Review for "Lichgates"

"Lichgates" is the first novel of S. M. Boyce's "The Grimoire" trilogy.
☺☺☺☺☺
The cover is simple almost wistful in its design, harkening back to a different day. Old red leather with darkened streaks of misuse cover the entire front. Red wax or possibly blood mars splashes a lower corner. A large interlocking clover design is centered in rusty gold. This is the Grimoire and as you explore "Lichgates" you will get to know it very well. The cover would be almost perfect for the hardcover version giving you the sense that you own the Grimorie, but as a digital book its a touch lacking and doesn't attract quite enough attention.
We are introduced to Kara Magari, our heroine, as she hikes through the Rocky Mountains. The hike quickly turns from mundane to something out of this world when Kara steps through a small gazebo hidden in the forest. She founds herself in the middle of a powerful electrical storm and seeks shelter behind a strange door carved in the mountainside. Once inside things go from bad to worse when roots suddenly come alive and drag her down into the earth. It is deep down underground where Kara discovers a strange book called the Grimoire. But the Grimoire isn't an ordinary book something Kara quickly finds out when it starts to flip its own pages and the sketches within move. The book tells her that she is now the Vagabond and is part of a whole dangerous and magical world she never even knew existed called Ourea...and she can never go back.

What I liked

• Character development is out of this world! Everyone from Kara to Braeden to Deirdre to the ghost of the original Vagabond have layers and layers of depth, their own pasts, their own problems and vices and strengths.
• The world development is also so amazing. Ourea lives and breaths on every page.
• I'm loving the races of the Yakona and their connection to the elements. Obviously the Hillsidians are earth, the Kirelem are the air, the Losse are water. I can only assume at the moment that the Stele are either fire or darkness (I'm going with darkness) and the Ayavelians are possibly light and the last of the Retrien may very well be fire.
• The isen and the muses are an interesting addition to the storyline and push the story along when it might otherwise falter.
• I love how the Grimoire has a personality all of its own
• The amazing animals that are a part of the world, I'm loving little Flick especially.

What I dislike

• The only thing I can come up with is the box Kara's father mentions. It took so long for Kara to remember it that I actually thought the author had forgotten about it and was beginning to get frustrated with it as a plot device. 
• It ended! and it left my hanging. Forshame. :)

I'm going to gush for a minute. I love love love this book. Its by far and away the best one I've read on the Kindle so far. I can't believe I got this gem for free. As soon as I finished it I hurried back to Amazon to see if the sequel was out yet. It is and I'm going to purchase it sometime this week. "Treason" is the second book in the trilogy and is available for $2.99. At the time of this review "Lichgates" is available for $2.99 as well. It is definitely worth the purchase. It would still be well worth it if were twice that much. You have to stop by the authors website as it is amazing full of intricate details, sketches, and so much more, http://www.thegrimoirebooks.com/. The back of the book even suggests you can get your own clover pendant. Which I have to admit would be kinda cool.

☺☺☺☺☺

5 out of 5 smilies 

I loved this book so much I'm inclined to recommend it to anyone and everyone but I do feel like a little bit of the subject matter particularly the loss of Kara's parents would be too sensitive for the really young audience. So I'm going to say mature older kids all the way up to adults. Its a perfect read for those who love a good epic fantasy as well as a finding your place in the world journey.

Synopsis: "The Grimoire turns its own pages and can answer any question asked of it, and Kara Magari is its next target.
Kara has no idea what she's getting herself into when she stumbles across the old book while hiking a hidden trail. Once she opens it, she's thrown into Ourea: a beautiful world full of terrifying things that want the Grimoire's secrets. Everyone in this new world is trying to find her, and most want to control the new-found power the book bestows upon her. Even if Kara does escape, Ourea will only drag her back.
Braeden Drakonin grew up in Ourea, and all he’s ever known of life is lying. The Grimoire is his one chance at redemption, and it lands in his lap when Kara Magari comes into his life. He has one question to ask the book—one question that can fix everything in his broken world—and he’s not letting Kara out of his sight until he gets an answer.
There’s no going back now."

Review for "Chasing the Bard"

"Chasing the Bard" is the first in Philippa Ballantine's series the Fey with Us.
☺☺☺☺☻
This is another book whose cover art has apparently changed since I first got it for my Kindle. The first cover and the one I am most familiar is the one I'm going to describe. The cover frames the portrait of a beautiful young woman. Her dark almost blue black hair cascades in waves down across tanned skinned. Dark lips are curved up in a knowing smirk. Blue tattoos crisscross her skin, tiger stripes across her collarbone and tribal-type markings dripping down her forehead and across the bridge of her nose. Her eyes are a brilliant blue color. Leaves surrounded her head like a crown. The title stretches across the top red with gilded edges, little droplets of gold come down from the corners culmulating in blue and red orbs. For some reason it reminds of me a jester's hat. The cover is beautiful but directly seems to contradict the storyline and the character it is surely meant to mimic, Sive.
Chasing the Bard's story opens as the ancient Puck enters the human world. Puck is a fey creature often known throughout myth as the Trickster. We learn through Puck that his magic is called Art. As Puck meanders through the wood enjoying his freedom he notices a peculiar human woman. Her back is hunched with age as she walks through the forest on a mission. Puck unable to resist himself follows the wise woman through the woods and into the village of Stratford. This was my first clue as to what was coming and I admit I groaned inwardly. The curious fey follows the woman through the town til he is frightened back through the veil by a strange blinding conflagration of Art among the humans. As he disappears the old woman, Bess, continues into the house where a young woman is in the throes of birth. Bess is a midwife called in this time of need.  Here the story diverges into the fairy world. A shimmering banquet hall filled with otherworldly beauty is abruptly disrupted by the sudden appearance of a dark fierce warrior goddess. The goddess is Sive, dark fairy of battle and war, and she is angry with her brother Auberon, King of the Fey, for forcing her into marriage with a fey man she once loved but has somehow changed. But her anger doesn't change his mind and she retreats to her aunt Brigit's home to sulk. It is here Sive mets up with Puck and discovers the happenings of the mortal world and the child who will save them both.

What I liked:

•  I loved the character of Puck and found him very likeable and enjoyable. Brigit was a wonderful wise strong character. 
• The author took the time to paint every scene in both the mortal and fairy worlds
• Mordant's character though evil to the bone also had enough depth to him that made me feel sorry for him, which is slightly unusual.
• It was a novel take on an old tale melding the historical with the fantastical in a way that made it feel possible.
• Macha...the battle raven...if you know celtic/fey myth you know its enough.

What I disliked

• The story jumped from place to place, character to character, sometimes without proper formatting notice or even a clear shift in voice.
• It was about William Shakespeare which for some reason kinda turned me off it. They barely even gave a nod to the work of A Midsummer's Nights Dream which considering some of the character should have been more in the forefront.
• The two main characters of Will and Sive were largely unlikeable due to their sudden conflicted emotions and inability to think past their own motives for the majority of the book. 
• Towards the end of the book the story felt rushed. For instance there were a few confusing lines that it made it seem that Mordant had possessed the Lord of Southampton and then others that contradicted this thought process. And as evil as Mordant was it barely gave much thought to his ending at all, it was almost anti-climatic.
• There were quite a few formatting, spelling, and even usage errors that definitely pulled you out of the story a bit.
• The end is a little hazy. Did Will return to Sive's world or go someplace else?
• Throughout several scenes I couldn't get the characters from the movie Anonymous out of mind. This certainly isn't a fault of the authors but it still did mess with my reading experience. 

"Chasing the Bard" was all and all an entertaining read. At the time of this review it is still available for free and as such is definitely worth getting.The second book in the series is "Digital Magic" and it is available for $3.99 You can find out more about the author and the book at the website www.pjballantine.com
☺☺☺☺☻
4 out of 5 smilies
Recommended for those who enjoy fairy mythology and/or Shakespeare but don't take it too seriously. Due to a few more mature scenes I would put it at a mature tween and older.

Synopsis "Sive, the goddess of battle, hopes that William Shakespeare may be able to change the fate of her people. The Fey are dying, killed by something beyond the boundaries of worlds. But a dark power imprisoned by human and Fey, plots to destroy both worlds, and unmake all that they have created. "
Can the magic of word and imagination save creation?

Review for "Branded"

"Branded" is the first novel in the "Fall of Angels" series by author Keary Taylor.
☺☺☺☺☻
The cover is dark. A pale skinned woman stands in the darkness with her back turned to the viewer. She is pulling the dark mess of her hair away from shoulders and back revealing the raised white scars that crisscross her neck and back. You feel a sense of sadness emanating from the woman even through the pretty scroll work of the title is just above her head.  *Note* It appears that the cover has been changed since I purchased this book. The new cover is similar but much brighter.
"Branded" is told through the voice of Jessica Bailey our main character. The scene opens at night on a lakeside dock. Jessica paces struggling to stay awake. We feel her very real feel, the fear of what happens when she falls asleep. We see Jessica's obsessive-compulsive counting as a way to cope with the frightening path her life has taken. She counts the hours she'd been awake, she counts her steps as she paces, she counts the time it takes for the angels to come get her. When she sleeps Jessica is taken to an otherwordly place, a place where she is caged, bound, tortured, judged, and finally branded by magnificent beings that cruelly resemble angels.

What I liked about the book:

• Jessica is a wonderfully detailed character. I loved the addition of her obsessive-compulsive counting as a way to cope. I love how she takes care of Sal.
• Sal was also a wonderfully detailed character with a rich backstory.
• The dream scenes are perfectly detailed and feel very real.
• For the most part all of the characters act in a completely believable manner.

What I disliked:

• Unfortunately there seemed to be alot of rehashing over and over again. The author describes the same scene and the same characters repeatedly in the same manner again and again without adding anything to the story.
• There were a few proofreading errors but mostly I noticed a limited vocabulary in some areas where again the same words were repeated sometimes several times on the same page.
• No surprises. I mean come on I figured out why the leader of the condemned went missing immediately, why Sal od'ed, what was happening to Jessica as soon as she talked to her father, and what Alex had in mind that night in Seattle. I was just sitting there in limbo wondering why in the world Jessica couldn't figure out what was so obvious to me. 
• The quickly developing relationship between Alex and Jessica did seem a little unlikely.

All and all I really enjoyed 'Branded' and am looking into getting the successive books from the series. At the time of this review you can get "Branded" for free for your Kindle (with the new cover I might add). The successive books are Forsaken $3.99, Vindicated $4.99, and a standalone related novella Afterlife $1.99. If you would like to find out more information about the book and its author please visit the author's official website www.kearytaylor.com.
☺☺☺☺☻
4 out of 5 smilies
Recommended for those who would like a new take on angels, a plucky if troubled heroine, and an even-keeled romance. Suitable for young adults and adults alike.
Synopsis: "Jessica’s had the nightmares for as long as she can remember. Nightmares of being judged for people who have died, of being branded by the angels. Her friends and family think she’s a crazy because of it all. Yet she carries the mark of the condemned, seared into the back of her neck, and hides it and herself away from the world.
But when two men she can’t ignore enter her life everything changes, including the nightmares. The two of them couldn’t be more different. She will do anything to be with one of them. Even tell him the truth about angels, why she never sleeps, and the scar on the back of her neck. But one of the two has set events into motion what will pull her toward her own judgment and turn her into the object of her greatest fear."

Review for "Reckless Magic"

"Reckless Magic" is the first book in Rachel Higginson's "Star-Crossed series." To date the series is made up of four books.
☺☺☺☻☻
The simplistic cover is a wash of watercolor blue. There are darker shades of blue criss-crossing the cover coming in from the corners; abstract tree trunks and branches. In the center of the page a crescent moon hovers over what looks like white cherry blossoms  which might possibly be pear blossoms instead. The words Reckless Magic looking slightly rough around the edges is layered on top of the blossoms. The cover is hardly impressive and does nothing to build my desire to read the story it hides. It honestly screams self-published which while nothing to be ashamed of (I'm self published myself remember) does little to instill a sense of confidence in the work from the reader's standpoint. In the author's shoes I might invest a little more in artwork.
"Reckless Magic" starts with a prologue introducing us to a world of magic and intrigue. Twins are separated from birth in an attempt to save them from whatever is hunting their parents. The boy goes with a violet eyed aged woman named Angelica and the girl stays with the dark haunted man Amory. The story jumps forward and we meet Eden Matthews, our heroine. She's deeply troubled struggling with supernatural powers she can't even begin to understand. Terrified of herself and what she might do at any moment her last chance at a normal life is the prep school Kingsley. But Kingsley brings its own unique set of challenges including a young boy named Kiran who she feels inexplicably drawn to. But nothing is what it seems not Eden, not Kiran, and definitely not Kingsley.

What I liked:

• The story line was pretty good and rarely slowed to the point of disintrest.
• The battle scene was great, its a pity there was really only one.
• I giggled a couple of times at the porn star teacher reference.

What I didn't like:

•  Technically there were still several proofreading errors most of them weren't too bad but a couple were a little more jarring
• The author overused certain terms and indeed certain situations repeatedly. For instance the 'electricity' in Eden's veins
• I can't imagine that even given the problems she was going through at the time that Eden really wouldn't have noticed someone magically picking up their pencil or reading her mind or closing a door. Could she be that self absorbed?
• She keeps forgetting about her magic putting herself in stupid situations that she could easily remedy. If you had just discovered your magic how easily would you forget?
• Except for the grandfather thing there were absolutely no surprises. I spent the majority of the time wishing that Eden would just figure it out instead of putting herself in incredibly stupid situations repeatedly. 
• The voice and tone of the entire book was rather immature. 
• I can't help but think if Amory had just raised her to begin with or sent her with someone other than a human or even a human that would tell her about her heritage; as they had done with Avalon that life for Eden would have been considerably easier. Or if once they knew she was getting her powers he'd just sat her down and explained the whole thing. Really it should have only took one prep school for that happen.

 The plot line was interesting enough that I looked into the next books in the series. I would actually like to know if she ever figures out the Oracle thing, if their parents are alive, if there's anything else Amory has been hiding from her, and if Kiran is truly a good guy or a bad guy. At the time of this review "Reckless Magic" is available for Kindle for free. The subsequent books in the series are not free. Hopeless Magic at $2.99 ;  Fearless Magic at $3.99; and Endless Magic at $4.99. Since "Reckless Magic" just barely squeaked by, I'm not going to get the others unless they come up for free. I couldn't find Rachel Higginson's website.
☺☺☺☻☻
3 out of 5 smilies
I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone other than teen readers. I don't think very many adults would enjoy the writing style.

Synopsis: "16 year old Eden Matthews has been in and out of private schools for the last two years. She can't seem to stop herself from closing them down. Kingsley is her last chance to finish high school and the last private school willing to accept her.
She is focused on just getting through graduation until she realizes Kingsley is not like the other private schools she's been to. The students may be different, but so is she. And after meeting Kiran Kendrick, the boy who won't leave her alone and seems to be the source of all her problems, she is suddenly in a world that feels more make-believe than reality.
To top it off, she is being hunted by men who want to kill Kiran and her best friend Lilly is taken away to a foreign prison. Eden finds herself right in the middle of an ancient war, threatening everything she loves. She alone has to find a way to save her best friend and the boy who has captivated her heart.
Reckless Magic is an intricate story about mystery, adventure, magic and forbidden love. Eden Matthews is an unlikely heroine determined to save the world and be with her one, true love before it's too late."

Review for "Witch Song"

 "Witch Song" is the debut novel of author Amber Argyle.
☺☺☺☺☺
Golden but still managing a gothic air the cover of "Witch Song" is absolutely gorgeous. A young woman stands in front of a sheath of oxidized gold, her pale face framed by curves of blonde locks and the dark shadows of grasping branches.Bright amber doey eyes stare out at the reader daring and welcoming all at the same time. Her pink tinged lips are drawn up into a pout almost as if at any moment she will speak. At her neck more gold sparkles, a spherical necklace glowing in the shadows that linger at the bottom of the page. Check out the graphics on the author's main webpage for a breathtaking view of the cover up close and in a higher definition.
"Witch Song" is actually the first book I got for my Kindle. I'm not sure why I waited to read it instead of gobbling it up all at once. I guess I got caught up with getting as many free good looking books as possible and then forgot the one that first pulled me in. At any rate I have to say that "Witch Song" is an absolutely great read. I couldn't put it down and wound up finishing it in about a day.
The story of "Witch Song" follows a young girl named Brusenna. It opens in a medieval marketplace where young Brusenna is doing her shopping. Within the first page we learn that Brusenna is an outcast, feared and hated by the villagers. When a mysterious woman saves her from the torment of the townspeople, Brusenna's world is turned upside down. She learns that her mother has been hiding her away from the community of witches, desperately hoping to keep them both safe from their war. A war that affects the whole planet because witches are the ones that keep the world in balance and without their benevolent guiding witchsong the world is going to pot. Her mother follows the stranger leaving Brusenna to fend for herself. When her mother doesn't return home, Brusenna is forced from her home with only her trusted dog Bruke as a companion in a life or death fight against the most powerful witch ever, Espen.

What I loved about the book:

• Honestly I loved almost everything about this book from the setting to the wonderful writing to the character development. Its easy to identify with Brusenna and Joshen. The two young people searching for their place in the world, a way to save it and each other.
• The implementation of the magic in this book through song is brilliant, memorable, and not overly done.
• The witches as safeguards for the earth, appointed as guardians by the four goddesses or creators. 
• The romance that blooms in its own time between Brusenna and Joshen. It never feels forced or used for shock value like in many novels and it doesn't become the end all consuming romance leaving the plot to really shine.
• Bruke, I mean who doesn't love the faithful dog.

What I didn't like:

• There's not much...But I didn't like Brusenna's full name. For some reason even in my head it just doesn't flow. But it seems the author figured this out because midway through she becomes Senna. Which is much more palatable. 
• I kept expecting time and time again for Bruke's part in the story to expand for it to be revealed that he was more than a simple dog. There were at least a half a dozen times that the story seemed to gear up for the announcement and then it just didn't happen. I was a little disappointed in that.

• Wardof and Garg. Besides Wardof being blatantly evil and twisted their final confrontation was actually a little anti-climatic. I couldn't help but think how much simpler it would have been if she'd just dispatched them first time around if it was going to be that easy. 

As I said before this was a wonderful work and well worth the read. I enjoyed it immensely. I'm hoping that the author might write another book in this world if not about Senna and Joshen then about any of the witches of Haven. At the time of this review you can get "Witch Song" for the Kindle for $4.49 and its worth every penny. You can find more information about "Witch Song" and its author Amber Argyle at the official website www.amberargyle.com

☺☺☺☺☺

5 out of 5 Smilies

Recommended to anyone who enjoys a good fantasy or a story about witches, magic, or plucky young heroes. Suitable for mature young readers and adults alike.

Synopsis: 

"The world is changing. For thousands of years, witch song has controlled everything from the winds to the shifting of the seasons. But not anymore. All the Witches are gone, taken captive by the dark Witch, Espen.
As the last echoes of witch song fade, Espen grows stronger as winter and summer come within the space of a day. Now she's coming for the one she missed—a shy, untrained girl of fifteen named Brusenna.
Somehow, Brusenna has to succeed where every other Witch has failed. Find Espen. Fight her. Defeat her.
Or there won't be anything left to save."

Review for "Tab Bennett and the Inbetween"

"Tab Bennett and the Inbetween" is the first novel in the "Princess of Twilight and Dawn" trilogy by Jes Young.

☺☺☺☺☻ as a Paranormal Romance                  ☺☺☺☻☻as an Urban Fantasy

Dressed in subdued colors the cover of "Tab Bennett and the Inbetween" gives little hint to the roaring passions laying in wait. A young woman dressed as if she's about to go for a ride stands on a grassy field. In the distance the dark shadows of a massive forest block the horizon. Hundreds of dark winged birds rise up from the darkness, riding and dancing on the blue waves of wind. The woman's dark hair, a mix between true brown and auburn, lashes out behind her in the same wind. She pauses in her walk towards the woods, looking back over her shoulder, one foot terminally raised. Is she asking you to follow her or is she debating going at all? While I liked the cover I don't think it was appropriate for the book. It feels innocent and even has a young adult type feel to it but this book is by no means for anyone but the most mature of audiences. The story within would have been much better suited by flashes of flesh or a passionate embrace. As it stands I feel a little suckered in to have read this book when this style isn't normally on my shelf.
We are introduced to the story by Tabitha Bennett  herself, this is the first book I've read on the Kindle to use the first person. The very first sentence draws you in to a world of gothic terror and beautiful simplicity, a juxtaposition that sets the tone for the entire novel. "While my sister Rivers was dying, I was planting crocus bulbs in my front yard." Just in that one sentence you can already feel Tab's guilt over the death of Rivers. But its not that simple, Tab knows exactly what she was doing while her sister was dying because Tab has a front row seat to the horror show through visions that will haunt her for years. Because the visions never come in time to save anyone and she knows because this has happened before to her two other sisters. Now there's just Tab...which means she's next. Her humungous family is devoted to saving her where they couldn't save the others, from he grandfather to her fiance Robbin. But its not just because they love Tabitha, no, its because Tabitha was the target all along. This is where Tab's simple life begins to unravel. She learns of her heritage and the destiny placed before her, she learns that her family is in fact not her family at all, and that the beautiful stranger standing on the porch is her true fiance not the boy she fell in love with during her childhood. Because Tabitha Bennett is really Princess Aurora, the heir to the throne of the Light Elves and the Inbetween.

What I liked about the book:

• Jes sets every scene every character up to the hilt. You can see the manor grounds, feel the passion, the intensity, the terror. It's honestly just good writing
• I like the hidden princess storyline and how Tab begins to accept and move forward with her life.
• None of the characters are one dimensional, everybody has feelings, everyone has the propensity to change, everyone has a depth to them even Nicolas. 
• Tab fights back! She's not always the weeping trembling princess, she'll haul off and hit somebody too. 

What I disliked:

• The actual plotline feels like it takes a backseat to the incredibly graphic love triangle between Alex and Robbin. I could have used a lot less sex and a lot more actual storytelling. 
• Tab is fickle. She can't seem to choose between the two men for almost the entirety of the book. If it wasn't for the enchantment pushing her and making her do things I could have hated her for this. As it is I don't like she didn't fight back enough, just letting her passions take over and feeling people up willy nilly. There's a brief second where she even considers one of the other characters as a viable option someone up until that point she had thought was a cousin. I mean really how Sex starved does Tab have to be!? 
• Alot of the surprises weren't very surprising... Even the most heart-wrenching declaration of how Tab was conceived wasn't as punchy because I'd figured it out pretty early on along with the other threat. I kinda felt like I should hold Tab's hand til she figured it all out. I will say that the real hidden threat of Nina was a complete surprise.
• The Starlings! Ok now whats up with them...why are they there, why are they helping her, etc. Don't introduce a wonderful character and then skip over them. Oh they're harbringers well....what does that mean?
• The ending....it just cuts off! I know its a trilogy but a good place to end if would have been directly after the battle. Don't leave me hanging.

This was all and all a great book that would have been made better for me the reader had it been classified properly. As an urban fantasy "Tab Bennett and the Inbetween" just isn't very good, but as a paranormal romance it really shines. In my personal opinon Jes Young would do much better marketing this book to romance readers instead of to urban fantasy readers. "Tab Bennett and the Underneath" is slated to come out in December. And I will probably look for it on the digital shelf. I'm intrigued to say the least and I'm really hoping that now that Tab has made her decision between Alex and Robbin we can move past the senseless sex. At the time of this review "Tab Bennett and the Inbetween" is available for the kindle for $2.99. You can find out more about the author Jes Young and her series "Princess of Twilight and Dawn" at www.jesyoung.com

☺☺☺☺☻                                              ☺☺☺☻☻

4 out of 5 smilies                                                                         3 out of 5 smilies

as a paranormal romance                                                              as an urban fantasy

It's a romping good time. Recommended only for mature adult audiences and those that don't mind sex centered stories. In short die-hard romance readers would love it.

Synopsis:

"Yesterday Tab Bennett was a bank teller. Today she’s at the center of a centuries old war between Light and Dark. Tomorrow – well let’s just say she’ll be lucky if she lives to see it.

Engaged to her childhood sweetheart, employed at the local bank, and finally living on her own for the first time at twenty-four years-old, Tab Bennett has no interest in a fairy tale life. She’s perfectly happy with the normal one she already has. But when her sister is murdered on a moon-dark night, revealing a world of power and magic she never dreamed existed, a fairy tale is exactly what her life becomes. Figures it would have to be the Grimm kind."

Review for "The Soulkeepers"

"The Soulkeepers" is the first book in G.P. Ching's trilogy by the same name.
☺☺☺☻☻
The cover is a wash of blue fabric. A young man stares out of the depths of the hooded cowl. His eyes are piercing and intense. The set of his lips is wide and brooding. A spherical medallion hangs from around his neck, a delicious pop of vibrant red. Shadows crisscross the cover, playing on the hood, the man's skin, and everything in between. It is not until I sat down to write this review that I realize that the hooded cowl is not a cloak as I had first thought but a hoodie, a type of jacket worn by sports players and urban youth's alike. Again it was the cover that pulled me in. It would seem I am sucker for a cover that gets me dreaming.
Our story starts with death, the young man on the cover's to be exact. We are introduced to Jacob Lau in the hospital. The fifteen year old still weakened by his near-death experience and the visions of the car accident that put him there has to contend with the knowledge that his mother is missing and that the man keeping watch over him is his uncle. An uncle that he has never met nor heard of in his entire fifteen years. Before Jacob knows it he is swept away from his home in Hawaii and plopped down into the middle of the rural pedestrian town of Paris, Illinois. Haunted by visions he can't understand and people that don't care to understand him Jacob wallows in anger and self-pity. His one friend in the entire community is also an outcast, the exotic Malini Gupta. Malini is quiet, reserved, and a citizen of the world. It's easy to like Malini. As the story progresses Jacob is dogged by secrets and his own ancestry at every turn. When the gorgeous and otherworldly Dr. Silva steps in things start to get interesting.
Anything more and we're entering Spoiler territory.

What I liked about the book:

• G.P. Ching does a reasonable good job with character development. You begin to like Malini at once, for instance. 
• The environments feel fleshed out. You can almost feel the spine-tingling heat of Oswald's garden, and the scene in the jungle village is as equally animated.
• Jacob's dedication to his mother is admirable

• I did love Jacob's gift. Everything about it. From the hum he feels in his veins to the way he unleashes it in times of distress. 

What I didn't like:

• There's a huge stink about race throughout the entire book. People hate our characters with a deep and abiding hate just because they look different or claim a different heritage. The hate is a little over done and comes out over-the-top. Even in a small community like Paris I cannot imagine that every single person would respond in such a way. 
• Jacob stays angry and unevolved for the majority of the book. Just lashing out at anything and everything, distrustful of everyone, doing things because its what he wants instead of thinking of others first. He consistently uses his newfound powers in selfish ways. It's hard to really really like Jacob and I think that's bad considering he's our hero.
• There were several times during the story when a time frame was referenced wrong or just felt off. For instance we see the mysterious figure in the woods early on who gives Dane a one month time frame to bring Jacob and Malini to her, but Dane doesn't even really attempt til much later on. It was disconcerting.
• Now this part is really personal opinion. It's is rife with judgemental religious undertones. Spoiler Alert!!! When I realized it was about angels and the like I almost deleted it right then and there. But I wanted to give it a chance. It dips into the matter of sin and judgmentally accuses us all of inviting it in, not to mention blaming the snake's very presence in the garden on Eve. Come on, give me break.
•  No surprises at least not for me. Way before we're supposed to know Dr. Silva is a fallen angel, and Gideon is an angel, and that the family was broken apart by the race divide I knew. I figured out that Malini was more than a normal girl early on too.
• Last but not least...there were some good scenes laying hidden just beyond the page but they never came into the light. Like the first time Jacob enters the garden and hears the male voice. I would think its Gideon but that's never addressed in the book, not so much as a sentence dedicated to it. And then there's Dr. Silva flying outside his window. Why? It's a wonderful scene so wonderful in fact it seems out of place and never fully fits in.

At the end I considered reading the other two books in the series just to see where the characters went. I obviously hate abandoning any story in its middle. But whereas "The Soulkeepers" is free currently on the Kindle, the two successive books are not. "Weaving Destiny" comes in at $2.99 and "Return to Eden" at $3.99. Granted its not much but seeing as how I was unimpressed with the first one the only way I would continue reading was if they were free or close to free at .99 cents. But that's me and my opinion. You can find more info on the books and the author at www.gpching.com

☺☺☺☻☻

3 out of 5 smilies

It's an ok read. Recommended for parents in search of a religious storyline. Not recommended for kids under the age of 13 due to the heavy dose of racial mistrust and the relationship between Malini and Jacob, which doesn't ever cross the line but feels like it could any moment.

Synopsis: "When fifteen-year-old Jacob Lau is pulled from the crumpled remains of his mother's car, no one can explain why he was driving or why the police can't find his mother's body. A beautiful and mysterious neighbor offers to use her unique abilities to help him find his mom. But in exchange she requires Jacob to train as a Soulkeeper, a protector of human souls. He agrees to her demands, desperate for any clue to the mystery of his mother's disappearance. But soon Jacob finds himself trapped in a web of half-truths, and questions her motives for helping him."

Review for "Song of the Summer King"

Since my writer's block is still drifting in and out allowing a meager few pages here and there, I've decided to do reviews for the books I've been reading in the meantime. Most of the ones I'll be doing are free (or free at the time) ebooks for the Kindle. I'm finally using my Kindle Fire for its intended purchase instead of a fancy mp3/solitaire player. Yay me. Maybe one day one of these writers will return the favor, maybe not, who knows. And P.s. if you want to send me a free copy of your latest FINISHED published or self-published novel for a review you're welcome to it. I can't promise I'll like or that it'll get a good review but I can promise that I will read it and I will be honest and helpful with my criticism, just as I would hope from any of my readers.

Alright here we go!             ☺☺☺☺☻

"Song of the Summer King" is the debut novel of Jess E. Owen and her publishing company Five Elements Press.
The cover features beautiful golden artwork. A feathered black griffin or gryfon as Ms. Owen calls them stands at the forefront, one paw lifted to go forward, his head turned looking back. In the background a very large tawny wolf is emerging from the deeper shadows of the forest. It looks expectantly out onto the path, at the gryfon, and in turn the reader. I have to say that when browsing through the free kindle books it was the cover, more than the reviews and brief synopsis, that finally called me to read it. I'm very glad I did.
We learn rather quickly that the black gryfon on the cover is our main character, Rashard or as he is affectionately called Shard. Shard lives in the world of the Silver Isles, a small collection of islands in the middle of the ocean. He is young, on the verge of adulthood, impetuous, and clearly haunted by his need to fit in and the stigma associated with his birth. His fear of being exiled from the only family he has ever known is poignant and driving throughout the story. We met the second character from the cover during the initiation hunt that will earn Shard his place within his tribe. Catori, is a wolf, and the sworn enemy of the gryfons. But when Shard does the unthinkable and not only talks to Catori but takes her advice he opens up a whole chapter of his life that was previously unknown and will further complicate his story.
Ok... So that's the gist of it without revealing anything that shouldn't know.

Now I'll try to leave out spoilers but no guarantee's beyond this point.

Things I loved about this book: 

• The characters feel very real and you are happy to traipse alongside Shard as he grows and learns more about his place in the world. 
• The nature connection. The pompous way the larger gryphons assume that everything belongs to them and every creature that is not a gryphon is somehow lesser and unworthy of attention reminds me of the way many humans feel about the other creatures we share the earth with. It makes it easier to dislike the big gryphons. And Shard only begins to grow into his true powers when he accepts the relationship his ancestors had with the earth. 
• It surprised me! While I figured out a couple of the twists ahead of time there was actual a pretty big one that caught me by surprise. I love being surprised and it happens so rarely. After years and years of reading and watching every thing I came across I can usually sniff a plot turn a mile away. Hint- It has to do with the Widow Queen
• The coming of age storyline mixed in with the doing what you know is right regardless of what is easy and staying true to your self  is a keeper. 
• I loved the mixture of Norse mythology sprinkled throughout the novel

Things I didn't like

• At the very beginning Ms. Owens writing style is a little verbose. I found myself floundering in the early details. Thankfully either I adjusted very well to the style later on or she improved midway because the further in I got the less I noticed this.
• Probably related to the verbose problem there were a few phrases that I had to reread a couple of times to understand in the way it was meant to be read as with a few editing/grammer mistakes.
• Shard doesn't grow into his position as hero as quickly as I would have liked. He clearly has a strong moral fiber but at the same time is wishy-washy in his actions.
• The bad guys are for most part blatantly bad.

Given the option I would read this book again and I fully intend to read the next book in the series to see how Shard grows into his role as a leader, what exactly it was that pushed the Red gryphons from their homeland as well as seeing if Shard's best friend turns out to be the gryphon I desperately hope he is; but doubt.

☺☺☺☺ ☻
 4 out of 5 smilies
 Recommended to anyone who loves a good fantasy and suitable for teens and mature children.
At the time of this review "Song of the Summer King" is available for $5.99 on the Kindle. You can find more information about the book and the author at www.jessowen.com

The synopsis:   "Shard is a gryfon in danger. He and other young males of the Silver Isles are old enough to fly, hunt, and fight--old enough to be threats to their ruler, the red gryfon king.
In the midst of the dangerous initiation hunt, Shard takes the unexpected advice of a strange she-wolf who seeks him out, and hints that Shard's past isn’t all that it seems. To learn his past, Shard must abandon the future he wants and make allies of those the gryfons call enemies.
When the gryfon king declares open war on the wolves, it throws Shard’s past and uncertain future into the turmoil between.
Now with battle lines drawn, Shard must decide whether to fight beside his king . . .or against him."

Blocked

It's been a while since I visited you here but I swear it's been really busy on my end. So, so, busy. And well I haven't got much to say at the moment. See, I've been suffering from a well-known ailment. Writer's Block. I've heard there's no such thing as writer's block, but when you have it sometimes it doesn't matter if it doesn't really exist. Writer's Block is the bane of any writer's existence. You sit down in front of the keyboard or the piece of paper, fingers poised or pencil ready, and the emptiness mocks you. The words won't come. And I'm not a fan of forcing them if they don't want to come out and play because they can get resentful about it. And then you, the reader, suffers right along with a stilted storyline.
Why do we get writer's block? I think it's different for everyone but for me its about letting life and reality get in the way. I'm a planner in a lot of ways, I like to plan as far ahead as possible at any given time. And when things don't go according to plan I get rattled, stressed, and just plain ole cranky. That state of mind is not conducive to good soul-searching story-telling. I also tend to be... well...obsessive. Once I set my mind on something it can be hard to make it turn away.
What's been going on in my life that's killing the urge to write? Hmmm....so many things.... Let's start with something simple. New life. I'm going to be an aunt very soon. And I let myself get swept up in the excitement. I started making a baby blanket, crochet of course. And as soon as I finished it, I started on a second one for a cousin that's due shortly after. Both baby girls. If you've ever crocheted you know that's impossible to do so well and type at the same time.  Secondly my photography business is BOOMING! Wow! A little unexpected but much appreciated. Over the past few months I've done 4 weddings, 2 boudoir, an engagement, bunny day, a family reunion, a newborn, and more than a couple of kid/family sessions as well as setting up at my first expo. It's been insane because even though my clients probably only see me for a few hours, there's a lot of extra time spent editing in front of the computer, uploading to galleries, and ordering prints. But wait there's more! I've also taken on babysitting my two godsons. Cause when your best friend calls you bawling its hard to say no. One just turned 5 yesterday and he is a handful especially when you pair him up with his now 6 month old baby brother. I've been watching them three times a week for 9 hour days. When they leave I'm exhausted. I just want to eat, take a nap, and hope the headache goes away. Kuddos to all you stay at home moms with two or more kids at home. Whoever says you don't work, doesn't know what they're talking about. Then there's planning the front deck/porch. The one that was attached when we bought the place is bowed horribly in the middle and I have to admit it shames me whenever someone comes over, especially a client. I mean to me it just looks trashy. There's more going on but I think you get the picture.
There's a light at the end of every tunnel and I think I can see a glimmer of mine. I think the urge to write is going to come soaring back in soon. The signs are all there. What you don't know the signs? Well let me enlighten you to mine. I start having a memorable dream every single night, the kind that needs to be written down because one day it could be a great story. They don't all make it, but its a sign that the creative juices are beginning to flow again. I begin to read into songs looking for the connection to my story. I call them story songs and at some point they all get pulled together into a playlist that gets played over and over and over again while I write. I sometimes share the list later on with my readers as a Suggested Listening addition. It's a sign that my subconscious is lingering on the story even if my conscious mind hasn't made it there yet. I get cranky and antsy. I think this is a sign of all that pent up story banging on the walls to get out.
All the signs are there and if I don't hit another major distraction soon I should be getting back on track.
Which I am more than ready for. Somehow not writing makes me feel guilty. I can't explain it in any way that makes sense, but it's like these characters came to me to tell their story and I'm letting them down. Because even though they aren't real, somewhere in the depths of my imagination they are alive.
Have you ever experienced the dreaded writer's block? What was going on in your life at the time? When you broke through the wall, what were your signs?
Hoping to be back soon with something new to say...

Everybody's got to have a plan...right?

Outlining.
How many of you actually do it before you sit down to write that very first sentence of the very first paragraph of the very first page? What about later on after the first whirlwind session? Don't feel uncomfortable. I don't do it either. Of course I've heard the spiel from about every English teacher, science teacher, and countless publishers and authors. Outlining is very important. Outlining is the crucial backbone of a good story. I don't know about you but I hate outlining. Absolutely despise it. Maybe it has to do with those same teachers. I remember having to do countless outlines for school. It was all usually useless busy work, especially when you happened to have a substitute teacher. They didn't even try to hide that it was busy work.
I hate outlining.
But I love writing. Always have, probably always will. It's hard to make myself mix together something that I hate and something that I love. Part of me pulls one way and part of me tugs the other.
So the whole time I've been writing I've very rarely created a real outline. Mostly because I don't think I need one. For the most part the story is pretty well fleshed out in my head. What good is it really going to do to write down something that I've already decided on. The closest thing to an outline I've done was to write down Shaun's age and then the major event that I expected to occur during that time. It was very bare bones. Nothing compared with the way They want you to outline.
The new book however that I've been working on though is different. I've had to do a lot more research for this one. For starters Dark Divinity is set in present time and present day America. Everything else I've ever written was set in the past in mostly fictionalized areas. I'm intent on using real places as anchors for this story and I've found myself having to do quite a bit more planning than usual to get it to all pull together. And sometimes I'm still at a loss for what comes next. For this series I think an outline might actually come in handy. Yet other than the barebones type of outline I'm used to I can't seem to make myself do a real outline.
It doesn't mean that I don't have a plan. Oh I've got a plan, I've got more plans than I know what to do with most of the time. But I don't have an outline, unless you count the one in my head. And that's the only one I really need, because its more detailed, more vibrant, and more real than any pen and paper outline could ever really be. And if that outline isn't enough I seriously doubt a written one is gonna do me any good.

Would you like it signed?

It was cold on Saturday but the sun shining made it seem a little more bearable. For weeks I'd been trying to get ready for the day. Scurrying around making orders, praying that the mail system is not totally wrecked and trying to think of cool new ways to keep myself from being a nervous wreck. Saturday was the day of the 5th annual author signing at my local library.

I was there back in 2009 with Cloud's Keeper. It was my first author signing ever. I had my then boyfriend sit at the table with me all day long because I was afraid the mass amount of attention and stress would cause me to go into a panic attack. I didn't. I got to sit next to David B. Coe and his adorable daughter. He was very nice and very successful. I sold two books and meet the first person I didn't personally know who'd read my book. A little white-haired lady walked up to the table picked up the book, and says, "Oh, I'm reading this now. It's very good." I almost dropped out of my chair with excitement. 2009 was a good year... I had my author signing, I got engaged and subsequently married, started my photography biz, we went to Ireland on our honeymoon and I scratched another thing off my bucket list. Yes 2009 was a good year...
2009

2012

But this is 2012. I've become a completely different person over the past 3 years, pushing myself further and further using my photography as a type of therapy to my people anxiety, quite successfully I might add. My husband won't get to sit with me again because this year he has to work. I'm okay with it, where once the idea of going alone might have spawned panic in and of itself. I've now got three books to lay out on the table: Cloud's Keeper, Legacy of Stone, and We are One. I feel alittle bit more secure sitting behind my stacks of books. My poster for the new series is taped at the front a big 'coming soon' banner splashed across its bottom. I have a fan of bookmarks laid out for people to pickup each one with a hand-made little tassel. Business cards sit in a little container, paper tents announce prices, I've got some change set aside, and a brand new pack of pens. This year I'm prepared and I know what to expect. Somehow that makes it easier. A few minutes into unpacking I'm joined at my table by a very nice lady from Shelbyville, which is just a few towns over. Her name is D.B. Henson and she's very nice and also quite successful. We pass stories back and forth during lulls in customers, about our pets, swimming with dolphins, and of course writing. She tells me a doozy about a young lady named Amanda Hocking. She's an author who self-published her paranormal romances/fantasies and got a book deal out of it. A MILLION DOLLAR bookdeal. Which was followed shortly after by a MULTI-MILLION dollar movie deal. I can't even wrap my head around the numbers especially the last one. Amanda is only two years older than me. Two years and she'll never have to worry about another thing in her life...at least money-wise. Why can't that be me?(pouty face) D.B. assures me that it could be. She tells me that she self-published too before the agent called her. Now she's on Talk of the Town, flying to New York, getting interviewed for all the local tv stations, interviewed by US Today. Wow. It definitely gets me thinking. Really two people who've self-published who've made it to the big leagues so to speak. I perk up my ears and listen. Any advice she has to offer, I file away in neat imaginary little drawers marked 'pay attention' and 'look at me soon'.

I meet a lot of people at the author signing. One of whom came out just to see me. She's the mother of a boy I was friends with in school. She remembers me and is excited for my second book. She gets both, and her excitement is catching. Later on one of my English teachers stops by. I think I surprise her when I remember the children's book she was writing back when I was in school. I think, it made her happy, which in turn makes me feel happy, but I don't know for sure. She takes home a copy of my children's book. I watch a total of 5 books leave my table. One signed for a little boy whose birthday is coming up soon. Happy Birthday, Mason! and another for a young girl who has a voracious appetite for reading, much like I did when I was young. Keep Reading, Brenna, it never gets old. I do my first t.v. interview for the Local news channel six with two brothers in camo jackets. I'm nervous. I probably messed up. But since I don't get that channel, I'll probably never see it. If you do, please let me know how it turned out? Was I total wreck? Did I look like a bunny with its leg caught in a trap? That's how I felt.

When the day is over with, the pictures taken, the books packed back up, the warm feeling of statisfaction is setting up in my chest. People are leaving the library and I settle in to say goodbye to all my library ladies. Yes, they're mine. See back in 05-07, I used to work there too. Alot of the faces have changed since then but the ones that haven't are definitely old friends. It's always a pleasure going back. It's the best place I ever worked and sometimes I wish I'd never left. Now I'm not sure I could go back. I decide that I should do these author signings more often, should find a way to make it work. They are so very satisfying when they go well.

So have you ever been to author signing? Was it by accident or did you come to specifically see someone? What did you think? Did you enjoy it? What could the author have done better, in your eyes? Come on, I really wanna know.

Hello all

Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the web. In case you just happened to stumble across this little piece of heaven and want to know a little more about who's on the other side of the screen, my name is Cindal Cooley. The biggest thing you need to know about me is that I'm a writer. What do I write, other than this blog?
Fantasy novels and so far one children's book. I've currently finished two fantasy novels both a part of a series that has been rattling about my brain for the past ten years. I've got big plans for the series, Beneath a Stone Sky, and hope to be finishing three more to establish it as a quintet. But for right now I've put that on the back burner to focus on the start of another series. One that's been quietly stewing in its imaginative juices for the past few years, since 2005, while I finished my recent book, Legacy of Stone. I'm hoping to go back and forth between the two til both the series are finished. After that I'm not sure where I will go, or where the stories will take me. Sometimes being an author is like standing in the ocean waiting for a wave big enough to take you with it.
Where can you find my books? Well at the moment its almost like a scavenger hunt. I decided when I first finished my novel that I couldn't possibly put my baby out there time and time again only for someone else to judge and reject it. Afterall it was eight years of my life and I at the time I was only twenty-one so eight years seemed like the majority of my life. So I self-published. I thought it was a brilliant move at the time. I got complete control over my artistic design, from the cover images to the formatting to the story inside. I sacrificed publicity, help from professionals, and quite honestly money. I was happy with that at the time when I thought the first novel might very well be the last. I know differently now. So... back to topic.... you can find my novels at my website www.cinderellatales.yolasite.com or at www.lulu.com or on Amazon. Oh, almost forgot my facebook page... Cinderellatales. But its highly unlikely you'll stroll into your local bookstore and violia! At least for the moment ;) girl's gotta have dreams, right?
Wanna know more about me?
Ok, but only because you asked. I live in Middle Tennesse and for those of you who are not from around here no it's not all like the bad jokes, broody country songs, and silly movies with the big hair, twangy accents, and daisy dukes. The last time I wore cowboy boots I was probably eight and desperately wanted to be Annie Oakely when I grew up. The reality of Tennessee is beautiful countryside with rolling hills that turn to flame when summer loses its grip. People who are very likely to bless you in the store when you sneeze or stop to help you change a flat-tire on the side of the road. We say please and thank-you and know the joy of sitting in a rocking chair while a spring rain gently sways the daffodils. I'm lucky the home I share with my husband and two kitty cats(you'll hear more about them later I'm sure), lies in a band of trees withing walking distance of a huge lake. A mother deer births her set of twins almost every year within 30 feet of my front door, yet at the same time I'm less than ten minutes from a Walmart, half-a-dozen fast food chains, a Rue 21, and a Big Lots. Its the best of both worlds. I earn a rather modest income as a family photographer in our small town. It's a huge pleasure to get to be a part of people's memories, to see their children grow up, or to capture their first kiss as man and wife. In addition to photography, I attempt art, crochet, and baking in addition to the everyday tasks of being a wife.
Well, do you feel like you know me a little? Do I sound like somebody you want to know. I hope so, cause I'd like to get to know some of you. Tell me a little bit about yourself, what do you do? Where do you live? What's your favorite thing to read or your favorite author?
Will this blog be exclusively about writing? Probably not, but you can bet its gonna be huge part of it, because writing is a huge part of my life.
Well that's it for now. Til next post...