The Black Elf of Seaward Isle Book Review

Author: Joni Parker
Date of Publication: July 17, 2012 (Kindle)
Publisher: Village Green Press LLC
Pages: 240
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Paperback or Kindle: Both


Fiery Fantasy Thoughts

The first volume in the extraordinary new fantasy trilogy from Joni L. Parker. Trapped on an island, shipwrecked time travellers struggle first to survive and then--to escape.

Elves, dwarves and mortals mingle in a world filled with pirates, political intrigue and magic. Their fates rest in the hands of one young woman, the orphan Lady Alexin.

Half Elf and sole descendant of a Titan ancestor, she trained as a warrior, to avenge her parents' deaths, unaware that only she has the power to save them all.

I love a Fantasy story, however this one fell a little short for me.

I enjoyed the background information, but I did feel a little overwhelmed at the amount of information that was thrown at me in parts.

There was a lot going on with a variety of characters and places and your imagination was always kept active by sub plots coming and going but I did think that due to all of these things going on I was a little confused at times.

Also, I found the grammatical and spelling errors a little distracting and thought if this book had an editor to deal with the grammatical errors and slim down some of the heavily detailed background information, it would be a fantastic read.

But due to these weaknesses, I can only give this fantasy book 2 wings out of 5 as it did not set my world on fire!

Check the Ratings Page to see what 2 wings means!


Click here to buy this book

Eva

What Hides Within Book Review

Author: Jason Parent
Date of Publication: 25 July, 2012 (Kindle)
Publisher: Double Dragon eBooks
Pages: 308
Genre: Horror, Crime
Paperback or Kindle: Both


Fiery Fantasy Thoughts

Inside all of us, there is darkness. Inside Clive, it's tangible, and it's aching to get out.

What Hides Within tells the story of a man held captive by an unknown evil. Clive Menard is a spineless slacker leading an ordinary existence. But when Chester enters his life, it becomes far from ordinary.

A disheveled Clive stands alone in a hospital waiting room. A series of incidences have led him to undergo unnecessary neurosurgery. A voice inside Clive's head nags him to kill the doctor.

Weeks prior, a murder investigation and an unrelated kayaking excursion set the story's interlocking events in motion. When a remorseful killer, a bomb-happy psychopath and a mysterious widow spider converge upon Clive, they bring with them destruction and death. Clive must discover who or what is steering his very existence before he, too, is consumed by the carnage around him.

With a driven detective following his every step and a vicious killer hiding within his circle of friends, Clive must walk a narrow and dangerous path, teetering between salvation and damnation. He must confront Chester and his own demons. But is he powerless to overcome them?

This story is one which I feel I have read a few elements of before (Frankenstein, The Exorcist and Tales from the Crypt).

The main character, Clive, is arrogant, dismissive and is not happy with his life however he does not seem to feel the need to make any changes to make him into a better person. 

This all changes when he begins to have trouble with his hearing, which develops into vivid dreams and progresses onto him getting brain surgery.

He thinks he's going crazy but we soon realise that there is something more to what is going on in his head...

I always enjoy a story about some type of entity taking over the host but I did find a few issues with this one.

I liked that Parent left a lot to the reader's imagination, however I personally felt that it would have been nice to know a little more in parts.

I also got a little confused when it changed point of views, so when I thought I was reading his thoughts, I was actually reading another character's without any warning.

And lastly, there were a few minor grammatical and spelling issues which I noticed but this did not distract my enjoyment throughout this dark and creepy story.

Overall I give this book a healthy 3 out of 5 wings as I enjoyed the concept of the story even though it did remind me of other books.

Check the Ratings Page to see what 3 wings means!


Click here to buy this book

Alana

Book Reviews On HOLD until December!

Hi Lovely Authors and Beautiful Bookworms,

Unfortunately, due to our commitments away from the Fiery Fantasy Book Reviews Site, we are unable to accept anymore Book Review requests until December!

We have had a fantastic response to our advertisements calling for authors to contact us but unfortunately, there are just not enough hours in the day for us to indulge in a great book!

The books we are currently reading will still get a review, however these may be slightly delayed by a week or two but so far, we are enjoying all of them and look forward to receiving more amazing books in December.

Hope you all understand!

Eva and Alana x

Wicked Hunger Book Review

Author: DelSheree Gladden
Date of Publication: July 8, 2013 (Kindle)
Publisher: Mythos Press
Pages: 259
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal
Paperback or Kindle: Both


Fiery Fantasy Thoughts

Vanessa and Zander Roth are good at lying. They have to be when they are hiding a deadly secret. Day after day, they struggle to rein in their uncontrollable hunger for pain and suffering in order to live normal lives. Things only get worse when Ivy Guerra appears with her pink-striped hair and secrets. The vicious hunger Ivy inspires is frightening, not to mention suspicious.

Vanessa’s instincts are rarely wrong, so when they tell her that Ivy’s appearance is a sign of bad things to come, she listens. She becomes determined to expose Ivy’s secrets. Vanessa tries to warn her brother, but Zander is too enamored with Ivy to pay attention to her conspiracy theories.

One of them is right about Ivy … but if they lose control of their hunger, it won’t matter who is right and who is wrong. One little slip, and they’ll all be dead.

I received this book for review as part of a blog tour and I must admit I immediately thought of 'The Hunger Games' as I looked at the book cover but I couldn't have been more wrong!

Vanessa (or Van as she prefers) and her brother Zander are strong characters and I loved that although they both have an uncontrollable struggle to maintain their thirst for pain and suffering, Gladden allowed the characters a release from their gloomy instincts as their urges seem to decrease when they are able to work out their aggressive tendencies by doing physical activities (Van is a dance teacher in the evening, whilst Zander is the school's athletic star).

I liked the fact that this book is written in the first person's point of view (every few chapters alternated from Vanessa to Zander) as it added to the intensity of the storyline and aided the urgency of the plot. 

The contrast between the characters personality and inner turmoil made this story easier to read as it gave the reader two perspectives to see the main problem from.

Vanessa is a typical 15 year old. Due to her secret, she tries to keep herself to herself. She has a small group of friends but concentrates on curbing her urges with her evening dance class.

Zander is the darker, more concerned with taking out his urges on other players on the field than trying to control his inner thirst. 

I enjoyed Vanessa character more as she seemed the more stable out of the pair and reading Zander's inner turmoil did get tiring at some points.

The sub characters are written in well as they help us to understand just how hard it is for Vanessa and Zander to control their hunger (even when feelings are involved), which helps unveil more clues to this dangerous pair.

I found the pace of this novel ideal for the storyline as I was always left wanting more, however, I did feel that even this is a YA novel, some parts of the story are a little scary and I would definitely say that it is not for the under 13s (in my opinion).

I really enjoyed this novel and would recommend it to anyone who loves a little mystery with their Urban Fantasy!

I give it 4 wings out of 5 as I did enjoy it but maybe not for the younger YA fan!

Check the Ratings Page to see what 4 wings means!


Click here to buy this book
 

Eva

Fiery Books - History of the Timelaws

Book Description

Elizabeth is a practically normal fifteen-year-old. 

She goes to movies, teases her brothers, and belongs to a secret group of magic-wielding time travellers. 

When the rules that govern time travel are broken, chaos ensues, and it is up to her to restore the Timelaws. 

As rivalling Wizards and Darks scramble back and forth through time to claim victory in an ancient war, her past changes, and so does her memory of it. 

If Elizabeth can’t make sense of the mayhem, her home, her family, and the universe will be destroyed.

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Fiery Books - The Keepers: Archer

Book Description

‘Don’t ever look for me again, Archer.’

His mouth curled into a smile. ‘Game on.’

Central Park. Sienna Beckham is out jogging in the autumn sun, feeling almost ordinary.

Trouble is, she'll never be. She's on the run from her life as a powerful witch and the three Keepers blood-bound to protect her.

Evil is hot on Sienna's tail and Archer Bennett is searching for her, desperate to find her before they do. 

As one of her Keepers, he will fight to his death to defend her.

Sienna must return and defend her hometown, Rapid Falls – but she has to face the past and master her powers. And as forbidden feelings blossom between Sienna and Archer, will their love survive the ultimate war?

The Keepers: three strong and handsome warrior brothers, born to protect.

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Fiery Books - The Grave Winner

Book Description

Leigh Baxton is terrified her mom will come back from the dead -- just like the prom queen did.

While the town goes beehive over the news, Leigh bikes to the local cemetery and buries some of her mom’s things in her grave to keep her there. 

When the hot and mysterious caretaker warns her not to give gifts to the dead, Leigh cranks up her punk music and keeps digging.

She should have listened.

Two dead sorceresses evicted the prom queen from her grave to bury someone who offered certain gifts. Bury them alive, that is, then resurrect them to create a trio of undead powerful enough to free the darkest sorceress ever from her prison inside the earth.

With help from the caretaker and the dead prom queen, Leigh must find out what’s so special about the gifts she gave, and why the sorceresses are stalking her and her little sister. 

If she doesn’t, she’ll either lose another loved one or have to give the ultimate gift to the dead – herself.

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