Winnie Reviews: The Phoenix Files

 Winnie Reviews: 
The Phoenix Files 

Book Information:
Book Title: The Phoenix Files
Author: Chris Morphew
Publisher: Kane Miller EDC Publishing
Number Of Pages: 295
Date Published: 2012

Setting

Setting: In a contained town called Phoenix.

Main Characters

Luke, Peter, and Jordan

Summary

Luke’s parents get a divorce over the summer. After the divorce he ends up living with his Mom instead of his Dad.  His Mom gets offered a new job in Phoenix. When they arrive at Phoenix, Luke automatically realizes Phoenix is way off. There are no cars in sight, only bikes, and everything is clean and new. Then, they find out someone is planning to kill the human race and keep all the people in Phoenix alive. How will they stop this from happening?

Opinion 

 I liked this book for multiple reasons: 

1. It was interesting and held my attention easily. (In some parts)
2. I liked the attitude’s of some of the characters.
3. I like mystery and this book met my expectations in that category.

 In some parts of the book I got aggravated and bored:

1.  Peter’s attitude to the whole “end of the world” situation aggravated me because he disagreed with any decisions anybody made and refused to believe the world was ending.
2.  Some parts I believe were unnecessary and did not have to be included in the story.
3.  I thought some parts were not  moving as fast as I would have liked.

Rating

I had a good opinion and a bad one about this book. For both of those reasons I believe I like the book so-so. I rate it 3 stars.

Recommendations 

I think younger kids would enjoy this book better than teens. This book is on a reading level of a 5th grader. For me it was a little easy.... I think the book would be a good read aloud. I recommend this book to ages 8-12. This book has some vocabulary that a 7 year old would not understand but it might be a interesting read aloud. However, older kids, 8+, would find it just right either way.

Small Spoiler

This book leaves you hanging. There is a series of them. The story is not finished!

Author

To find out more about Chris Morphew, visit this website: 

http://chrismorphew.com/ 

If you are interested in purchasing this book, click HERE.

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Winnie's reviews: The Adventures of Loriel the Wood Fairy

Loriel is worried about Grandfairy Cyce . She hasn’t heard from her in a while. Loriel gets the news that Grandfairy Cyce has been kidnapped by a goblin! Will Loriel ever see her again?

I liked this book because I love fantasy! My favorite part was when Padra (the house mouse) thought the dragon was going to eat him. There was a problem though. Some characters' names were similar to one another and the author sometimes used the wrong names on the characters. It was a bit confusing. For this reason I rate only 3 ½ stars.

Author: The back of the book flap reads, "I have always been a reader and I loved reading to my children as well as my grandchildren. I hope that comes through in my writing. Opening children's eyes to the world of books is awesome. Seeing their eyes light up to an exciting passage is so special. Computers are wonderful but holding a book and relying on your own imagination is special and individual to each one of us."

Linda's Review: Loriel's Grandfairy Cyce has been kidnapped by smelly goblins. She must figure out a way to rescue Cyce without putting Cyce in more danger.
This is a fun little story with cute pictures. I think some of the words could be difficult for children and not easy to figure out in context. However, great opportunity to learn to work a dictionary. ;) The story moves quickly and keeps the reader engaged. Occasionally, I had to go back and reread sections because I didn't catch it well the first time. That may have been me though. Overall, I'd give this book three stars. ***
It was fun! It'll be a fun read aloud to my children this year too.

Disclaimer: This was a complimentary copy of the book given to me in exchange for an honest review.

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Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

Genre: Children's Chapter Books, fiction, Fantasy, Juvenile

Synopsis: Minli, a young girl of Fruitless Mountain, dreams of a better life. Her father's stories fill her mind and she decides she must go in search of the Man in the Moon to ask him how to change her family's fortune. It's a quest that leads to many friends and magical beings but also to self discovery and heroic acts and Minli finds out a way to find the fortune she seeks.

My family loved this story. It was fun and each day we read it there was a new story. It was filled with many legends told within the main story line which was great fun for the kids and my husband but I found it confusing. haha! I give it THREE Stars! *** It was fun and I liked it but all the stories within the story were too confusing for me.



Author: To learn more about Grace Lin then visit her blog here http://www.gracelinblog.com/.

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Voices of the Dead by Peter Leonard

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Story Plant, The (January 17, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1611880327
• ISBN-13: 978-1611880328

 Genre: Suspense/Historical Fiction

Synopsis: The year is 1971. The place is Detroit. Harry Levin, a scrap metal dealer and Holocaust survivor, has just learned that his daughter was killed in a car accident. Traveling to Washington, DC to claim the body, he learns that the accident was caused by a German diplomat who was driving drunk. This is only the beginning of the horror for Harry, though, as he discovers that the diplomat will never face charges – he has already been released and granted immunity. Enraged and aggrieved, Harry discovers the identity of his daughter’s killer, follows him to Munich, and hunts him down. What Harry finds out about the diplomat and his plans will explode his life and the lives of everyone around him.

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The Dark Lifer's Revenge: A Short Story by Linda Joy Singleton

• ISBN-13: 9780738734668
• Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide, LTD.
• Publication date: 12/1/2011
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 38

Genre: Short Story/ Paranormal/ Young Adult

Review: Sabine's, a psychic, boyfriend's body is taken over by a Dark Lifer (an evil soul who "borrows" others' bodies to do their dirty work) to take revenge on the man who killed him. Sabine goes to the only person she knows who may be able to help... Amber, a Temp Lifer (temporarily steps into the lives of people who are suffering to help them navigate through their problems). Together, they try to save Sabine's boyfriend, Dominic, and the man the Dark Lifer is out to kill.

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Flashback Friday: The Nine Lives of Chloe King: The Fallen by Celia Thomson

Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy/Paranormal

Review: Chloe is a typical girl... a bit boy crazy and acts like a teenager by fighting with her mom and cuts class once in a while. Around her 16th birthday she started noticing strange changes -- a bit cat-like really, including the claws. She feels alone with these changes and doesn't understand where they came from or if there is anyone else like her. She stops worrying so much about that once she finds out that someone is out to kill her because of what she is -- whatever that may be.

I started reading this book for the same reason many others did. I saw the television show on Netflix and thought it was really cute. Then, the show was cancelled after the first season, leaving the viewers with a terrible cliff hanger. My logical solution, "I'm going to read the book then." Like many books, it is very different from it's counterpart. That was a bit disappointing and in the first book my questions weren't answered. Also, the book is more sexual and has a moderate amount of cussing in it that I didn't enjoy. I was surprised that the TV series was cleaner than the book. That was a first. Overall, I did enjoy the story and want to read the next in the series to find out what happens.

Author: The first thing I learned about Celia Thomson while trying to find info on her is that Celia Thomson, J.B. Stephens, E.J. Braswell and Tracy Lynn are all pseudonym for Liz Braswell. Here is a little snippet of her bio from her webpage.She was born in England and has many interests, but I'll let you read more about this woman with so many names at her website.

Rating: *** Three Stars

If you would like to purchase your own copy of this book then click on the link below (hover for details).

The Fallen (Nine Lives of Chloe King)

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Closet by Eric John Swanson

Genre: Christian Fiction/Suspense

Review: John picked up an ordinary book while out with his wife, hoping that it would give him some of the answers he searched for. He was jobless and had no income to support his wife and infant son, Derek. It seemed like an innocent book until John was reading it in the privacy of his closet and hands came from the wall and choked him.

Twenty years later, Derek (John's son) has graduated from seminary and in search of a job. He feels discouraged and turns to the occult out of desperation. A portal opens and a witch uses it to kidnap Derek's son and wife. Derek must go through the portal to a demonic dimension and save the ones he loves before they are destroyed.

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Words of Inspiration by Rachel Greer

Genre: Poetry

Review: Words of Inspiration from Your Own Kind you realize that it isn’t merely your own life that may contain complexities. Through all of life’s adversities, it’s individually up to you to determine if you will surmount obscurity and persist on toward your destiny. If tomorrow never came, would you let what happened yesterday carry on to today?
Words of Inspiration from Your Own Kind is not simply inspiration to those in the ghettos of America; it’s encouragement to every type of person. All of us, as human beings, face hardships with life. This inspirational book of poetry expresses a variety of topics including relationships, love, pain, success, motivation, friendships, and negativity. You’ll be engrossed in deep thought, smiles, and perhaps even shed a few tears. This book portrays countless feelings and stories of life at both its paramount and its shoddiest.
Words of Inspiration from Your Own Kind becomes the national anthem of all individuals dealing with life’s imperfections.

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The Realmsic Conquest: The Candle of Crest by A. Demethius Jackson

Genre: Fiction/Poetry/Fantasy

Review: The Realm possesses magic and therefore must protect itself from others wanting to possess it as well. The Realm has never known peace. Warlord Damian tries to take over and King Maebus the Grand Wizard Kelm think it may happen until they discover an ancient legend that talks of a hero who will save them, Leoden.

The Realm finds itself in trouble again and King Maebus is wounded. The magic of the realm begins crumbling as Kelm and Leoden work to save the realm again and must locate the Candle of Crest before all is lost and the Realm is destroyed.

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Midnight Lantern by Tess Gallagher

Genre: Poetry

Review: This is a collection of poetry... some new and some old but all by Gallagher.Many of them are dark and very depressing. A lot of he poems at the beginning of the book made no sense to me and I'm not sure if they gradually made more sense or if I was starting to understand Gallagher's style of poetry but the poems did eventually start making sense to me. :) Some of the poems really made me think despite the darkness in them. Here are a few lines from her poem "Lie Down With the Lamb" so you get an idea of what I mean.

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Imperial Hostage by Phil Cantrill

This is a guest reviewer who has chosen to remain anonymous. :)
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy

Review: Erechtheus is to be sent to Posiedia, capital of the empire, as a hostage because his home country is required by the empire. Before he leaves his father advises him to learn all he can about their culture so they can learn the empire's strengths and weaknesses. As a hostage, at the age of twelve, Erech is sent to the Temple of Bel where he meets an old, blind priestess who prophecies that Erech will be their doom. During their attempts to destroy Erech, the priests of The Temple of One arrive just in time and save Erech. He’s sent to the Temple of One where a young girl named Ai-Ram befriends him. The high priest of the Temple of Bel is not satisfied with this arrangement and will stop at nothing to have Erech’s life.

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India Was One by An Indian

Genre: Fiction

Review: Jai and Kaahi meet in college, fall in love, marry and move to the US. India separates into North and South India due to government tension and Jai and Kaahi must check on their families but one is sent to the North and the other is sent to the South. Will India be whole again? Will they all learn to live with one another if they are on different sides of the divide?

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Flashback Friday: Evernight by Claudia Gray

Flashback Friday is the day that I get to review the older books that I want to read instead of the new releases that are given to me. There are some great older books out there that should get some attention, too. :) Today's Flashback Friday book was published in 2009. Enjoy!

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Flashback Friday: Evermore by Alyson Noel

This week's flashback Friday review is on one of my giveaways. I thought it was appropriate to publish it this week since it has the whole Halloween theme going... kinda. Well, paranormal anyways. Those of you who may be new to my blog, Flashback Fridays is when I get to review a book that is not a new release. There are so many great older books out there and I always receive new releases from publishers and authors so this is my chance to review some of those. :)

Genre: YA - Paranormal - Romance

Review: Ever has recently lost her entire family in a car accident and is moved from her home to live with her aunt in California. Not only is her home and family different but she has some new abilities after the accident that she hadn't counted on. She is suddenly able to hear people's thoughts, see dead people, and see aura's so she tunes them out the best she can -- with shades and ear-buds giving her the title of "freak" at school. Then all the voices go silent when she comes into contact with the "new guy", Damen. She needs to learn how to control all the stimuli around her and figure out who this Damen is and what he is and why everything stops when he's around.

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Yankee Doodle Dixie by Lisa Patton

Genre: Fiction/ Chick-lit

Review: Leelee Satterfield sells her restaurant and inn in Vermont and returns to her home town in the south with her two little girls and divorced. Unfortunately, she leaves her heart in Vermont as she tries to make a new life in Tennessee. Her three best friends are incredibly meddlesome and lucky for Leelee that they are. As Leelee's life falls apart again they have to step in as the Gladys Kravitz Agency and help their friend find the second chance at love and life that she's been searching for.

This was such a refreshing story. I love, love, love Leelee's three friends and the way the four of them interact. The book was fun and it held my attention. My hubby gave me some strange looks when I would laugh out loud and when I tried to explain it to him... well, it just didn't make much sense out of context. :) It was a fun story though with many laugh out loud parts. There was some profanity in it. It mainly depended on the character so a few paragraphs would be heavy profanity and then there would be pages and pages of none. Overall, this was a very fun work.

This was the sequel to Whistlin' Dixie in a Nor'easter but I followed along perfectly; there was enough backstory that I wasn't lost at all.

Author: Patton actually got the idea to write this series when she moved back to the south from Vermont and realized that it would make a good story. (Personally, I think she was right.) She works as a tour guide for Franklin on Foot in Franklin, Tennessee where the Battle of Franklin was waged. She is also the mother of two boys, Michael and Will, and a Havanese dog named Rosie. She manages to write in her "spare time". (As a mother myself, that spare time doesn't come easily so this is impressive to me.) She grew up in Memphis, TN and graduated from The University of Alabama.

Rating: **** Three Stars

This was a complimentary copy from the publisher through the Goodreads Advanced Readers Program given to me for my honest review.

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Flashback Friday: Fairest by Gail Carson Levine

It's Flashback Friday again. The day that I review a book that is not a new release. Sorry that I've been a bit behind this week in my reviews... I have a good excuse. At least, I think it's a good excuse. I had oral surgery earlier this week and I thought it would be a great time to read but little did I know that the drugs would all just make me sleepy so... I got behind. Sorry. So... anyways, here's the flashback Friday review.

Genre: YA - Fantasy - Fairy Tales

Review: This is set in the same world as, the better known story, Ella Enchanted (if you have only seen the movie then I totally recommend reading that book too). The fairy Lucinda is at it again, giving gifts that no one really wants. But Aza has a gift that's all her own -- the gift of singing. In the Kingdom of Ayortha Aza is shunned because she is far from the fairest of them all but in the Ontio Castle, the land of the singers, her voice is captivating and the Queen wants it to be hers while the prince finds himself drawn to it. This is the story of self discovery for the young lady Aza who may not be beautiful but her voice can melt the heart of the one she loves.

This story was a take on the classic tale of Snow White and I loved what Levine did with it. She and Shannon Hale both do such amazing things with fairy tales. I recommend reading them all. I was a bit disappointed with this one at first because it was soooo different from the classic story but as I continued reading it I couldn't help but to fall in love with the characters and the story.

Author: Gail Carson Levine was born in New York City in 1947. She, her husband, and her Airedale, Baxter all reside in a two hundred year old farmhouse in New York State.

Rating: *** Three Stars

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Beauty: An Extraordinary Tale by Teresa M. Wilkins

Genre: Fiction - Fantasy

Review: Sherina, a young priestess and princess, was captured by the Lizarian people. Through her years as a captive she fell in love with one of their own, Barush. Together they had a daughter, Beauty. Beauty wasn't like the other kids... she was human but had a blue tail. She also had the powers of her priestess mother and the unfortunate ability to read minds so she knew exactly what others thought about her differences. Through battles and adventures she discovers what is truly important in her life and is able to accept herself as the true beauty her mother knew she was from the moment she was born.

Honestly, this book took me 100 pages to get into. I had to struggle through those before it finally started getting interesting. It's 368 pages though. The first 100 pages were about Beauty's grandfather and parents. Finally, she was born and it started getting interesting and holding my attention. There were a few minor errors in it and the writing style of the author took some getting used to. She did a lot of telling but there were parts of it that had some great showing but mostly this book was telling so the story went very fast. Maybe that was good since there was so much information in it. I think this would have been a great trilogy. Overall, this is a beautiful story with a gorgeous cover and a great message! :)

Author: I have really had a hard time finding any information on this author. The most information I can find is what's on the back of the book. Wilkins was born in Pretoria, South Africa. She was inspired to write this story from her studies at Ramtha's School of Enlightenment. In her spare time she enjoys painting, horseback riding, and gardening.


Rating: *** Three Stars

If you are interested in purchasing this book then go to Dorrance Online Bookstore or Amazon.

This was a complimentary copy from Dorrance Publishing for my honest review.

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The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Genre: Coming of Age

Review: The story follows a young boy growing up amid the modern changes in Afghanistan and forced to flee his home. The difficulty of becoming an American Citizen and learning to find success in this new world. Then returning to his native home after his childhood friend dies and the struggle to save his friend's child.

It is moving, haunting and enlightening. We see this young man grow up from a somewhat spoiled and privileged child, to having nothing and starting over in a foreign land and in the end returning to his home country to become a savior to one small child. What is there not to love? Yet, for me... I didn't.

I cannot put my finger on it. At first, I blamed my general distaste for drama stories. Life is hard enough, I don't need to read about others trials and tribulations. But I knew it was not that. I thought that perhaps it was the very serious content matter (he describes, in detail, the rape of a young man.) Yet I have read worse. I thought maybe my sensitivity to boys, having two myself, may have been a contributing factor. I don't know what it is, but I did not like this book.

Of course, one could argue that you are not supposed to like this book, given its very serious and horrible contents. Much like watching Lords of War. You aren't supposed to like the story. The goal is to learn from and grow from the story, not like it. And perhaps therein lies my problem. I found the back drop interesting enough. I knew enough about what was going on in Afghanistan and it was interesting to get more of a look into that history. But at the end of the day, I did not feel that I, as a reader, had grown.  Am I saying you should not read it? No. The story has all the elements a story is supposed to have. It clearly spoke to millions. Just not me.

Author: Khaled Hossieni was born in Afgahnistan. His family was relocated to Paris and eventually the United States (much like the character in the story.) He finished high school and went on to obtain a Bachlor's degree in Biology , then completed his medical degree from University of California's school of medicine. While working his residency at Cedar-Sinai hospital in Los Angelos, Ca. he wrote the Kite Runner.

He is a goodwill Envoy for The United Nations Refugee Agency and has a foundation, the Khaled Houseini Foundation, that provides humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan. He lives in Northern California.

Rating: *** Three out of five stars.

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Waiting for Morning by Karen Kingsbury

Genre: Christian - Fiction

Review: Hannah Ryan sits at home, waiting for her husband and daughters to return home from a camping trip. Instead, the police show up to tell her they were hit by a drunk driver and her husband and one of her daughters were killed. Hannah then has one thing on her mind -- revenge. She wants to see the drunk driver put behind bars. In her rage at this man she somehow manages to forget her living daughter. Can Hannah find forgiveness and save the family she has left?

This was a good story. It was very depressing but it had a good message. I don't think it would be one of those stories that I'd read over and over again but it was nice to read once. Also, this is Christian Fiction and I review for a few Christian companies but this book was annoyingly "preachy". If you're one of those people who don't mind a good cry then this would be a good books for you. It will definitely make you cry and it has some very depressing parts. The reader is able to follow the journey of the widow who lost her husband and daughter, the daughter who lost her sister, father and feels the whole world wished she had died instead of her sister, the driver who made a mistake and drove while drunk resulting in casualties beyond anything he ever thought would happen and the lawyers who are passionate about what they do. It was great being able to get it from all the points of view. It made it more real and allowed me to feel more empathy to each character who made me angry because of stupid choices they were making.

Author: Kingsbury is a public speaker and a novelist.She has written over 40 novels and sold over 15 million copies. She loves to friend her readers on Twitter and Facebook. She has over 220,000 friends on Facebook and over 15,000 followers on Twitter. She also speaks at public events, reaching over 100,000 women each year.

Rating: *** Three Stars

Remember to rank this review to be entered to win your own copy of this book from the publisher. :)

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You Don't Sweat Much for a Fat Girl by Celia Rivenbark

Genre: Non-Fiction/Essays/Humor

Review: This is a collection of essays the author put together to make light of life. She includes everything from cooking to talk show hosts, from reality television to elderly people and their bathroom breaks. She has no boundaries.
I found it to be very funny. I literally laughed out loud for most of the book. There was a lot of profanity and slang used in here. Some of the slang lost me. Ha! Yes, that's embarrassing but it did. I had to say things a couple of times or say them aloud to figure out what it was supposed to be. Also, there were a lot of jokes about television and I am not really a TV person, I am more of a book person (obviously). We don't even get any type of television in our house. The only thing we watch is Netflix so I was fairly lost on those topics. Yeah, that's embarrassing too. This would be fun for someone who is more into what's going in the world and doesn't mind the use of some profanity. The book wasn't completely engrossed in it but it was enough to make me uncomfortable but you can ask anyone I know and realize that it doesn't take much for that to happen. Overall, I enjoyed the book. I was just a bit lost for parts of it and cringed with the language but it was laugh out loud funny! :)

Author: She grew up in the country of North Carolina. After a few years of college she started working for the local newspaper and remained there for 8 years before moving on to bigger and better things. After 21 years she was married and pregnant and decided to stay home with her new baby girl. After about a year she began writing during nap time and has been doing it ever since. Her books are a collection of her columns.

Rating:  *** Three Stars

I received a complimentary copy through Goodreads Advanced Readers program for an honest review.

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