High Treason - Review and Giveaway

I am so excited to share an interesting twist to your suspense fiction as well as your typical Amish storyline combined into one exciting novel, High Treason by Samuel Oakes.

This is NOT your typical Amish fiction story where everything is perfect and leaves you with a general feel good stories that paint the Amish people in a good light. This one shows such conflict, it often leaves the reader with their mouth hanging wide open when you realize what your getting. Let me first share the premise of the novel to give you a birds-eye view of just what you're getting yourself into.

The future is here for a bankrupt nation gripped in the throes of the plague, and the corrupt government is in charge of the vaccine. Young Amishman Enos Yoder faces the greatest crisis of his life when his father refuses to accept the compromises the Bishop has made, and his mother lies on her deathbed. Will the family survive, or will they all be consumed by his father's stubbornness?

Regina Owens, the liberal minister in town, is having her normal world rocked to the core by what is happening. She watches a woman fleeing the helping hand of the government, and wonders why a man would lift his own hand against what is most precious in life. And who is blowing up the government buildings?

Trouble seems to never stop, as it ever moves closer. Will Enos recover from the brutal shock when his girlfriend is taken from him? Will his faith, backed by five hundred years of teaching against violence, survive the hate rising in his heart?



This is a story of love, of bitterness, and of treason, rising up in the heart of a man and in the highest corridors of government. So as you can see this book has a little bit of everything geared to virtually every genre that readers LOVE! Now you can see where my excitement level stems from. This is such a unique style of book because at it's core is a virus that is killing people faster than they can manufacture a vaccine to fight it, leaving people exposed with nothing to fight it. Once you agree to accept receiving the vaccine, then you are pledging yourself to become part of the war effort and in a sense volunteering your services to be immunized. The only downside is if you pass on receiving it and come down with the plague, the hospitals are authorized by the government to refuse to treat you, leaving you with the option of dying a horribly, painful death in a matter of hours.

Now you can see where the triangle of story lines intersects with an Amish family refusing help from the English even though their Bishop has authorized that individual families can choose whatever course they deem beneficial to help fight against the plague, but Enos' father refuses to allow anyone in his household to receive it. Meanwhile Regina Owens, is struggling with finding a way to help people within the ministry while people are dying literally by the second, making desperate attempts to seek medical assistance even if it means breaking the law. All this while the government attempts to keep the lid on the media and being exposed for what is really going on and just who is ultimately responsible.

I received this book compliments of Samuel Oakes for my honest review and LOVED it! Once I started, I could not put it down. It's a thrill-ride a minute in trying to figure things out and wonder just what will happen next. It will leave you completely breathless and wanting more. Samuel Oakes has an amazing talent to hook his readers and keep them entertained and engaged til the very end. Hands down 5 out of 5 stars!!

For more information on the book, the author and where to purchase a copy of this amazing book, please click on the links below:

High Treason by Samuel Oakes

You can also follow Samuel Oakes by clicking here.

Thanks to the generosity of Samuel Oakes, he is providing a giveaway copy to one lucky reader of my blog, Reviews From The Heart. Here's your guidelines to enter:

1. Be a follower of my blog, Reviews From The Heart.

2. Be a resident of the US or have a US shipping address. Please No P.O. Boxes.

3. "Like" my Reviews From The Heart Facebook page and leave me a comment.

4. Leave me a comment here telling me why you would LOVE to win a copy of this book, along with your email address. You can use the words (at) and (dot) instead of the symbols.

The giveaway will end on November 15th and I will notify the winner at that time.

Sanctus - Giveaway and Review

Who doesn't like a great mystery? You know the kind that keeps you guessing as you keep on reading trying to figure out what is going on, who is in on it and why?

If you're like me, and love a great mystery, check out the very latest book just hot off the presses from Simon Toyne, a debut author, called Sanctus. Based on the Citadel found in Turkey, a secluded monastery built literally into the walls of a mountain that prohibits anyone but the monks from entering is the location for this novel. Here's a brief synopsis:

"The certainties of modern life are about to be shattered by an ancient conspiracy that has been nurtured by blood and lies.

A man climbs a cliff face in the oldest inhabited place on earth, a mountain known as the Citadel, a Vatican-like city-state that towers above the city of Ruin in contemporary Turkey. But this is no ordinary ascent. It is a dangerous, symbolic act. And thanks to the media, it is witnessed by the entire world.

And few people understand its consequence. For foundation worker Kathryn Mann and a handful of others, it's evidence that a hopeful, new beginning is at hand. For the cowled and secretive monks who live inside the Citadel, it could mean the end of everything they have built - and they will break every law in every country and even kill to stop it. For reporter Liv Adamsen, it spurs the memory of the beloved brother she has lost and begins the next stage of a journey into the heart of her own identity.

At that journey's end lies a discovery that will change everything..."




I received Sanctus by Simon Toyne compliments of Harper Collins Publishers for my honest opinion and I was captivated by the first chapter. Here we see that the things happening within the monastery walls contain some deep, dark secrets that only the "Sanctus" monks are privileged to know. Contained within the deepest chambers in the mountain lies something that needs to be protected at all costs and when the murder of Brother Samuel leads the investigators to the secluded Citadel, they will stop at nothing to make sure that their secrecy is protected.

This is a heart-stopping, thrill a minute, or in this case, a page turner you won't want to put down. Each chapter peels back another layer to what the Citadel is trying to protect and just what people will be involved in the process. Is a prophecy of Biblical proportion about to be unleashed? Well trust me, you'll love this book! I rate this one a 5 out of 5 stars and hope that Simon Toyne writes even more in the future. For more information about this book, the author and where to pick up a copy of this conspiracy thriller, click on the links below:

Sanctus by Simon Toyne

You can also find him on Facebook by clicking here.

Thanks to the wonderful folks at William Morrow and Harper Collins Publishers, they are providing 3 copies of this book for a giveaway. Here's all you need to do to enter:

1. Be a follower of my blog, Reviews From The Heart.

2. Be a resident of the US or have a US Shipping address. Please No P.O. Boxes!

3. Please include an email address along with a comment of why you'd love to win a copy of this book. You can use the words (at) and (dot) instead of the symbols, but if you don't include one, I have no way of contacting you if you're one of the winners of the giveaway.

The giveaway will end on October 1st and I'll be contacting the winners of the giveaway at that time.