Freedom's Child by Jax Miller

My latest review for BloggingForBooks is the novel Freedom's Child by Jax Miller and here we go...

 The first few chapters of Freedom's Child set up the characters in the story:  Rough-around-the-edges "Freedom" who is currently in witness protection for her association in her husband Mark's murder. Her bent-on-revenge brother-in-law who was just released from prison after eighteen years in being wrongly accused of his brother Mark's murder. Mark and Matthew's ne'er -do- well family who are also seeking revenge for Mark. And Mason and Rebekah, Freedom's birth children who were adopted by religious fanatics. Mason escapes the Third Day Adventists sect, but Rebekah stays with the family and has now gone missing.
 These sets of characters come together in Goshen, Kentucky for a perfect storm. Mason is looking for his sister, Freedom is looking for her daughter (they both realize Rebekah has gone missing after her absence from Facebook) and Matthew and his family who are looking for Freedom.
 I loved the drama of this novel. The back and forth between each of the characters storylines, the real twist in Mark's murder, and the fire and brimstone ending to the Third Day Adventists cult. No chapter in this book disappoints.

Sayonara by James Michener

  I'm actually reading this story out of an old 1950's Reader's Digest condensed. At first, I read the description and thought it might not be for me, then I shrugged that thought off quickly after the first chapter.
 It's the story of a Korean war air force man, Ace Gruver,  who asks to be sent to Japan where he plans to marry the American colonel's daughter. Before he does, he helps his friend to marry a Japanese woman, wondering to himself  'what could've gotten into the chap that would make him want to do such a thing,' only to find himself falling in love with the beautiful theater actress Hana-Ogi.
 As of this moment, I'm not officially finished done with the story. I'm up to....The Tragic Part .I've just enjoyed the book so much I couldn't wait to recommend it.
 This book was written back in 1953. Dig into the used book store or check Amazon. It's well worth it.

The Shore by Sara Taylor

 My latest Blogging For Books review is for The Shore by Sara Taylor.
 The cover of this novel looks promising and the dust jacket description sounds interesting, but the book itself was a letdown.While the chapters are well written, each one feels like an individual story. As soon as I feel invested in the story, the next chapter switches to an entirely different one and it doesn't feel cohesive. For instance, chapter one is all about a little girl on the Chesapeake Bay coast overhearing about a man's recent murder. The end of the short story reveals the twist but it doesn't carry it on to the next chapter, it switches to a different girl's story about harnessing the wind with her hands and I'm still wondering about the history behind the murdered man in the swamp. It disconnects too quickly.
 Overall, not my style of story telling. The back of the book likens this novel to David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas, which I was not a fan of either, if you've read Cloud Atlas you might enjoy this book more than I did. I was hoping for a more traditional murder mystery novel.
 2 stars.