Jes Drew Weekday Briefing

Weekday Briefing

Welcome back, agents. We have a lot happening this coming month, so here’s a list of planned events so all agents are ready for their missions whether it happens on these days specifically or not (enemy agents might decode this, after all) in our countdown to summer.

April 28: Cover reveal for re-release for The Time I Saved a Damsel in Distress

May 5: Re-release of The Time I Saved a Damsel in Distress

May 12: Cover reveal and publication day announcement of Castaways book 3

May 19: Cover reveal for re-release of The Time I Saved the World

May 26: Re-release of The Time I Saved the World

Join us next week, agents, for the cover reveal of Ninja and Hunter Book Two! Until next time, avoid doing anything that might get you brain-wiped. Ciao!

Review, Guest Post, and Giveaway: Treacherous Trails by Dana Mentink

About the Book

Title: Treacherous Trails

Author: Dana Mentink

Genre: Inspy Romanctic Suspense

Release Date: March, 2018

Falsely accused…

Can she escape the real killer?

In this second installment in the Gold Country Cowboys series, farrier Ella Cahill is accused of murder—and only former marine Owen Thorn, her brother’s best friend, can help clear her name. Now with someone trying to kill Ella, Owen must protect her…despite his promise to her brother to stay away from her. But can they work together to find the true killer before she becomes the next to die?

Click here to purchase your copy.

My Thoughts:

Treacherous Trails takes us back to the Thorn family and this time the story focus is on Owen Thorn who is recovering from an injury he received in an attack in the military. At the request of his best friend, Ray, Owen is keeping eyes on Ray’s sisters Ella and Betsy. However, Ella has crossed a really bad man and is now framed for murder. Things are not looking good for her and she really sees no way out as she tries to prove her innocence and protect her disabled sister. Owen is a take charge kind of guy and he is really protective of Ella since their childhood. Both are battling pasts that are less than stellar and both are fighting the love between each other. One because of fear of abandonment, the other because they don’t think they are good enough.

The overall message in this fast-paced novel I found very soul-satisfying. Sometimes we have to let go of the dreams that we thought best for our lives, and embrace the better ones that God has provided. I will say the villain in this novel was quite tenacious and really got under my skin in the way they just assumed they could get away with everything, very easy to dislike and the cold-blooded grip on other lives made me quite angry. Looking forward to the other brothers’ stories and hopefully to Ray’s as well.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.

About the Author

Dana Mentink is a two time American Christian Fiction Writers Carol Award winner, a Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award and a Holt Medallion winner. She is a national bestselling author of over thirty five titles in the suspense and lighthearted romance genres. She is pleased to write for Harlequin’s Love Inspired Suspense, Harlequin Heartwarming and Harvest House. Dana was thrilled to be a semi-finalist in the Jeanne Robertson Comedy With Class Competition. Besides writing, she busies herself teaching third grade. Mostly, she loves to be home with Papa Bear, teen bear cubs affectionately nicknamed Yogi and Boo Boo, Junie, the nutty terrier, a chubby box turtle and a feisty parakeet. You can connect with Dana via her website at danamentink.com, on Facebook, YouTube (Author Dana Mentink) and Instagram (dana_mentink.)

Guest Post from Dana Mentink

Howdy, friends! I am so thrilled to be galloping into the second book in the Gold Country Cowboy series with you. This book was a hoot to write. It’s got a nice twisty mystery and plenty of danger! Our hero, twin Owen Thorn, is a Marine doing his darnedest not to fall in love with his brother’s little sister, but you know how these things go, don’t you, partners? There’s trouble ahead in cowboy country and this story will take you on a wild gallop to the happy ending! God bless and thanks for coming along!

Blog Stops

Reading Is My SuperPower, April 12

Lighthouse Academy, April 12

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, April 12

Daysong Reflections, April 13

Karen Sue Hadley, April 13

Janices book reviews, April 13

Book by Book, April 14

Ashley’s Bookshelf, April 14

Jeanette’s Thoughts, April 14

History, Mystery & Faith, April 15

C Jane Read, April 15

The Power of Words, April 15

To Everything a Season, April 16

Among the Reads, April 16

Genesis 5020, April 16

A Baker’s Perspective, April 17

Two Points of Interest, April 17

Carpe Diem, April 18

Cafinated Reads, April 18

Maureen’s Musings, April 19

Simple Harvest Reads, April 19 (Guest Post from Mindy Houng)

Pause for Tales, April 20

Have A Wonderful Day, April 20

Because I said so – and other adventures in parenting, April 21

proud to be an autism mom, April 21

Bibliophile Reviews, April 22

A Greater Yes, April 22

Texas Book-aholic, April 23

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, April 23

Artistic Nobody, April 23 (Spotlight)

Kat’s Corner Books, April 24

Red Headed Book Lady, April 24

Bigreadersite, April 24

margaret kazmierczak, April 25 (Interview)

Raining Butterfly Kisses, April 25

Remembrancy, April 25

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Dana is giving away a grand prize package of a $50 Amazon gift card, Cornbread Mix, and Cowboy Caviar Salsa!!

Click below to enter. Be sure to comment on this post before you enter to claim 9 extra entries! https://promosimple.com/ps/ca46

Special Weekday Briefing

Special Weekday Briefing

Welcome back, agents, on this conspicuous day. At long last, Castaways’ sequel, Fugitives is released. Agent Jones is joining us today to talk a bit about his fellow agents in the story.

Agent Jones: Hello, everyone. I decided to overcome my half-hermit ways in order to grace you all with my presence, since everyone knows I’m the heart and soul of Fugitives.

Me (clearing my throat): Actually, they wouldn’t know that yet, since it only released today.

Agent Jones: Right. Well, hurry up and read it so you can know. I can’t stand ignorance.

Me: Why don’t you tell us a bit about your friends?

Agent Jones: Friends. Right. I totally have those. Christopher would be my best friend, even though we’re completely different. I’m good with computers and technology and the ladies, and he’s horrible at the first two, and totally needs my help with the last category. But he’s rich and loyal, so I put up with him.

Me: I’m not so sure that’s the truth of the matter-

Agent Jones: Sure it is. Just ask his lady friend Emily. Shy as a mouse, that one, but I suppose she has a real backbone when she needs it. I don’t think she takes me a seriously as she should, though. But at least she keeps the munchkins out of my hair most of the time.

Me: And what about the twins?

Agent Jones: Well, I don’t particularly have an opinion one way or another with Oto. Christopher can’t stand him, but he doesn’t really bother me, so I’m cool.

Me: And his sister?

Agent Jones (staring dreamily into space): Hmm?...

Me: What do you have to say about Ata?

Agent Jones (still staring dreamily into space): Oh, she’s pretty pretty- I mean smart. I totally meant smart.  Pretty smart. And pretty…

Me: Agent Jones? Agent Jones!

Agent Jones (no answer).

Me: Well, it looks like we lost him. But you can find more about our agents in our latest release-

Fugitives

Emily Rogers hoped her most dangerous days were behind her when she escaped from the Island. But soon she realizes that trying to figure out her relationship with Christopher Williams and dodging nosy reporters are the least of her worries. The evil they uncovered on the Island is hunting them down. Once again torn away from their parents and normal life, Emily and her cousins along with Christopher and Oto and a handful of allies must flee through Europe. To be caught would mean certain death, but how long can one keep ahead of the powers that be?

Now Available on Amazon!

Join us Saturday, agents, for a schedule of upcoming mission events. Until then, try not to do anything to put Agent Jones into any more trances or that will get you brain-wiped. Ciao!

Review: The Golden Vial by Thomas Locke

To Purchase

About:

With the realm under threat and an ailment sweeping the land, the last remaining hope may come from an unlikely source—a young, orphaned servant with untested and untrained abilities.

My Thoughts:

I am not really much of a fantasy reader. But I have been reading the Legends of the Realm from the first book, so I was interested in how the series would end, especially since the second book left off with a lot unresolved and beloved characters’ lives hanging in the balance. We do get a glimpse of what had happened to Hiram and Shona is communicating with a young orphan girl by the name of Dally. Dally is a special person who lives a sort of Cinderella life, but she keeps her spirits up by remembering the love her family had for her and knowing that she is meant for more.

There are plenty of battles, magic, and character growth as we get to know new and secondary characters. One important lesson I gleamed was how the village people ignored the darkness and danger that was encroaching ever further into their town. They did not want to acknowledge it nor did they want to deal with it so they pretended it did not exist. I thought that was a great lesson for today’s day and age.

I often times get lost in fantasy stories but this one was engaging and simply enough told that it held my interest. I would recommend for older teens and up.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.

Review: A Borrowed Dream by Amanda Cabot

To Purchase

About:

Feeling that her dreams of happily ever after have been stolen, Cimarron Creek’s schoolteacher resigns herself to a life without love . . . until a rancher with a secret past comes to town.

My Thoughts:

A Borrowed Dream takes us back to the town of Cimarron Creek and this time we get to watch Catherine Whitfield fall in love. Catherine is determined not to be second choice especially after the man she thought she loved and loved her tried to woo newcomer Lydia from the previous book. Dealing with the loneliness after her mother’s death at what she believes to be the town doctor’s ineptness and old views, Lydia takes her teaching position much more seriously.

Enter Austin Goddard and he is running. He is a widower with a young daughter whom he is trying to protect from a very evil man. He has come to Texas to be a rancher, even though he was a very successful plastic surgeon. All of this, he keeps hidden so that he and his daughter may live in relative safety.

I liked watching these two fall in love with each other. I was glad that Catherine was getting someone who truly loved her. Catherine is a very special woman; she had some interesting dreams that added mysteriousness to the story. There is also the mystery thread that continues from the first book, along with the danger that is stalking Austin and his daughter and all those he cares about. I liked how both Catherine and Austen cared about a boy named Seth, and tried to protect him from the abuse of his father. Catherine’s abhorrence to the doctor was understandable, but I cringed many times when she played doctor herself. I was glad Austen stepped in to make sure she did no real damage.  I look forward to more in this series.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.

Review: Many Sparrows by Lori Benton

To Purchase

About:

Either she and her children would emerge from that wilderness together, or none of them would…

In 1774, the Ohio-Kentucky frontier pulses with rising tension and brutal conflicts as Colonists push westward and encroach upon Native American territories. The young Inglesby family is making the perilous journey west when an accident sends Philip back to Redstone Fort for help, forcing him to leave his pregnant wife Clare and their four-year old son Jacob on a remote mountain trail.

When Philip does not return and Jacob disappears from the wagon under the cover of darkness, Clare awakens the next morning to find herself utterly alone, in labor and wondering how she can to recover her son…especially when her second child is moments away from being born.

Clare will face the greatest fight of her life, as she struggles to reclaim her son from the Shawnee Indians now holding him captive. But with the battle lines sharply drawn, Jacob’s life might not be the only one at stake. When frontiersman Jeremiah Ring comes to her aid, can the stranger convince Clare that recovering her son will require the very thing her anguished heart is unwilling to do—be still, wait and let God fight this battle for them?

My Thoughts:

Many Sparrows is a book that tells a haunting tale of what life may have been like living in the colony of America and of the bitter conflicts between the settlers and the Native Americans. Claire Inglesby is a woman that really would be just like any of us. She stood by her husband when he lost his fortune, tried her best to love him and absolutely loved her son. Understandably, Claire was not happy with her husband when he decided to move his family further west, in very dangerous times and while Claire was very pregnant with her second child.

Things continue to get worse and Philip leaves his pregnant wife and 4-year old son to get help. He never assumed he would not be coming back. Claire is found in dire straits by Jeremiah Ring, a man of two worlds- the whites and the Native Americans. Claire is faced with any parent’s ultimate fear- her son has gone missing. After helping Claire give birth, Jeremiah finds out was has truly happened and this knowledge puts him in the middle of a very complicated situation, especially when the whole country is about to blow over land and race relations.

Author Benton did a great job of putting us in Claire’s shoes when her whole world went out of whack and the love and desperation she felt for her children. Jeremiah was a good man, ever patient, but I could certainly and did feel for Claire and her frustrations at not having her problems solved in the most obvious matter. The author really illuminated some of the native customs in regards to adoption of people, how it is so different from how we view adoption now.

I have found that when I read a Lori Benton book, she gives us a well-rounded story and brings clarification on all sides of the situation, making us care for all the characters, or at least understanding their decisions better. This one kept me up quite late and had me thinking about it even when I was not reading it.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.

Review: Clod Makes a Friend by David J. Pedersen

About:

Best Friend Ever?

Bullies love to hate Clod. Not just because he’s bigger, clumsier, and uglier than his classmates - he’s also the only student in his school without magic. In a world where all magic is possible and everyone else is born with great gifts to do amazing things, Clod is alone.

Living with his mum in a broken-down cottage on barely enough, the only thing Clod has to play with is the clay she occasionally brings him. Bleak is an understatement. More than anything, Clod wants a friend. The only way that’s going to happen, is to make one himself.

After an angry visit from the worst of the bullies, his teacher Learned Yugen, Clod’s clay sculpture of a little girl comes to life and introduces herself as Ada. For a clay girl barely the size of his hand, she has more confidence and courage than he knows what to do with. Every adventure she leads him on gets Clod into trouble. She may be the friend he wants, but is she the friend he needs?

After many years, and too many pranks, Yugen becomes convinced that Clod is tainted by the evil slowly infiltrating the Kingdom of Pag. Especially when Ada isn’t the only one Clod can bring to life.

Clod Makes A Friend is a bittersweet fairy tale for all ages from David J. Pedersen, author of the Angst series of fantasy novels.

Buy the Book:
Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble
Google Play ~ iTunes ~ Kobo
Add to Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Clod Makes a Friend is a fantasy tale that has a lot of life lessons inside.  It is not a long story and can be easily read in day. We watch as Clod, who is much loved by his mother, is bullied by not only his classmates but by his teacher as well. Then one day with the clay that his mother brings him, he is able to make Ada, a friend that will stick with him through thick and thin through the rest of his life.

This is a world where a lot of different beings live together and all have some sort of magic, though it seems that Clod and his mother do not. There is also a dark war going on, which I do wish we would have seen more of, but except for a few battle scenes we are only told about the war.

I am not sure whether I would classify this as a kid’s book or an adult book. There were a couple of instances of language that surprised me and the story was at times pretty intense and dark, as there were certainly some very evil creatures. This reads like a fairy tale in that they had morals to teach, oftentimes wrapped up in some darker themes, only with a more modern voice. I would consider this more of a timeless story, something that could be read to children and by adults.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.

Meet the Author: 

​David J. Pedersen is a native of Racine, WI who resides in his home town Kansas City, MO. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. He has worked in sales, management, retail, video and film production, and IT. David has run 2 marathons, climbed several 14,000 foot mountains and marched in Thee University of Wisconsin Marching Band and written 4 fantasy novels. He is a geek and a fanboy that enjoys carousing, picking on his wife and kids, playing video games, and slowly muddling through his next novel.

Connect with the author: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook