"Things You Can't Take" by Erin Lockwood

This book begins with a Trigger Warning. It contains a rape as well as behavior that can only be described as that of a sexual predator as he gets bolder and bolder over time.

This was the story of two girls, Abigail and Kessia. The two met at the filming for a commercial and soon became best friends. Abigail winds up making a career as a successful actress while Kessia becomes her confidante, companion, and personal assistant.

Pete Hallman is the producer of the show that Abigail worked on. He has always given Kessia an uneasy feeling and touches her rather inappropriately when no one else is paying attention... a behavior that only gets worse as time goes on. While Kessia does her best to avoid being anywhere near him, she is not always able to avoid him or his unwanted attentions. Being young, she convinces herself that she is imagining the inappropriate contact and never says a word to anyone; not even to her best and most trusted friend Abigail.

This was a very powerful and emotional story. At times I wanted to shout at the characters that they needed to talk about what was happening. If they had talked to at least each other, Kessia would likely have realized that she was not imagining things. Pete’s behavior was sexual assault. At other times I wanted to cry for them.

This is a subject that needs to be talked about. At the end of this book the author includes contact information for a number of organizations that are there to help assault victims of all kinds. This story should be shared so that others who might experience such behavior in their lives will know that they are not alone and that help is available both before and after the behavior has progressed to an actual rape.

This story has encouraged me to talk to my own daughter to make sure that she knows that if she ever experiences any sort of behavior that makes her uncomfortable, that she should talk to a trusted adult about it. We are here to help, but can only do so if we are aware of what is or has been happening.

I strongly recommend reading this book as it can be very enlightening both with regards to sexual predators hiding their behavior just enough to not get caught and as a reminder that help is always available if we just know to look for it and aren’t afraid to ask for help.

"Stealing Mercury" by Charlee Allden

Mercury and his brothers were genetically engineered gladiators, destined to fight over and over again until they were killed in the Arena. Known as Arena Dogs, their lives were not their own. They were bred for fierceness and trained to kill. When their Masters lied to them, promising that if they gave a good show that his pack members would be allowed to live but then delivering a verdict of death instead, Mercury and his brothers rebelled.

After a failed attack on the Masters by Mercury and his pack mates, they were to be sent to a hunting ground where humans would pay for the opportunity to hunt them down and kill them like the animals many believed then to be. The pilot hired to transport them there, however, is given a counter-offer. She will be paid by a third party to look the other way when the ship is boarded and her cargo is stolen instead. When the “pirates” fail to show for the rendezvous, Samantha reaches the conclusion that she can’t leave these men in the hands of the cruel and abusive guards or allow them to be hunted down as prey. She needs to find a way to help them.

Reading this book, I found myself taking my time as I read it and savoring my enjoyment of it. This is not a book meant for younger readers as there are some rather adult sex scenes (often involving 2 men and 1 woman) written within. I’m not usually a big fan of books involving a great deal of sex, but I did really enjoy this one. I felt that it was tastefully handled and not overwhelming. It involved romance and love rather than just sex and lust.

Some books are so enjoyable to read that I find myself rushing through them, desperate to see what comes next, but this one is one that I just wanted to take my time reading and enjoying. Everything flowed together and built naturally. The main characters’ emotions were clearly defined and made perfect sense throughout the book. I’d definitely recommend this one. I know I loved reading it and am looking forward to reading the next book in the series as well.

"A Queen's Spy" by Sam Burnell

This was a historical fiction novel set in 1550s England. Henry VIII is dead and his son, the young King Edward VI is dying. King Edward’s chief adviser, The Duke of Northumberland has been trying to hide that fact from the rest of the court, for with the death of the king, he will lose his power and influence. If Edward dies childless, the throne will pass to Henry VIII’s eldest daughter Mary and should she have no children, after Mary’s death it will pass to Henry VIII’s younger daughter Elizabeth.

This was a tumultuous time in England, for HenryVIII, EdwardVI, and Elizabeth were Protestants whereas Mary was a devout Catholic. Having a Catholic Queen was not something many of the nobility wanted, whereas many others were waiting impatiently with the hope that soon Mary would be supporting Catholicism in England.

The main characters and plots in this book seemed to revolve around the Fitzwarren family. Richard, Robert, half-brother Jack, and Cousin Harry, There is a lot of animosity among them for more reasons than I can explain here.

This was a longer book than most of the ones I have read lately, but I enjoy historical fiction. This book does have quite a lot of history contained within. For some, it might occasionally get a bit confusing if you are not already familiar with what was happening politically in England at that time. I enjoyed reading about the history as well as the fictional aspects that filled in the details that we were not around to experience firsthand, though some of what I would have liked to know more about (Lady Jane Grey, the 9 day queen for example) was not given much attention, although given the length of the book, I can understand why such details were not as prominent or as well detailed. I also would have preferred for the book to have been a bit better edited. There were a number of typos and other errors within that I wish had been caught and corrected before publication.

One of my favorite parts of this book was actually the Author’s Note at the beginning. The insights into the creation of this book were quite entertaining and had me both amused and at times groaning in sympathy. If you enjoy historical fiction, then I think you will likely enjoy this book. But you should be aware that it is longer than many might be used to reading these days. If a 400+ page book is too long for your tastes, this might not be one for you. I, however, did enjoy it a great deal.

"Witch Hunter: The Rise to Power" by Dawn Doyle

On her 18th birthday, Diana’s Aunt Alison gives her a locked chest with seemingly no way to open it. What is holding it locked is magic that will only allow it to open for Diana. Even her aunt doesn't know what is hidden inside. It is at this point that Diana learns that she is a witch, and that her parents (who had entrusted her care to their friend Alison should anything happen to them) had magically bound her powers to protect her until she was old enough to learn to control them.

Now that she knows the truth and has been given the trunk that her parents (who had been killed in a car crash a few years earlier) left for her, her magic is no longer bound. Diana must find a way to learn to control it or risk causing serious harm to anyone or anything nearby. When she is angry or upset, these powers are often very difficult to control. She has had storms suddenly blow in out of nowhere and once accidentally set her aunt's clothing on fire, leaving the woman brutally scarred after they managed to put the fire out.

And then one day a few years after Diana has moved into an apartment with two of her friends, things got even stranger. When she was out dancing one evening with her roommates, a Hunter found her. He was from the magical realm where Diana was born, and had been tasked with finding and killing the last witch.

This was an interesting story that I enjoyed reading. It was well written with very few typos. There were a variety of different races of magical beings, (elves, trolls, goblins, humans, as well as a number of others) all with their own strengths, weaknesses, and personalities. The characters came across as “real” people rather than stereotypes, and reacted in ways that made sense rather than feeling contrived. I found this book fun to read. In my opinion, It’s definitely worth it to give this one a try. I think you’ll enjoy it.

"Like Father" by Joe Roland IV

Edited Please Note: It seems that I was given an incorrect version of the book for my review by accident. The author has since sent me a corrected version that has had the formatting issues fixed. This version was much cleaner and much more enjoyable to read than the initial version I received.

This was more of a short story than a full book, and as such I don’t want to go into much detail on my review as doing so would give away too much of the plot. It was an interesting story with quite a number of twists and turns throughout that kept me guessing as to what was really going on. One thing I can say is that the ending came as complete surprise to me. If you like stories with a lot of twists that keep you guessing throughout, you will enjoy this story.

"Journey of the Fourth Queen" by Mark Miller

This book is what I would consider a variation of a twisted fairytale. The fairytale queens of the four kingdoms are all gathering for the first time in a very great while. An evil is threatening their realms; one that is strong enough that it will need all four of them to defeat it. Isis (Queen of the Southern Valley), Snow White (Queen of the Northern Wood), and Cinderella (Queen of the Western Sun) have all made it to the castle at Empyrean. Unfortunately, the Queen of the Eastern Sky was killed before she could arrive. Without the magical power of all four of the Queens, they cannot defeat the returning evil.

With the death of one of the four queens, a new queen has already been magically called to come to the castle at Empyrean to take on the duties and responsibilities of lost Eastern Queen. No one, however, knows exactly who this fourth queen will be, and all they can do is to defend the castle and await her arrival. The three remaining queens have sent out messengers to their kingdoms to gather people to come and fight to defend the four kingdoms. One other was sent out to the Eastern Kingdom to seek out and help the new Queen to reach Empyrean safely. The evil beings attacking the kingdoms will also be seeking to find her and prevent her arrival, for without all four queens working together evil will once again take over control of the four kingdoms.

Two sisters, Zandria and Olena manage to survive and escape an attack on their small village. They have long been given attention by the Eastern Queen and other visitors to their village, and it is assumed that one of them will likely be chosen to become the new Queen of the Eastern Sky one day, if the need should arise during their lifetime. The two girls are aided in their escape by a creature known as a quzzak who helps them flee towards Castle Empyrean. It is a long and dangerous journey that they must survive if there is to be any hope for the four kingdoms. They are also being stalked by evil beings who will do anything to prevent them from reaching Empyrean.

I have always enjoyed reading twisted fairytales, and this was a very unique story, that included a number of both well-known and lesser-known fairytales with very different endings than the usual versions. This book was very well-written and I really enjoyed reading it. The ending of the book sets us up for a second book in the series, and I am definitely looking forward to picking up a copy of that one to read as well. If you like unique twists on familiar fairytales, I would very much recommend giving this one a chance. I don’t think you’ll regret it.

"Rose of Anzio, Book Two: Jalousie" by Alexa Kang

This was the second book in the Rose of Anzio series, and I found it just as entertaining as the first book. Anthony and Tessa have admitted their feelings for each other and he has received his Draft notice in the mail. They had roughly two weeks together before he needed to report to the Draft board for his physical and was sent to the Army training camp.

Tessa, still in training as a cadet nurse, decides to transfer to an intensive training program that will send her to be a military nurse attached to a military company overseas once she completes her training. She sees it as an opportunity to possibly be reunited with Anthony and to be there with him during the war. She keeps the fact that she has transferred to this program from both her family and Anthony as she doesn’t want anyone to try and talk her out of it.

It is a risky idea, as there is no guarantee she will wind up sent to the same Company that Anthony has been assigned to, yet she feels that even if she is sent elsewhere that she will still be closer to him than if she remains safely Stateside. She also believes that asking for forgiveness from their families after she arrives overseas will be easier and less worrisome than telling them her plans beforehand.

I enjoyed this book just as much as I did the first one in the series. The author has told a fantastic story that drew me in and held my attention as much as the last book did. The only shortcomings in this book were a few small typos here & there. I am definitely looking forward to when I have the chance to read the third book. I strongly recommend reading this one, especially if you enjoyed the first book in this historical fiction series as much as I did.