A Net in Time

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Oscar From Elsewhere

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Disclosure: I received this complimentary product for Oscar From Elsewhere through Raincoast Books. Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so, and is so much appreciated. 🙂

When two worlds collide in order to save the lives of an entire race, you’ll find the story of Oscar from Elsewhere come to life. Oscar is your typical American boy who loves skateboarding.  When through a slip in the grass finds himself in a world of magic.  Why is he there?   He soon discovers he’s there to help save a world…. It’s a world of figuring out who to trust and solving a mystery.  Come on, let’s take a look! 

oscar from elsewhere

The Basic Details of Oscar from Elsewhere

Title: Oscar From Elsewhere
Author: Jaclyn Moriarity
Pages: 400
Publisher: Levine Querido c/o Chronicle Books
Intended Audience: 10-14 years
Formats available: Kindle, Hardcover, Paperback
Reviewed for: Raincoast books
Received: ARC Paperback
Series: I think it’s part of the Kingdoms and Empires Series

About the Author

Jaclyn Moriarty, you may remember her from The Stolen Prince of Cloudburst, writes intriguing fantasy for middle school. An Australian by birth, she currently lives in Sydney with her son.  A lover of chocolate and blueberries, you’ll find a list of recommended authors on her website.  

About Oscar from Elsewhere

During a sleepover, a letter comes to five children begging for the urgent assistance of Esther, a newly-realized Rain Weaver; she must arrive before 10am on Monday to save an entire town of elves. When they arrive, the children find two incredibly odd things: first, the town of elves, buried under layers of silver; and second, a regular-size boy who, soon after seeing the children, dies.

Oscar is that boy who skipped school in our world on Monday to skate, and found himself in the city of the elves at just the wrong moment: He fled as fast as he could, but not fast enough because the silver wave struck him and he fell down dead.

Looking Deeper

The story of Oscar alternates between Oscar and Imogen, one of the six children who came to Oscar’s rescue.  I loved how Ms. Moriarty gave these two characters very different voices. 

These children face a number of obstacles and have a quest to finish… with three known clues and six hidden clues.  They are also faced with people they don’t know if they can trust. So the quest is hard but… should they complete it, a whole people group will be saved!

Each section is one more day in their quest.  They only have six days to complete this quest.   So each day’s chapters walk us through specific adventures.  As they seek out the answers we get to learn more about each of these unique youth.  Each has their own unique abilities and perspectives. 

I didn’t get a final version, but I found myself intrigued by the story line and wondering if they finish this quest completely by the time the book is done.  (no, I haven’t quite finished it yet!).  But I can easily see a sequel happening simply due to the diverse nature of the participants.   AH AH… I skipped ahead so I could see if the story continues on.  This is a complete story line.  Be prepared for surprises!   ENJOY the surprises it’s part of the fun of this read.  🙂 

Get it?

Keeping in that I have not read the entire book, but what I have read I have thoroughly enjoyed, I will recommend it.   I love the variety in the characters, the surprises along the way, and how overall these are just nice kids.     Learning to not believe lies from their past, working to help others not related to them, and how these youth have to work together to problem-solve.  

Oscar from Elsewhere is a fun fantasy read that will be fantastic for middle school youth to read.  An intermingling of worlds where skill-sets from each help save the elves. 

Arcane Ascension Series

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I love listening to books on Audible… I have SO many books on there that I won’t have to buy any for a while.  It’s a good thing that!  Some books are well-worth listening to again!!!  Anyways, last month I was intrigued by an Andrew Rowe book and thought I’d take a chance on a new series by him entitled the Arcane Ascension Series.   His first in the series caused me to pick up the rest of the series. 

This is a fantasy series that uses an interesting style of magic, and they have a religious belief system, which may or may not mean anything to different characters.  Both play an integral role in how the story plays out.  Good guys, bad guys, and some well… indifferent I’d suppose. 

These books are the following: 

  • Sufficiently Advanced Magic
  • On the Shoulders of Titans
  • The Torch the Ignites the Stars
  • The Silence of Unworthy Gods 

Anyways, let’s move on so I can tell you a bit more eh?

arcane ascensions series

The Basic Details

Title:

Sufficiently Advanced Magic
On the Shoulders of Titans
The Torch the Ignites the Stars
The Silence of Unworthy Gods 

Author: Andrew Rowe
Formats: Kindle, Audio, Paperback
Pages: from 560-740 pages roughly
Publisher: all were independently published

About Author and Books

Andrew Rowe is a game designer who publishes his own work.  He is most known for this series, Arcane Ascension. His books show his love for role playing games (LitRPG).  I found it rather neat to learn that his love for fantasy was spurred by the same series I was!  DragonLance by Weis and Hickman. 

The Books: the life of Corin and his band of friends during their magic training at a boarding school.  Since I’m listening and not reading… his friends are Sera, Patrick, Mara, Keras, and Derrick. Forgive me if I spell those names incorrectly.  🙂 The goal:  Figure out their magic, fight the bad guys, figure out what the truth is, and survive! 

arcane ascensions series by andrew rowe

Learning More

Four books, all listened to through the Audible app.  I’m actually in the middle of book three as I write this review.  I’m hoping to have finished all four books by the time this posts.  🙂   I’ll keep the review updated don’t worry!  🙂 

The first two books cover their first year at school.   Their teachers employ some interesting teaching decisions/methods and often feel like they don’t truly want to help their students.  BUT since part of their magic and religious systems is figuring things out on their own, I guess it’s rather consistent with the overall worldview eh? 

Listening to Corin’s conversations throughout these books I’m convinced that he’s a high functioning autistic kid.  Other reviewers call him neurologically atypical.  Doesn’t like touch, is particular about what he likes, and highly focused attention span.  He’s very precise and highly focused on being honest whenever possible.  It makes for an interesting character to be one of the main people in a story.  I can easily understand why some folks might find him irritating.  To me… all the repeated conversation (of not liking touch, of being particular etc.) fits the character to a “T”.

You’ll find the action overall to be fast-paced.  There is always something happen, and if for some reason there isn’t something going on, Corin will be explaining something.  🙂 During those time periods, if I missed something in the conversation I didn’t worry about since usually… it will be repeated at some point down the road, or explained during an action scene.  As I said, the narration is totally within the character for Corin. 

My thoughts

I so enjoyed these books. I found the magic system an intriguing one where they actually had to earn how to use it, and then figure out how to build the strength to improve.  The fact that there was some randomness in how their magic system worked added another layer of interest. 

Heads up. The main character has same-gender attraction, but at where I am in the story dancing together is as far as it goes.   

Andrew Rowe is at times a bit wordy, but it just helps to define the characters more or helps define how the magic or religious system works. 

Overall… I liked all the books.  There is a LOT of dialogue explaining what Corin was learning.  It fits his personality.  That is what you need to remember in the Arcane Ascension series… it is told from CORIN’s point of view and therefore needs to fit his neurodivergency. 

I found it interesting as a person of faith, how Corin’s objections to the system of faith are quite similar to the objections people have to the Christian faith.  The way people act about the “country’s faith” is just like people act in society along with how people divert from each other in their expression of faith. 

All in all, should you read?   Interesting characters, often playing out tests, learning to fight bigger tests and real life challenges.  People to like and people to heartily dislike, a side to cheer for, and overall enough action to keep things moving forward.  It’s a good read. (or in my case, a good listen). 🙂 

Start with book one, see if you can tolerate Corin’s point of view, if so, you’ll like the rest of the series. 

Foreign Body

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I’m going to try to intersperse reviews of books I’m listening to or just reading.  Just so you know, I tend to prefer mysteries and fantasy.  🙂  I read the occasional historical based fiction, and I’m trying to read more non-fiction faith based books.  I also have this rather large stack of WW2 books from the lad’s studies that I want to read that he told me were excellent. 🙂   So LOTS and LOTS of books!    By the bye, I’ll link to the book on Amazon and if you purchase through that affiliate link it helps me keep sharing books with you.  🙂  Today I’m going to review a Robin Cook book entitled Foreign Body. 

I think almost every Robin Cook book I’ve read is about something medical and something that is not right with the medical community.  There are times when it makes me somewhat suspicious so I don’t read a whole bunch of them in a row!  Foreign Body is one such book and the scenario feels rather plausible.  I could see money being a big factor in this area. 

Robin Cook - Foreign Body

Basic Details You’ll Want

Title: Foreign Body
Author: Robin Cook
Publisher: G.P. Putnam & Sons
Copyright: 2008
Pages: 438
Type: Mystery, Fiction, Medical thriller, medical fiction
Formats: Audio, paperback, kindle, hardcover
Age Range: Adult
Book 8 of 12: Jack Stapleton & Laurie Montgomery

About Author and Book

Robin Cook lives in the world of medicine from training in surgery, working in the medical field with the military and working as an ophthalmologist.  He uses his medical knowledge throughout his 37 medical mysteries.  When I browsed the books he has written I realized there are many I haven’t read yet!   There’s about 16 of them I need to introduce myself too in time.  🙂 

Foreign Body. Take a company in the medical field that wants to make money and discovers they are losing money due to medical tourism.  Add a fixer to the problem and promise good rewards upon success and suddenly people start dying in hospitals.  A sticky wicket in the form of a young medical student becomes a thorn in the side to the fixer and thus a thriller is formed.  

What did I think?

I liked it or I wouldn’t have finished it!   It was compelling. I wanted to know if Jack and Laurie could help Jennifer solve the mystery of her grandmother’s unexpected death. 

Mr. Cook does an excellent job of creating desire to see how all the pieces fit together.  Could cremation actually help solve the case?  Or could they find a doctor who will buck the system? 

I was fascinated to discover how the medical and forsenic rules differ between countries.  Jack and Laurie were, admittedly, lucky to not get caught circumventing the rules.  If this were a true story I would wonder what would happen with the people who helped them. 

The characters felt real due to their errors in judgement, their desire to make amends, real reasons for hesitations, and such like.  No character felt too good to be true, or too evil to exist.  They were all just people making good and bad decisions.  

I don’t recall any use of inappropriate language, or at least if there was, there wasn’t enough to turn me aside. 

It was great to delve into the India and catch a glimpse of the disparity in their system.  The other poverty as well as the beauty. The reactions of the Americans varied greatly… with most despising the utter poverty some people live in. 

If you like a good mystery, and don’t mind questioning the medical system, Robin Cook’s Foreign Body will delight you and take you into a different world for a while. 

lowriders to the rescue

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Disclosure: I received this complimentary product (lowriders to the rescue) through Raincoast Books.  Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so, and is so much appreciated. 🙂 

Tie in a group of friends, with a stranger needing help, and discovering a threat to their community.  What do you expect the Lowriders in Space to do?  And thus, we get the inception of Lowriders to the Rescue!   Exhibiting a depth of concern for each other and the people around them, we also see them discovering a deep concern for the world itself. 

lowriders to the rescue

The Facts about Lowriders to the Rescue

I received a hardcover with a dustcover copy of Lowriders to the Rescue for my review from Raincoast Books.   You will find this graphic novel to be written with youth 9-12 years old in mind.  It runs at 140 pages and has been published by Chronicle Books.   It will be available at the end of May 2022. 
Throughout you will find spanish/latino words as well as the odd arabic phrase.  Lowriders to the rescue is I think that fourth in the Lowriders series. 

Cathy Camper, the author of the Lowriders series, is not only an author but libarian and artist.  Illustrations are completed by Raul the Third, an award winning artist.

Looking More Closely

As I mentioned earlier, you will discover spanish/latino phrases throughout.  The first time they are used they will be asterisked and you’ll find the definition at the bottom of the page. Each additional word on the same page will have a growing number of asterisk’s following them.   If you can’t remember what a word means you can always go to the dictionary at the close of this graphic novel. 

You will find, for the most part, very likeable characters.  They cover the gambit of personalities from funny, to serious, thoughtful to impulsive.  But you will always find them wanting to help each other, and to improve the world we all live in, human and animal alike. Sometimes their motives for doing so are a bit selfish, but overall, they want to do what’s right for everyone. 

You’ll discover easy to text that is surrounded by cartoon art.  I have to admit, I found the art work to be too busy for my liking, but it did fit the story well.   Raul the Third made good use of colour and action to fill out this graphic novel.

Add it to your shelves?

The busyness of the artwork would probably stop me from picking Lowriders to the Rescue up to purchase it, but I wouldn’t be opposed to my lad reading it (or any other child for that matter).   The story itself is worth reading.

Themes include: taking care of the earth, being mindful of pollutants, caring for others, learning a new language, the history of languages, and community activism. 

I was introduced to a new animal, the Flapjack Octopus, who to me, doesn’t really look like the character in the book, but one can expect creative license! 🙂 

Don’t you just love books that teach you something as well as being enjoyable to read? And when a book finishes with a happy ending, all the better eh?

The Nature of Small Birds

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Disclosure: I received this complimentary product (The Nature of Small Birds) through Nuts about Books.  Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so.

Did you know that after the Vietnam War some 3000 children from Vietnam were adopted by American families?   The Nature of Small Birds tells the story of how life might have gone for one such family. It’s not always an easy read, but it gives a glimpse of history worth knowing about.

the nature of small birds

The basic details for The Nature of Small Birds

The Nature of Small Birds has been written by Susie Finkbeiner and published by Revell books.  At 368 pages, it’s a middling book to read.   Faith is evident in the lives of the characters… seeing that in the Christian school the girls attend, and in the parents devotion to God.  They are nice Christian family trying live out their faith.   I am reviewing this book for Nuts about Books. 

From the Cover:

In 1975, three thousand children were airlifted out of Saigon to be adopted into Western homes. When one of those children announces her plans to return to Vietnam to find her birth mother, her loving adopted family is suddenly thrown back to the events surrounding her unconventional arrival in their lives.

Mindy’s father grapples with the tension between holding on tightly and letting his daughter spread her wings. Her mother undergoes the emotional roller coaster inherent in the adoption of a child from a war-torn country, discovering the joy hidden amid the difficulties. And Mindy and her sister struggle to find the strength to accept each other as they both discover who they truly are.

Told through three distinct voices in three compelling timelines, The Nature of Small Birds is a hopeful story that explores the meaning of family far beyond genetic code.

What do you get?

Three voices tell the story of The Nature of Small Birds.  We hear from Bruce, Sonny and Linda, three voices of family.  Telling the story of how family changed over the years.  Irene (mom) tells the story from 1975, Bruce (dad) from 2013,  and Sonny (daughter) from 1988.   Good characterization, though Bruce was for me, less defined than the two women. 

You’ll find the text to be an easy-to-read font and a nice size.  I had hubby check to see if he could read it without his reading glasses and he could!  🙂  Occasionally some grey-scale images of leaves break up the text. 

This book was inspired by Operation Babylift.  I pulled a video from YouTube for your convenience if you want to know a bit more about it.   It was news to me!  🙂 

What did I think?

Well, I tried, I really did.  But I could NOT get into The Nature of Small Birds.  The change of perspective all the time, short chapters, the jumping around in time periods. Since it’s not a long book thought I’d be able to zip through it on my lunch breaks at work, but found myself bogged down by the changing voices and varying timelines.  Was there value in how far I got through it?   For sure, I really wish the style had been different as I thought the story important. 

Now I did do some jumping around and it’s a heart-warming story. I loved the care and concern that this family showed for each other. Only one member of the family was difficult, but it was part of who she is.  I know that other reviewers weren’t bothered by the timeline jumping around.  So I suggest you read a few more reviews so that you can be better informed. 

I loved that I learned more about Operation BabyLift and that I gained some insight into why some adoptees struggle even if in a good home. 

Night Fall

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Disclosure: I received this complimentary product (Night Fall) through Nuts about Books.  Affiliate links will be used in this review to help support my time in bringing good books to you.  🙂 

Night Fall is a riveting book by Nancy Mehl which I already know won’t appeal to all my readers.  But I love a good murder mystery!  Having to figure out who “done it” just thrills my readers’ heart.   Throw in a touch of faith, where people ask hard questions and don’t get blithe easy answers.. all the better!  

night fall by Nancy Mehl

The Basic Facts

Nancy Mehl is the author of Night Fall, the first in a series called The Quantico Files. Published by Bethany House, this 329 page book was provided for me by Mind Games.   Can Alex as part of the Behavioural Analysis Unit figure out who is killing people?  Can she get past the pain of the past to solve this heinous crime? 

Author Nancy Mehl also wrote Mind Games that I reviewed last year.   She is the author of more than 40 books and has won a Christy Award and has been nominated for the Carol Award. You’ll often find her on facebook communicating with fans and sharing book information. 

Looking Deeper into Night Fall

Sometimes ones past can help you solve the problems of the present and give clues to future issues.  This is the case for Alex, profiler with the BHA unit of the FBI.  Her history provides a direct connection with a series of murders.  Can Alex face her past?

Is Night Fall one to Get?

Nancy Mehl introduces us to Alex and Logan, and she takes the time developing their characters so that as the story progresses you can anticipate what is going to happen.  The development of the secondary characters were also well done.  It’s actually the one fault I have with this read.  I enjoyed getting to know the characters, but before I reached the concluding chapters I knew what the end result was going to be.  So it was a bit of a let down to know that I was right in my suppositions. 

You’ll find the text a nice size for reading, and the story rolls along nicely making it an easy read.  I got it finished in about four hours or so?     I put a bit of a review up on Instagram.  

If you like like suspense, this book will definitely fill that quotient for you.  I found it a bit dark, but not scary.  It is darker than most faith-based romantic suspense, which may be why I liked it!   Most I find to be way to predictable or the romance aspect gets in the way of the story.   

In Night Fall, the story came first, the romance came second and felt like an extension of who the characters were. The questions about God and how faith is lived out and what the future holds were natural without trite responses, kinda like the questions you’d get from real people, and real Christians trying to give an answer.    

An enjoyable read, if you like suspense, and like a romance or a faith element mixed in, get Nancy Mehl’s latest book. 

Unknown Threat

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Disclosure: I received this complimentary product (Unknown Threat) through Nuts About Books. 

I have long been a fan of Lynn H. Blackburn’s books.  Even though over time, I have developed a distaste for romance, particularly Christian romance, I like her books as generally they focus less on the romance and more on the events of the story.   I finished this particular story overnight.  YES!  I wanted to know what happened and if they could find the person responsible for killing so many Secret Service agents.   Unknown Threat is a fast-paced read that keeps you interested until the end.

Affiliate links will be used in this review.  Supporting my blog offers me encouragement and costs you nothing.  🙂 

Unknown Threat

The Bare Facts

Author is Lynn H. Blackburn of Unknown Threat, the first in the Defend and Protect series.   The genre is Christian romance and romantic suspense.  The storyline involves Faith Malone, FBI agent, tasked with discovering who is killing Secret Service Agents from the Raleigh office.  Three down and the rest attacked, who could be behind such a devastating attack?  Luke Powell, SSA, helps her with the investigation.  Romantic interests flare as an investigation ensues.   Will either situation be resolved well?   Published by Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, an adult fictional read running at 354 pages. 

The Details of Unknown Threat

The very first thing that caught my attention with Unknown Threat is the cover.  That intense gaze by the woman on the cover, caught in the crosshairs?  When you enjoy a good mystery, such a cover will draw you in.   I have to admit that the blue is deeper colour, and feels more intense, in real life but my photo-sharpening skills couldn’t bring that out.  (sorry)

This is an easy-read.  Granted I do tend to read fiction books speedily, but it took me about five hours from start to finish.  The pace moves it along well as the action is fast-moving, with a deep need to resolve the situation before anyone else gets hurt. 

The text is a nice size to read.  Consider this, I need glasses for everything, yet I could lie in bed and enjoy a cozy read without needing to wear my glasses. Don’t of course, ask me how late I stayed up reading!  🙂 

You’ll find the characters decently developed with enough questions left for a follow-up read.  Hints were provided for who might be the next romantic interest in future volumes. 

The action takes place over about a week. Honest dismay felt in that the romantic interest progressed as quickly as it did.  In this regard, unrealistic.  I wasn’t convinced that either party were truly believers, though prayer was occasionally thrown into the mix.  if they are, they do need a better understanding of who God is. 

Should you get Unknown Threat?

Sure!  Honestly, it was a fun quick read.  A bit of romance, a bit of suspense, a good bit of mystery.  Everything came out good in the end, which is exactly what you want in a lightly suspenseful read.   Unknown Threat is a perfect read for a lazy Sunday afternoon, or a take-along for camping.  The characters are mostly likeable, solid people that it would be good to know in real life.  Occasionally they come across as too good… but real-life flaws are apparent which makes for believable characters.   Â