The River By Michael Neale

The River by Michael Neale
Summary

“You were made for The River . . .”

Gabriel Clarke is mysteriously drawn to The River, a ribbon of frothy white water carving its way through steep canyons high in the Colorado Rockies. The rushing waters beckon him to experience freedom and adventure.

But something holds him back—the memory of the terrible event he witnessed on The River when he was just five years old—something no child should ever see.

Chains of fear and resentment imprison Gabriel, keeping him from discovering the treasures of The River. He remains trapped, afraid to take hold of the life awaiting him.

When he returns to The River after years away, his heart knows he is finally home. His destiny is within reach. Claiming that destiny will be the hardest—and bravest—thing he has ever done.

My Opinion

I enjoyed this book well enough to read through it. It had a sweet message and was a little sad. It did feel a little juvenile to me. Like I was reading a book from a 5th graders perspective. I had a hard time believing Gabriel was the age stated. The characters didn't feel well developed at all. One of the reasons I kept reading is that the intro or prologue made me feel like it was a real story, and I was wondering if it was the whole time. Though I finally figured out it wasn't. Overall I'd give this book 3 stars for being sweet and readable, but no wow factor for me. 

Updating

Updated two of the kids pics, and my profile pic, though I don't see it. Hopefully I'll get to the other two in a few days, slowly but surely!
3 out of 4 are in school, two more weeks before little guy starts, won't give me much time though, since then I'll be driving back & forth =)!

Well, Well, Well.......

I've not been on here in 8 months! Can't believe it, didn't realize it had been that long! I've been busy pinning things on Pinterest and left a comment somewhere on a blog that was pinned, dawned on me - oh I've got a blog, let me look at it. It came up w/this traffic thing and somehow there are still several people a day visiting my blog from somewhere! So I thought I'd say hi!! Kids are all back to school VERY soon! Maybe I'll blog again then =) Till then Sweet Dreams and don't let the bed bugs bite!!

The Bone House by Stephen R. Lawhead

 The Bone House is the second book in Stephen Lawhead's The Bright Empires Series following The Skin Map. 

One piece of the Skin Map has been found. Now the race to unravel the future of the future turns deadly.An avenue of Egyptian sphinxes, an Etruscan tufa tomb, a Bohemian coffee shop, and a Stone Age landscape where universes collide …Kit Livingstone met his great grandfather Cosimo in a rainy alley in London where he discovered the reality of alternate realities.Now he’s on the run – and on a quest, trying to understand the impossible mission he inherited from Cosimo: to restore a map that charts the hidden dimensions of the multiverse while staying one step ahead of the savage Burley Men.The key is the Skin Map – but where it leads and what it means, Kit has no idea. The pieces have been scattered throughout this universe and beyond.Mina, from her outpost in seventeenth-century Prague, is quickly gaining both the experience and the means to succeed in the quest. Yet so are those with evil intent, who from the shadows are manipulating great minds of history for their own malign purposes.Across time and space, through manifest and hidden worlds, those who know how to use ley lines to travel through astral planes have left their own world behind in this, the second quest: to unlock the mystery of The Bone House. - the summary from Book Sneeze

I found this book interesting and complex. Sometimes too complex. I like to relax when I read and  this book felt a little like work, because I was struggling to not be confused by the different characters, locations and times. There were some awesome descriptions of England and Prague that I enjoyed. There were also parts of this book that were a little "out there" for me. I imagine if you like complex stories and sci-fy or are a die hard Lawhead fan then you'll enjoy this book. For me it was just so-so. 

This book was provided for me to review by Book Sneeze! 

The Skin Map by Stephen R Lawhead

  This is first book I've read by Lawhead, so I really didn't know what to expect. The Skin Map is the first in a series about Kit Livingstone, an ordinary guy who gets thrown into an extraordinary and somewhat scary adventure to find the skin map. The means of travel is interesting using Ley Lines. After learning about the time travel from his great grandfather, Cosimo, Kit wants to show his girlfriend Wilhelmina, however she ends up in a different time and place! The story is told from several points of view and takes us to different places and times! I have to say Wilhelmina's travels were my favorite, I kept wanting to get back to her story! The story sometimes felt disjointed and confusing, but was interesting enough to continue reading and read the next one. It wasn't a read in a day book, but still a good read! Also this is published by a Christian publisher and a slight element of that in it and was pretty 'clean'. 

I was given this book by Thomas Nelson and Book Sneeze to preview.