Review: BEAST by Donna Jo Napoli

TITLE: Beast

AUTHOR: Donna Jo Napoli

AUTHOR WEBSITE: www.donnajonapoli.com
GENRE: Young Adult, Retold Fairytale, Fantasy

PUBLISHED: Simon Pulse (June 22, 2004)

MY RATING: 3

FIND ON: Amazon

SYNOPSIS:

Told through the eyes of the Beast, Prince Orasmyn, he has been transformed by a curse into a lion, and can only be redeemed by the love of a woman. From this four-footed perspective, the young prince struggles to learn how to survive as a beast while retaining his humanity in devotion to Islamic moral principles.

Fleeing his father's hunting park, he travels as an animal across Asia to France, where he at last finds an abandoned chateau. There, using paws and jaws, he plants a rose garden and prepares the castle for the woman he hopes will come to love him. Enter the merchant, the plucked rose, the brave Beauty, and the story wends to its traditional end--but this time with compassion and a new vividness.

Review: THE HEALER’S APPRENTICE by Melanie Dickerson

TITLE: The Healer’s Apprentice
AUTHOR: Melanie Dickerson – Web, Blog
GENRE: Young Adult,
PUBLISHED: Zondervan (September 14, 2010)
(*See additional Book Club review at the end.)

SYNOPSIS: 

(Provided by Publisher)

Rose has been appointed as a healer's apprentice at Hagenheim Castle, a rare opportunity for a woodcutter's daughter. While she often feels uneasy at the sight of blood, Rose is determined to prove herself capable. Failure will mean marrying the aging bachelor her mother has chosen--a bloated, disgusting merchant.

When Lord Hamlin, the future duke, is injured, it is Rose who must tend to him. As she works to heal his wound, she begins to feel emotions she's never experienced before. But falling in love is forbidden, as Lord Hamlin is betrothed to a mysterious young woman in hiding. As Rose's life spins toward confusion, she must take the first steps on a journey to discover her own destiny.

REVIEW:

“Whoa, I need to read this,” is what I originally said. Not only is the cover so pretty, the synopsis makes me equally curious. I enjoyed the narrative of Rose, a very prim and proper peasant who knows her place. She is what I would imagine a peasant of the middle ages is like. She tries to be inconspicuous but two men take notice of her and they just so happen to be royalty. Let’s pretend for a moment that this is at all likely, there are instances where one or the other just shows up wherever Rose may be. There’s no rhyme or reason to their appearance, like it was way over planned or crazy coincidence.

There’s not a whole lot wrong with the characters in this story. They are deep and interesting and appropriately flawed. (I mean a Lord falling in love with a peasant while he’s betrothed, that’s a serious weakness.) I couldn’t help but want to kick Lord Rupert in the neck. Frau Gerusha is mysterious and interesting. (Love the prayer and God element. It felt quite accurate to the time period.)

The trouble in this book lies with the plot and the writing of it. If this story was a glass of water, it would only be two-thirds full. If it were a picnic, it would be a sandwich shy. What I mean is, this is a great story idea and we only really got two-thirds of the power of the story. The emotions of the love affair are just right, but the plot felt like it had a gaping hole in it which leads me to…

THE SUPERNATURAL ANALYSIS:

Yay! There is spiritual warfare in this book! That thrilled me! BUT this is where the gaping hole was… there was a deficit to the storyline of the bad guy. I wanted to be able to smell his evil but it felt like he was avoided so no one was too scared. Supernatural stuff is freaky and I wasn’t nervous at all about Rose being in danger. Even though it was totally cool how the author accurately used spiritual authority to cast out demons. (You go girl!) I just wish we were given the full opportunity to really loathe the bad guy—see him close up, see why he’s so bad, see him mess someone else up too or something. We were only told about him, not shown. I wanna see how bad he is!

RATING:

I’m really not sure how to rate this book. The characters were fine, the romance was juicy, the spiritual warfare was cool, but the antagonist was only 2-demensional, the Sleeping Beauty thing was kind of lame, and it felt like a one legged plotline. I know giving it a 3 is being generous, but it had spiritual stuff in it! So: 3. Good. It was good, no regrets.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

This is a Christian novel. (I didn’t actually know that until I cracked it open.) And it’s totally appropriate for teens especially so they can see the supernatural at work. I think that it is more appropriate for early teens, pre-teens: 10-13. (I think I’ll let my 9 year old read it.)

BOOK CLUB ANALYSIS:

So this was a book we read for book club. And this was what they thought: The general consensus was that it was predictable. Everyone one knew the secrets near the beginning. (Umm, I only figured it out half way through. Lol.) They agreed that the story was cut short and really could have been more intense. I have to agree, we were shorted with the suspense. To many secrets given away to early on.

FAV-SCENE: 

This is a SPOILER! If you want to know what our favorite scene was, highlight this paragraph to reveal text:

The most powerful scene in the whole book was when Gunther was sent to the gallows and Rose brought Hilde just in time to save him and MARRY HIM! What a great old-law twist. The scene was emotional and surprising.

Author Q&A: Tina Whittle

BOOK: The Dangerous Edge of Things
RELEASE DATE: February 1, 2011

I caught up with Tina Whittle, author of THE DANGEROUS EDGE OF THINGS this week. She’s excited to announce the release of her debut novel, a murder mystery piled with suspense, slathered in humor, with a romantic cherry on top. We met up at our mutually favorite coffee shop (The Daily Grind, Statesboro, GA) and she agreed to answer some fun questions:

HT: How was THE DANGEROUS EDGE OF THINGS birthed?

Tina: It started out as a short story I wrote for a writing class. My instructor suggested I submit it to a writing contest sponsored by Gulf Stream Magazine. It went on to win first place. The main character I created in that story was Tai Randolf, a southern-spitfire of a woman who is now the protagonist in my novel.

HT: How much are you like your main character, Tai Randolf?

Tina: {Laughs} I think she is who I’d like to be, if I could. I think I would like to be absolutely sure that my way is the best way. I think that is her guiding principle in life, even if she has doubts, but she just does what she feels right.

HT: Where did you come up with Trey Seaver?

Tina: I read an interesting article about Aphasic Stroke victims whose brains have been damaged, making them unable to communicate but became better at lie detecting, almost CIA quality without training. The more I learned about different kinds of brain damage, I decided that would make an interesting character.

HT: Will this be part of a series?

Tina: Yes, of course! A trilogy.

HT: Can you share any details about the next book? Pretty please?!

Tina: Sure, it is again set in Atlanta and features the world of spoken word poetry, which is big in Atlanta. It’s one of the finest places on the planet to go hear some really good spoken word poets. So the second book is a mystery based in that sub-culture of spoken word poetry.

HT: What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?

Tina: When I’m trying to get into a character’s frame of mind, I tend to “be” that character for a while. I act like them, speak like them, just to try out what it’s like to be in their head. It gets me in trouble sometimes. I’ve jumped into Trey’s head a couple of times: order, control, no smiling, no laughing, no looking off to the side. But not in psychopathic way! {Laughs}


RELATED POSTS:

Reveiw: THE DANGEROUS EDGE OF THINGS by Tina Whittle

Article: Tina Whittle: Breakout Mystery Novelist (As seen in Connect Statesboro)

Review: THE BODY FINDER by Kimberly Derting

TITLE: The Body Finder
AUTHOR: Kimberly Derting – Web, Blog
GENRE: Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance, Mystery
PARANORMAL ELEMENT: Sensing the Murdered
PUBLISHED: HarperCollins (March 16, 2010)
FORMAT: Hardcover
SOURCE: Borrowed from Library

SYNOPSIS:

Violet Ambrose is grappling with her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her childhood best friend, she is more disturbed by her power to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes the dead leave behind . . . and the imprints that attach to their killers.

A serial killer is terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he's claimed haunt her daily, Violet realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.

REVIEW:

I love stories about people with unique abilities and this one is new and creative. Violet is able to sense the dead. She is able to see, feel, taste, hear or smell whatever imprint is left on a person after they’ve been murdered. Not only that, the same sensation is left on the killer too. This story was fun to follow from beginning to end.

Violet is pretty cool, even though she makes a some really stupid mistakes. I love the friendship between her and her childhood best friend, Jay. He is a great guy and smart too. Much of what he did surprised me and I much enjoyed his character. (He made this book.)

There are breif chapters from the point of view of the killer. It was rather nauseating to read and I thought it was unnecessary at first. But as the story builds there is a point in the story where it really makes it intense.

Concerning the serial killer-suspense aspect of the book, it was rather rushed and really could have been lengthened. I wasn’t exactly on pins & needles worrying. So I’m thinking it was intended to be more of a paranormal romance than a mystery thriller.

RATING:

I rather enjoyed this book. It was good for the imagination and I was glad that there was actually a family that wasn’t all broken apart. The crime solving was a little weak but the ending was satisifying. I’d rate this book at a 3. Good. A good read, no regrets. 

RECOMMENDATION:

I would recommend reading this book to teens. There is a bunch of heart pounding make-out scenes, one F-bomb and a few other swear words. But all in all, a good book.

VIDEO:

Books in the Series:

Book 1: The Body Finder
Book 2: Desires of the Dead
Book 3: The Last Echo
Book 4: Dead Silence

Tina Whittle: Breakout Mystery Novelist

(As seen in Connect Statesboro [Page 6] ~ Published February 9, 2011)

In the first of February, Tina Whittle, Statesboro native and ex-GSU professor, released her first full-length mystery novel. Based in downtown Atlanta, “The Dangerous Edge of Things” is a murder mystery piled with suspense, slathered in humor, with a romantic cherry on top.

It started out as a short story Tina Whittle had written while she taught at GSU in the Writing and Linguistics Department. It won first place in the 2004 Mystery Fiction Contest sponsored by Gulf Stream. “The main character I created in that story was Tai Randolf, a southern-spitfire of a woman,” said Tina when she explained how her debut novel was birthed.

When asked how much she is like her main character, Tina laughed and replied, “I guess she’s who I would like to be.” Tina has always loved mystery fiction and several years ago decided to write full-time.

In “The Dangerous Edge of Things,” Tai Randolf is a sassy woman with a flair for not taking authority too seriously. She is hooked into helping solve the mystery of a murder that happens in her brother’s driveway. The tone of the book is set right away through Tai’s bold and witty voice. Tai’s unusual approach to sleuthing makes the story fresh and intense.

In contrast to Tai’s unruly nature, Trey Sever a field agent for the corporate security firm hired to investigate the murder is almost robotic in every action because of the accident that left him socially impaired. They are forced to work together to solve the murder.

Tina talked about the large amount of research on the guns in her book. She grew up around guns and mentioned a funny story about how her mother used to shoot the mistletoe out of the tops of trees during Christmas time so she didn’t have to climb up and get it. Tina had some instruction on how to use them to be able to accurately describe the specific guns and how they feel. Her instructor once told her, “You’ve got to know what you’re willing to do with this gun before the opportunity ever arises.”

Tina is already working on book two of the planned trilogy. Willing to share a sneak peek into next novel, Tina said it will be set in Atlanta again but this time featuring the world of spoken word poetry.

Tina Whittle’s debut mystery novel The Dangerous Edge of Things is a must read. I’d rate her book a 4 out of 5. Her storytelling is clever, the dialog a zinger. She will be signing books at Books and Cranny on Saturday February 12, 2011 from 11am to 3pm. Also a debut party also is being thrown in her honor at the Averitt Arts Center Saturday, February 26^th from 4-8 pm and is an open invitation.

From The Dangerous Edge of Things:
“What I wanted was a cigarette, and I wanted it fiercely. It was the only thing I could think of that might get the dead girl out of my head.”

RELATED POSTS:

Review: DANGEROUS EDGE OF THINGS by Tina Whittle

Author Q&A: Tina Whittle

Review: THE DANGEROUS EDGE OF THINGS by Tina Whittle

TITLE: The Dangerous Edge of Things
AUTHOR: Tina Whittle – Web, Blog 
GENRE: Adult, Mystery, Suspense
PUBLISHED: Poison Pen Press (Feb 1, 2011)
FORMAT: eBook
SOURCE: Digital ARC from Publisher via NetGalley.com

SYNOPSIS: 

(Provided by Publisher)

Tai Randolph thinks inheriting a Confederate themed gun shop is her biggest headache -until she finds a murdered corpse in her brother's driveway. Suddenly, she has to worry about clearing her own name, not just that of her wayward brother.

Complicating her search for answers is Trey Seaver, field agent for an exclusive corporate security firm hired to investigate the crime. Still in recovery from a car accident leaving him cognitively and emotionally damaged, Trey has constructed a world of certainty and routine. The last thing he wants is an unpredictable girl getting in the way.

But it takes another murder - and threats to her own life - to make Tai realize that to solve this crime, she has to trust the most dangerous man she's ever met.

REVIEW:

THE DANGEROUS EDGE OF THINGS by Tina Whittle is a fantastic murder mystery with a cast of lively characters. The main character, Tai, is a sassy woman with a flair for disregarding authority. She is hooked into helping solve the mystery of a murder that happens in her brother’s driveway.

Watching crime shows one loses the gut reactions of how it would really feel seeing a dead person. But in the first chapter Tai shows a very real reaction to the gore.

The tone of the book is set right away through Tai’s bold and witty voice. I found myself laughing at a lot of things she said throughout the entire story. She gave an edge to what was ordinary.

I always love when characters contrast and Trey Sever is quite the contrast to Tai’s unruly nature. Trey is a field agent for the corporate security firm hired to investigate the murder. He is almost robotic in every action because of the accident that left him as a blank slate. He still functioned exceptionally as an agent and followed rules precisely. His world is thrown into chaos when he’s assigned to protect Tai.

I couldn’t put the book down, with page after page of questions being answered and more questions presenting themselves. Tai’s unorthodox way of investigating was surprisingly fresh. She had a stake in the solving of the crime and couldn’t walk away until every last detail came to fruition. I had no idea how it would finally end and when I finally got there, I was thrilled with the outcome.

RATING:

I rate this book at a 4. Very Good, worth the read time invested. Tina Whittle weaves a great story with vibrant characters that keep you cheering for them. Apparently this will be the first of three books and I anxiously await the next!!

RECOMMENDATION:

I’d gladly recommend it to anyone who loves a good mystery that keeps piling on the suspense, slathering it with humor, with a romantic cherry on top. Yum!

RELATED ARTICLES:

Article: Tina Whittle: Breakout Mystery Novelist (As seen in Connect Statesboro)
Author Q&A: Tina Whittle (Coming Feb 11^th)

The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman

What Fills Your Love Tank?

(As seen in MOMENTS (Page 21) ~ Published February 1, 2011)

Does your spouse know how to make you feel loved? Do you know what fulfils your spouse’s emotional needs? In his book, “The Five Love Languages,” Gary Chapman talks about the basic need for love and affection and communicating it correctly. Here is a brief overview of his conclusions.

Are you speaking each other’s Love Language?

Words of Affirmation

Do you feel loved when someone gives you a compliment? Most would say yes, but for some, verbal encouragement fills them and helps them survive the day.

If your spouse needs Affirmation: Always find a chance to fit in a compliment about the work they do, how they look, etc. Never compliment out of bitterness.

Quality Time

Do you feel most loved when someone gives you their undivided attention? Some people just want face-time without the TV on, with their spouse’s full attention. Spending time together communicates that the other person cares about them.

If your partner desires Quality Time: Always make time for a date or a walk or even just a quality conversation. Never say you’re “spending time together” when there are a hundred other things taking your focus off him.

Receiving Gifts

Do you feel charged with love when someone gives you a simple gift? Most all of us love to get gifts but some people thrive on it as a visual symbol of love. A simple gift says to that person, “I was thinking about you.”

If your partner loves Receiving Gifts: Always try to get something for them, especially when they are down, whether it’s their favorite coffee, or a treat, or something you made. Never hold it against them that you don’t have money to buy things—think of them as a worthwhile investment.

Acts of Service

Do you feel loved when someone does a simple task for you? Some feel fulfilled when their spouse does the most normal tasks for them, like cleaning the house, cooking, etc. They see it as an act of love no matter how extravagant or ordinary it is.

If your loved-one’s Love Language is Acts of Service: Always think ahead to do things for them like doing something that they hate doing and do it with a positive attitude. Never do things out of fear, guilt or resentment, it doesn’t come across as love.

Physical Touch

Do you feel completely loved with the act of physical touch? Most men think their love language is physical touch because of a man’s strong desire for sex, but for those who thrive on holding hands, a hug or even just sitting in each other’s arms fills their love tank.

If your partner’s needs Physical Touch: Always be aware that a back rub, a stroke through their hair, or just sitting close to them on the couch might make them feel more loved. Never go a day without touching them.

There are tremendous benefits to fulfilling the needs of your significant other. If you figure out what their Love Language is and then speak it often. You will be communicating your daily love for them and keep their love tank full.

The 5 Love Languages

Dr. Gary Chapman

NY Times Bestseller

What if you could say or do just the right thing guaranteed to make that special someone feel loved? The secret is learning the right love language. Learn the simple way to express your feelings and bring joy back into marriage.