Unborn by Amber Lynn Natusch

Unborn is strange amalgamation of Greek mythos mixed with a hint of heavenly and unholy fire. And it works so well together! 

Khara has lived her long life as a ward of Hades, and a replacement for Persephone, the reason why  Persephone is ever able to leave the underworld. Hades cares for her as a father should while Demeter has just grown more resentful as the eons passed by. Now the world has changed when a dark one and pulled her from her home with Hades. Khara's last sight was of her father's distressed face and his coded words of "I knew this day would come one day"

Khara is suddenly surrounded by a family she never even dreamed of in a world filled with unbelievable weirdness. She is the calm centre in a world gone mad around her. Maybe that's where these strange emotions start to come from. Caring .... love .... even attraction towards the fallen angel who makes her skin tingle and pisses her off beyond what she thought was possible. 

I really enjoyed this book! It's an off shoot of another series but I never felt like I was missing something since I hadn't read it. Khara starts off as very repressed and emotionless which makes sense she was pretty much raised in hell. I liked watching her change and grow as the world changed around her. Her brothers also seemed like well rounded characters and I am excited to see what she does with some of the mysteries surrounding their characters as well. Okay, I am just excited in general to see where this series goes! I can't wait for more!

Amazon.ca

From Newton, Einstein, to God

From Netwton, Einstein, to God is an interesting story of an amazing life. Ying starts off as a wondering child with strange abilities. Abilities that seem to tantalize him and terrify him with equal measure. I find it interesting that even with these occurrences happening to him he still begins to disbelieve in God.

So many people go into science thinking to prove that God doesn't exist. Ying started off with a similar thought. But even Einstein said that science led him to believe more fully in the existence of God. Ying found himself following in the footsteps of one of his heroes when he came across "The Twin Universe" theory.

The book is beautifully written and a spellbinding tale of an immigrant coming to America and trying to make the dream of a better life come true while battling his inner demons and doubts. It was compelling and drew you in, making you want to care about this man's journey into self knowledge. And of course some pretty amazing scientific breakthroughs as well.

If you enjoy memoirs I would definitely recommend this one! It gets released on January 13th!
Amazon

As Far As You Can Go

As Far As You Can Go by Lesley Glaister is a desolate thriller set in the Australian Outback. Cassie feels like something needs to change between her and Graham, her boyfriend of three years. He randomly goes off and she has suspected him of wandering a time or two. When she sees the ad looking for a couple to go to the Australian Outback she decides this will be the test. Just the two of them in the desert to see if they can make it or if it be the end of them. 

The job entails living in the remote edges of the Outback and helping to take care of of the mentally unstable Mara as well as cook and clean for her husband Larry. At first it's just the distance that's hard, there are no phones, no email, no way to contact their family. Cassie longs to share information with her twin sister Patty so she begins to write her letters in the hopes that the next time the neighbour Fred comes by he will take the letters into town and post them. 

No letters come back though, and desperate for some sort of conversation she begins to turn to Larry who has impressed her with his kindness towards his wife. Cassie begins to feel like she's being watched even when she's alone. She begins to get lethargic and blames it on the sun. The one bonus is that Cassie and Graham have exposed their secrets and are now working towards something. 

Then the strange turns into stranger and Cassie and Graham find themselves torn as they attempt to unravel the mystery and debate about running. But where do you run to when you are trapped in the middle of no where?

I really enjoyed this book! I read it in two days actually and was immediately drawn into the tense prose and the dark desolation of it. I loved the detail that was used to describe the Australian Outback and it's barren beauty. I did begin to wonder why the English don't just buy cigarettes the way we do here with filters and pre rolled but I went along with it. 

The action was slow to build but it made sense, you were always waiting for the next twist and turn that the novel would throw at you. However, what I didn't like was the end. It was .... too neat and yet gave no real details of how the characters were dealing with the aftermath of what they had been doing.