NaNoWriMo 2014 is coming!!!!

This Saturday is the start of this year's NaNoWriMo! In case you don't know what that is, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month! It's where you write 50,000 words in one month. I did it in 2012 but skipped it last year because I had a lot of other things going on. I'm doing it this year, however, and I'm excited! My story is set in the future and is called The Sickness. Here's the synopsis!

"Sometimes, the only thing you can do is hold on to your faith, family, and friends. Without those things, you get lost."

Paige Roland: Separated from her parents in a foreign country, this University student only has her faith and new friends to depend on.
Noah Gallagher: Militant to a fault, he is the leader of the retrieval group, sent on this mission by his superiors.
Tucker Reese: A friend of Noah's, this doctor agrees to help him while struggling with loss and grief.
Andrew Harrison: A lonely ex-con roaming America, he agrees to help Noah on his mission as he looks for redemption and a place to call home.

Roxanne Wheeler: This street-smart and sassy teen bargains her way into the group, not wanting to be left behind in a trashed and dying city.

A thousand years in the future, people live in perfect health. All diseases have been cured and eradicated. The only problems the people have to deal with are the bickering governments. But when a secret experimental chemical is released in the air, people start dying.

To save the world's population, a ragtag group travels to a remote area of Montana to retrieve the antidote from the only man left alive to create it. The trouble is they aren't the only ones after the cure for the Sickness ravaging the planet.

If you want to join, there's still time! Just head over to the website and sign up! I'm AutumnAngel on there if you want to friend me!
Counting the days til NaNo!
Kayley

The Heroes of Olympus: The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan Book Review

The first thing I'm going to say is I LOVED the Percy Jackson & The Olympians series! I've always been interested in Ancient Egyptian and Greek mythology and Rick Riordan brought the Greek myths to life in his series. I read them all! I don't like the movies, however. The first one they messed up so bad in my opinion they should have re-done it before moving on to the second one, but oh well. Onto the review!

This is the Great Prophecy issued by the Oracle of Camp Half-Blood at the end of the Percy Jackson & The Olympians series:

"Seven half-bloods shall answer the call.

To storm or fire the world must fall.

An oath to keep with a final breath.

And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death."

This Prophecy is what this series is based on.

The story revolves mainly around three young demigods, Jason, Piper McLean, and Leo Valdez and their satyr, er coach, Gleeson Hedge.

At the beginning of the story, Jason wakes up in the back of a bus, with no clue where he is or who he got there. The poor guy doesn't even know who he is, much less who the girl is he is holding hands with...

Jason: He's an amnesiac thrust into a school for juvies called the 'Wilderness School'. He wakes on a bus heading for the Grand Canyon. He has no knowledge other than his name and the feeling that he isn't supposed I be there. Things don't start looking up for him either as his first day with no memory rolls on. He's different from any other half-bloods I've read about so far.

Piper McLean: She's a pretty half Native American girl who is a friend of Jason's. She's the one who's holding his hand when he wakes up. She is frequently picked on by other juvies in their school. Jason described her as 'cute, smart, and violent', which after finishing this story, I completely agree with. :) She's haunted by dreams of a horrible voice telling her to follow their instructions or harm will come to her father, who has been kidnapped.  She discovers she can charmspeak, which is a trait that comes from her Greek godly parent. No, I'm not telling you who that is. :) 

Leo Valdez: He's a mischievous little Hispanic boy. He's Jason's friend and he's great at inventing things out of objects that he keeps in the pockets of his army jacket. Leo always has his hands moving. He's great with machines and carries a deep dark secret with him that frequently haunts him. He is always on the run, from foster homes, schools, you name it. He's the first to be claimed when they make it to Camp Half-Blood by his Greek godly parent, but you have to read it to find out who it is! ;)

Rick Riordan wrote this story with switching perspectives. He changes between Jason, Piper, and Leo.

Things go wrong when one of the students turn into a ventus, a storm spirit, and attack Jason, Leo, and Piper. After the fight, Coach Hedge is kidnapped by the ventus, Jason discovers he has some pretty strong powers and two teenagers ride in on chariots pulled by flying horses. One is the great Annabeth  Chase from the last book. She is searching for her missing boyfriend, Percy Jackson (!!!) and she and her friend Butch take them back to Camp Half-Blood in New York where they learn about the Greek gods and goddesses still exist and that they are part of the Great Prophecy.  They have to embark on a quest to free the goddess Hera, who has been captured, before the winter solstice ends.  The Oracle, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, gives Jason his own prophecy:
"Child of lightning, beware the earth,
The giants' revenge the seven shall birth,
The forge and dove shall break the cage,
And death unleash through Hera's rage."
With the help of a mechanical dragon Leo fixes and names Festus, the demigods travel north to find Hera and Coach Hedge. Their journey begins in Quebec, Canada.

While I don't believe in Greek gods and goddesses, I really enjoyed this story. I remember trying to read it when it first came out but grew bored after the first couple chapters because it just seemed too different than the Percy Jackson series, plus there was no Percy. I have to say that I'm really glad I gave this book another try. It was a great beginning to what I'm sure will be an awesome series! Definitely giving this book five stars!!

I do wonder something, however. Who is the lost hero? Jason, with his missing memory? Or Percy who is literally gone?

Have you read this book? If you have, what did  you think? If not, read it and tell me what you think! :)
Kayley

The Mortal Instruments: City Of Ashes by Cassandra Clare Book Review

I recently flew through The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. It was awesome. The story’s world was great and a lot of thought was put into it. The world of the Shadowhunters was well woven into our world. But I’m not reviewing that book. Obviously it was great if I’ve finished the second one already and am reviewing it. Now, onto the review of The Mortal Instruments: City of Ashes!

Clary Fray and Jace Wayland have many problems: dealing with the news that they are brother and sister, especially after their kiss in the City of Bones, their psychopathic father, Valentine Morgenstern, and their comatose mother, Jocelyn Fray. All the while they and their friends Isabelle and Alec Lightwood and Simon Lewis have to deal with the undercurrent of unease due to Valentine's actions against the Clave. 

Clary and Jace still have feelings for each other and it’s very obvious throughout the book to everyone. Personally, I don’t believe they really are siblings. I think Valentine is psychotic enough to lie to Jace to get him to do what he wants, trying to take his father’s place. I think Valentine was hoping Jace would feel…compelled to side with him if he believed he was Jace’s father.

We meet several new characters, including the rest of the Lightwoods and the Inquisitor of the Clave, Imogen Herondale. It irritated me that we didn’t find out how to pronounce Maryse Lightwood’s name until the second book, even though she was spoken about in the first. It’s May-ris, not Mah-ris, like Marissa, like I was thinking it was. We meet Luke’s pack more in depth and a court full of faeries, the Seelie Court and their Queen. Several new demons are also introduced in this story, expanding on the danger Clary and her friends are facing, such as Agramon, the Greater demon of Fear.

I have to say that the Inquisitor irritated me almost as much as the antagonist Valentine Morgenstern. At least he is supposed to be evil. She's on the Clave's side so she should act better!

Speaking of Valentine...even though I think he's insane, he makes a good villain. He believes in his mission and really believes he's right and doing the best he can to protect the world from those that could corrupt and destroy it. Even though he's basically destroying it himself. I have a feeling he'd agree with the saying, "the ends justify the means". I also think Valentine's 'days are numbered'.

Early in the story, Jace faces a difficult decision, which puts him at odds with Inquisitor Imogen. Should he stand with his father and possibly spare his friends and loved ones? Or turn Valentine down and stand against him and his army of demons led by Agramon? Due to the consequences of his actions, he discovers he has a special gift.

Some of the parts I find interesting:

I loved the way the stele, the special weapon of the Shadowhunters, was described in this book. It was much more descriptive and helpful than the first book was. It was very interesting.

I also liked the expansion on Clary's special gifts. It was amazing and she's got incredible talent with the runes used by the Shadowhunter society.

Also, bits and verses from the Bible are interwoven throughout this book. I can't remember off the top of my head if it was the same for CoB. 

I’m going to give this book a 3.5 outta 5 stars. Several things working together made this story’s rating drop. It had such a slow beginning, I almost gave up on it. Also, several character’s took the Lord’s Name in vain and I don’t like that or a couple of characters being gay. I don’t agree with those things.

Have you read City of Ashes? Will you be reading it now? Lemme know what you think in the comments!
Kayley

This Reckless & Unreasonable Love's First Anniversary!

This Monday marks the first anniversary of This Reckless & Unreasonable Love's publishing! To celebrate, I'm going to be dropping the price for the rest of the month of June!
Starting on Monday, both prices for the Nook version will be dropped to $0.99 and the paperback version will be down to $6.00! I'm not sure what the price will be yet for the Kindle version as it's not showing me. But it'll be lower! Haha!
Here's the link to the Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/this-reckless-unreasonable-love-kayley-higgins/1116213353?ean=2940148741459
Here's the Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/This-Reckless-Unreasonable-Kayley-Higgins/dp/1484858867/ref=tmm_pap_title_0
So spread the word and buy up while it's on sale!
Kayley

Fruit of the Spirit Study Introduction

Galatians 5:22-23, NIV: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

How many of you know that old fruit of the Spirit Sunday School song? *raises hand* My parents used to play a tape (yes, a cassette tape) with Sunday School songs on it during car rides. That song is one of the few I remember. And I don’t mean the one about the coconut…

Well, I’m writing a study on those two verses in Galatians chapter 5.

I started researching fruit of the Spirit verses in early March with the wonderful YouVersion app on my Nook and the free version of the Olive Tree Bible study app on my iPod. I’m only going to be referencing verses from the New Testament since that’s when the first believers received the Spirit in Acts chapter 2. I’m going in order of the fruits and, unless otherwise noted, I will be using the Good News Translation (GNT). Why? Because I like it. It’s one of the few that are close to the way I talk so it’s easier for me to understand. If you like another version, feel free to look up the verses in your Bible or on your app. There’s no point in reading something you don’t understand because then you won’t retain the information.

The posts will be up in the morning on Saturdays following this post. I picked Saturdays for a personal reason. I get devotions emailed to me every week day morning and then there’s church on Sunday, but nothing on Saturdays! Well, not anymore! J Now there’s my Bible Study Saturdays! The study will begin next Saturday May 3, 2014.

Anyway, I will link all the posts back here as I complete them.

LOVE

JOY

PEACE

PATIENCE

KINDNESS

GOODNESS

FAITHFULNESS

GENTLENESS

SELF-CONTROL

I hope you all enjoy reading this study and diving into God’s Word with me!

Love,

Kayley