Tag: indie

Books, great reads, indie author, Reviews, scifi

Sins of the Father by Anthony Vicino

Karen

About two weeks ago I posted a review on another one of Anthony’s books Parallel. Needless to say I was not happy with the end. So Anthony messaged me and our conversation went like this:

Kar how could you write a review like that on your blog! I’m one of the few people who actually liked something you wrote, think you could throw a little of the love back, sheesh! Here! If you’re going to be so cruel why don’t you just start taking my books!

Sorry, that’s a total lie, he was a completely professional and was really nice. I imagine if I was an author that’s what I would think every time I saw a bad review, of course I’d never say it. Really, I promise. To top off the fact that he seems to be genuinely nice (see I told you most authors are) he was also kind enough to send me this novella so I could give his writing another chance. So that’s how Sins of the Father came into my possession. And let me tell you, this one is a winner.

Background first. The story is about Ricky who is a man is his forties locked in a mental institute for killing his grandmother when he was a child but he can’t remember why. Problem? He thinks he’s still 9 years old and is suppressing the truth. So can the doctors unlock his memories and make him whole again? And will he be able to survive?

This is a completely different story than the first one I read from Vicino, more of a mental mind game scifi than a multi dimensional multi world scifi, but I can appreciate both. I found myself unable to put this book down, constantly curious as too what was coming next in the story. This book really forced me to feel with the characters, which is hard for me, making the end even more impactful. If you want a taste of Vicino’s writing this was a great, quick read. I plan on picking up his full length book, Time Heist, to see if the trend can continue.

Thank you Anthony, redemption successful.

Books, Reviews

Eidolon by Grace Draven

Karen

grace4

I’ve been holding any Grace Draven reviews very near and dear to my heart. You see she represents what every indie author wants, success. She writes great books independent of any publishing houses influence and she does it well. Plus I had the opportunity to actually meet Grace and she is genuinely a nice person (I find most authors are) which only added to my love of her, plus her books are for lack of a better word, awesome. She writes fantasy with a romantic element but it’s never quite traditional. Anyone who read Radiance would know that putting a gray, ugly alien with a human doesn’t scream success and love normally but Grace, she made it fantastic. So it’s with great anticipation that I look forward to the second book in the Wraith Kings series, Eidolon. Grace has been releasing pieces of the cover on her Facebook but since she’s revealed the whole I feel comfortable putting it on my blog, with this snippet:

In a bid for more power, the Shadow Queen of Haradis has unleashed a malignant force into the world. Her son Brishen, younger prince of the Kai royal house, suddenly finds himself ruler of a kingdom blighted by a diseased darkness and on the brink of war. His human wife Ildiko must decide if she will give up the man she loves in order to secure his throne.

Three enemy kingdoms must unite to save each other, and a one-eyed, reluctant king must raise an army of the dead to defeat an army of the damned.

A tale of alliance and sacrifice.

It’s set to release sometime at the end of this year or early next year but until then pick up another Grace Draven book you won’t be disappointed.

Out of the Box Blogs

The Big Review

Karen

I have three books to review and I’m officially stuck. Easy you think, right? Not really. One I loved, one I hated and I falls right in the middle. What’s the big deal? Allow me to explain. You see any good review I read always does the following: (1)provides a clear opinion on a book (2) with a understanding of the story ,(3) without any spoilers. Sounds easy? It’s not. Problem one, when I love a book I want to go on and on about every character and how they were integral parts of the story, how they affected the plot and the outcome. Damn broke rule number three. Okay but isn’t that why goodreads made that great little spoilers button? Sure, but I don’t have one of those. So cut out the important parts, keep the integrity of the story so readers understand, oh yeah and make sure everyone knows it was kick ass. Lots of exclamations points only get you so far!!! Sorry saying this was awesome over and over just doesn’t cut it anymore..

So what about the bad reviews? Same rules but now your actually criticizing some ones writing, and potentially convincing others not to read it. I have always held to the belief that I should be honest, but there is a line between honest and mean, and you never want to cross it. This is especially hard with small indie writers, while I don’t mind offering critique, basically telling someone I generally disliked there book can be harder than you think when someone has 5 reviews total on there page. And then on the other hand, if they are a well loved author, prepare for the backlash. I can still remember my first one star, it was a Y.A. author that was popular, whoa watch out! After I started getting some negative thumbs down I was pissed, I had worked hard on that honest review and it seemed that some people were just not liking it because they loved the author (and hadn’t even read the book, hey I loved them too but this book was not up to par) not because it was a badly written review. But then I did a total readjust on my attitude, I had to remember, I just said something bad about an author they liked, hey that’s they’re way of expression too. I always now make it a point to read all types of reviews and try to concentrate on how people are expressing themselves. It takes a lot of courage sometimes to say bad things.

The in between. Ugh this is the hardest to write. Sure I can go to amazon and goodreads and throw up three stars, but write a comment? This is where I struggle. But I recently read something an author wrote and I’m taking it to heart, they pointed out that reviews with good and bad points in them are the best kind because you learn the most from them. So I’m working on going back and writing an actual review, pointing out what I liked and disliked WITHOUT SPOILERS (so bad at that) so people can make up they’re own minds.

I know this isn’t an official review, but sometimes you gotta vent.

Books, Out of the Box Blogs, Reviews

Parallel by Anthony Vicino

Karen

I love when I find a new indie author. It is a wild wild world out there for these guys and as a reader I must confess I can count on my hand how many I loyally follow. And I loyally follow quite a few published authors. So most of the time I don’t even review them, unless I consider it a blockbuster. But this book, we need words. You see I really liked it, well 95% of it, and that is making me crazy! In fact there were parts I want to quote, like in Chapter 5 when we are in Hari’s POV and you read Consequently, years later, if anybody were to ask what Hari had been thinking the precise moment he fired the Key, and ripped a hole in the fabric of space and time, they would likely be surprised to find him making resolutions to spend more time in the gym. Are you thinking what I’m thinking!?! I know, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy brilliance people! But I didn’t feel in any way the writer was trying to copy this story, just understood my twisted humor and fed into it. So why am I writing on my blog and my scifi chat rooms about what I didn’t like? A character did something that I think is fundamentally wrong for her. UGH!!! I. JUST. CAN’T. LET. IT GO. Get the novella, it’s $0.99 and read it! If you do and get that feeling as well, let’s talk about it. If you don’t maybe it’s just me…Somebody give me some feedback!