Category Archives: Book Review

Book Review: Coup de Grace (The Gift of Grace Book 2) by Esther Jones and Frog Jones

by in Book Review and tagged , , , , , ,

Coup de Grace (The Gift of Grace Book 2) by  Esther Jones and Frog Jones

A Paranormal/Urban Fantasy Novel published by Sky Warrior Book Publishing, LLC. (02/19/14)

Summary:

Grace Moore is the interim director of the Spokane Grove of summoners and must convince the other Groves that she deserves to keep her position. Some are very eager to replace her. Grace does what she has to do to protect her apprentice Robert and the good people of Spokane. When her contact in the local police clues her in that someone has reopened the mall investigation from book one, she must act. Robert is also living under the radar, but he hasn’t forgotten the girl he left behind in Cythymau’s world in book one. After graduating from high school, he will go on to college, right? Or is Robert powerful enough and trained enough as a Summoner to go after the poor trapped girl?

Keywords:

Summoning, Magic, Danger, Fighting, Police, Damage, Power, Runes, Blood, Organization, Politics, Teacher, Learning, Graduation, Teenager, Hiding

My Review:

It took quite a few chapters to get pulled back into the Summoner’s and Grace and Robert’s stories. Much of the beginning of this book was taken up with Grace’s trip to Vegas and her attempt to be political, gain support and more members for the Spokane Grove. Meanwhile, back in Spokane, Robert is going to school and biding his time until graduation. Not much is going on. The slow start, however, was made up for by the epic second half of the book. The buildup and perfectly paced climax kept me at the edge of my seat. I absolutely loved the ending.

The tie-ins for this book were very clever. Anytime Cythymau showed up, he was a true villain. He was the right amount of clever and evil without being overwhelming.

Robert’s relationship with Grace was stretched to the utmost in this book. Robert had to grow as a Summoner and a person to make the right choices, but he doesn’t always make the right decisions. He is human after all. I wish I could have read about the incident in December. I’m sure it would be interesting and show a lot about Robert’s growth as a Summoner and a person.

The humor was more on par in this second book, but I missed much of the foodie aspect in this book that was present in book one.

This novel was published by Sky Warrior Book Publishing, LLC. on February 19th, 2014 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.50

Links for more information:

Frog and Esther Jones’ Website

Goodreads

Twitter

Book Review: Grace Under Fire (The Gift of Grace Book 1) by Esther Jones and Frog Jones

by in Book Review and tagged , , , , , ,

Grace Under Fire (The Gift of Grace Book 1) by  Esther Jones and Frog Jones

A Paranormal/Urban Fantasy Novel published by Sky Warrior Book Publishing, LLC. (10/11/12)

Summary:

Summoning isn’t legal, but it’s done all the time under the nose of the public and the police. Summoners work to maintain balance in the world and make sure nothing nasty gets through the Weave that separates worlds. Grace Moore is an average Summoner sent to investigate the mass murder of a group of summoners in Spokane. Why Grace? Because she’s good enough and everyone else is busy. And did I mention it was dangerous? While in Spokane, Grace encounters the source of the murders, a rather large nasty beast that almost kills her and wants to eat Summoners and soak up their power. At the last minute, the beast is distracted by an unusual power burst and takes off, straight toward a crowded mall. Meanwhile, Robert Lorents is enacting petty revenge using Summoning and Grace has to save his butt. As a Summoner with loads of potential, perhaps Robert is the key to saving Spokane from the big nasty.

Keywords:

Summoning, Magic, Danger, Big Beasts, Escape, Fighting, Police, Damage, Power, Saxophone, Teen Crush, Foodie, Runes, Blood, Hunting, Organization

My Review:

I thoroughly enjoyed the juxtaposition of a high school boy and a mid-thirties hippy chick. Both main characters, Robert and Grace, were well defined and full of their own personalities. It was super neat to see how each character viewed themselves and each other through the POV changes between chapters.

The world and rules for Summoning (magic) were very well defined. There were plenty of explanations for how the Groves functioned and what the Weave was and the ins and outs of Summoning. Summoning was unique enough for magic to be intriguing every time it was defined and every time I saw it in action.

The climax was phenomenal and perfectly timed.

My only critique is that many of Grace’s one-liners fell short and I did not find her as humorous as she was supposed to be written.

This novel was published by Sky Warrior Book Publishing, LLC. on October 11th, 2012 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.75

Links for more information:

Frog and Esther Jones’ Website

Goodreads

Twitter

Book Review: Architects of Destiny (Cadicle #1): An Epic Space Opera Series by Amy Duboff

by in Book Review and tagged , , ,

Architects of Destiny (Cadicle #1): An Epic Space Opera Series by Amy Duboff

A Space Opera/Science Fiction Novel published by BDL Press (04/17/15)

Summary:

Cris Sietinen was born into privilege as the only heir to a High Dynasty, but all he wants is to be his own person. He sneaks off in the night and joins cargo ship Exler’s crew as navigator. What he sees opens his eyes and when the Tararian Selective Service invite him to train with them, he accepts. With newly discovered abilities in telekinesis, Cris, is the student with the most potential.

Keywords:

Space, Travel, Ship, Navigation, Technology, Telekinesis, Worlds, Dynasties, Privilege, Power, Learning, Priesthood, Heir, Romance, Love, Friendship, Training

My Review:

The first half of the book reveals very little about the main character or the plot. The book very well could have started when Cris begins his new training with the TSS, but I guess then there’d be no book because this novel is only 168 page to begin with.

There’s hardly any tension and barely any buildup to a climax or an ending. The romance has no tension and the entire relationship between Cris and Kate was fed to the reader in very few words until they were already in love and ready to get married. Where was the romance?

Sometimes the personal thoughts sprinkled throughout are too much and get in the way of the narrative – they pull the reader out of the story. At times, they feel like they are a crutch because the personal thoughts constantly tell us how Cris is feeling without letting the reader come to any of the conclusions for themselves.

When Cris joins the TSS there’s one paragraph that speeds through a description of his training and testing and that’s it. There are more examples of telling where the showing would be powerful and reveal much about the character.

This story should have been labeled a prologue to the series and cut down to a chapter to precede the real story. There is a lot of potential with the world the author pieced together and the political structure she set up, but overall her characters were shallow, the action nonexistent or random, and the romance breezed over.

This novel was published by BDL Press on April 17th, 2015 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 3.25

Links for more information:

Amy Duboff’s Website

Goodreads

Twitter

Book Review: Sara Supernatural-Half a World Away by Tiffany Belcher

by in Book Review and tagged , , , , ,

Sara Supernatural-Half a World Away by Tiffany Belcher

A Middle Grade/YA Fantasy Novel published by Tate Publishing (01/19/16)

 

Summary:

Sara is back! She has lots of plans for a summer full of fun with Chris, her magical partner from book one, but alas his family is moving him across the world. An intriguing set of twins Sara’s age moves into Chris’s house and they want to be friends with Sara, but there’s something altogether not right about these two girls. Chris told Sara not to use her magic while he’s away, but she can’t just sit on her butt and do nothing when the twins and Jessica gossip behind her back about her. She must get to the bottom of what is really going on.

 

Keywords:

Magic, wishing, powers, female main character, lessons learned, school, immaturity, selfishness, greed, fitting in, twins, mysterious neighbors, evil plot, friendship, invisibility

 

My Review:

The best part of this story was the mystery with the twins that was continued throughout the book. I wanted to understand what was going on and I was super ready for the big reveal at the end! The twins were dynamic and kept changing their tactics. They were odd, yet almost fit in most of the time. They were socially awkward until they did something exactly like a teenager would, like gossiping and spreading rumors about Sara’s friends.

I loved how Sara was uncertain about the twins. She didn’t just believe their intentions and words, but she didn’t completely disregard them as friends. She kept them at arms’ length the entire time, taking what they said with a grain of salt, just like the clever teen she showed us she was in book one. But Sara isn’t perfect and her fault lies in trying to solve all her problems herself, getting deeper and deeper into trouble.

Sara’s two friends were also well written. The story had less of Chris than book one, but I didn’t mind because I was caught up in the mysterious twins and Sara’s rapidly growing problems.

I was surprised at the amount of dropped and missing words in this book. More than a handful of articles were missing from sentences, but the writing was still very readable, despite these typos.

This novel was published by Tate Publishing on January 19th, 2016 and is available on Amazon here.

 

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.25

 

Links for more information:

Tiffany Belcher’s Website

Book Review: Ghost Heart (The PSS Chronicles #3) by Ripley Patton

by in Book Review and tagged , , , ,

Ghost Heart (The PSS Chronicles #3) by Ripley Patton

A Speculative Fiction/Paranormal Novel published by Ripley Patton (10/14/14)

Summary:

“I had been moving on blind faith and pure desperation.” (Kindle Location 338).

“Why would someone sit around waiting for bad things to happen? Action was better.” (Kindle Location 2347).

Olivia was left behind at the Eidolon, only to be captured by the CAMFers and the evil Dr. Fineman. He will torture and manipulate Olivia to get what he wants. Olivia tries to stay ahead of him, but at every turn he bests her. She will just have to wait for her rescue to arrive. But back at the Hold everything is chaos and things are falling apart.

Keywords:

Rare, Ghost Hand, Power, Hunted, Not Normal Teenagers, Hiding, Escape, PSS, Research, Friendship, Leader, Strategy, Romance, Love, Relatives, Plan, Reuniting, Lost

My Review:

Book three picks up where book two left off and the story has diverged because the original PSSers have become scattered. Jason and Passion are alone in the woods. Samantha and the Hold are off somewhere else. Olivia has been separated from everyone and is now at the CAMFer camp. Marcus is at the bottom of the lake. There is a lot going on to begin with and a lot of tension right from the start. A continuation of the climax and resolution from book two feeds right into the conflict buildup in book three.

I still love Olivia. In fact, I love her even more. I’m still on the fence with Marcus. Passion has become a strong character with her own personality and I love her too. Jason gets more time in this book as well and we learn much more about him than we ever knew before.

We learn more about PSS, especially Olivia’s ghost hand. The overall story arc is becoming clear as well. All the hints and setups in books one and two are most or partially revealed in this third book. But all is not over! I can’t wait to get my hands on book four and find out what will happen next!

This novel was published by Ripley Patton on October 14th, 2014 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 5.00

Links for more information:

Ripley Patton’s Website

Goodreads

Book Review: Omega’s Run: Book II of the Moon Forged Trilogy by AJ Downey and Ryan Kells

by in Book Review and tagged , , , , ,

Omega’s Run: Book II of the Moon Forged Trilogy by AJ Downey and Ryan Kells

A Paranormal/Action/Romance Novel published by Second Circle Press (03/22/16)

Summary:

“If grace had a scent, it would smell like you, Ava.” (Kindle Locations 1836-1837).
Remus Reese was branded an Omega and thrown out of the largest Pacific Northwest pack. He is not completely lost, because he knows he wants to be a part of a pack again, but before he has a chance to convince another pack to take him in, a Hunter catches up to his trail. Ava, the Hunter with a chip on her shoulder, has a personal vendetta with Remus and will stop at nothing to bring him in, but when she finds out more about who she’s working for, will she ultimately change her mind about how much she despises Remus and the Moon Forged?

Keywords:

Wolf-Kind, Hunters, Murder, Harsh Laws, Violence, Fleeing, Fighting, Change, Healing, Pack, Omega, Anger, Determination, Revenge, Experiments

My Review:

The first chapter made me want to put this book down. There was violent sex between the main character of this book and some poor unwilling prostitute. How could I come to like our ‘hero’ if I despised him from the first chapter? I’m not sure what was going on with that first chapter, but it doesn’t fit with the rest of the book and the only way I could sympathize with Remus was to forget that he was the rapist from chapter one. The way Remus acts around Ava is also sometimes off-putting.

Besides the violence in the first chapter, I was hooked into Remus’s story and Ava’s involvement almost immediately. The plot was super cool and very well done, with elements from book one colliding together with a logic I didn’t see coming. The tension was held nicely throughout the story and there was no way I would put the book down after that first chapter.

This novel was published by Second Circle Press on March 22nd, 2016 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 3.50

Links for more information:

A.J. Downey’s Blog

Goodreads

Facebook

Book Review: Ghost Hold (The PSS Chronicles #2) by Ripley Patton

by in Book Review and tagged , , , ,

Ghost Hold (The PSS Chronicles #2) by Ripley Patton

A Speculative Fiction/Paranormal Novel published by Ripley Patton (09/27/13)

Summary:

“Marcus was staking his claim to a new life, a real life. We all were. That’s what we were fighting for, armed with the weapons of sheer will, hope, and even guns, if that’s what it came to.” (Kindle Locations 516-519).

Olivia has joined Marcus and his group of PSS guys. They have all escaped the CAMFers at one time or another and now they want to help other kids with PSS get away from the clutches of the CAMFers. Marcus has his list of names and the next one that needs to be saved is Samantha James. But this isn’t a clear cut rescue since Samantha’s a part of a cult known as The Hold. They are a group of PSS advocates that have been keeping those with PSS safe. So if Samantha is safe from the CAMFers, how will Marcus and Olivia get her away from the Hold?

Keywords:

Rare, Ghost Hand, Power, Hunted, Freak, Not Normal Teenagers, Hiding, Escape, PSS, Research, Friendship, Leader, Strategy, Romance, Love, Relatives, Plan

My Review:

I love Olivia even more in this book. I love how she takes charge. I love how she gets upset but keeps trekking along. I love how she is resilient and opinionated and doesn’t stop to consider how she looks to others. She is her own person.

I love Marcus and how thoughtful he is and then I despise him for how he lies to Olivia and how he is the most manipulative person. I still haven’t totally figured him out, but I’m sucked into his character and his relationship with Olivia. I want to know more. I want to see them interact more. I want more.

The pacing is great, story points happen when they should. There are reveals and twists, and there is tension held up nicely throughout. Secrets and lies and new information will keep you turning pages. Things are coming together, those little clues you weren’t sure were real clues are turning into bigger revelations.

There are rules to the PSS, and slowly throughout the series we’re getting more and more information on how PSS works and where it came from! I can’t wait to learn more and have already started reading book 3 in the PSS Chronicles

This novel was published by Ripley Patton on September 27th, 2013 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 5.00

Links for more information:

Ripley Patton’s Website

Goodreads

Book Review: Ghost Hand (The PSS Chronicles #1) by Ripley Patton

by in Book Review and tagged , , , , , ,

Ghost Hand (The PSS Chronicles #1) by Ripley Patton

A Speculative Fiction/Paranormal Novel published by Ripley Patton (11/28/12)

Summary:

“Don’t think about it. Solve the problem. Get yourself out.” (Page 86).
Olivia was born with a ghost hand. It’s rare to have PSS (a ghost body part), but Liv isn’t the only one. The ghost hand wasn’t that bad, if you didn’t mind being a freak in the middle of a small town, but after new kid Marcus shows up, the hand starts acting up. Olivia just wants to live her life, hide her hand as much as possible, but now she can’t. There are people after her who want to forcefully extract her PSS and if she wants to live she’ll have to team up with the new boy and his band of PSSers.

Keywords:

Rare, Ghost Hand, Power, Hunted, Freak, Not Normal Teenagers, Hiding, Escape, PSS, Research, Small Town, Gossip, Rumor, Distant Mother, Friendship, Leader, Strategy

My Review:

I loved the main character, Olivia. She might freak out, as any normal teen under these circumstances should and would, but she doesn’t let that stop her from trying to find a solution. She’s a girl of action. She’s a real superhero and a model main female character. She’s funny, snarky, and thinks fast on her feet. She never lets the situation get the better of her in the end. She may get bad things thrown at her left and right, but she’s always trying to think of a solution and doesn’t wallow in self-pity. She is the strong underdog you’ll love to root for.

I laughed out loud more than once! The dialogue between the teenagers is so realistic and the things they say are hilarious! I especially loved and laughed at the scene where Olivia eats some salted almonds.

I very much appreciate books where the genders of the main characters could have been flipped and the book would hold true the same way. Olivia isn’t overly feminized or put into a gender corner. There was a romantic element, yes, but Olivia could have been Marcus as easily as Marcus could have been Olivia. I like the way Patton wrote this book the way it is written because I loved Olivia as a strong female lead. Marcus was also a strong character and a strong person, but his role was not as large as Olivia’s. She was the protagonist of the story.

Thank you, Ripley Patton for giving us more than just the usual paranormal fare. I was intrigued and fascinated throughout the entire story with Olivia’s ghost hand and the whole concept of “PSS” and I didn’t even mind not getting a thorough explanation for how PSS came about. Sometimes things are just unknown. I loved how this PSS concept is fully developed in this book and the characters discover more about it at the same time as the reader, so we gain a full understanding (but not right away). I believe there’s more to PSS than we know about from the first book and I wholeheartedly await reading more about PSS and hopefully Olivia, Marcus and the gang of PSSers in book two and beyond.

The PSS Chronicles are currently available for FREE in epub and mobi when you sign up for Ripley’s Booklist, the author’s discount YA/NA ebook newsletter (similar to Bookbub but smaller and friendlier). You can sign up here now to get your FREE books: http://eepurl.com/bfMiy9

This novel was published by Ripley Patton on November 28th, 2012 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 5.00

Links for more information:

Ripley Patton’s Website

Goodreads

Book Review: Backyard Dragons (Spirit Knights Book 2) by Lee French

by in Book Review and tagged , , , ,

Backyard Dragons (Spirit Knights Book 2) by Lee French

A Fantasy Novel published by Clockwork Dragon (03/11/16)

Summary:

“Everything about her was different from every other Knight. She had a different build, a different weapon, a different sprite, and different challenges.” (Kindle Locations 2034-2035).

Claire is a Spirit Knight and even though she still isn’t accepted by everyone in the male-dominated group, she wants to show them that she is really a Knight. After she gets a dragon as her sprite and has won a weapon from the Heart of the castle, Claire is ready to begin training. But, before she can truly prepare, things start to go wrong. There are mysterious things going on and Claire and Justin must figure out what’s going on before it’s too late.

Keywords:

Spirit Knight, Fantasy, POV Change, Fighting, Responsibility, Unsafe, Strange Things, Horse, Trust, Hope, Death, Problems, Taking Charge, Discovery, Personal Sprite, Dragon, Friendship, Family

My Review:

I found the pacing good, the tension good and storytelling solid, but there were a few characteristics of this book I didn’t like. Justin felt almost like a villain when he was supposed to be supportive of Claire. There were a few scenes where his thoughts about his family were less than positive and that made me uncomfortable. I thought he was supposed to be the hero passing the torch to the new girl? I believe that there are outside forces that influence how he perceives the things he loves, but I wish he had remained the underdog hero instead of the villain’s assistant. Justin is your average knight, but even so, he was easily manipulated and seemed to get caught in the simplest of traps that Claire was able to figure out immediately! How can one be a Spirit Knight, when one is so easily undone! This did let Claire be the hero and this is her story. I did like that there were average knights like Justin and that he tries to be valiant, that he tries hard all the time.

I liked most everything about Claire. The scenes between her and the Heart of the castle were awesome! I loved how in every situation she found herself in, she didn’t give up, even if she had no real weapon. She wasn’t afraid to use her fists!

Dragons. Super cool. I liked how the dragon actually had his own backstory and personality.

I found the twist of the main plot to be obvious. The clues were so good that I guessed what was going to happen quickly. All new information led directly to this obvious ending, which was still satisfying even though I knew it was coming. It was the logical ending.

This novel was published by Clockwork Dragon on March 11th, 2016 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.00

Links for more information:

Lee French on Facebook

Lee French on Twitter

Goodreads

Book Review: Master of Machines (The Antigone’s Wrath Series Book 2) by Starla Huchton

by in Book Review and tagged , , , ,

Master of Machines (The Antigone’s Wrath Series Book 2) by Starla Huchton

A Steampunk-Adventure Novel published by Amazon Digital Services, Inc. (02/16/16)

Summary:

“Regrets are the realm of humanity, capitaine, not of machines.” (Kindle Location 3331).

The crew of the Antigone’s Wrath is almost all new, all with deep seated hate for the Brotherhood. All who are left are the Captain Rachel Sterling, Danton the Master at Arms, and one other sailor. To pick up this story, Rachel will need to get help from Silas Jensen again. It isn’t for her that she needs Silas, or is it?

Keywords:

Ship, Magic, Ship, Female Captain, Strength, Fighting, Ring, Gear Head, Lover, Danger, Killing, Technology, Secret Sect, Steampunk, Manipulation, Race, Romance

My Review:

Captain Rachel Sterling was as strong as ever in this second book, but she doesn’t always know herself. I love the way she was commanding as a leader, a true pirate, and able to use every resource available to her to get what she wanted (even wearing a corset!).

This is a steampunk story that doesn’t throw difficult language in your face or too much in the way technically/scientifically. This is a steampunk story for everybody. It truly has a story because the Antigone’s Wrath must race time to get what they want and there are plenty of obstacles in the way!

I appreciated how Huchton acknowledges the shortcomings of the culture while still staying true to the world that we’re familiar with and showing an ideal female role model and how we would like our world to be even if it is not. For example, Captain Sterling says, “The world is filled with misogyny. I find it’s more useful to appreciate and reward kindness than acknowledge and battle every insult.” (Kindle Locations 898-899).

This novel was published by Amazon Digital Services, Inc. on February 16th, 2016 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.50

Links for more information:

Starla Huchton’s Website

Goodreads