Living Life One Page At A Time
Ordinary Girlz Book Reviews
  • Home
  • Book Reviews
  • Author Interviews/ Featured Authors
  • Upcoming Blog Tours
  • Contest
  • Trailers/ Podcasts/ Webisodes

Onyx Webb Book Three by Richard Fenton & Andrea Waltz

11/1/2016

2 Comments

 
Picture
The Onyx Webb series follows the unusual life of Onyx Webb along with a central group of characters in various locations and times. The billionaire Mulvaney family, piano prodigy Juniper Cole and her brother Quinn, paranormal show hosts Cryer and Fudge, and a few others make up the core of the series. Written like a book version of a supernatural soap opera, each character’s story moves forward with most every episode. It may appear that the characters are entirely unrelated and yet episode by episode, the connections will become clearer. Like being an inch away from a spider web, with each book, the web will move further and further away revealing the full story of every character and most importantly, the stunning conclusion for Onyx Webb herself.
In Book Three... It’s in the late 30's and Onyx and Ulrich have started a new life in Crimson Cove, Oregon. It’s 2010, and Koda Mulvaney is picking up the pieces of the latest tragedy and still looking for the girl in the mirror. Paranormal show hosts Cryer and Fudge have a run in with a ghost at the Open Arms. It’s the 60's and Declan Mulvaney is building the family fortune - a good intent with horrible consequences.  

​First of all I would like to say thanks again for inviting me back on this tour, I have really been enjoying the series so far. I started reading this book on the Plane from Toronto to Florida Canadian Thanksgiving weekend into the next day and was riveted the whole flight, which is great because I'm really not a fan of flying. I think I finished it the next day while I was sitting by the pool.
​In this installment you are beginning to get more answers to the questions you were left with in episode 2, For every question answered I found myself with five or six more. Which I have to admit is both frustrating and thrilling because you know that there are more books to come. In this book Onyx is dead which we that have read the book is no shocker the book starts out telling you she's a ghost. But we are left with more questions about why she stayed.  The story slips time lines from the past to present so this really isn't a stand alone novel you will need to read the two previous books in the series or I hate to say it you will be hopelessly lost.   
​I think that this is a series that a lot of people could get behind this series. It appeals to several different genres and I don't think that the horror element is very strong in this series. Heavy on the thriller and paranormal but nothing that is too frightening. 

​I gave this book a 4 out of 5 star rating

Buy Links

​Amazon CA


​I have to apologize for the late post I have had technical difficulties all day. Better late than never, I guess my deepest apologises to Teddy and the author Richard and Andrea for the late posting. 

2 Comments

Onyx Webb Episode 4-5-6 by Richard Fenton & 

7/20/2016

2 Comments

 
Picture
Publisher: Courage Crafters Inc. (July 9, 2015)
Category: Paranormal Suspense, Paranormal Romance, Supernatural Thriller
ISBN: 978-0990751823
ASIN: B011PUMDKI
Available in: Print & ebook,  228 Pages

Onyx Webb is a complex multi-genre mash-up that combines elements of supernatural suspense, crime, horror, romance, and more. The Onyx Webb series follows the unusual life of Onyx Webb along with a central group of characters in various locations and times.

The billionaire Mulvaney family, piano prodigy Juniper Cole and her brother Quinn, paranormal show hosts Cryer and Fudge, and a few others make up the core of the series. Written like a book version of your favorite TV series (think: supernatural soap opera like American Horror Story) each character’s story moves forward with most every episode. It may appear that the characters are entirely unrelated and yet episode by episode, the connections will become clearer. Like being an inch away from a spider web, with each book, the web will move further and further away revealing the full story of every character and most importantly, the stunning conclusion for Onyx Webb herself.

Hey guys I'm back, to say its been a while is a bit of an understatement. I've been super busy with real life and my real job, so this review popped up at just the right time as I needed to escape reality for a few hours and just decompress from all the crazy around here.
I escaped the reality here but to go sucked into the crazy of the Onyx Webb series. I read the first book and I really think to get the most understanding of these books you will have to start at the beginning. This book is told through multiple perspectives and you will definitely need the first book to get a grasp of the characters back story and their motives going through the series.
The description of the book is very accurate it almost reads like a script, it would make an interesting concept for a television show the way it moves through timelines and changes POV from one character to the next. I took me a few chapters to really grasp the connections between all the characters but as the series moves forward everything just seems to slide into place, and you find your self thinking of course this makes perfect sense,as the connection makes itself clear.
I thought the books were really well written the characters are interesting and unique and the authors really keep your interest up and keep you motivated to keep turning those pages. You want to discover why Onyx stays with her husband, why the billionaire play boy is such an ass, why no other leads were followed up in the Juniper Cole case.
(just teases no spoilers here) It has the right balance between paranormal and mystery, suspense and drama. I think most people who are into these genres will enjoy this series. and I highly recommend picking yourself up a copy. the links are below. If you haven't already go to our contest page or click on the link and you can enter to receive a free copy of Onyx Webb

I gave this book a 4 out of 5 star rating.



Buy Links

Amazon
Barnes and Noble
IndieBound
Book Depository

Excerpt from Onyx Webb

Onyx Webb: Book Two
 
By Richard Fenton & Andrea Waltz
 
Koda was okay with spending a week in Miami, considering some of the best clubs in the world could be found in South Beach. Plus Orlando had turned into a bit of a circus ever since the paparazzi found him with Mika a week earlier. Once the TMZ clip hit the Internet, the one block trip down Church Street to the MPI offices every morning was like the running of the bulls, only the bulls were a gaggle of screaming girls. 
But going to Miami meant leaving Orlando—more to the point, it meant leaving the mirror. And, if she appeared again, it meant missing the girl.
The girl.
Though Koda had only seen the girl that one time—the night of the Restoring Savannah Foundation event—he couldn’t get her out of his mind. It was something in her eyes, something that compelled him to learn more about her…
To understand who she was…
And where she was…
And how she got there.
He was so obsessed that he considered taking the mirror with him. In the end, he thought better of it.
Now, on the third day of the conference—getting away from Orlando, which allowed him to think of other things—he had to admit he felt better.
Then Dane called.
Koda reacted pretty much the way Dane expected. “You want me to meet with a medium? What would make you come up with a nutty idea like that?”
“That’s not important,” Dane said, promising himself to avoid sharing details about his parents and Lily Dale. “What matters is that I think this guy can help.”
“You know what would happen if something like this were to get out, right?” Koda said. “I’m a public figure, Dane. It would be a disaster.”
“That’s the thing, Koda,” Dane said. “The meeting would be completely confidential. No one would ever know a thing about it.”
 Koda remained silent.
“It might give you some closure,” Dane said.
“What’s his name?” Koda asked.
“Vooubasi,” Dane said.
“Vooubasi what?”
“Nothing, just Vooubasi,” Dane said. “Like Madonna, I guess.”
“And what? I just sit and talk to him?”
“Exactly,” Dane said.



Author Links
Website: www.OnyxWebb.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/OnyxWebbSeries
Twitter: www.Twitter.com/Onyxwebb
Pinterest: www.Pinterest.com/OnyxWebbSeries
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5835138.Andrea_Waltz

2 Comments

The Union Series T.H. Hernandez

3/3/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Genre: Young Adult, Speculative 
Published: June 16th 2015 by T.H. Hernandez

Heartbroken, grief-stricken, and wracked with guilt, seventeen-year-old Evan Taylor returned to the Union, leaving behind the boy she loved.

Now, she and her friends must find a way to do the impossible – warn the citizens of the Union about an impending rebel attack without alerting the government and risking retaliation against her friends in the Ruins.

When every move Evan makes is thwarted, it soon becomes clear she's being watched. Faced with a daily fight to stay one step ahead of her pursuers, she returns to the Ruins. But life in the Ruins has its own dangers, and soon she’s fighting a different battle – to stay alive long enough to discover the truth.

The Ruins is the second book in The Union Series by T.H. Hernandez. I received a reviewers copy of the 1st and 2nd book of the series when I joined the union tour back in February. click here to read The Union Review

I was really lucky that I had a copy of the 2nd installment of The Union Series when I finished The Union; to be honest I hate to wait for the next book in a series to come out and prefer to binge and read a whole series at a time when I can.

I was so happy to see the majority of the main characters were still around in The Ruins and that the chemistry between the characters was still there and had evolved into something a little more. I was so glad that Evan's character while still maintaining her impulsive and hotheaded nature was able to evolve into a truly interesting heroine.

In order to learn more about the uprising Evan and Colin join the ranks and infiltrate the uprising camp training with their soldiers trying to gain what little information they can use to take down Walker and his gang. Once they are in it will prove very difficult to get back out.

Like Evan I feel like the more information I get the more Information I feel like I'm missing, like I have the edge pieces to a puzzle but I am missing a major portion of the pieces and I can't quite get the picture to come together. I have come up with and dismissed so many theories through out this book I can't even begin to tell you.

I was a little disappointed that there wasn't a little more Cyrus in this book, I got sick of Bryce pretty quickly he was just one of those characters I didn't like but wasn't quite sure why. But was totally stoked when Cyrus made his way back in when it counted the most. I don't think I could have stood Bryce being the hero.

I think that even if you haven't read the first book you would be able to catch up fairly quickly and not be lost. This book will have you running a gamut of emotions from laughing out loud to yelling at your tablet screen; and highly recommend it to lovers of YA and distopian fiction.

I gave this book a 4 out of 5 star rating

Buy links
Amazon.ca



Picture
Recovering from a near-fatal gunshot wound, eighteen-year-old Evan Taylor must find a way to stop the Uprising, an underground movement committed to destroying the Union, before her homeland is attacked.

After spending the last four months in the Ruins trying to get back to the only girl he's ever loved, nineteen-year-old Cyrus needs to get past his jealousy over Evan's involvement with Bryce or risk losing her again.

Together, Evan and Cyrus join with their friends to devise a plan to save both the Ruins and the Union, but when the pressure’s on, bickering and infighting threaten to undermine their goals. New information revealing a weakness in the Uprising is uncovered, forcing them to act quickly or risk losing everything.

With the help of old friends and new allies they set out to make history, but it might just take a miracle for everyone to make it out alive.

The Uprising is the third installment in The Union Series. I was recently asked if I would like to review this book as I had recently taken part in the book tour for the first book in the series. I was glad there had only been a bout 3 weeks in between reading the first two and the third so I still had the characters and the premise of the book fresh in my head.

I have to say this was probably my favorite book in the series. The kids are getting so close to having all the puzzle pieces if they can just sort them all out so that the picture makes sense then they will really be able to make a difference.

I was so glad to have Cyrus back but once Bryce stepped back into the story, Cyrus becomes distant and annoying. I was so agitated by the couples constant fighting and jealous mood swings, I was tempted to throw my tablet at the wall a couple of times Evan and Cyrus waste so much time not communicating or being petty and stupid that they are about to miss out on something truly special.

Armed finally with enough intel the kids band together to really hurt the uprising where it counts and hopefully take down the organization but in order to do that they are going to have to split into teams and strike at the same time.

I was so glad to see that the author didn't gloss over the fact that lives were lost and that children were responsible for taking the life of another child. Most YA novel gloss over the fact that the hero/heroine in the story just do what needs to be done without any real ramifications to those actions. So while I felt bad for Evan I was glad that Hernandez gave her panic attacks and PTSD I think its really responsible to show that there are real consequences to action like that. I felt like it really humanized Evans character like nothing else.

While I see that the cover of The Uprising says its the final book in The Union Series the end had me raring to go for a next installment, there are a lot of loose ends to tie up and the ending had me wired. Which to be honest is not a good thing at 1:30 am ( thankfully the hubby is away on business ). It lends itself perfectly for a fourth book and I am sure that fans of the series would agree with me that seriously we want to know what happens next.

This is a great series and I really recommend it to YA and Distopian Lovers

I gave this book a 4.5 out of 5 star rating.

Buy Link

Amazon.ca




0 Comments

The Union T. H. Hernández

2/10/2016

2 Comments

 
Picture
The Union Genre: Young Adult/Speculative
Published: November 18th, 2014

After global warming and a second civil war devastated the former United States, two different societies rose from the ashes – the Union, a towering high-tech utopia, hugging the perimeter of the continent, and the devastated, untamed midsection known as the Ruins.

Seventeen-year-old Evan Taylor has an easy, privileged life in the Union. What she doesn’t have is any idea what to do with the rest of her life. She only knows she wants to do something meaningful, to make a difference in the lives of others.

When she’s kidnapped and taken into the Ruins as a pawn in a dispute involving her boyfriend, Bryce, her ideal world is turned upside down. What she learns while in the Ruins shakes her faith in everything she’s ever known, from Bryce, to her family, and even the Union itself.

Now Evan must choose whether to stay with Cyrus, the sexy, resourceful survivor who believes she’s in the Ruins for a reason, or return to the only life she’s ever known. But when she stumbles upon a dangerous plot that threatens both worlds, her decision could tear her apart.


Its been a while since I had any real time to devote to just sitting down with a good book and falling right into their world. I find myself with some extra free time this time of year, so I was thrilled to be asked to join The Union Tour.

I will be honest it took me a few chapters to warm up to Evan, she came across a little weak, and a bit of a push over  in the beginning. Like most heroines in YA novels Evan tends to act on her emotions and doesn't always have the full facts and ends up reacting before having a plan in place ​which ends up putting her in danger or gross over reactions to situations which leads to looking like an ass . She really starts to grow and find herself while in the ruins and realizes that maybe this is where she is suppose to be and who she is suppose to become. She is destined for more important things.  While she can't ignore  a possible uprising that puts both the people of the Union and the people in the Ruins in danger, she has no idea how to stop it or even how to go about formulating a plan. All Evan knows is that for her entire life everything she learned in the history books was a lie, and that people will go to great lengths to keep the ruins a secret, and now her life and the lives of those she loves are in danger.

I liked this book a lot​, I thought the characters were well thought out, well rounded with great back stories. I will be honest I wasn't a big fan of Bryce there is just something about that guy I wasn't feeling it.  The flow of the book was great making you excited for the events to follow leading into the second book in the series The Ruins. There was the right amount of action and adventure vs budding romance and teenage angst to keep you interested and wanting more. Highly recommend for lovers of dystopian and YA.

I gave this book a 3.5 out of 5 star rating ​

​Check out the first three chapters for free https://www.wattpad.com/story/46383864-the-union

Buy Links
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23266680-the-union
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Union-T-H-Hernandez-ebook/dp/B00P0D4VHU/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-union-theresa-h-hernandez/1120967864?ean=9780990868828
Powells: http://www.powells.com/book/the-union-9780990868828
Book Depository: http://www.bookdepository.com/Union-Theresa-Hernandez/9780990868828




​

2 Comments

Anthony by Harold J. Fischel

5/25/2015

2 Comments

 
Picture
_Life has never been easy for Anthony, the secret love child of a well-known US general and his beautiful mistress. After his father perishes in a plane crash, his cancer-stricken mother, Yuni, is forced to move with him to a tiny New York City apartment. And to make matters worse, he's flagged as an easy target for neighborhood bullies, who constantly terrorize him inside and outside of school.

But after a brutal attack prompts him to fight back in a fit of rage, things start to turn around for the young boy. He shows promise joining the swim and wrestling teams in school, and begins to grow into the tall and physically fit body he inherited from his father.

Just when Anthony's situation seems to be getting better, however, tragedy strikes his life yet again. In order to put the pieces back together, he turns to some of the strong female figures in his life. But it's the one girl whom he least expects who may have the power to heal him-shedding his image as the illegitimate son through the magic of love and helping him leave his tragic childhood behind.

Its been a while since I have been on any virtual tours so I was very happy to accept when Teddy emailed me and asked if \i would be interested in joining this tour

First of all I will say this there are a lot of things I loved about this book, It was a great coming of age tale, in which the author explores a lot of different social issues, and over coming adversities, the loss of loved ones and battling through the tough times. The story flowed well and you will actually like these characters.
Even when you don't like the situation, the characters are still likeable and make you root for that happy ending.

There were only a couple of things that were off for me, the speech the characters used was too grammatically correct, no one I know ever talks that way.  As much as I loved the story I found the last few chapters of the story where rushed and actually not needed in the story, for me it took away from the story, I would have been quite happy to have had the story finish after the trial and leave it at that. With a book with so many different social hot topics already peppered through the book I though adding that one more to the pot at the end was over kill.  All in all I thought it was a very good book, and have already recommended it to several of my friends,

I gave this book a 4 out of 5 star rating


Buy Anthony by Harold J. Fischel:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Book Depository
Kobo



Picture
About the Author

Harold J. Fischel, a graduate of Washington & Lee University and the NYU School of Law, has lived and worked on four different continents. His family fled the Netherlands shortly after the Nazi invasion, moving to Curacao and Aruba before settling in the United States in 1952.

After law school, Fischel served the US Army in Germany, later retiring as a captain. Since then, he again lived in the Netherlands, before returning to the United States to work for the US subsidiary of a Chinese company.

Fischel is now retired and living in Michigan with his wife, Jan, and their  beloved Labrador retriever. He has two daughters, five wonderful grandchildren, and two great sons-in-law. Since retiring, he has published two novels and is working on a third.

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/harold.fischel
Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8112296.Harold_J_Fischel


2 Comments

At the Sharp End of Lightning by N.R. Bates 

5/4/2015

4 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
Publisher:  NR Bates (January 30, 2015)
Category: Epic Fantasy, Magic Realism, Literary Fiction, Celtic Mythology,  History
Tour Date: May/June, 2015
Available in: Print & ebook, 239 Pages

AT THE SHARP END OF LIGHTNING is the  tale of family, of loss and sacrifice, of unexpected gifts and coping with disability and new abilities set against the backdrop of climate change occurring across parallel worlds.

The intertwined worlds of Oceanlight and Earth are no longer hidden from view of each other. In one realm, Yalara Narika, a winged Sea Sprite, searches for her family and she encounters a deadly blue haze at sea. Escaping the poison makes her realize that her world, Oceanlight, is experiencing sudden and catastrophic environmental change.

Meanwhile, in the safe suburban normality of North Wales, Einion Morgan Alban, a restless youth with haemophilia, is nearly murdered by a man in a white suit who intentionally shoves him off a cliff. If Yalara and Einion don’t uncover the connections between their worlds and near-deaths, it will have dire consequences for the worlds they live in. Book one of the OCEANLIGHT series.

When I was contacted by Teddy to join this tour it had been a while since I had done any reviews for anyone other than myself. Having gone back to work outside the house has really put a damper on my reading life, knowing that I had a few weeks off to sit down with a couple of books that where a little out of the norm of what I would choose for myself to read I thought why not.

I'm glad that I did, this story is well thought out, with plenty of description, which for me at time was a little too much, I wanted to move on with the story and not get caught up in all the little details ( I have a pretty awesome imagination ) This story can both be interpreted as light and dark depending on your mood. I was very impressed with the thought and planning that had to have gone into this book because for the most part I found it flawless, in both the flow of the story and the dialogue between the characters. The author did a great job enfolding these parallel worlds, this is a great beginning to what I am sure is going to be an excellent series.

I gave this book a 4 out 5 star rating

Buy Links

Amazon
Barnes and Noble

Picture
About the Author

NR Bates was born in London, grew up in Wales, and lived in Canada and Bermuda. He shares his life with his wife,seven cats, one dog and the tropical wildlife of lizards, wolf spiders and ant colonies that seek out a better life indoors. He is an oceanographer and scientist, and has published more than one hundred and twenty scientific papers on ocean chemistry, climate change and ocean acidification.

He is a Senior Scientist at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences and Professor of Ocean Biogeochemistry at the University of Southampton, UK. His novels focus on epic fantasy and magic realism, and inspired by his deep love of the ocean and environmental sciences

Connect with the author

Website: nrbates.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/NR-Bates/1536689869946441
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NRBatesAuthor
4 Comments

The Iron Fey Series Julie Kagawa

2/12/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
I think for this review I am going to review this series as a whole instead of each individual book, as usual I will add the book blurbs first but I will save my review for last.

The Iron King:  Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth - that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil, no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

The Iron Daughter :
Half Summer faery princess, half human, Meghan has never fit in anywhere. Deserted by the Winter prince she thought loved her, she is prisoner to the Winter faery queen. As war looms between Summer and Winter, Meghan knows that the real danger comes from the Iron fey—ironbound faeries that only she and her absent prince have seen. But no one believes her.

Worse, Meghan's own fey powers have been cut off. She's stuck in Faery with only her wits for help. Trusting anyone would be foolish. Trusting a seeming traitor could be deadly. But even as she grows a backbone of iron, Meghan can't help but hear the whispers of longing in her all-too-human heart.

The Iron Queen:
I thought it was over. That my time with the fey, the impossible choices I had to make, the sacrifices of those I loved, was behind me. But a storm is approaching, an army of Iron fey that will drag me back, kicking and screaming. Drag me away from the banished prince who's sworn to stand by my side. Drag me into the core of conflict so powerful, I'm not sure anyone can survive it.

This time, there will be no turning back.

The Iron Knight:
To cold faery prince Ash, love was a weakness for mortals and fools. His own love had died a horrible death, killing any gentler feelings the Winter prince might have had. Or so he thought.

Then Meghan Chase - a half human, half fey slip of a girl - smashed through his barricades, binding him to her irrevocably with his oath to be her knight. And when all of Faery nearly fell to the Iron fey, she severed their bond to save his life. Meghan is now the Iron Queen, ruler of a realm where no Winter or Summer fey can survive.

With the unwelcome company of his arch rival, Summer Court prankster Puck, and the infuriating cait sith Grimalkin, Ash begins a journey he is bound to see through to its end - a quest to find a way to honor his vow to stand by Meghan's side.

To survive in the Iron Realm, Ash must have a soul and a mortal body. But the tests he must face to earn these things are impossible. And along the way Ash learns something that changes everything. A truth that challenges his darkest beliefs and shows him that, sometimes, it takes more than courage to make the ultimate sacrifice.

I blew through this series pretty fast each one taking about 48 hours to read, the last one took me about a week probably because of the change of POV and the quest even though it terms of actual days didn't take long but it dragged a bit. I loved this story because for one I love fairies and Puck is one of my all time favorite pranksters and it was awesome to see him portrayed is such a different light. I enjoyed the banter between Puck and Ash, you get a hint of the history between them that they were friends or two creatures that loved to hate each other, something deeper than what was showing on the surface at any rate. I loved that the heroine was making it up as she went, she didn't pretend to be a bad ass, she didn't sit and cry about the task at hand, she just accepted that this was her knew reality and she was going to do the best she could, and try and figure out a way for all sides to win refusing to be a pawn in anyone's game. The love story between her and Ash is complicated and at times a little messy, but when the hero mans up boy does he ever going literally to the ends of the earth to be with the girl he loves. Just a fantastic series all around one that I think most people can get into a little something for everyone.

0 Comments

Witches of East End Melissa de la Cruz

1/30/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
The three Beauchamp women--Joanna and her daughters Freya and Ingrid--live in North Hampton, out on the tip of Long Island. Their beautiful, mist-shrouded town seems almost stuck in time, and all three women lead seemingly quiet, uneventful existences. But they are harboring a mighty secret--they are powerful witches banned from using their magic. Joanna can resurrect people from the dead and heal the most serious of injuries. Ingrid, her bookish daughter, has the ability to predict the future and weave knots that can solve anything from infertility to infidelity. And finally, there's Freya, the wild child, who has a charm or a potion that can cure most any heartache.

For centuries, all three women have been forced to suppress their abilities. But then Freya, who is about to get married to the wealthy and mysterious Bran Gardiner, finds that her increasingly complicated romantic life makes it more difficult than ever to hide her secret. Soon Ingrid and Joanna confront similar dilemmas, and the Beauchamp women realize they can no longer conceal their true selves. They unearth their wands from the attic, dust off their broomsticks, and begin casting spells on the townspeople. It all seems like a bit of good-natured, innocent magic, but then mysterious, violent attacks begin to plague the town. When a young girl disappears over the Fourth of July weekend, they realize it's time to uncover who and what dark forces are working against them.

I originally picked this book up even though its been in my TBR folder forever because my oldest daughter and I started watching the series on Netflix, and I kinda wanted to compare the two plot lines. For the most part I really enjoyed this book who doesn't love an underdog story. Witches being banned from using their magic, a mother forced to watch her children die over several life times I mean come on how awesomely heart breaking is that? The characters complimented each other nicely Freya the party girl, Ingrid the stoic one, and the mom that keeps them together. It wasn't a terribly fast read for me usually something like this I would blow through in a day or two but this one took me a few weeks to get through, not sure if was the pacing of the book or just me being in a winter slump who knows, it was okay, I am not sure if I will read the others in this series anytime soon, but its not off the table.

I gave this book a 3 out of 5 star rating

0 Comments

Guild Assassin ( Curse Breaker #1 ) Berley Kerr 

1/26/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
  • SBN (eBook): 9781620074947
  • ISBN (Paperback): 9781620074954
  • ISBN (Hardcover): 9781620074961
  • ISBN (Smashwords): 9781620074978
  • Number of Pages: 332
  • Language: English
  • Imprint: Curiosity Quills Press
  • Publication Date: July 28, 2014

Wendy Magdalena Braca’s privileged upbringing in a Victorian mansion under three moons in Jupiter City comes to a screeching halt upon her mother’s murder and her father’s untimely demise.

Kicking and screaming, she is shipped off to Greenleaf Asylum for Troubled Girls, where she is interred for years until her ”rescue” by a strange guild that opens Wendy’s eyes to a new world - one teeming with intrigues, double crossings, and strange alliances. It is the world of Guild Assassins, made up of the Cæcus (normal humans), the Validus (magic-users), and Half-Breeds (demi-gods).

Though her head reels, Wendy is made of sterner stuff. She adjusts - up until she discovers she is the most special and powerful Validus known to exist, the Curse Breaker. Now that, at least, has to be a crock of you know what. Hasn’t it?

I picked up this book for review from Curiosity Quills Review back in September, It took me a while to get through it between work schedules and kids schedules.
I normally don't read a lot of steampunk novels but I really liked the premise of the story line so I thought I would give it a go.

Wendy is introduced in the story as a young girl who happens upon her mothers body after she has been brutally murdered. With no other suspects Wendy is tried and convicted for her mothers murder and then placed into a psychiatric hospital where she is physically assaulted by the doctors with the help of some of the male staff. This is where we see the manifestation of some her powers. After an attempted kidnapping she is rescued by a group of people that explain to her what she really is and her importance to their world.

Through Training she learns to harness her powers and becomes enveloped in the lives of her housemates. She obsessed with finding out the identity of her mothers killer, as she wrestles with the nightmares caused by her past traumas and the morality of being apart of an assassin's guild and what that means for her future.

I enjoyed the story it played out a little more like a sci fi novel for me with steam punk elements, It drove me crazy how the people in her life that rescued her and where there to help her were not always honest with her, and kept breaking her trust. She is a complex character one with a lot of faults as she tries to navigate her way in a world that is not what she believed filled with cloak and daggers mystery and intrigue. The flow of the novel was good for me a lot of action to keep you interested. some of the character interactions didn't quite make sense for me but over all the world the Kerr created was interesting and kept me going. I would love to see how the story plays out in the next installments.

I gave this book a 3 out 5 star rating



0 Comments

The Book of Life Deborah Harkness

12/5/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
After traveling through time in Shadow of Night, the second book in Deborah Harkness’s enchanting series, historian and witch Diana Bishop and vampire scientist Matthew Clairmont return to the present to face new crises and old enemies. At Matthew’s ancestral home at Sept-Tours, they reunite with the cast of characters from A Discovery of Witches--with one significant exception. But the real threat to their future has yet to be revealed, and when it is, the search for Ashmole 782 and its missing pages takes on even more urgency. In the trilogy’s final volume, Harkness deepens her themes of power and passion, family and caring, past deeds and their present consequences. In ancestral homes and university laboratories, using ancient knowledge and modern science, from the hills of the Auvergne to the palaces of Venice and beyond, the couple at last learn what the witches discovered so many centuries ago.

This is book 3 in Harkness's all souls trilogy.  I was a big fan of the first two books A Discovery of witches and Shadow of Night (click on the link to see reviews). I was having a major love hate relationship with this book when I read it. I had loved the first two books so much that I had really high hopes for the last book in the series, and the wait was so long for the conclusion that, for me it didn't quite live up to the hype that I gave it in my head. First off this book has a ton of characters in it, everyone you loved and hated from the previous books are in this book, so there is a lot going on. I usually don't have a huge problem with changing POV"s but there was a lot in this book. I did really enjoy the book, there is still plenty of drama going on this book and the love story IMO is great, but some of the plot changes had me a little confused, I was kind of hoping to finally get more answers in regards to Ashmole 782 and it origins, who created it why etc and I am not sure what the big deal was with the blood rage it was made out to be such a big deal, but yet it seemed to have a blah resolution. All in all this book was packed with story line, and once again I wanted to burrow away so I could enjoy this book in total silence because there was so much going on I could afford to be distracted. As much as I liked it I wasn't as in love with this book as I was with the first two, but it is definitely a series I would reread again. I don't think this would be a very good stand alone book, I think you would have to read the whole series to really enjoy it, other wise I think you would be quite lost with the amount of characters and all the goings on.


I gave this a 4 out of 5 star rating which is generous but it was mostly because I enjoyed the series and the characters so much as a whole.

0 Comments
<<Previous

    Reviewers : Kathy & Di

    Kathy :I love to read. I learned to read at a really early age and was never without something to read growing up.  Reading is a cheap easy vacation, when you can become so engrossed in what you are reading that you can see, smell, hear and taste everything in your minds eye.  I'm just a ordinary girl living life one page at a time.

    Di : I love all books with memorable characters, exciting adventures and real life tales. Reading is something that is a sensory experience for me. I can see, hear, taste and smell the adventure unfolding before me as if I were actually there. I come from a very long line of family readers and must have caught the reading bug from them. I rarely leave the house without a book in case I find myself with a spare few minutes to stick my nose into a story.



    Archives

    May 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    February 2012

    Categories

    All
    Action/ Adventure
    Adult
    Apocalyptic/ Distopian
    Biography
    Book Reviews
    Children's
    Children's
    Comedy
    Erotica
    Fantasy
    Fiction
    Historical Fiction
    Horror
    Paranormal / Paranormal Romance
    Romance
    Self Help
    Steampunk
    Suspense / Thriller
    Thriller / Suspence/Mystery
    Urban Fantasy
    Virtual Book Tour
    Virtual Book Tours
    Young Adult

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.