I won these three books in an author giveaway. Alexis Davenport is an unhappy teenager. Her parents are getting divorced and her mother is moving her away from all her friends to start freshman year in high school. She's a smart girl who loves history and the books show her trek through her high school years, the new friends that she makes, the football jock that she has a crush on, and the typical fights with her mother that most teenagers go through.
On the other hand, Alexis is not a typical teenager. She is a time traveller who has the mysterious power to travel back through time to prevent an evil traveller named Drifter from changing the course of history. At times it it dangerous for her and she learns a lot from the bodies and minds of the women that she takes over.
This is a great YA series. I loved the bits of history strewn into the story and learned some new facts myself. Alexis, or Alex, grows up quite a lot over the course of the series and is always interesting. I highly recommend these books to teenagers who like fantasy and good reads.
Unhidden is the first book in The Gatekeeper Chronicle. Emma is a mercenary who hires out for special jobs with a team of two others, Jason and Daniel (the computer nerd). She is captured by a nefarious figure who attempts a strange sacrifice ritual on her before she is rescued. After that, all sorts of paranormal characters start appearing. There is a lot of action and fighting, too much in my opinion. It takes away from the character interactions. For example, Emma is a cold fish, but she will sacrifice for Jason and Daniel. I'm never sure why except that they were her team; Jason was a short term affair and Daniel is a nice kid she took under her wing while in the foster care system. She seems to mow down hundreds of men and creatures to save these two, but I'm never sure why as she's pretty callous otherwise.
The same thing with the romantic triangle (I'm not even sure it was a triangle). Zane is a mage from her past life, but spends most of his brief appearances trying to kill her. Alex also hates her, but then maybe becomes another love interest.
I'm not sure if the problem was that the author was waiting for the next book to straighten some of this out, but I felt that the story was often disjointed. It has an interesting premise, but I'm not sure I'll bother to continue the series.
I received this book free from NetGalley for an honest review. Link to Amazon
Spiral of Need is a paranormal werewolf romance. Ally has been alienated from her pack because of a jealous mate of her ex. Dereen brings her to his own pack because of a favor he owes to her brother (well, he grew up with her and his family adopted her).
There are predictable crises with the jealous mate on Ally's side and another jealous woman on Dereen's side. Plus another jealous woman who is trying to wipe out her new pack. Every other chapter is another sexual encounter for no particular reason that I could see except to lengthen the story.
I like paranormal, but this one was not for me. I was given this book as an ARC by the publisher for an honest review. Link to Amazon
Today is my day for the IndieBRAG Christmas Blog Hop and I'm very excited about it. It has been a wonderful trip through the blogs so far, full of interesting stories. I am very proud that my book, The Black Swans, was awarded an IndieBRAG Medallion. The Black Swans is based on the Irish story of The Children of Lir, so I thought it apropos to talk about some of the Celtic customs that the Irish celebrate at Christmas time.
In many parts of Ireland barns and outbuildings are still whitewashed, a holdover from older times when buildings were cleaned to purify them to welcome the coming savior. Houses were decorated with holly and ivy. You wanted to find a holly bush that contained many berries as that signified good luck in the coming year.
Christmas decorations are kept up until January 6th, or Little Women's Christmas. On this day women can leave their housekeeping and go out with each other to have fun. This is still celebrated especially in the Western part of Ireland.
Many families leave a candle in the window to welcome the Holy Family. They might also leave a mince pie and a Guinness out on Christmas Eve for Santa instead of the milk and cookies that we leave for him.
The Winter Solstice is also an important day in Ireland. December 21st is the day that the Oak King of summer must battle his twin, the Holly King. The Holly King always wins the battle and rules until the Summer Solstice. The Holly King was a giver of gifts, helping people to live through the harsh winter months, and is one of the earliest incarnations of Santa Claus.
Tuesdays on this blog are also known as Traditional Tuesday where I showcase a traditional Celtic song. Today I picked The Wexford Carol sung by Irish singer Loreena McKennitt.
The Wexford Carol is a traditional Irish Christmas carol. It is also known as 'The Enniscorthy Carol' and 'Carul Loch Garman'. The tune goes back to the 12th century though the lyrics are newer.
The Wexford Carol - Lyrics
Good people all, this Christmas time, Consider well and bear in mind What our good God for us has done In sending his beloved son With Mary holy we should pray, To God with love this Christmas Day In Bethlehem upon that morn, There was a blessed Messiah born
The night before that happy tide The noble Virgin and her guide Were long time seeking up and down To find a lodging in the town But mark right well what came to pass From every door repelled, alas As was foretold, their refuge all Was but a humble ox's stall
Near Bethlehem did shepherds keep Their flocks of lambs and feeding sheep To whom God's angel did appear Which put the shepherds in great fear Arise and go, the angels said To Bethlehem, be not afraid For there you'll find, this happy morn A princely babe, sweet Jesus, born
With thankful heart and joyful mind The shepherds went the babe to find And as God's angel had foretold They did our Saviour Christ behold Within a manger he was laid And by his side a virgin maid Attending on the Lord of Life Who came on earth to end all strife
There were three wise men from afar Directed by a glorious star And on they wandered night and day Until they came where Jesus lay And when they came unto that place Where our beloved Messiah lay They humbly cast them at his feet With gifts of gold and incense sweet.
Darkness of Man is based on an interesting premise. When a human finally has a truly dark urge for violence, the urge creates an image copy of the person in a mirror world. Occasionally, the two worlds meet when the person views his image and each is transported to the other's world.
Gabe finds out that Allie, his girlfriend, is creating on him with his boss. The desire to do her violence transports him through the mirror and allows Cutter, his image, to escape that dark world and wreak havoc in the 'real' world. Meanwhile, Lisa, Gabe's shy friend at the office, has her own transfer with Ivy, her alter ego. Lisa has always had a crush on Gabe, but it isn't until they're locked in this dark world together and struggling to return to their real world that Gabe realizes Lisa's worth.
Gabe's arrival has been foreordained as the Haissem and he gathers a crew of interesting people and images to support him in his quest. I enjoyed these side characters almost as much as the main characters. Nothing is black or white and even the worst characters have good points. There are also many dangers in this alternate world which move the story right along.
This was an interesting concept and way to visualize the struggle between good and evil. The writing is good, but be warned: the story is raw with both graphic sex and violence. It is an engrossing read, dark fantasy at its finest. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
I won these three books in an author giveaway. Alexis Davenport is an unhappy teenager. Her parents are getting divorced and her mother is moving her away from all her friends to start freshman year in high school. She's a smart girl who loves history and the books show her trek through her high school years, the new friends that she makes, the football jock that she has a crush on, and the typical fights with her mother that most teenagers go through.
