Tag: WhiteFire Publishing

The more time he spent at the palace, the more he lost sight of who he really was.

Book Review | The Cost of the Crown by Joy Crain

Melissa Hanson has been living with her aunt in Los Angeles for the last ten years, since her mother died and her father’s short trip to the small Asian island Kingdom of Andelar turned into a permanent role as US ambassador. She’s shocked when her father invites her to spend the summer in Andelar as a guest of the royal family while her father negotiates a new trade deal.

Missy accepts both to reestablish her relationship with her father, and to hopefully connect with the Chinese part of her heritage. She meets Aiden Waverly on the flight to Andelar, and they bond over the challenges of growing up in a biracial family.

But Aiden has a secret.

He’s actually Rupert Spencer, the unknown Crown Prince of Andelar. Now it’s time for him to make a choice: take on the mantle or royalty, or abdicate the throne so he can continue traveling and volunteering for charities around the world.

Royalty romances can feel contrived at times.

The reader has to be prepared to suspend disbelief and allow for an imagined constitutional monarchy that meets most of our expectations for a modern monarchy while still having the history and flexibility to allow for a story that probably wouldn’t happen in a real-life monarchy. While I was willing to suspend disbelief and accept a created Asian kingdom in the South Pacific, it was a little harder to believe no one outside the Royal Family knew of Rupert/Aiden’s existence. (But I got over that.)

I enjoyed the developing relationship between Missy and Aiden as they explored Andelar, and I especially enjoyed the way both Missy and Aiden genuinely prayed about their problems. Their relationship developed in a natural way, which made for an easy and enjoyable read. I did find the last quarter didn’t match up to the promise of the first three-quarters. It was a little slow, and a little too predictable … which was a shame, given the original setup.

The Cost of the Crown is both a romance and a search for identity.

Both Missy and Aiden have to consider how their biracial heritage has impacted on the people they are, and consider how that will affect the choices they make about their future.

If you enjoy stories like The Princess Diaries or Toni Shiloh’s brilliant In Search of a Prince and To Win A Prince, then you’ll want to read The Cost of the Crown.

Thanks to the publisher for providing a free ebook for review.

About Joy Crain

Joy CrainJoy Crain was adopted and raised in southern China by an American missionary couple. At an early age, her fondness for books and vivid imagination gave her a genuine love for storytelling. Joy started writing her own stories as a teenager and the journey has just continued from there.

Joy’s novels contain strong romantic elements with inspirational undertones which will make you fall in love if you’re not careful. And Joy feels that if a reader doesn’t walk away from her novels with a smile, she hasn’t done her job.

Currently, Joy lives with her sister and her toy poodle, Raisin. When she is not traveling internationally, she spends her time teaching English and pursuing her passion for writing.

You can find Joy Crain online at:

Website | Facebook | Instagram | X

About The Cost of the Crown

Missy Hanson never dreamed of falling in love and living happily ever after. In fact, she doesn’t know what she wants to do after she graduates from college; nevertheless, she’s content working as a journalist for her local newspaper and assisting at her aunt’s California bakery. When a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity emerges for her to visit the southeast Asian country of Andelar, Missy is thrown into the world of royalty as the special guest of the king and queen—and it’s clear she doesn’t belong, despite her family ties to the area. But the royal family isn’t without its mysteries. Rumors abound that a secret prince is hiding amid Andelar’s society, and Missy is determined to find out who he is.

Aiden Waverly never wanted a crown or a title. He craves a normal life, but being a secret prince of biracial background is difficult enough and would create chaos amid the tabloids if the press learned about his parentage. After years of traveling the world to help those in the greatest of need, he’s faced with a life-altering decision: take his place as crown prince or walk away as a commoner. With no clear path that will satisfy him and the royal family, the tug between following his heart and doing his duty to Andelar becomes harder every day.

When a chance encounter throws Missy and Aiden together, neither of them are prepared to challenge what they thought they knew about themselves. And when an ancient royal law threatens to tear them apart, they must decide how much they are willing to risk for love.

Find The Cost of the Crown online at:

Amazon | Goodreads

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Quote from Gone Too Soon: It's disturbing to realize that I'm not as smart as I thought I was. I wonder what else I don't understand.

Book Review | Gone Too Soon by Melody Carlson

Kiera is fourteen, the independent and sassy middle child of three girls. But her older sister, perfect Hannah, died six months ago and it was Kiera’s fault. But Kiera reconsiders when she finds Hannah’s diary, and realizes Hannah wasn’t the paragon of perfection. Hannah had secrets …

On the outside, Kiera’s family look like the typical middle-class family, even if they are still grieving for a dead daughter and sister. But we see inside Kiera’s family, and it’s a long way from perfect.

Dysfunctional doesn’t even begin to describe it.

The story is told in first person from Kiera’s point of view, and in third person from her mother’s point of view. Kiera is a sympathetic character. She’s a somewhat rebellious and sassy teen (somewhat = the kind who gets herself a summer job and doesn’t secretly drink or do drugs). Like many teens, she feels isolated, as though no one understands her. Especially not her mother.

It’s hard to like Moira.

I’m the mother of teens, but still found myself siding with Kiera and wanting to give Moira a good talking to. Yes, she was grieving. But she was still the parent, and that means she has responsibilities. Like acting like a parent, not a stroppy teen.

The writing is occasionally shaky—I found the first person passages easier to read and more compelling than the third person passages. I’m not sure if that’s because the writing was stronger, or because I didn’t like Moira. I did wonder what Moira’s story was. Did we need to see her point of view, or was Kiera’s enough? Will teen readers care about Moira’s point of view, or will they find her even more annoying than I did?

In some ways, it doesn’t matter. Gone Too Soon is a strong YA story of blame and grief and recovery, and about how our bad decisions can make life so much worse … but also a story about how allowing God into our lives can bring us peace. No matter what.

Recommended for YA readers.

Thanks to Whitefire Publishing for providing a free ebook for review.

About Melody Carlson

Author Photo: Melody CarlsonMelody Carlson has written more than 200 books (with sales around 6.5 million) for teens, women and children. That’s a lot of books, but mostly she considers herself a “storyteller.” Her novels range from serious issues like schizophrenia (Finding Alice) to lighter topics like house-flipping (A Mile in My Flip-Flops) but most of the inspiration behind her fiction comes right out of real life. Her young adult novels (Diary of a Teenage Girl, TrueColors etc.) appeal to teenage girls around the world. Her annual Christmas novellas become more popular each year.

She’s won a number of awards (including Romantic Time’s Career Achievement Award, the Rita and the Gold Medallion) and some of her books have been optioned for film/TV. Carlson has two grown sons and makes her home in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and yellow Lab dog.

Find Melody Carlson online at:

Website

About Gone Too Soon

An icy road. A car crash.
A family changed forever.

Hannah Josephson had always been the “perfect” daughter. Kiera couldn’t live up to her before, and she certainly can’t now that her older sister has died in a car accident. But the image she carried resentfully of Hannah is challenged when she finds her dead sister’s diary and begins to read. Apparently Hannah’s final year wasn’t as perfect as everyone thought.

Caught in a pattern of blaming each other, the Josephson family is falling apart. Their father has left, their mother is mixing opiates and alcohol, little sister Maddie has been shipped off to spend the whole summer with their grandmother, and Kiera feels utterly alone with her grief and anger. A summer job helping at a park in a poor section of town provides a friend and a purpose.

But it’s Hannah’s diary that fills her thoughts. For the first time in years, she feels close to the sister she’s lost. But can the knowledge she gleans about her possibly help her patch back together the family that seems determined to implode?

Find Gone Too Soon online at:

Amazon US | Amazon AUGoodreads

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First Line Friday

First Line Friday | Week 72 | Gone Too Soon by Melody Carlson

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. Today I’m sharing from Gone Too Soon by Melody Carlson:

First Line from Gone too Soon by Melody Carlson: I know it's wrong to steal—even worse to steal your sister's diary. But I just can't seem to stop myself.
What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

About Gone Too Soon

An icy road. A car crash.
A family changed forever.

Hannah Josephson had always been the “perfect” daughter. Kiera couldn’t live up to her before, and she certainly can’t now that her older sister has died in a car accident. But the image she carried resentfully of Hannah is challenged when she finds her dead sister’s diary and begins to read. Apparently Hannah’s final year wasn’t as perfect as everyone thought.

Caught in a pattern of blaming each other, the Josephson family is falling apart. Their father has left, their mother is mixing opiates and alcohol, little sister Maddie has been shipped off to spend the whole summer with their grandmother, and Kiera feels utterly alone with her grief and anger. A summer job helping at a park in a poor section of town provides a friend and a purpose.

But it’s Hannah’s diary that fills her thoughts. For the first time in years, she feels close to the sister she’s lost. But can the knowledge she gleans about her possibly help her patch back together the family that seems determined to implode?

Find Gone Too Soon online at:

Amazon US | Amazon AUGoodreads

Click the button to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today:

You can then click the link which will take you to the master page of all this week’s #FirstLineFriday posts.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

And don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

First Line Friday | Week 9 | Hold the Light

It’s Friday, which means it’s time to open the book nearest you and share the first line. Today I’m sharing from Hold the Light by April McGowan:

Unremarkable. Amber glanced out the streaming windowpane at the cityscape below her.

I’ve got an interview with April coming up soon, so keep watch!

About the Book

To an artist, the light is everything. So what is Amber supposed to do when facing blindness?

Amber spent her life adapting—first to being abandoned by her birth mother as a toddler, and then to the death of her adoptive father in her teen years. Now she’s moved past all that, loving life as an independent woman: she has a job as an art instructor and the perfect apartment.

But when a routine eye appointment reveals she’s losing her sight, life comes to a halt. Pressures come at her from all sides. Her mother, her boss, her boyfriend and her closest friend, Shannon, all have ideas about what’s best for her.

Even after her blindness counselor, Ethan, befriends her and opens her eyes to new opportunities and the possibility of a deeper relationship, one haunting question remains: How could the God she loved all her life turn everything upside down—again?

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | Goodreads

You can check out what these lovely FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today:

Bookworm Mama | Singing Librarian Books | Faithfully Bookish

Radiant Light | Encouraging Words from the Tea Queen

All the Book Blog Names are Taken | Robin’s Nest

Fiction Aficionado | Bibliophile Reviews | Kathleen Denly

Lauraine’s Notes | With A Joyful Noise | A Baker’s Perspective

Joy of Reading | C Jane Read | Moments Dipped in Ink

Molly’s Cafinated Reads | Romances of the Cross |

Christian Fiction Girl | It’s Storytime With Van Daniker

Sprinkles and Pink | Reading Is My SuperPower | Alicia G Ruggieri

If you would like to join FirstLineFriday, contact Carrie at at Reading Is My SuperPower, Rachel at Bookworm Mama, Sydney at Singing Librarian Books, or Beth at Faithfully Bookish. And check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!