Gravesight by Jeremy McNabb

I’m very picky when it comes to what fiction I read. And yes, I do judge a book by its cover. So getting me to read a new author takes lots of convincing. However, this author was given a bit of a freebee because I happen to have met him a couple years ago at The Gathering—the yearly get-together of Circle members/Dekker fans. So knowing he reads one of my favorite authors, I had to give his works a shot.

And I’m glad I did.

Gravesight by Jeremy McNabb is a novella connected to the Long Tail City trilogy. While these books are unpublished at this time, I’m confident it won’t be too much longer. Because Gravesight comes after the trilogy, the reader doesn’t have the privilege of knowing these characters and their backstory. While not everything is explained, McNabb does a great job explaining anything that is necessary for us to know within this story.

This story starts with these young twins who found a new friend that needs help. The boy’s uncle is after him. So they introduce him to Cage. Cage Donnagan is one of the Otherkind—and though without much backstory, I don’t really know how to explain this, the Otherkind seems to be a race that can mentally change from one form to another. (I’m sure the author can explain it better.) Cage sees that this boy is in trouble and decides to help him, getting a few other interesting characters involved along the way.

I don’t want to give too much more away since this isn’t a long piece so I’ll just tell you to go to amazon and look it up—it’s available for Kindle (or Kindle for PC), and at only 99 cents, how can you not want to check it out?

Overall, I’d say this is a great piece, and a good way to get introduced to this author—a writer from whom I only expect great things to come.

Jesus Manifesto

Jesus Manifesto by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola is a great book to get you into studying the scripture to see who Jesus really is, which is not always who He’s made out to be. This book makes you see for yourself what your answer is to the important question “Who do you say that I am?” Have you lost sight of who Jesus really is and instead replaced Him with the doctrines of a church or what someone else says about Him? Each person needs to know who Christ is through their own study of the Word and own encounter with Him.

Sweet and Viola take the time to point out the problem—that many people have “Jesus Deficit Disorder.” They make the gospel about so many other things but don’t realize that unless Christ is at the center of it all, even the good things don’t matter. As Sweet and Viola point out the things that have stopped us from seeing Jesus for who He really is and placing Him in His rightful place, they also se scripture to point us in the right direction—that said, one should still always study the scripture for themselves. This is a good book, and a good tool for anyone that wants to make sure they know Jesus for who He really is.

Book provided by Thomas Nelson’s Booksneeze program.

Jerusalem's Undead: Valley of Bones

Eric Wilson, your Jerusalem’s Undead Trilogy has placed itself permanently at the top of my favorite series list. The story contained within those three books is brilliantly inspired. I fell in love with the characters . . . well, except the Collectors, in which case, I loved to hate them. Okay, I do admit, one of them I didn’t hate, but anyway.

On to my comments.



So could vampires be explained Biblically? In the story that spans three books—Field of Blood, Haunt of Jackals, and Valley of Bones—it certainly seems possible. While they aren’t exactly explained with scripture, the way history is tied into the story, one would wonder just how possible it could really be.

Valley of Bones continues right where Haunt of Jackals leaves off. (For any who haven’t read these books yet, I won’t spoil it—WELL worth the read.) The story of Gina, Cal, the Nistarim, and the Collectors comes together in a climactic battle of good and evil. The Collectors are trying to bring final vengeance on their terms by taking out the Nistarim, those who bear the burdens of the world. If even one Nistarim falls without another to take his place, the world would end. But the Collectors’ numbers are dwindling. Will they succeed in ushering in their Final Vengeance? Or will the Nistarim and Those Who Resist succeed in taking out the Akeldama Cluster?

As I mentioned, history is tied into this story. First, the history of the Nistarim found in Matthew 27:52-53. From there, Eric ties in other pieces of history--usually with a bit of something left unexplained. These bits and pieces are weaved perfectly into the story, making it that much more enthralling.

The description and exploration of the settings in the story also add to the believability. In reading about the foreign places, and even the places within the US, it was easy to envision it in my mind even though I’ve never been to most of them myself.

And of course, the characters are what make the story. Following Gina, Cal, Natira, Erota, and the others within the pages, you find yourself captured within their minds, reading their thoughts, feeling their emotions—whether you love or hate them.

All in all, Valley of Bones is an amazing ending to this excellent trilogy. And I am sure I will read these books again and again.

Mr. Liparulo, you and your endings have done it again!

Imagine you have the ability to go into the past and change it. Imagine it was your calling in life. It seems to be the calling of the King family in the Dreamhouse Kings series by Robert Liparulo.

I’ve just finished book 5 of this 6 book series, and I wish I had book 6 right now so I could dive into it. Anyway . . . so about Whirlwind . . .

This book is properly named. From the moment I opened the cover and started the first chapter to continue the exhilarating quest with the King family, adrenaline has pumped through my veins. There is a whirlwind of adventure in those 310 pages. I’ve followed the Kings, hoped with them, wanted to scream for them, and cheered them on in their battles.

R.L. Stine’s endorsement of this series is fitting. As an elementary and middle school kid in the 90s, I was a fan of Goosebumps. The Dreamhouse Kings series has kept me on edge just as much as those books once did!

And then, there’s Mr. Liparulo’s endings. Yes, sir, I know we’ve talked about this before, but really? It just HAD to stop there? Now I’ve got to get Frenzy that much more. I’ve got to know what happens to Xander, Dae, Toria, Ed, Keal, Jesse, and even the evil Taksidian (who, by the way, in my head sounds like Scar from Lion King when I read his dialogue).

Will they find their mom? Will they change the past before it’s too late for the future? I guess I’ll have to get a copy of Frenzy soon and read it to find out.

I’m excited!

Lis Wiehl's Hand of Fate

So it’s taken me a while to finally get to this book. I’ve had it for well over a month, but until schoolwork was done, I hardly had time to read. Now, after finishing Bride Collector, I’ve finally been able to enjoy Hand of Fate by Lis Wiehl. It’s the second of her Triple Threat Novels, and I have to sadly say I haven’t read the first one. Yet, I can say this is a great read with interesting twists. And though it is the second book, if you haven’t read the first one, you don’t feel completely out of the loop—I was still able to get to know the characters as well as I would any other book, though when it hints at things that happened in the last one, you may feel a little behind.

In this book, the reader follows Allison, Cassidy, and Nicole as they investigate the death of Jim Fate, a famed voice of talk radio. There are more than enough suspects, since he seemed to make a lot of people hate him with his opinions. Each lady also deals with personal conflicts as they’re trying to figure out who murdered this man, including one of them who was closer to Fate than what she let on with her friends. All in all, interesting, and it reminds me of the show Women’s Murder Club—which was based off novels by James Patterson, though I have yet to read the books.