Book Review: Ruined City, by A.F. Stewart

Ruined City
A.F. Stewart

Initial Thoughts: Surprisingly good!

My Rating: 4 Stars

Summary:
In the Northern Pass stands the city of Elowen, the glittering guardian between the Empire of Aloquis and the Kingdoms of Immra. It exists proud and prosperous, never dreaming its dark past was coming to call...

On a bright winter’s day a stranger arrives in Elowen, bearing a secret. From this man a dark blight of ruin descends over the great city and this day becomes known as Winter’s Bane.

The day the world changed for the people of Elowen.
The day their existence turned into a recurring nightmare.

Read of the aftermath of revenge through the eyes of a shopkeeper, a child, ghosts, a blacksmith, a guardsman, an innkeeper, and even a King.

Twelve Stories, One Evil.

My Thoughts:

Okay, I didn't say initially "surprisingly good" because I thought the story was going to suck, or because I've never liked anything written by this author, but because (a) it's a pretty short story, and (b) I thought it was 12 separate even shorter stories.

I traditionally don't like short stories, and I picked this up even though I thought it was an anthology because a Goodreads group I'm in was reading it. So I thought, what the heck, it couldn't hoit!

What surprised me is, despite the above, I really liked it. The twelve stories were interwoven into one cohesive story that spanned decades. It's the same story, just told from different points of view. It did get a little glitchy at times spanning different time periods, and the adjustment at times was a bit rocky, but overall I didn't have a problem figuring out and following the timeline. 

Each POV is told in first person. While that may seem awkward and questionable, for me it worked because you spend so little time with each character, the first person POV gives you better insight into their thoughts and feelings. I liked being able to get into each character's head for our short visits.

If you're looking for a quick, engaging fantasy, give this one a try.

Today is the cover reveal of The Enlightening (Mackenzie Duncan Series #2) by Adrianne James.

Title: The Enlightening

Series: Mackenzie Duncan Series #2

Author: Adrianne James

Genre: NA Paranormal

Release Date: December 6,2013

Add to your Want to Read list on Goodreads

Mackenzie Duncan found out that pack life wasn’t for her. Now she is running for the second time in the six months since she was bitten and turned into a Werewolf. But this time, she isn’t alone. This time, she has Geoff and Liam with her, two very hot Werewolves vying for her heart. But her companions aren't her focus. The only thing she can focus on is getting far from her old pack and their murderous ways. Only, she doesn’t just want to run. She wants to warn every pack she can that their lives are in danger too. No one should be turned against their will like she was and no other pack should have to surrender to the ideas of a centuries old, power hungry woman. Not only does Mackenzie have to deal with her crazy ex-pack leader sending people out to kill her, she has to keep both men at arm’s length (and that proves to be much more difficult than she thought), but she finds out more about her own life and heritage than she ever thought imaginable. And suddenly, everything makes sense...

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About Adrianne James

Growing up, Adrianne couldn't get her hands on enough books to satisfy her need for the make believe. If she finished a novel and didn't have a new one ready and waiting for her, she began to create her own tales of magic and wonder. Now, as an adult, books still make up majority of her free time, and now her tales get written down to be shared with the world.

During the day, Adrianne uses her camera to capture life's stories for clients of all ages and at night, after her two children are tucked in bed; she devotes herself to her written work. Adrianne is living the life she always wanted, surrounded by art and beauty, the written word and a loving family. As a young adult and new adult author, Adrianne James has plans to bring stories of growing characters, a little romance, and perhaps a little magic and mythology down the line for her readers to enjoy.

Website Facebook Twitter Goodreads

Release Day! Guardians (Book 6: The Shoma), by Lola StVil

Purchase on Amazon

In order to reunite the Council and save both our world and theirs, the Guardians need to assemble three missing pieces of an ancient relic called The Shoma. But their search is derailed by their love lives and entanglements. Surrounded by evil and under the threat of annihilation our lives depend on this one team. But with all the sex, scandal and secrets, who has time to save the world?

About Lola StVil

Lola was seven when she first came to this country from Port-au-Prince, Haiti. She attended Columbia College in Chicago, where her main focus was creative writing. In addition to plays, she also writes screenplays and short stories.

She has been commissioned to write for ABC, CBS and Princeton University. She won the NAACP award for her play "The Bones of Lesser Men". In addition to being nominated for LA Weekly awards. Her work has also received positive reviews from The LA Times, Variety and LA Weekly.

Website Facebook Twitter

Guardians Series

Book 1: The Girl The prophecy says I will fall in love with team leader and Angel, Marcus Cane. The prophecy also says that our love will cause his mission to fail and end the world. Whatever. This human is not worried. Why? Because I do not intend to fall in love with Marcus. The truth is I hate him. I hate his warm brown eyes with flecks of gold, his chiseled face and broad shoulders. I hate how over protective he is just because a few thousand demons are after me. In fact, I couldn't care less about Marcus or his perfect telekinetic girlfriend. And when I see him holding her, I don’t die a little inside…

Add to Your Goodreads Shelf | Purchase on Amazon

 

Book 2: The Fallout

Just because she has wings, doesn’t mean she’s an Angel…

It's front page news on every Angel gossip rag:“Marcus & Ameana: Gone The Way Of “Brad & Jennifer.”So, Who Is The “Angelina?” Emmy Baxter—a mere mortal!” Ameana tries to avoid her ex and his new love by focusing on the other evil out to destroy the team. But soon her pain turns to fury. And before the end…a girl plots revenge, a leader is on the edge and an Angel falls. Add to Your Goodreads Shelf | Purchase on Amazon  

Book 3: The Turn

There. Will. Be. Blood. After the Council hands down a severe punishment, A Guardian declares war on the Angel world.

Before the end Lives will be lost Love will be tested And blood WILL flow... Add to Your Goodreads Shelf | Purchase on Amazon    

Book 4: The TriplexThe team finds the locaton of the Triplex, but in order to destroy it and save the world, a horrific decision must be made. Can Marcus do what he needs to do in order to complete the mission? Or will his heart get in the way...Add to Your Goodreads Shelf | Purchase on Amazon

       

Book 5, Part 1: The Quo

WARNING: This book contains a scene in chapter 20 that is for mature audiences only. Readers can skip this chapter without missing any info vital to the plot. A team divided. A leader in turmoil. A love tested. Now, it's the heroes who need saving Add to Your Goodreads Shelf | Purchase on Amazon   Book 5, Part 2: The Lyris The end of the world is not coming; it's here An impossible decision... A massive war... A Guardian silenced forever... (Please note chapters 29 & 30 are for mature audiences) Purchase on Amazon  

Short Stories (THIS BOOK HAS SPOILERS, SO IT IS BEST READ AFTER BOOK 1 (The Girl)) Please note this is a book of short stories about the Guardians and their lives before the mission. This book is 20k words long and has nine short stories including *Julian's Core *Rio's secret crush *Julian & Femi's first meeting *The days & nights of Tony-Tone and more...

Add to Your Goodreads Shelf | Purchase on Amazon

Short Stories From Book 5

Can't get enough "Guardians?"

Read these short stories AFTER reading book 5 part 2 and find out:

Why Marcus made the decision he did at the end of book 5.2

How Jay and Miku hooked up for the first time

and where Mouse came from!

Purchase on Amazon

 

Friday FUN!!

Okay, this is only one picture, and if you've seen the commercial, you'll instantly appreciate the humor in this. My brother posted on facebook today, and I just *had* to share!

Enjoy your Friday!

Book Review: Dangerous, by Alycia Linwood

Dangerous
Alycia Linwood

Initial Thoughts: Not an empathetic heroine.

My Rating: 3.5 Stars

Summary:
Ria is an 18-year-old girl who has just started going to the University of Magic, a special university for those who have one of the four elements: fire, water, air and earth. There she meets Michael, a boy whose element is different from hers, which makes their romantic involvement seem impossible because mixing of elements can have horrible consequences. She also feels threatened by Adrian, a very dangerous magic disease carrier. Magic disease, which surged as a result of bad mixing of elements, turns people into cold-hearted killers, who have a strong desire to take someone's element as they do not have their own. Ria's best friend, Paula, is fascinated by Adrian like most of the girls at the University and wants him to help her with her research about the disease. All Ria's beliefs are put to test when she starts having the symptoms of the disease and the only person she can turn to is Adrian.

My Thoughts:
I think the first half of this book moved slowly. I felt like a car with its tires spinning in the mud...it tries hard, but it's not going anywhere, and no matter how hard you hit the gas, you don't move forward.

There's a lot of mundane college life in the beginning, and there was a little too much internalization followed by repeating the character's thoughts in dialogue. So I felt like I kept reading the same thing twice. And waaaaaay too many exclamation points; it made it seem like everyone was so uber-excited that they're shouting all the time.

I wasn't drawn to the main character at all. She seemed a little harsh to me, very narrow-minded. You can blame it on her up-bringing, but her best friend had the same up-bringing and yet was more accepting of those with the disease. I kind of understand why the author set up Ria this way, in order to show her change and grow, but over-all, the girl is selfish and not that likeable.

As to her friends, Paula and Michael, they're pretty one-dimensional. They didn't seem to have many layers.

Adrian, however, was an interesting character. Adrian saves the story, so to speak. He's a bad boy--and yes, he's a *bad* boy to the point of being an utter dick--but there's still some intriguing about him. And as the story unfolds, you understand he's the product of his environment. Society made him into a dick. His character runs hot and cold...just when you start feeling sorry for him, he pulls out the dick card and you start hating him again (and honestly, many times he pulls out the dick card because Ria's does some asinine thing to hurt him...again).

Halfway through the book, I started getting more interested...and this is the result of Ria and Adrian clashing, and the story actually starting to unfold. I liked how some of the other minor characters were in the gray area...unable to tell whose side they're on. This made the story interesting. And I was curious enough to read it all the way through to see how it ended. You have to wonder how much Ria changed after all!

While I wasn't wowed by the first book, I'm intrigued enough by Adrian's story specifically to give the next book a chance.

Book Review: A Warm Place to Call Home (A Demon's Story), by Michael Siemsen

A Warm Place to Call Home
Michael Siemsen

 Initial Thoughts: Not Your Average Demon.

My Rating: 4 Stars

Summary:
Frederick is a demon. Born in Maryland in the early 1980's, he hasn't a clue where he came from or why, but feels an irresistible desire to occupy a human body. Once inside, he finds the previous occupants' consciousness and memories forever erased, an inevitable side effect that gives Frederick pause when switching bodies, but not so much as to truly halt his ongoing enjoyment of human lives. In various bodies, he travels the world for decades--aimless--sampling cultures and experiencing life from the points of view of males, females, young, old, rich, poor.

Now, Frederick has an urge to return to his roots in America, explore the mystery of his origin, find someone to love, and settle down for a while. In his hometown, his mission bears fruit much faster than he expected, as person after person presents themselves, and following his impulses, he is lead directly to love, tragedy, answers, and the humanity he never knew he wanted.

My Thoughts:
Okay, I actually fluctuated on this rating, because while interesting and well-written and had a great voice and tone, we have to face facts. Frederick's a dick. Seriously. Must be that ingrained demon essentia or something, but it's kind of hard to emphasize with or like a dick.

Of course, once you read the whole book, then you go, "Oh! I see now!" Yeah, it's that kind of book. You have to read the whole thing to understand Frederick and where he's coming from (or, in this instance, where he "came" from).

The sex scenes? I don't know if Frederick thinking he "was the man" in the sack was written tongue-in-cheek, or if Frederick was really supposed to be that good in the sack, because as written? Nope. Didn't do it for me. LOL The jury is still out on what the author intended on that score. (Score! Yeah, I said it...)

Plot-wise, it started off slooooowwwwww. I could have used a little less of Frederick's inner musings to get on with the story. There's a lot of inner musings in the beginning, however, there are some doozy plot twists at the end. The book made like a pretzel and played with your  mind, man.

And you really want to blow your mind? It will be properly blown when you literally read the last line of the book. That had me stewing and thinking for *days*. Now that's the kind of ending that sticks with you.

So, despite the main character getting off to a sketchy start, the book ended with a solid 4 stars.

Book Review: Darkest Legacy, by Allyson Gottlieb

Darkest Legacy
Allyson Gottlieb

Initial Thoughts: A good read

My Rating: 3+ Stars

Summary:
Everyone has secrets they'd prefer stayed buried. But information wants to be free... and so does Tamara Kingsley's ex-lover, incarcerated on the maximum-security prison planet, Alpha.

Tamara has done things she's not proud of, but that was years ago. Now the headmistress of the Silvermist School of Magic for Girls, she has an honest life, one that makes her happy. For the last twenty years she's fought like hell to keep it that way, and she thought she'd succeeded.

She's about to find out just how wrong she was to think her past was dead and gone.

My Thoughts:

Okay, so this is short. I usually don't read short stories or novellas because, to me, I don't have enough time to invest myself in the characters or the story. I usually come away feeling a little unsatisfied...like I left the table before desert. :) I wasn't aware when I picked up this book that it was a novella. Oops. Oh well. I've read it, so therefore I shall review it!

Despite the shortness of the story, the characters were pretty well-developed. I liked Tamara, and I liked how she wasn't perfect in her youth. In fact, she is probably pretty typical as a young lady who is charmed by a sweet, hot charmer...seeing what she wants to see and poo-pooing the advice from friends that "things ain't right in boy-world". And as far as her ex-lover? You don't really get to know him. I wasn't drooling over the bad boy (and I usually do, or at least, I love books where I do!), or hating him, or anything. 

I was invested enough in the story to see how it ended...I was trying to figure out if things would end on a good note or bad note...and it ends pretty much how you think it might (but you never know where these characters will go!)

The biggest problem I had was the flashing from past to present. It was a jolt the first time, and I had to re-read to make sure I knew what I was reading...there's no warning at the first flash-back, and it took me by surprise. Also, Tamara was set up as pretty much a friend-less loner in the beginning of the book, so the introduction half-way through of her "best friend" seemed a little contrived and hey! Another surprise.

Overall, enjoyable with a few glitches.