Assassin's Creed: Forsaken - Oliver Bowden

I had been watching the first book of this series on eReaderIQ, because I thought it would be interesting. When we went to HPB, I was shocked to see three copies of this book in the clearance section! After a quick search to make sure it was okay to read them out of order (it is), I snagged this one up. It was in perfect condition and was only $2! 

This is the fifth book in the series. If you know anything about the Assassin's Creed video games, the books are separated the same way. There's a period of history the game/story focuses on, and the story is centered and unique to that particular era. I don't know a ton about the lore associated with this series, but that's my impression of it.

In this book, Haytham is still a young man when his father is murdered, and his sister is kidnapped. His father was teaching him to fight, and a Templar named Birch takes Haytham under his wing. As he ages, Haytham learns that both Assassin and Templar believe in what they're doing, and he ends up caught in the middle, not sure he really believes in either. The era is what I would call American Revolution.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the writing style, even though it was in first person. It takes away some of the tension you would feel for the main character, because there wouldn't be more book if he had died, but Haytham's life was a sad and lonely one. The book was really good, and I look forward to reading more of Bowden's work. Out of the 10 books currently in the series, only 8 are written by Bowden. I'm not going to keep track of the others at this time, but you never know what the future holds! Good Book!

Sergeant Rex - Mike Dowling

My next nonfiction book was an easy pick. I love dog stories. Rex was a MWD and one of the first sent to Iraq. At that point, there hadn't been any K9 units since Vietnam, so the entire group was going in as guinea pigs. The troops they were stationed with weren't sure what to do with them. Mike had to take the initiative to show the officers what Rex was capable of. In no time, the K9 team a vital part of the group.

Rex has a personality the guys in the 2/2 Warlords end up loving. The team gets into firefights, but Rex and Mike prove their bravery every time. Not only were they courageous, Rex found caches of weapons and materials that would've been used for IEDs.

This is one of the better autobiographies I've gotten to read. Rex's personality really comes through. Mike sprinkles his past in the story at various points, but it wasn't in a jarring way. The writing style was easy to read, and I was invested in the story.

One thing I will point out is the pictures. The whole time I was reading, Mike would mention taking pictures, and I kept wondering if pictures were included. I hit the epilogue, then the acknowledgements, and then...there they were! The pictures were wonderful and cover many of the moments I wanted to see.

SPOILER: I'm sorry Mike wasn't able to adopt Rex. He did a wonderful thing by passing the opportunity on to a fellow soldier. It was a heartbreaking end to the story of a man who loved Rex so much. Even if it was the right thing to do, it was a bummer. I'm happy Rex made it through all his tours and got to live out his life in retirement.

Good Book!