Tag Archives: Reviews

Review: Ashes

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Ashes
Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Then she shut the door and locked it and left him there.

After being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, Alex leaves on a hiking trip to deal with her personal demons and say good-bye to her parents. That’s when it happens: the pulse. Electronic devices no longer work and folks are either dead or have a strange craving for flesh. Set on survival, Alex does what she must to avoid the Changed and save her improvised family.

This book is broken into two parts, and they couldn’t be more different. The first part is a fast-paced, well-written account of how Alex, Ellie, and Tom meet, encounter the Changed, and plan to survive. The characters are well done, engaging the reader to cheer for their survival. It is an easy – if mature in some parts – read.

The second half of the book is a total departure from the first half. Not only is Alex alone again, but there are no more Changed until the very last chapter – no more action. The reader is left wondering what happened to the other characters (which I presume will be dealt with in the sequel) and tossed into a town, meeting new characters and departing from the Alex from the first part – even she questions where the old her has gone. This part is frustrating, though no less intriguing if only to find out where it is going.

Ashes takes teen dystopia to a gruesome level, though leaving the reader questioning the swift change in the middle of the book. Regardless, it is a fast read, with a lot of action in the first part and hopefully a lot of answers in the sequel.

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Review: The Rising Moon

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The Rising Moon
The Rising Moon by Nilsa Rodriguez
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It’s amazing how quickly your life can change.

Lia is a quiet girl. She keeps to herself, pushing people away because she’s cursed to lose everyone she loves. Until she meets Ryan and he refuses to be pushed away. Together, they try to figure out the mystery surrounding Lia and her curse and uncover a lot more hiding in the shadows than Lia ever expected.

As Lia finds out more about herself and her background, she almost blindly accepts the new pieces of her world, though she is given a lot of hard evidence. Ryan was a very interesting character that played a big part in the novel at the beginning but almost faded out towards the end when other characters were introduced. The lack of emotional depth hindered the story, though that could be fixed along with the grammatical errors.

While the idea and concept behind the story was very interesting, the telling of it needed a little polish. There were points that seemed to contradict themselves or were just confusing. There was not a good enough line drawn between Lia’s nature and that of those around her — the reader is told she’s a shifter and an immortal werewolf, but the two don’t sound like they could be the same. The love angle seemed forced, though the idea that a werewolf would love a vampire is interesting.

The Rising Moon is a dark, twisted take on tales of shifters, werewolves, and vampires. While the ethnic side could have been more enriching, the story’s potential drove it forward until the final battle.

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Review: Into The Desert Wilds

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Into The Desert Wilds
Into The Desert Wilds by Jim Galford
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Freedom has its own confines, but you need to find them within yourself.

Estin and his family have survived the war in Altis, having been transported by the mists more than a thousand miles to the desert surrounding Corraith. Just when they thought they could start their lives over, disaster once again strikes the wildling family.

Continuing where In Wilder Lands ended, readers are treated not only to the returned narration of Estin, but also the fresh voice of Oria. Trying to find her place in this world where there is no pack and thus no need for a leader of one, Oria struggles to give meaning in her life.

The desert is a stark contrast to the wildling’s lush homeland, and as they struggle to adapt, they meet a variety of people and wildlings that alter the path they would have traveled. Most notably is Phaesys, a fennec fox wildling that captures and captivates Oria. The relationship between the two young wildlings grows throughout the book and is just as complicated as Estin and Feanne’s relationship.

The fierce protective nature and the need to fight to prove yourself that readers saw in Feanne is passed on to Oria, helping to shape the adult she will become. Estin’s knack for finding trouble is also present, and Oria seems to have inherited that as well. As the wildlings prepare once again to fight the Turessian intent on seeing Estin and his family destroyed, it will take all of these skill and more to put a stop to him and save their new home.

Just as in the first novel, here is no lack of humor, love, or confrontation in this sequel. Or tears, at least at the end. Blended into the struggle to survive and adapt is a complex story with many themes: growing up, learning to love, thinking for yourself instead of blindly doing what you’re told is right, and fighting for your beliefs, freedom, and most importantly, your family.

Galford’s has done it again, creating a beautiful, magical land different from Altis yet still filled with so many vivid details and complex personalities that the reader can’t help but follow in the character’s dusty footprints. Anyone looking for an epic fantasy should not pass this book by.

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Review: Chain Reaction

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Chain Reaction
Chain Reaction by T. C. Archer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Before I filed the report, I had a call to make to Dunning Asylum for the mentally insane and tell them to reserve a room for me.

Detective Jordan Pierce, former Chicago PD, hasn’t felt the same since he was attacked in an alley months ago. No longer able to stay awake in the daylight, he has strange abilities that he can’t explain. While trying to balance finding his attacker and his job as a security officer at the University of Chicago, he gets caught up in a murder investigation and finds out he’s not the only one able to do strange things.

Set during the Manhattan Project time of WW2, the book is full of tidbits of history incorporated into the paranormal story. Pierce’s “powers” and nature are slowly learned, though fairly easy to guess, as if the reader is learning about this side of the world with Pierce. The suspense/detective angle was done well, keeping readers on the edge of their seat for what would happen next. The side characters help solidify the world, revealing themselves through Pierce’s interaction with them.

There were several pieces of the story, though minor, that were not resolved, such as Andy’s role in all of this. Also, as this was the introduction to the Phantom League, there was a lot of hinting about other people with other powers that didn’t necessarily show up in the book, leaving readers to wonder about the “others” alongside Pierce.

Full of action, thrills, and potential, Chain Reaction drags readers into a world and time they only thought they knew.

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FMB Blog Tour: Chain Reaction

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Title: Chain Reaction

Series: Phenom League, Book 1

Author: T. C. Archer

Genre: Romance

Publisher: Silver Publishing

Ebook

Words: 65,000

Book Description:

Former Chicago Detective Jordan Pierce put his life on hold in order to protect America’s secret weapon against the Nazis, The Manhattan Project. But he can’t protect himself as his humanity is eaten away by a mysterious disease that destroys him, while at the same time makes him more powerful than any man he’s ever known. Jordan finds out how much the disease has devoured his soul when he falls in love with the woman who might destroy America and tear apart his last shred of humanity.

Buy Links: Amazon | ARe | Bookstrand | B&N |

Please check out my review. I’m also hosting a giveaway of this book! To be entered to win, please follow the link below to the Rafflecopter page.

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Review: No Good Deed

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No Good Deed
No Good Deed by Bill Blais
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I’m the lady who saved you and I’m coming with you, whether you like it or not.

Kelly was just your average wife and mother of twins, recently downsized from her job and questioning how her family is going to make ends meet – her loving husband has MS and the cost of their medical bills is staggering. When she witnesses what she thinks is a man getting brutalized by a police officer, her luck and instincts lead her to discover a whole different side of the world where demons walk the street and magic is alive.

Kelly is thrust into working for a group of demon hunters out of desperation, all the while questioning her sanity and her ability to do this job, which got a tad repetitive. The emphasized difference between her home life and her new job tended to slow down the story, since the narration was done with minute details that sometimes weren’t needed.

That said, the story moved along fairly quickly in other parts, with the demon hunting fast-paced and action-packed. As Kelly gets to know “the team,” she finds it’s pretty much like other places she’s worked – some folks like you, some folks don’t, and all you can do is your best. Armed with the latest in demon-hunting weaponry – pepper spray – Kelly and the team take a job that causes a run-in with the incubus Umber very late in the story. While this is the first in the series, Umber’s inclusion near the end of the book seemed almost too late to be introducing a character that is supposed to be a mainstay in the series and leaves the reader with a lot of questions about where this is leading.

Full of doubt yet still willing to meet a challenge, No Good Deed’s Kelly shows that you don’t have to be a kick-butt model to make a difference, but you should always think things through for yourself.

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Blog Tour: No Good Deed

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No Good Deed (Kelly & Umber Series, #1)
Author: Bill Blais
E-Book Published: March 9, 2012
Synopsis: Kelly McGinnis has spent her adult life trying to do the right thing, but as a newly down-sized mother of twins and the wife of a man living with Muscular Sclerosis, she also knows that trying isn’t always enough.
While interrupting a scene of police brutality, Kelly unwittingly releases a real, live demon. After she manages to kill the creature through gut instinct and blind luck, she is approached to join a secret group of demon hunters who reveal an underworld of monsters and magic. Kelly’s mill town upbringing proves an unexpected asset and the pay more than covers her husband’s treatments, but the work begins to undermine her sense of right and wrong as she struggles to maintain her ‘normal’ life.
When she encounters Umber, a compelling incubus with an unexpectedly human story, Kelly learns that the truth is far stranger and more terrifying than she imagined.
Read a Sample Chapter to No Good Deed. Purchase a copy of No Good Deed on Amazon. See my review.

AuthorBio: Bill Blais is a writer, web developer and perennial part-time college instructor. His novels include Witness (winner of the Next Generation Indie Book Award for Fantasy) and the Kelly & Umber urban fantasy series. Bill graduated from Skidmore College before earning an MA in Medieval Studies from University College London. He lives in Maine with his wife and daughter.

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Review: The Macabre Masterpiece: Poems of Horror and Gore

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The Macabre Masterpiece: Poems of Horror and Gore
The Macabre Masterpiece: Poems of Horror and Gore by Justin Bienvenue
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Let the red run slowly into the stream
In this river your hands will not be washed clean
Guilt will arise and your skin will stain
Plain and drained to the vein from those you’ve slain

The Macabre Masterpiece is a collection of short poems with a Gothic feel to them, mainly due to the subject matter – blood, vampires, and the like. It attempted to shed new light on this subject matter, using poetry as the medium.

There were various rhyming patterns utilized, and many of the rhymes sounded forced, as if the sentence was purposely convoluted to ensure the rhyme happened at the end of the line. Also of note, there was little to no punctuation, creating a run-on of words with no pauses for breath indicated.

While the blurb promised in-dept poems, most of them were very superficial and could have been giving more depth – more gore, more horror – instead of just simply describing the subject. There was no “showing,” simply “telling” the reader – sometimes in creative ways – how blood looks or how death is.

Quick horror poems portraying vampires, murderers, and blood, The Macabre Masterpiece takes a light-to-the-night and the creatures crawling there, but leaves the reader with only a Dr. Seuss headache.

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Review: Shield

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Shield
Shield by J.C. Andrijeski
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The world is insane in a way. All of us are insane.

Coming to terms with being the Bridge isn’t easy, especially when your husband won’t tell you all the rules – and keeps getting separated from you. As Allie tries to come to terms with both her new role as the Bridge and her feelings for Revik, she also must stop a war – if she can. Amidst all of this tension, the boy appears, claiming Allie belongs to him.

Continuing where Rook left off, the tension between Allie and Revik is hyped up in this book, a factor of how the Seer marriage works. And just as they get together to figure their feelings out, they are ripped apart once again. Allie does manage to learn more about being a Seer and a Bridge – both the “easy” way and the “hard” way. Along the way, Allie discovers the boy, and her world is shaken with her understanding of who he is.

Fast-paced, action-filled, and full of emotional rides, Shield is a worthy sequel to the Allie’s War series. Once again Andrijeski pulls you into the Seer’s world, twists your emotions on edge, and holds you there until the very end, leaving you with a shock strong enough to have you picking up the next book.

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Review: Orlind

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Orlind
Orlind by Charlotte E. English
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

‘You can change them,’ he said in reply. ‘But you can also change yourself.’

War has come to the Seven Realms, yet almost as suddenly as the draykon force appears, it vanishes. Convinced this is somehow the work of Krays, Eva sets off to infiltrate Krays’s library, leaving Llandry (and the other draykon on their side) to defend her home.

Picking up where Lokant left off, with the war still raging and secrets still being discovered. Llandry and her draykon friends must find a way to battle the draykoni force. Meanwhile, Eva and Tren find what seems to be the root of the war between the libraries – Orlind.

The characters, wonderfully developed throughout the entire trilogy, continue to grow and change as they learn more about themselves, their past, and their abilities. The scenery is once again well described, and the romance in this book has increased as both Tren and Pensould pursue their respective ladies, and though subtle most of the time, it is quite entertaining at points.

A wonderful conclusion to the Draykon series, Orlind ties up loose ends while leaving the world of the Seven Realms open for exploration, which hopefully will spawn more books in this world.

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