Tag Archives: fantasy

One Sentence Review for Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard by Rick Riordan @camphalfblood

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I won a hardcover copy of The Sword of Summer (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard) by Rick Riordan.

The Sword of Summer (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, #1)

Amazon / Audiobook / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

I know Rick Riordan has written 200+ books, but I think this is the first one I have read and this epic fantasy, with a vividly detailed world and characters come alive through his words, making this a wild action packed adventure…and you will be forced to pick a side.

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4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Magnus Chase has seen his share of trouble. Ever since that terrible night two years ago when his mother told him to run, he has lived alone on the streets of Boston, surviving by his wits, staying one step ahead of the police and the truant officers.

One day, Magnus learns that someone else is trying to track him down—his uncle Randolph, a man his mother had always warned him about. When Magnus tries to outmaneuver his uncle, he falls right into his clutches. Randolph starts rambling about Norse history and Magnus’s birthright: a weapon that has been lost for thousands of years.

The more Randolph talks, the more puzzle pieces fall into place. Stories about the gods of Asgard, wolves, and Doomsday bubble up from Magnus’s memory. But he doesn’t have time to consider it all before a fire giant attacks the city, forcing him to choose between his own safety and the lives of hundreds of innocents. . . .

Sometimes, the only way to start a new life is to die.

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Giveaway – Daemon Blood by Mary Maddox @Dreambeast7 @XpressoTours

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Daemon Blood
Mary Maddox
(Daemon World, #3)
Publication date: March 8th 2022
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Horror

Our war will not unfold in your imaginary heaven. We will fight on Earth with human beings as pawns and weapons.

Lu Darlington is a seer, bound to the daemon Talion through ritual and blood. It’s not a role she enjoys, but she has little choice: daemons take what they want and destroy whoever stands in their way.

So Lu’s surprised when Talion doesn’t punish her for her newfound ability to keep him from possessing her whenever he likes. In fact he’s pleased. The stronger she is, he explains, the more powerful he becomes.

And he needs that power, because a war is brewing in the daemon world, a war that will be fought by—and through—humans.

Lu’s friend Lisa Duncan can’t see daemons but she’s seen what they can do and so has stayed far away from Lu for years. After a bizarre attack on Lisa leaves half a dozen people dead and she learns it’s just the first skirmish in the daemon war, Lisa realizes the safest place to be is with Lu.

Then Talion sends Lu away to teach her skills to another seer and Lisa must stay behind to look after Lu’s son Solly, conceived through a daemon ceremony with Talion. At four years old Solly’s seer abilities are already so strong Lisa is sometimes more afraid of Solly than for him.

As Talion’s enemies grow bolder, Lisa and Lu face attacks from every direction. There seems little hope any of them will survive—until Talion and his allies devise a plan.

The only problem is how much it will cost.

“With Daemon Blood, Mary Maddox has crafted a timeless tale of good against evil. With compelling characters and a keen sense of the darkness that lurks within us all, Daemon Blood will stay with you long after you turn the final thrilling page.”

— David Sodergren, Author of The Forgotten Island

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EXCERPT

Panic wells up in Lisa as the drugstore’s automatic door slides open and winter air balloons against her face. The idea of stepping outside suddenly terrifies her. Post-traumatic stress, says her therapist, Sandi—as if naming a thing steals its power. A bearded guy in a camo jacket is close behind her. She has to move. Clutching her plastic bag of antidepressants and tampons like a talisman, she hurries through the door.  

A semi rumbles past on the two-lane highway beyond the drugstore’s narrow parking lot. Its diesel fumes trigger the usual nausea. The clouds unveil the sun. She imagines getting in her beat-up Honda Civic, driving until it runs out of gas, and then walking until her legs buckle. Wherever she ends up will be fine with her.

“Hey Lisa!” A gaunt man pops out of his SUV and trots across the parking lot. His glossy parka, unzipped despite the subfreezing day, bounces against his fashionably threadbare jeans.

He’s no one she knows or wants to know. She plunges her hand into her purse as she runs for her car. Where are the stupid keys? She’s still groping for them when she reaches the Civic.  

A hand seizes her shoulder and spins her around. The man in the parka presses her against the car, his groin against hers, and pokes her in the ribs with something hard. She looks down at a pistol with a short barrel, almost toylike. His open parka conceals the gun from anyone watching. Not that anyone is. Halfway across the lot, the bearded guy is climbing into a truck jacked up on monster tires. She doubts he noticed her at all. “Sorry, Lisa,” the gunman says. “I know what you’ve been through and I hate—really hate—doing this. But we need to talk.”

Panic muffles everything but her thumping heart. She wrenches her gaze from the gun to his face and opens her mouth to scream, but his eyes silence her. Colorless irises encircle the bottomless wells of his pupils. Her scream drowns in their depths, but she manages to whisper. “Who are you?”

“Willard Steeples.” His grin displays a mouthful of capped teeth edged with black along the gum line. “Author of Professor of Death.”

Evil parasite, feeding on people’s suffering. On her suffering. When she was fifteen, a psychopath tortured and disfigured her, and Steeples’ book made her into a freak show.

“You’re angry,” he says. “I get that. But your story doesn’t end with the Professor. There’s Grifford Riley, the bent cop from Chicago.”

She finally manages to speak. “What do you want?”

“This isn’t about what I want. My readers cry out for the truth.”

Author Bio:

Mary Maddox is a suspense, horror, and dark fantasy novelist with what The Charleston Times-Courier calls a “Ray Bradbury-like gift for deft, deep-shadowed description.” Born in Soldiers Summit, high in the mountains of Utah, Maddox graduated with honors in creative writing from Knox College, and went on to earn an MFA from the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop. She taught writing at Eastern Illinois University and has published stories in various journals, including Yellow Silk, Farmer’s Market, The Scream Online, and Huffington Post. The Illinois Arts Council has honored her fiction with a Literary Award and an Artist’s Grant.

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Stormriders are coming in The Storm Below by JMD Reid @zachjvo #audiobookwormpromotions

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Author: JMD Reid

Narrator: Zachary Johnson

Length: 112 hours 31 minutes

Series: The Storm Below, Books 1-5

Publisher: Dreaming Between Worlds Publishing LLC

Producer: Audiobook Empire

Released: Jan. 12, 2022

Genre: Epic Fantasy

The Stormriders approach, certain to leave death and destruction in their wake. Can one young man find a way to defeat them? Ten years after his father’s death, the memory of the attack still haunts 19-year-old Ary. On the eve of the draft, he faces his greatest fear: being sent to join the marines. He knows the cost of war. Ary dreams of marrying his childhood sweetheart, building a farm, and starting a family. But the Stormriders threat of war puts his loved ones and his plans in jeopardy. Wishing for peace won’t make it true. For love, for his people, and for the life he desires, Ary makes a decision that will change everything. Thus begins The Storm Below. This bundle contains the complete Storm Below Saga – that’s five audiobooks of epic fantasy! Listen to:
  • Above the Storm
  • Reavers of the Tempest
  • Storm of Tears
  • Golden Darkness Descends
  • Shattered Sunlight
The Storm Below is a beautifully creative fantasy epic. Action-packed, dark, and intense, this fantasy series features characters you are certain to love…and others you will love to hate.

J.M.D. Reid has been a long-time fan of Fantasy ever since he read The Hobbit way back in the fourth grade. His head has always been filled with fantastical tales, and he is eager to share the worlds dwelling in his dreams with you. Reid is long-time resident of the Pacific Northwest in and around the City of Tacoma. The rainy, gloomy atmosphere of Western Washington, combined with the natural beauty of the evergreen forests and the looming Mount Rainier, provides the perfect climate to brew creative worlds and exciting stories! When he’s not writing, Reid enjoys playing video games, playing D&D and listening to amazing music.
Website⎮Twitter⎮Facebook⎮Goodreads⎮Amazon
Lover of mathematics, devourer of science fiction, and connoisseur of the dad joke. When he’s not doing math for business or fun, he’s devouring science fiction and fantasy, reading up on scientific advancements, going for a jog, or, on all too rare occasions, taking a refreshing swim at the beach. At your service, you shall have an able storyteller and gifted conveyor of information. Experienced in narrating fiction, from the romantic to the post-apocalyptic, and nonfiction, from the historical to the corporate, and armed with the tools to make it all sound great, Zachary promises that, no matter the job, you’ll be read-iculously pleased!
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At Audiobook Empire, audio reigns supreme, narrators are hailed as heroes, and headphones are worn with pride. Marrying pomp and circumstance with quality you can count on, Audiobook Empire is a full-service production house that produces and promotes audiobooks with gusto. Give your audiobook the imperial treatment by producing it with Audiobook Empire.
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Q&A with Author J.M.D. Reid
  1. Tell us about the process of turning your book into an audiobook.
    1. I had been thinking about it for a while, wanting to do it, but it’s a daunting process with an epic fantasy series with books as long as this. It was always on the back burner then one day Zach contacted me. He had found my book on Amazon and was very interested in narrating it.
  2. I listened to his samples and found he had a great voice for narrating epic fantasy.
    1. We did some back and forth, and the first hurdle I had to cross: how were my strange fantasy names pronounced. There are some nonhuman ones that I don’t know how Zach managed to say, but he did.
    2. After putting together the pronunciation guide, the final stage was listening to him voice my characters and making sure we were on the same page. Then it was off to the races.
  3. Do you believe certain types of writing translate better into audiobook format?
    1. I think writing that’s very descriptive and has lots of dialogue is probably best for audiobooks.
  4. Was a possible audiobook recording something you were conscious of while writing?
    1. It was not even in the back of my mind. I loved audiobooks, but the idea that a self-published author could do it was never anything I imagined was an option.
  5. How did you select your narrator?
    1. He found me and after hearing his voice, I was thrilled to work with him.
  6. How closely did you work with your narrator before and during the recording process? Did you give them any pronunciation tips or special insight into the characters?
    1. I gave him a pronunciation guide since there are some interesting names. And a brief character trait. He found my description of one character “is a tool” to be helpful.
  7. Were there any real life inspirations behind your writing?
    1. Yeah. I was really inspired by the Age of Discovery sailing ships but threw them up in the air. Especially the British Royal Navy. You see that in the red coats of the marines and the dark-blue coats of the officers.
  8. How do you manage to avoid burn-out? What do you do to maintain your enthusiasm for writing?
    1. I work on multiple projects at once so I never feel like I work on one project too much in a day. I feel that keeps me fresh. As for enthusiasm, I love writing. It’s so much fun. The editing and marketing sucks, but the writing is a joy.
  9. Are you an audiobook listener? What about the audiobook format appeals to you?
    1. I am. It started back fifteen or more years. I delivered pizzas in my twenties. And audiobooks let me listen to a story while delivering pizzas. I used to by the CD packs and just picked up new ones from half-price books whenever I could. It’s nice to listen to a story while working on other things.
  10. How did you celebrate after finishing this novel?
    1. I tend to just feel a rush of a high finishing a novel and just sort of walk around. Not much celebrating but feeling the emotional rush of this.
  11. In your opinion, what are the pros and cons of writing a stand-alone novel vs. writing a series?
    1. A stand-alone novel is something I’m not sure I can write. I want to keep telling stories about my character. To tell big stories that one novel can’t contain. A stand-alone novel can be very focused on one idea while a series can let you really explore a world. I write fantasy, and while there are some good stand-alone novels, I think the medium lends itself to series to explore a created world.
  12. What bits of advice would you give to aspiring authors?
    1. Read every day. Write every day. You have to develop your craft.
  13. What’s next for you?
    1. Shadow of the Dragon is an epic fantasy series I’m working on. It’s about a young girl who gets the soul of an extinct dragon put in her, a young man trying to be a hero and protect her, and a dark conspiracy that hunts her across the world.
Author J.M.D. Reid’s Top 10 Literary Inspirations
There are a number of works that have influenced me. They have left their marks on my writing and my choice of stories. How I tackle stories and what I inspire to write.
  1. JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings
    1. Here is where it all began. My love of fantasy came from reading Lord of the Rings. I had started with the Hobbit in the fourth grade, but it wasn’t until the sixth grade when my uncle gave me a hardback box set of Lord of the Rings for Christmas. I loved it. I fell in love with fantasy.
    2. From there, I descended into more fantasy. David Eddings, Terry Brooks, Ann McCaffery, and more.
    3. Tolkien has so much world-building and history to his world. He speaks of such elemental issues and gives an insight into the ideas and philosophies of more ancient men. And at its core, there are some great characters that pull us along.
  2. Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time
    1. Jordan has the biggest influence on my writing style. Back in 1993, I received Eye of the World from my mother as a Christmas gift. I read this book, and this series quickly captured my imagination. I read books 2, 3, 4, and 5. And that was when I became obsessed with it. I spent my Junior High, High School, and my twenties waiting on the next book, reading fan theories, debating the foreshadowing in his books.
    2. The way Jordan uses foretellings and prophecy as well as how he blends our mythologies to make his own coherent world. He uses elemental symbology to tell his story that only adds to how compelling it is.
    3. I also learned some lessons about controlling your characters and plots from the mistakes Jordan made in his later books. It is a shame he died before finishing his series.
  3. David Eddings’ The Belgariad/The Mallorean
    1. After Tolkien, I read Eddings. I had just moved, was in the sixth grade, and had no friends. My mom bought me a book to read. Pawn of Prophecy. She had been given it as a recommendation by the Waldonbook employee.
    2. I fell in love with it. This is the perfect book for a boy. A coming of age story and an epic fantasy quest. What I really love is the dialogue. Eddings has great banter and back and forth between enemies and allies. I try to write dialogue like him.
  4. R. Scott Bakker’s The Prince of Nothing/The Aspect-Emperor
    1. I have never read anything like R. Scott Bakker’s Second Apocalypse metaseries which consists of The Prince of Nothing and The Aspect-Emperor series. It is a grimdark fantasy that has worked philosophy into the world-building and the magic system.
    2. The way he weaves his philosophy into all his characters to tell his story is brilliant. It’s not for the faint of heart. This series does not shy from the darkness that lurks in all of us. His characters are flawed and real in ways that few fantasy series are. The influences of Tolkein are all over the series, but Bakker has made it his own
    3. I try to write characters half as complex as his.
  5. Steven Erikson’s Malazan Book of the Fallen
    1. Erikson’s Malazan Book of the Fallen might have the most extensive world-building of any series. As an archeologist, he understands how civilizations pile on and on each other and use it to make every bit of his world is steeped in history.
    2. On top of that, he has great humor and a sarcastic take on the world. He has created a world that exists beyond the pages. There are things going on that have nothing to do with the grander threat of the Crippled God that threatens the world.
    3. I want to build worlds as big as this and to feel like they breathe beyond the bounds of the story.
  6. Frank Herbert’s Dune
    1. Dune is a book that has stayed with me. I’ve read the others in the series, and while good, they are not as great as the beginning. Great villains and heroes and some wonderful world-building. But what I love is his names. He just gives some piece of tech a name and rarely gives more description than that. But the name is all you need to understand it.
    2. I love that sparseness of his.
  7. Brandon Sanderson’s The Stormlight Archive
    1. I like Brandon Sanderson a lot, but his magic systems are what I find amazing. Not just how they work, but how they fit into the world. How it affects it. How it is integrated into the way civilization works. It has rules, and he finds clever ways to bend those rules or to use them in ways you didn’t think.
  8. Walter M. Miller, Jr’s The Canticle of Leibowitz
    1. A haunting book about preserving knowledge. About how the importance of knowledge must be maintained or we are truly lost as a species. I find this theme to be powerful. To be something worth fighting for.
  9. Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan Books
    1. A weird choice, I’m sure, but I rather like the technical details of his book. How he explains complicated ideas to make the readers understand them. He weaves these technological ideas through his story to drive the plot.
  10. Robert Heinlein’s Starship Troopers
    1. I saw the movie of Starship Troopers when I was a junior in high school in theaters. My friends and I all loved it. So I was thrilled to find out there was a book. I read it. Loved it. Now Starship Troopers is the Bug Movie since it is only Starship Troopers in name only.
    2. I enjoyed the military aspects. Adapting it to the sci-fi technology. It the sort of influence that Golden Darkness Descends has in its military aspects.
  I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Audiobook Empire. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.
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So Disappointed – Heart of Stone and Broken Chains by Demelza Carlton @DemelzaCarlton

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Heart of Stone: A Paranormal Protector Tale

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MY REVIEW

I have read some of Demelza Carlton’s work and loved it, so when I saw that this was free and Broken Chains was available for review, I grabbed them both. Soooo disappointed. Heart of Stone read like a Prologue, a tease, and it did its job. I liked Ben and Pamela right away and felt they had a great story to tell. I wanted more. The bad thing is, the series is not complete, they are novellas, and you will need to read them all to get the whole story. I feel set up, cheated. I will be reading Broken Chains, because I already have it, but after that?

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
1 Star
Broken Chains (Heart of Stone, #1)

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

He walked out of the wall and announced that he was there to protect her. Tor has no memory of his past, just his urge, hes need to protect Catena. Demelza Carlton writes with wit and humor. My biggest problem, I thought this would finish the story started in Heart of Stone, but we don’t even discuss Ben. Where is he?

I enjoyed where the story was going and the laugh out loud moments, but, again, I feel hooked and left hanging. It would have been better if the entire series had been complete, then released. Now, it looks like April before Book II is ready and July before Book III is ready. I doubt I will finish the series. Too bad, because the characters were fun and had a great story to tell.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Broken Chains by Demelza Carlton.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
2 Stars

MY DEMELZA CARLTON REVIEWS

Turbulence and Triumph series: Ocean’s Justice / Ocean’s Trial / Ocean’s Triumph

Ocean’s Gift series: Ocean’s Gift / Ocean’s Infiltrator / Water and Fire

Mel Goes to Hell series: Welcome to Hell / See You in Hell / Mel Goes to Hell

Nightmares Trilogy: Nightmares of Caitlin Lockyer / Necessary Evil of Nathan Miller / Afterlife of Alanna Miller

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Dragons, Unicorns and Bianca by Meg Dendler @MegWelchDendler

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I love dragons and this fabulous cover for Bianca and the Journey To Ryuugito is adorable. But, what is that pink thing I am seeing? Is that a Unicorn?

If any of you guys have a youngster that will be reading this, or having it be read to them, I would love to know what they think.

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Let’s start off by saying…I LOVE that cover front and back. What is that pink unicorn doing there?

I have been reading and reviewing more children’s books than ever and the Bianca series by Meg Dendler fits in that genre, recommended for 4 – 18 year olds (Amazon). I think different ratings would apply to different age groups within the recommendation. This is a book you would read to the younger ones and want a little more sophisticated for the older ones. I loved it, so…what to do?

It is filled with clean adventure. We have dragons, unicorns, faeries, a water sprite, flutterpurrs (how cute a name is that?)…

Bianca has earned some independence from her father. She is still new to being out of the castle, so she doesn’t know all the ins and outs of social interaction, especially when it comes to royalty. After all, who wants to sit at dinner and not be able to talk at all, to tell of her last adventure in Book I? She is 14 and wants to share. She has questions that, the only way she will get answers to, is to be able to ask them?

Well, all that and I haven’t even looked at my notes.

Ooooo, we have a baby dragon. Princess Bianca the Brave and Percy the Merciful will be put to the test when a handsome visitor makes an appearance. He is requesting their assistance with a dragon egg in a far off kingdom. So over the mountain and through the woods they will go.

I can hardly wait to go on the next adventure with Bianca and Percy. And…will the baby dragon be a part of it? What ya thinkin’ Meg?

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Bianca: Journey to Ryuugito by Meg Dendler.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Princess Bianca the Brave and Percy the Merciful have settled into a comfortable life together as Bianca steps out of her sheltered, over-protected past. But a handsome visitor from a distant kingdom disturbs their peace. A rare dragon egg has been discovered, and it will hatch in a matter of days. Can Percy and Bianca keep the new dragonet from pillaging the kingdom of Ryuugito? And are they truly prepared for the journey to reach this egg and the dangers waiting for them along the way? With Percy by her side, Bianca will have to prove she is as brave and fearless as her kingdom now believes her to be.

This is the sequel to “Bianca: The Brave Frail and Delicate Princess.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Meg Welch Dendler

Meg Dendler has considered herself a writer since she won a picture book contest in 5th grade and entertained her classmates with ongoing sequels for the rest of the year. Beginning serious work as a freelancer in the ’90s while teaching elementary and middle school, Meg has over one hundred articles in print, including interviews with Kirk Douglas, Sylvester Stallone, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. She has won contests with her short stories and poetry, along with multiple international awards for her best-selling “Cats in the Mirror” alien rescue cat children’s book series. Meg is also an editor with Pen-L Publishing and works with independent and self-publishing authors to polish their manuscripts for publication.

Meg and her family (including four cats and her dog, Max) live in Arkansas. Visit her at www.megdendler.com for more information about upcoming books and events and all of Meg’s social media links.

In the first book of the Cats in the Mirror series, “Why Kimba Saved The World,” feisty house cat Kimba learns that she is really part of an alien race and has to pick sides between her loyal human family and her feline destiny. The second book, “Vacation Hiro,” came out in November of 2013. These first two books in the Cats in the Mirror series have been honored with Silver Mom’s Choice Awards, and “Why Kimba Saved The World” won a Bronze Moonbeam Children’s Book Award as “Best First Book.” Book 3, “Miss Fatty Cat’s Revenge,” released on September 12, 2014. A companion book to her Cats in the Mirror series, “Max’s Wild Night,” was published in May, 2015, and Book 4 in the Cats in the Mirror series, “Slinky Steps Out” joined the pack in the spring of 2016. An adult book, “At the Corner of Magnetic and Main,” was released by Pen-L Publishing in September of 2015.

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MY MEG DENDLER REVIEWS

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Valentine (Colony: Holiday #5) with Cupid (#4) by Demelza Carlton @DemelzaCarlton

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The covers for Cupid and Valentine (Colony: Holiday #4 & #5) by Demelza Carlton are so alluring, I couldn’t resist it when I saw the freebie. They may be green but they are hunkalicious.

Valentine (Colony: Holiday #5)

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

I am not sure how to write this review without spoiling anything for you. I love the cover, the colors drawing me in…and that hunkalicious green guy. LOL

A romance that put a smile on my face and a little heat in my Kindle. Anna is the Colony’s Jurassic Park creator, but in a good way. Valentine is an engineer on the Magellan. They were separated and…

You will have to read Valentine to find out the details for yourself. I will tell you, I enjoyed spending time with him and Anna and am sure I will be back to the Colony, seeing I have Cupid on my Kindle. I may be reading them out of order, but I don’t think it matters that much. Like a lot of series, each couple’s romantic story stands alone, yet best when beginning at the beginning.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
3 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

War widow Anna is ready to embrace a new life in the Colony. A fresh start bringing extinct species to life is just what she needs to get over the loss of her husband.
Until she discovers her husband isn’t dead…

Cupid (Colony: Holiday #4)

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Ok…I think it is best to read the series from the beginning, but I didn’t and still enjoyed the three I have read. AND, yes, I think a Cupid does deserve love. It makes me think of the Cupid on Charmed.

Titans and Humans live together in the Colony and she can have her pick. Nihal is a djinn and has an ability to ‘sniff’ out the good and bad. That’s why she is the brewer of beer and wife at Forge’s bar.

Orel has his sights on someone he can’t have. I wonder who is waiting for him to find her? Speed dating? Hmmm…

I love the world Demelza has created in Colony with these quick easy reads. Though I am enjoying the world and the characters in it, there’s not much romance in the love.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
2 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

As a Cupid, Orel has plenty of experience helping other people find love, even if he’s unlucky in that department. But when he ends up covering for another Cupid at a speed dating event for singles in the leadup to Valentine’s Day, he dares to hope.
Can a lonely Cupid find love?
Or will he fall victim to the Cupid curse, too?

ABOUT DEMELZA CARLTON

USA Today Bestselling Author Demelza Carlton has always loved the ocean, but on her first snorkelling trip she found she was afraid of fish.

Demelza Carlton

She has since swum with sea lions, sharks and sea cucumbers and stood on spray-drenched cliffs over a seething sea as a seven-metre cyclonic swell surged in, shattering a shipwreck below.
Sensationalist spin? No – Demelza tends to take a camera with her so she can capture and share the moment later; shipwrecks, sharks and all.
Demelza now lives in Perth, Western Australia, the shark attack capital of the world.
The Ocean’s Gift series was her first foray into fiction, followed by the Nightmares trilogy. She swears the Mel Goes to Hell series ambushed her on a crowded train and wouldn’t leave her alone.

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Spider Shifter – A Spider In The Garden by Courtney Davis @AuthorCDavis @GoddessFish

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Welcome to my tour stop for A Spider In The Garden by Courtney Davis. Spiders creep me out and so does that cover. I love it!

I am happy to have Courntey Davis visiting fundinmental today and talking about her characters. Take it away Courtney:

How do I come up with my characters?

I think I am a bit of an observer in general. I am quiet and introverted so it’s natural for me to watch other people and I am sure that I unintentionally get ideas from the people I interact with or see, to add in to making my characters. Never on purpose though.

For the characters in A Spider in the Garden, as with most of my characters, I start with superficial things like their looks. Next, since it’s Urban Fantasy, I think about what powers they should have and any weaknesses. Then I think about their backgrounds, family situations and socio-economic status. I consider their love lives and view of relationships for their future. Even education and work at times must be considered. From that I start to get an idea of how this person would act or react in different situations and what their goals and hold backs might be.

I also consider their mood, some people are just serious all the time, others like to joke and laugh. In this story Aranha starts out in a deep depression, and that really plays into the events of the story and why she decides to do certain things.   

With Urban Fantasy in particular with character development you have to consider what their species is like. If you create a species that is pack centric it is going to have a huge effect on how that character interacts with those in and out of their pack. If the species is weak then you may have to consider their drive for safety in the way they interact. A lot goes into character development and species development. I don’t always have it well planned before I start and sometimes have to go back and make adjustments after I decide something needed to be different, but that’s what editing is for!

Luckily, I find people very interesting, what makes them do certain things intrigues me. So I hope this helps me to write believable and relatable characters for others to read. 

I love to people watch too. I make a game of it, imagining their lives, occupations… Thanks so much Courtney.  

A Spider in the Garden by Courtney Davis

GENRE:   Paranormal Fantasy/Romance

BLURB

Aranha is the last of her kind, a spider shifter who preys upon the dregs of society in an attempt to validate her existence and feed her hunger. She’s lived alone for two hundred years, no family and no friends; always watchful for those who would kill her.
Dag is one of a dying species, vampires who can walk in the day. They have lost their companions and live in dread of the day that they too will become extinct; leaving the earth to the vile creatures who prey upon humans without mercy.
Aranha sees danger in Dag’s face, Dag sees the future in hers. Neither can believe the other exists and their lives are about to get very complicated. Together they embark on a mission to save a young human from the vampires and learn the reality of what their two species were doing in The Garden of Eden.

EXCERPT

She didn’t like the idea of being in his space, but the public was no place for this conversation. She didn’t trust him, but she was curious as to what he could possibly think she needed his help with, and how did he even exist? She had as many questions as he did, she was sure. She couldn’t keep Jonah and herself safe if she didn’t know what was out there; maybe he wasn’t the only one and she needed to be aware of them as a danger too. She decided she had no better option. “I will follow you,” she agreed.

He nodded and held the door open for her gallantly. She didn’t move. “I said I’ll follow you.”

“You should trust me,” he said quietly.

His blue eyes stared straight into hers, it touched her soul and she had to steel herself against the threat of feelings she had no use for. “Why?” she hissed.

“I don’t think you have anyone else,” he said quietly, then went out the door and up the stairs.

She bristled at the truth in his words. Other than Jonah, she didn’t have anyone, but she didn’t have to trust him, she had no reason to think he meant her anything other than harm. She tucked her knives away and locked the door behind them. Three brown spiders crept out of the dark and looked up at her. “Cover the door, make sure it looks unused and unwelcoming.”

AUTHOR Bio and Links

Courtney Davis is an author of urban fantasy, paranormal, supernatural fiction with a little romance and humor thrown in. She loves creating worlds and exploring human, and inhuman, interaction. She lives in North Idaho with her husband and children where she teaches and enjoys time spent relaxing in the summer sun and winters by the fire. She has always had an affinity for reading and writing and a goal to make a career of it. There is no greater joy than to know her words took a reader out of reality for a time and into another world.

AUTHOR SOCIAL MEDIA

Buy Links: Amazon / Apple / B&N / Kobo / Smashwords

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Ocean World – Pelagia by Steve Holloway #steveholloway @GoddessFish

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The cover for Pelagia by Steve Holloway intrigued me sooooo much, I had to read the book…and it was worth all the hours it took for me to read it.

Pelagia – Between the Stars and the Abyss by Steve Holloway

GENRE: Science Fiction

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

The cover for Pelagia by Steve Holloway is soooo awesome, that I HAD TO HAVE a copy and diving into Steve’s world of oceanic wonder was a delight, when we weren’t dodging bullets and being rescued.

He’d been kidnapped and awakes, trapped in the bow of a yacht, being thrown around during a storm. When the warmth of the water closes over him, he feels at home. What a great start to fantastic adventure that crosses the globe.

Pelagics have a saying, ‘we make our lives at the edge of creation, we walk in wonder’.

The Pelagic Territory is a water community in international waters. Because there are no laws governing them, it creates tremendous problems and dangers for the residents.

Ben’s losses overwhelm him and he struggles to find solid ground to stand on. In his darkest moment, Paul Whitestone found him. The friends he accumulates as he puts his life back together are steadfast, loyal, everlasting. His faith will be tested. Though religion is mentioned a lot, it is pertinent to the story. No preaching, just characters questioning….

Though Ben is the star of the show, Paul Whitestone has his back in dangerous situations, knowing when he is in need. Sophia is autistic and one of the standout characters. I love the relationship she develops with Ben and her ‘Rainman’ life.

The Caliphate wants Ben. The need him, to accomplish their evil goals they have set to disrupt the lives of their enemies. It always amazes me how religion can be twisted to suit some people’s needs. How something developed for good can be used for bad. How far some people will go to get what they want.

I found the life of the seasteaders fascinating. I got lost in their beautifully created undersea world. Steve Holloway’s descriptions made Pelagia come to life, and Nemo’s bedtime stories were mesmerizing. His words created images that rolled through my mind like a YouTube video. It makes me wonder how far we have advanced in real life.

“The exploration of science is systemic wonder.”

Pelagia by Steve Holloway is 416 pages filled with wonderful words of wisdom, filled with warnings and wonders of what the future could hold.

I would like to finish this hard to write review with these words of wisdom:

‘All that is necessary for Evil to triumph is for good men – good people, people like you and me – to do nothing.’ Edmund Burke

Where do YOU draw the line? When do YOU make a stand?

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Pelagia by Steve Holloway.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

BLURB

Former special forces agent turned particle physicist Ben Holden is on the run.

The New Caliphate will stop at nothing to get their hands on his wife’s scientific research, which is believed to hold the key to unleashing chaos in the West and advancing their cause.

But in reality it’s Ben’s biometrics that have the potential to unlock the information they so desperately need. Within the oceanic world of Pelagia, in the year 2066, Ben finds sanctuary among the sea settlers of the South Pacific Pelagic Territory, but his respite is short-lived.

ABOUT STEVE HOLLOWAY

Steve Holloway grew up on the beach cities of Los Angeles and has always loved the sea. This passion led him to gain a degree in Aquatic Biology from the University of California Santa Barbara; a background which opened many opportunities for him in researching, developing, and engaging with mariculture activities around the world.

Steve and his wife have lived and travelled in many countries over their forty years of marriage, successfully raising three kids in exotic locations in the process. They have always engaged with the people and cultures they live among.

Currently Steve lives in England and consults for a Christian charity in areas of research, leadership development, adapting to new cultures, social enterprises, and mariculture projects. Currently he is consulting for a Indo-Pacific mariculture project – a social enterprise – growing sea cucumbers, a delicacy for the Chinese market.

Steve has always loved books and writing. The story of Pelagia reflects three of his passions: science, the sea and the narratives of faith. The background, in his words:

“I have for many years believed that settling the open sea was within our grasp, and even more accessible than space as our ‘next frontier’. So through the last ten years or so I have been thinking just how this might happen, what would be needed, where people would settle, what kind of livelihoods they might have on the open sea, beyond the EEZs of terrestrial countries. My son Adam told me about what would become a key component of Pelagia, Biorock or seacrete, because of his experiments with it. Many discussions with other scientists, engineers and others helped to begin to fill in the gaps and the concept of the Pelagic Territories, similar to the unincorporated territories of the early US, and what geopolitical contexts they would find themselves in.”

Steve finds any excuse to get into the ocean: sailing, diving, swimming, or just poking around tide pools.

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Giveaway – The Last Keeper by J V Hilliard @JVHilliardBooks @GoddessFish

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This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. J.V. Hilliard will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

A young boy’s prophetic visions.

Blind at birth, Daemus Alaric is blessed with the gift of prophetic Sight. Now, as a Keeper of the Forbidden, he must use his powers of the Sight to foil the plans of a fallen Keeper, Graytorris the Mad.

An elven Princess with a horrifying secret.

Princess Addilyn Elspeth travels from Eldwal, the magically hidden home of the Vermilion elves, to begin her life as a diplomat to the human capital of Castleshire. During her journey, she stumbles upon a mystical creature foretelling ill tidings. A terrifying force of evil.

Daemus’ recurring nightmare vision threatens to catapult him into a terrifying struggle that will leave the fate of the Keepers—and the realm—hanging in the balance. Daemus and Princess Addilyn must set out to face the menace that threatens their very existence. Will the entire realm fall to its knees?

The Last Keeper is the first book in The Warminster Series. With gripping, epic action and heart-pounding adventure, you’ll love this new adventure series.

Read an Excerpt

“Drenering uderforer dodt,” the blind man uttered.

All the men surrounding him winced in agony, grabbing at their chests and throats. A pain grew in Graytorris’s arms, pulsing through his veins. A magical necrosis drained the energy from the trees and grass around him. The wave of energy inside him morphed from life to death, temporarily becoming one. The spell was working.

“Drenering uderforer dodt,” he repeated, with some difficulty.

The troops writhed and collapsed to their knees, as did Rhron, though Radu had evidently escaped. Graytorris did his best to ignore their groans, as well as the brutal, scorching pain that racked his entire body as the spell took effect.

Almost unable to stop himself, Graytorris repeated the incantation one final time, completing the spell. He fell to his knees, trying not to faint, but the spell had taken something from him, too. He realized that Rhron’s knights were dead, as much from a rising stench as through his own magical senses. But the spell kept moving on to the valley itself, leaching life out of the flora, stilling the limbs of insects, seeming to even deaden the noise of the nearby stream.

He felt the stolen strength of the living things in the hollow rush into his limbs. The pain was still there, but as seconds passed it became less intense and he found he could stand tall.

Before he knew what he was doing, he made his way to his former friend’s corpse, where it lay in the grey and ossified grass. The plants, once green and pliant, now crunched harshly under his feet, and once or twice even broke his skin. Graytorris knelt among them, feeling for Rhron’s body.

When his fingers found the mail-covered torso, it rose slightly under his hand.

He started. One hand flew to Rhron’s mouth to check for breath, and he felt the faintest gust touch his palm. Stunned, he sat back. The captain was clearly on the edge of death, but by all rights he shouldn’t have survived the first wave of the spell, let alone the last.

Graytorris paused, listening to Rhron’s quiet, labored breathing. Apologies and explanations sat just under his tongue, but his lips twisted against them.

“You brought this on yourself,” he told the dying man.

The two of us must make a grim picture, he thought, sitting in the middle of a stillness born of death rather than peace, surrounded by petrified trees and scorched earth. This hollow will never be a natural place again.

His heart skipped a beat, then slowed to a deathly pace as the spell continued to exact its toll on his body. The pain returned with a vengeance, searing through his flesh like hellfire.

In his agony, a single, wild thought suddenly entered his brain, and he quickly spoke the incantation of another spell—one that would both save and damn Rhron. One that would preserve their friendship, even if only in its most twisted possible form. In that moment, his only wish was to not be alone.

Though still unconscious, Rhron drew in a harsh breath, followed by a loud, keening scream.

The cracking of bone met Graytorris’s ears as the man beside him began to transform. At the same time, his own pain intensified so that he too was unable to keep from crying out. His strength finally drained to its limit by the necrotic ravages of the spell that had petrified the hollow, Graytorris lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground.

Moments later, the nameless beast that had once been Rhron Talamare stirred and whuffed quietly, sat back on its haunches, and waited for its master to awaken.

About the Author:
Born of steel, fire and black wind, J.V. Hilliard was raised as a highlander in the foothills of a once-great mountain chain on the confluence of the three mighty rivers that forged his realm’s wealth and power for generations.

His father, a peasant twerg, toiled away in industries of honest labor and instilled in him a work ethic that would shape his destiny. His mother, a local healer, cared for his elders and his warrior uncle, who helped to raise him during his formative years. His genius brother, whose wizardly prowess allowed him to master the art of the abacus and his own quill, trained with him for battles on fields of green and sheets of ice.

Hilliard’s earliest education took place in his warrior uncle’s tower, where he learned his first words. HIs uncle helped him to learn the basics of life—and, most importantly, creative writing.

Hilliard’s training and education readied him to lift a quill that would scribe the tale of the realm of Warminster, filled with brave knights, harrowing adventure and legendary struggles. He lives in the city of silver cups, hypocycloids and golden triangles with his wife, a ranger of the diamond. They built their castle not far into the countryside, guarded by his own two horsehounds, Thor and MacLeod, and resides there to this day.

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Giveaway – Guardians of the Mask by Haley Kate @XpressoTours

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Guardians of the Mask
Haley Kate
Publication date: June 8th 2017
Genres: Fantasy, Historical

An extraordinary golden mask is in the hands of an ordinary boy…

It’s a mask entrusted to great warriors and heroes, thought to be lost in the sands of time. It can summon immortal armies, grant unimaginable strength and heal mortal wounds.

The golden mask has reappeared. And now it’s in the hands of Rafe, a hard working, loyal and at times mischievous teenager who thinks he is of little importance.

But he is wrong. Rafe is chosen by the mask and destined to become as the warriors of legend.

With the powers of the golden mask, he is the only one who can keep the kingdom safe when it comes under threat.

But not everybody thinks the mask should be in the hands of a common boy. When an eccentric Prince finds out the mask is in the hands of a common boy, he decides to interfere with destiny.

Armed with his own dark forces, he threatens to bring the kingdom to its knees.

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

The sun did not stay for long. A full moon greeted the village early and the gloom of the day sent most people to their beds without supper. Sam had been one of them. Rafe chose to linger for a while, walking on the rooftop of the church. It was a pleasant view from the top, where he could see the gargoyle they had toppled still implanted in the bed of grass beneath. He towered over the treetops and the hills that surrounded the village. Beyond the woodland ranged the fallow deer that grazed the palace fields. The palace never looked more beautiful than it did in the dark. The lights never went out and the spectacular array of gold and white from the turrets sparkled like the stars in the sky. It made the sudden interrupting sound of the horn all the more haunting. Eerie and unexpected, it sent a chill through the spines of all those that heard it, its low groan a warning that danger was coming. The call of it jumpstarted a fear that was resting inside of Rafe. A call he had been expecting and dreading. Lingering in his heart, the sound of it sent his emotions into overdrive. Climbing down from the church rooftop, he tore through the forest as fast as his legs would carry him.

“Rafe!” someone yelled.

Rafe spun around to see Miller, Edward and Theo running from the direction of the mansion. Miller had replaced his top hat with an uncommonly large helmet. Rafe caught up to them, desperate for an explanation. Somehow he doubted whether the Brutes had returned.

“They be comin’ boy! Get ya sword and ya mask. The village be gatherin’ their best to meet ye!” Miller spat. “Meet me? For what? Who’s coming?” Rafe demanded, knowing full well who it was without needing to ask. “Who d’ya think? I’d say ye have ‘bout ten minutes b’fore the Prince be findin’ ya. He wants revenge fer wha’ ye did, though this time he be nay dumb enough to fight on his own! I says there be two dozen knights marchin’ ‘ere. Even if they do b’lieve in the legends o’ Cherubim’s Mask, they be sworn to obey th’ Prince. Th’ villagers b’lieve in ye, Rafe. Some of em are willin’ t’ fight fer ye.” Rafe looked towards the forest, trying to imagine them. “The Prince,” Rafe whispered as the truth of it sank in. “Get the mask, lad!” Miller yelled.

Author Bio:

Haley Kate writes medieval fairytales and magical mysteries for tweens (and their parents). She also writes workbooks for schools to help reluctant readers engage with fiction.

Goodreads / Amazon / Facebook


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