Book Review (272): The Greyfriar (Vampire Empire #1) - Clay Griffith & Susan Griffith.

The Greyfriar (Vampire Empire #1)

by Clay Griffith, Susan Griffith

Publication: 18th November 2010
Publisher: Pyr
Pages: 301
Genre: Paranormal/Steampunk
Age Appropriate: Young Adult
Buy It: Amazon Barnes & Noble The Book Depository

Vampire predators run wild in this exciting steampunk adventure, the first in an alternate history trilogy that is already attracting attention. In 1870, monsters rise up and conquer the northern lands, As great cities are swallowed up by carnage and disease, landowners and other elite flee south to escape their blood-thirsty wrath. 

One hundred fifty years later, the great divide still exists; fangs on one side of the border, worried defenders on the other. This fragile equilibrium is threatened, then crumbles after a single young princess becomes almost hopelessly lost in the hostile territory. At first, she has only one defender—a mysterious Greyfriar who roams freely in dangerous vampire regions.

My Thoughts.

The Greyfriar is the first book in the Vampire Empire trilogy by the husband and wife duo, Clay and Susan Griffith.

You know how they say not to judge a book by it's cover, well I'm guilty of it, including this book, I'm not a big fan of the cover and so I wasn't in any kind of hurry to read it although the synopsis sounded really good, but I was given the chance to review it and I'm incredibly happy to say that I loved it!

I very much enjoyed immersing myself in this world that Clay and Susan have created, the perfect combination of paranormal (I love my vampires), steampunk and action all thrown together into an alternate history set in 1870.

We have a strong heroine in Princess Adele of Equatoria, engaged to be married to a man that she has never met, all for political reasons, her fiancée Senator Clark who also happens to be a vampire hunter sets out to rescue Adele after she is kidnapped by the vampire Prince Cesare, who hopes to discover the secret war plans that Equatoria have planned against the vampire race.

But on their tail is Greyfriar who originally rescued Adele before she was captured, Greyfriar who is a secret identity of a character in the book, and whom I had pretty much guessed  who it was before it was revealed to the reader.

Held in the Tower Of London for quite a bit of time, she finds herself associating a fair bit with Prince Gareth, Cesare's brother and heir to the vampire throne, Gareth is very different to all the other vampire's around and Adele finds herself not fearing him as much as she should.

After escaping she finally reunites with Greyfriar and they make their way to Scotland where Adele discovers she has powers that could potentially destroy all vampire's forever!

An extremely enjoyable read that I hope to continue on with at some point.

I give this 4/5 Stars.

Clay and Susan Griffith are the authors of the Vampire Empire trilogy -- The Greyfriar, The Rift Walker, The Kingmakers.

"Vampire Empire is transforming genre fiction." Paul Goat Allen, B&N Explorations.

If you're on Facebook, please think about going to www.facebook.com/vampireempire and clicking LIKE. If you done it already...Thank you.

Clay & Susan Griffith are a married couple who have written and published together for more than a decade. Their credits not only include two novels for Bantam Doubleday Dell in the mid-1990s and another novel for Pinnacle Entertainment Group in 2002 but also numerous short stories published in many anthologies, some featuring noted genre characters like Kolchak the Night Stalker and The Phantom. They've also written scripts for television and published graphic novels. The authors have attended many cons multiple times over the years, including World Fantasy, WorldCon Science Fiction, ComicCon (San Diego), DragonCon (Atlanta), HeroesCon (Charlotte), and other smaller conventions.

Blog: http://clayandsusangriffith.blogspot.com.au/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vampireempire?fref=ts

Twitter: https://twitter.com/clayandsusan

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/57858.Clay_Griffith

Book Review (271): Long Live The Queen (The Immortal Empire #3) - Kate Locke.

Long Live the Queen (The Immortal Empire #3)

by Kate Locke

Publication: 12th November 2013
Publisher: Orbit
Pages: 320
Genre: Paranormal/Steampunk
Age Appropriate: Adult
Buy It: Amazon Barnes & Noble The Book Depository

Xandra Vardan thought life would be simpler when she accepted the goblin crown and became their queen, but life has only become more complicated. Everyone -- vampires, werewolves and humans -- wants the goblins on their side, because whoever has the goblins - wins. 

Queen Victoria wants her head, Alpha wolf Vex wants her heart, and she still doesn't know the identity of the person who wanted her blood. What she does know is that a project from one of the 'secret' aristocrat labs has gotten free and she's the only one who can stop the perfect killing machine -- a sixteen year-old girl. With human zealots intent on ridding the world of anyone with plagued blood and supernatural politics taking Britain to the verge of civil war, Xandra's finding out that being queen isn't all it's cracked up to be, and if she doesn't do something fast, hers will be the shortest reign in history.

My Thoughts.

Long Live The Queen is the third and final book in The Immortal Empire trilogy by the fantabulous Kate Locke.

Unfortunately Kate's writing is so incredibly fantastic that I'd finished this book in no time. the house could have burned down around me and I wouldn't have had a clue, but it means no more of this unbelievably good series set in a richly detailed world with extremely likeable characters and a completely original and addictingly, intriguing plot.

So this is it, we've finally come to the bittersweet end, I really didn't want to have to say goodbye, I'm so invested in these books, this series and although I feel that the series ended perfectly, I still want more!

Maybe a spin-off, short stories or something, I need my fix!

Everything came to a close so well with no unanswered questions left for the reader to sit and wonder about. 

I think that the addition of Ali was a stroke of genius on Kate's part, I thought that  something might come out of Vandra's captivity in the labs, in the second book 'The Queen Is Dead', but not that, never in a million years would I have guessed that it would be a road that Kate would go down,  but I'm so glad that she did, I feel that Vandra's needed an opponent who was worthy and at her level.

I was also very surprised by the reveal of the mastermind of all the experiments taking place in the labs, I really had no clue myself so it was a very good shock and totally unexpected on my part.

All of my favorite characters made their appearance in this finale, it should set a benchmark of how exactly to end a successful and popular series.

I implore all of you that haven't yet picked up these books to get on it because you are missing out!

This series is definitely one of my favorites and I will be eagerly awaiting whatever Kate releases in the future.

A huge and very well deserved 5/5 Stars.

Kate Locke has always enjoyed making things up — a trait that often got her into trouble as a child, but by which she enjoys making a living. Before writing fiction full time she worked as cook, a journalist and in a photo finishing lab where she saw enough pictures of naked people to rival Hugh Hefner. A guy once asked her out after giving her a role of film that he expressly requested she develop and print. The entire role was images of him stark naked in the woods. And no, that’s the kind of thing you just don’t make up.

In her late 20s Kate sold her first book and enjoyed a 10 year career writing under a different name. Her love of fantasy and the paranormal refused to leave her alone, and one day, while sitting on the couch thinking of making a very scary career move, she started jotting down notes for a book she wanted to write just for the pure enjoyment of it; a book just for herself. That book became God Save the Queen. Her agent thought they could sell it — Kate wasn’t certain. Then, the day after having her gall bladder removed (again, can’t make this stuff up), Kate got the call that Orbit books — her dream publisher for God Save the Queen — had made an offer. And it’s been more exciting than she ever imagined.

Like Xandra Vardan, the heroine in God Save the Queen, Kate values those she loves above all else, and has hair a color not typically found in nature. Unfortunately, Kate’s comes from a bottle. She’s married to a fabulous man who doesn’t seem to care what she does to her hair, puts up with her occasional* craziness, helps her plot, and treats her like she’s the best thing since lipgloss.

Kate Locke is pseudonym for Kathryn Smith aka Kady Cross.

Website: http://www.katelocke.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/klockework

Book Review (270): The Queen Is Dead (The Immortal Empire #2) - Kate Locke.

The Queen Is Dead (The Immortal Empire #2)

by Kate Locke

Publication: 5th February 2013

Publisher: Orbit

Pages: 352

Genre: Urban Fantasy/Steampunk

Age Appropriate: Adult

Buy It: Amazon Barnes & Noble The Book Depository

Nothing lasts forever---and immortality isn't all its cracked up to be.

When her brother Val gets in over his head in an investigation of Half-Blood disappearances and goes missing himself, it's up to Xandra, newly crowned Goblin Queen, to get him back and bring the atrocities to light. Xandra must frequent the seediest parts of London, while also coping with what she is, the political factions vying for her favor, and the all too-close scrutiny of Queen Victoria, who wants her head. Add this to being a suspect in a murder investigation, a werewolf boyfriend with demands of his own, and a mother hell bent on destroying the monarchy, and Xandra barely knows which way is up. One thing she does know is that she's already lost one sibling, she's not about to lose another.

My Thoughts.

The Queen Is Dead is the second book in The Immortal Empire trilogy by Kate Locke.

This series is fantastic, and I hate the thought that this series isn't any longer, I don't want to say goodbye to these characters that I've fallen in love with.

Kate has a way of drawing you in with her captivating writing and equally entertaining and lovable characters.

I'm going to try and make this review as spoiler free as possible for those who haven't yet gotten around to reading any of the two books (and if you haven't well then you need to remedy that A.S.A.P!).

After the events at the end of the first book 'God Save The Queen', our heroine Vandra is having to get accustomed to her new role, whilst trying to put off making it official all the while trying to come to terms with the way her life has changed dramatically, after the shock of discovering what she really is as well as the betrayal and lies of those who kept it hidden from her and whom she thought that she could trust. 

I'm so excited that we get more of the smexi Alpha wolf Vex, I love his character and his relationship with Vandra, especially in this book when she feels as though he is the only one that she can trust.

Vandra's relationship with the Goblin horde/plague strengthens in this book with more page time devoted to them and their lives underground, we also get to spend more time with Goblin Prince William, who is is becoming a major character in this series, and is quickly becoming one of my favorites.

With the disappearance of her brother Val, Vandra finds herself in a race against time to save him before his captives either use him in a macabre show or start to experiment on him like some of their other prisoners.

Full of action, adventure and an extremely kick-ass well dressed heroine. this series will have you intrigued the whole way through.

Highly recommended!

I give this 5/5 Stars.

Kate Locke has always enjoyed making things up — a trait that often got her into trouble as a child, but by which she enjoys making a living. Before writing fiction full time she worked as cook, a journalist and in a photo finishing lab where she saw enough pictures of naked people to rival Hugh Hefner. A guy once asked her out after giving her a role of film that he expressly requested she develop and print. The entire role was images of him stark naked in the woods. And no, that’s the kind of thing you just don’t make up.

In her late 20s Kate sold her first book and enjoyed a 10 year career writing under a different name. Her love of fantasy and the paranormal refused to leave her alone, and one day, while sitting on the couch thinking of making a very scary career move, she started jotting down notes for a book she wanted to write just for the pure enjoyment of it; a book just for herself. That book became God Save the Queen. Her agent thought they could sell it — Kate wasn’t certain. Then, the day after having her gall bladder removed (again, can’t make this stuff up), Kate got the call that Orbit books — her dream publisher for God Save the Queen — had made an offer. And it’s been more exciting than she ever imagined.

Like Xandra Vardan, the heroine in God Save the Queen, Kate values those she loves above all else, and has hair a color not typically found in nature. Unfortunately, Kate’s comes from a bottle. She’s married to a fabulous man who doesn’t seem to care what she does to her hair, puts up with her occasional* craziness, helps her plot, and treats her like she’s the best thing since lipgloss.

Kate Locke is pseudonym for Kathryn Smith aka Kady Cross.

Website: http://www.katelocke.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/klockework

Super Six Sunday – Super Six Books that are way too long on my TBR Pile

Super Six Sunday is an original bookish meme hosted at Bewitched Bookworms and inspired by “Top Ten Tuesday” from The Broke and The Bookish . You can see the weekly schedule of themes here.

Super Six Books that are for way too long on my TBR Pile

..and need to be read ASAP! 

Unfortunately I seem to have a tremendous amount of extremely popular books still on my TBR pile, but with the amount of review books I have I never seem to get enough time to sit down with a book of my choosing, so here are my Six Books That Have Been On My TBR Pile For Way Too Long!

Divergent - Veronica Roth

The Fault In Our Stars - John Green

Anna Dressed In Blood - Kendare Blake

Legend - Marie Lu

Shatter Me - Tahereh Mafi

Cinder - Marissa Meyer

So What Are The Top Six On Your TBR Pile?

Book Review (269): Earth Girl (Earth Girl #1) - Janet Edwards

Earth Girl (Earth Girl #1)

by Janet Edwards

Publication: 5th March 2013

Publisher: Pyr

Pages: 271

Genre: Science Fiction

Age Appropriate: Young Adult

Buy It: Amazon  Barnes & Noble

2788. Only the handicapped live on Earth. Eighteen-year-old Jarra is among the one in a thousand people born with an immune system that cannot survive on other planets. Sent to Earth at birth to save her life, she has been abandoned by her parents. She can’t travel to other worlds, but she can watch their vids, and she knows all the jokes they make. She’s an “ape,” a “throwback,” but this is one ape girl who won’t give in.

Jarra makes up a fake military background for herself and joins a class of norms who are on Earth for a year of practical history studies excavating the dangerous ruins of the old cities. She wants to see their faces when they find out they’ve been fooled into thinking an ape girl was a norm. She isn’t expecting to make friends with the enemy, to risk her life to save norms, or to fall in love.

My Thoughts.

Earth Girl is the first book in the Earth Girl trilogy by Janet Edwards.

I liked this book so much, the concept sounded so appealing being set in the future, add in the intriguing characters and great dialogue and you end up with this fabulous story.

It's 2788 and Earth is a planet only inhabited by the handicapped (or apes as civilians from other planets refer to them as), people who as babies who can't with their immune system tolerate the atmosphere anywhere but Earth and can't portal to other worlds, and so most are abandoned by their families with the belief system that it's an embarrassment to have a child with this problem.

Jarra is one of these kids, angry and bitter at the way she and all handicapped are treated she enrols herself at a school for the norms who will be spending the next year on Earth at a dig site to find artifacts and lost pieces of history that were abandoned in the haste to leave Earth.

Creating a new background for herself as the daughter of military parents, Jarra ends up being the smartest and most knowledgable student in her class, much to the amazement and chagrin of her teacher who is the only person that's knows of who she really is.

Soon Jarra starts believing her own lies and gets swept up in a romance with Fian a boy in her class - a norm from another planet.

But when a severe solar storm strikes where Jarra is staying she and her fellow students will be helping to save the lives of some of the military, who have crash-landed on Earth and have only hours to live buried under the rubble of a collapsed building.

Join Jarra as she falls in love, discovers the norms aren't as bad as she'd convinced herself they are and helps to save a whole lot of people proving that the handicapped can do just as much as and are as normal as the well - the norms.

I highly recommend this book and I look forward to the next book 'Earth Star'.

I give this 4/5 Stars.

Janet Edwards lives in England. As a child, she read everything she could get her hands on, including a huge amount of science fiction and fantasy. She studied Maths at Oxford, and went on to suffer years of writing unbearably complicated technical documents before deciding to write something that was fun for a change. She has a husband, a son, a lot of books, and an aversion to housework.

You are welcome to chat to Janet on twitter.

Website: http://janetedwards.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JanetEdwardsSF
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JanetEdwardsSF
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5415711.Janet_Edwards

Cover Reveal: The Collection (The Registry #2) - Shannon Stoker

(ARC) Book Review (268): These Broken Stars (Starbound #1) - Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner.

These Broken Stars (Starbound #1)

by Amie Kaufman, Meagan Spooner

Publication: 10th December 2013 (U.S) & 20th November 2013 (Australia)

Publisher: Disney Hyperion (U.S) & Allen & Unwin (Australia)

Pages: 384

Genre: Science-Fiction

Age Appropriate: Young Adult

Buy It: Amazon Barnes & Noble Book Depository Fishpond

It's a night like any other on board the Icarus. Then, catastrophe strikes: the massive luxury spaceliner is yanked out of hyperspace and plummets into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive. And they seem to be alone. 

Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a young war hero who learned long ago that girls like Lilac are more trouble than they’re worth. But with only each other to rely on, Lilac and Tarver must work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help. 

Then, against all odds, Lilac and Tarver find a strange blessing in the tragedy that has thrown them into each other’s arms. Without the hope of a future together in their own world, they begin to wonder—would they be better off staying here forever?

Everything changes when they uncover the truth behind the chilling whispers that haunt their every step. Lilac and Tarver may find a way off this planet. But they won’t be the same people who landed on it.

--

A timeless love story, THESE BROKEN STARS sets into motion a sweeping science fiction series of companion novels. The Starbound Trilogy: Three worlds. Three love stories. One enemy.

My Thoughts.

These Broken Stars is the first book in the Starbound Trilogy, a collaboration between two authors, Amie Kaufman (Australian) and Meagan Spooner (American).

This book was the most amazing love story that's out of this world!

Loved it, loved it, loved it, I knew as soon as we had the first interaction between our two main characters Lilac and Tarver that this book was going to be fantastic, and boy was I right!

I don't generally read a whole lot of science-fiction books, but out of the few that I've read, These Broken Stars trumps them all.

This was one of my most anticipated books of 2013 and I'm so glad that it lived up to it's hype and more.

This book has been compared as 'Titanic In Space' and I can certainly see how it received that tag, the rich girl/poor boy situation where the rich girl falls in love with a boy below her station in life and will go against everything she's been brought up to believe to take a chance on that once in a lifetime love that doesn't matter how poor he is.

After the crash of Icarus and their escape pod landing on an abandoned planet Lilac and Tarver take a trek across the planet to find the wreckage and hopefully be able to send out a signal so they can be rescued, of course their travels aren't exactly easygoing and the comments and remarks between these two had me laughing out loud quite a few times.

There's nothing about this book that I didn't like, from one of the most gorgeous covers I've ever seen, to the incredible plot, the dialoge and to the extremely well written characters there's so much to love in this story.

I'm eagerly anticipating the next book in this trilogy, I can't wait to see what these two fabulous authors come up with next.

I give this a well deserved 5/5 Stars.

 Amie Kaufman is the co-author of the These Broken Stars, the first in the Starbound trilogy, and writes science fiction and fantasy for teens. Amie had the good fortune to be raised just one block from her local library, and took full advantage of that fact growing up. She and her sister spent their childhood summers re-creating their favourite books by camping in the back yard, mapping their neighbourhood, climbing trees, stepping through magical doors and sailing the local seas. Raised in Australia and Ireland, she has kissed the Blarney stone six times, thoroughly cementing her gift of the gab.

As she grew older (but not up), she continued her education, and graduated with honors degrees in history, literature and law, and a master’s degree in conflict resolution. These days she combines writing with work as a mediator, as well as regular travel throughout the US, Europe and Asia. A few of her top travel moments include camping in the Sahara overnight, climbing a mountain in Vietnam, standing on the Great Wall of China and cycling the Loire Valley, but she has a huge list left to cover.

Amie lives in Melbourne, Australia with her husband and their very quirky rescue dog, Jack. She’s a huge fan of chocolate and naps, has an enormous music collection, and an entire room of her house is devoted to her library. She still sails, and though she climbs fewer trees, she remains partial to investigating the occasional magical door.

Website: http://amiekaufman.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmieKaufmanAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/amiekaufman

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5360335.Amie_Kaufman

+Meagan Spooner grew up reading and writing every spare moment of the day, while dreaming about life as an archaeologist, a marine biologist, an astronaut. She graduated from Hamilton College in New York with a degree in playwriting, and has spent several years since then living in Australia. She's traveled with her family all over the world to places like Egypt, South Africa, the Arctic, Greece, Antarctica, and the Galapagos, and there's a bit of every trip in every story she writes.

She currently lives and writes in Northern Virginia, but the siren call of travel is hard to resist, and there's no telling how long she'll stay there. 

In her spare time she plays guitar, plays video games, plays with her cat, and reads.

Website: http://www.meaganspooner.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MeaganSpoonerBooks

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MeaganSpooner

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4615776.Meagan_Spooner