Prime

Prime by Jessica Barksdale Inclan

PRIME is set in a flooded world where global warming and other natural disasters have forever shifted the balance in society. It is up to a reluctant heroine to help right it. Lia Meloy is learning to swim, even though it’s outlawed for her kind. Lia is a Homesteader (nicknamed a “Norm”), meaning her ancestors stayed on dry land when the floods hit, but eventually had to seek help and shelter from the Aqua Primes, who had developed better biology and technology for an oceanic world.

When Lia’s family moves to Prime land, she knows she should feel lucky, but life amongst the privileged set isn't easy, especially at Berkmont High, where the students are constantly reminded that one wrong move could get them deported. Lia seems to be making wrong moves all the time. Training with her father to swim, for instance. Or falling for Trey Schaeffer, the son of the Property owner, whose sister Molly despises everything Norm.

But things are not always as they seem on the outside. When Lia’s father passes away, Lia discovers he was part of something bigger, something mysterious, and that there is much more at stake than she previously thought. Closely guarding her father’s greatest secret, Lia will have to reevaluate her worldview and make tough choices to keep her family, friends, and all of her people safe.

Prime is a familiar story and yet it felt alien. It was a possibility of a future I hadn't considered. But Governments move on. People oppressed. You have the haves and the have not. Lia, an interesting way to spell it, is part of this haven't world. Her father is plotting and striving to give his children something more.

It’s a story that is interesting and a roll-coaster for my between my logic and emotion. I was warring with the characters. It wasn't until I reached the end did I realize I was feeling melancholy. I realize the story was making me think about the generations after me. It's that kind of story.

I encourage that every take it for a read. I could have easily finished it in one sitting but life moves on. Even when I put it down my thoughts would drift back to them. This is the reality of their life and I, in the present, could have been the cause. It's a sobering thought.

I give Prime 4 out 5.

On Ice

On Ice by J.D. Faver

A terrified woman erases her past to escape her abusive husband. Taking her children, she disappears from Texas only to reinvent herself as a teacher in a remote Alaskan village. She fights to survive the harsh environment, while ever mindful of the danger stalking her. A complication emerges in the form of her new boss who is unaware of her entanglement and pursues her with a passion. Hungry for a father figure, her young children immediately take to him, but she is haunted by the cruel man who battered her. Can a good man heal her scars and gain her trust? As she evolves in her new role, she becomes stronger as a person. Back in Texas, her sister draws the abuser's fury and becomes his new victim. When her past catches up with her, she is not the same woman who ran away. She puts her life on the line to protect her children, but will she survive the wrath of a sociopath bent on revenge?

On Ice is gripping from the beginning. Ever when the story lulls there's an undercurrent of suspense. The ending was unexpected but I wished it happened differently. This is one of the first books that I have read where the abusive husband's threats were this explicit.

Having just watched a movie about a stalker and the ineptness of police, this book because a very plausible tale of one woman's courage to no longer be a victim. I can say that I lost much sleep like other reviewers but what I can say is... that if you're tire of what television this book will keep you as rivet as anything on it.

This was my first book by J.D. Faver. I think I'm definitely going to have to check out her other books. Her style of writing is quick paced. When I finally sat down to read it, I read through this rather quickly thoroughly engrossed in this story. I hope her other are this engrossing.

I give On Ice 4 out 5.

Huntress (Grace Murphy #1)

Huntress (Grace Murphy #1) by Nicole Hamlett

"Fate is an ugly bitch who will screw with your life every single chance she gets."

Grace Murphy, a newly single mother finds this out as she's trying to figure out how to lead a perfectly normal life. The big question becomes, what do you do when you find out that your mother is Diana, the Goddess of the Hunt and she expects you to take up the family business?

You can try hiding, but escaping when you have an ex-husband to deal with, a kid to raise and an unknown being who's trying to kill you is tricky at best.

Now the woman who couldn't put a bookshelf together without getting sweaty and perplexed must learn how to roar...without getting herself and everyone she loves killed.

Saving the world? Not a problem.

Getting home in time for chocolate chip pancakes might be a whole other matter, though...

Huntress (Grace Murphy #1) is the perfect example of the type I like to read. From the moment I started reading I couldn't put it down. When I finished this one I immediately went to see if they were anymore in the series as this was subtitled: Grace Murphy Novel #1. I was rewarded in my diligence.

Huntress it’s the perfect balance of action, adventure, and character development. I like how she uses mythology as a backdrop for character development. If the next one is just as good as this one Grace Murphy may very well become one of my favorite literary characters.

She is smart and funny in a self-deprecating way. That simple fact makes her sexier than the author describes. It made me root for her all the more. I can’t wait to read the next adventure of Grace Murphy in Rifts (Grace Murphy #2).

I give Huntress (Grace Murphy #1) 5 out 5.