Cherry Mischievous

Wednesday 5 May 2021

MAGIC IN MY BONES

Magic In My Bones by Kellie Sheridan
Book 1 of the Lesser Magicks series
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: ebook

About Magic In My Bones:

My name is Melanie Sinclair, and as far as anyone knows, I've been dead since the day I was born.

More than twenty years ago, I was smuggled into Ireland to be raised where the magical community would never find me. Two decades of hiding. Two decades of pretending to be less than I am, blending in with the lesser magicks--those whose abilities are of little interest to the beings in power.

My true fate may not remain a secret much longer.

Humanity is getting too close to learning about a world they may not be ready to handle. In order to fight the growing threat of exposure, the supernatural world will be hosting a summit in Galway, in my city, bringing all of the people my family died to protect me from right to my doorstep.

So much for the luck of the Irish.

Source: Info in the About Magic In My Bones was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35904631-magic-in-my-bones on 20/01/2019.

My Thoughts:

Promising start to a new-to-me series.

I don't know if the author have read the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs or not, but the story arc with this series, as surmised from this book, is awfully similar to that of the Mercy Thompson series. Of course there are a few deviations like the heroine is not a coyote but a "combination of all magics"... la di bla... But, close enough that it was what made me continue reading this book in the first place. It feed my Mercy Thompson fix craving. So the theme has been around the block a few times too many, however, I do not mind non-originality. What I want is "how the story is told" quality and this book is good. Good enough to make me want to continue reading into this series. Having said that, it wasn't really that which made me buy the second book in this series but because this book ended in a cliffhanger. While it ended the plot in this book, it also left a lot of threads hanging for the next book to get bought. I usually do not like this strategy, but I understand that the publishing industry is a business.

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4
Character development = 4
Story itself = 3.5
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 3
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 2.5
Pace = 3.5
Plot = 3

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries

Books In The Lesser Magicks Series:

Amazon

Amazon

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Meet The Author

About Kellie Sheridan:

Kellie has been in love with stories in all of their forms for as long as she can remember. Admittedly, sometimes that means falling into places like Stars Hollow and Sunnydale, but books have always been her true love.

Kellie spent part of her twenties living in Galway, Ireland and swooning after various lilting accents but is now back home in Ontario, Canada.

FTC Disclosure:
This book was purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

Tuesday 4 May 2021

BULLY 4 LOVE: A Rather Odd Love Story

BULLY 4 LOVE: A Rather Odd Love Story by Steven Paul Leiva
Genre: love story

About BULLY 4 LOVE: A Rather Odd Love Story:

"She walked into my classroom ten minutes early on the first day of the Fall 1990 semester at South Pasadena Adult Education. I sat at my desk with my head down, going over notes and a sheet of mandatory announcements.

It was not hard to hear the entrance, which came with a slight swish to it. I raised my head to greet my first adult education student.

She stood just in from the door: a person — a woman — a person, unlike any person I had ever seen or, indeed, have ever seen since, for she was radiant. Radiant — a not unusual adjective and often a metaphor — but at that moment, as she stood there, and as I possibly held my breath, the word was an utterly accurate adjective that was just barely a metaphor."

Thus begins a very odd love story.

Adolphus. Lavinia. Eugene. Peggy. Who loves who?

Love rejected. Love ignored. Love found. And pizza.

"Steven Leiva not only promises he delivers. Bravo!" -- Ray Bradbury, Author of "The Laurel & Hardy Love Affair." Off-beat

Source: Info in the About BULLY 4 LOVE: A Rather Odd Love Story was from the press kit from the publicity team.

Buy Link(s):

Meet The Author

About Steven Paul Leiva:

A refugee from the silly fields of Hollywood where he cavorted with such luminaries as Bugs Bunny and Betty Boop (although the latter was but a brief affair), Steven Paul Leiva has authored nine novels and one novella since 2003. His work has been praised by literary great Ray Bradbury, Oscar-winning film producer Richard Zanuck, NY Times bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize finalist Diane Ackerman, and Star Trek actor John Billingsley, the greatest bookworm in Hollywood. He has received the Scribe Award from the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers. A traveler among several genres, his books include his witty Hollywood thrillers, BLOOD IS PRETTY and HOLLYWOOD IS AN ALL-VOLUNTEER ARMY, his novelization of the indie family film; the Scribe Award-winning 12 DOGS OF CHRISTMAS; his Sci-Fi satire of first-contact told from the point-of-view of the aliens, TRAVELING IN SPACE; his comic look at happy-ever-afters, BY THE SEA; his surreal political fantasia, IMP; his bizarre, possibly audacious, somewhat Sci-Fi novella, MADE ON THE MOON; JOURNEY TO WHERE, a contemporary "scientific romance" written in the tradition of H.G. Wells and Jules Vern; CREATURE FEATURE: A HORRID COMEDY; and his latest, BULLY 4 LOVE, a rather odd love story

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MM: w | t | f | gr

Monday 5 April 2021

TEMPT THE STARS

Tempt The Stars by Karen Chance
Book 6 of the Cassandra Palmer series
Narrated by Tara Sands and Allyson Ryan
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: paperback & audiobook

About Tempt The Stars:

Being a goddess is a lot less fun than you might think. Especially when you’re only a half goddess, and you only found out about it recently, and you still don’t know what you’re doing half the time. And when you’ve just used your not-so-reliable powers to burglarize the booby-trapped office of a vampire mob boss.

Yeah, that part sucks.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg for Cassandra Palmer, aka the Pythia, the freshly minted chief seer of the supernatural world. After all, Cassie still has to save a friend from a fate worse than death, deal with an increasingly possessive master vampire, and prevent a party of her own acolytes from unleashing a storm of fury upon the world. Totally just your average day at the office, right?

Source: Info in the About Tempt The Stars was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12528745-tempt-the-stars on 29/11/2018.

Pritkin

My Thoughts:

It was hard getting into this book. I am an old fan of this series but my following of this series stopped with this book. Well, not really stopped but hit a considerable snag. So much so that it'd been donkeys' years since I read the book preceding this one and I have forgotten what happened in the story already. However I did remember that Pritkin got sucked back home. The force of that premise alone was the reason that this book got read at all! I wanted to know if there would still be a Pritkin in the subsequent books in this series. If not, I don't think I would be following this series still... Which is sad because some books in this series that I have read so far did gave me some laugh-out-loud moments. A rare thing in a lot of books I read. The pace did pick up about three quarters into the book, which is something. The plot is quite straightforward. Heroine is going from A to B, and that is exactly what happened. How she got there is the interesting part. Still, not much of a plot. The world building just got a little bit crazier. Opened up new angles into the story never before hitherto heard of and interesting possibilities blooms... And the ending while it closed the current story, it is also a cliffhanger and a titillation for the next book.

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4
Character development = 4
Story itself = 3.5
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 3
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 4
Pace = 1.5
Plot = 2
Narration = 4.5

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 cherries

FTC Disclosure:
This book was purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

Monday 8 March 2021

BLOOD HEIR

Blood Heir by Ilona Andrews
Book 1 of the Aurelia Ryder series
Narrated by Suzanne Elise Freeman
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobook

About Blood Heir:

An all-new novel set in the Kate Daniels World and featuring Julie Lennart-Olsen, Kate and Curran's ward.

Atlanta was always a dangerous city. Now, as waves of magic and technology compete for supremacy, it’s a place caught in a slow apocalypse, where monsters spawn among the crumbling skyscrapers and supernatural factions struggle for power and survival.

Eight years ago, Julie Lennart left Atlanta to find out who she was. Now she’s back with a new face, a new magic, and a new name — Aurelia Ryder — drawn by the urgent need to protect the family she left behind. An ancient power is stalking her adopted mother, Kate Daniels, an enemy unlike any other, and a string of horrifying murders is its opening gambit.

If Aurelia’s true identity is discovered, those closest to her will die. So her plan is simple: get in, solve the murders, prevent the prophecy from being fulfilled, and get out without being recognized. She expected danger, but she never anticipated that the only man she'd ever loved could threaten everything.

One small misstep could lead to disaster. But for Aurelia, facing disaster is easy; it’s relationships that are hard.

Cover Art: Luisa Preissler

Source: Info in the About Blood Heir was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54561555-blood-heir on 13/01/2021.

Buy Link(s):

My Thoughts:

In the dedication, it said, "To the fans of Kate Daniels World who refuse to let it go." — Dang right! I refuse to let it go!! And, thank you!!!

This book was bought as soon as it was available to buy, so there was no audiobook then, and I was trying to read this book very, very slowly. As slow as I could stretch it! Make it last! The book still finished too fast for me. The pace is therefore, a 5 out of 5.

I was used to the eagle being Abra, reading Turgan instead is a little bit disorienting...

When the audiobook came out, of course it also got bought! I didn't like the sing-song in Suzanne Elise Freeman's narration. But I soon forgot about it as I sunk deeper into the story.

As usual Ilona Andrews delivers and I had a wonderful time reading this book! Now, it is post-great-book-depression waiting for the next book to come out .

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 5
Character development = 5
Story itself = 3.5
Writing Style = 5
Ending = 4
World building = 5
Cover art = 4
Pace = 5
Plot = 4
Narration = 4

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 cherries

Meet The Author

About Ilona Andrews:

Ilona Andrews is the pseudonym for a husband-and-wife writing team. Ilona is a native-born Russian and Gordon is a former communications sergeant in the U.S. Army. Contrary to popular belief, Gordon was never an intelligence officer with a license to kill, and Ilona was never the mysterious Russian spy who seduced him. They met in college, in English Composition 101, where Ilona got a better grade. (Gordon is still sore about that.)

Gordon and Ilona currently reside in Oregon with their two children, three dogs and a cat. They have co-authored two series, the bestselling urban fantasy of Kate Daniels and romantic urban fantasy of The Edge.

www.ilona-andrews.com | twitter | facebook | goodreads

Meet The Narrator

About Suzanne Elise Freeman:

Audiobook narrator and voiceover artist narrating books in multiple genres, including Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Young Adult, Mystery, and Romance.

www.suzannefreemanvoice.com | twitter | facebook | goodreads

FTC Disclosure:
The ebook and audiobook copies of the book were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

Friday 5 March 2021

RELENTLESS

Relentless by Karen Lynch
Book 1 of the Relentless series
Read by Caitlin Greer
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobook

About Relentless:

Sara Grey’s world shattered ten years ago when her father was brutally murdered. Now at seventeen, she is still haunted by memories of that day and driven by the need to understand why it happened. She lives a life full of secrets and her family and friends have no idea of the supernatural world she is immersed in or of Sara’s own very powerful gift.

In her quest for answers about her father’s death, Sara takes risks that expose her and her friends to danger and puts herself into the sights of a sadistic vampire. On the same fateful night she meets Nikolas, a warrior who turns Sara’s world upside down and is determined to protect her even if it’s the last thing she wants.

Sara’s life starts to spin out of control as she is hunted by an obsessed vampire, learns that her friends have secrets of their own and reels from the truth about her own ancestry. Sara has always been fiercely independent but in order to survive now she must open herself to others, to reveal her deepest secrets. And she must learn to trust the one person capable of breaking down the walls around her.

Source: Info in the About Relentless was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20427449-relentless on 28/07/2019.

Buy Link(s):

My Thoughts:

Promising start to a new-to-me series.

This book is a coming-of-age story told subtly that it does not seem to be that at the first instance. Then it becomes obvious as the story goes along. I like Karen Lynch's author's voice. It is compelling enough to make me want to follow this series. The world building is believable and beautiful. So glad I stumbled into this series!

A Reader adds another layer of complexity to the story whether we like it or not. In my experience, a good Narrator can bring the story to life and make the listener experience the story with an additional texture that reading alone may not have given the story. The Narrator therefore has a great influence on the story for the listener. A bad Narrator can ruin a perfectly good book like Jonathan Oliver did to Perdido Street Station by China Miéville. Caitlin Greer did not exactly ruin this book. In fact, for the most part she did a good job. However, when she reads "ten" in the same tone as the rest of the sentence/paragraph and tells the listener that the "ten" was supposed to be squeaked, it leaves a lot to be desired.

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 4
Story itself = 4
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 4
World building = 4
Cover art = 3.5
Pace = 4
Plot = 3.5
Narration = 3

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries

Meet The Author

About Karen Lynch:

Karen Lynch is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author.

She grew up in Newfoundland, Canada - a place rich in colorful people and folklore to which she attributes her love of the supernatural and her vivid imagination. She moved to Charlotte, North Carolina years ago and was immediately charmed by the southern people but she says she will always be a newfie.

Though she loves supernatural fiction, she has a soft spot for Charlotte Brontë and Jane Austin. She is a fan of classic rock, country and classical music but her favorite music is the sound of a good thunderstorm or a howling blizzard. Two of her favorite past times are baking artisan breads for her friends and spending quality time with her two German Shepherds.