Winter’s Curse

Author: April L. Wood
Publisher: Bellatrix Press
Published: October 2016
Format: E-Book
Pages: 240
Rating: 5 Stars

 

Summary

Before the light is reborn within the womb of darkness and the Sun returns, will Winter reverse the curse?

When High Priestess Iris Rose-Thorne bets her granddaughter’s womb in a broom flying contest – and loses, Winter wonders where the real danger lies: from the Witch Hunters she fled from far North or her shady grandmother?

Winter finds safety with Turmeric of the Wormwood clan. His eagerness to protect her warms her frozen heart. Only – her love for him defies her clan.

Can Winter Rose-Thorne and Turmeric Wormwood have a future together – despite the Segregation Curse of Old, cast by the Elders to preserve ancient clan bloodlines? And with the Winter Solstice approaching, will Winter be able to reverse the curse on her womb? Or will she remain barren?

MY REVIEW

This story is unique from the very beginning with Winter and her mother coming from the Terrestrial North Pole to a much different atmosphere than they are used to.  Winter and her mother live with her grandmother who wagers Winters womb with another witch clan. With the help of friends Winter tries to reverse the curse. I really ENJOYED this book! I loved all the characters, the plot, the descriptiveness, the romance, well let’s just say I enjoyed everything!!

Winter has so many personalities such as being brave, strong, kind,a goody two shoes, spunky, passion, self-determine, loving, and just an average teenager. Winter really impresses me by defending herself from her wicked grandmother. She gives her grandmother a good beating in order to protect herself. She really works hard at making a name for herself trying to reverse the curse that it may reward her in the future.

Turmeric is a young witch from a different clan than Winter, but he and his friends adopt her into their group. He knows about the curse placed upon her and he wants to help her reverse it. Finding ways to reverse the curse causes Turmeric and Winter to become closer and develop feelings for one another. I really liked how the author developed their relationship and how their relationship continued to improve. I really thought it was nice that you made clear in the book that love is not just about kissing. There is so much more love! I really took that to heart, because I believe it’s true. But I liked how you showed that through Turmeric and Winter’s relationship.

Another reason that I really like this book is because it does not have a deep and dark storyline. Of course, it has its evil moments but the rest is light and fluffy. It’s absolutely a quick and enjoyable read. If you like witches, a little mystery, and a good group of friends then give this book a try! To find out more about the book visit Goodreads or visit April’s webpage.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

April L Wood is an author – currently writing a young-adult, urban fantasy series titled Season Of The Witch, beginning with Winter’s Curse, TBR through Bellatrix Press 10/16 – a book blogger for A Well Read Woman Blog, an author interviewer, a professional beta reader, and a caffeinated book reviewer. When she is not glued to her computer or a book, she is busy taming wild spiderwort, (God, those plants are annoying!), obsessing over her gardens to the point of insanity, feeding wildlife, and propagating her ever-growing collection of African violets. She is currently writing Spring in Summerland – Book II of Season of the Witch, and A Diamond in the Rough. She lives in a large, beautiful, historic tudor-colonial filled to the brim with her family, two cats, and three dogs.

Dating An Alien Popstar

Author: Kendra L. Saunders
Publisher: Clean Teen Publishing
Published: June 7, 2016
Format:E-Book
Pages:221
Rating: 4

Summary

Daisy Kirkwood has only just escaped her small-town life and run away to New York City, the land of last-minute secret gigs at famous musical venues, when she’s kidnapped by aliens. Unfortunately, no one ever writes about how to handle alien abduction in those fancy NYC guidebooks.

Griffin and Dev are supermassively sexy aliens from a politically and environmentally troubled planet who arrive on Earth with very little knowledge about human ways other than what they learned from a wayward E! News signal. Their mission is to pretend to be the most influential people on the planet—English pop stars, of course!—and gain the help of a powerful secret society. Upon arriving, they abduct Daisy Kirkwood, a nerdy young woman who loves music but could seriously use a bit of help in the love-life department. Though Griffin and Daisy initially squabble, neither can deny the intergalactic sparks whenever they’re too close to each other. Together, they must face murderous aliens, cultural misunderstandings, bad backup musicians, and the dark side of fame and the media, all set against a tight deadline…

Part High Fidelity, part Bridget Jones’ Diary, part Doctor Who, Dating an Alien Pop Star is a sexy romantic comedy.

MY REVIEW

This is a cute little story about two aliens who come to earth to gain the attention of a secret society, to win the wager that Griffin has with his father.On Earth, they meet a corky woman named Daisy Kirkwood and they take her into their custody into helping Griffin become a pop star.  If there is ever a time that we are abducted by aliens I hope I go in the way that Daisy Kirkwood did. I really enjoyed the modern day time frame this story takes place in. I really liked how the author added her personality to the story and it definitely shows! I like Griffin who is an alien, and then there are times I cannot stand him. Griffin has a personality that I cannot even begin explaining! He is comical, conceited, cocky, he has his sweet moments, and oh did I mention a fashion diva! I really love the two quotes below that you added to your book! I laughed a good five minutes after reading these.

“Griffin marches over to me. “You have singing plates here? I haven’t seen any singing plates. Where are they? Why don’t I hear them?” “No. I’m just making a Disney movie reference.” ” Disney! Oh, I’ve heard of him.” Griffin shrugs and walks away having clearly lost interest in me.” 

“You have no right to anything on my planet. I can call the president for backup if I want to. And Will Smith. And Jeff Goldblum.”

Griffin acts immature for a good portion of the book. I really wanted him to grow up and act like a man.Even though he did buy Daisy some clothes and thought about her at times, I wanted him to act like he was there to save the world instead of an annoying brat. There were parts of the book that took me a while to get through, they seemed to linger on me. The beginning pulled me in as well as the first couple chapters, but there were some chapters like when Griffin has an interview at the studio and practicing with a new band at the recording studio that seemed to go on and on and I had to re-read them because I zoned out.

This story gave me so many mixed feelings. I would be enjoying the book and laughing at the conversations Griffin and Daisy would have and the little inserts the author added, and then I just was could not stay with it, and I think it’s how  Griffin is written. Always wanting someone to dress him, waiting on him hand and foot, ordering his food, and watching him constantly, I feel he could have been an amazing character if he was more mature with some of corkiness.

If you’re interested in aliens, pop music, and corky little things, then Dating An Alien Popstar is for you! To find out more you can visit Amazon, Goodreads, and Kendra Saunders Website.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kendra L. Saunders is a time-and-space traveling fashionista author who writes books about magical, dark-haired men, interviews famous people, and suggests way too many bands to you via whatever social media platform she can get her hands on. She writes with good humor because humor is the best weapon for a girl who can’t learn karate or ballroom dancing.

 

Heir To The Sun

Author: Jennifer Allis Provost
Publisher: Bellatrix Press
Published: June 2015
Pages: 301
Format:E-Book
Rating: 4 Stars

Summary 

A mad king. An escaped slave. One warrior to save the realm…

When Asherah, stripped of both her memory and her dignity, learns that King Sahlgren is responsible for her torment it nearly breaks her. Instead, she leads her fellow slaves to freedom. More prisons are scattered across Parthalan, and Asherah vows to burn them all.

Caol’nir, a warrior descended from the gods, is sworn to serve and defend the king. Then a priestess is murdered, and Caol’nir learns that Sahlgren is to blame. Determined to stop the king, sacred oath or no, Caol’nir joins Asherah’s rebellion.

What Caol’nir doesn’t know is that Sahlgren has promised the demon lord a woman of rare and singular beauty, a woman whose abilities are rumored to rival the sun god’s themselves…a woman Caol’nir knows all too well.

 

MY REVIEW

Thank you, Jennifer, for allowing me to review your book. Let me say you have successfully made me depressed, but will discuss that later on. When I read your summary I was so excited expecting something to be full of action and suspense, boy was I wrong. Congratulations on totally surprising me with all the romance! I love the affection between Alluria and Caol’nir and Asherah and Lormac. Not only did I love the romance, I loved your characters. They were genuine with personality, tough with a side of sweetness, and strong with a hint of delicateness.

“I didn’t think I needed to,” he said. “But if you need it said, I love you. So much so I would relinquish my lands, my birthright… everything. If it meant I would have you.”

Asherah is a young faerie who wants to seek revenge on the king for enslaving her. She becomes the leader of the slaves that she saves from the dojas. The one characteristic that stood out to me was that Asherah did not choose to be the leader and she did not want to be their leader. The ones who were slaves wanted her to be due to her bravery, determination, strength, and her skills. Instead of turning down the slaves, Asherah continued being their leader without complaining about it. She is a true leader marching her people into the city to make things right again.

My other favorite character is Alluria. She is one of the most sweetest characters in the book in my opinion. She falls in love with Caol’nir her guard which is against her vow to the gods. But Caol’nir returns the feelings for her. She goes to the gods to break her vow to be with the man she loves. How romantic is that! Instead of the man fighting for the woman he loves, the woman is fighting for the man she loves by giving up her whole life. Love this twist!

Even though I like this book, it did take some time to get into it. I kept waiting and waiting for it to develop. So if your the type of person who likes the slowness then you will have no problem, but if you’re like me and want to jump into the book right away, stay with it! I wished we saw the wickedness of the king more. We are told about it, I just wish he felt more like an enemy. Now I will not spoil this, but WHY WHY WHY WHY did you have to kill off that one certain character?!?! Totally depressed and took me by surprised! You could not let it end with happily ever after, could ya?

If you want more information on this book you can visit Amazon, Goodreads or Jennifer Allis Provost website.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jennifer Allis Provost writes books about faeries, orcs and elves. Zombies too. She grew up in the wilds of Western Massachusetts and had read every book in the local library by age twelve. (It was a small library). An early love of mythology and folklore led to her epic fantasy series, The Chronicles of Parthalan, and her day job as a cubicle monkey helped shape her urban fantasy, Copper Girl. When she’s not writing about things that go bump in the night (and sometimes during the day) she’s working on her MFA in Creative Nonfiction. Connect with her online at http://authorjenniferallisprovost.com//

Meet and Greet

Got to meet Sabaa Tahir author of An Ember In The Ashes and A Torch Against The Night, and Renee Ahdieh author of The Wrath And The Dawn and The Rose And The Dagger! Got to check this off my bucket list!