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Merissa (12051 KP) rated Aeromancist: The Beginning (7 Forbidden Arts #2) in Books
May 20, 2023
The Beginning tells us the start (obviously) of Lann and Katherine's relationship - oops, sorry, I mean a 30-day contract. I'm not sure who Lann is trying to convince when he says it will only be for this amount of time, but I didn't believe him!
The relationship between Kat and Lann was instantly hot, but I loved that Kat was a strong female from the start, and wasn't just going to give in without at least a token resistance! There is plenty of steam within these pages, so be prepared for some heat.
This is only a novella, that just details the 30 days, however, it was absolutely brilliant and I loved every word. It gives a detailed account of the attraction between these two, how they are with each other, pushing boundaries whilst respecting the same.
Can't wait to read the continuation of their story. Highly recommended.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jan 23, 2016
The relationship between Kat and Lann was instantly hot, but I loved that Kat was a strong female from the start, and wasn't just going to give in without at least a token resistance! There is plenty of steam within these pages, so be prepared for some heat.
This is only a novella, that just details the 30 days, however, it was absolutely brilliant and I loved every word. It gives a detailed account of the attraction between these two, how they are with each other, pushing boundaries whilst respecting the same.
Can't wait to read the continuation of their story. Highly recommended.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jan 23, 2016
Merissa (12051 KP) rated Aeromancist (7 Forbidden Arts #3) in Books
May 20, 2023
The continuation of Lann and Kat's story starts two weeks after The Beginning ends. I would say that you don't need to have read that novella, but it certainly helped, and I wouldn't have wanted to read this without that, but that's just me.
This review may be short, as I don't give away spoilers. Kat and Lann's relationship isn't over, for a number of reasons. One thing they do have to do though, is make a decision about something. All I can say is what a terrible, horrible decision to have to make. The reactions and behaviour of those involved, and their friends, made it all the more believable.
Old enemies come into play, and the overall story arc moves along with fresh intrigue and twists. Old friends are shown in this book too, and I loved the friendship that comes into play between Kat, Clelia and Maya.
Best in the series so far for me, loved every word. Highly recommended.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jan 23, 2016
This review may be short, as I don't give away spoilers. Kat and Lann's relationship isn't over, for a number of reasons. One thing they do have to do though, is make a decision about something. All I can say is what a terrible, horrible decision to have to make. The reactions and behaviour of those involved, and their friends, made it all the more believable.
Old enemies come into play, and the overall story arc moves along with fresh intrigue and twists. Old friends are shown in this book too, and I loved the friendship that comes into play between Kat, Clelia and Maya.
Best in the series so far for me, loved every word. Highly recommended.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jan 23, 2016
Merissa (12051 KP) rated Feline Valentine (A Witch’s Night Out, #4) in Books
Dec 17, 2018 (Updated May 20, 2023)
Another scorcher in the Witch's Night Out series, this one being the turn of Shelley, the house-arrested earth mage. She is busy drooling over her new neighbour but doesn't think that she will ever get the chance to speak with him, as she doesn't leave home. Adrien thinks that his neighbour is an old lady, so when his brother hands him an invite for a one-night stand at the house next door, he accepts it with a smile. He plans on taking some chocolate and champagne to make the 'old girl's day' and then leaving. So imagine his surprise when it is Shelley who opens the door.
There is action and humour aplenty in this short but sweet and hot novella. I loved the rapport that was between Shelley and Adrien. With a would-be burglar and an interfering brother and friend in the mix, this is guaranteed to make you smile. Definitely recommended.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jan 25, 2016
There is action and humour aplenty in this short but sweet and hot novella. I loved the rapport that was between Shelley and Adrien. With a would-be burglar and an interfering brother and friend in the mix, this is guaranteed to make you smile. Definitely recommended.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jan 25, 2016
Brothers of the Sword (Warrior #5)
6.0
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BROTHERS OF THE SWORD is the fourth ebook novella in the WARRIOR series, telling the dramatic story...
Lord of War (Warrior #5)
6.0
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LORD OF WAR is the fifth and final ebook novella in the WARRIOR series, telling the dramatic story...
Merissa (12051 KP) rated The Healer: Tales of Pern Coen (Bloodlines #0.5) in Books
Jul 28, 2024
THE HEALER is a prequel novella to Conor and Rhiannon's story in the Bloodlines series. It features Conor's sister, Brynn, as one of the main characters, plus Macsen, who works with the blacksmith and bowyer. It tells how Kelnore first arrives on Pern Coen and what happens when they do.
What a fantastic prequel this was! Brynn was a fascinating supporting character in Conor's books, and I'm so happy to have this one from her perspective. It explains so much about the following books that you won't even be aware of - unless you've already read them, as I have. What it did for me was to make me want to read Bloodlines all over again!
I loved returning to Pern Coen and can't wait to see what happens next. I would love more from this timeline as I'm very greedy!
Absolutely unputdownable and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jul 19, 2024
What a fantastic prequel this was! Brynn was a fascinating supporting character in Conor's books, and I'm so happy to have this one from her perspective. It explains so much about the following books that you won't even be aware of - unless you've already read them, as I have. What it did for me was to make me want to read Bloodlines all over again!
I loved returning to Pern Coen and can't wait to see what happens next. I would love more from this timeline as I'm very greedy!
Absolutely unputdownable and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jul 19, 2024
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated There’s Something Wrong with Aunt Beth in Books
Feb 20, 2024
32 of 220
Kindle
Book sirens review
There’s Something Wrong With Aunt Beth
By Mark Towse
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
There's Something Wrong with Aunty Beth' is a collection of my favourite horror journeys, the best of the best I've taken to date. Twenty terrifying tales with something to suit all horror fans, from straight-up dread to signature Towsey weird. You'll never be the same again, and that's a Towsey guarantee. Within these haunted pages, you'll also find my new novella, 'Mother Dearest.'
Mother: A word that should summon trust, loyalty, love, and protection. But what if something begins eating away at such security, slowly transforming said Mother into something else entirely?
This is a compilation of short stories and everyone of them is dark, haunting, frightening and fun to read if you love horror. I always manage to find stories in these kind of books that I don’t like and end up skipping through but NOT this one! I recently discovered this author and I’m so glad I did his work is just brilliant. Do as Aunt Beth tells you!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Kindle
Book sirens review
There’s Something Wrong With Aunt Beth
By Mark Towse
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
There's Something Wrong with Aunty Beth' is a collection of my favourite horror journeys, the best of the best I've taken to date. Twenty terrifying tales with something to suit all horror fans, from straight-up dread to signature Towsey weird. You'll never be the same again, and that's a Towsey guarantee. Within these haunted pages, you'll also find my new novella, 'Mother Dearest.'
Mother: A word that should summon trust, loyalty, love, and protection. But what if something begins eating away at such security, slowly transforming said Mother into something else entirely?
This is a compilation of short stories and everyone of them is dark, haunting, frightening and fun to read if you love horror. I always manage to find stories in these kind of books that I don’t like and end up skipping through but NOT this one! I recently discovered this author and I’m so glad I did his work is just brilliant. Do as Aunt Beth tells you!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The Looking Glass House: A Fascinating Victorian-Set Novel Featuring the Inspiration for Lewis Carroll's Children's Classic, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Book
Oxford, 1862. Poor, plain Mary Prickett takes up her post as governess to the daughters of the Dean...
Alice (12 KP) rated Of Sand and Malice Made (The Song of the Shattered Sands, #0.5) in Books
Jul 3, 2018
Definitely wasn’t what I expected. After reading the blurb I was excited to read about the youngest pit fighter in Sharakhai only there wasn’t so much pit fighting as running all over the desert trying to escape from a demonic being who becomes fixated on Ceda.
Ceda is 15 when the story begins and it starts off with her picking a fight with someone who – in the beginning – gives off a secondary character kinda vibe, almost filler but ends up being an integral part of the story later on. Brama had apparently stolen a purse that Ceda wad tasked to collect and Ceda decided she’d rather fight him than find the purse. That came across as quite juvenile particularly when her “boss” pointed out the same thing that I thought.
The story progresses pretty slowly for the first 60 or 70 pages where it does eventually improve but there’s a distinctly Middle Eastern vibe to this story. It’s sort of like a twisted sci-fi type of Aladdin story.
The pit fighting is few and far between and for a character who is called the White Wolf I would have preferred a little more fighting and a little less talking but the steroidal like properties to the flower petals is amazingly unique, I don’t think I’ve ever read that in a book so kudos to that.
The writing style was a touch different to what I’m used to but it was written quite well. As mentioned above there was a distinctly Middle Eastern vibe to this story and the descriptions of the desert and other areas in Sharakhai were beautifully written and it almost made me feel like I was back on holiday in Egypt which was a lovely experience.
The concept of Rumayesh was really good – a semi corrupt demonic type being who overtakes the body of her “chosen” one – and Rumayesh took an awful big shine to Ceda which is where the story basically followed. Now having not read Twelve Kings I am completely unable to comment on how the story progresses in that book but the plot line in this novella was drawing to the mind and the descriptions of what was happening were very good.
Apart from my initial dubious feeling and the subsequent lack of pit – fighting for a story based on a pit-fighter I did enjoy Of Sand and Malice Made but I don’t think that it is entirely my thing and I don’t think I’d be continuing the story anytime soon though I do look forward to seeing where this novella leads.
Ceda is 15 when the story begins and it starts off with her picking a fight with someone who – in the beginning – gives off a secondary character kinda vibe, almost filler but ends up being an integral part of the story later on. Brama had apparently stolen a purse that Ceda wad tasked to collect and Ceda decided she’d rather fight him than find the purse. That came across as quite juvenile particularly when her “boss” pointed out the same thing that I thought.
The story progresses pretty slowly for the first 60 or 70 pages where it does eventually improve but there’s a distinctly Middle Eastern vibe to this story. It’s sort of like a twisted sci-fi type of Aladdin story.
The pit fighting is few and far between and for a character who is called the White Wolf I would have preferred a little more fighting and a little less talking but the steroidal like properties to the flower petals is amazingly unique, I don’t think I’ve ever read that in a book so kudos to that.
The writing style was a touch different to what I’m used to but it was written quite well. As mentioned above there was a distinctly Middle Eastern vibe to this story and the descriptions of the desert and other areas in Sharakhai were beautifully written and it almost made me feel like I was back on holiday in Egypt which was a lovely experience.
The concept of Rumayesh was really good – a semi corrupt demonic type being who overtakes the body of her “chosen” one – and Rumayesh took an awful big shine to Ceda which is where the story basically followed. Now having not read Twelve Kings I am completely unable to comment on how the story progresses in that book but the plot line in this novella was drawing to the mind and the descriptions of what was happening were very good.
Apart from my initial dubious feeling and the subsequent lack of pit – fighting for a story based on a pit-fighter I did enjoy Of Sand and Malice Made but I don’t think that it is entirely my thing and I don’t think I’d be continuing the story anytime soon though I do look forward to seeing where this novella leads.
EmersonRose (320 KP) rated Hinterland Fortress (Conquest of The Evermore #1) in Books
Nov 20, 2019
“Rhyal was sitting in a wagon. She wriggled her nose. The stench awoke her from her meditation. She opened her eyes to see Ender snoring away. She sensed and knew where she was now. She peered out of the canvas covering to see the dark mountains of Grund Morr. It would be the last known feature she’d see as they passed through the Evermire swampland.”
Conquest of the Evermire: 1. Hinterland Fortress is the first book in the Conquest of the Evermire series by author Ron Smorynski, author of the series Alfred and Knight of the Dead. (See the end of this review for links to reviews of all of those books as well). The novella follows adoptive siblings Rhyal, an elf, and Ender, a human. The two are on a journey to see the world outside of the elven havens. They have heard the stories and myths connected to Evermire, of treasure and glory, and decided to see it for themselves.
The book combines together a lot of my favorite fantasy things. An exciting adventure, interesting renditions of classic magical beings, strong bonds of friendship or family, a well-built world, and a lot of fun and quirky side characters. I found myself very drawn to the connection between Rhyal and Ender, their close bond already formed at the beginning of the book is engaging. I also really appreciated that, while they are trained and talented fighters, they acknowledge the difference physically and mentally in fighting in real life vs. practice. This added some realism and made the fighting more interesting to follow. My favorite side character in the book was Ligo. He is a fun, quirky, snarky gone with very big dreams. He added the lightness that this book needed to balance the dark setting and fights to the death.
What this novella really does is serve as an exciting set-up to the adventure. The book allows us to get to know some of the characters, learn a bit about the Evermire, but perhaps most importantly plant the seeds of several intriguing questions. I know just want to learn more about Rhyal and Ender’s pasts, more about the magic system, what is really hidden in the depth of the Evermire… This was an exciting start to a fun adventure that I look forward to continuing in the sequel: Conquest of the Evermire: 2. The Church.
The book is great for young adults as it is not unnecessarily dark or gory. I thought that this book was really fun and I am excited to see where it goes next!
Conquest of the Evermire: 1. Hinterland Fortress is the first book in the Conquest of the Evermire series by author Ron Smorynski, author of the series Alfred and Knight of the Dead. (See the end of this review for links to reviews of all of those books as well). The novella follows adoptive siblings Rhyal, an elf, and Ender, a human. The two are on a journey to see the world outside of the elven havens. They have heard the stories and myths connected to Evermire, of treasure and glory, and decided to see it for themselves.
The book combines together a lot of my favorite fantasy things. An exciting adventure, interesting renditions of classic magical beings, strong bonds of friendship or family, a well-built world, and a lot of fun and quirky side characters. I found myself very drawn to the connection between Rhyal and Ender, their close bond already formed at the beginning of the book is engaging. I also really appreciated that, while they are trained and talented fighters, they acknowledge the difference physically and mentally in fighting in real life vs. practice. This added some realism and made the fighting more interesting to follow. My favorite side character in the book was Ligo. He is a fun, quirky, snarky gone with very big dreams. He added the lightness that this book needed to balance the dark setting and fights to the death.
What this novella really does is serve as an exciting set-up to the adventure. The book allows us to get to know some of the characters, learn a bit about the Evermire, but perhaps most importantly plant the seeds of several intriguing questions. I know just want to learn more about Rhyal and Ender’s pasts, more about the magic system, what is really hidden in the depth of the Evermire… This was an exciting start to a fun adventure that I look forward to continuing in the sequel: Conquest of the Evermire: 2. The Church.
The book is great for young adults as it is not unnecessarily dark or gory. I thought that this book was really fun and I am excited to see where it goes next!