Audible Review: Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

This is a delightfully entertaining adventure with steampunk elements and fabricated creatures too.
Leviathan
Written by: Scott Westerfeld
Narrated by: Alan Cumming

Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
Series: Leviathan, Book 1
Unabridged Audiobook
Release Date:10-06-09
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Genre: Steampunk, Fantasy Adventure
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0

Publisher's Summary
It is the cusp of World War I, and all the European powers are arming up. The Austro-Hungarians and Germans have their Clankers, steam-driven iron machines loaded with guns and ammunition. The British Darwinists employ fabricated animals as their weaponry. The Leviathan is a living airship, the most formidable airbeast in the skies of Europe.
Aleksandar Ferdinand, prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, is on the run. His own people have turned on him. His title is worthless. All he has is a battle-torn Stormwalker and a loyal crew of men.
Deryn Sharp is a commoner, a girl disguised as a boy in the British Air Service. She's a brilliant airman. But her secret is in constant danger of being discovered.
With the Great War brewing, Alek's and Deryn's paths cross in the most unexpected way - taking them both aboard the Leviathan on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure. One that will change both their lives forever.
©2009 Scott Westerfeld; (P)2009 Simon & Schuster

Review:
Aleksander is a teen prince who is not fully accepted by his family because his mother was not of the right royal heritage. An assassination has sent him on the run with his formal fencing master, his mechanical tutor and three other dedicated, loyal servants. They left in the dark of night in a giant steam-driven machine (Clanker) known as the Stormwalker. They have to struggle to make it across the border while dodging attacks by the Germans.

Deryn is a young girl from London who knows about flying because her father was a pilot. She disguised herself as a boy to enlist in the British Air Service where she quickly proves her worth, even though she must maintain her secret. She is selected to join the crew of the Leviathan, a living airship fabricated from animals. The Leviathan is a marvelous creature with glow worms for light, hounds to sniff hydrogen leaks, bats to serve as defense and offensive weapons and talking lizards as messengers!

When circumstances bring Alek and Deryn together their mechanical and Darwinist leanings clash. Yet they soon discover that they must work together and pull resources from both specialties if they want to save their respective crews.

This is a wonderful mixture of steampunk technology and fabricated beasties. I can’t say that I liked the Darwinian theories so much, but it created the basis for interesting features – aaa -- make that creatures. I am still curious about the eggs that are being watched over. The alternate history draws from real events that led to WW1 and I found the young prince’s dilemma of inheritance and politics quite interesting.

This is a quick paced story that engaged me in the lives of the characters as well as the action. The writing is clean and straightforward. This would be good story telling for middle graders but it was engaging for me as an adult too. I recommend this to readers who enjoy steampunk and fantasy elements in a strong story with likable characters.

Audio Notes: Alan Cumming does a great job with the narration. He provides appropriately different accents, emphasis and emotion for the characters. I highly recommend this in audio format.

This has been in my Audible Library since August 2012. It is part of my Audio Challenge.

Book Review: The 12 Brides of Christmas Collection by 12 authors

This is a lovely collection of historical romance novellas.

The 12 Brides of Christmas Collection: 
12 Heartwarming Historical Romances for the Season of Love
by Mary Connealy (Author), Diana Lesire Brandmeyer (Author), Margaret Brownley (Author), & 9 more

File Size: 2204 KB

Print Length: 546 pages

Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1630584894

Publisher: Barbour Books (October 1, 2015)

ASIN: B0159JAEZW

Genre: Christian Romance, Historical Novellas

My Rating: 4.25+ of 5.0

Christmas is the time for love—and weddings—and twelve historical women are on their way to the altar, whether they know it or not. In Nineteenth Century settings across the heartland of America, readers will experience heartfelt gifts, old-fashioned Christmas traditions, sweet romance, and inspiring faith from twelve acclaimed Christian authors, including Mary Connealy, Margaret Brownley, Pam Hillman, Maureen Lang, Michele Ule, Amy Lillard, Miralee Ferrell, Susan Page Davis, Diana Lesire Brandmeyer, Amanda Cabot, Davalynn Spencer, and Vickie McDonough.

Review:
This is a lovely collection of ‘frontier’ (mostly), young (mostly) bride stories. I enjoyed the variety of locations and the individual holiday traditions or themes that made each story unique. I read and reviewed one of the novellas last December and I believe they are each offered separately. However this collection gets them all together and I wish that I had started reading the full collection a little earlier so I could have savored each story a bit more. All of the stories are sweet, charming and heart-warming. My favorite is #11, The Snowbound Bride. Davalynn Spencer has a wonderful way with describing a scene and sharing folksy sayings. I will be looking to enjoy more works from her.

1) The Festive Bride by Diana Lesire Brandmeyer –Southern Illinois 1886. Roy is a widower struggling to care for his two young daughters who have asked for a “mama” for Christmas. The local doctor’s daughter, Alma, helps her nurse the younger child from a cold. Alma was raised in a festive home and is very handy with homemade crafts. She would rather work as a nurse or teacher than marry the men her father suggests. When the doctor prepares to move without his daughter she has to make plans quickly. Perhaps she can help Roy by caring for the girls. 4.25

2) The Nutcracker Bride by Margaret Brownley –Kansas 1880. Lucy is handling her wagon home when a dashing stranger on a thundering steed gives her a mission to save a package for him. When he sneaks up on her house, Lucy accidently shoots him. She isn’t sure if he is a Texas Ranger as he claims or a robbing bandit. This has a lovely Nutcracker tradition. (German Zimt Makronen Cookies recipe.) 4.25

3) The Christmas Star Bride by Amanda Cabot –Wyoming Territory 1885. Esther lost her sweetheart to the war. Now she has made a small success of a bakery in town. She needs a special portrait for her niece and her groom to carry on a family tradition. A wounded soldier turned itinerant artist finds a second chance for love when he answers Esther’s ad. 4.25

4) The Advent Bride by Mary Connealy –Nebraska 1875. Melanie is a young school teacher coping with a sullen, lonesome boy, Simon. She finds an old discarded puzzle box filled with hidden drawers. When she shares the special box with Simon and his father it changes their lives. I reviewed this story in December, 2014. 4.5

5) The Christmas Tree Bride by Susan Page Davis –Oregon Trail, Wyoming 1867. Polly’s family lives at a remote, lonely stagecoach stop. She misses her home and friends back east and longs for a Christmas tree like they had there. She asks a young driver, Jacob, if he would try to find her a tree for Christmas. She finds her dreams changing before Christmas arrives. 4.0.

6) The Nativity Bride by Miralee Ferrell –Washington 1875-1880. Sixteen year old Deborah loved the boy next door. Although Curt was a farmer’s son he longed to be a woodworker. He left Deborah behind to pursue his craft. Curt returns upon news that his mother has died. He and Deborah find a beautiful nativity as they clean the attic and Deborah finds secrets in his mother’s journal. Can the nativity and secrets revealed help restore broken relationships? 4.25

7) The Evergreen Bride by Pam Hillman –Mississippi 1887. Annabelle has her heart set on visiting her cousin in Illinois for a white Christmas. Her brother’s mill owner/woodworker partner, Sam, wants Annabelle to be happy even if he is concerned she might give her heart away in the city, without knowing how he feels. 4.25.

8) The Gift-Wrapped Bride byMaureen Lang –Chicago 1848. Sophie isn’t happy that her family has brought her to the city with other families seeking mates for their daughters. She would like to be an artist but her father scoffs at her dreams, Sophie has to deal with her childhood prankster, Noah. Can Noah convince her that he has matured and accepted faith? Inviting mischievous street lads to participate in the Nativity program will either be a disaster or show Sophie how he cares for others. There are lovely Christian messages in this story. (Stew and Dumplings recipe.) 4.25.

9) The Gingerbread Bride by Amy Lillard –Ozarks, Arizona 1870. Maddie is a preacher’s proper daughter – most of the time. But she can’t complete with her beautiful sister. She is desperate to win the heart of Harlan, the quiet lawyer in town. She decides that a love potion from the woman down the lane is the only answer. But how will she know if Harlan will love her after the potion in the gingerbread wears off? A cute story set in two days. 4.25

10) The Fruitcake Bride by Vickie McDonough –Missouri 1890. Karen was abandoned by her father and left in the care of her aunt. When her aunt dies Karen’s childhood best friend, Pastor Parsons (aka Parson Parsons) asks her to come to his town to be his bride. Karen is intimidated by the parishioners waiting to meet her and one misstep after another make her doubtful that she can be a good pastor’s wife. This has cute banter and a fruitcake recipe. 4.25.

11) The Snowbound Bride by Davalynn Spencer –Colorado 1885. Ara is running away from her uncle who wants to bargain her as a wife in a business arrangement. To escape her uncle’s henchman she hides in a wagon and ends up snowed in miles from town. Nate, the large horse rancher, has no idea where this pretty lady came from but he sure hopes he can keep her. His mother and uncle encourage the match and share a delightful family heritage. The descriptions in this are Wonderful! (“I see she’s done tangled your spurs.”) 4.75.

12) The Yuletide Bride by Michelle Ule –Nebraska 1873. Fiddler Ewan will take any work he can to make ends meet. He loves his flute playing, childhood friend, Kate, and she loves him. But Kate’s father has a banker’s fancy son in mind as a mate for his daughter. Can Ewan meet the demand price to win approval for a yuletide wedding? I enjoyed the authentic setting and musical instruments in this novella. 4.5

This is (I think) my last NetGalley title for the year. It qualifies for my NetGalley Challenge.

Sunday Post December 13, 2015/It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday December 14, 2015

I am linking with Sunday Post at Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading now at The Book Date.
Thank you to Sheila for the years that she handled this meme.
Thank you to Kathryn for taking up the baton.

What Are You Reading, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week. It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

This was another good week though busy at work with my staff out (medical testings) for two days. I juggled and they paid for it with a busy day Thursday when they returned.  
Reading and listening was good.  I completed two ebooks and one audio, as planned.  I posted four reviews, one with a giveaway. And I posted the usual memes.

I enjoyed visiting again early in the week. That really does increase the fun of this meme.
Thanks as always to all the nice people who visit me.

These were last week's posts:

• Sunday Post December 6, 2015/It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday December 7, 2015.

• Audible Book Review: Silent Night, Holy Night: A Colleen Coble Christmas Collection by Colleen Coble; Romance Novellas; my rating 3.75.

• Audible Book Review: Suspect by Robert Crais; Police Procedure; my rating 4.75.

• Martha's Bookshelf***Friday Pick Giveaway December 11, 2015. Open Worldwide. Ends 12/17/2015.

• Audible Book Review: The Genuine Particle by Stephen Punt; Comedy, Radio Broadcast; my rating 4.25.

• Book Review and Giveaway (print): The Raven Saint by MaryLu Tyndall ; Historical Romance, Christian Romance; my rating 3.5. Ends 12/20/15

• Sharing Beyond Books #231 Comment Giveaway December 12, 2015; Open Worldwide. Ends 12/19/15.

• Sunday Words of Encouragement December 13, 2015.

Finished Reading:

1. eBook/Kindle

The 12 Brides of Christmas Collection: 12 Heartwarming
Historical Romances for the Season of Love
by Mary Connealy (Author), Diana Lesire Brandmeyer (Author), Margaret Brownley (Author), & 9 more
Lots of enjoyable novellas.
I'll post my review this week.
Click on book title for full description.

2. Audible

Leviathan
Written by: Scott Westerfeld
Narrated by: Alan Cumming
I did enjoy this and will add the next to my wish list in Audible.
Click on book title for full description.

3. eBook/Kindle

Unclutter Your Life! How to Tame Your Mess, Calm Your Mind, Lighten your Load
by Jen Williams
This was a really quick book with great ideas!
It qualifies for "U" in my Alphabet Soup Challenge.
Click on book title for full description.

Currently reading:
1. eBook/Kindle

The Lord Is My Shepherd: The Psalm 23 Mysteries #1
by Debbie Viguie
2% in and we've stumbled on the body. That is a good start.
It is one of the titles for my TBR Pile Challenge.
Cindy’s church is getting ready to celebrate Easter, and Jeremiah’s Temple is preparing for Passover when Cindy literally stumbles over the body of an unknown man lying dead in the sanctuary. The church was locked, and a bloody cross necklace on the floor seems to be the only clue. The killer is likely a member of the congregation, but there are hints that similar deaths have happened in the past. Are Cindy and Jeremiah dealing with a serial killer? They have to unravel the clues before Easter Sunday arrives and more people die.
Cindy and Jeremiah come from two different worlds, even though they work right next door to each other. Cindy is a strong Christian who lives a normal but somewhat dull life, working as a church secretary. Jeremiah is a Reformed rabbi with a mysterious past full of danger and excitement. But one eventful Easter/Passover week, the two find themselves working together to solve a murder and stop a serial killer from striking again. Solving the mystery should put an end to their alliance, but the church secretary and the rabbi quickly find themselves enmeshed in another mystery. Soon the two form a friendly alliance and friendship, exploring personal history and faith and growing closer with each passing adventure. Despite their differences Cindy and Jeremiah find a lot of common ground.

2. Audible

Goon Squad, Vol. 2: Without Sin
The Goon Squad, Book 2
Written by: Jonathan L. Howard
Narrated by: Gabrielle de Cuir, Nicholas Guy Smith
I enjoyed Vol. 1 so I requested Vol. 2.
I received this audio from the publisher through Audiobook Jukebox.
Publisher's Summary
An ongoing, episodic "prose comic" from which the pictures are summoned by the magic of words, Goon Squad is set in a version of modern-day Manchester. Its biggest divergence from the real city is that it - along with most other large urban centers - has a team of superheroes to protect it against unusual threats with which the conventional forces of law and order would have problems.
Goon Squad, Volume 2: Without Sin is composed of "A Star in Strange Ways", "Holy Fool", "Dead Man Tells Tale", "A Brief History of the Goon Squad", "Tale of Terror", and "Pomona Island", as well as an introduction read by the author.
©2014 Jonathan L. Howard (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc., and Skyboat Media, Inc.

3. eBook/Kindle

Xenonauts: Crimson Dagger
by Lee Stephen (Author), Francois Cannels (Illustrator),
I like this author and needed an X title for the Alphabet Soup Challenge.
The year is 1958. The Soviet Union and the United States of America are entrenched in a Cold War. But for Mikhail Kirov, captain in the Soviet Fourth Army, life is relatively idle. After serving honorably in Hungary, Mikhail is stationed to the base of Zossen Wünsdorf, south of Berlin, where he lives in a government-issued house with his wife and six-year-old daughter. Gone are the days of quelling the Hungarian Revolution. The biggest challenge he faces now is teaching his little girl arithmetic. But things are about to change.
An object of unknown origin has been intercepted over the Atlantic by the Americans. Nuclear missiles are launched. The object crashes in Iceland. In a tense moment of necessity, NATO contacts the Kremlin. The Americans need help.
Crimson Dagger serves as a prequel to the video game Xenonauts, by Goldhawk Interactive, a real time strategy game set in the Cold War era. It is a story about cooperation amid extraordinary circumstances as rival superpowers are forced into camaraderie to combat a superior foe. Selected as the leader of this unlikely alliance, Mikhail must set aside he and the Americans' differences as they enter the unknown side-by-side, prompting the question: is the enemy of one's enemy truly their friend?

October 1, 2015- I am still up to date on Bible reading and greatly enjoying the readings-- It seems my eyes are open to more details and meaning. I am reading The One Year Bible again along with my husband and others from our church. I am also listening to the companion commentary online.

I posted four reviews last week which keeps me up to date. I have read my last NetGalley selection for this year. 
I have read 9 of my 12 TBR Pile books.  The last three are full novels and I am starting those now.
I have the last of my Alphabet Soup Challenge to finish: "U" (read), "X", "Y" and "Z".

Welcome to Mailbox Monday.

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week and explore great book blogs.  This Meme started with Marcia at A Girl and Her Books (fka The Printed Page) and after a tour of hosts has returned to its permanent home at Mailbox Monday. Thanks to the ladies sharing hosting duties: Leslie of Under My Apple Tree, Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit and Vicki of I'd Rather Be at the Beach.
Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

I received one audio review and three NetGalley selections - to be read for 2016.
I purchased five books at Audible on sale and one eBook at Amazon.
I also received one free book from Audible and of course I added more free kindle titles to my library.

Are your mailbox and TBR piles blooming?

Review Titles

I requested two audio titles and received one so far:

Goon Squad, Vol. 2: Without Sin
The Goon Squad, Book 2
See the full description above under Current Reading.



I was looking at NetGalley and one thing led to another and I started requesting books for 2016.
I have received three of the requests I made.

Jessica's Christmas Kiss (Choc Lit): Fabulous, fun, feel good Christmas story (Christmas Kisses Book 3)
by Alison May
This looked like a really cute second chance story.

Path of the Bullet 

by M C Jacques

“With a steadily increasing fusion of murder, intrigue and suspense, the floundering Mark McKay finds himself thrown onto a hotbed of deception, fraud, incest and even a neo-Nazi’s murderous intent.”

Chakana
by W.E. Lawrence
Chakana is a historical romance novel filled with action, adventure, suspense, and intrigue.
Set in 1940 - this sounds like a story I will enjoy.

Plus I picked up eTreasures titles which are now available at NetGalley.
Although I have read most of our titles while editing or formatting I hope to read them now and review (with disclosure). We currently have two Christmas titles and three Sci Fi books in a series that are available through December 26, 2015. During 2016 I plan to upload new releases several weeks ahead along with existing/backlist titles.
Here is the link to our page at NetGalley: eTtreasures

Won

NONE

Purchased

Well - Audible still has books on sale and I am still lining up reading choices for 2016.

Total cost for these five titles was $10.97

• 
  For Honor We Stand: Man of War, Book 2
  Written by: H. Paul Honsinger ($1.99 because I already owned the Kindle version.)
• 
  The Synchronicity War, Part 1
  Written by: Dietmar Wehr (New series for me - $1.99 because I already owned the Kindle version.)
• 
  Tech World: Undying Mercenaries, Book 3
  Written by: B.V. Larson (November Credit)
• 
  The Never Hero: The Chronicles of Jonathan Tibbs, Book 1
  Written by: T. Ellery Hodges (November Credit - new series for me.)
• 
  Reunion in Death: In Death, Book 14
  Written by: J. D. Robb ($1.99 because I already owned the Kindle version.)

I purchased one book at Kindle - This is our current Ladies Book Club read which I picked up on sale in hardback at Christianbook.com. When I saw it went on sale for $1.99 at Amazon I picked up the Kindle version which reads faster for me.

Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball: A Novella

Donita K. Paul

Sold by: Random House Digital, Inc.

Free

An Audible Gift:
The Chimes by Charles Dickens




Over the past week I added 64 free Kindle titles to my library. Titles found linked through Bookbub, Bookfun, Ereader News Today, Free Par-tay, Ignite Your Book, Inspired Reads, Pixel of Ink or Kindle ebooks.

Sunday Words of Encouragement December 13, 2015

This is the Third week of Advent and we celebrate with Joy!

This is the verse for Joy from:
A hymn for the lighting of the Advent candles
The Candle of Hope
LYONS 10.10.11.11 ("O Worship the King, All Glorious Above!")
Copyright © 2015 by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette

The candle of joy reminds us to sing,
For God is at work to do a new thing.
The proud will be humbled; the lowly will rise.
God's kingdom is one of delight and surprise.

Pastor reminded us briefly today that we work to share God's good news as we continue to "watch" for His coming.
We sang our Christmas program this morning. I want to share some of the songs over the holiday weeks.

We celebrate as we look for the promise of the coming of our Savior and King!

A Verse for Today:
Zechariah 9:9 (NIV)
9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

When I focus on the true meaning of this season, and watch in anticipation to celebrate the birth of our Savior, then I worry less about decorations, presents and the busyness around me.

Sharing Beyond Books #231 December 12, 2015

Hello again and Welcome to Sharing Beyond Books, SBB!
I had a busy work week but my evenings have been okay. Our weather warmed a little bit. I still have lots of preparations left for the holidays. We are looking forward to our Choir Christmas Program tomorrow morning.

Thanks to everyone who commented last week.
Only three of 16 do not read some category romance. A couple didn't realize that they read the genre until they saw the lists and authors. :-)  There was a good variety of authors mentioned.

~~~~~

The Winner from SBB #230 comments is: #7 Rubynreba who can make a GC choice if international or book choice from the Updated ARC/Review titles or (not yet updated) Love titles - all linked near the end of the post. I'm hoping to update the book choices - maybe the beginning of next year, lol. Please let me know your choice by completing the (new) WINNER FORM.

WEEK #231 (One Question.)

Sue asks: 1) Do you have a favorite family heirloom Christmas ornament??

I wish I had prepared this early and maybe I could have taken some pictures. We have several favorite heirloom ornaments.
1) My mother had glass ornaments which we divided in 1972 so we each have a half dozen or so.
2) My husband has homemade ornaments (Styrofoam, pin cushion, Battenberg lace, beaded) ornaments from his mother and stepmother.
3) My husband and I have an angel topper given to us when by a friend for our first Christmas - might be considered "vintage" I guess.
4) We collected special Christmas ornaments over the years and I have picked up ornaments on our cruises/travels to serve as memories.

1) Vintage Glass Ornaments - Image found at Etsy.

2)Styrafoam homemade ornaments - Image from Pinterest.

3)Pincushion homemade ornaments - Image from Countryliving.

Thanks to those who are sending in Questions. DON'T BE SHY! Surely everyone has a Q or two you'd like to ask. Input suggestions in this Suggested Question Form. At the end of each month I draw from the suggestions I used during the month and that person will get a book choice or GC. I thank everyone for submitting questions. Thanks for sending in questions! The supply of questions is dwindling so share some if you think of any -- even if they are duplicates I'll weed through or try to modify to use.

Your turn to share:
Sue asks: 1) Do you have a favorite family heirloom Christmas ornament??

SBB Comment Winners can choose a selection from the Valentine and "Love" books or the February 2015 Newly Updated ARC/Review List. (My daughter pulled several of the Christmas titles to give with gift bags we made up for the nursing homes. One of these days I will get together a new box of Christmas titles.)

SBB Rules:
a) Must be a follower.
b) Share a comment on the question above.
Open internationally and an international winner may get a smaller book or a $5.00 GC if I decide the mailing is too much.
I will pick a Comment winner from all comments made through Saturday December 19, 2015 at 5 PM central.