Deluge by Lisa Bergren

Description:

WARNING TO MY BELOVED RIVER TRIBE: HARD THINGS HAPPEN IN THIS BOOK. Get your Kleenex ready...If you're not ready for some special characters to perish from plague and in battle, you won't want to read it. Seriously. You can walk away now and you can make up your own ending in your mind. BUT, that said, there's also a ton of romance and suspense and fun too! To embrace life, and live it to the fullest, we must appreciate the day--and occasionally face down death--and our beloved Forellis and Betarrinis learn that all over again. Ready? Ready. We can DO this... --Lisa

IT'S ONE THING TO BATTLE FOR LIFE...BUT WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN DEATH ITSELF COMES HUNTING?

The Bettarinis and Forellis have found rich fulfillment together in medieval Italia. But after fighting off countless enemies, they now must face the worst foe of all. As the Black Death closes in upon them, threatening everything and everyone they hold dear, Lia and Gabi–and the knights they love–must dig deep within to decide how they might remain safe…and if they need to risk it all in order to truly live as they’re called.

Praise for the series:
"Disgustingly good. Bergren is a diabolical PLOT GENIUS." --LoganTurner.com
"Smart...SURPRISING...Sweet." --Colleen Houck, best-selling author, on goodreads
"Can you say 'SWOON'?" --SmallReview.com
"400 pages of NON-FREAKING STOP..." --YearningtoRead, Amazon

My Opinion:

I waited to read this book for 2 years. I don't know if you have ever waited that long to read a book that you had been anticipating, let alone wait 2 years for the LAST book of a series, but it is HARD! Even EXCRUCIATING!!! I know that I am not the only one who went through this, thank goodness I had other people who knew why I was so emotional when this book kept on being postponed. But let me FREAKING tell you that the wait was worth it! I wish that Lisa could keep writing about the Forelli's and Bettarini's because they have become my favorite family to read about ever! However, I know that all works of writing must come to an end at some point. I understand. It's a bittersweet thing to know that my journey with them has ended, but I'm glad that I can re-read the books again and again to reminisce about.


Let me first start with what everyone wants to hear about- Lia and Luca. I'm not going to give anything big and important away, but trust me, Luca was at the top of his game! He was nowhere near failing in the swoon department. Now, I am DIE HARD team Marcello, but Luca definitely was tempting me to come to his side. It is crazy how real Marcello and Luca are to me. I try not to do this, but whenever I am reading another book I am always comparing them to these two, and I have not found any who have surpassed my respect for them.


I didn't quite know what to expect from Deluge, I knew it was going to be a hard and heart wrenching story. However, I was pleased to have some comic relief sprinkled in certain segments. Actually, about the first half of the book was pretty light and happy. There were some parts where I could see tension and frustration was on the rise, but for the most part it was fun to read and watch the 'She-Wolves' back at proving their 'prowess'.


There was an extremely interesting twist to this book that I was not expecting. You would think that after waiting for so long to read this, I could have thought of every single possible scenario that could have taken place. Nope. I was thoroughly impressed with the fact that I could not guess what was going to happen. I can see how some people might not like the twist that she put in the story, but I believe it was a great idea.


One little thing that I was a bit frustrated about was that some of the things that Lisa described seemed to modern. At one part Lia was getting shoes made for her, and to get her foot measured she placed her foot on a row of different outlined feet on a step in the shop. It sounded to much like those rugs you would see in the shoe section at a store for little kids to find what size they were. There were a couple other things that I spotted like this that I just thought seemed to modernized for the 14th century. What do I know though? I'm sure they were civilized and had their own systems for things back then. It wasn't the cavemen era!


Lisa warns that tough things happen in this book, and I eco her statement. GET YOUR KLEENEX'S AND HAVE THEM READY! Make sure it's a brand new box as well! I could not recommend this book with anymore enthusiasm than I already have! I hope all you will quickly get this uploaded onto your reading devices and start as soon as you can!


Stars: 5

The Redemtion by M.L. Tyndall

Description:
Lady Charlisse Bristol sets off on a voyage in search of a father she never knew, only to find herself shipwrecked on a desert island. Near starvation, she is rescued by a band of pirates and their fiercely handsome leader, Edmund Merrick. Will Clarisse win her struggle against the seductive lure of this pirate captain? While battling his attraction to this winsome lady, Edmund offers to help Charlisse on her quest-until he discovers her father is none other than Edward the Terror, the cruelest pirate on the Caribbean. Can Edmund win this lady's love while shielding her from his lecherous crew and working to bring her father to justice?


My Opinion:
This was a great book, I regret taking so long to read it. You know how you may start reading a book, but then NEVER have time to read it, so when you actually sit down to enjoy your book because it's been so long since you last picked it up, you sorda lose focus? I cannot be the only one that that happens to. I was entertained while reading this but I KNEW I would have loved it so much more if I read it faster. Some people say that they like to read a book slow so they can savor the story, kinda like we do with our food. However, it's the opposite for me... the faster I read it the more I think I get out of it.


This book was very fast paced, I know, ironic that I choose to say that right? But it's true! The story progressed well and I never lost track of where the characters were physically or emotionally. I felt that they both were easy to connect with, as well as the others characters like Charlisse's father. Even though he was Edward the Terror who frightened everyone who crossed his path, after I saw his inner turmoil, I may have not liked him, but I pitied him.


I liked the beginning of the book, it was something new that I hadn't read before. I actually wish that part had been lengthened more with Charlisse on the island. I liked how Charlisse and Merrick both got over their issues. Charlisse had some very mental issues that she had to overcome, and I hurt for her because she felt like she was such a wicked human being, even though she was the sweetest and wittiest I have read about in awhile.


Merrick, after overcoming his past, became the dream guy that all girls would swoon over and want to call theirs.


I definitely would recommend this book to all of you and I cannot wait to read the next in the series. :)


Stars: 5

Mortal by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee

Description:

Centuries have passed since civilization's brush with apocalypse. The world's greatest threats have all been silenced. There is no anger, no hatred, no war. There is only perfect peace...and fear. A terrible secret was closely guarded for centuries: every single soul walking the earth, though in appearance totally normal, is actually dead, long ago genetically stripped of true humanity.

Nine years have gone by since an unlikely hero named Rom Sebastian first discovered a secret and consumed an ancient potion of blood to bring himself back to life in Forbidden. Surviving against impossible odds, Rom has gathered a secret faction of followers who have also taken the blood-the first Mortals in a world that is dead.

But The Order has raised an elite army to hunt and crush the living. Division and betrayal threaten to destroy the Mortals from within. The final surviving hope for humanity teeters on the brink of annihilation and no one knows the path to survival.

On the heels of Forbidden comes MORTAL, the second novel in The Books of Mortals saga penned by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee. Set in a terrifying, medieval future, where grim pageantry masks death, this tale of dark desires and staggering stakes peels back the layers of the heart for all who dare take the journey.

The Books of Mortals are three novels, each of which stands on its own, yet all are seamlessly woven into one epic thriller.

My Opinion:

I so wish I could say this book was well worth the read, since the first one was such a good book. However, this one lacked the luster that the previous one had. Nothing stood out to me that would make me rethink the way I walk with God. I think this book had the potential to make me rethink the way I live, if the people in the story would have talked in plain English so I could have understood them thoroughly. Instead, the characters talked about things that seemed quite important, but said it in ways that just zoomed right over my head!


On top of that, most of their actions were a bit crazy! I knew going into the novel that Ted Dekker's characters are usually out of the norm and seem to be a bit mental, but usually their is a reason behind that. In this book it just seemed unnecessary, and their actions went far beyond how they acted in Forbidden. I don't think a persons personality and the way they speak is going to completely change in a few years, in that case ever.


Furthermore, a lot of this story was repetitive. I felt like I was having deja-vu, but NO, they just kept on having the same conversations! ***SPOILER*** "Is Jonathon the savior? Or his blood?", "They have 12,000 Dark Bloods, we have 1,200 Mortals. How are we going to defeat them?" It just seemed like a whole bunch of planning, instead of taking action, which their was very little of!


Most of the characters had terrible morals, even the Mortals. Their was a scene where, even though not terribly long, it showed how sexual and unscrupulous they, being the mortals, were. I was most of all mad at the leader of the mortals... Concubines? Are we really going back to that? This man was supposed to show honor, respect, and most of all LEADERSHIP! So now he's condoning sexual behavior that's NOT between a man and a wife??? I know people had concubines in the bible, but it also clearly states in the bible that it is a SIN!


And here is the thing that peeved me off the most. ***Spoiler*** Triphon was thrown around like he did not matter and like he wasn't an important character! He was killed, so he didn't get much 'screen time', then he was brought back to life just to be killed again, and then he CAME BACK TO LIFE AGAIN! (BTW, his deaths were so horribly done I couldn't even get emotional about them, even though he is my favorite character! I just got furious because, even if he was to die, they didn't even try to give him a memorable death!) All I can say is that if he dies in Sovereign, and they don't give him the 'screen time' or memorable death he deserves, then I don't know what I will do. That might just ruin the whole book for me right there.


I am sad to say that I would recommend skipping this book if you are reading the series. It's not worth the read in my opinion, which is a complete shocker based just upon who wrote it. This was not at all what I was expecting for a sequel, and I am extremely disappointed.


Stars: 2