It Started With Goodbye

Sixteen-year-old Tatum Elsea is bracing for the worst summer of her life. After being falsely accused of a crime, she’s stuck under stepmother-imposed house arrest and her BFF’s gone ghost. Tatum fills her newfound free time with community service by day and working at her covert graphic design business at night (which includes trading emails with a cute cello-playing client). When Tatum discovers she’s not the only one in the house keeping secrets, she finds she has the chance to make amends with her family and friends. Equipped with a new perspective, and assisted by her feisty step-abuela-slash-fairy-godmother, Tatum is ready to start fresh and maybe even get her happy ending along the way.

A modern play on the Cinderella story arc, Christina June’s IT STARTED WITH GOODBYE shows us that sometimes going after what you want means breaking the rules.

My thoughts: I loved this story! I've mentioned before that I really enjoy fairy tales and reading retold fairy tales. It Started With Goodbye is my very favorite kind of retelling, since it was a Cinderella story while being totally original too. I loved the characters and that Tatum isn't the only one we connect with. I highly recommend this one, since it was delightful and surprisingly deep. It also is clean, which can be hard to find in a YA title.
I look forward to reading more by Christina!
I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Top Ten: characters I would love to have in my family

1. Jo March

Really, the whole March family, since I love the way the sisters interact! They would be marvelous cousins.;)

2. Lady Miranda

With her dry wit, she would make a wonderful relative as well!

3. Tatum

Granted, I'm not quite done with this one, but there is something about Tatum and her Cinderella story that makes one want to adopt her!

4. Elizabeth Bennet

Because really, who wouldn't want Elizabeth Bennet as a sister?;)

5. Anne Elliot

As an older, wiser sister.;)

6. Fred and George Weasley

Can you imagine these two as uncles? I know this one is kind of out there, but they would make hilarious, young uncles who would constantly be getting the younger generation in to trouble with their brilliant ideas.;)

7. Lucy

Lucy and her sweet imagination would make her a wonderful younger sister.;)

8. Henoria

She's just a cool aunt in this story!

Aspen Everlasting

Water splashed on all sides then took control of the tires. The car swerved right toward the river.
“No. NO. NO!” I turned the wheel toward the road. It didn’t work. Fast running water pulled the car into the flooded river.

Aspen Foster thinks she’s just a normal sixteen-year-old, but when her car’s caught in a flash flood, Aspen and her sister discover the superhuman strength they never knew they had.

Soon Aspen learns she’s not normal at all. She’s an Evermortal fairy, with powers beyond her wildest dreams. But the more Aspen finds out about her family’s past, the more dangerous her future becomes.

This riveting fantasy is full of action, adventure, and romance. Suspenseful and exhilarating!

My thoughts: This a fun story about what happens when a normal girl, and her siblings, find out they have super powers. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and found the story to be an imaginative one. I love that there are a lot of characters and thought that Kathryn did a fantastic job of bringing them to life, along with the world they wind up being a part of. Two thumbs up! This is a fun story for young adults and adults alike!
I received this book from Cedar Fort in exchange for my honest review.

An Uncommon Courtship

When her mother's ill-conceived marriage trap goes awry, Lady Adelaide Bell unwittingly finds herself bound to a stranger who ignores her. Lord Trent Hawthorne, who had grand plans to marry for love, is even less pleased with the match. Can they set aside their first impressions before any chance of love is lost?

My thoughts: While I enjoyed the previous two books in this series, I had a harder time getting into this story, since it was just so vague at the beginning. And, it felt like there wasn't much to the heroine. But, then more of the story came out and the reader starts to get why Lady Adelaide is the way that she is. I love that this story wound up being a different spin on the tale of a marriage of convenience. I also love that Kristi has captured the Regency way of verbal sparing, how to polietly get your point across, something I love about Jane Austen's stories.
If you enjoy Regency stories, I highly recommend this one! I would caution that it is for a little older audience. I was quite an advanced reader at a young age, and would not of wanted to pick this one up until at last high school.;) (though, things are handled with tact)
I received this book from Bethany House in exchange for my honest review.

The Mark of the King

Sweeping Historical Fiction Set at the Edge of the Continent
After being imprisoned and branded for the death of her client, twenty-five-year-old midwife Julianne Chevalier trades her life sentence for exile to the fledgling 1720s French colony of Louisiana, where she hopes to be reunited with her brother, serving there as a soldier. To make the journey, though, women must be married, and Julianne is forced to wed a fellow convict.
When they arrive in New Orleans, there is no news of Benjamin, Julianne's brother, and searching for answers proves dangerous. What is behind the mystery, and does military officer Marc-Paul Girard know more than he is letting on?
With her dreams of a new life shattered, Julianne must find her way in this dangerous, rugged land, despite never being able to escape the king's mark on her shoulder that brands her a criminal beyond redemption.

My thoughts: I was really looking forward to this book, since I love the idea that the main character is a midwife who is wrongly accused of a crime in France, so she is sent to New Orleans as a prisoner to help settle the new land. While the attention to historical details is incredible, I found it hard to like some of the characters and really get to know them. I know it was a hard time to live during, but there is just so many hardships in this story. That said, I think that Jocelyn is a wonderful author who writes well and really researches her stories.
I received this book from Litfuse in exchange for my honest review.

A Moonbow Night

After fleeing Virginia, Temperance Tucker and her family established an inn along the Shawnee River. It's a welcome way station for settlers and frontiersmen traveling through the wild Cumberland region of Kentucke--men like Sion Morgan, a Virginia surveyor who arrives at the inn with his crew looking for an experienced guide. When his guide appears, Sion balks. He certainly didn't expect a woman. But it is not long before he must admit that Tempe's skill in the wilderness rivals his own. Still, the tenuous tie they are forming is put to the test as they encounter danger after danger and must rely on each other.
With her signature sweeping style and ability to bring the distant past to vivid life, Laura Frantz beckons readers to join her in a land of Indian ambushes, conflicting loyalties, and a tentative love that meanders like a cool mountain stream.

My thoughts: This story was incredibly fascinating! I haven't read as much about this time in history, when Kentucke was considered part of the untamed land and Indian raids were a very real fear. I thought that Laura did a fabulous job of bringing the story to life. While parts of it are sad, with life being so hard back then, she doesn't just focus on the hardships. This is an excellent story for those who love history. Laura is a master at historical details.
I received this book from Revell in exchange for my honest review.

The Chamberlain Key

Imagine you are a young, ambitious, successful appraiser of artifacts and antiquities—your services in demand by many of the most powerful individuals and branches of government in Washington, D. C. Your future could not seem brighter—except for a troubling dream...with the same mysterious message...on the same exact date...three years in a row...

A True Story...Better Than Fiction

Timothy P. Smith, heir to a renowned family business responsible for construction or renovation of some of America’s most cherished landmarks, struggled to understand the significance of his recurring dream...until he had another dream--one that identified a specific location where it seemed he might find answers to his questions. So Timothy drove to a remote spot in British Columbia. There the adventure--which later led to a startling discovery in the oldest Hebrew text of the Bible--began.

It took the convergence of the sacred text, one man’s life, and modern computer technology to reveal messages that may explain dramatic world events, as well as influence every person alive today.

Welcome to The Chamberlain Key.

“However one wishes to interpret the meaning and significance of the text, they may rest assured that the text on which Timothy Smith bases his interpretation has almost certainly been there for a very long time, since before the birth of Christ.”
—Eugene Ulrich, Ph.D.
Department of Theology, University of Notre Dame
Chief Editor, The Biblical Dead Sea Scrolls

“For more than fifteen years I managed to keep the lid on a discovery that will dramatically redirect biblical scholarship, Christian theology, and perhaps even the trajectory of history itself.” –Timothy P. Smith

What You Will Discover in The Chamberlain Key
• An encrypted code in Genesis, in the oldest known Hebrew text of the Old Testament, centuries before predicted the birth and resurrection of Jesus.
• Scientific evidence that this encrypted code was authored by the divine hand of God.
• Signs that there are more encrypted codes in this same Hebrew text that will lead to additional messages from God to humanity
• Hidden clues that may lead to the location of long-missing sacred artifacts, such as the Ark of the Covenant
• Insights on why Timothy P. Smith was chosen to uncover this encrypted code.
• A dire warning that God wants us to hear—and heed.

My thoughts: I was so excited to get this book, since it's always thrilling to read real life stories that are better than fiction.;) I found this book interesting and insightful, definitely a great read for anyone who enjoys theological debates and things like the Dead Sea Scrolls.
I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.