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Fantasy
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The Deep End of the Sea by Heather Lyons


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The-Deep-End-Of-The-Sea-Front-Cover

An enchanting and seductive new novel from the author of The Fate Series . . .

What if all the legends you’ve learned were wrong?

Brutally attacked by one god and unfairly cursed by another she faithfully served, Medusa has spent the last two thousand years living out her punishment on an enchanted isle in the Aegean Sea. A far cry from the monster legends depict, she’s spent her time educating herself, gardening, and desperately trying to frighten away adventure seekers who occasionally end up, much to her dismay, as statues when they manage to catch her off guard. As time marches on without her, Medusa wishes for nothing more than to be given a second chance at a life stolen away at far too young an age.

But then comes a day when Hermes, one of the few friends she still has and the only deity she trusts, petitions the rest of the gods and goddesses to reverse the curse. Thus begins a journey toward healing and redemption, of reclaiming a life after tragedy, and of just how powerful friendship and love can be—because sometimes, you have to sink in the deep end of the sea before you can rise back up again.

My review:

I have been wanting to read this book, with it’s gorgeous cover and oh-so-cool premise…I was so happy to have some time this weekend to read it. Such a fun and interesting read! The story of Medusa is fairly well-known but the author takes the story and continues it with a what if?
I really enjoyed the creativity of the story, weaving in the myth with new ideas. And at the heart of it, a love story…a fabulous love story with a swoon-worthy male lead in Hermes. The author takes these characters we know and makes them real, modern and relatable. A crime, a punishment, and redemption…throw in some action, romance and you have it…a great read that I highly recommend!

5 stars

wine: Pinot grigio, my current fave



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Knight of Wands by SM Blooding #review


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by SM Blooding

Book 2 of the
Devices of War Trilogy

Genre: New Adult Fantasy Steampunk Adventure

Publisher: Blooding Books

Book Description: (Can be read as stand-alone)

Return to a world of mind blowing visuals, heart stopping action, and ships that sail the skies.

Nix, Queen of Wands, has exactly what she wants—Synn El’Asim, the greatest Mark the world has ever seen. Even though she bound his soul to hers, he is not easily controlled. If she wants him, she must do the one thing that pains her most. Let him go, and give him what he desires. Peace.

Armed with a treaty bearing Nix’s seal, Synn sets off to bridge the gap between the world’s two reigning tyrants—the Hands of Tarot and the Great Families. He struggles to trust Nix as he fights for control of his soul. He’s going to need every ounce of restraint when dealing with his mother, leader of the Great Families. She will not give up her power without a fight. Nix will honor her treaty only if Synn agrees to become her knight. His mother refuses to sign the peace agreement if he falls into the queen’s control.

Frustrated, Synn does the one thing neither woman saw coming. He invites all the tribes, currently voiceless in the war between these two ruling tyrants, to partake in the treaty negotiations. All they have to do is prove their worth in his Peace Games. As Synn’s influence and subsequent power grows, a new fight begins.

Who will control Synn’s League of Cities? Can he protect more people as a leader of the Great Families, or as the Knight of Wands?

Find on Goodreads Purchase for only $2.99 or Read for FREE with Prime!

Review:

I had never read a steampunk fantasy novel before I read Fall of Sky City.  I didn’t even know what it was.  But I forged ahead and read it and was completely amazed.  The author created such a fantastical world with unforgettable characters and I couldn’t wait to read this second installment.

The characters are growing and developing.  Synn is trying to figure out his role in the world.  And with some powerful and strong-minded women in the mix, he is in for a bit of a time of it.

He wants to do the right thing but as almost every turn, he is faced with those who want only what is best for them.  And one is his own mother.

And the villain. She is seriously evil and crazy. We find out a bit more about Nix in this one. We see a snippet of her past and it makes me think we will be learning even more about what made her into the deranged lunatic she is.  Talk about manipulative, I think if you look up that word in the dictionary, you’d see a picture of Nix. That woman seriously scares the crap of me.  And she is even scarier in this one, if that is possible.

There is also plenty of action of this one; I loved the games they created and seeing them figure out how to complete them. This would make such an awesome movie!

Read Fall of Sky City first; it’s incredible and will introduce you to this mind-blowing world and these characters. And you will be lucky since Knight of Wands is already out and you won’t have to wait for it. But then you’ll be with me, stalking the author until the next is released.

 

 

Fall of Sky CityFall of Sky City Book 1 :
Amazon – Kindle| Amazon – Paperback| Goodreads

Praise for Fall of Sky City

Wow! What did I just read?? The story was deliciously complex, full of fear, wonder, magic, gadgets, gizmos, one heck of a psycho Queen and wonderful friends. Every character brought something to the story, each with a unique personality that came to life through the book, each with their own fears to overcome. Victoria Limbert

I love the world Blooding has created. She managed to create it in a way that it combines specs of all my favorite movies, books, etc. It’s a mixture of young adult fantasy, steam punk, dystopia, sci-fi, paranormal and even some tiny bit of romance. Fall of Sky City is a diverse book that is intense, a little bit violent, and a whole lot of awesome! I look forward to reading the next book of the series! Unputdownable Books

SM Blooding is a new author to me, but this is definitely not the last book I’ll read by her. Synn El’Asim is a powerful character–the reader sees him grow from a young man who has not yet come into his power to a strong man who is courageous enough to fight for what he believes in–his family and his people. The world building Ms. Blooding does is nothing short of remarkable. A world composed of flying ships, ice worlds, danger, and intrigue. My World of Dreams

This book is action-packed and intense. You feel like you’re part of the drama. This story is intense. The action is perfectly paced. I had trouble putting the book down. I really felt for Synn from the very beginning. He goes through so much. As soon as he gets his mark, he is plunged into one situation after another. Queen Nix, who is horrifying by the way, pushes Synn to new levels, in more and more diabolical ways. With the help of friends and family, Synn becomes a strong leader. Waiting on Sunday to Drown

I’m amazed of the world Blooding has created and built. It has Sky, Land, and Water Cities. These cities each has its own technologies, language, and a whole different way of life. These worlds remind me a lot of Avatar the Last Airbender and Star Wars, which I both loved wholeheartedly. Bahrain Newspaper Article Review!

Meet the Author:

SM “Frankie” Blooding lives in Colorado with her pet rock, Rockie, and Jack the Bird. Jack has refused to let her to take up the piano again, but is warming to the guitar. It might help that Frankie has learned more than two strings. She’s added a few more Arabic words to her vocabulary, but don’t invite her into conversation yet—unless, of course, you’re willing to have a very . . . slow . . . conversation.

She’s dated vampires, werewolves, sorcerers, weapons smugglers and US Government assassins. Yes. She has stories.

She’s also an investigator with a local paranormal investigation group, Colorado Paranormal Rescue!

Find out more about her at:

Facebook /Twitter /Website

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The Shadow of the Revenaunt : Book 1, Rhidauna by Paul E. Horsman #Review


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by Paul E. Horseman

The night before his Coming-of-Age, Ghyll and his two friends escaped their castle on a clandestine hunt that would forever change their lives. They returned just in time to see their island castle destroyed by strange warriors from a dragonboat and flocks of burning birds.

Ghyll’s birthday turned into a nightmare as they fled into the night. This begins an epic journey to find out who is trying to kill them… and most importantly, why? Fortunately, they can count on colorful new friends to assist, including a sometimes overly enthusiastic fire mage, an inexperienced paladin and a female beastmaster who is a ferocious mountain lion. In a world filled with jealous priests, corrupt magistrates, bored aristocrats and power-hungry magicians, they try to survive dark wizards, murderous golems, and fire bird attacks. It soon becomes apparent that not one but several assassins are after them. Who are these members of an obscure, long-forgotten organization?
And whose cold hand reaches across the boundaries of space and time to threaten weakened Rhidauna?

While the time is running the friends undertake a quest that takes them to a large part of Rhidauna. Following them, the reader is carried along on an exciting journey through a colorful world, whose people, culture and atmosphere are described with great attention to detail without the story losing momentum.

Experience the quest! Grab your best travel clothes, strongest backpack and sharpest sword … or failing that, take an easy chair, a drink and this exciting book.

Buy on Amazon | Smashwords | B&N | Kobo

My review:

 

The Shadow of the Revenaunt starts off with three boys sneaking out to hunt wild boar. Their town is reduced to ashes while they are away and the action never stops. The author brings us along on their quest to find answers and it’s a ride you don’t want to miss!

Along the way we meet fantastic characters, experience new magical powers, and watch as they narrowly escape with their lives as they as pursued.

I loved the pace of the book; there weren’t any of those dull parts you have to muddle through to get to the good stuff. The author brings you there and explains everything through the action and dialogue. He paints a vibrant description of the surroundings; I almost felt like I was there with his use of smell, sounds, and visuals.

The main character is just what a main character should be….he is brave and tries to be just.  But he is also vulnerable and second-guesses himself and even makes mistakes.  That makes him real to me and someone I would want to meet.  The other characters make up a great supporting cast, with their own powers and strengths to add to the mix.

I had read Shardfall by the author and really enjoyed it so I knew I was in for a treat and I was not disappointed. I think I even liked this one more!  You do find out the answer to the quest but there still more to come and I can’t wait!

 

 

About the Author:

Paul E (Erik) Horsman (1952)

Lives in Roosendaal, The Netherlands.

I was born in the year 1952, in the Dutch town of Bussum, a sleepy, well-to-do place that was home to many artists, musicians, writers and publishers. As my family were neither artists nor well-to-do, we moved when I was nine.

When I was seventeen, I started my career as paperclip counter with a worldwide Dutch producer of baby food. After some months, I was finished counting, and I looked around for something more interesting.

A love of books drove me to work in a small bookstore in Rotterdam. An ancient establishment, since 1837, in an old building just too far away from the city’s modern shopping center. It was a nice job, but there wasn’t any future in it. Still, I left it a licensed bookseller.

In 1972 I had to do my stitch for Queen and Country, and as a bad back tied me to a desk job, I applied for a posting overseas. For the Army, that meant Surinam, then still a member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and one of the most beautiful. Once you’ve seen the jungle, you will never forget it.

To keep it short, I stayed in business, slowly climbing the ladder, until in 1995 I changed direction. That year I joined a large educational institution, at a school specialized in Dutch language and integration courses for foreigners. That meant immigrants, refugees and international businessmen, an interesting mix. It was great work, on the one side teaching crash courses Dutch to high-powered people (we got a lot of very well-educated refugees) and on the other teaching reading and writing to people who had never ever held a pen before, let alone a computer. To see them growing was a reward in itself.

Unhappily, due to changed legislation the language school closed in mid-2012.

In the meantime, I had started my first book (Rhidauna) in 2009 and it got published by Zilverspoor Publishers just before I got laid off. As my age, five years from retirement, made it nigh on impossible to find something else, I started building a career as an independent author.

SF and Fantasy have fascinated me since my high school days, but apart from some juvenile trash, I never seriously tried to write anything. But after several false starts and associated discouraged intervals, a spark began to grow and mid-2010, the first two parts of Shadow of the Revenaunt were more or less written.

My style is probably a bit old-fashioned, Fantasy as a heroic tale with sympathetic heroes/heroines and black villains, in which good always triumphs in the end.

I don’t use my characters as cannon fodder; they get hurt, but their dying is rare.

One of the other elements in my writing I think important is, that both male and female characters have their own lives and goals. Most of them exist primarily for themselves, not as a prop or a love interest for other MC’s. The only character who did die, was actually a prop and I had him killed just to take that away from my lead MC.

 

Follow Paul: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

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Sweet Magic Song by Olivia Hardin #Review #BookBlast


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pbt blast banner

Sweet Magic Song - Large

Belle Bittner was sold to the highest bidder when she was just a child, sought for the magic lying dormant in her blood. She grew up as the adopted daughter of a wealthy vampire couple, and serving the child-trafficking Org seemed her only option in life. But Belle has other plans, and she won’t let anyone get in the way of her escape, even if it means betraying those who try to help her.

Desperate to stay free of an evil vampire who means to possess her no matter what, Belle decides she can use the protection of the flirtatious faery named Roon. The two of them flee to the faery realm where Rooney believes he can better protect her. What he doesn’t know is that taking the bea

utiful siren through the golden door will set off a cataclysm of events that will threaten the fabric of both the human and the faery worlds.

Separating myth from fact to decipher the truth about her powers could mean the destruction of the new life Belle’s trying so hard to build.

 

My Review:

When I read the Bend-Bite-Shift series, I fell in love. There were plenty of characters to fall for but I fell for a very flirtatious faery named Rooney. He was a minor character but I loved his spunky personality. He was so much fun. So when I found out there was going to be a book with him as the main character, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it!

So, Roon (as I call him) is front and center. He decides to follow a beautiful witch and 3 children in her charge to see what she is up to and ends up helping them. And of course a little romance is in order. Roon being his adorable sexy self, who could resist? Not me, that’s for sure.

This book has it all…paranormal characters, danger, action, passion…sigh. Did I mention Roon is sexy as hell? I love the pace of it as we move from our realm to the faery realm. I seriously would love to go there. The way the author describes it, I can picture it in my head and it is gorgeous.

I don’t want to give away too much of the plot but they must work together to save her and the children. And Roon is in full hot knight-in-shining mode. Belle, the witch, is no slouch either. This woman has guts. Strong woman are great to read. I am more than willing to share my Roon with her. I guess.

I am so glad the author decided to give Roon his own book. He is so much fun to read with his mischievous ways. So go get a copy and check out my Roon…I will share him with you for a bit. But only a bit.

 

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Smashwords

iTunes and Kobo coming soon.

azaleapicAbout the Olivia:

When Olivia Hardin began having movie-like dreams in her teens, she had no choice but to begin putting them to paper. Before long, the writing bug had her and she knew she wanted to be a published author. Several rejections plus a little bit of life later, and she was temporarily “cured” of the urge to write. That is until she met a group of talented and fabulous writers who gave her the direction and encouragement she needed to get lost in the words again.

Olivia’s attended three different universities over the years and toyed with majors in Computer Technology, English, History and Geology. Then one day she heard the term road scholar and she knew that was what she wanted to be. Now she “studies” anything and everything just for the joy of learning. She’s also an insatiable crafter who only completes about 1 out of 5 projects, a jogger who hates to run, and she’s sometimes accused of being artistic.

A native Texas girl, Olivia lives in the beautiful Lone Star state with her husband, Danny and their puppy, Bonnie.

Connect with Olivia and Get information about
releases, contests, news and more here:

Website

Blog

Newsletter

Twitter

Facebook Fan Page


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The Soul of the World by Joshua Silverman – #BookReview #Giveaway


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by Joshua Silverman

The ancient powers lost to Potara have returned. The Brotherhood of the Black Rose rises to bring Thoth into disorder. And, while the Brotherhood reclaims their power, chaos reigns among the survivors. Six individuals have emerged from the aftermath struggling for control over their lives and a divided land. Kem and Shirin, who abolished the five thousand year reign of the Amun Priests, rule from the golden throne of the Oracle’s Chair in the Hall of the Nine. Dio and Axios struggle to piece together a resistance worthy to challenge the ancient magic which resides in the Great Temple of Amun, and Leoros and Atlantia try to remain true to their hearts and their cause despite tragedy.

But when the Book of Breathings is discovered, the path to immortality is revealed. Leoros and Kem race to capture the Soul of the World unaware of the challenges awaiting them. This time, the gods themselves will intervene.

In a tale where boys become men and girls become women, where treachery and deception are around every corner, and where primeval mysticism finds its way back from the grave, victory is reserved for neither the good nor the evil, but the powerful.

Buy links coming soon

Review:

This is the second book in the series. I would recommend reading the first book prior to reading this one as is lays the groundwork for what happens in this one. I was happy to see that the writing/editing was much easier for me to follow in this one. The author labels chapters with the characters’ names which lets you know up front who you are reading about and where you are.
This book is full of action. We are in the midst of an uprising and this book does not disappoint with vivid scene descriptions. The author brings us to new lands in this one and I loved going along for the ride.
The main characters are the same but new ones are added. Since this takes place two years later, they have changed and grown. These characters are real; they have vices and flaws; they need love and acceptance. All this makes the book so much more realistic even though much of it takes place on another planet. Amazing how humanity is the same everywhere.
I recommend this book to anyone that loves sci-fi and fantasy. Although the main character is a teenaged boy, there is violence and other scenes that make it a bit mature for YA audiences. But older teens would definitely love it!
We are left at a cliffhanger at the end so we will have to wait for the next installment to see what happens next!

About the Author:

Joshua Silverman was born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Orange County, California.
While attending California State University, Fullerton and studying Criminal Justice, Joshua was introduced to a creative writing class where he wrote a series of paranormal stories. As a child, he has always been an amateur historian, focusing on ancient Egypt, Greece, and Roman civilizations.

Since working in the legal environment, he has combined his passion for creative writing with his love of ancient history by penning his debut novel, The Emerald Tablet, the first of seven in the Legends of Amun Ra series.

Goodreads for Book | Goodreads for Author | Facebook

 

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The author is giving away a Season 2 of Games of Thrones to one lucky winner Fill out the form below to enter a Rafflecopter giveaway


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