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popthebutterfly
I was contacted by Brian Ference to review his book with my honest opinion and in return I received a free ebook copy of his book. I was in no way influenced by this arrangement.
The Wolf of Dorian Gray is Mr. Ference's parody of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. While I have not yet read the classic work, I don't feel like you necessarily need to read it in order to enjoy this book. I felt I knew enough about the classic tale that I could enjoy the similarities between the two books.
This book takes place in the late 1800s in England. Throughout the majority of the book you follow the life of Dorian Gray. Dorian is friends with a prominent artist named Sage, who is in love with our protagonist. She loves painting portraits and decides to paint one of Dorian and a tiny wolf cub Sage names after Dorian. The wolf cub is the last wolf of England and, in hopes of releasing the cub back into the wild one day, the two decide to raise the wolf cub (well, mostly Sage. Dorian is more of that one uncle who comes to play with your kid for an hour and then leave). One day Dorian comes over to visit with Sage and the wolf cub and meets with Lady Helena, with who he begins a love affair with despite her being married. Through different points of view, we follow Dorian Gray's life. He falls in love for the first time and is seemingly love-struck, but then starts spiraling downhill. It's only when Dorian starts exhibiting his own bloodlust that he realizes something is off with himself. Perhaps it is connected to the portrait Sage paints for Dorian, perhaps it is his deep connection with the wolf cub, who grows up to roam the countryside as an unusually strong and intelligent animal with a thirst for blood.
I will say that after I became accustomed to the writing style I found the story to be interesting and unique in the field of "werewolf" themed stories. I thought this would be a typical werewolf story, but it was intriguing how the author incorporated the portrait and the downward spiral of Dorian in connection with the once playful wolf. However, I did feel the story was rushed. I think the author could have easily slowed the story down, expanded on Dorian's relationship with Sage before she used the wolf's blood on the portrait, and expanded on the incidents listed towards the end of the book. I won't go into details because I don't want to spoil the story completely, but I was literally thinking "Wait what?! I want to know more about these incidents!" I felt if the story was expanded that Dorian wouldn't have come to the conclusion about the portrait being the source of evil so easily. I also generally didn't like Dorian and Lady Helena. I felt if the author had expanded on pre-portrait Dorian that maybe I would have liked the character better because I didn't sympathize with him at all. Dorian seemed to be selfish, vain, and shallow, which are not very redeeming qualities for me, but if I had a back-story on Dorian where I could feel sympathy for him or if I could more easily discern his behavior in the book is due to the portrait, I feel like I would have cared about the character. I'm not sure what could have been done about Lady Helena because I feel like she was supposed to be the bad influence. Another criticism of the story I have is part of Sage's back-story when her parents and her are talking to each other. I know the author was trying to do a Mark Twain style of writing dialect, but I couldn't understand the characters at all. That's mostly a critique in general for me because I also had issues with Mark Twain when he would write in that fashion. The last criticisms I have are that the back-stories of the characters seemed to be placed in the story awkwardly. I felt if part of Sage's story came in the beginning of the book in her chapter and Lady Helena's was introduced with Sage's, then the individual chapters revolving around the characters wouldn't have been so awkward, but I did enjoy all the chapters surrounding the wolf and I wanted more chapters like that. The epilogue of the book and the last 50ish pages were wonderful and thrilling. These are all just my own personal opinions. I would love to read the next book.
Overall I felt the book was enjoyable and thought provoking. It is also an interesting take on classic werewolf tales. I would also like to say that this book did contain explicit sex scenes and the POV of the wolf was very brutal to read. It was very "nature of the beast" and if you don't enjoy that then I would not suggest this book to you. To those of you who are not turned off by that, I would suggest this book to you.
The Wolf of Dorian Gray is Mr. Ference's parody of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. While I have not yet read the classic work, I don't feel like you necessarily need to read it in order to enjoy this book. I felt I knew enough about the classic tale that I could enjoy the similarities between the two books.
This book takes place in the late 1800s in England. Throughout the majority of the book you follow the life of Dorian Gray. Dorian is friends with a prominent artist named Sage, who is in love with our protagonist. She loves painting portraits and decides to paint one of Dorian and a tiny wolf cub Sage names after Dorian. The wolf cub is the last wolf of England and, in hopes of releasing the cub back into the wild one day, the two decide to raise the wolf cub (well, mostly Sage. Dorian is more of that one uncle who comes to play with your kid for an hour and then leave). One day Dorian comes over to visit with Sage and the wolf cub and meets with Lady Helena, with who he begins a love affair with despite her being married. Through different points of view, we follow Dorian Gray's life. He falls in love for the first time and is seemingly love-struck, but then starts spiraling downhill. It's only when Dorian starts exhibiting his own bloodlust that he realizes something is off with himself. Perhaps it is connected to the portrait Sage paints for Dorian, perhaps it is his deep connection with the wolf cub, who grows up to roam the countryside as an unusually strong and intelligent animal with a thirst for blood.
I will say that after I became accustomed to the writing style I found the story to be interesting and unique in the field of "werewolf" themed stories. I thought this would be a typical werewolf story, but it was intriguing how the author incorporated the portrait and the downward spiral of Dorian in connection with the once playful wolf. However, I did feel the story was rushed. I think the author could have easily slowed the story down, expanded on Dorian's relationship with Sage before she used the wolf's blood on the portrait, and expanded on the incidents listed towards the end of the book. I won't go into details because I don't want to spoil the story completely, but I was literally thinking "Wait what?! I want to know more about these incidents!" I felt if the story was expanded that Dorian wouldn't have come to the conclusion about the portrait being the source of evil so easily. I also generally didn't like Dorian and Lady Helena. I felt if the author had expanded on pre-portrait Dorian that maybe I would have liked the character better because I didn't sympathize with him at all. Dorian seemed to be selfish, vain, and shallow, which are not very redeeming qualities for me, but if I had a back-story on Dorian where I could feel sympathy for him or if I could more easily discern his behavior in the book is due to the portrait, I feel like I would have cared about the character. I'm not sure what could have been done about Lady Helena because I feel like she was supposed to be the bad influence. Another criticism of the story I have is part of Sage's back-story when her parents and her are talking to each other. I know the author was trying to do a Mark Twain style of writing dialect, but I couldn't understand the characters at all. That's mostly a critique in general for me because I also had issues with Mark Twain when he would write in that fashion. The last criticisms I have are that the back-stories of the characters seemed to be placed in the story awkwardly. I felt if part of Sage's story came in the beginning of the book in her chapter and Lady Helena's was introduced with Sage's, then the individual chapters revolving around the characters wouldn't have been so awkward, but I did enjoy all the chapters surrounding the wolf and I wanted more chapters like that. The epilogue of the book and the last 50ish pages were wonderful and thrilling. These are all just my own personal opinions. I would love to read the next book.
Overall I felt the book was enjoyable and thought provoking. It is also an interesting take on classic werewolf tales. I would also like to say that this book did contain explicit sex scenes and the POV of the wolf was very brutal to read. It was very "nature of the beast" and if you don't enjoy that then I would not suggest this book to you. To those of you who are not turned off by that, I would suggest this book to you.
FYI some spoilers. I try to keep the spoilers to a minimum and to things that come early in the book.
Valerie's sister was the "good" daughter. Beautiful, kind, sweet, the perfect daughter. Lucie was also the perfect sister for Valerie, and Valerie loved her with all her heart. But now Lucie is dead. Killed by the Wolf, who is only supposed to come out full moon each month. A sacrificial offer was presented the month Lucie was killed, but this month a new moon has come: a blood moon. The four days this moon will be in allow the Wolf to openly attack anyone. Anyone bitten in this period will become a Wolf as well. During this tumultuous time period, Valerie's life starts to fully unravel. A marriage is sudden thrust upon her. Her true love, a man who is hated by the village and was outcast years ago, wants to run away with her. Her betrothed is someone who her sister loved dearly. Her mother is trying to control her. And her father is the town drunk. When an expert, brutal huntsman comes to help the small village and the Wolf threatens to kill everyone Valerie loves, Valerie must make decide if she will be the damsel in distress or if she will be the hero of the day.
This book is a retelling of the classic fairy tale of the same name; however, the classic part of the fairy tell doesn't come into play until you read the bonus chapter on the website. You heard that right: the book is incomplete. It could end where it does in the book, but that ending leaves the story open to a lot of interpretation. The end chapter is also very vague on who the Wolf really is. You really do need to read the bonus chapter on the book's website to figure out the whole story and have a complete ending. I do not like how the author and/or publishing company decided to do this. It feels like it was a cheap way to get views on their website. I also have issue with how the book was written. I like how a lot of books, such as The 5th Wave by Rick Yancy, switch POV throughout the book. With other books the POV switches chapter to chapter, meaning each chapter is a different character. This book does switch POV, but it switches POV sentence to sentence sometimes, meaning a random sentence in the chapter will start a different narrative. Not only was this confusing to me, but it made the story not flow as well in my opinion. I can understand why the author chose to write the book like this. The book is based on a screenplay by David Leslie Johnson and the way the writing is would be perfect for a play adaptation. Despite these criticisms I found the book enjoyable. I loved the world Sarah Blakley-Cartwright created and thought the characters were engaging and charming, despite the many confusing scenes and the ambiguity of the book ending. I give this book 3/5.
Valerie's sister was the "good" daughter. Beautiful, kind, sweet, the perfect daughter. Lucie was also the perfect sister for Valerie, and Valerie loved her with all her heart. But now Lucie is dead. Killed by the Wolf, who is only supposed to come out full moon each month. A sacrificial offer was presented the month Lucie was killed, but this month a new moon has come: a blood moon. The four days this moon will be in allow the Wolf to openly attack anyone. Anyone bitten in this period will become a Wolf as well. During this tumultuous time period, Valerie's life starts to fully unravel. A marriage is sudden thrust upon her. Her true love, a man who is hated by the village and was outcast years ago, wants to run away with her. Her betrothed is someone who her sister loved dearly. Her mother is trying to control her. And her father is the town drunk. When an expert, brutal huntsman comes to help the small village and the Wolf threatens to kill everyone Valerie loves, Valerie must make decide if she will be the damsel in distress or if she will be the hero of the day.
This book is a retelling of the classic fairy tale of the same name; however, the classic part of the fairy tell doesn't come into play until you read the bonus chapter on the website. You heard that right: the book is incomplete. It could end where it does in the book, but that ending leaves the story open to a lot of interpretation. The end chapter is also very vague on who the Wolf really is. You really do need to read the bonus chapter on the book's website to figure out the whole story and have a complete ending. I do not like how the author and/or publishing company decided to do this. It feels like it was a cheap way to get views on their website. I also have issue with how the book was written. I like how a lot of books, such as The 5th Wave by Rick Yancy, switch POV throughout the book. With other books the POV switches chapter to chapter, meaning each chapter is a different character. This book does switch POV, but it switches POV sentence to sentence sometimes, meaning a random sentence in the chapter will start a different narrative. Not only was this confusing to me, but it made the story not flow as well in my opinion. I can understand why the author chose to write the book like this. The book is based on a screenplay by David Leslie Johnson and the way the writing is would be perfect for a play adaptation. Despite these criticisms I found the book enjoyable. I loved the world Sarah Blakley-Cartwright created and thought the characters were engaging and charming, despite the many confusing scenes and the ambiguity of the book ending. I give this book 3/5.
5/5
Age rating 9+
What would you do if you discovered you had a voice so beautiful you could read characters straight out of their stories? While this might be a dream for most of us for Mo it is a reality. Mo can read aloud characters out of their stories, but the downside of this is that when he reads something out something or someone else goes to replace that characters place. Mo, after a particularly bad experience with his gift, vowed to never read aloud again. He vows to not even to his now twelve year old daughter Meggie. He manages to accomplish this for nine years, and then one night an old friend named Dustfinger shows up at Mo's home. He insists that Mo return a certain book to a man named Capricorn, a dangerous villian, and he asks that Mo do as Capricorn says. Suddenly, Mo and Meggie are thrusted into an adventure that Meggie had only once read about in her stories and Meggie not only learns the awful truth behind the earlier incident, but she also learns about a certain magic she must conjure on her own to save the world from Capricorn and his minions.
I have a strange history with this book. I first got the book when I was about Meggie's age, but due to the length of the book (it's over 500 pages) I put the book aside until this past weekend. I can't believe I missed an opportunity to read this enchanting tale when I was younger! Not only is the story very intriguing and unique, but the characters are all relatable, except for the villians, and the author keeps you guessing about the ending until the very end. The author manages to not only create one beautiful world, but two as the book references a book by the same name in which some of the characters originate from. The book, although mainly from Meggie's perspective, switches perspective between all the main characters. The book also provides an interesting concept that has rarely, if ever, been wrote about: people who can read characters out of books. I fell in love with the book as soon as I read the first page and I wish this was my reread of this wonderful tale. My only complaints about the book are that it seems that the ending was dragged out a bit unnecessarily and that the length of the book could make younger readers discouraged from reading it. This will definitely be a book I will want to find again when I have young readers of my own.
Age rating 9+
What would you do if you discovered you had a voice so beautiful you could read characters straight out of their stories? While this might be a dream for most of us for Mo it is a reality. Mo can read aloud characters out of their stories, but the downside of this is that when he reads something out something or someone else goes to replace that characters place. Mo, after a particularly bad experience with his gift, vowed to never read aloud again. He vows to not even to his now twelve year old daughter Meggie. He manages to accomplish this for nine years, and then one night an old friend named Dustfinger shows up at Mo's home. He insists that Mo return a certain book to a man named Capricorn, a dangerous villian, and he asks that Mo do as Capricorn says. Suddenly, Mo and Meggie are thrusted into an adventure that Meggie had only once read about in her stories and Meggie not only learns the awful truth behind the earlier incident, but she also learns about a certain magic she must conjure on her own to save the world from Capricorn and his minions.
I have a strange history with this book. I first got the book when I was about Meggie's age, but due to the length of the book (it's over 500 pages) I put the book aside until this past weekend. I can't believe I missed an opportunity to read this enchanting tale when I was younger! Not only is the story very intriguing and unique, but the characters are all relatable, except for the villians, and the author keeps you guessing about the ending until the very end. The author manages to not only create one beautiful world, but two as the book references a book by the same name in which some of the characters originate from. The book, although mainly from Meggie's perspective, switches perspective between all the main characters. The book also provides an interesting concept that has rarely, if ever, been wrote about: people who can read characters out of books. I fell in love with the book as soon as I read the first page and I wish this was my reread of this wonderful tale. My only complaints about the book are that it seems that the ending was dragged out a bit unnecessarily and that the length of the book could make younger readers discouraged from reading it. This will definitely be a book I will want to find again when I have young readers of my own.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was in no way influenced by this arrangement.
The book is set in present time. We are not alone in the world. There are people who are called Soul Guardians who live on an earth-like planet, seemingly just behind a veil that we as humans cannot see. Soul Guardians were once humans, but after some reincarnations the souls have moved on from Earth to this new land. They are born and live as a human will, except they have incredible abilities. Each person on this world possesses an unique ability whether it be healing or talking to animals. Their gifts help them discover a profession they are best suited for and they work like humans do; however, at night they use their other ability to help humans out. They all answer the call of humans' struggling souls on Earth and give them strength, guidance, reassurance, etc. This is not the case for Lilly Flights though. She used live on this peaceful world doing her duties until one night she is pulled to an intriguing green-eyed boy named Jay. Their connection is different than any other she has encountered as a Soul Guardian, she feels Jay is a familiar to her in some way. Besides that, other strange things happen in Lilly's life. She starts having realistic flashbacks of her past life, which are causing strange new feelings and emotions. Her world is also plagued by the strange appearances of many different animals and the strange deaths of some too.
This book is an adult fantasy romance story. The story changes POV between the three main characters, Lilly, Jay, and Christian. This story has a completely new concept which I don't believe has ever been wrote about before, because these characters (except Jay) are not angels, they're human-like beings that are born, live, and die as we do. The beginning of the story took me by complete surprise. I was thrust into the action very quickly. While I wouldn't normally like this in a story, I did like how the author wrote the beginning scene. The scene begins with Lilly feeling a ton of emotions and feeling like she was drowning, which the author makes the reader feel as well because of how sudden the action occurs. You can tell from the very beginning how the author seems to have a strength for setting up stories and descriptions of the environment and the characters. The story felt very natural and nothing felt rushed. The story also seemed to develop on it's own. The transitions into new areas or when characters or things were discussed in the story, it was very fluid. The dialogue was also on point. There were a few little hiccups where I had to go back and reread it in order to imagine which character was speaking, but for the most part the dialogue went very smooth. The only slight criticism I have is that I'm not one for love triangles. While this is normally a thorn in my side when I read books with love triangles, it didn't bother me that much in this story. I really don't have any other complaints.
I completely devoured this book in one day, which is something I only do when I'm extremely interested in a story. I can count the number of books I've done this with on two hands. This book had everything I loved in a story and things I didn't know I loved: mystery, romance, and fantasy. I was left with more questions than I had going into the story: why are the animals dying and appearing in this world? Do children have the same abilities as adult Soul Guardians? When do the children's powers come in? and a bunch of other questions I will not post in this review due to spoilers. Overall, this book was freaking amazing. This author is an amazingly sweet woman as well. Please give this book a read because this series has the power to become the next Mortal Instruments in my opinion.
The book is set in present time. We are not alone in the world. There are people who are called Soul Guardians who live on an earth-like planet, seemingly just behind a veil that we as humans cannot see. Soul Guardians were once humans, but after some reincarnations the souls have moved on from Earth to this new land. They are born and live as a human will, except they have incredible abilities. Each person on this world possesses an unique ability whether it be healing or talking to animals. Their gifts help them discover a profession they are best suited for and they work like humans do; however, at night they use their other ability to help humans out. They all answer the call of humans' struggling souls on Earth and give them strength, guidance, reassurance, etc. This is not the case for Lilly Flights though. She used live on this peaceful world doing her duties until one night she is pulled to an intriguing green-eyed boy named Jay. Their connection is different than any other she has encountered as a Soul Guardian, she feels Jay is a familiar to her in some way. Besides that, other strange things happen in Lilly's life. She starts having realistic flashbacks of her past life, which are causing strange new feelings and emotions. Her world is also plagued by the strange appearances of many different animals and the strange deaths of some too.
This book is an adult fantasy romance story. The story changes POV between the three main characters, Lilly, Jay, and Christian. This story has a completely new concept which I don't believe has ever been wrote about before, because these characters (except Jay) are not angels, they're human-like beings that are born, live, and die as we do. The beginning of the story took me by complete surprise. I was thrust into the action very quickly. While I wouldn't normally like this in a story, I did like how the author wrote the beginning scene. The scene begins with Lilly feeling a ton of emotions and feeling like she was drowning, which the author makes the reader feel as well because of how sudden the action occurs. You can tell from the very beginning how the author seems to have a strength for setting up stories and descriptions of the environment and the characters. The story felt very natural and nothing felt rushed. The story also seemed to develop on it's own. The transitions into new areas or when characters or things were discussed in the story, it was very fluid. The dialogue was also on point. There were a few little hiccups where I had to go back and reread it in order to imagine which character was speaking, but for the most part the dialogue went very smooth. The only slight criticism I have is that I'm not one for love triangles. While this is normally a thorn in my side when I read books with love triangles, it didn't bother me that much in this story. I really don't have any other complaints.
I completely devoured this book in one day, which is something I only do when I'm extremely interested in a story. I can count the number of books I've done this with on two hands. This book had everything I loved in a story and things I didn't know I loved: mystery, romance, and fantasy. I was left with more questions than I had going into the story: why are the animals dying and appearing in this world? Do children have the same abilities as adult Soul Guardians? When do the children's powers come in? and a bunch of other questions I will not post in this review due to spoilers. Overall, this book was freaking amazing. This author is an amazingly sweet woman as well. Please give this book a read because this series has the power to become the next Mortal Instruments in my opinion.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was in no way influenced by this arrangement.
Ari is an eighteen year old young woman living on an Greek island who has one constant thought running through her brain: "Today is not the day I die". She's a stunt woman and has been training hard for her first movie shoot that is taking place right in her hometown. Wes is a twenty-one year old British actor. He started acting when he was young, skyrocketed to fame very quickly, and is used to getting whatever he wants in the world. He's on the Grecian island to film a Pride and Prejudice adaptation. When Ari has a near fatal accident a day before filming is set to start, she has to face the inevitable reality that will forever intertwine Ari and Wes forever.
The book is a YA romantic parody of the classic Pride and Prejudice. I quite enjoyed that not only was the book a parody of the famous classic, but the movie the two mains were to be filming was a Pride and Prejudice parody as well. I could more accurately describe the book as a mix of Pride and Prejudice, The Fault in Our Stars, a dash of If I Stay/Where She Went, and sprinkling of Hamlet. The book was very well crafted and this normally non-romantic girl read over 300 pages of this book in one night. If that doesn't describe how much I enjoyed the book, I don't know what will. The characters are well written for the most part and the dialogue and actions between them was natural, again for the most part. The author did an excellent job of setting up the story and describing each scene so perfectly I felt I was watching a movie instead of reading a book. While I did greatly enjoy the book I did have a few critiques about it. I felt really uneasy with Ari a lot of time. She was super annoying with her wishy-washy personality and I kind of expected this stunt girl to be a bit tougher and bolder. While my opinion of her relaxed towards the middle of the novel I generally felt angered towards her through a lot of the novel. I think that's more of a personality difference between me and the character. I also felt that the characters fell in love way too quickly with one another. I believe that the story at the beginning could have been stretched a bit further. Also, at the beginning of my journey with this novel, I hated Wes. I realize he was the Darcy character, but in my one (yes, sorry classic lovers, I've only read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies before this other P&P parody) other P&P book I also hated Darcy. Both of those opinions later changed as the story went on, so this is more of a general warning to other readers: you will hate Wes in the beginning and then fall in love with him hard and fast much like Ari did. I also felt that this novel could have ended earlier. I felt the ending was dragged out and there were four or five perfect ending points that were prolonged for Ari to return to the character she once was. I felt Ari's story arc could have been completed earlier.
Overall I greatly enjoyed the novel. The novel does an excellent job of sucker punching you in the face with feels and making you rethink life itself. Trust me, once you read this epic romance, you'll be saying to yourself "today is not the day I die" and wishing for a hot pirate to come save you.
Ari is an eighteen year old young woman living on an Greek island who has one constant thought running through her brain: "Today is not the day I die". She's a stunt woman and has been training hard for her first movie shoot that is taking place right in her hometown. Wes is a twenty-one year old British actor. He started acting when he was young, skyrocketed to fame very quickly, and is used to getting whatever he wants in the world. He's on the Grecian island to film a Pride and Prejudice adaptation. When Ari has a near fatal accident a day before filming is set to start, she has to face the inevitable reality that will forever intertwine Ari and Wes forever.
The book is a YA romantic parody of the classic Pride and Prejudice. I quite enjoyed that not only was the book a parody of the famous classic, but the movie the two mains were to be filming was a Pride and Prejudice parody as well. I could more accurately describe the book as a mix of Pride and Prejudice, The Fault in Our Stars, a dash of If I Stay/Where She Went, and sprinkling of Hamlet. The book was very well crafted and this normally non-romantic girl read over 300 pages of this book in one night. If that doesn't describe how much I enjoyed the book, I don't know what will. The characters are well written for the most part and the dialogue and actions between them was natural, again for the most part. The author did an excellent job of setting up the story and describing each scene so perfectly I felt I was watching a movie instead of reading a book. While I did greatly enjoy the book I did have a few critiques about it. I felt really uneasy with Ari a lot of time. She was super annoying with her wishy-washy personality and I kind of expected this stunt girl to be a bit tougher and bolder. While my opinion of her relaxed towards the middle of the novel I generally felt angered towards her through a lot of the novel. I think that's more of a personality difference between me and the character. I also felt that the characters fell in love way too quickly with one another. I believe that the story at the beginning could have been stretched a bit further. Also, at the beginning of my journey with this novel, I hated Wes. I realize he was the Darcy character, but in my one (yes, sorry classic lovers, I've only read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies before this other P&P parody) other P&P book I also hated Darcy. Both of those opinions later changed as the story went on, so this is more of a general warning to other readers: you will hate Wes in the beginning and then fall in love with him hard and fast much like Ari did. I also felt that this novel could have ended earlier. I felt the ending was dragged out and there were four or five perfect ending points that were prolonged for Ari to return to the character she once was. I felt Ari's story arc could have been completed earlier.
Overall I greatly enjoyed the novel. The novel does an excellent job of sucker punching you in the face with feels and making you rethink life itself. Trust me, once you read this epic romance, you'll be saying to yourself "today is not the day I die" and wishing for a hot pirate to come save you.
Rating: 1/5
Recommended Age: 18+
Favorite quote: none. DNF-ed
Cheris is a Captain of the Kel. When she decides to make unconventional decisions during battle, she becomes disgraced by her people. She has one chance to redeem herself: take control of the Fortress of Scattered Needles from the heretics. If the fortress completely falls, the whole hexarchate might be next. Her best chance of winning lies in relying on a man named Jedao who is undead. He has never lost a battle... But he did kill his whole command once. Can Cheris trust him and his unconventional ways to win this war?
This book is an excellent example of good writing and the book did something I often wonder about when I read other sci fi books: it creates its own calendar and time keeping system. Unfortunately that's the only things the book did good in my opinion. I'm really sorry, but I did not like this book. It was like I was missing the first 4 chapters of the book. I had no idea what was going on or what these names or things meant. I spent the whole book guessing the meaning behind people's words. I made it to about 100 pages left in the book before I finally had to give up. At that point in the book, random characters were being introduced without proper explanation or being mentioned again in the future. If you had to ask me what I believed was happening when I stopped reading, I'd have to honestly say I didn't know.
Don't let my review sway you to not try this book. I am not a voice for everyone and because I couldn't get into a book doesn't mean you won't be able to. This book is an excellent sci fi war book and to someone who can understand what is happening in this book, I bet this would be the best book ever.
Recommended Age: 18+
Favorite quote: none. DNF-ed
Cheris is a Captain of the Kel. When she decides to make unconventional decisions during battle, she becomes disgraced by her people. She has one chance to redeem herself: take control of the Fortress of Scattered Needles from the heretics. If the fortress completely falls, the whole hexarchate might be next. Her best chance of winning lies in relying on a man named Jedao who is undead. He has never lost a battle... But he did kill his whole command once. Can Cheris trust him and his unconventional ways to win this war?
This book is an excellent example of good writing and the book did something I often wonder about when I read other sci fi books: it creates its own calendar and time keeping system. Unfortunately that's the only things the book did good in my opinion. I'm really sorry, but I did not like this book. It was like I was missing the first 4 chapters of the book. I had no idea what was going on or what these names or things meant. I spent the whole book guessing the meaning behind people's words. I made it to about 100 pages left in the book before I finally had to give up. At that point in the book, random characters were being introduced without proper explanation or being mentioned again in the future. If you had to ask me what I believed was happening when I stopped reading, I'd have to honestly say I didn't know.
Don't let my review sway you to not try this book. I am not a voice for everyone and because I couldn't get into a book doesn't mean you won't be able to. This book is an excellent sci fi war book and to someone who can understand what is happening in this book, I bet this would be the best book ever.
Recommended Age: 10+
Rating: 4.5/5
Genre: YA Fantasy
Favorite Quote: "She loved the place. She loved any library, big or little; there was something about all that knowledge, all those facts waiting patiently to be found that never failed to give her a shiver. When friends couldn't be found, the books were always waiting with something new to tell."
Nita Callahan is a very special girl. When hiding from bullies in the library she discovers one of the "So You Want To Be..." books. Usually these books are about becoming a pilot, a doctor, or a lawyer. This book is about becoming a wizard. Nita thinks the book is a joke until she hears the trees begin to speak to her. Shortly, in company with fellow beginning wizard Kit Rodriguez, they set off on a journey to complete the Ordeal. The Ordeal is a challenge that every beginning wizard must complete. To complete this challenge, they must face the one power in the universe that hates wizardry the most. This menace is the Lone Power, the creator of death. Plunged into an alternate New York full of the Lone Power's creatures, the two kids must venture into the very heart of the darkness to find a stolen book called the Book of Night with Moon. Only with this book do they stand a chance of saving the alternate world and their own world.
This is not Harry Potter. This is totally different from Harry Potter... and I absolutely loved every second of it. I loved how the author not only made wizards unique from almost every other adaptation, but she also made the story relatable to adults and children alike. The underlying message of the book is something we all need to be reminded of every once in awhile. All the characters loved books and libraries and the ultimate power of being a wizard was your ability to use books and not memorize spells like in Harry Potter. I also loved how specified that her main characters were Latino, which not a lot of books can claim, and that two of the characters were hinted at being gay. Diversity for the win! Even though there were some very depressing moments in the book, I loved this story.
The only issues I had with the book were with the author's writing style. The writing became overly detailed and dense at times in the book. Sometimes I felt overwhelmed by the amount of detail there was in the book. It almost felt like I was drowning in words. Overall though, I found the book to be very enjoyable and I can't wait to read the rest of the series!
Rating: 4.5/5
Genre: YA Fantasy
Favorite Quote: "She loved the place. She loved any library, big or little; there was something about all that knowledge, all those facts waiting patiently to be found that never failed to give her a shiver. When friends couldn't be found, the books were always waiting with something new to tell."
Nita Callahan is a very special girl. When hiding from bullies in the library she discovers one of the "So You Want To Be..." books. Usually these books are about becoming a pilot, a doctor, or a lawyer. This book is about becoming a wizard. Nita thinks the book is a joke until she hears the trees begin to speak to her. Shortly, in company with fellow beginning wizard Kit Rodriguez, they set off on a journey to complete the Ordeal. The Ordeal is a challenge that every beginning wizard must complete. To complete this challenge, they must face the one power in the universe that hates wizardry the most. This menace is the Lone Power, the creator of death. Plunged into an alternate New York full of the Lone Power's creatures, the two kids must venture into the very heart of the darkness to find a stolen book called the Book of Night with Moon. Only with this book do they stand a chance of saving the alternate world and their own world.
This is not Harry Potter. This is totally different from Harry Potter... and I absolutely loved every second of it. I loved how the author not only made wizards unique from almost every other adaptation, but she also made the story relatable to adults and children alike. The underlying message of the book is something we all need to be reminded of every once in awhile. All the characters loved books and libraries and the ultimate power of being a wizard was your ability to use books and not memorize spells like in Harry Potter. I also loved how specified that her main characters were Latino, which not a lot of books can claim, and that two of the characters were hinted at being gay. Diversity for the win! Even though there were some very depressing moments in the book, I loved this story.
The only issues I had with the book were with the author's writing style. The writing became overly detailed and dense at times in the book. Sometimes I felt overwhelmed by the amount of detail there was in the book. It almost felt like I was drowning in words. Overall though, I found the book to be very enjoyable and I can't wait to read the rest of the series!
Rating: 5/5
Genre: YA Sci-Fi
Recommended Age: 13+
Favorite Quote: "#ThrorLives"
I received a copy of this book from the publishing company (Blaze Publishing Company) from netgalley in exchange for a review and I received another copy of this book when I became a publishing rep for the company. This did not influence me in anyway.
Carter, a sixteen year-old girl living in the year 2222, longs to live up to her namesake, Howard Carter the English archaeologist and Egyptologist who discovered the intact tomb of King Tut aka King Tutankhamun in 1922. This is why she chose to major in Archaeology of Outer Space, which is normally a class where students who couldn't get into their first chose major go. Carter is an excellent student. She's a TA for her teacher, Professor P, and she's in charge of making the reservations for their expedition to Magnus. The class is supposed to journey to Magnus for an archaeology apprenticeship. However, Carter is too distracted by the recent disappearance of her best friend Conrad. He left without telling her and she recently received his possessions from a planet called Thror. Fearing the worst, Carter tricks her class into detouring from their expedition to Magnus to journeying to Thror. When photographs from Conrad's found camera reveal what could be the tomb of the last king of Thror and the overly-friendly natives seem to be hiding something, Carter and her classmates follow Conrad's footsteps into the mountains and launch an illegal excavation in a forbidden zone. Following the clues and coded messages strange things are revealed about Thror, but is the truth stranger than the facade?
Normally I don't like science fiction novels because I feel that so much about the technology and the time period goes unexplained and the technology can be outlandish; however, I loved this novel. The characters were very well written and the writing flowed beautifully. The characters were so well written and each had their own developed personalities that I could read something one of them said and hear the same character speak it in my head. The characters really do come to life in the novel and you come to love them, despite some of the characters having annoying traits at times (I'm looking at you Bryanne). A lot about the technology and the time period was explained and wasn't out of the realm of impossibility. The story had a nice ebb and flow, for every section about the archaeology of Thror there was a section with action in it and for every serious scene there was a few funny moments. The author also did a good job describing scenes and creating mystery and tension.
The only issue I had with this book is that I felt the ending was a bit rushed. I wanted more in the end and I wanted to have some of the ending explained better. I felt a tad overwhelmed by the amount of action and description going on at the ending of the book. Despite that, this book joins the league of my 2017 five star reads! I just want to reread this book right now! I'm excited to see other books this author can come up with.
Also, while I have your attention: Blaze Publishing Company is hosting a giveaway with this book in which you could win a $25 Amazon giftcard! Go check out their Instagram page or mine for further details. This book releases March 28th, so get your paperback copy now!
Genre: YA Sci-Fi
Recommended Age: 13+
Favorite Quote: "#ThrorLives"
I received a copy of this book from the publishing company (Blaze Publishing Company) from netgalley in exchange for a review and I received another copy of this book when I became a publishing rep for the company. This did not influence me in anyway.
Carter, a sixteen year-old girl living in the year 2222, longs to live up to her namesake, Howard Carter the English archaeologist and Egyptologist who discovered the intact tomb of King Tut aka King Tutankhamun in 1922. This is why she chose to major in Archaeology of Outer Space, which is normally a class where students who couldn't get into their first chose major go. Carter is an excellent student. She's a TA for her teacher, Professor P, and she's in charge of making the reservations for their expedition to Magnus. The class is supposed to journey to Magnus for an archaeology apprenticeship. However, Carter is too distracted by the recent disappearance of her best friend Conrad. He left without telling her and she recently received his possessions from a planet called Thror. Fearing the worst, Carter tricks her class into detouring from their expedition to Magnus to journeying to Thror. When photographs from Conrad's found camera reveal what could be the tomb of the last king of Thror and the overly-friendly natives seem to be hiding something, Carter and her classmates follow Conrad's footsteps into the mountains and launch an illegal excavation in a forbidden zone. Following the clues and coded messages strange things are revealed about Thror, but is the truth stranger than the facade?
Normally I don't like science fiction novels because I feel that so much about the technology and the time period goes unexplained and the technology can be outlandish; however, I loved this novel. The characters were very well written and the writing flowed beautifully. The characters were so well written and each had their own developed personalities that I could read something one of them said and hear the same character speak it in my head. The characters really do come to life in the novel and you come to love them, despite some of the characters having annoying traits at times (I'm looking at you Bryanne). A lot about the technology and the time period was explained and wasn't out of the realm of impossibility. The story had a nice ebb and flow, for every section about the archaeology of Thror there was a section with action in it and for every serious scene there was a few funny moments. The author also did a good job describing scenes and creating mystery and tension.
The only issue I had with this book is that I felt the ending was a bit rushed. I wanted more in the end and I wanted to have some of the ending explained better. I felt a tad overwhelmed by the amount of action and description going on at the ending of the book. Despite that, this book joins the league of my 2017 five star reads! I just want to reread this book right now! I'm excited to see other books this author can come up with.
Also, while I have your attention: Blaze Publishing Company is hosting a giveaway with this book in which you could win a $25 Amazon giftcard! Go check out their Instagram page or mine for further details. This book releases March 28th, so get your paperback copy now!
Rating: 5/5
Genre: YA Contemporary
Recommended Age: 16+
Favorite Quote: "That along with love comes other four-letter words. Like hate, obviously. And loss. And gain. And most importantly, grow."
Sammie Davis, not the entertainer, used to have a good life. She considers herself an average girl, but she lived in a middle-class home with her mother, father, and her dog Moxie. Then, her life hit a rough patch. Her parents decide to go through a trial separation. Sammie soon finds herself whisked away to New York City in a cramped Manhattan apartment while her father is enjoying freedom in California. Not only has her whole life been shaken and she has started getting anxiety from the whole ordeal, she doesn't like how she physically looks, she's never had a boyfriend, and her gorgeous best friend uses her as a therapist. As Sammie's summer drags on, she struggles to deal with the separation and dealing with her mother who is, for lack of a better word, irresponsible. This is the story about how Sammie learns to deal with this rocky patch in her life and how she comes to understand that along with love come other four-letter words: hate, loss, gain... and grow.
When I first stumbled across this book I was about 15. I found it at a local used bookstore and I bought it because I thought the title was pretty cool. Since I have the strangest system for choosing books, this book sat on my shelf for... well until yesterday. I was sure I was going to DNF this book before I even started it because I looked at it and thought the book was too young for me now. I pushed myself to start it though and I'm so glad I did. This book is a little like Judy Blume's controversial book "Forever". It's a coming of age book that is honest about sex and growing up. While the main character does not have sex, it is discussed in passing between her and her friend Kitty, who is not a virgin anymore. The book also offers a very realistic take on how a teenage girl deals with the events like Sammie has to go through. A lot of times the response is to bottle up the emotions and explode later on. The author crafted beautiful characters and a beautiful story. You come to care for every character in the story, even the characters you will hate.
My only complaint about the book is that it was a fast read and the story leaves many unanswered questions... but the story is about life and in life we will always have unanswered questions. The book also may not be suitable for many younger audiences based on the content and based on parent's differing opinions about what should be and shouldn't be available to teenagers. I find the book to be a must-read for any teen and any adult (as the lessons taught in this book are ones we need to be reminded of time and time again throughout our life). However, if you're a minor, then have your parents review this book before getting in trouble please. My recommended age was based off of my own personal experience of being gifted Forever at 16 years old.
Genre: YA Contemporary
Recommended Age: 16+
Favorite Quote: "That along with love comes other four-letter words. Like hate, obviously. And loss. And gain. And most importantly, grow."
Sammie Davis, not the entertainer, used to have a good life. She considers herself an average girl, but she lived in a middle-class home with her mother, father, and her dog Moxie. Then, her life hit a rough patch. Her parents decide to go through a trial separation. Sammie soon finds herself whisked away to New York City in a cramped Manhattan apartment while her father is enjoying freedom in California. Not only has her whole life been shaken and she has started getting anxiety from the whole ordeal, she doesn't like how she physically looks, she's never had a boyfriend, and her gorgeous best friend uses her as a therapist. As Sammie's summer drags on, she struggles to deal with the separation and dealing with her mother who is, for lack of a better word, irresponsible. This is the story about how Sammie learns to deal with this rocky patch in her life and how she comes to understand that along with love come other four-letter words: hate, loss, gain... and grow.
When I first stumbled across this book I was about 15. I found it at a local used bookstore and I bought it because I thought the title was pretty cool. Since I have the strangest system for choosing books, this book sat on my shelf for... well until yesterday. I was sure I was going to DNF this book before I even started it because I looked at it and thought the book was too young for me now. I pushed myself to start it though and I'm so glad I did. This book is a little like Judy Blume's controversial book "Forever". It's a coming of age book that is honest about sex and growing up. While the main character does not have sex, it is discussed in passing between her and her friend Kitty, who is not a virgin anymore. The book also offers a very realistic take on how a teenage girl deals with the events like Sammie has to go through. A lot of times the response is to bottle up the emotions and explode later on. The author crafted beautiful characters and a beautiful story. You come to care for every character in the story, even the characters you will hate.
My only complaint about the book is that it was a fast read and the story leaves many unanswered questions... but the story is about life and in life we will always have unanswered questions. The book also may not be suitable for many younger audiences based on the content and based on parent's differing opinions about what should be and shouldn't be available to teenagers. I find the book to be a must-read for any teen and any adult (as the lessons taught in this book are ones we need to be reminded of time and time again throughout our life). However, if you're a minor, then have your parents review this book before getting in trouble please. My recommended age was based off of my own personal experience of being gifted Forever at 16 years old.
Rating: 4.5/5
Genre: Fantasy
Recommended Age: 13+
Favorite Quote: "A Forest's life is beyond what the normal, everyday eye can see. In fact, the regular goings-on of a particularly enchanted Forest are completely lost on a typical humans perception. But the energies of these Forests can be felt by all who stumble into them, whether by mistake or for a purpose."
I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was in no way influenced by this arrangement.
The Forest has a system. There are higher spirits and under spirits. The higher spirits bring love and peace to the forest whereas the under spirits bring destruction and loss. When a higher spirit falls from grace and becomes corrupted by an under spirit and the Yew, the highest spirit, is placed into a deep sleep, the corruption of the Forest begins. This change is sensed by all in the Forest, but King Alston, ruler of the Nymph Kingdom, refuses to take action. The future of the Forest Kingdoms falls to Narena, her younger brother Nyxen, their warrior friend Kellen, and a sage salamander named Hawthorne, all of whom must venture through the darkest part of the Forest to reach Lapris Mountain where the Yew sleeps. They must find a way to wake the Yew and defeat the corruption... Or die trying.
Ever since I was little I had read stories about fairies and enchanted Forests, but never about the nymphs. This story takes place from the perspective of nymphs and starts at the downfall of the Forest, which made this story very unique... And I loved every second of it. The corruption and destruction of the Forest has been occuring for years at the time the story begins and it's up to a special group of nymphs to restore balance to the Forest. And I'm not sure if the author intended it, but the book mentions how blind the nymphs were to the obvious downfall of the Forest because their ruler refused to acknowledge what the other kingdoms could see. I felt that this tidbit gave the book a dystopian vibe in a way, which I loved. I also loved the way the characters interacted with each other and how the story makes you think about the current state of our own forests because we are contributing to the forests destruction as much as the fallen higher spirit was.
The only (selfish) complaint I have about the book was that I felt the story was too short. I wanted more back story on all of the characters and the events that were going on and at times I wanted the story to slow down a bit so it could focus on the interaction between the characters and surroundings. I was sad to finish this short book (it's only 169 pages long). I feel the author could easily expand the story and I hope to read more about Narena, Nyxen, Kellen, and the others in the next book (please say there is another book coming out T. Damon?). This book was truly magical and I loved every second of it. Definitely one I will reread in the future.
Genre: Fantasy
Recommended Age: 13+
Favorite Quote: "A Forest's life is beyond what the normal, everyday eye can see. In fact, the regular goings-on of a particularly enchanted Forest are completely lost on a typical humans perception. But the energies of these Forests can be felt by all who stumble into them, whether by mistake or for a purpose."
I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was in no way influenced by this arrangement.
The Forest has a system. There are higher spirits and under spirits. The higher spirits bring love and peace to the forest whereas the under spirits bring destruction and loss. When a higher spirit falls from grace and becomes corrupted by an under spirit and the Yew, the highest spirit, is placed into a deep sleep, the corruption of the Forest begins. This change is sensed by all in the Forest, but King Alston, ruler of the Nymph Kingdom, refuses to take action. The future of the Forest Kingdoms falls to Narena, her younger brother Nyxen, their warrior friend Kellen, and a sage salamander named Hawthorne, all of whom must venture through the darkest part of the Forest to reach Lapris Mountain where the Yew sleeps. They must find a way to wake the Yew and defeat the corruption... Or die trying.
Ever since I was little I had read stories about fairies and enchanted Forests, but never about the nymphs. This story takes place from the perspective of nymphs and starts at the downfall of the Forest, which made this story very unique... And I loved every second of it. The corruption and destruction of the Forest has been occuring for years at the time the story begins and it's up to a special group of nymphs to restore balance to the Forest. And I'm not sure if the author intended it, but the book mentions how blind the nymphs were to the obvious downfall of the Forest because their ruler refused to acknowledge what the other kingdoms could see. I felt that this tidbit gave the book a dystopian vibe in a way, which I loved. I also loved the way the characters interacted with each other and how the story makes you think about the current state of our own forests because we are contributing to the forests destruction as much as the fallen higher spirit was.
The only (selfish) complaint I have about the book was that I felt the story was too short. I wanted more back story on all of the characters and the events that were going on and at times I wanted the story to slow down a bit so it could focus on the interaction between the characters and surroundings. I was sad to finish this short book (it's only 169 pages long). I feel the author could easily expand the story and I hope to read more about Narena, Nyxen, Kellen, and the others in the next book (please say there is another book coming out T. Damon?). This book was truly magical and I loved every second of it. Definitely one I will reread in the future.