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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

Why You Should Get This Wonderful Book Today

by Chautona Havig · 4 Comments

I can’t even remember why I put it on my Kindle shelf. Love, Laughter, and Luminarias. One thing I do know is that I had to read something else to make room for it. While I’m confessing, I should add that I distinctly recall wondering why I was going to all that effort for a book I didn’t know anything about.

The author? Jaycee Weaver.

Never read a thing by her.

What an idiot.

No, seriously. You know like that moment when someone’s been trying to convince you to try some bizarre food like… oh… chocolate… but you were so sure that brown melty stuff would be très gross? But then you take a bite just to shut her up and realize how delicious being wrong can be?

Yah. That moment.

Why You Should Get This Wonderful Book Today

Note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.  Read the book with Kindle Unlimited.  Then I bought it.

Why You Should Get This Wonderful Book Today

Yeah, it’s a “Christmas” book.  It takes place at Christmas time, has elements of Christmas as important pieces of the plot.  So what?  (For my opinion on Christmas fiction, go HERE.)

Let’s start with the plot of Love, Laughter, and Luminarias, shall we?

Best friends since junior high. Old hat, right? Nope. Not. Fresh, delightful—like cilantro in the best taco you’ve ever crunched into. Like pico de gallo. Like… okay. You get it. Seriously, I felt like I’d never read that trope before.

And that, my friends, is what authors should do with tropes. They should take them and remodel them into something amazing.

Characters? I loved ‘em both. I loved their journey, their quirks, their faults, their highs and lows.

Nina made me want to bundle her up, bring her home, and say, “Here. We’re not the family you lost, but we’re still your family.” And Ms. Weaver did that without once making me feel like Nina was stereotypical, weak, or flat. Too often you get that with broken people.

Not with hers.

And Garrett? He was perfectly imperfectly perfect. I loved how he was clueless. Again, the clueless guy—trope. But not written in that oh-so-predictable tropeishness. Nope, there was a reason for it, and Ms. Weaver took that reason and ran with it. She turned it into an action movie before my eyes…

Complete with a snowball fight in a craft store.

Seriously, if nothing else would have made me love the book, that might have done it all by itself. I mean, my friend Cathe and I kind of went nuts in Michael’s once… we know for craft-aisle shenanigans. Ms. Weaver wrote it well.

Yep, Weaver knows how to weave a tale of perfection and delight—complete with similes and metaphors to make you chuckle all the way through. Don’t believe me? How’s this one?

…like a kid with a rogue Sharpie.”

It doesn’t stop there.

There’s a scene I want so much to describe… to share with you, but I won’t. You need to read the book yourself. I’ll just tell you this. Garret goes for a walk and sees the most beautiful example of my idea of real romance. And get this. He gets it. Seriously, I swooned.

Folks, I don’t swoon.

And if that wasn’t enough, just as I thought she couldn’t make the book any cooler, she brought in Doctor Who as if it’s just what every good book contains. She’s right, you know.

Look, I have no idea if Jaycee Weaver can write another book that I will love as much as Love, Laughter, and Luminarias, but I do know one thing.

I’m sure as shootin’ gonna find out. Soon. Like maybe today. Yeah… today.

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Comments

  1. Darlene says

    January 16, 2019 at 3:36 pm

    Going to check it out!!

    Reply
  2. Toni says

    January 16, 2019 at 8:26 am

    I love this book! And you should read Adrift next. Like today. 😉

    Reply
    • Chautona Havig says

      January 16, 2019 at 1:53 pm

      Adrift it is.

      Reply
  3. Cathe Swanson says

    January 16, 2019 at 6:48 am

    Wow! Adding it to my Kindle now! Thanks for the recommendation!

    Reply

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 164: A Chat with Christian Fantasy Author, Ernest Yip
byChautona Havig

When I talked to Ernest Yip last month, I was crazy excited to learn about his fantasy novel, The Shattered King, an allegory about the attributes of God. Ernest talks about his inspiration, how he got started, and what’s coming next for us. I loved hearing more about the story and my copy is on its way to me now. EEEP! Listen in to learn more.

Note: links are affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

Experience the Attributes of God in a Whole New Way

In the tradition of Pilgrim’s Progress or the parables of Jesus, Ernest Yip brings us a story that introduces to a King like no other through the various attributes our main character meets through out the book. I love a good allegory, and listening to Ernest talk about his book had me choming at the bit to get started.

Though written for teens, The Shattered King is sure to appeal to anyone who loves fantasy and adventure. I especially love how it is a great introduction to who God is without being a heavy or preachy tome of apologetics. Instead, we’re taken on an adventure to discover it all for ourselves.

I can’t wait to see what Yip does next!

The Shattered King by Ernest Yip

Finding his way home means finding something else first—someone else.

When a dark force shatters the benevolent and mighty king Eloa, the land of Astrea lies broken and dying. Though Eloa lives, he is a shadow of his true self, unable to restore his kingdom unless he is reunited with the living Fragments of his being and made whole again.

Catapulted into this unfamiliar world and gifted with a magical sword, teenager Jax faces the ultimate test—finding the lost Fragments of Eloa. Only by fulfilling this quest will he be able to return home. But there are new forces in power, forces that will do whatever it takes to thwart Jax’s efforts and defeat Eloa.

But Jax will soon find that Eloa is no ordinary king, and neither are his Fragments—

A creator of living stone beings A father of orphans in a storm-filled land A desert warrior of limitless power

And they aren’t the only ones out there…

Encounter the Fragments of The Shattered King, a tale of danger and discovery that explores timeless truths about the world we live in, where justice and mercy are sometimes the most powerful weapons.

You can find out more about Ernest from his WEBSITE.

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Episode 164: A Chat with Christian Fantasy Author, Ernest Yip
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Episode 155: Chatting with Heather Day Gilbert & Jen Cudmore
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