Currently Reading
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Author - Terry Goodkind
Series - Sword of Truth #1
Genre - Epic Fantasy
Pages - 836
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.
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.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
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
Author - Nancy Straight
Series - Touched #1
Genre - Paranormal
Pages - 194
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.
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.
WHERE TO GET THE BOOK
Thank you for stopping by!
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Author - Thomas M. Reid
Genre - Fantasy
Pages - 320
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.
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.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Author - Emily Goodwin
Genre - Horror
Series - Contagium Trilogy #1
Pages - 339
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.
"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.
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Author - Kij Johnson
Genre -Japanese Fantasy
Pages - 384
Description from Goodreads.
Yoshifuji is a man fascinated by foxes, a man discontented and troubled by the meaning of life. A misstep at court forces him to retire to his long-deserted country estate, to rethink his plans and contemplate the next move that might return him to favor and guarantee his family's prosperity.
Kitsune is a young fox who is fascinated by the large creatures that have suddenly invaded her world. She is drawn to them and to Yoshifuji. She comes to love him and will do anything to become a human woman to be with him.
Shikujo is Yoshifuji's wife, ashamed of her husband, yet in love with him and uncertain of her role in his world. She is confused by his fascination with the creatures of the wood, and especially the foxes that she knows in her heart are harbingers of danger. She sees him slipping away and is determined to win him back from the wild ... for all that she has her own fox-related secret.
Magic binds them all. And in the making (and breaking) of oaths and honors, the patterns of their lives will be changed forever.
Yoshifuji is a man fascinated by foxes, a man discontented and troubled by the meaning of life. A misstep at court forces him to retire to his long-deserted country estate, to rethink his plans and contemplate the next move that might return him to favor and guarantee his family's prosperity.
Kitsune is a young fox who is fascinated by the large creatures that have suddenly invaded her world. She is drawn to them and to Yoshifuji. She comes to love him and will do anything to become a human woman to be with him.
Shikujo is Yoshifuji's wife, ashamed of her husband, yet in love with him and uncertain of her role in his world. She is confused by his fascination with the creatures of the wood, and especially the foxes that she knows in her heart are harbingers of danger. She sees him slipping away and is determined to win him back from the wild ... for all that she has her own fox-related secret.
Magic binds them all. And in the making (and breaking) of oaths and honors, the patterns of their lives will be changed forever.
*Sigh* I wanted to love this book, I wanted to be enamored and entrapped within its pages and not want to let go. I was sadly not any of those. While the book was still good, it was not so much a tale of a fox turning human but of how she deals with being human and loss and madness. Yes, she (Kitsune since she doesn’t really have a name) does find love, does learn to be human and we do get to see her in her fox form for a good chunk of the book, but still. It fell flat for me.
Like I said, the book starts off with Kitsune being a fox, then one day she sees Yoshifuji and knows she wants him, knows that she must be human to have him and thus with magic, begins her journey for humanity.
Shikujo is Yoshifujis wife and I really felt for her throughout the book. Sure , in the beginning she was a little high strung but with her life it is understandable. She did not ask for her husband to become obsessed with the foxes he finds, nor did she ask for Kitsune to steal her husband from her with magic. I like how she grew through the book and I was happy for her in the end. I think I enjoyed her story more than the others.
The book is told from the views of Yoshifuji, Kistune and Shikujo. It was nice seeing what they thought of the goings-on of everything. I just wish this book stayed more with Kitsune in her fox form, even though I know it was supposed to be a love story between a fox woman and a human man.
Friday, February 15, 2013
Q: Write a letter to your fav character. Rant, rave or gush... just pretend they are real and you just want to let them know a 'few things'
You are one of the most interesting, honorable and complex characters I have ever come across. Defying your race, surviving the Underdark and the Upper Realms where Dark Elves are feared and loathed. Making friends and losing friends you never give up and are always up for the adventure of a new day. With your twin scimitars in hand and a determined heart, you Drizzt have become my favorite character and I will continue to follow your story until the bittersweet end.
Monday, February 11, 2013
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REVIEWS
“Some folks treated the past like an old friend. The memories warmed them with fondness for what was, and hope for what was to come. Not me. When I thought of long ago, my insides curdled, and I was left feeling sour and wasted.”
Jenny Schmidt is a young woman with old heartaches. A small town Texas girl with big city attitude, she just doesn’t fit in. Not that she has ever tried.
Life has pummeled her heart into one big, lonely callus. She has no siblings, both parents were dead by sixteen, and her last grandparent—and caretaker—was in the ground before she turned twenty-one. She’s the last living member of her immediate family. Or so she thinks…
“We found my ‘grandfather’ sitting at his dining room table. An entire scorched pot of coffee dangled from his shaky hand. His skin was the ashen gray shade of thunderclouds, not the rich mocha from the photo I’d seen. There were dark blue circles under each swollen red eye. A halo of white hair skirted his bald head, a crown of tangles and mats. Corpses had more life in them.
” Suddenly, instead of burying it with the dead, Jenny is forced to confront the past. Armed only with an ancient family journal, her rifle, and an Apache tomahawk, she must save her grandfather’s life and embrace her dangerous heritage. Or be devoured by it.
Jenny is a technophile, she loves computers and video games. She also lives by herself after her mother, father and grandmother have passed away. Her life is pretty normal but she likes it that way, running her computer repair business. However a mysterious call from her grandfather whom she thought dead will changer her life forever.
This is a very short book and with short books often times things go by quickly and are not especially detailed. This is how this book works as well. Don't get me wrong, it was enjoyable but left me with many questions i hope to get answers for in the next book(s)
I will not give too much away but i did like her friend Marshal, he is the right mix of care and whit. The end was good and i do look forward to the next book.
After receiving an ancient tribal journal from her grandfather, Jenny is sent on a mission of discovery in an attempt to unravel clues to her family's monster hunting past. The journey becomes more than academic when she is asked to confront a coven of dangerous witches who plan to cast an insidious spell on the plains of West Texas.
Witch's Nocturne is the second of the Moonsongs Books, a series of paranormal-horror-action novelettes by author E.J. Wesley. These stories contain language and content better suited for mature readers.
Witch's Nocturne is the second of the Moonsongs Books, a series of paranormal-horror-action novelettes by author E.J. Wesley. These stories contain language and content better suited for mature readers.
Witch's Nocturne leads on where Blood Fugue left off. This time however Jenny is contacted by a witch named Sarah, seems her coven is up to some very dark magic and it's Jenny's job to stop them or her whole town and everyone in it will die.
In my opinion Witch's Nocturne was a vast improvement over Blood Fugue. There was more action, characters and it was better paced. Jenny and Marshal are still the same, Sarah was a good character as well. Again the book is very short and there are still many questions to be answered but Witch's Nocturne's end sets up well for a third book (hopefully.)
MEET THE AUTHOR
Born
and raised in Oklahoma, E.J. grew up in a land of good earth and better people.
He holds degrees in psychology and counseling, but prefers to spend his time in
the heads of imaginary people to real ones. He writes and lives in South Texas,
and loves to chat about movies, books, music, food, and family.
BUY BLOOD FUGUE AND WITCH'S NOCTURNE
Blood Fugue
Witch's Nocturne
Smashwords
– https://www.smashwords.com/
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