Book Review: Against the Tide by Elizabeth Camden

Another long overdue review, but better late than never. From the moment I selected to review this book, I could not wait to read it...but then life kind of derailed all my good intentions to read and review it within the allotted month. So recently, I set aside a day to read Against the Tide, and I’m glad I had the entire day free because it was so hard to put down!

It begins in the late 1800s, with the introduction of our heroine, Lydia, who is a translator in the research wing of the US Navy – not a low stress job! It’s through her work that we are reacquainted with Alexander Banebridge from Camden’s first novel, The Lady of Bolton Hill. Together they navigate the depths of the opium trade, and overcome seemingly impossible obstacles, both political and personal.

I really liked Lydia’s character. Strong, talented, and determined, but her strengths are balanced out by her addiction, which doesn’t really rear its ugly head until the latter portion of the book. I thought she was a great counterpart to Bane, and I loved that she was an intelligent female presence in her line of work.

As for Bane, I have to admit, I didn’t really like that he was redeemed in The Lady of Bolton Hill because he was such an awesome bad guy – but I think his character development in Against the Tide really connects the dots as to how he’s journeyed from baby-faced teenager to a man with purpose. He’s more mature in this book.

I give it four out of five stars! It was a good read, full of suspense and action, and a bit of romance too.

[My advisory note: Opium addiction is covered in detail. It’s evident throughout the book that Lydia has a history with opium, albeit a somewhat “innocent” association, if I can call it that. The pharmacies of the time sold a syrup containing opium to parents and orphanages in an effort to “soothe” children to sleep, calm nerves, relieve a headache, etc, so it is through continual use into adulthood that Lydia has become fully addicted. The book does show Lydia going through withdrawal and it’s pretty unpleasant. Just a heads up in case anyone is sensitive to the topic.]

I received this book from Bethany Publishers in exchange for my free, honest review : )

Book Review: The Orphan King

It’s been a long time since my last book review. It took me a long time to get back into reviewing books, and trying to carve a bit of uninterrupted time now to write a quick review is harder than I thought. I’m way behind in my reviews.

The latest book I’ve read is The Orphan King, by Sigmund Brouwer. It’s set in medieval England, and it’s wrapped in mystery. I really thought this was going to be a great book, especially with the series title of “Merlin’s Immortals”. Unfortunately, it was rather lackluster. I had to force myself to pick it up again so I could review it, which saddens me because I love medieval stories and the mystery//fantasy genre. After thinking on it for a bit, I believe the reason why I couldn’t get into it was because I was confused and lost throughout much of it. There’s a lot of backstory, it seems – places and people that it feels like I should know, but I don’t. It’s almost too much mystery, and not much is revealed so I was left confused and wondering what was really going on.

The pros: Lots of action, suspense, mystery, and clever uses of chemistry (the science kind). I really liked Katherine…she was my favorite character.

Cons: Not enough answers! What’s the deal with Magnus? Who is Katherine, really? Who are the Immortals? Who is Sarah? Where did she come from?

I found myself waiting for answers that were never given. Granted this is the first book in a series, so hopefully more will be revealed.

I rate it a 3 out of 5.

*I received this book via the Blogging For Books program, and my opinion is my own.*

New

Still ironing out the seams, but I like the new look. Clean, fresh, original (mostly). I made the header – yep, my photos – before PicMonkey limited their features with the Royale subscription, so booyah, just in time. :)

This year, I hope to crank out better craft projects. Last year was just a big mess, and I threw myself into learning how to crochet, though I’m still very much a beginner, and neglected my sewing and scrapbooking. I want to actually complete some of the many projects I’m in the middle of doing instead of taking on “just one more”.

Happy New Year :)

Mei mei

Mei mei means little sister.

Amy was 16 months older, but she’s always been my “little” sister.

And I know she’s safe and whole now.

But today I feel as if I’m walking with lead feet. Trudging in mire. Everything takes a concentrated effort. Simple feelings drain energy.

Just trying to get through the day.

Hope is there. But sometimes it rains while the sun is shining.

Crocheted swiffer cover

I felt adventurous and decided to make a reusable duster for my swiffer.  It just slides onto the Swiffer base and it’s reversible :)

Sorry for the yellowish pictures – it was night and I was too excited to wait for morning. Because I’m dorky like that.

The pattern calls for a stitch that makes nice ridges for trapping dirt, and it works too.

I’d never joined pieces and sides together, but it was easy to do.

The pattern is from Lily Sugar ‘n Cream, which also made the yarn I used for the project. You have to sign up to view and save the PDF pattern, but it’s free and they don’t bother you with pesky emails. They have tons of free patterns on their site.  And yarns. I love their stuff for utility things, like dishcloths and the swiffer cover.

That’s my latest project. I have a Christmas wreath I’m working on and tree decorations, so look for posts about those soon. : )