Severed Bonds by Kyra Dunst

Ho-hum… a mere mortal being convinced that she is now part of a secret world full of vampires, werewolves and fairies.

About the author

Kyra Dunst is a wife, mother, author and dreamer. She typically lives in her own world most of the time, but can often be found wandering around in Indiana with her husband, a daughter, a dog, a cat and some fish. When not writing, she is often thinking about writing, or trying her hand at various crafty things that she may or may not be good at doing. She is pretty sure her neighbor is a vampire, and that her eleventh grade math teacher was a werewolf, but the jury is still out on the Fae.

About Severed Bonds

Alrighty, where do I start? So the world is not new, it’s so thoroughly regurgitated that others in the lounge with me were asking what I kept sighing about. I couldn’t help it. Oh, the predictability! Female human, werewolves, vampires, fairies… and she happens to become a highly desirable pivotal character, wielding great power and saving the world though many more experienced power-players were present.

On the positive side, the book was well-written. The wording flowed, was descriptive and well-edited. Grammar, spelling, tense… nothing jumped out at me from the page to make my inner grammar-Nazi cringe. And even though the paranormal genre is desperately over exposed at the moment, I do feel that Dunst has something to add. Her world ticks all the boxes which fans of the paranormal will require, but on top of these, she has added some clever twists of her own. The usual love triangle was dealt with from a new angle, which was refreshing. The protagonist begins by resisting the love interest’s advances, although boy wins girl over partway through the book. I was interested to see how Dunst would be able to add further angst and indecision after the relationship was apparently sealed, but she did manage to continue the love theme well right to the end.

The age of the heroine did not work for me. She is supposed to be an adult, fresh from a broken marriage, but she whinges and throws tantrums in fine style - to match the teenage heroines which frequent books of this kind. I found her intensely dislikeable. I think that Dunst was probably going for the effect of a young, vulnerable yet strong (and hugely attractive) woman thrust into a world which she had previously not known existed, and struggling to come to grips with it, but instead she came off as immature, whining, weak, ungrateful and distinctly unattractive.

Why do the alpha men want to protect Alexandra? It’s beyond me. Hasn’t Ian got anything better to do? Why should Kade be attracted to her? Just instinct? I can’t see any other reason for it.

In summary, if you like paranormal fiction (and I know that many, many do) this is for you. If you love anything about werewolves, this is for you. There are some new and interesting additions to the usual formula here, and you may well not see the twists coming. Not that I’m implying that Severed Bonds has been written to a formula; perhaps it would have been stronger if it had. I do believe that many will enjoy this book, and will be recommending it to fans of this genre.

Severed Bonds is the first in Kyra Dunst’s Annwn Unveiled Series, the second of which The Stygian Kiss is also available now.

Where you can find Kyra Dunst online:

Her website http://www.kyradunst.com

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7223504.Kyra_Dunst?from_search=true

Smashwords http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/KyraDunst

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Severed-Bonds-Annwn-Unveiled-Book-ebook/dp/B00EHMNDJW/ref=sr_sp-atf_title_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405421045&sr=8-1&keywords=kyra+dunst

The Runaway by Aritri Gupta

A fantastic first draft

About the author:

Aritri Gupta, 25, was born into a family of arts and culture, in West Bengal, India. A consultant working with Bristlecone, Mahindra, writing has always been her passion and something she pursued with diligence. She loves observing the candid shades of life through the lens of her creativity. Though an engineering degree in Metallurgy and an MBA from one of the top schools in India sounds otherwise, her alter ego is one with the creative hues of art and culture. Reading, dance, music and painting are her other interests.
Life, with all its mysteries, and people have always been her inspiration to write, and that's what her stories essentially comprise of - emotions!

About The Runaway:

I wanted to really dislike this book, because the author committed so many of my most hated sins. Tense jumping around. Overusing the thesaurus. Plonking a word in there ‘cause it looked fancy, with the rest of the sentence screaming blue murder at it. Two dimensional characters. Settings and words that don’t agree (a sheriff? In Scotland?)

But the truth is that I think Gupta has the makings of a fantastic novel here. The story is fascinating. A serial killer on the loose, each grisly murder bringing him closer to the person who he has obsessed about for years. I love this premise, and I think so much more could be done with it. Gupta should heighten the mystery, give us more time to work out for ourselves what the link between the victims is.

The law-enforcement throughout the book is frustratingly useless. Everyone knows who the killer is. He still hangs out in the same places he always has. Everyone knows who he’s after. And we know where she hangs out too. So why can’t they catch the damn guy? I realise, from the author’s point of view, that he needs to remain on the loose, but with a more intelligent police force the killer would have to have been more intelligent also, and this would make for a much more frightening villain. As it was I found him a little ho-hum. He was definitely evil - just not as clever and calculating as I’d have liked.

Gupta had many interesting back-stories, which filled out the novel very well. However, although she gave her characters each a past, somehow this wasn’t enough to push them forward into 3D. I wonder if it was because she jumped so quickly from one flashback to another. I was often reeling with the speed of it, trying to catch up on where we were up to, who had been killed, and whether the murderer was in prison or out of it.

In short, this is a wonderful first draft. I enjoyed it immensely. With the right editors I know it can be teased and reworked into a very enjoyable, grisly thriller. And I think that the cover is absolutely perfect for the book, it drew me in immediately. With three books to choose from today, The Runaway was my first pick - thanks solely to the cover art.

 

You can find Aritri Gupta online:

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8379823.Aritri_Gupta

You can find The Runaway on line: http://www.amazon.com/Runaway-Aritri-Gupta-ebook/dp/B00LIXHW72/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406683613&sr=8-1&keywords=the+runaway+aritri+gupta

Unworthy by Joanne Armstrong

This blog post originally appeared on The Review Hart, 3.11.14. Click here to see the original post.

Postcard Review:
This is a book for people who enjoy good character development with palpable emotions. The plot itself is interesting, and while I’m back and forth on the ending, the overall premise and world-building is well-done. The characters shine in this book, their motives are carefully thought through, the personalities are strong and clear-cut, and the emotions are realistic and palpable. This is clearly the first book in a series, but it’s a quick read (in a good way) and shows promise for the rest of the series.
Full Review:
The characters are the big selling point to this book. They are very much the focus of the story, and while the plot is still present, it’s clearly the first book in a series. The overarching question is resolved and the journey completed in the loosest sense, which does give some resolution. There are a lot of questions and threads left open at the end, meaning that the plot arc as a whole isn’t completed, but it’s resolved enough to give a feeling of satisfaction. That being said, the plot arc is a particularly simple one, although the twist at the end leaves a lot of potential for further development of the characters and the world. That, however, doesn’t mean that this book reads like idle filler or a book of pure exposition. Unlike so many first books in a series, there is some character development and forwards progress through the plot. The world-building gives some insight into the setting and lays a solid foundation for further plot in later books. The real focus is on the character development and the insight given into the character’s history and personalities.
The protagonist, Arcadia, in particular shines as a very real teenager who has grown up in less than ideal circumstances. Her personality was forged by her upbringing and surroundings, yet she’s still a strong, interesting woman. That then gives room to explore the secondary characters around her as they react to her, and all of them prove to be thoroughly developed and interesting. Each of the characters has a well-thought-out backstory that fits in with the world as it’s established and explained.
The broad strokes of the world are very familiar, in that there is an oppressive regime that the majority of people are happy to accept. The regime came about after a disaster that destroyed most of humanity, and that same disaster is used to support the choices they make and keep people in their place. How the author chooses to construct that world makes it stand out. The world is described with vivid and emotive imagery that, with geography, has understandable effects on the politics and evolution of the society.
There’s an interesting mix of traditional superstition and speculation over a broken future and what would happen should the disaster strike. It’s familiar while being quirky and fitted to this particular plot and set-up. The focus of the world is on health and strength, in face of the great plague that wiped out most of humanity. That leads to those who are deemed to be weak and unfit being pariahs, almost like the Untouchables in Hindu life. There are a number of plot points and moments of character development for Arcadia and a number of secondary characters where the author uses that set-up and caste system within the society to move the plot forward. It ties together to form an interesting narrative and is used well.
The actual plot is a little thin, but that’s barely noticeable, with the focus being on the characters, how they adapt to their new understanding of the world, and the development of the world itself. On a technical level it’s very clean. There were a couple of typos, but I could count them on one hand. The choice of tense and voice may throw some people, as it’s first person present, but I found it enjoyable and a lot of other readers will no doubt agree with that.
Altogether, this is a well-written book with thoroughly developed characters. The writing style means that the emotion shines through and the vivid imagery brings the interesting world to life. Unworthy is very much a character-driven book, which means that the plot is a little thin, but it remains in the background and allows the characters to develop and be the focus. That being said, the final twist was interesting and gives potential for something much more in the next book. Technically it’s very sound; some readers may find themselves a little put off by the tense, but that’s a personal choice and I feel it works well. There’s a lot of potential here and I hope the author fulfils it.

Shen Hart, The Review Hart

Reviewer Bio:

Shen stalks innocent stories down dark alleys where she dissects them, revealing the bare bones and silky threads. She is driven by the need to sate her readers’ lust, their addiction for new books to ravage. She is, the Review Hart.

Lifting the Lid by Rob Johnson

A comedy thriller about overbearing mothers, toilet mishaps and dogs that refuse to do as they’re told.

About Rob Johnson:

Even before I read his bio, I knew that Rob Johnson would be an interesting person. His book told me that he just had to be. So here’s the bio, and you’ll see what I mean:

Having worked for several years as an administrator and publicist for touring theatre companies, I decided to try my hand at writing plays myself. Four of these were professionally produced and toured throughout the UK, but when public funding for non-commercial theatre virtually dried up overnight I was forced into the world of ‘proper jobs’ as my father liked to call them.

During this period, I also made use of my Equity card and appeared in numerous TV shows as a ‘supporting artiste’, otherwise and somewhat less attractively known as an ‘extra’. (Ricky Gervaise was spot on by the way. Just wish I’d written ‘Extras’ myself.)

I now live on a 5-acre smallholding in Greece with my partner Penny, six rescue dogs and three cats and divide my time between writing and growing olives organically for oil.

About Lifting the Lid:

It’s taken me ages to read this book. That’s not code for “it’s not very good”, honestly, just bear with me. It took me ages because I wanted to read every word properly - no skimming allowed - and because there have been so many other things on the go recently that I haven’t been able to concentrate on it. And I wanted to.

Now that I’m done, I’ve been wholly rewarded. The story is just so much FUN! Trevor is a boring (yes) man with a boring job and an AWFUL mother who decides to chuck it all in one day and buy a camper. So he and his dog Milly head off into the sunset and look for adventure. He doesn’t get very far as the camper needs repairs, so he books into a hotel for the night.

And so begins Trevor’s adventures. His dear mother sets the police onto him simply because she doesn’t like him much, and before he knows it, a private detective, MI5 and group of crooks are after him as well. Quiet, boring Trevor can’t understand what he’s done to bring the wrath of the good, bad and ugly down on himself. All he did was break a cistern lid, that’s not a crime is it?

I loved the story. It is entertaining, well-written, cleverly planned and expertly timed. The separate threads of Johnson’s story are carefully prepared and then expertly woven together to culminate at the finale. The characters are larger-than-life, without quite slumping into the “caricature” pit. Johnson gives his reader variety in mood, pace, setting and dialogue, never giving them a chance to become bored or to be able to predict where the story is heading.

You can find out more about Rob Johnson and his books on his website: http://rob-johnson.org.uk/

 

 

Elizabeth Clansham by Catherine E. Chapman

A mesmerising read, skilfully and humorously woven together.

Catherine E Chapman is a writer of women's fiction and romance. Her longer works have been described as quirky romances and accessible character fiction, her writing style said to be filmic. She also writes shorter fiction in the genre of historical romance.

Her books are available from Smashwords, their retailers and Amazon.

For those interested in a taste of Chapman’s contemporary writing, the short stories, 'The Ramblers,' 'Opening Night,' 'The Family Tree,' 'The Office Party' and 'All the Trimmings', are available to download free from Smashwords.

'Elizabeth Clansham' is a contemporary romance, set in the Highlands of Scotland.

Elizabeth Clansham arrives in a small Scottish village to teach literature. Well, in fact what she really is doing is running away from dealing with the loss of her father and the realisation that she has no meaningful “others” in her life, whilst telling herself that she is going to write a novel.

The village accepts her into its bosom and she becomes a part of its daily life. Through the eyes of her pupils, we see her as a teacher, the subject of a teenage crush, and as a romantic heroine. In the eyes of the village gossips she is a single woman (strike that - a spinster) for whom a beau must be found amongst the local bachelors. Through the eyes of a scowling, troubled child she is a witch.

Elizabeth is all of them and more (although I have to admit I never really “got” the witch one). She’s also a loner; a recluse who is unable to deal with personal questions or judgment, mainly because she is afraid of what she will see when she eventually turns the mirror on herself. Her character’s development is clever to say the least. At the start I struggled to get a handle on her, and as the book progressed I realised that the opinions I was forming of her were all wrong anyway - and not to trust her point of view, since it was so stubbornly myopic.

I loved that it was so subtle.

The book isn’t just about Elizabeth though. Chapman introduces us to her English class (thankfully small, as I was wondering if I’d keep track of everyone), both the day and night-time students, plus the local gamekeeper, the gossips and the neighbours. We have a good handful of characters to pick and choose between. Who will be cast as the literary sacrificial lamb? (Oh surely not him, surely not her!) Who will get together with who? I know who I wanted to get together, but will they work?

It is a wonderful story with wonderful characters. They live and breathe beautifully. They have their own language (I especially loved Ronnie’s, every third word an expletive), their own back stories, their own motives and desires. I thought that Chapman wrote the students to perfection. She deals with teenage-hood with a light brush, covering everything both respectfully and without moralising. In this book you will find teen drinking, bullying, many teenage crushes, dropping out, arson, anger issues at being abandoned, curiosity about gay sex, curiosity about heterosexual sex, and living with the town drunk as your father. And above all, friendship. All this was in the classroom Elizabeth Clansham walked into on her first day on the job, blissfully unaware. She’s still blissfully unaware of most of it by the end of the year too, but thankfully much more tuned in to her students’ day to day issues by then.

Elizabeth is the main story, the students from her class woven in as a side story beautifully. The other side story which I thought was absolutely spot-on was the seven-year-old child’s (the one who decided she was a witch). I suspect that Lauren’s story began as a small by-line but quickly grew. For me it threatened to eclipse the main character’s, since I enjoyed it so much. Lauren comes to stay in the village because her mother is running from her past too, and although Laeticia and Elizabeth are absolutely chalk and cheese when it comes to characters, they strike up the closest friendship Elizabeth is likely to have while she remains so hell-bent on protecting her emotions.

My final accolade for this book has to go to the constant references to literature. Elizabeth is teaching a high school literature class, trying to encourage her students to read widely among Austen, Bronte, Shakespeare and Shelley. And it wasn’t not long before I started seeing the characters everywhere - although Chapman did have to lay a few solid traps for me before I noticed what she was doing. There’s Macbeth and Lady Macbeth! There’s Mr Darcy. There’s Heathcliff (thank God he’s a little bit tamed), and she’s just got to be Emma… She has brought them all together, put them in a Highland village and given them modern names, but still, here they are. How will they fare meeting each other?

Clever, clever, clever. It has made me want to reread my old favourites to draw the similarities for myself. And to answer the question which the book never attempts: just who is Elizabeth?

Catherine E Chapman can be found here on her website.

Elizabeth Clansham is FREE to download from Smashwords at the moment, so get into it!

Decadent Deceptions by Keta Diablo

I thoroughly enjoyed this well written romp through a dangerous cat and mouse game of desire and deception.

About Keta Diablo:

Keta Diablo is a multi-published author of paranormal, historical and occasionally gay fiction (paranormal). In 2009, her erotic romance Decadent Deceptions was a finalist in the RWA Molly contest. In 2010, Keta's entry Phoenix Rising finaled in the Scarlet Boa contest and in 2011 Keta's acclaimed paranormal shifter, Where The Rain is Made, was nominated by Authors After Dark for a BOOKIE AWARD AND by Deep In The Heart of Romance for BEST ROMANCE OF THE YEAR.In 2014 Sky Tinted Water was nominated for a Rone Award.

Many of her books, including her gay fiction series CROSSROADS have won numerous awards: Top Reviewer's Pick, Recommended Read and Best Book of the Month.

About Decadent Deceptions:

The story takes place in 1856 in Savannah, Georgia, all flouncing lavender dresses and drawling accents. Diablo does a wonderful job of capturing the essence of the south, giving her reader exactly what we expect and require, without quite tipping into a cliché.

Her heroine, Olivia, is strong minded and independent, one who women of our times can relate and aspire to, and is really quite out of place for 1856. This is all part of the set-up though - Diablo weaving an intricate and thoroughly believable story of a wayward young lady being brought to heel first by her father (unsuccessful), then her brother (again, unsuccessful) and finally her soul mate (beautifully and predictably successful - but on her own terms). The story had the feel of The Taming of the Shrew, and I really warmed to Olivia in the character of Katherine.

Now for her hero. He was simply perfect. We all love a manly man, and Morgan is definitely that. He had plenty of the rugged rogue in him, enough to entice the wayward Olivia (and us) in and hold her interest, plus enough of the romantic to clearly fall head over heels in love. Who could resist such a man? I predict that few of Diablo’s readers will be able to.

Al Diablo’s characters were fleshed out and real - even the secondary ones such as the brother, sister in law and local Madam. All of them behave consistently and believably throughout the story, making it so much more easy to immerse in.

The story versus bedroom scenes were balanced perfectly, plus there was just that tiny touch of mystery to add interest and intrigue; although thankfully not much, as it simply wasn’t needed.

I conclusion, this was a thoroughly enjoyable book with likable and lustable characters who are sure to please fans of sexy, sensual fiction.

If you want to find out more about Keta, she can be found here:

Keta's Keep Blog, http://ketaskeep.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ketadiablo
Facebook Fan page: http://www.facebook.com/KetaDiablo.Au...
Gay Fiction Blog: http://thestuffofmythandmen.blogspot.com

Cafe Insomniac by Mark Capell

Quick blurb:

Twenty-five-year-old insomniac Justin Brooks opens an all-night café. But soon after opening, one of his customers is murdered.

The fallout from the murder makes his insomnia worse -- much worse. He completely loses the ability to sleep.

Strange things start to happen in Justin's world, things that are hard to explain.

About Mark Capell:

For my sins, I used to be a television director. And I was lucky enough to win a Royal Television Society Award.

During that time, I met all sorts of weird and wonderful people, including a gangster who offered to kill anybody who upset me. But instead of taking up his offer, I decided to join the exciting digital revolution and take my storytelling skills to the world of fiction.

My first novel, a crime thriller called Run, Run, Run, reached number one on the Amazon UK crime and thriller chart.

My aim as a writer is to tell exciting stories that haven't been told before, and to introduce readers to intriguing characters they haven't met in other books. In that way I want to be an explorer.

My take on the novel:

In a word, muffled.

It had an interesting start. Justin Brooks, an insomniac, very quietly opens a night café and quietly his clientele starts picking up. A patron is quietly murdered around the corner. Justin quietly reacts to this, and to the strange man who seems to be quietly threatening him and his family.

All very quietly, as if seen through fog. Muffled noises, muted emotions. No, not through fog… as though it’s a dream. Some parts are heard in detail, and some parts brushed over, as though inconsequential or as though they didn’t happen at all.

The Edward Hopper work, Nighthawks, was at the forefront of my mind. The whole atmosphere of the painting; the stillness, the quiet, the frozen scene in the heart of a bustling city, the lack of any kind of relationship between the characters… this was perfectly personified in the pages of Capell’s story. It was entrancing. I’ve always loved Nighthawks, and it was like I had jumped right into the scene.

I read on, waiting for the Technicolor to explode. Waiting for the event to happen that would kick the dream world where impossibly strange people turned up and did unexplainable things to the curb. I was looking forward to seeing how Justin would cope with this new world. The real one.

The event did take place, but it was muffled. Justin coped very well. So reasonably. So logically.

Sigh.

The muted emotions continued. I wasn’t right in all my predictions about the dream world, but I was close enough to find the “reveal” not as surprising as I’d imagine it was intended.

I have a few frustrations to air. The muted feel of the story is okay for a while, especially if the pace changes about a third of the way in - but not for an entire book. Capell is verbose. Many conversations are relayed word for word, adding length to an otherwise simple yet compelling story. The description of insomnia was repetitive. The characters were neutral. I didn’t like them or dislike them, I simply didn’t get a handle on them at all. All down to that muffled writing. They were too simple. The most interesting one was the father, but his character at the end is not believable.

However, I also have some high praise.

The muffled writing is absolutely perfect for this character. Justin goes through his days / nights in a daze, because of his tiredness. The style of writing perfectly mimics this feel of being half-in and half-out of a dream world at all times. It captures perfectly what it would be like to be constantly tired. Nighthawks again. A perfect pairing.

And although I wanted him to snap out of it towards the end, when the climax takes place and forces a reality check (plus he’s had some sleep), he doesn’t. I didn’t like this because I wanted more, more, more… something. More realness. And this too is appropriate, because although the man has slept, he’s still… well, you’ll have to read it and find out. I’ve given away far too much as it is.

Ooo and I love the covers. I have seen two, and they are both good.

Not particularly fast-paced, and a little long-winded for me. But you will like this book if you enjoy gentle suspense, gentle psychological thrillers, gentle who-dunnits where you get given all the clues from page one and can enjoy finding out if you were right.