Grace is a strong psychic who is able to "lock" on to kidnapped children and find them.  While out searching for one such child, she has an accident and meets Aiden.  Now, Aiden has secrets .  They soon realize Grace can see things normal people can't.  She and Aiden are more alike then either realized.

I liked the Norse mythology.  It was a decent mix of romance and action.  There were moments where Grace annoyed me.

Synopsis

 

In the Australian bush, wildlife ranger Lisa Thomas must uncover the truth behind a giant white kangaroo and the strange deaths connected to it, while dealing with the return of her abusive ex, Ben, whose rage is quickly growing out of control.

 

 

Review

 

When Ashley Capes asked if I wanted to read another one of his books, I jumped at the chance. It's been a year since I've started reading his books, and to say that I'm obsessed with his work is a understatement. 

 

Crossings is a story of a wildlife ranger, Lisa Thomas, and her journey to uncover the mysterious killings of wildlife animals right at her door step. And to top if off, a strange giant white kangaroo that she isn't sure if it's real or not.

 

Lisa deals with a lot of serious issues, from the return of her abusive ex, to her father suffering from amnesia. Nothing seems to be going smoothly for her, but instead of backing down in a corner she continues to fight on.

I enjoyed reading Ashley Capes take on these topics, not a lot of authors can do this and be good at it.

 

The great thing about Ashley Capes story telling is  even though it has a fantasy element to it, it doesn't feel like it. It's not over the top or in your face. By doing this it becomes more realistic.

 

There are so many things thar I love about this book, but knowing me whatever I say I'm just going to be spoiling it for you. So do yourself a favour and pick this book up, you will not be dissapointed.

Crossings is dark, creepy and brilliant. Can not wait to read more of Ashley Capes.

 

 

 

 

 

Over a decade after its highly lauded publication I still have not entirely made up my mind as to how I feel about this book. On the one hand, it is intelligent, interesting, and for the most part well-researched. On the other hand, there are some pretty significant errors and omissions.

To begin with the most glaring: Rodgers' underlying chronological supposition concerning transatlantic communication is mistaken. He asks how and why a transatlantic intellectual discourse grew up towards the end of the 19th century, and answers this question with the growth of progressivism, relating the “new” discourse to the social and political changes of the 1890s.

In fact, transatlantic intellectual discourse had been solidly in place well before the period of Rodgers study. Anyone who has studied 19th-century intellectual life could have pointed this out to Rodgers, whose area of specialization is the 1920s. Presumably neither he nor the publisher sought feedback in this area, which is a great pity.

However, if your area of interest is progressive movement after the First World War, its ideas and influences, and the root causes are less important to you, Rodgers' analysis of these elements is useful and intelligent. It is also perhaps timely, as Rodgers' sees American progressives as looking to Europe for ideas and models in a period of “rapid intensification of market relations... and the rising working-class resentments” (59).

Interestingly, one of Rodgers contentions is that a difficulty faced by American progressives was not in finding models in the first place, but in finding many and having to choose between them. They wanted, to put it very generally, to find a path of moderation between the “rocks of cutthroat economic individualism and the shoals of the all-coercive statism” in time to prevent the rise of working class socialism. The debate in these circles included labor regulation (minimum wage, maximum hours, et al), urban planning, and social insurance.

After WWI, in contrast, the exchange of ideas between Europe and the US became more even, especially after the New Deal, which many progressives viewed as the gathering up and culmination of ideas from both sides of the Atlantic. Rodgers argues convincingly that this period and its ideas and political actions were of lasting influence in the US and many European nations.

Even for those interested in the late 19th century there is material of value here, although it less original in its research. Rodgers discusses sociological tourism (largely but not uniquely American), using the most famous example of Jane Addams multiple visits to Toynbee Hall and W.E.B. Dubois' study of German Kathedersozialisten. He returns to this theme in the 1930s with the Lewis Mumford and Catherine Bauer's investigation of housing reform and modern architecture in Germany and Austria. There are also excellent, if not precisely stimulating, examinations of experimental reform attempts in the area of mapping, railway ownership, agrarian reform, mortgages, and, probably best known of these, the Farm Loan Act of 1916.

Other chapter topics: the Paris Exhibition of 1900 and its Musee Social, American students in Germany, municipalization (i.e. the contests over civic versus private ownership of utilities), “war collectivism,” agrarian cooperatives, rural reconstruction, and William Beveridge's plans for postwar reconstruction in Britain. That's just an overview; we also get sanitary improvements, slum clearance, public baths, urban gardening, pensions, health insurance, the role of unofficial* policy advisers, mutual benefit societies – all of which, of course, varied greatly from one place to another.

*Oddly, Rodgers doesn't make much mention of official ones, i.e. those who actually employed by the government or universities to study these questions. It is all philanthropists and philosophers for him. People like Edgar Sydenstricker, Milbourn Lincoln Wilson, and Lewis Cecil Gray don't figure into his chart, although they were essential providers of communication and sponsorship.

Another odd omission is the issue of American nativism. Many historians, such as Harry Marks, would argue that this was a major factor in the failure of Progressivism in the 1920s. I expect legal historians would also debate his minimalist reading of the role of the courts in this process.


There are far more books on this subject than I can list here, but a few suggestions for further reading:

The Emergence of the Welfare States
The State and Economic Knowledge: The American and British Experiences
Social Scientists And Farm Politics In The Age Of Roosevelt
States, Social Knowledge, And The Origins Of Modern Social Policies
Carroll Wright and Labor Reform: The Origin of Labor Statistics
Transnational History
British Social Reform and German Precedents: The Case of Social Insurance 1880-1914
Municipal Services and Employees in the Modern City: New Historic Approaches

I felt that the story had a lot of potential but there was quite a bit that needed some building on but I liked the world the author has created something unique and I hope to see it developed more in the future.

I picked this book up after reading Lisa Belcastro’s first book, Shenandoah Nights. Shenandoah Crossings is a continuation of this book but now focuses on one of the minor characters from the first story, Tess Roberts, and her adventure in 1775. Whereas in the first story, Rebecca travels accidentally and falls in love, Tess goes intentionally, both to escape her frustrations with her own life and to find her best friend Rebecca.

Tess is a complicated character. I both like her and dislike her. She is 25 but extremely immature and selfish and much of what comes out of her mouth in the story made me want to slap some sense into her. However, she is also passionate, fiercely independent, and determined to be an equal in her family and this is what drives her. It may drive the reader a bit batty but they are qualities to be admired. In the story, Tess has been in love with Hawk for two years. He is the first mate of her father’s ship, the Shenandoah, and because she is the captain’s daughter, he will have nothing to do with her. As Tess sees everyone around her getting what they want, and knowing Rebecca found happiness in 1775, she also decides to time travel. When her family realizes what she has done, they are furious and frightened and Hawk volunteers to travel back to find her. Without spoilers, the story mostly revolves around she and Hawk in 1776 and at this point, you won’t want to put the book down. The history and the romance will keep you turning the pages until the end.

There is also a small side story that focuses on Tess’s brother Andy but it kind of drops off once the main story in 1776 takes over. We see him again briefly at the end of the book but I felt like his story had a huge hole in it. I would have liked the book to be a bit longer and have the stories flow together in a way that would keep his story alive.

Although I did enjoy Shenandoah Nights a bit more, this was also a great story with both intrigue and romance and history. A wonderful combination. The only reason I favor Shenandoah Nights is the personality of the main character, Tess. She just upset me at times with her irrational thoughts and decisions. Otherwise, both books were engaging and fun to read. Enjoy them!