The Mirror

If you're a fan of science fiction dealing with time travel woven together with a touch of romance, history and a bit of mystery, you might just want to pick up John Heldt's Northwest Passage Time Travel Series. I've been so privileged to be a part of this journey being invited to review his latest in the series, The Mirror. This is actually book 5 in the series, and follows the journey of Katie and Ginny Smith, twins who live in the year 2020 and find themselves at the Cedar River Country Fair. Having seen most of the exhibits, rides and fair offerings, they opt to check out one final thing before heading home, a throw back to the original fair's exhibits from the 60's which include fire eaters, fortune tellers and even a vintage House of Mirrors.

They take the chance to spend some time with Marta the Magnificent who offers a look into your future for $10 using your choice of the ball, the cards, the palms of the leaves. The girls chose the ball since it seems the most legit and when Marta tells them that they will soon go on an adventure like no other, a strange, mysterious journey much closer to home. She warns them that there will be handsome young men in their future and that these men will be no ordinary acquaintances and will change their lives. She strongly cautions them that they will be gone a long time and they will only have one chance to return. If they are not careful, they may never see home again.

Marta is so panicked by what she sees for both of the twins she refunds their money when the girls begin to get worried with her prediction. Her last words of advice for the twins, "Just take the money and go. Leave the fairgrounds now and go home. I'm advising you as a mother and a person who cares about your safety. Leave immediately. Don't do anything else tonight. Just go straight home and stay there. I beg you."

But like all great stories the girls don't follow Marta's advice and make a final stop before heading home at the House of Mirrors where they step through a mirror and find themselves in 1964. Remembering Marta's warning, they know they can get back but are unsure just how. They know they will only have one shot at it, but they also know that their parents were also given the rare opportunity as well to travel back in time. They just aren't sure how long they will be in 1964 and how they will find their way back. They only know that their parents did it before following the same path to get home, but there are no mirrors around. The fair has now been boarded up and they can only hope to find out when it will be reopened and try to find the same mirror they walked through the first time to get back home. For now the journey will take them in unexpected places and allow them to see family members that have been dead for quite some time. Is there a bigger plan in store for them or will they alter history forever?

I received The Mirror by John A. Heldt compliments of the author for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for my review and the opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own unless otherwise noted. This novel is proceeded by The Mine and The Show if you want to follow the story from the beginning to see the parallel time travel adventures from their parents and grandparents. It is interesting to see how teens from a technology advanced period of history have to deal with going back to the 60's and try to fit in. Dating is much different in some aspects than it was where they came from and women dressed much more sophisticated then they do wearing dresses instead of jeans and the girls seem to be rushed to find romance and love before their time runs out. I would rate this one a 4 out of 5 in my opinion based on the fact that the girls are a bit promiscuous with their relationships and not too concerned with the consequences of their actions with the boys they encounter and for the majority of my reader base who might find this a cause for concern. I would have liked to seen them spend more time falling in love than simply sleeping with them. All in all, the novel is a wonderful blend of so many elements that the author executed so well and I love how it all worked out in the end.

For more information about The Mirror, John A. Heldt or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

The Mirror by John A. Heldt

You can also find John A. Heldt on Facebook to stay up to date with all his latest novels. 

Eyes Wide Open

First of all, if you're a Ted Dekker fan, you definitely want to pick this one up. If you've never heard of Ted Dekker, think of Stephen King and you get the picture. In this unique series Ted Dekker launched the first part of this four part book to those who had electronic readers for Free until the rest in the series launched. Now priced for a very limited time for $5.99 for all four, you won't lose out wait for the next part of the book to be released. That's when I jumped on board. I've been a fan of Ted Dekker's for quite some time and just reading the premise of the book was enough to make me want to pick this one up. See for yourself.

"Who am I? 

My name is Christy Snow. I’m seventeen and I’m about to die.

I’m buried in a coffin under tons of concrete. No one knows where I am. My heart sounds like a monster with clobber feet, running straight toward me. I’m lying on my back, soaked with sweat from the hair on my head to the soles of my feet. My hands and feet won’t stop shaking.

Some will say that I m not really here. Some will say I’m delusional. Some will say that I don t even exist. But who are they? I’m the one buried in a grave. \

My name is Christy Snow. I’m seventeen. I’m about to die.

So who are you? " (Excerpt from back cover).

When Christy Snow loses her silver locket in a storage shed behind St. Matthews Hospital, she discovers by accident a trap door in the floor that drops her into a concrete room with apparently no way out. When she located a shelf used for the transportation of alcohol during the prohibition era, she wedges herself inside to try the wood panel at the end. All she manages to do, it lock herself inside a coffin size area. Unable to call for help since her cell phone is dead, she panics and forces the wood panel to come lose.

She realizes she has probably found her way into the hospital basement and hopes she can find her way out. What she discovers is that she is now in the mental hospital wing and no matter how hard she tries to convince the doctors there she isn't a patient, with no identification on her, they believe she is suffering from a delusion and she isn't who she is claiming to be. Her only hope is the message she left for her friend Austin before her phone died. But when Austin shows up, he too is unable to convince the hospital staff he came for Christy and now they have both wound up lost beneath the hospital. Unfortunately when patient head counts come up two short, Austin and Christy soon begin to wonder if they aren't really crazy after all.

I won't spoil the remainder of the book, but trust me, you'll question what is the truth and what is merely an illusion in this latest book by Ted Dekker. Each book is divided into the mini books, Identity, Mirrors, Unseen and Seer, that you can purchase one at a time, but trust me, pick up the whole thing so you don't lose momentum in the storyline. True to Dekker's writing style, you will wind up in a different place then where you were headed and soon begin to feel as if you are part of the story itself. Great storyline but the ending for me, fell short from what I was anticipating. It's like it reached it's climax and then all the air was let out of the balloon, This does introduce the reader into a new series from Ted Dekker called the Outlaw Chronicles, with the first  book Water Walker coming out soon. I would rate this one a 4 out of 5 stars and would have rated it a 5 out of 5 but like I stated earlier the ending just fell flat for me. However the message behind the story is reason enough to pick this one up. For those of you with questions about your own self esteem, this is a must read novel for you! You might want to pick up Showdown before reading this one to see the connection at the end.

For more information about Eyes Wide Open, Ted Dekker or where to pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

Eyes Wide Open by Ted Dekker

You can also find Ted Dekker on Facebook to stay up to date with all his latest novels.

Promisetown

Just when you think your life is over and you'll be headed to one of two places, either Heaven or Hell, there is a turn of events, as the residents of Promisetown soon discover. When Joe Grant and his daughter Elizabeth are involved in a car accident, they soon discover that they have died and Sally, Joe's wife is still among the living.

Trapped wandering in a parallel world, they begin to experience a dulling of the senses, taste and smell become repressed sensations. Here you can walk through objects that exist among the living, such as cars, people and buildings, but you are no longer a part of it. They wander among a host of others that have died from all different periods in time, from Indians, Pilgrims and people from every century til the current. Here you can no longer die no matter how fatal your wounds may be. You eventually heal but you still remain.

There are those however that transition out of this world, which Joe soon finds out when overnight, Elizabeth vanishes. Not knowing where she has gone, he searches in vain. The odd thing is that he misses her but he does not experience the loss as he should. He has become disconnected from his emotions.

Joe soon discovers that if he concentrates hard enough he can wander back into the land of the living. The bond in life must be exceptionally strong to carry over after death. It provides an ability to see past this existence into the one before. But it soon fades unless you maintain contact - to renew the life bond - otherwise it is lost. Joe's connection is Sally, who remains grief struck unable to move forward in her life unless Joe stops coming to visit.

This world is also populated by groups known as clubbers or pistoleros, who come in the night to attack the people in the towns and steal their goods. They never settle in any one place, they just roam the countryside looking for people to hurt, so they can have their "feel" or absorb their emotions. Is there any way to escape? Will Joe find a way to reunite with Sally or find his way to Elizabeth, or will he be trapped in Promisetown forever?

I received Promisetown by Phillip Ellis Jackson compliments of the author for my honest review. While he claims this is a Christian Science Fiction book, I would beg to differ. The book contains profanity and there is even a man who impersonates Jesus but it is not the Savior. Some of the residents of the town engage in relationships in order to absorb the emotions of lust since love is no longer a part of Promisetown. So in my opinion this would not classify as a Christian book. It does make reference to various religious beliefs but not enough to warrant that title. That being said, the book is a great Science Fiction and Futuristic Fantasy fiction that some of my readers would enjoy. I would rate this book a 4 out of 5 stars and for now this book remains on ebook formats at this time.

For more information on this book, the author and where to pick up a copy of this book, please click on the link below:

Promisetown by Phillip Ellis Jackson

Prophecy of The Flame

"In a blinding flash of light, five nondescript strangers are yanked from this world and thrust into a land of sorcery as they are granted the looks and abilities of the people they were playing. This band of wannabe heroes soon discovers that having the powers they have always dreamed of, does not make life a dream come true. The Crusaders of the Light struggle to form a cohesive band as they blend twentieth century technology with the supernatural powers of this new world, fighting to liberate the Kingdom of Cuthburan from the evil horde threatening humanity.

Battle is also raged within Reba, an ordinary housewife who has become the most powerful mage on the planet, as she struggles to remain true to her wedding vows. Drawn against her will to the arms of Prince Alexandros, Reba must choose between marriage to a handsome prince in a magical world, or returning to the husband she left behind." (excerpt from back cover)

In the novel, Prophecy of the Flame, written by Lynn Hardy my attention was immediately drawn into this wonderful storytelling of sorcery and magic!

I connected most definitely with the main character, Archmage Reba who has suddenly become the one the prophecy has described to save the Kingdom of Cuthburan and even possibly the human race on this planet. She is also caught between the prophecy claiming that the "flamed one" should marry the oldest royal prince, or has this prophecy been somehow manipulated over time to portray something more than what it is. Reba, Charles, Allinon, Jerik and Jamison are the main characters in the story who have been transported from their world to this new magical land with each having magical powers of their own to learn and master. Reba has been told of the coming war between another evil sorcerer and the demons he has unleashed into this land. Will the Prophecy hold true? Will the Crusaders of the Light triumph over evil and save the lands, nay the world? Then purchase The Prophecy of the Flame and read for yourself!

I was very pleased when I got into the first few chapters to have such a strong character development, plot and well written storyline. I cannot wait for the second book to come so I can read more of this series. Lynn Hardy has a great way of just plain old-fashioned good storytelling without having to over write, use long winded words, or over-dramatize the story. I like this kind of simple, yet powerful writing style that just gets you started on a journey you wish you could be in and not want to finish reading the last page.

I rate this book a 5 out of 5 stars and would recommend this one to any and all Sci-Fi, mythology, magic and medieval lovers who want to be thrust into a great story that will keep them entertained for days.

Thank you Lynn Hardy for writing such a mesmerizing book!

I received this book compliments of Pump Up Your Book Tours and Lynn Hardy with the express intent of my personal review only without any monetary gain or profit whatsoever. For more information on this book, the author or where to purchase a copy of this book, please click on the link below:

Prophecy of the Flame by Lynn Hardy

Cerulean Dreams

About the Book:

Orion, the last city of men. Deep within the desert, a secret lay waiting. Young women found dead in the street. A corporation that controls the sleep of a populace that never sees the light of day. Alexander Marlowe seeks to unravel the mysteries of Orion as he helps a young girl, Dana, flee the city. The closer they come to the truth, the greater the danger that hunts them. Follow them as they search beyond the boundaries of everything they have ever known for answers.

BOOK REVIEW:

As a reader of his other novel "The Ocean and the Hourglass", I knew I would be in for another good surprise! What I found was a great plot with an amazing cast of characters.

Alexander Marlowe, an ex-cop who uses his visor that connects him to the existing network that runs the city and is worn by all, but he doesn't like it. Most of the surviving humans after the Water Rights War have all inhabited the city and it's a utopia society - or so they would have everyone think. All of the citizens of Orion use the visors as their main link to everything, but little do they know how much Cerulean Dreams controls them while their visors are on!

Alexander Marlowe is an investigator - used to be cop. He watches the news and knows that young blonde girls are disappearing but no one seems to care. He takes it upon himself to investigate what is happening which leads him to Dana, a woman who technically is off of the grid. She tells him the Lurking are coming to get her and she refuses to go. Marlowe's visor malfunctions and he soon finds himself a wanted man - wanted for the murder of the young girls who have disappeared. He now also sees through his visor manifestations of ghosts and other phenomena gliding around the rooms, buildings, and city streets. He knows that the government is behind another project called "The Lurking", and why he is a wanted man, but does not know how to uncover the corruption within the Cerulean Dreams project.

Dana urges Marlowe that they must leave Orion, the city but Marlowe believes they won't exist outside of its walls. All that is out there is desert but Dana beseeches him. If they stay, they die. If they go, they die, but she is sure that once the Truth is revealed, it will explain everything. If you want to find out what happens, then read Cerulean Dreams by Dan O'Brien and find out how it ends!

This book has a great storyline that somewhat reminds me of Blade Runner in a futuristic land of corrupt governmental politicians and technology that runs the world. I rate this book a 4 out of 5 stars for it's writing content is good, but sometimes I found myself a little confused within the story itself and had to go back a few times to see what I missed. Cerulean Dreams is still a great read for the Sci-Fi futuristic genre readers out there!

I received Cerulean Dreams compliments of the author for my honest opinion and must say I can't wait to read more by Dan. This is my second book and he definitely has a unique way to take his readers on an unexpected journey.

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

Cerulean Dreams by Dan O'Brien