Kiss of the Swan by Natalina Reis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I enjoyed this story very much. It read much like a fairy tale romance where you rooted for that happy ending. Carthal was that prince charming and Eala was very much his princess. All obstacles that stood between them were dashed down at some point on their road to HEA.
The story itself was romantic, dramatic, and beautifully told.
Faithful in Love by Cecily K. Wolfe
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book was an awesome beginning to what I am sure will be a great series. I generally do not read Christian based books, as I find most of them to be overbearing on the religion, but that was not the case with this one. Historical fiction is also not a common choice for me, but this one was so well done that other than the occasional reference to carriages and period specific things, it was easy to forget that it even was a historical based book. My only issue with this book is that sometimes the scene changes were a bit abrupt and without warning, but otherwise, this book and this author were well worth the time and effort to read. I look forward to the rest of the books in this series.
The Worry Knot by Mary Evanson Bleckwehl
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book covers a lot of real life issues that most people don’t want to talk about or if they do, they gloss over it and don’t get to the heart of the issues. This book may not be a true story, but it is real for many families.
It’s a beautiful story about Rourke, a 12 year old, who suffers from anxiety. As with most kids his age he worries about fitting in at school, and girls (although his crush comes with extra worries). He also worries about his brother (who has ASD) and the responsibilities his parents give him to help care for his brother.
I recommend this book to people of all ages, not just young adults. It’s a wonderful story that shows that there’s nothing wrong with being imperfect and different.
The Hunted by S.B. Alexander
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is my first time reading this author but trust me when I say that it won’t be last. Our author has given us a fantastic, and intriguing plot, perfectly developed characters, and enough action to keep us flipping the pages. This storyline was so suspenseful and full of passion that I didn’t want to put it down. Layla and Sam are supposed to be enemies but when Sam is the only one that can save Layla’s sister what will she do? Is the chemistry between them too great for Layla to turn Sam in or will the chemistry keep her from doing her job. You’ll have to read this amazing story to find out for yourself.
Class Clown by Allan Evans
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The book Class Clown brings a new meaning to the phrase class clown. I didn’t read what it was about and was thrilled to get a story about the clown apocalypse. Abbey is a fun, snarky teen who is a magnet for ghosts and is in part responsible for the clowns. I really enjoyed this paranormal YA story. I found out it is the second in the series but read easily as a standalone book. I will have to watch if Abbey’s story continues and catch up with what I have missed.
I think this book could be enjoyed by many young teens to adults. The teen angst is relatable, and the paranormal aspects add another layer that adds a lot to the story. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.
Class Clown by Allan Evans
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I was pleasently surprised by this book! It was unpredictable, and spooky. Given the synopsis, I expected the plot to be pretty self explanatory and deal with the clown apolcolypse. What I found is that there is more to this book than only that. I found myself totally immersed and really enjoying the spooky atmosphere that this book gives off. I particularly enjoyed the way the light and funny nature of a sarcastic teen went with a spooky clown appocolypse. Abbey is a great MC to follow. She is brave, and easily creates relationships that make the book an enjoyable ride. I love how she lives with this crazy ability, and not only does she make the best of it, she never backs down from helping. I also love the found family aspects of this book. I am definitely looking for more from this author.
Reviewed by @asanabr1
Doctor D’s Orderly Affair by C.A. King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A cute, quick, fun read! Right out the gate, the book starts with chaos, which made it intriguing. Initially it is a little confusing to line it all up, but it makes sense fairly quickly into the story. Dr. Desmond is a pediatrician who is caught up in the middle of an impossible situation. He also has a bit of a reputation. Emily is an orderly with her life all planned out and no time for BS. I loved the two MCs, both separately and seeing how their relationship evolved. The story made me laugh a few times, got a little steamy in others, and tugged on your heart strings a bit along the way. I would have liked to see a little more on the characters. Because of its size and how quickly it flies past, it reads more like a novella. I will definitely be picking up some others in this series when I am in the mood for a quick, cute romance!
Reviewed by @asanabr1
Journeys Through Collection: Volume 1-3 by James Talisman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The author delivers a sci-fi saga of epic proportions! At first I wasn’t invested in the different story arcs, but as they wove together, I was hooked! I enjoyed the box set since I was able to binge read all three volumes consecutively. I found it interesting how the author used his characters in order to promote different religious ideas. The scientific parts did not overreach, and this nonscientific gal was able to follow along, from rural America to outer space, for the journey of a lifetime.
Journeys Through AllCreation by James Talisman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Journeys Through AllCreation is the third book in the Journeys Through Book Series. I highly recommend reading the first two books to enjoy this book even more. The storyline is complex in nature. It held my attention from the first page to the last page. I highly recommend that you plan to read this book in one sitting. The prophecy is that there are innate powers contained in the Dokkaebi-of-all-Creation to destiny various universes that make up the Multiverse. I found myself wanting to be on the journey with twins from Atlantis. I have to admit that their storyline intrigued me the most. They are trying to save their home. WIll they be successful? I highly recommend reading this book to see what happens in this installment of Journey Through AllCreation.
Lost Soul by Theresa Van Spankeren
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was such a great story! It is kind of like the movie, Interview With Vampire, taking place in 1492, and is a good combination of historical romance and vampires. I warn you, though, that there is quite graphic abuse and could be a trigger for some. The main character is Juliana Kendrick or Julia. Her father marries her off at the age of 15 to a nasty man, Gregory Smith. Gregory treats her quite horrifically, brutally beating her, and even murdering her baby. Samuel steps in to save her when it looks like all hope is lost. He tells her that he and others are actually vampires and gives her the option to join them. She accepts which allows her to heal from her physical injuries, but it can’t fix her psychological and emotional injuries. There is a love story mixed in with what is largely a story about domestic violence recovery. I enjoyed this so much and am really looking forward to the next book in the series!
Apocalypse by Theresa Pocock
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Apocalypse book 2 of the Guardians series is a wonderfully written Book. I have not read book 1 or have not read a book by this Author but I absolutely loved this read and will go back and read book one. I Believe you should read book 1 first. even though i was able to follow along without reading book 1 i found this book so interesting that i must go back and read. This book kept me engrossed from begging to end. I Loved all the Characters in this story. I Really enjoyed reading about Seth i thought his character was the best. If your into YA Fantasy books this book will defiantly love this one. Its a must read to your TBR pile. Thank you again to this author for a wonderful read and i look forward to reading book 3 🙂
Plague of Death by D.L. Armillei
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Another great book in this series. The main star is “Van” Vanessa, which we follow up with her again a year after her first 30-day mission/project that resulted in the loss of several teammates, friends and ultimately her father.
Summer begins and she quickly understands that another mission/project should start at any moment. She tries to come to terms with the fact that her handsome teammate, Brux, is now her protector/bodyguard, but can she continue to ignore her heart and stay neutral when it comes to him?
She learns that her stepmother has found a new man-child and her nemesis will now be joining their group on their next mission. On top of everything, she learns important details surrounding the mysterious men in suits walking amongst the residents of Paradise Island. How do they expect a teenager in denial of her true feelings to keep a level head when learning new information regarding the Elders, the Brotherhood, EWS agents, the infamous portal, Living World vs Earth World, internet vs intranet, low frequency vs high frequency, electricity vs electricity-like energy, good vs bad, and so on? So much responsibility for such a young lady.
I couldn’t help but feel sympathy for Van as she deals with such complex, life changing, adult material since book one. While she seems to handle things well (for the most part), she often comes across as a typical teenager so there is hope she will continue to try to live a full teenage life, even with more responsibilities, knowledge, and skillsets.
Book two pushed the fantasy fiction, action, and mysterious angle beyond what I expected after reading book one. I also enjoyed how easy this was to read. Plus, this left me anxiously waiting to read Book Three of the series.
I’m excited to see the author did not create perfect characters within this series, meaning they each have their own faults, fears, etc. They do not always make the best decisions and that makes them more real, relevant, and relatable. I believe this aspect will make this book more appealing to anyone who chooses to read it (adults, young adults, etc.).
A surprising point that I found while reading this book was how much you can become engrossed in a story and despise certain characters. It is a tribute to creative writing when you can illicit feelings from the reader and in this case, for me anyway, it was all about Ambassador Kasey. In my eyes, he always seemed a bit shady with ulterior motives, but I will not go into details or share any spoilers so any new readers can make up their own minds regarding this character.
I was blown away by the continued expansion created and described in this book. I was not certain the author could outdo herself but, in this case, she did. I was pleasantly pleased with how she wrapped up this book and as I mentioned above, I could not wait to get my hands on book number three!
This is an epic series that I hope continues for a long time.
I give this book 5 out of 5 stars!
Class Clown by Allan Evans
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Abbey isn’t an ordinary high school girl. She has interactions with and can see ghosts. Of course one day, that can mess things up with they also attracted and follow her. After going to the circus with her parents, one evil one followed her back to school. Now she has to deal with school drama and ghost drama. It was a fun read for sure!
Apocalypse by Theresa Pocock
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Seth is a young man who has some unresolved issues he needs to sort through, he still cannot believe how Miriam stole his memories and then never admitted to it and the trust which she broke in the process. He also struggles with his feelings for Miriam and the way they swing in between the extremes but betrayal is the one he feels most sharply. Meanwhile, Miriam is also struggling with her sentiments towards Seth and his strange way of life before he came to the garden, but she has no regrets as such, about what she had to do to keep the Garden and it’s people safe.
Seth now has to plan his own betrayal now that the Jones’s have become involved, his life just became a whole heap more complicated, but his brain still wars against his heart. Miriam however is placing more and more trust in Seth and is conflicted about whether this is based on more than just teenage whims. However, Peter has no such conflicted feelings, he cannot trust Seth and knowing what he knows, he has to make some hard decisions about the people around him and who he can trust with it, especially when he has the feeling that he is part of something much bigger than just the garden.
Will Seth be able to carry through on his betrayal and what will it cost him? Will Miriam be able to follow he heart and trust Seth and will Peter be able to pluck up the courage to follow his Nature wherever and to whom it leads? This is a fantasy adventure filled with intrigue, secrets, betrayal and revelations, as choices are made and consequences realised in this world of two halves.
Reviewed by @roxsannel
Checking Boxes by Magdoline Ward
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
From the moment I read the description of this book I knew I had to read it. It was such an intense and intriguing blurb. The Book itself did not disappoint. I was pulled into the story and had to find out what was going on. The author creates a great story with some truly interesting characters. As the first book that I had read by this author I thought it were a strong introduction. A brilliant book and I am looking forward to discovering more.
Doctor D’s Orderly Affair by C.A. King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Fast-paced, hot and steamy. It was a really short read but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I liked the chemistry between the characters and was kept entertained to the last page. Will be looking forward to reading more by this author.
Journeys Through AllCreation by James Talisman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 5 Stars!
Not only this book but this series is truly an epic journey and adventure. With complex layer upon layer you really feel like you are part of this journey as you read each word. This book brings you in for a battle of good and evil….and I love that. The author does such a great job with character growth and you really feel full invested into the characters and story line. Can I say the details that this author brings too, wow…..to bring this story to life on filled pages…I cannot say enough how truly thankful I am reading this amazing series by a true amazing author! I would love to see more of this story unfold….
The Ghastly Gumball by Naomi Valkyrie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
What an amazingly entertaining story this is. I always love anything this author writes however I think this book is currently my favourite. I loved the whole feel of the book, how it was written and the characters. The story is pretty faced past and it really keeps the momentum going.
The characters were everything in this book. I lived how different they all were and how they each added a new layer to the story. I really enjoyed every second of this book and I wish it had gone on for longer.
The Ghastly Gumball by Naomi Valkyrie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The Ghastly Gumball is a quick book, but jam packed with content. It is pretty lighthearted, that will make you chuckle. I was a little bummed when I realized the book wasn’t part of the Life is Hell series (I just assumed due to similar cover art). But despite having a whole new set of characters, I loved the book. I honestly don’t know how the author comes up with these things! I am not typically a fan of the paranormal, so maybe these things are known creatures, but I haven’t heard of most of them. But that doesn’t matter, because the imagery is so great, that I am able to clearly “see” the characters. This book ended much shorter than I excepted, but it had a good ending, things being wrapped up nicely. I would love to see this become a series, as I think Brixley has a story hidden in there- I want to know more about her powers and her on again off again girlfriend.
Reviewed by @way2gosmartguy
Class Clown by Allan Evans
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Class Clown (Ghost Girl Series) by Allan Evans. This is such a good read. Its the young adult creepy clown read. Abbey went to the circus with her parents and ever since she has the ability to see and talk to dead clowns. All over her high school she sees and talks to clowns all day. Students start disappearing and Abbey knows the clowns have something to do with it. Abbey has just started this new school and hates that this is happening. She is going to do everything she can to figure out what is going on and why these people start disappearing. This read is a fast paced, turning pages late into the night and you will want to make sure you read it with the lights on. Mystery, intrigue, ghosts and young adult problems added to it make for a great read.
(Un)Loved by Katy Hunter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Let me preface this by saying I am not a romance reader. Paranormal romance yes, reverse harem, yes, and fantasy romance also yes. But straight romance is TYPICALLY not my thing.
However, this was absolutely adorable. You could really feel Sophie and Guillaume’s emotions through the way of the writing. Also, G’s family? Oh my goodness could they be any more adorable?
I read this all in one sitting within a couple of hours. I truly enjoyed this. It was fun and all-around a great time.
Review by @michellerenee6590
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Seven Strengths: A Tale from Turaset by P.L. Tavormina
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book draws you in from the beginning with the main character Celeste wanting something different in life. It’s that constant idea that we all deal with that the grass is greener on the other side. This book is wonderful because it has just the right touch of magic and real world problems. It’s great to watch Celeste on her journey and she is so relatable.
(Un)Loved by Katy Hunter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
(UN)Loved (Mixed Emotions Series) by Katy Hunter. This is such a fun romantic comedy read. Its the story of Gil an actor and Sophie an actress. They have been friends forever but when they find out they are both attracted to one another they decide to take it to the next level. When they decide to go to France together to meet Gil’s family the craziness begins. Sophie is a complete city girl but when she lands on the French farm of Gil’s parents she has to become a farm girl quickly. When Gil’s gorgeous ex girlfriend shows up it brings all of Sophie’s insecurities to the surface. Sophie is crazy about Gil but he’s very afraid of commitment. When a handsome Frenchman starts to hit on Sophie she is torn. Throw in a crazy Llama and you have a romantic comedy like no other. I can’t wait to read the next book to find out if Gil and Sophie make it!
The Hunted by S.B. Alexander
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Wow! I love my vampire novels, but this one really takes the cake! i found this one delightful in every which way, it had everything I was looking for, and that suspense! Holy moly! It was such a good read and I can not wait to read more in this series!
The story took off very well, and certainly held my attention. It was really good to say the least. It was one of those books that when you finish you are left wanting more. A super hot vampire that was easy for the visual mind certainly did not hurt either. From the romantic side of the story to the suspense to the action parts, this book had everything as I said. I really enjoyed it and was HOOKED!
I loved this book and this new author I got to enjoy. I can not wait to read more by them as well as books in this series. I highly recommend both. Seriously do not pass this book or author up!
Class Clown by Allan Evans
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I love my scares as much as the next person, the one thing that really scares well anything out of me, it is clowns. This book was crafted so well together, I was intrigued and amazed and scarred at certain points all at the same time. I really had a fun ride with this one!
The scares the story brought as well as unforgettable characters were unlike any other. Every turn Abby faced was a to do with clowns, and to save those she loves most she will have to face her greatest fears. I loved how real Abby was. She was generally afraid, that was made known. She had to find courage to beat the evil that was stalking her. She was remarkably written. I really enjoyed reading of her. I loved how the story went about, it was crafted well with suspense. When it ended I think I had the same feelings as Abby did,! I loved the book and the thrill it gave me. Highly recommend.
Wonderful writing and a story that developed from a gifted author. There was no way I could get enough from this book, it was well done and a thrill ride all the way through. Highly recommend this book!
Depending On You by Jessica Aiken-Hall
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is my first book by this author but will not be the last. She has a knack when it comes to writing characters that are very believable. The twist and turns in this book keep you on the edge of your seat waiting ti see what happens next.
Secrets never stay hidden, for Patti Thomas and Cate Silver who have been Best Friends since they were seven but one night something happens that alters their lives after high school. Both have this secret and now 10 years later they reconnect but will everything implode??
The Ghastly Gumball by Naomi Valkyrie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The Ghastly Gumball by Naomi Valkyrie
5-stars
Wow this author has managed to amaze me once again! I have never read anything by this author that I didn’t absolutely love. She’s one of my few one click authors, one where I don’t even need to read the synopsis I can just dive on in.
This storyline is so original and so beautifully detailed that I could easily picture everything playing out in my mind. Many moments I found myself fully laughing out loud at the gravity of the situation Lockwood has found himself in.
Seriously I cannot recommend this author and book enough. If you are looking for a one of a kind paranormal read look no further this is the book for you, you do not want to miss this!!
Journeys Through AllCreation by James Talisman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is the third book in this series. Make sure you read the first two so you really know who the characters you are interacting with are.
It is a fun adventure sci-fi read. And it will consume you and get your mind really thinking. There is a lot going on so make sure you have the time to pay attention.
This is as beautifully written as the first two and this is absolutely my favorite of them. The criss-cross of timelines and characters is done wonderfully. It is definitely a must-read.
Review by @michellerenee6590
Until there was you by G. Colgrove
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Until There Was You by G. Colgrove
5-stars
This was my first book by this author so I wasn’t sure what to expect but my goodness it far exceeded my expectations. I was quickly pulled in to the storyline, the chemistry between the main characters was off the charts and could easily be felt through the pages, which of course was highly entertaining.
I loved how this storyline felt really well rounded, there was plenty of drama and trauma to keep me entertained and feeling invested into how their relationship was going to play out, and I really couldn’t be happier with how it all turned out.
I can’t wait to read more from this phenomenal author asap!!
The Worry Knot by Mary Evanson Bleckwehl
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Worry Knot by Mary Bleckwehl
4-stars
This is truly a one of a kind read, a story that can be read by people of all ages, as a young mom I really enjoyed diving into Rourke’s world and my inner child enjoyed it too.
This story had me feeling so nostalgic, it brought me back to my time in middle school and the mindset of a preteen. Life can feel so overwhelming, with family challenges, drama with friends, confidence issues, body changes and of course feeling as if all these things are happening only to you. This author portrayed Rourke in the most relatable and real way, it really felt as if I was seeing things from his perspective.
I look forward to reading more from this author in the future and would absolutely recommend this book to any person, young or old.
