Kara Swanson: Ignite

By Kelly Bridgewater

About the Book

Book: Ignite

Author: Kara Swanson

Genre: YA Fantasy

Release Date: August 20, 2024

Can Mara survive in a world where the fire in her veins is worth killing for?
 
In a frozen wasteland suffocating beneath a dying sun, Mara is a young phoenix raised by her father to explode at his command. He’s the only one who can help her control her fire, and Mara desperately follows his orders to protect their phoenix family from relentless human hunters.

Her sheltered existence is shattered when her family mysteriously vanishes, thrusting Mara into a perilous quest to find them. Along the way, she unravels a devastating truth: her people may not be the innocent victims she's been taught to believe.

When she comes face-to-face with the kindhearted Eli, she begins to wonder if the humans aren’t the monsters she's always feared. What if the greatest danger doesn’t lie in the icy world outside—but in the truth of who Mara really is?

Fire and ice collide in this thrilling tale of a phoenix girl born with the power of a dying sun.

 

My Thoughts:

Ignite by Kara Swanson is an original, unpredictable tale of phoenixes. As the story starts, there is really nothing happening. Swanson sets up the setting and allowing Mara, the heroine, to show her storyworld. But of course, she has to do something that shoves her out of her comfort zone. She goes an adventure to find her true self and discover what her family actually is. After the first twenty percent of the novel, the story becomes interesting, and I wanted to see Mara succeed. Once Mara hits the climactic moment, it started to remind me of Satan and his followers and how they choose to leave such a beautiful place because of his pride. Not an exact re-telling just some hints of the familiar story. The fight is pretty detailed near the end of the story. Swanson does leave readers in a cliff-hanger that will leave the readers wanting to know if there is going to be a second book. Overall, Ignite by Kara Swanson is a unquie tale of discovery. Discovery of oneself's true identity. Discover of family. Discover of the lies and truths the characters live in. Plenty of action after the first twenty percent. I hope there is going to be a second book.

I received a complimentary copy of Ignite by Kara Swanson from Enclave Publishing through CelebrateLite Tours, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Purchase Ignite

About the Author

Kara Swanson writes stories about fairy tales and fiery souls. She spent her childhood a little like a Lost Girl, running barefoot through lush green jungles which inspired her award-winning Peter Pan retellings, Dust and Shadow.

She is also the cofounder of the Author Conservatory (authorconservatory.com) where she has the honor of teaching young writers to craft sustainable author careers.

You’ll find Kara with her toes in California sand as a SoCal resident, belting Broadway show tunes on weekend drives to Disneyland with her delightfully nerdy husband, or chatting about magic and mayhem on Instagram.

More from Kara

This story is one that has lived a hundred lives, a little like the phoenix it’s about —dozens of iterations and nearly eight years discovering Mara’s story. In this icy world beneath a dying sun, I was able to craft a story of a young phoenix girl who was more terrified of her own fire than the dangers of the frozen wasteland outside her underground hideaway. Who has been convinced by the father she loves that her flame is only capable of pain and damage — until suddenly, he disappears. And for the first time, she ventures out of her hideaway to discover that the frozen world outside is actually dying for her flame. And that the parts of herself that she has feared and run from…that there may be beauty, even there. That she can choose to rise from the ash of a world that doesn’t understand her, and use the fire in her veins to bring warmth and healing.

I hope you enjoy the adventure!

Blog Stops

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, September 27

By the Book , September 27

Texas Book-aholic, September 28

Live.Love.Read., September 29

Inspired by Fiction, September 30

The Lofty Pages, September 30

Hannahbandanarama, October 1

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, October 1

Faery Tales Are Real, October 2

Locks, Hooks and Books, October 3

Min Reads and Reviews, October 3

Wishful Endings, October 4

Book Zone Reviews, October 5

Simple Harvest Reads, October 5 (Guest Review from Mindy Houng)

Tell Tale Book Reviews, October 6

Where Faith and Books Meet, October 7

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, October 8

Becca Hope: Book Obsessed, October 8

Book Butterfly in Dreamland, October 9

Blogging With Carol, October 10

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Kara is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon card and a copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf5450/

Reviewing vs. Purchasing Books

By Kelly Bridgewater

If you read my last post, I talked about how paperback books are not really being offered for reviewers anymore.

When I started reviewing books in 2014, there were not that many book reviewers doing book reviews on personal blogs and transferring them to Amazon, Goodreads, Christianbook, etc . . .

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Since then, everyone who reads a book has a blog and reviews books. Book publishing companies love this. Authors love this. Review sites love this.

But as a reviewer, it is hard to make a difference or have your review stand out when everyone who can read has an opinion. Whether good or bad.

Since the publishing companies are pushing to go completely e-books through Netgalley, I wonder if it is better to just pre-order the books through Baker Book House, which offers 40% the Bethany House and Revell books and FREE shipping.

If I do this, then if I am rushed or busy with life, I won’t feel obligated to write a review.

Not that I don’t like to help out authors. I have done TONS in the past 10.5 years.

But I enjoyed getting compensated with a physical book for my time. Then if I wanted to keep the book, it went on my shelf. If not, then I donated it to our church library or pass it along to friends who I know would like it.

What about you? Review books or just purchase them. What benefits the authors more? This is the whole reason I reviewed anyways.

Michelle Shocklee: All We Thought We Knew

 By Kelly Bridgewater

She was so sure she knew her family’s story . . . Now she wonders if she was wrong about all of it.

1969. When Mattie Taylor’s twin brother was killed in Vietnam, she lost her best friend and the only person who really understood her. Now, news that her mother is dying sends Mattie back home, despite blaming her father for Mark’s death. Mama’s last wish is that Mattie would read some old letters stored in a trunk, from people Mattie doesn’t even know. Mama insists they hold the answers Mattie is looking for.

1942. Ava Delaney is picking up the pieces of her life following her husband’s death at Pearl Harbor. Living with her mother-in-law on a secluded farm in Tennessee is far different than the life Ava imagined when she married only a few short months ago. Desperate to get out of the house, Ava seeks work at a nearby military base, where she soon discovers the American government is housing Germans who they have classified as enemy aliens. As Ava works to process legal documents for the military, she crosses paths with Gunther Schneider, a German who is helping care for wounded soldiers. Ava questions why a man as gentle and kind as Gunther should be forced to live in the internment camp, and as they become friends, her sense of the injustice grows . . . as do her feelings for him. Faced with the possibility of losing Gunther, Ava must choose whether loving someone deemed the enemy is a risk worth taking, even if it means being ostracized by all those around her.

In the midst of pain and loss two women must come face-to-face with their own assumptions about what they thought they knew about themselves and others. What they discover will lead to a far greater appreciation of their own legacies and the love of those dearest to them.

 

My Thoughts:

All We Thought We Knew by Michelle Shocklee combines the world of World War II and the Vietnam war. This is definitely a unique and different perspective. I have not read many stories about the Vietnam war. My uncles do not like to talk about it, so I know they do not want to share the horrors that they had to endure. I know this was the Hippie era where there were many protests across America and college campus. But other than that, I really did not know much about this time period. I would have liked to see more of a justification for Mattie not wanting her brother and friend, Nash, to join the Marines to go fight in Vietnam. It was covered, but slightly. I wanted a little more depth to this aspect of the novel. This is a timeslip novel, so there is two time periods that depend on each other in order to solve the mystery by the end of the story. A little bit of romance in both periods. A horse farm as the setting and a camp in other. Shocklee does a wonderful job at bringing the settings to my imagination. Overall, All We Thought We Knew by Michelle Shocklee ventures into the Vietnam War Era and ties a thread to the World War II era. From heroic characters to characters with doubts, Shocklee invites readers into a world of questioning why readers believe what they believe. It is okay to dive deeper to cement pre-conceived ideas.

I received a complimentary copy of All We Thought We Knew by Michelle Shocklee from  Tyndale Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating:  3.5 out of 5 stars

Purchase All We Thought We Knew

Jaime Jo Wright: Specters in the Glass House

By Kelly Bridgewater

An ominous butterfly house. A sinister legacy. An untraceable killer.

In 1921, Marian Arnold, the heiress to a brewing baron's empire, seeks solace in the glass butterfly house on her family's Wisconsin estate as Prohibition and the deaths of her parents cast a long shadow over her shrinking world. When Marian's sanctuary is invaded by nightmarish visions, she grapples with the line between hallucinations of things to come and malevolent forces at play in the present. With dead butterflies as the killer's ominous signature, murders unfold at a steady pace. Marian, fearful she might be next, enlists the help of her childhood friend Felix, a war veteran with his own haunted past.

In the present day, researcher Remy Shaw becomes entangled in an elderly biographer's quest to uncover the truth behind Marian Arnold's mysterious life and the unsolved murders linked to an infamous serial killer. Joined by Marian's great-great-grandson, can Remy expose the evil that lurks beneath broken wings? Or will the dark legacy surrounding the manor and its glass house destroy yet another generation?

 

My Thoughts:

Specters in the Glass House by Jaime Jo Wright reminded me of a previous novel that I read. Not the entire concept. Just the family members of the heroine thinking she was mental for the things that she was seeing. Readers will love how Wright captures the mystery element and makes the reader question every person that she comes across. The plot was interesting, scary, and delightful all the same time. I read this book within 24 hours and was a little disappointed when the story was over. I wanted more. The heroine in the past, Marian, was indifferent. She was a little naïve and tried to understand her mother that disappeared from her life. She was definitely not a strong character.  On the other hand, the heroine in the present timeline, Remy Shaw, was trying to deal with her past. But of course, her past kept haunting her in her present situation. I did like how the guy who purchased the house in order to write the biography didn’t have internet. Made it a little harder for Remy Shaw to do her research. Anything to make the heroines life’s harder. The setting was nicely detailed, and my imagination blossomed with all the details of the house. Overall, Specters in the Glass House by Jaime Jo Wright was spooky, historical, and wonderfully told. I look forward to all of Wright’s stories and own all her books. This book is no different.

I received a complimentary copy of Specters in the Glass House by Jaime Jo Wright from Bethany House Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating:  5 out of 5 stars

Purchase Specters in the Glass House

Why No Paperback Books?

By Kelly Bridgewater

When I started blogging, I was given roughly 10 paperback books a month to review.

Some of the books, I wanted to review. Others not so much.

Now more and more Christian Publishing companies are not even publishing Fiction stories.

Waterbrook / Multnomah does not publish fiction books.

Tyndale publishes maybe three books in a quarter.

Thomas Nelson, which used to be a big producer of fiction books, is only publishing five fiction books from September 1^st through the end of this year.

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Even though Revell and Bethany House Publishing does publish majority of the fiction published it appears, they are limiting how many paperback books go out too.

Bethany House started about two years ago that the reviewers were put into two categories: influencers and reviewers. The influencers will have a choice of the one book that they have chosen out of all the books that are published that month to review or not. The rest of them can be downloaded through Netgalley.

Revell Reads, which is Revell publishing’s Review team, does list every book that is published, but they say they randomly select from all the people who have signed up for certain books. However, I signed up within 10 minutes of receiving the sign-up email, and I have not been given a book in over 6 months.

I know inflation is hurting everyone, thank you, Joe Biden, but this is kind of why book reviewing is something I am trying to move away from.

What about you? Do you receive many physical paperback books anymore?

Michelle Griep: Of Gold and Shadows

By Kelly Bridgewater

The shadows hold secrets darker than they ever imagined. . . .

In 1888 Victorian England, Ami Dalton navigates a clandestine dual life. By day, she strives to establish herself as a respected Egyptologist, overcoming the gender biases that permeate academia. But with a heart for saving black-market artifacts from falling into the wrong hands, she is most often disguised as her alter ego, the Shadow Broker.

After eight years in India, Oxford's most eligible bachelor, Edmund Price, has come out of the shadows to run for Parliament and is in search of an Egyptologist to value a newly acquired collection. Expecting a renowned Oxford professor, Edmund instead finds himself entangled with Ami, the professor's determined daughter. As they delve into the treasures, their connection deepens, but trouble emerges when a golden griffin--rumored to bear the curse of Amentuk--surfaces, and they're left to wonder if the curse really is at play, or if something more nefarious is hiding among the shadows. . . .

 

My Thoughts:

Of Gold and Shadows by Michelle Griep is a Egyptian historical mystery with a hint of romance. Readers will love how Gripe captures the world of a female Egyptian scholar and how she can't wait to shine and be able to value a bunch of artifacts. While the hero, Edmund Price, is shown as someone all the women fall for when readers are first introduced to him, Gripe does a wonderful job at allowing Ami, the heroine, to see past all that. She sees his flaws and slowly starts to look forward to this little quirks to make him more realistic in her eyes. The setting comes to live. Readers will enjoy how much time and detail Griep spends in her descriptions of the Price Manor. I loved visiting her and watching Ami and Edmund begin to develop something deeper. As for the plot, I loved the concept of cursed artifacts that had a response on the whole house. Griep also wrote a mystery into the plot that I actually enjoyed reading. Overall, Of Gold and Shadows by Michelle Griep was a delightful Egyptian tale of valuing artifacts and oneself all set in a London Manor. I can't wait to own the physical copy.

I received a complimentary copy Of Gold and Shadows by Michelle Griep from Bethany House Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Purchase Of Gold and Shadows 

James 4

By Kelly Bridgewater

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Submit Yourselves to God

4 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? ² You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. ³ When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

⁴ You adulterous people,^[a] don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. ⁵ Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us^[b]? ⁶ But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

“God opposes the proud
    but shows favor to the humble.”^[c]

⁷ Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹ Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

¹¹ Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister^[d] or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. ¹² There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?

Boasting About Tomorrow

¹³ Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” ¹⁴ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. ¹⁵ Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” ¹⁶ As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. ¹⁷ If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James%204&version=NIV