Introducing The Path of Zaan Series

Father of Zaan

About the Book:

Title: Father of Zaan | Author: C. K. Rieke | Publisher: Crimson Cro Publishing | Pages: 32 | Recommended Age: 12 - 18

Book Description:

Adventure. Wonder. Fear. Danger.

The first of his family to leave their hometown in generations, Janos Talabard seeks the adventure of his life. Traveling out into the open lands of Essill, he finds himself truly vulnerable for the first time.

Because of unforeseen circumstances on the road, he must find a way to continue on, or chose to return home in shame.

Father of Zaan is a short story of the travels of Janos Talabard. This tale is of the life he lived before he had his son, Zaan Talabard of The Path of Zaan fantasy series.

$0.99 on Amazon Kindle

My Review

Father of Zaan is a prequel short story to The Path of Zaan fantasy series. It briefly mentions the adventures of Janos, who is the father of the main character, Zaan. The story seems rushed and the characters one-dimensional. How much time passes isn't always clear. When Janos falls in love, it's instantaneous. I normally enjoy reading short stories, but this one didn't grab me.

The Road to Light

About the Book:

Title: The Road to Light | Author: C. K. Rieke | Publisher: Crimson Cro Publishing | Pages: 337 | Recommended Age: Young Adult

Book Description:

In the land of Essill, a darkness has loomed in the shadows for 999 years. The Forgotten Names of the Gods have remained just that: forgotten. Except for Armoz the Devil King.

Zaan Talabard leaves behind everything in his rural town of Fur-lol to find employment in the industrial castle of Auracity. Along the road, a chance encounter will forever change his life. Endowed with a power he knows nothing about, Zaan soon finds he is being hunted.

Now he must escape from those trying to capture him, and to survive he must learn about the nature of his new power, the Azulūz.

Will he make it in this open new world? Or will he be caught and killed like so many others?

The Road to Light is C. K. Rieke’s first novel, and the first book in the Path of Zaan series. It is a tale of turbulent adventure, new love, youthful hope, and unforgiving loss.

$0.99 on Amazon Kindle

My Review:

When I was reading The Road to Light, it reminded me of a story written for middle grade readers. I could picture a dining room table with a father telling his story to eager children after the evening meal. However, the content is more for new adults with references to drinking alcohol, some swearing and sexuality.

The beginning is a bit slow as the author describes Zaan's home and his parents. He also describes Oscar, Zaan's dog, in detail and then throws in that Oscar might be part Labrador. I felt that it would have been better not to mention a common breed on earth in a fantasy world.

The story picks up pace in chapter 9 when Zaan's adventure really begins. He encounters magic along the road and makes new friends when he finds a job in Auracity, the closest city to his town of Fur-lol. Danger awaits and Zaan will be tested.

The author does a good job describing battle scenes and keeps them in balance with the rest of the story. The reader can easily picture what is happening. However, the love interest was not believable and did not move me.

If you are looking for a new adult easy-to-read fantasy, then you'll probably enjoy this story.

About the Author:
C.K. Rieke

C.K. Rieke’s love of fantasy and storytelling began early, with his deep adoration of The Lord of the Rings and The Dark Elf Trilogy. Even before his teenage years, he was writing short fantasy stories and drawing comic books on lined paper with a ball point pen. In 2006 he was awarded a bachelor of arts degree in Film Studies from the University of Kansas.

Born in Kansas in 1982, Chris Rieke (Pronounced ‘Ricky’) now lives in Lawrence with his wife Rachel, and their 2-5 dogs, depending on the year. When he is not writing and revising upcoming work, he can be found: reading, creating digital art, making websites, running, watching BMX videos, drinking coffee or wine, spending way too much damn time on his phone, and going to the dog park.

C.K.’s fantasy series, The Path of Zaan, follows Zaan Talabard on his adventures in Essill, and beyond.

To get a free copy of the prequel short, Father of Zaan, go to CKRieke.com and sign-up to join the club.

Disclosure: I received a free digital copy of both books for my honest review.
Please Note: All prices were correct at the time of posting. Please check as these prices may change.

Sports Day and a Linky

Welcome to my Picture Perfect

Party Linky #245!

Amanda, who is in grade 3, had a sports day the other Saturday at her school for grades 1 - 3. She played 2 mini field hockey games and 2 mini netball games. The games are kept short for the younger kids, about 20 minutes a game. In the hockey games the kids played against each other, girls against girls and boys against boys in their respective age groups. In the netball games they played against other schools. The boys had rugby matches while the girls played netball.

In the first photo Amanda is the one in the middle wearing tracksuit pants and a blue shirt without the white bib. In the second photo she is the one in front with shorts and a white bib. She actually scored the only point in that game.

She is more easily identifiable in the two netball photos. She is wearing an orange bib and has two fluffy ponytails. She always plays defense. In just over a week, she'll be going with the school bus for a 3 day sports tour playing field hockey and netball along South Africa's beautiful Garden Route.

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Wine Tasting
at Jason's Hill

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My Latest Book Reviews:

Chicken Does Not Want to be a Chicken
Learn to Read!

Apprentice

The Black Mage Book 2

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Chicken Does Not Want to be a Chicken

Chicken Does Not

Want to be a Chicken

About the Book:

Title: Chicken Does Not Want to be a Chicken | Author: Elsa Takaoka | Illustrator: Catherine Toennisson | Publisher: J-Tech Creations, Inc. | Pages: 27 | Genre: Beginner Reader | Ages: 3 - 7

Book Description:

•Teach Your Child How to Read With our Fun and Laugh-Out-Loud Books

•Funny Beginner Reader Book from J-Tech Creations

Come and join in Chicken’s silly adventures. Funny and engaging stories that are perfect for beginning readers. J-Tech Creations’ Learn to Read books are designed to improve a beginning reader’s confidence with short sentences, word repetition, and familiar words.

Chicken does not want to be a chicken. She wants to be a dog. Chicken has come up with a four step plan. Nothing will get in her way, except maybe the cat!

Purchase on Amazon Kindle

My Review:

Chicken Does Not Want to be a Chicken is the first book in a new beginner reader series created by the talented duo, author Elsa Takaoka and illustrator Catherine Toennisson. Even with the short sentences, the story was able to be funny with a hint at a deeper message. Being yourself and not trying to be someone else is best. Amanda (age 9) and I both think that this will be a fun book for kids learning to read.

My Previous Book Reviews

of Elsa Takaoka's children's books:

Yumi's Extraordinary Collection

Goo and Spot: Under

the Orange Tree

Goo and Spot in the

Do Not Wiggle Riddle

and

A Moat is Not a Goat

About the Author:

Elsa Takaoka

Budding author Elsa Takaoka puts her pen to paper and creates a fun and heart-warming story. Spinning words with natural creativity, Elsa discovered her love of language at a very early age. She then pursued a career in Speech Language Pathology and English as a Second Language until the birth of her first daughter. Reading to her own little girls sparked her whimsical journey through children’s literature. Her dream to write and publish a picture book was achieved with Goo and Spot and The Do Not Wiggle Riddle, the first in the Goo and Spot book series.

Currently, Elsa lives in Fukuoka, Japan with her sources of inspiration- her loving husband and their two adorable little girls.

Author Website * Facebook * Twitter * Google+

About the Illustrator:

Catherine Toennisson

Catherine grew up alongside her twin sister in the small city of Norris Tennessee. Together they climbed trees, and waded through creeks in search of frogs and fairies. Her love of nature and whimsy came with her when she moved to Nashville, Tennessee to attend The Art Insistute. Graduating with honors, and a Bachelor's of Fine arts in Media arts and Animation. She continued into her career, working as a storyboard revisionist for Big Idea Entertainment, and then into freelance. Illustrating a series of children's books written by Elsa Takaoka. Currently she's writing her own books, and working late nights in her home studio. In her free time she enjoys doll making, watching Ghibli films, swimming, and can never pass up a good cup of coffee, or a stroll through the woods.

Visit her website: Painted Deer

Disclosure: I grabbed a copy of this book when it was for free on Amazon Kindle.

Family Movie Night and a Weekend Linky

Welcome to my weekend blog hop -

Make My Saturday Sweet #223!

Do you have a regular family movie night at your home? We are a family of six and two of our kids are both young adults, so it's not always easy to get us all together. One of my favorite ways to spend an evening together is with a movie. I remember when our son was younger, we watched the Star Wars movies with him and his sisters. That was before Amanda was born.

Our latest movie night was on Mother's Day. We rented the animated movie Ballerina. My husband was the only guy in the room with our son away at university, but he enjoyed it along with our daughters and me.

I have created a list of family friendly movies along with the essentials to making a great movie night. Of course, it's the people you spend your evening with that makes the memories. We've seen two of the movies above, The Ultimate Gift and Veggie Tales: Lyle the Kindly Viking. The one that we haven't watched is Anything is Possible. It's one that I'd be interested in seeing. You can find these movies along with thousands of more titles of faith and family originals, movies, TV and shorts on Pure Flix.

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Click on the images to see them at their best.

Siblings: Jessica, Samantha, Jeremiah, and Amanda

Sisters: Samantha, Amanda, and Jessica

Sisters: Samantha and Jessica

Disclosure: I was asked to do this collaboration post and received nothing in return except for the Movie Night Checklist image. All opinions are my own.

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Make My Saturday Sweet is a weekend blog hop for all family friendly blogs. You are welcome to link your favorite post from the past week(s) and to visit the last link before yours and leave a sweet comment. It's a really easy and fun way to make new friends and to catch up on old acquaintances.

Now on to my blog hop...

It's time for another Make My Saturday Sweet blog hop!

Join me (your host) for this fun and easy hop.

All family friendly blogs are welcome!

If you host your own blog hop(s), then feel free to

link them on my Blog Hops page!

I would love for you to follow me on

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Twitter 

Facebook
Instagram

Here are the easy rules:

• Follow Tina (your host) on one or more links listed above.
• Link up a post from your family friendly blog.
• Please try to add my hop button on your post or side-bar.
• Share about this hop on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook.
• Visit the last link before yours and leave a sweet comment.

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Weekend Linky

Visit my Blog Hops page to see
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Picnic in Picturesque Wine Country and a Linky

Welcome to my Picture Perfect

Party Linky #244!

We had a picnic on Mother's Day

in the Slanghoek Valley.

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Slanghoek Valley
Wine Country

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My Latest Book Reviews:

The Verdo

Apprentice

The Black Mage Book 2

Dead Letter 

Prelude to the Dragon Choir series

Buzzy and Thomas Move 
into the President's House

FREE on Amazon Kindle

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Now on to my blog hop...

Come link up your Wordless Wednesday

(with or without words) or any picture post

at this Picture Perfect Party Linky.

Join me on this fun and easy blog hop!

If you host your own blog hop(s), then feel free
to link them on my Blog Hops page!

I would love for you to follow me on

Google+

Twitter 

Facebook
Instagram

and

Here are the easy rules:

• Follow me on one or more links above or via email.
• Link-up your post with a picture and follow as many new blogs as you like.
• If possible, copy the button code below and add it on your linked post or blog's side-bar.
• Tell others about this hop on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook.

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This is a Wordless Wednesday blog hop.

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Apprentice - The Black Mage Book 2

Apprentice

The Black Mage Book 2

About the Book:

Title: Apprentice (The Black Mage Book 2) | Author: Rachel E. Carter | Pages: 392 | Genre: Fantasy - Sword and Sorcery | Recommended Age: Young Adult

Book Description:

She survived a trial year at the Academy of Magic, but that was the easy part...

Now sixteen-year-old Ryiah is an apprentice of Combat, her school's most notorious faction. When she finishes, she will be a war mage, but in order to do so, she has to survive four years traveling across Jerar, training with a master she hates, her old nemesis, Priscilla, and Prince Darren, her sometimes-rival sometimes... more?

Ry's new apprenticeship is nothing like what she prepared for. War is on the horizon and her lessons aren't just for practice anymore.

It's time to fight.

Purchase on Amazon:

Kindle | Paperback

My Review

Apprentice is the second book in the exciting Black Mage series. I could hardly put this book down. It's a roller-coaster ride with danger, adventure, and jilted love. The characters are complex, the settings are well described, the battles are imaginative, and the twists are intense.

It seemed to me that Ryiah was less in control of her emotions in Apprentice. I thought she would have learned from her first year at the academy to have better self-control, but her passion is real and that is what makes her endearing.

Prince Darren is more complex and moody in Book 2, but that adds to the tension. Even though he behaves badly around Ryiah, confusing her feelings even more, they still end up having to work together when different challenges come their way.

Ryiah was the underdog in First Year and that continues with her years training as an apprentice. She faces gender and class discrimination on a regular basis, but doesn't give up in the face of opposition. Even a broken heart doesn't douse the fire of her fighting spirit. She is training to be a war mage, after all.

My Previous Reviews in the series:

Introducing The Black Mage Series

About the Author:

Rachel E. Carter

Rachel E. Carter is the USA Today bestselling author of The Black Mage, a YA fantasy series about magic, love, and war -with future projects to come. She hoards coffee and has a weakness for villain and Mr. Darcy love interests.

Website

Disclosure: I received a free digital copy of this book for my honest review.

Buzzy and Thomas Move into the President's House

Buzzy and Thomas

Move into the President's House

About the Book:

Title: Buzzy and Thomas Move into the President's House | Author: Vicki Tashman | Illustrator: Fatima Stamato | Publisher: Historical Tails | Pages: 42 | Ages: 4 - 8

Book Description:

It’s 1801 and life is good for Buzzy the dog. She lives with Thomas Jefferson at Monticello, but her life turns upside down when Thomas tells her that they’re moving to the President’s House. Buzzy doesn’t want to move. She's afraid to leave the comfort of Monticello. What will she do? This enjoyable childrens leveled reader for ages 4 – 8 teaches kids about President Jefferson, the new breed of dog he brought home from France and confronting issues about moving. If your child loves books by Robert Dawson like "Ben and Me," then he'll love Buzzy! Historical fiction at it’s best: learning from the pets of famous people in history.

FREE on Amazon Kindle!

My Review:

Amanda and I enjoyed reading this friendly historical picture book by Vickie Tashman. We learned about some of the animals that were dear to Thomas Jefferson. We learned that the White House was originally called the President's House. We understood Buzzy's feelings about moving. She was going to miss Monticello, the animal friends, and the farm. When Buzzy arrived at the President's House, she was happy to see the green lawns and big trees. Most importantly, she would be with her favorite human, Thomas Jefferson.

About the Author:

Vicki Tashman

Vicki Tashman has always loved historical fiction. Inspiration struck 4 years ago when her daughter graduated from college and moved back home with 2 cats in tow. She imagined the cats belonging to Cleopatra and, wow, the stories they could tell! After researching many people in history, she settled on writing her first children's historical fiction book about Thomas Jefferson and his dog, Buzzy. Other books in the works are about Queen Victoria and her dog, Dash, the Wright Brothers and their dog.

Vicki has a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism from the University of Colorado. She is a breast cancer survivor and has been an advocate for 10 years. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), Children’s Book Writers of Los Angeles (CBW-LA), the Publisher’s Association of Los Angeles (PALA) and The Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA). She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their 2 golden retrievers, Ricky and Georgia.

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signing up for her mailing list!

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the following social media sites:

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Disclosure: I grabbed a free Kindle copy from Amazon and this is my honest review.

Please Note: The price was correct at the time of posting. Please check, as the price may change.

Wooden Picnic Table Made by the Blind and a Linky

Welcome to my weekend blog hop -

Make My Saturday Sweet #222!

I'm a volunteer reader in a sound room at Pioneer Printers for the blind, visually impaired and dyslexic. Our department is a branch of Kaleidoscope (formerly known as the Blind Institute), which offers lots of programs and education for the blind and disabled. Their mission is to change people's perceptions by showing how the blind can become leaders in this world, integrating into the workforce, society and everything in-between.

They have a store where they sell furniture, rugs and other items made by the blind and disabled. My husband recently bought a beautifully made wooden picnic table from them. In the photo above you can see what it looked like before and in the photo below what it looked like after it was varnished. It took Hubby a full day to do. You can see the concrete got varnished as well! That was an accident. 😉

This blog is best viewed in Google Chrome.

Click on the images to see them at their best.

Related Posts:

Institute for the Blind - Part 1

Institute for the Blind - Part 2

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My Latest Book Reviews:

The Verdo
Paranormal and Urban Fantasy

Dead Letter
Prelude to the Dragon Choir Series

*********************

Make My Saturday Sweet is a weekend blog hop for all family friendly blogs. You are welcome to link your favorite post from the past week(s) and to visit the last link before yours and leave a sweet comment. It's a really easy and fun way to make new friends and to catch up on old acquaintances.

Now on to my blog hop...

It's time for another Make My Saturday Sweet blog hop!

Join me (your host) for this fun and easy hop.

All family friendly blogs are welcome!

If you host your own blog hop(s), then feel free to

link them on my Blog Hops page!

I would love for you to follow me on

Google+

Twitter 

Facebook
Instagram

Here are the easy rules:

• Follow Tina (your host) on one or more links listed above.
• Link up a post from your family friendly blog.
• Please try to add my hop button on your post or side-bar.
• Share about this hop on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook.
• Visit the last link before yours and leave a sweet comment.

Blog Button Code:

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Weekend Linky

Visit my Blog Hops page to see
what link-ups I take part in.