Masters and Slayers - Book Review

Author: Bryan Davis

Publisher: AMG Publishers

The dragons of Starlight have been enslaving humans for over a century. At long last, warrior Adrian Masters and sword maiden Marcelle vow to find the mysterious portal where the Lost. Ones disappeared---and save the slaves. Will they turn back when they learn that only the ultimate sacrifice can bring freedom to the oppressed? 400 pages, softcover from Living Ink.

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.

The planet Starlight is controlled by dragons. Because of the depletion in their atmosphere of an essential gas, pheterone, they must search for a way to survive. They know that a network of gas veins exists deep beneath the crust of their planet, but, being dragons, they are not skilled with ways to drill.

One dragon, Magnar, finds humans on another planet he calls Darksphere, captures several of them, and forces them to drill through Starlight’s crust in order to release the gas. A man escapes and returns to the planet of humans. He tells everyone about the missing people they call the Lost Ones and how they went through a portal to a dragon planet. Since the portal doesn’t always work, he is unable to prove his story, and nearly everyone thinks he is crazy or maybe he murdered the others.

One hundred years after the initial enslavement, Adrian Masters, a 24-year-old expert swordsman, sets out on a journey to find the portal to the dragon planet. 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. Adrian believes in using stealth and cunning to free the slaves, while Marcelle opts to take a more direct approach. This causes friction between these two warriors, though they respect each other’s skills highly.

When Adrian and Marcelle find the slaves, they learn that these longsuffering people have no memory of their origins, making them reluctant to believe the two would-be rescuers, especially since the dragons crush any opposition to their cruel tyranny. Undeterred by the overwhelming obstacles, the two warriors set out to free the slaves and face mortal danger at every turn. As they battle dragons, endure torture, and dispel superstition, they learn that an ultimate sacrifice is the only way they can bring liberty to the oppressed.

My Thoughts: Normally, I enjoy books like this; however, for some reason, I couldn't seem to stick with this one. The storyline is good.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary e-copy of this book for review as part of the NetGalley Reviewer program.

Tiger Hills - Book Review

Author: Sarita Mandanna

Publisher: Hachette Book Group

As the first girl to be born into the Nachimada family in over thirty-five years, the beautiful Devi is the object of adoration of her entire family. Strong-willed and confident, she befriends the shy Devanna, a young boy whose mother has died in tragic circumstances. Over the years, Devi and Devanna grow inseparable as they attend school together and learn more about the extended family that surrounds them.

However, things begin to change when Devi meets Machu, a handsome young man who is regarded as a hero in his village for having killed a tiger -- a near impossible feat. Although she is only a child, Devi becomes infatuated with Machu and vows to marry him one day. But soon, Devi's devotion to Machu begins to drive a wedge between her and Devanna. Desperately in love with Devi, Devanna leaves the village to study medicine with the hope that when he returns Devi will see his worth and return his love.

But then a devastating tragedy occurs that chages the fate of all three -- an event that will have unforeseen and far-reaching consequences for generations to come.

My Thoughts: This is a good book. When you're young and you follow your heart, you never know how it's going to affect the future. Not just your own future but everyone in the family.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary e-copy of this book for review as part of the NetGalley Reviewer program.

The Good Daughter - Book Review

Author:

Jasmin Darznik

Publisher: Hachette Book Group

One day when Jasmin Darznik is helping her mother pack up to move, a photograph falls from a stack of old letters. The girl in it is her mother. She is wearing a wedding veil, and at her side stands a man whom Jasmin has never seen before.

At first, Jasmin’s mother, Lili, refuses to share any information. Months later, Jasmin receives the first of ten cassette tapes revealing a wrenching hidden story of her family’s true origins in Iran: her mother’s troubled history of abuse and neglect, and a daughter she was forced to abandon in order to escape that life. The final tape reveals that her sister, Sara, is still living in Iran.

Darznik skillfully weaves the stories of three generations of Iranian women’s battles with husbands and poverty into a unique tale of one family’s twisted path to freedom.

My Thoughts: Good book. This book has come out in a time we are learning more and more about life in Iran and other countries, especially concerning the lives of women. I can't imagine suddenly learning about my mother having lived in such a life and my not knowing before growing up.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary e-copy of this book for review as part of the NetGalley Reviewer program.

A Silken Thread - Book Review

• Author:
  • Brenda Jackson
• Kimani Press Special Releases

For Erica Sanders, finding a soul mate was the easy part. Brian Lawson is the man she wants, and everyone agrees they're the ideal couple. Almost everyone. The one exception is Erica's mother, Karen, who prefers her daughter marry another man. Karen even hires a private detective to investigate Brian, but the truth he uncovers is the last thing she expected—a devastating betrayal that rips both families apart.

Convinced that her relationship can't be salvaged, Erica ends her engagement. Yet she has lingering doubts over her decision, especially once Brian's attractive single neighbor starts pursuing him. A chance meeting proves that the passion between Brian and Erica hasn't dimmed—but neither has the determination of others to keep them apart, or the shocking lengths Karen will go to in order to undermine her daughter's relationship.

As secrets old and new are revealed, Erica and Brian find themselves caught between the bonds of the past and an uncertain future, each making painful discoveries about who to believe and trust. Masterfully told and laced with the sensuality and drama that Brenda Jackson does best, this is an unforgettable story of relationships at their most complex, and how hard it can be to choose between living separate lives—or holding fast when love hangs by a silken thread….

My Thoughts: Sometimes you just got to go with your feelings, even when it's the opposite of what family thinks is best for you and what they want for you. It's a fact that everyone has their own opinion and most are verbal about it.

Already Home - Book Review

A story of a woman who learns to open her heart and, in the process, discovers that love doesn’t wait for an invitation. Jenna Stevens is still reeling from a recent divorce and recuperating from wounds inflicted by a husband who belittled her at every opportunity. A classically trained chef, Jenna no longer believes she’s capable of the leaps of creativity that once won her praise from her instructors and from food critics, so she moves back to her hometown in Texas to open a retail cooking store.

Just as Jenna’s settling into her new career and beginning to feel like she’s on even ground, her birth mother barrels her way into Jenna’s life. Jenna doesn’t want or need a second mother, especially a vegan mother named Serenity who would have named her Butterfly. But while Serenity listens to signs from the Universe, she easily ignores Jenna telling her to go away. With gentle but insistent pressure, she will find a way to open Jenna’s heart.

My thoughts: Not having been adopted, I don't know how it would feel to be adopted. I think I'd want to know who my birth parents were. You know, whether there were any health issues to be concerned about, that kind of thing. To suddenly be brought face-to-face, at 32 years old , with them without warning is a different story. This was a good book, sometimes funny, sometimes teary.

Disclosure: I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes only. The opinions stated are my own and I was not under obligation to give a good review.

Softly and Tenderly - Book Review

Maybe in the wide-open country she can learn to breathe again.

Happily married and owner of two successful boutiques, Jade longs to begin a family with her husband, Max. But when she discovers that Max has an illegitimate son – who he wants her to help raise – Jade’s life is turned upside down.

She flees to her childhood home, a rambling Iowa farmhouse, with enough room to breathe. There – while her mother’s health grows fragile, and the tug of her first love grows stronger – Jade begins to question everything she thought she knew about family, love, and motherhood. In the wide-open landscape, Jade begins to see a future that doesn’t rest on the power of her past, but in the goodness of God's tender mercies.

My thoughts: This is a story of life. It happens all the time, everywhere. When it happens, one has to find ways to deal with it. One can either look to God for help or deal with it in other ways.

Disclosure: I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes only. The opinions stated are my own and I was not under obligation to give a good review.

Rush of Darkness - Book Review

Raine Spenser is on the brink. Held prisoner because of her abilities, Raine—a powerful psychic as well as vampire desperately needed a savior. But the last one she expected was the green-eyed soldier who’d once hunted her kind. Since her rescue, she’s tried to forget Seth McConnell, unable to cope with the strange, simmering attraction that draws her to the compelling human.

But their goals—find the Kraven who held Raine captive and destroy him—are the same. The ever-growing web of danger surrounding them draws these two unlikely allies closer together, and anger slowly turns into an explosive passion they’re finding harder and harder to deny...

My thoughts: This is the first book I've read of the Primal Instinct Series. After reading it, I've come to the conclusion that I'll have to read the previous six books of the series.

Disclosure: I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes only. The opinions stated are my own and I was not under obligation to give a good review