming grandmothers are endearing as they try to help their grandchildren fall in love, as they both want what’s best for their grandchildren, and the thought of actually being family after all these years is appealing to them as well. Their antics to influence this romance are humorous as their grandchildren begin to wonder what is wrong with their grandmothers.

James and Sarah aren’t easily convinced that romance is in the cards for them, but they make some attempts at spending time with each other just to humor their grandmothers. However, their past continues to prevent any new blossom of romance. Will they be able to put the past behind them?

Jessica Marie Holt has created realistic characters with flaws and weaknesses and real-life struggles. They could be one of your family members, one of your friends, or maybe one of your neighbors. This story and its characters are engaging and will live on in your memory even after you turn the last page and close the book or e-reader.

Reluctantly Yours by Jessica Marie Holt is well written and fun to read. It’s a quick, easy read.

I give Reluctantly Yours by Jessica Marie Holt 5 stars.

Promises Unbroken (The Moretti Trilogy #1) by Kristina Hall

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As a Book Reviewer, this is my honest review of Promises Unbroken (The Moretti Trilogy #1) by Kristina Hall. I was not required to write a positive review nor any review.

Promises Unbroken by Kristina Hall is a Christian Mystery/Suspense novel that will have you burning the midnight oil just to read one more chapter.

Mae Ashton’s family isn’t what it used to be. Part of the reason the family has changed is because Mae’s sister has disappeared, or as many believe, died. But Mae believes her sister is still alive, so she writes a note to her fiance and leaves town to find her sister.

This book begins with danger and action as Mae realizes she’s being followed. Just after Mae is threatened, her fiance, Davis, shows up, determined to take Mae home or help her, but he’s definitely not leaving without her. With each chapter, the suspense and danger facing Davis and Mae mount and Mae regrets being the reason Davis is there.

When Davis first meets Alberto Moretti, a ruthless henchman for a corrupt businessman, he suggests that Moretti read the Bible. As the story continues, both Davis and Mae have run-ins with Moretti.

Throughout the novel, Davis encourages Mae in her walk with the Lord by quoting scripture. Davis also to tries to discuss faith and the Bible whenever he can fit it into a conversation with Alberto Moretti.

Ms. Hall has created a suspense filled novel with a thread of the Christian faith flowing through it in the midst of the danger. This book is also reminiscent of historical mafia stories where the criminal is the head of a family who has been involved in criminal activities for more than one generation. The story is well written, and though it is the first book of a trilogy, the ending is satisfactory and doesn’t leave the reader hanging on the edge of a cliff anxiously awaiting the next book.

There is plenty of suspense and some tense moments. The romance is clean and mild. There is some violence, but the violent scenes are brief and are not explicit.

I give Promises Unbroken by Kristina Hall 5 stars.

Rubrum by Keith Eldred

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RUBRUM: A novel retelling of A CHRISTMAS CAROL by [Keith Eldred]

Many authors have written what are deemed “retellings” of fairy tales. Instead, Keith Eldred chose to write a “retelling” of a well-known classic Christmas story, A Christmas Carol. Mr. Eldred has created a more modern setting.

Evan Easter is a loner with an abusive past. He is a loner who receives a visitor who hasn’t walked the earth in years, as well as a couple other visitors from beyond the grave. He also receives a summons that causes him to fear for a child he has never met.

Keith Eldred writes in the style of the classic authors, and in Rubrum, he moves the reader back and forth from present to past and back again, and occasionally hops from one character’s head to another’s without warning. Evan Easter is a very likeable character who gains the reader’s sympathy from the start. Mr. Eldred gives a very clear picture of Evan’s life, both past and present, which, at times, seems to draw the story out. Evan’s life is filled with hurt, misery, and loneliness, but he has chosen the loneliness.

Despite his tragic, lonely life, Evan has a very caring heart, so when he is summoned and told of a situation in the life of a child he has never met, he fears for the child. Evan is a man of great and deep thought. He thinks long and hard about everything before he chooses whether or not to act.

Rubrum is the story of a likeable character, and though the ending isn’t really sad, readers who want happy endings may be disappointed. But whether you want a happy ending or can be satisfied with an ending that isn’t really sad, Rubrum is worth reading just to get to know Evan Easter because he’s a remarkable character that everyone can relate to in one way or another, and he has a message for all of us.

Rubrum is different from any other book I have ever read, and Evan Easter will live long in my memory. Rubrum’s genre is listed as Psychological Literary Fiction. And though it’s very different from A Christmas Carol, I believe Evan and Scrooge may have some things in common. However, I believe Keith Eldred gives us a much deeper psychological look at Evan Easter than Charles Dickens offered of Scrooge.

If you are a reader who likes unique characters and stories that will give you things to think about long after you turn the last page and close the book, I suggest you read Rubrum by Keith Eldred.

I give Rubrum by Keith Eldred 4 stars.

Spies Never Quit by M. Taylor Christensen

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As a Book Reviewer, I received a free ebook copy of Spies Never Quit by M. Taylor Christensen and this is my honest review. I was not required to write a positive nor any review.

Spies Never Quit by M. Taylor Christensen is the first book in the “Banana Girls” series. Mari Sandoval’s mother is kidnapped and the kidnappers tell Mari she must break into her mother’s research lab and get them some information from her mother’s most recent research. However, when Mari attempts to follow the kidnapper’s demands, she is thwarted by some sorority girls.

Mari ends up moving in with the sorority girls for her protection and for their help. It turns out the sorority girls are none other than the “Banana Girls”–spies! Mari wants to help free her mother, so the Banana Girls help her get a job inside the company they suspect is connected to the kidnapper.

In addition to working under cover, Mari must flirt with a couple of the men in the company in order to gain information that could lead her to her mother.

Spies Never Quit is a fun read full of adventure, danger, fight scenes, and romance. I found the first chapter or two a bit slow-paced, but after that, I couldn’t stop turning pages. The Banana Girls are a unique group of girls who are making their way through college life, while working as spies on the side. In addition to all of their yellow Banana vehicles, they all have rhyming names, and they each bring a special skill to the group that helps them with their missions.

M. Taylor Christensen has created interesting characters the reader enjoys following through adventures while rooting for them to crack the case and save Mari’s mom from the kidnappers. M. Taylor Christensen also created a fun romantic interest in the middle of Mari’s struggle to release her mom, in the form of a sweet character named Trey who works in the company. He flirts with Mari and lets her know he’s interested, and when Mari decides to take a chance and trust him, he helps her find time within her workday to explore the entire building complex of the company.

Between heart pounding suspense, action-packed fight scenes, some humorous dialogue lines, and the sweet romance, you won’t want to put the book down.

The suspense, danger, and fight scenes are not explicitly violent nor graphic, and the romance is clean.

If you enjoy fun clean reads, you will enjoy Spies Never Quite by M. Taylor Christensen.

Exciting New Magazine for Book Lovers

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Clean Fiction Magazine is a brand new magazine that is filled with Book Reviews of Clean Fiction stories you can find on Amazon and other places Clean Fiction books are sold. Amy Lynn McConahy of Sunset Valley Creations came up with the idea of creating Clean Fiction Magazine to help indie authors of Clean Fiction stories get the word out twice a year–the biggest book buying times of year, December and March–about their great Clean Fiction stories.

When I found out about it, I contacted Amy Lynn and asked if she needed reviewers to help with the project. She said, “Yes. Send five of your reviews to me and I will choose three to include in the magazine.”

Well, I sent her five reviews, and she decided to include all five! So, above is a picture of me with my print copy of the very first, newly released copy of Clean Fiction Magazine’s Winter 2021 Edition, as well as a picture of me with the magazine open to two of my reviews.

If you want a copy of Clean Fiction Magazine, you can get it for Free on Kindle Unlimited, or get an ebook copy for $2.99 — soon to be free for 5 days! You can also order a paperback copy for $14.99. Just go to this link: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B09L8LTLWN

In addition to Book Reviews, the magazine includes full color pictures, book blurbs, information about each author, book related advertisements, a few puzzles, a couple poems, and a few devotions.

I’m very excited to be a part of Clean Fiction Magazine and look forward to writing even more reviews for the next issue. Ms. McConahy has asked me to be the Clean Romance Reviewer for the upcoming issues of this publication and I was honored to accept that position.

Tomorrow I will post the information for the upcoming free ebook issue of Clean Fiction Magazine. If you’re a Clean Fiction reader, you won’t want to miss it!

Muck World by C. G. Lewis

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As a Book Reviewer, I received a free ebook copy of Muck World by C. G. Lewis and this is my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor any review.

Muck World by C. G. Lewis is a Dystopian Fiction book and the first book in the Ever Rain series. A global superstorm has destroyed civilization and survivors have fled to higher ground. Jessie and her parents are among those living in old bunkers and doing their best to survive.

Now another threat, the Citadel, made up of the rich and powerful and their army, are tracking those who have survived the storm and taking them prisoners for slave labor. Jessie’s parents and Calvin’s father have been captured and Jessie and Calvin have a plan. But they will need to convince the nearest town to join forces with them in an attempt to free their parents and defeat the Citadel.

Just before beginning the arduous journey, Jessie finds her mom’s diary and as she reads it, she discovers shocking secrets that could change her life forever.

C. G. Lewis did a great job creating a post apocalyptic world and interesting characters. He also created multiple interconnected story lines and weaves a complicated story without losing the reader along the way. I was engaged by the story line and could feel the cold rain and slippery mud that is a major part of this world. The characters all had definite individual personalities and voices.

Jessie came through as a strong leader despite the internal conflict she’s dealing with in response to the secrets she found in her mom’s diary.

I was definitely invested in Muck World and look forward to reading the next book in the Ever Rain series.

I recommend Muck World to any YA through Adult readers who enjoy Dystopian Fiction and stories that include adventure.

I give Muck World by C. G. Lewis 5 stars.

Beth: Legacy of Love by Jeffrey Young

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As a Book Reviewer, I received a free copy of Beth: Legacy of Love by Jeffrey Young and this is my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor any review.

Beth: Legacy of Love is a unique story as it is the novelization of the true story of two teenage girls who lived in Florida in the 1970s. Beth Davis and Marjorie Williams are the main characters. They are best friends who take different paths and their friendship becomes very strained. There are quite a few other characters, and even a couple other plot lines, but everything connects.

The story tells of the struggles of teenagers, not just in the 70s, but even now, as they face the struggles of dealing with peer pressure, troubles within families, the temptations of sex and drugs, drinking alcohol, and physical abuse.

There is also an element of spirituality and Christianity in the book. It is not preachy or overbearing. As a matter of fact, I was actually disappointed in the way it was presented, as I found the character of Beth, as a Christian, to be misleading. The other characters saw her as a “goody two shoes”, yet she judged people by their appearances and joked with her friends about some of their sinful behaviors. I’m well aware that Christians aren’t perfect and I don’t expect story characters to be perfect either. I do, however, expect story characters to be consistent with the story line, and Beth’s friends opinion of her being “so good” wasn’t really shown in the story through her character.

Beth: Legacy of Love certainly had some good lessons in its pages, but it lacked depth in the characters and I was never fully engaged with the story or the characters because the story was told by a narrator. I never had the opportunity to really get inside any of the character’s heads.

I continued reading because I wanted to see how all of the different plots ended and mostly because I wanted to see if there were any real growth and changes in any of the characters from the beginning to the end. I was pleasantly surprised to see the growth and change in two of the adult characters in the story. This was unexpected.

I also continued reading because I was a teenager in the 70s. However, I didn’t live in Florida and so I never really connected with a lot of what was happening in this story because my environment was very different and my parents were quite different than any of the parents in this story.

I do encourage teenagers who are struggling with being teenagers and the awkwardness and frustrations of life as a teen to read Beth: Legacy of Love by Jeffrey Young. I believe you can find examples of what you are dealing with as well as see some possible solutions to your struggles within this story. There are also some clear examples of choices you don’t want to make. I also encourage parents of teens to read Beth: Legacy of Love by Jeffrey Young as it may enable you to help your teenager to successfully navigate the waters of their teenage years.

I give Beth: A Legacy of Love 3 stars.

Love Costs by E. B. Roshan

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Love Costs (Shards of Sevia Book 3) by [E.B. Roshan]

As a Book Reviewer, I received a free ebook copy of Love Costs by E. B. Roshan. Love Costs is Book Three in Ms. Roshan’s The Shards of Sevia Series and this is my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor any review.

Love Costs takes place in Sevia. Radoslav, the brother of Anna from previous books in the series, is working as an interpreter, after some of the Tur people surrendered to the government and are placed in Camp Peace. These people were promised that they would be relocated somewhere in Europe.

Dunya and her brother, along with an orphaned baby Dunya has taken into her care, are staying in Camp Peace. One day, Radoslav sees Dunya through the fence. She has pink hair and a shiny smile that catches his attention. In a conversation with her, she expresses concern for her missing cat.

Radoslav, his heart torn by the situation that Dunya is in because of the ongoing fighting in their country, decides he wants to do something to make her smile again. So he goes back to her neighborhood, which is a dangerous place for Sevian people, and Radoslav is Sevian. He wants to find her cat for her.

Once again, E. B. Roshan constructs a story with interesting characters facing dangers and difficult decisions in a war-torn country.

Radoslav, because I remember him from a previous book in The Shards of Sevia Series, was definitely a character of interest to me. A character I cared about and wanted to see find some happiness.

Although this story was engaging, I felt as though it lacked the depth and suspense of the other books in The Shards of Sevia Series. The story was definitely worth reading, and I don’t know if it’s because I actually read this book out of order, but I didn’t find the danger as suspenseful in this book or the characters in the story to have the depth the characters in the other books in the series had.

However, it’s still a well written book and it’s important to the series and I still recommend that readers who like suspenseful stories, stories of different countries and cultures, and stories of life struggles read this book. And if you’ve read the first two books in The Shards of Sevia, don’t skip this one.

I give Love Costs (Book Three in The Shards of Sevia Series) by E. B. Roshan 4 stars.

The Search for Synergy by Brett Salter

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The Search for Synergy is the first book in The Talisman Series by Brett Salter and as a Book Reviewer, I received a free ebook copy. This is my honest review, and I was not required to write a positive review nor any review.

The Search for Synergy is a delightful fantasy tale of two young men who must learn to work together to rid the world of the evil lurking in the Void. Rome and Julian have unusual abilities and Rome has just discovered his. Julian is excited to find out about Rome’s abilities and is eager to use his own in accord with Rome’s to fight the evil. However, Rome needs some convincing.

Mr. Salter has created a unique story in The Search for Synergy. This entire story seems to take place in present day United States, but reaches back into the times of knights and dragons. As Julian and Rome develop their abilities and learn to work together, with the help of Mr. Jones, they eventually battle evil creatures.

The two young men come from very different families and have very different personalities, both of which add a bit of humor to the story.

The only thing that was a bit problematic to me was that the book has some spelling and grammar errors, but they were easy enough to overlook as I was engaged in Rome and Julian’s lives and the battles facing them.

The characters and circumstances they face kept me turning pages as Rome and Julian developed their abilities and fought evil creatures while learning more about their abilities and the history surrounding them. I finished reading this book in just three days because it gripped and held my attention and engaged me in the story and the characters’ lives.

The ending includes enough resolution to satisfy the reader, with enough of an open end to promise another great adventure with more evil creatures for Rome and Julian to battle.

This book is a fun easy read that I recommend to middle grade readers and up. Anyone who enjoys fantasy stories with unique characters and story lines that include battles and a bit of humor, will enjoy The Search for Synergy by Brett Salter.

I give The Search for Synergy by Brett Salter 5 stars.