Tag Archive | survival

Pieces, by Chris Lynch (book review) – brother’s organs donated, life still in pieces

Jun9

book cover of Pieces by Chris Lynch published by Simon SchusterPulling the plug means giving up,
Giving up all hope that he’ll come out of the coma,
That he’ll wake up again for his brother and best friend.
How can they say goodbye?

This family’s tough decision is made the tiniest bit better by knowing that their 20-year-old son’s organs will improve life for several other people.

Today and every day, 18 people in America will die waiting for an organ transplant. Read answers to myths about organ donation, talk to your family about it, sign up at your state registry or on your driver license as an organ donor, and hope the day never comes.

While Pieces  is the sequel to Iceman,  in this book you get enough glimpses of irreverent Duane in Eric’s reminiscences of his big brother  to have the gist of their relationship. But I’m sure that reading Iceman  first (just out in paperback this spring) would add even more to this journey of discovery, with all its stops and starts and roller-coaster emotions.

Lynch tackled a similarly tough topic in Hothouse  (my recommendation here) as best friends who are sons of best-buddy firefighters must cope with their fathers’ deaths amid questions about that last fire they fought together.

How do you go on when a vital person in your life is gone?
**kmm

Book info: Pieces / Chris Lynch. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2013.   [author interview]  [author video interview]   [publisher site]

My book talk: Diving into unknown water was so like Duane. Eric didn’t want to let his big brother and best friend go, but their parents decided organ donation is the right thing. Now pieces of Duane are inside other people all over New England, and Eric finally decides to find out how that changed their lives.

As the life support machines beeped, Eric pleaded with Duane to wake up, to get back to his crazy self, to stay with him as his best (maybe only) friend. But no miracle occurred, despite Mom’s constant prayers, so the doctors asked if Duane’s organs can be used to help others. Eric’s anger still isn’t enough to stop his world from crumbling…

A year passes and Eric decides to take up donor services on their offer to connect him with those who received a new lease on life because of Duane. Out of high school a year, and still in a fog of grief, replaying the Navy recruiting video, but never having the strength to carry through, Eric needs to know that something good came out of Duane’s accident.

Donor Services arranges for 3 recipients of Duane’s organs to join Eric for high tea at a fancy Boston hotel – teenaged Phil who can hear at last with Duane’s earbones, young mother Melinda whose new kidney will allow her to see her son grow up, and brash Barry who seems to be using Duane’s liver as a cocktail strainer. They’re nice people (except Barry), and they really enjoy hearing about the adventures that Eric shared with his big brother, telling him that if he wants to stay in touch, they do too.

Duane’s on-again-off-again girlfriend, who left the country to volunteer overseas just before the accident, is back in town, having missed the funeral and the chance to mourn with the family. Meeting the people who now have pieces of Duane sounds like a good idea to her, so suddenly Eric is taking Martha to a birthday for Melinda’s 4-year-old son at Chuck E. Cheese, helping her host a cookout at her apartment for Phil and his mom, trying not to gag when Barry flirts with her over sangria.

How are these people related to him, now that they are part-Duane?
Can’t his parents understand that meeting them would help them heal, too?
Now where does he go in life without Duane?

Walking the long road of grief recovery gets a little easier for Eric with new friends and expanded possibilities in this follow-up to Iceman,  Lynch’s first novel about the brothers.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Ghost Knight, by Cornelia Funke (book review) – murder long-passed, a knight long-dead, danger now!

Jun7

book cover of Ghost Knight by Cornelia Funke translated by Oliver Latsch published by Little BrownGhostly rider with blood on his sword,
evil sidekicks with murder on their minds,
how many centuries can a death vow stay alive?

Every ancient cathedral and old castle has unexplained deaths in its history, many have ghosts who appear with a bit of regularity, but most don’t feature bloodthirsty murderers’ specters threatening schoolkids in their beds!

Listen to an excerpt of the audiobook version here and be sure to view the book trailer of the author visiting Salisbury Cathedral and reading aloud the section where Jon meets the Ghost Knight  for the very first time.

The paperback version was published in May 2013, so you should be able to find it in several formats at your local library or independent bookstore.

Would you call on a ghost to help you solve a dangerous mystery?
**kmm

Book info:  Ghost Knight / Cornelia Funke.; translated by Oliver Latsch. Little Brown, hardback 2012, paperback 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site]  [book trailer]

My book talk: Boarding school, rain, Mum in love with a dentist – Jon thought life couldn’t get worse…until he’s threatened by ghosts who can injure him, meets a girl with an adventurous streak, and invokes a dead knight to right the wrongs!

It definitely wasn’t Jon’s idea to attend the same boarding school as his late father, but after his many attempts to make his mother fall out of love with The Beard (as Jon called the dentist who tricked his little sisters and dog into liking him) all backfired, the 11-year-old found himself on the train to Salisbury. He doesn’t care about the ancient city’s history that his houseparents love and doesn’t care that he wasn’t selected for the cathedral school’s famous choir.

But the ghosts whispering threats about killing him, trying to ride him down on ghostly horses – those are another matter! Ella at school takes Jon to visit her grandmother who gives ghost tours. They discover that Lord Stourton and his henchmen were hanged for the death of Jon’s relatives centuries ago, vowing revenge. Zelda says Jon is in danger if he stays here, but he doesn’t want to go home to Mum and The Beard.

So Jon calls on the knight Longspee who originally captured Stourton, asking the ghost knight to help him rid the school of these wicked specters and save him from their vengeance.

Can Jon and Ella trust Longspee who wants to stay away from this world?
Can the trio truly send Stourton and crew back to their graves forever?
Can Jon find any way to keep The Beard from becoming his stepfather?

Through Latsch’s flowing translation, the noted German fantasy author of the Inkspell trilogy brings readers into the echoing aisles of Salisbury Cathedral and the windswept ruins of old castles as Jon and Ella fight enemies they cannot touch with mortal hands. (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Memory of After, by Lenore Appelhans (book review) – sinister stop-off between life and heaven

Jun6

book cover of Memory of After by Lenore Appelhans published by Simon SchusterDead, but not gone,
memory lives on,
in limbo, but never heaven?

Felicia figured she was more likely to end up in hell than heaven, considering what she’d done with Julian and to her best friend before she was banished to Grammy’s small town, but her time with Neal was slowly convincing her that forgiveness was possible.

And then she died – bam – end of second chances… or was it? Given a choice of revisiting memories of Neal forever or trying to change a corrupt system, she does have a second chance – if she dares to act.

In an unusual turn, the publisher realized that the hardback title Level 2  and its cover art (shown next to My Book Talk section) did not fit with the story, so the paperback (issued just 3 months after original pub date) uses the new title and art seen above. I agree that their first choice made this book look and sound like some paranormal video game, rather than the contest between good, not-so-good, maybe-evil, and oh-so-bad that it is.

Could you give up your favorite memories to move on?
**kmm

Book info: The Memory of After (Memory Chronicles, book 1) [hardback title: Level 2] / Lenore Appelhans. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2013.  [author’s blog]  [publisher site]  [author video interview]

book cover of Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans published by Simon Schuster, reissued as Memory of After

original hardback cover art & title

My book talk: Felicia’s not in heaven or hell, just stuck in Level 2 reliving memories over and over. When another girl in her pod vanishes and no one else remembers she was there, the teen thinks something’s amiss. When a dangerous guy from her past on Earth invades the pod to recruit her into a revolt against the angels, she knows something really strange is going on!

Not that Felicia was a good girl as a teenager, but dying just a day short of her 18th birthday seems so unfair. After the horrific incident with Julian and her best friend Autumn in Germany, her diplomat parents sent to live with her grandmother Stateside.

Felicia has lived in cities around the world, so the tiny Oklahoma town and Grammy’s strictness strangle her, but maybe it’s punishment she deserves.  School, church, school, home – that’s it. Meeting Neal at church youth group is the best thing in her world. Maybe she can overcome her guilt after all, with his love and help.

Now here she is with other dead teen girls in their stark white pod, not hungry or thirsty, accessing the best-ever memories. like her time with Neal. Suddenly Beckah finds herself trapped in her own terrifying death memory and is gone when Felicia checks on her later…and the other girls swear there never was any Beckah!

Julian’s abrupt appearance in the pod is alarming – no one ever comes in, let alone boys! He says he’s coming back for Felicia, then leaves. What’s going on? How did Julian find her? Is he dead, too?

As the pod is attacked and Felicia flees with Julian, she sees that there are thousands of pods, which means many thousands of people-drones here with their memories instead of in heaven or hell…

Why did angels set up pods filled with good memories that no one wants to abandon?
Why does Julian need Felicia’s help to “restore balance” in the afterlife?
Is Neal in one of those pods?

The battle is just beginning in this new series that takes the power of memories to a whole new level.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My Fave Five apps for bloggers and readers (plus a bonus app or two)

Jun5
cartoon of billiard ball 5 by ClassroomClipart.com

(c)ClassroomClipart.com

Today’s WordCount Blogathon theme is Five Favorite Apps.

My hands-down favorite is 30/30 for iOs and Android (didn’t find it for Windows phone yet). This timer program allows me to set up alerts for a sequence of tasks – as long as the blocks are under 60 minutes – and sounds an alarm when it’s time to switch to next task. I can pause a timed task, add or subtract time, move off the list for now, all on the fly.  Add in the ability to create and save multiple sequences, and you have a truly useful app that’s FREE.

I use  30/30 to schedule in stretch breaks, remind myself to check email and Twitter on a regular-but-not-constant basis, and so on. Rewarding myself with a 15-minute block of gameplay satisfies my need for some non-writing time while keeping me from getting so engrossed in the game that I ‘forget’ to get back to work. Super-super-super for ensuring that I’m not sitting still in front of computer for hours at a go.

Finding BufferApp was delightful. I use the free version to pre-schedule tweets at times when more of my followers are on Twitter, which lets me write the perfect tweet about a new blog post, put it in a scheduled slot on BufferApp, and not have to worry about remembering to tweet as soon as that post goes live. Recent enhancements let me Buffer retweets directly from Twitter, rather than having to copy-paste. Also available for iOs and Android, it works with Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. You can have up to 10 tweets buffered at a time with the free version, more with paid subscription.

Next is Dropbox (free for computers, iOs, Android, Windows Phone) which gives me access to my saved Dropbox files from nearly anywhere. As I routinely move between several computers in multiple locations, I save essential documents (optical prescriptions, frequent flyer numbers, book reviews) into Dropbox so I don’t have to remember which hard drive they’re on. It’s also great as photo/video downloader and repository, as I don’t have to locate cables to directly download phone photos to my computer.

Number four is a catchall of apps, since I haven’t yet bought a dedicated eReader because the eReader format wars haven’t shown any clear winner. I use the free Kindle and Nook apps on my phone (and desktop and laptop and netbook) to access those eBook types. Many publishers provide ARCs (advance reader copies) to reviewers in Adobe Digital Editions format, so that’s on all my computers, too. Adobe doesn’t have ADE for iOs yet, and user reviews of phone apps which claim to read ePub and ADE format are uniformly dissatisfied with those alternatives; hope Adobe has their own reader app available soon.

My fifth app helps me keep up with all the wonderful blogs I follow. When Google announced they were discontinuing GoogleReader this summer, I joined the mad dash to find a good substitute. After trying a few, I’ve settled on feedly as my preferred blog-reader and have happily changed my 30/30 task name. With a robust ‘back-end’ to harvest the blogs you subscribe to, it’s time to say hello feedly and sayonara GR!

And the bonus apps for everyone are Sun Wise from the EPA (all smartphone platforms) which gives you the current UV Index for any zipcode and Charity Miles which donates money to your choice of several charitable causes for every mile that you walk, run, or bike while you have the app activated. That’s right – you give the physical effort and someone else donates the funds! Among their current charities are Wounded Warrior Project, The Nature Conservancy, Autism Speaks, and StandUp2Cancer. Their initial $1 million pool pays out 25 cents per mile walked or run and 10 cents per mile biked to the charity you’ve selected. So download this app for iOs or Android, then get out there and move!

What apps do you use to keep your life/work/fun/relationships balance successfully juggled?
**kmm

School Spirits, by Rachel Hawkins (book review) – ghost-hunting ain’t for amateurs!

Jun3

book cover of School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins published by HyperionMonster sighted? Check.
Banishment strategy selected? Check.
Ready to walk into high school? No way!

Of course, home-schooling makes sense when your family is frequently traveling to hunt and eliminate otherworldly baddies, but none of her martial arts training prepared practical Izzy for her first major undercover assignment – locate and banish a high-school-based ghost with a grudge!

Makeup, clothes not suitable for stalking in the shadows, a hedgehog mascot for the basketball team …  and very, very attentive boys? Hope Izzy can corner Mary Evans’ ghost during the right moon phase and get out of Ideal, Mississippi in a hurry!

Grab this serious/not-so-serious ghost-trapper tale today at your local library  or independent bookstore, first in new series by Hex Hall author Rachel Hawkins.

Which ghosts of high school would you banish forever?
**kmm

Book info: School Spirits / Rachel Hawkins. Hyperion, 2013.   [author site]  [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Being a Brannick means hunting down supernatural monsters – it’s the family business. When her big sister Finley disappears before Izzy’s training is complete, the teen finds herself walking into high school for the first time, ready to fight an avenging ghost, but so unprepared for cliques, cute boys, and pep rallies.

A science teacher was nearly killed in his lab with the door locked from the inside, and sightings of the school namesake’s ghost have been reported for the first time in years. So homeschooled Izzy is tapped to infiltrate Mary Evans High School to eliminate the ghost.

One official school club in this small Mississippi town is the Paranormal Management Society, with 3 members, all considered weird by other students. Mom always says that “civilians” who think they can take on the Prodigium make supernatural situations worse; hopefully, Izzy can nab the ghost without involving Romy, Anderson, or Dex.

Ah, Dex, who seems to be Prodigium himself, might have a crush on Izzy? She and Torin (the spirit living in Brannick mirrors for past 400 years) watch many movies and television shows about high school life, trying to get a handle on how to cope with boys who ask for phone numbers and girls who are mean and teachers who just don’t have a clue.

A mangled Barbie doll on the head cheerleader’s locker mimics the dead frog found on the science teacher’s door before he was attacked. Mary Evans appears to Izzy and is much more powerful than a ghost should be. Even after Izzy seals the ghost girl’s grave, Mary steers a speeding car into a crowd at school!

Who or what has augmented Mary Evans’ powers?
How can Izzy banish the ghost when normal techniques fail?
Why can’t she shake the feeling that Dex isn’t who he seems to be?

Vengeful, deadly, tied to high school forever – this paranormal opponent forces Izzy and her mom to delve deep into Brannick lore to find a way to save her classmates from evil School Spirits  in this new series by the author of Hex Hall.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

The Testing, by Joelle Charbonneau (book review) – keep friends close, enemies closer?

Jun2

book cover of The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau published by Houghton MifflinFor a chance at your dream, how far would you go?
What would you sacrifice?
How much can you give without giving up who you are?

This dystopian novel of trials and trust, peril and personal integrity, desperation and death is not a Hunger Games knockoff, by any means.

Testing completely done in secret, candidates’ minds wiped after they fail or succeed, the lucky ones who get into Tosu University will be assigned to other colonies and never see their families again.

Gotta be glad that the consequences of our standardized testing in the US aren’t so severe…

This is Charbonneau’s first foray into the sci-fi world and young adult books, as her previous books feature Chicago women who wind up in small towns solving mysteries, one series with inherited roller-skating rink, the other with glee club director. Glad that this is the first in a trilogy, as I can’t wait to see what happens after the candidates get to the university.

Tor.com shares a short prequel to the story, to tide you over until publication day on Tuesday, June 4.

So, how do you decide who to trust?
**kmm

Book info: The Testing (Testing, book 1) / Joelle Charbonneau.  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s Books, 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site]  [book trailer]

My book talk: Of course, Cia longs for a chance to attend the University! But to pass the Testing, she must be willing to do anything and to trust no one… not even her first love. The stakes are high – the dangers are too numerous to count.

All the scientists, teachers, and leaders of the cataclysm-torn United Commonwealth have passed The Testing and succeeded at Tosu University. When graduation day closes with no word from the capital, Cia thinks she’s stuck working on tractors in Five Lakes Colony forever. But the next day brings a Tosu official who tells Cia, Tomas, Malachi, and Zandri that they will leave for the Testing in the morning!

As her family and friends celebrate, Cia’s father tells of his recurring nightmares from his Testing time and  warns her to trust no one. From the moment they leave Five Lakes, everything is part of the Testing. There are only 20 openings at the University and over 150 Testing this year. Coming from her collaborative community, the 16-year-old thinks Dad is exaggerating, until another Testing candidate tries to poison her before the first exams begin!

The academic exams are hard, the practical and cooperative exams are harder, with more and more students failing each level. Phase 3 drops the remaining candidates into a city shattered by war, instructing them to return to Tosu City through hundreds of miles of disaster-blasted territory, equipped only with a few survival supplies and their wits. They can make alliances if they wish, but still only 20 will be allowed into the University… if that many survive.

Has Cia chosen the right equipment for the journey?
Can she locate Tomas near the drop-point?
Is she right to trust the boy she’s known and loved all her life – or is her father right?

First in a series set in a future United States trying to rebuild itself after nuclear war and worldwide geologic shifts, The Testing  asks whether being truly human is more than just surviving at any cost.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy through NetGalley and cover image both courtesy of the publisher.

Arm of the Starfish, by Madeleine L’Engle (book review) – regeneration research, bad guys, international plot

May29

book cover of Arm of the Starfish by Madeleine L'Engle published by Square FishResearch with an “interesting” new development,
Remote island lab closed to outsiders,
Whispers of miracles or perhaps monsters…

Adam will have to rely on his own wits and instincts during this summer of 1965, when an amazing opportunity to assist with cutting-edge regeneration research lands him right in the middle of medical espionage, undercover agents, and foreign country misunderstandings.

Written as a near-future story in 1965, The Arm of the Starfish  reads almost like alternate history today, as events in Dr. O’Keefe’s island lab blur the line between science fiction and mysticism, with Adam having to decide whether to believe young Poly O’Keefe or beautiful Kali Cutter about the researcher’s true intentions.

You’ll find this classic beginning to the O’Keefe family stories at local library or independent bookstore in the new Square Fish edition. And, yes, the O’Keefes are related to the Murry family you know from A Wrinkle in Time.

How far should research take us toward a future with no limits on life?
**kmm

Book info: The Arm of the Starfish / Madeleine L’Engle. Square Fish, 2011 (originally published in 1965 by Farrar Straus Giroux).  [author site]  [publisher site]

My book talk: Adam’s summer job as research assistant to a noted marine biologist on a Mediterranean island is a dream come true – until he’s blamed for a young girl’s disappearance from his flight, chased through Lisbon by thugs, and drawn into a secret with international implications.

Unusual for his professor-mentor to send a recent high school graduate to assist Dr. O’Keefe with starfish regeneration experiments. Unusual that beautiful Kali warns him that O’Keefe and his associate Canon Tallis are not what they seem when she meets Adam for the very first time.

Diverted to Madrid by fog, Adam worries that he’ll miss his connection in Lisbon, but Canon Tallis assures him that they’ll wait, especially as O’Keefe’s preteen daughter Poly is on this same plane.  But when Poly goes into the airplane lavatory and doesn’t return, the flight crew tells Adam she was never aboard!

Dr. O’Keefe himself meets Adam at the airport, telling him that Poly has been kidnapped by someone wanting his research results. Before they can get to the boat for Gaea, Adam is chased and shot at, lied to, brought up-to-date on espionage, and sworn to secrecy.

How can they get Poly back safely?
What is so important about this starfish research?
Which side is Kali really on?

Science and mystical forces weave together in a 1965 outside of our history books on this island paradise where family and community must guard against mercenaries and greed. First of the O’Keefe family stories by A Wrinkle in Time  author Madeleine L’Engle, The Arm of the Starfish  is followed by Dragons in the Waters.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Ready…set…blog! It’s Wordcount Blogathon Time!

May27

Wordcount Blogathon2013 green logoWhere the first spark struck a flame,
The setup, the theme choice, the blog name,
Where BooksYALove got its start – Wordcount Blogathon!!

Yes, the reason that BooksYALove exists is the 2011 Wordcount Blogathon, where a free challenge to blog daily every day of the entire month of May finally gave me the oomph to create a blog so I could share and comment on the young adult books that I recommend on Barb Langridge’s site www.abookandahug.com, where librarians recommend the best books for babies, kids, tweens, and teens.

This year on June 1st, Wordcount Blogathonners will set out to post to their own blogs every single day of the month. The discipline of posting something with regularity helps you build up your “blogging muscles” and explore your blog topic more widely and/or deeply.

Freelance writer Michelle Rafter’s brainchild is now in its 6th year, and the registration, advice and guidance are still free. Sign up here by 11 p.m. EDT/ 8 p.m. Pacific on May 31 to be eligible for a whole slew of prizes in the closing raffle for folks who blog every day of June 2013.

Michelle offers a few suggested theme days (to fill the lull when you just can’t think of another thing to write about) and the opportunity to connect with bloggers to match up for guest posts (you write a post for their blog, they write a post for yours).

The kickoff Twitter chat (use #blog2013) at 1 p.m. Eastern/ 10 a.m. Pacific on Wednesday, May 29th is a great way to scope things out, ask questions about blogging for 30 days straight, and gear yourself up for a great challenge.

New this year is a Wordcount Blogathon Facebook page, where participants can share post summaries and links, request guest post matches, and keep in touch. This FB page replaces the old Google Group which several of us used to share our posts year-round, months and months after Blogathon officially closed (like I said, community!). Blogathonners are generally quite good about visiting one another’s blogs during the challenge, then following favorites over the long haul, so you can get some new followers, too!

Whether you want to start blogging, give your current blog some new spark, or find new bloggers to follow, Wordcount Blogathon 2013 is for you, so sign up for Blogathon and get on out there!

You know that you want that cool Blogathon participant badge, too.
**kmm

Legacy of the Clockwork Key, by Kristin Bailey (book review) – key to danger, love, time itself

May24

book cover of Legacy of the Clockwork Key by Kristin Bailey published by Simon PulseA pocket-watch that is actually a key,
a key made of clockwork
and music and love and danger.

The infinitely intricate clockwork devices made by Meg’s late father and grandfather and other Secret Order ‘amusementists’ make the automatons whirring and blinking in Europe’s royal courts seem like primitive toys in comparison.

Read the beginning of Meg’s story, as Kristin shares part of chapter one here, and be sure to watch the book trailer, one of my favorites!

You’ll want to hurry to your local library  or independent bookstore to pick up this first book of the Secret Order series so you can travel through the mystery with Meg and Will, outwitting mazes and mechanical monsters, solving puzzles on a pirate ship, and trying to stay one step ahead of pure human evil.

What’s the most amazing clockwork device you’ve seen in action?
**kmm

Book info: Legacy of the Clockwork Key (The Secret Order, #1) / Kristin Bailey. Simon Pulse, 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site]  [book trailer]

My book talk: Rescued by a secretive benefactor, Meg is no longer a young lady of good society in Victorian England, but a orphaned housemaid in a mansion that time forgot. When intricate devices point to clues regarding her parents’ deaths, the sixteen-year-old knows she must follow them, despite the danger to herself, her reputation, and her heart.

Meg wonders why every detail here must stay as it was, why the Baron took her in, why the staff knows “he’s always watching” when no one sees him. She mourns for her learned parents, killed in the fire which consumed their clock shop and her future six months ago. If only her grandfather were still alive…

When she asks the Baron’s young coachman to repair the clock-locket which alone survived the fire, it turns out to be a clockwork key. Meg recognizes its design in the parlor fireplace and unlocks secrets about the Baron (and her grandfather) that send her rushing to Will for help. Visiting a graveyard, unlocking more secrets, befriending a young widow – the pair uncovers a far-reaching organization of inventors, a sinister plot, and a terrifying problem.

The unseen Baron fires them both for “unbecoming behavior” and Meg knows that he’s discovered her visit into his workroom. With widowed Mrs. Pricket, they flee London, trying to reach the nearest amusementist (as Lucinda Pricket calls these inventors in the Secret Order) and safety. Although the inventor is long gone, his larger-than-life clockwork-powered amusement remains, and they must reanimate it to find more clues. For if they cannot stop the Baron, then he will kill them as surely as he killed Meg’s parents and Lucinda’s husband and others of the Secret Order.

Can they outrun the man who wants to control time?
Can they survive the perils of the gigantic clockwork amusements?
Can Meg and Will ignore their attraction to one another?

An entire secret organization dedicated to inventing the most elaborate toys on earth, a murderer bent on snuffing out all competitors, a chance for love outside Victorian society’s cast-iron rules – all in the first book of The Secret Order series.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Rose Throne, by Mette Ivie Harrison (book review) – powers crossed, palace perils doubled

May22

book cover of Rose Throne by Mette Ivie Harrison published by EgmontA land divided, perhaps to perish,
Ancient prophecy says reunification will save them.
Would that their prejudices were less vicious…

The opposing forces of combative taweyr and nurturing neweyr are a bit like yin and yang, but in Rurik and Weirland if your gender does not match your inborn weyr, woe to you, as every trouble from poor crops to lack of heirs will be blamed on you… whether commoner, noble, or royal.

Just published on May 14th, The Rose Throne  tells of balance and betrayal, power and its price, two strong princesses with complementary strengths which could heal their lands, were they only allowed to use them. Oh, there’s no predictable “happily ever after” ending for this story of political alliances forged and broken, just lots of mystery and intrigue, love in the shadows, temptations and trial.

How much should we mask our less-traditional talents and interests?
**kmm

Book info: The Rose Throne / Mette Ivie Harrison. Egmont, 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site]  [book trailer]

My book talk: Taweyr and neweyr – the force of brute power beyond muscles and the force of growing life – are only found on this one island shared by two kingdoms, two unlike kings, and a prophecy that could change history. Two princesses hear the prophecy, wonder whether if its fulfilment is finally here, and worry that their own gifts of weyr may not be enough to overcome human treachery.

Princess Ailsbeth loves music, a little-appreciated gift in Rurik, and knows that she’s just a political pawn to her father, King Haikor, who keeps order through might, taking taweyr from his nobles as a tax. Women’s neweyr gift of growth is despised in Rurik, and its crops suffer.  Across the narrow landbridge, King Jaap lets jousts keep the taweyr levels down, and Princess Marlissa leads Weirland’s women in strengthening their green land through neweyr.

When Duke Kellin arrives from Rurik to offer a betrothal between Prince Edik and Marlissa, the princess and her father are wary, since there’s little love lost between the two kingdoms. Accepting the offer will stave off a war and might be the first step in fulfilling the prophecy of a royal child who will have both weyrs and will reunite the island. Perhaps 13-year-old Prince Edik will grow less like his father during their long betrothal…

What a change from the simplicity of rural Weirland accosts Princess Marlissa as she enters Rurik’s cities where no green thing grows, where strict court protocol rules everything, where King Haikor’s hatred of the ekhono who hold the wrong weyr for their gender leads him to hunt them to the death.

Having no gift of neweyr seems no burden to Princess Ailsbeth, who saw that it did her mother the Queen no good in Rurik. But when the young woman discovers that she has as much taweyr as her brother Edik lacks, she must use all her skill to conceal it.

Can the two princesses become allies, if not friends?
Can they survive the treachery and deceit of the Rurese court?
Can they live long enough to give the prophecy a chance to come true?

Required to marry for royal alliances instead of love, regal opposites Ailsbeth and Marlissa are so alike in their love for their homelands in this tale of magic, intrigue, boundaries, and heart.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.