My Familiar Stranger (Order of the Black Swan, Book One) by Victoria Danann

My Familiar Stranger (Order of the Black Swan, Book One) 
by Victoria Danann


My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So I was posting a review the other day and a recommendation link to another book came up on my page. It was for this book, My Familiar Stranger, and I was looking at it and thought it sounded pretty neat, then I noticed a post from the author that said the book was available for free on Amazon at the moment, and I thought, well that if the perfect reason to sample the book. OMG! I am so hooked on +Victoria Danann ! I even listed her next to Sherrilyn Kennyon (my absolute all-time, favorite author in the world)in my kindle!!

So the story starts in a lab, where a teacher/professor is throwing his best student through a spiralling vortex after her entire family has just been massacred. She is scared, frightened and in shock, and you are thinking, what is going on. The next thing you know we are someplace else completely, with a whole new set of characters and new storyline and in the back of your mind you know the girl is going to come into play at some point, but you are getting into these muscle-bound men in the new line, when POOF, she appears! Only she is in no condition to talk, the vortex was not kind to her or her body.

This book is an adventure in paranormal! We have other dimensions and worlds, then we have vampires, werewolves, elves, fae, witches and who knows what all else we will uncover as the books continue! Welcome to Black Swan. Black Swan is a covert organization formed hundreds of years ago to protect the human population from the paranormal in the world. At the time it was founded vampires were their main focus, but over time other paranormals were discovered and included. Black Swan recruited the "second sons", those sons that would not inherit in the patriarchal society, and that were "hard to handle". They were trained to deal with things most people never dream of encountering.

The Familiar Stranger gives you an overview into the history of Black Swan and how it began, not its not a stiff and boring lesson, it's told in a way that makes it interesting and exciting and you are engaged in the story and learning all you can about this secret society keeping the world safe. It really sets the stage for the whole series, introducing you to some main characters, giving you just enough information on them to get you interested in them and you are starting to become party of the story.

There are many layers of story going on in the book, all at the same time, and the author does a wonderful job of weaving them all together so that you can jump from one character to another and it's almost like real life in that you see this story evolving with this person in your life and a completely different thing happening at the same time with a different person in your life, but yet it is all going on at the same time. It was amazing!!

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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The Birth of Death by Joseph Macolino

The Birth of Death
by Joseph Macolino


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite 

Forget all you know and read with me of a different world, created by the Druids and for them. Deep in nature, the Druids each created species to help them take care of their specific area. Time has passed and the Druids have all long gone and passed on, but the species each thrive and continue to take care of their own areas. The Birth of Death tells of a story that had been told of a great sin being committed but that nature had taken care of that sin, most people thought the story to just be a story and nothing more. As we learn the story is more, there are truths and that sin is more than just a sin, but death. How can the species defend themselves from this new threat? Is there a chance that they might be able to put aside their differences and work together, just this one time, for the good of Evorath? Author +Joseph P. Macolino has created another world to set his story of evil, the need for people to set aside differences and work together, and revolution.

The Birth of Death is a wonderful tale of a world that was created in all the splendor of nature to be the home of each of nine Druids. The Druids each then created a species of people to help them take care if that home. Each species was best suited to take care of the nature where they lived and had the specific powers of their Druid. Author +Joseph P. Macolino creates a fantasy story, that you can easily read and enjoy. If you take the time to really notice the story being told, you can see conflicts that minor our own in society. Granted we may not be facing death in the form of a person, but the world needs us to put aside different sides and work together towards a common goal. If you allow yourself to listen to the deeper meanings and think about it, this is a highly thought provoking book. There are a number of things that occur that should upset you. I recommend this book for most all readers, personally I feel that teens and young adults could handle it, but that would be a parental judgement call.

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The Fussy Librarian