Book Review: Love Amid the Ashes

Title: Love Amid the Ashes by Mesu Andrews

Release Date: March 2011
Publisher: Revell
Pages: 411 pages
Genre: Christian Historical

Goodreads Summary: Readers often think of Job sitting on the ash heap, his life in shambles. But how did he get there? What was Job's life like before tragedy struck? What did he think as his world came crashing down around him? And what was life like after God restored his wealth, health, and family? Through painstaking research and a writer's creative mind, Mesu Andrews weaves an emotional and stirring account of this well-known story told through the eyes of the women who loved him. Drawing together the account of Job with those of Esau's tribe and Jacob's daughter Dinah, Love Amid the Ashes breathes life, romance, and passion into the classic biblical story of suffering and steadfast faith.

I’m a huge fan of Christian historical fiction and love books based on people from the Bible. It takes a lot of creativity for a writer to take small bits of history and weave entire stories out of them and when it’s done well, it’s really enjoyable. Most times, the story is great and completely believable, other times if falls short and misses the mark. Unfortunately, Love Amid the Ashes missed the mark for me.

A story based on the Biblical account of Job is great material to work with. Mesu Andrews makes good use of the potions of Job’s story that we are very familiar with but Job is not really the main character in this book, Dinah is. Honestly, this surprised me as I thought the story would focus on Job more than anyone else.

Dinah is Jacob’s only daughter, the one who, according to scripture, was raped by Prince Shechem and whose brothers took revenge by killing the prince and all the men in the city. Andrews’ book puts a different spin on the situation. Instead of being raped, Shechem approached 15-year-old Dinah, proposed to her and the two eloped, all on the same day. In Love Amid the Ashes, Dinah was actually in love with her husband, her brothers slaughtered him and she was labeled and an evil temptress by everyone who heard the rumors. This is the first portion of the story that I had an issue with. I have a hard time believing that with the culture she lived in, this girl, with Jacob for a father and those 12 men for brothers, would be crazy enough to run off with a man from a different culture and religion who she had just met.

Now an adult, Dinah is pretty much unmarriageable because of her reputation but her grandfather’s dying request is that she become the second wife of Job’s oldest son. Job, being a distant cousin and a faithful man who trusts God decides to honor the request and takes Dinah on a lengthy trip to his family’s home.

The middle part of the book does focus on Job and his trials including his wife’s inappropriate relationship with another man, her idolatry and a host of other things, but the point of the story is muddled with the fact that Dinah is constantly in the picture, people treat her like a whore, a bad luck charm and the reason why calamity has befallen Job in the first place. I also have an issue with the fact that Dinah’s looks (she is tall and thin with blond hair and blue eyes) are mentioned several times, especially the blond hair. Her description sounds more like European supermodel than Middle Eastern woman but maybe that’s just me.

This book also has a lot of secondary characters, many of them I thought were unnecessary and the extra made this book way too long. Another thing I found surprising is the author’s extremely unflattering portrayal of twin brothers and patriarchs of their families, Jacob and Esau. I know Jacob did some conniving things but I would like to think that circumstances in his life, including physically wrestling with God, humbled and softened him. Not according to Andrews. She writes them as two of the biggest jerks and meanest fathers ever.  

Love Amid the Ashes is not a bad book by any means and this review may be coming out harsher than I intend it.  There is a very good message in the book that regardless of your past is, after you seek God’s forgiveness, you are free from the shame and embarrassment of whatever you did. But Job did not sin against God and so there is the second message that you should praise and trust God in all your circumstance.  The story just felt like several books mashed together and there is too much going on. Most reviewers seem to love it but it just was not the book for me.

Content: Kissing, some violence.

My Rating: Just Fine

Book Review: Being Friends with Boys

Title: Being Friends with Boys by Terra Elan McVoy

Release Date: May 1, 2012
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 368 pages
Genre: Contemporary
Source: Publisher

Goodreads Summary: Charlotte and Oliver have been friends forever. She knows that he, Abe, and Trip consider her to be one of the guys, and she likes it that way. She likes being the friend who keeps them all together. Likes offering a girl's perspective on their love lives. Likes being the behind-the-scenes wordsmith who writes all the lyrics for the boys' band. Char has a house full of stepsisters and a past full of backstabbing (female) ex-best friends, so for her, being friends with boys is refreshingly drama-free...until it isn't any more.

When a new boy enters the scene and makes Char feel like, well, a total girl...and two of her other friends have a falling out that may or may not be related to one of them deciding he possibly wants to be more than friends with Char...being friends with all these boys suddenly becomes a lot more complicated.

Charlotte is the lone girl in her band, Sad Jackal. She writes their songs and manages them but prefers to keep a low profile and let the boys take the spot light. After being dropped by her best friend, Lish, who starts avoiding Char in order to hang out with more popular girls, Char has only the boys left and that’s okay with her. Things do start getting complicated when Trip, the band mate that she hangs out with the most, quits the band and two new boys join. Being Friends with Boys is an adorable book about how Char handles relationships with several very cool and very different boys and all the complications that go along with them.

I’m a very character driven reader and Terra Elan McVoy is awesome at writing them. I loved Char! She was a normal, likable girl without ever being boring. I loved that she got inspiration from her songs from looking at pictures of family and friends and from her life experiences. Char does have some issues with abandonment but McVoy handles even the angsty stuff so well, it was never annoying, just wonderfully done. I loved the boys as well with the exception of Oliver who I thought was pompous but I guess at least one of them had to be a jerk.

The thing that surprised me that most was Char’s healthy, supportive relationships with her father, stepmother and stepsisters. It would have been easy for McVoy to make this blended family a cause of pain and suffering in Char's life. Don’t get me wrong, Char does have drama (including some from her mom), but the author definitely went against stereotypes and does not vilify the usual suspects.

Overall, Being Friends with Boys was a cute and funny book. The romance in the book was really sweet and made me smile. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves YA contemporary novels or books about music and bands. This will also make a great summer read and is perfect for when you are reading on the beach or by the pool!

Content: Kissing, profanity, underage drinking and drug use.

My Rating: Really Good!

Free E-book: Elemental by Brigid Kemmerer

Title: Elemental by Brigid Kemmerer

Release Date: March 27, 2012
Publisher: Kensington
Pages: 50 pages
Genre: Paranormal

Goodreads Summary: Earth, Fire, Air, Water – they are more than you dream.

As an air Elemental, 17-year-old Emily Morgan doesn’t have much power. That’s okay—she knows what happens to kids who do.

Like Michael Merrick. He’s an earth Elemental, one with enough power to level cities. Which makes him sexy. Dangerous. And completely off limits. At least according to Emily’s family.

But her summer job puts her in close contact with Michael, and neither of them can help the attraction they feel. When forces of nature like theirs collide, one misstep could get someone killed. Because Emily’s family doesn’t just want her to stay away from him. They want him dead.

Last week I reviewed Storm by Brigid Kemmerer in all its awesomeness (read my review here) and now I happy to tell you that Elemental, the prequel novella to the series, is free on Amazon and B&N right now! Elemental is a great start to the series, so make sure you get it before the price goes back up.

Joint Review: Harbinger

Lisa from Read. Breathe. Relax and I did our first joint review last year and are very excited to do another on the dark thriller, Harbinger by Sara Wilson Etienne. Below are some of Lisa’s thoughts on Harbinger and please check out Lisa’s blog for more of my thoughts on the book.

Title: Harbinger by Sara Wilson Etienne

Release Date: Feb 2, 2012
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons BYR
Pages: 309 pages
Genre: Dystopia, Paranormal

Goodreads Summary: Girl, Interrupted meets Beautiful Creatures in this fast-paced thriller

When sixteen-year-old Faye arrives at Holbrook Academy, she doesn't expect to find herself exactly where she needs to be. After years of strange waking visions and nightmares, her only comfort the bones of dead animals, Faye is afraid she's going crazy. Fast.

But her first night at Holbrook, she feels strangely connected to the school and the island it sits on, like she's come home. She's even made her first real friends, but odd things keep happening to them. Every morning they wake on the floors of their dorm rooms with their hands stained red.

Faye knows she's the reason, but what does it all mean? The handsome Kel tries to help her unravel the mystery, but Faye is certain she can't trust him; in fact, he may be trying to kill her - and the rest of the world too.

Q1. Is Harbinger what you expected? What surprised you the most about the book (without giving away too many spoilers)?

Lisa: Yes and no. I only read one review of Harbinger, but I think I was pretty well prepared for how dark it was. On the other hand, it did have a ton of twists that took me completely off-guard. The ending is what surprised me the most. I thought the author was taking it one way, but she took it a whole different way I couldn't have guessed in a million years.

Me: I had no idea this book was dystopian before I started reading it. The summary does not even hint at anything like that so it was easily my biggest surprise.

Q2. What did you think of the book’s dark setting (the school, surrounding areas and the world itself)?

Lisa: Although I'm a serious wimp when it comes to super dark/scary books, I actually thought the dark setting was appropriate and interesting. It gave the story an aura of mystery and suspense. Holbrook was creepy and awful, and I admired how consistently horrible Etienne made it. 

Me: I agree! This school was a prison masquerading as a reform school and it was awful! She did a fantastic job writing the setting.

Q3. Faye is an interesting main character? What did you like and not like about her?

Lisa: I liked that Faye was an outcast and that she fashioned a misfit family out of her fellow students at Holbrook. She's rebellious and curious, and I thought she was a well-rounded character.

The only thing I didn't really like about Faye was that at the end of the book, she seemed to change too rapidly. Although it fit with the plot, Faye was acting completely differently than she had the entire book. It just didn't make sense to me.

Me: I have to agree with you on this as well.

Q4. What did you think of the relationship between Faye and Kel?

Lisa: Following the rest of my responses, I really loved Faye and Kel 80 percent of the book. Their relationship was fraught with delicious tension and attraction. Then at the end...it just got weird.

Me: LOL! I thought there was a lot of weirdness about their relationship throughout the book. It was this sort of insta-attraction/weird connection that they shared that was, well, different. Not bad, but different.

Q5. What did you think of the secondary characters, especially the family?

Lisa: I seriously loved them!! They're all so quirky and funny. I loved their back stories and how they formed a real bond over their shared misery. (Bummer). 

Q6. Harbinger has an environmental theme running through it that I find unique in paranormal YA books but more common in dystopia. What did you think of this theme? Would you like to see more or less of it in YA?

Lisa: In general, I think the theme of environmentalism can seem a bit forced and a little political. But, in Harbinger, it fit in with the overall ideas presented in the book: the world ran out of resources and struggled to keep going. It only makes sense that there were activists who wanted to cut down on wasteful consumption.

I think this theme also feels less pushy in paranormal and dystopian books because it's set in a fictional world and doesn't seem to read like a commentary on the current state of affairs in our country.

Q7. What were you overall thoughts on the book? Who would you recommend it to?

Lisa: This book was unputdownable for me. I read it in 2 days, which is pretty fast for this 9-to-5er. I was riveted the entire time!! The combination of intense mystery and action with a side of romance made this a well-balanced book.

However, the end of the book felt rushed and incomplete. In the last fourth of the book, the reader is hit with a tidal wave of new information. It's so much to process that I found myself drowning in the details. The final twist at the end just left me confused and a little let down. It wasn't the shocking reveal I was hoping for.

Harbinger passed the class but failed the final. The whole build-up of the story was enough to carry me through the patchy ending.

I would recommend this to fans of dark fantasy, paranormal YA and people who just love a good mystery (and staying up late nights).

Me: I read this very much wanting to find out what was behind the mysteries and Faye’s visions but the rushed ending left me confused and I still have questions that went unanswered. If you like dark and original YA books, I think this may be one for you, but it can be confusing. Harbinger does appear to be a standalone book which is a good thing for those tired of waiting a whole year to find out how the story ends.

Thank you for doing another joint review with me, Lisa! Don't forget to stop by Read. Breathe. Relax. to see Lisa's questions for me on Harbinger.

Winner!

Congrats to Sarah Palo who won the finished copy of The Immortal Rules! The winner was chosen by Random.org and has been contacted. I have another giveaway going on right now so make sure you enter. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Fairy Tale Giveaway Hop!

Welcome to the Fairy Tale Giveaway Hop hosted by I Am A Reader Not A Writer and vvb32reads. This hop runs from April 26 – May 1.

For this hop, I’m giving away an ARC of Cinder by Marissa Meyer. This book is an awesome retelling of Cinderella, you can read my review here.

This hop has a twist! For the fairy tale aspect of the hop, I will name fairy tale villains who have been unjustly given a bad name and the books they appear in.

1. The three bears from Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Technically, Goldilocks broke into the bears’ house, ate their food and vandalized their property. Goldilocks is clearly in the wrong but seems to gets a pass because she is pretty and apparently hungry and tired. The bears should have pressed charges.

 2. Beast from Beauty and the Beast. Beast has a lot to be angry about. First a witch puts an ugly spell on him then a man he helps steals from him. Under similar circumstance, I would probably be surly too.

3. The witch from Hansel and Gretel. When kids try to eat your house, it’s only fair to catch the kids and eat them, right? Technically, they vandalized her property, so…. Okay, maybe the witch should not have gone that far but let this be a lesson to kids: don’t take candy from strangers and definitely don’t try to eat a stranger’s candy house!

Are there any fairy tale villains that you are fond of? Who are your favorites? Let me know in the comments!

To enter the giveaway, just fill out the Rafflecopter form below and good luck!

Waiting on Wednesday: The Lost Prince

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming novels we can't wait to read. This week’s choice is:

Title: The Lost Prince (Iron Fey #5) by Julie Kagawa

Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publish Date: Oct. 23, 2012
Genre: Fantasy

Goodreads Summary: Set several years after the events of the first, this trilogy will star an older Ethan Chase, Meghan's brother.

Why am I waiting on The Lost Prince? I adore Julie Kagawa’s books and the Iron Fey series is one of my all time favorites! I am giddy about the fact that Ms. Kagawa is doing a spin-off series featuring Megan’s little brother Ethan! While the cover is a little more adult paranormal romance that I expected, it does not matter. The cover of this book could be blank and I would still be anxiously waiting for it. I don’t even need a full summary to know it will be awesome. I really like how certain elements like the font and the swirls tie in to the rest of the series. What books are you waiting on?