Review for "The Iron Butterfly"

"The Iron Butterfly" is the first book in a series by the same name by author Chanda Hahn.
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The cover is simplistic and beautiful. A rough edged teal butterfly lies dormant at the bottom of the page as a floral border wraps around the edges. It gives no indication of the depth of pain and terror hiding underneath the pages.
We meet our heroine at the end, the end of her strength, resolve, courage and hope. Tortured, starved, bleeding and broken, Thalia has nothing to fall back on, nowhere to hide from the atrocities committed upon her and on those around her. She can remember nothing but her name and the hell in which she now resides. Her fear is palpable and her guilt for surviving the onslaught of horrors when others have not is even greater. By some fluke of fate she is rescued from her jail and the cultists who are her jailers. But even after finding a safe haven Thalia's memories refuse to return but the past is not as eager to be left alone.

What I liked:

• Thalia is a wonderful character. Underneath the horror of her experience she remains strong willed and determined to make a new life of her own. Her empathy and compassion for others under similar circumstances is commendable.
• The character development in the other main players is equally fleshed out. I find Joss easily likeable in his protectiveness of Thalia. Darren is just the right splash of frivolity when needed. Kael is dark and mysterious but obviously invested in Thalia.
• I loved Faraway and his introduction as a guardian, even if we don't know exactly what I guardian is. But hey I'm a sucker for horses too :)
• It is interesting to see the development of Thalia's powers and her relationship with the Denai.

What I disliked:

• At times the story line does seem to regress to your more typical school yard plot, focusing on the hot guy, the mean girl, etc. I acknowledge that the book is probably directed towards the young adult age group but with such early promise and deep subject matter it almost seemed like too big of a divergence.
• The thing I most disliked about the book is the ending. Thalia up and leaves with someone claiming to be her father without so much as asking a few questions or mentioning that she has amnesia. It seems unlikely especially from someone who has been through the torture trails she's already experienced. She should be more wary.
• Now for my fun go out on a limb of where I think the story might go, where I feel it might at any rate... Always the chance of spoilers here or I could be way off base you never know... First off it wasn't coincidence that Kael was in the dungeon and helped Thalia escape. She knew him before. They were either secret lovers in the past or he was in some part responsible for her capture. That would explain his deep sense of self loathing and his pressuring Thalia to dislike him. But deep down he still loves her, still wants her. I also think he is responsible for the unlikely timing of her father arriving. Then of course there's Joss. I imagine he's someone important in the long range of things, some higher up royalty type. We already know how he feels about Thalia. Next I'm almost positive that someone on the Citadel's council is in fact The Crow and leader of the Septori. My first guess would be...Cirrus. Something is off there. 

I found "The Iron Butterfly" to be a great read, entertaining and even thought provoking. At the time of this review it is available for free on Amazon for the Kindle. And at that price you really have no excuse for not reading it ;). The second book in the series, "Steele Wolfe", is also available at $2.99. I'm torn about getting it. I'd really like to see where Thalia is going.You can find out more about the author, Chanda Hahn, at her website www.chandahahn.com. She is also the author of another fantasy series, An Unfortunate Fairy Tale.
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5 out of 5 smilies
Due to the torture segments I would recommend this one for mature young adult readers and adult readers alike.

Synopsis: "Imprisoned, starved and left with no memories, Thalia awakens to find at the mercy of an evil cult known as the Septori. Their leader has chosen Thalia as the test subject for a torture device on untold power,designed to change and twist her into something that is neither human nor Denai. Escaping, Thalia finds an unwilling warrior to protect her and an unlikely Denai to befriend her. After finding a home at the Citadel as a servant, Thalia's worst nightmare comes to life and she begins to show signs of power. Scared and unable to control her gifts, she tries to hide her past to fit in among the Denai. But the Septori want their latest test subject back and will stop at nothing to retrieve her; dead or alive."

Review for "The Herald of Autumn"

"The Herald of Autumn" is a book by author J.M. Guillen and the publishing group Irrational Worlds.
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As you look at the cover another looks back at you. A bright intelligent golden eye stares back at you, through you. The longer you look the more you feel yourself being pulled into the book. Swirls of golden color and branches of leafy amber mark the magical pull of the creature hiding within the pages.
Tommy Maple is a creature of the fae. He is the herald of autumn. Every year he wakes as the sun sets on the last summer day. Where he walks autumn follows. It has been this way for a thousand years. This year when he awakens something is different, something is threatening in the wood, something that could still the very magick of his soul.

What I liked:

• In short everything. I liked the swing and swirl of every word in every phrase. The book was beautiful from start to finish
• The mixture of old world fae and native american mythology was great. I loved seeing both forms.
• The dialects sounded real and not forced at all.
• Tommy Maple is a perfect character. He's bright, beautiful, magical with a deep an abiding sense of sorrow.

What I disliked:

• I finished it in two very short late night reading sessions. I wish it had been longer. 
• The darkness of the evil in its snapshots of telling is almost a bit much 

I cannot say enough good things about "The Herald of Autumn". This is what the written word should be. Fluid, beautiful, lyrical, imaginative, original.  Reading it brought a sense of joy and excitement I haven't experienced in a book for a very long time. The swing and sway of the words as they swirled around in my head was intoxicating. This is the kind of book that awakened the love of writing inside me. It is an amazing book and worth much more than its current price of .99 I can hardly believe I got this gem for free. You can find out more about 'The Herald of Autumn' and the Irrational Worlds publishing group at www.irrationalworlds.com

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5 out of 5 smilies
I'm inclined to recommend this book to everyone, but there are a few scenes that just aren't suitable for the younger crowd, namely the time Tommy spends with Molly and the sometimes very distubing tellings of the darkness. For everyone else, this is a must read!

Synopsis: "Stories live.
They breathe.
They walk the land.
Tommy Maple is the Herald of Autumn, one of the last of his kind. Every year, with the dawn of fall, he awakens, to again wander the land. Wherever he goes, red leaves and cold wind follows him, and wherever he goes- he hunts. There are things unseen in the world of men, strange things that live in the cracks between places. It is Tommy's place to hunt them, protecting us from the darkness that we cannot see.
As the Untold Age dawns, he is one of the few faeling creatures that remains in our world. Creatures borne and breathing stories and magic, and now their age is at an end.
This Autumn , however, is different from those in the past. Tommy awakens to the taunting of an age-old enemy, and is powerless before him. Soon, a sinister tale unfolds- a story that spans centuries and the entire continent, and ends with one bone chilling point.
The Untold Age isn't coming- it's already here.
It's harbingers walk the land.
Now Tommy faces a foe unlike anything he has ever faced before. But soon it is obvious that even one of the last talebourne cannot stand against the cold that comes, and Tommy learns that perhaps, the end is in fact inevitable.
The Untold Age comes."

Review for "Shadowland"

"Shadowland" is a stand-alone book by author C.M. Gray.
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Twisted trees reach gnarled fingers across a well worn leaf strewn path. Green mists swirl around giving the scene a sense of darkness and mystery.
"Shadowland" is a self proclaimed tale of the Dark Ages. The story begins however unlikely in a crowded tavern on a midwinter's eve. An elderly storyteller sits in his place of honor and begins to spin a tale of his youth. "Shadowland" is this tale. The story starts innocently enough in a local swimming hole with two young friends, Usher and Cal, fall nipping on their heels. But the day turns immeasurably tragic when the boys' village is ransacked and burned to the ground, everyone they ever knew dead or kidnapped in the darkness of the night. The boys will face their own destinies headon as they struggle to survive in this strange new era.

What I liked:

• The imagery from the book is beautiful and in the end is what pushed this particular novel up to 5 stars.
• Usher, Cal, and Meryn are very believable and lovable characters.
• I happen to love Arthurian tales and this one offered a new creative spin.

What I disliked:

• I actually didn't like the use of the storyteller as a framing device. I felt like it repeatedly pulled me out of the action so to speak and I probably could have done without the interruption at the end of seemingly every chapter.
• There were a few editing and usage errors, some of which were jarring but none of which made it hard to follow.
•  Spoilers: Alot of the plot turns were a little too convenient especially Usher's acceptance of his long lost brother.
• Big Spoilers :I wondered if it was an Arthurian tale from the moment we meet Meryn the name of course being so similar. I knew it was when the druid stepped in their path and told Usher he would be a dragon. It wasn't much of leap to go from Usher Vance to Uther Pendragon. So there were very few surprises along the way.
• I also didn't particularly care for Clarisse as the Lady of Lake. She's simply too young.

All in all I rather enjoyed 'Shadowland'. I've debated for the past few days on what rating to give it and finally decided that it was 4 1/2 smiley book but since I don't use halves I decided to bump it up to a full five. You can currently find "Shadowland" on Amazon for the Kindle for $2.99. You can find out more about the author C.M. Gray and his other works at his website flightofthegriffin.blogspot.com
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5 out of 5 smilies
Recommended for readers of all ages, especially those who are as enamored with King Arthur and Merlin as I am.

Synopsis: "We grow up with the Legend of King Arthur ... But where did he come from? Who was Merlin? What part did the Druids play in bringing Arthur to his round table? This is the story that came before, when Britain was just a Shadowland.
Shadowland is a story of historical fantasy set in Dark Ages Britain.
`I have lived more years than I can remember, probably more than the sum of all your years combined. Kings have called me friend and brigands have sworn to burn the flesh from my bones even if they have to search all seven halls of the shadowland to find me.'
On the night of midwinter's eve, a storyteller takes his listeners back to the Dark ages and a tale from his youth.
Deserted by its Roman masters, Britain has been invaded by the Saxons at the invitation of Vortigern, traitorous leader of the Britons. Now, as the tribes unite to reclaim their land, one man must rise to lead them and become their true and only king."

Marching On

It's been two months now since my 2013 resolutions. I have to remember to keep my head up, shoulders back, and my eyes ahead, because the future is bright. I can make it bright if I keep on keeping on. Lets see how well I did in February.

1. My weight loss goal. I started slacking off when it came down to exericising eveyday. I blame it on boredom. But perhaps I've found something to counteract my slacking ways. I joined a website called Calorie Count. It helps you figure out what your daily intake is as well as what nutrients you're missing. Today was actually my last day of my fourth week. I've done pretty well with the goal the site has set for me of 1400 calories a day. Now on to the results portion of our recap. When I started out my weight was : 146.8 lbs. I was also weighing myself in the evening instead of the morning shame on me. A situation I remedied about halfway through. My End weight was:  144.8 lbs. My highest weight over the month was 147.5 lbs and my lowest weight was 144.2 lbs. You'll recall that my starting weight in December was also 146.8 lbs. Boo there. But my highest weight last month was 148.6 so almost a pound difference in between those two highs. My lowest weight last month was 144.4 lbs not much of a difference there. I think it would be fair to say that I've lost 1lb this month though my start and end weights would say two.  As far as waist measurements  Start: 28.6   End: 27.6    High: 28.9    Low: 27.1   Again I think its fair to say I lost about 1 inch off my waistline. Which brings me down to a total of 3 inches since I started. So even though I'm not taking off the weight I am taking off inches and that has to be a good thing.
2. 50 Books in a year: In February I read and reviewed 4 novels. That brings my total book count for this year up to 6 novels and 1 short story. I'm pretty much right on track :)
3. Dark Divinity:  Finally a change on this front!!! Whoohoo. Okay a small change but its better than nothing. For the month of February I wrote 6 1/2 pages. The last time I wrote before this was June and that was a measly two pages. So big improvement there. Yay me.
4. Fairytree: In February I had one session. But it has been brutally cold and I expect things to start picking up soon. I've had several nibbles on some March dates and May is already looking to be a very busy month. Also on the photography front I've invested in new lighting and background stand kits. I'm anxious to take these pretty babies out on their first test drive this weekend at Bunny Day.
5. Kitchen remodel: We got in our new monstrous fridge, okay maybe not monstrous but it feels that way in comparison to the twenty year old leaky thing we had before. We also went and picked up the table my great grandfather made for nana. We still have to get a protective glass top, chairs and a bench for it and then the new lighting fixture and this project will be done.

That's it for now. I'm still soldiering on. Still making progress if only at a snail's pace, but its one determined snail.
How are you guys holding up on those resolutions? Haven't forgotten them yet, right?

Review for "The Binding"

"The Binding" is the first book in author L. Filloon's "The Velesi Trilogy".
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The cover is filled with rich jewel tones. A slight young woman sits on a rock, her irridescent emerald gown cascades over her hips and pools at her feet. Long tulmutous dark curls fall down over her shoulders and back. She is turned away from the reader looking either into the distance or with her face tilted into the sun. A large bluish black panther lays crouched beside her keeping watch in the opposite distance. In the background thin twisted trees curl into the green misty air making the scene even more mysterious and thought evoking.
Lily Michaels is just an ordinary girl out for a run to celebrate her birthday. A foolish ill timed late night run through a deserted park. When a stranger tackles her to the ground, saving her from an incoming deadly arrow, her life is turned upside down and inside out. The bow the arrow was shot from is in the hands of her older brother, Lucas, who has been missing for the past four years. The stranger saves her but Lily isn't sure if he's the hero or the villian. Before the night is over Lily will be informed of her true self, her true destiny in a world that shouldn't even exist. She is an elvish princess heir to throne of the Willow Clan, one of the thirteen clans of the Velesi lands and the dark stranger, Tharin, who can't seem to stand the sight of her, is her betrothed. Tharin and his twin brother Tolan rip her from almost everything she's ever known in a wild flight to the lands of Velesi trying to desperately stay one step ahead of the bounty hunters, demons, and other fae folk looking to claim the estranged princess for themselves or destroy her in the process.

What I liked:

• Lily and Julia are both strong feminine characters with enough will and moral character to go around. Their unswerving loyalty to each other is beautiful and real. Lily's refusal to be the 'other woman' or to give up on the only brother she's ever known makes her very likeable.
• All of the elvish guards have unique and interesting personalities. I find myself particularly fond of Mellis.
• Cessa is a beautiful if slightly underused addition to the group.
• The imagery especially during the oak dryad scene is actually very beautiful.
• The poignancy of the binding and Tharin's vision of what the future could hold is riveting. 

What I disliked:

• I didn't like the way the point of view switched continuously from Lily and Tharin. Every once in a while their voices were so similar that I almost missed the switch til something sounded off. 
• The writing style itself is a little lacking and juvenile in nature, but maybe its the characters themselves who are actually juvenile.
• The sudden intense love between Julia and Tolan, and the slightly hidden love of Lily and Tharin blooms too suddenly too intensely to be taken seriously or for it to feel real.
• Tharin abandons his previous love so readily, its hard to take his new feelings for Lily seriously either. 
• Why wouldn't Lily have noticed at least some indication of her elvish powers during her years among the humans?
• I hate when a story cuts off leaving you with a massive cliff hanger, a least give it a little bit of a wrap-up.
• Spoilers: There aren't alot of real surprises in the story, the old couple at the gas station and the wolves in the snow are easy to decipher as what they are even before Lily realizes it - old powerful fey, the stranger in the snow is also easily recognized as a relative of the Lunar princes, and I'm just betting the hidden danger in the oak tower is Kalis.

I have to admit that I almost gave this one two stars but about half way through it started to win me over. I found myself unable to put it down and finished the whole book in about two nights or a total of about 5 or 6 hours. I was even a little disappointed when it ended. So this one squeaks by with three stars. "The Binding" is currently available on Amazon for $.99 . The second book in the trilogy, "The Drifting" is available for $2.99. The author is expecting the last book in the series to be out summer of this year. You can read more about the author and her other works at http://lfilloon.blogspot.com/.
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Three out of Five smilies
Recommended for youth/young adults who are mature enough to handle some of the sexual undertones and adults looking for a quick light romantic read.

Synopsis: "Two nights after her eighteenth birthday, Lily is attacked while out jogging, but is saved by Tharin Lunar, a Sidhe prince. When she discovers that her attacker is her own brother, Lucas, who disappeared four years ago, Lily refuses to believe that her brother would truly hurt her and becomes determined to find Lucas and bring him home. Lily finds that Lucas’ disappearance is somehow tied to Tharin; so when he informs her that she is his betrothed and must return with him to Velesi, fulfill a treaty between their families and unite the two strongest clans through their marriage, Lily agrees. However, she’s not going to Velesi for a wedding, but to bring home her only family, Lucas.
On their journey to the borders of Velesi, the realm of the Thirteen Clans, they’re pursued by a Sidhe assassin group call the Ange, meet with an ogre crime lord that ends badly, deal with a sleazy troll motel manager, and when they discover that there’s a bounty on their heads, they must keep one step ahead of every assassin, bounty hunter and low-life criminal in Velesi.
Protecting Lily has become the biggest challenge of Tharin’s life. Lucky for him he has help in the form of his twin brother, Tolan, Lily’s best friend Julia and his three bodyguard cousin."