Book Review: On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness (The Wingfeather Saga #1) by Andrew Peterson

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Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: MG Fantasy
Length: 304 pages
Author: Andrew Peterson
Publisher: Waterbrook Press
Release Date: March 18th, 2008
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Now in hardcover for the first time, featuring all-new illustrations! Once, in a cottage above the cliffs on the Dark Sea of Darkness, there lived three children and their trusty dog, Nugget.

Janner Igiby, his brother, Tink, and their disabled sister, Leeli, are gifted children as all children are, loved well by a noble mother and ex-pirate grandfather. But they will need all their gifts and all that they love to survive the evil pursuit of the venomous Fangs of Dang, who have crossed the dark sea to rule the land with malice. The Igibys hold the secret to the lost legend and jewels of good King Wingfeather of the Shining Isle of Anniera.

Full of characters rich in heart, smarts, and courage, On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness is a tale children of all ages will cherish, families can read aloud, and readers’ groups are sure to enjoy discussing for its many layers of meaning. Extra features include new interior illustrations from Joe Sutphin, funny footnotes, a map of the fantastical world, inventive appendices, and fanciful line art in the tradition of the original Frank L. Baum Wizard of Oz storybooks.

A GOOD READ.

My rating may not convey it, but I did enjoy this book! It’s a good book (and great for a young audience, that I do plan to keep in mind for the future), it just wasn’t allllll for me. I was missing that last click to where I felt involved in the characters lives and the story I was reading.

I liked the way the story was introduced and getting to meet all of the characters. They’re charming and full to the brim with love for each other. It’s a sweet book filled with many silly things (the titles and descriptions for animals and such had me snorting). Alongside the silly was a much deeper context. Loss plays a big role as well as stepping into shoes you didn’t know you needed to fill.

While I might have been missing that last piece, I would definitely still recommend it to those looking for a more feel-good young audience fantasy. The new covers are gorgeous and the audio narration was well done too.

Overall audience notes:

  • MG Fantasy
  • Language: none
  • Romance: none
  • Violence: physical altercations
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: slavery, threats of torture, kidnapping

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Book Review: The Gravity of Us (Elements #4) by Brittainy C. Cherry

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 270 pages
Author: Brittainy C. Cherry
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casa
Release Date: December 17th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Graham Russell and I weren’t made for one another.

I was driven by emotion; he was apathetic. I dreamed while he lived in nightmares. I cried when he had no tears to shed.

Despite his frozen heart and my readiness to run, we sometimes shared seconds. Seconds when our eyes locked and we saw each other’s secrets. Seconds when his lips tasted my fears, and I breathed in his pains. Seconds when we both imagined what it would be like to love one another.

Those seconds left us floating, but when reality knocked us sideways, gravity forced us to descend.

Graham Russell wasn’t a man who knew how to love, and I wasn’t a woman who knew how to either. Yet if I had the chance to fall again, I’d fall with him forever.

Even if we were destined to crash against solid ground.

Thank you to Colored Pages Book Tours, Sourcebooks Casa and Brittainy Cherry for my gifted copy.

THIS WAS EVERYTHING.

I couldn’t put this down from chapter one. All of a sudden I had a deep need to know what happened next and so I began a journey of ALL the dang emotions through the lives of Lucy and Graham.

“If you need to fall, fall into me.”

I mean, COME ON. Look at those words. Did you swoon? Because I swooned so many times throughout this book!! One of my new favorite grump and sunshine trope reads. I loved these characters with my whole being. I found myself almost in tears by the end waiting for a happy ending. I love that Lucy was optimistic and truly cared from her soul about her loved ones. That Graham was hardened by abandonment, but was also able to work on himself. The chemistry was undeniable. It was a slowwww burn and incredibly romantic with all of the lead up.

An incredibly sweet story that has a lot of heavy and deep content matter (I’ll put that in the warnings below). I adored the banter and soft smiles. The cute way they just hung out together. How they undeniably stood by each other’s side when things got hard instead of running away. I was wrapped up in this opposites attract love story and I beg of you to read it!!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: kisses to one brief open door scene
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: a mother smoked while pregnant (off screen), emergency delivery, preemie baby in NICU, cheating, loss of parent(s), domestic abuse, alcoholism, child abuse, parental/spousal abandonment

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Book Review: Rebel (The Extinction Trials #3) by S.M. Wilson

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA Dystopian
Length: 384 pages
Author: S.M. Wilson
Publisher: Usborne
Release Date: February 7th, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Betrayal. Sacrifice. Survival. Welcome to The Extinction Trials

Storm and Lincoln’s city is burning. The people are starving. The only place left to run is Piloria, the continent of monsters. It’s up to Storm and Lincoln to keep their people alive as they colonize this lethal paradise. But will the biggest threat to their survival be the monsters in the jungle…or the ones inside the encampment with them?

The Hunger Games meets Jurassic Park in this wildly popular series filled with action, survival and betrayal.

SATISFYING CONCLUSION.

I finished another series! Which feels like a big accomplishment since it takes me forever to swing around and finished and already completed series, so yay!

Anyways, I really enjoyed this last book. It was filled with plenty of being chased by dinosaur action and more political intrigue as Stormchaser and Lincoln had even more to contend with.

I wish that there was something more added to this. It did begin to feel repetitive over the course of the entire series because it had the same model, run from dinosaurs — survive — move on…repeat. When that was taken out there was a bit more substance over how to settle in a new and foreign area.

The relationship between Reban and Stormchaser was one of my favorites. I love the quiet and fierce side of Reban who watched Storm at all costs and that there was some movement in their overall reconciliation. Lincoln and Storm were super cute too and I would have loved even more romance from them!! Give me all the character story.

As the ending rolled in, I felt that what needed to happen did. I wasn’t shocked by anything (because someone had to die and I figured that out early on), and the world had to keep turning. It ended at an acceptable place to give hope to the new future that awaits them among the dinosaurs.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Dystopia
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: intense dinosaur attacks/mauling, loss of loved ones, severe medical injuries

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Book Review: If For Any Reason (Nantucket Love Story #1) by Courtney Walsh

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 408 pages
Author: Courtney Walsh
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
Release Date: February 3rd, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Emily Ackerman has traveled the world, her constant compass and companion a book of letters her mother left for her when she died. With no father in the picture, her mom’s advice has been her only true north. But when professional failure leads Emily back to Nantucket to renovate and sell the family cottage she inherited, she wonders if her mom left advice to cover this . . . especially when her grandmother arrives to “supervise.” And especially when her heart becomes entangled with Hollis McGuire, the boy next door-turned-baseball star who’s back on the island after a career-ending injury.

As sparks fly between her and Hollis, Emily is drawn to island life, even as she uncovers shocking secrets about the tragic accident that led to her mother’s death. With her world turned upside down, Emily must choose between allowing the voices from her past to guide her future or forging her own path forward.

A GOOD READ.

Sometimes I feel like I need more to say in my tag line about why you should read this review, and then read this book. But other times, a good read, is just truly where it stands. I enjoyed this book. I want to read the next one. Those are good things!!

This does read a bit more Christian fiction / Women’s fiction and then add some romance in there. That was my only struggle with it because it was a much slower paced nature for everything I was trying to follow. I liked the character growth of everyone involved (except for Grandma, I’m still salty there) and how time changes perspectives.

I loooove multi-POV romance reads and you betcha this was fantastic getting both Emily and Hollis’s sides as their relationship grew. I did feel more attached to the other romance weaving through with the flashbacks. I spent plenty of time on the edge of my seat then up in my feels over how things fell apart.

There’s a lot to unpack here and I loved the way God was woven into the story. I would be experiencing many of the same emotions as these characters were in these situations. While frustrated with some of the decisions they at least felt authentic to the plot. Can’t wait to read the next book!

Overall audience notes:

  • Christian Fiction / Romance
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: kisses
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a mother (by a car accident), parental abandonment, depression/guilt

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