Dale Ibitz's Blog, page 6
October 18, 2013
Friday FUN!!
Okay, this is only one picture, and if you've seen the commercial, you'll instantly appreciate the humor in this. My brother posted on facebook today, and I just *had* to share!
Enjoy your Friday!
Enjoy your Friday!
October 16, 2013
Book Review: Dangerous, by Alycia Linwood
Dangerous
Alycia Linwood
Initial Thoughts: Not an empathetic heroine.
My Rating: 3.5 StarsSummary:
Ria is an 18-year-old girl who has just started going to the University of Magic, a special university for those who have one of the four elements: fire, water, air and earth. There she meets Michael, a boy whose element is different from hers, which makes their romantic involvement seem impossible because mixing of elements can have horrible consequences. She also feels threatened by Adrian, a very dangerous magic disease carrier. Magic disease, which surged as a result of bad mixing of elements, turns people into cold-hearted killers, who have a strong desire to take someone's element as they do not have their own. Ria's best friend, Paula, is fascinated by Adrian like most of the girls at the University and wants him to help her with her research about the disease. All Ria's beliefs are put to test when she starts having the symptoms of the disease and the only person she can turn to is Adrian.
My Thoughts:
I think the first half of this book moved slowly. I felt like a car with its tires spinning in the mud...it tries hard, but it's not going anywhere, and no matter how hard you hit the gas, you don't move forward.
There's a lot of mundane college life in the beginning, and there was a little too much internalization followed by repeating the character's thoughts in dialogue. So I felt like I kept reading the same thing twice. And waaaaaay too many exclamation points; it made it seem like everyone was so uber-excited that they're shouting all the time.
I wasn't drawn to the main character at all. She seemed a little harsh to me, very narrow-minded. You can blame it on her up-bringing, but her best friend had the same up-bringing and yet was more accepting of those with the disease. I kind of understand why the author set up Ria this way, in order to show her change and grow, but over-all, the girl is selfish and not that likeable.
As to her friends, Paula and Michael, they're pretty one-dimensional. They didn't seem to have many layers.
Adrian, however, was an interesting character. Adrian saves the story, so to speak. He's a bad boy--and yes, he's a *bad* boy to the point of being an utter dick--but there's still some intriguing about him. And as the story unfolds, you understand he's the product of his environment. Society made him into a dick. His character runs hot and cold...just when you start feeling sorry for him, he pulls out the dick card and you start hating him again (and honestly, many times he pulls out the dick card because Ria's does some asinine thing to hurt him...again).
Halfway through the book, I started getting more interested...and this is the result of Ria and Adrian clashing, and the story actually starting to unfold. I liked how some of the other minor characters were in the gray area...unable to tell whose side they're on. This made the story interesting. And I was curious enough to read it all the way through to see how it ended. You have to wonder how much Ria changed after all!
While I wasn't wowed by the first book, I'm intrigued enough by Adrian's story specifically to give the next book a chance.
Alycia Linwood
Initial Thoughts: Not an empathetic heroine.
My Rating: 3.5 StarsSummary:Ria is an 18-year-old girl who has just started going to the University of Magic, a special university for those who have one of the four elements: fire, water, air and earth. There she meets Michael, a boy whose element is different from hers, which makes their romantic involvement seem impossible because mixing of elements can have horrible consequences. She also feels threatened by Adrian, a very dangerous magic disease carrier. Magic disease, which surged as a result of bad mixing of elements, turns people into cold-hearted killers, who have a strong desire to take someone's element as they do not have their own. Ria's best friend, Paula, is fascinated by Adrian like most of the girls at the University and wants him to help her with her research about the disease. All Ria's beliefs are put to test when she starts having the symptoms of the disease and the only person she can turn to is Adrian.
My Thoughts:
I think the first half of this book moved slowly. I felt like a car with its tires spinning in the mud...it tries hard, but it's not going anywhere, and no matter how hard you hit the gas, you don't move forward.
There's a lot of mundane college life in the beginning, and there was a little too much internalization followed by repeating the character's thoughts in dialogue. So I felt like I kept reading the same thing twice. And waaaaaay too many exclamation points; it made it seem like everyone was so uber-excited that they're shouting all the time.
I wasn't drawn to the main character at all. She seemed a little harsh to me, very narrow-minded. You can blame it on her up-bringing, but her best friend had the same up-bringing and yet was more accepting of those with the disease. I kind of understand why the author set up Ria this way, in order to show her change and grow, but over-all, the girl is selfish and not that likeable.
As to her friends, Paula and Michael, they're pretty one-dimensional. They didn't seem to have many layers.
Adrian, however, was an interesting character. Adrian saves the story, so to speak. He's a bad boy--and yes, he's a *bad* boy to the point of being an utter dick--but there's still some intriguing about him. And as the story unfolds, you understand he's the product of his environment. Society made him into a dick. His character runs hot and cold...just when you start feeling sorry for him, he pulls out the dick card and you start hating him again (and honestly, many times he pulls out the dick card because Ria's does some asinine thing to hurt him...again).
Halfway through the book, I started getting more interested...and this is the result of Ria and Adrian clashing, and the story actually starting to unfold. I liked how some of the other minor characters were in the gray area...unable to tell whose side they're on. This made the story interesting. And I was curious enough to read it all the way through to see how it ended. You have to wonder how much Ria changed after all!
While I wasn't wowed by the first book, I'm intrigued enough by Adrian's story specifically to give the next book a chance.
October 14, 2013
Book Review: A Warm Place to Call Home (A Demon's Story), by Michael Siemsen
A Warm Place to Call Home
Michael Siemsen
Initial Thoughts: Not Your Average Demon.
My Rating: 4 Stars
Summary:
Frederick is a demon. Born in Maryland in the early 1980's, he hasn't a clue where he came from or why, but feels an irresistible desire to occupy a human body. Once inside, he finds the previous occupants' consciousness and memories forever erased, an inevitable side effect that gives Frederick pause when switching bodies, but not so much as to truly halt his ongoing enjoyment of human lives. In various bodies, he travels the world for decades--aimless--sampling cultures and experiencing life from the points of view of males, females, young, old, rich, poor.
Now, Frederick has an urge to return to his roots in America, explore the mystery of his origin, find someone to love, and settle down for a while. In his hometown, his mission bears fruit much faster than he expected, as person after person presents themselves, and following his impulses, he is lead directly to love, tragedy, answers, and the humanity he never knew he wanted.
My Thoughts:
Okay, I actually fluctuated on this rating, because while interesting and well-written and had a great voice and tone, we have to face facts. Frederick's a dick. Seriously. Must be that ingrained demon essentia or something, but it's kind of hard to emphasize with or like a dick.
Of course, once you read the whole book, then you go, "Oh! I see now!" Yeah, it's that kind of book. You have to read the whole thing to understand Frederick and where he's coming from (or, in this instance, where he "came" from).
The sex scenes? I don't know if Frederick thinking he "was the man" in the sack was written tongue-in-cheek, or if Frederick was really supposed to be that good in the sack, because as written? Nope. Didn't do it for me. LOL The jury is still out on what the author intended on that score. (Score! Yeah, I said it...)
Plot-wise, it started off slooooowwwwww. I could have used a little less of Frederick's inner musings to get on with the story. There's a lot of inner musings in the beginning, however, there are some doozy plot twists at the end. The book made like a pretzel and played with your mind, man.
And you really want to blow your mind? It will be properly blown when you literally read the last line of the book. That had me stewing and thinking for *days*. Now that's the kind of ending that sticks with you.
So, despite the main character getting off to a sketchy start, the book ended with a solid 4 stars.
Michael Siemsen
Initial Thoughts: Not Your Average Demon.
My Rating: 4 StarsSummary:
Frederick is a demon. Born in Maryland in the early 1980's, he hasn't a clue where he came from or why, but feels an irresistible desire to occupy a human body. Once inside, he finds the previous occupants' consciousness and memories forever erased, an inevitable side effect that gives Frederick pause when switching bodies, but not so much as to truly halt his ongoing enjoyment of human lives. In various bodies, he travels the world for decades--aimless--sampling cultures and experiencing life from the points of view of males, females, young, old, rich, poor.
Now, Frederick has an urge to return to his roots in America, explore the mystery of his origin, find someone to love, and settle down for a while. In his hometown, his mission bears fruit much faster than he expected, as person after person presents themselves, and following his impulses, he is lead directly to love, tragedy, answers, and the humanity he never knew he wanted.
My Thoughts:
Okay, I actually fluctuated on this rating, because while interesting and well-written and had a great voice and tone, we have to face facts. Frederick's a dick. Seriously. Must be that ingrained demon essentia or something, but it's kind of hard to emphasize with or like a dick.
Of course, once you read the whole book, then you go, "Oh! I see now!" Yeah, it's that kind of book. You have to read the whole thing to understand Frederick and where he's coming from (or, in this instance, where he "came" from).
The sex scenes? I don't know if Frederick thinking he "was the man" in the sack was written tongue-in-cheek, or if Frederick was really supposed to be that good in the sack, because as written? Nope. Didn't do it for me. LOL The jury is still out on what the author intended on that score. (Score! Yeah, I said it...)
Plot-wise, it started off slooooowwwwww. I could have used a little less of Frederick's inner musings to get on with the story. There's a lot of inner musings in the beginning, however, there are some doozy plot twists at the end. The book made like a pretzel and played with your mind, man.
And you really want to blow your mind? It will be properly blown when you literally read the last line of the book. That had me stewing and thinking for *days*. Now that's the kind of ending that sticks with you.
So, despite the main character getting off to a sketchy start, the book ended with a solid 4 stars.
September 23, 2013
Book Review: Darkest Legacy, by Allyson Gottlieb
Darkest Legacy
Allyson Gottlieb
Initial Thoughts: A good read
My Rating: 3+ StarsSummary:
Everyone has secrets they'd prefer stayed buried. But information wants to be free... and so does Tamara Kingsley's ex-lover, incarcerated on the maximum-security prison planet, Alpha.
Tamara has done things she's not proud of, but that was years ago. Now the headmistress of the Silvermist School of Magic for Girls, she has an honest life, one that makes her happy. For the last twenty years she's fought like hell to keep it that way, and she thought she'd succeeded.
She's about to find out just how wrong she was to think her past was dead and gone.
My Thoughts:Okay, so this is short. I usually don't read short stories or novellas because, to me, I don't have enough time to invest myself in the characters or the story. I usually come away feeling a little unsatisfied...like I left the table before desert. :) I wasn't aware when I picked up this book that it was a novella. Oops. Oh well. I've read it, so therefore I shall review it!
Despite the shortness of the story, the characters were pretty well-developed. I liked Tamara, and I liked how she wasn't perfect in her youth. In fact, she is probably pretty typical as a young lady who is charmed by a sweet, hot charmer...seeing what she wants to see and poo-pooing the advice from friends that "things ain't right in boy-world". And as far as her ex-lover? You don't really get to know him. I wasn't drooling over the bad boy (and I usually do, or at least, I love books where I do!), or hating him, or anything.
I was invested enough in the story to see how it ended...I was trying to figure out if things would end on a good note or bad note...and it ends pretty much how you think it might (but you never know where these characters will go!)
The biggest problem I had was the flashing from past to present. It was a jolt the first time, and I had to re-read to make sure I knew what I was reading...there's no warning at the first flash-back, and it took me by surprise. Also, Tamara was set up as pretty much a friend-less loner in the beginning of the book, so the introduction half-way through of her "best friend" seemed a little contrived and hey! Another surprise.
Overall, enjoyable with a few glitches.
Allyson Gottlieb
Initial Thoughts: A good read
My Rating: 3+ StarsSummary:Everyone has secrets they'd prefer stayed buried. But information wants to be free... and so does Tamara Kingsley's ex-lover, incarcerated on the maximum-security prison planet, Alpha.
Tamara has done things she's not proud of, but that was years ago. Now the headmistress of the Silvermist School of Magic for Girls, she has an honest life, one that makes her happy. For the last twenty years she's fought like hell to keep it that way, and she thought she'd succeeded.
She's about to find out just how wrong she was to think her past was dead and gone.
My Thoughts:Okay, so this is short. I usually don't read short stories or novellas because, to me, I don't have enough time to invest myself in the characters or the story. I usually come away feeling a little unsatisfied...like I left the table before desert. :) I wasn't aware when I picked up this book that it was a novella. Oops. Oh well. I've read it, so therefore I shall review it!
Despite the shortness of the story, the characters were pretty well-developed. I liked Tamara, and I liked how she wasn't perfect in her youth. In fact, she is probably pretty typical as a young lady who is charmed by a sweet, hot charmer...seeing what she wants to see and poo-pooing the advice from friends that "things ain't right in boy-world". And as far as her ex-lover? You don't really get to know him. I wasn't drooling over the bad boy (and I usually do, or at least, I love books where I do!), or hating him, or anything.
I was invested enough in the story to see how it ended...I was trying to figure out if things would end on a good note or bad note...and it ends pretty much how you think it might (but you never know where these characters will go!)
The biggest problem I had was the flashing from past to present. It was a jolt the first time, and I had to re-read to make sure I knew what I was reading...there's no warning at the first flash-back, and it took me by surprise. Also, Tamara was set up as pretty much a friend-less loner in the beginning of the book, so the introduction half-way through of her "best friend" seemed a little contrived and hey! Another surprise.
Overall, enjoyable with a few glitches.
September 22, 2013
Cover Reveal: Azure, by Chrystalla Thoma
New release: Azure, by Chrystalla Thoma
Contemporary New Adult Romance with a hint of paranormal
Ages 17+ (mature content - sex scenes are hot but not explicit)
Chrystalla says:
Do you believe in mermaids and mermen?
The sea has always been close to my heart and features in many of my stories. The sea is the first goddess, the Sumerian Tiamat, the sea dragon of chaos — a living body of water obeying the tides and deep currents, eating up land and spewing new continents, wrecking ships and sometimes spitting out marvels.
The Greek sea — the Aegean of Greece in particular — is often wracked by violent storms and swept by strong winds in the late summer. Stories of gods and goddesses with fishtails have been around for what seems like forever — tritons and nereids haunting the waves and inhabiting the blue depths of the sea.
In later, historical times, the old form of the mermaid goddess was conflated with the Virgin, as protector of those at sea. Panagia Gorgona (The Mermaid Virgin) has been venerated on the islands of Greece, as for example on Mitilini (Lesvos), where she has a chapel and is portrayed with a fishtail and a trident, surrounded by dolphins and fish.
Blurb:
Summer is almost over.
A terrible mistake haunts college student Olivia Spencer. To escape the past, she travels to the Mediterranean island of Crete, hoping for the courage to start anew.
By the sea, she meets sexy and enigmatic Kai. But there’s more to Kai than meets the eye — and nobody wants to talk about it. The locals shun him, accusing him of magic. Kai, apparently, belongs to the sea, no matter how crazy that sounds.
Kai isn’t free to be with her or live his own life, and this is how he will stay, unless Olivia can break his curse and save him — in doing so atoning for those she failed in the past.
http://www.amazon.com/Azure-Drowning-In-You-ebook/dp/B00EYG1JCY
Excerpt:
“Hello, morning.” A man entered through a door, scratching at his chin. “Sorry, I am...” He stopped, snorted. “Well, hello.”
She still couldn’t see his expression without her lenses, but she recognized that tone of voice. Flirting. Her cheeks heated as he came closer, leaning over the desk, and she saw him better. Dark shoulder-length hair and hazel eyes, three-day-old stubble darkening his jaw. He looked like the mysterious guy on the beach, only older and bulkier. Maybe all Cretans looked like that.
An island of hunks.
“I’m here, I fix something.” He dragged the vowels, his voice musical. “No more milk for breakfast. Customers complain, I need to do something, fast. I call Kai, milk is on the way.”
Kai. Rhymed with sky.
“I’m not here to complain about the milk,” she stammered. “I just wanted to leave my key. Or should I take it with me?”
“No, leave it, leave it.” He smirked. “Safe with me.” He waved at what had to be the new arrivals. “Can I help you?”
She turned to go and promptly crashed into someone. Her purse fell and she back-pedaled into the desk as the sound of something heavy hitting the floor reverberated through the lobby.
“Oh fuck,” the blurry figure facing her muttered in a crisp American accent and bent down to pick up whatever it was he’d dropped. Even without lenses she could see how wide his shoulders were and the dark hue of his hair.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered and dropped to her knees to help him. She picked up a carton and tried to read what it was. Of course she couldn’t. It was all in Greek.
“And the milk arrive,” the receptionist grated, though there was laughter in his voice.
So this was Kai that rhymed with sky.
“Here, give me that,” Kai said, his deep voice familiar.
Olivia glanced up into dark eyes that held a streak of blue and froze. “You.” The guy she’d met at the beach the previous evening. She tightened her hold on the carton and blurted, “I didn’t recognize you dressed.”
The receptionist whistled and chuckled.
Kai stilled. Dark eyes widened, then crinkled at the corners, a corner of his mouth lifting. “You must be kidding me...”
Oh damn, she’d caught the German bug. Her thoughts flowed out of her mouth without any filter. “Um, I didn’t mean it that way... Crap.”
He grabbed the carton from her hand and stood, instantly going blurry once more. She remained on her knees, caught between deciding on the best way to get out with her last shreds of dignity intact, and piecing it all together.
Kai worked here. Lived here, probably, which would explain his presence at the beach. Did that mean she would be seeing him every day?
And why did the prospect send a thrill through her?
“Are you all right?” His low voice brought her out of her brief trance.
She’d zoned out on the lobby floor. Hopeless. “Fine, I just, um...”
“Here.” He reached down for her. “Let me help you up.”
She took his hand, firm and strong, and let him pull her to her feet. “I’m really sorry I bumped into you. I lost my contact lens and I’m kinda blind right now, so... I need to get a taxi into town.” She realized he still held her hand and she looked up to find an odd expression on his face.
“No need for a taxi. I’m going into town.” He looked down at their interlinked hands and frowned. “I’m going there to pick up some provisions for the hotel. I can drop you off at an optician’s.”
The receptionist whistled again. Kai turned and gave him the finger — maybe, she couldn’t be sure — then nodded at the exit. “If that’s okay with you.”
“Sure, yes, thank you,” she said, relieved and curious and wondering about the streak of blue she’d seen in his dark eyes.
He smiled, a faint pulling of his lips, and it was only when he withdrew his hand she realized she wanted it back.
***
[image error]
Kai led the way to the parking lot behind the hotel. A pickup truck sat under a purple bougainvillea in full blossom. The sun already stung her skin and struck reflections off the sea down below.
Inside the truck it was warm but Kai opened the doors and it cooled down enough for her to climb inside. The cloth covers of the seats were dusty; the dashboard looked grimy, although she didn’t want to press her nose to it to examine it.
Then Kai slid inside, slamming the car door closed, and his scent hit her. He smelled like the sea, salty and woodsy and fresh with an undertone of musk. She inhaled deeply, hoping he wouldn’t notice. One of the perks of being half-blind, if you could call them a perk, was she had a better feel for the other senses. Sounds, smells, textures became more intense when you had to rely on them to get around, and she wanted to sink in his scent and dream of waves and sparkling fish.
“Buckle up,” he said, a dark brow arching.
She realized she’d been leaning toward him and jerked back. Shit. She pulled on the safety belt and nodded. “Aye aye, Captain.”
He puffed out a breath, and she wasn’t sure if it was annoyance or amusement. She hoped it was the latter. He was being nice and she didn’t want to put him off.
“So do you know where I can find an optician’s store?” She glanced out the window as he pulled out of the parking lot, seeing streaks of color and indistinct shapes. She turned back toward him. At least she could make out most of his features.
“Optonet. It’s near the town center.” He switched on the radio. A song blared out — Greek, of course — with lots of percussion and an oriental rhythm. “I’ll drop you off there, then continue to the other side of town to pick up provisions. Need me to give you a lift on my way back?”
Tempting as it sounded, he’d done a lot already. She gazed at his dark lashes, so long they swept along his cheekbones when he blinked. “Nah, I’ll be fine. I’ll grab a taxi back, thank you.”
“Why are you staring at me?” It came out a bit antsy, as if he’d caught her stalking him or something.
“Oh. You’re the only thing — well, person — I can actually see right now.” She hoped her cheeks weren’t about to flush again. “I have no idea where we are and can’t see a damn thing outside.” And you’re gorgeous.
Yeah, better not say that.
A corner of his mouth twitched up like before. She liked his half-smiles, she decided. “So you’re looking at me because I’m the only thing you can see, huh?”
She shrugged. “It’s not such a bad view.”
Damn. She hadn’t been supposed to say that, and she normally didn’t blurt out her thoughts. She was a quiet person and Kirsten always teased her about it. What was it about this guy that made her spew out such things?
Then again, maybe it was because he didn’t speak much and she wanted to fill the silence between them.
Which again begged the question why...
“We haven’t been introduced properly.” She put out her hand. “I’m Olivia Spencer. You can call me Liv.”
He caught her hand in his, his grip strong. Muscles flexed in his tanned arm. “Kai.”
She smiled. “Nice to meet you, Kai. Are you from around here?” Oh god, there she went again. She needed a silencer for her mouth.
He started to nod, then shook his head.
Okay, confusing. Coupled with his comment of being sometimes here and sometimes not... “You don’t have a Greek accent. You grew up in the States, didn’t you?”
He turned off the radio. “Yeah,” he said. “New Jersey. You?”
“Vermont. But I’m moving to New York, hopefully. I asked for a transfer to a college there.” She pursed her lips. She wanted to ask him if he studied, if his parents were from Crete, but she already sounded like a police interrogator. Like the Inquisition, rather. Great.
“Have you picked a major?” he asked and she smiled, relieved he was taking the lead.
“English literature.”
His brows drew together, his full lips pressed in a line. Had she said something wrong? “You don’t like literature?”
“I don’t read.”
Oh. “At all?” Didn’t even seem possible in her world, but he appeared to be worlds away. And why did he seem upset?
She was slowly realizing she was worlds away from home, too.
He said nothing as they drove on, old two-storey houses crowding the sides of the streets as they entered the center of the Chania town. Honks and shouts filled the awkward silence between them but did nothing to dispel the tension.
They stopped in front of a line of shops. Kai pulled on the handbrake, not looking at her, his jaw clenched. He nodded at the storefronts. “This is it. Second shop from the left.”
“Thank you.” She slung her purse over her shoulder, debated saying something more, asking him what had pissed him off. Trying to figure him out. But she shouldn’t bother. She didn’t need this. “See you around.”
He drove off as soon as her door slammed shut.
Find out more about Crete and the inspiration behind the novel here:
http://chrystallathoma.wordpress.com/azure/
Author bio
Chrystalla is Greek Cypriot (hence the strange name) and likes writing about bratty, angsty boys and spunky girls in fantasy and science-fiction worlds. She writes mainly for a young adult public but not only (heed the warnings!)
She's currently preparing a non-fiction book about dragons, because the truth must out, and is juggling two series ("Elei's Chronicles" and "Boreal and John Grey").
Follow Chrystalla on her Fan page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Chrystalla-Thoma/117863861560579
You can stalk Chyrstall this way:
Follow her blog:
http://chrystallathoma.wordpress.com/
Sign up for the newsletter to be informed about new releases and promotions: http://tinyurl.com/afme4r7
Have a look at all Chrystalla’s books:
http://tinyurl.com/buth6k6
Contemporary New Adult Romance with a hint of paranormal
Ages 17+ (mature content - sex scenes are hot but not explicit)
Chrystalla says:
Do you believe in mermaids and mermen?
The sea has always been close to my heart and features in many of my stories. The sea is the first goddess, the Sumerian Tiamat, the sea dragon of chaos — a living body of water obeying the tides and deep currents, eating up land and spewing new continents, wrecking ships and sometimes spitting out marvels.
The Greek sea — the Aegean of Greece in particular — is often wracked by violent storms and swept by strong winds in the late summer. Stories of gods and goddesses with fishtails have been around for what seems like forever — tritons and nereids haunting the waves and inhabiting the blue depths of the sea.
In later, historical times, the old form of the mermaid goddess was conflated with the Virgin, as protector of those at sea. Panagia Gorgona (The Mermaid Virgin) has been venerated on the islands of Greece, as for example on Mitilini (Lesvos), where she has a chapel and is portrayed with a fishtail and a trident, surrounded by dolphins and fish.
Blurb:
Summer is almost over.
A terrible mistake haunts college student Olivia Spencer. To escape the past, she travels to the Mediterranean island of Crete, hoping for the courage to start anew.
By the sea, she meets sexy and enigmatic Kai. But there’s more to Kai than meets the eye — and nobody wants to talk about it. The locals shun him, accusing him of magic. Kai, apparently, belongs to the sea, no matter how crazy that sounds.
Kai isn’t free to be with her or live his own life, and this is how he will stay, unless Olivia can break his curse and save him — in doing so atoning for those she failed in the past.
http://www.amazon.com/Azure-Drowning-In-You-ebook/dp/B00EYG1JCY
Excerpt:
“Hello, morning.” A man entered through a door, scratching at his chin. “Sorry, I am...” He stopped, snorted. “Well, hello.”
She still couldn’t see his expression without her lenses, but she recognized that tone of voice. Flirting. Her cheeks heated as he came closer, leaning over the desk, and she saw him better. Dark shoulder-length hair and hazel eyes, three-day-old stubble darkening his jaw. He looked like the mysterious guy on the beach, only older and bulkier. Maybe all Cretans looked like that.
An island of hunks.
“I’m here, I fix something.” He dragged the vowels, his voice musical. “No more milk for breakfast. Customers complain, I need to do something, fast. I call Kai, milk is on the way.”
Kai. Rhymed with sky.
“I’m not here to complain about the milk,” she stammered. “I just wanted to leave my key. Or should I take it with me?”
“No, leave it, leave it.” He smirked. “Safe with me.” He waved at what had to be the new arrivals. “Can I help you?”
She turned to go and promptly crashed into someone. Her purse fell and she back-pedaled into the desk as the sound of something heavy hitting the floor reverberated through the lobby.
“Oh fuck,” the blurry figure facing her muttered in a crisp American accent and bent down to pick up whatever it was he’d dropped. Even without lenses she could see how wide his shoulders were and the dark hue of his hair.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered and dropped to her knees to help him. She picked up a carton and tried to read what it was. Of course she couldn’t. It was all in Greek.
“And the milk arrive,” the receptionist grated, though there was laughter in his voice.
So this was Kai that rhymed with sky.
“Here, give me that,” Kai said, his deep voice familiar.
Olivia glanced up into dark eyes that held a streak of blue and froze. “You.” The guy she’d met at the beach the previous evening. She tightened her hold on the carton and blurted, “I didn’t recognize you dressed.”
The receptionist whistled and chuckled.
Kai stilled. Dark eyes widened, then crinkled at the corners, a corner of his mouth lifting. “You must be kidding me...”
Oh damn, she’d caught the German bug. Her thoughts flowed out of her mouth without any filter. “Um, I didn’t mean it that way... Crap.”
He grabbed the carton from her hand and stood, instantly going blurry once more. She remained on her knees, caught between deciding on the best way to get out with her last shreds of dignity intact, and piecing it all together.
Kai worked here. Lived here, probably, which would explain his presence at the beach. Did that mean she would be seeing him every day?
And why did the prospect send a thrill through her?
“Are you all right?” His low voice brought her out of her brief trance.
She’d zoned out on the lobby floor. Hopeless. “Fine, I just, um...”
“Here.” He reached down for her. “Let me help you up.”
She took his hand, firm and strong, and let him pull her to her feet. “I’m really sorry I bumped into you. I lost my contact lens and I’m kinda blind right now, so... I need to get a taxi into town.” She realized he still held her hand and she looked up to find an odd expression on his face.
“No need for a taxi. I’m going into town.” He looked down at their interlinked hands and frowned. “I’m going there to pick up some provisions for the hotel. I can drop you off at an optician’s.”
The receptionist whistled again. Kai turned and gave him the finger — maybe, she couldn’t be sure — then nodded at the exit. “If that’s okay with you.”
“Sure, yes, thank you,” she said, relieved and curious and wondering about the streak of blue she’d seen in his dark eyes.
He smiled, a faint pulling of his lips, and it was only when he withdrew his hand she realized she wanted it back.
***
[image error]
Kai led the way to the parking lot behind the hotel. A pickup truck sat under a purple bougainvillea in full blossom. The sun already stung her skin and struck reflections off the sea down below.
Inside the truck it was warm but Kai opened the doors and it cooled down enough for her to climb inside. The cloth covers of the seats were dusty; the dashboard looked grimy, although she didn’t want to press her nose to it to examine it.
Then Kai slid inside, slamming the car door closed, and his scent hit her. He smelled like the sea, salty and woodsy and fresh with an undertone of musk. She inhaled deeply, hoping he wouldn’t notice. One of the perks of being half-blind, if you could call them a perk, was she had a better feel for the other senses. Sounds, smells, textures became more intense when you had to rely on them to get around, and she wanted to sink in his scent and dream of waves and sparkling fish.
“Buckle up,” he said, a dark brow arching.
She realized she’d been leaning toward him and jerked back. Shit. She pulled on the safety belt and nodded. “Aye aye, Captain.”
He puffed out a breath, and she wasn’t sure if it was annoyance or amusement. She hoped it was the latter. He was being nice and she didn’t want to put him off.
“So do you know where I can find an optician’s store?” She glanced out the window as he pulled out of the parking lot, seeing streaks of color and indistinct shapes. She turned back toward him. At least she could make out most of his features.
“Optonet. It’s near the town center.” He switched on the radio. A song blared out — Greek, of course — with lots of percussion and an oriental rhythm. “I’ll drop you off there, then continue to the other side of town to pick up provisions. Need me to give you a lift on my way back?”
Tempting as it sounded, he’d done a lot already. She gazed at his dark lashes, so long they swept along his cheekbones when he blinked. “Nah, I’ll be fine. I’ll grab a taxi back, thank you.”
“Why are you staring at me?” It came out a bit antsy, as if he’d caught her stalking him or something.
“Oh. You’re the only thing — well, person — I can actually see right now.” She hoped her cheeks weren’t about to flush again. “I have no idea where we are and can’t see a damn thing outside.” And you’re gorgeous.
Yeah, better not say that.
A corner of his mouth twitched up like before. She liked his half-smiles, she decided. “So you’re looking at me because I’m the only thing you can see, huh?”
She shrugged. “It’s not such a bad view.”
Damn. She hadn’t been supposed to say that, and she normally didn’t blurt out her thoughts. She was a quiet person and Kirsten always teased her about it. What was it about this guy that made her spew out such things?
Then again, maybe it was because he didn’t speak much and she wanted to fill the silence between them.
Which again begged the question why...
“We haven’t been introduced properly.” She put out her hand. “I’m Olivia Spencer. You can call me Liv.”
He caught her hand in his, his grip strong. Muscles flexed in his tanned arm. “Kai.”
She smiled. “Nice to meet you, Kai. Are you from around here?” Oh god, there she went again. She needed a silencer for her mouth.
He started to nod, then shook his head.
Okay, confusing. Coupled with his comment of being sometimes here and sometimes not... “You don’t have a Greek accent. You grew up in the States, didn’t you?”
He turned off the radio. “Yeah,” he said. “New Jersey. You?”
“Vermont. But I’m moving to New York, hopefully. I asked for a transfer to a college there.” She pursed her lips. She wanted to ask him if he studied, if his parents were from Crete, but she already sounded like a police interrogator. Like the Inquisition, rather. Great.
“Have you picked a major?” he asked and she smiled, relieved he was taking the lead.
“English literature.”
His brows drew together, his full lips pressed in a line. Had she said something wrong? “You don’t like literature?”
“I don’t read.”
Oh. “At all?” Didn’t even seem possible in her world, but he appeared to be worlds away. And why did he seem upset?
She was slowly realizing she was worlds away from home, too.
He said nothing as they drove on, old two-storey houses crowding the sides of the streets as they entered the center of the Chania town. Honks and shouts filled the awkward silence between them but did nothing to dispel the tension.
They stopped in front of a line of shops. Kai pulled on the handbrake, not looking at her, his jaw clenched. He nodded at the storefronts. “This is it. Second shop from the left.”
“Thank you.” She slung her purse over her shoulder, debated saying something more, asking him what had pissed him off. Trying to figure him out. But she shouldn’t bother. She didn’t need this. “See you around.”
He drove off as soon as her door slammed shut.
Find out more about Crete and the inspiration behind the novel here:
http://chrystallathoma.wordpress.com/azure/
Author bio
Chrystalla is Greek Cypriot (hence the strange name) and likes writing about bratty, angsty boys and spunky girls in fantasy and science-fiction worlds. She writes mainly for a young adult public but not only (heed the warnings!)
She's currently preparing a non-fiction book about dragons, because the truth must out, and is juggling two series ("Elei's Chronicles" and "Boreal and John Grey").
Follow Chrystalla on her Fan page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Chrystalla-Thoma/117863861560579
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September 16, 2013
Book Review: Lucifer, by Annabell Cadiz
Lucifer
Annabell Cadiz
Initial thoughts: Clothes fetish
My rating: 4- StarsSummary:
Have you ever wondered what could be hiding in the shadows?
Well, for eighteen-year-old Zahara Faraday, she doesn’t have to wonder. You see she comes from a lineage of Light Witches, those who have chosen to help protect and serve between the supernatural world and the human world. The only problem is Zahara, like her father Solomon, is as human as a human being can be whereas her mother, Mia, and her Aunt Catalina, were born as Light Witches. As a family they hunt down rogue supernaturals—creatures who harm humans or who have committed an act against their kingdom.
Zahara’s hunting skills are usually kept dormant since her parents would prefer she live life as a normal human girl without knowledge of the supernatural world. She plans on doing just that—except when she finds a couple being attacked by fairies, she has no choice but to step in. Before she can return to pretending to be blissfully ignorant, Zahara encounters a problem she isn’t the least equip to handle: Bryan Hamilton, the good looking new co-worker she has to help train. In a heartbeat, her best friend, Becca King, has set her up on a double date with herself and her new crush, Rekesh Saint-Louis, who happens to be the most powerful leader of the biggest Imago Coven in South Florida –supernatural creatures with the ability to control water . . . and suck out human souls.
Zahara has no time to focus on how she’s going to explain her double date with her best friend and the enemy they have a tentative truce with to her parents because soon one of the members of Mia and Catalina’s coven is found murdered with a strange tattoo of a snake with wings carved into his arm.
Zahara is then thrown into a whirlwind battle with an angel determined to have revenge against God, an Imago coven she doesn’t think they should trust, and slew of dream-eating fairies and powerful Nephilims, hybrid children of angels and humans, more than happy to rip her to shreds.
Normal just got a deadlier definition.
My Thoughts:
This could have been rated 3+ or 4-...I went with 4- because the overall concept is a good one, and I liked the exposure to supernatural beings that I've not met before (a.k.a Imagos). Also, I was curious what would happen in the end, and there was a little twist I wasn't expecting. You all know how I love me some twists!
I have to tell you, the prologue (written in a different time period than the present-time main story) and Lucer's POV had a great voice and flavor that was lost in the present-time writing style. I wished the whole story could have been written in this same tone.
Okay, so the characters. Zahara and Becca are good characters; not the perfect children by any means, which I find realistic and endearing. They don't do everything they're told, and they act like typical teen-agers do, especially when there are hotties involved and houses to sneak out of. :)
I was beginning to think Becca lived with Zahara...and then suddenly her parents popped into the action near the middle. That transition was a little abrupt for me.
I liked Bryan immensely. And I also liked Rekesh. I think he's a bad-ass that's often misunderstood, but he's clearly like-able and I don't think he's as bad as he pretends to be! I could see a whole story around this guy, and it's one I would read (hint, hint).
The writing style stalled for me on occasion. What I didn't like was the over-use of exclamation points, the detailed description of clothes every time a character walked into the room (or so it seemed)...I think every character had at least 6 pairs of shoes (or so it seemed). The dialogue didn't always sound realistic (what teenager refers to teenagers as 'youths'??), and peppered with banal conversation a few times.
I'm not sure the omniscient POV worked for this story...I think I would have liked to learn things as Zahara learned them. The twists in the story would have been twistier, because as a reader you wouldn't see things coming...but being privy to other characters' thoughts and actions, the surprises weren't surprising. The only time this worked was the end twist. I'm sure glad I was privy to the action there at the end! It's a great set-up to the next book...perfect cliff-hanger.
Annabell Cadiz
Initial thoughts: Clothes fetish
My rating: 4- StarsSummary:Have you ever wondered what could be hiding in the shadows?
Well, for eighteen-year-old Zahara Faraday, she doesn’t have to wonder. You see she comes from a lineage of Light Witches, those who have chosen to help protect and serve between the supernatural world and the human world. The only problem is Zahara, like her father Solomon, is as human as a human being can be whereas her mother, Mia, and her Aunt Catalina, were born as Light Witches. As a family they hunt down rogue supernaturals—creatures who harm humans or who have committed an act against their kingdom.
Zahara’s hunting skills are usually kept dormant since her parents would prefer she live life as a normal human girl without knowledge of the supernatural world. She plans on doing just that—except when she finds a couple being attacked by fairies, she has no choice but to step in. Before she can return to pretending to be blissfully ignorant, Zahara encounters a problem she isn’t the least equip to handle: Bryan Hamilton, the good looking new co-worker she has to help train. In a heartbeat, her best friend, Becca King, has set her up on a double date with herself and her new crush, Rekesh Saint-Louis, who happens to be the most powerful leader of the biggest Imago Coven in South Florida –supernatural creatures with the ability to control water . . . and suck out human souls.
Zahara has no time to focus on how she’s going to explain her double date with her best friend and the enemy they have a tentative truce with to her parents because soon one of the members of Mia and Catalina’s coven is found murdered with a strange tattoo of a snake with wings carved into his arm.
Zahara is then thrown into a whirlwind battle with an angel determined to have revenge against God, an Imago coven she doesn’t think they should trust, and slew of dream-eating fairies and powerful Nephilims, hybrid children of angels and humans, more than happy to rip her to shreds.
Normal just got a deadlier definition.
My Thoughts:
This could have been rated 3+ or 4-...I went with 4- because the overall concept is a good one, and I liked the exposure to supernatural beings that I've not met before (a.k.a Imagos). Also, I was curious what would happen in the end, and there was a little twist I wasn't expecting. You all know how I love me some twists!
I have to tell you, the prologue (written in a different time period than the present-time main story) and Lucer's POV had a great voice and flavor that was lost in the present-time writing style. I wished the whole story could have been written in this same tone.
Okay, so the characters. Zahara and Becca are good characters; not the perfect children by any means, which I find realistic and endearing. They don't do everything they're told, and they act like typical teen-agers do, especially when there are hotties involved and houses to sneak out of. :)
I was beginning to think Becca lived with Zahara...and then suddenly her parents popped into the action near the middle. That transition was a little abrupt for me.
I liked Bryan immensely. And I also liked Rekesh. I think he's a bad-ass that's often misunderstood, but he's clearly like-able and I don't think he's as bad as he pretends to be! I could see a whole story around this guy, and it's one I would read (hint, hint).
The writing style stalled for me on occasion. What I didn't like was the over-use of exclamation points, the detailed description of clothes every time a character walked into the room (or so it seemed)...I think every character had at least 6 pairs of shoes (or so it seemed). The dialogue didn't always sound realistic (what teenager refers to teenagers as 'youths'??), and peppered with banal conversation a few times.
I'm not sure the omniscient POV worked for this story...I think I would have liked to learn things as Zahara learned them. The twists in the story would have been twistier, because as a reader you wouldn't see things coming...but being privy to other characters' thoughts and actions, the surprises weren't surprising. The only time this worked was the end twist. I'm sure glad I was privy to the action there at the end! It's a great set-up to the next book...perfect cliff-hanger.
September 1, 2013
New Release! Good Bye Teddy, by JD Stockholm
This journey has been an odd one; I didn’t even know I was on it. Dear Teddy was born out of a conversation with my therapist at the time, a way for the child to speak after so many years of silence and being locked away in the dark. Once I gave him a pen and told him it was okay for him to talk, he didn’t stop. He had so much to say, and he did.
Goodbye Teddy is the fourth and final book in the Dear Teddy series, as with the previous books; it is told through the eyes of the child. He asks you to walk with him as he shows you his world. This is a tale of child abuse in all forms. Every page takes you through the horrific events and the ways he came to survive them. It shows you the betrayal by those very people that should have protected him; his mother and father.
Listen as he shares his secrets, his fears, his hopes and dreams. Laugh with him, cry with him, but don’t stop or close your eyes.
Excerpt
I sit on the cushions. I look at my dad’s bottle of petrol. Maybe I can drink it. It is poison. My dad says it is. He shouts when my brother plays in there. Because there is lots of things and it is poison and can make him die and go to heaven. I look at it lots of times. Maybe I can drink it all down. I think about it inside. Maybe it tastes nice. I like how it smells. Maybe it doesn’t taste very bad.
I reach over and get it. I open it. It smells nice. Maybe I can count. Not to four, though. Four is very bad. I count to three. One, two, three. Then I can drink it and I can go away and then everyone is happy about it.
One.
Two.
Three.
I lift the bottle up and then I put it at my mouth. I don’t tip it yet. I don’t keep the crying part away. I don’t ever be any good. “Drink it.” I say it very bad to myself. “Drink it. Drink it.”
Purchase Links:
Amazon
August 31, 2013
Saturday Smiles!
Hello, my pretties! Usually I post this stuff under Friday Fun, but I'm trending toward doing this on Saturdays because Fridays are like a run-away train these days. So, my new label is Saturday Smiles! I especially love the dog...
Have a rockin' weekend!
Have a rockin' weekend!
August 28, 2013
Book Review: Rise of the Fallen, by Donya Lynne
Rise of the Fallen
Donya Lynne
Initial Thoughts: Cover is great; story is average.
My Rating: 3.5 StarsSummary:
In the streets of Chicago exists an uneasy, centuries-old truce between vampires and their distant cousins, a race of shifters called drecks. Vampire enforcement agency, All the King’s Men (AKM), is charged with maintaining the truce, but when volatile enforcer Micah Black loses his mate and falls into the biological agony that results from the broken bond, he tests the boundaries of the truce by seeking out Apostle, a leader in the dreck community. Micah wants Apostle to kill him, a request Apostle is more than happy to fulfill.
When ex-Army medic Samantha Garrett inadvertently disrupts the plot and saves Micah’s life, a chain reaction sets Micah’s heart on a collision course with Sam’s, but he will have to protect her from Apostle and her obsessive ex-husband, Steve, if they will have a chance at forever. Can Micah hold his emotions together to keep Sam alive?
My Thoughts:First off, I love this cover. It's HOT, totally hot. And this book (and review) is for the 18+ crowd...so if you're a young 'un, you might want to skip this one. OK?
So, this story doesn't only cover Micah and Sam's stories, but a host of other folks. Some you like. Some you don't. Some you just don't care.
And there's all kinds of sex. Straight sex. Gay sex. Kinky sex. If this isn't your cup of tea, um, don't pick up this book. I personally found it interesting to read some of this stuff, never having been exposed to it before.
As for Micah, here's my problem. The guy's a dick. And you can't even blame the broken bond for his dick-i-ness. He was always a dick. Everyone knows he's a dick. Very few like him despite it. Most fear him or don't care. Some liked to see him broken. You can't like or emphasize with a dick. At least, I couldn't. And while I felt for his loss, I didn't care because, ya know, he's a dick!
But he is So. Good. Looking. Almost makes me want to try to save the dick myself. Ya know what I mean?
I have to admit, I liked him more towards the end, especially his treatment of Sam... but the dude's gotta shed that dick bag he carries around and be more like-able.
Loved Sam. Loved her strength and grit and determination. Hated her douche of an ex-husband. He deserved everything he got! It was quite comical, actually.
As for plot? It was ok, though there were some unanswered questions. There's a whole story line about a guardian that who or why or what he was all about is unexplained. At least, if it was explained I didn't get it. While I liked the guardian character quite a bit--one of my favorites, in fact--I didn't get what his purpose was.
So let's get to the meat and potatoes...the sex. The descriptions were good, if lacking a little viscerally. I thought adding the sound affects (like "Ungggh"), was kind of a turn off. Better to describe the actions and reactions viscerally than to put sound affects like that in dialogue. To me, it was off-putting and distracting.
Donya Lynne
Initial Thoughts: Cover is great; story is average.
My Rating: 3.5 StarsSummary:In the streets of Chicago exists an uneasy, centuries-old truce between vampires and their distant cousins, a race of shifters called drecks. Vampire enforcement agency, All the King’s Men (AKM), is charged with maintaining the truce, but when volatile enforcer Micah Black loses his mate and falls into the biological agony that results from the broken bond, he tests the boundaries of the truce by seeking out Apostle, a leader in the dreck community. Micah wants Apostle to kill him, a request Apostle is more than happy to fulfill.
When ex-Army medic Samantha Garrett inadvertently disrupts the plot and saves Micah’s life, a chain reaction sets Micah’s heart on a collision course with Sam’s, but he will have to protect her from Apostle and her obsessive ex-husband, Steve, if they will have a chance at forever. Can Micah hold his emotions together to keep Sam alive?
My Thoughts:First off, I love this cover. It's HOT, totally hot. And this book (and review) is for the 18+ crowd...so if you're a young 'un, you might want to skip this one. OK?
So, this story doesn't only cover Micah and Sam's stories, but a host of other folks. Some you like. Some you don't. Some you just don't care.
And there's all kinds of sex. Straight sex. Gay sex. Kinky sex. If this isn't your cup of tea, um, don't pick up this book. I personally found it interesting to read some of this stuff, never having been exposed to it before.
As for Micah, here's my problem. The guy's a dick. And you can't even blame the broken bond for his dick-i-ness. He was always a dick. Everyone knows he's a dick. Very few like him despite it. Most fear him or don't care. Some liked to see him broken. You can't like or emphasize with a dick. At least, I couldn't. And while I felt for his loss, I didn't care because, ya know, he's a dick!
But he is So. Good. Looking. Almost makes me want to try to save the dick myself. Ya know what I mean?
I have to admit, I liked him more towards the end, especially his treatment of Sam... but the dude's gotta shed that dick bag he carries around and be more like-able.Loved Sam. Loved her strength and grit and determination. Hated her douche of an ex-husband. He deserved everything he got! It was quite comical, actually.
As for plot? It was ok, though there were some unanswered questions. There's a whole story line about a guardian that who or why or what he was all about is unexplained. At least, if it was explained I didn't get it. While I liked the guardian character quite a bit--one of my favorites, in fact--I didn't get what his purpose was.
So let's get to the meat and potatoes...the sex. The descriptions were good, if lacking a little viscerally. I thought adding the sound affects (like "Ungggh"), was kind of a turn off. Better to describe the actions and reactions viscerally than to put sound affects like that in dialogue. To me, it was off-putting and distracting.
August 24, 2013
It's Funny Time!
Okay, so usually I post the funnies on Friday, and I know it's Saturday, but I was busy yesterday picking up a new chair after work (which I'm liking). Anyhoo, if you like cats, you'll find this funny. If you don't like cats, I still hope you find it funny! I will admit to chuckling out loud at some of these.
Oh, to be a cat!
Have fun!
Oh, to be a cat!
Have fun!
