Six Queens (Enlighten #0.5, Midnight Chr... Ninjas & Nephilims (Enlighten #0.5) by Kristin D. Van Risseghem

A Neophilim and an Angel are assigned to take care of a little girl from the day she is born. Day after day they go out sit outside of her house watching over her and keeping her safe.

Ninjas & Nephilims was a great introduction to the Enlighten series. I can’t wait to read more of this authors work and find out more about the characters in this series.



Jonah’s Curse (Midnight Chronicles #0.5) by Rhonda Sermon

A young man, Jonah suffers from a curse, an illness and the medicine that he takes for it is killing him. In order to get the magic that he needs to stop the curse he has to leave the ones he loves cares about the most in this world and go fight with their enemy.

I really enjoyed reading Jonah’s Curse and hope that in the near future I can find out more about Jonah and The Midnight Society.



Prince of Hawks (Unweaving #0.5) by Sarah K. L. Wilson

The Prince of Hawks wants to soar through the air like a hawk with his own body and not through the mind and eyes of the hawk.

One day his home is attacked and his parents are taken from him. After his parents died he took the crown from his dead father’s head and placed it on his own. He will now lead his men into battle.

This is not the first book by Sarah K. L. Wilson that I have read and I certainly hope that it is not the last. I have enjoyed reading this little introduction into the world of the Unweaving Chronicles.



Wrath of Witches (Shift of Shadow and Soul #0.5) by Hilary Thompson

Resh the second son of a king sets out to find a talisman, a dagger and runs into a woman called Shanta who claims she can find the dagger for him. But first she wants Resh to help her find her friend. Shanta contacts a witch in town who tells her where to find this dagger. So Resh and Shanta take off on their journey to find Shanta’s friend and the dagger.

Wrath of Witches is not the first book by Hilary Thompson that I have read nor is this the first book in Shift of Shadow and Soul world that I have read. The Shift of Shadow and Soul is an amazing read. I can’t wait to read more in the Shift of Shadow and Soul world and more byf this author.

 

@YAInsiders, #Paranormal, #Young_Adult, 4 out of 5 (very good)

 

 

 

My main issue with this story was that it didn't feel complete. The story felt like it was building up to one thing, then switched to a different track near the end. Then it ended. The change was fine. It didn't feel too out of place. But the story never jumped back to its original focus. I haven't read the other books in this series, but was told that it could stand alone well enough. With that said, it feels like this is just a few chapters within a bigger novel, instead of a story in itself. There are previous events alluded to, which helped a little with setting things up. But it feels like I'll get the unfinished story in the book that comes next.

 

I also felt that the characters were a bit flat. Even Finn, the main character, didn't feel fully developed. This might be due to the story mostly telling instead of showing. Things just sped on through, as I read, without taking the time to flesh out the story. This is a short story. There are limitations due to the length. But instead of using those words effectively, things just felt rushed.

 

Despite this, I do think I will try one of the main books of the series. I think Risseghem has some good ideas for this world she's trying to build (even if the world building, and setting in general wasn't up to par for my tastes). I want to see what the author can do without the limitations of a short story. Maybe given more room to flesh out characters, setting, and plot lines I could find this to be a great series.

Living Prayer: A Simple Guide to Everyda... I received an ARC copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Having read several books on meditation by Kabat-Zinn, Thich Nhat Hanh and the Dalai Lama I was interested to read a book on Catholic prayer (as a form of meditation) and found it very enlightening both in the similarities as well as the differences between the various authors regarding contemplation, meditation and prayer.

First of all the Morneau’s book manages to be several types of books at once. Much like Kabat-Zinn’s “Wherever You Go, There You Are” and Hahn’s “Peace is Every Step” it is a “how to” guide on methods of prayer, as those books are for meditation. However, the focus is different. While Zinn, the Dalai Lama and Hahn seek to instill inner mindfulness in the individual meditator, Morneau’s focus is outward. Morneau argues that a prayerful life is comprised of two elements, both of which are essential. The internal dialogue with God, and the external interaction with the Church and the liturgy.

The Buddhist, in my limited understanding, argues that all we have is individual perception and that nothing has reality outside of perception (the concept of “nothingness” or “emptiness.”) of that event. In fact, everything is in such a constant state of change (Hahn calls it “interbeing”) that we cannot say that is has one existence. You and I see the same thing but our perceptions are different due to our proximity, the relative dullness or acuity of our senses and intellect, and perhaps time and experience. This makes sense if you think about it. It is like we are sitting around a campfire at night. Reality is a bunch of shadows appearing and reappearing around us. Morneau would reject this as “subjectivism.” For Morneau, reality is the fire itself. He feels that all reality revolves around God (St. Anselm’s “Ultimate Reality”). This also leads him to argue that private prayer or meditation, in and of itself, is not helpful, leads to isolation and is not healthy. Man is a social animal and needs interaction with a community. Celebration of the Liturgy is crucial to development of the complete and happy person. He also, being a member of the Catholic clergy, ties much of what he says with the Roman Catholic Catechism.