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Spirit KeeperBook Description:

A fiery frontier woman falls deeply in love with her Native American captor on an epic journey 

The thirteenth child conceived of miserable Irish exiles, Katie O’Toole dreams of a different life. Little does she know that someone far away is dreaming of her.

In 1747, savages raid her family home, and seventeen-year-old Katie is taken captive. Syawa and Hector have been searching for her, guided by Syawa’s dreams. A young Holyman, Syawa believes Katie is the subject of his Vision: the Creature of Fire and Ice, destined to bring a great gift to his people. Despite her flaming hair and ice-blue eyes, Katie is certain he is mistaken, but faced with returning to her family, she agrees to join them. She soon discovers that in order to fulfill Syawa’s Vision, she must first become his Spirit Keeper, embarking on an epic journey that will change her life—and heart—forever.

My Thoughts:

I was invited to download this ebook from Net Galley quite awhile ago.  After reading the book I got to busy to write my thoughts and then, to be honest I forgot I still need to write my review.  Please don’t get me wrong, my forgetting to review it, has no reflection on what I thought of the book, in fact, I quite enjoyed it!

Katie was born the thirteenth child and by then her mother had enough of mothering.  Katie was expected to take care of the household and raise the younger children.  She was treated like a slave.  Actually, some slaves were treated better than her.

One day she was in the house caring for the younger children when there was a raid by “savages”.  Her father was killed.  She hid in the loft with the children but two of the “savages”, Hector and Syawa, caught her and her younger siblings.  They were taken, along with their mother to be sold.  The family was feed very little while waiting to be sold however, Syawa, favored Katie and gave her more.  Even in this situation her mother treated her horribly.

When a man arrived at the camp who spoke English, he explained that Hector and Syawa were not with the others that kidnapped them.  The two came only to get her.  Syawa was a holyman and saw her in his dreams.  He called her “the creature of fire and ice”.

Katie was given the choice of going on a far, unknown journey with Hector and Syawa or to stay with her family.  She chose to go with the two native men.

K.B. Laugheed captured both the harshness and beauty of the vast landscape beautifully.  She did a great job studying the characters.  I love to get an inside glimpse of all the different tribes that the three came across on their journey.  There were a couple of slow periods in the book for me but there weren’t many.  The journey doesn’t end when the book does, so I am hope that means there will be a sequel.  It made me wanting to beg for more! I highly recommend The Spirit Keeper!

4/5

I received the ebook for my honest review.

About K.B. Laugheed:

K.B. Laugheed is an organic gardener and master naturalist who has spent a lifetime feeding the earth. Her efforts have culminated in The Spirit Keeper, her first novel and largest contribution to the pot-luck so far.

 

I had the pleasure of kicking of the tour of When Camels Fly on May 12th.  Today I am sharing my review.

Book Description:

Publisher: NLBHorton, via Amazon’s White Glove (May 15, 2014)
Agent:  Mary Keeley at Books & Such Literary Management
Category: Contemporary suspense, thread of Romance
Tour Date: May/June, 2014
Available in: Print & ebook, 370 Pages

A mother’s fatal shot. A daughter’s deadly choice.

In Israel, archaeologist Grace Madison shoots her daughter’s abductor. Seconds later, a handsome shepherd drops from the sky to kill a second assassin. Their world changes in two blinks of an eye.

Unbeknownst to them, a fiercely ambitious evil is destroying everything in its path—the unconventional path Grace and Maggie take. They struggle to right a wrong as old as time, and discover time is running out in the race for their lives. Family and friends are swept into their vortex, extinguishing old flames while igniting new loves.

While the scale tips dangerously toward disaster, millions of lives hang in the balance. And the mother-and-daughter team soon realizes nothing is as it seems. Even each other.

Because choosing what’s right is all that’s left.

My Thoughts:

When Camels Fly grabbed my interest from the first page and didn’t let go until the end.  NBL captured the landscape so well that I was automatically transported from Canada to Israel every time I picked up the book.

The characters were so well drawn out.  Grace, the mother of two grown children, was like a fierce mother bear, protecting her cubs.  The entire family had secrets that came out during the story especially Mark, the father, and Jeff, the son.

Though the family was busy trying to protect each other and on the run the entire time, they had a great sense of humor. I loved the family dynamics and felt welcomed into their lives and their bantering back and forth.  I also liked the subtle ecological message about water.  You could even call it a water thriller.

NbL Horton is a graduate degree from Dallas Theological Seminary, I never felt preached to.  Sure there was reference to religion and even a couple of religious artefacts but that is to be expected in Israel, of all places.  Like her character, Grace, NBL has surveyed Israeli, archaeological digs.  I think her personal background is what helped make this story so good.

I can hardly wait for her next book, The Brothers’ Keepers!  I highly recommend When Camels Fly!

5/5

I received the ebook for my honest opinion.

NLB with Shushi, the camel

About NLB Horton:

After an award-winning detour through journalism and marketing and a graduate degree from Dallas Theological Seminary, NLBHorton returned to writing fiction. She has surveyed Israeli archaeological digs accompanied by artillery rounds from Syria and machine gun fire from Lebanon. Explored Machu Picchu after training with an Incan shaman. And consumed afternoon tea across five continents.

When Camels Fly is her first novel. Her second, The Brothers’ Keepers, will be available November 2014.

Website: http://www.nlbhorton.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/NLB-Horton/289059931145461
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NLBHorton
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/nlbhorton/
G
oodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8121286.N_L_B_Horton

Buy When Camels Fly:

Amazon
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LINCOLNThanks to Alissa Letkowski of Meryl Moss Media Relations, I am giving away one copy of The Lincoln Myth.

Book Description:

New York Times bestselling author Steve Berry returns with his latest thriller, a Cotton Malone adventure involving a flaw in the United States Constitution, a mystery about Abraham Lincoln, and a political issue that’s as explosive as it is timely—not only in Malone’s world, but in ours.
 
September 1861: All is not as it seems. With these cryptic words, a shocking secret passed down from president to president comes to rest in the hands of Abraham Lincoln. And as the first bloody clashes of the Civil War unfold, Lincoln alone must decide how best to use this volatile knowledge: save thousands of American lives, or keep the young nation from being torn apart forever?

The present: In Utah, the fabled remains of Mormon pioneers whose nineteenth-century expedition across the desert met with a murderous end have been uncovered. In Washington, D.C., the official investigation of an international entrepreneur, an elder in the Mormon church, has sparked a political battle between the White House and a powerful United States senator. In Denmark, a Justice Department agent, missing in action, has fallen into the hands of a dangerous zealot—a man driven by divine visions to make a prophet’s words reality. And in a matter of a few short hours, Cotton Malone has gone from quietly selling books at his shop in Denmark to dodging bullets in a high-speed boat chase.

All it takes is a phone call from his former boss in Washington, and suddenly the ex-agent is racing to rescue an informant carrying critical intelligence. It’s just the kind of perilous business that Malone has been trying to leave behind, ever since he retired from the Justice Department. But once he draws enemy blood, Malone is plunged into a deadly conflict—a constitutional war secretly set in motion more than two hundred years ago by America’s Founding Fathers.

From the streets of Copenhagen to the catacombs of Salzburg to the rugged mountains of Utah, the grim specter of the Civil War looms as a dangerous conspiracy gathers power. Malone risks life, liberty, and his greatest love in a race for the truth about Abraham Lincoln—while the fate of the United States of America hangs in the balance.

Excerpt:

“I have not left anyone in doubt. My task is to save the Union. I would save it the shortest way under the Constitution. The sooner the national authority can be restored, the nearer the Union will be the Union as it was. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it. If I could save it by freeing all slaves, I would do it. If I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union. What I forbear, I forbear because I don’t believe it would help to save the Union. I shall do less whenever I shall believe what I am doing hurts the cause, and I shall do more whenever I shall believe doing more will help the cause.”

“Then you are not my president, sir. Nor would you be the president of those who voted for you.”

“But I am president. So take this message back to the general. He was sent west to move the army to Memphis and keep advancing eastward. Those are still his orders. He shall either obey them or be removed from his post.”

“I must warn you, sir, that it could be hard if you continue to oppose the general. He could set up for himself.”

The federal treasury was empty. The War Department a mess. No Union army anywhere was prepared to advance. And now this woman, and her insolent husband, were threatening revolt? He should have them both arrested. Unfortunately, however, Fremont’s unilateral emancipation had become popular with abolitionists and liberal Republicans who wanted slavery ended now. A bold strike at their champion could be political suicide.

He said, “This meeting is over.”

She threw him a glare, one that said she was unaccustomed to being dismissed. But he ignored her sneer and stepped across the room, opening the door for her to leave. Hay, his personal secretary, was on duty outside, as was one of the stewards. Mrs. Fremont passed Hay without saying a word, and the steward led her away. He waited until he heard the front door open, then close, before signal-ing for Hay to join him in the parlor.

“That is an impertinent soul,” he said. “We never even sat. She gave me no chance to offer her a seat. She taxed me so violently with so many things that I had to exercise all the awkward tact I have to avoid quarreling with her.”

“Her husband is no better. His command is a failure.”

He nodded. “Fremont’s mistake is that he isolates himself. He does not know what is going on in the matter he is dealing with.”

“And he refuses to listen.”

“She actually threatened that he might set up his own government.”

Excerpted from THE LINCOLN MYTH by Steve Berry. Copyright © 2014 Steve Berry. Excerpted by permission of Ballantine Books, a division of Random House, LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

About Steve Berry:Steve Berry

STEVE BERRY is The New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author of eight Cotton Malone adventures, four stand-alone thrillers, and four short-story originals.   His books have been translated into 40 languages with more than 15 million printed copies in 51 countries.

This giveaway is open to the U.S. only and ends on June 3, 2014.  Please use Rafflecopter to enter.
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