A. Renee Hunt's Blog, page 73
June 7, 2016
The Beautiful Pretender by Melanie Dickerson **Book Tour**
When I decided to participate in The Beautiful Pretender book tour, I chose it mostly for the book cover. It caught my eye; I just knew I had to read the tale and share it. As many of my regular readers know, I can read anything, but romance has not been my mega-forte since high school. There's just something about historical romance though- especially when the main character, a woman, is trying to not get married! Melanie Dickerson captured a feeling, a story and a need for truth that kept me turning the pages, long after I'd have normally dropped the novel. The story is about young Avelina, a maid servant. While serving under Lady Dorothea, Avelina endured verbal abuse, neglect and sleeping in closets and on floors. She did it to take care of her two younger siblings and her father, who'd been injured and crippled in a stable accident. The job wasn't the best, but it allowed her to proudly care for her family. When Lady Dorothea is told she must attend a ball at castle Thornback with other young ladies, so the margrave can choose a bride, she high-tails it with her secret, true love, Sir Deitric and their illegitimate, unborn child. The Lord of Plimmwald is left to his creative devices. He commands Avelina to go in Lady Dorothea's stead, but she is to do everything to not be chosen. Simultaneously, the Margrave of Thornback is totally not in to having to choose a bride, let alone marry one! But because ti's an order of the king and he's so darned particular, his chancellor and wife decide to come up with a variety of tests for the many daughters of noblemen, to see who's a prime choice.
It's not until the selection dwindles down that the action begins. Everything before-hand is nerve-wrecking and slightly funny. Avelina struggles to stay in character, in which she does the complete opposite of Lady Dorothea. Then she doesn't have a proper maid servant, only one pair of shoes and she keeps doing things only a maid servant would do!. But once the story gets to the nitty gritty, you're afraid for her because you can see she's dooming herself in trying to save herself, along with everyone she knows in Plimmwald!
The story kept me tense- Avelina was constantly dodging bullets, desperately trying to keep her secret. An imposter, faking royalty, carried a severe penalty, but she had to stay strong, safe and undesirable. With her own fake maid servant getting drunk and not keeping to her chores, all the cards were stacked against her. But the worst part was the fact that the more she tried to stay away from Lord Thornbeck, the more she wanted him- and he her!. What a story. And YES, it was a little on the cheesy side, but it was remarkable and so worth the read. I can say this book has an ending worth waiting for.
You go grab this one and click on that button below. You could win an awesome Kindle Prize Pack! I am moving on to my next novel!
June 6, 2016
London Falling by Paul Cornell
Okay, I've never read a book like this. Ever! London Falling, by Paul Cornell, is paranormal + thriller + horror + witch craft! It's an interfusion of the unbelievable, using London (Yay!
June 3, 2016
The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman
My love for anything from the UK and horror were satisfied with this lovely story! I even purchased it through Amazon's Kindle website with the audio-sync feature. You can't imagine how excited I was as I sat and watched the words highlighted in my Kindle, while listening to the story told to me. I adore read-a-longs, but to have it read via my Kindle- Amazing!So The Dark Days Club, by Alison Goodman is summarized as young, eighteen year old Helen Wrexhall is on the eve of her debut presentation at the royal court of George !!! when she meets Lord Carlston, one of the few able to stop a cabal of demons that have infiltrated London society. The two investigate a conspiracy that threatens to plunge the newly Enlightened world back into the dark ages! Can Helen trust a man who's own life is nothing but lies? And does she have the strength to face the dangers to this hidden world and her family's legacy? (simplified blurb)
What an exciting promise of adventure, yes? I knew I wanted to read the book the day it premiered and I saw the cover. There was something that called to me. Something that screamed, "Alyssa, you MUST read that book!" Well, it took me three months, four technically, if you count the month I tried to win a copy, but I finally got it! Later in April, my hardcover copy arrived. Needless to say, that copy will sit proud and high on my bookshelf!
I have to admit, I had to use a dictionary regularly while reading the story. Not that I'm one to not use a dictionary; I use it all the time- especially the built-in dictionary in the Kindle app. But there were so many words I had no clue what they meant! Like, I didn't know the tiny, cloth purse women carried back then was called a reticule. What the heck! The British are so regal and formal. It was cool though and I enjoyed every minute of it. What good is reading if you don't learn new things, right? I appreciated the formality of this book, but it got slow and a tad dry from time to time. Sometimes, I didn't want to hear the sexist ramblings of Helen's uncle. Sometimes I didn't want to hear Mr. Carlston's bullish temperament because he had to help Helen instead of being on the frontline of the paranormal war, but all in all, I guess it helped to make the story. The development of Helen and her power (especially when she beat up Carlston) was pretty cool and the explanation of the creatures that were lurking about London was vivid and very unique. I just wish it had moved a little faster.
Since you know I love covers, the book's cover is one of my fav's. It's pretty, with it's decorations, fancy lettering and even Helen on the cover. The decor and inner-pages were delicate and elegant as well, making it easy on these tired eyes of mine. It's a gorgeous book and the story was just as dainty yet dangerous; I love that sort of combination. Alison Goodman is an author I'll soon revisit- especially if there's a follow up to this book, as I am to believe... Ratings:
June 2, 2016
June 1, 2016
May 31, 2016
Ally Ally Oxen Free by M. Allman
*Audiobook Review
I was told this story was really spooky; something that would really get me- especially because it was about kids. Those words may as well have been a challenge, because I knew I needed to hear it.
Evidently, I don't know much...
The story is centered around a handful of elementary school kids. They're typical, but one is in to archeology- the search and discovery of bones. He would go to a neighbor's lot and dig about, hoping to find animal bones so he could figure TOD's and stuff like that. Anyway, I can't say much more than that or I'll be offering up SPOILERS! And I ain't doing that! lol
So to be frank, this story was NOT spooky. It was NOT scary and my son is 11 and would NOT have been afraid. The author spent so much time on the kids in class and playing Hide 'n Go Seek, there was barely any time for the spookiness to even begin! The only details provided were on the missing girl, so to say I had to use my imagination would be an understatement!
This story was free, so I won't cry about it, but it was meh... Next story!
May 29, 2016
Book Release of All of Me by Jonali Karmakar
*~* Release Day Blitz *~*
Title: All of Me
Author: Jonali Karmakar
Length: 69 pages
Publication Date: May 29, 2016
ASIN: B01G0P8JGK
About the Author:
Jonali Karmakar is a fiction writer with a Masters in English. Writing is not just her passion but her way of dealing with life. She loves being able to escape into the worlds she creates. Everything that she writes becomes a part of her and she wants her readers to know the woman behind those words. In addition to being an educator, she works as a content editor for a local news portal. She has been providing editing, proofreading and translation services for the past few years.
Jonali’s work has been published in several journals, anthologies and poetry collections both national and international. An avid reader, she loves flipping pages of anything and everything on the table and reviewing the same on her blog Eclectic Moods. She feels that reading and writing are the flip sides of the same coin. Writing is her way of communicating with the world. When she’s not writing or teaching she loves to experiment with her paintings.
She has quite a few accolades to her name.
Contact the Author:
Blog * Twitter * eMail Book Blurb:
All of Me is a collection of thirteen little stories that have been gleaned from real life as well as imagination. Exploring a range of genres, these throb with everything primal to human nature: fear, angst, joy, love, and longing. Some stories are designed to elicit smiles, chuckles, and maybe even a belly laugh or two whereas some are meant as a reality check. Universal in nature, each story provides a glimpse of what women empowerment or a lack thereof can mean in a person’s life.
From a small hamlet in India to the roads of Australia; from a mother’s betrayal to a daughter’s confession; from an extra marital affair to a same sex relationship learn for yourself the what, how and whys.
Originally written for anthologies and ezines, these stories have been revisited and updated for this new collection.
Amazon.in * Amazon.com
Excerpts from stories in All of Me:
1
Instead there were so many questions that started to raise their bantam heads. Why did she drive the winding lanes into the past to warm herself? What was it that she was hoping to find? Had she really blamed Palash for naught? Over the years had she made him less a person who had lived and breathed and more the dream of one? It was not impossible what he had accused her of.
Ira looked at the man before her and matched him to her memories of him. They seemed two very different beings! Waves of humiliation washed over her until she was rigid with misery. The purpose of this trip was lost on her.
For a while she let his words run through her head like cool water on a headache and dared to examine her sentiments in the privacy of her thoughts. She let the long buried memories surface and in the one moment saw everything and wanted not to, wanted to make it go away, to unknow. In finding closure she had unearthed a truth that she wasn’t willing to face ever.
2
She liked her job. It was good. Brought in quick money. Left her enough hours for cramming her boring science papers. What else can one expect? There were quite a few perks too. Posh parties where cocktails, five star food and good contacts flowed uninterruptedly not necessarily in the same order. Whatever. It was fun.
Okay it wasn’t a job to be proud of she agreed. But she wasn’t ashamed of what she did. Still it was a put-outer when people shriveled their nose after learning about her profession. As if she reeked! So she didn’t advertise her work much. Clients came in on their own. She had a reputation. Word of mouth was her advertisement.
Namita was one of the best. A little pricey but satisfaction guaranteed. Naturally her clientele list included only a handful. She liked to stick to her regulars. Knowing each other intimately created a comfort zone which she thought was essential. Mutual enjoyment was her mantra. She diligently noted their likes and specially their dislikes. Their preferences for toys. The usual.
It was a little tricky with the fly-by-night customers. It usually meant a day call. She preferred evenings. If the money was good she accepted. But she didn’t compromise with her three-days-a-night policy. In such situations Namita ditched one of her regulars by calling in sick. A little ditching was healthy especially since her work was so damn physically tiring. She only accepted them after seeing their medical certificates. It irked some but she never budged. She didn’t want to pickup something nasty from them. If they wanted her it was on her terms.
This Feature is a part of the Blogger Outreach Program by b00k r3vi3w Tours
May 27, 2016
A Letter from the Dead by M. Sarwar, MD, FACR
A Letter from the Dead is another book I won from Goodreads. I won it last year but it was one of those books that didn't even bring me to excitement. When I saw the cover, I thought, "Wow, this may be a little lame", but I read the summary and thought- "Okay- why not?" Now I'm just like... WHY!The story is about a man who is Muslim who dies. He then proceeds to tell how he still held to certain senses until transported to a "waiting area" where he was to be processed for an interview with God. While waiting, he was permitted to go about, nosing into tours of both Heaven and Hell. He was also able to go and visit other processing areas for other faiths. Eventually, he interviews people and then watches how Jews are mocked, Christians are ridiculed and so much more. It was all so he could send a letter from his non-corporeal situation to those of us, in the world of the living. Now the author of this book, M. Sarwar, MD, FACR is an intelligent person. What possessed him to sit and write this book is a wonder to me. I never felt insulted, but I didn't like how he used his thoughts and feelings to belittle the faith of others- though he says he's not doing so. He did mention there were no faiths once we left earth but everyone was being judged by their faiths. God looked down on us as jokes and laughed at us! Almost everyone! I was a bit lost and wondered what the point was? I know I'm not a huge fan of non-fiction; I look for entertainment in my reading, not to be laughed at by God, because we followed Jesus.
I was shocked that at least he saw God as the one who made us all and there were angels, heaven and hell- but the book itself didn't really hold much of a purpose to me. I just read it and felt it needed to go on one of my book stacks and not returned to a shelf. It wasn't written well or unwell- just basic, a simple book. Sarwar said it was fiction, but its written as though it all happened in a dream one night and then woke up and journaled it all. Like a memoir, I don't know.
Everyone feels their faith is RIGHT and others think there's no God at all. (What a terrible existence if that were so), but what I really feel is that I need to leave this book behind me and move on to the next one! Books like this make me stick to worlds of unreal!
May 26, 2016
I am so lucky! I saw this book, read the summary and knew I wanted it. I tried to find it and couldn't, so I did the next best thing; I reached out to the author, May 25, 2016
The Ruins by Scott Smith
You know, I have never read a book that made me feel as sick as this book. The Ruins, by Scott Smith is one of imagination and creativity... and horror. Honestly, it's stories like this that will forever prevent me from going to particular countries! No lie, lol! The story is about a group of friends who are not wanting to let go of their amazing holiday in Mexico. They swim, dance, drink and even cheat one one another. Not all of them- just one... but it's all in fun- what happens in Mexico stays in Mexico, yeah? Well, the day before returning home, they decide to take hike to a place even the natives refuse to venture. Now the place is also an excavation site to one of the vacationers' brother that no one's heard back from in a while. Hmm...
So they get there and are warned to not go near it- by the natives, HELLO! And in a mixup that ends with one of the travelers stepping into the undesired area- they are now told by the locals to stay and not return. Oh crap! First you're told not to go there, then you go there and are warned to not come back. I tell you, people are dumb! The story ends up being about, not the people who went there but why the people who went there can not come home. It's haunting, scary and a lot of gross!
Now I read this book, then watched the movie and I can tell you that either way, this story is painful! What the book did was terrifying, but the movie was simply unbelievable and horrific. I couldn't sit still because it was so uncomfortable! I watched the movie, cringing and squeezing my eyes so tight, I could barely see, but couldn't look away. When I read the book, I yelled at those stupid people and even threw the book against the wall, because I was so emotionally invested! And the plants...
The plants man...
This story is nightmarish! When I finished reading the book, I just sorta sat on my sofa, in a state of exhaustion and shock, like that time I went to see one of the Faces of Death movies. It was spooky as heck and I couldn't get some scenes outta my head! The author, Scott Smith didn't have to use imagery and a ton of fancy words to get you frightened, he used the one thing that's supposed to be safest and most calm. The one that can be cruel, but is of full of fluffy bunnies and majestic eagles gliding on wind currents. He used nature. He took a lovely bloom and some vines and made them into monsters! The book is AWESOME! But weird, so I'm not sure I really liked it.
Now don't get me wrong, It's not a bad book. It's good, but it was so freaking weird and spooky. The movie left out a lot of really cool scenes and information, but the book itself was the real deal. Don't see the movie unless you've read the book first. There's a bit of dryness, like the backgrounds of characters, but once you got past that junk, it is pretty decent. Check out The Ruins, but only if you like horror.
