Eyubea Girls by Palessa

 
Genre:  Historical, Women’s Fiction, Romance
Publisher: Self-published
Publication Date: January 11, 2015
Format: ePub
Pages: 278
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4.85 Stars

 

Graham Tate-Fuller needs a wife. Not just any wife. One who is young enough to take on his education mission to the African continent and not ask too many questions about his past. Lisbette Caldwell is just seventeen, a young woman who isn’t ready to give up her tomboy ways. She dreams of playing football and becoming a teacher just like her father. Through a series of circumstances beyond her control, Lisbette marries Graham and embarks on an adventure in Eyubea, a small independent township in southern Africa which managed to escape the colonial rule that overtook many other African nations.
There Lisbette settles into her new life as an assistant teacher to a small group of young girls who will have no choice but to become wives and mothers. It’s a simple enough task that will turn into a fight for their lives as Graham’s past catches up to them and Lisbette faces the dark side of marriage in a land not her own.
Set in the early 1900’s, Lisbette is forced to take a stand for herself and her Eyubea Girls against stacked odds, even if it means losing the life she’s come to love. With the help of new friends and a will to carve out her own place in the world, she searches for a way to live life on her own terms in a place she will come to call home.

I received this eBook from the author in exchange for an honest review. 

This was a great historical tale. I absolutely adore heroines who stand up for everything they believe in, customs and traditions be damned. Lisbette is definitely a young woman to look up to, despite all the odds she faced. Her father raised her to be independent, which was unusual for the early 1900’s. Especially as it was a woman’s duty after school to marry and settle down immediately. But she really wanted to be a teacher like her father and a football (soccer) player.

When family demons haunt Lisbette’s family, she is forced to seek out marriage to a stranger and move across the world to an independent South African town to teach young girls for a year before they are to marry.

Her husband Graham, however, is a real piece of work. He is the reason there is a saying “old habits die hard.” Although I am pretty sure that Graham, when he married Lisbette, was not expecting her to be like she was. He clearly expected a woman he could force and shape into a subservient woman.
Nor do I think that the township was expecting Lisbette either. She fought hard for her students and break the tradition of the girls marrying young. To give them something more in their lives.

There is some sexual content and a small bit of violence but I would recommend it to a mature teenager as well as adults. Definitely an enjoyable read I will visit again.

Trailer & Excerpt

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Palessa started reading her first romance novel, at the age of 11. Then she got introduced to V.C. Andrews, Barbara Taylor Bradford, Anne Rice and many more notable contemporary authors as well as some of the classics. It was during her teenage years that she started writing. First, it was in her diaries, then she started creating characters, stories about romance, the supernatural and much more.

It would take almost 20 years, a radical move from the city she grew up in, Miami, FL back to her Jamaican birthplace, and a chance Facebook meeting with New York Times, USA Today bestselling author Sable Hunter (http://amzn.to/1OzcNA6) to start the juices flowing again.

After some fits and starts, the Baxter Family Saga was born. Unchained Hearts is Palessa’s first published fiction book with Beau Coup Publishing. She is currently an author of Contemporary, Historical, and Sports Fiction series with more to come.

In 2016, she became a full-fledged independent author. Palessa currently lives in the mountains of Jamaica with her crazy, cracker-munching-mutt Ivy, a thieving cat named Kushi, chickens, goats and a farm,primarily managed by agribusiness partner, also known as Dad.

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Dragon Redeemer by Amy Bearce

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press
Publication Date: May 23, 2017
Format: ePub
Pages: 220
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Four years have passed since a fairy swarm released the voice of prophecy in Nell Brennan. In that painful moment, a skilled warrior became a reluctant leader and defender of Aluvia’s magic. Now a new enemy threatens their still-fragile lands, one Nell feels powerless to stop even with help from the voice within her.

A mysterious dark alchemist from the Ice-Locked Lands is rising to power on the strength of his sword arm and an ice-breathing dragon obedient to his command. He promises unlimited magic to his followers and death to those who defy him. If he takes over the ports, his corrupt elixirs will disrupt the delicate balance of peace between Aluvia’s people and all magical creatures.

The voice of prophecy sends Nell and her friends to their enemy’s treacherous domain to find a sword of legend. Only the sword’s magic can prevent a return to a world of dying fairies and caged merfolk. But Nell’s up against the toughest foe she’s ever faced. In order to defeat him, she must master the unimaginable power of the sword―and the unwanted magic inside herself.

I received this eBook from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I have to say, out of all the three books of the world of Aluvia, this is possibly my most favourite.
At first, I wasn’t too keen on Nell, when I read about her in Fairy Keeper. But she really grew up in this book. She embodies everything people look for in a strong heroine. She is strength, determination and while she is a tom-boy by our Earthly standards, her connection with Corbin was lovely to watch.

I love books that go on grand adventures. Instead of the two sister’s this round, it is Nell who has to follow the prophetic voice inside her head to the Ice-Locked Lands in order to save Aluvia from someone trying to steal the land’s magic. This someone is eerily familiar to Nell as well. A reminder of her past where she delved into organized crime to provide for her family.

This is a great trilogy for your kids to grow up with. Especially those who are in middle grade starting with Fairy Keeper. As Sierra, Phoebe and Nell all grow up and learn their paths in life, find their life partners. It is a great timeline for that and each girl is an inspiration.

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Amy Bearce writes fantasy stories for tweens and teens. Her debut, FAIRY KEEPER, is an upper-middle grade fantasy and is the first book in the World of Aluvia series. MER-CHARMER (World of Aluvia, Book Two) released May 9, 2016. Book Three, Dragon Redeemer, is scheduled for release May 23, 2017. She is a former reading teacher who now has her Masters in Library Science. As an Army kid, she moved eight times before she was eighteen, so she feels especially fortunate to be married to her high school sweetheart. Together they’re raising two daughters and are currently living in Germany, though they’ll be heading home to Texas this summer.

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Running Wild by Kristen Middleton

 
Genre: Young Adult, Horror, Zombies, Dystopian
Publisher: Dark Shadows, LLC
Publication Date: July 6, 2012
Format: ePub
Pages: 210 pages
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Cassandra Wild is on the run from a deranged psychopath while she fights to stay alive during the zombie apocalypse. After being kidnapped, injured, and thrown together with a new band of misfits, things get more complicated, and it takes all of her strength and courage to survive in a world gone completely mad.

Cassie, how do you keep allowing yourself to be separated from your friends and family? Sheesh. Mind you, this round she was captured by a psychopath ill with the zombie virus. It seems to make them do violent things to the people they care for. But she does escape Austin the Soldier. But crashes into two new friends, an elderly man named Henry and his nurse Mary. She also meets a bus of drag queens. They were great comic relief and helped Cassie get back to her family.

Bryce though. Dude! Seriously! How dense are you?! He knows that Cassie is mad about him and he chose to believe the Princessy character Eve/Eva. Also, duh, the girl is flirting with you. Not trying to be your friend.
I kind of hoped that Bryce would retain his intelligence but he was kind of reduced to needing a dunce cap.

This book was good. Of course, not as great as the first one was. There were a lot of errors in this book though. Inconsistencies names and some editing issues. No matter what, always try to find someone who is willing to edit for you. It really helps having another set of eyes to find errors.

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NY Times and USA Today Bestselling Author, Kristen Middleton, is from the Midwest and not only enjoys writing, but connecting with her readers. Kristen also writes gritty biker books under the name Cassie Alexandra. She is also involved with raising money to help locate missing and exploited children, helping other authors succeed by sharing what she’s learned in the self-publishing industry, and volunteering resources or her time whenever she can. “Besides having a passion for writing, I adore children, suspenseful movies, watching Shameless and The Walking Dead, traveling, Moscato wine, Chianti Grill, Savoy Pizza, and meeting new friends.”

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Xander’s Folly by Belinda M. Gordon

 
Genre: Romance, Fantasy
Publisher: Shaggy Dog Productions, LLC
Publication Date: May 13, 2016
Format: ePub
Pages: 204 pages
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4.50 Stars

Celtic mythology, suspense, and a modern day romance!
Xander spent most of his life exploring his mother’s disappearance. When new clues surface that suggest she’s alive and waiting for him to find her, he must decide what he’s willing to risk to get his answers.

Tressa longs to accept Xander’s proposal of marriage, but as evil fae surface around every corner, she must choose between putting him in constant danger—or letting her soul mate go.

Tressa and Xander want a peaceful life together, but will their destiny make it impossible? As the King’s Jewel, Tressa is destined to save her people—but at what cost? When the Sword of Light brings out Xander’s violent side—can he break the hold it has on him?

Xander’s Folly is the second book in the King’s Jewel fantasy series that blends Celtic mythology with a modern story.

I received this eBook through Book Review 22 in exchange for an honest review. 

I found that this story was more about Xander than it was about Tressa. It revolved around Xander’s bonding with Tressa, his bonding with the Claíomh Solais (Sword of Light) and protector of Tressa, the King’s Jewel. It was interesting to see the sword through Tressa’s eyes, as it bound itself to Xander’s aura.

This story was also about Xander’s family, specifically his father and missing mother. After a mysterious phone call about Xander’s father, Tressa and Xander rush off to find out what has happened. There they happen upon several Unseelie loose in city where Xander’s father lives. Which might attribute to his father’s disintegrating memory. They also find a Lost Child who doesn’t know what or who she is.

It was interesting to find out what Xander’s “folly” really meant. I won’t ruin it for anyone else, but it is quite interesting.

This was a great book. I look forward to the third story. Maybe one day, Tressa will get her wish of being a mom.

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Belinda M Gordon was born and raised in Pennsylvania and currently lives in the Pocono Mountains with her wonderfully supportive husband, her thoughtful easy-going son, and two delightful dogs.

She is of Irish heritage, which is how she became interested in Celtic Mythology. She used the Celtic Mythology, specifically of Ireland, as the starting point of her Romance/Fantasy series, The King’s Jewel.

Belinda also enjoys photography, fashion, music, dancing and a good mystery. You will find these influences throughout her writing.

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Foundling by D.M. Cornish

 
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Steampunk
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Publication Date: May 18, 2006
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 434 pages
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Set in the world of the Half-Continent—a land of tri-corner hats and flintlock pistols—the Monster Blood Tattoo trilogy is a world of predatory monsters, chemical potions and surgically altered people. Foundling begins the journey of Rossamund, a boy with a girl’s name, who is just about to begin a dangerous life in the service of the Emperor. What starts as a simple journey is threatened by encounters with monsters—and people, who may be worse. Learning who to trust and who to fear is neither easy nor without its perils, and Rossamund must choose his path carefully.

Complete with appendices, maps, illustrations, and a glossary, Monster Blood Tattoo grabs readers from the first sentence and immerses them in an entirely original fantasy world with its own language and lore.

Rossamund is a boy who is an orphan (or in the book’s term, a foundling). A young boy with an unfortunate name. The boys and girls in the orphanage, when they reach a certain age, were given a choice in career. Rossamund was chosen as a lamplighter for the army. Rossamund goes on an epic journey to reach his destination and his career.

I enjoyed that Rossamund was so innocent and easily distracted from his path, despite his obvious worry that he wouldn’t make it in time and/or lose his position. He managed to make friends and a few enemies along the way. It was a grand adventure with him.
I enjoyed the addition of Miss Europe. At first, I wasn’t sure if she was going to kill Rossamund. But she ended up being a mother figure to him.
That was a running theme. Each of the characters in the book became some sort of a parental figure, as much as they became a friend. They gave Rossamund the sense of family that he was missing.

I definitely recommend this novel for anyone looking for a unique story filled with monsters, steampunk themes, arcane magicks and science. This was a great novel and a wonderful find.

D.M. Cornish was born in time to see the first Star Wars movie. He was five. It made him realize that worlds beyond his own were possible, and he failed to eat his popcorn. Experiences with C.S. Lewis, and later J.R.R. Tolkien, completely convinced him that other worlds existed, and that writers had a key to these worlds. But words were not yet his earliest tools for storytelling. Drawings were.

He spent most of his childhood drawing, as well as most of his teenage and adult years as well. And by age eleven he had made his first book, called “Attack from Mars.” It featured Jupitans and lots and lots of drawings of space battles.

He studied illustration at the University of South Australia, where he began to compile a series of notebooks, beginning with #1 in 1993. He had read Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast novels, The Iliad, and Paul Gallico’s Love of Seven Dolls. Classical ideas as well as the great desire to continue what Mervyn Peake had begun but not finished led him to delineate his own world. Hermann Hesse, Kafka and other writers convinced him there were ways to be fantastical without conforming to the generally accepted notions of fantasy. Over the next ten years he filled 23 journals with his pictures, definitions, ideas and histories of his world, the Half-Continent.

It was not until 2003 that a chance encounter with a children’s publisher gave him an opportunity to develop these ideas further. Learning of his journals, she bullied him into writing a story from his world. Cornish was sent away with the task of delivering 1,000 words the following week and each week thereafter. Abandoning all other paid work, he spent the next two years propped up with one small advance after the other as his publisher tried desperately to keep him from eating his furniture.

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Tranquility by Grace Jelsnik

 
Genre: Romance, Suspense
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing
Date of Release: September 29, 2015
Pages: 241 pages
Format: ePub
Links: Good Reads

4.75 Stars

“We must find justice for the boy.”

The locals called her “The Crazy Woman of Copper Creek,” but to Caitlyn she was Gram, the woman who taught her to control the visions that had tormented her throughout her early childhood. Upon receipt of an incoherent letter from her grandmother, a letter in which only one point is made clear, a desire to find justice for an unidentified boy, Caitlyn returns to the little cabin on Copper Creek. She’s too late to help Gram, but not too late to satisfy her grandmother’s dying wish. Tormented by guilt over having turned her back on the woman who helped a little girl find her voice, Caitlyn is also determined to solve Gram’s murder.

Trevor, sheriff of Lincoln County, battles his own demons, and now he must also battle the prickly young woman who holds the solution to the unsolved disappearance of a boy last spring. In his attempts to understand the curse that made Caitlyn’s grandmother a local pariah, he learns to understand himself.

Throughout their investigation of Gram’s murder, Caitlyn and Trevor hurtle toward encounters with old enemies: for Caitlyn, a river that whispers sinister threats; for Trevor, a father with a sinister past. Only by vanquishing these enemies will they ever know tranquility.

I received this eBook from the author in exchange for an honest review. 

This turned out to be a perfect read for me. I loved the quick and easy read, which is always a treat.

You’re introduced to Caitlyn Blanchard as an awkward and quiet child among a boisterous family. Her mother send’s her to her equally unusual grandmother for summers. For the both of them, it was rewarding. Even though you never met Caitlyn’s grandmother, the memories of Caitlyn was enough to enjoy the tough but loving woman.

My favourite element was the quips and bickering between Caitlyn and Trevor. It reminded me of that school yard myth that the boy who is the meanest to you likes you the most.

“He glanced down at the foaming water at the base of the falls beneath him and grimaced before turning his sights on the hole. ‘I’ve saved any number of lives,’ he called out while reaching for the nest.
“And probably lost more, wasting time while you boasted about it.”
Trevor grinned. She had an acid tongue, but he appreciated the rapidity of the retort.”  (pg 37)

The romance in this novel is light but refreshing. There is no serious adult sex scenes but plenty of difficult topics.

Together with Caitlyn’s psychic ability, she and Trevor solve a boy’s unfortunate murder, her grandmother’s death and somehow manage to fall in love.

The only issues I had were a couple of inconsistencies with names. This can be a little distracting at times. But it didn’t take away from the story too much. Other than the inconsistencies, I really didn’t have an issue with the novel.

Again, this was a lovely read. I definitely recommend this light romance and suspense novel!

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Grace Jelsnik earned her M.A. In English with an emphasis on creative writing at the University of South Dakota. Her novels emphasize complicated plots, realistic characters, and rural settings, but each addresses an element of romance that takes a pragmatic approach to the natural interaction between two characters, addressing the sparks that lead to heat, not the heat itself. Her targeted audience is educated late teen and older readers who enjoy suspense and action-adventure delivered with a dose of humor.

Chest of Bone by Vicki Stiefel

Genre: Murder Mystery, Thriller, Romance, Fantasy
Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press
Date of Release:  February 14, 2017
Pages: 347 pages
Format: ePub
Where to Buy:  Amazon US, Amazon CAN, Book Depository
Other links: Good Reads, Curiosity Quills Press

3.25 Stars

As magical and mundane worlds entwine, empath and unawakened Mage Clea Reese must team up with the secretive James Larrimer to hunt her mentor’s killer and stop the forces of corruption from obtaining the Chest of Bone, the ultimate source of otherworldly power.

Larrimer is a predator who stalks endangered-animal traders. Or so it appears. And none are prepared for the fusion of Clea’s and Larrimer’s song, a wild resonance which can bind one to the other.

Powerful forces align against them, and only Clea, the singular Key, and Larrimer stand between these malignant entities and their ruthless quest.

I received this eBook from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to enjoy this book so much. It sounded so interesting from the synopsis. But it was really tough to get into.
The writing style, alone, makes it difficult. It is an unusual style. It kind of broke up the fluidity of the story and it made getting to know the characters much more difficult.
There are other issues as well, like everything in the story is thrown at you. All at once, too.
I did receive it as an ARC, however, there were so many errors in this book. I really hope the finished piece is much more polished.

The novel actually starts out more in the Murdery Mystery and Thriller genre, where we’re introduced to Clea Reese and her significant loss of a mentor. Clea is a tough bird, and works for the FBI as an interrogator. She had some interesting tricks to get criminals to talk. I enjoyed the uniqueness of that.
But that fantasy element was missing for a long time and it didn’t really make a major appearance until the middle of the book when Clea begins to explore her mentor’s death with her partner James Larrimer.

Even without the romance, this novel would have done well. But I understood where the author was going. It was part of Clea finding her magic, connecting to someone like Larrimer.

I did, in the end, find that I did have a favourite character which was Bernadette. She was Clea’s rock. A mixture of the perfect grandmother and no-nonsense ass kicking warrior. I loved when she would bring out her gun and tell everyone it was her duty.

The novel actually touches on several genre’s, which can make it very confusing. It was hard to tell where the author was trying to take this.
Another issue was there was a lot of details that were left out which made a lot of the decisions in the book very disjointed. But there was also a surplus of details that involved a back story that the reader doesn’t ever really learn of. Again, this adds to the lack of flow and disjointed feel of the book.

Which is entirely too bad because it was a great story idea. Despite the issues, I did enjoy it. I enjoy the odd murder mystery and the fantasy element added a new depth to the story. It just would have done better with some polishing and more flow to the story.

My new paranormal romantic suspense series, The Afterworld Chronicles, launches with Chest of Bone, (February 2017 Curiosity Quills Press). My mystery/thrillers—Body Parts, The Dead Stone, The Bone Man, and The Grief Shop, a Daphne du Maurier winner—feature homicide counselor Tally Whyte and are soon to be ebooks. I co-wrote (with Lisa Souza) 10 Secrets of the LaidBack Knitters. My late husband, William G. Tapply, and I ran The Writers Studio workshops.

I grew up in professional theater—the Ivoryton Playhouse—and planned to become an actress. Instead, I’ve slung hamburgers, managed a scuba shop, and am a professor. I’m a mom to two humans and a furry pack. My passion for scuba diving, fly fishing and knitting pop up in my novels. As do vinho verde and bourbon (not together!) and Maine lobster and chocolate (also not together!). I sing musical comedy scores in the shower, unfortunately not an Equity venue, write daily and teach fiction and modern media writing at Clark University. I’m currently pounding the keys on the series’ second novel, Chest of Stone.

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