Maegan Provan's Blog, page 30
April 16, 2014
Celine (The Night Touched Chronicle) – Maegan Provan
Celine got some love from the amazing author, Joleene Naylor
Originally posted on Jo's Random Book Reviews:
Admittedly, it’s been awhile since I picked up a vampire book. Twilight had it’s good points, but how many copy-cats does a person want to read? Thank goodness, Celine is NOT just another Twilight clone. The vampires hearken back to the old days, when they were still creatures of the night who unapologetic-ally drank blood and kicked butt – when they need to.
Harper is a Night Touch, a special breed of vampire, and she’s the only one – or so she thought. When she starts to have visions of a second Night Touched named Celine, she immediately wants to find her, but here’s only one problem: Celine has been taken prisoner by the Slayers, a group of humans whose sole purpose is to wipe vampires from the face of the Earth.
They can’t just go rushing in. Though vampires may be immortal, they can die, and if there are…
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April 13, 2014
One Page Per Day
Are you looking for a little extra push to write, but fear the “infinite page,” check out One Page Per Day. It’s a chance for you to challenge yourself to write one simple page per day. You don’t have set a word count or anything like that. If you just wrote one page a day, you could finish your novel in no time
April 12, 2014
10 Days of Character Building: Basing Characters on Real People
10 Days of Character Building: Basing Characters on Real People
These are fantastic tips for the best way to base characters on the people in your life.
April 10, 2014
Away from home and reading: A short update and reviews of some of the Amaranthine Shorts
My mother had surgery this week, and so I am staying with her for a little while. I want to make sure that she’s okay, you know? Anyway, I am kind of upset with myself because I left all of my work on my desktop in my office back at my house. I didn’t bring a backup, nor did I think to put it on my Dropbox. This means that I am not getting any work done on any of my novels. That really sucks. I am, however, working to pass the time by doing a LOT of reading. As you can see, I have caught up on all of the Amaranthine novels and a bulk of the shorts. Since I read so many shorts, I didn’t want to do individual reviews, I wanted to do one bulk review for you guys.
101 Tips for Traveling with a Vampire; Tales of the Executioners: Aine ; Vampire Morsels (Short Story Collection) ((I specifically read Adam, Alexander, Arowenia, Ashton, Benjamin, Bethina, Claudius, Elsa, Herrick, Jesslynn, Kariss); Heart of the Raven Mini Prologue Collection; Tales from the Island- Children of Shadows Prologue Collection
If you’re like me and you’ve read the Amaranthine main series (Shades of Gray, Legacy of Ghosts, Ties of Blood, Ashes of Deceit, Heart of the Raven, Children of Shadows) then you’re just dying for Clash of Legends. Since that won’t be out until late 2014, you might want to know what to read to fill the time. Joleene Naylor has taken the time to provide you with a wide range of short stories to choose from.
Was there a vampire you came across that didn’t get their time to shine? Try reading Vampire Morsels! It’s a collection of 17 short stories about those other wise unknown vampires. They answer some of those burning questions, like what made Jesslynn turn the children? How about who Velnya, Jorick’s first wife, was? These shorts keep you wrapped in the universe and make you feel more like a part of their world.
Tales of the Executioners: Aine is the first short in this collection, and from what I could find, the only short available right now. It’s just a fun little story about one of the “lesser” Executioners on one of his arrests. To me this was on a “vampire bounty hunter” level.
If you read Heart of the Raven, you have to read the prologue collection. You get to see those moments up to the beginning of the book from the eyes of Wolfe, Sidhara, Cyprus, Neil and a few others. If you haven’t read Heart of the Raven yet, I would recommend reading this first, because why not?
Tales from the Island was a fun little collection from the eyes of Micah, Loren, Verchiel, Oren, and Torina on their island vacation before the beginning of Children of Shadows. This gives you a chance to look at what vampires do during their down time on the beach.
April 7, 2014
Children of Shadows, Amaranthine Book 6 by Joleene Naylor
Click here to buy your copy!
War is waged on the vampire guilds. Locations across the globe are being attacked by a mythical vampire cult called “Children of Shadows.” When a video is released by the group to human and vampire outlets alike, Katelina and the others learn that the cult is being led by Cyprus. Katelina, Jorick and their coven have to escape Munich to put a stop to their evil plan. While on their trip they meet Ume, a vampiress with insight to Verchiel’s past, and uncover more mysteries than they can solve.
I regret that I read this book so fast because now I am chomping at the bit for Clash of Legends. Every single book is better than the last and Children of Shadows is no exception. We see a different side to some of the “tougher” characters and what came out of some of the scenes was completely unexpected. Katelina is becoming this stronger, more aware character and I really like that she is not taking the whole “humans are the lesser” quietly. However, she is also learns a valuable lesson about how fragile humans really are in the world of vampires.
I really didn’t know what I was going to do with myself once I finished, but fortunately, Joleene Naylor has taken the time to write other books based in the Amaranthine Universe. I will be reading those while I wait not so patiently for Book 7!
April 6, 2014
Heart of the Raven, Amaranthine Book 5 by Joleene Naylor
Click here to buy your copy!
The Citadel is still recovering from the attack by Malick and his followers. Everyone is working to establish normalcy and get back to work, and Jorick is no exception. Katelina just wants to take some time to relax and deal with what happened. Unfortunately, there is no time. She, Jorick and their band of merry vampires head to Munick to testify against Malick for his betrayal. The trip gets diverted when Jorick figures out what Malick is after; the Heart of the Raven.
This series keeps getting better and better. I do appreciate the fact that we get to see real jealousy out of Jorick when it comes to Verchiel and I felt that it really has added another demision to Jorick as a character. I truly enjoyed the change of scenery and the fact that they are traveling the world. The new characters we got to meet and some of the surprising relations to our cast of well known heroes was very awesome! I would say that thus far, this book had the most action, mystery and intrigue. I was hanging on to every page in a bigger and better way.
April 1, 2014
Ashes of Deceit, Amaranthine Book 4 by Joleene Naylor
Click here to buy your copy today!
War against the Citadel is coming. Oren and his allied covens have begun making plans. Of course, all Katelina wants is to be left in peace with Jorick in their little house by the sea. After a rescue and surprise attack, the two lovers find themselves back behind the walls of the Citadel and at Malick’s whim. Love, loss, jealousy, betrayal and manipulation are beginning to become routine for our poor little protagonists.
Another fantastic chapter in the Amaranthine series. Thus far, Ashes of Deceit was the most action packed, tear jerking novel yet and I cannot wait to dig into Heart of the Raven. The complicated relationship of a human who loves a vampire with a psycho for a master comes to a head in this exciting installment!! I have been gushing over these books for the last several days and I will continue to for a long time. It has been so refreshing to read well written, well thought out, self-published work. I feel like I need to end every sentence of this review with an exclamation point because it was just that good!
March 30, 2014
Ties of Blood, Amaranthine Book 3 by Joleene Naylor
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Returning from the nightmare of battle against Kateesha, Katelina begins to think more and more about the life she led before Jorick. After deciding that a trip to visit her grief stricken mother was probably for the best, she begins to realize how much her life has changed in just a few short months. They have a run-in with a bright haired, overenthusiastic vampire, Jorrick gets arrested for Katelina’s kidnapping, it seems like things couldn’t get worse… right? Of course they could! The Guild wants Katelina and her raven haired vampire for questioning regarding Kateesha’s death. Katelina is taken against her will to the Citadel, to come face to face with Jorick’s master, Malick. Fear of what her punishment might be and a newer threat popping up in the mean time, it seems like Jorick and Katelina can’t catch a break
I am so glad I found this series. These books have me hooked and wanting to do little else but be sucked into their world. The heartache and triumph of these characters is really enjoyable. Of course, as you can probably tell by now, I am OBSESSED with this series. Something that I have really appreciated is the symbolism of taking a shower. When something awful happens, the characters go take a shower to wash away the horrors of what has recently taken place. Even Katelina remarked about showers being able to get the outside clean while, of course, leaving the inside marred and dirty. I liked that Joleene took the time to really describe the Citadel in this book. I could picture the glass elevator and the atrium, the scar covered waitress and the lounge for humans. It was quiet awesome.
Once again, Joleene, job VERY well done.
March 29, 2014
Legacy of Ghosts, Amaranthine Book 2 by Joleene Naylor
Click here to buy your copy!!
Two weeks after the show down with Claudius, Katelina is trying to settle into her stay a Jorick’s quaint little home by the beach. Surrounded by stacks upon stacks of books, no modern technology to speak of, and her savior constantly disappearing behind a mysterious white door, Katelina soon finds herself wondering about her situation more and more. With a battle on the horizon, Katelina finds herself staring down the battle of that age old sentiment, “Don’t ask questions that you’re not ready to hear the answer to.”
It is very rare to find a book series that has a good sequel. They’re typically boring, long winded, and are never your favorite. Finding myself in the midst of writing a sequel, I worry about those very things. However, Joleene Naylor did NOT disappoint with this exciting sequel to Shades of Gray. Legacy of Ghosts was definitely a book that was full of action, romance, and drama!
Once again, Naylor was able to display the care she has for her characters across well written pages and heartfelt moments. Very rarely do I find myself tearing up in a sequel, but I definitely was with this one. The pain and triumph of the characters was palpable, and I couldn’t put the book down. I literally finished it in a couple of days. All I really have left to say is that I cannot wait to start Ties of Blood.
March 27, 2014
Shades of Gray, Amaranthine Book One by Joleene Naylor
Click here to buy your copy!
After the murder of her friend/lover, Katelina’s life seemed pretty bleak. One day, while at work, she received a phone call that changed everything. Katelina was quickly shoved in to the dark, macabre world of vampires. She has to change everything she knows about them in order to accept help from the tall, dark and handsome stranger that has come to her rescue.
I absolutely loved this book. If you don’t know, I’m a sucker for GOOD vampire fiction and this was definitely GOOD vampire fiction. Joleene Naylor’s ability to paint such a detailed and fantastic world was not unappreciated. She took such great care to make the Amaranthine world seem so real, and I couldn’t have asked for better. I also really liked the fact that Naylor didn’t shy away from intimate moments and she kept them tasteful.
To the author, I have to say, thank you for taking such pride in your book. While reading, I could really feel the love you have for them. I already have Legacy of Ghosts loaded and ready to go on my Kindle.
