Review: Jenny Pox by J. L. Bryan

I won a copy of this book from LibraryThing.



About the Book

Eighteen-year-old Jenny Morton has a horrific secret: her touch spreads a deadly supernatural plague, the "Jenny pox." She lives by a single rule: Never touch anyone. A lifetime of avoiding any physical contact with others has made her isolated and painfully lonely in her small rural town.

Then she meets the one boy she can touch. Jenny feels herself falling for Seth...but if she's going to be with him, Jenny must learn to use the deadly pox inside her to confront his ruthless and manipulative girlfriend Ashleigh, who secretly wields the most dangerous power of all.

For more information about Jenny Pox please visit J. L. Bryan's website Follow him on Twitter or Like him on Facebook

My Review

I liked the story good enough. It just took me quite a while to get into this one. Once I got about half-way through the story I was attached and it went really fast. But getting to that "I don't want to put this one down" point took a while.

The premise of the story is pretty neat. Jenny has a "Midas Touch" of sorts, only it's in reverse. She's shunned by her father and by her peers. If life isn't hard enough for a teenager already poor Jenny's been dealt the worst hand of all. I really felt so sorry for her. I just wanted her to not be ostracized. All any girl wants is to find that place where she fits in. Jenny knows that she's not normal, but she's learned how to live with the hand life has dealt her. She's just biding her time until she can live out her life without the eyes of the town watching her.

As the story progresses and Jenny finds someone that she can actually touch I really wanted this to be the end to all of Jenny's problems. Ashleigh was such a horrible person and I really wanted to see her get what should have been coming to her. I wished from the first encounters with Ashleigh that Jenny would just have touched her and removed that thorn from her side. Seth seemed to sway back and fourth, sometimes I really wanted to hate him and other times I wanted to hug him. When it's revealed what is causing Seth's mood swings I couldn't wait to see how it was taken care of.

The end of the story was really good. It wasn't a cheesy ending, and it tied things up nicely. I was very happy with it. It was an enjoyable book to read and I connected with the story after a while.

Review: The Company by Chuck Graham

Thanks to Litfuse for letting me be a part of this book tour. For the full tour schedule please visit the Blog Tour Page.



About the Book

A meteor explodes into the planet. Massive earthquakes rock the land as giant tsunamis engulf the coasts. Sleeping volcanoes violently erupt, filling the sky with clouds of suffocating ash, and soon, the world is shrouded in darkness. Last Day has come, bringing death, destruction, and despair. Yet hidden in a mountain valley, the Brigons manage to survive, but with no power and little food or water, their hope is fading into the eternal night. Then a voice calls out in the darkness and offers to bring them light.

This is the story of Sam Mitchell, an engineer with one of the power managers in Brigos Glen. Seventy years have passed since light was restored to the village. Few remember the time before Last Day or the strangers who helped them in their time of need. But Sam has heard the stories and, with the guidance of his friend, seeks to help others as he goes about his seemingly unimportant, routine existence. That is, until he receives an ominous order from beyond the mountains that will change his life forever.

For centuries mankind has sought God...not simply to find Him, but to understand Him. This quest has left many struggling in a maze of contradictions - one God but a Father, one God but a Son, one God but a Spirit - leading them to the ultimate question: Who is the Trinity? The answer is revealed in The Company by Chuck Graham, a clever allegory, carefully woven with surprising revelation of who God is, who we are before Him, and our calling to love and encourage each other.

For more information about The Company you can visit the book's website, "Like" it on Facebook, Follow Chuck on Twitter, or Follow his videos.

As always this book is available from my Amazon Store.

My Review

The tagline for this book really explains the book to a T "A Parable For Our Times". There were many times throughout reading this that I could relate what the people of Brigos Glen were going through to things that are happening in our world right now. I've known people that are just like the different characters in the book. Everything about this book is rooted to our current day issues.

The story was a pretty good one. It really made me think. There were quite a few Biblical references, and given my new and limited knowledge of the Bible many of them I didn't pick up on. But there is a listing of references in the back of the book, and after reviewing that I understand the references now. I really liked the appendix as had I not had that I likely would have missed their implications. I don't feel that I missed anything from the story not having reviewed them till the end. But after going back and rereading those sections it did give the story a new dimension for me.

I love the way the author uses this story to explain the Trinity. I think that is one part of Christianity that is difficult to grasp for many people. How can one being be three beings? But the way the story unfolds you really do get a sense of how each of these beings operate, and the ultimate connection to how they are all one in the same was a "light bulb" moment for me. This book puts such a complex ideal into a story that makes it so much easier to understand.

I really liked the characters. Sam could have been anyone. I think everyone knows a guy like Sam. He was just kind of "going through the motions". He was compassionate and helpful, but for the most part he just lived his life and did what he had to do to support his family. He was just a regular guy. His friendship with Ellington was an integral part of the story and while Ellington wasn't a greatly developed character I got enough of a sense of who he was that I understood his importance to Sam's journey. The rest of the characters were pretty good, they didn't have huge parts in the story, but the parts they did play were very important. Each one was in the story for a specific purpose and as their purposes were revealed the whole story started to really come together.

The connections to our lives today were easy for me to spot, which made the story that much more understandable. The Brigons are basically grouped into three different kinds of people. To me this was a relation to people's religious beliefs. Without giving too much away there are those that are strict, those that are always looking for something new, and those that are looking to find something better. I've encountered all three of these kinds of people.

The biggest thing with this book for me was how easily I was able to relate to it. The Trinity is something that I admittedly have little knowledge about, and yet I was able to understand it easily. I love that Graham was able to take such an abstract concept and make it a much more concrete concept.

A great book that really brings our current way of life into perspective.

Review: The Goblin Market by Jennifer Hudock

I won a copy of this book from LibraryThing.





About the Book


Meredith Drexler has been the sole caretaker for her young sister Christina ever since their father went away. Sacrificing her life and her freedom to ensure Christina has a better life, Merry’s only escape from the monotony of every day life is her daydreams. When Christina arrives home late one evening speaking in delirious riddles, Meredith discovers her sister has been poisoned by Goblin fruit obtained in the Goblin Market.


She must travel to the heart of the Goblin Kingdom to retrieve the antidote to save her sister’s life, but at a price no sister should ever have to pay. Along the way, Meredith falls in love with the forest god who names himself her consort, and discovers a strange truth about her past and her identity.


For more information about The Goblin Market you can visit Jennifer Hudock's website or follow her on Twitter.


My Review
I really liked this book. I couldn't put it down, it just drew me in right from the beginning. It reminded me of the movie Labyrinth - which is one of my favorite movies. I pictured Meredith as Sarah, and of course David Bowie was in there too. And while parts of the book are similar to the movie there is enough of a difference that it wasn't just a rewrite of Labyrinth.


Meredith seems to have been given a TON of responsibility that she might not have been ready for. She's the guardian to her sister Christina. The loss of her parents made Meredith grow up long before she should have. But Christina has always had someone there to care for her. Meredith seems to resent this fact to a point, but being that Christina is in her care she's determined to do whatever it takes to make sure she's ok.


The imagery Hudock uses is amazing. The pictures that I painted in my mind were beautiful and fully detailed. What I liked the most is that each new area Meredith enters into is vastly different from the last, and yet each is described wonderfully. While my imagination was allowed to fill in some of the scenery there was so much description that I had such an amazing picture.


The story is full of suspense. Every obstacle Meredith encounters makes you wonder if she's going to be able to fulfill her mission. The characters she meets to help or hinder her add to the story so much. As each new character was encountered I wondered what "side" they were going to take.


It really was a wonderfully written story and kept me intrigued right up till the end!

Review: Dear John by Nicholas Sparks

My Aunt gave me this one to read. She gave me a huge box of books and this one jumped out at me first!



About the Book

An angry rebel, John dropped out of school and enlisted in the Army, not knowing what else to do with his life--until he meets the girl of his dreams, Savannah. Their mutual attraction quickly grows into the kind of love that leaves Savannah waiting for John to finish his tour of duty, and John wanting to settle down with the woman who captured his heart. But 9/11 changes everything. John feels it is his duty to re-enlist. And sadly, the long separation finds Savannah falling in love with someone else. "Dear John," the letter read...and with those two words, a heart was broken and two lives were changed forever. Returning home, John must come to grips with the fact that Savannah, now married, is still his true love--and face the hardest decision of his life.

For more information about Dear John please visit Nicholas Sparks' website, "Like" him on Facebook, or follow him on Twitter.

As always you can purchase a copy of Dear John from my Amazon Store.

My Review

I find it hard to review this one. I liked the book, and I cried while reading. So there was an emotional attachment, but it just wasn't an unforgettable book for me. It was kind of like fodder - just there to pass the time. I hate to say that about it, because I did enjoy it. I just missed something with this one. I haven't seen the movie yet, so I didn't have a disconnect because it didn't follow the movie or vice versa. Maybe as time passes I'll be able to figure it out. But on with the review...

I really liked Savannah. John was an ok character but I just got the "dumb jock" sterotype stuck in my head and couldn't get past that with him. I don't know they the jock thing stuck, since he was in the Army, but that's what stuck. Even when he was being a sweetheart I didn't see it as being realistic. Savannah was so caring and had such a big heart, but she also knew she had to take care of her heart and wouldn't let herself get hurt. I could see her falling in love with John, but I also could see that it would be short lived. They were two different people and he didn't really suit her.

I would have liked to have had more about John's father, as I think he was the "sweetheart" influence on John. Maybe if he'd been a little bit more developed and a bigger part of the story then I wouldn't have had the negative view of John and his ability to be a anything but cool hearted. Through the whole book I just felt like John's emotions were a bit distant, I know he didn't want to "show" his emotions but everyone has emotions whether they like it or not. So I would have liked to see more of John's dad and John's emotions.

I was also kind of disappointed at the end. There was a big build up and no real resolution. I am going to watch the movie. I've heard it's pretty different from the book and that it's one of the few movies that is better than the book.

I will read more of Sparks' novels because I do like a good love story. Other's of his that I've read were really good. So I think maybe this one was just a fluke!

Review: The Sara Chronicles: Book 4: Chaos, Confusion, and Changing of the Guard by L. Hughes

Thanks to Reader Spoils and the author L. Hughes for letting me review this one.



About the Book

Life Will Never Be the Same in the Land of the Keepers...

As the nefarious Braccus consolidates his armies of evil, the forces of good are in disarray. Unity among the safeguarding Keepers and the ones they are sworn to protect is elusive, and each of the critical groups of three is struggling to find each other-and stay alive. That's just the way Braccus likes it. With unparalleled strategic skill, he's managed to make evil the dominant power in the worlds. Bizarre races of the horrifying creatures he controls are wreaking havoc on the innocent villagers, killing them for sport or turning them into Braccus's slaves. Good has been relegated to the shadows. What's more, change is afoot among the Keepers and their students that could directly impact the livelihood of everyone in the worlds-change the Keepers are powerless to prevent. Meanwhile, Sara, James and Thomas are facing their greatest challenges yet. For one of them, it will mean actually merging with the evil scourge; for another, a hideous prophecy foretells certain doom. But all of them must race against time if there's any hope for saving the innocents of the worlds from Braccus's eternal rule. Can they accomplish their tasks before it is too late? Offering plenty of the excitement and intrigue for which the series is known, this fourth entry in The Sara Chronicles won't disappoint.

Check out my reviews for Book 2 and Book 3 of this series.

For more information about the Sara Chronicles please visit L. Hughes' website.

As always you can purchase a copy of The Sara Chronicles Book 4: Chaos, Confusion, and Changing of the Guard from my Amazon Store.

My Review


When I first started this series I didn't realize how drawn to these characters I would become. I started at Book 2 when Sara, Thomas, and James are searching for the other groups of three children who will help put and end to Braccus' evil. I was kind of so-so with Book 2. Book 3 I was so attached to the characters already that it was like picking up with some old friends. By the time I started Book 4 I couldn't wait to figure out what was going to happen next. I don't normally read series. I might pick one up along the way, but I very rarely read more than one in a series. So it was kind of weird for me to follow these characters for so long. But because I've been following them I'm so drawn to them. I hope there's going to be a Book 5 because I can't imagine that my Journey with Sara and the Keepers is over!

I really liked this one. I was ready for the battles to begin right from the word go. I love the ways that the keepers and the children all use their powers. It's so different. When they are faced with an enemy the way they use their powers to overcome is interesting. Hughes thinks of new things for each battle - so it's not just the same thing over and over again. And the fact that all the children are getting more powerful means that they are discovering new abilities that they didn't know they had.


While Sara is still the main focus of Book 4 the other children play such a vital role in this book. The second group of three is sent to look for the third group of three and they have to make it through the worlds by themselves. This really allowed the other characters to develop more. I like that there are new characters added with each book, and that each of these new characters is a piece of the overall puzzle. I'm sure that without the addition of the new characters the books would still be good. But adding these new characters and watching them blossom into their new powers really added to the story.

There's so much going on in Book 4 that there wasn't really any "down" time. The book would switch from one group to the next and each time the group that we're following is at a major point of their journey. It makes for a great page turner!


In this book the use of portals to move between Iam's worlds is a more prevalent factor in how the battles and challenges turn out. While the portals were introduced in the earlier books they really come into play in this book. Every time they find a portal and move through it I was so eager to find out what kind of world Hughes was going to throw me into. Her ability to create so many different worlds and to describe them so that they all seem so real is amazing. I envy her imagination. To be able to create all these different worlds, all these different creatures, and be able to come up with new ways for the characters to use their powers is fantastic.

I have to say that as I've progressed through these three books I've noticed a progression in how Hughes writes. The specifics of her writing are the same and she's telling the same story, but something has changed slightly in the writing with each new book. I can't put a finger on it, but there has been a slight change.