Speculative Fiction: The Recruits & Renegades Rock

Posted on by January 1, 2018
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To purchase a copy of these books, click the pictures or the links. Positive Grace receives a small amount for each book sold.

Deb’s Dozen: Sean and Dillon use their adept powers to save the world-again!

Renegades is the second book in Thomas Locke’s Recruits series. I posted about Recruits, the first book, “Beautifully fashioned and written new world … a beyond many will wish is reality. Thomas Locke has outdone himself with The Recruits series. Five Stars.” I loved watching twins Sean and Dillon become aware of and use their new powers–enjoyed watching them fall in love with Carey and Elenya. You will certainly enjoy the first book if you love speculative fiction and great characters.

Almost the first thing we learn in Renegades is that Sean and Dillon have split from Elenya and Carey–what we felt was soul-bonding in Recruits was just another romance. Supposedly, Elenya would want to be the controller in her marriage and Carey loved who Dillon was, not who he was becoming–an adept Warrior.

Okay, the girls are gone–on with the new assignments. Seth and Dillon are summoned back to Earth because the son of a senator has been kidnapped and their powers are needed to find him before he’s delivered back in pieces. Successful, they transit home only to be arrested and imprisoned for those actions. The story becomes convoluted at this point with new villains and new heroes being introduced. And then there are dragons! And a new love interest for Sean.

I liked Recruits better than Renegades, perhaps because the concepts were being introduced for the first time as well as the characters. I found only the character of Logan as well-developed as the twins. However, the book is a good read–I’m anticipating the next in the series. A great addition to the realm of speculative fiction. Four Stars.

Speculative FictionThomas Locke is the pseudonym for Davis Bunn, a prolific writer who has won just about every award there is as well as the Christy Lifetime Achievement Award. He lives in Oxford, England, half the year where he is Writer in Residence, and half the time on the east coast of Florida. He’s always loved speculative fiction and has several new series in that realm.He’s also a great guy with a heart for teaching and helping new authors. You’ll love his books.

Revell gave me a copy of Renegades, but I was in no way obligated to write a review.

Action/Suspense at its finest–Oath of Honor

Posted on by January 1, 2018
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To purchase Oath of Honor, click the links or the picture. Positive Grace receives a small stipend from the sale of each book.

Deb’s Dozen: Two law enforcement families. Two sons dead. A daughter may be next.

Oath of Honor by Lynette Eason is the first book in her new Blue Justice series and the story is a great one. While she has used a common series formula of families, instead of one family, she has two involved. The Marshalls and the St. Johns have been friends for years and their lives have intertwined. The first tale to tell is that of Isabelle “Izzy” St. John and Ryan Marshall, both with the police department.

On an off-the-records op, Ryan’s brother Kevin is shot and killed because of his impetuous behavior. Instead of listening to Izzy, his partner, he goes into a warehouse without backup and is killed for his efforts. But before he dies, he asks Izzy to hide his phone. So begins a story of death and intrigue and the Mafia and law enforcement and action/suspense at the finest.

I loved the characters of Izzy and Ryan. Izzy is stubborn and intelligent, but not foolhardy like her partner. She is loyal and close to her family and the Marshalls. Even when death surrounds her, she is able to keep her head and reason out what might be happening. Ryan Marshall sounds like the typical hunk, but has redeeming qualities like an interest in Izzy that stemmed from their childhoods. He is more apt to lose his temper, but can quickly rein in his emotions when the situation requires. I loved the byplay between the two of them and the care each of them shows for their families. Oath of Honor is an excellent start for the new series. Five stars!

Action/suspenseLynette Eason is the author of several series for which she has won a Selah Award, a Golden Scroll Award, two ACFW Carol Awards, and an Inspirational Readers’ Choice Award. She has a master’s degree in education and lives in South Carolina with her husband and two teens. She is known to take many trips with friends as “flat Lynette”-a photograph of her that shows up in many unlikely places.

I was given a copy of Oath of Honor by Revell Books, but I was in no way obligated to write a review.

Biblical Fiction: Delilah and Samson; Cleopatra and Chava

Posted on by December 30, 2017
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To purchase these books, click the links or the pictures. Positive Grace receives a small stipend from each sale.

Deb’s Dozen: Upper-class woman abused, escapes, forced to fend for herself. Survives and thrives.

Deb’s Dozen: Upper-class woman sold into slavery, forced to fend for herself, blossoms richly.

You’re in for a double delight. I’ve been on an Angela Hunt reading kick and just finished two of her Biblical fiction books, Delilah: Treacherous Beauty(2016) and Egypt’s Sister (2017). The story of Delilah we sort of know from the Bible–Hunt fleshes out the story and helps us realize why Delilah might have done what she did to Samson. Egypt’s Sister tells of a woman who might have been Cleopatra’s friend and what life was like in Egypt during those days as well as in Rome.

First: Delilah. Delilah’s mother has married a man from Philistia. A black woman from Egypt, Delilah’s mother was never accepted by society or by her stepson. Delilah, also dark-skinned, has a rare beauty and is lusted after by the stepson. When the man dies, Delilah’s mother is sold into slavery and Delilah is used and abused by the son. Finally she escapes and through a series of events, ends up a weaver by trade. Her story, and how she meets Samson, is fascinating although I never really empathized with her because she always thought herself better than others. However, Hunt did bring her to life and Samson as well. Four stars.

Second: Chava. Chava is the daughter of the Jewish scholar, Daniel, who tutors the children of King Auletes of Eqypt. Hunt has chosen the period between the Old and New Testaments as the setting for this story. Chava is closest in age to Urbi, the second daughter of the king. Chava is rich, privileged, and spoiled. Because of their close friendship, Chava feels Urbi will always keep her close by–in fact, Chava receives a message from HaShem telling her, “Your friendship with the queen lies in my hands. You will be with her on her happiest day and her last. And you, daughter of Israel, will know yourself, and you will bless her.” Unfortunately, royalty rules and Urbi, now Cleopatra, has Chava and her father thrown in prison over a minor issue where they languish for months and are finally sold as slaves. Chava ends up in Italy never quite coming to grips with her new situation. She always thinks of herself as better than others and is fortunate to end up in the household of Octavian Caesar and befriended by Agrippa. Another fascinating, well-researched story you’ll want to read. Four stars.

Biblical FictionAngela Hunt is a much awarded, prolific author with over a hundred books in print and is known for her Biblical fiction. She is a New York Times best-selling author for three books. Angie holds a doctorate in Biblical studies and a ThD degree. She, her husband, and their mastiffs live in Florida.

Bethany books gave me copies of Delilah: Treacherous Beauty and Egypt’s Sister, but I was in no way obligated to write a review.