Category Archives: Book Review

Book Review: Dust in the Desert: A Flipped Fairy Tale (Flipped Fairy Tales Book 4) by Starla Huchton

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Dust in the Desert: A Flipped Fairy Tale (Flipped Fairy Tales Book 4) by Starla Huchton

A Fantasy/Fairy Tale Adaptation published through Amazon Digital Services LLC (05/16/16)

Summary:

“A single grain of sand can shift the course of a dune, which changes the entire desert.” (Kindle Locations 192-193).

Alida was a simple thief. Istara was a dying city. The Sultana would not give up her power, would not go wanting, would not save her own kingdom. What can Alida, a single grain of sand, do to save Istara?

Keywords:

Desert, Dust, Kingdom, Sultana, Power Hungry, Thief, Deceit, Lies, Wit, Dying Empire, Magic Lamp, Djinn, Wishes, Humbleness, Love, Kindness, Falling in Love, Sympathy

 

My Review:

I absolutely loved Alida! She is the exact princess I always imagined myself to be as a little girl. She is so well spoken and clever, exactly how I want a princess to be. This book is exactly what teenagers should be reading! There is so much to take away from Alida in her actions, her reserved temperament, and her ability keep a level head. She is a great role model.

The dialogue between Alida and the prince Shahzadeh Sameer is amazing. It is so mature, eloquent and realistic for their world and their situations. I was captivated every time Alida spoke.

Tension is held constant throughout this book and it contained solid and compelling storytelling.

This novel was published through Amazon Digital Services LLC May 16th, 2016 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating:5.00

Links for more information:

Goodreads

Starla Huchton’s Website

Book Review: The Human (The Children of Wisdom Book 3) by Stephanie Erickson

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The Human (The Children of Wisdom Book 3) by Stephanie Erickson

A Fiction Novel that will be published (03/06/2016)

Summary:

This woman is like no human I’ve ever encountered. (Kindle Location 1417).

Michaela the Reaper has been captured during her latest Reaping of a Surprise. Did the child make it to heaven or has the human intervened in Fate once again? Even the Fates know the true evil behind the snipped threads and innocent souls trapped in hell and their bent on fixing things and rescuing Michaele.

Keywords:

Fate, Life, Death, Order, Chaos, God, Humans, Immortals, Love, Friendship, Heaven, Earth, Hell, Tapestry of Life, Demons, Escape, Capture, Humanity, Morals

My Review:

The flow of knowledge and understanding about the plot are finally revealed! The plot is clever and integrated well into all three books. The pacing is slower than your average novel and care is taken at all plot points to really dig into the action. Tension was never very high, but the book will keep you reading. Nothing was very surprising, but the book (and series) were still satisfying, kind of like a well-known fairy tale where you know there’s going to be a happily ever after, but you want to read about the journey anyways.

Every time God was mentioned or seen was interesting as he is portrayed as very human. He wears clothing and goes by the gendered pronoun “he.” His handwriting is not perfect, nor are his words always perfectly understandable. In everything, what is God doing? He’s like the mysterious wizard behind the curtain, not really part of the adventure, but the voice of wisdom all the same.

The only note I had on the book was that Shiloh did not act like a child, but like a 1000 year old soul, which seemed rather odd.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the author and this is an honest review.

This novel will be published 03/05/2016 and will be available on Amazon.

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.25

Links for more information:

Stephanie Erickson’s Website

Book Review: Space Tripping With The Shredded Orphans by Sonya Rhen

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Space Tripping With The Shredded Orphans by Sonya Rhen

A Science Fiction/Humor Novel published by Amazon Digital Services (01/05/14)

Summary:

“Better-Than-Meat ™ loaf, sunken squid sub, and coyote cactus pie.” (Page 122).

The Shredded Orphans band is set to perform in another galaxy. No problem. Their ship, the Verity Aquinas, and their navigator Justice will take them straight to the city and performance venue, but After mechanical issues and the disappearance of some very important navigation charts, they land on the planet in the middle of nowhere. Certain that they can find the city if they walk in the right direction, the Shredded Orphans head out in search of civilization.

Keywords:

Spaceship, travel, band, space creatures, rock concert, trapeze, advanced technology, fashion, walking, lost, different species, slaves

My Review:

The little world details are the treasures that kept me reading, such as names of items, trademarked things, and chapter titles. The sci-fi world building details were stupendous and very imaginative.

This book reminded me a lot of Feed by M.T. Anderson. The Shredded Orphans and Feed both have that young person abandon with a carefree attitude. Both main characters in Shredded Orphans and in Feed feel invincible even in the face of problems – like dehydration and death in the middle of a deserted planet. The humorous dialogue and character interaction in Shredded Orphans are also similar to Feed, including some world building dialogue and slang/language, though it was not as far out as Feed.

The book did meander, just like the shredded orphans do in the beginning of the book. This adds to the plot wandering and randomness to the story. The book gets funnier and funnier as you get to know the characters.

I was at first disturbed by the sexism and female stereotyping Lix displays toward Ophelia (the signature female in the first half of the book). She says no and he continues to flirt. He touches her inappropriately without permission. When Ophelia wants to help build using a hammer she is asked to instead help make food (this doesn’t mean she listens, of course). The first questions that people ask of her upon meeting her include whether she has a boyfriend. Lix tries again to get with Ophelia after they’ve been drinking. Chitto was able to sway my opinion. Chitto is “sexless” and from a special and different planet. At first, Chitto said something that I didn’t like about not wanting to be a woman (by having long hair), but later Chitto showed that he could be both man and woman (as a gender), but simply preferred being a man and not because women were inferior or anything. Chitto, actually, is fairly humorous and great for the addition of an LGBTQ aspect to the book. “…if you are going to give my name a gender identity, but in my race we never use them.” (pp. 212-213).

This novel was published by Amazon Digital Services on January 5th, 2014 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 3.75

Links for more information:

Sonya Rhen’s Website

Goodreads

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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