Book review - Sacrifice of an Angel by Tasha and Sophie Duncan

The horrific murder of a well loved young woman shakes up a small English town. Police detectives, twins Remy and Theo Haward, must use all their skill and cunning to track the dangerous killer before he strikes again. What takes this beyond the typical murder mystery is the infusion of magic, the paranormal, and the beyond (or as it's called in Sacrifice of an Angel, There).

It's always wonderful to find gems such as this in the indie book arena. Tasha and Sophie tell a great story. The murders are suitably grisly, the characters are charming, and the working magical aspects are very interesting. The last point is especially of interest to me, as I like to see how the unusual is integrated into the "real" world. They show the nuts and bolts of it without it being boring. I love that there's a "Sorcerous Crimes Task Force (SeCT)".

If I have any complaints, which I'm nitpicking at this point, because this book was enjoyable and a pleasure to read, the characters sometimes seemed a bit cookie cutter. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I'm the type of reader who likes to delve deeply into character - that's a personal preference.

The mystery aspect leaves plenty of clues as to who might have done it, while leaving little trails that give you cause to doubt. Close to the end, though, I was pretty certain who, and I was rewarded by being correct. The case is wrapped up neatly; however, throughout the book there is a larger plot at work. At the end, it blows up and leaves a huge lead-in for the next in the series. I will be purchasing the sequel for sure.

Overall, a well written page turner, (I was often up past 2am reading!), for those who are looking for a murder mystery with a twist.

Book review: Rising by J. R. Nova

Rising is a spectacular first novel in the Czar Chronicles series by J. R. Nova about a young woman on a mission of revenge. The revenge theme runs strong throughout; it's all Clara can think about -- it's her life's purpose. However, things don't go quite the way she plans when she runs into Zen, a young man with problems of his own.

There are several plot threads woven together to create the overall story and though the main line is about Clara, I have to say, I'm most intrigued with Franz Deckard. I admit to being a sucker for the anti-hero, but I feel like this character has a huge role to play and it's going to be fantastic. I can hardly keep from rubbing my hands together in anticipation. He's a nicely fleshed out character in his own right; I can't wait to see deeper inside such a ruthless, yet perfectly flawed man. All the characters are like this. Wonderfully imperfect; very human.

Another thing that stood out is the canon. Very original take on traditional beings such as witches, werewolves, vampires, and other various paranormal creatures. Absolutely a delight to read. J. R. took time and care in creating this world and its workings; it shows.

The cherry on top of this lovely novel is the nearly flawless editing. What a treasure.

If I had any complaints about Rising at all, it would be the end. It's a part of a series and it doesn't dance around that fact when it drops you like a hot brick. It serves its purpose by pretty much guarenteeing that I'm tapping my foot impatiently wanting the next book; as if I needed a reason. Rising is stellar reading in its genre. If I could rate it more than five coffees, I would in a minute.

Reviews - two short vampire stories

From the unique mind of Gabriel Fitzpatrick, comes two short vampire tales that will leave you a bit unsettled. Without further ado...

An Anecdote at Dinner by Gabriel Fitzpatrick is a welcome change from the vampire genre where the shine of glitter seems to have blinded those who seek out the more traditional vampire canon. It's about time.

I've been a long time fan of the vampire; cutting my teeth (if you will) on movies like Gary Oldman's Dracula and reading about the notorious vampire Lestat, for example. So while I love the idea of what Gabriel tried to do here, I couldn't fall in love with the nameless vampire narrator. The cold detachment was perfectly executed (pardon me again for the puns) but the POV character lacked the allure of the beautiful, but deadly seductive tragic monster I enjoy reading about. The humanity is completely gone from him and so he loses his power to enchant.

Gabriel is definitely on the right track here with An Anecdote, but when I got to the end, I felt nothing except a bit startled. Perhaps that emptiness was the point of this avant garde story. I suspect fans of true horror would have a much better appreciation for it.

I dug the treatment of the vampire overall, but I have to take away some points for the cold, impersonal narrative that left me feeling too detached. Three and a half coffees.

---  

The Centurion's Commencement, also by Gabriel, is a leap across time from the previous short. I have to admit that I'm a little perplexed by this story. I enjoyed it quite a bit, but I just don't know what to think about it as a take away. It's almost dread slice of life, yet there's this stark otherworldness about it that skims along just below the surface--highlighted by the introduction of the vampire character. This transforms a perfectly ordinary tale into a somewhat odd excursion.

Having read three of Gabriel's stories now, I've come to expect the unexpected with his twisty, pop in your face endings. Still, knowing ahead of time something odd is going to happen doesn't really prepare you for the oddness, because he has a talent for taking 180 turns at the last moment. Even though the prose remains somewhat distant, I did feel the centurion's apathy; like a struck match throw sparks.

Gabriel's work as a body, in my opinion, is not for mass consumption, but more for tasty little nibbles, a piece at a time over time.

This particular treat of a story gets five out of five coffees for being fabulously what it is. Even if I can't quite figure that out; I did enjoy reading it.

Where to find his work:
Smashwords
Amazon

Short story review - Enki

As a palate cleanser between novels, I pounced on the opportunity to read the experimental 14 page short, Enki, by Literary+ member, Gabriel Fitzpatrick.

I really appreciate this kind of story. It takes a bit of daring to buck traditional story telling "rules" and a special talent to pull it off well. Gabriel does this with obviously passionate flare that compels the reader to continue. You get an encapsulated peep into the POV character's history in a taut conversational style. It begs the questions:  Who is he speaking to? How is this going to resolve? And wham! A neat twist that is quite satisfactory if a bit sudden and odd. This is far from mainstream, but that's what I love about it. Bravo, Mr. Fitzpatrick for bravely penning this unique work.

5 coffees out of 5 - cream and sugar added. ;)

Book review - The Seeds

I finished reading The Seeds by Literary+ member J.D. Savage, (see his guest post here). I love anything that will get me through 30 to 40 minutes on my exercise machine so quickly and painlessly! ;)
---

The Seeds, a YA fantasy by Jeff Davis, is a quick-paced, fun look into the world of fairies. Jeff does an excellent job of creating a tiny world and making it seem larger than life.

The reader is instantly taken down into what I imagine is lightning bug size in the dramatic opening scene of a lone surviving soldier in a field of destruction. Agnus flies to the palace as quickly as possible and is met by two of the story's key figures--the princess generals--twins Varia, the cool headed diplomat, and Dartura, impulsive and hot-tempered. And we're instantly taken to the intrigues of palace life. As we get to know the main players through interaction and dialog, a lurking darkness threatens the peace of the kingdom.

Though the title of the book is The Seeds, the story is more about the characters, both "good" and "evil", and their struggle for power, of which the seeds are central in the fight. Agnus was by far my favorite character. I hope he gets more page time in the future. Some of the shouting matches between siblings were cringe-worthy as they would be in real life. The battle scenes were ferocious. Giant toothy moths! The enemy is interesting as is the implementation of magic and technology. The only thing that took me out of the story periodically was some wonky formatting here and there; I had to stop and figure out who was speaking. Not a huge deal, really, and easily corrected.

This looks to be the first in a series of stories, so even though the end isn't as satisfying as I'd like; it's to be expected, leaving things wide open for a continuation that I'm looking forward to reading. I have to know what happens next.

5 out of 5 coffees

Book Review-Ginnie Dare: Crimson Sands

Yesterday, I finished Literary+ member Scott Roche's book, Ginnie Dare: Crimson Sands.
Here's my review:

Ginnie Dare: the Crimson Sands by Scott Roche is a delightful YA sci-fi mystery for the whole family. The story opens with Ginnie, the daughter of a merchant, anticipating the Dare Company's next delivery. This gives an immediate look into the titular character and hooked me into the story.

Things start happening right away when Ginnie, who serves as the communications officer for her dad's ship, notices something's not quite right. As they approach their destination, they're met with silence. The mystery begins.

On the desert plant's surface, they find the colonists missing with everything set as if they were suddenly taken. A very eery atmosphere as the away team looks for clues as to where they might've gone. The story progresses at a quick pace with aliens, a mystery object, and confrontation with the military. Where have the colonists gone? What does the military want so badly? What are the alien's motives? Is the object the key to the mystery or just a pretty piece of art?

Scott does an excellent job of creating a colorful world with interesting characters. I read this while on my exercise machine, which made that chore go by very quickly. In fact, I'd often go a few more minutes to finish a chapter. While there are a few tiny things that may bother some readers, I understood the target audience for this story and easily overlooked them.

Conclusion: this is a fun, quick read that kids are sure to like as well as adults who enjoy a trip back to their youth. I hope there will be more adventures with this interesting young lady.

I give this 5 coffees out of 5.