Mary Weber: Siren’s Fury

By Kelly Bridgewater

Back Cover Copy:

“I thrust my hand toward the sky as my voice begs the Elemental inside me to waken and rise. But it's no use. The curse I've spent my entire life abhorring—the thing I trained so hard to control—no longer exists.”
Nym risked her life to save Faelen, her homeland, from a losing war, only to discover that the shape-shifter Draewulf has stolen everything she holds dear. But when the repulsive monster robs Nym of her storm-summoning abilities as well, the beautiful Elemental realizes her war is only just beginning.

Now powerless to control the elements that once emboldened her, Nym stows away on an airship traveling to the metallic kingdom of Bron. She must stop Draewulf. But the horrors he’s brought and the secrets of Bron are more than Nym bargained for. Then the disturbing Lord Myles tempts her with new powers that could destroy the monster, and Nym must decide whether she can compromise in the name of good even if it may cost her very soul.

As she navigates the stark industrial cityscape of Bron, Nym is faced with an impossible choice: change the future with one slice of a blade . . . or sacrifice it all for the one thing her heart just can’t let go.

My Review:

I had the chance to review the first book in Mary Weber’s Storm Siren trilogy, Storm Siren, and I jumped on the chance. Follow this link to read my review on Storm Siren. Anyway, I loved the cover, and when Mary showed the cover for the second book, I couldn’t wait to get my hand on the second book in the series. Young Adult books that you can read and enjoy as an adult are some of my favorite books.

In this book, readers will come across Nym who is without her elemental powers, which were taken away from her at the end of the first book. Nym is still a strong, powerful woman who hates injustice and needs to learn to control her temper. Weber does a good job at allowing Nym to be a normal seventeen year old who is dealing with all these emotions fighting for center stage. The minor characters of Myles and Rasha balance and keep Nym in check. Without them, I think Nym would have been in a lot more trouble.

I had more problems with the conflict this time around because for the longest time, there was not any. Nym, Rasha, and Myles are following Eogan around and watching his destruction, then going back to their room, then back to the table to discuss more talks. Nothing really happens for a while. The tension is mostly from Nym’s internal struggle. The story lags and drags for quite a long time. I kept wanting something to happen. About 85 % in the book, according to my Kindle, the real conflict explodes on the page, grabbing my attention. The ending was satisfying, and I can’t wait for the next book.

As for the writing, it had a lot of prose. If you enjoy reading a story that has little dialogue with tons of internal dialogue, then this is the story for you. I don’t believe Weber did this to take away from the story; I believe Weber wanted to make the story as authentic as possible since the story is a first-person narrator. A lot of the prose the readers need in order to understand Nym and her struggle in Siren’s Fury.

Overall, Mary Weber’s Siren’s Fury grabbed my attention in the first chapter with her continuing first-person narrative with the strong, heroine of Nym. The setting reminded me of a dystopian novel, haunting the reader long after they finish the book. I recommend this book to anyone who has read the first book and was left gasping after the first cliff-hanger.

I received a complimentary copy of Mary Weber’s Siren’s Fury from Thomas Nelson through Netgalley and the opinions stated above are all my own.

Mary Weber’s Bio:

Mary Weber is a ridiculously uncoordinated girl plotting to take over make-believe worlds through books, handstands, and imaginary throwing knives. In her spare time, she feeds unicorns, sings 80's hairband songs to her three muggle children, and ogles her husband who looks strikingly like Wolverine. They live in California, which is perfect for stalking L.A. bands, Joss Whedon, and the ocean.

From Mary Weber's Amazon Author's Page

Where to connect with Mary Weber:

Facebook

Author's Personal Webpage

Twitter

Where to purchase her books:

 Amazon

Barnes and Nobles

Christianbook

How many Young Adults novels have you read as an adult? Why do you think Young Adult novels appeal to adults?

Melanie Dickerson: The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest Review + GIVEAWAY

By Kelly Bridgewater

*Giveaway instructions on the bottom*

Back Cover Copy: 

A beautiful maiden who poaches to feed the poor. A handsome forester on a mission to catch her. Danger and love are about to unite in Thornbeck Forest.
The margrave owns the finest hunting grounds for miles around—and Odette Menkels spends her nights poaching his deer to feed the hungry orphans of Thornbeck. By day, Odette is a simple maiden who teaches children to read, but by night this young beauty has become the secret lifeline to the poorest of the poor.
For Jorgen Hartman, the margrave’s forester, tracking down a poacher is a duty he is all too willing to perform. Jorgeninherited his post from the man who raised him . . . a man who was murdered at the hands of a poacher.
When Jorgen and Odette meet at the Midsummer festival and share a connection during a dance, neither has any idea that they are already adversaries.
The one man she wants is bound by duty to capture her; the one woman he loves is his cunning target . . . What becomes of a forester who protects a notorious poacher? What becomes of a poacher when she is finally discovered?

My Review:

I have read all of Melanie Dickerson’s Young Adult books, retelling the famous fairy tales, and I have loved every single one of them. If you have not read them, they are: The Healer’s Apprentice, The Merchant’s Daughter, The Fairest Beauty, The Captive Maiden, and The Princess Spy. I love her newest retellings of Swan Lake and Robin Hood in The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest, and Dickerson grips the readers like a good story should.

The first thing I love about her stories is the ability to create her settings. I feel like I’m transported to late fourteenth and early fifteenth century Germany. I can see the disarray of the villages inside and outside of the castle gates. I can smell the urine and the body odor as the character’s move through the setting. Dickerson’s research into this time period by describing the clothes and modes of transportation is spot on. I felt like I was roaming the grounds, trying to avoid the seedy side of town with the heroine’s. I love the castles, knights, parties, and masquerade balls.

Another thing I enjoyed about Dickerson’s writing is her heroes. All of them have redeeming qualities in them that makes me love them. In The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest, our hero is Jorgen Hartman, the local forester, who is on a hunt to find the poacher. He is good, kind, honest, intelligent, hard-working, and trustworthy. I wish he was real. He was such a great hero. Always thinking of others before himself. What a great guy. As a complete foil, Dickerson created the heroine, Odette Menkels, who is intelligent and hard-working. She wants the best for the poor kids in town by teaching them to read and write and giving them food. I liked her. She was selfless too.

As for the conflict, Dickerson does a great job at combining two well-know fairy tales and creating a new one. I enjoyed the dilemma with the poaching aspect. It was nice to see Odette deal with the worries that Jorgen, the man she loves, will find out she is the poacher he is supposed to be hunting, even though he does not know it. The conflict is external, internal, and romantic. Dickerson wove these three strands together seamlessly.

I would recommend Dickerson’s books to anyone who enjoys fairy tales, not just to young adults. These stories still have the swoon-worthy hero and strong heroine, but the conflict will grip your heart and not let go. I cannot wait to read more stories by Dickerson.

I received a ARC of Melanie Dickerson’s The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest by Thomas Nelson. All opinions stated above are all my own.

Melanie Dickerson’s bio:

From Melanie Dickerson's Amazon Author Page

Melanie Dickerson is the author of The Healer's Apprentice and The Merchant's Daughter, both Christy Award finalists, winner of The National Reader's Choice Award for 2010's Best First Book, and winner of the 2012 Carol Award in Young Adult fiction. She earned her bachelor's degree in special education from The University of Alabama. She has taught children with special needs in Georgia and Tennessee, and English to adults in Germany and Ukraine. Now she spends her time writing and taking care of her husband and two daughters near Huntsville, Alabama.

How to connect with Melanie Dickerson: 

Facebook 

Amazon Author Page

Personal Website:  
Goodreads

Where to purchase her books:

Amazon

Christianbook

Barnes and Nobles

Your local favorite bookstore

___________________________________________

Okay, my reader friends, don't miss this opportunity to get your own copy of The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest. Melanie has generously offered a copy of The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest to one person (limited to U.S. residents only). Leave a comment, mentioning your favorite fairy tale and why. The contest runs until Monday, May 18th at midnight. I will pick a winner on Tuesday, May 19th and announce it here on the blog. Please leave your email address with your comment, so I know who to contact. :)

*****Be sure to come back on Friday, May 15th where I interviewed Melanie Dickerson, and she talks about the next book to come out!!!***********

Dina L. Sleiman: Dauntless

By Kelly Bridgewater

Back Cover Copy: 

Born a baron's daughter, Lady Merry Ellison is now an enemy of the throne after her father's failed assassination attempt upon the king. Bold and uniquely skilled, she is willing to go to any lengths to protect the orphaned children of her former village--a group that becomes known as "The Ghosts of Farthingale Forest." Merry finds her charge more difficult as their growing notoriety brings increasing trouble their way.

Timothy Grey, ninth child of the Baron of Greyham, longs to perform some feat so legendary that he will rise from obscurity and earn a title of his own. When the Ghosts of Farthingale Forest are spotted in Wyndeshire, where he serves as assistant to the local earl, he might have found his chance. But when he comes face-to-face with the leader of the thieves, he's forced to reexamine everything he's known.

My Review:

I’m always on a lookout for good young adult novels for my preteen boys to read. My oldest loved, The Storm Siren by Mary Weber, so when I saw Dauntless displayed at the 2014 ACFW conference, I knew I would be looking into the book. It is a fantasy young adult novel in the vein of Robin Hood. What young boy would not like a good Robin Hood story? I’m glad I took the time to read this book before my boys because I loved it, and I’m afraid I won’t get the copy back once my boys get a hold of it.

The heroine of Merry Ellison captures me from the first scene where she jumps from a tree onto a poor unsuspecting traveler. I love how Sleiman created a daring, confident leader and protector in Merry. She is not weak, even though she was raised as a royal in her early years. She rose from that culture and proved that woman could do anything a man can do, becoming a good role model for young woman. In the beginning, Merry turned her back on God, but through the novel, Sleiman keeps allowing Merry to question that decision. In comparison, the hero, Timothy Grey, in the beginning, has shallow hopes and goals as he wants to work his way up the chain of command. But as he learns about Merry and understands her point of view on life, he starts to contemplate his decisions.  I believe teens will empathize with Merry and Timothy because of their childhood friendship, which turns into first love. It definitely brought a smile to my face.

Sleiman starts with an action scene and steals the readers’ attention, only from those who could spare a couple of moments. The story allows the drama to unfold and sink into the reader’s imagination, especially since Sleiman does a great job with description. As a young adult novel, Sleiman really understands sixteen and seventeen year olds and portray accurately their thoughts, struggles, and conflict with their first loves and the drama around them. Just like any good story, the conflict jumped off the page, dragging its readers through the drama from the choice between the old life and the new life, easy life or struggle through life, castle or the forest, love lost with Timothy or new love with Allen. There were many different choices for Merry and Timothy to pursue as the story revealed its secrets.

Overall, Dina L. Sleiman invites her readers to linger in Farthingale Forest while inviting children’s imaginations to a different time and place filled with sword fighting, a resilient heroine, a protective hero, a massive castle, and sneaky ghosts in this engaging Young Adult novel.

I received a complimentary copy of Dauntless from Bethany House Publishers through Net galley and the opinions stated are all my own.

Dina L. Sleiman’s Bio:

Dina Sleiman writes stories of passion and grace. Most of the time you will find this Virginia Beach resident reading, biking, dancing, or hanging out with her husband and three children, preferably at the oceanfront. Since finishing her Professional Writing MA in 1994, she has enjoyed many opportunities to teach literature, writing, and the arts. Her debut novel, Dance of the Dandelion with Whitefire Publishing, won an Honorable Mention in the 2012 Selah Awards. Also look for her novels, Love in Three-Quarter Time and Dance from Deep Within, and her Valiant Hearts series coming with Bethany House Publishers in 2015. Dina serves as an acquisitions editor for WhiteFire as well, and she loves to represent them at writer’s conferences throughout the US. Join her as she discovers the unforced rhythms of grace.

From Dina L. Sleiman's Amazon's Author Page

How to connect with Dina L. Sleiman:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dina.sleiman.9

Author’s Amazon Page:  http://www.amazon.com/Dina-L.-Sleiman/e/B0054SDV6S/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1

Author’s Personal Website: http://dinasleiman.com/

Where to purchase Dauntless:

Amazon

Christianbook.com

Barnes and Nobles

Wherever books are sold.

Mary Weber: The Storm Siren

By Kelly Bridgewater

Mary Weber just published her debut novel, The Storm Siren, from Thomas Nelson Publishers. It is a first in a three book series rightly entitled The Storm Siren Trilogy. This is a Young Adult Speculative fiction piece that takes place in another time.

The story features a seventeen-year-old protagonist, Nym, who is a rare Elemental because up until her existence all Elemental were males and killed at birth. Somehow she had bypassed that law and lives at seventeen. Elementals have powers to control certain aspects of the atmosphere. With the title being, The Storm Siren, you could probably guess by now, that Nym controls storms—all the lightening, clouds, thunder, and rain.

As the story opens, Nym is standing at the on a stage being bided off to slave owners. She has been through this number of times. Standing high above everyone else, Nym observes a little red head girl getting smacked around by her new owner. Anger rises from every core of her being, and Nym releases a huge storm killing everyone around her.   

Adora, a wealthy woman, purchases Nym and allows her to live in her elaborate home and take lessons to control her elemental powers with Colin, another trainee, and Eogan, the trainer. Nym must decide to protect war-ravaged Faelen or be killed. Of course, she chooses to train. Over a course of five weeks, Nym learns how to control her powers.

The book may be designed for young adult, but I truly enjoyed the story. The character, Nym, is a character that most people can empathize with. She doesn’t feel like she belongs in her world, and no one would understand her. I truly wanted to see her succeed and throw away the bonds of slavery that wrapped around her wrists a number of times. Both metaphorically and realistically.

The plot moved right along that you really felt like you were walking through the rough terrain of Faelen. You experience the wind blow and the rain droplets when Nym allowed the storm to explode.

I truly enjoyed the book and can’t wait for the next installment. Plus, I love the cover on this book. I can't wait to see what art work will appear on the next book.

I received an ebook copy of this book from Netgalley, and all the opinions stated above are my own.