Book Review: Brink of Dawn by Jeff Altabef & Erynn Altabef

Title: Brink of Dawn
Series:  Chosen
Author(s): Jeff Altabef & Erynn Altabef
Publisher: Evolved Publishing
Date of Publication: Nov. 28,2015

Goodreads Synopsis:

Follow-up to the multiple award-winning Wind Catcher
They walk among us as if they are gods.Only the Chosen know what they are.Only the Chosen know to fear them.And only the Chosen can defeat them.
Evolved Publishing presents the second book in the multiple award-winning Chosen series of young adult mystery thrillers, which feature an American Indian fantasy and supernatural theme, from the same author who brought you the award-winning thriller Shatter Point, and his daughter.
Juliet Wildfire Stone and her best friend, Troy Buckhorn, barely escaped their sleepy Arizona town alive. Now they’re speeding to New York City to find the three other Chosen. The Chosen must band together to face an ancient foe that threatens all humanity.
Yet Juliet doesn’t know whom to trust, and strange things are happening in the City.
The Chosen will be tested, their resolve questioned, and their flaws exposed. Each must decide whether he or she will fulfill their destiny—or run. To defeat the enemy, they must stop battling among themselves and overcome their own struggles.
Only one can lead them. Will Juliet embrace her powers in time?
Brink of Dawn picks up where the multiple-award-winning first book in the Chosen series, Wind Catcher, left off, but it can also be read as a stand-alone novel. Continue the adventure! And be sure to watch for the third and final installment in this exciting series, Scorched Souls, to launch in late 2016.
AWARDS FOR WIND CATCHER:WINNER: Readers' Favorite Awards -- Gold Medal 2015: Young Adult Coming-of-Age
WINNER: Mom's Choice Awards -- Silver Medal: Young Adult Books
WINNER: Beverly Hills Books Awards - 2015: Best Young Adult Fiction
WINNER: Awesome Indies -- Seal of Approval: "A treat to read."

My Thoughts:


Is it possible to actually fall  in love with something or someone more than you already are? 
Yep, absolutely possible.
And that is pretty much what has happened with this series, these authors, and the characters.  The Chosen series really does keep getting better and better.  
I love that  in the second installment, Brink of Dawn, we delve deeper into the prophecy and realize it isn't only central to Native American folklore; it gives us similarities and examples from the other major religions too.  So just like in the book where we have very different people from all walks of life coming together for a common purpose, we see that the beliefs have more in common than most people realize they do.  It is truly a breath of fresh air in this day and age.  
Our main character, Juliet, is still recovering from losing someone very close to her in the first book, Wind Catcher, as well as trying to reconcile herself with the fact she will have to commit crimes she may not be able to forgive herself for, even if it is to save the planet.  In this book, Juliet has to learn more about herself as she goes into a self-imposed exile internally.  
Troy is still there protecting his best friend, Juliet, and learning more about himself as well.  We see a tremendous growth in each of these characters as they learn their importance in each other's lives. 
We are also introduced to a few new characters that play pivotal roles in the progression of the story.  Connor, a young man who is very troubled and drinks to deal with the pains of the past, is an interesting character that I have to say I really enjoyed.  He proves the point "never judge a book by its cover" to be true time over time.
Akari is super fun!  I also love that we get to see Japanese mythos brought in and are able to find similarities between it and the other mythos in the story.  Akari is a strong and tough female but still has issues that she must learn to overcome.  She has panic attacks when she least needs to have them and I just find myself loving her so much because I , too, suffer from panic attacks.  I can definitely relate, even if I can't save the world from powerful aliens! 
Blake is also an enigma in his own right too.  At first glance, you would think he is a pompous and spoiled young man, but we soon come to find out he has the biggest heart you could imagine.  He, just like his counterparts, have some serious issues that he will have to work through to save the world.

I found myself reading Brink of Dawn nonstop and having a very hard time putting it down to do routine things like eat, sleep, or teach.  This is a story that has an exciting plot, relatable and lovable characters, and a theme to die for.  
I highly recommend this series to anyone that loves fantasy with a mixture of the different mythos (including Christianity) and has a scientific appeal to it too.

Connect with the Author:

Goodreads | Website| Twitter|

Get your own Copy:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

Blog Tour Book Review: Logos by John Neeleman

Title:  Logos
Author: John Neeleman
Publisher: Homebound Publications
Date of Publication: March 2015
Source: from author; Novel Publicity blog tour

Book Synopsis:

 While novels and cinema have repeatedly sought after the historical Jesus, until now none have explored what may be a more tantalizing mystery—the Christian story’s anonymous creator. Logos is a literary bildungsroman about the man who will become the anonymous author of the original Gospel, set amid the kaleidoscopic mingling of ancient cultures. Logos is a gripping tale of adventure, a moving love story, and a novel of ideas. None of this should be regarded as out of place or incompatible in a novel about Christianity’s origin. Dissent, anarchism, and revolution—and incipient Christianity was no less these things than the Bolshevik, the French or the American revolutions—inevitably have involved ideas, adventure, and romance.
In A.D. 66, Jacob is an educated and privileged Greco-Roman Jew, a Temple priest in Jerusalem, and a leader of Israel’s rebellion against Rome. When Roman soldiers murder his parents and his beloved sister disappears in a pogrom led by the Roman procurator, personal tragedy impels Jacob to seek blood and vengeance. The rebellion he helps to foment leads to more tragedy, personal and ultimately cosmic: his wife and son perish in the Romans’ siege of Jerusalem, and the Roman army destroys Jerusalem and the Temple, and finally extinguishes Israel at Masada. Jacob is expelled from his homeland, and he wanders by land and sea, bereft of all, until he arrives in Rome. He is still rebellious, and in Rome he joins other dissidents, but now plotting ironic vengeance, not by arms, but by the power of an idea.
Paul of Tarsus, Josephus, the keepers of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and even Yeshua, the historical Jesus himself, play a role in Jacob’s tumultuous and mysterious fortunes. But it is the women who have loved him who help him to appreciate violence’s dire cycle

.My Thoughts:


I am so happy to be a part of this blog tour for the book Logos.  Don't forget there is a lots of prizes available as well; so make sure to check out the rules and deadlines for those prizes at the end of this post.  Huge thanks goes to Novel Publicity and John Neeleman for providing this opportunity!

I was pretty stoked when I seen the description for this book on the Novel Publicity's website for upcoming blog tours.  That description blew me away and I knew; just knew I had to take part in this tour.  Logos is really one of kind and I don't think there will ever be a book that can come to close to the it in this magnitude.
First off, we need to make sure you know this is a fiction story.  It is a theory on who could have been the creator of the Bible and therefore, the Christianity movement.  So, when you come in to the story, you definitely need to have  an open mind.  I think the story appealed to me because I consider myself more spiritual than religious, per say.  I love historical fictions and this creative mystery was one of the best!
I love that the author, Mr. Neeleman, gave us an inside view into the religious concepts we learned from the Bible, but with a twist to it.  This twist is what really makes Logos become an epic journey for one man and in many ways, for ourselves as well.    Logos makes us expand our mind as we give in to the "what if" situation that has presented itself.
I was just amazed at the amount of research and hard work that went into making Logos.  As you read through the story, you see this huge amount of diversity of the different peoples known to inhabit that area in that time period. The descriptions are so well laid out it turns Logos into a 3 D artistic design instead of just a book.

Logos also introduces us to some well known and beloved characters but changes them up to make them seem new to us all over again.  Many familiar names pop up in Logos, including Paul, Josephus,and Yeshua (Jesus) too; but we are also introduced to some new characters as well.

Our main protagonist, Jacob, is a complex character that goes through some serious hardships to become a very important person.  I love that we see Jacob as a human with flaws and misgivings, and he learns through his mistakes as he goes through many battles, to become wise in his years.

As much as I did love the creativity put in the pages of the book; Logos was also terribly long.  It seemed to pay attention to detail a little too much, insofar as describing every little thing intensely.  I love detailed world building, but at the same time you have to know when to pull back.

All in all, Logos was a spectacular journey into the fictional beginnings of Christianity through the eyes of a man that goes through many spiritual and physical changes to find himself.  Logos has massive twists and turns that surprised me over and over.  It has a mixture of emotions running through it, including love as well as heartbreak.  I found myself crying at the horrors Jacob witnessed and experienced in his life.    Mr. Neeleman created a interesting story that combines politics, historical accounts, religion, mystery, and even romance to make a well rounded novel for someone with an open mind to enjoy.

About the author: John Neeleman spends his days working as a trial lawyer in tall buildings in downtown Seattle. He lives in Seattle with his wife and children. He also represents death row inmates pro bono in Louisiana and Texas. As a novelist, his editorial model is historical fiction in a largely realistic mode, though there are hallucinatory passages that reflect Neeleman’s concern with philosophical and spiritual matters, in part a residue of his religious upbringing. He was raised as a seventh generation Mormon, and rebelled, but never outgrew his interest in metaphysical concerns.

Connect with John on his publisher’s website | Facebook | Twitter | or GoodReads..

.Get LOGOS at  Amazon |  Barnes & Noble.

About the prizes: Who doesn't love prizes? You could win one of two $50 Amazon gift cards or an autographed copy of LOGOS! Here's what you need to do...

    

Enter the Rafflecopter contest

    

Leave a comment on my blog

That's it! One random commenter during this tour will win the first gift card. Visit more blogs for more chances to win--the full list of participating bloggers can be found  http://www.novelpublicity.com/

. The other two prizes will be given out via Rafflecopter. You can find the contest entry form linked below or on  http://www.novelpublicity.com/logos/

 Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

can be found at

 http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/YzE3YzI0YTkzYTJkODQ0ODQxZDUwNTUwMTQ3OTkxOjE1Mw==/?