Invisible Fate Book Three: Alex Noziak (Invisible Recruits) by Mary Buckham

   Alex Noziak is in hot water again.  The witch/shaman was bitten by her shifter brother and has almost gotten herself killed.  The bite changed her and she now has more strength and hearing than she ever did before.  She refuses to deal with this fact since in the beginning of the book she has bigger problems.  Alex is being held captive somewhere that seems like it's underground with a young witch named Sabina.  They must figure out a way to escape before they are used for whatever awful plan their captor has for them.  While trying to escape, her new powers become more obvious.  She easily takes down the werewolves and others around her, even when outnumbered by a few.  Then there is the fact that while she is trying to escape, she is also dealing with the death of her brother by someone she trusted.  Bran, a powerful mage and her former lover, killed her brother after she had asked him to help her save him.  With betrayal and death trying to break down her defenses, Alex must put up a wall until she can deal with her emotions at another time.  For now, she must get herself and Sabina out of this awful place.
   Once Alex and Sabina are free, they reunite with Alex's team of preternaturals that help "police" others like themselves you could say.  They must band together to stop her and Sabina's Druid captor before he finds what he is looking for.  Because if he does, then everyone in the world will be in danger from the evil that will be unleashed upon it.  Much to her chagrin, Alex needs Bran's help to find and eliminate this threat.  Unfortunately, there is betrayal going on even in the inner workings of a council that Alex's father is on.  It is hard to say who to trust now and Alex's life is constantly in danger from the Druid that still chases her.  With so much power, one has to wonder if the team can stop this one?

   There are two other books before this one, but I hardly had any trouble at all jumping in and reading this as a stand alone.  You hit the ground running with this book and are never bored!  Watching Alex constantly battle for her life, as well as those that she cares for, reveals that she is much more than a snarky and hardened woman due to her life and circumstances.  She is not one to be able to just look the other way while harm is done to others.  And although the beginning of the book leads you to believe things are over with Bran, are they really?  He takes great pains to do whatever he can for Alex.  And the circumstances around her brother's death are much more complicated than what she knows.  As for the betrayal, it is rather hard to say who is untrustworthy in this book for quite a while!  It will keep you guessing!

Redemption (The Captured Series Book 5: Jack's Story) by Erica Stevens--Coming Soon!!

I found out recently that the next book in The Captive Series will be out within a few months!  Can't wait to read more about Jack!

Coming Spring 2014!
A year has passed since the war against Jack’s father that freed the humans from their roles as blood slaves and servants to the vampire race. Having left the palace behind in order to ensure that the outer towns are obeying the new laws, Jack struggles to come to terms with the grief and haunting memories that drove him from the palace in the first place. He’s content to lose himself in the outer lands and the obscurity that they offer him. That is, until he encounters Hannah.

Growing up in the small town of Chippman, Hannah had long ago accepted the fact that she would never leave it. When Jack walks into her life, and turns it upside down, she quickly realizes that not everything is what she’d believed it to be. Knowing that Jack will reject her if he learns the truth about her, Hannah struggles to fight her growing attraction to him. For though the town of Chippman seems normal on the outside, its residents harbor secrets that they’ve taken great pains to keep hidden. Secrets that have forced the town to live under the rule of the one man that could tear Jack and Hannah apart forever.

The Legacy of Kilkenny (Book 1) by Devyn Dawson

Normally I write a little about what the story is about before anything else, but I will be doing this review a little differently.  I am going to post the blurb from Amazon right below this paragraph and then talk about this particular novel.

Ireland has many secrets... this is one of them.

   For sixteen years, my life has been normal. Piedsville, Oklahoma isn't the tourist mecca of the world, but it's where I live. It's my junior year and I've known everyone since Kindergarten, everyone except her, Pru Phelan. She walked into my English class, my heart stopped. I'd never heard the name Phelan before, so I Googled it and found Phelan means wolf. What I didn't know, she was a werewolf and soon my destiny would change.

This is the story about the prophecy of the Great Wolf and how it relates to me. I'm Abel Casey, and I am the Great Wolf.

The Legacy of Kilkenny is a young adult story about werewolves, friendship, family, and fear. 

   There are pros and cons to this story and if you do not want to know more about the story before reading it, you should especially avoid the cons because they have some telling points to them!  

Pros:

-A relationship between a guy and a girl is nothing new, but it is nice to see a novel where they are not romantically involved.  Abel and Pru are great friends.  The only problem is that he likes her, but she has eyes for someone else.

-The idea of a Great Wolf that will have powers and such that normal weres don't is an intriguing idea.  You don't see this idea really fleshed out in this novel, but I am hoping it is in the following books.

-The jealousy of certain characters in the story seems rather realistic when you think about how you are dealing with high school students in the book.

-Pru is not just going to "give it up" to a guy, if you know what I mean.  Being the only girl besides her mom in a pack where it seems pretty accepted to mate with others unless you are tied down, it's nice to know she is not.

Cons:

-Why are there no other females in a pack like this? There is Pru and Dolly until Shaynie comes.

-Why was Shaynie sent to this pack exactly? They never really give a definite reason and we know little to none about her past. In a pack as tight as this someone is not just brought in.  There are always good reasons.  She seems like just a random extra that was thrown in to annoy Pru.

-Speaking of Pru, she has all of these dreams and intuitions but we don't exactly see them coming to fruition. Like how she right off says she knows she will kill Parker soon, but through the whole book that never happens. Then she knows something is up with Shaynie, but nothing comes of that either.

-What does Arien want with Pru? We know he wants to know who the Great Wolf is and all, but it sure seems like he has a thing for Pru, and somehow Allie finds out. How exactly did she find out?

-Josie just disappears off of the face of the planet. Who knows what happens to her?

I just have so many questions about the characters in the book! You don't want to leave an awful amount of questions and open ends even in a series. It makes it hard to read and a little on the unbelievable side. This novel just needs some cleanup work. The idea is great and it could be a five star book easily with some work!  Instead, I am forced to give it 3.5 stars.  However, the potential is definitely there!

Here (Here Trilogy Book 1) by Ella James

 

 Milo Mitchell lost her dad almost two years ago.  Now it was just her and her mom.  Her mom was always working.  Milo, still in high school, just had to worry about homework and keeping track of the mule deer her dad had been researching before he died.  She had decided to take up his work, unknown to her mom.  While out in the woods looking for a deer that needed tagged, she accidentally tranquilizes a guy instead.  He looks to be right around her age and very handsome.  However, he doesn't remember anything about who he is.  When this guy showed up out of nowhere he was wearing a tux.  Who wears a tux in the middle of the woods?  So she names him Nick for the time being and brings him home, feeling extremely guilty for hitting him with her tranquilizer gun.  Milo decides to help him figure out who he is and in the process some strange things start happening.  He has massive headaches that come and go and seems to know literally everything.  Pretty much anything fact based Nick has the answer to.  They eventually find out he looks just like a boy missing from a crash near the area Milo had been in when she saw Nick for the first time.  He tells Milo that he is pretty sure he is not this boy though.  And when they go to a party together, Nick ends up melting a statue and possibly killing a girl, then bringing her back.  After that he is afraid he will end up hurting Milo, whom he cares for much more than he admits.  So he leaves to find this family he is supposedly a part of, only to run into trouble and come running back to Milo.  What's worse is now the "Men in Black" are chasing the both of them!

   Here is a good read for any alien/extraterrestrial fans out there.  It is an interesting story about a being coming from somewhere out there in the universe, looking for something that Earth can give his people.  But along the way he becomes very close to a human girl and what the alien is there for is now somewhat compromised.  But this alien has no idea he is an alien for quite some time during the book because he completely loses his memory.  The only thing is that the end cuts off just when you start to wonder what will happen next!  The next book in the series will be coming out March 19th!

He Sees Me by John Sivils

  "He's outside right now.....He's watching us." 

   Some secrets are not meant to be remembered.  Some secrets are buried by our subconscious because of the circumstances and what it puts our mind through.  But these secrets have been forced from the mind, cut out like paper snowflakes.  The shadow following around Matt is the type of creature that can make people forget their memories.  People become nonexistent.  Matt has to wonder what kind of thing can make you forget someone who was at one time in your life.  And where do they disappear to?
    Things weren't always like this.  Matt lived a fairly normal life besides only having one parent, a crazy one at that.  He had apparently been adopted and raised by his father.  Because of the rocky relationship between the two of them, he played with and stayed with his best friend, Nathan, growing up.  Now they were at college together.  But Nathan disappears and Matt is determined to find out where he went to.  Once he starts looking for clues, he feels like he is being watched all the time.  The clues are horrific and ones that he cannot even begin to wonder about what they all mean.  Pill bottles, a large circle with an x in it, and what looks to be blood stains is what he starts finding.  But there's more.  Oh so much more.  And the more Matt looks for the shadow man, the more attention he draws to himself.  His life and his sanity is on the line.

                                         "Watch your step."

   If you know anything about the Slender Man, then you will probably enjoy this book!  I, myself, know very little about this character, but I know that this book creeped me out!  It is a psychological thriller/horror story that will keep you up at night!  Pull up a chair and turn on all the lights because before you are finished, you will be looking in the shadows of your home checking for the boogie monster!  Besides having some minor grammatical errors, it has a great story line and is a good read.  I don't read much horror, and will warn you, this one has some nasty and gory parts to it.  It is not for the faint of heart!

Finding Cinderella: A Novella by Colleen Hoover

 

 Author of Hopeless, Colleen Hoover delivers another deeply emotional and compelling work!  Finding Cinderella might be a novella, but it will have you laughing and then crying.  It will make you sad and then you will find yourself happy in the end.

"I hate them," she says softly.
"Who?"
"Everybody," she says. "I hate everybody."
I close my eyes and lift my hand, then run it down her hair, doing my best to comfort her.  Finally, someone who actually gets it. I'm not sure why she hates everybody but I have a feeling she's got a pretty valid reason.
"I hate everybody too, Cinderella."

  This is not your ordinary Cinderella story.  Cinderella didn't make a connection with an unknown guy in a closet at her high school.  But that was a very defining moment in the life of two people: Six and Daniel.  The strange thing is that even though they had no idea who the other was at the time, they were deeply connected through their friends.  Six'x best friend, Sky, is dating Daniel's best friend, Holder.  After their hookup in the closet, Daniel cannot quit thinking about this mystery girl, while Six has no choice whether she can forget what happened between them.  When she comes back from Italy, she meets Daniel again.  But this time they actually meet and start dating.  Six has dramatically changed since Italy.  She no longer just sleeps with guys and wants something more from a relationship.  Daniel doesn't know what has gotten into him but he knows he is falling deeply for this girl who has secrets.  The trouble is that the secrets involve him, and they are never what he expected.  Now to just see if their relationship can stay standing with such a deep secret as this.


*image via Colleen Hoover
*quotes via Colleen Hoover

Author Interview with H.L. Burke

Here is a recent email interview I did with H.L. Burke, author of Dragon's Curse (The Dragon and the Scholar Volume 1)!  If you haven't read the book, you should check it out!  Also, look down under this post and you should see a review I did on it if you want to know more about Dragon's Curse!

1. How long have you been writing?

This depends on your definition of writing. If dictating stories to my mom because I was too young to write them down counts, probably five or six. My daughter now does the same thing with me. She literally draws pictures on the backs of my old rejection letters. I had a file of the dang things, and one day I took them out and said, "Huh, still blank on one side," and put them in the drawing paper bin. She wrote at least two "books" on the back of these. 

2.  When did you publish your first book?

2013, so very recently. I made a rookie mistake of rushing my first book, The Ordinary Knight and the Invisible Princess: A Tale in Two Parts, to publication because I didn't know where to get help with editing and the like. It is still a good book, just looking back with what I  know now, it could be a lot more polished. Someday I'll probably put up a "special edition" with some edits, but for now I'm focused on future endeavors. 

3. Who/what is your biggest inspiration?

The funny thing is that I do not write like my favorite authors. I adore Tolkien, Dostoevsky, and Kate DiCamillo. Those are my big three, authors who have always been able to touch me, but my style is nothing like theirs, and I'm okay with that. I compare my work to Shannon Hale's and Gail Carson Levine's, but probably the best compliment I ever got was when a reader likened my style to C. S. Lewis's, who is an undeniable influence. I'm very schooled in classics, not so much on modern books (though I'm trying to expand my horizons a bit). 

4. What was your inspiration for Dragon's Curse?

Dragons are sexy. That's basically it. I've had an idea for something like Dragon's Curse in my head for almost ten years. I remember reading The Reluctant Dragon and loving the idea of a dragon working with a knight. I also love any sort of "Beauty and the Beast" story. It took awhile to work out the details in my head, but I've wanted to write this particular story for a long time.

5. How many books will be in the series The Dragon and the Scholar? 

Four, all written, just in various stages of editing. Dragon's Debt should be out in May, and I'm aiming for a new release every four to six months following that. 

6. How did you decide to make Shannon, the heroine, such a strong and independent character?

It's funny because I know Shannon's foibles so well that I probably wouldn't describe her that way, not right off. I know what she's afraid of, and I have seen her when she's vulnerable (I put her through the wringer in later books.). I didn't, however, want her to be a shrinking violet because she needed to be able to stand up for herself, and her dragon. Basically Shannon rises to the occasion and grows due to hardship. Also, I wanted people to cheer for her. No one likes a whiner. 

7. When will the next book in the series be out? 

(I accidentally answered this above. That's what I get for not reading ahead)

8. What will the major point of conflict be in the next book?

A mysterious creature is carrying off young women and draining their memories, returning them as empty shells. My heroes are drawn in when the monster targets the beloved of someone close to them (trying not to give away too much.). However, the emotional impetus involves whether or not the relationship between Shannon and (spoilers, sweetie) Ewan is sustainable. 

9. Have your life experiences impacted your writing?

Majorly. Especially some of the events in the later books of this series. I fell in love with a man who for the longest time kept me at arm's length, and I draw from that longing a lot. Also, there is a certain amount of faith that has to come along with being  a military wife. You can't hold too tight, and you have to accept things as they come. Probably one of the hardest moments in my life was going into labor with my first child with her daddy overseas in Iraq. I remember putting his picture on the hospital bedside table and just bursting into tears, wailing, "I want Matt!" But that wasn't going to happen and that baby was coming no matter what. When that time comes you  just have to draw on God and what strength He gave you and push through. So yeah, there is a lot in my stories about love and fidelity in the face of hardship because I understand that. 

10. what hobbies do you enjoy in your free time?

Oh gosh, writing used to be my hobby and now it feels like a "job." I love computer games. I had to give up World of Warcraft when I started writing "seriously" but I still indulge in occasional Myst binges or a Nancy Drew mystery game. I crochet and I have kids, but it works out because my six-year-old leveled up my Paladin in World of Warcraft for me and does dailies from time to time. (Nobody probably understands what I'm talking about. . .I'm such a geek)


Both ebooks Dragon's Curse and The Ordinary Knight and the Invisible Princess: A Tale in Two Parts will be free on Amazon March 15-16!!  Make sure to check them out and don't forget to leave the author a review on Amazon!

Dragon's Curse (The Dragon and the Scholar Volume 1) by H. L. Burke

   Shannon is a young lady who wants adventure.  She has never been far from where she grew up and wishes to see more of the world.  She wants excitement.  When her friend Martin is asked to send a healer to Regone for King Edmond, she knows this could be her chance.  But Martin warns her that Regone is a cursed place.  I don't think even he knew just how true that actually was.
   On reaching Regone, Shannon is immediately introduced to Roderick, a knight who thinks well of himself and happens to take a keen interest in Shannon.  Being a free woman though, Shannon has the ability to choose who she wants to be with.  Edmond, on the other hand, is a young king, but is sullen and hate driven after the death of his brother at the hand of a dragon.  Edmond is bent on killing any dragon that comes around.  However, dragons are very hard to kill and the king is in no shape to be out slaying dragons.  He was severely burned by one after he went out seeking revenge for his brother, Ewan.  But it had not ended well and only a handful of knights came back alive.  Shannon was here to try and help the suffering king.  But she has a way of saying what she thinks and feels about things that are not exactly suitable for the times, and especially not suited for a king.  She begins to get curious about Ewan and the circumstances surrounding his death.
   Unfortunately life in Regone is rather lonely for Shannon.  She doesn't really have any friends and constantly has to fend off Roderick and his unwanted advances.  To make things worse, the king's distant cousin, Adonna, constantly hovers over Edmond and interferes often with her treatments.  Adonna seems kind of like a creepy woman; one that Shannon wants to stay far away from.  One day though, a dragon is seen in Regone and it stays.  Edmond is crazy over it being there and wants to get rid of it.  Roderick decides he will go slay this dragon and if he does he wants Shannon to marry him.  Shannon protests wildly about it and decides to do something drastic.  She goes to see the dragon herself.  It turns out that he is much better company than anyone else she has met in Regone so far and starts visiting him on a regular basis.  The dragon tends to like her company as well.  Shannon isn't like other women.
   A large twist comes in the story when it is revealed who that dragon really is and what happened to this man to turn him into a dragon.  The circumstances are very strange and lots of things don't add up to Shannon.  The deeper she digs though, the more her life is in danger.  The one that she, the dragon, and her friend Martin are looking for is right under their noses and they have no idea.

   This book is very clean and would be safe for your younger teens to read.  It was a really enjoyable read about castles and knights, magic and curses.  And to top it off you have a heroine that falls in love with a cursed dragon!  However strange it may seem, she sees something else within this dragon that later on in the book reveals itself.  Shannon is a great heroine too.  She is very forward for the times.  She likes to speak her mind and have intelligent conversations.  Brutish men are not her thing and she is in no hurry to settle down with the first knight to ask for her hand.  She is willing to believe in the good in all people and dragons while not being fooled by them either.  Funny enough, she is the only one to be able to win the heart of a cursed prince who doesn't like the normal silly women around him.  I enjoyed this book so much I sat down and read it in one night!  You should check it out!  The next in the series will be coming out in May!

Hollow Pit (A Pushed World Novella: Book One) by Tim O'Rourke

   If any of you have ever read any of the Kiera Hudson books and have any idea just who Jack Seth is then you will enjoy this book.  It brings out a whole new side to Jack that you haven't seen that much of if you read the first Kiera Hudson series.  Although we are always aware that he is a complicated character, for a while I also just thought that he was a cold-blooded killer.  He is a wolf.  And the wolf tends to rule those that it lives within.  The wolf loves gruesome killing.  But in this book we see Jack desperately trying to overcome the wolf who is clamoring to get out and take over once again.  But Jack doesn't want to go back to that life, even if this life is a new one because he was pushed (killed).  He and Nik, his younger brother, end up here in a wasteland that looks like the apocalypse happens.  Following some railroad tracks brings nothing but more wasteland for a long ways.  They are both thirsty and starving.  The interesting thing is that their eyes no longer burn with the smolder having the wolf within brings.  At first you wonder if maybe their other side has gone, but it isn't, not in Jack anyway.  The voice in his head comes back loud and clear.  As for Nik, one just has to wonder.  The first people the two of them come upon are a sheriff and a girl, both ripped to shreds.  Apparently even in this new world they live in, there are monsters, possibly other wolves or the Vampyrus that were in the Hollows.  They keep traveling and find a small "town" with people who are terrified of the monsters outside.  They live in a place surrounded by a wall of debris that has been welded together to keep things out.  This poor town offers them food and a room in return for help around the town where it is needed.  They end up helping the people fix the wall, but get a huge surprise when they find out what the town deputy is and what she is hiding.  What's worse is the horrific murder that happens while Jack and Nik are there.  It is obviously a monster that did it.  The question is what type?  Nothing is as it seems in this novella.  And for it to be a short story, not only does it pack a punch but it has its surprises!  

Hand of Miriam (A Bayla and the Golem Novel) by Eva Gordon

   Steampunk, Victorian, with a little mix in of Goth, Hand of Miriam is a mixture of novel I am personally not familiar with, but very much enjoyed reading.  And it even added some supernatural with werewolves, vampires, wraiths, with the main points of interest being angels and demons.

   Bayla Gideon is on an archaeological expedition when her husband dies and she is the only survivor to the freak storm that happens.  During this time Bayla is branded with the Hand of Miriam, an all seeing eye that can sense evil and allows her to know the thoughts of others when left uncovered.  Desperate to keep herself alive while creatures ranging from rogue werewolves to demons try to attack her, she awakens the Golem in the archives at her home and frees him from his curse.
      In Jewish legend a golem is a clay figure brought to life by magic. 
The Golem is named Gesher.  He was a fallen angel that was made into a Golem to serve whoever awakened him.  Because Bayla allows Gesher to destroy the very thing that awakened him, he is now able to change from the scary and imposing clay man into a more normal looking man, although he still has the hardened body of a warrior and has scars where his wings used to be.  Because he fought the angel of death to keep a child from dying in a family that had already lost so much, he was stripped of his wings and sent to Earth as the Golem.  However,  there was the possibility of his returning to Heaven one day should he redeem himself.  That was all good until he went and fell in love with the beautiful, independent, and head strong Bayla Gideon.  Now he must make the decision to either stay on Earth with her or return to Heaven.  Before it had been an easy choice.  Now he found himself thinking he didn't want to live without her.
   The Hand of Miriam had not only given her the power to discern evil where it was present, but also the gift of immortality, if she could keep herself alive.  She was not immune to illness or accident.  That is why she needs Gesher, but her feelings for the tall and crazy handsome fallen angel are causing her to want him to stay permanently on Earth.  But she refuses to be the one that keeps an angel on Earth.  Meanwhile, a serial killer is on the loose killing prostitutes within the city and someone is killing female vampires as well.  The killer has been named Jack the Ripper and Bayla starts suspecting that perhaps even one of the Grigori, a secret society which even involves Queen Victoria and all things supernatural, might be the culprit.  She has no idea just how deep it will go and just how in danger she is.  Gesher has his work cut out for him keeping Bayla safe from those that would do her harm.

   As I said before, this novel is a very different read from my norm.  But if you like all things paranormal/supernatural, angels and demons type thing, then you should try this book out.  With a hint of spooky and a hot fallen angel, it is sure to keep your attention.  I do find it a very strange element to the story that Bayla has to keep her hand uncovered for the marking to work.  And the fact that it can be fooled as well, it is just very difficult to do so.  But the dirigibles, strange machines, and unconventionality of the story really work for it!

Shattering Halos by Sunniva Dee

   Gaia was supposed to die that day.  All of her friends in the vehicle had.  And she was supposed to as well.  Instead she lived.  And while she was lying on the side of the road, unable to move, she watched him.
 He was barefoot and absolutely beautiful.  Maybe even shimmery.  While she was in her hospital room trying to recover from a broken neck, this mystery guy returns.  After a while she starts to think he is just a figment of her imagination.  Once she gets out of the hospital she goes back to school to try and get back to normal again.  Except how can you do that when you lost three of your friends?  And then there is the guy.  He shows back up at school except when Gaia tries to tell her new friend Marina about him and point him out, she doesn't see him.  Is her mind just making this up?  Gaia sure doesn't think so when she goes into the janitor's closet at school to get away from it all and he appears there.  Not only does he appear, but she kisses him.  And he feels real enough.   His name is Gabriel.  And Gabriel is her guardian angel.  He is the reason she is alive.  And he broke the rules for her.  Gaia was never really supposed to see him, but Gabriel has a hard time hiding himself when he is around her.  She feels his presence, and she is falling in love with an angel.  Marina, after finally seeing him, thinks he is a demon because his actions and the attention he gives Gaia doesn't seem like the attention a normal human would get from an angel.  And she is somewhat right.  It isn't normal.  But that doesn't make Gabriel a demon either.  Gradually Gabriel's love of Gaia starts making him act more human.  His want of her and need to be around her is more human than angel and there is no explanation for it.  He also doesn't understand why he isn't being punished for breaking so many of the rules with her.  Although he is in love with her more than he is willing to openly admit, he is fighting it and trying to do what is right.  But their love has set in motion something much bigger than anything they could ever imagine.  A war could be started between angels, demons, and the fallen angels.  All of Hell wants to take back over Heaven, and they have a plan that could succeed.


   For this to be Sunniva Dee's debut book, it is a great start into the writing world!  A book about angels and demons and forbidden love between a guardian angel and a human makes for a good read.  You go through most of the book wondering if punishment is going to be handed down from on high.  But the truth to everything turns out to be more shocking than how Gaia and Gabriel had wondered all along if this thing between them would be so completely ended that she would never see him again and possibly not even remember him.  However, the journey to the great catalyst is one full of wondering what Gaia and Gabriel should do, whether they should just give in to their feelings or fight it and try to go on as it should be, with Gabriel being the invisible guardian he was meant to be.  But the journey is heavy with temptation, and Gaia's willpower is not near as strong as Gabriel's.  Once she realizes what could be at stake she tries to be good, but all she can see is him, even when she can't see Gabriel.  The temptation to just fling themselves off of that precipice is great indeed.