Tag: Book Review

Review: The Law of Moses (The Law of Moses #1) by Amy Harmon

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Law of Moses

 

Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Young adult, paranormal contemporary, language, violence, some love scenes, kissing, etc.
Length: 359 pages
Author: Amy Harmon
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: November 27th, 2014
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Someone found him in a laundry basket at the Quick Wash, wrapped in a towel, a few hours old and close to death. They called him Baby Moses when they shared his story on the ten o’clock news – the little baby left in a basket at a dingy Laundromat, born to a crack addict and expected to have all sorts of problems. I imagined the crack baby, Moses, having a giant crack that ran down his body, like he’d been broken at birth. I knew that wasn’t what the term meant, but the image stuck in my mind. Maybe the fact that he was broken drew me to him from the start.

It all happened before I was born, and by the time I met Moses and my mom told me all about him, the story was old news and nobody wanted anything to do with him. People love babies, even sick babies. Even crack babies. But babies grow up to be kids, and kids grow up to be teenagers. Nobody wants a messed up teenager.

And Moses was messed up. Moses was a law unto himself. But he was also strange and exotic and beautiful. To be with him would change my life in ways I could never have imagined. Maybe I should have stayed away. Maybe I should have listened. My mother warned me. Even Moses warned me. But I didn’t stay away.

And so begins a story of pain and promise, of heartache and healing, of life and death. A story of before and after, of new beginnings and never-endings. But most of all…a love story.

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I KNEW IT.

If I tell you right up front, right in the beginning that I lost him, it will be easier for you to bear. You will know it’s coming, and it will hurt. But you’ll be able to prepare.

WHO DOES THAT? Who tells you the horror that you’re about to read? Amy Harmon does, that’s for sure.

After preparing myself for the worst, I then went on a ride where once again I was loving everything Harmon did. I will not that this is more paranormal as Moses can see dead people (not a spoiler, you know this pretty quickly). Knowing this beforehand would have helped me understand and connect with the story more.

Her stories carry such depth. The characters truly suffer and you feel it all. I don’t have a lot to say for this review, because I simply enjoyed what I read. I was wanting to read a love story and I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed.

Some portions are a little bit of a drag, and the inclusion of the side story didn’t seem necessary, but did add some action and intrigue that literally had me shouting “I KNEW IT!” when I got to the piece of the plot where the puzzle was complete.

Tag is also a great sidekick and he’s the center of the next book WHICH MAKES ME SO HAPPY. I think side characters can make or break a book.

There is language, but wasn’t enough where I started to feel that it needed to back off a bit. The love scenes are tasteful and a little descriptive. Some kissing and make-out scenes. Minor violence, including guns.

 

My Rating System

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☆

I more than likely did not finish this book for a variety of reasons. Plenty of mistakes in all forms (grammatical, plot holes, character issues, etc.).

☆☆

 I finished the book! Woo boy though, I will not be picking up the next book in the series and am surprised I even finished the book to begin with.

☆☆☆

This book wasn’t bad. Some flaws I couldn’t ignore, but I enjoyed the story overall. Would still recommend. It is probably a case of “not quite for me, but could be for you!”

☆☆☆☆

TOO GOOD Y’ALL. I thoroughly had a good time reading this book. I have already ordered the next one. There was something missing that kept it from being a total knock-out, but I was entranced nonetheless.

☆☆☆☆☆

YAAAAAS. All the gold stars. All the feelings. All the things. I have a lot of things to say about this book. It was amazing and any flaw was too minor for me to pay much mind and I will recommend it to everyone.

I also now include a section titled Overall audience notes. This is a bullet section highlighting some main features of the book. Including but not limited to: language, sexual content, violence, trigger potentials or harsh subjects.

Review: Where the Watermelons Grow by Cindy Baldwin

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Watermelons

 

Rating: 5/5
Audience: Juvenile+, no language, no violence, focus on mental health (specifically schizophrenia)
Length: 245 pages
Author: Cindy Baldwin
Publisher: Harper Collins
Release Date: July 3rd, 2018
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Twelve-year-old Della Kelly has lived her whole life in Maryville, North Carolina. She knows how to pick the softest butter beans and sweetest watermelons on her daddy’s farm. She knows ways to keep her spitfire baby sister out of trouble (most of the time). She knows everyone in Maryville, from her best friend Arden to kind newcomer Miss Lorena to the mysterious Bee Lady.

And Della knows what to do when the sickness that landed her mama in the hospital four years ago spirals out of control again, and Mama starts hearing people who aren’t there, scrubbing the kitchen floor until her hands are raw, and waking up at night to cut the black seeds from all the watermelons in the house. With Daddy struggling to save the farm from a record-breaking drought, Della decides it’s up to her to heal Mama for good. And she knows just how she’ll do it: with a jar of the Bee Lady’s magic honey, which has mended the wounds and woes of Maryville for generations.

She doesn’t want to hear the Bee Lady’s truth: that the solution might have less to do with fixing Mama’s brain than with healing Della’s own heart. But as the sweltering summer stretches on, Della must learn—with the help of her family and friends, plus a fingerful of watermelon honey—that love means accepting her mama just as she is.

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A SWEET, TOUGH READ.

This is a quick-read of a realistic fiction of mental health. At moments it was a bit hard to get through because I personally don’t know how that situation would feel. My heart was in continual pain for the entire Kelly family.

The book is simple in its nature but highlights a struggle that can be found in varying degrees in the world. I thought it was poignant, and that it’s important for books like this to be available for a younger audience.

Everyone has their own degree of mental health triumphs and fears. Della voicing those fears shredded my heart strings. A 12-year old facing so much in loving her Mom, and needing her Mom, but having to act as a Mom herself too often for her age.

A book that is full of topics that need to, and should be discussed. No language and no violence.

 

The Queen and the Cure (The Bird and the Sword Chronicles #2) by Amy Harmon

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Queen and Cure

 

Rating: 5/5
Audience: YA, no language, a love scene, kisses, violence
Length: 342 pages
Author: Amy Harmon
Publisher: Independently published
Release Date: May 1st, 2017
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Kjell of Jeru had always known who he was. He’d never envied his brother or wanted to be king. He was the bastard son of the late King Zoltev and a servant girl, and the ignominy of his birth had never bothered him.

But there is more to a man than his parentage. More to a man than his blade, his size, or his skills, and all that Kjell once knew has shifted and changed. He is no longer simply Kjell of Jeru, a warrior defending the crown. Now he is a healer, one of the Gifted, and a man completely at odds with his power.

Called upon to rid the country of the last vestiges of the Volgar, Kjell stumbles upon a woman who has troubling glimpses of the future and no memory of the past. Armed with his unwanted gift and haunted by regret, Kjell becomes a reluctant savior, beset by old enemies and new expectations. With the woman by his side, Kjell embarks upon a journey where the greatest test may be finding the man she believes him to be. 

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ALL GOOD THINGS.

I forgot how much I LOVE AMY HARMON BOOKS. She’s not super well known, so hopefully this review will convince you to read her books. Emotional torture is her strong suit and she does great fantasies and contemporaries.

This particular book is a fantasy romance. YAAAAAS. Sometimes that’s what kind of book you need in your life. There was angst, tears, love, guilt, and courage.

I couldn’t put it down and it had me from the first chapter, especially since this was book two. I already knew and loved these characters.

Kjell is a cinnamon roll who melts my soul every time he talks. A fierce warrior who is more tender than he knows what to do with. Watching him with Sasha will make you swoon.

While you can see the twist coming, you don’t see the fullness of it. Even I was stunned for a second trying to figure out where we were going. The ending was blissfully what you need.

A YA+ book with no language. Light descriptions of naked people (when Changers shift they have no clothes). A soft, tastefully scripted love scene. Some kissing and make-out scenes. Occasional violence.