Broken Wings is the second book in the Angel Eyes Series, written by Shannon Dittemore, and it continues with the story of Brielle and Jake. I really like this series, as it’s unique and original. The author attempts to give us an idea of the spiritual warfare going on around us that we cannot see. It is a strong Christian read–not subtle. The main characters deal with many of the bad situations by praying and trying to stay strong in their faith.

I love how the first book dealt with the sex trade industry, and this one introduces alcoholism. This series touches on some harsh realities and has romance, yet it’s clean enough for older middle schoolers. The violence is not gory. The romance is sweet and done in a Christian way, and the touchy topics are handled delicately. This series is truly a positive, Christian read.

The only negative about this book was the ending. The first book had a story within itself, yet this one just seemed to get started toward the end. Luckily, the third book in the series is out, so you can easily resume the story. It didn’t end on a cliffhanger. It just didn’t end with a finish. It felt like it was in the middle of a scene.

I still give this book four stars, and I’ll definitely read the third book in the series. I’ll pass it on to my children, and I’ll continue to recommend this series to others who enjoy Christian fantasy.

     

2:20 is the first book in the Timeless Trilogy, written by Holly Hook. At the time of this review, it’s free for your Kindle. It’s a young adult read, with Julia, the main character, being seventeen years old, and a lot of the scenes take place at the school.

I really enjoyed this fantasy novel and plan to read the rest of the series. Although it deals with time travel, it has nothing to do with machines. Time is more like an entity that pulls certain people to become immortal Timeless ones. It’s a very creative take on time travel.

The author didn’t give the story away with too many hints, so the mystery and intrigue kept me going. Julia has no memory of her past, and when strange beings begin to enter her life, she desperately searches for answers. It kept me hooked, as I wanted to know more. Then it ended in a bang–lots of action.

Since this is a young adult read, I’m more conservative when it comes to a clean rating, and I give this one a thumbs up. No cursing, and the romance is sweet. The main character is not a spoiled or rude teenager acting like a brat. She has a great relationship with her foster mother and foster sister, and I liked her personality. It’s a solid clean read.

As for the negatives, there really wasn’t much. I can only think of two things that I shook my head at. One has to do with an accent the characters should have had when I learned where they were from. The other has to do with Simon’s secrecy and his saving the life of a child without being seen. Overall, those two things didn’t take too much away from the story, and I’m giving it four stars for creativity, a solid plot, likable characters, keeping it clean, and keeping me interested. Oh, and I love the covers!

          

End of Angels, written by Julius St. Clair, is a fictional account of Lucifer and his army in Heaven. It’s the first book in the Angel Story Saga, and at the time of this review, the eBook version is free.
I’ll start by saying I got confused and actually thought I was reading the second book of another series. Their covers are very similar on my Kindle, and they’re both about angels. I kept waiting for the story to intertwine with the first one. Obviously, that never happened.

This book is written for young adults, and I can see that in the way the angels interacted with each other. The main character, Lysander, is a young angel, and there is a lot he does not understand. In fact, he was clueless–as was the reader–throughout most of the story. His interactions with the other angels he was grouped with often seemed like a group of teenagers, and I’ll admit it was a bit hard for me to get into. I didn’t connect with Lysander much. There just wasn’t a lot of emotional depth there.

The story moved at a slow pace, but I continued–thinking it was the second book in another series that I really enjoyed. My Kindle said it was at the 70% mark when it finally started to get interesting, and it was quite enjoyable after that.

I liked how this book gave a fictional account of Lucifer’s fall, and I can say it’s a very clean read for teens and even middle schoolers. I’ll recommend it to my middle daughter to see what she thinks, and I can honestly recommend this to all middle schoolers. However, I can’t say the same for adults and older teens. The slow pace and the immaturity of the main character and his friends did not pull me into the story. My reading time is rare, and I want a story that pulls emotions from me. Although it has a great plot, this book just didn’t do that.

          

Ambrosia Shore is the third book in The Water Keepers Series, written by Christie Anderson. Unlike the first two, this book takes place in the other world, and the author did a great job at creating and describing the place.

This one is my favorite book in the series. The romantic part of the story was established in the first two books, and now the plot gets a bit deeper. This book sets the series up for something to come. We just don’t know what, as the author kept it mysterious–the way I like it. It ended with me wanting more, and I can’t wait for the fourth book.

As with the other books in the series, it gets five stars from me. The story is highly creative with the water marks and keepers. The teenage main character has a close relationship with her mother and is not a spoiled brat or controlled by her hormones. The romance is sweet, and I’m highly impressed with how the author handled certain scenes. Overall, this series is one I can recommend to young and old.

As for my clean rating, there’s no cursing or sexual content–just some kissing. I highly recommend!

You can also read my reviews for Deep Blue Secret and Rogue Wave.

  

Rogue Wave is the second book in The Water Keepers Series, written by Christie Anderson. I gave Deep Blue Secret, the first book in the series, a five-star rating, and I also give this book a five-star.

Out of the three books I’ve read in this series, this one has the most romance. There’s still plenty of action and another main plot to this story. However, the two main characters explore and decide what to do with their feelings for each other. All of our questions about their relationship gets answered in this book.

The story is very creative and original. The teenage characters act true to themselves, and I enjoy Sadie’s relationship with her mother and Rayne. There’s just enough action and romance to balance this series out.

The only negative for me was how easy it was for her to believe the worst of Rayne immediately after he disclosed his feelings for her. I have a similar moment in one of my own novels, and as a writer I know why it was done. I just didn’t think he looked guilty enough. However, that did not take away from the story at all, and I still love it.

As for my conservative clean rating for this being a young adult novel, I give this my squeaky clean seal of approval. There are no curse words, the action and violence are not filled with blood and gore, and the romance is very sweet. I’m highly impressed with a certain scene within this book, as the writer had to make a decision on how far the young couple would go. I read many young adult fantasy novels, and I’m often turned off by authors thinking teenagers can’t control their hormones or make good decisions. I’ve even read a book where the young couple got into a heated argument over a trivial thing as a way to keep them from succumbing to temptation during a night alone. I applaud Christie Anderson for how this was handled in the book. It was believable and well done.

I highly recommend this series, as it keeps getting better. My favorite one is Ambrosia Shore, and I’ll have a review on it soon. It is very different from the first two, and I’m looking forward to the release of the fourth book in the series.

Today’s book review is for Deep Blue Secret, the first book in the Water Keepers Series, by Christie Anderson and is a young adult/teen fantasy read. I read this book while on vacation in St. Lucia, and I’ll add that I was a bit skeptical when I started it. I had spent my entire day by the pool reading another novel–which I put aside without finishing–and I was in a foul mood that I had wasted my day with that read. My husband and I were in our rooms after dinner, and although I usually don’t start a new book at night, I picked up my Kindle and read a few pages from more than one book, stopping with this one. I then spent the entire night reading it.

I’ll start with the pros, and since this is a teen read, I’m more conservative with my rating when it comes to content. However, this book held no foul language or overly sexual content, and it definitely gets my clean read seal of approval. I can easily recommend it to my daughters. I also highly enjoyed the creativity of this story about a unique race of people with water marks. The author weaved an interesting tale that kept me wanting to learn more about the water marks and keepers. As for the main character herself, she is a teenage girl living with her mother, and I love how this author decided to give Sadie and her mother a close relationship. Her mother is an interesting side character, and Sadie shows her a lot of respect and love.

I love to read books with interesting plots that keep you guessing and wanting to learn more. I did not want to put this book down, because the plot held me captive. The author did a great job in keeping things mysterious and not giving away too much. My words of choice for this book are: Creative, Interesting, and Clean.

Now for the cons: I don’t like love at first sight, and it’s a big turnoff for me. However, there was a hint of a reason or something more behind Sadie’s sudden attraction to the mysterious guy, and that stayed with me throughout the read. I also had a problem with her best friend’s tantrum/back stabbing. They’ve been friends forever, and that was a bit much. Both of these problems, however, did not take too much away from the story. I mean, I read through the night and even read the next book while on the vacation.

Overall, I give this book five stars. It’s highly original and a clean read for teens and adult lovers of the fantasy genre. I will be recommending this series to others, which is not something I can do with all the books I read.

Stay tuned for reviews of the other books in this series. Although I have started the third book, I’m on an editing deadline and won’t be able to get back to it for a while. Oh, I almost forgot the covers, which is another pro. They’re beautiful! Hmm… Reminds me somewhat of my novel Unexpected Metamorphosis. Maybe I love eyes, sparkles, and deep colors 🙂

The eBook of Deep Blue Secret is free at the time of this posting, and I’m guessing it’s set as perma-free since it’s the first in the series.