Godonomics

As a Financial Analyst, when I saw this title I was instantly intrigued, after all, God-o-nomics. If you were to break that down, already the title sounded interesting. Are we talking about God and money? God and financial policy, either way, the title caught my attention. When I sat down to read the book, I had an enjoyable time. While I typically prefer fiction books, Godonomics was not a bad compromise.

Godonomics takes a look into how God would talk to various members of the US government if given a chance, and what God would say. Chad Hovind, the author, gives readers something to think about through his imaginative use of US politics and government. If you're a reader that enjoys looking at hypothetical situations, this should be a book you enjoy, especially if you tend to read a lot of economic theory books.

So just how can we save our country, protect our wallet, and do it in a Biblical way? It's easy! according to Hovind, the Bible promotes a free-market economy, and if we follow the Bible, we will be able to find success, not only in our day to day lives, but also in our economy as a whole. For a good read, even if I did not agree with it entirely, I will give Godonomics 4/5 stars, enjoy!

A New Day Has Dawned - Ruth and Boaz Reborn



Mine is the Night by Liz Curtis Higgs is an enchanting retelling of the classic tale of Ruth and Boaz in the guise of Jack and Elisabeth. Our story begins with sadness as Elisabeth and her Mother-in-Law, Marjory travel back to Selkirk following the defeat of their family in the Jacobite rebellion. Marjory, unused to living in poverty is in the beginning a prideful woman, however as the story progresses we begin to engage ourselves with her story.

Higgs has just the right mix or romance, hearthache, and hope in a story that will become difficult to place down. Though this is the second book in Higgs' series, it is easily a standalone novel. You need not read book 1 in order to become fully comfortable with book 2. What makes Mine is the Night so great is the character depth. Jack and Elisabeth draw you in,they are complex three dimensional characters as opposed to the often flat characters that one might find. In Christian Fiction, what I look for the most is an intriguing story that grips me. I enjoy drama, emotion, healing, and redemption.

I really enjoyed the manner in which Higgs crafted her tale and would fully suggest this novel to anyone who is looking for a retelling of the Biblical Tale of Ruth and Boaz in the guise of 18th Century Scotland. You will enjoy the romance, you will enjoy the joy that can be discovered. 5 Candles out of 5 for what has been a thoroughly enjoyable read.

The Chariots Slave - Never Realized its Potential

The Chariots Slave by R. Lynn was a book with a lot of potential that was never realized. It was not the basic story that was the problem, but more the transition and poor editorial skills. It’s almost like this was the first draft of the book as opposed to the finished product. That being said, there are a few gems in this book that make it worth a read. Also, be warned, if you are getting the Kindle version of this book, the layout is also off, which at times makes for a very perplexing read. Almost as if the conversion was not handled properly.

Now to delve into the book, Sellah is sold into slavery by her drunken father. She has plenty of temerity, what one would expect from the heroine of a story, but her pride is not tempered by the reality of what would occur. Even at the beginning we see her respond disrespectfully to one of the slave caravan guards, and then at the auction we see her respond again. While having spirit is good in a slave, it’s also not something that would have been allowed, there most certainly would have been consequences. All in all however, I can ignore that. The other characters in the book Simeon and Thaddius are extremely frustrating. Both of them feel for Sellah, and Thaddius gets upset because he sees Simeon cares. For two who are supposed to be like brothers, they act anything but and Thaddius goes on a tyrannical reign just to prove he is ‘Dominus’ and ‘deserves respect.’

I will not say anything more on that topic just because I would prefer not to spoil the story. We have an old-fashioned love triangle of sorts brewing. The positive thing I can say for myself on this book is that I got it when it was free, I would not have wanted to waste $3 on this book, especially as the writing and format of the book are less than ideal. I would not recommend this book to others until these problems and inconsistencies are fixed. There are plenty of other similar books out there for you to explore that are actually worth your time and money. 2/5 stars for a good plot that needs a lot of sprucing up.

Surrender to the Earl - A So-So Victorian Era Romance

Surrender to the Earl by Gayle Callen was a book I wanted to enjoy, after all Historical Romance’s usually are good for a somewhat interesting read. This was a Victorian era romance that never quite lived up to my expectations, especially given the description of our heroine and the catch phrase on the back of the book.

She wanted a favor, not a fiancé.

This alone piqued my curiosity. I had high hopes for Audrey Blake, a widow that has been blind since childhood. We learn in the beginning of the story that her family has sheltered and ignored her most of her life, it’s not until our hero, Robert enters the story that we see glimmers of a change. Robert, the Earl of Knighsbridge feels duty-bound to Audrey due to what he perceives as a ‘great wrong’ to Audrey’s deceased husband with whom he served overseas. When Audrey approaches him with a plea, he agrees to help her leave her family home and claim the property that is rightfully hers. That is not as easy as it sounds due to her father, it becomes necessary for Robert to propose, something Audrey only agrees to because it’s necessary. Of course, the engagement is only temporary and both will be able to go back to status quo afterward… or will they?

For most of the story we learn a lot of background on Audrey, she harbors a lot of pain from her marriage to Martin, and also from her family’s treatment of her, as if she were an invalid. It seems that 98% of the novel is about that, and finally in the last 2% we get our happy ending. If anything bothered me in the story, it was Audrey’s inability to recognize a difference in relationships; to recognize that she’d found a very special someone. It was frustrating that she kept brushing it off so profusely, it’s only by sheer miracle and extreme patience on the part of Robert that we do get our happy ending.

While I enjoyed the basic premise of the story, I really feel that for most of the book we are moving at too slow a pace, and in the last 20 pages it’s decided that it’s “TIME FOR A HAPPY ENDING” so everything moves at the speed of light to get us to the happy ending. It’s for that reason that I am giving Surrender to the Earl 3/5 stars. Hopefully in her next book in this series, Gayle Callen will pace the story better and make the characters more realistic.

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.