Shadow of the Storm by Connilyn Cossette (Book Two: Out From Egypt)

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say to the LORD,

“My refuge and my fortress, my God,

in whom I trust...

He will cover you with his pinions, 

and under his wings you will find refuge..."

Psalm 91:1-2,4

Having escaped Egypt with the other Hebrews during the Exodus, Shira is now living in freedom at the foot of Mt. Sinai, upon which rests the fiery glowing Cloud containing the shekinah glory of God.
When the people disobey Yahweh and build a golden idol, the ensuing chaos gives Shira an unexpected opportunity to learn the arts of midwifery. Although her mother wishes for her to continue in the family weaving trade, Shira's gifts shine brightest when she assists with deliveries. In defiance of her mother, Shira pursues her heart's calling to become an apprentice midwife.

When a delivery goes horribly wrong, Shira finds herself bound to a man who betrayed her, the caretaker of three young children, and the target of a vengeful woman whose husband was killed by Shira's people, the Levites. As contention between the Hebrew tribes and the foreigners fans the flames of another dangerous rebellion, Shira will come face-to-face with the heartbreak of her past that she has kept hidden for so long. How can she let go of all that has defined her to accept the love she's denied herself and embrace who she truly is?

My Review
I was blessed again to be able to be an advanced reader for book two of the beautiful, “Out From Egypt” series by Connilyn Cossette

I could NOT put this book down! And I’m truly sad to have it end.

I highly recommend this tale but be sure to read book one first, for Connilyn brilliantly tied in some great things from it.  Connilyn Cossette has truly put a lot of hard work and heart into this beautiful series. I felt like Shira was a friend and I’m sad to see her story end, I really liked her and she will go down as one of my all-time favorite characters. It was extra special to read this book during the Feast of Tabernacles. This book had a LOT of great twist and turns… one reason I have a hard time writing a more detailed review… I’m afraid of giving away her great story. I’ll be sure to never pass up a book from Connilyn and I hope she writes many more beautiful stories.

As you can see, I LOVED this book and honestly have nothing ill to say about it, besides that I have to wait for book three. :(

I would recommend this beautiful tale to mature readers due to some topics that would not be appropriate for younger readers, so I give it a 15+ rating ( it has a few graphic scenes of sorrow like miscarriages and has a few heavy topics of past hurts such as rape like book one did. That kinda makes it sound like a really bad read, but I promise you it is FAR from it. It is cleanly done… not detailed, just enough to know what happened. It is indeed Christian, just not for kids. It is a really good book for women who have gone through these kind of hurts.)

You can purchase Shadow of the Storm at Amazon

You can learn more about Connilyn and her books at her website

www.connilyncossette.com

Anamatus by Derrick Tribble: Book Review...

Author: Derrick Tribble

Book: Anamatus

Genre: Science-fiction/fantasy/Young Adult/Christian

Pages: 433

Age range: 15 and up

A few mature themes such as mentions of alcohol, sexual sin, and a teen pregnancy. Also a few death scenes.   

In a world of extraordinary talents, she uses hers to create a monster. On Biersheva, a colony world populated by God’s people, extraordinary talents have emerged. Everyone has something they excel at, but a few are blessed with “noble talents,” supernatural abilities intended for helping others and glorifying God. Karina has one of these noble talents -- she can shape animals out of organic matter and animate them, giving them will and purpose. But pride and fear prompt her to reach beyond her God-given talent and animate a bronze statue. Her sin unleashes a monster, and she must put it to death before it destroys everything she loves.

About the author:
Derrick Tribble, also known as “That Author Guy,” lives in the foothills of California, where the air is clear and fresh, and the trees are big. Derrick is the author of the Wanderers in Time trilogy, a Young-Adult Christian Science Fiction series which begins with Servants & Thieves. He shares his home with his wife and two children, and two strange cats. When not writing, he can occasionally be found working or playing the drums.

My Review

I enjoyed Derrick Tribble's, Wanderers in Time series and was honored to be a pre-reader for his newest tale, Anamatus.

The message in this tale showed the ugliness of sin, our selfish desires and the consequences of what could happen when we go against God’s purpose for our lives. In one way or another we all have been guilty of this. I really appreciated the heart of this tale and it's not one you will easily forget.

Karina, who you follow in her words, was a character that honestly grows on you. In the beginning you kind of don’t like her, she is selfish and pretty immature, but as you go on her adventure she becomes an unforgettable character that might go down as one of your favorites.

Anamatus is an original tale, set in a new futuristic world that feels very western… I don’t want to call it Steampunk, because it doesn’t quite fit that genre, but it has that fun feeling. I REALLY liked it.

The monster of the story was pretty well done. Living in the Sierra Nevada mountain's, a fear of mine while traveling in the forest is running into a ferocious mountain lion. This bronze puma was indeed fearsome and a good picture of sin. A lot of times your sin doesn't just effect you, but also those around you, which was clearly, sadly, and lovingly shown in this tale.

Being a Believer I know we all have been given special talents by God... some of us are artist, some of us our amazing sports players,, and some us are extremely good at school. These are just a few examples. Some of us waste our talents on futile things and some of us bless others with them and use them for God's glory. I liked that Anamatus showed glory for God and in the end how He holds all of our stories. Even when we go astray His story is always the ending whether we choose that or not!

As for the cover art and something I enjoy, is that it actually fits the story! It is sentimental and can be found on page 105. Maybe it will give you a smile, as it did me.

All in all I enjoyed this tale and would highly recommend it, especially to teenagers. We live in such a selfish world and if only we would let love, true love guild us...

A few cons… every book has them. ;-)
I wasn’t completely satisfied with the ending. Not that it was horrible… far from it! I just had a few questions unanswered.  Perhaps we will have a sequel in the future or maybe we should choose to answer those questions in our own imagination.  Also, there were a lot of different classes that I felt and took as being different kinds of Christians… not sure if this was the author’s purpose or not... maybe I'm overthinking.  A few personal things said by some characters I would disagree with... I'll leave that for the reader to decide. Because like our world there are indeed different kinds of believers and at times we see things differently. Some of those things really don't matter, while others greatly do!

Some of Karina's lovely rabbits. ;-)

You can purchase Anamatus here...

Amason Paperback

Amazon Kindle

Barnes and Noble

Counted with the Stars by Connilyn Cossette: Book Review and Giveaway...

A Story of Love, Desperation, and Hope During a Great Biblical Epoch

Sold into slavery by her father and forsaken by the man she was supposed to marry, young Egyptian Kiya must serve a mistress who takes pleasure in her humiliation. When terrifying plagues strike Egypt, Kiya is in the middle of it all.

To save her older brother and escape the bonds of slavery, Kiya flees with the Hebrews during the Great Exodus. She finds herself utterly dependent on a fearsome God she's only just beginning to learn about, and in love with a man who despises her people. With everything she's ever known swept away, will Kiya turn back toward Egypt or surrender her life and her future to Yahweh?

My Review
I was blessed to be able to be an advanced reader for this beautiful debut by Connilyn Cossette

I devoured it within days and even stayed up way past my bed time. ;-)

I highly recommend this tale and can see that Connilyn Cossette put a lot of hard work and heart into her story. I felt like I was in Egypt traveling right beside Kiya through her trails, finding true love and learning of Yahweh. I even learned some neat Egyptian history.

I LOVED this book and the only bad thing I can stay about it, is that I felt like the very end was a little rushed... it could be because I didn't want it to end.

I would recommend this beautiful tale to mature readers due to some topics that would not be appropriate to younger readers so I give it a PG-13 rating ( it mentions a few times about rape and has a few heavy war scenes. That kinda makes it sound like a really bad read, but I promise you it's not. It is indeed Christian, just not for kids.)

I cannot wait for book two, Shadow of the Storm coming this October.

Because I liked this book so much, I’m doing a GIVEAWAY! This will be for a paper back version and will be only available to those in the U.S.
Winner will be picked next Saturday May 7th.


a Rafflecopter giveaway