Curse Breaker
by J. T. Bishop
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Grayson Steele is slowly drinking himself into an early grave, followed all his life by what he believes to be a curse, everyone he loves dies three days after they are intimate with him. His best friend and business partner Cooper, doesn't believe in the curse and is always trying to pull Gray back into the real world, but it usually backfires. This time Gillian Fletcher finds Gray, she knows his story and she wants to help, in fact she devises a plan to prove to Gray that someone he knows is killing people just to drive him insane and that there is in fact no curse. Gray doesn't believe her, but it willing to give her a chance to prove her point.
When it's all said and done and Gillian's secrets are revealed, are they going to be too much for Grey to handle? Will he be able to come to terms with her and the future that she can offer him or is he going to sink back into a shell of a life, not with a curse hanging over his head this time but knowing that he can't have the the woman he has fallen in love with, truly in love with, this time.
This is a romance book, with a bit of a suspense and mystery, then there is the person who hates Grey enough to kill people he loves to make him think he is cursed. Which is almost one story all on it's own, then there is Gillian whis is another story altogether. She has her own secrets as to why she knows he needs her, how she can help and how she has helped others before.
Definitely a book worth reading!
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Alawahea: The Azellian Affairs, Book One
by Sara L Daigle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
(I still hate the 5 star rating system, this deserves more like a 4.75, but I don't have that option)
Reviewed for Readers Favorite
Tamara is working to finish her college degree in a time when the Earth has found out that there are other plants out there with life on them, and in fact has been sending and receiving ambassadors for over 50 years. This year is going to be different as the Azellian ambassador has proposed having a sort of foreign exchange program at the University with four Azellian students coming to Denver to study for the year. Tamara is excited because her grandfather had been the ambassador to Azelle years ago, and she is interested in learning, even if her grandmother is having a hissy fit about it all. The thing is that there are secrets in Tamara's life and past that are on a collision course with the Azellian students, and nothing is ever going to be the same. Alawahea, The Azellian Affairs is the first book in a series that introduces the reader to another culture and begins the story of interactions, fears, differences and similarities. Author Sara L. Daigle has created a story that is captivating and realistic, the fears and prejudices that are projected towards the Azellian's are the same fears and prejudices that we as humans project on anyone we don't know much about, and the problems it can lead to are enormous.
Alawahea, The Azellian Affairs is the first book in a new series that looks to be both entertaining and thought provoking. All the characters were so well written and developed that, as a reader, I felt a connection to them each from the start, and it was easy to get caught up in the story and following them and wanting only the best for each one. Author Sara L. Daigle has created an environment in the story that is so realistic and believable that you feel like you are part of the story as the reader. I think this is a great book for all readers, and I definitely think it is a time, when a book that causes the reader to look at pre-conceived prejudices and how we think and treat someone slightly different than ourselves, is much needed and should be read by many people. Will it change attitudes? Maybe of a few, those open to understanding and that in and of itself is worth the read alone.
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Roar!
by Vanessa Kittle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was an amazingly short novelle, and I call it that because it took les than a couple hours to read, but I was engaged in the story the whole time and wanting to read more, in fact I was disappointed when the story ended, I wanted more, it actually felt like the first third of a book.
The story starts with Iris, a young woman who has moved back home to take care of her ailing and aging parents. She doesn't seem to resent this but takes it as just part of life and something that is expected and she should do. She works as a librarian at a high school and is asked to chaperon prom with a teacher, which turns out to be a disaster. On her way home she runs into something.
Alternating chapters tell the story of space travelers that have a problem, leaving only one of a crew of three alive and 5 light years off course, but in earth's system and finding an inhabited planet. Although not sure how to proceed, he knows that he has to travel to earth to find supplies to fix his ship to travel home at all.
The book was cute and fun to read, but I really wanted to get so much more from this story. I just felt it ended too soon, which is why I only gave it three stars.
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A Summoner's Tale: The Vampire's Confessor (Order of the Black Swan, Book 3)
by Victoria Danann
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
A Summoner's Tale is the third installment in the Order of the Black Swan series, or Knights of Black Swan series by +Victoria Danann . I call it an installment, not a book, because to me it feels more like each book is part of the whole and that when the final book of KBS is published you will have a whole, large novel. That is just my take on it - but that is how it feels.
Each book begins where the last left off and builds from it - which means we have all the same characters in the books, but sometimes we see more or less of them in a certain book, and sometimes new characters pop in and some books give us more about certain characters than others.
This book is big on Bakka! And I do mean big! Bakka is in Edinburgh trying to get his Vampire Intervention off the ground, but he has no staff, and he feels helpless, not to mention that his assistant, Heaven, acts like she hates him. So we learn a lot about Bakka. We go back and see his human life, his vampire life, his return to conscience, and his turning himself into the Black Swan, and then his years in the tower. By the end of this book - if you have not cried, screamed, hurt, and begged for some sort of forgiveness for Bakka, then you have a cold, dead heart!
At the same time, Ram and Elora are off in the New Forrest, getting there last few weeks in before Helm's arrival and while Ram is working on the new house, Elora is working on becoming friends with a pack of wolves. Just the sort of thing she would do.
We also in this book for the first time, take a journey back to Elora's home world and see what happened once she went through the vortex and some new mysteries and secrets are opened up to us at that point in time.
Alesong Hawking comes into this book a bit more this time. She is slowly working her way into more and more time in the books, which is nice because she is a wonderful character that I enjoy seeing and I am looking forward to her future.
The next installment - Moonlight, I also found on Amazon for free the other day - so up to now I have only have to buy this one book, which is nice for my budget, but I am so in love with these books that it wouldn't matter! I am hooked!! Mind, body and spirit!!
The Knights of Black Swan VAMPIRE HUNTERS reading in order strongly recommended:
1.My Familiar Stranger (Black Swan 1) My Review
2.The Witch's Dream (Black Swan 2) My Review
3.A Summoner's Tale (Black Swan 3) My Review
4.Moonlight(Black Swan 4) My Review
5.Gathering Storm (Black Swan 5)
6.A Tale of Two Kingdoms (Black Swan 6)
7.Solomon's Sieve (Black Swan 7)
8.Prince of Demons (Black Swan Novel)
9.Vampire Hunter (Black Swan 8)
10.Journey Man (Black Swan 9)
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Titan Lost (Galactic Lineage, Book 1)
by Colin Kortekaas
My rating: 4.2 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
War, environmental destruction, and greed are only a few things that have made Earth someplace not really all that great to live. An experimental mining colony has been set up on Saturn's moon, Titan. It seems to be a strange cross-section of people who have chosen to try life in the colony. A jumbled distress call goes out from the colony and Mack is hired to travel to the Titan colony and find out what is going on. In the book, Titan Lost (Galactic Lineage Book 1), you start with Mack arriving at Titan, then you jump back three years to when the distress call was sent out and as you progress through the story, you go back and forth, in flashbacks and such. Author Colin Kortekaas gives you a number of characters that you will either like or hate. There is the scientist, Gus; the doctor, John; the biologist, Irene; and the miner, Max.
Titan Lost (Galactic Lineage, Book 1) is the beginning of a series. Usually when you read a book you are pretty sure where the series is going to go, but with this, there is a slight teaser at the very end, but no real hints as to what you will find in the next book. That makes the wait for the next book that much harder. Author Colin Kortekaas gives the reader an story full of adventure, morals, future living and the story moves along quickly. You find yourself engaged in the story and before you realize it the book is done. Other than some mild adult language, this is a fairly clean book. I would easily recommend it for teens, young adults and older readers.
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Emma... to Begin Again
by Debbie Brown
My rating: 4.3 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
For five years Emma has put off coming back here, back to the place she called home. She just couldn't bear it at first, and it was easier to put it off than to deal with it, but now she was going to have to deal with it. It still hurt, her parents were gone, killed in a plane crash on their way to her graduation, now she was left alone. Emma....to Begin Again, is the story of Emma, deciding to stay at her parents old farmhouse, to tend the few animals and grow a garden, to start anew. Author Debbie Brown throws in a twist when one day Emma sees what has to be a plane crash but she never sees a plane, as she follows the trail, she finds an injured man, that she takes home and nurses back to health. Adding him into her quiet life is another new beginning. As time goes by and we learn the heritage of her stranger, another even larger twist is in store for Emma and the readers. Take a little Native American folktale, add in a touch of romance, a little fantasy, and a bit of science fiction and you have this book.
Emma....to Begin Again, is a wonderful title, and as I started to read the book I thought it was talking about her decision to stay on the farm. Little did I know that as the book would go on Emma would be faced with a number of circumstances that would force her to begin again. Author Debbie Brown does a spectacular job of taking an old Native American folktale of the Star Brother and weaving it with a realistic modern life, adding in just enough science fiction and fantasy to make it believable. This is a perfect book for all readers. There is no sex or violence in the book at all, so it is perfect for teens, young adults as well as adult readers.
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Embarkment 2577
by Maria Hammarblad
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite .
Alex awakes but can't remember anything, and she is certain she is dreaming when the doctor, or at least the person in the white lab coat turns around and has yellowish-orange skin. Wake up, wake up, wake up Alex screams in her mind but nothing changes. Everyone in the room keeps saying everything will be better when Adam gets her, who is Adam? It seems that Adam is an android from the year 2577 that landed back in present day, and Alex helped him to get back home, but in her final act of bravery she took a bullet that killed her in our time, and Adam brought to this time to be saved. Now she has to learn life all over. Embarkment 2577 is actually a collection of three small stories about Alex and Adam and life in the year 2577. Alex learns to live on the ship, and in each book it seems she causes some problem, without meaning to or knowing it. How the crew and her friends have to work to get her out of some sticky situations are what all these stories are about Maria Hammarblad does a wonderful job of adding in enough information facts to make you really feel like you are learning about living in space along with Alex but not enough to bore you.
Alex has the needy quality to her, but not in a bad way. She can take care of herself, but her she is in a completely new world and has no idea what to do. Adam is supposed to be an android, but he is more human than anything we've seen before. Maria Hammarblad gives us a real life feel in this science fiction novel. The aliens sound plausible and interesting. If anything Embarkment 2577 make me want to delve more into science to see if we can't make some of this come true.
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The Rebirth of Dino Earth
by Pat Hatt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The Rebirth of Dino Earth is a wonderful rhyming tale for children and adults alike. It introduces some of the favorite dinosaurs of children today, along with a Freaky Alien crew. In the mix is a moral, that no matter your size you are special and have something that only you can do.
The book is well written and engaging. Children of all ages will enjoy the colorful pictures and the rhyming verse. Pat Hatt reminds me of the much loved Dr. Seuss, in that he created a story that kids would enjoy, with characters they would like yet at the same time wrapped a lesson into the story. That was always my favorite part of Dr. Seuss stories, and I am pleased to see that another writer is carrying on that tradition in such a remarkable way.
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