Two Hearts. One Hope.

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

     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 understand emotions she's never felt before and wonders if he feels the same. 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.
Published September 21, 2010 by Zondervan.

     Now, this is a story based (loosely) on Sleeping Beauty. Written by Melanie Dickerson, this book is a sweet story of two people, both betrothed to separate people, but both drawn to each other. One the duke of a castle, the other a lowly herbwoman. 
     But circumstances, (or is it God?), time and time again bring them together. Will the Duke give up Rose to marry a woman he has never seen? Never loved?

I give it a 4.5/5 stars
Ages: 15+
Would I buy it?: Yes
Pages: 272
 
   I won this book back in September, but didn't get around to reading it until now.

   The book DawnSinger by Janalyn Voigt has an intriguing cover, and a more intriguing summery.

~ The High Queen is dying… At the royal summons, Shae mounts a wingabeast and soars through the air to the high hold of Faeraven, where all is not as it seems. Visions warn her of danger, and a dark soul touches hers in the night. When she encounters an attractive but disturbing musician, her wayward heart awakens.

But then there is Kai, a guardian of Faeraven and of Shae. Secrets bind him to her, and her safety lies at the center of every decision he makes. On a desperate journey fraught with peril and the unknown, they battle warlike garns, waevens, ferocious raptors, and the wraiths of their own regrets. Yet, they must endure the campaign long enough to release the DawnKing—and the salvation he offers—into a divided land. To prevail, each must learn that sometimes victory comes only through surrender.
~

   Curious now? I was. And so I entered into the contest to win, and did! Here is my take on the book.
   The book begins with Shae, a 17 year old girl who longs to just sit in the woods; she is nothing like her twin sister who is everything their mother wants them to be. Though Shae is not slighted when it comes to being a member of her family, she doesn't feel the same connection with them as she had with the High Queen.
   When the High Queen calls Shae to her, Kai, Shae's older brother, comes to bring Shae to the dying Queen's bedside.
   But just before Kai comes, Shae gets a distrubing vision that unnerves her. Not to daunted by the vision, she goes with Kai. On the way, they encounter evil, hooded men who try to kill them. The rest you'll have to read yourself...

   So, my take on it. I felt that there was a lack of leaning on "God", however He was represented. Though Shae keeps biblical commands that have been given by God, there is no real spoken mention of God.
   It IS a christian book, but don't expect to hear the normal mention of His name.
   Also, there is a brief encounter between Shae and male character, but nothing "happens". So good on that level.
   The one thing I would've suggested, had I been able to give Janalyn some input, would be to make it waaaay longer to put more details.
   Yes the book is 342 pages long, but the font is quite large, and the book not that big, only 20.3 cm x 12.7 cm (about 8" x 5").
   It could've had much more material added to it. I felt that time passes quite slow at first, which is nice, because not many days DO pass, but after that when the four of them (read it to find out who) go on the journey, it feels like only a few days pass by, though it is quite a few weeks. Time didn't feel real.

   The names, places and creatures definitely felt fantasy, though there is a glossary in the back on how to pronounce words.

   But I'm glad I have the book!
I'd give it a 4/5 stars.
Age group to read it: 14-20

   I think this is her first novel, and it is a pretty good one at that. I cannot wait to read the second book in the series!

Authors that recommend this book: Jill Williamson, Lisa Grace.
 
They say you shouldn't. And for the most part I don't.
Unless it comes to...
BOOKS!
   Being an artist, the cover of a book has to capture my attention before I'll read the summary. Ok, so it's not always that way, but for the most part, I'll do that. Here's an example of what I mean.
Picture
   When she takes a position with a prominent English family, a young woman confront the dark secrets of the house's inhabitants.

Picture
 When Dr. Greg Parker's research indicates that the CIA manipulated the Northridge, California earthquake, he and his daughter, Sharon, follow a trail of clues that indicate a conspiracy to destroy America's economy. They slowly realize that an explosion in Jerusalem, a potential earthquake in middle America, and the devastation of the American economy fit a pattern that is amazingly parallel to predictions found in the Bible. Soon Greg and Sharon Parker's race to stop destruction of their country becomes a battle to save their own lives as well.

   So, as you can see, I'd much rather go for the book on the right than the one from the left, just because the placement of everything on the page looks better than the painting on the left. Not to mention I like books with photography rather than artwork. The funny part with these two books is that I didn't notice that the image in the Dragon book is an On-Off switch, and the description has nothing to do with animal Dragons. And the thing about Thread of Suspicion has to do with, quote, "the dark secrets of the house's inhabitants", whatever it is.
   I would still like to read the book on the right over the one on the left just by the cover.

   Yes, it's kind of harsh, and ironc. I don't know if I'll change. Probably when tiramisu starts tasting disgusting, Which will probably never happen... But this is how I tend to decide on what books I will read.

Signed with charcoal - Leauphaun
 
Ok, so this is my first post on this blog. The name Books and Nooks pretty much describes this blog. I'll be posting books that I've read, and what my thoughts are on them. I don't know how many posts I'll do, nor how frequently, but I think this will be the most updated blog on my site. Shows you that I'm a reader!
The header on the top of the blog is where I'll put the current book I'm reading. Now this doesn't mean that I'll do an immediate post on the book, but hopefully I'll do a post about every book I'm reading. And I read a lot. Hopefully you do to. If you don't, then why are you reading this blog? ;)

 - Signed with Sun
Leauphaun

    Author

    I'm the type of person who loves many different genras of books. Give me anything BUT a Amish Romance! I can't stand those. But for the rest, I love Fantasy, Science Fiction, and many more. (see full bio here)

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    Books I would buy!
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    The Healer's Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson

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    Lost in NashVegas by Rachel Hauck

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    Fools Rush In by Janice Thompson

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    The Redemption by MaryLu Tyndall

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    Waterfall by Lisa T. Bergren

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    The Restorer by Sharon Hinck