Whole Pieces(7 Hours) by Ronie Kendig

From Goodreads:

In each installment of 7 Hours, a character is visited by the enigmatic Thomas Constant, who makes a heart-stopping statement: "You are about to die. But you may choose from one of three options: Live seven more hours, travel back in time and relive seven hours, or accept the inevitable and die now."

My Description:

In Whole Pieces Haytham Kelley "Hawk" is part of a special op group in Afghanistan. When a young boy happens upon their group there is argument over whether to kill him or send him on his way. Their decision leaves all but Hawk dead. Fast-forward 32 years into the future as Hawk lays dying a broken and bitter man Thomas Constant shows up. When offered the opportunity Hawk chooses to go back in time to relive the seven hours before his unit was killed. Hoping to change the outcome of that fateful night is not even a question for him. Also hoping to gain even more time, as Hawk is spiraling back in time he manages to grab Constant's watch. Will Hawk be able to take the action needed to kill the boy this time around or will once again his unit fall to their deaths? 

My Thoughts:

This is the second book I have read in the 7 Hours series and I have to say I am hooked! I love the fact that each author brings their specific genre to this idea. Ronie Kendig writes military-type books and I loved her installment to the series. Throughout the story you could feel Hawk's emotions. From the bitterness he felt at being the only one left alive but yet body broken, to the desperation to go back and hopefully change the outcome of the night. I definitely am a fan of this series and of Ronie Kendig's writing.

 

Monsters of Men(Chaos Walking #3)by Patrick Ness

WAR!

The Spackle are determined to get revenge on the humans(The Clearing). Spackle 1017 has a personal agenda to kill Todd. In 1017's eyes Todd helped the humans kill 1017's partner. The Spackle have a weapon of destruction that the humans had never seen before. A weapon that shoots flames that will incinerate whomever and whatever is in the line of fire. The humans are also significantly outnumbered by the Spackle.

Mayor Prentiss has been waiting for this war. It is almost like he craves destruction. Todd is keeping close tabs on the mayor. Todd has never wanted war with the Spackle. He desires peace. Todd also knows that Mayor Prentiss is getting into his head. He has given Todd the ability to quiet his noise. No longer can people hear every thought that Todd has.

Viola is with the scout ship that has just landed. There are 5000 more people coming to land and Viola is afraid that what they will land into is a planet destroyed by war. She and the pilots of the ship are trying to negotiate peace with the Spackle. But Viola is extremely sick from the band that the Mayor had put on all women. It is eating away at her arm, causing pain and sickness.

Mistress Coyle is determined to be the leader of her own band of rebels. Still bent on destroying the Mayor she enlists the help of several other mistresses to enact terrorist acts upon the Mayor and his army.

When Mayor Prentiss realizes that Todd will never consciously take the place by his side as his son he sets off a string of events that could mean the destruction of all.

Monsters of Men is the last book of the Chaos Walking trilogy. It was a bit hard to read with everyone being so bent on destroying each other. It shows that it only takes a couple of power hungry individuals to break up peace talks. I found it really paralleled "real life" wars. And it is hard to negotiate peace when there is so much bitterness buried deep in a persons soul. I liked Viola and Todd's continued loyalty and love for each other. Both determined to protect the other from the destruction around them. I have to say I was very unsatisfied with the ending. I was left with wanting just a little bit more closure. For the most part though Monsters of Men was an exciting ending to the series and I'm glad I was finally able to read it.

Cascade by Lisa T. Bergren

The She-Wolves of Siena are back! This time they transport their mother with them. Months have passed since last Gabi and Marcello said good-bye. They find that their love for each other has not dimmed with time. But as always danger lurks around every corner!

Once again Gabi and Lia find themselves exercising the skills that gave them their name "She-Wolves". Separated from Marcello and Luca the girls find themselves being hunted by Lord Greco. He is determined to find them and take them back to Firenze to use as leverage in the coming war.

With daring rescues and fierce battles Cascade does not disappoint as a sequel to Waterfall. And who can pass up finally meeting Lord Greco that everyone has been talking about?

And now...on to Torrent!

Kiloton Threat by William G. Boykin and Tom Morrisey

Blake Kershaw is a U.S. Special Forces Officer sent into Iran to help a nuclear scientist escape. This scientist has information to help the U.S. stop a nuclear attack that would most assuredly start World War III.

There were many exciting/suspenseful elements of this book and even a love interest for Blake. The story was well-written and detailed. While I do have a pretty eclectic preference in reading material, military/war books are not at the top of my reading list. But if you are a fan of Tom Clancy or any other military writer out there then this will be a book for you!

My rating is:

Fallen Angel by Major Jeff Struecker and Alton Gansky

Angel 12 is an American satellite that has been knocked out of space by the Chinese to gain the information that it carries. To their dismay the Americans were able to prevent the satellite from landing on Chinese soil. They were only able to divert it though to crash in Siberia.

The American's have already sent in a Special Ops team to destroy the satellite but they are feared captured or dead. Sgt. Major Eric Moyer is the head of a Special Ops team that is sent to not only destroy the satellite, but to also rescue the other soldiers that are hopefully still alive. His leadership is tested when he is told that his daughter has been kidnapped and the demands are that the Special Ops team pull out of Siberia and abandon their mission.

With 3 countries racing to reach the downed satellite will Moyer be able to lead his team with clear determination or is the mission already compromised with the crippling news of his daughters kidnapping?

I have to be honest I really didn't look forward to reading this book! I thought for sure it was going to be some hokey "guy" book. Which it truly is a "guy" book, and I can't wait to pass it on to my husband to read, but I enjoyed it very much! It was fast-paced yet detailed, there was humor and heart-break. I was actually biting my nails during the final pages! A great military read!

Under The Green Hill by Laura L. Sullivan

The Morgan children, Rowan, Meg, Priscilla(Silly for short), and James are sent to live with relatives in England to escape the fever in the States. They are looking forward to exploring the house with many rooms and the countryside around them.

What they discover is a land of fairies. Shortly after arriving they find themselves in the midst of preparations for the fairy war. Every 7th year the Midsummer War takes place. The Seelie Court and the Host meet under the Green Hill to do battle. They choose one human from each side to fight to the death. The fairy queen is so beautiful that she has put a spell on Rowan who pledges to fight for her.

Meg is distraught and determined to find a way to save her brother from fighting in the war. What will be the outcome of this most interesting Midsummer War?

I enjoyed this story very much! It was entertaining and exciting to read. Meg's desire to save her brother at any cost was heart-warming. The writing was descriptive and beautiful. And I loved the cover!!

The Ask And The Answer by Patrick Ness(Kindle)

The book starts out where The Knife of Never Letting Go left off. Todd is being held in New Prentisstown by Mayor(self-declared new President) Prentiss. He won't tell Todd where Viola is or even if she is alive. The Mayor has seemingly walked into Haven and taken over without a fight. He has set himself up as President. He and his army have separated the women from the men.

Viola is in a house of healing. The healers running the place are women. They will not tell her whether Todd is alive or dead. When Mayor Prentiss shows up to question her he too will not tell her about Todd. He wants to know about her ships that are coming to New World.

One of the first things that President Prentiss has done is to take away the cure for Noise. Supposedly as punishment for not following orders. He seems to have no noise of his own though. And he is somehow managing to manipulate people's thoughts and actions.

When some of the women escape New Prentisstown and start an attack on the city calling themselves The Answer, it is the beginning of war. Todd feels that Viola has abandoned him. He is being manipulated by the President. He is sent to work at a monastery using the Spackle as slave labor. Davy Prentiss is in control of the site. It is a nightmare for Todd watching the Spackle being mistreated. Viola is desperate to save Todd but Mistress Coyle refuses to allow her to go on raids to rescue him. Only 8 more weeks remain before the ships are to arrive on New World. She failed to get a message to them to let them know what was happening in the new world.

With two people seemingly manipulating two different sides, war seems inevitable. On which side will Viola and Todd be? Or will they be separated forever by their doubts of each other and the manipulation of people over them?

Wow, there were some scenes in this book that were hard for me to read. The torturing of the Spackle and the women was horrible. For the most part though the book was fast paced and I was very invested in finding out how it turned out. If I hadn't been reading it on my Kindle I would have turned to the end of the book and read the last couple of pages(YES, I am one of those!), just to see how things turned out. As it is I didn't do that and it looks like I will have to get the last book in the series to find out how it all ends. This book had so many different emotions in it.  A son's desire for his father's approval, betrayal, love, loyalty, sadistic behavior, manipulation, power hunger, depression and many more that I am missing I am sure. It made me angry at times, made me want to shake a couple of the characters and say "snap out of it!", made me want to exact revenge(ah, there's another one!), made me nauseous a couple of times. A sign of a good book is when it causes your own emotions to come into play along with the characters in the book.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay pretty much starts where Catching Fire ended. Katniss rescued from the Games and Peeta captured by the Capitol.

As a result of the rebels rescue of Katniss her District 12 is destroyed. Many families perished in the Capitols attack. Katniss and her family were taken to District 13. District 13 is totally underground. They are also the leaders of the rebellion against the Capitol. Their idea is to use Katniss to inspire the other districts to help overthrow the Capitol.

Gale is there helping to strategize for the rebellion. It seems that the only thing they want Katniss to do is to provide video to inspire the troops. Katniss is still trying to recover from the loss of her own District and also the capture of Peeta. Seeing Peeta tortured on one of President Snow's newscasts sends Katniss reeling into shock. A daring rescue is planned. What nobody expects is how devastating the torture of Peeta actually was. Will he ever be the Peeta that Katniss knew in the Hunger Games?

The last book in the trilogy had me turning pages as quickly as I could. My heart was racing to find out what happened next! I didn't want to put the book down. Exciting to the very last page which had me brushing away tears! Beware though, this is not a warm-fuzzy book just as The Hunger Games or Catching Fire were not. There are scenes of war, death and violence that may not be suitable for younger children.

The Cool Woman by John Aubrey Anderson

Bill Mann seemed to be leading the charmed life. After a year of pilot training he earned his wings. He was the best in his class. He was married to the woman of his dreams. Then he was shipped to Viet Nam.

He was the best fighter pilot in his unit. He could even fly better than most while suffering a hangover or being drunk. Ten months after his marriage his wife sends him a "Dear John" letter. She tells him that she is filing for divorce. It seems like his charmed life is over.

Bill is fighting his demons. He has been running away from God for all of his life. God didn't help when men attacked and killed his mother. It seems that God has let him down every step of his life and he is wanting nothing to do with Him.

Even while rescuing himself and 2 of his friends, he calls on God but realizes that he is being a hypocrite by doing so. Through that heroic rescue he almost loses a leg. He does lose the ability to go back and finish out his tour of duty.

Once home he determines to find his ex-wife. Throughout the whole book God is placing people in Bill's life to show him the way to God. Each step of the way he rejects Him.

When I first picked up this book I really thought I would hate it! I am not a big fan of war stories and it seemed more of a "male" book to me. BUT, I was hooked very early in the story. I couldn't put it down. Being a lover of "The Happily Ever After" club I was disappointed at the ending of the story. Also, the Epilogue seemed a bit random. Those aside, it was an EXCELLENT story and I am happy I didn't put it down after reading the back of the book. It is not just a "guy" book.