Beyond the Reflections Edge by Bryan Davis

Nathan Shepard is living the life. Not a normal life, or anything vaguely resembling one; but an interesting life, and a very wonderful one at that. His father being an investigator, Nathan has been through dozens of missions and chases around the world. He also symbiotically doubles as a violinist, in the footsteps of his mother, who is world-renowned for her talent.

Of course, that all changes very quickly when they are unexpectedly killed. His only hints at what to do next lie with a mirror his father left him, as well as noted from his last case. Nathan moves in with his father's old college friend and his daughter, Kelly. Things get strange when events that haven't happened and people that don't exist appear in the mirror.

This book was... okay. Unfortunately, that's all I can really say about it. I was expecting something vaguely reminiscent of Davis' two "Starlight" series, but got something very different instead. Beyond the Reflection's Edge was sort of a mash of three different sci-fi series I read way back, 10 different quantum physics movies, and random bits of teen culture. Not exactly what I was hoping for. In addition to this, I didn't really love the two main characters. They were much too similar to the characters Jason and Koren from Dragons of Starlight. However, these characters seemed very inconsistent and unrealistic.

While I am not really a fan of Beyond the Reflection's Edge, I am not giving up on the series yet. I feel there were some hints that the story might take a big twist, so I guess I'll have to keep reading, in order to find out.

I received a free copy of this book from Zondervan, in exchange for my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Predator by Terri Blackstock

Ella Carmichael was killed by an online predator through her detailed schedule that she updated constantly on the social website, GrapeVyne. Careless? Absolutely. But it still got her killed. She was dead, and there was nothing he sister, Krista, could do about it. Except, perhaps, to hunt down and catch the killer...

Krista creates a false GrapeVyne account in order to lure in the killer. But when her trap works, will she be able to control the outcome? Even with GrapeVyne's CEO, Ryan Atkins, working with her, the game still comes down to predator vs. prey.

After my mournful departure with the Intervention Series, I knew that I had to read another Terri Blackstock novel. Predator being quite recent, it seemed the logical choice. So I went for it.

The first few chapters unfortunately took a while to pull me in. Not that this is an unusual characteristic of a mystery novel; there is so much information to convey in so few pages, but I found it a little disappointing to pop up in this novel because I was really craving something that I could chew easily, without having to poke around with my fork.

Once Predator picked up a bit, I found it a very enjoyable story. I loved that the author chose to include the CEO of a major company, for no other reason than that is a main character I have never personally encountered in the fiction world. And having that person be the parallel of an infamous person we all know from the media- very brave, in my opinion. The character would have to be spot-on or it would interfere with the story. And I think that Terri got him right. A fresh, intriguing mystery,
 perfectly set for the current media age.

Downfall by Terri Blackstock

The Covington family finally begins to get some rest now that Emily approaches two years of sobriety. Living in Georgia, they are able to separate from the pains of their past. Or, so they think. Without warning, Lance discovers a crude bomb under his sister's car, as she is leaving for school. Emily can't think of a reason why anyone could want to kill her- she has severed all of her drug ties.

But when Emily learns that the wife of one of the recovering addicts at her job has been murdered the same morning, she knows it can be no coincidence. And then she remembers talk of a double murder at the rehab center. It seems to bizarre to be true, but yet, one of the victims that was spoke of was now dead. And Emily was the only witness to the conversation...

The final novel in the Intervention Series did not disappoint. Once again, I was at the edge of my seat the entire book. And again, the exposed reality of the drug world was great. This time, it was mostly about the stage of long term sobriety.

As much as I loved Downfall, finishing it was truly bittersweet. Though the Intervention Series was only three books, I truly loved the characters. Yes, they are book characters, but they are some of my favorites, and I feel like I said my final farewell. I suppose it is only fair, though. The Covington family has been through enough already! Plus, the ending was perfect and left me smiling.

The 13th Tribe by Robert Liparulo

 (In The 13th Tribe) Back when Moses met God on Mt. Sinai, the people of Israel sinned and created a golden calf to worship. Thousands were killed, but 40 were dealt a much different card- the curse of immortality on earth. Over time, the seriousness of their curse settles in, and they will do anything to earn salvation. Eventually this group who dubs themselves the 13th tribe turns to killing sinners in the hope that they will please God enough to earn their salvation.

Jagger Baird has recently been in a horrifying and traumatic car accident. He lost his arm, his friends, and his love for God. In an attempt to start over, he and his family move into a monastery by Mt. Sinai. Being a security guard for an archeological dig, Jagger is on the lookout for anything suspicious. Unsuspecting, Jagger finds just that; and much, much more.

When I first saw the current cover of this book, I instantly pictured an epic clash of ancient Greek immortals with Einstein knowledge, therefore also possessing weaponry and technology a century before their time. And then my mind went wild with the idea, and basically by the time I started the book, it was like I had already seen the movie. Except... they were two completely different things.

I would like to address the whole immortality deal because in novels, immortality can mean several different things. These immortals are not "deity-grade" immortals. That is to say, they can still be injured. To give you an idea of the type of immortality they have, it would be somewhere above Middle Earth's elves, but below Homer's Achilles. Well, they would be below the Greek demigod Achilles if he hadn't died. Does that make sense? Swords don't fling off of them, no. But they are still ridiculously hard to kill.

So what was this book like? For my fantasy mindset, it was nothing like my mental movie. Yet, that does not mean it disappointing. The 13th Tribe is equal parts God/theology, suspense, and thriller. While some of the plot-turners I had seen coming early on, others were quite surprising. I loved the characters in this novel- they really grew on me by the end. As far as pacing and suspense? There are seldom few books that force me to flip through the pages as fast as this one did. The suspense got my heart beating so fast at one point that I actually set the book down and went for a jog to use up the energy! I got very immersed in the story. I'd also like to add that the theology in this book really got me thinking. Being able to see the world from the view of the immortals about the mortals, and then the mortals about the immortals was quite fascinating. Anticipating the next installment in The Immortal Files!

 I received a free copy of this book from Booksneeze, in exchange for my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Illusion by Frank Peretti

For 40 years, the magic act "Dane and Mandy" has been renowned. But all of that ends when Mandy's life is brutally ended. Or does it? Dane, mourning his wife, stumbles into who appears to be his wife, but 40 years younger. Could it really be her, or is he going insane?

Things get stranger when the Mandy look-alike displays masterful magical skills. Stunts Dane can't even begin to imagine how they are executed- even with 40 years of experience! Squirming feelings rise up inside him as he doesn't know what to think. As the girl's powers increase, suspicious characters run surplus. Whatever this all may amount to, Dane knows that it amounts to much more than a mere illusion.

I've haven't read many Frank Peretti novels, but when I heard about his first novel in several years, I was quite intrigued. Then I read the description of the book and was instantly hooked. As soon as I started, I instantly blended with the characters. I realize I often point out how believable and formed characters are in a novel, but at least in my opinion, they can make-or-break your reading experience. And in the case of Illusion, despite the fact that many of the characters experience constant confusion and a persistent sense of deja vu, their character still shines through, and you cannot wait to reach the conclusion with them.

A word about the magic performances in this book; I wasn't quite sure how this would turn out in book form. Yet Frank Peretti managed to wow me with the stunts- mere written words! But they are so much more than that. I had such vivid mental images for every scene, and as such I was blown away. When my jaw drops while reading a novel, there is no doubt that it is a great one.

 I received a free copy of this book from Simon & Schuster, in exchange for my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

The Land Beyond the Portal by J.S. Bailey

Laura awakens at the bottom of a flight of stairs with amnesia. She cannot even remember her own name at first, but she does have a haunting, bloody memory associated by fierce guilt. But if that isn't enough to disrupt Laura's life, stumbling through a portal to an unknown land is.

Laura ends up in a secluded, timeless village. The village gives no clue as to where it is located on whatever world it may be on. But the village itself proves to be perplexing itself. The people mindlessly worship a strange, fierce deity without question. There are harsh rumors circulating, but no one will confess a word. And the lives of the populous are kept in line by the sheer force of fear.

Initially, I was unsure of what to expect from this book. What exactly is this land beyond the portal? What genre is this book? All I knew was that it caught my interest, as I am somewhat drawn to mysterious portal-type books (think The Song of Albion Trilogy or The Chronicles of Narnia). And I do not want to reveal a whole lot, because that is part of the wonder of the book- figuring everything out. As for what I will reveal, it is sort of a small-town-big-secret story. This probably instantly creates a mental response, aliens. Don't worry, it is not about aliens. In fact, I actually was greatly surprised as things became clear. I hardly guessed much of the story, and that is always a wonderful characteristic. Keep me surprised, and I'll keep reading. The characters were wonderful and easy to relate to, and the flow was spot-on. I could hardly put it down. Absolutely five stars. I am eagerly waiting for the next book by J.S. Bailey.

I received a free copy of this book from the author, in exchange for my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Diviner by Bryan Davis

Koren knows it will not be easy to sever her ties with Taushin. But even if she uses every bit of willpower within her, will that still not be enough?

Elyssa and Jason discover even more brutalities that the dragons inflict on humans. Does the suffering never end? Yet still, many of the slaves hardly want to be saved, thinking they are as free as possible.

Elyssa also discovers new aspects of her powerful gifts. She learns the secret after all these years as to what makes her a diviner.

After reading Third Starlighter, I was, thrilled to read the next chronological book in Bryan Davis' twin Starlight series. I was hoping that it would continue immediately, and all that would have changed was the cover. Well... not quite. The two series are a bit different than I before realized, mainly because of focusing on different characters, and the fact that each deals with a different half of the equation. Especially in the case of Third Starlighter and Diviner, it is almost humorous how you can mentally align events but somehow, the characters rarely meet. I really enjoy the full spectrum that provided.

Now for Diviner itself, as I stated before, I wanted to jump right in. As it turned out, for whatever reason, it actually took me a little while to get into this book. Not long, and I was completely hooked after, but the first few chapters failed to grab my attention. Another nice thing in this book is how we finally got to spend more time with some of the characters who were minor in the previous books, but had major roles in this one. And while I am sad that these series are coming to an end, nevertheless, I still cannot wait to read Liberator.

 I received a free copy of this book from Zondervan, in exchange for my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.