Review of Merchant of Alyss

From the back cover:

Beneath the hills of a primeval city, a vanquished enemy is gathering power. As this new threat arises, can Hyam summon his true heritage and overcome the forces of evil?

When Hyam reluctantly returned to the Long Hall, he never imagined how his life would change. Latent powers were honed, chance encounters brought new wisdom, and even love found a way into his heart. With his wife, Joelle, he now makes a home in Falmouth Port.

Hyam is slowly recovering from his battles when a mysterious shipment of Milantian scrolls arrives. Soon he is haunted by dreams of mythic beasts and coming conflicts. When Joelle falls under a sorcerer's spell, he must venture through the desolate lands to save her--and his community.

One particular scroll seems to hold the promise of new powers, but it also carries a hidden warning about an unfathomable threat. As Hyam sets out on another journey, he is keenly aware that he must rely on all his abilities--and his forbidden past--to succeed. His quest could bring deliverance . . . or devastation.

My thoughts:

If you are a fan of C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Donika K. Paul, then you will love the next installment in Thomas Locke's Legends of the Realm Series! Thomas Locke writes with a style all his own, but the lyrical prose is reminiscent of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. This is an epic questing novel.

It did take me about a hundred or so pages to really be engrossed in the story. I found I didn't relate much with Hyam until then. So I like that the point of view was split between Hyam and Shona, a secondary character who I actually really loved.

Hyam is being spoken to, called, summoned. This call sends him on a tumultuous journey on which he encounters dragons, savage beasts, mythical guardians, witches, and other races. However, when his wife's life is threatened, then the quest becomes desperately personal.

Shona is a young women whose family wants to keep her confined to a boring scribe's life, yet there is a gift and a power contained within her that cannot be denied. She finds herself on this quest, and returns a woman ready to rule. I thought her character was very well developed.

When this phase of his trek ends, you realize along with Hyam that the journey is just beginning. I MUST know what happens next. I look forward to the next book!

I was given a copy of Merchant of Alyss by Thomas Locke from Revell in exchange for my honest opinion, which I have given.

Update: My next post will be on February 10th.

God bless you guys! See you next time! :)

V. Joy Palmer

Winner!

Hi everyone! Thank you for participating in my contest!

We have a winner!

Drumroll please...

Ha!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Lynn Reynolds! Lynn, please e-mail me at v.joypalmer@gmail.com.

Everyone, thank you again for entering. I had fun with this contest, once I figured out how to run it, that is. ;) Thank God for Rafflecopter! Stay tuned for more contests. :)

God bless you guys!

V. Joy Palmer

Cover Reveal and Giveaway!!!



I have really big, wonderful, awesome news!

My book has moved from a working title to an official title!

Love, Lace, and Minor Alterations.

And that's not all. My editor, the awesome Roseanna White, designed my book cover. A beautiful, gorgeous, amazingly perfect cover. It's every thing I ever dreamed. My book baby has a face!

I love this cover. So, so, so much. So in honor of my brand new book cover, I'm holding my first contest! Share this cover and/or blog post on Facebook, Twitter, or Google, then come back here and enter the Rafflecopter for a chance to win a $20.00 Amazon gift card. Each share counts as one entry, and you can enter up to three times. The contest will run through next Wednesday, January 27th. I'll announce the winner on January 28th!

You can enter my handy rafflecopter  here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy sigh. :)

God bless you guys!!!

V. Joy Palmer

My War on Change

Recently, I've had to make some changes. Honestly, I don't think you can go through life without making adjustments after a LIFE CHANGING event like having a baby. It's right there in the title. I've had to make changes with my routine, my food, my clothing, and I've changed my mind about all of those things about seven hundred and thirty-four times.

I've had to keep caffeine at an all time low thanks to a medical condition I was diagnosed with during the pregnancy. That's been so much fun because as Lorelai Gilmore says, "Oh, I can't stop drinking the coffee. I stop drinking the coffee, I stop doing the standing and walking and the words putting into sentence doing."

Yeah, I feel ya.

I've had to readjust when I can eat, sleep, read, write, shower, and pretty much everything that doesn't revolve around changing diapers, feeding, and bouncing my baby girl to sleep.

I am know longer committed to my personal war on leggings. In fact, I've done a one hundred and eighty degree turn, and now I march around on enemy lines proudly wearing my jeggings (jeans thickness with the comfort of leggings if you're not familiar with the vernacular) and tunic-style, baggy sweaters. Thanks to post C-section pain, I did not want jeans anywhere near my incision and still tender stomach. Life's good on the other side.

Stuff's different now. Things have changed. I've spent so much time thinking, "I need to adjust to my new normal." However, stuff is never going to stay the same. My life will be different a year, six months, two weeks from now just like it changed when my husband took his new job, when I left my day job, and when we found out we were having a baby. Things are always changing.

But my God never changes.

"For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed." Malachi 3:6

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." Hebrews 13:8

My God is always the same. He is my constant. He is my normal. So when everything else in life is thrown to the wind, I have God. And I've realized for possibly the zillionth time that's all I need.

My war on change is officially over.

For now.

God bless you guys! :)

Hugs!

~V. Joy Palmer

V. Joy Palmer loves to write romantic and comedic stories that proclaim God’s deep love for us. She’s a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and an avid blogger. In her spare time, Joy loves to sing (especially Disney songs), drink large quantities of coffee, and take flowery photos for Bookstagram. When Joy isn’t fighting with fictional people, she’s hanging out with her husband and their adorable little girl. Connect with Joy via www.vjoypalmer.com!

Connect with Joy on her website, personal blog, devotional blog, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Goodreads, and Amazon Author Page!

Any questions? Check out my Disclosures and Policies Page!

More Then I Imagined (Happy New Year!)

Happy New Year guys!



So I was looking over my New Year's posts from last year. I remember writing this big, long, insane list of resolutions, which you can read here. About the only thing I accomplished from that list was cleaning out my e-mail inbox AND my closet. I did good. ;)

I didn't go to ACFW with a new manuscript. Instead I signed a contract with WhiteFire Publishing. The reason I cleaned out my closet was because I had a baby, and most of my clothes no longer fit me. I had a bunch of complications and a serious medical condition. I left my day job, and my husband and I learned to rely on God even more. I've got my first joyous, sleep deprived taste of motherhood thanks to my beautiful daughter. And although my husband might claim I did, I definitely did not buy a new book every week. I've had a host of blessings, rejections, fears, joys, struggles, and changes this year.

Basically, the last year has been like that ride that shoots you into the air really fast, and then drops you before your heart has a chance to catch up with you. More has happened then I could have possibly dreamed.

"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us." Ephesians 3:20

God did more for me then I'd expected or even hoped for this year. Despite all the trials and hardships this year, He gave me things I'd prayed desperately for, given up on, and hadn't even asked. I have no predictions for 2016. I know that despite the bad days, God is going to keep on blessing us, because that's just what He does.

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

However, I want to bless God back this year. I want to be a worthy daughter to the King of Kings. I want to make my Father proud. I want to chase God with my whole heart faster and harder then I ever have before now.

"You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:13

That's what I want for 2016.

God bless you guys so much this coming year. May it be more then we ever could have dreamed! :) See you on January 10th!

V. Joy Palmer

Review of The Shock of Night

From the back cover:

The Darkwater Claims All Who Enter It.
All But One.

When one man is brutally murdered and the priest he works for mortally wounded, Willet Dura, reeve to the king of Bunard, is called to investigate. As he begins to question the dying priest, the man pulls Willet close and screams in a foreign tongue. Then he dies without another word.

Willet returns to his task, but the clues to the crime lead to contradictions and questions without answers, and his senses are skewed. People he touches appear to have a subtle shift, as though he can divine their deepest thoughts. In a world divided between haves and have-nots, gifted and common, Willet soon learns he's been passed the rarest gift of all--a gift that's not supposed to exist.

Now Willet must pursue the murderer still on the loose in Bunard even as he's pulled into a dangerous conflict that threatens not only his city, but his entire world--a conflict  that will force him to come to terms with his inability to remember how he escaped the Darkwater Forest--and what happened to him inside it. 

My thoughts:

Willet Dura is a reeve to the king, which from what I gathered was like the king's personal detective. He has an uncanny ability to ask the questions others don't think of, or see the details lost in the shuffle. Despite his ability, this was not the life Willet had originally sought. He wanted to be a priest, but the king called every man to arms. When Willet went to war, the blood on his hands forced him away from the priesthood. Willet was also one of the only men to survive a night in the Darkwater Forest, a place were evil practically leaks from the branches. As a result, the story deals a little with Willet's PTSD. Now thanks to an unknown priest's death, the way he looks at the world and the happy ending he thought he'd finally found are changed forever.

When the story started, it had a detective vibe, which was kind of fun. It was like reading about a cop in another world. I also liked the idea of "gifts" being handed down from God. The society was completely built around who was gifted and who wasn't. It was an interesting concept, and it has a lot of potential.

The story felt very dark to me, but Patrick Carr did a great job with layering the details. The first book in a series often seems slower because there is so much new information being given to the readers. I LOVED that Willet's perspective was told from the first person. It made a big difference for me. However, I had a hard time relating to Willet as a character. I often couldn't follow his thought process until he was back from his latest scheme.

Bottom line is that I want to know more. I have questions that still need answers, and the story drew me in enough that I need to know the answers. The first book of The Darkwater Saga ended on a somber note, so I pray that the series has happy endings for the characters. I'm a happy endings kind of girl.

I received a copy of The Shock of Night by Patrick W. Carr from Bethany House in exchange for my honest opinion, which I have given.

Hope you all have a Merry, blessed, joyous Christmas! God bless and see you guys on January FIRST!! Oh, my goodness! Goodbye 2015! :)

V. Joy Palmer

Review of A Season to Wed

From the back cover:

They’ve helped orchestrate the perfect day for countless couples. Now twelve new couples will find themselves in the wedding spotlight in the second Year of Weddings novella collection.

Love at Mistletoe Inn by Cindy Kirk

Sometimes the road to happiness is paved with youthful mistakes.

Ten years after what she thought was her almost-wedding, Hope Prentiss discovers that the ceremony counted—and, as fate would have it, the jilted John Burke has just ridden back into town. After spending some time with John and helping plan a Christmas wedding for a mystery couple, Hope begins to wonder if she really wants a divorce . . . or a real wedding of her own.

A Brush with Love by Rachel Hauck

Revealing the beauty in other women might be Ginger Winters’s specialty—but it will take an unexpected kind of love to help Ginger see the beauty in herself.

Ginger Winters will be the “beauty-maker” for the Alabama society wedding of the decade. But when high-school crush Tom Wells shows up looking for a haircut, Ginger’s thinly veiled insecurities threaten to keep her from love once again . . . despite Tom’s best efforts.

Serving Up a Sweetheart by Cheryl Wyatt

Meadow knows how to serve delicious food to match any wedding theme. But can she accept love when it’s served up on a silver platter?

Meadow Larson is having the mother of all Mondays when her roof caves in during a blizzard, right before the most important wedding contract of her career. Renovation contractor Colin McGrath offers to fix Meadow’s roof, even though he knows he is the last person she would accept help from.
But the more Meadow gets to know the new Colin, the more she realizes God may have something more permanent in store than a new catering kitchen.

My thoughts:

I loved this book. Loved it. From the gorgeous cover design to the amazing authors all the way to the end of each sweet story. I can't even pick a favorite of these three sweet novellas.

Let me break it down a little bit.

Love at Mistletoe Inn by Cindy Kirk -

The characters were good. Hope's bestie was the comedic relief for me. I thought she was hysterical. If John wasn't caring, sweet, charming, and hunky, he still would have been awesome because he said "darling." I'm a sucker for a man who says that, even if he is fictional. I liked Hope. She didn't draw out drama, and I could related to her.

Spiritually, Hope had to learn to be silent and trust God, and John had to learn not to run but fight for the things - and people - he loved. The biggest thing holding Hope and John back was wounds from their respective childhoods that they had never discussed or truly realized. While touching on serious things, this was still a fun story.

A Brush with Love by Rachel Hauck -

Ginger suffers from emotional and physical scars due to a trailer park fire she was caught in as a child. Due to the opinions of stupid people, Ginger has never viewed herself as beautiful, wanted, or even worthy. She feels like God abandoned her.

Tom always had feelings for Ginger, but because of his father's demons, he moves away before he can tell Ginger how he feels. Now he's back and he feels God's call to lead Ginger to Jesus and to help her understand her true beauty - even if it's only as a friend.

The spiritual plot was much more intense, but in a good way. It dealt with believing lies about ourselves. Lies that have shaped us, controlled us, and hindered us. This was a moving story with a deep, emotional ending.

Serving Up a Sweetheart by Cheryl Wyatt -

Meadow suffers from deep, emotional scars from her childhood and teen years. She came from an abusive home before she and her siblings were moved to her grandparents home where money was very tight. Unfortunately, love interest Colin played a big part in Meadow's emotional trauma. He gave into peer pressure and ignored the horrid way his friends treated Meadow. He was selfish and concerned with his social status, but also suffered from a difficult home life that was just more concealed due to his family's social standing.

Meadow has carried her scars into adulthood, and always looked for the bad in people first. When she sees Colin again, she struggles with forgiving him and letting those lies go. I liked Meadow because she was fun and sarcastic, and her struggle was realistic. Colin was endearing because he had given his life to Jesus years ago, and when he and Meadow met up again, he made it his mission to right the wrongs he had done to her.

My favorite part was when Colin sees Meadow again for the first time. There's no golden ray of sun illuminating her. Instead she's beating up a snowman. This was a fun story, with all too realistic struggles.

 If you're looking for a charming, romantic, wedding related read, then pick up your copy ASAP!!!

I received a copy of A Season to Wed by Cindy Kirk, Rachel Hauck, and Cheryl Wyatt from Book Look Bloggers in exchange for my honest opinion, which I have given.

See you guys on December 20th! God bless!

V. Joy Palmer