An unprepared witch. A mysterious human. And a quest that will test them both …
Hazel always knew she was one of the weakest witches of her generation. For a moment there, she even cared about that status.
Not anymore. She’s determined to live her life as a normal human—with exception for the occasional ghost hunting. What can she do if the damn spirits won’t leave her alone?
But when she finally settles into a new routine, Hazel receives a message that changes everything: the Lightgrove Coven, one of the most powerful witch covens in the world, grants her a rare chance to join them, but only if she passes a dangerous test on Friday the Thirteenth.
At first, Hazel wants to disregard the message. But who is she kidding? This is an opportunity she can’t say no to.
Everything is going unexpectedly fine until a human steps in Hazel’s way. Sean is mysterious, hot, and inexplicably alluring. Despite Hazel’s best attempts to ignore him, she can’t. And when Sean’s fate entwines with Hazel’s task, it puts everything at risk—not just her test, but also their own lives.
Author’s note: this book was first published in 2014 in the Midnight Kiss anthology. In 2015, it was published for free with a new title, Tested. This 2021 version is reedited and 50% longer!
Review
Hazel is a witch. All her family too, but they are weak. She is the weakest of them, so she has given up being a witch and decided to be a simple young woman. To achieve this, she got herself a scholarship to Towland University in New Orleans. Her only “witch work” is helping release ghosts that are stucked in this realm.
To make her mother happy, she accepted sending a request to the Lightgrove coven to join them. But her options were bad at best, and after 2 months of not getting any answers she had assumed failure, until one of her ghost hunting sessions is interrupted by Lenora, one of the Lightgrove coven council members, inviting her to a meeting.
“Students milled in the hallways and lobby of my building, probably planning on getting together for an early fun night. After all, we were in college in New Orleans. Who wasn’t partying? Me, that was who. Instead, I hunted ghosts and went crazy overthinking an upcoming magical test.”
The Lightgrove coven gives her a test that will change her life. But a book like this is not complete if we don’t have the love interest.
Sean is a (extremely handsome) bad boy that everyone thinks is absolutely broken, and he actually is. But obviously, he being a bad boy is only a facade. I don’t think I need to say more, I loved him ?.
“I nodded to myself, making a mental note to never mess with fucked up guys again. Lesson learned.”
This was a nice reading, really fast. It has (almost) insta-love, badass girl that doesn’t believe in herself, bad guy that is not really bad, ghosts (good and bad), a magical test, witch hunters and gowns. The last point may not be really important to the story, but I love balls ?.
Super recommended read. I love witches but haven’t found books that I really love about them, i hope this serie will be one that I truly love. My only critic would be that it was too short ?. I’m looking forward to read the next one. Also, Juliana has other series in the same world if you want to check them out.
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Author: Andrew Cunningham Narrator: Greg Hernandez Length: 7 hours 34 minutes Publisher: Andrew Cunningham | 2021 Genre: Science Fiction; Thriller Release date: Jun. 19, 2021 Buy on: Buy on Audible You can also get the audiobook for free with your Audible 30-day free trial.
“I’m going to die a hundred years before I was born…”
The handwritten note was in a dusty trunk that sat in a cave untouched for 150 years. What did the words mean? When journalist Ray Burton finds the trunk near the Arizona ghost town of Hollow Rock, his life changes in an instant.
Something in the trunk shouldn’t be there.
This begins a dangerous journey of discovery bordering on the impossible. A discovery that will affect the past, the present, and the future.
Review
Ray Burton is a fifty-year-old man that used to work as a war reporter or for dangerous missions. The last one got him too traumatized and he changed his life to a more “boring” one, in which he wrote small news way less adrenaline.
His former lifestyle meant he didn’t have anyone in his life. Harry, who was probably his best friend, was diagnosed with cancer, so he went to accompany him in his last moments. Harry was cremated and Ray decides he would like the idea to be tossed in a ghost town, so he went to Holly Rocks. The thing is that there was literally nothing left of the town, but a pouring rain caught him and he was forced to seek refuge in a cave. Here he found a trunk with things that suggested some guy named “Stan Hooper” had time traveled. This was obviously impossible and nothing but a bad joke. Except the things got more and more complicated, and once the NCIS got involved, Rey knew this time travel thing may not be as impossible as he thought in the beginning.
I really enjoyed how the story is told. We start with Rey’s POV and he explains how h got to Hollow Rocks for his friend, and ended up in a giant mess. But once we get to meet more characters that are, one way or another involved in this time travel thing, we get more points of view in very different times and places.
I won’t spoil things, so I’ll just say that the time-travel here is taken in a full scientific way, so we get some logical information about how this may work and how much they actually know about it. I also enjoyed the endless questions about whether the past could be changed or not. I’m a sucker for time travel and this philosophical questions. Is the past written in stone?
About the audiobook, it always takes me one or two chapters to adapt to a new narrator and in this book it worried me I may not like it, but Greg does a nice job telling the story sort of “light”. Even when the things got heavier, the feeling of the book was of a light nice read, but that gives you A LOT to think about.
Sci-fi is not my usual style of books, but I do enjoy some o them and this one was an impressive discovery for me. Actually, I was super impressed because, even though time travel is the main theme, the relationships between the characters are super developed. I didn’t expect I would find romance in this story, it’s not focused on it, but it’s important to the story.
The only reason I don’t give this book 5 stars is because I expected the end to blow my mind and it didn’t. But it was a really good end though. Totally recommended, whether it is the book or audio.
Many thanks to Audiobookworm Promotions for the audiobook. The tour is sponsored by the My opinion was in no way affected by receiving this audiobook.
About the Author – Andrew Cunningham
I’m the author of novels in several genres, including, mystery, thriller, and post-apocalyptic science fiction. Under the name A.R. Cunningham, I’ve also written the Arthur MacArthur series of mysteries for children.
I was born in England, but have spent most of my life living in the U.S.—including 25 years on Cape Cod before moving to Florida. A former interpreter for the deaf and long-time independent bookseller, I’ve been a full-time freelance writer and copy editor for many years. A 4th-degree Master Black belt in Tang Soo Do, I finally retired from active training when my body said, “Enough already! Why are you doing this to yourself?” I’m married, with two grown children and two awesome grandsons. My wife and I spend as much time traveling as we can, and are especially fond of cruising the Caribbean.
I have been gratified by the response to my books. When I published Eden Rising back in the spring of 2013, I had no idea what to expect. When I sold my first few copies, I was excited beyond belief that someone was willing to take a chance on it. Numerous books and thousands of copies later, I am still humbled by the emails I get from readers telling me that my books kept them up late into the night.
In October of 2014, Wisdom Spring made me an official Amazon Bestselling author, a thrill I never thought would happen. But it still comes down to being able to bring a few hours of escape to a reader. That’s what it’s all about for me.
I hope you will try my books. Please feel free to email me with your comments.
Author-preferred Narrator of Mysteries & Thrillers
Narrating audiobooks is highly gratifying. I immerse myself into an author’s story in order to bring it to life for the listener. I’ve enjoyed working with Andrew Cunningham for several years. His books are filled with rich characters, and the stories keep me turning the pages.
I also work as a background actor in movies and TV shows.
For more than 20 years, I worked as a radio news reporter and news writer. I spent half of my broadcasting career at ABC News Radio in the Washington, D.C., bureau. I covered all the federal agencies as well as Congress and the White House. I reported on a wide range of stories during my career, including financial and entertainment industry news.
For nearly 24 years, I worked as a federal government spokesman at three separate agencies—National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Mint and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
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Author: Lewis Carroll Narrator: Lynn Norris Length: 2 hours 42 minutes Publisher: Blackberry Publishing Group, 2021 Genre: Classics; Fantasy Release date: Mar. 12, 2021 Buy on: Chirp |Audible |iTunes |Scribd You can also get the audiobook for free with your Audible 30-day free trial.
Synopsis:
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (commonly shortened to Alice in Wonderland) is an 1865 novel by English author Lewis Carroll (the pseudonym of Charles Dodgson). It tells of a young girl named Alice, who falls through a rabbit hole into a subterranean fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures. It is considered to be one of the best examples of the literary nonsense genre. The tale plays with logic, giving the story lasting popularity with adults as well as with children.
Review
I, probably like everyone else, knew Alicia’s story. I had seen the animated movie and also the new versions, but had never had a chance to read the book.
As for the storytelling, I’m so glad I listened to the audiobook instead of reading the story on my own, because it probably wouldn’t have caught me at this point in my life, but the voice work that Lynn does is truly amazing. She reminded me that, indeed, I listened to audiobooks as a child without knowing they existed, because I had several stories on cassettes (give me a minute while I pick up my ID card ? – just so you know, this is a Chilean expression meaning how old you felt with that).
Lynn Norris was in charge of giving life and personality to each of the characters, making listening to this story a complete and wonderful experience. Except with the turtle songs which was a bit of torture hahaha ?.
Many thanks to Audiobookworm Promotions for the audiobook. The tour is sponsored by the Blackberry Publishing Group. My opinion was in no way affected by receiving this audiobook.
Narrator – Lynn Norris
Lynn gets it. She’s an audiobook fan as much as a narrator. And she cannot wait to be transported by a fabulous story and taken to another realm, or taught a series of fascinating new facts by a talented chronicler. Her own fandom has become a master class study and informed her narration and performance in the audiobook ring. Lynn doesn’t really have a favorite genre of narration, though she’s becoming a favorite for Romance and YA authors. She also loves Mystery/Thrillers and finds herself really connecting to Stephanie Plum-type heroines. Lynn’s lifetime of acting, improv and singing training lends itself smoothly to a hassle-free audiobook narration from someone who takes the time to be engrossed in the story, absorb the direction and deliver the desired performance on the first go. And her easy facility with accents and dialects infuses extra life into elaborate worlds of characters. A fair amount of her catalog of audiobooks are from authors who’ve come back for sequels and additional book series. A Voice Arts Awards-winning narrator, Lynn’s a 2021 Finalist for Independent Audiobook Awards in the Fantasy and Best Female Narrator Categories. Check her Website here.
Bye bye ?
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The unforgettable conclusion to the epic fantasy The Four Keys series from author J.C. Lucas.
The end of the war is upon them, and the fate of the Fae and human world rests on one girl’s shoulders. An old god has gathered his forces—and planted a Trojan horse in their midst. The enemy’s plan to control the world has been revealed, but unexpected circumstances might alter the course of fate.
Andie and her friends are in the ultimate race against time and evil. They must find the last Key before all is lost. Battle lines will be forged, remarkable alliances cast, and the prophecy is still as strong as ever.
Victory doesn’t come without sacrifice. Love doesn’t come without pain.
Not all who fight will survive, but in the end, it will come down to the choices of one teenage Queen, the magical factions, and the Titan gods.
Review
Darkness filled me up, no matter how much I tried to push it down. Fear that it would consume me was my new normal. I tried to pretend that all was right with the world, that I could do and be all the things that everyone wanted of me… but the oily blackness that slithered inside of me had other plans.
Freya has been defeated, but the war is far from over. The real enemy was always Helios. Now they must not only find a way to defeat him, but it must be fast as the darkness that Andie absorbed from Freya is gaining ground and can turn Andie into a perfect Trojan horse.
I don’t know how I knew, but if I let my guard down for one minute, it would take over. Helios had found a way to set up a Trojan horse. And that horse is me.
As if that wasn’t enough, Andie has become the queen of the Fae. Now she must earn the respect of all the other leaders to gain their support in the fight against Helios. Being a 17-year-old girl, the task was already ridiculously difficult, but the darkness that is now inside her does not help at all (even less when she gets goth attacks ?).
This is how I imagine goth Andie mad at the darkness ?
Fortunately, she still has the support of her friends and family. As well as the bond between her and Hunter that helps her keep the darkness (relatively) under control. But they will need all the help possible to defeat Helios and his allies, starting with preventing him from finding the 4 Stones of his crown. The four Keys will be crucial, but the darkness inside Andie may be what tips the scales. The point is… which way?
“We know the last Key is the Spear of Lugh. I’ve actually given it a new name though, the Spear of Victory. Because I know that finding this last Key will help lead us to victory. I want you all to keep that in mind as we go on this journey.”
Reading The Four Keys serie was really living the story for me. This particular book, I read it at a snail’s pace because I really didn’t want it to end. Also, I couldn’t read much at night because it left my neurons so active that I couldn’t sleep ?.
The characters are wonderful. I really like that, even though the fate of the world is on the shoulders of a 17-year-old girl (like a good fantasy book ?♀️), Andie never stops remembering it.
“I need to go home. There’s a book at the Oak that I need to find. Please don’t ask me how I know, because I honestly can’t tell you, but I need to find it”
She has become very strong and will never give up, but it doesn’t mean that she has stopped being who she is and being afraid of the responsibility that she was given, despite having accepted it. Her heart is so big that I suffered greatly doubting whether or not she would be consumed by darkness.
The darkness licked inside. As the calls from the demons around me grew louder, it seemed to call back, rising inside of me past the point that I could push it down.
Andie and Hunter’s relationship is really wonderful, but coooooooorny (Warning, the sweetness in this book can lead to diabetes ?).
As I retraced my steps back downstairs, haunting music reached me. It floated on the air and I felt myself following the melody. It wasn’t that long ago that I’d taken the same hallway and heard the same music. This time, the sadness of it didn’t get to me because I knew at the end of the day we’d always be together. I pushed open the tall door to see the guy who always took my breath away. His fingers flew over the keys on the piano, and his emotions flowed freely on his face as he concentrated. I vowed right then that wherever we stayed must have a piano for him to play.
In fact, Hunter turned out to be a romantic softie who just looks like a bad boy. Although with alpha male instincts. Translation? I love him.
My eyes teared up, and I laughed in happiness. “I feel like we’re reciting vows or something.” His eyes bored into mine, and his expression turned serious. “It was a vow, Andie. And I’ll make many more through this lifetime. We may not be married, but you are mine, and I am yours. Forever.”
This is one of my favorite movies ever, by the way.
But the other characters are not far behind. Celeste, Killian, and of course Emric and Charlie, among others.
“You trying to get yourself killed once again, my girl?” Emric asked with dry humor. “Yep. Can’t seem to stay away from it.” I rolled my eyes and stuck out my tongue.
It made me laugh because from the previous books I was hating Pres and Teagan. And in this one, it took Pres half a second to completely win me over again, especially after taking Andie on a spa day ?. This is another thing that I loved about this book. Everyone knows that the battle of their lives is coming, but precisely for this they strive to have normal activities like dating, the characters really deserve it.
Andie’s growth is exactly how I imagine mine if I had fallen into a fantastic story ?. In all the books of this style the main character, the chosen one, must learn to survive in this new reality, with new powers, but it’s common that they master them relatively quickly. Whereas in this case I remember that I disliked the first book at first because of how useless Andie was. She was almost killed by a flower… Twice ? (actually in this book she was almost killed by a flower too, so I guess there are things that never change ?♀️). This is why her growth became more valuable and more realistic to me.
I had no idea what we were going to do, how we would get him back. But just as always, I was determined. One way or the other we’d save the world and save him too.
Basically I infinitely recommend this saga. It is nice to find a story that is exactly my style again, as it was for me with Harry Potter and Idhún’s Memories. Also, while the story is closed, J.C. left some open points, which I hope will one day lead to a new book on this story.
Love wasn’t something to waste, especially now. With all of the turmoil and unknowns that we faced; it was high time that we all lived like each day was the last. To love like we might lose it the next hour. Heck, even the next minute. I would never take anyone I cared about for granted ever again.
The last thing I have to say about this book, but the most important thing to me, is that now I know how Mike Wazowski felt because I’M ON THE COVER! (Actually in the acknowledgments, but you get the idea ?).
But outside of jokes, when I started reviewing the books I read, my intention was to recommend books to others. But never in my life did I imagine that I could meet and contact authors directly, much less that it was possible that my opinion had as much impact on them as their stories had on me.
Feeling that you are making an impact on an author’s career, no matter how small, is truly magnificent. And it is what motivates me to continue with the blog and the bookstagram and try to improve day by day.
Infinite thanks to J.C. Lucas, because, not only has she written one of my new favorite sagas with some of the characters that have touched my heart the most, but she has made me feel that my effort is worth it. She is an incredible inspiration and meeting her is truly one of the best things that has happened to me thanks to the literary community.
Author
J.C. Lucas lives in Texas with her husband. She has three beautiful sons and one sweet as sugar grandson. J.C. grew up writing fantasy stories and dreaming of the day when she could share them with the world. Now you can find her wielding a sword (well, a pen, but that’s beside the point,) and weaving magical stories full of mythological creatures, witches, fairies, and romance. J.C. is an avid reader of many genres, loves to garden, and cuddle with her mini dachshunds. Coffee, wine, dark chocolate, and guacamole are some of her favorite indulgences. To see what’s new, follow J.C. at the links: Website and blog|Instagram|Twitter|Facebook| Goodreads|Bookbub Sign up for J.C.’s monthly newsletter and receive a free gift of the Prequel, The Four Key’s – The Beginning! https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/h1f5i7
It’s the fourth day of this tour and is my turn! ?. You can check the other hosts in Favourite Pages Book Club.
Synopsis
Darkness has taken over her land, and Zora has to find a solution before her world and the Shadow Kingdom merge once and for all—and before Griffin is lost to her forever.
Joined by unlikely allies and facing enemies at every turn, she journeys to a dangerous island where dark secretes are kept, from where nobody gets out alive.
Griffin is in enemy territory and has to play a dangerous game and race against time if he wants to save the people he loves, even if it might mean losing them forever.
The Dawn and the Prince is the action packed, emotional finale to the series Kingdom of Curses and Shadows. Get ready for adventure, romance, creepy magic, and girls kicking ass.
Review
This book picks up the story right where The Curse and the Prince ends. In addition, at the beginning it has a summary of book 1 and 2, which I think is excellent because it happens to me a lot that when I do not read a series in succession, I do not remember anything when I start the next book ?.
Zora and Griffin found the Blood Cup and used it. What they did not know is that the Cup was in fact the key for a spell that the Solana, an ancient race to which Riadne (or false Alegra) belonged, had used to seal the Kingdom of Shadows in the Dark Valley. By using the cup, the Kingdom was no longer anchored to the Valley and shadow creatures could move freely at night throughout Gravel.
“When you’re not sure, listen to that inner voice inside you, you know which one.” Right. The crazy voice that made people make stupid decisions. But Zora didn’t say anything.
Not only that, but Griffin’s curse, by breaking the seal, changes his body with the king of the Shadow Kingdom, and leaves him trapped in Grota. Where live creatures that look like lizards, and from where the shadow creatures get to Gravel.
Zora, along with Riadne and Larzen as unexpected allies, must find a way to save their kingdom from the shadow creatures, and win Griffin back.
She had no idea what she was going to find, but didn’t let her hope fade. She was going to fight until the end, fight to undo her mistakes, save the kingdom, and get Griffin back. She had to.
Meanwhile Griffin must manage to keep his true identity hidden and thwart the plans of the creatures of Grota, who want to invade Gravel.
He shook his head. “I was raised knowing it could happen, and I’ve accepted it. For a moment I had hope, and love, and life, but it was just a moment. It’s gone now.” He smiled. “But at least I have nothing to fear.”
At least (maybe) they could have some help from the golden woman (or Sun Goddess) who appears whenever she feels like it… And that is if she really wants to help ?.
Zora took a deep breath. Hope. There was always hope. But that was the thing; hope should be like that sword; reachable, not like a star, up there somewhere. That had been her mistake. All her life, she had clung to hope; she had tried to teach her students to hope. But what was pointless hope but a lie, a false promise? It was like believing in the Sun Goddess, believing in something outside her reach.
The first thing I must say about this book is how impressed I was with the expansion of the story. Each saga, a trilogy for example, as a general rule starts with a little circle of the story, which is then expanded in the second book, and expanded a little more in the third, to give a full vision of the story. But this book begins with a small circle, it expands a little in the second, and in the third it explooooooodes. There was sooooo much we didn’t know. Suddenly everything has an explanation, things I took for granted in previous books.
To exemplify what I say I will use the map that appears in this book.
These are the places we get to know about in books 1 and 2:
And the map in book 3…
Is this one:
And this without taking into account that there is another dimension …
I really liked the description of Grota, especially since the place and the creatures made me think about Umadhún and the Sheks from the book Idhun’s Memories. Truly more to the Szish.
The problem is that the new information was SO MUCH that it got to a point when I didn’t know what to do with it. Unbelievably at no point did it get boring, but it was impossible to think that everything could be solved in this book. In fact when I was nearing the end I was very scared that things would not really be resolved.
Was everything resolved? Yes, at least everything important. The truth is that Day did it, but I would have liked one more book. I feel like so many things were added to the story that I would have liked more time to close each topic. In addition, there were some details that I would have liked more explanation.
Now, what I can’t believe is that my favorite character ended up being Riadne. The growth of all the characters is quite good, but Riadne’s is really spectacular.
Riadne felt odd to trust strangers who didn’t even know about Solanas’ existence until a few days before. To trust them to do what generations of her people had not been able to… For once, she allowed herself to hope. If she kept at it, she would start to sound like Zora.
While I love Griffin and Zora, and their relationship is excessively cute, in this book I was completely fascinated with the relationship between Riadne and Larzen, which is still cute but also excessively funny. And it made me want to hit Riadne more than once.
“And remember you’re the sunbeam of my moonlight.” “That doesn’t make any sense.” “It’s supposed to make sense? Well, then, you’re the acid in my stomach.” “Oh.” She meant ew, but it sounded off. “I have no words, Larzen.”
Probably the most important thing in history is hope. But great relevance is also given to relationships, and even abuse. Zora’s fear (rather panic) of sex, even though I felt got a bit lost in the story despite being constantly mentioned, is a topic that I haven’t seen in any book before. I loved finding a story where relationships, particularly sexual, are treated in a different way. There are many, many stories that create the fantasy that everything works perfectly fine from the start, and I think that is precisely what was happening to Zora, who was forcing herself from the beginning just because she believed it was supposed to be like that, that she was the problem. When in reality she just wasn’t ready, and that was perfectly fine.
“All change is traumatic, Zora,” her mother said. “Even change for good.”
…And Seth was an asshole, but that’s a conversation for another day ?.
This is why I don’t give it 5 stars. Because it’s not perfect, but I would still extremely recommend it as it’s a nice, fast-paced, easy to read story. And the characters are wonderful. Besides, Day always does this amazing thing of teleporting you to these realms where you would love to be. (Well, I don’t know if I would like to be in Grota, but you know what I mean ?).
Trust that sometimes things happen for a reason.” She smiled. This idea of greater meaning for why things happened was more and more sounding like a way to dodge responsibility. Yay, let’s blame destiny! Not stupidity. Nope, not at all.
Thank you so much to Favourite Pages and Day Leitao for letting me be part of this tour. I loved this saga and I’m super happy to be on the tour for the last book.
Author
I’m originally from Brazil but I’ve been living in Canada for over 10 years now. I have some influence from Brazilian writers and Brazilian culture, but I also read popular books in English. I watched some Anime as a kid, my favorite being Yamato. I’m a longtime Star Wars fan and I’m active in the fandom podcasting at Lords of the Sith as Denise. I’ve always loved to write stories, and I like to always include romance, action and humor in my writing. I think stories can touch us deeply. I live in Montreal, Canada, with my son. My books include the Ya fantasy series Portals to Whyland, and the sci-fi standalones The Sphere of Infinity and Star Spark. Check out my blog for some news, updates, and nonsensical ramblings.
Four musicians vie for a coveted spot on the main stage at the prestigious Olive Branch Music and Arts Festival.
For as long as she can remember, Melly has only been good at one thing: making music. From the instant she got her fingers on a flute and tambourine, music had transformed her life and become a way for her to express the hidden desires of her heart. And like every artist in the realm, joining the illustrious Olive Branch Music and Arts Festival was her ultimate dream.
When Hakim encounters Melly singing in a grubby tavern, his world stops for the briefest of moments. For Hakim, it was as clear as the sky on a sunny day—her voice was what his band, Needlework, had been missing. On a whim, a deal is struck. Soon Melly finds herself whisked away with the band as they join the Olive Branch Festival for what promises to be one wild ride.
***Trigger Warning: Content includes after-effects of sexual assault, as well as depression, grief, and suicidal thoughts/attempts.
Author
Bekah Berge fell in love with all things mystical at a young age. Her love of stories led to her writing her first book in her early twenties, and she’s never looked back since. When not scribbling down fantastical tales, she enjoys traveling, gardening, vegan baking, and brewing the perfect cup of tea.
She also suffers from a rare chronic pain condition called CRPS (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome) and to learn more visit: CRPSBookshelf.com
Melly is a 17-year-old girl who makes a living singing in taverns or stealing when she has no other choice (There’s just something about books with taverns that I love ?♀️).
One day she meets Hakim, Taran and Nova. Three friends that have a band named “Needlework” and are playing with Olive Branch Festival, where only the best played. They hear Melly sing and decide to get her in the band. So far all nice, just music and group problems.
But Hakim is an idiot. Rather, he has become one. A year ago he suffered an attack in which his leg was broken, not even with magic it was possible to recover it completely, since then he has not healed completely, either physically or emotionally.
All this happened because Hakim is not just another musician, he is a Harran, nephew of the Emperor of Sandaran. Some time ago there was a famine crisis in the other kingdoms, and Sandaran decided not to help. From then on they earned their hatred and now there is a war brewing underneath. Unfortunately, Hakim’s last name drags him and his friends into the middle of the political and power conflict. Now they need to learn how to heal, while trying to survive.
This is one of the best books I’ve read. My only problem is that is a standalone, because I don’t want to let Mel and Hakim go.
I absolutely love music. When I read the synopsis of this book I was attracted, but couldn’t imagine how it would fit the fantasy. Sounded just like a book about a band, but it’s so much more. And the music is still a huge part in it, showing its own magic.
I’ve just read one other book before that had original songs, and I always felt sad that I couldn’t really hear them. But Bekah and her friends made two of the songs “real”, and it’s absolutely perfect.
Also, I love how chronic pain is given a huge role in the book. Both physical and psychological.
Hakim and Mel are broken people. Actually everyone in the story is, at some level. I guess we all are. But here’s a book to remember you that you can go on. You can get through everything. And live.
Inspirational as hell, and unpredictable too. Also, I knew we would get an explanation about the name of the band “Needlework” and I absolutely loved it.
Please, do yourself a favor and grab a copy of this book.
Bye bye ?
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Hello people! Today I bring you my second unboxing of Fairyloot, which corresponds to March’s box… yep, I am a “little” behind. In fact, I’ve already received April’s box ?.
The theme for March was Frozen Fables. I saw many comments that this was one of the best boxes that Fairyloot has made so far, and the truth is that it may be true.
Now, let’s get to the unboxing.
As usual, the first we have is the “spoiler card”, that we will ignore until the end.
The first item is a ceramic cup inspired by The Winternight Trilogy. It was designed by @monolimeart, whose designs are always wonderful, but this one fascinated me. It has even a snowflake inside ?.
The next thing we have is a hair band! I really have no idea what they are called but that’s what it says. It is inspired by Something Dark and Holy and designed by @catarinabookdesigns.
I didn’t have any bands, so I was very happy with it… but it turns out it doesn’t work for me. My hair is straight as a board and wearing a satin headband is apparently not a good idea.
The next thing we find are socks! I love socks too much and since I discovered that they existed with a literary theme, it only increased my obsession. These are inspired by Even the Darkest Stars and designed by @jezhawk.
They are a little bit larger than the standard socks in my country, so I would dare to say that they are size 39/40 in Chile.
Then we have the monthly collectible tarot cards. In this case correspond to the ace and two of wands, and are also inspired by The Winternight Trilogy, and designed by @arz28.
Then we have a beautiful notebook with a silver foil and white sheets. It is inspired by Wintersong and designed by @taratjah. I admit that that cover tempted me to read the book ?.
Also in this box we were supposed to get a print with foil inspired by Spinning Silver and designed by @warickaart, but something happened and it came the April box.
As always, there is a letter from the author in a print.
At first the edition of the book did not appeal to me much, since the cover was very similar to the original, but when I took it out, my jaw dropped. It is probably the most beautiful book I have. From its bright light blue edges, to the inside of its dust cover. If you do not believe me, see these photos, although they do not do it justice.
The royal phoenix is missing from the Tang dynasty palace! Princess Pingyang is worried. Can Rin the unicorn find Fan the phoenix? Together with her friends—dragon, tiger, and tortoise—Rin embarks on a journey to mystical lands in China. Along the way, Rin discovers the value of teamwork and the warmth of friendship.
A Unicorn Named Rin celebrates the wonder and beauty of Chinese history and culture. This exquisitely illustrated picture book makes an ideal read for children 3-8 years old:
Easy-to-read vocabulary enables confidence in early readers
Whimsical illustrations encourage imagination in all unicorn lovers
Storyline fosters dialogue around collaboration, empathy, and kindness
Real locations in China make for an inspiring geography, history and cultural exploration adventure.
Review
This is a different review because, believe it or not, I am not between 3 and 8 years old ?.
It is true that it’s an easy-to-read story, which makes it good for building confidence in children, but it could also be useful for a person who wants to start reading in English. I think it is good advice to start reading children’s books to practice another language.
Returning to the children, this is a nice story of friendship, in which the importance of teamwork is shown. However, what really makes it an amazing book for me, are the locations.
Rin and her friends must search for Fan, the royal phoenix, throughout various locations that stand out for some special reason. At the end of the book, Crystal provides an explanation of each of these places and their true history.
Also, Princess Pingyang seems like a great addition to me. It’s amazing that you can introduce it to your child in this story, so that later he or she knows it was real and becomes even more inspiring. She’s like a new Mulan (in a role model sense, I don’t know much about Chinese history and I don’t pretend to act like I do).
In short, it’s a wonderful Chinese culture bath, delivered in the most subtle, but no less effective way. In addition, the contribution of the illustrations is magical. It is personally what convinced me to read the book.
Author
Crystal Z. Lee is a Taiwanese American bilingual writer. She has called many places home, including Taipei, New York, Shanghai, and the San Francisco Bay Area. She was formerly a public relations executive who had worked with brands in the fashion, beauty, technology, and automotive industries. “Love and Other Moods” is her first novel.
A Unicorn Named Rin by Crystal Z. Lee Publisher: Balestier Release Date: April 22nd 2021 Genre: Children’s Books, Illustrated, Own Voices Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Bookdepository | B&N
Bye bye ?
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A secret camp in the woods. A revolution in the making. And a fighter that will change what it means to be human.
Maia is hell-bent on revenge until a tattooed menace literally stands in her way.
Gabe is a legendary fighter with a soft heart that snags on the wounded woman before him.
Together, they discover much more than they bargained for. When the world is ending, someone’s gotta step up and do the saving, and two MMA fighters might just fit the bill.
The Wood Element is being activated, and with it, a war.
Review
“Each moment is a choice. Don’t look any further than that, forward or backward.”
That image basically sums up my opinion of this book ?. Turns out I swore this was the last book in the series and nope…
Maia is broken. Her twin sister’s life was shattered, and with it Maia’s too. Determined to get revenge, she leaves her home and begins to engage in fights to get closer to her target.
“Coffee,” I sigh out, not making eye contact. “Black.” I like the bitter taste. I like to keep things real. Don’t put a Band-Aid on it when you’ll just have to rip the sucker off later. Just give me the scar.
Gabe (his real name) wants to help her not get lost in fights like her other students. And with that he hopes to redeem himself.
In truth, she was never mine to protect. She’s a fighter, and my job isn’t to hold her back. I’ts to have her back, like partners. Even when I can’t be beside her to conquer the enemy with her.
But the attraction between the two is inescapable and, when Raimo appears to explain that he saw Maia teleport in a vision… Their initial intentions are overshadowed by the responsibility of saving the world from aliens ?.
“I’ll follow you, Maia, if only to save you from yourself.”
The Ancestors are water elemental aliens. They decided to adopt the Earth as their home a long time ago, but humans have taken it upon themselves to destroy it. Now the earth has reached its limit and natural disasters are occurring across the planet as the Ancestors prepare to eradicate human beings. Only the 5 elements united can face them, so they are gathering to train in a camp for a war in which they do not have good opportunities.
War had crippled me emotionally, cursing my days and nights into a living nightmare, and I wouldn’t wish the fight on my worst enemy, but I’d be on the frontlines for her.
Maia is everyone’s hope, but her selfishness can doom them.
I love that I was right about the style of this serie, this book is a thousand times better than the first (for me, not that the first was bad) and full fantasy! Mainly it is because the first book introduces you to the story, but in a very subtle way, which does not fit toghether until you read this one. It’s a little like Mistborn’s style, in terms of a new element-based magic system. The 5 elements correspond to Fire, Water, Metal, Wood and Earth, and each one grants different abilities to the person who has it activated.
I loved that Enya (the protagonist of the first book) and Maia are not alike at all. It is interesting to be in the minds of both and that you can tell the difference.
Like the first, the book relies heavily on love and the ability to forgive, including yourself, in order to move forward. But now we see that this acceptance also comes with improvements in your superhuman abilities ?♀️.
I want to tell Maia that this is what broken but alive looks like. It doesn’t heal right—it can’t. You can’t ever make it so that things didn’t happen, no matter what you wish. If you play your cards right, though, you transcend your broken body. You are more than the cracks in the dirt. You go from being alive to being a survivor.
Book 1 was a beautiful love story, but it was only after reading this book that I understood everything. What a way to fit the pieces! By the way, I was sure this was the last book in the series and nope, so I almost died with the end ?.
I highly recommend it, both as fantasy and as a wonderful romance. There are more than one couple and they are all too cute. And also because it is always important to remember the importance of love, especially self-love, even in the middle of an interstellar warfare.
I remember my mom and dad always joking about how they were each other’s first loves. “Twin flames,” they called each other, a connection so intense, it’s like one soul mirror the other.
Bye bye ?
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“It just takes a spark, Enya. You don’t need to be anything more than you.”
When Enya learns she has a terminal disease the summer before college, her dreams to make a difference in the world are cut short. Instead, she joins her best friend Jacob on a cross country road trip to explore his Native American roots. Psychic visions are just the start as Enya embarks on a spiritual journey that will break the world she knows, and open her to more than she could have imagined.
Review
For when there is nothing real in the world except love, it all starts and ends with the heart.
This review was particularly hard for me. I really don’t know how to explain how I feel about this book without spoilers, but I’ll do my best.
I want to clarify immediately that my rating for this book is not a bad one, it just didn’t fit enough my liking style for giving it more, but I do know that it’s an amazing book that a lot of people can love.
This book tells the story about Enya, an 18-year-old girl whose life has just been destroyed. She got tested and got positive for Huntington’s disease. A progressive brain disorder that leads to lost of control, for mind and body. Her father also had it, and his mother before. He actually couldn’t take it anymore and committed suicide a few years ago.
When Enya gets her result, she feels her life is officially over. But on a desperate attempt to get some happiness back, she decides to join Jacob, her best friend, while he travels in a RV trying to get closer to hit Native American roots.
“We can’t choose the cards we’re dealt. We can choose how we react, though, what we make of it.”
This trip not only gives Enya a peace she never expected, but is also the beginning of one of the sweetest friends-to-lovers relationships I’ve read.
“When I look at you, I see all that is good in the world. You help me have faith in humanity.” He turns to me, a sheepish smile bringing youth to his face, “That’d be pretty awesome if you led the world, kiddo. Acupuncture Heart or not, you’ve got love, compassion, and unselfishness in spades.”
Enya discovers that meditation helps her, so she starts doing it a lot. And somehow this leads to visions, that will be what leads the story.
This book remembers me of Release, book that I actually didn’t enjoy (although I loved the rest of the saga and hope it will be the same with this one).
The book has a huge focus on helping you learn that love is everything, and not only as a couple. Learning to love herself and the others is what allows Enya to keep going with her life and actually enjoy it.
And it’s amazing when I truly let the love in, how I see it and find it everywhere. How it self propagates. My world is a joyous place. That doesn’t mean that bad things don’t happen, and it doesn’t mean my diagnosis has changed. It just means that I choose happiness. I choose love. It’s like Jacob had said. What if every moment was a choice? Full stop. No past, no future, just this moment, and I have the power of a choice.
It also has a big focus on showing a little of the story of Native American people, and all the things they lived.
One of the things I didn’t love about the book is how many hard subjects were at the beginning. We find out Enya has Huntington’s, Jacob is looking for his Native roots, and we get a lot of information about this. And Yasmin, Enya’s best friend, is Muslim and lesbian, which means her family sort of exiled her. I actually liked all of this, but felt too much information at once.
Also, Enya leans a lot in homeopathy and acupuncture, but this subjects felt more natural in the story.
The other thing that bothered me was the format. The story is told on Enya’s POV (except for one chapter on Jacob’s) but before every chapter we have a scene, that seems to be from visions, but this honestly confused me a lot.
What I did love were the characters. All of them were complex and real, with their own stories. It was impossible not to fell in love with Enya and Jacob.
“Jacob, how do you not get angry?” “Oh, I get angry. I’m a little more practiced at catching it. Anger is like poison. You speak angry words to a plant as you harvest it, and the food when you are angry, and you are serving poison. When you have a lifetime of viewing the importance of it like that, you get lots of practice at halting your reaction before you say or do something stupid.”
The thing with this book is that half of me loved it, and the other half hates it.
[su_spoiler title=”I can’t explain this without spoilers so, here they are (this are not big spoilers but I prefer to warn)” icon=”chevron-circle”] I loved how the book is constantly giving you hope, and making you learn to forgive and live your life day by day. But I just couldn’t handle the ending. I know I should have seen it coming, but it felt like such a hit of reality that I got mad.
[/su_spoiler]
Woaaaa, I almost forget! There’s so much Taylor Swift in this book ?. Jacob is a huge fan. I love her too, so this was pretty awesome.
Jacob’s amazingly perceptive in picking up on all my moods and cues for a guy. Must be all the Taylor Swift music. Yasmin and I like to tease him incessantly for being such a Swiftie. I’m more of a Twenty One Pilots girl myself.
As you can see, this is not a bad book. Just wasn’t the perfect one for me at the time. Actually, I would blindly recommend it to you if you need to remember how to find hope in the darkest moments. If you need a reminder that a spark is all that it takes.
“Things happen for a reason. And we’re not given things we can’t handle. You were given this because you are so strong. You might not feel it now, but you are. Strong and amazing. Let your light shine, don’t let some uncertain future dim it.”
Bye bye ?
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Today is the last day of the tour, but if you want to see the other posts you can visit Favourite Pages Book Club.
Synopsis
An exiled goddess goes on a quest to clear her name and save Mount Olympus in Talia Rothschild & A. C. Harvey’s action-packed young adult debut, The Immortal Game!
Galene, daughter of Poseidon, desperately wants to earn her place among the gods. But when a violent attack leaves Mount Olympus in chaos and ruins, she is accused of the crime. Banished from Olympus, Galene sets out to prove her innocence and discovers a more deadly plot—one that threatens even the oldest of Immortals.
Fortunately, she has allies who willingly join her in exile:
A lifelong friend who commands the wind. A defiant warrior with deadly skill. A fire-wielder with a hero’s heart. A mastermind who plays life like a game.
All-out war is knocking at the gates. Galene and her friends are the only ones who can tip the scales toward justice, but their choices could save Olympus from total annihilation, or be the doom of them all.
Review
Thank you so much to Favourite Pages, Talia Rothschild and A. C. Harvey for letting me be part of this tour.
I am the daughter of Poseidon, God of the Seas. The words vibrated through her. I will save my friends. I will clear my name. The strength of the maelstrom rose around her power, threatening to overshadow it. I will tame the sea.
Galene is the daughter of Poseidon. As such she has to prove her value and that she deserves to be immortal.
All the sons of gods must pass this test to gain their immorality at 21, but Galene will do so at 18 for being the daughter of one of the Twelve Olympians, as well as her best friend, Iyana, daughter of Zeus.
The trial consists of defeating a combination of beasts assigned by Fate through cards. Unfortunately, Galene fails her trial, with a chance to retry in 10 more years.
Kostas, God of Games and son of Hermes, has the power to see auras. Galene’s beast was so powerful that he suspected sabotage, but seeing the auras of The Twelve, it seems even more likely.
That same night, someone steals the cards and creates random monsters to cause destruction. The problem is that a vision of Apollo clearly shows that Galene did it, but she is innocent. Since no one can face the Twelve, Galene is exiled from Olympus without ever being able to achieve her immortality. Iyana, cannot bear such injustice and decides to go into exile with her, along with her boyfriend Demitri, son of Ares and Aphrodite.
The three decide to look for Chrysander, Galene’s brother who exiled himself a few years ago when he did not agree with how things were going in Olympus.
On the way they are caught by Kostas and his best friend Braxtus, Apollo’s son and who is madly in love with Iyana.
Chrysander, along with his allies, have a plan to fix things on Olympus. But it involves destroying it. Now Galene, Iyana, Braxtus and Kostas must go on a mission against time to retrieve an object from the Gods, the avyssos, and save Olympus. Or destroy it …
I love Greek mythology books, especially when there is some kind of competition on Olympus. I loved the idea of monsters created using the deck of cards. It was difficult for me to understand it at first due to the names of the beasts, however this becomes clearer as the story progresses.
I had a hard time getting caught on the book in the beginning because there was so much information to absorb. It is told through the points of view of Galene, Iyana, Kostas and Braxtus, but in third person. However, once the story progresses it becomes easy to follow and all the pieces start to fit together. Even after some unexpected twists ?.
To find and recover the avyssos, they must face various challenges that test each one’s abilities. In which Iyana feels completely useless. I really enjoyed watching her growth in particular, as she managed to find her strength and become a powerful Goddess in more ways than one.
In this story there is room for romance, but it is not the main focus. The focus is the mission of the five friends and their path of growth, in addition to the injustices on Olympus. It has a lot of action and adventure.
It has happened to me more than once in this type of book that the ending disappoints me, but this was not the case. The ending seemed perfect to me and I really hope this story continues in the style of a new Percy Jackson.
Authors
Talia Rothschild, Italian American, is passionate about stories in many forms—music, dance, photography, film and, of course, great novels. She believes in thick hot chocolate and creamer in your tea. When she’s not happily writing, she’s mothering the sweetest baby girl and making memories with her husband. Her debut book The Immortal Game, coauthored with A. C. Harvey, hits the shelves May 2021.
Ashleigh Harvey is teaching high school physics and bringing her writing dreams to life. English-born and world-traveled, she loves filling her life with new adventures, such as visiting a new country or exploring the Wild West with her husband. She also finds escape in movies, music, literature, and yearly comic conventions. The Immortal Game is her debut novel, created alongside Talia Rothschild, her close friend.
It’s been six months since Riley Thomas, reluctant medium extraordinaire, has had a ghost haunting her apartment, and she prefers it that way. Life is less complicated when the dead aren’t trying to get her attention. Her best friend is getting married and wants to DIY her way through wedding prep—Riley’s got no time for ghosts.
One of Jade’s wedding must-haves is vintage film cameras her guests can use to help document the big day. The months-long hunt for relics leads to a thrift shop jackpot, and Riley adds the cameras to the growing pile of wedding supplies in her apartment. That night, Riley gets a midnight wake-up call from a ghostly Black woman in a yellow dress.
Even after the haunted cameras are removed from the apartment, the ghost woman keeps popping up, both in Riley’s dreams and in the corner of her eye. Tracking down the previous owner of the cameras proves difficult, and as Riley digs deeper, she uncovers a link between the cameras and two murdered women—one white, one Black, yet neither one is Riley’s mystery woman.
Though the identity of the ghost proves to be as elusive as her predator, Riley is determined to uncover the truth of what happened to these women. But now someone knows she’s looking… and he’s hell-bent on making sure he finds her first.
Review
Warning: This is the story of a serial killer who raped his victims before killing them. It is not graphic in that sense, but constantly mentioned.
6 months have passed since the visit to the Jordanville Ranch. Riley and Michael are happy with their relationship, while Jade is about to get married to her boyfriend. Clearly Riley is her bridesmaid. The problem is that Jade is determined to do everything with her own hands for her wedding (for real, like, she even wanted to cook ?), so she has been dragging Riley all over town.
The problem with Jade was that she was obsessed with ghosts. The whole reason the spirits of serial killer Orin Jacobs and little Pete Vonick had entered Riley’s life in the first place had been because Jade forced Riley to attend a ghost hunting investigation weekend at Orin’s former home. And now another ghost was in her life, thanks to Jade. Maybe she needed a new best friend. A voice in the back of her head told her she couldn’t blame the Poltergeist of Aisle 3 on Jade. Or the weeping woman from miniature golf. She told the voice to shut up.
Riley’s abilities can’t be turned off, so even going to the supermarket became a problem when she encounters a raging ghost in an aisle. What to say when, after buying some old cameras for Jade’s marriage, a ghost appears in her own room… again.
Which meant two things. First, at least one of those cameras that sat in a box in her living room was haunted. Dammit. And second? She had to call Nina. Double dammit.
The cameras were connected to the death of the young woman in the yellow dress who appeared to Riley. And when her dreams make her suspect that she is not the only victim, Riley has no choice but to reconnect with Nina, the medium she met at the ranch, and go back into solving these cases. .
Since Melissa said that this guy was even more psycho than the ones in the previous book, I was very scared, however this book was less terrible for me in that sense, since we are not inside his head like we were in Orin’s, which it was what really traumatized me.
However, it is just as terrible as the previous one in terms of the history.
Really my favorite part of these books is how they manage to mix the paranormal, with mystery and police investigation, with horrors, but also with things as mundane as a marriage or the development that Riley and Michael’s relationship is having, even showing us a food contest with his family. This not only helps to relax the tension of the book quite a bit, but it helps to connect more and more with Riley.
“Ooh,” Michael said from across the table. “If we’re going somewhere tropical, sister dear, your ass will be going swimming with dolphins.” Donna shuddered violently beside Riley. “She was bitten by a dolphin at SeaWorld when she was a kid,” Carla told Riley. “Demon fish,” Donna whispered softly to herself. Riley suppressed a laugh.
Melissa does an incredible job of also showing how some cases receive more attention than others, which in fact was what prevented these murders from being discovered in the beginning, since being of “different levels” it was impossible for them to be connected.
This is a thriller and ghost story book, but it’s not really scary in that regard. The terrible thing is the serial killers and especially knowing that this part is not fiction. If you like mega dense mysteries without romance, this is not your book, it is a thriller a little “lighter” for saying, much more focused on the emotional. Again a round story for me. I hope Riley goes on her unelected detective path. What worries me is Melissa’s search history which must be full of phrases like “how to hide a body” ?.
The men chuckled. “Ah, so psychics have a dark sense of humor, too?” McGregor asked. “It’s that or I curl up in a fetal position and never get up again.” Howard grinned at her. “Same.”
It makes me think of Robert Welsh’s Monday ghost stories videos, which I take the opportunity to recommend because they are great. I would always see them, but every time I do I can’t sleep at night, so you can see my level of bravery ??.
Bye bye ?
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