Welcome to my stop on the STORM blog tour hosted by YA Bound.  Click HERE to see the full blog tour schedule!

We are featuring a 

GIVEAWAY

(SEE BELOW)

Storm (Swipe #3)

by Evan Angler

Release Date: 05/07/13

Thomas Nelson Publishers

Paperback/e-book

288 pages

Summary from Goodreads: 

In a future United States under the power of a charismatic leader, everyone gets the Mark at age thirteen. The Mark allows citizen to shop, go to school, and even get medical care--without it, you are on your own. Few refuse to get the Mark. Those who do . . . disappear.

Logan Langly went in to get his Mark, but he backed out at the last minute. Ever since, he's been on the run from government agents and on a quest to find his sister Lily, who disappeared when she went to get her Mark five years earlier. His journey leads him to befriend the Dust, a vast network of Markless individuals who dissent against the iron-grip rule of the government. Along the way to the capital to find Lily, the Dust receive some startling information from the Markless community, opening their eyes to the message of Christianity and warning that humanity is now entering the End of Days.

In "Storm," Logan and his friends are the leaders of the Markless revolution. But while some Markless are fighting Chancellor Cylis' army, the Dust is busy trying to find a cure for a horrible epidemic sweeping through the Marked. And it's difficult for them to know who to trust, especially when they aren't sure if Logan's sister Lily, one of the commanders in Cylis' army, is on their side or not. And all across the nation--and the world--the weather is become less stable, and a storm is brewing that bigger than any of them could have ever imagined....

my review

The SWIPE series is a fantastical, dystopian, armageddon-like series about the end of times. STORM is the third installment of this series. I was left with more questions than answers. 

Throughout the series, we have watched the Marked vs Markless. Logan is the leader of the Markless, those who decided to forgo getting the tatoo like mark that allows them to hold jobs, make purchases and generally have a somewhat easier lifestyle (sound familiar? if not, you haven't read many of the stories based on the Book of Revelations) We have watched Logan grow into an important leader for the markless. He and his band of young individuals have travelled throughout America to aid and protect other markless while trying to foil the machinations of the 'benevolent leaders', Lamson and Cylis. But who is good and who is evil? We have watched these kids grow into wonderful leaders and great friends to each other.

Without giving too much away, this book is just amazing but it is left unfinished. I don't really know what happens at the end. Is Lily helping or hurting the markless? What really happens to Logan and Peck? As I said, more questions than answers.

Evan Angler very skillfully weaves his book "SWIPE", number one of the series, into this story. This took me by surprise. Didn't understand it at first, but now I'm able to appreciate Angler's writing talent. FYI, there is no overpowering religion in these novels! You will not be overwhelmed with fire and brimstone, Christ vs Antichrist battles.

I don't see this is the conclusion to the series, perhaps it's just wishful thinking to expect more stories in this series.

add:  I have received an email from Evan Angler--STORM is book three of a six book series!!!

I give this entire series 5 stars.

buy now at 

OR

about the author

About the Author

Evan lives without the Mark, evading DOME and writing in the shadows of Beacon.

Swipe is his first book. But if anyone asks, you know nothing about it, and you didn't hear anything from him. Don't make eye contact if you see him. Don't call his name out loud. He's in enough trouble already.

And so are you, if you've read his book.

Evan's website

goodreads

TWITTER

FACEBOOK

NOW, FOR THE

GIVEAWAY

***GIVEAWAY***

Print books 1-3 in the Swipe series, US only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

My friends, I have and amazing book to tell you about today.

KIYA: HOPE OF THE PHARAOH

by

Katie Hamstead

about the book:

When Naomi’s sisters are snatched up to be taken to be wives of the erratic Pharaoh, Akhenaten, she knows they won’t survive the palace, so she offers herself in their place. The fearsome Commander Horemheb sees her courage, and knows she is exactly what he is looking for…

The Great Queen Nefertiti despises Naomi instantly, and strips her of her Hebrew lineage, including her name, which is changed to Kiya. Kiya allies herself with Horemheb, who pushes her to greatness and encourages her to make the Pharaoh fall in love with her. When Akhenaten declares Kiya will be the mother of his heir, Nefertiti, furious with jealousy, schemes to destroy Kiya.

Kiya must play the deadly game carefully. She is in a silent battle of wills, and a struggle for who will one day inherit the crown. If she does bear an heir, she knows she will need to fight to protect him, as well as herself, from Nefertiti who is out for blood

my review

If you have any interest in Ancient Egyptian history, do yourself a favor and read this book.

Kiya, born a Hebrew named Naomi, is chosen to be the wife of Akhenaten. Chosen to provide him the son he needs to carry on his kingdom. She is a wonderfully strong female lead. You will fall in love with her. She is beloved of Akhenaten and reviled by Nefertiti. She faces everything thrown at her with grace and dignity. I can't stress enough how amazing a character Kiya is.

For those unfamiliar with Ancient Egypt, Kiya is widely believed to be the mother of Tutankhamen. King Tut. Very little is known of her, other than she was a lesser wife of Akhenaten. He was the 'heretic pharaoh'. He literally threw away the Egyptian pantheon, moved the capital city to Ikhaten (currrent day Armana) and ruled as pharaoh. All surviving artwork shows him as an odd shaped, almost feminine individual. Was he enlightened or mad? No one knows for certain.

This book portrays Akhenaten as a kind, generous but somewhat unstable individual. Nefertiti is a jealous, hateful, evil woman. All characters in this book have amazing almost larger than life personalities. I liked Horemheb, but loved Malachi. I found Ay to be as sneaky and rotten as his daughter.

The book focuses on Kiya and her struggle in an Egyptian household. Her many interactions with Nefertiti and Nef's daughters. Kiya becomes beloved not only of Akhenaten but of just about every other character in this well written story.

I absolutely loved this book, and look forward to more by this author. This is a 'can't put it down' book. I couldn't stop reading until I finished, and then wanted to just start over and reread. A 5 star book.

a bit of history

Akhenaten was a pharaoh of the 18th dynasty.  Son of  Amunhotep III,  he ruled Egypt for 17 years.   He died around 1335 BC.  He abandoned Thebes and traditional polytheism and created a new capital and religious center  worshipping the ATEN, the sun.  He is widely believed to be the father of King Tut.  

Nefertiti was the Great Royal Wife of Akhenaten.  She was also heavily involved in the movement to the worship center of Aten (current day Armana).  She is believed to have lived from 1370-1330 bc. 

canopic jar believed to be the likeness of Kiya  (Metropolitan Museum of Art)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiya

I'd like to introduce a fantastic book by author Jay Speights.

about the book:

Publication Date: March 28, 2013

7 Days With Adam is about Adam, the first man, who visits me and shatters many of my core beliefs about God, creation, the basic nature of humans, this world and, his and Eve's real legacy. After the 7 day visit, he leaves me fully enlightened with actual exercises, prayers and meditative techniques that we can all use to access our Divine Inner Power and use it to achieve mastery in our lives. This book is a testament to the value of story telling in spirituality, disciplined spiritual practice and being attuned to the Higher Self and Divine Inner Light that is in all of us.

My thoughts:

Imagine waking up one day and meeting Adam.  First man on Earth.  Adam, who along with Eve, is responsible for Original Sin.  (honestly, I've never much believed in the concept of original sin-I think of Eve as more of a liberator.  She and Adam are responsible for giving us knowledge and the ability to question everything, solely because they ate from that tree)

Now Imagine being able to spend seven days with Adam learning, having questions answered, and generally having your eyes opened up to amazing truths.

WOW.  I have to admit, I'll never think about things quite the same way again.  Personally, I've never been one to believe in the ritualistic trappings of religion, being more interested in the message than anything else.  

Reverend Speights does a wonderful job of taking Biblical ideas, endless questions, and spiritual ideas and explaining them in ways that will make the reader question his/her own beliefs.

My advice is to read this book with an open mind.  You may not agree with everything you read, but I promise, you will enjoy the book.  It won't rock your faith (whatever you may believe) but it may have you questioning a few things, and in my book, questioning is always good.  It is what allows us to learn, understand and grow.

about the book

Orphan Jack Templar has no memory of his parents and only the smallest details from his Aunt Sophie about how they died. The day before Jack's fourteenth birthday, things start to change for him. At first it's great: A sudden new strength helps him defend his nose-picking friend "T-Rex" from the school bully, and even his crush, Cindy Adams, takes notice. But then a mysterious girl named Eva arrives and tells him two facts that will change his life forever. First, that he's the descendent of a long line of monster hunters and he's destined to be in the family business. Second, that there's a truce between man and monster that children are off-limits...until their fourteenth birthday! Jack has only one day before hundreds of monsters will descend on his little town of Sunnyvale and try to kill him. 

As if that weren't enough, things get even more complicated when Jack discovers that the Lord of the Creach (as the monsters are collectively known) holds a personal grudge against him and will do anything to see that Jack has a slow and painful death. To stay alive and save his friends, Jack will have to battle werewolves, vampires, harpies, trolls, zombies and more. But perhaps the most dangerous thing he must face is the truth about his past. Why do the other hunters call him the last Templar? Why do they whisper that he may be the "One?" Why do the monsters want him dead so badly? Even as these questions plague him, he quickly discovers survival is his new full-time job and that in the world of monster hunters, nothing is really what it seems.

my thoughts

I love having fun while I read a book.   I laughed out loud at Jack's warnings during the first few pages of the book and was intrigued enough to keep reading.  I'm glad I did.  This is an amazing story.   Jack is a great character, I mean, monster hunter.

This story is well written.  Not too scary for young children.  A bit of fantasy/horror mixed together.  The characters are well developed.  The story fast paced and interesting.   

I started reading the warnings aloud to my 12 year old son. He was interested enough to state "I want to read it when your done"  I gave him my ereader when I finished,  and he was glued to the reader until he finished the story.  His response..."Is there more?"  Thankfully, there is a second novel coming soon.   

Any book that gets a stamp of approval from my 12 year old is a great story.  Right now, he's obsessed with Percy Jackson and not much interested in anything else.   In other words, this is an amazing story, one that encouraged him to read something other than PJ.  Must be the monsters.

A 5 star story for middle graders, young adults.

I was given this book for an honest review.  I was not financially compensated in any way.  The opinions are mine and those of my 12 year old.

We are part of Orangeberry's book blog tour

ABOUT THE BOOK

Kevin Tobin is a relatively ordinary twelve-year old dealing with the aftermath of his father's tragic death in a mountain biking accident near their home in Boulder, Colorado. To escape from his emotional turmoil, Kevin has developed his imagination into a dangerous foil and a powerful ally. While he antagonizes his sister through his superhero antics, his ability to escape inside his character's (Captain Disaster) head becomes critical to his survival after his life is once-again turned upside down a year after his father s death. A mysterious package arrives in the mail, Kevin and his best friend are hunted down by a ruthless villain set upon world domination, and after enlisting Kevin s teenage sister and her pizza-delivery boyfriend in a battle for control over time itself, the secret of Kevin s whole existence is revealed to him by a source we never expected. Del Shannon's imaginative story telling and his appreciation for the powers of family and the desire of young boys to both escape reality and prove themselves within it make this a book with wide appeal for readers of all ages.

 

my thoughts
A wonderful and fast paced book. Aimed for a middle grader target audience. This book was a rollercoaster ride full of twists and turns. The end (which I will not reveal) was unexpected. I think most 10-14 year old boys will relate to Kevin. I just love his imagination!
I recommend this book for all kids that like sci-fi, humor and wild crazy adventures.
I want to thank Del Shannon for allowing me to read and review this book. Please, let there be more adventures for Kevin!!!