A.O. Chika's Blog, page 18

Bloglovin

Just realized that i had signed up to bloglovin a few months ago and yet I forgot to do anything with it. *Sigh* i am hoping to connect with other book bloggers though.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

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Book Review: The Galloway Road by Catherine Adams

Title:


The Galloway Road








Author:



Catherine Adams






Genre:


Romance, Fantasy





Publisher:


Less Than Three Press





Release Date:


March 16, 2016









Source:


NetGallery

REVIEW:

OMG, I actually loved this story. I’m not the biggest fantasy or magic fan but this definitely won me over. I love how Renna grew from the quiet, magically incompetent woman to a woman who could make a stand even in the face of her dead lover/crush.

Despite the length of the story there was an obvious character arc, the plot was confusing at times and I kept waiting for the romance to slap me in the face but when it did it was subtle and so beautiful.

The part with the Barrow king was amazing, and the song the musicians made up was just as amazing. I’m a fan of stories with some darkness whether psychological or emotional, and my craving was satisfied in this book.

I’m definitely going to be stalking this author from now on.

SYNOPSIS:

Renna has just qualified as a mage and been offered a lucrative job halfway across the country. But getting there is another matter entirely, for the Galloway is lined with the bodies of those who dared to cross her new employer, and old songs relate tales of long-dead kings and graveyard courts.

Hired to protect her on the journey is a grumpy mercenary who spends more time drinking than talking and seems to face his work with the enthusiasm most men reserve for their deaths. She’s also joined by an irresponsible duo of musicians who break hearts with their music and break purses with their gambling. Renna herself is struggling with personal matters, and the company and difficult journey aren’t helping.

All Renna has to do is take the Galloway Road from the coast to Gibbet Rock, but she’s far from convinced she’ll make it through so much as a single day.

The post Book Review: The Galloway Road by Catherine Adams appeared first on A.O. Chika.

Fanfiction Book Review

As a book reviewer, I feel I should support fanfiction writers by reviewing their works and putting it up for display in as many places as I can. I will be treating fanfic writers as I would treat any Author, and their books the same way I would treat a published book.

I’m a big fan of fanfiction stories, sure some are awful but the lot of them are beautifully written, well crafted, original and emotionally captivating. The collection of 8k+ fanfic stories in my phone can attest to that. It took me over three years to grow my collection and while I’ve only read about half of it, it’s still something I take pride in.

Most people don’t consider Fanfic as novels, and in my opinion, they are. Take AO3 for example, they allow readers to download stories in ePUB, pdf, mobi or html for free and as a fan of long stories I often download stories that are up to and more than 100k words. AO3 is pretty much an archive of free books if you ask me.

Writing is not easy, it is an art and I know how much work goes into crafting a beautiful story, and just because a story is based on a movie, film or anime doesn’t make it any less of an artwork.

I’ll be adding a fanfiction option to the menu as well as creating a rating system based on Fandom, Genre and length. At the bottom of the review would be the link to the book on AO3 so everyone can read and download it into their devices.

Just a little heads up though: I will ONLY be reviewing fanfic written on a TV series. I read most of my fanfiction on Archive Of Our Own (AO3) as it makes it easy for me to download the book for offline reading, however I might also review a fanfic book written on Wattpad.

So fanfic writers feel free to contact me, don’t forget to include the link(s) to your book(s).

PS: All Fanfic books will have to have a main pairing that falls under the LGBTQIA umbrella, I also don’t mind posting fanart.

The post Fanfiction Book Review appeared first on A.O. Chika.

Book Review: Any Way The Wind Blows by Carlin Grant

Title:


Any Way The Wind Blows








Author:



Carlin Grant






Genre:


Romance, Ace/Aro





Publisher:


Less Than Three Press





Release Date:


March 23, 2016









Source:


NetGallery

REVIEW:

it's a unique slow burn story. Sadly, it's a bit too slow for my taste and I found myself wondering when something would happen, the stakes and conflicts were very mild.

While it wasn't emotionally compelling to me, the author tried to make up for it using interesting characters.

I love the fact that the main characters are aromantic asexual, which is one of the things I loved about the story.

I'm a bit conflicted about Jo though, sometimes she seemed so fragile and delicate despite being an ex-army, maybe the author wanted to show some softness rather than go for the typical aggressive butch type. Still it was a bit confusing how she went from meek to badass, just like that.

The ending felt a bit rushed but I suppose it's because there was nothing really left to add.

SYNOPSIS:

Callie lives on the road, trading labor for food and lodging through a farm work-exchange program. She’s perfectly content with the life she’s created, but it is shaken up when she meets Jo, a mechanic and sister of Callie’s latest boss.

For the first time, Callie begins reconsidering the choices she’s made. But Jo’s life is far more complicated than her own and as family tensions rise, they threaten to pull Callie in, and her growing bond with Jo might not be reason enough to stay.

The post Book Review: Any Way The Wind Blows by Carlin Grant appeared first on A.O. Chika.

Book Review: Love vs The Limelight by Manda Olie

Title:


Love vs The Limelight








Author:



Manda Olie






Genre:


Romance





Publisher:


Less Than Three Press





Release Date:


April 27, 2016









Source:


NetGallery

REVIEW

It's a nice sweet story with no explicit scenes. I love how Rick initially desperately hung on to his career afraid of how people would react if he came out, Christian's ultimatum didn't help one bit and God at some point I got so frustrated I wanted to lock the two of them in a room full of lube and aphrodisiac so they could just get it over with!

The pleasure I felt when Rick punched the reporter was magical, I laughed my ass off.

I'm glad Rick finally got his shit together and choose Christian over what the papers would say.

SYNOPSIS:

Rick Campbell is the Hollywood Heartthrob who has it all: a great career, an excellent agent, and fantastic friends. Unfortunately, he also has a secret that could potentially ruin his success. His reputation as a lady-killer is completely fabricated in order to ensure he keeps getting work.

His silence when it comes to the truth may cost him Christian, the love of his life, who’s grown tired of being a dirty little secret and has issued Rick with an ultimatum: tell the truth or lose Christian. Heartbroken and afraid, harassed by reporters and adrift in a world that’s slowly changing, Rick has to choose between the life he’s worked hard to build and the man he doesn’t want to live without

The post Book Review: Love vs The Limelight by Manda Olie appeared first on A.O. Chika.

Book Review: Rage by Apollo Blake

Title:


Rage






Series:


The Maelstrom Arrangement





Author:



Apollo Blake






Genre:


Young Adult, Fantasy







Release Date:


March 9, 2016





Format:


mobi

REVIEW:

This book was interesting. As a reader who gets bored easily and constantly skips places that seem so slow and take ages to get to the point, it held my attention despite the slow pace.

I was hoping for more plot twists and milestones but I suppose as the first in the series the lack of several obvious major plot points was understandable.

I love the slight and subtle character growth in Myra. She changed from a scared little girl to one ready to fight.

Myra is a well rounded character with three dimensions, and Apollo Blake definitely took the time to develop each dimension, so another Kudos.

In terms of the story concept it definitely has originality going for it, the premise was also well executed. I'm definitely curious about the nightmares and the voice trying to claim her so kudos to the Author for making me care about her. I'm actually also glad about the mild romance going on in the background, without overshadowing the story.

I'm definitely like looking forward to reading other books in the series.

Okay I'll be honest, who does she end up with?? Lucie? Dom? Dammit gimme a hint!

EXCERPT:

“Myra,” the whisper came again.

Oh, God.

“Fuck, no!” Hunter tightened his grip, and she felt the crackling of his magik like a physical force trying to hold them to the ground. “Something is pulling you in!”

“In? Into what? Do something you big—”

Before she could finish the sentence the world fell into darkness, taking Hunter with it. She was left alone, in the cold, with nothing but her pain.

 

SYNOPSIS:

With four months to go until she turns twenty and the beginnings of a promising modelling career forming around her, teenage Harpy Myra Evans should be happy. And she would be. . .if she weren’t in mortal danger.

As an extremely rare breed of paranormal, Myra’s powers are highly coveted. When powerful beings begin to vanish one by one, the Reapers begin to suspect Myra could be the next target—and with deadly nightmares leaving her shaken night after night and the feeling of being watched following her everywhere, time is running out.

Can Myra piece together the clues and find a way to protect herself—or will the monster that haunts her dreams claim her as its own once and for all?

The post Book Review: Rage by Apollo Blake appeared first on A.O. Chika.

Premade Book Cover: INFECTED

So after several attempts at making a dystopian-ish book cover, this happened. It looks more suited for Action/Mystery/Thriller/ Suspense though. But hey, I learnt something new, so its cool.

Book Cover : THE FAME

Redoing the website

If you’ve been checking my website recently you’ll notice some changes. I plan on adding a shop to sell my books as well as other services offer. I’m considering opening it to allow other authors books, but i think I’ll stick to free books and podcasts for now.

I also plan on giving out a free eBook and audio book to everyone who subscribes to my mailing list. To make this website more reader oriented I’m starting features for readers where readers can feature here… so can authors but their posts would have to be reader oriented.

Wish me good luck!

Her Wolf

Recently I began exploring softwares like MS Word, Photoscape and Photoshop in order to learn how to make eBook covers. Turns out I’m quite good at it.

I’m personally not a fan of shifter romance except were talking about Fanfiction then hell yes! But with the amount of shifter romance novels out there i decided to try my hand at designing a cover in that field.

What do you think? Hit or miss?