The Glass Castle

The best part of any novel in my opinion is one that can hold your interest and keep the plot line concealed so well you can't figure it out until you're in the final stretch and Trisha White Priebe and Jerry B. Jenkins do just that in their series, Thirteen with the first novel The Glass Castle. The cover is what initially drew me into this one as well as the success of Jerry B. Jenkins, (Left Behind). This is one I will definitely be following all the way to the conclusion. This is written for young adults and teens, but anyone who loves a bit of fantasy and medieval history will want to pick this up as well.

The greatest fear for any child is to be separated from your family and yet that is just what happens to both Avery and Henry who are abducted while exploring the woods outside their family home. All Avery knows is when she wakes up, she is kept caged in a box, making preparations to move her to another location, with only an old woman to answer a few of the questions she has. Avery knows she simply has to buy her time before making any plans for escape. Plus the threat from the old woman that if she attempts to escape, she will never see Henry again.

She arrives to a golden castle which her mother used to spin tales of during her time with them but suddenly vanished one day. "Every fairy tale has its dragon." is what she used to remind Avery and it seems this might be very true. She is set free in the midst of other young teens just about her age, locked away within the very walls of the castle. She is given a brief tour with a stern reminder never to open or look out the windows and when the bell sounds, they must retreat to their safe rooms, a sign adults are coming.

It appears that the teens work for the king and soon to be queen without their knowledge only that the staff do their bidding when asked. They never appear and remain hidden at all times. Those that are discovered are sent away to the Forbidden City, a place where no one ever returns and one that keeps the children to the set of standards imposed on them. But why can't Avery seem to find her brother, and where is he being kept. All she knows is that her one ally is a girl named Kate who takes a true liking to her and helps her to keep from getting into trouble. All they know is that the king is dying and must produce an heir from the future queen so that the kingdom will remain within her control and rumors circulate that the kings first born might still be alive, but then again it is only a rumor or is it?

I received The Glass Castle by Trisha White Priebe and Jerry B. Jenkins compliments of Net Galley and Barbour Publishers for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation aside for a free eBook copy of this novel in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion. This is going to be such a grand series when it is finished because as I stated earlier you don't know what is going on until almost the conclusion of this one and I can see where the Christian theme will come into play in a wonderful light. Readers get a bit of a sneak peek at the conclusion of this one of the sequel The Ruby Moon which will release in the fall of 2016 so readers don't have long to wait to see what happens next. Those fans of C.S. Lewis and Tolkien will absolutely love this coming of age medieval fairy tale and in my opinion this one garners a 4 out of 5 stars.

For more information about The Glass Castle, Trisha White Priebe, Jerry B. Jenkins or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

The Glass Castle by Trisha White Priebe and Jerry B. Jenkins

You can find Jerry B. Jenkins on Facebook to stay up to date on all his latest novels.

The Valley of the Dry Bones

"It has become my sad duty to inform you that your federal government has finally, officially, been forced to declare the entire state of California a disaster area. Due to the impossibility of rebuilding her great cities on unstable ground under the unrelenting onslaught of the sun, we have sadly deemed it, "Uninhabitable, irreparable, and verboten to citizens."

Hard to believe that the once glorious and lively state of California would be declared uninhabitable, but after 14 years of drought and earthquakes, it resembles the desert landscapes so prevalent in the east like the Mohave and the great skylines are now nothing but rubble. The increasing heat is doing nothing more but burning up what remains of the golden state and now it resembles nothing more than ash and dust.

There are a few that have given up their rights to stay in the state simply because they are unable to leave due to finances or illness and these are the very people that a band of rag tag holdouts feel is their ministry to help reach them for Jesus. Led by Reverend Robert Gill who along with his wife and 14 others have taken an underground bunker and turned it into a self supporting facility to house them and provide for all their needs. However when Pastor Bob reveals that his wife Jennie is dying of stage 3 cancer, they feel they need to move on to spend what time she has remaining in the company of family and friends in other states. That leaves an opening for the next person to step up to lead the group. It will take a vote of those who are eligible to see who that will be.

Ezekiel (Zeke) Thorppe Sr has been hearing strong voices from God calling him to be His voice to the people. But Zeke isn't sure if he is prepared to do what God tells him and knowing just what to say when called. In the midst of upheaval in their group with Pastor Bob's news, how will the group deal with the fact that God is speaking directly to him. Won't they simply believe he is trying to gain an upper hand in the vacancy that Bob is leaving? Or does God have a different plan in purpose that overlaps the ancient prophet Ezekiel from the Bible?

I received The Valley of the Dry Bones by Jerry B. Jenkins compliments of Worthy Publishing and Net Galley for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation aside from a eBook copy of this novel in exchange for my honest and personal evaluation. The premise for this novel is amazing considering the ongoing and increasing drought in the state of California currently. It makes for the perfect background for the novel as you consider what would happen if California continues to experience no rain and loses the ability to make water? What would that do to the entire infrastructure of those living in the state? The only disappointing thing I have to say regarding this novel is how much time was spent on the build up of the story only to rush the ending into a small epilogue. As a reader, this is such a disappointment when I had hoped for so much more than it delivered. It's like getting your hopes up and then offering little in the way of a great and climatic ending one would expect from Jerry B. Jenkins. In that case I can only give this one a 4 out of 5 instead of a full 5 stars.

For more information about The Valley of the Dry Bones, Jerry B. Jenkins or where you can pick up a copy of this novel that is available in May of 2016, please click on the links below:

The Valley of the Dry Bones by Jerry B. Jenkins

You can find Jerry B. Jenkins on Facebook to stay up to date on all his latest novels.

To read more reviews on The Valley of the Dry Bones, please visit Worthy Publishing's website. 

Empire's End

Okay, I must first open this review with a couple of disclaimers and all of which are my own personal opinion which you can take with a grain of salt if you wish, but when I search for a book to purchase, I often sort through the reviews, the good and the bad to help decide if I really want to pick it up and read it, however if it is by an author I love, I will pick it up regardless.

Since I've been a huge fan of biblical fiction, I gravitate towards that whenever possible. I love how some creative authors will take what the Bible story is and add to it, provide filler in order to help us fully understand the role this person may be played in the context we read about them in the Bible. I also understand this will not be your typical re-telling of a Bible story and some liberties will be taken.

Second, I've been a huge fan of Jerry B. Jenkins since his co-authorship of the Left Behind series and countless others, so I naturally wanted to pick this one up. That being said, I was a bit disappointed by his latest novel Empire's End, the story about the life of Paul the Apostle or Saul of Tarsus as he was formerly known. I had thought the television series A.D. was a bit disappointing by their own interpretation of events after the death and resurrection of Jesus, so I was hoping for a bit more than what I found.

The novel opens as a journal-like text from Saul/Paul as he conveys his story of his journey apart from what we gain from the Bible. It picks up with a brief overview of Saul's initial conquest as persecutor of Jesus follower's beginning with Stephen, and his subsequent conversion on the Damascus Road where he lost his eyesight and discovered Jesus in a vision. The majority of the book tells about his journey after being lowered down the wall of Damascus as those there sought his arrest for being a follower of the Way, or Jesus Christ. He flees on a horse that is spiritually led across the desert by interaction from a conversation with God to arrive at a Bedouin camp in the Arabian desert when he encounters the family of the very man he persecuted.

This is where the story is a bit confusing for me, because it deviates from the Bible in such a manner that a believer in Christ would find this one a little hard to swallow. (Sorry Mr. Jenkins, but I truly LOVED all your other novels). To think that perhaps Paul had come to terms with the widow of Stephen and spent time there while awaiting God's next instruction, was hard to come to terms with. I would have preferred if the story stuck to the role of Saul/Paul's life from the Bible instead of deviating so much from the original. It truly wasn't what I was hoping for, nor what I found. in fact more than half the book was about this spiritual journey of Paul's as he studied under the guidance of morning inspirations and visions of God where he was staying.

I understand that this is strictly a fictional story and was hoping for a bit more knowing how much Jerry Jenkins follows the Bible in past novels but in my opinion this was not the case here. There is no record this didn't happen in Paul's life, but then again, there is no record it did either if we are to take the Bible at its face value. I think that is perhaps what has disappointed so many readers of this book was the expectation it would follow some road map of Paul's life from the Bible with some filler added in to make it seem more alive. For me, this one didn't hit home.

I received Empire's End by Jerry B. Jenkins compliments of Worthy Publishing and Icon Media Group for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation and the opinions contained here are strictly my own and others might feel quite differently about this novel over what I did. I would rate this one a 3 out of 5 stars. The book I, Saul was the precursor for this novel.

For more information about Empire's End, Jerry B. Jenkins or where to pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

Empire's End by Jerry B. Jenkins

You can find Jerry B. Jenkins on Facebook to stay up to date on all his latest novels.

You can read more reviews on Empire's End by visiting Worthy Publishing's website.