adventure – The Spine View

The Ride of her Life by Elizabeth Letts

This is the fascinating true story of one women’s dream to see the Pacific Ocean and how she, along with her dog, fulfills it by riding across America on her horse. A truly heartwarming story about one women’s determination and experiences on this epic journey. Highly entertaining and informative!

Annie Wilkins is 63 and her health is failing. She has worked hard all of her life and yet has little to show for it. She has hardly any money and she is on the cusp of losing her home. She feels she has nothing to lose; therefore, she buys a horse, a Morgan named Tarzan, packs a few belongings and heads out on the road alone with no one but her dog Depeche Toi.

She plans to ride from her hometown of Minot, Maine all the way to California. California is a long way from Maine, even in a car! Yet, Annie is undaunted. Despite the lack of money she sets out with purpose. She plans to sleep in barns and stop when needed to work to raise money along the way. She soon discovers that hospitality is still abundant in America. More often than not, she usually can find someone willing to stable her horse and even provide a hot meal and bed.

As she slowly winds her way across the country she meets all kinds of people who offer her assistance. Sometimes just a simple meal, other times it might be shoes for her horse and even a second horse to help carry the load. The media picks up her story and people everywhere want her to stop in their town. She finds herself giving interviews to newspapers, lectures to civil clubs and participating in parades throughout her journey.

I am truly amazed at the feat she managed to accomplish. I have been a rider all my life and currently own a horse that I enjoy immensely and my bum hurts just thinking about all the miles she did in a saddle and without the luxury of a fancy gel saddle cushion. She embodies the very idea of a pioneer woman. What a truly amazing individual!

What I loved about this story was Annie’s tenacity, indomitable spirit and love for her 4 legged friends. In addition, I found this to be well researched and loved all the history that the author included about the places Annie visited and the people she meet.

The author truly did justice to Annie’s story and there is something in this book for everyone. I highly recommend it, especially if you enjoy true stories around strong women.

I received a free copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Lane Betrayal by John A. Heldt

Heldt always gives the reader a story to devour and The Lane Betrayal is no exception. Filled with lots of action, danger and a tad of romance, this fast paced tale is sure to satisfy that craving for adventure in every reader.

Mark Lane, a gifted physicist, has made the breakthrough of the century, maybe the millennia, with his device that allows time travel. He should be elated. Instead, he has discovered that his business partner, Robert Devereaux, in Janus Enterprises is planning to use the device for wicked ends. In an attempt to thwart Robert, Mark has planned to steal the two working devices and escape with his family into the past. This escape plan also includes alerting the authorities to what Robert is up to and sabotaging the project.

Mark has been planning his escape for months with the help of his colleague Randy who has decided to stay behind and assist where he can with the escape. On the day of the planned escape, Robert gets wind that something is a foot and is coming to confront Mark. With just a few minutes head start, courtesy of Randy, Mark manages to whisk his family to 1865 around the closing days of the Civil War. It looks like things are finally going as planned. Then a turn of bad luck occurs when one of the keys for the devices is forgotten in a cabin in Virginia and the second device is impounded by the government.

The government thinks the device might be something to aid the Rebel Army in the closing days of the war. Mark, now a prisoner of the Union Army, and suspected of being a rebel sympathizer, is taken to Washington, D.C. The family has no choice but to follow. To make matters worse, Robert has hired a hit man, Silas Bain, to travel back in time and finds the Lanes and kill them. Will anything go right for the Lane family?

I loved how the author allowed the tension to build slowly. By the end of the story you are sitting on the edge of your seat to see if the Lanes will stay a step ahead of Silas Bain. Therefore, it is no surprise that action is the key element of this book and it worked very well with the plot. Overall great pacing.

Sometimes stories with lots of action lack character development. Not so here! As with other books I have read by this author, the character development is critical to the story. Heldt knows how to get and keep the reader’s attention with the characters he builds. He delves deeply into the psyche of his characters to make them memorable and invest the reader.

I filed this book under science fiction, but fiction is the operative word here. There is really no science just a great story about, love, family and what binds us all together. Perfect book for fans of Nora Roberts and similar authors. Highly recommend!

Disclosure: While I used my Kindle Unlimited account to read this book, the author did request a review.

Iron Magicians: The Search for the Magic Crystals by Citrix, Yuio

I picked up this interactive comic book at BookExpo this year. Comics are not normally my thing but this one looked intriguing. Glad that I did! It was fun, imaginative and I enjoyed playing through it (which I did several times with different outcomes).

It is a fantasy quest set in 19^th century Paris. You are tasked with finding 30 power crystals and are instructed to bring them to the Eiffel Tower in order to complete it and make the city safe. You choose what character you wish to be and start your quest by choosing a numbered door. Then you find the corresponding number within the comic panels and follow the instructions.

Simple enough, but it does take a little time to get up to speed on how to play. I liked that you could make your own choices and are not stuck with just one outcome. I tried not writing everything down at first. Big mistake! I could not keep straight what tools I had acquired or how many crystals I had unless I kept a tally. At the beginning is a few pages for the reader/player to use in tracking all the “stuff”.

The illustrations were fabulous and done much better than your normal comic. The pages were glossy and extra thick to allow for the abuse the comic will get over its lifetime as kids play and replay the quest. I was not fond of the idea of using a crayon as a spinner for the wheel found in the back that you cut out. As suggested, I opted for using dice and found this more to my liking.

The major negative is the flipping, flipping and flipping of pages as you are constantly being directed to a new panel. Once I got used to it the quest played smoothly. It just took me a little bit to adjust to the non-comic book format of going to the next panel in order.

I received a free copy in exchange for honest review.

A Hero Born by Jin Yong, translated by Anna Holmwood

This was billed as an epic tale, a Chinese LOTR, and I was excited to get an opportunity to read it. My excitement quickly turned to disappointment. Not only was it nothing like LOTR but the prose was awkward at best. I fear that a lot of its luster was lost in the translation process. Despite three separate attempts, this is a DNF for me at 27% complete.

The other main flaw for me was the lack of character development. There is plenty of action which was the best part of the story. However, the action scenes where not written well enough to overcome the flaws. I never was invested in this story and it become more and more laborious the further along I read.

I received a free copy form the publisher in exchange for my honest review. For more of my reviews, and author interviews, see my blog at www.thespineview.com.

Normally I would write a short synapsis. Since I did not finish, I am leaving you with the blurb for the book below.

The Song Empire has been invaded by its warlike Jurchen neighbours from the north. Half its territory and its historic capital lie in enemy hands; the peasants toil under the burden of the annual tribute demanded by the victors. Meanwhile, on the Mongolian steppe, a disparate nation of great warriors is about to be united by a warlord whose name will endure for eternity: Genghis Khan.

Guo Jing, son of a murdered Song patriot, grew up with Genghis Khan’s army. He is humble, loyal, perhaps not altogether wise, and is fated from birth to one day confront an opponent who is the opposite of him in every way: privileged, cunning and flawlessly trained in the martial arts.

Guided by his faithful shifus, The Seven Heroes of the South, Guo Jing must return to China – to the Garden of the Drunken Immortals in Jiaxing – to fulfil his destiny. But in a divided land riven by war and betrayal, his courage and his loyalties will be tested at every turn.

Malamander by Thomas Taylor

Malamander by Thomas Taylor is a magical middle grade fantasy story that will sweep you up. The author has created an imaginative world with interesting and endearing characters that is sure to please any age reader. Hands down the best middle grade book I read this year.

Herbert Lemon, aka Herbie, is the Lost-and-Founder at the Grand Nautilus Hotel that is part of the small community of Eerie-on-the-Sea. When an item is left or lost at the hotel it comes to Herbie and it is his job to reunite the lost item with the owner. He sees all kinds of lost items including one Violet Parma who one winter’s day slips in through the hotel’s cellar window. Violet may just be the most unusual thing in Herbie’s collection of unusual things.

Violet has come in search of her parents that went missing when she was a baby, while guests at the hotel. She tells Herbie that she has come hundreds of miles to enlist his help finding her parents. When Herbie insists, he is a finder of lost things not lost people, she rebuffs him saying he is a “detective” and the only one she knows who can help her.

Of course, with Violet comes a lot of things not the least of which is the mystery of her parents’ disappearance. There is the man with the hook that is after her for unknown reasons and the monster, called Malamander, that appears on the beach at night in winter. These are just two more of the mysteries surrounding her. Herbie will have to be a very good detective to figure out this puzzle.

Love this story! It has an interesting plot with enough twists to hold any readers’ attention. The magical elements that abound in the book are many and include a mermonkey who tells you what book to read at the local book store and there is Lady Kraken’s, the hotel owner, cameraluna that she uses to see what is happening in town and a host of interesting people to round out the plot.

The characters were very well done, especially so for the intended audience. Herbie and Violet are just the type of characters that will have you cheering for them. The supporting ones, such as Mrs. Hanniver owner of the Eerie Book Dispensary, lend the story more mystery and allure and enhance the plot to perfection.

This is the perfect story for middle graders and adults alike. So entertaining and the magical astrosphere in the book along with the characters make for an outstanding book. It is age appropriate for all readers and I highly recommend to all lovers of magical adventure tales.

I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Problems in Prague – JJ Bennett: Junior Spy by Alba Arango

Title: Problems in Prague
Author: Alba Arango
Pub. Date: 10-May-2018
Rating: 4 Stars

Problems in Prague: JJ Bennett Junior Spy by Alba Arango is a middle grade book that reminds me of the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew books I loved as a kid; Of course, with more modern lingo and cell phones, etc. It is an exciting adventure story about kids as spies and secrets that must be protected at all cost.

Jeremiah Bennett, aka JJ, is currently living in Prague where his father works as a computer tech for the CIA. With the Bennett’s are JJ’s tutor Ms. Hernandez and her daughter Maggie who is the same age as JJ.

During a sightseeing tour at a castle, JJ and Maggie, run into a young Russian girl, Ivana, who JJ had an encounter with, at the airport, the day before. He wants to ask her some questions but she runs away before he has a chance. JJ and Maggie decide to chase after her. Ivana leads them into the Black Tower and they slip inside unseen. A short time later they caught a glimpse of Ivana leaving a room but she manages to slip away but not before telling them she is a member of the P-KGP.

They decide to investigate the room she exited from. Inside a book they find a cryptic note to a Josef left by a person called Kangsly. Later they find out that Josef is Joseph Stalin and Kangsly was an American defector in the early 1950s. They are now determined to figure out what this P-KGP is and what the note means. What they discover is a secret that must be kept from the Russians and so the adventure begins.

What I loved about this book is the likable characters of JJ and Maggie and the fast paced plot. There was not a lot of descriptive prose, which is a good thing; because in this case I feel excessive prose would turn off the target audience. I could never see an 8 or 12 year old reading a book for its prose! They want action and characters they can relate to.

Speaking entirely as a parent here, I appreciate that the author was sensitive to the audience she was writing for. The book did not contain any language or scenes that where inappropriate for a young audience, not even any hidden innuendos. In addition, there were no violent scenes that might be upsetting to younger readers.

The only negative comment I have is with the plot. JJ just seemed to be too quick to figure things out. I always thought this of the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew books too. I must admit, I think me age colors my thinking a little on this one.

Overall I found this book has a good story that was written with a young audience in mind. Therefore, I highly recommend this book for middle grade readers.

I have rated the book four stars and I feel this is the correct rating. However, upon reflecting I wonder how much my age is influencing my rating. I am passing the book on to my grandson, currently 10, who is also a big reader and I hope to update this review sometime in the future with his rating. In the spirit of fairness, I believe the target audience should have their opinion heard and have more weight because ultimately they are the consumer.

I received a free copy in exchange for my honest opinion. For more of my reviews, and author interviews, see my blog at www.thespineview.com

Ice Wolves by Amie Kaufman

Title Ice Wolves
Author: Amie Kaufman
Pub. Date: 27-Mar-2018
Rating: 5 Stars

I am always on the lookout for new fantasy for my 9 year old grandson who reads on a college level. Yes, a college level! Therefore, I was super excited to get an ARC of Ice Wolves by Amie Kaufman from the publisher. He enjoys stories about dragons and wolves and after reading it I know he will love the book at much as I do.

The story is set in a world where Scorch Dragons and Ice Wolves are sworn enemies. The last battle between the two is fresh in everyone’s mind. Hence in the port city of Holbard, Ice Wolves are the police force. They are ever on the lookout for dragon spies and are trained and ready to defend the city against the next Scorch Dragon attack. Continue reading “Ice Wolves by Amie Kaufman”