Monument 14 - Sky on Fire, (book 2) by Emmy Laybourne

Disclaimer: All reviews are the result of my personal opinion from a Christian stand-point. These reviews are provided for those who share my beliefs and morals, to help guide what fiction a reader may wish to pick up. For those who do not share these beliefs, please refrain from hateful comments. It is due to rude commenting that I must now include this note prior to all reviews. For more information, visit my purpose behind this blog. Thank you for your understanding.

Click to read my review of book 1 -- Monument 14.
Click to read my review of book 3 -- Monument 14: Savage Drift

Summary:
Intended Age-Group: 9th grade & up
Issues of Violence: gun fights, deaths from post-apocalyptic disasters, fist fighting, murders in various way (with a chainsaw, with a gun, possibly with drugs, etc.)
Intimacy Level: kissing, nudity, sex
Language: Use of "God," "Christ", and "Jesus" for exclamations. Hell, SOB, b****,  a**,
Other: Underage drinking/intoxication, drug use, conversations revolving around sex, drugs, "getting high", hallucinations from air toxin, violent animal-like behavior from air toxin, underage smoking, etc.

Recommendation: 3.5 out of 5 stars with high reservations (see end of entry)

Back-Cover Blurb
Trapped in a superstore by a series of escalating disasters, including a monster hailstorm and terrifying chemical weapons spill, brothers Dean and Alex learned how to survive and worked together with twelve other kids to build a refuge from the chaos. But then strangers appeared, destroying their fragile peace, and bringing both fresh disaster and a glimmer of hope.

Knowing that the chemical weapons saturating the air outside will turn him into a bloodthirsty rage monster, Dean decides to stay in the safety of the store with Astrid and some of the younger kids. But their sanctuary has already been breached once. . . .

Meanwhile, Alex, determined to find their parents, heads out into the darkness and devastation with Niko and some others in a recently repaired school bus. If they can get to Denver International Airport, they might be evacuated to safety. But the outside world is even worse than they expected. . .

Initial Reaction: *****
There's really one word to describe this book: terrifying. It's my own fault for starting it at 10:30pm. But as post-apocalyptic world-building goes, Laybourne wins the gold. It was terrifying, yet oddly captivating, and even now--a month after finishing it--I want to re-read the series. I want book 3 to come out.

PROS:

1. Characters: *****
Characters are even more believable and relatable than with book one. At first I was skeptical about how it now followed both Alex and Dean's point-of-view (POV), but Laybourne delivered a dual POV with flying colors. I never, for a moment, regretted switching POVs. Both were equally interesting, captivating, and had different voices.

2. Frighteningly realistic. As we followed Alex's POV out into the crazed world, people acted as I'd expect them. You had the crazies who wanted to survive, the crazies who wanted to steal from people, the few kind people who were willing to help, the travelers who just wanted to find a new place of safety. Even the way the government was portrayed to handle this situation of world disaster was believable.

3. Intense. Oh my goodness, I sweat more through this book than my best workout. The ending. What can I say? The ending. I don't think I was breathing. If this ever turns into a movie, the audience may just pass out.

4. Spiritual Content: *****
This comes specifically with the growth of prayer. In book one, Monument 14, God is somewhat ridiculed through the actions and attitude of a certain character. In this one, though, as life grew more intense and on the brink of hopelessness, the characters started turning to prayer. It was neat to see the switch. The changes in character. And, the answers to prayer. It seemed natural, like what I would expect--a certain reach toward God when the realization of death and short life is clear in one's mind. 



CONS:
1. Violence A lot of violence. Fighting, fleeing, murders, more fighting, more fleeing, panic, darkness, etc. But what do you expect in a post-apocalyptic book where half the people roaming around outside are infected with compounds that make them turn into enraged monsters?

2. Sensuality There is sex in this book with some small descriptions about it, too. This goes against what I believe -- spiritually and morally -- is appropriate for teenagers to do or read.

3. Others: Drinking and drugs were used in a few places throughout the novel. There was also a moment when all of the little kids and underage kids chose to smoke profusely in order to kill out the compounds in the air. I can understand in the situation, but this may affect younger readers differently than it ought -- just something to be aware of.


Overall Recommendation: (3.5 stars)

This book is dark. It's scary. Did I say it's dark and scary? But it's so brilliantly written and engaging. There are also many mature themes I find beyond the intended age group, yet the story is delivered flawlessly. (Can you tell I'm conflicted?)
I leave it to your discretion. I'm not sure if I'll put them away forever or read them again.

Nadine Brandes is an adventurer, fusing authentic faith with bold imagination. She writes stories about brave living, finding purpose, and other worlds soaked in imagination. Her debut dystopian novel, A Time to Die, released September 2014 from Enclave Publishing. When Nadine's not taste-testing a new chai or editing fantasy novels, she is out pursuing adventures. She currently lives in Idaho with her husband. You can find out more about Nadine and her books at http://nadinebrandes.com.

Crown of Embers, by Rae Carson (Girl of Fire & Thorns #2)

Disclaimer: All reviews are the result of my personal opinion from a Christian stand-point. These reviews are provided for those who share my beliefs and morals, to help guide what fiction a reader may wish to pick up. For those who do not share these beliefs, please refrain from hateful comments. It is due to rude commenting that I must now include this note prior to all reviews. For more information, visit my purpose behind this blog. Thank you for your understanding.

This is the second book in a series. Click to read my review of book 1, The Girl of Fire and Thorns.

Summary:
Intended Age-Group: 13+
Issues of Violence: action violence, murder, mutilation, intense situations, magic violence.
Intimacy Level: Focus on sex. Occasional heavy kissing. Elisa questions her attractiveness. Some nakedness (still remains appropriate)
Language: none that I noticed.

Recommendation: yes, 5 out of 5 stars.

Back Cover Blurb:
She does not know what awaits her at the enemy's gate.

Elisa is a hero. She led her people to victory over a terrifying, sorcerous army. Her place as the country's ruler should be secure. But it isn't.

Her enemies come at her like ghosts in a dream, from both foreign realms and within her own court. And her destiny as the chosen one has yet been fulfilled.

To conquer the power she bears once and for all, Elisa must follow the trail of long-forgotten--and forbidden--clues from the deep, undiscovered catacombs of her own city to the treacherous seas. With her goes a one-eyed spy, a traitor, and the man who--despite everything--she is falling in love with.

If she's lucky, she will return from this journey. But there will be a cost.

Initial Reaction: *****
The Crown of Embers takes Elisa into a completely new level of rule. Instead of leading desert mercenaries, she is now queen with death threats and murder attempts at ever turn. Amidst this chaos and dangerous love possibilities, she is discovering more about her purpose as the carrier of the Godstone.

This book was just as good, if not better, than book one. While The Girl of Fire and Thorns really laid a great foundation, this built with firm action, decision, and growth. I loved seeing the strengths and weaknesses Elisa discovered in herself as queen. The plot and twists kept me on the edge of my seat and I couldn't wait to get my hands on book three.

Characters: *****
As always, I admired the characters and found myself surprised more than once. That's something specific I love about Carson's writing, is that it's unpredictable. It's not always a pretty story, but a more real one. There were so many times where I just let the book drop and I'd sit until my mental, "NOOOOOO!" finally faded away enough to let me keep reading.

Qualms:
Only one thing made me stop in this book, and that came from when Elisa started focusing on sex with the man she realizes she loves. I understand she's young and that was something totally new to her, but when she started thinking about it -- worrying, fretting, and planning over it -- I felt her character change. Her leadership seemed to disintegrate. She came off as childish, needy, a little whiny, and distracted. Maybe this is realistic and, it may in fact be a pretty accurate picture of how love and intimacy may distract a young queen of sixteen.

No matter whether it was realistic or not, it diminished my respect and admiration for Elisa. I kept wanting to scream, "You're focusing on that now? When you're about to die and the lives of hundreds of people are in your hands, you're focusing on sex and birth control?"

That was the only thing that stood out to me--a taste of character inconsistency, but I haven't fully decided if it was inconsistent or just a little flare of bad-timing and childishness in Elisa's character.

Spiritual Elements: *****
The understanding of the Godstone and God both increased in this book--stepping to new depths of hidden tomes and secret places of power. Yet, the spiritual aspect of this religion remained fictitious to me--not fully connecting with symbolism of the Bible (that I could see). This is fine because her very intent may have been to have a fictitious religion. But, as a reviewer who focuses on reviewing with a Christian standpoint, I couldn't help but try to look for the similarities. While many things are the same, the relationship aspect with God is very different and much more distant in the novel than in real life.

Still, I greatly appreciate a strong read that remains clean and has a strong faith aspect to it. :) That would be the Fire and Thorns series.

Overall Recommendation: *****
The plot was brilliant, fast paced, and never left me bored. I am absolutely amazed by the writing and the story. I give it an easy five star, and that's saying a lot because five stars are not common in my rating category. [grin]

Nadine Brandes is an adventurer, fusing authentic faith with bold imagination. She writes stories about brave living, finding purpose, and other worlds soaked in imagination. Her debut dystopian novel, A Time to Die, released September 2014 from Enclave Publishing. When Nadine's not taste-testing a new chai or editing fantasy novels, she is out pursuing adventures. She currently lives in Idaho with her husband. You can find out more about Nadine and her books at http://nadinebrandes.com.

The Girl of Fire and Thorns, by Rae Carson

Disclaimer: All reviews are the result of my personal opinion from a Christian stand-point. These reviews are provided for those who share my beliefs and morals, to help guide what fiction a reader may wish to pick up. For those who do not share these beliefs, please refrain from hateful comments. It is due to rude commenting that I must now include this note prior to all reviews. For more information, visit my purpose behind this blog. Thank you for your understanding.

Summary:
Intended Age-Group: 13-17 (I think it's just best to say 13+. I'm 26 and loved it)
Issues of Violence: action violence, murder, mutilation, intense situations, magic violence.
Intimacy Level: questions of intimacy in marriage. Mild kissing.
Language: none that I noticed.

Recommendation: yes, 5 out of 5 stars. Woohoo!

New. Favorite. Author.

Back Cover Blurb:
Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness.

Elisa is the chosen one. But she is also the younger of two princesses. THe one who has never done anything remarkable, and can't see how she ever will. 

Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king--a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs her to be the chosen one, not a failure of a princess.

And he's not the only one who seeks her. Savage enemies, seething with dark magic, are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could be his people's savior, and he looks at her in a way that no man has ever looked at her before. Soon it is not just her life, but her very heart that is at stake.

Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn't die young. Most of the chosen do.

Initial Reaction: *****
The first paragraph instantly intrigued me. Elisa has spent the whole day praying that her future husband--whom she'd be marrying that very day--would be ugly, fat, and old. What girl prays for this? I needed to know. So I read on.

Characters: *****

I love Elisa's character, mainly because she's not afraid to say things. Well, perhaps she was occasionally afraid to speak her mind and ask the tough questions, but she did it anyway, which is even more admirable. I love watching her grow into a queen and how her history of studies and the influence of her sister affected her thinking. Only 100 pages in, I admired her and rooted for her. I understood her desires and her duty.

Plot: *****
The story constantly kept me gasping. I wasn't on the edge of my seat the whole time, though. Sometimes the story started to plod along like the loveable camels in its pages, but just as I started a yawn and thought, "Hm...one more chapter of this and I might be bored," a big shocker or plot turn or action scene would come up. Though I reached the edge a few times, I never actually got bored. That's really the only complaint (if you can call it that) I have. Also, please keep in mind there is also strong and high violence in this book. The plot is centered around a war.

Spiritual Aspect: *****
The spiritual aspect of the book was actually a little confusing. At first, I thought it was Christian, but some things just never connected. Elisa has what's called a Godstone in her belly--something God placed there since birth to show He's called her to a great duty. Sometimes it turns cold to warn her of things and when she prays it often turns warm.

Elisa was privileged to be one to communicate with God, which tells me the other people didn't have direct access to God. That doesn't align with what the Bible says, which led me to think maybe this was just a type of religion created solely for the book's sake.

The "church" of this religion involved sacrament, which meant pricking oneself for blood on the thorn of a rose in order to plead something from God.

All in all, it had similarities to the beliefs I hold from the Bible, but it always felt fictitious. None of it fully aligned, so I would call it a piece of fiction. Still, I took from it a growing urge to pray more. :) Thanks Elisa! 

Overall Recommendation: *****
This book was fantastic. The fictitious world Carson created was so unique and original. It brought a feel of newness and travel that very few other books ever bring me. As the sandy desert land grew on Elisa, it slowly grew on me (and I don't like deserts.)

I would summarize this book in one word: growth.
Growth of leadership, of character, of kings, of plot, of culture...all growth and discovery. This is a great foundation for the first book in a series. I loved this story and (as this is written after I've finished the series), I adore the series as well and highly recommend it with five stars in my eyes.

Nadine Brandes is an adventurer, fusing authentic faith with bold imagination. She writes stories about brave living, finding purpose, and other worlds soaked in imagination. Her debut dystopian novel, A Time to Die, released September 2014 from Enclave Publishing. When Nadine's not taste-testing a new chai or editing fantasy novels, she is out pursuing adventures. She currently lives in Idaho with her husband. You can find out more about Nadine and her books at http://nadinebrandes.com.