A Bookworm's Book Reviews

The Visitation – Frank Peretti

Title: The Visitation

Author: Frank Peretti

Genre: Thriller

Plot: Travis Jordan is a burnt out pastor in the small town of Antioch, Washington. But his town is about to have some strange things happen. The cross with Jesus hanging from it at the Catholic church begins to weep. One of the caretakers goes to clean up the tears and is cured of his arthritis. People start seeing Jesus in the clouds. Brandon Nichols shows up in town performing miracles. The townspeople start calling him Jesus. Soon the newspapers catch wind of these stories. People start pouring into Antioch, curious to see if the stories are true. When, they see the stories are true, they stay. Brandon Nichols gains followers. People see Jesus in every day objects. More people are healed. But Travis Jordan and a few other pastors don’t buy into Brandon’s miracles and story. Travis starts doing some digging. But Brandon and his followers aren’t too happy about that. They try to distract him and win him to their side. When that doesn’t work, the treats start. Who really is Brandon? What will Travis find? Can he help free this town? Or will Brandon take over the town completely?

Rating: 3.6 – a good, slow build thriller

Opinion: This book was super slow at the beginning. I wanted to bang my head against something because this book was so slow at first. Part of the reason is that there’s a lot of backstory in this book. This story also changes perspective a lot. Travis’ story is always in first person and the rest of the perspectives are in third person. So it makes it a little easier to follow, though it took me a minute to understand who was who because of the frequent perspective changes in the first part of the book. Once the story started to get going, it really started going. After the back story and changes in perspectives stopped was when it really started going. After then it focuses more on the plot and moving the story forward. After reading the story, I realized why they did that. It made the characters more understandable so I realized why Travis was the way he was and why he was so different than Brandon. It made me realize how much more real mob mentality is and how easily they can be swayed and persuaded to do or not do certain things. I’d recommend this book for people who like slow building thrillers.

The Judas Chronicles – Aiden James

Titles: Book 1 – Immortal Plague

Author: Aiden James

Genre: Fantasy

Plot: 1 – Judas Iscariot, the man who betrayed Jesus from the bible, is alive and well after hanging himself. He’s been cursed to live forever until he retrieves all 30 pieces of silver he received in payment for his betrayal. There’s rumors of one of the pieces of silver in a small city near Tehran, Iran. Using his connections from his long years of life, he finds a way to sneak in. His current name, William, he is asked by the US government to spy on a Russian operative. The Russian operative is up to something. They have a technology that will allow them to move the rocks in the Alborz Mountains with ease. Judas has to find out what the Russians are up to. Judas uses the help of his son, Alister, and his connections to help. Together they search for what the Russians are up to. Once they get there, Judas realizes that he knows who the Russians are, and what they are up to. But will he be able to stop the Russian’s plans? What are the Russians looking for? Can Judas find what he originally came for?

Rating: 3.2 – an interesting take on a biblical idea

Opinion: I got this book a while ago and finally gave it a try. While the idea is good, I don’t think it was executed very well. Everything seemed rushed. I didn’t feel like I could connect to the characters very well. Nothing seemed very fleshed out. The author seemed to skim over details about the characters, plot, and descriptions. Some of the character’s names are similar, too, which made it confusing for me to keep track of who was who at first. This was the first book in the series, but I felt like there was something I was missing. Like there was a prequel or another book I was supposed to read first. This was still an interesting book, it just wasn’t the most well executed book I’ve ever read.

Half Sick of Shadows – Laura Sebastian

Found this book as an early release on Book of the Month. This book will be available on July 6.

Title: Half Sick of Shadows

Author: Laura Sebastian

Genre: Fantasy

Plot: Elaine is a young woman in the court of Camelot. She’s always been thought of as odd because of what she can do. Then she meets Morgana. She tells Elaine that she’s an oracle, she can see the future. Morgana begs hers to come to Avalon with her so she can learn more about her magic. Elaine accepts. There, she meets Gwen, Lancelot, and Arthur. They form a strong bond over the years on Avalon. When they return to Camelot so Arthur can claim his throne, their friendship is tested. They find another about to be crowned. But Merlin says if Arthur passes three tests, Arthur will be crowned king. As they start their tests, Elaine’s visions of the future become clearer. Can Elaine stop what we know as the classic Arthur’s tale? Or will what she see be prevented?

Rating: 4.0 – a new take on the tales of Arthur and Camelot

Opinion: I’ve always been curious about the tales of Arthur and his knights. I also love books from a different point of view. This book was a great book that combined both. Though this book focuses more on what the actions that led to the classic tales of Arthur and Camelot instead of those classic stories. This book does a great job with different types of magic. Though it focuses more on Elaine’s visions, it still describes Morgana and Gwen’s types of magic well, too. I also loved that Elaine took charge of her own future and was willing to make changes that could help her friends. She saw through the lies of those around her and did something about it. Though it took her a while to realize that she could make her own future. Once Elaine realized that, she helped her friends realize that, too. This is a great book for those who love retelling of classic stories from a different point of view. I recommend this book for those who love tales of Arthur and Camelot.

The Day the Crayons Quit – Drew Daywalt

Title: The Day the Crayons Quit

Author: Drew Daywalt

Illustrator: Oliver Jeffers

Genre: Children’s Book, Picture Book

Plot: Drew has just received a packet of letters from his crayons. All of the letters are complaints from the different color crayons. Each crayon wants to be used for a different kind of drawing. Both yellow and orange want to be the color of the sun. Pink is not just a girl’s color. Gray doesn’t like being used for big animals, like elephants and whales. The list goes on and on. Can Drew make his crayons happy? How can Drew use his crayons in different ways?

Rating: 3.8 – a cute series of letters

Opinion: This is a very cute book. It’s not a story, per se, but a series of letters. It’s a good way for kids to learn about different ways to color with their favorite colors. It’s a book that teaches kids it’s okay to mix things up. Not everything needs to be the same. It’s okay to make purple dragons, pink elephants, and black rainbows. The kids got a kick of beige’s letter. It was the easiest for them to understand and the silliest. It might be easier for older kids to fully understand the book because I had to explain a few things while I was reading the book. Overall, they enjoyed the book. It’s a great lesson in creativity. It’s a good classroom book because it’s silly, fun, and a creativity lesson book.

The Last Thing He Told Me – Laura Dave

Title: The Last Thing He Told Me

Author: Laura Dave

Genre: Mystery

Plot: Hannah has just received a note from a friend of her step-daughter. All it says is ‘Protect Her.’ She knows it means Bailey, her step-daughter, and that it’s from her husband, Owen. But why? Bailey comes home, clearly upset. Hannah tries to ask why, but Bailey’s not one for answers, never has been. Hannah turns on the news and is shocked. Owen’s company, The Shop, is under fire for fraud. The CEO has been arrested. Now they’re looking for Owen, as he’s the chief coder for the company. But Owen’s vanished. No one has heard from him, neither Hannah or Bailey. Then a US Marshall shows up, and the next day, the FBI. Hannah’s not sure who to trust. Everyone asks her to lie low. Instead, Hannah decides to do her own investigating. Everything starts pointing to Austin, Texas. Hannah starts asking Bailey if she remembers anything about the city. Bailey has a few faint memories. It’s not much it’s a start. They take a plane there and do some more digging. Once in Austin, Hannah starts learning about Owen’s past. What secrets was he hiding? Is Owen alright? Can Hannah find him? Or will someone else find him first?

Rating: 4.3 – a different kind of mystery

Opinion: This was a different style of mystery. Instead of following around a detective, it follows around an average person, and a woman to boot. There are more and more woman detectives now, but it’s still not the norm. It was nice to see an average person doing the digging, too. Hannah also puts her foot down and stands her ground against others. She stands by her decisions and her step-daughter’s, even though they don’t always get along. She stands by her decision to protect Bailey, even if it means going against an order from a US Marshall. It’s a nice change to see. The ending wasn’t your typical happy ending, either. I was kind of sad about that, but I understood why the ending had to be like that. Overall, this was a great book. I enjoyed it from beginning to end. It was a good mystery and it kept me guessing. I highly recommend this book for those who love mysteries and love a different style of mystery.

An Empire State Novel Trilogy – Elizabeth Camden

Title: Book 1 – A Dangerous Legacy

Author: Elizabeth Camden

Genre: Historical Fiction

Plot: Lucy Drake and her brother, Nick, have been fighting their family’s legal battle against their Uncle Thomas’s family for over 40 years. Lucy and Nick believe their grandfather was swindled out his inheritance of being part of inventing a new kind of valve that would allow indoor plumbing to flow higher in buildings. But their uncle is filthy rich and can afford better lawyers, and plays dirty. Lucy works at a telegraph office, Associated Press, and listens in on her uncle’s telegrams. When she overhears part of a plot against the president and his plan for the Panama Canal, Lucy knows she must do something. Colin Beckwith works with a rival telegraph office, Ruegers, and is in charge of the cables that transmits both companies telegraphs. No one is taking Lucy seriously, so Colin offers to help. But that means getting close to Lucy’s uncle. They use Colin’s homing pigeons to communicate. But Lucy finds more telegrams that involve her uncle and cousin. Now Colin’s life is threatened, too. Lucy rushes to find Colin at her uncle’s house. But will it be in time? Will Lucy find enough evidence to overturn the court cases and convict her uncle and cousin? Or will that put Lucy and her brother in deeper trouble?

Rating: 3.7 – a good historical fiction with some mystery

Opinion: This was a very good historical fiction book. I enjoyed learning about how telegraphs worked and the history surrounding them. I didn’t know that there were two routes for the what today is the Panama Canal. While I enjoyed this book, I felt like it was a little over dramatic for me. I understand that there was supposed to be an air of mystery, but it felt a little overdone. While overall this was a great book, this wasn’t my favorite book by this author. Maybe because the characters were a little too stubborn for me, or too confrontational. While the characters want what’s best for each other, they don’t always stop to listen completely. Though by the end, that changes. I’m also glad that the characters start letting go of their pasts to move on with their futures. The ending of the book wraps everything up nicely, but leaves enough room for the next two books. I’m not sure I want to read them right away, but I’ll read them eventually.

Guest Post – The Drowning Kind

Thank you Jennifer of Mama Bookworm for this review.

Title: The Drowning Kind
Author: Jennifer McMahon
Genre: Paranormal Thriller, Thriller
Synopsis: When social worker Jax receives nine missed calls from her older sister Lexie, she assumes that it’s just another one of her sister’s episodes. Manic and increasingly out of touch with reality, Lexie has pushed Jax away for over a year. But the next day, Lexie is dead: drowned in the pool at their grandmother’s estate. When Jax arrives at the house to go through her sister’s things, she learns that Lexie was researching the history of their family and the property. And as she dives deeper into the research herself, she discovers that the land holds a far darker past than she could have ever imagined.
In 1929, thirty-seven-year-old newlywed Ethel Monroe hoped desperately for a baby. To distract her, her husband whisks her away on a trip to Vermont, where a natural spring is showcased by the newest and most modern hotel in the Northeast. Once there, Ethel learns that the water is rumored to grant wishes, never suspecting that the spring takes in equal measure to what it gives.
A haunting, twisty, and compulsively readable thrill ride from the author who Chris Bohjalian has dubbed the “literary descendant of Shirley Jackson,” The Drowning Kind is a modern-day ghost story that illuminates how the past, though sometimes forgotten, is never really far behind us.
Review: Holy moly! The Drowning Kind is the bee’s knees, friends! It was my first Jennifer McMahon book, but it won’t be my last. When I turned the last page and discovered the gutwrenching twist at the end of this book, I immediately sourced two more of this author’s books. McMahon spins an atmospheric supernatural thriller with lightning-fast pacing that keeps you on your toes.
McMahon tells this story in dual timelines/POVs (Jax in the present and Ethel in 1929). Eerie Sparrow’s Crest draws in a family for generations. McMahon paints a beautiful setting here. You can see, hear, smell, and feel the land and the pool at Sparrow’s Crest. Upon learning that her sister Lexie drowned, Jax returns to the family estate. Estranged, the sisters’ history had been complicated, filled with trauma and love. Still, Jax yearns for her sister. We feel grief alongside her as she navigates life without her sibling.
And the pool! Imagine a natural spring that grants your wishes and heals you from pain. Except, when the pool gives, it takes as well. The spring itself is a character in this story with its obsidian water and flashes of something otherworldly hidden within its depths. I try to picture what’s lurking in the water, waiting to pull me under forever. It gives me goosebumps!
Immediately, the plot swept me off my feet. I love a good plot twist, and this book has that and more. This book will delight thriller lovers everywhere. It’s a reflection on love, loss, grief, and family.

Malinche – Laura Esquivel

Title: Maliche

Author: Laura Esquivel

Translator: Ernesto Mestre-Reed

Genre: Historical Fiction

Plot: Malinalli has been a slave since she was a young girl. With the Spanish Conquistador’s arrival, the two cultures need interpreters. Malinalli is chosen to be Hernán Cortés interpreter. His ambition is great and he needs an interpreter of Malinalli’s skill to make alliances and conquer the Aztec empire. At first Malinalli, like many other’s think he’s one of the gods, Quetzalcoatl. As Malinalli follows Cortés to Tenochtilan (the Aztec capital), she realizes that Cortés isn’t all that’s been promised. Malinalli dreams of freedom, but with Cortés’ ambition, that dream is dwindling. She’s scared of what’s she’s seen and unsure of who or what to believe anymore. Will she be free from her slavery? Will she be free of what she’s seen and done?

Rating: 4.0 – a good telling of the other side of the Conquistador’s conquest

Opinion: I was a little confused at the beginning. I hadn’t thought about the fact that the Spaniards had been around for a while before Cortés set his plan in motion. The more I read the book, the more I realized that that made sense. I felt for Malinalli. She’d been betrayed over and over again her whole life. She’d seen everything she believed fall and fail over and over again. Still she kept getting back up again and continued to fight. Malinalli did what she had to do to survive. It was nice to see the other side of the Spaniard’s conquest. As is said, history is told by the victors. I enjoyed learning more about the Spanish conquest from a different perspective. This is a great book for those who love history from other perspectives.

The Conductors – Nicole Glover

Title: The Conductors

Author: Nicole Glover

Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery

Plot: Hetty is a former underground railroad conductor and escaped slave. Her and her husband, Benji, now live in Philadelphia. They live a quiet life, trying to stay out of trouble, and helping friends when they can. Both Hetty and Benji can preform magic, but have to be careful. Magic is strictly controlled and limited from before the Civil War. When one of their friends dies, Hetty and Benji suspect foul play. They use their magic to help look for clues to what happened to their friend. But whoever’s behind their friend’s death is smart and desperate. There are more deaths, all with the same cursed mark as their friend. When Hetty and Benji get close to a suspect, the killer starts making it look like Benji did it. On top of that, someone is sneaking into their home, and other friend’s homes. Can they find the killer in time? Will others get hurt, or killed? Or will Benji get the blame? Is one of their friends to blame? Or someone else?

Rating: 3.5 – a different take on post Civil War life of former slaves

Opinion: This was an interesting book. I really enjoyed this new take of post Civil War life for former slaves. It’s a great a take on historical fiction and fantasy. While the book tries to be a mystery as well, it doesn’t keep me guessing as some of the other mystery books I’ve read. It’s a slow and steady read, not an edge of your seat book. The rules for the magic systems aren’t as well explained as some other magical fantasy books I’ve read, either. Though this was still an interesting idea for a magic system and I can understand why the author used this method for the magic. The book mentions that there’s a difference between magic and sorcery, but was never explained well enough for me. There were also a lot of people introduced at one time in the book. It took me a while afterwards to get everyone straight. While this was a good book overall, I wasn’t terribly impressed with it. I just felt it bit off a little more than it could chew. Still, it’s a good take on historical fiction laced with magic.