The Mother: A Novel by Farin Powell

 

The Mother: A Novel by Farin Powell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

After many years of nursing her aging father when he died, Helen, was finally free to live her own life. She decided a drastic change was necessary to vanquish her demons that included a move to Paris. While there she met an older man and had a whirlwind romance which lead to marriage and the birth of her daughter. When her daughter was born, Helen thought her life of suffering was all worth it, as there is no greater power to heal than, love. This however is just when Helen's life really gets interesting as a series of events will change her life forever. Does she have the will power to survive it all? You will just have to pick up this wonderful book to find out just what happens to Helen and her family.
This is a well written dramatic book filled with passion, love, sorrow, perseverance, and intriguing characters. If you are a mother, are going to be a mother, or are a daughter, then this book is a must read. It captures the beauty and devotion of a mother who, despite all odds keep fighting for everything she believes in. As a mother of four children all of whom have had various medical issues, and a wife of a disabled man, I could highly relate to Hellen. She was so human that she almost seemed real, her grit, passion, and hard work even in her darkest hour was very motivating. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys books about, romance, drama, powerful woman, stories about overcoming insurmountable odds, and the ups and downs of normal everyday life.

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Dragons in the Clouds by David Blair

Dragons in the Clouds by David Blair
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Good start but needs a bit of polish.

This book is about an epic battle of dragons versus man. Both plant and meat eating dragons are under attack by the king. The herbivore dragons are helped by a wizard who sends them into the sky. A great idea is spoiled by jealousy, however, and tragedy for all is the result or is there still hope? You will just have to read this book to find out.
This is an interesting young adult fantasy novel filled with action, adventure, dragons, magic, and friendship. The underlying plot of this book is well thought out and is interesting. The characters were somewhat diverse and flowed well with the plot. For the most part it is a solid read, because of its uniqueness, and it made a good fantasy. The biggest downfall of this book was the overall writing style. For example, there were many overused phrases such as "Kicked the horses into a gallop" was used three times in the same paragraph consisting of only four sentences, and that is just one of many examples. There were also several phrases which didn't fit into the time period like "the king and his pose". The whole book said a lot, but lacked a good description of the environment, and characters. The beginning started out strong but as the story within the story unfolded the characters and the world they lived in seemed to loose depth and the overall book became tedious. It is hard to say whether or not I would recommend this book to any reader. I enjoyed the storyline, but the monotonous phraseologies and lack of connection to the characters made it hard to read. Some older readers may dislike this, book due to these factors and should pass. On the other hand younger individuals who pay less attention to details, and the repetition would not bother them, would probably enjoy the dragons, and magical undertone, but there is a lot of violence, so finding the correct reader demographic may be difficult.

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