Four more books

Okay, so I have four books to go through. Bear with me here....

#1 - Where Angels Fall by Chris Stewart
This is the second book in The Great and Terrible series (TGTS). Ammon, Luke, Sam and Elizabeth are all on earth now, living their lives. Ammon and Luke were sent to the same family. Sam joined their family through the Foster program. They have loving parents who do whatever they can to keep their family together.
Elizabeth is not only in a different family, she's in a different country. She lives in Iran with her father. Her mother died from complications after childbirth. Her father loves her very much and provides whatever he can. Though they live a simple life, Rassa (the father) has the blood of royalty in his veins.
Satan is working overtime to influence those who stood against him in the preexistence. His influence runs deep in some. He has people that will do anything for power and money.
One he has a strong hold on is Prince Abdullah al-Rahman of Saudi Arabia. The Prince is scared his father and brother will make their kingdom into a democratic regime. No more princes and no more kings.
An old man approaches Prince Abdullah al-Rahman and tells him the secret to keeping his kingdom and gaining more riches and power. He just has to wait twelve years.
This story is gripping and intoxicating. Just as in our lives, there are those who would do anything for love and those who would do anything for greed. If you have never read these books, I highly recommend them. I can't wait to read the next installment: The Second Sun.

#2 - The Kingdom by Clive Cussler
This is the third book in the Fargo series. Sam and Remi get a call that their friend, Frank Alton, is missing. They meet with Mr. King, the man who hired Frank, to find more information. Their journey leads them to Nepal where they come across good guys and bad guys. They soon find out that Mr. King is not all he says he is. And neither is his wife/assistant and their two children.
Sam and Remi are fighting against a clock with an unknown time limit. They must find something called The Golden Man. Is it just a story, or is there really a box out there somewhere with the gold covered bones of man in it? Will Sam and Remi find it first, or will they die trying?
I absolutely love Clive Cussler's books! He keeps things clean while keeping it all exciting. No swearing and sex to ruin a story.

#3 - Miles to Go by Richard Paul Evans
The second journal of The Walk series starts right where the first left off. Alan Christofferson is in the hospital after being attacked by a gang. He has been stabbed several times and would have died if another truck hadn't stopped and helped him. When he wakes up, Angel is by his side. Angel is a young woman he had helped when she needed her flat tire changed. Her phone number was the only one the hospital workers could find. With his walk put on hold until he can heal from his wounds, Angel has offered to take him home with her to recuperate.
They get along okay, but Angel is hiding something from him. Who is she? Why did she move back to Spokane? And who is Nicole? Alan soon finds out that Angel is Nicole and she is in Spokane after her son was killed in a car accident and her marriage fell apart.
Alan heals and is ready to resume his walk. The east gate to Yellowstone is open and he is anxious to get going. He says goodbye to Nicole and is on his way. He soon meets up with a young girl, Kailamai. He saves her from being raped by several young men who picked her up as she was hitchhiking. Alan and Kailamai walk together and he learns more about her past and what she wants for the future. An idea forms and he contacts Nicole. Nicole drives to meet them and invites Kailamai to live with her and go to school. Kailamai is very happy and leaves with Nicole.
Alan is alone again and making his way to Key West, Florida. He stops in South Dakota to see Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial. The next morning, as he is leaving his hotel, he is stopped by woman who knows him. She asks if he knows who she is and when he says no she asks if he is sure. He looks closely at her and realizes he does know her. She tells him she has been looking for him for weeks.
I'm not sure who the woman might be, but I have my hunches. I guess I will have to wait until April next year to find out if I am right.
If you have not read this series yet, please do so. There are passages in them you might find very insightful in your own life. I know I have.

#4 - Wrecked by Carol Higgins Clark
Yes, that's CAROL Higgins Clark, not Mary Higgins Clark. Carol is Mary's daughter. And like MHC, CHC is a wonderful writer.
Regan Reilly and her husband Jack are on Cape Cod to celebrate their one-year anniversary. They didn't expect this! A woman renting the house next door is found at the bottom of her stairs to the beach. Skip thinks she's dead and goes to get help. By the time Jack and Regan get there, the body is gone, presumably swept out to sea.
No one knows anything about the missing woman, Adele Hopkins. She has kept to herself and refused any friends. When the police enter the home, several pillow with the words "Grudge me, Grudge me not" are found along with several 'I'm Sorry' cards and list of first names. Are these people she wants to apologize to? What happened? Why is she on the Cape? Where is she from? These are all questions the police, Jack, Regan, Skip and the rest of the country would like to know.
One problem.... Adele didn't get swept out to sea. Instead, she is being held captive by a raving lunatic who calls himself an actor. He is in town with the cast of a new play. What is going to happen to her? Will she ever escape? Read the book to find out!!!!

Well, that's it for today! Up next is Just Take My Heart by Mary Higgins Clark. I'll let you know how it goes!!

The Great and Terrible Series by Chris Stewart

This is the next series I am reading. I'm on the second book right now. The first book, The Brothers mainly takes place in the pre-existence. It follows 4 siblings, a sister and three brothers. They each have to choose whether to follow the Father and Jehovah or Lucifer. They each have their own struggles with their choices.
The second book, Where Angels Fall, continues the story of the four siblings. They have come to earth to different families. The brothers are all with the same family, while Elizabeth, the sister, has been born into a family in Iran. And that's as far as I have gotten on that one. :-) I will let you know how it goes!

Not a new one, but....

Okay, so I read this latest book several years ago, but I'm still counting it. I finished Saints by Orson Scott Card. It follows the lives of the Kirkham family from England to the Salt Lake Valley and the good times and bad times they have. Anna, the mom, Dinah, the daughter and Robert and Charlie, the sons have all had a brush with Mormon missionaries in England. Three end up joining the church and the other, Robert, refuses to listen to anything they have to say about it. Anna, Dinah and Charlie all go to America to join the Saints in Nauvoo, Illinois. There, Dinah meets Joseph and Emma Smith. She becomes a plural wife to Joseph in secret. Dinah is also called Prophetess by many who know her. She helps people when they have need of prayer or blessing or a shoulder to cry on or an ear to listen.
After Joseph's death and the forced move out of Nauvoo, Dinah, Anna, Charlie and his family all go to the Salt Lake Valley to live out their lives in relative peace. Dinah lives to be 100 years old and sees the construction of both the Salt Lake and St. George Temples.
I still haven't been able to figure out if any of this book is true. If Dinah was a real person or not. It would be very interesting if she was real.

A suggestion..... or three..... or ten.....

I need suggestions on what I should read next. I am up for anything except romance, fantasy, or sci-fi (unless they are by Orson Scott Card).

3 More Down

It seems I'm always playing catch-up here. I have read three more books since I last posted. The first was So Much of Life Ahead by Dean Hughes. This was the last book in the Hearts of the Children series. I have laughed and cried throughout this series. It was wonderful. Mr. Hughes really knows how to create characters that you really care about.
The second book was Rick Riordan's book two of the Kane Chronicles, The Throne of Fire. Carter and Sadie Kane are brother and sister magicians. They follow the paths of the ancient Greek gods. In this book, the god of chaos, Apophis, is about to break free of his prison and destroy the world. It is up to Carter and Sadie to awaken Ra and save the world. But it is a perilous journey. They must first find the three sections of the Book of Ra, hidden throughout the world. Then they must take the book and descend into the Duat, the underworld, to find Ra and read the spell that will awaken him. On the way, they come across other magicians trying to stop them along with more gods and demons who are bound to kill them before they can get to Ra. Carter and Sadie must also decide if awakening Ra is the right thing to do. And if they decide to do it, will Ra be the God he used to be?
The third book I read was Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. Miri and her family live on the slopes of Mount Eskel. Her father and sister work in the quarry, but Miri isn't allowed to. She thinks it's because she's so small. One day, word comes from the lowlands that the king's priests have announced the Prince's bride will come from Mount Eskel. So a princess academy is set up for the eligible girls to instruct them on proper lowlander etiquette. Miri and the other girls don't like it very much at first. Olana, the tutor, isn't nice at all and gives out punishments for the smallest things. Then the girls turn the tables on her when Miri finds a secret about Olana. Olana changes her ways and the girls thrive on learning at the academy. After a year, it is time for the Prince to come and choose his bride. The night of his arrival, he is not very friendly. He is stiff and formal and leaves the next morning without choosing his bride. Unfortunately, as soon as the Prince's caravan leaves, bandits invade the academy and demand to know whom the Prince has chosen. They do not believe it when they are told the Prince didn't choose. A big snow storm comes and threatens to leave them stranded at the academy for the rest of the winter. Miri has to find a way to save herself and all the other girls before the bandits can take them away and/or kill them. Can she sing to the quarry rocks and make her father hear her? Will he understand she and the other girls are in danger? Will he be in time to save them? When will the Prince return and who will he choose as his bride? This was a good book and one I hope my daughters will read.

Can't believe I forgot!

I forgot about the book I just finished last night! I read Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. What a wonderful book. I don't usually read books after they come out in the movie theater, but this one intrigued me.
I have only read one or two books based during the Great Depression so I wasn't too sure about this one. With the circus backdrop, I was excited to read it. I found the character of Jacob Jankowski wonderfully written, both as the young man thrown into the circus life through sad events in his life to the old man in the nursing home waiting to see the circus with his family.
I laughed, cried and got really mad while reading this novel. I think I will have to pick up her other three books, Ape House, Riding Lessons, and Flying Colors.
Let me know if you have read any of these and what you thought of them.

Now..... where was I?

Take Me Home was great.
Gene was injured during the war twice. The second time got him sent home. He is happy to be back with Emily and Danny, but there is a lot of anger in him and he doesn't know how to handle it.
Diane's marriage is falling apart. Greg is gone al the time despite his promises to Diane to be home more. His temper flares at the slightest word. Can Diane handle it, or should she leave him for good?
Kathy is learning a lot in the Phillipines. Should she stay in the Church, or is she just too different to be accepted? Her last year is going to change her life for good.
Hans is given more freedom. But is he being set up by the Stasi? Will he end up back in prison? Is Rainer really his friend, or a spy for the Stasi?
This was such a good book. Diane's situation really hit home for me and I had tears in my eyes and slipping down my cheeks.

As for Vixen 03 by Clive Cussler, I enjoyed it as usual. There were a few twists I didn't expect and lots of action that I did. I think this was one of his better books of the older ones.

Now, I am reading the final installment of the Hearts of the Children series by Dean Hughes, So Much of Life Ahead. I'll let you know how it goes.

Oh! I forgot one! I also read Mary Higgins Clark's newest book, I'll Walk Alone.
Alexandra "Zan" Moreland lost her son two years ago when he was kidnapped in Central Park. Now, someone is trying to destroy her and her interior design business. To make matters worse, someone is impersonating her. They have stolen her identity, used her bank account to buy things.
Now the police think she kidnapped her own son and possibly murdered him. Will anyone believe her that she didn't do any of those things? Will Alvirah Meehan be able to help her, or is she one of those that don't trust Zan? This book held my attention to the very end.
Thank you Mary Higgins Clark for another wonderful book and another installment in the Alvirah Meehan series!!!