5 stars
'Gilded Ashes' is a beautifully written dark retelling of Cinderella, placed in the magical world imagined by author Rosamund Hodge in her fantastic debut novel, 'Cruel Beauty.'
Friday, June 30, 2017
Friday, June 16, 2017
‘Guardian of the Grail’ (Immortal Blood #1) by Elena Bryce
4.5
Stars
“Before
vampires, they were Guardians. Drinking the blood of the Holy Grail, and sworn
to protect it and the other sacred relics through the ages.”
Elena
Bryce’s ‘Immortal Blood’ series follows the precious few who have drank from
the Holy Grail, gaining enhanced strength, speed, night-vision, and other gifts;
along with a responsibility to the Grail and the other sacred artifacts. Author Bryce has combined aspects of the Christian
religion with the legend of King Arthur and Merlin, as well as a host of
supernatural creatures into a truly original and captivating paranormal urban
fantasy series.
In ‘Guardian
of the Grail,’ we follow Grail Vampire Lachlan Thorn and witch Ivy Meadows on
their quest of protecting the Holy Grail while in transport so that it can be
properly hidden once again. You see, the
Grail draws the attention and attraction of everyone in the surrounding area,
whether they be human, vampire, witch, werewolf, fay, or otherwise magically
inclined.
Though
Lachlan and Ivy do some traveling together, their story focuses more on their
personal journeys. Through conversations
between Lachlan and Ivy, readers learn about Lachlan’s past and the origination
of Grail Guardians, and separately, vampires as known by modern popular culture. We also learn much about Ivy’s family history
of witches through the ages as she taps deeper into her powers.
As
with all good paranormal fantasy novels, there is a ‘villain,’ perhaps the oldest
of villains; known as The Wandering Jew.
Rumor has it he possesses all the advantages of vampires without any of
the weaknesses and cannot be killed. His
search for the Grail and other sacred relics in his quest for power and domination
brings him in direct contact with Lachlan and Ivy, and Lachlan’s family.
The
characters may be ancient and powerful, but they are easy to care about and
emphasize with. Likewise, the
story-telling nature of this novel was easy to read and enjoyable, and the fight
scenes weren’t descriptively gruesome.
The
‘Immortal Blood’ series is solid paranormal urban fantasy. The sequels to ‘Guardian of the Grail’ – both
‘Guardian of the Spear’ and ‘Guardian of the Thorn’ are currently available as
part of the Kindle Unlimited Program.
Author Elena Bryce is also working on more novels set in this world.
Wednesday, June 14, 2017
‘Lost Girl’ (Neverwood Chronicles #1) by Chanda Hahn
5 stars!
‘Lost
Girl’ is a well-written page-turner and brilliant re-imagining of the Peter Pan
tale we all know and love. All the
classic elements are present, each with a new spin.
For
the first seven chapters, readers follow Wendy as a child, locked in the
Neverland Institution on an island, fearful of the Red Skulls who force the
doctors to run further experiments on the children. Wendy is slow to make friends in her
captivity, but the one she calls Boy, with green eyes and auburn hair, she
knows she can trust.
Seven
years later, Wendy has been adopted by George and Mary, has become an older
sister to their son John, and has made a life for herself in high school. All this despite the nightmares and shadows
that seem to haunt her. When the
shape-shifting shadows attack in public, and Wendy can no longer fight what she
sees and pretend that she is normal, she runs away from home to avoid being
institutionalized again. Instead, she
falls in with Peter, Tink, and the Lost Boys at their Neverwood Academy
hideout, in an awkward dance of secrets versus trust.
Tuesday, June 13, 2017
‘Shadow Fall’ (Shadow Fall #1) by Audrey Grey
5
stars!
‘Shadow
Fall’ is a captivating, imaginative and
expertly written YA dystopian novel. Author
Audrey Grey blends just the right amount of emotional grit and environmental
upheaval with the intrigue of court life, a rebel faction, and two feuding
princes.
Readers
follow teenager Maia Graystone as she journeys from the darkest, most hopeless
place within the asteroid-threatened planet and vies for a spot among the Gold
Court on their space station.
Along
the way, she struggles with her memories and emotions, and with the very
concept of who to place her trust in. Conflicting
and suppressed memories of her inventor Father and the hidden messages he left
for her further compound her trust issues.
Once aboard the space station, her interactions with the Gold Prince,
her former betrothed and perfect DNA match have Maia questioning, yet again,
where her allegiances lay and whom she should trust. Simultaneously, the more she learns about the
Bastard Prince helping her in the Trials, the more internally conflicted she
feels.
Perfect
for fans of Rachel E. Carter’s ‘Black Mage’ series!
The
sequel to ‘Shadow Fall’ - ‘Shadow Rise’ - is expected out in November 2017.
I voluntarily read a Review Copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely my own and no
one else’s.
Friday, June 9, 2017
‘The Crowns of Croswald’ (The Croswald 1) by D.E. Night
5 magical
stars!
This
is a delightful YA fantasy story involving a young lady with magical abilities
and a magic school where she finds herself belonging. This book feels reminiscent of Harry Potter,
in all the right ways.
Book
Blurb:
“In
Croswald, the only thing more powerful than dark magic is one secret…
For sixteen years Ivy Lovely has been hidden behind an enchanted boundary that
separates the mundane from the magical. When Ivy crosses the border, her powers
awaken. Curiosity leads her crashing through a series of adventures at the
Halls of Ivy, a school where students learn to master their magical blood and
the power of Croswald’s mysterious gems. When Ivy’s magic––and her life––is
threatened by the Dark Queen, she scrambles to unearth her history and save
Croswald before the truth is swept away forever.”
Young
Ivy Lovely, care-taker of scaldrons (cute dragons that provide fire for cooking
food for a castle) is content enough with her lot in life, though she secretly
wishes for more. She shows talent for
remembering her dreams, a photographic memory, and being able to perfectly sketch
what she sees; all of these traits of magic-wielders called Scrivenists. When a series of events leads her and the
smallest scaldron in her care to a cab floating in the sky and whisks them away
to magic school, it’s more than Ivy could have ever dreamt of.
Perfect
for fans of ‘Harry Potter’!
I voluntarily read a Review Copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely my own and no
one else’s.
‘The Crowns of Croswald’ will be available on July 21, 2017.
‘Ethereal’ and the Celestra series by Addison Moore
5 paranormal
stars!
Ethereal
introduces readers to author Addison Moore’s re-imagined take on angels;
teenagers attending high school with all the usual drama that high school
ensues, who happen to have powers based on which of the five factions of angels
they are born into. Readers are introduced
to the underlying supernatural story line as the main character, Skyla
Messenger, slowly discovers these aspects.
It is clear from the start that much more is happening than the snippets
of information shared with Skyla.
The dialog and writing style are catchy and successfully captivated my attention, not just during ‘Ethereal,’ but also throughout other books in the Celestra series. The central characters are well written and easy to care about. The love triangle between Skyla, Logan, and Gage is front-and-center, but it seems justified based on plot lines and I enjoy it. I’ve jumped right into the next book after reading each in this series; highly recommend.
The dialog and writing style are catchy and successfully captivated my attention, not just during ‘Ethereal,’ but also throughout other books in the Celestra series. The central characters are well written and easy to care about. The love triangle between Skyla, Logan, and Gage is front-and-center, but it seems justified based on plot lines and I enjoy it. I’ve jumped right into the next book after reading each in this series; highly recommend.
Please
note that Celestra #’s 1-8 are Young Adult.
All others, including ‘Ethereal Knights’ and ‘Perfect Love’ are New
Adult.
A
digital copy of ‘Ethereal’ is available for free with all major book retailers.
Celestra
reading order:
Crown
of Ashes (Celestra
Forever After, #4) – Releasing Summer 2017
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