kristenstieffel's reviews
460 reviews

The town of Smitten, Vermont, is as much a character in this book as the four women who make up its core. This is not a novel, but a tetralogy of novellas, each with a different heroine. Disclosure: I was given an advance reader copy of this book at a conference.

The authors do a great job of intertwining their characters’ lives, and their voices are similar enough that the stories flow into one another without clashing. The overall story arc, of the character’s efforts to transform Smitten from mill town to vacation destination, runs as a thread through all four stories, binding them together.

The characters are well-rounded, and although some of them have superficial quirks, those add to, rather than substitute for, some very realistic, deep-rooted traits that make the characters believable.

The quality of the writing is very high, although there are a few continuity problems. A character suddenly has an object in her hands that we never saw her pick up -- where did that come from? One character is introduced as a good friend -- halfway through the book. Another, who appears early in a minor role, is described as one woman's "best friend." If he's her best friend, how come she doesn't talk to him until we're three-quarters of the way through the book?

But these are quibbles. Overall, this is a charming set of stories that make for a delightful getaway.

I have filled this book with highlights and Post-It notes, and covered half a dozen pages of a legal pad with notes as well. This book is a great first stop on a journey toward creating a life—not just a career, but a LIFE—that is more meaningful than the same old routine so many of us have found ourselves trapped in.

If you've spent a lot of time studying personal development, some of these concepts will be familiar: choices lead to consequences, belief drives behavior, take responsibility for your outcomes.

For me, the most valuable part of this book was defining what success looks like for me in various areas. Some of those, like career, I have thought about extensively. Maybe excessively. Others I hadn't really given much thought, like physical. What does it mean to be physically successful? Maintaining a healthy weight is an obvious criteria, but I realized improving my posture when working is also an important goal.

Bain puts his formula for success as BOX: belief, opportunity, and excellence. This is a handy way to think about what we must get a handle on to succeed. My only disappointment with this book is that the final third is heavy on anecdotes and thin on exercises. For example, Bain writes "Discovering and managing opportunity take insight, skill, patience, and a clear vision…" yet offers no examples of how to develop one's skill at discovering opportunity.

Which is why I say this book is a first step. It is an inspiring read and makes a convincing case that success is dependent upon our inner strengths and not outer circumstances. I trust that others in the field will provide some of the details, such as what managing opportunity looks like. Bain's primary mission in this book—and I believe he accomplishes it—is to get us moving in the right direction.

This adventure story is centered around a couple of charming characters who are just annoying enough to be realistic, without being so annoying you don't want to spend time with them.

The funny thing is, as Vinyanel and Veranna annoy the blazes out of each other, they don't seem to realize that they're both annoying for the same reason: arrogance. Fortunately they have the level-headed Majetrin, whose gravitas anchors them -- and the story. And since Vinyanel and Veranna both excel in their own ways -- he as a warrior and she as a prophetess -- we enjoy their company and forgive their flaws.

Minor has created a rich fantasy world and pulls off that trick that so many of us find so hard -- she's implied a long history of conflict between two races by letting us experience the results of the history through the lives of the characters. No long, boring expository passages here. The story moves along at a quick clip.

The prose is occasionally lofty and a bit stilted; this may be a feature some fans of High Fantasy will see as a plus. I found it a bit off-putting. But then, I feel the same way when Tolkien does it.

There are several plot elements to keep track of: an enemy invasion, the quest for a sacred chalice, the appointment of the king's new champion and the formation of a new band of dragon-riders. The connections between all things things are barely hinted at, yet the subtext tells me the connections must exist. I look forward to seeing how things come together in part two.

I also look forward to spending more time with my new friends.

In Finding Angel, Kat Heckenbach creates a community so lovable you wish you could move there. Like some other fantastical worlds we know of, this one exists alongside our own. But one doesn’t need a magic portal or spell to reach Toch Island. You just need the right map. The great thing about this is it leaves the reader with the feeling that you could go visit those magical folk, if only you had the latitude and longitude.

The downside is--within the storyworld--non-magical bad guys can find the island, too. Toch Island isn’t a paradise—they have no iPads there. And it has the same sort of small-town politics that any human settlement might have. But the real threat comes from outside.

From one of us.

Finding Angel is an intriguing tale with a strong, believable young protagonist. As Angel searches for her own lost history, new questions arise and the stakes get higher. The more she learns about the hometown from which she’s been separated for so long, the more she learns about herself.

Her friend and guide, Gregor, is a noble, selfless man mature beyond his years. More mature, as it turns out, than a powerful but selfish elderly neighbor.

Finding Angel is full of intriguing characters--so much so that when you’re not reading it, you’re still thinking about them. Where are they? What are they doing? What will happen next? That’s reader engagement, people.

And when it’s over, you want to go visit again, so you can see how they’re doing. Fortunately, The sequel, Seeking Unseen, is due for release in July. I’m booking my ticket now.

This volume continues the quest begun in book one. Here, the Windrider Squadron gains some new members, but Vinyanel and Majestrin are still, as far as I'm concerned, the stars of the show. Vinyanel's mentor/teammate Veranna has a key role to play, but some of the best bits are from Majestrin's point of view, showing that the dragon is a true partner with the elves.

For an experienced warrior, Vinyanel still has a lot to learn, and he grows a lot in the course of this story. We're often told every hero must have a flaw, but often our heroes are sort of blissfully unaware of their flaws until the bitter end. Not Vinyanel. His flaws were sharply revealed in book one, and in book two he learns to deal with them. We also see a heretofore unmentioned weakness for a woman. A whole new facet of his personality.

The woman, I think I can say without spoiling too much, is not Veranna. That the hero and heroine of this story are not also one another's romantic interests is one of the things I love about it. Veranna is enamored of another Windrider, and Vinyanel professes to be interested only in his weapons.

Other things I love about this story: the elves are like real flesh-and-blood beings with flaws and feelings, not just aloof, serene caricatures; there are words in it I have to look up; faith lessons are woven into the story without being plunked in awkwardly; and -- of course -- dragons.

The subtitle, "Devotions on the Names of God," is a bit misleading. Not all of the devotions focus on a name. Many are based on attributes or roles of God, such as "gracious" or " helper." This is a quibble. The writing is excellent, and the theology is sound.

The insights are meaningful, and are not dense theological treatises. This makes them very accessible. The downside for mature Christians is that if you WANT a dense theological treatise, you must look elsewhere.

These devotionals are not only informative, they inspire us to examine more closely our relationship with God. The included prayers are simple yet insightful. And each day's entry closes with a probing question designed to deepen one's Christian walk.

Any Christian will benefit from this devotional, but I especially recommend this book for new believers because a right understanding of God and a right relationship to him are essential to the building up of our faith.

A beautiful fairy tale. Literally.

Diane Graham brings new life to an old genre, the fairy tale, with her vision of five kingdoms separated and oppressed by a cruel overlord. Her storyworld contains all the old favorites: dragons, fairies, talking animals, evil curses, and true love.

The first-person, present-tense voice takes some getting used to, but it totally works. Since Ocilla is an amnesiac, all she has at the outset is her "here and now." As the story progresses, she discovers her world and herself anew.

The story is an episodic quest, as Ocilla and her allies travel across the five kingdoms, breaking curses and preparing for the final showdown. It's all wrapped in lyrical, beautiful prose. Vivid sensory details put you right in the story.

Most of the story progresses through slow, lyrical periods of discovery alternating with moments of sheer terror. The first 80 or 90 percent of the story proceeds at a measured pace, but the ending comes in a rush -- almost too hurried, leaving some questions unanswered. But this is a quibble. Great story. Great characters. Happy ending. And it has what I've come to see as the essential element of great speculative fiction: a storyworld you'd like to go visit. Often.

Kai and Shae, the central characters in DawnSinger, are intriguing and engaging. They’re been raised as brother and sister, but Kai knows this is a ruse. Shae’s true identity has been concealed for her own protection. This puts an unusual twist on their relationship, especially when the court minstrel starts flirting with Shae. The romantic element is a relatively small part of the story, but it’s filled with unexpected intricacies and ties firmly into the main plot.

The first half of the book is cloak-and-dagger political intrigue in the High Queen’s court, and the second half is straight-ahead epic quest. The stakes and tension are high right up through the end.

Voigt’s prose is eloquent, and she creates a lot of wonderful word pictures. When this is applied to dialog, the results can be a bit high and lofty and stilted, but many fantasy fans will see this not as a bug, but as a feature. The settings are rich, and there’s a map. All the best fantasy novels have maps.

This is the kind of story that stays with you long after the last page. The kind that keeps you wondering where your new friends are and what they’re doing. I’m looking forward to the sequel so I can find out.

Disclosure: I was given an advance e-version of this book for review purposes.