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Make Believe
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Sacrificial Oath by Terri Rochenski
An impetuous act unwittingly makes Alesuela the fulfillment of the Sovereign's Blood Oath to their Goddess. In five days, she'll be forced to make the greatest choice of her life: become the virginal sacrifice already promised, or force the man she loves most to die in her place. With an impossible choice in front of her, she searches for ...more
An impetuous act unwittingly makes Alesuela the fulfillment of the Sovereign's Blood Oath to their Goddess. In five days, she'll be forced to make the greatest choice of her life: become the virginal sacrifice already promised, or force the man she loves most to die in her place. With an impossible choice in front of her, she searches for ...more
ebook, 169 pages
Published
December 3rd 2012
by J.Taylor Publishing
(first published November 23rd 2012)
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MAKE BELIEVE is a magical collection of short stories. Just the right size for someone like me who falls into bed too late every night and doesn't have much time (or energy) left to read! It was a pleasure to escape into so many diverse fantasy worlds, some completely different from our own, others familiar but with a dash of the paranormal. All the stories were well-written, but I think my favourite was LAST WINTER RED, followed by BIRTHRIGHT. Those two captured my attention the most, and kept
...more

May 09, 2012
Aimee Laine
rated it
it was amazing
Recommends it for:
fantasy, urban fantasy and contemporary readers
Recommended to Aimee by:
Publisher
Overall rating 4.5/5 (so wish GR did 1/2 stars!)
Sacrificial Oath by Terri Rochenski 4.5/5
The quickest read of the group but a great opener. Totally hits the mark on that cover. Love that in the face of self-sacrifice, that the woman gets far more than she thinks she deserves.
The Amulet of Ormisez by J. Keller Ford 4/5
Family connections are really strong in this one - to the point they make the story. Love the fantasy world setup in this and the mix of otherworldly creatures, too.
Birthright by L ...more
Sacrificial Oath by Terri Rochenski 4.5/5
The quickest read of the group but a great opener. Totally hits the mark on that cover. Love that in the face of self-sacrifice, that the woman gets far more than she thinks she deserves.
The Amulet of Ormisez by J. Keller Ford 4/5
Family connections are really strong in this one - to the point they make the story. Love the fantasy world setup in this and the mix of otherworldly creatures, too.
Birthright by L ...more

(Full review posted on my blog, The Reader's Commute)
I was lucky enough to receive, courtesy of J. Taylor Publishing, an ARC of a new anthology: Make Believe.
This paranormal romance / fantasy anthology will be released as an e-book on December 3, 2012, so you don't have long to wait! Around fifty-or-so pages each, here are a little bit about the stories included in Make Believe:
"Sacrificial Oath" by Terri Rochenski
My Thoughts: I envisioned the book cover as I read this story. There are some be ...more
I was lucky enough to receive, courtesy of J. Taylor Publishing, an ARC of a new anthology: Make Believe.
This paranormal romance / fantasy anthology will be released as an e-book on December 3, 2012, so you don't have long to wait! Around fifty-or-so pages each, here are a little bit about the stories included in Make Believe:
"Sacrificial Oath" by Terri Rochenski
My Thoughts: I envisioned the book cover as I read this story. There are some be ...more

I recieved an eARC of this book from J. Taylor publishing to read for an honest review. This in now way has influenced my point of view on this book. I want to thank them for providing me with this ARC.
This book is a compilation of six magical short stories from various authors who are published or will be published under the J. Taylor label. Each author took you into a new world, past, present, future, fantasy, dystopian, paranormal, etc. It was nice to be able to watch each story come to life ...more
This book is a compilation of six magical short stories from various authors who are published or will be published under the J. Taylor label. Each author took you into a new world, past, present, future, fantasy, dystopian, paranormal, etc. It was nice to be able to watch each story come to life ...more

Make Believe is a delightful anthology of fantasy short stories. The opening tale "Sacrificial Oath" by Terri Rochenski had great emotional build up with a fairy tale ending. Personally, I looked for something more explosive at the end. "The Amulet of Ormisez" by J. Keller Ford has a great plot that is almost lost due to an over abundance of characters. The introduction of the talisman and its effect (no spoiler here) is genius! Read carefully or you may miss something. "Birthright" is a solid s
...more

Make Believe is a short story anthology of paranormal fantasy/fantasy/sci-fi/dystopian etc. The writers were asked to base a story around the cover picture as long as it was not Little Red Riding hood based and had a happy or near happy ending.
Overall the anthology was good, a quick read with well balanced and varied stories.
Sacrificial Oath by Terri Rochenski
This was an interesting story. We have a simple act that brings severe consequences. I like the exploration of character as a girl figur ...more
Overall the anthology was good, a quick read with well balanced and varied stories.
Sacrificial Oath by Terri Rochenski
This was an interesting story. We have a simple act that brings severe consequences. I like the exploration of character as a girl figur ...more

I was really looking forward to reading Make Believe after having followed the build-up to it via some of the author's blogs, and it certainly lived up to my expectations! I don't generally read anthologies because I prefer to live with characters for longer than you can in a short story, but I do look at anthologies as a good opportunity to sample some authors that I haven't read before and/or some genres than I wouldn't usually choose. This book ticks both of those boxes. I also love the idea
...more

Make believe is a collection of 6 fantasy and paranormal short stories. The content and feel of the stories are varied; from Terry Rochenski’s tale of a girl forced to sacrifice herself to a goddess to save her father, to Jennifer M Eaton’s interesting fantasy dystopian crossover about two civilisations that both believe the other to be diseased.
Sacrificial Oath by Terri Rochenski – I thought this was a beautiful, well written story. Showing a girl whose mistake means she must be sacrificed to ...more
Sacrificial Oath by Terri Rochenski – I thought this was a beautiful, well written story. Showing a girl whose mistake means she must be sacrificed to ...more

I always struggle at reviewing anthologies, which is why I usually try not to. I know that most people review each of the stories individually but I'm not going to do that because if I'm purchasing this book, I'd want to know if it's worth buying (as a whole), so here goes..
I can confidently state that Make Believe is written by a group of talented writers. All the stories have paranormal elements and the feel of forming part of a full length novel. They have strong story lines, despite their sh ...more
I can confidently state that Make Believe is written by a group of talented writers. All the stories have paranormal elements and the feel of forming part of a full length novel. They have strong story lines, despite their sh ...more

Dec 06, 2012
Tee loves Kyle Jacobson
rated it
it was amazing
Shelves:
2012-must-reads,
j-taylor-publishing
Man oh man can I just tell you that I have read a lot of Anthologies but this one by far had me on the edge of my seat. It has six short stories that left me wanting more and more. It is so hard to do this review because I don't want to spoil anything for anyone. This is one book you have to read to appreciate the stories.
Sacrificial Oath by Terri Rochenski
What would you sacrifice to be with the one you love? Would you lay down your life or would you sacrifice the one you loved? This is the ques ...more
Sacrificial Oath by Terri Rochenski
What would you sacrifice to be with the one you love? Would you lay down your life or would you sacrifice the one you loved? This is the ques ...more

The gorgeous cover won me over and the stories did not disappoint.
My favourite was Lynda Young's 'Birthright'. Christa was a wonderfully developed character with many layers and complexities that sometimes even baffled her. Beautiful descriptive language, the settings became reality for me. The title was also cleverly chosen and not what I first thought it was about. I started off thinking this would be a story of finding love, but it was more... it was magical. ...more
My favourite was Lynda Young's 'Birthright'. Christa was a wonderfully developed character with many layers and complexities that sometimes even baffled her. Beautiful descriptive language, the settings became reality for me. The title was also cleverly chosen and not what I first thought it was about. I started off thinking this would be a story of finding love, but it was more... it was magical. ...more

Honestly, I wanted to read this anthology just because I really enjoy J.A. Belfield’s writing (and she rocks, Go Julie! Lol) but was pleasantly surprised when I ended up loving the other stories as well. With mystery, deceit, fate, grief, greed, romance, and action each story has its own engaging elements but all are sprinkled with a morsel of magic. Definitely a great read!
To see this review and more check out my blog at http://lratrandom.blogspot.com/ ...more
To see this review and more check out my blog at http://lratrandom.blogspot.com/ ...more

Seeing as how I'm one of the 6 authors in this anthology how can I give it less than 5 stars?
A full review of the other 5 stories to come after release day. ...more
A full review of the other 5 stories to come after release day. ...more

From: http://readingandwritingurbanfantasy....
3.5 stars
At A Glance
I liked four stories out of the six. Though not all were for me I do believe that many people will enjoy this anthology.
The Good
Sacrificial Oath
I loved the concept of this story. The idea that the Sovereign's daughter is to be made a virginal sacrifice to appease a Goddess because of an unhappy accident is interesting. Alesuela takes the news as you might expect. She is sad and depressed but she tries to stay positive for her fat ...more
3.5 stars
At A Glance
I liked four stories out of the six. Though not all were for me I do believe that many people will enjoy this anthology.
The Good
Sacrificial Oath
I loved the concept of this story. The idea that the Sovereign's daughter is to be made a virginal sacrifice to appease a Goddess because of an unhappy accident is interesting. Alesuela takes the news as you might expect. She is sad and depressed but she tries to stay positive for her fat ...more

I don't read anthologies very often, but I do like to pick them up when I don't have a lot of time to read. That way I can read one short story for a bit and not feel rushed to keep reading. The Make Believe anthology was great for this. I read it sporadically during the final weeks of the school semester and while on study breaks between my finals. Each story stands on its own, but they all share one similarity...in all of them a woman or girl is in a red cloak at one point or another, just lik
...more

I found all six short stories in the anthology Make Believe to be fast, fun reads. Each author took the same picture and created six totally different stories with interesting characters and exciting plots.
1. Sacrificial Oath by Terri Rochenski
A king and his men are trapped by their enemy and face certain death, forcing the king to make a blood oath to their Goddess. Little does he know the sacrifice will end up being his own daughter. This made a great opening story. The love father and daughte ...more
1. Sacrificial Oath by Terri Rochenski
A king and his men are trapped by their enemy and face certain death, forcing the king to make a blood oath to their Goddess. Little does he know the sacrifice will end up being his own daughter. This made a great opening story. The love father and daughte ...more

I reviewed each story separately...
Sacrificial Oath by Terri Rochenski
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: * * *
My Review:
This is a retelling of an old fable and I enjoyed the author's take on it. We see everything from Alesuela's perspective which adds a great deal to the mystery and suspense. I loved how Terri Rochenski used the color red symbolically throughout the story. Overall, the story did fall short for me as I didn't really connect much with the main character, so I wasn't emotionally invested, bu ...more
Sacrificial Oath by Terri Rochenski
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: * * *
My Review:
This is a retelling of an old fable and I enjoyed the author's take on it. We see everything from Alesuela's perspective which adds a great deal to the mystery and suspense. I loved how Terri Rochenski used the color red symbolically throughout the story. Overall, the story did fall short for me as I didn't really connect much with the main character, so I wasn't emotionally invested, bu ...more

The Make Believe anthology features short stories with paranormal themes that will make minds ponder impossibilities. While not as emotionally in depth as J. Taylor Publishing's previous anthology, Tidal Whispers, Make Believe's fairy tale-like essence will capture readers' attention from the first suspenseful story of sacrifice.
Terry Rochenski's Sacrificial Oath was an excellent portrayal of faith and love. When an impossible oath is laid before a young woman, faith in her goddess and love for ...more
Terry Rochenski's Sacrificial Oath was an excellent portrayal of faith and love. When an impossible oath is laid before a young woman, faith in her goddess and love for ...more

I was so excited to get a chance to read this amazing collection early in exchange for an honest review.
This is a great collection of short stories. They are short enough to read one a night but engaging enough to plow through all at one time depending on how you like to read. I really enjoyed all of them.
Escort to Insanity by J.A. Belfield
This story was the main reason I wanted to read this book. I fell in love with the Holloway pack and couldn't wait to read a new story line from J.A. Belfield ...more
This is a great collection of short stories. They are short enough to read one a night but engaging enough to plow through all at one time depending on how you like to read. I really enjoyed all of them.
Escort to Insanity by J.A. Belfield
This story was the main reason I wanted to read this book. I fell in love with the Holloway pack and couldn't wait to read a new story line from J.A. Belfield ...more

Selkies, witches, shapeshifters, and more come to life in the short story collection MAKE BELIEVE by Terri Rochenski, J. Keller Ford, Lynda R. Young, Kelly Said, Jennifer M. Eaton, and J.A. Belfield.
Alesuela discovers her impetuous behavior comes at a high price in “Sacrificial Oath” by Terri Rochenski. Elton is running out of time to save his brother in “The Amulet of Ormisez” by J. Keller Ford. Christa finds she can’t run away from some things in “Birthright” by Lynda R. Young. As his kingdom ...more
Alesuela discovers her impetuous behavior comes at a high price in “Sacrificial Oath” by Terri Rochenski. Elton is running out of time to save his brother in “The Amulet of Ormisez” by J. Keller Ford. Christa finds she can’t run away from some things in “Birthright” by Lynda R. Young. As his kingdom ...more

Sacrificial Oath by Terri Rochenski
An impetuous act unwittingly makes Alesuela the fulfillment of the Sovereign’s Blood Oath to their Goddess. In five days, she’ll be forced to make the greatest choice of her life: become the virginal sacrifice already promised, or force the man she loves most to die in her place.
MY REVIEW
A really great start to the anthology, this story has a mythical edge in that the people in the book pray to the goddess. Alesuela's father, King Amant is away at war, so she ...more

Sacrificial Oath - Terri Rochenski (4 Stars)
After reading the entire anthology, I really feel this story is the perfect place to start out from. The story has a strong fable feel to it and I can definitely see where the cover image inspired the story. Some great references to the red so prevalent in the image throughout the tale. The well-written story follows the MC, Alesuela as she comes to grips with the sacrifice she has to make for the good of her father, the King, and their people. I don't ...more
After reading the entire anthology, I really feel this story is the perfect place to start out from. The story has a strong fable feel to it and I can definitely see where the cover image inspired the story. Some great references to the red so prevalent in the image throughout the tale. The well-written story follows the MC, Alesuela as she comes to grips with the sacrifice she has to make for the good of her father, the King, and their people. I don't ...more

I must be honest - the cover picture is what caught my attention. It is breathtaking... quite literally...
I had no idea, until the third or fourth story, that the woman in the red cloak was the inspiration for this collection.
Now I'm not a fan of the fantasy genre, and didn't know what to expect when I started reading. However, I believe that you must keep an open mind, and try something different from time to time, in order to stretch the boundaries of your reading experience.
I must say that ...more
I had no idea, until the third or fourth story, that the woman in the red cloak was the inspiration for this collection.
Now I'm not a fan of the fantasy genre, and didn't know what to expect when I started reading. However, I believe that you must keep an open mind, and try something different from time to time, in order to stretch the boundaries of your reading experience.
I must say that ...more

I'm a little late to the game in reading/reviewing this, but better late than never! Don't let the snowy cover fool you . . . it's a fantastic read no matter what time of year (like summer, hahaha).
My favorite story in the anthology was The Amnulet of Ormisez by J. Keller Ford. I loved the gothic feel and the angle of the selkies--very creative!!
My second favorite was Last Winter Red by Jennifer Eaton. Her story had a M Night Shyamalan feel to it that really kept me interested.
My third favorite ...more
My favorite story in the anthology was The Amnulet of Ormisez by J. Keller Ford. I loved the gothic feel and the angle of the selkies--very creative!!
My second favorite was Last Winter Red by Jennifer Eaton. Her story had a M Night Shyamalan feel to it that really kept me interested.
My third favorite ...more

Review to Come on my alter ego's blog: http://rebeccahartwriting.wordpress.com
...more
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Great compilation of shorts. Full review at http://www.twimom227.com 1-4-13
...more

I typically don't read fantasy, so I was planning on simply reading one short story in support of the author (my very talented cousin, Terri Rochenski!) ...but I couldn't put it down after that! I did especially like the triad of stories by Belfield - a common character archetype is found in the three stories. Short stories don't get into character development often, so I enjoyed the 'archetype development' happening, if you will, possible with that sort of collaboration between the three.
...more
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J.A. Belfield lives in Solihull, England, with the best husband in the world, aka Mr B, a couple of now-adult but cheeky as heck kids, a pooch she treats likes the baby of the house, and a cat that like to vomit in unnecessary places.
Although best known for her erotic romance THE THERAPIST, and the Holloway Pack series: CALLED, LURED, CAGED, UNNATURAL, CORNERED, amongst other titles, she is curren ...more
Although best known for her erotic romance THE THERAPIST, and the Holloway Pack series: CALLED, LURED, CAGED, UNNATURAL, CORNERED, amongst other titles, she is curren ...more
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“Suit yourself, but don’t pretend you would have done any better. There are only so many options a man has when he’s about to lose everything.”
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“To heal one of my own would break my word. Yet, I am Wiccae, her willful thoughts billowed, born to heal the living.”
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