Monday, September 28, 2015

Fright Before Christmas Anthology - Cover and Trailer Reveal and Giveaway


Title: Fright Before Christmas: 13 Tales of Holiday Horrors
Author: Anthology
Publisher: Leap Books, LLC
Genre: Middle Grade, Horror
Release Date: November 30, 2015


It's the most wonderful time of year...or is it?

Christmas Eve is a night of mystery and magic, but not always in ways we expect. Things lurk in the shadows and they're not the least bit jolly or merry. Let's just say some presents are better left unopened.

‘Tis the season to be screaming along with our thirteen tales of holiday horrors. Ghosts. Monsters. Demons. And more!

This Christmas, be careful what you wish for... 


Author List:
Richard Ankers
Jackie Horsfall
Boyd Reynolds
Lea Storry
Ally Mathews
Laura Pauling
Ty Drago
Jessica Bayliss
Judith Graves
Andrea Stanet
Patrick Hueller
Dax Varley
Medeia Sharif

Special Pre-Order Sale Price of Just $1.99





Goodreads Book Giveaway

Fright Before Christmas by Shannon Delany

Fright Before Christmas

by Shannon Delany

Giveaway ends December 05, 2015.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.
Enter Giveaway

Monday, September 21, 2015

The Case of the Washed-Up Warlock by Patrice Lyle - Cover Reveal and Giveaway

Title: The Case of the Washed-Up Warlock (Poison Ivy Charm School #2)
Author: Patrice Lyle
Publisher: Leap Books, Inc
Release Date: October 5, 2015


When thirteen-year-old Tulip Bonnaire’s super-cute crush, Dexter, is threatened with expulsion from Poison Ivy Charm School, she can’t help but take the case. Someone has put a spell on Garrett’s Levitation skills and all the evidence, including the testimony of a sea hag stone, points to Dex. Tulip can’t imagine Poison Ivy without him, so she’s intent on proving his innocence. But that means delving into an old secret to find out who turned Garrett into a washed-up warlock.



Author Bio:
 Patrice Lyle has never met a ghost story she didn’t like. She’s been fascinated with the paranormal since childhood. She attributes this fascination to having heard old family stories of ghostly wreaths, ESP, and money hidden in the lining of antique purses. She grew up on the Oregon Coast and has a Master’s Degree in Writing Popular Fiction. Now she lives with her husband and two cats on Florida’s Space Coast, where she’s working on her next novel under an umbrella on the beach. For more information, please visit her website at www.patricebooks.com.


Friday, September 18, 2015

Faefever by Karen Marie Moning - Review


Title: Faefever (Fever #3)
Author: Karen Marie Moning
Genre: Adult, Urban Fantasy
Length: 416 Pages
Publisher: Dell
Release Date: July 28, 2009
Source: Self-Purchased
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

The New York Times bestselling author of Darkfever and Bloodfever returns to Dublin’s Fae-infested shores in a bold, sensual new novel. Hurtling us into a realm of seduction and shadows, Karen Marie Moning tells the enthralling tale of a woman who explores the limits of her mysterious powers as she enters a world of ancient sorcery—and confronts an enemy more insidious than she could ever have imagined.

He calls me his Queen of the Night. I’d die for him. I’d kill for him, too. When MacKayla Lane receives a torn page from her dead sister’s journal, she is stunned by Alina’s desperate words. And now MacKayla knows that her sister’s killer is close. But evil is closer. And suddenly the sidhe-seer is on the hunt: For answers. For revenge. And for an ancient book of dark magic so evil, it corrupts anyone who touches it.

Mac’s quest for the Sinsar Dubh takes her into the mean, shape-shifting streets of Dublin, with a suspicious cop on her tail. Forced into a dangerous triangle of alliance with V’lane, an insatiable Fae prince of lethally erotic tastes, and Jericho Barrons, a man of primal desires and untold secrets, Mac is soon locked in a battle for her body, mind, and soul.

As All Hallows’ Eve approaches and the city descends into chaos, as a shocking truth about the Dark Book is uncovered, not even Mac can prevent a deadly race of immortals from shattering the walls between worlds—with devastating consequences.…


Holy cow!! It just got really real for Mac in this one. I don't think I saw a single thing coming. Mac is still trying to figure out who is good and who is only in the game for their own selfish interests, but the waters are just getting muddier. V'Lane is as weird as ever, and Barons continues to be an enigma. We learn a lot more about each of them, but it only seems to make the more confusing! I can't wait to finally figure them out.

Throw in a few crazy sidhe-seers to just make things fun - oh, and don't forget the druids - and we have ourselves quite a tale. It may seem like there is far too much going on here, but Moning has introduced the players in a way that we've really come to know them all quite well - or at least as well as we're going to right now.

The war is on hand. Unseelie are still flooding the city, and the Dark Zones are expanding. Mac feels like it's her against the world. A world that we learn a lot more about - finally!! It was so good to learn a little more about the Fae history and why the book is so important. It really hits home why everyone is after it.

An incredible addition to the series - the ending will just totally blow your mind. I'm glad the next book is already out. If I had to wait too long to read it, I'd probably go insane.


Tuesday, September 15, 2015

The Shattered Islands: Part One: The Rakam by Karpov Kinrade - Review


Title: The Shattered Islands: Part One: The Rakam
Author: Karpov Kinrade
Genre: Adult, Fantasy
Length: 45 pages
Publisher: Daring Books
Release Date: September 15, 2015
Source: Author Request
Rating: 4
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

I have seen a fallen ship once, heard the bone chill screams and swam in the blood red water. I have fought the rakam and lived. I have loved a woman and lost her to the waves. I have seen the black kiasheen.

 Now, I am on a ship I do not recognize with people I do not call friend. They ask me who I am. I tell them little…

For I am here for them. I must find their secrets.

I must speak to the woman with the blue eyes. When I am finished, perhaps I will tell them who I am, for they have heard my story, and they think they know the end.

They are wrong.
This is only the start.
And tonight, I begin.


This one has me very intrigued. While we do jump in with both feet into a world without a lot of backstory, you pick most of it up as you go along. There are several creatures involved that I couldn't really picture at first, but once we meet one, well - you'll know what they are.

We are introduced to a strange and mysterious passenger that is more than what he seems. So much more. And he is our viewpoint into this strange and very interesting lore as well. There's a bit of adventure in high seas sort of fashion.

I'll be very interested to see where this goes.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

Monday, September 14, 2015

Ward Against Darkness by Melanie Card - Review


Title: Ward Against Darkness (Chronicles of a Reluctant Necromancer #2)
Author: Melanie Card
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Length: 352 pages
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Release Date: August 27, 2013
Source: NetGalley
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

The last thing Ward de'Ath wants is more trouble. On the run from both the law and the criminal underworld, Ward and Celia flee Brawenal City only to stumble into the mansion of a powerful evil necromancer. And when Ward discovers the man possesses a dangerous grimoire, his duty leaves him no choice. He can't allow the necromancer to keep the grimoire. But the mansion is filled with monsters--human and undead--and Ward has no way of telling who's friend or foe. The only person he can trust is Celia who dominates more of his thoughts and feelings everyday. But there are still laws in the way of anything but friendship. She's still dead and he's still alive . . . for now.


Picking up just a short time after the very exciting ending of Ward Against Death, Ward and Celia are running for their lives. The book jumps you right into the action as their enemies catch up to them. But what they think is deliverance turns out to be even more danger than when they first began.

The mansion they discover seems like a safe sanctuary to begin with, but once Ward realizes who (and what) lives there, he is totally freaked out. But he has a moral obligation to take care of some things before they can run for their lives. This was were the story got a little fuzzy for me. There were sooo many characters that sort of had a connection to either Ward or Celia, but not really, that they all got a little confused at first. Eventually their very unique personalities pull the apart into their correct places, but the odd connections still felt a little off. Maybe they have some more importance in the next book that I don't know of yet.

Tons of excitement again. Ward is learning new things with his magic - but they are things that he's not completely sure he wants to know. They are dangerous things that almost get him killed on several occasions. Celia doesn't do much better, but at least her skills give her the ability to handle some of it.

I really enjoyed the history of necromancy and learning more about how it worked. It definitely helped to add a very good layer to the world building. Still a great series, but there were some things that just didn't seem to fit in this one.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

The Druid of Shannara by Terry Brooks - Review


Title: The Druid of Shannara (The Heritage of Shannara #2)
Author: Terry Brooks
Genre: Adult Fantasy
Length: 443 Pages
Publisher: Del Ray
Release Date: March 1, 1991
Source: Self-Purchased
Rating: 3
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

The battle against the evil Shadowen continues as Walker Boh embarks on a perilous journey to recover the black Elfstone and restore the lost Druid keep of Paranor.



We're starting to really see Terry Brooks writing grow and turn into what I have loved about some of his more recent books. In The Druid of Shannara we break away from Par and Col, the brothers we followed for the majority of the first book in the series, and instead we watch as Walker Boh embarks on a quest for the black Elfstone. We still got to see a little of the brothers, but there were absent for most of the story. Walker is a very reluctant hero and it takes losing just about everything for him to really make the first step in his quest.

His adventure is the best in the Shannara series so far. Going up against an entity that is very god-like and quite alien to what I had seen before, it was a fresh change from some of the traditional fantasy elements. I loved watching as Walker really began to embrace who he was (finally!!) and how much he was able to do and help once he had.

What did I wish I saw more of? Well, our third group that is searching for the elves. We see them for just a little bit to check in, but I kind of miss watching all the characters in one book so I can keep track of what they are all doing better.

Thursday, September 3, 2015

Ward Against Death by Melanie Card - Review


Title: Ward Against Death (Chronicles of a Reluctant Necromancer #1)
Author: Melanie Card
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Length: 306
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Release Date: August 2, 2011
Source: NetGalley
Rating: 4

Twenty-year-old Ward de’Ath expected this to be a simple job—bring a nobleman’s daughter back from the dead for fifteen minutes, let her family say good-bye, and launch his fledgling career as a necromancer. Goddess knows he can’t be a surgeon—the Quayestri already branded him a criminal for trying—so bringing people back from the dead it is.

But when Ward wakes the beautiful Celia Carlyle, he gets more than he bargained for. Insistent that she’s been murdered, Celia begs Ward to keep her alive and help her find justice. By the time she drags him out her bedroom window and into the sewers, Ward can’t bring himself to break his damned physician’s Oath and desert her.

However, nothing is as it seems—including Celia. One second, she’s treating Ward like sewage, the next she’s kissing him. And for a nobleman’s daughter, she sure has a lot of enemies. If he could just convince his heart to give up on the infuriating beauty, he might get out of this alive…



Ward Against Death was an amazing story. Ward de'Ath (yes ha ha he's heard that joke before) is a necromancer - a fairly good one from what I could gather. But his true passion is to be a surgeon - something is most definitely illegal in this time and place. Running from the law in several provinces, he finds himself in the mother of all trouble when he performs a wake for Celia Carlyle.

Now, there are parts of this world that may have needed a tad bit more explanation at the beginning. There were a handful of times I wondered what the heck they were talking about - almost like this was a spin off series of some sort. But I still loved every minute of it! 

Celia and Ward are the most unlikely partners you could find, but somehow they manage to make it work. There are some trust issues scattered about - easy to understand since one is a criminal and one was a recently dead person. They still manage to solve a mystery and save the day - sort of?

An amazing start to a very interesting world. I'm looking forward to starting Ward Against Darkness soon.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

A Reluctant Queen by Joan Wolf - Review



Title: A Reluctant Queen
Author: Joan Wolf
Genre: Adult Inspirational Historical Romance
Length: 372 page
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Release Date: June 14, 2011
Source: Self-Purchased
Rating: 5 Stars

Esther, a beautiful young Jewish woman, becomes the wife of the Persian king, Ahasuerus, but when the king is tricked into persecuting the Jews by his minister she feels she must reveal the truth about her identity and save her people.



I am really loving this series of book about the lives of women from the bible. While I'm sure much of it is dramatized to help fill in the blanks in their stories, the way Joan Wolf brings them to life is amazing. She keeps them true to their story while filling in the little details to really bring them to life.

Ester finds herself in a world completely different from her own when she is offered to King Ahasuerus as a potential bride. She must pretend not to be a Jew in the hopes that he will pick her from his harem filled with beautiful women as a wife. She is shocked to find herself chosen and is conflicted as to what she should do.

There was a very touching and sweet romance in these pages as Esther and Ahasuerus came to know one another. It made Esther's deceit that much more difficult to manage. She also doubts her place in the plan her people have put together. Why would a great king listen to her about matters of any importance? But she is more important than any of them realize, and she is destined to help the Jewish people and save them in many ways.

Ester became a very strong person as the story progressed, and even Ahasuerus was changed as he came to know her. A very moving story that I think anyone can enjoy.