Safe Haven

Love hurts. There is nothing as painful as heartbreak. But in order to learn to love again, you must learn to trust again.


When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. Beautiful yet self-effacing, Katie seems determined to avoid forming personal ties until a series of events draws her into two reluctant relationships: one with Alex, a widowed store owner with a kind heart and two young children; and another with her plainspoken single neighbor, Jo. Despite her reservations, Katie slowly begins to let down her guard, putting down roots in the close-knit community and becoming increasingly attached to Alex and his family.

But even as Katie begins to fall in love, she struggles with the dark secret that still haunts and terrifies her . . . a past that set her on a fearful, shattering journey across the country, to the sheltered oasis of Southport. With Jo’s empathic and stubborn support, Katie eventually realizes that she must choose between a life of transient safety and one of riskier rewards . . . and that in the darkest hour, love is the only true safe haven.

*May Contain Spoilers*

Nicholas Sparks' novel, Safe Haven, is an emotionally moving story that inspires faith and hope in even the darkest of situations. When Erin escapes from her abusive husband she must learn how to survive, how to trust, and how to love without fear. 

Erin is the main character, who goes by Katie most of the novel, and she is a true inspiration to readers. She has been controlled, manipulated, and beaten most of her adult life by a husband who claims to love her. When she finally realizes that he will never change, no matter how many promises he makes, she decides to save her own life by running away. Erin is full of life, incredibly courageous, and braver than most. Readers will connect with her through these traits but also because she's good-hearted and sweet natured. The story of her past will pull readers in and the hope for her future will keep them reading until the bittersweet end. 

The plot of the story combines love and mystery. As it unfolds, readers learn that her husband hasn't given up on Erin and will do anything it takes to find her. Throughout the course of the novel, we see Erin reaching for her new life and opening herself up to new possibilities. But the horror of Erin's life isn't over yet as her husband and her past both come unbidden. 

Rating 3.5/5

Safe Haven

Love Will Find a Way

Rachel fell in love at nineteen with a man who came into her life on a whirlwind of sunlight and romance. She married Gary Tanner, had his son, and thought she would live happily ever after. But fate had other plans. Gary died in a tragic accident … at least she thought it was an accident. Now, there are questions that need to be answered, and only one man she can turn to, Gary's best friend, Dylan.


Rachel was everything Dylan Prescott wanted in a woman. But Gary met her first, so she became untouchable. For years he stayed away from her. Now Rachel is a widow, her marriage is over, and she turns to him for help. The passion he feels for her is no longer out of his reach. The life he always wanted is beckoning to him, but when the secrets come out, will their love find a way to survive?

*May Contain Spoilers*

Barbara Freethy, who has quickly become one of my favorite authors, weaves a tale of love based on a family legend in her novel, Love Will Find a Way. Love story meets mystery is Freethy's style and she definitely delivers everything that a reader could want and more! 

Rachel and Dylan are the main characters and readers will fall in love with both of them. Promise. Rachel is a girl who loves stability and predictability. When her husband dies and the insurance company questions whether it was really an accident or something else, the world Rachel thought she knew crumbles under the weight of secrets and lies. With an urgent need to uncover the truth, Rachel must look at the past nine years with an unmatched scrutiny, which happens to include Dylan, her deceased husband's best friend that she's always had feelings for. 

Dylan has always been in love with Rachel, but his best friend saw her first. Loyal, caring, respectful, and honest Dylan let his best friend be happy. Or so he thought. When the car accident that killed Gary is accused as a suicide, Dylan is determined to clear the air and help Rachel. Thus the mystery and the love story align as two people who never explored their feelings are thrust together with a ghost standing between them. A man both Rachel and Dylan thought they knew better than anyone. 

As the mystery is unraveled, the secrets told, and the lies replaced with truth readers will be praying the story goes on. They will form unshakable bonds with both of the main characters while the plot forces them through a whirlwind of emotions. Love Will Find a Way comes highly recommended! 

Rating: 4/5 Cups

Love Will Find A Way

Faceless

NightCard, a private genetic engineering agency, has been creating experiments with a multitude of astounding abilities. Experiment 1343, or “Faceless” as he calls himself, is one of them. He was genetically designed with the ability to rip his face off and morph it into anyone he can imagine. His hyper-reflexes, along with diverse martial arts training, make him the perfect spy. Craving freedom he escapes to Paris in search for the woman he met and fell in love with as a child. NightCard sends the Four Kings, their best assassins, with orders to bring him back dead or alive, and they may be closer than he thinks.


The girl he met as a child was treated for a psychotic break. Her unbelievable story about a man who could tear off his face had her parents believing she was crazy. She grew to be a beautiful artist, and her collection of art features a faceless man dancing with a woman. Spade, one of NightCard's Four Kings is a lover, as well as a fighter with a habit of spending too much time with too many women. He has been searching for something to quench his hunger. Spade befriends a man that's in desperate need of help getting the girl of his dreams, not realizing it's the very man he is supposed to be hunting.

*May Contain Spoilers*

Faceless by Dustin Sanchez is a novel that takes readers into the realm of genetic manipulation where spies and assassins are created by unlocking the secrets of their DNA. In this fast paced thriller, an engineered spy who can morph into anyone he's ever seen escapes into the real world. When other modified assassins are sent after him, it's becomes a fight for life and love. 

Faceless is the main character of the novel. He's loyal, loving, and persistant. Traits that make him a likeable character but a failed experiment. Readers will become emotionally tied to him as he tries to find the girl he fell in love with as a child. The strength of his character is magnified when he's beaten and threatened by the very people that created him as they try to break his resolve. Yet he repeatedly defies them. 

I think readers of science fiction will love this novel. Though, the dialogue is a bit strained at times and is often flogged with adult-only speech. The sexual scenes are very detailed which could make some readers uncomfortable with the writing style. However, the type of novel Sanchez writes does call for this adult focused style. I think many readers of both the sci-fi and thriller genres will enjoy this book as long as they know what to expect. 

Rating: 3/5 Cups

Faceless (NightCard Saga)

Book 5 of the 2013 Genre Variety Challenge 

And the Soft Wind Blows

Timmy Enosh is a peculiar, small man: fivethree, onehundredandfifteen pounds, and is a pharmacist in Ashton City, Tennessee.


He finds himself at fortythreeyearsold as his life starts to fall apart: his threehundred pound wife disappears, his romantic interest has lost interest and has gained hatred toward him, his coworkers harass him, customers verbally assault him, and he has the strange urge to adopt his foulmouthed, eighteenyearold coworker, Alex.

When things start to pile up, Timmy must find a way to deal: he turns to Alex to supply him with marijuana, starts sewing an elaborate Mr. Mistoffelees costume, finds solace in the wild, etc., etc., etc.

And the soft, constant wind of change blows him on, on, and on.

*May Contain Spoilers*

Lance Umenhofer shares a character study in his novella, And the Soft Wind Blows. The main character, Timmy, is a middle aged man whose wife is nothing to be proud of and his life is, to say the least, not a full one. He lacks the love that we all desire, the pride that we all strive for, and the strength to reach for more. 

The entire novella covers a very small section of Timmy's life. The reader gets an in-depth glance at a man who settled for a woman who doesn't love him and a job that doesn't make him happy or proud. As the life he tiptoes around crumbles, Timmy succumbs to nothingness, choosing to erase his entire life and pharmaceutically invent another one. Readers will be able to connect with Timmy based on his hope that someday he may achieve what he dreams of. But by that same token, I think readers will wonder if Timmy's choices actually align with those dreams, or if he takes the easy way out of a difficult situation. 

It asks the question: how easy or difficult would it be for the average person, whom I think Umenhofer based Timmy on, to mentally re-create the life they've always wanted. If you could take a pill that would let you forget your life and replace it with one you've made up, would you do it? I think the spur of the moment answer would be yes, but in all reality could you so easily give up what you've spent your entire life building? 

And the Soft Wind Blows is a study of the character that lives inside of everyone. The character that bargains for more. The character that we all can connect with and never understand.

Rating: 3/5 Cups

And the Soft Wind Blows

Beautiful Chaos

Ethan Wate thought he was getting used to the strange, impossible events happening in Gatlin, his small Southern town. But now that Ethan and Lena have returned home, strange and impossible have taken on new meanings. Swarms of locusts, record-breaking heat, and devastating storms ravage Gatlin as Ethan and Lena struggle to understand the impact of Lena's Claiming. Even Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals is affected - and their abilities begin to dangerously misfire. As time passes, one question becomes clear: What — or who — will need to be sacrificed to save Gatlin?

For Ethan, the chaos is a frightening but welcome distraction. He's being haunted in his dreams again, but this time it isn't by Lena - and whatever is haunting him is following him out of his dreams and into his everyday life. Even worse, Ethan is gradually losing pieces of himself — forgetting names, phone numbers, even memories. He doesn't know why, and most days he's too afraid to ask.

Sometimes there isn't just one answer or one choice. Sometimes there's no going back. And this time there won't be a happy ending.

*May Contain Spoilers*

Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl give readers the third installment in the Beautiful Creatures series with Beautiful Chaos, and I wouldn't dare to argue with the description. It is nothing if not chaotic. And the ending definitely isn't the happiest one I've read. 

The struggle for love continues between Ethan and Lena after Lena chose to be half light and half dark when she claimed herself at the Great Barrier in Beautiful Darkness. Though, the consequences of her actions are fierce and are affecting the entire world, as it is on the brink of destruction and the End of Days has begun. 

Readers will see the relationship between Ethan and Lena shift back to (almost) normal while their newest problems present themselves. The main obstacle being that the world is out of balance. The bond between readers and Ethan will strengthen as he realizes what needs to be done to fix the broken world. He is such a strong character - in personality and in faith - and it's truly remarkable to be able to believe a character like him exists. 

There will also be a chance to further relationships with Olivia, Ridley, Link, and John Breed in this novel. Readers will get a deeper look at what drives these characters and opinions of good and evil will change with each passing page. It's a chaotic mix of fighting for the light and dark while the world suffers, but the characters in Beautiful Chaos will not disappoint. 

Rating: 4.5/5 Cups

Beautiful Chaos (Beautiful Creatures)

Teaser Tuesday (59)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!



Beautiful Chaos (p.159)
   - Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl


Lena didn't take her eyes away from the book. "This line is my favorite. 'I have been bent and broken, but -- I hope -- into a better shape.'"

Benevolent

Gaby LeFevre is a suburban, Midwestern firecracker, growing up in the 80s and 90s and looking to save the world one homeless person, centenarian, and orphan at a time. With her crew of twin sister, Annie, smitten Mikhail, frenemy Mel, and wanderlust friend Afentra, she’s a pamphlet-wielding humanitarian, tackling a broken world full of heroes and heroines, villains and magical seeds, and saturated with variations of the Northwyth legends.


Beginning with a roadkill-burying nine-year-old and a gas-leak explosion, Benevolent follows Gaby from her formative years; through her awakening (as an imposing, legendary Queen nearly smashes her to bits under her steed’s hooves); through high school drama; a college career filled with an epic term paper, a building fire, and a protest-gone-bad; to Israel, a land full of romance and mysticism. It all ends back in metro-Detroit with a cataclysmic clash to resolve all good intentions. Accidents abound in Gaby’s life. As does love. And, thankfully, as does mercy.

Meanwhile, Benevolent is woven with tales of The Queen, The Angel, Jaden the Great, and The Sage. Are they figments of John’s and Mercedes’ imaginative stories? Or are they something more? You’ll want to find out for yourself.

*May Contain Spoilers*

Devon Flaherty brings an old mythical tale to life with her novel, Benevolent. An unbelievably imaginative novel that touches the do-gooder inside, this book is a whirlwind of mystery, love, faith, and hope as the characters grow into their destinies. 

Gaby and Annie are twins and also two of the three main characters. Fraternal though they are, they share the interesting connection of situational coincidence: what happens to Gaby, happens to Annie. Gaby is the owner of a deep heart with the desire to help the world. She volunteers constantly, donating her time to the elderly and to orphans around the world. Annie is on her way up in the world, working and doing what Gaby has instilled within her: living a hopeful and full life, helping when the opportunity presents itself. Readers will come to know Gaby as their own sister and completely love her voyeuristic and always helpful attitude. 

Mikhail is the third main character, having met Gaby by volunteering to help her at an elderly facility when they were in their early teen years. As they grow up, Mikhail realizes that his feelings for Gaby are growing deeper and concentrated with the idea of love. Mikhail is a sweet soul who leads a vegan lifestyle searching for a way to tell Gaby how he feels. Readers will love Mikhail as much as he loves Gaby. It's astounding how this coming of age novel portrays so many life lessons and touches the hearts of its readers. 

The plot is a wonderful combination of mythical fantasy, coincidence, sacrifice, and heroism. As Gaby plays her role, helping the world one soul at a time, the myth of her ancestors comes to life around her. Flaherty does an amazing job pulling readers into this world where the effects of the unknown are experienced so deeply. Though this novel is a commitment with its extensive vocabulary and quickly shifting character focus, I highly recommend it to everyone. Astounding novel that will result in beautiful repercussions. 

Rating: 5/5 Cups

Benevolent

Wander Dust

Ever since her sixteenth birthday, strange things keep happening to Seraphina Parrish.

The Lady in Black… burns Sera’s memories.

Unexplainable Premonitions… catapult her to other cities.

The Grungy Gang… wants to kill her.

And a beautiful, mysterious boy… stalks her.

But when Sera moves to Chicago, and her aunt reveals their family connection to a centuries old, secret society, she is immediately thrust into an unbelievable fantasy world, leading her on a quest to unravel the mysteries that plague her. In the end, their meanings crash into an epic struggle of loyalty and betrayal, and she’ll be forced to choose between the boy who has stolen her heart and the thing she desires most.

Wander Dust is the breathtaking fantasy that will catapult you through a story of time, adventure, and love.

*May Contain Spoilers*

Michelle Warren reveals the biggest secret in history with her novel, Wander Dust, that time travel does and has existed for centuries. As the main character discovers she can time travel, her entire world changes - for better and worse. 

Sera Parrish is a sixteen year old girl who craves the attention of her father. She demands that attention by acting out, unknowingly starting on a journey that will unravel her reality. As readers get to know Sera they learn that her needs are the same as their own. She wants stability, a closer family, and to be loved. Readers will connect with Sera based on her simplistic and relatable desires while they sit front seat on the roller coaster she rides. 

The plot of the novel focuses on Sera's new found ability to time travel, though she's naive on what exactly time travel means and how she does it. Wander Dust also revolves around Sera's deceased mother who passed down the genetic trait. If Sera can travel through time then she can find her mother and even possibly save her. This first book in the Seraphina Parrish Trilogy creates the path to Sera's mother, if only Sera has the will and can find the knowledge to follow it to the end. Recommended for young adult readers and those who love fantasy. 

Rating: 3/5 Cups

  

Wander Dust

Champions of Power

The Blessed Galaxy had no other name. After being gifted with the Auras, five great powerhouses of celestial creation, the title was a suitable fit. While harnessing such energies, the governing bodies have ruled their respected reaches of the Galaxy for a number of millennia. But now they face the threat of an inevitable calamity that could shake the lives of everyone, caused by one of the five Auras.


After accepting a sudden promotion, a devout man of science, named Lowen Sars, decides to take on the burden of saving the Galaxy’s people once he learns of the calamity. But he soon realizes that the role of a hero was a calling not meant for him. In his process of self-discovery, Lowen inadvertently begins the fateful saga of not only the Blessed Galaxy, but also the kingdom in possession of the corrupt Aura, and especially its two young heirs of the throne.

*May Contain Spoilers*

Samuel Odunsi Jr. writes of a galaxy threatened by the very thing that gives it power in his novel, Champions of Power, the first in the Age of Aura series. With five planets comprising this galaxy, the entire civilization is in distress when the Auras start releasing dangerous flares, harming and killing the citizens. 

Lowen is one of the main characters who is deemed the unworthy hero. He is a wise character with a strategic mind who finds a way to save the planets from the Aura atrocity, but no one believes him nor respects him enough to give him a chance to help. Lowen decidedly goes against the leader's wishes and joins forces with an unlikely alliance. Lowen is intelligent and dependable, but I think a deeper look into his background would allow character to really form a connection with him. 

Tor and Ambrose are the heirs to the throne in Aortia, the planet that houses the rogue Aura. Part of the novel revolves around their kingdom and how the Aura is affecting the citizens of that planet. Tor is the brother who is always in control. He looks objectively at every situation while Ambrose is swayed easily with heightened emotions. I think readers will connect with these brothers the most based on their full background. 

The plot line in very intriguing with a group of planets that may be on the brink of extinction. Though the language is formal and the dialogue a little stiff at times, the novel is a good dip into science fiction. It's short in length and, even with the methodical language, I think many readers will be able to appreciate the story that Odunsi writes. 

Rating: 2.5/5 Cups

Champions of Power

Beautiful Darkness

Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world that had been hidden in plain sight all along. A Gatlin that harbored ancient secrets beneath its moss-covered oaks and cracked sidewalks. A Gatlin where a curse has marked Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals for generations. A Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen.

Sometimes life-ending.

Together they can face anything Gatlin throws at them, but after suffering a tragic loss, Lena starts to pull away, keeping secrets that test their relationship. And now that Ethan's eyes have been opened to the darker side of Gatlin, there's no going back. Haunted by strange visions only he can see, Ethan is pulled deeper into his town's tangled history and finds himself caught up in the dangerous network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, where nothing is as it seems.

*May Contain Spoilers*

The curse continues for Ethan Wate and Lena Duchannes in the second novel of the Caster Chronicles series, Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. After Lena narrowly avoids being claimed in the first book, certain members of her family are planning to persuade Lena into darkness while Lena herself is suffering a deep depression no one can pull her out of. 

As in the first book, the story is told from Ethan's point of view and readers see what happens to the cursed teenagers after they fought off Sarafine in Beautiful Creatures. Lena is falling into darkness because of Macon's death while pulling away from Ethan. He tries to support and help her through this troubled time but Lena refuses to let him in. She blames herself for Macon's death and through this situation we see a deeper side of both Ethan and Lena.

The authors show how much Ethan really cares for Lena, building on the connection readers formed with him in the first book. Readers also will see that he is even more determined, dedicated, and good-hearted. He doesn't give up on Lena, even when she ceases their kelting, breaks his heart, and runs away with John Breed, who has sworn that he can help her find peace and a place she belongs. 

Readers will be excited to see more of Ridley and Link in this book as they both play important roles in the plot line. A deeper side of Ridley is depicted while Link's unwavering loyalty to his friends will make him a favorite for readers. The plot revolves around two key situations: Lena isolating herself (seemingly going dark) and Ethan discovering more about his family's (and the Ravenwood family's) past as he suffers from intense visions. The visions are the key to help Lena truly claim herself, but Ethan must decipher their true meaning before Lena's mother preys upon her daughter's depressed state. 

Rating: 4/5 Cups

Beautiful Darkness (Beautiful Creatures)