M.L. Sparrow's Blog, page 25

Player

Player is out NOW!

Release Party!

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Wild Embrace

Wild Embrace, (Psy/Changeling Series, Book 15.5), by Nalini SinghBlurb:Echo of SilenceIn a deep-sea station, Tazia Nerif has found her life's work as an engineer, keeping things running smoothly. But she wants nothing more than to break down the barrier of silence between her and her telekinetic Psy station commander . . .DorianA changeling who can never shift lives a life of quiet frustration - until he learns how to let his leopard come out and play . . .Partners in PersuasionStill raw from being burned by a dominant female, wolf changeling Felix will never again risk being a plaything. But for dominant leopard Dezi, he's the most fascinating man she's ever met. She just has to convince this gun-shy wolf that he can trust the dangerous cat who wants to take a slow, sexy bite out of him . . .Flirtation of FateSeven years ago, Kenji broke Garnet's heart. Now the wolf packmates have to investigate the shocking murder of one of their own. And the more Kenji sees of the woman Garnet has become, the deeper he begins to fall once more. But even his primal instincts are no match for the dark secret he carries . . .I absolutely love this series - as anyone who follows my reviews will already know! - and this anthology was no exception! I can never fault Nalini Singh's writing and her characters are always so real and likeable, I'm also totally in awe of how she handles such a huge cast of characters and makes it seem so easy!My favourite out of these short stories was Partners in Persuasion, featuring Desiree and Felix. To begin with I wasn't sure I'd like having a submissive lead male, but I quickly fell in love with Felix,  because though he was submissive, that didn't mean he was a push over and he also took the time to court Desiree instead of leaving it up to the 'dominant party' to persuade him. Both Desiree and Felix are mentioned in the main books in this series, however, they aren't huge characters and I wasn't particularly intrigued by them when I first read the blurb for their story, but Nalini Singh quickly made me care for the characters and I ended up absolutely loving them and wishing their story had been longer.Similarly, Tazia and Stefan were characters that were only briefly mentioned in the main books and again I wasn't all that interested in them to begin with. However, I ended up really enjoying Echo of Silence and all the emotion in it, especially between Tazia and her family. I will just say though that I was disappointed that we didn't see more of them on Alaris after their 'mating', because I wanted to see how the crew would behave towards them.Dorian was a nice, quick story - more snapshots really than a proper story - but I enjoyed the scenes, especially the ones about when he was young and felt it gave me a further insight into his character and how he handled being latent, as well as how he handled suddenly being able to shift, which you don't get in the main stories.Finally, Garnet and Kenji's story, Flirtation of Fate. This story was the reason I was anticipating this anthology; I just loved the chemistry between them! Unfortunately, I didn't feel that chemistry to the same extent in this short story, perhaps because there was so much focus on investigating the murder, which I have to say I had figured out pretty quickly. Also, Kenji's reason for distancing himself didn't really seem all that important; sure it was horrible and saddening, but no reason to spend years away from your mate. All in all, though I did enjoy it, this actually turned out to be my least favourite of all the stories in this anthology.My favourite quotes from 'Wild Embrace':'...so perfect it had no personality.'' "Your father could not forgive you for stepping so far outside the lines?" '' "I'm sorry," she whispered, "for not knowing you." ''Who would know if she broke faith with the teachings of her people? Her people, after all, had disowned her. And yet, it mattered.''Your life has shaped you into a woman who donors the ways of her people even as she walks her own path.'' "He can't set aside his pride, so I must set aside mine."..."... you are strong enough to be the one who bends." '' "I didn't know I could simply come home.""That is our fault," her mother said and her grandmother nodded. "We didn't love you enough that you ever doubted it." ''A quiet man who does such things is worth more than a man who says much and forgets to care for his treasures.'' "I don't bite. Well, not until I'm asked, anyway." ''No matter how much he wanted to protect himself, it didn't mean he had to hurt her.'' "We're both just assuming we can't make it - what if we could?" '' "We're exactly who we're meant to be.""And maybe," he finished, his voice echoing her bleak realisation, "we're just not meant to be who we are together." ''I never tried to erase my love for Garnet. I'll be buried with her name on my heart.''Garnet had been forced to concede that Russ did love Athena. It hadn't been a warm, generous love. No, it had been small and jealous and suffocating, but it had been a kind of love nonetheless.'' "Two people can't live together for a decade and forget each other in a heartbeat." ''Love, it seemed, could make warriors out of even the most fragile.'

The Beauty Game

The Beauty Game, by Michaela DayBlurb:The Beauty Game.When talented copywriter Zoe Diamond first enters the plush offices of global beauty empire Visage D'Or she doesn't own a face cream. She thinks uplift is by Wonderbra. And wrinkles are removed with an iron. Soon she's seduced, manipulated and betrayed by charming words, false promises, and the powerful men behind them. She doesn't drink. Lie. Or have sex on the boardroom table.Yet. She learns beauty means pain. Truth means legal lies .And miracle creams make beautiful profits. Drowning in champagne-fuelled corruption and scandal, Zoe fights to keep her job, her reputation and most importantly, the man of her dreams. But will she succeed before The Beauty Game destroys her...?Firstly, I love the cover! Secondly, I enjoyed the story. In a way it reminded me of The Valley of the Dolls, which is one of my favourite books. I found the beauty world fascinating and 100% believable - if this went on in real life, I wouldn't actually be surprise.Zoe was a good main character; she was naive and annoyingly placid at time, but I ended up liking her in the end. Laurent was also intriguing and I could understand her fascination! Duchess was a great character too, in fact I'd say she was my favourite, despite certain character flaws!Also, I liked the way she opened each chapter like a screen play setting the scene, I thought it was a nice, unique touch that fit the theme of the book perfectly.However, for me, the ending let this book down. It was all very quick and jumbled. I was also expecting some kind of twist, which I never got, and I would have liked to hear more about Duchess finding her daughter.All in all, a good book though and I enjoyed reading it for the most part.My favourite quotes from 'The Beauty Game':'He could escape this savagely beautiful life.''And the only way to keep playing the game when you were losing this badly was to raise the stakes.''Hugo would sell his own mother. If she had a mother, Zoe would only sell her to a good home, where she'd be very happy.'' "She may have a Barbie waist and a big bank balance but what she needs is a mouthful of cake." ''Business doesn't mix with pleasure. And business is more important.'' "I. Have. Ta. Go. Ta. Bed." she watched him trying to decide whether she meant with him."Alone." '' "Love is complicated but I guess it means wanting to live with that person." She spoke quietly. "Chris was hard to live with..."Zoe finished her sentence. "And hard to live without...?" '' "What the head doesn't know the heart can't feel." '' "What happened to your morals?""I've wised up," '

The Japanese Tsunami, 2011

The Japanese Tsunami, 2011, (I survived Series, Book 8), by Lauren TarshisBlurb:The disaster felt around the world . . .Visiting his dad's hometown in Japan four months after his father's death would be hard enough for Ben. But one morning the pain turns to fear: first, a massive earthquake rocks the quiet coastal village, nearly toppling his uncle's house. Then the ocean waters rise and Ben and his family are swept away-and pulled apart-by a terrible tsunami.Now Ben is alone, stranded in a strange country a million miles from home. Can he fight hard enough to survive one of the most epic disasters of all time?This was very quick read, I literally read it in my lunch break, but then it is a kids books so I can't really complain about that! However, for that reason I don't really have all that much to say in this review. It was to the point and pretty much straight to the action. Having started writing my own book on this subject, I could also see that this author had done a lot of research on the 2011 tsunami and I liked that there were a list of facts at the back.All in all a good book for kids that teaches them about natural disasters.

Inevitable Ascension

Inevitable Ascension, by V.K. Mc AllisterBlurb:The innocent never waver from doing what’s right, even if it means drowning the world in fire.Violina had been burned and betrayed by mankind ever since she sprang into existence. They named her a heretic and condemned her to a pit to live and die in agony. Though she sat stranded, starved and bloodied, she would not submit. Violina, the girl who had been mocked and hunted for rejecting the warped ideals of artificial authority, would lay down her own law.The reason I agreed to review this book was quite simply because I was interested in the authors way of writing - basically it's a husband and wife duo who write separately before combining what they've come up with. Firstly, I just want to say that, though I have no clue how this works, it does! I half expected it to be slightly disjointed but it wasn't at all, so points go to them for making their unique style work.Onto the story though... If there is one word to describe this story it's CONFUSING. A lot happens in this book and though that's not necessarily a bad thing everything happens so quickly and the plot is so complex that I found myself having to go back a reread passages to get things straight in my head. I personally felt that it would have been better to have slowed down the pace just a little, so that there was time for simpler explanations as well as more character development.Which brings me to the main characters Violina and Lux. Though I liked the sassy, sarcastic duo and the amusing banter - plus Lux's desire to keep a pre-historic creature as a pet reminded me of myself! - I never really felt a connection to then and I think that was because, from page one, all guns were blazing and there was rarely time to get used to them outside of a battle scene. And then Violina got darker and darker and started killing people left right and centre - again, no saying it was necessarily a bad thing, or that they didn't deserve it in a way, but the point it I didn't have time to like her before she went psycho, so once she started to change I leant more towards dislike than understanding.However, despite that, this is a fact paced book with a very interesting story line - not to mention a kick-ass twist at the end which I did love! - and is if you enjoy time-travel this is probably a good book for you to check out!My favourite quotes from 'Inevitable Ascension':'Can it truly be called thievery when one reclaims what is theirs?'' "If you want a pet, fine, we'll get a puppy, but we can't have an illegal, bloodthirsty, prehistoric monster as a pet!" ''Why after finally gaining the means to free herself from the world was she once more imprisoned by it?'' "What do you suppose the lifespan of an optimist is out here?" ''To build a new world, one must tear the old one down.'' "The problem with letting the majority rule," Lux pointed out. "It only works when the majority isn't senseless." ''The purpose of existence is happiness.'' "We've been sent to hell, but we will turn out the devils and make a heaven out of it!" '' "... they will leave no wisdom in their wake, for they never learned. ..." ''It wasn't so much that she had destroyed the world as it was that the world had destroyed itself.'' "I can't betray you when I've never been on your side." '' "Hostages only work when their lives are of worth." '' "... The man was a fanatic. He lost sight of where he wanted to go, yet sprinted with extreme vigor to get there." '

A Little Princess

A Little Princess, by Frances Hodgson BurnettBlurb:Sara Crewe, an exceptionally intelligent and imaginative student at Miss Minchin's Select Seminary for Young Ladies, is devastated when her adored, indulgent father dies. Now penniless and banished to a room in the attic, Sara is demeaned, abused, and forced to work as a servant. How this resourceful girl's fortunes change again is at the center of A Little Princess, one of the best-loved stories in all of children's literature.I found this book on my shelf a while back and turns out it was my mums when she was a little girl. For that reason I'm surprised I didn't read it when I was younger - I really wish I had because it was such a beautiful story.As a daddy's girl myself, I found the first half of this book heartbreaking, though I couldn't help criticising Mr Crewe's parenting methods occasionally! I can only imagine how a real child would turn out if they were spoilt like that. *Shudder*. However, Sara was so charming and kind, plus she was strong in the face of adversity and I just found her to be such a lovely character. Some people might say she's unbelievable as a character, and they might be right because she'd almost too good, but I in a piece of work like this I don't think that matters. Also, the supporting characters were good too and I especially liked Becky and was so glad that she went with Sara in the end.Such a lovely children book and I will definitely be reading it to my kids if I have any!My favourite quotes from 'A Little Princess':' "... I dare say soldiers - even brave ones - don't really like going into battle." '' "I don't believe you know how much your daddy will miss you." '' "Are you learning me by heart, little Sara?" he said, stroking her hair."No," she answered. "I know you by heart. You are inside my heart." ''A new idea will stop a crying child when nothing else will.''Never did she find anything so difficult as to keep herself from losing her temper when she was suddenly disturbed while absorbed in a book. People who are fond of books know the feeling of irritation which sweeps over them at such a moment.'' "... I should like to slap you - but I won't slap you. We are not little gutter children. We are both old enough to know better." ''If Nature had made you for a giver, your hands are born open, and so is your heart; and though there may be times when your hands are empty, your heart is always full, and you can give thing out of that - warm things, kind things, sweet things - help and comfort and laughter - and sometimes gay, kind laughter is the best help of all.'' "... If you suppose anything hard enough it seems as if it were real." '' "You are not kind and this is not a home."  '' "Adversity tries people, and mine has tried you and bprivedhow nice you are." ''Perhaps there is a language which is not made of words and everything in the world understands it.''When you do not fly into a passion people know you are stronger than they are, because you are strong enough to hold in your rage, and they are not, and they say stupid things they wish they hadn't afterward.''If I am a princess in rags and tatters, I can be a princess inside. It would be easy to be a princess if I were dressed in cloth of gold, but it is a great deal more of a triumph to be one all the time when no one knows it.'' "Perhaps you can feel it if you can't hear," was her fancy. "Perhaps kind thoughts reach people somehow, even through windows and doors and walls. ..." '' "The mistress of the house is not one who remembers that another than herself may be cold." '' "... The worst thing never quite comes." '' "If it ain't here in the mornin', miss," she said, "it's been here to-night, ..." '

Warcry

Warcry, (Chronicles of the Warlands, Book 4), by Elizabeth VaughanBlurb:All is not well in Xy. There is a faction of nobles who are plotting against the Queen and her barbarian warlord, heath. As cultures clash and tempers flare, Heath and the fierce Plains warrior woman Atira of the Bear must come together to fight the conspiracy... and to search their hearts for something deeper than raw passion.I was a little disappointed by this book, not because it was necessarily a bad story, but it just didn't live up to my expectations after reading the first three books in this series. I liked Heath and Atira and I'm glad they got a HEA, however, I was expecting this book to finish Keir and Lara's story.If I had read this story as a stand-alone, or even before the other, I probably would have thought it was a really great story, but I just didn't feel like it added much to the series as a whole. Sure, a few issues about the ruling of Xy were resolved and Keir's plans for the were revealed, but not acted upon. Also, this books was published in 2011 and though there were rumours about another book in the series, it's not 2016 and there has been no more talk of a final book, therefore, if we assume this book is the last in the series that means I'm even less impressed because there was no closure.Rant over with, like I said, read alone this is a great read. It's action packed and Atira and Heath work so well together and are such good characters. Also, I wasn't expecting that twist at the end with Othur and did the lords really have something to do with the plague?The arguments between Liam and Marcus were intriguing and I really hope this isn't the last book in this series because I really want them to get a HEA, not to mention Amyu, who I believe also has so much more to give. Plus... what was the light from the Plains?Please, please don't let this be the last in the series...My favourite quotes from 'Warcry':' "A bond is not a prison, nor is it shackles," Marcus continued, with an odd tone in his voice. "It can become that, if both parties do not take care. But when a bonding works, when it is solid..." He sighed. "...It is... liberating..." '' "Not all threats are with swords," ... Sometimes words were deadlier than blades.'' "But if I can't have you, I can have this night... this memory." '' "If he's willing to die for her," Heath pointed out, "why shouldn't he be willing to make the greater sacrifice to live for the child? ..." '' ... bonding was for special people. There was nothing extraordinary about her or Heath.''Maybe he should accept what she was willing to give, except they were both capable of so much more.'' "Kill the bastard, my love, or I will kill him for you," ''We go day to day thinking each sunrise will bring more of the same. Until it doesn't.'' "Alone, I am nothing. .... But with her, I am limitless." '

Ghetto

Ghetto is currently up for a giveaway on Goodreads! Follow the link to be in with a chance of winning a signed paperback copy...Just ClickHERE

:-(

This is how I'm feeling today! I thought I was doing so well, but it turns out I've deleted more than I've written...