Reboot - An Excellent Story!

Reboot by Amy Tintera was a great book! My attention was caught by the title of the book, as well as the words on front.

                    5 Years Ago, I Died
                          178 Minutes Later, I Woke Up.

The premise of a reboot sounded quite interesting. I didn't quite know what to expect, but I was thinking it would be similar to a post-apocalyptic video game sort of series. I could not have been more wrong, Reboot at its basest level is somewhat of a zombie story. Not entirely however. Without giving too much detail, Reboot follows the story of Wren-178, how she got this name is explained early. 178 stands for the number of minutes she was ‘dead.’ How did she come back to life you ask? Even this is not explained too much in the book, suffice to say that humans were looking for a scientific ‘fountain of youth’ and it turned out wrong.

In Reboot we are introduced to the concept of these ‘reborn’ humans as second-class citizens. They are made to stay in barracks and be the enforcers as Reboots are unable to get sick and regenerate. Right away, this book grapples with a lot, similar to Partials, we encounter a demographic oppressed by mankind. The Reboots may look human, but they are not treated that way. Their freedoms are restricted.

What makes Reboot into a great story is the character development. Wren at the beginning of the book has life in a neat bubble, she eats, sleeps, works, doing the assignments asked of her without hesitation. From her perspective, nothing is wrong with this, all is as it should be, and her actions are helping the greater good for humanity. It's not until we are introduced to Callum-22 that things really begin to change and Wren realizes that there is more to life. Callum teaches her to laugh, to have fun, to realize that she is human, no matter how much she pretends to ignore it.

If you enjoy stories set in a post-apocalyptic dystopian society you will for certain enjoy Reboot. I found it hard to place down when I started and eagerly anticipate forthcoming books in this series. Tintera wrote well and the story-line was easy to follow, yet also not predictable. For this reason I am giving Reboot 5/5 stars, take the time to read it, you’ll not regret it, and you'll come to love the characters of Wren and Callum.

What a RUSH

When I saw Rush at my library, I did not know what to expect. It seemed different from some of the dystopian teen series, yet it was also similar, but I decided to take a chance. Miki, the main character in our story was living a normal life until she jumped in front of a vehicle to save a child. What follows is anything but predictable, in fact, I can safely say I've never seen a story quite like this before. What really drew me to this book, at least in the beginning was the fact that I share a name with one of the lesser characters in the book, usually my name and the spelling of it is not one that is all that common.

Eve Silver in Rush creates a new world, somewhat similar to Pittacus' Lore's I am Number Four, but also different. We have two sides engaged in a battle, the stakes of which are life and death. Without giving too much information away, Rush is book that places its characters inside a video game fighting for their life and the future of humanity as we know it. Is it chance? What exactly brings Miki and others like her to play this game?

Unfortunately if you're wanting surefire answers to all of those questions, you will not get it at the end of Rush, after all it's just the first book in "The Game" series. There are two additional titles that you will have to wait for. Don't let this hold you back though, Rush is a book you should absolutely read the first chance you get, in fact, it will be hard to put down. It is for this reason that I am happy to give Rush 4/5 stars, for a well written new world created by author Eve Silver. Pick it up, I'm sure you'll have just as hard a time as I did in placing it down, enjoy!

Gripping New Adventure Series

I had a pleasure to start reading Mark Frost’s “The Paladin Prophecy” over the past two days. I was greeted with a well written, engaging storyline. This book was reminiscent of others within the Young Adult Fiction genre. Much like I am Number Four or Percy Jackson and the Olympians, we have a story that centers on youth who are supposed to save the world. The cover of Paladin is what first intrigued me to take a chance on the book, which coupled with the title promised to at least be an interesting story.

Paladin far exceeded my expectations. We’re introduced to Will, a teen who for his whole life has been on the move. Unlike most parents, his parents pushed him to be mediocre. For most of his life, Will did not understand that, what was the purpose? Why would they hold him back? Some of the answers to those questions comes crashing into his reality and starts him off on a journey where he must make new friends to survive. Who is friend and who is foe? Who can he trust when even his own parents are suspect?

If you enjoyed I am Number Four or the Percy Jackson series, you will love Mark Frost’s “The Paladin Prophecy.” Due to the exemplary writing, and the enjoyment I derived from the book, I am happy to give Paladin 5/5 swords for a job well done. I eagerly await the next novel in this series.

Asenath - Unfulfilling

When I sat down to read Asenath by Anna Patricio, I had high anticipation. My favorite genre to read is Biblical Fiction; furthermore, my favorite story in the Bible is that of Joseph. When I saw this book, I was excited and looked forward to looking at the often unmentioned woman that was Joseph’s wife. I’ve read other novels about Joseph and her impact on the story varies, but she’s a side character and usually not explored in too great of depth. I really hoped in reading this book that I would have questions answered as well as enjoy a believable story and account. Unfortunately, this did not happen, while I enjoyed facets of the story, others were unbelievable, odd, or just plain confusing to follow. 

Patricio starts Asenath off by introducing us to Kiya a young fisherwoman’s girl. I had no clue who this would be at first, in fact, it made me wonder if they’d give a little bit of this story and set Kiya up as Asenath’s mother. While I will not say one way or the other on what happened, suffice to say I was thoroughly surprised. It seemed as if this story really diverged from what I would have expected. With the lack of biblical information on Asenath though, perhaps that is to be expected, either way, it left me feeling a bit ‘off.’ The story seemed to jump around a lot, we’d be in one area and then we would jump to another. There also did not seem to be much editing of this story.

Either way, while the basic story was entertaining, it’s not one I would care to read again. There are far better books out there about Joseph and Asenath, even if the book is not primarily about Asenath you can find out plenty in other books. Feel free to check my reviews for a book I’ve read about Joseph that I found had a plausible background for Asenath. I give this book 2.5/5 stars, however for purposes of Amazon, I will round up to 3.

Arena One: Slaverunner

Arena One: Slaverunners by Morgan Rice was another entry into the growing dystopian society genre. The book was well-written and well-paced. All too often in novels, I’ve noted that the biggest mistake an author often commits is developing the story too fast or too slow. In Slaverunners, Rice got the spacing just right. I did not feel like I was rushed into the story, nor did I feel like the story was dragging on.

Now to say a little about the book, Slaverunners is set in New York, and we’re introduced to Brooke and Bree. Brooke is our main character, our heroine if you will, whereas Bree is somewhat of the victim throughout most of this novel. As with all dystopian books, at the beginning we have two characters that are mostly happy, yet barely surviving in their present straits. What follows after the start of Slaverunners is a race against time to save Bree from a horrible fate. Brooke is willing to do anything, to take any steps to save her sister. As always, the bonds that are formed between our main characters, even in the face of such suffering is uplifting and reassuring. Even if society has taken everything away, even if there seems to be little hope, love can and will conquer all, love is worth fighting for.

While I do not want to spoil your perusal of this story, I will say that you should enjoy the development of our heroine. If you’re the type of individual that enjoys action/adventure books set in a dystopian society, Slaverunners is for you. Of course you will see similar plot constructs to many other novels set in a dystopian society, such as our heroine falling in love with two guys, and of course we’re going to wonder who she chooses, in the end however this book is worth a read and your time. I give this book 5/5 stars for a thoroughly enjoyable and fast paced read.

Definitely a Golden Harvest



Biblical fiction is one of my favorite genre's to read and enjoy. Since she started writing with A Pearl in the Sand, Tessa Afshar has quickly become one of my favorite authors in this genre. The research she does is meticulous; it's also refreshing to read a story about side characters in an interesting phase of history.

Harvest of Rubies was the first book in the tale of Sarah and Darius, if you have not read it yet, I highly suggest you do so BEFORE reading Harvest of Gold, because it sets the necessary backdrop for both the characters as well as the setting for the story. Sarah and Darius are amazing characters, at the end of Harvest of Rubies some things were resolved, but it's only in Harvest of Gold that both characters come out truly healed and whole. How this happens you will have to read for yourself. I can promise however that you will fall in love with the characters and the depth of this story.

If you enjoy biblical fiction, or just plain historical fiction, you will enjoy this series. It talks about God, and the impact he has in each of our lives. It also explains a sideways view of Nehemiah and the work he had to do to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Reading this book has made me want to go back and re-read the Biblical accounts, something that always happens when I read a great book. Because of her level of writing, the complete immersion that her story uses to guide a reader in, I found it hard to place this book down, and you will too. I am giving this book 5/5 nuggets of gold for what was truly a well done book. Thank you Tessa and I look forward to reading more from you, perhaps not about Sarah and Darius, but about other stories.

To others reading this, if you haven't checked them out, read A Pearl in the Sand (a story about Rahab that is unrelated to this novel) and also read Harvest of Rubies (which is related to this title). Enjoy this masterpiece of a novel.

Christian's Quest - Timeless Fun

Pilgrim's Progress, the inspiration for this book has been a favorite of mine for some time now. Having read Little Pilgrim's Progress and now Christian's Quest, I have thoroughly enjoyed myself. I appreciated the adaptation because it provided different insights and perspectives.

The primary reason I selected Christian's Quest to review was for my little brother. I wanted to see if this book would be manageable for him to read at the age of 9, while the book is a little long, I found this an easier read than Little Pilgrim's Progress for younger children. The illustrations also went a long way towards making this book geared towards a younger generation. While I’m not sure if this will entice him to make his way through the book, it at least is the best attempt I’ve seen that stays close to the intent of the original Pilgrim’s Progress.

If you enjoy adventure books, you will enjoy Christian’s Quest, no matter your age. Christian’s Quest brings Pilgrim’s Progress to a more modern age, allowing many different backgrounds to better understand what happened and the application of Christian’s quest in our own life. Due to the quality of this book, I am happy to give Christian’s Quest 5 swords out of 5 for an excellent job. I thoroughly recommend this title.

I received this book for free from Moody Publisher’s in exchange for my honest review.