Review: The Butterfly Guild (The Ivy Files #1) by Victoria Simcox

 

The Butterfly Guild (The Ivy Files #1)

by Victoria Simcox

A move to a new city was supposed to be a fresh start—until strange symbols, missing recipes, and whispers of a secret guild pull Ivy Meadows into a mystery that begins inside an old church-turned-restaurant.

With courage, curiosity, and quiet faith, Ivy must uncover secrets hidden beneath Seattle’s end-of-summer, rain-soaked streets before time runs out.

Each book features a different real city, capturing its atmosphere and local character while blending real-world inspiration with fictional places.

My Take:

Ivy Meadows is worn from all the changes impacting her life. Apparently, losing her mom was not enough. Losing the little church her family attended wasn't enough. Now Dad has accepted a job as staff chef at a tiny restaurant in Seattle, where it rains almost every day, and where she has no friends at all. The only thing Ivy has managed to hang onto is her Dad, her journal, and her faith.

The ancient church this restaurant inhabits is full of secrets and mysteries, however. From the very first day, Ivy begins uncovering a sinister plot, a plot involving the restaurant owner, Mr. Ballini, a mysterious woman in a red raincoat, and the elusive Butterfly Guild. 

But some secrets are intended to remain hidden, and as the stakes mount, Ivy realizes the cost of her curiosity may even be her life.

 

Content:

Drug Content:

G - squeaky clean. 

Violence:

G - Not a scratch. 

Language:

G - squeaky clean. 

Adult Content:

G - There's not a hint of a kiss in this book.

Christian content:

Ivy has a solid faith, and is constantly praying for protection and help. In certain situations, God acts to provide protection and escape. Ivy witnesses to a friend. Her father and she discuss attending a church service. Faith plays a pivotal strengthening role in this novel, and is expertly and intricately woven into each part of the adventure. Not in a preachy way, but in ways that underline the incredible faith of a little girl in a dangerous world searching for answers.

Final analysis:

I was enthralled by this book. The stakes were high, the action nonstop, the suspense tangible, the characters believable, the worldbuilding incredible. The detailed descriptions and scene depictions of this novel knocked my socks off. It was like I was there in the rain-drenched seedy streets of old Seattle. I could smell the musty odors of old plaster and the acrid odor of rusty metal hinges. The enticing smells of expertly cooked dishes whet the palate. The dark and forbidding basements and alleys had my heart racing. I found Ivy's steady faith an encouragement to keep God close in moments of fear. Victoria Simcox has penned yet another winner, and The Butterfly Guild promises to be the start of a gripping adventure mystery series. Five Stars!

About the Author

Victoria was born in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, to an Austrian immigrant mother and a Dutch immigrant father. She now calls Western Washington home. Besides her writing career, Victoria taught elementary-school art for several years. Her past times are writing, reading, painting watercolors. She likes to read theological as well as some fantasy genres. Two of her favorite authors are R.C. Sproul and C.S. Lewis.

Blog: victoriasimcox.blogspot.com

Face Book: http://tinyurl.com/3wl6gjs

Twitter:http://twitter.com/#!/VictoriaSimcox

Review: The Missing Teacher II: The German Connection by Jeremy E. Owen

The Missing Teacher II: The German Connection

by Jeremy E. Owen

Recent high school graduate Dorothy Reine has dreams of studying to be an architect in America. But her father's disappearance two years earlier has put a damper on those plans. Frustrated by people who tell her to let the authorities handle his case, she decides to take matters into her own hands. 

As she discovers about her father's Stasi past, redemption, and suffering, will she be able to pursue her dream? Maybe, but not in any way that she ever expected!

My Take:

Dorothy Reine works hard at her Great Uncle Trotz' restaurant in Berlin, marginally aware of his past involvement in the Stasi, a neo-Nazi secret police operating in East Berlin shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall. Her father's disappearance two years earlier is the biggest obstacle in the way of fulfilling her dreams of going to America to study to be an architect.

As people at every turn stymie her efforts to uncover the truth of her father's disappearance, she discovers a secret room in the restaurant basement, revealing troubling clues to Herr Trotz' involvement in nefarious operations that might have something to do with her father's mysterious absence.

Content:

Drug Content:

PG - Alcohol is consumed a few times, there are a few scenes at a bar.

Violence:

PG - Torture is threatened multiple times, and occurs once off screen. While danger lurks in the background, actual violence rarely appears onstage.

Language:

G - None.

Adult Content:

PG - Dorothy is propositioned a few times, by various suitors, and her desire to give interested men the cold shoulder is discussed and rebuked a few times. She has trouble reconciling the bible and good friends who came out as gay. 

Christian content:

Pivotal decisions are made by characters based on the testimony of Deitrich Boenhoffer, and the main character struggles with her faith, due to her father's disappearance, among other things. Faith plays a backseat role through most of the book, though providence is visible in how things progress. Characters are encouraged to pray when doubting. Family loyalty is preferred over monetary gain.

Final analysis:

Dorothy appeared rather clueless as forces swirled around her without her notice. The action was gripping, though, and the plot kept me involved. I finished much of the book in one sitting, it was that engrossing. The settings were realistic, the action intense. The characters somewhat believable. All in all, an enjoyable and gripping high stakes adventure story. Five Stars!

About the Author:
Jeremy E Owen is the author of the Missing Teacher Trilogy and the Tim Cauling, Amateur PI series. He grew up in a small town in North America, but presently is an associate professor in South Korea, where he lives with his wife and two amazing daughters.

Review: Memoirs of a Girl Who Loves God by C.L. Wells

Memoirs of a Girl Who Loves God

by C.L. Wells

Fourteen-year-old Krystal finds herself flailing when her parents separate. Unable to cope, she begins cutting. No one knows. 

At her new school, she makes one single friend, Em, who invites her to volunteer at the local homeless shelter. There, Krystal discovers fellow misfits, including Brandon, a boy from her school. How can Krystal start a new life when the scars of her old one will never fully heal?

My Take:

Some scars just can't stay hidden.

Fourteen-year-old Krystal's life is falling apart. Her parents have split up, and won't talk to each other, except through her. Being caught in the middle is bad enough, but being forced to stay with her unfaithful mom and the adulterous  man that knocked her up is driving her over the edge. She blames her mother for the wreckage of her family, but even more, she blames God.

To cope, she's been cutting herself. No one knows. Not even her best friend Em. When Em gets her to volunteer at the local homeless shelter, she finds purpose and meaning. Brandon, a boy from her school, is getting meals at the shelter while his family struggles, and Krystal vows to keep his secret, even if she knows she can never reveal her own to him.

As Krystal begins to rebuild her life, however, her well-hidden secret is about to blow up in her face.

Content:

Drug Content:

PG - A few characters have drug addictions at the shelter. One character had a serious alcohol problem in his past. 

Violence:

PG - A soldier is wounded, and his comrades are all killed. The main character has a long-standing habit of cutting, and it has left many scars, and draws blood. One person is shot and killed. None of the violence is graphic.  

Language:

G - Squeaky clean.

Adult Content:

PG-13 - Krystal's mother is unfaithful and ends up pregnant. A counselor asks questions about a couple's sex life. Two characters have been raped repeatedly by someone they know, though it's a past wound not on screen.   

Christian content:

This story covers the conversion stories of several characters at the shelter, and God is definitely at work in what appear to be amazing coincidences. God's hand in action is clearly displayed, and characters see answers to prayer. The disappointment that people face when God doesn't answer a prayer with a Yes, is a major topic of this novel.Dealing with grief, loss, and disillusionment, are major topics as well.  

Final analysis:

This was a well-written book that would find shelf space alongside good Christian teen books like the Lilly series. The characters are very real and the struggles they face are common to many teens. Issues like Anorexia and teen suicide are covered, and characters find hope in the midst of tragedy. The plot was well-constructed, the pace steady, the characters true to life. Five Stars!

About the Author:
C.L. Wells is a JANE-OF-ALL-TRADES, with a passion for writing and animals. She lives in Kansas with her family, which includes a fat doggie who is not named Toto and a cat who moonlights as an escape artist. Feel free to ask her about the ‘escape artist.’ She plans to write about it someday. She would love hearing from you.

Review: No Pizza Delivery? (Horse Haven #1) by Grace Marshall

No Pizza Delivery? (Horse Haven #1)
by Grace Marshall

Manure, southern accents, self-absorbed boys, and new faces are all a part of the maze that have become Ruth Deloach’s life.

Her world is sent spinning when she finds out she is going to be ripped from America’s Dairyland to live in the embarrassingly small tourist town of Sainte Genevieve, Missouri. The blow is slightly lessened by the news that her father wants to start a horse ranch, but how enjoyable will it really be to live where there is no pizza delivery and a revolving door to the public? A public with a different idea of how things are done and said. To add embarrassment to her frustration she finds she knows less about horses than she presumed. Maybe the handsome ranch hand her father hires can brighten things up, then again, maybe not.

My Take:
When Ruth Deloach's father announces he's selling the house and moving to a ranch in southern Missouri, she's sure her world is coming to an end. While the move will give her life on a ranch with horses to ride, she will be losing all of her friends from Wisconsin, and the life she's built in the North.

Out in the backwoods of Missouri, Ruth learns some important lessons about friendship, trust, and life on a ranch, which can be messy, hard, and rewarding, as long as you can get past the fact that there's... no pizza delivery.

Content:

Drug Content:

G - Almost none. There's one reference to drugs and alcohol in passing, about public school.

Violence:

G - None at all, there's just a tad of shouting, and one scene where a turkey gets brutally taken down.

Language:

G - there is not any cussing that I recall in the book.

Adult Content:

PG - There's some slight wistful longings, pursuit,  and such between the 14 year old Ruth and a new handsome ranch hand. That situation could have gone a different and dangerous direction.

Christian content:

The family are quiet but solid Christians. They pray before meals, and one of their priorities in finding a new home, is finding a new home church. There is a sermon at that church that has impact and life application for Ruth. Their Christian character is mentioned at least once by an outside observer.

Final analysis:

The conflict level in this book is pretty low - the main villain in the story starts out being the move itself, and how it will impact Ruth and her friend circle. As I'm all about action, I found the pacing a bit slow for my liking, though there were some definite high points.

The Christian elements in the story were undercurrents but strong. I gained some insight into the mind of a teen daughter, which would have been helpful to know back when my girls were younger. The characters and backdrop were well-depicted and realistic. As this is the first in an apparently lighthearted series, the conflict level was probably appropriate, and the novel found good resolution while opening up plenty of room for the series to launch. Five Stars!

About the Author:

Christian Young Adult and New Adult Books That Provoke Thought! Grace Marshall is the author of the “Horse Haven” series as well as "Person of Faith"; she has also contributed several articles to newspapers. She enjoys hanging out with her dashing husband, J. Lindsey Marshall, their saucy cat, Amerigo Vespucci, and their playful Mastiff puppy, Mini. Grace loves all animals but especially horses. She has lived in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Tennessee, and currently resides in the Missouri hills. She believes in living life to the fullest and can’t wait to see where God will take her or have her write next!