This movie is in a genre I probably wouldn’t have chosen to watch on my own… but having had the opportunity to see the premier, I did like this film more than I thought I would.
I felt this movie was a good mix of comedy and serious moments. It was interesting to see Florence so lively and joyful at the beginning… and to see how she kept her spirit through the course of the movie. While I did feel some sympathy for the character, I also felt that her strength showed through really well… especially considering what a good actress Meryl Streep is. (It was interesting to see her singing so badly, considering the actress is really good at carrying a tune).
I felt Hugh Grant had a lot more emotional depth in this movie, though I was very confused about the relationship between Florence and St. Clair, especially considering that the intimacy between them didn’t seem to be husband and wife… or even lovers. Still, it was obvious that he was devoted to Florence… despite having a relationship with Kathleen behind her back. (I had zero sympathy for Kathleen).
I liked Agnes far more than I thought I would initially. I would have liked to see a bit more of her background expanded upon. It was also very strange to see Simon Helberg in a role other than the Big Bang Theory… but I felt he played Cosme McMoon really well and it was good to see his facial expressions as he realised Florence’s singing wasn’t what he’d been led to believe.
Although there were parts of this movie that were light-hearted, I thought the seriousness was handled really well… and it helped that most of the actors were those who seemed more comfortable in their roles. The ending was particularly moving and although there was a lot of comedy, I didn’t feel that it should be billed as such.
If you’re on the fence about seeing this movie, I would suggest watching it. It’s well-cast and acted and although I wouldn’t want to watch it again any time soon, it was very entertaining to watch the first time.
Paige Donovan is an ambitious college graduate who aspires to reach the top of the corporate ladder. She’s climbing fast when given the promotion of a lifetime at a prestigious fashion magazine in New York City. Her bright future comes to an unexpected halt after news of her father’s death. She inherits his old cabin in the Colorado Rockies, and just when she thinks her luck couldn’t get any worse, she has a car accident in the mountains and awakens in the small, remote community of Black River.
Soon, she’s engulfed in the mystical world of Varulv—wolves descended from 13th century Scandinavia and blessed by Norse gods with the ability to appear human. Paige is desperate to return home, but never expects to fall for her rescuer, Riley Gray, a charming young werewolf from England who offers her an alternate future with his pack.
Now, she must choose between the career she’s always wanted and the love she’s always dreamed.
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
I did actually think that the premise for this book started out quite well. I had a lot of sympathy for Paige’s character as a child and it was sweet to see her trying to make friends with a puppy… even if I did feel that her thought processes made her come across as a bit too adult at that point. It was also good to see her brief interaction with the boy and it would have been good to see them able to interact a bit more before Paige’s parents took her away.
Unfortunately, after the intriguing dream, I felt that the plot of the book went downhill considerably. I wasn’t given much of an opportunity to get to know the secondary characters… and when Paige’s father died, I wasn’t able to see any of her relationship with him. There was too much telling rather than showing going on.
I thought that Paige’s relationship with Riley was a particularly dangerous, emotionally manipulative one. It would have been good if it had been portrayed as that… but I felt that Paige spent a lot of the book as a weak character who let everyone else walk all over her. Even when she had problems with the way things were run, she didn’t seem to care beyond making a token protest… and her final decision towards the end of the book didn’t seem to be about her choosing the best path; rather that she took the easy way out.
I felt it could have been really interesting to see Paige challenging archaic stereotypes in a wolf pack that treats females as less than males, but there was a dangerous sexist undertone to most of the book that I felt was accepted even by the supposedly strong female characters. Very few of the secondary characters were expanded upon and those who were seemed to change personality at the drop of a hat.
I found it very hard to take the romance seriously. By the end of the book, I actually knew very little about Paige or Riley and I felt there was some quite juvenile language used at times. I was disappointed that the romance didn’t feel real… even though I was intrigued by the Norse mythology surrounding the changing of the wolves.
For those of you thinking of reading this… there are elements of bestiality in this. While those might have been handled well… I couldn’t stop cringing whenever it was mentioned.
Due to a massive slew of problems with the romance and the characters, I strongly suspect I won’t be reading any more books that might be in the series… which is a real shame, since the premise held a lot of promise for a potentially unique take on the werewolf myth.
April Bostic is a New Jersey-based, Adult Romance author who enjoys unleashing her creativity and letting her imagination run wild. Her love of romance books inspired her to become not just a reader, but also a writer. In December 2008, she self-published her first novel, a contemporary romance with a supernatural twist entitled “A Rose to the Fallen”.
Her first short story, “Right Here, Right Now”, released in January 2012, is an erotic romance with a dash of S&M. The following year, she released two more short stories: a romantic urban fantasy inspired by the Greek myth of Eros and Psyche entitled “Eros, My Love”, and a sexy romantic comedy entitled “Love Addiction”.
After five years, she released her second novel, “The Howling Heart” in August 2013, a paranormal romance that delves into the mystical world of werewolves and Norse gods. To end her busiest year in publishing, April also released her fourth short story in December 2013, a historical paranormal romance entitled “A Dark Scandal”.
I felt feverish, and I couldn’t move. I tried to open my eyes, but something heavy weighed on my eyelids.
Although I couldn’t see or move, I heard voices around me. The first one was female, and she had an English accent like Sheriff Gray. “She’s still got a fever.”
Then, I heard a male voice. “What if she doesn’t wake up?” He had the same accent, but he wasn’t the sheriff.
At that moment, I realized they were talking about me. “Don’t worry…she will.”
“It’s my fault. Dad’s going to bloody kill me.”
“It’s not your fault. Stop saying that. She’llbe okay, and Dad will understand.”
“I shouldn’t have brought her here.“
“You did the right thing by bringing her here. I can take care of her.“
There was a momentary pause. “What if she finds out?”
“That’s for Dad to decide.”
The voices faded in and out. Sleep bore down on me, but the last words I heard from the man stuck in my head. “I’ll watch over her.”
A severely dry mouth and splitting headache interrupted my peaceful sleep. I couldn’t hear the two voices, but I heard breathing in my left ear like someone was sleeping next to me. I tried to open my eyes so that I could ask them for water and medicine for my headache. The weight on my eyes was gone, so I tried to open them, but they felt sticky this time. I struggled to peel them open, blinking rapidly to loosen my eyelashes.
When I finally opened my eyes, they felt swollen. The pain in my head spread throughout my entire body. Dim light surrounded me in this strange room. I lay on a bed and looked up at the ceiling. I tried to speak, but my throat was dry. Only a quiet wheeze escaped. A low groan followed as my headache pounded against my temples. I still felt hot and sweaty. Layers of blankets covered me, and I wanted to yank them off. When I touched my abdomen, I wore nothing but my bra and panties.
My eyes darted around the unfamiliar room. On the wall, I noticed a shadow of something next to me. What the hell is that? I turned my head and saw a candle in the window, but what cast the shadow scared me to death. A large, white wolf lay on the floor beside me. There was no mistaking it for a dog. The bed was low to the floor, and its head was close to mine. I opened my mouth wide, prepared to scream, but wheezes and weak gasps escaped, instead. I thrashed my head against the pillow, as if the motions would turn up the volume in my voice. Finally, a shriek pushed through my sandpaper throat. It was a high-pitched squeal at first, but then, it burst forth and filled the room. I sat up quickly. Aching pain tore through my body, and I heard my bones crack.
The wolf awoke with a start. It jerked its head up, and glowing, yellow eyes blinked until they settled on me. I shrank away from it, nearly falling off the bed, screaming until I went hoarse and gasped for breath. The wolf stood on all fours, its size definitely that of a Great Dane. Our gazes locked for a brief moment before the animal ran out the room. I sat against the headboard, clutching the blankets against my chest. I was alone and terrified. Within seconds, tears trickled down my cheeks.
I particularly enjoyed reading this book, since I’d wanted to see more of Bucky as the Winter Soldier. I did find myself getting annoyed on Steve’s behalf when it transpired that Bucky’s survival was kept from him, though… and I couldn’t really see the point in keeping it a secret from the rest of the Avengers, since they all knew Bucky and probably wouldn’t have turned him in if they’d known that he’d survived.
It was interesting to see that Bucky’s past as the Winter Soldier came back and to get glimpses of the men he trained and the kind of relationships he had with them. I would have liked to see more of the history and motivations of his fellow soldiers… especially Dmitri, who I found the most interesting. Arkady gave me the creeps and I really didn’t like Leo’s character. I disliked him even more by the end of the selection of comics.
I especially liked seeing Natasha and Bucky together. I liked the easy camaraderie between them and it was good to see how they fought together… but also to see their history in the Red Room. I would have liked a bit more detail of how Natasha had defected… but it was good to see the romance between her and Bucky, especially considering their feelings didn’t actually get in the way of them both doing their job.
I liked being able to see Nick Fury appear in this collection, even though I did find it a bit annoying that he made the decision to keep Bucky’s survival a secret from Steve. I would have liked to see a bit more of his interactions with Bucky and Natasha… since I found myself caring about Sitwell more through the course of the comics.
I thought it was really good to see Natasha have to experience being brainwashed, but I would have liked to see a bit more of the aftermath of everything that had happened to her. It was pretty awful to see Bucky had to return to his Winter Soldier mentality… especially considering he ended up hurting his allies. I definitely agreed with Logan about how stupid Bucky’s actions were.
I would like to see more of Bucky and Natasha in future comics and it would be good to see if they could come back from the massive setback their relationship has taken… since the comics did end on something of a cliffhanger.
Although this movie wasn’t one I was desperate to watch, the trailer was intriguing enough to make me decide to watch it when I had today free.
I found this movie quite tense to watch. Both Mason and Briar were characters who I found easy to like and empathise with. While Briar clearly had a lot of problems, I did feel that he grew a bit during the course of the movie.
It was really interesting to see how Mason’s pick-pocketing worked and I found it easy to see the world in the same way he did, such as when he was watching the crowds of people and seeing the opportunities to steal.
I did feel a lot of sympathy for Zoe, even though I thought that her choosing to bomb even an empty building was an awful choice for her to make. It was good to see parts of the movie focus on her as well as Mason and Briar.
There was a lot of good action in this and I felt that there was also a lot going on. While it was very much an action-adventure film, I liked that it focused as much on the characters… but I would have liked to know a bit more detail about Mason’s history and what his motivations were.
I did see a few of the surprises coming, but I was on the edge of my seat for most of the movie.I was drawn really easily into the plot and it was good to see some of the relationships between the secondary characters during the course of this movie.
I thought it was interesting to see how everything escalated out of control, though I wasn’t sure exactly how intelligent the villains actually were. There was at least some expansion on motivations for some of the characters, though.
While watching this a second time probably won’t add much, I enjoyed seeing the interactions between Mason and Briar and I especially liked the ending. I probably would watch it again at some point in the future, though I probably wouldn’t buy it full price on DVD.
I did, in fact, see the midnight showing of this movie. The buildup to seeing it was exciting, but I was also a bit apprehensive, having a fairly good idea of how the plot would go from reading the comics.
I liked that the movie went straight into the action and that I had the chance to see the Avengers working as a team. At the same time, I could understand both sides of the issue. What was kind of disappointing was that the movie seemed to be very much about Bucky… and not about the Superhero Registration Act. So although the action wasn’t quite as dark as in the comics, Steve’s point of view didn’t come across quite as valid in the movie.
Having seen them in the comics, I was particularly interested in seeing Wanda and Vision. I thought that their interactions were sweet and Wanda especially was sympathetic, considering that even her fellow Avengers referred to her as a weapon. While her powers were dangerous, I wouldn’t have said they were any more dangerous than the other abilities… and even though there was destruction caused by the team right at the start, it was difficult to say that they would have made things worse.
There was more humour than I was expecting there to be, considering the plot. I especially liked seeing Spider-Man in this movie, though considering the comics, I would have preferred seeing a slightly older version of him, since he isn’t perpetually a teenager. I also enjoyed seeing the Black Panther, though I would have liked a bit more detail about the culture he was from. It was also interesting to see how he fought on Tony’s side, but had his own reasons for doing so.
I enjoyed seeing Scott Lang put in an appearance and I would have liked to see him interacting a bit more with some of the others… though he had several amusing exchanges with Steve and with Tony.
This movie was really good to watch and I found I was drawn into the plot really easily. I would recommend watching it… but it isn’t a standalone movie and there are a lot of characters/sub plots you need to have a passing familiarity with.
Seventeen-year-old Hope Nicholas is done running. Apollo’s curse has ruled her entire life, limiting her choices and robbing her of the things that matter most. But she refuses to live in fear any longer. In fact, she’s ready to do whatever it takes to break the god’s power over her existence.
When the goddess Artemis instructs Hope to impersonate a demigod and infiltrate a conservatory to get access to the Olympian library, she doesn’t hesitate. As she sees it, there’s nothing left to lose.
But once inside, Hope discovers the only way to get what she needs is to work with her sworn enemies. As the lines between demigod and monster are crossed again and again, Hope has to dig deep for the courage to accept her fate or fight for the freedom to save herself.
Demigods and Monsters is the second book in the Sphinx series.
Review
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
I can’t really give this book any more than 3 stars. I liked Hope well enough, even though I was irritated by the constant references to how beautiful she was. Since beauty is in the eye of the beholder, it seemed to be a lazy form of description.
It was interesting to see glimpses of the other gods and I found it intriguing that there seemed to be so much cover-up about some of the gods having had children. I was a bit confused about why Hope was so insistent that Hera had to have had an affair, though.
I thought it was interesting to learn about the historical demigods, though that knowledge just made it even more confusing in regards to the world itself. It seemed more like modern day Earth than the previous book had been, but considering the primary religion/s seemed to focus on the ancient Greek gods, how would a historical figure like Hitler have fit in?
One interesting aspect was the stance on monsters. I would have liked to see Hope act more strongly on what she believed and actually involved herself more with the other characters.
I was a bit disappointed that most of the demigods seemed to come across as cardboard cutouts, falling on one side or the other on whether they liked Hope or hated her… or were obsessed with her. Apollo’s sons, in particular, were nearly impossible to differentiate from each other. I couldn’t have named all four of them five minutes after finishing this book.
To be honest… the love triangle was so cliched, I was rolling my eyes when Xan was first introduced. I saw where it was going immediately… but it wasn’t helped by Hope’s hypocritical behaviour. She wasn’t loyal. She didn’t stick to her guns. By about halfway through the book, I’d forgotten what she was there for.
Xan was an interesting character, but the potential conflict between him, his cousin and Priska fell flat.
I felt there was a lot of potential in this book, but it wasn’t as good as it could have been. Hope’s character was fairly bland and I found quite a bit of this book boring to read. While there were some intriguing moments, the creepy scene with Apollo at the end strongly reminded me of why I don’t read immortal/teenager romances.
Raye Wagner grew up in an urban fantasy just outside of Seattle, Washington. As the second of eight children, she was surrounded by monsters, demons, and her sometimes mortal parents. She read heaps of fantasy while locked away in the upstairs room of the family cottage.
Raye studied the art of medicine long before she had an interest in the Gods on Mount Olympus.
One sunny afternoon, the history of Apollo’s ancient curse and the myth of the Sphinx dropped into her consciousness, and she’s been scribbling and typing stories in her spare time ever since.
Raye writes young adult fiction for teens and adults.
Buy Links: Curse of the Sphinx (book 1): AMAZON Demigods and Monsters (book 2): AMAZON Origin of the Sphinx: (prequel novella): AMAZON
Hope went into the sparse guest room and closed the door behind her. She let out a long, slow exhale and leaned against the door.
“How long have you been at the conservatory?”
Hope yelped. Turning around, she noticed Athan sitting on the edge of the bed.
“Sorry.” He was quickly at her side. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“Then what the Hades are you doing in my room with the light off?” Hope flicked the light on and glared at him.
“Right.” He took a step back. “Sorry. I wanted to talk to you, and you left abruptly.”
Hope clenched her teeth. “Oh. Well then, it’s all okay. Come on in.” Sarcasm dripped with the words. “What do you need to say?”
Athan frowned. “What’s with the hostility? Did I do something to you?”
She sputtered in her attempt to say anything, but words formed and disappeared before she could get them out. Finally, she said, “I trusted you.” She knew she was being irrational, but all the pent-up emotion erupted, blasting into the air between them. “I don’t even know what to believe anymore.”
Athan reached his hand out to touch her face, but something in her expression made him hesitate before contact. He dropped his hand to his side. “I never lied to you, Hope.”
Welcome to another exciting tour with Novel Publicity. Today, I’m excited to share with you, my review of Last Light, by CJ Lyons! Also, make sure you check out the rafflecopter, because Novel Publicity & CJ are giving away scented candles, signed hardbacks. . . AND a KINDLE PAPERWHITE! a Rafflecopter giveaway
My Review
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
While not completely familiar with the characters in this book, I did find this really easy to read… though I felt that quite a few of the secondary characters weren’t given much in the way of depth.
The very first scene did a really good job of establishing tension, but as the book went on, I felt it became more disjointed when it came to switching between POV characters.
I liked Lucy’s character, but I felt that her wounded leg didn’t really slow her down all that much. Especially towards the end of the book, I would have liked to see her having to struggle a bit more.
I liked being able to learn bits and pieces of TK’s past as the book progressed, though I felt there were some elements of allowing the other characters to make her into a big deal. I felt that the knowledge of how she won her medal didn’t actually add anything to the story… and although she was capable and a strong character, I felt she made a lot of mistakes that I thought she wouldn’t have done so with the history and experience she probably had.
I would have liked to see more of the other characters involved in the plot. I didn’t get the chance to get to know them and I thought they could have played a bigger part than they actually did.
I did think this book was much shorter than I was expecting it to be. I did figure out who the murderer was very quickly and I felt that, although there was some tension, it didn’t really carry all the way through the book. It would have been good to see more of the minor characters in the small town… and to see more variety in what people thought of the auctions, especially considering the legal grey area.
It was good to see Alan with Drew and I felt a lot of sympathy for Alan’s character. I liked seeing him interacting with Lucy and TK… and it was also good to see Lucy calling her husband and getting advice from him, although I would have liked to see more of her interactions with her daughter.
I’d probably be interested in reading more books in this series in the future… hopefully with more development of secondary characters.
About the Books
From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author CJ Lyons. For fans of Lisa Gardner, Tami Hoag, and Jeffery Deaver: “Everything a great thriller should be–action packed, authentic, and intense.” ~#1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Child
After leaving the FBI, life should be easy, right? Wrong–not if you’re Lucy Guardino.
Lucy has always seen herself as a normal Pittsburgh soccer mom who happened to have a job chasing the worst of the worst. But after a violent predator targets her family and she’s injured, Lucy sacrifices her career with the FBI in order to keep her family safe.
What is she now that she’s no longer a FBI Special Agent? she wonders as she begins her new job with the Beacon Group, a private consulting firm that specializes in cold cases and bringing justice to forgotten victims.Lucy fears she’s traded being a kick-ass law enforcement officer for being a civilian mother hen shepherding a team of amateurs.
What is she now that she’s no longer a FBI Special Agent? she wonders as she begins her new job with the Beacon Group, a private consulting firm that specializes in cold cases and bringing justice to forgotten victims.Lucy fears she’s traded being a kick-ass law enforcement officer for being a civilian mother hen shepherding a team of amateurs.
Her fears appear justified when she’s partnered with TK O’Connor, a former Marine MP struggling with her transition to life back home, and sent to rural Texas to investigate a case that’s more than cold, it’s already been closed with the killers behind bars for the past twenty-nine years.
But…who really killed Lily Martin, her infant daughter, and husband? Why was an entire family targeted for annihilation?
What price will Lucy pay when she fights to expose a truth people will kill to keep buried?
LAST LIGHT is the seventh Lucy Guardino novel, but they can be read out of order. If you enjoy captivating suspense, intelligent storytelling,strong and vulnerable characters, and a freight-train pace, then you’ll love this adrenaline rush of a heart-pounding thriller.
Join the millions of readers who’ve fallen for CJ’s Thrillers with Heart and grab your copy of LAST LIGHT today!
Pediatric ER doctor turned New York Times bestselling thriller writer CJ Lyons has been a storyteller all her life—something that landed her in many time-outs as a kid. She writes her Thrillers with Heart for the same reason that she became a doctor: because she believes we all have the power to change our world.
In the ER she witnessed many acts of courage by her patients and their families, learning that heroes truly are born every day. When not writing, she can be found walking the beaches near her Lowcountry home, listening to the voices in her head and plotting new and devious ways to create mayhem for her characters.
Given how important technology is to people nowadays, I thought this film looked like it might be quite an interesting one to watch. While there was a bit of detail about the characters beforehand, I did feel that not all of the characters who died were developed as well as they could have been.
There were quite a few jump scares, but I found some of the imagery to be really amazingly done… especially with the animations Marina did about her dreams. Not so much with the creepy images further down on her profile.
I did feel a lot of sympathy for Marina’s character the more I learned about her history and personality. While it was good to see Laura did try to befriend her, I felt that she didn’t really come across as nearly as sympathetic as Marina did.
There were some particularly creepy aspects in this movie… especially with the wasps that kept appearing. There were some things that were explained during the course of the movie and it was good to have some answers to the questions I had.
There were also quite a few gory scenes in this. It was interesting to see the problems Laura had with the videos being uploaded through her account. I thought it was good to see how the characters were attached to their phones/Facebook… but it was very scary that they couldn’t delete their accounts or unfriend Marina.
I wasn’t especially keen on the love triangle. I felt it detracted from the characters… and it would have been good to see less of the romance and more focus on the friendships. I wasn’t sure what kind of family situations the other characters had.
There were some good elements of anticipation in this movie and I did think that the actors who played Laura and Marina did good jobs. I wouldn’t watch this film again… but although it does contain potentially triggering material, there’s good use made of visual effects and it did get very jumpy at times.
Genre: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal, Magic, Supernatural
Rate: 4 out of 5 stars
Synopsis:
Bad Things Always Come In Threes…
As a thief, I’m good at three things: hiding in the shadows, getting in and out unseen, and uncovering secrets. I put these skills to work for the Sinclair Family, one of the magical mobs that run the tourist town of Cloudburst Falls.
Everyone knows Victor Draconi wants to take over all the other Families–and kill every last Sinclair. What they don’t know is that I’m on to him, and no way will I let the man who murdered my mom get away with hurting all the other people I care about. Especially when I’ve got places to break into, stuff to steal, and Devon Sinclair fighting right by my side…
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
After having read the previous books in this series, I was really happy to be able to read this one and see Lila and the other characters once more.
It was good to see that this book started in with the action straight away. I enjoyed seeing Felix and Deah’s relationship, but I especially liked seeing how conflicted Deah was in regards to her father and brother. Even though she was trying to do the right thing, I felt her reactions came across as quite realistic and I especially liked seeing the elements of her and Lila’s relationship.
I thought it was good to see some of the monsters that made their home in the city and in particular how Lila usedd her soulsight to ‘communicate’ with the lochness monster, who I couldn’t help but feel sorry for.
Even though there was romance in this book, I did like that it didn’t completely overwhelm the plot. It was good to see that there were other priorities as well.
It was also good to see something of the politics in this, though I would have liked a bit more expansion of the heads of the other Families. Towards the end of the book, I felt that those who had allied with the Sinclairs were grouped together, rather than individual members explored.
There was a lot of action in this book and I thought it was good it didn’t really seem to let up. I did find myself constantly on edge while reading, but I was glad to see that Lila wasn’t perfect. It was an interesting weakness that her transference power only kicked in after someone used their power and I felt it was much more realistic to have her need to flee and regroup at times.
I did care about what happened to the characters and it did feel like they were in real danger. While there weren’t really any new characters introduced, it was really good to see the ones I knew already once more, even though I didn’t get to see as many of them as much as I would have liked.
I did appreciate that there was some attempt to give Blake more depth, but it was far too little and far too late. Plus, I didn’t see much of that depth outside of Lila’s ‘instinct’.
I found this book easy to read and it engaged me really well. I’d like to see more of this world in future books.
Devon and I caught up with Felix, and the three of us headed deeper into the woods. The summer sun had set while Devon and I had been kissing, and darkness was quickly creeping over the land. We didn’t dare use a flashlight, and Devon and Felix fell back, letting me take the lead, since I could still see everything around me as clearly as if it were noon. Not only could I use my rare soulsight magic to look into people and feel what they were feeling, but I also had the much more common and mundane sight Talent of being able to see everything around me in crystal clarity, no matter how dark it was.
And the place we were going was definitely dark—the Draconi Family compound, home of Victor Draconi, the most powerful person in Cloudburst Falls, the sworn enemy of the Sinclair Family.
And the monster who’d murdered my mom.
The longer we hiked, the darker it got, and the quieter the three of us became. Even Felix stopped talking, dropped his hand to his sword, and scanned the trees around us, even though he couldn’t see through the thick fog that was slowly sliding down from the top of Cloudburst Mountain to invade the forests below. Every once in a while, I could hear the faint rush of water in the distance from one of the many waterfalls that tumbled down the mountain. The resulting clouds of mist from the falls always cloaked the top of the rugged peak, even during the brightest, hottest part of the day, but at night, after the sun had set, the fog grew thicker and thicker and sank lower and lower on the mountain.
But the white clouds did little to hide the eyes that stared at us.
Sapphire-blue, ruby-red, emerald-green. The colors were the same as all the jewels I’d stolen over the years, but these were the bright, glowing orbs of the monsters that called the mountain home—tree trolls, rockmunks, copper crushers, and the like. Some more dangerous than others, but there were plenty of monsters lurking in the trees with enough teeth and claws to make meals out of all three of us.
But I didn’t mind the cool clouds of mist, the watching monsters, or the soft, shimmering sheen of dew that covered everything. It made for better cover for us.
Because if we were caught, we’d be executed on the spot.
Jennifer Estep is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of urban fantasy and paranormal romance.
Her Elemental Assassin series follows the life and times of Gin “the Spider” Blanco, a barbecue restaurant owner who also happens to be an assassin with magical control over the elements of Ice and Stone.
The Mythos Academy series focuses on Gwen Frost, a 17-year-old Gypsy girl who has the ability to know an object’s history just by touching it. She studies at Mythos Academy, a school for the descendants of ancient warriors.
Her Bigtime paranormal romance books feature sexy superheroes, evil ubervillains, and smart, sassy gals looking for love.
Estep’s new Black Blade series is about 17-year-old thief Lila Merriweather, who has a Talent for sight, along with the ability to take magic others used against her to boost her own powers. She tries not to get involved with the Families who control much of the town, but ends up in the middle of a potential turf war.
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
Having had a big fascination with mythology (and particularly Greek mythology) from a very early age, I was immediately drawn by the blurb of this book. I especially liked the fact that it was about a different mythological figure – the Sphinx.
It was good that not everything was revealed all at once, but there was very little in the way of explanation as to motives. I did kind of feel that there were a lot of cliches involving Hope, though. It would have been good to see a bit less of the ‘tragic past/new girl absolutely hated by the popular girl in the new school she attends’.
It was good to see the relationships Hope did form with the other characters and I did find that Athan’s aunt was a really interesting character. Athan himself was kind of difficult to understand. While I appreciated the fact that the romance did take a realistic amount of time to grow and form, I found it really hard to understand WHY Athan was so interested in Hope from the start.
I did feel that there wasn’t much in the way of world building. I was confused about why mythology was a required course, since if it was in a world where the myths and legends are a fact of life, then surely the myths would be taught more as history?
I thought that the use of riddles were interesting, though it was a little confusing that there was very little foreshadowing. Just because Hope’s grandmother told riddles, I wouldn’t think it would automatically mean she enjoyed riddles.
The book about the Sphinx was interesting, but I would have liked to see a bit more detail about how the book worked. I also liked seeing Hope with her aunt, but I felt like the situation with that was dragged out far too much.
I didn’t feel like there was much in the way of action in this book, even though I did find the Skia to be quite interesting. I would have liked to see more of the world and the creatures inhabiting it.
I will be reading the sequel to this book, but I do hope it won’t focus so much on the pure romance.
Ink of Blood 