Thanks for the free book, @AmbassadorIntl!  I am an @AmbassadorIntl #bookreviewer and #partner!  

All opinions expressed are my own.

ABOUT THE BOOK

One is an opportunity. Two is a threat. Three is an invasion.”

For hundreds of years, strange things have been washing up on the shores of Darcentaria. But when a young foreign woman named El is found unconscious on the beach amidst the burning wreckage of a strange metal craft, the villagers of Odessa are immediately suspicious—is she an agent of the Dalriadan Empire, their cruel oppressors for as long as they can remember? Or does she come from the Outside, the vast and legendary lands beyond their borders from which no man or woman alive has ever returned?

Torsten Eiselher, a talented young swordsman, has spent the last nine years of his life wrongfully imprisoned by his uncle, the Empire’s ruler. Betrayed and deceived at every turn, Torsten has survived by keeping a firm grip on his sword—and by staying well away from anything to do with the Outside. But when his young sister is murdered, Torsten finds himself irrevocably drawn to El despite her Outsider heritage—and he begins to question everything he has been told about her world.

Intrigued by the existence of a powerful and dangerously advanced world within his reach, the Empire’s ruler, Jurien Arminius, launches a hunt for El and the two Outsiders that arrived with her—the ones who could help him win his war against Torsten and the rebellion that threatens to topple his Empire.

Suddenly, Torsten is forced to choose between defeating his long-term enemy or saving the woman he has come to love . . .

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jasmine (J. J. Fischer) is living proof that it is possible to be addicted to tea and coffee simultaneously. Both made it possible for her to complete her Bachelor degree in English Literature and Creative Writing in 2012. Also a qualified psychologist with undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in clinical psychology, Jasmine has been delving inside the minds of her beloved fictitious characters since they first presented themselves in a dream at age fourteen.

Jasmine is married to David, and together they are the proud owner-parents of five warring pet chickens who tolerate each others' existence most days. When tempted away from the keyboard, she enjoys reading, thinking about lasagna almost as often as Garfield the cat, and working towards her black belt in karate. She vows to one day write the perfect fight scene.

Jasmine makes her home near Sydney, Australia, where most animals want to kill you and drop bears enforce a daily reign of terror. If you're reading this, please send help. 

MY OPINION AND REVIEW

This book was not disappointing.  It had everything I had anticipated when I was first asked to review it. A lot of action, sadness, brutality, cruelty and even some romance, all nicely packaged in the story.  

Wonderfully creative and very well-written. It's about two realms that exist simultaneously, and it is only by sheer luck, accidental or by chance that you find yourself in a land so foreign from your own. 

The characters are very well-written and believable.  We share their thoughts of hope, despair, and at times, great courage when faced with some of their darkest moments of adversity, you can feel them struggling at times, wrestling with their conscience of what is evil and what is good, which just adds more depth into their character.  A paradigm if you well.

I must admit, though, I would have liked to have read that some of the characters were a bit flawed in their appearance, it seemed like everyone mentioned or encountered were extremely beautiful and/or handsome.   But it is a fantasy book, so I can let that go.  

The fight scenes were extremely descriptive and written in great detail, some quite brutal, but in the era of the sword, it is a brutal reality.  For those that love bloodshed, and torture, you won't be disappointed. 

I truly enjoyed the story, and most enjoyable was that the author omitted profanity, derogatory terms and no overt sexual encounters, which you usually find in most fantasy books.  God is mentioned but in an off-handed way, but not really delved into.  A great read and I'm looking forward to reading the next book.

Please leave a comment below and I promise to respond. God bless.

Thoughts on Mask Coverings

While I do believe masks can be beneficial if your sick, I do not believe a healthy person should have to wear a mask 24 hours a day, yes, I'm exaggerating here, but just trying to make a point.

In the bible, mask coverings are even mentioned.  Leviticus 13:45 "And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean."

This is what I get out of it this particular verse, if your sick, stay away from others, and keep your mouth covered.  Curious though, if the person in this chapter is sick from leprosy he is to be contained for 7 seven days and then if he is clean from the sickness, he would have another seven days to make sure the disease doesn't return and after that, declared that he is healed.

If you remember, when anyone that was exposed or had COVID they had to quarantine for 14 days, and after that amount of time had passed they were allowed to return back to society.  I wonder if this was taken from the text of the bible, or just coincidence?  Interesting, I'll have to ponder on this more.

The thing is, when you inhale (breathe in), air enters your lungs and oxygen from the air moves from your lungs to your blood. At the same time, carbon dioxide, a waste gas, moves from your blood to the lungs and is exhaled (breathe out). This process is called gas exchange and is essential to life.

However, the exhaled air isn't just carbon dioxide; it contains a mixture of other gases. Human breath contains volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These compounds consist of methanol, isoprene, acetone, ethanol and other alcohols. The exhaled mixture also contains ketones, water and other hydrocarbons. 

Soo... what happens if we continue to inhale these toxic gases back into our system, into our lungs?  Think about it.  It's not good.

I believe the most important thing a person can do is, if you're sick, whether it's the flu, stomach bug, or even COVID. Stay home, rest and try and stay away from family members, if you need to be around them, which most don't have that option, cover your mouth.  Sickness is a part of life and for the most part, we will survive it.  

Life is too precious to continue to live in fear.  We have so much more to worry about, especially those of us in the states.  We are dealing with a corrupt and fraudulent government that is destroying the very fabric of our constitutional rights and what our founding fathers fought so hard to achieve... I'll leave that for another day.

Stay blessed in the Lord, and God be with us all during these hard and horrible trying times. 


 

It's Been Too Long

 

So... if I do have any followers, I hope you are all doing well and hopefully, seeing the end of this COVID nightmare.  One can only hope, right?

I'm very happy to see many states dropping their mask mandates and allowing people to get on with their lives without having to muzzle their faces.  I miss seeing the smiles of people in stores, work, etc.  A smile can go a long way, especially for people who need that little bit of sunshine if they are having a bad day.  I know I try my best to smile at everybody when I'm shopping for groceries and at work.

Anyhoo, I won't make this long, I'm just thrilled that the mask Nazis will lose their power over their customers, patients and sadly, even some places of employment. It's gotten way out of control and it needs to stop, like now.

With everything else falling apart at the moment, at least there is that, because things, politically, socially and financially are only going to progressively get worse under the false presidency of Biden/Harris.

Stay strong and stand tall my friends, God's got this.  And if you don't believe in God, well... He still has this covered.

Ciao! Stay frosty