P. S. Bartlett

FROM AMAZON: Dr. Owen Whelan and his wife Sarah have seven bright and expressive children. However, one of them is very unique; he’s been followed since birth by lost souls.
However peculiar Ennis Whelan has been for the first six years of his life, not until the day he found the bird did the degree of his strangeness become so tangible.
Ennis claimed it flew away.

His sister Teagan was about to bury it.

Teagan becomes increasingly suspicious of his odd behavior but their mother dismisses her claims; that is until he starts healing people.
When he also reveals the gift of sight, he questions his father about visions of his past, including his voyage to America in 1844. Owen prayed he’d never have to share those tragic memories but he will share them, when he realizes he has no choice. Ennis’ life depends on it.… (mehr)

This is the story of a young boy named Ennis. He lives with his parents and his 6 siblings in Pennsylvania. Since his birth, Ennis has been followed by lost souls. But nothing comes to light until he is 6 years old and helps a hurt bird by healing it. His sister, Teagan, witnesses this but tell Ennis that he can never tell anyone what happened. One day, Teagan is injured badly, and Ennis heals her. At this time, his sister thinks they must tell their parents because she does not understand what is happening.



Their mother dismisses the claim that Ennis is healing people until she and their father witness it for themselves. Soon Ennis reveals he has a gift of sight and soon starts questioning his parents about their past voyage to America from Ireland. And he can see that a neighbor is physically hurting his children. His gifts start to bring many past secrets to light, and soon Ennis realizes the connection between his father's past and the reason for his gifts.



This is a pretty decent story. It moves pretty fast. The writing isn't great - seems to be written for middle grade readers. She does a good job developing the characters. At the end of the book, it left me wanting to know what happened to them, so I took that as a good sign. The author wasn't consistent with her writing - the characters were immigrants from Ireland. Sometimes she would write as they had an Irish accent, and sometimes she wouldn't. It was like she forgot whom was speaking. But, if you can overlook that, it is a sweet story.… (mehr)

Ivory Shepherd is determined to protect her cousins, even if it means becoming a pirate. She takes risks and wields weapons to keep the cousins safe, while the young women hidden away just might have plans of their own as well. Meanwhile the menfolk are a blend of dangerously abusive and possibly honest, difficult to tell apart.

The writing is evocative and breathless, bouncing rapidly from scene to scene. The action is fast but not always smart. And the characters are complex and fun. I’m still not sure I believe in female pirates, but strong female leads make for interesting reading and this story’s well worth the read.

Disclosure: I won a copy and I offer my honest review.… (mehr)

A breathless introductory novella to a series of pirate tales, Ivory Dawn reads quickly and depicts a world of orphan teens in Charles Towne struggling to cope after Spanish raiders have passed. Four young women struggle to survive in a quiet backwater, but when trouble finds them, they prove they can make trouble enough of their own to help them win through. And so a group of female not-yet-pirates begin to sail the seas.

The characters are interesting. The location is evocative. And the introduction to piracy is clouded with clever deceits. I would certainly read more of the series.

Disclosure: I won a copy and I offer my honest review.… (mehr)