In The Messenger, Siri Mitchell explores the Revolutionary War and brings to life an exciting element of history.
As a Quaker, Hannah Sunderland feels caught between sides. Her father insists the family remain completely neutral, even as British soldiers occupy the city and take over the family’s home. Hannah’s twin brother Robert signs up with the rebels and is taken prisoner. Though her father forbids visiting him, Hannah wants to do something to ease the starvation and deprivation the prisoner are facing.
She encounters Jeremiah Jones, the local tavern owner. Jeremiah lost an arm while serving as in the British Army. Revenge compels him to send covert messages on what he overhears from soldiers visiting his tavern. When he needs to sneak a message into the prison, he develops a plan to secure a pass for Hannah if she delivers the message.
The characters are very well-developed. Hannah was especially intriguing as she tried to come to terms with her faith, her father’s instructions, Jeremiah’s pressure and the questions in her heart. Jeremiah was an unlikely but engaging hero. His injury, and his frustration with it, figured prominently in the story. I was surprised, however, that the story did not move more quickly. For a spy novel, more suspense and danger would have been expected.
Mitchell brings extensive research and a well-written story together to create a compelling read. Currently, this book is selling for $9.68 freein the Kindle Store, as of May 14.
Click here to purchase The Messenger
 
I received this book free as part of Bethany House’s review program. It was not required that I give a positive review, but solely to express my own thoughts and opinions of this book,

Sunrise Point by Robyn Carr is the 19th book in the Virgin River series. I’ve read every book in the series. Honestly, this was one of the weakest. My hope is that this installment was edited by a novice. If not, I hope that Ms. Carr has an opportunity to recharge her batteries to develop multi-dimensional characters, fresh and exciting story lines, and blend those ideas into the continuing story of Virgin River. Please include the men and women of the town we have come to consider our friends.
Nora, a young, very poor single mother with an infant and a toddler, is trying to make a better life for her children. Her childhood was based on lies and Nora has an opportunity to restore broken relationships. Admirable, but repeated too many times in the book.
Tom, a former marine, just isn’t the alpha male the men of Virgin River have been known to be. And kissing in the apple trees? In fairness, Ms. Carr did identify the practice as junior high behavior.
The suspense element of the story was telegraphed early in the book and getting to the resolution was anti-climatic. A plot element didn’t develop – the villainess, was she a fraud who may have stolen survivors benefits? Tell us more about Adie and Martha – old, poor, and living in small houses was about all we learned.
In spite of my frustrations with this book, I’ll buy the next installments in the series. Ms. Carr has written wonderful stories so one book that isn’t the caliber as the others is bound to happen. I bought this book for $1.99 just one day after its release was because Google dropped the price and Amazon matched. Today the book is selling for $3.99.
Click here to purchase Sunrise Point

Laurie sent us a note to tell us about one of her favorite books that she found in the Kindle store at a greatly reduced price. When asked, she wrote a wonderful review, too. Thanks, Laurie!
 
Though Lois McMaster Bujold may be best known for her Hugo-winning science fiction Vorkosigan novels, she also wrote a wonderful trio of connected fantasy novels, set in a complexly imagined world where unexpected heroes (and heroines) discover the depth of their own strength and interactions with the gods have intense, thought-provoking, and wide ranging effects.
The Curse of Chalion is the first book of the three (followed by Paladin of Souls ($7.99) and The Hallowed Hunt ($6.99)) and one of my favorite novels in any genre. I was beyond delighted to discover it was available for only $.99 – the only problem is that you will want to go buy the other novels at full price, even though each of them can stand alone!
Click here to purchase The Curse of Chalion

If you’ve ever read The Spellman Files you know how zany things can get when a dysfunctional family intrudes in a murder investigation. Well, the Spellmans have nothing on Barbara Marr. She’s a one-lady adventure (read: disaster waiting to happen) all by herself.
In this third Barbara Marr book, Barb is out to save an old friend from the slammer. There’s been a murder and Frankie, the ex-mafia man, is the assumed killer. This is a cozy read, with a full cast of endearing characters: Colt, Howard, the three girls, and Barbara’s mom. Add in Howard’s mom, a bird, a dog and enough criminal characters to provide mad confusion and your head will spin as you follow the improbable trail of clues to the end. The pace is quick and funny and as with the best cozies, it’s a chance to spend time with characters you’ve been waiting to see again.
Silenced by the Yams is selling for only 99 cents through the month of February. Take the Monkeys and Run (99 cents) and Citizen Insane ($2.99) are the first two books in the series. You can buy all three books for a total of $4.97.
 
Maria Schneider is the author of Catch an Honest Thief (99 cents for very limited time). She hunts high and low for good books to read and leaves no page unturned.

Should I write reviews on books I do not finish?
I read many books I would not recommend. A more accurate statement would be that I read portions of many books. Time is too valuable to continue reading a book that isn’t well-written, has no plot or point, lacks vibrant characters, has offensive material that wasn’t made known in the description, or is so full of grammatical errors that reading is a struggle.
Should I write a customer review to let others know my opinion? My first thought is that I’ve already wasted enough time trying to read the book, spending time on a review is just more time wasted. That’s not helping the community of readers, though.
I read many customer reviews of books in the Kindle Store. Amazon was groundbreaking in allowing and encouraging customers to post reviews. Eager readers quickly took to the keyboards to give their thoughts and ratings. The community flourished and readers enjoyed opinions from non-professionals who were down-to-earth in their reviews. Would a professional reviewer say, “It was an okay beach read, but I would never pay more than $5 for it.”?
 
For the customer review process to succeed, the participants must remain honest. With the Kindle and the boom of independent publishing authors found that, if they could game the system, they would sell more books. If 20 of their friends posted 5-star reviews, their book would appear popular and well-written. If someone wanted to blackball an author, 20 friends could pan their book. The review community is poorer by both actions.
Some reviewers do not remain on task. Political books are given 1 star reviews by those who have a negative opinion of the subject or person, but provide no evidence of reading the book. One romance reviewer gave a book a 1 star review because the book contained sexual content and he was reading to find books for a Christian audience. The book did not state that it was written for his audience nor did it claim to be free of sexual content. I don’t believe his review was valid.
 
I read many children’s books for our junior site. Grammar and punctuation errors appear in some independently published books. How will our children learn basic language skills if their reading material is riddled with errors?
If I read a book that creates a strong opinion, positive or negative, I believe a review should be written. The review should be factual and tactful, but clear. If a book has formatting, grammatical, and/or plot inconsistencies, I should let others know. If the book has content that is not mentioned in the description, I should be honest about it. Graphic violence, sex, and language can be offensive to readers.
 
I have much more to say on this subject, but I need to go on-line and post reviews for about 20 romance novels I could not read to the end. The reviews will basically be the same:

I did not finish this book because the characters could only think about sex from the moment their eyes first met; they had no meaningful conversation; the plot was thin as it revolved around their constant lust and acting on that lust; and to label this book a romance is a misuse of the word.

 
Perhaps I could say it more tactfully:

I did not finish this book. The story lacked romantic tension between the hero and heroine. If they were a real couple, the relationship would last six months at most because the only thing holding them together is lust.

I’m making a commitment to read non-fiction this year.
What are your thoughts about reviewing books that didn’t meet your expectations?
 
Paula’s Top 4 for 2011
I did read a few books to the last screen. I purchased all of the Georgette Heyer novels when they were offered for $1.99 each last summer and I hope to read more of her gentle writing in 2012. Read my previously posted reviews of The Unfinished Clue and The Convenient Marriage. Unless otherwise stated, books reviewed on this site are purchased.
 
Between The Lines ($4.99) This well-written historical romantic suspense novel is very different from the typical mail-order bride plot. Kathy Otten has written a charming tale of two people brought together under unusual circumstances and how love blossomed between them in spite of family interference. Meg Grayson is a naive young lady and her over-protective brothers have done everything in their power to keep her that way. Brendan Kelly is a man with a checkered past who would never have won the heart of a woman like Meg. She’s stubborn; he’s smitten; and there’s trouble brewing all around them.
 

Deep in the Valley ($3.59) This first book in Robyn Carr’s Grace Valley Trilogy introduces June Hudson, a single physician returned to her home town in rural northern California to practice medicine with her father. This series was written before Ms. Carr’s well-known Virgin River series and is a bit dated with a lack of technology. The novels are more about rural health care and small town life than romance. Dr. Hudson’s love interest is a minor plot. Just Over the Mountain and Down by the River are available for $4.72 each.
 
World’s Shortest Stories of Love and Death ($5.23) Edited by Steve Moss, this book introduces the 55-word story and I fell in love with the novelty of such a compact but complete story. Written by well-known and unknown authors, the book has stories of humor, mystery, romance, horror, suspense, and history – all in one book. By the way, this is a 55-word review.
 
Last Known Position ($3.99) I wrote a review of this book for our Veterans Day post. I consider this book by W. L. Heath one of the best I read in 2011. The intensity of the situation that these men faced daily was vividly written. The book provided a now-favorite expression to describe someone whom you admire and respect: I’d be safer in his socks than mine.

This is Susan and I read a bunch of Christian fiction in 2011. Here are four of my favorites from the past year, which I downloaded when offered free or received from publishers.
 
Sixteen Brides, as you can imagine, has quite a cast of characters but they each had such distinct traits, it was easy to keep them straight. This is a humorous story with a bit of romance and a strong sense of sisterhood and surviving on the Nebraska prairie. It was delightful to read and is priced at $8.99. Book Description: Sixteen Civil War widows living in St. Louis respond to a series of meetings conducted by a land speculator who lures them west by promising “prime homesteads” in a “booming community.” Unbeknownst to them, the speculator’s true motive is to find an excuse to bring women to the fledging community of Plum Grove, Nebraska, in hopes they will accept marriage proposals shortly after their arrival!
 

O Little Town was written by Don Reid, lead singer of the Statler Brothers and is loosely based on their hometown in Virginia. The small-town atmosphere where everyone knows everyone’s business and Christmas is in the air made it feel like visiting home. The book is available for $9.99.
A new teacher arrives at the one-room schoolhouse in Nebraska and you know romance is about to break out. Courting Miss Amsel is just what you’d expect, with a few twists of the unexpected. This book is selling today for $8.99.
Imaginary Jesus is bit of a different story. The author is hanging out at the coffee shop with Jesus, when the Apostle Peter walks in and tells him that’s not the real Jesus. They go on a journey together, confronting counterfeits – like Magic 8 Ball Jesus. It’s an entertaining look at some deep theology. The book is available for $9.39.

Recently several site users have mentioned young adult fiction titles as books they have enjoyed. Here are four of their recommendations.
 
The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner ($1.99) Jackie wrote: This is a GREAT series. I read The Thief about a year ago, and promptly got the next 2 (The Queen of Attolia ($5.99) and The King of Attolia ($6.99)) for my Kindle. I was so excited when I saw this great discount – my set is complete! This is one great buy everyone should take advantage of!
Book Description: The king’s scholar, the magus, believes he knows the site of an ancient treasure. To attain it for his king, he needs a skillful thief, and he selects Gen from the king’s prison. Their journey toward the treasure is both dangerous and difficult, lightened only imperceptibly by the tales they tell of the old gods and goddesses.
 

LuvMyKindle would gave a shout out for Glenn Bullion’s two stand alones, Demonspawn and Mind Slide. They are both YA paranormal’s with males as the lead characters; both are distinctive, fast-moving stories combining likeable characters, action, suspense, friendship, a bit of violence/horror, and (non-graphic) romance.
Demonspawn ($2.99) My name’s Alex. I used to think I was normal. I have a job, an apartment, good friends. I have a sister I adore, and the most beautiful woman in the world happens to be my best friend. I see ghosts. So what, right? It’s on television all the time. All kinds of people see ghosts. But seeing ghosts turns into seeing demons. Seeing demons turns into walking through walls. It only keeps getting better. It just so happens I’m half demon, the only one of my kind.
Mind Slide ($2.99) A random act of nature changed Mason’s life forever. He lost his parents on that fateful day, even his memories of them. But he gained something in return. Mason has the ability to “mind slide”, the ability to project his consciousness. He can be anywhere in the world. Watching. Listening.
Stupid Fast by Geoff Herbach ($1.99) Stacey wrote: Stupid Fast is a book that I have in my high school library, that never stays on the shelf. It is laugh out loud funny; I’ve even gotten the boys to pass it around.
Book Description: Fifteen-year-old Felton Reinstein has always been on the smallish side, but in his sophomore year he starts growing…and growing. During gym one day he smokes the football jocks in a 600-yard race. Felton has never been interested in sports, but there’s no doubt-he is “stupid fast.” As he juggles his newfound athletic prowess, his mom’s sudden depression, an annoying little brother, and his first love, he discovers a shocking secret about his past which explains why he’s turning out the way he is.

LuvMyKindle is an avid reader constantly in search of escape, flitting from book to book like a hummingbird searching out the best nectar. LuvMyKindle writes:

Reading fiction is a great source of escapism and relaxation for me, and sometimes insightful and inspiring, too. My Top Four Reads of 2011 may not be “world literature” or “literary fiction” but what they all had in common was that they each quickly engaged and interested me in the settings, storylines, and characters, and each author awed and impressed me with the original, clever, and imaginative spins they created. All of these books moved at a fast pace and had me ignoring other activities, thinking “I’ll just read one more chapter” when next thing I knew, I had read five more chapters and still had a hard time putting down my Kindle; I read each of these books in only one or two days. Here are my top reads:

The Necromancer by Pamela M. Richter is one of my all time favorites. The author delivers captivating, complex plotting with memorable main and supporting characters (including a very twisted, delusional villain), heart-pounding suspense, sweet and funny moments, serious themes, supernatural elements, brainwashing, icky evil bugs, a witch’s coven, and a kitty-cat. Well-done story-telling and weaving of all the intricate threads – truly a must read! You can purchase the book for only $2.99 today.
 
 
 

 
Mill River Recluse by Darcie Chan (99 cents) How can I not include the book that had me crying the most tears in 2011? Throughout the last 15% of this story, my throat was hurting and I had trouble seeing the written words through all my tears. Yes, I know it was fiction, but still. This was a wonderful, touching story about a woman who experienced heart-breaking, awful trauma. The story picks up speed and dispenses back story details as it is told. It’s an emotional story that will evoke both laughter and tears, and will stay with you long after you finish reading it.
What Luck! by Alex Knight (99 cents) An utterly unique, whimsical, delightfully refreshing story about a vampire couple and a bunch of zany, eccentric characters. Told with old world charm in a modern setting and tons of tongue-in-cheek humor, this is truly not your typical vampire tale.
Executive Sick Days by Maria E. Schneider ($2.99) This is the third book in the Sedona O’Hala cozy mystery series. I love this author’s writing style and creativity, and enjoyed once again having access to Sedona (and her humorous internal dialogue), her quirky family, and all the different new/old outrageously nutty and flawed supporting characters and their crazy antics. (I know people like them in real life. *sigh*) In addition to the main mystery (which I only had partially figured out), there was the hysterical secondary mystery of “the lunch thief” to figure out. Sedona’s love life was expanded on a bit more this time around, too. Loved it!

Even though I’ve had the Kindle Fire since November, I’m just now getting around to writing a full review because it’s taken this long to play with all the features to get a feel for everything it can do.
First of all, what the Fire is not:
It’s not an iPad. It’s not the one device that will solve all your problems and make everything else you own obsolete.
It’s also not $600.
For $199, the Fire is a very nice tablet that does really well with what it’s designed to do. It’s marvelous to have one device for reading books, checking email, playing games, watching movies and surfing the Internet.
The Fire is relatively small, about the size of the original Kindle, or slightly smaller than a paperback. It has a little heft to it, but something about it feels like holding a book and I like that.
  
Favorite feature: The Carousel.
The homepage has a sort of bookshelf with your latest books and apps on it. Flip your finger across it and you can scroll through every book you’ve downloaded in the last two years. I could do this for hours! It’s a great way to keep some of those books from sliding off into archive oblivion.
 
Reading: You can line up your favorites on the bottom row of the bookcase so you can find them easily, even if it’s not necessarily the last book you read. I love seeing the book cover every time I start to read, something I miss on the Kindle.
Lots of options for reading here: Black letters on a white background; white letters on black; or black letters on ivory. I like this one best; it’s also most like a printed book. Besides the typical font size options, you can also change the spacing and margins. Although the lighting isn’t quite as comfortable as the Kindle, it doesn’t strain my eyes like a computer and I can read for a few hours without any trouble. (Yes, I tested this for you.) It also doesn’t require a separate light, so that is a nice option when traveling.
My only pet peeve is that I often read lying down. When you move the Fire, it automatically changes the page orientation, so I have to hold it at an odd angle to keep the page upright. The Fire is wi-fi only, so you do have to be connected to the Internet to get new books and it takes slightly longer than the 3G Kindle.
 
Apps: Let’s get right to what we really want to know: Angry Birds (99 cents). The Fire is a hit! I’m blasting through concrete and glass like there was no tomorrow. A few times the game was jerky, but it seemed to be a low battery issue. Battery life is acceptable, but nothing like we’re used to with the Kindle.
The only trouble with Amazon apps is they send a receipt when you download a free one. I haven’t used all my apps, but just got hooked on Wordoku. ($1) Sodoku combined with words – this is better than peanut butter and chocolate!
  
Movies: I’m surprised how much I enjoy watching movies on the Fire. The colors are absolutely brilliant. It’s easy to shop and download a movie from Amazon. It comes with a free month of Prime membership, so I got a few for free. My wi-fi at home works for books and apps, but times out trying to download movies, so I took the Fire to the office one afternoon to download a 24-hour rental.
While fine for personal viewing, family movie night would not work too well with a 7-inch screen.
The Fire does not have an external volume button, so you have to maneuver the screen to find the volume to adjust it. This is a pain when watching a movie or playing games and doesn’t always work correctly. That would be the first change I’d make on the next generation.
 
Internet: The Fire came loaded with some apps. Facebook works great, much easier than on my cell phone. The keyboard has useful buttons “.com” and “search” buttons. Some other things aren’t so intuitive and it takes awhile to get used to them. The Fire is a unique Amazon product and doesn’t necessarily do things like other electronics. A few glitches have popped up and at times the device runs slow.
This would be a good introductory product for children and teens, but parents should be aware that when connected to wi-fi, it provides access to the whole internet.
 
Bottom line: A good device for the money.

Amber Drake, an avid reader of everything including cereal boxes, reviews for BSC Reviews and tries to keep track of her life and thoughts on her blog, http://www.dragonashes.com/ (Dragon Ashes). Of the 230 books Amber read this year, she winnowed down her favorites to get five that she enjoyed a great deal but were also for sale at a lower price for those bargain hunters (like her!) out there. What follows are April’s favorites, read in 2011, that are currently priced at below $5.00:
 
Stranger: The Blades of the Rose by Zoe Archer ($4.30) You may remember that last year I chose another Zoe Archer book as a favorite – this is from the same series. She does excellent characterizations that encompass a great many things other authors are afraid to touch on: race relations, beauty as a deficit, intelligence in women…basically she sticks real world people into fun and interesting historical situations, adds a bit of magic and a touch of romance and wham, you’ve got a tasty fireside read.
To get an even better price, The Blades of the Rose Bundle including Warrior, Scoundrel, Rebel, & Stranger is available for only $8.84.
 

A Secret Life by CJ Archer ($2.99) I have no idea if this author is related to Zoe Archer but considering I like both of their writing, it makes no difference to me! This one is a sweet historical romance involving a woman who only wants to write plays but has to hide that the playwright is a woman…and uses a man as her cover. Fun, with a sense of humor and a sweet romance.
Triumff: Her Majesty’s Hero by Dan Abnett ($2.99) I must warn you, this book appeals to my childish side! It is full of high school boy type of bathroom humor that kept me giggling throughout. If you don’t like fart jokes, you probably won’t like this. However, if Monty Python silliness makes you giggle, you might want to give this one a try.
The Black Prism by Brent Weeks ($2.99) This is the first in a new fantasy series, set in a world where color rules. Magic is based upon the colors you can see and control and the more colors you can control, the more power you can have. Lots of action and an intriguing magic system kept the pages turning swiftly.
Wistril Compleat by Frank Tuttle (99 cents) I don’t generally like to count short stories as novels but this is a book full of short stories that involve all the same characters in different situations so it is more like a chopped up novel than an anthology. Each story was complete and interesting and the characters of the wizard Wistril and his apprentice were people I enjoyed following around while they are having adventures; even though they would rather be at home with a mug of ale and a good fire!