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Witch's Knight (The Bloodline Chronicles, #1)
Witch's Knight (The Bloodline Chronicles, #1)
Evelyn Silver | 2022 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Paranormal, Romance
10
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Independent Reviewer for Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!


I'm just going to jump straight in. This is the first of the bloodline chronicles and I cannot wait for the next. I have been truly captivated by the story and the characters!


There is fighting, sex and discoveries, all so well put together that it has been a pleasure to read. Both of the main characters Sarai and Marcelle have heartbreaking backstories and have been through so much hardship to do with families that they find it hard to trust anybody, but they have found each other and it's like they've been made for each.


I really cannot wait to find out where these characters go and I hope they get the happiness they deserve.


A recommendation from me for sure


** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
  
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Charlotte (184 KP) rated The Mistake in Books

Mar 20, 2021  
The Mistake
The Mistake
Mandy Swiftson | 2020 | Contemporary
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Although this is a review it will also serve as a letter to Mandy and any other person who has been in this or similar position.

Also this is trigger central with physical and emotional abuse, rape, bereavement, suicide attempts and self harm. If ANY of this affects you please seek help.

Let's start at the beginning.....yes maybe it was a mistake BUT remember you were being MANIPULATED. At the point you made that first 'mistake' he had already done the ground work, he'd slowly started controlling you and your environment......you didn't have a real choice.

He was a master of manipulation and deception, he already knew what words and phrases to use to get compliance........he had experience of it, he relished it. The guy had plausibility and knew how to create a good story....a believable one, well, multiple stories. The story to fool authorities, the story to fool family and friends, the story that became the script of your life.....this is NOT your fault! Whether due to generally being a trusting person or (for Mandy) being vulnerable from a previous bad relationship, you were taken advantage of.

Hope is a make or break feeling, meeting number 4 full of hope for things to get better was bittersweet. I don't have children but can only imagine what emotional trauma was caused from the very first moment of fear for the children. I take my hat off to all the survivors who steeled themselves and did what was necessary to protect their babies. Mandy did what was needed, not for her but her babies.....that's selflessness right there.

MB passing, for goodness sake! It's fluffing heartbreaking. Not going to lie I cried, for MB, for someone that deserved happiness but yet again was dealt a crap hand in life.
   Totally unimpressed with flakey bake, I won't say anything else as I'll just swear a lot.

I've actually met Mandy a few times. She came across as outspoken, independent and strong in person, as well as fun (She's serious about the changing hair colours).
    Having read this I have no doubt of the strength of this amazing woman. Followed for years by many demons yet still able to stand up and carry on, able to put into words, write a book, about things that most people wouldn't be capable of imagining let alone have touch their lives. A true inspiration.

I know how depression can creep up on you, stalk you, cloak itself so self doubt sets in......I also know how hard it is to ask for help but please ask, it's a lifesaver.

A story of freedom, survival, heartbreak, despair, hope and love as well as so much more.

This is a tissues and chocolate read from start to finish.
  
The Camelot Shadow
The Camelot Shadow
Sean Gibson | 2014 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
‘’I can either tell you my tale, or I can respond to your feeble witticisms. I cannot, in my mildly inebriated state, do both.’’

This is not your usual story related to King Arthur, Merlin and Camelot. This will, in fact, be quite different story and not only unusual, but one of a kind.

We go back in time when Queen Victoria was ruling over England. In a time when the author really liked to point out the fact that the characters are using trains. It was pointed out so much, that I had to do a bit of research to see if trains existed in that time. They did – apparently England had the oldest rail transport in the world. And Queen Victoria was one of the first royals to use that form of transport too.

Now, I am not even sure why I kept going on about trains… Back to the story…

The Camelot Shadow covers the story of Lord Alfred Fitzwilliam, a man whose wife is ill from an incurable illness. When an opportunity arises, giving him the chance and hope that he might save the life of his lover, he goes on a mission to find an object from the time when King Arthur was the ruler of England, and Merlin was his companion.

With a help from a group of people, Alfred digs the history and the stories of the past, only to discover that not everything he believed in was true, and not everyone that he trusted is his ally.


A story that reminded me of Dan Brown’s work. Quite similar in the sense of clues, history, what is a myth and what is a fact, though also quite distinctive, as it covers people’s characters so well, describing their personalities in a powerful way.

‘’Wealth. Status. Happiness. A perfect life. All built on an ephemeral foundation, an impossibility masking a lie that, if exposed, if openly acknowledged, would bring it all crashing down around our heads.’’

When a great disappointment comes around, and all hope is gone, people change, and people feel things. A person starts to wonder what they did wrong, what could they have done differently, what if… Alfred is one of the people where we will see his change over the chapters. For better or for worse, I’ll let you decide.

‘’It was Guinevere’s infidelity that brought down Arthur’s Camelot’’ – he said, wiping a trickle of Scotch from his chin with the back of his sleeve. ‘’It was God’s cruelty that brought down mine.’’

A book that explains good and evil in the unusual way. I thought I could explain good and evil, but sometimes my evil can do you good, and your good can do harm to everyone. And power… oh what people are capable to do for power…

‘’Power, Arthur had taught him, was not something to covet, but rather something to treat in the same manner one might handle a wild mastiff – with considerable respect, constant vigilance, and a trace of fear. ‘’

If you are a fan of history fiction, and stories about Arthur and Merlin, you would definitely want to dive in into this book and get lost into the world. And that is not the only thing that this book covers… It covers hope, faith, loss, love, good, evil, power, guilt and everything in between. Get ready for an adventure. One full of bravery and magic. And maybe… maybe some hope.

A huge thank you to the author, Sean Gibson, who was kind enough to give me an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.