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Emma King’s life is fairly ordinary, with the exception of one extraordinary aspect. She is plagued with the rare ability to feel a person’s emotions with a simple touch. Any sensation she feels becomes amplified to almost unbearable levels. Emma has learned to keep her hands to herself and her emotions under wraps.​

But when quiet, good-looking Gage Parmer moves to town, everything changes, and for the first time in her life, Emma loosens the chains that hold her emotions in check and prepares herself for the whirlwind that is to come. Mysteriously lacking in emotions, Gage tells Emma an incredible story that pulls her into his world of impossibilities. At first, she refuses to believe. But when she puts his words to the test, she discovers that his world is also hers. ​

Soon she will be forced to use her ability in an attempt to destroy an ancient evil that has defied death and ruled the centuries in a reign of terror.

They are called… The Cadence.​​

In the end, she has only one weapon and one chance to defeat the Cadence, break their circle of power, and restore hope.

My  Review:

This is a book I read some time ago. I thought I’d go through my books and share some of  books that still stand out. This is one of them.

I LOVED this book.

It is hard to know where to start with a book that moves you in ways this one moved me.  If you are looking for an epic story, this is one you can’t pass up.

I knew I was in for a treat with the Acknowledgements. This amazing author, Casey Hays, thanks not only her family, but she thanks her Savior, Jesus Christ. “He deserves credit for every blessing, every encounter, every talent I possess.” I don’t know about you, but that set the stage for my reception of this book. It doesn’t matter what religion Ms. Hayes is — she has it right. And I was willing to bet my time reading, this is a book she’d not be ashamed of sharing with Jesus.

As the story unfolds, a new boy at school named Gage enters the picture. He tells Emma a remarkable tale about The Gathering, and what it means to her, her loved one’s, as well as countless others. Not only does Emma learn that she has some say in controlling her emotions — they don’t control her, she learns that even in the darkest hour there is hope.

This is a story well worth reading.

BUY

Libby Lochewood is twelve years old in 1967 when her grampa dies of a heart attack. She is devastated at losing her best friend. Now that Grampa’s passed on, it’s just her and her father, and he is so overcome by grief that he can barely get out of bed in the morning.

The night of the funeral, though, Grampa’s spirit appears in Libby’s bedroom and tells her three important things: first, that she isn’t alone or forgotten–“The dead ain’t never that far from the living,” he says; second, that she has “the Sight”–the ability to see family members who have died; and three, that there is something special just for her in the lake. Something that could help her and her father–if she can find it. He kisses Libby on the cheek and vanishes in a soft glow of light and color.

Libby begins her search along with her friends Bobby and Martha, but it’s hard to know if they’ve found what Grampa wanted her to find since they don’t really know what it is. As Libby’s father falls deeper and deeper into depression, Libby and Grampa work together on a plan to help her father believe that their loved ones who have died are much closer than he thinks. But it will take all of Libby’s courage and her gift of Sight to convince her father and help him believe that the dead are never truly gone.

Never That Far is set in the lush, rural landscape of southern Florida and is a middle-grade novel about friendship, hope, and the power of family love.

My Review:

I want to start off by saying, I cried with this book. I feel very lucky that I had an ARC provided by Shadow Mountain.

Uniquely written, this story unfolds as you listen to the main character talk. (She has a style that takes you to another time and place.)  She has the gift of seeing those who have died, and during her journey after the loss of her grandfather she will heal her remaining family. This book is full of hope.

This book is about an amazing treasure called family.

BUY

This book releases March 6, 2018.

Humans have taken a sacred unicorn from the forest. Shahly would do anything to rescue the stallion she loves. But she is young and inexperienced in matters outside of her herd. She will need help. She will need an ally. She will need the aid of her kind’s greatest and deadlieast enemy. But will she even survive her first encounter with one of the most powerful dragons in the world to rescue her stallion?

BUY

My Review:

Shahly’s beloved Vinton is captured by humans while she escapes. Thus begins her journey, where she will over come significant odds, makes friends with the awesome dragon Ralligor, and even learns to love a human. (Ralligor delivers some of the best lines in the book.)

There were multiple sexual and lustful themes that I think the book could have down with out. (It was the main drawback of the book for me.) One instance of the b word. Because of this, I think this book is suitable for older audiences.

Roxbury Rating: PG13  Sexual situations and  language. No on screen sex.

Synopsis:  

Twelve-year-old Caleb is shorter, frailer, and more protected than most kids his age. That’s because he has cystic fibrosis, a diagnosis meaning lungs that fill with mucus and a shortened lifespan. Caleb tries not to let his disorder define him, but it can be hard with an overprotective, prying mom and a big brother who is perfect in every way.

Then Caleb meets Kit-a vibrant, independent, and free girl who lives in a house in the woods-and his world changes instantly. Kit reads Caleb’s palm and tells him they are destined to become friends. She calls birds down from the sky, turns every day into an adventure, and never sees him as his disorder. Her magic is contagious, making Caleb question the rules and order in his life. But being Kit’s friend means embracing deception and, more and more, danger. Soon Caleb will have to decide if his friendship with Kit is really what’s best for him-or Kit.

My Review:

I picked up this book because the main character has Cystic Fibrosis.  My first impression was Kit seemed a bit like the girl in Bridge to Teribithia. She was imaginative, and Caleb took to imaginative play with her.  I wasn’t sure what to think of Caleb after awhile. Nor Kit. Neither were being honest, and I didn’t care for Caleb’s attitude, even though I understood it knowing even a small portion of the CF care routine.  During this time I didn’t care for the book.  But then at the end, I cried.  This is a book about family and friendship, and was a wonderful read.

I received an ARC from the publisher.

AMAZON

Barnes & Noble

When I requested this book via Netgalley, I didn’t realize it was the end of a series.

The cover is eye catching, and the synopsis intrigued me.

Synopsis:

Whalen Vankin is the world’s greatest wizard, and he has only ever personally trained two other wizards. One is Alexander Taylor, a young man who has earned a reputation as a brave adventurer, a warrior, and man of honor. The other is Jabez, Vankin’s nephew and a man whose choices have led him down a different, darker path. Dark magic has covered Westland, and evil is stirring. Whalen and Alex must journey together into the heart of danger, confronting a sea serpent, battling their way through a goblin army, and facing down more than one dragon.

Alex must find the legendary Axe of Sundering, the one weapon that offers a chance to defeat Jabez and protect the land from the dark wizard’s plans. But finding it will be an adventure of its own as the only pathway to the Axe leads through the underground tunnels and secret passages of Castle Conmar. But Jabez has one final weapon at his disposal: the powerful Orion Stone, which could spell the end to Whalen and Alex both.

The story opens with Whalen telling Alex about is problem– his nephew has taken to evil, and had to be stopped. It made me think of Stars Wars.  Alex agrees to assist, and the journey begins.

Every step of the story is well told. You can really believe in the friendships between Whalen, Alex, and those they meet along the way. I enjoyed the deliberate pacing with the adventure.

One thing is for sure, I’d like to check out the rest of the series.

You can visit the author on the web at: Adventurer’s Wanted