Collapse of the Veil by Alison Lohans , Narrated by Arielle Lipshaw

Collapse of the Veil by Alison Lohans Narrated by Arielle Lipshaw
Audio Production by,iambik

Description:
Collapse of the Veil is the first book of the Passage Through Time series.

Escaping her home routine for a few hours, 16-year-old Katie grabs her bike and leaves behind her cranky baby, hyperactive brother and struggling single mom. Flopping down in a field to rest, Katie brushes against an enchanted willow and falls into a dying world far in the future. The few survivors cling to their lore - tales of terrible destruction that are about to fall upon Katie's home.

Time travel, psychic phenomena and human emotion all play key roles in the juncture of these two vastly diverse societies. Katie must set aside the normal goals of a typical teenager and decide if she can be the one to help save her two worlds.

My Thoughts/Review:

16 year old teen mom Katie is having a hard time dealing with being a mother and dealing with her own mother, she loves her son Tyler but it is a lot to deal with. While out for a walk she sits on a rock and is transported somewhere else there are no city noises and she hears voices talking about a child...her child? She thinks she must have fallen asleep for a few minutes and had a very vivid dream; she goes home to discover she has been gone for hours. A few days later while out with her son and friend Loren he and Tyler walk off into some bushes and disappear she runs after them only to discover herself back in this otherworld that is not a dream.

It turns out these future people think her son is the child of prophecy that will save them all and now Katie, Loren & Tyler are taken into in this otherworld because her son is considered the Tolarae (sp audiobook), but it isn’t just Tyler that seems affected by this otherworld for some reason Loren can now hear Katie’s thoughts and their leader says he has dreamed about him too. They also need Loren for other things…these future people can no longer *cough* repopulate. They do get back to their own world but things in the present are starting to get weird too. (No spoilers)

This is supposed to be the a future world but it felt more like a Fae world to me, and there were times it was a bit confusing , like how did this time warp work?, why don’t these future people know anything about our “past” world? How far in the future is this? I think I have an easier time taking in the whole story thinking of it as a fae world instead of a future world. Even Katie says things like why does he speak in an old fashioned language which I thought yes why is that, because this is supposed to be the future right??!!??

But that isn’t to say I didn’t really enjoy this story. I guess it is a book one in a series and I will definitely be watching for the next one. It is an intriguing story that does keep you guessing as to how everything came about and how the past, present and future fit together and what it all has to do with this one little boy. I think my rating would have been higher if this was a fae story that it was time travel/warp was a bit confusing but I have faith that this will become clearer as the series progresses because this was well written and did grab me enough to make me want the rest of the story now!

The audio production from iambik was very well done with narration by, Arielle Lipshaw also very well done. I really enjoyed her narration she brought the story to life very well. I would definitely listen to this narrator again and would also recommend iambik productions.

I am not sure if this book is only available in audio but I would like a paper copy for the library too.

3 ½ Stars

I received this book from audiobookjukebox Solid Gold Reviewer Program

Beyond The Bougainvillea by Dolores Durando

Beyond The Bougainvillea by Dolores Durando
Publisher BellBridgebooks

It is the early 1930’s and the Midwest has been hit with the drought and the great depression is starting. Marge’s young life in North Dakota is anything but happy but when things are at their worst she is rescued by some good people, the kind of people Marge never knew existed. With their help she goes off to California to start her new life.

I enjoyed Marge discovering all the new things in the world outside of the North Dakota farm she grew up on, like pull chain toilets, bubble baths, and different ethnic groups.

I fell in love with Marge she is a strong woman yet so kind and loving towards everyone. Her life motto “What’s done is done, now get on with it.” It is how she lived her life no matter what life threw at her she picked herself up and dusted herself off and got on with it. The way she lived her life was inspirational I would love to have her as a friend and can only hope I could treat others with an ounce of the kindness and grace Marge showed to others.

The author of this book is a 90 year old woman and this is her first book and I hope that she writes more! Marge is a character that will stay with me for a long time and I am so sad to be leaving her now that the book is over. This book is at times sad and painful but so very inspirational and uplifting. I highly recommend this one it is a great story whose characters will stay with you long after you put this book down!

5 Stars
I received this book from netgalley & the publisher for a fair and unbiased review

The Wedding Gift by, Kathleen McKenna

The Wedding Gift by, Kathleen McKenna
Publisher:Bell Bridge Books
Synopsis:Leeann wasn't good enough for her upper-crust in-laws, so they gave her the mansion none of them wanted. Years ago, something or someone in the house killed Leann's brother. Will its violent secrets kill her next?

My Review:

Even though Leeann is a very unlikable character I still enjoyed this book and had a hard time putting it down. Leeann is the epitome of the dumb blonde and very self centered but she made me laugh and believe me it wasn’t with her!

This books starts out with the story of Leeann on her wedding day to the richest man in town, George Willets, plus the story of his uncle and entire family being murdered in the old Willets house, also where a prank gone wrong took the life of Leeann’s brother when she was just a baby. But does she know the whole story? Will it be too late when she finally does?

After Leeann & George get married they move into the house his uncle and his whole family were murdered in. This was a very different ghost story and kind of reminded me of American Horror Story in that this house has had some bad things happen in it and some of those people are still there.

I thought this was a pretty good southern gothic horror but what was different was that there were parts that will make you laugh mostly some of the things Leeann says, she is definitely not the brightest crayon in the box, but after she what she goes through I do think she will grow up some.

All in all I would recommend this to southern fiction fans and fans of ghost and horror stories.

3 ½ Stars
I received this book from Netgalley in return for a fair and unbiased review.