Review: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An interesting book. Was not sure about it but have found it to be interesting. It is a little bit fantasy, science fiction, time travel and coming of age. I borrowed the ebook from my public library.

The characters are an interesting group of people. An old man who sees monsters no one else can see, his grandson who he shows a lot of weird pictures to and tells strange stories about, and an off the wall psychiatrist who should be not allowed to practice law. You ask what all this has to do with peculiar children? If I told you that then their would be spoilers. When Miss Peregrine and the children join the story we are well into it.

Writing is tight, and the story seems to wander a little bit, but every bit of it is necessary for later in the story.

My only complaint, the story while it finishes, does end on a cliffhanger to set it up for the next in the series.

I recommend this to all who want a light hatred story .

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Review: The Temporal

The Temporal by C.J. Martin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Excellent book. While there is a fairly good size cast of characters and it seems to take a while for you to figure out how they all tie together, they do, and if you can stay with the story long enough you can see where it all comes together.

The basic idea behind the story, there are people who exists that can listen to events, some from the past, some from the future. They can also cause time to freeze in a way for short periods of time. The hero of our story at one point says to his mentor, 'does that make us superheros?' and that is a good question. The people in our story are really superheroes and villains, they just work behind the scenes. The good guys are the temporals, and they exist as freaks of nature, that seem to happen during earthquakes.

While there is some violence it is mostly like you would see in comic books. There is no sexual innuendo, but the hero and his new lady friend seem to it off in a nice way. In other words, this book would be safe for all to read.

I would recommend this to people who like an action book with a touch of sci-fi to it.

I received a review copy from the author and have given my honest review of the book.

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Review: Heaven on Earth: God's Call to Community in the Book of Revelation

Heaven on Earth: God's Call to Community in the Book of Revelation by Michael Battle
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book from Westminster John Knox Press and Netgalley.com. What follows is an honest review.

I wanted to read this because the title interested me. I have to say I was disappointed. To start with, my beliefs in how God works are totally different than the authors. I would not let theology get in the way of a review of any book, so that was not the problem. I can learn from anyone.

Most of the book has little to do with Revelation, the chapters each begin with some scripture from Revelation and there is a chapter or two that focuses on the book, For the most part, this book becomes a effort by the author to tell me that my beliefs, that not all are going to heaven at the end of the world, are wrong, and I need to adjust my way of thinking to his, everyone goes, maybe even Satan himself. Each chapter is focused on telling the reader that a personal salvation is not what Jesus came for, that we can only be complete if we are in community and the only way we can have that is if all go to heaven.

First, his arguments are straw men. He basically says that personal salvation means that I do not care if anyone else makes it there. That is a false statement. I do care. I want to have everyone go to heaven with me. However, if they choose not to accept the gift given to them, then I and God will not force them to accept it.

Next, he does with the scriptures what he accuses the other side of doing. He cherry picks the scriptures to meet what he wants them to say. At one point he uses Jesus story of the sheep and the lambs. Jesus said when you feed the hungry, take care of the poor, clothe the naked, that we are doing it for Him and that brings heaven to earth. I can agree with that. However, a few verses later it talks about those who do not do these things will be sent to an eternal hell saved for the devil and his angels. So use a scripture to support and ignore the ones that disagree with you, even though they are in the same story.

Lastly, he hits us over the head with this, over and over. I could understand that this in one or two chapters but it seems to be the focus on each chapter. To set the record straight, if I was reading something that said his point of view was wrong and they said it over and over again, then I would most likely say the same thing. Pounding a point of view over and over again is just not a good idea. I thought this book was to be a study of Revelations, I was sadly disappointed.

I really cannot recommend this book to anyone.

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Review: Carritos the Assassin : A Temporal Story

Carritos the Assassin : A Temporal Story by Clay Boutwell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Short read, less than an hour.

A man with the ability to stop time, and never age. Is it a blessing or a curse. If you could do it what would you do. Jackson has two rules, family first, and thou shall not kill. Almost 80 years after the event that changed him he is asked to break his rules and murder a man or his grand niece dies. What will he do.

I received a copy of this book from a free offer from the author. This is a honest review.

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Review: Mars Journey: Call to Action: Book 3

Mars Journey: Call to Action: Book 3 by Bill Hargenrader
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Part thee of this series picks up where the other two left off, and I mean that literally. Each book in this series has three distinct parts to it. Each story is complete in itself. When you take the books together in a series, each story lets us in on a little more of what is going on.

If you are a science fiction reader, the you will enjoy this as preparations are happening in our near future for a journey to Mars. While most of the world wants a fly bye, one group is staging a reality contest to see who will get to settle on Mars when the sent to the planet during the loop around the planet. That is, if the group can raise the money. And that is the person we are following.

Good short book, well written and enjoyable.

I was provided a copy for review and this is an honest review.

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Review: Fatal Analysis

Fatal Analysis by Tom Bierdz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I did receive a copy of this book from the author. What follows is an honest review.

A story of a alcoholic psychiatrist does not really sound like it would be interesting. To skip over this book would be a mistake. If you like a good tale of suspense, and a little mystery as well, then this is a book that you would want to pick up.

I felt it started a little slow but it really needed to because it takes time to introduce the myriad of characters that populate Grant Garrick's life. If you can stick with it, you will have a story that will keep you interested to the end.

The writing is tight, giving you the detailed information that you need to keep the story going. There are no sudden twists where you feel cheated because the author brings something up at the last minute to solve the problem.

I recommend this to most anybody. Sexual relations are hinted at but not explained in detail like so many authors feel like they have to do of late. If you like a good mystery/thriller, this is the book for you.

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Review: Breaking Good: A Señor Bueno Travel Adventure

Breaking Good: A Señor Bueno Travel Adventure by Mike B. Good
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this book as a promotion that the author was doing to get people interested in his book. I was interested in this book because a lot of it takes place at the time I was growing up. Graduated High School in 1971 and Nixon was in the White house for his first term. So I was hoping for a trip down memory lane. I got it. I remember a lot of the songs the author mentioned. But that is where the connections end. I only smoked one joint in my entire life. A girl I was going with insisted we get high when we went t see the movie Tommy. All it did was give me a headache. So, the hero of the story and myself have little in common that way.

I did not consider myself a hippy though my long hair and a desire for peace in life and more liberal ways (I am more middle of the road now with leaning towards conservative) tended to let people think I was. Mike (our hero and first person teller in the book) do at least have that in common. We did not like Richard Nixon (Uncle Dick), and we did not like the war. But I never wanted to grow weed, live in a commune, etc.

I did enjoy the book when it did not get into slapstick, which is most every chapter. I know you are saying how can a book do slapstick. Running joke in the book:

Person: You know Mike that you are a great grower
Mike: I am?
Person: See I knew you knew it

Variations on that dialogue are in every chapter and often many times in a chapter. To me that and others like it become written slapstick. The thing with slapstick is it has to be done in small doses. Look at the Three Stooges, one of the best slapstick teams around. Any of their movie shorts has slapstick in it, but there is really more story being told that slapstick. In a fifteen minute short they may have one or two routines. And that is what is a problem with this book for me. Too much verbal wordplay, too often. Take out some of it and it might have gone up another star.

I would recommend this to people who would want to see the type of life that was lived by the true hippies of that era. It would be recommended for people who would enjoy some drug and crude humor references. It has its moments of brilliance.

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10 Secrets to a Superhero Body and Mind -Markus A Kassel

My rating: 3 out of 5 stars I found this booklet on the Instafreebie site. It is a short read, not more than an hour I would say.  The basic premise is that a superhero is someone that we all look up to and so we would want to be like one. It really doesn't matter that superheros do not exist, and that some of his examples fall flat (Spider Man may talk a good game but his whole story has to do with his lack of confidence in himself).  Still, the booklet is a look into what makes a successful person a success. Much of what we see in a person who is a success is what we see in the comic superheros as well.

 It is not a booklet that I can recommend to everyone. The title indicates that this is for body and mind.  A quick look at the books I could find show that this author has a few books on physical training.  This book seems to focus on that as well. And while I consider training a good thing, I do not see it to be the most important thing.  Another is the difficulty in finding it.  As noted, I found it on the Instafrebie web site and nowhere else.  All of the normal online eBook sites did not show it for purchase or to be given away.   While an interesting read, it is a niche book, mostly for those who want to get fit.  The book if written as a general book, making a person better, would be better. The book starts out that way but then seems to go more into the fitness area.

Review: Iris

Iris by Anna K. Payne
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have been provided a complimentary eBook and am providing an honest review.

This is the 2nd book in a series written by Ms. Payne. Like the first one, there are two stories that are weaved together with the hero Iris as the lead in both of them. One story involves someone who had a crush on her that is not healthy, the other is her trying to find a greater faith in the God that she sort of believes in. As we get deeper into the mystery of who is sending her pictures of Irises painted in blood, we find out people who are around her are in danger, especially her neighbor and the one thing that she trusts in life, his dog, and through this, she is learning to trust God and her small group of Bible study friends.

I would recommend this to people who are wanting to learn more of what it means to trust God, and/or who want a light mystery. I say light mystery because I had figured out who done it very early on. Again, like the first book in the series, Lilly (who makes an appearance here), it is more like how are they going to get caught. It is a short read, I would say 2 hours or less.

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Review: The Elven Stones: Abundance: An Elven Legend Quest

The Elven Stones: Abundance: An Elven Legend Quest by P. A. Wilson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book so that I could review it, what follows is an honest review.

I am expanding my horizons and have decided for a little bit of fantasy. The Elven Stones: Abundance, is the second in a series of books by P. A. Wilson. I will read anything but so often books in a series rely on you to have read the previous story. So going in I was a little worried, not having read the fist story. I should not have worries. The author did a masterful job of weaving what we needed to know of the first book into the narrative of this one.

In this world, elves are not as plentiful as they were. They do not seem to be giving birth as much to keep the population growing. We find out that it because the stone of abundance, one of the three elven stones, is missing along with another one. The guardian of these stones wants to put them back into their rightful place, but first they have to find them. The problem is the guardian is near the end of his lifespan. Into our story come the two stars of the previous story, elves who were orphans who have a vested interest in finding the other missing stone, the stone of the orphans, so they can gain back the credibility they lost when it disappeared. That story obviously has to wait for the next book.

At times, I wished the story moved along a little faster. However, the adventure quest turns into an epic journey. And while two stories are advanced here, the choice for a new keeper and the quest for the stone, both get the time they need. And they both come to a conclusions that satisfies but leaves you wanting to know what happens in the next book. The ending, while a surprise, was hinted at throughout the whole story. I just did not see the clues.

I would recommend this book to any who are into the fantasy world of elves and other races. It is also just good as a light reading fare.

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Review: LEADERSHIP: As Seen Through the Eyes of a Follower

LEADERSHIP: As Seen Through the Eyes of a Follower by George Vucin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I want to thank Dog Eared Publishing and Net Galley for a chance to read this book. It was provided by them and this is my honest review.

Leadership books can be a little tricky to write. Most all of them I have read tell you how to be a leader, and that is OK. But to have a leader, you have to have a group of followers. That is where this book differs from most other leadership books. The follower is not ignored. In fact, you are taught that what you do as a leader can affect your followers.

To often a leader wants to stay with the style that got them where they are. The reason for that is simple. It worked before so it must work now, and no one likes to change. The thing is, as you move up the ladder, the people that report to you change, and you have to know how to change with them.

Leadership principles are discussed. In that way this book is no different than any other leadership book. What is different than most is that once they are taught, then the view of the different types of followers are talked about. What works for one type of follower will not work for another. And they type of people change with what you do.

An example of my own life shows a major point of this book. I work retail on weekends, I have for almost 10 years. Started out in the back room unloading the truck each day I worked. This store rotated managers around about every 6 months. We worked well with one type of manager, but rather than send us that type, the ones that would roll up their sleeves and work with, we often got the ones that would come in, say do the work and then move on. Now I work on the sales floor and that is the way the management works. If you had a manger doing the work with you, then it would be looked at as he did not think you could do the work yourself.

This is the core I got out of this book. Be the manager the people who follow you need you to be. I have been involved with volunteer leadership with churches I have attended for years now. This is the book that I wish I had years ago. What worked in one place did not work in others. I had to learn to change.

I recommend this book for anyone looking at being a leader of any sort. It is excellent in teaching what one needs to know.

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Review: Beginnings: Driving with Anna

Beginnings: Driving with Anna by Anna K. Payne
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a short series of five very powerful devotionals. If one were to take a few minutes each day and to read and meditate on them, there would be a change in their life.

Each devotional follows the same pattern. A short story from her life, some scripture, a prayer and then a place for you to write notes for yourself about what you have learned.

I recommend this to Christians and those seeking for answers to things in their life. Even if these devotionals do not highlight problems you face in life, just reading the scriptures may help you to focus on what you need from God.


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Review: Blindsided

Blindsided by Tom Bierdz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As a start us story for what appears to be an interesting series, this tells the story of a psychiatrist who is driven to succeed, a wife who is left behind and a son who decided death was better than life. This is not an action heavy story, but there is some action to it. It is a story of the grief that happens when a child dies and nothing is left to hold a marriage together. What will happen and why are the core parts to this story.

I enjoyed it though I can say I honestly see why some people might not. It was a short read, maybe an hour and a half, but is packed with character development.

I would recommend it to anyone interested in a quick short read about people.

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Review: Avenging Angel

Avenging Angel by Angelique Conger
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a short easy to read ebook. It took me less than an hour to read.

There is so much of the Bible that many of us who read it would like to know what happened. We know, for example that Adam and Eve had children, many of them . What happened to them and the children? This author has pieced together in her mind stories of the woman of the Bible, ones that we know are not necessarily true, but give us idea of what could have been.

In this story we look at Eve in her later years. Finally able to take a journey with her husband they travel to teach the grandchildren about God, and during this time Adam is taken hostage. What will Eve do to get her husband back. Trust me when I say, the author does not paint a picture of a meek woman.

For the most part it was a good read. In a few places I though it could be tightened up a bit but it was for the most part well written.

I would recommend it to Christian woman. Though I am a guy and liked it, I am not sure for the most part that most men would like it.

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Review: 4 Years Trapped in My Mind Palace

4 Years Trapped in My Mind Palace by Johan Twiss
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book of this book for review. What follows is an honest review.

All I can say is WOW!.

Johan Twiss has written a second book that has held me interested till the very end. There is no classification for this book. It has ,a little bit of sci-fi, a little bit of psychology, a little bit of fantasy, a little bit of a lot of things. But all that adds up to make a lot of good.

Our hero, Arron has a rare form of meningitis as a young teen, leaving him paralyzed, and unable to move. His doctors think he is brain dead and is moved to a nursing home. If you think this is far fetched, it actually has happened. It is from that real life story that the author came up with the idea for this story.

To keep from going completely insane, Arron creates a world in his mind that he can travel to and do so many things. Only there can he feel complete because no one really treats him like he is alive.

From this life of solitude a room mate is given to him, Solomon, a former jazz musician, who is in his late years, having survived the depression, World War 2 and other events of history. Now in his twilight years he begins to suffer dementia.

So as one is wanting to start his life, one is ending his and reliving his glory days. The interesting thing is that Solomon can talk to Arron. He hears what Arron says in his mind and that is a wonderful thing for Arron, now he can communicate, even if no one believes that they can talk.

To tell you much more gives the story away. But it is a great story, and it is amazing how the author has once again not wasted one word. An interesting thing for me was the whole story was told from Arron's point of view. So much I have read of late has chapters that go back and forth and tell the story, this is all Arron telling the story.

I recommend it for all. I think everyone could get something out of this story. As I said before, not one word is wasted, and all weave together to tell a fantastic story.

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Review: The Last Arrow: Save Nothing for the Next Life

The Last Arrow: Save Nothing for the Next Life by Erwin Raphael McManus
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In The Last Arrow, McManus takes an obscure story from the Bible (I have mentioned it to many and most have no idea it is in the Bible) and creates a rich story for how one should live their lives. When Elijah is near death, the King of Israel calls Elijah to pray for him and Elijah gives him two tasks. Shoot an arrow out a window and then, to take the rest of the arrows and strike them on the ground.

The king strikes them three times then stops. God never said how many times and to stop at three was not good. He should have kept striking, but he does not. He stops at three, and though the king could have won over his enemies, now he will only have three years of success.

Some might think this is petty of God. But in our lives we have to learn that we have to do what we are asked of God until there is nothing left, until the last arrow is gone. And that is the basis of the book. What have we done that if we had not stopped, we might have been given the victory in.

Throughout the book are examples of other events in the Bible, most from the life of Elijah, as to exemplify each point he is making. We do not get from God because we do not ask specifically what we need, we stop before we start, we settle for the life we have in place of the life we should have.

I recommend the book for all, but I know it will appeal to the Christian people I know. The lessons learned can and should be learned by all. But the Christian message is not compromised and I am sure that will turn a few people off.


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Review: 30 Red Dresses

30 Red Dresses by Johan Twiss
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was not a book I would have picked up on my own. The title suggest a book that might appeal to female readers. The description indicated a subject of human trafficking. But a strange thing happened. I offered to advance read a different book for the author and I got sent a copy of this book with that cover. It was an honest mistake, but I realized it as soon as I started it. The writing style drew me in.
An 8 year old orphan in the care of her abusive uncle is sold into a brothel. A man on a book tour to Cambodia has to take refuge in the same during a flood. Their paths cross.
This book grabs you and will not let you go. Writing is clear and concise and no word is wasted. You start to feel something for each person in the story. You either love them or hate them, there is no in between.
I recommend this to everyone. Considering the subject, though we are talking about sex trafficking, there is not real sex that takes place in the book, There is more violence in the book than sex. It is safe for all to read. Grab a copy and have your life changed.

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Review: Pineapple Beach House: A Pineapple Port Mystery: Book Five

Pineapple Beach House: A Pineapple Port Mystery: Book Five by Amy Vansant
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ms. Amy has another winner in this interesting series. In fact I think other than book number one, this was the best one. It is nice, even though some of the regular cast is there, we get to get away from the series namesake of Pineapple Port. Even thought the cast is slimmed down we pick up a few others along the way to make up for the ones left behind.

The premise is that Charlotte, her boyfriend, his uncle and two of the husband.wives who raised her in the retirement home she was double orphaned in (read the early books to make sense of that sentence) are going on a working vacation over the Thanksgiving holidays. They agree to repair a beach property owned by a friend in exchange for use of it. Except, it is on the South Carolina coast and there is a huge storm out there. Things get interesting when they find a finger in frozen trash. Did I forget to say there is Nursing Home (Elder Careolina.... get it, North Carolina.... if I have to explain it to you it is just not funny!), that seems to be missing a few residents?

With the weather bad what is a private detective in training going to do? Do I really need to ask? You got it, since the police cannot come to them, they are going to solve the mystery themselves.

This is a fun book, though by the description you might not think so. Amy does a wonderful job of making this cast of characters come to life. I recommend it to anyone wanting a fun mystery. As I have said before, this is not a cozy mystery series. It does not have violence or sex, but it hey it has body parts (just wait till you see the part about the eye!)
As part of the author's street team I was allowed to read the book for free. This is an honest review. If I thought it was bad, you would know it.

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Review: Old Earth or Evolutionary Creation?: Discussing Origins with Reasons to Believe and BioLogos

Old Earth or Evolutionary Creation?: Discussing Origins with Reasons to Believe and BioLogos by Kenneth Keathley
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

IVP press and Netgalley provided a copy that I could review.

I always though that the problems with evolution and the like came down to Christians v. science. I was wrong. In the middle are Christians who are scientist, and even then they cannot agree.
I may have oversimplified the opening point, but I think that it gets the point across. Even among people of faith, there are varying levels of what they believe just as their are people of science.

This book is an attempt at dialogue between two groups of Christians as they discuss things that matter to them in the attempt to have scripture and the world seem to co-exist in a relevant way.
Though they try to imply that this is a series of moderated writings, it comes across as a series of public debates. BioLogos and RTB has sponsored a series of these moderated by the Southern Baptist Convention so it is not that much of a stretch.

There were many times that I was able to push through and read a lot at one sitting and be interested. Other times I just felt that I was fighting my way through the material. I suspect that was more me and the topics that I seemed to have an interest in. I would imagine that the same would be true for others as well. This is not a book that you will have an interest in every topic.

The layout is familiar for each topic:
*moderator introduces topic
*one group speaks
*other group speaks
*moderator brings up rebuttal topics
*one group speaks
*other group speaks
*moderator sums things up

Each chapter a different subject. Each one covered in detail.

I liked the format, and I especially liked that they could disagree on a topic and not get disagreeable. They were polite and even talked about points of agreement that they had.

I am not sure I could recommend this to anyone I know. Maybe someone taking a philosophy class would enjoy it. I enjoyed the book but I am thinking that this might be an acquired taste for me.

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Review: Religion Saves: And Nine Other Misconceptions

Religion Saves: And Nine Other Misconceptions by Mark Driscoll
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this audio book years ago from Christian Audio (http://christianaudio.com/) as part of their monthly free audio book. For some reason I never listened to it but chose to go through some of the books I had and gave it a listen.
Mark Driscoll was the pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle Washington area. When this was written/recorded I am sure the church was still very active. Within a few years Mr. Driscoll would step down from the church because of claims of him bullying staff members. The church would at that point close it doors within a month. Not having been a member and not knowing much about him, this is all from what I read from sites like Wikipedia. I would tend to think it was true based on the tone of this book. While in a few places he says this is what I believe, the majority of the book is he way it is, take it or leave it.' That is where the problem starts because of what this book is supposed to be.
The theory behind this book is that the church opened up a web site to ask people to post their questions about Christianity and then people could vote on them. The top 9 questions questions would get a sermon based on them. I find it hard to believe that the number 1 question was about the emergent church, but I will have to take him at his word. The topics were wide ranging from sex and birth control to dating to the way churches should be run. Through it all Mr. Driscoll tells you how it should be. While I agree with him on quite a few things, I do not with all. So now, am I less a Christian just because I do not agree, or maybe I am not a Christian at all.
The main problem with a book like this is that it tries to tell you what Christians should be, but in the 2000 years since Christ died, every generation has tried to tell us that. Why should his book define it any better than any others. In listening to it I felt like I was back in my Catholic days and I was having to take what the Pope said because the Church said he heard from God.
The recording was OK. I have heard much better readings of books than this one. Mr. Driscoll read it himself. I would think that he would have had a better understanding of his book, but often there are pauses where there should not be and where they should be, they are not.
I cannot not really recommend this book. I gave it three stars because the content was for the most part OK. The attitude of the author comes through quite clearly.

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