Tag: fantasy

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

Vicious by V.E. Scwab

Karen

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I got this book about 6-8 months ago for $1.99 because I like the author and it sounded cool but for some reason I never read it. Well I have now and I have things to say. Let’s be orderly people! First the blurb:

Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong.

Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end?

 

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WHY DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS BOOK EARLIER?!?! I only blame myself since I owned it and it still took me months to actually read it. It was amazing! It was complex, confusing and at times downright infuriating but all in a good way. Let us discuss.

This book follows two college roommates that basically make X-Men by following a formula from Flatliners. I know that sounds like I should hate I but I don’t, because the characters are so strong. This book is the definition of antihero, there are moments where you want to cheer for the wrong side, neither side, or you’re not sure if there are even sides.

Then there is the story telling. There is this weird time jumping, which at first I found very disconcerting but the more invested I became I more it just drove the anticipation for me. I’ve read books like that before but I rarely end up being sold on it. I did feel like this book needed a follow up, I just wanted a touch more and when I went online everyone talked about a promised second book but this is from 2013 and VE Schwab has written other series since then. But do not dispare, last week I got a notice about this..

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So this book is not only amazing as a stand alone but it will finally have its sequel. This ones a keeper.

Books, fantasy, Mystery, Out of the Box Blogs, paranormal romance, steampunk, Urban Fantasy

Lake Silence by Anne Bishop

Karen

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I hate to just come back to blogging to a negative note, fortunately I read Burn Bright and Lake Silence back to back. Let the love fest begin! First, the blurb:

In this thrilling and suspenseful fantasy, set in the world of the New York Times bestselling Others series, Vicki DeVine and her lodger, the shapeshifter Aggie Crowe, stumble onto a dead body . . . and find themselves enmeshed in danger and dark secrets.

Human laws do not apply in the territory controlled by the Others–vampires, shapeshifters, and paranormal beings even more deadly. And this is a fact that humans should never, ever forget . . .

After her divorce, Vicki DeVine took over a rustic resort near Lake Silence, in a human town that is not human controlled. Towns like Vicki’s have no distance from the Others, the dominant predators that rule most of the land and all of the water throughout the world. And when a place has no boundaries, you never really know what’s out there watching you.

Vicki was hoping to find a new career and a new life. But when her lodger, Aggie Crowe–one of the shapeshifting Others–discovers a dead body, Vicki finds trouble instead. The detectives want to pin the man’s death on her, despite the evidence that nothing human could have killed the victim. As Vicki and her friends search for answers, things get dangerous–and it’ll take everything they have to stay alive.

After my last post I feel as if everyone is looking at me and thinking..

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So I was nervous, what if I didn’t like Lake Silence? Should I just stay silent? Not to worry

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I LOVED IT!!!

Anne Bishop has managed to introduce a whole new set of characters for us to meet and start to become attached to, in a world that is familiar yet in a place that is not. It’s perfect because, though we know a lot of the terms, like terra indigene or elders, the rules have changes some since the Great Predation, some humans still go along blindly (like idiots) but most understand and fear. It’s nice to see the scarier side, and the humans who you are getting to know actually fearing those bigger and badder characters. I love that the elders and elementals are right there watching everything, adding an extra creep factor even for the terra indigene, I love the idea of possibly being part of and getting to see a place like The Jumble being formed and built, I even like Sproing (especially the Sproingers).

I loved this book. I just can’t stop saying it. I was worried that I wouldn’t like the new characters because I was so attached to Simon and Meg and to their world but, this gave me just enough of the familiar that I didn’t feel lost and just enough new that it felt like somewhere different.

Thank you Anne!

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