Starfire Angels (Dark Angel Chronicles #1) by Melanie Nilles Review

4/5 Stars 172 pages
Published December 19th 2013 Prairie Star Publishing

You know how I get, I have a vision of a kind of book in my mind, and I just don’t feel right until I read it. Luckily, it was pretty easy for me to find an angel book in my library, and this one was so interesting I was easily able to dive right into it. A different take on the usual kind of archangel books I’ve read, this one contained a new species of aliens I’ve never read before, ones that look exactly like humans and are able to hide their huge angel wings to blend in. I really enjoyed reading it.

The main character is a girl named Raea, who was orphaned at five years old, but luckily taken in by her aunt and uncle, and two younger cousins. She’s always felt kind of off, but didn’t know why until the topics in this book came up. Turns out she’s actually part of an alien species, and the quiet creepy guy behind her is the only one that can help her. She’s a little immature about the entire situation, wanting to date the hot foreign guy, but what could you ask from a teenager who found out she has mystical powers and insanely huge angel wings? She eventually finds her footing just in time to save her secret.

There is a part that I didn’t really enjoy reading, and that is that there’s a memory that she’s trying to dig out of her brain just so she can know it. While I understand it, I don’t really know why it was added to the story, seeing as it wasn’t important, and I feel like it was just put in there to make you uncomfortable and hate the bad guy in the story more. I didn’t really trust or like him before that, and I feel like the trauma being brought up and just kind of thrown in there wasn’t necessary. Just warning you, if you get upset at the topic of sexual assault than just be warned that they do discuss it in this book. It’s pretty far in, though and it’s really at a time that you wouldn’t expect it.

The story was exciting and the characters were a little cringey at times, but I did enjoy reading it, and I’m interested in the next book after this. I’m hoping that we get to know more about Raea’s family’s home through the portal, and that we get to know more about the species in general. What their language is all about, and what their abilities are all about. Why they are the keepers of alien life forms in crystals and all that. I definitely recommend checking it out if you’re looking for an interesting book about angels to read, and you don’t mind young adult fiction.

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If you’d like to grab a copy, you can do so here, through my Amazon Associates link.

Thanks for reading! Hope you’re doing well and staying safe.

Currently Reading

Hey everyone! Hope you’re doing well. I’m up early today so I thought I would hop on and talk about some of the books I’m reading before I post a cover reveal. So here we go!

First up is Refraction by Christopher Hinz!

A loner cursed with a psychic power learns he was part of an illicit experiment as a baby and embarks on a perilous hunt to find those responsible.

If Aiden Manchester had to have a superpower, why couldn’t it be something useful? Like predicting the future? Or Jedi mind tricks? Instead, Aiden is afflicted with ‘manifestations’, mysterious balls of goo which materialise mid-air while he sleeps.

But then, Aiden learns he was a ‘Quiver Kid’, one of seven orphaned children drafted for an illicit experiment at Tau Nine-One. Setting out to find the perpetrators and his fellow victims, Aiden’s quest quickly turns lethal when he’s kidnapped by a maniacal Quiver Kid with a dark agenda.

As he uncovers the dangerous truth about his past, Aiden’s very essence is called into question. Will a hellish confrontation at Tau Nine-One reveal the ultimate purpose of the Quiver Kids?

Second is Bandits and Ball Gowns (Fairy Tales of the Magicorum #5) by Christina Bauer!

One Prince Finds True Love … And Risks It All

Elle Cynder has fallen hard for Alec, the ‘prince’ of Le Charme Jewelers. Time for some happily in their ever after, right? Not so much.

While the new couple shares joyful moments–and sizzling kisses–serious trouble is brewing. Elle’s evil stepmother, Marchesa, schemes with none other than Alec’s twisted father, Legend. Their plan? Destroy Elle and Alec, along with everything the young lovers hold dear, including Bry, Knox, and Wilhelm.

Another Royal Freezes His Heart … But For How Long?

As a prince of the dark fae, Jacoby focuses on one goal: avoid assassination. Marrying Elle would certainly aid in that cause, considering how she’s both a Cinderella life template and a powerful fae warden. Even better, Jacoby doesn’t truly love Elle. In court life, deep romantic attachments only mean certain death. Then Jacoby notices Elle’s youngest stepsister, Agatha.

For the first time in his life, Jacoby’s cold heart warms with true affection. The elven prince struggles to ignore his feelings, but it might be a losing battle. And what would the prince’s newfound emotions mean for Elle and Alec? Could Jacoby really stand by and watch another’s true love be destroyed?

And lastly is Ticker by Lisa Mantchev!

A girl with a clockwork heart must make every second count.

When Penny Farthing nearly dies, brilliant surgeon Calvin Warwick manages to implant a brass “Ticker” in her chest, transforming her into the first of the Augmented. But soon it’s discovered that Warwick killed dozens of people as he strove to perfect another improved Ticker for Penny, and he’s put on trial for mass murder.

On the last day of Warwick’s trial, the Farthings’ factory is bombed, Penny’s parents disappear, and Penny and her brother, Nic, receive a ransom note demanding all of their Augmentation research if they want to see their parents again. Is someone trying to destroy the Farthings…or is the motive more sinister?

Desperate to reunite their family and rescue their research, Penny and her brother recruit fiery baker Violet Nesselrode, gentleman-about-town Sebastian Stirling, and Marcus Kingsley, a young army general who has his own reasons for wanting to lift the veil between this world and the next. Wagers are placed, friends are lost, romance stages an ambush, and time is running out for the girl with the clockwork heart.

So that’s what you’ll see eventually on my blog! I missed two of the publishing dates for these books, the first two, so they’ll be going to the end of my review stockpile. But you’ll see them around! I’m burning through that stockpile so I really need to catch up.

Anyways, thanks for reading! Do you like posts like these? Let me know!

Puppet by Pauline C. Harris Review

Have you thought about Pinocchio lately? Neither have I. But this retelling of the story sheds new light on it, following an orphaned sixteen year old girl who finds herself with superhuman powers, as she’s whisked into a world she would have never been able to imagine, and she’s forced to do things she would never have been able to do in her daily life.

4/5 Stars 246 pages
Published October 2014 by Patchwork Press

Penelope prefers to be called Pen, because she thinks her full name sounds like an old lady name. She’s had a sad life in an orphanage, wishing for her own family and even pretending that the man running it is her father. She steals to feel something, and then she’s caught, and forced to stay and work there five years after turning eighteen. That is, until Jed and James come into the picture.

Jed is a mad scientist in all senses. His son James, however, is very normal, and seems to be against his fathers experiments. Pen just gets dragged into it all because she just wants a home for herself, and an out of the only world that she knows. The price is that she’ll lose her human strength in exchange for superhuman almost robotic like strength, and eventually, the ability to lie.

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I never expected this book to be what it was actually about, and when I read the description I was really intrigued. I haven’t read anything like this before, and I was pleasantly surprised. Pen is a really relatable person despite her superhuman strength and speed. And the adventure she’s forced into is really exciting, I didn’t want to stop reading it once I started, and finished it in about a day.

Though this isn’t my absolute favourite book, I didn’t have any problems with it, and all the questions I had were answered by the end of the book. Though I do think that there could have been more explanation for some things, I don’t think it was necessary, and I did really enjoy reading it. If you’re looking for something really different to bring your outside your normal reading routine, then I recommend checking out this book for sure.

If you’d like a copy to check out for yourself, you can grab a copy here, through my Amazon Associates link!

And if you’d like to follow the author, you can do so here!

Thanks for reading! Hope you’re having a great day.

Strays (Werewolf Academy #1) by Cheree Alsop Review

4/5 Stars 275 pages
Published August 13th 2014

I’ve really been in a werewolf mood lately, and this book was a nice addition to this. Though, it wasn’t my new absolute favourite book, it was an easy read and an action packed one at that. A smooth ride from start to finish, It was what I wanted and nothing more.

Following a set of stray werewolf twins that live in a world where humans have tried to commit genocide against them, we learn about them pretty quickly. I did feel like a lot happened before the book that would have been an interesting prequel maybe, instead of just having everything brought up in conversation, but I think that’s just me being picky. Do they really talk about the biggest trauma of their lives that often?

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After losing their parents to a brutal murder in front of them, Alex and Cassie have lived at a mostly werewolf boarding school since they were about seven years old, and have grown very close with the Dean, even considering him their adopted father. Alex hasn’t stopped thinking about the man that killed their parents and older brother though, and he’s determined to stop him from doing anything else to other werewolf families like his.

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I think one of the big things I didn’t love about this book, was that I feel like the young children didn’t act their age, and neither did the older children. They all kind of acted like adults, but were called kids and young teens. Not a big problem, just something that I notice a lot when reading this kind of young adult fiction.

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The story itself was action packed and full of the kids making their own families, and I loved that although the school in the beginning was completely segregated between lifers and termers, that is, orphans and werewolves with families, Alex was able to bring them all together with his ideas about training, and just how he acted in general. Though he isn’t an alpha, he acted like one, and everyone followed him. I can see later in the series, him becoming an alpha, even if that doesn’t actually happen.

Overall, I did like this book, but like I said, it wasn’t my new favourite, and that’s just something that happens a lot. It was a good time, but they can’t all be my favourite, right? If you’re looking for a werewolf boarding school kind of young adult book, than this is the one for you. Definitely check it out if you get the chance! I’m looking forward to seeing what happens in the next book.

If you’d like a copy you can grab one here!

And if you’re interested in keeping up with the author, you can follow them on Twitter here!

Thanks for reading! Hope you’re doing well and staying safe.

The Confectioner’s Guild (The Confectioner Chronicles #1) by Claire Luana Review

5/5 Stars 327 pages
Published October 23rd 2018 by Live Edge Publishing

I just want to start this review off by saying that although I don’t usually really like books about magic, this one was a gamechanger for me. How can a book be both adorable and heart wrenching? I’m not sure how the author did it, but they did, and I’m very thankful. From the moment I picked this book up, I was obsessed, and though I haven’t finished a book in about two months, I knew this was something I was going to be obsessed with.

 

Wren is a young girl who’s lived a hard life. As a young orphan, she was scooped off the streets and put into a fast paced job in a bakery and dessert shop for years, until one day a man comes in and takes her away very suddenly. It turns out that her cupcakes are more than just delicious and beautiful, they’re magical.

 

And so this starts the longest couple weeks of her life. She’s whisked away to the Confectioner’s Guild, and immediately roped up into a murder investigation, and worst of all, she didn’t do it. Someone’s framed her, and her and new newly appointed family are determined to prove her innocence before she’s executed.

 

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The thing I most enjoyed about this book, was that although I didn’t really know what any of the characters looked like exactly, it was very easy to envision them and the world they lived in, because that wasn’t the important part of the book. It was so exciting and interesting that I couldn’t get enough of it, and I immediately put the next book on my wish list. Though i almost never read the extras in the back, the sneak peak of the next book, I had to read it in this one! I’m obsessed. I want to know more now!

 

That being said, I think this is one of my favourite books that I’ve read all year and I can’t wait for the next one. If you think this is something you’ll like, I recommend you definitely check it out, and even if you’re not a big fan of magical books like I am, I think this book is really great for almost anyone!

 

You can grab a copy here.

 

Here’s a link to the author’s Twitter, if you’d like to catch up with them!

 

Thanks for reading, and if you have anything to say about this book, I’d love to chat about it in the comments! Stay safe, and have a great day!

The Isle of Gold by Seven Jane is on sale for 99¢ July 5-11th

Title: Isle of Gold
Series: Daughters Jones Trilogy, Bk 1
Author: Seven Jane
Genre: YA Historical Fantasy
Release Date: 10.8.2018
Publisher: Black Spot Books

The year is 1716—the Golden Age of the Pirates. An orphan who sleeps in the dusty kitchens of a quayside brothel, Merrin Smith is desperate to unravel the secrets of her past and find the truth about the events that brought her to Isla Perla as a child. Disguised as a sailor, she joins the crew of the pirate ship Riptide, helmed by the notorious Captain Erik Winters. Tenacious and rumored to be a madman, Winters is known as much for his ruthlessness as for his connection to the enigmatic and beautiful proprietress of The Goodnight Mermaid, Evangeline Dahl, who vanished from the island two summers before. This book is an epic, emotional adventure of two women—one desperate to save herself, and the other determined to be rescued—and the secret which binds them together.

Buy Links

Amazon ~ B&N ~ iBooks ~ Koko ~ Google Play

Print Copies available at IndieBound & Black Spot Books

Reviews

“Part fairytale, part fantasy, part romance, Jane’s debut is full of colorful characters [and] a plot that will thrill the heart of any lover of magic, legends, and epic adventure.” —Booklist

“Jane weaves a tale of myth and magic . . . This tempting novel will entrance.” —Publishers Weekly

“A delightful, well researched and evocative historical fantasy that succeeds in bringing a fascinating era to life.” —Midwest Book Review

Seven Jane

Seven Jane is a bestselling author of dark fantasy and speculative fiction. She is a member of Women’s Fiction Writing Association. She is a contributor to The Nerd Daily and is represented by Gandolfo, Helin & Fountain. Follow 7J on Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Instagram ~Website