Book Review: Hebbros by Nicole Sager

In a realm that feasts on wickedness, and a city that thirsts for power, the faithfulness of a few will be tested.

A MIZGALIAN SEEKS JUSTICE…

When members of his faith are exiled from the city of Hebbros, Luke vows to resist the forces that tore his family apart. Armed with a divine gift and the aid of friends, he undertakes to right a world of wrongs. Opposed on all sides by evil men determined to silence the Faithful and outlaw their powerful God, Luke’s small band will be tried and tested as they battle for truth, freedom, and the overthrow of rampant evil in their city.

AN ARCREAN SEEKS FULFILLMENT…

Three years after Elaina’s world was turned upside-down, the former nobleman’s daughter still tastes the sting of bitterness. When an act of betrayal sends her north into slavery, Elaina finds herself face-to-face with the truth she has long resisted and a choice that will change her forever.

THEY WILL DISCOVER A MATCHLESS GRACE…

Brought together in a desperate attempt to pluck a remnant from destruction, Luke, Elaina, and a host of unforgettable characters will discover the greatness of the power of God, and the startling truth that some things are not what they seem.

     Okay, so I read the series this book was based off of and enjoyed it. The writing wasn't bad, the characters were like able, and the plot's pretty good. But when I read this book I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Personally I felt this book deserved to be ranked with books and series such as, The Ilyon Chronicles, Firmament, NEVER etc.

     The skill of the writing was stupendous. One thing that is hard to do is get an equal balance of description. Too much leaves you feeling annoyed and like you had to walk through a dangerous bog in Middle Earth. Whereas too little ends up making me feel confused about what's going on and where the story is set. But the amount of description in this book was perfect for me personally. And one thing I really admire about it is that Sager used words that felt true to her. Words, I wouldn't use, or some other authors wouldn't use but they were words that were true to her, it made you feel her in the story far more than you would have otherwise. Another thing I liked about her writing was that she allowed her male characters to cry, well truly cry isn't the proper word. Sob your guts out tears is more like it. It made them deeper, I feel like a lot of writers get it stuck in their head that their male characters must have no tears. Which in my opinion is idiotic considering the depths of emotion all of us humans experience. I understand that females tend to cry more often but that doesn't mean you should strip your male leads of all open emotion. Nicole was able to allow her men to show open emotion and still leave you feeling they were strong, manly, and a force to be reckoned with. That deepened the whole book incredibly. The descriptions of places and characters were consistent and even though Sager took artistic liberty with the appearances of her characters she left enough open for the readers to create their own picture of the characters. Also I felt that there was a good deal of humor in this book, which it needed. If it hadn't had it it would have been too overwhelming. So the amount of humor I liked very much. And it humor I could actually enjoy, lots of writers try to be funny but I just can't connect. This, however, sent me chuckling aloud or randomly grinning-earning me several questioning looks from my family.

     Now, as to the characters. They were magnificently done. Each one exciting or special in their own way, and they had a great depth. This book was so long that the characters felt like friends. They were developed very well, and at a good speed. Many people have their characters-in thoughts, hearts, and actions-go from point A to point E without landing on the places in between. Even in some of Nicole Sager's earlier books she did the exact same thing, but her writing has grown incredibly and she was able to have consistent development in her characters, that is something that truly shows the skill of the writer. Bravo. I won't say too much about each character but I can assure you no matter who you are you will be able to find a favorite character in the vast assortment of enjoyable characters. My favorite being Luke.

     Plot wise it was great! It was deep with meaning and there was tons of excitement without it being overly dramatic. I could read this book over and over again as once you have read a few chapters in you wish to read the whole thing again, a hefty challenge considering it is like 600 pages long. I liked the little pieces woven in from the earlier Arcrean series. Throughout all her books Sager has been good at putting little pieces of previous or future books in the present book. And I found it fun that she was able to weave in an element from her 3rd book in the Arcrean series. I always find this very cool. She did a good job surprising me. Like I have said before, I like to be surprised in books. I want to be able to figure some of it out but not all, I want to think I have it completely figured out and have it turn out something was completely different than I thought. By putting so much mystery and intrigue into books the author is guaranteeing that their readers want to read on. And I did....constantly. Like seriously, I couldn't stop reading it.

      Overall I would like to express my deep admiration at Nicole Sager's book Hebbros. Not only admiration but thanks for further opening my imagination and ability to define skill in writing and how to grow in it. Truly this book was a pleasure. Totally 5 stars out of 5!

My Top 10 Songs

    So I was thinking of some of my favorite songs lately and I figured I would share them with you all. Most likely I will finish this post, publish it and walk away feeling satisfied....until I remember that 1 song that I absolutely l-o-v-e, and forgot to add. So these are some of my top 10 favorites songs.

#10. Hmm, probably one from Disney's Tarzan, "Two Worlds". So, it's catchy and powerful and full on 90's. Not to mention the heart it has to offer.

#9. Sorry, no picture for this one. This would have to be the theme song on the awesome show CHiPs. Alan Silvestri did incredible on that soundtrack.

#8. For this one I would probably choose "He's a Pirate" from Pirates of the Caribbean: The Black Pearl. Really this theme runs throughout the whole soundtrack. What I like about it the fun and excitement. It makes great background music.

#7. The main theme from Avengers-entitled "The Avengers"-the music is so triumphant, exciting, and has a sense of coming together in it.

#6.Well, I am going to make an exception and say the whole soundtrack for Thor. I absolutely love the music, Patrick Doyle's soundtrack have such an incredible depth and excitement.

#5. It would have to be from A New Hope. Specifically, "Tales of a Jedi Knight/Learn About the Force". I love the melancholy almost prolonged sound in the beginning.

#4. So it would have to be "Flying With Mother" from the 2nd How to Train Your Dragon. This song features when Valka and Hiccup are flying together. The music is freeing, exquisite, and has a vigor about it. It is simply jolly and inspiring and showing the growing friendship and unison between Hiccup and Valka.

#3. This would have to be Rohan's theme music. The strength and power and victory of it is so powerful. It is triumphant, hopeful, full of vigor and strength. That song truly shows the power of music.

#2. One from Narnia's The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, entitled "Only the Beginning of the Adventure. To me it speaks of what's to come and what has already been. It's full of hope and excitement not only for life but for the eternity after it. You feel like one of the four Pevinsie's thinking of the beautiful incredible past you've had in Narnia, and the exciting future you have with Aslan/Jesus and in Narnia. It makes me thrilled for not only this lifetime but the eternity afterwards.

#1. Imogene Heap's "Can't Take It" featured in the credits of The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Something about this song leaves me in absolute awe. It perfectly describes what you feel when you see Narnia and Aslan. But even above that I feel like it perfectly sums up humanities wonder at all that God is, all that he has made, and all that he means. Sometimes when I hear this song it is so beautiful it hurts. Just like Jesus.

     So here are my top ten songs! Feel free to comment below and let me know what some of your favorite songs are!

Life: Just Give it to Him

      So for my whole life I have been a dramatic person, very dramatic! (The smart readers just realized I was illustrating my point without meaning too. Oops.) But being dramatic doesn't mean I am open with my feelings. In fact I get so frustrated trying to get people to understand what I am feeling. The world's perception of women and their feelings seems to be that either they are not sure what they feel or the can constantly start an emotional conversation and express their feelings to the dot. (At least that's my over-emotional, hormonal, and opinionated teenager assessment of it. I am a great one to pick apart the problems or stereotypes of the world, huh?) But for me that is definitely not how it has worked.

     When I was young I had a very overactive imagination. And though my family did what they could to help me face my fears and learn to control my imagination I was left with the major amount of work. I got used to doing things on my own, taking care of things I was struggling with, and controlling my thoughts. Though that wasn't all bad just picture this, me going from little girl to teenager not knowing how to let people into my life. Even when good, character building things were happening and my relationship with God was growing, I could not let people in. But when you learn to rely on yourself over other people you end up feeling like this:

     When what we need to be doing is talking to people. Not only do you end up shutting out people but you can end up shutting out God. He may be trying to get to you, trying to help you but you may be so focused on making sure you fix things you don't even hear Him.

He is trying to get in and help us. Open the door.

      Our trying to fix it on our own without help ends up creating a disconnect. We are trying so desperately to be godly and make ourselves like Him that we end up blocking out would could have been important. Just give it to Him. Give Him the burden, the stress, the frustration. Just give it all to Him, as well as open up to other people. God will work through others to help you if you only let Him. Stop trying to be a superhero and let your Creator take on the problem. He is the most capable to handle it. Just give it to Him.