EXILED is a young adult sci-fi/romance. Worlds divided them. Chance brought them together. Only love will save them. An alien princess exiled to Earth. An arrogant boy. One week to get back to her planet or she'll die. And, her only chance for survival? She must help the boy find his soul mate. Piece of cake
My Thoughts...
What first drew me to this book was the cover, I'm not going to lie if the cover isn't that great no matter how good the synopsis is I won't read it, shallow I know but visualization is a key when I'm deciding what to read, and I've loved this cover since I first set eyes on it, it is absolutely gorgeous, and even though they've changed the cover since I brought this one I still like the new one too.
But anyway I'll stop my rambling and get on with the review since that is probably why anyone will be reading this, Princess Venus is an alien from the planet Kelari and she awakens to find herself on planet Earth discovering she is there with her Formytian (bodyguard) Zaren who followed her, after she was accused of murder, the only way she is allowed back home is if she can find a human boy Michael's soul mate.
She has one week, because she never finished her transformation into an Immortal on Kelari if she doesn't leave before then the Earth's atmosphere will kill her.
The problem is Michael, growing up in a cold, loveless home he has never really known love, so getting him to not only fall in love but to actually find his soul mate is not going to be an easy task at all.
There is also a murderous alien on Earth who is killing off family members of an organization tasked with obtaining and experimenting on any aliens that they can get their hands on, but when a murder hits extremely close to home, can the murderer be found before it's too late? And will Venus have helped Michael find his soul mate, and be back home before her time is up?
I'm really loving this series and I can't wait to see what happens in the second book.
ALIGNED takes place several hundred years before EXILED, book 1 in the Immortal Essence series.
It's the story of Ith and Aetha. Two Eternals who will become the gods of Kelari.
Summary:
A half-Eternal boy and an Eternal girl must free millions of tortured souls from a creature whose been feasting on their pain and suffering.
My Thoughts...
This was a short but very interesting start to the Immortal Essence series.
This is a prequel to the series, of the origins of the Gods Ith and Aetha, told from Ith's perspective, it sets up the world from which our female protagonist is from in the first book of the series.
A young boy Ith awakens on a strange, new planet named Kelari, all alone he is befriended by a creature who's name is Mithrith, she takes care of him over the years until her eventual death, alone Ith starts to hear a female's voice in his head, and then one day the girl in question shows up on Kelari , she tells him that they are Eternals and that she was made just for him, and that they are meant to be together.
There is also a fight to defeat an evil God Ramien, to release the captive souls that he has collected.
All in all this was an entertaining and fast read, you don't really need to read it before starting the first book but if you're interested in knowing the history of the God's then definitely give it a go. Or just read it because it is a good story.
Publication: 16th October 2012 Publisher: Entangled Teen Pages: 400 Genre: Fantasy/Paranormal Age Appropriate: Young Adult Buy It: AmazonBarnes And Noble
When a Six saved Kale's life the night of Sumrun, she warned there would be consequences. A trade-off. Something taken for the life they gained. But Dez never imagined she'd lose the one thing she'd give anything to keep... And as if it's not enough Dez finds her immunity to Kale fading, the Six brought in to help Kale learn to control his killer touch starts drooling on him the moment they meet. Worse than that? Jade can touch Kale. But bimbo Barbie is the least of Dez's problems.
After Dez and Kale got away at Sumrun, her father lost not only his most powerful weapon but an important piece of the Supremacy project. Forced by Denazen to remedy the situation, he poisons Dez and offers her a choice--surrender to Denazen for the cure...or die. Determined to find a solution that doesn't involve being bagged and tagged--or losing someone she loves--Dez keeps the poison a secret. But when a rash of Denazen attacks hit a little too close to home, Dez is convinced there's a traitor among them. Jade.
Sacrifices, broken promises, and secrets. Dez will have to lay it all on the line if there's any hope of proving Jade's guilt before they all end up Residents of Denazen. Or worse, dead...
My Thoughts...
This series just seems to get better and better with each book, and in saying that the endings are becoming more nail-biting and the suspense is going to kill me by having to wait for the next book.
Now I don't want to give away too much of what happened in this book because I want people to read it themselves and experience the twists and turns as they go along, so I'll give a brief summary.
After the ending in Touch where Kale's life was saved, Dez knew that there would be a consequence, and she finds that out towards the very start of the book and it's something that she would give anything to change, although she realises it could be worse and Kale could have died.
Denazen is still after Kale and her, and after an incident where Dez is lethally poisoned she decides to keep it to herself, Jade another Six is found to help Kale with his ability but when Jade tries to put the moves on Kale, Dez's jealous streak hit's an all time high, but then they discover that there is a traitor amongst them, but will Dez figure out who it is before it's too late? I really do love this series, and I'll be counting the days to the next book, highly recommended, check it out. I give this 5/5.
We are honoured to join Marissa today as she reveals her brand new cover for iFeel.
iFeel has been regenred as New Adult and we think this is the PERFECT cover!! We hope you agree too!!
Lust. Anger. Hate. Desire. Love. Happiness. Joy. iFeel. Liv Christianni is isolated, alone, tortured and withdrawn, saddled with the torrential downpour of the world’s emotions.
Accepting of her providence Liv has lost all hope, until one day fate steps in and spins the course of her life like a spiraling top. Hunted by a Spirit Stalker, Liv is forced to gain control of herself and her surroundings, threatened by the touch of her immortal love; she must find a way to survive both physically and emotionally as her reality is shaken up like dice on a Craps table.
Can she find the courage to accept her true self? Can she love unconditionally cognizant of the condemning consequences? Can she rise from the ashes to become the person she was always meant to be?
Funny, witty, real, and poignant, iFeel rips into your soul, and sets your emotions on fire. If you are a fan of Charmed or Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries or The Secret Circle this series is for you!
Marissa Carmel has been writing since a young age and although it has always been for personal enjoyment, she finally decided to break out and share her imagination with the world. She hopes that her universe is as fun and intriguing to her readers as it is to her.
Marissa Carmel is originally from NJ but moved to Maryland several years ago, she enjoys reading, writing, and catching up on her DVR library. She is currently working on the sequel to iFeel, Gravitational Pull, which she hopes to release sometime in 2012.
The whispers haunt her dreams and fill her waking hours with dread. Something odd is happening. Something...unnatural.
Possession of the living. Resurrection of the dead. And Natalie Stewart is caught right in the middle. Jonathon, the one person she thought she could trust, has become a double agent for the dark side. But he plays the part so well, Natalie has to wonder just how much he's really acting.
She can't even see what it is she's fighting. But the cost of losing her heart, her sanity...her soul.
My Thoughts...
So going into this book I was pretty excited, I loved the characters of Natalie and Jonathan 'Lord Denbury' in the previous book and I was interested to see where this book would take them on their journey to defeat the evil that we met in the first book 'Darker Still'.
This book starts off straight after the ending in the debut book in the series, Natalie and Jonathan are on a train to meet up with an old friend of his, when they arrive they discover that the Majesty Society who were in cahoots with the demon who actually imprisoned him in the painting are immersing themselves into his friends lives, they are also experimenting in 're-animation' of the dead, but they aren't exactly aware that the demon is no longer possessing Jonathan's body and so he acts the part to find out information as to what they are up to and becomes a double agent for both sides.
He plays the part so well that Natalie sometimes wonders whether it is an act, and with her prophetic dreams playing a part in all the madness, she knows something bad is coming!
As in the first book I loved how the story is told through Natalie's diary entries and letters, it's something different but really enjoyable as well.
Add in a couple of new characters to help in their fight: Rachel who was Natalie's best-friend in the asylum and who is a psychic and Reverend Blessing a friend of Mrs Northe and they have a well developed 'team' I guess you could call it.
And alas like all books in a series there is always something that happens at the end that makes you anxious to get your hands on the next book, and after the note I'm desperate for the next book.
I highly recommend this series to those who like gothic, dark fiction.
I give this 4/5.
Guest Post...
·Triple Talent: It’s no secret that bestselling author Leanna
acts, writes, and even combines the two to create a play. Leanna
describes what it’s like to be a working actress while also making a bestseller
book.
I wear many different hats. And I
don’t just mean cute little Victorian hats, though I do have quite a
collection. I’ve always been a Jack of All Trades and it’s my varying interests
that have kept me busy, employed in the arts and happy in always having a
project or two to work on. The trick to doing anything well is time and
discipline, it’s very hard to juggle theatrical pursuits and writing and
promoting your books full time. I have to pick and choose and shift focus.
While I was a full time professional actress on stage in various regional theatre
productions around the country, my writing took a back seat. Today my writing
is at the foreground and I do theatrical and/or film projects sporadically. The
ability to shift focus from one priority to another depending on deadlines is a
skill I’ve been trying to sharpen forever. The biggest challenge is
self-discipline of one’s own time. It’s something I struggle with day in and
day out. Storytelling is at the core of all my interests, and while I’m very
selective now about the stories I tell and the mediums I use to tell them, I’m
blessed to have several different avenues to pursue the stories that intrigue
me. One of the most fascinating ways that my worlds have blended is in adapting
my first novel into a musical theatre production with Broadway talent on board.
My time as an actress and brief stints as a playwright made it easier for the
production company behind the musical adaptation of The Strangely Beautiful
Tale of Miss Percy Parker to approach me to be on the collaboration team. I’m
uniquely suited as having experience in all these fields to weave a story
together in an entirely new medium, a show. And it’s that process of adaptation
and collaboration that then allows me to have fresh insights and new tricks to
make an engaging story come to life when I return to my novels, such as THE
TWISTED TRAGEDY OF MISS NATALIE STEWART.
About this author
Author, actress and playwright, Leanna grew up in rural Ohio, graduated with a BFA in Theatre, a focus in the Victorian Era and a scholarship to study in London. She adapted 19th Century literature for the stage and her one-act plays have been produced around the country. She is a 4 time Prism Award winner for excellence in Futuristic, Fantasy, or Paranormal Romance. Her debut novel, The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker, first in the "Strangely Beautiful" saga of Gothic Victorian Fantasy novels (Barnes & Noble Bestseller) won two 2010 Prism Awards (Best Fantasy, Best First Book) and is currently in development as a musical theatre production. DARKER STILL: A Novel of Magic Most Foul, begins a Gothic paranormal saga set in 1880 New York City, named an INDIE NEXT title; a recommended buy by the American Book Association, a Scholastic book fairs "Highly Recommended" title and is a finalist in the 2012 Daphne du Maurier awards for excellence in Mystery/Romantic Suspense. The sequel, THE TWISTED TRAGEDY OF MISS NATALIE STEWART, has recently released and she is currently working on her new Gaslamp Fantasy saga for Tor/Macmillan, THE ETERNA FILES, coming 2014. A character from THE ETERNA FILES is featured in her short story included in QUEEN VICTORIA'S BOOK OF SPELLS (Tor, 3/13).
Leanna is a proud member of member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, and the International Thriller Writers. She is a proud co-founder of Lady Jane's Salon Reading Series in New York City. A member of Actors Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA, Leanna works often in television and film. She is playing the role of Deputy Kellion in Auror's Tale web-series. When not writing or on set, she loves a good Goth club, adventuring about her adopted hometown of New York City, where she resides with her real-life hero and their beloved rescued lab rabbit.
It was as if he called to me, demanding I reach out and touch the brushstrokes of color swirled onto the canvas. It was the most exquisite portrait I'd ever seen--everything about Lord Denbury was unbelievable...utterly breathtaking and eerily lifelike.
There was a reason for that. Because despite what everyone said, Denbury never had committed suicide. He was alive. Trapped within his golden frame.
I've crossed over into his world within the painting, and I've seen what dreams haunt him. They haunt me too. He and I are inextricably linked--bound together to watch the darkness seeping through the gas-lit cobblestone streets of Manhattan. Unless I can free him soon, things will only get Darker Still.
My Thoughts...
This dark and gothic tale had me turning the pages as quickly as I could, so absorbed in the story that I was instantly captivated and awed by this world Hieber created in the 1880's.
I've never read The Picture Of Dorian Gray which was the inspiration behind this book and series but I've always known what the gist of it was about, so when I first heard that this book was similiar to it I knew I needed to get my hands on a copy.
Natalie is mute, she's been that way since the age of four when she witnessed the death of her mother, so hoping that she regains her voice her father sends her to an asylum for the mute and the deaf.
Finally home her father who works at the Metropolitan Museum Of Art is discussing a new painting one day, and Natalie becomes fascinated by it, a portrait of a Lord Denbury whom supposedly committed suicide after the death of his parents, but what nobody knows is that he never died and instead has been trapped in the picture, and only Natalie can get him out.
With the help of Mrs Northe, a wealthy widow from high society who purchased the portrait and a clairvoyant to boot, helps Natalie to free Denbury from his prison and to defeat the evil that imprisoned him there.
I really liked this book and I can't wait to see what else is in store for us in the rest of the series.
.JPG)
