Tea & Read: Flight of Earls

Title: Flight of Earls

Author: Michael K. Reynolds

Genre: Historical Christian Fiction

Rating: I’d throw it against the wall if it wasn’t on my Kindle (★)

I have a method for selecting the books I read. I read the back cover blurb first and then a few sample pages. I almost never buy a book from the reviews. Sometimes, after I read a book, I look at the reviews to see how my assessment of a book falls with everyone else. For this book, however, I did the reverse. I read the reviews of this book first and decided based on the reviews.

I’m never doing that again.

Blurb:

It’s 1846 in Ireland. When her family’s small farm is struck by famine, Clare Hanley and her younger brother, Seamus, set out across the ocean to the Promised Land of America.

Five years prior, Clare’s older sister Margaret and her Uncle Tomas emigrated in similar fashion and were not to be heard from again. But Clare must face her fears as she lands in the coming-of-age city of New York. There she discovers love, adventure, tragedy, and a terrible secret which threatens to destroy her family and all she believes.

Flight of the Earls is the first book in a historical novel trilogy based on Irish immigration in the 1840s.

This book was so unlike the reviews I read that I initially thought I was reading for the wrong book. First, let me say that the writing (I’m mean grammar and sentence structure) is not terrible. As a matter of fact, there are many passages with incredible imagery. There were times that I could almost smell the scenes being described.

Unfortunately, that’s as far as my admiration of this book went. The plot was slow and disjointed. At times, I felt I was just reading a random bunch of scenes of Clare and Semus’ life.  I found myself not caring about the characters. Since the story started with the potatoes famine, I found myself wondering about that plotline that the rest of the story. I skimmed quite a bit, and sadly, it didn’t appear that I’d missed anything in the story development by doing so.

I guess I’m just going to have to go against the tide of great review with mine.  

Cyber Monday Sale! Get $1 off Love Simplified!

The sale is on! Get your copy of Love Simplified today. Makes a great Christmas gift.

Free Thanksgiving Fiction and a Cyber Monday Sale

Thanksgiving is this week (I know, I can't believe it either). As a thanks to all of you, I'm offering a free Thanksgiving e-book, By Any Means. It's available on Smashwords and Goodreads, and Lord willing, it will be on Amazon before Thanksgiving (but I doubt it.) Enjoy!

Here is a great Cyber Monday deal. I am putting Love Simplified on sale. Get $1 off both the e-book and the paperback on Cyber Monday. It only lasts one day (or until Amazon updates their website). Books always make great gifts. Get one for the reader on your Christmas list...and get one for yourself, too.

Big Announcement!

Young writer in the making!

I wrote my first “book” at age 6. Although I don’t remember what the book was about, I do remember that I did all the illustrations, cut pieces of paper for the pages and stapled them together. And then I “published” it by sharing it with my sister Michelle and my father.

Humble beginnings, but even then my desire was to share my stories with the world. I wanted to give readers a memorable experience and help them escape the stress of the world on the wings of my words. Even then I understood that my process of writing wasn’t complete until I shared my stories.

As far as my desire to be a storyteller, not much has changed all these years later. I still want to give people a memorable reading experience. I still want to share my stories. Fortunately, now I don’t have to cut up and staple pieces of paper to do so. Even though I’m much older than 6, I feel the little kid excitement of sharing one of my stories with the world.

I am pleased to announce that I will be releasing my first novel, Love Simplified, on August 6, 2012. It will be available on Amazon Kindle, Smashwords and Nook.


The decision and the journey to becoming an indie author has been a sobering experience. I have prayed and contemplated this move for a long time and felt like God gave me the green light to move forward. Am I nervous? Of course. Do I realize how much work goes into this kind of venture? Yes. I’ve been researching for almost a year. Also, I have helped others become independent authors, helping with the layout, pricing and marketing of their books. Am I excited? A big, resounding yes!

What’s next on this journey? Watch this blog for updates. Also, check out my author page on Facebook. As the time draws nearer, I will be featuring interviews, give-aways and some other very cool announcements.

Thank you for taking this journey with me. 

Tea & Read: Wolfsbane

Title: Wolfsbane

Author: Ronie Kendig

Rating: Spend the Day Sleepy

What a way to start off a new year of book reviews! Wolfsbane is definitely a book worth spending the day sleepy but it will not put you to sleep. Wolfsbane is the third book in the Discarded Heroes series. 

Blurb:

Demolitions expert Danielle Roark has been left behind in hostile territory during a mission with Nightshade. Former Green Beret and medic Canyon Metcalfe, beset with memories of another mission gone bad, vows to rescue her, sacrificing everything. As secrets unravel, will Canyon and Dani find healing, closure, and each other?

Kendig pulls no punches in this one. As a matter of fact, the story began so intense that I didn’t think I could finish it. But since Kendig’s stories end with hope and redemption, I pressed on knowing the plot would get better… and it did. The intensity didn’t die down. It kept me clicking the next page button on my Kindle to the end.

The characters, one of Kendig’s strong points, were very engaging. Even though they had extraordinary jobs and heartbreaking experiences, I found myself relating to Dani and Canyon. Kendig makes them realistic enough that when they face a challenge, one not often faced in Christian fiction, it is an interesting, almost pleasant surprise, but not unbelievable. Yes, this is a little cryptic, but I don’t want to spoil the plot.

As with her other books, Wolfsbane sails through the plot. No skimming at all. I found myself wishing I could read faster! Kendig’s military research is spot on and she creates a world that a girl can get lost in.

This is a great book and I expect great things from Kendig in the furture.