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Showing posts with label csff blog tours. Show all posts
Showing posts with label csff blog tours. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

book review: "night of the living dead christian" by matt mikalatos


"Night of the Living Dead Christian is the story of Luther, a werewolf on the run, whose inner beast has driven him dangerously close to losing everything that matters. Desperate to conquer his dark side, Luther joins forces with Matt to find someone who can help. Yet their time is running out. A powerful and mysterious man is on their trail, determined to kill the wolf at all costs..."


Though this is the sequel to My Imaginary Jesus, it can be read by itself. There are a few references to the other book but not enough to make you feel like you're missing something from the story if you haven't read it. I will say it helped prepare me for this book. I was already familiar with Matt's style and sense of humor as I began this book.

I don't normally like vampire/werewolf/zombie stories so I was unsure how I would like this. However, I enjoyed it. It wasn't overly gross or gory allowing me to overlook the zombies and instead focus on Luther and his journey to find the truth. I've come to enjoy Matt's humor after reading two of his books. While I didn't love the book, I'm glad I read it. Matt made some good points along the way and if you're into the whole zombie thing, you'd probably enjoy it even more.

I received a copy of this book from CSFF Blog Tour for my honest review.

You can buy the book from Amazon and learn more from Matt's site.

You can also read other reviews in the tour:
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Tuesday, September 20, 2011

book review: "the monster in the hollows" by andrew peterson

"Janner Wingfeather's father was the High King of Anniera. But his father is gone. The kingdom has fallen. The royal family is on the run, and the Fang armies of Gnag the Nameless are close behind.

Janner and his family hope to find refuge in the last safe place in the world: the Green Hollows--a land of warriors feared even by Fangs of Dang. But there's a big problem. Janner's little brother-heir to the throne of Anniera-has grown a tail. And gray fur. Not to mention two pointed ears and long, dangerous fangs. To the suspicious folk of the Green Hollows he looks like a monster.

But Janner knows better. His brother isn't as scary as he looks. He's perfectly harmless.

Or is he?" (from the back of the book)

I’ve not read the other two books in the series so I didn’t have any background knowledge as I started reading mid-series. Sometimes it’s not as important to know what’s happened prior but in this case, it would’ve helped me to know what was going on. Overall, I enjoyed the book but did feel a little lost at time since there were so many characters and I was just entering the scene. For example, the story begins with Janner recovering from being attacked by his now-wolf brother, Kalmar. In one of the other books Peterson explains why Kalmar is a wolf and there’s a conversation between Janner and Kalmar where I learned a little bit of what happened. However, in order to know the full details, I’ll have to go back and read the other books (which I intend to do). I really appreciated the short chapters since I like to stop at a chapter when I need to put a book down. I liked the twists Peterson threw in to keep me guessing. When Nia claims turalay to spare Kalmar’s life, thereby sentencing herself to any punishment Kalmar may receive for any of his actions, I knew that would come into play somehow but at the same time, Peterson couldn’t get rid of two of the main characters so he had me curious until I saw it play out. After reading the last page, I’m looking forward to seeing what happens in the final book, The Wolf King and the Warden.

You can learn more about the book, the series, Andrew Peterson and read other blogs in the tour by clicking any of the below links:

Gillian Adams
Red Bissell
Jennifer Bogart
Thomas Clayton Booher
Beckie Burnham
CSFF Blog Tour
D. G. D. Davidson
Cynthia Dyer
Nikole Hahn
Ryan Heart
Timothy Hicks
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Shannon McDermott
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirriam Neal
Eve Nielsen
Joan Nienhuis
Donita K. Paul
Sarah Sawyer
Chawna Schroeder
Tammy Shelnut
Kathleen Smith
Donna Swanson
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
Nicole White
Rachel Wyant

I received a copy of this book from CSFF blog tours for my honest opinion.
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Tuesday, April 19, 2011

book review: "the strange man" by greg mitchell

Dras Weldon refuses to grow up. Though he’s twenty-two, he still enjoys collecting comic books and action figures. His best friend, Rosalyn, rolls her eyes at his immaturity but loves him anyway. He knows he’s let his family down but can’t bring himself to change. However, he gets a wake up call when a mysterious stranger appears in the small town of Greensboro. This man leaves a trail of death in his wake and is after Rosalyn. Dras is the only one who can save her. But what can he do? Will he be too late? And what price will he have to pay?

I’d read some other reviews for the book and wasn’t sure if I’d like it. Knowing a demon was involved, I had mentally prepared myself for something like Demon by Tosca Lee. This was a combination of that and maybe something Frank Peretti might write. I’ll admit I didn’t like the ending – I had hoped for something different even as I was reading it and knew the outcome. One of my favorite scenes is Dras arguing with Sean Patrick about an action figure. I laughed out loud, imagining the scene in my mind. This was a little dark for me – not normally the kind of genre I read but I liked the overall message of the book.

In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Click here for a link to buy the book and here for the book's website.

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Tuesday, February 22, 2011

book review: "the God hater" by bill myers

"Silence filled the room as Nicholas stared at the middle-aged man on the screen. “So let me see if I correctly understand what you want. I’m supposed to pull a magic trick from my hat – some philosophical model that comes naturally and organically from who they are, that will enable them to survive.”
“We’ve tried everything we can think of,” Hugh said.
More silence, except for the rattling of Travis’s mint. “We gotta do somethin.’”
“Without imposing upon their free will,” Rebecca added. “Otherwise the program is irrelevant for our purposes.”
Nicholas removed his glasses and cleaned them on his shirt. “That’s a tall order.”
No one answered.
He replaced the glasses and stared back at the screen. “I’d say nearly impossible.”
More silence.
Finally, Travis answered, “If it wasn’t impossible, bro, I would have found somebody else.”

What if you could know the future? What if you could know how people would react in any given situation? Nicholas Mackenzie is about to witness this firsthand. His brother has created a program that taps into the human consciousness. But there’s a problem. Every time the program is run, the people end up eventually killing each other off. This is where Nicholas is asked to help. Nicholas is a man who prides himself on causing Christians to doubt their belief in God. But what happens when he becomes known as Programmer to those in the virtual world, communicating with them in an attempt to help them survive? He begins to feel what they feel and desire for them to not destroy themselves. How can he save them? And then there are those who want the technology for other purposes. Things become even more dangerous when one of those working for Nicholas’ brother is also working for someone else as well.

I had no idea what to expect with this book but was not disappointed. I loved the twists woven throughout, leaving me wondering what would happen next with the ending being a complete surprise. I loved the comparison to God and His love for us. The way Nicholas only wanted them to understand; to not be bound by the Law but find freedom in it. The ending leaves you with questions but in a way, that’s to be expected.


In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
For info on the book, click here. Click here for the Myers' website and here for his Facebook page.


Others in the tour:

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Monday, January 24, 2011

book review: "dragons of the valley" by donita k. paul

Verrin Schope has carved three statues, the Trio of Elements, that when positioned correctly, keep peace and order in Chiril. With the threat of the statues being stolen, Verrin asks three people to take the statues in order to keep them safe. If they fall into the wrong hands, it can bring about horrible consequences for both the country of Chiril and for Verrin Schope himself. Tipper Schope, Bealomondore and Wizard Fenworth all take a statue in the hopes of protecting their country.

King Odidoddex is planning an invasion of Chiril, wanting to take over the country. With the statues no longer together, Chiril is in a state of upheaval and thus making it the prime time for an attack. Prince Jayrus leads Chiril into battle, finally feeling as though he’s found his purpose as Paladin of the country. Will he be able to defend Chiril and lead them to victory?

Having not read the other books in the series, it took me a few chapters to finally get into the story. There are a lot of names and terminology to sift through but it slowly began making sense as I connected the dots with who is who (the appendix at the back of the book helped). By the time I finished, I really liked the story. I love the quiet theme of Wulder and His presence in Prince Jayrus and Verrin’s lives. Wulder is their Creator, who made everything and to whom they ultimately serve. It’s so easy to see the connection to God and I found the correlation rather beautiful. Overall, a very good read and fresh perspective on God and His love for us.

In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

For more info on the book, click here or here for info on the author or here to go to the author's blog (so many choices!!).

Others in the tour:
Gillian Adams
Noah Arsenault
Amy Bissell
Red Bissell
Justin Boyer
Keanan Brand
Grace Bridges
Beckie Burnham
Morgan L. Busse
CSFF Blog Tour
Amy Cruson
D. G. D. Davidson
April Erwin
Andrea Graham
Katie Hart
Ryan Heart
Bruce Hennigan
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Dawn King
Emily LaVigne
Shannon McDermott
Matt Mikalatos
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Joan Nienhuis
John W. Otte
Donita K. Paul
Sarah Sawyer
Chawna Schroeder
Tammy Shelnut
Kathleen Smith
James Somers
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
Dave Wilson
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