Moonscript Blog Tour!

 

“It is said that Darkness is empty and whatever vanishes into its depths is lost forever. I know this better than anyone. For I have suffered here in the shadows, and there are none who might find me.”



Seventy years. Seventy years the elven prince has been lost to the darkness, assumed dead by his people and endlessly broken for a book that connects to the hidden realm of his ancestors, a land untouched by evil.

And now a light in the shadows. A chance for freedom. But those willing to help him come from the unlikeliest of worlds.

The orphan girl, yearning for a loving family, and the boy who won’t leave her side. A healer maiden given an unexpected chance for a life beyond narrowed expectations. A grieving creature flown far from home.

They all search for something and now their fates are tied to his. If their quest for life can pull him from the dark mire in which his soul drowns, then perhaps he can be saved.

Or else he will drag them all down to a fate worse than death.

The beginning of an epic saga, MOONSCRIPT is a journey of innocence, despair, and redemption.

Seven illustrations by the author exclusively included in the paperback edition!

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Kindle
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Book Depository
Goodreads

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

From the beginning, H. S. J. Williams has loved stories and all the forms they take. Whether with word, art, or costume, she has always been fascinated with the magic of imagination. She lives in a real fantastical kingdom, the beautiful Pacific Northwest, with her very own array of animal friends and royally loving family. Williams taught Fantasy Illustration at MSOA. She may also be a part-time elf.
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You can check out and follow William’s art page over here: https://hsjwilliams.wordpress.com/

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My Review

Oh, wow, I have been waiting FOREVER for this book. I first heard about Moonscript over seven years ago when H.S.J. Williams starred in a Future Authors Feature on Anne Elisabeth Stengl’s Blog (Click Here to visit that article) and have been watching for the book’s release ever since. Admittedly, after almost seven years I had nearly given up. It was quite a delightful surprise when the release announcement finally appeared!

Moonscript is such a great book with beautiful and vivid imagery that draws you right in and leaves you wishing to see more.

The characters are equally vivid and loveably unique (All except for those villains, of course – nothing “lovable” about them!). It’s also always so much fun when someone turns the typical elf stereotype on its head. I absolutely adored Williams’s quirky pirate elf and I so home that we see a lot more of him in future novels. Maybe he will even star in a book of his own someday? (Pretty please, author lady?)
I do wish we could have seen a bit more from Errance’s POV, but I understand why the author wrote it the way she did. 

There are very few allegory novels that I like, as too many of them sacrifice good characters and plot elements to wedge their story into an ill-fitting hole. I am very thankful that this is one of the few that does not sacrifice either.The allegory elements are strong in this story, but all the parts flow together organically to make a strong and cohesive final product. I can’t wait to see what the author has in store for the next installment in this series.

My Rating: Five Flames

BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE

May 7th
H.S.J. Williams—Tour Launch

May 8th
Light and Shadow—Book Spotlight
E. E. Rawls—Book Spotlight

May 9th
Elizabeth’s Universe—Book Review
Grace M. Morris—Book Spotlight

May 10th
Allison’s Well—Book Spotlight
Amelia Nicole—Book Spotlight

May 11th
Ester S. (Instagram)—Book Spotlight
Imperial Scribis—Book Review

May 12th
Liv K. Fisher
The Labyrinth—Book Review

May 13th
Dreams & Dragons—Book Spotlight
Bookish Musings—Book Review

May 14th
Unicorn Quester—Author Interview
Embers Reviews—Book Review

May 15th
Unicorn Quester— “3 Reasons Why” Video Review
Writing in Rivendell—Book Spotlight
Sarah, Plain & Average—Book Review

May 16th
Jane Maree—Book Review

May 17th
Jemma the Dragon Slayer (Tumblr)—Book Spotlight
The Bookish Raven—Book Review

May 18th
Words of Hannah Kay—Book Review
Purely by Faith Reviews—Book Review

May 19th
Functionally Fictional—Book Spotlight
Jenelle Schmidt—Book Spotlight

May 20th
Beka Gremikova—Book Spotlight
Seven Billion Smiles—Book Review

May 21st
Today by Bryn—Tour Conclusion & Art Gallery

 

 

Review Bites

The Lady and The Wish – J.M. Stengl

 This book is yet another win for Mrs. Stengl! It’s probably one of the best fairytales I have read yet this year.
Lady Gillian was…not what I’d expected. She didn’t have as much of a mean streak as she simply was oblivious and self absorbed. I had assumed that she would be the easy-to-hate type at the beginning of the book. In reality, though, I just pitied her, especially after her rotten parents decide to make her pay for all their mistakes. After everything she went through for them, she deserved a happy ending.
The real Gillian is actually a pretty capable girl, who is a surprisingly solid judge of character after she gets past the surface. I have to say that I really admire that girl’s tenacity. I wouldn’t have lasted the week in that insane manor. And it was also sweet how much she cared about that old lady. Though as cruel as that woman was to her, I was beginning to question her sanity in staying.
My only real qualm with this book is that the villain didn’t get what he so richly deserved. I’m hoping that might be resolved in a future book’s plot. In the meantime, I’m just going to go back to staring at the calendar and counting the days until book five: The Mirror and the Curse releases.

*** I received an advanced reader copy of this book free from the author. I was not in any way required to leave a positive review.***

My Rating: FIVE FLAMES

 

Flight of the Raven – Morgan L. Busse 

Great sequel to Mark of the Raven! It’s a bit of a slower paced book, focusing more on the romance than any action, but it it brimming with suspense and lovable but flawed characters that i’m dying to see more of. Busse has a beautiful style and strong description that make the dark, airy hallways of Ravenwood or the bright lights and oceanic scenery of house Maris both easy and breathtaking to picture. The ending was a touch of a cliffhanger, so I really hope that book 3 is not too far down the road, because I’m about to go crazy wanting to know what happens next.

 

 

My Rating: FIVE FLAMES

 

Her Oklahoma Rancher – Brenda Minton

I have read and enjoyed several of Minton’s books. This one…Well, it was a fairly enjoyable way to pass some time, but it felt rather lacking in both depth and feeling.

I liked Ethan well enough, he was a genuinely sweet guy and tried so hard for everybody – even when he did go a touch overboard. My only qualm with him is that he would so easily abandon a baby for a few days with a woman who knew nothing of caring for infants – without even telling her. He just walked out the door.

As for Eve, I can’t say I ever really liked her. I understand that her character was dealing with a number of serious physical and emotional wounds, and I tried to like her, I really did. But I just never really felt much for her character beyond a bit of annoyance. She reacted badly or overreacted to everything, even though she was quick to apologize later. There was really nothing there that endeared her to me. She was a lackluster character and I never really felt much in the romance between her and Ethan.

Overall, it was a relatively enjoyable escape read, but not one i’ll be re-reading.

*** I received an advanced reader copy of this book free from Netgalley. I was not in any way required to leave a positive review.***

My Rating: THREE FLAMES

Heart of the Curiosity Cover Reveal!

Hey, y’all! I’m sorry it’s been so long since i’ve posted anything. Life’s gotten mighty busy and i’m afraid that it has been my blogging and writing that have taken the hit. I’ll try to blog more often when I can find the time, but the reviews may not be as in-depth as they used to be.

But in the meantime, I have a cover reveal from the wonderfully fun fantasy/steampunk author H.L. Burke for you today! I greatly enjoyed her Nyssa Glass series and I can’t wait to see what this story shall be like!

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Isn’t it just so adorably whimsical?

 

BACK COVER BLURB:

The secret lies with the Heart.

Born with a magical knack for manipulating emotions, Leodora’s only dream is to ensure her talented little sister dances on the biggest, brightest stage in the Republic: The Curiosity, a grand old theater of tradition and innovation. After escaping a cruel carnival, Leo secures her sister a place in the Curiosity’s chorus line, and herself a job as a professional audience member, swaying the crowd’s mood with her magic. The girls have a home for the first time in their lives.

Then a tragic accident darkens the theater. A greedy businessman begins blackmailing Leo, and financial woes threaten to close the show forever. The Curiosity’s sole hope lies in a mythical power source hidden beneath the maze-like passages and trapdoors of the theater—the Heart. And Leo’s only friend Paxton, nephew of the theater’s stagemistress, is the key to finding it.

While Leo and Paxton hunt for the Heart, the blackmailer’s threats loom larger. Mysterious figures, cryptic clues, and deadly traps hinder the search at every turn. If the friends cannot recover the Heart in time, Leo and her sister will be cast out of the only home they’ve ever known, and the final curtain will fall on The Curiosity.

Enter a world reminiscent of The Greatest Showman, with a puzzle worthy of Sherlock Holmes and National Treasure, in this new Steampunk Fantasy from H. L. Burke.

Pre-Order links:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Apple
Kobo
Autographed paperback
Goodreads

 

Author Bio:

 

Born in a small town in north central Oregon, H. L. Burke spent most of her childhood around trees and farm animals and was always accompanied by a book. Growing up with epic heroes from Middle Earth and Narnia keeping her company, she also became an incurable romantic. 

An addictive personality, she jumped from one fandom to another, being at times completely obsessed with various books, movies, or television series (Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Star Trek all took their turns), but she has grown to be what she considers a well-rounded connoisseur of geek culture. 

Married to her high school crush who is now a US Marine, she has moved multiple times in her adult life but believes that home is wherever her husband, two daughters, and pets are.

Social Media Links:

Facebook Page
Facebook Reader Group
Twitter
Instagram
Website: http://www.hlburkeauthor.com/

 

 

 

More than Meets the Eye: a book review

 Description:

Many consider Evangeline Hamilton cursed. Orphaned at a young age and possessing a pair of mismatched eyes–one bright blue, the other dark brown–Eva has fought to find her way in a world that constantly rejects her. Yet the support of even one person can help overcome the world’s judgments, and Eva has two–Seth and Zach, two former orphans she now counts as brothers.

Seeking justice against the man who stole his birthright and destroyed his family, Logan Fowler arrives in 1880s Pecan Gap, Texas, to confront Zach Hamilton, the hardened criminal responsible for his father’s death. Only instead of finding a solitary ruthless gambler, he discovers a man not much older than himself with an unusual family. When Zach’s sister, Evangeline, insists on dousing Logan with sunshine every time their paths cross, Logan finds his quest completely derailed. Who is truly responsible for his lost legacy, and will restoring the past satisfy if it means forfeiting a future with Evangeline?

My Review: 

This novel has what is probably the saddest start to a Whitemeyer novel i’ve read yet. It drags you in and wrenches your heart at the pain these children suffer, and oh, does it make you care about them.

But thankfully the story doesn’t stay sad. Within a chapter or so, Witemeyer begins weaving a healthy dose of her trademark humor into the story. The scene involving Logan and the “wild boar” is pure gold.

Both Logan and Evie are great characters. Logan’s pain is palpable as he fights to try and right a grievous wrong that wrecked his family – yet struggles painfully with the concepts of justice vs. revenge. Especially once he finds out that the man he wants to take down is not the kind of man he thought – and going through with his plan might just destroy his budding relationship with the girl he’s coming to love.

Evie is an incredibly sweet, quirky, and loving girl. She’s a bit too naive for some, and a bit too odd of everyone else. That girl has suffered so much tragedy and heartache, and still suffers the fear and disgust of most of the town for her strange eyes, but she has never let her pain turn to bitterness. She’s a gentle soul that wants to help everyone whether they want it or not sometimes – particularly her grumpy new neighbor Logan.

I totally loved the makeshift Hamilton family – and Zach in particular. The grumpy, loyal, and slightly mysterious big brother who made a lot of bad choices for a lot of good reasons.  You feel so bad for him as he watches the family he cares for grow up and move on, leaving him behind in a way. I really hope to see more of him in a future book.

I adored this book. A little bit of mystery, a little touch of action, and a sweet romance with a health dose of good humor. Witemeyer brings all her characters to life on the pages. The main theme of this book is forgiveness and the subtle differences between revenge and justice  – and how easy it can be to confuse the two.

Witemeyer weaves her lessons with a skilled and gentle touch. The romance is clean and sweet, and filled with feeling. All of the characters choices are understandable and realistic. you’ll laugh, you’ll sigh, you just might cry.

Don’t know about everyone else, but I’m dying to read the sequel – there is a sequel, right?

My Rating: Five Flames

 

Amazon Kindle Link
Amazon Paperback Link

Author Website

Happy Reading y’all!

 

Flower: a Book Review

 Description: 

Kitrin always assumed her overprotective parents were just paranoid—until the trees started talking to her.

For sixteen years, Kitrin has longed for freedom from her parents’ secluded manor. However, one day her emotions trigger flowers to bloom, roots to grasp, and trees to bend. Unable to control her unexplained abilities, she finds an anchor in a young man with sad eyes and his own secrets. A man who sends sparks through her, but who might be tied to her destruction.

Palace outcast and nephew of the king, Prince Bryce lives under the shadow of his father’s execution for treason. To escape the toxic court, he takes comfort in the company of the kindhearted Kitrin. However, as the mysteries in both their pasts are revealed, he realizes the girl he loves is someone his family wants dead.

My Review: 

Fleeing the stifling confines of her mother’s controlling presence, Kit’s first act of rebellion brings her face to face with the shunned Prince Bryce – and her life falls apart. Turns out her mother had good reason to keep her separated from the world – and Prince Bryce in particular.

Bryce has always been the outcast, the son of the traitor. Bullied by his cousin, the crown prince, and distrusted by the court, he has always done his best to prove his loyalties. He quickly falls head over heels for sweet Kitrin, who doesn’t treat him any differently from any other.  But his father’s betrayal touched more than he imaged, and even the best kept secrets have a way of coming out – secrets that put his new love in danger.

I really liked both Bryce and Kit, they were such a sweet couple. I can’t wait to see where their story goes in the sequel.

The magic system is an interesting twist. I admit that I saw quite a few of the mysteries involving that system and the characters unravel well before the author said anything – and I suspect a few more that look be coming in the sequels. It did involve a few common fantasy tropes, but Burke still managed to make them feel fun and fresh.

The ending was a cliffhanger and I really badly want to get my hands on the sequels – like right now! Book 2 can’t come fast enough. I need to know what happens next!

I removed one star for the swearing.

My Rating: Four Flames

Heat Advisory:

Romance: Clean for the most part. There is one off screen consummation of “marriage vows” though it is a bit of an interesting question as to whether or not they are truly married. They made their vows to each other and meant them, but there were neither witnesses or preacher/priest. Nor is the marriage legal by the laws of the land. An interesting dilemma.
Language: A handful of mild swear words are peppered throughout the book.
Blood/violence: There are a few violent deaths, fights, and one offscreen suicide. Very little blood.
Other: Magic usage.

Amazon Kindle Link
Amazon Paperback Link

Author Website

Happy Reading y’all!

 

 

 

A Defense of Honor: a book review

   Description: 

When Katherine “Kit” FitzGilbert turned her back on London society more than a decade ago, she determined never to set foot in a ballroom again. But when business takes her to London and she’s forced to run for her life, she stumbles upon not only a glamorous ballroom but also Graham, Lord Wharton. What should have been a chance encounter becomes much more as Graham embarks on a search for his friend’s missing sister and is convinced Kit knows more about the girl than she’s telling.

After meeting Graham, Kit finds herself wishing things could have been different for the first time in her life, but what she wants can’t matter. Long ago, she dedicated herself to helping women escape the same scorn that drove her from London and raising the innocent children caught in the crossfire. And as much as she desperately wishes to tell Graham everything, revealing the truth isn’t worth putting him and everyone she loves in danger.

My Review:

I think this is the best book Hunter has written since Noble Masquerade. Sweet story with lots of humor. All of the characters has wonderfully complex and vivid personalities – especially the children. They were absolutely adorable, the romance was sweet, and there was a great Christian message.

I really liked Kit, She was a real go-getter who wasn’t afraid to do what she had to to provide a life for the children – and make their uncaring fathers pay. 

My only qualm was how Graham acted near the end of the story. He seemed like a great guy up until near the end, and then he started to get frustrating. I really hated how he treated one of his closest friends. I understood why he did it, but I still think that it was unnecessarily cruel to the poor guy. Adam did nothing to deserve that humiliation even if it was for a good cause. This part tarnished Graham a bit for me, and I thought he was shockingly unforgiving of Kit when the truth came out.

But aside from that, it was a really sweet story that I do recommend to any Regency lover.

My Rating: Five Flames

Amazon Kindle Link
Amazon Paperback Link

Happy Reading y’all!

The Accidental Guardian: a book review

 Description: 

When Trace Riley finds the smoldering ruins of a small wagon train, he recognizes the hand behind the attack as the same group who left him as sole survivor years ago. Living off the wilderness since then, he’d finally carved out a home and started a herd–while serving as a self-appointed guardian of the trail, driving off dangerous men. He’d
hoped those days were over, but the latest attack shows he was wrong.

Deborah Harkness saved her younger sister and two toddlers during the attack, and now finds herself at the mercy of her rescuer. Trace offers the only shelter for miles around, and agrees to take them in until she can safely continue. His simple bachelor existence never anticipated kids and women in the picture and their arrival is unsettling–yet enticing.

Working to survive the winter and finally bring justice to the trail, Trace and Deborah find themselves drawn together–yet every day approaches the moment she’ll leave forever.

My Review: 

Well laced with Mary Connealy’s trademark humor, Accidental Guardian is a great kickoff to her newest historical series.

Deborah and Trace are both very likable and relatable. Deb was such a strong woman, though a touch frustrating in her stubbornness. And even though Trace can have a difficult time with so many people around, that guy has such a big and giving heart. He’ll do anything for Deb and her makeshift little family.

Some of the confrontations between the men and the kids had me in stitches. There is still a lot left open-ended and one villain still left to catch. I can’t wait to get my hands on the sequel.

My Rating: Five Stars

 

Amazon Kindle Link
Amazon Paperback Link

Happy Reading y’all!

 

Dagger’s Sleep and Disassociate Blog Tour!

Hey, Y’all! It is such a great pleasure to be a part of Tricia Mingerink’s latest release tour. Any of you who have followed my blog for a while have probably seen my glowing reviews of her Blades of Acktar series. I was so thrilled to get a chance to join the blog tour for her latest novel, an allegory / fairytale retelling!

 

Dagger’s Sleep Spotlight and review: 

About the Book:

A prince cursed to sleep.
A princess destined to wake him.
A kingdom determined to stop them.
High Prince Alexander has been cursed to a sleep like unto death, a curse that will end the line of the high kings and send the Seven Kingdoms of Tallahatchia into chaos. With his manservant to carry his luggage and his own superior intelligence to aid him, Alex sets off to find one of the Fae and end his curse one way or another.
A hundred years later, Princess Rosanna learns she is the princess destined by the Highest King to wake the legendary sleeping prince. With the help of the mysterious Daemyn Rand, can she find the courage to finish the quest as Tallahatchia wavers on the edge of war?
One curse connects them. A hundred years separate them. From the rushing rivers of Tallahatchia’s mountains to the hall of the Highest King himself, their quests will demand sacrifices neither of them could imagine.
Dagger’s Sleep is available for preorder here on Amazon Kindle.

 

My Review:

Just Around the River Bend. That is the song that comes immediately to mind upon glancing at the first page as our buckskin-clad Princess Roseanna guides her birchbark canoe down the rapids. In a startling twist that I never would have expected, Tricia Mingerink tosses aside all preconceived notions of what a world of fairytale retellings ought to look like.

Best description of this world? Sleeping Beauty meets Davy Crockett and the River Pirates with just a hint of Pocahontas. Seriously, the parallels between this book and the old Davy Crockett movies is ridiculously strong. Coonskin caps? check. Riverboats and pirates? check. Unpronounceable Indian-style names? check. Buffalo hunts? check.

Okay, so maybe the buffalo hunt part isn’t Davy Crockett. But still, if it wasn’t for the castles, lack of guns, and just a hint of something supernatural/magical this could easily be set in the old west.
A large chunk of the story was pretty slow. The bulk of it involves traveing from one point to the next. There isn’t enough excitement to really break up the monotony, and the final battle’s conclusion was abrupt and somewhat anti-climatic.
There is also a bit of a biblical allegory thread woven throughout the tale, which was pretty well done.

Princess Roseanna and Daemyn Rand were both strong and likeable characters. Roseanna was a sweet and big-hearted girl, but rather dull.
Prince Alexander was my biggest sticking point with this novel. I’m sorry, but I didn’t like him. Even after his personality took a serious improvement toward the end, I never connected with him. I know he was not really supposed to be the ‘hero’ of this story, but after spending time with such great Main Characters as Leith Torren and Martyn from Blades of Acktar, I had high expectations for Mingerink’s newest male lead. But even Daemyn, as interesting as he was, couldn’t quite reach that high.

Frankly, I felt that Daemyn got a bit shortchanged. As important as he was to the plot, I would have really liked to have seen a chunk of this book from his POV, just so we could have gotten a chance to really know him and see why he did some of the things he did. He really deserved more than he got in this book.

In the end, even though this one can’t quite stand up to the status Blades of Acktar does in my mind, it’s still an interesting twist on Sleeping Beauty and worth a read.

My Rating: Four Flames

About the Author:

Tricia Mingerink is a twenty-something, book-loving, horse-riding country girl. She lives in Michigan with her family and their pack of pets. When she isn’t writing, she can be found pursuing backwoods adventures across the country.

You can connect with her on Facebook, Pinterest, Goodreads, Twitter, Instagram, and her Author Website.

 

Disassociate Spotlight: 

Freedom begins with finding the truth.

Amidst the turmoil caused by Smyth’s arrest, Celeste is stuck in limbo, stripped of her citizenship, with no choice but to flee to a peaceful Kyraenean hideaway with the tumultuous Amaya Mason.
When bounty hunters threaten the local orphanage, Celeste and Amaya must work together and fight. Even if it means risking what they cherish the most.
His plans in tatters, his career in jeopardy, Mick Haynes is forced to leave Kyraenea with the enigmatic Torrance Kyle, the agent he still can’t trust.
Torrance is good at lying, and even better at hiding his pain, but is he strong enough to deal with the consequences of betraying his own father?
Can Celeste accept the truth, accept her place in the Haynes family or will lies chain her to the past and destroy her chance at a new life?

Dissociate is available for sale on Amazon here. The first two books in the series Disowned and Dissemble are also available on Amazon.

About the Author:

Sarah Addison-Fox is a New Zealand-born home-schooling mother of two who loves action-packed fantasy with strong heroines. She has an astonishing amount of nail polish, has all her creative writing credentials shoved in a drawer somewhere, and has a husband who, after 27 years, can still make her blush. When she’s not working on her Christian YA fantasy series’, she can be found fangirling on Goodreads or sending GIFs on Twitter.

Website: http://www.sarahaddisonfox.com

 

 

To celebrate the release of Dissociate and Dagger’s Sleep, Sarah Addison-Fox and Tricia Mingerink are hosting a day-long Facebook Festival. There will be plenty of games and giveaways, not to mention Serena Chase, author of the Eyes of E’veria series, will be the guest of honor. It’s a party you won’t want to miss! You’ll be able to stop by any time during the day to join the fun, no matter what time zone you live in!

Link to the Facebook Festival: https://www.facebook.com/events/244246872802075/

 

GIVEAWAYS!

 

Sarah Addison-Fox and Tricia Mingerink are each hosting a giveaway for their books for the blog tour.
Sarah Addison-Fox is giving away a paperback set of the first three books in the Allegiance Series. The giveaway is open internationally where such giveaways are permitted and where Createspace ships. The books may or may not be signed depending on where the winner lives.

Enter here: a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

Tricia Mingerink is giving away a paperback of Dagger’s Sleep. The giveaway is open internationally where such giveaways are permitted and where Createspace or the Book Depository ships. The book may or may not be signed depending on where the winner lives.

Enter here: a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour Schedule: 

If you want to visit the rest of the stops on the tour, head to this link here for the full listing.

The Siren and the Scholar: a book review

 Description: 

Can true love survive when memories are stolen away?

When Kamoana the siren is transformed into human shape, she knows that her mother, the powerful sahira Queen Pukai, laid the spell on her, but she can’t remember why. It has to be some kind of test, most likely related to romance and undoubtedly involving a three-day deadline, but Kamoana can’t remember being in love with anyone, let alone a human. How dared her mother tamper with her memories!

To make things worse, at Faraway Castle, the playground of royal, noble, and wealthy singles from around the world, the possibilities are almost limitless. How can Kamoana even figure out who the guy is, let alone make him fall in love with her, before her three days are up? Even more to the point, does she really want to marry anyone? Her goals involve education and a career, not marriage.

But when Kamoana’s memories begin to return and her love revives, the game becomes serious. Can she convince a man with no memory of her to fall in love again?

My Review:

This book was every bit as much fun as the first in the series. It’s a fresh, new, and more modern twist on the Little Mermaid tale that runs on a near parallel timeline with book one. Don’t worry though, there is surprisingly little overlap of the plotlines. Siren and Scholar gives barely more than a cursory nod to the version of the story we know, preferring instead to blaze its own path with great results.

Kamoana’s about as different from the original little mermaid as night is from day. She’s smart, capable, and not shallow or silly enough to fall for a pretty face – or a man she hardly knows. This girl has a solid head on her shoulders. It is such a relief not to have to listen to a patheticly immature lead or ridiculous plot lines with a heaping dose of insta-love.

Tor comes off as rather distant at first, but he soon shows himself to be a rather awkwardly adorable geek. The two have a great romance together that you likely won’t be able to fully appreciate unless you have read the prequel novella – The Little Siren (You can get it Here on the author’s website).

The supporting cast was great fun and well rounded, particularly Nelumbo the lake monster. I about smacked myself, big mystery reader that I am, for not having figured one particular character’s angle a whole lot sooner. Can’t wait to see what’s coming next in this series!

*** I received this book free from the author. I was not in any way required to leave a positive review.***

My Rating: Five Flames

Heat Advisory: 

Romance: Clean
Language: Clean
Blood/violence: Mild violence, courtesy of a couple of fights and a mad scientist. There is mention of blood and injuries, but little detail given. Fairly clean.
Other: Extensive use of Magic.

Amazon Kindle Link

Author Website
Author Facebook Page

Happy Reading y’all!

 

Seventh Born Blog Tour and Review!

Having seven sons is a honor above no other. Which is why Zezilia is a disappointment. The only girl of seven children, she brought shame to her family. Who knew something like this could be turned into a book, but Rachel Rossano has done just that with her book, Seventh Born. Read on to learn more about the book and enter the giveaway.

About the Book

In a world where seventh born sons are valued for their strength and power, she is born a daughter.

Zezilia Ilar is the disappointment. Born after six brothers, she was supposed to be the son to restore her family’s prestige. She intends to remedy her shortcomings by being a dutiful daughter, marrying well and producing children, preferably a set of seven sons. But when someone offers her an alternative, she begins to dream of more.

In a society that worships a goddess, he follows the Almighty.

Hadrian Aleron, as a seventh son of a seventh son, stands to take up the second highest position in government, Sept Son. His main qualification for office is his birth. Despite preparing for this role from childhood, he does not desire what is to come. As a follower of the Almighty, he knows he will be the target of many, and his faith might eventually lead to death.

Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079Z2PPJL
iTunes – https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/seventh-born/id1351646000
Kobo – https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/seventh-born-2
Barnes & Noble – https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/seventh-born-rachel-rossano/1128018000

About the Author

Rachel Rossano lives with her husband and three children in the northeastern part of the United States. Homeschooled through high school, she began writing her early teens. She didn’t become serious about pursuing a career as an author until after she had graduated from college and happily married. Then the children came.

Now she spends her days being a wife, mother, teacher, and household manager. Her evenings and free moments are devoted to her other loves, writing and book cover design. Drawing on a lifelong fascination with reading and history, she spends hours creating historical feeling fantasy worlds and populating them with characters who live and breathe on the page.

Follow Rachel on:
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/RachelRossanoRambles
Twitter – https://twitter.com/RachelRossano
Google+ – https://plus.google.com/+RachelRossano
Pinterest – http://www.pinterest.com/rachelrossano/
Goodreads – http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1430209.Rachel_Rossano
Blog – http://www.rachelrossano.com/
Amazon Author Page – http://www.amazon.com/Rachel-Rossano/e/B004MV17GE/
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/anavrea
Newsletter Sign Up – http://eepurl.com/4sbsv

Giveaway

Rachel is giving away an eBook of her book. You can enter here. Your odds of winning increase with every person you refer so spread the word! Good luck, and I hope you win!

Review

What would it be like to grow up knowing you are your family’s biggest disappointment? Zezilia did just that, but she hasn’t let it make her bitter. A good girl with a big heart, she just wants to do her best to make her family proud somehow. But her life takes a sudden turn when it becomes apparent that she has telepathic powers that women aren’t supposed to have.

Hadrian, every bit as dutiful as Zezilia, has stepped into one of the most powerful positions in the government – and everything is going wrong. Prejudice against him is high, as he refuses to follow the goddess that most of the people serve. He is a regular target for assassination, and he is faced with terrible decisions that will with either save – or destroy – the country.

Seventh born is a sweet but slightly slow beginning to what looks to become a very interesting series. The details of the characters’ telepathic abilities are very well thought out, but on occasion can turn slightly confusing.

The world building was solid and descriptions of the country were vivid and lovely. I did have a bit of difficulty figuring out some of the fantasy words/titles/season and such. A glossary would definitely not go unappreciated.

The main characters were very enjoyable – especially Hadrian. His parts in story were definitely my favorites. Zezilia, however, seemed almost too perfect at times, both with her personality and with her power training.  Is there nothing she can’t do? I hope that in the sequels we get to see more depth – and maybe some more powerful weaknesses than the minor character flaws she shows.

The romance is only in the very beginning stages in this novel. It’s really more of just a close friendship right now. It is building up to be one of the usual forbidden romances, but at least there has been no hint of the dreaded insta-love problem, nor any unwanted love triangles. Just a gentle, slow burn type romance, which is really much more realistic.

I suppose this review seems a bit on the critical side, but I really did enjoy this book. I do believe this is one of the better books she has written and I hope that Rossano puts out the sequels very soon because I am eager to see how everything plays out.

Heat Advisory: 

Romance: clean
Language: clean
Drinking / drugs: clean
Violence: minimal. no blood. several assassination attempts and threats.
Other: The enemy does utilize the power of mind control. This doesn’t bother me, but some people might be more sensitive about this.

My Rating: Four Flames

Tour Schedule

 

April 9
Bookish Orchestrations – Introductory post
Just A Glimpse – Guest Post
Faith, Loyalty, Adventure Blog – Book Review
April 10
Rachel John Writes – Book Review
Annie Louise Twitchell – Book Review
Letters from Annie Douglass Lima – Character Spotlight

April 11
God’s Peculiar Treasure Rae – Character Spotlight
Romantic Typewriter Gardens – Guest Post
The World of the Blue Bells Chronicles – Book Review

April 12
Rebekah Lyn Books – Book Spotlight
Frances Hoelsema – Book Spotlight
Hunting for Truth – Book Review and Guest Post
April 13
Reading On The Edge – Book Spotlight
Ember’s Reviews – Book Review
With a Joyful Noise – Character Spotlight
Views from the Window Friend – Book Review

April 14
Bookish Orchestrations – Giveaway winner