#bookreview: Jakkatu Vector | P.K. Tyler

Welcome to another Novel Publicity tour! We're so excited for the release of The Jakkattu Vector by P.K. Tyler that we wanted to celebrate with a great giveaway featuring a Kindle Fire, one of a kind Jakkattu Vector bookmark and a special book bundle from the author herself!

My Review 

The Jakkattu Vector by P.K. Tyler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sabaal is a captive Jakkattu imprisoned on Earth by the Mezna priests who experiment on her. Javan 6ix is a tek - half Miscegenate, half machine - beginning to question his life in the city. Norwood Thorne is too smart for a human, too inquisitive for a man, leading his sister Julip down the path of questioning the Temple, the Mezna and all the history they've learnt on the Rez.

Sabaal's escape is the part of the catalyst that throws them all together, leading them to question whether everything the Mezna has been telling them is true. Because beyond their fences, the Feral - the Undone as they name themselves - have information that will turn their understanding of the world upside down.

The Jakkattu Vector is action-packed, with Tyler propelling you from one scene to another, giving you glimpses of the truth, glimmers of the lies these human-Mezna hybrids have grown up with, expecting you to piece them all together before the horrifying reveal. In between, she engages your emotions with the innocence of the young Thornes as they grow up, navigating the thin line between independence and insolence in their quest for truth. And then she feeds you heartbreak on a platter.

The Jakkattu Vector is gritty and grim yet inexplicably hopeful as each of strand of humanity - human, Miscegenate, Undone - come to terms with who they are and what the Mezna has done to them.

Note: I received an ARC from Novel Publicity in exchange for an honest review as part of a blog tour.

View all my reviews

About the Book

They came as saviors to a deteriorating Earth

Julip Thorne questions whether there is more to life beyond the barren dirt, acidic seas, and toxstorms her people work and die in. Living in poverty on the withering Greenland Human Reservation, she wonders if the alien Mezna goddesses are truly as holy as the temple preaches. Julip begins to dig deeper into the history of the planet and her leaders’ rise to power. But nothing can prepare her for the atrocities she uncovers.

Meanwhile, Jakkattu prisoner Sabaal suffers constant torture and heinous medical experiments as her Mezna-priest captors seek to unlock the key to her genetic makeup. Escaping from captivity, she finds herself suddenly alone on the hostile alien planet of Earth. To survive, she’s forced to work with the same Mezna-human hybrids she’s loathed her entire life, but the more they work together, the more they realize that their enemy is the same.

When humans and Mezna collide, will Sabaal turn out to be the genetic vector the Mezna have been searching for all along, or will she spark the flame that sets a revolution ablaze?

About the Author

P.K. Tyler is the author of Speculative Fiction and other Genre Bending novels. She’s also published works as Pavarti K. Tyler and had projects appear on the USA TODAY Bestseller’s List.

“Tyler is essentially the indie scene’s Margaret Atwood; she incorporates sci-fi elements into her novels, which deal with topics such as spirituality, gender, sexuality and power dynamics.” – IndieReader

Pav attended Smith College and graduated with a degree in Theatre. She lived in New York, where she worked as a Dramaturge, Assistant Director and Production Manager on productions both on and off-Broadway. Later, Pavarti went to work in the finance industry for several international law firms. Now located in Baltimore Maryland, she lives with her husband, two daughters and two terrible dogs. When not penning science fiction books and other speculative fiction novels, she twists her mind by writing horror and erotica.

You can follow PK Tyler on Facebook, Twitter, and sign up for her newsletter, or visit her website here.

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SPOTLIGHT: Scorched Souls

I signed up for a book spotlight so you get an extra review today! :)

Scorched Souls in the Spotlight

Welcome to The Scorched Souls Tour! Welcome to another exciting Spotlight Tour with Novel Publicity. Today, I’m sharing the spotlight for Scorched Souls, the final story in the Chosen Trilogy by Jeff Altabef and Erynn Altabef. Don't forget to enter for your chance to win some great prizes including an Amazon Gift Card, a Paperback of Scorched Souls and a dream catcher!

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Here is an Exclusive Excerpt

I lean back in my chair; he’s dumped a bucket of ice water on my head, and the chill settles into my bones. “So the Chosen were set up to fail. You’ve planted a bomb on the planet to explode when the Deltites take over.”
He nods, a smug self-congratulatory grin on his face. “A Heart Stone to be precise. It was the only logical action to take.”
Bile burns my throat. “But billions of humans live on the planet.... They will all die. They have souls.”
Still, my father’s logic is undeniable.

“Another complication has developed.” Two different human faces materialize above us and hover in front of the image of Earth. “The woman’s name is Summer Stone. She’s what humans call Native American, and is the mother to the Alpha among the Chosen. The man is not from her tribe. He’s what they call Irish.”
“So?” Why does he care?
“The calculations behind the Chosen were extremely advanced and fragile.” A third face joins that of the others. “The Alpha’s name is Juliet Wildfire Stone. She was supposed to be born from a union between two members of the same Native American tribe. That genetic combination was the only way humans could produce a Chosen strong enough to be an Alpha and draw power from the other three. The secret order had specific rules regarding this, yet they failed to heed them. Fools! I can’t predict what the outcome will be of this particular pairing.”
I study the faces and notice that Juliet has inherited much of her physical appearance from her mother: the long straight black hair, the caramel colored eyes, brown skin and high cheekbones—all but her sharp nose, which resembles her father’s. Her eyes seem to sparkle, but I shake my head. These are only holographic images. I can’t read too much into them or let my imagination cloud my reason. “I don’t understand the problem. Either she is powerful enough to be the Alpha, or she isn’t. Since you want them to fail, why do you care?”

My father bores his gaze into me, and an icy blade carves into my chest and twists. “There is a third possibility.”
My body turns weak. I’m lucky I’m already sitting. It’s unthinkable, but it’s the only thing that might frighten my father. “You’re afraid she’s an... abomination.”
“I can’t rule it out. Even if she is, she won’t be strong enough defeat an Elite, but we can’t take any chances. I want you to go to Earth. Make sure the Chosen fail and never find out about our plans. They can’t tell the Deltites about the Heart Stone I’ve planted on the planet. If they retrieve that crystal, all would be lost, and they could use its power against us.”
“Me.” I point to my chest. “Why me? Why not send someone else, someone who has already proven—”
“I trust no one else with this! You will succeed and return to Alpha, and when you return you will take the final test. This way we have an excuse for your... reluctance to finish the final exam.”

Two small discs fly into his hand, and he hands one to me. “This one is programmed with my brainwaves. You will use it when you have succeeded. I will keep the second here, so I can contact you... if need be.”
I sense the implied threat in his words and bow my head. “Yes, father. As you command.”
If pure evil exists in this universe, it’s sitting next to me, and I am this monster’s son. What does that make me? I glance at the hologram of Earth above me. It’s a beautiful planet.
He’s sentenced billions of humans to die, but can I carry out the punishment?

About the Book

Fate and destiny clash in the explosive, heart-pounding conclusion to the award-winning Chosen series.
~~~~~ 

Survival is not enough. 
Alliances will be formed. 
Loyalties tested. 
A choice made. 

My name is Juliet Wildfire Stone and I’m not just a Chosen, I’m the Alpha… and the fate of Earth rests in my hands.
When I finally met the Prime Elector, he wasn’t anything like I expected. He was supposed to be our mortal enemy, a monster I needed to destroy to fulfill my destiny, yet he was nothing like that—he’s young, brilliant, and looks like an angel.
Caught in the middle of a conflict between two ancient foes, which threatens to rip Earth apart, I must do what is right at all costs. To choose my fate, and Earth’s future, I will need to navigate a new path, form unlikely alliances, and solve ancient mysteries forgotten for centuries.
Yet I cannot do it alone. Will the other Chosen follow me? Do I have the strength to make the right choice, or will the people of Earth be enslaved for all time?

My Review

Scorched Souls by Jeff Altabef
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Chosen series is a war between the Alphians and the Deltites - with all human lives at stake. The beginning of Scorched Souls (Book 3) plods a little, rather like the first two books. I'm beginning to think that maybe it's time for me to move on to "older" YA - I can't believe I forgot that half these kids aren't even 18, so maybe it's feasible that they act like love-sick idiots half the time. (I know, age is catching up with me, isn't it?)

The story bounces around between three POVs: Juliet, Connor and Barrett.
- Juliet seems to have gotten over her trust issues - by seemingly following her gut and trusting too much. Or maybe not.
- Connor's trapped in a loop of trying to better himself, because he's crazily in love with Juliet. And then drinking himself crazy because he's disappointed in love. Which seems totally immature until I'm reminded that he's not even 18, and an orphan with issues and a difficult past.
- With Barrett, you finally get a glimpse into who the Alphians are - and how they're not all as bad as they're made out to be.

Of all the characters in this book, Sicheii would probably be my favourite, even if he isn't alive at this stage - just because he is this mystical, wise guy who spouts philosophical nonsense and annoys the heck out of Juliet. And makes random appearances throughout the book. While dead.

There are deeper themes hidden throughout - distribution of wealth, the perfect society/world (does Utopia exist?), sacrifice, true love, responsibility, trust, wise choices, logic vs emotions, the greater good, addiction, privilege. Weighty themes, no doubt, but not out of place or too difficult to comprehend.

I'd recommend it for the younger end of young adult readers (mostly because the juvenile love side plot got a bit tiring) but it makes up for it with a well-thought out ending.

Note: I received a free ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.

View all my reviews

About the Authors

Jeff Altabef is an award-winning author who lives in New York with his wife, two daughters, and Charlie the dog. He spends time volunteering at the writing center in the local community college. After years of being accused of “telling stories,” he thought he would make it official. He writes in both the thriller and young adult genres. Jeff is very happy and proud that his co-author for the Chosen Series is his teenaged daughter, Erynn Altabef. Wind Catcher, the first in the Chosen Series, has won the 2015 Readers’ Favorite Gold Medal for Coming of Age Novels, the 2015 Beverly Hills Book Award for Best YA Fiction and a Mom’s Choice Award. As an avid Knicks fan, Jeff is prone to long periods of melancholy during hoops season. Jeff has a column on The Examiner focused on writing and a blog designed to encourage writing by those who like telling stories. 

Connect with Jeff on his website, Facebook, Twitter, Newsletter.

Erynn Altabef is an avid reader, dancer, and community activist. Some of her favorite authors are Veronica Roth, Joelle Charbonneau, and her dad! (That would be Jeff Altabef.) She just started her freshman year at Connecticut College is proud to be a camel!!!

Connect with Erynn on Facebook.

#bookreview: The Know: Preservation | Ed Kurst

The Know: Preservation by Ed Kurst
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

John Preston has always had this talent that he calls "The Know" - it's something like a premonition, or an ability to see the future. Any significant usage of this ability, however, leaves John exhausted. He's resigned himself to imminent death - until an exceptionally strong Know takes him all the way to the past: to when Tril, the leader of primitive humans, first Knows that the earth is going to be destroyed in a Fiery Catastrophe.

And so he finds himself involved with Tril (who time travels quite a bit), Stacey (uh, a little insta-love-ish, because premonitions), Akio (wait what - whose grandson again?), Albert Einstein (because, of course, geniuses need super powers), Mr Bill (an old college mate who fortunately has fingers in every pie) and Pavel (a security guy who has suspiciously high clearance and foresight).

Preservation reminds me of X-Men. On one hand, you have the Consortium who believe it is their right to rule the earth because of their special "talents". And on the other, you have another group of talented individuals who are trying desperately to save the earth. Oh, and of course, only John and Stacey can do it because they are the *special chosen ones*.

You have to head hop a bit in this one. Kurst mostly writes in third person, except for some chapters from John's perspective, which are in first person. It's... okay, I guess, but not exactly optimum.

I'm trying to think of more specific reasons why this isn't a four star at least... but I'm failing to at this point of time. I'll just say that it was pretty interesting (albeit maybe kinda generic?) and the alternating persons didn't exactly help.

* I received a free copy from Novel Publicity for review purposes.

View all my reviews

#bookreview: Legacy by Ellery Kane

Legacy by Ellery A. Kane
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I think I should probably start this review with the disclaimer that I generally don't like stories written in first person that much and this bias has probably coloured my view of this book. (Well, I liked it enough to give it a 3-star review, though that was somewhat borderline.)

The premise of the book seemed interesting enough. So Lex's mother, Dr. Victoria Knightley, helped create Emovere, an emotion-suppressing drug. There was unrest in SF, with Resistance factions opposing the use of the drugs. But the drugs are actually outlawed - but oh I see, it's being used in the military, especially the Guardian Force. To help the Resistance, Lex has to bring them a flash drive with important information. It all seems very scattered partially due to the filtered information that Lex, the protagonist, has. I usually don't have an issue rewriting the story synopsis based on what I read, but for this one, I really had to go back again to the book blurb and parts of the story to figure out what on earth the premise really was. That's really not good.

Another bugbear I have (besides spotty first-person narratives) is insta-love and insta-trust, probably because I am a suspicious auditor-type person who doesn't trust what anyone says. But other than a bad feeling that Lex has for Augustus Porter, the leader of the Resistance, Lex seems to like and trust everyone. And fall in love immediately with Quin McAllister - loner, bad boy, ex-Guardian Force with a haunting past. Needless to say, there was too much teen romance in this book for me.

*I received a free copy of this book for review purposes from Novel Publicity.

View all my reviews

Mosaics: #booklaunch and #bookreview

Today's the day, all the excitement, all the anticipation, and now it's finally here. Don't forget to enter the mega giveaway, including a Kindle Fire, a $50 gift card, and a paperback library, at the end of this post!

A project focused on bringing women's voices to readers and celebrating the stories they have to tell, including stories by Keyan Bowes, Carol Cao, Chelo Diaz-Ludden, Sarina Dorie, Naomi Elster, Jordanne Fuller, Ari Harradine,  Karen Heuler, L.S. Johnson, Tonya Liburd, Kelsey Maki, Julia Ray, Patty Somlo, P.K. Tyler, Deborah Walker, Keira Michelle Telford,  Kim Wells, Elizabeth Wolf, and Sylvia Spruck Wrigley:

Mosaics: A Collection of Independent Women Vol 1

Buy Your Copy Now! 

Mosaics: A Collection of Independent Women will inspire and shock you with its multi-faceted look at the history and culture surrounding femininity. If gender is a construct, this anthology is the house it built. Look through its many rooms, some bright and airy, some terrifying- with monsters lurking in the shadows.

Mosaics Volume One features twenty self-identified female authors writing about Intersectionality, including women of color, and members of the disability, trans, and GLB/ GSD* (Gender and Sexual Diversities) communities. We have curated amazing short fiction, flash fiction, poetry, essays, and art. It’s personal, political, and a great read.

This collection includes Hugo Award Nominees, Tiptree Shortlists, Pushcart Prize Winners, USA Today Bestsellers, indie superstars and traditionally published talents alike. The anthology combines leading and new voices all proclaiming their identity as Women, and their ability to Roar.

My review:

Mosaics: A Collection of Independent Women by Susan Kaye Quinn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Mosaic is the art of creating images by assembling other smaller pieces together. Mosaics: A Collection of Independent Women is just that. This collection of short fiction, flash fiction, poetry, essays and art, each a beautiful piece, has been curated to present a larger tapestry of what it means to be a woman. Not all of them agree with each other. They're not meant to. But they give you a wider picture of the various things it means to be female.

Beginning with Deborah Walker's The Wax Anatomist's Daughter, which gives you a glimpse of the complex relationship between bother and daughter, and ending with L.S. Johnson's The Queen of Lakes, which weighs a marriage Rose doesn't want against a monster's favour, the anthology explores a variety of topics - relationships, abuse, oppression, choices, sexism, misogyny, power, loss, motherhood, menstruation, lesbianism, independence - from the view point of the women themselves. Women's voices have been suppressed for a long time, and in this anthology, women are standing up to claim back their voices and their spaces.

The Girl made of Glass (Ari Harradine) is a particularly insightful story about how girls are often restrained from their full potential because of fear and the idea that women are fragile. It takes a strong woman to set Attie free from this entrapment, helping her decide to take a risky step towards wholeness - even if it may result in her death.

I enjoyed Kim Wells' Star Girl and Captain Obvious meet the Troll, a funny satire on superheroes, comic books and common tropes, but I couldn't decide whether to sympathise (or totally judge) the poor woman in Julie Rea's Pain Relief whose struggles with the benefits office and her medication is made worse by her weed-smoking habit.

Femina Virtus (Keira Michelle Telford) is a period piece on the suffragette movement, whilst Space Loses its Allure When You've Lost Your Moon Cup (Sylvia Spruck Wrigley) is a hilarious piece about having your period in space.

The Queen of Lakes is a powerful piece to end with: Rose's struggles with the limited options she has are poignant; her parents' fights about allowing her to dream and learn weighed against their ability to support her studies financially are all too real; her brother's betrayal like a knife to the heart.

The debate on feminism (and why it's necessary) is not one that is going to go away any time soon. We need collections like this to continue telling the world what it really means to be female.

* I received a free copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

All profits go to the Pixel Project to end Violence Against Women!

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Buy Your Copy Now! 

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#bookreview: Brink of Dawn by Jeff & Erynn Altabef

Welcome to the Brink of Dawn Tour

Authors Jeff Altabef and Erynn Altabef

Brink of Dawn by Jeff Altabef
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I have to admit that I started reading this and couldn't remember what on earth happened in book 1, Wind Catcher. Because of that, I had to scramble a little to get myself up to speed - and Brink of Dawn doesn't give you much clues. Or it does, but rather disjointedly.

Written in the voice of Juliet Wildfire Stone, who is not only Chosen, but also their Alpha, you get a glimpse of a sixteen year old struggling to be good enough, but not always believing it. She rails against why she must be "special" and "different", clings on to her best friend Troy, both using him and pushing him away at the same time, develops feelings for her fellow Chosen and struggles with jealousy, rushes headlong into dangerous situations, and is generally full of snark.

In this second book, Jeff & Erynn Altabef solve the glaring pacing issues that were evident in the first one. It also has a wider focus - saving the world - which I guess appeals to me more. Juliet continues to work through her trust issues, learning to work with the other 3 Chosen and Troy as they attempt to save the world - or at least New York for a start.

* I received a copy of this ebook from Novel Publicity in exchange for an honest review.

View all my reviews

About the Book

Follow-up to the multiple award-winning Wind Catcher:

They walk among us as if they are gods.
Only the Chosen know what they are.
Only the Chosen know to fear them.
And only the Chosen can defeat them.

Juliet Wildfire Stone and her best friend, Troy Buckhorn, barely escaped their sleepy Arizona town alive. Now they’re speeding to New York City to find the three other Chosen. The Chosen must band together to face an ancient foe that threatens all humanity.

Yet Juliet doesn’t know whom to trust, and strange things are happening in the City.

The Chosen will be tested, their resolve questioned, and their flaws exposed. Each must decide whether he or she will fulfill their destiny—or run. To defeat the enemy, they must stop battling among themselves and overcome their own struggles.

Only one can lead them. Will Juliet embrace her powers in time?

Brink of Dawn picks up where the multiple-award-winning first book in the Chosen series, Wind Catcher, left off, but it can also be read as a stand-alone novel. Continue the adventure! And be sure to watch for the third and final installment in this exciting series, Scorched Souls, to launch in late 2016.

About the Authors

Jeff Altabef is an award winning author who lives in New York with his wife, two daughters, and Charlie the dog. He spends time volunteering at the writing center in the local community college. After years of being accused of "telling stories," he thought he would make it official. He writes in both the thriller and young adult genres.

Fourteenth Colony, a political thriller, was his debut novel. Evolved Publishing has published Jeff’s second thriller, Shatter Point, which won the Pinnacle Book Achievement Award for Fall 2014 in the category of Best Thriller.

Jeff's first young adult novel, Wind Catcher: A Chosen Novel will be published in March by Evolved Publishing. He's extremely excited that his daughter, Erynn Altabef, is his co-author on the Chosen Series. As an avid Knicks fan, Jeff is prone to long periods of melancholy during hoops season. Jeff has a column on The Examiner focused on writing and a blog designed to encourage writing by those that like telling stories.

About the Prizes

We've got great prizes for this tour including signed paperbacks AND a 6 month subscription to Kindle Unlimited! You can enter multiple times every day if you want!

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#bookreview: The Migrant Report by @Moha_Doha

The Migrant Report by Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Police Captain Ali has to give up his dreams of joining the Internal Security Force due to a physical defect. Initially stuck with ridiculous assignments such as arresting chefs for making penis-shaped cakes for a private function, he gets sucked into the investigation of mysterious deaths amongst foreign construction workers.

Maryam needs to write a report - something unique to life in the Arabian Gulf - so that Professor Paul will give her a passing grade. Failing would mean that she would get kicked out of university - and her mother would finally be able to marry her off. When her brother, Nasser, suggests that she write about migrant workers and their lives, she jumps at the idea. Finding one to interview for her report is no easy feat, however. As an unmarried female, she doesn't have the freedom to interview any of the male migrant workers - even if she could find one who was willing to talk to her.

Manu is excited to leave Nepal and join his sister Sanjana in the Middle East. But things quickly turn sour when his expected office job turns into menial labour on a construction site, his salary is slashed, and he has no way to contact Sanjana.

The Migrant Report is an honest peek into life in the Gulf - where profits are more important than the lives of cheap labour, and family honour is more important than truth or education. But the world is slowly changing and Ali, Maryam and Manu find themselves treading in dangerous waters. The three of them, with the help of their family and friends, need to figure out how to walk the dangerous balance between meeting society's expectations and cultural values whilst pressing to expose the corruption behind the scenes without ending up dead. Race, religion and skin colour all make up an important part of one's identity - both in the way one views oneself, and in the way one is treated by others in society - and Moha demonstrates this very well in The Migrant Report.

I enjoyed reading Moha's latest novel. It's an ambitious one - one that contrasts the differences between being an expatriate and an immigrant, though both are foreign workers in a foreign country. It highlights the privileges of being white and illustrates the restrictions of being a Muslim girl.

I think it is an important story that needed to be told.

*I received a free copy of this book via Novel Publicity in exchange for an honest review.

View all my reviews

---

About the Book - About the Author - Prizes!!!

About the prizes: Who doesn't love prizes? You could win one of two $50 Amazon gift cards or an autographed copy of The Migrant Report! Here's what you need to do...

1. Enter the Rafflecopter contest
2. Leave a comment on my blog

That's it! One random commenter during this tour will win the first gift card. Visit more blogs for more chances to win--the full list of participating bloggers can be found HERE. The other two prizes will be given out via Rafflecopter. You can find the contest entry form linked below or on the official The Migrant Report tour page via Novel Publicity. Good luck!

About the book: 

The penalty for stealing is losing your hand. No wonder Ali can leave his wallet overnight in his office. Crime hovers on the fringes of society, under the veneer of utopia. Police captain Ali's hopes of joining the elite government forces are dashed when his childhood deformity is discovered. His demotion brings him face to face with the corruption of labor agencies and also Maryam, an aspiring journalism student, who is unlike any local girl he has ever met. Ali and his unlikely sidekick must work together to find the reason so many laborers are dying. Against the glittery backdrop of the oil rich Arabian Gulf, Ali pursues a corrupt agency that will stop at nothing to keep their profits rising. As the body count rises, so does the pressure to settle the source. Can Ali settle the score before the agency strikes again?

Get The Migrant Report through Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

About the author: 

Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar’s award winning books have focused on various aspects of life in the Arabian Gulf nation of Qatar. From Dunes to Dior is a collection of essays related to her experiences as a female South Asian American living in the Arabian Gulf and named as Indie Book of the Day in 2013. Love Comes Later is a literary romance set in Qatar and London and was the winner of the Best Indie Book Award for Romance in 2013, short listed for the New Talent award by the Festival of Romance, and Best Novel Finalist in eFestival of Words, 2013.

She currently lives with her family in Qatar, where she teaches writing and literature courses at American universities.

Connect with Mohanalakshmi on her website, Facebook,or Twitter.


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#bookreview: Meritorium by Joel Ohman

Welcome to the Meritorium Tour

Author Joel Ohman

Meritorium by Joel Ohman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Meritropolis is no more, but the System still exists.

Still intent on taking down the System, Charley, Sandy, Sven and the survivors of the fall of Meritropolis head towards Meritorium, where Charley hopes he can come face to face with his true nemesis, Commander Orson's father.

But the dangers of this journey are more than the new animal hybrids they face on the way. They have to face the depravity of humanity in the Coliseum, as well as the truth that as much as Charley hates and fights the system, it is ingrained in him more than he would care to admit.

Meritorium is an enjoyable read - Ohman has flourished in his writing. His underlying message is still there, but shown in a myriad of ways, through many different faces and epiphanies.

* I received a free copy of this book via Novel Publicity in return for an honest review.

View all my reviews

Meritorium is the second book in Joel Ohman's series. CLICK HERE for my review of book 1, Meritropolis,

About the Book

Under the System everyone is assigned a numerical Score that decides their worth to society and whether they live or die.

Charley has escaped from Meritropolis...

but in his quest to take down the System that has taken his brother from him, he must go through Meritorium, a city where gladiatorial games of life or death combat are waged between High Scores and Low Scores, man and beast.

Charley and Sandy must face man-eating plants, religious zealots, slave traders, and the ever present mutant animal combinations that roam a dystopian Coliseum presided over by Emperor Titus, the one man standing between Charley and the answers he seeks. Man is not an animal, but if they are to make it through Meritorium, will they even be able to tell the difference?

The lines between man and beast, friend and foe, will blur in Meritorium, the riveting sequel to the best selling Meritropolis.

About the Author

Joel Ohman is the author of Meritropolis--"The Hunger Games meets The Village with a young Jack Reacher as a protagonist". He lives in Tampa, FL with his wife Angela and their three kids. His writing companion is Caesar, a slightly overweight Bull Mastiff who loves to eat the tops off of strawberries.

Learn more about Joel here: JoelOhman.com

Get notified of new books here: Meritropolis.com
Follow Joel on Twitter here: Twitter.com/JoelOhman
Connect with Joel on Facebook here: Facebook.com/joeljonathan

About the Prizes

Don’t forget to check out the rafflecopter for this tour here! The tour prize is a $75.00 gift card to Amazon! Think of all the books you can buy with that!


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#bookreview: The Children of Darkness by David Litwack

The Children of Darkness by David Litwack
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What if all that you have ever been taught as good and right, the light that you've been taught to appreciate turns out to be the hand of darkness that has been holding you down?

When Nathaniel Rush of Little Pond discovers that the vicars of the Light have things to hide - things that may change his understanding of the world - he has to decide if he should run away from this knowledge, fitting back into the normalcy of life he has always known, or if he should pursue it, like in his dreams of being a knight and hero.
Along for the adventure is Orah Weber, the girl he would give up his freedom for, and Thomas Bradford, the doubter, the one already broken by the Light. They must find the hidden keep, preserved for centuries by the keepers, so that the truth and knowledge of the past ages and civilizations won't be lost to the world.

Litwack's writing is fresh, and Nathaniel, Orah and Thomas come to life in your imagination as you flip (or click) the pages of this book. That's not to say that the other characters are not well fleshed out as well - they are. You feel for the painful history between Nathaniel's father and Orah's mother, and at times you are even drawn to understand the arch vicar, who seeks the keep for reasons of his own.

The Children of Darkness was originally published as There Comes a Prophet, and has been re-edited, expanded, and re-released with a new publisher in line with its rebranding as book one of the dystopian trilogy, The Seekers. Because I'm not exactly one who remembers minute details of a book I read 2 years ago, I can't tell you exactly what has changed during my re-read - but I would say that the pace has slowed a little, with snippets of Orah's thoughts coming to the fore, pushing her forward as a stronger driver of the story than before.

I received this ebook copy for review as part of a Novel Publicity tour.

View all my reviews

“A fresh perspective on our own society...[an]  enjoyable read that will make you wonder just how society will judge us in the future.”  Lexie

Get Your Copy Now!

About the Author:

The urge to write first struck when working on a newsletter at a youth encampment in the woods of northern Maine. It may have been the night when lightning flashed at sunset followed by northern lights rippling after dark. Or maybe it was the newsletter's editor, a girl with eyes the color of the ocean. But he was inspired to write about the blurry line between reality and the fantastic.

Using two fingers and lots of white-out, he religiously typed five pages a day throughout college and well into his twenties. Then life intervened. He paused to raise two sons and pursue a career, in the process becoming a well-known entrepreneur in the software industry, founding several successful companies. When he found time again to daydream, the urge to write returned.

After publishing two award winning novels, Along the Watchtower and The Daughter of the Sea and the Sky, he’s hard at work on the dystopian trilogy, The Seekers.

David and his wife split their time between Cape Cod, Florida and anywhere else that catches their fancy. He no longer limits himself to five pages a day and is thankful every keystroke for the invention of the word processor.

Website: www.davidlitwack.com
Facebook: David Litwack - Author 
Twitter: @DavidLitwack

Giveaway

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More Reviews!
“Litwack’s storytelling painted a world of both light and darkness–and the truth that would mix the two.” Fiction Fervor

“The Children of Darkness is a dystopian novel that will stay with you long after you finish reading it.” C.P. Bialois 

“This is a satisfying exploration of three teens' journey into the unknown, and the struggles faced by all who seek true emancipation - both for themselves, and for the people they love.” Suzy Wilson

“Litwack's writing is fresh, and Nathaniel, Orah and Thomas come to life in your imagination as you frantically flip (or click) the pages of this book.” Anna Tan

“...many profound themes, lovely characterizations and relationships” R. Campbell

“I was enthralled and intrigued by the authors creation of this society... David Litwack has an enjoyable and captivating writing style.” Jill Marie

“...a perfect story for young adult readers, but its underlying theme and character development will keep any adult engaged.” Kathleen Sullivan

Speculative Literary Fiction - a #guestpost by @DavidLitwack

It's finally here! Children of Darkness - Book One in The Seekers Series is available NOW. Check it out on Amazon.com. FREE for Kindle Unlimited subscribers. GET YOUR COPY

“A must-read page turner.” Kirkus Review

About the Book:

The Children of Darkness

The Children of Darkness is about a society devoid of technology, the result of an overreaction to a distant past where progress had overtaken humanity and led to social collapse. The solution—an enforced return to a simpler time. But Children is also a coming of age story, a tale of three friends and their loyalty to each other as they struggle to confront a world gone awry. Each searches for the courage to fight the limits imposed by their leaders, along the way discovering their unique talents and purpose in life.

"If the whole world falls into a Dark Age, which it could plausibly do, who could bring us out of it? According to David Litwack in The Children of Darkness, the only answer is us, now, somehow reaching into the future." - Kaben Nanlohy for On Starships And Dragonwings

Publication Date: June 22, 2015 from Evolved Publishing 

Purchase Link: http://smarturl.it/Seekers1 FREE WITH KINDLE UNLIMITED 
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23485495-the-children-of-darkness

Speculative Literary Fiction

Someone recently asked me why I use the term “speculative literary fiction” to describe the genre of my novels. While both terms are used frequently on their own, they are not often paired together.

Speculative fiction is a term coined by Margaret Atwood in an effort to avoid the hard-core sci-fi label (she said she needed a category that meant sci-fi without Martians). It has been used to describe a number of sub genres—space opera, techno-thrillers, dystopian, post-apocalyptic, even fantasy—basically anything that is not “real world.” The key to speculative fiction is the what-if aspect. What if the world as we know it was different in one or more ways? While this what-if, alternate history/alternate world approach can be used to explore future technology or just spin a good yarn, it also enables an author to focus on some theme by altering an aspect of the world as we know it.

Literary fiction is usually understood to mean quality writing, deeper characters and an exploration of universal themes.

So why combine the two? The primary purpose of declaring a genre is to set the expectation of the prospective reader. Using the term speculative fiction by itself can misrepresent a book. Readers might expect Star Wars or the Zombie Apocalypse, or an emphasis on some hypothetical technology such as faster than light spaceships or time travel. Literary fiction tends to imply real world, such as The Help or The Secret Life of Bees.

Many great books have speculative premises, but are literary in nature. Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale is a good example, or the works of Ursula LeGuin. Even a novel like Cormac McCarthy’s The Road might fit. While it’s certainly post-apocalyptic–we find out little about the cataclysm that brought about the current state–the author dwells on the relationship between the man and the boy, and the power of love. Another example might be Never Let Me go by Kazuo Ishiguro. While the what-if of this world is the use of cloning to grow organs, it’s told from the viewpoint of the clones, and shows much more about relationships and the human condition than about technology.

I use speculative literary fiction as a term to distinguish alternate history or alternate worlds, where the emphasis is not on whiz-bang technology, aliens, space travel or the like, but more on deeper characters and universal themes, brought to the fore by the unique difference in the imagined society or world.

Get Your Copy of The Children of Darkness Now!

About the Author:

The urge to write first struck when working on a newsletter at a youth encampment in the woods of northern Maine. It may have been the night when lightning flashed at sunset followed by northern lights rippling after dark. Or maybe it was the newsletter's editor, a girl with eyes the color of the ocean. But he was inspired to write about the blurry line between reality and the fantastic.
Using two fingers and lots of white-out, he religiously typed five pages a day throughout college and well into his twenties. Then life intervened. He paused to raise two sons and pursue a career, in the process becoming a well-known entrepreneur in the software industry, founding several successful companies. When he found time again to daydream, the urge to write returned.
After publishing two award winning novels, Along the Watchtower and The Daughter of the Sea and the Sky, he’s hard at work on the dystopian trilogy, The Seekers.
David and his wife split their time between Cape Cod, Florida and anywhere else that catches their fancy. He no longer limits himself to five pages a day and is thankful every keystroke for the invention of the word processor.

Website: www.davidlitwack.com 
Facebook: David Litwack - Author 
Twitter: @DavidLitwack

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

More Reviews!

“Litwack’s storytelling painted a world of both light and darkness–and the truth that would mix the two.” Fiction Fervor
 “The Children of Darkness is a dystopian novel that will stay with you long after you finish reading it.” C.P. Bialois 
“This is a satisfying exploration of three teens' journey into the unknown, and the struggles faced by all who seek true emancipation - both for themselves, and for the people they love.” Suzy Wilson
“Litwack's writing is fresh, and Nathaniel, Orah and Thomas come to life in your imagination as you frantically flip (or click) the pages of this book.” Anna Tan
 “...many profound themes, lovely characterizations and relationships” R. Campbell
 “I was enthralled and intrigued by the authors creation of this society... David Litwack has an enjoyable and captivating writing style.” Jill Marie
 “...a perfect story for young adult readers, but its underlying theme and character development will keep any adult engaged.” Kathleen Sullivan

#bookreview: The Wind Catcher - Jeff & Erynn Altabef

This fantasy adventure series is steeped in American Indian culture and so much more.

Winner: Mom's Choice Award -- Silver Metal

Winner: Awesome Indies -- Seal of Approval

Recipient: Readers' Favorite -- 5 Star Review

Juliet Wildfire Stone hears voices and sees visions, but she can't make out what they mean. Her eccentric grandfather tells her stories about the Great Wind Spirit and Coyote, but he might as well be speaking another language. None of it makes any sense.

When she stumbles upon a series of murders, she can't help but worry her grandfather might be involved. To discover the truth, Juliet must choose between her new life at an elite private school and her Native American heritage. Once she uncovers an ancient secret society formed over two hundred years ago to keep her safe, she starts to wonder whether there's some truth to those old stories her grandfather has been telling her.

All she wants is to be an average sixteen-year-old girl, but she has never been average- could never be average.

Betrayed by those she loves, she must decide whether to run or risk everything by fulfilling her destiny as the Chosen.

"Wind Catcher is a suspenseful, wonderfully written story that will capture your attention and hold it prisoner. A book that you won't want to escape from. Brava!" - Stephen Fisher, Readers' Favorite Book Reviews

Get your copy now on

FREE with Kindle Unlimited!

Wind Catcher: A Chosen Novel by Jeff Altabef
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Wind Catcher is the story of Juliet Wildfire Stone and how she has to choose between ignoring her Native American heritage in order to live the new elite, rich life her mother has built for her and submitting to the strange, old-fashioned ways of Sicheii, her grandfather, and the voices and visions in her head. It's a classic coming-of-age story with a side dose of fantasy, dipping generously into Native American legends.

Overall, Wind Catcher is a fine novel told in the voice of a very uncertain sixteen-year-old Juliet, who wants nothing more than to go back to her old life before Bartens, and, when things get decidedly weird in a Native American way, to go back to Bartens and fit in with the rich, popular kids (or maybe just Katie) without worrying about strange symbols, secret societies and whether Sicheii is really a murderer.

Trust seems to be a major theme of the story, as it is in a teenager's life. Can Juliet trust Sicheii, who is acting extremely cagey? Can she trust her best friend Troy, who doesn't seem as supportive as he used to be? What about her mother who's often lost in her own world? When things turn strange, and long-held secrets are revealed, who can Juliet really trust or believe? The Altabefs do a fine job with this theme, allowing Juliet to stumble through misplaced trust and unwarranted fears.

The one thing that put me off about this debut novel by Jeff & Erynn Altabef (hence the lower rating) is the pacing. It felt like it took forever to get anywhere, with Juliet dithering about the same thing over and over again (realistic, I know, but trying in a novel), and when it felt sufficiently built up and raring to go, it was almost over.

Still, if you love coming-of-age stories told in first person, this would be the book for you.

I received a copy of this e-book in exchange for an honest review via Novel Publicity.

View all my reviews

And Now for the Prizes!

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Young Adult Science Fiction Multi-Author Event

Science Fiction is the hottest genre right now. Add in some best selling authors and Young Adult books and you have an event not to be missed. So come celebrate these awesome YA Science Fiction Authors with us! Giveaways, book exclusives, games and more!

Young Adult Science Fiction Multi-Author Event March 19th from 5:30-9PM.

You can enter the big $100 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway at the bottom of this post! Don't miss it!

Join the event!

The authors are excited to see you on the 19th but in the meantime, check out these amazing titles!

Schedule of events!

5:30-6:00 – Angela Scott
6:00-6:30 – Laxmi Hariharan
6:30-7:00 – Theresa Kay
7:00-7:30 – Lee Strauss
7:30-8:00 – Pavarti K Tyler
8:00-8:30 – Susan Kaye Quinn
8:30-9:00 – Joel Ohman
9:00 – Pavarti (Announce Rafflecopter winners - Enter at the bottom of this post!)

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#bookreview: Fire and Dust by Christopher Datta

Fire and Dust by Christopher Datta
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Fire and Dust is the second book in the Fire Trilogy.
I read the first book, Touched with Fire, and thought it a pretty good read, so I decided to take a chance on this one too.

Fire and Dust has (almost) nothing to do with Touched with Fire, other than being a story of the opposite side of the war. Christopher Datta clarifies that in his author's note, and adds that the coming book three will see many of the characters in both books meet. That would be an interesting story to read.

The book started off a little too slowly for my liking, and I had to wade through several chapters of slow-moving war scenes before I was fully engaged with the story. I have to say this for Datta though - even in the more "war" (i.e. boring to me) bits, he is a good storyteller with an engaging tone.

Again, per my review for Touched with Fire, I don't know much about American history (not being an American). What I found interesting about this book was the way Datta provides a sympathetic voice for the Confederates, especially for the many normal foot soldiers who were fighting merely for their country, rather than any great cause to preserve slavery. Most of them did not even have any stakes in the fight, other than being of the opinion that their country (or state) was their own and they shouldn't be told what to do by the Union. Okay, that's probably very simplified version of things...

At any rate, I think Fire and Dust presents balanced historical materials about a (still) sensitive issue which doesn't paint any one person in stark black or white (Except maybe General Bragg). Whilst a principle may be true, any change in the lives of people, especially when it involves established institutions and conventions of a country, will always take a long time to be accepted - even when the war has been won.

*I received a free copy of this book via Novel Publicity in return for an honest review.

View all my reviews

Read the review for Touched with Fire here.

#bookreview: Meritropolis by Joel Ohman

Meritropolis by Joel Ohman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In the post-apocalyptic city of Meritropolis, resources are scarce and danger lurks in the surrounding forests. It's a city where survival of the fittest is the rule of the day - and the System of Societal Merit provides the most efficient and fairest way to decide who should live and who should die.

Charley, whose score is second only to Commander of the city, has been nursing a hatred for the System ever since his older brother was zeroed nine years ago. Now that he's an adult and being clued in to the secrets of the city and the system due to his high score, he's doing his best to find a way to bring the system down forever. As Charley butts heads with Commander Orson, he finds both a friend and a nemesis in the mysterious Grigor, who secretly helps Charley as often as he publicly supports the Commander.

Meritropolis fits into the standard YA dystopian mould, pitting youth and their idealism against the world-weary leaders who support the current system because it has ensured their survival thus far. Ohman has some interesting ideas while constructing the world, however his story seems to be driven by one single idea - that everyone matters, no matter how low their Score is. This comes across as a little forced at times, which somewhat detracts from an otherwise quite enjoyable story.

*I received a free copy of this book via Novel Publicity in return for an honest review.

View all my reviews

Christopher Datta's book is on sale!

Touched with Fire, Christopher Datta's #1 best selling Historical Fiction is on sale now for only $0.99.

"A tremendously amazing story for History lovers!"

"A fantastic story that engaged"

"An excellent example of entertwining a love story with historical facts"



$0.99 December 15th-19th



Touched With Fire, a novel of the Civil War inspired by the true story of Ellen Craft.

Ellen Craft is property; in this case, of her half-sister Debra, to whom she was given as a wedding gift. The illegitimate daughter of a Georgia plantation owner and a house slave, she learned to hate her own image, which so closely resembled that of her “father:” the same wiry build, the same blue eyes, and the same pale—indeed, lily-white—skin.

Ellen lives a solitary life until she falls, unexpectedly, in love with a dark-skinned slave named William Craft, and together they devise a plan to run North. Ellie will pose as a gentleman planter bound for Philadelphia accompanied by his “boy” Will. They make it as far as Baltimore when Will is turned back, and Ellie has no choice but continue. With no way of knowing if he is dead or alive, she resolves to make a second journey—South again. And so Elijah Craft enlists with the 125th Ohio Volunteers of the Union Army: she will literally fight her way back to her husband.

Eli/Ellie’s journey is the story of an extraordinary individual and an abiding love, but also of the corrosive effects of slavery, and of a nation at a watershed moment.

---

Announcing the release of Fire & Dust, book two in the Fire Trilogy

"If you thought you knew the Civil War, think again. In Fire and Dust, Christopher Datta takes you beyond the clatter and gore of the battlefield to reveal the very hearts and minds of the Confederacy. His characters will haunt you like a rebel yell, sounding down through the years to touch you with their sacrifices, their struggles, and—most of all—their humanity." -Karen Lyon, Hill Rag Magazine






In the fall of 1863, there is still a chance to prevent a Union victory in the Civil War.

Robert E. Lee’s most trusted senior commander, General James Longstreet, takes two Virginia divisions west to unite with General Braxton Bragg’s Army of Tennessee. Longstreet arrives just in time to join in the Confederate attack on the Union army at the battle of Chickamauga.

As the fate of the Confederacy is decided, this epic saga plays out against the backdrop of the love stories of Mexican war veteran Sargent Sam Davis and the recently widowed Sally O’Grady, and of the young, poor and naive private Harry Kolb and Rachel Shaw, the daughter of a wealthy plantation owner. Their tales bring to vivid life the forgotten watershed moments of September, October and November of 1863, a period that more than any other determined the outcome of the war.

Fire and Dust narrates the history of the Civil War as it really was, and makes you a front row witness as the destiny of the Confederacy unfolds.

---

About the Author

Born in Washington, DC Chris Datta, Foreign Service officer, has been on numerous battlefields for his job and country. He has seen mass graves, brought war criminals to justice and in this new chapter, Datta brings readers a stunning historical account of the American Civil War with Touched with Fire. His attention to detail is superb, and his experiences abroad have given him ample stories to tell for years to come.

His action packed life has taken him across the world from the United States to Liberia and Southern Sudan. Not only serving in active war zones but often battling tropical diseases, Datta has nurtured his fascination with civil conflict by diving into the history books and historical records of America’s past. His research is meticulous, and his attention to detail creates vivid pictures of the past.

#bookreview: Paths of Alir by Melissa McPhail

Paths of Alir by Melissa McPhail
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

To write a good summary of Paths of Alir is almost impossible - so many things happen in this book, with so many separate threads aligning and so many new ones spinning off. When I first opened it on my kindle, I was shocked to see a reading time of 15 hours (which managed to adjust itself downwards to maybe about 9) so I just *had* to go and check out how hefty the tome would be in print. It clocks in at 782 pages as compared to Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archives which stand at about 1,000+ pages each. Not bad. I could knock someone out with this in hardcover.

Giving too much detail in this review would constitute spoilers for Cephrael's Hand and The Dagger of Adendigaeth (though if you're reading this review, you should probably have read the first two), so I'll keep it brief and to the bare minimum (also, there are so many key players now that it's impossible to talk about each of them).
Bjorn van Gelderan's plans are slowly taking shape - his Players are stepping onto the field and changing the game. Together with his sister, Isabel, he continues to move the pieces and guide the players in this intricate, high-stakes King's Game. Losing will only mean the destruction of Alorin and T'khendar.
More rude awakenings await the remaining Vestals and Adepts in Alorin, and Tanis, revealed in The Dagger of Adendigaeth to be more than he seemed, finally finds home - which raises a host of new questions in his quest for his past. Phaedor, of course, is being as evasive as ever.
Of the three val Lorian princes, Ean is coming into his own - his skills, and his memories, are returning in spurts, even as he wrestles between rescuing his brother Sebastian or his loyal men. Under the hands of Taliah hal'Jaitar, Trell's position is only getting worse - will he break under Taliah's torture?

Threaded through the dramatic storytelling, Paths of Alir struggles with this important question, aptly asked by Pelas: "Do you choose your path, or does it choose you?"
It's hard to decide. On one hand, Pelas starts to question the immutability of his nature as a Malorin'athgul and struggles against the compulsion his brother has put on him, Trell continues to strive for honour and dignity in the midst of torture, and Ean and Isabel's paths start to intertwine due to the choices they make. On the other hand, Shail and Darshan still work towards destruction despite evidence that they can change, and Taliah has submitted to her brokenness and darkness by walking the twisted path of mor'alir.

The one slightly negative thing I'd add to this otherwise great review is that Paths of Alir turns much darker than the preceding two books, delving much deeper into torture & humiliation scenes, which may overall feel a little BDSM-ish. It's not very explicit, nor is it gratuitous, but I guess it should be mentioned for those who might not like/appreciate reading these kinds of things (i.e., sorry, not for the kids).

* I received this ebook as a review copy from Novel Publicity.

View all my reviews

Review of Dagger of Adendigaeth here!
Review of Cephrael's hand here!

About the Book - About the Author - Prizes!!!

About the prizes: Who doesn't love prizes? You could win one of two $50 Amazon gift cards or an autographed copy of The Dagger of Adendigaeth! Here's what you need to do...

1. Enter the Rafflecopter contest
2. Leave a comment on my blog

That's it! One random commenter during this tour will win the first gift card. Visit more blogs for more chances to win--the full list of participating bloggers can be found HERE. The other two prizes will be given out via Rafflecopter. You can find the contest entry form linked below or on the official Dagger of Adendigaeth tour page via Novel Publicity. Good luck!

About the book: A Pattern of Shadow & Light Book 2

At long last, the reason for the blessed Adept race’s decline has been discovered: powerful beings known as Malorin’athgul are disrupting the Balance and preventing Alorin’s Adepts from awakening to their gifts. Who are they? Where are they? And how can they be stopped when they wield a power meant to unmake the universe itself?
In T'khendar...Prince Ean val Lorian has forsaken his companions in blood and battle to join the traitorous Fifth Vestal in T’khendar in the hopes of gaining some insight into the tragedies that plagued his Return. Now he must confront the man he's long thought of as his enemy and discover the role he is meant to play in the First Lord’s darkly magnificent game.
The Vestal Raine D’Lacourte has followed his traitorous oath-brother Björn through six kingdoms and into the distant realm of T’khendar seeking explanation and atonement. But the condemned realm harbors shocking secrets, and Raine soon realizes he’s facing his greatest enemy yet—not in Björn, but in the truth.
Elsewhere in Alorin...the young truthreader, Tanis, faces a new villain in the fiery-eyed man he followed from the café in Rethynnea; the soldier Trell struggles to reconcile his growing feelings for the girl he rescued from the river against the guilt of his unknown past; and in Tambarré, another truthreader named Kjieran van Stone treads the incense-filled hallways of the Prophet Bethamin’s temple hoping to uncover a plot of treachery and betrayal before the Prophet demands his soul.
The time has come for each player to claim his role in the First Lord's masterful game. All will be tested, but only time will tell how many can survive the dagger of Adendigaeth.

Get The Dagger of Adendigaeth through Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

About the author: Melissa McPhail is a classically trained pianist, violinist and composer, a Vinyasa yoga instructor, and an avid Fantasy reader. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, their twin daughters and two very large cats.

Connect with Melissa on her website, Facebook, Twitter,or GoodReads.
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#bookreview: Shadow Swarm by D. Robert Pease

Shadow Swarm by D. Robert Pease
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Arbethol Nauile is the promised saviour and the rightful heir to the throne of the Nuadaim. He just doesn't know it yet. When he wakes up in a mausoleum not knowing his own name, or anything that has happened to him in the past 300+ years, it looks as if the ancient prophecy has failed, and the Neglafem's sacrifice to protect him has been in vain.

Elise is more than ready to give up on the prophecy and leave the strange man to fend for himself after watching her grandfather, Iliam, being killed on the day of the King's Presentation, but her grandfather's sacrifice and faith means more to her than anything in the world. Leading Nauile out of the citadel where they were beset by the enemy, she is soon taken hostage by the enemy to be used against Nauile.

Because Arbethol is remembering things in flashes as well as being told them by the people he meets, you do get a rather good background of the Nuadaim over the course of the book, usually when you need to know it. The list of names and terms at the back was also quite useful, though a little clunky to refer to on the kindle (that really only works well on paperbacks). The world is pretty well-built, and the narrative is well-written. The characters seem a little flat and one-sided at times - it's not to say that they weren't well-developed. It's just that they felt a little stereotypical, especially Elise. Other than her kidnapping being the catalyst that launches Nauile to start a war against the enemy, I don't really see why he falls in love with her or how. I guess traipsing through the woods together might make you attracted to one another, but... that was it?

Shadow Swarm is very strongly Christian allegory - I could smell it from the middle of the book, though that's probably because I'm extremely sensitive to these kinds of things. It doesn't really detract from the story itself; it's only just a little predictable at the end.

View all my reviews

About the Book - About the Author - Prizes!!!

About the prizes: Who doesn't love prizes? You could win one of two $50 Amazon gift cards or an autographed copy of Shadow Swarm! Here's what you need to do...

1. Enter the Rafflecopter contest
2. Leave a comment on my blog

That's it! One random commenter during this tour will win the first gift card. Visit more blogs for more chances to win--the full list of participating bloggers can be found HERE. The other two prizes will be given out via Rafflecopter. You can find the contest entry form linked below or on the official Shadow Swarm tour page via Novel Publicity. Good luck!

About the book: Aberthol Nauile doesn’t know that he once led legions in a war that raged since the dawn of time, against an enemy that cannot be killed. He doesn’t know that he rode on a dragon with his father, and saw his mother die while giving birth to him. He doesn’t know that he once saved his great, great, great grandfather by defeating the black enemy on the slopes of a volcano. Aberthol doesn’t know that he beheld the creation of the world, as his grandfather eight generations before took the planet ravaged by a war of the gods and began anew. All he knows is that he awoke in a coffin in a tomb, and now the whole world thinks he is their savior. All he really wants to know is his name, and why he keeps hearing voices in his head.
Get Shadow Swarm through Amazon or Barnes & Noble. 

About the author: D. Robert Pease has been interested in creating worlds since childhood. From building in the sandbox behind his house, to drawing fantastical worlds with paper and pencil, there has hardly been a time he hasn't been off on some adventure in his mind, to the dismay of parents and teachers alike. Also, since the moment he could read, books have consumed vast swaths of his life. From The Mouse and the Motorcycle, to The Lord of the Rings, worlds just beyond reality have called to him like Homer's Sirens. It's not surprising then he chose to write stories of his own. Each filled with worlds just beyond reach, but close enough we can all catch a glimpse of ourselves in the characters he brings to life.
Connect with D. Robert on his website, Facebook, Twitter,or GoodReads.

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