Curse of the Sphinx Review, Promo Video + #Giveaway

Curse of the Sphinx
Sphinx Series
Book #1
Raye Wagner

Genre: YA Romantic Fantasy, Mythology

Release Date: August 11, 2015

ISBN: 978-1515305712

ASIN: B013PD4U5O

Pages: 344

Goodreads Rating: 3.71

My Rating: 4.5

Book Description:

How long can a monster stay hidden in plain sight?

Seventeen-year-old Hope Nicholas has spent her entire life on the run. But no one is chasing her. In fact, no one even knows she exists. With her mom, she’s traveled from town to town and school to school, barely staying long enough to meet anyone, let alone make friends. And she’ll have to keep it that way. It’s safer.
When her mother is brutally ripped away from her, Hope’s life shatters. Is this the fulfillment of Apollo’s curse, murder from the shadow monsters of the Underworld, or have the demigods finally found her? Orphaned and alone, Hope flees again, but this time there’s no one to teach her who to trust—or how to love.

Set in a universe where mythology is alive and well in the modern world, Curse of the Sphinx irresistibly blends action, suspense and romance. 

My Take on the Book:

First and foremost let me say that I loved this book! I’m a huge fan of mythology, Greek, Norse and Egyptian being my favorites so this was a book right up my alley.

With that said, there were a couple of off putting moments and personality traits of some characters and the story did drag a bit at times but it in NO WAY took away from the story’s overall greatness.

I loved the Sphinx mythology and I’m gonna get my hands on the prequel to get a more in depth look into this universe.

The characters were solid and likeable and I found myself giddy with the cuteness that the romance in this story brought to the whole picture this author was painting us.

I think the off putting moments were mainly in the tone. I found myself a bit lost in terms of who knew what. At moments I felt like our main character was interacting with 2 different male leads as opposed to the one. I also found myself questioning if he was who I thought he was or if he lost his memory or something along those lines.

BUT, I still loved Athan and Hope. I thought they were adorable! 

4.5 Quills

I think I mainly want to read the next book to see where these characters go and how they develop because this was a pretty great beginning to what has the makings of a great series. There is so much we don’t know and I’m excited to learn it all.

Amazon

About The Author

Raye Wagner grew up in Seattle, the second of eight children, and learned to escape chaos through the pages of fiction. As a youth, she read the likes of David Eddings, Leon Uris, and Jane Austen. Inspired by a fictional character, Raye pursued a career in nursing, thinking to help the world one patient at a time.

One summer afternoon, when her then young children were playing in the pool, a plot dropped into her head, and she started writing.

She enjoys baking, puzzles, Tae Kwon Do, and the sound of waves lapping at the sand. She lives with her husband and three children in Middle Tennessee.

Origin of the Sphinx, a novella detailing the story leading up to the creation of the mythological creature, is her first publication. It is the beginning of the Sphinx series.
Curse of the Sphinx, the first book in the series, is completed, and set to be released in August 2015.

Author Links:

Website│Twitter│Facebook│Goodreads

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The Concealed by Sarah Kleck Review + #Giveaway

The Concealed
The Lakewood Series
Book # 1
Sarah Kleck

Genre: Paranormal Romance, Fantasy
Release Date: November 1, 2015

ISBN: 978-1503947801
ASIN: B00VVWB0AU
Pages: 335

Goodreads Rating: 3.63
My Rating: 5.0

Book Description:

“Can you be happy when what you desire most means your doom?”

Evelyn Lakewood, an orphan, is crushed after the death of her beloved sister Zara. But the nineteen-year old enrolls in Psychology at Oxford in honor of Zara.

There, Evelyn first becomes friends with vivacious Sally and seemingly charming Felix. But the encounter with Jared Calmburry, whose incredibly blue eyes immediately captivate her, fundamentally changes her life. She is instantly drawn to this mysterious stranger around whom unusual things happen and who simply disappears every time Evelyn tries to confront him about his puzzling behavior. After finding a mysterious book with a unique symbol on its leather cover in the university library, her curiosity is perked. She doesn’t know what to make of it but Jared’s best friend Colin Sullivan encourages her with cryptic hints to continue her search for evidence. When she discovers the same medieval symbol is worn by hostile professor Karen Mayflower and engraved on another faculty member’s seal ring, she realizes that an ancient secret surrounds Jared.

My Take on The Book:

That was an amazing book!

I've always had a soft spot for mythology,  history and legends. The one in this book has always been a favorite  of mine. I won't go spoiling the surprise and tell you all which one it is because figuring it all out is all part of the fun. 

I found that I liked the characters is this story more than any of the ones I've read recently. They were strong and loyal and innately good. And the depravity of the villians is tangible and terrifying that it left me with chills.

My one and only complaint was the massive cliff hanger that this book ended in and I can only hope that book 2 is released sooner rather than later. I'm definitely itching to see where this story and these characters will go!

5 Quills

A great start to what I'm sure will be a great series full of twists,  turns,  highs and lows and all around greatness. My one recommendation is that you as a reader pay attention to the little clues that are left in basically every chapter. Also, there is some sensitive subject manner that goes on in this book so if tramatic experiences like brutal murder or rape are a trigger for you like they are for me then be advised that there is some of that in here. It did touch a rather sensitive nerve with me but luckily it isn't something that is continuously mentioned. And while I commend the author for including something like that in this book as it is very important subject matter, a little warning would have been much appreciated!

Amazon | B&N

About The Author 

Sarah Kleck, born in 1984, studied Education, Psychology and Sociology at the University of Augsburg.

Currently, she's working as a human resources officer and lives with her husband in Germany near Lake Constance.

"The Concealed" is her first novel.

Author links:

Goodreads | Facebook

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*** Please Disregard any typos and formating issues; my internet was down with an expected return in 24+ hours so I literally scheduled this on my phone with limited data. ***

The Reaper’s Daughter Review, Excerpt + #Giveaway

 The Reaper’s Daughter

The Reaper’s Daughter Series

Book #1

KM Randall

Genre: Paranormal Dark Fantasy

Release Date: May 9, 2015

Publisher: Booktrope

ISBN: 978-1-62015-841-8

ASIN: B00X90741G

Pages: 244

Cover Artist: Shari Ryan

Goodreads Rating:  3.75

My Rating: 5.0

Book Description:

I've always felt like an average girl ... except for my strange relationship with death. You could say I like to court it. Whether I'm soaring through the air as a flyer for Specter University's cheer squad, or speeding down the steepest mountain with only grace and balance keeping me from an icy end, I've always needed to feel a rush. But now Death is courting me―in more ways than one. First, there's Rishi, a rogue death deity who has a penchant for annoying me nearly to my grave and whose intense gaze has the power to see right through me. Then there's Hades, who I'd rather had stayed just a myth. Now that he knows I exist, he's not going to leave me alone until I meet the same end as my mother.

Oh yeah, did I forget to mention her? I spent my whole life thinking she had died when I was a baby, but now I've found out she's much more than dead. Fifty years ago, Hades banished my mother from the underworld and took away her ability to cross over souls―souls that have wandered lost through the world ever since. Now she wants me to clean up the mess.

You may have heard of her before...

They call her the Grim Reaper.

 

Book Trailer

My Take on the Book:

In this book you're introduced to a young woman who is a bit of an adrenaline junkie. She's a great father, an amazing friend, a longtime boyfriend and a "dead mother". The book starts off with a prologue that takes place six months after part one of the book. It tells the story of Blake.

it's a great story, with a pretty cool premise. The writing is really concise an easy to follow. I found I really enjoyed the story and the characters, more so than I expected. There's a bit of heartbreak within the first six chapters and I'm not ashamed to admit I cried like a little baby. So I would recommends you have a box of tissues around.

And while the story is sad, it's necessary for the book to continue. It's needed for the main character to grow and accept her responsibilities. I can honestly say this is a series that I will be revisiting and I can't wait for book 2.

There's definitely a sense of loss of this book, but for everything that's lost something is gained. And for those of you that are really interested in mythology this book is right up your alley. As somebody who took a class of "the study of world religion" I've got to admit that this book was really interesting. There's a lot going on but it's written in the way that is so easy to follow, I didn't find myself lost at all.

There's definitely romance in this book and it's kind of bittersweet. But I think that's one of the things I enjoyed the most in this book. It's not your typical coming of age, paranormal or fantasy romance. Blake has a lot going on. It makes more realistic and relatable.

 5 Quills

This looks like it has the potential to be a great series that I would absolutely love to fall into. It has great and likeable characters and a really interesting premise. 

Excerpt

 Present 

THE ROLLING GREEN of her eyes was dimming fast, losing color and life to the quick click of time that beat out her days and nights, a perpetual circle that was now fading to a close. Light brown hair that had been recently styled into looping curls was limp against the black pillowcase―a metaphor for her wilted spirit, I mused, thinking offhandedly how proud my English professor would be at my thoughtful use of language.

 I sighed. I didn’t want to be here.

 When her eyes met mine, I knew she saw me for who I really was—what I really was. She reached out an eager hand to take mine. I didn’t want anything to do with it. But it wasn’t because her fingers were slick with blood, deep crimson dripping down her arm and fingernails from where she’d so precisely placed a razor blade to her vein and dug deep, thinking she’d be free of her pain. It was because her face reflected back to me all the times I’d felt I’d been given a shitty deal. Current situation: case in point.

 “Hi,” she whispered, her once pink lips fading with every pump of her life, which was idly dripping away from her to the plush white carpet below. I could smell the newness of it, the fresh aroma of a recently laid floor. That’s going to be a bitch to get clean.

I looked around her bedroom, at the dance trophies and pictures of smiling friends, and wondered why.  Why me? “Blake …” Hearing my mother's warning tone, I looked over at her where she stood in the shadows, overseeing my tutelage.

 “Why can’t we just call an ambulance? It’s not too late. They could save her,” I whispered fiercely, staring at the girl’s hand stretched out to me as if I were her savior and not her end. “We should save—”

“It’s not for us to decide, you know that. We are only here to bring souls over, not save their mortal lives. Take her, she wants to go.”

 “And will she still feel the same when she’s looking down at her body?” I asked, not even bothering to check my mother’s expression when she didn’t answer. Suicide wasn’t a peaceful death. It was pain―that much I knew.

 I choked back the tears that wanted to rise in my eyes for this girl, for me … I turned to her once more and leaned down, brushing a strand of her hair from her graying face. “What’s your name?”

 Barely blinking, her pale eyes darted to me. “Carly,” she said, choking around her words.

“Just hold my hand and I’ll help you cross,” I said softly, forcing myself to meet her gaze so that someone would witness her ending as they had her beginning.

 She smiled slowly, and I saw that in life she had been pretty. When she’d believed. When she’d had hope. 

“The light?” Her eyes widened, glittering green for a brief moment in their otherwise colorless depths at the prospect of going somewhere beautiful after this life had been so cold.

I nodded, although I didn’t really know where she would go. I was only in training, but I hoped it was someplace good, where her tormented soul could rest.

She had small, feminine hands, I thought, as she laced her slippery fingers around my longer warm ones. She didn’t last long, her pulse giving one last flutter before sputtering out. 

The room was suffused with the silence left behind in the absence of such a simple thing. The thundering lack of a person’s heartbeat had never seemed quite so loud. As life departed Carly’s mortal coil, her soul lifted from the body, but unlike some souls I’d seen that were light and buoyant, at peace with the next step in their existence, hers was outlined in darkness, and it rippled, suspended in space like a special effect in a bad horror film. Her gaze turned from her body to me, sorrow coming to settle on the slope of her bowed shoulders and in the recesses of her eyes. Regret was a fickle creature. It always came too late.

 THE REAPER’S DAUGHTER

 

About The Author

As a girl, K.M. always wished she’d suddenly come into magical powers or cross over into a Faerie circle. Although that has yet to happen, she instead lives vicariously through the characters she creates writing fantasy and paranormal.

When K.M. is not busy writing her next novel, she serves as a freelance editor and writer. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Syracuse University and a bachelor’s degree in English-Lit from Nazareth College of Rochester. K.M. lives in Upstate New York’s Finger Lakes region with her husband, her extremely energetic little boy, and their crazy goldendoodle Luna (short for Lunatic)

Learn more at http://www.kmrandallauthor.com/

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Book Tour Organized By:

 

“I received a free copy of the book from the author/publisher for my honest opinion. I was in no way compensated for this review and all opinions are expressly my own”