Scion of the Fox by S. M. Beiko

Scion of the Fox is a very interesting story. I was given an advanced copy in May in return for my honest feedback. (disclaimer: my copy had an abundance of editing errors, I am hoping they get ironed out before the release)

Roan is just trying to lead a normal teenage life. Unfortunately, there are forces at work that refuse to let her have what she wants. Her parents were killed when she was young. From around the same time, she has had an eye problem that causes her to wear a patch and cover her face with her hair.

Without revealing too much, the world was originally governed by five animal families. Each family was connected to life in a different way. Owl was wisdom; Seal was water; Deer was spirit; Rabbit was earth; and Fox was fire. These families worked together to maintain balance. However, there are also dark forces that they must contend with, one of which if the Moth Queen, harbinger of death.

Roan finds herself a key piece of the puzzle in all of this balance between good and evil; light and dark. She must not sway from the path created for her or the recourse is death.

I really enjoyed this book despite the editing errors. I think any fan of the fantasy genre would enjoy this new and engaging tale.

Just Maybe by Crystal Walton

Just Maybe is a great, clean, contemporary work of fiction. This is the third book in the Home in You series. I saw an underlying theme of redemption in this book. Both Quinn and Cooper have to face redemption in their own lives and I think that they are their own biggest stumbling blocks.

Quinn is a journalist for a struggling magazine. She wants nothing more than to land the big story that will prove she is worthy of the editor's position so that she can revitalize the magazine and protect her jobs of her co-workers. She is assigned the impossible task of getting an interview with Cooper Anderson, the Top Entrepreneur of the Year, a man who refuses all interviews. In fact, he despises journalists.

Through a misunderstanding, Quinn finds herself in a position to get the story she needs but under false pretenses. Cooper begins to see Quinn as indispensable. Quinn quickly discovers that returning to her home town is much more difficult than expected.

The hardest part for me was reading about the character with Alzheimer's. I lost my grandma to dementia far sooner than we lost her to death. It is such a painful experience to watch a loved one start to forget. I definitely experienced my share of some of the moments of confusion and the moments of lucidity. 

Despite the painful moments, I really enjoyed reading Quinn and Cooper's story. Sometimes, I was cheering them on and at others I wanted to shake some sense into them. This is a great story full of poignant glimpses, missed opportunities, confrontations and redemption.