Daily Archives: January 3, 2020

The Black Heart of the Station by Jay Allan Storey

Delinquent or Prophet? Whichever one teenager Josh Driscoll is, he may be the Station’s only hope for survival.

The Station is a city buried deep beneath the surface of a frozen, lifeless earth, its origins lost in the mists of time. Josh’s frequent rule-breaking exploits are focused on a single question – how did we get here?

But Josh goes too far when he steals a space-suit and escapes to the surface to explore.

As punishment, the governing Council, of which his father is a member, forcibly enrolls him as a novice monk at Saint Carmine’s, the Station’s resident monastery. At first desperate to escape, Josh finds himself drawn into the monastery’s ancient texts.

Deciphering an encrypted journal hidden for centuries, Josh learns that the Black Heart, a computer complex sealed off after an ancient asteroid strike, may hold the answers he’s been seeking, and may be all that can save the city from certain annihilation. When the deranged head of the Council is determined to demolish the Black Heart and doom them all, Josh leads a desperate battle to stop him.

But can Josh and his tiny band of followers prevail in time to avert catastrophe?

The Indigo Girl: A Novel by Natasha Boyd

A deeply-researched and powerfully-written work of historical fiction, based on the untold story of Eliza Lucas, an extraordinary sixteen-year-old girl in Colonial-era South Carolina, whose actions were before their time: the story of the indigo girl.

In 1739, bright and determined sixteen-year-old Eliza Lucas is charged with keeping her family’s struggling plantations afloat, in her father’s absence. Learning of the high value of indigo, Eliza becomes determined to learn the secret of growing the enigmatic crop, believing it to be her family’s salvation, but everyone tells Eliza growing indigo in the region is impossible. Thwarted at nearly every turn, even by her own family, Eliza finds her only allies in an aging horticulturalist, an older and married gentleman lawyer, and a slave with whom she strikes a dangerous deal: teach her the intricate thousand-year-old secret process of making indigo dye and in return—against the laws of the day—she will teach the slaves to read. So develops an incredible story of romance, intrigue, hidden friendships, threats, ambition, betrayal, and sacrifice, based on historical documents and Eliza Lucas’ own letters.

“An outstanding work of fiction…The Indigo Girl is an absolutely wonderful read that will even occasionally bring a tear to one’s eye. Recommended for anyone’s reading list.”–New York Journal of Books

“An outstanding example of historical fiction…Readers will love discovering the amazing story of a virtually unknown girl who changed the course of history.”–Booklist (starred review)

“Captivates on every level…Fans of Elizabeth Gilbert’s The Signature of All Things will savor.”–Library Journal (starred review)

“If you love historical fiction, this book should be on your fall reading list….It is based on historical documents and the real-life Eliza Lucas.”–Southern Living

The Move (The Creek Water Series Book 2) by Whitney Dineen

When Lexi Blake was twelve years old, a fortune teller gave her the following cryptic message:

In your thirtieth year, once the dog jumps over you, your life will change in the most unexpected ways.

Lexi is thirty now and the following unexpected things have occurred:

•While walking through Central Park enjoying a beautiful fall day, Lexi eats dirt when a careless dog owner throws a frisbee at her head. A dog jumps over her.

•Lexi gets a promotion that pays less than her current job.

•Her crush announces that he’s engaged.

•Her apartment turns condo and she can’t afford the down payment.

In order to escape her bad luck, she takes a vacation to visit a good friend in Creek Water, Missouri. But as it turns out, fate has a lot more in store for Lexi Blake.

Will a good friend, an unexpected love interest, and a historic house have her scrapping her plans and moving to a small town on the banks of the Mississippi River? Find out in the delightfully funny rom-com that’s sure to make you believe in happy endings!

The Maggie Newberry Mysteries: Books 1,2,3by Susan Kiernan-Lewis

Murder travels nicely in this popular mystery series featuring expat Maggie Newberry who lives in France with her winemaker French chef husband. Enjoy the sights and smells of Provence, the Côte d’Azur and Paris as Maggie uses her amateur (and very American) sleuthing skills to detect and confront some of the vilest murderers on the continent!

Dryadby Matthew Shaw

What if Humanity is just a device? An instrument to change worlds? With Earth in the grip of environmental collapse, the manipulative Dryads conspire to drive humanity to extinction. Only a grieving man and his free-spirited daughter stand in their way. They wouldn’t have a chance but for the mysterious Girl of Light, a messenger from the copse…..

They weren’t supposed to be there at all. Usually the primates flee their dying planet ready for the new inhabitants. But not this time. When the Cloud descended, Earth’s population proved to be a stubborn infection. They had two choices: move to the poles, or flee to the stars. After the great Exodus, instead building a utopia, those few remaining on Earth faced challenges far beyond the hardships of living on a dying planet. Not only do the ideals of the remainers fail, and the world once again falls into the grip of corrupt, all-powerful corporations, but a darker force moves among them with a greater influence and an agenda far more twisted than anyone could possibly imagine … the Dryad.

Through the illegal teachings of the book of Physis, preaching and preserving the long-forgotten laws and principals of nature, disciples like Jaxon and Emily keep the fight for the survival of humanity alive. But since his wife was bludgeoned to death clutching a mysterious black crystal, Jaxon has become obsessed. He must risk everything to understand and it is only when the mysterious Girl of Light appears that the crystal begins to reveal its dark secrets. Will there be enough time to decipher them and sow the seeds of darkness to bring the species back into the light?