Oliver and Jack

"Oliver & Jack:  In Axminster Workhouse" by Christina E Pilz is the 3rd volume in the Oliver & jack series.  Oliver as in Oliver Twist.  The series takes place several years after the original Twist and introduces the reader to the late teen-aged  Oliver.  Oliver and his boyfriend Jack have been framed for stealing books and arrested.  While they await punishment they have been placed into the Axminster Workhouse.  Here Oliver begins to spiral down into a depression and his worst nightmare reliving his past.  The couple then begins to endure the harshest treatments and abuse. 
I'm not sure this would be called fan fiction, but to bring to life a classic character like Twist takes a lotta guts.  I, myself, haven't read Oliver Twist, so I can't tell you how close to the original character Pilz remained. I also haven't read the previous two books in the series.  So pretending there are no other books, I'll just say this book is written very well.  Though reading the first books would be beneficial, they are not necessary to this novel.  The characters are well developed and the relationship between the two main characters is a very sweet and deeply loving ship.  The abuse can be a bit hard to take at times, but seems to build the relationship between the two to a deeper level for the reader.  I give it 4.5 stars.  I received this book from HF Virtual Book Tour.

the apple doesn't fall far from the tree

"The Promise of Forgiveness" by Marin Thomas is the story of Ruby Baxter and her heritage.  Ruby's family is what some might say is white trash; others would say working poor with an incredibly colorful streak.  Ruby discovers she has been adopted at the age of 31 when her biological father send a letter to her lawyer about an inheritance.  Her father's days are numbered and he wants to leave her with his ranch.  Ruby and her daughter Mia, a chip off the ol' block, hop on a bus and head for Oklahoma leaving behind old boyfriends of the both of them.  Ruby has trust issues and she is teaching them to Mia.  Upon arrival in Oklahoma, she begins to learn about her parents and grandparents, both biological and adopted and not only discovers more about them, but also about herself. 
Ruby's character is not a charmer, she has issues to spare, but the reader wants to keep reading, to learn more about her.  Thomas doesn't cut any corners with her characters; they are deeply flawed and realistic.  This was a really good book.  I received this book in exchange for an honest review from First to Read. 

Painter's Daughter Review

"The Painter's Daughter" by Julie Klassen follows Sophie Dupont, a painter's daughter and a painter in her own right who is swayed from her own better judgment to comply with the whims of Wesley Overtree.  Wesley is a fellow painter and rich gentleman with suiting himself and his own desires playing first on his mind.  Eventually Sophie finds herself pregnant and abandoned.  When Wesley's brother, Stephen, comes looking for him and finds Sophie in dire straits, he offers to marry her and make her child legitimate. 
The story is kind of predictable.  You know exactly how it will end up.  However, it is told well, the characters are amusing and it is a great read to pass the time.  I would recommend this novel to women who are busy and wanting to read, but not be to into it; still able to pay attention to her surroundings.  I received this book in exchange for an honest review from Bethany House. 

The truth may or may not be out there

In celebration of the Season 10 finale on television, I am giving a review of "X-Files: Season 11, Volume 1,"  a graphic novella based on the show written by Joe Harris.  The comic and novel series are not hand in hand books with the show.  What happens in one does not necessarily pertain to the other.  More of a parallel universe thing.  In Season 11, Mulder is once again on the loose with the government on his tail while Scully is chasing after him, saving his butt.  A satellite has been shot down/fallen and being searched for.  The Peacock family, remember the family that inbred for generations and lived separated from the world, makes an appearance.  Gibson, kid with glasses that reads minds, also makes a come back.  He is all grown up and somehow involved with the FBI and/or talking animals.  Maybe he is the animals, I'm not sure.  As per usual when it comes to the X-Files, the reader/viewer is usually confused and yet intrigued.  Writing part of the story in their own head to fill in the blanks.  The novel is a little hard to follow since it jumps around in storyline and in time, but once the reader becomes accustomed to the flow, it becomes more comfortable.  I received this e-graphic novel from www.netgalley.com. 

A different girl that rides a train

"The Girl from the Train" (not to be confused with the other train/girl novel) was written by Irma Joubert and is about a young girl who escapes from a train headed for Auschwitz in Nazi governed Poland.  Gretl Schmidt has been living in the ghetto when she is moved by train to Auschwitz.  Her grandmother helps her and her sister to escape and Gretl is later found by Jakob, a Polish resistance fighter who takes her in with his family.  He comes to learn of a movement getting pure Aryan children of Protestant faith out of Europe and into South Africa.  The only problem being Gretl is 1/4 Jewish and being brought up in the Catholic faith with Jakob's family. 
The book reads like two novels.  The first half takes place in Europe during the war with Jakob fighting for Poland and Gretl being a child.  The second half takes place in South Africa during the 1950s with Jakob being an engineer and Gretl being a 20 year old college student.  It is a rather long book, however, the writing is done well.  Joubert deals with the Post traumatic stress of Gretl and the weaving of different cultures well.  Gretl's world is very interesting with all of the languages and cultures mixing and relating.  Especially how the races can see the difference in each other, when they are all the same color.  In America the colors are rather vague.  White is white, black is black.  The Europe that Joubert describes has so much detail in the people's race.  They are white, but this one is white like this and this one is white like that, making them very different.  Which is kinda baffling.  I give this book 4 stars.  Very good.  I received this book in exchange for an honest review from www.booklookbloggers.com. 

Beatitudes Study

"Blessings From Above:  A Deeper Look at the Beatitudes"  by Heather Hart is a study-devotional.  Hart picks apart the Beatitudes from the New Testament and defines them, making them easier to understand and relate to.  She brings to modern day.  Each day covers a beatitude and then gives a "in other words" section.  The "In other words" section involved a little further scripture reading and questions.  I felt the book gave a good place for a group study to start, but without the discussion left the reader feeling a little unfinished.  I would recommend this in a group setting.  There were a few editorial mistakes that interrupted the reading, such as piece for peace and there for their.  Little things that the editor should have caught, but a spell check would not have.  I received this book in exchange for an honest review from www.bodyandsoulpublishing.com 

Shylock

"Shylock is My Name" by Howard Jacobson follows two men, both Jews and both with daughters who have turned away from their Jewish upbringing.    Shylock is the widower who is raising a teenage daughter who has stolen a family treasure to buy a monkey.  Stulovitch's wife had a stroke and has left the primary upbringing of their teen daughter to her father.  Both men are at a loss as to what to do with these girls.  Beatrice Stulovitch has ran away with a football (soccer) player who is in the habit of making the Nazi hand gesture while on the field.  She has been swept away with the art world, celebrities, and the glamour of reality television. 
The book is written in a 1920's Fitzgerald style of writing.  I was surprised when they talked of Tony Blair and realized that we were in modern day.  It is very European and very wordy.  The storyline is good, intriguing and full of drama.  However, the style is so different from the American usual, that it may take a little getting used to before the reader can truly get involved.  I received this book in exchange for an honest review from www.firsttoread.com.