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Blood King (Heart Stones #1)
Blood King (Heart Stones #1)
JP Sayle | 2022 | LGBTQ+, Paranormal, Romance
10
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Left with so many questions but so bloody good!!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarain, I was gifted my copy of this book.

I'm not gonna write a bit about this book. I'm not gonna rehash any sort of plot line, but what I am gonna say is this:

ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHH!

Sayle has a particular way of messing with my head, she leaves me with question after question. Mostly, questions I cannot voice, but my head knows it has questions and Sayle drives me freaking nuts about it!

So, once I got over my spit-your-dummy-out, throw-your-toys-out-the-pram and I'll-scream-and-scream-and-scream-until-I'm-sick kind of tantrum, here's what I thought about this book.

So good, this first book in a new series, a very different book than of late for Sayle and I read this and flung my kindle at the wall and my partner looked at me like I grew a third head!

Why, you ask? Because questions, people, I have a lot, A LOT of freaking questions about this book and it's taken me 3 days to manage to write something about this book that actually makes sense!

I am, however, fairly certain that I will not be the only one why has questions, hell, I'm not even sure if Sayle has all the questions, let alone the answers to everything that was NOT said here.

Because while you get everything you need about Aion and Shiesha NOW, there is much, so (I really wanna use the Fword here but some sites don't like that, but I need to stress the point!) freaking MUCH, that is not said. About who Aion and Shiesha are running from, about what happened to Aion's family, about who Shiesha really is, about WHAT he is! And those bloody monks? Cryptic or what! But those monks, I understood. They are bound by a higher power and sworn to secrecy. Aion and Shiesha have all the answers, they just need to listen to their hearts to find them.

And then we get to the ending! A cliff hanger, people, of massive proportions! I knew this was coming, the blurb says so, but still. I had 10 minutes left in the book and then it was finished and sheesh, I was not happy! There is a teeny tiny bit that happens next, a bit of an epilogue slash sneak peak but I would rather have not had that, to be honest! I think it would have had a bigger reaction from people to not have that sneak peak, and I am left a little . . .annoyed . . .maybe. . . by it! I don't know WHY, but book feelings, people, I'm sharing my book feelings!

Anyway!

Because I have questions;
because I read it in one sitting;
because I threw my kindle at the wall (and it's been a long ass time since I did that!)
because of that freaking cliff hanger;
because, even, of that sneak peek;
because it's my review and I can. . .

5 freaking amazing stars!

But write quicker, Ms Sayle.
Write.
Quicker.

*same worded review will appear elsewhere
  
AS
As Shadows Scream
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This review was published first on <a href="http://theghastlygrimoire.com/"; target="_new"> The Ghastly Grimoire</a>.

As Shadows Scream by Kylen Coetzee is the first title I received as a request through The Ghastly Grimoire. Originally published on Wattpad, I’ve decided to approach this review a little differently than I typically do. First, because I do not have access to a final published copy, there is no way for me to tell whether or not the many grammatical errors I encountered were fixed. For those that haven’t used Wattpad, much of the work posted there does not go through the usual editing process from what I’ve read. That’s not necessarily a bad thing; however, it can negatively impact the story. That said, I’ve refrained from making my usual judgments on editing this time around and instead focused on the contents of this book.

Coetzee’s work, though flawed in some ways, brings to the table an interesting concept – one I feel could easily be adapted into a film. Throughout his book, Coetzee explores several mental illnesses, most of which deal with personality disorders. Whether or not this is intentional outside of the main baddie is hard to tell, but it gives an unexpected depth to the characters readers meet.

The pacing is quick and urgent, fitting given the content of As Shadows Scream. As usual, I feel that this book could have benefit from a bit more length, which would have allowed Coetzee to truly expand upon this world he’s created that is riddled with references of good and evil.

In regards to the death scenes – because all horror typically has at least one (though there are exceptions to this rule) – Coetzee does a beautiful job at rendering the scenes disgustingly gory. In fact, several times Coetzee shows moments of eloquence in the writing of his book, which speaks volumes to his ability to write. I think a little refinement would go a long way.

As stated at the beginning of this review, I chose to mostly overlook the glaring editing errors, thus giving the author the benefit of the doubt. If you’re interested in reading this tale, you can find it on Wattpad or purchase the paperback copy via Amazon.
  
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Natasha Khan recommended Bleach by Nirvana in Music (curated)

 
Bleach by Nirvana
Bleach by Nirvana
1989 | Rock
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"I have a Polaroid of Kurt Cobain on my kitchen corkboard. It's him holding a kitten, two of my favourite things in the world: Kurt and kittens, the two 'k's! I was deeply in love [laughs] with him, on a hormonal level, for a long time. But I think in terms of what he taught me as a budding creative person and an angsty, very troubled teenager. It sounds really cheesy, but he got me through many many days of bunking school. When I think of Bleach, I've just put [points to phone] "bunking school", that's basically what I did. Just that first track 'Blew', there's that bass sound [sings], and it was just so dirty and rank and then there's feedback and his voice - [sings] "NO RECESS!' - on 'School'. What was so exciting about the fact that they had become so loved and so big was that they didn't compromise any of that aggression, anger and rawness. I just love people that become really successful by not compromising anything, and being completely true to their own spirit. At that time, I was starting to writing books of poetry and play guitar in my bedroom. I'd pretend to get the train to school, and then come back in and climb through the window and just spend all day with Bleach and Incesticide on a tape, and I'd just turn them over and [listen to] 'Dive', 'Love Buzz' and 'Floyd The Barber'. It was just the ability to play this album as loud in my bedroom as I possibly could and just scream along to it, and just feel there was a little soulmate, who had this similar thing, just guiding me through. I think that visceralness really gave voice to something that I was finding difficult to express and because I was finding my own singing voice, and very shy about it, it was like really nice to be able to not have to sound, as a girl, pretty and nice - all the female musicians like that, they're very beautiful, but to get that kind of guttural, animalistic scream was really liberating."

Source
  
I Scream, You Scream
I Scream, You Scream
Wendy Lyn Watson | 2018 | Mystery
8
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
You’ll Scream for This Debut
Tally Jones is trying to get her new ice cream shop off the ground, but business has been slow. It’s so slow, she’s agreed to cater the dessert for Wayne, her ex-husband, at the picnic his company puts on each fall. The morning after the picnic, Wayne’s new girlfriend is found dead in bed. When gossip and the police begin to look at Tally, she knows she has to find the truth. Can she clear her name?

I felt right at home with these characters within just a few chapters. Tally is wonderful, and the rest of the cast of regulars are just as much fun. The suspects were strong as well. Unfortunately, the mystery wasn’t quite as strong, especially in the first half. Still, it did pick up in the second half and provide some good surprises before we reached the logical climax. Add in enough talk about ice cream to make me drool and you’ve got a perfect book to enjoy during the summer.
  
MO
Master of Crows (Master of Crows, #1)
10
10.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is the second novel I have read from Grace Draven and it further solidified my love for her writing. Master of Crows was even better than I could have hoped for. After reading Radiance, I immediately bought Master of Crows hoping that I could somehow prolong the feelings Radiance inspired in me. Master of Crows not only prolonged them, it built upon them.

The world of Master of Crows was much more fleshed out and described than the world of Radiance. The characters were completely different in disposition, but I found myself loving them just as much.

It was so frustrating to read, knowing what the characters don’t and wanting to scream the truth at them. I became so invested in the story that I could bring myself to put the book down. Again, Draven has written perfection that is a wonderful mix of action, fantasy, and erotica/romance. I cannot wait to read more from her is this is the caliber at which she writes everything.
  
Nola Mae Harper is returning to her home town of Cays Mill, Georgia, and her family’s peach farm to help run it while her parents take a three week cruise. However, she’s hardly arrived when she finds the body of the owner of the local lumber mill in the peach orchard. Worse yet, her brother-in-law is arrest for the crime. She and her siblings quickly close ranks and try to clear his name. But can they do it?

This may be a debut, but the town and the residents came to life for me right away. Nola and her family are wonderfully strong characters I can’t wait to visit again. Plus I loved their family bond. The plot was great with a steady pace an ending that surprised me. Truly, a sweet debut.

NOTE: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2015/07/book-review-peaches-and-scream-by-susan.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.