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Good Reads For Your Adventure Travels
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Wai-Nani, High Chiefess of Hawai'i: Her Epic Journey By Linda Ballou This, the author's first book, is a masterpiece and a fascinating read. The historic novel tells the dramatic and heart warming love story of Wai-Nani. By weaving the ancient legends of Old Hawaii into this compelling story, Ballou captivates the reader with her beautiful descriptions and very real characters, who come alive in your imagination. The first few pages were a bit hard to read because the author has interjected real Hawaiian words into sentences in which the meaning is evident, but once I got the rhythm I could hardly put the book down. It is an excellent read, especially if you have been or plan to go to Hawaii. Order Here
Sisters, Ink by Rebeca Seitz is a delightful new novel, the first in a series. With scrapbooking as the central focus for four Sinclair sisters, adopted and very unalike, to gather to visit and share their love and experiences, the novel develops a promising love story with an intriguing background. The over-zealous success motive nearly ruins one sister's life, as the others watch and try to help her. The characters are well de veloped, fresh, and the reader connects well with them, wanting to know what will happen next in this little Southern town. This is a delightful read and I look forward to the continuation of the series. Click Here To Order 
Voice of Conscience by Behcet Kaya is a novel which begins with the main character in Turkey, narrowly escaping being murdered along with the rest of his family just before his sister's wedding. The intrigue and plotting of revenge follow this young man as he grows up, falls in love with and American woman, moves to California, and becomes a very successful business man. The book gives beautiful descriptions of the landscape in each of the places as we follow the character, Ozcomert. I found the way of life in the Turkish society very fascinating and also frightening. The book is a good read and reveals why revenge never pays. 
Nobles Gold by W. C. Craddock is a tome of 800 pages that works better as a door stop as opposed to a novel as it is described on the cover. The book is full of digressions that involve the recounting of historical events from the birth of OPEC to the gold rush in Alaska to various battles in the American Civil War. The main character, Noble, is a rather flat character, and as a reader I found I had no real sympathy or empathy or even dislike for him. If you like a plot that appears off and on throughout long and detailed descriptions of past historical events and can puzzle out the connection between the historical events and the plot, then here is hours of reading for you.
Christmas Letters by Debbie Macomber, a New York Times Best Selling Author. This book is a good, sweetly romantic, escape novel ... and easy read to curl up by the fire for an evening and enjoy. It is a simple love story of people with cross-purpose interests who meet in unexpected ways which promote instant dislike for each other. The novel has an alternate theme of an interesting apporach to child-rearing, and everything happens at Christmas time. So get this book, curl up in a comfy place, and escape the franticness of the season. Click here to order
SOCK MONKEY DREAMS: Daily Life at the Red Heel Monkey Shelter by Whitney Shroyer and Letitia Walker with Photography by Michael Traister is a beautifully illustrated treasurery of imagination and fun. Within its pages you'll learn from Newsmonkey Benny Hathaway and socktographer Link Ray the daily lives and antics of the beloved red heeled friends so many of us have loved for several generations. Have you ever wondered what your sock monkey does while you're asleep? Did you guess he has a life of his own with other sock monkeys and that when they are outgrown, shabby, or cast away, these monkeys gather at the Red Heel Shelter to console each other and tell tales and news of the other sock monkeys out there! You'll learn about weddings, history, lore, quirks, foibles, and tales of the religion, education, entertainment, commerce of the sockciety, which reflect those antics and everday happenings of their owners. The authors live with 150 sock monkeys in Asheville, NC. A delightful book for sock monkey owners. Click Here To Order
THE PASSION OF MARY MAGDALENE BY ELIZABETH CUNNINGHAM is a thick novel which plays off of the recent speculation about the relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalen, as husband and wife. This novel takes the original twist of supposing that Mary magdalen, who has been pictured by artists as red-headed, was a Celtic high-born woman of the chieftan tribe and named Maeve in Ireland. According to the novel, she was learned in the Celtic spirituality and healing powers when she was captured by the Roman invaders and sold into slavery in Rome as a prostitute. The book also posthesizes that Jesus journeyed as far as Ireland during the years that we have no Biblical account of his activities. He had met Mary before she was captured, and she fell in love with him then and had always searched for him. The vivid accounts of her prostitution years border on being pornographically x-rated, and would offend some readers, as would the subject offend Christian readers. Through a Jewish merchant who frequented the House of Prostitution where Mary was captive, she ultimately finds her way to Palestine and into contact again with Jesus...the plot develops in a fascinating way. A long read, imaginative, vivid descriptions, well-written with well developed characters but sometimes without convincing dialogue. Click here to order from Amazon.com
The Secret Supper by Javier Sierra- Those readers intrigued by Dan Brown's The DaVinci Code will find The Secret Supper to be a fascinating read also. However, instead of a modern day setting, this new novel is quite different and is set in Milan, Italy, during Da Vinci's time . The plot is around his painting of The Last Supper . The mystery that develops pertains to the code which he is placing in the picture and the concerns of the Vatican about the implications this painting will have on Christendom. The key narrator is an Inquisitor for the Vatican who is sent to Milan to try to break codes believed to be heretical and to find the disseminator of those codes. The author appears to have based his novel on historical occurrences of the time and texts that were supposedly key to secret understandings of Christ's mission on earth. This novel holds an intriguing mystery that will keep you reading to the very last page, but at times the complications of the code and interaction of characters can be a bit confusing. The book casts a new light on the suppression of texts and ideas of the early church and gives a fascinating study of DaVinci at work! Click here to order from Amazon.com
A Dream Across Time By Annie Roger is a novel, set in the exotic beauty of St. Lucia, will make you wonder about mystical possibilities of reincarnation and generational collective memory. The simple story carries you to the end because of the delightful character Jamie and her love, Andre. Their chance meeting, their struggles with their own personal lives, their ultimate destiny to be together unfold in a series of simple events prompting the folklore of the island's secret history to be revealed by the keepers of the ancient secrets. The book is fanciful and light reading and an entertaining escape read, especially if you are a female going to an exotic island, especially in the Caribbean. You never know what awaits you! Click here to order from Amazon.com
The Ultimate Reality Show by Clay Jacobsen is a Christian novel whose plot centers on the hit TV Reality Show whose concept is to fulfill a selfish wish of the Director to meet a woman from his past and to get to know her son whom he has heard lives by his Christian standards. He wishes to put him to the test and devises some amazing events to prove his moral fortitude. The novel is written in an interesting manner and boldly teaches concepts of chastity and honesty and living uprightly even when you don't think you're being watched and even against great odds and temptations. The central figures go through many trials and have a happy ending with an unexpected twist. An enjoyable read and a good book for teens also. Click here to order from Amazon.com
TIME WAS SOFT THERE BY JEREMY MERCER is an unusual little novel I just couldn't put down. It takes place in a bookstore, Shakespeare & Co., in London where the excentric elderly proprietor not only sells books and holds authors' lecture nights and book-signing afternoon high teas but also invites would-be authors and poets who need a place to stay to just camp out in the bookstore's many reading rooms. He is a lonely man and these strangers keep him company, and he feels he is enabling them to further their writing careers by assigning them a book a day to read and encouraging them to produce a manuscript for him to peruse. The novel centers on one American writer, a former policeman who is escaping a life threat in the U.S., who finds Shakespeare & Co. to be his home on the run. His adventures while living among these homeless word crafters are not exciting but just unusual and an interesting read. Click here to order.
THE WALL by Jeff Long is a travel adventure book I simply couldn't put down! Although I am not a rock climber, I was fascinated with the details described as the narrator, a man in his mid-life, prepares to climb the face of El Cap in Yosemite National Park with his best friend from his carefree early twenties. One friend has lived and travelled all over the world and suffered the death of his wife while the other married his first love and is now in marital problems. The men set their thirty-year reunion at El Cap to re-live their youthful adventures one more time, but the climb is doomed from the start, but the men ignore the mystical or mysterious signs to abandon their plan. The perils they face in this excruciating climb are as fascinating as they are unbelievable, or, the non-climber wonders, does this really happen? A terrific read! Click here to order.
LONDON NOVELS by Colin Macinnes is a collection of three brief, new novels (about 225 pages each) centered around different types of characters in the London scene in the 1950's. The interesting characterizations of Londoners, who do not fit the normal reader's expectations, make the novels informative in that immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean interact within London society. In the first novel, The City of Spades, the main character is part of the British Ministry who must oversee immigration from former British Colonies, and he interacts with a man from Nigeria. In the second novel, Absolute Beginners, you get a look at the teen culture in London's lower middle class in the 1950's when drug problems were just beginning. It shows how crime for the main characters becomes glamorized. The third novel, Mr. Love and Justice, shows the under-belly of London life; therefore, the reader learns, through these settings and characters in various levels of society in a recent historical setting, aspects that made London what it is today. These novels, with vivid descriptions and characters, show the influences of major changes in the 1950's which markedly changed London society. An interesting and informative read, especially for Brits and for anyone traveling to the British Isles. The author shows a good comprehension of his native land. Click here to order.
A COTSWOLD KILLING BY REBECCA TOPE is a well-written book with excellent descriptions of the Cotswold area of England. The armchair traveler will enjoy the novel with the well-crafted story line, high suspense, excellent characterization, and good English overtones that give the reader a sense of British approach to life in today's world while transporting the reader to the beautiful Gloucestershire, England. The mystery revolves around two different murders which happen in the field of a house which the narrator is house-sitting, thus involving her in an attempt to solve the murders. The reader will most likely be held in suspense of whodunit until the final pages of the book, because so many possible suspects and an indiscernible motive make the mystery nearly impossible to solve. A very good read that may keep you up late at night to learn what happens. You will certainly want to read more of Rebecca Tope's books. Click here to order.
THE DEUCE and THE CROSSROADS BY F.P. LIONE are part of a series of novels that read like a version of LYPD BLUE with a Christian slant. Although the characterization and dialogue are well written, the plots seemed weak in that they seem more like the daily log of a city policeman's life. Click here to order.
THE VISION: "Green Stone of Healing™" Series Book One . These novels Explore Themes of Life After Death, Reincarnation, Free Will;Past Lives Come Alive; 'Dead' Characters Return to Continue Paths, Reunite with Loved Ones. Author C.L. Talmadge was chronicling a life she had lived before,and certain characters return after death to pursue unfinished business. In The VisionBook One, just launched by Quiet Storm Publishing, Helen is an opinionated, tough-minded physician who wears a mysterious green stone. She is also emotionally wounded and vulnerable, an illegitimate half-breed in
Azgard, a nation divided by race and rank. Caught in political machinations
that almost cost her life, Helen learns her father's true identity as one of the
country's most powerful Toltec lords. Helen struggles with unaccountable
rage unleashed within her by their meeting. The Green Stone of Healing(tm) series offers a unique twist on reincarnation. Instead of looking solely backward, as the series progresses through four generations, dead characters return as different people still struggling to resolve their issues. Soul mates and dear friends, heroes and villains meet again, but the outcome is by no means happily ever after, even if the love (or hatred) between them does not change. Click here to order.
The Torrid Zone by Maggie Cottrell is a compelling novel about discovering romance in Kenya's Mkono ya Mungu, the internationally-acclaimed Wildlife Reserve. Although the story line and characterization are weak, the mystery of what is not revealed until late in the book keeps you going to the end. However, Ms. Cottrell's descriptions of the wildlife and landscape of Africa, where she spent some time, are beautifully inviting. The Torrid Zone refers to the hot climate of Kenya, but the title also has an appropriate double meaning because the sex throughout the book is quite hot and torrid! A mindless escape for beach reading.Click here to purchase
Cork Boat by John Pollack is a very interesting book as the result of an experiment. The author was formerly a speech writer for the U.S. President and was fascinated with corks and decided to find a good use for all the wine bottle corks people normally throw away. He had always wanted to build his own boat and decided to use these corks to do so. He was persistent in solving problems of design, size, water displacement of corks (how many it would take to float the boat). In the book he narrates his adventures in finding and collecting enough corks (165,321). You'll learn the history of cork, which originated in Portugal. He decided to take the boat, when completed, to travel the Douro River in Portugal. Launching at Barco de Alva near the Spanish border, he narrates his fascinating journey down the Douro River to O'Porto, Portugal, in 17 days. A terrific read! Click here to order.
The Traveler's Gift By Comedian Andy Andrews is a very readable and appealing book quite appropriate for our times of joblessness and looming war. The novel focuses on David Ponder's journey to wisdom and insight following the loss of his career and his desire to live. After a car crash he has a transforming experience of "meeting" Abraham Lincoln, Anne Frank, King Solomon, Harry Truman and Chirstopher Columbus at the major crisis points in their lives. Each of these historical giants impart their wisdom to David, who returns with the courage to take responsibility for his own choices, seek wisdom, take action, and choose to be happy by developing an attitude of forgiveness and persistence in the face of difficulties. This light reading allegory provides much prescient insight for coping in the fearful world we face each day. Andy, a popular comedian who has come from homelessness to touring with the rich and famous ( from Garth Brooks to Cher) and entertaining four presidents has been quite successful with this his first book. Good reading for any trip!To order, click the Amazon link on this page.
“Blood Bond” by Paul Alongi and Charles Jacobs
Reviewed by: Bill Neely
For those that were first captivated by “The Godfather” and then in the last few years drawn to the HBO series “The Sopranos”, the novel “Blood Bond” is an entertaining read. The co-authors combine their backgrounds and experiences to set up a modern day psychological tragedy which, like the ancient Greek dramas, brings out the perilous tight rope that one is made to walk when attempting to live an honorable life while trapped in family ties with a corrupted and dishonorable brother.
Paul Alongi contributes his knowledge and experience of Italian family life and his career as a practicing attorney to the writing abilities of Charles Jacobs, a long-time, award-winning journalist, publisher of daily newspaper groups on both coasts, and editor of several magazines. They unfold an intriguing plot of how the knowledge and desire to stay clear of wrong may not be enough when family is concerned.
The main character Nino Cienza, though working hard as a musician in a band to earn his way through college and law school and an honorable life, can not escape the bond of blood that ties him to the corruption and wrong doings of his younger brother Nicky. Even when Nino feels he has distanced himself from the corrupt world of dishonesty and crime, he finds himself entangled through the actions and dealings of his brother. The plot takes many turns and twists that are unexpected and ends in an unusual way. The authors seem, in the end, to wish to show that there can be forgiveness and restitution, within the boundaries of family relationships, that supercede the wrongs committed, but I found that the reader may not be able to agree that the characters merit this forgiveness.
“Blood Bond” holds the readers' attention through plot twists and is an easy read but does lack some fleshing out of certain characters as well as lacking more vivid descriptions of certain key places. The story and the psychological intrigue are the key elements to this novel.
First Books Library published this book, and those interested in obtaining a copy can check the website www.1stbooks.com for purchase information.
THREADS OF PASSION by Holly Hayes is an unusual travel book, which gives beautiful descriptions of a woman's longing to find herself and her inner spirit in her travels and love affairs in Hong Kong, the coast of France, Barbados, Japan, and Bali. This book sizzles, and if you enjoy reading Playboy and Penthouse, you'll read this with relish. Click here to order.
Waiting for White Horses by Nathan Jorgenson: This book would be a good take-along on a fishing or hunting trip for leisurely reading at night or in the car. The author's descriptions are beautiful, and the book has most appeal for male readers or women hunters. The story will make you laugh, cry and wish you could spend some time at Spider Lake Duck Camp with Grant and Will, the two main characters who share an amazing friendship! Dentist and avid outdoorsman-- Nathan Jorgenson is the winner of the 2004 Benjamin Franklin Award for Best New Voice in Fiction for Waiting for White Horses. Jorgenson has creatively appealed to both males, with the story taking place amid a friendship of two outdoorsmen; and to women, with intriguing love lines. The novel’s main character, Grant Thorson, is forced to deal with significant losses, and each new challenge pushes him closer to an agonizing re-appraisal of his own hopes and dreams. The reader is allowed into the touching, personal relationships that Grant has with his best friend, his father, his daughter and his romantic relationships. Click here to order.
Real Travel Adventures International Magazine
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