Category: fantasy

Books, fantasy, great reads, paranormal romance, Reviews, Romance, scifi, steampunk, Urban Fantasy

August Releases

Karen

In my first year of blogging I use to put out a list of the books I was looking forward to for the next month and I kinda just stopped..well I miss it! So here is my picks for August, some that I’ve per-ordered already and some that I will wait patiently to get from the library.

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I need this book now!!!!

It’s funny that Les just talked about not reading the end of a series because this is the last book in the Kate Daniels series and I wouldn’t miss it for anything. Ilona Andrews is in my top three for writers and Kate Daniels has consistently been one of my favorite series for years. This book drops on August 28th, but I will be up August 27th to start this. I wish I could take a sick day in advance.

Bec

This book I ordered the second Bec McMaster informed me that I could. I love her steampunk world and her writing and this spinoff of the London Steampunk series is just as amazing. This is an auto read for me and will download onto my kindle on the 14th of August.

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This one is tricky. I’m attracted to the premise of this one but many (I mean quite a few) of my goodread reviewers that read things I like got ARC’s of this and didn’t enjoy it. Hmmm…I’m still curious but I think I will wait patiently for this one from my local library. Gorgeous cover though…

How about you, is there any book you can’t wait for that is coming out in August? I love a great recommendation so let me know!

Books, fantasy, Out of the Box Blogs, paranormal romance, Reviews, Romance, scifi, steampunk, Urban Fantasy

News about our blogging team

Karen

Book 1

First we wanted to start out by letting everyone know some sad news. Debra, one third of our blogging trio, is very ill and we will be losing her soon. Debra is the kindest of the three of us, even when she had a “harsh” criticism she would send it to me and I always would say “you’re too sweet” but that’s just her nature. She loves books, cares for people and made Les and I a little bit better. Because of this we think it’s appropriate to give someone else the gift of a book, from Debra to you. We know we have been sporadic bloggers over the years but you guys stick with us through some crazy times, hard times, and downright unthinkable times.

If this gift card goes to someone who’s been reading as long as us we say great, you get to have whatever book you want and it won’t be an ARC so there is no pressure in your review. If you are new or struggling, that’s great too, here is a chance to get a book without guilt. Believe it or not we’ve been blogging now for three years and we will miss Debra’s unique voice, but we thank you all for listening and always being kind to her. She loved blogging, so thank you for making it special.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Click the link to enter for your chance at winning. The winner will be chosen on Friday August 3,2018.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Books, fantasy, great reads, paranormal romance, Reviews, Romance

Heart of Fire by Bec McMaster

Karen

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I love dragons. I love the concept, I find them fascinating and always find myself picking up books when they are involved. The problem? Dragons must be hard to write, especially in romance, or maybe what I expect from them because usually I’m not as excited when I’m finished. So how did this book do? Let’s see what it was all about first, here’s a hint..there will be dragons.

The old eddas speak of dreki—fabled creatures who haunt the depths of Iceland’s volcanoes, and steal away fair maidens.

Freyja wants none of such myths. Dreki seducing young ladies? Ha. They probably eat such foolish girls. But when the local dreki steals her last ram—costing her any chance of feeding her ill father through the winter—Freyja intends to confront the fearsome myth.

Sentenced to a life of exile from his clan, Rurik is fascinated by the furious woman who comes to claim her ram. She reeks of mysterious magic and challenges him at every step. He intends to claim the passionate firebrand, but to do so, he must take mortal form.

It’s the only time the dreki are vulnerable, and with a dragon-hunter arriving on the shores of Iceland, he can barely afford the risk—but lonely Freyja, with her elf-cursed eyes and pragmatic soul, tempts him in ways he’s never felt before. Is she the key to reclaiming his heritage? Or will she be his downfall?

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Okay so they call them dreki in this book but they are dragons, and I love them! I think the hardest thing is to write a believable romance with a dragon character without the dragon losing what makes it a dragon (you know all those very inhuman qualities)  yet I thought this book did a great job. I liked Rurik as a dreki and still wanted him a Freya to end up together.

My verdict?

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Well done! Well done! I would say the world was well built, the romance was steamy, and the characters were interesting. All together a good read. I will be getting book two of this series.

Books, fantasy, great reads, indie author, Reviews, scifi, steampunk, Urban Fantasy

Ferromancer by Becca Andre

Karen

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I really loved this cover so when this book was recommended to me and I found it on KU I thought, why not? Here’s what it’s all about…

Solutions aren’t always black and white—sometimes they come in shades of iron gray.

Captain Bridget “Briar” Rose wants for nothing. Each day is a new adventure, living the life she loves, running cargo on the Ohio & Erie Canal. That is, until her cousin decides to sell the family boat to finance a new business venture. He wants to build locomotives for the railroad—the very industry that could put the entire canal system out of business.

Not one to give up without a fight, Briar does a little snooping into her cousin’s new business partner. When she gets a sneak peek at the locomotive plans, she suspects that the man is either a genius, or a ferromancer—one of the dreaded metal mages of Europe’s industrial revolution.

Determined to reveal her suspicions, Briar takes the plans and heads for the newspaper office in Columbus, stealing the family boat in the process. Kidnapping her cousin’s handsome business partner wasn’t part of the plan, but when he shows up, demanding the return of his property, she can’t let him go. After all, if Briar can prove that the railroad is using ferromancy, she could save more than her boat. She could save her way of life.

I’m going to break this into three parts, the world building, the characters, and the story.

First the world, I really liked it, steampunk for me can be confusing and I don’t like it sometimes, in fact I don’t even know if I would consider this steampunk probably more of a fantasy to be honest. I understood the concept, liked the world and started to follow along pretty quickly. Check.

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The characters. I didn’t like Briar, though she did get better, I dislike lead characters who can break any rules and are almost shocked when they have to face consequences. I also didn’t like the way she treated Grayson for most of the beginning of the book, without and real proof that she should. She stole from him and when he came to get his property she kidnapped him, blaming him! I had a hard time forgiving her. That’s a lie, I never did forgive her, she continued to do as she please to the detriment of others. Speaking of the others, I liked them and really helped me enjoy the book. So the characters where at times great and a times annoying.

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The story. Without giving too much away I found it interesting. I found the end fell a little flat for me but I found the flow wasn’t too fast or slow and I stayed entertained.

Bottom line, I got thus book free with KU (I think it’s $1 if you want to buy it) and I don’t regret it, it was a fun read.

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