Book review: My Brother's Crown by Mindy Starns Clark and Leslie Gould

Split between 17th century France and modern day Virginia, My Brother's Crown tells the story of two women who must rely on faith to get them through. Catherine, a protestant in Catholic France, must find a way to trust her brother who only seems to have secrets. And Renée, a Virginian scientist who has recently become inspired by her ancestor Catherine, discovers her inner strength to face a dark and sinister past.

I'm usually quite particular about historical fiction, and rightly so. I want to know that the author(s) have done their work so that I don't have to question their writing. Everything written within this novel was beautiful, and compelling. But then it got to some French words and phrases, and for some reason I kept wondering if this was 17th century French. Being Canadian, I have an understanding of French, and I wasn't expecting to understand it, but I did. I know around this time is when modern French began to be developed, but it's still pretty close to Middle French so I just had to wonder. It was this wondering that sometimes pulled me out of the novel. This has nothing to do with the writing, but with me. I wish I had been able to trust the authors and their research with the language. I'm glad the language was included, as it helped to create the French setting in my mind. I just couldn't get out of my own head.

While the Persecution Pamphlet was fake, I absolutely loved the world in which it was created. Based on a true persecution of protestants, this novel shows just how dire times were. To be honest, it resonates with me even in today's world. Catherine's fear for her life, her brother's, trying to save her cousin yet refusing to convert was so moving and challenging. We all want to believe we have the faith to say no in the face of our enemy, but we won't know until that moment. I knew little of what was happening in France during this time period, so I'm grateful to have learned something.

Renée's portion of the novel was moving. While I felt the romance was rushed a bit, I loved her passion for her work and for her family's history. I'm a huge genealogy nut, tracing my own ancestor's back to the 16th century, and I connected to this part of her life. Feeling a connection with a long-gone ancestor is pretty touching. I'm looking forward to what I hope will be more novels to read more about Renée's mystery, but I'm glad at least the first portion was closed and dealt with.

I very highly recommend this novel to anyone with an interest in French history, their own faith, God's provision, and how the past is ultimately connected with our present and future. This is a novel to follow, and re-read.

I received a free copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Book review: MOMO by Kevin Kraft

MOMO is a novel based on what is known as the Missouri Monster, which is similar to Big Foot. If either exist to even compare them. As it is advertised as a Christian novel, I wasn't sure how the idea of the monster would go with faith. I have to say the faith aspect didn't seem to be too important. It was more a book about people with faith, which is fine, but definitely changes the tone of the book and subsequently my review.

As a thriller, its length perhaps makes it more of a startling novel, rather than actually thrilling. I may be immune to certain things, but I didn't find this making my heart race as I read it. There are some books that, when I read it, I find to likely work better as a movie than a novel. This is one of those novels. Perhaps that's a good thing. With the author's background in screenplays, this only makes more sense.

I didn't find the characters realistic, unfortunately, especially in the way they spoke to each other. There was very little that made me think they were father and son. It was only perhaps the last few pages where I could see it. Another issue was the flipping back and forth between calling one of the main characters Mark, and then Dad, all in the same narrative. If it's from Evan's perspective, fine call him Dad. But make sure there's a distinct flip between perspectives. If it's omniscient (and there's nothing wrong with that) then he would be called Mark the entire time.

If I had to say anything about the faith aspect of the novel, I did enjoy what could be interpreted from it. Evan questions why God would make a monster like MOMO. I think that's a question many people ask, but worded slightly different: "Why are people bad? Why do bad things happen? Why does God make bad things?" I will say that the novel answers this well, but I can't say their faith in God is what got them through, nor did it have much to do with their relationship with each other. But I do like the implications in having faith in a God who would create this kind of monster.

If you're looking for a quick read, and are easily pulled into thrillers, MOMO fits the bill.

Book review: Hopebreaker by Dean F. Wilson

This is the first steampunk novel I've read, and it was everything I thought it would be. There's this strange sense of an old Western, but with a little something extra. The descriptions truly pulled me into this strange world, but left enough to my imagination that I could focus on the story rather than minute details.

I was drawn into the book from the first paragraph...and then it faltered. It seemed every sentence had a clichéd metaphor, or two, and it began to grate on me. Thankfully, the world and the story-telling was enough for me to continue on.

I'll admit it was a bit of a struggle to get through the first half, and even by the end I still am not sure if the main character Jacob is likeable, but by the end I felt compelled to read the second book of the series. There's so much to know about the world Wilson has created. I'd like to know more back story, and how the world came to be the way it was depicted in the novel, but I'm glad I didn't get it all in one go. It gives me something to imagine, and wonder for the following books. Of course, at the same time I understand that what the reader isn't told doesn't need to be known yet. I get that. I use it in my own novel. The saving grace is that there is the promise of more information to come.

Lovers of steampunk and vague lines between good and evil will really enjoy this novel. I say vague only because something tells me that there's more to the demon situation than what Wilson has portrayed thus far.

Book Review: Slippers in the Oven by Roberta Aarons

I'm not quite sure how to describe this novel. The writing is fair, nothing wonderful. It's normal. Don't get me wrong, I'm not sure that's a bad thing. As I read it, it was as though I was overhearing someone's conversation. To that end, it felt real, unpretentious. I perhaps would have liked to have read something a bit more compelling or challenging, mentally and emotionally. But that was my flavour of the day. This book was a nice fluff read.

I ended up not quite caring about either sister. Sure, both were hurt by the other and their ex husband, but I didn't really feel for either. Perhaps it was because we weren't exposed to either sister's true feelings, pain, or intentions. With Emma stealing her sister's husband, all she can give as a reason was that she wanted what Ann had and that Henry was bored. If Emma had wanted a marriage and family, she could have tried finding someone else. And Henry being bored? Seriously, that's the first excuse men make. Ann was too much of a push-over to find appealing. Even with her bit of independence and strength at the end, it was a too little too late.

But for some reason, I don't dislike this novel. It made me want to see if they would just blow up at each other, get everything out in the open and then decide if they want to mend fences. I never truly saw that. And the end was quite disappointing. None of that stopped me from reading on, so something in there must have caught my attention.

Overall, this is a great fluff read. It will probably appeal to an older crowd, but still a nice and easy read.

Book Review: 'Til We Meet Again by Ray & Betty Whipps

War is something that few talk about, at least in terms of the intimate details. The family members I've had in wars never spoke about it other than little details here and there. Never enough to paint a picture of what it was like. That's why I'm so grateful for a book like 'Til We Meet Again' by the Whipps because it not only shows one soldier's time in the war (and a brief gaze into that of a nurse) but how God was with him the whole time. The novel is a wonderful love story, and while it's amazing that Ray and Betty fell in love and had their life together it was really their love of God that spoke through the pages. Their plans didn't turn out the way they has thought but both knew without a doubt that God had a better plan for them. It's a true testimony to God's presence and the power of a relationship with Him.

What truly spoke to me was Ray's comfort in the fact that even when he was physically alone, he knew he wasn't. God was with him the entire time. The comfort he felt from scripture was inspiring, and has made my relationship with God that much more precious. No, not everyone came back from the war. Plenty of Christians died, as well. That didn't mean that God wasn't with them. Ray talks about this, wondering about the Germans praying as well.

One day while I was waiting for a friend, I was sitting and reading this book. We had picked a central meeting place in downtown, and I looked up and realized I was sitting at the city's cenotaph. Everything hit me then, how God places people and situations into your life at an appointed time. It is clearly the case with Ray and Betty.

'Til We Meet Again is a moving story about God's presence, and His Will, and how far our faith can take us. I think even non-believers would appreciate this novel as a true account of the second world war. As the saying goes, there's no atheist in a foxhole.

Book Review: Two Sons by Stewart Owen

Two Sons is a compelling story about two families, and the titular two sons lost during the Great War. One English. One German.

After adjusting to the style of writing, I really rather enjoyed this book. It spoke to me on a deeply personal level. Growing up in a German family living in Canada made November 11th confusing, and this confusion and difficulty is seen within Two Sons. As John Williams, the father of the English son, said "they're the enemy." But then, so were the Allies to the Germans. In the end, we see the reconciliation between the two families as they understand that they are each two families, from two countries, two armies, and two sons. But one shared grief.

The lovely part of the book was knowing that it was based on the author's family. It made me even more invested in the story. At times I found it difficult to understand the dialect of the characters but I soon grew accustomed to it.

Overall I found this to be a wonderful story and I look forward to reading the sequel.

Book Review: The Forgotten Knight - A Chinese Warrior in King Arthur's Court by Christopher Vale

There aren't many Arthurian stories out now, most coming from the 90s, yet Christopher Vale has created a fascinating tale in "The Forgotten Knight." Since studying Arthurian legends, I feel a have a bit of an advantage over the average reader with this novel. To call "The Forgotten Knight" a new legend would be unfair. In truth, it would be a modern re-telling if anything. It follows little of the traditional characteristics of the legends, but uses many of the characters from various legend sources.

This novel, however, does feature the medieval period the same way popular media portrays it: dirty, unhygienic, and bloody. This fits in with what I would consider modern legends as earlier legends tend to romanticize the period. And this cannot be called historically accurate in regards to medieval Britain (Arthurian characters aside) although it's clear Vale did research early medieval China in order to incorporate the title character. I would have liked to see more references to the culture, and the differences between the Chinese and British culture and how the characters deal with it.

While it may not have been intentional, I noticed similarities with the famous novel and later movie "The Princess Bride" mostly later in the book. The Queen uses Buttercup's line "you mock my pain" and later a character is tortured while insisting their inevitable escape similar ti Wesley. Most readers may not make the connections, unless they're fans of medieval stories.

One part of the novel which reminded me of the flow of earlier legends is when Lancelot, Galahad, and Sheng try to rescue the Queen. Their interaction with the Lady of the Lake is similar to how it would read in earlier manuscripts, particularly with the repetition.

The only part that made me uneasy was near the beginning, when Merlin and Sheng make their journey from China to Britain...in only several months' time. In truth it would take close to a year, as Merlin was not able to use his magic to get them back quicker. Otherwise, I rather enjoyed this book. Lovers of the medieval period and Arthurian legends will find this book fascinating, and modern. Sheng's character is wonderfully sympathetic, and the ending is appreciated to be the only one possible.


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