Title: Witchcraft (The Witchblood Series)
Author: Emma Mills
Genre: Young Adult/Paranormal
On this sophomore outing in the writing world, this second in the Witchblood Series has me scratching my head.
There are many more errors in this book, by way of grammatical and spelling. (I'm learning a lot of British words though!). There are also, unfortunately, several references to J.K. Rowlings' "Harry Potter" character and actual usage of spells from the book series and movies. I realize having my own children grow up reading the series and watching the movies, that their generation knows of and enjoy the characters, spells and other things from the world that J.K. Rowlings has so beautifully connected us to. However, using the characters and spells, to me, is just too much of a really badly plageristic move. It would have been much better to not use actual character names and spells, and instead just give hints of who and what Jessica is thinking about.
Another thing I noticed was a reference to a television show from the U.S. called "Charmed" and the use of one of the main characters' name from that show, as well as her power as a witch. I'm very familiar with this show as well (my girls, all three of them, have the symbol from the show's "book of shadows" actually tattooed on their backs, because from this series they learned the three of them are stronger together, than apart, with the power of three.), which now segues into our villains name of "Cole". In the TV Series "Charmed" he was one of the villains, in fact a main character from "Charmed". Ms. Mills is losing originality points quickly now. I'm waiting for other unnecessary references now... are we going to start calling the angels who are earthbound "White Lighters"?
Continuity errors are abundant as Jessica's father told her in a letter that when he met her birthmother, she said her name was Laurie, however as she was giving birth before she died she admitted her name was Rachel Bishop. In this book, her own family from the U.S. refers to her birthmother as Laurie. Another continuity problem when the drinks in the bar had been laced with date rape drugs, Eva (another character in the book who is also a vampire) explained that the smell of it is what they use to get rid of the people that use them from the club, as part of her "job". When Jessica asked if the drugs effected them Eva said she wasn't sure, but if they did it wouldn't be for long. No given excuse as a "fast metabolism" as is given here; in the same continuity issues Jessica says the ONLY person who called her "Jessie" was her father because he liked Jesse James. Everyone else called her "Jess". So after her father died she allowed Daniel to call her "Jessie". Now everyone is calling her "Jessie" -- CONFUSED!
Another Continuity issue, Eva never told Jessica silver was a vampire no-no yet somehow she knows and says Eva taught her. The errors go on with angels and other things.
This book has a sadder story line. The plot is well thought out, however the ending left me wishing it was different. But only the author knows where the third installment will lead us. I just hope her continuity improves. Other than that, the series is quite an interesting one and as in the first book, the Young Adult audience will enjoy it if some originality returns.
2.9 out of 5 Bookmarks
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Review: Witchblood by Emma Mills
Title: Witchblood
Author: Emma Mills
Genre: Young Adult/Paranormal
This is Ms. Mills' first book, to be honest, I would have had no idea! I was drawn to this book by it's title and cover art, revealing the description sealed in the deal.
The story's characters are fun, scary, protective, loving, empathetic, and commanding. Being a Young Adult novel, as I've stated before you have to catch them quickly and keep them occupied so they don't bore easily and give up reading the rest, regardless of how good "the rest" may be.
Ms. Mills accomplishes that and more. Her American audience will probably find it fun reading, as it's written in the UK English, rather than the American with slang they're used to, which helps to put yourself within the story for the target group.
The main character is 17 year old Jessica, who is soon to turn 18. She's clubbing with friends (remember, the legal drinking age in the UK is 18!) when she meets Daniel. A series of events happen and Jessica is turned into a vampire, and she's able to block her sire bond. There are many more different things she experiences as a newborn vampire that others don't. The problem is then discovered, the title of our book, she has Witchblood!
When you read as many paranormal books as I do, you really can read the same version of the same story over and over again. I didn't feel like I was reading something I'd already read with this book.
Witchblood is written in the first person, but because it's written for UK audiences for the most part, it does seem more "adult" because of the legal drinking age. With that comes the commonalities of sexual intercourse, sexual attraction, etc. Luckily our author kept that in mind and kept it real! Good job! The audience intended will be able to have a possible lane of plausability and will thrive with it.
The story, in some stages, breaks your heart and you actually feel those emotions, as the author's ability to connect with her audience is so well written.
Luckily, there's another book in this "series" and I'm very excited to read it. One thing I would do however, is to recommend more than one proof-reader or copy editor, as I caught a few of those "spell check changed words" and some missing quotation marks.
Not bad for your first book!
3.9 out of 5 Bookmarks
Author: Emma Mills
Genre: Young Adult/Paranormal
This is Ms. Mills' first book, to be honest, I would have had no idea! I was drawn to this book by it's title and cover art, revealing the description sealed in the deal.
The story's characters are fun, scary, protective, loving, empathetic, and commanding. Being a Young Adult novel, as I've stated before you have to catch them quickly and keep them occupied so they don't bore easily and give up reading the rest, regardless of how good "the rest" may be.
Ms. Mills accomplishes that and more. Her American audience will probably find it fun reading, as it's written in the UK English, rather than the American with slang they're used to, which helps to put yourself within the story for the target group.
The main character is 17 year old Jessica, who is soon to turn 18. She's clubbing with friends (remember, the legal drinking age in the UK is 18!) when she meets Daniel. A series of events happen and Jessica is turned into a vampire, and she's able to block her sire bond. There are many more different things she experiences as a newborn vampire that others don't. The problem is then discovered, the title of our book, she has Witchblood!
When you read as many paranormal books as I do, you really can read the same version of the same story over and over again. I didn't feel like I was reading something I'd already read with this book.
Witchblood is written in the first person, but because it's written for UK audiences for the most part, it does seem more "adult" because of the legal drinking age. With that comes the commonalities of sexual intercourse, sexual attraction, etc. Luckily our author kept that in mind and kept it real! Good job! The audience intended will be able to have a possible lane of plausability and will thrive with it.
The story, in some stages, breaks your heart and you actually feel those emotions, as the author's ability to connect with her audience is so well written.
Luckily, there's another book in this "series" and I'm very excited to read it. One thing I would do however, is to recommend more than one proof-reader or copy editor, as I caught a few of those "spell check changed words" and some missing quotation marks.
Not bad for your first book!
3.9 out of 5 Bookmarks
Review: MUSE by Susie M Hanley
Title: Muse
Author: Susie M Hanley
Genre: Paranormal
WOW! Yet again, another freebie that I am SO glad I downloaded! I'm finding quite a nice little treasure trove of new authors out there now that I can get introduced to them so much easier! (And to think I was complaining about not having an actual "book" and the tactical feel of it. This e-book era is nice... OK, I finally admit it!)
The summary is what grabbed me. The writing kept me hooked! I finished it in less than two days, immediately went looking for the next book, found Ms. Hanley on Facebook and begged for information on the release of it!
What a unique, fun, captivating read! We start each chapter learning about what a "muse" is as well as a "guardian" using quotes from non-fictional authors of antiquity to a fictional group of manuals and encyclopedias that the muses and guardians use as rules. This is so helpful when reading.
The characters are truly likeable, even believable. A young mom, whose husband just up and leaves her one day. She's trying to do the best she can and trying to sell her beautiful, insightful paintings. Then, as she's revealing one of her paintings to a client, something happens and she is surprised to find that she, of all things, is a muse. She dislikes guardians with a passion. But a guardian is the one who helped her, and he doesn't "guard" anyone so he's no "normal" guardian.
If I say more I won't be able to stop and I'll give the whole plot and storyline away! It's just that dang good! Believe me though when I tell you, this is so worth your time!!! It's fast paced, funny, scary, intriguing, and the ending leaves you with your mouth hanging open, cursing because it's over and you have to wait for the next one! AARRGGHH!!!
Get ready people, here's a first on my blog; Congratulations Susie M Hanley, you're the first to receive...
5 out of 5 bookmarks!
This book is now available for your Kindle as well as bookstores! GET IT BEFORE THE NEXT ONE COMES OUT!!!
Author: Susie M Hanley
Genre: Paranormal
WOW! Yet again, another freebie that I am SO glad I downloaded! I'm finding quite a nice little treasure trove of new authors out there now that I can get introduced to them so much easier! (And to think I was complaining about not having an actual "book" and the tactical feel of it. This e-book era is nice... OK, I finally admit it!)
The summary is what grabbed me. The writing kept me hooked! I finished it in less than two days, immediately went looking for the next book, found Ms. Hanley on Facebook and begged for information on the release of it!
What a unique, fun, captivating read! We start each chapter learning about what a "muse" is as well as a "guardian" using quotes from non-fictional authors of antiquity to a fictional group of manuals and encyclopedias that the muses and guardians use as rules. This is so helpful when reading.
The characters are truly likeable, even believable. A young mom, whose husband just up and leaves her one day. She's trying to do the best she can and trying to sell her beautiful, insightful paintings. Then, as she's revealing one of her paintings to a client, something happens and she is surprised to find that she, of all things, is a muse. She dislikes guardians with a passion. But a guardian is the one who helped her, and he doesn't "guard" anyone so he's no "normal" guardian.
If I say more I won't be able to stop and I'll give the whole plot and storyline away! It's just that dang good! Believe me though when I tell you, this is so worth your time!!! It's fast paced, funny, scary, intriguing, and the ending leaves you with your mouth hanging open, cursing because it's over and you have to wait for the next one! AARRGGHH!!!
Get ready people, here's a first on my blog; Congratulations Susie M Hanley, you're the first to receive...
5 out of 5 bookmarks!
This book is now available for your Kindle as well as bookstores! GET IT BEFORE THE NEXT ONE COMES OUT!!!
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Still have TONS to review for you!
Well Friends,
I hope you and your families had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We were lucky enough to have two. One at my house, with family flying in from out of state the week before the official holiday. As with any family get-together, there was our share of drama. What do you expect with a house full of estrogen and only three men? The odds were not in their favor!
My youngest granddaughter, Katherine Alene was here. She weighed in at a whooping 10 lbs 2.3 oz. My oldest granddaughter Jessi and her sister Reba (aka Rebecca) helped their Grandma (AKA Wawa) baste turkey and other fun stuff!
We also celebrated a dual birthday! My granddaughter with the red hair and one dimple, Reba, shares her birthday with me. We had a lovely little impromptu party.
After all the family left, we were invited for the actual day of Thanksgiving, to attend a dinner with friends. Nothing really beats a great atmosphere, good friends and good food! It was a wonderful evening!
I have plenty of reviews to still type up, and I'm going to be interviewing one of my soon-to-be-reviewed Indie Authors! Susie Hanely, author of "Muse" will be highlighted on my blog. So be sure to check that out! If you are an Indie Author, and would like me to read your material, give my opinion and do a short interview with you, I'd be happy to do so. Currently I'm a bit behind in typing everything up, but I'll catch up soon! I refuse to NOT be finished by the end of the year so I can start more books! YAY!
Remember to share this link with your friends, if they love reading, send them my way. I take requests from authors as well as those who simply would like a book read and reviewed.
Happy Christmas ALL!
M
I hope you and your families had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We were lucky enough to have two. One at my house, with family flying in from out of state the week before the official holiday. As with any family get-together, there was our share of drama. What do you expect with a house full of estrogen and only three men? The odds were not in their favor!
My youngest granddaughter, Katherine Alene was here. She weighed in at a whooping 10 lbs 2.3 oz. My oldest granddaughter Jessi and her sister Reba (aka Rebecca) helped their Grandma (AKA Wawa) baste turkey and other fun stuff!
We also celebrated a dual birthday! My granddaughter with the red hair and one dimple, Reba, shares her birthday with me. We had a lovely little impromptu party.
After all the family left, we were invited for the actual day of Thanksgiving, to attend a dinner with friends. Nothing really beats a great atmosphere, good friends and good food! It was a wonderful evening!
I have plenty of reviews to still type up, and I'm going to be interviewing one of my soon-to-be-reviewed Indie Authors! Susie Hanely, author of "Muse" will be highlighted on my blog. So be sure to check that out! If you are an Indie Author, and would like me to read your material, give my opinion and do a short interview with you, I'd be happy to do so. Currently I'm a bit behind in typing everything up, but I'll catch up soon! I refuse to NOT be finished by the end of the year so I can start more books! YAY!
Remember to share this link with your friends, if they love reading, send them my way. I take requests from authors as well as those who simply would like a book read and reviewed.
Happy Christmas ALL!
M
Review of: The Promise - The Fallen Series (Book #4)
Title: The Promise - The Fallen Series (Book #4)
Author: Jessica Sorenson
Genre: Young Adult/Sci-Fi/Paranormal
The grammatical errors in this book are equal to, if not more than the last book. At times it starts to take away from your ability to enjoy the story because you're trying to figure out what the author is trying to say. 18% through the book and I've already noted 15 grammatical errors.
This book is markedly different from the previous installments. At times it gets a little confusing, because we're no longer dealing with the first person narrative we have through the last 3 books. When a new chapter begins, the characters name is shown in parenthesis, and now you're listening to the story, through their perspective. Then all of the sudden, another name is in parenthesis, and a new narrative is happening in the first person for that character. You've got to keep on your toes with this one! For three books, we are not only dealing with bad editing and mistakes, but we got two people talking and it gets a little quirky and confusing. There are also way too many questions without answers, and as your frustration grows from there, let me remind you this is a Young Adult series. If *I'm* getting frustrated and confused what do you think a 13 yr old will be feeling. I marked over 24 instances of editing errors!
There also seems to be a lot of unnecessary mentioning of songs' names and the bands that are playing the songs. Like the Author wants you to feel like she understands the youth she's writing for.
In this Young Adult series, there does seem to be a lot of sexual tensions between characters, however when the chance comes to teach the audience that the characters are consenting adults, she doesn't have them admit their love for each other, but we are left with just an idea that they were intimate and then an immature off-handed remark, lessening the importance of what the act of making love means.
The ending isn't so much as what the characters wanted as it is a platform to start a spin-off series using the same characters, which disappointed me. As the "Climactic End" came, we came to expect to see the couples enjoying their new lives, free of tyranny, in happy relationships, something they all complained about not having. Yet after the climactic end we were all left scratching our heads because it seems like we've got a "new quest".
NOT IMPRESSED! PLEASE GET A NEW EDITOR!
2.5 OUT OF 5 Bookmarks
Author: Jessica Sorenson
Genre: Young Adult/Sci-Fi/Paranormal
The grammatical errors in this book are equal to, if not more than the last book. At times it starts to take away from your ability to enjoy the story because you're trying to figure out what the author is trying to say. 18% through the book and I've already noted 15 grammatical errors.
This book is markedly different from the previous installments. At times it gets a little confusing, because we're no longer dealing with the first person narrative we have through the last 3 books. When a new chapter begins, the characters name is shown in parenthesis, and now you're listening to the story, through their perspective. Then all of the sudden, another name is in parenthesis, and a new narrative is happening in the first person for that character. You've got to keep on your toes with this one! For three books, we are not only dealing with bad editing and mistakes, but we got two people talking and it gets a little quirky and confusing. There are also way too many questions without answers, and as your frustration grows from there, let me remind you this is a Young Adult series. If *I'm* getting frustrated and confused what do you think a 13 yr old will be feeling. I marked over 24 instances of editing errors!
There also seems to be a lot of unnecessary mentioning of songs' names and the bands that are playing the songs. Like the Author wants you to feel like she understands the youth she's writing for.
In this Young Adult series, there does seem to be a lot of sexual tensions between characters, however when the chance comes to teach the audience that the characters are consenting adults, she doesn't have them admit their love for each other, but we are left with just an idea that they were intimate and then an immature off-handed remark, lessening the importance of what the act of making love means.
The ending isn't so much as what the characters wanted as it is a platform to start a spin-off series using the same characters, which disappointed me. As the "Climactic End" came, we came to expect to see the couples enjoying their new lives, free of tyranny, in happy relationships, something they all complained about not having. Yet after the climactic end we were all left scratching our heads because it seems like we've got a "new quest".
NOT IMPRESSED! PLEASE GET A NEW EDITOR!
2.5 OUT OF 5 Bookmarks
Review of: The Vision - The Fallen Series (Book #3)
Title: The Vision - The Fallen Series (Book #3)
Author: Jessica Sorenson
Genre: Young Adult/Sci-Fi/Paranormal
In this 3rd installment, emotions run rampant! Gemma is faced with many new things and people to deal with. Her friends now have problems of their own that could mean life or death, so she is forced to find and learn to use the powers she thinks she has, and confront where they came from.
Yet another fantastic cliffhanger! Though I felt the story did get slow at times, and action scenes weren't as frequent, I don't think this book holds the same interest for me as the previous books. However, I knew the information in it was necessary to take us into the next book! It keeps you guessing though, that's for sure!
This book had worse editing issues than the last two books together. I can't tell people enough that Spell Check and Grammar Check are not a great way to proofread or can do the job of a copy editor enough! If you have enough distractions, you'll lose your audience regardless of how good the story is. These mistakes got very distracting and came in clusters. But now that I feel invested in the story, there's no turning back now, and I've seen worse editing in Adult Genre books.
3 out of 5 Bookmarks
Author: Jessica Sorenson
Genre: Young Adult/Sci-Fi/Paranormal
In this 3rd installment, emotions run rampant! Gemma is faced with many new things and people to deal with. Her friends now have problems of their own that could mean life or death, so she is forced to find and learn to use the powers she thinks she has, and confront where they came from.
Yet another fantastic cliffhanger! Though I felt the story did get slow at times, and action scenes weren't as frequent, I don't think this book holds the same interest for me as the previous books. However, I knew the information in it was necessary to take us into the next book! It keeps you guessing though, that's for sure!
This book had worse editing issues than the last two books together. I can't tell people enough that Spell Check and Grammar Check are not a great way to proofread or can do the job of a copy editor enough! If you have enough distractions, you'll lose your audience regardless of how good the story is. These mistakes got very distracting and came in clusters. But now that I feel invested in the story, there's no turning back now, and I've seen worse editing in Adult Genre books.
3 out of 5 Bookmarks
Review of: The Underworld - The Fallen Series
Book Title: The Underworld - Fallen Series (Book 2)
Book Author: Jessica Sorenson
Genre: Young Adult/Sci-Fi/Paranormal
Editing issues still remain such as missing punctuation, grammar, etc. Nothing that impacts the story itself though.
This book begins where "Fallen Star" left off. The cliffhanger from the first book makes you want to run into this book, head first, and Ms. Sorenson does not disappoint! I really like that the book is started at the ending of the last book, as not all authors seem to think that necessary, telling us more sub-plots before getting to the "meat" of the story. Thank you Ms. Sorenson for not making us re-read up to two chapters of this book before the "new" stuff happens!
The Underworld as the title implies, is about "The Underworld" where Gemma's mother was sent. The goal is to get her out and hopefully stop the end of the world, quite literally.
Though we stumbled at times due to the bad editing, our author keeps us on track and leads us on a fun, scary, mystery filled, quizzical, magical ride! With Gemma becoming more and more emotional, where she had never felt emotion before and shouldn't be having any emotions at all, to her friends trying to help her in more ways than one. And of course, the twists and turns make this a great outing into the world of imagination!
I'm sure Young Adults will find this book as a fast, scary rollercoaster ride, and will be inspired to read on to find out how the world is going end on December 21st, 2012!!
4 out of 5 Bookmarks
Book Author: Jessica Sorenson
Genre: Young Adult/Sci-Fi/Paranormal
Editing issues still remain such as missing punctuation, grammar, etc. Nothing that impacts the story itself though.
This book begins where "Fallen Star" left off. The cliffhanger from the first book makes you want to run into this book, head first, and Ms. Sorenson does not disappoint! I really like that the book is started at the ending of the last book, as not all authors seem to think that necessary, telling us more sub-plots before getting to the "meat" of the story. Thank you Ms. Sorenson for not making us re-read up to two chapters of this book before the "new" stuff happens!
The Underworld as the title implies, is about "The Underworld" where Gemma's mother was sent. The goal is to get her out and hopefully stop the end of the world, quite literally.
Though we stumbled at times due to the bad editing, our author keeps us on track and leads us on a fun, scary, mystery filled, quizzical, magical ride! With Gemma becoming more and more emotional, where she had never felt emotion before and shouldn't be having any emotions at all, to her friends trying to help her in more ways than one. And of course, the twists and turns make this a great outing into the world of imagination!
I'm sure Young Adults will find this book as a fast, scary rollercoaster ride, and will be inspired to read on to find out how the world is going end on December 21st, 2012!!
4 out of 5 Bookmarks
Book Title: Fallen Star (Series)
Author: Jessica Sorenson
Genre: Young Adult/Sci-Fi
This is a unique story, written well for it's target audience. There are some minor editing problems that include misspelled words, improper punctuation and grammatical errors but they in no way take away from the story.
The lead character is 17 year old Gemma with the unique quality of having violet colored eyes. The book is written in the first person so the story is being told with her thoughts and words as she is saying/thinking them. She knows hardly any emotion because she was raised with none. However, she's strangely began feeling emotions and she doesn't know why. This character as she is introduced to new emotions and characters in this book, becomes quite loveable and you just want to give her a hug and try to make things better for her.
The other characters in the book are interesting yet leave you guessing as to what their motives and feelings really are.
This story has witches, "keepers", "foreseers", "faeries", an underworld where people sent there get tortured until they go crazy enough to be no longer useful, "Death Walkers" who honestly remind me of a creature from a well known wizard series and a few other interesting "beings".
Being that this is the first book in a series, I wasn't expecting much, as we are trying to establish our characters and their relationships as well as start an interesting story that will propel us forward and leave us wanting to buy the next book. But the crux of the matter is I honestly enjoyed learning about Gemma's story, meeting the bad guys (because there's always bad guys!) and as I'm sure other people have noted with this book, just wondered who those bad guys really were, and if Gemma was trusting the right people. We were also left with a FANTASTIC cliffhanger of an ending which prompted this reader to immediately buy more books in this series.
I would say this book is perfect for the target audience and not just females as some are by nature. I think BOTH Young Men and Young Women will enjoy this read!
4 out of 5 Bookmarks
Author: Jessica Sorenson
Genre: Young Adult/Sci-Fi
This is a unique story, written well for it's target audience. There are some minor editing problems that include misspelled words, improper punctuation and grammatical errors but they in no way take away from the story.
The lead character is 17 year old Gemma with the unique quality of having violet colored eyes. The book is written in the first person so the story is being told with her thoughts and words as she is saying/thinking them. She knows hardly any emotion because she was raised with none. However, she's strangely began feeling emotions and she doesn't know why. This character as she is introduced to new emotions and characters in this book, becomes quite loveable and you just want to give her a hug and try to make things better for her.
The other characters in the book are interesting yet leave you guessing as to what their motives and feelings really are.
This story has witches, "keepers", "foreseers", "faeries", an underworld where people sent there get tortured until they go crazy enough to be no longer useful, "Death Walkers" who honestly remind me of a creature from a well known wizard series and a few other interesting "beings".
Being that this is the first book in a series, I wasn't expecting much, as we are trying to establish our characters and their relationships as well as start an interesting story that will propel us forward and leave us wanting to buy the next book. But the crux of the matter is I honestly enjoyed learning about Gemma's story, meeting the bad guys (because there's always bad guys!) and as I'm sure other people have noted with this book, just wondered who those bad guys really were, and if Gemma was trusting the right people. We were also left with a FANTASTIC cliffhanger of an ending which prompted this reader to immediately buy more books in this series.
I would say this book is perfect for the target audience and not just females as some are by nature. I think BOTH Young Men and Young Women will enjoy this read!
4 out of 5 Bookmarks
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Book Review of "Vampire Paradox" By Elaine Waldron
Book Title: Vampire Paradox
Author: Elaine Waldron
Genre: Paranormal Romance
40% through a book, and yet again I've found a book whose it's own worst enemy.
This book, strangely enough, I PAID FOR! It was advertised on my Kindle in sleep mode. I read the summary and thought it sounded great! As I read through... I just shook my head.
I was reminded of characters from cable television series (True Blood Anyone?) and prime time television (Vampire Diaries Anyone?). Even a few from a well known series made into movies ending this winter! (Twilight, Anyone?) But I'm also seeing so many errors in the book itself... WHERE is the Editor? Did we not bother to proofread?
At one point I'd read enough about "vibrating heads" I just shook my head and thought " no thesaurus huh?" The author even calls one of her characters "Beth" instead of "Bess". Really, you don't know your own character's names? We also seem to "gafaw" a lot!
Story continuity has problems at times and the climactic ending is really a let down. Someone has a hunch, then someone else. Too coincidental. Then, it's perhaps the lack of that thesaurus that the author can't find a way to describe how vampires fight. All the sudden the book is over and you are left feeling unfulfilled, wondering why you actually paid for this, when the free books you've been getting are so much better!
Believe me when I say I've written enough here you've probably gotten the story figured out by now.
I will say this however, I am a Gold Star Aunt, having lost my nephew in 2007 to an IED in Iraq. To this day our hearts have not healed. One of the main characters is introduced as having just lost her husband in Afghanistan and has a 6 year old daughter. (Who, by the way acts and talks like she's 16!) HOW UNSYMPATHETIC AND HOW HURTFUL TO OUR MILITARY FAMILIES TO BUILD A STORY FROM A LOSS SUCH AS THIS!! EVEN AFTER SHE'S ALREADY QUOTED THE MAIN FEMALE CHARACTER AS SAYING "IT WAS TOO SOON AFTER " HER HUSBAND'S DEATH TO SLEEP WITH SOMEONE ELSE - SHE'S SO EAGER TO TURN INTO A VAMPIRE TO SAVE THE VAMPIRE NEXT DOOR!!!
Let's walk a little closer to reality, shall we? And if you want to refer to a killed military husband or wife, let's use some tact or think of someone who might be going through the same thing (death of spouse in war). It's not as easy to go through as this author has written it, and I'm not impressed it was used at all. Makes my tummy turn. SHAME ON YOU!
1 out of 5 Bookmarks
Author: Elaine Waldron
Genre: Paranormal Romance
40% through a book, and yet again I've found a book whose it's own worst enemy.
This book, strangely enough, I PAID FOR! It was advertised on my Kindle in sleep mode. I read the summary and thought it sounded great! As I read through... I just shook my head.
I was reminded of characters from cable television series (True Blood Anyone?) and prime time television (Vampire Diaries Anyone?). Even a few from a well known series made into movies ending this winter! (Twilight, Anyone?) But I'm also seeing so many errors in the book itself... WHERE is the Editor? Did we not bother to proofread?
At one point I'd read enough about "vibrating heads" I just shook my head and thought " no thesaurus huh?" The author even calls one of her characters "Beth" instead of "Bess". Really, you don't know your own character's names? We also seem to "gafaw" a lot!
Story continuity has problems at times and the climactic ending is really a let down. Someone has a hunch, then someone else. Too coincidental. Then, it's perhaps the lack of that thesaurus that the author can't find a way to describe how vampires fight. All the sudden the book is over and you are left feeling unfulfilled, wondering why you actually paid for this, when the free books you've been getting are so much better!
Believe me when I say I've written enough here you've probably gotten the story figured out by now.
I will say this however, I am a Gold Star Aunt, having lost my nephew in 2007 to an IED in Iraq. To this day our hearts have not healed. One of the main characters is introduced as having just lost her husband in Afghanistan and has a 6 year old daughter. (Who, by the way acts and talks like she's 16!) HOW UNSYMPATHETIC AND HOW HURTFUL TO OUR MILITARY FAMILIES TO BUILD A STORY FROM A LOSS SUCH AS THIS!! EVEN AFTER SHE'S ALREADY QUOTED THE MAIN FEMALE CHARACTER AS SAYING "IT WAS TOO SOON AFTER " HER HUSBAND'S DEATH TO SLEEP WITH SOMEONE ELSE - SHE'S SO EAGER TO TURN INTO A VAMPIRE TO SAVE THE VAMPIRE NEXT DOOR!!!
Let's walk a little closer to reality, shall we? And if you want to refer to a killed military husband or wife, let's use some tact or think of someone who might be going through the same thing (death of spouse in war). It's not as easy to go through as this author has written it, and I'm not impressed it was used at all. Makes my tummy turn. SHAME ON YOU!
1 out of 5 Bookmarks
I can't say enough...
I was so against electronic books. My daughter and I lamented about the fact that we loved the weight of a book when we read it. We loved the smell of the paper pages. The dog ears where someone had folded a corner down. We loved that we could grab it and take it anywhere, regardless of how big or small.
Then I tried an IPad2. I hated it. Absolutely hated it. For the money, it didn't do what the store employee promised, UNLESS I wanted to pay for several downloaded applications, that I of course, had to pay more for, but in the end, it WAS and IPad2, right? WRONG. I took it back, and with the money it took to buy that IPad2 I was able to buy a laptop (Toshiba), and 2 Kindles. One for reading at night (Fire) and the Touch, so I could read outside in the sun. And I still had money left in my pocket!
So, I get on Facebook, and start noticing all the "Free Kindle E-Books" advertisements. I "like" the page and start getting e-mails and things sent to me about free books. Most of them, Indie Authors. Individuals who are new to publishing their books, writing books, etc. Where I use to go browsing in my favorite bookstore with one of my kids or my husband with a Latte in my hand, and would leave having spent at least $75 in new books, I am receiving more books, at no cost. AND THEY'RE GREAT BOOKS!!!
I'm SO glad I have found Independent Authors. One thing I've noticed that I think needs pointing out though, is spell check is NOT a replacement for a good proofreader/editor. The more authors I read, the more I find that a few (like myself) tend toward a couple typos. I find those even in printed books. But I'm finding more and more authors that are writing e-books are seemingly unaware of many problems from punctuation to misspelled words and grammatical errors. I can't explain to you the impact these problems can have on your readership. Please... find someone OUTSIDE your circle to proofread/edit for you. FRESH eyes and the best eyes before you send it out. Your reputation depends on it.
Then I tried an IPad2. I hated it. Absolutely hated it. For the money, it didn't do what the store employee promised, UNLESS I wanted to pay for several downloaded applications, that I of course, had to pay more for, but in the end, it WAS and IPad2, right? WRONG. I took it back, and with the money it took to buy that IPad2 I was able to buy a laptop (Toshiba), and 2 Kindles. One for reading at night (Fire) and the Touch, so I could read outside in the sun. And I still had money left in my pocket!
So, I get on Facebook, and start noticing all the "Free Kindle E-Books" advertisements. I "like" the page and start getting e-mails and things sent to me about free books. Most of them, Indie Authors. Individuals who are new to publishing their books, writing books, etc. Where I use to go browsing in my favorite bookstore with one of my kids or my husband with a Latte in my hand, and would leave having spent at least $75 in new books, I am receiving more books, at no cost. AND THEY'RE GREAT BOOKS!!!
I'm SO glad I have found Independent Authors. One thing I've noticed that I think needs pointing out though, is spell check is NOT a replacement for a good proofreader/editor. The more authors I read, the more I find that a few (like myself) tend toward a couple typos. I find those even in printed books. But I'm finding more and more authors that are writing e-books are seemingly unaware of many problems from punctuation to misspelled words and grammatical errors. I can't explain to you the impact these problems can have on your readership. Please... find someone OUTSIDE your circle to proofread/edit for you. FRESH eyes and the best eyes before you send it out. Your reputation depends on it.
Book Review of "A Night of Secrets - The Night Series" By Lori Brighton
Book Title: A Night of Secrets - The Night Series
Author: Lori Brighton
Genre: Adult Paranormal Romance
This book is set in 1855, where we met Meg James, a Vicar's oldest daughter. She has a bit of an adventurous evening which leads to saving and adopting a young girl.
As sometimes happens, growing up with the father she has, and no mother, she became the de facto mothering figure, and raises her younger sisters, while the Vicar serves his community, and they are ultimately poor because of the profession. As they've moved out of the city to the country, they are given a small place of residence, so her father can fulfill his duties, but they become the butt of town jokes due to her father's drinking issues. However, all the girls are loving, giving, selfless, and pious because of Meg. But Meg notices, ever since adopting "Hanna", trouble has followed them, which led to father's drinking.
In comes one Grayson Bellamont. A well off former military man who fought for London on the new continent. His parents and sister have been murdered and his niece is come of age where bad things will happen if he can't find her. Being encouraged by his brother-in-law, his niece's father, to find his lost daughter "Collette", IF she's still alive.
I loved the sexual tension shared between the two main characters a well as the fact that even though meg is poor, she's educated, witty, loyal to a fault and strikingly beautiful.
I adored that Grayson, who after the murders of his entire family, tried to turn his emotions "off", sending mixed signals as they say, rather than Meg doing so, which is usually the standard for a period piece such as this.
These characters are fun, and to watch the relationship bounce all over the place is so original! As is the Paranormal part of it! Being a series, I can't wait to read more!
Unfortunately there were a few editing errors in the form of wrong wording, almost like spell check changed it and no one caught it. As well as some punctuation issues, but it didn't detract from the story. A definite SHARE!
4 out of 5 Bookmarks
Author: Lori Brighton
Genre: Adult Paranormal Romance
This book is set in 1855, where we met Meg James, a Vicar's oldest daughter. She has a bit of an adventurous evening which leads to saving and adopting a young girl.
As sometimes happens, growing up with the father she has, and no mother, she became the de facto mothering figure, and raises her younger sisters, while the Vicar serves his community, and they are ultimately poor because of the profession. As they've moved out of the city to the country, they are given a small place of residence, so her father can fulfill his duties, but they become the butt of town jokes due to her father's drinking issues. However, all the girls are loving, giving, selfless, and pious because of Meg. But Meg notices, ever since adopting "Hanna", trouble has followed them, which led to father's drinking.
In comes one Grayson Bellamont. A well off former military man who fought for London on the new continent. His parents and sister have been murdered and his niece is come of age where bad things will happen if he can't find her. Being encouraged by his brother-in-law, his niece's father, to find his lost daughter "Collette", IF she's still alive.
I loved the sexual tension shared between the two main characters a well as the fact that even though meg is poor, she's educated, witty, loyal to a fault and strikingly beautiful.
I adored that Grayson, who after the murders of his entire family, tried to turn his emotions "off", sending mixed signals as they say, rather than Meg doing so, which is usually the standard for a period piece such as this.
These characters are fun, and to watch the relationship bounce all over the place is so original! As is the Paranormal part of it! Being a series, I can't wait to read more!
Unfortunately there were a few editing errors in the form of wrong wording, almost like spell check changed it and no one caught it. As well as some punctuation issues, but it didn't detract from the story. A definite SHARE!
4 out of 5 Bookmarks
Book Review "The Mind Thieves - The Mind Reader Series" by Lori Brighton
Book Title: The Mind Thieves - The Mind Readers Series
Author: Lori Brighton
Genre: Young Adult/Sci-Fi
This book in this series seriously reminds me of "Bourne" novel, but for young adults! Our heroine from the first novel, Cameron, wakes up after 6 months in a coma...
Through this book Cameron is growing as a person, turning into an adult. She's learning to follow her gut. But flash backs or daydreams keep flashing in her mind. So she's confused who the good guys are and who the bad guys are. All she really knows is those blue eyes belonging to Lewis will help her figure everything out - at least that's what her gut is telling her.
Lori Brighton packs a lot of punch into her young adult series. I'm really impressed. Her ability to make even someone my age remember the feelings of first love is a beautifully written cacophony of words that flows like a Bach musical piece. She's allowing Cameron to feel all the feelings, live all the life she's been given in a way any parent would like their child to.
This series is great for those who like lots of action, mystery, twists and turns. When I say this reads like a "Bourne Novel" I'm not lying!! Young adults of all ages will enjoy this brain teaser of a story!
I'm so excited to read the next one in this trilogy- Mind Games!
4.8 out of 5 bookmarks
Author: Lori Brighton
Genre: Young Adult/Sci-Fi
This book in this series seriously reminds me of "Bourne" novel, but for young adults! Our heroine from the first novel, Cameron, wakes up after 6 months in a coma...
Through this book Cameron is growing as a person, turning into an adult. She's learning to follow her gut. But flash backs or daydreams keep flashing in her mind. So she's confused who the good guys are and who the bad guys are. All she really knows is those blue eyes belonging to Lewis will help her figure everything out - at least that's what her gut is telling her.
Lori Brighton packs a lot of punch into her young adult series. I'm really impressed. Her ability to make even someone my age remember the feelings of first love is a beautifully written cacophony of words that flows like a Bach musical piece. She's allowing Cameron to feel all the feelings, live all the life she's been given in a way any parent would like their child to.
This series is great for those who like lots of action, mystery, twists and turns. When I say this reads like a "Bourne Novel" I'm not lying!! Young adults of all ages will enjoy this brain teaser of a story!
I'm so excited to read the next one in this trilogy- Mind Games!
4.8 out of 5 bookmarks
Book Review "The Mind Readers" by Lori Brighton
Book Title: The Mind Readers - The Mind Readers Series
Author: Lori Brighton
Genre: Young Adult/Sci-Fi
Again, I must give credit where credit is due.... Thank you Pixels of Ink for yet again, sending me a freebie from an author I would have never have found, in a genre that isn't usually in my sights.
A few years ago, a little series called "Harry Potter" came on the market by a never before published author by the name of JK Rowling. Adults learned that the young adult market was just as good, if at times not BETTER, than the adult market. I am so glad that happened!
Mind Readers is a story about Cameron, a 17 year old high school student, who can read minds. She's lonely, lives with her grandma who is also a mind reader. Cameron can't read her grandma's mind, because she's never shown any emotion and can somehow block her. But her grandma won't teach her how to block herself from having her own mind read. That way there are no secrets, so says her grandma.
Moving every 2 years or so, because her ability doesn't allow for many friends, and she's always reminded that trying to be a hero is the reason her father died. But she feels like she's found the perfect "BFF" for her stay in this little town. Emily is rich, shallow and gets anything she wants. So, being a mind reader is working in her favor because she always knows just the right compliment to keep her friend happy.
When a mysterious, handsome young man arrives in town, strange things start to happen. Life altering, life ending things. When this young man explains to her that he can read her mind, and she realizes she can't read his, they become "friends". He explains there are more mind readers out there, and he can take her to a place where they can train her to keep their thoughts out and hers to herself, because she's kinda broadcasting a little loudly.
But there's a life that's been lost. There's friends who may be next to die. Does she leave or does she give away her secret again? Can she do both? What will Grandma say or do? There's one more question. The young man tells her that her would be benefactor knew her father. Her father who died, trying to play "the hero" as grandma says, and she doesn't even remember him. Her mother was a druggie (so says grandma) so she's always only had grandma. So, should she leave no-emotion grandma, for a possibility to learn about the father her grandmother refuses to talk about?
Lori Brighton has written a book that will grab young minds, right from the beginning, and keep them excited through the entire book and beyond in this series. She's brought just enough high school drama, real life drama and imagination to create a story, I would have read along with to my girls when they were younger. (We all still share books and movies stemming from those books together, looking forward to the last installment of the Twilight Series and they are in their 20s now!) There's truth in many sayings, including the one of spending an evening with your family sharing a book... We read together, saw the movies together... READING was the foundation for that. Lori Brighton has built a great foundation to build from!
This is also a great book not necessarily meant for the target audience. I think just as adults found they loved other series, they'll love this one, just as much!
4.5 out of 5 Bookmarks
Author: Lori Brighton
Genre: Young Adult/Sci-Fi
Again, I must give credit where credit is due.... Thank you Pixels of Ink for yet again, sending me a freebie from an author I would have never have found, in a genre that isn't usually in my sights.
A few years ago, a little series called "Harry Potter" came on the market by a never before published author by the name of JK Rowling. Adults learned that the young adult market was just as good, if at times not BETTER, than the adult market. I am so glad that happened!
Mind Readers is a story about Cameron, a 17 year old high school student, who can read minds. She's lonely, lives with her grandma who is also a mind reader. Cameron can't read her grandma's mind, because she's never shown any emotion and can somehow block her. But her grandma won't teach her how to block herself from having her own mind read. That way there are no secrets, so says her grandma.
Moving every 2 years or so, because her ability doesn't allow for many friends, and she's always reminded that trying to be a hero is the reason her father died. But she feels like she's found the perfect "BFF" for her stay in this little town. Emily is rich, shallow and gets anything she wants. So, being a mind reader is working in her favor because she always knows just the right compliment to keep her friend happy.
When a mysterious, handsome young man arrives in town, strange things start to happen. Life altering, life ending things. When this young man explains to her that he can read her mind, and she realizes she can't read his, they become "friends". He explains there are more mind readers out there, and he can take her to a place where they can train her to keep their thoughts out and hers to herself, because she's kinda broadcasting a little loudly.
But there's a life that's been lost. There's friends who may be next to die. Does she leave or does she give away her secret again? Can she do both? What will Grandma say or do? There's one more question. The young man tells her that her would be benefactor knew her father. Her father who died, trying to play "the hero" as grandma says, and she doesn't even remember him. Her mother was a druggie (so says grandma) so she's always only had grandma. So, should she leave no-emotion grandma, for a possibility to learn about the father her grandmother refuses to talk about?
Lori Brighton has written a book that will grab young minds, right from the beginning, and keep them excited through the entire book and beyond in this series. She's brought just enough high school drama, real life drama and imagination to create a story, I would have read along with to my girls when they were younger. (We all still share books and movies stemming from those books together, looking forward to the last installment of the Twilight Series and they are in their 20s now!) There's truth in many sayings, including the one of spending an evening with your family sharing a book... We read together, saw the movies together... READING was the foundation for that. Lori Brighton has built a great foundation to build from!
This is also a great book not necessarily meant for the target audience. I think just as adults found they loved other series, they'll love this one, just as much!
4.5 out of 5 Bookmarks
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