The Dragons of Chiril by Donita K. Paul

I love that cover! The dragon is just too cute. I think the cover appeals to both boys and girls.

Tipper is in a tight spot. Her father has been missing for quite some time and her mother is a bit on the loony side. The only solution is to sell her father's famous artwork, but when she finds out that she sold three very important statues in an attempt to help her family, she realizes she made a really bad choice. The only solution is to go with Wizard Fenworth and Librettowit to find the three statues before it's too late!

As Paul's other books, I always love her characters. Tipper was in a tight spot trying to keep her home together during her father's absence and I think what she did to help her mom was realistic and true to life. I would have sold my family's artwork too! Her guardian, Sir Beccaroon, was an interesting character. You don't see a lot of talking birds in fantasy as supporting characters, but I liked it. Of course, it was great seeing Wizard Fenworth and Librettowit again!

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Upcoming Reviews for July 2011

I am FINALLY out of school! Yay! Sorry for lack of reviews on here, but grades are sorta important. I would start posting reviews in June, but I leave for camp this week and won't be back till July. So, here's a sneak peek at what you have to look forward to! I may be able to squeeze one in before I leave, but that's a maybe (:

Rejoice (CD) by Women of Faith Worship

I loved the cover of this CD. Very cute, sparkly, and girly! It had ten great songs:

1. Beautiful Redeemer


2. So Good


3. Forever Reign


4. Come As You Are


5. Hosanna


6. Our God


7. Glory to God


8. You Brought the Sunshine


9. Greatness of Our God


10. Great Is Thy Faithfulness

You probably recognize a couple of those songs. They put their own twist on them which I wasn't crazy about, but it was okay. My favorites were Hosanna, Glory to God, and Greatness of Our God. I loved all their voices. The Women of Faith Worship team includes: Kara Tualatai, Michelle Swift, Laura Cooksey, Janice Gaines, Allison Abbott, Jenifer Thigpen, and Jovaun Woods.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

The Sweetest Thing by Elizabeth Musser

The Singleton family's fortunes seem unaffected by the Great Depression, and Perri--along with the other girls at Atlanta's elite Washington Seminary--lives a carefree life of tea dances with college boys, matinees at the cinema, and debut parties. But when tragedies strike, Perri is confronted with a world far different from the one she has always known.

At the insistence of her parents, Mary "Dobbs" Dillard, the daughter of an itinerant preacher, is sent from inner-city Chicago to live with her aunt and attend Washington Seminary, bringing confrontation and radical ideas. Her arrival intersects at the point of Perri's ultimate crisis, and the tragedy forges an unlikely friendship.

From the first page, I knew this was my kind of book. It had that southern charm and familiarity. I also love reading about the Great Depression, and this was a whole new side I had never seen before. You usually don't read about wealth and people having a good time at parties, it's usually heartbreaking stories about families starving and having to give away children. Of course, this book had both. Rich families and very poor families. I think it was a great balance between the two.

I love Atlanta, so the setting was great for me. I also loved the bits about Chicago and Moody Bible Institute. Everything was well researched and fun to read about. You also got emerged into the culture back then. From pop-calling to fashion to the Sawdust Trail, I loved every bit of it.

I was afraid that it was going to turn into a kid-solves-complex-mystery-even-when-after-they-were-told-to-stay-away book, but it didn't, which I was glad. You see too many of those and they're predictable and boring. Instead, it had just enough mystery to keep you reading and add depth to the plot. Overall, I enjoyed the book very much!

I received a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes from Bethany House. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

The Lady of Bolton Hill by Elizabeth Camden

Female journalists are rare in 1879, but American-born Clara Endicott has finally made a name for herself with her provocative articles championing London's poor. When the backlash from her work forces a return home to Baltimore, Clara finds herself face-to-face with a childhood sweetheart who is no longer the impoverished factory worker she once knew.

In her absence, Daniel Tremain has become a powerful industry giant and Clara finds him as enigmatic as ever. However, Daniel's success is fueled by resentment from past wounds and Clara's deeply-held beliefs about God's grace force Daniel to confront his own motives.

When Clara's very life is endangered by one of Daniel's adversaries, they must face a reckoning neither of them ever could have foreseen.

The Lady of Bolton Hill started out like I expected - two teens, one rich and one poor, both falling in love with each other. But I did not expect characters being thrown in jail, revenge, suicide, kidnappings, black-market shipping, and riots.

I was pleasantly surprised.

Camden took this novel into a direction I really liked. She took historical facts from that time period, such as under-paid railroad workers and "the tortured conditions children endured when they were shoved beneath the surface of the earth to mine coal" (page 30). Throw in an idealistic journalist determined to defend underprivileged workers who is in love with a poor-boy-now-turned-into-industrial-titan who is too angry to provide better opportunities for his workers, and you have some story right there.

I received a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes from Bethany House. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

New Kid Catastrophes

TJ Finkelstein is your average seventh grader trying to survive junior high. Average except for . . .

Just moving from the Midwest to crazy, money-is-no-object Malibu, California.

Becoming mortal enemies with the school’s most popular girl, who stars on the Dizzy Channel.

Oh yeah, and being followed around by two goofball boys from the 23rd century!!!

That’s right—Herby and Tuna have traveled back in time to study TJ for a class project. Unfortunately, she is the only one who can see them. And unfortunatelier (don’t try that word on your English teacher), their “help,” which involves using whacked-out 23rd-century gadgets, only leads to more mayhem and plenty of side-splitting laughter.

Join this unlikely trio as they stumble into one hilarious catastrophe after another . . . while accidentally learning the importance of such core values as love, honesty, patience, and kindness.

I was so excited to finally read a new book by Bill Myers! Yay! I love his Journey to Fayrah, Wally McDoogle, Blood Hounds, and McGee and Me series.

I didn't know if TJ and the Time Stumbers would be as good as his other series, but I loved it even more! Both me and my brother were, like, "Eh, it doesn't look that great." But we were hooked from page one. I don't really like the cover, so maybe that's why I didn't think I would like it so much (I know, I know. Don't judge a book by it's cover).

Every chapter started out with a time travel log done by Herby and Tuna. I really liked that and I think it added more depth (and humor!) to the story. Myers always amazes me because his books are so funny and yet they cover serious topics. By page eleven you read about TJ dealing with the death of her mom and Chad's divorced parents. It's not depressing, it's just true to life. The story also comes with hope - TJ discovers what a wonderful future she has ahead of her. Sorta like on Meet the Robinson's.

Of course, Myers had me giggling, snorting, and laughing throughout the whole book. Time travel has been done again and again, but not quite like this before!

I received a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes from Tyndale House. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

When the Soul Mends by Cindy Woodsmall

Hannah Lapp ran from her life of being Old Order Amish after a tragic rape, and the untrust of of everyone she once loved. After adjusting to Englischer life, going to nursing school, and helping to raise the niece and nephew of her new love, Martin Palmer, Hannah thinks she's finally moved on from the hurt of the past. But when an accident back home bids Hannah to return, she finds herself confronted with all the conflicting emotions she thought she put behind her. Circumstances force her to spend time with the man she thought she never wanted to see again. Her former fiance', Paul Waddell. Her father, who she holds responsible for ruining her used-to-be dreams, is back in her life and as stubborn as ever. Should Hannah forgive past mistakes? Is there more to the situation then meets the eye? Was Paul really in the wrong all those years? And if she does forgive him, what about her life with Martin?

I was a little bored at the beginning of the book, but very quickly it caught my interest, just as Cindy Woodsmall is faithful in doing. I was on the edge of my seat many times, and I was pleased that the ending of the book wasn't so predictable like other books. I kept wondering What's going to happen? Who will she end up with? Will she ever learn to look past old mistakes? It was a good book, and sad story, but there was hope. And I think hope is what you need "When the Soul Mends".

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Masters & Slayers by Bryan Davis

Expert swordsman Adrian Masters attempts a dangerous journey to another world to rescue human captives who have been enslaved there by dragons. He is accompanied by Marcelle, a sword maiden of amazing skill whose ideas about how the operation should be carried out conflict with his own. Since the slaves have been in bonds for generations, they have no memory of their origins, making them reluctant to believe the two would-be rescuers, and, of course, the dragons will crush any attempt to emancipate the slaves. Set on two worlds separated by a mystical portal, Masters and Slayers is packed with action, mystery, and emotional turmoil, a tale of heart and life that is sure to inspire.

Masters & Slayers (book one in the Tales of Starlight series) is sorta like a sequel series to Dragons of Starlight, which is a series for teens. This book however was written as a fantasy series for adults, but I would say high schoolers would enjoy it too.

Starlighter is my favorite book by Bryan Davis. I loved reading Masters & Slayers because it started off right where Starlighter did, but from Aiden's perspective. That was really cool. It revealed a whole new side to the story. I was really glad to see Marcelle as one of the main characters and loved her reading from her perspective too.

I was really into the book until *spoiler* Cassabrie started to muddle Aiden's thoughts and takes charge. The whole disembodied spirits thing is sorta weird to me. It makes sense for the plot, and Davis did a great job making it not too weird, but it kind of threw me off and I didn't like the last half of the book so much.

Overall, it was a good read and I'm looking forward to the sequel. I don't like this series as much as Dragons of Starlight, but the sequel might change my mind!

I received a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.