Far From Reality

FOR REVIEW

The Companions (The Sundering #1) by R. A. Salvatore 

BOUGHT

Fall of Night (Morganville Vampires #14) by Rachel Caine

Rogue Descendent (Niki Glass #3) by Jenna Black

Blood of Dragons (Rain Wilds Chronicles #4) by Robin Hobb

Description from Goodreads

 Faith knew what she wanted. Her career, her own life, and the occasional play partner. She had planned out her existence and was quite capable of fulfilling it on her own, no man needed. She was self-reliant and strong. At least, she considered herself to be. However, a few martinis and a chance encounter with a woman that she expected would be a casual fling, ended up turning Faith's world upside down and her beliefs in strength and independence turned inside out. Take a journey with Faith as she learns true courage in offering absolute submission to another; another who accepts nothing but absolute obedience to his will

As a first foray into a BDSM novel I must say I was not displeased. It was a challenge for me sure, there is no background to the characters and no real world building but the story flowed nicely and the writing was simple but elegant. It took about 8% of the book to really get into it and at first the style of the characters point of views confused me but it became easier after a few pages. 

The story is straightforward: Faith meets a girl named Grace, Grace brings her home, they have wonderful sex and then Grace’s Master (William) caught them and decided to punish them both. Thus, setting Faith on the path into a whole new lifestyle of which she is frightened and curious, the live of BDSM, Dominate/Submissive. 

The struggles of Faith and the Dominance of William are greatly portrayed going into depth and descriptions that will leave you blushing and wanting more. I enjoyed watching Faith grow and accept her new lifestyle, even if it was hard and painful for her it was nice to see her open up at the end. 

 While there are a few mistakes in the novel (I found 2) It was well edited. Throughout the books I was appalled, angry, confused, and utterly engrossed, finishing the book in one sitting. I do hope the author decides to write more books, and maybe expand on this one since we only got to see the tip of the iceberg of the relationship between Grace, Faith and William.

  BOUGHT

The Daylight War By Peter V. Brentt

 Fourth Grave Beneath my Feet byy Darynda Jones

A Dawn of Dragonfire by Daniel Arenson 

A Day of Dragon Blood by Daniel Arenson

A Night of Dragon Wings by Daniel Arenson 

ACID by Emma Pass 

REVIEW

The Shield of Sea and Space by Erin Hoffman

GIFT

The Sword Dancer by Jeannie Lin (Autographed)

The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa (Netgalley)

Description From Goodreads 

In the aftermath of the brutal murder of his father, a mysterious woman, Kahlan Amnell, appears in Richard Cypher's forest sanctuary seeking help . . . and more. His world, his very beliefs, are shattered when ancient debts come due with thundering violence. 

 In a dark age it takes courage to live, and more than mere courage to challenge those who hold dominion, Richard and Kahlan must take up that challenge or become the next victims. Beyond awaits a bewitching land where even the best of their hearts could betray them. Yet, Richard fears nothing so much as what secrets his sword might reveal about his own soul. Falling in love would destroy them--for reasons Richard can't imagine and Kahlan dare not say. 

In their darkest hour, hunted relentlessly, tormented by treachery and loss, Kahlan calls upon Richard to reach beyond his sword--to invoke within himself something more noble. Neither knows that the rules of battle have just changed . . . or that their time has run out. This is the beginning. One book. One Rule. Witness the birth of a legend.

I started this book many years ago then stopped because I just could not get into it. I decided to start it again and realized that I did not give this a decent chance. It is not a unique book by any means, it does take from other fantasy books, but what doesn’t these days? 

Wizards First Rule is an epic fantasy revolving around the woodsman Richard and the Mother Confessor Kahlan. He by chance saves her one day from a quad of men meaning to do her harm and because of that his whole world as he knew it was flipped upside down. 

Evil plots, magic, swords, love and betrayal. This book has all of that and more! While it may be a bit simple for some people (there are not a whole lot of perspectives and twists) and while the writing is a bit childish and repetitive, it is by no means a failing book. 

Yes, the bad guys are REALLY bad and the good guys are REALLY good but the clear-cut personalities just mean that somewhere along the series line that there is a chance for that to change, there is a chance for some development and questioning of morals and identities.

Richard is the most goodly good guy you will meet, he is a bit simple and tends to go into inner monologue and debates a lot but that is okay, he tends to make it interesting. Kahlan while a good person struggles with telling him her secret: She is the Mother Confessor and therefore has great and unimaginable powers. Why she doesn’t tell him? Well, you will have to read and see (but trust me you will get angry with her haha.) 

The other characters are nicely done, the wizard Zedd is funny and adds life to the others. Your heart will pine for Rachael and you will adore Adie, hate the queen and her malicious daughter and really hate Darken Rahl (our villain) and his lackey Demmin Nass. 

The only part I could have done without was the overly long sadist/bdsm section. It went on way to long and even though it did have a purpose it did not need to span 50 something pages. Which brings me to some other things, if you can’t stomach violence, blood, and gore… step away. There are some really graphic scenes, one even involving a child. 

 I have read the reviews good and bad for this book, I urge you to do the same and take them with a grain of salt, if it sounds interesting to you and you like 800+ page epic fantasies then you just may want to give Wizards First Rule a chance.

For this tour I am reviewing Blood Debt by Nancy Straight and giving you a bit more info on the author and where to get the book. Also there is a paperback giveaway at the bottom so make sure to check that out!

REVIEW

Her whole life, it had just been the two of them. Before her mother’s last breath, she gave Camille the information she had craved her entire life: the identity of her father. Daring to contact him, Camille was welcomed by an entire family she never knew existed. But nothing comes without a price, as she discovers when her family claims a legendary heritage tracing back to a centaur touched by Zeus. 

 As she learns the secrets of her Centaur bloodline, she is drawn into a forbidden love with Drake. Her life may be the blood debt required to pay for her mother’s transgressions. The same person who once held her mother captive, and forced her into decades of hiding, now controls Camille. Her only chance is to seek a piece of her mother’s past that will win her freedom and the life she desperately wants.

At first Blood Debt sounds like your typical vampire romance, however that is far from the truth. 

Camille (Cami) has recently lost her mother. On her death beat she tells Cami the name of her father for the first time In her life. It takes weeks for Cami to finally call him. What she got was a huge shock! 

Going away from the trendy vampires, werewolves, fae and zombies of this year and last year the book introduces a semi-new mythological creature to the recent book scene: Centaurs. These Centaurs however are not your hooved horse half man variety. In fact, they look very much human, even if all of them are ridiculously attractive. 

 The Centaurs have magic, the men are stronger and faster and the women have magic of the mind. However, Cami seems not to be able to tap into her powers. I liked Cami, she was strong, brave, sweet and a bit sour. The other characters such as Bianca and Camis brothers lent humor and fun to the story but also brought a seriousness to the book.

 The only complaints I have with the book is that at times it seems a bit contrived. We get many sentences that feed us the same info over and over. The other bothersome thing is the dreaded love at first sight. I can’t tell you how much I hate love at first sight! There is no way this would ever happen in real life, people are not that trusting of others and would never just openly love someone without even knowing them in the slightest. 

Other than that the book had me hooked and I spent many hours just sitting and reading. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

 

I LOVE Starbucks’ White Mocha Latte and Mountain Dew, (but not together). I have a lead foot so I set cruise control when I drive, even in 25 MPH zones. I almost never win when I play Angry Birds, but have my 8 year old close, so he can clear the hard levels for me. I grew up on a farm and am opposed to eating fresh chicken (not opposed to meat - just opposed to any meat that was alive a few hours before lunch). I am a huge fan of the show, Big Bang Theory, on CBS. I have a stray cat that I feed every night and morning but she’s never let me get closer than within 3 feet of her – I keep thinking eventually I’ll wear her down and she’ll let me pet her. I share my life with two fantastic sons, three rotten dogs and a husband that I adore.

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WHERE TO GET THE BOOK 

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GIVEAWAY 

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Thank you for stopping by!

Description from Goodreads

 What brings a demon to the gates of heaven?

The half-fiend Kaanyr Vhok finally arrives at the destination he has sacrificed so much to achieve--he is in the heart of Celestia with his lover and consort, the succubus Aliisza. Only to find that the House of the Triad is falling apart, and he is bound by a vengeful Aliisza and a renegade angel into trying to save it--not exactly the goal he had in mind.

Aliizsa, Kael, Kaanyr and Tauron are back and this time they must stop the evil priest Zasian from reigning chaos and destruction on the land. 

Like the last book the writing is fluid, there are some grammatical errors in the Kindle version but nothing so bad. The characters are well rounded, and I like how Aliizsa and even Kaanyr are learning to accept little by little their human sides. 

 The action is steady, though there are not that many fight scenes in this book as the last or other books in the forgotten realms world of novels the book is still enjoyable as a whole. The magic and mystery and twists are wonderful and I especially loved the character of Kashada, she was great, even if she was evil. 

If you have read the first book then youll know what to expect, if you have not then pick it up. If you are new to the Forgotten Realms world you may be a bit confused but it is explained well enough that you can figure things out easily.

Description from Goodreads

 "I wasn’t afraid of death. If I died, it would be over. My worst fear wasn’t of dying, it was of living. Living, while everyone around me had their flesh savagely torn from their bodies to be shoved into the festering and ever-hungry mouths of zombies. It terrified me, right down to my very core, to be alive while the rest of the world was dead." 

 In the midst of the Second Great Depression, twenty-five year old Orissa Penwell doesn't think things can get any worse. She couldn't be more wrong. A virus breaks out across the country, leaving the infected crazed, aggressive and very hungry. 

 Orissa will do anything-no matter if it's right or wrong- to save the ones she loves. But when she discovers that most of the world is infected or dead, she must decided if those lives are worth saving at all.

Not good, but not bad. Contagious is the first in a trilogy about a zombie outbreak. 

That is about it, the story really is not that deep. We have Orissa, our main character who is so unlikeable I wished she would have gotten bit. She is selfish, puts everyone in danger, and makes terrible decisions. Sadly, she is the only character that really gets any backstory the others are just sort of there. 

The story was sort of haphazard, there were many parts that made no sense and there were some parts that a normal, rational person would do differently and survive better than Orissa and her group, Like DON’T wait for the zombies to get 10 feet in front of you before you get into the car.. 

 The book picks up a little bit when Hayden is introduced but it doesn’t pick up too much. Mostly it is mission runs and drama. No explanation of how the virus got out, no theories thrown about. They will not drink the water because it could be contaminated but they will shower in it... makes no sense. 

 All my ranting does not mean it was not a nice book, it is if you are looking for something to fill in the time, but do not expect something ground breaking from this novel.