Reveiw: Dragon's Heritage by Kandi J Wyatt

Do you remember my second Waiting-on-Wednesday? Well....Dragon's Heritage is a prequel to the Dragon's Courage series (you'll find reviews for all 5 of the other books on this blog). It is the story of youngling Duskya as seen through her granddaughter's eyes. Mere wants to be a dragon rider, but so far, no dragon has chosen her. Duskya gives her granddaughter a journal from her first winter as a rider, hoping it will clear up some things for Mere. Turns out, dragon riding isn't the only desirable skill, and Mere might just have a never-before-seen talent!


This book, unshockingly, is definitely getting 5 stars!

1: I have yet to read a book by Kandi that I didn't love! She definitely has a way with words that makes me experience everything, almost like the way Duskya can see through Wryn's eyes and experience that way.

2: I was so excited to see Duskya as the main character..... and to be able to fill in a little bit of the gap that happened between chapters in Dragon's Future was incredible (although since I know what's gonna happen in Dragon's Future, I really wanted to be able to tell Duskya about Glendyn, like so badly)!

3: As always, I found the antagonists to have an amazing part in the story, causing frustration for 99% of the story and then spiraling up into an amazing, and sometimes shocking, redemptive arc!

4: WOW!!! Mere's calamadyn abilities..... they may be my favorite ones yet!

5: If you read the others and you wanted a bit of backstory/prequel, Dragon's Heritage explains why every name has a Y and all the dragons have a W and a Y. It also totally expands the dragon senses, and how they work, and how awesome they are!

Thank you Pam! I feel so blessed to have been able to read the ARC of this story! I started as soon as I was done with classes for the day, and read it straight through, despite the fact that I'm in the middle of at least two other books!

Review: Too Close To Home by Lynette Eason

In this suspenseful tale, Connor finds himself searching for a serial killer. The victims seem to have very little in common. All teenage girls, all pretty, and smart. All recently had a baby. The missing link seems to be in the girls' computers. Enter Samantha, the computer expert from the FBI. Connor and Sam hurry to stop this guy before more girls go missing and the killer gets a little too close to home. Things start to get personal and Connor and Samantha must strive harder than ever to solve the mystery.



This book is the best mystery I've read this year. It's getting 5 stars, and if it were possible I'd stick another star on there.

1: Okay, so I loved Moving Target (my first Lynette Eason book) but this book blows that out of the water. The warning from the blurb says "read this one with the lights ON" and I will admit that I followed this advice. The suspense and the scariness level... through the roof. Also, the emotions. It was a roller coaster of every feeling a book has ever given me. And somehow I didn't cry. Maybe too much shock? I am emotionally exhausted from this book, and yet I desperately want to turn it back over and start again.

2: The chemistry between the characters. Was. Perfect. I just wanted to read more about Sam and Connor. And Jenna. And Sam and Connor and Jenna.

3: Lynette Eason has a way of getting into the villain's head. Like "the Chosen One" in Moving Target, "The Agent" was on of the POVs in this novel. Which was scary... but awesome. Also, I so had him pegged from, wel1 not Chapter 1, but early on!

4: Seeing Connor and Jenna's changing attitudes toward church and God was a special subplot that was very enjoyable.

5: Excuse me, but I was NOT ok with that epilogue. And I don't have the sequel yet, so that's a priority now too!

Review: Lydia's Charm by Wanda E Brunstetter

I'm just going to use the plot synopsis that came with the book, as I'm not sure I can do it justice.

Lydia King has a secret admirer!
Suddenly a widow, Lydia King moves her son and herself to Charm to be close to her mother and help with her grandfather. But is her hear ready for romance when gifts begin appearing on her porch from a mysterious source?

Menno Troyer, a furniture store owner, is also recently widowed and the father of four energetic boys. He has come to realize that, though he isn't ready to love again his sons need a mother.

Levi Stutzman, another newcomer to the area. is the only one in his family not handicapped by dwarfism. and he has dedicated his life to caring for them. Though determined never to marry, he is always willing to be of help to others.

As fall colors the countryside, will the anonymous gifts let for Lydia bring her hope foe a new life? And when tragedy befalls her yet again, will the gift giver be there to support her?

Well, that was longer than I had thought it was initially. How about I go ahead and out the picture, since you're probably tired of words.

I'm giving this wonderful Amish romance 5 stars!

1: Wanda Brunstetter (along with Beverly Lewis) is one of the queens of Amish lit! This is one of my favorites by her. Her research and passion are easy to see on every page.

2: The pages are riddled with phrases and words in the Pennsylvania-Dutch language, even more-so than is usual for an Amish book. It adds color and life to the story!

3: The characters were so sweet and many faceted. They all had feelings and none of the main characters fell flat. In fact, this book had me going through the whole scope of emotions. Also, in case you couldn't tell from the blurb thingy, there is a very interesting love triangle.

4: The chapters are short and easy to read, making this book a swell choice for casual reading! (did I just say swell?)

5: This book dealt with sensitive matters in a way that was very close to perfection. Death and dwarfism are both addressed and the fear, feelings, and prejudices that come with them are laid out in a very impressive way.

What are your feelings on Amish lit? Let me know in the comments! This is a new favorite of mine in that genre.

MAYBE SPOILER... idk
PS I forgot yesterday to mention that the epilogue was everything I needed, almost. I kinda wanted them to say something about Josh, but that's ok.

Review: Postcards from War by Vanita Oelschlager

Who's ready for the first review of March? This isn't a typical review. This book is a children's picture book that I would give 5 stars to. It's about a little boy whose mom is in Afghanistan, so his grandpa tells about when his dad went to WW2. As someone who had a parent in the Navy when I was little I feel like this book will help children understand what's going on! And it has awesome pictures! Definitely recommend this story! (also, sorry that the review was so short. I was trying to make sure the story was at least longer than my review ;)

I received this title from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

BookApp of the Week: iBooks

I have iBooks, but I don't use it as much as Kindle, simply because all my books are on Kindle. One feature that I really like about iBooks is the fact that when the room is dark the screen switches colors so that the words are white on a black background. It helps save the eyes. You can sort books by recent, title, author, or categories. And it's free, so that's not nothin'...

Answer a Question: Who is your favorite mystery/suspense writer?

I love all things mystery. I've recently found the Drew Farthering and Moving Target mysteries by Julianna Deering and Lynette Eastwood (not together, that's a confusing sentence!) and I love both of these series. However, I have to say that for years my go to mystery writer has been Patricia H Rushford! Her Jenny McGrady novels captured my heart from the first line (unfortunately I've not been able to get my hands on book #8, which is so annoying! I feel like that book has a big part of the story in it.) Her Helen Bradley novels are for adults but have the same characters as the Jenny McGrady series. The Angel Delaney mysteries give me chills all over, and the Max and Me mysteries are perfect for kids. And Strangers in the Night is amazing, bringing up every emotion possible in a mystery! In short, she has a mystery for all ages, and they are GOOD!!!!

Who is your favorite? Tell me in the comments!

Waiting-On-Wednesday: To The Farthest Shores by Elizabeth Camden

Once again I find myself browsing the "coming soon" section of Bethany House. I think I may have found a real gem this time. And (shockingly enough) it's coming out in March not April! The book is called To The Farthest Shores and it's by Elizabeth Camden (you may remember a long time ago I read her book From This Moment and loved it!)

Here's the plot summary I found on the Bethany House website. Also, how gorgeous is this cover, am I right?

About

The unpredictability of her upbringing prepared army nurse Jenny Bennett to face any challenge at the Presidio Army base, but the sudden reappearance in her life of the dashing naval officer who broke her heart six years ago is enough to rattle even her.

Lieutenant Ryan Gallagher is one of the few men in the world qualified to carry out a daring government mission overseas--an assignment that destroyed his reputation and broke the heart of the only woman he ever loved. Honor-bound never to reveal where he was during those years, he can't tell Jenny the truth, or it will endanger an ongoing mission and put thousands of lives at risk.

Ryan thinks he may have finally found a solution to his impossible situation, but he needs Jenny's help. While her loyalty to her country compels her to agree, she was too badly hurt to fall for Ryan again despite his determination to win her back. When an unknown threat from Ryan's past puts everything at risk--including his life--can they overcome the seemingly insurmountable odds stacked against them in time?

Waiting-on-Wednesday is hosted hereEnjoy your Wednesday and share a book that you're excited about!