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Spells of Breath and Blade (Tarot Academy #2)
Spells of Breath and Blade (Tarot Academy #2)
Sarah Piper | 2020 | Fiction & Poetry, Horror, Paranormal
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
162 of 250
Kindle
Spells of Breath and Blade ( Tarot Academy book 2)
By Sarah Piper

Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments

I spent my whole life believing magick was a curse - and that I didn't have enough of it to worry about, anyway.

Turns out I was wrong on both counts.

I'm so much more than a magick-blessed Academy student. I'm an Arcana Witch, bound to a sacred order whose sole duty is to protect magick - and one another - at all costs.

Thankfully, I'm not alone.

My Arcana magick brought four fiercely loyal, impossibly sexy Arcana mages into my life.

But it also brought trouble.

Corrupt Academy officials. Mysterious attacks stripping students of their power. And the terrifying Dark Arcana - five insanely powerful ancient beings desperate to reclaim the magick they believe is their sole birthright... and destroy the rest of us.

Our best shot at defeating them is to track down the hidden Arcana artifacts - sacred Tarot relics that bind and balance all magick. But to do that, we'll have to embark on a dangerous otherworldly journey - one that will change us in ways even the Tarot can't predict.

Surviving my first month at Arcana Academy was no easy feat, but compared to what's coming?

That was training day.

This is the real deal.

And the fight is just beginning.

Honestly not much happens until the last chapter. It’s mainly Stevie dealing with the aftermath and putting her relationships right. It was an ok read.
  
Wilde Card (Immortal Vegas, #2)
Wilde Card (Immortal Vegas, #2)
Jenn Stark | 2015
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
3.5 stars.

I got a little lost in the middle but this series is all action, action, action. From pretty much the first page Sara is on a hunt that turns quite entertaining and it didn't stop there.

I am enjoying this series, the whole tarot card thing is different to normal and though I know nothing of it, I'm learning little bits here and there.

Looking forward to reading more of Sara and the Magician, and whatever is currently blooming between them.

Off to start the last book in the trilogy boxset.
  
Born To Be Wilde (Immortal Vegas, #3)
Born To Be Wilde (Immortal Vegas, #3)
Jenn Stark | 2016
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
*Read as part of the 1-3 boxset*

I was more into this than the previous ones, the series is now starting to progress at speed, with more players coming into the game in relation to the tarot cards and their representatives. Very interesting concept, although I admit I know nothing about it at all, so Sara's explanation when she reveals her picks are rather interesting.

The thing that started in book 1 with Sara and the Magician progressed quite a lot in this one, and I have to say I was excited for it happening.

Cannot wait to read book 4.
  
Endless Knight (The Arcana Chronicles, #2)
Endless Knight (The Arcana Chronicles, #2)
Kresley Cole | 2013 | Young Adult (YA)
9
9.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
163 of 200
Audio
Endless Night ( Arcana chronicles book 2)
By Kresley Cole

Shocking secrets

Evie has fully come into her powers as the Tarot Empress, and Jack was there to see it all. She now knows that the teens who've been reincarnated as the Tarot are in the throes of an epic battle. It's kill or be killed, and the future of mankind hangs in the balance.

Unexpected allies

With threats lurking around every corner, Evie is forced to trust her newfound alliance. Together they must fight not only other Arcana, but also Bagmen zombies, post-apocalyptic storms, and cannibals.

Gut-wrenching treachery

When Evie meets Death, things get even more complicated. Though falling for Jack, she's drawn to the dangerous Endless Knight as well. Somehow the Empress and Death share a history, one that Evie can't remember--but Death can't forget...



I didn’t think I could enjoy the second as much as the first book but I did! I listened to it on Audio which I’m still getting used to. I’m absolutely in love with Death and god knows what Evie sees in Jack he is so annoying!! So yea I’m team Death! This was fast paced and full of adventure I would absolutely recommend Kresley Cole! The whole story that we finally hear about Death and the Empress is absolutely fascinating can't wait to see where this dark path goes!
  
146 of 230
Kindle
The White Magic Five and Dime ( Tarot Mystery book 1)
By Steve Hockensmith and Lisa Falco
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

When Alanis McLachlan learns that her mother's been murdered, she's completely unsurprised. Not that Alanis had been given a glimpse into the future. That would be crazy, right? It's just that her con-woman mom, Barbra, was bound to cross the wrong people sooner or later. It's why Alanis was lucky to get out of her childhood alive - and why she hadn't spoken to her mother in decades.

But there is a surprise in store for Alanis. Barbra left her something in her will: a New Age shop in the tiny tourist trap town of Berdache, Arizona. The White Magic Five & Dime.

After going to Berdache to claim her inheritance, Alanis is drawn into the mystery around her mother's death. Did one of Barbra's customers finally get wise to her con-artist ways and take revenge? Alanis thinks she knows how to find out: She'll make those customers her own until she can find the killer. Alanis McLachlan, cynic and unbeliever, is about to become a tarot card reader.

With a little help from her mother's teenage apprentice and a snarky tarot how-to book called Infinite Roads to Knowing, Alanis begins bluffing her way through phony readings. But the more she gets to know the cards, the more she sees real meaning in them...and the closer the murderer comes to making her the next victim.

Omg I had issues with this book so many issues!
This is going to be a strange little review. I absolutely didn’t like the main character at all, she was written to be witty and sarcastic and it just did not work at all. She was irritating and so not funny it was just trying to hard!

So you may ask why a 4⭐️ and my answer is simply because I really enjoyed the book she was the only thing I disliked. I didn’t see the murderer coming till the last minute and it was a fun book to read it made me smile and I’m very much an emotional reviewer.

So yes the main character drove me crazy but the story was really good!
  
PP
Poison Princess (The Arcana Chronicles, #1)
Kresley Cole | 2012 | Dystopia, Romance, Young Adult (YA)
9
9.0 (6 Ratings)
Book Rating
The plot (0 more)
It's a bit cliche in the romance department (0 more)
Good begining
Kresley Cole has created an incredibly complex and surprising story line in this book. With romance, danger, relatability and a new take on Armageddon this book is the starter of the Arcana Chronicles. The book as a whole incorporates just enough romance to be relatively intriguing while not overpoweringly sappy. The series focuses on the growth and development of a 16 year old who is thrown into a world she literally dreamed of, and not in a good way. With zombies and superpowered teenagers based on tarot cards things are bound to get a little crazy. I recommend this book (and the series) to fantasy and fiction lovers.
  
Spells of Iron and Bone
Spells of Iron and Bone
Sarah Piper | 2019 | Horror, Paranormal, Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
176 of 200
Kindle
Spells of Iron and bone ( Tarot Academy book1)
By Sarah Piper

Magick is real. It’s also highly illegal—not that I’m worried about that.

Sure, I heal faster than most, and I’ve got a sixth sense for brewing tea that can fix just about any problem, but my café isn’t exactly a hotbed of paranormal activity.

At least it wasn’t… until some psycho attacked me and woke up the freaky, forbidden magick inside, earning me a one-way ticket to jail.

Now, a covert magickal university is offering me a deal: my freedom in exchange for help with the Tarot prophecies—cryptic predictions they believe hold the key to stopping a deadly apocalyptic plot.

Predictions only I can decipher.

Because the witch who divined them? She died years ago.

I should know. She was my mother.

Grab your grimoires, girls. Magick school’s officially in session.

All I have to do now is master my crazy powers, decode the doomsday prophecies, outwit a mean-girl coven that puts the psycho in psychic, and survive the temptations of one very naughty professor and three scorching-hot, overprotective mages shadowing my every move.

There's only one problem.

If I’m right about the prophecies?

Survival isn’t in the cards for any of us.





I’m really glad I picked this up it was an unknown author for me and I was a bit standoffish with the sound of it! The whole don’t judge a book by it cover smacks me in the face! I loved it! I’m fascinated with the Aracna world they make such interesting reads!
I really like Stevie and the 4 delicious men at her side! I also enjoyed the story it intriguing can’t wait to read more!
  
Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965)
Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965)
1965 | Classics, Horror, Sci-Fi
8
7.8 (4 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Peter Cushing (2 more)
Christopher Lee
Donald Sutherland
House of Horrors
Dr. Terror's House of Horrors is a excellent british anthology film that stars two horror icons Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. It also has Donald Sutherland in it, so thats a plus.

It was the first in a series of anthology films from Amicus and was followed by Torture Garden (1967), The House That Dripped Blood (1970), Asylum (1972), Tales from the Crypt (1972), The Vault of Horror (1973) and From Beyond the Grave (1974).

The movies was made with a budget of £105,000 and Donald Sutherland was paid £1,000 ($10,153.31 in 2018 dollars) for his performance.

The Plot: Five chilling stories are linked by the character of a strange fortune-telling doctor who predicts the bizarre deaths of five fellow passengers on a train using a pack of tarot cards.

Its a excellent anthology film.
  
PP
Poison Princess (The Arcana Chronicles, #1)
Kresley Cole | 2012 | Dystopia, Romance, Young Adult (YA)
7
9.0 (6 Ratings)
Book Rating
3.75 stars.

Um...Okay...I'm not quite sure how I feel about this.

I liked the whole will they/wont they thing between Evie and Jackson but at the same time it drove me mad with the continuous misunderstandings and stuff between them. Why couldn't they just explain themselves better?!

And it was dystopia/post apocalyptic, which is another bonus because I really like those type of books: sandy, scorched earth; hardly any survivors...

What I wasn't particularly a fan of was the tarot card thing. I'll admit it grew on me throughout and at the end I'd gotten used to it and was more into the concept but at the start I had no idea what was happening and sort of skated over the dreams and such.

After the ending I will admit to be very intrigued with how the rest of the series will play out so I will be reading the second book soon.
  
Chakra Wisdom Oracle: How to Read the Cards for Yourself and Others
Chakra Wisdom Oracle: How to Read the Cards for Yourself and Others
Tori Hartman | 2017 | Mind, Body & Spiritual
8
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
It’s quite possibly a little known fact that I used to review a lot more new age, self-help books and products in the past, hence the name ‘alternative’ in my website address. So when I saw this available for review it reminded me of those days, and I jumped at the chance of reviewing this – “How to Read the Cards for Yourself and Others (Chakra Wisdom Oracle) Tori Hartman“. Tori is a professional intuitive following a near-death experience some twenty years ago.

Unfortunately, this whole book is built around a set of Tarot style 49 mystical fable cards, revealed to Tori, which do not come with this book. It also focuses on The Chakra Wisdom Oracle Toolkit, which I also do not own. But there is an iPhone app! You can also go online and try them out there for free (an online shuffler).

I really must get these cards… they look gorgeous and after reading all about them I am definitely curious. I also quite like the idea of the toolkit too. Chakra Wisdom Oracle Toolkit: A 52-week journey of self-discovery with the lost fables.

The book itself explains what the cards mean and how to interpret them. You learn about the Great Servant and the 17 Great Spirits of the Council, which all relate to chakra coloured cards, with different aspects and teachings on. It’s written in a concise and well laid out format. There are also some handy quick reference tables to help simplify the teachings, plus reading techniques and meditative journaling are also covered.

With 320 pages, it is quite full on, which in my eyes is a good thing. It doesn’t skimp on detail. Plus, if you visit Tori’s website there are now courses you can take up to train you how to use these cards even further, and more in depth.

I can recommend this book to anyone who is already a fan of spiritual guides and tarot cards, or if this is something that just appeals to you, (there’s a reason for that) just try it out and see. If you’re dedicated enough you can learn so much more by repeated use to better your understanding of what these cards are telling you and how to read them fully.